Ask A Certain Vintage

[Thel Xeros]

Eriadu

Thel crouched down, watching the mansion through the binoculars. He had contacted his old apprentice Param Vour and asked her to accompany him. He brushed some dirt off of his robes, before continuing his check on the mansion. It seemed lightly guarded on the outside.

After a long time spent wandering, without a sense of purpose, he finally realised what he wanted to do. There was a path he could follow. He wouldn’t return to the Sith Order. It didn’t feel right. However, he wasn’t going to continue travelling the galaxy and occasionally helping the less fortunate. It didn’t really suit him either. He accepted that he was never going to completely change. There was a selfish streak within him. He wanted a more comfortable lifestyle. This was the first step towards achieving that.

He hadn’t told Param much. He told her that he had found another target for her, in her crusade against slavery in the galaxy; he hadn’t really elaborated much beyond that. “Here, Param. You can take a look at the mansion,” he said, offering her the binoculars.

@TheDudeMike

 

[Param Vour]

Eriadu wasn’t a planet that Param was familiar with, but she wasn’t complaining when she arrived and things were actually green. Of her recent stops, most were either at night or on barren planets and moons. Places and times where slavers could move unmolested- if she weren’t around to put a stop to their deeds, that was. Eriadu looked much different. There were greens and browns, crystal clear rivers and streams. It was beautiful.

Param waited while Thel checked the mansion through the binoculars. Her new normal outfit of a tan, hooded poncho over a black long-sleeve shirt and tight, brown leather trousers kept her from standing out too much among the greenery. Most of nature was tan or brown, even in a green forest. A Westar-35 was strapped to her right thigh, and her Echani war sword rested on her left shoulder as she sat against a large stump next to Thel.

Vee was in a mode of rest, curled up in her lap, and her silver eyes were fixed on the small BD-unit droid with a warm smile on her lips. Her hand caressed the top of his metallic head as if it were a living creature. To her, Vee was. Throughout everything, Vee was the only constant friend Param had. He was precious. When Thel offered the binoculars, she tapped Vee awake and turned to a crouch so that she could see. It reminded her of their last mission together before she was promoted to a Sith Champion. A pang of guilt cut through her chest; she couldn’t even remember the name of the Xexto friend she had been killed in that mission.

“You mentioned this was something against slavery,” Param said, eyes peering through the binoculars as she scanned the mansion slowly. A small number of guards- nothing worth getting worked up over. “What’s this about?” Vee chirped and whirred quietly, hopping up onto her left shoulder now that her sword was held by the scabbard in her hand. His optical lens focused on the mansion and began scanning it himself.

@DMCK

 

[Thel Xeros]

“The mansion belongs to man called Don Guillano. He’s a mafioso. On a galactic scale, he’s small-time, but he has involvement in narcotics, extortion, slavery and trafficking. I thought the latter two activities would be of interest to you.” Thel took the binoculars back when Param was done with them, setting them down on the ground.

“He also has something that I want. I reflected on what you said to me the last time we met. I needed a purpose. I will not return to the Sith Order, but I won’t continue to wander the galaxy like a vagrant. I now have something to strive for and this is the first step.”

He stood up, before continuing to speak. “Inside that mansion, is a bottle of Toniray. A very rare wine. It will fetch a good price on the market. I want it. The credits will set things in motion.”

@TheDudeMike

 

[Param Vour]

Param turned to her former master, raising an eyebrow dyed the same brown as her hair. The owner of the mansion made sense, even his reasoning for finding his purpose. What grabbed her attention, and caused more questions than answers was the fact that Thel had mentioned they were here for a bottle of… wine? It took Param back to her days of training when Thel had taught her how to use mind tricks. Her first successful mind trick was to get him a bottle of the bar’s best wine for free. She had used the ability numerous times since, most notably to erase any memory of Param being alive from Cyu’s broken mind.

“I’ll leave the bottle to you, Ma- uh… Thel,” Param said, turning her silver gaze back to the mansion. She still wasn’t quite used to him being back, nor that they were relatively on equal footing now. It was nice to have him around again, but the oppressive instinct to survive soured the taste for her. He had chosen to leave the Sith, which meant they were both liabilities to each other. If friends could be considered liabilities, that is. Categorizing people in terms of assets and liabilities, even if they were friends, was a hard lesson to unlearn.

“Vee, do you think you could sneak into the mansion on your own? If we can cut off any holo-feeds and communications this will go a lot smoother.” Vee chirped a cheerful response, dancing a few steps on her shoulder. She gave him a warm smile and a pat on his metallic head. He was always so cheerful, even when Param asked the world of him. Her left hand slid to a more practical position on the scabbard of her war sword, her thumb pressing against the guard to be ready to break the seal and draw.

“Do you know where this Don Guillano buys and sells his narcotics?” Param asked, turning a frown toward Thel. While she travelled the galaxy and fought slavery where she found it, the trade of narcotics was something she was well versed in. She’d given Kai every recipe for spice laced tea she had been selling from Troiken. Though the data was wiped from Vee’s memory banks, Param still remembered it well, and how effective it was at being sold. “Does he buy and sell Void-Rose Leaves?”

@DMCK

 

[Thel Xeros]

“Remember Param, I haven’t been your master in a long time,” Thel commented, a slight smile at the corner of his lips.

He watched as Param spoke to Vee. She had a closer friendship with her droid than he had ever had with any person. Param was the only human connection he had. He had never created any other connections during his time as a Sith. A consequence of who he was as a person.

“He acts more like a middleman. He distributes substances into the core worlds, through his contacts. He doesn’t deal with things at source, like we used to on Troiken.” The knowledge base he had built up during his time involved in the spice trace, and the distribution of Ixetal Cilona, was useful in tracking down Guillano.

“He’s involved in Deathstick distribution mainly. Some spice as well.”

@TheDudeMike

 

[Param Vour]

“It’ll take some getting used to,” Param said. “Even after we left the Sith, for the short period of time Gemini was with me he still called me Lady Param.” A shiver ran up her spine thinking about how the man had turned into a creature of pure evil and destruction. On her home planet, no less. It had taken more than a modicum of restraint not to end his existence. Still, even as she sent him drifting into space in a ship she paid for with the last of her savings, he had refused to call her anything other than Lady Param.

The man that owned the mansion didn’t sound like the type of person to sell her old narcotic tea. It meant that she couldn’t walk in and diplomatically distract the guards and mafioso. She would have to keep them busy with her sword… again. As good as she was with it, she wished she could put it down for even a day. That day wasn’t today, apparently. Surprisingly, she killed more frequently now than she did as a Sith, though the numbers were much less.

“Then he wouldn’t know the narcotics that I sold. I’ll have to distract the guards more violently, then,” Param said. She half turned a gaze to Vee and nodded. The little BD-unit hopped off her shoulder and began to scurry from bush to bush, keeping out of sight of the guards as he made his way into the mansion. He would find a terminal or wall panel and jack into it, doing everything in his power to keep Param and Thel safe from alarms and reinforcements.

“After you left and I took over the spice mining on Troiken, I created recipes to splice spice into tea. Then I did the same with marcan, and then other… more lethal plants. I sold tea that could turn an entire planet into addicted, mindless husks, or remove entire cities from existence without a trace of fighting,” she explained, silver eyes following Vee until he disappeared into the mansion. “If you see any boxes marked with a black rose, do me a favor and destroy them. Most of everything I made was sold to the syndicates.”

“So… what’s your plan?” Param asked. She had already volunteered to take out the guards for Thel, but knowing how he envisioned things happening would be good to keep in mind. Keeping her mind off of her past that she was trying to atone for would be good too. She was happy the only person who had the recipes for her poisonous teas didn't have the power to make them in large quantities.

@DMCK

 

[Thel Xeros]

Thel hadn’t paid much attention to the mention of Gemini. He had barely known the man, before he chose to disappear.

“Well, it’ll be just like old times. Won’t it,” he replied, in reference to her using violent methods to deal with the guards. They had a little bit of time to spare, while Vee switched off the alarms.

He listened as Param spoke. He had always assumed that she had taken over operations on Troiken, after he left. The other revelations he had definitely not expected. It now made more sense why she was willing to accept his apology. He certainly had never done anything as extreme as what she had outlined.

“Of course. If I should find such boxes, I will destroy them. I must say, I didn’t realise you were capable of such things. Not that I’m in any position to judge. You certainly took the operation on Troiken in a different direction from what I envisaged.”

Plan? He didn’t have much of a plan for once. There was unlikely to be anything that could stop them. They were both powerful force users.

“No plan. Once Vee has played their part, we can storm the mansion. I’ll be going straight to the cellar. You can focus on Guillano if you want.”

@TheDudeMike

 

[Param Vour]

“I’d rather revisit the good parts of old times than the bad,” Param said. Her frown faded and a small but warm smile replaced it. There was no use dwelling on the past, even if she was walking down memory lane with one of the biggest parts of that past. She was looking forward to being done with the violence and being able to just sit and relax more than Thel probably realized. More than she herself probably realized.

“I did a lot of things to try to fit in as a Sith. All of the wrong things. All to protect a man that wasn’t mine to protect,” she explained. The smile stayed, but her voice was streaked with solemn thoughts. She flashed a glance toward Thel, then back to the mansion. Vee would be finishing up soon. He never took long to complete whatever task he was given. “Guess it all worked out in the end, though. I got my real freedom.”

She could focus on Guillano. Param didn’t even know what he looked like. She sighed, watching a guard roam an upper balcony. The guards were just there. They participated by association more than anything. Her second visit to Bandomeer, she’d helped the Mandalorians by knocking out the bad guys, only resorting to becoming a dervish of slaughter until after the tide of gangsters had become too much. Maybe only one person would die today- maybe none.

Vee chirped in her ear. He was finished. The alarms and cameras were turned off.

“Okay,” Param sighed, rising to her feet. She slid her Echani war sword into her belt at her left hip and covered it with her poncho. “Vee’s finished. I’ll draw the guards.”

And with that, she burst forward into a sprint. With the help of the Force, she was a blur of movement. That was until she reached the side entrance, where she stopped in plain sight of the guards.

“Who the hell are you?” one called out. The other whispered into a comlink. The sounds of running boots on the balconies above told her that Param was drawing quite the crowd. Param’s expression flattened into a deadpan, right before she smacked the first blaster away and dropped the guard with a series of chops of her hands to his neck. When the second guard raised his own blaster, she let it fire so that the sound would draw more guards, but pooled the Force into her palm just outside the muzzle to deflect the bolt back into the firearm and make it explode in the man’s hand. His hand was shredded, but he would live. Param slammed a fist into his throat and dropped him as well.

No killing. Not today.

@DMCK

 

[Thel Xeros]

How many good times had there been? There hadn’t been much room for “good times” when he was around Param. Maybe when she was around other Sith.

Trying to fit in with the other Sith was a deviation from what he had taught her. He had generally tried to keep a reasonable distance from the others.

When Vee was finished, he let Param go ahead. He waited, while she provided a distraction.

When he did make his move, he took the direct approach. The front door. Most of the guards had been diverted towards Param, leaving the entrance lightly guarded.

Igniting his lightsaber, he made easy work of the guards in his way. They were cut down without causing him much trouble He had no qualms about killing them. Using the force on the door, he sent it flying into the mansion.

One step closer.

@TheDudeMike

 

[Param Vour]

Param weaved, ducked, and spun in and around the guards. When one would try to aim, they would end up aiming at their own comrades, right before another of them was taken down with the precision of echani martial arts. With the Force empowering her movements and strikes, the guards never stood a chance against Param. The last one that had approached her fell when she disarmed him of his blaster pistol, flipped it in her hand and then struck him across the face with the pistol grip. True to her idea, they were all knocked out rather than dead.

She made her way into the mansion she followed the sounds of what little guards remained, and subsequently the lightsaber sounds that followed their panicked cries. Param had chosen not to kill today, but she had no hold over Thel and his actions. For their own sake, she found herself wishing the guards she'd knocked out would just run away when they woke up. If they decided to continue serving bad people, she would deal with them then.

The boss would most likely be on the top floor, probably in a study or something. Param found the stairs and started making her way up. A guard or two that remained approached her but she made quick work of them. One second she was walking toward them, the next she was upon them and striking them down. The power of using the Force to speed one's movements. Param began checking rooms on the top floor until finally she found a room lined with books that looked like an office. Sitting in the chair behind a large desk was the man Param was looking for.

Param entered the room, gently closing the door behind her.

@DMCK

 

[Thel Xeros]

Thel fought his way through the ground floor, to a staircase. Moving downstairs, the anticipation began to build. If it was here, it would soon be his.

Guards were propelled into walls through telekinesis, cut down with his saber or subjected to a barrage of force lightning as he moved downstairs and to the cellar. None were spared.

Eventually, he reached a large wooden door. Stabbing through the lock, he gently pushed the door open. His eyes widened slightly. Shelves filled with bottles of wine. Guillano had built a sizeable collection.

Taking his time to check the shelves, eventually he found what he wanted. Toniray.

He picked up the bottle, admiring it. Perfection.

This was the first step to a more peaceful and prosperous life. Something he craved.

@TheDudeMike

 

[Param Vour]

Param exited the office, a scene of bloodshed behind her, before she shut the door again behind her. Guillano was dead, his gut sliced through and his throat slit. There wasn’t a fight, there wasn’t even a conversation. She had found him guilty from the way he talked and acted, and then confirmed through the things on his desk and holo-screen. The man was definitely in on the slave trade, though a minor actor at that. He deserved far worse.

Grace and patience emanated from Param as she sauntered her way down the steps to the cellar where her former master admired a bottle of wine. She remembered the time she’d scored a free bottle of wine, the best the bar they had gone to had, and he had scoffed at it. Param felt a small pang of resentment growing but squashed it. This was the last time she would act as a weapon for her former master. She’d killed Guillano for her, but she’d embarked on this mission for him.

“It’s done,” she said flatly, her silver eyes fixed on him. “The guards are knocked out, not dead. Seems they’ll be needing new employment when they wake up.” They weren’t the best of company, but they would do for whatever Thel needed- if he wanted them. Guards that were willing to turn a blind eye to slavery and illegal work were some of the best in the galaxy.

@DMCK

 

[Thel Xeros]

Thel turned to Param, sensing when she entered the room. “Thank you, Param, your help was invaluable.”

He could sense some dissatisfaction within his old apprentice. Whatever it was, now probably wasn’t the right time to address it.

“Yes, they will. They won’t be getting employment from me though. I don’t need them.”

“We should leave, Param. I think we’re done here.”

Acquiring the Toniray was the first step towards what he wanted. There was still much work to be done though.

END THREAD