Open Not Your Normal Shopping List

[Renfry]

Darth Andruil had arrived on Alpheridies after a trio of her hunters had already done most of the scouting work for her. They could have probably done the "job" by themselves too, but she wanted to see this one through herself. Still, they'd given her a report as soon as she'd arrived and then melted back into the shadow as was their way. She knew they wouldn't be far if she needed them, though. Hopefully she wouldn't.

Alpheridies was not a particularly populous planet. The Miralukan people mostly seemed to keep to themselves, mostly just kept at peace with each other, and were generally quite forgettable to most. Nevertheless, Andruil liked the planet. Perhaps the fact that its residents were at least to some extent more strongly connected to the Shadow than the rest of the galaxy reminded her of other peoples she was comfortable among.

Dressed in her covert outfit with a small pack on her back and her lightsaber and hunting knife concealed, she walked along the waterfront of a small river running through the center of the city. She had no real interest in causing "trouble" today, and wished she hadn't had to wear her helmet at all, but on the off chance that things devolved, she didn't want to risk her face being seen just now.

And so she continued, heading toward the location given to her by her sisters. With any luck at all - or rather the guidance of the Shadow - she would be in and out of here in a flash.

 

[Kamelle Skyler]

Spoiler: Music OOC

It was difficult to tell what had brought her here. Planet after moon, star after sun, Kamelle was somehow just lost in her own way. The adventures led to journeys, the voyages turned into passages, and in between it all there was a gaping void of how none of it mattered and all of it was a vicious cycle of nothing. She would walk the space between the space, wander the clouds of atmosphere and molecular, her vessel an aimless, endless elevator that moved up and down, side to side, and ultimately went nowhere. If the universe could become a finite point, finer than the tiniest particle to exceed a pinpoint, had she discovered it?

So far, Alpheridies did not hold her answer. The Miraluka were an enigmatic people, seeing so much while having no eyes to see. The Force, she knew, could see much and more where the naked eye so little and less. Were such people blind or was everyone else? The Jedi and the Sith, they could train you how to ‘see’. They could walk you through it or whip you to it, and at some point you would see. The Miraluka? They were trained at birth. Maybe that was her problem, then. Kamelle was not trained at birth in any capacity. She had to gnaw and gnash her way through, force her eyes open before ever learning the Force, yet still she struggled to see.

The river that ran through the city, it drifted and danced, the water gliding beneath the sky and gleaning the world around it through the simple flow of space and time. So simple, Kamelle thought as she stood at the waterfront gazing down. So why so difficult? She wanted to jump in. She would have soaked her spacer outfit, sunglasses and hair, and maybe she would have learned a lesson yet. The pool which pulls you in may either swallow you or spit you out. The thought, like all such thoughts, made no sense, but one feeling that made absolute sense was emanating from her very being and she would not deny or hide it. The darkness, the shadow, it permeated her on purpose, and anyone with an inkling of it would be able to detect it before they ever crossed paths with Kamelle Skyler.



@Phoenix

 

[Aadya Rasheer]

Boredom had gripped Aadya recently. Not just the normal kind where your hobbies are dis-interesting and you just want to take a nap, the young Acolyte had become bored of her entire life. The Sith offered her opportunities, but lately even those didn't grip Aadya in the way they used to. She hoped a random stop on Alpheridies might alleviate something, though she wasn't sure how.

As Aadya walked, she let her aura emanate freely. Partly because she didn't care to hide it, and partly because if there was anyone around to notice, maybe she'd find an interesting opportunity. Maybe she'd find a Jedi, although Aadya had no idea what she'd do if presented with that kind of confrontation. At least it wouldn't be boring.

As Aadya walked near the river in the center of town, she noticed an armored person that stood out a bit from the regular denizens of Alpheridies. Raising a hand in a friendly wave, Aadya flashed the stranger a smile. The matrons at the orphanage always told her never to talk to strangers, and their voices still rung in the back of Aadyas mind to this day. But where was the fun in that?

You look like you're headed somewhere interesting, Aadya said coyly, her smile slowly turning into a smirk. Need a friend?

@Phoenix

 

[Renfry]

Given what she was here to do, Renfry was a bit more on edge than perhaps was normal for her. She kept looking behind her as she walked, her connection with the Shadow continually being plucked as she looked for hints of danger or threat.

And so, the feeling of darkness that pervaded someone nearby was unmistakable to the Sith Lord. Unexpected, and yet clearly the person was no Jedi. Now Renfry, being a Nightsister, was well aware that not everyone in the galaxy filled with that darkness was Sith, but... that didn't mean they couldn't be recruited.

She paused her steps in the hopes of tracking down whoever was making themselves so clearly known when another woman came up to her... also evidently a Force user.

Who are you? she asked, both of the other two Force users were likely close enough together to be heard, and therefore the question was to both of them. She was suspicious of both of them, wondering precisely what was going on. Neither was a Miraluka and yet both clearly Force-sensitive. Perhaps it was some sort of... organized Force-sensitive mugging gang. That would be weird, but stranger things had happened. @Die Shize @Logan

 

[Kamelle Skyler]

Spoiler: Music OOC [Recurring]

Who are you? The voice echoed between her ears, vibrating like a pulsar, but it was a moment that came with no answer. Who are you? It was a question that plagued her day and night, keeping her awake and keeping her asleep, and never yielding. No lightsaber could cut through that mystery. No lightning could fry it. No hole could swallow it. It was a question haunting. Who are you?

There she stood gazing at her reflection, wondering if the water might answer for her. A moment later and Kamelle was kicked out of her trance by the feeling of something close and closer. She turned her head, discovered that the voice had not been within it, and looked between the two figures before her. One was armored, the other not so much, and so the speaker was easily identified for the speech that escaped from behind a helm.

“I…” She hesitated, unsure if giving a name would make a difference, especially a name that she was struggling to understand. Sighing, she blinked behind her shades in an effort to snap herself fully out of the lull of time and space, reality folding over her like a prism with windows but no door. “I am Kamelle.” Her voice was as clear as water and as certain as the shapes standing in front of her. “And who are you?”



@Phoenix @Logan

 

[Aadya Rasheer]

Aadya, She answered simply, despite the profound rudeness of the stranger having answered a question by asking another question. It wasn't like Ren was going to get any useful information from such bluntness, outside a couple of first names. And for all she knew, they could have been fake anyway.

Turning to the other woman who had answered the armored ones question, Aadya flashed a quick smile and a sideways glance at Kamelle, giving her a small wave. They seemed interesting too, but in a different way than the armored one.

You never answered my question, by the way. She said, raising an eyebrow towards Renfry.

Pressing the stranger for answers didn't seem like it would yield the results Aadya was hoping for, so for now she was content to see if they had any response to Kamelle's new question or the ones Aadya had asked before. Of course, it was entirely possible the young acolyte had completely misread what was going on and the armored Renfry wasn't doing anything interesting and this had been an entire waste of time.

Hopefully that wasn't the case.

@Phoenix @Die Shize

 

[Renfry]

Well those answers weren't particularly helpful, and was still skeptical of the whole situation, but the other two at least didn't seem like they knew each other.

For a moment, Andruil paused, weighing what she wanted to say in response to either of them.

Andruil, she replied, leaving the "Darth" off of the name in case there was anyone walking by on the street. No point in blurting out that she was Sith to those who were not of the Order.

That's because the answer depends on the question I asked, she said. And she hadn't really gotten an answer to the question "who are you." Names were worthless to her, and if the impression in the Shadow was correct, at least one of them seemed filled with internal strife over precisely who she was.

I have business here, and I don't think it was a coincidence that you were both... drawn to me, she said. If they were Sith, great, and if they weren't, then they could certainly be recruited.

But why would you want to help me? Just for some adventure or because you have another vested interest? she asked skeptically, beginning to walk before getting an answer. After all, business wouldn't wait all day. @Logan @Die Shize

 

[Kamelle Skyler]

Spoiler: Music OOC [Recurring]

Aadya. Andruil. Of course, of course. Kamelle was beginning to sense at least one sentiment in this hopeless triangle: names meant much and more as much as they meant little and less. She did not recognize either of the names presented to her, whether she should have or should not have, and that was mildly disappointing. She had issued a portion of her trust in the river beneath her, hoping that the flow of space and time would riddle her with names that meant something but, alas, “Aadya” and “Andruil” were waves within wind. As much as “Kamelle”...

O but if questions were not rife with riddles. The game of words had just been set; the cryptic crept up like roaches in the dark. “You never answered my question . . . ” Kamelle looked to Aadya. “That’s because the answer depends on the question I asked . . . ” Eyes on Andruil. This was all a game to them; mildly diverting. It was in that moment that Kamelle realized who and what she was dealing with—as much as she might recognize her own face in the mirror. Or a river.

“Drawn to you?” Kamelle sneered as Andruil began to walk. “Does the water draw the wind?” At that, she shot an arm out. Just as Andruil might have passed Kamelle by, she would have to push past that arm, if she were so inclined. She may have no difficulty with it; she had already proven the sharpness of her tongue. Regardless, in that mounting moment of mystery, Kamelle focused more than her naked eye on Andruil. “Or does the wind draw the water?” And who are you, shadow?



@Phoenix @Logan

 

[Aadya Rasheer]

Of all the potential answers to Kamelle's question, Aadya had to say that "Andruil" was quite possibly the last on the list of things she was expecting. Aadya had heard that name before. It usually was preceded by the word "Darth" or some other formal Sith title.

There was a tiny part of her that wondered if the stranger was lying, but it really would explain why out of all the people milling about Aadya felt compelled to speak to Andruil. The force was funny like that.

Nice name, Aadya said honestly. I have a friend named Stolas who has a sister with that name. A subtle hint that Aadya was now keenly aware of who Andruil was, but if Kamelle wasn't privy at least she was giving no real information away. Wouldn't it be funny if you were her?

Aadya couldn't help but raise an eyebrow when Kamelle started talking again, her eyes darting over to Andruil with a look of "what the kriff is with this weirdo?". Then she saw the woman jut an arm out in some kind of vague attempt to keep the Darth from continuing along her path. Aadya almost burst out laughing at the hutt sized stones that took. Of course, Kamelle probably didnt know who she was dealing with. A shame.

I don't think it was a coincidence either, Aadya said, sliding her way beside Andruil so that it was she who subtly pushed Kamella's arm out of the way and allowed the Darth unhindered passage. She didn't know Andruil very well but there was always a chance when it came to Sith that they'd over react, and she didn't really care to see someone murdered in the street today.

A vested interest? She asked with a shrug. No, not so much. But sometimes taking a leap with a stranger can give you an experience you'd never have otherwise. Not to mention, I'm just bored as hell. Aadya paused for a moment, just continuing to walk next to her potential new friend. So how about it, lone wolf? You want some company?

@Phoenix @Die Shize

 

[Renfry]

Small galaxy, Andruil said as Aadya picked up on the connection. A friend of her "brother" then. That was good.

I didn't know you knew Stolas, she said, giving an aura of familiarity to the statement. Another Sith here wasn't a bad thing.

However, as she stepped forward to continue toward her goal, the other woman blocked her path. Fortunately, Andruil wasn't typically the type for leaping to violence like some Sith, but when it did come, it was like a flood.

Blocking her path and sneering at her? Not the best combo. The Sith Lord stopped, head turning to face the woman directly. Even with a helmet on, the gaze would be piercing and almost palpable. The Sith's left hand was in a claw at her side, and tension hung in the air for a moment.

Yes, she said in reference to the woman questioning whether she had been drawn to Andruil. I don't see me standing in your way, she said.

She was about to tell the other woman to move with all the decisiveness that typically accompanied someone who was both Queen and Sith Lord, before Aadyaa stepped in to defuse the situation a bit. Although Andruil was still wary of Kamelle making a physical confrontation, she didn't otherwise push the confrontation herself.

Well, "friend of my brother" seems like a personal enough interest, she said to Aadya.

Perhaps this could benefit us both, she said, intending to continue walking on toward her goal with both or neither of the women depending on what they decided. @Die Shize @Logan

 

[Kamelle Skyler]

Spoiler: Music OOC [Recurring]

There it is. Kamelle could not see behind the name but she could see behind the helm; and what the eyes did not see, the mind could sense and the heart could feel. This was no mere woman in armor—this was a dangerous being who probably did not need the armor. Even with her simple words drifting out from behind the dome, the obstacle in this being’s way could hear the haunting hints of a name unpronounceable. Ten thousand letters long, a million and more, and growing.

The arm fell, having little to do with Aadya’s movement, and the two A's walked on without further interruption. Kamelle watched them, heard them talk, then turned her head back to the river. For a moment, she saw little and heard less, the blood beating between the ears. When she opened her eyes, her mind was made up. A short walk later and she caught up to her quarry.

“I have lost my way,” Kamelle said plainly as she strolled up beside Andruil, the latter in between the other two. “I was drawn to the water at first, searching for a current. Then, with your approach, I was drawn to the wind.” With a shrug, she glanced Andruil’s way while the three of them walked as one. “I wanted to see what you would do. After I saw what you could do, well, I’m glad I did not get to see it after all.” She cleared her throat in amusement. There was always room for it, even in the corner of death.

“Not the most subtle approach, perhaps, but I’ve become lost on subtlety...like a shadow in the light..." Aware of running the risk of losing either of them to her tongue, Kamelle went for the direct. "I don’t want to help you, at least not pivotally..." A greater shadow walks through stars, and two shades walk with it. "I want you to help me.”



@Phoenix @Logan

 

[Aadya Rasheer]

I'm sure me much more than you, Aadya said with a laugh in response to Andruil's last comment. The young acolyte was under no delusion that whatever the Darth was here to accomplish, she could surely accomplish without Aadya's help.

The two walked for a moment before Kamelle finally decided to catch up with them, which as far as Aadya concerned was really quite unfortunate. It took no time at all for the woman to start babbling on again about the force knows what.

You sure do talk a lot for someone with nothing to say, Aadya said finally, eyeing Kamelle with an eyebrow arched judgingly.

Turning her attention away from Kamelle and back to Andruil, So what business do you have here anyway? Aadya reached into her jacket to take out a small metal case that contained thin cigarras. She idly offered one to each of her compatriots before putting one in her own mouth and lighting it with a small flip lighter she kept in her pocket.

Savorium herb, She said with a smirk. Maybe it'll help us all understand what in the kriff you're talking about half the time, Kamelle.

Whether or not Andruil was interested in helping Kamelle was irrelevant to Aadya, so she didn't bother responding. She'd follow whatever path the Darth lead them down, at least for now. Each of them happening upon each other was clearly the work of the force, so Aadya thought it prudent not to question much until she was given a reason to.

@Phoenix @Die Shize

 

[Renfry]

Andruil chuckled slightly at Aadya's comment to Kamelle. The woman was at least forward about wanting something from Andruil without wanting to help. Not that it would get her very far, but at least it was forward.

What did Andruil want to accomplish here? How could she subtly say that she was here to kidnap someone for maximally unsavory reasons?

Asset acquisition, she said, continuing onward. The buildings turned more run down and the people on the streets looked more nefarious the further on they went. She declined the offer of a cigarra, currently unwilling to flip up the visor on her helmet.

And what is it you want? she asked Kamelle, equally willing to be direct. She preferred that to all the... sneaking and subtlety of politics or whatnot. She didn't know how Emryc did it.

She kept walking, taking a turn down a side alley and out onto another portion of the waterfront. Warehouses lined the area and old time ships were even docked here coming in the river from the ocean. @Logan @Die Shize

 

[Kamelle Skyler]

Spoiler: Music OOC [Recurring]

Nothing to say? She thought about that for as long as it took Aadya to reveal her cigarras. Words were difficult to master, more so today than yesterday, and sometimes Kamelle did not know all of what she was saying. One thing was for certain: she had no idea what savorium herb was. “Maybe,” she responded to the offer, taking the cigarra for a quick study. “Then again maybe not.” She tucked it away—for now, at least.

It was Andruil who queried next. What do I want? “...Help finding my way…” She curled a corner of her lips upward, checking Aadya’s eyebrows to see if both might arch. The answer was no less genuine; Kamelle’s mind was simply a mess. Stars that ought to have lit her path turned dark, and the darkness of space became a blinding light.

“I’ll help you find yours as far as I can," she spoke to Andruil. "I am pacing beside you, after all. I ask only that you do the same for me. I saw enough beneath your helmet to know that you can.”

Kamelle might have been cryptic and quirky but she was no clown. She was not about to waltz along some dark denizen of the day without a good reason to—beyond needing a friend who was heading somewhere interesting. Andruil had given one, even if it had taken Kamelle to incite a measure of anger in order to believe it and be drawn in.

“Show me what you know. Teach me what you will. Wind. Water. Whatever. You may tire of my talk,” she looked from Aadya to Andruil. “But I tire of being lost, and I am lost in more ways than my tongue or my thoughts can convey.” She shrugged. “On that much I think we can all agree.”



@Phoenix @Logan

 

[Aadya Rasheer]

Aadya was beginning to see a pattern with the Darths of the Order. They really seemed to enjoy answering questions without actually.. answering questions. She started to wonder if her saying that Stolas and Andruil were siblings might be a little more true than she thought.

Sounds like you need your help finding your way to a padded cell. Aadya thought to herself after listening to Kamelle speak. She remained otherwise quiet while the woman talked, having nothing more to add since Andruil was being so cryptic about what they were doing.

Noticing the area around them was changing to more run down and dilapidated the more they walked, Aadya started to think that "asset acquisition" was actually just code for "crime." She couldn't quite think of what could possibly be in such a shitty area that would be of worth to a Darth, though she had been surprised before.

I'm starting to wonder if you're both lost. Aadya said a little bit under her breath. This looks like the kinda place where you wake up in a bathtub filled with ice missing a couple of organs.

Aadya almost chuckled after she said that considering her company. It definitely wasn't outside the realm of possibility there were some organ snatchers living among the Sith. Looking to Andruil, Aadya finally had to ask.

Are we near?

@Phoenix @Die Shize

 

[Renfry]

Andruil was highly skeptical of the woman. She knew that Sith tended to backstab and always wanted things. In many cases even your allies weren't your allies and would stab you in the back at the first opportunity. Perhaps the woman wanted help finding her way or perhaps she was simply interested in acquiring her own power. Well that part was almost certain.

Nothing is free, she said. She had had many people ask her to teach them her magick, and she had only done so on one occasion. It was one of the most coveted secrets of her people. Not that that was the only thing that Andruil had to teach, but everything came with a price eventually. In the Sith, that price was most often service.

Have you been trained? she asked. She didn't know if the other woman even knew she was sensitive to the Shadow, but if she did then perhaps she would know what Andruil referenced.

At Aadya's comment that they were both lost, Andruil smiled behind her helmet, and the smile was not a heart-warming one.

Yes, and I own the bathtub, she said chillingly. The exact intent behind the trip was becoming clearer, and it wasn't for anything savory. It was actually blood harvesting rather than organ harvesting, but the idea was the same.

If anyone wants out, this is your last chance, she said, her path now angled directly toward one of the side doors of the warehouses. Her Nightsisters were already preparing the extraction vehicle and the people that she was about to come into conflict with were neither the type that would be going to the authorities nor the type to go quietly. @Logan @Die Shize

 

[Kamelle Skyler]

Spoiler: Music OOC [Recurring]

Many things were free. Death was free; giving it, receiving it. One move from one woman walking in between two and Kamelle might have kissed the dust. Her arm might have been snapped in two and her head knocked from her shoulders. She wouldn’t have put something so profound past Andruil given a mere glimpse into the latter's eyes. The truth, though, was that nothing worth possessing was free. Life cost a great deal and Kamelle was still trying to remember her own.

“I have been trained…” She hesitated. “...By shadows… Perhaps, though, not by the Shadow..?” She blinked. Even to Kamelle that was entirely too cryptic an answer. It could yet be revisited, in time. For now, her thoughts were lost on a bathtub. I...I already...bathed..?

Looking between her environment (it was dark and dreary but so was life and death) and the other two women, Kamelle shook her head. “I will not back away from the path that lies ahead. If we are to fill a bathtub with organs then, well, I shall make it so. Lead on.”




@Phoenix @Logan

 

[Aadya Rasheer]

Aadya had to admit that she was surprised by Kamelle's admission that she'd had atleast some training. She couldn't help but wonder how someone that seemed to have nothing but air between their ears could have possibly survived any sort of instruction the Sith had to offer. Then again, maybe she was lying. Or maybe she was just extraordinarily lucky that she hadn't met some of the Sith Aadya had.

I'll follow where you lead, Andruil. Aadya said without hesitation. There was no sense in abandoning the Darth's endeavor now. They hadn't even done anything at this point. What was there to be afraid of? Lets see this bathtub. You seem like the clawed foot, filled to the brim with blood in the middle of an empty room type of woman. A joke despite the fact that Andruil seemed to lack a sense of humor.

By the force, Aadya missed Stolas.

@Phoenix @Die Shize

 

[Renfry]

For saying many words, Kamelle had managed to not really tell Andruil anything, but she was in for the murder part of the mission, so that was points in her favor.

Likewise, Aadya was onboard as well. She might as well tell them what they were actually about to do, then.

I do love a bathtub filled with blood, she quipped at Aadya. But we're here to collect the blood for now, she said. The bathtub will probably be filled... off world.

She jabbed a thumb at the warehouse behind her, looking back and forth to both women. Inside is a swoop gang. Five people. I only need one of them alive to fill my bathtub, she said.

The others have to die, she said, simply as if she were ordering a meal. Shall we? she asked, and hit the controls for the door. It slid open to reveal precisely what she had described.

Five rather surly looking gentlemen were inside in what looked to be various stages of spice-addling. Andruil didn't waste any time. Her hand glowed green as she lashed out at the closest man, slamming him into the wall hard enough that she could hear bones cracking even from here. The other four started moving at once, but in their current state of intoxication their reflexes weren't exactly up to par.

Andruil cast a gaze back, watching with curiosity to see how the other two women handled things. @Logan @Die Shize

 

[Kamelle Skyler]

Spoiler: Music OOC

Swoop gangs. By the frozen stars were they a menace to society. No, more like a plague. More like a contagion. Such impudent insects, swoop gangs, the way they strode their swoops as though they could outrun starships. They were just puffed up womp rats. Make a big noise and they scatter. Three Sith were about to prove those words. Andruil had already begun.

“Move away from the table,” Kamelle demanded of the swoopers as the door slid open and the women entered. Oh, the men moved all right; one jumped into a wall, not much of his own accord, courtesy of Andruil’s hand. A green hand. Kamelle felt her eyes widen at that demonstration, pleased that her feelings had not been in vain. A dangerous being.

It appeared that not one in the four assailants was terribly aware of oneself. One stumbled, another spasmed, another laughed and another fumbled for a blaster so instead swung a sword Kamelle’s way. She sidestepped the lazy swing, punching her right fist toward the fool’s chest. Her thumb moved. A red blade ignited, impaling through the target’s heart in an instant.

Meanwhile, her left hand shot out toward another attacker closing in. Before this one had the chance to attack he went flying toward a table, crashing into spice and the objects to concoct it. He landed hard on the floor with a groan but was otherwise alive. Move away from the table, Kamelle had stated, but perhaps this one that had moved toward the table would be Andruil’s means to fill her bathtub.


@Phoenix @Logan