[SITH MISSION]Curse of the Red Flower

[Aaron Corinth]

Anaxes, the capitol of the imperium, was probably the most well protected planet in imperial space. He had flown his fighter to the planet. Upon entering the system he was hailed, "Attention unidentified vessel, this is restricted space, transmit ID codes or vacate the system."

He followed their instructions forwarding the ID codes to the star destroyer in orbit. The squad of fighters headed in his direction broke off and the voice spoke once again, "Welcome, Crusader Corinth, enjoy your stay."

He clicked the comm to acknowledge he received the transmission and headed directly towards the Imperial Palace. Someone, a useless handmaiden had tried to poison the Empress. It was a crime that could never stand without serious repercussions and Damion and another sith had been sent to deal those repercussions. Rumor had it an alchemist and a sith master were in on the plot and they were to find their location for the council. The spaceport closest to the palace had a pad reserved for him as he reached planet side. He certainly wasn't happy about the job, but somebody had to do it.

He burst through the doors of the detention center many levels below the palace. The girl was foolish and he was the tool to make her pay. The guards briefed him as he approached, "She is a twi'lek and we thing the poison came from her father the sith alchemist Gredzu. There is another sith involved as well but she won't talk."

Damion only nodded as he pushed the guard out of the way, reaching the room the girl had been left in. He deactivated the forcefield and stepped inside. The room played host to a single occupant seated in a chair restrained to the table bolted to the floor. A single chair sat opposite the girl and other than that it was devoid of furnishings. He pulled the chair back and sat. The mask covering his face gave away nothing as he stared at the defiant girl. She was a red-skinned twi'lek, twin lekku twitching defiantly with eyes to match. The look told him it would be a long day. He would wait for the other sith to arrive before doing anything as help was always....welcome.

 

[Saul Perth]

Peritus made his way through the brightly lit halls of the detention center with a spring in his step. The gentle tap of his lightsabers on his hips always reassured him, however he would not be needing them today. Oh no, today called for a special tool, one which danced through his fingers as the Sith strode down the final corridor. Shimmering brightly when catching the overhead lights, a simple double edged knife spun graceful arcs about the swordsman's fingers. One edge was spotless and razor sharp, foiled by the second, which was dull, rusty, and chipped in several places.

Upon reaching the correct cell, Peritus sheathed his knife and identified himself to the Stormtrooper stationed outside, who keyed an impressively long combination into the control panel to open the locked door. The Acolyte stepped into the dimly lit room to find his partner waiting in front of the secured Twi'lek.

"Well then, I trust all three of us know exactly why we are here. Shall we begin?"

 

[Aaron Corinth]

As the second sith entered the detention area, Damion stood offering the chair to the other man. Damion was far more suited to be the strong arm when his manipulation and discussion failed. He eyed the lekku atop the girl's head and noticed they had stopped twitching. He could sense the feeling of dread beginning to well up in her. She had been caught and this would be her punishment, he thought glancing back at the man who had entered.

He spoke telekinetically, "I believe you're on first for these negotiations. I will be your support and more...aggressive partner, if it leads to that."

He waved for the man to begin as he pulled one of the six throwing vibroblades he held at the small of his back. He utilized the razor sharp edge to begin cutting the fingernails he had noticed had been getting too long. He continued looking down but eyed upwards through the covered eye sockets of the mask and noted the look of sheer terror on the girl's face as she stared at what he was doing. Maybe this won't be as bad as I was initially thinking, he thought returning his eyes to the knife and fingernails.

 

[Saul Perth]

Receiving the telepathic message, Peritus took the seat offered to him. He let out a deep sigh as he rubbed his temples, before a speaking to his prisoner.

"You know why you are here, and I will not waste time repeating it to you, or repeating anything else for that matter. Someone in your position has likely heard certain rumors about how Sith treat their captives. I can assure you that any horror stories that may have reached your ears are only in the cases in which we find a suspect to be uncooperative. Cooperate with us, and you will leave this cell without so much as a scratch.

Now, I am going to ask you a series of questions. You are to answer these questions clearly, immediately, and most importantly, truthfully. You will speak only when spoken to, and address us as 'my Lord'. Ignore any of these orders or give me any other reason and my friend here will be forced into actions that might be slightly... unpleasant. Do I make myself perfectly clear?"

The Twi'lek's head bobbed in a nod, her gaze never lifting from the floor.

"Face me and speak, this is your first and only warning."

Visibly forcing herself to meet his gaze, the woman uttered a single word.

"Yes."

"Pardon me, my friend.", said Peritus, looking over his shoulder at the Crusader standing in the corner. "It seems this worm has already forgotten her place and the proper manner in which to address a superior. Would you be so kind as to remind her what happens when she does not follow orders?"

 

[Aaron Corinth]

Damion nodded and with a sigh started to approach the Twi'lek. He sheathed the knife and could see a visible relief pass over the girl. However, what she did not understand was there were much worse things than knives in his arsenal. He stepped up behind the girl. He poured energy into his palm and allowed it to come alive in the form of a flame. He grabbed one of the lekku and applied the new flame in his hand.

The scream that echoed through the chamber as the girl attempted to break his grip was dampened with the force before reaching his ears. He held the flame to the lekku for a few more seconds before releasing his hand. The flame bubbled out of sight as he reabsorbed the energy with assistance from tutaminis. The girl had turned to face his fellow sith and spoke in a weak voice, "I will cooperate, my lord."

Damion somewhat satisfied pulled the blade back from his sheath and continued his task. He had been interrupted and the twi'lek could not stand the punishment he had available. Flame and lightning both were undesirable to receive and he held both at his disposal to extract the information. He nodded for the acolyte to continue.

 

[Saul Perth]

Peritus sat back in his chair with one leg crossed over his knee, humming the Imperial March to himself as Damion burned the Twi'lek's lekku. Once the Crusader had finished, he sat forward again.

"I will cooperate, my lord."

"Excellent, now tell me your name."

"Kyara Gredzu, my Lord."

"Good, good, tell me what role you served in the palace."

"I was a handmaiden to the Empress, my Lord."

"And the poison you placed in the Empress's drink, tell me where you got it."

"I crafted it myself, my Lord."

Peritus rubbed his temples and let out a deep sigh. Recomposing himself, he clapped his hands together and stood from his chair, walking to one of the tables along the back wall. From the table he picked up a syringe and drew some clear liquid out of a marked container. This liquid was a powerful stimulant, forcing nerves into overdrive to increase physical sensations. He rotated the chair around so the woman again faced him.

"You look tired, I'm sure this whole experience has been quite exhausting. Here," he said, priming the syringe by squirting a small amount of the liquid into the air. "This should help."

The acolyte injected the serum into each extremity and emptied what was left into the base of her neck. The effects were obvious and immediate, the Twi'lek's eyes seemed forced open, darting this way and that. Her muscles tensed, randomly twitching uncontrollably.

Peritus spun her chair back to face the table, activating the head restraints as he did so. He then preceded to push the back of the chair forward, forcing his prisoner to look at her reflection in the near mirror finish of the steel table.

"Look at yourself. You used to be so beautiful, before this." He grasped the burnt Lekku in his hand, sending a fresh wave of pain through the woman's body.

"This won't do at all." He shook it slightly, making sure she had a 'good' view.

"We'll need to clear that burnt flesh away, otherwise you might get a scar." With his left hand firmly grasping the Lekku, he drew his doubled edged knife with his right, gently placing the razor edge against a piece of burnt skin. He smiled to himself as the knife rested against flesh, in full view of the woman. His smile widened as the turned the blade over, now touching the jagged rusty edge against the scorched flesh. A slow rip of the blade brought forth a bloodcurling scream, the like he hadn't heard in years.

A small chunk of flesh fell with a small plop, inaudible over the screams of it's owner. A second soon joined it, and a third, all the while Peritus cut and ripped. By the time he was finished, a small pile of gore stared back up at the Twi'lek, who was powerless to look away or close her eyes. Pausing briefly to admire his work, Peritus turned and spoke to the Sith in the corner.

"My friend, it seems my knife has gotten slightly dirty. Would you mind seeing that our friend here is not mistreated while I clean it?"

 

[Aaron Corinth]

Damion again nodded as he moved forward. The Twi'lek had continued to scream long after the blade left the lekku. He could see the effects of the stimulant were continuing to work as her eyes darted to him and her muscles throughout her body twitched. Dark and menacing the man for the first time spoke from behind the mask, "This is your last chance. Negotiations get much worse from here and I can guarantee you will lose at least one limb by the end of it. Now tell me, where did you get the poison!"

The girl obviously distraught and fighting her instincts said but a single word, "N-n-no"

The blade still resting in his hands darted out and stabbed into one of the hands shackled in place. The attempts to get away were futile as he twisted the blade deeper into the girl's hand. He fingered the hilt of his sword lying sheathed across his back as he debated delivering his promise. However, it would be too soon and he backed away, leaving the blade in place. He waved for the other man to begin again. Based on what had transpired thus far it seemed the man had done this before and was quite good at it. He regretted he had never quite grasped the concept of healing through the force as he watched the blood dripping from the lekku as well as the hand beginning to create a small pool on the table.

 

[Saul Perth]

Damion was right to worry about the excessive amount of blood loss, if left unattended the subject could suffer neural damage. In some cases such damage could actually be helpful, but it was a gamble, not something for such a high profile assignment. Peritus knew this, and returned to the table prepared to correct it. A rather large probe droid followed him and took it's place next to the patient. An IV hung from the base of the droid, connected to a supply of blood matched to the Twi'lek that has been heavily laced with the adrenaline compound used earlier, and a serum that would rob a brain of it's ability to lie. Peritus hated to resort to that, because it felt like cheating.

"Did you think we'd let you bleed out and ruin all of our fun? Oh, and this may pinch a bit.", The Sith said as he slid the relatively painless needle into her veins and secured it with a piece of tape.

With the IV secured, Peritus turned and walked to the back counter again, sorting through various drawers and making considerable noise, making comments to himself like "No, no, no, too painless.", or "Oh -that- would be fun.", all despite knowing exactly what he wanted and where it was kept. His subject would obviously hear him, which was intentional, fear helped the laced blood circulate faster.

 

[Aaron Corinth]

Damion was somewhat impressed at the other sith's preparation and skill in torture. A smile crossed his face from behind the mask, this new acolyte had skills he wished he possessed when he was in the same position. He glanced at the blade once more and the insertion of the probe's needle.

He stepped to the table once again as his partner rifled through a drawer. He sat in the vacant chair and again spoke to the twi'lek, "So, girl, tell me who gave you the poison and who directed this attack."

The girl only stared, her eyes darting side to side between him and his partner and the droid that had penetrated her arm. The silence agitated him. He asked a question and the girl had practically ignored him. He twisted the blade remaining in her hand tearing through ligaments and breaking bones. Rather than allowing the hand to freely bleed an idea came to his head. He again created a small flame in his hand heating it hotter as he neared the girl's hand. His hand settled on to the twi'lek's and the smell of searing flesh filled the air. The wounds cauterized instantly and the girl's scream once again reached his ears.

The sound pleased him as he pulled his hand back revealing the marred hole. He glanced back at the man as he continued to rifle through the drawer. He sighed as he stood and stepped out of the way for the acolyte to continue.

 

[Saul Perth]

((OOC: So sorry man, end of semester and I've got like three classes on the line between pass and fail. Been crazy.))

Short after the smell of burnt flesh reached Peritus for the second time, he returned to his subject. This time, he carried a shining steel tray back with him, in the same fashion a waiter at a fine restaurant brings a tray of food. It'd been roughly a minute and a half after laced blood began to pump through the Twi'lek's veins. Most humanoids circulate blood around once a minute, under stable conditions. In her adrenaline fueled state, the young Sith put her rate at thirty to forty seconds. Enough that he was gaining little benefit from replacing blood.

He set the tray down in front of the twi'lek making a slight squishing noise as the weight pressed down against flayed flesh and revealing a surprising pair of items. On the tray sat a pair of steel surgical scissors and a roll of bandages, soaked in a light blue solution.

"You never answered his question.", said the young Sith.

"He's going to ask you, one more time, and when you just tell him what he wants to know, I'll get you all bandaged up, treat your burns, and even give you some painkillers, all you have to do, is answer."

 

[Aaron Corinth]

The man approaching the table also surprised him with the healing supplies rather than more tools of torture. He sighed, It was up to him to get the information out of the girl. The girl said nothing as the man sat, but the pleading in her eyes told him what he wanted to know. She was close to the breaking point. He called on the force drawing it out of his body creating a fireball with the left hand and arcing electricity between his fingers in the right hand. The look of terror on the girl's face was priceless as he grabbed each of the girl's lekku. The sensation of burning and the shocking of the electricity, no being could survive for long. He held them for less than ten seconds before removing his hands.

The defeated look in the girl's eyes told him all that he needed. "I'll tell you," she sputtered spraying blood on the tray and table before her.

Damion waved for her to continue. The girl had not said sir or master, but he could forgive that if the information was good. "My father, he was the one who gave me the poison. I had no idea why but he said he was urged by some sith master. I sweat that's all I know," she said bursting into tears.

"Well, thank you my dear, it was a pleasure," Damion told her reaching up to look at the damage that had been done to the lekku.

He had been careful to avoid brain matter, but it was certainly possible she would have lasting effects from the electricity that had passed directly through her brain. He shook his head as he turned to his fellow sith. He inclined his head, "I trust you can handle cleaning this up," he said pointing to the girl and the blood covering the table and some of the floor.

He headed for the door before turning around one last time and speaking, "It was a pleasure to meet you as well Acolyte Peritus. I hope our paths cross again."

The door wooshed open before him and he headed back out and towards his ship. He was out of the underground facility shortly with the sun glinting off his metallic mask. He sighed, it was such a pretty day, it was a shame the girl had all but ruined it for him. He boarded the ship and headed into space.