The Palace in the Swamp

[CJ Solo]

The search for devices in the refresher was methodical to ensure that they would find everything. This meant that they checked over each other's areas just to be sure that the other had not missed anything. Once that had been done, they had disabled what devices they could. When they were satisfied with the work, even though not everything may have been neutralized, they had proceeded into the main room to train. She had shed her outer cloak for it, a sleeveless piece that still had a deep hood attached to it, its outer side black in color and the inner surface a deep crimson that in low enough light could appear black. Though the whole thing was a charade, an act, Saana did enjoy their training sessions together. It was something that she hoped they would still do from time to time once her training was complete and she had become a Jedi Knight.

When the training was over, she smiled a little to herself as much at him and gave him a slight bow. It was time then to hit the shower and possibly sleep for the night. Both of them stepped into the refresher and she could only smirk and give a shake of her head at his announcement for ladies first. "So generous tonight." After a moment's pause, Saana began to strip down. It was not that she was shy about shedding her clothes in front of others; communal bathing was common back home. Somehow, though, it felt a little different around him; maybe it was because he was not Togruti or more likely she had such a deep respect for him, a desire for him to be proud of her, that she did not want to do or say anything that might make him think less of her somehow. Her back exposed, there was the faintest line of a scar down her back. An particularly observant eye might notice, but it had faded with time and was not note worthy. Quickly, she stepped into the shower.

"He knows his manners better than most, an admirable quality." There's a pause as she focuses on bathing. "Do you think he would let me bargain for that slave girl?" If he did allow it, Saana did not know what she would bargain with right at that moment.

 

[Ral]

Despite Kai's best efforts not to stare, sometimes it was hard. Especially being a warm-blooded and rather virulent male, as Zabic put it. To his credit, the young man didn't stare googily eyed at her backside as Saana stripped her clothes off, but he saw enough to notice the scar, and to think "Damn, she looks good," as she started to step into the shower. Only to wince when he noticed her starting to blush. He didn't say that telepathically did he? Kai was sure he hadn't, he had fairly good control of his powers, but if she was sensing him then that would have been a very noticeable thought. Blushing a little as she closed the curtain between the two of them, he tried to clear this throat as casually as possible, and not think about what he had just seen using the conversation as a convenient distraction.

Listening to Saana's remarks while she started to bathe and wash off the sweat and any dirt, dust, or grime that might have built up from their travels or any make up she had to apply before hand. Chuckling a little at what she said, Kai simply shrugged, despite the fact the female Togruta wouldn't be able to see the motion. "True, it is an admirable quality, but he does think we're Sith, so there's nothing particularly strange about that. He probably doesn't want to bring down a fleet on his head." He chuckled again, as he thought about her question. "Maybe... I dunno. These crime lords... they'd be willing to sell you their own mother for the right price. I guess it depends on how much worth she is to him. I'm sure if we offered some outrageous price he'd accept, but you never know. Is that something you want to try and do? Buy the girl?" It was an interesting notion, possible. "She may not like that, she clearly didn't like it when I was poking around, not that I can blame her, but she might be a little put off until we actually talk to her."

He let out a hum as he shrugged again, "It's worth a shot if you wanna give it a go." He stood up as he picked up a towel. Holding it out for the Togruta as she exited the shower so she could cover herself.

 

[CJ Solo]

It did not really take much for her to notice, to have that feeling, that she was being watched. She continued, however, only pausing when she sensed something further. It was not his words that she had picked up on so much, but instead the feeling behind them. Saana had blushed a little and stepped into the shower, pulling the curtain between the two of them. The fact that she would feel so embarrassed, particularly around him, was not something that she had explored beyond acknowleding the facts that she did care about him a lot, she respected him a lot. The shower felt good and she went about methodically cleaning sweat, grime and the like from herself.

She just smirked a little to herself when he responded to her words about the crimelord. In truth, she really did not like anyone that kept slaves. "I do not like slaves. I would like to take all of them from here, but she is sensitive." She had paused in speaking as she had finished up and stepped out of the shower and into the towel that he presented her with. Saana looked at him, studying him. "I had wondered about that. She appeared obviously discomforted. I have never seen you do something like that to someone before."

 

[Ral]

Kai knew that Saana didn't like slaves, their first meeting told him that much. Helping her tear apart a slaving ring on Tatooine only helped to reinforce the point. Bobbing his head up and down in a nod, Kai laughed a little, "I know I remember. I think our ship might be a little small to take the slaves with us, my dear, but I think you're right. That girl is definitely sensitive to the Force, I think she would be a lot better if we made her a... Sith and gave her some training." The Jedi Master went silent for a few moments as Saana stepped out into the towel. He did his best to avert his gaze until she was covered, looking back at her and meeting her gaze. "Yeah, it's not exactly something I'm proud of, but I had to make a show of being a Sith, right?"

The young man undressed, unabashedly stepping into the shower before speaking again as he quickly washed himself off. "I just hope we can convince her we are better r people once we get her out of here..." He paused adding telepathically, "We'll get her out even if she's not for sale." Clearing his throat he let out a bit of a sigh. "I'm sure if the Sith knew of all the slaves here they'd try and shut it down. They're not a big fan of slaves this time around. We might need to contact the council and our rebel allies if we can't get everyone out of here."

Finishing up, Kai walked out and dried himself out. Not really paying attention to whether Saana was being sheepish or not, he put some basic clothes on before grabbing the Togruta's hand and leading her over to the rather large bed. "Well, I'm going to get some rest. We don't know when they'll come calling, I'm hoping not for awhile though. Make us wait a while to make us impatient and uneasy. Make us more pliable for whatever deal Tansi wants to make... Let's try and be prepared for when they do." He suggested as he threw the sheets back and slipped inside them. "Tomorrow may be a very big day for us."

 

[CJ Solo]

Saana had smiled a little at his response, eased by his words. When it had come his turn, she had sheepishly adverted her gaze. "Yes, a Sith would be grand." These had been the only words of agreement she had spoken allowed, though she conveyed her appreciation to him through the Force. Soon, he had taken her hand and they departed the bathroom.

When tey entered the bedroom, Saana saw it was much like the rest of the apartment in its decoration, and the rest of the palace for that matter. She still could not help but feel that the suite of rooms was just as good as a holding cell with no windows and only the one exit. Still, she nodded in agreement to Master Kai's words. "Yes, Master. Sleep would be good for us both." Saana looked at him and the bed for a few moments and then tentively climbed in beside him.

It would be hours later before she awoke, either by some outside influence or naturally doing so. Her eyes blinked a few times, then she glanced over at Master Kai before finally sitting up.

 

[Fen Vel]

Fen did as she always did. She reviewed the information from various, spies, affiliates and informants, spoke to some of them at length about their duties and today she also asked questions about a ship. One that had arrived today, carrying two Sith as she was somewhat confident now. Where they had been, who they had been with and why it was not, as she would have suspected a Sith Ship. It was hard, they had little by way of much to go on. A ship watcher had noted it over a week ago landing, that was all. It did match a Sector Security description of a ship believed to be connected with slavers, that was a lead and after an hour she was able to dig up something in another crimelords records, a traded favour. It was indeed a slave ship and the gang appeared to have disappeared recently, owing money to some wealthy people. So it was stolen from slavers, that was certainly odd. Why would Sith do something like that? There wasn't an answer but she did leave a contact to have a look at it. There was no harm in knowing more about their guests and certainly not one that would go as far as to attack her.

Once that was done, the sun setting she called for a slave to bring her a meal. Setting about reading for the evening, breaking from the progressive pattern of going alphabetically through the stacks she picked out several tomes on the Sith. Scanning through them she tried to pick at anything that might be useful, some thesis or that on their personality profile, powers. There seemed nothing outstanding, certainly nothing that would significantly help her. Munching on tiny fish that tasted like pepper and a brackish soup she tried for three hours to make some headway before putting everything back where it belonged. Her master knew about Sith, the greatest obstacle was their powers but they died like anyone else if you shot them. Before going to be she checked on the items in the collection that the Sith would likely want to see. Crystals, scrolls, some artwork from the Sith Empire long past, the rest the one she was fairly certain they'd be interested in was in the Vaults. An ugly thing, gleaming red and black, it gave her a headache to be near it. Not unlike the one she was still suffering from, that man. There was yet more credence to his story, yet it still didn't seem right to her. Stepping around a girl mopping the floor Fen left towards her room. Each of the objects and even the stacks had sealed, airtight covers over them, most in cases laid out like a museum.

Her room was just down the hall, going inside she changed and went down to the slaves bathhouse at the back of the palace. After that she went back to her room, spartan in the extreme it had just a bed, a small slit window that looked out onto a dark swamp. On the other wall was a rail, hanging the three sets of clothes she owned other than her nightgown. Normally it didn't take much to sleep, tonight though, the aching pain in her head kept her up later. It wouldn't go, however much she tried to ignore it.

------------------

There was a knocking on the Sith's door at a reasonable hour in the morning. They had been brought a breakfast of moderate standing, though suitably, fishy. Now there was a slave to take them up to the library along with several different guards than the day before. This slave was male, early twenties with a shaved head but polite and welcoming, wearing a black gown that fell to his knees. He lead them to the stairs and then up two of the huge floors, down a warren of corridors to the library. Inside was Tansi, standing, towering in the room next to the normal sized Fen. She was dressed the same as she had been the night before and again held a pad in her hand. She was the one that spoke first while Tansi regarded them with one enormous eye, "Welcome to the Library of the Wise Tansi, one of the most impressive in the galaxy," It was not as far as she knew, "You may look, at the objects in this room. If you have questions you may ask me, if you wish a closer look you can also ask and I will retrieve the object. There is also a catalog on the table here, should you wish to view that." Fen indicate to broad wooden table, that had a large ornate tablet on its surface.

Tansi said noting, stood, watching the Sith as they looked at his treasures.

The room was vast, around the walls were cases upon cases. Down the center were bookcases, ones designed for Tansi. So they stood so tall most would need a ladder, one was kindly provided. High on the ceiling were various larger trophies, long dead creatures, what looked like a boat along with some great winged skeleton. Those tiny green circles were present, as well as some larger ones long the walls, cut into the same sandstone. The windows on closer inspection were entirely fake, merely projections of the outside world and normally only for his guests. They were in the center of the palace. There was only one place safer and more secure.

 

[Ral]

Kai's first indication that Saana had awoken was the subtle shifting of the mattress as she turned to look at him. He was still asleep, but his body still recognized the change in balance of the bed, especially once she sat up. His eyes fluttered open to see his red-skinned friend sitting up, though she was mostly still blurry as his eyes hadn't focused yet. Yawning, which he smothered with the back of his hand, Kai smiled at Saana. With a bit of a playful smile on his jovial face, the young man resisted the urge to chuckle. "Morning, beautiful."

Sitting up, Kai got out of the bed and dressed himself, taking the time to make sure the black robes were fitted just right to give him an air of pretentiousness common to most Sith. In fact, in Kai's prep for the morning he did everything short of applying makeup to his youthful face. He made himself look about as vain and full of himself as one might expect of a young and self-centered, narcissistic Force User. Meditating a little before they were brought a fulfilling breakfast, Kai was rested, refreshed, and centered for the coming day. He was going to have to lay on the Sith act a bit thick today, he simply hoped both he and Saana were going to be up for the challenge. Finishing the fishy breakfast, Kai followed the young slave with the shaved head out into the corridors, making sure to keep his eyes open and aware of the path they took as well as anything else of note on the way to their destination, Kai was preparing himself for a hasty exit.

Finally, they were led to the library, or a library of sorts. There Tansi stood next to the comparatively diminutive Fen. As she spoke for Tansi, Kai listened giving the appropriate amount of awe and deference to please the petty crime lord. "Your collection certainly is one of the most impressive I've seen, O Great Tansi." Kai gave a polite bow. Taking a step closer to the wooden table, Kai began to read the scripts there. He made sure to keep special attention to any item or artifact that seemed distinctly Sith-esque. After a silent moment or two he spoke again. "This is quite impressive. I must have a moment to think on this, as I'm sure your excellence understands. However, my... apprentice was curious and her curiosity piqued my interest." Kai stated calmly pausing to stop himself from instinctively calling Saana his Padawan, which would have blown their cover. "We were curious if you'd be willing to sell us a slave. We'd of course be willing to compensate you more if you feel like our offering is... lacking compared to out request."

 

[CJ Solo]

"Good morning, Master" Saana had responded to Master Kai when he had finally began to stir and wake. It had not taken long for the both of them to get ready to leave the quarters provided for them and soon enough someone else entered, another slave she assumed, to guide them. Her golden eyes had remained intent and observant as they moved through corridor after corridor, trailing just behind and to one side of Master Kai.

Soon enough they had arrived in the library, at least what Saana assumed was supposed to be a library or a gallery of some sort. Even as Fen spoke, her golden eyes passed over all the items presented to them. It was not difficult to feign being impressed jus as Master Kai was, because to some degree she was impressed. When Master Kai stepped forward to start reading over scripts, she took that as her cue to be able to move forward as well to look at other artifacts that would be of interest to a sith, or at least a force user. When the topic of the purchasing of a slave came up, though, she paused and glanced over. A smirk that was almost a grin touched her features as she looked from Master Kai, to Fen and then to Tansi. She waited to see the Crimelord's response, and that of Fen.

 

[Fen Vel]

Fen felt it deep in the pit of her stomach, fear. Enough that it might gobble her up from within, fighting to suppress it. These two had interacted with only two slaves herself and Twain and Twain was a nobody. She was the one they attacked the one they seemed interested in, if they wanted anyone they wanted her and more than anything, she did not want that. While he was huge and often brutal, her master never struck her or inflicted pain, not like this Sith. Given away more by the expression the red skinned Togruta gave her, how utterly horrible. The only comfort came from her owner, enough to bring her back to herself.

Tansi seemed to consider the offer for only a second before folding his arms, "I have a great many things you covert, you can not afford them." He had taken the time to bring them before his collection and they want a slave, offensive. While he did think of all his slaves as nothing more than property, he knew the value of them. His girl was worth a lot, she was part of the reason he had risen so far and had not wavered from her service even once. There was little doubt he could fine another so well suited, so the compensation for her loss would need to be a small fleet, or an army, or, "Do you hold the Throne of Giju for barter small Sith?" Followed by a roaring laugh that threatened to upset the displays in the room. He had always fancied himself a king some day, not of some marshy back water, why not his home planet? With that he would happily do away with the girl and everything else in this room. Only he doubted any Sith that would come here, be capable of such. That was why he laughed, while watching with his left eye.

Given how unlikely her price was Fen could feel confident that she would not be sold. She was good, she did as she was told and she was most useful, always useful. That was what she had been taught, and right now she was being rewarded for that. Any other slave he would have, but she was good. It brought a warming pride and some of her confidence back as well.