A Handful Of Stones [Shalimar]

[HK-36]

[member="Shalimar"],

Tygara,

A nest of scum and villainy. And Sio and Space-Elves, the Eldorai, which made things probably even worse.

The droid was moving through its Elvish streets, underneath Elvish lamps, glancing into the Elvish alleys whenever he passed one just to make sure there weren't any trouble brewing in the Elvish darkness behind Elvish garbage cans. The machine headed towards a cantina on the planet, one of many surely, by a nearby space-port, inside he was told to meet a contact with whom he could work on his latest bounty hunt.

The target?

Some stones, magical artifacts wanted by the Jedi. Soul stone, or soap stone, or smoke stone, or some kind of nonsense like that. The machine cared little for the details, all he was concerned with was retrieving the stones, maybe pocketing one or two to research them, then bring the rest and get paid for his trouble. The only problem was the stones he was able to locate were within a ruined Sith complex on Rhand, the Sorcerers there kept some of the rocks around for whatever sinister purpose they could come up with.

Although Sith's forces have mostly dispersed and were still rebuilding within the shadows, HK knew that they could still be a threat, especially when cornered. Fortunately he wasn't hitting any major locations or critical installations, just an old remnant of ancient forces, an echo of the past mostly forgotten by the Galaxy.


Either way, he wanted to bring some backup for the hunt, that's what led him into this cantina, he was supposed to meet a contact there, a woman recommended to him by Firemane.

HK entered the establishment, the large armored machine stopping in the doorway to scan the location, looking for anyone that fit this Shalimar's description.

 

[Shalimar]

Tygara had become home to Shalimar. Home, something she'd never known, never had and certainly never thought would be hers in a million years. She figured she'd always be running from her past and the troubles that Archangel had caused her. She'd been an experiment in genetics, created by a one Madeline Kahoshi long ago, to test the viability and possibilities of hybrids among humans. She was a human, crossed with feline DNA giving her some unique features and abilities.

Today she was occupied only with thoughts of relaxation and everything carefree. So naturally she'd ended up in a cantina to spend a small portion of her time. It had mostly been to satisfy her curiosity about such places, as she adapted to a life of freedom outside the controlled environment of the lab she'd been raised in.

She was back in the corner booth, mostly observing the crowd as she sipped on a virgin Shirley Temple. Tasting alcohol was something she decided against, as it offended her incredibly keen sense of smell. So this little drink had been recommended to her. She was leaning back, her legs crossed, looking quite relaxed as she caught a glimpse of the shiny droid that had just crossed the threshold. It wasn't every day she saw them on Tygara. They seemed to be rather rare, which had been a comfort to her when she'd first arrived. By now, of course, she'd learned that the majority of droids out in the galaxy were not minions of Archangel and could be trusted.

She took a final sip from her drink and set it aside while she watched. It seemed the droid was looking for someone; little did she know it he was looking for her.

[member="HK-36"]

 

[HK-36]

[member="Shalimar"],

The droid's sensors picked up on Shalimar's location quickly, she matched the description given to the droid, and he picked up on the subtle feline traits that made her stand out from the usual bland human biology. He made his way through the cantina, long heavy black cloak trailing behind the Phrik armor plates, attracting few looks as he made his way to the booth Shalimar was sitting in.

He would stop at the side of it, speaking up,

"Shalimar?"

He asked her her name, she could see from below his cloak a couple of shattergun revolvers holstered on each side of his hips, along with a couple of cylindrical hilts and other gadgets, one of them clearly a lightsaber.

 

[Shalimar]

Shalimar cocked her head to the side as the droid approached her table. Curiosity was rising within her, wondering why he had come to speak with her. Her weapons were rather basic, a standard Firemane bolter, a blaster, and a few flash grenades. She always had a preference to use her skills and talents over weapons.

"Yes, I'm Shalimar." She smiled sweetly and motioned to a seat across the table, "Please, join me, and we can discuss whatever business you came here to speak with me about."

[member="HK-36"]

 

[HK-36]

[member="Shalimar"],

"Are you not a little too trusting to be a bounty hunter?"

The droid quipped as he moved to sit down in the booth with her,

"My designation is Hunter Killer Series 36 Unit 1, but most people just call me HK or Iron Knight. I was told by Firemane I can find you here, I was planning to head off and pursue a bounty."

HK scanned over the sweetly smiling girl,

"And I was told that you are skilled enough to provide assistance."

He leaned back in the seat, looking at the blonde,

"Is that right?"

 

[Shalimar]

"I prefer the term Mercenary," Shalimar said with a smile.

"As for trusting, I'm not. If you had any intentions to capture or otherwise harm me, you wouldn't have stopped to ask my name." At least that was her thinking, "Lastly; I felt no sense of danger in the air. So, that led me to offer you a seat at my table."

She gave a nod listening carefully to the droid. "Well, HK, what kind of bounty are we talking about?" She had her standards when it came to the jobs she took, and Shal wasn't the type to fork people over to Hutts and other crime lords. "Because, while I do have the skills to assist, I am picky about the jobs I take. It saves me a whole lot of trouble down the road to know now exactly what I'm getting into and if I want to take those chances. Not to mention, I won't assist in the capture of escaped slaves. They've got a right to their freedom."

[member="HK-36"]

 

[HK-36]

[member="Shalimar"],

"Well unless I was hunting you and I just wanted to confirm your identity, then I may just ask your name, usually it works."

HK shrugged, watching her smile,

Why is she smiling so much?

He asked himself,

Should I punch her?

He calculated before Shali took his attention again asking about the bounty,

"Hold you speeches, kid, we are just going after some stones. Smoke stones or soul stones they are called. From what I know they can be used for telepathic long distance communication, they were used by a cult of Sith sorcerers on Rhand in the outer reaches of space. Most of them are long gone now, forgotten and hunted down, but some still remain clinging to old ways."

HK glanced away, scanning over the cantina, Tygara was a rather safe place, but he was still getting shot at in cantinas far too often to lower his guard entirely,

"We would be going to a ruined tower, a lair of one of the Sorcerers built on a place strong in the Dark Side, if my contact is right we will fight a rather plentiful collection of those stones inside. As well as a Sorcerer and his minions."

 

[Shalimar]

"Perhaps," Shalimar said with a shrug of her own.

She cocked her head to the side in a cat-like manner as he detailed what exactly they were to be going after, should she agree. "Get to know me a little better, and you'll understand why exactly I'm extremely upfront about what I will and won't do." She sighed, and set her to drink off to the side.

"Well, I have no problem looking for such an artifact." She then nodded, thinking for a brief moment as her smile faded away. "So, we'd likely encounter a Sith Sorcerer, and a few minions. That's manageable, I suppose." Though she was still getting a handle on her powers, she trusted enough in the instincts that had been bred into her to work through the situation they'd soon encounter. "Anything else I need to know?" The blonde asked as a final question.

"Well, if there are no other catches, I'd be happy to accompany you." She said at last, "I'm assuming you have your ship. You'll just have to lead the way." Shalimar said as she rose slowly from her seat and stretched out lazily.

[member="HK-36"]

 

[HK-36]

[member="Shalimar"],

"Get to know me a little better, and you'll understand why exactly I'm extremely upfront about what I will and won't do."

HK tilted back slightly in his seat away from her,

Definitely hitting on me that time.

As she asked if there was anything else to know he shook his head,

"That is all, the planet is unaligned at the time from any major factions so we should not find any major resistance. Although I suppose the Sorcerer would not stay alive this long if he would not have any tricks up his sleeve."

Either way, the droid would stand up when Shalimar did,

"Of course I have a ship, I am a professional unit."

He huffed back at the question, offering his hand out to Shalimar for a shake,

"Welcome aboard, kid."

Before he would lead her outside and start walking towards the spaceport.

 

[Shalimar]

"That makes it relatively straightforward." She said softly, "Not that I have any personal alignment myself." She gave a nod, "Most likely he does have one or two surprises laying around. I don't imagine it would be much that we couldn't handle."

"You'd be surprised how many aren't running a professional gig, but yet try to play it that." She gave a nonchalant shrug, not thinking too much about it.

"Thanks." She said as she took his hand and shook it firmly.

Shalimar slung a small bag over her should and followed beside the droid as they headed back to the spaceport. Her own armor and gear were relatively minimal, but it got her by.

[member="HK-36"]

 

[HK-36]

[member="Shalimar"],

It would not take long for the structure of Tygara's spaceport to be visible in front of them, it would make sense for a cantina to be located nearby such a transportation hub. As they walked along the Elven yet Futuristic streets surrounded by Space-Elf architecture, HK glanced to Shali,

"So what made you become a bounty hunter in the first place?"

Before looking ahead towards the port building,

"I am assuming you did not grew up always wanting to be in the profession."

While they had their small talk they would enter the spaceport, heading along the corridors and any security checks the Elves could have set up, probably nothing HK's clearance would get caught on, even if the two of them were carrying armor or weapons of sorts, before finally arriving in the bay where HK's ship was docked.


The ship was a sleek mat black stealth transport, one of the old yet advanced models from the days of Dark Harvest the droid managed to get his hands on,

"The Knight Of The Eclipse,"

HK motioned to the vessel as he introduced it to Shalimar,

"My trusty ship when it comes to all things stealthy and covert."

 

[Shalimar]

Shalimar gave a shrug, "Honestly; it wasn't my first choice. Or even my last, it was something somewhere in the middle that happened to work with the skills my creators imbued me with." Yes, an entirely normal topic of conversation for Shalimar. At least she didn't see anything wrong with it or even that different. "Just a line of work I happened to fall into."

"I didn't grow up in the usual way. For me, it involved living in a lab and being poked and prodded every day of my life until I escaped. I believe the purpose of the experiments were to determine the results of a cross between feline and human DNA." She sighed heavily, "I've been on the move, making sure I don't get caught back into that mess." Somehow she avoided saying she was on the run from them. "Which means I need to be more flexible in how long I stay in one place, and well bounty hunting works well to do that while giving me a decent living." It seemed she was still a touch naive about revealing her past, and what dangers that could bring into her life.

Her attention was drawn to the ship ahead, "Now that's a lovely ship." She stepped to the side of HK to give the ship a good once over, mostly out of sheer curiosity.

"As for you, I don't know a lot about droids like yourself, but how did you come about to doing this kind of work?" Good old curiosity.

[member="HK-36"]

 

[HK-36]

[member="Shalimar"],

"DNA splicing? I suppose that would make you a clone, Sith-Spawn and Vong-formed experiments do not care about the aesthetic as much so those are ruled out."

The droid mused,

"Must have been a job in the Unknown Regions or Outer Rim, most of the Core worlds regulate DNA splicing harshly enough to prevent majority of experiments like that being from being conducted in their own backyard. But yes, bounty hunting does work well when you are on the run,"

It would not take much to connect the clues and figure it out,

"although there are other ways you could go along with it,"

The droid glanced to her,

"You could seek out an asylum and protection from a major power, they could probably even track them down and shut their program for good."

He offered just as they made their way to the stealth transport's lowered ramp,

"Thanks, although to be honest I am not entirely sure how it got into my possession, one minute I was fighting off some undead constructs on Dagobah, the other I had this ship and I was flying away to safety on it. Its stealth-capabilities often come useful when taking me in and out of combat, it will be our ride to the tower so that we would remain undetected."

HK explained as he lead her into the ship. Inside at various consoles there were four other HK droids, busying themselves with maintenance of the ship and the small armory carried on board, just general chores one had to deal with before launching off into space. The machine motioned to them,

"These are the Greycloaks, copies of me I have around to work as my bodyguards."

They all nodded in unison before going back to their work,

"I would introduce them but we all have the same name."


As HK moved to sit in the pilot's seat and prepare the ship for lift-off he glanced sideways to Shalimar,

"Well many assassin droids end up working as or for bounty hunters at one point or another, it is more or less what we are programmed to do in the first place. So, when I became a free droid and had to support myself, I took up bounty hunting, it pulled in enough to pay off for my power pack costs and energy bills so I could keep myself running while I got the satisfaction of bringing in criminals often after beating them nearly to death."

 

[Shalimar]

Shalimar's brow knitted together as she frowned for a moment. This thought she'd not considered before. "I, ... I suppose that's accurate. I just never actually entertained the thought of being a clone. But yes, you are correct." On this subject, the blonde wasn't sure how she felt.
She sighed heavily, "I do know the company was or is Archangel. The world was Atrisia, at least the one I was created on after that things get a little murky with the fall of the Kahoshi Empire."

Shalimar gave a bit of a shrug. She'd figured they were already this far down this road that she might as well fill him in on the few details she knew and could confirm."I was one of Doctor Kahoshi's experiments that were forcefully drug off during the purge of the Inquisition, for monitoring elsewhere. There were a few planets along the way, but I couldn't tell you the names. I never really thought to ask about where I was. It didn't matter either as all I usually ever saw was the walls of the lab and little else."

She nodded, "I could yes, and I've somewhat started that process here with Firemane and Tygara. They've been quite supportive so far, given what I am running from."

Shali followed HK up into the ship, looking curiously from side to side, taking in the details, until she spotted the first of his copies. She had frozen for a second, not quite sure what she was seeing. Though HK quickly explained what they were, easing the blonde's mind. "I see. I can see how that would be useful, having a copy or two around." A bit anxiously she ran a hand slowly through her hair and sighed once more.


Then she glanced to original HK and smiled, "That makes sense. Bounty hunter does pay well enough, and if you already have the skills, it certainly seems a good choice." She chuckled a bit; I can also see the benefit of being able to beat the tar out of criminals. I'd never really thought about it that way either. Dealt with enough scumbags already. Stars know we need fewer of them in the galaxy and if things like this help, why not?" Coming into the cockpit she took an empty seat, and inquisitively watched as he prepared for taking off.

[member="HK-36"]

 

[HK-36]

[member="Shalimar"],

"The Archangel,"

HK nodded, knowing the name well, he glanced to her,

"Yes, I know of them, a thorn in my side. Me and them, we have very similar techniques and approaches in some ways."

Especially when it comes to use of droids and development within the field of HRD, although they took it further than HK, at least for now,

"But we greatly differ from ethical standpoint it seems, at least from what I know and you told me. Not many people know about it, I know Firemane is one of the companies who do, and I work with them closely, me and Kerrigan used to fight in the campaigns against Bando Gora together. Back in the Protectorate days at least."

He revealed before adding,

"And one of the leading HRDs in Archangel, Skaldi, we used to be both inspectors during a loyalty investigation in the Pyre."

That was true,

"It was then when we also became lovers."

That part was not true,

"I used to give it so hard to her right on that investigation desk between every interview."

Also false.


Either way, he looked to Shalimar,

"But yes, Atrisia, they are my homeworld's neighbors, I will be sure to stop by and investigate their laboratory personally, after all, it is not going anywhere."

Few weeks later the Incident on Atrisia happened, whatever remained of that lab was probably covered by the rubble from the Force Storm and Supervolcano going off at the same time.

He would not linger on the subject too long, considering they were busy right now with the whole putting their ship into orbit and going on a bounty hunt deal, but afterwards he would take more time into planning the whole expedition to Atrisia. Plus she mentioned his droid copies, to which the machine replied,

"Oh yes, they also function as back-ups, so if my current vessel should ever be disabled or destroyed, they can always re-forge it and upload a copy of my mind into it, making me more or less currently immortal. I was also even able to put a copy of my mind into the Holonet for espionage."

That part would go on to be unconfirmed either way,

"Exactly."

He agreed with her assessment of being a bounty hunter,

"You know, this used to be the main viewpoint hunters had on the job, we were a much more respected profession back then, less than mercenaries and more like the Jedi. We were lawman and peacekeepers, bringing in criminals and making the Galaxy a better place instead of causing more chaos for the credits. Unfortunately, greed got the better of people and the Hunters begun to turn on each other, soon enough the best way to fight off a bounty was not to pay it but set an equal or greater bounty on whoever put it up or the hunters sent to collect it. It ended with the Bounty Hunting Guild falling apart and pretty much all honest Hunters being killed off."

HK shrugged,

"Maybe one day we will go back to how things used to be and this time do it better, but who knows?"

 

[Shalimar]

Shalimar let out a sad sigh. "Unfortunately I think there are seldom few that know of them, and of those, the experiences seem to be rather unpleasant. They aren't great beings." She gave a shrug, trying to push the worst thoughts and memories away.

Her lips did twist into a frown as she listened to him. "I am glad you have chosen not to follow in the same horrific manner that they have. I've not been a fan really of droids because of my time with them. It's hard for me to trust droids for obvious reasons. Not after them. I am trying, though, not every droid out there is a part of their network or behaves on their unethical guidelines. Just takes time." How much time, that Shalimar didn't know in the least. All she knew was that she had to take it slow and easy, one step at a time as it were. Her trip with HK seemed a good place to start.

She nodded, "Yeah, Elpsis did tell me a few things about Firemane that appears to show they are aware of them and at least for now are a haven for me."

She shuddered at the mention of the name; a low growl followed, "I know Skaldi, more than I want to know of her and about her. She had a hand in moving me from Atrisia and played a significant role in my captivity alongside Doctor Kahoshi."

She shivered again, "Lovers, eh? So you were able to get past the cold hard queen's exterior and find something a touch warmer beneath?" This Shalimar did not believe. That droid seems far too icy and evil for that.

"Mmmhmmm..." She didn't sound in the least like she was buying this line, though at that point she was smiling a little, finding some amusement in it.

"I don't know what there is left behind of the lab. But there's bound to be some interesting things there. I can't say what it's like anymore, given how many times the planet has changed hands since Emperor Kahoshi was killed. And yes, of relation to Doctor Kahoshi. She's his cousin, I think." It seemed she'd missed the chapter where Madeline rose to the position of Empress and was soon assassinated. Well, more of that part of things was conveniently left out. It was the kind of knowledge that would have been rather confusing to the young woman, to have Madeline the supposedly dead Kahoshi Empress, to be still leading the research on Shalimar.

She nodded again, "It seems a good plan and idea for someone like you. It certainly has it's upsides to it."

Onto the subject of bounty hunting again, she listened carefully, agreeing with a lot of what he'd said there. "I do wish I'd been able to see the old ways of hunting. It seems that for the most part has faded into the past." She shuddered once more, this time at the mention of Jedi. Her opinion on force users, wasn't that great, despite holding those gifts herself. "I'd venture to say better than the Jedi. Even they have their failings, and then some." Some of her opinions still might have been tainted by the news and information that was carefully fed to her while with Archangel, to mold her beliefs to fall in line with theirs. "Greed, the downfall of so many." She shook her head slowly and sighed. "I'm sorry to hear that. It sounds like the old days were a hell of a lot better than things are today."

She soon drew her legs up into the seat with her, curling up in a rather feline like fashion on the chair. "One can hope. One can always hope for better days. You never know what is just around the corner."

[member="HK-36"]

 

[HK-36]

[member="Shalimar"],


"Well they have their networks and I have mine, and although I do tend to be much more public and open about my activities, I doubt their connects are any more extensive than mine."

The droid mused, although that calculation may have been somewhat muddle by his high opinion of himself and his current standing in the Galactic Theater,

"But like I said, we are at odds and we may always be. Although we do come from the same background."

Of course Shalimar may probably assume that the droid meant the investigation team back in the Pyre where Moira and most of her other leading HRDs worked alongside the droid. There was, however, a second meaning behind those words as it may have been a copy of HK that created and programmed Moira in the first place, of course that was the subject of a thread that never saw its conclusion, but if it was indeed true and not a rumor, one could argue that both HK and Moira were extensions of the same mind, or at least different faces of the same programming. It was also a subject difficult to think about, as it technically meant that HK claimed to have been sleeping with his own niece just a couple of minutes earlier.

"Kahoshis were involved directly? That is interesting."

The information peeked HK's attention,

"Do you know more about his regimes involvement in the experiments?"

The droid asked, little did Shalimar knew, that was an information that could potentially decide the future of Atrisia's governance, as shortly after the Atrisian Incident HK was called in to be part of the council that decided on the planet's future.


"How is that course looking?"

HK glanced back to his copies, one of whom was at the navigation console,

"Course plotted."

The unit answered,

"Hyperdrive ready."

Another added, HK nodded, putting his hand on the hyperdrive lever he pushed it forward.


As he did so the stars elongated into white streaks and rushed by them as their ship jumped into hyperspace, taking them through the lanes on the course towards their destination. HK was finally able to turn away from the viewscreen to look at Shalimar,

"Things today are not so bad in the grand scheme of things, at least I can live openly in peace as governor of a planet, there was once a time when I had to be part of a rebel cell just to survive, and anyone with sensitivity to the Force had to be pretty much on a constant run."