Beneath the City

[Varik Ice]

Varik Ice​

Equipment: Robes​

Location: Lower Coruscant​

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Varik peered over the edge of where he stood, looking down into what seemed like an endless pit below that just kept extending, with levels of cities brimming across the sides, bustling with people and teeming with life. Coruscant hadn't been what he expected. He'd come to this, from small hunter tribes and villages on a little iceball hanging in space. Though he often didn't show outward emotion, he felt a genuine sense of wonder as he watched and felt every little piece of life on Coruscant continue through its day, unaware and unbothered of so many things happening across the galaxy.

The cloak that billowed in the wind was a dark brown, rather than the signature black of the Inquisitorus that Varik had gotten used to wearing; he wasn't here on Imperial business, and most wouldn't want to be. This world was of the Galactic Alliance, people that by all conventions, should be his enemy, but....he just wanted to see it. This place, and so many others. To see every corner of the shimmering expanse that he'd been told about as a child. He didn't know what drew him to this or other places. Curiosity? The Force? Destiny? Or perhaps it was just simple wanderlust.

Varik stepped back from the edge, turning away from it as there was even a small crowd hustling and bustling here, milling around in front of him. These people had no protection; security rarely went to these parts. It may as well have been an Outer Rim world, just without the Hutts. He said that, but Varik knew there had to be Hutts somewhere down here as well. He tried to clear those thoughts from his mind as he closed his eyes, focusing like he'd been taught. He listened, not to just the people around, but the force - he wanted to feel everything that was going on, every action or inaction and try to see how it affected others. More than that, he listened for any part of the force that stood out, whether a place's call or that of an individual. Coruscant was a strange place.

[member="Srina Talon"]

 

[Srina Talon]

The slender woman wove through the overcrowded Zi-Zhinn Marketplace seemingly without concern or care. The light-footed Echani seemed to glide, versus walk, and somehow managed to make it from stall to stall without being jostled. Once upon a time she’d run through the streets of Lower-Coruscant with fear and ice running through her veins. While not that long ago, it felt like a lifetime had passed since she’d first dabbled with both Jedi and Sith at the same time. She’d run through these very streets. Through the Crimson Corridor. She’d made an unlikely ally in Cassius Droma and had somehow, by the grace of some unseen deity, lived through the walking nightmare known as Jairus Starvald.

Things were different now. Danger was a part of her new existence. Now, she didn’t run from it. She had learned much from her master. He was a complicated man but they’d reached a very peculiar understanding. Some days he reminded her of a strict, militant teacher. Some days, a friend, and others, a parent. No one could ever replace her family on Eshan but having someone that was always watching her back was a comfort.

She’d ventured out of the shared living space, and away from her masters place of business, at his request. Srina never minded being sent to the marketplace on any planet she was on. She loved to see what vendors had to offer, the colors, the sounds, and the people. Even in the dank lower levels of Coruscant it always seemed to be a learning experience. It helped her learn the names of the components her master worked with alchemically. She couldn’t say what the precious items encased in glass or individually wrapped were used for…But she knew they were very, very expensive. Most of the vendors for the legal market and the less legal market lit up when they saw her. It meant they were about to make an obscene amount of credits.

“I’m here for a special order…”, she spoke to a Jablogian trader, the two tones in her voice echoing, and sweet. It was almost the sound of gentle harmonized singing, without the song. Srina politely removed her hood to appear more personable, revealing glimmering lengths of white-gold hair that were pulled back in intricate braids and knots. “It should be set aside. For House Verd.”

The Jablogian stood on a stool to seem taller when he looked at his customers. The height of the stall hid his mostly out of portioned build but Srina knew better. Thin legs, thin arms, and a massively overweight torso. He had deep red skin, oily green eyes, and a rather unattractively upturned nose that matched equally pointy ears. The gray-eyed woman watched as his four-fingered hand flipped lazily through records on a data-pad. He glanced slowly between the woman in front of him and the dimly lit screen. “I have what you ordered. What do you have to offer in return?”

“Credits. As promised. And these.”, Srina responded and raised a decent sized, brown paper package. From the large wicker basket she was carrying. The package was wrapped in twine and was oddly enough full of nectrose crystals. It served no purpose other than to add sweetness and fruitiness to water. At first, the apprentice couldn’t imagine what the Jablogian would want them for. Then she realized that with the flavor of the water in the lower levels being reminiscent to sulfur…He could probably sell them for thrice what they were worth. Just to make palatable drinking water. “I assume that this will suffice.”

“No, girl. The price has gone up. Double the credits. You know how it is…”, the red-skinned oddity slurred toward her. His voice seemed oddly well spoken, yet so filled with slime, that Srina felt the urge to go home and take a shower. It also may have had something to do with the fact that he couldn't stop drooling. “Business is business. Supply and demand.”

Srina stared for a moment, intense silver eyes seeming to size up the merchant behind the stall, as he tried to rip her off. They’d made this same trade dozens of times before. “I would ask that you retract your last statement. For your sake, I’ll pretend like I never heard it. You have a standing agreement with House Verd...It will not be taken lightly if this arrangement is altered in any way. It is very simple.”

The Jablogian began to speak and Srina raised a single finger to her lips and made a small shushing sound. He was so bemused by the notion that such a frail thing would challenge him that he stood stock still, looking at her a little cross-eyed. The vision of a woman in an innocent pale blue satina dress and a cloak the color of midnight leaned forward so that the merchant may hear her better.

“Hush now…. I’ll explain since you seem to have forgotten. You supply what we request. We pay you handsomely to keep our deliveries timely and without complication. This is a complication. If I do not return with our property someone else will come. This person will take what we have paid for with interest. Likely, in the form of your severed limbs.”, she breathed out with a delicate smile. There was nothing in her expression but a calm ocean. No hate, no anger. She seemed as if she was merely explaining facts. “Now…Do we have a deal?”

The Jablogian hesitated. But eventually nodded his large head and turned around to retrieve the order. Srina sighed and reached up to brush a tendril of hair behind her ear. Why did traders in the lower levels have to be so difficult? She would never let someone cut his hands off for being a greedy miser—But the Jablogian didn’t know that. She didn’t have time for his games. He returned and handed her a metal container about the size of a large fist. Srina smiled and placed it in the basket. “I’ll see you next time.”

The smile fell as soon as she walked away. If every vendor at every stop she had to make wanted to stir up trouble she’d never get home. She still needed to visit the man that sold salvaged tech and the resident Beastmaster so that she could purchase feed for her newly acquired Yorshi.

[member="Varik Ice"]

 

[Varik Ice]

Varik Ice​

Equipment: Robes​

Location: Lower Coruscant​

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Cold blue eyes darted amongst the crowd as they suddenly opened. Something had caught his attention. Where were they? Who were they? He could feel them, but he wasn't sure; in this mass of life, those with a larger footprint of the force could easily hide if they wanted to. He wasn't even sure they did want to, though. He could only blame his own lack of practice in this art for not being able to immediately track them, and he'd have to rectify that very quickly. It wasn't just the force that he felt that interested him so much, however.
He felt some kind of discipline, instincts. The kind he felt in soldiers, Jedi, even the other Inquisitors. This one was slightly different, though. Not so complicated, not so wrapped up in the force or purely drilling than the others he usually experienced. It felt somewhat deeper, instinctual. Someone who had been raised to fight, their mind honed for it as much as anything else. It frustrated him for but a brief moment that he couldn't tell who it was. He slipped into the crowd, walking as one of them while his eyes slowly panned the area, trying to find anyone that stood out; anyone who walked the way he'd expect.

It wasn't his eyes that caught what he was looking for. His ears twitched and perked up as he heard a threat nearby, promising the severing of limbs. What was unusual about the threat was that it was from no gruff enforcer or large Klatooinian, as those usually are. The voice he heard was almost sweet and smooth, his eyes looking over to see a slight girl with unusually bright hair. Now that was odd. She wasn't dressed like she was part of any crime syndicate, either.

Ice's eyes followed her as she walked away, and he studied her for a moment; he decided to test something. He began following her through the crowded streets, maintaining just enough distance and watching where she moved and looked. He wasn't following her to watch her movements or actions, but to see if she noticed him. He wasn't being obvious, but even he knew he was no master assassin. He figured she would eventually.

[member="Srina Talon"]

 

[Srina Talon]

The slender Echani was used to eyes following her. Many humanoid cultures considered her kind exceptional, attractive, and entirely ethereal. She inclined her head to those she walked by with all the grace of a little queen, silver eyes demure, and unassuming. She wasn’t dressed like a common urchin from the trenches of Coruscant because she had no need to. Srina didn’t see the point in expending unnecessary energy to make an effort to blend in when she wasn’t hiding anymore. She wasn’t running from her people or her fate. If they dared come after her now…She couldn’t be held responsible for the outcome.

To that end, if it was her family watching her now, Srina would be very displeased. Whoever was shadowing her every move was clumsy. Like a child playing dress up in their parent's armor. Not like she’d ever done that, no, of course not. The hair on the back of her neck stood on end as she moved from stall to stall in the marketplace. Sometimes she purchased some small trinket or an article of clothing but for the most part, she was just leading her little voyeur in merry circles, a tempestuous game of hide and seek.

More than anything, she was curious. The pale skinned beauty had already assessed the skill level involved and had found, at least this aspect of it, lacking. No one worth their salt, even with her awareness and force sensitivity, got caught so easily. She used any sort reflective surface to surreptitiously see behind her. She kept catching partial glimpses of a dark-haired human dressed in shades of chocolate and tea. He wasn’t Echani. He didn’t even feel particularly dangerous.

Srina moved to one of the alleyways as she often did to take a shortcut from one place to the other. For most people, the slim, grimy walkways were places to avoid. For the small Echani woman it was a place where she had the advantage. Close quarters, melee combat, was a place where few matched her. And so she stood quietly in the shadows, lying in wait, using her limited knowledge of the force to suppress her presence. Wither on purpose or by accident she waited until the man strode by her. Every cell in her body seemed to sing as her hand rose. “Draw…”, she whispered, letting a weapon appear in her hand from the realm of spirits mists. The plain silver band on her finger disappeared as the disruptor materialized.

It was a modified AY-214 combat pistol. It wasn’t designed to hold out in lengthy, distant, battles. It had a singular purpose of domination in confined spaces. When he passed her she moved behind him, delicately holding her basket, and her weapon. “Following me around was not your brightest idea this morning.”

“Perhaps you’d care to tell me why. Preferably, before I waste my power cells in your back.”

[member="Varik Ice"]

 

[Varik Ice]

Varik Ice​

Equipment: Robes​

Location: Lower Coruscant​

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​

Varik followed closely, making no real effort to hide himself; he was sure she had noticed him a dozen times over by now, so he wasn't shocked when she turned into an alleyway. Either trying to lose him or lure him, he was curious which and followed in after her anyway. As he heard the soft voice again behind him, a smirk cross his face just for a second before fading again. Lure it was then. He hadn't heard her draw the weapon, which only made him more curious- either she was much faster and quieter than even he suspected, or there was something unusual about that blaster.

"You're interesting." The voice that came from behind the hood was smooth and calm, though there was still an odd, chilly temperature that seemed to surround the man. Varik turned around to face her, taking down the hood to show his face. Even before he did that, the unusually light blue eyes on the man's face almost seemed to shine or glow in the alleyway, standing out even more against the dark backdrop of where they stood.

"Who taught you how to fight? You walk like a fighter, stand like a fighter. Don't tell me nobody. You look like you've been fighting since you were young." This was an odd venture for him. On most days, Varik would simply do his duty to the Empire, return to his quarters to eat and sleep and then repeat the same thing every other day. To take any small amount of leave and not only do that, but be curious about another like this was unheard of for him. He wasn't sure, but she reminded him of something...or perhaps someone. He supposed that may have been why she caught his eye in the first place.

Ice glanced down at the blaster, moving his hands to the side to open the cloak he wore a bit and reveal that he had no weapons on his belt. He tilted his head at her. She didn't exactly seem like the blasting from afar type; then again, neither was he. All he had were assumptions, and the curiosity was much stronger than he'd thought it would be.

[member="Srina Talon"]

 

[Srina Talon]

The response that came from her mysterious voyeur was not what she had expected. Silver eyes bore holes into the back of his hooded-head as she tried to decide whether to believe him or not. He wouldn’t be the first person to try and spin tall tales to throw her off guard. She’d been manipulated before, recently, by an incredibly powerful mentalist. Srina wanted to avoid that at all costs. Never knowing what was real and what was an illusion was enough to break the strongest of minds. The white-haired Echani hadn’t shattered—but she would never forget it.

Srina let him turn around but kept an even distance. He reached to remove his hood and her storm-ridden eyes flashed in warning. “Keep your hands where I can see them.”

The slender woman didn’t want to allow him to get close enough that he could knock the pistol out of her hand. If he moved in a way she didn’t like she wouldn’t hesitate to fan the hammer and fire. Six shots, at point-blank range, were not designed to tickle. He didn’t seem like he’d lost a few marbles so it was her hope that he would recognize the danger and remain where he was. He also owed her an explanation if he didn’t want to her to shoot him a least once out of principle. “You find me interesting…”

“So is the newest data-pad. Don’t you think your time would be better spent chasing after that versus stalking a stranger into an alley?”

He was different. Human, but changed from what she knew. His eyes were bluer and brighter than the sea. There was something she knew that she was missing. His robes, his surety of movement, despite having a disruptor pistol aimed at the most vital parts of him. It was if he knew he had little reason to fear her despite her fierce stance and threatening words. Was he force sensitive? It wouldn’t be surprising. It was certainly statistically plausible. They were caught in a silent standoff until the stranger posed his next question. Srina raised an elegantly arched eyebrow. “Have you never seen an Echani?”

Her question wasn’t rude. There was no emotion attached to it—simply a query that required a reply.

“We all learn to fight. We all walk and stand like warriors. From the very young to the very old—that is our way. It is law. I believe that the common saying is that we… Fight from the cradle.”

Srina didn’t see the harm in educating the strange man. She didn’t bring up Darth Metus, even though he was her current teacher, because not everyone was a friend to the Sith Lord. His enemies had become her own and vice versa. Their closeness was born of the will of the force and the small woman would not deny it. “…Is that all you require from me? A cultural lesson?”

He then looked at her weapon and began reaching for his robes. “Don’t.”, she ground out warningly, her dual-toned voice both high and low, as she tried to resist the urge to pull the trigger. Srina wasn’t one for fighting from afar but she had learned, through trial and error, that melee combat was no match for force abilities. Especially if they were highly trained. The very last thing she wanted to see appear from beneath his robes was a lightsaber.

When the man revealed that he had no weapons she almost snarled. Her blaster lowered, slightly, but she glared hard. Trust was not earned so easily in a world where a man did not even need hands to choke her to death. “You’re a fool. I could have shot you...”

“What do you want from me?”

[member="Varik Ice"]

 

[Varik Ice]

Varik Ice​

Equipment: Robes​

Location: Lower Coruscant​

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Echani, so that was it. Echani? He was sure he'd heard the word before - seemed unusual to her that he didn't know what one was, so perhaps they were common, but he'd seen very few like her. He continued to stare, and was able to sense the tension from her, the guarded stance she took towards him and the indignance towards how he'd responded; at least, he assumed it to be indignance. He could hardy call it misplaced, he had been the one that followed her. He didn't truly understand the ramifications of it though, at least not like most would.

"It's much to explain, but - I don't see many who learn to fight from the cradle, as you put it. For a while, I almost felt I may have been the only one in the galaxy like that." Even he would admit that the words he spoke betrayed his lack of knowledge about the galaxy and its people; he had spent what seemed like such a short time knowing there even was one. For so long, the iceball he grew up on was all there was, all that he knew. That spears and swords were the ultimate in technology. That his humans were the only humans. He almost winced at the idea that he used to genuinely believe tha.

"If I meant you any harm, you would know by now." He glanced down, before the eyes flickered back up towards her. "Truthfully, I hadn't planned that I wanted anything from you - I only wanted to know who you are. My name is Varik." It was even odd to introduce himself now, and it felt foreign to say. He was used to everyone he met having read a file on him already. Although he had convinced himself that his goals in the Empire were solely out of belief, it was a lie. He could lose himself in the Empire - who he was, what he had done. It was a more willing form of social isolation. This was one of his first forays into the 'real world'.

"May I know yours?" He didn't seem to care much of the blaster still in her hand. He understood why she brandished it, and if she fired, then so be it; he was confident he would survive. Whatever happened, he didn't go into this with any intent of a fight; one of the reasons he had left any advantages to her.

[member="Srina Talon"]

 

[Srina Talon]

“You’re staring…”, Srina drawled slowly, mirrored orbs reflecting the light blue glow of his eyes, though, without any real emotion. She couldn’t discern whether he was playing dumb with her in order to gain her trust, or if he really, truly, had never met one of her kind. If he had he would certainly know it. All Echani appeared eerily similar. He would be besotted with an undeniable sense of déjà vu.

The pale-skinned woman remained silent while the man spoke, explaining his reasoning, and ever so slowly the tension began to fade from her body. He seemed genuine. Regardless, she still held him at blaster point but that was in respect to self-preservation. “You are most certainly not the only one in the galaxy with that sort of background…You must not get out much.”

From Echani, to Mandalorians, to a few other societies in the rim, combat was a way of life. The vague ignorance in his words definitely betrayed his lack of knowledge about the galaxy. His words to attempt to placate her, to get her to lower her weapon, initially had little effect. Srina was extremely battle minded, despite her angelic appearance, and she had come to accept her place in the verse. Few approached her without wanting something. Whether it was more of what they perceived to be an attractive form, a good word with the Vicelord of the Confederacy, or help with some sort of problem, she had to remain cautious.

Her Master’s enemies had become her own and vice versa. There were many Sith Lords and Jedi that she could not hold a candle to, despite her extensive, and rather brutal training. Lightsabers and Force abilities had a tendency to be the ultimate equalizers. “Perhaps.”, she breathed, silvered eyes flickering over his form, evaluating his stance and breathing, waiting for any sign of aggression.

He introduced himself and she committed the name to memory. In turn, he asked for her own, and time seemed to momentarily still. There was an unnatural stillness about her before her chest finally rose, and she breathed, so that she could speak. “Srina. Srina Talon.”, she spoke fully, slowly, ever so slowly lowering her weapon. “What is your surname?”

She held the disruptor at her side, not completely placated, but convinced enough that she didn’t need to keep aiming for his very human heart, lungs, and kidneys. The basket that she held had begun to get heavy, full of alchemical materials, and she shifted her weight to accommodate it. Silvered eyes met his briefly before she broke the connection, trying in vain, to reconcile the vague experiences in this man, versus a generally dangerous outlook. She could feel the warrior in him; as easily as she breathed. Something about him seemed...Lost. Not directly, merely in a sense of overall self. She knew that feeling well.

“It’s strange for someone to be so…Uninformed on Coruscant. The lower levels are not safe. Are you just passing through?”

[member="Varik Ice"]

 

[Varik Ice]

Varik Ice​

Equipment: Robes​

Location: Lower Coruscant​

​

"No, I do not." Varik wasn't the type to pretend that he was, in actuality, very social or forthcoming with himself. He preferred to be on his own most of the time and handle things his way; it was what made him fit so well into his role, and it seemed that he had found his place in this galaxy. At least, for the time being. He had heard little of Mandalorians, except as mercenaries for now - perhaps that would change. He was still...getting used to there being so much space. So many planets, so many peoples.

He tilted his head out of curiosity as she asked his surname, as though it was an odd question to ask. "Ice." He wasn't sure if that was considered odd; he'd seen all sorts of surnames, after coming from a planet without them. Where he'd been from, it mattered little who you were related to except for figuring out who to help create the next generation with; he had been related to almost nobody. His thoughts drifted to home and what became of it for a moment, until he buried the feeling.

"I'm aware they aren't safe, I can handle myself. I'm here because.....well, I wanted to see it." He glanced around the area they were in, back outside where they were towards the gaggle of people walking, talking, making deals and figuring out how to just get on with their lives. It was all so strange, at least in comparison to what he was used to.

Eventually, his gaze went back to the woman in front of him, the one he was so surprised by. He didn't even seem to notice she had lowered the blaster, never missing a beat, but he did. His instincts were more than good enough for that, without having to draw attention to the fact that he noticed. "I'm still getting used to....aliens. Peoples. This whole galaxy. It isn't what I expected." He had desperately hoped when he left his planet that it would all be one, whether a tribe or empire or republic, anything. But it was all warring villages, just like home.

[member="Srina Talon"]

 

[Srina Talon]

“You should change that.”, Srina responded simply; as if changing one’s perspective on views of their current reality were oh so simple. For someone that seemed to lack basic social graces he certainly hadn’t had any trouble following her through the lower levels of Coruscant for the better part of the morning. He was lucky that the Echani was practical and not quite as trigger happy as some of her brethren. She might have pulled a disruptor on him—but he was still breathing. That was all that mattered in the end. “The galaxy is vast and wide. There are more people like us than you could ever dream.”

The white-haired beauty asked for his surname and she nodded her head, ignoring the little bit of surprise, though it wasn’t without purpose. “I see.”, she responded slowly, filing away the information for later. Knowledge was power. Srina had a tendency to collect it with a passion. From the way he moved to the way he breathed. She would know if he planned to attack her in almost the same timeframe that the decision was made.

Through the Force, she also did not miss, some well of emotion that remained indescribable. It was brief. A flicker of color and sound before this off-worlder pushed it away.

“Out of all worlds you chose to come here? To Coruscant?”, Srina questioned disbelievingly, not really sure whether he was serious, or making a joke at her expense. No one visited the lower levels of the ecumenopolis, nor ventured so close to the Crimson Corridor, without purpose. Either for goods, trade, or less savory means…Everyone wanted something. “Most people who visit chose to stay closer to the sky. Tourists tend to prefer the gilded urban sprawl over the underworld.”

Srina exhaled slowly before raising her hand that held one of her favorite weapons. She twirled it around like a gunslinger, and the disruptor, aptly named Holdin’ Aces disappeared back into the mists from whence it came. The only evidence of its existence would be the plain silver ring on her finger. As much as her instincts warned her that this man had the propensity for danger—she didn’t feel any malicious intent toward her person. “I felt that way. Once.”, she murmured, shifting the weight of the basket she held from one arm to the other. Leaving Eshan had been the hardest decision of her life.

“Walk with me, Varik Ice.”, she spoke, dual-toned voice edged with a softer quality. Now that she didn’t feel as if she were being stalked the rougher parts of her personality seemed to dull. The slender woman carried herself with so much grace, it was impossible not see that there was more, not to suspect that whom she appeared to be was not actually who or what she was. “I would like to know more about you…And it seems to me that you could use a guide through the lower levels.”

Hopefully, before he got himself killed, by following someone else into darkness.

“You may also inquire about my heritage if you so desire. As far as the Echani are concerned…They are definitely alien. Especially here.”

[member="Varik Ice"]