Private Empty Glass

[Thal Mantis]

CANTONICA
TSE SPACE

​

The place had a special charm, a certain smell- a lot of smells, actually.

Carbon scoring on the walls from drunken blaster fights, the rust-scent of blood from bar brawls. The Troopers passing by and into the doorway were not there to check IDs- but simply there to make sure that tonight, no automatic weapons were being fired indiscriminately into the passing general public. After their brief check, the Stormtroopers left. They knew the reality of the cantina- who frequented it, and who was in it.

The two ugliest words, or best words, depending on who you asked.

Bounty Hunters.

Some of them were guild-certified killers, some of them were up and comers, some of them were nobodies. Most of them, in the room- were simple low-lifes hungry for the catch of a lifetime: a Jedi. Not just any Jedi, but this Jedi in particular-

Kyra Perl .

She was here on her own business, and the Bounty Hunters had drawn her into a trap. For now, every blaster in the bar was pointed at her. A small murmur of discontent and debate came around- was there one person to collect it all, or was a group collective effort better? The obvious smell of betrayal started to stink, and soon enough, blasters started going into both hands, pointed at the Jedi, and at each other.

All but one.

He was heads and shoulders above most- his armor a dull gray, almost black. A practical man, at a glance. Equipment pouches hung at his waist, and a heavy blaster was strapped to his wrist. It was a real feat of strength to hold one- another to use it. The Jedi in the center of the room, who had been lead her under false pretenses and now fell into a trap of monumental proportions, got a nod. A familiar nod.

A Bounty Hunter recognized the armor.

"Preliat?"

As soon as the attention in the room, the space of seconds between when they looked at her, from each other, to him- the large brute lashed out, sending one of the Bounty Hunters into the center of the room with a hard kick, before turning his blaster on his wrist, and then withdrawing a disruptor pistol from his side, and opened fire. The repeater on his wrist cut down a good number of them, while the disruptor took care of several at a time. The blasters ripped around the room, so much so that friendly fire- perhaps some taking advantage of the chaos to remove their competition.

But after a few, violent, loud moments, there stood only the larger man and the Jedi. He dropped his weapons, having cleared the room effectively, efficiently, and with lethal precision- and a violence that Kyra was familiar with. In fact, everything about him seemed familiar.

He reached up to his chin, removing the helmet, placing it one the table near him. Long blonde hair- but piercing blue eyes.

"Never took you for the one to leave the Jedi- much less to end up here-"

He looked around, cautiously.

"Among all this filth."

​

 

[Kyra Perl]

Kyra didn't pull her saber, the scene dissolving around her in single beat. She had walked into a set up. Of course. She remained seated, her once lively gaze trained tiredly on the familiar form.

"Thal."

The slight glimmer of a shield blinked out of site, her guard lowered to the jedi that had cleared the room for her. Or was he sith now? She sighed heavily, no wide-eyed look tossed around the room-- no horror-- Thal was only leveled her usual exasperation as she stood from her seat.

"It wouldn't be such a mess if you didn't just slaughter everyone? I needed him talking." She knelt by the bounty hunter at the center of it all, his prone form hidden under a wash of metal. Whatever, she left his identity to remain a secret, shoving him over and going for his pockets instead. Her metal hand glinted as it dug in, a new addition to the girl he had once chased through an inn.

"Cover the door."

 

[Thal Mantis]

She wanted me to not be what she'd become. I could see it, that fire burning in her. I did not want it to consume her- like it did me.

Thal did just that, literally covering the door mostly with his body- just by standing there, by virtue of mass, anyone would more than likely not come in.

Sad eyes, blue as sapphires- drifted over to her hand. Thal pressed a few buttons on the console near the electronic door, sealing it.

"Perhaps next time I will let them shoot you, then help you."

That was new for Thal- sass.

Same as new was for him, there was new for her- her hand. Losing a limb was not an easy thing to recover from. Cybernetics were advanced- but it was hard, if not impossible, to truly replace what was lost. Thal gently crouched next to Kyra, removing the crushgaunt from his hand- his father's, and placing a gentle hand on Kyra's still-remaining organic forearm.

"This won't end how you want it to end."

The knowing statement, the way he said it- so simply, yet so honestly. He'd caused enough pain trying to seek his revenge, his vengeance. She did not want to be on the path that he was. It never ended well.

Kyra Perl

 

[Kyra Perl]

"Yes, well you've just assured that." She shrugged off the touch, grunting as she flipped the man over to gain access to his back belt pocket. She pried a small device out, the small thumb drive tucked quickly into her pocket. A bit of her tension left her shoulders at that, the body released and allowed to flop back onto it back.

"What are you doing out here?"

She didn't look up at him, metal fingers prying at the communicator bolted at the body's wrists. A cringing sound gave way to the device being ripped off. She shoved that into her pocket too, hair sticking to her face as she finally looked up to scan the area.

Anything else?

She stepped over the body, leaving it there for the man she had seen nod to the body hunter when he entered. A close friend? There was always a trail. She repeated the process, striping the body of its tech.

Thal Mantis

 

[Thal Mantis]

I knew that pain. I knew that hatred. I knew it all too well. That's why I didn't want her to know it.

"You're not very good at hiding."

Bluntness ran in the family.

As absent as his father was.

"I know what you're doing out here. But you're not going to find what you're looking for."

Blue eyes became sad, hardened with the reality of it all.

"She's not going to be the same as when she left. You know what they do to them when they snare their victims."

He dropped to a crouch, to be level with Kyra as she rifled through the pockets of the deceased.

"I heard what she did to Tulan- she needs more than just you to pull her away from what she's in."

Thal turned his head to the door, hearing the sound of commotion. Sith Troopers were called again- by the angry voices he heard boasting and grousing.

"We have to go."

Kyra Perl

 

[Kyra Perl]

S L A P

She seethed, her nostrils flaring as she glared at Thal with the anger of a thousands suns. "You. Don't. Know. Anything." She accused, each word sticking between her teeth. She looked ready to unleash on him further, but the commotion grew louder, forcing her into action. She stood stiffly, turning and heading for the back door with calm, confident steps.

What he did wasn't her business, though she sure wouldn't mind slapping him again. Movement collided into the front door, the lock holding the arrivals out. For now. She keyed at the backdoor but was met with a flashing red light and firm beep. From behind the bar, she heard a shuffle. Her attention swiveled to a bar keep, ducking out of sight.

"Open the door."

"I-I can't do that."

"Open the door or I'll pry the code from your mind myself," she bluffed. Sorta. "It's not pleasant. For you."

The figure fell painfully still ... then slowly popped up and took an unwilling step to her.

Thal Mantis

 

[Thal Mantis]

What hurt her, hurt me.

The slap went mostly unnoticed by the man who once was used to kill for sport and spent nights and days in constant combat. Though, the expression on his unarmored face was something that she'd rarely seen in all of her days knowing Thal Mantis, the Deathless-

Sadness. Hurt.

She'd hurt him more than physically with that slap- but there was a pressing matter at hand, the intrusion at the door.

A (somewhat) gentle hand rested on Kyra's shoulder, before Thal stood over the cowering barkeep, whom he had expertly not hit with his barrage of violence.

"She's very cranky- forgive her."

He helped the aging man to his feet.

"Can you help us get out of here? We won't bother you ever more once we're gone."

Thal turned the man to the door, who seemed to relax, and Thal turned away from Kyra, gently leading the elderly man to the door.

Thal was suddenly charming.

That was new.

A few inputs from a wrinkled finger, and the back door slipped open, and Thal gestured out into the alley, before guiding (see: dragging) Kyra out into the dimly lit streets. Passing patrols, local security, and ne'er-do-wells began to converge at the front of the bar.

"I know a few things- that if you keep walking down this road, you won't like where it ends up. And neither would anyone you've known or ever will know that is in their right state of mind. Take it from the son of Preliat Mantis- revenge gets you nowhere.".

He placed a gentle hand on Kyra's arm.

"You can't save everyone, Kyra. I wish I could- but you know you can't."

Kyra Perl

 

[Kyra Perl]

Kyra shoved him back, her cybernetic pulsing with more strength her than small form could carry.

"I didn't ask for your help!" She glanced upwards, her fingers clenching. The light above them crunched, going out and casting them in further darkness. "Did it even occur to you that I might have wanted them to take me in? I'm not some helpless child, Thal. I'm a Jedi. I know what I'm doing."

Yet near a year back that hadn't been the case. Kyra had gotten well in over her head and he had been forced to see her out alive. So much seemed to have changed since then. For both of them.

The irony of his words did not surpass her. In fact, they made her angry. She nearly turned away, only to stop and half turn back to him, leveling bitterly.

"I'm not just going to sit around while the rest of you wait for the galaxy to fix itself. You might have given up on the place, but I'm not giving up on her. You can take your pretty words and shove them up your ass, I don't want to hear it."

She turned from him, a flurry of red and pink as she went to leave him where he stood.

 

[Thal Mantis]

"I'll be sure to leave you to die, one of my only friends, especially you-"

Thal stopped, collecting himself. Now was not the time for those thoughts.

"If they got to you, they would torture you, they would turn you like they did your sister. Or worse, simply kill you."

A sad, passive facial expression dawned on Thal, before he spoke again.

"I wish she was here too, Kyra. But this isn't the way to get her back. You won't like it where you end up."

He stood up for a moment, breathing in.

"Kyra, it's not too late- there's still good to be done. Your sister and your are two strands of the same thread. She will come back to you, and you will see her again. But seeking her out like this- will only lead you to ruin. I don't want you to be like my father, or me. This can end here, tonight. You know it can."

He outstretched a genuine hand-

"Come home, we can go back together."

Kyra Perl

 

[Kyra Perl]

"You don't get it, do you?" She uttered, her voice tight as she she turned.

"This isn't about me. None of it is. Nida is out there. Nida is suffering. Look around. Do you see anyone else giving a damn? Sith don't just come back into the light. This isn't just a matter of time." She took a step forward, her finger jamming into the ground as she punctuated her point.

"Every day I feel her slip further. I just can't go back and wait for her, Thal, don't you see? Soon enough there will be nothing to wait for, and then what?" She demanded, her wounds catching with emotion.

"I have to kill her?"

"No."

A tear slipped unbidden from her fierce features, the youngest Perl resembling Romi Jade more than anything in that moment.


"I would sooner die than let her reach that point. It is my job as a sister and a jedi to see this through. This isn't about me."

She paused, wiping her face clear with a furious swipe. "Why don't you swallow some of your medicine and return to my sister. If not tomorrow, then soon, Romi dies too."

But he wouldn't know that, would he? He was awol for too long.

"I've already said my goodbyes to one sister. I'm not doing it for another."