Graveyard Shift

[The Amalgam]

Arrived in: Corrupted Flesh (X-70B Phantom Class Yacht)

Wearing: Resistance Epidermis

Armed with: Skin Shears (Purple Double Bladed Lightsaber)

First Degree Burn (High Capacity Laser Pistol)

Second Degree Burn (Sniping Laser)



The Amalgam stared at the world of Commenor as she arrived in system.

She had been given something more interesting than her usual assassination missions for The Saaraishash. [member="Lady Kay"] had been petitioning to visit a world known as the Graveyard, a source of Stygium. Why she needed the Stygium was unknown, but given the fact she had already proven herself capable of treachery, the Empire had acquiesed to the request, and stipulated that she was to be escorted...'protected'...by a Saaraishash.

So they had sent an agent, alright. They had sent her.

She was perfectly happy, in truth, to do it. Tracking down Uri's friends in The Marksmen and butchering them slowly was pleasurable but it got boring after a while and the other directives she had been given--undermine the Queen however possible was going to be a source of fun.

They were even going to the perfect planet to screw with her...The Amalgam had studied the Graveyard and it sounded delightful! A planet drowning in the Dark Side? She was shocked and ashamed she had never gone to the place. If it was the right level of corrupt, she might even consider a permanent base there. There were multiple ways to approach this. She had only felt Kay's presence in passing, but she seemed reasonably powerful, and the vile shapeshifter loved a challenge.

Of course, as she entered the atmosphere, and neared the palace, her own corruption in the force, so potent she could taint a place with her signature if she stayed for long periods of time no doubt would start to be felt by her, and surely she had been selected also for this: If anyone had a good chance of messing with Kay it was something so corrupt its body had to be sustained with Force Drain every four weeks or so, lest its immaculate figure start to decay like spoiled sandwich meat.

She was expected, and she had studied the imperial psyche profile. She rose from the cockpit after landing, clad in her skintight, segmented, off-white combat, which hugged a petite, curvy frame, her face was as expertly sculpted as the rest of her, perfectly formed lips and nose set against a fair skinned tone, eyes a a stunning purple, whose gaze was nonetheless cold and missing something. Very black hair in a moe cut finished framing her face as she walked into her nearly all black bedroom, distinguished by a mild red floral pattern...and dozens of photos of the bounty hunter Maple Harte, with the bounty hunters real name of 'Uri' scribbled into all spaces between the photos. She didn't know why she hated her so much, only that she was to guide her to the Dark Side for both her own satisfaction and that of The Brain Demon.

Uri's bright, wet green eyes haunted her...hurt her on some personal level. She hated it and hated her. Those eyes stared from within the monster whenever she tried to sleep, and that green stare stayed in some back part of her even now, though she suppressed it and focused on her dedication to the darkness, grabbing her weapons off the armory in her room, her lightsaber, which was a hilt of dark metal inlaid with dark jewels, everyone of her weapons as tainted with the darkness as the rest of her vessel. She only took the lightsaber though, laying the rest on her bed, and left her vintage stealth vessel. It wasn't from the cold war...she wasn't that old...but it was a recreation, built to the ancient specs, maintained by the Shi'ido slavishly, as it was her home for the most part, parts replaced with specification-perfect models. The outer hull was a stark white with a red trim. Fresh blood on a bandage.

As she stepped out to view Commenor, she felt the remains of the slaughter and death that had taken place here when the Empire had invaded and smiled, drawing strength from it. She was impressed by the white palace, the rays of the sun shining off its white walls as she walked through the path to the front door, smelling freshly clipped grass. She had no ear for architecture, but she fantasized about seeing it splashed with blood and Sith symbols, so it would become a true symbol of power rather than something mere monarchies thought of as power.

She smiled unpleasantly as she saw the gray-garbed palace security.

"I'm expected by the Queen..." she said in her cold, feminine rasp, still wondering what to do with this treacherous queen even while guarding her...

 

[Kay-Larr]

The Graveyard.

A long time ago Kay was there, exploring the planet with her 'brother' [member="James Justice"] and others. Whatever happened to the man she could only guess at. More than likely he died from some disease that he got from one of the thousands of women that he slept with. Regardless, she had her own reasons for wanting to go to the planet.

Was it for Stygium? No. That was just a cover. Was it to visit her mother's crashsite and grave? No. That was another cover. There was something else that she had wanted and needed ever since Prazutis and company came to her world. And finally after weeks of trying, she had been given permission to go.

Of course that meant that she'd be heavily guarded by Sith Imperial troopers, as well as someone capable of handling her should she try to slip away. But Kay wasn't planning on escaping, wasn't planning on going out of sight. She had other things in mind.

For the journey she put on her light armour, as well as her bracer vest underneath that fueled her bracer blaster. She needed to be ready in case of anything. Fortunately she had her wedding rings on hand. After the siege, the political turmoil surrounding her marriage to [member="Veiere Arenais"] was forgotten about, and she was able to wear them in public again. If anything it was also a sign of defiance of the execution order placed on her husband's head. Her lightsaber was lost in the sealed tunnels beneath the Palace, so a simple blaster would have to do.

By the time [member="The Amalgam"] had arrived and was escorted to Kay's office, she had nearly everything packed in her satchel. There was food, spare dry clothes, water, medkit and of course, supplies for making Sapir tea. She was just making some last minute adjustments when her office door was opened for the assassin to step in. Kay didn't look up from her task. She was busy. Let them wait.

 

[The Amalgam]

The Amalgam was led through the palace. She tried not to snort at the interior. She saw the wealth. She saw the riches. Where was the power?

To think, this woman had dwelt within the Darkness once. What a shame...rejecting all that power, all that wisdom. For what? So she could attain a position at the top of her own personal food chain anyway?

The Amalgam despised royalty. She had had to literally fight her way out of the gutter in the Underworks. She had no sympathy for this Queen--you play with the big dogs, you learned to get bit. Or bite back.

Hardship. The Amalgam had learned to live in hardship so long that when real physical wealth was finally in her grasp she had come to a realization about how empty it was.

Metaphysical wealth, on the other hand...

The only thing she truly treasured physically speaking was her ship, her lightsaber, her catsuits--

The Green Eyes that haunted her sleep and enraged her.

The Shi'ido swept the thought aside. Now was not the time to indulge in a hateful obsession.

The security kept an eye on the seemingly beautiful woman, hands close to their blasters, fingers twitching too much, whether out of nerves or eagerness for her to start something she could only guess at. She didn't care what they were afraid of. Half of these so-called 'guardian', maybe all of them had lost friends and family, as they deserved for not submitting to the Dark Side. And besides, what was the use of keeping these unworthy ones around? Commenor was Sith Property now. Kay would have to be disposed of eventually. Everyone knew it. Even Kay had to know it: She was a known light adept and had betrayed the Dark Side once already...and ironically ended up at least somewhat powerful, admittedly...how much of the very nature of the Dark Side--an act of treachery against the Dark itself, a sin in the Amalgam's eyes--how much treachery could be attributed to Kay's rise to power, was something only Kay would ever be able to admit to herself.

However, the truth was this: If the Sith ever wanted her dead, there wouldn't be a security force in the galaxy that could protect her. Even now she went into the grip of the Lion's maw just to practice deception that, even if the Sith were not aware of the exact nature of her deception, the fact that they at least suspected basic deception only demonstrated one of the oldest truths in the galaxy. The first one The Amalgam had ever learned, certainly:

Never try to bullchit a bullchitter.

Finally, The Amalgam was led into the Queen's chambers. Too her credit, she didn't sneer at the disgusting presence--and potency--of the Ashla within Kay. The utter hipocrisy people like her espoused never ceased to infuriate The Dark Evangelist. She waited patiently for the Queen to finish, noting she at least had good sense in gear. High quality tech. Hers was more specialized, more an emergency option in case the Dark Side, for whatever rare reason, could not provide a solution.

The unfeeling purple eyes focused on her rings. Petty defiance through displaying a...

...strange...

...emotion that The Amalgam had no real understanding of...nor use for...why the weak resorted to such fickle, transitory emotions for 'strength' confused her. The Dark Side would claim all, eventually, and society would be, finally, beautiful

All the Galaxy was nothing but The Underworks to The Amalgam. Even here, even in this palace, it was just a gaudier Hutt Mansion.

To maintain some manner of political decorum, she waited for the Queen to speak first.

[member="Lady Kay"]

 

[Kay-Larr]

[member="The Amalgam"] didn't speak when she walked in. Whether that was some relief to her, Kay wasn't sure. Didn't the saying go to 'always be wary of the quiet ones'? There could very well be some truth to that. Many a times Kay had retreated into herself and would speak not a word in a bid to protect herself from outside forces.

And now every day proved a challenge. Every day brought her closer to her fate. Whatever that may be, she wasn't sure. But the sense of foreboding within her told her that it wouldn't be good and it wouldn't be easy. So she had to prepare, had to build up her walls and do whatever she could to protect herself, her family and her people. Did that mean to submit to the Sith Occupiers? Not completely. There was still a fraction of hope that she held within. All wasn't lost.

Kay finished packing her things and slung her satchel over her shoulder, finally looking up to acknowledge the woman. "I take it that you're my babysitter for this journey? What short straw did you draw to be stuck with this detail?"

 

[The Amalgam]

"One that was no where near as short as the straw you've drawn, your majesty, being a Queen of Light on a world owned by The Dark." the Amalgam replied swiftly and in a polite tone, having dealt with rich people in some form or another all her life. You couldn't get angry. You could not resort to vulgarity with these royal types. You could only answer cutting remarks with equally cutting ones. Bonus points if they were the truth of the matter.

"As for babysitting, look on the bright side: At least I won't enforce curfew...I'll let you stay up and watch movies!" she rasped in that cold, feminine tone, a dark smile on her face at her clearly off key humor. What would she do with this one? Just undermine? Or try to corrupt?

The challenge of trying to re-corrupt someone was too delicious to pass up. She decided to do a bit of both.

"Your Majesty, you are to be a guest aboard my yacht while I ferry you to The Graveyard...are all your things prepared? Is there anything you need to do before we go?" The currently-human-looking Amalgam asked, empty purple eyes staring into Kay's studying them. Kay's eyes had seen things and it had allowed her to grow weak. The Amalgam's eyes did not glisten with the ever present concern of a world to 'protect'...only of spreading the Dark. They did not crease subtly with the worry over all them...only narrowed as she thought of Uri Udinia's eyes and how much she hated them staring from the back of her head into her black little heart.

The Amalgam wondered what game [member="Lady Kay"] was playing at? What was she going to such a dark world and risking corruption for. Her instincts wanted to say Stygium, but surely she could not hope to hide a stygium deal of any real use from the Sith. But that's why she was here, not just to undermine her but to uncover whatever petty scheme she had enacted.

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay opened her mouth to respond in a couple of ways to [member="The Amalgam"] 's remark, but then she thought better of it. Instead she smirked and just bowed her head in acknowledgement. Planet owned by the Dark. Ha!...They were merely unwanted guests; occupiers for a short time. Although that short time could be years, the length of time would be small in the grand scheme of things. But yes, it was bad luck that put her in this position. Something that she had hoped to rectify.

The sarcasm continued to flow. Curfew was never put on Kay. Not in the same respect as the rest of the citizens anyways, for she was hardly ever off of the Palace grounds. "Well I'll hope that they are movies of my own choosing..." She could only imagine what types of movies the Sith would have in their library.

Kay shrugged her shoulders in response to the woman's questions. She patted her satchel. "I've got everything that I need right here, including my tea. Don't leave home without it." She smiled, pretending to not notice the woman's probing gaze. "Lead the way." It wasn't as though Kay knew which ship was hers. But soon she'd find out.

Every moment that she could get off Commenor was a moment that she could breathe a little easier. So of course she planned on taking advantage of that.

 

[The Amalgam]

The Amalgam smiled politely at [member="Lady Kay"], but her dead looking purple eyes had no smile within.

"Of course, your majesty. This way..."

The Amalgam smiled darkly at Kay's security as she passed by them while leading Kay out of the mansion, passing by the granduers within.

Once, she'd have killed to possess even one piece of jewelry from a place like this. Any one of of the items in here could have fed her for months. Years, even. She would have coveted its art, its statues, hung them proudly in pathetic little shrines in whatever housing she could obtain in the underworks. She would have broken arms and legs to have even one dress from a place like this. She would have treated Kay's tea like a delicacy.

But now...now it was all just objects...

...objects she suspected Kay had no real use for. How many of the chairs had she sat in? How many of its tables had she ever set a glass on.

Back when she was little more than a vagrant, the Shi'ido had a little blue plastic crate in her shack she had valued as a table. She'd put all her drinks on it. Eaten from it. Wrote on it. Talked to it. Confessed how horrible she was to it. The day it had been stolen was the day she had cried for the first and only time. And that was when she had taken revenge for the first time. And that was when she left The Underworks.

It had always been about survival before that. Never personal, the killing. Done only when cornered, when there was no easy escape route, or when the other person clearly had intent to kill her. But after that first revenge...

She supposed Kay surely still valued mere mundane objects. Her pathetic wedding rings, perhaps. But such things could never be as useful as a little blue plastic crate you could put all your stuff in whenever you'd worn out your welcome in one part of the underworks and needed to disappear to some other alley.

How much of an insect she had once been, she mused.

She took the route outside, enjoying the fresh air, the scent of grass freshly cut. The flowers that release scents that coincidentally please humanoids.

Uri's green eyes blinked in the back of The Amalgam's skull.

The sight of her ship brought a strange comfort to her.

Not a lot of people knew exactly what an X-70B Phantom Class Yacht was. It had once been a state secret in the ancient Sith Empire. Seeing one for sale, finding one...it was like seeing a unicorn. It just didn't happen. Of course, with the complete and total collapse of the ancient powers, and everyone watching the rise of new ones jockeying for a position in the new histories to be written, there was no chance of the secrets of the ancients remaining secrets.

Phantoms had never been mass produced. The Amalgam would have even gone so far as to argue it had never reallly been surpassed in terms of personal stealth vessels. But then again, like the bounty hunter she loathed, The Amalgam was a sucker for the classics.

It had once been issued only to imperial intelligence operatives in the ancient times, more ancient even then she was. The proof of its design was that even now, it could still hold its own. She knew it was going to have to be upgraded at some point, but for now it served its purpose. She knew how her master had acquired it because she had sadistically ripped out the info, along with everything else the witch they had called The Congregation had known of the Force, but even that vicious creature did not know where her own master had acquired such a rare vessel. It surely had not been made by the Modern Empire. It was also not the type of vessel well known enough, never mind the fact it was such an ancient design most imperials likely wouldn't pick it for a stealth craft. This was not to say they would not use it in a pinch-a stealth vessel is a stealth vessel after all, and no one who The Bogan chose to reward with such a craft would willingly discard it, but it definitely would not be the first choice. She theorized some well connected person, pilfering the old secrets had had it constructed from the the original specifications, likely no small feat given its rarity.

She stood in front of her yacht, pressed a control button hidden on her torso belt and the hatch opened.

"Your Majesty, I welcome you to my ship, The Corrupted Flesh. Please step aboard and we shall be on our way." The Amalgam told the Queen quietly, still working out how to best mess with her.

 

[Kay-Larr]

It was as though [member="The Amalgam"] was a droid or something, with the way that her eyes seemed to disagree with the smile on her face. But of course that wasn't the case. Still, the politeness was all just a front for something more sinister. Kay could call the whole thing off right now and just stay home. Wouldn't that be better?

No. No that'd just be the easiest thing to do. And it wouldn't benefit her or Commenor at all.

Kay clutched onto the strap of her satchel and followed the woman to the gardens towards her private landing pad, remaining silent all the way. It was going to be a long journey, so it was better to save the talking until then. Awkward silences were never enjoyable for her.

Just what kind of ship did The Amalgam have? That answer came quickly as it came into view. A ship unlike any that she had ever seen. It looked old, but hardly a hunk of junk. The ship seemed to almost have an ancient life of it's own. At least it felt that way.

"The Corrupted...of course it'd be called sonething like that." She had spoken aloud, but mostly to herself. Kay furrowed her brows as she walked in through the hatchway, looking this way and that, half expecting to be pounced on. Or maybe that was just a bit of claustrophobia. It was hard to say.

She wasn't quite sure of where to go once inside. Kay just slowed her pace and looked over her shoulder to The Amalgam. "Where will I be staying? I assume that you have guest quarters."

 

[The Amalgam]

The Amalgam smiled.

"Please follow me, your Majesty." The Shapeshifter said, leading her through the black colored passages, broken up by a red floral pattern. Reliefs of famous acts of the Dark Side in white jade were mounted on hexagonal passages lined with black, ancient wood paneling, until she stopped at a door that resembled for all the world a cameo relief. The paneling on the door was a red coral with reliefs in black of a strange, jagged black crescent surrounded by phases of the moon. She hit a switch on the side and the doors parted to reveal a circular chamber of white coral-like paneling on the walls. The ceiling was clusters of soft white lights in a shifting, uneven pattern of dips and waves. The floor was white tiles, the center of the room displayed the bed, circular and recessed into the floor, reachable by white, tiled steps. The Amalgam walked in, showing her how everything worked.

She flicked a switch on her left and the wall panels split open, revealing a small kitchen and table in their own small seperate chamber, a refrigerator, a all white tile rest room, a white paneled holo projector with remote and small library. The Amalgam seemed to have a taste for philosophy and physics, given the selection of labled datacards.

"As for films, I tend to favor cheesy action holodramas so if you don't find much beyond overmuscled men breaking backs and singlehandedly destroying space stations my humblest apologies. Is there anything else I can help your majesty with? It will be about five minutes before we lift off." The Amalgam asked of [member="Lady Kay"]. "I do not want it said I was ungracious to a guest."

Her empty purple eyes scanned the Queen. She was curious. She rarely interacted with those who rejected the Darkness after having previously embraced it.

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay was taken aback. The interior of the Corrupted Flesh was by all accounts...beautiful. There were times while she followed [member="The Amalgam"] through the corridor of the ship that she had wanted to trace her finger along the floral designs on the walls.

Stopping at the door with the cameo-like design, her jaw fell open slightly. "Such fine craftsmanship...It's really stunning." Yet when the doors opened to reveal a white room, Kay hesitated. White walls. White floors. White tiles. Nearly everything was white. Just like the insane asylum that [member="Thraxis"] had built in an attempt to break her.

Her body seemed a little stiffer, as though moving was more difficult than it should be. Kay took in a deep breath and let it out slowly, hoping to give herself the courage that she needed. This was just a ship, afterall. It wasn't the asylum. Not at all....

"No?...Action holodramas are fine. Thank you.
I'll just...make myself at home." And make herself some tea. Oh boy, would she need her tea. So straight away she set to it, walking over to the small little kitchen, pulling her tea pouch and cup from her satchel while she walked. "I could brew you some tea too if you'd like? It's Sapir."

 

[The Amalgam]

It was a happy accident the room was all white. It had been all white long before Kay had even been born. But it suited the purpose of getting under the Queen's skin.

The Game had begun.

"I would like that very much, your majesty..." The Amalgam replied, wanting to get more of a feel for what [member="Lady Kay"] was all about. The Amalgam had fixed all the arrangements for the Graveyard before even coming to this world. Kay would be well within The Amalgam's sphere of influence.

The Amalgam mostly drank water as a rule. It kept things simple health wise. But occasionally she enjoyed a cup of tea. When she had been a simple thief water was usually all she could afford, just enough to make it through the next few days.

Had the old her seen all this it would have looked straight from her best dreams. The Amalgam knew this room for what it was nowadays. A gilded cell. She knew this because this had been her room once, when being taught by The Congregation.

She didn't like thinking about her old master all that much these days. The Congregation had been a vile, cruel creature even by The Shi'ido's own admittedly corrupt and low aiming standard. It said something when the person who had taken your place hated you with all sincerity to the degree that even though she emulated you in many ways, she refused to take it all the way out of sheer disgust. The Amalgam was a cruel being because she believed that is what the Dark required to flourish. The Congregation had been cruel simply for kicks. Simply for a fascination with cruelty itself. The Amalgam thrived on it. The Congregation engorged herself in cruelty.

At least, she 'had'. Before The Amalgam had ended up killing her...

Waiting patiently for Kay to start making tea, the evil, vicious creature politely sitting at the mess table, looking beautiful decided to ask a question.

"What made you reject the Dark Side?" The purple eyed woman asked in sincere curiousity as she waited. This was the question that had been on her mind for a while. She was fascinated by the paradoxical strength of will and the pathetic act of weakness that Kay had committed. The Amalgam, once she saw that the world wasn't worth it, that it needed to be crushed so it could be made better, she had never looked back.

She was not looking to mock Kay at philosophy. That would have been the act of a fool. They could have likely talked themselves into a circle, but for now all the vile shapeshifter wanted was a simple explanation. Royalty tend to give such long winded rhetoric, and she wanted to see what Kay had told herself to make it stick, if only so she could start pulling away at the threads.

 

[Kay-Larr]

Making tea was so second nature to Kay that she could do it in her sleep. She didn't need to think about it or to focus. She knew exactly how many of the dried Sapir leaves were needed for each cup, crumbling them with her fingers so that small flakes of them lay at the bottoms. Water never took long to boil. Once the right temperature was achieved, she poured the water into the cups and stirred the leaves gently with the spoon. The water turned a green colour as the leaves dissolved in the hot water. And the smell was already taking over the room.

It was while she was stirring the second cup of tea that [member="The Amalgam"] asked her question. Kay paused, having been caught off guard. The knowledge of her Force use was a secret from most. Yet it made sense that others within the Sith ranks would be told about it.

"It wasn't right for me." Kay's words were spoken quietly. She continued stirring the tea again, keepingwatch of the cups to ensure that they had thoroughly steeped. All the while her thoughts were drawn to the past; the seemingly never-ending torture that she was put through for months in order to get her to break. Even death was denied to her and she had wanted that release so badly at the time. The training that she had received afterwards was all about murder without evidence. No mercy, no plea deals. Only pain.

She was alone when she was abandoned on Commenor, and it seemed as though everyone was trying to take everything that she had. Her trust for others was gone, stripped away by fear and pain. Yet despite the cruelty that she enacted on those that she felt threatened by, there was one that kept her grounded. [member="Veiere Arenais"] was that person. His patience and hard work drew her old self back from that tiny spot within where she had had it hidden. He had regained her trust, further enhancing the Force Bond that the two had shared. Did he know of everything that had happened? Of every murder that she had commited? No. Though he suspected it and that was enough.

Finishing with the tea, Kay brought the two cups over and set one down on the table. The other she cupped in her own hands and took that first grateful sip. The herbed liquid soothed her, enveloping her on the inside like a warm hug. That was better. She then sat down at the table and changed the subject. "Have you ever been to the Graveyard before? It's a little tough to navigate."

 

[The Amalgam]

It wasn't right for her.

The Amalgam blinked at how simple the answer was.

That was it?

She'd been caught off guard by how simple the answer was. But she wasn't all that surprised to be honest. She'd read the reports. She'd read what had been done to her new toy.

It was sloppy. Heavy handed and brutal. Not how one is supposed to be drawn to the Dark Side at all. She was still disgusted [member="Lady Kay"] had abandoned the Dark Side...but honestly after all the mistakes that had been made with this one, breaking her down when they should have been building up her ego, opening her to the idea that she didn't need her pathetic 'friends', the Amalgam found, much to own disquieting surprise, that once she got past her disgust at Kay's weakness...she could actually understand the decision...

The Amalgam would have taken a much slower approach, a patient one. Carrots instead of sticks...it had worked rather magnificently for Palpatine where Anakin was concerned.

Properly opening one to the Darkness was about seduction not bullying. You do some fethed up things to the prospect you want to turn, both for fun and necessity, but it must be subtle in its approach.

Instead, as was sadly too common among the Sith, the brute force approach had been employed and it had cost them in the end...just as it had Palpatine. (Really? Killing a man's son in front of him? What had Sidious smoked the night before that made him think that would turn out well?) How much more useful Kay would have been as a deep cover infiltraitor to Commenor. Now because of their short sightedness they were either going to have to kill her in the end and martyr her or discredit her somehow, which was what The Amalgam was working towards partly.

For a moment, as Kay set the tea down, The Amalgam briefly toyed with the question of whether or not she would have eventually chosen to reject the Darkness, had she been brutalized as much as Kay had. The thought frightened her that all it took was a little pain to make someone reject unlimited power. Would she have gone soft, as mushy, as Kay?

And yet...Kay seemed to have made her decision and never looked back, just as The Amalgam had. They strangely paralleled each other in a sense.

Kay asked her question and The Amalgam took a sip of the tea...

...she was caught off guard by how delicious it was.

That's twice now Kay had caught her off guard. Just like Howard The Pirate. Damn him. Damn him and his balloon full of pepper. She'd been sneezing that burning crap out of her nose for days after he had escaped her. Thoroughly humiliating.

"I've never been to the Graveyard, but I lived in places like it. Absolute hell holes...I think I will manage. Besides, who can say no to all that stygium?" she asked rhetorically with a smirk that made the average person want to punch her in the face.

"Certainly not a girl with a saberstaff..." she mused, taking another sip of the green liquid...

"I don't think I ever properly introduced myself. I dunno if my bosses said anything but I am known as The Amalgam..." the Shi'ido explained politely.

"You may call me 'Amy' for short. Its a rediculous nickname, but it gets the point across..."

The Shi'ido clearly lacked self awareness in this regard...

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay took another sip of her tea, noting the surprise at not running off with a long and strung out monologue of her decision to turn away from the path that a Sith Lord had put her on. Right now, given that she knew so little of [member="The Amalgam"] and what she was about, she had decided to speak information on a need to know basis. And at the present time, the woman didn't need to know.

She sipped her tea, raising a brow ever so slightly as woman tried to gain some insight as to the reason that Kay wanted to go to The Graveyard. They stygium was a cover of course, and more than likely the woman knew it too. Still, she wasn't going to take the bait. Instead she was going to ignore it.

Now was the time for introductions. Kay bowed her head at the names given for her to use. Though 'The Amalgam' was indeed a curious one. More than likely it was a code name for something. It made her wonder what her birth name was. "I haven't been told anything about who would be accompanying me. I don't get told a lot, just in case I try to use the information to try to escape. Of course escape is the furthest thing from my mind right now, for I know that if I do escape, my people would suffer for it. I must...be compliant for as much as I can. No matter how difficult that can be. You can call me Kay, by the way. There's no need for formality when it's just the two of us. I'm not your Queen, afterall."

 

[The Amalgam]

The Amalgam's cold purple eyes raked [member="Lady Kay"] over.

"I suppose we 'could' make your people suffer if you made a break for it. But that would just stiffen their resolve..."

People were stupid like that. Willing to die and fight just over the actions of one. The Empire would be doing Commenor a favor, killing this one. She'd pull her people to war just for some silly, misplaced concept of freedom. How did that serve them, her fighting? They'd forever be stuck in mediocrity without the Dark Side to strengthen their world. The stagnation of peace. A peace that would inevitably give way to disorder. And a culture that would eventually come up short against true disaster, simply for being too weak to face the threat. Too fragmented. That was what the ancient New Republic's fate had been, when the Vong had first come. It was bitterly hilarious to The Amalgam--letting everyone be independent had left them too independent to really unite except near the end, and really, if one thought about it, the galaxy had been incredibly lucky there had been such dissent within the Vong ranks to start with.

She raised her eyebrow when the Queen said she could refer to her as Kay. Such a casual Ashla follower...

Regardless, The Amalgam would take this informality for what it was worth...

"Very well...Kay..." the Shi'ido replied, taking another sip of her tea.

The Amalgam decided to probe her defenses a bit more.

"I must confess some curiosity as to why you are a queen. Most lightsiders I've met foolishly eschew that kind of power...but not you...I find it odd..."

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay blinked in surprise. So her people wouldn't be made to suffer if she had somehow escaped? She sipped her tea as she mulled that over. If she wasn't there, who would protect them? If she wasn't there, wouldn't they lose hope? Would they believe that her escape would be her abandoning them? So much could go wrong if she was to leave. The better option was to stay.

Another sip of her tea was taken as [member="The Amalgam"] started to dig for information. Kay recognized that and it made her wonder if the sole purpose of even being allowed to go to the Graveyard was to gain more intel to be used against her. No doubt in some smear campaign.

Kay shrugged her shoulders a little, as though she was indifferent to the circumstances that led her to the position she currently held. "Politics is a far more dangerous and complicated game than some constant conflict between Lightsiders and Darksiders. I've tried to escape it on more than one occasion, but it always finds a way to ensnare me. I'm good at it;
I have a strong influence on others for some reason. I can't quite explain it. It's just the way it is."

She sipped her tea, giving herself a moment to collect her thoughts before responding further. "I'm not a Jedi.
I'm not even so sure that I could brand myself as a Lightsider. I'm a politician that got her hands dirty and continues to make amends for it."

She let her thumbs trace along the rim of the cup. "Are we going to be taking off soon?"

 

[The Amalgam]

"That I could dispute, Kay. Politics is Light and Dark continued by other means. Other methods. Politics, I would argue, is the essence of Light and Dark: Weak simpering masses who need a leader and don't want to think too hard about who rules them. That's exactly how monarchies first started, I suspect. Politics is about the weak, who want to be weak and share what they were not cunning enough to take and who's nature is to always be weak and in need of ruling, and the Strong, who always, always manipulate the weak, even if the Strong are--supposedly--virtuous as their aims. But we both know what the virtuous receive in the end, for all their virtue in politics...a holiday or a street named after them, and a glossed over, watered down version of their life in a high school history book. You know what the Strong get Kay? Curses and oaths named after them." the Purple-Eyed woman said with a grin that was openly unsettling. Too wide to be normal, almost.

"Every vice gushed over in exacting detail. Whole star charts rewritten because of their movements, populations rewarded and built up or put to the sword as the Strong need. Monuments. Books, whole sections of space named after them.. Make no mistake, Kay." The Shi'ido elaborated, the smile now even wider and making her face look almost freakish. "You've been playing the Light and Dark game for quite a while now...and you are not on the side that gets monuments worth remembering."

The Amalgam rose, her smile drawing back to normal, pleasant purportions. "We shall set off immediately. Thank you for the tea, Kay. If you feel the need for some Sabacc while in transit, I have had wondrous experiences cleaning people of hard earned credits in a thousand different dives. I've never played royalty, though..."

The shapeshifter bowed and strode out of the all white luxury quarters, going to the cockpit and lifting off. Putting in the coordinates and rocketing off to hyperspace she put it on autopilot and headed to meditate in her own quarters, Uri's green gaze coming back to stare from the inside of her head...

It was the most beautiful starship she had ever seen. Almost an arrow shape. More a crossbow bolt.

She saw it from the end of a faint tunnel. An eye of sulphur from a place of deepest shadow. Hiding. Waiting. A third eye of evil behind normal eyes.

The vision of the ship grew closer. Sleek. Black. With red viewports. A vessel restricted to royalty, normally. But this one was more special still. For she could sense who flew it. No useless Queen enabling a butcher...

It was her.

In the deepest shadow, when the fiend had slept...she had dreamt, dreamt of a machine of precision in the shape of a young woman with brown hair and green eyes like small emeralds, who killed with a coldness and cunning that sent shivers of strange pride through the dreaming monster.

And now he she returned, from her latest and greatest conquest so far. She'd gotten her own ship...impressive...

...Most Impressive...

The Black Chromium J-Type 327 Nubian known as the Silent Erika set down on a field of green grass and soon stepped Uri, bleeding and bruised, but triumphant, her purple robes torn at the shoulder.

The monster awoke fully behind normal eyes as Uri smiled at her...

The Amalgam snapped out of the memory, holding out her arm to reach for Uri.

"Let's get those bruises cleaned, Uri...wouldn't want you to get an infection..." the shapeshifter spoke mindlessly, still gripped by the memory somewhat. But it was wearing off. The rage returned. She stormed off to her room.

Oh, how she hated Uri Udinia...

[member="Lady Kay"]

 

[Kay-Larr]

In some ways, [member="The Amalgam"] was correct in her views about politics. It was a battle between Light and Dark, however it was much more complicated than that. Where the battles between the Sith and Jedi centered mostly on themselves and the Force; politics dealt with much more than that. It wasn't just Force users. It encompassed everyone, including sentient droids.

And then Amy went into the topic further with a look on her face that Kay found unnatural and slightly disturbing. It was unsettling to say the least. But at least she had her tea. She brought the cup up and had another grateful sip from it.

Did Kay want to be remembered through history? In some ways...yes. Did that make her a bad person? No. It made her human. Everyone wanted to be special in some way. "Heroes get remembered too...." Those words were spoken under her breath, barely above a whisper. What was Amy sent to her for? To make her doubt herself? Question herself? Or was she just crazy?

Kay had been held in a make-shift insane asylum created and funded by the Hutt Cartel in an attempt to break her. They tried to convince her that it was for her own good and that the Force didn't even exist except for in her own mind. Enemies of hers in the Cartel had parts to play in it as well, yet she had still managed to cling to reality. Hope helped her with that and kept her grounded.

And now she sat in an all white room, similar to the types of rooms within that asylum with a woman that made her question what she knew and how she perceived the order of the Galaxy.

A breath of relief as the woman was choosing to leave. "I haven't played Sabacc yet. So I'm afraid that it wouldn't be very fun for you...."Besides, Kay was already taking a gamble on this venture. It made her wonder what it was going to cost her in the end....


As Kay was left on her own, she curled up in her chair, drawing her knees up to her chest as she wrapped her arms around them. She still cradled the tea cup in one hand, sipping it on occasion while she stared blankly ahead. The ship was in transit already, she could feel that. So it was too late to back out now. "Just what have I gotten myself into now...." She swallowed back her emotions. Maybe all that she needed was patience to get her through.

 

[The Amalgam]

Arriving in: The Graveyard (http://starwarsrp.net/topic/98715-graveyard/)



Uri Udinia smiled, her green eyes having the unwavering attention of the monster hiding behind normal eyes, a black gloved pair of hands applied a clean cloth soaked in disinfectant to the cut on her cheek before applying bacta.

The Monster wanted to talk to her, was eager to talk to her. Its black little heart sang to talk to its heir. This form had served its purpose. It was of no further use. Nor was the false mind that held it as is. The monster would kill the falsehood it had left temporarily in charge and then talk to her...talk to her heir for the first time. It was positively giddy.

Except...

...It couldn't move.

It began to struggle and thrash, commanding the false persona to die as it had with so many others.

But the Lie would not obey. It could not even hear her. It instead could only struggle and thrash and scream in a black void, desperate to just SPEAK to her, not even sure what it would say.

"Uri..." it whispered in the darkness of its now-prison, longing to corrupt its heir...longing just to talk to her.

"Uri..."



"Uri..." The Amalgam said mindlessly, opening her eyes from her meditation sitting in the Lotus position in the middle of her Bedroom, amidst all the photos of her yet-to-be-heir.

She was looking haggard, her face having 'melted' from loss of concentration due to the intensity of the memory. She quickly realized this and focused, rearranging her face to its usual beautiful features. Her ship computer pinged her. They had gotten close but not too close to the system. This was tricky piloting. But the Amalgam, like Uri, was a fantastic piloting. She had read the dossier on this planet. Beautiful. Violent. Dark. Anything so awash in darkness could not be won easily. This was a good thing. If it could be won easily, it would not be interesting.

If Uri were not so dead set on opposing her, The Amalgam might have actually lost a little respect for the shadow. But no. Uri was a fighter.

The Shi'ido hated her. But admired her also. This contradiction in internal opinion infuriated her.

Plotting a course was not easy. The gravitational forces were a serious threat and she felt her ship shudder as she came into the system, plotting an optimal path where the pull of the black hole and near by stars would have the least effect on her ship yet still bring her in range to land on the planet itself. It was risky still. Any deviation could put the vessel in extreme danger...this planet was true to The Bogan...it did not tolerate failure. Only the worthy could reach it--

The thought stilled her. [member="Lady Kay"] and her brother had a hand in rediscovering this wonder.

Did that mean Kay was worthy?

If Kay was worthy what did that make the Shi'ido? Simply following in the footsteps of a traitor to The Bogan?

"Walking in the footsteps of a heretic...how perverse..." she hissed under her breath as the shuddering on her vessel grew more intense. She steered carefully, finally managing to intercept on its orbit and then descend, struggling to stay on her flight course. The effects soon lessened and after re-entry, the ship soon hit snow, on course for the colonies.

The Amalgam pinged Kay. "We have arrived in this blessed sanctum of darkness. I've made reservations in an old renovated fortress...certainly can't have royalty cavorting with cannibals and inbreds in the frosty wastes or mushroom ridden hells now can we?" she chuckled unpleasantly over the intercom.

 

[Kay-Larr]

The shudder of the ship woke her up immediately. Unlike [member="The Amalgam"] , Kay had spent some of her journey asleep in the bed provided for her. It was an easier way to pass the time, as well as an escape from the nightmare that she was in.

And what a nightmare it was. The bird stuck in a guilded cage was a horrible scenario to be in. Every move, every word both spoken and written was watched. Only her thoughts were spared. Only in sleep did she have any sense of freedom. How long that was to last, she wasn't sure.

Kay sat up in the bed, feeling the movements of the vessel as Amy piloted it down. Her stomache waited for the familiar lurch of a sudden fall, but it didn't happen. At least not to any hard extent. Her fingers still clutched the blanket, the knuckles going white with the tension.

After some moments, the shuddering stopped and Amy's voice was heard. The Colonies? Oh lovely. That was not where she had intended on ending up. But it will have to do. For now....

Kay let go of the blanket, rubbing the bridge of her nose with her forefinger and thumb. Had Amy guessed what she was there for? It wasn't likely. Hopefully there was enough distractions for the woman. "Blessed sanctum of....if you say so."

She got to her feet and grabbed her satchel so that it could be slung over her shoulder. "Royalty or not,
I'm going to go where I'd like to go. It'll be an adventure."