Private Heart of Gold

[Starlin Rand]

The Zabrak blinked, glanced at Isaia, then gulped. “Uh, on second thought, you can go right on through. Just, uh… don’t stay too long.”

He moved out of the way. Bamboozled, his fellow gang members followed his lead, parting the sea of bodies to allow Starlin and Thesh to pass.

Starlin looked over at Thesh questioningly, but didn’t say anything. “Uh, well, thanks,” he said to the thugs before walking past them.

“What was that all about?” he muttered to Thesh as they made their way down the street. Did he even really want to know? Sometimes Starlin forgot that Thesh was a Sith, with power and abilities that were far more violent than what he had been taught by the Jedi. For all he knew, he might’ve scrambled the thug’s brains…

Reaching the door to Smokey’s place, he raised a hand to knock on the door. A greasy-looking Twi’lek woman in a tank top answered. “What’s a couple of nice-looking boys like you here for?” she asked, peering at them. “Shouldn’t you be in school or somethin’?”

“Uh, we’re here to return some of Smokey’s product,” Starlin said. His mouth suddenly felt dry now that he was finally here. “Rhys was supposed to sell it, but… yeah. I’m returning it for him, since Smokey has sent his men to kill Rhys.”

She chomped on a stick of gum, watching him, then said, “Wait here.” Closing the door, she left them sweating.

Arcturus Dinn​

 

[Arcturus Dinn]

Thesh was initially surprised it worked so well, before he remembered how important secrets were to some people. He himself didn't really have many, what was there to keep hush hush about? Whatever his Master wanted to know he could rip right from his mind if he wanted to.​

​

Still he didn't look a gift horse in the mouth and hurried on past the gang alongside Starlin. Only when they were a suitable distance away did he even think to answer his friend's question.​

​

"I erm, just had some dirt on him" he offered with a shrug, "Seems he didn't want the others knowing." All the better for them.​

​

As they came upon the door in question, Thesh slowed and stood a little bit back unsure of where he was meant to be exactly. This wasn't his realm, he knew nothing about narcotics nor those who peddled them, but he did remain close enough to be of use to poor Starlin should anything go... awry.​

​

Starlin Rand ​

 

[Starlin Rand]

"How did you get the dirt, though?" Starlin whispered after the Twi'lek woman had gone back inside. "Did you, like... rip that info out of his mind?"

Drain Knowledge, it was called. A painful and humiliating Dark Side ability.

Arcturus Dinn​

 

[Arcturus Dinn]

Thesh's eyes widened and he hastily shook his head.​

​

"Chaos, no" he assured his brother, as though the very idea disgusted him, "Just a little trick that was used on me, erm... back when I was, you know, a slave." He frowned to speak that into existence, frowned to think on it, but it seemed as though Starlin was genuinely looking for an answer.​

​

"Make them think you know something, then read their minds while they fret over what it could be. Chances are, they'll unknowingly give the best kind of answer, tell on themselves." He shrugged, mostly for his own sake. He needed some level of apathy to deal with the memories.​

​

Starlin Rand ​

 

[Starlin Rand]

“Oh.” That was a lot less horrific than Starlin had thought. In fact, it sounded like something the Jedi had taught. He sobered at the mention of slavery. Thesh had revealed as much to him not long after they first met, but they hadn’t really brought it up since then.

“You… Somebody used it on you?” he asked quietly. “Why? Weren’t you just a kid?” What secrets could a child be privy to that a Sith would need to subtly read his mind?

Arcturus Dinn​

 

[Arcturus Dinn]

Thesh looked away awkwardly, then shrugged. Apathy was becoming harder to uphold, but that didn't stop him from trying anyway. Better that than succumbing to tears, nobody wanted to see that. He exhaled through his nose, stuffed his hands into his pockets, and fixed his gaze on a spot on the ground where someone had discarded and trodden down gum.​

​

"They... I guess they wanted me to know that... Nowhere was safe. Even my mind wasn't a sanctuary, they'd know if I even thought something akin to, erm... disloyalty? If I tried to lie, or hide, or..." Another shrug, this one harder to force. "They had no issues harming me physically, what's mentally next to that? I probably deserved it anyway." That last statement was a mumble, and Thesh seemed to shrink in on himself to utter it.​

​

That's what they'd always told him. It was his fault, he deserved everything he got, he was nothing, would always be nothing, and that was simply the way of things. Ground down until he couldn't remember anything which came before, until he had no thoughts or hopes for the future. 'til all he knew was that monotonous existence.​

​

He looked back up, sucking in a breath as he did, and looked to the door. "Hope everything's alright" he said, looking to change the subject.​

​

Starlin Rand ​

 

[Starlin Rand]

Starlin remained silent, lending a sympathetic ear to Thesh's troubles. He didn't really know what else to do. All the events Thesh was describing were in the past, and Starlin hadn't been there to witness them, let alone do anything to stop his... friend's suffering.

Thesh was his friend now, wasn't he?

"I probably deserved it anyway."

"Whoa, hey, what the feth?" Starlin shook his head. "You didn't deserve to be enslaved in the first place, man. Whatever you did, you definitely didn't deserve having your mind violated by some schutta on a power trip. Nobody deserves that. I mean, you were just a kid!"

He wasn't angry, or at least it was clear his fury wasn't directed at Thesh, but at the people who had hurt him. The twisted, wicked people who had made him think this way.

Just then, the door opened. "Smokey says you can come in," the Twi'lek said. "But no weapons."

Glancing briefly over at Thesh, Starlin said, "Okay," and began to disarm. He hadn't brought his lightsaber or shoto, not wanting to draw attention to the fact that he was a Jedi, but he had stuffed a blaster pistol down the front of his pants. He handed the weapon over, and after she scanned the both of them, the Twi'lek stepped aside to let them pass.

Waiting for them in the shag-carpet living room was a posse of armed guards, a couple of attractive women, a few random people who seemed to just be hanging out there... and a cloud of gas that appeared to have glowing red eyes. Smokey was a Filar-Nitzan, go figure.

"Stop right there," Smokey ordered. "Put the goods on that table over there. No funny business."

Starlin began to unload all the drugs onto the table. Rhys' supply consisted of a whole lot of marcan herb and a few remaining bags of spice. He also handed over the credits Rhys had given him, and all of his own pocket money in hopes that it would be enough to get them out of this scrape.

"What happened to the rest of it?" Smokey demanded.

"Rhys is an idiot," Starlin replied. "He probably either got high off his own supply, or spent the money on more drugs."

"Idiots get killed out there, you know."

Starlin sighed. "Will you call off your men? The poor feth is scared chitless. I think he's learned his lesson." Not to do business with a bloke named Smokey, that is.

The Filar-Nitzan hesitated, then said, "Absolutely not. This isn't even half of what he owes me. If he's that incompetent, I'd be doing the other bosses a favor by offing his ass. Say, Starlin Rand, right? You seem like you've got a pretty good head on your shoulders. Would you like a job?"

Yeah, reveal that you're going to kill your employee, then offer me a job. "No thanks. I'm not in this life anymore, and besides, I wouldn't do business with you even if I was. Your laced herb almost killed my friend here." He gestured to Thesh.

Smokey chuckled. "Street trash like you never get out of the game. Not completely, anyway. But fair enough. Sorry about your friend."

One of the guards suddenly seized Thesh by the arm and pressed a blaster to his head.

"Now, where's Rhys?" Smokey demanded. "I know you must know where he is. Cough it up, or your friend gets a particle beam facial."

Arcturus Dinn​

 

[Arcturus Dinn]

Before he could say much in response to Starlin's passionate retort, wherein he refuted all that Thesh had to say insofar as blame was concerned, the door opened and they were told to hand over any weapons. Thesh's eyes widened, and he held up both hands, both empty hands, and shook his head. "I don't have anything" he swore, even as Starlin revealed the gun he'd been, erm, packing.​

​

Thesh hadn't lied, when he was scanned there was nothing found on his person. He slunk in after Starlin, suddenly feeling the severity of the situation they had found themselves in, and blinked at the sight of the gaseous entity named Smokey.​

​

"Not very original" he mumbled quietly to Starlin, a need to break some of the tension he was feeling rising within him.​

​

They were halted, Starlin was made to dump the goods and any credits he had on him onto the table, and on instinct Thesh checked his own pockets and pulled free a few more to add to the pile. His eyes drifted this way and that as the pair exchanged words.​

​

Then he was grabbed, and a blaster was being pressed to his temple. Thesh paled, swallowed, and fixed his eyes on the back of Starlin's head. He knew first hand how hard his brother had fought to find his feet again, to shrug off his past, knew the effects his selling had once had on Jen even if it was only by witnessing the fear she had whenever Starlin left the house.​

​

"I'll do it" he hastily interjected. Rhys seemed like an idiot, but that didn't mean he deserved to die, and nor did Starlin need to be dragged back down. "I'll get you the credits. B-But, then you leave Rhys, and Starlin, you leave them alone..."​

​

He could feel his heart racing so rapidly he felt as though he might throw up for a second time.​

​

Starlin Rand ​

 

[Starlin Rand]

"I'll do it."

Starlin shut his eyes, his expression pained.

"I'll get you the credits. B-But, then you leave Rhys, and Starlin, you leave them alone..."

“You talk like some posh kid,” Smokey remarked, unimpressed. “You’re not cut out for this, ginger.”

“Oh, he’s hood enough,” Starlin said with a sigh. “Trust me.”

There was a few moments’ pause, then the guard abruptly released Thesh. “I’ll believe it when I see it,” Smokey said. “You have 24 hours to get me what I’m owed. Best get to hustling.”

With that, the two were hastily ushered out of the building and back out onto the street. Starlin grabbed his blaster as it was tossed out after them, and angrily shoved the weapon back into his pants.

“Why did you do that?” he asked Thesh. “I could’ve talked him down, or tricked him, or something. Hell, even shooting our way out would’ve been better than you selling yourself to Smokey! For once, I wish you had done the Sith thing and killed everyone in that room! Anything but this!” He kicked a bent tin can with the toe of his shoe out of frustration, fumbling with his cigarettes.

Arcturus Dinn​

 

[Arcturus Dinn]

"I said I'd get you the credits" he retorted, before shutting up as Starlin quipped up. Probably best he didn't say the next thing he was going to, or he would likely have been extorted far worse. Instead he nodded his head, and felt the blaster removed from his temple. "How much?" he asked.​

​

When the total was given he felt a pit opening up in his stomach, a lump in his throat, but a deal was a deal. He hurried out of there once given leave to do so, and once he was alone with Starlin again he found the Jedi angry, kicking trash cans and raising his voice. Thesh lowered his gaze for a moment, looking as though he was a child again. Certainly he felt like it.​

​

He waited until they'd gone a decent ways from Smokeys before he actually spoke up his plan.​

​

"I have the credits" he confessed, stuffing his hands back into his pockets. He still refused to look at Starlin. With all the small bits of work he'd been doing around the apartment, he had to be funding it somehow. Only doing it in slow increments so that Jen didn't realize what exactly he was trying to do for them.​

​

She seemed a woman with a prideful streak.​

​

"I, erm... Where's the, uh, nearest IGBC building..?"​

​

Starlin Rand ​

 

[Starlin Rand]

Smokey named a figure which was astronomical for a poor kid with Starlin’s background, but would hardly even make a dent in the fortune of Dorian Harper. “Have fun,” the Filar-Nitzan said mockingly as they departed.

"I have the credits."

Starlin stopped his raging at once, turning to face Thesh with raised eyebrows. “You do?”

"I, erm... Where's the, uh, nearest IGBC building..?"

“Seriously?” Starlin blinked. He was sorely tempted to ask where the money was coming from and how Thesh had gotten it, but at the same time, he had a feeling he wouldn’t like the answer. Assuming Thesh was even willing to tell him. “Not in this part of town. We’ll need a speeder…” Which Starlin did not have. “We could take a cab, I guess.”

Arcturus Dinn​

 

[Arcturus Dinn]

Thesh couldn't keep a sickening feeling from dominating his stomach. Butterflies and nausea and a deep, neverending pit, had all begun to form in the minutes following his decision to use funds given to him by Darth Empyrean for such means. Smaller amounts could be taken quietly from withdrawal sites, but for this amount of credits? He'd have to give his location away.​

​

Even now, before anything could come from it, he felt tears springing up. This was it, wasn't it? The end of the line. Maliphant would know how to find him, and whether his Master would come to drag him back to Korriban, reach out, or not, didn't matter to the boy. By staying he'd be putting Starlin and his family in danger.​

​

His shoulders hunched, head remained down.​

​

"Y-Yeah" he mumbled, "Erm, let's find a cab then."​

​

It wasn't difficult to flag one down here, it was Coruscant after all, and together the pair shot across the Cityscape toward the Banking District. Thesh was quiet the entire way, wouldn't look up from his hands. What a fool he was, for thinking he could start anew here. For thinking that he'd somehow broken the cycle. A couple of tears fell, and he subtly brushed them away in hopes that they wouldn't be seen.​

​

When the vehicle stopped he handed over the last of the credits he'd squirreled on his person, and slipped out into the remarkably clean street. The IGBC tower stood before them, one of the tallest buildings on the planet and certainly the tallest in the district. It wasn't until he reached the doorway that he realized what he was wearing wasn't exactly, well, up to scratch. He was halted by the doorman, told to go back the way he came.​

​

Reaching into his back pocket for his wallet, he opened it and flashed a specific card. The doorman's eyes widened, and he hastily stepped aside. "Oh, forgive me young man. Come, come, I'll fetch the manager."​

​

Thesh did not, could not, look at Starlin as they made their way inside, hurried past the queue of people waiting to be seen and led up to one of the executive suites while they waited the arrival of the manager. "Help yourselves to anything. Oh, and Mister Harper had a small wardrobe tailored for you. You'll find it by the bathroom, Sir."​

​

"Thank you" the boy whispered.​

​

Drinks, snacks, places to lounge, a huge holotv, and even a plush bed. Thesh ignored all of it and wandered over to the wardrobe in question, opening it up and peering through the various suits in search of something a little more... casual.​

​

He huffed out a breath, closed the wardrobe, and put his back to it. Then he slid down to the floor, and put his head in his hands.​

​

Starlin Rand ​

 

[Starlin Rand]

Starlin stayed relatively quiet during the ride to the bank. He was vaguely aware of Thesh’s lowered spirits, but he didn’t see the tears. Didn’t understand the depths of the other boy’s sorrow, or what this all meant for him.

Once they arrived, his attention was taken up by the majesty of the IGBC building. It was massive even compared to the other starscrapers of Coruscant and glittering with wealth. Starlin had been exposed to treasures in tombs, and he was no stranger to finery, but even he was overwhelmed by this level of in-your-face opulence.

“You… They know you?” Starlin asked, trying to catch a glimpse of the card Thesh briefly flashed to an employee. “How?”

They were led to what was basically a luxury apartment suite. Starlin continued to stare, his eyes darting wildly from one thing to the next, the holo, the food, the big ass bed. He reached for one of the snacks, then pulled his hand away without taking anything. Suddenly he didn’t feel hungry.

He was slowly beginning to piece it all together. This was all tied to Thesh’s past with the Sith. But did that mean the IGBC was Sith? Did it mean his master was in here somewhere, one of the higher-ups running one of the galaxy’s biggest banks?

“Mr. Harper,” he said, turning toward Thesh. He stood over by the wardrobe, searching through various suits of clothes. “Mr. Harper is your master.” Never mind that he didn’t know who Mr. Harper even was.

Arcturus Dinn​

 

[Arcturus Dinn]

Thesh did not open his mouth again until he was sat on the ground and Starlin was questioning him about Mister Harper. Then he had to, simply had to, give a response. He shook his head slowly in denial.​

​

"Mister Harper owns the bank" he replied softly, even now he had to protect his Master's identity so he was fast formulating a plan in the back of his mind for how he could make this seem more.. above board. "I gained this card as part of an inheritance" he explained, not technically a lie; he shuffled slightly to get the wallet back out, and flipped it open to show the platinum card. "My uncle must have had ties, I'unno, I don't exactly remember him. I... I don't like using it though."​

​

He returned the wallet back to his pocket, then set his head back against the wardrobe with a heavy sigh. "It's tied to me in a way that, erm... That makes it easy for my location to be tracked." His gaze drifted away from Starlin to fix on a spot on the bed. "If.. If the Sith didn't know where I was before, it won't be long 'til something in their intelligence database informs them. Which means..."​

​

Thesh didn't even want to say what it meant aloud. Instead he dropped his head into his hands like an ostrich burrowing its head into sand. "I don't want to leave" he whimpered, shoulders shaking to give the impression that tears were flowing even though the boy was doing a good job of not making a sound.​

​

Starlin Rand ​

 

[Starlin Rand]

Starlin squinted at Thesh, not quite believing him. It was obvious that he was hiding something, but he supposed there was little he could do about it. Not without nasty repercussions falling on Thesh.

"If.. If the Sith didn't know where I was before, it won't be long 'til something in their intelligence database informs them. Which means..."

Starlin blanched. Part of him had known this day would come all along—he’d just been waiting for the hammer to fall. But another part had hoped…

“Feth off, then.” The words were out of his mouth before he could consider them fully, sounding more angry than he had any right to be. “Go back to the Sith. Back to your master who owns you.”

“Or go back out there, erase any signs that you were ever here, and get the money another way.” A vain hope, maybe, but it was all he had right now. “It’ll be harder, but I’ll help you. Come on, Thesh.”

Arcturus Dinn​

 

[Arcturus Dinn]

Starlin's response was sudden, harsh, and only partially unexpected. It drew from the boy all the grief and sorrow he'd been trying to keep down, until he was audibly sobbing as he wrapped his arms around himself. ​

​

He wanted him gone. Just like that, as though these past few months hadn't meant anything at all. Heart dropped, stomach in knots, he dug his head in further to try and silence the low whine which forced its way from his lips.​

​

"G-Get the credits how?" he whimpered, "I.. I just want you safe, I want you out of all of this, Starlin. You're my brother, I don't care that we don't share blood. You matter more to me than I do." His words were underpinned with the occasional hitched breath as he fought through the sobs to speak. "I don't want to go, I don't ever want to go, I want to stay here, with you, with mom, I want a normal life..."​

​

One arm raised to wipe his eyes and nose, as he fought for a decent breath, then he finally looked at Starlin.​

​

"What... What else can we do..?"​

​

He was genuinely asking.​

​

Starlin Rand ​

 

[Starlin Rand]

"G-Get the credits how?"

“Uh, gambling?” Starlin suggested, running a hand through his curls as if the gesture would help him think. “Cheating, stealing…” He fished the concert tickets out of his pocket. “I’ll sell these tickets. That’s a start…”

"I.. I just want you safe, I want you out of all of this, Starlin. You're my brother, I don't care that we don't share blood. You matter more to me than I do. I don't want to go, I don't ever want to go, I want to stay here, with you, with mom, I want a normal life..."

Thesh was openly sobbing at the thought of having to go back to the Sith. Starlin was both sympathetic and relieved. He’d been afraid Thesh would just… go. Like none of it had ever mattered.

“You or I could work for Smokey for a while,” he said, wiping away his own tears. Crying, him? Naw. He just had something in his eye. “Long enough to pay off the debt… Or we could leave Rhys to pay the consequences for his actions…” Which was an unacceptable outcome. Starlin lit up a cigarette, trying to take the edge off his anxiety with a smoke and a joke. “You could work as a stripper.”

“My point is, we have options. Don’t throw it all away. Not yet.”

Arcturus Dinn​

 

[Arcturus Dinn]

Starlin seemed just as desperate to find another way through this as Thesh was. "T-Then, you don't want me to go?" he asked. This was all so confusing, it made his head spin like a top. Work for Smokey, turn Rhys in, strip... "Stripping?" He couldn't help but laugh through the sobs, that one suggestion just causing him to crease. "Force, Starlin, no one's gonna pay to see that!"​

​

Another chuckle, and then he let out a long breath. A sigh of relief almost. He didn't have to go. Not yet at least. Not ever if it was up to him, but he knew that he could only run for so long.​

​

"Keep the tickets" he said with one last sniffle, "We... We have 'til tomorrow. May as well enjoy the night while we still can."​

​

Jen would murder him if he let Starlin fall back into the game. ​

​

"I'll... I'll do what I can tonight, find some cash, then I'll take on work for Smokey 'til it's all paid off." And if Smokey tried to keep him beyond that, Thesh might not play so nicely. Come to think of it... "Hey, is Smokey like, what do they call it... The top dog in his circle?"​

​

Maybe there was another way... Though he wasn't sure if Starlin would approve of it.​

​

Starlin Rand ​

 

[Starlin Rand]

“No, of course I don’t want you to go. You think I want to face you on a battlefield again some day? Feth that.” But he couldn’t force Thesh to stay. He couldn’t make these decisions for him.

His insane joke actually coaxed a laugh out of Thesh, which got Starlin to crack a smile too. “You’d be surprised. And it’s easy money.” Or so he believed.

Puffing like a chimney, he sighed. “Are you sure? We could probably get a lot of money for these tickets…” Probably. He tucked them away in his pocket.

So far today had been absolute chit. Maybe they needed to go to that concert, if only to stay sane.

“Smokey is the king of a one horse town. He’s the top dog around here, and he makes sure we all know it, but he’s not that big.” He eyeballed Thesh. “Are you thinking of doing what I think you’re thinking of doing?”

Arcturus Dinn​