In the shadows the darkness plays

[Kenrath]

Corsucant:
Lower Levels:


Marcus smiled as he walked around the lowest of lower levels of Coruscant. A level so low it didn't even have a name. The people who bothered naming things didn't dare come down this far. It was were the rumors of rumors came to vanish. A place where people vanished, hope vanish, and law and order were so far removed even the mention of them had vanished long ago.

It was an area where not just one swoop and other types of gangs ruled every block but multiple ones fought constantly over every block.

Marcus walked these streets and alley ways in the finest suit he owned. Like everything else he ignored risk, he ignored authority. Most left him alone...........these were the ones old enough to have heard rumors of the Sith who used to walk these streets. A Sith many had tried to take advantage of but none had succeeded. Marcus looked just close enough to the very general and evolving description of that Sith to be left alone.

It only made Marcus smile at the tension in the air.

[member="Lucia Nox"]

 

[Lucia Nox]

"There you go. Eat up. I'm not sure when I'll be able to return."

A filthy band of children was gathered in a dark corner of the alley, grimy little hands clutching desperately at morsels of bread, some inhaling their meager portion in one breath while others took their time, savoring each crumb. A hooded figure knelt among them, passing out rations until each child had something to put in his or her belly.

"Thank you, Lady Nox," a small girl chirped.

"Shh, child." The hooded figure placed a slim hand on the girl's head for just a moment before standing, voluminous black robes unfurling and resettling around what appeared to be the statuesque figure of a woman.

Lucia Nox was nervous. This was one of many pilgrimages that she periodically made to the seedy depths of Coruscant, whenever she felt that she was needed there. Luce saw much of herself in these soot-faced beggar children and could not keep herself from plunging into the depths to help them every now and then. After all, she was one of them once. Raised in one of the lower level children's homes--a slum of an orphanage, really--Lucia had come from being a scrappy little orphan girl to who she was today: a refined, discerning woman of the Jedi Order and pupil of the renowned Olan Venn.

Master Venn hated when Lucia made these trips. "You are far too passionate, my apprentice. You must let your past go," Venn often cautioned. "Jedi are keepers of the peace. It's not our place to fight for justice."

That was just the rub, though. Lucia couldn't let go of her past, nor could she quite let go of the lingering notion that she did have a duty to do more with her abilities than sitting idly at the Temple twiddling her thumbs, waiting to play peacemaker. She had witnessed the stark, violent inequities of a crumbling society day in and day out as a child scraping by in Coruscant's lower levels. Those memories haunted her now, driving her back down here again and again to help the people who needed social justice the most.

The lower levels were dangerous, however, and Lucia could feel the prickling sensation of foreboding energy washing over her skin. Something was coming, and it wasn't good.

"'ey! Your kind ain't welcome here! I know upper level scum when I see it. These are our streets!"

A hulking, reptilian man sauntered into the alley, brandishing a blaster with one heavily tattooed hand. Lucia snapped to attention. In an instant, the sapphire of her lightsaber hummed to life. The children scattered in every direction, disappearing into the shadows like little mice.

"Let's teach this one a lesson, boys," The man snarled, staring down his barrel at Lucia.

Blaster fire rang out into the night.

"So much for gratitude," Lucia might have murmured dryly through the smoky haze, deflecting one slick red laser before turning lightly on her heels and plunging out of the alley like an angel in flight.

She might have gotten farther if she hadn't bumped squarely into a large, well-suited man. The impact did not knock Lucia off her feet, but it was enough to send the hood of her robes falling away from her face. Her molten blonde curls were wild and the sharp, almost feline appraisal of her blue eyes could have killed a man. If Lucia were a lesser woman, she might have fallen over herself apologizing, but there was no time for that now--she could feel the thugs closing in, and it was in her best interests--and perhaps this man's as well--to get scarce.

[member="Vengeance"]

 

[Kenrath]

Marcus heard the blaster fire. It always seemed that things got deathly silent before all hell broke loose. It never failed. Marcus for his part just shook his head with a chuckle and kept walking. In this part of the city hearing blaster fire was like breathing. He imagined more people would be freaked out if they went ten minutes without hearing it than hearing it.

It was not until the woman came crashing out of an alley and into him that he stopped walking. He looked at her with a smirk.

"You don't have to drop into my lap...............if you wanted my attention all you had to do was say hi."

He winked at her looking down the alley she came out of.

"You done went and got yourself in trouble didn't you?" "Tsk Tsk Tsk."

Marcus moved alright but he would into the alley not away from it. It may appear foolish to his new friend to do so but then she had no clue who he was or what he was capable of. Marcus taunted the thugs.

"Now now boys...........rudeness will not be tolerated." "I suggest you apologize to the lady." "But you can't..................cause you'll be dead."

As he spoken his wrist slowly rotated his obsidian saber dropping out of his sleeve and into his hand. He would not speak but swing the saber to block any incoming blaster fire before his free hand would come up to focus on another lifting up and crushing with the Force until there was nothing but a bloody pulp dangling in the air...............which of course was then hurdled at any remaining thugs.

[member="Lucia Nox"]

 

[Lucia Nox]

The man's presence in the Force was stronger than anything Lucia had ever felt, even among the elders in the Jedi Temple. Each motion of his crushing hands sent tangible waves of energy ripping through the atmosphere, colliding with Lucia's slight frame and bringing her to her knees. She watched in intermingled awe and horror as the last of the thugs was crushed into an unrecognizable pulp and hurled back against his comrades, who, horrified, turned tail and fled. The darkness suddenly seemed eerily calm again.

A single fleck of blood from the carnage had landed on the high arch of Lucia's porcelain cheek, shining ruby red against the milky white of her skin. Breathless, she raised a palm to her face and touched the still-warm liquid, inadvertently smearing it artfully across her cheek. She slowly lowered her hand and stared at her slender fingers, now shining brightly with blood. Lucia had done battle before, but to every battle there was a certain unspoken law and order--the code of civilized war. This...this was not civilized. It was brutal and animal. Lucia felt a rush of adrenaline surge through her veins. She turned her tapered blue eyes up towards the man, all four moons of Coruscant now shining brilliantly on her face and reflecting like a golden mirror in her hair.

"That was wrong," Lucia murmured, the cultured accent of her voice coming out like the low, warning growl of a feline. Her lightsaber still hummed in her other hand as she warily stood up before the man, never once turning her back and staring him down as if she were twice his size as opposed to being scarcely half in reality. "I hope you don't expect me to thank you. You murdered them."

Lucia brought the glow of her azure blade up in front of her face, defensively, as she furrowed her brows in apprehension. His presence felt dark and shadowy, thwarting her efforts to reach out into the Force to detect and decipher any shred of his identity.

"Who are you?" She ventured into the night, standing stock still like some fair statue. "Are you with the Jedi?"

Somewhere, buried deep inside, Lucia already knew the answer.

[member="Vengeance"]

 

[Kenrath]

As the thugs fled Marcus smiled watching them flee for a moment before her turned walking back out of the alley. He deactivated his saber and returned it to it's hiding place up his sleeve.

Hearing her objections to what he had done Marcus simply reached up and smoothed out his tie fixing it while giving her a soft smile.

"Wrong would have been to let them beat you half to death before spending the next week or two defiling you mind, body, and spirit. Only to leave your broken body in a gutter to die. I may be evil child but I am a necessary evil"

Marcus looked at the azure blade for a moment enjoying the reflection of it's light on her face. After a minute his eyes met hers.

"You may call me Marcus................and I didn't do it for you..................well not really. You see down here there is no right and wrong. there is no law and there is no order. There are only victims and victimizers...................predator's and prey."

Marcus took a step forward leaving only her saber between the two of them not an ounce of fear in his eye. Making it obvious considering her a threat was so far from the case as to not even cross his mind.

"Have you not heard...................there really are no more Jedi or Sith anymore. The great dynasties of good and evil have fallen. I am a survivor..............one of the last remaining Sith Lords that once called the planet home for a while. But you already know that don't you..................deep in the pit of your stomach you knew the answer before you asked it."

[member="Lucia Nox"]

 

[Lucia Nox]

". . . there are only victims and victimizers . . . predators and prey."

The sound of the man's voice shot electricity underneath Lucia's skin. She eyed him warily through the glow of her saber, blue eyes made bluer by the azure light and intensified by some sort of closely guarded emotion.

"Do I look like prey to you, Marcus?" Lucia challenged, wielding his name against him like a weapon. Marcus. There was power in knowing a man's name.

She was stalling, and he was growing closer now. Her heart thrashed like a bird caged within her chest. No escape. But the dignified blonde stood her ground--motionless as the fresco of an angel and equally as striking.

And then that one word hit the air...

Sith.

". . . you already know that don't you . . . deep in the pit of your stomach you knew the answer before you asked it."

Lucia faltered. Suddenly, she felt cold. Small. Young. Afraid. For the briefest moment, it was as though she was a little girl again, and the monster who camped beneath her bed was real--and he was standing no farther than a hair's breath away. Lucia could say nothing. Her breathing quickened. Think, girl. Think.

This was not the moment to wilt into the underbrush of her insecurities. Lucia was not a weak woman, nor was she a child. She drew herself up beneath him like a phoenix rising from the ashes and faced him with more defiance and resolve than before.

"Yes," She murmured calmly. "I know."

In a whirr of receding blue light, Lucia deactivated her lightsaber. All that was left between them now was a scant inch of space and the soft breathing that feathered past her lips and against his.

"My name is Lucia."

The girl then stood silent for a moment, lifting the proud curve of her chin and regarding him with steely eyes. This was her checkmate to his own bold move: she would not be made to cower.

"You're a cynical man," She mused. "And I'm afraid we have vastly different views about the state of good and evil. The Jedi are still alive and well. It's your kind that's dwindling. "

Lucia ventured a step closer. She was growing bolder now, almost seeming to gather strength from the moonlight; it appeared to seep into the paleness of her skin and shine out in radiant beams.

"Otherwise you wouldn't be skulking around the lower levels looking to get your kicks. If you're so bored, why haven't you killed me?"

It was here that she paused before him, gently lifting the slender arch of one brow. "After all . . . I am a Jedi. But you already know that, don't you?"

[member="Vengeance"]

 

[Kenrath]

The torrent of emotions and watching people go through them was always an amusing sight for Marcus. It flowed off of people like waves crashing against the beach. He waited letting her spout randomly as if speaking coherent thoughts. A brave face..............a mask hiding what was truly going on behind blue eyes. He had seen it before and he knew exactly what it was. He never moved or flinch as she began to push back.

He only smirked his eyes never leaving hers.

"I didn't ask your name and I asked no questions requiring you to answer. I simply told you what you are thinking even as you hesitated to realize it yourself."

"You have courage child.........you falter...........you hesitate but you recover. A trait not very common among the Ivory Tower crowd. The truth is only you can decide whether you are predator or prey. Will you die on your feet or on your knees...............because in the end we.........................ALL.............die. What matters is how you meet that end."

Marcus didn't move but he did pause for a full minute........almost two minutes before he spoke again.

"Look around you little princess..........what do you see............what is around you.................this is the true nature of the galaxy.............this is the truth. The truth very few Jedi Masters dare speak of..........................the truth they hide in their towers from while sending people like you uniformed and unprepared to your deaths. And for what.............justice..............freedom..............the light."

Marcus chuckled.

"Who said I was bored...............who said i wanted you dead? If that was my goal I could have just let those thugs have you. I come to places like this for one simple and unavoidable truth.......................humility. Humility and truth." "Why are you here................hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. Is it to convince yourself you are not the bad person..........because you think a little charity down here makes up for lording over the downtrodden on the surface?"

Marcus smirked again.

"You think have that blue saber makes you a jedi........................."

A flick of his wrist brought his own back to his hand activating the blue blade but leaving it down and away from them both.

".....................does it make me a Jedi? There is much much more to what we are than you could ever know. Your Masters would have you believe you are plentiful and we are so near extinction. The truth is much much darker. You needs us just as much as we need you..............for we are two sides of the same coin. If we perish then you perish...........if you perish then so do we."

Marcus finally took a step or two back deactivating his saber.

"You want to know the truth of the Galaxy you live in? Then come with me and I will show you the truth your Master's don't want you to know."

Marcus turned not down the same alley but further down the block. Once he got to the next block he would turn to see if she was following him.

[member="Lucia Nox"]

 

[Lucia Nox]

The man's words melted into her like ice, saturating her bones with a startlingly frigid clarity and raising the pinprick of knowing chills across her flesh. For a moment, Marcus had struck something deep within Lucia's core. Something rooted in the depths of her heart that she had never dared touch or acknowledge--the seeds of doubt. Lucia longed for more. She longed for justice, for action, for righting the loud, bright, violent wrongs that she had witnessed as a child in the lower levels. Master Venn would never allow it. That's why she had slipped away under the cover of night to make this journey. That's why she was here.

Lucia blinked, her long lashes fluttering as if recovering from some sort of hypnosis. Her pale features suddenly grew stormy, and she felt the quell of anger rise like a high tide beneath her chest. She was ashamed at her own thoughts, and repulsed at how this man had so easily crept into her soul and lit it on fire. He was wrong. She would show him that he was wrong.

Lucia opened her mouth to speak. She might have even made to move towards him now, perhaps thinking to lunge at him, but just as quickly the man activated his shimmering saber. She stopped dead in her tracks, silent, clear eyes absorbing the wicked glow of the blade before he deactivated it and stepped away.

". . . .come with me," He coaxed, "and I will show you the truth your Masters don't want you to know."

Lucia watched him turn. She waited a moment, contemplating the virtue of simply ambushing him from behind with her lightsaber but discarding the idea almost as soon as it came. She willed her body to turn and leave instead, to run back to her speeder and blast away from this forsaken shell of a city and return to the safety of the Temple and her Master. Master Venn would be more than just incensed when he learned what Lucia had done--he would be wholly disappointed. The thought was like a kick to her gut. Lucia faltered, watching the last shadow of Marcus disappear around the corner.

She felt something stir inside of her. A hideous foreboding crept over her body, and suddenly she knew exactly where she was going before her legs moved an inch. It was as if she was propelled forward by some higher power, not totally in control of her own body, and she wished with all her might that she could make it stop. For better or worse, the lamb was following the wolf into the darkness of the alley beyond.

When Marcus turned, he would see the brilliant blonde just behind him. She kept her distance and eyed him with wary eyes.

"I'm not a child," Lucia murmured. "And I don't trust you."

She said no more as they plunged forward together into the shadows, but her eyes spoke volumes: if this is a trap, don't doubt that I will kill you.

A fighter to the last.

[member="Vengeance"]

 

[Kenrath]

Marcus smirked.

"You see the Galaxy through a child's eyes and not for what it is.................until that it no longer the case.............."

He paused long enough for her to get the point before he spoke again.

"And you are right to not trust me...............distrust is a perfectly acceptable emotion that may very well save your life one day. However the journey to the truth is a very dangerous one and if you hope to complete the journey intact you will do what I say, when I say it, and how I say it."

Marcus turned the next corner which lead into a dead end alley with a door at the other end. Two guards stood outside the door looking menacing or trying to at least. With out missing a beat he strolled up to both of them.

"Let us in or die................your choice."

The goons laughed and looked at each other before reaching for weapons. They never got to them before Marcus kicked one n the knee dropping him to the ground and the other he punched directly in the throat. His moments entirely to fast for either to be able to react. The first goon smashed in the face with Marcus' knee before he could recover.

"There are too many at this location for a straight up fight." Give me your saber, you are a newly acquired victim to be sold into slavery, I hope your acting his convincing otherwise we are both going to die."

Marcus reached down taking the door keys and a set of binders off of the goon he had bunched in the throat. Once he had her saber he would turn to put the binders on her.

"Remember what I said.............and remember if I wanted to harm you I have had plenty of chances to do it already and haven't."

[member="Lucia Nox"]

 

[Lucia Nox]

"Are you crazy?" Lucia fairly hissed, blue eyes sweeping first over the crumpled bodies of the guards and then over the gleaming metallic binders outstretched in Marcus's hands. "Where are we? What are you do--"

"Oi! Who's there?"

Any further protestation Lucia might have made was abruptly cut off by the sound of someone approaching from beyond the door carved into the side of the dead-end alley. The voice reverberated as if coming from a deep tunnel. Lucia steadily began to put two-and-two together. She had heard of these places during her childhood in the lower levels--trafficking dens, strategically buried well beyond the reach of authorities and frequently interconnected by advanced tunneling systems--but she had never seen them with her own eyes. She knew what went on here. The slimy men who did business in these parts were the same men who orchestrated the street gangs like masters with puppets. Down here, they ruled as kings.

The footsteps in the tunnel were growing closer now. It was too late to turn back, and Lucia was no fool. Either Marcus was lying, or he wasn't--either way, she estimated that her odds of survival were a solid 50/50. She hesitated, looking first to him, and then to the silver hilt of her saber glinting familiarly from where it hung at the cinch of her waist, then back to him once more. A heavy uneasiness was making itself at home in the pit of her stomach, and Lucia prayed that her boldness--her brashness--was not all for naught.

"You break it, you buy it," She murmured, unhooking the precious weapon with great reluctance and passing it into his waiting grasp. Lucia suddenly felt quite naked, but there was no time to waste. Obediently, she pressed her palms together like an angel in prayer, gingerly extending them out toward Marcus so he could clasp the binders neatly around the slender circle of her wrists. Her eyes lingered on his own. "I hope you know what you're doing."

"Well now . . . what do we have here?"

Lucia immediately snapped to attention. In the doorway stood a hulking monster of a man, neither totally alien nor totally human, with scaly skin so blue it almost appeared black and shone like the night sky against bulging sinews and veins. He wore a single gold earring in one large pointed ear, and his broad grin revealed teeth so large and white that he appeared to be baring his fangs more than smiling. He casually kicked the slumped figures of the guards out of his way and barely spared Marcus more than a passing glance; he only had eyes for Lucia.

"You are a lovely thing, aren't you?" He cooed, voice deep and slick like oil. Lucia averted her gaze as he grew uncomfortably close, circling her slowly and appraising her like prized cattle. She could feel his hungry eyes tracing the curves and valleys of her body; and when he paused to brush a meaty finger along the smooth skin of her cheek, and then reached even further to test the softness of her hair, Lucia visibly tightened. None of the brutality she had witnessed Marcus commit tonight compared to what she wanted to do to this man now--and to Marcus, while she was at it. Her fists clenched within the binders, but she remained steadfast in character--meek, docile, and pure. She only hoped that they survived if for no other reason than to get the satisfaction of pummeling Marcus square in the jaw when this was over.

"Oh, yes . . . " The hulking creature of a man chuckled, now pinching the curve of Lucia's chin and tilting her face up toward him, rubbing a thumb against the full swell of her lips and taking in the entire picture of her face. "Gorda will be very pleased with you. He's always been fond of blondes, but I don't think he's had one this pretty." He whipped his thick neck around and suddenly regarded Marcus with a look that was all business. "How much are you asking for her, eh? She's worth a hefty price, but I warn you that Hutts are cheap, and they don't toy with their money. If you follow me, we can work out a deal inside. Too many curious eyes out here."

[member="Vengeance"]

 

[Kenrath]

Marcus didn't say anything as the binders clicked close just before they were interrupted. Marcus gave monster of a man a bored expression. He waited for the darn fool to stop talking before he said anything.

"She is a feisty one at that................I think Gorda will be more than willing to pay what I want..............but let's let Gorda decided."

Marcus would reach back and grab Lucia by the arm to yank her forward and then forcibly push her through the door ahead of him. He was making a show of playing the gruff slaver role and maybe a little praying that Lucia played her part well. Both their lives depended on it.

"After you tiny."

Sure Marcus had just mocked a man twice his size but then showing fear and never been his strong suit. Besides in places like this fear and weakness...............well best case got you tossed in a cage and sold yourself.

[member="Lucia Nox"]

 

[Lucia Nox]

"Watch it," Lucia murmured under her breath, gifting Marcus with a withering flash of her eyes as he shoved her through the door and into the tunnel.

They walked for quite some time. The hulking humanoid led the way through the darkness, his slow, lumbering steps echoing off the walls and never once faltering, despite the twists and turns and forks in the path. Lucia's uneasiness grew. She tried to memorize their route should she have to quickly retrace it--as she felt she would, if they wanted to escape with their skins--but everything looked the same. Suddenly Lucia wanted nothing more than to turn and run. She longed for the familiar cockpit of her ship and imagined the relief she would feel if she could just blast away from this wretched place, back to safety, back to the Temple where she belonged.

But it was too late for that now. Lucia began to wonder with growing apprehension just how deep into the core of the Corsucanti underworld they were, or if their journey would ever end.

"Stop!" The large creature barked, answering her silent question. A flaming torch leaned out of the side of the wall ahead, and he grabbed it with a meaty palm. "Gorda will see you just through there. Tell him Balor sent you," He advised, motioning the torch toward a hazy opening to their left. Lucia squinted, her eyes readjusting from the dimness of the tunnel to the light of the flames. As her vision faded back into focus, she saw that the opening was actually a large red curtain--velvet, from the looks of it--and she thought she could hear lively music playing somewhere on the other side.

Lucia turned to Marcus as the creature called Balor disappeared back into the darkness. "Lead the way, master," She said dryly, outstretching her bound wrists for him to take.

The other side of the velvet curtain was unlike anything she had ever seen.

The music was loud and buoyant. Lucia could just make out the sight of a motley band playing in a far, shadowy corner beyond the crowded, bustling mass of aliens, humans, and creatures of all shapes and colors. Some of them drank and laughed bawdily, seated at various cushions and tables, while others shouted and argued over games of dejarik. Pretty girls weaved throughout the crowd, some dancing and others serving food and drink.

In the center of them all, however, was Gorda the Hutt. He was unmistakable: a massive, bloated slab of pinky-yellow slug that spilled out and over the raised pedestal upon which he lay. His bulbous eyes appeared to be closed as he took a large drag of his smoke--but the moment Lucia and Marcus stepped inside the den, those glassy eyes rolled and snapped awake.

"You there!" He bellowed in thick Huttese. The whole world seemed to come grinding to a halt. The dancers stopped dancing, and every eye turned in silence to stare. In the corner, Lucia saw what appeared to be a bounty hunter move a hand to the blaster at his waist. She had never longed for her lightsaber more.

"Who are you? What business do you have in my den?" Gorda questioned, looking first from Marcus and then to Lucia, where his gaze lingered. His long tongue unfolded to lick his thin lips, and suddenly the giant slug started to laugh. The sound made Lucia's stomach curl. "Is this one for me? Why, you shouldn't have!"

[member="Vengeance"]

 

[Kenrath]

Marcus playing the part push and glared at Lucia all the way in to meet the Hutt. Even going so far as took plant his foot on the back of her knee to force her to her knees as the Hutt began to speak. He stood there clearly unimpressed as he listened to Gorda speak. When the Hutt finally finished Marcus smiled.

"My name is Marcus and as far as my business her well that depends entirely on you."

As he spoke he slid in behind Lucia his right knee practically digging into her back.

"You see you and your men have something I want and rather than just kill you all and take it I thought I would offer up a trade instead. One of your neanderthals outside said you have a thing for blondes."

Marcus pulled out Lucia's saber showing it to the Hutt.

"How much is a blonde Jedi worth to you?"

Marcus' eyes had surveyed the room and every bit of the compound from the minute they made it past the first door. Especially the Bounty Hunter in the corner with a fatally slow draw. It always amused him how criminals always thought they were the best in the Galaxy........the smartest, the toughest, the most dangerous.

[member="Lucia Nox"]

 

[Lucia Nox]

Lucia fell to her knees, glaring into the ground as she felt Marcus' knee press against the smooth curve of her back, just between her shoulder blades. From her low vantage point, she could not see the action unfolding over her head, but she could no doubt feel it--dark, murky energy was gathering in the atmosphere, centering around Marcus above and behind her, and she did not like it. But what could she do?

She listened to Marcus ooze. He was a smooth-talker and and quick on his feet, apparently unruffled by Gorda and his posse, despite being outnumbered one-hundred blasters to one. These were some of the most dangerous men on Coruscant--but then again, so was Marcus. Lucia briefly remembered the unlucky thugs back in the alley. She didn't know whether or not she wished the same fate on the thugs who surrounded them now.

There was no time to think--

"How much is a blonde Jedi worth to you?"

Lucia froze. Suddenly, the whole den had erupted into excited, buzzing chatter. Some shouted insults and vulgarities--quite unafraid of sharing exactly how they felt about the Jedi--while others called Marcus a "liar!" and urged him to "prove it!"

Lucia could not help but break character. She snapped her head to attention and swung around in a fan of long wheaten curls to fix Marcus with steely eyes that were both accusatory and disbelieving. Was he selling her out like the foolish girl that she was for trusting him? Or was this all a part of his plan? In either case, Lucia wanted her lightsaber back, and she wanted it now. She was done playing. Before she could move, however, Gorda was laughing--long, low, and deep. The den silenced in an instant.

"Jedi? I'd pay double my weight in gold for a thoroughbred like that," Gorda leered, opening the door for his comrades to leer and laugh along with him. "And triple that in credits. But it all depends on what it is you're wanting . . . and if you're telling me the truth. You don't want to know what to happens to fools who try to cheat old Gorda. I hope you're not stupid enough to find out."

[member="Vengeance"]

 

[Kenrath]

Marcus chuckled.

"What a pleasure it is to see that you live up to the reputation of all Hutts being greedy morons."

He cocked his heads towards the calls of liar and to prove it.

"Plus your men are not that bright either..........I could of course prove that she is a Jedi but then again that would mean her killing half your men."

He glanced down at Lucia and back up.

"You can see it in her eyes..............in her posture................given the chance she would kill us all in a fit of rage."

Marcus smirked.

"But then that would make her a Sith and no longer a Jedi......... which since Sith seem to be a dime a dozen these days would make her less valuable."

Marcus absently or at least to Gorda it would seem absently.

"As for my fee now that is very simple. You have holo recordings going back a few years of your dealings with some of the less savory officials here on Coruscant. From it's occupation by the Republic and the One Sith...................."

Marcus paused letting his words sink in.

"I want copies of those recordings. Now I know you use them as leverage to protect your business interests so you can keep the originals............I have no interest in your slave trade. As a matter of fact I noticed a rather appealing specimen on my way in. Perhaps you would be willing to negotiate I price for her. I man as needs after all and I will pay you twice what she is worth. A one time offer as a show of good faith."

Marcus paused.

"Once the recordings I desire are verified and in my possession........................."

Marcus rammed his knee forward as if to push Lucia on all fours.

"..........the Jedi is yours to do with as you see fit."

[member="Lucia Nox"]

 

[Lucia Nox]

No sooner had Lucia whipped around to question Marcus, the masterful command of his knee slammed her back down to all fours. Lucia could only stare wildly into the ground, feeling her pulse begin to rise as her mind hurtled into fight or flight. Stupid girl, she thought. Think. There's always a way out. But Lucia did not feel so lucky. The laws of karma weighed heavily against her in return for her brash disobedience; this is what she got for allowing Marcus to lure her into his web. She knelt beneath him now like a foolish, helpless morsel, ripe for the devouring. It burned her up inside. Marcus was right--given the chance, she might have killed them all on the spot, starting with him. But she wouldn't get that chance. Not yet.

Gorda narrowed his glassy eyes at Marcus. "Is that all you want?" He asked, the thick drawl of his voice laced with skepticism. "I would ask why, but I don't care. Show me the money and the copies are yours." Hutts were greedy morons. Lucia might have scoffed if she weren't so preoccupied with crafting escape plans and imagining ways to make Marcus pay for her indignities should she survive.

Without wasting time, Gorda motioned to one of his piggish minions, who jumped to attention and promptly disappeared into the shadows. Seconds turned into minutes, which to Lucia felt like hours. When the piggish little creature returned, he had what appeared to be copies of holorecords in his porky hands.

Gorda grinned as much as a Hutt could grin. "The money . . . " He drawled expectantly. " . . . for the records."

[member="Vengeance"]

 

[Kenrath]

Marcus smirked.

"Who knew Hutts were also hard of hearing and forgetful."

He motioned towards Lucia.

"The blonde Jedi here for the records. Credits for the lovely young lady you have in the cage outside by the communications terminal."

Marcus grinned.

"Or you can keep playing dumb and hard of hearing. In which case I kill you, keep the Jedi for myself, and take everything you own. Surely if not you there is at least one bright soul in this room is wondering how a man in a suit made it all the way through the lower levels of the city without so much as a scratch or smudge of dirt."

Marcus narrowed his eyes at the Hutt.

"Don't play games with me Gorda..................make the smart play and give me what I want."

[member="Lucia Nox"]

 

[Lucia Nox]

Gorda chuckled from deep within his fleshy belly, bulbous eyes glimmering with what appeared to be approval. "You're an arrogant pig, Marcus, and you drive a hard bargain," The Hutt drawled stupidly. "I like your style."

Gorda waved a stout hand toward his piggy minion, who waddled forward nervously and placed the holorecords on the ground at Marcus's feet before shuffling away. Gorda then snapped his fingers at the bounty hunter in the corner, who emerged from the shadows and approached Lucia, still kneeling on the ground.

"I'll be taking what's mine now," Gorda leered as the bounty hunter--a hulking Trandoshan male--bent to take Lucia roughly by the arm. The little blonde had too much fire brewing inside her now; she wouldn't be taken without a fight. "Lay a hand on me and I'll kill you," She breathed, the cultured accent of her voice coming out low and warning.

"Feisty, are you?" The Trandoshan snarled with amusement. Lucia spat in his face like an angry cat, golden curls swinging wildly as she twisted and writhed beneath his sturdy grasp. "Good. Gorda likes them that way."

[member="Vengeance"]

 

[Kenrath]

Marcus shook his head with a laugh.

"Famous last words Gorda."

He waited until the Bodyguard and gotten close to Lucia. Then he would toss her saber on the ground at her hands, a hand would reach out to snap the bounty hunter.s neck with the Force in the blink of an eye. Tapping into the Force he would partially squat down and flip forward his own saber materializing in his hand from it's hiding place igniting and being impaled through Gorda's eye socket has he landed on the Hutt's enormous stomach.

In another blink of an eye he would flip and twist until he was standing on the Hutt's head like it was a stool.

"Let's play a very very old game." "It's called Sith says die...........................now die."

Vengeance would start yanking people around in the Force while using his saber to deflect blaster bolts all the while dancing a joyful little jig on Gorda's head. In a matter of seconds he had gotten lost in a dance of death a symphony of such masterful proportions that had not been seen since the One Sith invaded Mindabaal by murdering an entire wedding party.

[member="Lucia Nox"]

 

[Lucia Nox]

Lucia did not have time to think. In an instant, the whole world seemed to burn before her eyes; the once jubilant den had transformed into an actual hell, and Marcus was its reigning devil. He snapped the Trandoshan's thick neck like no more than a twig, and Lucia tumbled out of the mangled bounty hunter's arms like an abandoned rag doll. She rolled away and collided head-on with the face of a beautiful Twi'lek with wide, glassy eyes splayed out on the ground. It took Lucia a moment to realize that she was dead. Lucia cried out, shuffling backward on her elbows. Her eyes were wild and blue, scanning the perimeter of the frenzied den and watching men drop like nothing more than flies. The feeling of their pain rolled out through the conduit of the Force and hit her in crushing waves. It was too much. What I have done, Lucia thought. The dying men's agony had become her own.

Marcus--wicked, brilliant, horrible Marcus--was dancing like an impish demon atop Gorda's head, the ooze of steam and pus still rising out of the Hutt's large impaled eye. Lucia immediately rolled over and felt her stomach begin to heave. She might have gotten sick right then and there had a large fist not grabbed the back of her golden hair and yanked her up from the earth. It was one of Gorda's men entering the fray. "If that stupid Hutt doesn't get to keep you," He breathed hotly down Lucia's neck. "I'll have you for myself."

Something in Lucia snapped.

One moment, she was struggling wildly under the man's strong grasp. The next, her lightsaber was in her outstretched hand. With a rush of brilliant azure light, the weapon sprang to life--and so did Lucia. With two swift, broad strokes, she had turned the tables on the unfortunate man--he fell backwards to the earth with a heavy thud, and Lucia wasted no time in following him. She sat astride his chest like a little cat poised to strike, pinning him to the ground between her legs and pointing the end of her saber toward the center of his throat. "P-please--" The brute stammered, looking up at Lucia with pleading eyes. "--please don't kill me!"

For a moment, Lucia faltered. She needed to think--she needed to make the right choice--but the buzz of the energy around her coursed too heavily through her veins, filling her body with white hot adrenaline that thumped in her ears and crowded out any room for thoughts or hesitation. Everything seemed to be moving too fast and in slow motion, all at once. Lucia could take it no longer.

With one clean strike, Lucia plunged the girth of her saber through the man's throat. Blood spouted up like a fountain, speckling the porcelain of her chin and the full swell of her lips with a vampy veneer. Her chest rose and fell with heavy breathing, and her whole body trembled and shook. From where she was perched--still astride the dead man's body with her saber at his throat--Lucia looked like a huntress, primitive and wild. Slowly, she lifted her shining blonde head. Blue eyes locked onto Marcus. You're next.

[member="Vengeance"]