Inside Purgatory

[Krayzen Dratos]

AngelsGate Medical Station​

Purgatory Entertainment District​

Purgatory Entertainment District, a recent addition for the Kathol Outback. The Rebel regularly visited the place, as he never liked the Silver Sanctum Coalition's masters always probing on him, and asking him where he was, and so forth. While Velus was in a way, a Jedi, he was a Rebel first. The Ephicanthix saw him training in the force as a way for him to be able to refine his connection, in the hopes that one day, he will be better equipped to protect his allies, and save others from what was the Sith.

Velus had originally attempted to join the Galactic Alliance, but he preferred the Silver Sanctum Coalition, seeing that they were more tolerant, at least from his own experience, of people that were more neutral minded. He didn't see himself being a complete devotee of the light, as he also wished to use the force, his own gift, for his own purposes, most of them being noble in some manner. The Padawan however knew that his views could change, so he had decided to wait it out to see where his path would lead him.

"Speak Easy", a cantina in the second floor was where he resided. He had gotten used to the large music that was at the nightclub, even though it was annoying at certain occasions. In a way, it was a mini-night club, but Velus didn't mind anyway.

As people danced in the center of the cantina, and people mingled, the Rebel was surprisingly alone, touching the locket that had a picture of his parents, and him. He lit up a cigar, exhaling the smoke that came out of him, while he waited for his alcoholic beverage to arrive.

[member="Kaili Talith"]

 

[Kaili Talith]

[member="Velus"]

There was no Mara Merrill in tow, no Jorus either. There was just Kaili and the insufferable loud noises of the music of this place. While she was by no means someone who would buy herself drinks and such, she had found herself somewhat curious about the installations that a place such as this required. Indeed, she wasn’t here so much to look at the dancers, or the dancers, or even the alcohol but rather to run an inspection of the beams, the ale taps and the droid servers.

First inspection had her rather unimpressed if she was to be honest. It was impressive how much they had managed to put into the place, there was absolutely no denying that, but she couldn’t help but feel just a little bit underwhelmed. Or maybe it was just her overall mood speaking. All things considered she wasn’t feeling as cheery as she usually did. Not that she was all that cheery to begin with.

Something was missing.

No, someone was missing.

How long had it been since Allyson had been on leave now? Kaili couldn’t remember. Perhaps that was what drew her here, the people, sitting alone on her room wasn’t a good way to stave of loneliness. Perhaps she should get herself a drink. Kaili eyed the bar.

Why not.

The girl approached the bar, head nodding at the man — Velus — who stood there.

Now, she had been in this situation once or twice before. The likelihood of the man scuffing, or nodding back, or taking a swing at her, were all equally plausible outcomes and they weren’t all that mutually exclusive either.

Keeping her mind open she pointed at whatever was at the top shelf of the bar “One of those.” Was her order and the bartender obliged.

 

[Krayzen Dratos]

[member="Kaili Talith"]

Like many here, Velus' beginnings had been rough. The death of his parents at an early age had drove him -without him knowing this- to the dark side, and he had always felt that he had something, an evil force pulling him, and wanting him to stray from his current path. One way Velus had used to bypass, or at least hold it off was having a close group of friends, people he trusted. Unfortunately for him, each one of them died during their own personal crusades against the Sith, and those that oppressed people.

Despite being, like many, someone that had a close group of friends, the Ephicanthix had always kept the most personal things in his life to himself. No one knew about the events that had defined, and had a profound effect on his life. The Jedi were always, or at least always asked him why he had joined them, and such, and he had always replied by saying he wished to protect the people most dearest to him. Of course, a deeper reason was that he wished to get revenge on the Sith, but the Ephicanthix abilities he had prevented them from being able to know it.

As he continued smoking a cigar, and waited for the bartender to come to him, he saw an individual, one that he had not recognized, nor did he know. The lady nodded at him, and Velus nodded back, as she approached his position. He continued smoking his cigar, hoping that her approaching his location would lead to a social interaction.

After she had reached his location, Velus looked at her, and began to speak.

"What brings you here? I've never seen someone like you before around this places." he said, his tone indicating his curiosity.

 

[Kaili Talith]

Oh, so he didn’t swing for her face then. Good.

“Oh you know, business.” Kaili shrugged at the man’s question. “Things end up missing and I have to go looking for them, you know? Having corporate assets misplaced can be very expensive, and boy does it seem like the people I work with have misplaced a whole bunch of items in the area.”

She didn’t sound all that worried about the loss. If anything, hopefully, she was making it all the more obvious that the items weren’t misplaced at all, but that they were meant to appear as such. There was no hostility or ill-intent behind her actions either. In fact what she could have just said was that she had dropped the items off for the Underground to ‘find’ and scrub clean of her own company’s logo. After all, support for rebel cells wasn’t one of those things that tempted people to hire you for more sensitive matters. It was for the best to keep such involvements off the records.

“What about you?” The blonde smiled at the bartender as she got her bottled drink and then back at the man next to her. “What brings you to these parts?”

[member="Velus"]

 

[Krayzen Dratos]

[member="Kaili Talith"]

Velus could see that she was somewhat vague, but he didn't mind. He was surprised that she had a company, but he knew there were thousands of companies across the galaxy being made everyday. He himself hoped to one day create a company, although he needed to know what he wanted to do.

When she asked him why he was here, he wasn't sure how to respond. He didn't want to tell her about his drug habits, so he did his best to muster up a lie, like he always did. "I just like to come in here, and relax. It's nice to wined down, and have some fun once in a while." he said, keeping a nonchalant expression as he tried his best to create a conversation.

"It's nice to talk to someone here." he said, even though it was partially his fault for him at this instance choosing to go to the farthest part of the bar table. "What do you do in the Outback?" he inquired, hoping to learn learn more about Kaili, as the man lit a new cigar, then drank a glass of alcohol.

 

[Kaili Talith]

[member="Velus"]

Andromeda wasn’t a company that really meant a whole lot outside of the influence of the Galactic Alliance which meant that in many regards few would expect to find shipments of droids from said company winding up lost on Demonsgate, but it also meant that those who actually had heard of it would perk a brow. Hence why she kept the deliveries as clean as possible. Serials and other markings scrubbed off.

“Well, there is this underground movement that I have come to appreciate.” Kaili continued her act, mainly in case this man was someone who would go against those that Kaili called her friends. “Not that I am part of it, obviously. I just have a deep fascination with those that can stand up for what they believe in and stand up against those who would threaten said beliefs.”

“So I decided to come here, see who had stolen my droids and then maybe try to make contact.” Kaili took a swig from her beer, but not before neutralizing the alcohol’s effect through the force. “Seems I failed in my endeavour.” No she hadn’t. “Slippery bunch.”

“What about you? What do you do around here?”

 

[Krayzen Dratos]

[member="Kaili Talith"]

Velus was unaware that Kaili was keeping up a facade, not trusting the Rebel enough to reveal the true reason as to why he was here. Perhaps he trusted the Kathol Outback's background checks to much, that he trusted her enough to tell her what he did in the Outback. The Ephicanthix continued to drink his alcoholic beverage, signaling the bartender to give him two other drinks. His tolerance for alcohol had build up over the years, although sooner or later, Velus would be drunk, as the more drinks he took made him more addicted to it.

"I see." he replied. "If you need any help, don't bother asking anyone of us out here. Were a friendly bunch." In a way, that was a lie. The Outback was full of everyone that hated he Sith: criminals; mercenaries; bounty hunters who had committed despicable acts in their own right made up their loose structure, and despite Velus never agreeing with what they did(to a degree), he had gotten used to working with them, seeing their skills as useful to the Outback.

"I'm mostly a soldier around here, although I'm versatile enough to be able to do many missions." he said. He didn't mention he was a Jedi, as his primary purpose was to escape them in the first place, although he didn't know Force Stealth meaning she could probably sense a his sensitivity in the force. If she did though, she would find his force signature was grey, slightly leaning to the light, but a strong pull from the dark, something the Ephicanthix hadn't realized.

"In my spare time, I help train people, new recruits mostly who are perhaps wayyy to eager to fight. I guess that comes with their own struggles. I also, evidently, come to Speak Easy a lot. A nice place to relax, and think about stuff."

 

[Kaili Talith]

[member="Velus"]

In the end Kaili had come to realize that force signatures were not what mattered as much as an individual’s motives and means of reaching their goals. No matter if Velus leaned towards the dark or the light she didn’t put much thought into the likelihood that he was death incarnate or not. He was there, he was having a drink and until she had caught mention of him being anything less than a fellow patron in a bar that was all that he would really remain.

Well, that and a soldier. Apparently.

“Yeah, it seems like a nice place to just lean back and think for a bit.” Kaili said as she looked out across the room. “Sounds like you know a thing or two about the underground then,” She smiled. “Training soldiers and such. It’s not something a lot of people sign up to do, I don’t think.”

“Most people just prefer to be taught rather than be the one to teach.” She took another swig of her drink. “It’s a bit similar to the way the Jedi seem to work, really. I have seen more people asking to be taught than there are people around who seem willing to teach them.”

“So, kudos to you for at least playing part in it.”

 

[Krayzen Dratos]

[member="Kaili Talith"]

The Ephicanthix was not aware that Kaili was perhaps maintaining a facade, and not completely trusting him. To him, it was as if everything was fine, just to strangers having a drink, and having regular old chatter. As he drunk more drinks, he lit another cigar, and continued the discussion.

"Thank you." he politely replied. "I won't admit though that it's too easy. The Outback is a diverse coalition, sometimes, in my opinion to diverse. A lot of Rebels here can sometimes go over the top, and tread the line. There are also some gangsters, and criminals that work here to fight against the Sith." he replied. Velus had worked with some of them, as he knew that the Outback's beginnings required going underground, and gaining allies in the underworld. Even then, he didn't agree with some of their actions, as the man's childhood in Nar Shadaa had made him have a distaste for such things, and such people.

"It's heard sometimes to tolerate such people, but I guess that's one of those things you can't control." he said, as he awaited her response.

 

[Kaili Talith]

[member="Velus"]

It wasn’t the trust was all that hard for her as much as the fact that Kaili cared more for the Underground than most would have assumed of her. Her association with the bunch had always been somewhat superficial and shallow, but the investment she had in keeping it alive was substantial. It was an organisation that she had more or less always been associated with by her Master and her Master’s father, it was all that anyone would most likely ever really associate the Merrills with. Alchemy and the at-times unconventional fight against tyranny.

It was perhaps uncalled for considering where they were, really, but Kaili was not always one to shy away from ‘overly complicated’ ideas.

“Are they really gangsters if they fight the Sith, though?” Kaili mused. “A gangster would look out mainly for themselves, sure, but by actively fighting the Sith they are also helping those who would be the victims of the Sith just as much as they are helping themselves.” The girl then shrugged. “And depending on who you ask; the word gangster can have several different meanings. Thugs, rebels, people who try to start chaos without any real cause…”

 

[Krayzen Dratos]

[member="Kaili Talith"]

Velus heard a speak and he simply smiled in the process. He didn't agree with her, but she did bring up good points.

"There different type of criminals that we've seen- some look out for themselves, others look out for themselves, but are always mindful not to hurt civilians and then there are those that hate the Sith, and are one of the two things I just said." he replied. "Your right, there are different definitions; mine is for those that sell spice, drugs, and so forth." he said.

"I guess it really does depend on you you meet though." After finishing speaking, he continued to drink, like he had been doing ever since he arrived here.

 

[Kaili Talith]

[member="Velus"]

“Now those, I prefer to call fethheads.” Kaili snickered. Spice pushers were parasites, plain and simple. “They undermine their own clientele and slowly kill them off like the parasites they are.”

“Take this kid I once met who had sobered up, right?” She put her bottle down, turned towards Velus and gestured with her hand to signal her frustration at the thought of it all. “He had once been stoned out of his mind, always living for the next hit, always pushing the boundaries of his own conscience to scratch that- that… Itch.” Kaili shook her head. “The only reason he got out was because his dealer OD’d before he could. Made him realize that the fether had been undermining him the whole time.”

“Offered a taste, starting with a ‘low price’ before ramping it up, when in fact his ‘low price’ had been the average and the prices were all raised because the kid got more and more hooked on the stuff.”

“So no, I do not associate spice pushers with ‘gangsters’ as much as smugglers and rebels.” She turned back to her drink. “The difference is that a gangster is not a parasite.”

Kaili took a sip of her beer and put it back down again.

 

[Krayzen Dratos]

[member="Kaili Talith"]

Velus had to admit he didn't have a counter for that. There were hardcore people in the TKO he didn't like but he couldn't refute Kaili's argument.

"I concede." he stated, raising his drink up as he willfully capitulated. "I guess your right. " he said. Velus then looked at his drink and began to feel dizzy and so forth. "I think I've had enough drinks." he said, looking at the bartender. He didn't pay his credits, choosing to do so tomorrow.

He decided to lit up a cigar, then spoke, having thought of an interesting question.

"Do you believe that us becoming ruthless toward the Sith will help us stop them?" he wondered, wondering her thoughts on the matter.

 

[Kaili Talith]

[member="Velus"]

“No, I believe that ideals are as important as ever to have.” Kaili shrugged. “Ruthlessness have a tendency to be a rather unwelcome bed partner to carelessness.”

“The second we get careless we lose our credibility, and our credibility is all we have.” The girl looked back at Velus. “We can afford to be perhaps a bit more ruthless and intolerant in our ways, but then we risk becoming zealots instead which is just as bad.”

“I believe that what we need is a bigger scope.” Kaili decided to give up the act. “The Kathol Outback is just one area, we shouldn’t focus on just one area. We need to go back to focusing on the galaxy as a whole. To fight injustice where we find it, not this bullchit about stabilizing a specific dot on the map.”

“What about you? Is there any reason for The Underground to keep itself rooted in a single area?”

 

[Krayzen Dratos]

[member="Kaili Talith"]

Velus listened to her thoughts and agreed with some of it. A small part of him wanted to tell her that he was willing to kill any Sith and felt like killing a Sith that was undergoing a path toward redemption. His personal experiences had made him believe that all of them needed to be exterminated. In a way, Velus was a follower of Machiavelli's statement, "the ends justify the means", although he only felt that way about the Sith. Velus decided not to tell her though, as he he wished to keep such thoughts to himself.

"I agree with you on that." he said, his visual expression saying the same. "In terms of the why we stay here in a single area, I'm really not sure personally. The official story is that we wanted to liberate the worlds here from the Black Rose, but who knows. I do agree that we should expand our fights to other areas of the galaxy." Velus said. "I guess that's one thing me and the higher-ups in the TKO don't agree with. "