Private Now is the winter of someone's discontent

[Lunafreya Solidor]

O B J E C T I V E | Unknown.
L O C A T I O N | Anji-Anji Office, on Braavozsia in the Elenna.
T A G S | PERSENUS
T H E M E | Soon.
G E A R | Soon.​

Braavozsia. A frozen icy planet. A place where outcasts, traitors, rebels, criminals, outlaws, mercenaries bounty hunters and the worst sort of scum in the galaxy would most unlikely enjoy calling it their homes. For this little snowball, was once said to have been populated by refugees, hundreds of years ago, from the days in which the Yuuzhan Vong raided the galaxy, bringing about havoc and murder wherever they went. It took many years for this planet to become what it now was, replacing its empty ruins and tribal lords into a criminal society ruled by a strange triumvirate of crime bosses that have kept themselves in power this long through cruelty and harsh order, keeping proxies in power to rule in their place as they abuse their power in strange courts held beneath its domes. Out of the five original cities on Braavozsia, three of them were domed creations of technology, built over the ruins left by the Mornedhel settlements of yore. The crime lifestyle was law inside those cities, where criminals ruled as kings. Ignoring the fact that on the outside of their petty-kingdoms, the Nelvaanians ruled absolute.

He was such proxy, another go-between, a servant of the worst sort of criminal in the galaxy, the Hutts. Once Nico Tarkona would have done absolutely anything to achieve such an honorable position for Queen Popara of the Anjiliac, but now he had begun to hate his job. Especially when it meant coming to Braavozsia, Nico never knew if he would get out of this alive, and yet, he obeyed his fat slug mistress. Before his eyes he saw nothing outside what the locals called Bartertown, once gloriously called Carn Methed by its former inhabitants, River Fortress as Tarkona’s translator told him. In all those years, Nico never saw a damn river running inside this smelly, stinking, freezing-cold, poor-excuse of a city. At least his task was simple enough before departing that forsaken place, he was to find hunters to form a party and send them away to the hellish side of Ilmaren, where the locals paid heavy tribute offering as a bounty for killing its infamous lizard. Tarkona only heard the rumors, on which apparently, some large reptilian beast decided to nest right where Queen Popara had started to scavenge for relics and ores. The deaths of her workers caused the Queen to dispatch her lethan twi’lek to solve this matter, and Nico couldn’t help but despair, for he had limited coin to offer proper hunters to slay the beast. And for as odd as it was, he found relief and joy when he saw a petition from Ilmaren’s local offering quite a substantial amount of money for hiring goons and killing the lizard.

“Oh, my brains... “ He whined to no one but himself, sitting behind the desk with two gamorrean thugs on both sides. He tossed a sheet of paper, all scratched, right on the floor, he dismissed another hunter. For not only the short funding on the coin in his purse, but Nico also discovered that Bartertown’s locals were too afraid of going to Ilmaren, for they heard rumors of a choking shadow lingering on the planet. He gathered six of them, and there was still room for two more to join this merry band of fools, but all the current candidates were, as Popara would have shouted, slimebag idiots. "Send in the next one...", he ordered the slave by the door, his eyes focused on the papers on his table.

 

[PERSENUS]

His breath rolled out of his mouth, freezing into a cold stretching cloud, resisting the instinct to huddle his arms against himself for warmth. He could not, still, as his repairs upon his body had to made. The tattoos that sprawled upon his hairless pale form were interrupted by healed over wounds and scars, burns and cuts from Bounty Hunters and vengeance seeking Mandalorians. It had been a rough few days for Persenus but then again he hasn't had one go smoothly in years. Now he sat there in the snow with a sharpened stick covered in ink in his hands, jabbing it into himself repeatedly until the tattoos were once again connected.

They were off-colored, not the usual dark red and instead were pure-black as it wasn't the same alchemical ink that his master had used to mark him and enhance him. It mattered very little, though. The alchemical ingredients have already set in so the only thing left was to keep the markings intact. He had been accustomed to pain for years but applying the markings back atop his head and above his eyelids were not pleasant. In spite of the cold burning his flesh, it provided him with a distraction from the pain he was causing upon himself. When he was finished, he would look at himself through the reflection in the window, making sure that he didn't miss anything. Satisfied, he exited the alleyway he had taken refuge in for the night. It was time to find work.

He wasn't keen on working with Bounty Hunters. It seemed that working with them always ended up going sour for him but seeing the townspeople drop their credits to fund whatever endeavor the hunters were set to do intrigued him. He asked around for what exactly this was for and, as he expected, it was to kill some monstrous entity. It sounded easy enough; he was good at killing. Still, the voice of reluctance and hesitation remained to resound in him. The last time he had partaken in such quests, it did not end well, nor did it exactly go well either. Many of his teammates died in the conflict and even after it, Gnox the Insatiable had arrived to end their suffering. Hopefully, it would not end as bloodily as that instance did.

He would seek out the hirer, asking for guidance towards the offices. It would not take long for him to arrive there with the help of kindly strangers. With a brief thanks, he entered the establishment with a cautious step. Bounty Hunters were about here, and he could only hope that none of them would recognize him as prey or at the very least recognize him as prey they would rather not chase. He had a ready hand to his saber if things will get messy. He trudged on in spite of the risk, climbing the stairs to the office and was met with the entrance of the last Bounty Hunter before him. He would then be told to wait until his inspection was over, so he relaxed on the lounge, though relaxing is something that came very infrequently to one such as Persenus.

When he was called upon, he was antsy to get up. Quick decisive steps were taken all the way to the office, entering with his characteristic impatience. The twi'lek, if he were to look up from his work, would be met with a relatively tall Echani male wearing worn robes the covered most of his body, made a size larger than one such as he, and was adorned with complex red tattoos on his shave head down to his feet with marks of black linking between them at times. "Is there space in your team?" He asked with a raspy voice that sounded somewhat ill, perhaps caused by spending the night in the freezing cold.

Lunafreya Solidor

 

[Lunafreya Solidor]

T A G S | PERSENUS ​

Calm as the morning breeze, Tarkona raised his head. Both his lekku stood in front of his body, falling all the way to his torso, almost touching his waist. His eyes looked straight up, analyzing every aspect of the new petitioner in front of him, inside his own mind he made sure to take his own notes regarding that person. His clothes were rags, dirty and poor, probably from off-world, he looked like one of those crazy magical fanatics he saw once while in Sith Space, but still, he was guessing either he was Arkanian or maybe an Echani, which were both very rare. ‘Most definitely an Echani, the Arkanians have those colorless eyes.’, he thought to himself.

“Sit down.”, he gestured to the chair in front of the table and turned his own gaze back to his papers. “So, I have work on the Madilon Mines, pays off nearly a hundred credits. Or... Phond Pits for four hundred, and you have to bring your own helmet. Because, Phond, you know...”, he gestured with his left lekku, suggesting something bad. “Drives a fellow crazy if exposed for too long, except those Dashades, those are some tough bastards.”, he enjoyed doing that, offering them shitty jobs first, to keep what really mattered for the end of those lovely conversations. “Either those or... patrol duty, city wants a Nelvs Nest destroyed, they are paying... well... “ He checked his papers once again before proceeding. “Nearly five hundred credits. A lot of money for killing a few savages, right?” His lips formed a smile, that soon disappeared. “But if you want to make more... I can offer you something else... Perhaps, hunting, yes? There is a... “ His tongue moistured his dry lips before speaking. “Small matter to be solved. Out on Ilmaren, ever been there? No matter. Volcanoes and lava pits, nothing important, but, the locals are paying off nearly ten thousand for killing a lizard, well, actually it’s fifty. But there are four other hunters, and they get their cut too, but this one maybe is too soon for you, tomorrow you boys would leave. Hop on a ship right outside my office and then straight up to Ilmaren.”, he entwined both hands in front of his face, elbows on top of his desk. “Your choice, pal.”

 

[PERSENUS]

Persenus withstood his brief analyzation. It was in moments like these, under the microscope of criminals and malefactors, that he remembered back to his days as a slave, being sold off for what he was worth. He wished to be bought out, thinking any place would be better than the Fight Pits, though with the new understanding of the galaxy he has garnered with maturity perhaps such a life would have been worse. Usually, he would be taken for a Rattataki given at this point, he looked more like them than an Echani with his shaven head and tattoos, but it seems the Twi'lek knew the differences beyond the superficial.

He listened to him go on about the available jobs, testing his patience more and more with his unneeded exposition. He knew where the money was going and he'd prefer if he can get there as quickly as possible. There'd be visible impatience growing on his face as the Twi'lek kept talking, knowing full well that the other offers were merely sugar-coatings. If there is anything Persenus hates more, its people that like the sound of their voice too much. His master, that Sith Acolyte Kesran he encountered on Frego, and any other Sith Assassin thinking he'd be an easy way to rank up; not for a moment could they keep their mouths shut. Most of the time, he had to shut them up himself. The Bounty Hunters, though far more annoying to deal with with all of their underhanded tactics and penchant for the more unconventional approaches, were more bearable in that regard.

"What kind of lizard is this?" He asked, crossing his arms as the inquisitive quirk of his eyebrow rose. He had killed plenty of lizards in his day, big and small. He's killed more than a few adult bull rancors, though not alone, but he was stronger now with the Force in hand and it seems that whoever he was going with seemed better armed than gladiators given whatever was lying about in an armory. Persenus figured that whatever it was, if they were only hiring four and not a company, it should be manageable. He wasn't expecting something like a Krayt Dragon if this is whatever they could muster.

Then again, he knew better than to think the galaxy would adhere to his expectations. Luck and chaos, he always said. Luck and chaos.

Lunafreya Solidor

 

[Ursula Vizla]

O B J E C T I V E | Hunt.
L O C A T I O N | Anjiliac's Hangar.
T A G S | PERSENUS
T H E M E | Here.​

“Do I look like a xenobiologist?”, Tarkona immediately asked, calm as a pond. His lips curved into a little frown, as his hands moved quickly to grabbing a piece of paper on the table and reading it out loud. “Golden-scaled, sharp teeth, ate seven people and devoured five other hunters.”, he dropped the paper on his desk. “All I know, all I can say. Look, pal, do you want the job or not?”

The next day, first thing in the morning, a small, rusty, freighter could be found waiting outside his office, just like he said. Where one human male, one Zygerrian, and twin Coynite brothers awaited, all of them were discussing something out loud with a large Chevin, who could be assumed of being the pilot of that shady vessel. All of them were reasonably well-armed, be it with ranged weaponry alongside melee weapons of prestigious cutting, they all looked fierce, some of them were scarred on their faces and bodies, from previous encounters with other criminals, outlaws, law enforcers, and animals. At least two of them were actual hunters, hired by Tarkona to kill the golden lizard on Ilmaren, a subject that already grew into relative fame, and had to be dealt with.

“All aboard!”, roared the pachydermoid creature, laughing as he got inside his own ship, supporting in his cane to walk, as if a slaver species ever needed such things to support all their weight. The human-faced a strange pale, and shouted at him.

“Hey, you over there. Aren’t you the one that scammer Tarkona hired out his arse?”, the two coynite turned their heads to see who it was, each of them was wielding a heavy blaster rifle. Both growled at each other out loud, before starting to hiss in a much lower tone, one of them still looking towards the newcomer. A cunning mind would not what this argument was all about: credits. Another hunter, another cut on the large payment.

Far from where they were, lied the planet of Ilmaren. A star stuck among the stars, they said, for the planet had no actual rotation and was therefore divided into three different terrains, one side was covered by the perpetual hellish cruelty of volcanoes, raging flames, and gushing lava on its boiling seas, while the other was locked in a frozen state of snow-caped mountains, dormant volcanoes and iced dark forests where its natives were known to skin outsiders alive and eat their flesh. Some would beg to go there if they only knew of the shadows that lingered between the flaming existence of Ilmaren, Tarkona himself preferred to be beaten and humiliated by his mistress, Popara, a thousand times over than living such miserable existence on that planet. It was a land rich in minerals, but too savage, and wild.

 

[PERSENUS]

It wasn't much to go off of. Persenus didn't have much knowledge of fauna either but his master drilled some trivial pieces about certain creatures into his head in their expeditions into the depths of old temples. Certain creatures that had big sharp teeth like whatever they were facing. Still, he wasn't quite sure if he knew any specie with that coloration, though undescriptive, that lived in rocks as volatile as Ilmaren. Nevertheless, he took what he was given. As much as Persenus liked to complain, he was never picky. "I'll take the job."

Persenus spent the rest of his day and night partly in the more remote areas, outside of the city. He hunted for his food that night and had an encounter with the Nelvaanians, though the danger was diffused when he brandished the hilt of his saber. He had credits to buy good food and to buy a warm bed for the night, but not both, so he bought neither. He figured that, if he wanted to, he could start a life somewhere away from the all of the lights, away from all of the wars - to disappear, eluding the Sith Acolytes and Bounty Hunters that hunt his smell across the DarkNet through information-brokers. Persenus, however, would not allow him such a fate. He's fought for too long, suffered through too much, just to get stuck on some lonesome planet and live his days like a savage, like a peasant. In spite of everything, he is still a Sith.

He entered the city before dawn, having taken to sleep early to rise well-rested several hours before the red sun arose from the horizon. He arrived back to find the ship ready to lift off with the men armed and unpleasant, as most are in this pigsty. He was particularly displeased to see he'd be working with a Zygerrian and a Chevin. A former slave working with slaver-races would be uncomfortable at the least, even if the latter did not know of his previous... social status. As he approached and entered, it seems that the conflict has already arisen.

He would largely ignore the looks and snarls, not giving any of their acts of aggressions the time of day as he would find a place to sit in the freighter away from the rest of them. He preferred the company he worked with back on Dandoran far more than the looks of any of these sleemos. They were former soldiers, Shock Troopers that found themselves that resigned from the warring only to find that warring was all that they were good for. They were professionals, and professionals he could work with. Professionals that could recognize that if the last five hunters were eaten would gladly accept half their price to double their numbers.

Still, a part of him hoped that one of them died after they'd wrung out their use. Admittedly, it was a rather large part of him.

Lunafreya Solidor

 

[Lunafreya Solidor]

O B J E C T I V E | Kill the beast.
L O C A T I O N | Ilmaren.
T A G S | PERSENUS
T H E M E | Here.​

The ship bumped a little with turbulence when crossing Ilmaren’s atmosphere, and the large Chevin made sure to laugh, amused when the whole ship started to shake and crack all around, his laughter sounded like the drumbeat of roaring thunder. He made a tough landing on a deep canyon somewhere, almost as if he bashed the ship violently on the floor on purpose to shake things up on the back, where his six passengers could only wait. There wasn’t much talk between them, except between the two coynite, that didn’t shut their own traps and kept talking among themselves ever since the ship left Bartertown. The human male, reached out to the pale alien, the new fella that decided to join the hunting party.
“Name is Simus, may I ask yours?”, he measured his companion from head to toes. “You need any extra gear? Tarkona borrowed us some pieces of equipment, ain’t much, but a slugthrower can be handy on this sort of messy business.”

The ship’s door fell to the floor like a hammer, it was most likely broken during the landing. The loud noise echoed all over the canyon, and the Chevin came out of the pilot cabin still laughing, making a short sign towards the open door and roaring to his passengers.
“I will wait here, two rotations and nothing more. After that, I will leave and you boys are on your own in this forsaken planet.”, he turned his back and opened the weapons cabin, growling to his passengers as he returned to his cabin. “I wouldn’t wanna be in your position if that happens, natives can be wild and they like eating people, regardless of race and gender.”

Outside the ship, a large canyon surrounded by sleeping volcanoes awaited. Rocks, melted throughout the centuries shined like obsidian, and veins of minerals and rich ores could be seen, almost free for the taking. The planet was once a rich mining colony, but the natives rallied together and attacked them, kicking those that could escape out of the planet, and doing obscene acts of violence with their captives. This part of Ilmaren, a small inner country was abandoned, the natives fled this land long ago, only coming there for hunting and mining what they wanted to trade with outsiders. Simus took a deep breath on the sulfur smell in the air, demonstrating pure pleasure by doing it so, declaring to the party with a smile on his lips.
“Look at this disgusting lovely smell of money. You gotta love it.”, and behind where he stood, the Zygerrian growled between his sharp teeth.

“Or fuck*ng hate it. Let’s move it already, Simus! Who is it that got the map?”, he roared to the coynite twins, but was Simus that answered him, raising the holographic figure of the scanned area, where a large golden mark stood on a mountainside not far from where they were. “Good, good. The volcanoes will hide our smell, and the noise will give the element of surprise. Oy, new guy, you watch our back.”

Said that they took out all the equipment they would need and started to move. Their direction was north, where smoke rose from the largest volcano in the area.

 

[PERSENUS]

Persenus remained in solemn contemplation through the trip, keeping to himself as he tried to guess how long it would take before he'd have to come to rely on the Force or his saber. After all, without either of them, Persenus acknowledged that he wasn't much at all, but there were certain dangers of revealing his attunement and pass to scum like these men before him. He had three weapons besides the Force at his call, two were parts of his gauntlets hidden under the robes of his cloak, and the third was himself, being alchemically enhanced to be able to face against the physical superiority of stronger races, though that wouldn't be enough. He was ill-prepared, though then again, that is often the case with Persenus. The human, however, eased his worries.

"Vinas." It was a name that he was reluctant to use again, though over time, it became far more welcome in his headspace. It was a name that still had an identity, so he could still very much use it and be confirmed to be a person, but was not associated at all with who he had become after all these years. The only objection that he had was once again a matter of pride. He was a Sith; Persenus was a Sith. Vinas wasn't. Still, such gripes only happened in the back of his headspace, in the shadows that belied him and resurfaced to take shape more often than he'd like.

Vinas would take a DC-17 and a short Vibroblade. He's well accustomed to most weapons in his time as a Sith Knight and in the Fight Pits but, like his Echani brethren, normally preferred to pack light, though his Lightsaber within the depths of his cloak would disagree, being significantly heavier than most. Perhaps an E-11 would've been better for dealing with large, unearthly beasts, but such a blaster was clumsy and inaccurate to what he was used to. With all of that set, he followed the rest outside.

Two rotations were all that they had. He wasn't quite sure how long the days were here but he could guess that they're quite fast given the state that the planet is in. All he could hope for is that whatever they were hunting dies quick. He didn't want to spend any more time on this bipolar rock than he has to. Speaking of the rock they were on, he wasn't quite sure of the Zygerrian was exactly knowledgeable of the planet given his logic steering towards more conventional and stable environments. Creatures that live and evolved here would've probably developed a different way to sense prey and dangers from afar. Still, he wasn't going to go against such assumptions. If the Zygerrian gets himself killed, Persenus wasn't complaining.

He guarded their back, his weapon firm in his hand. His lightsaber was still resting inside its cloak, but he could feel it thirst for use. The excitement of a hunt was creeping in, the calm before the storm preparing his mind for the sudden pull of the trigger and the slash of his saber. Persenus was still itching for a fight, to use the anger and frustration he's built up over the course of the last few days, sleeping in the cold, escaping hunters, and now working with a Zygerrian and a Chevin.

Persenus was likely their best bet in confronting the natives with his particular training - training that he wasn't exactly keen to ever use - but he wasn't in the mood to tolerate savages and communicating with them in whatever primitive language they had.

Lunafreya Solidor

 

[Lunafreya Solidor]

O B J E C T I V E | Survive.
L O C A T I O N | Sunfyre's Lair on Ilmaren.
T A G S | PERSENUS
T H E M E | Here.​

In the dark day that formed the Ilmaren landscape, dreadful sounds could be heard. Those of volcanoes raging far from where they were, but, among all the booming sounds of death and hissing of lava, Simus used his voice to do something else entirely, by deciding to sing. With a gentle, calm, and crystal voice, he assumed a shining melody from a planet far far away from that dark part of the galaxy.

The first scents of autumn can be smelt,
The sense of words is gone in a blink.
No changes in view – it is what they felt
Tears of diamonds on your lashes sink.

Your home all surrounded by snow,
Glassy frost covers rivers and lakes,
That's the way it must be, please don't show,
This yearning and grief on your face.
When the spring comes along with the rain,
The sun will warm up us both,
That's the way it must be for we burn,
With fire eternal like hope…
​

They arrived at the location. The only reason they could tell it so was by the smiling grim on the zygerrians face, such as if he found a lucky pot of pure gold, and before them, it could be a large mountain range, its peaks touching the skies covered by ash and smoke, as its cavernous entrances could be seen, deep and some even foggy.

“All right. Let’s lure this klarg eating reptile out. Boys!”, he growled the last part, and one of the Coynite moved, rushing towards the entrance of the cave and immediately dumping two flash grenades deep inside the cave. He ran back to where the party was standing, protected by a series of obsidian pointy rocks, and as the grenades exploded after the time was reached, a deep silence fell after its banging noise, and the party seemed incredibly disappointed.

“Guess he is not home.”, Simus joked not far from where Vinas was. And almost as declaring he didn’t enjoy any sense of humor or any sort of misbelief, the thundering roar of a creature made itself heard. Strong enough to shake the entrance of that enormous cave, and in the darkness, two golden orange eyes shone like the heart of an active volcano, its breathing was loud as it sniffed his prey, for they were his prey and he was the hunter. Storming outside the cave, golden, mighty, and cunning, Sunfyre had come.

“That ain’t no lizard.”, Talos the Zygerrian said, loud and shocked. “That is a fuck**ng tyrant dragon.”, his words could mean something for those that knew what they really meant. “Oh, Tarkona, you cheap ass son of a bi...”, he didn't have any time to finish his sentence, as Sunfyre advanced, walking on his strong legs and sharp talons at the end of his wings. He knew how to inspire terror, he was taught to do it so ever since he was a hatchling, smoking drool fell back the sides of his mouth and the coynites opened fire. “KILL HIM!”, Talos shouted, firing alongside them, and as if nothing of that even seemed to even scratch his beautiful golden scales, Sunfyre roared and swung his own head to attack those flies, clenching between his teeth one of the two brothers, ripping his entire body apart with the massive strength of his jawline, tossing his destroyed body aside, without even caring.

“RUN BACK TO THE SHIP!”, Talos shouted, making a run for it, and Sunfyre noticed that all too well, as he jumped above the party and crushed Talos under his body, splashing his fluids and organs all over the floor. The dragon wasn’t gonna let them escape, for they bothered him in his sleep and now, their death would satisfy his wrath.

 

[PERSENUS]

Persenus stood by as they prepared to assault whatever was to come out, guarding their flanks and keeping a look out with perception enhanced through the Force. However, as the flash bangs went off, the ripple of an awakening monster in the Force reached his senses. Everything fell silent for him, the rumble of the ground, the sound of deep, bellowing breaths, all null to his ears, his senses focused on the pulsating presence in the Force approaching them. "Chaos take me...." He muttered softly as he turned to face the massive beast that they had called their quarry.

This wasn't the first time he had to come face-to-face with a Force-Sensitive monster, though such experience he still would not rather repeat given how the last time went. Luck and Chaos, he always said, and this time he was very unlucky. His DC-17 likely wouldn't do much against the monster, nor would his vambraces. The only thing he had on him that could harm the thing would be his saber and even then, he had to be lucky to hit something vital in a monster this big. Of course, there was always just throwing things at it but given how fast it just moved, he had doubts he could hit it.

Once more, Persenus was forced to think on his fast before the beast had another swipe at them. What could hurt something this big? His eyes scanned the area in a flash, and remembered that the dead Coynite had detonators on him. If worse came to worse, he'd have to pull out Force Shock, seeing its metal plates. Perhaps Force Lightning could've worked better but, sadly, Persenus didn't have the skill to use the advanced form. Besides that, he only had one other fall back, and he wasn't keen to waste himself on it.

"Human!" He called out to Simus as he began to take distance from them, circling around the golden beast as he tried to shoot at its eye. As powerful as the DC-17 was, even with the precise marksmanship of Persenus, honed through several years of training and battle and tempered with the Force, he'd be lucky to chip at the scales of its eyelids. Persenus hoped at the very least, it'd get mad. "Get the detonators!" He yelled as he kept on firing, attempting to garner as much of its aggression as possible.

As of now, he wanted to at least get into a less compromised position before he begins to use the Force. Hopefully, the last of the two Coynite companions they had would live to see his use. Persenus wasn't exactly keen on facing this thing by himself.

Lunafreya Solidor

 

[Lunafreya Solidor]

O B J E C T I V E | Surrender (?)
L O C A T I O N | Sunfyre's Lair on Ilmaren.
T A G S | PERSENUS ​

The Force worked in mysterious ways, and for some, it was believed that this was done through Destiny. An invisible power of creation that kept itself busy ruling overall life and setting their undoings as the most inevitable thing ever found in existence, for everything would eventually die, whether they wanted or not, nothing truly lived forever. Sunfyre was no stupid beast, he wasn’t intelligent enough to understand the will of fate, but was cunning and old enough to see that his prey was planning something against him, and through the Force this mighty beast of golden scales, whispered his malicious thoughts, for his nostrils could smell something he was not used to finding on such a place: another sensitive.

His immense mouth opened a little, a sharp line of dreadful teeth appeared, forming a diabolical smile as inside his mind, whispers replied to his doubts and gave him new direction as to how to proceed, and those shots from those toys they were holding were nothing against his thick natural armor.
“YES!”, Simus shouted, shaking and stumbling on his own shadow. He was still a shock, not only for what they found inside the cave but for what was done to Talos right in front of him. He ran towards the coynite, that was hiding behind a large pike of obsidian, crying and growling, both his life and the death of his brother. “Give me the detonators!”, he ordered the alien and as he turned his head, Simus could see the blank void inside his eyes, the alien was broken. “GIVE ME THE DETONATORS!”, he screamed once again, and the alien slowly directed his hand towards his waist, releasing the magnetic lock on his belt and reaching out to deliver what was requested to the human Simus. He grabbed the belt as soon as he stood his hand up in the air, clearly pissed off with this situation. “Right! Now get up, grab your gun and help us kill this klarging damn...”

That was when the spear sank deep in the coynites chest, so deep that it actually stuck in the obsidian stone he was leaning against to hide. At first, Simus did nothing but to look at the spear, he was too afraid to turn his head to see who threw it, yet eventually, he did, and by the cave’s entrance he saw the majestic figure of an armored reptile humanoid standing there. All the golden reptile did with his clawed hand was moving it aside in the air and Simus was pushed against the stone, bashing his head and passing out. The golden reptile, looked around, searching not only with his eyes but also with the Force, for he was sent there with a reason, to confirm suspicion and to do what was needed.

“Found it.”, as soon as he said that with his malevolent hissing voice, Sunfyre the Golden raised his head in the air and roared. A sound that belonged to those of force users, for his scream, was of such dread that obsidian broke apart on that field of fools, and the armored reptile force jumped in the air, not far from where that one that called himself Vinas stood, and the earth trembled beneath their feet as the tyrant creature started to move towards both of them. “Do me a favor, boy, and sssurrender without boring me.”, he spoke between his sharp teeth, his clawed hand raised in the air as he used the force to pull in the echani’s direction, his intention was of disarming him by surprise with the Force, his yellow shining eyes focused on his new target, already prepared to make his real move and behind both of them, Sunfyre was coming.

 

[PERSENUS]

He kept his fire constant trying his best to grab the creature's attention, but it seems such endeavors were fleeting. In his mind's eye, the part of him the Force fed its messages to, he could feel the last breath of the last Coynite brother sap out out him, and the mind of Simus' suddenly go cold. He was alone now, forced to fight a monster alone. It wasn't the first time but such experiences were deep within the lore of his person, set in the early days of adolescence before the true grasp of the beastly entity that would surface to take ahold of the young Echani would arise. There was a fear that he could not shake, a feeling deeply set within him with him from the moment he first stood alone as the only survivor in an arena against an adult bull Rancor. Such a feeling he hid well both from the prodding minds of others attuned and to the careful eye of those physically perceptive.

The only thing left was the visible aggression he held in his expression from head to toe though even when relaxed nary was any deviation from such an appearance. The moment he felt another presence enter the fray, he had set his defenses up to their peak. The smaller lizard approached and he could feel the tug of the Force against his grip. Such a tug would be found fruitless, Persenus' physical shields not having been compromised nor worn, and he was already on high alert from the fething Force-Sensitive Dragon. First, he had to fight an immortal Sith Lord that could survive having his chest carved out and still have more than enough power to vaporize matter, now this. Luck and Chaos. Sithspit.

"Tell the prettier of you two to stand back and I might just consider diplomacy." He said, keeping up his appearances. In spite of how things looked right now, he had dealt with worse looking odds before. His pride wouldn't let him surrender, it wouldn't let him lay down his weapons. After all, his pride, damaged as it was, was the only thing he had left. He kept himself steadfast even as the dragon approached, even if the Force told him that this would be his death, he wasn't going to run. Not again. Running has taken up the majority of the last few years and after that Sith Lord, he didn't care for futility. It beats having to spend another day sleeping in the snow, scrapping away.

Lunafreya Solidor

 

[Lunafreya Solidor]

O B J E C T I V E | Survive.
L O C A T I O N | Sunfyre's Lair on Ilmaren.
T A G S | PERSENUS ​

Few creatures in the galaxy knew what sort of devious thoughts were stored in the mind of beings such as Diabolico. He was scaled torment, golden and terrible, a cannibal of sorts, a cruel creature with no love for anything that didn’t involve bringing pain to others begins. The creature twitched the sides of mouth filled with sharp-teeth and smiled, a genuine display of pure disdain and hatred, slowly did he turn his head towards Sunfyre, and the dragon looked fiercer than he remembered.
“You missstook me, no diplomacy will be given, only sssubmisssion.”, he growled between his fangs, raising his hand in the air towards his foe, and from the tip of his black claws, and suddenly he stopped, bringing them close to his head and paying attention to the plug inside his earhole. “Yesss... Let your will be done, Your Grace.”, he began to speak in a rusty hissing tone, while paying attention to nowhere in specific, and after ceasing his speech, once again he brought his attention to the humanoid conscious creature in front of him. “You are in luck, boy. The One told me to bring you alive.”, slowly did he raise his hand once again, filled with spiky dark claws, wide open and made misery be given reality as reddish shots of electricity were charged. “But not awaken!”

Behind them, Sunfyre raised his head in the air and released a nervous growl. And not far from where they were, the cameras surrounding his lair were being watched by both Sunfyre’s and Diabolico’s owner. For that it was what she was, their owner, for Lunafreya Solidor had dominion of all things within her grasp and she wanted more, for that matter she left JanFathal under the hands of a clone of herself and one of her most trusted servants. Building and carving her little kingdom wasn’t an easy task, not in this galaxy, for that matter, she decided to use the art of deception and become Annatar, the Master of Gifts. She was always lurking, watching under the burning gaze of her obsidian ball, seeing things that weren’t meant to be seen, and imposing her will over all things that surrounded her shadow.

 

[PERSENUS]

Persenus, in that moment, figured he should've just let the blaster go. With one-hand, he summoned for the power of the Force, using Tutaminis against the Force Lightning spewing out from the digits of his scaled foe. Persenus was skilled enough with the skill to absorb blaster bolts, even shots from disruptors, but Force Lightning was a matter that deviated greatly from such forms of weaponry. With one hand, he started to absorb the dancing electricity but he could start to feel the trickling energy run down his forearm, caught by the metal around his arm. The pain fueled him to further the use of Tutaminis but it wasn't a technique that could be done with an unstable, outwardly focused mind.

Eventually, such defenses broke. If he had his lightsaber drawn, the brief encounter would've been far different, but his unwillingness to relent the weapon had him ironically unarmed to defend himself against the lightning with Force Weapon. Lightning surged over him and he began to shocked into the air. He was a sturdy one, even through the lightning, he remained conscious for more than what would be healthily reasonable. He held in the screams of pain, focusing hate and anger to fuel him to push through, but alas, there was still a physical threshold that a mortal like him could not cross.

His body was smoked and lied unconscious on the ground. He was breathing in spasm, the shock still travelling in his lungs. Still, he was alive, which was more than some could say for surviving an extended bout of Force Lightning.

Lunafreya Solidor

 

[Lunafreya Solidor]

L O C A T I O N | Torturer's Playground
T A G S | PERSENUS
​

A change of scene surely would have been nice, but this was not the case. To be awake on this place, was to found itself on a modern chamber, modernized quite recently, with strange devices, sharp scalpels, at least one blowtorch, whips, knives, that for surely revealed the simple truth, this was a torture chamber. Strapped by its wrists and ankles, Simus could be found, alongside their new guest, where one could be awakened by the human’s screams of being poked by one of the hot pliers, because of this keep’s torturer, or as he would fancy himself, “Undergaoler”, as according to his mistress, Reek wasn’t much for playing and slacking his day on the job. No, Palescales actually enjoyed torturing smaller creatures and making their flesh twitch beneath his clawed hand, or listening to them scream just as this human was screaming.

“Wakey-wakey.”, he said sticking the blazing piece of metal on the human’s nipple, clearly delighted by doing it so. The human woke up not only scared but also in great pain, his eyes ran through the room he found himself trapped, only to find the large albino reptile staring right at him. “Good, good... “ Palescales said, caressing his face with the back of his clawed hand. “Now your friend!”, and raising his other hand, the creature lifted something that resembled a fire-extinguisher, filled with a lighter amount of cryoban, unleashing the freezing wrath towards the other one, laughing as he did it so. “This will be so fun!”

The doors behind him opened, revealing nothing but a shadowed, pitch-black hallway, one of which the immense golden figure of Diabolico decided to emerge, followed by another reptile, this time a trandoshan, pushing a glass tank in which a mollusk resided, waiting eagerly to begin his duty. Those that knew what it was, was aware of the fact that this creature was an Mairan, that had the unique ability to read people’s minds, erase memories and bring about an excruciating amount of pain to those that were found to be lying. The most perfect tool for events such as these, and favored by those that dabbled in the arts of torture. Palescales got closer to the Echani’s body, sniffing and wondering.
“Now I’m gonna ask just once before using my pet over here... who are you?”
A breeze came with them, and Diabolico sniffed towards the wall, as the door opened once again, but no one was seen getting in, he bashed his fist against the button, closing it and locking it, and unseen to everything, she watched with curious sights.

 

[PERSENUS]

A torture chamber? Well, it wasn't the first time he had been in one. Nor was it the first time he had experienced torture, though, the past experiences weren't so.... formal. With a torture chamber like this, he knew that someone reveled in the creativity of the matter. Not many people tortured with such old school machinations but variety is versatility in the world of pain. A new way to hurt someone was a new way to get them to talk but Persenus felt a good bit of pain beforehand. Having had his stint in the military, he's had torture resistance training, but this was still his first formal bout with it. Persenus' experience in combat and other forms of strife and adversity allowed him to know what to expect, but here, there was little knowledge he had.

He would give a slight hiss at the cold. He felt the moisture in the air turn into water and latch on his skin before hardening, flaking upon his form, giving him an ice-y appearance before it dissolved, leaving him wet and cold against the soulless metal he lied upon. Still, there was an ever steadfast expression still hard on his perfectly symmetrical face, though his rather deformed nose broke that symmetry. He knew better than to make things harder for himself in a situation like this. Besides, whatever information there was on him wouldn't make much difference. There was little people could hold against him that could make things worse than they are.

"Vin. My name is Vin." It wasn't a lie either. Vin, Vinas, Persenus, all true names to him. Hell, he was still accepting that old moniker in those pits as a name in his headspace. However, that name, as similar as it was, would resonate within the memory of those looking for him. Vin was the name he first used to introduce himself to the Empire, the name that was replaced by Persenus. Vinas was the boy under his grandmother's thumb. Vin was the smuggler, the growing warrior that roamed the galaxy for coin. And Persenus was bad thing that came before and after.

He tried to pull against the straps to see how tight they were fitted and how exactly they were made so. Magnetic? Or were they low-tech? His eyes scanned about after, searching the room for anything he could be useful. He was hesitant to act first, a lesson he learned to internalize after fighting his second Sith Lord. He needed to wait for a strike and withdraw before he could be taken advantage of. He was waiting for his moment, and hoped the opportunity came soon.

Lunafreya Solidor

 

[Lunafreya Solidor]

L O C A T I O N | Torturer's Playground.
T A G S | PERSENUS
T H E M E | Here.
G E A R | Here.​

The reptile’s face seemed unmoved by his words, he had tortured too many people over the years to just settle with the first answer a person would give him. Sure, they feared the pain of actions when you showed them another being suffering, but in the end, you had to be sure they were telling the truth before shooting them in the had. His arm was raised in the air with the blazing iron pointed to the Echani’s face, close enough for him to smell the burned metal on the tool safely kept between his claws.
“Are you sure this is your real name, boy?”, his pointed tongue, like that of a lizard, painted his lips with his saliva. “Because I’m not sure I believe you, and you want me to believe in you, don’t you?”, all of the reptiles, Diabolico, Elgar, and himself, standing in the room began to laugh after what he said, the very sound of their laughs was cruel.

Out of thin air, a strange figure made itself seen by all inside the chamber. Almost as if it had passed through walls, this hooded creature wearing nothing but a luxurious milky white fur of that of an albino animal appeared and all those present immediately stopped laughing. They all fell to their knees, including Palescales, their heads facing down, and Diabolico growled between his teeth with both fear and respect stamped in both his voice and his golden face. Not only him, Elgar still had not found any courage to look up and face the figure since it appeared in the room.

“Your Grace.”, the hooded figure raised its hand, gloved with dark shining leather, and waved that same hand in the air.
“Kill him, it offends me,” his voice was modulated to appear as that of a human male, and Palescales jumped upwards, dropping the cryo extinguisher, shouting some vibrant scream as he twirled his own hand and used his claw to slit the human’s throat, and as he died, Simus did it so with the single question still stuck in between his teeth.
“Why?!”, and blood gushed out of the wound much like that of a fountain, bathing Palescales right in his immaculate white scales. All of the reptiles stood back so that the hooded figure could move freely, walking in slow soundless steps that gave it the impression that it actually floated in the air. It continued to approach the humanoid, enough for it to see deep inside its fur eye-sockets and mesmerize nothing whatsoever, like two endless pits of shadows. Staring right at him, imposing his will and analyzing his intentions and emotions, comparing those with the sights it had and sordid plans it still had stored for the future. And after what it appeared to be a very long time, the hooded one spoke with the same male voice.

“Do you want to live?”, slowly he reached out his hand clad in dark leather, keeping that in front of his body, like an old habit kept now by its body as a gesture too arduous now for it to quit doing it so. “Indulge me and don’t lie. Who send you in here? And why?"

 

[PERSENUS]

He rolled his eyes at the lizards attempts at a threat. Chaos, he wanted to escape here with as little destruction as possible, knowing that destruction will call eyes upon him but hearing those insolent howls of infantile amusement made him want to be considerably more rash. It would certainly be less of a hassle to disintegrate these bastards than dislocating his joints to slip through the cracks like he did back in the pits when the slavers put the food just a bit too far for his chains to allow him purchase. In such an enclosed room as this one, too, there wasn't much in the way of defense for them. Self-restraint had them safe for now it wouldn't be long for him to lose such inhibitions.

"You and your pasty-scaled arse want another name from me?" He began his stings. "Ask the others when you meet them in Chaos." He leaned closer, letting the brand touch his face. The heat diffused upon his skin, letting the energy sink into his virility. When he retracted back, there was no signs of burning, though the smell of it still lingered in the air as a dark spot on his pristine skin. Now, he was awaiting for any physical retaliation, as most of their type would enact upon such words, but he would never be met with it. Instead, the ghastly figure appeared, and the more sarcastic side of Persenus became buried deeper inside him.

He watched as the figure moved like an dark imprint on a white canvas, casted upon with supernal strokes as movements. There was a certain etherealness to the being before him even besides the obvious respect and, more importantly, fear that it struck in the hearts of its subjects. It wasn't often that Persenus felt the pressure of a single being. Only Sith Lords, masters above masters, could render that feeling upon him. Gnox, Festrous, there was a certain sting of reluctance that they put in him. Fear, was it? No, that isn't the right word. Perhaps it was more, perhaps it was less, all he knows is that he needed to adjust to deal with them in whatever manner he finds to be the favorable course of action. This feeling was further pushed upon by the casual execution of his companion.

As the creature would inspect him with a its void black eyes like an abyss staring at Persenus, he would stare back. His expression was inscrutable, and his shields remained strong from any mental prodding. Still, he felt like he had to consciously chose to release every breath he took. His own amber eyes attempted much the same, examining its posture, its stance. He could already tell that it was confident, yet considerate of every step it took, like a predator stalking its prey from the shadows, assured of its latest catch. By then, if there was a feeling the entity could sense in Persenus, it would be disgust.

When it asked him if he wanted to live, he almost considered another sarcastic response. Honestly, as of late, he hasn't really been living much, has he? He bit back such a response, knowing better than to escalate it any further. Instead, he chose to answer as honestly as he could. "I was sent here by an idiot to kill a pest."

Lunafreya Solidor

 

[Lunafreya Solidor]

O B J E C T I V E | Submit or die.
L O C A T I O N | Torturer's Playground.
T A G S | PERSENUS
T H E M E | Here.
G E A R | Here.​

Cocky. That would be the word she could use to describe the alien in front of her, his feelings were confusing, his thought transpired to be scattered inside a cracked mind with that of an enraged soul, it was something unusual for her to find on the Elenna Nebula, especially in that sinkhole called Ilmaren. The New Gods knew how bored she was, even if the plan was indeed following up as it was drawn and planned, she was bored, waiting was something she hated doing, even as a child. She was tempestuous, demanding, and unruly. Her first word was "no", which she said often and loudly. They used to say by when she was walking Lunafreya knew exactly what she wanted, and when she wanted it (“now”). Yet, there she was, executing everything as foreseen, and bored. So why not indulge herself in this little game anyway?

“Which idiot?”, the hooded figure asked after a while. The room was as silent as a graveyard would be, only the dripping sound of blood coming from the human’s slashed throat could be heard, which resembled her as the sound of an old-fashioned cloak, quite comforting, especially when trying to measure things inside her own mind. Destiny worked in mysterious ways, she understood that well enough, Bastion had shown her that including those dreadful and pitful imperials, hers was the will of the fates, moved by her crushing desire to crown herself and be adored as a living goddess. “Yes... yes.“, she began to speak, modulating her voice to assume a frigid male’s tone. “You are quite disdainful, boy... even for your own good. Angry, confused, and... ignorant." Silence took over her figure for one moment, a lasting, lingering, frigid moment. Raising her arm in front of the Echani, her index finger was pointed towards his body, not far from him, yet not that close, and out of nothing, came a light as the tip of the gloved black finger, alongside her entire hand was lit ablaze in golden flames. "You will be given a single chance, for I don’t believe in half-truths, neither in coincidences... but no matter, this won’t serve you in here, for now, you will have to content on playing my game, and in my game, you dare barking like a rabid dog without seeing nothing besides you own muzzle, therefore you shall be treated as a rebellious dog, you will be whipped, you will be kicked, you will be trained and trained until you learn how to be a hound. Doctor!”, he almost shouted that name, loudly, causing every lizard in that room to jump on the floor from where they stood and the flames to disappear as her hand returned inside the fur coat. The doors opened once again, and now the clamoring figure of a short bearded humanoid came inside, pushing a wheeled cart that carried a few chokers on top of that table, all, carved with runes and a single stone, a voidstone. “Put the collar on him, wash him, feed him, dress him decently, and prepare him for re-education.”


Diabolico, the golden impending lizard slammed his closed fist above his chest, grabbing the lightsaber from his waist at the exact same time he spoke between his sharp teeth.
“As you command, Your Grace.”, and the doctor grabbed the choker still open, with a large smile on his lips, approaching the Echani, without a single shred of fear in his small body. That alien was crazier than all of them combined, he feared nothing.
“A small piece of advice would be: don’t even think on trying to take this out, for it will electrify your entire body if it doesn't explode your head first.”, he warned his new patient, and the hooded figure nodded towards the small humanoid, now turning back to the humanoid figure. His voice was now amused but still taken by a threatening tone of menace, one that lingered inside one’s brain for it contained foul wisdom in it.
“First lesson. Is either this or I will toss you back to Sunfyre, but this time with no legs.”

 

[PERSENUS]

Another bout of this, it seemed. A smile almost cracked on Persenus face, perhaps the figure before him would sense the humor, but that feeling was stifled as soon as it came. He's been through such an experience before, twice actually. It was ever since he was born until he found himself in the hands of the Sith. He wasn't particularly happy to go through it again, if not, he was livid. Yet the twisted irony of the galaxy seemed to amuse him to some extent. The amusement, regardless, how brief, was what prevented him from being overtaken by anger in that moment.

"Lethan Twi'lek on Braavozsia. Tark-something. I have no quarrels if you seek retribution against him. In fact, Qoritottoi..." He said, still cooperating though the air of latent defiance still lingered about him. As she went on, a weary familiarity overcame him. Perhaps she would recognize that in his thought patterns, there was a space in his conscience that knew this part all too well. He was once a slave and the experiences from that time had never faded. Of course, he wasn't a submissive slave. He was trained to be aggressive; he was conditioned to be a monster. However, he was guessing that this was turning the opposite direction. That may be the only complication.

When the little man came about, whom he guessed was either a Bimm or Sedesian, he grimaced at the sight. "I know how they work, Nwit Nisanto." He spat in whispers though the volume could not match the venom. In his mind he was already making a death list just like the pits. Perhaps he was getting too ahead of himself but one needed amusement in trying times. "Chaosas vytik nun...." He mumbled to himself as he felt the familiar weight upon his neck like a leech upon his flesh.

"And to what end is this?" He asked back at the figure as she turned her back. "A lot of trouble to earn a pet, I'd say." He'd rather die, really. Still, suicide was a cowards way out of the situation. Besides, it wasn't the only way out.

Lunafreya Solidor