Take Off The Mask

[Alric Kuhn]

His lips thinned.

Alric's mind filed away the information about the grav traps almost automatically. He of course wasn't planning on invading, attacking, or sneaking onto Tatooine, but it was still something worth remembering for later.

His thoughts however primarily fell upon her other words, about finding the men that had stole the Alpha Red. He frowned slightly, remembering the vial that was still in his backpack. He had been careful with it, extremely, but the fact that it existed still bit at him more than anything else. Titan would be able to make an antidote, maybe even an inoculation.

“Who do you think they were?” Alric had his own theory.

Alpha Red was most useful to one faction in particular.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

"They could be anyone."

Alric and her had mulled over on just who would be behind it. He had already mentioned he had his thoughts on the Republic. Truth be told, with the increase in an aggressive stance, she wouldn't put it past them.

A recall of information came then; Titan Industries. He was Titan.

"Those who would be more apt to benefit from harming the Vong..." and the Republic were getting desperate. To be diplomatic or not? Did it really matter?

The scrubbing of his shoulder just over the script would slow. Titan. He made Yuuzhan Vong Technology.

"Much like those who would benefit to make sure that it didn't get into the wrong hands."

 

[Alric Kuhn]

Alric hit his head against the wall.

He tried to jump star this tired mind, spring it into action, move it back into working. His thoughts became less cloudy, and as Danger began to swab over his shoulders his thoughts began to form in a straight line. Ideas began to form, and his lips thinned.

“What if...” He trailed off for a moment. “...what if it's not a government?”

It wasn't only governments that were working against the Vong, that wanted to see the One Sith crumble.

There was something to that idea. After all, the One Sith would have sent Sith, the Republic would have had sigils, or perhaps some sort of trace.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Alric Kuhn"]

Danger's scrub would come to a slow halt right over the inky script of Fiona's name, sudsy water trailing and rippling over his shoulder and back, washing away the soap.

The Queen of Trade would pause. "Are you talking about the Rebellion?" that was the first non goverment entity that came to mind. Terrorists by one flavor and freedom fighters by another.

There were also groups much like the Deathwatch. Her interactions with the Mandalorians also brought to mind the Mandalorian Protectors. Her brow would furrow.

There was also the Red Ravens... she wouldn't put it past them to try something of the sort. At least, be a non government cell group with enough resources to have the tech they saw to do what they did on Tatooine.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

He shook his head, though it did make quite a bit of sense. The Rebel Alliance was declared against pretty much every major government in the galaxy, in fact Alric had absolutely zero idea what they actually stood for, but this seemed too subtle for them.

The only other major act that they had done that he could remember was an outright raid on a Tion facility, and that was...well it had been rather obvious.

“Seems a bit too subtle for them.” Not the use of the Alpha Red, they would definitely do that. “Not them, but others. Corporations, criminals...”

There had to be other groups. “Titan hasn't exactly made a lot of friends, and were the only producers of Yuuzhan Vong Bio-technology in the entire galaxy.”

That was a simple fact. He was sure he had made enemies, he even knew a few of their names.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

Danger took a step back, hanging the loofah on a small hook on the wall. A press of a button would redirect the water to flow from the wide circular shower heads.

Hot water would rain on them both, and Danger would lift her hands to slick back her hair away from her face. She was quiet, but this was because she was contemplating -- thinking.

"No, Titan hasn't made plenty of friends at all," she'd muse aloud, blinking away drops of water that latched onto her eye lashes. Due to her Tion ties, she knew where the sentiment for Titan lay.

"The Mandalorians could very well also potentially be behind it. As for criminal links... no... I'd have heard about it." That wasn't to brag; that was just fact. Danger held networking ties to practically every government and criminal entity in the known 'verse.

Something this big and rare to attain would have come across her desk one way or another.

But there wasn't any harm in double checking with the Bothan network.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

He frowned.

“Not Mandalorians.” Alric said with more confidence than he had had in his voice before. “They wouldn't have been that subtle. You would have a fleet hanging over Tatooine and more than half a dozen Dropships circling that Star Destroyer.”

That was the simple truth.

Mandalorians weren't exactly known for their subtlety, the idiots had brought a fleet over Coruscant simply to try and negotiate with the Republic. Idiots. Of course Alric had only heard about the event after the fact, but apparently it had truly happened. His head rose, and he slowly turned towards Danger.

His hand would unconsciously settle on her hips. “Shadow organization?”

There were a few that he knew of, but they weren't anything major. Just a few smuggler outposts that fancied themselves masters of the stars and a terrorist cell or two, but it was possible.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

The press of fingers would dimple on the curve of her hips; a reminder and a testament. Hair slicked back without a single layer of artifice would display a topography of hills and valleys scattered with tiny light brown spots; as if her creator had taken honey and sent scattering tiny freckles across Danger's skin.

"There are few Shadow Organisations out there with the technology of this magnitude," she'd say with a rasp, a bead of water trickling down her neck. She would pause for a moment, percolate in her thoughts. It wouldn't be Tion. She would know about it one way or another.

However, she wasn't infallible.

The frown would deepen, "...unless the goal was to remain unseen. There had been murmurs of the Syndicate years ago... but word has it it had been shut down." no, Alric had something there. It was a nagging at the back of her mind.

Not everyone wanted to be in the spotlight. No, much like the Syndicate... there were others who would rather manipulate from the shadows.

"...unless another decided to take advantage of that wake."

 

[Alric Kuhn]

Alric scanned his own thoughts.

He tried to remember the name of governments, organizations, corporations, everything that he could possibly think of that would want to hurt Titan and the Yuuzhan Vong. He frowned slightly, his head shaking, then leaning forward to rest on Dangers shoulder.

He still felt tired, still wanted to sleep for days, placing his forehead upon her shoulder helped slightly, water pouring down his unfeeling back.

“Exchange?” Unlikely, unless they sold the Alpha Red to the Republic or even the One Sith down the line.

Alric didn't see them making a power play like this, they were still too localized, too small to be of any real threat to anyone. He frowned slightly, consider as his fingers began to dab into her skin with light touches, the water still waterfalling off of him

 

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Alric Kuhn"]

"If it was the Exchange, I'd hear about it soon enough," she had ties to the Exchange on Tatooine and some weight on Nar Shaddaa. Something this big would trickle down to her.

His weight would bear down on her, and she felt the dribble of his fingers on her skin in thought. Men were curious creatures. To some degree, they felt that there was a standard to live up to. A goal. An image. The 'Verse didn't harbor a place for them to give the appearance of what one could consider vulnerability.

And everyone needed a place to be able to freely express it. Maybe that is why so many coveted the interaction the Companions could give.

A moment would pass, then the light stroke of her fingers would start to run over his head, sliding through the tendrils of damp hair.

"No... even then, too small time. How would they know that ship was there to begin with? Not to mention, potentially artificially create a method of manipulating a method to uncover it."

Her lips would purse, "No.. this goes beyond that." she felt the tickle of the thick bristle of his jaw at her collar.

"It could very well be someone new." another pause.

"Or someone who has been there all along."

 

[Alric Kuhn]

He still pondered.

Half a doze thoughts ran through his head at the same time, He tried to remember names on documents, organizations, ancient remnants that were long gone. Nothing really came to him, nothing obvious anyway. There were a few established things in the galaxy that could pull this off, yet none of them really had motive, none of them would have the reach to touch Tatooine.

He mulled for a second more.

“What if its not about the Yuuzhan Vong?” The Yuuzhan Vong after all were no longer major players in the galaxy. Sure they were a major part of the One Sith military force, but the faction that had been the Vong home had been completely destroyed by the Moross Crusade. Their surrogate homeworld had been ravaged and their identity split apart. The Hrosha-Gul now served the Dark Lord almost exclusively.

“What if it's about the Sith?” That of course lead back to the Republic, but it wasn't what he was getting at. “Is there anyone who would want to hurt the Sith? Who would want to hurt force users?”

It was a silly prospect, but an idea worth considering.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

Her brow's drew into a deepening frown.

Now there was a thought, she would think to herself. What if it had nothing to do with the Yuuzhan Vong? Her fingers would halt their cafune, and her expression would furrow in contemplation.

"Alpha Red was used exclusively against the Yuuzhan Vong," no that didn't make sense. She tried to remember what she could about the biochemical agent. "... It wouldn't just be the Sith or any Force user -- it would affect everyone if it were to mutate."

Her fingers would sail down over to his shoulder, where they would begin a soft dribble in thought.

Someone who would want to hurt Force Users?

"... Well, that isn't to say that there aren't radical groups out there who believe that the troubles of the 'verse here held to blame at the feet of the Jedi and the Sith." a certain dryness came to her voice at that. Needless to say, she didn't hold Force users to such a high esteem. Only a handful could be said that did in Danger's eyes.

"Some even think that they gather themselves up to save the 'verse after the Jedi and the Sith nearly destroyed it many a time. The One Sith War is proof of that already with what war can leave behind thousands with a mighty strong desire for some form of justice."

 

[Alric Kuhn]

He frowned slightly, his arms lightly slipping around Danger and curling around the small of her back. Unconsciously Alric pulled her close, letting out a small sigh and continuing to rest his head.

A memory formed within his mind.

It was a desperately long reach, and it forced small chuckle to escape his throat. His head lifted away from her shoulder, and icy blue met bright green for a few seconds as his still cracked lips parted to tell her a story. “My father used to tell me stories of old Empress Teta and the Koros system. There used to be an organization, or rather something that was formed there. The Koros Covenant.”

He mouthed it with a pop.

“Something done to stave off the Krath, the Sith, the Jedi.” He let out a yawn. “All of them.”

In his mind they were long dead, the organization that had formed from that. It had been thousands of years after all.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Alric Kuhn"]

There was something there; something that caught Danger's attention. Something he said.

Koros Covenant. Krath. Sith. The Jedi.

An organization born from a dire need to conduct their own form of shadowy justice. Their own form of manipulation, the puppeteers tugging on strings, the kind of..
"...Influential conspirators desiring the ordinary people to rule." the words would flow from Danger's mouth with a low rush. A kiss of a whisper; tension thickening along with the steam as a dawning awareness came.

"Blaming the two largest honkey religions responsible for the devastation caused by their wars, seeking their end." she began to blink rapidly, her mind racing as something her pa done told her years ago. Murmurs of the past. History repeating itself.

Her heart began to jackhammer in her chest, eyes widening. That nagging feeling suddenly became a very real knot at the pit of her stomach.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

He shrugged.

“Star Cabal.” Alric said. “They've been dead for thousands of years though, no ones heard a peep out of them since long before I was born.”

Of course to him, that simply was the end of it. After all there were no great shadow organizations any more, nothing operating in the dark, nothing with those kinds of resources. To him the answer had to be a simple one, something that was staring them in the face and something that was so obvious it was hard not to notice.

The thought, the idea of something so old being at fault simply never happened.

Alric leaned forward and kissed Danger's nose. It was a small gesture meant to take the seriousness out of the situation, meant to pull them both back from a dark abyss. Today was a happy day after all, at least mostly.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

That small gesture startled her out of her deepening thoughts. She gave a small double take, for a moment the most comical of raw expression of befuddlement floating across her face.

It was to a degree, an affectionate gesture. At the very least in terms of pushing past personal boundaries of space; her space. It was an expression of intimacy. Something that would unnerve and unbalance her for a brief moment. Danger was not used to such things; not in a long long while. Folk just didn't cozy up Danger Arceneau by giving a her a kiss on the tip of her nose.

It was strange. Strange as it was unsettling with the fluttering in the pit of her stomach.

Her skin would flush, but that was due to the hot steam of the shower right? Right. Well at least that is what she'd tell herself. Alric Kuhn was a man she was still trying to figure out and peg; and the journey was an altogether strange and unfamiliar path.

A step back would draw some distance between them, her wet hand rising up to flick a splash of water straight to his face. A distraction. Her lips would purse and she'd shoot him a rueful expression, talk of the Star Cabal forgotten.

Droplets of water would strike, and a notable smug expression would settle upon the Queen of Trade's face.

No, on Dangeruese's face.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

Alric grasped the bannister of the balcony.

His lips were still cracked, though no longer bloody, his hair was washed and unkempt, but his beard was once again neatly trimmed back. Dark circles were faded beneath his bright blue eyes, lines of his face etched there from lack of true comforting rest.

He stood at the very edge of the cliff, looking out over the desert that just hours ago had been threatening to claim his life. There was a solemness to his gaze, a slight thinning of his lips. His hands tightened slightly, whitening his knuckles. Head shaking side to side Alric pushed thoughts from his mind, turning back to earlier ideas.

There was much to be done.

They still had to find out who took the Alpha Red, figure out what or who sent those people. Not to mention that Alric himself needed to get back to civilization. It had been over a week now that he had been gone. Titan would still be on its feet, but there would be rumblings by now.

A tired, exhausted sigh escaped his lips, eyes closing as an oddly cold desert wind swept up the side of the fortress.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

"Flynn can escort you back to Mos Eisley."

Danger's voice would float behind [member="Alric Kuhn"], a throaty murmur of a woman who had recently awoken from some well needed hours of rest. It was an offer, but one would wonder if she meant it or only said it because he'd expect it. It was hard to say. Things were uncertain, the game was well... was there even still a game?

Her hair was a wild mess of auburn waves, floating down her shoulders and back. With her face scrubbed clean, her nose and cheeks were a ruddy hue from too much sun, giving her another scattering of freckles that would normally be hidden away from artifice.

She wore a dark emerald casual robe of sorts, a rather fine material but not extravagant. It was suited for such hot climates as Tatooine, a style from Eradiu that would suit her. At least, this facet of her. A woman of mysteries no doubt, and one would wonder just how far they went.

Steam rose from the two cups of strong herbal tea she held in her hand. He may or may not be the sort to enjoy the dark brew, but she was ever the hostess and her mother would roll in her grave if she didn't at the very least come prepared to offer it. She took it plain, but the pepperminty herb would do wonders for a sore throat from all that arid air and sand it had been exposed to.

"From there, reckon you can very well make headway to where you'd please." she would continue, ambling slowly towards him.

At least, once they had hashed out what he would do with that last vial of Alpha Red.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

Alric turned around, away from the bannister and the cliffs and towards Danger.

His hand reached out and grasped one of the cups. He had never had the drink, at least not this particular kind, he could tell from the smell. Either way he was grateful for something to wet his dry throat, the air on Tatooine still not favoring him.

The smooth taste lapped across his tongue, swirling in his mouth for a few seconds before he let out a satisfied sigh. “So eager to get rid of me?”

Truthfully, he was eager to be gone. This was not his world, not his place.

It wasn't that he didn't see the bright sides of this place, it was simply that...well the past week had seen far too many close calls, far too much suffering. Perhaps he could return here later, or perhaps never again.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

"Tatooine is a backwater world." she knew that well and she said so plainly. Not to mention, there was no hiding the tension in his shoulders, the shadow in his eyes that would come now and then. His experience in her world, in the Wastes, in No Man's land was a baptism that no saptient should ever have.

But it is what it is. There was beauty to the land of Twin Suns -- but it was a death trap to anyone who was unfamiliar with it. To degrees, it was much like Danger. That's why her momma named her so; Dangeruese Rose.

Every rose has it's thorns, Dangeruese.

How she hated that saying. Thankfully less than a handful were even alive to know what her middle name was, much the less her full name.

"I fit in just right-- but reckon it ain't everyone's cup of tea." she said plainly. "Not to mention been well over a week since I first heard word you landed on my spaceport."

"A Titan disappearing ain't the kind of news that fades with time or the night." she didn't answer his question on if she was trying to get rid of him or not. That, well... she was trying to figure that out herself.