The Best of Me (Sage)

[Sayl Bane]

Admittedly, getting into places she didn’t belong was no real feat for Sayl, having lived out her childhood and adolescence on the streets of Nal Hutta as nothing more than a petty thief, stealing credits, food or other things just to make it through the day-to-day. No, this was nothing other than a typical Tuesday for the Chiss hybrid. What was new, however, was the building of interest. Instead of the usual seedy cantina that she stopped by to pick pockets or the average rundown business that was all too easy to get in and out of with no issue, this was a highly guarded warehouse owned and operated by none other than [member="Sage Bane"], supposed drug lord and her twin brother to boot. It seemed that while she'd been busy surviving, he'd managed to make a name for himself in the underworld. That was something she could appreciate, even admire, in a way.

A shame he couldn't afford better security.

Bypassing the guards put in place had been a simple affair, one she chalked up to barebones experience on her part. A few credits slipped here, a careful dispatch there, and no one was the wiser. The snipers, now, those had been the real fun. It had taken a bit of maneuvering, but two of them wouldn't be reporting back to their boss anytime soon, and the third had been sated by a promise of her returning later that wouldn't ever be fulfilled. Sometimes, she wasn't sure why she bothered. This was supposed to be a challenge, but then again, Sage was family. Maybe he'd decided to let her off easy. A wry smile flashed at the thought. Not karking likely. The minute she started receiving leeway from any of her targets was the day she would ultimately give up on the business. She wasn't in it for things to be easy. The thrill of things, now, that was the real fun.

Unfortunately, this particular sidetrack hadn't provided quite the jolt of adrenaline that she'd imagined, but, twirling a vibroblade she'd picked up from one of the very much deceased guards, she decided that no real complaints could be filed. Either way, this would end up being a family reunion to remember, whether her twin liked it or not.

The only question was where he'd managed to hole himself up at, but after a brief moment of searching the surrounding area with her rudimentary skill in the Force, it was evident he was still in his office. Whether that meant he was awaiting her with blasters ready or not, only time would tell, and perhaps he was in an entirely different locale altogether. Regardless, she stepped into what passed for his business quarters, vibroblade still in hand and an amused smile on her lips. "Fancy meeting you here."

 

[Sage Bane]

Sage Bane, two-bit drug kingpin for the Ko Hentota Cartel on Nar Shaddaa was currently doing what drug lords did best, counting credits. Not only was Sage doing some accounting, which he had to admit was not the most exciting part of his job, but he was also getting ready to lock himself in his office and sample some of the new merchandise, some potent glitterstim that had arrived from Dredd. Scratching at his skin, his cravings for the stuff were reaching crisis levels, and he was just about to take a generous hit of the stuff when all of a sudden he heard a woman speaking. Instinctively reaching for his blaster and clicking off the safety, he whirled around to level it at the oddly familiar voice. Sage found himself facing off with a spitting image of himself, only female. It was his identical twin sister Sayl. His brown eyes flashed red just for a moment as he felt a powerful tug of emotion at seeing her again again.

"What the frell? Sayl?" he exclaimed as he lay the blaster down on its side and ran his fingers through his shaggy brown hair. Sage was almost speechless as he hadn't seen his twin since they were children at the Nal Hutta orphanage where they were both left as infants. Sayl had eventually managed to escape the fate her brother could not, and he was sold into slavery. Sage would end up being irrationally jealous of her for her foresight, when he should have simply been happy for his sister. He himself would end up being chained to Jomma the Hutt and forced to do unspeakable things with the Hutt and his entourage for most of his wasted youth.

Once Sage looked his sister over in disbelief, his mouth slowly twisted into a wide smile, and he stood up from his desk, spreading his arms wide. "Come here and give your twin brother a hug."

[member="Sayl Bane"]

 

[Sayl Bane]

There were a number of things that Sayl had expected in retaliation for breaking into what she supposed was intended to be a heavily guarded location. At the very least she'd imagined that he would have held her at blaster point for just a bit longer, so when he all but welcomed her with open arms she was a bit surprised to say the least. But they were blood, and it had been years since the two had seen each other. Hesitating for just a moment in which she carefully assessed the layout of his office she stepped forward to pull him into an embrace, eyes flickering red here and there as she released him, her grin an almost mirror image of his own. In their time apart she'd forgotten what it was like to be all but staring into a mirror whenever she chanced to glance at her brother.

Finally setting the vibroblade down she surveyed the office once more, noting with no real surprise the few containers of spice about his office, along with the telltale signs of an addict she'd learned to recognize. It might not have been the most traditional of reunions, and they certainly weren't the galaxy's best family, or even a real family at all, but none of that mattered in the long run. Looking herself up and down in mock confusion she only smiled and shrugged. "That's my name, last I checked. Everybody else calls me Sixer or Little Blue." Pretending to scrutinize his own condition, she studied him for a moment. "How about you, then? Living large, as always. Not a bad business, but it has to get boring, just sitting around here getting high."

Stepping back, she realized just how little she knew of her twin since their time spent together on Nal Hutta. And it had been a short time at that. After her subsequent escape from the orphanage, she hadn't bothered to stop back for courtesy visits, doing all she could do avoid being returned along with being busy enough just worrying about herself. But now that she was more or less in one piece and the pair was united again, those idle thoughts came back to pick at her brain. If he wanted, he would tell her. Even if he didn't want to, well, she'd end up figuring him out one way or another.

"You need better security, by the way. I took it upon myself to weed out a few of them. They should be here shortly." What she failed to mention was that they would be arriving in body bags, a fact that remained to be discovered by him. It was a tumultuous sibling relationship they shared, indeed.

[member="Sage Bane"]

 

[Sage Bane]

Eyes closed tightly, Sage returned his sisters embrace, holding her wiry frame against his own and resting his head on her shoulder for a moment. Then he pulled away and perched on the edge of his desk, grabbing his blaster with a trembling hand and shoving it back in its holster. She was a strange sight for sore eyes, with her beautiful looks mirroring his so closely, but her presence also brought back painful memories of their childhood. Memories that had dug a cavernous hole in the young man’s soul, a void he was filling with any substances he could get his hands on.

At Sayl’s comment about his drug use, her twin brother smirked and verbally went right for the jugular. “Ok, Sixer, I’ll admit it. I’m a glit-biter. Years of slavery will do that to a person.” Sage gave a bark of sardonic laughter at his own quip. “I don’t suppose you’d know how that feels, huh, sis?” With that he turned and ingested some of the samples from a vial and then turned back to his sister, his eyes fluttering momentarily as he started to relish the euphoria. Then his shoulders relaxed and his body stopped shaking.

When Sayl mentioned dispatching of the guards, Sage giggled. Her twin brother felt no loyalty towards anyone here at the cartel compound. His dealing was a job, a way of making credits, no more. “I guess that’s less people I have to pay,” he said with a shrug.

“For what do I owe this courtesy call, sweetheart?”

[member="Sayl Bane"]

 

[Sayl Bane]

His attitude was a mirror image of her own just as his looks were, which was to say cynical and untrustworthy with just a degree of paranoia mixed in, and an air of nonchalance about any life but his own. And with them being twins, it was something she could understand and even appreciate somewhat. Because although the two had led separate lives after the age of ten, they’d still suffered some of the same consequences that a childhood spent on Nal Hutta would reap, one of them being a largely unstable mental state. Sayl might not have shared in his vices, but she could sympathize with his need for such.

Still, she couldn’t help the fact that her hackles raised at his dig regarding his own slavery, but she merely shook her head. “I escaped where you couldn’t, sure. That doesn’t mean my life was any easier than yours. I don’t suppose you’d know anything about that, would you?” The last rhetorical inquiry was a mocking of his own, an instinctive response to any comments of nature similar to the ones he’d spoken. They both might have been glad to see the other alive and in one piece, but that was as far as their goodwill extended. Common courtesy was lost on the both of them, or at the very least her.

Simply watching with disinterest as he found his high, she nudged a chair in her direction with aid of the Force, grabbing it once it was close enough and turning it around, sitting on it backwards with her arms resting on the back, chin on her arms as she observed her brother for a moment. “You don’t. It’s been, what, eleven years? I thought you’d miss me, after all that time.” Raising an eyebrow she smirked and shrugged, blowing her bangs out of her eyes. “I could be wrong, of course. But I think I know you a little better than that.”

After a moment she stood, moving behind his desk and beginning to rummage through the drawers, paying no attention to whatever protests her twin may have. Despite what he may have been thinking she wasn’t at all interested in the papers scattered about, nor in any of the other documents. Not even the few credit chips she found drew her interest. What she was searching for was something entirely different, and once she found the two objects of interest Sayl crossed back to her chair and sat in the same position as earlier, this time with a death stick between her lips and a lighter in her hand. With a spark the flame caught, and inhaling smoke she tossed the lighter back to him. “Are you going to keep lecturing me, or can we have a civil talk for once? Even you should be able to manage that much.” Exhaling a cloud of smoke, she flashed a half smile, as if in challenge.

[member="Sage Bane"]

 

[Sage Bane]

“I agree with you, Sixer. I wouldn’t know anything about your life, would I?” Sage retorted scornfully. “It’s not like being chained to a Hutt twenty-four hours a day allowed me to stop by for Sunday dinners.” Even though his tone was caustic, Sage smiled widely, his eyes glazed, pupils dialated as he peaked on the glitterstim. He was lit. Her twin raised a brow at her little trick with the chair. It seemed that she had better control over her Force powers than he. We'll see about that, Sage thought. Then he reached into her mind, finding it much easier under the influence of spice, and sifted through her thoughts. She was a bit upset at his passive-aggressive goading of her about her escape from the orphanage. He wasn't sure why he was being so mean to her. Perhaps it was the tendency to see his twin as a strange extension of himself, and right now Sage loathed himself for being a dirty addict who got through life one misdemeanor at a time.

Her twin brother caught the lighter she threw with one hand, and twirled a deathstick between his fingers lighting one for himself. Then biting his nails, a bad habit of his, he admitted, “Eleven years, eh? Time flies when you're having the karking time of your life. I do miss you, sis, but I’ve been a little busy just trying to get by here.” Sage swept his arm aroung the room, gesturing to the cartel compound. Then the mixture of the glitterstim and deathsticks made him nod off for a second. Shaking it off his stupor, he added, "You still haven't told me just why you're here. Do you want to talk or just sit there and smoke all my deathsticks?"

[member="Sayl Bane"]

 

[Sayl Bane]

The continued use of her nickname only caused her to crack a smile, and she made a show of exhaling smoke before replying, letting the fog clear away before she spoke again. "Should I just start calling you Fives, then, or maybe Sev? You seem to like Sixer well enough, but that's already taken." If he wanted to play the victim here, then he could go on ahead. That didn't mean Sayl would be letting him off easy. "It isn't my fault you didn't escape, too. Believe me, I would've liked it better with both of us out there. Life happens, you should know that better than anyone. Doesn't look to me that you're getting along too bad, now. Unless you're going to tell me that making hundreds of credits off spice has gotten hard now?" His presence in her mind didn't go unnoticed, and she countered it with a well-placed shove of her own against his glimpse into her thoughts.

"And, yeah, I've been busy, too. Surviving. I know just as well as you how hard it is to get by on nothing. We're twins, Sage, and the only people that know each other better than we do is ourselves." As much as she wanted to do nothing more than knock some sense into him sometimes, she had to admit that she'd missed her brother more than she let on. But with the lives the both of them led, not much time was allowed for sentimentals. It was either get right down to the bottom of things, or not bother at all. Concise and straight to the point. That was a quality that could be admired.

But now that he brought it up, she wasn't sure exactly why she was here. The simple idea of breaking into a secure area that dealt in illicit activities such as this had certainly been a part of it, but it wasn't like this was her first time crashing a similar operation. Living on Nal Hutta, you were in the wrong part of town if there wasn't a spice dealer next door, and she'd quickly learned that the same went for Nar Shaddaa. "I didn't think I'd need a reason. Talking would be a nice start, after you're done educating me on the finer points of just how difficult your life has been. You aren't the only one just barely scraping by. If you want to tell it to anyone, try dad. Or better yet, Cryax." She couldn't help the wry smile at the name of their half-brother. "I'm sure they'd be more than willing to shell out. They've been getting by a lot better than this, or at least Cryax has, from what I've heard."

It wasn't that she necessarily disliked her half-brother, but not much could be said for him when he hadn't bothered to reach out to either of them. Then again, there was the chance that he hadn't heard of his two half-siblings, but that was unlikely, given his position in the galaxy. "What'll it be? Are you ready to try this again?"

[member="Sage Bane"]

 

[Sage Bane]

Just like that Sage was shoved out of his sister's thoughts, and it made him chuckle. Sayl was definitely stronger than he in the Force, and his competitive twin streak kicked in. Concentrating deeply, he tried again to get inside her mind, all the while following her eyes with his, an amused grin on his face. At the same time he listened to her words and everything was going fine and dandy until she mentioned Nightslice and Cryax, then he frowned. His dad was dead to him. His brother on the other hand, was a different kettle of fish. They were in contact with one another finally, and it turned out the older Bane was quite the powerful crime lord. But Cryax didn't seem too interested in a family reunion, much to Sage's disappointment. Until things changed, he would file their relationship status under "acquaintance."

Skipping over the crack about Nightslice, Sage shrugged at his sister. "Cryax and I have exchanged a few Holocalls, but he seems too preoccupied with his job to spare the time for his addict Moactan Teel half-brother. Still, he said he might give me a few odd jobs here and there with the Ravens. I gotta get off Nar Shaddaa, sis. This place is sucking the life out of me." He took a long drag off his deathstick and watched the colorful trails of smoke waft towards the ceiling as he spoke. "This cartel, too. I didn't free myself from kriffing slavery just to slum it here."

Then Sage narrowed his eyes at his sister, pointing at her with the deathstick perched between two fingers. "I hope you're not expecting an apology for being out of touch. 'Cause that works both ways." He paused and then sighed. "But it would be nice to have you in my life again." Here he searched his sister's eyes with a furrowed brow, expecting the familiar sting of rejection.

[member="Sayl Bane"]

 

[Sayl Bane]

Slowly but surely they were phasing back into how their relationship had been before their separation, and Sayl decided that she didn't mind at all. A bit of familiarity was appreciated, after how chaotic her life had been, and certainly his as well. This was a chance for them to reconnect again, and perhaps reform the close bond that had been the centerpiece of life together before her venture out into the streets of Nal Hutta. "If I wanted an apology I wouldn't have bothered. That's not how either of us operate." Pausing she took a long drag of her death stick, sighing with the exhale. "Let's make it together, then. Find a shuttle off-planet, and leave. The rest of it doesn't matter. We'll figure it out. We always do." She smiled, adjusting her position.

The information about her twin's newfound connection with their older half-brother surprised her momentarily, and she was silent for a moment. One of the last things she'd expected was to hear about a sudden family reunion. Still, if there was one thing she was good at, it was not letting emotions show on her face. They were twins, however, and not much got past them. "I wouldn't start expecting charity from him. If he's heard anything about either of us, you can bet it isn't good. From what little dad told me, we aren't even supposed to be here, apparently." She shrugged. "Guess we've beaten the odds."

Now she turned her attention to his second probe at her mind, conceding to allow him to sift through her thoughts before she eventually expounded him once more. There wasn't really anything she was bent on hiding, and besides, any secrets she had would be found out by him one way or another. They were twins, and that was just the way of things, how it had always been. "Finding anything you like? I hope I didn't disappoint too much." Smirking, she finally booted him out again.

"So, I think we've determined that neither of our lives have been the easiest for us, and we haven't had the luck of the draw by any means. How about everything else, then? Besides the stuff on the surface, how've you really been?"

[member="Sage Bane"]

 

[Sage Bane]

"I like the idea of running away from it all, sis, but in case you haven't noticed," Sage gestured to himself with a smirk. "Drug dealer." Then the young man shook his head in defeat. "Last I checked I had no marketable skills besides dealing and whoring. And I ain't whoring again." He bit his nails to hide the unsteadiness in his hands. "Where would we even go and more importantly what the frell would we do to make credits? Unless you've come into money somehow?" He looked at her hopefully.

"Huh, dad told you that?" Sage almost spat at the mention of his father. "All this time he swore to me that we weren't even his, so obviously he doesn't care too much about getting his story straight. Dad can go to frell. And Cryax, too, just for looking so much like the guy."

When Sayl asked him how he was, he answered her as honestly as he could. "Sis. I'm an addict. How do you think I've been?" Then he sighed mournfully, and reached into his pocket, pulling out another vial of glitterstim. "Please tell me you're doing better than me."

[member="Sayl Bane"]

 

[Sayl Bane]

Holding the death stick between her index and middle finger, Sayl simply shrugged at his comment about how life was going for her. "Define 'better than me'. I'm not addicted to spice or anything, if that's what you mean. But it hasn't been top notch by any means. Stealing gets easier once you've been doing it for a few years. I've just been living, I guess. Any day that you wake up is a good day, right?" It wasn't that she was trying to garner sympathy from him, or anyone for that matter, because that wasn't her intention. He asked how she'd been doing, and she answered truthfully. Besides, she didn't really expect him to feel too bad, given what his situation had been while she was free to wander the streets, more or less.

"Marketable doesn't matter. Nobody said anything about doing things legally. How do you think I've managed to make it this long? Take a few credits here and there, nobody notices. It's better when you can take something of value and sell it off later. We can make that work, for a bit." Even as she spoke the words she was perfectly aware of all of the faults in the plan, and wouldn't blame him if he chose not to go along with things. If she'd been in his position, she wouldn't have either. But it was better than nothing, and with the two of them working together, there was a chance it would work better than it had for just her. And with a life of taking chances, a better one was better than having none at all, in her opinion.

Her eyes briefly flashed a nearly solid crimson at his mention of their father. "I'd rather us not be. It sounds like he disowned us, not that I give a kark. That's one less member of the family to worry about." Having grown up not knowing anyone else in her family besides her twin brother, it wasn't anything difficult to adjust to, if at all. That just meant that if he came knocking for one reason or another, they would have every ground to brush him off no matter the issue they were confronted with. All the better.

"So, in summary, life's been a trip for both of us. At least nobody's tried to kill us yet, huh?"

[member="Sage Bane"]