The Depths of The Dark

[Subject 37]

[member="Akeema"]

The complaints were of course heard, but ignored. The Sons didn't particularly care for crying, begging, or anything of the sort. Over the years they had become hardened, not emotionless robots no, but they simply didn't care as much as they once might have. Part of that had been the training they'd undergone during their time with Titan, part of that was simple experience, and part of it was just who they were. From the beginning they had never been kind.

Kind people did not make good soldiers.

So as the girl stirred up her racket within the cargo bay and one of the pirates walked by all she received was a glance from that odd skull like face across the helmet. The Pirate stared at them through a thin, skin like veil within the cell, but he offered no words. The silence was unnerving, and after a few moments the first mate slowly began to quiet down.

The pirate lingered for a moment more, then continued walking on.

There was something deeply inhuman about the way that they walked. A confidence held to their stride, but it was supremely...off. Not as though they were monsters, but instead as if they were simply missing a piece of themselves.

 

[Christie Daae]

[member="Arthis"]

As soon as the creepy soldier turned, Akeema stuck her tongue out at him. Kenyaa slunk back to the floor. "Worth a try," she muttered, and rubbed her fists on her pants.

"Maybe we'll have a chance once we stop?"

Kenyaa looked at the girl and her suggestion. "Perhaps."

Akeema stared out that thin spot of skin for a moment longer, studying what she could see of the ship and getting a glimpse of a skull head every now and then. Finally, her bare feet took her to Kenyaa and she joined the older woman. Lekkus twitched and for a moment, she felt a familiar presence. A slow smile began working its way on her lips.

"What?" Kenyaa stared at the teen.

"I don't think we're as alone as we think." After she finished speaking, there was a little meow at the wall where Akeema sat, on the other side of that gross skin.

 

[Subject 37]

[member="Akeema"]

Arthis sat quietly in the throne like control chair on the bridge, his lips thin, his gaze set directly on the readouts ahead.

It had taken quite a bit of time to actually learn to read Yuuzhan Vong. Most of his men had been trained in it during their time with Titan, but Arthis himself had never actually interacted much with the force dead being. They had only stolen this ship in the first place due to its relative size and strength, plus its unique physiology meant they never really had to dock anywhere for repairs, rather the ship would heal itself slowly over time.

All it needed was raw materials.

That was why the Yuuzhan Vong vessel was superior, or thats how Arthis saw it. Of course the others of the Brotherhood didn't like it. The odd ship was an intimidating sight, and it was enough to unnerve even some of the other Pirates. Arthis didn't particularly care, but it did make docking rather dangerous.

"Nearly there."

A voice carried from behind him, Arthis nodding in acknowledgement.

 

[Christie Daae]

[member="Arthis"]

"Chiyo," she whispered and pressed her hand to the wall. It bulged slightly as the little feline threw its body against it. She didn't need to see the animal to connect. It was something she'd done naturally since she was a little girl. It's why she hadn't been eaten, yet.

Wordlessly, she reached for the bond with the little nexu and whispered quietly. "Find a toy and hide. We'll need you soon."

Kenyaa looked at the girl like she was mad, though perhaps a little impressed that the fur-ball had followed them into a foreign ship. Maybe she'd underestimated them. "Go on," Akeema urged and batted the little lump against the other side of the wall. There was another meow as the lump receded.

 

[Subject 37]

[member="Akeema"]

The port they were headed to was an old Pirates cove.

The structure had been well repaired over the years, though it still managed to luck like someone had torched it once or thrice. There wasn't really anything to be about it though, mostly because Pirates didn't really go for civil improvement. As long as everything worked, and as long as they had somewhere to go in for repairs, no one actually cared what it all looked like. Of course some of the residence tried to make it better, new air scrubbers, new hull linings, but beyond that?

Well it wasn't a great place to live.

The Bloodhawk dropped out of hyperspace with a sudden lurch. Usual place

Arthis signed in silence, knowing that his men would know why. They were not the most welcome group here, at least not among the other pirates, and it was better to dock at the far end of the station rather than nearer the middle.

They didn't want to get trapped.

 

[Christie Daae]

[member="Arthis"]

Chiyo would certainly find a 'toy,' in the form of a hydrospanner or other, useful tool. Akeema sat back, letting her face drop into her fingers for a moment. The floor shifted slightly.

Kenyaa was the first to speak. "Feel that? Slowing down and descending. I be we're about to de-board."

The other merchants shifted uncomfortably. Fingers slowly withdrew down from the togruta's face. "So we make our move soon?"

Kenyaa gave one quick nod. "Stay close, kid. As soon as we get off this ship we make our move." Lekkus twitched and Akeema gave a quick nod in return, reaching her mind forward to brush against Chiyo's on instinct.

 

[Subject 37]

[member="Akeema"]

Moving against the pirates would be ill-advised.

The men and women who served within The Sons were not simply brigands, they were far beyond bandits or simply pirates. All of them had trained for years, even decades to do what they were here to do, and all of them were more than capable of fighting half a dozen people on their own.

Of course, they might not expect the stupidity of an all out attack.

Either way, the Bloodhawk pulled into the far hangar of the station not long after they had dropped out of realspace, slowly crawling onto the docking hooks and waiting as the hangar bay sealed closed behind them. For a few moments nothing would happen, The Sons secured their place within the hall, but seemingly nothing else seemed to happen. Then the fleshy door in front of the room where the newly christened slaves were kept slowly slid open.

Beyond the door stood Arthis, brandishing a rifle.

Two of his men flanked him.

 

[Christie Daae]

[member="Arthis"]

Her lekkus quivered. Behind that, no fear showed. Lips pressed together. Kenyaa gave the girl's hand a quick squeeze. She knew Chiyo would be able to sense them as they moved and follow just as stealthily as it had to sneak aboard. The other prisoners cowered.

She slowly stood, hopeful to get off the ship and away from the gross skin walls. She was a bold teenager too, so of course she asked questions. Eyes set on an exotic face tracked to the leader, "where are we? Where are you taking us?"

"Akeema," Kenyaa hissed. "Shhhh."

 

[Subject 37]

[member="Akeema"]

The pirates suddenly came to a stop as the girl spoke.

One of the odd Skull-faced men turned to face her, his expression the same odd shifting hologram that it had always been. Yet there was a slight bit of amusement within it, perhaps an odd twinge of its strange teeth or the shape of its eye-socket. The thing seemed to laugh, though it didn't even move.

"The Cove."

The Pirate simply said, the first time one of them spoke.

Arthis turned back to the other man, his lips thin behind his helmet. They usually didn't speak to the prisoners. Not because there was any fear of them befriending them or anything of the sort, but generally just because taunting them was beneath The Sons.

Of course with time going on, it was only natural that some of his men would change.

 

[Christie Daae]

[member="Arthis"]

Arms crossed in front. Lekkus shifted on her shoulders as she stared up at the pirate's shifting face. "Fine. Let's go. I'm not scared of you. All of you," eyes shifted around to the three pirates.

"Are just a bunch of bullies."

Yep, such a teenager.

"Akeema!" Kenyaa hissed again, grimacing.

"And this ship is creepy. Don't know how you can stay in it for so long." She hmphd and went to follow the rest of the prisoners out as they were lined up to disembark. Tongue flashed out at the nearer soldier.

 

[Subject 37]

[member="Akeema"]

Pirates, in general weren't really known for their kindness. There were a few tales of course, the noble man who decided a life in space was his way. The man that would spare women, children, and sometimes even men who fought valiantly enough.

Arthis had no idea if any of these people actually existed, nor did he particularly care. This wasn't some kind of fairy tale, it wasn't some kind of story. This was life. This was where things happened because they simply happened. There was no arguing with any of it, there was no reasoning, and there certainly wasn't going to be any leeway.

Thus, when Akeema spoke, Arthis responded.

In half a moment the pirate turned on his heel, his fingers suddenly balling into a fist as he moved to punch the young woman in the face.

 

[Christie Daae]

[member="Arthis"]

Akeema just turned 18 and she certainly wasn't used to physical violence. Especially not with being adopted and raised by two peaceful Ithorians. Sure, she was used to being roughed up by the animals she spent time with at the zoo, being clawed, scratched, and sometimes bit. Even being physically tackled. But she certainly had never been punched in the face.

It would've been quite a shock, had Kenyaa not already seen what was happening. Kenyaa wasn't particularly attached to the girl, she'd just made a promise to the parents that she'd look after the teenager. And she intended to keep that promise. So, the bothan smoothly slid in front of the fist meant for Akeema as the pirate threw it forward.

Akeema, stumbled back. "No!" She screamed, arms coming up to cradle Kenyaa as her body snapped back with the punch. Kenyaa heaved, spitting out blood onto the floor, leaning onto the teen.

"Dont...touch her," she mumbled.

 

[Subject 37]

[member="Akeema"]

The pirate looked down towards the girl.

There were no words of course, there never were form Arthis. He could speak, but his words would be little more than a rasp of air that barely sounded out within the room. Even with his helmet they would have been obscured. Speech was no easy thing for an Ubese, especially in a situation like this.

So instead he simply stared at the Bothan, then at the girl.

Finally one of the other pirates spoke.

"Keep her quiet."

He said simply, Arthis turning away from the two. A part of him wanted to simply execute them both, but Togruta and Bothan's were unique enough that killing them would cut into their profits, profits that The Sons needed if they were going to keep going. Piracy was not always as easy as people made it out to be.

 

[Christie Daae]

[member="Arthis"]

The bothan gave a sharp, quick nod, one hand wrapped around the togruta's upper arm. Akeema's lips parted as if to utter a protest but a twist from the bothan made her mouth snap shut. Lips pressed closed into a thin line, hands balling into fists at her sides.

White features twisted with orange into a scowl on her face.

But she remained quiet. With one hand out to help Kenyaa, she followed the other woman with the other prisoners slowly out of the ship, lekku-head turned downward, following the veins on the skinned-floor of the ship. She could still feel Chiyo close by. He was waiting and following them, already ahead and out of the ship.

Not yet.

She imagined she could communicate with the little furball and let that thought slide out. Nose scrunched up as they finally left the pirate ship and stepped into a bustling station of some sort. There was definitely a very different smell here. Blue-eyes flickered and looked up as they shuffled forward, looking for anything that might help them escape. Kenyaa's grip on her arm remained tight.

 

[Subject 37]

[member="Akeema"]

They moved quickly through the rest of the ship.

The detention area, if one could even really call it that, was located right near the docking bay. This was mostly because The Sons had early on learned their lesson when it came to keeping prisoners. Sometimes there was unrest, sometimes they needed to do more than simply hold people. Killing was never the preferred option, but sometimes it was simply necessary. The heavy weight of the Mercenaries shifted slightly as they neared the hangar bay.

Akeema and the others would quickly begin to smell the scent of something completely different.

It wasn't the odd odor that clung to the air of the ship, it wasn't the scent of blaster oil or anything else. Instead it was a mixture of body odor, cooked food, oil, and whatever else came with a populace that lived by no real rules or regulations.

That was what they walked into, The Cove.

The hiding place of dozens, if not hundreds of outlaws.

 

[Christie Daae]

Akeema continued to shuffle forward, teeth gnawing on the corner of her lip. Eyes darted around and paused at the holding area. Kenyaa's grip tightened on her arm twice. That was the only communication she got.

There was a flash of fur in her periphery. The nexu was close. Once they were put in the holding area, she'd call him closer. It was their best chance. Most of the Pirates would be distracted with setting up the selling process. And she and Kenyaa needed to get the shock collars off before trying to run.

They'd only get one shot.

Kenyaa seemed to think so too. Lekku shifted slightly and her frown deepened as she caught Kenyaa's swelling face.
[member="Arthis"]

 

[Subject 37]

[member="Akeema"]

As soon as they stepped off of the ramp of the ship it became apparent that wherever they had taken the prisoners it was busier than Coruscant.

The station that lay before them seemed to be more crowded than a Naboo festival. Every single nook and cranny seemed to be packed to the brim with people, shops, droids, and everything else that you could imagine. None of it looked particularly clean, just the opposite in fact. Most people were smeared with grime or oil, some even seemed to have blood on their clothes.

It was a mess.

Arthis and the others didn't seem to mind though, or rather, they ignored it entirely.

They didn't even seem to acknowledge those around them, the shopkeepers, the beggars, anyone that spoke to them or asked anything of them was simply and completely ignored as though they weren't even there. Few approached them, though those that did found no response from the odd holographic skulls.

 

[Christie Daae]

[member="Arthis"]

They were shoved into an open holding area like nabooian livestock. Akeema reached out for Chiyo. The little nexu wove through the crowd, carrying a hydro spanner in its jaws. He was so small, no one noticed and he fit through the barriers around the holding area. Akeema cut Kenyaa's shock collar and then her own.

There were so many people around. Crowds. She and Kenyaa didn't have to run. They only had to duck their heads and blend in, walking slowly away with the throng. The togruta firmly held onto Chiyo as they left. She never wanted to see a skull pirate again.