The Phoenix Takes Flight

[Cryax Bane]

“I want every last physical copy in my hands and every computer wiped of it by the end of the day,” Cryax Bane sternly told the gum-smacking, deathstick smoking teenage slicers who sat hunched over in their chairs in the war room of his software company on Nar Shaddaa. Swigging directly from a bottle of Corellian whiskey, Cryax paced around the room like angry Nexu with a thorn in its paw. As they furiously wiped hard drives and destroyed all evidence of a computer program called Blue Phoenix, the slicers at Bane Innovation exchanged worried glances.

The teenage hackers in his employ had never seen their boss this upset, and since Bane had a terribly short fuse, that was saying a mouthful. Ever since the kids got word of the One Sith treaty with the Red Ravens going up in flames, Cryax Bane had been at “Code Blue,” the slicers name for a Chiss on the rampage.

Bane strode to the window, peering out at the Nar Shaddaa skyline. He was half-expecting a fleet of Yuzhaan Vong battleships to blot out the stars. Flicking the privacy shades on, he turned back to the panicked slicers, rubbing the blue-black five o’clock shadow on his face.

“If I catch any of you kids pirating this software and selling it on the black market, I will fly you to a Sarlaac pit and kick your asses into it myself.”

[member="Khaleel Malvern"]

 

[Arage Bao]

[member="Cryax Bane"]

A little bird had come to him earlier, told him about an anxious little raven making big, big waves in the land of merry pursuit and desperation. Wasn’t entirely unexpected, Bane was always a big fan of talkings big words in front of him and then screw it all up once alone and not under all the much pressure. But that was life for ya and Khal had made his peace with it, and so when he entered the office he wasn’t pissed off or anything.

Just tired, and that tiredness translated in apathy that would even make the most depressingly virtuous man afraid and pissing in his breeches. His gaze swept, and for a moment he didn’t even say anything. Just let his presence do the talking, while taking out a cigarette, litting it up and taking a puff of smoke in.

The smoke was exhaled.

‘Everyone out.’

Which was followed by another ponderation.

‘Except you mister Slicer.’

 

[Cryax Bane]

"You heard the man," Bane said to the slicers who scattered like sewer rats. He took another swig from the bottle of whiskey and scanned his glowing red eyes over their computer screens, double-checking that none of them had been copying over forbidden files.

When all the kids had left, Cryax turned to Khaleel, vainly straightening out his suit and tie. The Chiss was a mess. He knew it. Malvern knew it. It was stupid to even try and hide it from the other man.

"Look, whatever you need to say, say it quick." he warned. "I need to get that software destroyed before it ends up in the wrong orange hands."

[member="Khaleel Malvern"]

 

[Arage Bao]

Khaleel looked around the office, it was a fecking mess and that brought the suspicion and rumors only to a closer halt. Seemed the little raven was skipping out town, shouldn’t have been so surprised- Bane had never seemed the man who would stand his ground and pick a fight, no, no. He was more the man who would try a punch beneath the belt and then run as hard as his feet could take him, couldn’t really blame the man either.

A few more steps brought him closer to the Chiss and his valuable computers, there was some annoyance deep within the bartender. Things shouldn’t have gone like this, but only the dead wondered and bitched about the past. Instead Khal rest his hand on the surface of the monitor, deep within him he could feel the power swirl.

The netherworld had changed him, better or worse. Things had been different ever since, tattoos that moved all by ‘emselves underneath his trench coat, things like that.

He blinked and there was [member="Cryax Bane"]. His past self, his current self and slowly fading in and out of existence the men the Chiss could be, dead, tortured, broken, healthy and wealthy, a mess- more and more possibilities came up.

Ever since he received a literal few tricks up his sleeve… technology had a habit of being a schutta whenever using them. Which had been the point of looking at Bane with his other pair of eyes.

The screen of his computer suddenly went out, smoke rose, the thing was positively broken right now. No data to be retrieved by orange eyes.

‘There.’ Khal blinked again and then smiled with some satisfaction made apparent. ‘Now we can talk.’

 

[Cryax Bane]

“Kteh!”

The computer before him fizzled out and died, its black screen of death mocking him. Cryax cursed in Cheuhn and gave it a slap. Then, the Chiss whipped his head in Khaleel’s direction, his eyes glowing a deep shade of red like pools of coagulating blood.

This was all deja vu. Bane recalled the moment when he stood in the middle of the Dragon Palace Casino and before a rapt audience of unrepentant criminals, held a nail gun to a bounty hunter’s head, and pulled the trigger. He had been here before, and would be again someday.

The Chiss crime boss could not match Malvern’s smug grin as he addressed him.

“Sometimes when you hate the person you become, you have to burn him to the ground.”

He took another swig from the bottle.

“I need to leave Nar Shaddaa. Before I explode into flames.”

[member="Khaleel Malvern"]