Private The Red Witching Hour

[Cartri Keswoll]

Location: Denon market
Tags: Ingrid L'lerim

"The usual please," A voice said in a tired tone from behind the Duros, forcing him to turn around and greet one of his more regular customers "Hello again Cartri! your burger is coming right up," he said back to him as he began the cooking process to create the infamous Denon street burger. While Cartri fished out some credits from his pocket, the Duros couldn't help but notice another no show from another one of his favorite customers. Looking back to the boy momentarily, he sighed and couldn't help himself to ask about the part android "Say, I haven't seen Xan for a while. Everything alright?" he asked while adding some secret ingredients to the patty, sprinkling a mixture of assortments across the top of the meat which looked tasty already. Cartri stared at him for a few seconds as if he was trying to figure out how to answer his question. After shifting on the stall uncomfortably, he finally answered the daunting inquiry "It's a long story..." he mumbled back with the classic problematic response, his eyes sadly glaring to the table.

He would have been lying to say he missed his former mentor and pseudo big sister, but at the same time, his heart was reminding him of her betrayal. Xan left him behind and he wasn't prepared to forgive her for that just yet. At the same time, the Duros noticed the pitiful response and turned back to him with a look of concern "It's not really my business to know your problems, but whatever it may be, a good talk with one another usually helps both parties at least see each other in a more clear perspective. There's no hurt in trying it kid" he calmly suggested to the ginger teen. Cartri slowly nodded to the advice and smiled slightly, almost as if he at least took into consideration the word of advice. With that, the Duros smiled back to him and turned back to the prep station, finalizing the last few bits of the burger to send it off

"Okay... here yo-" the chef said before being forced into silence by five figures standing behind Cartri, each one of them glaring down at him with a look that could only be considered as rage "What? what's wrong?" Cartri questioned with a tilt of his head until he saw the shadows looming over him. The man closest behind him roughly put a hand on his shoulder, making Cartri flinch and gulp upon recognizing who this person was. His head slowly turned to see the grinning face of Lemick, a low life thug he beat up in the abandoned movie theatre who was in the middle of a spice deal. He didn't get anything other than a few less teeth, which he gladly showed off through his wide mouth "Well well, long time no see friend!" the man said with a shake of Cartri's shoulder, an awkward look going over to the chef who seemed to pick up on the hint "How about we go for a walk, we have much to catch up on after all!" he explained, his hand tugging up the silent teen who shot a glance to the Duros once again

"Hey! wait! my customer forgot something!" the chef said to them suddenly, bringing the gang to a halt as they all snarled to the crafty alien "Make it quick slimebag..." Lemick shot back to him, his head looking back to his lackeys with a sinister laugh. However, when his guard was at his lowest Cartri zipped down his coat and tugged forwards, setting him free from the thug's grip and giving him a chance to run with pace through the market. Stopping for a few moments to figure out what happened, he soon raised his finger and barked at his men to chase after the boy "Get that little punk! and when we've dealt with him we can have a few words with this karking chef..." he snarled over to him, leaving the Duros to raise his hands in the air "What?! I'm not letting a customer leave without his burger" the answered in a more than sarcastic tone.

With the gang close behind he kicked his legs and began to run with all his might, his head looking back now and then to see how close they were. Surprisingly, they were keeping up and getting closer and closer by the passing seconds. He needed to try and lose them somewhere before they got too close for comfort, but with the crowds of people, it was hard to find an exit point. Almost on queue, an alleyway entrance came into view on the right. All he needed to do was turn when there was a gap in the crowd, something of which got increasingly unlikely as he grew closer. Without really thinking he snapped to the right and maneuvered his body through a tight gap, leaving the gang behind as they tried to push their way through.

"Haha! so long you sons of k-" the boy shouted back to the enraged gang before suddenly slamming face first into something tall. Cartri stumbled and fell chest first to the concrete floor, coughing and groaning from his lack of awareness. He slowly turned to his back and looked up to the figure, who still seemed to be looking away from him as the gang came running around the corner "Get out of the way lady... this little brat is none of your business" he grunted with intent, motioning his boys to halt while he began to walk over to a sitting Cartri who was behind the mysterious person. Cartri knew he couldn't take them all on at once, even with the force. The least he could do was put up a fight and land a few punches on the low life before his lackeys swarmed him.

 

[Ingrid L'lerim]

Lady Ingrid L’lerim Ragal Terassi Vandiir
Eternal Empress of the Eternal Empire, Lord Commander of the Wardens of the Shroud, Archon of the Primyn Group
Empress of Terraris, Supreme Commander of the Terraris Command, Head of the House L’lerim, CEO of the HPI Consortium​

Objective: Renuinion
Location: Denon Market, Denon
Equipment: The Soulsabers (hidden) | Viper Mk. I Skinsuit | The Last Gift || Empyrean gland | OPBC-01m
Tag: Cartri Keswoll

[ Ghost Love Score ]
<"High Nelvaanian"> | ~ telepathic communication ~ | << comm. channel >> ​

Ingrid just had some things to do in Denon, and that’s why she was on the planet. HPI and she had a myriad of interests in this place, so it wasn’t too surprising. Not much has changed for her with the fact that the planet was now in GA territory. They were not at war with them, so she could come here at any time. Even if she had to meet darker figures. Like today. With some of the agents she wanted to meet in person now. It was easier to tell if someone was lying or telling the truth.

She was not alone, two Shadow Company officers followed her invisibly and guarded her in the benevolent embrace of the cloaking device. Ingrid wanted to avoid the larger crowd, so she went to a more deserted part, an alleyed part. She was wearing a black coat with a hood on top. Even so, her ethereal, airy physique looked on her dress, though she walked quickly and in silent silence, no one could see or hear her or the two invisible soldiers. They are all hidden in the Force as well.

Perhaps this was the explanation for the fact that when she turned into one of the next alleys, she suddenly felt in the Force that someone was approaching and more after them. As the place was quite cramped, the approaching young man could not get around her, so the first person who fled the others collided with the woman. Invisibly, the two soldiers raised their guns to the young man, but it was not needed. Ingrid found the aura familiar for a moment; more than three hundred years had passed since their last visit, so she also needed the Force to recall who she now felt here.

Oh! She did not expect such an encounter. One of the gang members started toward her while the young man was already behind the Empress. She moved to protect him even more as the man spoke. The two soldiers raised their guns to the gang invisibly. The shadows moved, as if they were alive on either side of the alley, thickened. Ingrid looked at the alleged gang leader. Her face was not visible under the hood, only her blue eyes flashed as the distant neon lights reached this area too.

"I would leave in your place." her voice is ice-cold, military; she had no threatening tone, yet it had the promise of death if the man came closer and did not leave. The woman does not give a second chance, but was still completely motionless for the time being.

 

[Cartri Keswoll]

Ingrid L'lerim​

Cartri peered from behind the lady who stood before him, seemingly protecting from the gang leader as she suggested for him to leave. Lemick, the wise guy who commanded the low life thugs stopped in his tracks and glared at the hooded figure with a grin, astonished that a lonely lady would ever talk to him like that in front of his boys "Heh?! who do you think you are? you really must be dumb to even say that that" Lemick proclaimed, his arms extending out as he looks to his henchmen confidently "There's five of us and only one of you, do you really think you have the authority here, especially on my streets?"

Even though it appeared their captain was assured of their chances, his crew didn't look so positive. For some reason, a few of them were nervous of the figures aura and seem to be paranoid of the darkness around them "Uh boss... I don't like the look of her. Y-you know something doesn't seem right" he stammered, his eyes beginning to dart around him like a mad man on spice "What's with you bolts for brains? she ain't nothing but a coward who hides her face!"

The teen on the other hand understood what the thugs were feeling perfectly, this wasn't a regular person. Ever since he got close to the hooded woman a sense that he hadn't felt for almost a year flooded into his brain. It was the same overwhelming feeling he felt on a mission, one that he didn't really remember all too well. The only thing he could pick out was having a conversation with a red haired Empress and receiving a book that he had read three times over already. Other than those memories, everything else was just a blur. Cartri slowly crawled back until his back made contact with a metallic dumpster, giving him space between him and the thugs that threatened his life

"You know what... I'm losing patience with this kark. How about we-" but before he could end his threat the thug suddenly threw a surprise right hook at the tall figure. He was going to get his hands on the kid no matter what, and if it meant going through someone else then so be it. Along with that, his friends began to approach with nervous energy, but nonetheless prepared to fight if needs be.

 

[Ingrid L'lerim]

Lady Ingrid L’lerim Ragal Terassi Vandiir
Eternal Empress of the Eternal Empire, Lord Commander of the Wardens of the Shroud, Archon of the Primyn Group
Empress of Terraris, Supreme Commander of the Terraris Command, Head of the House L’lerim, CEO of the HPI Consortium​

Objective: Renuinion
Location: Denon Market, Denon
Equipment: The Soulsabers (hidden) | Viper Mk. I Skinsuit | The Last Gift || Empyrean gland | OPBC-01m
Tag: Cartri Keswoll

[ Ghost Love Score ]
<"High Nelvaanian"> | ~ telepathic communication ~ | << comm. channel >> ​

"I don't think it, I know it." a soft statement in an ice-cold voice.

It was a tone when anyone would have been able to believe what the woman said. She could have actually said anything. The rear four visibly sensed the danger the woman posed, only the gang leader did not. The back four felt the force radiating from the woman. They were probably seen in her posture. That was why Ingrid never had to show her power or brag about it. This was why she was followed in the Eternal Empire because of its standing, appearance, and radiance. True, it is not incidental that she has earned the regard and respect of its people.

"At least your people have common sense, unlike you." another cold, military statement.

As the man called her a coward because she hid her face, the woman reached up to the hood and pushed it back. The beautiful young female face looked at the underworld people. Ingrid did not expect to be recognized in this neighbourhood, despite being the ruler of an empire. This was not an area where high-ranking military leaders or rulers used to appear. Her face belonged to a woman in her mid-twenties, as if made of marble, as if she were a beautiful statue with snow-white, pale skin. Her long red hair wasn't in a bun now, so it collapsed in the end of her back, reaching her hip. Her face, her gaze stern, her eyes also ice-cold, stern, and it made her feel as if she could see into the souls of others.

"In just half a minute, you insulted me for the second time…" it was already a threat and a promise.

The man then tried to hit the woman as the others approached. Ingrid didn't move from the blow, just grabbed his hand toward her face and stopped it without any problems. The next moment she squeezed her hand and with this his too, the fracture of the bones could be heard, open fractures appeared in the man's hand, his fingers broken in the woman's iron grip. There was fear on his face as he realised what the end of it would be. Ingrid looked at him relentlessly, without the slightest sign of pity. She felt nothing.

"I don't warn anyone twice!" she stated.

The next moment, Ingrid hit the man's throat, a single perfect, killer blow. She let go of his hands, the man fell to the ground dead. The other four immediately tried to escape, but four shots were taken from the shadows on either side of the red-haired woman, and the other four underworld figures were shot in the back, executed. The black, stealth armours were only visible for a moment as the two soldiers fired at the opponents, then disappeared again. Ingrid didn't look back as she spoke, though her voice was nowhere near as frosty as before.

"Mr. Keswoll, I thought after the past events you would finally learn how to avoid trouble. But I don't see you learning anything." she said.

 

[Cartri Keswoll]

Ingrid L'lerim​

Watching on from the safety of the bin, his head constantly switched between the two parties who traded comments back and forth with each other. While the thugs threw insults at her, the figure stayed eerily calm and collected. To his surprise, when the thugs called her a coward for wearing a hood the figure instantly took it off without hesitation, revealing a woman with more than familiar red hair.

Cartri opened his eyes wide and slowly leaned forward to check if he was seeing things right. This was no coward, before them was the red witch, the leader and poster girl of the Eternal Empire. Never did he think he'd see her on Denon, even though she owned a company on the planet he didn't expect her to actually visit "You're kidding..." the boy said to himself with a smile as he looked back to the thugs who didn't know what they were in for.

The rest of the thugs seemed nervous about the woman before them, and they had every right to be. To Cartri's, she was probably one of the most powerful force users in the galaxy. He hadn't seen her in battle, but he heard the rumours of what she was truly capable of. Stepping forwards the thug tried to catch the empress by surprise, throwing a right hook that was aimed at her spotless face. Without any trouble at all, Ingrid caught his hand to pure astonishment and squeezed, releasing a disgusting fracture sound even Cartri could hear.

Cartri threw a hand up to his eyes, stopping himself from seeing the mangled mess that Ingrid had crushed within her iron grip. She gave them a stark reminder of her warnings before dropping the man with a strike to the throat, leaving him to drop in a heap on the cold concrete below like a sack of bricks. The other goons tried to run, but they were quickly shot down by two shadow figures. The teen finally had the guts to look again and see Ingrid alone, still unknowing of the invisible watchers that stood beside her.

Nervously, he looked at the motionless bodies and back up to Ingrid, in awe of what she achieved on her own. She was still as intimidating from when they first met, and as far as he knew the only person that truly strikes fear into his heart. After a brief silence she finally spoke, commentating about how he still had a knack for trouble.

"Ingr- I mean your highness, I'm afraid it's something I can't shake off as of late..." he replied, before cautiously getting to his feet and taking a few steps towards her "I-I never thought we'd meet again, but here we are," Cartri said looking back at the bodies "Saving me from trouble all over again" the boy ended with a nervous chuckle, looking back to the red queen with a more serious face.

"Sometimes you need to get into trouble to do the right thing, especially against these guys. The reason they were after me was that I busted their drug deal..." he grumbled, his head lowering slightly "They were nothing but scumbags making money from other peoples addictions, now look where that got them"

 

[Ingrid L'lerim]

Lady Ingrid L’lerim Ragal Terassi Vandiir
Eternal Empress of the Eternal Empire, Lord Commander of the Wardens of the Shroud, Archon of the Primyn Group
Empress of Terraris, Supreme Commander of the Terraris Command, Head of the House L’lerim, CEO of the HPI Consortium​

Objective: Renuinion
Location: Denon Market, Denon
Equipment: The Soulsabers (hidden) | Viper Mk. I Skinsuit | The Last Gift || Empyrean gland | OPBC-01m
Tag: Cartri Keswoll

[ Ghost Love Score ]
<"High Nelvaanian"> | ~ telepathic communication ~ | << comm. channel >> ​

"So you remember me now." it was not a question but a finding of fact.

She knew the chances of that were 50-50%; and it depended on the young man's own sense of security whether or not this would happen. But as he remembered, what or who seemed to have sent him to the woman's palace at the time no longer seemed a danger. It would have been even harder to break into your new home, than into the old one.

"Familiar feeling, just in my case, it meant the end of the Sith Empire…" she chuckled for a moment.

Well, yes, who is in what position. The remnants of the Sith Empire had already hunted her anyway, and she openly admitted that they wanted to use them only against the Bryn'adûl, so it didn't really matter. Ingrid instructed the two soldiers with her to clean the alley and leave no trace, by a short thought. The two black-armoured soldiers stepped out of invisibility and headed for the dead in the alley. After that Ingrid turned back to the young man.

"Just, I, unlike you, can protect myself." this is again more severe than what a teacher or instructor said.

The agent can wait; she sent a message to the person she would have met to have it all the other time because something had happened now. It was not so urgent that it could not wait one more day. And the messaging went through the biochip with thoughts. A convenient form of messaging on a communication channel is to do it with thoughts.

"Don’t stay in the alley, go back to a safer area. We can talk more calmly in my company building." she said, pointing her hand toward the exit of the alley. "Still, answer one thing yet. Do I think you haven't started your studies yet?" she asked.

 

[Cartri Keswoll]

Ingrid L'lerim​

"I-I do, the book you gifted reminds me of our conversation. Well, the parts that I remember anyway..." he said with a scratch of his head, still unsure as to why he could only remember a few portions of the confrontation. Things like getting into the house and exiting seemed to be a total blur, as well as some parts of the conversation that had been lost from his mind.

"The Sith? you were against them at one time weren't you?" he asked curiously this time. In his short time in the galaxy, he had never run into a sith, or so he thought. From the stories he had heard, all of them were brutes who were bent on destruction, especially against their polar opposites the Jedi. If the Red Witch was involved, it was clear why the Sith soon lost their empire "I've never met a real sith in my lifetime, but I feel it's only a matter of time before I do"

Suddenly, two figures appear beside the empress armed to the teeth. Without him knowing they must have been beside her all this time, silently in watch for any enemies that dared to challenge her. Moving away to take care of the dead upon the orders of Ingrid, they briefly left the two alone as Cartri watched in amazement. Although, before he could question their appearance Ingrid commented on how she could defend herself compared to him. At the end of the Day, Ingrid was the leader of an empire and needed to look after herself wherever she went. Cartri on the other hand was an overconfident teen who thought he was indestructible. Yet, that was clearly not the case.

"Uh... y-yea I guess your right" in some ways she was wrong, Cartri knew how to look after himself when there was a lower number of opponents to concentrate on. When it came to groups, there was only so much he could do alone.

Cartri slowly nodded his head to the order of leaving the scene, a place like this wasn't appropriate at talking about such matters. When he was about to leave, a final question stopped him in his tracks, one that mentioned his training. His lips formed a small from the question alone, right now he had to be honest.

"N-no, I'm afraid not. The Jedi training I was supposed to do is going slow, not from the training itself but from their priorities. Because I'm not a part of their order, they will focus on the padawans first before coming to me. It's understandable, yet I wish to train more often than I am"

In all honesty, he needed to learn control sooner or later, else he was going to be at risk of another outburst that will potentially harm his friends. He stayed silent for a few moments until he finally offered Ingrid a parting nod for now. He'd leave the talk for when he reached her office, a place where there would be no citizens listening in on their business or worse spies.

As ordered, Cartri stayed in a more safer area close by to the incident and waited until the Empress led him to the company building. At least with her, he didn't have to worry about anyone sneaking behind him, her invisible guards had that covered. They soon reached the front of the company building without hassle, one that forced Cartri to look at the towering building with a grimace. Even though he trusted Ingrid, large companies like this surely had something going behind the scenes.

"How do you even find time for all this, considering... well you know," Cartri asked bravely with a lowered tone as he came beside Ingrid, just in case she didn't want anyone knowing who she really was.

 

[Ingrid L'lerim]

Lady Ingrid L’lerim Ragal Terassi Vandiir
Eternal Empress of the Eternal Empire, Lord Commander of the Wardens of the Shroud, Archon of the Primyn Group
Empress of Terraris, Supreme Commander of the Terraris Command, Head of the House L’lerim, CEO of the HPI Consortium​

Objective: Renuinion
Location: Denon Market, Denon
Equipment: The Soulsabers (hidden) | Viper Mk. I Skinsuit | The Last Gift || Empyrean gland | OPBC-01m
Tag: Cartri Keswoll

[ Ghost Love Score ]
<"High Nelvaanian"> | ~ telepathic communication ~ | << comm. channel >> ​

"Then you still don't remember." it was a statement, not a question, as if she had corrected herself.

It was clear to Ingrid that the young man was still afraid of something or someone. After all, that was the "key." If they ever meet again and the young man will no longer be afraid of the person who sent him to the woman, he will remember everything. If he is still afraid of his life, his friends, his family, the "wall" will not fall down. The red-haired woman chuckled a little at the next question.

"We are against them now. We have supported them for many years, for good reasons. But these are world policy issues and very few know the real reasons. In short, I risked my reputation and risked the reputation of the Eternal Empire in order to win in secret. I was slower, so now I have to restore our reputation." she told him.

It wasn’t the easiest task, not at all. Diplomacy is a dangerous terrain, perhaps much more than a battlefield. But she was much more experienced today than she was then. She hoped to resolve this issue soon. She envied him for a fraction of a second, then shook her head.

"Be happy until you meet. Although the real Sith doesn’t say they are. And not all Darksider are Sith." she explained.

She sighed for a moment, then shook her head, not surprised at the way the Jedi behaved. They are always like that. They always act like this. She had no such experience with Ashlan Crusade yet, but she thought they wouldn’t be any different either. However, they accepted her daughter, who was different from them.

"I'm not surprised, let's go!" she said. "Follow me!"

With that, she headed back to where she had come from. They had to walk for about a quarter of an hour, she wasn't speaking. Ingrid watched the neighbourhood as to whether they were being attacked or not. However, nothing happened. At the end of the quarter, they arrived at a huge black building. She chuckled a little at Cartri's words, then winked at the young man.

"I'm cheating!" she said somewhat playfully.

Inside, they went upstairs to one of the upper floors and then to a larger, more spacious, well-appointed office.

"What makes you still feel unsafe? Why do you think you or your family are unsafe?" she asked him.

 

[Cartri Keswoll]

Ingrid L'lerim​

"I still don't know?" he questioned back, curious as to what she meant by that. Was there more to the meeting that he had forgotten about? or was it the fact he was still fearing of the people who sent him into that trap were still out there. Unknown to him, Ingrid had already taken down the person in question to stop being put into further harm. Now that they were gone, he was worrying for nothing now.

"I'm quite taken back you'd even work with them in the first place. From the information I've heard, they are nothing but untrustworthy and power hungry. Whatever reason it was, it must of been a good one" he said bravely to the witch, cautiously giving her a side eye just in case she was going to lunge at him for saying anything out of tune. Although, when she explained that not all darksiders were sith, he slowly nodded understandably and thought silently for a few moments. Did that mean all of them were as evil as he thought they were?

Frowning slightly from her being not surprised, he followed her for an hour or so to a black build further into the city. He couldn't help but stare curiously to everything he went past, taking in the insides of the corporate infrastructure as he smirked back to Ingrid's playful wink. That was one of the few times he'd seen her be out of her serious demeanour, maybe she wasn't all business like he thought she was.

Cartri stepped into the office and glared at everything inside, taking note of how everything had a purpose and was there for a reason. He didn't dare to sit down until the empress told him too. This was her yard. and it was only right to have the upmost respect for her authority here. Even if it was a corporate enterprise.

"I-I still don't know if those people are out there. For all I know they could be planning a scheme to finally get rid of me" he commented, glaring towards the window thoughtfully before looking back to the witch straight in the eyes.

"I'd deal with them myself your majesty, but I'm still cautious of my gift. If I found them, I fear my anger would make me spiral to places I don't wish to be. One of my hopes was that the jedi would help me finally understand it, but instead I was never their top priority" he said with a hint of annoyance towards the end, his head lowering to try and beat down his emotions.

"With my gift, I know I could of easily got rid of those thugs. To protect me and everyone else I choose to run out of fear for my own power..."