Private Yentarr

[Cedric Grayson]

It was difficult to tell if what he said mattered much to Starlin, or if it even hit home. It had been sometime since he'd found himself in the position of an educator, and he'd grown used to being wholly earnest with those under his command. Perhaps that was not the right kind of attitude to be using with his students - his own teachers had always relied more on being cryptic so as to further his own curiosity.

He supposed then that the greatest teachers were those that led their students to their own conclusions, rather than simply imprinting their own opinions onto their pupils. Something worth looking into.

"That'll do," the Jedi snickered as Starlin led him along. He did his best to look as dejected and demoralized as possible as they slowly made their way up the mountainside. Several Bosph warriors clad in hooded robes and light combat armor watched as they passed. None moved to stop them. A Bosph slightly shorter than her comrades awaited them at the mouth of one of the larger caves along the path. She was clad in armor that had been scarred from many conflicts past.

"What is this?" She asked in heavily accented basic. "Who are you? Why do you bring this...Jedi thing to my clade?" The Bosph woman demanded, slamming the staff she carried down onto the rock. "The mistress will want to hear of this."

Starlin Rand

 

[Starlin Rand]

Starlin was laughing on the inside, but he kept his mask firmly fixed on his face as he led Cedric forward. As he set about imitating a Sith, he thought of Thesh, the acolyte-turned-fugitive he had taken into his home in an attempt to bring about a change of heart. It had failed despite the best efforts of Starlin and his mother—evidently Thesh couldn’t resist the call of the Dark Side.

Thesh had been a slave, taken in childhood from Ession by the Sith. His name wasn’t really a name—it was a letter of the alphabet assigned to him. He walked with a slightly beaten-down gait, but stared straight ahead with blue crystal fire in his gaze. His expressions of joy or amusement had always seemed artificial, like he was only pretending to be happy. He was a broken and twisted creature, more sad than loathsome.

Nothing changed about his aura in the Force, but what a transformation Starlin underwent. By the time they reached the female Bosph, the boy was nearly unrecognizable to ordinary eyes. It seemed he had a burgeoning talent for acting.

“This is a Jedi Master,” Starlin replied, in that carefully measured slave’s voice. “And I am Acolyte Thesh. Tell you mistress that I captured him snooping around the edge of the clade perimeter, and now I bring him to you in chains.”

Cedric Grayson​

 

[Cedric Grayson]

The woman peered suspiciously as 'Thesh' for a long moment. Bosph expressions were notoriously difficult to read, but it looked as if she was preparing to call for Starlin's capture as well for a moment. It seemed the apprentice's acting paid off though, as the woman nodded almost conspiratorily, her waxy lips pressing into a faux grin.

"Jedi Master?" She asked. "Never seen one of those. I figured they were all dead this side of the arm. Mistress will probably like this Mister Thesh." Her grin widened in an almost unnatural way. "She'll like me too when I tell her. You wait here, I'll get ya in." The Bosph woman nodded assuringly as she turned about, the doors to the mountain entrance creaking closed behind her.

Cedric, keen not to ruin Starlin's act, spoke quietly enough that only the two of them might hear. "Nice job Thesh," the exile's amusement was rather obvious. "Where'd you learn to act like that? Could be a holostar if you wanted to I figure."

Starlin Rand

 

[Starlin Rand]

“From the real Acolyte Thesh,” Starlin murmured without breaking character.

He had his own suspicions about the Bosph. Giving the area a brief sweep of the area using the Force, he searched for hidden turrets or other defenses. Along with any potential Dark Side enchantments or curses he would have to undo...

Cedric Grayson​

 

[Cedric Grayson]

"Give Acolyte Thesh my regards then," Cedric mumbled as they were led further into the depths of the mountain.

The walls were mostly bereft of ornamentation. They were sleek, seemingly made of some sort of obsidian like material, and nearly featureless. The only lllumination came from a series of white office lights that carried on nearly as far as the eye could see, wholly uncomfortable for the human eye, but perfectly tolerable for a Bosph.

The Bosph woman that had seen fit to guide them was not one for conversation. She would occasionally glance back at the duo, momentary amusement clear on her buglike features, but otherwise she opted for silence. For his part, Cedric was glad of it. The more they were forced to conversate, the more likely their ruse would be seen through.

The tunnel terminated in a large chamber that reminded Cedric of a king's chamber. Several great pillars held the roof up above, carved from white marble in stark contrast to the lightless walls and floors.

Nearly a dozen Bosph dressed in long black robes marked the entryway. They stood in even lines, armed with long electro-pikes, and remained utterly motionless. At the apex of their line sat a large, bulbous figure.

As they drew near, it became clear that this creature was, in fact, a Hutt.

"Welcome to my abode," the Hutt boomed in accented basic. "I am Lord Gob, patron of this realm, queen of all Bosph. Soon the other clades will come to recognize this, but," Lord Gob settled its big blue eyes on Starlin Rand . "For now, I'm wondering why you brought a Jedi here? Did the other clades send him?" The beast paused, then offered a wicked grin. "You're so skinny little man, you hungry?"

 

[Starlin Rand]

Well this is… weird.

Of all the things Starlin expected to find, a Hutt named Lord Gob claiming leadership over the entire planet wasn’t one of them.

“Wouldn’t that make you Lady Gob?” he remarked without thinking, then quickly slid back into character. “Ahem, anyway, I was tracking this Jedi and found him lurking on your clade’s land. I suppose he might be a spy sent by another clade, or perhaps some organization even bigger—a Jedi Order. Either way, I don’t think you want any Jedi meddling in your affairs, Your Majesty.”

The Hutt called him skinny and asked him if he was hungry.

“I’m not that skinny,” he replied, getting defensive. “I do push-ups every day… and no thanks, I already ate earlier.”

Cedric Grayson​

 

[Cedric Grayson]

"No!" Gob roared, his/her fat rolls jiggling with the exertion. Gob's eyes narrowed into dangerous reptilian slits, the murder she envsioned in her mind quite clear in her expression. Cedric felt that immediately. and Starlin likely would to -- the very air seemed to grow electric as Gob communed with the living force. Her presence was akin to that of a mudslide: violent, all encompassing, apathetic, and wholly disgusting. Nonetheless, it seemed the force moved to her beck and call as it did any trained Sith.

"Lord sounds powerful and intimidating. Lady is too pretty and elegant, too demure. Do I look demure mister Thesh?" Gob demanded, waving her stubby little arms about angrily at the youth. "No I do not!" She answered. "Anyway, yes I am the lord of this clade, and yes he was probably spying. See some of the other clades don't like a non-Bosph being in charge here. They're a bunch of racists."

"I think they're more concerned with you being a Sith Lord, my lord." The Bosph woman that had led them into the chamber intoned. Gob affixed her with a furious look. "Then it's religious discrimination, and that's no better! Down with the bigots!" she thrust her hands toward the sky.

The Bosphs in the room mirrored her body language, and echoed "Down with the bigots."

Gob turned her gaze back toward the two Jedi again. Cedric made sure to keep his gaze on the floor, and his mouth shut. "Well mister Thesh, I thank you for your gift. I will give you any lady of your choosing in return," she gestured toward three rotund Bosph women, each clad in dancer's garments that left nothing to the imagination.

"Take your pick, but don't be too rough now!"

Starlin Rand

 

[Starlin Rand]

Starlin tried very hard not to laugh. He managed to keep a (mostly) straight face right up until the Bosph women were presented for his perusal, at which point he clamped his hand over his mouth, breathing hard and fast through his nose as he finally lost the battle.

“No… no thanks,” he squeaked through his fingers, erupting into a fit of giggles. “I mean, I’m sure you’re all very attractive… by Bosph standards, but…”

Oh hell, there was no point in keeping up this ridiculous charade anymore. Lord Gob had already admitted to being a Sith Lord.

“But I’m afraid we’re going to have to arrest you.” Assuming that Cedric could get out of the force cuffs himself, he tossed his master his weapon and pulled out his own lightsaber, though he didn’t ignite it yet. “Surrender now, or things are gonna get ugly.” He paused, surveying the occupants of the chamber. “... Well, even uglier.”

Cedric Grayson​

 

[Cedric Grayson]

"These women are the CREAM OF THE CREAM! THE CREME DE LE CREME!" Gob howled, her outrage quite obvious in the goolish snarl she had affixed Starlin with. For Cedric's part, he wasn't entirely sure if the Bosph that were offered were actually women in the first place, but it seemed they were the epitome of beauty for Gob.

Two of the girls broke down into sobs, though it was difficult to tell if they were actually physically capable of crying. The third simply upturned her piggish nose and marched off, clearly confused as to why this pink skinned man thing had the gall to insult her mountainlike curves.

The Bosph guardsmen lowered their ceremonial spears at once, pointing them in 'Thesh's face right around the time Cedric sprung to his feet. The cuffs exploded apart with a simple expression of telekinetic will concentrated between the exile's wrists, some of the shrapnel smacking Gob in the face and making the Hutt howl in indignation.

The Blade of Ruusan fell into Cedric's hand naturally. He took up a position alongside Starlin, blade equally unlit, but more than ready for conflict.

"Arrest?!" Gob screamed. "ARREST?! YOU THINK YOU HAVE THAT KIND OF AUTHORITY?! I AM GOD HERE BOY. GOD!" A chubby hand was thrust forward, and a wall of telekinetic energy followed. Surprised by the hutt's strength in the Force, Cedric was flown clear off his feet, a shout that was somewhere between a curse and an animalistic screech on his lips as he was sent rolling across the polished floors.

"KILL 'EM! SKEWER 'EM! I'M EATING THE FAT ONE!" Bolts of lightning fired from Gob's fingers at the duo as her guardsman moved to cut them down. Cedric only managed to ignite his lightsaber in time to block a spear strike that would have seen him impaled through the heart, incapacitating his attacker with a brief mental assault.

"I'm gonna turn you into sausages Gob!" He shouted back.

It seemed their plan to get in had worked, but getting out alive would be an entirely different matter.

Starlin Rand

 

[Starlin Rand]

Pandemonium swiftly broke out as the women ran away, Cedric broke free of the cuffs, and Gob slammed them with the Force. By the time Cedric stopped screaming long enough to yell that he would make sausages out of the Sith Hutt, tears were streaming down Starlin’s face.

Tears of laughter.

“You people… are insane,” he managed to say between bouts of cracking up. “I… I’m lovin’ it! WOO!”

He flung his lightsaber at the guards. The blade spun in a wild yet carefully controlled manner, slicing off their hands at the wrist before the hilt found its way back to his grasp. Turning his attention upon Gob, green lightning erupted from his fingertips, the emerald lashes of Electric Judgement arcing toward the Sith.

Cedric Grayson​

 

[Cedric Grayson]

Gob, for her part, hadn't particularly considered Starlin to be much of a threat. The Jedi Master seemed to be far more of a problem, and she'd been keen to direct all her attentions onto him. When the bolts of emerald lightning came toward her, her eyes were locked wholly on the golden figure she'd just sent flying across the room.

Surprise gave way to outrage as she raised her stubby hands, attempting to erect a barrier of energy in the Force between herself and the lightning. She was far too slow, however, and let out a terrible shriek as the lightning coursed through her bulbous body, melting the fat and causing the fluids within to expand rapidly, then evaporate all together.

Gob had around six seconds to scream before her body popped, skin, bones, and mounds of fat flying all across the throne room as she expired loudly and violently.

The Jedi Master blinked behind his visor.

"Uh," Cedric groaned as he rose to his feet, his back hurting something fierce. The alien guards lowered their weapons, confusion plain across their features. "Your uh, your queen is dead." Cedric state far more firmly. "The other clades demand your surrender. Do so, or face judgement!"

The guardsmen that still had their hands dorpped their weapons. The ones missing them fumbled about the room, several of them screaming in agony. Cedric turned his attentions toward Starlin. "Well, my young padawan, that was a bit anticlimactic. You make for a good actor." He took his position by the youth's side. "And a capable warrior, all things considered. I don't think we'll have much further trouble with the Bosphs."

The screaming continued, and Cedric keenly ignored it as medics marched into the chamber to tend to the wounded.

Starlin Rand