Jasyn had been nursing his third cup of caf, trying to edge off the rest of his hangover, when his proximity indicator finally announced the imminent reversion at Bespin. As he seated himself at the pilot's chair, he scowled to himself. He had polished off every last drop of Corellian Ale aboard ship, and the drunken stupor he had been had only recently really begun to clear.

"Kriffing hell," he growled to himself even as starlines refashioned themselves to look like stars. "What was I thinking?" he muttered to himself as he headed towards atmosphere. For although he knew Graysith's general location, it was a very heavily populated city, and one wall looked like another...

His scowl blackened even as an umbrella ship covered him and he requested permission to dock in the city. In a few minutes he had succeeded in doing precisely that, and in just a few more he had engines cooled. Then he deboarded the ship, making sure the blaster he had appropriated was firmly secured to the weapons belt of the grey flightsuit he now wore before closing the hatch and locking her up with a new passcode he had programmed in.

As he began to head towards the city, Jasyn idly he wondered if there was a good food establishment around. He hadn't eaten in a while, and a meal would do wonders in helping him decide what to do next.

And it would certainly clear the remnants of the buzz he had from drinking all that ale...

[ 01-17-2011 08:39 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Jasyn Lancaster ]

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"Mistaken again you are!" he stated with another clack of his mandibles for emphasis.

"Harm the Lady never would that one; loves her, does he."

He paused then, all too aware of what he had just let slip. For his reply could only be deciphered as an acknowledgement of his knowing the man who lay so quietly and apparently injured before him. Or, at the very least, that he knew indeed of what the man was talking of. In either case, logic dictated that the proverbial jig was up; cocking his head a bit to one side he scanned the Master a bit more thoroughly, trying to assess his state of health.

Perhaps he was indeed injured, and could do him no harm. Perhaps he could yet learn of something that might be of use to them, and in the meantime keep his knowledge of Jharmeen's whereabouts quiet.

He clattered his mandibles again, the equivalent of a Verpine shrug.

"Found out, am I, for of this Lady and Phalomir have I made some acquaintance. More know you than I in their matter; perhaps divulge more to this one you might so oblige?"

Clattering the Verpine equivalent of a sigh, he moved to where the pen-bearing Gentry still hovered and, taking the instrument deftly in appendage, scribbled his nom du plume where the affable being indicated.

Who then, of course, vanished out the door, paperwork in hand.

[ 01-17-2011 09:54 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by K'kihl ]

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"I will take... some..." she faltered as with something of a start she realized that, Dark Lady that she was, all she would naturally now ask for would be a Sith brandy. And of course such a request would do nothing but provoke stares and mutters of curiosity... and both would certainly do nothing more than lead her into trouble. Although she had no doubt in her mind that she could handle any trouble coming her way, the best defense in such matters was really a quiet offense...

Or a complete lack of anything in that department. Pre-emptive nil, if you will.

"A--" she stammered again.

Then inspiration struck.

Leaning against the bar in a provacative manner, she blinked heavy lashes at the hulk.

"You look knowledgeable when it comes to the wants of a lady," she cooed softly, leaning forward just a touch so that her natural perfume would waft into what passed for his nostrils. The thought that perhaps this hulk might find human female pheromones disgusting was quietly squelched; if her little act didn't infiltrate the hulk's soggy senses enough to where she might have a good chance of wrapping him around her little finger, perhaps it might work on another of the seedy patrons frequenting this seedy establishment.

She batted her eyelashes again.

"Surprise me."

[ 01-17-2011 10:21 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Graysith ]

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"Dat'll be two credits, sweetheart," the hulk grumbled, not moving from his position which was likewise in front of her. She cast a look at the glass, raised her eyes to his and pinned him with a look that briefly unleashed the fires of a nuclear furnace, but rapidly dwindled down to something all softness and vulnerability.

"May I run a tab, please?" she asked quietly, not yet reaching for her glass. The hulk considered her a moment, assessing her with a rake of his eyes before turning away with an affirmative grunt. She let a little sigh waft out toward his departing back, then turned her own to the bar and perused the facility over her neon yellow drink.

The place was seedy, dimly lit, not the liveliest joint on the block, to be certain, but containing at least fifteen patrons. They all looked to be as seedy as the room, hunkering in pairs or singly, nursing solitary drinks or murmuring quietly to each other. She blinked, shaking her head inwardly.

Perhaps this wasn't quite the best of ideas she'd ever had; oh how she wished, once again, that her sister was here. She was certain Galen would know exactly what to do, what buttons to push, what feminine wiles to let momentarily slip while never losing the objective of obtaining information...

Her focus was snapped outward again as a creak of worn leather announced the arrival of someone. She blinked, turned to acknowledge the human male who had come up to sit in the stool next to her.

"Hi, beautiful," he grinned through a two-day stubble. Behind that stubble, however, shone gleaming white teeth. That and the fact that his miner's clothing, while being worn, was clean, gave her added hope. She reared back a little, returning his appraising look degree for degree.

"You look like you need a friend."

All right, so he wasn't the brightest crayon in the box. But he seemed direct enough; at least a quick slip into his immediate thoughts didn't reveal much more than what she normally would expect under the circumstances, which scarcely had anything remotely to do with developing a friendship with her.

But he might still know something.

She sighed, looked down to the drink in her hands, then raised her eyes to meet his.

"Friends are always nice to have, especially when one is in need of help," she replied in a voice as ethereal as the leviathan beldons floating in the clouds beyond the city, those gaseous, jellyfish-like creatures who, it was thought, processed the planet's valuable Tibanna gas by metabolizing other gases in Bespin's Life Zone.

She blinked her violet eyes again, and shot him a tremulous smile. Predictable to a tee, even for her, he straightened, stuck his chest out a little.

"Hey, beautiful, no worries. Cazun Farr is here at your service; what can I do ya for?"

As another quick mind-slip didn't reveal much more than her former one had, she pressed on.

"I'm afraid I am out of money to pay for my drink, and my... my sister and I have become separated. She has our funds; we're here to see about some--" She paused strategically, as if catching herself on the brink of letting something dark and illegal and possibly profitable slip from her tongue. Then she smiled again, and went on.

"She and our engineer and I got separated while we were out... out, ummm... shopping. I walked and walked, but still couldn't find them; they must not have their commlinks open. But I got so tired, and so thirsty, that I stopped in here for something and ordered before I remembered I didn't have any money..."

There.

She couldn't help but take in a deep breath of satisfaction with herself, one which more than likely was interpreted by the miner as being one born of gloom and despair. This was beginning to sound more and more like something Galen would come up with; perhaps something of her sister had rubbed off on her somewhere during their life together. And if it sounded like something Galen would come up with, it more than probably would bear fruit.

If she was lucky, this Cazun Farr would now think she had money, although not on her at the moment; would believe her to be naive and stupid and thus either an easy mark -- should he prove to have less than honorable intentions -- or a genuine damsel in distress, to whose side he could chivalrously rush to assist.

She seriously hoped it would be the latter.

"And I'm afraid I can't remember how to get back to the public docking bay," she finished with a single bat of her eyes and a dainty sip from her glass.

[ 01-18-2011 03:09 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Graysith ]

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But he was well enough to open his eyes and look directly at the Verpine.

Jasyn shook his head a bit. What the kriffing hell was it with that name? Was the Blue Asteroid some sort of resturaunt chain in the galaxy or something?

Despite the bit of deja vu, Jasyn decided that--especially since the sign said the place had good food and drink--he'd pay it a visit. So he began following the directions given underneath the slogan. As he continued to walk and mull, he briefly wondered why the hell he'd decided to land here instead of Cloud City, Bespin's capital. After all, if someone was coming here for restoration or just for a good place to disappear for a while, they would go there first since it had more attractions to offer. Still, he'd been to Tibannopolis before, on business, and EE had multiple mining clients onplanet.

And that thought sparked an idea. Jasyn's step quickened a bit as he raised his arm and keyed in Aaron's private frequency on his wristcomm, knowing he would have access to the information needed right at his fingertips.

Hey, Aaron, Jasyn Lancaster reporting in. I'm on Bespin, and I need a few connections. I know we have several clients in Tibannopolis, and was wondering if you could hook me up with someone who might be in need of some equipment...

...and might in turn be a useful connection for me as I am looking for ahhh....

He paused, not wanting to say the word Graysith in the crowded city and raise unwanted alarm, and not certain if Aaron knew her as Jharmeen or not.

...Galen's sister,[i] he ended, sending the message off and continuing to head towards the [i]Blue Asteroid.

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Unless the Dark Lord had been somehow taken over by someone or something with a dark agenda and darker powers; possession, perhaps?

He tilted his head a little to one side.

"Proof of this, have you?" he asked at length, quickly clarified with, "of this, this change into... explain further, this change; that understand fully might I."

--------------------

“Proof?” he chuckled. “Go ask him yourself, you’ll have all the proof you need. Or better yet, ask your friend the blonde. She is with him.”

His laughter took a turn into a deep, raspy cough. He closed his eyes and concentrated, accelerating the healing once again.

He sniffed, clacked a manipulatory appendage.

"Mistaken you are," he said at length. "To a place of healing, did he send her; in my care, did he place her. Actions of one who would a danger pose, these are not."

He paused a moment longer, then flipped his chitinous "fingers" inward, and appeared to study them nonchalantly.

"Perhaps on another world, the Lady is. Perhaps better healing, elsewhere is obtained.

"Perhaps the-- the--" He stumbled fractionally before continuing, "the resorts of Cloud City, does this one like.

"Arrangements making, was I, there to visit."

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The Master paused, suddenly struck by what K’kihl had said.

"Umm.. the time, now it is..." He gave the current date, as well as providing information as to where they were on Bespin. And did let slip the little fact that he had brought Jharmeen here from Endor. He did not, however, mention that Dark Lord Aelvedaar was still on that moon; in fact, never even acknowledged Phalomir's presence there.

Only that Phalomir had directed that he bring the Dark Lady of the Warriors from Endor to Bespin; simply that he had come with her here from there.

"True, the Dark Lady, into my care has been placed," he went on carefully. "By the one, loves her he does." He began to rear upright a little, half turning to the Master now even as he inched doorward.

"No harm to her shall come; hidden is she, protect her will I--"

He cut himself off suddenly, as a new wonder rose into his mind. For if this man, this Master was indeed as dangerous as he had been to them in the past, why was he not now actually doing something to him? Using his powers, forcing him to take him to her?

It was a quandary, and forced his inching feet to slow to a halt.

"Serious are you, in no harm meaning her?" he finally asked as he turned fully back to directly face the bed-ridden man. Then--

"Proof must I have. Trust you, do none."

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"Jasyn, I'm sending you information on a few contacts that may be able to help you on Bespin. A couple are miners in Tibiannaopolis, one is a resort owner in Cloud city, and the last is a delegate fromt he government there. All are good clients and have requests for various ships; I'm sending you detials regarding some ships we have that may suit each of them. If you can help them out, I am certain that they will in turn help you. Let me know if you need anything else."

Aaron sent this message off, along with the details regarding the potential contacts and possible ship matches.

--------------------

“Proof?” he scoffed. “Trust? Of course no one trusts me! I’ve done nothing but harm to the people you know. But it was all for the good of the Sith, and the galaxy. Everything was.”

His eyes trailed down to the spot on the wall once more.

“I gave him over,” he said, his voice lowering to a guilty hush. “The darkness took him, my son – it was the arrangement, you see. The power to save the galaxy would be mine, and I would wield it with benevolence and wisdom. But I was betrayed, as were we all.”

The Master again regarded the Verpine, his eyes sunken.

Especially since one of the clients Aaron had listed was a Bespin government delegate. Although the two miners were in closer range, Jasyn really didn't know how many connections they may or may not have. The delegate, on the other hand, had ties to the government...

...and potentially to the eyes and ears of the planet. As he waited for his food and took the first sip of his drink, Jasyn keyed in the frequency Aaron had given him, recalling as he did how much he hated actually having to sell a ship.

Delegate Seth Zekkin; I am Jasyn Lancaster of Eagle Enterprises calling to inform you that we have a few ships that may fill your recent request. I am on-planet and would like to do business with you personally; currently I am in Tiabannapolis but would be willing to meet you at a location more convenient to you. I can give you a good deal and am sending with this message some of the specs on the ships we can offer you; I hope to hear from you shortly.

Lancaster out.

Sending the message off along with the specs he mentioned, Jasyn sat back and took a good swig of his drink, hoping his deal-making would work out the way he would like.

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He cocked his head.

"Perhaps other enemies have you, with powers so great," he began, before following more carefully with:

"Or perhaps, your own enemy are you. Power you have, deception you practice. Know I not, if this--"

He waved a manipulatory appendage toward the Master and the bed.

"--truth or ruse is."

He began inching his itchy feet another few centimeters toward the door, when logic reared its ugly head. There was only one way he could think of to determine the veracity of the Master's words, as distasteful as it was to him.

If without powers, as is Lady, then safe am I. If strong, again the Lady is. Paramount is, the safety of the Lady.

Expendable I, know the action do I now...

Heaving an almost sorrowful sigh, he suddenly charged the bed. Reaching it, he shot out one arm, and with the pincers on the end of his manipulatory appendage sliced the Master's arm, which was laying exposed atop the covers. His powerful insectoid musculature then sent him shooting backward toward the door, where he came to a crouching halt, waiting to see how fell the fruits of his efforts to determine the Truth.

[ 02-05-2011 10:18 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by K'kihl ]

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“If a test is what you wanted,” he said flatly, “Then there you have it. Yes, my powers are weak at the moment. I have had a very trying time to say the least, and I’ve had to divert nearly everything I have into healing myself. But make no mistake, my friend, weakened or not, if I wished it you would be lining the walls of this otherwise pristine medical facility.”

The Master sighed and looked away, the anger fading.

“But my strength is not enough to battle this monster I have helped to create, and if I do not speak with the Dark Lady then what little chance we currently have may evaporate completely.”

A man who had been as evil to them as this one would have, by virtue of his nature, instantly attacked back in retaliation of K'kihl's attack upon him. If not utterly squashing him ere that attack even find its end. And he, K'kihl, was still standing, wasn't he?

He nodded and straightened his body, letting his mandibles clatter in loosening relief that he himself was still among the living.

Not to mention at his suddenly growing hypothesis that since this one did seem to have his powers, perhaps the Lady may have regained her own strengths as well. If all this was yet a ruse, chances were indeed good that She would be able to hold her own against him.

It was now the time to make a decision.

"Believe you, do I," he announced simply, choosing to keep quiet his thoughts on the possibility that this all might yet be some sort of elaborate deception. "But possibly believe you not, will She.

"Enemy have you made, of her for the love of Phalomir. But if truth indeed it is you speak, together then must all join, this darker foe to battle."

He paused a moment before taking the final leap of faith.

"When able you are, to the Lady will I take you."

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“I thank you,” he said. “I know, it will be difficult to gain her trust. But she will believe me, I am certain. She will find the truth for herself merely by looking into her heart.”

After a moment the Master opened his eyes and lifted his head.

“But there is no need to wait any longer,” he said through a raspy voice. “I am well enough, and further delay will only cause problems.”

He waved his hand across his body as if pushing the blanket back. Obeying, the blanket flew from him and landed crumpled on the floor. He moved his legs gingerly to the side and came to a sitting position on the side of the bed.

There he held it out to the Master, letting it dangle precariously from one pincher until it was removed in a single smooth gesture and donned. K'kihl waited a bit longer as the man fussed a bit with his accoutrements, then turned aboutface and headed back to the door.

"You will now follow me," he called over his shoulder, not even turning to look at the man any longer. Small rustles and quiet grunts informed him that the man was indeed behind him, and if he remained thus that would suit the Verpine just fine. For truth be told, he found the Master's presence to be a discomfiting one, and didn't dare look into the man's face -- or eyes -- any more than immediate circumstances called for. Hopefully he was telling the truth, and they would return without incident to where he had left the Dark Lady.

Which would, of course, only lend credence to his somewhat bizarre tale of Phalomir going bad.

K'kihl shook his head to himself.

Now there indeed was a quandary... and one the very thought of which brought back with a vengeance the worm of unease he had only just managed to subdue.

[ 02-05-2011 04:04 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by K'kihl ]

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Mr. Lancaster, I am most pleased to receive your offers and would be interested in speaking with you further about them. I unfortunately am stuck in Cloud City on business, however, and will not be able to meet with you for another standard day. If you are willing to travel here to Cloud City to meet with me, it will be at my personal expense to transport you via luxury yacht from Tiabannapolis to Level 51 of Cloud City, where you may partake of food and entertainment while you wait. Please let me know if this would interest you and I will get you passage to cloud city on the next available yacht going out from there.

Seth Zekkin, out.

Jasyn chewed his lip a bit in thought...

...but really, there was little to think about. This guy was offering a pleasure cruise aboard a luxury yacht to one of Cloud City's upscale living and entertainment levels, where he would meet him to do business.

Who the kriffing hell would turn THAT down? Besides, it sounded like the guy had a good amount of resources at his fingertips, if he could get passage out of Tiabannapolis to Cloud City that easily and luxuriously.

Jasyn nodded to himself, a bit of crooked smile sliding onto his face as he pressed the response button.

Delegate Zekkin, I would be glad to take you up on your offer. Please let me know where to report to so I might depart from here and make my way to Cloud City; I promise you I will make it worth your while.

As he sent of his reply, Jasyn finished his mug of ale, reached in his pocket and retrieved a few credits to then throw on the table as a tip, and stood, heading out of the Blue Asteroid.

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But he felt his connection to the All was still with him, and although weak he felt it wise to test his powers. He concentrated, waved his hand, and his boots floated to him. They landed on the floor before him and he smiled a little, then stepped into them.

He straightened as best he could and pulled on the robe collars. A wry smile crossed his face and regarded K’kihl, who was looking away.

But that was not to say that he accepted what had just occured with any particular degree of aplomb. Quite the contrary; to his dismay he found this worrisome, another potential nail in a coffin he couldn't help but think he was building for himself and those he was loyal to.

Why that, did this being do? he couldn't help wondering as they moved along. To fun of me make, is it? To himself assert, matters not what he states?

He shook his head slightly, quickening his pace. Hopefully once back to the Lady's side, the cards would rapidly fall into place. She would be well, strong and able to defend herself as well as him, and the Master would not be quite the threat that K'kihl yet maintained to himself that he was.

Alas, that was not to be.

He stood framed in the doorway of the empty room, staring in something of shocked disbelief at its interior. The bed was neatly made, fresh floral arrangements graced its tables, a bit of sweet lay on the plumped pillows for the next occupant to enjoy.

He would have blinked if he could.

"Th-the Dark Lady, here she is not," he stated unnecessarily, and for a moment remained where he was. Then giving himself a boost of courage, he turned to face the Master.

"Know not I where gone has she."

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And that he needed to be able to think when he did.

As the yacht began docking procedures, Jasyn squirted off a quick message to the Delegate that he would be in Level 51 shortly and would be at their agreed meeting location, an upscale spa and resort called The Cobalt Terrene. As he did, dark memories of the last two times he had been in a spa caused his former light mood fade into oblivion as his eyes darkened. He tried his best to keep his darkening thoughts from coloring his words, however, and finalized his message before sending it off. In a few minutes, the yacht finished docking, and he deboarded, on his way for what he hoped would eventually be a productive meeting.

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“You said she was seriously injured!” he growled. “She may have regained her ability to heal herself, but why would she have vanished without telling you where she was going?”

He took a step into the room, brushing the shaken K’kihl to the side. The Master noted that his own strength was returning more rapidly now, perhaps enough to summon The All. This eased him a little.

But not much.

“The dark one may have already come for her,” he said coldly. “But no, that is not possible. It is not the right time, it is too soon. Does she have a com link? Wait… Perhaps…”

She was the Dark Lady, and he was a Sith. If she were in the area, anywhere on the planet, then he could reach out with the connection that all Sith shared. It was little used away from the home worlds, but even here it should provide enough connection to at least tell him if she were close, and alert her that a Sith was in the area as well.

Jasyn knew the time to show his cards and do some hard bargaining was at hand as Seth asked for the price for the ships.

"Well, you can buy each for the sum of 100,000 credits...

...but I have to admit something to you first." Jasyn paused, taking a sip of his drink. He hated wheeling and dealing...

...especially this kind. "I have something I need too, that maybe you can provide because of your position here."

Jasyn quieted for a moment again, but quickly spoke up once more as a thundercloud began to form in Seth's eyes.

"It's not what you may think. I'm looking for someone....a Verpine who I believe came here with an injured woman named Jharmeen. The problem is I have no way to contact him or find him at the moment...

...so I need someone with access to ships that may have landed here or even medical center information. If you can give me some help in finding these two, Barnes is willing to reduce the price of the ships twenty-five percent."

The thundercloud in Seth's eyes disappated. Jasyn let out a mental sigh of relief.

"I don't know if I can get you access to information on who may have checked into the healing centers here, but I can get you information on ships that have docked onplanet. Do you know what sort of ship they may have arrived in?"

"A TIE fighter, most likely," Jasyn responded.

Seth nodded, and began keying something in on his wristcomm. After he was finished, he looked back at Jasyn. "It might not be much, but maybe if we can track down your friend's fighter I can at least get you in the right area to look."

Seth paused, taking his own drink as food finally arrived. Jasyn took a bite of some rather good food. Across the way, Seth was beginning to take a drink, but then paused as a strange look crossed his face.

"Wait a minute, did you say this guy you are looking for is a Verpine?"

Jasyn arched an eyebrow, having no idea where this was going. "Yeah," he responded, putting the nearing bite of food in his mouth...

...and pratically spitting it out with Seth's next words.

"Rumors have been running rampant that there is some odd, red-skinned humanoid who is badly injured in the healing centers on Tiabannapolis. That being was dropped off here and left...

...with whomever left him saying that the person who could help would be with a Verpine by the name of K'khil."

Jasyn had to take a moment to recover from his initial shock. At length, he put his fork down though, looking Seth dead in the eye. "Any chance I can impose upon you to get me back to Tiabannopolis ASAP and get me to this healing center? Cause if you can, and this pans out like I hope it will...

...you're going to get yourself one kriffing hell of a discount on your ships."

He trailed a moment, a final question popping up in his head via a shoulder devil. "I don't suppose there was a name assiciated with this red-skinned being in those rumors you heard?"

[ 03-20-2011 10:08 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Jasyn Lancaster ]

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