Star Wars The Old Republic, the settings from the universe and the characters from it are not mine, they are the property of Bioware and LucasArts, and now Disney. All songs referenced belong to their artists, they just inspire the scenes. I'm only filling in some gaps in between all the questing and galactic conquests with my vivid imagination. All copyrights, trademarked items, or recognizable characters, plots, etc. mentioned herein belong to their respective owners. No copying or reproduction of this work is permitted without their express written authorization.
Chapter 2: Balmorra, or How to Flirt with a Wall -Part 1.
Songs in order of appearance: Starships ~ Nicki Minaj, Aragorn's Theme ~ Lord of the Rings Soundtrack, Where Have You Been ~Rihanna, A Whole New World – Disney's Aladdin, Blastin' Fast and Loud ~ Twisted Sister.
As soon as we entered the ship we were greeted by some kind of silver protocol droid.
"Oh, ah.. I mean, greetings." He said to us. "I am Toovee Arrate, factotum droid for this vessel. You must be my new master. Gentle, kind new master."
His choice of inflection on the last sentence made me smile.
"So I get a starship and a servant too? Not bad at all."
"I am relieved, ah, er, pleased, that you find me agreeable. I will never disappoint you, master." he said. "I am programmed for a wide array of tasks, including, but not limited to, meal preparation, ship maintenance, janitorial duty and etiquette. Welcome aboard this Fury-class Imperial Interceptor, a versatile craft combining a starfighters maneuverability with armament to rival larger military vessels."
I nodded at Toovee as he went on to take me and Vette on a tour of the craft and spout off various facts in the different areas.
"Any questions, master?" he asked her as they finished up.
"I have a mission to complete. Time to see what this ship can do." I responded.
"Thank goodness you are not deactivating me. I mean, good luck. I regret I am unable to offer you combat support, master. Frankly, my chassis couldn't withstand the stress." He shook his head. "However, should any errands arise that are beneath your superior status, please do not hesitate to call upon me. I function to serve you. Whenever you are ready to depart, consult the galaxy map on the bridge. It will program the proper astrogation coordinates and activate the engines."
"Wow. He's programmed for all kinds of boot licking." Vette said. "I'm going to go explore, if that's okay."
I nodded at her, humming a bit of a song aloud.
She raised her eyebrow at me. "Really? Starships. You're so weird." She wandered off and I went to check out my quarters. Wow... and what quarters they were.
Not too long after, I activated the holoterminal, connecting to Darth Baras.
"Apprentice, I trust you've found your starship satisfactory." he asked.
"It's an outstanding vessel." I replied.
"I hope that it serves you well. There is much to be done. My interests must be protected and my enemies destroyed. Noman Karr's efforts to expose my spies and prove his Padawan's power to the Jedi council must meet with systemic failure. You will exhaust yourself in this charge."
"You honor me." I said, bowing slightly. I saw Vette roll her eyes from her place to the side of the terminal.
"The information we siphoned from the Republic agent will be our map. We know my spy on Nar Shaddaa was being surveilled. We know where this Padawan was discovered, where she trained and that the Jedi have sent someone to investigate my spy on Balmorra. The padawan will have to be hunted down and destroyed, but first you must secure my network by silencing my spies on Balmorra and Nar Shaddaa."
"Considered them wiped from existence," I said with a dark smile.
"Nothing less than that will be sufficient." Baras replied. "My contacts on Balmorra and Nar Shaddaa will detail what must be done. Your tasks are paramount, apprentice. Bring cruelty, bring rage, bring death." With those final words he disconnected the signal.
"Darth Scary Man is sending us on a wild goose chase, but first we need to off some spies for him." Vette said, frowning. "I know Nar Shaddaa like the back of my lekku, but I don't know anything about Balmorra."
"Well," I said, "Lets go to the mystery planet first, then. Learn something new."
I headed to the bridge, typing in the request to travel to Balmorra. The chart made a whirring noise and I heard the engines kick on. A little light marked 'Auto Pilot' lit up.
"Interceptor, you are cleared for departure" a voice chirped over the communication unit on the main manual console.
"Ha. Neat." I said and walked back to the common room.
Vette was waiting for me. "Okay, hey. Sith master person of questionable temper and such. I've been extra good with the behaving. Did you notice? So, how 'bout taking this shock collar off of me?"
I pondered her request, placing my hand to my chin. "Give me your word that you'll still obey."
"How about some non-obedience following sort of directions? Like a person, instead of a pet?" she countered.
"I think I can agree to that." I said.
"You, you can? You will?!"
I removed her collar and she rubbed the back of her neck. "You have no idea how good it feels to have that thing off. Thank you."
I nodded, "You've earned it. Now go get some rest. I have no idea what waits for us when we arrive."
Vette nodded and bounced off and I went to go sleep in my new bed.
I awoke some time later, disoriented. The sheets I was wrapped up in were luxurious and silky. Not slip, slide silky.. that would be beyond annoying. But they were soft and felt expensive. I stared at the dark ceiling, trying to remember where I was and why all my muscles ached. Oh.. ship.. right. We were heading to the Coreworld sector of the galaxy to Balmorra.
I pulled back the sheets and sat up, swinging my legs over the side of the bed. My feet touched the cool metal floor.
"Rugs. I need to get some rugs." I said aloud to myself. I looked back at the bed and the time displayed on the built-in console read zero nine forty-three. Morning. I grabbed the robe from my refresher and walked to the door to my room. A little laser scanner ran up and down my body, made a small beep and the doors opened. Huh. That's interesting.
I wandered across the common room to the Medical Bay. This door opened for me without scanning or beeps. Inside, the room had the sterile chrome feeling of a nice hospital room. There were two rest beds, a pull out operating table and a kolto tank in the corner, that gave the room a soft blue-green glow. I found some basic field medpacks, some topical salves and a few bottles of common medicines in the various cabinet and drawers. Reading over the labels, I found what I wanted – Tramadol. I took one from the bottle and returned to my quarters, getting a glass of water from my refresher sink. Water and pain medication taken, I returned to the common room to find Toovee waiting for me.
"Good morning, Master. According to the astrogation and navigational computations, we will arrive at Balmorra two days from now, mid afternoon."
Hm. Fast ship. I nodded at him and continued past the silver tinted droid.
"Master, if you are seeking your assistant, Mistress Vette is on the bridge. I will be at the replicator preparing your breakfast to exacting nutritional specifications." He gave me a quick straight backed salute and headed toward the conference room. Was there a food making system there? I didn't recall, shrugged and headed to the bridge.
Vette was sitting in the Navigator's chair, her feet up on the console and crossed at the ankles. She had a datapad on her lap and a glass of something pink with ice in her left hand. She saw me come in and waved with her right hand.
"Morning, boss."
"Vette, what are you doing?" I asked, leaning against the door frame. I tightened the belt to my robe absently.
"Reading. I love to read.. adventure, romances, drama, thrillers, mysteries. It's all good. Keeps my brain exercised, you know?" She sipped at her drink and smiled a shy smile. I did know. Reading was something I highly approved of. "Oh! And Toovee was teaching me how to fly this morning." She beamed at me.
"Really? Well that's a good thing. One of us should know how to, just in case." I said, sitting down in the Captain's chair.
"You mean you don't know?" She asked, taken by surprise.
I shrugged. "I never really thought that class was important. I remember enough to give it autopilot instructions and where some of the emergency things are..." I trailed off, looking out the main view portal. Space was very pretty and lonely. I was so glad I had Vette at that moment.
"Huh. Well, I'm happy to learn. It's kind of neat and, "she tapped her forehead, "adds to the brain stuff."
I laughed. She was a pain in the rear, sometimes, but my red Twi'lek with the black stripes had found a place very near my dark heart in very little time.
"Thank you, Vette." I said to her.
She had returned to her datapad, "What for?" she asked without looking up.
"Just for being you." I replied softly as we sat there, me contemplating the galaxy and she reading her stories.
The intercom to my room crackled on. "Master, we have arrived at Balmorra and are holding just beyond the planet's gravitational orbit. We are slightly ahead of schedule."
I sighed and rubbed my eyes. This bed was really, really comfy. I reached over and spoke into the intercom. "Please guide the vessel to the proper spaceport, Toovee. I will be out shortly."
"A task, just for me? Oh, thank you, master!" he replied.
That droid was weird. I got up and went over to where I had draped my clothing. Darth Baras had sent me a text message not long after we had departed Dromund Kaas to tell me he would send my personal effects to whichever planet I chose to visit first. It would be nice to have some changes of clothes, even though this outfit really was my favorite. All white leather with faded black padding. I looked at myself in the full length mirror on the far wall.
Vibrant red hair that I kept long, ending just between my shoulder blades. It had a slight wave to it. Hard to tame, but worth the effort to do so. Pale white skin, smooth and flawless, the only thing marring it was a tattoo on the right side of my face, practically the same color as my hair. It was sinuous, I hear Darth Thanaton has a similar one, and I've never regretted getting in on Korriban. My eyes are a changeling hazel. The colors shifted depending on mood.. or force use. I smiled at my reflection, knowing I lucked out in the looks department versus many of my other female Sith, human or otherwise.
I threw on my long white overcoat and stepped out to the common room and moved to the holoterminal. I entered the proper code and my Master's visage flickered to life.
"We have reached Balmorra, Master." I said to him, standing at parade rest.
"Excellent. Your contact there is Lieutenant Malavai Quinn. I trust you'll find him most helpful."
"Where can I find this man?" I asked.
"Quinn will meet you in his office at Sobrik Headquarters. We will speak again as soon as he has briefed you." With that, his image crackled, then disappeared.
I summoned Vette and we left the ship, passed through our docking bay and into the spaceport proper, my play list was on random for the moment. Something soft and instrumental thrummed in my ear. There were several Imperials there, looking as if they wanted to flag us down. I waved them off, I had a task to complete for my Master. Their requests would have to wait.
It didn't take a rocket scientist to find Imperial HQ's main building. I did have to inquire about the exact location of Lieutenant Quinn's office from an Imperial Private. I think the poor kid almost wet himself when I approached and spoke to him.
His reaction got a chuckle from Vette. "Wow. I mean, I know you can be scary. Right now you are anything but."
I smiled, "Sith have a.. reputation.. of being less than stable or patient. Sometimes it is useful."
We found the correct doorway and entered, walking through a very short hallway that opened up into a larger room. A man stood at the main computer console platform, he seemed to be counseling another, younger man, who stood before him.
"Sir, I apologize, sir." The younger man said. He had blonde hair and a beaten demeanor. "It was the best I could do."
I looked at the older, dark haired man, and blinked several times. Something in the back of my mind, clicked and something in my core warmed. I shifted my weight, frowning. A upbeat pop song was playing in my ear, I discreetly reached up and flicked the volume down so I could hear the conversation better.
"If that's your best, you're useless to me." The older man said with conviction, backing the blonde man up. "I could shoot you dead with a clear conscious. Is that what you want?"
I raised an eyebrow, confidence radiated from the dark haired man. Vette and I slowly moved forward and I studied him. Tall, broad shouldered yet of average build, black hair cut to military standards, gelled back a bit from his forehead and a small unruly tuft that defied order at the front. His skin was pale, he hadn't been out in the field for a while I would guess. His entire face was very, classic. Two moles, one a bit larger than the other, graced the crest of his left cheekbone. His eyes were a very lovely and piercing blue. The hint of end of day scruff showed on his jawline. I blew out a small bit of air. Vette glanced at me questioningly.
"No sir!" The blonde man squeaked out.
"Then focus, Jillans. Dismissed." the dark haired man said, noticing us. By now I assumed this could be the man Darth Baras had sent me to.
I closed the distance and he addressed us.
"I apologize for the delay, my lord." He bowed at the waist to me. "Lieutenant Malavai Quinn, I'm to be your liaison here on Balmorra."
He was even better eye candy up close. I hummed a little of the song playing to myself, subconsciously, as he spoke. Where have you been all my life? Rawr. I cracked the smallest smile. Vette gently nudged me and I reached up and turned off the music.
"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance." I replied to him, returning to my stoic pleasant "business" face.
"And to you, my lord" he said, sounding a bit surprised at my cordial greeting. "Lord Baras will brief you personally, but I'm to acquaint you with the climate here on Balmorra first."
"I don't have all day, Lieutenant." I said. Cringing inwardly at my own tone.
"I won't mince words, my lord." he replied.
I nodded for him to proceed.
"Even though the Empire wrestled control of Balmorra from the Republic during the war, we were never able to completely eradicate them. There is a rather sizable resistance movement. No one wants to admit it, but it is clear the Republic is backing it."
"The Republic can not be tolerated." I replied.
"I agree, my lord. It is my dream to see our enemy vanquished." Quinn said, his voice hinting at a very passionate belief. "I have a secure line to Lord Baras. I'll patch him through immediately."
He turned and activated a button on a nearby pedestal mini-holoterminal. A smaller hologram of my rotund Master appeared.
"Ah, I see you've convened with my apprentice. Very good, Lieutenant. Leave us." Baras said.
Quinn nodded his acquiescence and left the room.
"Quinn owes his career to me, but we should keep the details of your mission between the two of us."
I glanced at Vette and she shrugged, mouthing the words 'I'm not a people' at me. I coughed softly to hide my smile.
"We must act swiftly. Noman Karr's padawan has directed suspicions to my undercover spy there on Balmorra. Do you recall this?"
I suppressed another smile, since he was being awfully serious and we'd only just discussed this the night before. "Of course, I remember everything." I said.
"Good, I'll get to the point. My spy is Commander Rylon of the Republic resistance. He is the central contact for all my operatives in this sector. Unfortunately, Quinn is tracking an investigator that the Jedi have sent. This means we have to cover our tracks before you kill Rylon. Your first mandate is to destroy evidence that links Rylon to the sabotaging of Balmorra's defense systems during the war."
I paced back and forth in front of the little holoterminal, absorbing his orders.
"To do so, you must break into the satellite control tower. Quinn reports that the tower is a death trap of mechanical security."
"Are there any special requirements?" I asked. Death trap. Awesome. I pursed my lips.
"Quinn has everything you'll need. I'll summon him back. Remember, he is not to know the reason for your mission. I'll be in touch." His image faded when he finished speaking.
A few moments later, Lieutenant Quinn returned.
"My lord, I've prepared what you need for your assault on the satellite control tower. In order to destroy the mainframe," he handed me a datapad and an electronic explosive device, "you'll mount this charge to the base and activate it. Then contact me and I'll be able to detonate."
I nodded, tucking the items into a belt pouch. I turned from him and Vette and I left the building. Once outside, I consulted the datapad I had been given. Vette was looking at it from over my shoulder making her usual idle chatter.
"So, how about Mr. Tight Pants in there."
"Mr... what?" I asked, glancing up at her.
"Quinn... Mr. Tight Pants. Or Mr. Uptight. That works for him too." She nodded to herself.
I laughed, "What about him?"
"He'd be really fun to mess with." She said, a gleam in her eye.
"Would he, now?" I looked up at her properly, tucking the datapad back into the pouch and starting to walk in the direction we needed to go. "We're here on business. The whole planet is a war zone. I don't think that kind of thing would be proper."
"Oh, come on! A time like this, with the things you do, a little levity will save your sanity. I mean, I've known you for a few months and I've never seen you do anything really... fun. Well, besides our dance stuff." Vette said, poking me in the shoulder.
"Picking on Imperial soldiers isn't what I'd call... levity." I replied.
"Pft. You should try it. I really want to know what he'd do if you.. I dunno.. showed some flirtatious interest in him. Besides, I saw how you looked at him."
"Flirt.. Vette," I stopped and looked at her. And then I thought about it. He was quite handsome. Damn handsome. Even if it didn't go anywhere, which it probably wouldn't since after Balmorra they'd most likely never see him again, it would be entertaining. "Okay."
"Okay?" Vette said. "Really?" Her voice nearly squeaked in surprise.
"Sure. Why not. Flustering an uptight Imperial officer will be an interesting challenge."
We 'stormed the castle', or rather the satellite facility with our usual dramatic gusto. It wasn't easy, but it wasn't really dangerous, either. I only had to use the force a few times to heal a couple of blaster burns. I also found the mainframe without much issue.
"You know, the only thing that would have made this easier would have been a big neon sign above the door that said 'Mainframe Room.'" Vette said as she watched me plant the device at the base of the computer.
I laughed and pulled out my personal holocommunicator, dialing the frequency number to reach Lieutenant Quinn. He answered promptly and a tiny blue hologram of him rested above my palm.
"My lord, I mark your progress and see that the charge is armed. I will detonate once you are at a safe distance. But first, I have Darth Baras on holo for you. I will retreat and leave the line secure for the two of you." His likeness disappeared, replaced by my masked master.
"Apprentice, we have one more potentially compromising thing to take care of before you can confront my spy, Commander Rylon. It involves invading a Republic keep to find a lowly ensign named Durmat. He is Rylon's son and the commander confided his true identity to him. Ensign Durmat must be silenced.. permanently."
"Maybe the son can be trusted?" I asked.
"I don't leave loose ends." Baras replied. "And all indications are that Rylon's son is a very loose end. I'll signal Quinn to give you the details. Be swift."
His image was replaced with Lieutenant Quinn's.
"My lord, Ensign Durmat is being detained in the brig of the Republic crater outpost, awaiting questioning by the mysterious agent Baras has me tracking. I will alert you if the investigator appears to be heading there. I assume you wish to get to Durmat before she does."
I smiled a little, "It's none of your business, Imperial." I added a little flirty tone to the response.
"I apologize, my lord." He replied. Either oblivious or unphased by my implications. "My inquiring mind often gets the best of me. I won't delay you any longer. Good luck on your mission, my lord. I'll be here if you need anything." His image faded and I placed my communicator back in its pouch.
Vette lounged against the machine we were about to blow up. "So, assassination. Okay. Let's go."
The outpost wasn't too far away, and their defenses were not capable of stopping my dual saber and Vette's dual blaster awesomeness. I was getting blood on my white outfit, though. I wonder if Toovee can remove blood stains from white leather.
We approached the entry to the brig, taking out a few soldiers who were guarding the outside. The song playing was not appropriate for the fight going on. Something about 'A Whole New World', oh.. I left my selection on random. Darn it. I'll have to fix that when we got to a safer place.
We walked in just in time to hear our little birdie singing to the jailer. Moron.
"Alright, alright, I give. My dad's an Imperial agent." the skinny red headed kid said, breaking down, his voice squeaking.
"What did you say?" The jailer asked, oblivious to us. "Your dad is a what?"
"All I heard him say was 'I'm ready to die'." I spoke up, closing the gap between us and the cage the kid was in.
"Oh... oh.. no.. no.. no" the kid whimpered, cowering.
The burly, dark skinned jailer practically shouted at us. "This is a restricted area. What are you doing here? Who are you?"
"It's not a who.. it's a what. S.. s.. sith." The kid said, pointing at me.
Observant little bastard. I suppose the blood spatters gave me away. Might as well go with it.
"I am death." I said matter-of-factly.
"Hm. Like I couldn't tell you were bad news the moment I saw you." The jailer said loudly. Maybe he couldn't help almost shouting. Must be the cybernetic implants in his face. "Take a look behind yourself, Sith. That's what two squads of the Republic's finest looks like."
I glanced behind me and saw four men with guns stamp up and take position. Four. That's all? I killed more than that on the way in. Well, I could make them feel good about it I suppose.
"Finally, a fight worthy of me!"
"C'mon men. Let's send this Sith home in a body bag," the jailer said, pulling his gun out.
I took out the 'Republic's Finest' first. No contest. I think one guy got a temple strike on me with the butt of his rifle, but I didn't feel it. Vette is really good at shooting people where it matters and for some reason our foes often forget she is there until she's filling them full of blaster holes.
The jailer went down last. He tried to use a portable carbonite cartridge on me. It didn't slow me down very long, besides, Vette was there, shooting him while I unstuck myself. My twin sabers made some pretty red glow trails as I sliced him up.
I approached the kid in the cage.
"Zixx? Zixx. C'mon, talk to me Zixx.. get up man." The kid spoke to the dead dark skinned cyborg.
"Look at me, Ensign Durmat." I said, getting his attention.
He stood up, tears streaming down his face. "But, if I don't look.. then maybe.. you're not really here. Oh blast, I looked. Please, please, I know why you're here. The.. the Republic is investigating my dad.. and an agent is comin' to put the screws to me." He moved around the cage like a nervous animal. "But, I won't break, I promise. Let.. let me live. My dad's secret is safe with me. I.. I'm a rock."
"You must think I am an idiot." I retorted. Really now... moron.. you just told the jailer and he didn't even touch you. I frowned at him.
"Fine.. fine, you're an idiot." He said, clearly misunderstanding the intentions behind my words. "If it'll save me.. I.. I'll think whatever you want me to. My father's done so much for the Empire. Maybe.. maybe the apple fell off the tree. Kinda far from the tree, but it's still.. the apples still.." he put his hand to his head in distress. "Look I'm not really sure where I was going with that. Please, please don't kill me."
"I'm putting you out of my misery." I said to him, pointing. Man, he was annoying.
"But who will put me out of my misery?" He asked.
"Really?" Vette said, shaking her head.
I forced choked him, crushing his larynx. I hadn't done that in a while.
"Poor fool. I'm not sure we've come across anyone so.. useless." Vette said, looking at his corpse.
"Not everyone can be as talented as you, Vette." I replied.
"A compliment! I'll take it." She said, grinning. Her grin faded a bit. "Uh.. it smells awful in here. Let's move on, shall we?"
We left the compound and returned to Sobrik for our next task.
