Well, I'm back! Sorry it took so long but with Collage, Being promoted, School, and life I just haven't had the time to write. Hopefully I will get the next chapter, which I'm currently writing, up sooner then this one.
Nerwen Aldarion: Although there is no flashback this chapter there will be a culminating one in the near future. Thanks for reviewing and Hope you like this one!
People Who Alerted: dragonlance07, Darth Rabbits, puppykiller9, yansuke, and Horned Reaper 266.
Speech that is Underlined is an non-basic language translated in to basic for convenience's sake.
They could hear the music long before they reached the right room. The party was in full swing. As they neared the door Carth looked at Mach with a look that said, Do-I-really-have-to? Mach replied with a look. Yes-since-I-have-to. Carth gave a long suffering sigh. Sometimes he hated his job. The two soldiers entered apartment number 57B.
As soon as Mach entered the room he became the center of attention. The females, that were currently unattached, unabashedly stared at him. And all of the unattached males glared at him. For some reason the stares unnerved him far more than the glares.
Sarna was feeling great. The Tarisan Ale had settled comfortably in her stomach. She had picked her clothes carefully. And now her prey had arrived. She felt a shot of excitement run through her. She got up and stalked slowly toward "Rodren", making sure to put a little extra swing to her hips as she went.
Mach watched as the female Sith slowly made her way toward him. "Sarna was her name I think." And from the way her hips swayed she seemed to have already consumed a good bit of alcohol. Mach's mind raced with idea's for how to separate her from the group so he could deal with her personally.
Sarna walked up to Rodren. "Hey, Stranger," she purred. "Care for some liquid refreshment?" Rodren took the offered glass and downed it in one go as Sarna's eyes widened. He took her glass over to the makeshift bar and refilled both their glasses. He then walked back to her.
Mach handed Sarna her glass. She toasted her glass with his. She then tossed the entire drink down. Her eyes widened as the alcohol worked down her system. Mach then drained his glass. Sarna then turned to him with a smile that promised something. Her voice was throaty as she whispered, "I think I'm going to head to bed. Care to join me?"
Normally Sarna would have had more tact. But, she wanted him now, damn it! She mentally shivered as she thought of the pleasure soon to come. She pressed herself against Rodren. "I'll even give you a reward." She said, her voice huskily. She felt him tense then relax. He accepted her invitation. Rodren gave her a smirk that made her weak in the knees. She reluctantly pulled herself away from him. She slowly strutted towards the adjacent bedrooms. When she reached the doorway she turned and saw him watching her. Sarna pressed herself against the doorframe and stretched her hand in a 'come-hither' gesture. She then turned and headed into the bedroom.
Mach watched Sarna as she left. He was tempted to simply throw away his plan and follow her into the room. But, even as those thoughts entered his brain, something held him back. Mach shook his head to clear it. "The alcoholic beverage must be affecting me more than I thought." Mach walked over to the bar and refilled the two glasses. As he filled Sarna's glass, his hand brushed over the top of the glass. Mach swirled the liquid inside a few times and then walked towards the room the Sarna had disappeared into.
Carth had found a corner to sit in and saw the entire thing. He had gotten a red placisteel cup and filled it. He had drained the first and was currently sipping the second. After discouraging several attempts by several women he had been left alone. He was slightly disappointed in his partner. "Partner? Since when did he become my partner? Carth shook the thought off and continued his previous train of thought. Here they where, in the middle of hostile territory, and his companion was going to have fun with the enemy. Granted, she was pretty, but still. Carth ignored the small voice that told him that he was betraying her by even thinking about another woman. Morgana. An angel in overalls. His wife. Carth remembered the first time he saw her…
Carth exited the base barracks and head toward his ship. His fighter had developed a "pinging" noise during his last mission and he needed to get the problem, whatever it was, fixed. He'd seen to many fighter pilots die when an "innocent" noise caused an engine flare out or a power plant to go critical. Carth Onasi would not go out like that. If he did go, he would be taking as many of the bastards with him as he could. As he rounded the side of his fighter he saw something that stopped him cold.
A pair of overall clad lags was sticking out of the ship's left engine. Not just any legs of course. Strong, shapely, and most definitely female. His eyes traced up her leg and promptly stopped. "Last time I checked their wasn't any seriously hot asses in the mechanics' ranks." The thought popped into his head. He shamelessly watched her rear wiggled as she squirmed out of the engine and turned around. "The view is even better in the front" Carth's gaze slowly looked from her feet to her chest. He heard words and brought his eyes up to her face. Her brown hair framed her face and her pouty lips were delectable. However, they were currently twisted into an angry frown. Carth's gaze shot up to her readable eyes. They were a deep brown color that you could get lost in. But, currently they were glaring at him angrily.
Carth suddenly realized that he had been ogling her as she had been standing there. He suddenly felt the urge to apologize to her. The only problem was, he didn't know her name.
Carth smiled his most charming smile. "Carth Onasi." As he stuck out his hand. She didn't take his hand. She stared at his hand like it was diseased. He realized that this method wasn't going to work. Carth took a deep breath.
"I'm sorry." He began. "I shouldn't have looked at you like that without permission." She seemed surprised at his apology. She tilted her head to the side cutely as she considered his words. She then reached out and shook his hand. An electric shock ran through him as their hands touched.
" Morgana. And for the record, if you look at me again, I'll cut off something that you need." Her voice was beautiful. And Carth missed her threat entirely.
Carth grimaced to himself. Looking back, it probably wasn't the best way to start a relationship. Movement from the bedrooms caused him to look over. Mach reentered the room. He really didn't look disheveled. In fact, he looked more alert than when he had left.
Mach looked at the room's inhabitants. Most had drunken themselves into an unconscious stupor. Only one Sith male looked to be semi-alert. Carth, his partner, looked to be still functioning. Currently the Sith had his back to Mach. Perfect. Mach walked up behind the Sith. Mach reached forward, circled right arm around the Sith's throat, and clamped down on the larynx, his left fist pressed against the Sith's carotid artery. He leaned back, lifting the Sith off of the floor. The levered grip took immediate hold, the oxygen stopped, the Sith's brain running out of oxygen. Mach lowered the limp body to the floor. Mach briefly considered snapping the Sith's neck but that would be suspicious. And as it stood right now, the Sith would wake up tomorrow with pounding heads and wondering where in the hell were their uniforms. It would undoubtedly would cause some chaos. And the more chaos the better. IAnd through choas, I am free. Mach was momentarily confused at the random thought. He then shrugged and motioned to his partner.
Carth blinked at the scene. Mach had grabbed the Sith from behind in, what looked like, a modified headlock, and the Sith slumped over. His partner was now motioning him over to the pile of discarded uniforms. Carth stood up to his feet and his head pounded. "Note to self: Stand up slower next time." Carth walked over to Mach. Mach wordlessly handed Carth a de-tox pill. The pill started to go to work, processing the alcohol and purging it from his system. Carth nodded him thanks. Mach selected the cleanest uniform he could find from the pile, as Carth did the same. After putting the armor on and securing the helmet, the two disguised Republic Soldiers left the party.
As Mach and Carth moved down the walkway towards the turbo lift to the Lower City, they noticed that they were given a wide berth. Sometimes the civilians would sometimes even stop and back away from them. Carth shot a glance at Mach, wondering what he thought of it.
Finally, much to Carth's relief, the two companions reached the elevator. The guard merely gave them a courtesy glance and waved them through. As the elevator started down, Carth let out a breath that he didn't realize that he had been holding. Carth looked at his companion who didn't look even slightly affected. "Doesn't anything affect you?" Carth asked unbelievingly.
"What is there to affect?" Seeing Carth look at him questioningly Mach elaborated. "The Sith are arrogant. No one has ever done anything like this before. That's why it worked. All you have to do is find a weak point and exploit it." He explained.
Carth raised his eyebrow and then shrugged. It had gotten them through hadn't it?
The lift fell silent. After a few seconds Carth broke the silence. "So, uh, how was she?" Mach looked quizzically at Carth. Carth expounded on his question. "The Sith. How was she? When you know…" Mach realized what Carth was alluding to.
"I didn't sleep with her if that's what you mean. I simply laced her drink with a powerful knockout pill."
Carth blinked. "Then what took you so long?"
"I took care of the rest of the Sith in the other rooms." Carth nodded in understanding.
Mach spoke again. "We should probably take these uniforms off. They will now attract more problems than they are currently worth. And the armor doesn't stop anything." Carth nodded. The elevator fell silent again save for the sound of clothing and armor rustling. Just as they finished, the turbo lift doors opened with a ding! The Lower City, in all its greed and desperation, beckoned.
The Lower City wasn't anything to write home about. It's unpainted walls did little to hide the stains of questionable origin. The air smelled faintly of vomit, blood, and unwashed bodies. Both men had smelled worse. Still, the difference from the clean, fresh Upper City was striking. The two soldiers looked at each other and then moved forward. They quickly came to an intersection. Ahead, lay an apartment complex. To the sides, hallways stretching around a bend. They paused, unsure which path to take. Take the left path. Something whispered in Mach's head. But, unlike all the previous times, this whisper was not filled with malice. Rather, it filled him with momentary peace. Mach turned to the left hallway. Carth followed. As soon as the two companions rounded the bend, they came upon a fight in the making. Two groups of five faced each other in a line. On the one side two small Rodians, wearing a green jumpsuit with yellow accents, stood holding vibroshivs. Their companions were comprised of two humans and a twi'lek. All wore the same green and yellow jumpsuits, and all looked smaller than average size. Facing them however, was direct contrast. Three Nikto stood staring down their opponents, their unnaturally large muscles further setting the contrast. The other two, a human and Rodain, were similarly large. They all were dressed in a green and black jumpsuit.
"The Black Vulkars will destroy you Hidden Beks!" The large human shouted at the smaller group. "Yeah!" One of the Niktos agreed. "Kill You All!" He added eloquently.
"You will regret the day you crossed the Hidden Beks!" One of the now known, Hidden Bek Rodians shouted back in rage and fear.
With a roar, the two groups converged on each other. The human was first to fall, courtesy of one of the Niktos' blades. The Hidden Beks fought bravely, but they had no chance. The dirty ground was soon covered in green and red blood. The victorious Black Vulkars stood over the bodies. The Rodain spotted the Republic Soldiers and screamed, "More Victims!" The Black Vulkars converged on the two soldiers!
Unlike the Hidden Beks they just faced, the two men were not so easy prey. Carth was a veteran of both the Mandalorian War and the Jedi Civil War. Mach was an amnesiatic former Sith lord.
Carth whipped out his pistol and drilled the human in the side of the head. He scanned the area for more targets there was none. Mach had already killed them all. He stood in the middle of the four bodies. Swords dripping multi-colored blood. Carth was once again struck with the reality that in spite of losing his memory, Mach was still a very lethal individual. Mach flicked his swords and sheathed them. Carth holstered his blaster. They moved on. The bodies lay still behind them.
Mach and Carth soon heard the faint music that was synonymous with a cantina. As the two men approached the sounds, they soon saw the brightly lit sign. Like its Upper City counterpart, the cantina reflected its surrounding environment. A lit up silhouette of a twi'lek female curled around the sign announcing: Javier's Cantina.
The two men looked at the sign. Then at each other. They grinned at each other and walked in.
Mach glanced around and scoped out the place. The cantina had a circular main room with four off-shooting hubs. In the main room there was a wrap around bar and in the middle of the room behind the bar several twi'lek females danced in provocative manners. One of the hubs looked like a dining room, another looked like a gambling den, another looked like a recruitment for gangs and mercenaries, and the last was a small "gentlemen's " club. Mach thought he had a caught a glimpse of a female dancing on a pole, but he ignored it. He had better thing to do than stare at people.
Javier's Cantina's inside did not surprise either man. Carth had been to these types of places before and after the war, in fact, a cantina like this one was the site of Morgana and his second date. "Ah, good times. " Carth thought. His mood soured slightly as he then thought of how their relationship was ended and once again silently vowed revenge on Saul. Mach, on the other hand, had been to many of these seedy types of places on a job or on his quest. However, Mach couldn't help but think that somehow he had been here before…
The two men started towards the recruitment hub. Information was never free but alcoholic beverages had the uncanny ability to make people share their secrets. And what better place to find secrets to spill than the place that hires to keep secrets?
Before they got to their destination though, several raised voices attracted their attention. Two rodian thugs were accosting a young twi-lek female. She did not look like she was happy to see them. As the two soldier's approached they could hear the heated conversation.
"I told you two piles of bantha poodoo to leave me alone!" The twi-lek cried.
"But we want you to dance for us little girlie!" One of the rodian's exclaimed.
"I don't work here!" The twi-lek shouted. "And who are you calling little?" She demanded. Carth moved to interfere but Mach stopped him with an arm.
"You are." The rodian pointed out threateningly. "And we are big! So you are going to dance for us!" He finished with a nasty grin.
"Just a second." The twi-lek said. She then called out, "Zaalbar! I need you for something!" A moment later a large brown wookiee trudged over to the twi-lek. The twi-lek grinned brightly at the rodians.
The rodians waved their hands in front of them, "We have business with little girlie. Not big creature."
"You got a problem with me you got a problem with Zaalbar!" The twi-lek proclaimed loudly. The rodians, apparently deciding that it wasn't worth it, turned to leave. But not before throwing several threats about how her "big friend" won't always be around.
The twi-lek turned to her big companion, "Let's get out of here. This dive is boring anyways."
"But Mission, I got food!" The wookiee protested. "Come 'on you big lug! You can get food in the Bek base!" And with that the two unlikely companions headed towards the door. As Mission neared Carth she suddenly tripped. Carth's arms shot out and prevented her from falling. As Carth helped her to her feet she apologized profusely. She then headed back towards the door.
"Excuse me!" Mach called out, "Could you return my friend's wallet?" The twi-lek paused and then turned around. Carth's hand shot down to his empty wallet. "Son of a .."
She handed a flabbergasted Carth his wallet and turned to Mach. "You're not going to turn me in are you?" She asked nervously.
"How about some information? And my friend's comlink?"