Ask Arsonist's Lullaby

[Soleil Altan]

Taris, 2137​

In the dark of the night, beneath the clouds of polluted fog and flying speeders, Taris was little more than just another hive of scum and villainy. Below the shiny windows and well-funded public works, its undercity rotted away under the influence of gangs and criminals. Sure, they were fighting to survive, Soleil could sympathize. But not with the kinds of things they did. He had no strong opinions on moving most drugs or black market cargo.

But people aren't cargo. Especially not young children. His fingers tensely rubbed against his cloth-covered neck, a cheap leaf-rolled beedi burning between his lips. The silent acolyte was perched on an overhanging ledge reached through a slim alleyway, eyes locked to a particular building. It was a restaurant, technically, but the briefing spelled out it was much more than that. Connected through old tunnels to underground storage areas and hidden corners, it was actually the main operating point of an exploitative Tarisian gang. Everything from gambling to human trafficking was their purview, the latter making them a significant profit.

People of every species, gender, and age going missing off the streets, shipped off who knows where for who knows what. It was one of those rare things that made Sol's blood boil in his veins. Two acolytes were sent to solve the problem since the Empire publicly outlawed slavery or human trafficking, intending to use the gang's destruction as propaganda for the next big military recruitment drive. So there Sol waited, all dressed up in street fit beneath his aviator jacket, all geared up. There was only one real complication.

They weren't just to clear the hideout, but destroy the entire building. Burn it down as a message to other gangs that they'd best fall in line with their new overlords, and take video for the higher-ups to cut and use. It was cruel, but Sol pushed that aside for the other details. It was cruel, but it was also necessary.

His partner for the job was a new arrival he'd seen on Drommund Kaas. Sol didn't know what they'd be like, but he was trying to be optimistic about it. He must've passed some kinda tests to be sent, right?

@Phoenix

 

[Varyn Atrix]

Being in the Sith had been an odd experience. Varyn had spent his days trying to keep his head down and his nights trying to study as many dossiers as he could... and build ones of his own. Everyone he met, he had started to catalogue. Names, personalities, skills, and anything else he could. Burning the candle at both ends had been exhausting and he found himself struggling to keep up with everything. Add together the fact that he was living in a constant state of tension over being found out, and Varyn was discovering just how hard it was to be deep undercover.

But he needed to prove his worth, and that meant actually taking on some risk and some missions that were going to advance the Empire or something like that. Of course, he was only so excited about furthering the Empire or the Sith cause, so he had tried to take a close look through the mission listings to find one that he thought he could manage.

Fighting slavers seemed like something he could handle, and it was with someone he'd already met. An acolyte who maybe there was a relationship to be built with.

Abandoning robes of any kind, Varyn was dressed in street clothes, lightsaber hidden under his jacket as he moved through the streets. Being here brought back all kinds of memories he wished he didn't remember of his early childhood.

The smell of drugs and spice filled the air as he walked, people engaged in all manner of inappropriate conduct, and he simply pushed down the street, weaving fluidly through the crowd until he spotted Sol.

You good to go? he asked. It occurred to him now that he didn't speak sign language, so he had no idea how they were going to communicate, but it would be fiiiine.

@Mr. Teatime

 

[Soleil Altan]

Soleil turned to look at Varyn with a face clear of any expression, beedi burning and shedding ash from the end of its leaf-wrapped length. A can of Emryc Energy was shaken in his hand, near-empty from the sound it made, before being finished off. He nodded afterward at Varyn's question and got to his feet, stuffing the spent beedi into the can and crumpling it. It got tossed off the ledge and landed in an open dumpster.

Nostrils flared slightly as his gaze returned to the building below and across the street, looking around for the way across he'd found. As always Sol preferred the high ground and before long he pointed toward a winding snaggle of pipes that snaked their way across the street to the restaurant's neighboring building. Wide enough to walk or climb over and half-hidden behind hanging signs and gouts of leaking, foggy steam. Sol jerked his head toward it and turned around.

Without further comment he stepped across the narrow ledge and hopped up, pulling himself atop the pipes and beginning the trek across. He kept an eye on the building but stepped quick and casual. People walked on these all the time to get around and looking sneaky was more likely to get attention than just meandering. As much as Sol disliked the polluted bowels of cities, he was used to going unnoticed in them.

@Phoenix

 

[Varyn Atrix]

Varyn followed his gaze up to the pipes above and got the general idea of what Sol had in mind. Yeah, I can do that. It's like the obstacle courses back in the Jedi, he thought to himself.

Alright, he said. Seemed it was going to be a very quiet mission. Varyn let his thoughts take over, taking in their surroundings as he went along instead.

People lived in absolute desperation down here and he could even see a fist fight or mugging taking place below. His hand drifted momentarily toward his lightsaber, his instincts screaming for him to step in, but he stopped. He didn't pull the saber and he simply walked on, trying to push out the sounds of the cry for help.

His blood boiled slightly, an entirely un-Jedi reaction, but he pressed on, remembering they were here to deal with human traffickers and slavers. People that actually deserved what was coming to them. As much as he may have disliked the Sith and the Empire, they were dealing with this crap, and there was something to be said for that.

@Mr. Teatime

 

[Soleil Altan]

A wry expression crossed Sol's face as the they passed the fight below but he paid it no other mind or mention. It wasn't long before they could hop down onto the restaurant's adjacent rooftop, giving them a better vantage point to figure out entry. Sol peeked over the edge and then back again before turning to Varyn. He fished out his smartpad and typed something, then showed Varyn the screen.

> Roof door? Other? Plan?

He also wanted the other acolyte's opinion. There was a side employee door with a couple guys smoking outside. Around an alley corner behind the restaurant, three others were hanging out, only partly visible, loud music playing from a battered speaker. Personally, Sol would always default to entering from above, but still. They were supposed to work together. Plus there wouldn't be time for typing while they were, y'know, fighting and blowing things to shit.

A jump away there was a rooftop entrance with a chained padlock, a vent spewing fumes from the semi-legit restaurant's kitchen. Maybe Sol'd steal some dumplings or something while they were in there.

@Phoenix

 

[Varyn Atrix]

Varyn pushed the fight out of his mind as he pressed onward, dropping onto a rooftop and looking across at their target building.

Roof door, he agreed quietly with a nod. He moved over to the edge of the building and then looked across the gap to the other roof. He backed up, pulling the lightsaber hilt into his hand, and took a running start.

He hit the edge of the roof and leapt, pulling the Force to himself to launch across the gap and land smoothly on the other side. While he may have been out of his element in many things in the Sith, it was clear that physical activity and combat-based Force-usage weren't among those struggles.

He glanced back to make sure Sol was coming as well and pressed his saber hilt almost flush against the lock of the door. He hit the switch two times in rapid succession, impaling the lock and cutting cleanly through. The door slid open and he slowly started descending the stairs.

Do we have a plan for how to blow the building? he suddenly whispered, realizing they had no explosives or means to actually detonate a building even if they did kill the people inside. Oof, that sounded bad inside his Jedi head. Uh... detain the people inside. Or something...

@Mr. Teatime

 

[Soleil Altan]

Soleil put the 'pad safely away and stepped back from the edge, getting distance, and then ran forward. He leapt with his own strength and flew on the Force, cat-passing over the other roof's raised edge and jogging to a stop. Stepping over to the door he raised his eyebrows at Varyn's solution to the lock. Sol really needed to get a lightsaber.

A wryly pensive expression formed, lips and eyebrows curling. Hazel eyes looked up and to the right at nothing for a couple of moments before turning to look at the greasy, billowing fog churning from the vents. His head jerked toward it as he got the pad out again, tip-tapping away like they were sneaking messages in class rather than about to break into a gang hideout.

> There should be a kitchen. Oil and gas?
> Or pray they move bombs.

Restaurants were giant fire hazards. And who knew what other bullshit they had stored up in their secret gang hideout-y corners. For all the two acolytes knew these dudes were smuggling baradium explosives for Taris' rebellious elements. Either way, command didn't give them demo charges. It was a 'figure it out' kind of mission. They just loved giving those out.

And if he was honest, Soleil enjoyed the problem-solving aspect. After his suggestions he moved on, slowly opening the roof door. The stairs downward were lit with a filthy, flickering ceiling light. No one in sight, which he looked a little sketched out by. Did they not guard the roof? Sol stepped in, nostrils flaring as he made his way down the stairs.

Just after the first turn, they'd both hear voices echoing up. Sol stopped in place, leaning a little to hear.

"...-ere we sendin' em? Can't stay long, we got buyers waitin'. Jus' shove the little 'uns in with the rest, fuckin' hell."

@Phoenix

 

[Varyn Atrix]

Varyn nodded at the suggestions. He supposed they'd just have to see what they found. There could also be spice refining gear down here, too. That often meant explosive unstable material as well.

And if all else failed a regular-old fire wasn't an explosion, but it was close enough.

The Jedi continued on down the stairs and could start to hear the sounds of the slavers within. His blood started to boil and his grip on his lightsaber tightened as he heard talk of stuffing kids in places.

He glanced back one more time at the other acolyte, holding up his lightsaber hilt to indicate what was about to happen. Hopefully the other guy got it.

With that, Varyn swung down around the last corner of the stairs, his saber flashing to life. It still resisted him, but it almost seemed excited about the opportunity for blood, and Varyn's own anger that he tried to suppress fed into the blade.

The first of the slavers had lost a hand before they even knew what was happening.

@Mr. Teatime

 

[Soleil Altan]

Soleil nodded stiffly, he and Varyn in clear agreement. His hand reached behind himself to pull his vibrosword free, leaning the flat against his shoulder in readiness. The silent acolyte hopped the rail just behind Varyn, metal blade buzzing at the same time as the other acolyte's lightsaber.

Two hands swung the vibrosword down as Sol dropped, razor's edge sawing through the other slaver's fingers and the blaster he'd been raising to shoot him. He pushed forward, horizontally shoving his sword's edge into the man's torso, and dragged it sharply left. Hot blood sprayed him, the wall, the floor, a metal edge nowhere near as clean-cut as plasma. The man gurgled on the floor and quickly passed out, quickly dying.

The one without a hand looked like he was stuck between screaming or just going into shock, not sure which to do, a bare squeak escaping his throat. While Varyn dealt with that, someone came around a corner to see what was going on, hand on a blaster shoved into his waistband. Sol grimaced and whipped his left hand forward, the Force slamming the man into the wall behind him, the blaster clattering to the floor.

This was going to be messy, but at least the two Sith could clear from the top down this way and no alarms were going off. Yet.

@Phoenix

 

[Varyn Atrix]

Varyn's left leg came up, slamming a heel into the chest of the one-handed man, knocking him back over the table and to the ground. The man was still alive, but very much not doing well. Varyn continued on as a Trandoshan appeared from around the corner, blaster leveled as he fired.

Varyn's blade came sweeping down, slamming the bolt into the ground as Sol made a bloody mess out of one of the others. Varyn leapt forward, saber sweeping down and cutting cleanly from collarbone to sternum. That smell. The smell of burning flesh filled his nostrils as he drew back. The Trandoshan was flailing on the floor in the throes of death, but Varyn had moved on.

Varyn barely slowed down as he moved smoothly over to the door and down the next set of stairs. They were in close quarters, and they had the element of surprise... Varyn actually felt pretty good about their odds.

More blasterfire launched at them as they made their way down, several of the shots deflected by Varyn as he made his way down. He just hoped Sol would avoid the others.

@Mr. Teatime

 

[Soleil Altan]

His nostrils flared, blood and burnt flesh all around. Up ahead came others, the Trandoshan quickly going down. Soleil followed Varyn down the stairs, ducking behind him a little since he actually had a lightsaber. Sol wouldn't ever call himself the best duelist, but he had other skills he could lean on.

Namely, he had talent with the Force and squirrely in a scrap. Extra moments bought through weaving and Varyn's deflections let him infuse his vibrosword with power, and next he emerged it was a workable substitute. A bolt flew past his head, another deflected aside by his vibrosword's flat side with the ringing of stressed metal in the air.

Soleil leaped over the rail and fell, a panicked shot skimming by his left bicep close enough to scorch his sleeve and skin, and landed blade-first on the Twi'lek who'd fired at him. Buried her shoulder, he yanked it left, using the embedded blade to force her into being cover between Sol and the other person who now, unfortunately, faced partly away from Varyn.

There was a thumping sound like extra heavy boots echoing from the open doorway to this level.

@Phoenix

 

[Varyn Atrix]

They continued working their way through the slavers and Varyn found a rhythm that was a bit too easy to find. He blocked, dodged, and cut, and with each combination of actions, someone fell under his blade. Most would not survive the next few minutes as their injuries took a toll, and he didn't stop.

The sound of boots could be heard from the door and Varyn readied himself, taking up a position to deal with whatever came through next. A giant robot? A behemoth of a man? A man in power armor? What actually came through the door wasn't what he was prepared for...

The first thing through the door was a young girl, probably not even into her teen years yet. A blaster barrel was pointed directly into the crook of her neck. The man holding the blaster was a Feeorin with an eyepatch and particularly nasty scar running over his forehead, over his eye, and down his cheek. He sneered at the pair of Sith, his other hand holding the girl by the hair as she cried.

Drop your weapons or I will shoot her right here and now and leave you both to watch her bleed into the floor, he growled.

@Mr. Teatime

 

[Soleil Altan]

Hazel eyes, wide and focused with hunter's adrenaline, snapped to the shape that came through the door. Warm crimson dripped down his weapon and stained his clothes, blade still buried in the now-dead Twi'lek. Those eyes took in the Feeorin and his hostage, the young girl. As young as the little ones he used to know. Her cell-dirtied blonde hair looked so familiar.

Even before the Feeorin began his threat Varyn would detect a change in his silent companion through the Force. Every muscle tightened, the Force rushing back and forth like a sea at high tide, closer and closer to shore with every push and pull. Pure hate bubbled up within, one that was very, very personal, and Soleil tried to be rational. He let go of his flesh-buried weapon as asked, the Twi'lek's corpse wetly ragdolling to the floor.

When it came to strong feelings, Soleil stuffed them down. Hid them away from prying eyes, stacked them like a dragon might horde its treasure. Buried under the surface, forgotten in crushing depths. Except Sol's treasure trove had the potential to explode, giving his powers the push to unleash and wreak havoc. And that's precisely what happened next as hazel eyes flecked now with gold met the Feeorin's singular blue.

The weight of what he felt surged forth and cascaded in a towering wave into the man who'd triggered them. Soleil's attack was hidden and secret from the man, a psychic assault. By the time he noticed he couldn't pull the blaster's trigger it was already too late. Soleil glared at the Feeorin, his arm shaking as they fought the limb that dragged itself further upward against his will.

Shivering and shaking, the little girl slowly looked behind herself, tears and snots staining her bruised-up face. She saw the Feeorin, eyes wide with horror, start to shove the barrel's blaster into his own mouth. She saw him choke on it, retching violently. She saw him pull the trigger.

The Feeorin's head blew apart in a flash of plasma and he fell to the ground. Soleil's entire body abruptly lost all tension and he leaned on the rail behind him, breathing rapidly and staring at the corpse. One hand gripped the rail, the other rubbing against his cloth-covered neck.

@Phoenix

 

[Varyn Atrix]

Varyn watched what unfolded, feeling the shifts and pulses in the Force as his partner reached out to control the man. He didn't know what was coming next, but he didn't step in to stop it for one reason: it seemed to be keeping the girl from dying.

He winced slightly as he watched the brain spray across the wall, but couldn't find it in himself to feel bad for the man. The only person he felt bad for was the young girl. His saber flashed out and he scooted forward, kneeling to her level and reaching out a hand.

Hey, it's okay. You're safe now, he said. The girl ran up and threw her arms around him and he stiffened a bit, not really sure what to do but patting her lightly on the back.

He scooted her over to the side of the room behind some furniture. Hide over there. We'll come back for you, he said. We need to get rid of the other bad guys, he said.

You okay? he asked Sol now, noting the way he leaned back. We've still got bottom floor and then burn this place to the ground, he said.

@Mr. Teatime

 

[Soleil Altan]

Sol was fairly spaced out during Varyn's interaction with the girl, looking on with a blank expression. He blinked around the word 'burn' and looked up, abruptly pulling off the rail and straightening up. Varyn got a silent nod back and Sol pulled his vibrosword free from the flesh that'd sheathed it. He rubbed his neck and nodded again, still face slowly coming back to life.

His head shook and he grimaced, psyching himself up. With a last glance at the cowering little girl, he stepped over the Feeorin's corpse and peeked around the corner he'd come from. Without warning, Sol went around the corner, heading toward a closed door near the end. His ear pressed to the metal for a couple of seconds before he pressed the console button next to it.

It slid up to reveal a group of people, of different ages and species, chained together in the dark. They jerked away from the door, blinking blearily at the sudden like. The Feeorin must've been in here when he heard the fighting. Sol raised a finger to his lips and made a calming gesture with his other hand as fearful noises started up. Assuming Varyn was still following him, he looked meaningfully at the other Sith's lightsaber and got to work on some of his own.

Sol knew how to unlatch binders with the Force, the first clicking and falling to the floor.

@Phoenix

 

[Varyn Atrix]

Varyn continued down, appalled to find the people stored in squalid conditions in the room below. He winced not only at the sight, but also at the smell. All manner of terrible scents filled the room from these abysmal living conditions, and he was sure that disease had come with it.

Yeah, I'll cut them out, he said, noting the nod that Sol made toward his lightsaber. He moved forward, cutting free the various chains and starting to shuffle the people out of the room. At first they were timid, but as they realized what this was, they started running for the exit before anyone else could stop them. Varyn couldn't deny... it felt good. This was what he had joined the Jedi for... he hadn't expected to be doing it as a Sith.

He stepped back as the people left and then turned his attention to burning the building down.

I don't think we'll be able to blow it up properly, but I think we can set a fire and make it spread, he said, heading toward the kitchen to look for oils, alcohols, and anything else flammable.

@Mr. Teatime

 

[Soleil Altan]

Admittedly Varyn's lightsaber was a lot quicker than his Force-unlocking method, but that wasn't stopping Sol from doing it as quickly as he could. He encouraged the last one out the door, her legs shaking with disuse, another captive helping her along. Following Varyn away from the cell he ran through a mental list of things that could be potentially useful for burning the place down.

The actual kitchen wasn't hard to find, given the strong smells of cooking meat and overused fry oil permeaeting the air. Also the sign that said "Kitchen: Employees only" above the doorway. Both Sith would easily get through the swinging door, Sol's hazel eyes flicking around the room. They saw lotsa stuff. Loud metal music blasted from within.

Jugs of cooking oils, a haphazard collection of different alcohols, plastic containers of to-be-cooked food, an exceptionally large Besalisk with a pot belly and arms like small tree trunks, gas-burning stoves- oh, wait, shit.

Mr. Besalisk's head turned to look at the two Sith just as they crested the doorway. One covered in blood and holding a vibrosword, the other with a lightsaber in hand. There was a half-moment's pause during which the Besalisk held up his two top hands in surrender. Then a scattergun was pulled from a shelf and leveled at the doorway.

Soleil yanked himself backward and pulled Varyn with him by the back of his robes, scattershot blowing a chunk out of the door. Stray energy pellets and splinters struck various places. "GET THA FUCK OUTTA MAH KITCHEN!" roared the large man, gathering up various other objects to weaponize from around himself in addition to the scattergun.

@Phoenix

 

[Varyn Atrix]

Varyn saw the scatter gun come up as they made it to the door and he darted forward and to his left, looking to clear out of the gun's arc of fire. Unfortunately, Sol also grabbed him, preventing his forward progress, and rather than clear the range entirely and close on the rather large enemy, several pellets found their way into the Acolyte's right arm. It was a distinct possibility that they would have found Sol's grabbing hand as well, but perhaps he'd be more lucky.

Either way, Varyn dropped down, ducking behind some of the kitchen's counters as another blast tore through the room.

Varyn's face twisted up in pain and anger as blood started to run into his robes, warm liquid betraying precisely what had happened. He wished he could say this was the first time he'd been shot, but it wasn't... this was actually better than the last time.

Kriff, kriff, he spat, transitioning his saber to his other hand. He was not really a pro with his left hand, but it would have to do. The adrenaline of the moment was the only thing overriding the pain now as he scrambled along the floor to get a better angle on the besalisk.

Another shot was fired off, but Varyn's - and hopefully Sol's - position wasn't so obvious anymore. He scambled into a crouch, and though he held his saber in his hand, he gripped it moreso with the Force now.

He sprang upwards, sending the lightsaber flying through the air. Controlled by the Force, it slammed squarely into the cook's head, piercing straight through his brain and out the backside. He probably should have tried a less brutal move, but at this point, he was just trying to stay alive.

@Mr. Teatime

 

[Soleil Altan]

Soleil was not luckier, as it turned out. Pellets struck his left arm, blood and smoke both spraying. He ducked down behind the counter, flexing the injured arm's hand experimentally and gritting his teeth. There wasn't much moveable room in here, but the two Sith seemed reasonably squirrely compared to the big Besalisk.

More energy shot blasted over their heads as the two Sith separated around different areas of the kitchen, scrambling to find their own angles of attack. The cook mostly just heard lots of movement and the ringing that came from firing a scattergun in close quarters. Sol tossed his vibrosword up into the air to get the guy's attention, reaching the Force out toward the target he'd seen when they'd entered the kitchen. A peek while the cook fired again at where he thought they might be was all he needed.

Fry oil launched from where it bubbled and cascaded across the Besalisk's back, a sick sizzling sound filling the air along with cooking flesh. He screamed in agony, but only for a second, cut off by Varyn's saber going through his head. Soleil doubled down on his decision that he needed to get a lightsaber soon. The cook's corpse collapsed bonelessly to the floor, still smoking.

Soleil warily stood back up, bleeding left arm kept securely by his waist, and then looked over at Varyn. He glanced at the other acolyte's arm with a sheepish expression and picked up the thrown lightsaber. Turning to the door that sported a brand new scattergun hole in it and opening it a little to check the outside since between the loud music and ringing in his ears he couldn't hear outside the room.

And hey, look, no more assholes. Great. Soleil came back into the doorway, the poor kitchen door slowly and pathetically swinging closed. Sol handed Varyn's lightsaber back over retrieved his sword from where it was presently stuck tip-down inside a large ham like an oversized carving knife. His eyes dropped to Varyn's wounded arm. With eyebrows raised in invitation, Sol pulled a small, basic medkit from his belt and nodded toward a semi-free countertop.

He was gonna have to wrap his own injury anyway, might as well handle Varyn's too.

@Phoenix

 

[Varyn Atrix]

Varyn's heart was still pounding as he spun around, looking for anyone else that was a threat, but finding no one. Everything was suddenly... still. An unnatural stillness that only accompanied the frenetic chaos of a fight. He let out a heavy sigh, accepting his lightsaber back and wincing as he moved his arm up to sit on the counter.

He pulled his own medkit out and set it on the counter before pulling out his knife and starting to cut away his sleeve, looking at the bright red blood running down his arm.

Well, this sucks, he said, starting to patch his arm up. No lightsaber, huh? he asked, wondering why that was. Haven't you been an acolyte for... a while? he asked, in too much pain to think about the fact that what he was implying was probably a bit rude.

He wiped up the blood and put a bacta bandage over it. Fortunately, the pellets were on the surface enough that he'd managed to get them out before bandaging up.

@Mr. Teatime