Bitter Bethren

[TweedPawn]

Gaunerei was still having trouble meeting his definition of progress. The Black Hound has managed to keep his tracks well covered. Still, Gaunerei tried to find new ways to uncover them without the luxury of his foresight. The level of security he was granted by higher ups did not help. It was minimal. Meant only to afford him meals, restricted travel or "reeducation opportunities".

That last part left a sour taste in the Snamreg's mouth. Geist Weiss had him locked down, and knew how much it annoyed Gaunerei. Gaunerei was an optimist, however. He figured things still had a good ways to go before being completely in the crapper.

At the very least, his promise to Ebberla to protect Della had been fulfilled. Della was now safe on Sacul. In return, she had allowed him to live and train amongst the Jedi. Before the "restructuring" incident happened.

What to do now? the trail had gone cold. He was in the house of his enemy as a mere task hound. Gaunerei needed just the right blen of chaos, but the lower ranking drones would not afford it to him. They each viewed him as an experiment in philosophy, te force, or history. Others saw him as a future recruit who had yet to be beaten into submission. Just like the smultz who Gaunerei could sense walking towards his bare room.

 

[Black Noise]

Cairan had heard rumors floating around the temples of an age old body snatcher hidden in the temple and he simply had to find this person and speak with them. Someone like him, that was certainly something exceedingly strange and interesting. So few people had the ability to switch bodies, to force or subdue the spirit of one and possess their body, wearing it like a dirty suit. It was fantastic.

Walking into the small room, Cairin peered his black eyes into the dark and gently smiled. Stepping in, he immediately began speaking, "Well, well, well. What do we have here? I've heard about you, hopping around, snatching bodies. Tell me, how's it feel to be one of the oldest beings in the universe and yet still brought so low by someone as typical as Darth Somnus? I almost wish I could sympathize with you, but I've never let myself get in your situation. This can't be your first time switching bodies, why didn't you find someone less known than this, form?"

Part of him would say his narcissistic attitude was a front, but that would be a lie. He knew he was a cruel, narcissistic ass, but he cared so little for the thoughts of others, they weren't worth his own. He hoped this man would be intelligent enough to catch his meaning without having to spell it out even further than he already had, but if he didn't then Cairin would know he wasn't worth his time.

 

[TweedPawn]

Gaunerei did not move from here he was sitting in his sparse room. It was a glamorized cell. There was only a lock on the outside, the room had gas pipes to subdue. Well, it had gas pipes. Gaunerei had found a way to break them. It had taken time and resources, but he had been proud of his handiwork .

The room only had a bed, a chair and a table to make it homely. There was a toilet as well, but Gaunerei preferred to piss in private. So, he converted the tank to hold aquatic tadpoles. He also had some netting to prevent any from being flushed. The imperials still had not figured out the source of the space toad outbreak.

So, in spite of this rooster strutting in and trying to show off, Gaunerei felt quite secure in not having to explain haraka.

"I'm bringing sexy back." He said.

His body language would hold a pose that could scream and your mother noticed. But Gaunerei was prying. He had another old soul in the room. One that apparently was more lax in how bodies were used. It wasn't the first sith to pull this off. The consequences usually dicked them over in the long run. The older they got, the harder it was to keep everything fresh.

"What's your excuse? You smell like the waste end of a bantha's toilet."

 

[Black Noise]

The smile came unbidden to his face, the old Sith couldn't help it. Despite all of his taunting, Cairin really did want to know more about this man, and his blatant disregarding of his questions fascinated him, rather than infuriated. Not one easily to anger, the mans simply shrugged and responded, "That's intentional. Ever inhabit the skin of a Whaladon? Sentient whales, fascinating creatures. Not only are they prone to force, like us, but they keep their own secretive society far beneath the waves. Intelligent and beautiful, they are most truly a species to be admired."

A cruel grin spreading across his face, he added, "That said, their bones make for good charms and their meat is delicious. Ever had your bones cut out while you yet live. Terrible, to say the least, but it provided me an excellent opportunity to jump bodies once more." Cairin didn't mind talking, he especially didn't mind talking about himself. Frankly he could go on and on if you let him, his selfishness was neither lost upon him nor a trait he attempted to remove.

Shaking his head and pacing, he finished, "Oh but I have no difficulty in being entertained, a thousand years pass and, while situations remain the same, faces are different. How I love getting involved in the petty games these people who call themselves 'lords' and 'commanders' play. But you, you intrigue me. Why do you do what we do?" That was the question older than the two of them combined, why?

 

[TweedPawn]

Gaunerei felt his insides churn. He was pretty certain it was from listening to this guy talk. Jeez, no wonder he was rotting faster than a toad out on tattoine, no offense to Gaun's cell-mates in the toilet. It made sense now why this guy sought Gaunerei out. He wanted to break the cycle of needing new skin suits. Normally, Gaunerei would be happy to oblige, but he was starting to reconsider his original stance on the Sith being mostly harmless.

One of the cell mates, Trevor, could be seen under Gaun's bunk. The Rabbit picked up the space toad and held the rather large amphibian like a house cat, its legs dangling lazily.

"Why? I got a task to finish. And I ain't gonna lie, you're one kriffed up act. How long you gonna keep splicing up innocent critters to fulfill your means? You're- what?- one thousand, two tops? And Already you're noticing the biggest flaw in your little technique, aren't you?"

 

[Black Noise]

Cairin laughed, a hoarse, unpleasant laugh that grated on the ears. Leaning against the wall outside the cell, he gestured to the walls and bars, asking, "Interesting that you say that while imprisoned. Do you know what an Anzat is? It's a species that lives for centuries, highly force sensitive, and it feeds off the lives of others by devouring their brains. I was once one of them, and let me tell you, they lose their peak strength after about half of a century. Every species seems to peak out at that point, never getting much better or much worse."

Stepping closer, he leaned an arm on the bars and answered the man's questions, "This technique has worked better than simply living, but it's not the best, no. As for how long, well, eternity sounds nice. Better than dying or rotting, like you." Pausing for a second, he added, "Though, now I'm curious, what task? You think you can save the galaxy for the greater good? That'll never work, and you're old enough to know that vengeance comes by simply out living those whom you hate. So, what could you possibly need to do?"

 

[TweedPawn]

"Snot Vampires? I'm seen different carnation of them. Overgrown leeches, the lot. " But Gaunerei got darker then. His eyes suddenly like onyx and shining like a woodland beast.

"You want to seek eternity? You only think you do. I've seen eternity, lived it thousands of times in thousands of universes. It's madness. Pure madness. Eternity is chaos and death. And you sith are doomed if you think you can control them." Gaunerei would not admit to this ass that he wanted to die. He was ready to go to the other side to Paradise. The longer the sith held him, the more Gaunerei felt the teaching that the Jedi tried to drill into him fade out.

Thousands of himself, seeking the same answers. THousands more never finding it. But what frightened Gaunerei were the outcomes where he had completely given in to chaos. Where the apathy finally ruled and thousands lost their lives. It made the death star and Andraste mere cakewalks. But in all of the possibilities Gaunerei ever saw, he was trapped in the cycle. The denial from death and paradise. The endless seeking of redemption. Then, the era of Ash where all futures were suddenly clouded.

Trevor croaked. Gaunerei gently set him down in the bowl of the toilet.

"Sometimes, vengeance is more than outliving someone. Sometimes, it comes from salvation, but I never expect a bloated leech like yourself to understand that concept." but Gaunerei needed allies, didn't he? Time to be a trickster god again.

"My task is simple, I go around making sure immortals don't get cheeky. There's thousands of my kind. You never know we're there, but we're always looking. We don't get involved with 'the game' that mortals play. But lately, there's been a big bruiser that's going around and causing a fuss."