The Best Kind of Quest

[Shizuo Aramusha]

The world of Raxus was an Arid place, the dry climate and dusty soil made the hot sun above bear down on the world with a fiery glow. Unlike a world like Tatooine though, this world had a diverse biome of trees and water that helped it foster life.

And life it did have. The world was a bustling trade world, a nice stop along trade routes and a large city with a large population. From trading animals to trading parts to just trading art and culture, this place was a bustle of activity. But there was one type of trade that interested the empire more.

The Trade of Ideals. The exchange of ideas for this world. Ideals of passion, of power, of which side to be loyal to.

It was a task that the empire wanted done, to persuade the world to have a more favorable outlook to the Old Sith over their Imperial Heretics. So those assigned to it were to put on a great show for the people of Raxus. Play the part, fall in line, and don't murder people unless you could hide the body.

In short, a terrible mission.

Shizuo was one such person sent to this task, and the Kyuzo could not be more unhappy about the current task at hand. He kept a stoic facade as he worked to help the public outreach for these people, to give the Empire a good word of mouth. But inside, he was seething with being stuck here, in this task, instead of something with some real carnage and danger.

And so it was here at Sunset, inside one of the shadier cantina's, The Braying Fathier, and had a drink going. He got some looks, a strange alien with odd attire, missing a left arm. But the sith didn't care for looks, he cared more for action. And nobody took actions against him.

He spoke, and a moment later, his translator disciphered his words to common, "I'll take a glass of your best." He said as he reached into his pocket, putting down his credit chit on the bartoop.

@Gian Greydragon

 

[Arnen Elgernoth]

Accompanying the Kyuzo was the lively Denzek Rondolo, a Sith Ambassador sent here from Korriban, to help the people of Raxus be more accepting of the True Sith. Denzek, of course, was the name Arnen had come up with for the sake of this job, He'd adopted a more cheery demeanor, as he walked into the bar. "Lemme get a round of doubles for everyone! S'all on me!" he declared, throwing up a hand, full of credits, making a spectacle of himself, while his partner, a Kyuzo by the name of Shizuo Aramusha sat at the bar. "I've got your tab, too, friend," he said, as the barmaid poured him a stiff drink, "Let's loosen up a bit. Stoicism won't gain us any friends here tonight," he said, patting his shoulder, as he watched the Twi'lek Barmaid pour the rest of the shots for the patrons. After doing so, he slipped a 100cr chip toward the barmaid, and an additional 20cr for the tip. The crowd cheered as the shots were passed around the rectangular bar. Holding up his own, he stepped onto the bar. "Thanks be to the true Emperor, Darth Vrael! He and I wish to see the relations between here and Korriban strengthened, and as a measure of good faith, myself, and my friend here," he said, pointing down to the Kyuzo Sith, at the bar, "Have been sent to see to it that your needs are met, and those that aren't are heard by the Emperor himself! Cheers, to brighter horizons!" he exclaimed, before jumping off the bar, and slamming back the double shots given to him, and exclaiming, "Yeah!" as he slammed the shot glasses down, and went around the bar to socialize.

 

[Shizuo Aramusha]

Shizuo looked to his fellow sith in disguise, nodding to himself as he decided to look at this as a test. To solve this problem with something other then violence, and to be more akin to subterfuge.

"Alright then..." Shizuo muttered to himself, seeing his comrade shower the crowd with wealth for their time of debauchery, "Lets have a bit of a dance then..." The sith said as he rocked back his drink as well, sending it through the proper filter feed as he slammed his glass down as well.

"My friend here is wise, the Empire knows the value of ones hard work, and rewards them for what they put in, day and night..." He said, as he walked into the center of the canteen, "But do not merely take my word for it. I stand for you, a living example of the Emporer's Kindness..."

Shizuo had a way with words, his father was a record keeper for the Aramusha Clovoc after all, and he knew how to recount a good tale. Those who had come in for drinks, were about to also get a good show as well. "A simple man, a hard working merchant from a planet far away...When the Republic came, to drain our lands of wealth, and break our backs for their own profits..." Others had begun to pay attention, some pausing their drinking to watch as he talked.

He remember to embellish his words, moving his only good arm and walking as he spoke, movement to catch the eyes, and tone to set the mood, "We rose, we fought, but the Republic was crafty...they gathered help. Vagrants! Gangs! And used them, instead of fighting themselves..." There was a shake of their head at him telling them this, and he could see more eyes on him. This was perfect, this was his time to reel them in.

"But fight we did...We fought, for the right to say we could keep, what was ours. What we worked for, with our own two hands, that the Republic wanted taken for their own...And in our darkest hour, it was the Empire who helped drive them back...And they could see, a wounded man like me, and see the sacrifice I had made...." He motioned to his cut off arm, and the crowd, about half the canteen at this point, were nodding and cheering as well.

"They saw a man like me, and They gave me the respect due to me...due to all Men, all People, who work hard for a living...Who fight for what they do, and who'd deal, every day, with a person trying to tell them what to do, how to think, and how to live..." He said as he picked up a drink from a table, raising it high.

"We come here and toast not only our Emporer, but the ones our Empire fights to protect...To you, the hard workers. The ones who built up your own fortunes..." He got a few more nods, "The ones who fought to make your trades great!" More nods, and some raises, and a lot of enthusiam, "And The Ones who will not sit, and let anyone ever tell you who to be!"

The crowd was in high spirits, raising their glasses as Shizuo did the same, "To The Empire, the People, And You!" And with that the crowd was cheering. Shizuo was glad he wore a filter mask, because nobody could see his mouth as he frowned at these people. Still, it got them in a great mood. Nothing like some flattery to have them eating out of the palm of his hand.

 

[Arnen Elgernoth]

Arnen nodded, in agreement with the Kyuzo, raising another glass to his story. "Aye, my friend tells no lies here! The Imperial Republica would have you think us a bunch of Brutish Dark Siders, but we are so much more than that. We seek to have all men, and women, regardless of species, skin complexion, religion or creed! We seek to unify all peoples of the galaxy. The Imperial Republica are a bunch of Human supremacists, who seek to put any non-human alien species on the backburner, and make them a subservient class of citizen, under the facade of a free society. They are the wrong kind of humanitarian!" he said, slamming back his second double shot, of a stronger brand of whiskey. "Keep the shots pouring my dear, we're making friends tonight!" he said over the boisterous crowd, slipping her another 40 credits, and keeping his tab open. The Emperor had given him a hefty sum of credits to show the people of Raxus that he meant them no harm.

"Aye, but what about the Mandalorians raiding allover the galaxy!?" one of the patrons called out from the back. His slurred speech could be heard clearly by Arnen.

"Aye, the Mandalorians. I've seen these raiding parties myself, and they're no threat to us. How many have you heard of in Imperial space? None! We are very well-protected on our borders, and you lot, a planet deep within Imperial space, are among the safest in the galaxy. Myself, and my comrade here have been on campaigns to Bandomeer, and places of the like, where there was no Imperial Navy to protect the people, and the damage they had done to these planets is truly horrifying. Beware of the power of cowards in large numbers." he spoke, with conviction, letting the alcohol take hold enough to stifle his inhibitions.

 

[Shizuo Aramusha]

Shizuo laughed a bit at the comment about the mandalorians, taking another drink as he was beginning to feel a bit more relaxed. The people in the bar were also starting to get into it as well, the free drinks making them drink faster and harder then they probably would have.

Shizuo himself began to walk back to the Bar itself, feeling relatively exhausted from the speech he had given as he walked over and leaned against the side with his one arm. Staying there, he heard and felt whisper on the back of his neck, attention that someone was watching him caught his attention when someone spoke up behind him.

"So...yous a empire guy, right? Like, like those jedi guys..yeah?" Shizuo turned around to see a man, looking very drunk and shakily on his feet as Shizuo raised a brow. Comparing them to someone like the Jedi? The hell was this guy thinking? Shizuo resisted the urge, and assumed that it was a simple drunken mistake.

"I can assure you. I am nothing like a Jedi..." The kyuzo's words were quite serious, a growl escaping his throat at the connotation as the man seemed to wave away the comment as if it were real.

"Nah, Nah...nuttan meant by it, friend..I mean, do ya got...like...magic powers and stuff?" The man asked, looking back woozily towards another group of people, who all seemed to be egging him on. "I heard...you's got magic and I was bettin my friends that ain't true..."

The man reached over and put a hand on Shizuo's shoulder, leaning in close with a big grin on his face, "i wanna see it...I wanna see some magic....come on magic man...lemmie see..." Shizuo's filter helped him to not smell the mans breath, but he could feel its warmth on his face. The kyuzo's eyes were hidden by his hat, and he was glad for it. He didn't like being touched, and he certainly didn't like having his personal space invaded. There was a million and a half ways he wanted to respond. Break this guys hand, pull out one of his teeth, shatter his foot, crush his wind pipe.

But there was one he could do, that would still complete the mission.

"....Alright...let me show something you'll never forget..." The kyuzo said as he looked down to the mans waist, "You got a blaster, right? Shoot me with it..."

"...whuh?" The man blinked in confusion as Shizuo walked out to the bars floor, turning around to look at the man as he reached up with his hand, pulling his hat around behind him, blocking his eyes as he tilted his head, his vision now fully obscured, as well as his face from view, as he spoke.

"You heard me...Try and Shoot me. It'll be a trick you won't forget. I promise you." The kyuzo said as he closed his eyes, allowing the force to guide him instead. His hand was on his saber, holding it as he simply breathed. In, and Out, as he felt out with the force. The man was drunk, he swayed as he reached down and drew his blaster. It was probably the drinks, dulling what little voice would tell him this was a bad idea.

He took forever to line up the shoot, his friends and others looking as the slightly inebriated sith prepared to do one of the most basic of training techniques. He felt the attention narrow in on him as he got ready. And at the very last second, reminded himself that he needed this man to not die.

The blaster shot echoed out, and in the blink of an eye, Shizuo's shoto saber was drawn, a single slash which betrayed his Makashi training with the flick of his wrist as the blaster bolt went sailing to the ceiling, all the while his eyes were completely hidden. The saber was deactivated as soon as the bolt had been deflected, back on his waist as he reached up and turned his hat back to see the mans stunned face.

"So...how was that for magic?" He asked with a chuckle to his voice, the first genuine laugh he had all day. The man stared for a few more moments before starting to clap, his smile wider then ever as the others began to join in.

"Tha whas AmAzinnn!!!!" The drunkard said, sounding like a little kid being shown his first ever card trick. The sith couldn't help it, perhaps the alcohol playing the a part, but he nodded and gave a bow of his head, soaking in the audience apparently thinking this was some great show. Nothing like a good trick to get on some folks good sides.

 

[Arnen Elgernoth]

Arnen let out a full-gut laugh at the childish amazement in the drunk crowd, never mind the fact that the man's blaster now lay in twain on the ground. Arnen decided to add to the show by lifting the barrel of the blaster into the air, over head, for the whole crowd to see. The levitation was not the main attraction, and this soon became apparent, as bit of metal, slowly began to glow orange, before fully red, and after about a minute, white hot.

With that, Arnen let the red hot metal fall to the wooden floor, letting the sound of the burning wood fill in the captivated silence, before a small ember caught, prompting a gasping reaction from the crowd. Arnen then took control of the ember, and manipulated it to float upward, just as the bolt had done before, although, this time, an open suspended flame. At his feet, those who took the time to look would see that the heat had been sapped from the now mangled piece of metal, as the flame seeming fanned itself the life. in mid-air. As quickly as it came to life, the flame was snuffed, burning the eyebrows off the front row of people closest to the flame, leaving the rest to debate what the real trick was, the suspended flame, or the disappearance of six individuals' eyebrows.

 

[Shizuo Aramusha]

Shizuo decided to wait and watch as Arnen preformed his showing of Force Ability. The kyuzo couldn't help but be fascinated and then amazed at the spectacle himself. He could not help but feel impressed, seeing the man command the force with such fine control as to manipulate the metal and flame in such a fine example of his connection to the force.

"Can you do that?" He heard asked behind him, seeing the same man whose shot he had deflected without seeing. For this, Shizuo simply gave a laughing shrug as he put the saber back on his hilt. He'd be clapping if he actually had two hands.

"Afraid Not. My skills are more akin to the physical..." He said as he looked over to Arnen, seeing the crowd whose eyebrows he'd singed, even they had been impressed, or perhaps they didn't want to raise a stink in front of these two dark siders.

"So...you can all rest easy, with us here..." Shizuo said as he walked over and motioned for another drink, getting it poured as he looked over to the barkeep with a nod. "We are Sith of the True Empire, and We are here to help..." He said as he finished the drink and put it on the table with a sharp clack.

The mood was extremely jovial now, some of the people even passing out, as Shizuo leaned against the bar and decided to take it all in. Perhaps this mission wasn't as bad as he had originally thought. These people, they were simple. Easily impressed, easily manipulated. All it took was a demonstration of force against people they didn't relate to, and they would gladly give their allegiance and services to their cause.

They reminded him all too well of his own people. And that thought made his mood sour a tad, a sour note within the cacophony of the force.