Ask The Err's of Pirates

[Asminys]

After the eventful mission to Dantooine that involved the slaughter of a village and the abduction of three children of the Force, Asminys had hoped to be on his way, free to pursue his own goals separate from those of the Sith Order once again. It seemed that would have to wait however. Having delivered the children to other agents of the Sith at the rendezvous point, Asminys and Emryc had been assigned to a more pressing matter. It seemed that the ship they had met with had been attacked by pirates in a nearby system on their way to the meeting. This was unacceptable to the masters and needed to be dealt with swiftly and accordingly.

Sitting in the co-pilot's chair of the ship, Asminys' feelings on the matter were conflicted. He had come to recognize a potential weakness within himself after the events of the previous day, one he had spent many hours meditating on. Glancing sideways at the younger Sith who piloted the ship, he wished to be away from the source of that weakness. Yet here he sat, and there he was.

"The contact should have eliminated this threat themselves." He muttered, half to himself and half to his partner in what would be their second mission together. He felt slighted, having to clean up other Sith's leavings as if he were just a busybody meant to take out the trash. Perhaps that's how the Sith Order saw one of his stature. A perception he would have to correct in time.

@Sreeya

 

[Emryc Thorne]

Emryc did most missions without complaint. He was also not the type to dwell on things. He had done his repenting, and he moved on. His back injuries would be more scars to add to the canvas. He had popped in one earbud to zone off and listen to music as he flew the ship. Music and making his own remixes was a part time hobby, and he frequented the underground scene on various Hutt planets. He was listening to one of his own creations, attempting to think of more riffs or snares to add.

He caught Asminys speaking from having one ear free for hearing. He didn’t look at the man, simply grinning, “It was either this or getting the kids again,” Emryc wanted to be as far from those kids as possible. He could only guess at the rude awakening they would have once they came to. The entire ordeal made Emryc uncomfortable, and he would avoid a similar mission if possible.

He pulled up a datapad, “All the data I’ve collected suggests that they were ambushed near the planet Crait..” Emryc paused on that name for a moment. He could have sworn he read about it in some of his Sith studies.

The ship lurched as they jumped out of hyperspace. There was nothing in sight at first glance, and he looked down from the datapad and then to the planet in front of them.

“Do we sit here or should we descend?” He thought aloud, not seeing any immediate ships in horizon.

@Asminys

 

[Asminys]

Asminys gave a short grunt in response to Emryc's comment about the kids. He was right about that, there was no way that he wanted to be around when the kids woke up. He could almost hear the crying of sniveling brats from halfway across the galaxy. Watching Emryc in his peripheral vision, he silently enjoyed the cocky grin that always seemed to light up the young man's face.

Distractions.

"Crait..." He said as if musing, wondering where he might have heard the name before. He had never heard the name before. In fact every time he went to a new planet he had felt as if he was flying blind. The galaxy was a mystery to him, a mystery that he would have to solve one day. Maybe look at a map.

The ship lurched out of hyperspace and he could see the stark white planet in front of them, standing out in the starry blackness of the void. Glancing sideways at the younger Sith as he mused out loud, Asminys reached for the ships primary power. With a flick of a switch he shut the ship down before pressing the emergency distress signal.

"That should lure them out." He said as he leaned back in the chair and kicked his feet up on the control board. Who knew how long it would take for the pirates to show up. Looking over at Emryc, he pointed to the earbud dangling from his ear. "What's that?"

 

[Emryc Thorne]

Emryc scowled as Asminys simply shut off the engine and let the ship begin to float in space. The distress signals were sent off, and it caused an annoying bright light to flash all around them as a result. He kept his opinions to himself, not really the type to vocally complain.

He was about to pop in his second earbud when Asminys asked a question. Emryc had to look around to identify what he meant before he realized the man meant earbuds. His eyebrows rose in surprise, and there was the slightest hint of amusement in his face.

“Jedi tricks,” Emryc said quietly, handing him one. He tilted his head to observe the man, “Jedi offer paths to abilities some may consider...unnatural,” He said with a perfectly straight face as he gestured the man to pop it into his ear and hear the blast of music.

He kept the other earbud in his own ear. Like Asminys, Emryc popped his feet up. He even took it a step further and used the Force to float over his pack he carried everywhere. From it, he pulled out a flask of alcohol that was forbidden in most Core Worlds. He took a sip of it, grimacing at the taste. It never got better over time.

“You’re not that much of a square, are you?” He gave a casual wink to Asminys before tossing the flask over to him.

 

[Asminys]

Asminys looked first at Emryc then at the small bud that he offered him while speaking of Jedi tricks. The younger Sith looked quite serious and Asminys couldn't quite tell if he was being serious or not. Accepting it cautiously, he put it up to his ear for a moment, pulling it away to glare at it briefly as strange sounds came out before finally popping the device into his ear.

The experience was indeed unnatural, at least to Asminys limited frame of reference. The subtle electronica sounds wove a rythm in his ear that seemed to light up some long forgotten part of his lizard brain, and he couldn't help the ever so slight subconscious bob of his head to the beat. "Jedi tricks you say?" He raised an eyebrow at the younger, doubt in his tone.

He continued to listen to the "Jedi trick" as Emryc floated his pack over, pulling out a flask of some liquid and taking a sip before tossing it to Asminys with a wink that coaxed the same part of his brain as the music. "I have never been accused of being square." He said, not entirely sure what shapes had to do with anything as he took a tip off the flask.

It tasted like fire and hyper-matter fuel, with an aftertaste so hot that it could burn the hair off a bantha. Eyes wide as he swallowed, he held the flask from his face and glared at the offending container, a small cough sputtering from his throat. Not one to be conquered by a mere drink he cleared his throat and took another swig from the flask, a much larger one this time. The burn reminded him of puking his guts out repeatedly after taking a training rod to the belly once during his youth.

"Ack, tastes like sewer sludge." He wheezed, tossing the flask back to Emryc. His chest burned and his stomach rebelled for a moment, forcing him to take a second to close his eyes and force it to settle. A slow warmth filled his stomach as he opened his eyes. It wasn't entirely unpleasant.

"What is that horrible drink?" He asked, entirely unaware of just how potent the liquor was as his chin nodded ever so slightly to the tune coming from the earbuds.

 

[Emryc Thorne]

Emryc opened his mouth to stop Asminys from drinking more, but the older man gulped down from the flask. He gingerly pried the flask out of his hands, shaking it to realize that there was much less left. He scowled at the older Sith and his complaining about the illegal drink.

“A concoction of various Outer Rim stills,” He explained, eyeing the other Sith for a moment, “You took far more than you needed. You may….start to see things,” The drink was strong enough to cause hallucinations in higher doses.

Blinking a few times at Asminys, Emryc began to reach over to switch the ship back on and turn off the emergency beacons. He had a feeling that the older man would be in no shape to help deal with any pirates. Emryc was inches away when he saw two ships flying towards them.

“Kriff,” Emryc muttered, quickly straightening up in his seat. He powered the engines back on and hastily began to prepare for an attack. He glanced over to Asminys, “Hey I’ll need you manning the guns!”

The ship lurched forth as he took manual control, preparing for evasive maneuvers to avoid being peppered from all sides by cannonfire.

 

[Asminys]

His body felt flooded with warmth as the drink began to take hold and his eyes felt heavy. It had only been a minute or so. Asminys wasn't the most experience with alcohol or other mind altering substances, but he was aware enough that Emryc wasn't joking when he warned him that he might begin to see things.

He looked at the other Sith lazily, music still in his ear. He seemed to move slowly, and the cabin kept twirling with as his head stopped moving. "What are you so worried about." His tongue felt heavy as he spoke, the feelings in his brain not matching the new urgency in Emryc's voice as he began to slap buttons on the console and powered the ship back up.

The ship lurched forwards and the sound of laser fire echoed through the cabin. The word guns repeated over and over in his head. He simply lay there, leaned back against his seat and staring at the soft curves of Emryc's face. The transformation from ease to stress brought a tightness to the younger Sith's jaw that Asminsy didn't fail to appreciate. Still he felt like there was something he should be doing.

Guns. The word continued to echo through his head. "You need me on the guns?" He asked, his head pounding as the warmth kept getting warmer, his skin burning. Standing as if in a daze, he stumbled from his seat. The earbud was still in his ear and the music continued as he lurched into the corner of the hallway towards the gunner station. The world was still spinning rapidly and he rested his head in a corner, pressure building in his throat until he spewed vomit all over the floor.

What was he supposed to be doing again?

Something about guns.

 

[Emryc Thorne]

“Oh kriff you!” He shouted as the man vomited everywhere. Without thinking, he backhanded the older Sith clear across the face, “Get it together,” He growled at the man, gazing into his eyes with the ferocity of an animal. He quickly swiveled around and took control of the ship.

The pirate ships began to fire at them, and he tried to bring up the shields to tank the initial volley. It wasn’t going too well, and he had to quickly tilt them to pull out of the trajectory of incoming bolts. There was no way they could take them in air.

“I’m going to land us!” He shouted to Asminys, hoping the man stumbled over to make himself useful on the guns. The vomit splashed around in the ship as he began to rapidly descend. He lifted his feet up to avoid his boots getting vomit on them but his bag was a lost cause. He told himself he would skin the other Sith alive if anything got on his Sith idols.

“Keep them off us!” He shouted as the ship shuddered from taking a hit to the side. Alarms began to blare and the aircraft was shaking and groaning. He continued to try and dodge incoming fire, luring the pirates towards the surface of the planet.

The white terrain of the planet became visible and he kept pushing for it. After a moment, they landed with a huge slam that sent everything flying. The ship skidded across the salty surface of the planet, leaving behind a blood red streak. Emryc didn’t stop till the ship slid into the crevice of a canyon that had overhangs that protected them from fire from above.

Shrill alarms stopped as he turned everything off. Emryc groaned, the ship thrown into complete darkness.

“Still alive back there, you miserable shit?” He called out angrily, still smelling the stench of vomit.

 

[Asminys]

He barely felt the sting of a slap across the face. His face was numb but he felt the impact and looked up. An animal looked back... for a moment. The eyes of a predator were replaced by Emryc's face as he yelled in his face.

"Get it together." He repeated as he tried to straighten. What sort of poison had the kid given him. It didn't matter. It was toxic and It needed to be gone.

Stumbling over to the gunner's chair, he slumped into it. His hand touched his face but he couldn't feel the sting of the younger Sith's slap. He knew it was there though, the boy had slapped him. Head rolling he glared daggers at the back of Emryc's head before trying to sit up.

He had slapped him. He should have killed him in the spare cabin when he had been defenseless. Should have dumped him and told the master's that he had died to a Kath Hound. Or just said nothing at all.

Get it together.

The words echoed in his head. Emryc had shouted them and they were Asminy's anchor in the sea of poison that coursed through his veins.

And he had slapped him.

Cursing the younger Sith in his mind as he focused his mind on the poison that infiltrated his body. He could feel it in his heart every time it beat, pumping out to his mind and the rest of his body. Reaching for the ember of darkness that dwelled within his heart he breathed fire into it, letting it roar into flame. The poison crashed against the flame with each beat of his heart, burning away.

Sitting up straighter as the effects of the poison lessened, he grabbed hold of the controls as toxic sweat poured from his pores, the poison working its way from his body. He wasn't too familiar with the controls but he could figure it out. Slapping a button to power up the guns, he steered the turret to aim at the pirate ships.

He wasn't sure how many of them there were, the screen swam in front of his eyes and it looked like there were at least a dozen ships on the radar. Triggering the guns, fire lanced towards the pirate ships. He missed of course, aiming for a ghost ship that was only there in his blurred vision.

Firing wildly as he gripped the controls tight in anger, steam rose from his body as he forced more of the liquor to burn. The console trilled to indicate he had somehow managed to find a lock and he didn't waste time pulling the trigger once again, a fireball blooming behind them as they streaked towards the planets surface.

And then they were sliding across the surface of the planet and Asminys found himself thrown from the chair. Rolling across the small enclosure of the cabin, he skidded through the vomit puddle he had left on the floor before coming to rest in the corner.

"Eugh," He groaned, his head spinning from both the crash and the drink. He felt like shit. He smelled like liquor sweat and vomit. Shaking his head to try to clear it, he planted his hand on the floor to push himself to his feet.

It landed in vomit.

 

[Emryc Thorne]

Emryc heard a thud and realized Asminys came full circle back into his own vomit puddle. The stench was unreal, and he had to bite back from vomiting himself. Glaring at the poor lump of a Sith, Emryc unbuckled himself and reached into his pack. He had packed a bottle of water and he uncapped it, unceremoniously dumping it over the Sith. It would work to wash off the vomit and also jolt him from the chill.

“Come on, they’ll be tracking this ship,” He growled as he stumbled over to the exit. He wasn’t exactly sober himself, and his head was buzzing. He occasionally saw doubles, but he controlled it better than the other Sith. He punched the terminal to open the door, stepping out into the canyon.

It was chilly outside, and he could see wisps of his breath. He winced at the surge of light that pierced through the gorge. As he started walking, he couldn’t help but note the blood red footprints he left behind. With a grimace, he used the Force to brush the salt back over his tracks.

“Let’s set up for an ambush when they come poking around the ship,” Emryc looked around for a bit before turning to gaze at Asminys.

“What?” He asked with a scowl, “Yeah I slapped you and poured water on you. Get over it.”

@Arclight

 

[Asminys]

The shock of cold water on his face shook the Sith a little bit closer to reality. Slipping and sliding for a moment, he managed to finally find his footing before stumbling through the narrow corridor of the ship. Where was that refresher station when he needed it.

If he hadn't been so drunk he would have sworn that someone had turned the lights off. As it was, he assumed that it was just the pounding in his head that was blinding him. He managed to find the shower by feel, turning it on and stepping under the freezing water. Stripping the vomit covered blast vest and shirt off and discarding them in the small corner of the shower, he blindly found some sort of body wash and poured half of it over his head, vigorously scrubbing the vomit and booze sweat from his skin.

Stepping out of the shower still dripping wet, he grabbed a towel and hung it over his shoulders. After a few moments of careful... stumbling, he managed to find his way to the door just in time to tread all over the salty ground that had just been swept smooth.

Looking dope eyed at Emryc's scowling face, he tried to muster a look of indignation. The result probably just left him looking like he was in the middle of having a stroke however.

"I'm never drinking from you're canteen again." He muttered, frost on his breath as he closed his eyes and embraced the wakening chill of the planet. He would probably have been shivering if it wasn't for the fire of the liquor that still dwelled in his belly. Taking a deep breath, he wondered what exactly that smell was. A pair of sniffs identified floral hints with a undertone of musk.

"What body wash was in your shower?" He asked semi-coherently as he turned his head and sniffed his shoulder. The strong smell of vomit had been replaced by an even stronger perfume scent.

 

[Emryc Thorne]

It took him a moment to realize the state of attire Asminys was in. It was the first time he had seen the older Sith’s full body tattoos. He barely heard what he said and ignored the scowl, his eyes drinking in sight of the painted canvas of his body. It was a feast for the eyes, as decadent as smelling the sweetest pies and wanting so badly that first bite. His eyes betrayed him for just a moment, and it was the slightest blip that would have been obvious if Asminys hadn’t been loopy still.

“Don’t use my stuff,” He grumbled, though the irritation only half seeped through. The lines of ink, the chiseled form, and what was painfully hidden from view ran through his mind. He had to quickly shake off his thoughts to get his head back in the game.

Emryc spotted a crevice up above along the gorge. He began to climb up, finding a small alcove they could both duck into. He leaned down to help Asminys up if the man continued to be worthless. Rolling his eyes, he used the Force to cover his tracks.

“Let’s see if they show up,” Emryc said quietly, both them forced into slightly cramped quarters. His thoughts on the situation were overruled by the rage at smelling his own bath products on the man. He had spent an arm and leg on his brand name products!

 

[Asminys]

Asminys stood there, barely managing to keep himself from swaying. He wasn't sure but he thought he saw a strange look pass on Emryc's face, one of Emryc's faces. There was at least three of the younger Sith swimming in front of him. Shaking his head to clear his vision, he began to towel off the water that dripped from his body before it started to freeze.

Hanging the towel back around his neck, Asminys followed Emryc to the rock wall. He climbed unsteadily but his eyes were fixed ahead as he followed, his drunken mind unable to tear his gaze away from the tightness of the younger Sith's pants as he climbed. At least until they disappeared and were replaced by Emryc's face and hand, offered in aid to help him climb.

Ignoring the offered hand, Asminys hauled himself up into the crevice with only some difficulty. It was a tight squeeze fitting into the stone alcove and he nearly crushed the Emryc against the wall as he stumbled into the opening, stopping himself with a hand against the wall as his chest pressed against the younger Sith's and his face nearly got buried in his hair for a moment.

Pushing off from the wall to make room once again, he thudded back against the cavern wall. He could smell Emryc's hair still on his face, faint next to the strong smell of the body wash but still there.

"Might be awkward if they don't." He chuckled in response to the younger Sith's whispered words, wiggling his back against the wall slightly to try to find a more comfortable position to lean in. His leg bumped against Emryc's as he shuffled his feet for room. "It's a bit tight in here."

His eyes wandered across Emryc's face for a moment before turning to look out over the crevice.

He thought he could hear the faint sound of engines whining in the distance.

 

[Emryc Thorne]

Emryc tried to focus on the shipwreck, but Asminys was making it exceptionally difficult. He took his time getting situated, and shoved up against him a few times. Emryc trained his gaze ahead, eyes searing holes into the opposite gorge wall as he could feel the man’s face buried against his hair. There was the slightest intake of breath, but his face remained impassive. He had to recite his internal prayers a few times to keep his focus.

A moment of silence hung briefly after Asminys spoke. It was then that Emryc slowly shifted his gaze to meet his, “And what if they don’t?” He asked quietly, his face still stone cold devoid of emotion. Emryc could tell the man used up almost all his bottle of soap, and the rage whirled all around him. But he had to turn to prayer to keep his other thoughts at bay.

It wasn’t until he heard some commotion below that he finally broke the gaze. He brought a finger to his lips to signal Asminys to shut up in case he felt like blabbing anything. Emryc peered over the edge, seeing some pirates walking around the ship.

He turned to look at Asminys again, “I’m going to go in. Are you sober enough to help?” He asked very seriously.

Asminys wouldn’t have the time to answer as one of the pirates began to shoot at the ship. Emryc had no desire to be held liable for damages, and he quickly sprang out from the crevice, saber drawn. The red blade swung down in an arc, vertically bisecting his torso. The two sides of his body began to fall apart and Emryc hurled his saber through the gap, the blade embedding into the chest of another pirate.

 

[Asminys]

Silence hung for a while before Emryc finally spoke, and Asminys just shrugged in response. If the pirates didn't show, well then at least he had gotten a bit of a show watching the younger Sith climb the rock face. Packed in like sardines, he could feel the anger that clung to Emryc even through his drunken haze. He merely watched the emotion stew within his younger counterpart, waiting with the occasional shift of his weight that nearly jostled the youngster a few times.

Finally, after what was probably only a few minutes but seemed like an eternity in the tightly packed and highly fragrant cave, the sound of pirates could be heard from below. His eyes lingered on Emryc's lips as the younger Sith pressed a finger to them.

"Of course." He said assuredly, as if the notion that he was too drunk to fight pirates hadn't even crossed his mind. He lived to fight.

Following Emryc out of the crevice, he landed heavily before tucking into an awkward roll. His mind still spun but his body knew what to do and his saber was out and ignited before he even had the thought to draw it. His step was off, only a little, but he sprung up with a drunken grace, his blade whipping up to cut a pirates blaster in two, and the face that had been aiming it.

Grabbing the dead or dying man by the collar as he stumbled into him, he spun like a dancer, sending the body tumbling into another pirate who lost hold of his blaster as he tried to shove the split face away from his own. He was rewarded for his efforts with a saber skewered through the both of them.

Danger roared in Asminys mind however, the force screaming at him in warning. The sound of a high powered blaster charging up caught his ears and his eyes snapped to meet it. A pirate skiff sat at the end of the canyon, and on it a pirate racked the charging handle of a repeating blaster cannon before turning the weapon to point at the pair of Sith.

 

[Emryc Thorne]

As the bolts began to pepper towards them, Emryc tried to deflect as many as possible. However, one of them grazed his leg and made it buckle. He was temporarily left open for attack, and he expected to die right then. Sith weren’t in the habit of really helping one another, and unless Asminys did something, he would be toasted.

If the other Sith intervened, Emryc would quickly hobble over to another crevice in the gorge. It only offered temporary reprieve and allowed him to glance down at the smoking wound on his thigh, “Kriff,” He growled, gritting his teeth through the pain.

Emryc kept glancing over to see what was going on, and he knew there was an option. It would be severely taxing for him. He raised his hand and began to coil the Force around their downed ship. It was taking all his energy to start lifting the ship. He knew if he could launch it at the skiff, it would wipe out all the pirates at once.

“Asminys…” He spoke through gritted teeth, “Cover me,” He had to work hard to keep his concentration and focus in between incoming blaster fire.

 

[Asminys]

The adrenaline of the fight coursed through his heart and as always happened in the throes of battle, his mind finally cleared. His body was sluggish, but he could work with that.

He flowed like water, or like liquor from a bottle held just right. His gait wide as he managed the slight sway in his step. The repeater opened up and scarlet lances sprayed rapidly at the Sith as the gunner hosed between the two of them. Spinning his blade as he danced, he dodged and staggered back and forth. Bolts passed him narrowly as his blade swept up and around to catch another.

He felt the bolt that would hit Emryc pass. He let it. He didn't actually expect it to hit, expected Emryc to catch it. But it did. He felt where the next one would go, knew that it would end the younger Sith. Emryc. A potential problem gone, but it would make the current problem that much bigger.

He pivoted towards it, his back to gun as his blade stretched for the bolt and batted it away.

His blade continued its flow around his back to stop the bolt that would take his own life, preventing it from burning a fist sized hole in the middle of his tattoos.

He continued his spin as he brought the blade down to deflect a bolt into the chest of one of the surviving pirates who had chosen this moment to break cover and try to fire at the pair.

"Hurry up." He shouted back as he danced, losing ground as the spray of lasers now concentrated solely on him. His blade spun and flashed, flickering and wavering back and forth from bolt to bolt. He couldn't just let one pass him by now and he felt his energy fading fast as he gritted his teeth in concentration.

 

[Emryc Thorne]

Emryc poured all his energy into moving the ship. Between how draining it was and his injury, he had to push himself to the limit, “Andraste with me...Siris with me… Vader with me…” He chanted over and over again, calling upon the ancient lords to lend him their strength. His face was turning red, and his eyes glowed yellow.

The ship began to move and hover into the air. The pirates yelled and shouted, thinking there was someone inside the ship. After a moment, the ship lurched at them, pummeling into them before they could react. Screams were heard as people were smeared, the skiff crushed back against a mountain behind it. Every last pirate on it died with the effort, one or two stragglers stumbling off to the side. They were too weak to put up a fight and would be easily picked off by Asminys.

The ship dropped to the ground again and Emryc couldn’t stay on his feet any longer. His eyes rolled to the back of his head and he collapsed face first onto the salty sands. He was lost to the world, and at that moment he didn’t have the luxury of worrying about his fate.

It was up to Asminys.

 

[Asminys]

Asminys could hear Emryc chanting behind him through the pounding pulse of battle, the rythm of his blade uninterrupted by the distraction. He invoked the names of ancient Sith lords. Andraste, Siris, Vader. Names that Asminys tucked away in the corner of his mind while he fought to keep the younger Sith, and more importantly himself, alive.

The ship soared overhead to roll across the ground and smash the pirate skiff into a pancake, crushing metal and oozing flesh of the hapless pirates who failed to abandon ship or otherwise get out of the way. The stream of blaster fire ceased and quiet overtook the small canyon, for a moment.

His blade flicked up to catch another bolt, a trio of desperate pirates trying to fight through the haze of shock at what had just happened. Slashing at a second bolt that flew in, he sent it speeding back at the man who fired it. Reaching his hand out he snatched the blasters from the last two pirates hands with the force, pulling them to him and cutting the weapons in half.

"Do you desire death so much?" He shouted at them as one turned to run and the other reached for his pistol. He pounced, leaping forward to cut the chest of the one who still had some fight in him. The last pirate ran down the stretch of the canyon leaving crimson footsteps in his wake. Asminys flicked his hand at a large rock that rested to the side of the pirate, flinging it with the force to crack the pirate on the back of the head to send him sprawling.

Then there was silence, besides the angry hum of the crimson saber in his hand.

Then that too went quiet.

Asminys turned to look first at the ship, then at the unconscious Emryc. He stalked over to the younger Sith, rolling him over with his foot and then squatting down besides the man who was dead to the world. His eye lingered on the blaster burn on his calf, then up to his face. He looked almost at peace in unconsciousness. Almost.

He held his saber hilt up, balancing it on the palm of his hand and letting its weight go back and forth like a scale as he watched it, thinking. He had saved the younger Sith's life, even though he knew that one day he would come to regret it. Now he held the young unconscious Sith's life in the palm of his hand, balancing it back and forth as he debated putting his saber in the boy's chest and removing the complication with a finality.

His eyes rested once more on the Sith's face, his eye's flickering behind their lids, his lip twitching as his muscles tried to form a snarl. Even in rest he seethed with untapped rage.

Asminys knew he would regret letting him live.

Running a finger gently down the young Sith's hair and the side of his face, Asminys stood and turned away, leaving Emryc to lay in the salty sand. He paced over to the ship, admiring the young Sith's handiwork.

"Gonna need a new ship." He spoke out loud.

-----​

Sitting by a small fire, Asminys meditated as he waited for Emryc to awaken. The pirate who he had knocked stone cold lay bundled up, leaned against a nearby rock, his feet and hands bound with wiring stripped from the ship. He would be dealt with in due time but for now Asminys enjoyed the taste of fear radiating from the man. He let the doomed man stew in his emotions, to make the coming death all the sweeter.

 

[Emryc Thorne]

It was a while before Emryc finally blinked awake. He gazed up at the stars and thought for sure he was one with the Force. He slowly tilted his head, expecting to see his idols. Instead he saw Asminys and some sorry excuse of a pirate. His eyebrows furrowed in genuine confusion, and he simply stared at the older Sith for a moment.

He wasn’t one to interrupt meditation, so he slowly moved to sit up. He winced as he felt the pain from his leg, glancing down to find it bandaged. Not only that, but it looked like Asminys used nasty rags to bandage him up, and it smelled horrible. Emryc grimaced at the display, but he was more confused than anything. A glance up showed him that Asminys was out of his meditation.

“You...bandaged me up?” Emryc blurted out, eyeing the man suspiciously. He didn’t know whether to be grateful or suspicious, but he was leaning to the latter by nature. The fire lit up their faces, but even then the chill in the air around them hung.

“Is the ship operational at all?” He knew the answer to the question, but he had a sliver of hope. He looked over at the pirate that was terrified at now having two of his captors to contend with. Emryc looked far away as if none of the present reality mattered.

“You didn’t need me,” Emryc said flatly, focusing back on Asminys. If the ship was already destroyed and Asminys overpowered the pirates, he could have found his own way off the planet. Why didn’t he do just that? It didn’t fit with the operating model of the Sith. Not in the way Emryc understood it. His fingers curled to fists, jaw tightening. Rage burned in his eyes as he looked at Asminys, “Why?”

The idea of feeling indebted sickened him. He would punish himself relentlessly for this.