Lightside Sith 014
Situated on a coastline, Worlport reminded Kaine somewhat of Rio de Janeiro in terms of overall flavor. There were a billion people in this city, and it was a massive sprawling expanse of apartments, and people busily commuting to work. The outer city was poorly planned, and was incredibly compact & rundown. However, the architecture deviated from the cold skyscrapers of Coruscant or Corellia, and had a more tropical flavor. White walled buildings were common, and instead of building vertical-either up or down-the city spread outward in a large urban sprawl.
Driving a rented hovercar that looked something like a sports car, it was Kaine's second day on Ord Mantell, and he was only a few hundred LP away from his next promotion. Furthermore, his meeting with Dirge was scheduled for tomorrow, leaving him plenty of time to upgrade himself before that encounter.
Like any city, Worlport had several grand malls, and plenty of famous restaurants. There was even an advertisement on a giant billboard offering the best virtual experience, showing footage of both incredible violence, sex, and even being able to live out a movie. All sorts of different products were being sold via neon signs, and giant holograms, constantly bombarding Kaine with information. Despite being in a galaxy far far away, Kaine still couldn't escape ads.
Piloting his hovercar seemingly aimlessly, and breathing in the alien-yet familiar-scenery of a Star Wars city, Kaine eventually found a car park near the Lady Fate casino, and decided to both scope out the venue a day in advance, and farm a bit of LP.
At the entrance to the venue, the symbol for the place was a pair of neon Twi'leks kissing one another. People were moving around in an endless flow, and Kaine was reminded of the density of the Vegas strip, or downtown Tokyo.
Although Humans made up about 60% of the people he saw, there were a decent amount of Trandoshans, Sullestans, Gran, Bothans, Arcona, and more. At least dozens of alien species were common amongst the crowd, whilst a few less well-known aliens also roamed about.
Blending in with the sea of people, Kaine entered the casino proper. Inside the Lady Fate, the noise, lights, and sound were intense. To the left, a Wookiee bouncer was hauling a pair of drunk Jawas out of the premises. Near the center, a group of cigar smoking Duros were discussing business over a game of sabacc. Hanging from a rail, a Human child was waving at everyone entering, jumping around like a little monkey. Further to the left, a yellow Zabrak man was laughing like a lunatic whilst playing some holographic game on a table, and was surrounded by dozens of onlookers. Off to the side was a counter selling prostitution, where one could go through a catalog, and choose their partner for the evening.
Sports, fights, and a dozen other forms of entertainment played on the walls, with real time betting odds displayed next to them.
Dancing in a rotating cage, a sweaty purple Twi'lek girl was moving erotically to the pulse of the music. Beneath her was a pit, where gladiators & beasts fought one another for the entertainment of the crowd.
Hatred. Greed. Lust. Loss. Love.
All these emotions and more coalesced into a faint, fragrant Darkside elixir. These powerful emotions wafted through the air, unknowingly affecting Kaine like a drug. His senses ever so slightly became enhanced, his inhibitions ever so slightly decreased. Golden pupils going wide as he took it all in, Kaine-a man who did not gamble, at least, not with money-was quite interested in the various holographic videogames.
During this moment of standing still to take things in the sights, a pair of massive Dowutin-taller than a Wookiee & encased in a thick layer of fat-were roughly pushing their way through the crowd, escorting a richly dressed green Rodian & his Twi'lek side piece.
Sensing that they were about to forcefully toss him to the side within the next two seconds, Kaine frowned. The pulse of the music, and sinister whispers of the Darkside heightened his regard for civility. With the curl of two fingers, he subtly applied [Inflict Pain] to the back of the hulking guards’ knees. Roaring in pain, the big guys who were roughly tossing people aside suddenly collapsed backwards, crushing their employer.
The Darkside practically purred in pleasure at this act, and released an intoxicating amount of something like endorphins into his system. As he breathed this is in, Kaine narrowed his eyes, and shook his head. He wasn't one to indulge in mind altering substances, and always wanted to be in control of his own actions, and his own destiny. The Force was a mystical power source, and it was important to remember that the Darkside wasn't as simple as a battery pack or well of energy. Drawing upon it had real consequences, and affected his mind. Kaine would try to keep this in mind going forward. As a Pureblood Sith, it was all too easy to devolve into a subhuman murderhobo. However, as a refined Lightside Sith, his action of defending himself was perfectly justified!...is what he told himself. If Obi-Wan could cut off that one guy's arm in Mos Eisley so he could show off for Luke, why couldn't Kaine teach some overconfident Rodian a lesson?
As if the universe agreed with his assessment, +1LP wafted up from each of the downed aliens.
Looking down at the twitching Rodian, the guy looked like a half dead fly. Well, at least he hadn't murdered someone, good enough!
Ignoring the stunned looks of the people nearby, Kaine went deeper into the venue. With such a thick crowd, and cameras everywhere, it was unlikely that he could abuse [Hide Presence], but that didn't mean there wasn't LP or even skills to be farmed!
Approaching a blaster range, Kaine paid a fare, and began to practice hitting targets. Using his [Precognition], and [Speed] he got pretty good at shooting. Before long, a new skill had been added to his ability list: [Marksmanship]. Automatically raised to Tier II, he felt like he could effortlessly hit any mark within 20ft, and somewhat decently hit anything up to 100ft. Anything beyond that would require the help of the Force.
Although he was a space wizard, one never knew when a blaster might come in handy. Confirming that [Marksmanship] applied to sniper rifles, heavy blasters, handguns, and even throwing knives-really, any weapon that could be aimed-Kaine was satisfied. Two hours had passed since his entry into Lady Fate, and after grabbing some roasted Womp Rats on a skewer-a surprisingly tasty dish-Kaine had decided to earn some money, LP, and satisfy the ancient book's need for conquest.
Making his way towards the sounds of loud cheers, animalistic roars, and slaughter, a grin of anticipation spread across his face.
“Thank you for your participation in The Pit. Your registration number is 8483727, good luck, designation: Big Red Machine.” A robot behind a counter said in an incredibly over cheerful voice. “Your next fight is in five minutes.”
“10,000 creds on myself.” Kaine said, slapping the maximum amount of betting money allowed for an amateur fighter down on the desk, then turned to walk away once the droid processed the money.
Walking through several corridors, he eventually came to the entrance of The Pit. As someone who had experienced very little conflict up until now, Kaine wanted to acclimate himself to violence, so that when he was dropped into the middle of the Clone Wars, he wouldn't piss himself in fear.
Equipped with his gauntlets, a large machete, and a tight form fitting set of clothes, Kaine performed a quick kata to warm himself up.
After a few minutes of waiting in place, a light above him flashed green, and the door in front of him rumbled open. Five other identical doors opened, and a battle royale began to take place.
Running at Kaine from the left was one of the Dowutin's he had used [Inflict Pain] on earlier. Roaring at him, the tannish slightly orangish alien moved like a freight train, and smashed down at him with a large two handed maul the size of a dumbell. Sidestepping the attack with ease, Kaine ducked under a retaliatory side swing, and stepped into the alien's guard.
Eyes narrowed, he saw that the Dowutin had a thick layer of skin, that it would be as tough as an elephant. Stabbing at the ribs with this ordinary machete would be foolish. At the moment, the only places that could be dealt damage were the eyes, ears…and groin!
Stabbing upward, Kaine's machete whistled through the air. The Dowutin gladiator gasped in shock as a bloody wet spot formed underneath its crotch. Taking a knee in pain, it reached a massive palm forward to squeeze Kaine to death.
Using [Telekinesis], he shifted the hand a few inches to the left, making it ruffle past his head. Now that the alien's center was open, he was free to act. Shifting his weight forward, he drove the tip of his blade so that it rested centimeters from its eye.
“Surrender.” Kaine emotionlessly intoned.
Without a word, the Duwotin tried to shift backwards, and swat at him.
Hesitating no longer, Kaine went deep into the alien's eye, and drove his weapon into its brain, making it drop dead.
Ordinarily, no LP would arrive from this act of murder, but because he offered the alien a chance to surrender, a small +1LP wafted into the air. Upon claiming his victory, the sound of the crowd went wild, and one of the rituals he was interested in the prerequisite-kill 1,000 sentients in combat-had added a mark to the tally.
Making sure he wasn't caught up in a bloodlusted rage, he went on to confront the next set of enemies. Cutting off a Zabrak's horns, he kicked the man to the dirt, gaining +1LP for his surrender. The next foe was a dual wielding silver haired, purple Altiri. This beautiful alien was being cheered on by all the ladies in the crowd, but once Kaine kneed him in the chin with a brutal smack, and threatened to cut off his commercial advertisement worthy hair, the Altiri folded like a stack of bricks.
Everyone else had already been defeated, and, after showcasing his dominance-as any true Sith would-a wave of LP were distributed by the crowd.
Repeating this process two more times, he netted himself +30,000 credits, and finally passed the threshold for promotion.
[Lightside Sith System: Act like a Lightside Sith, and be rewarded.
Rank: Tier III (Acolyte high) (20/5,000 until (Sith Lord low)
Skills: Tier III: [Speed] [Inflict Pain] [Sense] [Hide Presence] [Precognition] [Form II] [Ghost Summoning] [Telekenesis] [Nightmare] [Blood Etching] [Marksmanship]
Inventory: Lightsaber, Sith attire, sonic grenade x2, macrobinoculars, misc food x5, misc clothing x 20, blaster pistol, shock prod x1, art piece x2
Credits: 83,987
Lightside Points: 20]
Whilst Kaine was chilling out in an area for fighters, all sorts of people were giving him a wide berth. Eating some rice, and some sort of sweet meat from a bowl, a droid approached him.
“You have been invited to a meeting with my master, he is most eager to host a fight between you, and a champion.” The droid from the service counter said.
Kaine glanced at the robot in disinterest. The biggest reason why he fought in The Pit, was because it was a public venue. Farming LP required a live audience. Just how many people would witness his conquest at this palace, compared to one of the most famous casinos on the planet? Besides, he wasn't some circus monkey to fight at the pleasure of others, he was a dignified Sith!
“Not interested.” Kaine replied, not even deigning to look up from his bowl of food.
“The prize money is 500,000 credits.” The droid coaxed.
Kaine briefly paused in his chewing. That. Was a lot of fucking money! But as the new scion of the Count of Serenno…did he really value such a sum? Sure, Dooku hadn't given him any money or resources, but once he earned the old man's trust, money wouldn't really matter to him.
“My employer is Jabba the Hutt. He insists that you make an appearance for his 580th birthday celebration.”
Plastering a fake smile on his face, Kaine rose from his seat.
“Why didn't you say so from the start?”
Although the droid couldn't grin, the blasted thing gave off the aura of a greasy salesman that had just stolen the bank. “Come with me, Mr. Big Red Machine.”
Kaine rolled his eyes. He'd like to refuse, but he had a mission to do. If he said no, and that corpulent slime sent a never ending chain of bounty hunters after his ass, Kaine would have to abandon Ord Mantell.
…on the positive side of things, this could perhaps be a good thing. Making connections with Jabba, and any other underworld figures attending his birthday was an opportunity worth pursuing!
~~~~~~~
AN: I swear to God, this man is going to party his way to Galactic peace! Straight up Louis XIV style.