Lightside Sith 032

Escorting the Duros to a large amphitheater/casino, Kane had Ferus use some [Mind Tricks] on any guards who looked suspicious or might report them. 

By this point, the teen was morose, but in the name of doing good, followed along with Kane's commands. The backstage area was full of cages, prisoners and other illicit merchandise waiting to be auctioned off. 

Ferus made to grab his lightsaber, and slash it at the bars of one cage, but Kane grabbed the impatient Padawan by the arm, and shook his head. 

“Later.” He said in a quiet voice. 

“Thank you, but you can drop me off here.” The Duros said with an ugly smile, eager to leave his captivity. 

Kane ignored the alien, and pushed the hover sled into an empty changing room. There was a rack of all sorts of curious outfits within, and a large makeup mirror. Evidently this venue saw things like plays and musical entertainment. Snagging most of the various clothes into his inventory, he then used the Force to tie the alien up with some of the more risqué clothes he didn't deign to keep. 

“Now what?” Ferus asked, his hand practically itching for his lightsaber. 

“Has your Master taught you nothing of subtlety?” Kane tsked. “Of course, the two of us could go in, sabers blazing, but that carries too many risks. Before we engage the enemy openly, we shall engage in a small amount of subterfuge.” 

“How do we do that?” Ferus asked in confusion. 

“The Red Eclipse are a gang lead by a Weequay and a Trandoshan.” Kane said meaningfully. 

“I don't follow.” Ferus said, frowning. 

“Hm, how troublesome. So quick witted when it comes to the Force, yet ignorant to social relations. Despite you Jedi claiming to be the foremost diplomats in the galaxy, it is no wonder the Republic is crumbling under the weight of its own hubris. The plan is simple, Jedi. We are going to begin a race riot.” 

“...that. Is wrong?” Ferus began with a troubled expression, only to be interrupted. 

“You were about to slice open all the cages, and murder everyone in our path. Spare me your hypocrisy, Jedi. Your plan would doubtlessly see many of the escapees perish in the crossfire. Mine will see us rewarded for half the effort. Between us, who is the real villain, I wonder?” Kane asked with a raised eyebrow. 

“Fine. Fine. But how do we go about doing that?” Ferus asked. 

“Here. Throw this on, and go instigate the Trandoshans. I want you to [Mind Trick] them into thinking that the Weequay boss is worth a lot of Jagannath points, that the Score Keeper has demanded he be hunted.” Kane explained. 

Trandoshans, of course, being a race that worshipped the Scorekeeper, practically hunted anything worthy of being called prey. That was why they had such a heavy reputation as bounty hunters & mercs. 

“You want to use religion to incite the Trandoshans?!” Ferus said in an appalled tone. Then, upon seeing Kane's smug, unyielding attitude, he looked down at his feet. “Very well. I shall do as you say.” 

“Very good, Ferus. You will find, in time, that to achieve meaningful change in this galaxy, one must resort to less than savory actions. If it wears on your conscience, simply tell yourself that it was the big bad Sith who forced your hand.” Kane mocked. 

“Hmph. And what will you be doing during all this?” Ferus demanded whilst he went behind a screen to change. 

“Doubtlessly you overheard me questioning the Duros auctioneer during our trip here. Let's just say the gossip was quite juicy, and leave it at that.” Kane softly chuckled, turning to leave the dressing room. 

Activating [Hide Presence], he became ‘invisible’ to the minds of sentients. Strolling through the backrooms like he owned the place, he came to a section of the facility dominated by Weequay. 

Lounging about, standing guard, or moving hover sleds full of goods, tons of the dark-skinned aliens were in the area. With his Acolyte (high) skills, fighting side by side with Ferus, he estimated that they could survive a fighting retreat against this large, heavily armed group. At least in a head on clash, that is. If he employed assassination, and fear tactics, split the enemy, etc, then victory would be much more likely. However, there was an equally large contingent of Trandoshans on the other side of the building, and Kane did not care for those odds. 

So he was going to cheat. 

During the trip here, he had plumbed the Duros for information. Parsing through the rumors & gossip, he had learned an interesting detail. 

Waving his hand, he activated the access switch to the door in front of him. The pair of shielded, armed guards in front of the door stared forward, waiting for their boss to leave. However, instead, Kane had walked inside. 

As soon as the doors closed, he saw a simple office with a large desk, a terminal, and a scowling Weequay male looking at some figures. However, upon noticing the door opening and closing like that, the man was quick to rise. Blaster pistol in hand, he shot directly where Kane was standing. 

Lightsaber springing into action, he held a Soresu stance, deflecting the bolt back at the blaster, knocking it out of the gangster's hands. 

“A Jedi assassin?!” The man exclaimed, diving for a panic button. 

Kane was already upon the man, and had shoved him into the wall with a mild [Force Push], holding him in place. 

“Not quite.” Kane said in a low voice, his crimson blade held inches away from the man's eye. 

Red light reflected from the whites of his eyes, and piss stained his thighs as he was held in place. 

Seconds later, heavy bangs hit the solid durasteel door. “Is everything okay in there, boss?” A muffled voice asked. 

“Say it is so.” Kane compelled, lacing his voice with the Force. 

“Just a blaster malfunction. Go back to work!” The gangster leader hurriedly replied in a shout. 

Once things had calmed down, Kane released the man, then, taking some cuffs from his inventory, bound the Weequay tight. 

“Kane Renstar, I heard about you on the HoloNet. What's this about? The Red Eclipse aren't enemies with the Confederacy.” The gangster said in confusion. 

“Oh, aren't you, now? Ryloth is now a Confederate protectorate, yet here you are, dealing in Twi'lek slaves.” Kane darkly chuckled, dangling his now deactivated lightsaber idly, as if he might just use it at any time. 

The boss winced, and bowed his head. “I've been in this business long enough to know when a shake down is happening. What do you want, Renstar? What can the Red Eclipse offer you?” 

“No, no, Mr. Gangster, it is not what the Red Eclipse can offer me, but what you can do.” Kane sinisterly intoned, leaning in close. 

“What. What do you mean?” The Weequay weakly asked, with sweat pouring down his folded walnut texture-looking skin in waves.

“Simple, really. I want you to reveal your secret to the whole gang.” Kane whispered. 

“I don't.” He began, only to change his tune once Kane gave him a knowing look. “No, how do you know?” 

“The Force has guided me to this answer. You will notify every member of the Red Eclipse, and you will do it within the next half hour.” Kane said, red energy splaying across his fingertips as he threatened [Inflict Pain]. 

“Wha-what are you going to do to me?” The gangster gulped. 

“That depends. What do you value more. Your reputation, or your life?” 

~~~~~~~~~~

After Kane departed, Ferus-now changed into a hard hat, bright yellow-green vest, and work uniform-looking like a guy who was into construction. 

Peering into the large mirror within the changing room, he sighed, and tucked his white bangs under the construction helmet. 

The ten day journey to Nar Shaddaa had been nerve-wracking at first. He didn't know if the Sith would try some ritual on him whilst he slept, or if he would try and force him to drink blood, or drag him down to the Darkside. Instead, they spent most of their time playing Dejarik, or sparring. Between meditation and unrestricted access to the HoloNet, Ferus had gradually lowered his guard. 

That had been a mistake. 

He should have known how radical Renstar would be. After the Sith had paraded around on Vinsoth with that barge displaying those corpses, it was no secret how extreme he was. That altercation with the Devaronian selling deathsticks was the icing on the cake…and yet, it had all led to them sneaking into the very auction they had wished to attend. It was almost like, almost like Renstar had planned this from the very beginning! 

Was that farcical noble truly such a farsighted genius? Such a thought made Ferus bitter, finding it difficult to reconcile the images of the childish man who flipped the table after constantly losing at Dejarik, or the passionate, serious duelist, with the idea that he could be such a deep schemer. The image of Renstar in his mind became increasingly murky, and full of hidden depth. 

“Just what is your game, Renstar?” Ferus whispered to himself. 

Inciting a race war, that went against everything he had been taught growing up at the Temple. And yet, the damned Sith-spit had brought up a good point. Freeing these people was a potentially lethal prospect. There would be casualties should they charge at the enemy sabers blazing. 

And so, he very reluctantly got to work. 

Traversing the area backstage, his uniform-much to his shock and surprise-practically gave him a pass to go anywhere. At first he had meekly advanced, his heart full of trepidation. But the Trandoshan gangsters simply looked at him once, filed him away as a non-factor and went about with their lives. 

He hated to admit it, but Renstar must truly be onto something. 

Waving his hand at the first group, Ferus spoke in a level tone, attempting to influence their minds. 

“I heard the Weequay are worth a considerable amount of Jagannath points. You should investigate.” 

The group began to mutter amongst themselves, but didn't take the hint. 

‘What's wrong, is my mental nudge not strong enough, or am I taking the wrong approach?...what would Renstar do?’ 

Asking himself such a question, Ferus entered a state of inner turmoil. However, understanding that the rescue of those poor people rested on his shoulders, he grit his teeth, and redoubled his efforts. 

‘The Weequay gangsters recently killed a Trandoshan. The Scorekeeper demands you reclaim those lost points.’ 

This time, the suggestion held, and Ferus sighed in relief. 

“Hsss, our brother was slaughtered by those wrinkled dogs. His pointsss, they belong to me now.” One heavily armed Trandoshan hissed. 

Several more acknowledged his words, and began to march towards the Weequay section of the venue. Shortly thereafter, the sound of blasterfire started to resound throughout the cramped quarters of the backrooms. 

Ferus felt no joy at what he had done, however, a small sense of satisfaction welled up inside of him, knowing he was one step closer to achieving his goal. ‘Okay, Ferus, you can do this.’ 

Seeing that the ball had started rolling, he began to [Mind Trick] group after group, sending them on their way. The sounds of battle became more and more intense as old feuds, and accumulated mistrust finally sparked into an inferno of violence. At some point, Durge had made his way backstage, and had joined in the slaughter. 

But even so, the leader of the Trandoshans was beginning to get a handle on the situation, calling for peace. When Ferus attempted to [Mind Trick] him, nothing happened. The violence was starting to stop! Even Durge had slinked off somewhere, because there were still hundreds of gangsters flooding the area. 

When all of Ferus's hard work seemed to be for naught, a voice crackled over an intercom. 

“This is Boss Gree. Many rumors have been swirling about that myself and Boss T'shak are lovers. Not only is this true, but I conquered him both in the bedsheets & the battleground. His Jagannath points belong to me, and now…and now I want all of the Trandoshans Jagannath points. Weequay brothers, charge!” 

Once the voice cut, dead silence spread across the area, and the place became thick with both tension, and confusion. When the Trandoshan leader was still rallying for peace, Durge-who had been hiding up on a railing-pointed his gauntlet at the lizard-man. A poisoned dart struck the alien's neck, and he fell over, dead. 

That was all it took for the interspecies race war to kick off once again, igniting a brutal battle full of death & carnage. 

Meanwhile, Renstar had arrived at some point, and clapped Ferus on the shoulder, making the Jedi jolt in surprise. 

‘How. When?!’

“Good job. Because of you, hundreds will go free. I bet you'll have saved more lives today than at any other point in your travels.” The Sith smirked. 

Ferus bitterly looked away. He was right. Mostly, he had attended high end diplomatic meetings, and guarded Kings, Queens & important representatives. Never before had he so directly impacted such a large group of people. 

Perhaps. Perhaps Renstar wasn't so bad after all.