Lightside Sith 037

Durge had promised Kaine an honest weapons dealer.

Kaine had immediately suspected a trap.

When Durge clarified that by honest he meant ‘batshit insane’ Kaine became certain of it.

Their destination lay far beneath Nar Shaddaa’s gaudier districts, below the casinos, slave markets, spice dens, and even the sprawling industrial levels where enormous refineries painted the air orange. Here the moon’s cityscape became ancient. Buildings had been built atop buildings until entire neighborhoods had vanished beneath newer foundations.

Durge led him through the broken remains of some forgotten factory, ducked through a blast door large enough to admit an AT-TE, and stopped before an armored bulkhead scarred by hundreds of impacts.

There was no sign to be seen, and it felt like some secret club, or hidden diddie party would be behind that door. 

Kaine folded his arms into the sleeves of his dark coat, and glanced at his traveling companion with a slight sneer. 

“This establishment simply radiates legitimacy.” He sarcastically remarked in a very Obi-Wan type roast. 

Durge rapped one armored fist against the door three times, paused for a beat, then knocked twice more. After five minutes, when it became apparent no one was coming to answer this super secret code, the big man lifted one armored boot, and kicked it with a mighty thump. Surprisingly, the door barely buckled at his kick. 

“OPEN UP, VORR.”

Something hit the other side hard enough to bow the bulkhead outward, making Kaine's eyes go wide. Whatever was over there was stronger than Durge. 

As the door opened, it revealed a mountain of armor four times wider in bulk than the bounty hunter by his side. 

Clearly of the same species as Durge, the Gen'dai was enormous even by the standards of his species. Well over three meters tall and layered in mismatched armor plates collected from perhaps twenty different cultures, he cut a striking figure. A Mandalorian pauldron covered one shoulder, ancient Sith metal protected his chest, and one gauntlet looked like it came from the Old Republic. There were other pieces that appeared even older. 

No helmet covered his head, revealing a nightmare of exposed reddish muscle fibers, scar tissue, and bright white teeth. One eye had been replaced by a glowing mechanical optic, and the other was milky white.

“Durge.” The alien's voice came out deep and cumbersome, as if he hadn't spoken for centuries. 

“Vorr.” Durge said, his hands never straying from the weapons at his side, as if he were ready to throw down at any second. 

The creature looked past Durge, and his mechanical eye focused upon Kaine.

“Sith.”

Kaine smiled politely, and inclined his head. “Greetings, my name is Kaine Renstar. I can see you are a collector of many, uh, rare items.” He had started off confident at first, but as his eyes scanned the room behind the alien, he saw mountains of scrap piled high like some hoarder's wet dream. 

Vorr's body twitched, and Durge's helmet turned slightly toward Kaine. Perhaps collector had been the wrong word. The Force prickled against Kaine's senses, and danger pulsed in the void. He felt Vorr's anger rise in an instant, as if violence would be dealt now. 

Kaine reached gently through the Force, and touched upon his surface thoughts & emotion, attempting to navigate this dangerous situation without getting his skull stomped in. Sith Lord (low) he may be, but that didn't mean he was arrogant enough to challenge a millenia year old Gen'dai in the heart of his lair without preparation. 

When next he spoke, he selected every word as carefully as he would have selected a step through a minefield.

“A curator.” Kaine corrected smoothly. “My apologies. Collector implies one merely hoards possessions, a curator truly understands their importance.”

Vorr stopped twitching, and his milky eye narrowed, then he grinned.

“You understand weapons?”

“Enough to know that the finest ones usually belong to people who know their worth.” Kaine modestly replied. 

Durge barked a short laugh, and stood back, already enjoying the show. 

Vorr stared at Kaine for another five seconds, then he stepped aside.

“Come.”

Kaine glanced at Durge, and seeing the big lug would be of no help, followed from behind. Entering a large shop, despite the clutter, he couldn't help but be impressed. 

Shelves rose six stories overhead. Display cases occupied entire walls. Weapon racks stretched into the darkness, and repulsor platforms floated overhead carrying artillery pieces from wars so old Kaine could not immediately identify the civilizations that had built them.

“Good grief.” Durge looked around fondly. “Still collecting garbage, Vorr?”

Vorr's arm elongated, and with a blur of motion, his fist buried itself in the wall beside Durge's head. “Say garbage one more time, I dare you.”

Durge slowly turned his helmet toward the fist, then toward Vorr.

“Garbage.”

Vorr screamed, and bounced up into the ceiling, disappearing into the dark. 

“...this is the best arms dealer in Nar Shaddaa?” Kaine asked speechlessly. 

“The very best.” Durge laughed.

Vorr suddenly began laughing too, dropping down from the ceiling as if nothing had ever happened. The crisis vanished as quickly as it had appeared.

Kaine slowly exhaled through his nose, this was going to be one of those days wasn't it? 

Vorr led them deeper into the vault, and Kaine's curiosity drove him towards a long rifle shimmering behind a high level containment field. The energy involved was so strong he figured it'd take many swings of his lightsaber to pop that bad boy. 

“Verpine Null Rifle. Experimental. Three made in total.” Vorr listed off. 

“What does it do?”

“Fires a focused ion-gravitic pulse. Goes through most personal shields, and makes cybernetics feel like ants burning in your skin.” Vorr ferociously grinned. 

Continuing deeper inside, he saw a small golden pistol lying upon a black velvet pillow. 

“Zeltron Whisper Gun, it poisons the nervous system without breaking skin, and the victim becomes suggestible for approximately forty seconds.”

Kaine grimaced. “How distasteful.”

Vorr stopped in his tracks, and turned around. “DISTASTEFUL?!”

“Because forty seconds is insufficient. A weapon that compromises itself through inadequate duration insults its craftsmanship.” Kaine swiftly replied in a smooth tone, even clucking his tongue in disdain. 

Vorr froze in place, considering this thought. His face was scrunched up, looking like some caveman trying to think his way through algebra. 

“FORTY SECONDS IS PATHETIC.”

“Embarrassing, really.” Kaine easily agreed. 

Vorr picked up the priceless pistol and hurled it across the chamber, smashing it to pieces against a shielded wall. 

Along the way they came across all sorts of truly exotic weapons. Enough to make the loot goblin in Kaine itch uncomfortably. 

There was a sword composed of liquid metal that crawled around its handle like mercury known as a Thyrsian Morph-Blade.

A grenade shaped like a small skull, the Sakiyan Memory Bomb erased the last twelve minutes from most organic brains after detonating. 

A thick-barreled pistol with glowing purple coils was labeled as a Geonosian Collapse Gun, which creates a gravitational knot around a target, making them stay floating in place. 

A strange dagger mounted vertically inside a stasis field caught Kaine's attention next. Its blade seemed almost transparent. It was a Rakata Phase Knife. One that existed slightly outside normal space, then passed through most armor before becoming solid.

“This is all very impressive, Vorr, however, I came looking for tools to be used rather than priceless relics.” Kaine said, explaining his purpose for coming to Vorr. 

“What do you require?” Vorr asked in an interested tone. 

“First, something capable of disabling droids without reducing them to scrap. Second, something able to compromise electronic terminals. Third, something for eliminating inconvenient physical evidence. And finally, a portable holographic system capable of convincingly reproducing another person's face.”

Vorr stared at him, then smiled again.

“You planning a crime?”

“Sith are not criminals.” Kaine confidently stated. 

“The balls on this one, ha! I have half a mind to kill the pup, Durge, but I can see why you're following him around. The little SithShit has some entertainment value doesn't he?” Vorr muttered, scratching his chin. 

“Don't get any ideas, Vorr. I've already marked him as my Tor'Yor'Kahn. His entertainment belongs to me.” Durge said with some pride. 

“Tch.” Vorr scowled, then went about gathering the tools Kaine had requested. 

As for Kaine, he hadn't understood the exchange between the two of them, as it was spoken in an alien tongue, but he could sense in the Force that Durge was…proud of him?

“Onderonian Ion Scarab. Throw it, and it'll stick to the target. It releases directional ion bursts, and can drop battle droids, protocol droids, astromechs, etc, and comes with eight charges.” Vorr explained. 

Although it was called a scarab, this thing literally looked like a miniature frisbee. 

Vorr retrieved the second device, which looked like a thick metal spike connected to three cables.

“A Bothan spy-stick, it mimics recognized administrator hardware, and breaks weak encryptions automatically.”

“And for strong encryptions?” Kaine asked. 

“Then you need brain.” Vorr replied, tapping the side of his head like he was looking at an idiot. 

“Fortunately, between us, we possess nearly one.” Durge joked. 

The third item Vorr brought out was more disturbing.

It was a cylindrical device no larger than Kaine's thumb. Several warning glyphs had been etched into the casing, and it exuded a deadly feel in the Force. Even Durge became interested in this, and leaned over to get a closer look. 

“This is a Molecular Cremator. It breaks organic tissues into carbon dust. It takes about twenty seconds for a humanoid, and is ineffective in ranges exceeding one foot. Perfect for corpse disposals.” 

Vorr then rummaged through several crates, threw aside something that looked suspiciously like a Mandalorian helmet, cursed in three extinct languages, punched a cabinet, then pulled something loose from a pile of items. 

What he revealed was a thin metallic collar.

“Czerka Mimetic Projector. It's self explanatory, but can alter the appearance of the face, hair, skin, and alter small changes to height, and weight. For voice alterations, take this, a Senatorial Voiceprint Shifter. Record someone speaking for twelve seconds, and you'll have a decent vocal model.” 

“Doea the projector have any limitations?” Kaine asked. 

“Physical contact, obviously. Strong electromagnetic field disrupts it, and a military grade biometric scanner would easily bypass any attempt at hiding. 

“How many creds?” 

“You're money's no good here. Durge knows what I want.” Vorr held out a big hand towards Durge. 

The smaller alien appeared pained, and eventually handed over a slip of paper. 

“And that is?”

“Gen'dai currency. Ours is a long lived species, and meeting one another is not something that happens often. However, the favor of a near-immortal is something precious. Even if it is never redeemed, merely possessing one of these tickets is enough to make other Gen'dai die of envy.” Durge sourly explained. 

“Well said, well said, now gaze upon my tickets.” Vorr said with pride, revealing 13 other certificates of mark. 

Durge's scowl grew several times once he saw them. 

Kaine, realizing Durge had sacrificed his pride amongst his people decided that the Lightside Sith thing to do at this very moment…was to showcase how superior he was to his companion! 

“Say, Vorr. You seemed particularly interested in what I was about to do. I figure you must've been cooped up down here for some time. What do you say I exchange a holo recording of all my latest exploits for Durge's ticket.” Kaine requested in a congenial manner. 

“Renstar-!!!” Durge growled menacingly. 

(+1LP)

Vorr glanced at Durge, and seemed badly tempted, yet held back. Barely. And shook his head. 

Smelling blood in the water, he sweetened the pot. 

“You must be curious why I assembled all these items. To tell you the truth, the Hutt assembly has tasked me with eliminating an embarrassment of theirs. A powerful Hutt who goes by the name Grakkus is to die by my hands. I'll include footage of my infiltration, and his execution in exchange for that ticket.” 

“You have yourself a deal!” Vorr said, practically salivating at the entertainment value that Kaine was going to generate for him. 

“Pleasure doing business with you, Vorr.” Kaine smiled. 

Before he left, he took one more glance at the piles of rare items, and promised to himself when he got stronger, he'd rob this place blind.

Durge morosely followed behind him on the way out, +1's wafting up from his figure like bubbles in champagne. 

Kaine couldn't help but grin. 

“Good idea on the arms dealer, Durge. I believe your words were ‘don't skimp on the creds, otherwise I'm not bailing your red ass out of where we're going.’ Oh how the mighty have fallen!” 

+1LP

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+1LP

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