Nyrette's eyes shot open with a shock, she sharply inhaled and sat up. Just as she did she started to cough out all the breath she had just inhaled. She wouldn't stop coughing for several moments, her body unable to process whatever was stuck in her chest. How long had she been out? She looked around the room to see it empty. No auras or traces of the force to be found. She finally stopped coughing and took a slow, raggedy breath. She swung her legs out and stood up slowly, trying to get her balance. "Hello?" She called out. "Is anybody there?" She bellowed again, but to no response. She was naked save for her leggings and some bandages over her chest. She was a curvacious young woman with messy black hair, though she was not the galaxy's view of a "super model" by any stretch of the imagination. Her body was riddled with scars. Deep knife wounds, whip marks, lacerations, blaster markings, ripped skin where bone had broken through, a c-section scar. She had been brutalized over her entire life. Most women would have caved in and taken their own lives if they had gone through the same things she had, but not her.

Treading lightly, she made her way out the door and into the halls of the Harpoon. It was completely silent, not even the noise of the ship engines, which was normally a very quiet hum, could be heard. The hairs on the back of her neck started to rise and she knew something was far from right. She went down stairs to the lounge where everybody usually meets, but it was empty. There was a layer of dust on everything, like it hadn't been touched in years. The window on the far side of the lounge showed her a great view of space, with a white star casting a pearly white glow into the room. 

[color=9e0b0f][b]Agent N....[/b][/color]

Nyrette gasped and turned towards the source of the noise. Her breaths came shallow and raspy as she trembled under the gaze of the thing that called her code name. A dark red skinned woman layered in ribbons of black from neck to toe, a golden mask upon her face that was overshadowed by her long black hair. The ribbons and hair flowed unnaturally as if a light breeze pushed it to and fro even though there was none to be had. 

[color=9e0b0f][b]You have betrayed me...agent.[/b][/color]

The woman moved closer to her, her every step making the world around Nyrette colder and darker. She backed away from her and tried to make an excuse. "I-I-I-I didn't, mistress! I swear! I-I-I'm doing r-r-reconnaissance! I-" Her throat closed shut as the woman held out her hand, gripping Nyrette with a mysterious power. She lifted the agent into the air and brought her closer as she kicked and flailed to escape, her feet just nearly touching the floor. The woman reached up to lift the golden veil that obscured her face. What lied underneath froze Nyrette's heart...nothing. Nothing but pure darkness, no features, not even a face, just a hole where only the most unholy of terrors made their home. Nyrette was so wracked with fear that she froze like she was in an icy shell. She couldn't move, couldn't fight back, just lose herself in the void. She felt her soul being ripped away and, as smokey black tentacles leaked from the void to wrap around Nyrette's head, she could only mouth a silent scream.

____

When her eyes open, she had broken out into a cold sweat and could only see Cheshik's friendly face. "Are you the...okay?" he said in a comforting tone. It took her a few moments to try and speak as her heart had leaped into her throat and was pounding frantically. She found herself swallowing and gulping multiple times before the Trandoshan grabbed a pitcher and a glass to bring to her. When he brought it to her side, she put aside the glass and took the pitcher by both hands, tipping the spout over her mouth and gulping down the contents like she was about to die from dehydration. She had downed nearly half the pitcher when she finally released her mouth from it and let Cheshik take it back. "Thank you..." she said, taking slow deep breaths.

She sat up and swung her legs out again. She was clothed this time, though not in her battle dress. She had her civvies on save for her jacket, which was hanging on a coat rack at the door to the med bay. She looked over to see Quin still in the Kolto tank healing nicely. Zen was nowhere to be found and neither was Iisska. "What happened?" Cheshik said, sitting on the bed across from hers. He wore nothing but a set of breachcloth, letting what was left of his wounds heal and letting his freshly healed leg breathe as it started the process of growing his scales back. It was a disturbing change from his scaly body as his left leg had little more than nubs across it, the skin itself was dark green in color and looked wrong on a Trandoshan body.

"Nightmares..." she said at last, not making eye contact with him after being embarrassed at him seeing her so weak. "Where are the others?"

"Isska is nodding off with dog in room. Zen is...drunk," he said after realizing that Zen was down in the lounge drunk off his ass after realizing that Trinity had moved all of Radon's funds into a shared, and very secure, account.

"...And Marquis?" She said, worried about her friend.

A voice over the intercom interrupted the conversation as Trinity's hologram appeared at a terminal. [color=00aeef]"He's right here."[/color] She said as a holographic Marquis appeared next her her, his hands clasped behind his back. 

[b]"Do not worry, Nyrette. I am fine. You can thank Iisska for that. He got me to the A.I. core and hooked me up to Trinity. My body's power core failed and my systems defaulted after I got everybody into the med bay."[/b] He bounced slightly, rising onto his toes and back down several times as he spoke. Nyrette sighed as she finally calmed down a little and looked at him with a smile.

"Good. I was worried about you, you old fart...will Quin be alright?...and how many days have passed?" She questioned him now, though Trinity answered in his stead.

[color=00aeef]"Four days. She will be fine...in fact, she should be ready to come out of the tank at any time. I've gotten us off of Nar Shaddaa and out of Hutt space as well...though we'll have to go back when we're ready."[/color]

"Why do which we have to return to that we left?" Cheshik said, not realizing his grammar made Quin's nose bleed in the tank. [color=00aeef]"Unfortunately for Marquis, his power supply is a rare and unexcusibly expensive type that is exclusive to a certain assassin droid line...the HK assassin droid line that is.[/color]

"And let me guess," Nyrette said, not letting Trinity finish. "We have to raid some stupid factory in Hutt space to get it?" She said, annoyed that they were being thrown into danger not even a week after being a hair's breadth away from dying. [color=00aeef]...Exactly...on Nal Hutta...It's the only place in known space that has one of these factories.[/color]

Before Nyrette could explode and demand that Trinity bite her, Cheshik spoke, rising to his feet. "We will need the supplies, yes? I have friend in republic, can get us what we need. We will have no money issue, no? Make list for me and I will get us fun boom boom stuff."

"CORTOSIS GAUNTLETS!" said a scream from down the hall. A few seconds later Zen showed up at the door, grabbing onto the door jam with a sickening smile on his face. "Get me Cortosis gauntlets! Actually, two pairs! One for me and one for my whipping bo-I mean apprentice! I must teach him how to punch things! Plus, a five pound Lekku prosthetic! He can't balance on ANYTHING anymore! It's hilarious but counter productive!"

"You do realize that HK droids are of the same caliber and intelligence as Marquis...right? Do you have any idea how stupid it would be to try an-" Nyrette tried to reason with Zen, but he ran up to her and grabbed her by both arms. "DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW AMAZING IT WILL BE TO PUNCH A ROBOT IN THE FACE WITH THE FORCE?! IT'S ON MY BUCKET LIST, WE'RE DOING IT." He turned to Cheshik. "NAKED REPTILE MAN. MAKE IT SO." Cheshik smiled and chuckled as he spoke.

"Aye captain."