EliteCommander

Star Wars - Scum and Villainy

Sirka’ith was alone, as was common between jobs, at the cantina with the strongest drink she could buy, as was common at virtually all times. She did not actually know what it was she was drinking, just that the bartender assured her it was strong. With her body mass, it took more alcohol to have the desired effect than with Humans and other, similarly sized species. This particular cantina looked old, run-down, and with a clientele that, for the most part, seemed just as likely to rob you as look at you. In particular, there was one group of two Twi’leks and two Humans by the bar that kept passing glances in her direction, but they kept their distance for the moment. Overall, the cantina fit quite nicely with the rest of the station. Prior to this job offer, she had not even known the station existed. From what she had looked up about it, the station’s name was Pondut, and it apparently used to be some kind of research station, but beyond that, she had no idea what happened to it. She assumed it had been abandoned at some point, because she highly doubted it still had its original owners.

The booth Sirka was using was the most spacious she could find, but it was still uncomfortably cramped, and her tail was hanging out quite far into the isle. She was used to being too big for basically everything, so it didn’t bother her much, but she still wished she could be back at her regular spot on Nar Shaddaa. She was a regular at a small cantina on the moon, to the point that the owner actually put in a booth specifically for her. It was cheap and tended to fall apart under her weight, but she appreciated the thought. Honestly, she was not even sure why she agreed to come all the way out to this station in the middle of nowhere. The pay seemed far too good to be true, but against her better judgment, she was taking the risk to find out. If they started asking for credits, though, she would be out of there.

Eventually, the group of four that had been eying her stood up all at once and started walking in her direction. Considering the exit was on the other side of the room, she assumed they were not looking to leave. Both of the humans and one Twi’lek were male, and all of them had a certain thuggish look about them. Sirka flicked out her scent tongues to get a sense of the hormones they were putting off, which served to confirm her suspicions. The Twi’lek male in particular was starting to grow more anxious the closer he came, so it did not come as a surprise when he “accidentally” stumbled over her tail and spilled his drink.

Sirka let out a sigh. Cantina brawls could be fun, but she wasn’t in the mood for one at the moment. She just wanted to drink in peace, but these idiots probably were not going to let that happen. Just as she expected, the Twi’lek slammed his empty glass down on her table and put on his best “tough guy” impression.

“Hey, stupid lizard, get that fat tail out of the isle…and get me another drink!” The Twi’lek shouted, his words slightly slurred.

Of course, no matter what kind of a mood she was in, Sirka was not going to put up with such a fool, so she gave a low growl and gave a simple warning: “Leave.” By this point, some of the other cantina patrons had their eyes on her table. She hoped they wanted a show, because she was not backing down.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Kaleeth watched curiously as Vera stood up and approached a shelf in the corner of the room, grabbing an object that looked something like a fruit, though not one she was familiar with. Most of the plants that Imperials grew for food in Cyrodiil did not grow in Black Marsh, so she had found herself unfamiliar with many foods they had come across in their stops in Cyrodiil. She thought she might have seen one of these "apples" before, perhaps in an inn, but she was not sure.

"I haven't seen one of those before, is it a fruit? Most of the things that grow in Black Marsh are different from here." Kaleeth commented before shifting in her seat somewhat uncomfortably and speaking more quietly. "But...are you sure you should eat? Meesei said..." She began before trailing off, not sure how to continue discretely.

"Ah, that is good." Meesei commented after Sabine added her own blood to the mixture and assured her it would emulate how the poison affected a lycan. "It is best that your experiment be as representative as possible. Given its potential origins, it is possible that it could even be a poison designed to harm only lycans. We could test for that later, if this works."

As Meesei paused, her expression turned more concentrated, as if deep in thought, for a few moments before she continued. "Now, I simply need to figure out how to pass the time. There is quite a lot I need to do over the next week or two, but right now, it is going to be quite a few hours before I can start on my next order of business." Meesei said, turning her head to Sabine. "Perhaps we can find a space nearby and have another lesson in magic, Sabine? It has been a while since we have had an opportunity for one. That would also allow you to check periodically on the experiment."

Meesei started to reach out her hand, which was glowing slightly with restoration energy, to grab Sabine's, but stopped herself just short of holding her bleeding hand. "Actually, I believe now would be an opportune time for another lesson in healing."

Lorag simply gave another grunt in response to Harriet's opinion on Malacath, though this time, it had something of an agreeable tone to it. When the Dunmer woman approached, he looked her over, but just like with Gerald, withheld his judgement based only on her lithe form. Of course, Harriet's description of her skills would be plenty reliable. It seemed she had a problem with spears, which made sense for someone who had never fought in a military.

"Spears? Yeah, I've got training with those, mostly from the Legion. They are one of the most effective weapons you can use in war. Of course, most of my training with 'em was about how to use spears in formation. I trained in how to use them on a battlefield, not so much in just a one on one or small group fight. I mean, I can use them in a normal fight, but I probably don't know any more than you for that. Tell you what, I'll watch and give some tips if I see her make any mistakes you don't fix." He said.

Ashes [EliteCommander and Vesuvius00]

Tarentek leaned back in his chair, lightly scratching his chin. "I...do not know how to answer that, honestly. To pursue lost knowledge is not opposed to our beliefs, but instead central to them. Perhaps I can explain." He said, leaning forward again and taking a quick bite of his meal before continuing.

"Koisk is our body. She gives the gift of the physical form we carry through life; she gives strength, fertility, and ensures our lasting good health. My people, the Karisskan, will heal from any wound that does not kill us. If an injury is terrible enough, it can take a long time to recover, such as with my mother, but even her leg would have healed completely given enough time. Vikrii is our spirit. He gifts us the essence of life, the spark of our being. And, he shepherds us through death, beyond our world. But Jhala, she is the one most central to our daily lives, for she is our mind, our thoughts and knowledge. It is her gift that separates us from simple beasts, not our bodies, no matter how strong or resilient they are. She grants us reasoning and understanding, and to serve her is to expand that knowledge. We seek the lost knowledge of the world before because it strengthens her gifts. So you see, gaining that knowledge is a core part of our values." Tarentek explained.

Ashes [EliteCommander and Vesuvius00]

Tarentek tried to understand how it felt to fly from Onyx's words. Her way of describing the experience was quite vivid, though he doubted he would ever truly understand what it was like to fly under his own power, not unless he found a way to grow wings. He had not heard of this other race she mentioned, but if they had indeed died out, then why would he? "The way you make it sound...I do wish I could experience it, and not passively as before. It does seem like flight would give your people a great advantage." He commented, giving a pause to take a drink of his water. "Although, I suppose my people are not without any advantage. I am somewhat...larger than everyone I have seen so far here. I am honestly surprised you were able to carry me here; it could not have been easy. I do remember that my kind tended to have at least a bit more in the way of...muscular definition compared to most of the traders and other visitors to our city. Then there is our regeneration."

After Tarentek trailed off himself, Onyx asked a question about his people's gods, which he had no problem answering. "Yes, Koisk, Jhala, and Vikrii. They are our body, mind, and spirit, respectively. I could explain more about them, if you are curious." He offered.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Kaleeth had to stop and think for a few moments to answer Vera. "I...think so." She said, her tone somewhat unsure. "I remember Fendros teaching Sabine a while back, and I...think everyone else can. I haven't really asked, so I don't know for sure. I guess everyone raised in Cyrodiil can. I don't know if Meesei can. I would have to ask her."

As she had not been with the pack very long, Kaleeth wondered what else she did not know about them, or even just Janius. Granted, they had been traveling through Black Marsh for most of their time together, so writing in Cyrodilic was not something they had to commonly do, but it still seemed like something she should know about her friends. For a moment, she wondered if she should take the time to simply ask all of her friends about themselves once they had found the traitor and made peace in the clan, but since she was still talking to Vera, she decided to worry about it later. "Have you taught everyone in the clan to read in Cyrodilic, or are there some who still don't know?"

Once again, Meesei had little she could do as Sabine and Carana were preparing their next test, so she simply went back to waiting to the side patiently. Eventually, the pair set up their test, which Carana explained would take some time to complete. Meesei had expected that the test would take some time, though she was not quite certain what she should do in the meantime. She did not wish to continue questioning the lieutenants until she had the results of the test, and she had to wait until the proper time to speak to the three of Jerrick's trusted that were serving as her eyes in the clan. She did not like being idle as long as the traitor had not been found, but she did not have many options at the moment.

Meesei stood up and walked back over to Carana and Sabine. "That is quite alright. Will the test be able to accurately model what the poison will do to a lycan? I am assuming that is who Vile's followers would intend to use it on." She questioned.

Lorag shrugged his shoulders. "No clue. After I was assigned to fight that war in Skyrim, I never went back. I did talk to someone from Cheydinhal a few weeks back and asked her about it, but she didn't know either of 'em. She did say there was an Orc who died a while back, then her wife went to find a good death. Could've been them, or not. Plenty of Orcs in the city that'd do the same. I probably won't know unless I go back, which I'm probably not."

Instead of spending the entire time talking about himself, Lorag decided to comment on Harriet. "You're from a stronghold, you say? Better than a city, but I still wouldn't live there. I'm all for strength and Orcish tradition and all that, but Malacath's holdin' us back. Since when has anything good actually happened to the Orcs following him?"

Star Wars - Scum and Villainy

Name: Sirka'ith

Species: Ssi-ruu

Gender: Female

Appearance: (with brown scales, instead of red)

Ssi-ruu

Age: 17 (this is an adult, as Ssi-ruu mature more quickly than humans)

Height: 2.15 meters

Skills/Abilities:

• Close to medium range combat specialist
• Strength equivalent to an adult wookiee
• Thick, blaster resistant hide
• Very keen sense of smell (able to detect changes in the emotional state of species with which she is familiar)
• Triple eyelids resist sudden bursts of light
• Surprising speed and grace for a creature of her size

Weaknesses:

• Long-range combat
• Eyesight poorer than that of a human
• No notable non-combat skills
• Young age compared to adults of other species limits her practical experience
• Stands out in a crowd, or any other situation
• Little to no stealth capabilities

Equipment: Like most Ssi-ruu, Sirka wears only bandoliers across her chest to carry her belongings, along with whatever holsters she needs. Her primary weapon is a Mark II medium repeating blaster cannon. While normally a mounted weapon, the cannon can be carried by the heightened strength of a Ssi-ruu. She has modified it with a proper stock and grip, and powers it through a power cell which she wears as a backpack that, compared to her size, is reasonably compact. As a sidearm, she carries an E-11 blaster rifle, and a one-handed variant of a vibro-ax as a backup weapon. She also carries a small belt of fragmentation grenades.

Background: Sirka'ith had somewhat of a unique childhood among the Ssi-ruu. She was hatched a year after the attack by the Chiss which devastated her people's military. As xenophobic of a species as the Ssi-ruu are, they were forced to engage in some measure of diplomacy with the rest of the galaxy. Sirka's father was a black Ssi-ruu spy, ostensibly serving as a diplomat off-world, while her mother was a red Ssi-ruu bodyguard. This forbidden union made her a brown-scaled Ssi-ruu, and a member of the lowest caste of Ssi-ruuvi society. Normally, her egg would have been destroyed by her parents, but being outside their home system, her parents could not as easily get away with the murder, so they simply passed her off as the child of one of their brown-scaled Ssi-ruu servants.

In the first few years of her life, Sirka was in the position of being mostly ignored by the parents who had disowned her, and the servants who were meant to care for her. As such, no one bothered to stop her when she started to interact with the local populations of the worlds they were assigned to, something that would normally be forbidden for any Ssi-ruu hatchlings that, for whatever reason, found themselves outside Sii-ruuvi space. Her adoptive parents did teach her some of the Ssi-ruu, but she was more heavily influenced by the cultures of the worlds around her.

It was years before Sirka's father and his entourage returned to Lwhekk, and by that point, Sirka was too old, and had been outside Ssi-ruuvi space for too long to ever be able to accept what her life there would be like. The brown-scaled caste of Ssi-ruu were treated terribly. She did not care about the Imperium, nor about the religion they started to force on her. After a few beatings, she played along, but she resolved to escape as soon as possible. Luckily, the fact that she was raised outside Lwhekk also meant she was one of the few Ssi-ruu who could actually speak Basic, so it was not long before she was assigned to be a translator for a real diplomat. As soon as they reached a relatively large city, Sirka made her escape into the city's crowded underworld.

Despite only being a child at the time, Sirka found that there was one kind of work that such a large and intimidating being as herself could find quite readily. As a mercenary, she earned enough credits performing simple jobs to get offworld, and from there, she decided to continue honing her skills in combat. After all, it wasn't as if she had the skills to do anything else.

Ashes [EliteCommander and Vesuvius00]

"I understand." Tarentek said, nodding to Onyx as he continued with his meal at a relatively slow pace. "My parents were no one special in my city. They were simply warriors, like myself. They taught me what they knew and prepared me for my training, after which I became a scout for my people. My father died in battle about five years ago, and my mother was wounded last year. She lost the ability to use her leg as...effectively as before, so she was no longer able to serve as a warrior after that. As for my role, I have more knowledge than the average person about old Human technology. It was the task of myself and my scouting team to identify and recover useful materials and machines."

After giving his brief explanation of his own past, Tarentek moved on to the next point about which he was curious. "At any rate, perhaps I could know a bit more about your kind. The ability to fly is...not something I could imagine myself. Having been something you've had your whole life, I would guess it is fairly mundane to you, but for someone who has been bound to the Earth for all his years, it seems amazing, and frightening, to think about. Although, I do wonder in what ways we are different that are not so obvious."

Star Wars - Scum and Villainy

Not quite sure how much is appropriate for a CS. I think I want to give a bit of backstory simply because Ssi-ruu outside their homeworld are a bit of a rarity.

Ashes [EliteCommander and Vesuvius00]

Tarentek was quick to move to the main room once he heard his name. He still had a good amount of water in his cup, and the meal, in his eyes, looked greatly appetizing. Of course, with as long as it had been since he had eaten, just about anything edible would seem quite appealing.

Tarentek had not been expecting medicine, though he supposed Onyx was assigned to be his nurse. She had done nothing to harm him so far, so he saw no reason not to trust what she was giving him. "Thank you." He said with a polite nod before taking the medicine, then starting on his meal. As much as he wanted to wolf down the meat as quickly as he could, Tarentek had to force himself to take his time and not overeat. His malnourishment was hardly as bad as it could have been, but he still needed to pace himself to be safe. Hopefully, the medicine would help in that regard.

"I have told you some about my life, but perhaps I could ask a few questions about yours?" Tarentek commented after a minute or so of silence. "I got the sense that you are related to your leader. Is that true?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Although Kaleeth's penmanship of the Cyrodilic letters was perfectly readable, she did not think she was much closer to committing them all to memory. The letters were drastically different in form from those in Jel, and they seemed to form words differently from Jel lettering.

"Oh, no, I haven't learned to write Cyrodilic before. My father taught me some Cyrodilic, but I did not know too much when the pack visited my village. It was hard talking to them at first, but it has gotten a lot easier. Janius gave me some lessons, and speaking it all the time made me get better. Sometimes it is hard for me to think of the right word still, and I mess up sometimes, but I can speak well now." Kaleeth explained, pausing a moment to look down at her tablet with a slightly disappointed expression. "But I need to practice a lot if I want to learn to write it. Children learn so quickly. I think it would take me a lot longer than them to learn it."

"An otherworldly poison? I had a suspicion that could be the case." Meesei commented as she stood up from her chair and walked over to Sabine and Carana. It would have been preferred to have their answer quickly, of course, but Meesei could wait until the end of the day for the results. As long as the clan as a whole did not know what had transpired, they did not need to rush the investigation too quickly. Carana did ask the question Meesei had been worrying about, but for as long as Meesei had been waiting for their initial tests to finish, she certainly had enough time to come up with a satisfactory answer.

"As for where we found it, I mentioned to the clan yesterday that we have been working against Vile's followers for some time. We believe that followers of Vile are the ones most likely to have created this concoction. That, or they were gifted it from Vile's realm itself. In either case, the ingredients to make the poison could come from Oblivion. I hope that a clearer understanding of the poison could help us better understand our enemy's capabilities." Meesei explained.

Lorag did not say any more, as he had made his point, though he still didn't agree with Harriet. To him, practicing bad habits would just end up reinforcing bad habits. Harriet was far too stubborn to have her mind changed, but Lorag didn't care that much, at least not yet. If they ended up staying with the clan for any decent amount of time, he would probably make sure the recruits were being trained properly

Lorag was starting to debate on whether or not it would be too risky for him to get involved in some lessons as well when Harriet started questioning him again. "All of it? Nah. Legion's definitely tough, more than people give it credit for, but they got nothin' on an Orcish mother. Especially one whose the Master of the Cheydinhal Fighter's Guild. Father taught me some too. He was a retired Legion soldier, but he was usually busy with the forge. Learned more about smithing than fightin' from him."