SoleAccord

Star Wars: A Veiled Threat

Anari believed he had little connection to the Sith, and both his attitude and response confirmed it. If she didn’t have a reason to lie about herself, then neither would he. Next, Blank released his aura. She felt darkness, certainly, but what might have alarmed Lahana or Gloopra only caused her to blink. It wasn’t frightening, not to her. There were darker, more potent ways for the dark side to show itself; what Blank believed to represent the dark side through himself was trivialized and almost childlike. The man could wield powers normally tied to the dark side, but he was no agent of it.

“Yes, I suspected he was doing the same,” she replied. Gloopra’s theory could be put to rest. That left only the man himself and his own history, both with the force and with the true power behind Gamorria.

Letting Blank conclude his string of thoughts, she continued. “I admit that I have felt the pull of the dark side before. It comes with my duty. But I’m not here to talk about who I am. I want to know who you are, Blank. I won’t depend on the opinions of others to determine that. Had I done so, I would have wrongly judged you as Sith.”

She moved along the casino table and stopped at its midsection. “And unlike my colleagues, my first action isn’t to point my weapon towards you. All I want are some answers, such as what you stand to gain from protecting slave trade and drug production operations. Who or what runs Gamorria, and why are you insisting on working with them?”

Star Wars: A Veiled Threat

Other than the occasional spark of electricity from blasted casino tables and the return of a service droid looking to serve her a drink, the club was dead inside. It would do Gallowin some good to know that the intel of their new ally could be trusted. The New Republic’s manpower was in poor supply and the effort to conceal it would be wasted; eventually, the enemy would learn that they could be overwhelmed in one swift stroke. The base was well-defended, but throw enough bodies at anything and the odds of it going down are that much greater.

Her mind raced in place of her feet, considering things she’d gone over several times. She spent only minutes seated before the doors to the entrance opened in the distance. She turned her head up and tried to get a read on who was coming, but… nothing. A droid? This club appeared too important to send droids to examine. The reveal of a dull-looking young man, flesh and blood, made her out to be wrong. Tired eyes, tan skin, dark hair—Blank. Lahana wasn’t wrong about how plain he looked.

Gloopra, on the other hand, had been wrong about this mysterious dark side of the Force he claimed to feel.

Ignoring his lackadaisical attitude to focus on the quality of his words, she at least gave Blank the respect one deserved upon a first encounter. Her eyes met his; once stationed, she attempted to find his presence with the Force again. Nothing. He was invisible through the Force, yet sat before her very much real. The technique of hiding oneself through the Force wasn’t unknown to her. How he managed to do it raised another question atop many more.

She chose silence until his introduction was complete, and once it was she did not hesitate. “I’m afraid so, Blank. You really live up to your name.” Seeing that he couldn’t find a chair of his own or didn’t bother to, Anari rose from her seat courteously, lightly kicking it with the back of her heel. It fell over without a fight. “Some of my ‘colleagues’ told me about you. One claimed you were surrounded by the Dark Side of the Force. Said it penetrated you. He even suspected you were Sith.”

For the sake of confirming it through more than words, Anari tried one last time to penetrate the field that kept Blank from being felt. She sensed nothing, again. No darkness. No light. Blank was simply… blank. Sith were known to conceal themselves for opportunities but Blank was far, far too careless to be Sith himself. There simply wasn’t enough evidence. Even so, she had to leave here with certainty.

“I don’t think you have any reason to lie about this next question. Blank, are you Sith, or even a follower of the dark side of the Force?”

Star Wars: A Veiled Threat

Dozens of eyes watched Anari, some uncertain, others hopeful, as she approached the nearby console and deactivated the ray shielding. Upon its collapse, the fear she felt dimmed, and faint flickers of hope began emerging. Two young Twi’lek children ran up to hug her while the eldest of the group offered their thanks in hushed whispers, quickly huddling around her for answers; Who was she? How did she find them? What did she intend to do with them now? All valid questions that needed answering. Before she could offer any reassurance that today they were free people, a distinct hum from her vambrace took her attention. As she raised it to her lips, two dozen hopeful eyes followed it.

“Kyrin, I’ve found them.”

“Right on time. Match’s man came through after all. It’s an ugly old junker, but we should blend in just fine,” Kyrin replied over the comm channel. “I’m ready to roll when you are.”

“Good. Pull up now, and help get them loaded in,” Anari replied. “They’ll be out in a moment.”

“Understood.”

Closing the connection, Anari backed away, beckoning the slaves by hand to follow her. The club’s layout was far from sophisticated, allowing her to quickly find the one and only door leading to the alleyway. Manipulating the door control from a distance, it slid open just as the dull gray civilian transport pulled up. She waved the group to go ahead of her and enter it; together with Kyrin, the children were lifted inside the unit first, followed by the eldest of the group, and lastly the adults who whispered their thanks as they entered inside. Once the very last entered, Kyrin turned to Anari who stood unmoving within the doorway.

“What are you—”

“I have a plan.”

“This was the plan. What else are we doing?”

“Not we. Me,” Anari corrected quietly, glancing over her shoulder. She could sense the group of guards making their approach, gathered at last. “I need to meet our enemy on even footing. If the circumstances are just right, he may reveal himself again. And if he does not, the mission is still successful. Either way the Neon Glow is finished. I’ll remain behind and see to it.”

Kyrin grinned. “You haven’t changed at all.”

“Get moving. This is my mission from here.”

She could tell he still wanted to tease her, and thankfully chose not to. He nodded to her and she nodded back before he hustled to the pilot seat of the civilian transport and found the acceleration, closing the hatch that revealed the liberated slaves as he did so. Her last sight of the slaves was of the children waving goodbye to her. Anari waved goodbye in return before backing away into the darkness of the building with the door slamming shut.

Returning towards the cells, the gathered guards were in the middle of a heated argument. They looked for someone to take responsibility for this, having no clear leader to report to on the premises. Anari sensed their fear reaching its peak. Watching over a bunch of gamblers and letting slaves stew in their fear was an easy living. One little hitch in their easygoing lives and they were beginning to turn on each other. They pushed and shoved, threatened with outlandish accusations against each other, looking to condemn one of them to death. Heads would roll.

Finally, she had enough.

“Tell me something,” she spoke out, loud and clear. The confrontational band of nitwits stopped bickering just long enough to take notice of her. “A club centered on gambling and slave trade could invest in bartender droids and expensive carpeting, but not a single surveillance camera? A security droid? Tsk, tsk.”

The pistols they were armed with were drawn, each man taking aim and preparing to put a hole through her. “You don’t want to harm me,” she suggested smoothly. At once their bodies seized, confusion becoming etched on their awestruck faces. They looked to their weapons in hand and lowered them, wanting not to harm the robed intruder. “You want to change your lives for the better. That starts by clearing out this entire club of its customers without use of lethal force, only fear. Fire shots in the air. Destroy gambling tables and scatter chips across the ground. Send the gamblers packing. Let none remain.”

A moment passed as the information was processed. Then, one after the other, they stepped towards her and walked by her, each struck with the idea that their lives did not need to be reduced to guarding slaves for unappreciative masters hidden in the shadows. Today, they would take their lives back with their own two hands.

Anari inhaled deeply and exhaled just as the sound of blaster pistols spraying in the air rang loudly, even back here. Screams and sounds of panic were bountiful. Through the Force she felt dozens of clubgoers retreat towards the main entrance. The guards assigned to monitor this club did just as ordered. In less than a minute, the club was empty, save for what few bartender droids and service droids remained on the floor.

She returned to the main floor, seeing the chaos wrought by just a handful of men with a new mission in life. They stood atop the casino tables that weren’t overturned and celebrated their newfound freedom. The chance to be more than hired muscle, to be somebody in this galaxy, was now in their grasp.

Anari stepped past toppled chairs and abandoned gambling chips, the smell of heated plasma hanging in the air. The club’s space could still be utilized. However, the machines and furniture within were beyond saving; the true owner not only lost their slaves, but also a great deal of investment in making the location more than presentable for prospective buyers.

“Drop your weapons where you stand,” she ordered. All at once the men paused before tossing their weapons on the ground beneath them. “Walk out the front door and change your lives for the better. You’re free now.”

The celebratory jeering resumed. The new comrades joined together and departed the Neon Glow, carefully stepping past a trampled lone guard on their way out.

Left with no other task but to wait and hope, Anari stepped to the center of the floor, dragging a toppled chair up by the Force and standing it upright. She closed her eyes and seated herself before waiting in absolute silence.

Star Wars: A Veiled Threat

With her hood overhead and robe bound together, Anari looked more like one of countless poor humanoids walking through Gamorria’s streets than the Jedi Knight she truly was. Two hours passed since she departed the military base in search of the Neon Glow. Commander Gallowin saw fit to let her handle this investigation alone, leaving her with no trigger-happy soldiers or bloodthirsty allies to keep under control. Now in her preferred element, the only thing keeping her from entry into the club was not the twin armed bouncers just ahead, but the word of an ally working nearby.

“No one’s on the rear door. Not the outside anyway,” came a hushed voice beneath her.

Anari looked from the club entrance to her vambrace equipped on her left wrist. Communication during battle would now no longer be too risky to perform. “Good, that leaves the trouble outside the front and within. Match’s man should be here shortly with our transport.”

“If he’s someone you can trust.”

“He hasn’t given me a reason not to. Not yet.”

“You know what you’re doing. That’s the only reason I’m here. But if anything goes wrong—”

“You’ll come for me,” Anari finished, a hum of laughter leaving her. “I know, Kyrin. Thank you.”

“No, thank you. Nar Shaddaa was getting boring anyway. I’ll wait for Match’s man. Kyrin out.”

The channel closed, leaving Anari to return her focus to the entryway of Neon Glow. The men posted outside looked relaxed despite the duty they had. Commoners walking the busy streets gave the building a wide berth. Only those wearing finer suits and dresses were permitted entry. People with credits to blow on the ‘merchandise’. Anyone not looking the part were kicked back into the street and left humiliated. She looked to be on the lower echelon, another would-be buyer ready to be kicked away from the door.

Hiding her vambrace beneath the sleeve of her robes, she maneuvered through the busy streets and made her final approach towards the building. The twin bouncers eyed her instantly and straightened their bodies, sizing her up with their tired eyes. She drew her hood back revealing her face to the pair. Their eyes lit up instantly.

“Well now, what’s a beautiful woman like you—” started the rightmost guard.

Anari’s right hand rose to silence the sexually-charged comments to come. “A beautiful woman like me should be allowed inside.”

“A beautiful woman like her?” The rightmost guard looked to his partner. “We oughta just let her inside.”

“Take me in and show me around.”

“I’ll take her in and show her around,” the leftmost guard muttered, earning a nod of approval from his partner. “Right this way, beautiful.”

Beckoned by the filth-covered hand of her impromptu guide, Anari followed the charmed guard inside. Cold air greeted her face opposed to the humidity of the crowded streets. A narrow hallway led her to the main floor room, where finely-dressed guests of all races gambled freely on large tables and machines scattered about. Several armed guards were dressed as well as could be, betraying the more rugged and filthy look of the men outside. It appeared more a casino than a slave auction, however the empty stage at the rear of the building implied that the true festivities were to be presented as a spectacle.

“Show me your true product ahead of time, before other guests.”

The charmed guard nodded and proceeded to lead her around the room. Few guards and guests eyed her, as the joy of winning and the horror of defeat at the hands of gambling took precedence in their mundane lives. To them, she was nobody, and she preferred it remain that way.

Led through a door beside the stage, a few turned corners led her to a makeshift prison. Her eyes found the terrified stares of two dozen people meeting her; Twi’lek in majority, but a small handful of humans as well, watched her through the blue glow of a ray shield. Opposite the men and women gambling outside, they were dressed in musty rags, their bodies covered in dirt. Famished were their bodies and desperate were their expressions. She didn’t have the stomach to ask how long they were kept here.

“Gather every guard on the floor room and bring them here. Tell them it’s an emergency,” Anari demanded.

Nodding, the charmed guard turned and hustled back out to the main floor without a second thought.

Anari turned back to the prisoners, some of which approached the ray shield as closely as they could to examine her. “Don’t worry,” she said. “I’m here to get you out.”

Star Wars: A Veiled Threat

Matt, just in case you're wondering about the delay, we got some collabs in the works. Stay tuned.

Star Wars: A Veiled Threat

The discussion among her fellow Jedi and the Senator weighed heavily on Anari’s mind even after she left. The tactics they wished to employ were dangerous, and it pained her to admit that it did hurt her to see that Kale did not show a little more outrage at the idea put forward. Gloopra carried the title of Jedi and wielded their power, but his tactics were the exact opposite of what their Order should represent. It was disgusting to even imagine a full-scale battalion sent here. The situation on Gamorria was worrisome, but not untenable. They, as well as those hired and enlisted here, still had a chance to establish something here.

Despite the burden of her own thoughts and the disgust of previous ideas, Lahana would see no sign of distress once the doors parted. Anari did however need to tilt her head up another couple inches, as she was still unused to just how tall Lahana was. Her attire was built for rest, not progress. It wasn’t the best time for a discussion, but her input was sorely needed.

“I was, yes,” Anari replied. “Your Master and I did talk, though not about what I was concerned about that the time. It was regarding you and your methods,” she admitted, “but rest assured, praise also had a place. Would it be alright if I came in and spoke to you, if only for a little while? It’s concerning the raid you took part in. I would like to hear the series of events from your perspective.”

Star Wars: A Veiled Threat

You said I outright accused her of wanting to orbital bombard. I can't find a direct quote of Anari doing that. Again, I'm tired, so I might've missed it. About to sleep.

If how Anari said something bothered you, then sorry.

Star Wars: A Veiled Threat

I'm a little tired at the moment, but I don't see where Anari accused Vreer of wanting to bombard the planet. Can you quote it?

As to reasonable, from a certain point of view, yes.

Star Wars: A Veiled Threat

No, I didn't.

Star Wars: A Veiled Threat

We're open. Go ahead.