Questioning Questions that shouldn't be Questioned

[D A N T E]

Lights, girls, music...

... blood?

It was a bloodbath in this large cantina on the outer rim. Not really known to most of the galactic spacers and merchants, but a common location for locals to get around and have a drink together. It was a battle royale, one of which was stirring a lot of attention.

It started with a patron, questioning a man's questions about a question another man had asked. Before they knew it, both were throwing questions about questions following more questions that made people question there sanity. One pulled a questionable blaster, and attempted to kill the other patron he was arguing with. Having been questioned out, the assaulted questioner decided to not question the attackers actions. Instead, he attacked, without question, and began this bloodbath of sorts.

The cantina turned into an upheaval, and all hell broke loose as blaster fire scorched the trails they flew along. Vibroblades were drawn, and duels began. Humans attacking humans, aliens attacking humans, and droids attacking aliens. Metal scraps and flesh alike were thrown about the room, blood and oil spilling all over the tables and floors.

Among this chaos was a palish man, wearing nothing put a pair of black pants, black straps hanging from his waist in a 'u' shape at his sides, and black boots. In his hand was a crimson lightsaber, glowing as it burned through the air, deflecting a pair of blaster fire directed towards his bare open chest. The blaster fire ricocheted off, impacting its origin in the shoulder and forehead, causing the creature to keel over with an unearthly squeal. More blaster fire shot towards him, nearly scorching his short black hair.

What, for the love of all things great, was questioned? he asked himself, bounding over the table, nearly missing another bolt of blaster fire.

[Lemur, The Kool-Aid Guy]

All hell had broken loose in the cantina, and Varulla'aba was questioning why she had even entered it. She'd simply gone in for a little break from the stress, drinking something, or anything really, had sounded wonderful. But now she questioned that decision. And strangely enough, she questioned herself for questioning. She's gone in for a penny and she'd go in for a pound too. A fight was a fight. And she'd win it.

All the blaster fire was too much for her to deflect easily, and much to her chagrin her Echani light armor was taking hits.

Sure it was functional, but she spent a lot of effort keeping it immaculate, functional, and thoroughly stylish. And now a few morons had some sort of fight and she was trapped in a bar fight of blasters with a lightsaber and a bad temper.

The singed marks on her armor gave her all the more reason to channel her anger into lightning. It shot out from her left hand and indiscriminately targeted the patrons.

The Twi'lek Sith's green eyes were positively on fire, and her voice was strained as she yelled at the crowd. "EVERYONE STOP THIS!"

---

Sherasti Rin was having a slightly better time of it than her fellow-force users. Despite being a six foot tall Togruta, without measuring her montrals, she was being given a wide berth. That probably had more than a little to do with her location and the lengthy green lightsaber she was wielding.

With her back against the wall, she was twisting the blade around to deflect shots away harmlessly. The ones foolish enough to fire a second shot were thrown across the room with a force push that made them someone else' problem.

To be fully honest, she was wondering why exactly she'd decided to enter this cantina. It wasn't likely they served any kind of rodent on the menu, alive or otherwise. And the Jedi wasn't exactly a big drinker. Regardless of her intentions, which escaped her memory quite fully, she was in now and involved now. And you couldn't simply undo your decisions.

Her eyes flashed across the room, confirming what she could sense in the force. There were two other force-users in the cantina. Both wielding red lightsabers. With any amount of luck they had no more interest in a battle than she did.

The Twi'lek yelled something that was punctuated with a blast of force lightning, and Sherasti took up the call as well.

"Yes! Stop!"

[D A N T E]

Dante witnessed a red lightsaber in the corner of his eye. Along with that red lightsaber was a glistening set of armor, and from that glistening set of armor, a wave of electricity. Dante was a little intrigued on what another force user was doing in this part of the outer rim. He slid under a table, kicking the feet out from under a rodian that was aiming in on one of the cowering twi'lek dancers in the corner. The rodian fell sideways, towards Dante, meeting a timely demise to the end of his lightsaber as it pierced a hole through the alien's heart, killing it instantly.

"EVERYONE STOP THIS!"

Using the force to keep the corpse from falling on him, he stood up, skidding to a halt as the blaster fire seemingly stopped. What caught his eye was the jedi in the distance. He could feel a jedi anywhere on the planet. He slowed his panting, a small bead of sweat trickling down beside his ear from nearly being blasted by a wave of lasers.

All that was standing was two lone spacers grappling on the ground, there weapons tossed to the side as they wrestled on the ground. The bartender was lying face down at the bar, and the cowardice twi'lek dancer had taken off. Three force users, two spacers, and a bunch of corpses were all that remained in this questioning of questions cantina.

"I don't think there's much of another option miss," he spoke to the twi'lek wielding the red lightsaber, seemingly ignoring the jedi, but keeping his guard up.

[Lemur, The Kool-Aid Guy]

Sherasti stepped forward from the wall, closing down her lightsaber and reaching the remaining two combatants in a pair of quick strides. She pulled them apart and stared into their eyes with her own. With a wave of her hand she reached out with the force and manipulated their minds.

"You want to leave now."

"We want to leave now..." The spacers turned and walked out, leaving the force users alone.

The Togruta Jedi felt distinctly out of place, but she did her best to be gracious. "I would like to know if there is anything we need to discuss? My Order is not at war with anyone, and I have no conflict with you."

---

Varulla'aba looked contemptuously at the Togruta. "Oh spare me the lectures about peace, I really couldn't care less. I don't know who you are and I don't want to. Ask him," she gestured to the other occupant, "whether he wants to gut you."

The Twi'lek shut down her lightsaber and started to examine her armor, cringing at the large burned patches. It would take more than a few credits to repair the damage.

[D A N T E]

Dante watched as the jedi separated the two spacers and sent them on with their business. Using jedi mind manipulations, he watched as they did her bidding, walking out soullessly it seemed. She approached them, her lightsaber closed.

"I would like to know if there is anything we need to discuss? My Order is not at war with anyone, and I have no conflict with you," she spoke.

Dante was about to speak up on his behalf and how he would much rather the jedi order take there colorful lightsabers and shove it down their throats, the other combatant spoke up first, practically reading his mind.

"... whether he wants to gut you."

He looked over at them both as she pointed at him. He stared at the jedi, and then looked over at the other twi'lek. He wasn't particularly fond of the jedi, already trying to bring their order into all of this, when they have no control of what happens out here. Its spacer territory.

"Get lost Jedi, before you find yourself in a conflict."

[Lemur, The Kool-Aid Guy]

Sherasti bowed slightly, a sign of courtesy. "As you wish."

The tall Togruta turned and headed out the door. She'd done what she could for the situation, and she had no regrets. Currently it wasn't the time to coax anyone back to the Light Side. And it was very, very hard to fill a cup that was already full. Especially not when you had two on the same side.

---

Var watched the Jedi leave, an amused look on her face. "Yeah, that's right. Leave before someone smacks your head tails off."

She walked over to the bar and shoved away the bartender, vaulting over it smoothly and pulling out a bottle of the best.

"Drink?" She offered, holding up a second glass. She glanced at the dead bartender before adding another quip. "It's on the house."

[D A N T E]

He walked over to the bar, closing his lightsaber, as she jumped over it, pushing away the bartenders body, and letting it roll to the ground. He lifted his hand to a fallen stool and it shot through the air towards him as he caught it, standing up on the other side, he took a seat, the black patches on the glowing bars surface still smoked.

"In that case, it'd be rude to turn down such a gesture."

Sitting there, he kept his senses up, and his guard stressed. He remained ever so calm though. Waiting for her to pour his drink, he leaned back a little.

"So who are you, and what brings you out here to this god forsaken outskirt planet?"

[Lemur, The Kool-Aid Guy]

A wry smile appeared on Var's face. "This isn't my first swoop race. When you carry a red lightsaber you know better than to ask too many questions. My business is my own, but if you really want to know my name is Varulla'aba and I serve the Sith."

She uncorked the bottle and sniffed it. It was some kind of whiskey, and it seemed to fit the bill. She poured it into a pair of glasses and slid one to the unknown man with the lightsaber.

"Now surely you wouldn't hold it against me if I asked you the same questions?"

[D A N T E]

"This isn't my first swoop race. When you carry a red lightsaber you know better than to ask too many questions. My business is my own, but if you really want to know my name is Varulla'aba and I serve the Sith."

A Sith, he thought to himself. He had met a few of them before, but they usually ended up losing their heads.

A glass slid his way, and he caught it, picking it up and tapping the air, he lifted it back and gulped it down in one go, sliding straight down his throat. He placed the glass on the table, lightly surprisingly. As he leaned back on the stool, using the force to hold it up right and not fall back on him.

"Now surely you wouldn't hold it against me if I asked you the same questions?"

He placed his hands behind his head.

"Dante Aengel. I'm an assassin for hire, and there's a personal discount for jedi."

[Lemur, The Kool-Aid Guy]

"Interesting," Var commented. "Now why would that be? Something personal at stake here? A grudge perhaps?"

Anticipating some sort of protestation about privacy, the Sith headed it off at the pass. "And believe me, I have absolutely no interest beyond passing curiosity. If you're not a Sith and you're not a Jedi then you probably don't concern me. Unless of course this is all some clever tactic to assassinate me. I'd take exception to that of course."

She sipped at her own glass and waited for a response, idly brushing a piece of debris off her shoulder.

[D A N T E]

Dante watched the piece of debris roll off her shoulder, and heard it clammer to the floor with a light rattle. He cracked a smirk.

"If I was going to assassinate you, you wouldn't be standing right now."

He leaned back a little further, placing his feet on the bar, his left leg crossed over his right, his black boots dripping a bit of dust onto the counter. Spinning the glass on his finger, he took another gulp, sending the liquid down his throat all at once, then reached behind him and placed it on the empty table.

"Let's just say, me and the jedi had a little bout as I grew up, and I decided it wasn't the job for me. So I took this one, and trust me, its much more entertaining."

[Lemur, The Kool-Aid Guy]

Var eyed him somewhat disdainfully with a sardonic expression glimmering in her eyes. "Somehow I find myself doubting that claim. I've been through a lot, you might even call me a survivalist."

As to his story, she didn't buy it for a minute. "There's more to it than that. We've all had 'bouts' with the Jedi. Not all of us hunt them for a reduced rate. I wonder why it is that you would. Would you go after that Jedi who just left for sport or for profit? And why? What would you stand to gain from killing a Jedi when the same bounty could be had on a dozen easier targets?"

She refilled her glass again, taking advantage of the chance to save credits on a bar tab. "Is it amusement that drives you, or revenge?"

[D A N T E]

She was digging deep in her curiosity, but he just leaned back at her question, not replying at first. It wasn't a matter of trust, because he wasn't hiding the fact that he despised Jedi, but he also knew she was a Sith, and Sith tended to be deceitful, especially the females of their kind. The alcohol, the questions. No harm in telling her, but no harm in not telling her either.

"Vengeance, but that's another story. You still haven't told me why you're out here."

He wanted to turn the table, see what drives her to do what she does.

[Lemur, The Kool-Aid Guy]

"Can't a girl have a drink?" She inquired innocently. "I don't expect you to believe me, but it happens to be true. I was in the area, and I was thirsty. Simple enough really."

She ran her finger idly around the rim of the glass, staring into the amber liquid contained within it. "I suppose it can't hurt to tell you more though. I'm on my way to Tatooine, for my own private reasons. Anything more than that will cost you your story in exchange."

She looked up again, fixing her unflinching green eyes on Dante. They were deep, expressive, and seemed to be staring into his soul. Somehow they exuded the impression that if the assassin didn't provide answers she'd simply find them on her own.

[D A N T E]

"I suppose it can't hurt to tell you more though. I'm on my way to Tatooine, for my own private reasons. Anything more than that will cost you your story in exchange."

Dante tapped his raised foot in the air to the cantina beat that has been stuck in his head since the blaster had blown the fuse for the music box. He crossed his arms, staring back at her with his deep amber eyes. What ever information she thought to gain, wouldn't effect him either way if she gained it or not. He figured he'd let her in on the not so secret secret that he keeps with him that drives his hatred for the Jedi.

"You are a nosy little Sith, thats for sure. What'd made you so interested in me? The fact that you might have a similar distaste in Jedi as well?"

[Lemur, The Kool-Aid Guy]

"The fact that I have nothing better to do and my flight off this rock doesn't leave until tomorrow," Var answered candidly. "My distaste for Jedi is merely professional. We're not compatible. But for you?" She examined his eyes. "It seems to be something more. Much more."

She leaned against the counter, resting her weight on her elbows. "Perhaps like so many of our kind you left the Jedi on... ill terms?" She hinted.

[D A N T E]

He just looked at her, not intimidated by her stare, and not hiding anything. He just stared back at her, letting her dig as deep as she wanted, to fish out whatever knowledge she was looking for.

"Their rules. If it wasn't for the rules, then I'd still have her. Understand? She was killed because of the Jedi way of life. All the secrets we shared, and all the lust she had. It turned bad for her, and went worse for me. So after it was all over and done with, I told the Jedi Order to go to hell."

He picked up the glass from behind him and tossed it to her with a smirk.

"Fill me up another one, will ya gorgeous?"

[Lemur, The Kool-Aid Guy]

"I like the sound of that, but it won't get you anywhere. Probably." Var caught the glass in one hand, poured from the bottle again, and slid the glass back to him in a fluid movement.

"Somehow I'm not surprised it was love. I've heard that story before. Certainly if you left with that on your mind the Jedi must hold a special place in your thoughts," she said ironically emphasizing the phrase 'special place.'

"Now you realize the truth I assume. Trust is weakness. The way of the Dark Side is betrayal, the strong live and the weak die. And when the strong trust in the weak, they become weak. And in the end that trust will fail and crumble into betrayal. It's true in love, and in friendship."

The Twi'lek had to admit she was surprised how little he seemed to be hiding. His body language was relaxed and he seemed at ease. At ease enough to flatter her. She couldn't quite tell whether it was sarcastic or simply banter. If she really wanted to know more she could have played her hand at seduction. It was a trick she hadn't practiced in months, but if push came to shove she could again.

She'd keep that card in her hand for now.

[D A N T E]

He kept the glass on the table, and tapped his feet to a different rhythm, probably one of his favorite heavy isotope songs. His left arm was covered by a layer of black armor, reaching up to his shoulder, and down onto his left pectoral muscle slightly, the rest reaching down his back a ways, and slightly up the back of his head. He had his arms crossed as two of his clawed fingers tapped the flesh of his right bicep to the quicker beats.

"So what's your story?"

He knew what kind of persuasion techniques she had, but by all means, she couldn't hope to seduce him. He could get any women of the day, she wasn't anything special. She'd have better luck sleeping with a hutt.

[Lemur, The Kool-Aid Guy]

"Ask me no questions and I'll tell you no lies," Var replied enigmatically, before taking another sip of her drink.

"I really don't see any compelling reason to share with you. All you need to know is that I used to be a Jedi, and now I am not. Feel free to fill in the blanks with whatever you want. In fact, you look like the creative type, go ahead and tell me my story. What do you think I am?"

It was a challenge that she issued, not one rooted in the force, combat ability, or telepathy. One in reading people and trying to envision who exactly they were. Now she stared expectantly, curious to see how Dante would respond.