A Quest of Odd Parameter [open]

[Kella]

"Prepare something?" Grizzelda withdrew her blade from a Felucian's chest, "Why am I--" She stabbed another, "--not particularly--" withdrew her blade and shot another, "--fond of the way--" Ducked a bow, just to kick the creature in the gut, "--That sounds?--"
Grizzelda's breathing was heavy. Not only was she sprinting, for these Felucians were fast. She was also heavily engaged in hand-to-hand combat. She picked off as many as possible with her blaster, but ranged weapons did not lend themselves well to close-combat; though she could manage fine. And so, she found herself relying on her melee skills (or lack thereof) Much more than usual, and that put her out of her element. A situation she was not fond of.
"Oh, for the love of--" She slashed a throat, "--the force, Why can't I have a--" She ducked to the ground, rolling out of the way before coming up and stabbing another, "--simple mission?" She ducked another blow. "You know, that would be--" This time, a swipe caught her, and she had to pry the suction-cup like fingers off her neck, where they had surely left a mark. "--nice, to have something simple--" This time, she was dodging Sinvrick's flame-thrower, "--like extermination. Of non-sentients. That would be--" she ducked again, back-handing her dagger into a nearby chest, "-- a welcome break. I could deal with a--" She knocked another unconscious with the hilt of her blade, "-- ship full of Gizka right now..."

Now, as the fight raged, the glow of the fungi became more treacherous than ever. It seemed as if the Felucians could simply disappear into the surround, and then leap out at the most inconvenient of times. Blue shadows whispered along the walls, distorting things, creating shapes and figures where there were none. It was impossible to tell how many were in pursuit. The floor below as slick and wet, and Grizzelda was quite near to falling several times, but she always caught herself, lithe as ever.

Grizzelda felt something hard hit the back of her head, jerking her skull forward. She whipped around.
"On no you don't..." The offending Felucian soon found himself without a head. "I do so love sharp vibroblades..."

[Sinvrick]

*Beep, Beep, Beep, Beeeeeeeeeeep* goes Sinvrick's Flame thrower with still many enemies around them. They were impossibly out numbered as his flame thrower died out, with such perfect timing. "Haha hahaha HAHAHA, SO THATS HOW IT IS!" Sinvrick grasped his trusty sword and dagger as with such a grip he could pop off the head of a child with it. He slashed his way through the chest of the closest felucian. "AS YOU GUYS CAN TELL MY FLAME THOWER IS DEAD, WE'VE MADE IT AN EVAN FIGHT, LETS TAKE'EM DOWN!" Sinvrick roared. He let out a huge battle cry as his excitment peaked nearly as much as his blood lust or in this case plant slime.

Several Felucians charged him at once, Sinvrick assumed they hated them the most for taking the root and, burning half of them to death. He stabbed the first one directly in the face, he then twisted his blade to bring himself around to the next, to sink his dagger in the neck of it. He twirlled around the then cut off the legs of the third and stab it with bith blades once it fell to the ground. He kicked the legs of the next to trip, whilst it was in mid air he stabbed it with his sword and dragged it down and volted himself over the corpes. Sinvrick was having the time of his life, the look of sheer excitment and madness smired all over his face along with the "blood" of the foes.

The Enemies were thinning out. Especially around the entrance. "Perfect," Sinvrick muttered. "EVERYONE THE ENTREANCE IS WEAK, LETS GET OUT OF HERE!" He yelled. He looked back at the others slashing away at the enemy. He couldn't stress how much they needed to leave, especially with Strea's preperation waiting for them, Sinvrick actually thought it would be rude to keep what ever it was waiting anylonger.

[Mr.Bøbert]

Zeth was still in the tree room when the others left, and surrounded by a group of six Felucians. Or more. He couldn't tell. Suddenly, there was another wave of pain going through him. He peered through a transparent piece of a Felucian, and saw Grizzelda elbowing her way through the Felucians and heading towards the exit. The pain must've meant she had sliced off another piece of the root. Well, that must mean she doesn't think Sinvrick will want to share...

He decided that he would need some too. He glanced around, the Felucians inching forward, and saw there was a section of root right above him. Knowing it would delay him a few seconds to cut through it with his vibroblade, he pulled out the lightsaber. I've used this today more then I ever have... Pushing that thought away, he ignited the blade, and sliced through the six felucians with a single swipe, then cutting a foot-long piece of the root. More pain, even worse then before, causing his arms to go partially numb, and he dropped both the lightsaber and the root. The feeling in his arms partially returned after a few seconds, but that had been enough time for more Felucians to surround him. Grabbing the root and the lightsaber, putting the root in a pouch in his armor, he looked around for a way out.

Above him, there was a fairly large hole in the ceiling, and it was dimly lit. He assumed that the tunnel would eventually lead to the surface, and he needed to get up there. The quickest way was his jetpack, but it had been severely damaged in the fight with the rancor. But it still might work for a second...

He activated it, and it sputtered for a moment, before exploding. It exploded downwards though, and he was sent up at a mind-boggling speed into the tunnel, smashing his head in it.

The stars cleared from his eyes, and he looked back down, and saw the Felucians climbing on the walls, heading towards him. He pulled out a special shaped charge meant for collapsing sewer pipes about this size, and set it, then crawled as fast as he could away. He crawled out and onto the surface, which seemed closer then he thought it had, when the charge exploded, collapsing the tunnel behind him. One Felucian made it through before it did, and came out a bit crispy, but still tried to attack him. He sliced it's head off with the lightsaber, and then ran back in the general direction of the cave's entrance, to help the others, though he knew he should just head to his ship and leave them.

He reached the cave entrance, and saw Felucians crowing around it, preparing an ambush, while others ran in. He could hear fighting, yelling and the woosh! of Sinvrick's flamethrower, though it died seconds later. He wondered why he hadn't thought of the flamethrower before. Arming his own, he tossed a frag grenade at a large cluster of Felucians preparing to charge in, ignited the lightsaber, as it seemed to do pretty well against the plants, and charged at them, waving both arms around, frying some plant people, while decapitating others.

((ooc: phew. that was alot of typing...))

[Kella]

Finally, the eerie blue began to subside, slowly overwhelmed by the pure light of day. The sun had risen, and was now high above. A beacon.

After what seemed like an endless spring, Grizzelda finally emerged into the daylight. She was first, for apparently, she was either the fastest, or the most motivated.

No birds trilled overhead. No insects hissed from the bushes. No herds whined in the distance. It was as if Felucia, and all her Flora and Fauna, were equally somber. Though, Grizzelda didn't think planets would trifle with such things as small memories. As soon as she got off Felucia, It would all be behind her. She'd learned long ago that regret was foolish. What was done, was done, and dwelling upon past mistakes was just plain foolish. However, that only applied to one's own mistakes. Others needed to be corrected... Sinvrick would be the first to feel the lash of Grizzelda's tongue, but not the last. No, present things, such as life-and-death battles, deserved priority.

Grizzelda turned around, waiting to see what it was Strae had prepared...

[Deceit *Drinker of Jawa-Juice*]

Strae ducked and rolled out of the cave, instantly diving away, "Away from the entrance, now!" She shouted. Giving them all a chance to get away. A few seconds later she pulled out a small, cylindrical device. It was a detonator. Smiling broadly, she ducked for cover and pushed down the button. A massive explosion ensued, though inside the cave for a few yards, fire erupted like dragons breath for a small distance, even scorching some of the closest foliage. There was the instant smell of dust as the whole cave mouth collapsed.

Rocks tumbled, flew through the air, and clouds of billowing dust erupted in all directions from the cave. The screams of frustrated or dying Felucians. Strae looked up, her clothes unmarred by the flames, through a feat of luck only, and saw that about six more Felucians had followed. Scrambling to their feet they prepared to attack. Two sets of red stopped them dead in their tracks as Tal and Will aimed their blaster rifles, knocking the now charred bodies down to the ground. Strae got a few rounds off on a staggering one, and then it was all over. "We should be able to get some distance before they follow us." Strae told them. "I'll call in a landing craft from the Shadow Ark, for anyone who needs a ride."

She stood and looked around, making sure there were no fatalities for anyone too slow to have gotten out of the way. If so, no skin off her back, if not, all the better. She also was still prepared to dive out of the way, in case anybody had any funny ideas about killing her off. Her eye went to Grizzelda, and she saw that Grizz seemed a bit...Agitated, "Something on your mind, Zelda?" She asked suspiciously.

[Kella]

"Yes, actually," Grizzelda replied, sarcasm thick in her words. "There's this thing. It's called negotiation. Speaking. This thing you do when you move your tongue." Grizzelda's tone was calm, not exasperated or angry, but simply... sarcastic. "And it, you know, happens to avoid problems like this." She waved a hand expansively, shrugging. She dismissed the subject. "Now, we'd best be going. If we're to avoid being devoured by a tribe of Moss-Men consumed by bloodlust, dallying will do us no good." Her voice was mockingly cheery. As she walked on, seemingly unperturbed, she came up behind Sinvrick. Grizzelda struck like a viper and whacked him upside the head. Hard.
"That is for not thinking before you sliced, genius."
She simply continued walking forward, calm as ever. Her usual smirk found its usual place, and she once more began to duck through the foliage. She faced a challenge, however, one what had first manifested itself in the cave. Usually, she subconsciously relied on the force to accentuate her movements, her jumps, her dives. It was just something she did. However, the pain of the Felucians radiated through the force, and so every time she subconsciously tapped into it, she felt that pain more acutely. And so it was a simple balancing act, not pushing herself as hard as usual, staying more withdraw, relying less on awareness and more on hearing, sight, smell. She'd had to do the same once before... but such memories were not conducive to focusing, and so she ignored them.
"I can't offer any rides, but even if I could, I probably wouldn't." Grizzelda shrugged, tone jovially frank. "We can discuss arrival at the Hutt's place via intercom. I'll have my comm channel open for ninety seconds after I take off; not a moment longer. Call me if you'd--" Grizzelda ducked and rolled under a low branch, "--like. Or don't. I really don't care." She turned around, walking backwards, and shrugged. She backed up a root she'd spied earlier, and launched herself off, twisting and rolling in the air to land on her feet, facing forward again. It had come at the expense of another wave of pain, but again, Grizzelda had withstood worse. This time, the memories weren't so keen on staying hidden.

Grizzelda was twenty. She couldn't decide if she felt older or younger, though. Filthy clung to everything, like a deathly shadow, and Grizzelda gazed defiantly between the bars of her cell. She wondered once more why she'd even taken the mission.
~Should have been simple,~ she thought, ~just running an information disc... Who knew it was in such demand... a suicide mission, and that Bantha Spit knew it...~
Grizzelda's expression darkened, if that was possible, as a rare scathing beam of light broke through the darkness of her prison. Light meant only one thing. They were back to 'interrogate' her.
Act one, the offer.
"Well Lass, you rethink my offer? Tell me what it said, and I'll let you free as a bird," Said the Zabrak. His voice was smooth, sultry.
Grizzelda was silent.
~Act two, the key.~
Slowly, regretfully, the Zabrak turned the lock. "You know I don't like to have to do this...
~Act three, the look of pity.~
The Zabrak offered her a look of pity. It was sullied by the melancholy surround.
Still, Grizzelda was silent.
~Act four, the bait.~
The Zabrak stepped into the cell, locking the door behind him. Slow slits sharply rang from the ground as he walked toward her. He slipped a cold finger under her chin, turning Grizzelda's face to look at his. She stared back, eyes harsh, glare unreadable save for one emotion; hatred. He sighed. "You're going to be difficult again, aren't you." It was not a question.
~You bet your life on it, slug-brain.~
The Zabrak removed a shock stick from his cloak, caressing it. Grizzelda's eyes narrowed. He stroked the stick. "You know, this would be much easier if you simply talked..."
She did not move.
~The blade.~
As the shock-stick touched her skin, fire began to race through her bones, dragons under her skin. Blood filled her mouth as she bit her tongue, opening fresh wounds. Her body roiled and kicked.
Grizzelda was silent.

A spasm of real pain brought Grizzelda back to her senses; she had sunken into 'autopilot', and relied on the force once more. Though, she couldn't be any more than thirty yards from the edge of the forest. She knew not if the others had been calling her or trying to get her attention; whether she'd meant to or not, she had ignored them.

[Deceit *Drinker of Jawa-Juice*]

Tal walked smugly behind them all, "The hell were those things?" Will asked.

"Those were Felucians. Savage natives; but sentient nonetheless. Wish I could've studied them closer, only ever heard about them from my father, an old colonist." Tal replied, "Things seemed pretty pissed too. Must have been in their traditional blood-lust. Sometimes the smallest thing could set them off. Just be thankful you guys didn't meet a shaman."

Strae turned around, "Shaman?" She asked, "Don't tell me he's a force bloke?" She said, her voice dripping with annoyance.

"Oh, come now, Strae, superstitious? What is wrong with the force?" Tal replied, his tone seeming a bit mocking. Strae stopped in her tracks, and Tal did too; only in fear. Strae marched right up to him and stared for a moment. Her eyes were cold and unfeeling.

To be honest, Strae didn't really mind his attitude, but he was the subordinate. "One more smug comment." She warned, then turned around and started off. "Call for a landing craft."

Tal followed for just a moment, an angry look on his face. He quickly called for a landing craft, then his mind began to wonder. Angry thoughts about Strae, perhaps the desire to see her fall. Yes, maybe even take position as new leader of the spy network. Slowly, a plan fell into place. He turned on a comm link, and said, "We are ready for pick-up, use your sensors to find us..." He told them, clearly and concisely.

[Kella]

What Grizzelda caught of the conversation was sparing, but what she did catch made her eyes glint with mischief. She fell back ever so slightly, so she was withing comfortable conversation distance with Strae.
"Oh, yes, you'd best be frightened of the Force. Those skilled in its whims can crush a man from the inside-out, can lift buildings, make animals bend to their every want..." Grizzelda's eyes glinted, her tone confident, if not a touch conspiratorial. She vaulted over a low growth. Perhaps she was exaggerating somewhat, but Strae probably didn't know that.
"I'd best be careful, if I were you. This whole planet's tied to the force... every fungus, every bug, another spy..." Grizzelda winked slyly, gliding across a fallen trunk.
"Then again," she shrugged, "It's probably just a load of superstition." Mysterious smirk still dancing on her face, Grizzelda turned around again, leaping up into a tree before swinging back down again. There was something oddly calming about navigating the Felucian forest... perhaps it just had to to with growing further and further from the native bloodlust, and closer to the tranquil bits of the forest.
There was something, however, she was mulling in her mind. A look. She had noticed it whilst walking backwards, talking at Strae. But it was not Strae's expression... it was Tal's. An expression of anger, with a hint of jealousy. Two expressions, two emotions, two mindsets with which Grizzelda was very, very familar. Silently, she wondered if Strae knew her two co-workers as well as she thought she did. However, it was none of her business. If Strae couldn't control her own poeple, it was no concern of Grizzelda's.

[Sinvrick]

Sinvrick managed to grab his helmet and and jet pack before the explosion. Once out he looked back to view the sight of the cavern collapsing on the Felucians. "Good Riddance," He muttered under his breath and smiled. A few of them got through but met blaster fire from Strea and her group. Sinvrick took a deep breath. Soon after Strea had offered rides, being that he was with out ship he would join them. Before he could respond to the answer a sharp pain caught him in the back of the head. Grizzelda slapped him and made a comment about taking the plant from the tree. Sure they could of attacked us for that reason but they were following us before hand, he made no rebuttal. He found it pointless to argue. "Strea, I'll take you up on that offer, if you'll have me, I am without ship and have the cargo, we could help each other that way." Sinvrick said to Strea.

Sinvrick looked back on all that had happened today through his mind, the rankor the beast by the pond, the bugs in the sky, the Felucains, so much violence for one to handle in one day. Sinvrick laughed a bit because he thought it wasn't enough. He was becoming more and more of a combat seeker ever since he got off the slave ship. There was no helping it.

Sinvrick looked down at his right hand and made a fist, as if he was grasping what was left of his innocence with the intent of destroying it. Once he finished destroying the human with in, he placed his helmet on to replace his human face with his real face of cold steel. He placed his weapons in their right spot. He didn't swing his jet pack on, he held that instead.

Today Sinvrick died somewhere on Felucia, or at least what was left of him. All thought turned to the next battle, and how much he couldn't wait, he'd be ready and his enemies should be to, or Reaper will frown.

[Deceit *Drinker of Jawa-Juice*]

Strae watched Grizzelda keenly, her hat once again shading her eyes. They narrowed to slits, and the rest of her face remained blank. As Grizzelda carried through with her display of force, she let her. The woman seemed to be enjoying it, and Strae was learning something about the person. Better to observe Grizzelda in case of future dealings. The moment she was done though, her voice rang out in a melodic tone, but had the coldness of ice etched deeply within every word, "I do not fear the Force. I despise, for it is a cheap way to get ahead of everybody else. Others work for what they do. Others get what they want because they happened to fall into the hands of fortune. I've dealt with jedi, gray and dark alike, before. zelda, dear, your not as hard to kill as you think."

Tal sublimated his face of anger, and allowed himself to get into creative thinking. 'If I kill both Will and Strae...' He thought, 'Then Upezza Keeza spies will definitely be suspicious, but...If I pay off the others...Or just Sinvrick, then I can get say it was just a Felucian Ambush, or perhaps one of the others in an attempt to get the pay all for themselves at the Hutt's.'

Tal looked ahead, a slight smirk growing on his face, and he noticed something. Strae was gone. After she had commented to Grizzelda, she had left, crouching and slinking into the thick growth all around. Tal looked left and right, stopping in his tracks. "Where's Strae?" He asked Will.

Will turned and shrugged, although he knew full well where she was. And Tal knew that Will knew, somehow, in the back of his throat. The idea of Will not telling him enraged him, but he held his anger in check. When Strae disappeared like this, somebody usually died, or it was for self safety. He was leaning on the former though. Suddenly a burst of pain ran down his spine. He turned his head, but the dagger was too far behind him to see. Instead he only saw Strae's smug smile as she leaned forward and whispered, "It was a test, fool. And you failed, you showed the signs I was waiting for; signs of doubt and betrayal."

Tal fell forward, his breath having stopped, his mind having finished its racing. His heart having felt its last pangs of despair and fear. Red blossomed like beautiful, twisting flowers from the black cloaks of his dead body. Strae pursed her lips and said, "Shhh...Go to sleep." There was a wicked chuckle that ensued, and she looked up at Will, who was also smiling, "We are now free of internal threats." She told him, "Members of Upezza Keeza; loyal o death, and if they stop being loyal..."

"They're dead." Will finished, gathering Tal's things.

"Alright Sinvrick." Strae said, walking over to him, calm like a bomb( If you know what song this is in reference to, you get extra credit points ), as if nothing had even happened. "I'll make arrangements for you."

[Sinvrick]

Sinvrick watched the dispute as short as it was leaning under a tree, his face covered by shadow, his arms crossed a snake like pose. He saw the blade and only wished that he was the one holding it. He yawned and streched his arms. Strea then walked over and told Sinvrick his request for travel had been granted. In return no blood would have to be spilt, which was Sinvrick's sick way of being greatful. Before Strea could walk away however, Sinvrick grabbed her by the shoulder and leaned in as so only she could hear him. "Two things I've noticed about you, one you've never let your guard down and two you can be to trustworthy," He began. "There are some things here that I've been watching between this little beloved group of ours that I hope you have noticed, for instance that Grizzelda, took her own root and so did the mando, I'm only going with you because I beleive that those two are going to be to much trouble for just myself, If you get what I am saying?" He finished. He hoped that he could win her over and gain an ally, which was deffanantly not his style however he beleived that he could use her for something like this. "So just think about the possiblity of an allaince of sorts between us against them if the time comes, however it may not, who knows?" He said once again, he then shrugged and walked away from Strea backwards still shrugging. "Best be getting ready to leave huh?" He asked sarcasticly to through the others off.

[Deceit *Drinker of Jawa-Juice*]

Strae almost laughed at the irony of his statement. The first observation was indeed true, not once did she let her guard down the second she had landed on Felucia. Too trusting? It was her general lack of trust that kept her guard down. And it was the general assurance, and the simple fact that Upezza Keeza could survive without the money from this mission, that kept her from lashing out. But the mere thought that Sinvrick had chosen her ship because it seemed the safest route almost had her bursting out laughing.

Was he really that ignorant? The main reason she had extended even giving a ride was because she didn't have a root. The only reason she didn't get a root was because there were about twenty Felucians between her and it, and she also didn't fancy pissing off anymore. The beauty of it all was, once on her ship, Sinvrick would be subject to her absolute will. At any moment she could snap her fingers and he'd be dead. This, she did not mention. After-all, living allies were better than dead enemies.

Besides, even if he wound up entirely unpredictable, even dangerous, she'd keep him around. Often times Strae could use traitors or instability to her gain instead of downfall. She kept this irony to herself though. Eying Sinvrick carefully, "I should hope we all make it safely back to the Hutt..." Strae put in, "After all, many bad things could happen in this wide, dangerous galaxy. Perhaps if somebody does hold up to their end of the bargain, this cruel galaxy of ours has a way of paying you back..." She finished, her sentence loud enough for both Grizzelda and Zeth to hear. It was a not-so-subtle warning. Its how Strae liked to deal; vague enough that she could say in a Republic court if she had to, but obvious enough to get the message clear. Even if she was in a place that needed not the vagueness...Like, say, Felucia?

[Kella]

Grizzelda was silent as she steadily moved on ahead. Her smirk did not deepen at Strae's comments, but she denied herself a persistent chuckle. Grizzelda lived by misconceptions. She knew what was true, she knew what was right, and there was no reason to argue the point with anyone else.
Sure, the Force gave her a bit of an edge. But nothing more. No more than a Wookie's strength, than a Squib's whiskers, than a Selonian's sense of smell. Simply an edge. That was all. She would leave Strae without knowing the years she had pushed herself to breaking in the slums of Corellia, the nights she'd practiced the draw so much her fingers bled. She would not mention her months imprisoned, she would neglect to bring that to light. The more stayed in darkness, the better for her. Both underestimation and overestimation she worked to her advantage. It didn't matter to her what Strae, or anyone else thought. In fact, she found the misconception somewhat... ironic. Which, of course, brought a bit of good humor to her expression.
She knew full well her own mortality. She did not fear death. Not in the sense that she was sure of her survival, but more in the way she looked at death. Surely, she would avoid it, for it was most inconvenient, but it was not the end. It was simply another... adventure. Albeit one she intended to meet with claws flayed and teeth bared. Metaphorically, of course.

Something caught Grizzelda's attention. A low, hissing croon, and a malevolent chuckle. She could easily guess the cause. There Tal lay, on the ground. Strae, not a woman to be trifled with, for certain, but Grizzelda already knew that. Though, It was something else that had caught her interest. Two words, spoken so lowly she was hard-pressed to make them out. But understand them she did, if only because she had heard them before.
Upezza Keeza. Spies. Now why am I not surprised...
She knew little, next to nothing, about the spies, save their name. But she knew who they were, and that they existed, which was worlds more than most. Once before, she'd had dealings with them. If you could really even call them that... Interesting memories, those.

It had been fifteen minutes since leaving the cave, yet they were over two-thirds of the way back to where Grizzelda had hidden the Slipstream, having already passed the river. They were making much better time than they had on the way to the cave, which perhaps had to do with the fact that this particular walk was, to a slight degree, life-and-death.

Again, Grizzelda marveled at the wilds of Felucia. The somber mood was falling away, as if the planet herself was beginning to forget her grievances and nurse her wounds. Avians trilled above, eerie melodies wavering over the trees. Fungi festered and leaves rustled, an amphibious creature jumped across Grizzelda's path. An insectoid attempted to such her blood, but was quickly swatted away.

And soon, I will be out of here... An interesting planet, Felucia. But I will be happy to say 'good riddance'.

[Sinvrick]

At the decline of Sinvrick's request he instantaneously turned to composure and said, "Well if that's how you feel, than I'm afraid that I wont board your ship and I am taking my root with me, your welcome to go get your own," he pointed at the cave entrance closed off by rocks, "I mean there are other ways off planet," he continued with screwed you over kind of tone. "Before you turn to another option and attempt to kill me and just take my root, I'm afraid that its time for me to depart," He finished and with that swung his jet pack on and fired it. Root in hand and blaster as well just in case.

"Now," Sinvrick thought, "Things might just get interesting,"

[Deceit *Drinker of Jawa-Juice*]

Strae turned to Sinvrick, suddenly getting annoyed with him. She could probably care less about him and his damned root. Will didn't feel the same way, the second he heard the jetpack his blaster rifle was up and aiming. He was a hell of an aim, and could hit Gizka's at 1800 meters. The jetpack was much larger than a Gizka, and much closer than 1800 meters. The red laser soared through the air, flying true to his aim, if not a bit too low to make it explode, but certainly damage it, as the shot was designed.

"Consider this," Strae started, "Why would the gluttonous slug send four different groups after one root...All at the same time." She asked, "And why, dear Sinvrick, would he not mention anything about Felucians, or about how big the root was? A well prepared mercenary is a more successful one. And there's one more thing I'd like to ask, though I've already guessed at the answer, what did he tell you the root was for?"

She turned to Grizzelda, "And you? What was his excuse? What about you Zeth? There's something fishy about this whole thing. And when we get to him with the root, what do you think he'll expect? To have gotten rid of a bunch of mercs and spies that may have posed a threat to hierarchy, and to see an ignorant mercenary walk in tired and expecting pay, only to get double crossed...Or at least that's my suspiscion. Otherwise we're just dealing with one prick of a slug."

[Mr.Bøbert]

Zeth tilted his head to one side. "I was told it's extract could be used in place of the power packs used by the new Mandalorian Rifle," he said, raising it as he spoke of it. "Makes it nearly invisible to the naked eye."

[Deceit *Drinker of Jawa-Juice*]

Strae put one finger up and said, "Tut, tut, tut. I was told it was a poison? What were you told, Zelda? A cure? A good flavoring for his Jawa juice?" She laughed at her little joke, "Now, given that my earlier scenario isn't entirely ridiculous...Wouldn't you rather go into there with a full force of deadly efficient spies right behind you?"

[Kella]

Grizzelda simply... chuckled. "It took you that long to figure it out? My my and tsk, never trust a Hutt. Trusting anyone, for that matter, is greatly discouraged. I myself am not a very trustworthy person. And if anyone is to trust my un-trustworthiness, I would say that particular Hutt is indeed a Prick, and an impatient one, to boot. Whatever his reasons, I don't particularly care. I'm not paid to care, I am paid to deliver, and that is what I do."

Ostensibly, that seemed to settle the matter for Grizzelda. However, as always, there was much going on beneath the surface. If she could work it properly, she would indeed tag along with said group of spies. There were many reasons for the Hutt to do as he did... and this Grizzelda mulled in her mind.

Scarat was hardly more than an aquaintence... but Grizzelda knew more about him than most. Why, knowing things was her job for Zat's sake. Scarat was deeply entrenched in the War trade, and had been for centuries. It would not have been far-fetched to say he'd been involved in the Great Sith War.

Though, once one wandered that far back into history, Hutts started fading out of records and switching names, so there was no certainty. But what Grizzelda had ventured to guess was that the purpose for the root lay somewhere in the trade of War. Either a biological weapon, she guessed, or a healing solution; Scarat wouldn't personally bother himself to fiddle with individual weapons. Grizzelda quickly brought up her mental file of Scarat, a memory trick which provided the only way for her to keep her massive library of information cataloged and accessible.

Just as Strae had pointed out, an informed Merc was better prepared. This brought something to Grizzelda's mind which she berated herself for not having concluded earlier. The Hutt had told them everything he knew; which was next to nothing. He too must have simply heard the rumors. Legends, even. And then there was the fact that he had asked for very little of the root... the Hutt must have figured a means for reproducing the extract of the root. He surely couldn't be thinking of using it to spawn a whole new plant; that would have been too risky, knowing so little about the source plant. Or, of course, there was the possibility that the Hutt didn't need very much of the root. Perhaps it was... potent.

Something was slithering around in Grizzelda's subconscious, and it had been since Sinvrick had first cut the root. The smell the severed flesh gave off... it was familiar, and strangely so. Grizzelda knew she had smelled it before, and suddenly, she had it figured out. Three years ago, a Smuggler, he had conspiratorially shown Grizzelda an odd root. He had called it something... Grizzelda couldn't remember what language it had been, but it was something to the effect of 'Ixeil de Vivere.' The Elixir of Life. A coveted subject of alchemy, as it had been for centuries. Grizzelda even remembered a bit of the ballad the Smuggler had cited;

From the bark of the tree,
that grows from the sky,
By a glow-ripple sea,
In the land of the cry,

Can be found the root,
of all living life,
Yet 'tis frought by pursuit,
and varying strife.

Those were the only two verses Grizzelda could recall, and she was quite nearly shocked to find just how well they fit. If only I had remembered this before we chased the damn root down...

Grizzelda shook her head, expression wry, and spoke loud enough for all to hear. "No, it's not a poison, not a fuel, not a weapon, not a friend. The damn slugs live for centuries, and we," she paused, letting the words hang in the air, "Are hunting down an elixir of life." Grizzelda raised her eyebrows at the irony. 'Bet he's intending on selling it,' she muttered under her breath.

It was actually somewhat of a relief. She would sleep much better at night knowing that she'd aided a Hutt in scamming people of their money, than she would have if her conclusion had been a purpose of more... diabolical nature. Weapons dealers sold just as much to the Sith as they did to the Republic, if not more. Grizzelda had been through enough dealings with the Dark Side to spare a smug mood when it was shortchanged.

[Sinvrick]

Sinvrick fell back to the ground landing hard, but not injuring him self, to hear Strea's crude and bold remarks. He could not be more angry at the fact that she could not be more wrong about his intentions. "And ill prepared merc, thats what I come off as? Sure I accept contracts for money, when it comes down to it, everyone does, soldiers take missions and get paid, jedi's do missions for glory and honor, sith complete tasks for their own purposes which in the end is a gain for them. The hutts are no exception, manipulative bastards, they are, and if you think for one second that I am doing all of this for a bit of cash, than you could not be more wrong. You have no idea how much suffering I have endured at the hands of the hutts, no idea what I have had to do, working on one of their many slave ships, the only reason I am here is to put a laser between his two ugly eyes that have haunted my dreams since I was a young child. Do not call me a merc, or you shall find out why I bare the title of Reaper." This words could not be more clear in his mind as he spoke them. As well with his helmet knocked off the look in his face could send a rankor crying to its mother.

"If anyone here is going to allow him to gain an elixir of life, and yes I've known what it was the whole time, there is no way I would allow them to live, allowing a Hutt to live for eternity is the worst thing any one can do! The only thing that hutt is going to receive is a slow and painfully death, that he has made me bestow upon so many a before," He continued. He sat down on a close by rock. "I've known about the plant from before, when I worked on the slave ship, the captain went on and on about it, its all he cared for, I promised myself, that if I ever had the chance to destroy it, than I would take it," He spoke a little calmer now. "A force sensitive plant, ha ha, the only reason those creatures attacked us, they had no choice, their minds no longer belonged to themselves," He continued. "I can not allow this to happen, and I am willing to go back down there and burn that thing to hell if I have to," He finished.

Sinvrick continued to sit there, allowing the other to take in what he just said, he cared very little about what they could possibly say after that little speech. He took out his canteen and had a drink. All the scheeming here and violence, was only his way of enjoying things now, it is his nature. Deep inside, The Reaper has a sense of right and wrong and this whole time he never had the intent of bringing the plant to them, only to make him think that he could have it than take it away, so they may share some sort of the same pain, that Sinvrick has had to deal with since he was a young child. Sinvrick was now on a knew mission, he was coming for blood.

[Deceit *Drinker of Jawa-Juice*]

Strae was no stranger to threats. Staring back at Sinvrick without a flicker of emotion running across the face, she almost felt a laugh well up inside of her. As he explained to her his past, about how the slug had him kill, she almost felt like laughing. A pit dug by his own hands, no doubt. If he was going to whine about killing, then he shouldn't have done it. Strae had a lifestyle of living without guilt or regret, it was just beyond her comprehension how anybody could do something and regret it later, unless it wound up being a stupid move or something; in that case you slap yourself in the back of the head and try not to do it again.

Needless to say, his personal problems didn't faze her. She had a pretty solid wall of apathy built up for others problems. But she had no such wall built up fro her own safety, and though the threat didn't scare her she knew it was real. Slowly, she walked over to Grizzelda, "You know, my earlier offer still stands." She said, quietly, "Partner up?" She asked, "Because it sounds as though he's not going to let us out of here with the root..."

Will had already slithered off into the forest, hiding himself, and finding a great shooting position if it came to blows.

( Sorry, I can't come up with anything good at all... >< )