Sleepwalking? (Miri)

[Karl the Unfettered]

Nar Shaddaa, the Smugglers' Moon. A smelly rancid pit of a place, a festering cankerous sore on the backside of the galaxy. Anywhere one went, one was assaulted by the stench of desperate living, of billions of people obsessed with their next meal, or their next paycheck, screw, job, mark, whatever. No Jedi in their right mind would come here willingly, unless he wanted to lose himself in the cacophany of death and lust.

Fortunately, Shard was neither a Jedi, nor in his right mind.

"Damn, I hate this place," the Miraluka said cheerfully as he holstered his pistol. He had set his ship down on the first landing pad that looked solid, and within seconds of walking down the ramp had been accosted by some thug jabbering about reservations or whatever. Naturally he didn't have long to jabber before the Miraluka put a silenced bullet through one of his eyes.

He had been concealing his presence within the Force since before dropping out of hyperspace, and saw no reason to relax it as he walked down the lane. Beggars lurked here and there, but none of them approached the well-dressed, well-armed stranger; something about him forbade any contact whatsoever, and even these folk, the smelliest and most desperate of the whole moon, could see that.

Around a corner, the Miraluka came across a shakedown; an Aqualish thug and his Devaronian crony were harassing a human male, marginally better dressed than the rest of the trash. "Give credits!" the Devaronian snarled in horrible Basic. "Or Tharlok be angry!"

"Look, just gimme some more time!" the victim pleaded. Desperately he looked around, and his eyes alighted on Shard who had stopped a short distance away to watch. "Oh! Look! Here's your money now!" and he pointed eagerly at the Miraluka.

"Give credits!" the Devaronian snarled stupidly, too dumb to perceive the threat Shard posed. "Tharlok need repayment!"

"Does he," the Miraluka said languidly. "Tell me, does this Tharlok have any standing around here?"

"Uhh... too much talk! Money, now!" the thug replied, pulling out an overlarge blaster pistol. The Aqualish, impatient, rushed the Miraluka with his bare hands; contempuously, Shard evaded the rush and siezed the alien's wrists, spinning him around. The first thug fired on reflex, hitting his friend instead of Shard; he gasped at what he had done, and in that moment Shard yanked the blaster out of his grip and into his own.

"Listen carefully, scum," the Miraluka hissed, jamming the gun against the thug's stomach. "I owe no one any money, and you've crossed the wrong man! Go back to your master and tell him Shard's going to be looking for him, got it?!" He threw the thug away from him, overwhelmed by the stench, and the thug scurried away with his hands over his head.

"What are you looking at?" Shard snapped, directing his attention at the human as he aimed the gun at him instead.

The man, overawed, needed no urging to spill his story; he was a spacer, his ship was taking off tonight and he'd just needed to cover some gambling debts before leaving, so he had gone to the nearest loanshark yesterday afternoon. Unfortunately the loanshark was also a mob boss in the area, and liked to alter the terms of his loans on the fly, and... well, the good Jedi saw it.

"Hmm... you're a fool," Shard replied, calm now. With a shrug he tossed the blaster to the spacer and walked off. "Get back to your ship before I lose my temper again," he called over his shoulder, though the man was already doing so as fast as he could.

"Well, that was amusing," he said to himself as he saw a sign advertising a cantina. He walked inside and ordered something light, then sat at the bar and faced out over the cantina, sipping the drink, the veil secure and impenetrable over his Force abilities. He was here because he'd seen something would happen here, and it might end up beneficial for him and his cause; now he just had to wait, and what better place for waiting than a cantina?

Especially one with Twi'lek dancers. "Miss Looma would not like this at all," he said with a chuckle, ogling the dancers as he sipped again from his glass.

[Miri Mojito]

It seemed that everything in Seriths life always brought her back to Nar shadaa. If it wasent her continous hunt for elusive force users, it would always be her desire to spread her corruption. And what better place than an already heavily corrupted place like this. The people here were monsters in their own right, either mob bosses or simple thugs, they all were corupt, and could all be used. Her own men, those loyal to her would have fanned out across this settlement spreading her message, bringing like minded individuals to her, and refueling her ranks. They were her faithful, the ones who had followed her without question, never doubting, never failing. Despite their seemingly unwaivering loyalty, they were still weak, and thus more were needed, her ranks would need to swell with new blood continously for her to remain in control.

The woman let out a sigh now as she moved in absolute silence through the busy streets of the settlement. Very few if anybody gave her a second glance. Anywhere else in the galaxy, the sight of a young girl walking with only a single fabric length around her body, would draw all sorts of undo attention, but given that this was the smugglers moon, most assumed her to belong to a mob boss. Of course they were mistaken, but given the fact that she also had a small escort of armed men following her it was easy to see how that interpretation might be made. The guards were of course more of her faithful, though these in peticular had been with her for years, they were senior officers and loayl to the bitter end.

It seemed everything about this planet was filthy and corrupt, and it became more apparent as Serith made her way towards one of the major cantina districts. It was here that she prefered to spend her time when she was here. The dancing of the young cantina girls was one of the few pleasures that she indulged in, and one that she would not pass up on seeing. She stopped now in front of a particularily appealing bar. This one boasted the finest twilek dancers this side of Nal Hutta. It was no doubt an over exageration, but if they were confident enough to make such a claim, she should certainly see for herself.

"You can't enter here little girl... That is you cant enter here unless you take off some of that... whatever your wearing." A large thug like bouncer had stepped in front of her, with his hand out. No doubt this was how he got his jollies, harassing the females who wanted to enter. Serith however was not a little girl, and was certainly not going to remove anything for his enjoyment. Instead she looked up at him with those hollow eye sockets and licked her lips in a seductive manner. It was then that the thug got a true taste of her power.

A moment later the man cupped his hands over his face and fell to his knees. Soon after he began to sob uncontrollably as Serith began to unleash a devastating torture by Chargin on him. At this moment he was reliving his most painful memories all at once and amplified. The thug let out a scream as he tried to get to his knees and ran into the cantina with his hands still over his face. He was running blindly bumping into patrons, and employees alike, all the while sobbing and screaming. Serith followed him in, all the while holding his mind in a state of torture and enjoying very much the pain she was causing him.

He bumped now into another figure sitting at the bar and fell to the ground still squirming and sobbing. Given that his screaming had disrupted several dancers Serith stopped torturing him, and took a seat a little ways away from the last figure to be bumped by the tug. A waitress came by and asked the young looking woman what she would like t drink, But Serith inisited that she was just here for the dancers.

[Karl the Unfettered]

Shard was merely enjoying his drink when the bouncer ran in, screaming and clutching his eyes. "Hm?" he muttered, looking away from the dancers (who really were good) to watch the thug bumble about. The bouncer moved erratically, knocking waitresses over and crashing into the patrons, but the Miraluka wasn't paying attention to him. No, his attention was on the smaller woman following him at a more sedate pace.

Aside from her eyes, her face made her look all of fifteen years old, but the eyes ruined it. The rest of her didn't fit; she was small, yes, but attractive given the loose sleeve of material that was all that concealed her form. He half-expected her to be floating, but no; tight calf-length boots protected her small feet from the ground. Briefly he looked for a lightsaber, then the dress shifted and he saw she had no hands. Therefore, no need for a lightsaber.

All this was only peripheral, though, noticed and put aside. What he mainly saw was her power; she was consumed by it. Darkness swirled chaotically around her body, flowing out from her hollow eyes and coiling around her erotically. He had seen her before, and it took a moment to recall the thought; the medbay of the Sith Temple, looking up at a one-eyed Echani and searching his mind, seeing a blind dominatrix prominent among his memories.

So... this is the nameless Mistress, he thought to himself, choosing to ignore the bouncer knocking into him and falling over; his drink wasn't spilled, so that was good. Hell, the smell didn't even rub off. Unfortunately the man's antics at her hands had disturbed the dancers, and that wouldn't stand; he was about to stand up and say something when, by some collective decision, everyone seemed to decide the incident was over. The bouncer was dragged off, the dancers resumed, and the true source of all the ruckus seated herself at the bar and gave her attention to the alien girls.

Of course, the Miraluka thought, smirking and admiring the view from behind. She seemed about his age, but much more vigorous than a normal person of their age would be; curiously he regarded her more closely, making doubly sure he was undetectable within the Force. He saw a depthless lust for blood, Jedi blood, Sith blood, anyone's blood; whoever stood in her way, would not stand long. She was crazy, just like he was, though he perhaps had more control over himself.

Abruptly he decided he would approach her, see what happened. He was bored, after all. "Bartender, another one," he murmured, getting up and moving down the bar, closer to the stage, and consequently closer to Serith. He sat down, not right next to her, but one seat away, and idly sipped his fresh drink. "They're good, aren't they," he said conversationally, tipping his glass at the dancers. "I wonder if they're for sale... my ship could use some color in it."

Serith would only see a well-dressed, well-armed man in extremely dark glasses, radiating such a sublime sense of self-confidence that one couldn't help but take note of him. It almost bordered on arrogance, but stopped just short of being offensive; he was clearly a man of means, and considerable means at that. It was hard to tell where he was looking, though his head faced the dancers and his body language, one leg crossed over another and the arm that wasn't holding a drink supporting his reclined weight on the bar, indicated nothing but idle enjoyment of life's pleasures as found in a cantina.

[Miri Mojito]

At first Serith paid the stranger no attention as she focused on a pair of wileks putting on a very prvocative show. Though she could not see them through eyes she could through the force. Their youthful innocence and energy was appealing ot her, almost sensual, and having them in such a dirty and corrupt place only made them more appealing. Suddenly now it danwed on her. THe man who had spoken to her had no eyes. But as far as she could see his pressence in the force was non existent. A miraluka with no trace at all. She smiled now curious of her new companion. WIth a small giggle Serith turned on her stool to face him and a devilish smile crossed her black lips.

It was strange when she tried to probe his thoughts she got nothing, as if he was not there, but he was here sitting right in front of her. Questions now buzzed in her mind, had she stumbled on a force user? one powerful enough to hide from her? unlikely at this point. Her own pride would not allow something like this to be real. She had been here far too long, and if he had resided here she would have known. No instead he came from somewhere else, and he had stumbled onto her. She wanted to know more of the self confident man sitting near her now.

"They are good... I rather like the twins myself" She spoke now as an admirier of the female form. In tuth it was more than admeration, it was lust plain and simple. And if she could find a way she would certainly getthese dancers to herself. But that was a lesser concern now. "Your not from around here are you stranger?" SHe spoke in a smooth seductive tone as she slid gently over to the seat beside the miraluka. As she did so several lengths of the fabric hiding her body came undone, falling free. But with out so much as a movement on Seriths part they seemed to realign and wrap around her again. She had done this now as a show of her abilities. A small show mind you but enough to let the stranger know she was a force user. If he were simply bullshitting he would leave, but if he were more.. well only time could tell what would happen.

[Karl the Unfettered]

Shard laughed quietly, and shook his head in a condescending manner. "The twins are indeed good," he replied, sipping calmly from the glass. "I rather like twins myself... these two seem very comfortable around each other, wouldn't you say?" He did not turn his head, yet was aware all the same as the small woman moved closer, deliberately letting her dress slide lose before gathering it back around.

Slowly, he turned his head so he was facing down at her, reached back and put his drink down on the bar. "Nice trick," he went on, changing his tone to match hers. "And no, I'm not from around here. I've never met anyone who would be, in fact." One hand dropped down, rested conspicuously on one of his lightsabers. "Allow me to introduce myself... I am Charlill Sylvorr, but if you like you can call me Shard," and he nodded once.

"No, I came here because I saw something useful," he went on in a businesslike manner, facing the dancers once again. "Something would happen, and if I played my cards properly it could turn out beneficial for me, and my cause." One side of his mouth turned up in a smirk. "Have you ever played Pazaak, madamoiselle? Largely a matter of luck, but more reliant on how... prepared, you are, how well you've managed your side deck. Show up with a bad deck, you get slaughtered, but come with a few tricks up your sleeve..." He shrugged, and left the sentence unfinished.

He reached back again for his drink, and finished it off. "Normally I prefer something stronger, but as I said, I must be on the lookout for my opportunity." He put the glass back down, and snapped his fingers; the bartended came, and the Miraluka ordered a simple glass of ice water. "I've told you my story, such as it is, now you tell me yours. What brings a lady like you to a place like this?" His water came, and he began sipping from it in turn.

[Miri Mojito]

"Its not the only trick i can do Mr. Shard..." Before she could say another wordshe noticed shards hand had rested on a lightsaber. For a moment Serith froze, unaware of her next move. She had been lured in, there was no question now, he was hiding himself from her, baiting her. If she attacked him he would be ready, if she didnt... For the first time in the womans life she had no choice but to not try and kill him. Immediatly her mind began to whir with questions, and seperate ideas. She wondered now what his purpose could be? how he had hidden so well? Why he hadent killed her? and most importantly what was she going to do? It seemed she would have to wait for a time, either to retreat or attack, if an opportunity of that sort preseented itself.

In a partial state of spring like readiness she listened as the Miraluka spoke again. Suddenly she was also perplexed with what he was saying. Looking for an opportunity? it was certainly interesting, and perhaps explained why he hadent tried to kill her yet. Still she kept her mind focused, prepared in case he was biding his time. "I come here everynow and again... mainly to refuel my ship, and replenish my ranks with faithful soldiers." She stopped now wondering if she should tell more, perhaps he only wanted to know about her men, and ship. Maybe it was a ploy to take them. But why would it be like this? it didnt make sense.

With a small sigh she turned in the chair she was in, so as to show her back to shard. Then with a little smile she turned her head, so as to see him out of the corner of her force sight. This was her way of finding out his intentions. With her back turned he could easily try to kill her. none of the bar patrons would stop him, and her escort of men were still outside waiting for her. She was for all intensive purposes alone with the sith. She waited now in silence for several moments that seemed to last an eternity. It was then that all hell broke loose.

A twilek male had seen Serith from across the room, and after she had turned her back to Shard he had assumed she was not with him. He had been the owner of several of the cantina girls and had now set his sights on Serith. With all her focus on shard she had not noticed him, or at least cared to notice him cross the room towards her. and before anyone could do anything he placed a hand on her shoulder and leaned in close to her ear to speak. "Hey there... How about you come with me and we can get you making some real money" as he spoke he had tightened his grip on her shoulder, and had begun to pull her off her seat.

(I left this open in case you wanted to jump in and whoop NPC ass)

[Karl the Unfettered]

Ranks? Shard thought, regarding Serith all the more closely. He did not need to turn his head or make any movement to do so, and he smirked as she turned her back on him, again allowing a nice view from behind. He only smirked wider when she peeked backward; apparently she hadn't had Force Sight long enough to be accustomed to its inherently omnidirectional nature. Of course, unless one had been using it since before one was born, it was nigh impossible to become accustomed to it anyway.

This was, at least in part, the reason why reading his mind, or the mind of any skilled Miraluka, was so dangerous. Most people were accustomed to a limited sight line; even those with multiple eyes or rotating eye stalks or whatever, were limited by one plane of movement or another. For such a person to suddenly be faced with the galaxy, in all direction, through the Force... it could be tramautic, to say the least. Usually he confined his own focus toward whatever was worth focusing on, especially on a place like Nar Shaddaa with all its hideous grandeur and scurrying, desperate life.

None of that prevented him from noticing the aggressively approaching Twi'lek, though. His smirk faded to a frown as he began manhandling his new aquaintance; this was no good. "You do not want to do that," the Miraluka told the Twi'lek, in an oddly forceful and resonant tone of voice.

Immediately the alien let go of Serith, and his eyes swam out of focus. "I do not want to do this," he replied in a hazy drawl.

"She is mine," the Miraluka went on, leaning forward slightly from his relaxed posture.

"She is yours..."

"You will go back to your seat, get drunk, and find some other girl to harass."

"I will go back to my seat... get drunk... find some other girl to harass..."

"Your customers wouldn't want a girl with no hands or eyes, anyway."

"My customers wouldn't want a girl with no hands or eyes, anyway..."

"Good," and the odd tone had fallen from Shard's voice. Immediately the Twi'lek went back to his seat and ordered a large quantity of juma juice; immediately thereafter some Zabrak women came in, and after a few gulps of his juice the Twi'lek got up to harass them.

"People are so stupid," he remarked casually, regarding Serith again; this time she would feel his gaze, a strange heat playing over her face and torso. "Most of them, anyway. But enough of other people." Now he turned around and faced her directly. "You have yet to introduce yourself, madamoiselle..."

[Miri Mojito]

For a moment everything in Saith's mind froze. The hand on her shoulder, the twileks advances, it was all too much. She wanted to explode, kill him and everyone. Raze the cantina and burn it to the ground. But no, she would not get that opportunity, not now anyways. Instead she had the pleasure of watching Shard deal with the twilek in a manner most amusing. Using an extreme level of force manipulation the Miraluka was able to make the aggressor not only back off, but go after others all together. She sat for a moment admiring his work, before cracking a rather delighted smile. And soon before she could stop herself a small laugh escaped her.It had been years since she last laughed, years, and here this sith, she assumed, had done it with the simplest of gestures.

She took a moment now to watch the Twilek as he pushed his advances off on the rodian females that had entered. For a moment she wished that Shard had filleted the male, but seeing as this was a cantina full of thugs, one might assume that they would have to dispose of everyone, not that that was a problem. A moment later and she turned back to face Shard, still grinning from the previous manipulation. "Well Mr. Shard.... it seems you can handle yourself quite well. I suppose you can call me Serith." She turned her attention back to the dancers momentarily before raising a handles arm to gesture them over.

Without hesitation the red Twilek twins came over to where Shard and Serith now sat. Serith smiled now as she turned to face shard while the girls danced in a provocative fashion on the stage directly in front of them. It was amazing how these girls would give you everything they had for the promise of a few credits. In this case though Serith had a desire to see these two on her ship. Now all she had to do was dispatch of their owner and that was that, Perhaps she would get her new friend to do it for her. She would attend to this later however as now she would need to know a little more about him, and make the ever important decision as to if he was worthy of life or not.

"You are a Sith if i am not mistaken? Or at least you have the talents of one, Certainly the confidence. Though i must admit... I find you elusive, as though you are hiding yourself from me, or others. SHe spoke in a soft tone, so as they would not be over heard by any other patrons of the bar. She tilted her head forward now and leaned closer in to the man. "Though i must say im rather curious about this opportunity you are waiting for."

[Karl the Unfettered]

Shard quirked an eyebrow, enjoying the show put on by the Lethan twins. "You are not mistaken, Miss Serith," he replied, leaning back against the bar again. "And I am hiding. Not from you specifically, but from people in general; if I were to allow my presense to be unfiltered, people would notice." Absently he waved the girls closer together; obediantly they slid inward, bumping and grinding against each other. "Even these two... especially these two, I think."

He was silent for a second, then he grinned again. "You don't strike me as the Sith type, though... surely you have plans of your own, which may or may not conflict with ours." Then he leaned inward, very slightly, toward Serith. "But not with mine, perhaps. I have plans, oh yes..."

The Miraluka fell silent again, leaning back as if to enjoy the dancers once more. "Red Twi'leks are somewhat rare, you know," he explained casually. "In fact I believe they are the rarest of the skin colors. To have two of them, twins no less, of such skill as these..." He left the rest unsaid, though the implication was clear; they would be quite expensive, if the owner was up for selling them at all.

"And anyway he's off looking for new girls," and he waved a hand at the drunken fellow propositioning other girls. Obviously he was failing, as several of them slapped his face and stormed out of the building; enraged, he turned on his dancers, there being no one else around he could safely vent upon.

Naturally several of the patrons disagreed with his approach, Shard among them. "Your turn, madamoiselle," he muttered darkly, his mouth a thin line of displeasure. "It isn't my place to say this, but do try and keep the mess down; it may attract the wrong sort of attention, if you know what I mean." Jedi were not unknown on the Smugglers' Moon, though it was easy to mix them up with Dark Jedi or Sith. Any of these could take umbrage merely at the presense of either Shard or Serith, and the Miraluka was keenly aware of this.

As much as he liked a good bloodbath, there was a time and a place for such things; currently, he believed, was not such a time or such a place.

[Miri Mojito]

Serith smiled malevolently as she thought of an appropriate way to kill the twilek twins owner. It would have been all to easy to force him to relive all the worst moments of his life over and over again in his own mind, in much the same manner she had with the bouncer. Then again she could easily have blasted him through a wall. There were a number of ways now that she could have dispached this less than favourable individual. After a moment or two Seriths smile broadened as she thought of the perfect way to end his miserable existense. She only hoped now that Shard would approve.

At the far end of the Cantina the Twilek in question suddenly grabbed at his chest and fell to the floor. Moments later he arose again clutching a hand tightly over his heart while choking and gasping for air. To anyone who might be watching it would appear to be a heart attack. To anyone who knew what was actually going on, they would know that his heart, lungs, and other major organs were being crushed in a vice like force grip. Serith was crushing him from the inside with the force. Again the Twilek fell to the ground, and this time several women came running up to his aid, including the red twins. Serith had not moved a muscle the entire time, she hadn't even been looking in the direction the twilek had been in.

Moments later he stopped moving and finally expired. It had been a terrible way to die, one that could have been much quicker if Serith had so wished, but given the non messy death she had been asked to provide, she felt her only satisfaction would come from feeling each and everyone of his organs crushing in her force grasp. It had been... Exciting for her to say the least. All she had to do now was secure her prize and all would be well. That would come with time now... Moments from now they would walk past and try to leave. From there she would instruct her men to aprehend them and take them back to the ship. Just beacuse their old master was dead did not mean they were free, far from it in fact, after all... you keep what you kill.

With an even bigger smile she brought her attention back to shard, and his interesting statement. "I do have plans... ANd i gather we might have a common interest... I wish to see the empire, and the republic fall. I dream of a galaxy where oly the truly worthy and righteous may use the force... Where the weak and unworthy will serve the righteous few..." She stopped speaking for a moment as it suddenly dawned on her. This man would ned to be tested, she could not just let him walk away without fist making sure he was worthy of his own gifts. And if he proved un worthy it was her duty to see him destroyed. THough she knew she would need to be subtle with this one, no doubt he was powerful and certainly capable of using all his power. Perhaps she would follow him, see what his intentions where... and if he shared a similar vision to her own... then maybe she might let him live. "Tell me good sir... What miht your plans entitle if not the expnasion of the sith empire, that i have come to understand is their primary goal?"

[Karl the Unfettered]

Shard laughed quietly as the abusive fellow died painfully; he knew what had happened, of course, but doubtless the rest of the crowd thought he had expired of a heart attack. "Well played, Miss Serith," he told her. "Now you get all his dancers. As the Mandalorians say, gar taylir megin gar kyr'amur." Roughly, 'you keep what you kill'.

"Anyway... as I said." He reached back for his drink once again. "Would it perturb you if we spoke telepathically? I would rather not be overheard here." The Miraluka yawned and leaned back against the bar, sipping from his glass. "We are called Shard's Dominion, after myself of course," he said silently in Serith's head, his mental voice sounding much like his physical one. "Out loud we serve the Empire, furthering her endeavors and conquests.

"Personally, however, they serve me." He smirked knowingly. "My own goals are, on the surface, simple: live my life as I choose, extending my power and influence, and brushing aside any who would oppose me. I'm quite insane, you see, so what we do may change from day to day. But on the whole we do as I like, and no one stops me; it helps that they get filthy rich and powerful along the way too, of course."

Abruptly he stood up, leaving a few credits on the bar for the barkeep. "Well, I must say, it has been wonderful conversing, but I must be off," Shard told Serith, his manner suddenly brusque and businesslike. "Good day to you, madamoiselle." With that he turned and walked out of the bar, brushing past Serith's men as if they weren't there; when asked later they would insist no one had gone by, no matter what anyone did to them.

Once outside, Shard ducked into an alleyway and leaned against the wall, shrouded by deep shadows which he subtly made even darker, and waited for Serith to come out after him. He was certain she would; he had made himself enigmatic and mysterious, after all, and she struck him as the sort who could not let a mystery alone.

[Miri Mojito]

She was impressed, few knew how to properly speak mandalorian without being among their ranks, but then again thee was probably much about this Miraluka that would suprise her. HIs request to speak telpathically was not of suprise to her, in truth she would have prefered to carry on in such a manner. The empire had spies everywhere, and the last time she had publicly talked about their downfall had landed a bounty on her head, not that she was affraid of their puny assassins. She turned her physical focus back to the cantina while her mental focus remained on Shard. He had started his sales pitch so to speak, selling his plan and himself as being totally insane. She had no problem with either of these, his plan could assist her, and him being insane could prove entertaining. Though he had yet to prove his own worthyness to wield the force. Despite this she would allow him to live atleast long enough to find out more about him.

Without so much of a warning Shard had gotten up and left her now. He had been polite and left credits for the barkeep, but it had all been so sudden that Serith was not immediatly sure of what to do. Never in her life had anyone left her so abruptly like this, especially while in the middle of a conversation of such importance. Perhaps he was one of the Empire spies, and was now on his way to rat her out. Her men as expected were powerless to stop the man, in fact they acted as though he had not even been there to begin with. This would not do for her, Serith needed closure, she needed to know more, about this man, and his plans.

Without so much as a word she stood up from her seat and made to follow the man out the door he had just left. Her guards immediatly made to follow her walking on either side of her. She had made a note to punish them for letting the Sith leave so easily despite his incredible power. THey had failed her in a task that had been implied, and after all that was the job of the faithful, to work on what they know their mistress would want.

Upon leaving the CantinaSerith had to stop and reach out with the force to find where her companion had gone. He was difficult to track, as if he was hidden from her still. But then perhaps she was looking wrong, instead of looking for power in the force she should look for a dead spot. A place where no pressence seemed to come from. And possibly the only place like that in this entire planet was right near her in an alley. Through the force she instructed her men to stand guard over the alley entranceway, while she herself entered it. "Why cant I see you?" This was the immediatly more pressing matter in her mind.

[Karl the Unfettered]

A quiet chuckle rolled out of the shadows. "You cannot see because you are blind," came Shard's voice, from all around. "You are blind because you are selfish, concerned only with your own gratification. Look beyond the tip of your own nose, even if it is a shapely and attractive nose." There came two vague coughing noises in rapid succession; Serith's bodyguards dropped dead to the filthy ground, blood gushing out of their foreheads.

Simultaneously the shadows thickened, and though there was still nothing within the Force, Serith would feel a presence behind her, very close. "You are limited by your sight," Shard's voice whispered, very close to her ear. "You only think you see, but you are nothing. In the blind chaos of your mind you have determined that the only way to deal with the galaxy is to hunt down and slay every last person who would stand against you; what then if they fight back, hm? What then if they decide you are unworthy, that you must die?"

As the voice spoke, the presence circled around her, and ghostly fingers occasionally reached out to brush across her cold white skin. "For you are unworthy, you know. You think yourself fit to judge others, decide their life or their death? You are the one fit for death, Serith Arsov. Judgment is not yours to pass, it is mine. And you are... unfit."

Abruptly the air rang out with harsh, insane laughter, and something hot forced its way down Serith's throat. "Unworthy!" the voice shrieked, as whatever the hot thing was went farther down her neck, choking her airways, it felt almost fluid, but was much too cohesive for that. "Die, you incompetent old hag!"

Just as suddenly as it started it stopped; the shadows retreated and Shard was still leaning against the wall, arms crossed over his chest. No one was anywhere near Serith, and nothing was forcing its way down her throat. "You alright?" he asked laconically, his mouth hovering between a smirk and a sneer. "Don't just stand there all day, you know... pretty girl like you, might end up raped."

[Miri Mojito]

Serith fell forward once the vision had ended. Instead of hitting the ground however she had managed to catch herself on a nearby wall. She took a few moments now collecting herself as she leaned panting as if she had been running a marathon. This had been an incredibly intense moment for the woman, no one, not since her master, had ever been able to influence her mind like that. Perhaps this man had more power than she had guessed. But it seemed he had lacked the common sense, that often went with such power. There were few if any in the galaxy who would ever try to reach out and touch Serith in this fashion. Few would even dare to think of it, yet this fellow had not only dared but had succeeded.

For a moment the woman wanted to turn her wrath onto her guards for failing to protect her. This had been their second failure of the evening and would prove to be their last. Alas when she reached out to try and touch them through the force she found nothing, they were already dead. He had done all this, in the span of a few seconds, it had been enough of a display of his power. Now it was her turn, a chance to vent, to rage, to show her distaste for what he had done to her. "I can see sir that you are truly insane as you claimed to be. I can even see that you are powerful, this cannot be denied. But you have crossed lines, and pushed boundries."

Serith pushed herself free of the wall that she had been leaning on, and was now standing facing SHard in the ally. To any walking by this would appear as some spectacle of a duel, or some fight to the death. In truth while it would look that way it would not prove to be the case. Serith was simply a rage driven creature, acting violently and with malice whenever she should become angry. ANd while she was angry now at Shard, she would really be more angry with herself, after all if she had paid closer attention, protected herself, this would not have happened.

Given her unique mastery of the force Serith had not even a need to move in order to cause the destructive effects she wanted. Around her the walls of the buildings began to shudder, and quake. It was as if an earthquake had isolated itself to that alleyway. Moments later the wall on her left came crashing down in pieces, none of which hit the ground however. Serith had caught them all, large and small and had now allowed them to hover momentarily before rotating around her. It was a simple trick really. This was to be a focus point however, something to focus on and deliver her hatred through.

"Judgement... is mine and ONLY mine to pass... and in that... Shard of the Dominion... I remain unjudgable..." Some of the smaller bits of debris around her began to explode, and burst under the constant preasure of her anger. The larger pieces of debri continued to break up and become smaller. Her anger though was very random, quick to come and quick to go.

In this fashion Serith had found herself smiling again. EVen giggling now. "Tell me something Shard... I can't see you, You work within the sith empire to meet your own goals, and you have managed to push an illusion onto me of all people... Where have you been all my life?" SHe had stepped towards him as she spoke, moving in a smooth and seductive manner.

[Karl the Unfettered]

Shard waited until Serith was done fuming, then he chuckled slowly. "Illusions? Oh no, no no no.... that was merely trickery, sleight of hand if you will. I said you were blind; I took advantage of that." Once again the feeling of heat forced its way down Serith's throat, though it was much more fleeting this time around. "Art of the Small," he explained patiently, in a genial sort of voice. "One of the most useful talents ever discovered; one simply focuses one's will down to subatomic regions, and one can manipulate matter itself to one's whims. One can also hide from others while in such a state of concentration.

"Useful for, say, congealing the air around an opponent," he went on, his tone still conversational, "so that they choke while gasping for breath. You just got a small taste of it; imagine dying like that, asphyxiating on the very air you so desperately suck in. Not a very pleasant sensation, no?" He chuckled again. "Useful for more than choking a person," and once again Serith would feel fingers brushing over her bare skin. This time it was quite clear Shard had not moved; he was still standing there, leaning against the wall, arms crossed over his chest.

"And the whole voice thing... more parlor tricks." Now his voice sounded from behind her, and he was still simply standing there, right before her sight. "Oh, perhaps I used a bit of the Force to muddle the waters, but still. The fact remains, you are blind and I acted upon it." He pushed off from the wall and walked forward, until he was inches away from Serith. "And now... now you present an enticement... And I wonder how to respond to it." His hands went out, tracing the air millimeters from her skin, leaving a faint heated trail behind them without actually touching. "A promise of... intimacy."

He thought about Shandari, briefly, but dismissed the thought; theirs was a relationship built on respect and camaraderie, and Shard wouldn't dare sully it with low advances. Perhaps it would develop toward such, but he was in no hurry to get there; that was a distant potentiality, though, and right now was... right now.

[Miri Mojito]

Serith held fast this time not moving, nor flinching despite the seering sensation. This time it lasted only a few moments before letting go completly. He was right in that it was just a bit of trickery, but it explained alot. He was using it to hide himself now, and thats why he seemed to be none existent. It was a good trick, but still a trick none the less. It was not ful proof however as a skilled force user could resist its effects, given that she was not Miraluka however Serith had made the assumption that she would not be able to ever see him through the force while he hid like this, but she would not tolerate another trick at her expense.

She took a moment focusing her own will to better guard herself against his Art of the small. While she achieved her point of focus however Shard had closed the gap between them, drawing intimatly close to her, and even tracing her slender frame with his hands. While he hadnt actually touched her skin, he had been so close that she could feel the warmth that radiated from his hands. Its lasting impressions threatening to send a shiver down her spine. She hated when people touched her without her permission, it was an insult to everything she was. BUt this man was pushing the boundries, testing her to see how she would react. Under normal circumstances she would have killed him, torn him limb from limb for all to see. But this was different, he was powerful, he was even worthy of using the force, and killing him would make her a hypocrite.

She would need to conduct herself like a Lady of the Sith, and deal with him appropriatly. Serith smiled playfully now as she raised her arms, placing her wrists over his, and slowly pushing his hands lower, over her hips, and then back to himself. "Now now... Lets not go getting ahead of ourselves... I have a rule that must be followed..." Her voice was sweet now. "Im afraid I have an issue with being touched... Its something to keep in mind as Ive been known to keep the hands that touch me..." She retained the sweet playful voice, figuring that this man would respond better to it than to threats, given her own anger seeemd to have only amused him.

[Karl the Unfettered]

"But I'm not touching you," Shard responded innocently, "not really." He smirked in response to her sweetness, and leaned down so they were face-to-face. "I don't go touching strange women anyway, not when I don't know where they've been." He smirked a little wider and put his finger in front of her nose, almost but not quite poking it. "Mama Sylvorr didn't raise no fool, after all; her boy knows all about strange women on strange planets, don't you worry." A rather roundabout and vaguely insulting way of saying he'd play by her rules, for now, but still a way of saying it.

He straightened again, and his smirk faded. "I believe we have overstayed our welcome, Miss Serith," he said, suddenly businesslike and professional. "Festering treacherous pit though it may be, dead bodies aren't well appreciated, and we have racked up a respectable total. Let us depart before anyone notices who has authority to make others notice." He stepped away and swept out of the alley, sweeping the dead guards out of sight with the Force as he did so.

"I assume you have a ship in orbit?" he said over his shoulder, assuming Serith would follow him. "Mine is landed not far from here. Take what you will from the cantina who's owner you slew and meet me there. Make what haste you can, I fear our time may be getting short and while I relish a bloodbath as much as the other fellow it is not the right time for such things." The difference in his attitude, from the playful flirt to this brusque professional, was a marked contrast that had left others disoriented in the past, yet it was not done deliberately; it was simply who he was.

"I will go warm my ship up. Be along shortly." He projected a vision of his ship's location and the brief route to get there into her mind's eye, then turned and strode off toward his vessel.

[Miri Mojito]

"But I'm not touching you,"

It was unbelievable how childish this had been. Obviously he had not touched her, she was no fool, but to prevent a future incident she had stated the one rule she would hold him too. But still he had said it, as if aware that it would add some annoyance on her part. But she sighed quietly choosing to let this comment go for the sake of being polite of all things. Lord only knew that taking offence and leveling an entire quarter in a battle with this man would prove fruitless at the very least.

"I don't go touching strange women anyway, not when I don't know where they've been...Mama Sylvorr didn't raise no fool, after all; her boy knows all about strange women on strange planets, don't you worry."

For a moment she was infuriated, how dare he imply that she, of all people, would be dirty. How dare he imply that only a fool would want to touch her, while only a fool would actually touch her but that was for a different reason. It had been an insult to her that was as sharp and cold as a blade. If only he knew how many men had fallen, had died, just to lay a hand on her bare shoulder. She was an object of beauty, one to be revered and worshiped, and given only to the greatest and most worthy of those who lived, not some street hussy giving it out to anyone with a bit of coin.

Then rather randomly and without warning she started laughing, cold shallow and harsh, it was unnatural coming from her lips. He may have insulted her, he may have tested her anger, but he was going to play by her rules. That in itself was a victory, and the insult a small price to pay. She had been under the delusion that she was going to need to show him what happened to those who broke her rules, to educate him on proper behavior in the pressence of a lady, but no he had caught on and was being good, if not a little cheeky.

She had no time to say anything in retort however as Shard had now brought to her attention that they were beyond their welcome. He was in this statement absolutly right, without a shred of falseness. The pair had racked up a rather large body count, at least large considering she had only wanted to watch the cantina girls dance. She rasied her head as if to look up to the Miralukan debating on what to do next, but it seemed he had already made a descision, and had anticipated her to follow on it. Serith smiled sweetly now following suit, and her new companion out of the alley.

"I assume you have a ship in orbit? Mine is landed not far from here..."

He had assumed right, her ship the Malifactor was awaiting her return. She never was far from her ship, it being her most prized trophy. But the statement in regards to his being landed nearby caused her a slight degree of confusion. Had he intended to give her a ride back to her ship? It seemed odd to her, such a gesture, what meaning did it hold, what would he expect in return? Such gestures had hardly been extended to her as evidence by her over annalyzing of it.

"I will go warm my ship up. Be along shortly."

She had her clarification now, he was going to take her off the planet, but to what ends and purposes? Perhaps this was an attempt at her life, a rather unique one. Get her alone in the confines of a ship and then dispatch her? But surely he would know that the Malifactor would destroy his vessel in that case, so this offered him no long term satisfaction. Perhaps he was serious about his plans, and his dominion. This man of all people was going to stand up and rebel against the Empire with an army of his own sith? If that the case then this man was going to be her savior so to speak, to provide her with a window of opportunity that she could not pass up. Finally she might actually have her chance to fight the Sith head on and judge them appropriatly.

"Mr. Shard... I will follow your lead." She said with a small respecful bow. WHile she would not allow him to break her rules she would certainly pay him the respect he deserved, and to her own means provide assistance where she could.