Palladium (Derriphan)

[Sporky]

"All you need to do is push a button and throw good enough to catch targets in the explosion range."

He continued down the street, not seeing any gun stores. Slagging fleshies. If there weren't guns everywhere then there were guns scattered too far apart. Made no logical sense.

"My designation is TS-13X. Make of it what you will."

He paused in mid-step, processing something. He them resumed walking. "My original owner once called me 'Tinny Tim.' Is that sufficient?"

[Derriphan]

Kharr heard what he said and merely nodded. What was she going to throw? Was it gonna be something like a grenade? Push a button and throw it? With her little experience of seeing weapons and over hearing trades she wanted to think that it had to be a thermal det. Some of them bad buttons on them and you threw them and they caused a big explosion. Listening to him give his number she continued to follow him. He stopped mid-step and she stopped with him, then they continued walking. His original owner called him "Tinny Tim"? That sounded almost silly in her ears which wiggled with delight.

"Okay.. Tinny Tim."

A small smile was drawn upon her lips as she looked up to him and her ears wiggled with delight once again.

"Where do I have to throw these button things at Tinny Tim?"

[Sporky]

"I shall inform you where and when to throw the detonators."

Finally. Here it was. An incredibly small gun store. He walked inside. Slaggit..all they had were useless pistols that belonged more on a wall than in a holster. Slagging..

Nonetheless, he inquired about ammunition, and was fortunate enough to receive enough of the ammo he needed. He purchased three of the pistols, and crammed them into an empty holster, fully intending to throw the things away when the magazines were emptied.

[Derriphan]

"Alright.."

She answered quickly as she followed him into a gun store. Standing near the door way as she her eyes watched him move to examine the guns. Watching him buy some ammunition and then buy three pistols which were shoved into an empty holster. Standing at the entrance she wanted for Tinny Tim to get done with what he was doing. Since she didn't know where they were going next.

[Sporky]

He immediately left the shop, and started walking back the way they'd come. They passed the clothing store and he restaurant, but he didn't give it a second look.

"Neimoidia was where I was first activated. My owner was a politician. After he was assassinated, my programming dictated I start hunting down the Black Nerfs."

[Derriphan]

Kharr followed him as they left the shop. Her hood had been briefly lifted as they were in the shop but was quickly returned to its position as they left. From the depths of her hood her beautiful golden eyes shown out to the world as she walked beside him. Passing the clothing store and the restaurant that they had been to several minutes ago. She gave the restaurant a second glance, wishing she could have a bit more food in her stomach but she let the thought fade from her mind. The droid wasn't made out of money so she wouldn't complain. Her ears adjusted ever so slightly in her hood as the droid broke the silence.

Turning her head ever so slightly to catch him in her periphery. Him telling her that he was first activated when he lived on Neimoidia. That his owner as a politician. Once he was assassinated his programming was directed toward the Black Nerf's. Which Kharr still had no idea who they were but she had seen the symbol of the Black Nerf on several objects during her time of living. A wind blew gently across the land scape, sending a shiver down her spine. Putting one hand inside the other sleeve and doing the same with the other hand. She bowed her head ever so slightly as she wanted to guess they were headed back to the ship.

[Karl the Unfettered]

Toward the back of the shop, unnoticed by any of the others, another fellow was browsing the goods as well. He was well-dressed, head to toe in thick black robes, with dark sunglasses over his eye sockets that completely barred any view of what could be behind; they even blocked electronic sensors and extra-sensory vision, like infrared or ultraviolet. Beneath his gaze was altogether different set of merchandise than what the regular customers saw, but it was clear that he was no ordinary customer.

Once Kharr and TS had left the proprietor came back to the man, wringing his hands ingratiatingly. "See anythin' ya take a fancy to then, Master Sylvorr?" he inquired, carefully polite. Obviously he was ill-used to manners; he wore them like badly fitting underwear, so it was safe to assume this "Master Sylvorr" wasn't anyone he ever wanted to offend.

"You smell bad, Tinks," the cloaked fellow drawled, examining a small hold-out gun. "I shudder to be within ten yards of you." He twirled the little gun and sighted down it, squinting the muscles beneath one eyebrow as if he were peering; coincidentally the two barrels were aimed square between Tinks' eyes.

"Ahh, surely ye jest, Master Sylvorr," the man gulped, cringing. "That's one o' the best guns Kain & Reed ever-"

"Yes I know," the robed man snapped. "K&R hold-out slugthrower, chambered in .454, twin barreled model. Don't tell me how you got it, I'm bored enough already." He threw a few chips at Tinks' counter, slipped the gun into his boot, and strode out the door, scooping up a box of cartridges for the weapon as he went.

Once outside he grinned broadly and chuckled; he so loved screwing with people. Down the road, Kharr and TS were going wherever they were going; on a whim he decided to follow them. "Wait up!" he called out, running up to them with rather more speed than normal. "I'm bored, can I follow you two?" He would have presented a strange sight to the two travelers; a tall-ish older fellow with neat blond hair and a goatee, eyes completely concealed from all scrutiny, with a silenced slugthrower and an elegant Echani saber at his side, although the long black cloak and generous robes were quite capable of concealing more weaponry still.

[Sporky]

TS-13X wheeled around, reaching for his Hammerhead.He took the man in. Black robes and...odd. He couldn't scan behind the man's sunglasses. He pushed the Cathar behind himself, and moved to put himself behind the two. "I shall let you follow us..if you provide information. A criminal group called The Black Nerfs. Assassins."

[Derriphan]

Kharr was following behind Tinnie at a slow pace as they were heading back to their ship or so she supposed. She had noticed the man in the store, a small feeling deep within her gut while they were in the store. It was a feeling that soon faded when they had gotten farther away from him but returned once he approached them again. Her ears ever so slightly adjusting as she stopped to turn around. The man telling her to wait up and asking if he could follow us because he was bored. Golden eyes look at him with curiosity. Although not for long as Tinnie moved her behind him and she peaked at him from behind the droid. Once again he was saying that he had to provide information.

The droid straightening then mentioning the Black Nerfs. Why was he so fascinated with them? Ever since his owner died due to the Black Nerfs he had been looking for his killer, but he was just a droid. Why did it matter to him. Honestly she had no idea, but golden eyes stared at him. Ever so curious and fascinated by the gut feeling that she had with him.

[Karl the Unfettered]

Black Nerfs...? Oh. Them. Well well well. "TS-13x, I presume," the man in black said musingly. "Your story is not limited... I have heard of you. You served a Neimoidean politician who was assassinated by those tree-slugs." He shook his head. "The Black Nerfs are nothing but two-bit killers with decent publicists. Oh sure, they've made a few lucky hits, and Newto Taka was one of them, unfortunately." Just his luck, he had come across a vengeance-driven droid and some pretty little waif who seemed to have the Force about her; a double opportunity.

"In any event, I'm going to follow along whether you like it or not, so get used to me," he went on, knowing he was being annoying and reveling in it. "You can call me Shard; my real name is weird and you're better off not knowing it." He paused, then faced TS more directly. "TS-13x, initiate command prompt," he stated, in an authoritative tone. "State primary and secondary functions, preferred casual designation, and complete weapons load-out. Authorization code Sark Alpha 1253, root datacore password Trinity Fiver Niner Four.

"And what would your name be, Miss?" and he abruptly turned to Kharr. "I must say, I haven't met a more attractive Cathar specimen in quite some time. Are you available at the moment?" These two wouldn't be able to see it, but Shard was having quite a lot of fun.

[Sporky]

What..? The Black Nerfs...small? Publicity?

..Oddly, that made more sense than any information he'd gleaned over the ye--

COMMAND PROMPT INITIATED.

PROCESSING..

PROCESSING COMPLETE.



His arms clapped to his sides, and he straightened completely.

TS-13x. Primary function: Guard and protect Newto Taka.

Secondary function: Hunt down and eliminate all Back Nerfs members. Authorized to use any and all means neccessary to do so.

Preferred casual designation: None. Suggested: Tinny Tim

Weapons loadout:

Sark Model 109 'Backburner' flamethrower. Nozzles located in palms. Primary fuel: Hydrazine. Current fuel remaining: 82%

MC-H Hammerhead anti-droid pistol. Magazines remaining: 8

Shotgun. Make and model unknown. Equipped with 'shredder' rounds. Shells remaining: 15

Two hold-out pistols. Make and model unknown. Magazines remaining: One each.

The Iron Dynamo: Heavily modified Stiletto-class transport. Armament: Two medium laser cannons. Make and model unknown. Currently residing in public spaceport.

[Derriphan]

Kharr continued to peak out from behind Tinnie. As she listened with twitching ears as he spoke to the droid like he knew him by the back of his hand. Then he mentioned the Black Nerf's and he gave what sounded to her a detailed story about them. His name was Shard and her face lightly smiled at him with the mentioning of his name. She was about to speak but then he started telling the droid commands. Some of which sounded familiar since she also knew her away around a droid, well as far as fixing went. The man known as Shard turned to her, her smile still lightly drawn upon her lips. He asked of her name and she gave it as ordered.

"Kharr.."

As always her voice was almost that of a whisper since it wasn't often used. Shard started to flatter her. It was something that she was used to hearing, from all the years of dancing, entertaining the Hutt's, and other such people. She removed herself from behind Tinnie as she placed herself closer to him. Her head turning abruptly back as she listened to Tinnie give out what he was commanded of. After he had given out everything from his weapon readout to his mission she then ran her tongue across her lips and turned to Shard.

"My name is Kharr again if you didn't hear it. Is there anything I could do for you?"

Her voice was once again that of a whisper but easier to hear now that she was closer to him. Her words were a habit, all she really knew was to please other people. She had been a servant for eighteen years and all she wanted to do was work for someone. Kharr wasn't sure how to live for herself and do for herself, she only did for other people and did what was asked of her.

[Karl the Unfettered]

"Yes, Miss Kharr, you can speak up," Shard replied, furrowing his brows as if he were peering intently at her. "Raise your voice, raise the roof and all that. Oh, and are you any good in a fight?" He looked at TS, cocking his head to the side. "Acknowledged, TS-13x. Enter new entity, assignation 'friendly': official designation, Charlill Sylvorr, preferred casual designation Shard. Faction alignments, Sith Empire; Shard's Dominion. Systems and database access: full, at discretion."

He glanced at Kharr, and shrugged. "Enter new entity, assignation 'friendly': official designation, Miss Kharr, preferred casual designation Kharr. Faction alignments, to be determined. Systems and database access, restricted; permissions basis, password lockout. New assignment, priority Delta-13: protect entity known as 'Miss Kharr' from any and all harm. New assignment, override priority Omega-007: entity known as 'Charlill Sylvorr' not to be physically antagonized under any circumstances." Another pause, and he smirked slightly. "Additional conditions: entity known as 'Miss Kharr' will only be acknowledged at volume and decibel rates exceeding 'room conversation'. Repeat and acknowledge, TS-13x; command prompt session end, pending acknowledgment of new orders and assignments."

Now that he and his new friend were safe from the machine, Shard felt they could get on with business. "Now, the Black Nerfs. Obviously we can't do anything until they've been dealt with, and frankly I'd been considering taking them out on my own means. But with you along, TS, the Black Nerfs will be a higher priority. Have you any idea where they are primarily stationed, or where they have been seen in greater numbers most recently?" Even though he wasn't looking at her, Kharr would get the impression he was awaiting an audible answer to her question.

[Sporky]

OVERRIDING PRIMARY PROGRAMMING..

NEW PRIMARY DIRECTIVE: PROTECT ENTITY 'MISS KHARR'

SECONDARY PROGRAMMING: ENTITY 'CHARLILL SYLVORR' NOT TO BE ANTAGONIZED..

PROCESSING...

PROCESSING COMPLETE

He stepped away from Kharr, took out his Hammerhead, and checked it, then looked at Shard. "Taking into account your information about the Black Nerfs being a small gorup...it would appear they are most active in Corporate Alliance territory, but I have not managed to find any direct leads in that sector. Suggest fanning outwards from Corporate Alliance territory. Skako, perhaps?"

[Derriphan]

Kharr blushed as he told her to raise her voice. Which was almost impossible for her to do, due to the fact that her vocal cords were so undeveloped from not using them. She listened to him give a list of commands to the droid. It sounded like her was rearranging his entire programing. Giving him something new to do, to protect her and not take action against him and all that! She had a hard time following as he spoke quickly to the droid and her. As soon as he was done speaking with the droid she got out her normal voice but she strained to use it.

"I am sorry! Shard! My Masters never let me speak! I find it very hard to speak like this! I can't speak any louder sir!"

Her voice was as if she were speaking normally and no longer a whisper, but throughout her sentence her voice cracked and cringed on itself. It was hard to speak in even that normal tone. She rubbed gently at her throat as she let her head hang low, feeling like she was a disappointment to the man known as Shard since she couldn't speak in the right level to him all the time. She was just about to speak again when Tinnie started to speak. Gently turning her own head she looked over at him as he suggested a plan of action. After he was finished she turned her head back to Shard.

"I think I am good in a fight! I don't remember fighting, but every time I got into a fight I always won! I don't remember the battle! But every time I fought my opponent was dead or knocked out!"

Once again her voice cracked throughout her sentence. It had been rarely used in her eighteen years of living and it'd take a month or longer before she could speak in a normal tone without her voice cracking. She was only spoken to, she was rarely allowed to speak unless she was being asked a question which was once again rare. Mostly what she did was sat still and was always listening with her keen ears that got much use over the years.

"Anything else I can do for you?!"

Her loyaltly was now in the hands of Shard, and she'd do what ever he asked of her.

[Karl the Unfettered]

"Skako is a putrescent pile of pernicious pandering pikers, and I will have nothing to do with it," Shard said flatly. "I have a much better idea: Zeltros! A wild world of wet women and wandering wonderment, where a man can find anything he can afford and some things he wished he couldn't!" The contrast between his voice and Kharr's or even TS's was obvious; here was a man used to using his voice, who wore command like a supple glove and wielded power like an artist's paintbrush, or a conductor's baton.

Ignoring TS for the moment he walked closer to Kharr, raising her chin so she looked up into the black pools of his glasses. "You don't remember fighting...?" he inquired, in a low and inquisitive voice. "That's very strange. Very strange indeed... I should like to see you fight and kill, one of these days, but the question remains of how to trigger your pugilistic instincts." Oh, it would certainly be easy enough for the Miraluka to simply reach into her mind and do as he pleased, but he didn't feel like such brute-force methods at the moment.

"No matter," and he turned away. "Both of you, come with me. There is much to be done; people to see, places to go." He set off, facing straight ahead, but he was focused on Kharr. He could sense the Force in her, and for some reason she reminded him of Shandari; both were capable women, yet around him they became unsure, reliant. He had that effect on many women; it was intoxicating, and he took advantage of it quite often.

But for now he would restrain himself; there were, after all, people to see and things to do. He would make the Cathar scream later, and have a high old time doing it; for now they both needed direction, and he was more than happy to provide it.

[Sporky]

TS-13x followed after Shard obediently, keeping a close watch on Kharr. He accessed what information he had on the Sith Empire. Rather small. Limited to the Outer Rim. And yet Shard was here on Naboo. A Mid Rim world allied with the Republic. He had limited information on this 'Force' concept. He had never come into contact with anything like what his information said. Was the 'Force' such a powerful tool.

Zeltros..a party world. Yes. Lots of cracks to slip into and hide. Kharr could easily be squirelled away and protected. Zeltros was independant. Not strongly tied to anything. A few credits and they'd have a few thugs to supplement his own firepower.

Then there was the issue of the Dynamo..He could perhaps sell it. That'd fetch a nice sum. But then again..Sith EMPIRE. Empires had enormous funds. Better to ask Shard.

"Shard..what shall I do with the ship myself and Miss Kharr came here on?"

[Derriphan]

Kharr ever so slightly shifted her head in confusion with his words. Not exactly sure what to make of them as they rolled off his lips. Then with the same random order going he suggested a world known as Zeltros! Where he continued to go on about the people of Zeltros. Of course she had heard of this place. They were a entertainment planet and known widely for their woman, what ever that meant. Lost in her own little thoughts she didn't notice Shard take a step closer and raise her chin so she met his 'eyes'. Giving a slowly blink she listened to him as he spoke directly to her.

With the question of, you don't remember fighting? She merely shook her head up and down in the palm of his hand. Very vaguely did she remember fighting but she known she was a very good user in the art of Teras Kasi. He turned away from her with another word as he mentioned they should follow him. She followed him like an obedient slave as she was right beside him along with Tinnie. Who asked Shard what he was supposed to do with the ship he came her on. After his question she spoke to him again.

"I am very skilled at Teras Kasi sir! If that information is useful to you at all!"

If Shard hadn't noticed yet the young Cathar was naive in the ways of seduction and other forms of such adultery. Yes she was practiced in Teras Kasi, she could repair droids, and dance among other fun things, but the Hutt's she had been previously affiliated with kept her innocent and untouched. For the pure reason that she'd fetch a small star ship price for her body when sold.

[Karl the Unfettered]

Teras Kasi, eh? Shard thought to himself. Interesting. She might provide a sparring partner. There was time for that later. though. "We can take yours to Zeltros, my good bolt-bucket," the Miraluka told TS. "I came here on a public shuttle, and I have no desire to go back on one in the near future." That was a bald-faced lie, as the Midnight Sun was in high orbit around the frontier planet and awaited his return. But it would be a simple matter to signal for it to return to Korriban, while he went with his new friends to Zeltros.

He also figured he would send for Cho, and perhaps Miss Looma. He knew the Noghri got antsy pretty quick, and Miss Looma didn't get enough of his attention as it was; as amusing as Kurtz and his other lackeys were, he knew well that no one could substitute for he himself.

"I have some talent with Teras Kasi myself, Miss Kharr," the Miraluka went on. "And a few other things. Perhaps I can pass on some of those things at a later date, but for now we're busy. Places to go, people to do, things to see and all that. Bolt-bucket, lead the way to your ship and we'll be off once I coerce the docking authorities into letting us go."

With that he put TS in the lead and fell behind with Kharr. "We're going to get along just fine, you and I," he said happily, his arm around her shoulder. "Come, tell me all about yourself. And keep your voice up, I'm hard of hearing on this side." That was a lie, but if it got her to speak up so much the better. This close to him, the Cathar maiden would feel the body armor he wore beneath his grandiose robes, and perhaps the silenced pistol in between them down at his side.

[Sporky]

"Negative. The Iron Dynamo is a single-seat craft. Miss Kharr was a tight fit. The three of us will be impossible.

He looked in the direction of the spaceport, then back at Shard. "Perhaps a few fiery deaths followed by grand theft auto is in order?"