[Solas, Lucine] Seeking a Companion

Solas sat alone in his ship. He had only barely escaped his duel with the Arconan. And then the word had come down that Tarentum’s summit had decided to restructure the clan. His mind, a whirling ball of emotions and thoughts when Gordon’s deep baritone cut the silence.

“What is it?” Solas asked his pilot. The droid warbled a response. “I see, so the girl has come in search of her datapad. Activate the hyperdrive, plot a course for the nearest port of call. Let’s see how far she’ll go.”

“It appears he is preparing to make the jump into hyperspace,” Captain Artix reported as he studied the glowing ship displays.

Lucine leaned forward, peering through the inky darkness of space to the tiny dot that was Solas’s ship. In truth, she was ambivalent about the idea of continuing pursuit. The memory of their last meeting was still fresh on her mind; even now, thought of the madness that swirled in his yellow eyes sent a chill down her spine.

But there was nothing for it. She would get back what was hers. The fact that she had already memorized most of the information on the datapad did not matter. The device had been a gift from her Master; that made it priceless.

“Then prepare to make the jump as well,” she said, with more certainty in her voice than she felt. Eventually, they would catch up. But what would she do when she caught him?

Solas smiled looking at the readout on the Arconan’s ship. A run of the mill Star Commuter 2000, which meant that even if her crew could suss out his destination, the minute they entered hyperspace his ship would utterly outclass them.

“Well then girl. Shall we have ourselves a chase?” The Sith smiled. “Gordon, engage the hyperdrive.” The stoic droid warbled a response and pushed forward the activation lever. A moment later the space around his ship seemed to stretch out before vanishing entirely. Replaced by the swirling blue tunnel of hyperspace. Ah the joys of a 1.5 class hyperdrive, not nearly as fast as some smuggler ships, but it was faster than most military vessels and considerably faster than any civilian ship.

It wasn’t long before the blues of hyperspace dissipated and gave way to the gaudy neon pinks, yellows and greens of Tenebrae station. The station has exploded in popularity after the fall of Maz’s castle, and now served as a haven and staging area for everything from smugglers to mercs to even a few military types.

“Put the Nihilus down on the far side Gordon. I feel like a drink.”

As she took her seat, Lucine allowed her thoughts to drift. She considered known information and potential variables, trying to determine the most likely outcome of this endeavor. She wanted her datapad back, but what would be the best way to get it?

“We’ve lost him,” the Captain’s voice interrupted her thoughts.

The redhead opened her eyes, taking in the stars that streaked past them as they traversed hyperspace. Irritating as it was, she had known it was a possibility. She did not know much about ships, but she was painfully aware that hers was far from the fastest.

Absently, she tapped a scarlet nail against the arm rest. What to do now? Of course, she could give up the chase. There were war preparations to make, and she could always try to find him at a later date to seek some sort of revenge. Solas might be easier to find if he thought she had given up entirely.

But she hated the idea of giving up so easily. “What is the next port of call?” she asked at last.

There was a pause as Captain Artix considered his charts. “It’s the Tenebrae station,” he replied at last.

“Fine. Put us down there. Perhaps I can pick up a trail,” she said.

“And if he bypassed it?” Artix asked.

“Then we’ll check the next two ports of call along this heading,” Lucine replied. What she lacked in speed, she more than made up for in tenacity. “If we cannot find him, then we will simply have to discontinue the chase and resume it at a later date.”

As they exited hyperspace and made preparations to land, Lucine considered what little she knew about the Tenebrae station. She knew that it was a rough place, utilized primarily by mercenaries and smugglers. It was not the kind of place for a lady to wander around alone.

Grimly, she checked her kit and made sure that her lightsaber and blaster were safely secured to her belt. Satisfied that everything was in place, she wrapped herself in a cloak and drew up the hood, covering her conspicuous red hair. With her preparations made, Lucine set off into the station to begin her search.

Stepping off the ramp of his ship Solas watched as a rather angry looking bith ran up to him. As he waved a datapad in front of Solas’ face the Sith groaned and turned on the man. The bith balked at the action, as the Sith stood a full 30 centimeters taller than him. Shaking his head he thrust the pad in Solas’ face again. Glancing at the pad Solas could determine that the pad he had landed on was reserved for someone. What the bith failed to account for was the fact that Solas didn’t care. Now Solas was willing to allow the man to go about his business without incident, at least until he made the mistake of putting his hand on the Sith. In an instant Solas had grabbed the man by the throat and lifted him from the ground. Without a word the epicanthix crushed the man’s throat and left him in a heap.

After some time, Solas found himself sitting in the corner of a crowded cantina sipping on a glass of brandy.

‘Come on girly. Where are you?’

The Sith mused to himself as the door to the cantina hissed open.

As it turned out, finding the white-haired Epicanthix was not as difficult as Lucine had anticipated. It helped that the first thing he did upon arrival to the station was murder some dock worker. The redhead picked up the trail where he had docked his ship. A few inquiries led her directly to the cantina.

She paused just outside the door once more, still searching her mind for some sort of plan. But it was simply impossible to plan for an unpredictable madman. She would simply have to improvise. Squaring her shoulders, she pressed her hand against the panel, causing the door to slide open.

She paused just inside the door, scanning the patrons until her eyes fell upon Solas, sitting alone in his corner. A brief inspection of the main room proved her suspicions. The bar was of the rougher sort, populated mostly by scowling mercenaries who looked like they would just as soon kill you as say hello. Lovely, she sighed inwardly.

Lucine, meanwhile, went directly to the bar. Whatever it was she said to the Toydarian bartender was lost in the hum of conversation within the room After a moment, the bartender plunked two filthy glasses on the bar-top, and retrieved the bottle of brandy. She stopped him before he could start to pour with a hand on his arm and a charming smile, and said something more. Whatever it was she said earned her a blank look, until she slid a few credit chips across the bar toward him. With a sulky expression, the Toydarian took the glasses and washed them, before pouring a few fingers of brandy in each.

Retrieving the glasses, she went directly to Epicanthix’s table. She set them down in the center, as she said, “Long time, no see, Solas. I hope I did not keep you waiting too long.”

“Oh no my dear you arrived precisely when I was hoping you would.” The epicanthix smiled. “Why you ask? Just watch.” He pointed to the main area of the bar. As she turned he pulled his hood up over his head as three large men approached the table.

“Hey there little lady.” The first leaned in close reaking of alcohol. “Why don’t you come have some fun with us?”

Lucine cast a quick glance of annoyance back at Solas as she picked up one of the tumblers of bourbon. She then turned her attention back to the three goons. All three were well-muscled; dock workers or mercenaries, perhaps? The one that had spoken was the tallest and evidently the leader of their little group. They are not going to respect anything other than a show of force. Now how am I going to go about that?

“As… lovely as that sounds, I am not interested,” she said with a dismissive wave of her free hand.

Undeterred, the first man grabbed her by the arm and dragged her into an embrace. “Don’t be like that, sweetheart. Give us a kiss,” he slurred.

Lucine tried not to wrinkle her nose at the overpowering smell of alcohol. “You are drunk. I suggest you sleep it off,” she said, weaving the Force into her words and setting a delay in her suggestion for the next time she touched his head.

When the man showed no signs of releasing her, she threw the bourbon into his face while bringing the heel of her boot down upon his foot. She twisted out of his grasp as he doubled over, before bringing the tumbler down onto the back of his head. The suggestion took hold, and the man slumped to the ground.

Hopefully his friends will take the hint…

“Hehehe… Hahahaha!” A loud cackling laughter erupted from the corner table as Solas stood up. “Perfect! Absolutely perfect! You even respond like her!” Solas through back his hood. His face warped by a twisted smile. His eyes aflame with madness.

“Now then, shall we begin?” With a hiss his crimson blade sprang to life. “Let us dance sweetheart!” At that he raised his saber over his head before bringing it down, cleaving in half a nearby table, the chair between it and Solas, and the person sitting in the chair.

Lucine heard the distinctive sound of the igniting lightsaber, just as she saw the looks of fear in the faces of the mercenary goons. They immediately turned and fled, any thought of accosting her now gone. She whirled to face Solas as she instinctively snatched her lightsaber from her belt. She was just in time to see the Epicanthix cut the hapless man in two; his gleeful laughter and the madness that danced in his eyes sent chills down her spine.

Her emerald lightsaber flared to life as she dropped into a defensive stance. Things were rapidly spiraling out of control, and she had no idea how to salvage the situation. For a moment, she considered fleeing, but quickly put the idea from her mind.”There is no need for this violence,” she said, trying to keep her voice even. She drew upon her fear, and extended a tendril of Force toward the Epicanthix, trying to influence his actions. It took all of her willpower not to recoil at the insanity that she saw in his mind. “Calm down. Let us talk like adults.”

"Oh my sweet, we are beyond talking. But this is not where things end, only begin." With a flourish of his blade he took an aggressive variation on the standard Djem So opening stance. With a laugh the Sith Warrior leapt into the air as if to perform the Falling Avalanche strike, that was the cornerstone of the Djem So attack pattern, only to sail over her head and land next to the door. Standing with a whirl he cut down an unaware serving girl. Her screams alerted those who had chosen to ignore the raucous in the corner.

Lucine’s eyes narrowed as her suggestion fell upon deaf ears, before steeling herself for the attack that never came. She turned to face him, while maintaining her defensive stance. “And what is your plan here, Solas?” She kept her voice calm and steady, despite the icy terror that she felt whenever she looked into his madness filled eyes. “Or do you even have a plan, aside from murdering random people?”

She did not even spare the bar maid a second glance. She was Sith. She did not care about the meaningless lives of the people Solas cut down. The only thing she cared about was getting back what belonged to her.

But the fact was that the situation was completely out of her control. The Epicanthix was causing quite a commotion, and she did not want to be around when whatever passed for the law showed up. She considered cutting her losses and running. She had backups of the information on the datapad, and the device was encrypted. She could always seek a suitable revenge at a later date.

But pride forced her to stay where she was. Pride, and the fact that Solas was now blocking the door.