Before Zirak, Sora or Ak-Yev can begin to search the audience chamber or Korak's body, Bane's voice crackles across the comlink at Zirak's belt.

"I take it you got him?"

"Suffice to say that his legs and torso decided to part ways and will not be making amends anytime soon," Zirak replies smugly, staring down at the weequay's remains.

"Congratulations," comes Bane's terse reply, "So there will be no objections, I take it, if I take my droideka back?"

As he speaks, the droideka behind them deactivates its shields and folds into a rolling position, before spinning off at full speed down the corridor in the direction of the control room.

"And ask Sora if he can come and inform his uncle's guards of their liege's death," another loud rumble echoes over the comlink, followed by the sound of blaster fire, "They don't appear to have quite got the update..."

Zirak swiftly turns to the doorway.

"Well? You heard him, Sora."

Sora nods grimly, already hurrying toward the door. He pauses, frowning, as Ak-Yev hoists up Korak's upper body before limping after them.

"In case they do not believe you," Ak-Yev shrugs as he brushes past Sora.

Sora seems to see the logic of this, and also shrugs before setting off once more in the direction of the control room.

"You do realise, Sora," calls Zirak from up ahead, "That I will resent you greatly if Bane dies because you didn't hurry up?"

"Do I detect genuine concern for a being other than yourself?" Sora grins as he breaks into a sprint to catch up with Zirak.

"Just because I don't care for stupid and tiresome beings doesn't mean that I am incapable of being considerate of others," Zirak sniffs as they run.

"Must you limp so slowly, Ak-Yev? Hurry up!"

"Yes, emissary," Ak-Yev pants, gritting his teeth as he pushes himself to hurry faster down the corridor behind them.

The trio do not take long to reach the control room, and round the corner shortly to find the doors blown open by what appears to have been a plasma torch, judging by the carbon scoring. Half a dozen weequay crouch just inside the doorway, battling their droideka which stands in the corridor before them. A dozen weequay lie injured or dead outside the door, along with the damaged forms of the other two droidekas. Bane is crouched behind his desk in the centre of the room, ducking up to launch off a blast or two at his attackers before retreating once more.

"It is over!" Sora calls in Sriluurian as he strides forward, lightsaber raised, "Korak is dead!"

The weequay soldiers glance at each other in surprise, which morphs into dismay as their eyes alight on the torso being carried by Ak-Yev. As one they throw down their weapons and kneel before Sora.

"A wise decision," Sora replies sternly, "Now-"

He is cut off as the droideka continues with a savage burst which sends one of the weequay guards flying through the air to crash lifelessly against a desk behind.

OOC: Droideka dealt 52 points of vitality damage to Clan Bulq Elite Guard.
Droideka dealt 20 points of wound damage to Clan Bulq Elite Guard.

Sora glares at Bane as the remaining guards reach for their weapons in confusion.

Bane swiftly darts up, hastily typing into the console as the droideka's weapons power down.

"Sorry about that," he says sheepishly to the guards, "These centrally controlled droids, eh?"

The guards do not look impressed.

Zirak snorts, amused.

"Well, get to work, Sora. Where are these unlimited credits of yours?"

Sora makes his way past the guards to join Bane at the control desk. Behind him Ak-Yev tosses aside the remains of Korak and proceeds to bark orders to the surrendered guards in Sriluurian.

"See that the remaining security systems are either disabled or under our control," Sora instructs Bane, "And make sure no more surrendered guards are butchered."

"It wasn't like I planned it," Bane mutters defensively as he types away at the computer.

"Well, I won't say 'good planning' then," Zirak smirks as he joins Sora in peering over Bane's shoulder.

"You showed me earlier that zabrak in the prison block," Sora continues, ignoring Zirak, "Can you bring up the schematics of how to reach him?"

Bane nods, typing away.

"I can. And the credits...?"

"Yes, yes, all in good time," Sora replies impatiently.

"Bane has a point," Zirak says firmly, "Your friend has been hanging there for a while, by the looks of it. He can wait a bit longer. But I don't want some enterprising weequay running off with my credits while we are busy with your friend."

Sora opens his mouth to argue, but Bane quickly interrupts.

"Fortunately," he says firmly, "the treasury is on the way to the detention block, so we should be able to make a stop there on the way."

Sora sighs.

"Fine. Just make sure the path is cleared for us."

"All security doors are unlocked," Bane nods, "We just need Korak's fingerprint to open the treasury. We'll also need him to convince the guards to stand down. Grab him again, will you Ak-Yev?"

OOC: Bane Malar rolled 22 using 1d20+8. Computer Use.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:09, Fri 20 Sept 2019.

Ak-Yev nods, dutifully hoisting up the torso once more.

"Now, I'll just lock this system with a voiceprint ID to make sure no tech savvy weequay -- a contradiction in terms I know -- try to turn the security systems against us again."

He types away and after a moment an artificial female voice comes from the console.

"Voiceprint lock initialised. Speak your code now."

Bane leans forward and speaks in a slow, deliberate tone.

"Zeltrons are red, Duros are blue, weequays are dumb, and so are you."

The console gives an agreeable beep.

"Voiceprint lock accepted."

Sora sends Bane a glance which is a mixture of disapproval and concern.

Bane, still finishing typing, becomes aware of Sora's gaze and shrugs defensively.

"What?"
This message was last edited by the player at 02:05, Mon 23 Sept 2019.

Zirak smirks.

"Your cue is to laugh, Sora. No Weequay is going to be repeating that in a hurry."

Sora seems to accept the logic of this and nods with a shrug.

"True."

"Excellent," says Bane, rising and scooping up a datapad of the schematics, "Now, assuming there are no HK-289s wandering about the facility we should be all sorted."

"HK-whats?" Sora repeats blankly.

"Nevermind," Bane sighs, then in a more eager tone, "Lets go get rich."

"Indeed," Zirak agrees.
This message was last edited by the GM at 02:06, Mon 23 Sept 2019.

The trio proceed to make their way through the facility. They come across several groups of guards, but at the sight of Korak's body in Ak-Yev's arms, they quickly surrender and bow in submission to Sora, who instructs them in Sriluurian and they hurry off. It only takes them a few minutes of walking to reach the treasury.

"All right," says Bane eagerly, gesturing to the control system to the left of the blast door which seals the entrance, "Ak-Yev, you're up."

Ak-Yev obediently steps forward, forcing open on of Korak's eyelids to scan his retina and pressing his thumb roughly into the print scanner. The console hesitates a moment before giving a reluctant beep as the door begins to rumble open.

The party descend the wide staircase which leads into a series of durasteel plated rooms which comprise the Bulq Estate vaults. Their first impression is that these do not contain nearly as much wealth as might be expected. Many of the rooms are completely empty, as are a number of the pedestals and display stands which are dotted about the place.

Bane halts at the foot of the staircase, glancing around the empty expanse as if expecting the missing items and crates of credits to magically materialise.

Zirak directs an accusing glare at Sora, as if the weequay is somehow responsible for clearing out the treasury prior to their arrival.

Bane, who seems to have recovered himself, approaches the nearest of the remaining crates.

"Tell me," he directs at Ak-Yev, the most recent being to be in the vicinity of the treasury, "That these crates contain million credit chips...?"

Ak-Yev frowns darkly.

"Hundred-thousand credit chips?" Bane continues less hopefully.

Zirak moves over to the nearest crate to heave open the lid.

"Single credit chips," he says in disgust, "I doubt there are ten thousand credits in this entire vault. Where are my credits?" he directs accusingly at Bane.
This message was last edited by the GM at 00:41, Mon 23 Sept 2019.

"Yes, where are they?" Bane deflects at Sora.

"How would I possibly know?" Sora growls irritably.

"You're telling me that you own a moon and yet your treasury contains nothing but chump change?" Bane growls back.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:44, Mon 23 Sept 2019.

"Quay owns the moon," Ak-Yev corrects Bane sombrely.

"Oh shut up, Yev," Bane snaps, "Nobody asked you."

Ak-Yev sniffs.

"Quay give me patience," he mutters to himself.

"Whatever the reason, my wealth is clearly not here now," Sora says matter-of-factly, "We should proceed to the detention cells."

Bane glowers at Sora.

"Fine. But I am only going on the off chance that your zabrak friend knows something about where the credits went. You'd better not have shipped them off to those crusader friends of yours before you went and lost your memory..."

Sora does not grace this remark with a response as Bane leads the way, datapad in hand, down to the detention block. By this time word seems to have gotten around that Sora has reclaimed his estate, evidenced by the fact that the guards they meet do not need to be shown Kodak's corpse before they cooperate, bowing reverentially before Sora. At length they reach the wide flight of stone steps which lead to the detention cells.

Sora briskly descends the stairs and down a corridor lined with a dozen cell doors.

"Did you get a cell number?" he asks Bane, glancing back.

"I did," Bane replies smoothly as he scans through his datapad, "Let's see here... Cell Six."

"Cell Six," Sora repeats, nodding.

He approaches the cell, presses a button on the control panel beside it, and the door slides open.

Inside the cell floats the zabrak, suspended by his hands and feet by the blue, electric energy of a containment field. He glances weakly up, a proud sneer on his face, but this morphs into disbelief as he recognises Sora.

"Sora Bulq? Is that really you?" he says hoarsely with a weak smile, "We feared you were dead."

"I am not dead," Sora assures him, somewhat unnecessarily, "However I do seem to have suffered a significant amount of memory loss. I am sorry, remind me who you are again?"

The zabrak frowns, eyeing Sora appraisingly. At length he nods grimly.

"Eeth Koth," he winces, "Brother in arms in our crusade against all who would shun the living Force."

He seems to become aware of Bane, Zirak and Ak-Yev for the first time.

"And these are?"

"Hmm?" says Sora, "Oh, these are my companions. They have assisted me on my journey to reclaim my memory and to discover what we can about the cube-"

"We're just trying to help Sora," Bane interrupts quickly, "I ran into him on his travels, and being the kindhearted soul that I am, I decided to-"

OOC: Bane Malar rolled 12 using 1d20+8. Bluff.

"The cube?" Eeth Koth cuts the bounty hunter off, frowning at Sora, "Was that what caused the destruction of Kau'dan City?"

OOC: Eeth Koth rolled 17 using 1d20+11. Sense Motive.

"What do you know about the cube?" Sora asks quickly.

Eeth winces.

"This field contains a neural disruptor. It disrupts my connection to the Force, not to mention causing a certain degree of pain. Would you mind releasing me, then we can continue this discussion?"

Zirak watches him coldly.

"Earn your freedom, worm," he says without sympathy, "So far, you have told us nothing that we do not already know."

"Exactly," agrees Bane, "Besides, we've no reason to believe he won't attack us and steal our cube the moment he is free."

Sora frowns reprovingly at his companions, before striding over to deactivate the containment field, sending the zabrak slumping heavily to the ground.

Bane sighs.

"Sora, doesn't it ever occur to you that it might be sensible to listen to the member of this party who hasn't had his brain wiped? That is, the one who actually had a brain to begin with..." he adds with a dark glance at Ak-Yev.

Zirak snorts appreciatively.

"Attack us, and I will cut off both your hands," he informs Eeth coldly, "Keep talking."

Eeth sits himself up, slumping against the wall behind him for support. He glances up at Sora, but gasps as he does so, slipping backwards and clutching a hand to his forehead.

"Sora... what has happened to you?"
This message was last edited by the player at 05:09, Tue 10 Dec 2019.

Sora frowns in confusion.

"What do you mean? What is wrong?"

"I... you are... I cannot sense you in the Force," Eeth says, staring at the weequay warily, "You are like a... like a hole... a dead place in the Force..."

He glances at Zirak darkly.

"And your companion is worse."

"Pathetic and insane," Zirak sneers unsympathetically, "Are you certain you used to associate with him willingly, Sora?"

"Keep those hands where I can see them," Bane warns Eeth, following the zabrak with his rifle as he rises.

Sora frowns.

"I do not know what you are speaking of, Eeth. I can still feel the Force..."

Eeth shakes his head, ignoring Bane.

"I sense the Force passing into you, but then it just... disappears. There is no balance, and it does not return. It is simply... consumed."

"He's quite clearly insane," Zirak asserts, "I wonder if those neural disruptors of his are the reason? We should stock up on them if they work this well on Jedi."

Ak-Yev eyes the disruptor field appraisingly, and then nods in agreement with Zirak.

Sora sends Zirak his signature reproving glance, before turning back to Eeth.

"We have a... a hunger," he explains grimly, "We feel a strong urge to consume the life essence of beings around us, and feel weak or fatigued if we do not do so regularly. At times it will send us into spasms if we attempt to resist for too long."
This message was last edited by the player at 01:34, Fri 12 June 2020.

"And by 'us' he means himself," Bane clarifies darkly, "Zirak here is sensible enough not to let it come to that."

"Exactly," Zirak agrees, "Speaking of which, how long has it been since you ate last, Sora? Should I leave you and your new friend alone for a while?"

Sora shoots Zirak another reproachful look, but Eeth stares at Zirak with a frown.

"Zirak?" he repeats, "Zirak... Derasir?"

Zirak sends him a calculating look.

"What if he is?" Bane prompts, trying not to sound too interested as he glances between the pair.

"The Sith Lord? Matron Uvariel's champion?" Eeth continues, ignoring Bane, "Is this wound in the Force something of your doing?"

"Sith Lord?" Ak-Yev interjects, his tone accusatory.

"Insane, remember?" Zirak reassures the weequay firmly.

Ak-Yev opens his mouth, then closes it, frowning at Eeth.

"You know Zirak?" Sora queries. It is his turn to frown.

"Our paths crossed once on Yavin IV," Eeth replies grimly, "And I have the scars to prove it..."

A gesture at his robed arm accompanies this.

"You're really sure he can be trusted?"

"I trust that he isn't going to kill me, yes," Sora replies, somewhat evasively.

"Do you think he is ever going to get to the point where he tells us something useful about where our credits are instead of whining about holes in the Force?" Zirak says to Bane in a pointedly audible undertone.

"Credits?" Eeth replies blankly.

"Are you echoing me just to be annoying, or because you don't know where they are?" Zirak sneers.

"My companions are distressed by the fact that the vaults of this estate are almost empty," Sora explains, rolling his eyes, "I assume you do not know the location of a small fortune that may or may not have been here?"

Eeth's brow furrows.

"I do not," he shakes his head, "I was under the impression you always kept a significant war chest located here in case it was needed, but all the funds you injected into the Crusader cause were transferred from your IBC account."

"IBC account...?" Bane echoes with interest.

"IBC?" Sora echoes blankly.

"Intergalactic Banking Clan," Bane answers Sora impatiently, then, to Eeth, "So, how do we get access to it?"

"I believe you had a code or something," Eeth says to Sora uncertainly, "I am not really sure."

"Well aren't you helpful," Bane mutters dryly, "So in short, you don't know how to find the credits that were located here or in Sora's IBC account?"

Eeth sends the mercenary a dark glance, and does not dignify his question with a response.

"Nevermind the credits," Sora interrupts, waving a dismissive hand, "What of the cube? What can you tell us of that?"

Eeth glances at Zirak warily, and then at Bane, before reluctantly explaining.

"We were searching for a weapon to use against the Stratocracy. We had heard of a weapon used to decimate fleets and destroy a planet in ancient times, called a 'mass shadow generator'. We went in search of it on a planet called Malachor. If you could call it a planet. Twisted and all but destroyed from whatever this weapon did to it. Our search was fruitless. That was when Master Depa --she was still leading our order then-- uncovered mention of some sort of device that had been used in the creation of the weapon. Something ancient that could not be destroyed, and so had been hidden. We searched across the galaxy for clues as to where it might be. Then one day, several months ago now, Depa suddenly informed us that we were not to search anymore. She seemed distressed, almost... afraid. She departed our order shortly after. We did not know why she was so afraid, but it was clear she no longer possessed the courage to do what must be done. So we continued our search. Eventually Rasaa discovered a clue that lead us to Yavin IV. We searched for weeks, and at length we found that cube, buried deep beneath one of the temples there. But the Sith had learned of our search, and dispatched agents to stop us. That was where we," he glances at Zirak, "had our encounter. We escaped with the cube," he continues, turning back to Sora, "And you dispatched me to make ready our forces while you and Rasaa went to one of our bases, located in Kau'dan City. We heard the reports of the city's destruction a few days later. I went in search of you, but I found no sign of either you or the cube in the rubble. While our agents continued their search, I returned here, hoping to find some clue as to your whereabouts, in case you had left the base there. That was when your uncle gave me his charming reception..."

"You really did miss your calling, Eeth," Bane says dryly from behind them as the zabrak finishes his tale, "You should have been a holodrama script writer."
This message was last edited by the player at 04:43, Tue 10 Dec 2019.

Sora scowls at Bane.

"So what is the cube then?" he asks Eeth.

Eeth shakes his head.

"That I do not know. Only that it is an ancient and powerful object, capable of fuelling a weapon like this 'mass shadow generator'."

Bane snorts.

"Sounds to me like some poor celestial left his chance cube behind when they were skedaddling out of our galaxy."

"Bane, can you try to be serious?" Sora reprimands the bounty hunter.

"Well excuse me," Bane mutters, "Thought we were all making up funny, outrageous stories..."

Zirak snorts appreciatively.

"We believe this hunger thing inside Zirak and myself may be related to the cube," Sora continues, turning back to Eeth and firmly ignoring Bane.

Eeth considers this, and nods slowly.

"That would explain why Depa was so afraid of it. If it has the power to consume the very Force itself, then it is a fearsome thing."

Zirak rolls his eyes carelessly.

"Well, whatever power I'm using seems to be working perfectly well for me. I don't see why you care if I throw things around using the Force or a wound in the Force. Practically speaking, I don't see any difference."

Eeth shakes his head patiently.

"You are not using the wound. You are the wound," he explains "You are using the Force, however the Force is not flowing through you, but rather flowing out of you and into nothingness. It is being consumed by you."

"Well, if the Force is as infinite as all you Jedi like to make it out to be, I'm sure it won't mind if a couple of beings are consuming an infinitesimal portion of it," Zirak says skeptically.

"It is not the quantity that is disturbing," Eeth counters sternly, "It is the fact that this wound stems from you. This is not the first wound in the Force I have encountered. But it is the first that has originated from a sentient being..."

"I'm sure the Force will learn to live with it," Zirak says flippantly.

Eeth narrows his eyes at Zirak.

"You keep strange company, Sora."

"And it looks like that company is about to get even stranger," Bane says pointedly, before shrugging, "Well, not that this isn't interesting, but if it is all the same to you lot, I shall be returning to the control room to hunt the system for any clues as to where the contents of our treasury have gone."

"Yes, we should return to the control room," Sora agrees, stretching out a hand to help Eeth up, "I don't think the soldiers in this place will try anything further, but we had best make certain."

Eeth eyes the proffered hand warily, and does not take it as he pushes himself up.

"I don't think your new friend likes you, Sora," Zirak observes with a smirk.

"Like and dislike are simply emotions, and are not the way of the living Force," Eeth replies gravely as he follows the others out of the room, "But I do not think it wise to touch either of you until this wound within you has been healed. We should make our way to the Jedi Crusader headquarters as soon as possible."

OOC: Eeth Koth has joined the party.
This message was last edited by the player at 05:14, Tue 10 Dec 2019.

"We will be doing no such thing," Bane says flatly from ahead of them.

"Agreed," Zirak says firmly, "That is, if the rest of your order are anything like you."

"Where are the Jedi Crusader headquarters?" asks Sora with interest as they walk.

Eeth glances at Zirak and then at Bane mistrustfully.

"Let us focus on the task of regaining control of your fortress. Your uncle is dead, I presume?"

Sora sends Zirak an accusing glance.

"He is."

Zirak smirks from behind the pair.

"He is."

Eeth nods.

"A deceitful and cowardly individual. His passing is no great loss to the galaxy."

"That couldn't be a hint of dislike in your tone, could it?" Zirak prods as they turn a corridor to begin ascending a flight of stone stairs.
This message was last edited by the GM at 05:30, Tue 10 Dec 2019.

Eeth ignores Zirak, addressing Sora.

"Does anyone aside from your companions know that you are alive?"

"Does anyone apart from us know you are alive?" Zirak sneers sinisterly.

It is Bane's turn to snort appreciatively.

"My question," Eeth clarifies thinly to Zirak, "Is whether or not we are to expect an army of bounty hunters on our doorstep in the near future, or if Sora's presence here is largely unknown to the galaxy."

"The governor of Kau'dan City recognised me," Sora explains, "Along with a duros gang and some traders..."

"And a Stratocratic agent," Bane puts in matter-of-factly.

"And some Sith," Zirak puts in.

"Uh, yes, those too..." Sora agrees with a cough.

Eeth places a hand to his forehead.

"So in short, an army of bounty hunters is the least of our worries..."

OOC: End of Chapter XIII...