T5 - Errands of a Storm Demon

[Ash]

Ash heard the swooshing of several floors being passed in different increments. She could see and feel her voluminous yet light hair floating due to the high-speed movements of the small space but resisted the urge to play with it in front of her company or else be arrested for having too much fun.

They both were graveyard silent as the tier’s rushed by, and she noted that her body was a bit tensed up while Ash was completely relaxed. Other than that, Jazza didn’t seem to be ready for her own interrogation or probing questions that would get on Ash’s nerves at most.

Unfortunately for her she now had to think of a way to talk to Harlan Higgs without her escort raining down on her parade. And if she did, they had to at least talk about that guy who knows how to do a good tattoo at some point. She could manage that no problem, but she wasn’t really interested in any new ink despite the tribal skull she received as a result of her last visit down here. If anything, she was missing a piercing she’d like to get redone since the resurrection process did more than just heal the damage done by Dark Jak. It completely undid 9 years.

Ash quickly put that on her to-do list.




By the time they reached the point of the elevator coming to a gentle stop at tier five, the storm demon was beginning to think this companionship wouldn’t end horribly like the other ones did. Mostly because it was very clear neither female wanted the other one involved in their business. So she decided to at least approach this with that mutual respect as her boots tapped the metal on her exit.

Out on the street she turned to Jazza. “Am I allowed to summon something to get us to the casino faster?”

There was a bit of silence. “Affirmative. However, I might suggest hailing a cab instead. Might be faster than your promised abilities.”

The demoness wasn’t sure if the female soldier was trying to be a smartass or clever. After all, she could summon anything, anything destructive enough to wipe her out. “Good idea.” Ash acknowledged before reaching out a hand and trying to flag down some kind of transportation.

Something straight out of the 1950’s swerved around the corner almost instantly, a bright yellow car, curved and bulky as fuck compared to anything Ash has ever sat in. It honked its horn twice before it pulled to a less than safe stop in front of the girls. A thin grey skinned guy hung his head and arm out of the window, blowing the drag from his cigarette out to the side before flashing them a smile. “Where are you headed, ladies?” He had a bit of a Bronx accent.

Ash’s attention was instantly drawn to him as possibly a gang member of the Gentlemen of Jacks. Which was only solidified when the man finally recognized her. He was about to drop his smoke with his jaw when she put her finger against her lips. “Just a couple of gambling girls here, know where we can have some fun?”

“Of course I do.” He said, promptly, if a bit stiffly. “Hope in the back, I’ll run ya there faster than anyone else can.”

“I doubt that.” Jazza said dryly, climbing in after Ash. “If all members of the taxi community continue to follow all the driving laws then you would not be able to-”

“Harlan makes the rules here.” The driver said, before ramming the vehicle into gear and hitting the gas.

This silenced Jazza as it pushed them against the back seat, Ash giggled a bit. After they were able to move again she moved closer to the cage between her and the driver. “Harlan? That prime that was in Dante’s Abyss last year?”

“The one and only.” The driver claimed. His name plate said Benny Baltimore.

“Do you think he will be there? I’d love to get his autograph!” Ash let a moan slip from her as she spoke.

“He should be. I’ve been on the road for some time though, haven’t checked in in a while though. Can’t say for sure. I do know he has been looking for a couple of dames though. Something about a friend in trouble lately and he needs to address that. Then the thing with the Ultramarine happened. This is all coming down from the good ole grapevine, but damn you look a lot like the girl they said they banished.”

“Do I?” Ash said, acting stupid.

“Yeah, but we don’t get a lot of demons down here. Or anyone new really.” He made a point to look at the stormtrooper, too. “Not many of you guys either.”

“I imagine a lot more after that incident,” Jazza responded, cold, dry.

“A few,” Benny replied shortly.

“About that girl?” The Storm Demon tried to get more information, try to figure out if she needs to approach Harlan or not.

“Hm? Oh yeah. She comes in, right? No one sees her enter. And then suddenly some giant fucker- Excuse me. Some man in power armor drops in while armies of the troopers surround the casino. No one can tell me exactly what went down and how… Mostly because of the Isoverse. BUT the aftermath! Man I would have loved to see that fight. They took the guy out in a gunny and she was nowhere to be found. Just some blood stains on the floor. Boss was a bit miffed about the stains in his brand new carpet, he had to be, cause now he wants to find that girl.”

“Oh… Is he mad?” Ash shrank back, but it was only for Jazza’s sake.

“I don’t know, not for sure. I just hear what comes to me in the break rooms.” Benny said, his voice notably changing to reflect how he didn’t want to scare her off.

Ash could feel Jazza’s eyes on her before she spoke. “Not that excited about his autograph now. Ash?” She sounded only slightly smug, the rest of her voice was authoritative and dry.

The morality mirrored humanoid noted how fast she was to use her real name. It meant that Jazza believed her act of second-guessing her actions. “N-No.” She said, before sitting back and letting the cab speedily take them to the destination.

-

The female stormtrooper got out first this time while Ash paid for the fair with her omnilium manipulation to make cash for the guy. “Thanks for the ride, Benny.”

Benny grabbed her hand and held a bit, lowering his voice. “Yer her, ain't ya?” He waited for Ash to smirk and nod. “He ain’t mad.” He whispered, before letting go of her hand and counting away at the cash. Or at least looking like he was, he couldn’t concentrate because now he had a story to tell the boys.

Jazza stood there and waited for the sex demon to follow. Her second entrance was less grand than her first. Already there were plenty of people playing the games, lights and sounds filled the rooms. Between laughter and tears however, it was hard to put one mood to it all. Excitement ran high, higher than the gambling high.

They walked down the main aisle and were nearly hit by an old woman who was pulling on the arms of three machines. When she saw them getting too close, she glared at them both with no fear of pissing off the stormtrooper at all. “Get yer own machines.” She strained to be heard over the voice, but then pulled out a short shiv. They avoided her area.

Ash looked around again, noting a lot of card games going on towards the back. She saw crabs and roulette happening in the distance at other tables. Small crowds of people managed to push themselves around the games and several groups cheered each time they won the games of luck.

Jazza herself actually observed a few games with an intensity of a guard of the Emperor. She had noticed a few notable figures in the crowd and debated heavily if she should go up and say something. She eventually decided against it and instead reported it to her superior through some communication system in her helmet. If the figures were ever questioned about what they did with their personal time, she would feel confident that she managed to help in that investigation.

Ash on the other hand was looking at the guards. The muscle all around. There were plenty of bouncers watching to make sure no one caused more trouble than she had already did. There were obviously the people tending to the games, some already being replaced to keep the games fresh. Yet, Ash wasn’t looking for dumb muscle. She needed someone more important looking. She prefer Harlan but he was nowhere to be seen.

She gave Jazza a nudge and pointed upwards into the second floor before heading that way. She was being polite, but Jazza decided she’d follow regardless. Ash took to the stairs in a lazy calm pace, Jazza was stiff but followed her assignment despite becoming impatient right away at her pace. At the top, they were able to give the place a once over and found no one of interest.

“Who are you looking for?” Jazza asked. It was much quieter up here.

“My friend.” Ash lied, looking harder for someone who could do the best job.

They were interrupted by a group of women, laughing at something apparently hysterical. She turned to face the group which turned at the sound of a door. A young red-haired girl with a thin neck and a small frame expressed her boredom perfectly with a single word. “Finally.”

Out of a board room poured a few important people, none of them Ash truly knew, but Charlie stood out specifically because of his scars. Unfortunately Harlan had set up a schmoozing party with some people and he hadn’t had time to properly reschedule with them. Thankfully he was able to bullshit his way through the meeting long enough for the rich or famous to get bored and excuse themselves. After all their conversations were for Harlan, not Higgs’ men.

One of the kids they hired as valley drivers who’d been waiting for him to exit slid right up to Charlie as he was telling his company good luck on the games. The kid whispers about two words to him before stopping and looking in a different direction. Charlie felt the urge to cuff him for not explaining himself but his eyes were drawn in that same direction as well.

Harlan’s right hand man’s eyes landed on the girl he’s been trying to track down for three months and coming up blank. He would know, he’s been obsessively staring at her image in the surveillance videos trying to figure out who she was and why she’d come to their place of business with an Ultramarine on her tail. Her gorgeous black hair bounced in the wind as she took as few as steps as possible towards him. He remembered being plenty confused about the grin that she wore but quickly thinking it looked like she had found exactly who she was looking for.

The next few moments were blissfully confusing as Ash wrapped her arms around Charlie’s thick neck and went straight into a kiss. Out of pure instinct and reaction his hands took her by the waist and twisted a little. He didn’t pull away immediately, but he didn’t kiss back either. He just stared at her in confusion, later he’d kick himself for not at least enjoying it.

She slide right out of the kiss as natural as could be and smiled brightly up at him. “There you are baby, I was thinking I was going to miss you again.” She said loudly, sounding every bit as excited to see an old friend as she looked whens he wrapped her arms around him in a hug, twisting her weight back so he’d be facing the stormtrooper. “Play along, hun.” She whispered.

Fortunately for the woman in his arms, the stars have already aligned perfectly so that he had ever bit of a reason to go along. If he hadn’t… Well they were called the Gentlemen for a reason, in theory he’d do it all the same. Charlie could only come up with one reason why he shouldn’t, she had yet another law enforcer on her tail and Harlan wouldn’t be happy about all that. Luckily this was a legitimate business and they had nothing to hide.

“Sweetie.” He purred, wrapping his arms along her body and giving her a squeeze. “Where have you been?” He pulled away and brushed her hair out of her face. Everything about her face matched the one on the video.

“Oh. Just… Around.” She said, smiling and acting shy about where she’s been. “Is Harlan around, stud? I was hoping to catch him this time. He’s always busy when I try to visit.”

Charlie couldn't help but seek out all the hidden little messages she may or may not be sending him. He dissected every word and motion she made from that moment on. His mind worked as fast as he could force it to. “No. Actually. Harlan’s been missing for a while now.” He looked up at the trooper, then back at the demoness. “Sorry I haven’t been answering your calls. Been really busy trying to find some leads.” He cracked a smile. “Say doll, promise you won’t be mad?”

She pouted her lips, but then straightened out of the hug. “Sure.”

“I.. Lost yer number. It got tossed about with some other papers and I can’t find it.” Charlie tried to look ashamed of himself, as one would towards a long-term girlfriend. If he managed it he had no idea.

“Baby…” She groaned, pulling away and crossing her arms sternly.

He fell right into the role as he worried that she was going to slip right out of his fingers. “Don’t be like that dollface. I promise this time I’ll pin it to the board.”

His pleas were met with as much silence as you could achieve in a bustling casino.

“How about this. Give me your number again, and I’ll make sure as soon as I see Harlan again, I’ll arrange for ya and him to meet. We’ll go get coffee with him after I take you out to lunch.” Charlie found himself trying to put in his own messages.

Ash looked like she was caving into his sweet talk, her shoulders tension softening and the arms slowly unfolding so she could put them together in front of her. She pouted over her shoulder. “Promise?”

“Promise.” He said with a smile that said he believed he already won her over again.

Ash grinned back at him and threw herself into his arms again. This time he hugged her back tightly. She was about to go in for another kiss but apparently, Jazza had her fill with this.

“If you two wouldn’t mind. I’d like to get on with our errands.” Jazza said dryly.

Charlie looked over back at the demoness. “Who’s this?”

“As knew girlfriend. Were going to go get matching tattoos.” Ash replied, looking miffed but not really feeling it.

“Is that-”

“Negative. I am Officer Jazza. I have been charged with escorting a known fugitive to her desired destinations before escorting her out of Coruscant to ensure she behaves.”

Ash pouted. Then snatched a cocktail napkin off of a girl’s trey. “She’s no fun, as you can imagine. I was looking into the idea of another tattoo, maybe a piercing. Didn’t you say you knew a guy?” She said as she rummaged through his breast pockets for a pen. As she did she noticed the concealed weapons but kept them a secret from Jazza. She found an ink pen finally before using his chest as a writing desk.

“I know plenty of guys.” Charlie replied, trying to stay calm as she rummages through his clothing, trying to remember this is supposed to be his sweetheart. She began jotting some information down. “But I don’t know no one who can help you with either of those, Sweetheart.” He then began to wonder if he’d like a girl that was full of metal or covered in ink. It wasn’t very pretty in theory, was it?

“I’ll find someone.” She said, them smiled up at him. “Don’t forget your promise now, hun.” She said, folding up the paper and putting it and the pen into his inner breast pocket, folding it over neatly and sealing her con with another kiss. This time on the cheek. “See ya.”

“See ya Dollface.” He said with as much charm as he could with a scarred up face. As soon as she was headed down the stairs he ripped the paper out of his pocket and began to read it. There was a number, a series of numbers and a note promising that he just has to input it in a phone and it will reach her. Along with a thank you for playing along and that she expects him to contact her some time later. Promises to explain what's going on, and finally her name in short broad strokes. “Ash.”

That settles one mystery… Now to find Harlan Higgs.

[Ash]

Since Ash had no direction to go from there, she decided to lead Jazza back through the city on her own. A few blocks later, she brought out her cyberdeck and began to search through the dataverse to look for a place known for good body ink and piercings.


HONEST to Goodness Tattoo and Body Piercings was the first place on the list, with its angel wings and ripped off middle-eastern symbolism Ash quickly passed. Even if they were good, the best of the best, probably wasn’t the type of people to approve of a demoness walking in and getting a piercing in the place she wanted.

Liquid Courage was next to a pretty website that put names to faces and told a story of their history that she quickly opted to ignore instead of reading. The photos made her feel more likely to go there, but she couldn’t find any pictures that showed off their proud accomplishments. Furthermore, sounded more like a place to get some ink than some metal. She passed.

Mad Hatter’s Tattoos sounded amazing, there was a heavy amount of pride and art here. Photos of hundreds of pieces the artists have done were aplenty, as well as a few pictures of their piercings. Ash, however, was so turned off by the Alice in Wonderland’s influence that was apparent in every piece of art that she had to pass or else risk a grinning cat surgically attached to her in one way or another…

Bicycle Tattoo looked as good as you imagine it would. The word to describe it would be ‘dapper’. Its atmosphere looked welcoming and understanding of her image. However, she decided against going in for her piercings still. There had been no open advertisement or even prices for piercings. This one was a bit of a hard pass though she did save the contact information for later if she ever gets the idea to do another tattoo.

Finally, she settled on a place called Broken Heart. Its symbol was a pierced heart and a hand drawing a band-aid on the crack with a tattoo gun. It showed a variety of artists but also advertised heavily in the piercing of the strange kind. She had her location picked out.


Jazza followed Ash faithfully as they walked the streets of tier five. There were plenty of people walking about and minding their own business. Some stopped to stare at the lone stormtrooper and point asking their parents why they were there. Of course, the mother’s didn’t have an answer and rushed their kids along. There were a few kids playing stickball that has caught the attention of a small crowd. Ash made the escort stop and watch for a bit, but quickly moved on.

Eventually, they passed territories, a couple in the process. Unknowingly Ash entered the new territory of Hijiri’s. She noted the Tower but thought it looked like a cute tourist attraction more than anything. Jazza was keeping her eyes on a pair of kids that had followed them only to stop in the middle and avoid the new territory.

As for trouble, it was surprisingly tame at this time. Maybe because the single white soldier was openly following her, maybe it was because everyone else was busy causing trouble for each other. Either way, the walk was pretty uneventful except the various people on corners trying to sell them flowers, snow cones, or other treats. Jazza coldly rejected every one of them, but Ash took a cotton candy without hesitation and was still eating it as they neared the neighborhood Broken Heart was located.

“How long do you think this will take?” She asked her assignment.

“Depends on how many people are in line,” Ash said, popping in another blue piece of fluff into her mouth.

“If its a short line?” Jazza continued her questions.

“It’s a piercing. It will take longer for me to do the paperwork.” Ash replied with a friendliness only cotton candy can bring.

Jazza’s only response was to grunt as they rounded the corner.

-

As Ash promised, the longest part was doing the paperwork, primarily because she hadn’t finished her treat beforehand. Jazza watched the Prime eat a piece of cotton, jot a couple of letters or numbers down, and then repeat. She didn’t finish the permission forms until she was done with her candy and couldn’t stall much longer. As soon as she turned it in they were already processing her walk in and preparing the needles.

Jazza hadn’t heard what kind of piercing she’d wanted, just that it required a private room. This was a red flag to the stormtrooper and she demanded to go in with her. The people at Broken Heart looked nervous about this, but Ash gave permission quickly and without a sign of it being a problem. This bothered Jazza most.

The Storm Demon’s papers were looked through casually as if the desk clerk has memorized the forms and was just checking to make sure everything was in order. They had been one of 3 people there, and no one had been in line for the piercing portion of the shop. So they were already waving her in. As promised, Ash gave Jazza a come here sign to let her follow in. Jazza was a bit nervous as she walked through the black curtains.

There was a seat prepared for her, off to the corner where she could see a table. Ash took a seat on what looked like the type of cushioned bed that you’d see at a medical facility, the footholds already pulled out and sanitized. This only made the soldier that much more wary of what would be going on here. “This is for a piercing, correct?” She asked.

“Yep,” Ash answered honestly.

“What kind, exactly?” Jazza was hesitant to ask.

“Cliterous Piercing.” The body artist answered, coming in with some equipment and begins to wash his hands. “The only way to shorten that is ‘clit’.”

“W-Wha-” Jazza was clearly shocked at this information, she tried to hide her fluster despite them not able to see her face. “Why would you pierce your…” She couldn’t even finish it.

“Women do it for various reasons.” He had introduced himself to Ash as Al Vaughn. “Primarily for the rumored enhanced sexual experiences after it's been done. Sometimes it's to impress a guy.”

“Is this for that guy we just met?” Jazza’s dry tone softened with confusion.

“Hm?” Ash asked, already forgetting she’d played up that relationship with that guy from the casino. “No. This is for me.” Ash said, smiling as her tail whipped catlike behind her.

Jazza went on to argue, then remembered how flirty she’d been.

“Ready?” Al asked, pulling black latex gloved over his tattooed hands and unwrapping the needle and ring she’d purchased.

“Of course.” Ash sang, before getting back to her feet and beginning to undress her lower half.

She gave Jazza a glance, her last chance to leave. The stormtrooper would never admit it, but she stayed more out of curiosity than because she had to. The Storm Demon apparently having corrupted her mind enough to make her curious if the procedure hurt at all.

[Ash]

Jazza’s head hung a little lower in shame as they left Broken Heart, a little worse for the world than she expected this to be. She was almost afraid to ask what the prime had in mind next. She was walking a bit differently since the piercing process, probably sore.

There she stopped and thought about what to do next. As much as she wanted it, she was still surprised to hear the woman’s next thoughts. “I think all my errands are done… I’m ready to leave now.” Ash said, turning back to Jazza.

The stormtrooper was frozen with more shock than she’d been learning about the unique piercing… “Uh. Of course. Let us return to the gate then.”

“Actually, I was wondering if I would be allowed to go to the other gate?”

“To the Endless Dunes?”

“Yes.”

“What on earth would you want to go there for?” Jazza asked, but was already leading her back towards one of the many elevators.

“I don’t know yet. I haven’t been to a lot of the other verses. Is there nothing to do there?” Ash inquired.

“Nothing interesting that I am aware of.” Jazza answered honestly.

The Storm Demon just shrugged. “I’ll figure it out when I get there. Would that be a problem?”

“I’ll have to ask my higher up, but no. I don’t think it would be.”

“Thanks.” Ash smiled politely.



T1 - Journey's End.

After a phone call and a treck to the elevator, Ash and Jazza made their way on to the platform and began to travel at high speeds back up to tier one.

There was no conversation this time either. No dirty looks, no kind of communication whatsoever. Ash however did play with her hair this time, thinking about what she would like to wear in the desert. She contemplated on asking Jazza, but decided against it. Since they would take a little time to get to the top tier of Coruscant she began to shape her clothing to reflect her new destination. She looked more like a belly dancer than a fugitive by the end of it. Jazza noted the questionable clothing, but decided against saying anything since there were as of at this moment no laws against the outfit. It left less to the imagination, but still hide away the fresh piercing.

When they reached the gate entrance the beams of bright desert sun beamed past the gate’s barrier. Jazza stepped right up to the officer in command. “Officer Jazza, escorting Ash, The Storm Demon, to the Endless Dunes Gate as granted by the permission of my commander Kristoff. Please allow her to pass so that I can return to my post and send a report.”

The officer she was being handed off to glanced at his own tablet. The information Kristoff read out loud was displayed as well as the new assignment that Jazza explained. He nods firmly and then nods the bruised colored woman through the gate. “Have a nice day.” He forced out of his throat and tight teeth.

Ash scoffed before taking her leave. She faked a salute towards Jazza and then left. With the woman gone, Jazza turned on her heels and began to make her way back to the other gate.