02-17-2015, 06:57 PM
Two hours previous...
Despite what they thought, Brilliance Dynamites Neon wasn't a stupid man.
Of course, he didn't really know what The Empire had on file about him but he knew it couldn't be good. And he wasn't at all certain that said file didn't contain thing pertaining to his intelligence either. He knew, one day, that The Empire would tire of his antics and his presence would be insisted upon for the sole purpose of bringing him to 'justice' for his 'crimes'. It was sad, really, as back home he still would would have been an outlaw, though at least there he would have have the opportunity to look at the sky, breathing fresh air, and go down like he was meant to; flashy and in a blaze of wondrous glory.
No, Brilliance Dynamites Neon was not a stupid man. He doubted very much he would be able to do any of those things.
Only a select few of the people he kept close knew how he really felt. While he was drawn to Tier Five due to the plight these people suffered, the inequality they lived every day, a soul like his own wasn't meant to be caged underground. He missed his home a great deal, so much so that it almost felt like physical pain. But part of being a leader was to hide your pain so the difficult decisions could be made, so the people had someone to look up to that was nigh infallible. He'd been questioned before but he'd always won his people over with cold, hard logic and, above all else, hope. And he knew their lives were better for it. Not a day since he took command of these people had anyone gone hungry for more than a day. No infighting, no strife between old enemies.
Together, under one banner.
“She din hafta move, Captain,” the man babbled, wringing his hands, his face a mask of worry and fear. “She jes kinda stared and I was on mah knees. Like an invisible hand just kinda pushed me down and formed me there. Couldn't move or nuttin'. I...I think she coulda slit my throat if she wanted. The others...they felt it too. Didn't push them down but...they felt it. It made their guts drop ta the bottom of their shoes...”
Brilliance Dynamites Neon waved a hand to silence his scout. He wasn't angry and he made sure to show that by giving the scout, Fredrick, a reassuring look. “Go. Get yerself some chow and a beer. Calm yer nerves. After that, I'll be gatherin' my advisers so we can assess the situation...”
And assess they did. Further (more long range) reports stated that the girl that Fredrick had encountered was actually taking a nap. The other two had their own missions, he figured, as one had left before coming back and relieving the other one. Their scouts hadn't managed to keep track of them and had given up before returning to camp with their reports. It all stank to high heaven but Brilliance Dynamites Neon really only focused on one thing; the girl.
She was brave. Bold. Confident enough to take herself a short nap but still cautious enough to keep at least one Storm Trooper within visual and vocal range at all times. Even so, they were a party of three. The Empire may be a cold, murderous government but Brilliance Dynamites Neon couldn't see the wisdom in letting a Prime, especially one as supposedly powerful as this one, head down the Tiers just to get slaughtered by the natives. Sure, she sounded powerful enough but it really wouldn't take much to overrun their position and kill them without a second thought. But for some reason he didn't. Brilliance Dynamites Neon trusted his gut. It's always served him well. He wasn't about to go against it now.
Which brought him to his current state. He was a dozen paces away from the girl now and he could see why Fredrick was so spooked. She was tall, for a female, with dark skin and mismatched eyes that seemed far too intense for someone her age. And, really, it was her eyes that got him. They seemed too...too old. Back home he'd brought a few stray souls into the Bad Lads that had needed more than a few weeks to 'catch up with reality'. Even then more than a few didn't come back 'all there'. His people concluded that these people were suffering from extended heat stroke, when your eyes played tricks on you at every which end and, even while safe and access to all the water they could need, they still didn't believe their current situation at all, Some continued to believe it was still a hallucination. Some would wander off in the middle of the night and just keep walking until they dropped or an animal killed them.
He got that vibe now.
No, this woman definitely wasn't 'all there', but Brilliance Dynamites Neon doubted that she was someone who didn't embrace that part of her. He had seen that in Vash the Stampede. They had similar looks about them, though Vash had the decency to look almost ashamed. This one did not. She was chaos incarnate, he knew. The shiver that went down his spine told him all he needed to know and, luckily, this day had all been prepared for. He had set the plans in motion already. Even if he was gone, The Bad Lads would live on. Maybe not under that name, but he took comfort in the knowledge that his people would be safe.
Even if he was not.
“Well now,” the man grunted out as he walked forward, his men remaining behind him. “Heard ya scared the crap outta my scout. Said you had some sorta mystical powers that made him kneel before you.” He sniffed, looking down at Rave with a nod of approval. “Sounds hella fancy, little girl. How's 'bout we talk, eh? Settle this real flashy like between us?”
The other woman nodded and Brilliance Dynamites Neon swore her eyes twinkled. Her voice was deeper, like whiskey-on-the-rocks.
“I'd be happy to.”
Now.
It wasn't a negotiation.
Rave had laid it all out before him. The choices were limited, close to none really, but Rave wasn't known for pulling any punches. They'd sat down on some rubble a few feet away from where they first stood and, without much preamble, Rave had outlined exactly what was going on and what was going to happen. Of course Brilliance Dynamites Neon knew he had a bounty on his head and of course he knew that one day he would be too much of a nuisance foe The Empire to ignore. He also knew they'd send a Prime to get rid of him in some form or fashion, though he just didn't know when. Sure, his raids on medical buildings and various food supply depots were numbered and various but he'd never left a body behind. He breathed in deep before closing his eyes and tilting his head back.
“Neva thought it'd end like this, if'n you were wondering.”
“I wasn't.”
Brilliance Dynamites Neon laughed at the gruff reply, eyes snapping towards the small woman as he slapped his knee. She was one that spoke her mind, caring little of what anyone thought of her or her actions. He doubted that this woman knew anything resembling regret in her whole life. He also appreciated that she didn't hurry him along in the process either. She was patient, or forced that quality upon herself, whichever. Either way he admired it. Oddly enough there wasn't a whole lot that he didn't admire about this woman, now that he thought about it. She was strong, confident in her ability and was rather rough around the edges. Were it a different time and place Brilliance Dynamites Neon was pretty sure he'd be smitten beyond words.
“What's gonna happen?” he asked, turning his head slightly so he could see his men behind him. “To me? To them?”
“I don't know,” Rave answered truthfully after a dozen seconds or so as she thought about the question. “I'm gonna hafta be honest with you, Neon. I haven't been in Coruscant for very long. Couple of weeks, tops. Haven't had the time to really see how The Empire deals with their criminals. If I had to guess though...maybe some torture to figure out any information you might know, followed by a quick execution.”
Rave knew she could lie, but it was in practice that she often wondered if it was something learned or a trait she inherited from her parents, people who were lying scumbags themselves. She knew exactly what would happen to Brilliance Dynamites Neon, and in truth it bothered her. He was going to be interrogated for a long, long time, after which he would be kept as an eternal prisoner, encased in something called 'carbonite' until The Empire could come up with another reason to use him. Rave thought it a more merciful fate than the one she suffered before she was whisked off to The Nexus, though from what Biggs and Wedge told her it was still a pretty awful fate.
Remember the power...
Rave knitted her eyebrows before she looked from side to side slowly. The voice was firm, enticing and oddly familiar. Still, it didn't appear that Brilliance Dynamites Neon, his crew nor her companions had heard it. She kept her game face on and crossed her arms across her chest as she kept her eyes homed in on the big man's countenance. She'd heard that voice before, in her dreams, but she'd thought nothing of it. Now, however, while she was awake...
“Ya know, back home was an endless desert,” Brilliance Dynamites Neon began, standing up and stretching. “Far as the eye could see. Hot, burning desert. It was a thing of beauty, though you had ta be lookin' fer it. It served you, if you respected it. Made my life easier when I went recruitin', lemme tell ya. Lotta people wanted shelter, food...a solid place to call home. A group of people they could trust. An' with me they got that. Guess that's why when I got here I knew I'd be doin' more of the same. Back home, though...was a hell of a lot easier to get the job done.” A beat. “Truth be told, I miss that...”
Rave stood and walked to the big man before she reached into a pouch on her belt. She reached inside and took out a pair of handcuffs that Biggs told her would keep someone twice the size of Brilliance Dynamites Neon locked up nice and tight. She held out the object to her victim, her eyes hard and eyebrows slanted to show her resolve. Brilliance Dynamites Neon held that gaze for a few before he took them. Immediately they snaked around his wrists, binding them together in a material that made Rave tilt her head in curiosity. Still, time for that later. She watched as Brilliance Dynamites Neon turned back towards his men and gave them a slight nod. They didn't move, and Rave could see a few of them standing bravely, tears streaming down their faces.
“Don't tell them...” the dark skinned man muttered as he walked along with Rave towards Biggs and Wedge. “But...I jes wanna be free. I wanna go back home. Ya think if I die...I'll go back?”
“Yeah,” Rave answered after a moment. “Of that I have no doubt.”
She never knew she could lie so well.
Despite what they thought, Brilliance Dynamites Neon wasn't a stupid man.
Of course, he didn't really know what The Empire had on file about him but he knew it couldn't be good. And he wasn't at all certain that said file didn't contain thing pertaining to his intelligence either. He knew, one day, that The Empire would tire of his antics and his presence would be insisted upon for the sole purpose of bringing him to 'justice' for his 'crimes'. It was sad, really, as back home he still would would have been an outlaw, though at least there he would have have the opportunity to look at the sky, breathing fresh air, and go down like he was meant to; flashy and in a blaze of wondrous glory.
No, Brilliance Dynamites Neon was not a stupid man. He doubted very much he would be able to do any of those things.
Only a select few of the people he kept close knew how he really felt. While he was drawn to Tier Five due to the plight these people suffered, the inequality they lived every day, a soul like his own wasn't meant to be caged underground. He missed his home a great deal, so much so that it almost felt like physical pain. But part of being a leader was to hide your pain so the difficult decisions could be made, so the people had someone to look up to that was nigh infallible. He'd been questioned before but he'd always won his people over with cold, hard logic and, above all else, hope. And he knew their lives were better for it. Not a day since he took command of these people had anyone gone hungry for more than a day. No infighting, no strife between old enemies.
Together, under one banner.
“She din hafta move, Captain,” the man babbled, wringing his hands, his face a mask of worry and fear. “She jes kinda stared and I was on mah knees. Like an invisible hand just kinda pushed me down and formed me there. Couldn't move or nuttin'. I...I think she coulda slit my throat if she wanted. The others...they felt it too. Didn't push them down but...they felt it. It made their guts drop ta the bottom of their shoes...”
Brilliance Dynamites Neon waved a hand to silence his scout. He wasn't angry and he made sure to show that by giving the scout, Fredrick, a reassuring look. “Go. Get yerself some chow and a beer. Calm yer nerves. After that, I'll be gatherin' my advisers so we can assess the situation...”
And assess they did. Further (more long range) reports stated that the girl that Fredrick had encountered was actually taking a nap. The other two had their own missions, he figured, as one had left before coming back and relieving the other one. Their scouts hadn't managed to keep track of them and had given up before returning to camp with their reports. It all stank to high heaven but Brilliance Dynamites Neon really only focused on one thing; the girl.
She was brave. Bold. Confident enough to take herself a short nap but still cautious enough to keep at least one Storm Trooper within visual and vocal range at all times. Even so, they were a party of three. The Empire may be a cold, murderous government but Brilliance Dynamites Neon couldn't see the wisdom in letting a Prime, especially one as supposedly powerful as this one, head down the Tiers just to get slaughtered by the natives. Sure, she sounded powerful enough but it really wouldn't take much to overrun their position and kill them without a second thought. But for some reason he didn't. Brilliance Dynamites Neon trusted his gut. It's always served him well. He wasn't about to go against it now.
Which brought him to his current state. He was a dozen paces away from the girl now and he could see why Fredrick was so spooked. She was tall, for a female, with dark skin and mismatched eyes that seemed far too intense for someone her age. And, really, it was her eyes that got him. They seemed too...too old. Back home he'd brought a few stray souls into the Bad Lads that had needed more than a few weeks to 'catch up with reality'. Even then more than a few didn't come back 'all there'. His people concluded that these people were suffering from extended heat stroke, when your eyes played tricks on you at every which end and, even while safe and access to all the water they could need, they still didn't believe their current situation at all, Some continued to believe it was still a hallucination. Some would wander off in the middle of the night and just keep walking until they dropped or an animal killed them.
He got that vibe now.
No, this woman definitely wasn't 'all there', but Brilliance Dynamites Neon doubted that she was someone who didn't embrace that part of her. He had seen that in Vash the Stampede. They had similar looks about them, though Vash had the decency to look almost ashamed. This one did not. She was chaos incarnate, he knew. The shiver that went down his spine told him all he needed to know and, luckily, this day had all been prepared for. He had set the plans in motion already. Even if he was gone, The Bad Lads would live on. Maybe not under that name, but he took comfort in the knowledge that his people would be safe.
Even if he was not.
“Well now,” the man grunted out as he walked forward, his men remaining behind him. “Heard ya scared the crap outta my scout. Said you had some sorta mystical powers that made him kneel before you.” He sniffed, looking down at Rave with a nod of approval. “Sounds hella fancy, little girl. How's 'bout we talk, eh? Settle this real flashy like between us?”
The other woman nodded and Brilliance Dynamites Neon swore her eyes twinkled. Her voice was deeper, like whiskey-on-the-rocks.
“I'd be happy to.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Now.
It wasn't a negotiation.
Rave had laid it all out before him. The choices were limited, close to none really, but Rave wasn't known for pulling any punches. They'd sat down on some rubble a few feet away from where they first stood and, without much preamble, Rave had outlined exactly what was going on and what was going to happen. Of course Brilliance Dynamites Neon knew he had a bounty on his head and of course he knew that one day he would be too much of a nuisance foe The Empire to ignore. He also knew they'd send a Prime to get rid of him in some form or fashion, though he just didn't know when. Sure, his raids on medical buildings and various food supply depots were numbered and various but he'd never left a body behind. He breathed in deep before closing his eyes and tilting his head back.
“Neva thought it'd end like this, if'n you were wondering.”
“I wasn't.”
Brilliance Dynamites Neon laughed at the gruff reply, eyes snapping towards the small woman as he slapped his knee. She was one that spoke her mind, caring little of what anyone thought of her or her actions. He doubted that this woman knew anything resembling regret in her whole life. He also appreciated that she didn't hurry him along in the process either. She was patient, or forced that quality upon herself, whichever. Either way he admired it. Oddly enough there wasn't a whole lot that he didn't admire about this woman, now that he thought about it. She was strong, confident in her ability and was rather rough around the edges. Were it a different time and place Brilliance Dynamites Neon was pretty sure he'd be smitten beyond words.
“What's gonna happen?” he asked, turning his head slightly so he could see his men behind him. “To me? To them?”
“I don't know,” Rave answered truthfully after a dozen seconds or so as she thought about the question. “I'm gonna hafta be honest with you, Neon. I haven't been in Coruscant for very long. Couple of weeks, tops. Haven't had the time to really see how The Empire deals with their criminals. If I had to guess though...maybe some torture to figure out any information you might know, followed by a quick execution.”
Rave knew she could lie, but it was in practice that she often wondered if it was something learned or a trait she inherited from her parents, people who were lying scumbags themselves. She knew exactly what would happen to Brilliance Dynamites Neon, and in truth it bothered her. He was going to be interrogated for a long, long time, after which he would be kept as an eternal prisoner, encased in something called 'carbonite' until The Empire could come up with another reason to use him. Rave thought it a more merciful fate than the one she suffered before she was whisked off to The Nexus, though from what Biggs and Wedge told her it was still a pretty awful fate.
Remember the power...
Rave knitted her eyebrows before she looked from side to side slowly. The voice was firm, enticing and oddly familiar. Still, it didn't appear that Brilliance Dynamites Neon, his crew nor her companions had heard it. She kept her game face on and crossed her arms across her chest as she kept her eyes homed in on the big man's countenance. She'd heard that voice before, in her dreams, but she'd thought nothing of it. Now, however, while she was awake...
“Ya know, back home was an endless desert,” Brilliance Dynamites Neon began, standing up and stretching. “Far as the eye could see. Hot, burning desert. It was a thing of beauty, though you had ta be lookin' fer it. It served you, if you respected it. Made my life easier when I went recruitin', lemme tell ya. Lotta people wanted shelter, food...a solid place to call home. A group of people they could trust. An' with me they got that. Guess that's why when I got here I knew I'd be doin' more of the same. Back home, though...was a hell of a lot easier to get the job done.” A beat. “Truth be told, I miss that...”
Rave stood and walked to the big man before she reached into a pouch on her belt. She reached inside and took out a pair of handcuffs that Biggs told her would keep someone twice the size of Brilliance Dynamites Neon locked up nice and tight. She held out the object to her victim, her eyes hard and eyebrows slanted to show her resolve. Brilliance Dynamites Neon held that gaze for a few before he took them. Immediately they snaked around his wrists, binding them together in a material that made Rave tilt her head in curiosity. Still, time for that later. She watched as Brilliance Dynamites Neon turned back towards his men and gave them a slight nod. They didn't move, and Rave could see a few of them standing bravely, tears streaming down their faces.
“Don't tell them...” the dark skinned man muttered as he walked along with Rave towards Biggs and Wedge. “But...I jes wanna be free. I wanna go back home. Ya think if I die...I'll go back?”
“Yeah,” Rave answered after a moment. “Of that I have no doubt.”
She never knew she could lie so well.
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