Changed minds

[untilyousubmit]

His claws were hidden inside thick leather gloves. The shards in his skull beneath a hat. His teeth under his mask.

That left only the eyes, and he did not bother to hide those. Most that looked at him would assume he was an Arkanian, if they didn't notice his hands. The rest might assume he was blind. No matter. It was sufficient to let him pass through the crowds relatively unnoticed. He had a mission to attend to, and he would not be stopped.

He could hear it, somewhere nearby. The shards resonated oddly, the closer he drew to it. One of the buildings towering around him served as a hidden Czerka holding facility. It contained exotic substances, data valuable to many for its meaning and its blackmail potential.

He was there for the crystal that made the shards hum so strangely.

Comments

[killikambassador]

As an ambassador and negotiator, Vector was often sent in for jobs that required some diplomacy. It also meant he could get in to places that most people simply couldn't, even if he wasn't entirely human anymore.

Having broken away from his escort, Vector found a storage room full of various crystals. The hope was that perhaps this was where some kyber crystals were being stored, but since Vector lacked the Force, he couldn't sense where they might be.

So far, these just seemed to be ordinary crystals, and Vector couldn't guess as to their purpose.

[untilyousubmit]

He entered the building, gaining access to a floor below the Czerka property. There, in a secluded corner, he turned his mind toward the room above. Normally, he would need to know the room to enter it this way. But he could hear the crystal so clearly if he focused that it was almost unnecessary.

Almost. Concentrating on it was difficult. The crystal's hum was at a pitch that did not harmonize with the shards, creating a strange, uncomfortable feeling of falling in and out of phase with its vibration.

The lights flickered fitfully as the power built within him, the ringing of the shards growing louder, and the space between him and his destination unfolded into the madness of a perspective his mind had not been created to comprehend.

With a high, ringing hum and another flash of light from the panels, he arrived.

Something else was already here.

[killikambassador]

Vector luckily had his own means of getting into places. Sometimes he could just talk his way into them, and sometimes he needed some help from his tiny allies and nestmates.

He sensed the pretense before he saw it. It was odd. A sapient being, but corrupted, damaged, and with something about it that Vector couldn't put his hands on.

Turning towards the noise, Vector saw why the man felt as such. His aura was dark, and as corrupted as the man it belonged to. A man who wasn't quite a man anymore.

[untilyousubmit]

It was a human--not a human. The eyes were wrong. And something more, he could almost sense beneath the deafening hum around him.

And he was not wearing a corporate uniform. Perhaps another intruder. Competition. "I have come for one purpose. You will yield to this, or you will die."

[killikambassador]

Vector could hazard a guess that this man wasn't with security, based on his outfit and appearance alone. He would almost guess he was a Zabrak, were he unable to tell that those were crystals and not horns. His aura also indicated that he was not born with those, but rather they were a modification.

"For what purpose do you come here?"

[untilyousubmit]

"The crystals." He watched the being carefully, circling to place himself between it and the strongest source of the hum.

"The best must be mine. There will be no negotiation."

[killikambassador]

"We have no intention to harm you if you do not attack us first. We are here on a mission."

Black eyes were still trained on the man, examining his aura, and reaching out with his other senses. His scent is interesting too, and Vector would be curious to touch those crystals.

"Are you after kyber crystals?"

[untilyousubmit]

"Yes." His eyes narrowed. There were many things in this vault, why did this being know of his target?

"You need know nothing more."

[killikambassador]

"Your aura is most unusual. It is unlike any we have ever seen."

Vector took a careful step closer to the man with the crystals.