Zero: Common Vices

[Agden Ithrin]

K's Choice - Not An Addict

Breathe it in and breathe it out
And pass it on, it's almost out
We're so creative, so much more
We're high above but on the floor

It's not a habit, it's cool, I feel alive
If you don't have it you're on the other side

The deeper you stick it in your vein
The deeper the thoughts, there's no more pain
I'm in heaven, I'm a god
I'm everywhere, I feel so hot

It's not a habit, it's cool, I feel alive
If you don't have it you're on the other side
I'm not an addict (maybe that's a lie)

It's over now, I'm cold, alone
I'm just a person on my own
Nothing means a thing to me
(Nothing means a thing to me)

It's not a habit, it's cool, I feel alive
If you don't have it you're on the other side
I'm not an addict (maybe that's a lie)

Free me, leave me
Watch me as I'm going down
Free me, see me
Look at me, I'm falling and I'm falling.

It is not a habit, it is cool I feel alive I feel...
It is not a habit, it is cool I feel alive

It's not a habit, it's cool, I feel alive
If you don't have it you're on the other side
I'm not an addict (maybe that's a lie)
I'm not an addict...

Every planet has its ups and downs. It just so happens that Coruscant has a hell of a lot more of the latter. In a world where Jedi patrol the streets to try and maintain order and peace, it seems ridiculous that such depravity could exist. The sad thing is that even the Jedi themselves get caught up in the darkness. One in particular had seen this scene many times before. Agden Ithrin, a failed pilot from Iridonia, had spent the better part of two years slumming in drug dens within the lower city, despite having plans to tour Talus and Tralus. A sufferer of a rare disease known as Quannots, Agden’s fate was predestined. He would slowly but surely die over time. Already he had lost his hearing. When standing out side of one of the many drug-peddling clubs in the under city, however, he was glad for it. The silence was much more comforting.

He ducked in the doorway and was greeted with a few familiar faces. Some tried to speak to him, but of course he could not understand them. He made a vague motion and explained that he couldn’t hear over the music – he assumed it was loud and fast, because of the throng of dancers in the certain of the club. He wasn’t here to talk, anyway. Since the departure of Xazor from the Order he had been directionless. Without training he was left to fill his days with other pursuits, all of which brought him back to the same place – dwelling on his own inadequacies and the futility of his being alive. In the end, he had decided that he wasn’t happy simply sustaining himself on the pain-killing hypnocane. He needed something to make him feel, and he was going to find it here.

“L'lahsh,” he said, handing over a few credits to the rodian barman as his nectar-ale was handed over in a tall mug. He would purchase what he needed once he had scoped out the situation – it was easy to see who the dealers were, but he didn’t want to seem to eager. He knew the consequences of that all too well – you left with empty pockets.

[Angelina Kincaid]

Angelina Kincaid had fallen into a pit of drugs and alcohol, she had needed something to ease her pain. The pain of losing the only man she ever loved.

Perhaps that had been the cause of it in the beginning, but now it ran much deeper. The ex-Falycin Ocean warrior turned Jedi initiate, needed spice now to keep her mind clear and her senses operational. For without the drug, she became viciously ill and shaky. Angelina couldn't allow herself that, not with Hunter in her care, so she kept her stash well hidden and took it when it was needed.

Tonight, Hunter was with her father and it was time for the Jedi to re-stock. Dressed in black leather with her daggers well hidden, Angelina crossed through the doors of the Forbidden Zone. Into the hangout with the street scum, villians and drug dealers.

Angelina had her credit ready when she needed it. Her salvation was only a little ways away. She stepped up to the bar and ordered. "Sludge." She said, it was a strong Falycin brew one she had grown quite fond of lately. While she waited she noticed the guy beside her, he seemed...somewhat familiar.

[Xazor Elessar]

For not being the place typical of a Jedi to go, there sure were quite a few gathered in this place -- at least three to be sure of. Two sat at the front of the bar beside each other, perhaps unbeknownst to themselves who the other was, but in the back corner sat the third. Her black robes covered her whole body and touched the floor while the hood was pulled up over her head, shadowing her face. She looked about the room with her faded blue eyes that felt a bit dry and scratchy -- bloodshot to be precise.

Sighing quietly to herself, the Garou shifted her weight and settled into the seat of the booth, keeping her attention fixed on the crowd. So many things had gone wrong -- so many things got messed up to lead her to this place tonight, but she had a purpose. Not too long ago, the young woman had gone undercover as a dealer to take down some major drug lords in the lower regions of Coruscant.

Unfortunatly, it is always difficult to play the other side and walk the straight and narrow.

Xazor had found this out in a hurry as she began to be drawn back to a scene that she had left so long ago. Now she sat at the back of the club, waiting for a customer to buy her goods so she could afford to buy her own. "Soon enough and you'll have what you need." She smiled as thoughts of the hallucinogen wandered through her mind. The drug, which caused marvelous visions and feelings, was known on the streets as TAF. Soon the Jedi Knight was off in her own distant world again as reality slipped from her thoughts and she focused on selling the drugs in her pocket tonight.

[Agden Ithrin]

It was impossible to miss Agden, for anyone. It wasn’t often people saw a grey-skinned, tattooed, horned brick-wall like Ithrin. He was about as imposing as they came. It was for this reason that he had gotten used to people staring at him, and therefore didn’t bother to look back at Angelica while she stared at him. He took a sip of his ale, and wondered what the music was that they were playing. He missed it a lot, sometimes. Little things like a happy tune could have such a profound effect. He yawned some, setting his mug down on the bar top, and finally looking directly down at Angelica. His brow immediately furrowed. Where did he know her from?

[Angelina Kincaid]

It hit Angelina like a brick wall. Krast! He's from the Temple! She suddenly became uneasy, wondering if he had heard she was into the whole drug thing and was going to turn her in.

She'd lose Hunter for sure, if Natia found out and told River. So far she had been covering her tracks very carefully, but now this?

How in the worlds would she ever make a cover for being down in this sludgehold, especially dressed as she was.

"Uh...hi." She stammered a bit. Smooth move, Angel. Okay, maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all.

[Xazor Elessar]

Just as Angelina spoke, Xazor's eyes zeroed in on the pair at the front of the bar. From back in the corner, the young woman's sensitive ears could pick up their voices easily, even with the loud music raging on in the club. Her eyes settled upon the woman's unfamiliar face and slowly moved to the one in her company. Her brain recognized Agden right away and she smiled at the thought of seeing him again. "What's he doing here?!" The woman suddenly exclaimed, realizing that under normal circumstances, it would have been wonderful to see him, but here? In this place?

Rising from her seat, the young woman slowly trudged through the throng of people. Her heavy black robes gathered around her, hiding her image as well as the goods she had to sell. Before long, Xazor was at the front of the bar and she sat down just a few chairs away from Agden. "Corellian Ale." The Knight ordered upon being asked what she would have to drink. A large mug of a foamy liquid was set before her and she smiled beneath the blackness of her hood. Soon enough, they would met again. For now, she would be patient.

[Agden Ithrin]

“H’llo.”

Apparently, he was right in thinking that he recognized her. She seemed to recognize him too, at least from what he could read from her expression. His gaze fixed on her lips, to make sure that he would ‘hear’ everything right when she spoke again. He hadn’t noticed the hooded figure who had sat down fairly close to him.

“… Yer a Jedi, ar’nt ye?”

[Angelina Kincaid]

Damn, this is just great.... Angelina thought dryly. "Yes, I am...sort of." She told him with a brief smile. "I basically just live there, not much else."

[Xazor Elessar]

Xazor continued listening to the pair speak. She had seen the woman once before, but was not sure where. Upon thinking of this more, she shook her head and kept to herself, listening. Agden's voice was unmistakable and the Knight had to wonder why he was here. He was dressed in a dark manner, and appeared -- nervous. The woman did not look like someone he would associate with, due to her physical appearance and the clothes, or lack thereof, that she was wearing.

Still, Xazor was shocked to hear that the woman was a Jedi, or to her, kind of.

"How are you kind of a Jedi? You either are or you're not." She thought to herself, but soon it was explained that she mostly lived with the Jedi. "Perhaps a fugitive, like me? Then why would they house her and turn me in?" The thoughts continued circling her mind but she shook them off, and decided to make an inconspicuous move.

With the slight reach of her hand into a pocket on her robes, the Garou pulled a small back of white powder. It was a powerful drug, something that she had taken for a while. It made her feel alive and super-human upon inhalation. Smiling beneath the darkness of her hood, the Knight clutched the bag in her hand, knowing that eventually -- someone would bite and buy from her.

[Agden Ithrin]

“Ah know th’feelin,” the Zabrak replied, with a faint nod. “All talk an’ no action sometimes, th’Jedi,” he continued, absently swirling his drink around in its glass. “… ‘m Agden, by th’way. Suppos’d Jedi Pad’wan.”

[Angelina Kincaid]

"Angelina," she smiled with a nod. "Not a Jedi Padawan, just a wanna be. I am, however a Falycin Ocean Warrior, that much is for certain."

Her 'Sludge' arrived. That's exactly what it looked like too, something from a sewer drain. It packed quite a punch.

[Xazor Elessar]

Xazor watched on through the corner of her eye, and through the Force, as the two conversed. A vile looking substance was placed before the woman as Agden and she exchanged introductions.

Shifting her weight slightly, the Knight placed the bag upon the counter and kept it mostly hidden from sight, save for from the direction of Angelina and Agden. Perhaps it would spark one of their minds into being curious about the cloaked figure.

Perhaps they would even attempt to buy from her. Is that not why they were down here afterall? 0ne could only hope.

[Angelina Kincaid]

Angelina saw it first, it almost called to her in the state she was in.

Spice.

"Excuse me for a few moments, Agden." She said as she kept her eyes on the dark cloaked figure and the small bag that was nearly hidden from view, but Angelina's eyes were sharp. She had caught onto it.

Angelina slid off her bar stool and slowly walked over to the dark figure in the booth. "Mind if I have a seat, stranger?" Her Falycin accent was stronger from the doings of the booze.

[Agden Ithrin]

Agden watched as the woman moved to sit down beside a rather shady looking character. He might not have been able to hear what the pair said, but he could read their lips. That being said, the cloaked figure had a hood covering their face, making it possible only to get one side of the conversation. Still, it was better than nothing. He would watch and see what happened…

[Xazor Elessar]

Xazor smiled to herself as a young woman came, seeking to sit with her. With a slight gesture, the dark one motioned for her to sit. "Do as you wish." The voice of Xazor was masked and heavily accented, she touched Angel's mind and allowed her to believe that the cloaked figure was a man -- that is, until the Knight thouht the time was right.

"What do you want with me?" The question was blunt, but it was how the drug dealers worked. Either the person who joined her wished to buy, or she wished to talk -- and right now, Xazor was not into talking.

[Angelina Kincaid]

"You have something that I want and I have the credit to pay the price for it." Angelina reached into her cloak and pulled out a small bag of credit chits. She slid it across the table.

[Xazor Elessar]

Xazor's eyes locked onto the bag of credits and she shook her head. "That's not enough. This is high quality stuff, woman." She glared at Angelina and pushed the credits back toward her. "Give me that and half of that amount or nothing."

It was how the dealers played the game. Either she wanted the Spice bad enough, or she really didn't. In the end, it was up to her and the price was up to Xazor. "Do you want it or not? I have higher paying customers waiting if you're not interested."

[Angelina Kincaid]

Angelina huffed and nodded. She needed that stuff badly. "Alright," she finally agreed and brought out yet another bag that had been well hidden and passed it over the table.