Some of our Masks Wear Us (Molly Black)

[Grym Kandle]

The Bothan howled, coming at the lithe figure in the dark room as if the Bothan would tackle the figure to the ground. The black figure sidestepped and the dim light caught the briefest flash of a reflection before the Bothan went quiet mid-charge and collapsed in a heap against the wall with a wet thud. Arterial blood sprayed across the floor but none of it touched the dark figure.

Grym Kandle squatted down, sliding the tip of his knife through the blood.

Bad, bad, bad.

Grym held the blade up as the sensors in his mask went to work. The HUD read off some data and Grym tsked as he stood up.

+++ CONFIRM TRACES OF PRODUCT CODE 5L41V1V35H+++
The Boss would have to hear about this. Nothing to worry about yet but the organization needed to safe guard itself against this stuff. This was not the kind of product that needed to get out. Kandle had seen too many cases of it already just in Cloud City. Push the product deeper, to the gangs where this kind of action was common place. Can't have techies losing their minds and attacking Vigos like that. Kandle stood slowly, breathing slowly as his eyes closed, sensing that sharp pain behind his eyeballs like when you need to sleep more but someone just turned on all the lights.

Grym stood in the street, mobs of people walking towards him. In the distance ahead, one person, a woman, faced away. She stood alone. Like swimming through an ocean of people, Grym made his way towards her. She wore all black and when his gloved hand reached to her shoulder she turned. The green haze of the vision sharpened as it focused in like someone focusing the scope of a rifle on her face. Her face which was covered in Grym's very same mask.

Vigo Kandle stood in the same street he had just envisioned but it was nearly empty. And he wasn't in a good way. How long had it taken to get here? He couldn't even focus on the HUD to understand or remember what time it had been in that dark room with the Bothan in relation to what time the HUD gave now. And he needed to dose again sooner than later. He was already stooped over, cane in hand. He tottered like an old man, his knees bent, not ever stretching beyond a certain degree. A crony had once said it appeared like their Vigo went from being 20 to 200 in a matter of seconds. And Grym felt every inch of those 200 years, he thought, nearly forgetting the woman who had worn his mask. He finally made it out of the streetway and onto the sidewalk, letting his HUD determine his exact location and how to make his way to a place that he could rest before calling in a ride.

[Molly Black]

With her pedicure completed, Molly Black sat with her feet to the side as her favorite Sullastan tech, Niemi Kyak assisted in helping do up the buckles on Molly's black heeled sandals. The coat of blue on her toes shiny and perfect, as always. Niemi continued to chatter on at length in rapid fire Sullustese which was apparently understood just fine..

"Yeah, I got it." It referring to a report that she had requested. The pertinent deets on a man she had recently made the acquaintance of. She had asked for 'whatever you can dig up' and Niemi had not disappointed. Molly told herself it was purely business. The kind she would have had to check out first anyways, if Mr. Vankar wanted to move some merchandise, or if she needed to make use of one of his ships, say.

"If anything new comes in, you'll let me know? I do love our visits, Niemi." Wiggling her toes, her tone was solemn, suggesting it was the stars honest truth. Even still, Molly paid and tipped her for the salon work, and for the quickly assembled information as well.

Exiting the salon, Molly checked the time on the delicate looking silver linked chronometer on her wrist. She could pick up something to make for dinner she supposed. Deciding on a direction that led her away from the salon and toward the market shops that would be closing soon for the night. Other shops stayed open at all hours, but the market stalls had the freshest food. Sometimes she could get one of the local kids to carry her bags for her for a tip too.

Her mind fixated on satisfying her hunger, she was less attentive than normal to the faces around her. So far today, no one was after her. That was something. Nearing the tram station, she stopped to glance over her shoulder out of habit. No one, really. Unless you counted the hunched over man hobbling her way.

Actually... When she stopped to consider him, he looked like he might keel right over at any moment. Looking around to see if someone else was going to help the fellow reminded her that she was one of the only crazy people hanging around this part of the city right now. Inhaling, and exhaling for patience, she reminded herself that she was surrounded by the very worst sort of people. He was probably going to grab her and run off with her purse, or something. That better be all he did...

"So...umm. You going to make it, sir?"

[Grym Kandle]

The stooped over man craned his neck up to glance at her. He was not bent double over but he felt close enough to it that she seemed almost a foot taller than him. His impassive mask caught the street light as his ragged breathing sighed slightly. His mask also projected his voice, hiding anything to note, with a dull tone, as if he was infinitely bored with everything, contrary to what he was about to say,

"Help... would be greatly appreciated. Greatly... some place to sit down..."

Grym's eyebrows furrowed beneath his mask, not like she would notice but she seemed familiar. As if he knew her from some place.

Of course you know her.

"Maybe a bite to eat?"

He could not help himself from the chuckle that escaped him. What would she think of this apparently old man, stumbling across the middle of the street in the slummier slums of Cloud City asking her to join him for a bite to eat. Could he even work his mouth to eat, that was something he bothered not to think much about.

"Pardon for being forward... but I do need to find somewhere to sit... soon."

[Molly Black]

Yeah, have dinner with the creepy old dude, Molly! What could possibly go wrong?

Silently cursing her shit luck, Molly adjusted her purse strap more securely around her shoulder and moved forward to help the man. She might be a filthy criminal now, but she had been raised right.

"Alright, alright take it easy. I draw the line at hip fractures." Tucking his arm around her shoulders, she counted her blessings he was not one of the stinky ones at least..

"I was headed for the tram, and dinner myself.", she admitted. "I guess eating out suits me fine."

Feeding people was kind of a thing of hers. She hated seeing people go hungry. She had been one of the hungry ones for a while, after running away from home as a kid. She knew the desperate things that you considered when it got bad. It was one of the reasons she liked working at Cloud 9, no hungry bellies on her watch. Actually.. that was not far away, the Cloud 9.

"You can sit on the tram. Just a little further.", she encouraged.

Close up, it was more obvious that his face was covered in a mask. Further weirdness. She was definitely about to be murdered by a man with a cane. Still, something about the mask teased at a distant memory. She felt like she should know who this was..

[Grym Kandle]

They made it just in time to the tram, the door almost closing on the tail of Grym's jacket. He practically collapsed into the seat beside the woman. His shoulders hunched, for fear that stretching his spine out might snap it like a twig with the tension, his gloved fingers curled with induced arthritis.

"My name is..."

Lie.

"Abel. And yours, Miss?"

Because she is going to.

He glanced at her, before looking out the window ahead of them as the tram began to move. His breathing was still ragged, as if he had exhausted himself just climbing into the tram.

[Molly Black]

Once seated, Molly scooted as far away as possible without being just plain rude. She was clever about it, seeming to shift to the side out of concern, so that she might give him a look over for injuries or something.

"Temperance."

She lied.

"Is there someone I can contact for you, Abel? Someone who might come pick you up? I know a place we can get a decent plate of food, not too many stops from here. Maybe they can pick you up there, huh?"

Delightful as this was, she would have to turn him loose at some point and she would rather not worry about him. Knowing he was in good hands would clear her conscience considerably.

[Grym Kandle]

From where she sat, she could see his neck just barely from beyond the high collar but she could definitely see his ear. The skin at his neck was overlapped with scars and had a green and black patterning to it. His ear had crusted green-black flakes as if the skin was peeling like little crystals.

"Oh oh. Lead on then to your recommendation. I've no doubt that I'll be able to contact someone there. No doubt."

He tried to sit up some but the pain seized his muscles, the stronger waves of withdrawals starting to onset. He'd take any spice he could get his hands on at this point, regardless of the grade. His fingers continued to move erratically as the tram stopped to let another passenger on before it moved out just as quickly.

"And what do you do then, if I may ask?"

[Molly Black]

"I'm a waitress."

It was kind of the truth. Molly worked as a waitress in many greasy spoons around the galaxy, even before coming to Cloud City on the orders of Vigo Sorsha Kasajian. The work did not define who she was. It was simply a means to an end.

Tipping her head back, she cringed a little at the kind of gross flaking thing Abel had going on. There could be any number of reasons for such a sickly look. None of them good.

"Listen... I'm just going to be blunt. You'll have to forgive me. Are you sick with something contagious?"

[Grym Kandle]

Grym sighed, glancing at Temperance with slight impatience, unnoticed behind his mask. He tried to lean back some, internally wrestling through the sensation, finally resting his back against the wall of the team behind him, he sighed again, somewhat more comfortable.

"No... Temperance. I am not contagious..."

There once was an old story of a girl who met a sick man on the road and she reached out to help him but at another glance, she recoiled her hand in fear and disgust...

He leaned his head gently back against the window sill and stared at the glass ceiling of the tram, knowingly exposing his throat which was not peeling but in some ways far, far worse. The skin was tinged green, not even a sign pink or red pigment. The skin was laced with streaking scars, cuts, and others that made an excessive network across the entirety of his neck. There was not a public service announcement out there that had shown an over dosing drug addict that was this advanced and still living. Spice was a hell of a drug. And addicts were known to find all kinds of interesting ways to get their fixes.

"My affliction is easily contracted but purely by choice and it's rare that... Rare that one might live as long as I have doing what I have. Take that as you will."

The monotony of his voice had enough emphatic pauses to sense the barest sliver of bitterness. The content of the voice had definitely taken a sterner context, as his slight humor with the old man act faded. He rigidly turned his head to the woman, his breathing labored.

"Where are we going again?"

[Molly Black]

"Sorry, had to ask. Nothing personal.", she grimaced, wondering why it bothered her to upset the guy.

Spoken like an addict, Molly thought. Working as a waitress in Port Town should have specified on the application process that she would also be offering her services as a therapist, sometimes medic. She had literally seen it all come through the doors of Cloud 9 on late nights..

"Cloud 9. It's a bar and grill. I used to work there.."

Against her better judgement, Molly pulled her purse into her lap. Other patrons riding the tram exited at the next stop, and she pulled out a what appeared to be a hand-rolled cigarette.

"Here. It's nothing too exotic, just a bit of grey gabaki, but it should help take the edge off, get you feeling more like one of the living."

Considering the man from a new perspective, he might not be the decrepit grandpa she had thought him at first. He was still in a bad way though, and she would help the guy out.

[Grym Kandle]

The sick man stumbled and fell, staring up at the sky, cursing his lot, cursing his curse, and in the story, the girl knelt beside the sick man, suddenly feeling pity in such a wretched thing, she handed him a pretty, flowered weed...

With head still reclined, his shoulders shuddered between something that might have been a cough and a laugh as his shaking hand reached out and took the cigarette gingerly. A lighter appeared in his other hand as he used two fingers to push the mask up, revealing more of his defined jawline and mouth. His lips were cracked and flaking like his ears, his jaw line has streak marks underneath it like tattoos, and then knife scars littered what she might have seen of his cheeks. The rest of the mask still covered the top of his face down to his nose. He slid the cigarette between his lips, his ivory white teeth appeared cleaner than clean but for the black green gums they rested in.

"Cloud 9, hm? Not made it there yet. Heard of it. Sounds good."

His voice was cracked but strong, like he had not had a drink in his life. The lighter shook as he brought it up, bringing both hands together to try and steady it before he sighed in real frustration.

"You mind giving me a hand?"

[Molly Black]

"It's alright. The wait staff is not what it used to be.", she admitted, dryly.

It was true enough though. She had been into the Cloud 9 recently. (http://theholo.net/forum/showthread.php?55331-What-s-My-Name-Again&p=1025614&viewfull=1#post1025614) Good service was no longer something offered at the establishment she had helped to open. It was all she could do to stay in her seat during lunch, not just get up and make her own damn lunch. Clean a few tables. Refill a few ales..

Going there again tonight was probably a bad idea. She wasn't too sure she could keep her mouth shut a second time, but it was a place she knew, and knew well. Including the business owners in the area surrounding the bar and grill. A lot of property owned by Black Sun, or people in the pocket of Black Sun which was pretty much the same thing.

Molly took note of Abel's apparent issues with fine motor skills. "Why the hell not?", she sighed, taking the lighter from his hands, lighting it and bringing it to his mouth. She tried not to see his green gums. Cloud City was no place to be if he was going to start the zombie apocalypse or something.

It occurred to her, while they rode in silence through the last few stops, that this man obviously had some long term connections with the kind of people who dealt in narcotics trafficking, considering the advanced stage of his resulting degeneration. Regardless, he knew people. Molly appreciated people who knew people.. Maybe one day he'd be a source for her and they could have a chuckle about all this now, raise a mug or two while his nose fell off into his..

[Grym Kandle]

The cigarette burned hot with each long breath. Grym did not even bother to knock the ash off, allowing it to fall on his chest. His jacket was already dirty from the scuffle before and did not have the reaction to bother with it. Kandle could taste it, as little as it was. But it was never enough. It burnt down to a stub between his lips before he spit it off, letting it hit his boot before he crushed it underneath against the already dingy floor of the tram. Grym pulled the mask back over his face slowly with two shaking fingers.

"Thanks for that... Sometimes, anything helps..."

The tram came to its next stop and Grym noticed just down the street from the tram stop a sign that said in big neon sign, Cloud 9.

Grym started to slowly stand, his fingers shaking as his body groaned from the aching.

"Take it... This is our stop?"

After a quick glance of the area, he saw enough covert signs around to know he was back in his territory. Not too much longer then.

[Molly Black]

"This is it.", Molly confirmed.

She rose, and with continuing generosity helped Abel up as well. "Not much further now.", she promised.

There it was. Cloud 9. She could smell cooking nerf fillets and the grease of the deep fryer - which by the smell had not been changed recently. A frown was already on her face when they entered and took their own table as something like a hostess was no where in sight.

While Abel settled himself in the seat opposite her, Molly looked around trying to ascertain who it was that was working, and who was just there loitering on free refills. When no one came to take their order after ten minutes, she started to get antsy in her seat.

"So...Abel.. I think I should warn you. I might be forced to make a scene."

[Grym Kandle]

"Hm. Well, that's unfortunate... Why would you... need to make a scene?"

He was slightly confused, but had already activated his personal locator beacon back to the office. Grym knew there was still plenty of time until they arrived so at this point... why not? Grym had to admit, Temperance was growing on him. Nice girl, slummy part of town. Reminded him of Nar Shadda, in a good way.

"Who... owns this place?"

[Molly Black]

"Because...", Molly grumbled with growing frustration. "If you chanced to take a peek behind the bar, above the mirror there is a framed photograph of the original staff when this place was reopened and dubbed the Cloud 9. I'm in that picture. This place might be a grease trap but it's my grease trap."

"They've let it become a shit show!" Molly slammed her menu down on the table, loud enough to rattle the condiments.

Not for the first time Molly wondered where everyone was? Mu? Spenny? Anyone?!

Abel was asking her a question, but she was too busy watching the apparent waitress. She had her arm right down the back of her dress scratching at an itch. Molly made a face that implied she was way more grossed out by this than her scaly green dinner companion.

"A...lady named Mu. Mu Satach. Friend of mine."

The waitress pulled her arm out from the back of her dress when a tray of food appeared in the window. After watching her grab a fry off someone else's plate, Molly reached her boiling point.

"Oooooh, that is it."

Shoving her seat back, Molly rose wriggling down the hemline of her short black dress as she did. Hands on hips she went straight to the office door with a scary look in her normally cheerful blue gaze.

[Grym Kandle]

"Ah... wait... don't go... no... come back..."

There was a slight smile behind the mask as his deadpan voice gently called out to her backside as she left, obviously not hearing him or more concerned otherwise to care. He had even raised his hand as if he was going to stop her. How could you stop that? Her... spunk was refreshing, to say the least. She cared quite a bit for her old stomping grounds and Grym could relate to quite a few dives he liked to frequent back on Nar Shadda. Who wouldn't get defensive over the general decay of a place they'd once been a part of? Grym had a soft spot for diners as it was, more so for the hard working people who put their soul into them. Odd quirk for a Vigo of Black Sun? Kandle would beg to differ.

Someone was walking by, just from behind and Grym felt a slight sensation of nausea before his arm snaked out much faster than the innocent passerby could react. His gloved fingers trembled with a dataslate between them.

"Sorry... just borrowing it... for a second..."

The gran turned on Grym angrily but was stopped cold by the expressionless mask that stared back at him. The voice, emotionless, was little more than a whisper.

"One... second. Otherwise... I will... kill your friends and family in front of you before I make you eat all three of your own eyes."

Something in that dead whisper meant every word and the gran picked up on it quick. It backed up, hands in the air, stumbling into the bar stool behind it before the stumpy thing took some time to collect itself as Grym turned back to the data pad.

Remote user login? //greencandleghost
Password //**********

Incorrect user name or password. Please try again.

"..."

Remote user login? //greenkandleghost
Password //**********

Welcome back, GKG! Would you like to make a call or send a message?

To: "XL-NG"
Subject: Pick Up
Message: Pick up @ Cloud 9. Bring Package NU. 5k credits up front.
- Vigo Kandle

SEND?

Grym plucked away at the short message with his fingers like a geriatric. He kept it very short with price tag included to express his relative urgency. He hit the send button then logged out, sliding the dataslate to the edge of the table where the gran quickly snatched his slate and scampered off without looking back. Kandle glanced over to where Molly was to see what she was stirring up on her end.

[Molly Black]

The chime at the office door went unanswered, as Molly had figured it would. That was no problem. She'd had to break into Mu's office once or twice in the past when the boss hadn't been around and something she had needed had been inside. Breaking into Mu's office and stealing the spare key to Barton Henning's apartment had been how she had landed herself on the Empire's wanted list to begin with. She was a gods damned expert at it by now.

Palms forward, she shoved open the double doors of the kitchen which was in a likewise deplorable state that she really tried to ignore. It was hard though, when her dainty heels kept sliding in mystery moisture on the unwashed tiled floors. Ignoring the protests of employees she'd never laid eyes on, she quickly retrieved a clean paring knife, before slipping back out the way she had come, knife in hand like a mad woman.

Returning to the sliding doors that opened into the office, she began having a go at the control panel on the wall that operated the door, and it's locks. It took a few minutes of jamming the knife into just the right place to expose the interior of the device, but once that was done her manicured fingers made short work of the colored wires.

The office door slid open to reveal a human girl, face down on the desk. Her backside was in the lap of an unidentified Besalisk seated in the desk chair, garbed in full chef attire. The girl, she had an apron on. That was about it. Could be the missing waitress? She let out a snore from her position of.. seniority.

"Who the hell hired you?" Molly demanded, kicking the wheels of the desk chair, which coincidentally dumped the half naked waitress on her ass on the floor, where she simply slumped over and begged for 'just five more minutes!' of sleep.

[Xel-Naga]

The chime and buzz of an incoming message snapped him out of the moment, pulling his mind back through the loops and knots it had traveled through and back to reality. Releasing the tuft of platinum blonde hair between his fingers his hand reached into his coat pocket he pulled out his comm. "Naga. Speak."

"Delivery and pick up at Cloud 9. Package is waiting at dispatch."

"Got it." The call was ended and the comm returned to it's place nestled in his pocket. Reaching down he grabbed hold of his belt and used it has a handhold to pull his pants back up into it's designed position and buckled everything back up. He didn't even, for a moment, acknowledge the pair of pretty blue eyes looking up at him from the ground. Instead he collected himself and began walking away, hands in pockets, detaching himself from the air scrubber bank he had taken refuge behind.

"Hey guy, you owe four thousand credit!" The voice was squeaky and high pitched, and belonged to the lithe, half naked little thing crawling after him from the hidey hole. "You didn't finish. You get nothing." Xel replied as he lit up a cig without missing a step. He wasn't totally heartless, so he threw his half empty lighter behind him. There was something satisfying about the sound of it smacking into a forehead and the high pitched cry of pain.

A brisk walk took him home to the Comulus Casino. He was right back out the door after only a few minutes, but this time with a package underhand. Cloud 9 wasn't far. It was not by any stretch of the imagination an establishment he frequented. The last time he was there it was to collect a debt for the Casino. The guy coughed up the credit real quick once he was getting his forehead pushed through the furniture in front of his lady friend.

The place had a reputation for okay food and great food poisoning.

Pushing through the door he immediately noticed that the place was slow and empty, of both customers and service workers. If the lights weren't on he would think the place was closed. It didn't take long to find Vigo Kandle. His telltale mask was easy to spot in a dining area. Setting the package down on his table he grunted his greeting, nodded his head, and folded his arms behind his back.