Chương 117: Meet the Varlis
I don't own star wars
"You know, this is my… second kidnapping." I mumbled as she made sure she had all her weapons strapped to various parts of her body. Blaster on her belt, vibroknife in her boot, the sniper rifle slung over her shoulder. "Third I guess if you count Killa's first attempt."
"Uh huh." She mumbled, not listening as she tossed a spare vibroknife at the owners of the ship, just out of reach. "There cut yourselves loose and get lost."
"Seis…" I began, trying to get her attention as she tossed the personal effects of the captain around the ship finding a suitable coat and throwing it at me.
"Put that on." Then a clean pair of pants, "And those." I was still wearing my vacation attire. So I guess I should try to look more presentable.
"That's my favorite coat…" the ship captain mumbled as she squirmed for the knife she had given them.
"What exactly is the goal here?" I asked, as she opened the ramp, it lowered slowly down to the dusty ground with a hiss as she descended, and I followed her to the sound of blaster fire, laughter, and the faint distant explosion or scream. Where ever we were it was wild, men and women were firing blasters in the street at the slightest offense. Drunks and hookers scrambled about, some were actually chasing each other. Armored thugs shoved various and scruffy looking nerfherders into buildings getting them off the street. Each thug had a sigil on their armor, three 'V's arranged in a triangle like shape.
"Welcome to dust town." Seis said simply, taking my arm in hers and wrapping around it, holding me close as she lead me through. "The roughest, toughest outlaw town this side of hutt space. Don't look at anyone, don't say anything, and for the love of the Force." She suddenly drew her pistol, aimed at an approaching rodian in the middle of drawing his own blaster, and pumped him full of blaster fire. "Keep your hands on your blaster."
"You didn't give me one!" I noted with hiss in her ear as half a dozen people began stripping the rodian of valuables. A painted-up woman grabbing his blaster and ran off. firing it wildly into the air.
"You don't need one you just have to look pretty for my moms… whichever one's in charge today."
"…You know I'm getting really tired of being the girl in my relationships." I noted sourly as she dragged me through the streets, several of the armored thugs actually saluting her as we passed.
"Then stop being so damn pretty!" she replied firmly as if it was MY fault…
"I don't even know how to answer that."
"Look." She began as we approached a large guarded mansion. "We just need to get through this dinner with my parents, just sit there, look pretty, agree with everything I say and maybe grab my ass a little."
"…What?" I asked, I don't think I heard that last part I was distracted by a half-naked blonde being literally porked in an alleyway by a gamorrean. They squealed together as the gamorrean dumped the equivalent of a gallon into her before pulling out his cock, letting her drop to the ground and tossing several credits onto her chest as he stumbled away, apparently very drunk.
"My ass. Grab it…" she repeated coolly, taking my hand and placing it firmly on her surprisingly tight rear. "Give it a squeeze every now and again. I told them you can't keep your hands off me. "Momma Ichi and Trei will eat it up. At least I think they will, dad's the only one who can ever tell them apart."
"What the hell is this place?" I asked as the sounds of a repeating blaster and screaming pierced the air.
"This is Ashtown. My moms decided when Momma Zwei got knocked up that they needed to settle down and have a family in a nice wholesome environment." A burning corpse dropped in front of us and we walked around it, heading further into town. "Then my mothers took over and it got better…"
"This is better?" I asked as several working girls fired holdout blasters into a weequay's back as he ran down the street without pants. I didn't need to see any of that...
"Yes." She replied flatly as we got to the biggest house in town. The doors were flanked by heavy droids armed with huge blasters that made me feel a little inadequate. But they waved us on silently as Seis kicked open the door.
There was a tall gangly man with a dog collar around his neck, and a short leash like a necktie hanging down his face. He gave us a faint smile and shook his head, "Hello Seis. Welcome back."
"Hi dad." Seis replied briskly, dragging me forward by the arm. "This is my boyfriend Roland. Roland this is my dad, Chetrye."
The guy looked at me, eying me up and down for a moment before looking back at his daughter. "Okay. Good luck with that. I hope your mothers don't kill him. There in the dining room. Now if you'll excuse me I have to settle the accounts."
"Okay. Level with me." I said as her father wandered rather… depressingly into the house. "WHY am I here?"
Seis sighed, "…Moms don't like the idea of me running around with someone who isn't family. SO…" she let the words hang in the air, "…I told them you're my boyfriend. It kind of counts. But now they want to MEET you."
I stared at her, blinked, then opened my mouth to speak. Closed. Thought of better words to use. Then tried again.
"…Aren't you mothers… crazy?" I asked slowly, I wasn't entirely sure of what I was trying to say but I think I got the gist of it.
"No. My mothers are violent, angry, and…" she twisted her face to think of the word to use but finally settled on, "Sociopathic."
"Not making me feel better." I said nervously as I could've sworn I heard a blaster shot and a scream come from somewhere in the mansion. And she shook her head.
"Just try to give a good impression! In. Dinner. Out. That's it! We'll be back on Spira before you know it and plowing your girlfriends in the shower…" I blushed slightly at the implication and she grabbed me and took me further into the dining room.
There we met with three very familiar faces. But I know I've never met them before. They looked exactly like Varli-Prime back on Jugalo II, only instead of being dressed like a crazy Hermit they were all dressed in identical blue robes with furry black fringe around the collars with traces of chest plates underneath. On was pacing in front of a portrait of one of them standing proudly over some dead creature with a hunting rifle. I Imagine in any scenario it would've been a self portrait of any of them… A second was politely eating her roast of what looked to be nerf. And the third sat with her boots up on the on casually picking her teeth with a deactivated vibroknife.
Seis stood perfectly still and finally the tooth-picking one looked up at us and grinned, hurling the knife casually as it sunk easily into the wall as she got up. "Seis! Come here!" she held out her arms and Seis approached her with a smile, hugging the one I can only assume is her mother.
"Hey Mom." She said flatly as Varli-Zwei held her at arm's length, before eyeing me over her daughter's shoulder.
"…Well now…" she eyed me up and down, strangely approvingly "…He's cute."
"…And familiar." The one pacing in front of the portrait and her eyes narrowed dangerously at me. "…Have we threatened to kill him before?" Why does everyone keep saying that?
"He looks like that guy…" the last one noted unhelpfully, still politely eating. She had excellent table manners. She wasn't even looking at me. "You know the one…"
The other two glared at her, and the portrait one spoke. "NO. Trei. We obviously don't know!" she said rolling her eyes and glaring at me. Obviously trying to figure out where she has seen me before… I of course knew. They had met my dad a couple of times… And I wasn't quite sure I wanted them to know that.
"Milky's Boytoy." She said suddenly, looking at me and letting her lips twitch into a slight smile. "I remember a red headed man that looks just like him." She pointed at me with her knife. "Aiden Firemane."
"Firemane…" I said and blinked… wait, they actually got that part right.
The other two suddenly stared at me. And I felt very unsafe… Seis, stood closer to me, and I appreciated that but those two were looking at me like they were going to gut and eat me.
"Nice work Seis…" Zwei said, slapping her daughter's shoulder as Ichi, (obviously the last one) raised her hands in defeat. "Caught yourself a good one…"
"I did?" Seis said surprised
"She did?" I asked confused. I wasn't much I can admit that: I'm easily pushed around. Inherently lazy. And frankly, I'm pretty much moving around at the seat of my pants… often without pants…
"Of course she did!" Zwei said with a laugh, dragging us to a couple of empty seats and shoving us down. "Aiden's a good Hunter! Obviously, his son's a pretty good one! He even got the best of us!" Ichi and Trei looked annoyed but stayed silent.
Seis and I managed to make eye contact, and we agreed I should keep my mouth SHUT.
"Don't mind them…" she said dismissively. "They're just angry that their boys didn't find any bitches yet. So how did you two meet? On the job?"
"Roland offered me a job after Dausut and Epta left me." Seis replied. It was kinda true. More like I offered her a bed for the night and she never really left. But I guess it worked itself out. "OH! He even got me a two week anniversary present!" she said, and surprisingly pulled out her thunder-cracking sniper rifle from… seemingly nowhere.
"Where were you keeping that?" I asked, unable to stop myself as Zwei took it and looked down the scope. Whistling at the rather impressive gun.
"Ooh. Hey Trei check this out." She tossed the rifle easily to her sister who caught it. Her stoic, but grumpy, expression lightened a little as she tested its weight in her hand and held it like a professional.
"…Impressive. Where did you get it?"
…Seis and I blanked, technically we got it from my home. But I don't know where Dad got it… "It uh. Belonged to my dad." I decided to say, "One of his jobs I think… it was just lying around collecting dust."
"Hmmph." Trei scowled but handed the rifle back to Seis like she was passing the salt. She didn't look grumpy anymore.
"Cute." Ichi said, glaring at me. "So. Roland… are you a hunter like your father?"
"I-"
"Oh yeah." Seis said immediately. "Just the other day we took down a big named Imperial bounty." She said, slipping me a look as she leaned against me fondly. Slipping my hand to her waist, "He even got Green-Eyed Killa to provide backup."
"No kidding…" Zwei said impressed, "What do you have of Green-Eyed Killa? She's known as a solo act."
"Banged her brains out… AND!" she added as her mothers looked nonplus. "He killed Blackjaw Gryst!"
…They LAUGHED. When the sound finally died Chetrye darted into the room, holding a blaster and waving it around the room. Staring about confused as Ichi wrapped an arm around him and took the blaster carefully, giving him a brief kiss on the cheek.
"EVERYONES killed Blackjaw at least once." Zwei finally said as Ichi put the blaster in her coat, "It's getting him to stay DEAD that's the problem…"
"Wait what?" I asked confused as they turned to me, "I put a sword in his chest… left him bleeding in the dirt on Jugalo II." I said, "He was dead."
"Blackjaw is a monster." The Varlis said together as if that answered, ANYTHING.
"Still though he did it!" Seis said unapologetically, "Hey dad." She added as Chetrye's began to calm down. He stared at her.
"I thought we were being attacked…" he added sheepishly. "They usually don't laugh that hard unless someone's trying to kill us." I looked at Seis who nodded admittedly, confirming it.
"Please we were just attacked yesterday…" Zwei noted, "We have at least two weeks until someone even talks about-"
The explosion shook the house as half a dozen mercenaries swung in through the windows blasting.
The Varlis reacted quickly. Ichi dove at Chetyre, getting him out of the room as Zwei and Trei flipped the table. Reveling it to be blaster resistant and armed with several varying weapons strapped to the bottom. Seis grabbed me around the collar and threw me behind the table as her mothers, now including Ichi returned fire.
"Who the hell are these assholes!" Zwei shrieked angrily, killing two with a handful of well-placed shots. "Chetrye!?"
"They're new! Must be from offworld!" he replied apologetically, pressing a few buttons on his wrists. Apparently activating the droid guards as Seis pulled out her blasters and started firing. "…Only half the droids are operating!" Chetrye shouted, banging his wrist device. "Someone's hacked the servers!"
"Fix it!" Ichi ordered, hurling a steak knife into one of their throats and staring at me, "Start firing Firemane! Show some balls!"
This was going to get out of hand…
"Hello girls!" Came a familiar voice, and there was Varli-Prime. Flanked by Dausut and Epta. Yeah… this got out of hand.
"Mom?!" the Varlis said suddenly and raised their weapons opening fire immediately. Dausut activated a blast shield and fell back with Varli-Prime as the Varli Trio dashed out of the room with Chetrye. Leaving me and Seis to deal with the remaining mercs and Epta. Who actually ran along the wall, around the table, and dived at me with his knives outstretched.
Grabbing him by the wrists, he tried to stab me, but I managed to hold him back. "Seis!" I shouted nervously, as the knives moved ever closer to my neck.
"You're not good enough for SEIS!!!" Epta shrieked, I tilted my head letting the knife sink into the floor as my suddenly freed-up hand shot up and punched him in the face. Knocking him off me as I took the knife. Better than nothing.
"That's sweet Epta." Seis noted, finishing off the mercs and turning on her brother. "But you don't get to be sweet!"
TINK! TINK!" she stared as the vibroknifes sunk into the barrels of her blasters, slicing them deep as she growled. "Damn it these were my favorite!" Epta kicked her in the gut sending her over the table as he swung more knives at me, trying to slash me as I deflected and blocked his attack. He was good… VERY good. And I wasn't trained with knives…
"Why are you attacking your mothers?!" I shouted, dodging him and knocking a knife out of his hand, slashing at his cheek as he opened up my shirt, scratching my chest.
"Grandma says we're taking over!" he grinned at me. "They'll be so impressed!
"But… you do realize she's trying to kill them… right?" I asked confused, remembering how he reacted with Urai so many weeks ago. He stopped and blinked at me… then the knives dropped from his grip… and he blinked at me some more…
Seis stood up, aiming a mercenary's rifle at him. And paused, letting the blaster fire noise from elsewhere fill the room. "Did you… break my brother?" she asked, approaching him from behind and poking him with the rifle barrel before backing away suddenly as if afraid he would attack.
"…Dausut is going to kill my mama?" he said suddenly, speaking reverently as if just being revealed the secrets of the universe. I nodded slowly. I mean I didn't know for sure but that was obviously the way this was going…
"Well… yeah." I said, as Seis watched me curiously. "I mean. Epta what did you think would happen?"
"…Grandma says she's just going to take them to a farm… near Kessel." Seis stared at her brother.
"…You cannot possibly be that dumb." She said indignantly.
"Don't call me dumb!" he shrieked at her, pulling a knife but I caught his wrist, stopping him from attacking his sister.
"Wait! Wait!" I said, firmly, holding his wrist tightly, "Your Grandma LIED to you. There are no farms near Kessel just black holes! She was going to drop them into a black hole!" he stared at me coolly, examining my features. "Epta." I said calmly, "Your grandma and your brother are going to Kill your mama…" I said and he suddenly looked very, very angry. He ripped his wrist from my grip grabbed another knife, and leaped over the table, running out the door towards the blaster fire.
"Don't you hurt my MAMA!!!" he screamed angrily, as the distinct cry of Dausut's voice suddenly pierced the air.
"…I hate your family." I said firmly, listening to the entire town suddenly erupting in violence as sides were immediately picked. But Seis stared at me, actually smiling. "What?"
"…Epta was my favorite." She said firmly, "Out of all of them you know. I would've hated to shoot him. He's a psycho manchild yeah, but he really loves mama…" she smiled at me fondly. "…I'm glad we didn't have to kill him. So, thanks…" she kissed me on the cheek, and hefted her rifle. "So. Want to help me stop a coup?"
"Not really…" I said sadly but condemning myself to help her anyway… she was still a part of my crew, and my friend... Strangely enough.
Then the entire town echoed with the sound of a Thundercrack. Again, and again and again it echoed around our ears followed by death cries until the very air was ringing with noise. "What is that?!" I shouted as screams erupted all around us, we dove for cover by the glass windows as the thunder crack struck again, and again. Actually, taking out a piece of the wall… along with the guy in front of it.
…Then silence… nobody was fighting. I stared at Seis as she clutched her own thunder-cracking sniper rifle. She peeked around the window outside and immediately flung back panting for breath. "…There are a lot of people missing parts…" she said a little concerned.
"Attention. MORONS." Came a voice over the air, "There is a man in your vicinity with RED HAIR." The voice said, it was heavily modified and menacing. "I want him to come to the port and find a ship called the Death Trap. Until he is on my vessel. You will stay down."
"FUCK YO-" came a voice immediately followed by a thunder crack. Silencing the voice immediately.
"When we are gone. You can go back to killing each other…" the voice said, "Firemane. Come." The voice replied. Then silence… I sat there for a moment. looking at Seis who merely shrugged sheepishly, undisturbed by the recent events.
"…You can't be serious." I said looking at her, "Whoever that is, just killed dozens of people with a sniper rifle!" My pants buzzed, and I pulled out the text com. "COME." it said. One word, all caps… and I looked at Seis again. "…What about you?"
"I'll be fine. I'll meet you back on Spira." She said and leaning forward, she kissed me. "This is fun. You should meet my parents all the time… now go met your mysterious and scary friend."
Slowly I walked down the street. Dozens of dead bodies littered the road and dozens of others glared at me lying still in the dirt. Soon… I arrived at the port, a large menacing ship with DEATH TRAP written crudely on the side of it…
A Chiss woman slid off the roof of it. Holding a sniper rifle similar to the one Seis had now, but better looking. She was wearing a catsuit, black, and showing off her generous assets that were strangely very familiar to me. Her eyes were ruby red, like all chiss, and her hair was neatly combed and shoulder-length. "Hey Sweetie…" she said calmly, "Get on the ship."
I stared at her… I recognized the voice. And the chest… the delivery girl on Kashyykk, the home holo-vid, the Massage secretary on Spira... "…You're Newt?" I said coolly.
"I'm Newt." She said nodding and giving me a charming, beautiful smile. "Come on..." she said, grabbing my wrist but I yanked it out of her hand. She stared at me, taken aback.
"Where's my dad?" I said angrily, tossing the com at her chest. It bounced off and clattered to the floor. She gazed at it for a moment before looking back at me.
"Pick. That. UP." She said firmly, staring me down. When I didn't… I crossed my arms across my chest belligerently, waiting for her answer. She sighed… then lashed out, grabbing my ear and twisting it painfully.
"OW!! OW!! DAMN IT THAT HURTS!" I yelped, slapping at her arm as she threw me down.
"This is why I didn't stick around to help raise you!" she shouted, "Pick up your com!"
I grabbed it standing back up and glaring at her. "Screw you! Where's my dad!" Even I had to admit, I sounded like a belligerent teenager.
"Get! ON! THE SHIP!" she barked at me like a proper maternal figure, pointing a blaster at me and shoving me on... like a less-than-proper maternal figure. Turning around and firing at a few brave thugs. The ramp closed behind us and she marched to the cockpit.
"Where's my dad!" I shouted at her, pulling Epta's knife and pointing it at her. However, she immediately turned off the stabilizers and took off. I spun back into the ship, crashing against the wall as we quickly ascended into space… turning them back on and hyperjumping as soon as we left the atmosphere.
We had hardly left. When we stopped and seemed to drift into empty space for a moment as she fiddled with the controls. Then the ship stopped, and she stood up staring accusingly at me. "Do you have any idea how hard it is to protect you and your sister when you're planet-hopping? It's a pain in my sexy blue ass…"
I glared at her. "Where's… my… dad?" I said firmly, and she sighed sadly.
"…I'm taking you to him." She said emptily, "Maybe he'll tell you to actually listen to me." She gestured to me to follow and led me to the ramp. Opening it.
"Aren't we in…" but my question stopped before it finished as the ramp opened to a pristine hanger bay with dozens of working droids moving about. She led me down white blank hallways towards a collection of lockers and a large heavy door, opening them and tossing me an environmental suit before taking one herself.
"Put it on." Came a garbled voice over the ship com, "He's expecting you Roland." Newt nodded towards the suit and waited for me. I put the suit on and the internal door opened. There was another person in a suit waiting as it did. Looking at her threw the mask, she had a green-angled face. But she was exotically attractive. "Nice to see you…" she said, leading me deeper into the station. "I haven't seen you since you were yea high." She said leading us further in and holding out her hand to about knee level. Then I remembered her.
"…Doctor Lucritia?" I asked surprised. Remembering my Falleen doctor from Luna IV long ago…
"It's Xalbaia." She said practically. Standing in front of a heavily armored window. She smiled kindly, or at least what she must have considered kindly, and placed her hand over the control at the side of the window. "…Brace yourself kid."
The window opened… and my heart fell…
There was this creature… or something… with stringy red hair on its skull like head. Once it must have been a proper man but now it was gaunt, its skin stretched tight across bones that once had thick musculature. Now it looked to be only a collection of said skin and brittle bones with long spindly fingers, its eyes sunken in, and in places the once healthy skin was covered in a collection of a red bump like a rash… and the bumps were moving as if bubbling hot water. The familiar green eyes slowly appeared under the crop of thinning red hair, its lips twisted into a humored, friendly smile that displayed rather yellowed teeth… and a raspy voice garbled out from its parched-sounding throat.
"…Hey kiddo… I'm happy to see you…"
I recognized this obviously dying creature before me. It was my father. Aiden Firemane…
End of Chapter.
Bonus
"I'm sorry Mama…" Epta wept as Trei hugged her son close to her chest, shushing him sweetly as she rocked him back and forth. I'll say this about Epta he could always tell who his mama was… couldn't tell Zwei and Ichi apart, nobody could other than dad, but he always knew which one was Trei.
"It's alright baby…" Trei cooed as Ichi stitched up dad's arm. He had been slashed by a huge splinter caused by a grenade… Ichi was always the closest to dad.
"…Can I come home mama?" Epta asked, hugging his mom tightly.
"Of course baby…" Trei cooed happily, stroking his hair as he closed his eyes and fell asleep…
"You spoil him." Ichi said, rolling her eyes as my mom shot a wounded mercenary begging for his life, someone had to start cleaning up after all. The action caused Ichi to prod a little too hard and Dad flinched. She looked apologetic, working on making her touch a little gentler.
"Shush!" Trei spat, smiling sweetly as Epta began to snore. "You're just angry that mine loves me the most… and didn't try to kill us… like yours."
Dausut and Varli-Prime got away… she was laughing her ass off at the death and destruction she caused. But we should be lucky we only got away with a few wounds. I sighed and checked my com… Nike was pissed. Killa was pissed. Caradoc was annoyed… I guess I needed to go face the music.
"Mom I need to borrow a ship…" I said with a sigh but looking outside at the purple evening sky and seeing a familiar one approaching the port. I sighed again… "Never mind…" I added, walking through town towards the descending Lost Dream.
End of Bonus.
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