Star Wars: Chronicles — Back to Basics (DarthVorath)/Story


 * Coruscant, 41 ABY

It had been a considerably long time since he had last stood over a dead body.

The room still stunk of death, as the coroners had yet to arrive to retrieve the body. The entire complex was in lockdown, with police questioning residents outside. Anything that looked like it needed confiscation had already been taken and he was left alone with the rotting heap.

The man's name was Jon Skip. A simple name for a simple man, going by his mundane, bare-bone living quarters. He looked to have been in his early thirties, with fair skin gone ashen and sandy blond hair. His dark eyes were still wide open and his mouth agape in mid-scream. Judging by the nasty gash in the center of his forehead, it was easy to guess how he had been murdered.

Wallen took in a breath and exhaled slowly. The smell didn't bother him, as he had been in this line of work for years, but it had still been quite some time since he had experienced it. He hated it, of course, but it was his life. For better or for worse.

"Captain?" Wallen turned at the sound of the voice, seeing his Rodian lieutenant standing in the doorway. He was almost relieved to finally have another living soul in the room.

"Yeah, Taaku, what is it?" he asked.

The blue-scaled alien cleared his throat as he stepped into the room, his proboscis creasing at the rancid aura that permeated it. "I just finished speaking with the landlady. She says she saw a woman enter Skip's quarters about three hours before she found the body."

"Does she have a description for the woman?"

"Mid to late twenties, magenta hair, pale skin, just under six feet tall, and wearing clothing that was particularly revealing."

Wallen nodded as he typed this down on his datapad. "Right. And do we have a name for her?"

"Afraid not."

"Then how exactly are we supposed to find her? Coruscant isn't exactly the easiest planet to find people on."

"Well, for what it's worth, another resident joined our conversation and said he had seen a woman matching our description at a nightclub in the Uscru District." Taaku shrugged. "I know that's not much to go on...."

"It's better than nothing." Closing his datapad and tucking it into his coat, Wallen turned to leave the room. "Go find the resident and ask him for the name of the club. I'll go speak with Officer Resk."

Taaku nodded but stopped Wallen from leaving the room. Putting a hand on his shoulder, the Rodian said in a lowered tone, "Are you doing all right, captain?"

"I'm fine," Wallen grunted, shrugging off the hand. "Why?"

"You just seem... dour. More so than usual, I mean. Ever since you got back to Coruscant, you haven't been the same."

"I've just got a lot on my plate right now," Wallen muttered. "What with Girdun's hearing and weeding out Taral's people with Director Loran... my mind's been elsewhere, to say the least."

Taaku nodded, although he still looked concerned. "All right. I was just wondering."

"I appreciate your concern. But right now, we've got a job to do." With that, Wallen brushed past Taaku and headed out the apartment, taking swift strides. He could still feel the Rodian's eyes on him as he stepped outside.

Club Kasakar was the name of the nightclub that Wallen and Taaku were directed to by the Dressellian resident, located on Level 2685 of Coruscant's sub-surface. The place was filled with seedy patrons and neon lights, and it stunk of cigarra smoke. Many were seated at sabacc tables and vending machines while other drank at the bar. An exotic Theelin dancer performed on a stage, twirling see-through pink streams around her lithe form.

Wallen and Taaku carefully walked through the packed club, keeping an eye out for their target as well as any unwelcome visitors. Both had to dodge many advances from sultry waitresses and pick-pocketing Chadra-Fans with lust and greed in their eyes. Wallen also couldn't help but recognize figures high up in the Alliance hierarchy, including a few generals and a good number of politicians.

"Remind me to tell Director Loran of this place when we get back," Wallen whispered to Taaku.

The two eventually made their way to the bar, which was run by a portly Duros. The red-eyed alien affixed them with a glare as his green lips curled into a sneer.

"What can I get you boys?" he asked with a smoker's rasp.

"We're looking for someone who's been known to frequent this place," Wallen said, leaning on the counter. "A friend of mine told me about her and I'm just dying to meet her."

The bartender narrowed his eyes. "Do you have a name?"

"No, but she was described to me as being human, with violet hair."

The bartender shook his head as he turned away. "Not a clue, pal. Lots of people come here. I can't remember every single one."

Wallen dropped a few credits on the counter. "Does that ring any bells?"

The bartender turned slightly to stare at the currency. He raised his red eyes to the two detectives before quickly scooping up the credits, pocketing them.

"Floor 11. Room 3-8."

Wallen nodded curtly. "Many thanks."

"She only takes one visitor at a time though."

"That won't be an issue," Wallen called back as he and Taaku reentered the cluster of patrons.

"I have a bad feeling about this."

"Uh-huh," Wallen grunted as he pressed a button to send the turbolift up.

"I mean, so far, this feels a bit too easy. Like, that Duros didn't take much convinc—"

"Breathe," Wallen cut him off. As the Rodian let out the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding, the detective said, "I know this is your first time in the Undercity, but you've gotta relax, okay? As seedy as everyone here is, not all of them are out to kill us."

"Right," Taaku murmured. "It's just... yeah, this is all new to me." He let out a weak chuckle. "It's funny; I'm more scared here than I was when we went to Odryn. You know, where there really were people out to kill us."

Wallen smirked. "Yeah, well, we also had a fleet to hide behind, so that helped matters somewhat."

Taaku inclined his head to him. "Feels just like yesterday, doesn't it? All that stuff with Black Sun and Moff Lecersen...."

Wallen's smile faded. "Well, that stuff's only just now being wrapped up, so to me, it still feels like today."

"I know, but I wasn't there for most of it. I was just doing my usual work here on Coruscant while you were... wherever." The Rodian scratched his head. "You haven't talked much about what you got up to while you were away."

"Because I don't want to," Wallen said firmly.

"Was it that bad?"

Before Wallen could answer, if at all, the elevator stopped and the doors parted, revealing a dimly lit hallway. Several doors were on either side, with a single door laying straight ahead. A strange smell permeated the hall; Wallen couldn't tell if it was perfume, hookah smoke, or something else. He also didn't want to find out.

The two detective started to walk down the hall, reading the numbers of each door as they passed by. Walking by one door, Taaku was startled by a sudden scream, one that sounded between pain and pleasure. He shot a glance at Wallen, who simply motioned him to keep walking.

They eventually reached a door marked by the number 3-8. Signalling Taaku to stand by, Wallen tapped his fist against the door, which immediately slid open. Exchanging weary glances, the detective cautiously entered the room.

Inside the darkened chamber, lit only by outside light from a small window, Wallen could make out the outline of a bed and a single night stand. Sprawled out on the bed was a figure, although it was definitely not human, let alone female. The body stretched the full length of the bed and had multiple appendages extending from it. The only thing remotely humanoid about the figure was its head, which bore a pair of thin, curled horns. From what Wallen could tell, the creature was reading from a datapad. When it spoke, it did not lift its head from the device.

"How may I be of service to you two gentlemen?"

Wallen frowned as he hooked his thumbs on his belt, fingers brushing against his holstered blaster. "We're looking for a woman--"

"You mean Vixen?" The creature looked up and Wallen could see a pair of black eyes staring from a face as white as chalk. An inhumanely large grin was stretched across its features, showing several rows of obsidian teeth. "I'm terribly sorry, but I'm afraid you just missed her. She's a very busy girl, you see."

"Okay, what's going on here?" Wallen asked, already losing his patience. "You knew we'd come here, didn't you? This is some sort of trap."

"Brilliant work, captain!" the creature said cheerily. It pressed a nearby switch and the door slid shut behind the two detectives. "No wonder my superiors consider you a major threat."

Wallen's eyebrows shot up. "What do you mean by that?"

"You're very good at what you do, Wallen Nix. You always seem to get your man -- or woman -- no mater how hard they try to cover up their tracks. Jon Skip was proof of that. As was Clyde Vell. And Dorskan Mor."

"What are those names supposed to mean?"

"To you? Probably nothing." The creature chuckled. "They were all murders you've investigated in the past... as well as members of our cabal. Dorskan was one of our smugglers, Clyde a financial backer, and Skip... well, to tell the truth, Skip was just a man Vixen had been sleeping with, but he provided us with some much needed intel."

"But Vixen killed Skip. Why would she do that if he was one of your people?"

"Well, Skip, unlike Dorskan and Clyde, was a planned murder; devised solely to lead you hear. Your investigations of Dorskan and Clyde had brought the Alliance dangerously close to uncovering our operations here on Coruscant. Rather than risk having you find more of our dead operatives, we decided it was time to cut you out of the picture as soon as possible."

Wallen was still in the middle of processing this. "Why though? What is it you're doing on Coruscant that you can't just simply relocate?"

The creature laughed, a purple light beginning to shine in the depths of its empty eyes. "Come now, detective. You should know better than to ask questions you know you're not going to get answers to."

Wallen gritted his teeth. "Right. I've just about had enough of this."

He started to reach for his blaster... only to stop when Taaku's hand fell over his. He barely moved his head in time to dodge the blue fist coming at him.

"Hey!" He wrenched his hand free from Taaku's and struck his lieutenant across the jaw. With the Rodian dazed, Wallen was able to draw his blaster and aimed it at the bed....

Which was now empty. All there was now was a cool breeze from a newly opened window.

Cursing to himself, Wallen holstered his blaster before turning to Taaku and seizing him by the collar. "The hell was that for?" he exclaimed.

"Was... saving your life," Taaku grunted out.

"How is trying to hit me saving my life?"

"I needed to distract you. That... that thing was a Xylini."

Wallen blinked, releasing his lieutenant. "A what?"

"A species from Wild Space," Taaku replied, massaging his bruised proboscis. "They have hypnotic powers and can control your mind to do dangerous things. All they need is eye contact and they've got you in their snares. That's why I tried to punch you; I had to get your eyes off him because his eyes were starting to glow."

Wallen raised an eyebrow. "I take it you've met one before."

"Yes." Leaving it at that, Taaku looked to the door. "I expect we're about to have company soon."

"Probably." Wallen stepped towards the bed and pulled off the bedsheets. "Help me tie these together."

Taaku stared at him. "We're not going out the window, are we?"

"Where else can we go? Besides, I've already got Jana on the line. She's on the way with reinforcements."

"Great. So much for going back to basics, I guess." As Taaku started tying the sheets together to make a rope, he glanced at Wallen and saw that the older detective was grinning almost as wide as the Xylini had been. Baffled, the Rodian asked, "What are you smiling about?"

Wallen looked back at him, beaming more than he ever had in his entire life. "The basics are overrated, kid. I'm in it for the thrill."