The Vertical City, the Smugglers Moon, Little Coruscant or even Little Slugland. It didn't matter what you called it, Nar Shaddaa was a hive of scum and villainy that stretched planet-wide and made Club Vertica something of an oddity compared to the gunge of somewhere like the Refugee Sector.
Appius casually walked into the establishment and immediately his ears were pleased by the upbeat tune played by the onstage band.
Many of Nar Shaddaa's wealthiest and finest patrolled the casino looking for open tables in which to display and show off the vast amounts of wealth they accumulated. Whether smuggled, stolen, or otherwise, the Mandalorian had to wonder if there were any decent-sized bounties associated with any of them. He really needed some new armor. Not that there was anything wrong with what he had right now, but it just wasn't him.
He bit his lip and restrained himself. Now was not the time to indulge in an obsession for credits. He was here on business, and as a would-be swindler was barged past him and thrown out of the entrance against his will, Appius proceeded into the cerulean lights of the club to find the man he was looking for.
It didn't take the Sorcerer long to find him.
He sat alone at a table and even amongst the various races that crowded the confined room he stood out like a sore thumb. Decked in medium plated Mandalorian armor with gold and crimson trims, the enlarged pouldrons bared the symbol of House Venzos whilst his helmet had horns to accompany the Zabrak part of his heritage. The helmet locked onto him and the Human back onto it and, with Appius being Appius, he approached the man with reckless abandon and failed to notice the cardshark droids six photoreceptors following his every move.
"So he arrives on time!" The man said. "Not one to be fashionably late, are you, Appius?"
"Typical. Even in a fine establishment such as this, you won't take that helmet off, eh Zxyl?"
"That's not the way, and you know it," the Proconsul of Taldryan replied. His words were almost drowned out by the music being played around them.
"Pfft. You follow it way too rigidly," Appius scoffed indignantly.
"And you don't follow it rigidly enough. Seriously, it's really sad. You are the best example of a areutii I've ever seen."
Appius felt a twinge at the comment but brushed it off. He then held his hands up defensively before sitting opposite to the man.
"So, are you going to tell me what this is all about or are you just going to sit there and try to look like a stoic badass?" Appius inquired to his fellow Mandalorian.
"Vodo is dead," Zxyl said. His words were as blunt as the table they were sitting at.
"Really? And here I was thinking his body parts wanted some time away from each other."
Zxyl had to hold back a chuckle.
"Funny, you're a regular comedian, aren't you?"
"I try."
"Regardless," the Corsair interrupted, by the tone of his voice and his body language it was clear he was suddenly very serious. "I have some important news. Seraine wishes for you to lead Ektrosis again. Hand over the reins so to speak."
Appius tapped his fingers on the table in front of him. He was suddenly very quiet which was uncharacteristic for the Sorcerer as of late. Although Zxyl knew exactly what it meant to him.
Redemption.
The last time Appius was the Quaestor of Ektrosis he barely reached the three week mark before circumstances forced him to leave Taldryan and the Brotherhood altogether. He returned just in time for the recent war as Ektrosis' Aedile. But Quaestor meant more to him. Much more.
"I see."
That was all he could say. He knew there had to be more. Something, a catch, anything. Zxyl was Taldryan's Proconsul and one of the latest Sons of Taldryan.
"And you are telling me this here, because?"
"Frankly, I don't trust you."
Appius' body tensed slight, those words stung like little daggers to his core.
"I know I made a mistake, Zxyl, but…"
"Mistake?" The Proconsul interrupted. "No Appius. That wasn't just a mistake. It was the biggest colossal frak up you could have possibly made. We took a chance on you. We had high hopes you would help us bring Ektrosis and Taldryan into the future. Instead, you abandoned us without so much as a word or reason why."
"I had my reasons."
"So you keep saying. The Taldryan motto is a Brotherhood within a Brotherhood. Do you think that is just for show? No. It means something to the Clan, to the Scions of Taldrya and to me." Zxyl stated, slamming his hand down onto the table. The pair were beginning to draw the attention of the small crowd of people around them. "You mock me, you mock Taldryan, and you mock the way."
"Do you think it means nothing to me too!? I have done nothing but be loyal since I came back. I've bled for this Clan, given part of myself for it! I can't even sleep at night because of the screams I hear in my nightmares. But I kept it locked away because above all else, I respected you, I respected Vodo, Seraine, Bale and I respected everyone in Taldryan and Ektrosis! I followed my way and I think it's served me well don't you think!?"
Appius stood up, the chair he was sat on fell over with a distinct hard thud. The music ceased to play as the club around them fell eerily silent.
"But clearly it means absolutely nothing here, does it? You can keep Ektrosis and I'll just frak off back to Vizsla, shall I? Frak you, frak Erinyes, I'm out of here. See you later, Zxyl. Thanks for nothing."
He turned to leave, anger clouded his judgement and as far as he was concerned his mind was made up. Until something stopped him dead in his tracks. No, not just any old something. A single word that radiated through him and pierced him harder than any lightsaber ever could.
"Dar'manda."
No-one else in the room knew what that word meant except for Zxyl and Appius. The Force user slowly turned his head back to the Proconsul. His fists tightly clenched, his teeth grit together, and his eyes were filled with a malice only one with the Dark Side could harness.
"What. Did. You. Just. Call. Me?" He said, each word slowly rolling off the tip of his tongue like a viper secreting venom.
Zxyl rose to his feet, his hands pressed down onto the table. Through his helmet he glared back into the Human's amber eyes with unwavering steel.
"Dar'," he replied slowly as he emphasised each syllable of the word. "Manda."
Without a word of warning, lightning struck out at the half-breed Mandalorian like a sudden storm from Kamino. Thankfully for Zxyl, his reflexes were just as fast as he dove out of the way as it inched past him and hit an unfortunate Rodian.
Rising back to his feet, he quickly tapped a switch on his vambraces which sent a thin, near-invisible grappling line towards the Force user. It wrapped around his long legs and as the wire tightened it pulled them together so suddenly that Appius lost his footing.
Zxyl yanked hard on the cable as Appius fell unceremoniously down onto his back. With a sly grin behind his helmet, the Weapons Specialist activated his jetpack and leapt backwards and dragged the tall Human across the club floor like a ruined piece of carpet.
The Force user colluded into a myriad of tables, chairs, and other Club Vertica patrons that ultimately fell on top of him and lost their balance before screaming curses at him in languages that he couldn't understand.
Appius' back burned from the friction of being dragged along and parts of his body were bruised from constantly crashing into literally anything. Zxyl landed upon a nearby table, his hold of the tether tight and ready to move again.
"Well, I expected more from you, Appius. Maybe Seraine was wrong. Maybe you aren't worth the effort after all."
Appius lifted his head up to the man and snarled at him, baring his teeth.
"Not done?" Zxyl said. "Round two it is!"
As Zxyl launched himself into the air Appius found himself careening across the floor once more. Yet despite the pain, despite his helplessness. He didn't feel fear, regret, or even shame. Instead, a fire grew within his core, and he refused to be embarrassed again!
After coming to a stop by the bar, Appius summoned Redeemer from his waist into his hand, and as he started to pick up momentum across the floor he activated the blade as his ruptured to life in all its emerald green glory. The Force user quickly cut the cord wrapped around his legs and freed himself from its tangle. The half-breed turned mid-air from the sudden shock of his grappling line going limp only to see the Sorcerer stood on his feet, lightsaber in his hand and a scowl on his face.
"Hut'uun!" Appius bellowed as streaks of blue screeched from his left hand towards Zxyl. Only this time, in mid-air, he had nowhere to go as the sparks struck him in his chest and sent him flying to the other side of the club. The horned man rolled across a hard table before falling a couple of feet to the floor. His hard armor and jetpack made his landing particularly rough.
Appius carefully approached the singed man as his bruises twinged across his body. His lightsaber twirled in his hand as the club patrons gave him as wide a berth as possible.
"You want to talk to me about the way, call me a traitor, areutii, say I've lost my heritage and then you fight like that?" Appius said, extending an arm to show the extent of the damage to the club. "And you call me a dar'manda? Di'kut! Why don't you fight me like a man? Like a real Mando'a or are you just a regular ol' merc with a mouth? All talk and no action."
Zxyl fought through the searing pain and stood back up, the electronics in his helmet returned to normal and he retrieved his lightsaber from his waist. He activated the personally designed weapon in his hand as an amber coloured blade erupted from the hilt.
"Fine," the Weapons Specialist said with a gruff tone. "Have it your way, spoonbender."
For that comment, one way or another, the Proconsul was going to put Appius through a world of hurt he'd never experienced before.
Zxyl would make sure of it.
