Things got weirdly heavy here for a minute. Not sure things are 100% the way I intended them to be. But hey, Akuliina’s Amzab (and the $11M bar that I don’t own (yet) (EDIT: someone’s currently selling it for $40M. I could be here a while.).
Interlude: Rule and Order
“Let’s stop by my apartment to rest,” she suggested when they arrived on Dromund Kaas, returning from their last mission.
He glanced at her. “All of us, my lady?”
She frowned at him. “Of course, Captain. Vette already has a room there. And surely you don’t have any particular attachment to sleeping here, or some uncomfortable hotel.”
Actually, he’d indeed been planning on finding inexpensive lodgings in the city. While it would be nice to have a change from sleeping on the ship, he couldn’t afford much even on a captain’s salary, not on the throneworld. But her invitation was tempting, and she wasn’t flirting relentlessly with him – that he could tell. “Very well, I will accompany you.”
As they got into the taxi together, he at the controls, Vette riding shotgun, and Akuliina taking up the entire back seat, he had to ask: “I didn’t know you had an apartment here, my lady. I thought you were from Kuat.”
“I am,” she said, frowning that he would ask such a stupid question.
“She is,” Vette said. “But like the minute she got here from Korriban – well, after we met with Lord Baras, and what a treat that was – she was like ‘I need a decent place to live’ and bought this place the same afternoon. Had it furnished and staffed and decked out by evening. I couldn’t believe it, but hey, she’s rich.”
“I have some small income from my holdings on Kuat,” she said, red lips curving into a self-satisfied smile. Which meant that her income dwarfed his several times over. Hardly surprising. “And yes, I take care of them on a regular basis, even in my new position as Sith apprentice.”
“I see,” he said. “I look forward to seeing it.”
It wasn’t just any old apartment, as he pulled into the garage on the top east side of the building. It was the penthouse suite on one of Kaas City’s tallest skyscrapers. She had a magnificent view of the Sith Sanctum from the main balcony on the second floor, he could tell without even going up there. She was going to give him a tour; he could feel her eagerness as he opened the car door for her.
But she was halted by the sight of a large shipping container to one side of the garage, five metres long, two metres high, and three metres wide. “I wonder what that is.”
“You weren’t expecting more furniture or anything?” Vette asked.
“No. …Perhaps it’s my new sex toy.”
He choked on his own spit and burst out coughing violently. Vette was giggling. The comment hadn’t even been directed at him and it still took him by surprise.
“Well, I’ll check the shipping info,” Vette said, still giggling, starting forward.
Akuliina put a hand out. “Better not. What if it explodes?”
He’d recovered from his coughing fit, and started to say that was paranoia, then thought better of it. When dealing with Sith, paranoia was too-frequently justified. “Then allow me, my lady.” He put the taxi on the autopilot that would take it back to the nearest rental station and started forward.
“Your myriad points of expertise include bomb disposal?” she asked, eyebrow raised.
“No, not so much. But if it does go off, I’m more expendable.” So was Vette, honestly, but Akuliina would be upset if Vette died; so much was clear from the way she’d protected her from danger in the first place. He reached the data port on the side of the container before she could say more. “It’s not a bomb. It appears to be a speeder bike, from – your parents, yes?” Count Anotin Volkov and Countess Mareet Volkova were the names written there.
“Ah! Splendid.” She was at his side before he could read any more, though he’d caught something about ‘graduation present’ and ‘Korriban’. “Yes, I see. How… nice of them.”
“They send you a new speeder and you still hate them?” Vette asked, her voice betraying her confusion.
A complex look passed over Akuliina’s face. “I must. …But let’s see what they sent.” A few quick flicks of her lightsaber, and the container collapsed, leaving a beautiful golden bullet-nosed speederbike on display.
“An Amzab Glory,” he said. He knew a little about speeders. Sometimes there wasn’t much to do on Balmorra but look at things he’d never be able to afford. This model was only a few months old.
“It’s beautiful,” Akuliina said, running her fingers across its gleaming skin. She turned to them, sitting in a vaguely seductive pose sidesaddle. “Well, I wasn’t completely wrong, was I? It’s a toy, and it’s sexy. How do I look?”
Vette grinned and gave her a thumbs up. He nodded noncommittally. Best not to encourage her.
She grinned back and hopped off. “I’ll have to take this when we go out into the galaxy again. Anyway, come, I’ll show you the rest of the apartment.”
Good thing she hadn’t had such a vehicle on Nar Shaddaa; with it she would have stood out like a Wookiee at an Ugnaught gathering. More than she already did. As she and Vette headed for the door into the rest of apartment, he followed her.
She was frowning as she came into a central hall, looking left and right. “There should be servants here to meet us. And what is this disorder? They’ve been slacking.” She glanced at him. “I apologize, Captain. This is not as it should be.”
“I’m not bothered. Don’t trouble yourself, my lady.” It wasn’t as if he’d expected servants, and the ‘disorder’ was mostly dust, as far as he could tell. Some books scattered about, dirty glasses not put away. Which was a bit off and did bother him a little. But his polite reassurances fell on deaf ears… as he had known they might.
“Well. When they deign to show up, they’ll be unemployed. Now, here’s the entryway if you’ve come up by the elevator, on your right. Ahead is a living area-”
“Which has a pretty sweet bar, let me tell you,” Vette put in. “Since I mentioned it, anything you wanna drink? I’m hankering for a Cometduster, personally.”
“Chandrilan white, thank you,” Akuliina said. “Over there’s the guest room, where you’ll be staying.”
She hadn’t even asked, just assumed. Well, he supposed there was no harm in staying. There was a guest room. He hesitated, caught by Vette’s querying look. “Would you happen to have Zadarian brandy?” He hadn’t had one in so long… over ten years, in fact.
“I bet we do!” Vette said. “I don’t know half of what’s in this thing, but whatever I’ve looked for so far, we’ve got! I mean, there’s even Izzy-mold and yurp…”
“I don’t know what those are,” he admitted. “And I don’t care to try them today.” The guest room looked quite comfortable. Far better than he’d have had down in the city. He decided to stay.
“Yeah, I figured. Here you go, one Zadarian brandy!”
Drink in hand, he followed the two women up the stairs to the second level. It was just as he would have expected from Akuliina; her taste and eye for luxury were evident wherever he looked. Though he was glad that unlike some of the officers who’d come to Balmorra, she didn’t let her liking for luxury, her accustomedness to it even, interfere with her drive to fight for the Empire. In all the time he’d known her, he hadn’t heard a single complaint of the sort that he might have expected from a clearly-spoiled rich girl. …He’d complained more than she had. Secrets of her upbringing, perhaps? Her implacable will?
As the door slid open to the upper living area, there was slap and then a crash, and a gasp, and a female cry of outrage, all at the same time. “You dare question me? I am the head maid of this most prestigious dwelling and I am in charge!”
“B-but Lady Akuliina will be angry-”
“Lady Akuliina isn’t here, girl!”
“Is she not?” Akuliina drawled, hand on hip, and the three maids whirled around; the red-haired woman who had said she was head maid, a dark-skinned woman who had dropped a tray full of glasses, and a Chiss woman clutching a datapad. Their eyes all widened fearfully. Akuliina’s expression was thunderous.
She flung out a hand, and the head maid went flying across the room to splat against the main window, the one with the view of the Sith Sanctum. The woman clawed at her throat, struggling for air.
“Give me one good reason why I should let you live. Tell me why I shouldn’t hurl you from this balcony this instant,” Akuliina hissed, low and deadly, and he resisted the urge to back away. Vette made a face that said “yep, I’m staying out of this”.
“B-b-because-” the maid stammered, and began sobbing. “I’m sorry, my lady! P-please d-don’t kill me!”
“A reason,” Akuliina said, her fingers flexing as if eager to draw her lightsabers. “You have one chance to explain yourself. Don’t waste it.”
“Em… My lady, would you really kill her…?” one of the other girls said. “We’re only servants…”
Akuliina whirled on them, head held high, but she didn’t seem nearly as angry with them. “And that excuses her? She abandoned her duty and challenged my authority with insolence. Though your illogical willingness to stand up for one who was abusing you a moment ago is noted. Tell me, was she pretending to own this place? To be mistress in my absence?”
After a moment, the girls gave a frightened nod. The woman in the window let out another sob.
“I do not tolerate upstarts attempting to seize my power under any circumstances,” Akuliina growled. “That is what her crime is, not that she was lazy and irresponsible. I expect complete and total obedience from those in my service, is that not clear?”
“Y-yes, my lady.” Both girls bowed their heads low. “W-we are sorry, my lady.”
“Then you two can stay… for now. As for you!” She whirled again to the woman in the window and released her; she fell to the ground on her hands and knees, quaking and crying. “I will not kill you. You’re not a slave. But you will never again work as a maid.” She drew one of her lightsabers and slashed, and the woman screamed, clutching her cheek. “That scar will remind you, should you choose to gloat over your life, that I could and would kill you… were you not so pathetic you are completely beneath my notice. And if I hear you bragging about it, I will take it as another affront to my power and hunt you down and kill you. Understood?”
The woman nodded, eyes fixed on the floor.
“Then get out.” As the woman stumbled frantically towards the other stairwell, Akuliina turned to the two girls. “Neriana, you are now head maid. You are both to tidy this place up so that it is fit for my presence, then prepare dinner for my companions. Dismissed.” They scurried.
Well. That had been uncomfortable. But it wasn’t wrong, what she’d done. Without firm order and a proper chain of command, life would be chaos, and if she couldn’t expect order in her own home, where could she expect it?
Of course, he would probably have just fired the girl without literally scarring her as well. But he wasn’t Sith. Would a servant bragging that she got away with her life really be considered showing weakness among Sith? Well, he couldn’t exactly fault her for it, if that was the case.
Vette seemed bothered about something else entirely. “So… if you did employ slaves, would you kill them?”
“Of course. Without a second thought. A paid servant getting airs is one thing. A slave, whose life is bound to serve their master, rebelling against their master is inacceptable.” Her mouth twisted. “Makes me wonder why no one’s put down that rebellion at the unfinished colossus yet. Even if it’s by Darth Baras’s order that it exists at all.”
Vette frowned harder. “But they’re people too. If I’d been more mouthy when I was officially your slave, would you have killed me? Didn’t seem like you particularly wanted to then.”
“You were never truly a slave, Vette. You were never broken.”
“Don’t give me that.” Vette huffed, actually getting more upset than he’d ever seen her. “’You’re different, Vette.’ No! I’m not different! I’m literally no different from thousands – millions of slaves across the Empire! I just happened to be amusing to you, isn’t that right? And helped you through a tough spot one time. That’s why you see me as a person and not… not… garbage.” Her head tails twitched in agitation.
Akuliina stared blankly at her for a moment, then turned and walked away. “I’m not having this conversation.”
“Lina!” Vette looked like she was going to follow her, heedless of Akuliina’s mood, but he put a hand out and stopped her.
“She’s heard your words,” he said. “That’s all I think you’ll get from Lady Volkova.”
Vette pouted ferociously, then sighed. “Yeah, you’re right, Cap. She’ll never admit to being wrong even if she understands why I’m upset. Which she probably doesn’t yet. But if I let her think about it, maybe she will, right? Or maybe she’ll just ignore the whole thing.” She blinked at him as if seeing him for the first time. “But hey, thanks.”
“It’s nothing.” He didn’t exactly like Vette. But having her cheerful kept Akuliina in a good mood, and that was better for everyone.
He had some things to think about, back on the ship, making the long cross-galactic run to their next destination. A twelve-day trip, minimum.
Her words to Nomen Karr kept running through his head. “I do not bleed my enemies out of need, Jedi. I enjoy it.” She enjoyed bleeding anyone and everyone, not only her enemies, it seemed to him. She enjoyed wanton cruelty, the fear and suffering of all who crossed her path. And he’d be lying if he said it didn’t worry him. She who expected such rigid control over others, to not have any sort of control over herself… It was a good thing Darth Baras gave direction to her destructive tendencies, or else she might destroy large parts of the Empire before she was stopped, even though she seemed to be as loyal to the Emperor as Quinn himself was..
Still, he’d much rather serve under her than under Moff Broysc or back on Balmorra. At least she was mostly sane, and their missions were benefiting the Empire on the whole. She even gave him permission – no, commanded him to continue his search for Voloren. Now if only she’d stop invading his personal space when he was cooking in the mess…
Vette wandered into the cockpit at some point. She was back to her old cheerful self, and it seemed things had been mended between her and Akuliina. That didn’t mean he wanted to see her, and ever since that day she’d been annoyingly casual with him. “You know she’s super thirsty for you.”
“I’m sure I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he answered, distracted with hyperspace calculations. Too late he realized he should have misled her with a retort about bloodthirstiness.
“She doesn’t hit on anyone else the way she hits on you, did you notice? I know you’ve noticed. You’ve got a great eye for detail, even though it makes you kind of – I mean, really uptight. You’re just too busy being proper and pretending not to hear. Hoping it won’t blow up in your face, I guess?” The girl’s observations were far too close to the truth for his liking, so he stayed silent. “She certainly didn’t go for anyone on Dromund Kaas, which was like the only place I got to hang out with her before meeting you, but the minute she saw you she was all over you. You wanna know why?”
“I’m trying to work, Vette.”
“Denial isn’t going to help you when she amps up the intensity,” Vette said over her shoulder. “I don’t know how you feel about her, but either way… good luck, man.”
After a moment, she popped her head back through the door. “By the way, who’s Moff Broysc?”
Emperor preserve him. “Vette! Please!”