Log:Array Consortium: There is No Lakassh, Only Zuul

There Is No Lakassh, Only Zuul

Location: Serious Business, Nar Shaddaa Orbit
Participants: Atria Foster, Adhar Gann

Now that the prisoners have been softened up, or at least the ones who respond, Atria continues interrogation - and learns new and disturbing things about the Blades and their apparent cult.

Adhar's show yesterday has really put the fear of Bando in 'em. None of the cannibal types want to talk, save for the one Adhar scared shitless - literally shitless, took him two hours in a refresher to get out the smell. Sentient feces made from sentient is...well. It's not great. Worse than usual. The point is, hoever, that he's willing to talk, sitting shrunken and quiet on his metal slab of a bunk. So! Ask away.

Atria enters the cell much the same way as she did the day before. Though this time, she's added a little theatrics in the form of her fake blood splattered on her armor. "Hello again, potential snack. Are you ready to answer my questions now?"

Considering yesterday's events, this little pet name forces him to cringe visibly. "Yes," he breathes, staring at the floor. "Yes, mistress."

Atria smirks at the reply, "Mmm. Mistress. I could get used to that." She crosses her arms over her chest and begins the questioning, starting with an easy one to test how truthful he's willing to be, "Who is the leader of the Blades?"

The sheer force of concentration he's going through right now could power a small city - but whatever direction it's supposed to be going in, the pirate finally comes to the 'right' decision. "Bando is the leader," he whispers, voice hoarse. "Bando is the source of the blood, the flesh, the pain, the wealth. He gives us everything. We only have to kill for him."

Atria nods at this, considering. She continues, not giving him a chance to rest between questions, "Who is Lakassh?"

"Lakassh..." He shakes his head firmly. "There is no more Lakassh, there is just...just Bando. Bando rides in his flesh, as he rides in us all. There's no more Lakaash. We are no more Kandaka Blades. There is just flesh, and blood, and pain, and eating. That is all there is." He heaves a deep sigh. "I want to...I need to..."

Atria frowns at this answer. "What do you mean Bando rides in his flesh? He killed Lakassh and wears his skin as my commander does the other Trandoshan?"

"Lakassh is gone," he repeats. "Laskashh is gone...and we are the flesh. We are the flesh. We are /his/ flesh. I...am...nobody important....but /we/...are.../Bando./"

His teeth begin to chatter as he repeats those words. It's a litany. A constant litany, and now he continues to repeat it, whispering the words, on endless repeat as he covers his ears.

Atria sighs softly, then steps forward to backhand the prisoner once, "Do you want to be devoured? Stop that and return to answering my questions, snack!"

He just keeps his hands over his ears, chanting - the chanting begins to build into a scream, a scream that other prisoners begin to pick up in the other cells - suddenly tere's a chant going on, a chant that fluxes between screaming and wailing, and you are plunged in a wall of noise that feels almost like tangible psychosis. after a moment, a guard outside starts to play the riot-control horn over the cell network, and you find yourself shuddering under /two/ sonic assaults. Best to step out for a moemnt.

Atria does step outside, sealing the cell door. She goes to check on the one prisoner who hasn't expressed craziness. Nobody.

Yes, what about Nobody? Nobody is sleeping. And smiling. Well at least the horn isn't going off in /his/ cell...

Atria taps her chin, frowning as she watches the holofeed of Nobody sleeping soundly while the others are all screaming. She turns to one of the guards and takes his blaster rifle since she left her weapons in her cubicle. Returning to the prisoner that started this screaming match, she opens the door, makes sure the rifle is set to stun and fires at the prisoner.

Well he's out, and the others are still shrieking; the roaring doesn't seem to be doing much of anything. In one of the cells, a loud sound of impact - guards begin to scramble for the cells.

Atria steps back into the hallway and seals the door. She hands the rifle back to the guard and points, barking orders to the scrambling guards, "Stun them all if you have to!" She then goes in search of the source of the impact sound.

'Have to' seems to be the operative phrase, for the prisoners have all begin to smash their heads aginst the cells, leaving red stains against the gray metal. Before they can be taken down, all but the first have either killed themselves immediately or given themselves such terrible brain injuries that they won't be waking up again. So you one crazy cannibal man, Nobody, and...a garden full of begetables. How's that for a green thumb?

Atria calls the medbay for medics to come see to the injuries as best they can, then orders the guards to help the medics deal with the dead ones. She sighs softly, removing her helmet and massaging the bridge of her nose. "If this happens again, call me or Razia immediately. I have to go find the captain."

After making sure the medics and guards are dealing with the aftermath of the prisoners' Crazy Time(tm), Atria goes in search of Adhar. This search begins with her activating the intercom in the main room of the security center, "Foster to bridge. I'm looking for the Captain. Is he up there by any chance?"

"Bridge here," comes the reply. "He's here. What's up?" Oh, so informal, this citizen crew!

"I need to have a talk with him about the prisoners. Does he want me up there or does he want to come down here?" Atria asks the informal bridge crewman.

"That's all right, Deputy Chief, he'll be down in a minute." The crewmn cuts the line, and soon enough...

Adhar arrives in his red jacket, looking grim. "Well well," he says, looking past you toward the detention block. "I've heard the children have been rambunctious."

"Word travels fast," Atria mutters as she walks over to her cubicle, gesturing for Adhar to follow her. "You could definitely say that. Watch this." Once there, she calls up the holofeeds for the prisoners. All of them. She plays them simultaneously so Adhar can witness how suddenly all of them except Nobody went crazy and basically tried to kill themselves.

Adhar watches the feed, his lips set into a line. "Well," he mutters, "That's just...lovely. So you guys are keeping the others sedated, I guess, but what about buddy over here, this Nobody fella. He's just been sleeping? He wake up at all?"

Atria shakes her head, "Not even a peep. Whatever seems to be affecting these guys isn't affecting him for some reason. I plan on questioning him some more to see if I can figure out why."

"All right..." Adhar nods, scratching at his stubbled chin. "You want the jacket?"

Atria shakes her head again, smirking, "Nah, I don't think I'll need it with him. He's been cooperative so far and seems to like the rewards he gets for telling the truth."

"Suit yourself!" He drops into a seat by the camera console, gesturing at the monitors. "Go ahead. I'll watch from here."

Atria nods, "Enjoy the show." She grabs her helmet and secures it on her head before striding down the corridor to Nobody's cell. With two armed guards standing outside, she enters his cell without any warning. "Up and at 'em, Nobody! I have some more questions for you." She may have forgotten that she still has fake blood spattered on her armor. Or maybe she didn't.

Slowly he wakes, sitting straight up as if spring-loaded. He still slouches and wears his sullen expression, but somehow he seems...a good deal lighter. Rest probably didn't hurt.

"All right," Nobody says, looking up at you with his dark, heavy eyes. "What can I do for you today?"

Atria gets right to the point, crossing her arms over her chest, "Who is Bando?"

"I'm just a pilot," Nobody says, shaking his head quickly. "We're the lowest rank, that's why they throw us at people. Bando's got nothing to do with me."

Atria frowns, taking a step closer, "That doesn't answer my question. I've seen some of your friends that Bando *does* have something to do with and I want to know who he is. And if you want to keep your comforts and avoid making me angry, you will tell me what I want to know."

He looks at you for a long moment. "Look, going this way isn't for the faintest of hearts. You sure you want to know who Bando is? I mean you could just space those guys, sell me for the bounty, and just fight you some pirates. You don't need to worry about the rest."

Atria makes a noise very close to a growl, "My heart is far from faint. We may still space those bastards, but this has gotten personal. I want to know everything and I am willing to do whatever I have to to find my answers."

"All right," says Nobody, lifting his hands in supplication. "All right. It's like this. The organization is set up in a hierarchy, right? Slaves are the lowest, and they're for labor and for meat for the higher-ups. Pilots are next; we're the sanest, really, because most of us are just along for the ride, and we're smart enough to be scared to death of what's above us. The fighters are pretty torn up in the heads, but they're smart enough still to know that they need us, so we only get eaten if we fail. So...we do our damnedest not to." He takes a breath and rubs at his nose, frowning.

"The biggest group of combatants are the fighters. They're the guys next door, right? They do a lot of dirtside raids and boarding and all of that, killing and eating and all that. They're like...a cult. A religion, built on all of that. The Trandoshans are at the top, and then there's Bando. Who used to be te other guy, but somewhere along the line...he changed. They all did. Only thing that keeps us from being the same, I guess, is that we're kept so far away from them."

Atria listens to the story quietly, a frown the only part of her features visible beneath her helmet's visor. Finally, she asks, "So Lakaash is now Bando. When did this change happen? Was it gradual or sudden? Did it affect the fighters immediately or was it gradual?"

"I don't know," Nobody says with a shake of his head. "I've only been with the oufit six months, and this happened years ago. Most of the peopel around at that time have been killed or eaten for failure. Maybe the Trandoshans, but I figure since they're freakin' out next door you killed who ever was overseeing their unit."

"Word travels fast," Atria mutters as she walks over to her cubicle, gesturing for Adhar to follow her. "You could definitely say that. Watch this." Once there, she calls up the holofeeds for the prisoners. All of them. She plays them simultaneously so Adhar can witness how suddenly all of them except Nobody went crazy and basically tried to kill themselves.

Atria nods in agreement, "Yeah, wish I could take credit for that kill, but he died all the same. They need a Trandoshan to keep them sane?"

"They're like...I don't know. Overseers. Something. They're not as crazy as the fighters, but they're not sane as far as I can tell. Then again, I mean, they're Trandoshans, right? This might all must be normal behavior for them. Just...it's a bad scene, and I'm real kriffin' glad I'm here and not there."

Atria nods, smirking, "Yeah, I bet. But as long as you stay informative, you get to stay right here. At least until the rest of the Blades are dealt with. Where can we find Bando?"

"Bando? He's in the Rim the last I checked." Nobody shrugs. "We operate off an asteroid. Old mining station. I know my ship's shot to shavit, but I'm sure you can pull the coordinates off the navicomputer, yeah?"

Atria shrugs a bit, "I'm sure our techs can figure something out. Thanks for the information. Maybe I'll see to it that a bit of whiskey finds its way into your next rations." With that, she turns and leaves the cell, sealing the door and returning to where Adhar waits.

Adhar is waiting, all right, his brows arched as he watches yuo enter. "...well," he says, "That was...illuminating."

Atria removes her helmet and nods, "Yeah. Seems like they may fall apart if we cut off the head of the snake. Which we may have a location for if his navicomputer wasn't too damaged in the fight."

"Well, we'll have to go back out and get it," Adhar says with a grunt. "In all the excitement, apparently somebody forgot to snag the fighter." He gets to his feet. "Well, you earned your stripes. Put someone else in charge and take the night off, Atria. I've got to go and play findsman, oh boy."

Atria gives Adhar a mock salute and nods, "Good luck with that. I need a drink." She turns towards the blast door exit, "As soon as I get out of this armor."

"Yep." He moves to follow. "Once we're done with this lot, by the way, I've got something else for you. But we'll talk about that later. Good night, Atria. And good work."