Coruscant, a planet that is nothing but one large city teaming with billions of people spread out over the verious levels. It was a place of politics and commerse, but also of danger, especially in the lower levels where escaped exotic pets and usual thugs roamed the streets, terrorizing the lower class citizens unlucky enough to be trapped there.

It was the dead of night with not so many people out and about, but with enough foot traffic to still keep the figure hiding in the shadows of the alleyway cautious. She looked left, then right, then in both directions again to ensure no one was watching before dashing across the street. With her tattered and torn cloak flying behind her, the streetlamps revealed briefly her white scaly skin and clawed hands and feet: she didn't have much on other then the cloak and a few badly ripped articles of clothing covering key areas of her body. Once on the other side, she looked out at the street once again to see if she was spotted. Satisified no one had, she turned and wandered deeper into the alley, looking for a meal.

She was hunting, yet also running and hiding. From whom or what she did not know, but she just knew there were people looking for her. The problem was, she couldn't remember anything beyond about a month ago, including her own name, so who her pursuers could be she had no clue. What she did know was that she was a Trandoshan, but had no memory of if she belonged to a Clan...or even if she had a family or a place to call home. Other things she knew she discovered on her own since waking up in a junkyard, naked and vulnerable. She had quickly learned that her body had been 'altered' from what was considered the 'norm' for a Trandoshan: skin now extremely sensitive to sunlight for one...and she believed the paleness of her skin was due to the same reason as her skin sensitivity...whatever reason that was. Another thing she quickly discovered was perhaps the most disturbing...and it was the reason she was hunting in these alleyways.

Her stomach growled painfully and she had to lean against the wall until the pain subsided. She was new here, having arrived by stowing away on a cargo ship, and hadn't had the opportunity to feed for a couple of nights now: it was starting to affect her stamina and strength. As she passed behind one of the many resturants in the city, she longed to be able to feed off of the left overs the city inhabitants threw out every day. But no...her stomach wouldn't hold such sources of substance...no matter how hungry she was. Sometimes the smells coming from the resturants would almost trigger what she felt was a memory...but she could never quite grab hold of it. She knew she was dreaming of her past as she slept...but everytime when she woke up those memories would disappear back into the black abyss that was her mind, laughing at her as they disappeared. The only things those dreams would allow her to remember was two things: pain and fear. It was those two things, along with what she pieced together over time, that allowed her to 'know' she was being hunted: but was it friend or foe?

Movement in one of the side alleyways made her freeze and focus her dark blue eyes in that direction. Where normal Trandoshans saw in the infra spectrum in places of darkness, she viewed the world of darkness as a cat would. She could see the humanoid clearly, just standing there...looking like he was waiting for someone. He looked like a homeless man, but she needed to be wary as appearances can be decieving. Before if she had any doubt she would move on, as she promised herself she would take only those that wouldn't be missed, but as her stomach pointingly reminded her...she was fast approaching the point where she wouldn't have a choice if she wanted to survive.

Carefully she approached him, he had her back to her so he couldn't see her and she made sure her toe claws didn't 'click' on the pavement, which would give her away. She was taller then him, not very surprising as she was seven feet tall, but she was thin and weakened. If he resisted she my not be able to hold on to him, but she had to take that chance. When she was but a foot from him, she snapped out with her long arms, one hand going over his mouth while the other arm wrapped around his chest, pinning his arms. She could tell now that he had a scruffy beard and his clothing smelled foul, but this only encouraged her: if he was a begger then no one would likely miss him. He wasn't resisting either, likely due to being scared out of his wits.

~I am sorry...~ she spoke in Dosh, ~but I must eat...~ The apology felt so hollow, as she's said it so many times before now. But she had no choice and she sank her teeth into his neck and drank the lifeblood as it poured into her mouth. Yes...blood was the only thing her stomach would let her consume now: she would take animal blood when she could, but most animals were too strong for her to attack without getting herself badly injured and the smaller animals she would need to find too many of to satisfy her, not to mention they can be hard to find: she hadn't seen an animal on this planet yet anyway. Humanoids, much to her regret...were too easily found and became her main source of substance for her unusual 'diet'.

The humaniod had struggled a bit when she bit him, but was still and limp now. She released her bite and laid him on the ground, wondering briefly want to do next. She knew he was still alive...barely, for she would never be able to consume all the blood most humanoid bodies can hold, so she could leave him as he was. However, she didn't want to leave any witnesses, so she reached down and calmly broke his neck, ending his life. She then dragged him back further into the alley and laided him against a wall, in a position that suggested he was sleeping: no one would likely notice until the stench of decay reached their noses.

Calmly she wiped any spilt blood off her body, which contrasted greatly her skin. Her clean up was interrupted when she heard the sound of footsteps approaching. She froze for a moment, then turned and fled, not wanting to risk being seen...

A slight drop of sweat was building upon his brow as he sat cross-legged in his chambers. Around him he could feel slight manifestations twirling and humming through the air, the effervescent power almost corporeal as the Sith Lord continued to focus more and more power into his efforts. Although he could not see Lupercus knew everything that was happening around him, from the smallest breeze to the beakers that floated around in an inane ballet, his senses were attuned to the highest level of his art. To his right he felt the flow of gases reach the desired level and with almost with no effort began to reach out through the force on the most atomic of levels. The atoms began to increase speed at his command, their furious movements causing a spark to erupt from seemingly nothing, setting the gas alight.

The bead of sweat dropped from his forehead with a strange sense of satisfaction in its end as the burner to his right lit. Focusing now on the stable flame, Lupercus reached out again, manipulating the flames to a higher temperature. Had his eyes been open he would have seen it turn from yellow to a deep blue as the temperature increased. Moments later, the ruby red contents of the beaker that sat above the burner began to bubble, and it was at that point that the Sith did finally open his eyes.

18 long hours of work…

He watched as the energies he had summoned began to swarm around the huddled but immobile form to his left and his heart leapt as they convalesced into the beaker. With a thought the flame shut off and the bubbling began to subside.

Rising, his trademark smirk etched across his features as pride emanated from his body, Lupercus approached the table upon which the beaker sat. With a growing sense of triumph the Sith picked up the beaker and placed it to his lips. The ruby contents disappeared down the hapans throat hungrily.

The Dark Prince paused now, his smile wavering slightly as he awaited the results. And as smugly as it appeared, the smirk vanished from his face.

DAMN IT!

For almost a mile around him citizens of Coruscant suppressed a collective shudder, although they did not know why and as a result many could not sleep that night. Then again, very few people can be expected to sleep when faced with the unadulterated rage of a Sith Lord who had failed.

Needless to say, the beaker now lay shattered against the far wall and a slight pool of the ruby liquid was beginning to form around the smashed remains.

Lupercus stormed across the room to the shrouded form and unleashed a brutal kick into its rip cage, although that only served to send the body the way of the beakers remains it crashing into the wall at the same spot as the beaker. The hapan began to pace furiously as he tried to think, but his rage held it to be impossible for rational thought. Slightly regaining his composure, Lupercus stormed from the laboratory and disappeared into the seamy underbelly that was Coruscants lower levels.


Later…


It was only luck that had allowed the sith to stumble upon the Trandoshan that dark night, the hapan darting down a short alleyway in his search for someone to vent his anger upon when his senses caught something that had always intrigued him. A man with murder on his mind. Smiling to himself, Lupercus’ interest was piqued as the mind quickly changed from seeking a target, to eliminating one.

The mind was weak, confused and generally lacking direction but it seemed to the sith that something other than the mind was driving the hunter to his goal. Lupercus moved quickly, hoping to reach a vantage point before the target was reached, but with his speed that was a certainty. The royal arrived in time to see a vagrant standing in the street lights, a look of bovine stupidity across his face.

That couldn’t be him…

Lupercus was sure, and his theory was proved when reptilian hands wrapped around the mans chest and face, the creature pulling the man slightly back into the shadows before he truly attacked, latching his teeth into the mans jugular. One thing that confused the hapan, who was long accustomed to such violence, was the precursor to the strike. Although he did not speak doshan, Lupercus’ force skills allowed him to sense the creatures intent.

It was regret.

The trandoshan continued to feed on the man until he was almost dead and almost as suddenly as the attack had begun it stopped. The body fell, coming slightly into a nearby lamplight, and the creature was revealed as it stood over its conquest. Lupercus continued to listen in on the trandoshans feelings and could sense the regret being banished as its survival skills took over. Reaching down, it extinguished the vagrants life.

Smiling, Lupercus was about to offer a round of applause from his point above the pair, having been well amused by their horrific duet, but as quickly as the event began, the reptile was gone, fleeing the scene of its triumph. Unable to leave such a performance unappreciated, Lupercus lept down from the building and made pace to follow the creature. Ahead of him, Lupercus could sense his direction and reached inside its brain to implant a message.

Easy, there is no need to run…

The message was cryptic, and would surely frighten the creature, but such was the hapans way.

"Easy, there is no need to run…"

She knew that sudden voice in her head couldn't be of her own making and the message made her both want to stop and run even harder at the same time. She didn't do either, but did slow her pace to a stiff walk. Eventually she slowed to a slow cautious pace, like a spy or thief would when they are trying to infiltrate a building, her eyes flicking this way and that, trying to see the one thats sent that consoling...yet threating in a way...message. Her mind became a jumble of confused thoughts and emotions, trying to work out the meaning of both the message...and how it was sent to her.

It was frustrating. She knew that if she remembered who she was...remembered her past...this would be an easier task to accomplish. But no, whatever it was that made her this way kept that knowledge firmly out of her grasp. Momentarily she forgot about the message and vented her frustrations on a trash can, knocking it over with a hiss. Her frustration was quickly replaced by sorrow and she fell to her knees, holding her head.

~Why I'm like this?~ she muttered, ~What have I done to deserve this fate?~

Again the emotion was short lived as her mind reminded her she was not alone here. Her head snapping up, she realized to her horror that she, while in the mist of her confused thoughts and emotions, and wandered into a dead end. Quickly she rose to her feet and while the way out was clear, fear kept her from going that route. She didn't know if she was being followed or not, though the message suggested that, and she didn't know the message sender's true intent.

Still she did not like being cornered like this and with paranoia and panic setting in she looked feverishly for another way out.

I will not be taken back to that place.... she thought, though consciously she did not know what that the heck she was thinking about. It was yet more teasing hints her mind was giving her, hinting at what happened before but not telling exactly what.

Her search for another way out was interrupted when she thought she saw movement out of the corner of her eye. She froze, then she moved slowly backwards to one of the corners, her body low to the ground like a frightened animals. Fear was the only thing that filled her mind now and in it's terrible grip she never felt more helpless.

~Who...who's there?~ she said softly, her voice trembling and her eyes never leaving the entryway into her self-inflicted prison.

Instead of reaching her immediately, Lupercus held back slightly as he was intrigued as to what he reactions would be. He followed in the shadows not 15 metres behind her, the Sith Lord wrapping the shadows around himself much like he did when harassing newcomers to the Sith Order. Inherent in her thoughts was a total sense of confusion and bewilderment, not just at the strange message but also at her situation. From that confusion anger seemed apparent, and frustration.

Lupercus could relate, his own frustrations with the increasingly untenable relationship with his brother had resulted in his self-imposed exile, but he knew something much deeper and more serious was hounding at her soul. He emerged into the light at the end of the alley, revealing himself to the creature in full. He wore diplomatic robes, such was his reason for being at Imperial Centre, and held his arms out to his side in a non-threatening gesture which showed he held no weapons.

“A friend…”

He smiled, stepping towards her.

“I saw you back there. Are you ok?”

The human looked to be one of great importance going by his dress and she wondered why someone of such status would be roaming the scum filled sections of this city. But never mind that, he had spoken to her in Basic and at first she didn't understand him, for she had always spoken in her native tongue before. For the first time however, there was a sense of familiarity with his tongue and with some mental effort she was able to grasp on to that familiar feeling and force her mind to reveal why. For the first time, she remembered something she could not before and now understood his words. She smiled, briefly, at her personal triumph, but that smile quickly faded when she remembered her situation.

"Friend?" She replied in like tongue, though she had a bit of an accent. "I have no friends...least none I can remember." She straightened up, feeling more confident in herself...despite the depressing truth of the words she spoke. "Am I ok you ask? Define 'ok'." her voice turned bitter. "I for one do not believe that being forced to remain in the shadows and can only feed off the lifeblood of others in order to survive is being 'ok'." She then whined, sinking to her knees again. "I can't even remember who I am...or what was done to me to make me like this...I don't want to be like this."

She was revealing too much she knew, but it felt too good to be able to actually talk to someone about her troubles.

She was bitter, and understandably so. Then again, Lupercus' life work was the embodiment of bitterness and he dealt with people consumed by the said emotion every day of his life. Hell, he wouldn't have it any other way.

Still, he remained whimsical about the situation.'

"The galaxy has always been divided into the preditor and the prey. Whether that means seizing the opportunity to enter politics, using harsh business tactics to succede or..."

He smiled at the trandoshan.

"... living off others.

You shouldn't be forced to live in the shadows. Only those who choose to ever doso and amount to something in their lives."

He looked at her, projecting concern into her mind through the force. It reasserted the fact he 'really did care'.

"You don't remember anything?"

"I don't want to hide in the shadows..." she said pointingly, "But my skin can no longer tolerate the sun." She remembered, briefly, that she once enjoyed basking in the sunlight, but she recalled nothing more from that. A part of her wasn't sure she could trust this man...but he did seem genuinely concerned for her well being. "Do I remember anything? No...nothing beyond about a month ago...when I woke up and found myself in a junkjard. How I got there...your guess is as good as mine..."

The more she talked, she noticed, the more 'willing' her mind seemed to give her information. Was this what she needed all along? She wanted desperately to know who she was...and who or what did this to her...if only so she could have her revenage.

As she talked her desire for revenge became more and more aparent to the Sith. He continued to listen, becoming increasingly interested in her story as she continued. It was only as she mentioned it that he noticed her discoloured skin, its white palour entirely unnatural on reptilian skin. It was almost as if she was albino. Except for her eyes.

"Where have you been since then, is this how you've been surviving?"

"Where have I been?" she said, looking a bit puzzled. She had been to a few planets on her travels, but never learned the names of them. "I...don't know really, just took what ever shuttle was there, stode away most times. One place was swampy and wet...another was arid and dry. I hated the dry place...with two suns it too forever for night to fall...I didn't stay there for long. But then...I didn't stay in one place long anyway...too dangerous.

"Yes...this is how I've been surviving, moving from shadow to shadow. Feeding off beggers and other low lifes...people no one would miss. I don't want to become even more hunted then I am now..." She felt the chill of fear briefly and she glanced about nervously. "There are...people...looking for me. I don't know who they are...but I...I know it's likely they were the ones that did this to me. Turned me into this...freak."

She sat on the ground and stared at her hand, the faint lamplight shining off her white scales.

"My skin was another color once..." she said softly, "My eyes too...what was it..." Her semi-transparent eyelids slid over her eyes a moment as she thought, digging into her brain for more information. "Green." she said finally, opening her eyes. "My skin was green...my eyes...damn...I don't remember."

She whined faintly at that failure: she was doing so well too. Her mind however, seemed to believe it had revealed enough information to her this day. With a frustrated snarl she punched the trash can she had knocked over earlier.

"When I remember everything..." she growled, "I will track down those that did this to me and have my revenage. The hunters will become the hunted..."

Lupercus nodded, inwardly ticking off a mental checklist as he continued to listen to the trandoshan. She was bitter and vengeful, of that Lupercus was sure.

"Someone as cruel as them don't deserve anything but a slow and brutal death... Perhaps I can help you. Is there anything you need?

Shelter or food perhaps?"