Sh'rip Sh'pa "Sudden Death"

[lotvashai]

At his words of the peez brigade, she felt herself cringe with disdain, the need for infidels in this war, be it anything other than slaves was a risky tactic that she, herself, deemed a risk too far. As did many others, they were the idea of an Intendant of equal rank to her own, who had spent twenty years in this galaxy ahead of the invasion force, though he was now in place upon another world, awaiting reassignment, his name had been spoken in vaulted halls among the Yuuzhan Vong, Nom Anor.

"I have heard of them." She mused, her disdain still prominent in her voice, "Though their use will outlive it's self eventually, we take far too great a risk on their competance...certainly, they can reach places we may not, but they are unworthy creatures."

Repressing a shiver of disgust, infidels were never a subject she liked to linger on for more than a moment, unless of course they were being sacrificed, taught how to correctly embrace pain or broken, she watched him with almost predatorial eyes, as he wandered around the small chamber, inspecting it, perhaps looking for chilabs or sensislugs. He would find the latter, but none that were not for security purposes and standard in such damuteks. If a slave broke free, they would need to prevent it from doing damage to the things contained inside these places.

He was distracted by something, though she knew not what, truly. Yet she couldn't help but let her gaze linger, everything about this encounter seemed a little....well, she couldn't quite place her finger on it, and that was the problem.

His abrupt comment almost made her start, a nerve reaction, she told herself, more than genuine fear of him producing a wepon, though her hand had tensed at that motion. Not that that would have evoked fear in her, quite the opposite, she liked a challenge.

"If you are certain." She said, letting the words linger purposefully as she held his gaze for a moment, then executed an all too brief bow.

"If you require anything, you have the attuned villip..." She gestured towards him, and then began to turn, "...and my undivided attention."

She was nothing if not proficient.

[Prefect Drag'Kuhl]

Drag’Kuhl looked at her, she was gazing right back at him. The azure blue eyes questioning him, seeking the truth within him. It felt uncomfortable. The young version of his lover held so much power within her over him and she didn’t even know it. He got lost in those eyes and then she suddenly broke contact, bowing in respect before him. Or was it a way to mock him? She had mastered that rather well, the fine sense of respect and mocking that respect in the future.
“Thanks, I will manage to use the villip,” he mocked her slightly, a faint smile playing around his split lips. Then she turned, her side to him, telling him something about undivided attention. He pushed against her, pressing Lotva Shai against the wall. His arms were stroking over hers. His body was touching hers, pinning her in place. He let his lips brush her cheek before he jumped back electrified. He left the chamber before she had a chance to react. His steps led him down the corridor, all the way back to the entrance to the damutek. He stepped outside and stopped, taking a deep breath. That was stupid to do.

[lotvashai]

He was faster than she would have given him credit for, but really, he could have been anyone beneath that masquer, and she didn't have the authority to demand that he remove it and show his true face. Perhaps, she reflected, that was half the fun - mystery. She thought with Yun-Harla's mind at times, this was no different.

But he had rounded on her in seconds, driving her back against the curvature of the damutek wall with such sudden motion, that she found the muscles within her left arm contract to squeeze against the biot implanted into that poisoned hand. At such close proximity she could not focus on much, but she had been convinced she had seen his left eye socket being occupied by something other than what should have been a natural eye. Her blood ran cold when she felt his weight press against her, pinning her there effectively enough, though the adrenaline rush was laced with something far greater when she caught a glimpse of the glint in his one, natural eye.

His lips brushed her cheek, evoking an instant sublime reaction in her in that instant. But just as quickly as he had been to pin her there, something akin to the shock from a plasma eel, jolted him away again, before she had managed to so much as draw breath...and then he was gone, out of the chamber and down through the network of tunnels that lead through the damutek.

Astounded, and somewhat flushed, Lotva Shai let a wry smile twist her otherwise severe visage...that, she noted, was interesting.

Very interesting.

She could lay in wait for him, but that would give him an excuse to kill her, and she didn't want that. No, she could forsee that this was either going to make or break her...she could feel it, and that was more than intriguing to one of the Shai.

Smirk fixed firmly upon her face, she resisted the urge to chuckle, pleased with herself as she was, then schooled her features into a mask of calm, exiting the chamber the way she had come in, head held high and posture haughty.

Her exit from the damutek was no less full of that kind of attitude when she breezed past him plesantly, taking only a cursory glance at him as she made her way down towards the shapers sector, she would need to make certain the others stationed here were prepared for this.

She certainly was.

[Prefect Drag'Kuhl]

He avoided her for the next ket, letting her take care of the damutek and the arrival of the shaper. He kept himself busy with wandering over the slave fields. Even after this hours and daycylces he could feel her against his skin and body. Damn his feelings.
From afar he watched the vessel of the shaper approach and made his way back to the settlement. Lotva should have taken care of the arriving shaper and shown him to the shaper’s damutek.

Some time later he finally reached the damutek and entered it, looking for the shaper and giving him his introduction. Lotva Shai might already have prepared all for her interrogation of him.

[lotvashai]

She could not have timed this better if she had actually planned for it, Lotva Shai thought slyly as she observed the Prefect stepping through the dilating entrance membrane. Master shaper Quando Kwaad was already settled beneath the scruitinizing iris of the haar vhinic, answering prepared questions as per the usual heresy check.

So far the young Intendant had been very impressed, Kwaad presented clean arguments for almost everything, and his track record was spotless...perhaps a little too spotless. She curbed that thought instantly, it would do her no good to harbour things like that, the gods may well think she was questioning them, and she wished not to anger Yun-Ne'Shel in particular.

The master shaper's headdress flicked and curled at the edges of the polyp upon which he was seated, acknowledging the Prefect's entrance the only way he could when ensnared by the creature that was reading him as plainly as an unkeyed qahsa.
If he was heretical, the theory was that the creature would alert Lotva Shai to such thought processes, and she would in turn, investigate further, and hand him over to the warriors. But so far, so good.

When the Prefect was within hearing distance, she stood up straight and crossed her arms in salute, bowing slightly as she did so. Ever the picture of severe protocol, she wasn't one to let things slip.

"Belek Tiu, Prefect," she began. "The Master shaper was eager to begin, apologies for the late notification. Work on your projects should begin sooner for this however. "