Title: The Human Skin of Evil

There are plenty of ways to gain power, but he found the most effective was fear.
Φ
The young man was around 22 years old when he found that he had powers over people. powers only few have the strength to unlock. It was much stronger than any blaster. Much stronger than any detonator. And much stronger than this so called "Force" he's heard about.
Φ
"Where is he?!" Mitch, now about 29 years old, pinned the old Devaronian against the wall by his neck, choking him.
"Please!" The Devaronian gasped desperately for air. "Don't hurt my grandson!" He begged.
Mitch grinned threateningly. "Maybe I'll let him off easy if you tell me where he is!" He pushed further on the Devaronian's neck.
The Devaronian began to cry. He didn't know what to do. His wife was tied and on her knees, helplessly weeping silently.
Mitch pulled out a blaster with his free hand and pointed it at the poor old woman on the Tatooine desert floor. "Tell me where he is or i'll shoot her!"
The Old Devaronian cried louder, not even attempting to say anything.
"Tell me where he is or else i'll rape her and make you watch!"
"Wha- what do you want w-with" he coughed. "my grandson..." A long wheeze. "anyway?!"
Mitch chuckled devilishly. "The boy has a good mind-... smart. He can do great things. Profitable things. Consider me an employer and I'm interested in his work."
"He'll never work with you!" The Devaronian's wife shouted. "He has a kind heart! He would never!"
"Oh, but he will!" Mitch said confidently with a smile on his face. He pauses before frowning. "I remember giving you specific instructions on not talking..." He pointed at her. "I can still hold up on that offer I made earlier about raping you."
"NO!" The male Devaronian interrupted.
"Ready to talk?" Mitch turned back to the male, letting up slightly on his hold to allow the Devaronian to speak more easily.
"He's here! He's here on Tatooine! He lives on the out skirts of town! The building with the crack on the front wall! You can't miss it!" He confessed.
Mitch smiled and let out a sigh of satisfaction. "Now, that's what I like to hear!" Without hesitation, Mitch switched his blaster to kill with his thumb and shot the female.
She fell forward, face down into the sand, dead.
"NO! You bastard!" The male shouted as he struggled to fight against Mitch's hold. With no success. "I told you what you wanted to know! You had to let us go! Let me go!"
Mitch shook his head, smirking. "I was never one to keep promises." He brought the blaster to the man's forehead. "Thanks for the information." He said before pulling the trigger.
The Devaronian fell limp immediately and slumped to the floor as Mitch released him. Mitch walked out into an alley, in which his speeder was waiting for him. Calmly, he jumped in and drove out by the light of the planets' moon.
Φ
It wasn't long before Mitch had reached the outskirts of the town. One by one, he examined the front walls of the houses until he saw the house that was described to him. The crack on the wall was large but it did not seem to obstruct the building in anyway. A warm light gleamed from inside. Quietly, Mitch parked the speeder outside and walked up to the home. He grasped the blaster tightly in his hands and jammed it into the doors padlock. The lock gave off a sharp spark before defecting, no longer securing the door. A shuffle was heard from inside. Mitch dug his nails and fingers between where the door met the wall. Without much struggle, he pried the door open. A young Devaronian, about the age of 18, stumbled over to a chair reaching for a blaster. "Don't come in or I'll shoot!" He shouted, his voice was shaky and scared.
Mitch let himself in anyway. His feet thudded as he marched in and towards that boy, his own blaster already pointed and ready to shoot. "Kid, we both know you don't got the balls to do it..." His eyes scanned the boy. He wasn't muscular at all, though he was about the same height as Mitch. But Mitch was interested in the blaster the boy held. It was terribly dusty and old. The paint had been scratched, leaving only blotches of it on the silver of the metal. But most importantly, it was dead. The boy had no weapon. Mitch's smile widened.
Mitch walked closer to the boy until he was only a few inches away from him.
The boy's knees shakes in fear. He had freezed up and would not pull the trigger. He knew it was dead but pulling the trigger would ruin his intended illusion.
"Put the blaster down, boy." Mitch instructed him.
The boy shook his head. "N-no." He rejected the order.
Mitch didn't take his defiance lightly. He wrenched the blaster out of the boy's shaking hands and threw it across the room. The blaster snapped in half upon thudding against the wall.
Mitch brought his own blasters' barrel closer to the Devaronian's chin. "Kid, I know your trick, damn thing didn't even work."
The young Devaronian started to sweat nervously. "Y-yeah well... n-neither does yours." He said, looking down, trying to see the blaster.
Mitch chuckled slightly. "Apparently you do have balls, kid." He swiped the blaster down from his chin the the young man's crotch. "It'd be a shame if I blew them off."
A look of sudden hopelessness came across the young Devaronian's face, as if he was about to cry. He raised his hands up, surrendering. "Please, don't shoot! I'll do whatever you want! Just please don't shoot!"
Mitch smirked. "Finally! Some cooperation!" He took a deep breath in as he pulled an unactivated detonator out from his pocket. "You know what this is?" Mitch asked.
Quietly, the boy answered. "It's an imperial military grade detonator, sir..."
Mitch congratulated the boy. "That's right! Damn... you ARE smart!" Mitch held up the detonator. Pacing, he admired the explosive in his hand, looking away from the boy. "An imperial military grade detonator; known for having the biggest BOOM" he raised his deep voice quickly and loudly, causing the young boy to jump. Mitch laughed slightly at the boy's nervousness. "...out of every other detonator in the whole damn galaxy!" He paused and looked back at the boy. "...until now."
"until now, sir?" The boy asked.
"What's your name, son?" Mitch asked, ignoring the boy's question.
"Daran." the young Devaronian answered.
"Daran." Mitch smiled. "i've heard you can do wonderful things with that brain of yours!" Mitch was flattering Daran, but it was obvious he still did not mean well and was using him for some personal gain.
"Im highly skilled with mechanics, engineering, math, and sciences... if that's what you mean."
"That is EXACTLY what i mean, son!" Mitch said.
"i don't see how i can help you though, s-"
Mitch brought the detonator into Daran's stomach forcefully. Daran brought his hands to his stomach, the detonator now in his own hands. "biggest boom... until now."
Daran looked down at the detonator in his hand, now aware of what Mitch wanted him to do. "Sir, i understand... but this is incredibly dangerous. Not to mention illegal!" He shook his head. "i'm afraid i can't take up your offer..."
"I'm afraid you have no choice." Mitch informed him, now a little irritated that Daran  just told him no.
"Sir?" Daran asked for clarification.
"Where are your grandparents, Daran?" Mitch asked.
Daran began to quiver, scared. "Let them go! Don't do anything to them! Please, let them go!" He fell to his knees, begging.
"I'm afraid they know too much. Either make me some detonators or your grandparents..." Mitch shifted his blaster to send the threat. "... retire." He smirks, now holding the bluff that Daran's grandparents were still alive over Daran's head.
Daran held his head low. "... okay.... okay. I'll
make you the detonators... but I'll need equipment."
"Leave that to me." Mitch grabbed Daran by his shirt collar and began to drag him roughly out of the house.
Daran scrambled to try and get on his feet. But with no success. "We're leaving now?!" Daran asked.
"Of course. You got nothing to pack. You won't need anything when you're with me." Mitch answered.
Forcefully, Mitch picked up Daran and threw him into the sand speeder.
Daran quickly arranged himself in his seat, as if if he put his head down for one second, if he even so much as blinked, he'd miss something.
Mitch jumped into the speeder himself and started it, driving off in a black, black night.
Φ
In about an hour and half later, Mitch and Daran had reached tall Tatooine mountains.
Daran, his eyes sad, looked up at the mountains. "Is this where you're keeping my "grandparents?" He asked quietly.
"Err. No." Mitch answered. "I have a few men watching over them in a different classified location." He lied. Mitch had no men and no other location. Daran was his first 'partner in crime' so to speak.
"Oh..." Daran whimpered.
Mitch jumped out of the speeder and stretched. "Let's get walking."
Φ
It wasn't long until Mitch led Daran to an opening in the mountain. It was unprotected and very open. It may have been used by someone before Mitch but there were no carvings and no artifacts to tell any stories about the past. Mitch led Daran through long passages of the caves. The air was wet and musky. Drops of water dropped down from the ceiling, wetting the two men's hair. Mitch walked over to a clearing in the cave. The narrow passage widened into what felt like a room in the cave. It was empty with nothing but a dirt floor and rocky walls. It was awfully dark but there eyes had adjusted to make out shadows.
"This is where you'll be working and sleeping and living." Mitch informed him.
Daran looked sadly at the barren room. "How?... There's nothing here." Daran began to raise his voice. "How do you expect me to work here?! To live here?! Not even a blanket?! No equipment! What about fo-"
Mitch roughly slapped him across with the back of his hand. Daran stumbled and fell upon the impact. Something, perhaps a ring Daran had not noticed before, scratched him and caused him to bleed.
"Get a grip on yourself, kid!" Mitch yelled. "I told you I would get you the tools! Whatever you need, you'll get it! Just build a damn good detonator!"
Daran looked down at the floor, disappointed that he was being scolded. "...yes, sir."
"Now, I'm getting to bed. If you try to escape..." Mitch paused. "Say goodbye to your grandparents."
Fear returned in Daran's eyes. He sighed. "I understand, sir."
"Good. Get some damn sleep." Mitch turned away from Daran and walked out into the passages of the caves once again. Daran watched as Mitch's dark silhouette disappeared in the dark before taking off his jacket and bundling it up to use it as a pillow on the cold sand floor.
Φ
The next morning, Daran shivered as he started to wake from his slumber. Water was dripping from the ceiling onto him all night, leaving his head soaking. A burning sting sent through Daran's hand as he moved. He looked down at it to see that he had been bitten by a rat in his slumber. Blood still dropped from it.
"Wakey, wakey, prick." Mitch called as he walked over into the room. Daran sat up quickly and looked at Mitch, who held a tray of food and water. "Made you breakfast." He said as he placed the tray down. On it, along with the water, were some Bantha Breakfast Biscuits with Blue sauce. Daran looked at it slightly and slowly reached for the water. Though he hated Mitch, he was desperate for some water. Mitch watched Daran drink, as if he was observing an animal. "what tools do you need...?" Mitch asked him.
"The basic things..." Daran answered quietly, careful not to make eye contact with Mitch. "but mostly a grinder or anything i can compress powder with, lots of explosive powder... and probably xenoboric acid along with the protective gear to protect us from the toxicity of such acid..." He coward.
Mitch nodded. "alright... sounds simple enough." He took mental note of the things Daran was telling him. "i'm going to town to get the things. you stay here in the cave." Mitch told him.
"i can't go with you?" Daran asked, shocked.
"No." Mitch stated plainly. "You absolutely can not leave this cave. if you do..." He smiles. "we still have your grandparents." Mitch stepped closer, threateningly. Daran backed away slightly. "i understand..." he said, looking up at Mitch.
Mitch continued to walk closer.
"wh-what are you doing...?" Daran asked. Without answer, Mitch grabbed Daran and dragged him across the floor.
"What are you doing?!" Daran asked again, trying to fight against Mitch-but with little success. Mitch picked up the boy and threw him back down to the ground, flat onto his stomach. Mitch stepped onto his back before falling to his knees on top of Daran. With his knees, Mitch pinned Darans' arms down. Daran screamed and begged for him to stop. Mitch pulled out a mechanical shock collar from a pocket of his jacket and forcefully pushed it onto Daran's neck before activating it. "Leave this room and you get shocked." Mitch explained, getting off of him. Mitch kicked Daran in the ribs before walking off. "and brush away the dirt you bled all over."
Φ
About half an hour after Mitch had left, Daran finally collected himself, scooting over to the tray of food. he began to eat. The bulky mechanical shock collar made it hard to swallow. He looked at the entrance of the room in the cave. and knew he could not leave. No matter what he did. He was convinced his grandparents were taken as prisoners by Mitch. He felt like a trapped animal.
Φ
Mitch walked around the different markets, looking at each stand, selling different things. Mitch looked around, making sure no one was watching him as he slipped tools up his sleeves and hid them on his being. 'basic tools... check.' He thought to himself.
At another stand, a woman was selling different voodoo and witch artifacts. Slipping by, Mitch swiped a rock like grinder, which could be used to compress the powder.
Things were going to Mitch's liking. Steal his things, go unnoticed. It saved him time and trouble. Until, it came to the acid.
A young man around the age of 25, stood behind a stand selling strange chemicals and liquids in viles and bottles. His hands were badly burned, the bones in his hands were visible through his raw flesh in some spots. Half of his face was burned, leaving an ugly scar. He seemed very bored but also very focused. His hair was thin and messy as strings of it hung in front of his face. Mitch made his way over and looked at he different liquids. After a moment, The young man spoke. "you lookin' for something, man?"
"A certain substance... highly dangerous...-" Mitch started, about to explain further what he was looking for before being interrupted by the man.
"The dangerous stuff's in the building." He nodded his head toward the building his stand was set up against behind him. "I can help you..." He had a very bored tone in his voice.
Mitch smiled slightly. "No. I'm sure I can help myself." He said before walking over to the entrance of the sandstone hut. Inside the shaded building, it was nice and cold, shaded from the hot Tatooine suns. Inside the dark room were barrels lined against the walls. Each one had labels warning others about it's highly dangerous contents. The name of each liquid was written in Aurebesh, or Basic, with a marker on top of the lid of each barrel. Mitch walked by, reading each. There were many poisons and toxic gases, each one so highly corrosive. It was a acidic heaven. Finally, Mitch reached a yellow and green barrel. The warnings were plastered all over the barrel. 'Xenoboric Acid!' 'Danger!' 'Highly corrosive!' 'Extremely flammable!' 'Keep away from skin!' 'Caution! Biohazard!' The labels read.
Mitch frowned slightly. The barrel was large and very heavy. It wouldn't be easy to steal it. But no way in hell was he going to pay for it. Mitch looked around the room and spotted three toxic waste protection uniforms hung up on a hook on the wall. Quietly, Mitch pulled down one of the uniforms and pulled it on over his clothes. It was a white heavy plastic jump suit that zipped up from the front. Careful not to rip it, Mitch stepped into it and tucked the pant leg ends into his boots. He straitened up, grabbed a second uniform for Daran and stuffed it in the jumpsuit before zipping it up. Mitch pulled on the black rubber gloves that fit tightly around his arm all the way up to his elbows. Finally, he put on a gas mask that fit around his nose and mouth and protective eyewear, a second pair of each were also stuffed in his jumpsuit to provide for Daran.
Now suited, Mitch wrapped his arms around the barrel of acid and lifted it up. It weighed Mitch down heavily and strained his back extremely. Slowly, Mitch took small steps towards the exit.
He didn't get far.
Not at all.
Waiting by the exit of the building, was the man running the stand. He leaned against the wall and watched as Mitch strained himself carrying the barrel.
Mitch, too distracted by the barrel in his hands did not see the man there until the last minute. The heavy barrel and the jumpsuit kept him from reaching for his blaster to kill the man. Mitch could not run. He was caught.
However, the man didn't do anything. Instead he spoke calmly. "I knew you would try to steal it..." he sighed. "If you keep it out in this sun for too long, it'll explode in your hands, so even if I hadn't caught you... you wouldn't have gotten far."
Mitch said nothing. He didn't know how to respond. This was the first time he was helpless.
"Why do you want it...?" The man asked.
Mitch smiled. "Kid, what would you say if I told you that we can be rich? And what if I told you we can be powerful?" He emphasized power as it left his throat.
"We?" The man asked.
"You join me and let me take this acid..." Mitch explained. "we can both rule this fucking planet."
The man smiled slightly. He was liking the idea but he wasn't so sure if Mitch meant it.
Mitch continued to try and persuade him. "Or..." He took a deep breath and bettered his grip on the barrel. "You can take this acid back and you continue trying to sell it to poor bastards on the street. Your choice."
The man sighed and looked back at his stand. Others passed by his stand without a thought, completely ignoring it. The man had nothing else. He had a small home but it wasn't a lot. He had absolutely nothing to lose. "Okay." He agreed to Mitch's offer. "I'll join you... Let's get that barrel back in the shade."
Φ
"Hey Daran, I'm back!" Mitch called through the cave. "I want to introduce you to our newest member!"
Daran shuddered at Mitch's call. He wanted to go home. He wanted to go anywhere that wasn't here.
Mitch and the man who had sold him the acid pushed large hovering crates into the cave, one by one. Each one was filled with barrels of the dangerous Xenoboric Acid.
As the last crate was brought in, Mitch took all the things he had stolen and hid in his clothes and placed them down. He looked to his new member. "Ah, Daran's shy. Come, I'll take you to him." Mitch claimed sarcastically. He walked with the man through the cave into the room where Mitch had stored Daran.
Daran laid on the ground on his side, his back towards the entrance. He was so weak.
The man looked down at Daran with no sympathy. It was as if the man had no emotions. He saw Daran as a piece of meat. Daran was not important to him.
Mitch walked over to Daran and pushed him onto his back.
Daran submitted and allowed himself to be pushed around like a puppet.
Mitch reached into his pocket and took out a key. Carefully, he clipped off the collar, exposing Daran's burned skin under it. Daran had tried to get out of the room, causing the electric shocks to scar his neck and throat.
Mitch ignored Daran's injuries and spoke as if he was introducing friends to friends. "Daran, this is uh..." Mitch laughed as he looked at his new member. "Shit, son, I don't think I caught your name."
"Crests." The man answers.
"Crests..." Mitch grins as he repeats it. "Alright Daran, meet Crests. Crests, meet Daran." He leans in slightly towards Crests and says slyly. "He's gonna make us rich."
Crests smiled down at Daran. "I got your acids in the main room of the cave." Crests says. "All you gotta do... is build the detonator."
Daran swallows a bit of blood and nods slowly. "Yes...." he struggles to speak. "...sir..."
"Let's get to it then!" Mitch booms, excited. "Help me stand him up, Crests."
Crests and Mitch walked over and lifted Daran by his arms. Holding him by his armpits, they walked him out of the room and out into the main open area of the cave.
Φ
"First, you're going to open up the detonator by carefully prying it open by the sides." Daran instructed, dressed in the radioactive protection uniform. Daran took a tool that was sharp and flat on the end, somewhat like a flathead screwdriver. His hands shaked from the strain as he pushed the flat end in between the small crevice where the two halves of the detonator shell met. Slowly, the flat head of the tool wedged in between and Daran moved the tool up and down, prying the two halves apart. Mitch and Crests watched over Daran's shoulder, also dressed in radioactive uniforms. Crests typed down instructions in a datapad. Soon, the detonator popped open, exposing the complete inside casing. Daran lifted the inside casing out of the shell of the outside, stretching out the wires that connected the two cases. The inside casing had two small tubes that stuck out, in which the wires went into. "You can just pop the wires out of the tubes..." Daran continued. Crests wrote it down. Daran, with his index finger and thumb, tugged at the wires. At the end of the wires were rubber stoppers, which popped when taken from the tubes. "Then pry open the inside casing."
Crests wrote it down.
Daran took the flathead screwdriver and pried open the halves of the inside casing. In just a few seconds, they came apart, exposing a small wrinkly bag with two holes, where the wire rubber stop had been inserted. "Only a little bit of powder is needed in order to cause a damaging explosion. If you fill it completely..." Daran poured more explosive powder inside and packed it tightly with the grinder. He repeated until the bag was hard and heavy. He patched up one of the holes.
Crests wrote it down.
"And then fill a container with some... Xenoboric Acid..." Daran carefully dipped a small container into the Acid. He had spent weeks building one that wouldn't disintegrate in the Acid. It was round and black, along with a tube that would connect to the rubber wire stoppers. He breathed slowly as he contained the liquid acid in the container, putting the top of the container on it.
Crests wrote it down.
"And then put the anti-corrosive metal plate through the tube..." Daran pushed a round metal plate that fit perfectly into the tube. His hands shaked with caution.
Crests wrote it down.
"Put it in the inside casing along with the bag of explosive powder...." Daran placed both containers of the dangerous substances in the casing with two hands.
Crests wrote it down.
"And put everything back together." Daran put the top half of the casing on top of the bottom, hiding the bags of explosives and tightly stuck them together with a strange liquid that acted like super glue. Only much stronger.
Crests wrote it down.
Daran pushed the wire rubber stoppers back through the tubes of the casing.
Crests wrote it down.
Daran placed the outside shell of the detonator back over the inside casing. And with a snap, everything was placed together.
Crests wrote it down.
"Now you have... the Xenodetonator." Daran held the detonator in his hand. He felt like he had just killed someone. And he had. With this simple illegal alteration on Imperial detonators, he had taken the lives of many.
Mitch took it from Daran quickly and held it in his hands, inspecting it closely. He pulled off his protective gas mask and smiled. Admiring Daran's work. "You did good, kid. You did good."
Daran hung his head. No he hadn't. He'd done bad. He'd done the devil's work.
"Does it work....?" Crests asked.
"Only one way to find out..." Mitch smiled. "Everyone, to my speeder."
Φ
Mitch, Daran, and Crests stood under the hot evening suns in front of an opening in the rocky mountains that led to an empty passage way in the rocks. It served absolutely no purpose and was only big enough for an individual to stand in, but who knows how deep it went.
"Ready, Mitch?" Crests asked.
Mitch smiled and nodded as he took the detonator that sat in Daran's hand. "I was born ready, you bastard."
"The explosion should go off, splashing the acid and then giving off its invisible poisonous gas, killing an individual who breathes it in." Daran explained.
"Excellent." Mitch smiled. "You'll be rewarded for your work, Daran. What do you want, kid?"
Daran stayed silent for a second, thinking. "My grandparents...." He finally says, still under the impression that they're still alive.
Mitch grinned devilishly. "Very well then. You'll get what's coming to you."
"Activate it when ready, Mitch." Crests said.
Mitch pulled down the switch on top of the detonator, activating it's timer.
With a strong swing, Mitch threw the detonator into the small cave.
They waited just a few seconds before the mountain rumbled, destroying practically the whole cave inside.
The three lost their balance as the floor shaked. Daran fell to the ground while Mitch and Crests held to the rock wall for support.
Once the shaking ceased, Mitch grinned widely and clapped. "Now that!!!.... THAT was a BOOM!" He laughed more.
"It certainly was, Mitch!" Crests celebrated. "But... what about the acid gas...? How do we know that works? How do we know the kid's not lying...?"
Mitch stopped for a second. He looked at Crests. "... we test it."
Suddenly and swiftly, Mitch grabbed Daran and threw him into the passage of the cave.
"Wait! Wait! WAIT!" Daran yelled.
But it was too late. Crests quickly pushed a giant boulder in front of the entrance, trapping Daran within.
Mitch laughed. "You can see your grandparents now, Daran!"
Daran screamed and banged his fists desperately on the boulder, blocking his path. "You bastard! You fucking bastard! You... bastard....."
"Funny. That's what your grandfather said after I shot your grandmother!"
Mitch and Crests continued to laugh at Daran's pathetic screams. Until they were interrupted. A unfamiliar voice came. "Hey!"
Mitch and Crests looked over to where the voice came from.
Before them stood five men standing behind a woman. She looked just like all the other scum in these parts of the galaxy. "What the fuck is going on here?"
Mitch stared at the group of six for a moment before his grin grew. He had an idea. "What if I told you I can make you rich...?"
Φ
End
Φ