A Race to the Finish

[Lok Xiangu]

Some Space Station:

This place stank and was tainted with crime and scum, and it called to her. Ever since she was a little girl her parents had taught her to always be a force of true justice and to always be the good of what this Galaxy needed and she strived to be someone like that. A face of justice and goodwill. Her thoughts and hopes were that the Grand Army of the Galactic Republic would take her on that path, but the army and government that she looked up to and and loved proved to her otherwise. Instead of fighting for a faction that was meant to bring harmony, peace, order, and prosperity to this universe they showed their true colors and showed to Catya that the government she fought for was corrupt and manipulated by those in the legislative and executive branches of the Galactic Republic.

But she had to thank the Grand Republic for something. They showed her the skin beneath her skin. They showed her the path that she truly belonged to trek on. Sure it was hard work and an ungrateful job, but she loved it.

There the Delarn stood, her back against the wall, and looked at the opposite building that stood before her. It was a cantina full of misfits and scum alike. She wasn't here to put law and order in that place; however, she would until something breaks out of hand. But she was after someone that she had a lead on. Someone that could lead her to the home base of one of the mighty cartels that ruled this place with other crime syndicates. The cartel ring that she was after was distributing drugs to children, using kids to do their bidding, smuggling illegal weapons, and a whole bunch of other things that needed a dear visit from Catya.

There was a smirk that invaded her face as she saw her target leaving the bar. The vigilante popped her knuckles and pushed herself off from the wall she was resting on. It was time to hunt and prey like most of the days she lived.

[member="Kaili Talith"]

 

[Kaili Talith]

Kaili hadn’t spoken to this station as much as it had spoken to her. There were times when the law worked and there were times when it didn’t. A large shipment of her droids had been stolen, hijacked along the Hydian Way when delivering goods from her factory on Borleias. Allyson had taken another tour a few weeks ago, the planning of this had all been done in secret as to not let her know. This was a matter that was personal to Kaili, this was a foolish errand and in many regards she was well-aware that she should have known better but when the siren call of vengeance called the girl had found herself weak. These were her creations, these were her creations and nobody touched them without her knowing.

The spyware embedded within the very hardware that Kaili installed had reported its location ever since the shipment had been stolen, she was made aware of the breach the second it had happened. From the interdiction by the outskirts of Denon to the detours into Ryloth and then the Silken Asteroids where the signal had remained for two weeks before mysteriously dying which either meant that the droids had been destroyed or that the module that contained the tracking chip was uninstalled. Either way the plan had to fire now or never and for that reason Kaili had now found herself aboard this very station to come collect what was rightfully hers.

The hallways reeked of desperation and scum. Spiceheads and pushers, thugs and bouncers, it was a veritable mix of all walks of life down the metaphorical brown-gold-red path. A spice den of inequity, a place for the weak to grow weaker, the strong to grow stronger. She’d be identified here, a target from the very start. With her armor hugging her shape she had long since turned on the holographic disguise, a raven haired woman with brown eyes. Her skin seemed less pale, the modulated voice far more sensual. The furrow of her brows pushed away the last few shreds of innocence from her disguise and with a few very heavy thuds she set herself off towards the last known location of her droids. She set her eyes on the datapad in her hands and the layout of the land to see where they had been.

She was close.

Her babies would be home soon.

All would be right in the world again.

[member="Koln Delarn"]

 

[Lok Xiangu]

It was, admittedly, hard for Catya to be on the tail of this scum and not let the male human know that he was being followed. It was really easy to track and follow the man's footsteps. No problem there. The only problem was with the crowd. That's what made this so tough. Not that she had any deal with shoving people out of the way and going in between the gaps of people she could make through. It was the fact that someone out here was a part of the same criminal organization of Catya's target and would most likely inform the cartel and the man the Delarn was pursuing if they're vigilant and keen eyes caught her out. And it didn't took too much convincing for some spotter to call her out and inform the gang of some stalker following one of their own.

She did try her best to fit in with the personality of the scum and lowlife in this station. Beat up plastoid armor plates on her chest and back that needed repairs, some bodyglove that was a bit ripped and torn apart, a helmet, overkilled makeup, two pistols that she took from the last thug she took down, and a simple vibroblade knife. She almost looked like some unlucky and poor bounty hunter, and those types were a plenty in this station.

So far, so good. Nothing bad against her and her personal mission was at risk of being turned into a complete failure or making her work double time. Or at least that's what she thought.

Just a few more kilometers and then it's boogey time.

Boogey time as in guns blazing, breaking bones, punching teeth, slicing and dicing, and all the other dangerous and fun stuff this job had.

[member="Kaili Talith"]

 

[Kaili Talith]

[member="Koln Delarn"]

It was funny how even the most innocent looking people could scare off those that would normally prey on them by casting a mere look in their direction. The disguise that Kaili used might have been an illusion, but the emotions that it displayed was her own and right now that meant that whoever stood in her way would be faced with the bitter growl of Mama Bear herself. That meant that when people saw the petite shape of a heavily armored beauty march down the hallways like a terminator they all stepped out of the way. Bounty hunters, bounties and scum. They all stepped out of her way.


Her emotions were her shroud for this, her pace the trademark giveaway of her destination.


The gang lands changed from dense to shallow. The marks of ‘Klegenn’s Gang’ riddled the walls. The blue dot on the map flashed faster and faster until finally Kaili found herself outside the door of what she could only presume to be their headquarters. A tall muscular bouncer blocked her path.


“Sweetie, the dancer’s quarter-” He began.


Thud. Kaili’s fist interrupted. Squish. Her knee followed up as she raised it as far up the front of the man’s pelvis as she could.


The door swept open and she took the first step inside.


It was empty. Too empty.


The girl didn’t stop. Eyes darted down at the dot on her map. She was closer.

 

[Lok Xiangu]

Success! No one had caught her redhanded or spotted her intention which were following the thug to the lair and headquarters of the cartel she was planning on bringing down with raw and cruel vigilante justice. As she progressed in her chase, she noticed as well that the crowd was less dense and more shallow. She was now, by the looks of it, passing through the territory of some local cartel ring. No doubt there were other places like this throughout the rest of the interior of the space station. And not just that, but there were for sure rivaling gangs competing for territory and they would do whatever means necessary to get what they want, and not care if it affected the lives of the innocent or not.

The Delarn would make sure to make another mental note to make visits to said gangs.

Then up ahead she and her target were approaching a door that led the way to some warehouse.

That's gotta be it right there.

She made no remarks of being excited or hyped about finding the headquarters of this gang she had been meaning to rid of with her blasters. And speaking of that, she had this lowlife criminal to take care of before she could continue on with her business. She made a sprint and as she was about to pass the male human, she shoved him while saying, "Out of my way, skinny!" No doubt did this made the man chase after her and it quickly ended as the Arkanian Offshoot brought them to a dead end alleyway, and what was waiting for the man was a blaster pointed at his chest.

Bam! Bam!

And the thug's corpse fell like a lifeless doll to the floor. She then hurried back to the entry door to the warehouse and entered without any hesitation. At first, she thought no one was here but her eyes laid upon some woman that was also in here and holding a datapad. Both of her pistols were drawn out and aimed at the woman, but she didn't fired.

"Hands up, lady. Or I put one right in ya."

[member="Kaili Talith"]

 

[Kaili Talith]

[member="Catya Delarn"]

Kaili threw a glance over her shoulder at the bounty hunter that threatened to shoot her. She didn’t look all that impressed and the walking didn’t stop. The girl had a mission and if the bounty hunter was willing to sacrifice herself to keep her boss safe then she was more than welcome to hit the ground with the rest of the men who got in her way. A quick glance shot down at the pad before she put it away. The door closed and Kaili sped up to venture deeper into the facility. It was two blocks away. Straight ahead, right, right, left, straight ahead, left.

She repeated the chain.

She felt her droids nearby but something was wrong. Few people would argue that droids felt pain but Kaili would argue the differ. They were perverted, distorted and turned into something they were not. She didn’t know what that meant, but what that meant she did not know. She had a good idea, but there was no way to be certain.

The door behind her opened up. The bounty hunter was back.

“I ain’t stopping.” The girl called out, her voice echoing through the ominously empty hallways. “Can’t guarantee your safety unless you leave.”

“This isn’t going to be pretty.”

 

[Lok Xiangu]

And the foreign female wasn't listening to a single word Catya had said. Well, that only meant one thing. She was going to have to take her down as she suspected she was some criminal. Most of the hardened thugs she had encountered in her life were like that. Stubborn and arrogant. Thinking they were hot stuff and could easily handle Catya. In that case, the Delarn would happily prove otherwise to the unknown woman.

Both pistols fired a single plasma bolt, but they impacted on the opposite wall just as her new target made a run for it.

"Fether," the Arkanian Offshoot said and then darted off to pursue the woman.

The cat and mouse chase led her to some ominous and dark hallways that were empty. Well, not exactly empty as Catya and the other chick were in here, but she got the message and the idea.

"You can run as much as you want," the Vigilante responded back to the echoing voice of the suspect, but I. Will. Find you." Those last words had a tone of malice.

Catya continued to advance throughout the halls with caution and vigilance. She could be anywhere at anytime, and would probably use the advantage of this scenario to get the element of surprise and the upper hand on Catya.

Oh, I dare her to jump on me. I double dare her.

[member="Kaili Talith"]

 

[Kaili Talith]

[member="Catya Delarn"]

“It is not me you should find.” Kaili’s voice echoed down the corridors as they both continued on their way. “Try the door. Things won’t be pretty when I find your boss.”

The hallways were growing quieter. Kaili would have thought it impossible, but the were. Each footstep that either woman took echoed for a solid few seconds. Kaili heard her own heartbeat as the tensions started to brew within. Something wasn’t right, a crime den wasn’t this empty. Her eyes looked at the clearly abandoned posts along the way. She looked at the unfinished maintenance work and the way tools seemed to haphazardly been discarded in a hurry. Something must have happened but so far there was no real clue as to what. Now that was unnerving in itself.

The girl rounded the corner and ventured down what seemed to be yet another empty hallway. The door in the distance grew closer. A bad feeling set over Kaili’s sense as if struck by a spontaneous cause of vertigo. Nausea, dizziness and a shriek within her mind that didn’t stop. Like grinding your nails against a blackboard or rust against the cogs that kept a machine going. Her mind reached out for whatever tech caused it. There was grief in the air, a perversion of signals and the grafting of metal. Kaili forced herself out of it with a gasp.

A careful hand swept at the door before her to open it.

There was blood everywhere. A mutliated corpse rested before her feet and Kaili merely froze up.

It was all that she could do. Before uttering the question that begged for an answer.

“What the feth has happened here?”

 

[Lok Xiangu]

"Boss," Catya said to herself in a questionable tone, loud enough for her words to echo which would be heard from the woman she was pursuing. What boss was this stranger talking about? Did she think that she was a part of this cartel gang and working for its alpha? And was this woman some other vigilante that was also trying to get some action on some criminal scum? Well, there sure was some clearing and explanation between the two women then. Especially since, to Catya's thought, that they both shared a common goal that they wished to complete without any detail left in it. Her dual pistols were set to stun as she had no desire to bring any lethal harm to this potential ally, but she was not going to let her guard down. Not on her poor, dangerous life she was going to think that nothing bad was about to happen to her, remarkably due to the fact she was in the lion's den.

"I don't know what boss you're talking about, lady. But I work for nobody," the Arkanian Offshoot said to the woman, approaching the corner of the hallway with careful and slow steps and was ready to face whatever was there.

And...it was another empty corridor. The only thing that made it special and not so ominous was that the female she was pursuing was on the other side of the hallway, standing in the middle of a doorway with light shining out of it.

Her arms, both of them, were raised and aimed at woman with the pistols set to stun setting.

"Turn around, arms where I can see them," the Vigilante demanded from the stranger in a friendly tone as she approached her. Didn't hurt to get too careful, right?

[member="Kaili Talith"]

 

[Kaili Talith]

[member="Catya Delarn"]

Uneven cuts had spread across the entirety of this Rodian’s being. Kaili knelt down and gently dipped her fingertips into the pool of blood that was spread across the metallic surface of the hallway. It was drying, this wasn’t as fresh as Kaili would have hoped. Eyes darted out at the walls, deliberately ignoring the other woman and her guns. There were scorch marks along the wall. Her fingertips touched against the wall, smeared blood against its surface as her eyes tracked the trajectory.

“Sorry, not playing along with your little game here.” Kaili finally offered from behind her disguise. “Some fethed up shart has happened here and I have no idea what it is.”

“Shoot me if you have to, but I’ll warn you right now; that won’t sit well with you.” The kid was confident, no doubt about that. “Either way, the people in charge — if I go with the assumption that you do in fact not work for them — have some heavy questions to answer.”

The girl knelt down from where the shot would seem to originate from. Whoever had fired the shots had either been crouching or been flat on their stomach or back. Kaili looked ahead. There were more signs of a struggle. More dead bodies, but with the notable exception of a metallic husk in the midst of them. It was torn, it was dented.

… It was one of Kaili’s droids.

The girl gasped before a frown spread across her face. Fingertips traced along the surface of her child like a caring mother mourning the passing of a beloved child. There were vibroblades attached to it. Welded to it. Someone had dirtied her work. Someone had defiled the core principles of Andromeda.

Kaili’s hand curled up into a ball.

She set off in a sprint towards the next hallway.

Her voice echoing. “Fethers got another thing coming.”

 

[Lok Xiangu]

She didn't shoot at all. Her job was to shoot and kill thug scum, not attack innocents. Even to the kinds that wanted to help take down the endless numbers of criminals and gangsters. If she were some orthodox police officer, maybe she would've stunned Kaili, but she was an open minded and enlightened vigilante that did things much more different which violated any policing system and the written law but was hell of a lot more effective.

"Wai-" she said and was cut off as the stranger went running off again in some direction. She was about to chase after her, but her attention was easily caught by the Rodian corpse. She would conduct a quick investigation of the body which would be something that an amateur forensics would laugh due to her not having the proper equipment or the experience. She was the vigilante type that just went in guns blazing on thugs, not the one that would investigate a crime scene and go off from there. Her index finger dipped into the pool of blood which was cold and not really wet in comparison of fresh spilled blood. Any novice would know that this was something old and recent. She then looked around and saw more dead organic bodies with just one droid casualty among them.

Nothing to go on from here. Except just follow that woman.

In the same direction, Catya sprinted off to chase the female who seemed to be a compass of wherever these gangsters were hiding. Or so she thought.

As she progressed through the hallway, the Arkanian Offshoot realized that there were other adjacent avenues that could be taken. But which one should she took? The Delarn took a left where it wouldn't lead her to the woman, but to something else that remained unknown.

[member="Kaili Talith"]

 

[Kaili Talith]

[member="Catya Delarn"]

The girl wouldn’t really have noticed if Catya was behind her or not. She wouldn’t really have cared either. The other woman was free to explore the place to her heart’s content, but Kaili was here for a very specific reason and everything else was secondary. Could one have argued that there was strength in numbers? Yes, absolutely, but Kaili had always been like this. Always rushing into danger when she saw red, sometimes even stepping over the line of what was the right thing to do. Once as a child she had nearly tried to murder her own brother over a game. It had forced her into the naughty corner for a week with several very stern talking tos, but in the end she had learned from it. In many ways it was what could be seen as the key component to the girl’s somewhat loose dedication to pacifism.

Up ahead was more blood, but this time there were fewer bodies.

For Catya however, things would take a slight… Detour. Much like she had.

The perverted sound of metal limbs grinding against each other sounded through the hallways. Scraping and shifting in horror as they patrolled up and down along their routes. High pitched whines reverberated around the hallways. The mutants crept into sight from around the corner.

Kaili heard it. Slid to a halt at the sound of it all.

One eye darted towards where she needed to go, the other towards where she heard the sound come from.

Hesitation.

…

“Feth me.” She muttered before turning on her heel and heading towards the noise.

She had to see for herself what they had done to her droids. She had to make sure they were fixable.

 

[Lok Xiangu]

The hallways were grim, ominous, and dark. Like the last ones.

Something totally wasn't right. Not after from the scene of corpses and dead carcasses that she and Kaili came out of, and certainly not when she was walking in a hallway that spelled like trouble and danger. Hell, for the first time in a while, she was a bit scared and worried. And that was a rare, yet awful feature that could ever happen when she was out on vigilante work. And that was one helluva accomplishment one could do to a girl like Catya. Instill some fear in her. Step on her courage, and make her morale like ashes.

Feth, I wish I had the cash or luck to get one of those sweet Mandalorian helmets.

That would be really useful with tracking the other girl down and getting to the bottom of this case.

But what really got her was that noise. That grinding and screeching noise that got louder and louder as if it was near the Delarn's position.

"What the feth..."

And then a sight of horror peeked out from the corner of the hallway. A deformed, mutant droid came into sight. But there was more than just one.

"Oh, that is so not right," the Arkanian Offshoot said, her pistols drawn out at lethal setting and began firing blaster bolts at them while slowly retreating back. Some of the droids responded back in kind with firing slugs and blaster bolts at her. She hoped and prayed they were nothing like Commando Droids. Otherwise, she'd likely be like one of those corpses she saw back then.

[member="Kaili Talith"]

 

[Kaili Talith]

And so Kaili ran down bloodied hallways towards where she thought the sounds came from. As much as the perpetrators who had defiled her droids were going to get what they had coming to them, the safety and well-being of the stranger was just as important to her as the vengeance that she craved. This mercenary-whatever was going to get killed and that was blood that Kaili didn’t need on her hands. Especially not from droids that she had made with the express purpose of building and repairing cityscapes. To have them perverted like this was not something that made Kaili all that happy.

One by one the droids fell to Catya’s blasters, but more of them just kept on coming. At their base they were still just repurposed construction droids with their circuitry overriden. They held their arms out much like a carpenter held a nailgun and their motions of attack looked a lot like a saw or a hammer being used. Their aim was horrible, but when a row of them line up like a firing squad, accuracy didn’t matter much. Quantity of aim over quality.

The brunette disguise slowly approached from behind the mercenary with an extended hand. Sure enough she could see that it was her droids. Her teeth gritted as she witnessed the grafted weaponry and crude, jagged struts. They were shells of who they used to be.

She had to dismantle them.

One in particular leaped at Catya but stopped before any attack could land. Frozen in place much like the others. The fighting stopped in an instant.

“You okay?” A high-pitched voice asked the mercenary.

[member="Catya Delarn"]

 

[Lok Xiangu]

Her aiming was, no doubt, better than the droids' but why did that matter as she was outgunned, outnumbered, and overwhelmed. Some slugs and blaster bolts struck at her, but personal defense was able to protect her from any lethal harm. Only bruises would be the worst that these droids could do as of now, but even the quantity of aim could cost Catya some credits to repair some of the damage inflicted upon her armor. But Catya was smarter than to stand her ground and fight off a horde of poorly combat programmed droids.

All the fighting would stop so suddenly when the synthetic beings were being dismantled and decommissioned by something invisible. Some of their parts were being crushed and their eyes exploded as if their circuits were being fried. Robotic corpses then littered the dark and ominous hallways, and everything went back to dead silence. Something that the Delarn kind of hated due to being used to loud noises.

Then a voice called out to her from behind which caused the Vigilante jump from the fright she was given, and turned around to see who it was with her blasters tight in her hands and arms trained to raise her arms. It was the some woman that she saw earlier in the hallways.

"Oh, it's you. I thought you were some thug or a droid," Catya said at first. "But yeah, I'm good. Some bruises though. Thanks for the assistance if that was you." Her helmet was still on which concealed her facial features. "So I'm guessing you're a vigilante or some rogue enforcer?"

[member="Kaili Talith"]

 

[Kaili Talith]

[member="Catya Delarn"]

“Nope.” The girl before Catya would answer rather promptly. “Just a woman with a score to settle.”

The less known the better, it was rare that things such as these brought good publicity with them and the less people that knew of Kaili’s tendency to meddle directly in some of the less ‘pretty’ parts of her company the better. Obviously she was just a small-time droid fanatic who wished to create to her heart's content, and that was that. This part of her was still something she kept secret, her temper and the way she acted when it got the better of her. It was rarely that anger and force users were two words that blended well in a sentence and Kaili knew that quite well.

As such she didn’t really offer Catya much in the way of a discussion before she backtracked and went back the way she came. The droids all fell apart one after another in an instant as she rounded the corner.

Catya was certainly welcome to follow her if she wanted, but the disguise that covered her real identity would remain in place.

 

[Lok Xiangu]

Well at least the two females had a common goal out of this mess. Catya had a desire to exact harsh and cruel, yet deserving justice on some outlaws and the mysterious woman had a score to settle. What exactly did these gangsters do to her? Threatened her family? Robbed her? Either way, these thugs did something to the woman for her to have some sort of personal vendetta against them. The two, in the rogue enforcer's mind, could possibly bounce off from one another in order to get what they both wanted.

Sweet justice.

Sure, the mysterious woman wasn't an enforcer of justice or maybe had no wish to serve it like Catya, but she was getting some personal justice for herself.

As any intelligent person would, the Arkanian Offshoot began to follow Kaili through the dark and skeptical hallways of this cartel base. "So what exactly did these scumbags did to you anyways? It's always an odd thing to see someone having the guts and wills of doing something like this without the aid of those so-called great law enforcers." Some sarcasm was in Catya's voice as she quipped about the judicial system in most civilizations of the Galaxy. She found it to be so restricting as there was protocols and rules to be followed whenever on a case. Fortunately, the Delarn made her own rules that made her act much more efficient than the police as they needed so-and-so in order to make a lawful arrest or have a warrant to search and seize.

[member="Kaili Talith"]

 

[Kaili Talith]

[member="Catya Delarn"]

“I have my reasons.” Kaili grunted, unwilling to really share her connection to these droids. “I find that most of the time the law enforcers’ ineptitude to take action is based out of red tape. Cut that and they would be free to take suspects down.”

Though the same could be said in reverse. Cut too much red tape and the officers could make anyone out to be criminals, but Kaili had little time or interest in debating it. “Still, innocent until proven guilty, but I know that these people are guilty.”

The passed a corner. More blood, more signs of struggle yet it all remained as eerily quiet as always.

“These people do not realize what happens when you tamper with what should never be tampered with.” Kaili continued. “Droids are dangerous when mistreated, droids are even more dangerous when you pervert them into roles they do not understand.”

“That’s the lesson these folks have learned by now. I hope.”

 

[Lok Xiangu]

Most, if not all the values and beliefs that the mysterious woman said were some that Catya shared with and agreed with. These set of values were one of the main reasons why the Delarn had faked her death many years ago during her service to the late Galactic Republic and become a harsh, yet reasonable vigilante. The restrictions and limits on police officers seemed inefficient, but had some benefits to it; however, most of the time it just stalled and backtracked officers to do something with many justs, reasons, and logic to it in which caused the general public to lose their trust and faith in the enforcers of the law.

She had seen this when an infamous Ali Hadrix was found innocent after the events of Roche and was allowed to continue her service in the Army of the Grand Republic.

If it were all up to her, she would’ve executed Hadrix wherever she stood and the same went for violent criminals like her.

“Yeah, it does seem that they derped alright,” Catya said in regards of the dead bodies that seemed to be the work of violent droids like the ones she had encountered a while back.
“So if you don’t like how the law enforcement system works, then why don’t be a vigilante or some rogue enforcer? Tie up loose ends that many can’t do cause of some sort of poor excuse.”

[member="Kaili Talith"]

 

[Kaili Talith]

[member="Catya Delarn"]

“I do like the system, it is there for a reason, but I also understand that there will be more useful solutions.” Kaili shrugged. “One does not have to exclude the other. There is a reason bounty hunting has been such a prevalent occupation for the last few millennia.”

Even if that also meant innocents got caught in the crosshairs of bounty hunters every now and then. Widely different forms of galactic governments meant widely different types of bounty hunters, it was unavoidable.

The two women got up to a door.

It was locked.

Until it wasn’t. Kaili waved her hand and they gained entry.

“Why are you here, Delarn?” Kaili asked. “That’s the name on the datapad on you.”

“What have these men done to warrant your ire?”