Arabesque

[Amara Zarides]

[member="Enyo Typhos"] [member="Maris Fero"]

Amara smiled and put a hand on her sister’s shoulder. She sat with her out of the hearing of the other two.
“You’re great at this, Ella, you’re far better than me, and I’m pretty good at it! Of course, Archangel is a bigger challenge than anyone else, not necessarily because they have the best tech – though that’s partly it – it’s that they lack the organic element. If you told me to break into a place 75% of my initial thoughts run to how to utilise organic mistakes or inefficiency to get in. Be that inattentive guards, poor password or software management or self-misappropriation. Archangel don’t have that. But…it’s also their weakness because they can’t interpret the chaotic behaviour of organics sometimes. Swings and roundabouts.”

“Oh, every new mission is a Pandora’s box of anxiety and nerves – as it should be. If you get relaxed you often get dead. Whilst I might show off a lighter side, I am thinking about the real troubles beneath…usually.”

“But yeah, I’m fond of Enyo too. We’ve come a long way, and she’s been on a rockier road than I. Pretty soon, when we’re done with AA I think it’ll be our time to shine, all of us, Ella. Anyway, we better get going, right?”

Amara tousled her sister’s hair playfully, knowing it’d annoy her, and headed out to the main room.

The Sith was there with Maris. “All set? It’ll be a fair journey to Hoth. I’m guessing we’ll be routing through a couple of waypoints to lead off any suspicion?” she asked Libertas. She pretty much knew the answer, but it still bugger her a little she needed to ask for confirmation.

“So, never left Vorzyd before, Maris?” she asked, unaware that Libertas had just asked that. “I’ve never been to Hoth, but I’ve been to desolate wastes before. Keep your focus on the mission, the here and now and the rest of us. It’s easy to get lost in the endless wastes mentally as well as physically.”

 

[Enyo Typhos]

[member="Maris Fero"], [member="Amara Zarides"]


Libertas cocked her head to the side slightly. Coincidentally, Enyo had the same verbal tick. It seemed to be a requirement if you were a murder-bot. Who knew. Then she laughed - not in the manical cackle way, in case anyone was wondering.


"Observant. We shall see which one of the two I am, or if I'm something else, won't we? Your mistress is disparaging of most Sith. Ironically, she is probably more of one than some of the fools who sit in their palaces and believe that defeating weaklings gives them unlimited power." One wondered what Darth name Enyo would have. Darth Terminatrix? Darth Murder? This one is terrible at coming up with good ones. Anyhow, Thuella and Amara had moved over to join them. "Yes. I shall pilot. You'll be first mate," she addressed Amara. "Thuella will be the navigator."


"I've already planned our route and the waypoints we'll pass through." Pressing a button on a projector, she displayed a galaxy map. Various points had been marked. All in all, nine waypoints formed a daisy chain, displaying their approach towards everyone's favourite ice ball. The Quasar's hyperdrive was upgraded so as not to trigger early hyperspace warning systems."

 

[Maris Fero]

As a mirror to the Sith, Maris absent-mindedly repeated the same signature head cock movement that she had witnessed from both Libertas and previously from Enyo. The younger woman’s tendency toward mimicry was often not a conscious decision on her part, an odd habit that as often worked to unsettle the focus as it did to breed familiarity.

When Libertas laughed Maris laughed in turn and listened to the Sith’s answer as she released the breath she had been holding.

Fools in palaces, Maris let the words lie for a moment as she felt the familiar disgust rise within her. In that instant the Shrike vowed to herself that she would never settle upon a throne, never raise a palace in her own name. A seat was stagnation, and stagnation was as good as dead. Enyo was right to dismiss the Sith so if this was a true accounting of their habits.

“Is that what the Sith are then? Lords and Ladies, with palaces and the weak to beat upon when the urge comes to them?” the question was equal parts true inquiry and testing probe at the designated alpha bot of this gathering.

Amara entered, interrupting the flow of the conversation with a question about the journey ahead. Maris knew little about piloting or star travel, but she understood the concept of disguising one's trail and path as well as any of the group.

"Yes. I shall pilot. You'll be first mate," Libertas addressed Amara. "Thuella will be the navigator."

Maris grinned and gave an overly enthusiastic fist pump, “Woooo! And I’ll be the Blind-Lookout.” mocking her own utter lack of position in the hierarchy, yet again; Blind-Lookout being a common idiosyncrasy amongst the Efevan gangers for a useless addition to a group.

“I could learn to pilot,” she added a moment later once Thuella had finished speaking.

“So, never left Vorzyd before, Maris?” Amara asked, unconsciously repeating the question Libertas had asked shortly before.

“Never left Efavan before.” the ganger admitted, before adding, “It’s all I can remember.”

The pale-skinned youth absorbed what Amara had said about desolate wastelands, but in truth, she still was uncomfortably ill-prepared for what lay ahead. Her thoughts turned to Enyo again and once more Maris felt the stab of disappointment that her Mistress, as Libertas had put it, was absent. No Shrike, No Boss, No Vorzyd. Despite these three women who accompanied her, Maris felt alone.

[member="Enyo Typhos"] [member="Amara Zarides"]

 

[Amara Zarides]

[member="Enyo Typhos"] [member="Maris Fero"]

Amara took the co-pilot’s chair. She was well versed in this from her time with Enyo. She set to work professionally getting them on course. Thuella seemed to have planned the journey well and they were soon on their way.

“Don’t worry, Maris, I can teach you to fly when we get back. For now, just sit back and relax, pretend you’re the VIP passenger being flown somewhere,” Amara said with a grin.

When they were safely in hyperspace, Amara rose and held out a hand to Maris.
“I am going to train a bit and test out some equipment, want to join in? How about you, Ella, want to test out some new kit?”

She wasn’t sure what Libertas would do. She didn’t really want to be around her. It was silly, you couldn’t ‘catch’ Sithism but she still felt uneasy around her. Something to consider as to why, but she didn’t give it much thought for now.

 

[Enyo Typhos]

[member="Amara Zarides"], [member="Maris Fero"]


“Is that what the Sith are then? Lords and Ladies, with palaces and the weak to beat upon when the urge comes to them?” Someone would have taken offence. A lesser Sith would have lashed out to put the girl in her place. In Libertas' opinion, that was the type of Sith who needed to puff up their own ego to seem in control, when in actual fact they were anything but.


The girl was observant, but her ego would get her into trouble. It was a thin line between justified pride and vainglory. But she might have the right idea. When she spoke, Libertas felt her revulsion for the rich and vainglorious. Potential. Perhaps that disdain could conjure a wild fire one day. She would merit watching.


"The pretenders are. Fools who have forgotten what it means to be Sith, if they ever knew. They do not understand true freedom, or that existence is struggle and victory is hollow without it. A true Sith is an apex predator, not a scavenger or a vain peacock."


The brief conversation about philosophy was broken up soon. Liberas took the controls and piloted the vessel, while the blonde clone played co-pilot. "Strap yourself in," Libertas told Maris, indicating a seat and the seatbelt there, as it was the girl's first time in space. Amara brought up the idea of training. Her desire to be as far away from the Sith as possible was palpable. You clones are such amusing creatures, Libertas thought. You build up your template into something you must emulate or struggle against at all costs. That chains you.


Alexia was the grim clone, Amara the naive one. Yet Libertas could not help wonder how much of the girl's naivete was self-created, as if she wanted to remain in such a state because it was more comfortable. "I'd be down," Thuella said eagerly. "I could use some practice. I'll set things up in the hold."


"It is vital that you hone your mind and body," Libertas spoke up, though Amara had not asked her permission. It was doubtful that the Sith Lady cared. "I will observe your efforts." Her gaze moved towards Amara. "Sithism is not contagious, you know. It's not how your template 'fell'."

 

[Maris Fero]

true freedom, existence is struggle, victory is hollow without it.

At first, Maris had expected zealotry, perhaps she had even willed Libertas to lash out and demonstrate that Sith instability that she had been warned of. So it was with some surprise that Maris found herself agreeing with the Twi’lek’s words, though she took pains not to acknowledge it. In fact, she had reflected long and hard on the concepts of dynamic struggle and stagnant normality.

The crimson-skinned cyborg's thoughts on apex predators and scavengers were somewhat lost on the megacity dwelling ganger; Everyone in Efavan was a scavenger, was it really possible for a person to exist merely as a predator?

She would not be learning to fly the ship today, Amara and Libertas had sensibly elected to start this mission out with a competent flight team. Anyway, Amara had agreed to teach her to fly and the raven-haired young woman had chosen to accept that as a promise.

If there was one thing Maris didn’t feel the need to argue about it was an invitation to pretend she was someone else. It didn’t take much to convince Maris Fero to act like the Very Important Person she already thought herself to be. She lowered herself gracefully into a spare chair and then shifted position to slouch comfortably back into the seat as if it were her throne.

“Now, Take me to Hoth Ladies.” the slender youth commanded, her voice nasal in a mocking parody of Upper-city Grand Dame she had once heard parade the casino floors, riding atop a gravchair. She raised her left arm to inspect her fingernails for a moment before looking over toward Thuella “Where’s the boy with my drinks?”

Her chatter and nonsense kept up for a few minutes but halted abruptly as the ship began its rapid ascent toward the sky. Her breath caught in her throat as they broke through the cloud layer to reveal bright, endless, blue, sky.

I’m leaving, I’m actually leaving.

​

If anyone had been paying her attention they would see the young woman’s eyes widen as she watched the blue of the sky peel away to reveal the inky canvas of space and the myriad stars of the universe stretching out before her. She had seen the night sky perhaps a dozen times in her life but nothing prepared her for the vista. The youth was awestruck by the colours of the distant stars. The hazy smudges of distant lights in indigo and orange pale greens and electric blues marked out vivid shapes of the galaxy.

In those moments, Maris may have imagined that she could feel the cold of the void around her, and in that darkness, she might well have felt alone, the sensation passed quickly - to be replaced by the immediate exhilaration of freedom.

The jump into hyperspace was made with little fanfare and then Amara was out of her seat looking at Maris and offering the young woman her hand. The ganger's eyes lingered on blonde as she was invited to train with Amara and Thuella. The oddball sister had not extended her offer to Darth Libertas, a deliberate snub?.

Maris accepted the hand and came to her feet, “Let’s see what we all got ourselves into then.” she smiled, guarded but not false.

When Libertas spoke again, the Shrike noted her odd choice of words to Amara, but without context, the words made next to no sense yet. It's not how your template fell.

[member="Enyo Typhos"] [member="Amara Zarides"]

 

[Amara Zarides]

[member="Enyo Typhos"] [member="Maris Fero"]
Amara didn’t make any obvious reaction to Libertas’ news. It’s not like who her template was a big surprise to someone who knew Enyo, or even who knew some of the undercurrents of the Sith in the last generation.

“Are you sure it’s not contagious? I’ve heard that it’s passed like rabies by the bite,” she said jokingly. “As for my template, she fell when she picked a fight with Enyo’s template,” she added, deliberately misinterpreting the Twi’lek’s words.

Thuella headed from the scene, and Maris seemed to finally come to. Amara hadn’t really considered the effect it would have for someone who’d spent all their time in one place since childhood. She never would know what that was like, being ‘only’ four in real years.

The girl took her hand and walked with her.

“Sorry, no boys here, all we got are ladies here. Well, females,” Amara replied with a chuckle.

She didn’t wait to see Libertas’ reaction or words but descended down to the training area.

“So, Maris, we obviously don’t have a huge stack of time, but you’ll be up against a lot of droids on this mission. What’s your experience fighting droids?”

Thuella, being her brainy self, likely had some new weapons and tech for them to use.

 

[Enyo Typhos]

[member="Amara Zarides"], [member="Maris Fero"]


"She fell because she was weak. Unable to control her cruelty. You, by contrast, are unable to control your fear to become her and think being moral consists of doing the exact opposite in every instance, elsewise you shall into the same abyss." Alas, the world was a lot more complex than that.


At least the mention of her template does not cause an outburst. That's progress, she thought. Amara was the naive clone, Alexia the grim one. The latter was more practical, but was stoic all the time. It was bad enough to put up with Enyo's comically glum attitude. Emulating the robot was taking things a wee bit too far. One clone used stoicism and general disdain for almost everyone as a shield. The other employed lame jokes. Both were running away from their template.


Maris' reaction to finally leaving her homeworld and seeing space did not go unnoticed. It brought Libertas back to the day when she had left Ryloth behind. On the day she had decided that, unlike her kin, she would not bow and scrape before pirates who came at regular intervals to extract 'tribute' in form of sentient flesh. She had felt a mixture of awe and dread when her homeworld vanished and she beheld myriad stars in the sky. The road to freedom had not been without sacrifice. She need only behold herself in a mirror to witness some of those. But it had been worth it. One had to pass through the crucible of blood and fire to emerge stronger. Perhaps the girl would experience a similar rebirth.


Anyhow, whenever people had filed into the hold, Thuella would have set things up. Maybe eventually Maris would graduate to being shot at by remote training droids. Knowing Enyo, they would probably use sonic blasters and ion paddle beamers.


Regardless, the Dahomian had some toys. "Ah, there you are. This here is the Blizzard," she declared proudly, producing a rather large sub-machine gun. "High rate of fire, heavy recoil and designed specifically to turn droids to scrap. Upon contact with a droid, the bolts penetrate its armour before unleashing their ion payload, thereby bypassing anti-ion countermeasures that are so common these days."


She demonstrated how to load the weapon. The magazine was quite large. So was the weapon in general. "Can be fired semiautomatic or full auto. Make sure to balance it properly when you fire, otherwise the recoil will ruin your day. And for heaven's sake, don't try to dual wield."

 

[Maris Fero]

As for my template, she fell when she picked a fight with Enyo’s template

Templates again, what did they mean? Parents? Creators? Amara still didn’t seem like a robot but that didn’t mean it wasn’t a possibility. The raven-haired ganger almost asked the question outright. Deciding instead to hold her tongue for now. Asking the pair separately might well garner better explanations. Or more clues.

She fell because she was weak. Unable to control her cruelty. You, by contrast, are unable to control your fear to become her

Her mother then? Had Enyo’s mother had killed Amara’s mother? Were the pair both orphans? Sisters of some misfortune that had been the business of their progenitors.

She would learn nothing more about the story for now. Amara had taken her away from the Sith, hand in hand. It was not a sensation Maris was very familiar with in her adult life, her own mother had been distant and uncaring, her environment equally so.

“Urgh, I hate making my own drinks, remind me to book executive class next time we do this,” she complained in the same nasal voice from before, rolling her eyes dramatically as they headed for the training area.

“So, Maris, we obviously don’t have a huge stack of time, but you’ll be up against a lot of droids on this mission. What’s your experience fighting droids?”

Maris frowned at the suggestion that time was short, though she had little experience of space travel to make the comparison.

“I though Hoth was far away-” she trailed off shaking her head and returning to the subject at hand. “I’ve mostly dealt with maintenance droids and low tech industrials, Get under the armour plating and put my shock baton into the main circuits and they tend to go down.”

She had found some success with blasters but much as her experiences had varied, so far the old high voltage to the circuit board hadn’t let her down.

When Thuella approached with the unwieldy machine gun, talking through the tech specs like a seasoned arms dealer, Maris found herself doubly speechless. Not only was this not her expected role for the smartly dressed Dahomian, but the weapon was huge. Maris had never been fond of big guns, though she understood that there were a time and a place for such weapons, as she watched Thuella reload the weapon all the young woman could think about was how awkward the beast would be to climb with.

“Impressive - .. piece you got there.” she mused arching a brow as she glanced to Amara for her reaction to the weapon. “And are ions bad?” she added looking between the two with no hint of shame to her ignorance on the matter. She had filed a mental note that she definitely needed to find an occasion to convince someone to attempt to dual-wield the guns.

[member="Enyo Typhos"] [member="Amara Zarides"]

 

[Amara Zarides]

[member="Enyo Typhos"] [member="Maris Fero"]

“Hoth is far away, but we’re going very, very fast. We’ll be there in under a standard day for you. It’s quite remarkable really, but that’s the wonders of hyperspace.”

The Sith was talking. Amara sighed. She didn’t like being lectured, especially by a know-it-all Sith. She resolved she’d do some research on the cyborg and come back with her own cuttingly incisive comments. For now, she just ignored her. She was not arguing morality with the Twi’lek.


However, the presence of a large gun cheered her up. Eyes lighting up she took and examined it closely.
“Have I ever told you how much I appreciate you, Ella?” she asked with a grin. Priming the gun produced a satisfying hum.

“Ion weapons destroy droids, Maris,” Amara said enthusiastically. “Ella could give you the whole science spiel, but basically droids don’t like lightning, ion, electricity, anything which gives them massive power surges.”

She took aim at some targets and fired a five round burst. She noticed the sizzling spiderweb of electrical discharge, but also noted the spacing of the impacts. Trying again she managed to place them closer.

“Nice, but you’re right about the recall. Here, want a go, Maris? It pulls a little high on the recall, so try and sweep it up. Keep it on semi-auto for now.”

She looked over at Thuella. “Any other fun stuff to play with?”

 

[Enyo Typhos]

[member="Amara Zarides"], [member="Maris Fero"]


Sadly, older people liked to lecture naive youngsters. Amara would probably have to endure many lectures from people with more life experience than her, regardless of whether they were good or evil. Till she gained more maturity. Then maybe she could lecture people in turn.


For her part, Thuella liked big guns. As a matter of fact, she liked tinkering in general, whether it was with droids, weapons or Ysalamiri. Lately, she had taken an interest in alchemy. Hopefully Enyo would acquire this book she liked. Incidentally, some targets had been set up in form of old droids if anyone in the hold wanted to try out the guns.


"Yes," she confirmed, glancing to Maris. "I believe this will suit you quite well. But make sure they remain intact. These things do not come cheap. Nor can they made in bulk." Yes, mother. Anyhow, she opened a crate and picked out two devices that broadly resembled a belt.


"Mirage cloaking devices. Grant invisiblity to the wearer. They have an excellent range that even covers the UV spectrum. Don't run fast in them. It will produce a blurry silhouette and give you away. Combine them with these here," she briefly broke off her sales pitch by retrieving two suits. "And you are practically invisible to sensors and scanners."

 

[Maris Fero]

Before leaving her room back in the hotel Maris had taken the briefest of moments to review a galactic map and had discovered that the ice world the sought was practically on the far side of the Galaxy from her homeworld. The short passage of time it would take them to reach Hoth was a disappointing surprise for the youth; She had expected the training time might be longer, had hoped to find opportunities to sneak off to explore the vessel somewhat more thoroughly, perhaps even find time to dig around each of her companions belongings.

Maybe next time.

She watched the blonde playing her fingers over the new toy that the Dahomian had offered up, noting the practised ease with which Enyo’s fair-haired sister prepared the weapon.

“Ion weapons destroy droids, Maris,” Amara said enthusiastically. “Ella could give you the whole science spiel, but basically droids don’t like lightning, ion, electricity, anything which gives them massive power surges.”


Maybe they work as well on cyborgs. Maris considered, glancing at the floor for a moment as she tried to dismiss thoughts of Enyo from her head again. Not her, of course.

“Power surges. Got it.”

Amara seemed refreshed and energised by the appearance of the weapon that Thuella had provided, Maris fancied she might even be imagining using the new weapons on a certain cyborg nearby as the blond kook let a burst of rounds rip from the barrel of the weapon. The ganger twitched her head at the thundering report of the solid projectile weapon fired in such close proximity, watching the gun jerk powerfully in Amara’s grip.

The targets took a spread of impacts from the initial attempt and Amara’s grouping only seemed to improve with her each further attempt.

Of course, when offered Maris accepted the weapon, half listening to Amara’s advice as she repeated the actions the blonde had taken at first. She had never actually fired any solid projectile weapon bigger than a pistol before, but there was nothing to it really. Point and shoot.

She raised the weapon and pointed it toward the targets ahead, braced the stock against her shoulder for balance and took aim as Thuella and Amara talked, preparing to squeeze the trigger.

A couple of quick bursts will show them I know my way arou- Did she say invisible?

Maris was not quite prepared for the recoil of the new weapon and her footing was non-existent. Sudden pain in her shoulder was the first sign of her discomfort, accompanied by a high yelp as she stumbled backwards, fortunately discharging the fusillade down the range. She toppled back in a heap, a little dazed

“Oh - chit” Maris let out a panted breath and looked up toward Thuella and Amara with a wide-eyed grin, her head lolling to look at the gun again. “I uh - I might need more practice with this.”

The young woman struggled to her feet, brushing her top down and rolling her shoulders with a wince. “Whoa, That thing kicks.” she nodded vigorously as she eyed the new items being shown off and saying nothing in reply as the dark-skinned companion basically told her not to break the new toys.

The gun was set down immediately upon the moment those grey-green eyes locked onto the ghost suits. She approached almost hesitantly and half reached to touch the infiltration gear before holding back and looking to between Amara and Thuella cautiously.

“So, do I get one?” the revenant youth asked with another longing gaze at the gear, “I’m very good at hiding already.”

[member="Enyo Typhos"] [member="Amara Zarides"]

 

[Amara Zarides]

[member="Enyo Typhos"] [member="Maris Fero"]

The problem was and always would be with clones that they started halfway down the track, as it were. They came into life with the physical form of an adult and even the academic knowledge of one, but without the emotional and life experience to understand it. Hence they tended to embrace or reject their template so completely that it became their guiding principle…until such time as they could learn more.

All of which was to say that Amara did not want to hear what Libertas had to say, could not hear what she had to say…yet.

“Excellent, good work, Ella!” Amara said, running her hand over the suit lovingly.

Her attention was distracted by Maris’ fusillade. Amara grinned and helped Maris back to her feet. The blonde reached out her hand and the gun flew to it like magic. She checked it over, nodded, and placed it back in the case.

“That’s the plan. I’m pretty stealthy, but I reckon you have more experience than I. Think of this as taking you to the next level. We can go in together whilst Libertas draws their attention. Sith aren’t traditionally great at hiding. Thuella here guides us in and then helps us retrieve the data after we’ve secured it. That the way you see it, Ella?”
She hadn’t asked Libertas if that was the plan, she asked her sister who presumably had a briefing directly from Enyo, or at least a plan both of them could make use of.

 

[Enyo Typhos]

[member="Amara Zarides"], [member="Maris Fero"]


If Amara had paid any attention to her flash memories, she would have realised that her Sith template had been great at hiding in plain sight. In fact, it had been one of the few things Kaelin Isandros had been legitimately good at. Sadly, she had squandered her skills.


"For the duration of the mission," Thuella emphasised in response to Maris' query. "They must be returned upon completion." She did not mention that the stealthy gadgets had been equipped with Nightsister blood trails.


"I know of a number of Sith who are good at hiding." she added. Like your template, Amara. "They are fond of infiltrating all manners of institutions. But Lord Libertas prefers a more direct approach. Like, Enyo, I guess." Enyo's HRD body meant she could be subtle if she wanted to be, but most of the time she did not bother. "Regardless, I believe that would work in general, though I'd suggest communicating with her first. I can compromise machines and security systems from a distance."


"I see you have designed a potent weapon," the voice of the Lethan Twi'lek suddenly interrupted the chat. Without further ado, Darth Libertas stepped into the hold. "Playing to your strengths is sound, but never expect to be in your comfort zone on the battlefield. At some point, you have to fight tooth and nail," she continued.


"Pick any weapon in the room, except Thuella's gun. Do not use her stealthy gadgets." There were a bunch of toys lying around. She pressed a button on a remote control. Suddenly a door opened and three skeletal battle droids emerged in the hold. None of the three chanted Roger, Roger. One carried a shield and a vibrosword, the other two wielded electrostaffs. Each had a wrist weapon in form of a sonic blaster, a mini repeater, which was set on stun but with the maximum pain setting, or an ion paddle beamer. The last two bots were made of cortosis. In addition to being resistant to lightsabres, it would short out a glowstick on contact.


Being droids, they would be a lot stronger and faster than organics, though less flexible or agile. But the confined quarters imposed limitations on acrobatics, even Force-based ones. While the first decided to go for Maris, the other two wanted some close contact with the clones.

 

[Maris Fero]

She looked over the stealth gear with a hungry glint in her grey eyes, interrupted by a brief glance of perturbation toward Thuella when she noted that devices would need to be returned at the end of the mission. It was that remark which cemented Maris’ decision that if this stuff worked as well as it was supposed to then she would forget to bring it back.

The dark-haired youth bobbed her head to Thuella as if in acceding to her demand, brushing a loose lock back behind her ear as the Dahomian subscribed to Amara’s plan whilst also confiding that some Sith were indeed talented infiltrators.

Before conversation or testing could go further, Libertas entered with dramatically ominous intent and spoke of fighting tooth and nail, as if perhaps Maris had never struggled for her life with little but her wits on her side before. As she spoke, the crimson-skinned cyborg released three lank battle droids, each whirling to life with an array of weapons from the common to the outright alien in nature.

Suffice to say, the gesture didn’t endear Libertas to Maris any more than before and the slender youth’s lips curled into a sneer of disgust toward the Sith as she shrugged back her shoulders. The sword-wielding droid was moving upon her at speed, the keen hum of the vibroblade identifying the weapon as the droid approached.

The room was tighter than she would have liked, the space enclosed. Her natural tendency to make use of verticality was stifled and the speed of the droid and the distance it rapidly closed limited the Shrike’s responses.

Maris was undeniably fast, but even so running away was no option. So instead, the raven-haired woman raced to meet the approaching droid, aiming to negate the advantage of the machines long reach.

With a practised flick of her wrist, the murderer's edge of the ghostly translucent ceramic blade had arrived in her right hand as if from nowhere, glinting dully in the deck lights.

Maris noted the dead-eyed gaze of the construct as she approached, no clues would come from those lifeless features. Instead, her focus shifted to the droids sword arm as it flicked back to begin a lunge meant to skewer her charge. The droid’s gait shifted to achieve the optimum stance to land such a blow.

Swallowing back any trepidations she felt and burying them in the energy afforded to her by the sudden adrenaline rush, Maris charged on, hunching lower as she deftly passed her short blade into her offhand as if to parry the droids blow. As the two closed to within striking distance the droids swept the humming blade toward the ganger’s chest only to have Maris suddenly drop away beneath the sweep of the blow, skidding between and through the droids legs as the blade found only empty space.

The vicious ceramic weapon lashed out at the droids knee joint, hoping to damage the exposed workings there whilst she had a momentary advantage, feeling the blade catch she released her grip. The droid had already begun to react, sweeping the shield in a backhand toward the woman and catching Maris a solid blow to the head as she came to her feet again, almost back to back with her assailant.

The impact jarred the ganger's jaw and she tasted iron on her tongue, a hint of enjoyment playing on her lips as she turned with the droid, matching its movements to keep them back to back as she plucked the shock baton from her belt and reversed it’s crackling prongs over her shoulder, seeking the droids head.

The droid was not idle, and a vicious blow with the hilt of the blade landed heavily against the lefthand side of Maris’ ribs, the sudden pain was accompanied by a frustrated cry of rage from the youth, and a moment later the prod made contact with the droids faceplate, flashing a cascade of sparks and the actinic flare as the droid staggered.

Maris took a staggered step away from the stricken foe, her free hand nursing pained ribs as she turned quickly to face the droid. The blade wedged in the workings of its right knee had compromised her adversaries movement, the shock prod to the rear of the faceplate had shorted some of the workings on the left-hand side of the machines head, and Maris noted the droids left optical sensor was shorting out in sizzling sparks.
For her part, Maris was already bruising and felt the warmth of blood on her lips, her right ear was still ringing and for anyone sensitive in the force to feel it the bubbling of Maris growing rage was a jagged, palpable emanation in the force about her.

[member="Enyo Typhos"] [member="Amara Zarides"]

 

[Amara Zarides]

[member="Maris Fero"] [member="Enyo Typhos"]

Amara looked at the Sith with complete disdain. I am not your toy to bash up against enemies for your amusement.

She glanced at the gun. Or what…?

Something for later.

Her concern was first of all for Thuella who had of course received training but was not experienced in frontline combat. Besides, she wanted to protect her sister from any harm.
“Get behind me, Ella. Get a gun, aim for the heads and wrists.”
She activated her lightsabre and assessed the situation. The droids seemed to be the typical Magna-Guard sort with staves, but with wrist weapons too. She did not know about the cortosis trick yet, but figured they’d be somewhat resistant to her main weapon.

With this in mind she squared up to let her sister get a better weapon. The first came in with a heavy swing which she parried whilst the other moved around to get a shot off and then come in from the flank. When it fired she had to step back in order to parry both the attacking melee bot and the bolts, but several zipped very close to her.

“Any time you’re ready, Ella!” she said.

It was too much. One of the bolts from the repeater pierced her defence and smacked into her side. With a little cry she stumbled, but retained the presence of mind to roll backwards and avoid a staff to the back of the head.

She’d clearly need some new tactics….

 

[Enyo Typhos]

[member="Amara Zarides"], [member="Maris Fero"]


Libertas sensed the disdain and remained impassive. The girls wanted to make it in the big bad world and were embarking on a mission to fight killing machines, so they would be put through their paces. One was a sheltered nerd who had no combat experience worthy of mentioning, another had never left her gang-infested homeworld and the last one was a naive do-gooder. The Sith Lord maintained focus on the droid-killing ion guns. Of course, one of the trio could attempt to snatch them, but then they would leave themselves open.


Maris seemed to be adjusting. Good. Adapt or die. Her moves were those of a predator, someone who was no stranger to killing. Rather than charge the machine head-on and try to bash it with a sword, she honed in on weak spots she could exploit. Libertas had never been fond of berserkers. Anger was a potent tool, but it needed to be directed. Like a homing missile. "She must learn to fight her own battles, Amara, or she will perish the first time you're not there to hold her hand. Your pain can be a weapon, Maris. Feed on it."


Meanwhile, Thuella looked a bit like a deer caught in a headlight. Her mechu-deru senses had tingled. This should have warned her of the approaching machines, but she had not been alert. She would have cursed herself for her lack of attentiveness, but there were blaster bolts flying around and droids swinging electrostaves. It made her angry.


"Your template is a formidabe warrior, Thuella. She would stand up for herself - instead of cowering," she heard the Sith Lady call out to her amidst the whine of blaster fire. So she bolted, dashing towards a crate of weapons. It was so very tempting to just tell the Twi'lek it and grab the gun she had made. But that would mean failing the test. It would mean she would not succeed without shortcuts. In doing so she would fail Enyo, whom she had asked to let her go on this mission.


Amara was deflecting blaster bolts with her lightsabre. That was standard for anyone with a glowstick. However, accurately deflecting blaster fire from a mini repeater inside a small room was a tad difficult. Blaster bolts ricochetted off the walls. A bolt whizzed past Libertas' head, though the Twi'lek did not bat an eyelash. Thuella yelped when she was stung by a bolt. The droid's blaster had been set to stun, but the pain setting had been amped up.


Hitting the ground, she took cover and grabbed a pistol. Taking aim with both hands she fired. Some of her bolts went wide, others struck the machine. One hit its head and it seemed to slow. But despite its size the machine was fast on its feet. She backed away, trying to get some distance. In the blink of an eye it activated a mechanism inside its gauntlet.


One shot missed her, another struck her in the leg and she fell. This was no ordinary stun bolt. Unblockable by lightsabres, the ion paddle beam caused paralysis to set in. Her limb would not move. She raised her gun, getting another shot off before the droid swung its staff and knocked the blaster out of her hand. The electrical shock caused her to cry out in pain.


Then the droid was upon her. She tried to crawl away, but a strike with the staff put an end to that. The machine seized her by the throat, raised her up and she hit a nearby wall. Pain shot through her. Her head hurt and she felt dizzy, as her visions grew hazy. Shame turned to anger. She managed to grab a knife and plunge it into one of the droid's eyes. Sparks flew as she struck. Then lightning shot from her hand. The droid's grip weakened and she fell. Though it had modifications that protected it from the standard droid weaknesses to a degree, it was damaged. However, then it came it at her again.


Meanwhile, the droid that had gone up against Maris had clearly experienced better days. Her quick thinking had caused notable damage. But it used the brief respite to activate a mechanism inside its wrist. Its optical sensors were compromised, but it saw enough and could get access cameras. The wrist weapon in question was a hard-sound gun. Hell for anyone's eadrums. Ouch.

 

[Maris Fero]

Maris had a moment to observe the room as the droid recovered, her breathing harsh and her temper only worsening at the Sith’s suggestion that she use her pain as a weapon. Did she think Maris hadn’t worked that out already? Then she spotted Amara’s frething Lightsaber and actually growled to herself in absolutely misplaced jealousy.

Of course, at that moment the damaged droid took advantage of Maris distaction to reveal the purpose of its wrist-mounted weaponry. The initial blast of weaponised soundwaves struck home and her world was overwhelmed by sudden wracking pain, so intense was the sensation that Maris felt her jaw clench and the ganger’s hands moved to cover her ears. The youth stumbled to her knees, eyes watering as she writhed in pain.

The droid made a staggered pivot about its damaged limb, keeping the weapon trained on the youth as it brought the edge of it’s long shield on the woman’s exposed ribs.

Pain, anger, shame, the triumvirate. The shrike punched out her arm toward the droid, palm open and shrieked her own rage back toward her attacker.

The machine was hurled back off of its feet and thrown up against the ceiling of the hold with a resounding clang. The droid’s weapon shifted from Maris, though the ganger’s hearing was still severely impaired, warm liquid budding from the young woman’s ear. The robot’s limbs flailed as it attempted to free itself from the invisible force holding it in place, shorting eye sensors meeting the shrike’s glare.

Through gritted teeth the youth growled at the struggling opponent, focusing on the droid’s spindly body and with deliberate care she closed each of her fingers, feeling her rage coalesce around the mechanism whilst she watched its chestplate crumple, sparking and smoking before dangling limply.

[member="Enyo Typhos"] [member="Amara Zarides"]

 

[Amara Zarides]

[member="Maris Fero"] [member="Enyo Typhos"]

“She will learn, and I think she’ll surprise you, Sith,” Amara said through gritted teeth.

Amara had more pressing problems, namely with the droid trying to club her into unconsciousness. She rolled back again as the droid came on. The problem was two-fold. Firstly there was the melee weapon, and then there was the ranged weapon.

Gathering herself, she parried and flipped over the droid, executing a perfect straight drive into its back…where her blade shorted out. Cortosis. Wonderful.
She had little time to consider this because the droid turned and swiped at her, forcing her back again. Her blade fired back up. She took a second to glance around. She needed a solution.

As it came forward again she gathered her energies. She was not trying to impress Libertas, but she did want this fight over quickly, if only to help out her sister.

Thus, as the droid swung in again she extended her hand, calling on the Force. The staff slowed…and stopped…just inches from her hand. The strain was immense, but the droid actually helped her by bringing up its ranged weapon to blast her. With her free hand lightsabre she sliced and cut the repeater away from its arm.

The exertion was too much and she was physically thrown back by the droid, getting to her feet to face it again. It was time to go in for the kill. Now shorn of range, the droid came forward, but Amara called on the Force again. Crates rose and slammed into the machine. It batted one aside, but another struck, and another. Striding forward, Amara called a vibroblade to her hand, and as the droid’s hand and staff were pinned she rammed the vibroblade into its neck, gouging and twisting until at last it collapsed to the ground.

This done, she looked to see how her companions had fared.

 

[Enyo Typhos]

[member="Amara Zarides"], [member="Maris Fero"]


Libertas walked over to Maris as the girl's opponent gave up the ghost. "Good work," she said softly. "You know how to use your anger. More importantly, you know how to use your brain." Many Force-Users on both alignment spectrums forgot that. But the girl had not been coddled like so many Jedi and Sith. Her life had been struggle.


"Your anger towards me is natural, but misplaced. You will face opponents like this and worse on Hoth." Having said that, she placed a hand on Maris. As she drew upon the Dark Side, she perceived the taint that dark healing left on those who had been exposed to it.


Evidently it had been used on the girl before. This meant that she would obviously not be impressed by Libertas' use of it. As a tradeoff, it also meant that she would not be shocked by what was about to come. For a few moments, there would be pain, as Libertas forcefully put Maris' broken rib back together and worked on her eardrums. Then the painful sensation would recede and dissipate. Dark healing was inferior to the Light and in many ways not a full substitute, but useful in moderate doses.


Meanwhile, Thuella's droid had suffered damage. Its right optical sensor was in sizzling sparks. However, it came at Thuella again. The Dahomian clone backed away, hobbling on one leg. "I'll handle this myself," she declared sharply to deter Amara from intervening. She did not need someone to hold her hand. Enyo, who had rescued her from Archangel, had entrusted her with this mission. If she could not even take on a mere training droid, that was just embarrassing.


The skeletal droid swung its electrostaff and Thuella ducked to avoid the blow. However, the droid seemed to have anticipated this and delivered a forceful kick in the abdomen that physically knocked her back into the ground. Unsurprisingly, this hurt an awful lot. Ouch. She groaned in pain. The kick would leave nasty purple bruises. There might be internal injuries. Her hands clutched the knife tightly, she came up beneath the droid and plunged the knife into its knee joint. By itself, this would not do much against metal. However, suddenly sparks flew, and she channelled electricity through the blade. The droid shook when lightning surged right through its leg. The blade shattered, exploding into tiny shards.


The girl recoiled, smoke coiling from her hand. The droid brought down its electrostaff in a powerful swipe against her shoulder. Adrealine rushed through her body. Suddenly the machine dropped its staff weapon. The machine twitched, taking a step towards her before halting. Its movements were jerky, like those of a puppet whose strings were pulling it into different directions.


Then its hands tore at its chest. The grinding of metal could be heard. Sparks flew when the machine managed to tear itself open, exposing its power core. Thuella, baked in sweat made a gesture with a bruised hand and the droid tore at its power core. Its red eyes flickered wildly, until it finally gave up the ghost.