Private Beauty & Rot

[Aoki-Barran Mira]

The ocean waves produced their own music. Crashing against the jagged stones of the beach side, the ocean waters caressed the eardrums in nature's percussion. Fhost's climate was strangely beautiful. The sun shone brightly as a lone figure sat upon on of the towering boulders. She played a traditional Atrisian instrument, the three stringed shamisen lute, to the beat of the ocean. It was a beautiful instrumentation, delicate and serene. The woman, garbed in traditional Atrisian robes, played gracefully. Despite looking mostly Atrisian, she also had green skin and traditional tattoos under the eyes. She was Mirialan as well, though it was obvious that her Atrisian side had been embraced so much more. As the calm woman played the shamisen, eyes closed, it seemed that nothing could disturb her.

It was a perfect setting.

Then, a beeping resounded. The half breed smoothed out of her performance, then reached down and pulled a comlink out of her robe. She turned it on and listened.

In the seaside breeze, the news she received disturbed her.

She swiftly put the comlink away, standing up. Using the Force, she leapt from boulder to boulder. With a face of stoic determination, she landed next to a beach house and ran inside. The door to a living chambers slid open, and she darted in. She ran to a table and hurriedly yet properly placed her instrument down before running to the closet and pressing the button to open it.

Inside, her weaponry and light armor were set up and ready for use.

​

A speeder ripped across the beach's landscape. The woman's armor shone and her weapons rattled. An Atrisian outer robe rippled in the wind as she zipped for her intended location - a location where a Sith was was causing trouble...

As a New Imperial Knight, it was Aoki Mira's duty to protect these planets against the vile Sith and other Dark Siders.

Surea

 

[Surea]

Her Master. Her Savior. He hadn't simply freed her from a cage. He didn't even break the bars. He simply gave her the tools to do it herself. Made her fight for her life, her freedom. And with it, showed her how to break her chains. Her devotion to Darth Ptolemis couldn't be understated. In her mind, he was her life itself. Whatever task he gave, she would complete without hesitation or complaint.

Including assassinations. Here on Fhost had been another of her targets. A minister, facilitating the eventual control of the New Imperials on the world. Surea stood over his rotting corpse, passively watching as her curse consumed him from the inside out. The rest of his office was in a similar state. All it took was a drop of her blood to start a chain reaction. Once one was infected, they'd infect the next, then the next. She didn't let her Rot spread far, not here.

Too much exposure and someone would learn to try and cure it.

Her red blade extinguished as the last sign of life left the office. They'd rot away, eventually. No one should know she was here. And when the rot consumed it all, there'd be no trace left. A job well done. Surea let herself smile.

Only to see movement. Her 'gaze' turned. Someone was alive? The rot had taken hold, but they were still scrambling to the door. Even as they coughed up blood. They'd die, sure. But what her focus on wasn't on them. But the communicator in their hand. Anger rushed through her mind as she leapt forward. Severed the communicator and the holder in a violent rush of strikes. It had been perfect. Well done. How could just one person ruin all of this? How could they? How dare they!?

Ragged breaths escaped her lips as she looked down at the mangled corpse. She bit her lip, drawing some of her rotting blood. Fine. No more quiet escape. Surea left the building shortly after, and a raging inferno would cover the traces of her rot as the building erupted. No trace could remain.

Aoki-Barran Mira

 

[Aoki-Barran Mira]

The speeder raced onwards, until the sight of a small port by the ocean came into view. Mira was quite worried, for this was the place she knew an important minister was staying - and the call had come from his office.

She drove as fast as she could, eventually reaching the location. It had meant to be a secretive spot at the edge of the small town. Out of sight, out of mind. Yet, it had been sabotaged. As she approached, however, a light flickered and the Force warned her of something. She turned the speeder, sliding it to a halt. Then, the building exploded.

The Imperial Squire leapt off the bike, darting backwards as the building went up in flames. Burning, the office was no more. A deep sense of fault came upon her as she gazed into the fire, realizing her failure.

Yet, she still felt a disturbance in the Force. She turned, looking into the direction she felt a sinister life force in.

The attacker?

She darted through the shrubbery, tracking the figure with her Force Sense as she swerved off the pathway, away from the docks. Soon, she was on a flat stretch of sandy beach, next to the ocean once more. The figure across from her was going away, but the half Atrisian could not let her.

She pulled out her Imperial Lightsaber, activating the white blade as a sign of her standing as she skidded to a halt in the small dunes. Her voice was controlled and assertive, cool and collected despite being raised. It was the voice of an individual not playing around, determined and in control of the situation.

"Halt! In the name of the Imperial Order!"

 

[Surea]

"Halt! In the name of the Imperial Order!"

Surea paused. Her helmed visage turned, looking back towards the green skinned woman who told her to halt. She'd already been found? .. No. An Imperial Knight, alone. Did she call for back up? The Sith's senses reached out, looking for anyone else that might be there. So far there was no one. Most were distracted by the explosion. It should've been enough to get her to her ship, hidden just out beyond the waves. A skiv waited at the dock for her.

All so she could flee.

Should she run? Her mission was complete. Wouldn't it be better to flee? Surea made no move to run, though. Her attention was on that white blade in Aoki's grasp. An Imperial Knight. If she killed this woman, would her Master be pleased? Red erupted as the Acolyte pulled her blade free. She clicked on her com, signaling her droid back on her ship. She would kill this Imperial, then flee. Her blade lifted, both hands holding the hilt. She needed to get her own blade. Maybe one solid, one she could use to spread her Rot. An idea to speak to Darth Ptolemis about later.

Cybernetic legs tensed before she shot off, kicking up sand as she leapt to close the distance. Bringing her blade down for the Mirialan. She'd at least make this quick.

 

[Aoki-Barran Mira]

The dark sider was quick to move, dashing towards her. Mira entered a swift Makashi stance, also darting forth. As they closed the distance, Mira reacted to her opponent's movement. It was a strike landing from above. She gracefully lifted her own lightsaber, parrying the blow. From there, she immediately shifted into a thrust for the redhead's neck.

 

[Surea]

Surea didn't stop moving.

Like a bull she continued her charge forward, even as her blade was knocked to the side. She tilted her head, letting the blade of the Mirialan singe her cheek as she threw herself forward. Fully intending to tackle the Imperial Knight with her mechanical shoulder. No grace, no finesse. She was little more than a battering ram trying to flatten anything in her path.

 

[Aoki-Barran Mira]

As the arm came forth, Aoki Mira was slammed in the face. Her mask jostled as she flew back, dropping her lightsaber and summersaulting several paces back. Sand puffed into the air as she stood, hair waving like a flag in the wind. She winced, thankful that the mask took some of the blunt force trauma. Still, eyes were watering from the hit on the nose. Without hesitation, she drew her father's lightsaber, Kyūseishu, and activated its blue curved blade. Even with her vision clouded, she darted forth again. Shifting to shii-cho, she aimed more swift and direct blows at the redhead.

 

[Surea]

Surea flexed the fingers of her cybernetics after it impacted with Aoki-Barran Mira 's mask. She paused only for a moment, just to make sure she hadn't just ruined her arm. Countless times before she'd have to repair or even replace her limbs after a punch like that. But this one wasn't so weak. The Miraluka found herself grinning. She didn't have to worry. Then danger. Her blade came around, crashing violently into the Mirialan's blade as it came around.

Then again. And again. Surea didn't go for defense or even parrying. The red blade in her grasp swung out like a club, trying to knock the blue blade out of Aoki's grasp as she pressed forward. Rage, hate, anger. They all fueled the Sith's unnatural might. No refinement, no style. Just raw power and aggression.