Miranda Io
The Daughter of Resistance
City of Midas, Khemost.
Armored Apartments...
Miranda was stirred from her Low Power Mode (The closest she could get to being asleep) and rose from her bed, a black metal Skeleton with green photo receptors, packed with lethal miniaturized weapons.
As Khemost got more and more established, more of the City of Midas cleared, it's armored apartments declared fit for use after being refurbished, Citizens had started being moved from ships and space stations to occupy them. Miranda had chosen one at the heart of Midas, where vast amounts of clearing out and reconstruction were occuring. She felt useful there, mediating disputes between citizens and reconciliation was a primary goal. Family mustn't be Enemies.
Miranda saw her terminal blinking with the symbol of their House:
Miranda immediately went over and saw a call transmission waiting to be received.
The advanced Droid hit the receive button and the face of her Grandmother, Countess
Arianna Belasko
showed.
Good morning daughter, I trust your low power state was enjoyable?"
"Of course, Grandmother." Miranda answered, sitting down in the seat next to the terminal.
"What's the occasion?" Miranda asked, noting the concern in the features of the blonde Sorceress.
"You need to see this. It's about a space station we have been slowly infiltrating for weeks now, called Mek-Sha. Something... unexpected happened there several hours ago..."
The feed switched from Arianna to an image captured by a security camera of a Jedi Knight. He was strong looking, a handsome human with copper skin and dreadlocks. He was soaked in something, gathered before a crowd of alien onlookers. He had a miserable expression on him, and various crowds of aliens were around him.
"My name is Dra Collins. I am a Jedi of the SJC. I hate long speeches, so I will apologize ahead of time and try to keep on point as much as possible. But really, the long and short of it is this: I have failed all of you. Completely and Utterly."
His expression became more somber.
"Many years ago, I was one of many Jedi who were inspired by
Ryv
Karis, the Sword of The Jedi, and
Coren Starchaser
, when they refused to make a truce with the Tenth Sith Empire, in order to stop the Bryn'adul. I believed in the necessity of siding with the New Imperial Order to help bring about its end. I sought no glory for myself. No renown. I doubt either of those two Jedi would remember me. I fought at Korriban, as well as Bastion and elsewhere. I'm sure they can pull up my records at the Silver Rest."
He looked around and Miranda could all but smell the sense of genuine failure about him just through his body language.
"Throughout that war...I lost many friends. I lost my master at Korriban, my best friends all died in the conflicts that followed, one even being killed by friendly fire from my own side. The rest were all murdered by Darth Xiphos. I lost my entire extended family at Sarka. But we crushed the Sith Empire, in the end. I was so convinced. Convinced by their words. They kept me going through very dark times. I don't hate Ryv. Or Coren. I have just finally come to accept that I should never have listened to them."
One member in the crowd, a Kubaz, bless his soul, was already begging him not to do it. Dra ignored him.
"I was convinced we were following the will of the Force. That we were making the Galaxy a better place. Looking back now...I...I wish I had thought harder about cause and effect. What can the Jedi Order be proud of in this era? What have we actually accomplished? The Bryn'adul weren't even stopped by us in the end. They murdered and rampaged with virtual impunity in the meantime. The NIO grew directly stronger and more established because we ignored the fact they were just as tyrannical. Their tyranny barely manifested any meaningful difference between them and the Empire they tore down. And they broke all relations with us the moment we stopped being useful. And now we're on the verge of war with them also. We looked the other way, at the Ashlan Fanatics. We have not made the Galaxy a better place. We have simply set the stage for new levels of violence. New conflicts. New tragedies. But our worst failure is all around me. The people crowded on this station. Who needed us the most, and we completely failed their worlds. I look back and I know that I have accomplished nothing but blood and Destruction. All for the nebulous hope that we might finally put an end to the Sith once and for all. Nothing I can say or do will ever make this right. Even what good deeds I have done fill my mouth with ash. It all rings hollow. I haven't kept the Galaxy safe from anyone. And with so many Sith running around, the Tenth Sith Empire might as well not have fallen. I can't make up for anything I have done..." he trailed, getting on his knees.
"But I can make my last act one of protest, not just to Ryv or Coren, but to the Order I once proudly served. To protest just how badly we failed the people on this station. All because we couldn't stop our feud with the Sith for even an instant."
He held up a lighter, and the rest of the crowd began to scream at him, beg him not to. Some tried to rush him, desperate to get the lighter out of his hand, only to be Force Pushed back mildly.
And then like a dead weight, he let the lighter fall on him and the crowd screamed as he set himself on fire.
The image switched back to Arianna.
"He's in critical condition. The Healers cannot seem to reverse the damage. In the meantime, riots of various Aliens against Jedi Personnel have broken out across this station. Jedi are being beaten, even killed and put on display. The news has gone viral and the riots are occuring always in major areas full of refugees. Several planets, including Coruscant, have reported severe rioting in certain refugee sectors. Two other Jedi immolated themselves in solidarity with him on Ryloth. But they were not saved in time."
"What must I do?" Miranda asked.
"This is the perfect opportunity to turn a large chunk of Mek-Sha's populace against the Jedi...and to acquire the Burned Knight for ourselves...you are to go there, stoke the flames of discontent further however you can. Meanwhile...The Burned Knight will get retrieved by other means..."
She sent Miranda the departure time and where she could best be utilized. Miranda nodded and said she would bring personnel to accompany her. Arianna smiled and the transmission was ended.
She headed over to the Stasis Field for her nanite sheath, which was undergoing routine error checks in its programming. She opened it up and let the large silvery orb of Laminanium Nanites slide into her frame, enveloping it and taking the shape of a curvy, bronze skinned woman in a silver catsuit, then exited her bedroom.
She saw her roommates, Cara, an Organic Citizen, formerly a refugee from a world destroyed by The Bryn'adul playing paper football on a table with David, a Model 1 Nuetralizer. David was using his fingers as the goal posts. He was distinct from his other Skeletal brothers, who covered their skull faces in masks and used war paint on their bodies. David had none of that. He was stainless Cortosis Weave Durasteel and red photo receptors.
The Model 1 units were the first children of Darth Xiphos, and they had terrorized the NIO and the Galactic Alliance throughout the third Imperial Civil War. Their Infamy had only grown through that conflict, through a combination of brutal savagery, and vicious next level trolling in the form of cracking horrible out of place jokes and one liners, or singing pop songs as war chants. Even now, years after their first ever conflict at Generis, roaming the battlefield as Berserkers, they were still the most well known of all Nuetralizer models.
Every Model 1 was a proven design for killing Jedi, and Miranda wouldn't be here if not for their development.
David was a special case. He had self deactivated at the battle of Sarka after being buried under rubble, reactivating years later, and had spent months on the run in enemy territory, struggling to stay functional and repair himself to a combat ready state, hunted relentlessly by enemy forces.
He had been the Nuetralizer that had spent the most time away from his family, and he was like a fish out of water. Even now he had only barely started to adjust being back from what had started as a small army of Droid Soldiers led by their Mother to a faction making waves that rattled the windows of even the very strongest organizations.
House Io was spreading, drawing more to its cause.
"You're up early..." Cara remarked, flicking the thick paper triangle between David's fingers.
"I got a summons from The Countess. It's a priority directive. You two feel like some work on Mek-Sha?"
"So that's what got you up..." David muttered. "It's all over the news."
"I'm in. Lemme get my weapons. What are we doing over there?" Cara asked as she headed to the small, shared armory that was in every Citizen's apartment.
"We're going to make a crap situation for the Jedi worse..." Miranda answered.
The three were striding out of their apartment, which had dim running lights in the halls, a General Purpose Nuetralizer cleaning the floor with a mop, armed with a Sonic Disruptor Pistol.
"Hi, Clarice!" David called out as they walked by.
"Looking shiny, David!" Clarice called back. "Be careful! Floor ahead might be a tad slippery!"
They took her word of caution and went extra slow before they reached the turbolift.
"How bad you think it will be when we get there?" Cara asked, flicking strawberry blonde hair from her eyes
"The Rioting is occurring in the worst, most crowded sections. What that Jedi did blew the lid off what was probably already a volatile situation..." David mused. "To be perfectly honest, I'm surprised it didn't occur sooner. It's mostly aliens, non human species doing the rioting. Though the humans are starting to get in on the action also..."
"Cara, you can blend in with the refugees. I want you to find out where the Burned Knight is being kept...me and David will Aggro the Jedi. Try to organize the riots..."
Miranda disapproved of the mission to be honest, but even she had to note the tactical advantage to be gained...
Present...
They had arrived on the station in spite of the lockdown instituted due to the riots, having bribed key officials beforehand, via a Lambda Class Shuttle with no markings.
David was fully cloaked in a black, hooded cape, wearing an old Atrisian Oni war mask to conceal his Skeletal features, armed with both a Citizen Energy Sword like she and Cara were, as well as an Elemental Assault Carbine Type 1. Miranda didn't really need Weaponry, being built with Jedi Killing tools, and Cara was armed with the same type of Carbine, wearing an Environmental Bastion Armor Suit.
Miranda could see a disaster in the process of happening. There were posters and Graffiti of the Jedi who had burned himself alive, the act having given rise to some long pent up frustration and resentment towards Jedi in the many alien communities living here. House Io literally HAD to be here to stoke those flames further...
The Dock Inspector, who had not been informed of their arrival beforehand, demanded to see their identification.
"You don't need to see our Identification..." David muttered, dropping a few Crownwraithes of the House's Aurodium Currency in his hands.
"I... don't need to see your identification..." he said slowly.
Miranda dumped another Crownwraithe in his hand.
"We're not people you should be concerned over." she said softly.
"You... aren't people I should be concerned over..." the Dock Officer replied...
Cara dumped another Crownwraithe in his hand.
"Move along..." she trailed.
"Move along..." he repeated, staring at the Aurodium coins, worth more than he made in a year in total.
The trio headed deeper into the facility.
Station officials were pleading for people to return to whatever homes they had. But Miranda could see blood and trash bins on fire. Cara separated from them and the two droids went to observe a dead Jedi strung up and put on display in front of a used Droid Parts shop.
"These people are pissed..." David observed.
They knew it wasn't just about the Jedi. Mek-Sha was a horrible place to live. Overcrowded, and crime ridden. Supply issues, lack of housing, lack of Efficiency. All things House Io could alleviate. It had proven ample recruiting ground for House Io so far, gathering people disillusioned and angered by the Jedi Order letting the Bryn'adul run roughshod over their worlds to attack a crumbling empire. But there had been so many other issues that Dra Collins had simply been the straw that broke the Bantha's back. Jedi had come here from a local praxeum often to try and help the populace, but they were the main targets of the rioting now. Every Jedi on the station was in potential danger. Lethal danger. Dra Collins act had caused what a certain Anime would have referred to as a Stand Alone Complex.
To David, it was vindication of the House's beliefs, of Mother's beliefs that the Jedi had betrayed the entire Galaxy by not doing everything they could to stop the Bryn'adul. To Miranda, it was a powder keg they had both willingly walked into but at least they had gone to the trouble of setting up hidden supply routes and contacts. She immediately began to look for areas full of crowds of refugees and soon found some, passing out weapons to try and ravage the place some more.
"People, hear me!" Miranda called out. "If you truly wish to make your voice heard...you'll need more destructive weapons than that! And House Io can provide them!"
This instantly got their attention beneath trash filled, neon lit streets. Even now, people were putting up posters of the Burned Knight everywhere.
"Mek-Sha is a crime ridden, lawless hell, and has been for too long!" Miranda yelled. "We must be more than vandals! More than looters! Certainly more than the Jedi who make miniscule efforts to bring order to this station. We must become that Order. The order against the chaos they brought with their selfish behavior! If you listen, I can lead you to more potent weapons...and I will help you take complete control of this section and hold it!"
Many, many rioters cheered at the prospect, but many others were suspicious.
"What's in it for you?" one of them asked.
"Fething the Order that put you all in this spot is House Io's joy in life. We are made up of many Refugees just like you. A place where you are equals. Family. A place where you have a voice and good living conditions. We have people with stories just like yours, who all see the chaos the Jedi brought and wish to punish it as you do. Your fight and foes are the same as ours. And we wish to stand in solidarity with you, here and now. In the open. Let us help you." Miranda asked.
Miranda smiled as rioters began walking up to her, asking for tactical advice and well as the current ground situation and injuries they had sustained...
Caltin Vanagor
Valery Noble
Armored Apartments...
Miranda was stirred from her Low Power Mode (The closest she could get to being asleep) and rose from her bed, a black metal Skeleton with green photo receptors, packed with lethal miniaturized weapons.
As Khemost got more and more established, more of the City of Midas cleared, it's armored apartments declared fit for use after being refurbished, Citizens had started being moved from ships and space stations to occupy them. Miranda had chosen one at the heart of Midas, where vast amounts of clearing out and reconstruction were occuring. She felt useful there, mediating disputes between citizens and reconciliation was a primary goal. Family mustn't be Enemies.
Miranda saw her terminal blinking with the symbol of their House:
Miranda immediately went over and saw a call transmission waiting to be received.
The advanced Droid hit the receive button and the face of her Grandmother, Countess
Arianna Belasko
showed.Good morning daughter, I trust your low power state was enjoyable?"
"Of course, Grandmother." Miranda answered, sitting down in the seat next to the terminal.
"What's the occasion?" Miranda asked, noting the concern in the features of the blonde Sorceress.
"You need to see this. It's about a space station we have been slowly infiltrating for weeks now, called Mek-Sha. Something... unexpected happened there several hours ago..."
The feed switched from Arianna to an image captured by a security camera of a Jedi Knight. He was strong looking, a handsome human with copper skin and dreadlocks. He was soaked in something, gathered before a crowd of alien onlookers. He had a miserable expression on him, and various crowds of aliens were around him.
"My name is Dra Collins. I am a Jedi of the SJC. I hate long speeches, so I will apologize ahead of time and try to keep on point as much as possible. But really, the long and short of it is this: I have failed all of you. Completely and Utterly."
His expression became more somber.
"Many years ago, I was one of many Jedi who were inspired by
Ryv
Karis, the Sword of The Jedi, and
Coren Starchaser
, when they refused to make a truce with the Tenth Sith Empire, in order to stop the Bryn'adul. I believed in the necessity of siding with the New Imperial Order to help bring about its end. I sought no glory for myself. No renown. I doubt either of those two Jedi would remember me. I fought at Korriban, as well as Bastion and elsewhere. I'm sure they can pull up my records at the Silver Rest."He looked around and Miranda could all but smell the sense of genuine failure about him just through his body language.
"Throughout that war...I lost many friends. I lost my master at Korriban, my best friends all died in the conflicts that followed, one even being killed by friendly fire from my own side. The rest were all murdered by Darth Xiphos. I lost my entire extended family at Sarka. But we crushed the Sith Empire, in the end. I was so convinced. Convinced by their words. They kept me going through very dark times. I don't hate Ryv. Or Coren. I have just finally come to accept that I should never have listened to them."
One member in the crowd, a Kubaz, bless his soul, was already begging him not to do it. Dra ignored him.
"I was convinced we were following the will of the Force. That we were making the Galaxy a better place. Looking back now...I...I wish I had thought harder about cause and effect. What can the Jedi Order be proud of in this era? What have we actually accomplished? The Bryn'adul weren't even stopped by us in the end. They murdered and rampaged with virtual impunity in the meantime. The NIO grew directly stronger and more established because we ignored the fact they were just as tyrannical. Their tyranny barely manifested any meaningful difference between them and the Empire they tore down. And they broke all relations with us the moment we stopped being useful. And now we're on the verge of war with them also. We looked the other way, at the Ashlan Fanatics. We have not made the Galaxy a better place. We have simply set the stage for new levels of violence. New conflicts. New tragedies. But our worst failure is all around me. The people crowded on this station. Who needed us the most, and we completely failed their worlds. I look back and I know that I have accomplished nothing but blood and Destruction. All for the nebulous hope that we might finally put an end to the Sith once and for all. Nothing I can say or do will ever make this right. Even what good deeds I have done fill my mouth with ash. It all rings hollow. I haven't kept the Galaxy safe from anyone. And with so many Sith running around, the Tenth Sith Empire might as well not have fallen. I can't make up for anything I have done..." he trailed, getting on his knees.
"But I can make my last act one of protest, not just to Ryv or Coren, but to the Order I once proudly served. To protest just how badly we failed the people on this station. All because we couldn't stop our feud with the Sith for even an instant."
He held up a lighter, and the rest of the crowd began to scream at him, beg him not to. Some tried to rush him, desperate to get the lighter out of his hand, only to be Force Pushed back mildly.
And then like a dead weight, he let the lighter fall on him and the crowd screamed as he set himself on fire.
The image switched back to Arianna.
"He's in critical condition. The Healers cannot seem to reverse the damage. In the meantime, riots of various Aliens against Jedi Personnel have broken out across this station. Jedi are being beaten, even killed and put on display. The news has gone viral and the riots are occuring always in major areas full of refugees. Several planets, including Coruscant, have reported severe rioting in certain refugee sectors. Two other Jedi immolated themselves in solidarity with him on Ryloth. But they were not saved in time."
"What must I do?" Miranda asked.
"This is the perfect opportunity to turn a large chunk of Mek-Sha's populace against the Jedi...and to acquire the Burned Knight for ourselves...you are to go there, stoke the flames of discontent further however you can. Meanwhile...The Burned Knight will get retrieved by other means..."
She sent Miranda the departure time and where she could best be utilized. Miranda nodded and said she would bring personnel to accompany her. Arianna smiled and the transmission was ended.
She headed over to the Stasis Field for her nanite sheath, which was undergoing routine error checks in its programming. She opened it up and let the large silvery orb of Laminanium Nanites slide into her frame, enveloping it and taking the shape of a curvy, bronze skinned woman in a silver catsuit, then exited her bedroom.
She saw her roommates, Cara, an Organic Citizen, formerly a refugee from a world destroyed by The Bryn'adul playing paper football on a table with David, a Model 1 Nuetralizer. David was using his fingers as the goal posts. He was distinct from his other Skeletal brothers, who covered their skull faces in masks and used war paint on their bodies. David had none of that. He was stainless Cortosis Weave Durasteel and red photo receptors.
The Model 1 units were the first children of Darth Xiphos, and they had terrorized the NIO and the Galactic Alliance throughout the third Imperial Civil War. Their Infamy had only grown through that conflict, through a combination of brutal savagery, and vicious next level trolling in the form of cracking horrible out of place jokes and one liners, or singing pop songs as war chants. Even now, years after their first ever conflict at Generis, roaming the battlefield as Berserkers, they were still the most well known of all Nuetralizer models.
Every Model 1 was a proven design for killing Jedi, and Miranda wouldn't be here if not for their development.
David was a special case. He had self deactivated at the battle of Sarka after being buried under rubble, reactivating years later, and had spent months on the run in enemy territory, struggling to stay functional and repair himself to a combat ready state, hunted relentlessly by enemy forces.
He had been the Nuetralizer that had spent the most time away from his family, and he was like a fish out of water. Even now he had only barely started to adjust being back from what had started as a small army of Droid Soldiers led by their Mother to a faction making waves that rattled the windows of even the very strongest organizations.
House Io was spreading, drawing more to its cause.
"You're up early..." Cara remarked, flicking the thick paper triangle between David's fingers.
"I got a summons from The Countess. It's a priority directive. You two feel like some work on Mek-Sha?"
"So that's what got you up..." David muttered. "It's all over the news."
"I'm in. Lemme get my weapons. What are we doing over there?" Cara asked as she headed to the small, shared armory that was in every Citizen's apartment.
"We're going to make a crap situation for the Jedi worse..." Miranda answered.
The three were striding out of their apartment, which had dim running lights in the halls, a General Purpose Nuetralizer cleaning the floor with a mop, armed with a Sonic Disruptor Pistol.
"Hi, Clarice!" David called out as they walked by.
"Looking shiny, David!" Clarice called back. "Be careful! Floor ahead might be a tad slippery!"
They took her word of caution and went extra slow before they reached the turbolift.
"How bad you think it will be when we get there?" Cara asked, flicking strawberry blonde hair from her eyes
"The Rioting is occurring in the worst, most crowded sections. What that Jedi did blew the lid off what was probably already a volatile situation..." David mused. "To be perfectly honest, I'm surprised it didn't occur sooner. It's mostly aliens, non human species doing the rioting. Though the humans are starting to get in on the action also..."
"Cara, you can blend in with the refugees. I want you to find out where the Burned Knight is being kept...me and David will Aggro the Jedi. Try to organize the riots..."
Miranda disapproved of the mission to be honest, but even she had to note the tactical advantage to be gained...
Present...
They had arrived on the station in spite of the lockdown instituted due to the riots, having bribed key officials beforehand, via a Lambda Class Shuttle with no markings.
David was fully cloaked in a black, hooded cape, wearing an old Atrisian Oni war mask to conceal his Skeletal features, armed with both a Citizen Energy Sword like she and Cara were, as well as an Elemental Assault Carbine Type 1. Miranda didn't really need Weaponry, being built with Jedi Killing tools, and Cara was armed with the same type of Carbine, wearing an Environmental Bastion Armor Suit.
Miranda could see a disaster in the process of happening. There were posters and Graffiti of the Jedi who had burned himself alive, the act having given rise to some long pent up frustration and resentment towards Jedi in the many alien communities living here. House Io literally HAD to be here to stoke those flames further...
The Dock Inspector, who had not been informed of their arrival beforehand, demanded to see their identification.
"You don't need to see our Identification..." David muttered, dropping a few Crownwraithes of the House's Aurodium Currency in his hands.
"I... don't need to see your identification..." he said slowly.
Miranda dumped another Crownwraithe in his hand.
"We're not people you should be concerned over." she said softly.
"You... aren't people I should be concerned over..." the Dock Officer replied...
Cara dumped another Crownwraithe in his hand.
"Move along..." she trailed.
"Move along..." he repeated, staring at the Aurodium coins, worth more than he made in a year in total.
The trio headed deeper into the facility.
Station officials were pleading for people to return to whatever homes they had. But Miranda could see blood and trash bins on fire. Cara separated from them and the two droids went to observe a dead Jedi strung up and put on display in front of a used Droid Parts shop.
"These people are pissed..." David observed.
They knew it wasn't just about the Jedi. Mek-Sha was a horrible place to live. Overcrowded, and crime ridden. Supply issues, lack of housing, lack of Efficiency. All things House Io could alleviate. It had proven ample recruiting ground for House Io so far, gathering people disillusioned and angered by the Jedi Order letting the Bryn'adul run roughshod over their worlds to attack a crumbling empire. But there had been so many other issues that Dra Collins had simply been the straw that broke the Bantha's back. Jedi had come here from a local praxeum often to try and help the populace, but they were the main targets of the rioting now. Every Jedi on the station was in potential danger. Lethal danger. Dra Collins act had caused what a certain Anime would have referred to as a Stand Alone Complex.
To David, it was vindication of the House's beliefs, of Mother's beliefs that the Jedi had betrayed the entire Galaxy by not doing everything they could to stop the Bryn'adul. To Miranda, it was a powder keg they had both willingly walked into but at least they had gone to the trouble of setting up hidden supply routes and contacts. She immediately began to look for areas full of crowds of refugees and soon found some, passing out weapons to try and ravage the place some more.
"People, hear me!" Miranda called out. "If you truly wish to make your voice heard...you'll need more destructive weapons than that! And House Io can provide them!"
This instantly got their attention beneath trash filled, neon lit streets. Even now, people were putting up posters of the Burned Knight everywhere.
"Mek-Sha is a crime ridden, lawless hell, and has been for too long!" Miranda yelled. "We must be more than vandals! More than looters! Certainly more than the Jedi who make miniscule efforts to bring order to this station. We must become that Order. The order against the chaos they brought with their selfish behavior! If you listen, I can lead you to more potent weapons...and I will help you take complete control of this section and hold it!"
Many, many rioters cheered at the prospect, but many others were suspicious.
"What's in it for you?" one of them asked.
"Fething the Order that put you all in this spot is House Io's joy in life. We are made up of many Refugees just like you. A place where you are equals. Family. A place where you have a voice and good living conditions. We have people with stories just like yours, who all see the chaos the Jedi brought and wish to punish it as you do. Your fight and foes are the same as ours. And we wish to stand in solidarity with you, here and now. In the open. Let us help you." Miranda asked.
Miranda smiled as rioters began walking up to her, asking for tactical advice and well as the current ground situation and injuries they had sustained...
Caltin Vanagor
Valery Noble
Last edited:
