Eldorai Armoury 101 (Siobhan)

[Daera Varias]

@[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

It wasn’t often that a girl told you she wanted to ‘show you her weapons’. At least, not without it meaning something very different than one might think!

However, Princess Anya had called her friend Siobhan down to the palace armoury in Santaissa to show her a very interesting weapon. It was one that Siobhan would have seen many times before, but likely had not been described in detail.

“Kerri, glad you’re here!” Anya said, smiling. “I wanted to show you this, it’s called a Sarzmigar. I’m planning on getting it produced again by the Angelii. For a long while now it’s been only used by guards in the palace as a ceremonial weapon, but I reckon it might actually be useful.”

The weapon she produced was a long halberd like weapon as tall as either of them and tipped with a spear and double axe blade. The head glowed with blue energy just like a Sarix.

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

@[member="Anya Venari"]

Siobhan had just been returning from ahem, literacy classes with Anya's sister, Queen Silaqui. Book club was such fun! Who knew that Zeltrons would write such...vivid poetry. So she came down rather well dressed in a shiny black suit, wiping away some lipstick that had somehow found its way onto her neck. Perhaps she had smeared a great deal again while trying to apply it to her mouth!

"Nice to see you too, Any," Siobhan said warmly and gave her a kiss, knowing the Princess did not like the nickname at all, though they were close friends. Eyes travelled over to the halberd-like weaon and she smiled, taking ahold of it as she studied it. If there was one thing Siobhan liked apart from indulging in rampant hedonism, it was weapons and causing mayhem. She noted how the head glowed with blue energy, seeing the resemblance to the sarix.

"You don't disappoint when it comes to 'showing your weapons'. Well, you have plenty. Why'd it get phased out?" examining the weapon she found a control at the lower shaft and activated it, which imparted a blue sheen to the head as what appeared to be a force containment field get activated. "Force containment field I take it. What are its capabilities?"

 

[Daera Varias]

@[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

Anya gave her a look. “Nice to see you too, Kerri-goo,” she said, stealing Siobhan’s pet name from her wife. If they were going to play the annoying nicknames game, she was going to play hardball.

“I suspect you’ve been showing your weapons to my sister this morning already,” Anya said sourly.

Anyway, she turned her attention to the weapon. “The Sarzmigar was designed by the Kar’zun. Horrible silicon based creatures who lived in the caves and mountains. They fought us for control of Kaeshana. This was their weapon…but their version was bigger, like a glaive, and they were strong enough to use it in one hand and a shield in the other. It’s like having a wookiee charging you, if said wookiee was made of rock and carried an energy axe which could cleave you in two with one swipe!”

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

@[member="Anya Venari"]

Siobhan looked grumpy at 'Kerri-goo'. She really, really did not like the nickname. The things love forced her to endure! "She's an eager learner, likes the big guns," she responded, stepping closer to Anya. "No worries, you're still my favourite space elf." Two particularly powerful weapons of Siobhan were poking rather prominently out of her chest against the fine fabric of her suit, ahem, on with the plot, for this is a serious thread about weapons that kill people!

"I heard of them. Brainwashed Silaqui II into being their puppet, Ariane the Great beat them off the planet. I hear it's said Sila, uh...died in the final battle," Siobhan said, a flicker of recognition on her face. Doubtless Siobhan knowing things would come as a shock, though in all fairness she had the relentless digger Phylis Alince and a trip to an ancient temple built to commemorate the glory of Ariane to thank for that. Due to that trip Siobhan also knew that Silaqui might have met an end that was...very different from what the Eldorai history books said!

She examined the weapon, taking a few practice swings, though she had enough sense to keep the pointy end away from hers and Anya's faces! "Like golems, huh? Sounds like a fun opponent to face. How durable and what qualities does it have? I imagine it's used in combination with that shield you have, the Taegis. How's the field hold up if it clashes with a lightsabre?"

 

[Daera Varias]

@[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

“Oh thank you, mighty human, I seek only your approval and status!” Anya said in a tone of voice more associated with Chesna in her most…literate…moods.

Anya took the Sarzmigar off Siobhan and spun it around in a lethal dance. “Yes. During the Civil War they rose to great power, but when defeated by Vaenia the Restorer they withdrew to the far south of Kaeshana, on both sides of the inner sea. From then on for nearly seven hundred years war never fully ceased between our races. Back and forth it raged until the naïve Silaqui I fell in love with what turned out to be the Kar’zun’s spy who took the name Silaqui II when she was placed on the throne. It seemed as though the Eldorai would all be killed or subjugated by these monsters. But there was one woman with enough strength to stand up and say ‘In the name of the Goddess, enough!’. Ariane Sadaeras rallied our people and over twenty years of war she drove the Kar’zun back further and further until they were reduced to a single fortress in the mountains. And there the battle was fought, the final battle.”

Anya seemed taken by the story. Even if she was more than a little cynical about her people and especially her history she clearly admired Ariane. It would be heartless of Siobhan to ever break that admiration, so she would be wise not to.

“Anyway, the Sarzmigar was their weapon. It outreaches the Sarix and can impart considerable force. As for lightsabres, try it against yours. The force containment field can stand up to lightsabres easily, but doesn’t have the cutting power and doesn’t have the weightlessness either.”

They clashed blades lightly. These were lethal weapons after all.

“The head and the top of the shaft is protected by the field so you can’t just chop the blade off.”

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

@[member="Anya Venari"]

Siobhan was not a particularly nice person. However, she was not heartless...just rash and extremely self-absorbed. So she would not try and break Anya's positive view of the Queen. Anya was one of her dearest friends and Siobhan did care about her. Moreover, would Siobhan herself really have behaved any differently than Ariane if put in the same position? She could be quite ruthless as well after all and would not abide rivals.

"Sounds like one hell of a woman, Anya," Siobhan said warmly as Anya finished her tale, then listened as she elaborated on the weapon. Igniting her blue lightsabre the blades clashed, lightly though, as it was not a fight and weapons were not something to play with. At least not this sort of weapon!

"Intricate. Should come in handy if the Angelii face sabre-wielders. You never know these days, plenty of rogues Sith about, not to mention Jedi zealots. The polearm seems a bit long and heavy for duelling though," Siobhan commented. Officially the Galaxy was at 'peace' now, something she felt deeply cynical about. "For how long does the power field hold?"

 

[Daera Varias]

@[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

“The power field can stay active for 3 hours before needing recharging or replacement. As a weapon it’s got its downsides, but it also has its advantages. Low power?” she asked Siobhan, turning down her weapon as well.

Siobhan was a better duellist with a lightsabre, but Anya was experienced with the Sarzmigar, using the polearm to keep Siobhan at distance so she couldn’t get close enough to strike.
“See, the weight of the weapon is quite easy to bear like this, and whilst your enemy is trying to get past you, you can do…this….”
She suddenly advanced like a pikeman, pushing back at Siobhan, and herding her around. Siobhan could defend herself, but would find it hard to get ‘inside’ the pike.

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

@[member="Anya Venari"]

While better than Anya, Siobhan was not really that great a duellist. Partly because her writer did not like writing them - or was simply not that good, but of course this one would never admit not being great at everything! Crushing people with your mind seemed far more therapeutic really.

Regardless Siobhan was initially pushed back as the pike weapon came at her, though she quickly settled into a defensive stance, much as that went against her nature. Feigning retreat her lightsabre parried the blows, her moves strong and aggressive blows as opposed to the smooth, economic parries of the Resilience Form a certain badass bookworm favoured, then channelling her defence into attack she came at Anya, trying to evade the polearm so that her friend could not exploit its range or simply drive the Eldorai back through sheer force and superior strength.

 

[Daera Varias]

Anya pulled back, raising the Sarzmigar up. "In the old days we would work in pairs. One would have a Sarix and Taegis, the other a Sarzmigar. The plan was to have the one with the shield engage the enemy whilst the pike kept them pinned down and distracted. That took a lot of effort and coordination though. So in the end we combined the two."
She called on her Sciia and a Taegis sped to her hand. She buckled slightly under the weight, then recovered. Taking a new grip on the Sarzmigar, she faced Siobhan with halberd and shield.
"Now, like this I have some pretty important advantages." They moved forward and clashed again. "I have the length of the spear blade and the shield for protection. It's a very powerful defensive tactic. Unless you come from the side or knock me over with something, it's very hard to get in. However...I can only really use the point rather than the blade now. And whilst you can't get in, it's hard for me to get out! So shield warriors, as this configuration is called, are used primarily of the defensive rather than the offensive."

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

@[member="Anya Venari"]

In other words this configuration pretty much allowed the Angelii to function like Space Hoplites. On another note one wondered what had happened to the Kar'zun after the war was over. After all, one no longer heard about any existing on Kaeshana. Presumably that was because they had all been wiped out, but the Goddess had willed it so it was a righteous act and not genocide! To kill an infidel was not a sin, it was the path to the Goddess' love. Regardless, neither of our lovely heroines were interested in the application of deconstructionist theory.

After all, Siobhan was totally the type to blind a couple thousand Sith POWs and send them back to their lord. Regardless their weapons clashed again a few times, testing. Siobhan had superior strength, both natural and force-fuelled, but with her shield and polearm Anya could put up a strong defence, though her flexibility was limited, even as Siobhan came clashing at her from the flank, driving her back, though they seemed stalemated.

"So what happened to what was left of the Kar'zun after Ariana defeated them? You don't exactly see any around on Kaeshana anymore," Siobhan said after there was a break in the practice spar.

 

[Daera Varias]

Anya put the shield down and massaged her arm and shoulder. She clearly wasn't used to hauling around such a heavy shield. Yet another downside of the Sarzmigar and shield combo.
"After the war the Queen destroyed most of the gear of the survivors, sparing only a few Sarzmigar to copy. The Kar'zun were broken up into small groups and scattered across Kaeshana in reservations. Over time they dwindled away. There's still a few million, but they will likely go extinct eventually. The restrictions on them have been mostly lifted, but I'm not proud of what happened. It's essentially genocide, cultural if not literal."
Anya sighed. "It was necessary, to end a thousand years of war. It doesn't mean I'm happy about it though."

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

@[member="Anya Venari"]

"In other words, kept down for and doomed for a war that happened ages ago. Figure they were convenient scapegoats when the Matriarchy was in a crisis," Siobhan spoke with a sigh. "Well, guess they would not have been kinder to you, doesn't make it better, As Anya admitted it pretty much amounted to genocide, though to her credit she was honest about it. This one is not sure whether this thread takes place before or after Siobhan's cameo on Manaan, but if the gentle reader were to see Siobhan as being a bit hypocritical, then they would not be off the mark. Of course, this had happened millennia ago, it could not be changed.

At the same time, Siobhan had not let anything get in her way when fighting the Bando Gora. She would have stopped at nothing to wipe them out with all the might of the Protectorate. Of course, they were a cult, not a species, but she was most assuredly not a good person. "From what I heard- yes, I know how surprising that is - the Republic and the Jedi tried to wipe out the Sith species on Korriban and Ziost after the Great Hyperspace War, ordered by Chancellor Pultimo. Only the escaped to Dromund Kaas, Jedi later edited it out of the history books. Sometimes part of me can't help but think...," she trailed off, not wanting to pursue that line of thought further.

"Well, back to the weapons. There anything else you have for me?"

 

[Daera Varias]

Anya sighed. "It's an understandable, natural response to threat. I would have likely done the same thing in Ariane's place. It might not make it right, but it does make it the logical choice. Ah, I don't know...."

Seemingly happy with being able to focus elsewhere, Anya held up the Sarzmigar and deactivated the power field from the top. "It won't cut like a lightsabre, but it will hack someone in half with enough force."

She laid it down and went to a container where a suit of Angelii armour was stored. "You've seen this before. It's called the Cusaeris. Unlike the shield it's not resistant to lightsabres or even blasters head on. It is useful because it's sealed and provides good temprature and ballistic protection."

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

@[member="Anya Venari"]

"I know. I would've done anything to wipe out the Bando Gora. War's not about who's right, it's about who's left," Siobhan said, though given her earlier reaction to Phylis on Korriban she felt like a bit of a hypocrite, though unlike the Jedi she never claimed righteousness. But she was happy to focus on something else, namely on the shiny equipment Anya had to show her.

She walked over and examined the suit of armour Anya presented her. It was ornate and coloured red - bit too ornate for Siobhan's tastes, but she knew it was for more than just show. "I see. That's good. Figure Firemane can produce an updated suit of armour for tougher combat situations, something better against blasters. Hell, bolters are proliferating as well these days." She had her suspicions about how that had happened.

 

[Daera Varias]

Anya ran her hand over the armour fondly. "When I was a little girl mother got me a very small suit. I used to wander around in it and all the guards would salute me as 'Little Exarch'. Those were good days."

She looked to Siobhan. "But yes, a new set would be good. Some way of resisting blaster bolts at the least would be good. We never had to deal with those here before the outsiders came. But the armour itself is very versatile. See here how it can seal up and it has an aircannister here to provide emergency air to the wearer. The other good thing about his armour is that it has an integrated cooling/heating system in it. As you know we Eldorai can be severely weakened by excesses in temperature."

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

@[member="Anya Venari"]

Siobhan smiled. "My little Exarch. You'd look so cute in a suit of armour, you know. You can wear one any time you want at book club," she said, looking completely innocent. After all, book club was the greatest thing ever! The poetry was so vivid and emotionally engaging. It was a great way to relax after the rigours of duty.

 

[Daera Varias]

@[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]
Anya gave her a look. "This is real armour, not the outfits some of your 'secretaries' wear at night," she said, then laughed.

"Anyway, that's the Cusaeris. A fine piece of armour for the most part. With your help we might make it even better."

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

@[member="Anya Venari"]

Siobhan gave Anya's shoulder a squeeze and wrapped an arm around her waist. "Yeah, it is shiny and soon it'll be even shinier. Well, that was fun, thanks for the show. Why don't we go find something else to do, Highness?" she winked at the Princess, gently guiding her out of the chamber so that they could discuss...poetry. Or practice crochet.