Ex Umbra

[Darth Ophidia]

Ex Umbra​

Rattatak had not been her home for decades, yet there were times when the arrid world called her back into its wind-carved embrace. The cruelty of its inhabitants and the constantly shifting political climate made revolution the only constant. Being back with her feet on the cold, red, rock, walking under the cruel sun, reminded her of how the galaxy too changed.

Yet

Much like Rattatak there was a constant in the chaos: War and cruelty were mere tools in its ascension. The one true constant was peace is a lie, there is only passion.

This time, as part of her visit, Darth Ophidia had found whiff of one of the latest warlords: A young woman who fought her way from the slave pits and into a seat of power. An alliance of warlords was colluding against her, seeking to split the land between them, and the word had spread to her contacts. Normally, she would not bat an eye at such trivialities, but a rumour had caught her attention.

This one had something special about her.

She had moved through the underworld and found herself in a recuperating warzone, one preparing for conflict, for change, and the rise of a new warlord. Ophidia had seen this before, and almost every outcome that could spur it. Once upon a time, she had been like the children subtly changing the colours of the higher dwellings to signal the new ascension.

Once upon a time, she had dreamt that they would hang her colours from the balconies and form up behind her as she united the twelve under one banner. However, such callings were far below her now. There were greater things to achieve in the name of the Sith, and this perpetual warzone had become her scouting ground for new talent rather than the queendom she rule.

The queen of shadows came, saw, and...

[member="Ivory"]

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Darth Ophidia"]

Her council had counseled against it.

Ivory elected to ignore them.

The parade running through the capital of the continent was a sign of strenght. If the first thing she did after victory... Is hide? Crawl under her bed in the palace? She'd be practically inviting rebellion. No. The people needed to see her.

See the scars. The sword. See the bloody smile that ripped their ruler down.

It had started an hour ago. Honestly, Iv was getting tired of standing there. But it was... quite the sight. The people were cheering. Not for her, she wasn't stupid. But for the fact that the storehouses had been opened for the first time in years.

Most of them would see food today.

More food than they had dared to hope for.

Something was itching at her though. A spot between her shoulderblades. "Make sure the next street is secure." She mumbled to one of her guards.

Guards. Snort. Put a pit fighter in an uniform and it didn't make a soldier.

But this is what she had for now.

 

[Darth Ophidia]

A dorax dog, no matter how dressed and leashed, would never be a kath hound. While the dorax was known for its ferocity, just like the warriors of the pit, they were not guards like the kath. Guarding and fighting were two very different roles, demanding very different ways of fighting, and an entirely different subset of skills compared to that acquired by these gladiators.

They prised their fights too much; they wanted to be seen and celebrated.

"Yes boss"

Ophidia met his eyes as he looked down the street, but all he saw was an elderly rattataki walking down a back ally, clad in rags, clutching a loaf of dried bread, smiling and quaking as she hobbled, one-legged down the side-street. A serpent in disguise.

"Best get home, gram. Streets ain't safe yet."

A hand reached out, gentle but firm, to touch the old woman's shoulder and guide her to the nearest hovel. However, the two of them froze as a chill spread through the air around them. There was a sudden rush, like the wind had passed him by, and there was silence. Out of the two of them, only one remained. Ragged cloak shifting into mercenary gear as the Pale sheathed the black dagger again. The 'guard's' body slumped off to the side, falling into a conveniently placed crate as Ophidia picked up his weapon and resumed his watch.

She knew not their exact locations, but she had heard through the vines that there would be snipers posted along the proposed route of the new conqueror's celebration. She expected there to be a bomb as well, based on rumours from smuggling rings. She had seen it before: A vehicle crashes into the course and explodes, stunning the progress and distracting the security, then a sniper takes the victim from another angle.

It smelled a little too familiar for her tastes.

So the Pale watched the preparations, now disguised as one of the "guards" on perimeter patrol.

[member="Ivory"]

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Darth Ophidia"]

She watched the crowd.

Soaking in the power that she had snatched. Grabbed hold of and refused to let go. She was aware that all of this was a risk, potentially one that could end her, before all of this could properly start. But that was the consequence of her power.

If you didn't show strength all the time?

They assumed you weak.

Even still, the itch between her shoulders did not fade. In fact? It grew stronger the closer they came to the next corner round. That street. Ivory wasn't sure what would happen. Snipers? Bomb? Ambush of metal? She didn't know. But something would. Had to. It was what Iv would have done in their place. "Be ready." Iv murmured towards the replaced guard. Her eyes wasn't on him though. Might have noticed the ever so slight discrepancies if she had been.

"Something... is coming."

It was that anticipation that might have tipped off Ophidia.

That this girl had the Force. Untrained, not even using it directly, but being led by it regardless. As the parade rounded the corner it happened. Too soon as it happened. An explosion rocking the streets several meters in front of them. The bomb had gone off too soon and suddenly everything was chaos.

There was a ringing noise in Ivory's ears.

But the girl didn't waste any time, shouting orders just as the snipers switched gears and started raining hellfire upon them.

One of the blaster shots just about missed her head, burning through her crown instead and singing her hair instead. It infuriated her. A snarl escaping her lips as she screamed: "KILL THEM ALL"

 

[Darth Ophidia]

[member="Ivory"]

Oh, she felt it alright.

Crash

It would seem her rumours had merit. Both in terms of the assassination attempt, and in the merits of this new warlord.

A wild exchange of blasterfire occurred. Ophidia directed her weapon at the assailants, but while she appeared to be going for the kill, she mostly gave cover fire and facilitated the killing blows of others. She was not there to assume the spotlight.

In the chaos, she also slipped closer to the warlord, using opponent fire as an excuse to move, duck, jump, climb. She got in front of Ivory and then pulled the string for the next step of her plot.

A blaster bolt seemingly crashed into her shoulder and knocked her back. Ophidia's hand reaching up as if to catch it. Her attire smouldered as she held her shoulder and gritted her teeth. She was laying at the warlord's feet.

Focus, quiet- An explosion in the distance - The detonator hidden in the hand of her wounded arm slipped into her pocket as she rolled over on her side and pushed herself up to a knee. The explosion expelled one of the sniper nests, showering broken stone down over the street below.

That would ease the pressure. it was the only nest she had planted explosions in, but also the most troublesome one. Hopefully, her aid went unnoticed.

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Darth Ophidia"]

She didn't hide.

Cower.

No, she was present and shouted over the top of her lungs. Making herself heard. Screaming her men into assault, ensuring they held and to know their Queen was still alive. Still a fething schutta too. It was frustrating though, because from here she couldn't join the fight. Oh, she had a blaster in the hand. Repeater. But letting it roar into distant snipers wasn't the same thing. No, not the same thing at all. Then something shifted- eyes widened as the world slowed down.

Iv could see the sniper bolt heading her way.

Hurrying fast like lightning.

Instinctively she knew she wasn't going to make it. It was going to take her out.... just like tha- one of her guards snapped in front, clipped him in the shoulder. Made him fall. She immediately crouched down, grabbing hold of his healthy shoulder and yanking him towards cover.

"Didn't take ya for a hero type, Dhan. Stay alive and your Queen will repay you for this." There was a sense of loyalty to those that were loyal. In the pit? You were all alone. But out here? These men followed her.

That meant something, didn't it?

 

[Darth Ophidia]

[member="Ivory"]

"Ohly if you stay alive, my queen"

She mimicked the tone of voice the guard had used when speaking to her.

As Ivory dragged Ophidia off to the side, she slipped something out of her sleeve. It was a small device made to be glued onto a person's body in order to later administer a stunning shock. Ophidia peeled off the lid with her thumb, revealing the adhesive, and touched Ivory's elbow in a subtle sign of gratitude, attempting to leave the little metal disk behind.

Ophidia reached back into her pocked with the hand of her wounded arm, all the while tending to the burn on her shoulder. She primed the trigger for the nearest device: The stun-device. She got to her feet, but kept crouched,

click

She pressed the trigger, seeking to stun the warlord in the middle of this urban warzone and spring to the capture.

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Darth Ophidia"]

"You know what they say, Dhan, the Red Queen is a tough schutta to kill."

Iv responded absently as she studied the battle from their, relatively, safe spot. It was chaos all around. But somehow... she couldn't be angry about it. Now that the initial surprise was over and the battle was raging all around them? Ivory was calm. The center of the storm. She knew they had this day already. Maybe... maybe if the explosion hadn't gone off prematurely it would have been different. Would have been different. But it had been too early and the snipers hadn't prepped for that.

They got lucky today.

But luck had always been with-

A spike of danger inside of her. She frowned, looking down and suddenly noticing the small disk attached to her elbow. "Wha-" That was when Ophidia triggered the disk. It shocked her good. Anyone else might have been immediately incapacitated.

Ivory screeched in pain, but she didn't go down.

Instead she went for the only person who had touched her- Dhan.

"Ya fethin traito-" A second charge burst through her body. This got her to one knee and still she came. "Gon' kill. y-" A third and that knocked her down.

Still she moved, shivering, trying to crawl towards the traitor. But... the battle was gone.... darkness came after.

 

[Darth Ophidia]

[member="Ivory"]

After Ivory accused her of treason, but before she delivered the final shock, Ophidia let the disguise fall. The clothes fell away like a pale green smoke as black and blue robes took over. Scars crept over the chalk skin as her eyes lit up with the fires of her internalised hate.

"Oh my dear."

She crouched down and picked up the unconscious body, pulling her out of the way by the hair before loading her up on her shoulders.

"You don't even know."

To vanish was as natural to Ophidia as breathing, and in that moment she stepped off the street and out of the eyes of the entire planet. She and her captive were like the shadows of the wind and the sound of a sun's stinging light: Excluded from perception. She carried Ivory to a place she knew was safe, somewhere she had ensured remained untouched by the warlords and the governors.

She loaded Ivory onto a circular couch and poured herself two cups of cold, savoury water.

"Don't get up too quickly, you will get dizzy and fall over."

The room they occupied was spartan to say the least: Four bare walls, an uneven ceiling and a floor that slanted towards a rusted, central drain. There were some crates off to the side, and a bed behind a curtain barely visible in the shaded interior. A pair of clouded windows let natural light in, but no visibility out.

Darth Ophidia stood with her back turned, facing a table with the water bottle and two cups. Her form was draped in layers of tattered, black cloth. Her hood was lowered, hanging down her back and revealing the dark lichtenberg scars that crept up her neck and grasped at her skull. She could also see the black tattoos, traditional Rattataki markings that continued on her crown, ears, cheeks and throat.

"After all this, I would hate to see you break your neck."

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Darth Ophidia"]

The last thing, burned into her retina, was the melting of a face.

Into a different face.

Rattataki.

The next moments (minutes, hours?) were flurried and vague. Until the stun wore off. Then suddenly everything crystallized. Ivory could hear the voice of her kidnapper, but in truth... it didn't matter. Didn't matter what she said, didn't matter that she seemed unarmed. Didn't matter where she was. Nothing mattered. It all froze up between two points. The distance between her hand and the hidden shiv she palmed within a moment's notice. If she hadn't been enraged?

Iv might have considered it.

Not stripped, not searched, not bound. Her back to her. These weren't the signs of expertise or mastery. It was sloppy... or it was utmost confidence.

In that moment Ivory didn't speak. No. She just flung the blade at her exposed back, immediately launching over the table at the kidnapper's back. Even if the knife would miss (doubtfully) it would be immediately followed up by Iv kicking her feet from under her.

The bout of dizziness that hit her right after was pushed down roughly. It still made her lose valuable micro-seconds. Three breaths lost just to catch her balance.

 

[Darth Ophidia]

[member="Ivory"]

Oh, it was all intentional.

Not searching her; not binding or gagging her; turning her back on her when she knew the girl came to.

Of course, the last part was the piece that set the scene: Bait.

As the blade was thrown, Ophidia did not appear to move. Yet, it clattered against the wall as she quickly ducked down. The black fabrics whipped around her form with the rapid movement. There was a smile creeping up over her purple lips as her ember eyes spotted where Ivory was headed, all thanks to the momentary delay of her dizziness.

However, Ophidia was not quick enough to jump away a second time, and she knew it. Instead, she put both hands forward and pushed to meet Ivory's momentum with her own power. She wanted to feel the strength of this woman, test every limit, mark her mettle.

And she was confident in her own superiority.

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Darth Ophidia"]

It was the clattering of the dagger on the floor that helped her.

Without that sound?

She would have continued her move without delay. Pause. Without a change in trajectory. With it? Well, the momentum was still carrying her towards Ophidia. But instead of trying to kick her feet from under her? She made a minuscule change at the end of her lunge. Swooping under her arms. Trying to crash into her stomach with her shoulder. If all went well... and that was far from being assured, Ophidia would be knocked over the table, hopefully tripping her up.

From there she'd bash that smug-arse face in.

Maybe cut her throat with her shiv.

Oooooh, there were so many possibilities.

 

[Darth Ophidia]

[member="Ivory"]

Had she had any less experience, then she would have felt the heavy thump of Ivory's shoulder in her abdomen. but as Ivory swept down, not with her feet, but in a tackle, Ophidia's plans too changed quickly.

As Ivory dived forward to push Ophidia into the table, she would find absolutely no resistance, but the brush of black fabric over her head, and the sharp slap of two hands below her lower back as the tall, lithe Sith Lord leap-frogged over her younger opponent. She used her hands to support herself and brought her legs out wide to simply jump over the tackle. And while it had pushed Ophidia to an uncomfortable space of having to adjust her actions, it appeared effortless and playful.

The smugness was palpable.

She wanted to test the young woman, after all. Pushing Ophidia to be flexible was a good first step. It was one of the traits she herself had employed against Darth Ferus as an acolyte in the One Sith. Yet, there were ways to go still.

As her feet touched the ground behind Ivory. She spun around and held her arms out to either side. One hand black, one hand chalk white.

"Surely you can do better than this, conqueror."

With a slip of her foot, she tossed the shiv from its position on the floor back to Ivory.

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Darth Ophidia"]

Her cheeks burned red.

Embarrassed and flushed.

Any lesser warrior would have allowed it to send her stumbling. Mentally speaking. But Ivory pushed those feelings down, to be examined later. As Iv stumbled into the wall, she bounced back, whirring around her own axis and snarling in frustration. It was clear that Ophidia was the better fighter. Faster. More experienced. But she didn't let that stop her. Couldn't do that. It was death either way, no? But right before she could launch herself into a second attack-

Ophidia started mocking her.

A growl escaped her way through her throat just as the shiv was shoved back to her, skidding across the floor.

"Feth you." Then the tip of her foot caught the shiv just as it bounced towards her. The slight shift of the angle send it into the air, rotating quickly. Ivory rotated with it. Dashing the edge of her foot against the pommel of the shiv.

Sending it right back at Ophidia- again she launched herself towards the Rattataki. Two balanced blades in hand. There was more caution in her launch now though. Awaiting the way Ophidia would dodge the shiv, before slicing into her trajectory.

 

[Darth Ophidia]

[member="Ivory"]

Anger - How exquisite.

She did not avoid the shiv. Rather, her hands darted back to her centre as her hips twisted. Her left hand caught the shiv between her thumb and index finger, holding it by the flat of the blade, and wrapping her right hand around the grip, turning a weapon thrown at her into a weapon in her hand.

Her movements seemed unstable for a moment, her right shoulder pulling back as if it struck her in the right side of the chest. She leaned right as if she were about to take a step there to catch herself from falling, but her momentum shifted as she took a step left. Every motion she made was like the rapid coiling of a serpent, as though her body was not restricted to normal flexibility. And the black cloak oscured her feet, her arms, her torso.

She stepped left, hiding the shiv in her hands as she ducked and weaved just a hair's width out of the way of Ivory's blades. She waited for the right moment, watching Ivory's movements and then a motion of her curled up hands.

The shiv darted out like a viper's fang, jabbing quickly at Ivory's arm. She sought to debilitate her.

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Darth Ophidia"]

Faster, more flexible, controlled.

Ivory realized she was outmatched in every distinction, but for one.

Just one.

Sheer tenacity to go down fighting. Ophidia was a master of death, a killer, she had decades of experience on her. But Ivory? She had to fight for every little scrap that had been hers in the pits. She had to go up against those stronger than her. Smarter than her. Better than her. She (almost) always had managed to come down on top. Because when you were the lame dog? You fought with every little thing in you. You accepted a wound just to scratch out a minor victory of your own.

This is what happened here. As Ophidia avoided the brunt of her slashes, she twisted to jab Ivory in the arm. Ivory's luck felt it coming... but the speed was too fast to avoid it. So, instead of trying to, she turned that into a quid pro... quo. Twisting her arm in kind- her blade would slash through Ophidia's arm at the same time as her own shiv jabbed into her forearm.

Maybe she managed to cut through tendons or something else crucial, maybe not.

But blood demanded blood.

The pain was blunted by her fury as she lashed out again, her one hand bleeding profusely and weakening, using her other to thrust her knife into Ophidia's leg.

 

[Darth Ophidia]

[member="Ivory"]

Quid Pro Quo

Ah, it reminded her of when she was a young lass. The blade dragged over her skin, drawing blood and even gashing the muscle. However, she twisted with it, mitigating the worst of the damage and maintaining function in her arm. She pulled back and left the shiv in Ivory's arm, poking through the arm to impede use of the wrist and fingers.

Ophidia's own arm bled from the upper arm, weakening her use of the tricep and bicep. The dark blood already trickled down to her fingers.

"Oh my, you nicked me." There was laughter in her words.

As Ivory came with her second slash, now at Ophidia's leg, she stepped that leg out of the way and pivoted to Ivory's outside line. Ophidia brought her wounded right hand up as if coming down with a new stab at Ivory's head, but that was merely a distraction. Her left hand snaked around from behind in a grab, going for a fistful of the young Rattataki's hair.

The smile on her face had only intensified, and the brutality of her motions only increased.

The Pale Assassin was having fun.

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Darth Ophidia"]

Something noticeably shifted the moment Ophidia snatched a bunch of her hair.

Her eyes went dead.

There was a soft whine scratching through her throat. It wasn't one of submission though. No. It was one of rage. Where the voice simply lost its ability to pronounce full words. This all happened within the span of a mere breath, then Ivory launched herself against Ophidia. Uncaring about the damage the Sith Lord could do to her. Her blades cutting against the Rattaki. A wordless scream on her lips, until she might recognize meaning. It was vague.

Screeched.

No touch.

There was one thing that Ivory had always been proud of. One thing that had been hers. In and out of the pit. Her hair. Hers.In the fighting pits, she had to reduce someone to gore only once. Before everyone realized that her hair was off-limits.

 

[Darth Ophidia]

[member="Ivory"]

She would not be the first to say there was something honest about anger, but when Darth Ophidia said honest, she was not talking about their state of mind. Rather, anger made one honest about one's own abilities. While it made one reckless, anger showed what true potential lingered beneath. Up until this point, Ivory had been good fun, perhaps someone she would recommend for another as apprentice, but nothing she would take for herself.

After touching her hair? Well, things changed.

The whirling storm of blades came quicker than expected, but not so quick that she could not react.

She pushed the first slash away from her throat, letting it slash through the outer layers of her clothes only to be stopped by the shell spider silk underneath. Another slash left a second gash on her right arm, on the outside. And two gashes on her lower left arm, but she did not relinquish her grip.

Instead, she kept on the outside of Ivory's movments, mitigating her ability to cut her, and twisted her hand to activate the trinket on her wrist and force a needle to protrude from her sleeve. Then, when Ivory came at her yet another time, she directed the needle at Ivory's neck. The moment it hit skin, it would inject a powerful nerve agent.

Meanwhile, Ophidia put up her right hand to intercept Ivory's attack and give her something to aim for.

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Darth Ophidia"]

The moment the nerve agent entered her system?

It dozed the roaring fire.

Turning it into a flame, flickering, alive, but no longer all-consuming. She tried to slash against Ophidia again... but the shiv slipped out of her numb fingers. Next turn round? Her knees gave out. The only thing that prevented her head to crash against the floor was the Sith's hold on her. Barely. That was not the most concerning part of it though. The worst part was realization she was still awake. Every little part of her was frozen now. Limb. It was impossible to move.

To speak.

Even breathing had jerked to a slow crawl.

The only thing that Ivory could do was stare. Daggers cutting vision into Ophidia's. There was murder in those eyes. The flame flickering. Promising. A slow death would come to Ophidia..... once she managed to move. Somewhere inside, behind and underneath that raging flame? She knew she was rightly karked.

This was the end.

But Ivory wasn't going to accept that. Not now, not here. She wouldn't show fear.