Private Family Bonding: Cameron

[The Battalion]

Wearing: Warrior's Skin

Consort's Ring

Armed with: Elaine Tear's Lightsaber (Corrupted)

Citizen Energy Sword

Objective: Explore the Enclave of Radam

The Battalion bashed her saber violently against the Ashlan Crusader, their blades crackling through the air as they met again and again, battling down the Corridor of the Ancient Temple.
He was fast, powerful, a user of Djem So, clad like so many of the crusaders in white a gold. A symbol of hope. Purity.

A symbol of a Past The Battalion openly derided. Save for a name. A name that sounded wonderful leaving the lips of Laertia.

As The Battalion gracefully twisted and slid away from fast, frenzied chops, stabs and slices, parrying seemingly without effort his powerful attacks that would have crushed an ordinary Makashi User, she felt her bloodlust building, and her mind was again brought to what her stepson Percival had told her: That all the Cult had done was strip away the pretense.

She had been thinking more and more about what Percival said. About what Laertia had said, that she only approved of what the Cult had done to her because she was rewritten to approve it.

The Crusader lunged with his blue blade, and The Battalion parried again side stepping and conducting an expert lunge of her own spinning at the last second to evade his attempt to decapitate her.

He backed off but she pressed the attack swiping and slashing in focused, elegant cuts that the Crusader struggled to keep up with.

She had come to this world within Eternal Empire space, at its very edge to investigate rumors of a hidden, abandoned Jedi Enclave here. Apparently she had struck pay dirt in this desert world...there was a hidden enclave here, which she fully intended to investigate. But she hadn't anticipated running into a Crusader. Where there is smoke there is fire.

The Jedi's defense at last gave out and The Battalion felt a rush of pleasure as she felt his life cut short as his head fell from his shoulders.

The Battalion stepped over the corpse, and into this old, dusty, dead Enclave proper. Of all Laertia's children, Cameron Crownwraithe was the only one who was adopted, and the one The Battalion had had the least chance to interact with. So on her own initiative, the Wicked Stepmother had asked Cameron to come with her to explore. Because if they were going to be this Family, it wouldn't do to have distance. The Battalion had gone to the perimeter of the Enclave first, having sensed the Powerful Jedi just as he had also sensed her. To avoid risking her step daughter more than necessary, she had gone first to kill him...

The Battalion pulled out her Comlink. It was time to get Cameron off the House Io Corvette about three hundred meters away.

"Cameron, I just ran into an Ashlan. If there is one there are at least a dozen more. Need you over here. No way we are avoiding a fight today."

 

[Cameron Crownwraithe]

Political Region: Eternal Empire Space
Location: Radam
Objective: Explore the Enclave of Radam
Tags: The Battalion

"Cameron, I just ran into an Ashlan. If there is one there are at least a dozen more. Need you over here. No way we are avoiding a fight today."

“Yes, finally! I’ll be right over, Consort!”

Zanshi blood ran hot with lust for war, bloodlust, and the raw, pulsating energies of the dark side and Cameron Crownwraithe was no exception, in spite of the fact that she had never once stepped on Shuiqui or even met an individual of her species. Her family was House Io before anything else, but of late, Cameron had become increasingly curious about her race and homeworld. Having taught herself some elements of traditional Zanshi martial arts, Cameron had increasingly taken to meditation and katas, exercises designed to keep the curse of the Red Eye in check. Beset with the desire to ultimately perfect her knowledge of Zanshi martial arts, Cameron hoped to one day visit the homeworld of her people.

However, at present, she intended to bathe in rivers of Jedi blood.

The speedster was at the Consort’s side in a flash of motion and a crack-boom of disturbed air. Briefly taking in the abandoned Enclave, an expression of disgust colored her features as her eyes came over a statue of some old, long-dead Master. She felt an impulse to decapitate the statue, but unwilling to sink to such a juvenile manner of vandalism, the speedster decided that she would satisfy her desire to see the figure desecrated in a different way.

Engaging a heavily-armored Ashlan Jedi as he sprinted out from the Enclave, Cameron let loose an earsplitting, bloodthirsty war cry as her Twin Trajectories were unleashed in a blinding flurry against the Knight, forcing the man to call on the Force to augment his speed to match Cameron’s own. However, the speedster’s style of relentless, wild offense gave the Knight little room to go on the offensive, forcing him to harness the tight, economical motions of Soresu to endure…

Until he found an opening.

The Knight’s foot came out to trip the speedster as she moved to his flanks, sending Cameron sliding across the ground, which she broke by digging her blades into the stone. However, the Knight was on her by the time she had her blades up, his strikes a mix of Shien’s counterattacks, laced with the aggression of Ataru. His blade grazed Cameron across her side, though the phrik armorweave held up to the strike, mitigating the blow as Cameron moved to counter, asserting her advantage in speed and power over the Knight. Soon, the Twin Trajectories moved in a whirlwind of motion, along with the speedster herself. Sidestepping his thrust, Cameron bounced off the wall surrounding the Enclave in a blur of motion, returning to deliver a running, supersonic kick that sent the Knight flying back against the statue, his chest caved in from the blow. Then, Cameron finished him off with a savage series of slashes, bisecting the Knight across all three anatomical planes in nigh-imperceptible flashes of deadly motion, until his armored form was naught but mincemeat, shattered metal, spilled blood, and viscera, much of which coated the lower half of the old statue.

A healthy, predatory glow bathing her features in the wake of the kill, Cameron glanced towards her stepmother, unconsciously seeking her approval.

Spoiler: Loadout

• FAE/A-09 “Hayai” Energized Bodysuit
  
  • Gauntlets
    
    • Wide-Beam Sonic Stunner - L
    • FAE/M-02 Energized Gauntlet Vibroblade - R
  • Energy Shield
    
    • Phase III “Force Avenger” Energy Shield
  • Utility
    
    • Supernal Infusion
    • Spirit Anchor
• Twin Trajectories
• Erlang Spear
• Hekler'Kok SMG-01

 

[The Battalion]

The Battalion smiled as Cameron Crownwraithe barreled in like a bag out of hell. The Battalion found herself instantly liking Cameron's style and approach, and was content to observe and follow, only willing to intervene if necessary.

The Battalion was quite honestly delighted by Cameron's bloody display as she dueled the Ashlan. Xiphos often resorted to the same carnage without shame, but Xiphos had a ton more baggage over it than Cameron... Cameron reveled in it...

The Battalion made notes. She made mistakes, certainly, relied too much on her speed but compensated in the clutch for a knack at improv, reducing her opponent to chunky salsa, defiling the statue of a Jedi.

The Battalion smiled and it was genuine.

"Excellent, Cameron! You're improving. Still a bit in a rush, but I was the same way starting out. The Dark Side is strong in you."

The Battalion didn't say the quiet part out loud, which was that Cammy had all the makings of a superb Brain Demon Cultist.

"I agree, said a playful, but familiar feminine rasp from behind The Battalion.

She turned, and beheld The Amalgam leaning against a wall in her usual flesh colored Catsuit with white gloves and boots. Next to her was a strange looking Warrior The Battalion hadn't seen before. His face was completely covered by the mask of an Atrisian Oni, gold in color, like the highlights of otherwise pitch black armor.

"Amy..." The Battalion noted. "What brings you here?"

"Normally my answer would be to casually troll and such but today is different. Julia just finished with the training of the first batch of an elite cadre of warriors and I was asked to evaluate their performance. Besides, this place here is special to me...are you not curious as to how Xiphos dished out the coordinates to this place so easily?"

The Battalion's hands went to her hips. "I admit, I had wondered how she got these coordinates so easy. What gives? Why is is this place so special?"

"Because I've been here before with her..." The Amalgam answered. "Back when Julia was still just my Apprentice. There's a rather juicy loose end I have been asked to assist you in tying up...and it's deeeeep within this place."

The Amalgam glanced at Cameron. "Hi Cameron. I see you've been picking up your Mother's Rip and Tear habits.

The black Armored Warrior vanished in a swirl of smoke, somehow teleporting next to Cameron, where he bowed.

"My name is Tenzin, of The Black Knights of Io. It is an honor to fight alongside my instructor's daughter."

 

[Cameron Crownwraithe]

Political Region: Eternal Empire Space
Location: Radam
Objective: Explore the Enclave of Radam
Tags: The Battalion

"Excellent, Cameron! You're improving. Still a bit in a rush, by I was the same way starting out. The Dark Side is strong in you."

“Thank you, Stepmother!” Cameron said, a pleased smile coming over her features at the compliment from someone she was beginning to respect. Unfortunately, that soft, satisfied smile shifted into the mirage of a frown upon hearing the voice of the Amalgam, the Wicked Witch of House Io, who’s presence Cameron could only tolerate. Nevertheless, Cameron cleared her annoyance from her visage and turned to look at the catsuit-clad Witch, who wore an Oni mask that seemed to mock the speedster's veiled disgust with its trollish glare.

“Amalgam.” Cameron answered the Witch in acknowledgement, with a forced animation in her words. “And yes, I am one of her daughters, after all.” The speedster continued at the Amalgam’s comment regarding her habits. “She trains me with Meleena.” She added.

Her mood was considerably dampened by the Amalgam’s arrival, but Cameron nevertheless put herself back together upon seeing the Black Knights. They did not deserve to see her grumpy or in a bad mood. Cameron was a prominent figure in House Io, akin to a princess, in the sense she was one of her mother’s closest daughters. Naturally, that role came with publicity, with its obligations and privileges. As such, many of the citizens looked up to her, perhaps even some within the Black Knights, who were among House Io’s most elite, dangerous warriors.

“The honor is mine, Tenzin.” Cameron said, with a soft smile. “I hear good things about your Knights, and you in particular, Tenzin.” The speedster continued. Indeed, of the Black Knights, it was no secret that Tenzin was foremost among them as a swordsman. Had he been put against that Ashlan Knight, he might have finished him faster than Cameron.

“I am eager to see your skills in action, brother. I could learn something.” The speedster added in a playful, yet challenging tone.

Spoiler: Loadout

• FAE/A-09 “Hayai” Energized Bodysuit
  
  • Gauntlets
    
    • Wide-Beam Sonic Stunner - L
    • FAE/M-02 Energized Gauntlet Vibroblade - R
  • Energy Shield
    
    • Phase III “Force Avenger” Energy Shield
  • Utility
    
    • Supernal Infusion
    • Spirit Anchor
• Twin Trajectories
• Erlang Spear
• Hekler'Kok SMG-01

 

[The Battalion]

The Black Knight nodded, rose, and withdrew his Katana. Other Black Knights seemingly melted out of the shadows in the derelict enclave.

"How the feth did you do that?" The Battalion asked.

"We're taught to be varying levels of Hardcore, Consort." Tenzin answered plainly, as though this clearly explained a great deal. Judging by the look of pure WTF on The Battalion's face (and also somewhat on The Amalgam's) it clearly hadn't.

Tensing turned to the other Black Knights, similarly armored as he was.

"Scout. Kill whatever holds weapons." he ordered coldly.

The other Knights bowed and melted into the shadows.

"Well..." The Amalgam said jovially, slinking down a stone staircase, "I believe the archives room is where we should start."

"What the hell are we starting, Amy?" The Battalion asked

"There is a machine here. A machine powered by The Kolda-Bratha Calculus..." The Amalgam answered as she entered the dusty archives, whose shelves stretched high over them.

"A marvelous machine. I'm not surprised The Ashlan's want it. Imagine if they exposed a Dark Side user to it..." she added. "Me and Laertia encountered it during her second year as my student."

The Amalgam stopped by a restored console The Ashlan's had been working on, quickly hacking it's security.

"Let's see... bringing up old ass files takes awhile..." The Amalgam muttered before smiling as she typed rapidly.

"Ah. There."

The holoprojection flashed into existence in the middle of the Archives, depicting a sixteen year old Laertia in her spiky black biker clothes, accompanied by a purple skinned, muscular Twi'lek woman in a white catsuit.

"Ursy, I don'tz unduhstanndz wut maykes duh maasheen so speshulz..." Laertia said to her master in the recording, her youthful voice laced with her speech impediment as she circled a strange, grandfather clock type device made mostly of glass, crystal and a few discreet Alchemized mechanical parts.

The Battalion watched and listened in fascination. There were very few recordings of Laertia's voice from before she had made herself known on Dantooine.

Even the body language was different. The teenage Laertia didn't carry herself with the same authority, the same grace her adult self did. She awkwardly shuffled about as her Master slinked around the Machine.

"It's a Machine of Reversals, young Padawan..." 'Ursula Sandraven' said in the recording with a smooth professional tone, completely the opposite of the mocking, trollish undercurrent that was normally in The Amalgam's voice, a beautiful face that lacked the malicious insanity of the Amalgam's dead purple gaze...at least, on the surface...

"Wellz, wut'z itt dooz?" Laertia asked, hand reaching out to touch it, only to have her arm firmly, but not harshly caught by 'Ursula'.

"Don't..." she warned..."You could trigger it..."

The holoprojection flickered out, replaced by a message.

FILE CORRUPTED.

The Amalgam turned to The Battalion.

"I hid the codes to the chamber we sealed it in among these shelves. Cameron, would you do your A-Train bit and look for anything out of place in these diaries. You're looking for circled letters and numbers."

"How come you don't remember?" The Battalion questioned, eyeing her suspiciously.

"It's been a while..." The Amalgam said in an irritated manner. "Even I forget chit from back then. Look, if The Ashlan's get their hands on it, they could brainwash the lot of us. They could brainwash Xiphos."

The Battalion shrugged, turning to Cameron Crownwraithe .

"Would you please search the shelves?"

"Look for skill books! They raise your stats by a point!" The Amalgam gushed enthusiastically.

 

[Cameron Crownwraithe]

Political Region: Eternal Empire Space
Location: Radam
Objective: Explore the Enclave of Radam
Tags: The Battalion

Without hesitation or lack of confidence, Tenzin put his cards on the table.

Cameron was immediately wowed by the quasi-magical, illusory display as the other Black Knights seemingly emerged from thin air, in such a manner that it made the speedster doubt the fidelity of her senses. Taking in the Knights, Cameron saw a few wielding energy crossbows and rail cyclers, trained Sharpshooters. Then, there were the Shinobi, who’s main weapons were vibro stars, kusarigama, short blades, or other types of exotic weaponry. Finally, those clad in the heaviest armor wielded katanas, naginatas, shikomizue, and double-bladed swords. They were likely the shock troops, melee specialists of the Black Knights.

All of them were deadly.

Tenzin did not stay to show off. After he delivered his orders, the Black Knights melted back into the shadows. With a short sigh, Cameron turned to follow after her stepmother, moving further into the depths of the temple in the process, as she listened to the conversation between the two Witches.

“What is the Kolda-Bratha Calculus?” Cameron cut in, a mixture of curiosity and worry on her features. “Is it like a magical power source, or…” Stopping as the Amalgam went to work on a console, the speedster waited semi-patiently for the Witch to get it working, hoping that it might offer an answer to her question.

She did not anticipate that it would only elicit more.

The holoprojection manifested before her eyes in a flash of color. Her attention was immediately drawn to the display, wonder, then confusion coloring her features as she watched the recording.

That wasn’t Mother, was it?

Then, almost as quickly as it started, the recording was over, leaving Cameron speechless for a few short moments.

“Consort, that was…was that real? Is that really Mother or just a fabricated recording? Amalgam, are you trolling us again?!” She spoke, her tone initially one of disbelief, before shifting towards anger.

In her heart, the speedster knew the answer, but she wasn’t ready to believe it.

Spoiler: Loadout

• FAE/A-09 “Hayai” Energized Bodysuit
  
  • Gauntlets
    
    • Wide-Beam Sonic Stunner - L
    • FAE/M-02 Energized Gauntlet Vibroblade - R
  • Energy Shield
    
    • Phase III “Force Avenger” Energy Shield
  • Utility
    
    • Supernal Infusion
    • Spirit Anchor
• Twin Trajectories
• Erlang Spear
• Hekler'Kok SMG-01

 

[The Battalion]

"Nope, hundred percent, not trolling..." The Amalgam said to Cameron Crownwraithe . "I suspect they were trying to recover any and all security footage. They must have run into the booby traps we left, and tried to retrace our steps..."

"The Kolda-Bratha Calculus is a magical math formula, mostly outside of our universe for the most part, that controls aspects of Time. Only small fragments of it exist in this reality but they are incredibly powerful when discovered. The Cult of The Brain Demon arguably wouldn't be what it is today without it." The Battalion explained to Cameron.

"Me and Julia discovered a fragment within the machine years ago. We were unable to destroy the device, so we tried to hide it away." The Amalgam added."

The Battalion turned to her, folding her arms.

"What does it do, Amy?"

The Amalgam grinned that irritating Troll grin that The Battalion was starting to *really" get on her nerves. Gods this woman had messed Julia up so badly--

The Battalion caught herself having a moment of possessiveness. With a bit of a shock, whatever was left of Elaine Tear (along with all the Witch souls lashed to her Corrupted spirit, due to not being truly independent of the main host) found herself angry with Amy for all she had put Julia through. And angrier that in spite of everything, Julia still loved this Monster.

The Battalion didn't understand what had changed. The Amalgam was her superior in the Cult. At one time, she had been completely on board with Amy's scheme...but that was when Julia had been just another misguided soul to her. The fact she had a past with Julia's family had been almost incidental.

But now she was not just The Battalion, a senior Witch and Combat Specialist in the Cult. She was the Consort of House Io, and not just she, but Amy as well, had allowed both themselves and the cult to be sucked into it's sphere of influence.

The Battalion wanted Julia...and the task of being a Mother...to herself...

She didn't understand how the desire had gotten so intense...maybe it was her Force Bond to Julia. Maybe it was Julia making her question just how much her current opinions on The Dark Side were truly her own. Regardless, they couldn't afford to play twenty questions.

"Wellllllll..." The Amalgam trailed. "The device reverts Sith or Jedi back to a prior state from before they embraced their current state of mind. Think. They could use it to revert Xiphos back to her pre Sith self. And if you knew anything about her pre Sith self, you would know she would be in no way emotionally capable of the strain of leading the House. They could use to change you, or even me."

The Battalion couldn't hide the 'Oh $#!&' look on her face. She turned to Cameron.

"Search the shelves. We need the codes. This is a direct threat to the House. A direct threat to your Mother."