For it all was but a Dream

[Akio Diachi]

Her face was perfectly calm. Calm at last. There was no contortions of agony, no suffering in her once-glowing red eyes. The ever-present slick layer of sweat was gone from her perfect blue skin. If someone could see her now, they would have found it hard to believe the suffering she had gone through before.

Akio ran his hand along her sunken cheek. The fever had ravaged Dryzl's body and reduced her to this. If she hadn't spent so long searching for him, her immune system would have never been so badly damaged. If he wouldn't have been captured, she wouldn't have searched so long. If he wouldn't have ever met her--she would have never fallen in love with him.

"I would give it all up," he whispered taking a seat on the rickety stool by her bed, "if it meant that you never had to suffer like this again." he took her bony hand, caressing it, sadly, "I never should have let you stay with me. Here, in this place," he looked around at the slum they lived in, "this is no life for you, for anyone. If you weren't here you wouldn't have gotten sick. You would have been safe. You would have been where you belong, somewhere better than this."

He swallowed the lump in his throat. This hurt but he needed to say his final words to her. "I shouldn't have stopped killing, the money would have been enough to buy the medicine you needed. I should have killed, I knew I should have but I let my conscience get in the way of saving you," tears began to well up in his eye as Akio's voice trembled with every word, "I thought that the Force would reward us if I kept from killing. I thought that somehow it would save you if I didn't and it would give me the power to heal you but--"

He stopped, choked by tears. His free hand gripped the rusty metal bedframe until his cyan knuckles turned white. The pain inside augmented his strength through the Force and the rusty pole began to bend under his grip with every word, "I wasn't strong enough to save you. Not then, not this time. I never was, you were always saving me. You saved me from my past, from the bounty hunters, from the killing, from myself, from all of it. And I wasn't.... strong... enough...." his voice trailed off in a series of sobs.

Akio buried his face in his hands and let the tears flow out. His body shook with sobs as the pain radiated from him. She had slipped through his fingers a third time, this time forever and he knew it.

When there were no more tears left in him, he rose as steadily as he could. He looked at Dryzl's peaceful face one last time, giving her cheek a loving caress. He stored it in his mind for the days ahead, just like her last words.

"Goodbye, my love," he said at last.

His fists opened, both sending a jet of flames out through the Force. The worn wooden floor gave way to flames, rapidly ravaging the room around him. Akio watched as they licked up the walls, the salvaged furniture, creeping their way to the bed. He watched as they licked around her body, unable to touch it, even in its lifeless state. He pulled the protective ring from her finger, the Guardian of Tython he had given her so long ago. As the fire began to reduce her corpse to ash, the Chiss coldly turned away. He donned a dark cloak and pulled a bag over his shoulder carrying all he needed now, both untouched by the fires.

That life was over. Akio closed the door to his heart once more, like he had as a child. He was nothing then, and nothing he had become again.

Spoiler

Done per the request/permission of the Writer of [member="Erud'ryz'ladre"]

 

[Akio Diachi]

The city of Denon was buzzing with activity as usual. As the building burned, no one noticed him leave in the exodus of other patrons in the tenement house. As the fire department did their best to put out the flames no one noticed him leaving through a combination of classic stealth techniques and the Force's assistance. It was an unnatural fire that had super natural assistance, they would have an incredibly hard time putting it out--if they managed to at all before the place was ash. There was no need for it to stand anymore and suck more people into its dangerous, filthy walls. His steps were determined and fiery like his red eyes as the Chiss went deeper into the underworld. He came to a dingy club with the words "Rubba's Dive" sprawled across the top in gawdy neon letters. He sidestepped the bouncers and made his way into the filthy club.

There were beings everywhere loosing their minds in states of drugged and alcoholic pleasure. He could spot the plainclothes guards from a mile away as they tried to look natural. He weaved his way through the crowd to a throne room on which the Hutt they called Rubba sat like a king. Guards here were plentiful, well armed and wearing heavy armor. The revelry didn't stop here however, it only intensified.

The Chiss grabbed a patron by the hair, dragging them to the foot of Robba's throne.

"My lord," he said in a loud, clear voice, "I desire an audience with you."

The Hutt eyed him with a curious look, a guffaw rising in his belly, <<You think that taking hostages is the way to get me to do what you want? Everyone has to pay the protection moneys, it no matter what-->>

"This isn't a hostage," Akio cut him off. "I don't want you to rescind your tax." He paused, the music had stopped, all eyes were on him, the Hutt, and the trigger happy guards waiting for the order to fry him where he stood. Even the man he had dragged to the forefront had stopped struggling and shouting in protest. "This isn't a hostage, its a demonstration of what I can do."

Akio clenched his free hand. The head of his captive twisted sharply with a loud crack and fell to the ground lifeless. Everyone let out gasp, those around him took a safe step back. The guard around Robba trained their rifles on the Blue skinned killer. Akio extended both of his palms out ward, sending the men slamming against the walls with sharp cracks. Pained cries came from their strained voices at the unseen pressure as it slowly made their rib cages cave in under their bending durasteel chestplates.

"Your weapons are worthless against me," he said, releasing their lifeless husks. "I can go wherever I wish, do whatever I wish, and kill whoever I wish, no one can stop me. If I wanted you dead right now, everyone here would be pathetic in trying to stop me. What you really need to ask yourself is 'how much does he want for me to employ him?'"

The hutt let out a booming guffaw, <<I like this scum.>> his yellow eyes gleamed, seeing in Akio a new source of power and income, <<I never had a Jedi to hire before.>>

"I am no Jedi."

 

[Akio Diachi]

The dark cloak enshrouding him made Akio obscured his figure as he walked through the crowd. He was all but invisible as he approached the Namcorp building. It was really a cover; Namcorp was a criminal organization that had been smuggling spice into Denon for several decades, and in fact they had controlled the local market for longer than most had ever realized. The officials who had any ability to do anything about it were paid well enough to turn their eyes the other way.

As Akio made his way in the back door, he remembered Robba's instructions. They were clear: show no mercy. Leave no leadership to take the mantel back. The Chiss weaved his way through the shadows along the halls. He had studied blueprints Robba's forces had gotten for him. He knew where the cameras where and where to step to avoid them. He made it to the service elevator and stepped on, pressing the top floor. As the lift began to ascend he adjusted the leather glove on his hands. His red eyes were cold and unfeeling. A voice whispered in the back of his mind how wrong this was but he silenced it by gritting his teeth. They way to the light felt too much like Dryzl for him to want to be there again.

The doors opened and he stepped out, throwing quills ready. A host of guards stood outside the doors of the conference room. When he stepped into view they instantly reached into their expensive Alderaani suits for their concealed weapons. With a flick of his wrists the Chiss sent a flurry of throwing quills a them. Guided by the Force the six weapons tore through their throats, hearts, and dropped the men's bodies on the ground. Pools of blood began to gather around their corpses as Akio used the Force to push the door in. It clattered to the ground with a loud clash. The drug lords within watched in fear as he stepped through the threshold.

"Who--who are you, what do you want?" the leader at the head of the table demanded. Akio could feel the fear welling up in the room.

"My name is Akio, and I come with a message for you from Robba the Hutt," he looked at them with a cold steady gaze, "'You should have taken the offer.'"

Two of the men bolted for the side exits, With a flick of his hand, Akio tossed them through the plasteel window like rag dolls--down 46 stories. A third reached for his holdout blaster concealed in his pinstripe jacket. Akio ended him by using the Force to lodge a pen in his throat. The last two, the head of the department and another regional cronnie were the only two left. The former stood proud and defiant till the end, the latter was frozen in fear.

"I am sure we can work something out, everything is for sale, name your price," the leader said, his voice sputtering forced confidence and calm as Akio slowly walked close to the two of them.

"I am not doing this for the money," Akio's Wakizashi flashed, cleaving the head off the seated cronnie in a clean, effortless strike. His eyes never left the leader as he came ever closer.

"Revenge, is that it? We can fix it, I can make it better, anything you want," the leader continued, horror filling him.

The Chiss stopped right in front of the man. His red eyes stared with sternness in the man's eyes, "I do it because I am a killer. Nothing more."

With clean efficiency, the tip of his blade slid across the man's throat, just deep enough to puncture his Cardiod arteries and windpipe. As the dying man fell to his knees, Akio summoned his weapons to him and replaced them in their sheathes. And in a moment, he was gone.

 

[Akio Diachi]

The moment Akio stepped into his apartment building he knew that something was wrong. There was something in the air that was just off and he could feel it. When he got onto the floor of his new penthouse apartment the Chiss could sense the presence in his quarters. It felt familiar but he could just not quite place it. They were waiting for him, he could feel it, and they were strong, able--someone who had the same skills he had from days long gone.

When the Chiss stepped into his penthouse he didn't remove his cloak as usual. He followed the feeling of the presence to the kitchen, a trio of throwing quills prepared in the palm of his had.

"Relax," said the familiar face of Kuroi as Akio crossed into the room. The old ally and enemy was leaning against the counter helping himself to a glass of water. He was dressed plainclothes, the Umbarian would have blended right in with the people outside.

"Are you here to kill me?" Akio asked, cutting to the chase. His voice was cold, emotionless, and hard as iron. He hadn't forgotten their last encounter.

"There is the Akio I know," Kuroi said side stepping the question, "I saw the headlines, the string of assassinations and deaths that have been occurring on Denon. I had to see for myself if you really were here. If you had really found your way."

"I did," Akio said, still unwilling to lower his guard, "I accepted the truth. This is who I am. This is all I will ever be."

"I am surprised you could ever think anything different. The academy should have showed you that this is the truth of existence to kill or be killed. That is all you and I will ever be."

"That is your truth," Akio said, setting his lip in a firm scowl, "There is more to life than killing."

"Oh, are you still holding on to that idea that you are special?" Kuroi asked slamming the glass on the counter, "You think your better than me? That honor could or would be found in anything less than the butchery we were made to do? Look around you, Akio, see what your killing has earned you. Look around you and see the name that you have made for yourself, the truth that people know your acts. You look at that and tell me if you can believe that there is a life outside of that for you."

Akio looked away, at the busy city outside. His face softened, "I used to think that there was a chance of it, something different, something with hope, that I could be loved and have something more than murder in my life. But I lied to myself and let myself believe that I could be happy, that I am anything but an assassin." he licked his lips, "I told myself that I found a woman, someone I could live with, love, and have a future with. I know that was wrong. For it was all but a dream." He looked back to Kuroi, hardened once more, 'If you are here to kill me, then do it."

The Umbarian gave a sly smile, "I was sent to kill you. But there is no reason now. You found your way." He walked past Akio towards the front door, "I will let myself out."

The Chiss stood there until he heard the door close and felt Kuroi was gone. The throwing quills in his hands slipped from his fingers, clattering to the floor. He leaned against the wall to brace himself as the world started spinning. His muscles gave way and the Chiss slumped to the floor, a sob escaping his lips. It was all a lie. It had all been a dream. Nothing more, nor would it ever be.

 

[Akio Diachi]

He wept until he had no more tears left to cry. His body ached and his head felt like it was stuffed with cotton as the Chiss pulled himself to his feet. The constant painful reminder that Dryzl was gone had subsided into a more manageable numbing ache. He droned into the kitchen and poured himself a glass of water. The comm link on his hip chirped. He hated it and barely knew how to use it like the dinosaur he was, but he had purchased it at the behest of Robba. The text on the screen read:

14:30. The Dive.​

Akio stuffed the tech back into his pocket and finished off his drink. As he set the glass down his free hand gripped the counter tightly. His spine straitened as the Chiss once more stuffed the pain away. It was back to business as usual and there was no place for emotion in this world. He donned his hood and made his way back into the streets. Darkness covered him once more and the Chiss was another part of the shadows. He weaved through the streets like a shade walking in the land of the living. When he reached Robba's headquarters everything stopped. The goons who had been drinking and talking eyed him suspiciously. The band waited eerily. Dancing girls held their breaths. He had quickly developed a reputation, one that he was not going to deny. The only sound through the building was the sound of his boots clacking on the stone flooring.

"Why have you summoned me?" He asked when he reached Robba's throne room, his dark red eyes piercing the veil of his shadowy face.

<<I have another job for you, this one super big. Very important. I will have you leading a team into the docks to get something for me>> Robba said with a hint of glee in his voice.

"That was not the terms of our agreement," Akio said, his voice succinct and cutting the air like a blade, "I work alone. And per our agreement, you are summoning me too early."

<<Come on, Chissling, no one likes a spoil sport.>>

Akio let the silence hang in the air as he contemplated it.

"Six times my going rate," he said at last, "triple for working on a team, double for calling me up so early after my previous job."

A silent gasp went through the room. That was an outrageous demand, even for someone with Akio's skills. Robba gave a bellowing chuckle, <<You strike a hard bargain, Chissling. You have a deal.>>

 

[Akio Diachi]

A few moments later, Akio was looking over the filmsi blue prints of one of the local privately owned spaceports. It had a well-known legal side, and a lesser known shadow port that a few of the local criminal factions were allowed to use for the right price. Robba had apparently been made alert of one of his competitors smuggling in a large cash of stolen jewelry and pallets of forged credits. Robba had been one to use the port, the owner had earned many credits with his reputation of the location remaining purely neutral. No one had dared to try and take it by force or attack the port because of its excellent security alone. At least, not until now.

It wasn't just about the money. It was about sending a message.

He looked up from his plans at the eight men with him. They carried clumsy blaster rifles, wore bulky, constricting heavy armor, and had a look that was as subtle as a mountain. They looked and felt in the Force Oafish and virtually worthless, he was almost sure most would die before the end of this operation and the Chiss didn't feel any remorse over that.

"Here is the plan," Akio began, "We go in the back way, use Robba's name to get past the first guards, we take their security clearance and use it to get past the checkpoints. We will only have enough time to get to the security central, by then the place will be on total lock down. We want it to stay that way, it will slow down our opponents. One of you will change the security codes so that we can move freely and keep them in diaspora. We get the cargo, we get out and we kill everyone along the way. Any questions?" He waited, looking at each of their foolish faces, "Good. Prepare yourselves."