For the Night is Dark

[Evaelyn Zambrano]

Evaelyn found herself back aboard the Vahla migrant fleet. Her sister, Joycelyn was not here. They had not spoken, but she knew. They were twins and their bond was strong, only amplified by their connection to the Force. While they frequently worked together, they both had their own things going. This meant a few solo jobs here and there. Still, they were never truly quite on their own as Evaelyn knew that if anything were to happen to one, the other would drop everything and come to the rescue. Of course, this would hardly be necessary as they both knew how to handle themselves. It was usually those who crossed them who found themselves in need of a rescue.

There was something strangely soothing about floating through space, staring out into the great abyss. Land meant war. Someone always wanted what you stood on, even if it was only dirt. She knew battles took place in space as well, but she had seen far fewer of those, and so they were not as clearly printed onto her mind's eye. Evaelyn wasn't too deep into the politics and concerns of the Embers of Vahl. They did their thing. She had a place to sleep and go back to.

She wouldn't stay long. She never did. There was always another move to be made. That was plotting for another day, however, as the blue-haired halfbreed put her head down onto her pillow within the privacy of her own quarters. Sleep came quickly to her. For a killer, she slept rather softly.

[member="Darth Ophidia"]

 

[Darth Ophidia]

Darth Ophidia went through her mental notes for the evening. Her subject was one [member="Evaelyn Zambrano"], daughter of Darth Vornskr and a Vahla priestess. Usually being in the Pale Assassin's mental notes meant you were about to join the choir invisible, but this was an exception to the rule. She had no qualms with the daughter of Panatha's butcher king. Rather, she saw promise in her feral soul. Further down on the Rattataki's list was another name; Scace Yoon.

Scace was not the level of "threat" the Pale Assassin usually dealt with. He was a trader of information working for the remnants of the Black Rose and looking to set up a new contact in the Sith Empire. Scace was no great threat, but his usefulness was at an end and he was becoming an increasing liability, the Ember wanted him gone and the Assassins offered an "internal affairs discount". Normally, an apprentice would be set on the trail. However, Ophidia had found it to be the perfect chance to gain a new finger with lawful access to the Ember of Vahl and to the royalties of the Pacanth Reach. She would recruit Evaelyn Zambrano.

Hands clasped behind her back, Darth Ophidia strode down through the metal corridors of the ship. Despite walking on metal, her feet made barely even a scuffle. The flap and swish of fabric drowned out every step she made. The lights of Evaelyn's corridor were dimmed as this portion of the ship would be in the nocturnal part of their cycle. Her presence was subdued, hidden in the Force as her burning eyes read one door-number after the other. Suddenly, she stopped and turned to face one of the doors. Placing a palm on the surface, she closed her eyes and read the interior; it felt right.

The Pale Assassin slipped through the metal surface like a ghost and found herself standing in Evaelyn's bunk, staring down at the blue-haired creature. A tendril of the Force reached out towards her, trying to touch the mind. However, she found no purchase thanks to the Epicanthix natural mind-shielding. A smile formed on her lips.

 

[Evaelyn Zambrano]

[member="Darth Ophidia"]

Evaelyn was sound asleep, completely oblivious to the foreign intrusion. She was dreaming. She was out swimming. No corpses littered the beach. There was no war, no struggle, only peace and quiet. The cold water felt great against her skin, heated by the warm sun shining bright above. The weather seemed to be turning however, as she was starting to feel cold. Time to return. Yet instead of her head breaking the surface of the water when she came up for air, instead she banged it against it. Ice! What once had been a temperate ocean on warm planet now was frozen solid. She desperately banged her fist against the ice but no cracks were made. She was running out of air! Evaelyn tried swimming towards the beach, but no matter how much power she put behind her strokes she got no closer. The cold was setting in, biting against her skin. Her arms and legs were growing sluggish, and she felt herself dropping, down into the darkness, deeper, and deeper...

With a loud gasp she awoke. She was sitting straight up from her bed, a hand wrapped around the bedsheet and holding it to her. One would think she'd be comforted by knowing it was all but a dream, yet she still felt like she was trapped underwater. The cold was the same, she still felt its biting touch on her naked skin. They were in space, sure, but this was nothing like she remembered it.

Evaelyn was still catching her bearings, her mind slowly returning to reality as she tried to make sense of where she was, when she noticed she was not alone. A pale woman stared down at her. Evaelyn let out an uncharacteristic scream of surprise, her legs pushing her further up towards the head of the bed. Her hand reached out to the side, towards the chair where her clothes from the day before still lay. From the pile the hilt of her lightsaber would fly to her hand, igniting with its purple shine, provided it ever made contact with her hand. "What's going on?!" Still disoriented, she was preparing for a fight.

 

[Darth Ophidia]

As soon as Evaelyn reached for the pile of clothes and the hilt came into sight, Ophidia raised her left hand in the direction of the pile. Her motion was far more relaxed than Evaelyn's, but more than equal in power. She did not push the hilt anywhere, but simply stopped it from being pulled any further. The hilt would hover just outside of the pile, quivering lightly as the different forces tried to manipulate it. With her right hand. the pale woman raised a single, gloved finger to her lips in a hushing gesture.

"Shhh."

The Pale Assassin took a few steps towards Evaelyn and lowered her hands, though the hilt remained suspended in the air. With a wave of her fingers, a chair glided over to the bedside as Ophidia approached it.

"There are people trying to sleep."

She did not sit down yet, but kept an unblinking stare at Evaelyn, as though she was some sort of curious animal or interesting figurine. Indeed, there were many things that intrigued Ophidia about the Epicanthix, about the Vahla, the Zambrano, and Evaelyn specifically. For example, why the blue hair? However, she did not care to start asking just now. Certainly, Evaelyn would have a number of questions to ask as well.

[member="Evaelyn Zambrano"]

 

[Evaelyn Zambrano]

[member="Darth Ophidia"]

The hilt did not fall within the familiar curve of her palm. Her brows furrowed with frustration. Elyn increased her efforts, but the hilt did not budge. She groaned with fury, all of her focus shifting towards the hilt, but still no change. It left her wide open, but the pale woman did not strike. She was not here to fight. What did she want then? If nothing else, the message was clear: if she had come to fight, Elyn would likely no longer be breathing. What an awkward point to start a conversation, especially for the Epicanthix-Vahla halfbreed. In this room, she was not the one in any position of power.

Her eyes moved from the hilt to the slim shape, as she hushed her. There was hate in her eyes, fury. If she could, she would've run her through with her blade right then and there. Elyn did not like to be one-upped, her pride did not allow it. It seemed Elyn was the one exhausting more of her reserves by trying to grab the hilt. Prolonging this moment would not benefit her. Either she dropped it or she made a move. Not really aware of what was going on, she decided to put her decision on hold for another moment.

"Give me two good reasons to not kill right now. Why are you here?"

Would she be able to kill her? Perhaps not. But letting the woman in front of her know of her uncertainty did not benefit her. Even if she did, Elyn was not sure if she'd be able to stop herself from charging if the woman said the wrong thing. Her wounded ego demanded blood. It didn't matter that there was nothing more to cover her than the very sheets her free hand clung to. Another moment was all she would offer the other before it was time to decide how to play this...

 

[Darth Ophidia]

The pale woman stepped around the chair and sat down, crossing her legs under the black robes. From her facial expression, she was thoroughly unimpressed by Evaelyn's threat, if not a little amused. Ophidia's finger intertwined and came to rest on her knee, her back upright and head perched high on a slender neck. She observed Evaelyn with an eerie calm that some would deem uncharacteristic of a Sith Lord.

"If you could kill me then you would have already done so. Sit down before you hurt yourself, Evaelyn."

One of the gloved hands detached from the other and slipped inside the dark, layered fabrics of Ophidia's robes. From which it retrieved a small disk, a holoprojector. She turned it between her fingers and tossed it at the bed for Evaelyn to look at. As soon as it hit the bed, a hologram of a tall, lanky male would emerge. In the looped holovid, he accepted a datapad from an off-screen stranger. The one who received the pad was on board the same ship and in the same floor as Evaelyn.

"Do you know what is on that datapad?"

Rhetorical question, really. If Evaelyn knew, she would probably be cutting his throat already. Ophidia's eyes narrowed in scrutiny, weighing Elyn's response.

[member="Evaelyn Zambrano"]

 

[Evaelyn Zambrano]

[member="Darth Ophidia"]

Evaelyn was wondering if she could turn the tables if she tried to use the woman's own power against her. What if instead of pulling on the lightsaber, she'd push? Help shove it in the direction the pale one was pulling. Maybe it'd hit her on the head, maybe she'd dodge. But it could give Elyn a chance to charge up from under her bedsheets and knee her in the face... Maybe. It was the best plan she had so far and she was ready to execute it.

But the woman seemed so calm, so confident. Quite the opposite to Elyn's state of mind. The insult at the end, 'sit down before you hurt yourself' nearly had her fly off in a rage, but it was hard to ignore what had been said before. Could she really kill her? Did the outcome matter?

While her mind was struggling with these decisions, the lady in black proceeded. The reason for her visit was being revealed, and it would appear it did not have to do with killing her. That was at least something. Did she want something from her? Information? Nothing came for free. The struggle for the lightsaber was over. She'd call it a draw, though she knew it was defeat. It was permitted to drop down onto the pile of clothes, or into the grasp of the pale woman's hand if she so choose.

"No" she replied briefly after having stared at the holoprojector for a while. Nothing about the image seemed familiar, from the people in it to what was being exchanged. Self-centred as she was, she wasn't even aware that the man was on this very ship, on the same floor even. "Why do you think I do?"

 

[Darth Ophidia]

"I think you should."

Ophidia's grip on the lightsabre had not been a pull or an adverse push. She had rather tried to lock it in place; a more complex use of telekinesis, but also a safer one when contesting a weapon. When Evaelyn let go of the grip, the hilt turned to face away from Ophidia and floated idly in her direction. She did not move her eyes from Evaelyn, but maintained the lidless stare. The only indication of a physical movement related to the lightsabre was a slow wiggle of her left index finger, still resting on her knee.

"It concerns someone you hold dear."

The pale woman reached out and plucked the hilt from the air, turning it between her fingers she took her eyes off Evaelyn for a moment to inspect the design.

"Not your devout mother or your esteemed father. No, this is about someone far closer to your heart."

She turned her eyes back to Elyn. Ophidia did not think she needed to say the name.

"Words are dangerous, Ms. Zambrano. So I offer you a chance at putting them to silence."

The hilt turned between her fingers. The butt of it pointed at Elyn as she offered it, but at such an angle that it would miss Ophidia if activated. She was too cautious to offer the young woman such an opportunity. After all, Elyn was her father's daughter.

[member="Evaelyn Zambrano"]

 

[Evaelyn Zambrano]

[member="Darth Ophidia"]

I think you should. None of this was making sense to Evaelyn. What did this woman want? There must be something. She didn't just show up to give her advice on what she should and shouldn't know, right? She gave a scornful glance towards the floating lightsaber hilt, but it was a lost cause. Everything about this unknown woman, from the way she sat, the way she looked at her, to the general feel of uneasiness that came from being in her presence, was making Elyn uncomfortable. She knew nothing about her, she knew nothing of what to expect from her. For all she knew, before her sat a power that could engulf her in the blink of an eye. She would have to tread carefully. If only Elyn knew how to tread carefully...

When she said it concerned someone Elyn held dear, she got her attention. She should feel fear, threatened by the fact that this woman now held her weapon in her hands, but all she wanted was to hear the second part of that story. What did she mean? It had to be a bluff. What did she know about who was dear to her? There weren't exactly a lot of candidates to pick from.

Yet it seemed that she was about to pick the right one. Once she brought up her mother, father, ruling them out, it was quite clear who she was talking about. The only one that was truly family. With reckless fury flaming back within her eyes, Elyn bounced up from her seated position, standing on top of the bed. "What have you done with her?" was she being blackmailed? Did this woman hold her twin sister hostage, and was now coming for ransom?

Elyn was ready for a fight, not caring that she wasn't dressed for it, not caring that she wasn't dressed at all. When it came to Joycelyn, she'd stop at nothing to keep her safe. "What... What do you mean?" she demanded loudly. What was said made no sense to her. What was all of this about? She was still standing tall, fist clenched. She wasn't quite sure whether she was being threatened, or if the threat came from someplace else, and she was being offered a kind warning.

The woman offered her her lightsaber back. Would she do that if she was an enemy? Perhaps if she was a cocky enemy. She'd proved so far that she could best Evaelyn in the Force. Perhaps this made her believe she could best her just as easily with a lightsaber. If that was the case, she had another thing coming... Slightly hesitant at first, in case it was a trap, Elyn's hand reached out towards the lightsaber. If no sudden moves were made, she'd suddenly snap her hand forwards and attempt to quickly snatch it, pull it back, but not ignite it.

Evaelyn had almost forgotten about the datapad and the men on it. That had flown out the window as soon as the concept of her sister being in danger was put out into the open. Watching the woman now, she was slowly calming down... "Enough with the riddles. What do you know?" she demanded in a forceful tone, as if she was the one in a position of power. Well, at least she did have the high ground...

 

[Darth Ophidia]

Sometimes, Ophidia forgot that most people were not trained to draw conclusions based on riddles in order to find a target to eliminate. Some people, such as Evaelyn, could just not see past the immediate danger in front of them. Then again, she had been as short-sighted once. There was a time when she was submerged in the crimson ocean of the dark side, rather than sailing it.

When Evaelyn started making yet another racket, Ophidia knew she had to change tactics. The young woman demanded to know rather than using her mental faculties to figure out the clues literally at her feet. The hand that had once held the lightsabre now pushed forward and curled into a choke. Similarly, she commanded the Force to ensnare Evaelyn's throat and push her back against the wall, unless interrupted. The silky smoothness vanished from her words and her voice became far more demanding, but hardly any louder.

"I told you to be quiet."

The sneer that had formed on her face turned into a wicked smile. It was not playful like before, but malevolent in nature.

"I will give you one more bit of information. If you still cannot piece it together, then perhaps you are not worth my time after all. There is a man, a Vahla named Scace, in room 9-0685. He is scheduled to travel from Coruscant to Lujo. Scace has a datapad."

Once more, Ophidia surveyed Evaelyn's reaction. Did it dawn on her that Scace was the one who carried information that could threaten Joycelyn?

[member="Evaelyn Zambrano"]

 

[Evaelyn Zambrano]

[member="Darth Ophidia"]

Evaelyn's stern and demanding tone wasn't going to get her far, something which she would discover for herself very soon. One had to learn one way. Elyn was too busy causing a scene and making a point to be fully aware of what was being done to her before it was too late. Her access to oxygen got severely impaired, and she found herself practically slammed back into the wall behind her. Her mouth dropped open to let out a gasp, or perhaps a pained groan, but no sound came. The unknown pale woman made sure of that.

Elyn twisted, protested, trying to fight free of the grip but to no avail. She was not good at doing what she was told. If she had full freedom of her throat, her quarters would likely have filled up with offensive insults and curses. In any other setting her current predicament might've been entertaining. But the blue-haired beast was not entertained, she was infuriated.

Anger got her nowhere though, nor did it encourage the woman to aid her with her breathing problem. And so Elyn did eventually calm and resign herself to giving the woman in front of her murdereyes. She remembered what had set her off in the first place. Something to do with her sister. This woman possessed information she very much would like to acquire. And so she listened.

From Coruscant to Lujo... Was her sister on Lujo? Perhaps. Had a hit been put on her sister, and the datapad contained the order? Perhaps she had enemies here on the fleet, enemies who would not like to see her become the Sword of Vahl, as she was destined to be. Perhaps it was other kind of information... Regardless, it seemed as if it wasn't good. And she couldn't help but shake the feeling that this woman wanted her to succeed. Did they have mutual goals? Did she want her to do her dirtywork for her? For Joycelyn, she would without hesitation.

Her facial expression was now one of fierce determination. She struggled to speak, get the words out. Elyn had questions, but taking that into consideration she'd keep herself brief. If this man was any threat towards her sister, any kind at all... If his words could somehow significantly harm her, they did indeed need to be silenced. There was only one possible answer to this "He.....Dies"

 

[Darth Ophidia]

The fury, the hate in her eyes, oh yes, Ophidia could feel it. It felt to her as though Evaelyn was vibrating with sheer wrath and will. The dark side rode her like a panicked guarlara mare. The rumours she had heard of Evaelyn Zambrano were clearly true; she was an unrefined beast. The potential for greatness was there, but she needed focus and meaning. This was difficult to grant someone who cared about so little. However, there as always the Joycelyn angle.

"You have a choice, Evaelyn."

Lowering her hand, she released the grip on Evaelyn's throat. However, she did not entirely lower her guard even if she made it seem so. They had made far too much noise. Hopefully, the next-door residents were heavy sleepers and the walls quite thick. If not, they could have a problem with curious noses poking past thresholds.

"He must not only die, but vanish."

The less there as left of him, the fewer questions there would be about his disappearance and possible death. A singed bit of fabric, a drop of blood, anything could set off an investigation. Internal affairs had to be handled thoroughly.

"Can you protect your sister from the blades at her back?"

Her voice softened once again. There was almost a hiss to the rasped syllables, and a fire in the assassin's eyes that flickered under the black hood that so obscured her ashen face. She could feel the throbbing in her hand from the surge of energy the dark side had given her as she choked Evaelyn earlier. It took will to tame it, but a true Sith was the rider, not the mount; true Sith were masters of the darkness, not its slaves.

[member="Evaelyn Zambrano"]

 

[Evaelyn Zambrano]

[member="Darth Ophidia"]

Once the invisible grip around her throat was released, and she dropped back down onto the bed, she did not go with her instincts. Her instincts cried out for retribution. Evaelyn was no child to be shushed and shrugged away. However, she did not opt for retribution. There was something more important at stake here: Joycelyn. If there was a threat to her sister, she would eliminate it. While she may not concern herself too much with personal safety, she could not take the risk of this woman in front of her taking her out of action, preventing her from saving Joy. If at all, she would have to deal with this woman later, although she had an eerie feeling that this would not be the end of it.

"I can do that" she sneered, a hand tenderly stroking her own sore neckline. Could she? She wasn't exactly sure of what she was agreeing to. It didn't matter. He'd die, Joy would be in the clear. Elyn could deal with the consequences, whatever they may be. Vanished or not, dead was dead.

"She doesn't need my protection. But yes, I can" She replied. It was a little contradicting, for if Joy could protect herself, Elyn wouldn't need to do anything here. Yet there was still that sense of pride, not because they were Zambrano, that didn't matter, but because they were Joycelyn and Evaelyn. When those two names combined it meant something different. It meant invincible.

Right about now it seemed high time to get dressed, so Evaelyn did exactly that. Nothing fancy, she spent no time planning her outfit. She never really concerned herself of fashion, but more importantly it was fairly low on her priority list. She put on a simple black tank top and a pair of dark brown pants. The blue-haired woman glanced over at the pale one, considering something for a moment, weighing the pros and cons. She decided. She reached over towards the pillow, lifted it, and picked up a hand-axe. It was wood and metal, but coated with decorative layers of phrik. It was a favourite of hers, and if blood was about to be spilled she wanted it with her. Lightsabers weren't great at making someone bleed anyway.

"Anything else?" she asked, standing in front of the door and looking back over her shoulder against the other woman. She was on her way out. What would she do? Would she remain? Help her? Vanish? Try to snoop while Evaelyn was gone? The latter would do her no good, all the things she cared about was on her person, and the only person she cared about was lightyears away.

 

[Darth Ophidia]

When Evaelyn proposed that Joycelyn did not need protection, Darth Ophidia stifled a laugh. Joycelyn was just the kind of person who needed protection of the kind she was about to teach Evaelyn to offer. Joycelyn was making herself quite public, such persons always made enemies in the shadows. If no one arose to counter them, Joycelyn would inevitably fall victim to someone's assassin.

"Oh my dear, she will need more protection than you can possibly imagine."

As the blue-haired hybrid got herself ready and fetched her archaic weapon from underneath the pillow, the pale woman turned half-way to the door. She kept her left shoulder towards Evaelyn, calm yet cautious and watchful of the unpredictable acolyte. She had the full intention of following this event closely. In a sense, it was Evaelyn's interview for what could become her path to power.

"Scace has a friend in the security force on deck. If you, a halfbreed, are caught trying to kill him. You will likely be jettisoned. As such, I recommend leaving as little trace of what happens in that room as possible."

The pale woman reached inside her robes and pulled something metallic from within. The joints of it clattered in a muffled harmony before she clenched it in her hand. It was a nice backup, in case Evaelyn botched her task. The garrotte, as the one she held in her hand, was one of her favourite tools of the trade back when she was a scout. It was silent but deadly and left no trace on the surroundings.

[member="Evaelyn Zambrano"]

 

[Evaelyn Zambrano]

[member="Darth Ophidia"]

"Don't underestimate us" Evaelyn shot back. Whether what the woman said was true or not, she did not want her to think them weak or an easy prey. That wasn't good. Although in the end, she supposed, being underestimated might work to their advantage. Yet she'd rather people think her sister strong and not challenge her, than seek her out in force. Perhaps there was some sense to this kind of preventive work after all. Evaelyn was much more used to being reactive, slapping the sons of female kath hounds in the face when they moved against her and her sister. In this case the move would never be made.

"He can have as many friends as he wants. He's mine now." her last words before opening that door. She didn't care. She didn't care about what came next. If she was found out and they tried to jettison her, she'd murder the entire fleet if she had to. Her sister might be mad, but she'd understand. Okay, maybe the entire fleet was a little excessive... She only needed to carve a path in blood leading to an escape pod. Though would Joy be judged for Elyn's crimes and be barred from the fleet? Damnit, why couldn't this be easy. Surely they could talk their way out of it. If worst came to worst, keeping her sister alive was more important than a free pass to the Vahla fleet.

Evaelyn headed in a straight path for room 9-0685. She knew the way. Though she wasn't familiar with him, she had gotten familiar with the way the layout of the ships in the fleet. She rung the door, waiting patiently for him to open. Would he? If not she'd just have to kick the door in. Perhaps he would be suspicious seeing Evaelyn, but he had no reason to assume she knew anything, right? Perhaps he saw an opportunity to hit two birds in one stone. Perhaps, seeing the attractive female outside of his door, he'd settle for hitting only one bird tonight.

After a pause and some consideration the door slid open. "What do you want?" Scace said in a dismissive yet curious tone. "You" was Evaelyn's swift reply. It caught him off guard, but then brought a tiny smirk upon his lips. No, not like that, Evaelyn thought. Her hand reached for the hilt of her axe while her right leg kicked him into his own room. "Hey! What- Woah, stop!" were the half angry, half panicked words to what he saw next. One, Evaelyn stepped inside, shutting the door behind her, then twirling the axe as she approached him. He got to his feet but the unrefined beast was coming in swinging with an overhead axe attack. As a reflex, the man lifted his arm in a guard. Flesh against blade did little, and the axe carved itself deep into his arm. It didn't sever, but touched bone.

Agonized screams accompanied a humble splatter of blood. Pulling her weapon back, Elyn was preparing for the finishing move he had barely escaped half a moment before. It occupied her every thought, and perhaps that was what had left her blind to the counter attack. Counter? How could this man still stand, let alone attack her? Perhaps it was the adrenaline, perhaps it was knowing that pain was temporary but the death her presence promised would be eternal. His clenched fist hit her right in the solar plexus, having her bend forwards gasping for air. The same hand returned, now coming for her face. This one she was aware of, and she continued the ducking motion his gut-punch had started. However that did her little good. The punch transformed into a firm grip on the back of her hair. Her face met with his vengeful knee.

Now it was Elyn's turn to fall backwards, toppling over and landing firmly on her back. She felt a moment of dizziness and disorientation. Her face hurt. There was more blood now, some of it her own. The axe had rolled off to her side, but the lightsaber was still attached to her belt. It would appear he would not allow her time to reach for it. He came for it again, with angry puffs of pain and fury. What was he gonna do, choke her to death with one hand? Well, perhaps he could... Elyn wasn't going to lie around and wait to see what he was planning next. Scace was rushing in to take the fight to the ground, but his stomach met with her two feet. They came not in the shape of a kick, but as unfriendly guides who lifted and carried him up, before sending him flying behind her.

Now Evaelyn didn't hesitate. Scace crashed into a wall, having to deal with that combined with the uncomfortable landing with his near-severed arm. Elyn grabbed her axe again, rushing to his location on the ground. There was no counter, no salvation, no mercy. Elyn rammed her axe into his body, sinking it deep into his flesh. Pulling her arm back, she repeated the motion, again, and again, and again, and again, until he lay lifeless, carved open. Blood splattered over her face, clothes, floor. But she had won. She wiped some of the blood off on her pants, while her free hand tended to her bruised nose and face. "Feth" she grunted as she felt how sore she was. Now to dispose of him or something

 

[Darth Ophidia]

As Evaelyn Zambrano went on her march of death. Ophidia followed, but lingered behind. Her orange-glowing eyes followed the blue-haired beast down the corridor while the pale woman herself seemingly merged with the low-lit interior. She became but a ghost, a whisper, an unexplained draft of cold air that drifted just outside of reach, yet set the hairs on one's skin on point.

She watched as Evaelyn made her way inside and closed the door, and she waited, listened, judged. As the scream and commotion, muffled by the thickness of doors and walls, pierced through and touched the tense silence. Ophidia knew she would have to take some precautions. No doubt, this commotion would not go unnoticed.

She passed over to one of the two doors adjacent to 9-0685 and placed her hand on the lukewarm, metal surface. Her eyes half closed as she probed the inside of the door. She could see a desk, chair, a simple bed, and the resident. Excellent. She reached for the resident's mind. Gently, her influence wrapped itself around him and dulled out all experience of the noise around him. She lulled him into a deep, deep sleep and stripped away the memory of any commotion. With some hard interrogation, it would probably break, but the seal would do for now.

Opening her eyes, she glided to the other side of 9-0685. However, as she was about to touch the door, it opened. A female Vahla looked up from her keycard and reached for her blaster. However, Ophidia was slightly quicker. Lashing out with her left hand, she threw one end of the garrotte out as a distraction. Meanwhile, the other came in with a low hook that caught the woman in the midriff, followed by a straight punch to the side of the jaw. It turned her just enough for Ophidia to get into position.

Catching the loose end of the thin chain, her gloved fingers closed around the T-shaped grip at the end. She placed her hands on the woman's shoulder's and feinted a knee. As she brought her hands down to defend, Ophidia slipped on the outside and pulled. The chain became taught and dug into the skin. A quick gasp was cut short as the metal compressed her windpipe. Hands scrambled, but a knee planted itself in the base of her neck to fortify the pull. It did not even take a minute before her face turned pale and the eyes unfocused.

As the body grew limp against her knee, Ophidia let go of one end of the chain and wrapped it around her hand. She exhaled an exhilarated breath and sucked in the smell of fresh corpse. Two bodies to dispose of tonight. An escape pod would probably do the trick.

[member="Evaelyn Zambrano"]

 

[Evaelyn Zambrano]

[member="Darth Ophidia"]

The deed was done. The man was dead. But oh what a mess she had made. Evaelyn rose to her feet, bloodied axe in hand. The man below her lay limp, carved open in multiple locations. His face was not recognizable, though she hardly thought that was what the pale one had meant with 'leave no trace'. There was little of Scacel left, he was erased, but there was more than enough evidence of the process. The floor was covered in blood. Looking down, Evaelyn could see that the same could be said for her clothes. She imagined that had she looked into a mirror, she would've spotted a large blood splatter covering her there as well. Oh well. The man was dead. The deed was done.

She cleaned the blade of her weapon against her pants, then clipped it back onto her belt. What did she do now? Flee? Would that do more damage than good to Joy? It was a hard call. Maybe the pale one knew. Maybe she had some kind of fancy trick to make blood disappear. That'd be convenient. A part of Elyn wanted to go outside and look for her, but the other was not so keen on being spotted with all this blood. Then she'd have to kill another. The killing didn't bother her as much, but there was a limit to how much cleaning she was willing to do in one day.

Did she wait? Did she start doing something? Was the pale one gone, or would she come back? She didn't know any of these answers, but she didn't have time to wait either. With a long, deep sigh, Evaelyn started scavenging the man's apartment for cleaning equipment. If she found any, she'd very reluctantly start trying to clean up the blood left from the fight against Scace. She'd probably need a bodybag too. Actually, now that she thought of it, that was probably something she should've done first. Oh well. The deed was done.

 

[Darth Ophidia]

The clean-up was always the worst part. It was positively tedious, even if it had its moments of inspired genius. This time, it was more like routine. Before going to help Evaelyn, Ophidia cleaned up her own little mess. She found a bag, packed it with clothes and made sure to bring all valuables. Some clothes and objects she left strewn on the floor along with whatever spirits were standing about. Step one: Set the scene.

After leaving an absolute mess, the pale woman decided to peek into Evaelyn's deed, and it was far worse. There was blood from wall to all, footprints, handprints. Force, there was even blood sprayed across the ceiling. The killer was no better off. If Evaelyn had stood perfectly still, she would be practically camouflaged. This would have been a perfect display of horror; something good if that was the intent.

"Force, you are a messy one. Have you found his datapad?"

The ashen-skinned Sith Lord stayed just outside the room turned Donadi stain-painting. She was quite sure their meditation techniques would say some very interesting things about Evaelyn's "work". Humouring herself with the thought of a wizened Donadi connoisseur pouring over the bloodshed of this blue-haired beast of Vornskr's loins, an idea sprung into her head. They had two corpses and one crime scene.

"And what weapon did you use to kill him?"

[member="Evaelyn Zambrano"]

 

[Evaelyn Zambrano]

[member="Darth Ophidia"]

Evaelyn stared into the cold eyes of the pale one. Strangely enough she felt a pang of relief. Her chances of sorting out this mess just increased. In the moment before she stepped in, they exchanged a look that must've been similar to an owner returning home after letting her pet be home alone for the first time. The whole place was a mess. Yet Evaelyn's eyes were unapologetic, claiming no responsibility for the mess. It was there. Now what did they do about it?

"He fought back" she replied, matter-of-factly, as if that explained everything. It was his fault. It was just how it was. "Oh, I totally forgot about that" Elyn said out loud, her head suddenly turning around to see if she could spot it. She had forgot why she needed to kill him, only that she needed it done. There was a second part to this little task. If it was left there was no guarantee that the damage it might do to Joy would be prevented. Actually, come to think of it, all she had was this woman's word that it would do any damage to Joy. Why would she trust her? Well, suppose if she wanted him dead, she could've done it herself. If it was to set Evaelyn up, she could've left after Evaelyn did the deed. Oh well. Maybe he was innocent, but she'd rather not risk anything when it came to Joy.

Evaelyn started looking for the datapad while letting the pale one do her thing. "An axe." Elyn replied with her back turned. She had discovered something. A desk, a few drawers open, and her hands came across what she thought they might be looking for. "Is it this thing?" she asked, holding the datapad up for the other one to see. She didn't hand it over. This was her proof. If it was a lie, well, then the only reason she still remained was because she wanted what was on this. Evaelyn naturally couldn't resist the urge to take a look for herself.

 

[Darth Ophidia]

Axe murderess. Well, that fit her profile more than one should imagine. Ophidia stepped into the room, cautious enough to avoid leaving footprints in the blood. Her step was light, almost as though she danced from one spot to another. Yet, it was done with an uncanny nonchalance that took away from the performance but showed all the more of who she was. The pale woman stopped beside the corpse and looked him over.

"I can barely even recognise him."

As Evaelyn pulled the datapad from the drawers, Ophidia glanced in her direction. She narrowed her eyes in scrutiny, inspecting the datapad's exterior from afar. Judged by a small imprint in the upper right corner, nearly covered by Evaelyn's hand as she clearly held it upside down, it was the one she had been looking for. She knew because she had handled it before.

"Yes, that is the one. Tuck it away and help me clean off any fingerprints. The girl next door murdered this man in a fit of jealous rage then tried to flee in an escape pod. However, pirates trailing the fleet fell on the pod before it could make landfall."

With careful touches, Ophidia started smearing out all fingerprints and plucking off all blue hairs she could find. She was quick, but meticulous in her work. All the while silently planning the note Scace's neighbour would leave behind and other probable bits of evidence to support the story she wished to fabricate. She could not make Scace disappear in this sort of mess. However, she could make him the victim of a tragic murder.

[member="Evaelyn Zambrano"]