Malice and Maladi

[Naamah Aesham]

[member="Valiens Nantaris"]


Hopefully [member="Amara Zarides"] had enjoyed her time in the fancy, luxurious hotel. It got a five star rating, which meant it had to be awesome, even though she'd definitely be bankrupt after spending a night in it. She would probably not have enough credits to enjoy its manifold amenities, such as an exquisite massage service, due to budget limitations. The same applied to intimate encounters with employees of negotiable affection. Her room had a whirlpool though and that made everything better.


Regardless, she would not be allowed to laze around in bed for long and lose even more money. A few days after checking in,, she got a call from a very familiar faux-Chiss. Who'd probably spent the night drinking too much whiskey and talking to an HRD skull. Or hanging criminals.

 

[Amara Zarides]

[member="Naamah Aesham"]
Suffice it to say, Amara had not been lazing around in bed. After blowing all her payout from the raid on clothes, food, hotel rooms and more for herself and her companions, she had undergone a series of adventures to potentially be covered elsewhere. These had included freeing herself from Archangel’s programming, a hallucination with different variants of herself because that seemed to be a thing for clones, and accidentally uncovering and destroying an enemy agent.

Akure’s call found her in a much less luxurious, but still serviceable apartment as she was staring out the window at the city.

“Good morning, sunshine! How goes today’s crusade?” she asked in a deliberately chipper tone to annoy Akure.

“Seriously though, what’s going on?” There was an eagerness in her tone. She wanted to get after her sister but had been forced to delay. This might be her chance though.

 

[Naamah Aesham]

[member="Amara Zarides"]


"Hanged five gangbangers last night. Then hanged another one because I dislike odd numbers. For some reason, he dressed like a clown and kept ranting about some guy in a bat costume," Naamah, or rather Akure, replied in a flat, deadpan tone that made it difficult to discern if she was joking or not. Her sense of humour was...morbid, to say the least.


"I'll cut the chase: I got a job. It'll be very lucrative, very dangerous and give you the chance to piss off your old puppet masters. Fancy going on a great theft?" Truly, the faux-Chiss knew how to motivate independent contractors.

 

[Amara Zarides]

[member="Naamah Aesham"]
Casual explanations of rough justice and murder made her uncomfortable. However, Amara reflected on her own recent pursuits and frowned. “Were they dead when you hanged them?” was all she could muster. “Also, what’s a bat costume?”
Her flash learning and experiences had not let her encounter any other bats than the sports and cudgel types.

She shook herself from her thoughts, considered Akure’s offer.
“Alright, you’re on. The best defence is a good offence, I’ve heard. Which frankly doesn’t make sense, but I think it’s sensible in this circumstance. Where’d you want to meet up?”

She’d already decided not to take Faelar and the Cathar with her. They weren’t fighters and they’d be something else for her to look out for. No, better to find them a safe place on Coruscant then drag them into danger.

 

[Naamah Aesham]

[member="Amara Zarides"]


"Of course they weren't dead. Otherwise it's no punishment," Naamah tactfully left out the fact that she felt like feeding the corpses to wild beasts. "As for the bat, I got pictures. That guy's got serious mental health issues." It did not occur to her that she was in no position to judge someone else's sanity.


"Go to the spaceport. Docking bay 0131. My ship's there," she added, then hung up. The ship in question was an innocent looking freighter with some fancy mods to boost its speed and durability. In other words, the average smuggler's wet dream. Just without a cheesy bird name. It was probably called something morbid and vaguely edgy.

 

[Amara Zarides]

[member="Naamah Aesham"]

Amara frowned in the privacy of her apartment. Either Akure was a master of trolling, or didn’t understand the meaning of irony. Possibly both. She let the matter slide.

“I’ll be there in half hour,” Amara replied.

It occurred to her only after she hung up that there were more than one spaceports on Coruscant…several hundred more. Still, she took a guess that it was the closest one.

Seeking out her two companions she told them to lay low for a while whilst she was gone, and then off she went, ready for whatever might come.

 

[Naamah Aesham]

[member="Amara Zarides"]


When Amara eventually arrived at the right spaceport - one out of several hundreds! - and reached the designated hangar bay, she'd find a utilitarian tramp freighter that was ubiquitous on the Outer Rim. Especially among smugglers and other riff-raff.


A bunch of grizzled mercenaries were standing guard. Amara might recognise some of them from her stay in the factory that Akure's group had used as a base of operations until recently. One of them was a Jawa who somehow managed to carry a heavy repeating blaster that was way larger than him. He was occupied doing 'badass macho poses'...err, looking vigilant.


Another was a Gamorrean. Unlike his companion, he was more relaxed, sitting on a bench and busy reading a book called 'The Collected Poems of Wiliam Shakespare in High Galactic'. When Amara appeared, he arose. "I spy a familiar face with mine eyes. Welcome to The Bloody Hand, fellow vigilante. Our most taciturn leader awaits you. I hope you had no difficulty evading the foul machines," he spoke in in slightly archaic Basic.

 

[Amara Zarides]

[member="Naamah Aesham"]
Amara liked to think that she was fair-minded and tolerant to everyone – except genocidal kill-bots – but here she just stood and stared.
Finally, she coughed.

“Why, your wise words surprised me, as those with your countenance are not usually predisposed to displays of wisdom. I have, for now, evaded the mechanical assassins sent to snuff out my life – though I suspect this venture will place us into this same harm.”

She was basically picking out random words and stringing them together. If a Gamorrean could do it, so could she!

She looked around at the posse. They seemed a shiftless and disreputable crew, but so long as they did what they were told they’d do.

 

[Kaida Taldir]

[member="Amara Zarides"]


The unusually eloquent Gamorrean seemed amused by Amara's reaction. Well, it was hard to tell, since the pig people's facial expressions were probably a bit difficult for a human to read, but nonetheless. "There are more things in the Galaxy and the Force than are dreamt of in any of your philosophies!" he proclaimed. "Some of my people strive to better themselves and rise above savage urges. I would invite you to study the poems of the ancient sage with me, but, alas, battle calls."


The moment of bonding and random words was interrupted by the appearance of a tough looking elf who was probably familiar to Amara. Arryn was dressed in a light suit of armour, with a bolt pistol strapped to her thigh and a Sarix in a scabbard.


"You want to bore machines to death with poetry till they self-terminate? Cut the chatter, get the gear loaded up and come aboard," she commanded, then pointed a skeletal, cybernetic finger at Amara. "The Captain wants to see you. Come on. You'll be briefed," she turned around, presumably expecting Amara to follow her.


As they made their way aboard the freighter, she glanced at the blonde. "How's Faelar?" Based on her tone, she actually sounded interested in how her fellow elf, the former slave Amara had taken under her wing, was doing.

 

[Amara Zarides]

[member="Arryn"]
“Until next time then. Once more, once more into the breach,” Amara said gallantly to the Gamorrean who made a grunting sound which might be amusement.

Heading up the ramp she almost bumped into Arryn as the Eldorai suddenly stopped.
Amara replied seriously.
“She’s recovering. I think she’ll take a little for her to be accustomed to freedom. For now I’ve put them up in a decent hotel – not the palace your boss sent me to – and got them some papers. They’ll be fine. Faelar’s already showing her skills with technology, so I’ll keep training her.”

The pleasant moment passed, and the two women reached the cabin of Akure.
“Captain,” Amara said with a nod at the Chiss.

 

[Kaida Taldir]

[member="Amara Zarides"]


"That is good. Nice to see she does not shun technology like so many of our narrow-minded, superstitious sisters do. I am...glad that you are helping her get back on her own two feet," Arryn responded. She sounded a bit awkward and the words did not roll easily off her tongue, but her appreciation seemed genuine.


"Is Miss Grumpy actually being nice to someone? A human, no less. The apocalypse must be imminent," a Chiss dressed in fatigues suddenly interjected when they reached Akure's cabin.


"She's more pleasant than you, which admittedly is damning with faint praise. And I told you not to smoke on the ship." One wondered whether Akure did that just to annoy the Dashdae Eldorai. If she looked around, Amara might notice an HRD skull on the shelf, alongside a very...familiar looking implant with a lot of wires, and a grimoire called Necronomicon. There was also a jar that contained what looked like a vampire's fangs.


"And I've taken your opinion into account and decided to overrule it. Welcome, Amara. How's the angel of mercy thing going? Whatever, we got a job. You remember that ship you stole for Archangel? The Maladi. I want it. We've traced its location to a concealed shipyard in the middle of nowhere."

 

[Amara Zarides]

[member="Arryn"]
Amara had been about to reply about her white knight activities, but Akure shot her down so quickly she had to move along as well.
“Ah yes, the Maladi,” Amara said with a wince. She had been so naïve back then. ‘Back then’ being a few months, but it was like a quarter of her life regardless!

“Alright, I can help with this. The Maladi is a very automated ship, it requires less than a dozen crew to steer it, and less than 50 to actually fully crew it. Problem is though, it’s a pretty big ship, some 400 or so metres. How do we deal with the guards without bringing down all the clankers onto our heads? What’s this shipyard like? Guarded? What defences?”

She was starting to formulate a plan, but would let Akure speak first.

 

[Naamah Aesham]

[member="Amara Zarides"]


"Distraction won't work, we don't have stygium crystals, so we can't stealth our way in and you can't bribe a machine. But the toasters aren't half as smart as their own hype says," Akure's tone dripped with venom. "They're alert, but if something happens outside their parametres they can't compensate. But...conveniently, we got an Archangel IFF. The skinjob over here was very helpful," she patted the HRD skull lying on the shelf.


"It'll get us inside. Limited window of opportunity to heist the ship. Based on our intel, the shipyard's not guarded by a legion because it's biggest advantage is its secrecy, but we can't fight the entire guard contingent."

 

[Amara Zarides]

[member="Naamah Aesham"]
The vast irony of Naamah calling anything a ‘skinjob’ as an insult was lost on Amara at the moment.

Amara nodded when Akure spoke.
“Agreed. A small boarding team can slice into an airlock and enter the ship unexpectedly, giving us a beachhead inside the ship. The ship can move up and moor next to the Maladi. The team on board can go ahead and let them in. It should be simple enough to cut loose and just fly away. Our biggest danger is if Archangel is refurbishing it, or have some sort of auxiliary locking control on it. In the case of the latter we might need to attack the control centre and make it release us.”

There were a lot of ifs and buts in this plan, but until they saw the exact condition of the shipyard they’d not be able to plan much further.

 

[Naamah Aesham]

[member="Amara Zarides"]


"We got field disruptors to cut through shields. There are many ifs and buts, but if we pull this off, we'll get a shiny ship to play with, piss off some toasters. I'd blow up the freaking shipyard to, but I doubt we'll get to do that." One always had to make priorities.


"We leave now. Arryn, get our friend settled in. Don't introduce her to the rites of Ardarvia. I need her able to walk and fight when we get there. 'sides, something tells me she likes sausage." Arryn grunted something in Eldarai. Presumably she didn't like her boss' lame jokes.

 

[Amara Zarides]

[member="Naamah Aesham"]
Amara was still pretty naïve, but she wasn’t that innocent.
“Ardarvia? Eldorai…Goddess?” she asked curiously. Something in her memory kicked up something she’d learned. She made a face. “I’d rather keep focussed right now and as lovely as I’m sure you’d be after a few drinks you’re not my type.”
Besides, Amara was still a virgin and was still naïve enough to believe in true love and meeting Mr Right. It was sappy enough that it’d make Akure need a drink or four.

“But don’t deprive yourself on my account. By all means, I’ll just go and get ready in my room.”

Her cabin was small, little more than a utility closet, but it was better than what most of the crew got.
Once inside and with the door closed she laid down on the hard and lumpy folding bed and relaxed her mind for the struggle ahead.

 

[Enyo Typhos]

[member="Amara Zarides"]


Enyo no longer dreamt. That was something organics did, but it had been robbed from her on the day she died...and yet still lived. Undying. Kept going through the power of twisted medical science. So she lay in her tube, powered down. So much like a machine. Locked in the metaphorical dark room from which there was no escape. Perhaps Amara would be able to feel her through their bond...but the only thing she would perceive was a dark void.


While the cyborg slept, Naamah's ship, which had bore the theatrical name 'The Bloody Hand', jumped to hyperspace and began its journey towards the Archangel shipyard. Who knew what awaited them there.

 

[Amara Zarides]

[member="Enyo Typhos"]
Amara did try to reach out to her sister as she lay there…but it was like a great distance separated them. She was shouting into a howling wind, reaching towards a vault door. Something terrible had happened, she knew it now. Anger filled her, anger she only controlled by turning her thoughts away from Enyo and focussing on the fight to come.
“They will pay, dear sister….”

As the Bloody Hand emerged they could discern the shipyard; a construction orbiting a dying red dwarf’s second planet.

Amara was up in the cockpit. “Watch out, they’ll occasionally mine the approaches except for safe vectors. Keep your scanners running and search for small energy signatures, those should be the beacons which will guide us in.”

 

[Kaida Taldir]

[member="Amara Zarides"]


Finally, they emerged from hyperspace. Lacking stealth gear, they had to be extra cautious, so they appeared at the far edge of the system, which ought to put them outside of sensoe range. Ahead of them lay the shipyard, orbiting one of the planetoids.


Akure gave Amara a curt nod and steered the vessel, careful to watch for small energy signatures. As usual, her Force Signature had been shrunk to atomic levels, making it all but impossible to discern it unless you were a Master and concentrating a lot.


"Time for the boarding team to get going," she said when they got close enough, giving Amara and Arryn a nod, once the Maladi appeared on their scanners "Suit up in Zero-G and enter through the airlock. You let the rest of us inside. Maintain radio silence. Try not to get processed. It puts a damper on your sex life."

 

[Amara Zarides]

[member="Arryn"]
Amara nodded in reply. She was contracting being laconic from being too close to Akure and Arryn!

Spacesuits were never the most comfortable thing, but there was one mostly in Amara’s size. She’d never used one, but she knew the basics. The trouble was always keeping your cool, relaxing, letting the suit do its thing.

And so, as they performed a flyby on the Maladi the two of them exited the airlock, and then using micro boosters they travelled slowly towards the slab side of the massive (from this angle) ship. Fortunately, it seemed the shields were not raised – there was no threat and therefore no reason yet. Soon Amara and Arryn were close enough to take hold of the outer airlock control platform and begin the process of slicing into it.

Meanwhile, the Bloody Hand would stand off at a distance and wait to dock.

However, not everything would go as planned. Back at Archangel HQ a message was being directed to Moira and Maelion.

Site 00100010 observing unusual activity. Request permission to investigate.