Private Showing Koboh some Chaos

[Eira Dyn]

Location: Koboh
Equipment: Vibro-daggers, vibro-sword, blaster pistol, mask
Outfit: Assassin Attire
Tag: Scherezade deWinter

Another backwater planet that held no significance or history that made it worthy of Eira's full attention.

Or at least that should have been the views of the young Sith assassin, she was usually focused on worlds that were tied to her enemy, tied to the Jedi and the Galactic Alliance. However, for now, Eira had been training her skills. Learning how to harness her emotions, her rage and chaotic energies into a more efficient blade. Becoming a silent dagger that would slice the throat of even the strongest Sith Lords out there. A threat that could lurk behind every shadow, a nightmare whose mere name stoked levels of fear few Sith could match. Eira could only garner this reputation by working on targets to kill.

Let her work highlight her skills.

Hence her arrival to Koboh. This cesspool of a world was supposedly hiding a target. Something trying to avoid detection and thinking they would be cunning by taking refuge out on the fringes of the galaxy. However, Eira saw through this and she arrived on the world. Armed with her weapons, even wearing her assassin garbs with the haunting helmet that she had constructed. It was something that adapted to a new appearance but she was going to work on redesigning her whole gear some day.

Once she had proven her skills beyond a doubt.

"Tell me where the blood sucker is..." Eira spoke in a firm tone, her nails clicking against one of her daggers' hilt. She was certain that one of these supposed locals would know where her target was going to be located. It wasn't like this world was heavily populated with sentient life, in fact there were more creatures here to kill you than she had noted anywhere else. It was impressive in a way. "We can do this the more painful route if you refuse to speak."

Leaned in forward more, the eyes glowing bright furious red, staring forward as she tilted her head like she was a demonic entity. The Rodian was stuttering and leaning back in his chair as he tried to avoid getting any closer to Eira than she insisted on being.

"I said I don't know anything! Nothing about no blood sucker, I swears!" The Rodian cried, crocodile tears in Eira's mind.

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

It had been a few weeks since she had met Baird, a person who belonged to this or other blood drinking race, who had tried to drink hers only to recoil in horror. And being disliked to that degree, she could handle just fine. But Baird knew too much, and he was a very direct threat to both her and her… Well, she didn't know what their official title was yet, so she just went with her something.

She had sent out a ridiculously large number of self-destructing messages to all her old contacts. People she hadn't seen in over fourty years but might still be alive, who just might find something. Anything.

At last, she was not given a name. A name would have been too easy. But she was given a location, and a general description. It wasn't Baird himself, but someone who allegedly was close to him. It could also be a dead lead. Or a trap. Probably a trap.

The blood hound had also spent an unhealthy amount of time obsessing over the holonetwork, trying to pick up all the information she could about various races that drank blood, wanting to pin point what exactly this Baird dude was. But to no avail, nothing she did find screamed it to her, so she was still mostly blind on that front.

And that location… Had led her here. Some backwater planet called Koboh. She couldn't say she'd ever heard of it before.

She had crawled in muck, found a lot of arachnoids that were not supposed to exist outside of horrorholos, and eventually, ended up in a small street that seemed entirely deserted. The people on this planet weren't much into the cool and awesome nightlife, it seemed.

The Sith was ready to turn around and try a different route, when she felt it. A stir. A violent ripple. The Force was alerting her. Which as nice, but if there was one thing she'd learned in her short years, it was that the Force rarely alerted you about what you wanted to be alerted for.

And then, she heard the voices.

Huh.

It didn't take her long to slowly creep up the wall until just around it, were the Force tickles. A human female, and a male Rodian. The woman was looking for… A blood sucker! Oh, that was a new term for it. Scherezade liked that term very much.

So… She supposed there was no point in hiding. What's the worst that could happen, the lady with the funny mask would try to kill her?

Dust puffed as her boots landed while she walked closer to them. Her green eyes, glowing, amused, and far too alive, tracked between assassin and target. She wore no helmet, allowing her dark hair to flow free. No uniform. Just some nondescript black armor, and a belt overloaded with knives.

Lots of knives.

"Blood sucker," she repeated, grinning now. "Could be a vampire. Could be a politician. Could be a Hssiss. Or—" Her smile widened, shark-like. "Could be me."

She didn't reach for a weapon. She didn't need to. The air around her practically shimmered with barely-leashed intent. Not heavy. Not dark in the traditional Sithy sense. Just… feral. Untamed. Like someone who'd been given a choice between therapy and a bloodbath—and grinned as she chose both.

"Hi," she chirped, finally turning to face Eira directly. "You can call me Scherezade."

A beat.

Then she stepped between the assassin and the Rodian without asking.

"Now." She clapped her hands once, sharp and cheerful. "Let's talk about this blood sucker. I am curious." And turned back to the woman, "Oh, don't worry. It's not me. I'm not the blood sucker."

Eira Dyn

 

[Eira Dyn]

Location: Koboh
Equipment: Vibro-daggers, vibro-sword, blaster pistol, mask
Outfit: Assassin Attire
Tag: Scherezade deWinter

As soon as Eira felt the presence of a stranger approach, her fingers curled around the hilt of her dagger in preparations. Her training with her mentors had increased her perceptions and she was starting to be able to assess things through the Force. Feeling the feral, wild energies in the Force that were not necessarily dark and Sith in nature. It was a similar energy that Eira currently had with the Force, though hers was much darker. A rage that burned intensely and seemingly endlessly.

When Scherezade spoke up, a dagger flew from its hilt and into her hand. Positioned ready to throw and strike at the stranger, however, Eira didn't leap into attack. There was curiosity that filled the acolyte and she was wondering if there was someone else on a similar mission as herself from how Scherezade was speaking and moving. This wasn't a Sith looking to take Eira's mission away but it was still someone that Eira could not and would not trust yet. For now, she was demonstrating simple overcautious to assess how Scherezade would respond to it.

Probing reactions to learn more from the other woman.

When the Rodian made a move, thinking that Eira was distracted with the newcomer, Eira moved swiftly and buried the dagger into the forearm of the Rodian and pinned him to the wall. Demonstrating her deadly precision and ruthless attitude since Eira did not even look away from Scherezade as she did that. "It is not you that I seek. Though clearly you desire my target as well." Eira stated, not yet introducing herself to other woman, Eira's voice was also unnaturally deep. A product of the mask changing her voice as well as Eira's insistence on using the Force to warp and change how she spoke. Names, a person's true self, they were things that gave too much and given too freely by others, or at least Eira believed that they revealed too much since they could be looked into and secrets could be discovered to be turned against the person.

Better to hide anything that tied you.

"Tell me what you know and then I'll share what I know." Eira tilted her head slightly, curious if this woman would do that. Eira feared that anything she shared about her target would be taken, then she would be just someone who was used for information and then dumped. Not a pleasant sensation and one that Eira was keen on avoiding. Her eyes flitted between this Scherezade and the Rodian before she looked back to the woman.

"My name is Eira," sighing, it was important to offer something Eira guessed since this was a chance to form a connection.

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

Scherezade watched the dagger hit the Rodian's arm with pinpoint precision, her head tilting just a little to the left. Not out of horror. Not out of concern. No, it was the same way someone might admire a particularly sharp cut of gemstone or a new dance move they hadn't tried yet. She whistled, low and impressed.

"Nice throw," she said, hands still at her sides, though one of her fingers twitched like it wanted to tap a blade out of sheer reflex. "Points for style. But minus five for hurting the informant before he's done talking. You don't squeeze the juice before you even twist."

Her tone was cheerful, but her eyes gleamed. Not with threat. Not yet. With interest.

She stepped a little closer to Eira, enough to make it clear she had no problem occupying the same space, and was also not interested in removing that mask of hers. The shimmer around her grew thicker. Feral wasn't a mask for Scherezade, it was the skin she wore when she was being polite.

"You're right, though," she added with a little grin. "I want the blood sucker too. Or… a connection to him. Might be the same person, might be someone playing dress-up with teeth."

Then Eira said her name.

Scherezade didn't immediately reply, and instead, she turned to the Rodian, who still pinned and bleeding, and now whimpering like a half-steamed vegetable.

"Tell you what, Eira." She said the name like she was testing the taste of it. "We can play this even. You share one thing. I share one thing. See if the pieces match, yeah? Like putting together a dead body from scattered limbs. Ugly process. Useful results."

Scherezade crouched down in front of the Rodian, fingers twitching near one of her knives but not drawing it yet. "We can still squeeze more juice out of this one."

She looked up at Eira again, her green eyes glowing.

"I'll even go first," she grinned, "My target is some top honcho in charge of everything called Baird. He's a blood sucker, but I'm not sure what type of blood sucker exactly. I found more than eight different ones documented, but haven't been able to narrow it down just yet."

She paused her words for a moment, realizing something she hadn't a moment before.

"And if I'm totally misreading what this is and you actually work for him," her smile bloomed again, almost excited with the prospect of that being the case, "you're welcome to let him know I'm on my way."



Eira Dyn

 

[Eira Dyn]

Location: Koboh
Equipment: Vibro-daggers, vibro-sword, blaster pistol, mask
Outfit: Assassin Attire
Tag: Scherezade deWinter

"You don't let the fruit roll away before getting a chance to squeeze it." Eira countered, "it is why I went for the arm, and not the chest." She gestured, it was her intent to trap the man into position and not kill him outright for moving around. Her red eyes always flickered with cold burning fires of hatred and anger. Eira was not feral as a protective front, she was just that way by nature. She was the beast that had no leash, or at least that was how it seemed, Eira only had certain people she trusted to keep her in check.

Otherwise, she was a feral beast that torn those who stood in her way. With both words and her actions.

Nodding her head, it was interesting to see someone else was on a similar hunt. Eira watched Schezerade closely, her eyes assessing the dangers, the skills that were not yet revealed and where Eira stood in comparison. Whether she could survive a fight or whether she needed to ensure there were plans to escape. Eira nodded her head when it was mentioned that could be the same person or someone connected to her target.

The suggestion of sharing one thing in return for receiving something else, it was a transaction that had Eira cautious but she respected deeply. Nodding her head, "that sounds acceptable to me." Eira confirmed that she would work with this move.

"I do not know a Baird. What I have is this." Eira threw out a bounty chip, the target's face and the reward on display for Scherezade to see, it was someone who clearly had a connection to Baird was held a different name and face to the person that Scherezade was hunting. Eira looked over to her Rodian victim, "I was told he knew of some people who fled this way. Outsiders who were creepy." She turned back to the Rodian, "though this one is refusing to cooperate. I presume because he was paid to remain silent, so just figuring out how much his payment compares to the threats to his life."

A sinister smirk played on her lips as she gave a teasing wink to the Rodian, demonstrating that she was not finished with the man yet.

Shaking her head, "I don't think I work for the man you are hunting, I operate for either myself or the Sith Order." She tapped her hilt slowly, her mind wondering on whether or not this Baird might be behind the bounty. It seemed ridiculous. "I can help you fight him, if you need a hand." Eira offered, if it was an approach that got her closer to her target then she was happy. "I don't plan on bringing my target in alive, personally."

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

Scherezade caught the bounty chip mid-air with a flick of her wrist, letting it spin once between her fingers before her thumb froze it in place. Her glowing eyes skimmed the details, reading the name, face, amount.

"Huh," she murmured. "That's not Baird. Wish I could collect a scent from bounty chips."

The chip disappeared into one of her many belt pouches as she stood again, brushing nonexistent dust off her knee. Her gaze tracked back to Eira, assessing. Measuring. But not in the cold, calculating way. There was a flicker of disorderly chaos behind it, something that longed not for answers, for those were easy, but mostly a way to dissect them like the wings off a butterfly.

"You and I," she said slowly, "might actually be able to get something done together. You've got that whole 'cut first, ask questions if they survive' vibe, and I respect that."

She was smiling now. Not the kind you wear to be polite. The kind you wear when your teeth like the taste of blood.

"But since you shared," she said cheerfully, "I'll share too."

Without breaking eye contact, she turned back to the Rodian. He flinched as she crouched in front of him again, eyes wide, breath hitching. She didn't even draw a weapon. Just placed a hand gently on the wall beside his pinned arm and leaned in, licking his cheek slowly, succeeding in not shuddering at the experience. Rodians didn't have soft and supple skin. Not even almost.

"Hey," she whispered, sweet as poison fruit. "You know, I'm really good at what I do. But people always think I need blades."

Her presence pressed against him like a wet cloth over the soul. Not suffocating, but invading. It didn't shout, it murmured. Showed him how small he was. How pointless. How everything he thought made him clever or safe had already unravelled in her gaze. There were no secrets behind his eyes she couldn't peel open. And she didn't even try that hard.

The Rodian whimpered. A choked noise. Something broke. His mind was disappointingly weak.

"I didn't know!" he croaked suddenly. "I didn't know it was one of them! I-I-I just passed the message along!"

Scherezade didn't move.

"They said to tell him! Tell the one with the rings! That the Nest is waking up." His words tumbled out in a rush. "That's all I know, I swear! I thought it was just weird spice-jargon! I didn't know it was him!"

He sobbed once. Actual tears now.

Scherezade blinked once, slowly, and then stood again. She didn't even need to look at Eira to know she'd heard it too.

"Well," she said brightly, "that's the kind of creepy that makes my teeth itch."

She turned to Eira, her smile wide and shark-like again.

"You ready to go poke the Nest?"


Eira Dyn

 

[Eira Dyn]

Location: Koboh
Equipment: Vibro-daggers, vibro-sword, blaster pistol, mask
Outfit: Assassin Attire
Tag: Scherezade deWinter

"Just someone who was caught draining the blood of the wrong people. Probably why your Baird ended up here. Easy to get lost and forgotten on worlds like this one." Eira was thankful that she kept a second bounty chip on her person since Scherezade decided to hold onto the one that Eira had shown the other woman. It was curious that she wanted to have a smell, seemed that this woman was not too dissimilar from those that they were tracking. Eira hadn't interacted with many alien races, especially ones who seem very human in their appearances.

Watching the other woman, Eira studied her, making sure she learned from the movements. There was intriguing aura surrounding the other woman, the way she moved seemed similar to Eira but there was more power. More danger that was under the surface of chaos.

Scherezade moved to her target, Eira took a step closer, making sure that her future informant was not murdered. However, Scherezade did things different to how Eira had been working. Using the Force to break open the mind of the Rodian. It was a technique that drew a smirk to Eira's lips, something so obvious but there was also a lack of fun in terms of hearing the screams and cries of anguished pain. But it was effective, Eira needed to accept that torture was not the way she could get reliable information, especially if she wanted to continue her path of becoming an assassin. A hunter that lived in darkness.

"Nearly."

Eira then approached the informant and removed her dagger from the Rodian's arm. "Never want to leave a weapon behind..." Her eyes studied the galaxy-like glittering eyes of the Rodian, a smile formed on the lips of Eira as she pressed the dagger against the throat of the informant. "If only you complied earlier in the conversation." She then sliced the throat and ended the life of the Rodian.

Stepping back, she looked over to Scherezade, "now I am ready to find this Nest. No loose ends."

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

Scherezade's grin flickered, sharp as a vibroblade's edge, as she watched the Rodian's last breath spill quietly into the dust.

"Clean. Final. I like it," she murmured, her voice low and hungry with approval.

The scent hit her before the Rodian's body even fully sagged. Blood, warm and rich and full of memory. It rushed up her senses like a tidal wave, made her pupils dilate and her breath catch for a beat too long. The desire to probe into it and see what hid among the dark red was strong. But then she exhaled, slow and steady, blinking once to chase the red haze from her vision. Just blood. Just information. That she didn't need.

Her green eyes danced with something feral and bright. "But maybe that's exactly what this hunt needs. A storm and the bite after."

She paused, letting the moment stretch, then cocked her head slightly. "So tell me… this Nest. Sounds like more than just a hideout. 'The one with the rings'… What kind of nightmare are we poking here? Some Sithy cult? A hidden lab cooking up twisted abominations? Or something… stupider?"

Scherezade's smile deepened, teeth glinting. She flicked a glance to the horizon, eyes sharp as a blade's point. "Time to gear up, partner. I don't know about you, but I'm itching to taste the hunt."


Eira Dyn

 

[Eira Dyn]

Location: Koboh
Equipment: Vibro-daggers, vibro-sword, blaster pistol, mask
Outfit: Assassin Attire
Tag: Scherezade deWinter

Eira saw the excitement in Scherezade when the scent of blood wafted through the air. Her gaze flickered from the dead body to the other woman, curious if she was some sort of vampire. Or just a crazy person who loved to drink blood. "Seems blood excites you. A different style of blood sucker to the one we are hunting?" Eira asked, wondering what she could learn about vampiric races in general since they were not a race she had come across before.

When asked about the Nest, Eira shrugged her shoulders, "too vague to say. Could be a mating ground of some kind if they copy the term from birds." She added, not sure what to truly expect moving forward but Eira was keen to see what this Sith could do in action now. "Seems like we need to do some scouting and gather intel how this Nest before we can strike at it." Eira stated, knowledge was power and right now they had nothing in terms of this Nest.

Heading into a trap seemed too reckless, even for Eira. Though that was mostly because she was deathly aware of how limited her skills were still.

Grabbing her blades and looking over to Scherezade, "I am ready to go whenever you are." Eira smiled back, eager to get a taste of action once again. Gesturing forward to Scherezade, "lead the way to this Nest then." Eira's eyes held a survival level of suspicion on the other woman. Not quite trusting everything that was going on for now.

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

Scherezade rolled her eyes with dramatic flair, though a grin still curled at the edge of her lips.

"Eww, I don't drink blood," she said, as though the very idea offended her, though not nearly enough to stop her from enjoying the confusion it caused. "It just… sings. History. Emotion. Thought. If you listen hard enough, you can almost hear the echoes of what mattered before it spilled."

She crouched by the Rodian's body, dragging two fingers through the drying stain in the sand. Not to taste this time, just to feel the warmth that hadn't entirely faded. A pulse. A story cut short. One she didn't need to read today.

Straightening up and wiping her bloodied fingers on her pants, she gave Eira a sidelong glance. "Don't worry. If I ever need a snack, I'll go for something more refined. You're safe, unless you're made of Bantha wings."

At the mention of a mating ground, her nose scrunched. "If they're mating in a place called the Nest, I'm definitely going in sword-first. But you're right… We're hunting shadows right now, and shadows lie. We'll need to draw them out, shake the tree and see what falls."

Her fingers traced lazy patterns in the air, and for a moment the dust responded with shimmering with motes of light, half-formed illusions that melted just as quickly. She was thinking. Plotting. Smiling too much for anyone's comfort.

"Let's not walk into their web without spinning a few of our own first. We'll head toward the old comm tower near the canyon rim. Locals say it's been quiet for months, but I've got a feeling it's not as abandoned as it looks. Good spot for surveillance. Or an ambush."

She looked at Eira fully then, the earlier wildness tempered now by something cooler. Calculated.

"You're good in a fight. But this next part might require something messier. Are you good at pretending to be bait? Playing innocent?"

And with that, she turned toward the horizon, her steps light, almost joyful, like the idea of walking into danger was her version of a spa day.



Eira Dyn

 

[Eira Dyn]

Location: Koboh
Equipment: Vibro-daggers, vibro-sword, blaster pistol, mask
Outfit: Assassin Attire
Tag: Scherezade deWinter

Eira shook her head, the mention of what blood meant to Scherezade. It sounded like the mutterings of a crazed woman to Eira, to her, it was a liquid. A substance that held nothing. It was important in sustaining a person, but then was food. Water. Holding ties to such a substance seemed strange and impractical. It was overly praising the liquid for doing its job. Eira held her tongue though, she had learned from previous encounters that speaking the first words that came to her mouth did not always go down well with others.

Some found it hard to accept Eira's very blunt and pointed views on things.

"I would be safe either way. I am not seeking a partner biting me, I prefer to bite myself." There were no unusually sharp teeth or signs that suggested she was anything but human. "But good to know that you aren't seeking a meal of that variety."

As she watched Scherezade plot and plan, Eira leaned back, relaxing as she allowed the other Sith time to comply her thoughts and figure out the best approach. Watching, Eira found it intriguing how another thought and approached mission planning. Checking the Rodian for any credits or weapons, Eira was disappointed in finding only a couple of credits. Nothing worthwhile, but she pocketed the credits. "Comm tower, sounds like a good place to start."

Rising to her full height, Eira stretched her limbs and sighed, "not my favourite role to play but I can do it well enough." Giving her shoulders a shrug as she had no clue whether or not it would work. "What's the plan then? Charm my way inside?"

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

Scherezade blinked once. Then again. A third time for dramatic flair.

"I don't know whether to be offended or delighted," she said at last, voice lilting like she was enjoying the tension of being misunderstood, but let the matter go. She didn't need everyone to understand the inner workings of her Blood Hound abilities, she just needed them to bleed when the situation called for it. With some, it was easier to just let it happen instead of trying to explain anything.

The smile she gave Eira was knife-blade sweet. "I wasn't planning to bite you without consent."

She let the word hang there as she crouched beside the Rodian's slumped form again, brushing her fingers idly through the small pool of blood by his neck. It had started to cool. The scent no longer clawed quite so insistently at her gut.

"Anyway." She rose, business-like now, snapping back to a different register. "Comm tower's got a half-circle plaza around it, right? Open lines of sight. No cover unless we make some. So first, make sure there's people there when we get there. Second, cause a scene."

She paused, looking Eira Dyn over. Her face was still mask-covered. She had a feeling, which could have been completely and utterly wrong, that the other Sith would not take a fancy to removing it.

"You should run at whoever's there and start screaming and waving your arms around," Scherezade grinned, "give them a good scare, go totally unhinged, while I sneak inside and find a way to get you through unnoticed."

That was going to be a slightly tough part. How did you make someone with a mask go from unhinged to unnoticed without them being someone entirely socially unwanted?

She coughed, and started marching. They didn't need the Rodian anymore, and they could talk more while actually moving out of the stinky area.

As they did, Scherezade flashed her a grin, "Unless you've got a sweeter idea. Floor's yours."

 

[Eira Dyn]

Location: Koboh
Equipment: Vibro-daggers, vibro-sword, blaster pistol, mask
Outfit: Assassin Attire
Tag: Scherezade deWinter

"I figured you might be a woman who enjoys exploring both options. Delightfully offended." Eira mentioned, her robotic voice was cold and callous but the words were playful and suggesting she enjoyed to be a tease. However the mask gave nothing, the cold robotic red eyes stared forward, stared as Scherezade lost interest in the dead body. The cooling blood that pooled on the ground. It was curious that only the burning hot blood was what interested the other woman. As soon as it began to cool, intrigue faded. It was as if the memories, the connections that Scherezade talked of were one of the first times that disappeared from the blood.

Nodding her head, "good to know, just stating my preference when it came to biting." The robotic voice gave a soft chuckle. Reinforcing the idea that she was not judging Scherezade or thinking poorly, just firm in what she liked and what she wanted.

The masked head tilted, there was a look of confusion and curiosity, the plan seemed strange. Ridiculous in a manner but also not something that could be unfeasible. "I would have suggested using the Force to cloak us and sneak in undetected. But causing a chaotic scene and being the distraction for you could work too." It was also a more practical option since anti-Force measures could have been taken in case if they knew Scherezade was chasing them.

"Problem is when I make a scene, I can remove the mask easy enough and lower the hood. But my outfit in general might still have me recognised and standing out." Eira mentioned. The mask was good for remaining incognito but she knew that it was not something she could always don and there were going to be times that she needed to remove it to ensure the mission succeeded.

And she wasn't seeking to fail this mission. Not yet.

"What about you? How are your skills in stealth?" Eira walked beside Scherezade, matching the pace. "I got the impression you enjoyed to be dramatic and perhaps a bit over the top in terms of flair." There was no intention to insult or critique Scherezade, a mere bluntness on how she saw the other Sith.

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

So she removed the mask when she made a scene, uh? Scherezade grinned, mostly internally, but also on the outside. It was weird for her to judge the outfit, since she generally let people better than her decide on those things, but it didn't really stand out to her on its own. Then again, it wouldn't be the first time she was wrong about something that had to do with fashion.

And then the question came, directed at her. How was she in stealth?

"I can do stealth," the Sithling shrugged, "for a limited amount of time. If I lose my concentration, it's game over though."

Of course, that did not mean she didn't have other options to explore when that happened. She knew how to travel over short distances within the shadows. She'd done it on multiple occasions when her prey somehow became her predator and her goal was to survive. Or drive people mad.

But it was something she decided not to reveal, for now. If need be, Eira would see it happen soon enough. If Eira was half as good as Scherezade thought she could be, she'd be coming into the shadows with her as well.

I'm really good at keeping my teammates alive, she'd told a friend not too long ago. It had been a truth.

The path to the comm tower snaked through a district that had long fallen off the maintenance rosters. Overhead, broken holosigns flickered with ghostlight, casting stuttering glows of colorless neon onto the cracked permacrete below. The buildings around them leaned in with the weight of time, and of course, all of them were empty.

The two entered a service tunnel let out into an old processing zone that probably once was bustling with transport droids and city workers, and was now silent except for the occasional static hiss of malfunctioning terminals. Vents exhaled slow steam. Somewhere deep in the metal bones of the alley, a vibrocompactor groaned to life and then fell silent again.

They were close.

"So why the mask?" Scherezade asked Eira Dyn , her voice maintaining a very casual tone.

 

[Eira Dyn]

Location: Koboh
Equipment: Vibro-daggers, vibro-sword, blaster pistol, mask
Outfit: Assassin Attire
Tag: Scherezade deWinter

Hearing that the dependency of Scherezade's ability to stealth was based on concentration. It was not an ideal situation for Eira since there could be so many things that broke the concentration. However, Eira didn't feel like there was much of a choice in what they needed to do so this was their best options. "That will have to do, hopefully nothing comes our way that is threatening." Eira was never going to offer false compliments or hope when she was assessing a situation as well as those working alongside her.

Walking along, Eira breathed in deeply as she thought about how she would approach in spooking and distracting those that would be facing her.

When asked about her mask, Eira chuckled, the distorted voice sounded more demonic and cold than her actual voice was. "Many reasons, practicality reasons, I can assess things in combat and better hide my identity." Eira stated as she began listing of reasons that she was wearing the device on her face. "This will always be far more intimidating than my face, as much as I like how pretty and attractive I am, rarely will it stoke utter fear." Eira giggled as she gave herself a compliment.

"Finally, it also prevents my face being attached to the many, many crimes that I desire to enact. I mean, how can they place a bounty on me when no one knows my face." Eira stated, she saw the mask as a tool for practicality, especially when she was aiming to become a powerful Sith Assassin. "I plan on becoming an assassin, the pinnacle of Sith Assassins... but that means I must be able to be invisible or at least potentially portray myself as someone who can live two lives."

One where she appears weaker, foolish, a pretty face and then the metaphorical mask is removed while the physical one is donned. Allowing Eira to be her true self, the killer that lives in the shadows.

Looking around, seeing how close they were, "best we part ways here, get into our positions ready to make the move. Be ready when I make my move." Eira nodded to Scherezade and moved in a different direction to the other Sith.

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

Scherezade listened as Eira Dyn explained the mask thing. There were a lot of ways that jumped to her mind about poking holes through the other Sith's logic, but for the time being, she decided it would be best not to mention them out loud. She was trying to build basic trust among teammates here, and you didn't do that by criticizing one of them. Though… She did take a mental note to discuss the matter with Eira deeper in the future, if their comradery proved to be fruitful.

It wasn't a weakness thing though. Definitely not. If people ever had fumes that signaled to others about their dangourness or potential, Eira had a lot of those going on, and that was great. Encouraging, even. In truth, though Scherezade had been vastly different when she'd been released from the pebble, there was a lot in it that would have resonated with her younger self. And that meant, more likely than not, that Eira was in for a lot of pain.

And if Scherezade could help a teammate, even if a temporary one, avoid that? She wanted to. Because ultimately, Niysha had been right about the Sithling. Scherezade's heart was a paradox, pitch-black and wide open, all at once. Glitter-coated darkness that still reached for warmth. For connection. For friends. But fantasies had no place right now. They had a job to do.

"I will teach you to jump through shadows if you make it out alive," she promised the other Sith with a wink.

And then their ways truly did depart.

Now it was up to Scherezade to cause the chaos. She grinned.

Her boots were silent against the floor as she pulled the Force around herself to cloak her movement, just to buy herself some time before the true madness started. The Sithling darted ahead, making her way through the expose walkway that overlooked the central compound. The lights glared from above. Good. That meant they cast shadows, and Scherezade passed through them almost like smoke.

She didn't have to reach the commtower just yet. First, she wanted to paint the walls pink and loud.

She noticed movement behind a support column. A poor guard, left alone, too slow, and she could guess without waiting that he would be predictably bad at aiming. Scherezade opened into a run, a dagger flying into each of her hands. The guard fired once and what do you know, he actually shot the Sith. The bullet hit her in the right shoulder, grazing the sleeve and the flesh beneath. She ignored it. She was really good at ignoring pain when her adrenaline was high, and oohboi it was rising quickly now.

She vaulted from her location to him in a gorgeous arch, landing atop of him before he even registered the movement, the two daggers cutting at his neck, separating flesh and spine from the rest of him. She did leave a part of the back of his neck still attached though. She didn't need the head, so she wasn't going to go the extra inch for him.

And then the alarms started blaring.

Sherezade grinned.

A cluster of figures spilled out of a corridor up ahead, blasters drawn, barking orders she didn't bother to hear. She flung her hands wide and a dozen blades made their way from her body, concealed up until this moment, and opening around her like a luscious fan. To that, she added a single bomb that she sent flying over to the guards, making it detonate just as it hit their location.

The bomb didn't include any fire though. Instead, the area became coated in a sudden burst of pink and gold glitter, customized by yours truly to serve disorient those in the area. Sometimes, the glitter was coated in acid. This time though, it wasn't.

A moment later, Scherezade jumped into the cloud fart of glitter, all her knives moving as if she had no less than seven pairs of arms, all moving to cut, slash, remove limbs, and kill.

 

[Eira Dyn]

Location: Koboh
Equipment: Vibro-daggers, vibro-sword, blaster pistol, mask
Outfit: Assassin Attire
Tag: Scherezade deWinter

Jumping through shadows seemed like an interesting power to hold, especially since it held a lot of potential for a budding Sith Assassin to use in combat. A way to move around an opponent and slip behind a guard's field of vision. Eira could appreciate a power like that and she was curious to see how Scherezade would use it when infiltrating silently into the base.

Since that had been the plan, Scherezade was the one who came up with the plan. She had stated that Eira would be the bait to be the distraction and then Eira would be sneaking in afterwards. It was clear that Scherezade had wanted to recon and be stealth, utilising their sneaky skills. Eira had clearly heard the comments about being the bait and distracting people so Scherezade sneak in.

So Eira was confused when she saw Scherezade speed towards the comm tower. Like this just had to be sneaking in position. Then a guard shot at Scherezade. Eira tilted her head, puzzled, dumbfounded. Baffled. Where was the stealth in this. It was impressive, Eira was sure of that but this wasn't something Eira had planned for. It wasn't something they had discussed in their plan. In fact, Eira was more annoyed since it felt the exact opposite of what they were going to be doing and Eira wasn't sure why this abrupt change was being done.

Eira moved forward, forgoing any notions of being stealthy and sneaky. Instead, she was just dealing with the guards that had not been killed by Scherezade. Pulling out her pistol, Eira fired several shots at differing guards, several she killed were just double taps. Eira approached Scherezade looking at the other woman with a tilted head, the face still hidden behind her mask. "What happened to the stealth plan? Thought we were going to be sneaky, scope out the place." Waving towards the glittery chaos that was around them.

"Doesn't feel very stealthy... this approach... I don't mind going loud if we are going loud."

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

Eira Dyn 's voice almost startled the Sithling. Almost. For the briefest of jiffies, Scherezade had been ready to use her pointy ends on the other woman before realizing that no, this wasn't an enemy surprising her, this was her teammate for this.

Stealth?

It took another moment as Scherezade took a deep breath, forcing the thrill of the kill to fade from the edge of her vision and senses. A small pyramid of guard-corpses lay at her feet, blood spilling everywhere. She'd done it all with only two blades while many more waiting beneath and inside her armor to be used. But… That hadn't been the plan. She'd forgotten what the plan was.

Now, some readers might think this is funny and in character for our lovely chaotic Sithling. But truth is, her writer effed up big time, which is an unfortunate thing that sometimes happens. As the writer, I assure you that this is very much not typical for Scherezade. She does get distracted, but not this quickly and without any effort on the other side's actions.

"He shot me first!" she announced defensively, sliding her blades back into their sheaths. Totally true. The Sithling gave a quick, guilty shrug that tried to pass for nonchalance, eyes glittering too brightly. "Besides… look, fewer guards for later."

Scherezade nudged one of the corpses out of her way with the tip of her boot, already half-bored of the mess she'd made. The blood still sang on her skin, whispering for more. Hadn't she just tried to clear her senses from it? She clenched her fists and forced herself forward.

The comm tower loomed ahead, its skeletal silhouette rising above the gutted buildings like a spire from some forgotten temple. Every flicker of light from its antennae was a reminder that if they didn't get there soon, this little escapade would end with reinforcements pouring in on their heads. And the alarms were still blaring.

"You're welcome to choose the next step," she grinned to the masked Sith, "I'll follow your lead."

 

[Eira Dyn]

Location: Koboh
Equipment: Vibro-daggers, vibro-sword, blaster pistol, mask
Outfit: Assassin Attire
Tag: Scherezade deWinter

It seemed the notion of stealth had fallen apart and Eira sighed deeply, it was not too surprising from what she could tell, there was far too much chaotic energy from her partner in crime. However, she was intrigued by the effectiveness of the way this woman moved. The attacks had been fast, aggressive and executed well. Looking past the dramatic flairs that were a little too extra for Eira but she could tell this was a woman who loved to have a dramatic moment whenever she fought. This was a learning moment, things to take away, store as information that could be used later down the line. Should they ever find themselves no longer friends or more importantly, something to be aware of when working with this new friend again on a mission.

There needed to be assurances that she avoided getting coated in glitter.

"It is fine, I don't mind this approach. Seems you have the skills to undertake an attack like this." There was no judgement or annoyance in Eira's tone. She was content with the plan to go awry, it was just reassessing how to approach things now. The removal of her mask seemed less helpful since this gave her better anonymity as well as some more tactical options.

Seeing more guards rushing towards them, Eira grabbed her daggers and twirled them in her hands. Watching the guards pour in, the young Sith woman rolled her neck and shoulders, loosening her body up. It had been a while since she fought more than a single opponent, Eira was someone who usually worked tactfully, targeting one by one. However, the assassin also knew how to fight a group of warriors. It was necessary for her to be able to do so since there was always going to be a day where she was outnumbered.

Launching her daggers, the pair went straight through the chests of the first guards they pierced and embedded themselves into the guards directly behind. Killing four with only two blades, the assassin had imbued energy from her Force powers into the throws to make them extra lethal. She then ran across the wall, showing off her hyper-mobility as Eira raised her hands causing bursts of Force Lightning to shoot from her fingertips and force a couple more guards to collapse to the ground. Their bodies smoking from the intense electrical charge that Eira sent through their bodies. Each movement and strike from Eira was painterly lethal.

She crushed the windpipe of the final guard and watched as the life drained from his eyes. A personal delight for the young Sith. "Let's keep moving, we need to be pushing forward before more arrive to lock us in place." Eira stated, there would be no hiding where they were so making as much progress as they could between fights would ensure that whoever was here could not escape before they got their kills.

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

She wasn't sure why, but Scherezade just stood there with a goofy grin on her face, beaming with pride as she saw Eira Dyn make such use of Force Lightning. It had been a hot minute since the last time she saw someone exploit the ability, and it was always fun to see.

She just nodded with Eira mentioned they had to keep moving. Though, Scherezade's reasoning was probably different than her new friend's. She wasn't really worried about more guards coming, she was merely noting that her stomach was feeling somewhat empty, and food would be required pretty soon.

So off again they were, the commtower's entrance at last within their grasp. The plaza was mostly empty, but the two had left splotches of blood and bodies where it hadn't been.

For a moment, Scherezade had been wrapped enough in the fun that she'd forgotten entirely why they were there to begin with. The blood sucker's nest.

"Ever fought bloodsuckers before?" she asked her companion, "Not sure if there's anything we need to know beforehand. Other than the usual ways to kill humanoids, I mean."