Private The Siren & The Liberator

[Reina Daival]

Tag: Mia Monroe
Location: Serreno

"So...is assassination off the menu?"

Reina took a whetstone across the edge of Whisperwind either way. She didn't have to care for the blade in the manner she was, but it kept her mind focused, rather than wandering. The fact that assassination had been the first avenue her mind had went towards scared the Ersansyr. There were dozens of other ways they could have dealt with this Count. Spread his emails across the net, inspire his people to stand up and rebel against him for the Mandalorians. Wasn't there that creed that Mandalorians-But-Not-Mandalorians could follow? The Dorian? Derian? Domarian? One of those.

Come to think of it, if Reina tried to do a good job, maybe she could get rewarded with the role of Countess. Countess Daival. Part of it rolled off her tongue in a delectable way. Though she gave a short shake of her head. No. That wouldn't quite work. It wasn't the kind of title she wanted...Though could beggars be choosers? If it was her only chance of ever getting a title? No. No. It wasn't worth it.

For now, she just focused on adjusting her armour as well as she could. It wasn't something she was used to wearing anymore, but it was how she tried to organise her jobs now. Mandalorian jobs had her stuck in her own version of a tin-can. Sure, it wasn't the worst for protection, but the redhead had moved away from requiring a strong defense. Now? She worked on being agile. She could take a hit if she had to...but more often than not nowadays, she didn't want to.
​

 

[Mia Monroe]

Mia''s lips curved into smile beneath her helm at the suggestion, the soft hiss of the whetstone running along Reina's blade filling the shuttle around them. "Tempting, but no."

It would have been a lot easier, that was certain, but it wouldn't have been cleaner. The treaty had been clear about the deportation of sympathisers, if one that had been unveiled was to suddenly die then questions would be raised as to the strength of Mand'alors word. So it was that Mia was taking this into her own hands. It was her sector and if a mistake was to be made it would be at her hand.

She hoped Count Armand was smart enough to come quietly, but she doubted it. It was curiosity that had had her extend the job to Reina, she came highly recommended and Mia was always on the look out for new recruits.

"Keeping him alive is the most important thing. Incapacitation of any who he's paid to fight on his behalf is also preferable, but I understand that cannot always be helped." The shuttle shuddered as it moved into Serreno's atmosphere, taking her, Reina and the handful of others she had selected for this mission towards the Count's home. "you do have absolute freedom to destroy any holocams. I will not have this become another thing to be cast into the galaxy's holonet for them to pass judgement on only half a story."

"LZ coming up!" the pilot called back to them.

Reina Daival

 

[Reina Daival]

Tag: Mia Monroe
Location: Serreno

"Incapacitation of his security? No killing. Guess I'll put the knife away."

Using a poisoned blade was off the table, as she made sure to latch the dagger securely into its sheath, even as it somewhat oozed the Dark Side. Even her whisperwind, her Jedi blade was sheathed as Reina cracked her knuckles instead. Part of this made her realise that she needed a better non-lethal weapon than her hands, but that was neither here nor there. Far too late for her to change what she was carrying on herself.

"I can crack the heads of a few hired hands."

Destroying the holocams would be easy enough if they came across any. The Force was a deft tool that Reina was more than willing to use to its full potential now. She had spent so long focusing on attacking physically that she had forgotten how useful the Force could be when used to attack instead of defensively. That didn't stop her from having a passive use of Force Enhancement flowing through her, as the redhead walked over towards the shuttle exit, preparing to get out.

"Any other specific rules set out? No killing of the Count, do my best not to kill his guards, destroy cameras. Am I picking up some tea whilst we're down there or?"

She broke out into a slight grin at that...before it somewhat shifted for a bit. A thought coming to Reina's mind as she turned her head away, muttering a little bit to herself. It sounded like she was trying to say something but kept stuttering over her words.

"Huk...Hukaat'ka...Kama? Hukatt'kama"

Watch my back. At least...that was what Reina thought it meant. She wouldn't admit it, but her encounter with Aselia Verd and Cali Ziiva had caused the redhead to try and do somewhat more studying into the Mandalorian language. Whilst Ersansyrs normally had an innate talent for learning new languages, Reina wasn't exactly a "natural" Siren.​

 

[Mia Monroe]

Reina didn't question it, her blades sheathed immediately without complaint. Her comment about tea tugged another smile. "If there's some going, I won't say no." she replied with an amused tone. She was already beginning to like this girl. something in her shifted not nerves but something else Mia couldn't quite place. Then she heard it, the stutter of Mando'a.

"Hukaat'kama." she corrected softly before giving her a small nod. "I will."

The shuttle shuddered as it touched down on the estates landing pad. the long path between it and the building itself was littered with rapidly thrown together cover. Mia stepped off the shuttle first, blaster fire pinging off her armour. she flung a hand forward without slowing her moment, a blast of telekinetic energy ripping across the path shattering makeshift barriers and sending militia flying.

It stuttered the blaster fire enough that Reina and the rest of the team could move in without risk of being taken down.

Reina Daival

 

[Reina Daival]

Tag: Mia Monroe
Location: Serreno

She had taken enough jobs to know that you shouldn't ask questions until after it was done. That's why there was no complaints from her. If she was told to jump, Reina would simply ask how high. Sure, she might grumbly internally, but she'd keep her complaints locked away. With that being said...one thing she couldn't keep locked away internally was the grin that spread across her face when Mia corrected Reina's mando'a.

With that said and done however, Mia was heading out of the shuttle to take the brunt of the blaster fire. Strange in a way, that was what Reina had wanted to be when she was with the Jedi. To be on the frontline, taking the fire and holding the line for those behind her. How different her life could have been if she had gotten to be that role, instead of having been looked down upon. No point crying over blue milk however.

Instead it was best for her to focus on the task at hand, as she jumped off the shuttle, landing hard on the ground before she focused on the Force. Manipulating the sea and air might have been her forte, but the flame roaring inside of her came almost as easily as she rose up to her feet, swinging her arm up at the same time, igniting the ground in front of the landing area in a blaze. The team would be able to get through easily enough...but Reina wanted to at least show off a little bit.

"...Too much?"

​

 

[Mia Monroe]

An eyebrow raised beneath her buy'ce as flames erupted across the landing pad, her head tilting to cast a sideways glance over her shoulder at Reina as the last of the mercenaries who had taken up defensive positions retreated inside, clearly realising they were not paid anywhere near enough to die for the fool who'd hired them.

"Not at all."

Mia turned her attention forward once more and stepped through the flames. "There's a shuttle on the landing pad to the back of the estate, I will secure it." The doors the had sealed shut ahead of them, buckled as she approached, the groan of metal struggling under immense pressure before the imploded into the mansion giving Reina a way in. "Take the squad and flush him out."

"Uma kaysh ke'gyce, bal sur'ulur kaysh norac."

A rippled of affirmatives came from the four supercommandos that stood with Reina. Mia nodded once to Reina before turning to walk the buildings perimeter to the ground beyond.

Reina Daival

 

[Reina Daival]

Tag: Mia Monroe
Location: Serreno

Oh. That...was a lot of Mando'a. Reina pouted to herself for a moment, as she tried to wrap her head around what had been said. Taking context clues into account, and the fact that Mia was leaving whilst the Supercommandos were staying with Reina, it must have been something along the lines of them working with her. That was fine by her. She hadn't...quite taken a leadership role in anything before, but at least she knew she wouldn't have to baby them.

"Intimidation seems to be a good factor against these lot so..."

She rummaged around for a moment, before pulling out her Lightsaber, letting the red blade ignite. Flames, smoke and a red lightsaber? There were few regular mercs who would want to deal with that and a group of Supercommandos. It was another lesson for Reina. Sometimes you could rule or have power without using it. Fear was a strong weapon. Sometimes stronger than the Force itself, she was starting to learn.

"Remember, we're going room by room. Three into a room, two stay out, in case they try to run."

And with that, Reina set off to go through the mansion. Occasionally using either the Force to blast open a door telekinetically, or booting it down with her foot, letting splinters fly. They were a handful of times where Reina could have just lunged into the room and extinguished the lives of the mercs that were starting to try and hide...but instead she left them for the Supercommandos to deal with. Stun rounds and whatnot.

There was one room where Reina did take matter in her own hands, but only because the mercenary hiding inside had tried to ambush Reina and smack her in the back of the head with a coatstand. Her reaction immediately was to drop down to the ground and smash her armoured fist into the man's stomach, letting him fall down to the ground in pain.

"...Seriously? I come in with the Force and a Lightsaber, and you think a thing of wood would be enough? Who has this guy been hiring?"

That said, Reina went straight back to trying to flush out this Count Armand. He should be Counting his days. A small smirk spread across her face at that. Heh, count.

​

 

[Mia Monroe]

The count's estate was surrounded by perfectly manicured gardens, each section bordered by flawless hedges or carefully places walls that caught the sun at the right angle for the plants growing against them. It might have been a pleasant and tranquil walk had it not been for the insistent scream of blaster bolts to ruin an otherwise perfect day.

Mia couldn't blame them, as she moved like the blaster fire was little more than an irritation, a barricade lifted with the curl of her fingers before a gentle flick sent it hurtling into another, scattering the mercs that had sheltered behind it as they fled to secure more cover...or simply just to hide. For a moment she contemplated setting the whole garden on fire but that seemed wasteful.

She found her way out of the gardens and onto the main oath that led from the rear of the house towards the hanger bay where she came to a halt as a ripple of weapons shifting into position.

"As Warmaster, I am obligated to advise you to stand down. You will no be punished for fulfilling a contract nor will you be perused as you leave your posts. However, staying where you are and continuing to defend a sympathiser and you will be treated as one yourself. You will be detained and deported, if you are lucky enough to survive the fight."

Her head tilted.

"Choose wisely."

Reina Daival

 

[Reina Daival]

Tag: Mia Monroe
Location: Serreno

"Do you think anyone would mind if I stole some of this for my collection?"

Reina mumbled to the Supercommandos, as she tossed a bust between her hands, looking over to them, only to be met with what seemed like various serious stares. It was hard to tell what the Mandalorians were thinking below those helmets of theirs. Either way, she just chucked the bust off to the side, letting it shatter and break against the wall.

"Oh well. I don't have a collection anyway...Tough crowd."

She sighed to herself, checking over the rooms once more. The further they headed into the building, the less mercenaries they seemed to find. Makes sense. The rest were probably out at the hanger bay. So Reina prepared to move off towards the hanger buy, yet she stopped mid-step, glancing over towards the bookcase of one of rooms, spotting that one of the books seemed...out of place. And so Reina went to investigate, pushing the book back into the bookcase, where the bookcase started to shift and move.

"...Isn't this like one of those old spy-vids? A whole moving bookcase and kark?"
As the bookcase finished moving, Reina just looked back towards the Supercommandos, telling two of them to stay outside whilst she took the rest down where the secret passage went. Presumably, this was going to be where Count Armand was going to be hiding.

​

 

[Mia Monroe]

::Suspected safe room located.::

The update flashed across her HUD blinked away as a bolt ripped past her head, Mia already regretting her decision for non lethal where the mercenaries were concerned. Either they were incredibly stupid or Count Armand had paid them to have zero regard for their own life. Her hand reached forward, ripping the blasters from the hands of those shooting at her to hover lazily above their heads out of reach as she advanced, fist catching the first one square in the chest, the huff of air driven from him with force as the punch threw him back into his friends.

“You people really don’t understand the concept of surrender or die to you? Count Armand is about to become bankrupt, none of you are getting paid for this.”

That seemed to register, nervous glances exchanged as she took another step forward letting the guns fall, clattering loudly on the patioed pathway. The hangar was in her sights, she just needed these idiots to leave, preferably before Reina located Armand.

“Stand down.”

Quiet, permeated only by the sound of a ships engines slowly coming to life rested between them for a few precious seconds before they began to raise their hands in surrender.

Finally.

“Take your weapons and leave. Don’t think for a second, if any of you change your mind and decide to come back, that I will continue to be merciful.”

Reina Daival

 

[Reina Daival]

Tag: Mia Monroe
Location: Serreno

"So. What kind of security do you think this Count has? Do you think the walls are going to close in on us? Or do you think he has some kind of laser grid that we're going to have to acrobatically jump through?...If there's any acrobatics you needed, you guys will be screwed."

More of an attempt at humour, that didn't seem to land with the Mandalorians. That was fine by Reina. She was amused by her own words, as she continued to head down the corridor, finding the only door at the end of the path. It was highly likely that the door was boobytrapped in some way. Maybe she should have cut through the wall with her lightsaber, or used the Force to break down the door. Instead, like earlier, she slammed her boot against the door, sending it hurtling against the wall, followed by a rather frightful screech.

"Don't kill me! Don't kill me! Please!"

The voice came from who Reina presumed to be the Count. He looked rich enough, and annoying enough to consider himself of importance. The Siren lazily swung the tip of her lightsaber in his direction, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Fortunately for you, unfortunately for me, I'm not allowed to kill you. So get up."

"Wait...Wait. You aren't...a Mandalorian...Like them. Why are you here?"

The Count waved his hand in Reina's direction, practically comparing her to the supercommandos. There was clearly a visual difference between the group, considering Reina didn't have any form of beskar herself. Not that it mattered to her.

"Got a job to do."

"So it's for money! I can give you a lot of that! I can get you a title! If you get me off-world, I'll make you whatever you want! You have a lightsaber. You can deal with those two easily!"

The intense gaze of two highly equipped and trained Mandalorians was felt on the back of Reina's head. What did this idiot think he was doing, trying to bribe Reina in front of them? Of course, he knew the right things to say. Reina wanted to be someone. But alas for Count Armand, he wasn't going to have the power for that much longer. For now, Reina turned her lightsaber off, and made her way over towards the man, where he swiftly was given an answer, having a metal gauntlet smashed against his face to silence him.

"...Said I wasn't going to kill him. Not hurt him. Come on. I'll carry him."​

 

[Mia Monroe]

The gardens and landing pad were suddenly quiet, the shuttle that had been warming up was still behind her, the pilot was laying on his side at the landing pads edge, a angry welt growing on the side of his head where Mia had struck him. the mercenaries had gone, broken barriers littered the path, scorch marks blackened the slabs where blaster bolts had struck.

Mia sat on the landing pads edge, the breeze catching her dark hair, her buy'ce resting at her side waiting for Reina to appear with an unconscious Count slung over her shoulder. a smile curved her lips when she did, the supercommandos keeping two paces behind her. She had never needed Reina for this job, but Mia's chances to work with the younger talent that drifted through the Empire on a one on one basis was rare.

She rose smoothly to her feet, hooking the helmet to her hip as she did. "Nice work." she commented before nodding to the commandos at her back who moved in to relieve her of the traitorous lump of flesh on her shoulders.

Reina Daival

 

[Reina Daival]

Tag: Mia Monroe
Location: Serreno

"He offered me a bunch of credits. And a title."

As soon as she arrived and got close to the shuttle, Reina threw the Count off her shoulder, letting him hit the ground, and boy did he hit the ground hard. By this point, Reina wasn't entirely treating the Count as if he was a person anymore. He had lost that right from her after he tried to bribe her. Don't get Reina wrong, her loyalty to the Mandalorians wasn't concrete but she still felt offended over the mere thought of it, as she rested her boot against the Count's back...It was right about then that she looked over towards the Supercommandos who was just...staring at her.

"...Oh. You want to pick him up. Yeah. I knew that."

The Siren stepped away at that, letting the Supercommandos carry the traitorous sack of meat. Reina did not care much for traitors. Now once again, one might argue that Reina herself was a traitor, considering her new affiliation with the Sith, but she had cut all ties off with the Jedi before that had even happened. Even then, the only Jedi she had fought, she hadn't been able to kill. She couldn't bring herself to do it. Not that it mattered in this moment as she looked over towards Mia.

"He didn't even realise it was all over for him. He really believed he had the power to give me any land or titles. Rich piece of Bantha Dung."

​

 

[Mia Monroe]

Mia winced when the Count hit the permacrete with a sickening crunch, but she didn't give him a second look when the commandos moved forward to pick him up and carry him into the shuttle. The treaty didn't state anything about the condition in which their supporters were returned to the Diarchy, only that they would be. By returning them bruised, they were perhaps opening the doors for their own to be mistreated, but Mia had faith that the fear of retribution following Yavin would stay their hand.

"I can't say I'm surprised. Some people believe that money can solve all of their problems."

She tilted her head studying Reina for a moment before continuing.

"Interesting that the refusal came because he no longer held power to provide those things." she noted. It was not an accusation, nor was it venomous. She stepped away from the landing pad as the shuttle behind them began to power up, heading back the way she had come to the transport waiting at the front of the estate.

"Everyone has a reason to fight, Reina. What is yours?"

Reina Daival

 

[Reina Daival]

Tag: Mia Monroe
Location: Serreno

Even if it had been an accusation, Reina would have had the same reaction. A simple shrug of her shoulders, as she walked side by side with Mia, letting her gaze flicker across their surroundings for a moment.

"I've rarely been a fan of the Mandalorians. The first person I killed before I joined the Jedi was one. He broke my wrist. Shot me. Tried to kill an old man. And I broke my fishing knife in his neck. Then when the Planescape happened, and Taris showed up in your space, and your people tried to stop us from helping people who used to be part of the Alliance? I despised you all. I left the humanitarian effort straight away. Some said that made me less of a Jedi. Because I wouldn't forgive and forget."

Of course, her opinion had grown and changed that, evident by the fact she was working with them now. It was just...part of her explaining where the refusal came. She didn't have full loyalty to the Mandalorians, and she was up front and honest about that. She was just an employee for now. Plus at the end of the day, her loyalty was to the individual, not to the group.

With that being said, her gaze flicked back over towards Mia as the woman asked what Reina's reason to fight was. Sometimes, Reina didn't know herself. People fought for their family. Their loved ones. But Reina's family didn't need her to fight for them. She had been missing from their lives for twenty years. Loved ones? They didn't need her to fight for them either. Quinn could protect herself. Everest had Tigris. Aiden was strong and loved by many. So why did Reina do it?

"It's all I'm good at. All I can do to make a name for myself. I need...I need to be worth it."

Worth what, one might ask. Reina didn't elaborate on that. She didn't elaborate on her somewhat self conscious nature. The way she felt like she was nothing more than a trained thug. She wasn't an inspiration. A leader. A guardian. The Siren shook her head, trying to dismiss that thought from her mind, tearing her eyes away from Mia.

"...What's your reason?"
​

 

[Mia Monroe]

Mia listened to her story without comment, her face neutral. She wondered if it had been Aether's Mando's who had prevented such a thing but she doubted it. Aether could be ruthless when the occasion called for it, but she did not imagine that the Alliance had earned that reaction from him. At Reina's age? She would have had the same reaction. She had had the same reaction to sith. To her, no matter who you were, to use the dark side, to follow the Sith doctrine was punishable by death.

A smile tugged at the corner of her lips at the memory. How naïve she had been.

The returned question drew her eyes back to Reina briefly.

"War is all I have ever known. War with the Sith, war with Jedi, war with mandalorians. I have been on the frontlines of one battle or another since I was younger than you are now, it wasn't until I first took the mantle that I truly found my reason though. I fight to protect Mandalore and its people first, and my family, or what is left of it, second."

She looked at Reina again.

"You are young Reina, I am sure there is more to you than your fighting skill. Why do you wish to be known?"

Reina Daival

 

[Reina Daival]

Tag: Mia Monroe
Location: Serreno

"To be loved. And if not that, feared. To be remembered. People have always assumed they know what's best for me. What I should be. Who I should be. Even if it means on a biological level. My Jedi Master had wanted me to be more of a pacifist. To spare lives instead of taking them, even if it was the lives of kidnappers. A Sith stole who I was from me. My scars. My injuries. She...turned me into something not human.""

It did not help Reina that she admired people such as Srina Talon, Aether, and to a growing extent Mia. People who she was a far away from ever being like. People who were remembered for what they had done, not for what others had done to them. She shook her head at that thought once to dismiss it away, lifting her hand to look at it, letting her hand shift for a moment, her nails growing sharper, more jagged, whilst various scales started to litter across her hand.

"I want people to know me for who I am. Not from what people have made me into. To know that I make my own choices. That they aren't made for me."

Slowly, her hand shifted back to normal, followed by Reina scratching away at the back of her hand. It always felt extra itchy after she did that. Her gaze flicked back ahead of her, various thoughts swirling through her mind. It was part of why she disliked the quiet after a fight. When she had been searching for the Count, she had been jovial. Joking. Now? She was getting too focused in her own head.

"I don't want to be abandoned. Again."

Being known wouldn't stop that. She knew that herself. But she felt as if the more "important" she became, the more well known and well off, the more likely people would stand by her side. There was also the selfish part of her with a wish that she didn't speak out loud. Reina had wanted to be pampered. She came off as someone who loved to fight, and she did. Came off as a pauper, sometimes a Knight. But truly? Reina wanted to be a Princess. She had never wanted to fight, even as a child. All she had wanted was to be loved.
​

 

[Mia Monroe]

Mia listened and watched as they walked, her eyes drawn to the display Reina made as her hand shifted, giving way to talons and scales, her jaw tightened as her eyes moved forwards, an old anger rising in her chest. She knew all to well what it was to have something stolen, to be remade against your own will. She took a small breath and let it go, the anger settling with it as her eyes moved back to Reina. She let quiet fall between them for a moment, picking her words carefully.

"There is burden in being known, Reina. Whether you are loved or feared, or both, there is expectation to always be the version of yourself the rest of the galaxy has crafted. It does not give you freedom to make your own choices, it binds you in chains to those you have already made. Every action you take, every word you speak suddenly becomes open for dissection by anyone and everyone even though none of them know the reason why."

They passed a rose garden, the soft scent catching on the breeze, no long suffocating under the ozone of a fight. Mia let out a small sigh. "I understand though. The want for control over your own destiny." Mia had once believed she had been in control of her own, but she'd long let that fantasy go.

"You have fought with us, you are learning our language. What else do you know of our culture?"

Reina Daival

 

[Reina Daival]

Tag: Mia Monroe
Location: Serreno

"My every choice was already dissected amongst the Jedi. I kill a bunch of kidnappers to save some kids? I'm in the wrong. I lose my leg because of that? My fault. I decide to leave a humantarian mission, because I know I can't control my anger? I'm the disappointment. I've made the wrong choice. My every choice was already questioned. I could never do anything right, and I still can't. All 'cause I won't roll over and let people do what they want. Because I think killing is something natural."

She didn't take a moment to appreciate the roses. Beauty like that had always been lost on Reina. She had never had a chance to be able to truly appreciate it. Not that it mattered howerever. Her face scrunched up at the mentioning of "destiny". Reina hated that word so much. It was something people used to try and control you. It was what people had tried to use to control her.

"I know your culture pays well. That's about it. I struggle to read, so I can't exactly read up on your people. My master never taught me about other cultures...or even other ways to use the Force. She just wanted to teach me how to be a pacifist. How killing was wrong, no matter the circumstance. Even when it's a karkin' Sith who tore apart your Padawan and put them back together..."

Reina also knew that most Mandalorians had an extreme dislike towards Sith, but she wasn't going to open that can of worms. Part of her would rather not know any extra reasons to be resented by the people she was surrounding herself with.
​

 

[Mia Monroe]

Mia frowned as Reina's words tumbled forward, the resentment she held went beyond the sith that had changed her, it went to the Jedi in whom she had trusted. It was a small glimpse of her past, but it was enough to know that Reina had been through enough struggle for her young age to be able to see the galaxy with a clarity that most could not.

She let out a small sigh. "I'm sorry, Reina, for all you have been through. You deserve to be supported in your endeavours, not chastised for them. Pacifism is fine for those who are naturally inclined to it, but to force it upon others is wrong. The only time killing becomes unnatural is when it is done for pleasure."

Mia tilted her head, thoughtful for a moment before she brought them to a halt at the gardens edge, sharp blue eyes settling fully on Reina. "Do you want to learn more?"

Reina Daival