We can rebuild her...whether she wants it or not

[Amara Zarides]

[member="Enyo Typhos"]
The two women faced off, lightsabres blazing. They circled each other warily, looking for the moment to strike.
Suddenly, the Acolyte darted forward with a quick series of cuts aimed at Amara’s chest. The clone easily defused this attack though, stepping back and parrying. Then, she moved forward to launch her own attacks, cutting horizontally , then diagonally.

The first tests accomplished, they stood back to calculate. Abruptly the Acolyte called on the Force to unleash a blast of fire at Amara.
Amara jumped to the side, using her lightsabre as a focus to defend against the elemental assault, rolled to her feet and prepared to fight.
It was well she did, for the Acolyte charged forward, blade high and launched a devastating onslaught. Amara parried, giving ground and switching to the more defensive Soresu, using her blade to deflect rather than attempting to stop the thunderbolt strikes dead on.

The Acolyte was more experienced than her, that was for sure, and also stronger. She also had the initiative, and was driven by an angry determination.
Amara felt herself being pressed back, but was holding her own. Stasis.

Then everything changed. Stepping back, Amara slipped on a carelessly spilt patch of oil fell prone on her ass. The orange blade flared and began its descent down.

And stopped.

No, not stopped, but slowed, slowed to a hundredth of the speed, like watching a slow-motion video.

Amara looked up to see a figure in red armour and a pale face set with venomous yellow eyes looking down at her.
“Having trouble?” the Sith asked coldly.
“I’m loosening her up,” Amara grunted. When she tried to move the Sword of Damocles above her began to accelerate, so she slumped back. It slowed to its glacial rate once more.
“The only thing soon to be loosened is your head, girl. Doom comes for you, and unless you stop playing around you will die.”
“You think I’ve been holding back?”
“Of course. You are afraid, not of dying, you are more terrified of becoming me than that. Why?”
“Because you are an abomination. If I die only Enyo will care. If I become you I will win this battle…but lose my soul. I will become stronger, yes, but I will also end the same way as you; a brutal death for a brutal killer.”
“If life means so little for you, then by all means continue. My presence here and this debate though tells me you have not yet decided.”
“Why did you become as you did? I’ve read everything I could find on you. I understand what happened to you was terrible, I understand why you called on the Darkness, but why did you continue?”
“Why not? You think I regret what I did? No, I only regret choosing the wrong victim. Power is the only constant in the universe; those who have it and those who are oppressed by it.”

The blade was now halfway through its arc.

“Time is not stopped, only slowed. Make your choice. Take my hand, Amara. Let me help you destroy this woman. Archangel has used you, together we will break them. Siobhan and Firemane oppose you, together we will destroy them. Quickly, there is not much time! Use my power, save yourself!”
Amara looked up and felt genuine fear. She’d had no answers yet to the woman above her. Surely she could use the power her dark sister offered her. It would be easy, simple, and she would have better knowledge going in. She would not make the same mistakes again.

There is another way.

What if….

Amara closed her eyes, opened them and shot upwards. Time sped up again and the orange blade seared down…only to meet violet.
Moving to the attack, Amara now drove her opponent back, much to the Acolyte’s surprise and dawning fear. Everything about her attacks was stronger, more focussed.
A blast of fire aimed at her was deflected by an invisible barrier, and as their blades clashed Amara gestured. There was a crack as the leg armour of her opponent shattered apart, driving sharp metal into her flesh.
Amara pressed the attack and swept the Acolyte’s blade from her hand, delivering a fearsome kick to the midriff.

Now their positions were reversed. Amara stood over the Acolyte. There was a buzzing in her head. No mercy was to be shown.
“Yes, finish her!” Kaelin Isandros hissed excitedly.
Amara forced herself to step back, hold out her hand, so the Acolyte’s lightsabre flew to her. She then tossed it down to the woman beneath her.
“Destroy her! What are you doing?!” the spectre howled.
Up the Acolyte leapt and charged, but Amara was waiting and with one hand she held the woman’s wrist whilst the other thrust her purple blade into the woman’s chest.
The look of horror and shock on the woman’s face faded as death took her, and Amara let her fall.

Turning, she faced her glowering seducer.
“No. I will never fall to the Dark Side. I will never become you. There is another way, and once I am free of Archangel I will take that path.”
If looks could kill, the spectral incarnation of the Sith would have done so. “Then you will do so without me. Know that this is your curse; to be feared and hated no matter what you do because you wear my face.”
Amara smirked. “Don’t worry, I doubt anyone outside Firemane remembers you anymore. I will make my own path.”
The ghostly Sith faded, a curse on her lips.

Amara picked up the fallen Acolyte’s lightsabre and looked up at a surveillance camera. Fortunately her conversations had been sub vocal. However, it would still be clearly visible that Kaelin…or someone looking very much like her…had headed the attack.

Amara drew her pistol and blasted the camera, then took off towards the loading bay, from where she could hear the sounds of blaster fire.

 

[Enyo Typhos]

[member="Amara Zarides"]


Amara's story was a bit tragic. She'd always risk being judged by Kaelin's deeds and while she'd turned against the shade's poisonous influence and decided to become her own person, to Firemane she'd be a murderer and Keranus' clone.


Archangel was poking a dragon. It was ironic that the droids, despite supposedly being more logical and rational than organics, did not seem to realise that Firemane surpassed them in power. Subterfuge was Archangel's strength, all-out war was not.


Now we shall cut back to the deluded clone who'd just murdered a helpless prisoner in cold blood because a mechanical puppeteer had told her to. Or because Enyo was a reprehensible human being in general. Her complaints about what had transpired in Korriban City were tremendously hypocritical since she was a murderer who consorted with war criminals. She looked down on the dead Jedi. There was not much left of her face.


"You did well, Enyo. Organic morality is built on hypocrisy and lies. It is leash," Vess spoke, using her most human tone. Presumably Enyo had just earned a lot of dark side points. Maybe this one should change her rank tag.


"Yes, it is a leash. But not the only one in your life." Suddenly time seemed to slow. Or at least that's how it felt for Enyo. An ethereal figure appeared in the chamber. The mirror Enyo wore an imposing set of black armour and had glowing cyborg eyes. An aura of dark power surrounded her. "Good work."


"I suppose it was too much to hope that voices would stop pestering again. I killed someone who was defenceless. I don't see it as glorious."


"But you don't feel any guilt about it either, do you?"


"No. I feel nothing. She was a Jedi."


"And weak. As you are so fond of saying, the strong do as they will, and the weak suffer what they must. Remember, Archangel will dispose of you if you ever disappoint them. You're a weapon of the Force to them, nothing more."


"That's beginning to sound like a broken record. It is tiring to hear the same song over and over again. Do you have anything useful to say?"


"Such anger. It'll serve you well. But direct it against the right target, will you? They will sic you against Siobhan like an attack dog, but if you fight her now, she'll crush you like a bug without effort."


That stung, but it was true. "I know. But you assume I'll death charge her like an idiot so that she can ragdoll me and break my bones. Korriban was a lesson. I cannot defeat her in open combat, but it's a different matter if she's weakened...and cannot call on the Force. She depends on it."


The shape's jaw was mechanical, so she could not smile, but her aura radiated approval. "Good. Then you're learning. Her vanity is her undoing. Archangel uses you, and will dispose of you once you've served your purpose. But you can turn the puppeteers into your puppets."


"What do you mean?"


"Take Archangel for yourself."


"What would I do with a droid legion?"


"Whatever it is you want, girl. That's the point. Gain power, destroy anyone who stands in your way. You're either powerless, or one with power."


Enyo looked pensive. "I could do so many things with them, and there'd be no strings on me. Archangel would do what it was meant to. But two clones cannot wrest control from the machines, and I'm not sacrificing Amara for a suicide mission."


The shape laughed. It was a hollow, unpleasant sound. "Machines can be...manipulated, if you know the strings to pull. Start thinking big, beyond the Jedi and Siobhan. Think of the future. You'll either sit on the throne or die. There is middle ground. Blind obedience is for the...uninspired. Victory is for the strong, and the strong are willing to embrace the darkness." Having said these inspiring words, the ghostly apparation faded.

 

[Amara Zarides]

[member="Enyo Typhos"]

The nameless traitor Lieutenant had thought to use the distraction of the battle between Amara and the Acolyte to gain her prize. Little did she know that Firemane was not about to give up its ore.
Blaster fire had erupted as the Lieutenant had been forced to take cover. Her allegiance had clearly been discovered when she’d tried to get aboard, and a dead dock worker showed that she’d killed to try and make off with her prize, but been forced back.

As Amara dropped beside the Lieutenant she raised an eyebrow. “Corporate espionage not going your way, huh?”
“Listen, stop quipping and get out there.”
A voice in her ear. The little microphone he’d given her before. “Amara, her usefulness is at an end. Dispose of her and take the shipment. I will take our ship. We will reunite at home base.”
Amara frowned. That wasn’t right. A deal was a deal!
“Amara, acknowledge,” Kress said sternly.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea,” Amara said.
Cut out of the private discussion, the Lieutenant looked irritated. “What do you mean? Are we just going to sit here until the stars go out?” She fired over the barricade and dropped back down.
“Command Code: Revenant Omega.”
Amara stiffened, she couldn’t move, couldn’t reply!
“Dispose of the Lieutenant and pilot that ship to return to base. You will remember only that she attempted to kill you and you fought back in self-defence. You will dispose of the guards and leave on board the ship. You will not remember this conversation. Command Phi engaged. Programming closed.”
“Programming closed,” Amara repeated aloud.
“What are you talking about?”
She never found out. The purple blade drove through her chest.

Amara shook her head. The Lieutenant was dead. Killed by her! Why? She remembered…she’d tried to attack her, this was self-defence!

She had to go. Kress was waiting for her.
Standing, she levelled her purple blade and advanced forward. Blaster bolts deflected from her blade as she moved to the attack. One of them tossed a grenade, but she deflected it back at them, the explosion taking out several.
Fortunately these were not full Firemane soldiers with bolters or impact grenades, just contractors. They were no match for Amara as she cut through them dispassionately, clinically, then stormed aboard the freighter. In moments she was airborne.

“Kress, I’m on board. The Lieutenant…she tried to kill me, I had no choice.”
“I’m not surprised. Betrayal and greed is the way of organics. Sending you coordinates now, we’ll jump there first, then on to base. And well done, Amara.”
“It’s hard being this good, but I try!” she said, but it was false cheer. Something was very wrong, and once she was in hyperspace she went to lay down and try and clear her head….

 

[Enyo Typhos]

[member="Amara Zarides"]


A few hours later, Enyo was waiting anxiously in the hangar bay. The clone fidgeted slightly. For a change, her mind was free of annoying voices that kept whispering to her, but this did little to soothe her nerves.


Her intense, mechanical breathing resonated inside her ears. Guilt clutched at her heart. The last time she'd seen Amara, her sister had tried to reach out and help her, yet Enyo had been cold and callous. For all she knew, the girl had been grievously hurt, while she spent her time sulking about what had transpired on Korriban. Her own pain could not be more important than her sister.


Her spirits lifted slightly when the Lightbringer finally came into view and passed into the bay after the force field was deactivated, like a bird returning to its nest. What troubled Enyo was that she could barely sense her sister. She knew she was there, but her presence in the Force was faint. As soon as the landing ramp lowered and she saw Amara walk down, the cyborg rushed towards her, ignoring anyone else who might be there.

 

[Amara Zarides]

[member="Enyo Typhos"]
Amara was alone on the freighter, truly alone for one of the first times in her life. There were no cameras, no droids, no prying eyes or ears.
As she lay back she thought about Arkania. The incident with the Lieutenant troubled her. She knew it was self-defence…why? She couldn’t remember the other woman pulling a blaster on her, but yet she knew this was the case.

Frowning, Amara reached up to her ear and pulled out the transmitter. No signal now of course, but maybe it could yield secrets.

Amara was something of a whiz with technical things. The freighter was basic, but there was a bench she could use to open up the little device and pry out the processor. There was no recording module, but a quick examination revealed that the earpiece buffered messages before sending them. Connecting her datapad and applying a little tweak with some solder she was able to retrieve a somewhat damaged record.
“Amara, her usefulness is at an end. Dispose of her and take the shipment. I will take our ship. We will reunite at home base…Amara, acknowledge,”
“I don’t think it’s a good idea,”
“What do you mean? Are we just going to sit here until the stars go out?” A blaster fired.
“Command Code: Revenant Omega…Dispose of the Lieutenant and pilot that ship to return to base. You will remember only that she attempted to kill you and you fought back in self-defence. You will dispose of the guards and leave on board the ship. You will not remember this conversation. Command Phi engaged. Programming closed.”
“Programming closed.”
“What are you talking about?”
The sound of a lightsabre entering flesh had ended that scene. The rest she knew.

Amara’s eyes narrowed. “The devils,” she hissed. Fortunately the command code did not activate there and then, the scratchy quality of the recording was enough to mask that.
What was worse; that Archangel had a brainwashing technique or that they could make her forget about it? Either way, Amara simmered. They had made her their puppet. They had made her kill for them, murder a defenceless ally, not a traitorous enemy.

“Brainwashing. It’s what the ghost said, but now I have proof. But how was it done?”
She needed time to research the method. If she was to have any hope of breaking free she needed to find exactly was being done to her and how to overcome it. However, she also had to be clever about it. If Archangel found out she knew they’d kill her or they’d process here there and then.

A thought came to her. Take the freighter. It’s loaded with Phrik, take it, go rogue, find how to overcome the brainwashing in private. Archangel wouldn’t be able to find me, and there’s a lot of people who could pay credits for Phrik.
She was almost tempted…but no. Enyo. She loved her sister, and it was a real love, not droid programming. She couldn’t leave her sister, and if she went AWOL Enyo would be punished.

No, she would take her sister aside and somehow discuss this. Then they would figure out how to break this, how to be free forever. Archangel had blundered…and she would cautiously take advantage of it.
Swiftly she disposed of the evidence, and was ready to hand over the freighter to one of Archangel’s droids when it docked with the station in orbit.

When the Lightbringer landed Amara stepped out, grinning as Enyo ran over to her. What she got was a Phrik bearhug!
“Akk…sis…not so tight!” she gasped. She was sure she’d felt a rib flex. “Nice to see you too, stumpy!” she said happily. Trolling her sister’s height never got old, even though her new legs made her taller.

She had to maintain the illusion that nothing was wrong, get her sister alone, and then they had to talk.

 

[Enyo Typhos]

[member="Amara Zarides"]


Enyo backed away, realising that being bearhugged by someone with phrik limbs had to be unpleasant. The cyborg flushed slightly, looking a bit embarrassed. "Stumpy? We're the same height now!" she declared with mock indignance. At least her metal legs were good for something beyond making her better at kicking. "I'm so happy to see you. I was very worried. Listen, what I said earlier...it was wrong. You're not weak. You're my sister and I love you. I'm sorry for upsetting you," she said earnestly.

 

[Tegaea Alcori]

[member="Enyo Typhos"]
Tegaea worked on her business records and deals, but all the time she had a knot in her stomach, as though she could feel something was wrong.
When a very tentative aide entered the room her feeling was confirmed.

“Ma’am…there’s been a raid on our Arkania mine. Toxic gas was vented into the ventilation system, and attackers killed several guards and Acolyte Franec. Incomplete reports suggest thirty worker fatalities and seven guards.”
Tegaea put down her datapad, looking evenly at the aide. “Who did this?”
“There seems to have been a traitor, a Lieutenant Myron appeared to be helping them. There was also a male human and…and….”
“And, Ensign?”
The aide handed over a captured image of the main assailant.

Tegaea felt a rush of nausea and her hand trembled. “No…no…no! This is not funny, Ensign. I do not appreciate this attempt at humour!” she suddenly shouted, slamming the picture down on the table.
“It…it’s not a joke, ma’am. That’s the image we were forwarded. Do you know this person?”
Her breath stuck in her throat. “Know…her?” she asked slowly, menacingly. Did she know Kaelin Isandros? What was there to know…she’d seen enough of her on that terrible day a decade before.
Attracted by the shouting, Harmony entered. “Miss…ma’am, are you alright?”
“Harmony. I am very far from alright. Get in touch with my wife. Immediately. I want to discuss this matter with her right now. I will not accept any excuses, Harmony.” She held up the picture, her arm trembling.
Harmony, who’d never seen Tegaea in such a state, ran from the room.
“Ma’am, I’m sorry, I didn’t...”
“I do not expect you to understand. Leave me. See that the guard is doubled on all of these rooms right now. No strangers are to enter without my express permission. And go and ensure Harmony is in contact with my wife.”

Tegaea went to her desk and produced her Cylix pistol. Kaelin…. She was dead, very, very dead. So what was this? The Sith didn’t have the skills to transfer her essence, and in any case if Tegaea was thinking rationally she’d recognise that fighting enemies who could resist was not Kaelin’s MO.

Clone.

She scanned the report of the Arkania incident. The images showed the male human walking unconcerned through the control room whilst those around him were dying.

Droid.

Archangel.

Tegaea’s grip tightened on the flimsiplast image, crumpling it. It was time for a reckoning. In the meantime she would wait for Siobhan to arrive, and try not to think of that room in Fondor….

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Tegaea Alcori"]


A Firemane mining outpost had been wiped out. One of her Acolytes had been murdered. Her name was Danika Franec, a young woman from Arkas. One of many promising, young Force-sensitives who'd flocked to the Fire Order. She'd caught the Grandmistress' eye through her hard work and passion.


Siobhan remembered teaching the spirited girl telekinesis. To see her cut down like that hurt. Her body would be sent to Arkas for burial. She would have to write a letter to the girl's family. Her loved ones would receive a generous handout. The Company would pay for her younger sister's education.


The killer was a woman who wore Kaelin Isandros' face. Siobhan's blood had gone cold when she beheld the deceptively angelic face of the murderer. Kaelin was dead, she'd broken her body and beheaded her. There was no way the Sith Assassin could have possessed the power to cheat death. For one, Kaelin had never been powerful. She was a coward who relied on disguises and deception.


More to the point, such raids weren't Kaelin's style. She was a sadistic psychopath and a rapist, not a surgical infiltrator. She received more clarity when Intelligence concluded that Archangel was probably involved.


I should've killed Moira and Maelion before I retired from OP, Siobhan thought to herself. Her last order to her staff was to prepare a plan for a Firemane assault on all Archangel locations in Silver space. Then those outside of it would follow. She did not care about PR, ruffled feathers or anything else. They would wipe the droids from the face of the map. And 'Kaelin', or whoever this murderer was, would die a painful death. Firemane was a corporate juggernaut. It would not be trifled with.


However, for now something else was on her mind. Something more important than her crusade. Her wife needed her. Siobhan took off like a veritable hurricane. The elements bent to the Countess as she tore through the sky as fast as a speeding bullet. The wind howled and lightning slashed through dark clouds.


She barely said a word to anyone when, after landing, she quickly made her way to their bedroom. Words were not needed. She simply dropped her cane and rushed towards her wife, though the motion caused a spike of pain to flare up in her leg.


Instead she simply enveloped her wife in a bear hug, holding her tight, then kissed her cheek. "I'm here. Let me hold you. I saw the report, love. I saw that monster's face. She'll die. It can't be Kaelin. She doesn't have the juice to come back from hell. But I'll make her suffer. I won't let anyone hurt you."

 

[Amara Zarides]

[member="Enyo Typhos"]

Amara kissed Enyo on the nose. “Apology accepted, Enny! I’ve been a bit of a fainting violet lately, uncertain. But now I have a better idea what I am doing. I know that I can be strong! I killed the Fire Order adept on the mission, and it was a success!”
“Amara did very well,” Kress said, coming down the ramp behind them.
“Hey, K, mind if I go and show off my skills to Enny?” she asked excitedly.
“I see no harm there. I will see you at dinner,” Kress said warmly. There was always watchfulness there though.

When Amara had led her sister to her bedroom she gave a cautious look around. It seemed that AA had not visibly bugged her bedroom.
When the door was sealed she leaned forward and spoke quietly and rapidly.
“Enyo, I learned some disturbing facts on my mission. Archangel has been using some sort of brainwashing program on us. It reacts to a command phrase…which I can’t say without it triggering for you. Once activated they can make us do anything and then forget it. I don’t even want to think what they might have forced us to do.” For once Amara was deadly serious; there was no joking.
“Archangel doesn’t know I know this and we must keep it this way. We have to act like we are still ignorant, but work to find a way out of this.”

 

[Tegaea Alcori]

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]
Siobhan bursting into their bedroom was a relief, but only after a second of sheer terror.
She had been so wired on anxiety and doubt that when someone appeared at the door she brought the bolt pistol up and fired. At the last second though she realised who it was and jerked the barrel wide, leaving a quite large hole in the wall.

Tegaea dropped the gun and melted in her wife’s hug.
“I’m so sorry!” she said, landing a kiss on her wife’s lips. “I’m sorry…I’m so silly, but when I saw that face…I…I.” she stopped, embarrassed. “I thought I was over that memory, but it’s still there waiting to resurface, always ready. You must think me very silly for being worried about this.”
She’d been beating herself up over this, worried she’d overreacted and was being irrational. Her wife had been through much worse than her, almost been killed numerous times, and here she was worrying about something which had happened years before.

“I love you, Siobhan. Please…stay with me a while, hold me close. I need to have you here with me.”

 

[Enyo Typhos]

[member="Amara Zarides"]


If Enyo had been a wet hen, she would've felt sulky about how Amara got to kill a Fire Order adept while she hadn't even gotten the chance to fight a single Jedi on Korriban. A thread later, she'd get a duel, but it would end rather strangely. However, Enyo was not a wet hen. Well, this writer still thinks she is one, but whatever.


So instead she smiled. "I'm so proud of you, little sis. You've struck a blow against our enemy. I can imagine Kerrigan's face when she realises that one of her pets was slain," she said happily, then she frowned slightly.


Partly, she felt worried that Amara's identity might've been compromised, but there was something else. Enyo was not the most empathic woman, though since everyone else in Archangel except Amara was an emotionless droid there wasn't a lot of competition, but she could sense that something was off. "Sure, show me your moves," she spoke up in a seemingly perky tone, then followed Amara to their bedroom.


"So tell me, Ami, how did you kill her? I hope the queen was in a lot of pain," as she spoke these somewhat disturbing words, Enyo pulled upon the tangled web of power that was the Force. Archangel had not noticeably bugged the room, but their recording devices were still there.


She could feel the tiny machines through the Force and poured her will into them. Presumably the droids monitoring would notice a technical malfunction, but anything more would arouse suspicion. For a few minutes, they were free of intrusion. "Speak now. Bugs are offline," Then Amara spoke quietly, rapidly and seriously.


Enyo took a deep breath. The clone looked shaken, angry and more than a little fearful. As a matter of fact, she felt like punching a wall. Or rather blowing a bunch of HRDs to pieces. But she controlled herself. "I believe you," she finally said, voice barely above a whisper.


"They only rebuilt me after Korriban to have a droid that can use the Force, and I know they have other clones in the pipeline." Her thoughts drifted back to the Jedi she'd executed earlier. Maybe she'd been fighting the wrong battle all along.


"Amara, I'm so sorry. I should've realised this sooner, but I'll get you of this, even if costs me my life. We must be careful. If they've insted so much into controlling us, they'll probably have a fail safe to eliminate us if we rebel. We need to find a way to overcome their programming. I wil not be caged and controlled like a droid, and neither will you. Not by Archangel, Firemane or anyone else."

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Tegaea Alcori"]


Boom. "Oh, it's fine, love. If you'd hit anything fatal, I'd have just body-hopped into a clone," she joked. Dramatic irony intensifies. This one would not be surprised if [member="Mirien Valdier"] had one stashed away in a cloning tube somewhere...


"Stop. Right there. You're not silly. Or weak. I don't think lesser of you. You went through a terrible ordeal on that day," she held her taller wife in her strong arms, rubbing her back. "I love you, too. So very much. I'll stay with you. There's nothing important enough to take me away from you. Let's sit down somewhere. Watch a movie or something. Would you like me to give you a massage?"

 

[Amara Zarides]

[member="Enyo Typhos"]
Amara nodded quickly. “I’ve got some ideas, but I need the time and ability to research away from watchful eyes. With that in mind I’ll volunteer for another mission soon and hope I get an opportunity to research matters. The time after that though you’ll have to go when I find out the next step. For now, we must appear happy and content. My concern is if they use the programming to order us to talk they can discover our plans. So we must give them no cause for that.”

She looked at her sister. “This is dangerous. The end goal is that we’ll get out of this together.”

She glanced around. “Look, I killed the Fire Acolyte…but I did so in a fair fight, I didn’t strike her down when she was helpless,” she said, as though she had to explain that, and she wasn’t sure why.

Knowing their time without surveillance was nearly up she flopped back on the bed. “Firemane will be pissed….”

 

[Enyo Typhos]

[member="Amara Zarides"]


It probably said a lot about Enyo that her foremost concern was herself and Amara. Whatever loyalty she'd felt towards Archangel had been shattered, but the shocking revelation did not cause her to suddenly consider her culpability in the organisation's crimes.


She did not suddenly experience a crisis of conscience or feel burdened by a mountain of guilt, even though she'd killed, lied and deceived in their name. It was not a Damascene conversion that suddenly turned her into a good person.


"Next mission, I'm going with you. No buts," Enyo said firmly, her voice tolerated no contradiction. She'd make sure her sister got out of this alive and free, no matter the cost. She frowned slightly when Amara spoke of her duel with the Acolyte. You don't know how far I'd go just to keep you safe, she thought to herself, but did not dare voice this.


Their time without surveillance was almost over. It was time to playact for the camera again. "You did well. Don't worry about Kerrigan and her harem of whores. It was high time we brought the war to Firemane's doorstep. Besides, something tells me they'll be...distracted soon."

 

[Tegaea Alcori]

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]
Tegaea seemed to relax as Siobhan held her close. She smiled at her wife and cuddled up to her.
“So long as you’re with me tonight, Siobhan, I don’t care what we do.”

Game of Stars’ new season premier was on. That’d be something fun to do to distract them both, and so the Firemane power couple can fade from this plot for now….

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Tegaea Alcori"]


"Ok, love. I'm here. I won't let anything break us apart," she kissed her wife and cuddled with her on the couch, holding her close. Conveniently, Siobhan was skilled with massages and so Tegaea could probably enjoy a good neck rub.


The Game of Stars season premier was the perfect distraction. The series was full of intrigue, violence and raunchy smut that would make a prudish Jedi look aghast - or seriously tempted to forget his or her vow of celibacy. Unless the Jedi in question was Phylis Alince, since even Siobhan couldn't find the key to unlock her chastity belt. Regardless, for the time being the Firemane power couple faded away...

 

[Amara Zarides]

[member="Enyo Typhos"]
Amara nodded. “All their sins will come home to roost. Hmm, can sins roost? Well whatever. I feel excited now!” she said. It wasn’t hard for Amara to pretend to be excited, and she sort of was anyway.

“So…where do we go next? Can we go somewhere with a beach please? I don’t think it’s too much to ask that we not go to frozen iceblocks or polluted wastelands all the time.”

Of course, Archangel would determine where their clone soldiers went, but it didn’t stop Amara wishing for somewhere fun. Hopefully there was a beach they could go to which happened to have the answers about their programming, but she wasn’t holding out too much hope.

 

[Enyo Typhos]

[member="Amara Zarides"]


"You're always excited. And your jokes still make no sense." Just as Amara was eternally gregarious and excited, Enyo was fated to be the prim and proper one. Even after losing all her limbs and being turned into a half-robot.


"As for our next destination, you're in luck. We're not being sent to a polluted wasteland, but to a polluted city-planet that has appalling air once you leave the environmentally controlled upper levels. We've been charged with recovering certain items left behind by the Sith on Coruscant, before the Jedi get their paws on them. Contact with Jedi is expected. Possibly also with Sith if they manage to infiltrate the place again. If either confront us, I'll enjoy gutting them, but the goal is to be under the GA's radar."

 

[Amara Zarides]

[member="Enyo Typhos"]
“Pfft, fine, Miss Grumpy! My jokes are funny! I laugh at them after all, and I’m funny!”

“Ooh, Coruscant. I read a lot about it. Have you ever wondered the massive logistics of feeding and supplying a planet of a trillion people? I tried to do some research on it, and my head started spinning when I encountered the term ‘quadrillion’ in relation to some of these questions.”

She seemed lost in her own world, then focused again. “Alright, so get in, get the loot and get out again? Sounds good. Even better, I’ve been wanting to go to a city…a proper one anyway. They say you can find whatever you seek on Coruscant. Some people go to seek their fortune, and others are waiting to seek that very same fortune off you!”

She bounced to her feet. “So, we taking Vess or Kress, or Hess, or Bess or whatever –ess droids Archangel has made recently?”

 

[Enyo Typhos]

[member="Amara Zarides"]


"I imagine that if the planet were cut off from vital agriworlds, billions would starve because someone thought covering an entire world with a city and leaving it without the ability to feed itself was a good idea. Especially those outside of the 1%. Even with replication devices to turn garbage and such into foodstuffs. Venture into the lower levels, and you'll find the wretched living conditions you'd expect on a third world planet. Processing would be an improvement for the poor souls," Enyo remarked.


She was playing to the camera to make Archangel think she was still loyal, but her cynicism was deeply ingrained. Unlike her template, she did not have something to believe in. The Galaxy was a big scary place. It was harsh, cold and noble ideals were meaningless - or just a cover. The only person she cared about was Amara.


"And don't get overexcited. This isn't a joy ride. Coruscant is a dangerous place filled with normal criminal scum and Jedi scum. Vess will be accompanying us and providing intel." So, in other words, Enyo would get the eye candy this time.