Private Wield

[Rinea]

Kaila Irons received another message from Rinea.

"I have urgent need of you," and seriously so by the sound of it. "Meet me at our usual rendezvous, in deep space."

The message cuts out there.

When the Sith Lord arrived, she would find the usual signs of Rinea's presence. A silent ship in the vacuum--save for that ominous, repeating signal, and an extended docking port. On board, however, things weren't as dark as last time. All the lights were on, and the little mouse droid led her not to the office, but to the training room.

The Chiss sparred with another, as of yet unknown individual--a young Miralukan man who looked 19 or 20 at best. He stopped to turn his perceptions onto the new woman; he could sense something about her. Yet, in his distraction, the officer struck him square in the chest and sent the poor man flying backwards onto the cushioned floor.

"Head to the bridge, ensign."

Rinea walked over to a towel rack and wiped off her sweat. She was wearing a pair of all-black workout clothes. Loose pants tapered at the ankles, and a supportive black top.

The young man grumbled something or another as he left the room. Although he didn't turn his head towards Kaila, he didn't have to, and it was clear he sensed something off-putting in the Force. The Darth would feel as if he glared coldly at her all the same.

 

[Kaila Irons]

Wearing: Armor + Robes
Tag: Rinea

Clack clack clack.

The young Darth marched aboard as though she was off to war again.

For all Kaila knew, she was. Each step thudded against the deck, armored boots and Exo-muscle carrying her strides, gloved fist wrapped tightly around a lightsaber sheathed in her belt. It reminded her of a time not so very long ago, when she was still a Knight, proud and decked in the darkest plate.

But whatever this was, the Lord of Blades would win no such glory.

The mask which had become her calling card sat aboard her ship, instead her face was veiled in the shadow of a hood, few of her features visible, save the way her eyes glowed fiercely within.

They glared at the Miralukan as she entered, that familiar dour expression which Rinea had come to know, inhumanly analytic, yet so natural in it's primal simplicity. The man could glare at her signature all he liked, and glare he should. One wrong move in the face of a lioness could be his undoing.

Something Rinea swiftly demonstrated.

Her gaze followed his hobbling form right up until the blast doors closed, then immediately flicked towards the chiss.

"You called?"

​

 

[Rinea]

Rinea looked over her shoulder.

Unlike previous encounters, her eyes were neither amused nor cryptic. No, they were anxious, and yet they were betrayed by her commanding tone.

The Chiss waved her hand as she turned around, closing the door behind them. "I need you to kill for me," she said while leaning her back and foot against the far wall.

"Actually..." Her voice broke. "I need her to be the one who does it."

There was no ceremony, no foreplay, none of the tact or charm that Rinea usually displayed. Nerves and desperation swirled around her, as if she stood at the precipice of her own undoing. Perhaps for a Sith, it was an all too familiar sight.

Her glowing red eyes barely found the strength to look at Kaila, and she said nothing else. All that posturing to Linegrave unraveled, but the officer would never admit that the Sith got to her, too.

Kaila Irons

 

[Kaila Irons]

Wearing: Armor + Robes
Tag: Rinea

Her eyes narrowed.

Not with suspicion, not with anger. Concern.

Rinea had until now been so steadfast and cheeky in her own way. This quiet hesitance was unbecoming of her, and though she'd caused the chiss fear before, the fact that something else had shaken her bothered the sith greatly.

"I need you to kill for me," she said while leaning her back and foot against the far wall.

"Actually..." Her voice broke. "I need her to be the one who does it."

She closed her eyes then, searching, feeling. What she found made her jaw tighten.

Kaila tasted fear.

"This... weighs heavily on you."

Her gaze returned with renewed urgency.

A deep breath, one last look of concern, before her eyes sharpened with the understanding that this was not only of grave importance, but that the consequences for failure would be dire for them both.

Whatever the case, Rinea would not find her lacking.

"Who."

​

 

[Rinea]

The Chiss faltered a little in her stance.

She expected Kaila to be more questioning, or at least suspicious... Deep down, she needed the Sith not to trust her now more than ever, and yet the former SYNSTAT operative in her was too damn good at the job.

Rinea walked over to where her jacket hung, reached into a pocket, and pulled out a holodisk. She tossed it onto the floor, where it projected the images of various individuals, one at a time, cycling through them. Each wore a uniform similar to hers, with only minor distinctions in flair and rank.

"High Command has started to detain officers within our ranks--all on charges of treason, dereliction of duty, or insubordination. It is my job to root out traitors, and so far I've found none..." Each syllable was careful, as if rehearsed, like she had gone over this in her head many times by now.

"Yet, they've twisted my reports and leveraged them against personnel anyway." She furrowed her brow; there was charged passion in her voice.

She clenched her fist at her side and began to pace around the room, as was her usual coping mechanism when angry.

"And they've started to suspect me as well. They would stop everything I've worked for," said with hand on heart. "We cannot afford more of this second-guessing; it is destroying us!"

Rinea sank to her knees and then fell backwards to sit with her legs to one side. She looked down at the floor, no longer at Kaila.

Then, they looked up again, with that same conviction she held right before Kaila choked her in that alley.

"They are to meet--soon--to determine our future. I can get you aboard the ship, from the outside, with only a short path to and from. You have a ship with stealth capabilities, yes? I can sabotage the sensors and security long enough for you to slip in unnoticed."

Kaila Irons

 

[Kaila Irons]

Wearing: Armor + Robes
Tag: Rinea

Her arms folded behind her back.

She did not move a muscle otherwise, did not turn to follow the chiss, only her gaze seemed to slip alongside.

The young Darth did not realize it at the time, but if Rinea had ever seen imagery of Carnifex, it was almost uncanny the way Kaila seemed to mirror his stance. She was not him however, but his byproduct, and so when the holodisk slid her way, she stood straighter, focused on the briefing like any loyal assassin or soldier should.

Perhaps that is all she was, to this very day.

Every face was committed to memory, every rank plaque catalogued.

All the while she listened to Rinea's rehearsed, then impassioned speech.

"They are to meet--soon--to determine our future. I can get you aboard the ship, from the outside, with only a short path to and from. You have a ship with stealth capabilities, yes? I can sabotage the sensors and security long enough for you to slip in unnoticed."

She inhaled, exhaled very slowly.

That analytic gaze lingered on her targets a moment longer, deep in thought.

"Am I doing this for the good of the fleet...?" she asked, gaze slowly turning towards Rinea in the corner of her eye.

"...or saving your arse?"

​

 

[Rinea]

"Can it be one and the same?" She asked coldly.

Rinea reached down to collect the disk and held it like something precious, and made her slow walk closer. "Will you do this--for me?" She stopped inches away from her.

From this distance, Kaila could feel the warmth of Rinea's breath, as her voice was reduced to a whisper. "Please." Then she took a step back.

Rinea held out the holodisk for her to take. "If you need to review the details."

Kaila Irons

 

[Kaila Irons]

Wearing: Armor + Robes
Tag: Rinea

She closed her eyes again, jaw almost reluctantly easing.

That wasn't the answer she was looking for, though what she'd hoped, even she did not know.

When they opened again, the chiss was so close. Not by surprise, Kaila had let her come without so much as a glance towards the life and fear she felt in the force. Kaila had made up her mind the moment she understood, no matter her concerns.

"...of course..." she murmured solemnly.

Kaila nodded, taking the data carefully in both hands before slotting it into her gauntlet-computer.

"But know that she is morbidly impressed."

Another pause as the data loaded, ending with a soft chime and a green light.

"Rules of engagement?"

​

 

[Rinea]

Impressed? The Chiss chewed on that exact word.

"Rules of engagement?"

Her demeanor changed again; this time, she was stern. "None of the people I showed you can live. If you run into anyone else, spare them if you can--but kill if you have to." There would be no bargaining with morality if this task were to be accomplished.

And Rinea could not abide failure. She gestured towards the door again, and it slid open.

"I will follow up when it is time. Until then, there are coordinates in the holodisk. Arrive and stay invisible. Your ship will be detected by our close-range sensors, so you'll have to wait for my signal before you can close in."

She turned away from Kaila and walked off towards the showers. "Until then."

Kaila Irons

 

[Kaila Irons]

Wearing: Armor + Robes
Tag: Rinea

Her brow rose, just a little.

The chiss was taking no chances it seemed, playing fast and loose with her own morals.

Or perhaps she'd had none to begin with. This was the most Sith-like thing she'd seen her do, and it gave the woman questions she'd dare not voice aloud. Even still, thinking back mere seconds ago, to that desperation, hearing "please" fall from those lavender lips for the first time...

There was ambition and resolve in her eye but the chiss didn't want this, not really.

She needed it.

And Kaila knew that need all too well.

She turned away from Kaila and walked off towards the showers. "Until then."

"...until then... Bodr'ine'ako..."

She turned for the doorway, marching to her ship.

And on the other side,

emerged Anathemous.​

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