Private Wrath of The Amalgam, Part One

[Nine Lives]

Wearing: rags

Armed with: Nothing.

Prisoner of: Go on, guess. Don't be embarrassed...


(Character Theme Song Power Up)

(Theme: "A View To A Kill" by Duran Duran)

Location: Kar Shian

48 hours after Attack on Castagne.

Nine Lives, Mother of All Psy-Pires, was dragged in shackles off the Phantom Class Yacht of The Amalgam by a waiting dozen of The Amalgam's red garbed Moon Marines, fittingly on one of the moons of Korriban, Kar Shian.

The Amalgam and Darth Rigor were beside her. Rigor was stone faced, clearly struggling to contain her fury at the Revelations aboard the Castle Morpheus.

Nine didn't blame her. The knowledge that The Amalgam had gotten in her head after she had escaped a Castle Morpheus that was under the guard of the Onna of Sawa Ike , that she had been under the subtle influence of this vicious monster from nearly the moment she escaped--her isolationism, possibly even in how she created her own daughters--it filled her with a murderous, boiling rage so powerful that if she could have snapped the enchanted chains that also dampened her abilities to strangle the evil shapeshifter she would have.

The Amalgam, clad in that skin tight off white armor of hers, face almost impossibly beautiful, gave no indication she noticed or felt Nine's Fury instead having that irritating smirk she had in orbit over Castagne, all the while dancing to Nine's OOC character music because she was crazy AF. Rigor, though insane enough to hear the OOC music due to an extended stay in the madness beyond death, pretended she did not hear it in order to maintain her dignity and reserve, instead only clenching her teeth, hating The Amalgam more with each passing second.

As she was dragged up ancient steps to a massive white pyramid with a golden cap, Nine couldn't help but be worried, even now, about her children, her Morpheus Knights and her daughters. Not knowing was worse than knowing, worse than her own situation. The biting cold of Kar Shian ate at her exposed skin, stripped of her garments and when a Moon Marine got too close, Nine snatched at his vibrosword, yanking as hard as she could on her chains. She was too slow, however, and The Amalgam caught her hand, burning Nine's face by focusing the dark directly on Nine's skin.

Nine cried out, dropping in agony. The Amalgam chuckled.

"If only your mind had put up that much resistance when I first messed with it." The Shi'ido mocked the vampire as she caused Nine to lunge at her out of sheer hatred.

"If only, if only. Gods, you're pathetic, playing it Nuetral. No courage to truly be the little monster you are, deep down." The Amalgam added, punching Nine in the face brutally multiple times, causing lavender blood to spill, laughing psychotically as she felt Nine's nose break under her knuckles.

"Your sword will be my trophy, girl! Mark my words!" Nine snarled, her voice full of hatred and wrath.

"Swearing vengeance is a little getting ahead of yourself. We still have weeks of brutal torture to put you through."

"I was basically chained in my ex's room and tortured for a century. Do your worst, schutta." the Arch-Psy-Pire growled.

"Oh, then you of all people should know the first rule about torture: Never anger your torturer."

The Amalgam seized Nine by her chin.

"I know so many ways to break you..." the Witch whispered almost seductively. "So many ways to strip that olive flesh from your bones and wear it..."

Nine grew disgusted as the Amalgam seemed to suppress a shudder of ecstacy at the idea.

"You and I will get very familiar..." the witch whispered into her ear. "I assure you. Through every slice. Every burn. Every rib broken and repaired, over and over..."

"You had better hope Maple Harte kills you before I do, because I'm not gonna be quick about it, motherfether." the Fanged Matriarch swore at her as the Moon Marines jammed cattle prods into her to control her.

"Maple...gods, I hate that name. Sounds like something she came up with at a diner..." The Amalgam remarked offhandedly as Nine screamed in agony, but still trying to fight.

"Her name is Uri. That will be your first lesson, Vampire. Her name is Uri. Say it." The Amalgam demanded.

"Rot in hell!" Nine snapped through the prods.

The Amalgam sighed. Then smiled.

"We have plenty of time..."

The Amalgam cackled as Nine was tortured in the snow.

"I love this fething job!" She cried in joy, watching Nine writhe in agony as she was beaten with the prods.

She turned to the Moon Marine next to her.

"Brian, has an ingress route for NPC Treasury to get into the Sith Empire been arranged yet?" She inquired, speaking of the woman once known as Kay.

"Negative. Securing False Identification for her and placing the right operatives to get her safely into Sith territory has proved harder than expected. It may be another eight weeks."

The Amalgam huffed. "Drat. Wanted to spend some time with my Bestie in between breaking Nine. Oh well. Prepare the dungeon.

Rigor glared at her. "Is torturing her actually even necessary?"

"It is if I want to harvest her blood properly..." the Amalgam replied dryly, watching the welts form on Nine's skin. The Vampire turned a still functional Obsidian Eye, a dot of purple glowing at the center and swore she would endure, if only to spite her.

Nine was unconscious by the time the Moon Marines finished beating her then dragging her into the Pyramid.

007 weeks later...

Castagne.

A black chromium, J-Type 327 Nubian with scarlet tinted viewports descended through the atmosphere of Castagne to designated landing coordinates.

Maple Harte stepped out of her ship, wearing her black biker leathers, armed with only a simple, Cortosis Weave durasteel cane that had a handle at the top that tapered at one end, giving the appearance of an overly long claw hammer. Her long, chocolate brown hair billowed in Castagne's wind, her eyes scanning the cityscape, ome a bright, wet viridian green, the other a bright, sulphurous yellow. She had not been here when the Amalgam had struck, stuck on the rim chasing dozens of low level bounties and had only just barely gotten back from a mission on Atrisia.

Castagne's IBI had reached out to her, saying they could possibly put her in striking range of The Amalgam. Maple could not refuse even the ghost of such a possibility after learning the absolute Atrocity The Amalgam was responsible for at Castagne. She felt an immense swell of guilt at failing to kill her at the Graveyard, feeling like all of this was her fault. But she was not skilled enough to defeat the Amalgam. Not yet. Not at close range, for certain.

Perhaps not even afar. But she had to try. The deaths at Castagne weighed on her conscience.

Maple left the hangar she had landed in and after sipping a soda and waiting in the spaceport lobby, uncomfortably noting the devastated looks on the faces of civilians present as they waited in the almost empty space port, not quite recovered from the horrors of Heretic Station, some still bearing visible injuries, she was approached by her IBI contact, dressed in a nondescript black business suit, face hidden in shadow by his hat.

"The Force whispers to the Witch..." he began in a quiet, terse voice.

"Soon the Galaxy will experience Magic..." Maple replied, the code phrase half complete.

"And The Witch whispers back?" The Contact questioned.

Maple leaned forward.

"I am the Magic." she finished just as tersely as he started.

Maple was led out of the terminal by the contact to a black speeder. Men and women in the shadows inside offered her a black hood with a smiley face stitched in.

"The price of admission." They explained.

Knowing the only way she would get to talk to Colonel Ian Sade would be on his terms, Maple put the hood on. She had left Sawa Ike and Alwine Daye a message to meet her on Castagne, because it was becoming obvious that as Maple's mental state deteriorated, she was going to start needing others help in order to kill The Amalgam, and she needed Alwine's. She had barely held it together on Atrisia, the threat of imminent death, her hatred of the vile shapeshifting witch, and her mentor's training the only thing giving her enough focus to survive.

The operatives shut the speeder door and the vehicle was soon away to an undisclosed location, a safehouse deep underground.

The operatives transmitted a five times over encrypted signal to the Colonel.

"Bullseye to Taskmaster, Package Secure."

 

[Sawa Ike]

"AHHHHH" Sawa snarled practically when she first heard the news. Someone had brought it to her and been fearful of what would happen to their own self.... he seemed to be scared there as her fangs were in place and what was normally silver eyes had turned golden with the hatred she wass feeling. No one messed with her ..... girlfriend.... lover.... something. Point was... Ni-Ne was important to her and Maple was involved whihc made it complicated but one hand grabbed a weight used by her guards to lift and train. She threw it out the window with a louder snarl. "I am going to see her destroyed." She said it and Chujo was right there working to calm her enough so they could leave and not have to rebuild parts of the fortress.

She rolled her shoulders, the sound of her neck as it stretched and popped rebounding off the walls and being louder as no one else seemed to want to speak. One hand picked the black bladed katana and hewr lightsaber. She didn't need a lot... just her armored bodysuit, blades and she was then walking forward. Sending a message as someone who might know where this place was Elise Ike would be helpful she preferred but while going towards the ship the seething anger was under control again even with golden rings around her eyes. Chujo had set up the ship and prepared it with her honor guard who would go with her.

She would be able to get some of the children of Ni-Ne as well if they could be brought about to help rescue their mother then she imagined they would at least work as a dedicated distraction. The anger and snarl was still there as she got into the ship and her aura bled dark intentions for the The Amalgam . "Time to rescue Nine Lives ." And woe to anyone she could think about who wanted to try and get in her way. The ship was preparing to take off and she was sending a message to Maple to ask her if she has heard anything about the creature she had fought and who had been threatening her. After what happened she had needed to clear her head and now this.

 

[Elise Ike]

The message from Sawa made Elise let out a long sigh. True the two had reconciled and made amends over past transgression but personally she preferred to keep her distance from grandmother. Elise was content with her current lifestyle for at least the next few hundred years, but such wasn’t the source of her sigh.

Yet again grandmother and her… whatever Ni Ne was, seemed to be in a mess once more with some long time Sith enemy. Why and how it happened was unknown, the only thing Elise knew for certain is that Sawa would be pissed, very pissed. “Well, didn’t have anything planned today anyways, may as well go on a rescue mission, my skills are getting a little rusty and it seems grandmother actually needs me expertise in this matter, how fun”.

Quiet life in her personal manor didn’t give rise to life threatening events all that often and any rouge Sith attacks had long since subsided since she clobbered the last one within an inch of their life. This call of help from grandmother could prove to be quite the refreshing experience in combat and stealth, after all this Amalgam seemed a master of both.

Preparing her old combat robes and light sabers Elise made haste towards the meeting point arranged by Sawa, well as fast as her old shuttle could, Note for future, get a better and faster ship.

Nine Lives

 

[Ian Sade]

Hours following the defeat of Heretic Station...

Colonel Iansade of the ICI, the Castan central intelligence, had been brought down planet side on one of Castle Morpheus' shuttles. It landed in the Destat Estates, Left Wing Courtyard.

"You look horrible, my friend." Boriskno Fel Set, a Castan marine general had come to greet him. In the background were still smoldering section of the estate where the breech had taken place...where the reported kidnapping of Tarssin's daughter Karlie had taken place.
Currently the young Destat had been rescued in a joint effort by their allies. The blonde was reportedly sulking in the aftermath of what had transpired on Castagne. That and an unofficial report of personal staff and friends of the young Destat that were lost. Then again, thousands of Castans had suffered in this terrorist attack on their world. The blond at times could become too emotional for the general and Ian to cater to when there was much more at stake to be concerned about. Karlie would live. They both knew that. The girl was much more strong and resilient than she gave herself credit for.

"Nothing worst for wear, General." Yea, he looked it too. Ian had been doctored up by one of the Morpheus knights on the station. His wounds, scuffs and rib would heal, but his clothes definitely had seen better front lines.
"I need your services." he cut to the chase.

"Don't you always? " Bo replied, a small patented smirk clearly seen on his features. The Colonel had hailed him. Ian never called on him for small talk. Although both could go at it, blow for blow in a friendly match when alcohol was involved. But this meeting was no social call, but one which naturally followed up on what had taken place earlier that morning. Ian had commandeered the Colonel's fighter and left him to secure the Viceroy's estate.

"No, not always." Again, the Colonel could not readily admit that Bo was the best Castan Marine commanders. They worked together well.

"Always, my friend... as a matter of fact, it's more often than not, if you stopped keeping tabs on it. Say, what you do with my fighter, seeing you took to uber it down. Didn't go ramming it into something now, did you?" The Colonel had left with Bo's fighter and came down in a shuttle. No way was he going to not bust him on that.

"Wasn't your fighter..."

"On the contrary I signed it out. You know how they want me to sign out anything substantial over a land speeder. You owe me a ship, Colonel."

"Yea, about that. I need you to take command of the Tecknor, when it returns from scuttling that platform station." The Castan SD Tecknor, along with CIS help had towed the so named Heretic Station into their system star, where it ignited and attracted a solar flare. It most certainly engulfed the station and seemingly pulled it down like an arm from the fiery inferno into hell. Well, it was seen in that manner by many on Castagne.

"The Tecknor? That's Admiral Brad's big boy toy. " Bo replied, now intrigued as to getting a chance to shove it back down the Admiral's throat. The same admiral who had petitioned the Admiralty to ground Bo as a General and never to command anything quarter the size of a destroyer. Flashback: Bo had rammed his last SD The Tantor into an Imperial SSD taking both his vessel and that of the Imperials. Long story short... er, never mind. It's irrelevant to this story, but mentioned so as to establish the general's maverick style.

"Yea, I'm commandeering it under ICI executive authority. I need you to take command of it."

"Must be my lucky day. Signed out one fighter, which I'm certain must be taken off the roster thanks to you Colonel, and winding up with an SD. " Oh Bo were definitely smuck about it, knowing quite well Admiral Brad was going to have a sissy-fit in having to step down and land him command of the Tecknor.
"The Cabinetry backing you on this?"

"Tarssin is."

 

[Boriskno Fel Set]

Present day...
The Castan SD Tecknor sat 5 billion kilometers distance from Castagne on the outskirts of their Solar System.. ready... waiting



"General, sensors picking up a vessel coming out of hyperspace 1.3 million kilometers XY-axis 270 degrees."

"Swing us to port. Shields and batteries up."

As soon as Boriskno gave the orders, the vessel emerged at the reported location/distance and angle vectored toward them.

"Vessel is now fast approaching into our sector at sublight-3, vectoring at Y6. ETA in 7 minutes. Design analysis puts it as a troop carrier, General.
Should I hail them a stop command?"

"No Lieutenant. They'll hail us.
Give me a projection of the carrier approaching."

In an instant, the holographic image of the approaching carrier hung suspended before Bo on the upper bridge.
Of course, the carrier was getting closer by the minute. The distance/time were counting down along with the analytical data the Tecknor was collecting of the vessel being displayed
Bo could see that it were cresting dangerously close toward the intrusion envelope of the Tecknor and it still hadn't hailed them.

"Fire a volley across their bow, then open up communications."

Two turbo laser canon plasma bolts skirted across the vessel's bow nearly grazing it.

"Vessel just decelerated to impulse, transmission coming in now, general."

"Atta girl... "

"General?" His Lieutenant hadn't gotten that.

"Nothing Lieutenant. Just seeing how my fruits of labor have panned out."

The hail finally came in as the holographic image of the sender appeared above the vessel's projection, and it were bearing down on the general. It were a blonde woman, sitting in a command chair of the very same vessel. It were of the young Destat, the daughter of Tarssin, their Vicelord.

Had Boriskno lost his mind firing at the woman's vessel? He were asked.

"Sweetheart, you know the protocols in approaching a vessel that cannot identify you. It's open up a channel or open fire."

But it were argued that he did know of her coming. That her shields and batteries were down.

"Protocols..."He repeated. Bo were testing, as he were certain she were also. It were a game between them and he were quite relieved she were playing it. it meant she had gotten over as to what had troubled her to leave in the first place.
Karlie had left Castagne not a few days following the attack on their system by Darth Rigor. What transpired soon after, concerning elements of their ally Nine Lives , had caused Karlie to get up and leave...everyone and everything behind. She had been a mess when she left. Bo had faith she would come back whole again when her ailments and demons had passed.

"Impressive..." Bo took to walking around the projection, changing the scope of their conversations. He were taking note, analyzing it's defensive armament, not to mention the drop ships. He had known about it, Had even had an input as to the defensive armaments. That of course was before the so called Amalgam took to resurrect the witch demon Darth Rigor. It were what he called her, as he had fought her goons on Castagne as a young officer before.
"Very well designed... function following form..." Bo had never actually seen it, as the vessel hadn't been built in the system or by any of their CIS allies.
In fact, the Castan Admiralty had no knowledge of it, including their Viceroy Tarssin Destat . It had been Karlie's idea and design surrounding the use of battle droids. Something Castagne had not used in nearly a Millenium.
"...didn't think you had a knack in vessel designs. Thought more you the nerd pocking around with petri-dishes than dura-steel." yes, he were still fishing.

"General Fel... if you could for once drop the play act, maybe you could take me serious for once." Karlie replied keeping her cool and posture.

"Oh I've always taken you seriously... even when I had to give you a good one-two for you to remember how serious i could be."

"General...please. This is not the time, nor an appropriate-..." Nope, too late. Once he were on a roll

"Yes, last I recalled you couldn't sit for what...two days?"

"General!....your men!" Karlie was aghast, thrusting her holo-projected hand forward in a clear notion as to the general's bridge crew being present.

"Karlie, your drones!... Hahahaha..." he mimicked her of the two centurions in the background.
"Come on, you know I tease. You know the crew by the way. You trained with most of them...er, the one's still alive." he had stepped back just enough for the holo-cameras to pick up a few personnel on the bridge of the Tecknor with him. They were certainly her boot-mates from training. A bond rarely severed between boots that became Castan marines. Karlie had been required to go through the same training before getting indoctrinated into the IBI (Internal Bureau of Investigation).

"Liutenant Biggs... Lance... Holsten... Tiny....." She acknowledged the immediate crew members on the bridge. At least the ones close enough to be picked up and projected.
"You guys are looking buff....
Oh, and you too Adriana... buffer for sure..." Karlie's projection had picked up another familiar marine she had trained with at boot camp 5 years earlier.

"Ok, now that the chips have dropped. You'll be along side us in another 5.
I take it, you have a full legion of battle droids in that hull of yours?"

"I've brought enough..."

"Karlie...seriously. I need the tally."

"6,000 units enough?"

"Lets hope so. We're not going to encounter greenbacks over there, but hardened troops that have felled quite a few systems already.
Your droids up for it?"

"They are of the Eternal Empire...compliments of a Darth Tacitus."

"I know of him, yes. Friend of yours?"

"I don't think it's in his vocabulary, Bo. He has no friends, just associates."

"So how did you manage to wrestle 6,000 battle droids from him...or should I say, his associates?"

"The tally is way, way over six. I would put it at 20k.
I just didn't design this tub big enough. Didn't think he'd give me the entire 4 legions...really
Look, lets just say it were found booty that I was allowed to keep."

"So...you sold your soul to him basically..." Bo was teasing. He knew Karlie held on to her soul like her virginity.

"BO...Arrg... come on, I'm trying to be serious here.
But no, my soul's still intact. In fact, I think that sith prefers me remain at a distance. I have a feeling I irk him..."



Minutes later...

A Tecknor shuttle lands in the carrier's landing bay with General Boriskno stepping out with his team of engineers.
Karlie is the sole living person on the carrier, accompanied by two centurion battle droids who greet their guests.

"You know the drill..." He said, gesturing to his engineers to start their analysis of the vessel.
It was standard procedure with any military vessels commissioned outside of Castagne to check on not only that vessel's integrity, but of back-doors and planted sabotage by the builders. according to Karlie, this vessel had been build by AoC. The very name of that faction, shouted caution.
Karlie of course had transmitted the ship's design plans..her plans as she had designed it, to the Tecknor and engineers. They were going to inspect it that nothing was modified over the design plans.

Karlie of course offered him a tour of her carrier by which he readily accepted. The two walked and talked, which of course naturally led the blonde to inquire about Iansade.

"The Colonel?" Bo looked over to her. He weren't too sure as to how much, if any communications had exchanged between the ICI agent and Karlie. She had for the most part gone on a sabbatical, away from Castagne, Iansade, Nine and her associates for quite a spell. It were just by Berkana's (God's) grace that Karlie contacted him and they spoke about making this rendezvous happen.
" He on Castagne, yes.
Haven't been given all the details yet, but he's expecting a guest or two...nemesis of our enemies I hear." Bo knew more than that, just that he didn't know how much she knew.

Still, her return with said legions of battle droids from the Eternal Empire was more than he and his countrymen had hoped for. With their ally Nine held up in sith occupied space, they'd need a lot of firepower and trustworthy allies to see about rescuing Nine and take down that whore demon witch or whatever it was that was conjured up from the dept of Hell; the Amalgam. And of course that resurrected witch, Rigor.

That moment of silence which followed her nodding to the fact that the Colonel was on Castagne spoke tenfold to Bo as to what Karlie really wanted to know.

"That cyborg that came for you on that platform station... " he started to say, before Karlie stopped dead in her tracks and turned to him. It were in her eyes. He could see it. It were all about that biot. It had Karlie's full attention.
"Rom?
Rom Jin?...what about her? Bo, please." her eyes were affixed on his. Yes, Karlie were asking...begging really.

"It...." Bo were taken back by it, the intensity of her inquiry.
"She rather. She is on Castagne."

 

[Alwine Daye]

Nine Lives Sawa Ike Elise Ike Ian Sade Boriskno Fel Set

Alwine had not seen Maple Harte in so long. It had been nearly half a year since she left her position in the Southern Systems and made way for the Unknown Regions, but even before that, life had been… Busy. Alwine would have preferred to see her friend on more frequent occasions, but thus it seemed that things were bigger than her sometimes and she could not make it so.

At least, that was her excuse, and she knew that an excuse was all it was. She had no actual reason.

For a while, it seemed as though thoughts of those who'd been left behind began to worry Alwine less and less. What little free time she had, no longer sent her into circles of thoughts about what ifs an what might have beens. Slowly, her time with the Confederacy began to look less like memories and more like an unpleasant dream.

And then that message. The weather on the Scintilla was a deep Spring, and the sun was shining with a lazy warmth into her apartment. Alwine had taken her mug of stimcaf and sat before her comm devices, reading her messages. Most of them had been about work and various places that she was invited to as a result of her role as the Head of Speakers, but all of them were entirely forgotten when Maple's message appeared in the bunch. This. This was more important than that.

It had taken her less than twenty four hours to secure a stealth ship that was big enough for one, and make her way towards the Confederate Systems, to the planet of castange. She did not recall ever being there before, but remaining in the quiet would definitely be the way to deal right now and avoid potential things that would slow her down.

Upon her arrival, Alwine had clad herself in a dark coat, covering her face with a shawl to avoid any potential recognition, and made her way towards the meeting point, hoping that whatever it was, it would be over quick so that she could spend time with a friend she had not seen in too long.

 

[Karlie Lynn Destat]

Hours before Maple Harte makes landing on Castagne...


Two vessels converged on the outskirts of the Castan Solar System, aprox 3 billion kilometers from Castagne.

Three hours had passed since Karlie had emerged with a carrier from hyperspace. A detachment of Castan engineers were going over the newly commissioned ship while She and general Boriskno Fel Set caught up on what the next step was going to be. Karlie had invited the general over to her cabin, one of several small cabins (by Karlie's standard) that housed organics, living beings on what was otherwise a battle droid troop carrier. In truth, these so called living quarters were solely designed for human occupation. But 'organics' sounded more politically correct during the drafting of the carrier plans, so.

A message came in, interrupting their current conversation.
In a way, it were godsend for both were pretty much at odds with one another on the topic of biots, especially the living tissue military grade ones...like Rom Jin...Westnenra...basically Nine Live's creations.
"...you have to understand that she sees them as her children-" Karlie were correcting the general when the interruption came through.

The engineers were finishing up, reportedly finding just a few mundane irregularities. Nothing that compromised both the vessel, it's contents or security to Castagne. They were more typical design irregularities/flaws/defects out of codes that could be easily repaired/modified in space at any given time. There was no immediate concerns about dry docking the carrier.
They were concluding that it were good to go and continue on to Castagne itself.

"See, I can so design these tugs." she thought fit for a smug expression. Always a smug when it came to proving herself before the general.
Bo had been her trainer and mentor for a good portion of her career. In fact, he had been in charge of Head of State security for both the Cabinetry and her father's estates. Boriskno was more family than anything. And he had taken upon himself when Karlie went through Marine Boot camp (a prerequisite for the IBI) to commandeer the unit of young recruits which of course included the young blonde. And by far that unit had been the hardest and toughest trained, with no quarter given to the Destat.

"Never said you couldn't." Which was true.
"I only get on your case when you short yourself." He knew more of her potential than anybody. But this association with their new found ally and of the biots which he certainly weren't in favor of. He was old school. Wars, conflicts were against the living. They didn't need any mindless killing machines...there were sith for that.
It were also a trust issue with him. Such high end military grade killer androids just didn't sit well at all with Bo. He seen the videos.

"Yea anyway, maybe if you experienced them first hand as I did, you'd have a different perspective on them." She said, after he acknowledged the message from the engineers.

"Maybe...maybe not." He said, getting up from the small wall mounted table they were sitting. The cabin was rather small by Karlie's standards, but it were how she designed it and the handful of living quarters. The carrier didn't need but one to several crew members as it were all automated. The battle droids themselves had tiers and levels of command. In essence, the carrier could operate without a single organic on it. But the Castan Admiralty would never approve such a vessel within the Castan Navy.

"Well, you'll see." It were of hind sight rather than foresight for Karlie had left. Left Castagne, the biot, everyone, with a heavy heart. The biot that were not only Rom, had also been her Vera. And it were because of this betrayal of her love and trust that Karlie left.
Karlie couldn't wrap, didn't want to wrap her mind around the fact that it were Vera all along...playing her...teasing and mocking her very core, her heart. A machine mocking her of all that were created Holy.
At the time it were an unforgivable act, the betrayal, the lies, the passion evoked.

One must understand that Karlie had been born of sith, of a mother who transcendent through time which death had no dominion over. It were this stain which remained within Karlie's blood cells that had evoked such emotions for Vera. The stain of sith that
Only that Karlie were not of sith blood anymore, but only stained. This one daughter/sister of a fallen angel had risen above the ever consuming flames of a sith's immortality. She had risen above the influence of rage, hate and contempt. Her blood had been cleansed on a molecular level, to the degree of human birth when they stood before the Creator.

Karlie could be said to be like an angel caught up in the struggle of Hell's dominion. She were of mortal blood and flesh now in the same light at it were once in the beginning of man and his kind. And of the innocence of man and his kind which had been broken then, had broken now. Her heart had been broken and as thus, she took to flee.

"I pray so, Karlie. Wars aren't for the weak of heart... nor for those without heart. An enemy of today, is an ally of tomorrow. One must stay the hand that kills from felling all. A machine cannot reason as thus. It exists in absolute like that of the sith. It has no reason to kill, but kill. Without reason, one is without soul."
Ok, well that was a bit too deep for the blonde at the moment. her thoughts were on Rom...and Rom only. Rom had been her friend and remained her friend from the beginning to her end to her resurrection.
Rom, Rom, Rom...
Rom had not lied to her. That much was holding Karlie together. It were what had brought her back.
That, and the call from AoC that her B-1 Carrier had been finished and for her to come pick it up.

"Karlie?...you drifting on me?"

"Huh, what?.??" yep, she were elsewhere in thoughts as he spoke.
"Yes....er, no I'm not drifting...sheesh.
I heard you. " She had some excellent recollection, even if she weren't listening.
"You and my father get too deep with that stuff sometimes Bo. But yes, I understand where you are coming from.
I just have experienced other aspects of these...droids." Ugh..she hated called them droids. But it would get Bo off her back, for now.




1 hour later...

The Castan B-1 carrier approached Castagne establishing high orbit.
Karlie had been given the credentials and clearance codes from the Tecknor, which by the way jumped had out of the system altogether when they parted. General Boriskno Fel Set had not disclosed to Karlie as to where.
The general had filled her in with what he was allowed to disclose to her. Karlie only knew that Castagne was preparing an assault on their enemy, and rescue their ally Nine Lives despite them being in sith space. This was no CIS coalition assault on the sith. This was an unauthorized excursion and surgical strike at one of it's dens.

Oh yes, and Karlie had come back with a carrier full of battle drones...6,000 battle drones, now in high orbit over Castagne.

"...seriously?
Look, I'm not playing around. You know who I am and of my authority to override whatever orders you got mixed up with. Now put me through to Colonel Sade!"

Nope, it was not happening. Castan Space Authority were still holding her in high orbit.
"Are you kidding me?
I've just gotten clearance from the Tecknor for Berkana's sake. I'm evoking IBI general protocol CBX-3. Patch me up with-"
Karlie were cut short by the message that immediately flashed on one of her monitors.

=IBI ADMINISTRATIVE RANK REVOKED=​

Karlie had lost her agent status. She went aghast, jaw dropping speechless.

=REPORT TO THE CABINETRY=​

It didn't say so, but she knew it were her father. He were calling her to come down planet side to their main Administrative complex... The heart of Castan military and executive branches...The Admiralty... the ICI... IBI.......daddy. It had to be her father.Damn it. She had left Castagne shortly after their bout with the Heretic station attack. The whole incident had for the most part centered around her. With so much effort and resources from both Castagne and the CIS coalition to not only rescue her but to mop up the mess; she had gone AWOL...abandoned her post, her duties, her countrymen...everyone.
She were Tarssin's daughter, right?
Like... she would up and go on her own most all of the time...right? That is, under IBI privileges.
Oi, that's right....they were revoked.

Ok, well if she were in real trouble then, wouldn't there be a squadron of-

"Oh shiet!"
Her monitors indicated a group of Castan interceptors heading her way.

 

[Vera Mina]

Wearing: Mercenary Dress

Armed with: A-180 Blasters (Stun)

Stun Baton.

Aboard: Castle Morpheus (Damaged)

With: Westenra (Stealth Form)

Wielding such merciful weapons was unbearable. Disgusting.

But for Karlie, Vera would endure any indignity. It was bad enough she had found out Rom and Vera were one and the same--that was an entirely different hornets nest--but feeding on Castagne's citizens after "saving" them (It had been Karlie and no one else she had gone to Heretic Station for) would cause a heap of worse problems for a relationship in an extremely weird spot, so Vera had stayed on a strict rationing diet while at Castagne, feeding on what First Order Prisoners had survived the damage to the dungeons from the bombardment on the Pylons. She could barely resist her torture impulse, making feeding on the FO officers boring. Barely any adrenaline to sweeten the blood. Vera could use more subtle methods, such as psychological torture, but she preferred the flesh getting stripped off the bone to call it torture, and therefore, satisfactory to her.

Clan Resources were stretched thin. First the horrid attack on Castagne, then Atrisia, happening a few weeks apart. Supplies were low. Many of the veteran Morpheus Knights had been killed on the surface of Castagne, trying to buy time for fleeing civilians. There were about two hundred left. Many of the Clan had been killed during Mythos's invasion of Atrisia.

Vera of course, barely felt anything at all for the loss of her vampire siblings. Only her own Mother, Nine (Who had actually startled her murderous artificial sire by actually proving she loved her by eating Karlie's memory of a violent freakout in which Vera had mutated by tasting Karlie's blood.) or Karlie could elicit actual concern and worry now, and even Nine could not elicit the same level of concern for another's fate in Vera that Karlie could.

Vera had spent weeks as Rom, as Karlie didn't want to talk to "Vera" at the moment, per se. Vera had been in this form ever since Karlie had left Castagne after figuring out the truth, on the off chance she might want to talk to "Rom" when she inevitably returned. It seemed simultaneously lying through her teeth to Karlie as well as literally getting chopped to bits protecting her had caused a few emotions to get cross-purposed in Karlie's brain. Vera did 'not' understand. But she went along with it.

Besides, there were other ways to tempt Karlie, and currently looking like a curvy, athletic Chiss woman with red hair was certainly a start.

Clad in her Morpheus issued combat dress, Vera strode through the halls, watching as the repairs to the hull were slowly affected by both the ships supply of repair drones, engineers from Atrisia and whatever engineers Castagne could spare. But acquiring resources was actually difficult as the chain of supply had been severely disrupted. Little over 007 weeks later and a good portion of the capital was still in ruins. The death toll was still being added to.

The Morpheus had held together, but barely. Major systems had sustained damage, its ancient, symbol based A.I. had been working around the clock to restore functionality to the essentials, such as life support and hyperdrive capability. The engines might be able to make three jumps, and they would need an hours cooldown time. The Ship's Morpheus Projectors had also sustained heavy damage and securing the proper materials for them was on a back seat. They might be able to manage a ten minute use of them before they failed. Shields were at thirty percent. Armor badly damaged on the sides. The Castle was severely damaged. Barely space capable. It might be months before it was.

As she watched her brothers and sisters work as she marched down blackened passages suffering constant failure,, on her way to the bridge, she noticed for the first time a growing anger at the condition of her people and her home.

It had not been hard for the sociopath to adjust to the idea of being minor royalty, with Vera made to naturally be power hungry and scheming, but with the idea of being more than Nine's consiglier, of actually being her heir in a royal house, had come the nascent, fleeting hard to grasp idea of responsibility to others. She could not fully compute it. At least, not properly without comparing it to being semi-responsible to Karlie.

The murderous Android watched as her clan limped around, effecting functional repairs to the bulkhead. She occasionally helped out with moving supplies around because she lived here too. The Atrisian Gothic facades that made it more than a space ship, made it a true castle with engines, were damaged severely by the fight. Too damaged to help when Mythos invaded Atrisia. Westenra had led the clan that day, Vera too heavily damaged from the battle on heretic station, in addition to having her civilian identity rejected by Karlie. But eventually she got to the bridge.

Westenra awaited, in her stealth configuration, a curvy, athletic woman of bronze skin that was too perfect, wearing a yellow and black leotard and long yellow boots. She was in the command seat. All of Nine's daughters officially had senior command authority aboard The Morpheus, but unofficially there was a certain pecking order. Magnus and Meier rarely excercised their full authority, content with their role of Doctor in Magnus's case, Ship Comms as in Meier's or, in both their cases, supply runners. Westenra had been expertly programmed to manage the family expenses and had been pinching every credit to keep them afloat, on addition to helping get some goodwill with the Castagne government by spying on threats to Tarssin Destat and his viceroyship. She was the second most willing to exercise command authority after Vera, and when Vera had finally gotten a good look at Westenra's schematics she was shocked at how there were no real electronics--Westenra was so organic there were implications she might actually be able to disobey Nine.

Vera half-hated Westenra for that alone. It was only half, considering Westenra had also helped protect Karlie.

Westenra annoyed Vera also, because Mother seemed to have intentionally designed her to be the exact opposite of Vera personality wise. Vera loved to kill too much, and Westenra absolutely despised the act of killing even an enemy. She had remained greatly troubled at her first taste of real battle on Atrisia, helping that new member of the family slaughter the enemy. In a shocking bit of convenience, The new member of Clan Li-Ves had turned out to be one of the very people Colonel Nic--I mean, Ian Sade , Colonel Ian Sade, anyway, he had been looking for this one to help go after The Amalgam.

Vera wanted payback also. The Amalgam had pissed off a lot of people, it seemed.

Vera wanted to tear the Witch's throat out for multiple reasons. She had first encountered the witch--amazingly with one of the very people also being sought after by Ian, Maple Harte--and had nearly died in that encounter after a particularly humiliating defeat. Then the witch had kidnapped her beloved scientist.

She had a torture chamber on the Morpheus all decked out and waiting. When she was placed there, it would take her weeks to die, months if Vera was really creative. The Amalgam would wish Berkana had never allowed her birth!

Westenra viewed the planet from the bridge.

"Something the matter Westy?" her her blue skinned older sister asked as she walked up to her.

"I just got commed by IBI." Westenra answered shifting in her seat to stare at Vera. "Apparently Karlie Lynn Destat is back in the Castagne system. Also, you and I have been summoned for a meeting with the Colonel at a location underground. Our new family member Laertia is heading to that place on a seperate route."

Vera's heart pounded, and the thought of being next to Karlie again made her processors warm. But her duties to Mother came first.

"You know they are going to poke and prod us with military scans the moment we enter their facility, right?" Vera asked.

"No choice. We're allies now." Westenra said. "We need allies to save Mother."

The bridge crew did a collective fist pump at this statement.

"I just don't like the idea of them possibly figuring a weakness." Vera snorted. "When are we due?"

"An hour from now. Magnus will take us there..."

"You could have just commed me to say that instead of summoning me to the bridge." Vera said.

"But I hardly ever see you once you go into that dungeon to drink..." Westenra protested innocently.

Vera raised an eyebrow. It never registered before, how much her sisters actually expressed concern. Affection was a strange thing to Vera when it did not come from Nine or Karlie.

"With any luck your crush will be at the meeting also..." Westenra added.

Vera narrowed her eyes. Westenra's humor was...odd. It wasn't quite trolling, but it came close.

"That's my concern, thank you." Vera muttered, gesturing for her to follow.

"Terri, you have the bridge." Westenra told Nine's head of security, a stalwart and loyal Knight...the only Knight to have senior command authority equal to Nine's daughters.

Terri, in his Yovshin inspired brown and gray light power armor nodded and took a seat while Vera and Westenra left.

"Do you believe Mother lives?" Westenra asked tentatively.

"I do." Vera answered curtly.

"Why so?"

"Because the Amalgam is like me...she likes to break people. Also, she wouldn't have launched a massive attack on Castagne if the goal was to just kill Mother at the end of it. She wants something else."

"I got lucky in that fight with her on Azterri, Vera. I don't think I could do it again. She would be expecting it."

"There won't be a need for that. We'll just non-fatally break enough bones to strip the flesh from her in the comfort and safety of home..." Vera remarked candidly as they headed for the launch bay.

Forty five minutes later...

They had been met by IBI contacts on the ground and piloted to the hidden location once they had given the correct responses to their code phrase.

The hoods on their faces hadn't been removed until they were inside the location moving down a stone passage, sensors on the ceiling bombarding them with every scan available to the Castagne military.

The technicians running the scans on another room turned pale with fear at what the scans showed on Vera, and even paler when nearly every scan on Westenra showed up as "Fully Human". Vera's new design was a masterpiece but Westenra was just a few inches beyond her, held back only by her ranged combat restrictions. It was amazing how rapidly Nine had adapted to the technology of the era, even improved on it. Even Vera, when she had learned what her Mother's whole backstory was, was privately shocked Mother had managed to create her at all.

As they were cleared for the deeper parts of the building, Vera grew intrigued at what Sade had in mind...and hoping against hope Karlie was there also...

Sawa Ike

Elise Ike

Alwine Daye

Boriskno Fel Set

Matsu Ike

NPC Treasury

 

[Ian Sade]

A month...
A month it took to for his ravens to track down the Alderaani.

It weren't for their lack of skill. The woman, a bounty hunter by trade had been reportedly popping up here, there, throughout the galaxy during their search...and always, always she were seemingly a step or two ahead of them.
Maple were found to have been there a week prior, a day prior...an hour prior and still one two steps ahead. Of course they were given orders to find her on the cuff, in a clandestine manner so as not to arouse suspicion. Of course two casualties along their search could not be avoided. They would have talked, triggered a word of mouth chain reaction that would have possibly gotten word to the wrong people, on over to sith space, to their nemesis, the Amalgam and the resurrected witch whore.
No amount of credit would have kept their greedy lips tightly sealed than a good blaster bolt through their skull.
Collateral damage. It had always been the unspoken part of the ICI's controlled operations both abroad and domestic. It was why they had a counterpart bureau, the IBI to ensure that it were kept to a minimum, especially concerning domestic affairs.

Sade were standing in an undisclosed level of the ICI bureau's complex.
It was a VR room with wall to wall HD holo-projection of an unbroken panoramic setting. This particular program were of the plains, with rolling hills of open meadow as far as one's imagination could visualize. It weren't anything like a holo-deck where one could actually touch the grass or feel the bark of the trees sparingly growing. The floor itself was only a projection where one could not scale or step on a rock. But the visual aspect of it was serene..one of a early summer morning. Of course out in this vast expanse there were a set of patio furniture...simple, functional and quite real. Sade could have been standing there watching the virtual horizon, but he were not. There was another holo-projection of the woman he were told to seek in a hooded mask. Alongside her two operatives escorting her into the complex and ensuing turbo-lift. one with inertia dampers so as to mask it's direction. No telling whether it were going up, down, sideways or noways.

The holo-projection of the woman and escort immediately vanished when not a few meters from him in the open field, a doorway seemed to open to a corridor. in stepped the mark and escort.
Sade had been watching the woman the minute his team had gotten a visual on her arrival when she stepped out of her ship.
This was not the first time he had live holo-cast of the woman. His key raven had transmitted a live feed upon final point marking her.
A month it took to finally catch up with the phantom Alderaani. A slippery one this one had been. All the better, the Colonel had concluded.

Sade gave his men a slight nod before they removed the silly hood and left.
He gave the woman a few seconds to take in her surroundings, get her... two distinct different colored eyeballs adjusted to the ambient summer sun. He had received reports on that when they located the woman. Just that she had read over more than a few files from different agencies abroad, as both being green. Guess not all of the data files out there were consistent.The Jedi archives though...
Sade had much trust on jedi as he did sith. So many through the centuries had fallen. Had this one fallen, or had found her own religion, gone rogue. Dangerous, jedi rogues were...
All these thoughts, and evaluations were running through his mind, as he took her in, now before him and in the flesh.
"I see you've soaked up a few rays abroad..." he commented on her tan. Some Alderaani were known to tan very well.

"My apologizes for the silly exercise, Miss Harte.
Could I offer you a chair and refreshment?" he welcomed her in, again with just a minute gesture dismissing his men. The corridor disappeared along with the men when the door closed.

Sade himself took a few steps toward one of the furnishings and seated. The small patio table between the chairs had a tray of a few select beverages. he opted to pull a cap off a beer bottle and took a sip.
"Please... " he gestured to the woman to make herself comfortable, as he crossed his one leg over. There were two other chairs besides the one he had plopped is butt on.
"There is much we need to discuss. Namely a common effort in disposing of a particularly nasty entity that goes by the name of The Amalgam." Where would one begin a conversation than start at the heart of their mutual interests.
Sade really didn't know this woman from shit or shine. But he had been given a lead by none other than their ally...or at least a trusted source of their ally. Nine Lives had been taken. Part of the reason in tracking Harte were because she had been reported to have crossed paths as adversaries with this Amalgam.
Would this woman even help them, let alone trust him...

"Outside of what occurred on Castagne, it appears a few systems have been victimized by this Amalgam. My analysis point to the fact that she seems to be following a particular trail of vendettas...her's namely. She has it out for certain individuals and doesn't blink in destroying any system in her way or for her gain in completing this vendetta of hers. For one reason or another, she or it... still don't know if it identifies itself at all with a given gender other than what one perceives of it visually.... but it seemed to have resurrected or made quite a distinguished and convincing facsimile of one of our own skeletons that had been thought dead and buried." Of course he were referring to Darth Rigor, but he didn't lay mention the name.
If this was at all the real Harte, she would fill in the blanks.

vrr......vrrr.....vrr... his comm then silently vibrated, alerting him of an important message.

 

[Maple Harte]

The hood was removed and Maple's eyes adjusted to the holographic world around her. Skip. The Super Insects had stolen her brain and put it into a machine! Skip. Back to reality, where only a split second had passed between the hood being removed and Ian Sade addressing her, as opposed to the dozens of years the delusion had occured in her mind.

"When you've chased enough people into a desert it tends to happen." Maple answered stoically, clutching her cortosis weave cane for comfort.

The lithe woman took his offer of a seat, declining as he offered refreshments.

"Sorry. Not thirsty." She said politely as she sat down, and began to listen to what he had on her nemesis.

"Real name is Leejun Forrwiirmeni, though she hasn't gone by that name since the Gulag Era. Originally a homeless vagrant that taught herself to read and write, escaped the Coruscant Underworks and got recruited by a Dark Witch right out of the gate. Superhuman Reflexes...without the Force. Sharpshooter with a preference toward Laser weapons as opposed to normal blasters. Double Bladed Lightsaber fighter with a preference for Form Six. Master Pilot, prefers old school craft. Primary vessel is known as an X-70B Phantom Class Yacht. Agent of the Saaraishash of the Sith Empire. Master hand to hand combatant...and the person who murdered nearly all of my old team from back when I was a Jedi."

The Bounty Hunter turned to Ian.

"I almost had her on a planet known as The Graveyard. I lost. I'm sorry for that. We would not be having this conversation otherwise."

There was a lot of guilt in those words. Maple had, since learning of the Atrocity on Castagne, spent days re-examining her stance that the group of Jedi-trained Assassins she had been a member of, The Marksmen, had been a mistake. Surely killing the Amalgam before she could grow too powerful would have spared at least a few lives lost?

Maple tried to enjoy the relaxing illusion of the holographic environment but it proved impossible. Seeing the damage to Castagne first hand was one more reminder of her utter failure to truely make a difference. At least, on her own.

Maple took a risk, deciding if they were going to cooperate, he could not operate in the dark about the exact nature of what was going on between her and the witch.

"Here's the kicker, Colonel Sade...she keeps referring to me as her daughter and calls herself my mother." the woman said in a quiet manner but clearly tinged with utter revulsion at the concept she had just expressed.

"I have no idea why...only that she has kicked my ass in every fight we've had. Badly."

Maple leaned back in her seat.

"She is obsessed with me, and possibly obsessed with a former comrade named Laertia, who I suspect will be here soon, because if you went to all this trouble to speak to me I have no doubt you reached out to her also. You might be able to use us to your advantage, either as distraction, bait, or both...and then we hit that fething thing with every dirty trick in the book..." Maple trailed. "You just need a way to get to her, is all...do you?"

Sawa Ike

Elise Ike

Karlie Lynn Destat

Boriskno Fel Set

Alwine Daye

NPC Treasury

 

[Laertia Io]

Arrived in: Absolution of Loste

Wearing: Hoodlum's Leathers

Armed with: Moya's Crystal (Curved Hilt)

With: Moya

Laertia had not gotten used to the size of her new ship's quarters, to the relative expansiveness compared to the small, private quarters aboard her standard vessel, the Blessing of Loste.

It had a metallic, bronze color scheme. Every piece of furniture cold and functional, giving away its imperial origins. The bed was larger, but it wasn't warm to her, and while The Blessing was attached to The Absolution she chose to sleep aboard the Blessing instead, as that was and would always be her true home. The Absolution was a place of business.

Still...might not be a bad place to sleep one night if she ever got bored.

The tombstone skinned, raven haired woman had moved much of the more essential equipment and weapons aboard the Gozanti-Class Cruiser, spare members from House Li-Ves helping pilot the craft for the time being. They were in the process of finishing repairs on an inactive one they had found in a market on Aritria. Soon that one would take command of piloting.

They had been on Kintan when IBI had approached. Laertia had just finished apprehending an imperial spy on the world, handing her over to the Jedi after she had crushed all the bones in the spy's hands when she had attempted to fight her arrest.

When the Ravens of Ian Sade told her what they wanted and why, she had quietly agreed to travel to Castagne.

She was still barely a month recovered from the Invasion of Atrisia, and had only barely managed to rescue Moya, her biot caretaker from an ancient shrine in the Aftermath of Mythos's invasion attempt, though she had been found in an almost destroyed state from acid damage. Laertia had disabled Moya's consciousness temporarily in the android equivalent of a medically induced coma, forced to wear what was left of the helmet from her still damaged black armor, its brainwave regulators barely functional, in order to work overtime to fix the severe damage, give what was left of Moya's brain and body time to truly recover from the shock. Luckily there was enough to regenerate. But due to the severity of her vulnerability to acid, it had taken agonizing days for the regenerative process to go past a snails pace.

Things had been quiet in the aftermath of Moya's rescue. Laertia, well versed in repairing Moya, had blown the last of her savings acquiring the expensive nutrients and vong-specific medicines to aid in this, even keeping her exposed brain hooked to a life support device. And she had still kept her unconscious to run error check scans on her bio-programming. The Kintan job had been busy work. Half because Laertia enjoyed messing with Sith, half to confiscate The Enemy's sweet loot and sell it to vendors for creds.

Moya lay on an operating table clad in a black bodyglove, programming needles inserted into her brain from a diagnostic computer nearby. Laertia had worked on her inbetween recovering from her own injuries from Atrisia. As she wasn't due on Castagne for another fifteen hours this was the best time to reactivate Moya and prep her.

Clad in her spiky black biker leathers, the scarred Jedi sat in front of the computer, doing final checks. Her system looked back to normal, the acid damage only a memory. Programming looked intact as well.

Laertia ran a start up sequence.

The curvy, bronze skinned android flinched, stirring on the table. Laertia went over and began removing the programming needles in her caretaker's skull carefully, dark gray eyes glittering as Moya opened hers.

"Laertia--?" Moya called out, rising on the table, her head swimming.

"Howz arr yooz feelinz?" Laertia asked quietly, that half second irritation at her own speech impediment flaring up. She could write and think like a poet, but could never make herself sound like one. She wanted to. Just once. If only to tell Moya in the most eloquent terms how the thought of losing her had nearly driven Laertia over the edge with fear and grief.

They were not the emotions of a proper Jedi...Laertia had never been a proper Jedi but she generally considered herself on the side of the angels, especially after killing literally so many servants of The Dark Heresy on Atrisia. She'd used a chainsaw. Holy chit had she used a chainsaw.

She wasn't going to tell Moya that part.

"Like I got in a fight with Krayt Dragon..." the Android answered. "You don't look much better, Sweetie."

"I'vv haddz a ruff feww dayz..." Laertia answered. "Err...Ah joynedz a royyall housz ov Atryzzia. Clan Li-Ves."

"How the hell did you become a member of a Royal Atrisian House?"

"We." Laertia corrected.

"How did we become a member?" Moya asked, still deeply surprised.

Laertia smiled sheepishly, awkwardly shifting her weight from one foot to the other.

Moya narrowed her eyes. "You ripped and tore, didn't you?" The Android asked in faux-spicion, already knowing the answer.

"Untyllz itz wuzz dunn..." Laertia confirmed. "Yoo don'tz ruhmemmbuhz Atryzzia, dooz yooz?"

"There's a gap, I admit..."

"Shorrtz Storee, summ feth naymedz Mythos wurkinz wit duh Syth blewz passt plannuhtarree duhfenzez andz duhstroyedz duh capytuhl. I'yll tellz yooz aboutz itt allz laytuhz. Ryte nowwz we gotz bigguh fysh tuh fryz."

Moya raised an eyebrow. "Such as why I was deactivated?"

"Yooz wuz dammagedd. Acidz."

"How bad?"

"Dhis iz duh foyst tyme yooz been activvz inn dayz. Hadz tuh taykez yooz offlynez fer ruhpayrez. But lykez I saydz...bigguh probblemmz."

Moya caught the edge in her voice, the edge she only had when one subject came up.

The Amalgam. Laertia had marked her for death ever since learning The Amalgam had killed Ursula Sandraven, Laertia and Uri Udinia's (Maple Harte) Jedi Master. Not just her master, but all her comrades in The Marksmen.

She had come tantalizingly close to slaying her, but always the Shi'ido had managed to escape at the last moment. But recent events had made Laertia doubt that inner narrative.

The Amalgam held back fighting her. On some Level, Laertia knew she was holding back also, although she knew not why.

It had become a source of absolute shame however, upon learning The Amalgam was responsible for Castagne getting nearly overrun.

She should have gone past that conflict, should have struck down The Amalgam, treated her as she would have any other Dark Adept to cross her path and be stupid enough to not run. But The Amalgam was not like any Dark Adept she had ever encountered.

She had a history with it, the same way Maple did, though Laertia didn't know that part.

This freak had known who she was for a long time. Had stalked her, kidnapped her after she had been Knighted by Ursula. To Laertia's own continued disquiet she had told it things. Secrets. The Amalgam had drugged or enchanted her, maybe both, to keep her from remembering this until recently.

To top it off, The Amalgam had further muddied the waters by slipping items from her birth parents into the Loot Box Atrisia had given her as thanks for helping defend them. She still had the notes the beast had included with her Father's spear and her Mother's crystal, tauntingly asking if this was enough proof that the beast loved her like a daughter.

Laertia didn't understand the obsession, nor the claim, on The Amalgam's part, but it mattered not. Laertia bore great guilt for failing to kill, hesitating to kill. For that hesitation and uncertainty, Castagne had suffered. Those deaths, just like Atrisia, were on her, hero or not. All because something had made her hesitate like the Amalgam had in their fights. Laertia knew, whatever the reasons for her prior hesitation, that it could not happen again. When they fought again, Laertia would play for keeps.

At least Moya was here once more.

"Its the witch isn't. You've found another way towards her."

Laertia nodded grimly. "Soonz Duh Amalgam payz. Fer evvrytingz..."

Ten hours later...

The Absolution stopped in orbit over Castagne, The Dynamic Class Freighter detaching down to the surface of the planet, Moya in the dark skin and red hair of her piloting configuration as she stepped off before Laertia, an Arkanian Sonic Blaster in a holster on her thigh, her unnaturally precise movements giving away her artificial nature as she walked ahead of Laertia, a glossy black curved hilt lightsaber on her belt the only indicator of her Force Sensitive nature: everything else about her screamed back alley robbery.

They were soon met by their contacts and piloted with hoods over their heads to Ian Sade's location.

When they arrived at his stronghold, they were promptly scanned. Several alerts came up about hidden weapons in Laertia's arm but it was waved through. They were far more nervous about the fact this was the third Military Grade Android they were admitting, even if she was legally known to the authorities as one. After a minutes handwringing from the commanding officer, she was admitted with Laertia, with Ian being signalled she would soon arrive.

Laertia wondered what Ian had in mind to catch the fiend. That alone was worth the trip. She even had a nice stealth vessel if he wanted to get creative...

NPC Treasury

Sawa Ike

Elise Ike

Boriskno Fel Set

Karlie Lynn Destat

Alwine Daye

 

[NPC Treasury]

Kay was with Mythos when he invaded Atrisia. That day went in a much different direction than she had thought it would. She was unaware of just how much the Sith Lord was driven to impulsive madness. Agreeing to be at his side, Kay had hoped to be able to influence him enough to prevent him from acts that would have half the Galaxy going after him.

But she was wrong.

Her decision was too little, too late, if what had happened on Atrisia was anything to go by. Yet through it all she was under his protection and so she used that to try to undermine his efforts.

But it wasn't enough.

Thousands perished, tens of thousands more wounded, and in the end Kay found herself on the run. Yet it wasn't the Sith that she was running from this time. It was the Jedi. Her acts weren't justified in their eyes. Instead they saw her as one working with the Sith, which was an absurd notion. No. Kay would never serve them. They were her enemies. And with each passing day it seemed that her list of enemies merely grew, encompasing all manners of groups and organizations.

So she returned to Altiria; returned to her shoppe and returned to her teas. The little backwater planet was her safe haven for now. The people of Altiria were too wrapped up in themselves that they knew nothing of what was going on in the rest of the Galaxy. Or rather it was more that they just didn't care. And that was what made it perfect.

The Amalgam had found her there before, and so had a few others. But for the most part she remained safe and hidden once again.

Yet who knows how long until she'd be summoned off Altiria again. All that she knew was at least this time she'd have a choice and the time to make it.

 

[Sawa Ike]

Elise Ike Nine Lives

Sawa stretched her hand as she played and sang in Atrisian "Hear you now the sad lament Of Unaga the star of the morning. Whose parents died of the sickness, When she was not but ten. Eldest of three Ladies of Bei Xi, So off Young Unaga went to live with her wicked uncle who one night stole her honor." THe music was sad, the tale something she knew from their family. She knew a few others really knew the tale... really had an understanding of the time that is was sung. While some believed it hadn't happened.... others believed that it was a warning about the females within the Yovshin... Annoying as they were some could be correct in dangerous times.

Sawa had been in the ship and joined by Elise who was coming to help... she had more knowledge of current sith after all and the energy vampire was following the blood trail she had left. The dathomiri magics that the black rose had taught them were good for keeping track of people even across the galaxy. "So into the night she fled. Oh Unaga you'll never escape, The Fate the Gods of Atrisia have written And life must seem the cruelest jest Oh Star of the Morning." She didn't need to look up as she could feel them forming... black tendrils thick and angry that writhed across the floor and through the air. The biwe was fashioned to channel sith magics through the music.

"To the yovshin she fled to take the oath and leave her troubled past. She cut her hair and changed her name To Vatsyayana. At the Imperial City Unaga took the vows. To protect the emperor and all he held." She could felt something else in the back of er mind.. opening it to the force and letting her anger come to her. She was feeling the force loudly but needed to be focused and ready as Demeter flew around her head and listened. "Thought a boy by all and she hoped to live as a brother in the royal guard. Oh Unaga you'll never escape The Fate the Gods of Atrisia have written and life must seem the cruelest jest Oh poor Star of the Morning."

Her voice was coming out with the force behind it and she continued to feel the darkside tendrils moving around the room she was in. Searching through the force when force infused sorrow laced her voice. "Now Unaga was so careful to keep from watchful eye but one night as she bathed her brothers beheld a sight." She felt herself sneering at it, much of the Ancient atrisian stories ended in sadness and this was something that was old when she and Nine were at Kuramagi academy. "Her body bare... they were quick to break their vows as they threw her to the ground. taking her honor then her life While Unaga made not a sound."

It was only one to get darker, Sawa finally opened her eyes as she looked at the shimmering tendril and one of the Onna who had failed her.... his body being wrapped in the darkside as it seemed to collapse and he didn't scream. They had learned to never scream. "Oh Unaga there's no escape The Fate the Gods of Atrisia have written and life does seem the cruelest jest Oh poor star of the morning. Cursed to walk the palaces shadowy halls A pale form singing sorrowfully The loneliest, saddest song." She finished and her failed soldier was gone, the darkside tendril ripping him apart as she looked towards Demeter and the small darkside scout sneered.

"Granddaughter what do you know of this place we are headed to?" She said ti with a detachment as it didn't matter where it was... someone threatened Ni-Ne.... that meant K1 was going to do horrible horrible things to them as the astromech came rolling into the room with its weapons gleaming. He had brought her the black katana she had used for her Darth Namesake when there had just been the One Sith. Clipping it to her sash she rose up and slid the biwe onto her back before she started to walk and let Demeter sit on her shoulder. Elise was here which meantperhaps she would think this was her time to rise up in the family.

NPC Treasury Laertia Io Maple Harte Ian Sade Vera Mina Karlie Lynn Destat Alwine Daye Boriskno Fel Set

 

[Ian Sade]

The Alderaani before him...

It could have been a cold and hard walled war room, deep inside some underground bunker that Iansade could have had the woman brought to. If so it would have certainly implored how serious and committed Castagne's military was to bring an end to this scourge. But that was what had brought down the former Republic, or at least Castagne's hand in backing their once beloved Chancellor Palpatine.
Yes, Castagne had a decisive hand in backing the Chancellor's rise to power, as they had back in the dark ages 'been committed' to the ending the Clone Wars. Unfortunatelly, they had backed the wrong candidate.
Shadows of the Empire...

The reform of Castagne had been a long and arduous Atonement following their realization to the fall of the Republic. They were ensnared in the Galactic Empire and their bed were next to the Emperor.
It weren't till The Gulag Plague came about that Castagne saw redemption for their failures and faults. A guilt which stained the very heart of Castagne. But the Gulag Plauge had in so many ways and factors, come to wash over, cleansing Castagne. Seemed that Berkana (God) herself (yes a woman) whom had been held strong in the faith of a few, came to take hold, erupt to become the core belief of the stricken planet. Surely the Creator had brought upon them a plague to punish the wicked. As thus, as the religious fever took hold and grasp of the new faithfuls, the sinners justifiably accepted judgement upon their earth and themselves. Many of course involuntarily... countless many. What the plague didn't take, the inquisitors did.

The Apocalypse, as the Castans came to Communionize it in prayers had come for the punishment of having been beguiled by the serpent (Palpatine), or satan as some swore to call him, were thought absolute.
Castagne had blindly followed Satan in bringing the galaxy to it's knees. Castagne had bought it, the vision of Galactic peace under the guide of 'The One All Ruling Hand' weighing forth righteous order.
A vision, their dream turned nightmare.
Many souls both innocent and wicked burned across the landscape to light up the night skies. Berkana in the Highest would judge them for eternity.

From the pyres of cleansed souls turned ash, revelation came to Castagne. Change.
The centuries following the cleansing (the plague), Castagne slowly but methodically came about rebirth. Industrialized mega centers had been razed and allowed the good earth to reclaim that which once were long lost. Where millions of hectares that were once of concrete and steel rose up forests, plains, flesh waterways. Cities as green as mother earth could embrace rose up. Atonement in the process.
In the few centuries a planet once cursed, were reborn to one blessed.
But ambition of man and his kind would not be repressed, even if Castagne were modeled after Eden. Man and his kind had to refocus their ambitions, turn that which had the ability to tarnish Eden, able to turn on the very serpents upon the new garden. And as history repeats itself, there were serpents abound.

Castagne took centuries to reform. And along the way, these shadow whispering serpents came to be exposed (witch hunts) hunted down in the name of Berkana, their heads crushed, trampled under crusaders boots. New warriors of mortal flesh and blood had arisen against evil that were of serpent foul (sith).
Fast forward to the now; all but the Temple ( The Cabinetry) and it's Watchtowers (Executive branches ICI, IBI, Admiralty), renamed was all that remained of their dark history: cloaked.

The major populace had through the centuries and generations been spared it's dark history lessons. Education taught the sciences, core religion and a green existence with not only their earth, but with their kind among the stars. naturally through the generation following the previous, all life forms were inducted into its core beliefs that peace must reign among all living things.
This was the main populace and Castagne prospered within.
Then of course the Cabinetry, it's Executive branches, the Castan Admiralty and it's armed forces...all previously had been known as Temple, Watchtowers and crusaders...they were still as strong and influential as ever on Castagne, just with more popular politically correct re-names.

Back to the present moment...

Green meadows, blue skies and serene landscapes...
It were what every shepherd sought for their flock. It were so that conspiring for war whether one was a shepard or a lord of war; one had to imagine- No, see, feel, know all that they were fighting for and what was there to loose.
Sure, it could have been a bunker of duracrete, cold infused with steel plating designed to withstand seismic dept charges. Sure such a setting would definitely speak of war, death and destruction to all but the ones in the bunker. But that would detach them, from what they were willing to die for. One wouldn't die to live out a lifetime, if even for a moment under rock.
No, Sade was enjoying a beer (a Corona with lime by Earth equivalent) seemingly out in the field of wildflowers, wild wheat and clover. Would he die to preserve this version of Castagne over cowering under a bunker? It were obvious he certainly enjoyed his brew outdoors under blue skies.

"Daughter huh... seem to be bumping into that a lot lately..." He muttered that thought before catching his self. Not.

"I'm sorry..." He apologized, putting the bottle down, leaning forward, obviously giving the woman his ear. She had something of value after all. It were not that he hadn't thought she could substantially bring to the table, but Castagne's previous stance on foreign ideologies had made him cautious of embracing new alliances. Hell, it had been rocky and had it's ups and down with sealing a trust around Nine Lives. And that entity had more than bent over backwards in finally gaining their friendship and trust.

This Alderaani, ex jedi slash turned bounty hunter mercenary what-not would, need more than a
corroborated story for him to unleash her among his troop divisions. Castan Marines were privi of their world history and their current role in keeping the serpents out of the garden per say. It gave reason as to why Tarssin Destat daughter @Karlie Lyn Destat had been trained when she entered Castan Marine Boot Camp by none other than General Boriskno Fel Set
Of course, the lucky general given that suicide mission had to also take on the selected recruits that were to be Karlie's Marine blood brothers and sisters. It had to be stamped and sold as a package (Karlie training within a Marine regiment) to be disclosed as to the 'why' later on in this story.

"...please, go on.." Sade went on to carefully sample every tid bit the woman were able to disclose.
Of course he knew or had been privi of some of this info by reliable sources...Nine's own daughters. Sade had in the last few weeks come to put a few of the more intricate puzzle pieces together surrounding Nine Lives. Of course, getting filled in by her so called daughters, biots ranging from anti-god, demon spawned creations to Honey-traps that would have Venus contemplate getting herself a makeover, these sex-pots were so built to perfection.
Of course the man thought so, but had never showed any interest in that manner. It were self control/restraint. Cold shower discipline, as it were known in the locker room...er, that's men's locker room so we don't get confused here.


Bait...
The definition of bait in noun form is of a morsel or trinket that attracts, entices prey to draw near it. He were asked if he had such bait.
Sade looked over to her, momentarily going from one color iris to the other... wondering which of the two was the dominant eye. Such things do cross one's mind, believe it or not.
Had he what she called bait? He knew, that she knew he did.
He had honey. He had Karlie and she had proved to be what he called a Honey-trap...much like the sex kitten West-...
No, no...he wasn't going there.
Huttball...
Huttball scratched that line of though, skipping back a track to the bait. His eyes dropped from the woman to his crono.

Sade had gotten a message that had beeped in from the Cabinetry. They had possession of Karlie.
His brow furled.
Wait a minute; Possession?
Of course he hid his concern as to the content of the message, but nevertheless he did have the said bait... or at least to one of the barracudas...er, the Amalgam and Co..

"Yes." His eyes back in line with Maple's.
"Yes, I have bait." He sighed before leaning back on his rattan white patio chair.

Sade reached for the beer bottle again and before drawing it to his lips;
"Incidentally though, I have a strong feeling it's going to work by proxy. " He took a swig.
"This other entity mentioned before, this whore of satan Darth Rigor..." Oh the displeasure in that entity was certainly clear in his voice.
".... the one who most certainly has been resurrected by this Amalgam, another whore of satan hands down.... has an affinity for the said bait.
It's where this daughter thing pops up here on this side of the pond. This Darth Rigor seems to want my Viceroy's daughter, Karlie Lyn Destat...in an awful wrong way. Still, it is whom this Rigor seeks.
If the previous attack has taught us anything, it's learned that this Amalgam is indulging her resurrected creation, Rigor... uhm, I did mention that these two are satan's whores....right.
Point is, this Amalgam has used quite some resources in helping Darth Rigor in abducting Karlie."

Of course at this moment, he didn't know as to Karlie's viability in this plot. Hell, for all he knew Karlie could well be incarcerated for said abandonment of her duties and such. The girl's father had been furious as to her going AWOL.
The said message he had just received did indicate the Cabinetry had her in their 'possession.'

Still, he'd have to play this out as if Karlie were in game. Oh Berkana... he prayed this little blonde would be their honey-trap. It were the only good chip he had in this game.



Maple Harte

 

[Elise Ike]

No sooner had she met up with her grandmother were the two now on their way, following the trail left behind. No doubt the Sith responsible for the kidnapping leaving it for them, either preparing a trap or just wanting to tow with Ni Ne and her lover. Needless to say if Sawa’s reaction and dealing with the unfortunate soul was anything to go on it was working, she was pissed and thar wasn’t an easy accomplishment. To an extent she had to give this Amalgam person credit, even if it did mean their fate would be sealed, one way or another.

Oh she could only imagine what sisters thoughts flowed through her grandmothers head about what to do with them. She could be a very cruel person when needed, which made a strange contrast compared to her usual charming self. Perhaps that is where she got her own deceptive nature from, grandmother had always been more involved in her life then mother. Her eyes moving to said women as she broke from the song and actually decided to talk to her since the trip had started.

”Perhaps you should read a book and get out more, if I didn’t know any better I’d assume this Ni Ne girl was the only thing you’ve bothered to think about for the last several decades”. A light jest but also sort of true from what she knew if Sawa needed her traveled mind for information. “As for what I know about Khar Shian, for as long as there has been Sith it has been under their influence, but I think we both know that”. “Geological wise it is similar to Hoth, but more mountains and more barren, no life forms were recorded to have lived their prior to Sith colizniation“.

“Well that is if you call Darth Sadows ‘secret’ fortress proper colonisation, one of the few structures ever reported to have been built on the moon”. “The more notable history of it is a ship yard for the Galactic Empire during the civil war, very standard, but most of that was done in orbit, how many buildings where constructed on the surface is yet to be known”. Being a moon world it didn’t really have to much of a rich history as many other worlds but it would seem today such would change. “Still, it’s been over 800 years since any major power really looked into it frommmy knowledge, who knows how much things have changed”.

Sawa Ike Nine Lives

All the more reason for A

 

[Sawa Ike]

"Hmmm decades." She said it and was looking at Elise Ike who spoke about the world as she walked close to her. Silvery eyes locking onto her. "Try longer... your mother knows much of the story and ou do as well. I sang it to you when you were little grandchild." Where she was looking and turned away, her anger was radiating off of her in waves of heat that could almost be felt but it didn't burn. She touched the biwe and spoke. "Ni Ne has been in my life longer then anyone and if there is anyone who is going to hurt her it is me for what she did." And what I did... she sneered a little to herself and slowly focused that rage on making sure their pilots went as fast as they could to get them there.

She had her equipment ready but stayed there near Elise giving it a moment at first. "And in case granddaughter you are thinking of getting any ideas... In that head of yours." She said it with a smirk that showed her fangs normally retracted and not in visible were in place. "Wanting to fight me, wanting to kill me is between us. Involve Ni-Ne in your machinations, try to harm her and you will see something new." Her voice came out low and darker as the rage was there... controlled behind a barely restrained mask of grace. She moved towards the cockpit as they were approaching and the pilot pointed out the moon. "Just get us down there and find a place to secure yourself."

She was looking at the moon from the cockpit where she was awaiting Elise and the snow covered moon was just as Barren as the northern areas of Atrisia. She knew how to go there and was a skiff in the cargo hold as she spoke to one of her guards to go and get it ready. Her bodysuit insulated for temperature controlled to stay warm. She was walking through and held the blades on her hip and back. The other side of her hip held the gun that had been made for her... she didn't always use a blaster but it was a gift and when she infused it absorbed the light making things around her and some fo her guards in the dark for stealth approaches... her and Elise had eyes for the dark.

"Elise come." She said it when the ship ship touched down and the skiff was being set up for the pair. equipment loaded with more guns then she might have usually used but the explosives were important... this woman had made a serious mistake and Sawa grabbed the ski as the cargo doors opened with repulsors sending them out. She was checking the computer if they could use the sail to move and it did go with the wind so she would hopefully be able to lead the way as mentally she focused on finding Ni-Ne with her hands ont he controls of the skiff letting Elise get secured with two of the guards before taking it out into the snow.

NPC Treasury Laertia Io Maple Harte Ian Sade Vera Mina Karlie Lynn Destat Alwine Daye Boriskno Fel Set

 

[Elise Ike]

She rolled her eyes at her grandmothers words, "you know what I mean, decade for us is like a few thousands years for most other near human races". But she was right Ni Ne was a name she had heard quite a lot over her childhood, Sawa was quite obsessive about this one. While she could understand her grandmothers love it was often a little annoying, one of the good things about her little childish jaunt off to the Jedi was not having to hear that name everyday.

A small shiver ran down her spin as the elder vampire talked into her ear, Elise's not daring to look straight at the almost demonic possessed Sith. "I might be a schemer and manipulator but I'm not a fucking idiot grandmother". "If I was still looking to end your life I would use other mean that I have more control over and that doesn't increase the chances of danger to myself". And to be honest she had gotten over the whole 'kill grandmother and take power', was their relationship all buddy buddy?

No but at the moment Elise didn't feel and urge to one up the ancient being anymore. Well at this specific time, who knew what the future held, she could once again want to take her grandmothers power for herself one day. Herself casually following behind her grandmother at her beckon towards the skiff they would be using for the insertion.

Her usual casual clothes being replaced with armor for a change, black and form fitting, making hiding easier while offering decent protection against most threats. It had been many years since her last mission but Elise still remembered who to act tactfully and follow like a loyal guards, even if she wasn't one when compared to the troops accompanying them.

Her face unblinking at the door opened up to the cold snowy wasteland, for others a black void greeting them, but for herself the terrain was easily seen. "Well, here we go".

 

[Karlie Lynn Destat]

Some welcoming committee..

Should she be nervous?
Karlie were being escorted by a detail of two Castan Marines. She had been requested to shuttle down from the carrier she had just established orbit from. The squadron of fighters saw her touch down on the concrete tarmac fielding the Commons Executive buildings.
She had stepped out of her shuttle alone, coming face to face with a detachment of marines encircling the ramp as she stepped down, exiting her shuttle.
Her momentary hesitation as she took the entire scene in was followed with, "What...no marching band?"

Nope, not one of them batted an eye.

Was she nervous?
Karlie nearly spotted her panties when she was returned with a firm tone that they had orders for our blonde to follow them to the Cabinetry.
"Sure...lead the way, Sargent." doing her best not to waver in voice.

With the last step off her ramp, one of the marines scanned her. It were a daunting moment, for she knew it were for weapons or devices. She had never before ever been scanned by her own military...say for initial bio-metrics of course. But not like some potential enemy of the state she hadn't.

"Mam..." The Sargent then robotically in a synchronized fashion with his counterpart on the other side of her turned on their heels and started to lead her. Karlie was starting to part ways with her nervousness..she were feeling a panic of sort.

"Ahem.." She cleared that horrid lump in her throat. " You mind telling me what this is about?"

...no reply.

"Hello!?" If there was one thing she hated, it were to be ignored.
" You listening to some pod cast or something, under that cap?... I'm asking what's all this about?"

"Mam, I've been given no details; just following orders."

"Orders....
Right, who's orders may I ask? You know I'm IBI-"

"Mam, if you please. Orders come from the Cabinetry."

"Oh..." Yea, she kinda figured that. But now that she were hearing it and experiencing this escort thingy. It didn't less her anxiety.
"Ok, we're getting somewhere then..." She looked up ahead. yes, they were certainly heading for the Capital building.
"Then these my father's orders." Oh Berkana she both hoped so and at the same time dreading it. She knew she had gone AWOL, not a week after her State had been assaulted by who else but her so called 'mother', who by the way was as much a sister than anything. Mother/sister...how spine chilling a thought it were..every time she thought of it.

"I've been given no details, mam; just following orders." If there was a hint of irate from the man, Karlie surely hadn't picked up on it. She were too busy thinking of how to squirm her way out of this one. It weren't going to be easy. Not when it came to her father. She somehow could never pull anything off on her father.

"Yea, I got that..." Karlie were starting to sweat a bit under her collar...if she had a collar. Incidentally, it were a button down shirt, modestly opened and she were perspiring PROFUSELY.


Hurry up and wait...

'Stimcaf?'

"Uhm no, don't think so right now..." Karlie answered.
She were sitting in the waiting room. Just 20 minutes ago she were pacing the same room wearing herself out until the female Castan Marine receptionist bade her to sit it out as her father was going to take a while before he'd see her.

"You know, I didn't just run off..." Little good it ever did trying to convene one's intentions and innocence to someone like a clerk. But Karlie were unsure as to how the Cabinet, especially her father were going to process what she had done, and that was in fact go AWAL. The underlying fact was that Karlie had for the most part come back and with more than she had left. She had returned to Castagne with a horde of fighting units...with an army of droids.
Ok, well the means of acquiring them were no doubt questionable. But if she were given an opportunity to explain, then her dealings with a notorious sith lord -a former CIS dissident no less- could be waved aside for the better good of Castagne.

"I mean... under IBI directives, I have the rank and authority to operate clandestinely-" She continued to have the urge to explain to the secretary till her father's voice interrupted over the desk comm.
The secretary were instructed to pipe down the canary in the waiting room and to send in his daughter.

Karlie's jaw had dropped for a moment before she took in a deep breath and went through the parting ornate double doors.

Good, he were alone. Good thing, bad thing? Karlie approached her father whom were still seated at his desk. her eyes fixed on him. Tarssin, her father were hard to read. Hard to read as his attention were not on her, but on the tablet before him, lighting his features.

"Father..." She said, full control of her voice. She weren't sure as to his temperament or what his disposition was, but she certainly wasn't going to whimper in front of him. She believed her father thought more of her than a daughter. She were an IBI operative... maybe she could explain it to him...everything.

Nothing...
His eyes remained fixed on reading what he were reading off the tablet. She couldn't see at her vantage point.

A minute..then two passed with Karlie still standing there before him at the foot of his desk. This wasn't good. No 'Hello'...no 'Where have you been?'...no, ..no nothing!
He were simply not even looking at her to see if she were all right!
Well of course he knew she was alright, just that she didn't know that he knew...or cared. Karlie surely believed at this point that he were 'disappointed' in her. His once pride and joy was his greatest disappointment. Hey, it were what was festering in her thoughts.

"The chairs are quite functional furnishings, if you've forgotten." Tarssin finally spoke, lifting his eyes to her, and one brow.
"Please..." he gestured for her to take one, before setting the holo-pad down..

Karlie side stepped and landed her fanny into one.
"I can explain..." She quickly uttered.

"Oh?.. I don't recall asking you about anything, yet."

"I mean my disappearance... why I left-"

"I know why you left. I know about Lady Live's biots...know about the vera model unit... about your obsession with it...and of the emotional attachment to the biot."

Funny how a canary can suddenly pipe up. If she didn't look like she were the cat itself that was caught with one in it's mouth.

"Karlie?" Tarssin thought to maybe nudge his daughter so that she could maybe start to breath again.

"I can explain that.
I mean...I only kissed her. I were blocked by mom in sleeping with her. It never got beyond kissing....honestly"

"Physical?
THAT I didn't know." Tarssin rose to his feet as his daughter seemed to shrink in size.

"Colonel Sade enlightened me." He continued as he walked away from her.

That RAT, she were thinking.
That jealous dirty scoundrel snitched on me.... Oh how her anger growing for Ian were shadowing what entanglement Karlie believed she were currently in.

"And I believed him." He came about to her side and half sat on his desk, one foot firmly on the floor in front of her.
Karlie dared not look up. What was her father thinking of her? Damn it. If she should ever walk out of here intact, she'd let the Colonel have one..or three. maybe get the jerk into a room unarmed and have a couple of her B.O.B.s do a number on him. Not kill him no...just have him ruffed up a bit then leave him naked and stranded on some strict religious metropolis... maybe drop him in some off-world convent where women knew the evil of men's minds...or something like that.

"You were tricked into thinking it were human. The revelation was difficult to bear, despite all of what else had transpired..." He then continued.

What?
Did her father understand? Was this....possible?
Her eyes finally met his.
"No.
I didn't know..." It were true and certainly could be read in her eyes.

"Well, now you do...or did. That was the reason you left.
Now tell me. What is the reason and means of your return?"

"To end it.
To end my mother's rein over Castane... over me... over you, father."

 

[Maple Harte]

"If this beast has a focus on this...Karlie...then yes, we do have bait..." Maple trailed, pausing. She got out a holoprojector and displaying a series of photos and reports taken from various battlefields over the course of three hundred years involving The Amalgam.

"This is what I have pieced together about her over the years. This report here is the earliest recorded instance mentioning her in any capacity. These photos you see are from the Song Massacres on Atrisia...she was sloppier then, used more knives when she did her killing..." Maple explained, the photos displaying various civilians in the rural areas of Atrisia stripped naked and ritualistically mutilated into Pentagrams.

"She not only derives intense enjoyment from such activities, she uses them to create Dark Side localizations in the areas she commits these murders in.

The photos and reports kept popping up, each display some form of sadistic torture.

Reports of her stop around thirty years ago, but then she popped out of hiding finally a small while back...seemingly to stalk me..."

A knock at the door and Maple almost recoiled in alarm. She recognized Nine's android, this time in that terrifyingly seductive Chiss form, white combat dress clinging to her, followed by another she had met only in passing while a guest aboard The Morpheus, a woman of such immaculate athletics and beauty Maple knew she could not possibly be human. The tan skin and silky hair were too...flawless. It also seemed to be making googly eyes at Ian because she smiled flirtatiously at him. The one called Vera made her nervous. She had seen first hand how violent and bloodthirsty Sawa's Mad Scientist Vampire Consular ex girlfriend's (Yeah, try fitting that chit on a business card) 'daughter' was. Anything Nine Lives made was dangerous.

Just then the door to the chamber opened a second time and in walked Laertia and Moya, to Maple's utter lack of surprise. Laertia went still for a split second spotting her old rival before swallowing her pride. As much as Laertia blamed Maple for how things went in the Marksmen after Maple (Uri) had faked her death, even she could not deny Maple had loved Ursula also.

Westenra enthusiastically waved at Laertia, having fought side by side on Atrisia. Laertia, not recognizing her in that form, only developed a confused expression before refocusing on Maple.

"Colonel, this is my former associate Laertia Io, and the woman next to her is Moya Virtu." Maple said. "It's good to see you again, Laertia."

The tombstone pale woman and her curvy caretaker strode over to the Colonel.

"Herdz yooz wuz goingz aftuh duh Amalgam. I'mm innz. Gotz a Gozanti Kruuser wyth Stellth Tek." Laertia said, getting right to the point. "Yoo getz az manni ov yorr maareenz aboardz az yoo cannz, anndz tuhgethuhz, wee shall ripp annd tearrz untyllz itt iz donnz."

"She really does not like The Amalgam." Moya spoke about idly.

Maple grimaced.

"Yeah, Colonel..." she muttered soberly. "You definitely got bait now."

"I like the idea of ripping and tearing." Vera smirked. "Colonel, We've completed as many of The Morpheus's repairs as we could. It'll hold together for the operation."

"You know where she is?" Maple asked.




Karlie Lynn Destat

Sawa Ike , Elise Ike , NPC Treasury , I will post as the Amalgam by tomorrow, kickstarting her interactions with you.

To all involved, I sincerely wish I could have gotten to this sooner, but the pandemic messes with everything and I also had a bit of a block as to how to continue. I thank all of you for your patience and sincerely hope to continue this thread.

 

[Sawa Ike]

Elise Ike Maple Harte

Sawa looked at Elise who was in the skiff with her guards and they were moving through the snow.. the cold air was there next to her as she breathed in and then out letting the breath become a wave in the air and radiate outwards to clear around them. She was shaping the air... shaping the snow and ice to conceal them like a snowscreen from most lines of sight but they would be able to move quickly. She was feelingn with the force where they needed to go and Elise it would serve little to continue to threaten.. she might become a problem later on but for now well.. now she was being helpful and the darksider let her rage be focused into her mind and body to channel the force through every cell of her being. She wanted this being who would insult her.. who would take from her to suffer to no end.