The door to the hotel room slid open, the lights came on, and a very tired redhead shed her coat and shoes on her way to drop unceremoniously onto the couch. She thought idly that there should be a bottle of something in her hand, but that would have involved getting back up – something she was not quite ready to do. Instead, she curled onto her side, propping her head up on the arm of the couch, and looked toward the large wall-length window that looked out on the Nar Shaddaa skyline.
She should leave.
She should go get the damned Hope out of the little hangar in the shadowport where it was hidden, and she should just keep flying until the Eternal Empire, the Republic, and the Sith Empire weren't even a thought. Jean Schramme's voice sounded in her head again, accusing her of running at the first sign of her emotional barriers...being breached? Falling? Kriffing soldier types and their need to turn every analogy into a battle thing.
She scoffed. What the hell did that even mean? Emotional barriers.
Patrek Waterfield had made himself a mark from the moment the two exchanged words that first night at Descent. It wasn't the flirting, either. It was the condescension. Zakuulan superiority. Whatever happened, he'd practically drawn a target on his chest that night, and she was prepared to take full advantage of that...of him.
It was an invitation that was so obvious to the former SIS agent that she just couldn't resist the opportunity. The sheer amount of hubris that dripped from so much of what he said broadcasted the exploitable weakness like the gaudiest neon on the Promenade. He was begging for it.
Blue had scolded her for taking the bait (and was probably right), sure, but to walk away from the perfect opportunity to either turn the man into an asset or at least get some usable intel while knocking him down a peg or three? From a selfish standpoint, it could be one last profitable venture to fund a damned nice get-away after all was said and done. Even if all she got was a way to protect the few idiot friends she had left who all seemed to be involved in some form of rebellion against Zakuul, it would be something.
When he wasn't being a haughty, superior ass spouting off in that way that made him sound like the tutting adult over the children's unfortunate misunderstanding that he and the other 'adults' really did know what was best, Patrek was intelligent, attentive, witty. She had enjoyed the flirty verbal sparring with the handsome, older officer, and the heat between them was...
Aittera heaved a conflicted sigh as she pushed herself up into a seated position and pulled her knees up to hug to against her chest. She liked him. She told herself that was a good thing in the end, because it made things easier when one liked their mark. In those moments where she spoke candidly with him, her smile came more easily, more naturally, because they were honest moments. She could be herself with him.
She ran two fingers absently over her lips, recalling another moment in which she'd felt far too honest with him, and her eyes slipped closed. There may have been something here she hadn't quite counted on.
“Just who is seducing who here?” she murmured to herself.
Showing posts with label Aittera. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Aittera. Show all posts
11/18/2015
Tales of the Devious Hope (Aittera Journal Thread)
“I wish I could have come in person, and even began to, but I was argued out of it. It's been a long time, but I still think of you, I still miss you. That's really all I want to say...”
Aittera paused the holo-recording, ran it back, played it again.
" I wish I could have come in person, and even began to, but I was argued out of it. It's been a long time, but I still think of you, I still miss you. That's really all I want to say...”
Pause.
She watched the frozen holo-image of Kol's face for several long, quiet moments. Jean had been quick to point out her run and hide approach to life when they'd spoken earlier, and now, she mused over those final moments before saying goodbye to Kol when word of the first Zakuul attacks had reached them.
“Take the Hope, and get as far away as you can.”
She reached forward to change the holo-terminal settings to record a message and turned to the inset holo-camera's lens...and smiled.
“I miss you too. I've had long nights trying to convince myself that there must be some way to make things work...to make it possible to be together.” She paused, glancing down toward the floor as one or two of those arguments with herself briefly resurfaced in her thoughts. Finally, she looked back up and, this time, her smile was softer, affectionate. “I think we're well past that though, so let's just skip to the important parts...
“I'm okay. I'm not drowning myself in whiskey or hating my life. If nothing else, what happened between us has made me want to live again, honor that knowledge that you're out there, loving me, willing me to be happy. I hope you know I feel the same way.”
She drew herself up to stand more confidently, giving the camera a satisfied nod.
“Your people are right. Don't come to Nar. And do me a favor – ignore anything you hear about me in the next few months. You have your people to protect, and I have mine. We'll see where things stand when we're all on the other side of this thing.”
She placed the tips of her first two fingers over her lips, kissed them, then flicked them toward the camera before ending the recording.
Aittera paused the holo-recording, ran it back, played it again.
" I wish I could have come in person, and even began to, but I was argued out of it. It's been a long time, but I still think of you, I still miss you. That's really all I want to say...”
Pause.
She watched the frozen holo-image of Kol's face for several long, quiet moments. Jean had been quick to point out her run and hide approach to life when they'd spoken earlier, and now, she mused over those final moments before saying goodbye to Kol when word of the first Zakuul attacks had reached them.
“Take the Hope, and get as far away as you can.”
She reached forward to change the holo-terminal settings to record a message and turned to the inset holo-camera's lens...and smiled.
“I miss you too. I've had long nights trying to convince myself that there must be some way to make things work...to make it possible to be together.” She paused, glancing down toward the floor as one or two of those arguments with herself briefly resurfaced in her thoughts. Finally, she looked back up and, this time, her smile was softer, affectionate. “I think we're well past that though, so let's just skip to the important parts...
“I'm okay. I'm not drowning myself in whiskey or hating my life. If nothing else, what happened between us has made me want to live again, honor that knowledge that you're out there, loving me, willing me to be happy. I hope you know I feel the same way.”
She drew herself up to stand more confidently, giving the camera a satisfied nod.
“Your people are right. Don't come to Nar. And do me a favor – ignore anything you hear about me in the next few months. You have your people to protect, and I have mine. We'll see where things stand when we're all on the other side of this thing.”
She placed the tips of her first two fingers over her lips, kissed them, then flicked them toward the camera before ending the recording.
11/01/2015
SSDD
“What the hell were you thinkin'?”
“I was improvising!”
“Well, you improvised yerself right out o' keepin' yer head down.”
“I know.”
“This ain't what we agreed on.”
“I know.”
“Ya said two weeks so ya could make some contacts, send a message or two, an' that'd be it. If anyone connects you to me, an' if they think yer some kinda spy or somethin', I could lose the cantina.”
“I know!”
Aittera rubbed her forehead with two fingers as she continued to pace the tiny area behind the captain's chair where the blue-haired spacer's hands flew across control panels, holo-displays, and computer screens. They had never really gotten along to begin with. Aittera had seen the younger woman as a flibbertigibbet while Kelri had pegged Aittera as a mean-spirited bitch that couldn't be trusted.
In the eight or so years since they'd first encountered each other, a lot had changed. Kelri “Blue” Irris had gone from frivolous party girl to business owner and engineering graduate while Aittera had mellowed somewhat from the bitter, sarcastic woman who had lost everything after the death of her fiancee. To Blue's mind, the redhead's love affair with a Sith had gone a long way toward removing the stick from her ass.
“Anyway, finished workin' on the Hope. Upgraded that stealth tech Selus had installed, but I wouldn't push it when it comes to Zakuul sensors. Ya need to get the Hope some'ere safe. That alias won't hold under scrutiny.”
“Yeah,” Aittera nodded in agreement. “I just need a few more days.”
“Yer jokin',” Blue groaned.
“I got a message that I need to respond to, a couple more friends to look up.”
“Mm-hmm.” The diminutive spacer finished what she was doing with the Hope's systems and hopped out of the captain's chair. “No more hookin' up with Zakuul soldiers at my place. Hard 'nough to find safe places for resistance people to find each other on this moon.”
“Hey, I should get points for getting him to leave.”
Once Kelri was gone, Aittera sunk into the captain's chair and pulled up a holo-image taken from a message she'd recently been passed. It was Kol Arren, his face a bit more worn, a few scars long healed now visible on his face. A hint of gray colored his sideburns, but he was every bit as handsome as he'd once been, and he was smiling in that way he would only have smiled for her.
In the years since the Zakuul invasion had separated them, there had been just four dreams shared between them. In two, by the time she'd realized what they were, they'd barely had time to exchange greetings before the dreams had evaporated for whatever reason. She hadn't expected him to find a way to send a more tangible message or that he'd know she was on Nar Shaddaa, so it had been a surprise to be approached.
She deactivated the holo-image and got up to stalk through the silent ship. Blue was right. She needed to leave as soon as she could. She had come to put out feelers to a few old contacts only to find most of those contacts dead. By the time she had gotten an opportunity to ask Major Eiss about Jean, she was sure the answer would be that he was dead too. She had never gotten a chance to ask where he could be found though.
And then, there was this Zakuul guy...Patrek Waterfield...rubbing elbows with the rabble.
What to do about him...
“I was improvising!”
“Well, you improvised yerself right out o' keepin' yer head down.”
“I know.”
“This ain't what we agreed on.”
“I know.”
“Ya said two weeks so ya could make some contacts, send a message or two, an' that'd be it. If anyone connects you to me, an' if they think yer some kinda spy or somethin', I could lose the cantina.”
“I know!”
Aittera rubbed her forehead with two fingers as she continued to pace the tiny area behind the captain's chair where the blue-haired spacer's hands flew across control panels, holo-displays, and computer screens. They had never really gotten along to begin with. Aittera had seen the younger woman as a flibbertigibbet while Kelri had pegged Aittera as a mean-spirited bitch that couldn't be trusted.
In the eight or so years since they'd first encountered each other, a lot had changed. Kelri “Blue” Irris had gone from frivolous party girl to business owner and engineering graduate while Aittera had mellowed somewhat from the bitter, sarcastic woman who had lost everything after the death of her fiancee. To Blue's mind, the redhead's love affair with a Sith had gone a long way toward removing the stick from her ass.
“Anyway, finished workin' on the Hope. Upgraded that stealth tech Selus had installed, but I wouldn't push it when it comes to Zakuul sensors. Ya need to get the Hope some'ere safe. That alias won't hold under scrutiny.”
“Yeah,” Aittera nodded in agreement. “I just need a few more days.”
“Yer jokin',” Blue groaned.
“I got a message that I need to respond to, a couple more friends to look up.”
“Mm-hmm.” The diminutive spacer finished what she was doing with the Hope's systems and hopped out of the captain's chair. “No more hookin' up with Zakuul soldiers at my place. Hard 'nough to find safe places for resistance people to find each other on this moon.”
“Hey, I should get points for getting him to leave.”
Once Kelri was gone, Aittera sunk into the captain's chair and pulled up a holo-image taken from a message she'd recently been passed. It was Kol Arren, his face a bit more worn, a few scars long healed now visible on his face. A hint of gray colored his sideburns, but he was every bit as handsome as he'd once been, and he was smiling in that way he would only have smiled for her.
In the years since the Zakuul invasion had separated them, there had been just four dreams shared between them. In two, by the time she'd realized what they were, they'd barely had time to exchange greetings before the dreams had evaporated for whatever reason. She hadn't expected him to find a way to send a more tangible message or that he'd know she was on Nar Shaddaa, so it had been a surprise to be approached.
She deactivated the holo-image and got up to stalk through the silent ship. Blue was right. She needed to leave as soon as she could. She had come to put out feelers to a few old contacts only to find most of those contacts dead. By the time she had gotten an opportunity to ask Major Eiss about Jean, she was sure the answer would be that he was dead too. She had never gotten a chance to ask where he could be found though.
And then, there was this Zakuul guy...Patrek Waterfield...rubbing elbows with the rabble.
What to do about him...
10/27/2015
Dumb Kriffing Luck (Story Conclusion)
The soft, insistent beep that permeated sleep came all too early, invading the sanctuary of the peaceful captain's quarters on the Devious Hope. They were still wrapped in each others arms, silken sheets tangled around them where they were haphazardly drawn into place in those final minutes before sleep filled with whispered promises and affections.
Turning to dig around on the floor for where his holocom unit had come to rest with his hastily removed clothing, he finally found it under buried with his belt under Aittera's top. Setting it on the table next to the bed, he activated it and laid back down while he waited for the image of his apprentice to appear.
Aittera stirred with a soft moan when Kol moved, and as he settled back again, she drew her head up to look across at the holocom at the image of the Twi'lek flickering to life. Pria's head turned to look between the redhead and the Sith, her lekku twitching briefly.
"Apologies for disturbing you, Master," the apprentice began. "We have received an urgent message from Lord Somaesthesia."
"Put it through, please, Pria." Ragious was ever respectful to his apprentice - he always had been. It had been much the same with Temivi before the events that led to his shameful abandonment of her - ever his greatest regret. Many among the Sith questioned why he had taken not one, but two Twi'leks for his apprentices, when his fellows mostly took them as bed slaves. Truth be told, while Ragious found their beauty intoxicating, the two he had taken had been destined for so much more than to simply share a bed.
Pria hesitated as her eyes shifted once more to Aittera, who had settled against Kol's side to rest her head on his chest and closed her eyes when she decided that she wasn't ready to let the rest of the universe back in just yet.
"I explained that you were unavailable," she began as she returned her gaze to Ragious. "She is requesting your immediate return to Dromund Kaas."
"Out of the question. I've just found Aittera again, and we have a lot of catching up to do. Tell my sister that if she wants to see me, she can come to Rishi." He was annoyed that Jocelyn would pick this exact time to want to recall him.
"Master, the Imperial shipyards have been devastated and Korriban has fallen. There is every indication that Dromund Kaas will be besieged next." Despite the dire nature of the information she was conferring, the Twi'lek's voice remained steady, even calm.
Aittera's eyes flew open, and a moment later, she was upright. Despite the shock in her voice, there was a note of pride. She couldn't help it. "The Republic?"
"Couldn't have been, there is no way the Republic launched that scale of an attack without warning. And if the Sith had been warned, they would have been ready."
"The incursion is not Republic. Our communications officer is still gathering what she can and will have a full report ready for you by the time you return." Pria left the unsaid 'which should be right away', though the urgency hung unspoken in the air.
"Were we the only ones attacked?" He had sat upright when Aittera did, but the urgency in his apprentice's voice had him standing now, the light of the holo being used to locate his scattered clothing.
"A moment." The apprentice stepped out of view for a few moments, and when she returned, her usually stoic demeanor had given way to true apprehension. "It seems there are reports of attacks to Republic holdings as well."
Aittera was up and gathering her clothes too, and she turned a furrowed brow toward the holocom and the tiny image of the Twi'lek. "Who the hell has an army that big?"
"No one. The Hutt Cartel was gutted after Makeb, and the Revanites were destroyed. This is something new, and I think that is the most terrifying thing about it." Ragious was pulling on his clothing as he spoke. "Order the Avenger back to Kaas, I'll meet you there. Send word to House Eirndeth that all personnel are to prepare for evacuation. I want the entire house archive, everything of value packed up and ready for transport to the Avenger when you arrive."
Kol was right. The very idea that there was a new military force that was big enough and bold enough to strike at both Republic and Imperial holdings was terrifying. Aittera sat down on the edge of the bed, stunned, while he gave his apprentice orders.
Pria's holoimage gave a singular nod. "I shall await you there. Pria out."
His belt clicking into place around his waist was the last of his clothing in place as the image of his apprentice vanished. He looked over to where the redhead sat on the edge of the bed. "Come with me, Aittera. If both the Republic and the Empire are under attack, at my side on the Avenger is the safest place you could be."
She was just finishing pulling her second boot on. "You can't promise that - especially now. If whoever this is has it in for the Empire, running around in an Imperial dreadnought paints a target on your back."
Aittera stood and turned to look back at him as an idea suddenly occurred to her. "Come with me instead. We'll take the Hope in the opposite direction and just keep moving until both the Empire and the Republic are a distant memory."
"You know I can't. I wish I could. But I could never live with abandoning everything now. If there was no threat, if I knew my family, all the people that rely on me were safe as well." He smiled at her, but there was a sadness behind it. He was no longer the man she had first met, or even the one he had been when their connection first developed. "Do one thing for me, Aittera? If you can't come with me, at least do what you just asked me to do with you. Take the Hope, and get as far away as you can. If the fighting comes where you are, keep going further."
She raised a hand as she began to form an argument, but the reality of the situation hit her - truly hit her. She had known this moment would come, of course. He would have to return to his life - the one where she didn't quite fit - and she would have to walk away. The circumstances might be different, but the outcome would always be the same. They could never be together in any lasting way.
"Promise me you'll stay alive," she demanded with a quiet intensity, her cobalt gaze suddenly ablaze.
"I have to," He smiled a new smile at her - one that only she would ever see, "because I'm going to find you again. I will never give up on being with you."
"I think at this point, we both know this is never going to work."
"Probably not, but I can't change the way I feel about you, Aittera, and I wouldn't want to if I could."
She stood silent for several moments as that declaration hung in the air, memorizing that smile, fighting the urge to do what he had first asked and leave with him. Finally, her lips curled into the old familiar wry smile that used to come so easily to her and had been absent for far too long. "Until next time then."
Turning to dig around on the floor for where his holocom unit had come to rest with his hastily removed clothing, he finally found it under buried with his belt under Aittera's top. Setting it on the table next to the bed, he activated it and laid back down while he waited for the image of his apprentice to appear.
Aittera stirred with a soft moan when Kol moved, and as he settled back again, she drew her head up to look across at the holocom at the image of the Twi'lek flickering to life. Pria's head turned to look between the redhead and the Sith, her lekku twitching briefly.
"Apologies for disturbing you, Master," the apprentice began. "We have received an urgent message from Lord Somaesthesia."
"Put it through, please, Pria." Ragious was ever respectful to his apprentice - he always had been. It had been much the same with Temivi before the events that led to his shameful abandonment of her - ever his greatest regret. Many among the Sith questioned why he had taken not one, but two Twi'leks for his apprentices, when his fellows mostly took them as bed slaves. Truth be told, while Ragious found their beauty intoxicating, the two he had taken had been destined for so much more than to simply share a bed.
Pria hesitated as her eyes shifted once more to Aittera, who had settled against Kol's side to rest her head on his chest and closed her eyes when she decided that she wasn't ready to let the rest of the universe back in just yet.
"I explained that you were unavailable," she began as she returned her gaze to Ragious. "She is requesting your immediate return to Dromund Kaas."
"Out of the question. I've just found Aittera again, and we have a lot of catching up to do. Tell my sister that if she wants to see me, she can come to Rishi." He was annoyed that Jocelyn would pick this exact time to want to recall him.
"Master, the Imperial shipyards have been devastated and Korriban has fallen. There is every indication that Dromund Kaas will be besieged next." Despite the dire nature of the information she was conferring, the Twi'lek's voice remained steady, even calm.
Aittera's eyes flew open, and a moment later, she was upright. Despite the shock in her voice, there was a note of pride. She couldn't help it. "The Republic?"
"Couldn't have been, there is no way the Republic launched that scale of an attack without warning. And if the Sith had been warned, they would have been ready."
"The incursion is not Republic. Our communications officer is still gathering what she can and will have a full report ready for you by the time you return." Pria left the unsaid 'which should be right away', though the urgency hung unspoken in the air.
"Were we the only ones attacked?" He had sat upright when Aittera did, but the urgency in his apprentice's voice had him standing now, the light of the holo being used to locate his scattered clothing.
"A moment." The apprentice stepped out of view for a few moments, and when she returned, her usually stoic demeanor had given way to true apprehension. "It seems there are reports of attacks to Republic holdings as well."
Aittera was up and gathering her clothes too, and she turned a furrowed brow toward the holocom and the tiny image of the Twi'lek. "Who the hell has an army that big?"
"No one. The Hutt Cartel was gutted after Makeb, and the Revanites were destroyed. This is something new, and I think that is the most terrifying thing about it." Ragious was pulling on his clothing as he spoke. "Order the Avenger back to Kaas, I'll meet you there. Send word to House Eirndeth that all personnel are to prepare for evacuation. I want the entire house archive, everything of value packed up and ready for transport to the Avenger when you arrive."
Kol was right. The very idea that there was a new military force that was big enough and bold enough to strike at both Republic and Imperial holdings was terrifying. Aittera sat down on the edge of the bed, stunned, while he gave his apprentice orders.
Pria's holoimage gave a singular nod. "I shall await you there. Pria out."
His belt clicking into place around his waist was the last of his clothing in place as the image of his apprentice vanished. He looked over to where the redhead sat on the edge of the bed. "Come with me, Aittera. If both the Republic and the Empire are under attack, at my side on the Avenger is the safest place you could be."
She was just finishing pulling her second boot on. "You can't promise that - especially now. If whoever this is has it in for the Empire, running around in an Imperial dreadnought paints a target on your back."
Aittera stood and turned to look back at him as an idea suddenly occurred to her. "Come with me instead. We'll take the Hope in the opposite direction and just keep moving until both the Empire and the Republic are a distant memory."
"You know I can't. I wish I could. But I could never live with abandoning everything now. If there was no threat, if I knew my family, all the people that rely on me were safe as well." He smiled at her, but there was a sadness behind it. He was no longer the man she had first met, or even the one he had been when their connection first developed. "Do one thing for me, Aittera? If you can't come with me, at least do what you just asked me to do with you. Take the Hope, and get as far away as you can. If the fighting comes where you are, keep going further."
She raised a hand as she began to form an argument, but the reality of the situation hit her - truly hit her. She had known this moment would come, of course. He would have to return to his life - the one where she didn't quite fit - and she would have to walk away. The circumstances might be different, but the outcome would always be the same. They could never be together in any lasting way.
"Promise me you'll stay alive," she demanded with a quiet intensity, her cobalt gaze suddenly ablaze.
"I have to," He smiled a new smile at her - one that only she would ever see, "because I'm going to find you again. I will never give up on being with you."
"I think at this point, we both know this is never going to work."
"Probably not, but I can't change the way I feel about you, Aittera, and I wouldn't want to if I could."
She stood silent for several moments as that declaration hung in the air, memorizing that smile, fighting the urge to do what he had first asked and leave with him. Finally, her lips curled into the old familiar wry smile that used to come so easily to her and had been absent for far too long. "Until next time then."
10/26/2015
Dumb Kriffing Luck (Ongoing Story)
When Ragious's search took him to Rishi, it was meant to be a cursory look. There was no lead that took him there really. It was simply a part of a systematic check of worlds known for being beyond Republic or Imperial control or interest.
However, the moment the Sith Darth set foot on the planet itself, he sensed her - or rather, Jocelyn's mark on her. He immediately set off on a speeder, homing in on that sense with the force. It was his first solid lead on her since he had begun his personal search, and he wasn't about to let Aittera slip away from him again.
He was led away from the spaceport and villages, and it would be at least a couple of hours before the sense would grow stronger. In fact, for a good while, it seemed as though he wasn't getting any closer - like traveling the desert toward a distant spot on an endless horizon that doesn't seem to be getting any closer.
Just as he started to feel that sense more clearly ahead and to the east, he caught sight of the Devious Hope to the west side of the nose of his speeder. He cut the engines, not wanting to risk that she might realize he was coming and bolt again. Going the rest of the way on foot, he crossed the distance quickly. Getting as close to the ship as he could, as fast as he could, before she would be alerted to his presence.
The ship was closed up, of course. The ramp to the entry hatch wasn't even extended. Near one of the landing struts, there was what looked from a distance like a pile of scrap metal.
Keeping his distance for the moment, he reached out with the force, using it to levitate the pile of scrap metal carefully. If it was a trap for someone he didn't want to take the chance of it being sprung when he was too close, or of it going off and damaging Aittera's ship.
The battle droid activated as soon as he tried to levitate it, its limbs extending as it took shape. The main part of its chassis was insulated with cortosis, of course, to fortify it against lightsaber attacks. A klaxon sounded as its electronic voice loudly announced, "Intruder. This is private property. You have ten seconds to vacate the area before I shove a cannon up your ass."
"I'm not an intruder, I was invited here by your mistress, please contact her and tell her to lower the boarding ramp, I wish to come aboard."
The droid extended its cannons and pointed them directly at Ragious, moving into a battle-ready stance. "You have ten seconds to give the passcode. Ten..."
"Oh, kriff off." Ragious called his lightsaber to his hand with the force, igniting the crimson blade and readying himself for the droid's worst.
The ship's engines roared to life as the droid continued its countdown. "Nine....Eight...."
Hearing the ship starting to come to life, he knew what he had to do. He couldn't lose her again when he was so close. Reaching out with one hand, he felt in the force for the cabling that connected the engines to the ships power supply, pulling hard, he ripped them from their connections, making sure that she wouldn't be going anywhere until she could make repairs. With the droid still counting down he decided to try something. "Davin."
The ship's engines died. "Seven....Six..."
"Kol Arren."
"Five...four..."
"Selus?"
"Three...two..."
"Nope, sticking with Kriff Off!" He leapt at the droid, his lightsaber slashing at the weapon systems rather than the main body. He didn't know if Aittera was fond of it in some way, so rather than take a chance at angering her further (he knew she'd be pissed that he had wrecked her ship...again), he would simply make it unable to attack.
The droid turned out to be an easy target and even though the attack was directed at its cannon, its head wobbled and tumbled off onto the ground when it was struck. It had only been a distraction to give the ship time to take off.
With the droid disabled, he moved toward the boarding ramp. "I know you know I am out here Aittera, don't make me cut my way in. I don't want to damage the Hope any more than I have."
There was no immediate response or activity from the ship. The boarding ramp remained withdrawn. However, the sense he had been tracking through the Force became stronger to the west, presumably growing closer.
Ragious turned toward that sense, waiting. While doing so, he attempted to reach out to feel for any presence on the ship and found none.
A speeder appeared on the horizon - a sleek little black thing - closing in fast, its rider concealed by a high windshield.
He stood his ground, waiting for the speeder, his lightsaber in hand but deactivated. He reached out with the force to ascertain for certain whether it was Aittera or not.
It was definitely her, and he could feel cold rage mounting within her as she sped toward him. As soon as she was within range, a blaster appeared alongside the high windshield, angry red bolts firing in rapid succession on his location. For the speed with which she was moving (and the position of the pistol), her aim was surprisingly accurate.
The blade of his saber came alive as soon as the first bolt was loosed from her pistol. He batted them away, careful not to send any back at her. Reaching out with his other hand, he brought the speeder to a halt slowly, forcing the throttle on it down. His voice boomed, amplified by the force to be clear to her even at a distance when in truth he spoke calmly at a level he would use if she were standing beside him. "Aittera, stop. There is no need for us to fight."
When the speeder began to slow in spite of her efforts to push it to go faster, Aittera brought it to a full stop instead. Rolling from her perch atop it, she found cover behind a nearby tree before she resumed firing. From this distance, her responding shout might have been difficult to hear, but she was sure his super duper forcey crap could compensate. "Fine then! Just stand there and let me kill you!"
He continued to block her attempts to kill him, batting the blaster bolts away with his lightsaber. "Why do you wish me dead?"
"Oh, you know...fool me once and all that."
"I never fooled you Aittera. Everything we shared was genuine. Everything I felt, I still feel."
"Of course, you do," she mumbled disbelievingly. She stopped firing though, realizing that she was only wasting ammunition at this point. "I'm not sure what the game is these days, but you should have left me alone."
"There is no game Aittera. I came for you, and a part of you still believes it. Your mind was altered by a Sith, but it wasn't me. Everything we shared was real, and the day you left the Avenger was one of my worst days."
"Let's explore that for a moment," she said conversationally as she began to sort through her kit - something she was smart enough to take in her hasty dismount from her speeder - between glances in the Sith's direction to make sure he was not approaching her position. "Why don't you tell me how miserable you've been. I really want to hear this."
"If you would come out and speak to me, let me attempt to fix what my sister did, I will be happy to catch you up on everything."
Aittera erupted into hysterical laughter, continuing to sort through her kit, pulling a few potentially useful items. "That's what this is all about! Like I need you people mucking around in my head any more than you already have! Are you really that arrogant, or do you just think I'm that stupid?"
"I never thought you were stupid, but stop and think, why would I waste all those resources, all of this time, why would I come myself to track you if this was all some game. You know me Aittera, you know me better than anyone, why would I come here? And don't you dare say all you know is lies. That is my sister's manipulation, fight it, don't be weak."
"Here's my theory..." she began, taking apart the timer of one of the two explosive charges she had pulled from her kit. "You had me there for a while. I was starting to fall for the whole romantic star-crossed lovers thing. I could write it into a holo-novel! Big, dangerous Sith's attempts to manipulate an enemy's mind get turned around on him by some unexpected complication or clash of Force hocus pocus, leading to tethering their minds together. They fall in love and run off together. It's a classic fairy tale, isn't it?
"Except, that's what it was, Kol. It was a fairy tale that I was stupid enough to start to buy into - just like you planned, right? You weren't succeeding in driving me crazy or asserting control over me in the beginning, so you took another tact and built an elaborate manipulation to gain control another way.
"In the process, you destroyed my life. You got me to leave Selus for you, and now, he's with that damn Twi'lek bitch. You got me to compromise my reputation by manipulating me into strutting around on your bridge in that uniform. And then, you sent your wife to kill me, but that didn't go quite the way you expected, right?
"Still...what's that old saying about it being the things you have to live through being worse than death? Hell of a plan that was. Worked great. I'm alone, wanted just about everywhere, and all I've got left is my damned ship."
Her refusal to be reasonable had started to wear on him. He charged the tree she was hiding behind, leaping the last twenty yards to land on the other side of it as he slid his lightsaber through the trunk, using the force to direct its fall away from her position. "Would you listen to what you are saying. I did none of that. Kiabe attacked you because of the effect of a booby-trapped holocron. She was literally acting on pure rage, directed at you because she knew how much I cared for you. That my feelings for you were starting to rival my feelings for her. Then, my kriffing sister made it worse by implanting in your head the idea that I had been lying, because one of the spirits in my sister's head didn't think you were good enough for me!"
The construction on her improvised grenade was only half complete, and she chucked the device aside to get her blasters back in hand before springing to her feet. "Wait...wait...So, this is supposed to sound more believable? Do you actually hear yourself?" she challenged, glaring at him.
"You know what I think? I think you did all of this so that you'd be the only person left that I could turn to, and when I didn't do that, you had to send out your agents to haul me back in! And since that didn't work, instead of just killing me, you're playing more mind games!"
He reached out with the force to knock her blasters away and deactivated his lightsaber, tossing it aside. "I sent those agents to find you so that I could heal you. You made the choice to murder them. They weren't meant to haul you back in, but merely to report your location so that I could come to you."
She should have expected that. Growling frustration, she took a step further away from him, mentally calculating her chances of reaching the speeder. "I don't believe you. Don't you get it? Even if I did believe all of this impossible, crazy bantha shit, the results are still the same! You ruined my life!"
"I don't believe that, and if I did, then let me start helping to fix it by healing you. I think I can reverse what Mistanis did, but I need you to give me permission."
"Define 'healing', Kol. Whatever she did, at least my mind has been my own. What makes you think I'm going to let you take that away from me too?"
"That's the thing, Aittera. She didn't give you your mind. She altered your way of thinking and sent you running."
This brought her up short, and she looked over at the speeder as she considered what he was saying.
"I think I can reverse what she did. She left her presence there in your head, and I believe I can remove it, fix the pathways she damaged."
Aittera cast a stubborn glare back up at him. "I don't feel damaged. In fact, since you've been gone, I've been abundantly clear."
"Yes, and all of that clarity toward me, it's all negative, correct? Doesn't that seem odd?"
"It seems deserved."
"Only because she's reprogrammed your mind to think the worst of me. You know I've done bad things, Aittera, bad things to you even, but ever since that first shared experience, we have been drawn ever closer. That wasn't my doing, and I never expected to feel what I do about you, but I do. If - when her influence on you is gone - you still feel nothing for me, I will walk away, it will be the hardest thing I have ever done, but I will do it."
She crossed her arms, considering his offer despite what she felt were her better instincts. "I didn't say I feel nothing," she grumbled.
"Yes, I know. You hate me, and you feel I ruined your life."
"Right." There was nothing convincing in that response at all.
He gave her a curious look, but then continued. "Trust me one more time, like you did on the Avenger."
"This isn't something you can have someone else do?"
"I wouldn't trust any other Sith to heal you, too many chances of them doing further damage."
"You realize what you're asking of me?" The edge was disappearing from her tone, but the stubborn defiance still shone brightly in her eyes, somehow intensified by the red curl that hung rebelliously loose from the severe bun the rest of her hair had been drawn back into.
He nodded, reaching out tentatively for that loose bit of hair, but then pulling his hand back. "I'm asking you to trust the part of you that still loves me."
She didn't flinch at the almost-touch, though close as they were now standing, the conflict of warring emotions within her was unmistakable. "If I let you do this, does this mean you'll be listening to my thoughts again? Showing up in my dreams?"
"I don't know. I honestly don't know what comes out the other side of this."
"That's not very convincing," she murmured, pushing her gaze off to the side, because seeing his expression softening was too much, too painful somehow. It was impossible to hate him when he looked at her that way.
"Was it really so bad?"
She answered with an exasperated breath. "No, but that's beside the point."
"Then let's see what happens next, together."
"If I say no?" she asked quietly, still not able to bring herself to look back up at him.
"You won't. I know you. You have to be certain as much as I do."
"That's not why I asked."
"I don't know what I would do, Aittera. I can't stand that you hate me. Probably force my sister to hunt you down and undo what she did."
"I don't---" She cut herself off. "I hate that living without you is every bit as bad as watching my life crumble into pieces while I was with you."
"I wish you would have come back, Aittera. I would fight the entire Republic if they came to take you."
"You think that's something I'd want?"
"I don't know. I know you don't want to live in the Empire, but the Republic has made it impossible for you to live there."
"And there's no guarantee either will survive this war. What good is my loyalty anymore anyway, right?" she asks rhetorically, the fight having drained from at some point since he'd stepped around the tree. "I really don't have anything left but you."
"I promise you, Aittera, I won't ever give up fighting to be the person you deserve." He moved his hands again, putting them to either of her cheeks, his fingers pressing against her temple as he leaned in to kiss her. Her eyes flickered up to meet his when he touched her, meeting the kiss with her lips in that achingly perfect way.
As he kissed her, his mind sought every bit of the residual effect of Mistanis' meddling, burning it away with the force, drawing the pathways of Aittera's mind back to how they originally should have been. In the kiss, things started to become normal again. There were flashes of the two of them in different settings - alone in her quarters on the Hope, her laying on his chest as she kissed him deeply after they had made love. Then on the Avenger, in the turbolift where he had kissed her so passionately before it stopped and they were interrupted. Over and over they flashed to different places, both real and from their shared dreams, until finally he could no longer feel Jocelyn within Aittera's mind, but his connection to her was clear once more.
She melted against him as she slid her arms around his neck, threading her fingers into his hair, kissing him with increasing affection and passion until they both needed to come up for air, so to speak. Even so, she remained as close as possible, the heat of her breath falling heavily against his lips with a quiet chuckle. "Booby-trapped holocrons?"
However, the moment the Sith Darth set foot on the planet itself, he sensed her - or rather, Jocelyn's mark on her. He immediately set off on a speeder, homing in on that sense with the force. It was his first solid lead on her since he had begun his personal search, and he wasn't about to let Aittera slip away from him again.
He was led away from the spaceport and villages, and it would be at least a couple of hours before the sense would grow stronger. In fact, for a good while, it seemed as though he wasn't getting any closer - like traveling the desert toward a distant spot on an endless horizon that doesn't seem to be getting any closer.
Just as he started to feel that sense more clearly ahead and to the east, he caught sight of the Devious Hope to the west side of the nose of his speeder. He cut the engines, not wanting to risk that she might realize he was coming and bolt again. Going the rest of the way on foot, he crossed the distance quickly. Getting as close to the ship as he could, as fast as he could, before she would be alerted to his presence.
The ship was closed up, of course. The ramp to the entry hatch wasn't even extended. Near one of the landing struts, there was what looked from a distance like a pile of scrap metal.
Keeping his distance for the moment, he reached out with the force, using it to levitate the pile of scrap metal carefully. If it was a trap for someone he didn't want to take the chance of it being sprung when he was too close, or of it going off and damaging Aittera's ship.
The battle droid activated as soon as he tried to levitate it, its limbs extending as it took shape. The main part of its chassis was insulated with cortosis, of course, to fortify it against lightsaber attacks. A klaxon sounded as its electronic voice loudly announced, "Intruder. This is private property. You have ten seconds to vacate the area before I shove a cannon up your ass."
"I'm not an intruder, I was invited here by your mistress, please contact her and tell her to lower the boarding ramp, I wish to come aboard."
The droid extended its cannons and pointed them directly at Ragious, moving into a battle-ready stance. "You have ten seconds to give the passcode. Ten..."
"Oh, kriff off." Ragious called his lightsaber to his hand with the force, igniting the crimson blade and readying himself for the droid's worst.
The ship's engines roared to life as the droid continued its countdown. "Nine....Eight...."
Hearing the ship starting to come to life, he knew what he had to do. He couldn't lose her again when he was so close. Reaching out with one hand, he felt in the force for the cabling that connected the engines to the ships power supply, pulling hard, he ripped them from their connections, making sure that she wouldn't be going anywhere until she could make repairs. With the droid still counting down he decided to try something. "Davin."
The ship's engines died. "Seven....Six..."
"Kol Arren."
"Five...four..."
"Selus?"
"Three...two..."
"Nope, sticking with Kriff Off!" He leapt at the droid, his lightsaber slashing at the weapon systems rather than the main body. He didn't know if Aittera was fond of it in some way, so rather than take a chance at angering her further (he knew she'd be pissed that he had wrecked her ship...again), he would simply make it unable to attack.
The droid turned out to be an easy target and even though the attack was directed at its cannon, its head wobbled and tumbled off onto the ground when it was struck. It had only been a distraction to give the ship time to take off.
With the droid disabled, he moved toward the boarding ramp. "I know you know I am out here Aittera, don't make me cut my way in. I don't want to damage the Hope any more than I have."
There was no immediate response or activity from the ship. The boarding ramp remained withdrawn. However, the sense he had been tracking through the Force became stronger to the west, presumably growing closer.
Ragious turned toward that sense, waiting. While doing so, he attempted to reach out to feel for any presence on the ship and found none.
A speeder appeared on the horizon - a sleek little black thing - closing in fast, its rider concealed by a high windshield.
He stood his ground, waiting for the speeder, his lightsaber in hand but deactivated. He reached out with the force to ascertain for certain whether it was Aittera or not.
It was definitely her, and he could feel cold rage mounting within her as she sped toward him. As soon as she was within range, a blaster appeared alongside the high windshield, angry red bolts firing in rapid succession on his location. For the speed with which she was moving (and the position of the pistol), her aim was surprisingly accurate.
The blade of his saber came alive as soon as the first bolt was loosed from her pistol. He batted them away, careful not to send any back at her. Reaching out with his other hand, he brought the speeder to a halt slowly, forcing the throttle on it down. His voice boomed, amplified by the force to be clear to her even at a distance when in truth he spoke calmly at a level he would use if she were standing beside him. "Aittera, stop. There is no need for us to fight."
When the speeder began to slow in spite of her efforts to push it to go faster, Aittera brought it to a full stop instead. Rolling from her perch atop it, she found cover behind a nearby tree before she resumed firing. From this distance, her responding shout might have been difficult to hear, but she was sure his super duper forcey crap could compensate. "Fine then! Just stand there and let me kill you!"
He continued to block her attempts to kill him, batting the blaster bolts away with his lightsaber. "Why do you wish me dead?"
"Oh, you know...fool me once and all that."
"I never fooled you Aittera. Everything we shared was genuine. Everything I felt, I still feel."
"Of course, you do," she mumbled disbelievingly. She stopped firing though, realizing that she was only wasting ammunition at this point. "I'm not sure what the game is these days, but you should have left me alone."
"There is no game Aittera. I came for you, and a part of you still believes it. Your mind was altered by a Sith, but it wasn't me. Everything we shared was real, and the day you left the Avenger was one of my worst days."
"Let's explore that for a moment," she said conversationally as she began to sort through her kit - something she was smart enough to take in her hasty dismount from her speeder - between glances in the Sith's direction to make sure he was not approaching her position. "Why don't you tell me how miserable you've been. I really want to hear this."
"If you would come out and speak to me, let me attempt to fix what my sister did, I will be happy to catch you up on everything."
Aittera erupted into hysterical laughter, continuing to sort through her kit, pulling a few potentially useful items. "That's what this is all about! Like I need you people mucking around in my head any more than you already have! Are you really that arrogant, or do you just think I'm that stupid?"
"I never thought you were stupid, but stop and think, why would I waste all those resources, all of this time, why would I come myself to track you if this was all some game. You know me Aittera, you know me better than anyone, why would I come here? And don't you dare say all you know is lies. That is my sister's manipulation, fight it, don't be weak."
"Here's my theory..." she began, taking apart the timer of one of the two explosive charges she had pulled from her kit. "You had me there for a while. I was starting to fall for the whole romantic star-crossed lovers thing. I could write it into a holo-novel! Big, dangerous Sith's attempts to manipulate an enemy's mind get turned around on him by some unexpected complication or clash of Force hocus pocus, leading to tethering their minds together. They fall in love and run off together. It's a classic fairy tale, isn't it?
"Except, that's what it was, Kol. It was a fairy tale that I was stupid enough to start to buy into - just like you planned, right? You weren't succeeding in driving me crazy or asserting control over me in the beginning, so you took another tact and built an elaborate manipulation to gain control another way.
"In the process, you destroyed my life. You got me to leave Selus for you, and now, he's with that damn Twi'lek bitch. You got me to compromise my reputation by manipulating me into strutting around on your bridge in that uniform. And then, you sent your wife to kill me, but that didn't go quite the way you expected, right?
"Still...what's that old saying about it being the things you have to live through being worse than death? Hell of a plan that was. Worked great. I'm alone, wanted just about everywhere, and all I've got left is my damned ship."
Her refusal to be reasonable had started to wear on him. He charged the tree she was hiding behind, leaping the last twenty yards to land on the other side of it as he slid his lightsaber through the trunk, using the force to direct its fall away from her position. "Would you listen to what you are saying. I did none of that. Kiabe attacked you because of the effect of a booby-trapped holocron. She was literally acting on pure rage, directed at you because she knew how much I cared for you. That my feelings for you were starting to rival my feelings for her. Then, my kriffing sister made it worse by implanting in your head the idea that I had been lying, because one of the spirits in my sister's head didn't think you were good enough for me!"
The construction on her improvised grenade was only half complete, and she chucked the device aside to get her blasters back in hand before springing to her feet. "Wait...wait...So, this is supposed to sound more believable? Do you actually hear yourself?" she challenged, glaring at him.
"You know what I think? I think you did all of this so that you'd be the only person left that I could turn to, and when I didn't do that, you had to send out your agents to haul me back in! And since that didn't work, instead of just killing me, you're playing more mind games!"
He reached out with the force to knock her blasters away and deactivated his lightsaber, tossing it aside. "I sent those agents to find you so that I could heal you. You made the choice to murder them. They weren't meant to haul you back in, but merely to report your location so that I could come to you."
She should have expected that. Growling frustration, she took a step further away from him, mentally calculating her chances of reaching the speeder. "I don't believe you. Don't you get it? Even if I did believe all of this impossible, crazy bantha shit, the results are still the same! You ruined my life!"
"I don't believe that, and if I did, then let me start helping to fix it by healing you. I think I can reverse what Mistanis did, but I need you to give me permission."
"Define 'healing', Kol. Whatever she did, at least my mind has been my own. What makes you think I'm going to let you take that away from me too?"
"That's the thing, Aittera. She didn't give you your mind. She altered your way of thinking and sent you running."
This brought her up short, and she looked over at the speeder as she considered what he was saying.
"I think I can reverse what she did. She left her presence there in your head, and I believe I can remove it, fix the pathways she damaged."
Aittera cast a stubborn glare back up at him. "I don't feel damaged. In fact, since you've been gone, I've been abundantly clear."
"Yes, and all of that clarity toward me, it's all negative, correct? Doesn't that seem odd?"
"It seems deserved."
"Only because she's reprogrammed your mind to think the worst of me. You know I've done bad things, Aittera, bad things to you even, but ever since that first shared experience, we have been drawn ever closer. That wasn't my doing, and I never expected to feel what I do about you, but I do. If - when her influence on you is gone - you still feel nothing for me, I will walk away, it will be the hardest thing I have ever done, but I will do it."
She crossed her arms, considering his offer despite what she felt were her better instincts. "I didn't say I feel nothing," she grumbled.
"Yes, I know. You hate me, and you feel I ruined your life."
"Right." There was nothing convincing in that response at all.
He gave her a curious look, but then continued. "Trust me one more time, like you did on the Avenger."
"This isn't something you can have someone else do?"
"I wouldn't trust any other Sith to heal you, too many chances of them doing further damage."
"You realize what you're asking of me?" The edge was disappearing from her tone, but the stubborn defiance still shone brightly in her eyes, somehow intensified by the red curl that hung rebelliously loose from the severe bun the rest of her hair had been drawn back into.
He nodded, reaching out tentatively for that loose bit of hair, but then pulling his hand back. "I'm asking you to trust the part of you that still loves me."
She didn't flinch at the almost-touch, though close as they were now standing, the conflict of warring emotions within her was unmistakable. "If I let you do this, does this mean you'll be listening to my thoughts again? Showing up in my dreams?"
"I don't know. I honestly don't know what comes out the other side of this."
"That's not very convincing," she murmured, pushing her gaze off to the side, because seeing his expression softening was too much, too painful somehow. It was impossible to hate him when he looked at her that way.
"Was it really so bad?"
She answered with an exasperated breath. "No, but that's beside the point."
"Then let's see what happens next, together."
"If I say no?" she asked quietly, still not able to bring herself to look back up at him.
"You won't. I know you. You have to be certain as much as I do."
"That's not why I asked."
"I don't know what I would do, Aittera. I can't stand that you hate me. Probably force my sister to hunt you down and undo what she did."
"I don't---" She cut herself off. "I hate that living without you is every bit as bad as watching my life crumble into pieces while I was with you."
"I wish you would have come back, Aittera. I would fight the entire Republic if they came to take you."
"You think that's something I'd want?"
"I don't know. I know you don't want to live in the Empire, but the Republic has made it impossible for you to live there."
"And there's no guarantee either will survive this war. What good is my loyalty anymore anyway, right?" she asks rhetorically, the fight having drained from at some point since he'd stepped around the tree. "I really don't have anything left but you."
"I promise you, Aittera, I won't ever give up fighting to be the person you deserve." He moved his hands again, putting them to either of her cheeks, his fingers pressing against her temple as he leaned in to kiss her. Her eyes flickered up to meet his when he touched her, meeting the kiss with her lips in that achingly perfect way.
As he kissed her, his mind sought every bit of the residual effect of Mistanis' meddling, burning it away with the force, drawing the pathways of Aittera's mind back to how they originally should have been. In the kiss, things started to become normal again. There were flashes of the two of them in different settings - alone in her quarters on the Hope, her laying on his chest as she kissed him deeply after they had made love. Then on the Avenger, in the turbolift where he had kissed her so passionately before it stopped and they were interrupted. Over and over they flashed to different places, both real and from their shared dreams, until finally he could no longer feel Jocelyn within Aittera's mind, but his connection to her was clear once more.
She melted against him as she slid her arms around his neck, threading her fingers into his hair, kissing him with increasing affection and passion until they both needed to come up for air, so to speak. Even so, she remained as close as possible, the heat of her breath falling heavily against his lips with a quiet chuckle. "Booby-trapped holocrons?"
10/25/2015
Dumb Kriffing Luck (Ongoing Story)
The most recently dead agent's ship was found on the edge of Imperial space - left floating dormant and stripped of anything valuable, a hole blown in its hull (likely by pirates rather than by the smuggler). Its databanks held an encrypted recorded holo-message.
When Aittera Timm's image appeared in the holo-message, she was wearing a black evening gown that gave the impression that it could have been painted onto her curves with a neckline that plunged to her belly button, giving a generous glimpse of the curvature of each breast, the skirt slit up the side of one shapely leg. On most women, a dress like this might look tawdry or even slutty, but this was Aittera. On the redhead, it was stunning, elegant and breath-taking. Her once warm, vibrant blue eyes were ice.
"I'm beginning to feel a little hurt, Kol," she began in a sultry bedroom tone. "If I'm so important to you, why do you keep sending minions?"
As if to punctuate this question, she extended a hand to the side and dragged a woman into view by her hair. The agent was on her knees, hands bound behind her back, wearing 'street clothes' that one might see on any of a hundred civilized worlds. She began with, "Forgive me, my lord---" but was cut off with a sharp jerk of her head and a vibroknife blade pressed to her neck.
"Stop sending these idiots to do your dirty work," Aittera continued. "You had no problems showing up to screw me. I'd think you'd jump at the chance to come kill me."
With a deft motion, she drew the blade across the agent's throat, sending blood spilling down over her chest. The message ended there.
When the recording was through, Ragious turned to his apprentice with a frown. "I really had hoped she would get over the delusion that Jocelyn implanted with time. I think I am going to have to take a more hands on approach to the search. That woman was one of my most loyal agents."
Pria's lekku swayed behind her as she looked at the space where Aittera's holo-image had just been. "It seems that delusion has taken hold. It's possible that there are other psychological factors at play as well. Her first message was a challenge. This was more like a twisted attempt at a seduction."
Ragious folded his arms across his chest, nodding at Pria. "Wrapped in a challenge. She needs to be found, and I need to see what I can do to reverse what Jocelyn did. This can't just be about my need for her anymore. I don't think it ever was. I can sense it - even if I can't sense her, she is needing too."
The apprentice cast a carefully neutral glance in his direction. "Have your feelings for her changed?"
"No, if anything they've only intensified. I miss her, Pria. I didn't expect to, but I do."
"If you are able to successfully reverse the damage your sister did only to find that Captain Timm no longer feels the same way?"
"Then that is how things will be. I do not know how she feels, but those messages both seem like she wants me to find her."
"So that she can kill you."
"It wouldn't be the first time she's tried that."
"Not to question your wisdom or experience in handling matters concerning her, but..." The twi'lek paused to consider her phrasing carefully. "...is it possible that what has kept her from moving on isn't the manipulation of her mind but your search for her?"
"All that happened to her is because of me Pria. I have to make it right, if it means I lose her in the end, then I will accept that. But the time Aittera and I spent together, I know she has the same feelings I do. If it hadn't been for my sister meddling with her head, she wouldn't be running like she is. She would have run to me."
The apprentice gave an understanding nod, the tips of her lekku twitching as she inclined her head respectfully. "I will do everything that I can to help you, of course, Master."
When Aittera Timm's image appeared in the holo-message, she was wearing a black evening gown that gave the impression that it could have been painted onto her curves with a neckline that plunged to her belly button, giving a generous glimpse of the curvature of each breast, the skirt slit up the side of one shapely leg. On most women, a dress like this might look tawdry or even slutty, but this was Aittera. On the redhead, it was stunning, elegant and breath-taking. Her once warm, vibrant blue eyes were ice.
"I'm beginning to feel a little hurt, Kol," she began in a sultry bedroom tone. "If I'm so important to you, why do you keep sending minions?"
As if to punctuate this question, she extended a hand to the side and dragged a woman into view by her hair. The agent was on her knees, hands bound behind her back, wearing 'street clothes' that one might see on any of a hundred civilized worlds. She began with, "Forgive me, my lord---" but was cut off with a sharp jerk of her head and a vibroknife blade pressed to her neck.
"Stop sending these idiots to do your dirty work," Aittera continued. "You had no problems showing up to screw me. I'd think you'd jump at the chance to come kill me."
With a deft motion, she drew the blade across the agent's throat, sending blood spilling down over her chest. The message ended there.
When the recording was through, Ragious turned to his apprentice with a frown. "I really had hoped she would get over the delusion that Jocelyn implanted with time. I think I am going to have to take a more hands on approach to the search. That woman was one of my most loyal agents."
Pria's lekku swayed behind her as she looked at the space where Aittera's holo-image had just been. "It seems that delusion has taken hold. It's possible that there are other psychological factors at play as well. Her first message was a challenge. This was more like a twisted attempt at a seduction."
Ragious folded his arms across his chest, nodding at Pria. "Wrapped in a challenge. She needs to be found, and I need to see what I can do to reverse what Jocelyn did. This can't just be about my need for her anymore. I don't think it ever was. I can sense it - even if I can't sense her, she is needing too."
The apprentice cast a carefully neutral glance in his direction. "Have your feelings for her changed?"
"No, if anything they've only intensified. I miss her, Pria. I didn't expect to, but I do."
"If you are able to successfully reverse the damage your sister did only to find that Captain Timm no longer feels the same way?"
"Then that is how things will be. I do not know how she feels, but those messages both seem like she wants me to find her."
"So that she can kill you."
"It wouldn't be the first time she's tried that."
"Not to question your wisdom or experience in handling matters concerning her, but..." The twi'lek paused to consider her phrasing carefully. "...is it possible that what has kept her from moving on isn't the manipulation of her mind but your search for her?"
"All that happened to her is because of me Pria. I have to make it right, if it means I lose her in the end, then I will accept that. But the time Aittera and I spent together, I know she has the same feelings I do. If it hadn't been for my sister meddling with her head, she wouldn't be running like she is. She would have run to me."
The apprentice gave an understanding nod, the tips of her lekku twitching as she inclined her head respectfully. "I will do everything that I can to help you, of course, Master."
10/24/2015
Dumb Kriffing Luck (Ongoing Story)
Over the following year, three more agents would turn up in a similar way - one sent to search Hutt Space, one sent to the Unknown Regions, and another sent into the Core. The first was returned in his ship - sent on auto-pilot for where the Avenger was still in the Outer Rim during Ragious's investigation.
The second produced a similar wild goose chase as the initial agent - returned in a shuttle, though none of his ship's components could be found. At least, not until the ship showed up carrying the third agent several months later.
Each time a new lead was found, Ragious would rely on his apprentice to chase it. He was frustrated with the lack of progress, but it became a sort of weird game to him. He continued sending Agents, even if she was going to keep killing them, refusing to allow Aittera forget him. He would check in with Jocelyn every so often, hopeful her research had yielded something to help him get around what she had done to Aittera.
Over time, Jocelyn's disparate personalities moved past the internal struggle for control and began to work with each other to a point, allowing for the research into a technique to aid Ragious. She couldn't remove the block she'd placed on Aittera's mind, but she would eventually be able to teach him a method by which to detect the block's 'signature' in a manner of speaking. Proximity would stilll be an issue, of course, but if he could put himself on the same world that Aittera was on at the same time, he could theoretically locate her.
The second produced a similar wild goose chase as the initial agent - returned in a shuttle, though none of his ship's components could be found. At least, not until the ship showed up carrying the third agent several months later.
Each time a new lead was found, Ragious would rely on his apprentice to chase it. He was frustrated with the lack of progress, but it became a sort of weird game to him. He continued sending Agents, even if she was going to keep killing them, refusing to allow Aittera forget him. He would check in with Jocelyn every so often, hopeful her research had yielded something to help him get around what she had done to Aittera.
Over time, Jocelyn's disparate personalities moved past the internal struggle for control and began to work with each other to a point, allowing for the research into a technique to aid Ragious. She couldn't remove the block she'd placed on Aittera's mind, but she would eventually be able to teach him a method by which to detect the block's 'signature' in a manner of speaking. Proximity would stilll be an issue, of course, but if he could put himself on the same world that Aittera was on at the same time, he could theoretically locate her.
10/23/2015
Dumb Kriffing Luck (Ongoing Story)
A shuttle was waiting for the Avenger when it dropped out of hyperspace on its return from its most recent assignment. The shuttle emitted a repeated signal for pick-up (as though it belonged to the dreadnought's contingent). A sensor sweep of the shuttle revealed that it was on auto-pilot and unmanned. Inside the shuttle's cockpit was a stasis chamber containing a dead agent - one of the dozen or so sent out to look for signs of Aittera Timm in the Outer Rim.
Ragious brought his senior adviser, who he had entrusted to handle the agents, to make the positive ID on the body. Then he asked her to give him a run down of where this Agent had been assigned, hoping it would give him insight into where Aittera may have gone.
The agent's last three reports had been filed more than two months previous, and she'd failed to check in ever since. The reports indicated that there had been no progress as yet, and the agent had been checking various systems near Hoth.
The tracking software for the agent's ship indicated the impossible position of being beneath the surface of a moon in another part of the Outer Rim altogether than the last system she'd checked in from. When Ragious's team investigated the moon, they found just the transponder in an underground cave, fastened to a stalactite. Weeks later, they would find evidence of other parts of the ship, sold in various places on several different planets, essentially strewn across different systems from one end of the Outer Rim to the other in no discernible pattern.
Ragious brought his senior adviser, who he had entrusted to handle the agents, to make the positive ID on the body. Then he asked her to give him a run down of where this Agent had been assigned, hoping it would give him insight into where Aittera may have gone.
The agent's last three reports had been filed more than two months previous, and she'd failed to check in ever since. The reports indicated that there had been no progress as yet, and the agent had been checking various systems near Hoth.
The tracking software for the agent's ship indicated the impossible position of being beneath the surface of a moon in another part of the Outer Rim altogether than the last system she'd checked in from. When Ragious's team investigated the moon, they found just the transponder in an underground cave, fastened to a stalactite. Weeks later, they would find evidence of other parts of the ship, sold in various places on several different planets, essentially strewn across different systems from one end of the Outer Rim to the other in no discernible pattern.
10/22/2015
Dumb Kriffing Luck (Ongoing Story)
Ragious's personal comm frequency received a call that - according to the readout - came from a secure frequency designated "Nowhere".
He answered immediately. "You don't have to stay Nowhere, you know."
Aittera's image had the same hardened look she had worn in the holo-recording. However, something about her eyes betrayed a deep weariness...and not a small amount of alcohol consumption. "I don't have to be stunningly beautiful either," she retorted.
"You can't help that." He gave her a wink. "Where are you? You know we have alcohol in the Empire right? Probably better than what you've been drinking."
"It's not the quality that matters, but the quantity, lover. If I drink enough, I forget for a little while," she explained bitterly, the upper half of her body - which is all that showed - shifting, suggesting that she was kicking her feet up on something. "Of course, these damn messages you keep leaving me are getting in the way of that."
"Kind of the point, you know. Come back, so we can undo what my sister did."
"No."
"Why? Aittera this isn't some trick. I know what happened between you and Kiabe, and I know why."
"Well, you just figure you know everything, don't you?" she half-mocked, slurring her words a little. "I have a theory. Would you like to hear my theory?"
"Probably not, but yeah. Let's hear your theory."
"My theory is this..." She paused to take a drink from a bottle that carried no visible label. "I am being punished. I forgot for a moment that Davin even existed, and for that, I am being punished. I'm a woman without citizenship now. I can't show my face in Republic space, because of that damned warrant. I can't come to Imperial space, because of your family. And I can't very well relax in Hutt space without well-meaning yet annoying friends making asinine suggestions about how to fix the life that is in shambles around me...or you showing up."
"My family is no threat to you. You return to Imperial Space, and you will be welcomed. Whatever assurances you need Aittera, whatever concessions I will give. You killed Kiabe in combat. Do you realize what that means? If I was to punish you for that, it would betray everything I have ever believed in. Think about that. You know me. You know there are some things I hold sacred, not many but this is one."
She laughed bitterly. "Dumb luck killed Kiabe. And don't you know me yet? I don't belong in the Empire anymore than I belong on the throne of Alderaan. Besides, there's this needling distrust in the back of my head that I realized I should've been listening to all along. You already promised I'd be safe from your family, and look at everything that's happened."
"That wasn't my fault. You left. And look at what happened, SIS made up some bullshit about you. My sister wasn't in her right mind, not that she is now, but she's at least trying. It wasn't a lie Aittera, we were not a lie."
"So...what you should have said was that you'd keep me safe from your family as long as what your family did wasn't your fault," she smirked and took another drink. "None of that disproves my theory though. I gave up too much for you. I gave up Davin for you, my guiding star, and now, I'm lost as all fuck."
"Aittera, he would have wanted you happy, and we were happy together, you and I. You say you're lost, then let me find you. I don't care about my family, I don't care about any of it, I care about you."
She stared at his image for a long, silent moment; the drunken sullen sneer evaporating. She was miserable, lonely, and perhaps even a little scared at how easily he was making her want-- no hope. Hope really was devious, wasn't it?
"Already said you were welcome to find me. Let's see how much you're willing to give up," she near-growled before disconnecting.
He answered immediately. "You don't have to stay Nowhere, you know."
Aittera's image had the same hardened look she had worn in the holo-recording. However, something about her eyes betrayed a deep weariness...and not a small amount of alcohol consumption. "I don't have to be stunningly beautiful either," she retorted.
"You can't help that." He gave her a wink. "Where are you? You know we have alcohol in the Empire right? Probably better than what you've been drinking."
"It's not the quality that matters, but the quantity, lover. If I drink enough, I forget for a little while," she explained bitterly, the upper half of her body - which is all that showed - shifting, suggesting that she was kicking her feet up on something. "Of course, these damn messages you keep leaving me are getting in the way of that."
"Kind of the point, you know. Come back, so we can undo what my sister did."
"No."
"Why? Aittera this isn't some trick. I know what happened between you and Kiabe, and I know why."
"Well, you just figure you know everything, don't you?" she half-mocked, slurring her words a little. "I have a theory. Would you like to hear my theory?"
"Probably not, but yeah. Let's hear your theory."
"My theory is this..." She paused to take a drink from a bottle that carried no visible label. "I am being punished. I forgot for a moment that Davin even existed, and for that, I am being punished. I'm a woman without citizenship now. I can't show my face in Republic space, because of that damned warrant. I can't come to Imperial space, because of your family. And I can't very well relax in Hutt space without well-meaning yet annoying friends making asinine suggestions about how to fix the life that is in shambles around me...or you showing up."
"My family is no threat to you. You return to Imperial Space, and you will be welcomed. Whatever assurances you need Aittera, whatever concessions I will give. You killed Kiabe in combat. Do you realize what that means? If I was to punish you for that, it would betray everything I have ever believed in. Think about that. You know me. You know there are some things I hold sacred, not many but this is one."
She laughed bitterly. "Dumb luck killed Kiabe. And don't you know me yet? I don't belong in the Empire anymore than I belong on the throne of Alderaan. Besides, there's this needling distrust in the back of my head that I realized I should've been listening to all along. You already promised I'd be safe from your family, and look at everything that's happened."
"That wasn't my fault. You left. And look at what happened, SIS made up some bullshit about you. My sister wasn't in her right mind, not that she is now, but she's at least trying. It wasn't a lie Aittera, we were not a lie."
"So...what you should have said was that you'd keep me safe from your family as long as what your family did wasn't your fault," she smirked and took another drink. "None of that disproves my theory though. I gave up too much for you. I gave up Davin for you, my guiding star, and now, I'm lost as all fuck."
"Aittera, he would have wanted you happy, and we were happy together, you and I. You say you're lost, then let me find you. I don't care about my family, I don't care about any of it, I care about you."
She stared at his image for a long, silent moment; the drunken sullen sneer evaporating. She was miserable, lonely, and perhaps even a little scared at how easily he was making her want-- no hope. Hope really was devious, wasn't it?
"Already said you were welcome to find me. Let's see how much you're willing to give up," she near-growled before disconnecting.
10/21/2015
Dumb Kriffing Luck (Ongoing Story)
Another message, going out in bursts, hidden within background noise and set to broadcast at intervals. She'd be able to see the changes in him. He was the Kol Arren he had been with her, but he was also Darth Ragious. Even in the clothes he had become so familiar to her with - that simple black tunic with black pants and boots - she could see him being more of his old confident self. And when the message, began she'd hear why.
"I now have more of the story. It wasn't me that was screwed with. It was you. Your mind was forced into believing that I had deceived you. That none of what we shared was real, and that a threat was made on your life if you came near me. I promise you, that threat is past, but there are others, threats that we can face together. Send me your location, I will come to you."
"I now have more of the story. It wasn't me that was screwed with. It was you. Your mind was forced into believing that I had deceived you. That none of what we shared was real, and that a threat was made on your life if you came near me. I promise you, that threat is past, but there are others, threats that we can face together. Send me your location, I will come to you."
Dumb Kriffing Luck (Ongoing Story)
The next email was bounced off of so many different servers in so many varied locations, it was virtually impossible to trace it back to its source.
This time, however, it was a holo-recording. Aittera, wearing a black shirt and red-brown vest with an ammunition belt and grenade belt criss-crossed over her torso, glared at the camera with a hardened look that might have reminded him of the days when she was his prisoner long ago.
"Find me," she challenged. "I'm done with your games."
This time, however, it was a holo-recording. Aittera, wearing a black shirt and red-brown vest with an ammunition belt and grenade belt criss-crossed over her torso, glared at the camera with a hardened look that might have reminded him of the days when she was his prisoner long ago.
"Find me," she challenged. "I'm done with your games."
10/19/2015
Dumb Kriffing Luck (Ongoing Story)
On board the
Avenger, still in orbit of Nar Shaddaa, Darth Ragious stood looking
down at the stasis coffin containing his wife's body. He had spent
two tireless days scouring medical facilities on the planet below to
find her. He hadn't slept, he hadn't stopped to eat, he refused to
even take communications. When he finally found her, the urge to
tear the facility down had been so strong, but he had subdued it
within him, and simply made a donation to the clinic contained. The
poor people there had been through enough and did not need a Sith
furthering their suffering.
The wound his
wife had sustained had been repaired, expertly. She could have been
sleeping, and as much as Ragious would hope for that, he was a
realist. His wife was dead. Killed by a woman he could not deny that
he had been so tempted to leave Kiabe for. He held a hand on the
forcefield maintaining the body in stasis, then turned and left it,
the only object in one of the Avenger's massive cargo holds, an honor
guard of his most loyal shock troopers stationed to keep vigil on
Kiabe's body until she could be returned to Dromund Kaas for a proper
farewell.
Returning to his
quarters, he stripped off all of his armor, and returned to the
simple black tunic he had worn so often when Aittera and he were
together. He stepped into view of the holocommunicator and activated
it, sending the message out on all frequencies, but having learned
enough from both her and from his technicians to mask the point of
origin. He was almost unrecognizable, he truly was Kol Arren in this
moment, from his posture, to the way his face seemed much more worn.
“I know
everything. What I don't know is minutiae that doesn't matter. All
that matters is that I need you to return. I need you. If you're
worried what they might do, I swear to you that you are protected.”
10/18/2015
Dumb Kriffing Luck (Ongoing Story)
Aittera sneered at the holo-recording when she found it.
I know what you know what I know... If nothing else, this is going to turn him into a laughinstock.
The final promise to not allow any harm was the biggest joke of all. Loving Kol Arren had nearly killed her quite literally when his wife came through her door and put her lightsaber through her gut. At the thought, a hand moved absently atop her shirt over the scar's location.
In the end, allowing him into her life had cost her everything, and now, she couldn't be sure if he was making a public spectacle of himself just to regain that foothold he'd managed or to avenge Kiabe's death.
Well, he's Sith, so probably both.
I know what you know what I know... If nothing else, this is going to turn him into a laughinstock.
The final promise to not allow any harm was the biggest joke of all. Loving Kol Arren had nearly killed her quite literally when his wife came through her door and put her lightsaber through her gut. At the thought, a hand moved absently atop her shirt over the scar's location.
In the end, allowing him into her life had cost her everything, and now, she couldn't be sure if he was making a public spectacle of himself just to regain that foothold he'd managed or to avenge Kiabe's death.
Well, he's Sith, so probably both.
Dumb Kriffing Luck (Ongoing Story)
Another holorecording. This one is more focused. It is no longer broadcasting throughout both the Empire and the Republic, instead he has his slicers focusing on non aligned networks. The image of him has changed again, he is seated in his bedroom on the Avenger, the uniform is visible hanging in the open bureau behind him. Beside that is the same armor that hung there in the dream they shared.
"I know what you think you want me to do, but you know I can't. I can never give up searching, even if you think you don't want to be found. I will go where you direct, I will go alone. I will fight armies on my own to get to you if that is your wish. I am Kol Arren, and I am Darth Ragious, and I will find you, I always could. It doesn't matter that something has happened with my powers preventing me from reaching out to you in the way I used to be able to. Even if I have to go system by system searching for you, I will. Come back. I promise you that I will never allow anyone to harm you."
"I know what you think you want me to do, but you know I can't. I can never give up searching, even if you think you don't want to be found. I will go where you direct, I will go alone. I will fight armies on my own to get to you if that is your wish. I am Kol Arren, and I am Darth Ragious, and I will find you, I always could. It doesn't matter that something has happened with my powers preventing me from reaching out to you in the way I used to be able to. Even if I have to go system by system searching for you, I will. Come back. I promise you that I will never allow anyone to harm you."
Dumb Kriffing Luck (Ongoing Story)
By the time the second message found Aittera, she had fallen into an almost predictable cycle. Wake up. Clean up. Hop worlds. Hide her ship. Drink herself into oblivion, usually getting herself into one or two good bar brawls in the process. She'd become a shadow of her former self.
In a dingy little cantina somewhere on a dingy little planet she hadn't even bothered to learn the name of, she spied some oddball news item speculating about the meaning of the strange message and who its intended recipient must be. (Darth Ragious's face had been easy enough to recognize, of course.)
She narrowed a cobalt gaze at the Imperial uniform hung behind Kol. She wasn't sure what infuriated her more – that he really thought he could lure her out of hiding by returning to the charade that he ever cared about her at all or that he kept reminding her that she'd ever fallen for it in the first place.
A few days (and too many credits) later, she had a slicer send an untraceable email directly to the Sith.
"The woman you seek is dead. Let her rest in peace."
In a dingy little cantina somewhere on a dingy little planet she hadn't even bothered to learn the name of, she spied some oddball news item speculating about the meaning of the strange message and who its intended recipient must be. (Darth Ragious's face had been easy enough to recognize, of course.)
She narrowed a cobalt gaze at the Imperial uniform hung behind Kol. She wasn't sure what infuriated her more – that he really thought he could lure her out of hiding by returning to the charade that he ever cared about her at all or that he kept reminding her that she'd ever fallen for it in the first place.
A few days (and too many credits) later, she had a slicer send an untraceable email directly to the Sith.
"The woman you seek is dead. Let her rest in peace."
Dumb Kriffing Luck (Ongoing Story)
The next transmission permeates the holonet on alternating frequencies.
The Darth is once more wearing his simple black tunic, and hanging behind the chair he is seated in is a recognizable intelligence uniform. "I admitted something to you once and you know what that revelation meant to me. The same continues to hold true, more now than it ever has. I do not know what happened, whatever it was matters little. I only know that I need you to return. You know I have never lied to you. Regardless of what anyone else has or will tell you a part of you knows that every word I spoke was truth. Contact me, please."
The Darth is once more wearing his simple black tunic, and hanging behind the chair he is seated in is a recognizable intelligence uniform. "I admitted something to you once and you know what that revelation meant to me. The same continues to hold true, more now than it ever has. I do not know what happened, whatever it was matters little. I only know that I need you to return. You know I have never lied to you. Regardless of what anyone else has or will tell you a part of you knows that every word I spoke was truth. Contact me, please."
Dumb Kriffing Luck (Ongoing Story)
Aittera looked up at the news holofeed from the tattered booth she was currently occupying when she heard the other occupants of the cantina she was holed up in grow unusually quiet. The bartender was just turning up the sound.
“My name is Darth Ragious of House Arren...”
Kriff.
Whether he'd figured out that she was responsible for his wife's disappearance or was just fishing, it was only a matter of time now. She should probably get a little farther away, do a little more to conceal her identity and location.
Or...
She got up to stroll toward the bar, dropping a credstick in front of the bartender. “Another bottle of bourbon. Keep the glass.”
“My name is Darth Ragious of House Arren...”
Kriff.
Whether he'd figured out that she was responsible for his wife's disappearance or was just fishing, it was only a matter of time now. She should probably get a little farther away, do a little more to conceal her identity and location.
Or...
She got up to stroll toward the bar, dropping a credstick in front of the bartender. “Another bottle of bourbon. Keep the glass.”
Dumb Kriffing Luck
[This thread is essentially an account of what happens after this story. Full explanation in the comment thread.]
The regularly scheduled broadcast of the Holonet News fades, replaced by a holo-image that flickers in blue, a Sith clad in deadly black armor under the robes of their order. His stance is imposing as he takes down the hood of the robes and begins to speak.
“Before you begin to try to block this signal, you should know that I have some of the best slicers in the galaxy working against you. My name is Darth Ragious of House Arren, and the recipient of this message knows who I am speaking to. You may have changed everything to hide from them, but you will never be able to hide from me. This message will find you. As I said - and as you saw - my people are the best, and they will make sure this message reaches the furthest edges of the rim if that is where you've gone. You know where I am.”
The image fades again, and the news anchors look like they don't know what happens, but it is obvious that someone quickly tells them to ignore the message, the same one that will be repeated and shared over and over.
The regularly scheduled broadcast of the Holonet News fades, replaced by a holo-image that flickers in blue, a Sith clad in deadly black armor under the robes of their order. His stance is imposing as he takes down the hood of the robes and begins to speak.
“Before you begin to try to block this signal, you should know that I have some of the best slicers in the galaxy working against you. My name is Darth Ragious of House Arren, and the recipient of this message knows who I am speaking to. You may have changed everything to hide from them, but you will never be able to hide from me. This message will find you. As I said - and as you saw - my people are the best, and they will make sure this message reaches the furthest edges of the rim if that is where you've gone. You know where I am.”
The image fades again, and the news anchors look like they don't know what happens, but it is obvious that someone quickly tells them to ignore the message, the same one that will be repeated and shared over and over.
6/10/2015
Luck
There is an elusive element to life
that no one can truly prepare for. No matter how much one plans, no
matter how many contingencies one considers, no matter how much
control a person tries to assert over every aspect of their
existence, there is an unknown mechanic in the universe that can
somehow affect it all. Sometimes it was for a better outcome,
sometimes worse. Some called it fate; others, destiny. Some
attributed it to gods or the Force. If Aittera were asked to put a
name to it, she would call it luck.
Aittera had woken up to find herself
blinking wearily into the face of an unfamiliar Mirialan. A feeling
of warmth and comfort had seemed to flood her body, soothing away the
worst of the pain that came most predominantly from the vicinity of
her stomach. The familiar voice of Tes'ara, Jean's second at Agamar
Risk Control Services, had been next. Relief and grief had flooded
her conscious thought simultaneously.
Not dead.
Her apartment's security system had
activated third-party alert protocol, alerting Jean Schramme when
Kiabe destroyed her door. It was a change that Aittera had made just
days ago, when he had come to talk about Sheridan Zila. She had
realized only hours before that unplanned, unexpected meeting that
Selus's frequency was still listed in the protocol, and asking Jean
if he would mind allowing her to use his contact information instead
was simply good timing. She needed someone she could rely on, and he
was the one person left in the universe who still might have her
back.
Should be dead.
Aittera was in a medcenter on the Upper
Promenade, and the Mirialan was a Jedi healer who she would come to
realize later had never given her name. As the events of the attack
came back to her, Aittera was dumbfounded at the sheer impossibility
of what had occurred. Jean and Tes'ara explained that the pureblood
had bled out by the time they'd reached her apartment. The knife
she'd used was something she never really gave much thought to
anymore. It was simply part of getting ready to go somewhere, like an
extension of getting dressed – blasters at her hips, knife in her
boot or under her belt. The choice to stow it at her back on the day
of the attack had been nothing more than a matter of convenience.
I'm not dead.
Further, they had disposed of Kiabe's
body, and from what she was able to understand from the conversation
between the Jean and his second, by the time Tes'ara was finished,
there would be no trace of the Sith Lord's visit. She was profoundly
grateful. They had insulated her against retaliation as best they
could. Turned out the good guys were far more scary in their
efficiency than any criminals she'd ever met.
Why aren't I dead?
Aittera would also come to learn from
Jean that he had called Cartel Security to provide an escort to the
medcenter, and she would marvel at her old friend for how easily he
went so far above and beyond for the people he cared about. When the
medical staff quit fussing over her, she asked to move to the Hope's
medbay to recover. The Promenade's medcenter gleamed too bright, too
metallic, and felt far too open and exposed.
Dumb kriffing luck.
When asked a few days later what was
next, Aittera honestly had no idea what the answer should be. After
all, she should be dead. As much as she might have told herself she
wanted to die just a few days before, that instinct to survive, to
fight, was as strong as it ever had been. Whatever was to come next,
she was alive. Let it come.
(( I want to take a moment to once
again thank the players behind Jean, Tes'ara, Evander, Radwan, and
Zabess for the awesome RP that went into helping me finish this
story. I'm humbled and so very, very grateful.))
6/08/2015
Confrontation
Aittera's gut was screaming at her as
she stepped into the tiny apartment and looked around as the lights
came up. Something was very wrong. Something had been wrong ever
since she'd left the bodega a few blocks away that she'd just come
from, but she just couldn't put her finger on it. She never shrugged
off that vibrating, sinking sensation that warned her of imminent
danger, and it had never been wrong once in her life. It had been a
constant for as long as she could remember, since the day it drove
her to her feet to run toward a building that was about to erupt in
an explosion in a vain attempt to save her fiance.
Warily listening for any small sound
that might be out of place, she turned to key the lock to the door
before setting the bag of groceries on the nearby table. She reached
down to thumb the security straps loose from the holsters holding her
blasters in case she needed to draw them fast as she moved toward the
only part of the place she couldn't see readily from the door – the
bedroom. For just a hint of a moment as she stepped across the
threshold, there was an irrational hope that Kol would be standing
there beside the bed, giving her that charming smile, asking her if
she missed him. But the room was as empty as the rest of the
apartment, and she scowled as she turned to walk back toward the
little dining area.
That
was when a flash of red energy drew her attention back to the front
door where sparks were beginning to fling themselves away from the
computerized locking mechanism onto the floor. Aittera barely had
time to recognize what she was seeing as the tip of a lightsaber
before the door was loosened and forced to the side where it crumbled
against the inside of the doorway. Darth Ragious's formidable
pureblood wife came striding toward her.
Lord Kiabe Eirndeth stood just a few
inches taller than Aittera, her muscular frame bound in form-fitting
armor that seemed to the observer's mind to refuse to reflect or even
acknowledge light. Her black hair was pulled back in short thick
braids to frame her serpentine face and seemingly glowing yellow eyes
which locked onto the redhead's face as she growled battle lust and
rage. Without a word, she stalked toward her prey with purpose,
effortlessly deflecting each shot Aittera fired at her with her
lightsaber.
“Obviously, you're not here to talk,”
the smuggler quipped as she continued to fire, mentally cataloging
her surroundings as she tried to see some kind of escape route as she
was inevitably driven back into the living room. She knew she was no
match for a Sith warrior, and she wasn't stupid or arrogant enough to
try.
Kiabe leapt the small distance between
them in an instant, bringing her blade down in a sweeping arc that
sent white hot agony through Aittera's left arm, severing her hand
from her body, catching her by the throat to shove her against the
wall with an angry sneer. “No. I'm here to make you pay.”
Aittera's scream was choked short by
the fingers closing around her throat, her blue eyes wide with fear
and pain as she clutched her arm to her chest. As she felt her feet
begin to leave the floor, she knew she was about to die. Frantically,
she fought to draw in breath, and her mind suddenly seized on the
feeling at her lower back like there was something pinned between
herself and the wall. Darkness crept at the edges of her vision as
she puzzled for a moment what the familiar shape was, her thoughts
racing the inevitable. This was important. This had to be important.
She didn't have time enough to think it
through. She reached back with her off hand to tug the object free,
only recognizing in that moment the knife she nearly always carried
on her – something most often stuck in her boot, but on occasion
kept beneath her trenchcoat at the back of her waist as it was now.
In the next impossible moment, the vibroblade was protruding from the
pureblood's neck and blood was pouring from her jugular. Kiabe's grip
on her throat loosened as she fell back, instinct bringing her
lightsaber swinging toward Aittera in one final attack in the last
moments of her life.
Relief was cut short by fresh pain in
the redhead's side, and she crumbled to the floor against the wall,
clutching at her side where she found a hole burnt into
her jacket before she lost consciousness.
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