Private A Locked and Loaded Lockbox: Assassination Mission.

[Taresa Kae]

Primary Target: Zarus Valorian
Secondary Missions: Classified | Classified.

• Denon
• Early Evening
• Light Rain
• The Secure-Set Vault Corporation

Corporate district neon dreams and nightmares thrived on credits, secrets, and technology. Taresa had spent ample time around the districts, killing for the code and instigating conflict where necessary. Today, she was ready for another operation to carve into the Sith Codex.

District 24, a relatively new construction in the bustling, ever-evolving city world, housed the most extensive vaults here, secure areas guaranteed by the corporations' reputations on the contents. Alongside the vault areas were security corporations for hire, colorful Denon art exhibits, a neon downtown nightclub area, and an artificial port with a synthetic lake.

Disguised as an Alliance trooper, the Kae Killer moved like she belonged, drawing some mutters from Denon security. Although the Alliance governed Denon, the corporations still called the shots on most important matters, an uneasy balancing act. She wore a standard backpack, uniform, and an ID that matched the blonde woman she'd killed in transit. Facial surgery allowed her to take the woman's identity, her Force aura masked to be that of a trooper visiting the city, and her mannerisms reflected that after weeks of practice.

Following all standard procedures and protocols, Taresa avoided evading or staring, making herself a forgettable face in the crowd with a reason to carry equipment. In the long, clean white hallways of the Secure-Set Vault Corporation, a multi-level building with the vaults in the most secure area, she carried a datapad of orders to deposit sensitive Alliance information; she also held other orders that read very differently, seemingly from the same source. A spy impersonating a spy was her classic act.

The rooms were private and disconnected from the outside world, with no cameras and total privacy for you and your vault. Like a honeycomb grid structure, rooms were above, to the side, and below. To get in, they underwent numerous checks: identities, fingerprints, DNA, voice recognition patterns, you name it. Getting to the vault was a laborious process. She waited patiently in a small queue with her package, ready for her turn to be checked, just one more bored face waiting in a line for these checks to finish.

 

[Zarus Valorian]

Well, this was ridiculous. Why is it so difficult to retrieve an item out of a private vault? Security is all well and good, but this vault seemed rather excessive. Maybe there's something inside, but, Zarus couldn't sense anything out fo the ordinary. Well, in this area of the planet anyways.

Zarus was taken into the building where he found his private vault. He opened the door, after the labourus process of fingerprints, DNA testing, voice recognition, etc. He had stored a few old objects in here, mostly relics he had studied thoroughly and didn't know what to do with... until now.

Upon retrieving what he had stored in the vault, he was escorted back to the entrance, passing by others waiting for access to their vault rooms. While leaving, he pulled his hood up to help hide his face from the crowd. There was something on this planet, something he wanted. He had to get to it quick before anyone else can take it.

However, while he could sense his prize was in the area, he felt as though he was missing something; that he couldn't sense something... he shrugged it off as simple paranoia and continued on his way, leaving the vault and beginning his search.

Taresa Kae

 

[Taresa Kae]

Taresa spotted her mark a few individuals ahead, and the line seemed to take forever.

Fingerprint check: Thin invisible strips over her fingers. Passed. Voice recognition: The small voice projectors she carried synthesized a perfect copy. Only close scrutiny could reveal the sound came from just in front of her ear, not her mouth. Passed. DNA: She couldn't physically change her DNA. As Taresa approached, the woman at the counter switched with her supervisor, passing a fake reading. She had a helper. Passed.

Everything was meticulously planned—isolated vaults, an inside contact, her target alone. Her cover identity was confirmed, framing the person she impersonated perfectly. It was flawless until it wasn't.

Just as she was about to enter, her mark exited while she still stood in the queue! The elaborate checks, designed to leave a trail to the Alliance agent she'd killed, had taken too long. A missed opportunity. Maintaining her professionalism, Taresa had to adapt seamlessly to the target's movements.

"Excuse me, there is an item I have forgotten," she said nonchalantly to the lady at the checkpoint. Her inside woman shot her a tense glance as Taresa turned to follow her target at a respectable distance.

She'd studied Zarus's profile and data she could glean, having ideas about where he might go. But she needed to tail him for now, hoping the route wasn't too exposed. Following someone required maintaining a reasonable distance—close enough to keep them in mind but not too close. Her force sense provided a significant advantage over a regular assassin, keeping her always more than one bend away and out of sight.

Taresa paid a woman handsomely for her long brown coat, covering her Alliance Trooper uniform and setting her helmet aside. She masked her Force aura, leaving no sign for him to detect; only his instincts remained, which she couldn't take away. The Kae Killer blended seamlessly into Denon's gloomy, neon-lit streets like a ghost stalking her prey.

Where was he leading them? What was the location and layout like? Taresa scanned for her next opportunity, knowing she might not get another.

Zarus Valorian

 

[Zarus Valorian]

Zarus continued along his way through the winding streets of Denon, weaving through the crowd while going at a rather quick pace. He wasn't planning on wasting a second, but he couldn't risk any prying eyes picking him out. Despite his attuned senses, he still felt as though there was something he couldn't feel; something had been intentionally hidden from his senses. He kept an eye open for anything unusual around him as he carried on his way.

After a few minutes of walking, he took a swift look around him before quickly ducking out of the crowd and began in the direction of a more broken down part of the area. He could feel what he was looking for nearby... he picked up his pace. In the less crowded space, he was sure of it now, he felt it: a blindspot. Something- no, someone was hiding from him. He didn't make any movement that showed he could feel this, and instead carried on his way.

Eventually, he came across a small building, but something about it was... off. He could feel the dark side from it. Yeah, he was at his destination..

"Finally, I'm here. Now, to get this done and be gone before anyone suspects anything."

He entered the building, it was an old apartment building, broken down until it was nought but two stories high. He searched the room until he found a small hideaway in the floor. He used the force to open it up and found what he was looking for: a corpse holding a Sith holocron. Not just any holocron, this was seemed valuable, though he yet to know why. He took it from the corpse's grip before replacing it with what he retrieved from his vault: a fake holocron. It would serve as a way to prevent others from knowing the real one ever existed.

Taresa Kae

 

[Taresa Kae]

Approaching carefully, the Kae Killer peered through a rangefinder at the target building, scanning for lifeforms or heat signatures. Her target looked to be inside a run-down apartment building, typical of Denon's less fortunate areas. She found a quiet spot nearby and smiled at a woman talking on her communicator. Cold and efficient, she swiftly sliced a knife across the woman's neck, silencing her call. The body slumped down, and she carefully carried the corpse through an empty frame of the rundown building, leaving it in the hallway on the ground floor bleeding out.

Equipped with numerous gadgets for her tasks, she quietly unclipped two small proximity grenades and placed them under the body: one frag grenade and one cryoban grenade. She also tucked a fake identifying token resembling an item from her target into the victim's pocket, ensuring it hung out to catch his interest—something he might recognize.

Boobytrap

If her target checked the corpse or got too close to the door, the grenades would detonate. If he didn't, he might be linked to a dead body. Cruel and vindictive, but all to a plan. She discreetly hid a motion detector in front of the street door to amplify her own surveillance.

Confirming the area on her range finder, the Kae Killer activated her stealth field, shimmering out of sight, and moved away. She crossed the street like an invisible cat on tiptoes, leaping up the side of a ladder, and positioned herself on the opposite second floor from the run-down building. Not her quietest jump to be sure, but time was a factor. Fortunately for them, no one was in the dark apartment here, or else it'd be one more body to the count.

Shimmering back into sight, Judgment knew every second was precious. The Kae killer quickly grabbed her rifle from her pack and began setting up. Soon, she would be tracking heat signatures and movement in the building opposite, but all this took time; her target had a brief window before the sniper was ready. If he could escape the boobytrap and his own impulses, she had studied the target's file.

Revealed:
Secondary Missions: Frame Target for Murder | Classified.

Zarus Valorian

 

[Zarus Valorian]

Zarus was ready to leave the building when he suddenly stopped short. He wasn't being paranoid, there was something he couldn't sense. He had felt someone meet their end, unnaturally. He stowed the Holocron in one of his belt pouches, and removed his lightsaber from his belt. He crept towards the door and began to observe the area, waiting for something. As he approached the door, he spotted a body. But that wasn't what caught his eye, it was what hung from the pocket of the body.

He began to approach it but suddenly stopped short. He instead, pulled the item from the body's pocket to observe it. Upon closer inspection, it appeared to be personalised Sabacc card he had won from a (poorly) cheating gambler. It was practically identical to the one he had won - a standard card with his name written upon - which made him curious as to how this woman had it. However, he noticed one difference between this card and the one he knew: he always finished his signature with a dot floating after the last letter. He threw the card down and quickly burned it with a small blast of lightning.

He began to head past the body and out the door when he heard an almost inaudible yet rapid beep. His eyes widened as he made a quick sprint and jump out of the building's entrance and narrowly avoided the frag and cryo grenades. He swiftly got back up and activated his lightsaber, it's orange blade now illuminating his face. He surveyed the area, remaining on guard for anything.

"I'm impressed. Not many people would think to do such thorough research as you clearly have. But I'll warn you now: I can quickly lose my pleasantries. So, come and show yourself and we can discuss things calmly. Or, we can do it the fun way where you continue to annoy me and I eventually make you regret targeting me. What will it be?"

He couldn't see who he was talking to, nor could he sense them. But he could still feel that blind spot in his senses, which made him absolutely certain he was not alone. He was honestly in a good mood, which is why he offered a peaceful approach in the first place. But that could quickly disappear if he so much as felt like no longer talking.

Taresa Kae

 

[Taresa Kae]

She peered through the scope, noting that he had evaded her booby trap with skill. Taking a sniper shot at an aware force using target, even a center mass shot, was a gamble she could only take once. She needed a better plan. Setting up her rifle on the window ledge, she clipped a small device to the trigger and used the range finder to position it precisely. Yet, making a shot without lining it up seemed like a one-in-a-million chance.

Unbuttoning the middle of her brown coat, she revealed her Alliance armor, ensuring he could see it if he paid attention. Revealing herself as a supposed Alliance operative was part of her assignment to stir conflict.

Revealed: Secondary Missions: Frame Target for Murder | Implicate the Alliance in His Assassination Attempt.

She snapped a few holophotos of the man, pocketed the camera, and activated her stealth field. Today, she appeared as a blonde woman with a noticeable birthmark on her lower left cheek and watchful green eyes, perfectly mimicking her cover identity. When she shimmered into safe distance ahead of him, she stood on the street opposite him in this quieter, run-down part of Denon.

"Okay. No sudden movements. So, what now?" she asked, her tone and posture matching her cover identity, supported by the vocal synthesizer for near-perfect imitation. She masked her Force presence, making any difference to a alliance spy almost imperceptible, just enough to be close to her target without raising suspicion. A slight hint remained, a clue that a force presence now existed at all when before there was none.

Taresa let him speak, even approaching a few steps, but she would warn him if he got too close or retreat if he made any sudden movements. Waiting for the right moment. Would she really try a remote shot, surely, that'd be impossible. Right?

Zarus Valorian

 

[Zarus Valorian]

Zarus directed his attention to the Alliance soldier as she appeared in front of him. He lowered his blade slightly but kept it activated. He began to realise there was something off...

"So, did the Jedi request you take me out? I wouldn't say I've done anything inherently against the Alliance itself... Ah, I suppose it doesn't matter. I'm in a good mood right now, so I'll give you this one chance to leave. I would suggest you take it."

He was not usually as peaceful as this. Normally, he'd either take off his enemy's head with his blade, or break their body with the force. But, he was feeling generous. However, he was sure something was off...

There! That was it... The blind spot in his senses, it was gone. He could sense that there was nobody else nearby other than him and the soldier. A normal person couldn't trick his senses like this, only a-

"On second thought: Die."

With no more words, nor a warning, he pulled his arm back and prepared to throw his lightsaber at the Jedi in front of him.

Taresa Kae

 

[Taresa Kae]

3...2...1​

"I'm not with the Alliance," she said, attempting a double bluff while buttoning her coat, as if just realizing it was undone. "This is a disguise I took." Lying was second nature to her. "Okay. Look, you are not stupid; we can still agree on recompense. We can pretend it didn't happen. A little credits your way, maybe a small Alliance favor we can offer."

On second thought: Die.

BEEP

She smiled a very dangerous smile, and with a press of a switch in her palm, a sniper rifle fired from above.

One. Two. Three shots.

Crack. Crash. Skid.

Shots not aimed at him but at a speeder coming down their road. She had picked her position perfectly. A beeping signal, triggered when their speeder passed the right spot, allowed her to shoot a large target—much easier than she ever would a person. She dropped a smoke grenade and twisted to dodge any incoming throw. Inside their oncoming wayward craft, its speeder's pilot was severely wounded, beginning to tip and slide sideways toward them out of control.

Above, a holoprojection of a sniper flickered into being at her rifle. She masked her Force signature once more amidst the smoke. Would he take her bait and hunt a sniper above, hunt a ghost disappearing into smoke, or focus on an incoming speeder? Choices, Choices.

Zarus Valorian

 

[Zarus Valorian]

Just as he was about to throw his lightsaber at the Jedi, he suddenly heard the sound of blaster fire. Though he instinctively moved to block from the blaster bolts, Zarus quickly realised they weren't intended for him. He turned around and noticed a now out-of-control speeder barrelling towards him. At the same time, his vision became clouded as his opponent had dropped a smoke grenade. He looked up and saw a sniper in a nearby building before the smoke got to a point where he was left in a cloud of it.

"Great, three problems at once."

His first thought was that in this smoke, he should be relatively safe from the sniper, but then he realised they may have thermal sensing equipment. He had a vague idea of where the sniper was, but trying to navigate the smoke while looking out for a Jedi who was hiding her presence at the same time would be troublesome. Add on the incoming speeder and Zarus' good mood was spoiled. If they were going to attack, at least do it with your own strength, not cowardly tactics like this.

He threw his lightsaber in a circle around him and kept it surrounding him, to prevent his attacker from getting too close. Next, he realised he couldn't sense the sniper, so they were either fake, or another one hiding their presence. He didn't want to take the risk, so he'd get rid of two pests in one go. He felt the speeder coming towards him so he used the force and prevented it from crashing into him. He lifted it off the ground with telekinesis and threw it towards the building the blaster shots came from. As the speeder was about to crash into the building, he blasted lightning from his fingertips. Not the small spark he gave the faked playing card earlier, but a full on blast of Force Lightning. The speeder exploded and took the building with it; he was confident he had killed the sniper/destroyed the remote-controlled rifle (he didn't care which).

"If that was all you had, I'm disappointed. You're a Jedi, right? At the very least, a force-user, otherwise you wouldn't be able to trick my senses. Well, I was hoping you'd have a bit more honour than that... Using such methods rather than relying on your own strength and power. Resourcefulness is all well and good, but if you can't defeat your enemy with your own physical skills and use of the force, you must be weak."

He called his lightsaber back to his hand and assumed a defensive position.

"So, stop hiding like a coward and face me... with all your strength and power."

Taresa Kae