A Quest for Perfection

[Akio Diachi]

Location: The Juntland Wastes
Time: Evening



The swift survive and the slow die.

The blade swipped through the air in quick clean strokes. Akio twisted and turned on his heels in a fanciful but lethal slices and cuts. The footing was perilous, making the kata even more challenging. He had worked his whole life to make himself the lethal weapon—a pursuit of perfection that was endless. His desire to tap into the anals of history and become like his ascended masters made him thirsty for this brutal training.

Move like the viper, swift and always ready to strike a second time.

A pair of slices cut through the air, his katana-shaped vibroblade was constantly moving. He twisted around in a deep stab, ending. His body panted. The deep burning twin suns had beat on him mercilessly.

The strong survive and the weak die, let this momentary affliction strengthen you.

Akio gracefully sheathed his weapon, stilling his breath. The sweat poured off his blue skin, bare from the waist up. He bent down and grabbed his black linen shirt that matched his baggy training pants, hiding his scar-marked skin. Akio forced himself to stand in the suns a few moments longer than was comfortable before slowly walking barefoot across the ember-like ground.

They said it was hot enough here to kill a person. I must survive to prove I am exceptional.

Akio reached the shade where his meager supplies were; his two pistols, a few minor food supplies, and enough water to just survive. There was no bed roll; he would meditate for rest, forcing his weary body to rest while his mind remained alert.

Aching, he sat and watched the horizon as dusk settled in. There was a barren beauty in the land, one that this killer could appreciate. A hollow aching echoed in his mind, the one that always clawed its way into the Chiss’ mind when he was sitting still and his mind was quiet; Have I made you proud, masters? Am I worthy? Am I honorable enough?

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Akio Diachi"]

"Not a clue where they went, Spence. Not a single fething indication. Not so much as a set of single-file tracks." Ashin's thumb and forefinger tightened on her lapel comm unbidden, until static futzed and she thought to let go. She pounded her fist against the red-brown metal of the recently wrecked sandcrawler. Her knuckles hurt.

She'd never really been part of her clone's life, but young Ashiin had called for help and there was nothing to be done but answer. Curiously, the call had gone to Ashin, when her clone had strong connections with the Arceneau trade juggernaut. The obvious inference was that the unknown problem had been the sort of issue for which one called Ashin Varanin. Ashin -- once Sith Empress and Lord of the Fringe, conqueror of about a quarter of the galaxy at one point or another. Currently a vagrant by choice, unwilling to carve out another fiefdom, contemptuous of today's Masters, and significantly older than she looked.

Today, the Conqueror of Ten Thousand Worlds wore a battered vest and trousers, boots scuffed past recognition, and the kind of tight-jawed dissatisfaction that had heralded monstrous things in the past. Her clone, someone who had a claim on her, was gone, and that connection went both ways.

The hatch jammed on her way out of the sandcrawler wreck. A burnt-orange blade flared to life and seared into the hatch, carving away the sand-jammed lock. The door fell open, and Ashin walked out onto the sand.

Feth.

 

[Akio Diachi]

Akio's mind wandered to the places he had seen and the people he killed. There were many. Some had names, the rest were nothing more than collateral damage. During training the victims he was required to take were tied down at first and he merely had to finish the job. As things grew more intense--and he grew older--the victims were more powerful and set loose. These were actual fights. Then they began to require documentation; how had he done it, what their last words had been, where it was, what amount of the supplies were, and what actions had specifically taken to each breath.

His memories were snapped from their stream of thought. A crashed vehicle was on the horizon not too far away that hadn't been there for long. It was massive, especially for an overland vessel. Akio recalled the tales of the natives who traveled in similarly designed crafts; Jawas. Rising stealthily, Akio quietly thanked the masters for a chance to prove himself again. With precision and dedication the Chiss crept upon it. As he got closer, Akio drew his katana vibroblade. His muscles were fatigued from the kata but he was up to the challenge. You must prove you are stronger than the challenges you face, or you are unworthy of the clan you are in, the words echoed in his mind.

Akio's muscles tensed to spring as he heard the cutting of metal and prepared to spring. Then it hit the sand and he heard a voice, it was certainly not a Jawa. It held a bitter edge. He mused over the possibilities and risks. Satisfied, he quietly sheathed his weapon and stepped into plain view. This woman was a vagrant, quite worn, extremely worldly wise. It was hard to not feel a twinge of disappointment, but he knew even the most unworthy appearing opponent should not be underestimated.

"My name is Akio Diachi," the Chiss introduced himself with a slight bow, "it is an honor to meet a fellow traveler."

[member="Ashin Varanin"]

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Akio Diachi"]

She could, should, have called [member="Danger Arceneau"] -- Tatooine was Arceneau's heartland, and Ashiin was one of 'her girls'. But Arceneau was enigmatic and as powerful as Ashin had ever been, and she might not welcome Ashin's presence on Tatooine.

She didn't notice the man until he was quite near. Every Master faced a choice between power and insight, and Ashin had long since chosen the former over the latter. Throwing stones instead of reading ripples -- or, to use Luke Skywalker's terminology, shouting constantly at the risk of being unable to hear a whisper. So even though it wasn't in her best interest to make an aggressive move, her lightsabre snapped up into a precise Shii-Cho guard as he stepped into view.

Atrisian name, Atrisian manners, Atrisian sword -- and she'd once conquered and assimilated the Atrisian Empire, by some reckonings. Others would have said she saved it, but those people were few and probably biased. On the plus side, she'd had her appearance radically altered since then, twice. On the minus side, every name that came immediately to mind, everyone she'd been, was known to the Atrisians: Ashin Varanin, Desmius, Grand Admiral Shira Karrde. Every name but one.

"I'm called Ori'vod," she said after a moment, knowing it was clear she'd chosen her response. It wasn't even a lie: she'd been Ori'vod after leaving the Sith Empire, as leader of the Vagrant Fleet, and as the Mandalorian vigilante who had-

Well, done many things, none of which were probably relevant here. Apart from the increased likelihood that any given person would have a reason to kill her. Such were the dangers of living in the past with your best days behind you. The quintessential has-been gave a wry smile and deactivated her lightsabre. She fell out of guard, into a relaxed posture that could become a guard again if needed. "The Jawas shared this sandcrawler with a human woman in her mid-twenties, pale skin, dark hair. She's family." Ashiin was her clone, but the clone of a previous body, the one she'd been born with; there was no resemblance now. "Have you seen any travellers? There are no tracks, so it wasn't Tuskens. Whoever did this, they came and went on speeders."

There was every chance, she realized, that the girl had been taken to bait her. Likewise, there was every chance that the man with the sword could be involved in Ashiin's kidnapping. She dug deep, attempting to sense duplicity or ill intent. She'd once had a knack for that, even if her ability to sense things with the Force was short-range and, in most senses, weak.

 

[Akio Diachi]

Family. Akio had always heard the word but never once had it been real to him. Where there should have been warmth or tenderness at hearing the word there was only a cold, analyzing and calculating set of statistics and data. Like his definition of so many other things; comfort, luxury, kindness, mercy, hope, love, friendship--all Akio had was stoicism and data. The heart-wrenching thing was for most of these he was satisfied with these austere definitions. Long gone were the days at the Academy when he was the child crying himself to sleep begging for a mom and dad instead of the masters and brothers instead of clansmen. Even recalling the memories of agony he felt only cold recollection of the events, no emotion.

His mind was pulled back to the present. This woman needed help with her family. Yes, of course. A range of thoughts went through his head. Akio never did charity work, as a rule. There always had to be a pay off, anything less would be foolishness and a shame to his masters. He never stuck his neck out for nothing or for strangers who didn't pay. But it was obvious by this woman's apparel she couldn't afford to hire him--he doubted she could even afford a cup of caf. Still, he felt compelled to help her, and then he realized he was feeling something that he only knew by an austere definition--compassion.

My masters would be severely disappointed if they knew I worked for free, Akio thought. But then again, this woman could serve as a valuable ally, or there could be a pay off later. Inside, Akio knew this was a lie to justify his actions, but it was enough to quiet his work ethics. Even if the Masters hated it.

Resisting the instinctive urge to hide a part of the story for a later pay off Akio said, "It happened almost two hours ago, I was standing on the dune training when I saw this machine stop. I thought it was an animal at first. Then four speeders came through; two swoops, a heavy van and an assault speeder. But I confess, it was too far for me to see details," he paused, "Perhaps my services will be of assistance."

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Akio Diachi"]

She sensed no duplicity. Instead, she got the impression of an emotional man with a long history of disciplined training, probably martial training of some kind. She'd known enough killers to recognize a kindred spirit. An incentive to keep her distance, probably. His words clinched the impression: a mercenary, then, probably better-trained than most.

"Thanks," she said. "That gives me something to work with. Heavy speeder vans don't generally handle well over long range in the Jundland Wastes, so they'd be based or landed somewhere nearby. And I haven't seen a ship take off in that timeframe. I'm also assuming they're close because it can't be a coincidence that they'd grab her two hours before I arrived for a visit. That means I was tracked, and it means there's a trap somewhere. Or, possibly, an ambush."

Folding her arms, she eyed the merc. "I'm poor as a womp rat these days, but a good assault speeder will sell for fifty thousand or more. I'm assuming from your stance and words that you're a mercenary of some kind. Would you accept a share of the spoils in return for your help?"

 

[Akio Diachi]

Akio didn't need much of an invitation. This woman was a worthy ally; well versed, intelligent. The fact that she could narrow down the location of the fleeing enemy in a matter of seconds proved it. Adding in the possible gains and the chance of killing several opponents. The honor to be gained here is too great to pass up. Perhaps the masters' shall forgive me indeed for offering to do this for free if this is done well. And I may be finally worthy of the clan I am in.

This woman was clearly all business. She knew what she was doing, that much was clear. A veteran warrior was one to be revered. A part of him was genuinely curious what had led her to such a fall to poverty from the heights of power. But he knew better than to ask. She was his employer now, that was all that mattered. His personal curiosity would do better unsatisfied. In case she doesn't make it out of this one alive.

When [member="Ashin Varanin"] mentioned the ambush, Akio felt even more compelled. A worthy opponent. At last. He dipped his head slightly, "I shall indeed do business with you." He pointed to his left, the planetary north, "They went this way, I am not familiar enough with this planet's geography to know what is in that direction."

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Akio Diachi"]

"North of here?" Ashin squinted into the canyons of the Jundland Wastes, trying to remember the last map she'd seen. "There's the passage northwest of here, and Mos Espa's that way, but that's got to be eighty miles or so, through hard country. Bestine, maybe -- a lot closer. But no, the route to Bestine is straight through the high ridges. Nobody in their right mind would take heavy speeders through there if they were trying to move quickly. That could be meant to lure me into an ambush, give me hope of catching up, but Bestine's just not...significant. They've picked a place that they think has meaning for me. Somewhere out of the way..."

She blinked, and blinked again. "Oh. All right, I think I know where they are. It's a little ways off; we'll have to take my speeder, though it's a pretty flat route up through the passage and around that ridge spur, the one with all the canyons. About thirty miles from here is the house of Obi-Wan Kenobi. The ruins, anyway, though I think some Jedi might have restored it in the last couple of years, if I've heard right. It's in canyon country, so expect ambushes from crevices and above your field of vision. I've got one speeder and one blaster. You want to drive or shoot?"

 

[Akio Diachi]

Akio took all the information rapidly, forming a basic, rudimentary map. There is always a use for this information--later. With a satisfied nod. he stowed the mental sketch away. I've got one speeder and one blaster.

Akio felt a wave of relief, as a rule he brought neither. This had been meant to be a pilgrimage of training, but now he was gratefully learning a new assignment. The type that earned more honor than simple training. The fact that he was only a marksman with a blaster when given plenty of time to aim and focus, drawing on his training for long range shots, didn't need to come up right now. And still, the ones he was trained in were archaic to the point of relics. His hand gently patted his katana in consolation. What he lacked in blaster, he knew, he made up in melee. A different skill set that I shall have to invest in.

"I shall drive," he decided at last.

[member="Ashin Varanin"]

 

[Ashin Varanin]

With [member="Akio Diachi"] at the controls and Ashin riding shotgun, the speeder made its way northwest, into the narrow passage between two regions of ridges and canyons. Deadly country: they passed an old Tusken campsite, still used now and again, and spied a wrecked ship's fins protruding from the dunes. Ashin's blaster was an old commemorative-edition heavy pistol with the power pack in the grip. Accurate for what it was, but no sniper rifle. She'd left all those in the ship a hundred miles away, in a very different direction. The sidearm would have to be enough.

Their course angled north, then west, and curved toward a region where the high canyons met the dunes. "In here," she said, gesturing to one such canyon. "About half a mile to go, though we won't be able to move quickly. If I've guessed right, if there's an ambush and we haven't tripped it, it'll be close to the site. There's three or four ways to approach the building, if I remember right. So now the question is this: do we take the speeder in? Or do we stash it here and try to go overland? What are your thoughts?"

 

[Akio Diachi]

Akio surveyed the dimly lit ravine. His red eyes glowed, piercing the darkness. The footing was perilous, there were dozens, if not hundreds of ambushing points that could be used with a heavy blaster pistol alone, let alone sniper rifles, mines, IEDs, and any number of other weaponry. There was only one feasible way down and it was almost guaranteed that they were outnumbered as well. They only had two advantages, stealth and surprise. The speeder would cut it down in a matter of seconds. ​How convenient. This woman is apparently not just some vagrant. He gave her an quick suspicious glance. Despite his avowed tight-lip nature when on the job a thousand questions started burning in his head. "I will take point. When the ambush comes, we are as good as dead if they hear us coming. Leg it as quietly as you can or we will join the ascended masters before we get halfway down."

Akio crouched low as he began to stalk down the path for several minutes. The going was slow, but noiseless as his breath nor his steps could be heard. He was praying that the woman behind him was as stealthy as she was apparently valuable. Akio's senses were tweaked to the subtlest of sounds. He was willing to bet they weren't expecting a Chiss, and if they saw his eyes, the assumption would be it was a Jawa's, not their grim reaper's.

His left ear twitched. An assailent. Forward and left twenty meters hidden behind a boulder. He smelt of sweat and reeked of alcohol and spice. The hormones smelt Trandoshan. Akio could faintly hear the monster's heart beating rapidly. Its his first time. How unfortunate for it to also be his last. In a fluid movement Akio leaped to the ambusher and stabbed where is opponent was. The assassin's feet landed silently and his blade severed right into the Trandoshan's heart, missing the exact center by a hair's breadth. The reptile had enough time to utter a garbled wail before his lifeless body fell onto the rocky planet's unforgiving surface.

"Its her, open fire, open fire!" roared a gravelly man's voice.

That was when the seventh ring of Correllian hell broke loose.

[member="Ashin Varanin"]

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Akio Diachi"]

The situation took on a familiar, though no less challenging, pattern. So far, it seemed as though her compatriot was partially unnoticed. Mobile, lethal, stealthy, and far less durable than Ashin, he was right where he needed to be. The most critical element here was how well she could monopolize their attention so he could do his work.

The Force pulsed cold in her, and an aura of haze surrounded her. Force shield, Force protection, Force weapon, call it what you will: this was Ashin's specialty. An immutable nope of willpower and hardened air clung to her skin and clothes. Blasterfire and tranq darts and Vong razorbugs and acid mist crashed into that aura. She ignited her lightsabre for greater visibility, and set her stance against the physical impact of the barrage. "Come on!" she roared at them. "Come on, you schuttae!"

This was her job in most fights: steal their attention, take the brunt of the assault for long enough that those with her could eliminate the threat. She and her wife teamed up like this constantly. She'd even tanked for a ten-Master team against a Lotek'k a couple of times. These people had brought serious ordnance, but they were no Terror From Beyond.

That didn't mean she couldn't die horribly if her focus wavered. And when the area-of-effect sonic weapons fired up, she had only a couple of seconds' premonition to duck and roll behind a boulder. Then the hard sound punched into her skull. Her Force protection blunted the damage, but the situation had just become untenable. Sonic weapons: the poor man's ysalamiri, and arguably more effective if you knew what you were doing.

 

[Akio Diachi]

Swift. A duro's body was cut in two. Swift. A Trandoshan's head rolled off behind its colapsing body. Move with the wind. An Aqualish with a severed spinal chord collapsed on his face. Cunning and speed. A Gamorean with three severed arteries cowed, dying swiftly. Show no mercy.

Akio's small body catapulted through the air, slicing two heads off when he landed. Springing back off his hand, the Chiss cut another throat. As [member="Ashin Varanin"] bought him precious seconds, Akio was dealing cold hard death, like he was meant to. Even without explosives the assassin was dangerous. None of the ambushers saw or heard Akio until it was too late. That was the art of his craft, of course. An E-web blaster rattled away from an emplacement on the hill. Akio somersaulted to the demolitions Wequay a few feet away who was loading a shoulder rocket launcher. When the goon raised his weapon, Akio snap kicked it to the left; the spiraling rocket turned the E-web into a satisfying flower of fire. Akio dispatched his opponent and twisted to the next. Who would expend so much to kill one homeless woman? As Akio's katana cleaved a wookiee in two, he decided that it was never more obvious than now that she was not at all what she appeared. How many were there? Thirty? Fifty? A hundred? Akio didn't know, he wasn't even counting the lives he was taking as he vaulted across the battlefield from target to target. It was like cutting targets on the training grounds.

That was when he heard the sonic cannon boom. He knew what it did to these strange witches, if another shot was fired the woman would die instantly from this barrage. The Chiss stabbed a nearby Zabrak, drawing its vibroblade and hurling at the sonic cannon ten feet away. Two dead bodies fell to the Tatoowine ground with satisfying thuds. Blood and sweat both soaked Akio's body. He twisted the razor-edged Shiro Shikon in a flourish that disembowled a Rodien. The squealing victim collapsed to its knees. Akio allowed the target a moment to mourn its own death before dispatching it. The firing had stopped. Either they were preparing a second ambush or that was the last of them.

He cleared the blood and sweat from his forehead and blade while walking to his employer. "I hope you are alright." The he added with a cold edge, "I hate it when my employers lie to me and almost get themselves killed because of it. You grossly understated the level of resistance we would be facing."

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Akio Diachi"]

The last of the Force protection dissipated, leaving Ashin sore but unburned, unblasted, unperforated, and basically unmarked. With a grimace, she straightened up. "Three elements of context," she said evenly, eyes flicking from dead man to dead man, then settling on him with no appreciable change of expression. "I'm used to much smaller ambushes. The last time someone set a trap for me with this much chance of success, it was the karking Dark Council of the Sith Empire, using a twenty-two-hundred-metre command ship, with a Jedi Grandmaster as a distraction." Even after -- Force, it had to be fifteen, twenty years now -- even after that long, the Battle of Roche was still fresh in her mind. Stuck in the past, girl.

"Secondly," she added, "if you're not used to employers keeping secrets, you haven't been in business for yourself as long as your impressive skillset would suggest. And thirdly, we both had exactly one data point to work from: the minimal vehicle force composition you relayed. In hindsight, I should have seen that as indicative of a larger effort than I'd assumed -- another layer of the trap, designed to lull me into a sense of security. Clearly, it worked. Every Master of the Force faces a tradeoff between power and insight, and I made that choice a long time before I understood the implications."

That was as close to an apology as he was likely to get. She scanned the smoking gullies. "There's still the matter of the girl. I couldn't fault you if you took your loot and left, but you don't strike me as the type to leave a job unfinished. In the interests of honesty, I should reinforce the point that I wasn't lying about my ability to compensate you financially. Unlike most Jedi and Sith Masters, I don't have access to unlimited funds. Or funds at all, for that matter."

 

[Akio Diachi]

Akio permitted himself to express a sigh; a genuine, authentic, real sigh. "I do not mind secrets, just the kind that get you killed are the type I cannot stand."

Whoever she was, whoever she apparently made angry, it appeared to be a skill set of hers. Causing ambushes, getting herself into trouble. Just like mine is to get her out. He nodded, thinking to himself. There were plenty of weapons here, the ones that were not mutilated beyond recognition by his attack, but none of them he knew how to use, or could carry if he wanted to maintain his stealth and agility. He would have to come back for them later, if any Jawas in the mean time tried to take his loot.... gods pity them because he wouldn't.

He returned to the task at hand. He had to make sure this woman and the girl made it out of here alive, or at least mostly in one piece. The hardest part about taking lives for a living was making sure a few made it to the next sunrise. "Point me to the targeted area, if we have to again, I will scout ahead and infil if I have to. If its all the same to you, I would rather make this a clean break and rescue as opposed to another slaughter session," He looked her over, "though something tells me you may not be too keen on it, I am not sure you could sustain another."

[member="Ashin Varanin"]

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Akio Diachi"]

"I'd appreciate the chance to rest," Ashin admitted. "The last time-"

The last time she'd faced an inferno that intense had been, so far as she could recall, on Atrisia - during her people's invasion. She'd walked to the Emperor's palace through a flame carpet bombardment, then helped her wife force a peace agreement on both sides.

"Suffice it to say, it's been a while. Go on and scout ahead. It should be in or near that old house up there." A quarter mile off was a recently restored Tatooine house, nestled in the crags. "Kenobi's house."

 

[Akio Diachi]

Akio's feet nimbly skirted across the rocky land. His eyes and ears were constantly vigilant, he had no intention of getting caught in a secondary ambush--or the responding force who would have no doubt heard the massive assault. It was not the type of outcome Akio had wanted, but it was one he could live with.

He followed a wandering path alongside the ravine that led up to the house. A slight coat of sweat covered him, but Akio had stamina enough to make it and still have strength to fight. When he came on the house, the Chiss felt a hint of relief. Several speeders matching the ones he had seen earlier were parked out front the house. If they are as dense as they have appeared to be thus far, then they are here. If not, then these are truly worthy opponents.

Akio crept around the premesis examining the house. There was only one entrance, and there were two guards there talking about which contestant of the Techo Union's Miss Galaxy was better. Revolting.

With one of his knives ready, Akio crept around the heavy speeder, behind the vocal Rodien. With a quick stab to the base of his skull the alien was dead on the spot. Akio spun around the body, before his comrade could react and lodged a second knife in the Wequay's throat. Akio lowered both to the ground gently. He looked at them and the door. There were more voices inside, but because of the acoustics, he couldn't tell how many. He grit his teeth and began brewing up a plan.

[member="Ashin Varanin"]

 

[Ashin Varanin]

As [member="Akio Diachi"] did his grim work, Ashin crouched behind a rock and stretched out to the Force. It rarely answered her requests for information, unless the question was focused on something close by. This time, however, she got a clear impression. The little convoy had come this way and unloaded right over there. She was flow-walking, she realized: seeing the past, but unintentionally. And there was Ashiin Varanin, the clone of her former face, still young and still defiant. They'd taken her up to the house in stun cuffs.

Beyond that, Ashin couldn't see. Didn't want to see, rather: too long in the flow-walk and anything could sneak up on her. Or trip over her, for that matter.

 

[Akio Diachi]

Akio adjusted the straps on the breastplate one last time. It felt so bulk and cumbersome, but he would make it look natural. The Chiss looked back to the woman and slapped a pair of stuncuffs on her. He made sure they were loose enough so that she could escape without much trouble at all. He stowed her lightsaber prominantly on his belt suppressing a gag. The stench of alcohol and body odor was practically overwhelming.

Focus. You will get this done. He stood [member="Ashin Varanin"] up, "Trust me and we will all get out of this alive."

He had no other play in his book to get down there, not with their numbers. Akio put a surly look on his and shoved her down the stairs.

"Keep it moving, shutta," he growled, Akio's voice's sounding gravelly.

The room the came into had several dozen well armed men in it. Some were standing talking, others were plaing sabbacc over a table while a select few were cleaning their weapons. Akio subtly took note of this and the lay out of the room. Crates of food, explosives and weapons were stacked in the corners, apparently they were ready to stay here for the long haul.

The soldiers let out a loud whoop and began assaulting the woman with insults.

"Hey!" barked the senior of the soldiers, a human wearing heavy armor, "How did you get that?"

"Took her down in the ambush, boss," Akio grunted. "She cut us down like pigs. In the end the sonic cannon stunned her long enough to take her down."

The soldier's eyes narrowed and glared at the Chiss, he smelled a rat. "Where are the others?"

Akio met the angry glare without even blinking, "They went down. I played dead until she was done. One pop and she was down." He scowled back, "can I take this shutta to holding or you wanna sit here and play fifty questions like a di'kut?"

The other soldiers laughed as the Chiss was let pass. He followed another guard down a set of passages to an underground interior room. In the center, under a single dim light, was a woman tied to a chair. Beside it was another chair, apparently meant for this stranger he had agreed to work for.