Private An Eye for an Eye

[Mia Monroe]

It had taken her a week of cross referencing scout reports with the guerrilla attacks to pinpoint a location, hours of conversing with survivors to figure out who. It didn't take much after that for her to figure out that the leader of the troops that had been harassing them was Zambrano, of course Darth Carnifex would entrust one of his many spawns to be as big a thorn as they could be in their side.

She could have taken a whole squad, it would have been the wiser thing to do. But Mia was beyond wisdom, she was beyond reason.

Kaine had nearly killed Elise.

Kaine's purge had killed Cory.

She was owed her pound of flesh, he quart of blood.

As she deactivated the jet pack above the old beskar mine, letting gravity draw her down, she opened herself to all of it, to all her rage. It coalesced around her wreathing her in fire as she slammed into the facilities centre like a comet, fire and kinetic force exploding from her tearing through everything in her immediate facility. She rose drawing the beskad from her as she moved, driving the blade through the throat of a recovering sith. None of them would leave here alive today.

 

[Darth Carnifex]

Klaxons shrieked wildly in Amat's ears. The tall, silver-maned Epicanthix strode confidently across the metal grating separating him from an endless abyss below. The facility had only been in active use for a few months, brought back online by his father's dutiful agents. They'd carted away several more tonnes of raw beskar ore before today, but now the entire operation was thrown into jeopardy. Whatever had struck the mine shaft had carried with it the force of a baradium bomb.

"With me," Amat commanded, the black-robed Crownguard moving in lockstep with the Zambrano prince. Gelian Sentinels had already been dispatched to the point of the breach, and Amat had received reports that there was evidence of a vicious firefight breaking out. The Dark Side roiled hungrily just beyond the veil, he could feel it. Whatever this was, it wasn't one of the Mandalorian patrols they'd dispatched.

This was different.

This was dangerous.

Father must be informed of this, something within his gut drove him to that conclusion. He strode into the communications bay, the cybernetic tech-slaves mumbling absently from their terminal sockets. Amat strode up to the large vidscreen at the far end of the chamber, and knelt down on both knees and bowed his head so low that it gingerly touched the cold metal floor. Every tech-slave threw their head back as seizures assailed their bodies, a droning wail ripping from their mouths as the device activated and the looming visage of Darth Carnifex, Dark Lord of the Sith, filled the screen.

"My Lord Father, Harbinger of the Eclipse, Keeper of the Two Pillars, Guardian of the Sacred Vault. Thy life is yours." Amat's intonation was nearly robotic, the product of years of constant repetition. Darth Carnifex's expression did not change, though there was a glimmer in His eyes that seemed pleased at His son's devout recitation.

"Prince Amat," His voice was like the breaking of ice, harrowing as each syllable crept up Amat's spine. "You would not contact me without reason. Speak."

Amat, his head still bowed low, continued. "Lord Father, the beskar facility you've commanded me to oversee is under assault. An unknown foe has breached the gate and is thinning the Gelians under my command. It will not be long before whoever or whatever this adversary is reaches me. What is your command, King of Kings?"

Darth Carnifex seemed to ponder for a moment, His eyes narrowing at the mention of this unknown foe. "Lure this foe to the smelters and engage them. Use your surroundings to your advantage, and dispatch this intruder. Do this in my name. I will be watching."

Amat pressed his face harder to the floor until it was uncomfortable, but he endured it. "As my Lord Father, Mightiest of All, commands, so shall it be done. Your will is my purpose, may your Eclipsing Mission spread across the stars." The vidscreen faded to darkness, and the tech-slaves all slumped forward as one; blood leaking from their mouths. Amat rose from the floor, idly smoothing out the ruffles on his robe with both hands. Then he turned and withdrew from the room, the Crownguard moving to shadow him as he departed.

It was time to meet this intruder, face-to-face.

And end them.

Mia Monroe ​

 

[Mia Monroe]

Each step she made through the facility was met with resistance, but she was in no hurry, the rage that burned in her was endless drawn on from the souls of the millions that he had killed, fanned by the flames of her own personal hatred of Him. She leaned out of the path of a blaster bolt, others reflecting off her armour, the few shots able to slip past absorbed it her, fuelling her further.

She flicked her wrist, the cover they were hiding behind sliding off the narrow gangway. They didn't run, a credit to their absurd loyalty to Carnifex and his ilk, however stupid. She plucked one from the group with one hand holding him aloft in the force, the others were scattered by blast of dark energy. She drew him close, gauntleted hand closing about his throat.

"Your leader, what is his name?"

"Prince Amat."

She dropped him, waiting for him to unfold himself from the floor before removing his head. She stepped onto the gangway, reaching out with the force, blood dripping steadily from her blade. "Where are you, little prince?" she murmured. Her eyes were drawn down towards the heat, deeper in the facility. Mia stepped off the edge dropping several levels onto another catwalk the trembled beneath her as she landed.

Darth Carnifex

 

[Darth Carnifex]

Heat blanketed the entire chamber in a smoldering haze, drawing thick globules of sweat from Amat's skin. He waited, crouched upon an upper platform, as the object of his disdain made itself known.

Or, rather, herself.

He rose to a standing position as she walked into view, left hand clutching the chain of a lift-crane while his right came to rest on the hilt of his lightsaber; safely sequestered in a leather scabbard. The intruder was a Mandalorian, no real surprise there. They'd been hitting the fallen colonies hard lately, leaving very few survivors to recount the assault. The children they took, as per his father's decree. The galaxy was to be robbed of it's future, and while they were little more than animals -- the children of the Manda would be taken all the same.

There was a tremor of trepidation trickling down his spine, but it was brief and he forced it from his mind. This one was different.

"Animal," he called out, voice ringing. "You've committed a grave error in coming here. We've no room for the likes of you, this is no vivarium." The disdain for the Mandalorian people had not been diluted from father to son, and the dehumanization was repeated wholesale. He drew his lightsaber from it's sheath and activated, a red blade snapping to life.

"Turn your blade upon yourself, and die with a shred of dignity. More than your misbegotten breed deserves."

Mia Monroe ​

 

[Mia Monroe]

Her t-visor lifted to where her perched, spitting insults at her, her blade twirled slowly in her hand as she stepped closer. Heat beating against her, sweat rising and trickling instantly down her spine.

"Spoken just like the shabuir who sired you." she responded, her voice even and calm, she tore her eyes away from him, surveying the room for any other threat beyond the brat who's hubris was so strong it was almost palpable. She expected no less from a child of Kaine's. Satisfied they were alone and he was all that was left to deal with she lifted her gaze back to him.

"It seems, that the Kainites cannot take a hint. Your time on this planet is done. I will give you once chance only to walk away, Amat Zambrano. One chance. Reconsider the choice you are about to make, because if you do not, this room, this...animal, will be the last thing you see before you die." she tilted her head "And believe me, I'm going to take great pleasure in killing you."

Darth Carnifex

 

[Darth Carnifex]

"Your delusion is astounding, beast. You may fool yourself, but through the Force I see the truth. Only one of us will be leaving here today." Winding back his arm, Amat tossed his lightsaber through the air. The blade spun end over end, cutting through the support beams holding aloft a large reservoir of molten steel. It tipped to one side, liquid metal sloshing out over the side, before finally collapsing entirely and spilling a large amount of the burning substance across the floor.

His lightsaber slipped back into his hands, the Sith Prince already moving quickly to intercept Mia wherever she moved to. Though he was quick and ferocious, he could not muster anywhere near the same brutality as his warrior father. Still, the boy had been trained exceptionally well, his grasp on the Sith arts well earned. Jumping back, Amat wrenched a control panel from it's moorings with the Force and threw it at Mia.

As he landed, Amat spoke again. "The Sith are eternal, my Father is eternal. It matters not what happens to me today, there will always be others. I give my life gladly in His name."

Mia Monroe ​

 

[Mia Monroe]

Mia watched the molten steel roll towards her, allowing herself the breifest moment of sadness at such a waste of good material before leaping for the upper platform of out its path and straight into the path of a lunched control panel, she extended her hand towards it, a wave of dark energy pulsing from her hand, the pulse of force destruction shattering it. The shrapnel it created pinging harmlessly against her armour like rain upon a tin roof.

She moved forward slowly, chuckling at his words. "The delusion of you and your kin will never cease to entertain me." she beskad rolled in her hands "I am glad you're willing to die though, it does make my life that little bit easier."

She launched forward in a blur of motion, rage enveloping her as she sought t cleave him in two.

Darth Carnifex

 

[Darth Carnifex]

Blade ignited, the Zambrano scion rushed forward to meet his destiny.

True to his nature, Amat was a fierce and vicious duelist. The Dark Side pulsed through every fiber of his being, pushing his body to greater exertions of physical ability and prowess. Sweat shined across his exposed skin, skin bulging as muscles muscled with purpose. Had Mia been a Knight of the Jedi Order, this contest would have been over some time ago; her body broken beneath the weight of unmoored machinery. But she was no Jedi, and her rage eclipsed that of her foe by many magnitudes.

Though his composure never wavered, clear desperation began to seep into his actions. Discipline began to give way to frantic movements, his blade cutting the legs out from under a large ore mixer, causing the entire contraption to collapse down between the two of them. Rather than aiming to crush his foe, Amat sought to put distance between them and distract her while his eyes scanned for an escape. Just as he leapt for it, a rocket slammed into the corridor right ahead of him, the explosion propelling him back.

His lightsaber tumbled from his grasp, Amat reaching for it with the Force. As it slid back across the ground, Mia's boot slammed into it and shattered it. Amat's eyes looked up into those of his killer, unflinching as he hauled himself up to lean back against the wall he'd fallen against. "All your works will amount to nothing, Monroe. You thrash against a fate already written, you'll only end up drawing more into your destruction. But that's nothing new to you, I've read your history. You destroy everything and every one you'll ever lo-"

A jab to the heart smothered the words in his throat, although the boy's mocking expression did not fade. His gaze held onto hers for as long as it could before the light finally faded, and his body went limp.

Mia Monroe ​