Private An Unexpected Visit

[Miri Nimdok]

Her brush with death made Miri feel all the more alive. Skin prickling pleasantly, she shivered at the touch of Kyell’s lips against her brow. <Beloved, I'm so glad you're all right...>

The spell broke, and she was left with a sense of shame. <I’m sorry I panicked,> she said. <I endangered us both. I should have saved myself. I could have, but—>

Movement behind him caught her attention. Bithia staggered onto the level, limping and missing an arm. The severed stump was leaking a glowing pink fluid. But Bithia seemed only irritated with her injuries, not pained by them.

“Fething corpos…” she muttered, straightening her broken leg. Glancing up at Kyell and Miri, she frowned. “Why did you take your helmet off?”

Blushing, Miri picked up her discarded helmet and quickly put it back on. “Are you…” she began, gesturing vaguely. “I mean, do you need help…?”

“My arm will regenerate on its own, remember? Don’t worry about it,” Bithia replied. “Jaina’s signal is coming from somewhere on this level. Let’s go get her.” With that, she walked past them, leaving a trail of luminescent pink droplets on the floor.

Miri turned to Kyell and shrugged her shoulders before following her mother down the hall.

Kyell Laysel​

 

[Kyell Laysel]

Location: Miri's Ship
Tag: Miri Nimdok

<It's okay,> he tried to assure her to ease the shame she felt. Kyell then rubbed his hands along the sides of her arms and just smiled, as he got lost in the beauty of her eyes for a moment. <All that matters is that you're safe.> Turning around to take down the people who put them in this position, he was surprised to see Bithia climbing her way up to this level, although with one arm less. It got his mechanical fingers to twitch a little, but he shook it off when she asked about the masks.

With a sheepish grin, he quickly put it back on and looked between mother and daughter. She could regenerate that arm? He blinked and stared at it for a moment, not realizing that it was a little obvious.

Huh.

In response to her just wanting to keep going, he looked at Miri and shrugged as well, before following them down the hall. But soon enough, an echo in the Force got him to stop, and he placed a hand on Miri's shoulder, <You feel that?> he asked as he looked around to find the source of danger he felt. <They've got an ambush waiting for us. What if we move around and cut through the walls to end up behind them?>

<Maybe one of us could spring the trap and distract them with a head-on attack, and then we get them from two sides?>

 

[Miri Nimdok]

While Miri was stopped by Kyell, Bithia kept on walking. “Mom, wait,” Miri said.

Bithia turned around. “What?”

“Ambush ahead. Kyell thinks we should move around and cut through the walls to wind up behind them.”

“Well, why didn’t he just say so?”

Miri stared at her.

“Oh, right. I forgot.”

“One of us could trigger their trap and distract them with a head-on attack. That way we can get them from two sides.”

“And you agree with this plan?”

“I would’ve said so if I didn’t,” Miri replied smoothly.

“I’m assuming I would be the trap-springer, then.” Bithia seemed amused by the idea, or at least she warmed up to it quickly. “Okay. I’ll go rough them up a bit. You kids do your thing, and don’t keep me waiting too long.”

She resumed walking, no longer bothering with stealth. After all, she wanted to be noticed by the enemy now.

<You’re better at handling a lightsaber than I am, so you cut the hole and I’ll cover you,> Miri said to Kyell, unholstering her pistols.

Kyell Laysel​

 

[Kyell Laysel]

Location: Miri's Ship
Tag: Miri Nimdok

Kyell just stood there, a little awkwardly, as Miri got her mother to stop and tried to explain his warning about the ambush, and the plan he had to handle it. This was the kind of stuff he always quietly disliked, as it made him feel like he was some kind of freak. But he did appreciate Miri sticking up for him, so he didn't show any of it, and just smiled.

The plan was set a moment later, and he watched Bithia march off, ready to head into battle despite her injuries.

<It will take me at least a few seconds to cut through, and I can't guard myself during that time. So when that wall drops, I rely on you blasting them,> he said, not because he feared Miri would fail, but to encourage her to be a little quick and precise about this.

He then turned and picked up the pace as much as he could without revealing himself, and found a wall he didn't believe would be part of the supporting structure. Or well, he hoped so, at least... he wasn't exactly an engineer or architect, so there was no guarantee his choice was the right one. But whether it was or not, he plunged his violet blade straight through and used his physical strength to carve a hole as quickly as possible, allowing them to get inside.

The section of wall fell over, revealing a room with three targets, who were scrambling to bring about their weapons and gun down the Padawan wielding a lightsaber.

<Now, Miri!>

 

[Miri Nimdok]

Miri was annoyed by her mother’s behavior toward Kyell, although it seemed to be caused by thoughtlessness rather than malice. In time Bithia would get used to Kyell, and hopefully these awkward moments would no longer be an issue.

<Acknowledged,> she replied, following Kyell. She could hear blaster fire coming from the direction Bithia had gone.

Kyell activated his lightsaber and plunged it into the wall. Miri stood just behind his shoulder, her attention wholly focused on the hole he was creating.

As soon as the panel he had cut out fell open, she took aim and fired at the three targets in quick succession. Two dropped before they could return fire. The remaining one managed to squeeze off two shots, neither of which hit their intended target.

Both barrels of Miri’s guns were left smoking by the end. She had been so laser-focused on taking out the enemy, she didn’t even notice where they had wound up until after she holstered her weapons.

The room was some sort of laboratory, filled with an odd mix of both medical equipment and dismantled droid parts. Stuck to a table—not strapped down, but magnetized to its surface—was a woman, her body covered in tubes and wires. She looked to be of Atrisian descent, with short black hair and vivid green eyes.

“Hello, Jaina,” Miri greeted her, then added, <You have good instincts, Kyell.>

“Miri?” Jaina sounded surprised. “Is that you?”

“It is.” Miri approached the magnetic slab, looking for a way to turn it off. “This is Kyell, and Mom should be on her way shortly.”

As if on cue, Bithia arrived, using the actual door to enter. “Hey, it’s a little family reunion in here!” she exclaimed cheerfully. “So, Jaina—care to explain how you got here?”

Miri flicked a switch, and the magnetic field promptly deactivated. Jaina staggered to her feet, moving unsteadily, but regaining her strength rapidly.

“I was taken by the Corpos,” she replied. “They wanted to study me. Speaking of which…” She picked up one of the downed guards’ guns and started blasting all the equipment, taking special care to utterly destroy the electronics which held all the data they had gathered on her inner workings. Once she had completely wrecked the lab, she turned toward the others.

“Let’s get the hell out of here.”

Kyell Laysel​