Private Cold Vengeance

[Maeve Linahan]

Maeve lifted an eyebrow at Elpsis' words. Normally, she'd have bristled at the compliment. The Jedi Order was the only organization she had ever thought worth her time and devotion, no less after all they'd done for her in the past. They gave her a chance to bring the fight to the Sith. They helped her stay on the path of the Light.

But after today, she had realized something. The Jedi were not the only ones out there in the galaxy fighting the good fight. Nor were they the only ones worth her company and respect. Elpsis and her crew? They were.

So, Maeve bent her head again and did the opposite of what she was used to. She cast them a rare smile and said, "Thank you."

As explosives were set around the old crypt, she settled against the altar beside Elpsis. They had each suffered a wealth of injuries. Although Maeve didn't show it, she could feel the bruises on her back and the two broken ribs on her right side, the pain now a dull ache. She'd have to spend the next week in the temple infirmary to recover and already was she dreading it.

Still, there were other things to worry about than her wounds.

Maeve frowned slightly. "Despite all that we've accomplished today, I have to confess, I had hoped to learn more about Nils. He was not alone in this. There are other dark forces at play here, and I fear the man was only a puppet stringed along by his master." Her eyes flicked to Elpsis. "You have heard of Darth Soteria, have you not?"

Elpsis Kerrigan​

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[Elpsis Kerrigan]

Maeve Linahan

Elpsis snorted. "Know her? Rammed her with a speeder once, for all the good it did. Already told you she stabbed my mother. The one that was important. Firemane's boss. I didn't love her, and she didn't love me, but she was my mother, and Firemane went to shit when she got put in coma. Now vultures circle her bed."

I should have known Firemane would send their favorite dog to come after me, the Sith Lord had said. The words gnawed at her mind. He was evil, he had deserved to die and she felt good about chopping his head off...but also empty.

It hadn't given her the satisfaction she craved. Because he hadn't been entirely wrong. She knew how Firemane had treated its workers in the company towns, she knew about their shady deals...and yet here she was. If she could've at least found some informaton that would lead her to Soteria it would've been worthwhile. But it had not.

While the board did business as usual as if the corruption, the treason and indentured servitude had not happened. Who had been brought down by the purge? Small fury, in the greater scheme of things. She clenched her jaw so tight one might be forgiven for thinking her teeth might shatter. Not their dog, not anymore. She'd spent all her life being a sword wielded by someone else. No more. Elpsis cast a glance towards Nils' headless body. That was how you dealt with scum, and evil came in more forms than black robes and tainted swords.

"No matter what, we have to do our duty. When I get back home, I've got work to do. Shoulda done it a long time ago."
"Captain, charges are set," Vagt suddenly interrupted them, walking over to the pair.
"Good. Let's go and blow this place to hell."

 

[Maeve Linahan]

"Well, that explains a lot."

It made sense. Nils and the dark spirit had mocked Kerrigan over her mother, almost as if they'd intimately known her in the past. They shared history and that much was obvious with how Elpsis spoke about Soteria, the disgust in her voice plain as morning. She had nothing good to say about the Sith Lord. Strangely, neither had she anything to say about her comatose mother, which only left Maeve with more questions.

She didn't pry for more answers. They'd already been through a hellish ordeal and neither of them wanted to remain in this bleak crypt for another second. It was time to go home. It was time to bury this grave.

"When you return home, know you aren't alone," Maeve said, standing up from the broken altar. She handed the scarlet-haired witch her personal comlink. "If there's ever something you need, reach out. I'll be there in a heartbeat. No questions asked." She folded her arms over her chest. "Even if it is just to talk… I am here."

Was she offering her hand in friendship? Maeve didn't know. She was quite terrible at this kind of thing. All she knew was that Elpsis was a woman wiser beyond her years, and someone she could trust with her life.

As the rest of the crew approached them, Maeve nodded at Elpsis' last reply. "I couldn't agree more. Let's leave this wretched place behind us."

Elpsis Kerrigan​

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[Elpsis Kerrigan]

Maeve Linahan

There was a momentary expression of surprise on Elpsis' viciously scarred face. Then the smallest of smiles tweaked the corners of her mouth. "I'd, uh, appreciate that. And...same here," she said a bit awkwardly, but sincerely. A curt nod, and then they were off. Fortunately, the trek back to the surface was notably less perilous than the one down into the altar room. Whatever soldiers of Nils remained evidently had better things to do than lay down their lives for their dead leader.

Eventually, they reached the surface. Outside it was even colder than it had been when they first arrived, as if such a thing were possible. Moreover, darkness had descended upon the blasted, frozen wasteland that was Ziost. Elpsis made a mental headcount to assure herself the whole team had gotten out.

"You want to do the honours, Captain?" Vagt asked in his gruff voice, offering the detonator.
"Sure," Elpsis took it. She spent a moment fiddling with it. "If only we could drive all the fucking Sith, aristo and corpo scum into a tunnel like this and blow it up." An odd thing for a corpo-state employee to say, no doubt.
"Aye," Rhea added grimly in a low voice.
"Just a moment," Celaena called out.
"What?" Elpsis asked irritably.
"Our ears are sensitive!" the Eldorai countered, fishing out a pair of sonic dampeners. Shikoba and Zhaleh equipped themselves in kind.
"Ready?"
"Ready." Hearing the affirmation from Zhaleh, Elpsis squeezed the detonator. Boom. The sound of an earth-shattering explosion rocked the tomb beneath them. Earth was thrown up and columns of smoke billowed up into the night's sky, as the tunnel caved in.

 

[Maeve Linahan]

Biting wind lashed at Maeve's hair again as they surfaced from the catacombs. She never thought she would miss the putrid and ice-cold air of Ziost, and yet there she was, taking in a deep breath like she'd walked into spring. The presence of the Dark Side was so heavy underground, it'd been suffocating. To be free of it now was beyond relieving.

But not as much as watching the tomb explode.

As Elpsis did the honors, Maeve watched on with the ghost of a smile when the charges detonated and rattled the ground at her feet. Rock and ash burst from the where the crypt laid ahead. Whatever remained of Nils' little sanctuary and Ashla's Bane was now surely gone, buried beneath a thousand tons of stone and permafrost.

Which meant one thing. Mission accomplished.

Maeve stared up at the sky. Snow was falling in gentle drifts, catching in her hair. She released a long breath. "This is where we part ways now."

"It was a privilege to fight alongside you," she said, facing the others before singling out Elpsis. "If I hear anything about Soteria's whereabouts, you will be the first to know. Thank you, Captain Kerrigan." Maeve eye's ran over to the rest of her crew. Rhea, the dagger-wraith. Shikoba, the spirit-walker. Celaena, the flame-wielder. Zhaleh, the ice-maker. Vagt, the quiet demolitionist. She nodded once to each and every one of them. It would not be the last time they crossed paths.

"May the Force be with you. With all of you."

Elpsis Kerrigan​

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[Elpsis Kerrigan]

Maeve Linahan

Rock and ash burst from below, and snow descended from above. The tomb collapsed, and with it whatever secrets the Sith had hidden inside it. Mission accomplished. There's no doubt, there's only duty, Elpsis' mantra resonated inside her mind. If only it were so simple.
"My Kashara light your path," Zhaleh said piously to the Jedi.
"Feel free to pop by my cabin on Arkas," Elpsis said. For whatever reason Celaena rolled her eyes. "May the Lifeweb surround you. Let's go, team." With that she turned, limping back in the direction they had come so many hours ago.
Shikoba gave Maeve an enigmatic look, tilting her head slightly. "Go safely, daughter of the stars. But remember, look to your future and stray not from what will do you well. Farewell."

Rhea gave Maeve a curt, but respectful nod, then quickly linked up with Elpsis. The Captain could not see the unusually thoughtful expression on the Rattataki's pale, scarred face, but she could feel the emotions stirring inside her. "Something on your mind?" she asked bluntly.
"What you said earlier...we could do it."
Here it comes, Elpsis thought. Her damaged rib ached with every step, but she refused to let it show. "Do what?" she asked, though she knew exactly what the Tephriki meant.
"Take control, cleanse Firemane. Make it a weapon against tyranny."
Elpsis suppressed a sigh. "Rhea, not now."
Then she felt Rhea's snow-covered, gauntleted hand on her shoulder. "This was a distraction."
"Lost your appetite for Sith scalps?" Elpsis' flippant words earned her a scowl from Rhea.
"Never. Why do you think it took Firemane so long to 'discover' a lead? When they figure out they can't keep you under their thumb, there's only one option left to them," she trailed off, letting the words hang.
Elpsis looked at her for a long moment, expression hard as granite. "Yeah," she said in a low voice. "Compromise is weakness." She cast her dead white eyes towards the rest of the team. "Zhaleh, you managing?" she called out in a louder voice.
"I hear whispers, but they're faint. I can manage, ma'am," the Qadiri declared earnestly.
"Yell at us if you need help, or a slap. The ship's not far. You did good work...all of you."

 

[Maeve Linahan]

Cabin. Arkas. Maeve made an internal note of the planet and Elpsis' offer, tucking it away into the corner of her mind, and she gave the scarlet-haired girl another rare smile and nodded. She scarcely made trips unrelated to Jedi business or hunting Sith, but Kerrigan might've made an exception. She had earned Maeve's eternal respect. Same went for the rest of her crew, and their farewells were deeply appreciated.

With a final bow, Maeve turned and left.

Snow fell around her as she strode from the ruins. As moments passed to minutes, eventually the figures of Elpsis and her crew would disappear in the snowfall, leaving her alone in the stretch of Ziost's frozen wasteland. Her ship was not far, but neither was it close. She hadn't wanted to take the risk of landing her starfighter so near a place so wicked. It was going to be a long walk back.

Normally, she didn't mind. Silence made her best company. But after her dealings with Kerrigan's crew, she almost missed their conversation.

Her eyes drifted down to her wounds. A bruised back. A fractured rib. Maeve was going to have to spend at least a day in the temple's infirmary once she returned. A chance to rest and cover. Only briefly, though. She still had more work to do. Sith to kill. Civilians to save. But it would not be the last time she crossed paths with Elpsis Kerrigan. She could feel it in her bones.

End Thread.​

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