Private Hush the Storms Away

[Vaylin]

These days there was no personal vendetta behind Moirai’s motives. She simply saw Allyson Locke for who she was, an enemy to the Sith Empire. And the fact the Zabrak had trained herself to track her down, knew how the Corellian managed to sneak around.

So when she caught wind that Allyson was heading to Mygeeto, Moirai didn’t hesitate to pursue. She didn’t know why the Corellian was heading there, nor did she care. All she knew was that an enemy was about to step into her old stomping grounds, giving her an advantage.

Moirai found the Corellian within the small mountainside city. It was a place the Sith Valkyries used when they called Mygeeto home. Anyone who wanted to reach their fortress, had to go through the city in order to navigate the endless storms that surrounded it. The city acted as a front of sorts, ensuring unwanted parties never reached their headquarters.

It now stood abandoned, evacuated when the New Imperial Order invaded the planet. With no people there to maintain the equipment, the city’s shields had collapsed and the weather took over. A majority of the city was now covered in layers of snow, almost blending it into the mountain.

The Zabrak had used the familiar terrain to launch a sneak attack on Allyson. Although, during the scuffle Moirai felt something was off. She couldn’t place it and it cost her a few knocks. Namely, the Corellian had managed to knock her mask off, fully revealing just how rooted the dark side corruption had gotten since she had last seen the Zabrak.

A chase ensued throughout the city, until Moirai had seemingly cornered Allyson in one of the larger buildings. She ran in there, spotting the Corellian standing just ahead of her. Not thinking on the why, Moirai tackled her and only then understood. As the two went hurtling down a large hole that had collapsed in on itself.

The pair fell deeper and deeper, going far below the city and into the network of caves and tunnels beneath. Somewhere in the descent they struck something, forcing them apart. Moirai attempted to gain her bearings, but instead she slammed hard into something, head first.

Darkness called as she continued to fall, slipping unconscious before she finally hit the bottom.

When she next awoke however...it wasn’t Moirai who stirred.

Allyson Locke​

 

[Allyson Locke]

//: Vaylin //:

The free fall felt like an eternity. Allyson struggled to fend off Vaylin as they plummeted due to the woman's narrow sight. As they fell, Allyson found her mind blank. If this was how it all ended, she had found some peace about it. Dying here meant that the Corellian would remain lost, probably marked missing in action or worse labeled a traitor. Either way, those she had come in contact with wouldn't bat an eye at her disappearance. It was what she was good at.

Although selfish, there were a few regrets; she did wish she could have finished what she started. The weightless fall continued until she found her sense of balance, and a surge of will forced her to survive. A hand reached out, feeling the power of the Force bend at her command. Vaylin didn't want to allow Allyson any chance at survival. Despite falling, she figured a way to lunge at the spy in the fall. Swinging her arm, Allyson felt her fist connect to the Zabrak's temple. Seeing the lights suddenly fade from Vaylin's face, Allyson grabbed the woman and finished the tumble to the bottom. She did whatever she could to cushion their fall, but she never had to support the weight of two, causing the landing to be rough.

"Ugh," Allyson stirred first, a hand moving to the side of her face that had smacked against the ground. Somewhere between the fight and the final phase of the descent, she had blacked out. It took her a few minutes to regain some amount of composure, enough for her to lean back up on her legs then finally sit. Blood trickled from a cut in her eyebrow, and the cybernetic eye seemed to have taken some damage. Static filled the woman's vision like an old holo terminal trying to find a signal and failing. Static flashing white and black lines made her stomach twist into knots. Allyson smacked the sore side of her head a few times with frustration and the eye shut off with a groan. She quickly covered the dead eye with the eyepatch she often carried with her.

When Allyson was finished, she looked towards the other that had fallen with her. Even passed out, Allyson knew the Zabrak was a bloodthirsty war machine. How did she get tangled up with someone like this who was so chaosbent to track her down? It had only taken a few minutes of thought for Allyson to remember her inability to keep it in her pants. "Oh yeah," she exclaimed quietly. Allyson watched and waited for the woman to stir; she knew that a fall wouldn't be the end of Vaylin. The Zabrak was too angry to die.

Time passed, and Allyson decided to try and check on her; maybe the fall and the blow to her head had been enough. Slowly reaching out, the Corellian held her breath as if she was about to put her hand into a pit of snakes. The movement caused her to recoil and shuffle backward, keeping her good eye still on the figure. "Vaylin?" she whispered. Allyson quickly patted around her hip as she searched for the saber she had brought with her on the mission.

Nothing was there, and the woman looked down, figuring she was just misremembering where she clipped it, but the saber was gone. All the spy could do was wait and see what arose when the Zabrak finally fully came to consciousness.​

 

[Vaylin]

Vaylin awoke to the sounds of…nature? It certainly wasn’t the first thing she expected after free falling down a pit. The idea of this being a dream crossed her mind, but it didn’t settle. No, she was too focused on where she had awoken too.

Staring up at a setting sun, rays of light slipping through the cracks of the dark, dense tree tops. Why did this sight look so familiar?

Where am I?

The Zabrak slowly pushed herself up, enough to prop herself up with her elbows. She looked around, noting the lush flora surrounding her. There was barely any spot that didn’t have some kind of plant or bush in view. She inhaled the earthy scents around her, picking up the fact it had been raining very recently.

Why is that smell so familiar?

Groaning, Vaylin began to push herself up onto her feet. Fingers digging into dirt as she moved. It was then, as she stood up, that the Zabrak noticed something.

What am I wearing?

She looked down at herself, confusing taking lead until the combination of darker brown covering a lighter beige clicked in her mind. They were tattered Jedi robes. Vaylin looked around at where she stood again, taking it in a whole different light.

She was dreaming of a jungle.

Of Dxun.

“Vaylin?”

A voice that did not belong in this dream was what finally awoke the Zabrak from her dream.

Back in the real world, Vaylin groaned as she began to stir. Her metal armour groaning, sliding against each other as she began to move. “Fething hell, what hit me?” Vaylin looked ahead but saw no one, as her back was currently facing Allyson. The Zabrak rolled herself onto her back, then slowly propped herself up on her elbows. Mimicking the dream.

Silence fell for a few moments, until Vaylin finally turned to look at the person who had awakened her.

“Allyson?” She stared at the Corellian sitting there, her eyes filled with mild confusion.

Eyes that were now purple.

Allyson Locke​

 

[Allyson Locke]

Well, the Zabrak proved Allyson's assumption that she was unkillable. Allyson kept her distance. Vaylin was a lethal killing machine, even without the aid of the Force. It didn't take more than one encounter with the sith to know this.

Finally, after some time, Vaylin decided to roll over and speak. Allyson felt slightly bad not having a treat for the Zabrak for the assortment of tricks she had just performed. Musing over this, Allyson couldn't help the smirk that cracked against her lips. The smirk lingered as she mentally answered the question posed by the Sith. Allyson remembered the swing she had

"Allyson?" Vaylin's voice once more cut through the air, but hearing her name from the other woman caught the spy by surprise. Vaylin had never spoken her name before. She was usually called something derogatory, 'Corellian or just her last name. "You must have hit your head pretty hard there; my fist probably didn't help either." Allyson shrugged as she spoke, her voice cautious as she remained on edge with the Sith. Hues of viridescent met the gaze of deep mauve; something had changed drastically. Allyson no longer saw the sith corrupted amber she had grown used to when they haunted her dreams.

Looking down at her hand, Allyson wondered if she had anything to do with this. The blow might have triggered something, or it was all just a lie. The latter seemed more along the lines of how their cat and mouse game was played. Lies and pain - it was all they both knew. Allyson frowned, keeping her distance from Vaylin for now. "Why did you follow me, Vaylin?" Remembering what Mygeeto meant for the Valkyries, "Where are we?" Allyson questioned her company quickly; she needed answers so that she could get out of here.​

//: Vaylin //: ​

 

[Vaylin]

The answer to what was making her head from, had the Zabrak nodding, which further exasperated the pain. “Makes sense...though what is your hand made of, durasteel?” Vaylin grumbled something as she looked away from Allyson, instead peering up at the hole they had fallen down.

It was hard to determine just how far they had fallen, but it had been significant enough that the Zabrak couldn’t make where the flooring had been. What was apparent however, was the misty chill that was managing to creep its way all the way down to them. Snowflakes falling, but dissipating before they even got close.

Fortunately for Vaylin, she was practically a walking heater with her fire affinity.

Slowly, the Zabrak pushed herself up onto her feet. Head throbbing in pain with almost every movement. At first Vaylin was annoyed until it suddenly dawned on her...this was the only pain she was feeling. Her breath hitched, as a swell of hope began to build within. Which in of itself caused the Zabrak to pause again.

How...how am I feeling emotion?

In a seemingly random act, Vaylin immediately began to pull at the straps and fastenings of her right gauntlet. Pulling them apart until it was loosened enough to pull off. The Zabrak stepped into the light and raised her hand up, and a choked laugh; one of relief and surprise, escaped her lips.

With the same hand she touched her face, running her fingers over it. Feeling the same thing she had seen, fresh and healthy skin, not pale and cracked. Lost in the emotion, Vaylin didn’t fully hear Allyson until the second time she spoke. The Zabrak blinked, remembering the Corellian was present and turned to look at her.

“I...Moirai tracked you down here, and given this is former home turf, and given how extensively we learned to track you specifically, she thought it was only sensible to come after you.” Vaylin paused as she looked down at her hands, one bare and healthy, the other still concealed within a gauntlet.

She began to unfasten that one too.

“For where we are? We’re beneath the city, within a network of tunnels that were built god knows how many generations ago. Before those that built the city that’s for certain, they used them as a means to reach the other side of the mountain without having to go over it.”

With practiced ease, Vaylin was able to remove the armour that was covering her. First the left gauntlet, then her greaves, boots, and so on until the Zabrak was left in her form-fitting undersuit.

“That’s better, I was never much of a fan of metal armour.” Vaylin stretched slightly, wincing as her head throbbed at the motion. She looked over at Allyson again, finally noticing the eyepatch. “Huh, I figured you would've gotten a new eye by now.”

Allyson Locke​

 

[Allyson Locke]

Allyson listened and watched. She snorted at the comment about her fist, “Fortunately for you, my fists are skin and bone.” There was a hint of pride in her response. So many people in this day and age were made of cybernetics - not that she had anything against it. There was just something special about being primarily organic. Allyson pulled her eyes from Vaylin, giving the woman at least some privacy as she stripped off her armor.

“Heh, I did, or well, my boss shoved another one into my head.” The Corellian shrugged, trying to play off her annoyance with the machine eye in her head. With her affinity for technology, she had always wanted to stay as organic as possible. She knew their weaknesses, the ones that often went unnoticed because of the strength they posed.

Walking past Vaylin, Allyson lifted the eyepatch from her eye and allowed the device to quickly scan the ruins they landed in. “I would have liked to keep my original eye, but someone had to take a souvenir.” The HUD gave the readings back and matched what Vaylin had revealed. The eye patch snapped back, and Allyson turned her head to the Zabrak. “What is with you, sith, and your souvenirs? Never took you lot as sentimental.” A grin cracked along her face as she shook her head, “You able to walk, or do I get to leave you here?”

Allyson waited, but as she did, she dug into a small pack hidden under her jacket. Then, offering her hand, she held out small packets of pain relievers towards Vaylin. “If you’re going to follow - I’d uh at least like you to be useful.”

Her voice betrayed her, showing her hesitation in trying to help her rival. Still, Allyson attempted to nudge the woman to at least take the drugs.

“They’re not poisoned. That’s more your style.” the spy quipped, trying to keep herself from feeling comfortable.​

Vaylin ​

 

[Vaylin]

Vaylin raised an eyebrow at the annoyance she picked up in Allyson’s tone. It admittedly surprised the Zabrak that she wasn’t too happy about the cybernetic replacement. Part of her assumed she would, given the Corellian’s natural proficiency with Mechu-deru. But then Vaylin was reminded of Allyson’s occupation; SIA. Always secretive, even amongst their own. No doubt the boss forced her hand in replacing her missing eye.

Was that the reason for the eyepatch?

The Zabrak had questions, but there was little point in asking them right now. They needed to be on the move, and soon.

As Allyson walked passed to scan the ruins, Vaylin remained within the center and looked up. She groaned, even the smallest head movement sent it spinning in pain. It was a new sensation for the Zabrak all over again. After so many years of recycling pain into strength, it was strange to actually feel it.

Vaylin exhaled heavily, closing her eyes and listening to the wind. It howled down from above, the beginnings of a storm brewing up on the surface. She heard Allyson’s words, but said nothing openly. Personally, Vaylin found the act of taking souvenirs a subjective matter. Some did it, others didn’t. Some liked a physical reminder, others didn’t need anything more than the memory.

The truth was that taking Allyson’s eye hadn’t been that, she didn’t do it to take a souvenir.

She just wanted to hurt her.

A retort swam about in Vaylin’s mind, the desire to snap at the Corellian, that she had taken more from her. But it never reached her lips, what would be the point?

The Zabrak had been trapped in the present because of actions in her past. So she wasn’t going to jeopardize her future.

Vaylin let out an amused snort at Allyson’s words. “Yes I can walk, unfortunately you’re not lucky enough to get rid of me.” She walked over to where the Corellian stood, wincing every other step as she moved. The act was noticed, as the brunette pulled something out of the confines of her jacket. Almost immediately, Vaylin’s eyes narrowed with suspicion. It was an instinctive act when being offered something from someone she had tried killing in the past.

But just as Allyson spoke, rationality took over the Zabrak’s suspicions. Vaylin rolled her eyes in response, “I’m a marauder, not an assassin.” She took one of the small packets and popped a couple of the painkillers out. With a single motion, she slipped them into her mouth and swallowed.

“We should get moving, night is approaching on the surface and a storm is brewing.” Vaylin didn’t miss a beat as she took the lead and began walking towards one of the tunnels. “We’ve got to find one of the way stations before it gets too late, these tunnels get awfully chilly.”

Allyson Locke​