Private Just Another Job

[Lirka Ka]

To think that at one point Lirka ruled entire sectors within her iron grasp was a laughable concept now. The former moff flew among common scum now, it was a demeaning life and one that she had spent decades breaking away from prior: but this is not to say it was without its excitement. Plundering the weak and helpless had become a new job for the monstrous creature, albeit for a job like this she could rarely approach it alone.

Cruise Liners, ripe for plunder but far too big to ever be taken alone. Albeit, Lirka was more than willing to admit that this time it wasn’t her idea, she was just along for the ride. A gaggle of rich, powerful, and anyone in between flying through the void while painfully unaware of the flottia of scum and villainy about to pounce on them, The attack came suddenly and without warning, a small fleet of snub fighters and freighters jumping out from hyperspace and letting lasers flare out and dance across the shielding: Lirka’s own vessel, crude as it may have been, now served as a makeshift troop transport for uppity mercenaries and wannabe pirates Obnoxious enough souls she’d had even considered just crashing the ship and being done with it, but alas, credits were more important. Twisting her fighter to vaporize a security craft launching from one of the Liners’s hangars, Lirka forced her craft inside to dock. Setting it down with a thud and the hiss of depressurization as the landing bay opened out, a dozen or so hooting and hollering mercenaries hopping out with blasters firing half wildly at the still stunned security forces, Lirka exited last: a towering beast of dark metal that surveyed the chaos in the hangar with a slight glee, business was good. And these rich fools would suffer with security forces this pathetic.

Though, unbeknownst to the pirate much mightier defense laid within...

Dagos Terrek

 

[Dagos Terrek]

“No way! Again?” lamented a sandy-haired young man in a security officer's uniform. “You reading our mind, Jedi boy?”

Dagos laughed as he raked in another pile of credit chips after another successful round of Sabacc.

“Ain’t how it works. If it did doe, reading yo chit would be like looking at a picture book.” Dagos and the rest of the group all laughed, including the sandy-haired officer. His name was Lasso, he was a few years older than Dagos and fresh from the Commenor security force academy. He had freckles, a lopsided smile and a scar on his chin that he claimed he got from an underground fight club. Rubu however said he got it from falling down drunk.

Rubu was a green-skinned rodian and also newly graduated from the academy. He, Lasso and Dagos had formed a little group during this trip, spending off hours hanging out and playing cards or pool, talking about girls and past heroics. It was an unbelievably enjoyable way to spend time traveling, Dagos thought.

“Party did warn us not to play you for actual credits.” Rubu said in heavily accented basic before contributing more chips to the pot.

It's true Dagos was Jedi…well an apprentice Jedi, but he didn’t cheat. He didn’t have to. The young korunai boy with his dark skin and green eyes had always had a talent for cards. Even that old spacer Joran had said so.

“Maybe we could pull in one of the passengers to our game. Help bolster our odds…and fill the pot.” Lasso suggested “Maybe that redhead girl, what was her name again Day?” He snickered behind his lopsided smile. Dagos was younger than Lasso and Rubu both and so they liked to tease him, Lasso had recently taken to teasing him about Daera. Dagos didn’t mind though, Daera was nice, she smelled like flowers and she laughed at his jokes. They had even spent hours playing boca ball and she was really good. She had a sick crossover and lightning quick shot release and she didn’t back down when he tried to muscle her either.

Dagos opened his mouth to respond when suddenly there was an alarm blaring through the ship and a ton of commotion outside.

“What’s going on?” Rubu shouted as people rushed past the door. A bald man stuck his head in the door just long enough to say one thing…

“Pirates.”

In a flash all three of them were up and out of the room. Rubu and Lasso off the secure passengers and Dagos off to a port side hanger where he could feel many angry and hateful presences.

Kark. He didn’t even bring his lightsaber. He didn’t think he would need it. He was catching a ride on this cruise liner as a way to get to Ossus and meet some friends for a Life Day party, why on earth would he have needed a lightsaber. For Force’s sake he would not hear the end of this. Yes, ‘The Simplicity’s Sake’ was named very ironically and full of well to do people but it also had a strong security force with it. Not strong enough it seemed.

Dagos entered the hanger and stood across it from the newly arrived bad guys. He a Jedi Padawan wearing essentially street clothes. Nyke SpaceForce 4’s, jeans that seemed too tight, a black t-shirt that looked a size too big at least with the face of a rapper embroidered in gold on the front partially covered by Dagos’ own two gold thin rope chains. He looked like just a regular teenager. But he wasn’t.

“Break yo self fools!” He yelled across the din and chaos unfolding in the hanger. “Daddy’s here.”

Lirka Ka

 

[Lirka Ka]

There was a certifiable difference to this assault than any mere pirate raid, Lirka walked among them. She could almost give the security forces a crumb of respect for their defense, despite the surprise assault they were quick to reorganize. But they were just security in the end, Lirka had danced with the elite of a dozen nations and sundered warriors far mightier than a glorified bodyguard.

They would break like all lesser beings did.

For while Lirka remained calm at the center of the storm, that facade quickly began to dissolve as blood was shed and blaster bolts were exchanged. Unlocking her mighty blade from her back, an alien looking great-machete almost as large as a man. With a click, the weapon flared to life with the fiery crackling of burning Electro-Plasma Filament, running the end of the weapon through the floor of the hangar leaving a burning gash that followed her pace. A slow and plodding walk that quickly began to grow into a rumbling charge, heavy metal boots crashing against the ground: she hoisted the weapon with no effort as Lirka’s beastial charge began, the whirring of her power suit following her every movement.

The first security guard barely knew what had hit him, Lirka had felt no need to even use her blade: instead like a massive metal missile she simply barged into him, sending the man flying through the hair and letting him land in a heap of broken bones. His comrade, some feet away, was not graced with such a “mercy”. While he raised his blaser to open fire on this new monstrous combatant, her blade lashed out and neatly cut the man into two halves that fell to the floor. Her eyes turned to focus on the newcomers now, especially Dagos Terrek ,two glowing eye-lenses set in a blank, nigh emotionless helmet. The force was empty around Lirka, long since abandoning this accursed creature. Those two glowing slots bore into the boy, and while they revealed none of the fiend beneath: they hid none of her boundless malice.

“That one is mine.”

She spoke to no one in particular, the boy’s arrogance amused her. He needed to be humbled.

 

[Dagos Terrek]

“What the frakk?” He could think of nothing else to say as he watched one of the security officers get literally cut in half. It was some of the wildest chit he had ever seen. Like for real, chit was karking disgusting. The creature who had taken the life of the officer in such a gruesome manner was a towering mass of mismatched steel with jagged points and a severity that was surely matched by whatever monster lies beneath.

He reached out with The Force and the strangest chit happened. Even though he was looking right at the monster, he could not feel it. It was as if it didn’t exist at all. Truly this thing was soulless.

The creature turned its glowing eyes from the carnage and placed them directly onto him. They saw him and he stared back without seeing, not truly seeing, not without the force.

He knew he was the only one who could hope to put an end to this and it had to start with that thing with no soul.

He started across the hanger picking up speed as he went until he was in a jog and then a run, he was only a few meters away when he jumped in the air, cocked his hand back and unleashed a powerful blast of force energy at the armored being.

Lirka Ka

 

[Lirka Ka]

Lirka stood at the ready as he began his rush, feet placed in a combat stance as she waited for a weapon to be drawn; it was a slight surprise when none revealed themselves instead something far more wonderful happened: it was time to release some old grudges. Distorted by her helm, one word groaned out from it: oozing with a gleeful sadism.

"Jedddi.."

Her eyes followed his leap, before being pounded by the wall of force that slammed into her, staggering her stance and sending her armored form screeching with the sound of metal against metal as she slid, but unlike the weak fools she surrounded herself with: Lirka still stood on her feet. A noise that could only have been a distorted, near-mocking, chuckle.

"Always the hero, always ready to spring to the defense of the worthless. Misguided."

If there was one thing Lirka liked to do. It was talk. Taunting Dagos Terrek before launching her counter attack, despite her size the armored beast moved with an impressive speed, beginning to raise her blade as if to strike, she did not finish the swipe: instead opting for some less-honorable forms of combat and instead swinging a metal fist for the Jedi's head in a mighty blow intended to disorient him. Jedi had value to her now, more than they ever did before. More than this fool would ever possibly understand.

 

[Dagos Terrek]

The creature taunted him. "Always the hero, always ready to spring to the defense of the worthless. Misguided."

“I might spring but boy you gonna be the one who fall.” Dagos retorted.

“Oh chit.” The armored foe advanced on him far faster than he thought possible and without being able to detect it in the force he was far less prepared than he normally would have been. Thankfully he had years of hand to hand combat training that had nothing to do with his limited Jedi training and that training was at the moment keeping him literally one step ahead of his enemy. He was not more skilled or smarter just literally like a step ahead, a half step and he sure would of been all kinds of karked when the armored brute faked a sword swing and instead threw a punch capable of caving in Dag’s head.

Dagos was barely able to avoid the blow by throwing himself backwards and doing a tucked roll on the floor. He got to his feet as fast as he could and barely had time to register just how karked he was, there was just no time for it.

He fell into The Force and for a moment time or more accurately his perception of it slowed and he was able to survey his surroundings for just a moment. He found a gift. The bisected soldier had a vibro sword and it was still in working condition.

He dove forward rolling again trying to get past the monster and to the fallen sword. If it worked he would roll, rise to his feet with the blade and make a mighty thrust attack at Lirka Ka

 

[Lirka Ka]

She laughed, the only response was a laugh, one of true amusement: twisted as it was.

"There's nothing you can do to scare me, child. I have walked the Galaxy since before you were born, since before your parents were born, and I will walk this Galaxy when the worms take to your flesh! Death could not claim me, what hope do you have!?"

And in that last moment a new bestial rage ignited within Lirka, it came out almost like a snarl over words, vile and unnatural. Anger dripped from her like ichor, those eyes never left Dagos Terrek though, they bore into him with an unbridled disgust. Jedi. It was always Jedi, why wouldn't they just lay down and accept their fate? The nuisance. She could see his grab for a weapon from a mile away, while he may have had all the training in the world and the force to back it up. Lirka possessed the raw veteran experience.

Approaching the boy slowly, she let he grasp the blade and thrust to her chest. Bold, brave, but unwise. Willing to take the blow for the most part, the humming when was stabbed into her twisting form, letting out the horrible whine of a vibroblade against the heavy metal plating of her powersuit.

"Brave, but ultimately stupid. Your form is sloppy."

Taking her mighty blade she swept it low, aiming for one of Dagos's legs.

"A blade is not a lightsaber, boy! Treat it with more respect than your glorified glowrods!"

She could feel the blade reach deeper now, it seemed to have pierced down through one of the weaker sections of plate: a vile blood began to leak out, but it was wrong: the crimson seemed to almost be mixed with different, alien, colors. Leaving almost no time between her swipe, she opened her free clawed hand and brought it down, trying to firmly grasp onto his shoulder with her razor-sharp clawed gauntlets.

 

[Dagos Terrek]

"There's nothing you can do to scare me, child. I have walked the Galaxy since before you were born, since before your parents were born, and I will walk this Galaxy when the worms take to your flesh! Death could not claim me, what hope do you have!?"


“That chit rhetorical?” He asked as the blade found a gap in the mighty armor. Chit, maybe his luck was finally turning around.

"Brave, but ultimately stupid. Your form is sloppy."

Chit. Guess not.

Blood ran down the length of the sword covering his hands making his grip on the sword handle precarious. It was kriffing gross. His foe who was bleeding but apparently not dying took a swing at his legs with their mighty sword and Dag doub dutched that dookie and jumped over it at the last moment possible. Really, at the last moment, he almost landed back on top of the big weapon.

He however could not avoid the clawed hand of his enemy from grabbing firmly into his shoulder. He cried out in pain as he too was now bleeding. The two foes had managed to catch and wound the other. Dag thought sword through the body trumped razor sharp fingers in the shoulder but honestly he didn’t think anyone would be placing any bets on him at the moment.

He cried out again this time the pain was mixed with a bellow of anger. The Force did not seem to affect the armored monster directly but it was still with him. He let the cosmic energy fill him and pervade his entire body giving him a strength beyond what most were capable of. Using that strength he gripped the sword hilt even tighter in both his hands and shoved the hilt with a twist trying to rip the blade out of the monster through its side. If it worked the creature would essentially be cut in half, if it didn’t work…well he was sure he’d end up hurt.

Lirka Ka

 

[Lirka Ka]

She watched her blood drain from the wound, letting in a sharp breath of filtered air: to some, such a strike would be debilitating To Lirka? It was invigorating, the pain surged through her body as nerves burned and cried out, she was alive. There would be no greater reminder of such a fact, the multi-color ichor leaked down his blade, and Lirka saw her opportunity.

"You're lucky, Jedi. You're worth far more to me alive."

While the blade twisted, widening the wound down in her gut. She made use of her grasp on his shoulder and pushed, trying to use the force behind the push and the blood-slicked handle to take his grip off of the blade.

Dagos Terrek

 

[Dagos Terrek]

NO NO NO NO NO!

The sword slipped, no was taken from his grasp when the hulking mass in front of him tossed him away like trash. He stumbled backwards for a couple feet and fell. He got to his feet again as fast as he could, he refused to die on his back.

His breath was ragged and his shoulder was such a mess that his left arm was almost useless and yet his foe had barely moved despite the sword wound which was apparently doing less than nothing. It was all he had though. The only thing.

He concentrated, eyes closed, right hand pulled back until it wasn’t. This time however he was not sending a force push at the armored behemoth, this time it was a concentrated attack aimed directly at the sword that was still buried in the creature. He was trying to turn the thing into a projectile and send it shooting the rest of the way through the dread pirate.

Lirka Ka

 

[Lirka Ka]

A low gurgling rumble came from her beastly form, she looked down to the sword wedged within her flesh, placing one hand onto the bloody hilt before feeling the rush of force slam into the weapon: she tried to keep her grip as tight as it would allow, mechanics whirring as the powersuit enhanced her grip as best as it could. The blade sunk itself deeper within, the edge clink against the thicker armor at her backside. Some sort of pained noise shot out from the monster, and Lirka fell to one knee.

Her voice gurgled now, ever so slightly, the taste of blood sliding up into her mouth. The metallic tang was invigorating, and a new life surged into the wounded beast.

"It will take more than that, Jedi."

She rose to her feet, even after that mighty blow: like a madwoman she tightened the grip on the hilt of the vibroblade and with one mighty tug pulled the gore soaked blade from her innards. The true horror of Lirka's form revealed in the wound, the flesh was alive: not in the conventional sense. It writhed, squirmed as if it had a life of its own, flesh forcing itself to try and mend back together. And those two glowing eye-lenses burned with an even brighter intensity behind them.

"Light a fire in your heart, Boy. You will need it for what is to come."

Holding the two blades in her hand, her great machete wielded just as easy as the smaller blade in her offhand, she gave the vibroblade a flick: sending her blood flying off to the ground below. She raised the weapon once again, pointing it towards Dagos Terrek and uttering some alien warcry in her native Sephi tongue.

 

[Dagos Terrek]

"Light a fire in your heart, Boy. You will need it for what is to come."


A hateful rage filled cry emanated from the monster that stood across from him. It refused to die, refused to be slowed even.

He had no chance and no choice.

“FRAKK YOU!” He shouted his own warcry.

Anger, fear, desperation, pain and exhaustion overtook him body and soul. He lost whatever it was he had that kept him grounded, kept him focused on the now. The world around him went black. The chaos of the hanger, the monster, the pain, it was all gone.

The boy was gone too. His body remained where it was, still screaming in hate.

Thin red and black tendrils of energy flowed from his fingers, snaking down his leg onto the floor of the hanger. They slithered over the durasteel, past fallen and broken men, hunting.

Four men ended up being chosen, the tendrils plunged deep into their hearts burning their way through the crude armor they wore.

He could see again. This time through eight eyes. The world was fragmented, shown in parts to make a whole like looking through a prism. He yelled again and his voice was made up of his and four more. The pained cry came from his mouth and the mouth of those he was attached to.

The four pirates he controlled turned all to face Lirka Ka and raised their weapons “Die!” One voice made from five screamed from five different faces.

Blaster fire erupted at the armored terror and Dagos was suddenly no longer seeing through eight eyes only his own as he was being dragged away from the fighting. Rubu had a hold of his arm.

“One life boat left Dag. Time to go.” The rodian said.

Dagos wanted to stay, wanted to fight, wanted to kill but in the end he knew he had to go. He pulled his arm from the rodian and the two of them ran together away from the hanger toward the escape vessel.

 

[Lirka Ka]

A toothy grin slowly grew beneath her helm, the Jedi broke, while it may not have yielded credits yet. There was still a pleasure to be taken in the destruction of their resolve, a reminder of the futility of their empty, moronic, ideals. She readied for combat again, his anger striking like a joke to her ears. The force flowed, pitiful whelp.

She had seen the Sith dominate minds before, a potent ability: one she had even tried to replicate through the sciences many moons ago, but these were just the dregs of the galaxy. What hope would they have? Their blasters and assorted weapons turned, a hail of blaster fire harmlessly dissipating against the serrated plates. And all Lirka could do was laugh, a laugh that bordered on the insane. She twirled once, with a dancer's grace, the nearest pirate crumbled into a heap with a burning gash through most of his body, her head turning to stare at the fleeing Dagos Terrek and his Rodian friend.

She intended to leave him with a parting gift, while they ran, her eyes focused. Raising the blade in her off hand, she flung the thing with all the force she could muster in those vile limbs: trying to impale it through Rubu. A reminder of her might, and a wound on the physique of the boy to carry forward. She wasted no time to see if the weapon connected, instead turning to deal with the remaining pirates. They could flee, it mattered not, the job was a success, and she would have her share of riches regardless.

 

[Dagos Terrek]

Something got tangled in his legs and he fell. He pulled himself free, half expecting Rubu to be there to help. He looked back at his legs and his heart sank.

Rubu lay in a grotesque heap, blue-green blood pooling under him from the violent wound caused by the blade that was jutting out from his chest. There was nothing he could do. He knew that. It still hurt, no it hurt more, being helpless to save his friend made it so much harder.

He swore that the monster would pay. It was not the vow of a Jedi but the vow of a kid who had been beaten once too many times.

Eventually he made his way onto the escape ship and away from this mess.

Lirka Ka