Pandemic

[Farah]

Farah cringed, unsure of how to rebut against Enyo. This wasn’t an operating room where she actually had the skills to back up whatever her point was, but she felt defensive nonetheless. “I never said that.” She bit back out of lack of anything else to say.

Thankfully the conversation over Farah’s ability to physically defend herself dissipated with the experience of the older scientist.

“I see.” She nodded in earnest, whipping out her datapad before he’d even finished to copy down the information. Her head tilted upwards at the mention of blood samples and she stepped forward on instinct. Right now, she was in her element. It was enough to get her to forget her unsavory surroundings.

“You’ve found differences between the Tatooine native and Coruscant samples?” Though the viral structure was largely the same, there’d be subtle changes that would likely shed light on why this outbreak was so invasive. “I have a theory that the TSR gene was altered. There are papers—“ She spoke with an excited lit to her voice, swiping and tapping eagerly at her datapad to pull up her notes. “Papers I’ve been reading about inserting sequences into part of the TSR exon in other viruses that can change how they infect populations. So far it’s only been done in the lab, but…” She left that sentence hanging, her implication being clear.

Still, she seemed almost jovial at the prospect of a killer mutant virus being unleashed in a non-clinical setting.

[member="Enyo Typhos"]

 

[Enyo Typhos]

[member="Farah"]


"And somewhere, someone enterprising is bound to make the leap of taking it outside of laboratory conditions and testing it on the populace," Zakarias finished for her. Even the visor of his enviro suit could not conceal the gleam of excitement in his eyes.


"There would be no better place than here. Amusingly, many years ago there was an outcry when a group of Naboo scientists tried to modify bird flu to make it more dangerous and enable it to jump easily between ferrets. Numbskulls abhorr inquiry," he added. The idea that a killer virus had been altered and unleashed upon an unsuspecting populace did not seem to faze him in the least. Indeed, his attitude could be described as giddy.


"Now come over here, my dear," he gave Farah a jovial wave. A bit like a kindly uncle who wanted to share something with a favourite niece. The instruments he indicated would show the Coruscant and Tatooine samples of the virus.


"And here we find samples of the blood of a poor unfortunate soul who was infected with the Coruscant strain...and of a similarly unfortunate who was bitten by a rodent carrying the Tatooine one." One wondered whether the second infected might have been exposed to it by the good doctor. Who knew...


Meanwhile, Enyo was left out of the nerdgasm session. "Get to the point. Found anything?" she grunted. She was admittedly a bit out of her depth here. What she wanted was results, and better now than later.

 

[Farah]

“Yes, I read the paper on that.” She agreed all too quickly, happy to have someone to discuss the outbreak with that wasn’t riddled with morals. Coruscant General had some brilliant minds but most of them were clouded with compassion and ethics. In her own words, that sort of thing would hold them back from what they could really achieve if they started to push the limits of their own morality.

Then again, Farah was still a budding doctor and hadn’t made much of a name for herself yet. She was still arrogant to the core of course and thought highly of her own abilities and potential. While she was certainly skilled and had the drive to push herself to the top of the surgical food chain, she was liable to push herself too quickly and take some spills in the process.

As if being pulled by a string, Farah quickly followed along to view the results of the bloodwork, leaning in close to the screen of the machine that had done the sequencing. Lines upon lines of symbols streaked across the digital display, a few groups of them highlighted.

Farah tapped on one, then another and another which brought up three individual windows. The blue light from the screen reflected in her eyes as they shifted back and forth, a slow grin settling onto her face. “The coding regions have been tampered with in TSR. It would have taken a millennia for this to occur naturally de novo.” She looked over to Zakarias, a knowing smile on her face before turning to address Enyo.

“Someone altered the virus to be able to cause human to human infections. Additionally, they seemed to have upped the severity of sneezing and coughing it causes which helps the disease spread. But they didn’t make it deadlier, at least not as much as they could have. Which means…” She seemed much more animated now, eyes sliding over to the other doctor. “…that this was a trial for something bigger. It’s a veritable template for a plague that could infect nearly every humanoid if it had the chance.”

Shoulder back, genuine smile and a jovial light in her eyes. Farah was much more at ease and willing to work now. This beat dealing with sick people any day.

[member="Enyo Typhos"]

 

[Enyo Typhos]

[member="Farah"]


Zakarias nodded agreeably. “Spot on, my dear, it’s good to find someone with an interest and knowledge in such things! Too many youngsters these days are after cheap thrills, and too many old men are content to regurgigate the old.” He pointed at the slides. “See how the flanges here have appeared on the bacterium? That is your new vector pathway, able to move beyond mere fluid transference and into airborne infection.”


He pondered a moment. “Ah, it does indeed seem capable of infecting many humanoid species, but I would bet it needs to be those relatively near to human to be effective. Someone is trying to recreate an epidemic on the level of the Gulag…though this is much more crude and even, ah, treatable. I suspect we’re looking for homegrown or small scale agents provocateur as their methods are sloppy. Still need to find them though before through luck or design they unleash this elsewhere," he glanced towards Enyo. "I suppose the Warlord does not need to worry about infection," he added as an aside.



"If they are homegrown, they must have a lab or base of operations here. The first first cases were reported in St Andromeda, so we shall begin our search there. You will produce a treatment," Enyo said flatly. The nerdgasm session irritated her, but at least it seemed to have produced results. "If the virus only affects humans or near-humans, that narrows down the culprits. Unless it is the product of mere incompetence."


Zakarias nodded. "I would have suggested your former, ah, associates...but I doubt they would have been this sloppy."


"No, if they were responsible, the streets would already be littered with corpses." It had not taken her long to figure out that Archangel had had a hand in the Pergitor Zombie Outbreak. The Cyborg gave the Doctor a cold look, as if to make it clear to him that he should not blather too much about matters that did not concern their Zeltron friend.

 

[Farah]

Bright eyed and eager to continue her work now that they had made headway, Farah seemed much more amicable. “A vaccine shouldn’t be too much work now that we can accurately identify strains of the virus. Without Dr. Vont’s work,” She gestured to the man. “It would be like taking a shot in the dark with each trial.”

Certainly given the severity of the spread and the potential to infect other districts, a vaccine could be fast tracked if certain…ethical roadblocks were sidestepped. Farah didn’t think that would be much of an issue here. “We should be able to get something suitable shortly." She figured it was a given that Enyo would vaccinate her own people first. "My only request is that the team of doctors I’ve come here with receive the vaccine before the general populace.”

It would do them no good to carry the disease back to the senate district and one doctor had already been infected. He was doing well, but the team didn’t need any more casualties. It had been difficult enough to round up a group of physicians willing to go to the lower districts and help contain this outbreak.

Farah looked between Zakarias and Enyo as they exchanged words on who was likely behind this attack. “I might ask,” She interjected smoothly. “That if you find them, to be cautious. Who knows if they’re harboring plague samples.” Unlikely, but there was another reason she’d asked. “I’m sure Dr. Vont would appreciate anything remotely scientific you could recover.” She would certainly appreciate it as well.

[member="Enyo Typhos"]

 

[Enyo Typhos]

[member="Farah"]


"That is acceptable," Enyo said after a moment's consideration. There was a clear list of priorities. Her own minions took precedence over the general populace. As a matter of fact, she had no interest in instantly vaccinating the plebs.


Oh, a vaccine would be administered, but over time, and she'd start in the areas that were under her thumb. It would serve her purposes if chaos continued to rage in the districts under the control of her rivals. She would help plebs there, too. Eventually.


"We are of one mind then," Zakarias spoke, inclining his head slightly. "I believe you and I could work very well together, my dear," he glanced towards Farah. As ever, his tone was soft and cordial. "Do make sure this one does not get herself hurt out there, Warlord. It would be such a waste of an inquisitve mind."


"If she's strong, she'll be able to protect herself," Enyo grunted, then handed Farah a blaster pistol. "Take this. Do you need to get anything else done before we go to St. Andromeda?" The abrasive Cyborg truly had no respect for the scientific process. Or the importance of nerdgasming over scientific discoveries.

 

[Farah]

Farah’s grin grew a tic wider, the first genuinely joyful smile she’d worn in a while. Usually her face was creased in frustration or she wore the chronic queen face of being deep in thought. Even though she was likely sleep deprived and running on caffeine as most doctors were during a situation like this, she could still feel positive emotions apparently.

She took the blaster Enyo offered, hesitantly as she was unsure why she was receiving a weapon. Vont’s words only served to increase her suspicion. “You don’t,” She almost laughed. “You don’t expect me to have to defend myself?” Both brows raised as she slipped the gun into the waistband of her suit. Sure, she’d used blasters before and she had the deft hands of a surgeon but Farah had never really learned struggle. At the Zambrano estate there were guards and soldiers every way you turned.

“You have this whole gang,” She motioned to the room in general. “Who fight. Certainly I won’t need to.” She didn’t object to having a weapon but if Enyo expected her to engage in street warfare with another gang? Farah preferred to bloody her hands another way.

In a way she was used to, anyhow.

[member="Enyo Typhos"]

 

[Enyo Typhos]

[member="Farah"]


Enyo gave Farah a cold look. "I don't expect you to death charge enemies or take on a horde of goons all by yourself. But if we come under attack, you will defend yourself. Helpless damsels are prey and a liability," she said flatly.

"Fancy titles and names carry little weight down here." Not knowing of Farah's status as a Zambrano, she obviously referred to her doctorate and supposed origins as a privileged upper surface dweller. Though even if she'd known, her response would have been the same. "If there's a fight, find cover, point that gun in the direction of the enemy and fire at any hostile who comes your way. Aim for centre of mass. Come on, let's get going," she tossed the Zeltron an extra power pack and walked out.

 

[Farah]

“I know how to fire a blaster, thank you.” Farah scoffed. Really, did this woman think that she was completely incapable of protecting herself?

Well, it wasn’t an unorthodox conclusion to come to. The Zeltron was just being a wee bit defensive. She knew how to fire a gun and throw a punch but that was the extent of her combat knowledge. And the punching usually came from arguing with other doctors.

She caught the power pack just barely, sliding it into the pocket of her lab coat before taking a few quick strides to catch up to Enyo. “For the sake of thinking ahead though—how likely is it that we’ll run into some trouble?” Not that you shouldn’t keep your wits about you at all times down here, but still.

[member="Enyo Typhos"]

 

[Enyo Typhos]

[member="Farah"]

"Very," Enyo responded flatly. Without a further word, she exited the laboratory.

"I wish you well in your venture. Do come again," Zakarias said in a far more friendlier tone to Farah. For a mad scientist characterised by a disturbing disregard for the Hippocratic Oath, he was really a genial fellow.

There was quite a commotion outside of the repurposed church. Speeders had been assembled, armed goons were ready to go. One of the thugs and sellswords stood out though. She was a tall woman. Her blonde hair was cropped short, she was clad in light armour, with a helmet under her arm. A lightsabre was at her side, while she had a pistol holstered on her thigh. This was Alexia Zarides, one of Enyo's lieutenants and 'sibling'.

"Two squads are ready, Boss. All equipped with sealed suits. Recon drones have been dispatched. Tyrone has met resistance from the Red Devils, but will try to link up. Chazzak reports a flood of refugees trying to breach the wall. Widespread looting. Lethal force is being employed for suppression." Her delivery was clipped, formal and precise. The exact opposite of her twin [member="Amara Zarides"].

Enyo acknowledged her words with a curt nod. "Any opposition is to be broken without mercy. Chazzak is to burn the bodies.This is Doctor Navarro. She's coming with us us," she introduced the good doctor in her usual laconic manner. "Let's move."

 

[Farah]

Farah gave Zakarias a smile and a wave before departing, admittedly a little upset that her time with the good doctor would be cut short. If all went well, she’d have to contact him later. There were still quite a few questions buzzing around her mind.

She sped up for a few paces and fell to Enyo’s right, conscious of the blaster at her own side. It wasn’t entirely unusual for her to carry a light weapon—she worked among the Sith, after all—but the prospect that she may be in an actual firefight now lingered at the forefront of her mind. Farah wasn’t sure how she felt about that.

As they made their way outside, a tall blonde approached Enyo to give her a status report of what was going on in her territory. Briefly, Farah’s gaze drifted to the saber hilt at the woman’s hip before snapping back up to her face. She nodded once in brief acknowledgement of her own name before following after Enyo.

The commlink in her ear buzzed and she’d nearly forgotten it was there. While Enyo and her gang did their part to control certain aspects of the outbreak, Farah’s team was on the medical front.

“Navarro? Where are you? Are you alright?”

“I’m fine.” She reported back briskly. “Looks like we’ll make some headway with the vaccine soon. Just sit tight and keep doing what you’re doing.”

That was the end of the short exchange, Farah not interested in keeping the conversation going. They had a job to do, after all. All of them.

[member="Enyo Typhos"]

 

[Enyo Typhos]

[member="Farah"]


The district of St. Andromeda soon came into view. Until recently, it had been one of the better parts of town. Oh, sure, the air was just as polluted as elsewhere and if you need not to pay tribute to the crime lord of the week, you'd end up suffering a severe beating in an alley - or worse.


But the stench was a lot less bad because the garbage got collected, instead of being tossed into the streets. There were shops, bars, clubs and other establishments. Name a nice, and it would assuredly be peddled on the Entertainment Promenade.


But now the district had spiralled into anarchy. As the speeders approached, they would see that the fires of chaos were raging. Businesses had been torched, windows broken and goods thrown out into the streets. Looting was ongoing. The staccato of gunfire, accompanied by the whine of blasters, echoed through the air.


It did not take long before the convoy came under fire. Enyo was unflinchingly calm as blaster bolts splashed against the speeder. Her face remained a rigid mask. The dispassionate expression did not leave it even the enemy fire intensified.


Harsh counterfire came from the Iron Fist's speeders, as the cyborgs unloaded with automatic blaster weapons. Their fire was more precise, compared to the wild shooting that often came their way from the ground or rooftops. "Boss, sharpshooter nest at 12 o'clock," Alexia's voice burst through the Cyborg's comm, referring to one of the many buildings, this one a tower. "Let me take the high ground. Give you cover."


A shot grazed Enyo's ear. "Proceed. I shall draw fire," she spoke. Alexia's speeder broke off from the main group. "Hold on." That was all the warning Farah got before Enyo kicked their speeder into top speed and roared through the air.


It was going terribly fast. Too fast for blasters to hit. Or the naked eye of a mere human to follow. Far faster than any human pilot could manage. Even a Jedi would have trouble at this speed, yet she raced on. Towards the bloodthirsty mob.

 

[Farah]

Farah unknowingly shrunk a bit behind Enyo as they made their way through Andromeda. Looting, fires, the broken glass…she had been familiar with the area but hardly recognized it in its chaotic state right now.

As had been established, this was Farah’s first real trip into the dregs of poverty. Her life had been relatively orderly until now (if you didn’t count emergency room trauma). Andromeda had thrown her off kilter.

There wasn’t much time to gawk and stare and make her own assumptions about how socioeconomics worked, not when they were suddenly being fired upon. She squeaked as a bolt ghosted against Enyo’s ear, not even noting that the other woman didn’t seem to mind her new almost-piercing.

“Ho…hold on, you’re going to do wh--!!!”

Her arms tightened around the cyborg with an unhappy squeal as they literally roared into wherever the enemy was supposedly coming from. At this point, Farah couldn’t tell what direction they were going in mostly because her eyes were squeezed shut.

She’s going to get me killed.

Breathing shakily, one of the Zeltron’s hands inched down her side and to the pocket where she’d stored the blaster. If they were literally going to be the target of the enemy’s fire, then she might need it at some point.

Did this woman think she was made of durasteel?!

[member="Enyo Typhos"]

 

[Enyo Typhos]

[member="Farah"]


Places to be, people to kill.


Her spiritual sister was doing a good job drawing enemy fire. Now it was time for Alexia to make her move. As the speeder hovered close enough to the rooftop, she activated her grappling hook and shot through the air.


In mid-flight, her stealth generator activated it, concealing her from sight. There was still noise, but luckily the sharpshooters were busy trying to kill her sister. Soon she was on the roof. Catching her breath, she undid the hook and crawled towards the sharpshooters.


Her lightsabre ignited right inside the back of one of them. It reached shoto-length. The thrust pierced his lung. He was down. She ignored the sharpshooter's wails of pain as his comrades engaged her, suddenly finding themselves at a disadvantage due to their long-ranged rifles not being ideal for close quarters.


Blaster pistols and vibroblades were drawn. She took cuts, dodged, batted bolts aside and set to work. Her 'twin' [member="Amara Zarides"] might have gotten squeamish about killing organic beings, but she did not. Nor was she a rabid dog who took enjoyment in killing like Kaelin Isandros. No, she was clean, lethal and efficient. Her sister's minions dropped down onto the roof, providing supporting fire. Soon it would be clear.


xxx


That was a common problem when you teamed up with a Terminatrix. She was made of durasteel - or rather phrik in this case - and thought everyone else would also cope just fine. If you complained about having a squishy body, then her obvious answer was: Let me upgrade you!


And then it was difficult to argue since it would ensure that you were freed from the curse of having a vulnerable organic body that got tired and could not withstand bullets. That aside, the speeder touched down upon the ground. Incidentally, it rammed an unlucky ganger.


Poor fellow. For it hit him at a terrible speed. There would not be much left of him. Enyo emerged from the speeder, bolter in hand. "Flash," she said coldly. That was the only warning one got before she fired a flash round that bathed the area ahead of her in dazzlingly bright light. Down here, it was always dark, so it was disorientating for gangsters in the area. "Secure and purge," she ordered her minions. "Make sure the doctor survives. Tyrone, status?"


Changing rounds, she switched to buckshot. Bam, bam, bam. Gangers fell to the ground. As she advanced and rounds came her way, her helmet was sealed into place, covering her features. One gangster she grabbed by the throat and hurled against a wall, another she simply clubbed with enough force to turn his skull into an overripe melon. However, a thug peeked out from a street corner, firing a burst with his subrepeating blaster before seeking cover, after lobbing a frag grenade right towards Enyo's feet...

 

[Farah]

Make sure the doctor survives. Farah didn’t like that word. She’d seen people technically survive for months, even years in conditions she wouldn’t want to be kept alive in. Nevertheless, they were in the fray and she was in no position to argue. After all, if she proved to be too much of a liability or too annoying, Enyo could just drop her completely. This was the terminatrix’s world, not her own.

Accordingly, the doctor was hiding behind some durasteel drums and trying to make herself as small as possible. Stealth was sort of hard when you had bright pink skin and flaming red hair. The blaster was clutched in her hand, finger on the trigger. She’d managed to avoid the flash round from earlier just in time by throwing an arm over her eyes and that was the last interaction she hoped to have in combat.

Just because she was hiding didn’t mean that she wasn’t keeping stock of what was going on. Thankfully, minions seemed to be interested in shooting minions for now. She peeked out from a narrow gap between the stacked drums in time to watch Enyo literally club a man’s skull to pulp and winced. It didn’t take a doctor to know that there was no coming back from that.

Then she saw the grenade, eyes widening at the little hunk of metal rolling towards Enyo’s feet just waiting to detonate. Even though it was obvious by now that Enyo was no normal organic human—though what she was, Farah couldn’t say for certain—that was something that could cause damage regardless.

Crouching low and darting out partially from her nest of barrels, she called out. “GRENADE!” She didn’t have time to see what happened next, not when a blaster bolt singed the side of her neck. Farah yelped and placed her free had on the stinging wound, other hand instinctively raising the blaster to fire off a pair of shots from the direction the first one hand come it. As she did so, the doctor changed positions by diving into an alley, falling and scraping her chin.

Muttering something to herself about staying in the senate district, the Zeltron peeled herself from the filthy ground and pressed herself against one side of the narrow alley wall. Blaster gripped in both hands, she had no intention of joining the fight unless she had to.

[member="Enyo Typhos"]

 

[Enyo Typhos]

[member="Farah"]


Boom.

Enyo had heard the yell, in the nick of time. Too late to push the grenade away. She vanished inside a cloud of smoke. The concussive force of the grenade's shockwave blew her through a rather dilapidated wall. Said wall had seen better days, and now had a hole inside it.


Luckily, she had managed to bubble herself. The Force had wrapped itself around her, forming a cocoon that focused on her skull, for it was the most sensitive. Still there was damage. Skin was torn and ripped, components were fried and her armour took damage.


Seeing she was down, gangsters rushed towards her. CRACK CRACK CRACK Two of them went down outright when Alexia fired her sniper rifle. At high velocity, one slug shot pierced a gangster's lung after shooting him in the back, the other was taken down by a shot that went right through his skull, splattering his brain matter across the pavement.


A third was shot in the leg. The Chiss gangster cried out in pain and hit the ground, firing her blaster wildly. Fear was written across her features when a battered Enyo stepped towards her, eyes flashing behind her faceplate. Trying to aim, the thug fired. Enyo paid the blaster shots little mind, literally catching one with her gloved hand.


Then suddenly she made a gesture, and the blaster exploded inside the thug's grasp, taking much of her hand with her. The thug yelped in pain, which only intensified when Enyo stomped on her throat. There was a gurgle and then she was dead. "Secure the area. Where's the doctor?"

"Sought cover somewhere," one of her goons said, while spraying gangsters with blaster shots.

"You were supposed to keep watch on her." Her words were beyond chilly. Suddenly the goon was no longer firing because Enyo had punched him. His faceplate was smeared with blood. "Alexia, take over. Deploy flamethrowers and gas to flush out hostiles in the buildings. I shall go find her."

"Yes, Boss."

Meanwhile, Farah would not have cause to complain about lack of attention. For a group of thugs had spotted her hideout. Maybe it was because she had such lovely pink skin and flaming red hair. Either way, she would soon see a bunch of stereotypical street thugs armed with guns advance towards her.

 

[Farah]

It was the stereotypical ‘fleeing woman caught in a dead end alley’ situation. Only Farah remained aware enough to keep her back and not the advancing enemy.

Which turned out to be advancing gangsters.

“Oh, uh.” She took stock of their weapons and noted how heavily armed they were compared to her and her blaster. Perhaps if she’d been some sort of fancy quick draw gunslinger she’d stand a chance.

“Hey now.” She didn’t move back as they advanced, glad that they didn’t draw their weapons and fire upon her immediately. To her it said that they didn’t intend to kill her. Not right away at least. “I’m just a medic. A doctor.” Her free hand was still clasped against her neck in an attempt to soothe the burn from the bolt she’d sustained. They didn’t seem interested in her position in the medical field.

“And a Zeltron.” One of the mooks, a Trandoshan female spoke with emphasis on Farah’s race. In one quick movement the lizard had grabbed Farah’s wrist and twisted the blaster from her grip, earning her a cry from the pink skinned woman. A humanoid had slipped his way behind her and delivered a swift kick to the back of her legs.

Farah fell to her knees with another groan of frustration, heart pounding in her chest as the third grunt suddenly pointed a blaster to her head. “She’d fetch a pretty credit.” The man was a Zabrak with a voice like gravel from years of smoke and spike. He peered down at the doctor as a smirk twisted his lips, hand steady on the blaster.

The pounding in Farah’s chest got louder to the point where she was certain that the outline could be seen beneath her scrubs. Her head wracked with an ache of frustration and her face lined with concern and internal panic. She’d been defeated without so much as a fight and the shame she felt at allowing herself to fall into an embarrassing situation was like a positive feedback loop. The humiliation fed on itself until her face started to redden and she began to sweat. Somewhere in the background, the gangsters were talking.

“We could quit this chit show and retire.” The Trandoshan insisted forcefully, elbowing the human in the ribs with her weapon. The man grimaced and inched away from the reptilian woman. “All I’m saying,” His tone went from defensive to predatory. “Was that we should at least get our piece of the pie first, right?”

His gaze swept down to the Zeltron. Her eyes were wide, cast down to the ground. “Look at her! She’s terrified. Didn’t put up much of a fight before, don’t imagine she would now.”

The tip of the blaster was pressed against her forehead. Farah’s chest rose and fell with irregular breaths, her mind swam and her senses had narrowed to this one little spot in the alley where her life was held at gunpoint. They had every advantage over her and as soon as she realized that, her blood ran cold. For the first time in her life, she was faced with the realization that she may not make it out of this whole.

A hand grabbed the back of her head, yanking her hair and she yelled. Loudly. In fear, anger, frustration at her circumstance. It was pure instinct and it didn’t feel good. It sapped at her energy and expelled it outwards for a short but powerful moment.

When her world returned, it did so slowly. Her head was still swimming and her senses were slow, hands clammy and shirt soaked with sweat. She looked around for her assailants and found them painted against the walls of the alley.

Accordingly, she threw up.

[member="Enyo Typhos"]

 

[Enyo Typhos]

[member="Farah"]


And then everything was quiet. Save for Farah vomitting her stomach's contents all over the remains of the dead gangsters. Or rather those bits of them that were not splattered against the alley's walls. Fat chance identifying them, for their body parts and entrails were strewn across the place. Then again, forensics never bothered to come down here. CSI: Coruscant had better things to do.


The noise caused by the servos of Enyo's armour broke the silence. She'd come armed, but it appeared that Joza's mirror had saved herself. The Cyborg took in the dead bodies, the stench of sweat, blood and vomit. Then she nonchalantly raised her bolter and fired, without ceasing her advance. Her boots stepped into a puddle of blood.


The explosive bolt made a mess of a balcony, and half of the body of a sharpshooter fell down into the streets. If one were to pay attention, one would be able to hear passionate moans emanating from a room that was located a mere floor above the one out of which the sniper had just fallen. For the people who lived here, it was just another day.


"It was foolish of you to run off," Enyo spoke as she approached Farah. "But you did well here." Her tone was actually complimentary. Or as close as the Terminatrix could make it. One could hear the roar of distant engines. More Iron Fist minions were moving in. "Come on. Get up," she ordered imperiously.

 

[Farah]

Farah brought her wavering gaze up to Enyo, eyes widen and rimmed with worry as if she hadn’t slept in weeks. Her words seemed to be coming in filtered, reaching Farah’s mind with a minor delay.

“I didn’t have a…choice.” She muttered, pulled forcibly back into reality by Enyo’s urgent tone. The Zeltron began to pat herself over on instinct for injuries. She’d seen people walk into the emergency room in total shock with a grievous wound, fully cognizant and mobile only to die shortly after the adrenaline wore off. Luckily it seemed that aside from some minor injuries and a case of the shakes, the doctor would survive.

“I did…” She mumbled as if she were trying to repeat Enyo’s complement, unaware of what it even fully meant. Her head turned this way and that, hesitant to make the connection that her assailants were now smeared across the alley walls. Farah was used to putting people back together, but rarely had she disassembled someone in such a violent manner. She didn’t fully know what had happened or how she’d done it, but it both scared and enthralled her at the same time.

She figured that Enyo wouldn’t be the type of person to hold her close and pet her hair while she was going through a bout of emotional turmoil, so she pushed everything as far back as she could for now. They weren’t out of the woods yet and there was still time for her to die!

“Okay.” She agreed, somewhat out of breath as she moved to catch up with Enyo. “There are more still?”

[member="Enyo Typhos"]

 

[Enyo Typhos]

[member="Farah"]


"You did," Enyo corrected her. "We always have a choice. We can cower and let others make us their playthings. Or we can take our destiny into our own hands and do whatever is necessary to secure our survival and freedom." Farahw as a clone, this the Cyborg was certain of. Someone else had created her for this or that reason. That did not mean the Zeltron had to follow the path her maker had set for her.


"There are more," she confirmed, moving on from what had been the closest thing to a pep talk one could expect from a Terminatrix. "They are retreating, for now. They will be back soon. For chaotic rabble in a district in the throes of chaos, they were well-coordinated. I do not believe this is a coincidence. We shall secure the promenade and start our search. When this is over, you and I will have a chat." About what? "Come on."