Private Plot Twist

[Tamna Korvan]

F O X
EMPRESS TETA ORBIT | CORE
TAG: Astrid Blackspire

APOCALYPSE​

"I bloody hate this place."

Weller had a disgusted look on his face as they stood in front of one of the side-ports to look at the cursed planet below.
"Yeah, my memories of this place aint fond either." said Shaddix.
"Why the hell does Jas Katis keep sending us here when there's enough shit in Confederate space to sort out?" Tamna asked, a disgusted grown gracing her own face.
"Probably the new boss hunting ever more money and the Alliance always pays. But your guess is as good as mine why we are always the lucky winners to lead attacks like this. Especially here."
"I'm really starting to hate these Imperials. I swear if I see another suicide bomber today, I'm gonna unleash the full power of Lyra." Weller grumbled again.
"Who says you have any control of this powerful and sexy ass, Boy?" their Devaronian demolitionist Lyra snarled from where she was towering next to Tamna.
"Don't let me down, please baby." he begged.
"Son, I'll rip out his suicidal throat for me, not for you."
Shaddix snorted at the exchange before turning away from the viewport and toward the enclosed hangar of the enormous Tython that was dispatched for this mission. When in enemy territory, bring a battlecruiser and a small fleet - that was the tactic they had all learned during their tenure in the Hellions.
"Come on. We should probably gear up properly and prepare to drop. I got a feeling one of the suckers would try and make a jump soon."
They all grumbled agreement and headed for the hangar.

The drop had happened faster and messier than they anticipated. The Imperial Star Destroyer had broken into orbit with uncanny speed and vehemence. The Tython had to answer with a quick and hard salvo before launching the boarding pods.

As usual, the innovative pods pierced the large hull without much issue. They dropped into the hallway, rifles already firing as the rest of the battalion also made entry on other points on the ship.
Tamna didn't play around. Her particle bolts all found their marks, the hallway lit up with gold as the small explosions of the particle bolts mimicked Life Day fireworks. It still bothered her - fighting people that once fought alongside her during a different life. Her grandfather had done a stellar job to lead them astray before he upped and died. Their cause was twisted - they had lost the plot for order entirely. Now, all their actions embodied was chaos.

It made her glad that she got out while she still could.

<Fox, get that blast door open! We need to keep advancing!> came Shaddix's order through the comms.
<On it. Cover me.> she said as she made a sprint towards the control panel. She trusted her squad to keep her back safe. She had just slid towards the panel and had started to reroute wires for the hack when she felt it.

Another strong presence in the Force.

Her hand twitched, wanting to reach for the saber hidden on her side, but knew it should be an absolute last resort - especially when dealing with these Imperials. They'd want nothing more than either her blood or turning her into a weapon despite her family name.
<Shads, we're about to have serious company. Be ready.> she warned.

Then she overrode the the door and it slid open.

 

[Astrid Blackspire]

Astrid Blackspire sat cross-legged in the brig of the star destroyer Indomitable as the vessel rocked with an explosion. She had her black robes pulled around her like a comfortable blanket and her expression matched the kind of vibe one would see in a person having a relaxing nap. The Force was positively broiling with chaos outside of her cell and for her part, Astrid couldn't care less. She'd lost all faith in the Imperial way of life. More so, she'd lost faith in her own ability to change the culture of the zealotry that she'd been exposed to for the last several months. Life under Imperial rule just didn't mean anything anymore. Like, the life itself didn't mean anything. Everyone was expendable at all times unless you had immense potential in the Force that accompanied a cruel streak several parsecs wide, or you had political power to match those with the lightsaber.

As an Imperial combat medic, Astrid's soul purpose was to preserve the lives of her people. To keep them up and in the fight. She had the Force, sure. She could throw people around with her mind and she was no slouch with her own lightsaber. Like so many others with a talent with the Force, she'd started as a soldier in her own right. Early on, she'd been a rising star in the ranks. But she'd lost her will to fight the moment she'd seen the devastation that her own people had wrought on the galaxy. She'd begun to openly challenge orders and instead focused on preserving life, rather than taking it. That will had been cemented as she'd finally seen the absolute evil of the people in power and how they displayed it.

The door to her cell whooshed open and a squad of stormtroopers filed in, weapons ready. They were on edge, eager to get into whatever battle was happening outside. Standing at their center was a man in robes similar to her own. At last, the hated enemy had arrived. As a free spirited woman, Astrid detested the man before her. His eyes had a level of crazy equal in vastness only to the number of black tattoos spiraling and circling his crimson skin.

"On your feet, prisoner. We have been attacked. You will assist in repelling the boarders." He hissed, looking down his nose at her.
Astrid looked up at him in mock boredom. They were all currently in danger and Astrid felt that for sure. But she wasn't about to give him the satisfaction. "Mmm. Shadilin, good of you to stop by," she crooned in her velvety smooth tone. "Room service has been just awful. I'll like to have a word with the manager when I complete my stay. Have you come to fluff my pillow?" She closed her eyes again casually as if she didn't have 5 rifles trained on her.
He took a step forward menacingly. "Insolent! I said we were under attack. You have a duty to the Empire to defend the men of this vessel! Now, on your feet! You will comply!"
She sniffed indifferently as the ship rocked once more. "Pass," she replied.

The unmistakable snap-hiss of a lightsaber being ignited and advancing toward her caught her attention, but she only cracked one eye open to watch, keeping her face a mask of placidity. The crimson weapon was being held up by the twi'lek pulled up his cloak and Astrid had to snort as she saw her own weapon clipped to his belt, now visible.

"If you will not uphold your oath. Then I will put you to the sword and go execute these invaders myself! I always knew you were worthless to the -"
He continued to monologue as Astrid cracked her neck and muttered. " -I coulda done this without my weapon. But thanks for bringing that with you-"
"-heart of the Empire was momentarily weak in allowing you to -" he continued to prattle.
"-Seriously. I think it's time I blew this popsicle stand. You buttholes don't even know what you're fighting for anymore-" she muttered to herself, nodding as if making up her mind.
"-Wont even fight when armed and the battle is joined. So focused are you on your "healing" arts." he scoffed scornfully at her. "Such a loss of talent, but what could one expect from a woman. Ha! Some medic you turned out to be."

Astrid's calm façade broke as her right eye twitched at that comment. Her killing instinct broke through the boundaries of her calm veneer and the sweet, toothy smile she plastered on her face promised extreme violence. While not Force Sensitive themselves, the stormtroopers took a step back as if they could feel the intent through their bones. "Oh, but darling. You forgot the important part of my title. It's called, combat, medic."

Out in the hall, shouts were heard as a second lightsaber joined the first, buzzing angrily as flashes of red and purple illuminated the dark hallway, emphasized by the staccato of blaster fire within. A moment later Shadilin was ejected forcefully out the cell door and into the bulkhead, followed closely by a very pissed off Astrid Blackspire.

~~~~~~~~~

Astrid and Shadilin battled wildly through the corridors of the Indomitable, seemingly oblivious to combat happening all around them. They didn't see the blaster bolts flying around them as stormtroopers engaged the invaders clad in black armor. There was only the fight before them and the hatred they both radiated toward each other. Finally, their blades crossed and locked against each other as both combatants grunted and pushed bodily against other for supremacy in front of a sealed blast door. In that moment of pause, Astrid glanced to her left and noticed several squads' worth of imperial marines sighting down their weapons in confusion, all angled at the door. Then she looked at Shadilin for a moment, and finally over to the door as it slid shakily open, having been sliced from the other side. Beyond it, those black clad boarders had weapons raised as well. Shadilin and Astrid were dead set in the middle of a standoff.

She eyed the invaders casually while still pushing against the blade trying to overpower her. The only noise was was the sparking hiss of the sabers entangling each other. Astrid burst out laughing like a young girl at a comedy show.

"Hahaha.. uhhhhh, sorry. This is awkward. Could you maybe come back in five minutes?"

<<Tag Tamna Korvan >>

 

[Tamna Korvan]

F O X
EMPRESS TETA ORBIT | CORE
TAG: Astrid Blackspire

APOCALYPSE​

It was bizarre.

As the door slid open, their part of the hallway was met with a scene that none of them were prepared for. They all had their rifles at the ready. Lyra even had an unprimed strobe in her hand. But it was very possible for a visor to show shock.

<What in the bloody hell?> came Weller's classic line. <Y'all seeing it too or did they release a hallu grenade?>
<You're not dreaming, Son. It's real.> came Lyra's reply.
<Do we shoot?> Tamna was still on one knee in front of the panel, rifle ready against her shoulder.
<Nah wait. Let em gank one another first. Makes our job easier. Stormies are even more gobsmacked.> The art of a mercenary - stir the pot and then watch the fireworks from the side.

The duo finally seemed to realise they were in the middle of two firing squads. Tamna lifted an eyebrow behind her visor but didn't lower her rifle. She'd like to see how they would continue and it was clear that the Stormies would too.

But even more bizarrely, the woman burst out laughing.

"Hahaha.. uhhhhh, sorry. This is awkward. Could you maybe come back in five minutes?"

Tamna snorted. "Yeah not likely. Either kill the headtail or get the hell out of our way. You're interrupting everyone's groove." came her helmeted reply. She really wasn't a fan of long stays - especially not anywhere near this place. Too many crazies in this empire, as seen with the exhibit in front of them now.
<Damn, Fox. Why don't you just zap em dead with your judgement?> said Shaddix in her ear, trying his best to contain his laugh.
A smirk pulled at Tamna's mouth as well as she continued to sight down the barrel. <That'll be too boring, Shads. Your peabrain needs some entertainment.>
<Oh snap, she just killed Shads.> Lyra celebrated.
<Focus, you fools.>
All of them snickered as they still kept focus on their opponents. Years working together had enabled them to banter while killing.

Tamna raised her voice to the woman once more.

"You going to move or do you need help?"

 

[Astrid Blackspire]

Far be it from Astrid to interrupt someone's groove. She smiled wide in challenge and shifted back to Shadilin even as she responded to the female voice behind the helmet a short distance to her right.

"Nah, I got this fool. I was just playing with him a bit for the trouble he's caused me," she responded casually as her arms flexed to keep the blades locked between them.

The sneer she got in response from between their angrily buzzing weapons spoke volumes about the man before her. "Ha! Play with me? You've barely held o-"

Astrid bodied through the blade lock with a physical strength bespoken of someone twice her size and stature. To those that could feel such things, a Force Sensitive would be able to feel a bit extra behind her blade shove. Such was the force of the push through that Shadilin was taken off guard and stumbled backwards into the bulkhead, ricocheting off and awkwardly tried to regain his footing. But Astrid was waiting for him there. She grunted and delivered a two handed upward slash at his crimson blade, forcing it back up above them. Then with the grace of a dancer, she turned that muscle driven slash into a smooth pirouette, turning her back into his chest, stomping her off boot to the floor, reversing her grip on the hilt in her hands, and jammed her purple bladed lightsaber under her arm and into the Twi'lek's black heart. He didn't get a finishing monologue.

His weapon deactivated and clattered to the floor, shortly followed by his body. She knelt by his corpse and picked up his saber, strapping it to her own belt. "You were a selfish, narcissistic, sadistic ass in life, Shadilin Melomita. But all life deserves to be remembered. So I'll hold onto this as a token of your time in this galaxy."

"TRAITOR!"

"Huh?" Astrid looked up with a blank expression at the captain of the marines on the Imperial side. "Oh dank farrik, you're all still here. Uhhh..." she called over her shoulder to the folks who might very well shoot in her in the back regardless. "So about that help...?!"

She stood and held her purple blade between her and her former comrades as the corridor let up with blaster fire.

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[Tamna Korvan]

F O X
EMPRESS TETA ORBIT | CORE
TAG: Astrid Blackspire

APOCALYPSE​

<We-ell shiiit!>

Weller's surprised snort sounded in all their ears, making them all smile. They watched as she dispatched the Twi'lek, but only Tamna was able to feel the Force behind that movement. Not that she said anything. She just quickly moved back to rejoin her comrades while it ensued.

"TRAITOR!"

<Well that escalated quickly.> came Shaddix's dumbfounded comment, causing more snickers in their part of the hallway, even while everyone held their ground and kept their weapons at the ready.

"So about that help...?!"

<Oh brother.> Tamna mumbled. "Might wanna duck!" she yelled at the woman. <Lyra, do your thing, gal. We should probably help out.> she then told her squadmate.
<FINALLY!> the Devaronian yelled before priming the grenade still in her hand and hurling into the Imperial part of the hallway. Not for the first time, she reminded Tamna of a crazy scientist that only felt joy when she could blow shit up.

Then all hell broke loose as the Hellions open fired on the strobed Imperials, golden bolts igniting the hallway once again. In the confusion, Tamna rushed froward and grabbed hold of the woman's arm and yanking her back into the Hellion part of the hallway.
"You try anything against us, you die! That clear?!" she yelled at her over the din before adding her own golden bolts into the mix that went toward the Imperials.
<Fuck sakes! Lyra! Send them to Haran with some serious heat already. I'm not a fan of long stays.> Shaddix ordered in all of their ears.
<Gotcha, Commander.> she answered. <Tam, you might want to be ready to close that door.> she then told Tamna as she unclipped a thermal and a shrapnel from her belt.
<Weller, keep an eye on the turncoat.> Tamna said as she moved toward the door again and hooking in.
<On it.>
With a few taps, Tamna had gotten control of the door again.
<On your word, Lyra.> she said.

The Devaronian primed both grenades and hurled them into the hallway.
<Word!> she told Tamna and the exiled Korvan heir slid the blast door closed again.

In the quiet of their own part of the hallway, every gun suddenly turned toward Astrid as Shaddix, in all his Commander glory, stepped forward, his visor cold and hard as he regarded her.

"Now, Imperial, start talking - why shouldn't we end you here and now?"

 

[Astrid Blackspire]

As someone used to taking orders, albeit from the other side of this particular scenario, Astrid's body acted before she could even think about it. She ducked down to the deck as bidden. Though she kept her saber between herself and her former comrades. Out of instinct, her wrist shifted and swayed, keeping the blade defensively before her as the blaster fire opened up all around. Her senses intermingled with muscle memory and her blade sent a few shots right back to their sources.

That was, of course, before the flashbang lit up the room and blinded her, followed instantaneously by the effects of the concussive force the grenade expelled on top of it. Had she known that was coming, Astrid could have mitigated the effects and remained under her own power. But that was all in the immediate past now, and as such, she lost her footing and dropped to her knees as the concussive blast hit her ears so hard she nearly passed out right then and there. She felt a hand wrap around her forearm and she was dragged backward. Even then, her training forced her to keep her weapon as level as she could manage out behind her defensively, between herself and the Imperial marines, for all the good it would do. She was actually glad she couldn't see in just that moment, as her feet betrayed her sense of self image as a strong and fierce woman, when the chemical effects of inner ear fluid being disrupted took hold. She basically walked over herself and tripped twice in the short distance she was being guided as her equilibrium did flip flops around her brain.

After a few seconds, Astrid blinked away the intense white that had temporarily replaced her vision. Squinting, she glanced over and saw the door was shut again, and she noticed for the second time today, she had a score of blasters leveled at her. This was getting old. Astrid went from squinting to wide eyed as one of the black clad soldiers approached her and she watched as their head bobbed slightly, like they were talking at her. She opened her jaw wide and tried to flex it out in an attempt to pop her ears. All she had at that moment was a high pitched ringing.

Before Shaddix could finish speaking, Astrid spoke up, unaware that she was interrupting. "HI I'M ASTRID! I CAN'T HEAR YOU IF YOU'RE TALKING DARLING! MY EARS ARE ALL BORKED!! DID YOU KNOW THOSE FLASHBANGS POP AT OVER 170 DECIBELS?! IT MESSES WITH THE EARDRUM AND CAN CAUSE TEMPORARY AND SOMETIMES PERMANENT DEAFNESS!" she unintentionally shouted, unable to hear herself. Her saber deactivated and hung limp at her side, still in hand however in case she needed to go back to work. With her opposite hand she gestured wildly at her ear, grinning as she'd gotten to convey some of her medical knowledge. "SCIENCE IS WEIRD LIKE THAT, RIGHT?!"

Shaddix's helmet bobbed a little again, and Astrid once again cut him off, thinking he was done speaking whatever it was he'd said the second time. Though perhaps he was just confused and wasn't speaking at all. She really couldn't tell. "YOU PROBABLY WANNA SHOOT ME BECAUSE OF THE ROBES, RIGHT?!" she laughed way too loudly, "I'M ACTUALLY A MEDIC AND I FIND MYSELF SUDDENLY UNEMPLOYED! ARE YOU GUYS HIRING?! THESE GUYS ARE ASSHOLES!" And as she finished, or thought that she'd finished rather, she realized that she was staring into the mirrored visors of the surrounding soldiers. Squinting again she leaned slightly forward and shook her head as she tried to bore into the visor with her naked eyes. "I STILL CAN'T HEAR YOU! CAN YOU HEAR ME?! I COME IN PEACE! WHAT UH... WHAT'S THAT MARITIME WORD? UHH PAR... PARFAIT?"

She squinted harder as the whistling in her ear grew to a roar and forced her eyes shut and winced in as the uncontrollable increase in volume within her ears raised and sent waves of nausea to her guts and shockwaves of stabbing pain to her brain. It forced her to temporarily forget her bubbly façade she put on for everyone and she grabbed her head in agony. Even through it though, she muttered instinctively as she swayed on her feet, eyes still clamped tight. "...s' anybody shot?.... I can... I can.... I can... h-help."

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[Tamna Korvan]

F O X
EMPRESS TETA ORBIT | CORE
TAG: Astrid Blackspire

APOCALYPSE​

<Shit, Lyra, couldn't you have used something different from a flashbang?>

The cringe on Shaddix's face could be heard through the comms and everyone snickered.
<Still worked, didn't it? Not my fault this one was collateral. Don't knock it til you try it.> the Devaronian said simply.
<Good grief, can we shut up her up already? She's taking my hearing with hers.> Weller complained.

Tamna watched as the woman swayed on her feet while still trying to convince the rest that she posed them no danger.
<Oh for shit's sake. Y'all are idiots at times. Mattock! Where you?> she called over the comms to one of the other squads in the hallway.
<Yeah?> he said as he jogged forward, the medic pack clear as day on his back.
<I think Chindeq's grenade impaired this one's medical brain a bit. Just give her a cocktail that'll even out the hearing and disorientation enough til we can get her to the ship for proper repairs. Or we'll all go mad and I might knock her out myself.> she told him.
Mattock looked back at his squad-lead, who merely shrugged. He knew Shaddix and his squad had lead on this mission. <Fine.>

He shrugged off the pack as he approached the ex-Imperial, gesturing a calming hand toward her to let her know he meant no harm. He started rummaging through the pack before drawing up from a few bottles, including some bacta and a stim variant.
"You hurt me, you die." he mumbled before plunging the syringe into her thigh. He then drew away and grabbed his pack while the rest waited for the cocktail to effect. Most of them knew it wouldn't be a foolproof cure, but it should at least give Shaddix a chance to actually talk to her.

Meanwhile, to Shaddix's surprise, Tamna removed her helmet.
"The hell you doing, Fox?" he hissed.
She raised her eyebrows at him. "Bro, how long have we been fighting together? You really think I'll do this if it ain't safe? She ganked an Elite, Shads, and got labelled a traitor by everyone else. It don't feel like a ruse, is all." she told him quietly.
He sighed while looking down at her for a minute. "You're lucky I trust your ass or this would go straight to Jas." he said. "Fine." Along with a depressurising hiss, he twisted off his own black helmet.

His raven hair was matted from the helmet, but his dark eyes regarded the woman across from them again.

"Let's try this again - can you hear me now?"

 

[Astrid Blackspire]

The reality of her situation seemed to finally take hold of Astrid. She'd been concussed before, albeit on the battlefield and not in an enclosed hallway aboard a star destroyer, but that was usually a scenario experienced while surrounded by comrades. She was now a full step and a half off of her game, given the equilibrium issues she was experiencing, surrounded by nothing but enemies on all sides and already had angry people with weapons leveled at her chest and face. Pissed, agitated, feelings of betrayal and hurt from her own government, and topped off with the cherry on top being that she now had absolutely no direction to go in, Astrid was a bit of a mess.

To add to the mounting problems in her life, Astrid was quite literally backed into a corner at the moment. While seriously no slouch in combat, there was no way in hell she was good enough to make a move, even defensively against the overwhelming odds against her in that moment. If the black clad soldiers in front of her decided they wanted to take her out, the best she'd be able to manage is a token defense that may take one or two of them with her. It wasn't at all what she wanted, but the unlit lightsaber in her right hand was a weighted reminder that she was far from out of the woods.

The whistling in her ears was steadily increasing, forcing her to squeeze her eyes shut in an a fruitless attempt at staving off the killer migraine that was encroaching. She did pick up some distant mumbling noises at the edge of her audio perception but couldn't make out the words before a syringe was jabbed into her thigh.

Astrid's eyes shot open and zeroed in on the what she assumed as the medic crouching before her. She quickly focused as hard as she could on the vials the man was tucking back into his pack and ran through the list in her head of their uses. She'd be no good to her own survival if she'd just allowed herself to be drugged. The ship rocked slightly again with a distant explosion as the assault continued around them and she proceeded to flow into her aching brain for medical knowledge she'd learned over her career.

"Bacta, Fibrinogin, Epinephrine. Bacta and Fibrinogin to soothe and heal the wound and tinnitus, and a touch of epinephrine to speed up the drugs through the circulatory system." She muttered to herself woozily. The epinephrine, better known as adrenaline, took immediate effect. But it wasn't enough to overload her body. It was just enough to push the other drugs through the body so they could do their job quickly. All in all, it was a good combat stim. This medic knew his work well.

The swelling in her ears began to subside and the whistling dimmed down with a series of little pops in her inner ear as the bacta went to work, and it was then that she looked back up and realized that two of the soldiers had removed their helmets to communicate.

"...s again - can you hear me now?" came the man's voice. It sounded like it was coming from a distance and through a metal tube, but with the added boon of being able to watch his lips moving, Astrid could make out his words. Brows still scrunched, she nodded slowly with a sigh. Drooping back against the bulkhead wall with a sigh as she responded in a much volume appropriate tone. "....yeah. I can hear you kind of. Do we have to fight now? Because I'd really rather not. Hadn't planned on getting killed when I broke out of my cell a few minutes ago."

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