Private Silent Prey

[Minako Aoki-Barran]

Hunter

The glass of the window was broken into, without care and without hesitation. Inside stepped a woman wearing black leather and a mask. Her hood covered her head as she looked around the building, ever hopeful. If this wasn't the place...

She gritted her teeth. The autumn leaves of Serenno cascaded into the broken window, making the broken glass so pretty as she stepped into a dim, poorly maintained hallway. She huffed, gazing around at the half-lit ceiling and trash littered halls. A part of her burned inside. She had learned exactly what she had been taught growing up. The galaxy was cold, corrupted, and meaningless. It needed to be swept clean and restarted. Just as her grandfather wished. She passed a man nearly passed out with booze, currently being stolen from by a Rodian. The Rodian looked up, and unspoken agreement was made. Nobody told on nobody here, and all would be well. It seemed that "crime" was common here. A pity. She walked through the apartment complex, searching for a certain number. It took a while, but she eventually found it in an even darker area of the complex. She heard some blaster fire outside. It didn't matter. She pulled out a data spike and started working on the door. But when she proved to have poor skills, she pulled another method of entry out from her pack.

A grenade!

The door exploded, and Minako entered. Through the smoke, she saw an elderly man in the corner, leaning against the wall in shock. Beneath her mask, the girl smirked. She pulled a baton out and smacked it in her hand, approaching, "Alright, old man. Don't panic, I just wa-"

the elder pulled a blaster pistol out and started firing. Minako felt her body move for her for a moment, dodging the blaster fire. She kicked down a chair a used it to absorb extra blaster fire. She gritted her teeth, "I was going to be nice, old timer!"

She kicked the chair towards him, hitting him harshly. She stomped towards him, lifting her boot and slamming it against the wrist that held the pistol. Even though he was old, weak, and wore questionable smelling clothes, she felt little sympathy. She applied pressure, demanding, "I came here for one thing and one thing only! I know you served in the New Imperial Order, Empire, or whatever it was called, so answer me and I'll let you go!"

She lifted her foot and kicked him in the face. As he laid against the wall, so dazed, she leaned down and pulled a shiv, placing it on his neck.

"What do you know about Imperial Knight Mira Aoki-Barran?"

 

[Aoki-Barran Mira]

Silent Prey

​

"No! Stop it!"

Mira threw her sheets off as she leapt out of bed. Sweat coated her skin as she reached up and rubbed her eyes. The headache pounding in her mind was unnatural. It felt like she was dying. She shook, falling back onto the bed as she held her face.

"I'm sorry... I'm sorry... I'm sorry..."

"Mmph, another one of those nightmares?"

Mira looked over to see her husband waking up as well, groggy in the eyes. She frowned, looking away again. "I'll never escape."

The Galidraani scooted off the bed and left, shortly returning with a towel. As she started to wipe the sweat off her, he smiled, "I'll be your escape."

Mira smiled a bit, despite her exhaustion, "Indeed you are."

What was initially a mere political and strategic marriage had turned into one of the best things that had ever happened to Mira. A veteran within the New Imperial Order, Padraig had been strong and mighty stormtrooper for the Empire. He and Mira always had common ground, both shredded to bits by the wars they joined as youths. A high and mighty Imperial Knight, an adopted Barran and legendary Aoki warrior, marrying a seemingly random stormtrooper was unheard of. And it sent a message. The Barrans were above no one.

Mira especially was not above the man who pulled her from the depths of her brainwashed depravity and helped her recover from all of it.

She smiled, leaning in and hugging him. "What time is it?"

Padraig checked his holopad. The bright light was sudden and hostile in this dark bedroom. "Still two hours until she wakes up."

Mira sighed in relief, plopping back into the bed. "Good... I never want her to see me like this."

Padraig sat next to Mira, holding her. Their daughter was given everything her parents could give her. Training to defend herself, tutelige to equip herself, and... a semblence of a normal childhood, despite her noble liniage. Yes, she trained. And yes, she studied. But her parents tried to give the thirteen year old a loving and joyous home, The kind of home they wished they could have had growing up.

Mira leaned against Padraig, unable to drift off after everything her nightmares taunted her with. "I... I may go to the gardens."

"Do you need to be alone?"

Mira shook her head, standing up and getting dressed, "Company would be lovely."

Soon enough, they were in a garden, quietly observing the nature surrounding them and breathing in the cold night air. They exchanged conversation occasionally, and Mira was soon recovering from the ever haunting mantra in her mind.

War. Death. Rebirth.

That's not me anymore. And I'm never going back.

But then, another presence entered the garden. A Force Signature Mira knew better than anyone or anything. She realized who it was, and she was alarmed that his emotions were so... urgent? Angry? Confused? She darted through the garden, followed by Padraig. The noble in Atrisian robes ran up to Michael Barran , panting, and she instantly knew that something was terribly wrong.

"Father? What is it?"

​

 

[Michael Barran]

1st Post

MASK_ONE
HIGH-MARSHAL OF THE 313TH "SABRETOOTH" LEGION
GRANDMASTER OF THE ORDER OF THE CHANTING MASK
LORD IMPERATOR OF THE IMPERIAL MILITARY PROTECTORATE

TAGS
Aoki-Barran Mira

WEST TOWER, THE HAND OF THRAWN,
NEW CARANNIA, NIRAUAN (901 ABY)

Michael, please drop the rage in sight o' yer daughter.
Nobody here has slighted you enough to see such a glare....

Be the honest man, the man who rises above it all.
​

It could not be doubted, it could not be argued to the counter, but the Tattered Regent was worse than furious at the time, though not in any context pertaining to the Shadow, the daughter he adopted. It was all carried over from a duelling victory of which Barran personally felt had been tainted, denied of his chance a retribution for the fall of the Empire, a sign that this clash between brothers had been on Lord Michael's mind for a long time, perhaps even from the very moment the Bloodhound left him for dead in the winter of 880 ABY.

'I apologise if I appear angry, sincerely. But worry not.... This rage I feel is only that which carries on from my most-recent endeavour.'

Already kneeling by then, the old Woad was already bringing himself down to a height where the Atrisian hybrid could reach his temples more easily, as Lord Michael had deduced that he would likely need Mira to read his mind one way or another, letting her see the makings of her father's frenzied rage in first-person perspective. Fortunately for both Barrans, however, the young L'lerim ward had intervened in time to avert the worst mistake of his mentor's life, dropkicking the old Woad in the ribcage mere miliseconds before the treads of his boots could reach the Bloodhound's head, hoping the Shadow found this in her attempt to learn the real truth within it all.

Expecting disappointment from what his Shadow would find, the Tattered Regent would quickly humble himself in her presence, understanding the likelihood he would be the one apologising that day, and in the moment he prefaced,'In order to explain it without a struggle for description, I believe it best if you saw it with your own eyes. But- before you do, I want you to know that I regret my violent actions. I could have handled it better.', he came to the realisation he would be forced to relive these moments in a shame he was not yet ready to face. So all Lord Michael could do was offer a sheepishly-guilty glance before closing his eyes to focus, clawing back the dignity that remained as he slowly inhaled, though the old Woad knew it all could have been so much worse.

'Familial ties always had a way of sinking beneath the skin.'