The Mighty MezNez

[Maris Fero]

Despite her prior cool and reasonable maturity in their previous interactions, being told that she wasn’t ready to pull sick wall running tricks like Enyo had displayed brought what could only be described as a pout to Maris' lips, brow creasing as Enyo turned away to look to her trusted cyborgs. Though no words passed between them the Cerean responded to some signal from her leader and turned to leave, confirming for Maris at least that some form of hidden communication took place beyond her own register.

She did not for a moment suspect that the communicated message was a threat to her now, but the cautious cynical streak the of the street urchin was enough to give Maris pause to file away that piece of information. Enyo signalled for a group to follow on with her into the deeper maintenance areas of the Casino levels. Maris had hoped that they could avoid most of the now alerted security who remained between them and their goal with this route, and Enyo had agreed. The advice from the insiders Maris had paid off had been golden to this point, but every forward step put the group further into the unknown.

Somewhere beyond, the last lines of casino defenders had wrestled some small amount of control from the building security net and, as the group proceeded, the main lighting extinguished with an audible click from a dozen or so nearby light sources.

At first, the dark seemed impenetrable, but soon enough the Gangers natural inclination to the dark revealed dull points of light from junction boxes and switchboards. Almost as one the gangers reached for various tight pouches and pockets, slipping from the main walkway to what little cover they might be close to and drawing out crude glowsticks - ingrained habits of fighting in areas of sublevel where power cuts were commonplace and the light of the sun never ever reached, often one gang would deliberately cut the power to blind the defences of another.

Maris took a battered casino chip from her belt, the very lowest credit denomination the casinos allowed, raising the dull metallic disk in her fingers she clinked the edge of the coin against a metal stanchion she had ducked behind, hearing the action repeated by each of the gangers, in turn, building a picture of their positions in her head.

No sound of shots had flooded the right hallways yet, and so Maris cracked her glow stick and shook it softly into illumination, casting an eerie green light about her pallid complexion and the surrounding shapes of the others. High pitched whines filled the gangers ears, and she glanced to Enyo to see if she heard them too, a sound like many dozens, perhaps hundreds of buzzing motors hummed into being, just as the first of a dense swarm of small razor-edged hack droids reached the distant corner before the group, blades glinting in the dull light.

[member="Enyo Typhos"]

 

[Enyo Typhos]

[member="Maris Fero"]


Into the dark they went. In the maintenance area, it was pitch-black. Visiblity was almost nonexistent. However, Maris and her fellow gangers showed that while they might lack the sophisticated technology of the cyborgs, they were not without means of their own. Indeed, they seemed to have adapted well to the darkness.

With crude but effective glowsticks and meta disks, they managed to coordinate their movements and provide illumination. For her part, Enyo and her cybernetic minions relied on their ocular implants. Enyo's eyes glowed in the dark with a fierce crimson light. A cyborg guarded the rear, in case minions got lost.


All seemed quiet...then a staccato of high pitches whines filled the air. Enyo's enhanced hearing picked up on the noise, and her mechu-deru senses tingled, as they always did when she was in the proximity of computers, machinery...or droids. "Attackers," she spoke. Then the huge swarm was upon them. Hundreds of small, flying, gyroscopic droids with razor-sharp blades. For just a moment, Enyo was reminded of the miniaturised wasp droids her creators favoured.


A cry of pain was heard when a thug's throat was slit. Unfortunately for the poor fellow, it was not a clean kill and so he would be choking on his own blood. Enyo reached out with her power, conjuring a wave that crushed several of the small bots on contact. Their small bodies exploded and the air was filled with the smell of burnt electronics, broken metal and circuitry. More fell to her lightsabre or gun. Bots tried to cut her, but ran into the difficulty of trying to get through heavy armour or phrik bones, though they managed to slice her face up a bit. One she grabbed with her metal fist and when it tried to cut her, she crushed it.


"Don't use your gun. Use the Force. The power is inside you. Will it to smash them," Enyo ordered Maris in between stabbing or bashing droids. "Remember how you felt when you were cornered and crushed your enemies." Enyo was not the type to encourage anger to the excessive degree Sith did, but recognised it had its place.


xxx


Something clicked inside Charlotte's mind. HRDs - or at least those created by Archangel - tended to be extremely cynical and jaded. In many ways, they were a distillation of humanity's darker aspects without the redeeming qualities, though also without the hypcocrisy. What she saw here explained so much, including the Vizier's reluctance to alert his boss.

"This is where Bogo's transmissions originate. They are bogus. He is not in charge of the cartel anymore, just an apparition to fool the minions and competition," she surmised. "What happened to him? Did one of his rivals kill him?"

"I don't know. Look, all I do is handle the software. I'm not even the boss here. The Vizier sends his orders to my supervisor and I make sure Bogo says whatever they want. Please, don't kill me," the Twi'lek technician begged the murder-bot.

"You can control the holograms and send any transmission from this place?"

"Yeah...any...," then further dialogue was cut off when the auto-turret sprouted from the ceiling and unloaded, spitting out an absurd amount of rounds at high velocity. Moving swiftly, Charlotte ducked for cover, firing her blaster, but her rounds had little effect on the automated weapon. Bullets perforated the walls and blew up computer monitors.

Charlotte lost track of her unwilling informant as she used deft acrobatics to dodge the hailstorm. A warning light in her HUD informed her that her chassis had taken damage from a round. Being more lightly built than her brethren, she could endure far less punishment. She heard a loud cry of pain, then out of the corner of her eye saw the Twi'lek had collapsed, with blood dripping out of a wound in her leg.

There were no heavy weapons in reach and a full auto burst would destroy her. She could already hear noise coming from outside, so her sole solution lay in audacity. Emerging from cover, she bolted and, as the ground before and around her was sprayed with bullets, hit the ground and rolled, positioning herself beneath the turret. As it tried to track her, she drove her liquid metal blade into the turret, wedging it into place. Sparks flew as the cannon tried to move in vain - and she struck deeper, shooting at the sensitive inner workings till it gave up the ghost.

 

[Maris Fero]

The whining shrieks of the flock of droids became ever more intense as the swarm closed upon the group. Each droid was small, no wider than the span of a hand, but nearly all of that size was owed to the razor-sharp cutting disk rotating at high speed about the centre of each robot. Each droid was guided by a single glowing sensor bud, like a burning red eye that reflected its light onto the sharp edge of the spinning blade in a wicked grin.

Here and their individual droids came close to one another, sparking brief pulses between their frames to avoid collisions, each released burst of light illuminating the tight passageway for the briefest of moments. To Maris front and right she watched Hybo go down with a wail that suddenly cut to a horrifying gurgle, as the first of the drones made a bloody mess of his throat in passing.

Panic broke out in the crowded hall, gangers fired wildly into the oncoming cloud of glinting blades and whirring gyros. All about her Maris heard cries and shrieks as the brutal little machines engaged the targets with ruthless efficiency. To her side Maris felt a shift in energy swirl about Enyo, daring to switch her attention a moment to the Cyborg in time to see Enyo lash out with a wave of energy that made Maris and her nearby gangers flinch. A swathe of bots burst into showers of sparks as they collapsed beneath her attack.

And then Maris was crying out as she felt the sudden savage slice of a bots blade cutting clean through skin and flesh on her upper arm. The flash of gunfire and the illumination cast by Enyo’s sabre cast the passage in an eerie glow; the flashes of light giving false impressions that the world moved in slow motion.

Enyo was a rock in the storm of machines, weathering the rage and crushing a droid in an iron grip. Maris made to fire again but Enyo called an order to her, denying her the gun and insisting she tried to use gifts Maris had only just learned the existence of.

Her bleeding arm ached, and soon enough more razor-edged wounds were opened on her forearms and midriff, but with each cut, she became more and more frustrated, Enyo had told her not to shoot, but surely the gun would have saved her from these wounds? Any moment she might join Hybo, a spent pile of meat on the grated floor.

The idea of it frustrated her as much as it scared the raven-haired prodigy, and with a growl that turned into a and enraged shriek of pain and fury the slender ganger lashed out at the nearest droids with an open-handed swipe, as if to rake the things from the sky with her bare flesh, feeling the disgust for her diminutive attackers flower within her.

A cleft of the vicious killing machines sparked and shattered, some careening off into the rest of the pack of buzzing horrors. Instead of losing a hand to the nearest machine. Maris struck out again, feeling exhilaration at the power of destruction she had unleashed.

Each crushed assailant reinforced her belief, Enyo was correct, they were so different from the others, who cowered low and died in the storm. A wordless shriek of triumph accompanied her activity as she watched the swarm thin beneath their onslaught, and finally truly felt the pain of a dozen wounds arrayed across her slight form.

[member="Enyo Typhos"]

 

[Enyo Typhos]

[member="Maris Fero"]


And so countless killing machines were torn, ripped and crushed into little pieces. The display did not last long, but by the time it was over, the air stank was the smell of the droids' detritus. Between the onslaught of the goons, Enyo and Maris, a bitter harvest had been reaped.


"You see your strength now," Enyo's voice was like a cool breeze. "Right now, your strength is raw. Unrefined. Pain, fury, and fear are your triggers. This will change. In time, you will unleash it on command without effort." Wordlessly, a cyborg minions passed some bacta patches over to Maris.


"There. Stop the bleeding," she ordered, clearly not in the mood to slow down. So rather than wait, she pressed onward, moving further into the darkness. Lighting was scarce, save for the occasional flickering, but it would soon seem that they were reaching the exit - and thus the path towards the Cartel bigwigs.


xxx

The turret had given up the ghost. Charlotte took a moment to analyse the damage she'd sustained. Her liquid metal covering was a mess, giving her a somewhat grotesque appearance that bore little resemblance to the Chagrian mercenary she'd been impersonating. Furthermore, her droid endoskeleton had suffered hits. No crucial circuits had been destroyed, but she was favouring one leg and her systems informed her that further damage would be critical. An organic might have felt anxiety, or been weighed down by pain, but Charlotte was no longer a human being. Thus she remained focused on the task.

With a slight limp, she walked over to where the Twi'lek lay. The woman was desperately trying to stop the blood flowing from her stomach and leg. She looked horrified when she beheld the machine's twisted features. "What...what the hell are you? You're not Grann...you're not even organic. Not that it matters now," her breathing was ragged. "Help me."

"Sh," the infiltrator droid bent down and knelt. She made a show of pressing against the woman's stomach injury. "These wounds are serious, but not fatal. In a few minutes, the Vizier and his allies will be removed from power. We can ease the transition, and secure a place for you in the new regime."

There was a look of disbelief, then of understand and hope. "You work for the Cartel? Figured they'd realise what's up sooner or later."

"Yes. And I can help you save yourself. Give me the password, and I shall end your pain."

After some hesitation, the tech relented. "Panopticon," she responded in a quiet, weak voice. "Now please...help..."

Without missing a beat, Charlotte snapped the technician's neck. She was a thorough professional, and so the Twi'lek felt very little. From the droid's point of view, she had not lied. This was helping. For she'd removed an irregularity, ceased the organic's suffering and removed a potential weakness. Ergo, it was logical. Without sparing the dead organic another glance, she got back up and walked over towards the main computer. Some of the monitors had been destroyed in the fight, but this one was still intact. Quickly, she booted it up and typed in the pass code. Outside, noise could be heard.


xxx


The Geist was, as its name implied, a ghost in the literal sense. Undetected and unseen, Aigle made her way across the casino. Her task was aided by the fact that the second column of Enyo's cyborgs had penetrated the frontal entrance. Caught between two forces of death machines, the Cartel enforcers were stuck between a rock and a hard place.


Stil, many guards had rushed towards the communications bunker - and so she followed them. Her camouflage was not perfect and if they had paid attention, they might have seen a silhouette, but they were focused elsewhere. Outside of the bunker, she could see goons prepare breaching charges.


Quickly, she swung herself up on a beam and approached them cautiously. One hand was close by her lightsabre, the other slowly reached for a flashbang. There is no ignorance, there is order, the twisted mockery of the Jedi Code thundered inside her mind. Her lips curled into a cold, feral smile. The memories of her peaceful life in the Jedi enclave were blurry to her. Perhaps it was a side-effect of the alterations the Boss had done to her mind. Or perhaps it was because those days had simply been a dream, an illusion Typhos had pulled her out when she tore the veil from her eyes.


On the day the Cyborg and her companion [member="Vaylin"] butchered the Masters, and Aigle, so brave, spirited and determined to defend her home, had been maimed and humiliated. Alongside the Jedi Knight who'd saved her from her first brush with the Dark Side. Now she knew the truth. No Light, no Dark, only weak and strong.

 

[Maris Fero]

The younger woman stood panting in the darkness, the pain of her injuries was evident in her laboured breathing. Maris held her eyes closed as she felt the churning energy still surrounding her body, her limbs trembled with the memory of the sensation of power coursing through her. The others nearby radiated energy too, the gangers' potent mix of excitement and fear was intoxicating, and she opened her eyes to peer into the darkness at the closest of the terrified cohort.

The Cyborgs felt muted in her presence, a shadowed rage lingered beneath them, and some suffered a lingering touch of fear that came from risking their lives. Enyo was a furnace, a star Maris might orbit, the extent of her power dwarfing the freshly ignited gifts Maris showed.

Enyo spoke to her, quiet calm words that cut through the rush Maris felt, tempering her rage and offering her more power, more of this feeling, with time. She took the offered aide without comment, looking to the worst of her wounds and liberally applying treatment to herself - flinching with each sting of pain.

Her boss didn’t seem interested in stopping and the remaining party was already moving when Maris finished patching her serious wounds, the ganger jogging after Enyo again, delicate bot components crunching underfoot as she moved on. “The power - The gift. I can feel it, I can feel it in them too?” she asked glancing to the gangers, none of whom were particularly force-sensitive. “Everyone..”

The maintenance area continued in a way. From the information the Shrikes informants had provided Maris was able to guide the party along with a maze of passages, climbing two floors in the process and disabling another security checkpoint on the way.

----

The Vizier was worried, This little incursion was becoming a bigger deal than he had been led to believe. The sheer incompetence of the security Bogo had relied upon was staggering. His old Master had been an unfair and disagreeable employer but never before had the Chevin considered Bogo to have been a fool.

The portly gangster paced the length of the executive stateroom for the hundredth time that hour, beads of sweat pouring from his sizable brow as he looked to the broken holo images of various secure zones about the casino and then back to the cabal of conspirators who had joined him in his deception.

“We should get out now, whilst we can,”

The plea came from a snivelling Toydarian, the money man whose eyes had strayed to the exits about once a minute since they had arrived. His words received some approving murmurs from the gathered hoods and cronies, though the vizier chose to ignore him again.

“Status please?” The Chevin spoke into the conference room comm unit again, looking for an update from the security forces, but receiving only static. A smiling statue of Bogo seemed to leer at him contently from the corner of the room and inwardly the elephantine capo cursed the late slug, “We are safer here, this will all be over soon enough.”

The Vizier turned to the emotionless defence droids at the inside of the doors and nodded, reassuring himself of the truth of his words. Nothing would breach the room, the new defence droids had been the best money could by, the arms dealer had assured him so...

[member="Enyo Typhos"]

 

[Enyo Typhos]

[member="Maris Fero"]


"No," Enyo responded simply. Maris looked like someone who was basking in her new-found reality after the veil had been torn from her eyes. The Terminatrix perceived the same rush of exhilaration, of being high on power as she had felt when she took her first steps into a larger world. She had been so naive back then.


"The Force connects all sentient life. But they cannot touch it," she spared the gangers a bland glance, "or draw upon its power." Some of the cyborgs and gangers might be mildly Force-sensitive, but their potential was so minuscule that they would never be able to wield preternatural powers. At best, they might experience strokes of good fortune.


The maintenance area continued. It was a veritable maze of corridors, but thanks to Maris' unerring guidance, they soon found a way out, overcoming another checkpoint along the way. It was then, after they had ascended the staircase towards the luxurious executive stateroom where the Chevin Vizier and his confederates had sought refuge, that they encountered formidable opposition.


The first hint of danger was the...utter lack of it. Indeed, Enyo had trouble perceiving anything with her preternatural senses. Her powers had not abandoned her, but they felt smothered. Limited. As if there was a powerful weight upon her hand when she sought to reach out and grasp the Force to bend it to her will. In the distance, two huge, quadrupedal machines that resembled overgrown droidekas stood sentinel, barring them access to the heavy blast doors that led towards the stateroom. Cyborgs spread out, firing from the hip as they moved in an attempt to flank the huge war machines.


The whine of blaster fire filled the air, but the manifold bolts did not pierce the shields. Indeed, the bots seemed to be absorbing them. The energy went directly to their cannons, which they unloaded with gusto. Enyo sought to crush the weight weighing her down and unleash her kindred power, mechu-deru, upon one of the bots, aiming to override its shimmering barrier that glowed with a fierce light.


Except - little of note seemed to happen. The shield flickered a bit, but remained in place. She tried to infest the destroyer droid's programming and corrupt it, but it refused to yield. Then suddenly one of the defence droids revealed it possessed a launcher and sent a mini rocket flying towards the Cyborg. Enyo heard the snap-whoosh of the outgoing warhead, then the noise of the larger battle around her was swallowed by the explosion. Boom.


Smoke and plumes of fire rose up into the air. Enyo vanished behind a cloud of smoke and was blown into a wall, crashing into it with a loud thud. Such was the impact that it punched a hole through the wooden wall. For a moment, the hybrid seemed out of it, then she slowly arose. Her skin was torn and one eye was flickering badly, having apparently gone haywire.


Annoyed by the interference, she switched it off. Her tactical mind assessed the situation, as the death machines traded heavy blows with the Iron Fist minions. "They've got molecular shields! Our shots are only strengthening them!" one of the Cyborgs called out, using verbal communication for the benefit of the gangers. One of the Iron Fist warriors was enveloped by blazing flames from a machine's flamethrower, before being riddled with blaster bolts, dropping a rifle with underslung grenade launcher.


Appreciation of the fact that she was getting a good fight was mixed with Enyo being terribly vexed. There were no ysalamiri in the room - and their range was too limited for them to be working their Force nullifying magic from inside the stateroom. She would have sensed it if another Forcewielder was blocking her powers.


This left one option. Her cold, predatory eye fell upon the bots. They have Voidstone cores. "Provide covering fire. Drop any explosives you have on them. We must knock them over to short out the shields," the hybrid ordered sharply. A barrage of blaster bolts splattered the ground before and around her, then blazing, scorching flames swept towards her as she walked stiffly towards a huge, absurdly grand statue of Bogo the Hutt. As flames washed over her, she picked up the statue with her own cybernetic hands, and hurled it towards one of the defence droids.


xxx


Breaching charges had been applied. The Cartel enforcer team's demolitions expert hastened for cover, pulling enough wire along the way. He gave his buddies a thumbsup and then pressed the button on the detonator. There was a loud, earth-shaking explosion as the powerful blast door was blown off its hinges. A cloud of smoke billowed up into the air, and the Cartel enforcers prepared to lob in grenades while unloading salvoes of blaster fire into the secret communications room. Then suddenly a a flashbang dropped down from the ceiling, landing right in their midst.


It exploded with a bang, creating a dazzlingly bright flash of light that caused temporary disorientation. One of those Cartel enforcers suffering from the effects suddenly found himself in quite a predicament. For two strong, shapely legs suddenly wrapped themselves around his throat.


The burly legbreaker struggled as he was unwillingly lifted off the ground, firing his blaster wildly. There was a sickening crunch when the Geist snapped his neck. As Aigle released him from her stranglehold, she mentally pulled the pin on one of the concussion grenades on his webbing and tossed it towards the Cartel minions, just as they were reorganising themselves.


Boom. The air was clogged with shouts, whipping shrapnel, laser fire and blood. She dropped down from her vantage point on the beam high above them, leaping into the fray. Her lightsabre ignited with a snap-hiss, producing a beam of violet energy. Her blade clashed with a massive vibroaxe a goon swung towards her head with great fury and force.

 

[Maris Fero]

The droids ahead were similar in shape to the previous shielded robots they had faced, though each was larger and carried a more substantial armament. The fusillade of firepower unleashed by both bots together seemed to take everyone by surprise, even the unflappable Enyo seemed indecisive for a moment, distracted by something Maris could not comprehend.

Maris joined forces with her ganger comrades, piling as much fire as they could muster upon the rightmost of the heavy droids and diving to use the plentiful cover of ostentatious statuary and pillars provided in the wide gathering area. The energy impacts sent fizzing ripples across the mechanoids shields, but for all the focus their efforts the light barrier remained impervious to the assault.

The second droid had chosen to focus on Enyo, perhaps sensing some threat from her the other did not present. A secondary weapon mounted low on the droid’s chassis launched a light rocket toward the cyborg boss, and even as Maris called out she knew any warning would be useless. Maris forced her eyes closed as the heat from the blast and accompanying boom overwhelmed her senses and left her ears ringing. By the time Maris blinked her vision cleared Enyo was already dragging herself free from the wreckage of a wooden wall, her boss’ face was torn away, revealing the true cyborg skull beneath, a sparking eye lens flickering crimson.

To Maris left a cyborg warrior was roasted by a flamethrower from her targeted droid, the grim cries of the burning enforcer were mercifully short, a volley of blaster bolts ending the misery abruptly, the cyborgs gun fell nearby, grenade launcher still primed.

The street ganger ducked and rolled beneath another barrage from the heavy droid, hooking her arm through the leather strap of the fallen weapon as she sought solid cover again. The stink of explosive residue and burning meat threatened to overwhelm her, but Maris came to her knees behind a heavy metallic planter, just in time to hear the crack of laser blasts strike the spot she had just vacated.

Enyo was moving again calling out instructions even as she hefted the weighty statue of Bogo, launching it toward the droid. Maris blinked and rocked her knees thinking, eyes darting to the glistening chandelier hanging above the twin droids. Maris twisted in place and lay back to find an angle over her planter cover. Sending a sustained stream of rounds into the ceiling about the light’s fixing. The slight youth growled and ground her teeth as the higher powered weapon recoil bucked painfully against her shoulder, her growl becoming an enraged cry as the sound of growing carnage continued.

The fixing still held, and with a cry of frustration Maris fumbled with the grenade launcher, unsure of how to trigger it for a long moment, before depressing the correct trigger stud and gasping as the weapon kicked back sharply, launching an explosive projectile, its course true. The resulting blast was followed by a sharp crack as a structural support gave way, the whole and a large portion of the roofing beams collapsed upon the rightmost droid just as Enyo reached the other target, the impact shorting the shields in an instant and crushed one of the droids weapon arms, crippling a scythe-shaped limb.

[member="Enyo Typhos"]

 

[Enyo Typhos]

[member="Maris Fero"]


Boom. A large portion of the roof beams was torn asunder, descending upon the spider-like automaton to the right, just as Bogo's oversized, absurdly grand statue connected with the droid to the left with a deafening thud. Such was the impact that the droid was knocked, causing its molecular shield to short out. Salvoes of blaster fire and high-calibre bullets tore through the rightmost droids now that it was exposed, taking it apart. The cyborg enforcers were a bit grumpy and so they riddled the unfortunate droid with projectiles.


Half-buried beneath the statue, the second machine flailed about, trying in vain to right itself. Machines could not feel fear. They were slaves to their programming, and so it tried to carry out its mission to the last, sending another stream of flame with the weapons arm that had not been demolished by the fall. Enyo moved towards it. One of her elgs seemed to have suffered from the blast, and portions of her phrik armour had sustained cracks. Wild blaster bolts bounced off her glowing violet lightsabre or ricochetted off walls, ruining the expensive artwork that adorned them. Flames licked her metal-encased shell, and one eye flickered a dark crimson, but she was soon upon the droid.


The death machine made an attempt to slam her with an elongated metal appendage. With one silvery cyber-hand, she grabbed a scythe-shaped limb and pulled it at an unnatural angle. There was a sickening sound when she tore the offending scythe-shaped limb off and tossed it to the floor. Then she tore into its vulnerable underbelly and, once the plating had been removed, ripped out its CPU. I'm keeping this, she thought when she beheld the Voidstone core.


"We're taking these with us," she spoke. She spared Maris a brief look. The girl's actions had helped them overcome the last obstacle. None of the Iron Fist minions seemed disconcerted or surprised by their boss' moderately grotesque appearance. Most had been endowed with implants designed by her hand and they were used to the sight, though only a few knew the cause of it. The same could probably not be said for the gangers. "Breach the door."


Wordlessly, a cyborg stepped out from the ranks, emerging from a thoroughly wrecked couch he had sought cover behind. It was a Trandoshan called Lyshk, the strike force's explosive ordinance specialist. He had the task of making an entry point - by blowing the hell out of obstacles. Working quickly, the lizardman set det charges on the door, then bolted away from it, pulling enough ignition wire to make sure he would not be accidentally caught up in his own explosion. He gave a scaly thumbsup, mainly for the benefit of the unaugmented gangers, then pressed a button.


xxx


Sparks flew as sabre and axe clashed. The young Geist could not tell what alloy the weapon was made of, though the axe-head seemed resistant enough to avoid being cut in twain upon contact with an absurdly hot, powerful plasma blade. Dodging a powerful blow meant to carve through her shoulder, she slashed at the burly enforcer, slicing through his forearm. Where her lightsabre passed through his armour, the stink of cauterised flesh filled the air, invading her nostrils.


The burly Trandoshan hissed angrily and she was caught off-guard when he launched himself at her, ramming his shoulder into her. The former Padawan staggered. Following up, he swung his axe at her. The mechanical reservoir that served as a second heart pumped chemicals into her bloodstream, filling her with adrenaline, and her enhanced reaction time let her see the move coming. She dodged, though not before the axe carved a line across the side of her helmet.


As she cartwheeled, two other goons fired their blaster pistols. Bolts bounced off her sabre, cries of pain were heard, but some got past her guard. Her armour did a good job deflecting, but she felt a strong, searing burn surge through her stomach. Seeing her weakness, the Trandoshan came at her like an ox, but pulling the Force into her muscles, she somersaulted, landing right in the midst of the shooters. A quick twirl of her lighsabre was all it took to scythe them down.


A furious blow from the lizardman slammed her into the wall, but she rolled, and when he brought his axe crashing down, she brought up her lightsabre to block it, just above her head, using the enhanced strength of her cybernetic arm. As both struggled against one another, she unleashed her telekinetic will upon his manhood, crushing it. A loud scream escaped his throat, and she thrust the tip of her blade into his stomach, impaling him upon it. He dropped to the ground like a sack of potatoes. More gangers came, taking advantage of her vulnerable position, but blaster bolts cut through the air, dropping them. The rather damaged shape of Charlotte stepped out of the restricted room, holding the smoking blaster.

 

[Maris Fero]

Maris watched Enyo take something from workings of the fallen droids with a raised brow, something had been different with them, Enyo had resorted to sheer strength rather than her own powers, and Maris had felt nothing of the now familiar energy at work. The cyborg seemed to feel her gaze on her, and Enyo turned to share a look with Maris.

The youth’s gaze studied the ruin of Enyo’s false flesh, and chrome chassis beneath and the odd eyes, one so real, the other that of a machine. For the briefest of doubts plagued Maris’ imagination in that gaze, wondering how real Enyo’s existence might feel to her, wondering then if it were possible to be a cyborg - whatever Enyo was - and not even realise it. How would you know until someone looked beneath the skin?

She blinked and the moment was over, nodding to Enyo and seeking cover as the lizard set about placing charges for breaching. “Just one more wall.. “ she murmured to the other gangers, giving each a look that she hoped would keep them steady, the survivors had seen a lot of blood so far.

-----

The sounds outside had ceased abruptly, the expensive droids had been an investment, but now that things had reached such a head the Vizier was glad for his foresight and was quietly pleased to have weathered the attack unscathed. The Ezatz had been bold and brutal, and the attack had been so cleverly cloaked from his network of spies in the Ezatz organisation that the Chevin was almost impressed by the resourcefulness of the lesser Mobsters.

Almost.

“You see, Toyba, nothing to be conce-” but his words were drowned out as a portion of the wall alongside the secured entrance exploded in a shower of rock and rubble.

[member="Enyo Typhos"]

 

[Enyo Typhos]

[member="Maris Fero"]


There was a loud boom, as the door exploded in a shower of rock and rubble. A cloud of smoke and dust clogged the air. The battle-scarred shape of Enyo emerged from the smoke. The combination of shrapnel-touched false flesh, silvery chrome chassis and mismatched eyes gave her a grotesque appearance. But also an intimidating one, judging from the reaction of the underlords huddling inside the stateroom.


All of a sudden, their sanctuary had become a prison. The fact that she was surrounded by a pack of heavily armed killers and sellswords only underlined this point. Her lightsabre was unignited, but featured prominently on her belt and the perceptive would see the hilt's significance.


"I knew this would happen! You've doomed us all!" the Toyadrian, whose warnings had gone unheeded and who'd been forced into the role of the Cassandra, exclaimed. Using his wings, the money man took off into the air. But as he sought to fly away, a feeling of tremendous pain surged through these delicate wings and he was abruptly hurtled towards a wall before being brought back down to earth. Fortunately, there was a carpet.


Outside of direct proximity to the Voidstone, Enyo's powers were not smothered. "Try to flee again, and I'll break every bone in your body," the cyborg informed him matter-of-factly. "The casino under my control. No help is coming for you. You will submit to me - or die." There was a flash in her scarlet eye as it fell upon the Chevin Vizier.


"Mr. Iblis, I presume." And thus the nameless alien finally got a name. It only took this one thirty posts to come up with one! "I am Enyo Typhos. Iron Fist Consortium." The enormous, aurodium statue of Bogo stared down upon his minions. His broad smile seemed mocking to her. "I'd ask where he is, but I believe that's superfluous," she added sardonically.

 

[Maris Fero]

Another face amongst the crowd who had stormed the mighty MezNez, Maris watched the scene unfold in the boardroom with a surprising degree of detachment. She had briefly considered shooting the mewling, winged Toydarian before Enyo dealt with his doom-crying with a brutal show of force that silenced the distraught mob-bookkeeper. The urge to act gnawed at the Shrike, even as she stood at rest, something in her was still yearning to punish these people.

As Enyo declared the mobsters' place in the new world order the gangers and cyborgs spread out a little around the room, eyeing their prisoners with care. Maris wasn’t even sure what was to come next. Though she felt as if somehow this should be her night, her celebration, her victory she knew both instinctively and logically that this was, in fact, Enyo’s victory, and that of the Iron Fist consortium. She had just been, what, a contractor? A guide and a mercenary leader, someone to be paid of course, but not one who would share the spoils or own any of this prize.

The slab-like form of the Vizier had regained his composure and again stood before Enyo, straight-backed and proud the deep basso voice of Mr Iblis resounded with no small amount of false courage and sureness. “Ms Enyo Typhos. Of the Iron Fist consortium.,” he spoke the words slowly, quickly grasping some of the situation at hand; This woman, or droid, was not working with the Esatz family, She was not, in fact, a local at all.

“You are correct, My Lord The Great and Mighty Bogo - his Excellence and Generosity - is, in fact, Absent from Vorzyd V, he has travelled to Nal’Hutta for the season.”

Already thin, the confidence on the faces of the other executives looked to be draining rapidly as the elephantine Vizier spoke further. So pathetic were the looks they exchanged that Maris couldn’t help herself, an all too girlish giggle escaping her lips as she struggled to contain a laugh.

The vizier’s dark gemlike eyes narrowed and he frowned as he made to continue.

[member="Enyo Typhos"]

 

[Enyo Typhos]

[member="Maris Fero"]


“You are correct, My Lord The Great and Mighty Bogo - his Excellence and Generosity -is, in fact, Absent from Vorzyd V, he has travelled to Nal’Hutta for the season," the elephantine Vizier blustered, trying in vain to puff himself up and retain vestiges of authority, despite having already lost the game. Maris' girlish giggle was like an exclamation mark that drove the point home.

"Your time's up. I think your boss wants to have a word with you," Enyo's mutilated face was a mask of flesh and chrome. Activate it, she transmitted. Purely electronic, wireless communication was so much more efficient - and far more difficult to eavesdrop on, especially if it was between two HRDs.

For a moment, nothing happened. Then suddenly the holoprojector beeped. A lackey pressed the button, and the bloated apparition of Bogo the Hutt manifested inside the chamber. It was large enough to fill a sizeable portion of it. The same projection that had been giving orders ever since the wurm had gone underground, becoming an enigma even to his inner circle.

"Do not be alarmed, my friends. I have not forsaken you. Vizier, I am most displeased with you. You have embezzled, consorted with the Cartel's enemies and allowed traitors to infest our ranks. After I discovered that it was you who betrayed us to the Ezatz during the war, I hired these...outsiders t eradicate the taint. " his bulbuous eyes fell upon Enyo.

"The time has come for us to rise. I have entered an...accord with the Iron Fist. In return for their assistance, acknowledge their claim to this casino. Together, we shall unleash our might upon our true enemies, the Ezatz and the other vermin that spit in our face. I hereby sentence you to death, Iblis."

“No, this is a lie! A fraud! The real Bogo would never sell us out. He is...uhh."

"Dead?" Enyo said flatly. "That's a bold claim when you've been following the Great and Mighty Bogo's orders for all this time. So either he's dead and you're a traitor and a liar, or he's not and you've just signed your death warrant."

 

[Maris Fero]

The eyes of several key lieutenants traded surreptitious gaze’s between one another as the Hologram of Bogo appeared to chastise his council and reveal the villainous Chevin for who he truly was. The glances lasted only a moment but to a practised study such as Maris it was immediately clear how many of those present were privy to the lie the Vizier retold. And yet, to some, the charade was genuine; The Shrike watched their looks of fear turn to horror as their employer announced that they were complicit in the Viziers treachery.

Some made to call out curses toward their former colleague, whilst others took longer to reel from the shock of the rapidly changing situation, reliving the last hour in a new - false - light.

Maris was smiling widely now, unable to suppress her amusement at the confusion, panic and mistrust growing amongst the Hutt’s former advisors. She openly laughed, genuine but cruel, as Mr Iblis tried to reject the charges but only managing to damn himself in a whole new light with half of his peers.

“Those ones knew it too!” she beamed, casually pointing to four other conspirators in turn, sure of their complicity despite having no physical evidence of the guilt. “This one is terrified. And that one! She -” Maris pointed her blaster at the centre mass of a silently seething Rattataki,“- Is thinking about fighting her way out..”

The woman hadn’t so much as moved but to unbutton an extra two buttons of her coat, but Maris saw the move for what it had been; an attempt to reach a weapon. She froze very still when the ganger covered her with the weapon, eyes narrowing.

Iblis glared at the Raven-haired local girl and hissed his continued denial, looking away from Enyo and toward the undecided others, beseeching. “This is all a ruse, She’s a Sith, you see her weapon! The Holo is a fake!”

[member="Enyo Typhos"]

 

[Enyo Typhos]

[member="Maris Fero"]


Enyo waved Iblis' words aside as if they were buzzing insects. "Those are the rantings of a doomed man who wants to drag down as many of you as possible. Follow him in folly, and you'll all die. Sergeant, cuff the traitors," she ordered, picking up the metaphorical ball Maris had tossed her. Evidently she'd come to similar conclusion. We need to move the broadcasting infrastructure somewhere less...public. Someone else may get the same idea as us, she transmitted to Charlotte, receiving a silent ping of affirmation.


"You disapppont me, Iblis," the faux Bogo spoke in a low, menacing voice, like a wolf growling. "And you, Kigase," his dark, bulbuous eyes fell upon the seething Rattaki, who was abruptly grabbed from behind by a burly Trandoshan cyborg. Roughly, the lizardmen frisked her and removed her concealed blaster. She hissed and struggled, but then cold metal wrapped her hands as she was cuffed. "You two plotted to murder the members of this council who remained loyal to the Cartel. I have all the evidence that you schemed to poison them," at that he gazed towards those underlings who had been unaware of the deception.


"You're a traitor, Iblis. You almost doomed us all!" the Toydarian spat. "Great and Mighty Bogo, I've never wavered in my loyalty to you." Still in pain from being ragdolled and fearful of being murdered, he'd evidently decided that it would be best to align himself with what looked like the winning team at the moment. He did not need a weatherman to know which way the wind was blowing.


"I know, my friend. You were cruelly deceived. But don't worry, there will be a place in the new order for all those who were not part of his manipulations. Under my leadership, and with the aid from the offworlders, we will reclaim our rightful place in this city and crush the vermin that slighted us. As a replacement for my traitorous Vizier, I will choose one of you as my counsellor." That was the carrot for their silence and obedience.


His voice soon turned cold again. "For now, we have a cleansing to see to. I sentence the traitorous rats to death. Ms Typhos, execute them as you see fit. As for you, my friends," at that he looked towards those underlings who'd been unaware of the deception, "since the vermin betrayed you as well, you may want to participate and avenge yourselves." It did not sound like participation was optional. Those who refused risked being seen as traitors.

 

[Maris Fero]

[member="Enyo Typhos"] and ‘Bogo’ seemed to have the situation all wrapped up, the traitors and loyalists were at each other's throats and her employer had called for the traitors' execution. As the Rattaki was disarmed and cuffed, Maris offered her a saccharine sweet smile, lowering her own weapon and moving to perch herself at the edge of the conference table, propping her feet up on an expensive chair the Rattaki only just vacated.

The boss had called for the death of the Vizier, and the weighty impact of a weapon butt to the Chevin’s ribs silenced any argument with the sentencing. The remaining gangers slowly started to unwind, but they all looked awkward as if they were missing something.

“Go..” Maris inclined her head toward the door signalling her peers should disperse, “I’ll send word when she wants to see you all.” she promised.

Maris lay back on the conference table, ignoring everything else around her. Idle, her right hand lay on the flat of her stomach, remembering the agony she had felt there before - now just a numb pain. Her other hand patted down her pocket, feeling for her Tabac pack and frowning to find it amiss.

Hell of a night at the Casino...

 

[Enyo Typhos]

[member="Maris Fero"]


There were screams, pleas and shouts. Some begged for their lives, offering riches they'd lost any claim to. Others cursed their would-be killers and former comrades. Some of the aforementioned comrades were all too eager to pull the trigger to prove their loyalty. Others did so with great reluctance, fearing for their lives no doubt. In the end, the pleas did not matter. The words of the condemned were drownd by the whine of blasters.


Then there was silence. Iblis did not join his allies in death right away. First, Enyo had a private moment with him. He had a strong mind and little incentive to give up his secrets, but the Force had a way of opening closed books, or at least reveal a few pages inside them. Then he was sent to his maker as well. Announcements were made, Cartel goons were compelled to stand down.


Eventually, she returned to Maris. Sadly, she had not brought a Tabac pack. Even as a human, she'd refused to smoke or indulge in any of those other vices she was certain her mirror was unable to resist. The goons had left the scene. They had a casino to secure. Besides, some of them needed medical attention or repairs. With cyborgs, it tended to be a bit of both.


It was just the two of them now. "Our work here is done. The Cartel is in the Iron Fist's pocket," she spoke needlessly, since both facts were probably quite obvious. Her voice did not convey triumphant exaltation. She was matter-of-fact. "By the time guests visit the casino again, everything will be back to normal once more. You did well, Maris. Your services will be rewarded."

 

[Maris Fero]

Stillness returned as the remaining goons, gangers and the Hutt’s councillors vacated the space. The heavy tread of the Cyborgs was the last to fade from Maris’ hearing and eventually only the indistinct sounds of crowds picking through the casino battleground beyond the doors were all that could be perceived.

Even so, without even opening her eyes Maris was acutely aware of Enyo’s presence in the room, like a maelstrom of energy near to her. She imagined that, to Enyo, Maris’ energy probably flickered as weakly as a stuttering candle by comparison. Earlier she had been an unchecked blaze, she had felt sure of that, but now it was all growing dull in her memory, and the world seemed all the more grey for it.

“Word is the Cartel had the full support from Bogo’s Clan, if they find out we will have trouble. We don’t know for sure if he had other heirs either..” Maris spoke softly.

Her eyes parted and her head lolled to observe Enyo standing over her, examining the damage to Enyo’s features for a moment before settling her gaze on her new teacher's eyes.

“It’s as easy as that, isn’t it. This place has stood under the Hutt’s control for over a hundred and eighty years, and in one hour it could have been cast to rubble..” she spoke slowly, carefully choosing her words as she continued. “The people out there, they are idiots. All of them, what are they even doing here?”

“I killed for you,” she added as an afterthought, pausing as she rolled her eyes before adding “- and for me.”

[member="Enyo Typhos"]

 

[Enyo Typhos]

[member="Maris Fero"]


Enyo nodded curtly. "I've considered that. Walls have ears. Eventually, someone will suspect. Unlike the coterie of fools outside, I haven't tethered myself to this charade. It will outlive its usefulness soon enough." Her words, spoken in her usual bland tone, might be a hint for someone as perceptive as Maris.


Yet another clue that Enyo viewed Vorzyd as a stepping stone, as opposed to a place she intended to anchor herself to. "These people are weak sheep. Weak, complacent, greedy. Falling over themselves to appease those above them, hoping that a few scraps of power will be tossed their way. And just as quick to turn." There was contempt in her voice.

“I killed for you - and for me.”

She cocked her head slightly. "You did. You showed you're strong. That you can cast your inhibitions aside, and won't shy away from getting blood on your hands to accomplish a goal. Morality is a leash." No better person to get life lessons and praise from than a nihilistic cyborg.

 

[Maris Fero]

Maris nodded slowly but corrected one aspect of Enyo’s answer. “I meant all of them, really, the people up here, playing in the sun.” she waved a hand as if gesturing to a distant sun somewhere above, “all playing games and drinking and laughing and eating until they can’t do it any longer.”

She shook her head with obvious disappointment, “What are they even for? Can’t they find something more meaningful to get on with doing?”

Typhos had complimented Maris on her strength and on her determination, which actually managed to draw a momentary smile from the Shrike, even a blush of red to her cheeks a moment.

“Morality is - “ Maris paused to consider her phrasing carefully before continuing, “A luxury I couldn’t afford this evening.”

The raven-haired youth arched her spine, a soft grunt escaping her lips as she felt a knot shift in her tired muscles. A moment later the ganger sat up on the table, pulling her knees up to her chin and facing the Cyborg. “Are you going to be ok? It looks serious.”

[member="Enyo Typhos"]

 

[Enyo Typhos]

[member="Maris Fero"]


"Their lives have no meaning," Enyo agreed. "Cheap thrill, empty creature comforts and shallow hedonism - that's their life. Those who've grown up with everything value nothing. Addicts with no discipline. They've never known hardship or pain - and this makes them weak." The cyborg actually sounded animated. Or at least close it. There was disdain in her voice. In her books, lack of discipline was a cardinal sin.


The vapid, rich airheads reminded her of her mirror. Siobhan Kerrigan was just as decadent...but she'd at least fought her way up. Her path to power had been lined with bodies and soaked in blood. She'd known pain, fire and blood. In a weird way, Enyo felt a grudging respect for her. While still resenting her.


Maris' sudden query about how she was doing caught her off-guard. "My body does not break the way an organic does. Nor does it feel pain. I shall repair the damage." It might sound like boasting, but then Maris did not know of Korriban or the Simulacrum. She would not have known that Enyo's body had been incinerated by turbolaser fire. Or that her brain had been surgically removed and that she was only kept alive through monstrous science. Trapped in limbo between life and death. "You'll be given a room and a significant bonus, as a reward. Don't disrupt business in the casino. Once your body is recovered, we shall begin training."