Private The Shrodinger Box

[Laertia Io]

Wearing: Jedi Robes (http://starwarsrp.net/topic/16990-jedi-shadow-robes/)

Armed with: Dark Favor (http://starwarsrp.net/topic/138978-dark-favor/)

With: Moya (http://starwarsrp.net/topic/138583-alchemized-biot-moya-virtu/)

Installing this into lightsaber : https://starwarsrp.net/topic/148445-moya-de-liftes-ankarres-crystal/

Laertia's biot, Moya, had piloted their dynamic class down to Golbah City on Geonosis. They had business on this world. Business in its cities.

Officially, Laertia did not belong to a faction. She was a sort of hang on for the Shattered Order of the Alliance in Exile. The CIS and SJO were pretty friendly, so Laertia did not believe she would face much hassle from the locals, especially any Obsidian Knights about.

Laertia was still, ultimately on her own mission, and while that had not changed many things had gotten in the way.

The Shrodinger Box was still hers to find. She had acquired one piece, a while back with help, but much was still missing.

They both believed the next piece was here. And they were here to get it quickly, quietly, with a minimum of difficulty. Money had been good. Better than usual. But it was not enough to stay too comfortable for long. Laertia would have to find another show to book. Soon. Moya had been trying but business was a tad slow, even for her, and she was a talent agent.

The biot had shifted her body out of its pilot configuration back into her typical one, that of a bronze skinned, curvy woman with long brown, curly hair and brown eyes. She was clad in a black, armorweave bodyglove with boots as she knocked on Laertia's quarters.

"Laertia! We landed! You ready?"

"Yepz." Came the speech impeded reply.

The quarters opened and Moya quickly stepped into the pink and black polka dot painted quarters, photos on shelves everywhere and spotted her charge. Moya, though she had been taking care of her pseudo-daughter for some time now, had to close her mouth after it involuntarily dropped in surprise.

Laertia looked nothing like her typical, thuggish self. Instead she was wearing robes that were almost so black Moya's organic photoreceptors mistook it for a shadow for half a second. Black spikes two inches long with dull gold spirals at the tips adorned the top of the shoulder pads and each gloved knuckle. She could faintly see the Jedi Order's symbol as a very faint repeating pattern all across the black fabric, but particularly concentrated at the chest.

It was the mask however that really caught her.

It was the stylized, black, faceted face of a woman, whose eyes had three sensor lights on each, golden in color. The Jedi Order's symbol was emblazoned in gold within a pentacle on the forehead.

She had been in the process of finishing her lightsaber, a solid looking hilt of a silver color with a stylized blade guard on both sides, installing a crystal with a black and green series of stripes, placing it carefully in the chamber housing and sliding it shut.

Laertia lit it and a blade with an all black core and green aura slid out. Moya approached, taking the lightsaber out of her hand and examining it, the artificial flesh around her wrists rippling as it got supercharged holding something with such a pure relic within. She quickly handed it back, exhaling from the power surge as Laertia deactivated it.

"I see you are using my creator's crystal...and you modeled your new weapon on hers and mine..."

Moya's hand glided across Laertia's mask, fingers running over the gold Jedi symbol on her forehead.

"And you've modeled your armor off of hers too...why?" Moya asked gently.

"Buhcuz att dhis pointz, I gotz morr 'n' commonz wyth duh wunz whoo mayde yooz dhen anny udda kynda Jehdie..." Laertia answered. "Annd Duh Brayne Deemon Cullt musst knowz feer wunce morr."

"Laertia..." Moya drew back.

The Ex-Shadow remained passive. "Wut?"

"That cult killed the woman who made me. I don't want that to happen to you. I don't want your bones decorating some altar of theirs like my maker." Moya said, folding her arms. "I know we have to fight, but..."

It was rare for the biot to be the one who was visibly nervous. Visibly scared. She knew this was a turning point. She knew it was one thing for Laertia to put on the armor. That was necessity. But she had never seen Laertia in actual robes. It meant Laertia was no longer "retired" in Jedi Eyes.

She had seen it coming, in truth. The missions they had been going on, had not just been for the sake of completing the final task of Laertia's master, Ursula Sandraven. It had been to shake the cobwebs out of Laertia's combat prowess. Laertia was jumping back in, clearly tired of hiding from all the enemies she had made. And Moya was going with her. To be sure, Moya understood how cut off they were from official support. She knew they absolutely needed access to better equipment...but she still dreaded what all this would do to their quiet life aboard this vessel. Even though they had the recent addition of that Gozanti cruiser backing them up, the fact remained that they were still outnumbered.

"You do realize all your enemies? When they realize you are unretired? They 'will' come after us even harder."

"Dhatz why I'mm gonna kyllz dhem allz." Laertia assured the biot, clasping her by the shoulders. Moya wondered what was causing this assertiveness in Laertia. Normally, she was so shy and retreating, even with Moya. The biot's psychology programming wondered if being clad in such a sober facade gave her an additional type of armor psychologically. Part of Moya wondered if the severe facade was meant to reflect how Laertia viewed herself deep down, wondered if Laertia was deliberately giving Moya a glimpse of her "ID" or what Laertia perceived as her ID.

The Biot looked into the golden eyes of Laertia's mask.

"That's a lot of people to kill. A lot of effort to remain in the light in the process."

"I havv kylledz allz myy lyfe." Laertia reminded her.

"I just don't want you doing that until the day you die, Io." Moya said to her. "It has to stop at some point."

"Duh Galaxy haz nevuh beenz kyndz enuff tuh allowz mee dhat luxxuree..." Laertia replied. "I can'tz eskapez wut I amm. Wut I wuz borrn tuh dooz."

"You weren't born to kill. I don't believe that." Moya asserted, hand gliding across the jawline of a faceted mask.

Laertia gently took Moya's hand from her face.

"Whyyz amm I so goodz att itz dhen?" Laertia asked quietly, before she headed out of her quarters, the black clad android following, carrying her own lightsaber, an artificial beauty following a Jedi-like specter of death off the vessel into the city beyond.

Fifteen minutes later...

Moya took the lead, drawing the eyes of everyone who could be affected by her designs hyperpheremones, so much so that they didn't really notice the black shard of Laertia's figure cutting quietly through the crowd, hood drawn over her faceted mask. Moya had charmed her way past customs. They didn't need to see their identification.

Laertia's walk was reserved compared to the casual strut of the Android, hands clasped together in front of her as she moved through the lights of the streets, the lenses of her mask filtering the bright, flashing lights. Her head hurt slightly, but the power of the crystal greatly reduced her sense of pain, keeping it to a mild annoyance as opposed to an incapacitating weakness.

They were here to meet a contact. One who was to hand them another piece to the mystery Ursula had them chasing. They were to meet in the heart of Golbah City, in a decommissioned power facility. Laertia hated the cloak and dagger stuff, so she had chosen these robes that she had ordered custom to let every last one of her enemies know she was not messing around in case they were following...

Everyone was now fair game to The Black Knight of Nar Shaddaa.

Laertia was actually deeply uncomfortable in such an environment. There were too many people, the stores and shops clustered too close together, giving her flashbacks of Nar Shaddaa's slums. It was not until her training on Dantooine that she had been truly free of crowds. She never wanted to live near them again. Moya was company enough.

As the soon-to-be-ex Jedi followed Moya, she stretched out her senses to try and sense for threats but felt none. But that didn't mean there would not be. Only Moya truly looked like she belonged here though. It was just that Laertia no longer cared at this point if she stuck out. Why should the Killer Shark hide?

The Killer Shark's mind went to the subject of one of the only creatures in the Galaxy it truly loved. Now she was going to have to care for and protect Moya even more than Moya cared for and protected her. As they stopped at a public transit station, waiting for the shuttles, Moya sat at a bench, inviting Laertia to sit with her. Golbah was just reaching the evening.

Laertia sat next to the Android. Moya turned and stared at Laertia in worry.

"Ity'll beez allrytez, Moya." Laertia tried to assure her, once again embarrassed by her speech impediment. It always made her sound like some uneducated ruffian. Trying to have a meaningful conversation with Moya, a deep one, where she could express her thoughts fully, had driven her up the walls with frustration because of her speech. Most times she was happy to just let Moya talk.

"I...I'm afraid our quiet life might be coming to an end, Laertia. I don't 'want' that to end." Moya confessed, taking Laertia's hand.

To this, Laertia had no reassurance. Because now she realized she had always been planning on heading back in. Too much unfinished business. Far too much. All she could do was clasp Moya's hand in turn.

"It won'tz bee forrevvaz. Justt tillz I'mm certainz I gotz no morr enuhmiez."

"But what if you make new enemies? I don't understand why The Amalgam is toying with you..."

"I doubtz evunn shee knowwz." Laertia remarked. She had gotten a good look into The Amalgam's dead purple eyes and seen the crazy. There was a method to the crazy, but looking into her foe's eyes (which horrified her with the familiarity with which they looked back upon her...she knew those eyes somehow.) she could tell that some of the goals didn't make full sense even to The Amalgam. Not like Moya's eyes, which were warm and loving and made Laertia feel safe in their gaze. She hated seeing Moya's gaze filled with worry or fear.

"We still don't know what this box even does!" Moya complained. "It's like trying to solve a jigsaw puzzle when you only have one piece to the whole set!"

"Wy'll getz all duh piezes, donn'tz worriez!" Laertia tried to reassure the creature she treated like her mother in all but name.

Moya stroked the faceted mask with her fingertips.

"The Amalgam wants to corrupt you. Wants to destroy you. Do whatever you have to...just...promise me you won't let her change you while fighting her. I don't think I could bear it, watching her turn you, or watching you turn on your own--"

Laertia took Moya's face into her hands gently, gold lenses hiding the love-filled gray eyes of the woman behind them.

"I won'tz give hur duh satysfakshunn, Moya. I prommyyse."

Moya nodded, blinking back glowing green tears as the shuttle landed at their station.

As the pair filed aboard, paying the fair, neither were aware of the three cloaked Obsidian Knights tailing them.

"Did you I.D. them?" The lead knight, clad in the distinct armor of the Order like his brothers asked.

"Transmission came from Central. The woman everyone was eyeballing as she walked by is a Military-Grade Combat Android, highly experimental. Bunch of design weaknesses. Which would make the Grim Reaper next her a former Jedi Shadow named Laertia Io." The knight next to him answered.

"Don't look too former to me with that get-up." The lead Knight snorted. "What's she doing here in Confederate Space?"

"Unknown. But she's got a body count a kilometer high. One that would make a Sith Warrior jealous."

"Follow her. She might not be here to start some chit with The Confederacy per se, but she is definitely here to start some chit. With someone."

"Her file reads like a fething horror film." The Knight warned.

The Leader turned to his comrade.

"Then we will be sure not to get...too close."

 

[Laertia Io]

Few gave Laertia a glance on the shuttle transport, due to the frightening figure she cut. But hardly anyone could take their eyes off Moya. That was kind of the point. Laertia, more than once, had relied on Moya for precisely that sort of distraction. Though she was naturally beautiful herself, even with the scars (Which spoke volumes to how beautiful she would have been with her face unmarred), Laertia had no instinct for how to use it personally, only appreciate its presence in others besides herself. The idea of ever engaging in more than the most cursory physical intimacy (Hugs, Handholding, etc) had never even crossed her mind, and she would have been at a total loss as to what to do should such desires ever manifest.

She did, however, understand the effect of beauty, hence why Moya did the talking and leading in situations like this. Unless they were being actively tailed, Laertia doubted anyone present would remember any but Moya. Besides, who would actually want to look a Jedi Grim Reaper and be stared at right back? As far as they knew, she was just some weirdo in a freaky costume.

The Shuttle stopped at another transit station soon, and the black specter followed her caretaker off into a more isolated, empty part of the streets of Golbah City. It was night by this point, the shining, sparkling towers all around them unable to brighten this dark spot in the city, where the shadows of industrial plants and power facilities loomed.

Moya maintained a casual stance, even though she and Laertia stuck out like sore thumb. Laertia maintained a restrained poise normally quite unlike her. Moya began to get an understanding of how much different her pseudo-daughter behaved when she was genuinely making a go at the whole "Force Warrior" thing. It was like she was a completely different person. There was none of the usual shy awkwardness, the mousy behavior. Laertia was just...there...A silent ghost in black, armed with a laser sword. There was no casualness to her walk, like Moya normally observed. It was loose, gliding behind her, the gold lenses of her mask gleaming in the faint lights of far off street lamps. If Moya had not been familiar with the design, nor the person who wore it, she might have fled.

She still didn't understand why Laertia had customized her armored robes to resemble that of Moya. Her earlier explanation didn't sit well with the Android, and she had to fight off the feeling that Laertia had made them look that way simply to get Moya's approval. Even Laertia wouldn't be that desperate for it...would she?

Moya almost facepalmed at the question. This was Laertia she was taking into consideration.

Uncomfortably, the Rancor in the Room reared its head internally. She knew Laertia treated her like her parent. It was perhaps the single most important reason she had gone along with having the Android in her life...finally obtaining the parental affection she had always craved had been a temptation Laertia simply was too psychologically weak to resist, even going so far as to program Moya to love Laertia like a daughter in her darkest, weakest moment. Moya had understood all of this, and understood just how damaged Laertia was to make such a choice. It made the Android's heart swell with pity in a way that was seperate from her programmed affection for her charge. Even without the programming, the Android was certain she might have felt at least something for the Ex-Shadow. Ultimately though, she enjoyed playing Mother. Laertia was a good daughter. When there wasn't people she had to kill.

Moya was deeply worried about this new development. She was certain Laertia's best chance at a life even halfway mentally healthy was to just cease fighting. But that would never happen as long as the Amalgam lived. Or any of her remaining enemies still had the resources to keep sending assassins. As bad as Moya knew this was, even she could not ignore realities about Laertia.

She was naturally inclined to The Light, being a creation of Alkahest. Laertia...leaned towards it. But not like a true Jedi did. Laertia had a core of violence to her very nature that, while it could be mitigated, channeled to constructive purposes, could never be fully brought to heel.

What scared Moya the most about her "daughter" was that she had not been made this way by The Jedi, or their War, or The Sith.

All it had taken to turn Laertia into what she was now was to live on one of the most crime ridden, corrupt, dangerous areas in The Galaxy. With no one to help her. It was a miracle she wasn't a psychopath. Moya knew when it came to fully healing all Laertia's mental wounds, it was a hopeless prospect. And that was just the wounds Laertia managed to work up the courage to talk about. Discussing anything Nar Shaddaa related was still immensely painful for her...as far as Moya knew, she hadn't set foot in the system in years, and forbade any course that would lead to them doing a show there.

Laertia broke the Android's train of thought, pointing to the abandoned power station two stories high, its durasteel, oval facade rusted over. There had been a bad fire here a month ago. The contact figured it was the perfect spot.

Moya steeled herself as Laertia led the way inside. The generators were damaged beyond repair from the blaze. There was debris and scorch marks throughout the remains of the facility. She could feel the faint echoes of those who had died in the disaster that had consumed this place. She wasn't even sure if it was structurally stable...

"So now what?" Moya asked, as they crept through the dark interior, the roof having collapsed in for one area.

"We waitz..." Laertia answered gruffly, not wanting to speak more than necessary. She tried to speak very little in warfare...even frightened enemies had suddenly gotten a sense of bravado and mocked her ruthlessly for her speech impediment. This usually ended in a thoroughly crushed larynx for anyone foolish enough to do so, but that didn't mean the taunts didn't get to her.

"How long?" Moya asked.

"Tenn mynitz..."

"You timed this..."

"Yepz."

Moya turned to her. "Are you sure this info is good?"

"Posytyvez."

The next ten minutes were unsettling to say the least. Moya shivered, not liking the sense of death all around them. Laertia's cybernetic eye switched to thermal vision, looking for heat signatures. Moya showed up in her vision giving off lower heat than standard Organics.

Finally, she spotted a lone heat signature walking towards them from far off.

"Showwtymez..." Laertia whispered to the Android.

Moya put on an air of confidence and casually strutted out to meet the contact. He looked nondescript, pale, with black hair and gray clothes.

Moya tried the pass phrase. "The Sun is shining..."

"But the ice is slippery..." the contact said back. (The Shadow knows!: 90 XP)

"I presume you have what we want or at least the means to obtaining it?"

"Depends. You bring what I asked?"

Laertia pulled out an encrypted holodisk. She had had to put up something of equal value to what she was asking for. But Moya was not certain what Laertia could have possibly had that was worth trading for something so precious in return. Moya had not asked. She knew it wasn't money--Laertia could save for a rainy day, but not to that extent. She didn't even have a bank account in her own name. It was Moya who was in charge of that department, as Laertia could get fuzzy with the finances at times.

What could Laertia have that would make this contact be so willing to give it up such a seemingly valuable treasure?

"You'll find what you are after within a safe deposit box...number seven is its mark. Its a key to the piece's location. The Bank is The First Geonosis Intergalactic, a few kilometers south. Its guarded. You'll have to take it by force."

"Whoa. Whoaaaa... Hold on there, buddy, nobody said anything about a fething break-in! The Confederate space we are in is friendly only in theory."

"Then this will be a very important week for you..." the man replied. (Icing Problem?: 2000 XP)"I'm sorry, but that's the best I can do. I'm taking a massive risk just being out here. You're lucky I decided to sell this to you rather than those Eternal Empire feths--"

"Wait..." Moya said, going deathly quiet. "The Eternal Empire wants it? Why?"

The Contact shrugged. "Ask them. I figured I had a better chance of surviving you then them--"

A bullet tore open his head and Laertia tackled Moya to the ground half a second before silenced assault rifle fire could tear through her skull also.

They both ducked behind the remains of a generator as their position started to get peppered...

 

[Laertia Io]

Laertia and Moya got behind a burned out generator as bullets and blasters peppered their position.

Moya glanced from cover and pulled back as more bullets hit near her.

"Twenty attackers. Ten below, ten on the second level and advancing..." Moya spoke.

"I'yll getz duh wunz onn topz..." Laertia spoke, grabbing her weapon, the black blade with a green aura flashed on and she concentrated hard, the crystal that managed her pain also making it harder to focus in general.

Laertia teleported to the catwalk on the second floor, and was immediately greeted by blaster fire, Almost lazily, she switched to Soresu, as she moved, dodging actual, solid ammunition and swatting bolts back at some of the black armored shooters. She recognized the rifles...First Order knockoffs...She figured it was Eternal Empire though. It had to be.

She cleared room to room on the second floor, using nothing but her blade to thrash whoever she found. In the first few seconds, four had already been sliced in half. Moya began discharging bolts of bright green lightning from behind cover, aggro-ing the ones on the ground to try and flank her position. Laertia in the meantime, slowly, patiently moved along, cutting through the last of the shooters with sheer brute tactics, slow, with a tight defense as she teleported behind the last shooters, having ripped apart the upper level in the firefight. Moya used her Ataru in a scarily proficient way, pinballing off the surface to intercept the arms and heads of her black armored shooters, her blade the same as that of her charge, ripping and tearing through her opponents with nearly the same finality as Laertia herself, who aimed for the torso in most cases, striking only to kill...

As she came across the last, terrified shooter, backed into the corner of a burned out office, Laertia moved to strike, only to be blocked by a red lightsaber.

Her senses went off faintly behind her, enough to dodge the attacks that came from behind, teleporting next to Moya, who had spotted them as well.

The old man, grim and severe like nearly every denizen of The Eternal Empire that she had ever killed, was clad in black and gray armor, His white hair was tied neatly into a ponytail and his beard was neatly trimmed. He was flanked by two apprentices, both clad similarly to him, except wearing face concealing helmets. He clutched in his hand an ornate golden lightsaber, which sprouted a red blade slightly longer than that of his compatriots. As this is usually the point where boss music starts, Laertia was instantly on guard.

"The Shrodinger Box is destined to be the property of The Eternal Empire. You are both lose ends. Prepare to die." The older man said.

"Clymbz bak intuh yer' ratthol wherrz yoo firrst scurriedz outta." Laertia warned him.

The old man laughed.

"And who is this uneducated core slime who thinks fancy robes make her a Jedi?" he sneered.

Moya narrowed her eyes.

No one insulted her daughter in front of her.

"Laertia you sit back, I got this one..." Moya muttered, giving a death glare at the trio of Dark Adepts.

"Yoo surez?" Laertia asked, still guarding.

"Completely..." Moya said, Force Jumping onto the second floor.

"Fool! You believe you can triumph?!" The Old Man raged.

"Shut the feth up and engage me already. I don't have all night." Moya replied coldly.

The two helmeted ones attempted to Force Choke her. The flesh around her neck wriggled slightly, but did little else as she sprang forward with her Ataru striking at all angles as fast as she could. The first acolyte defended in Shien, striking back to try and decapitate but after the furious, inhumanly precise series of counterattacks from Moya, he was quickly bisected.

The second, a female apprentice attacked her in an obvious Makashi stance. Moya's green lightning erupted from her hand and though Form two was adept at defense against the Force, the biots version of electric judgement was unusually powerful, and after a few seconds of guarding, the lightsaber was blown out of his hand, the green lightning smashing into her and killing her almost instantly due to her connection to the dark.

The Old Man was left, angling his blade as Moya approached.

"One chance, motherfether. Throw down your blade and I will convince Laertia to spare you.

"I do not take orders from lessers."

"You are the lesser in this case." Moya snapped. "You will not leave this building alive. Neither of us will permit it."

"I sekundz dhat..." Laertia growled.

"I'm not afraid of you!" he sneered.

"Dhen yooz boutz' tuh diez bravuh dhen mostt..." Laertia snapped. (Fear and Lothal: 3000 XP.)

The old man hissed and try to tear the life out of Moya with the Dark Side at a range, wanting to kill her in front of the Jedi with a speech impediment. Moya's flesh merely rippled like water, and after a few seconds it was clear to the old man that Moya was totally immune.

"H-how?!" He exclaimed. It was obvious he was well versed in draining...and he had clearly never failed at it...

Moya saw fear in his eyes and tone.

"Apparantly you will not die brave at all..." Moya remarked quietly, advancing with her blade.

He attacked furiously. Expertly, to his credit. Moya was actually surprised, fending off several savage slashes and stabs for her head, backing away as he advanced in the Djem So style. As Moya lacked the physical strength to meet him head on, she simply parried hard and fast enough to throw off his slashes, letting his rage build, cloud his judgement.

He was already dead. It was simply a matter of how the Biot should kill him.

She allowed the duel to continue for a few more slashes, attacking him just as relentlessly and violently as she was able to.

Finally she deliberately left herself wide open for a stab to the chest. He smiled in triumph as his blade sank in, burning through flesh and armorweave, leaking glowing green blood, expected surprise and despair on Moya's face, to hear Laertia cry out in anguish and be drawn to the darkness a little.

But none of those things happened, and for a spilt second he was at a loss for not hearing or seeing what he expected.

His surprise turned to shock and horror as Moya, seemingly not even in pain, drove her own lightsaber into his chest, deactivating his blade at the same time.

Shock and rage crossed his face as Moya gave a mock "bye-bye!" wiggle of her fingers. He collapsed dead a second after.

"That never gets old..." she said.

There were smoke grenades suddenly, CIS Special Forces and Knights Obsidian crashed through the roof, the pieces of ceiling falling like rain.

(Tim Burton's Batman Theme plays for a few seconds.)

Laertia was showered in small debris, and in the next few seconds found herself along with Moya surrounded on all sides by Knights Obsidian pointing shotguns and lightsabers at them.

Laertia and Moya looked at each other for a second, then both dropped their blades.

"Wee suhrennduhz..." Laertia said simply.

The Knights snorted, cuffed them both, and dragged them off...

 

[Laertia Io]

Laertia waited in the interrogation room for about three hours, seperated from Moya, who she became anxious to see again, addicted to the hyperpheremones the biot exuded. It was a simple room of bare, gray walls with a two way mirror and a table she sat at.

A door opened behind her and Laertia stiffened, feeling a familiar presence, tainted by darkness.

"Uri..." Laertia ssid under her breath.

Maple Harte walked in, clad in her typical biker leathers, clutching her staff.

"I could hardly believe it, when word came down the vine who the Knights Obsidian had in their custody. They really thought they would have to take you in a body bag, Io." Maple remarked, sitting down, staring into the unmasked, scarred but still quite beautiful Laertia.

Laertia saw one eye was still that bright, wet green, the other was sulphur.

"Goin' nativz, I seez."

"I've had a lot on my mind, lately..." Maple replied calmly to Laertia's barb.

"Not like you to just march into territory primarily controlled by Dark Adepts and Sith. Even if they ARE friendly with the SJO. Lord Metus is willing to ally with Jedi, but it is not wise to abuse that willingness."

"Diddintz comez heer tuh abuze nuthinz. Info dropp dhat wentz baddz, izzall..." Laertia answered carefully.

"For?"

"Huh?"

"What info did you want?"

"Somethinz perrsunuhlz..." Laertia answered flatly. "Etturhnuhlz Emmpyrez crasshed dhat parrtee."

"Laertia, only reason they let me in is because I'm Mandragora and I vouched you weren't an enemy of The CIS. Please don't give me a reason to think that isn't true." Maple replied flatly.

"Itt evuh bothurr yooz?"

"Did what ever bother me?" Maple asked.

Laertia leaned forward. There was a cold look in her eye.

"Yoo brokez Ursy's hearrtt." Laertia growled accusingly. "I wuz dhere. Yoo tinkz yoo fooly-fooledz annywunz, playinz ded? Ursy sawz ryte throo dhat chit."

Maple was silent, stone faced for a few seconds before she spoke.

"Don't make this personal."

Laertia didn't blink. "Shee criedz, Udinia. I nevuh sawz Ursy cryy buhforez. Nevuh sawz hurr cryy againnz."

Her fists tightened. "Yooz wuz hurr pryze stoodint. I wuz dhere yeerz 'fore yooz. I wuz hurr ace. Dhen I wuz hurr sekund ace."

"I'm not here to talk of the past."

"Shee luvved yoo lyke a daughhturr!" Laertia snapped. "Yooz wuz duh appul ov hurr aye! Shee hidz itt well but I sawz! I sawz!"

"She sure as hell had a funny way of showing it..." Maple replied tersely, one corner of the table bending from her rising anger.

"Buhforez yoo? Evvvvvrybuddy thoughtz I wuz gonna bee nexxt topp dogg in duh Marxminn. Aftuh yooz cayme aroundz? I wuz yesturyeerz newwz."

It was Maple's turn to lean forward.

"The Marksmen were a mistake, Io." She said verrry tersely. "We were people who didn't learn from history. We were nothing more than a glorified send up of the Jedi Covenant with more guns. Our mission was doomed from the start. All we got to our names for our efforts is a mountain of corpses and a head full of bad dreams."

"Feth yurr badd dreemz! I gotz a hed fullz ov shrappnul!" Laertia yelled. "Yooz a kwitter, Uri. Ursy playced hurr trusst, hurr teechinz in yoo! She trusttedz yooz inna wayyz shee nevuh didz wit' meez! Annd all shee gotz outta itz iz a kwitter."

Laertia got closer to Maple, leaning a little more.

"I amm duh lasst ov Duh Marxminn. Nott yoo."

Laertia didn't react as Maple's anger snapped the table in two. The two way mirror cracked.

"Wake up, Laertia. Or whatever the hell your real name is. Because I am tired of being caught in the middle of whatever the hell is wrong with that fethed up head of yours when it comes to Ursula. She might have been our friend. She might have saved our lives plenty of times, and we, hers. But her first priority was making sure we functioned as weapons. Everything else, everything else, came second to that priority. You say I was like daughter to her...I never saw that. Maybe you really did know her better than I. Or maybe you are just so jealous because she didn't love you like one." Maple asked with a quiet, but seething tone.

Laertia went quiet.

"I am sorry if I rained on your fethed up playground with Ursula. I'm sorry if I got in the way of whatever it was you thought you were getting from her. But I left for me. And after how Ursula turned me and you into homicidal maniacs who pranced around with our flashy weapons and claimed we were Jedi when we were nothing of the sort? I had every right to want to escape that. And so did you. But you don't want to escape, do you? Noooo...Noooo...of course not. That would be too hard on you..." Maple hissed in a whisper. "Nooo...you can't stand being normal. You know, you succeeded at being normal much more than I? I couldn't escape the life, but at least I tried. At least I wanted it. But you...you had the perfect out, you stupid woman, you. You had the perfect out! You were honorably discharged! You could have roamed the stars, never lonely, always with your rabbits. Always with someone who loves you. And you are throwing it all away because you can't stop holding a sword any more than I can stop holding a gun."

Maple stopped flicking a tear away. She stood up from her seat.

"You're someone else's problem. I petitioned the SJO to send a representative to escort you to Kashyyyk for debriefing. They sent a real brute for your sorry ass to make sure you leave CIS territory real nice and the like...and that you don't return without advance warning. You'll like her. They say she's a killing machine just like us..." Maple trailed before heading for the exit.

 

[Syd Celsius]

Wearing: Phyre's Armor

Armed with: Wind and Fire Wheels (Blue Bladed Split-Saber)


Syd Celsius looked over the dossier of the wayward Jedi caught in the custody of the CIS. This didn't read like a normal knight.

If anything...it read like her own history: A specialized killer of Sith.

The CIS had contacted the SJO, asking for one of them to come pick up a potential problem. Considering the murky status of The Shattered Jedi, given they were the remnants of the fallen Galactic Alliance, and given how obviously, hideously deadly Laertia was, Syd had been sent to get her out of 'friendly' territory before she caused a diplomatic incident.

Syd once more wore her old self's armor, as it was the only one that had the best lightsaber resistance in case Laertia didn't feel like going quietly. Something about her background on Nar Shaddaa stirred something in Syd, but she could not define it. A lingering sense of almost-familiarity.

Syd honestly hoped it would not come to blows. She could not stand the thought of killing or hurting a Jedi. But upon noting Laertia's expertise in the Lightsaber Syd had to prepare for the possibility.

Syd flipped through the photos they had of her. In her current organic condition the living weapon could appreciate better Laertia's pale beauty, captured in a few scant photos. Io was clever...no permanent residence, no up to date photos other than recently, getting pinched by The CIS. Never paid personally, as her android handled the finances. She apparently had been retired until a year ago. What was she doing in Sith controlled territory? She technically wasn't an enemy of The CIS, but that did not make her a friend either.

(Gray Fox Boss Fight Theme Plays for a few seconds)

Syd would ask once she got there. All she could do was hope Laertia was feeling talkative...

She had been given clearance to land in Golbah City. Laertia had been confined to a small building with her android under immense military guard. They were not being treated poorly...apparently she had a friend in there...but they were not to leave the building.

Her Star Courier landed at a pre selected sight and Syd stiffened as she felt the presence of multiple Dark Siders within the immediate area. Normally, the only way Syd would have ever thought of marching into this place uninvited would be if she was prepared to burn everything to the ground, and even then itd be iffy. One of them would get her.

Syd took only a single weapon, tools that had become reforged into one, drawing on skills used for evil to a now different purpose. Though Syd was skilled in lightsaber combat herself, she was not certain she could defeat her blade to blade. It would definitely have to be decided by their knowledge of the Force.

Problem was there were very few survivors from encounters with her. What few who had were not on their side.

Syd floated out of her ship after landing into the open air of Golbah City, her white and gold chrome suit reflecting everything around her as she landed and began a calm, leisurely stroll through the city to reach her escort mission.

They had kept her in a nondescript, square, gun metal gray building over two stories in height with a balcony. Fifteen Knights Obsidian guarded the Entrance, obviously some of the local swordmasters. Their leader, who wore a custom red version of their garb stared at her as she approached.

"I'm the SJO representative sent to fetch the occupant..." Syd trailed, stiffening as she felt Laertia's immense strength in The Force. She was not a mere knight. This woman radiated the power of a Master...although a Master weak in the Light. No wonder they all felt nervous.

"Glad you are finally here. We can feel her pacing about. Restless. Figures they'd send a killing machine for another killing machine."

"It is an unfortunate reality of our chosen profession these days." Syd responded, unperturbed by his blunt assertion. She had long ago accepted she was a killer. But she now had the possibility of being more, unlike before.

The question is...did Laertia?

Syd felt a deep surge of an emotion she was unfamiliar with.

Empathy.

From the look of her files, much like Syd, Laertia had killed and killed almost her entire existence, ripping and tearing even though it would never ever truly be done...she, like Syd, had apparently retired only when forced to.

They...neither had ever had a life without a weapon to solve their problems.

Syd stopped as she went past them without a word.

They...they were so alike...

Curiousity now stirred in Syd to meet the only other creature she had ever truly empathized with.

She patiently walked up the steps, giving herself time to prepare. It had not occured to her at the time, reading what files they had until just now.

Syd decided to try showing compassion, in an attempt to avert hostilities. It would discomfort her in the extreme to fight the first person she had ever compared herself to. It would feel wrong. Perverse.

Syd walked past bare gray walls and into a dojo like setting.

Syd's human, but still enchanted flesh caused the flesh on one side of her face to shiver for a split second as it adjusted to Io's presence. Io was clad in spiky black biker leathers, and Syd's breath caught in her throat as she beheld the scars on her face and head. She had inflicted those types of wounds on others, so she knew how serious (and often fatal) they were. Io must have had supreme strength of will to survive. She could also sense the energy of machines within her body. One arm was a glossy, obsidian black. Well maintained. They had at least stripped her of weaponry, thank the Force but ones such as Io were clever...they usually had one or two tricks up their sleeve. A curvy, striking woman of tan skin and close to middle age in a black armorweave catsuit of her own leaned against one wall of the nearly bare, dojo like setting. She had an extremely hard to sense presence. Syd would have to be careful.

Oddly, as she stared at her, the faint traces of Darth Phyre within her caused her to grip her weapon a little tighter without understanding why. Moya, created but never active during her maker's time had no idea who Syd was.

She had no idea she was staring at the very reason her Maker had sent Io almost three centuries into the future.

She had no idea she was staring at the woman who had butchered Laertia's parents.

Io was on both knees in meditation, trying to center her emotions when she felt the strangest presence she had ever felt in the Force. She looked up, spotting the stunningly beautiful red headed woman of exotic features in the white and gold chrome catsuit that clung all too tightly to her athletic figure. Io raised an eyebrow.

"Miss Io." Syd greeted, taking a bow respectfully.

"Nyce tuh meetcha..." Laertia answered nuetrally, unaware of who she was speaking to, even on an unconscious level due her brain damage.

"I have been sent to escort you safely to Kashyyyk."

"Dhat maykez mee a priznurr?"

Syd sensed echoes of pain, emotions she was just barely starting to understand. For some reason, it made her want to sincerely try to make it about cooperation and mutual respect.

"It makes me someone willing to give up their life to make sure harm does not befall you, physical or otherwise..." Syd explained calmly. "I'm not your enemy, and I have no wish to be."

"Butz ifz I triez tuh eskaypez, yooz gottaz chayse meez?"

"I sincerely hope you are not contemplating it. I would hate to have to resort to violence, Master Io. Two Jedi should not fight."

"I'mmz notz a massturr..." Laertia said calmly.

"No. That is the aura of a master. A reckless master. But a master. A woman like you should be in charge of her own enclave from what I have read on you."

"Trustz meez laydee, dherez a worrrlld 'o' diffrunce 'tween meez annd a masstur."

Syd only gave a simple nod. "If you say so. Are you ready to leave, Miss Io? Your ship is waiting where it was left."

Laertia glanced at Syd's split saber and for a terrible second was reminded of The Amalgam's own weapon. Even the light shaded combat suit brought the uncomfortable comparison.

Laertia quickly shook it out of her mind. She felt the Light in Syd and she was being sincere, it seemed. Laertia was also reminded of her Mastur Ursula's white armor.

This relaxed her more than it should have.

"Twoo blaydez. Weekurr duhfense."

"More versatility." Syd responded calmly, trying not to antagonize her. "But we will not be fighting?"

"You've nothing to fear, Master Jedi. Laertia would never attack a member of the Order. Everyone else..." Moya trailed.

"Heh..." Laertia chuckled.

"I can relate." Syd assured her, growing more interested by the second."

Laertia rose.

"I shallz havz tuh tesst itz, wenn I getz duh channce..."

"Hopefully in a friendly bout." Syd replied.

Laertia nodded. "I'm redeez..."

 

[Syd Celsius]

Syd walked with Laertia and Moya through the streets of Golbah, feeling the eyes of the Knights Obsidian everywhere as they journeyed to Laertia's vessel.

Seeing the old Dynamic class freighter stirred something in Syd she could not quite explain. Stirred the dead Darth Phyre within her, but she kept her peace. Laertia clearly didn't trust her, and Syd didn't want to upset the delicate tight rope with another killing machine like herself.

Laertia's walk was crisp, calm and measured, totally in contrast with her spiky, ungainly appearance. Moya's movements were smooth and buttery, and Syd made note of how Laertia stuck close to her android caretaker with absolute, unquestioned trust. Syd wondered if anyone would ever trust her that way.

"Nice ship. I didn't think anyone flew that model anymore..." she remarked as they reached the landing pad.

"I'vez haddz dhis olld bucckett fer az lonng az I cann ruhmemmbuh..." Laertia said proudly of her once unnamed ship, now named after the Founder of The Marksmen.

So far it had not gone pear shaped. Syd was greatful. Even she was starting to suspect the only way she would beat Laertia is if she cheated, and she would have to cheat so hard Laertia would be maimed or dead at the end of it.

Maybe this really would be just a peaceful escort mission--

"Halt!" called out a voice with an exotic feminine accent. Syd turned curious as she watched a beautiful, curvy women of middle age with an ivory tone to her skin and black hair that was long and smooth like glass stride up to them quickly in high heels through the crowd in a tight fitting white dress.

Syd raised an eyebrow in curiosity as she waved a set of papers in the air as she reached them.

"I'm afraid you cannot go just yet Lady Io. We have business, you and I?"

"I wasn't informed of such..." Syd trailed, annoyed.

"I'm afraid its come up at the last minute..." the woman explained crisply. "I have obtained a court order just fifteen minutes ago, confining Laertia to Geonosis for an extension of a week."

"On what grounds?" Moya asked.

"One of the higher ranked Knights Obsidian wants a word with her. The Knight in Question is off world, and should be back within twenty four hours..." the woman explained. "My name is Vera Mina. This is my card, you may contact me at my office if you have questions."

"Will we be confined to the compound, as previously?" Moya inquired.

"You are free to reside on your ship during your confinement to Golbah, as well as peruse any of our fair city's establishments..." Vera assured her. "However, clandestine activities of the sort that got you confined will be severely scrutinized..."

Vera handed Moya her business card and walked off into the crowds. Syd sighed in frustration. Government red tape. This was the single biggest thing she disliked going mainstream Jedi. All the damn red tape.

"Well, there goes the idea of this being done neatly..." Syd sighed.

"Would you like to come aboard?" Moya offered. "I would be willing to make some tea..."

Laertia gave Moya a slight glance but said nothing otherwise.

"Only if Master Io is comfortable with it."

"I tolldz yooz, itz jusst Laertia..." Laertia giggled, in spite of the tense situation. "Itz okayyz...I guezz..."

Fifteen minutes later...

The inside of the ship had a cozyness to it that Syd had never personally experienced. She saw posters of Laertia's magic shows everywhere and there were far more knick knacks then on her own ship, and Syd got a new sense of just what a personal space was actually filled with. Syd was however, at a loss to explain the contrast between this image of a killer Syd had built up in her mind and these images of a seemingly harmless woman, doing magic tricks to entertain common folk. How can someone like this veer between such extremes so easily?

Perhaps it was the same way for her that it was for Syd...she had been forced to start veering between extremes herself...

Syd sat down in the table in the main hold, not even getting so much as a hint from the quiet, dead Darth Phyre within her as to how special the owner of this place would have once been to her. Moya prepared Tea, and Laertia sat down across from her.

"Sweetie! They returned our lightsabers!" Moya called out from the kitchen area, finding them on the counter as she got out cups.

"Chex 'emz fer buggz." Laertia called out. "Basstahrdz haddz emz lonngz enuffz...mattuh ov fax, wee shud chex duh hole shippz fer buggz..."

"If I might ask, what was it you had come to Golbah City for? All I was told was that you were apprehended after some sort of fight." Syd asked.

"Wellz..." Laertia trailed sheepishly, not making eye contact. "I wuzz tryinz tuh fullfyllz a lasst ruhkwest byy muh masstuh, Ursula..."

Syd tried to show sympathy. "I see. What was this request?"

Laertia armored up again. "Sumthin perrsunuhlz. Wanntydz meez tuh fyndz ann itemmz. A bahx. Butz itz inn a...vaultz..."

"What's so special about this box of yours?" Syd asked.

"Dunnoz..."

Syd thought a moment. "Where is it?"

"Not until I've cleared the ship for bugs." Moya answered, bringing out a tray of tea for both of them, sitting next to Laertia. "But the meeting we risked so much to obtain that information got crashed by Eternal Empire operatives."

"Any idea why they would want it?" Syd asked, picking up the hot cup, realizing this would be the first time she actually tasted something.

The tea was sweet and full bodied. The shock of tasting something sweet for the first time was almost too much and Syd actually pulled her lips away from the cup in surprise at the sensation. Laertia made note of this reaction but pretended not to notice, glancing more at Moya as she drank her tea.

"I'mm tryinz tuh honorz Ursy, so I jusst hadz tuh getz duh bahx, yooz seez..." Laertia added.

Syd, perhaps a bit too giddy at tasting something for the first time felt a crazy idea enter her.

Spotting a nearby pen and paper, Syd floated them both over to the table and wrote a message:

Perhaps I can get it for you.

Laertia, stared, took the paper and pen and wrote something back, her handwriting a shockingly beautiful form of cursive:

Dangerous. Risky. High probability of detection by enemy forces. Severe risk of a diplomatic incident with The SJO and CIS if you are discovered. Why make such an offer?

Syd wrote back: Because I want to earn your trust and convince you to join The SJO.

Laertia raised an eyebrow. Tall order she wrote back.

Syd wrote another message: Would you at least consider it if I succeed?

I would the scarred Jedi wrote back.

Moya wrote something down now: It's in the national bank of Golbah.

Syd scoffed at this in her reply: If they have anything that can stop me, they deserve to catch me. We are agreed, then?

Laertia nodded at this. Syd smiled, taking what they had written down and igniting it with a twitch of her eye, burning it to ash.

Laertia giggled a little at the display. Inwardly, there was no humor.

So that is why the SJO sent you in particular... she thought privately.

 

[Syd Celsius]

Syd had enjoyed her first ever tea. Moya had poured more, but only Laertia drank it, some aged Atrisian Green Tea. In fact, Syd saa a large amount of Atrisian paraphernalia strewn about, incense burners, prayer beads, silk screens.

"I can't help but notice your affinity for Atrisia, Laertia." Syd asked, growing more at ease around her than perhaps was wise. But she felt no danger or deception in Io or Moya, though Syd could barely sense her.

Syd was even intrigued at how much Laertia seemed to trust The Android, giggling at Moya's occasional jokes, the atmosphere of the ship interior like a home, isolating one from the madness of The Outside Galaxy. Syd began to wonder if she would ever care for anyone the way Laertia did about her Android. But one thing was for certain...she was definitely starting to warm to Laertia.

Eventually, Syd worked up the nerve to ask about Laertia's bladeship.

"You truly believe Jar'Kai to be ineffective?" Syd questioned.

"Onlee wunn dhat evuh pulled it offz wellz wuz Asajj Ventress annd evun sheez cuddintz beattz Tyranus inn duh enndz." Laertia insisted. "Dooku, Vader...dhey allz prooveddz duh sinngull blaydez wherr itz attz."

Syd smiled. "Perhaps I can prove you wrong."

Laertia stared at Syd impassively for a few moments.

"Hmmm...howwzaabouttz yooz fytez Moya?" Laertia asked innocently.

Moya slid her eyes over to Laertia for a split second before sliding back to Syd.

"You are well versed in the single blade?" Syd asked of the Android.

Moya nodded with a small smirk.

"I am."

Laertia was silent, watching the both of them.

Syd turned to Laertia. "Why not fight me yourself?" She asked with an amused smile.

"Nauuseaa." Laertia lied. "Brayne aktz uppz sumtymez..."

Syd, not versed in interpersonal conversation and reading emotions, didn't catch or sense the Lie.

Syd tapped her fingers on the table before nodding.

"Okay. A friendly duel."

"I'll go get ready." The Android said.

"I gottaz taykes duh funni pyllz..." Laertia added, excusing herself to her private quarters aboard the vessel...where Moya happened to have just finished changing to her typical black dress of armorweave.

"Sweetie?" Moya asked quietly as Laertia sat down on the bed. "May I ask why you want me to fight Syd?"

"Nevuh showwz yer full hanndz on duh foyst rounnd 'a' carrdz..." Laertia explained bluntly.

This answer instantly forced Moya to reassess Laertia's psychological profile. She had never seen Laertia act this deceptively. Certainly not with a fellow light adept like Syd.

"What's got you on edge about her?"

Laertia stared at her with a grimness Moya had never seen before.

"I dunnoz...can'tz exxplainez itz..."

Moya moved around in stilettos of Cortosis weave durasteel, swishing it around.

"You did something to it. It feels heavier."

"I innstalledz heet synkz innitz. Sum exxtraa sheeldinz tooz."

Moya smiled, kissing Laertia on the forehead. "Ohh, you're such a dear..."

(Sinister Latin Chanting)

Laertia swayed a bit as the biot's hyper-pheremones flooded her system on contact with Moya's flesh, which was saturated with it. She hugged Moya, pressing her head close to Moya's stomach while the Android's fingers petted her damaged scalp and she calmed down, mentally exhausted from having to act so tough on the outside. This was the Laertia Moya knew best, the one that craved her attention and motherly affection, (And which she happily supplied) the one who fell asleep listening to Moya read ancient poetry to her. The one who could fall asleep just resting her head on Moya's shoulder during movie night.

Syd of course, did not see any of this, or she would have understood just how psychologically vulnerable Laertia actually was, how easily she could be manipulated through Moya. Syd was simply meditating, preparing herself for battle.

The trio had found and selected an old speeder parking lot currently in disuse but overlooking both the rest of Golbah City and Laertia's vessel.

Moya and Syd bowed, while Laertia sat in a meditative position between them. Syd parted her Split-Saber, its dark blue blades shining as she spun them. Moya turned on her own single blade, its core completely black but surrounded by a dark green aura.

Syd and Moya rushed each other, their blades clashing furiously as Moya bore down on the surprised Syd from seemingly all angles, each attack leading directly into the next, leaping, flipping, and spinning with The Force, just as Syd did, though her style was a two bladed form of Makashi and Soresu, and this caught Laertia's attention for despite her dismissal of more than one lightsaber in battle, the way Syd fought was genuinely beautiful, her blades constantly intercepting Moya's assault, who pushed her back, gradually, in spite of the smoothness and expertness of Syd's defense, the Android's slashes, chops, and thrusts expertly timed and delivered to leave as little chance as possible for Syd to retaliate. Syd, due to her extreme experience at relentlessly being assaulted, however, allowed for her to stay in the game, and as hard as Moya pushed her, Syd would occasionally manage a counter attack Moya could barely parry.

Laertia allowed them to continue trading blows, near mesmerized by Syd's undoubted skill, but mostly enjoying watching Moya fight, as cunning attacks were intercepted by just as cunning last second defenses against one another's blade.

Laertia gave a subtle whistle, meant to sound impressed. It was actually a signal to Moya to throw the fight.

Moya did so, seemingly accidentally missing a swing during an attack sequence that allowed Syd to get her blade against Moya's neck.

Syd smirked, not realizing how Laertia had played her. What Laertia didn't realize however, was she had also unknowingly messed up.

Fighting Moya so fervantly, with the Force flowing between two such unnatural beings had given Syd an unexpected boost in the Force, an imprint of her opponent.

"You are...an admittedly very skilled fighter. But the duel is mine."

Moya nodded in acknowledgement of Syd's statement.

Syd looked at Laertia, doing her best to look attentive, if diminutive.

"Still doubt the strengths of dual blades?" Syd asked playfully.

Laertia gave a grin and shrugged. Inwardly, she had already made note of Syd's weaknesses as a duelist...as well as started developing a healthy apprehension of her strengths. It would be a savage duel. Laertia was not certain why she was thinking this way. She barely knew Syd, and had so far been given no reason to treat her as a potential enemy.

But what if they got the piece of the box and Syd decided it was too dangerous to leave in her hands?

They would have to fight for it, obviously. Laertia didn't want to, but she hadn't gotten this far without taking even potential enemies seriously.

Still, she felt guilt, considering Syd had been nothing but friendly and accommodating. Laertia could only hope it would end friendly.

Had Laertia known who Syd actually was, Laertia would have torn Syd to pieces with her bare hands. But she didn't know, nor did she, even after this, have the faintest inkling of what the woman smiling at her had taken from her life.

"I bid you both good day. I have to return to my ship..." Syd explained. "But it was nice getting to know the hoth of you."

"Annytymez!" Laertia replied jovially.

Syd bowed to her and Moya and flew off. Moya turned to Laertia.

"Well, Sweetie? Do you have her measure now?" Moya asked.

"Kyndaz..."

Meanwhile...

Syd had landed a block from her own vessel, choosing to walk the rest of the way. She shook her head, clutching it as the fragment of knowledge she had absorbed fighting Moya began to filter in. She walked down an alley way to clear her head...

The knowledge came quite suddenly to her mind, seizing control of her body, and the flesh wriggled and bubbled on her skeleton, melting her appearance and athletic figure before resetting itself, her flesh still wriggling occasionally as green arcs of lightning danced across her chrome covered body.

Syd heard a scream of a man down the alleyway and went to investigate it. Three thugs had apparently been attempting to rob a man a gun point.

Just because it was not her jurisdiction didn't mean Syd did not care. She decided to test her newfound knowledge. She triggered her new skill on instinct, and this made her flesh wriggle and bubble constantly.

"Hey, asshat!" She shouted to the criminals. "Drop him!"

The thugs, freaked out by the humanoid abomination whose skin literally bubbled in front of her, opened fire, shredding Syd open everywhere from her torso to her face, blasting most of her head off as she calmly advanced, unable to use any other Force Power as long as this was active, not even using her lightsaber to deflect as she was blasted apart. But as quickly as she was injured, the wounds seemed to heal almost nearly as fast, her head and face repairing rapidly along with her skintight armor. She calmly swiped at their weapons once she was in range, the effect she had triggered at last ceasing throughout her body. She was almost fully healed, save for a small burn on her cheek, which the suit rapidly repaired.

The three thugs broke into a run and Syd tested her second newfound power, discharging bright green lightning from her mouth three times, one shotting them into unconsciousness with each bolt.

The civilian the criminals had been harrasing was too freaked out to thank her and bolted. Syd sighed. She often got that reaction.

Still though...new Force powers. If that was not a sign that Laertia and Moya were special, that they were meant to meet, Syd was not certain what was.

(Plasmid Acquisition Theme Plays)

(New Powers Learned!)

Power: FORCE REGENERATION

Spoiler

For a short time of one minute and thirty seconds, become nigh impossible to kill, conventionally or otherwise. Wounds heal nearly as fast as they are received and character can survive what would normally be fatal brain destruction or injuries, at the cost of being unable to use any other Force power while active. As character advances, wait time between uses of ability can lessen.

Power: ELECTRIC JUDGEMENT

Spoiler

Light side variant of Force Lightning, highly accurized in Syd's case. Used to hit targets precisely and from afar. Highly damaging to Dark Adepts and heavily stunning anyone else. As character advances, range and accuracy increase further

 

[Laertia Io]

Laertia had Moya follow the strange Jedi after Celsius had flown off, watching her through the sky, following her the whole way, even to the point where she had fought the thugs. Holy crap. This Jedi was no joke. Even Moya could not withstand the sort of attacks that Syd had tanked. But it seemed to cost her...she looked incredibly winded at the end of it as she staggered away.

Moya walked over after Syd had left to get a sample of her blasted off tissues. Most had burst into plumes of green flame but some had simply decayed rapidly, along with the shredded off parts of her chrome like armor. She collected muscle and blood samples, strongly suspecting Syd was like her...something close to a Sithspawn, but not quite.

Regardless, her pseudo-daughter would appreciate the research material.

Twenty minutes later...

Laertia examined the samples Moya brought back under an electron microscope she had scavenged in her quarters. She worked the controls with one arm while Moya watched over her shoulder.

"Is she what I think she is?" Moya asked gently.

"Alkyhesst-Spawwnz..." Laertia confirmed. "Bluudz gotz mynorr trayces ov inncenndeearry chemykuhlz...

"What about the fabric?"

"Alkymyzed Sylkk..." Laertia answered, filing the samples away into a small cryo container. She leaned back in her seat, Moya's hands resting on her shoulders.

"Do you think you can beat her, if it comes to that?" Moya asked.

"Dunnoz. Pyyrokenetykz arr allwayz amunng duh mostt danngerrous enuhmiez..." Laertia spoke, rising from the desk, and going over to a hidden panel above her bed, removing it and revealing a small safe. She hit the combination on the keypad and removed an ornate pistol Moya had never seen before. Laertia mainly favored her old shotgun as a side arm or her attachments on her armor systems. Laertia must have kept it for a rainy day. She took it and a parts kit for it out, quietly working on it until it had been converted for cryo damage.

(Zelda Acquisition Theme Plays)

(New weapon acquired!)

Weapon: CRIME HUNTER'S PISTOL (CRYO CONFIGURATION)

Spoiler

Relic of the near forgotten Mandalorian Crime Hunters. A shotgun energy pistol of nearly unparalleled power. Currently in cryonic configuration.

"It's beautiful...is it an antique?" Moya questioned.

"Ittz wuz a gyftt frumm Ursy..." Laertia elaborated, hefting it as she examined it. "Iff wurrse comez tuh wurrse, a blasst ov dhiss too duh kneez shudz att leest slowwz hurr dowwnnz."

"You didn't see that thing."

Moya said the last word with emphasis, instinctively picking up at last on the strange disquiet Laertia had and finding it completely matched her own.

"She's almost like a Light Sided version of The Amalgam..." Moya continued, pacing about worriedly about the outcomes, they were all playing out in her calculating android brain, and none of them exactly ended well. "The Amalgam by herself is lethal. Syd feels even more powerful by a wide margin. She survived her fething head repeatedly getting blasted apart just using the Light. We have not succeeded at truly defeating The Amalgam...how can we hope to defeat Syd?"

"Eezee. Wee don'tz havv tuh..." Laertia spoke, smiling a small, cunning smile. "Lystenz cayrefulleez..."

 

[Syd Celsius]

Syd meditated at the center of the ship trying to center herself, at the unfamiliar empathy she felt towards Laertia. The strange want to understand her.

Her chrome white and gold catsuit glimmered as she meditated in front of the flame at the center of a basin in her personal quarters.

In either case, it motivated her to genuinely want to try and see if she could do what Laertia was asking her to do. But in the meantime there was the actual planning to do.

Syd finished her meditation, unsuccessful at shaking her thoughts on Laertia and decided to focus on the actual job itself. Getting into the building itself undetected would not be an issue. Getting herself and the desired item out undetected would be.

They had plenty of time to work it out, she supposed. But how to evade the eyes of the Knights Obsidian--?

The anxiety getting to her began to make Syd think she should remove her suit. But then most of her emotions would die down as she stopped being flesh and blood.

And with it, the deep empathy for Laertia...

Syd then went to study her texts on whatever she could find about Laertia's injuries...if they could be repaired, it would go a long way to convincing Laertia to join The SJO.

Interesting, she thought as she glanced over them at a work desk. Laertia's brain would have had to be extremely resilient to survive the wounds at all and remain as functional as she is (albeit barely). But something was preventing it from recovering fully.

So far it seemed, based on scattered medical reports, the brain of Laertia seemed to be stuck in a permanent injured state, regardless of sessions with Force Healing. But perhaps where the Force had failed, magic could work.

Syd began to think about her knowledge of healing magic and took out a pen and paper, beginning a study on what types of rituals might apply...

The next day...

Syd flew over the city from her ship to reach Laertia's, enjoying the feeling of the wind at her face when she noticed the smoke from the castle like national bank she was supposed to rob later that day and redirected her flight path. She knew this was CIS territory, but the SJO and the CIS were allies, and that had to count for something.

Her gleaming white and gold suit reflected the faces of everyone around her as she landed, catching the attention of a Knight Obsidian in their hooded armor.

"This isn't your jurisdiction, Jedi." he stated firmly but not rudely, his gruff voice blurred by his mask vocorder

"Just curious is all. What happened?" Syd asked politely.

"Bank got hit."

"By who?"

"Why do you care?"

(Dialogue Tree)

WHICH RESPONSE WOULD YOU LIKE TO SELECT?

1. NOW LISTEN TO ME VERY CAREFULLY. (DISPLAY PART OF SKELETON SOMEHOW IN A TIMELY MANNER.)

2. I'LL BE BACK. (ACQUIRE VEHICLE AND FORCIBLY ENTER GUARDED LOCATION.)

3. I NEED YOUR CLOTHES, YOUR BOOTS, AND YOUR SPEEDERBIKE. (FORCIBLY ACQUIRE AFOREMENTIONED ITEMS AND ENTER BANK IN DISGUISE.)

4. TALK TO THE HAND. (LOOK FOR ANOTHER WAY IN.)

5. FETH YOU, CHITHEAD. (FLY AWAY.)

6. I NEED A VACATION. (FLIRT.)

007. I SWEAR I WILL NOT KILL ANYONE. (REASON WAY INTO BANK BY OFFERING HELP.)


(YOU SELECT (UGH, HOW PREDICTABLE.): 007.)

"I catch and bring down high value targets all the time for the SJO. I'd like to offer my assistance as a diplmatic gesture, if I can. The name is Celsius. Syd Celsius."

(Clip of Bond Theme Plays)

"I shouldn't be telling you this but...fine, what the hell...some Force Adept hit it last night. A really good one. Got past all of the security.

"Some Adept? Did the cameras see?"

"Intel pegs her as some Saaraishash Agent called The Amalgam. Purple Split-Saber. Didn't kill anyone but broke into a box. She struck during shift change. EMP attack on the systems disabled all alarms. Systems were compromised across the board."

"What did she take?"

"We aren't sure. The account owning the box was an old one. Hadn't been used in years. Some nobleman named Lur Redtide."

"May I see?"

The Knight shrugged. "Sure. Follow me..."

 

[Laertia Io]

Laertia sat at a workbench, working on those Ion Relic pistol she had acquired defeating the fallen Outer Rim Coalition Judge Kleef Cassidan modifting them so Moya would be able to use them in her pilot form. Moya sat nearby at a desk in Laertia's quarters, petting a rabbit, conveniently in her piloting form, that of a lanky, dark skinned woman with red hair.

"Why is it you dislike using pistols? You have all these trophies from people who have tried to kill you, yet you don't really know how to work them." Moya noted.

"I wuz allwayz a loouzee shott beyonndz kloss rayngez." Laertia admitted. "Dhats whyz I lykez bigg weapunz..."

"Maybe you just need a really big personal pistol as opposed to a pea-shooter like most people tend to carry."

Laertia stopped at that and turned to stare at her.

"Wut wudz yooz reccomendz?"

Moya glanced over Laertia.

"Mandalorian. Definitely."

"I'yll keepz itz unduh addvysementz." Laertia replied dryly, finishing the work on her pistol.

She handed it to Moya, who released the rabbit and tested it by spinning it in her hands. Laertia had given it a hair trigger and laser sites. Even going so far as to disguise it as a plain old Westar 34 Pistol.

"Let's find a place to test it later. The Knights Obsidian wanted to collect us. Should be due any minute now."

Laertia picked up the rabbit and put it back in its pen in the cargo hold before heading out with Moya to wait for whatever it was the Knights wanted them for. It was then that Laertia felt a terribly familiar Dark Presence, one that made her blood chill, for she had faced it only once before, slowly approaching them as they waited. Moya could not help but notice this, to feel the growing panic within Laertia.

Laertia had gone completely stiff from panic she was now desperately trying to suppress it, knowing she could afford to show absolutely no weakness.

The Knights Obsidian flanked her as she approached their landing pad. Moya growing extremely concerned as she felt the severe Dark Side aura. Laertia had been forced to kill this type many times. But apart from the Amalgam the kill had never been this personal.

She was in a white, scaled bodysuit, her face youthful with straight blond hair and blue eyes. Laertia's hands had clenched to white knuckle grips.

The woman smiled a smile of familiarity at Laertia Io.

"It's been such a long time, Laertia." The Woman spoke in a friendly manner. "You've grown into a very beautiful young woman."

"Cheetidz duh Reepuh diddn'tz yooz?" Laertia spoke quietly, voice level.

The Woman nodded. "I have to give it to you though. You murdering me stuck for an incredibly long time."

"Who are you?" Moya asked suspiciously.

"I was known in another life as The United." The woman answered silkenly. "But Laertia ended all that when she split apart the once thriving community inside me."

"Wut dooz yoo wanntz?" Laertia growled.

The Blond woman smiled.

"I want you to be my guest at dinner..."

 

[Laertia Io]

Given their precarious diplomatic situation, being an unfactioned Jedi in CIS space, Laertia and Moya had really no choice but to accept The Woman's invitation.

She owned a sterile white stone castle at the fringes of Golbah City. It was staffed by expensive looking golden Magnaguards, though its interior, including most of its furniture, were of a severely austere form and all black color.

They had both been assigned seperate guest quarters. The whole castle had a dark taint that caused Moya's form to glitch occasionally and made Laertia wince in discomfort.

With Magnaguards stationed around the entrances, it was quickly obvious this was a gilded cage.

Laertia was alone, weaponless except for her wits. She checked the room with her cybernetic eye, only to find its alternate vision jammed somehow. Military Grade Counter Espionage Measures, probably.

Laertia then tried to focus, stretch out her senses. The dark taint of the castle made it nearly impossible to focus at all. Laertia was forced to resort to something she had not done in years: She got on both knees and began meditating on The Jedi Code. She felt the darkness recede from her mind. Slightly. But the dark presence of the woman remained.

Servant droids soon arrived, bearing white clothing for Laertia. A gown of Corellian Silk. Laertia removed her own spiky biker clothing and put it on, the Droids stylishly slicking her hair back while skillfully hiding the trench wounds on her scalp at the same time. She wanted a blade. She felt naked without one. But they had been very thorough in their disarmament procedures.

She was soon led by the droids to a grand dining area. A great, circular table of Korriban White Marble seperated her from the blond woman. At Laertia's seat was a large plate of pasta in red sauce with mushrooms and artichokes, with a sheaf of Garlic Bread and a glass of wine, white by the looks of it.

Laertia calmly sat down staring at the Blond Woman, who was dressed in a skintight, white gown that had a gloss like chromium.

"Wherrz Moya?" Laertia asked.

"Oh, she'll join us afterward. I thought that this moment we are having would be more special, were it between only us. After all, you and I have such a history. We battled each other soul versus soul. Your will triumphed over many wills, including mine. The Android could never understand how such an interaction is connective. Strengthening."

Laertia said nothing. She merely picked up a fork and stirred the pasta around it.

"Baack thennz, yooda kylldz mee withhoutz a sekund thoughtz."

"Times change, darling."

"Dhey donn'tz channge dhat faast."

The Woman smiled. She leaned forward, resting her chin on the bback of her fingers.

"You don't trust me."

"Ohhhh, dhatz wherr yorr wronggz, seez, I doo truust yooz...I truust yoo willz adheerz too yorr naturrez."

The blond gave a rich chuckle at this.

"No denying that." she chuckled. "I believe re-introductions are in order. I am known these days as Countess Arianna Bellasko. Mandragora Witch and Knight Obsidian. And judging by the get-up you were wearing when the Obsidians found you, I'm guessing you are un-retired."

"How'd yoo dooz itz?"

Arianna smiked as she took a sip of white wine.

"Do what?' she asked playfully.

"Cheetz duh reepurz?"

"Well, that is quite the question, Laertia." Arianna smiled. "I had my little insurance policies, same as anyone in The Cult of The Brain Demon. One of them was a ritual designed to pull my soul from the netherrealm in case I was overcome spiritually...even if it meant breaking apart from the miasma I was a part of. Its actually quite nice, having a body to myself for a change."

"Iff yoo harmz Moya, Dipplowmaacee beez damnedz, I'yll kyllz yooz."

"I would expect nothing less." But I don't want to harm you, dear Laertia. Or your precious Android. I want a do-over."

"Wut cudd possablee mayke meez evun enntuhtaynez dhat?" Laertia asked, having not taken a bite of the food.

"Just the rest of the pieces to your precious Shrodinger Box."

Laertia went still. Arianna's smirk was that of jungle cat when it spots prey.

"I have the rest of the pieces darling. I know that's what you want. But I am your only link to their locations."

Laertia stared at her.

"Wut doo yoo wanntz?"

"Y'know, I rushed things a bit last time around..." Arianna mused, still smirking at Laertia. "I resorted to the stick too fast, when I should have kept to the carrot longer. Way I see, now is the perfect time to try again. Your master betrayed you, as I said she would. She abandoned you, as I said she would, and never gave you the respect or authority you truly crave and deserve..."

Arianna rose from her seat, slinked over to Laertia in that gown.

"I, however, even after all these years, am still truly capable of granting you both. What I propose is this..." she trailed, taking a seat next to Laertia.

"Give me one week. One week to try and turn you to the Dark Side, Laertia. One week as my apprentice to prove I am correct about you and how your power should be used. If I succeed you are to become my apprentice full time, and you may have the rest of the box upon ritualistically slaying me. If I fail to turn you, you may have the box immediately and without any strings attached."

"Anndz iffz I reefuze dhis offuh?"

"Then you may depart CIS Space with that Jedi in peace...but you will not get any part of the box without killing me, and killing me will make you an enemy of the CIS."

Laertia tried not to flinch as the woman's hand shifted closer to Laertia's without touching it.

"This should be an easy test to pass...if you really are a Jedi and all..." Arianna pointed out with a smile.

"Wut wuddz I dooz?"

"You must genuinely learn a Dark Side power. Knowing a power does not inherently make you evil. It is what you do with it that is. But once you really taste power, I am of every confidence you will embrace it without reservation."

Laertia knew the witch had hit a pressure point, because without thinking, she nodded.

 

[Moya Virtu]

Moya was nervous. She was completely vulnerable in this place. It was a Dark Nexus. Her skin glitched, wiggling disgustingly on the chassis underneath. Her combat programs would not function in a Dark Nexus, but she still retained near total immunity to Dark Powers. Something of a plus.

She had refused to wear anything but her black gown, not trusting anything made in this den of evil. She felt polluted.

When the door opened, Moya felt instant relief at the sight of her pseudo-daughter, but frowned as she was immediately followed in by the Countess.

"As you can see, your Android is unharmed..." Arianna spoke mockingly. "See you tomorrow, Laertia."

"Tomorrow?" Moya repeated.

"I'yllz exxplaynez laytuhz..." Laertia trailed quietly.

"So this is what you chose over me..." Arianna noted, circling the pair. "Oh, you must have been so lost, having no allies, Io."

Moya wanted to smack that evil smirk right off Arianna's face but held her peace.

"Arr wee freez tuh leevez?" Io asked.

"Of course, as per our agreement. I expect you bright and early however." Arianna replied, grin going wider as she strode out of the room.

"Werr leevinz..." Laertia said curtly to Moya, taking her by the hand and leading her out, not trusting the evil in the very stones not to try and snatch away the closest she had to a mother.

Two hours later...

"And you agreed to this?!" the Android hissed in horror aboard the Blessing.

"I haddz no choyce, Moya. Sheez got duh rest ov duh bahx."

Moya paced about.

"This is bad. What if you fall? I won't be able to help you anymore. My programming won't allow it! I don't want to lose you, Sweetie..." the android said, going over and hugging her."

"Yooz won'tz." the brain damaged Jedi said fiercely. "I gotz ah plannz..."

"What plan?" Moya asked.

"Uri."

One hour later...

Maple Harte had shown up within half an hour, stealthily making her way to the meeting point Laertia had selected atop an unmonitored warehouse in Golbah once Laertia had telepathically called out to her, and spent the next half hour listening to their problem with folded arms.

"A damn fine mess you've gotten yourself into! Arianna Belasko is a fairly powerful member of The Knight Obsidian Order! She sure as chit outranks me in the Mandragora!" Maple exclaimed quietly but angrily as she paced about the roof after Moya had patiently explained everything that had happened. "What about all that chit about blaming me for The Marksmen?"

"Dhat I doo blaymez yooz forr. But brinnginz itt upp in duh innterrogaashun chaymmburr wuz jusst theeaturr. Wee werr beeingz fethyn monytorredz."

The pupils of Maple's bright, wet eyes narrowed into pinpoints. Laertia felt the anger building in Maple as the sulphur eye fixed on her.

"I don't appreciate having my feelings toyed with in that way, Laertia. That was incredibly manipulative." Maple replied, voice the tone of teeth grinding.

"Wutt doo yoo wanntz, Uri? I diddz wutt I hadz tuh dooz!" Laertia snapped angrily, brain damage driving her to frustration easily.

Moya hated herself for what she said next, but her psychological analysis of Maple had borne fruit.

"Its not as bad as faking your death for your old team mates." Moya said flatly.

Maple shot the Android a hurt look, lips trembling in fury, and the Android wanted to shrivel up inside.

Maple's hands went to her hips. She paced around a bit more.

"I'll help you. But I'm not sure how I can."

"Cannz yooz uzze maagik tuh simmulaytez a gradduaallee inkreesyng Dahk Syde Auuraa?"

Maple paused.

"That is highly specialized magic."

"Cannz ittz bee dunnz orr nottz?"

"Not on the fly. I need at least twenty four hours to see what I can dig up in Mandragora texts. You play along until then."

Laertia nodded. "I cann dooz dhat muuch."

Moya turned to her pseudo-daughter. "Am I to play a role in this madness?" She asked with deep sarcasm.

Laertia smiled.

"Yooz wyllz havv duh mosst immporrtaynt rolle ov allz..."

 

[Moya Virtu]

Laertia, Maple and Moya had discussed the details over the next fifteen minutes, having no time to really work out all the flaws. It was a rough plan. But remarkably devious considering it was Laertia who had come up with it.

They had parted ways afterward, Maple sneaking off and Moya and Laertia teleporting close to the ship.

They had walked home quietly, Laertia close to her caretaker, the bright lights of the glittering metropolis and its crowds suddenly very threatening to her.

Once inside, they closed the hatch.

"Laertia." Moya said to her Pseudo-Daughter.

Laertia turned to her. "Yess?"

"Please don't ask me to manipulate Maple like that again. I stretched my ethics programming to its limits to do that."

Laertia nodded eagerly, hugging her. She knew she had pushed it.

"I prawmyse nott tuh dooz ittz againz."

Moya hugged her back. "It's okay. I just hope we don't feth this up..."

Eight hours later...

The only way Laertia had been able to get any sleep was to huddle under a blanket on top of a sleeping bag in the cargo-hold, all her rabbits resting next to her while Moya watched over her in her pilot guise, sitting and leaning against the wall reading quietly. One of her pet rabbits, Cortosis, snuggled close to one of Laertia's arms. Moya had read in a fruitless attempt to distract herself from the extreme risk of the plan Laertia had worked out. She'd prepared the nanomachines astonishingly fast.

Moya stared at the brain damaged Jedi who was her most precious treasure, and vowed she would let nothing happen to her, even if it resulted in Moya's destruction.

Ironically in spite of Moya's nature naturally leaning her towards The Light, Moya was of the opinion just killing Arianna outright for the box made more sense. Laertia's plan took longer but if executed properly would leave them free of suspicion. As long as Maple, who Moya regarded as a psychological wildcard, delivered.

Moya's skin shuddered and she sensed Arianna's intense Dark Side Aura approaching. The rabbits all started squeaking in fear and fled back to their pens.

"Sweetie..." Moya whispered.

"I knowwz..." Laertia grumbled, stirring, she felt Arianna's presence at the edges of her mind, whispering...

Moya helped her up.

"I'll meet with Maple at the designated spot..." Moya said, hugging Laertia. "Don't let her win."

Laertia nodded slowly, before departing out to meet Arianna.

Moya started pacing out of stress at all the risk...

 

[Laertia Io]

Two weeks earlier...

They had been in friendly territory, with Moya out for supplies. This had left Laertia a great deal of free time to work on the engines. It was better than meditation in her eyes.

She had been doing tests on the integrity of the hyperdrive when she had felt a voice in her mind. Faint and distant.

Julia.

Laertia froze at the sound of the voice in her head. It felt strangely familiar.

She wheeled around, feeling a life presence suddenly. It was so faint, almost like a fly. But she felt it call her again by her real name.

Laertia put her tools down and began to look for the Presence. She finally narrowed it down to beneath the floor plating, near a little used vent. She quickly pulled the vent open, grabbing a flashlight.

It was the size of a pinky. Faintly glowing purple in color. It was no lightsaber crystal. She saw a faint crack on one side. She reached for it, felt the life within.

"A Sharrd..." she remarked. But it felt different from a normal example of the Crystal Species. And very weak. How had it gotten here?

Laertia had to think fast. She went into her storage area, retrieving a small, can sized stasis chamber for live specimens, quickly placing it inside and preserving it until she could figure out what to do...and why it knew her name.

It felt so familiar, she thought as she looked at it. But she could not remember where...

The middle aged Woman with Dark Red hair smiled down at young Julia. She had taken care of her as long as she could remember. They were working on the engines to the freighter on Nar Shaddaa that they lived out of. The Red Head never let Julia go out alone. She always went for the supplies. Most times Julia never stepped off the ship. She felt safe with her. Like nothing could hurt her. The Woman was her mother as far as Julia was concerned.

It had been going so well.

She had been handing her the tools to maintain the wiring. She had seen something spark inside before the woman and pointed it out. A second later she was smothered by the woman from a massive explosion. The young girl screamed as she felt her protector ripped to shreds while tossing her mostly clear of the blast.

Unable to process the psychological trauma of watching her protector's body burn up and disintegrate the girl had shut down for the most part. Blocked it out. By thectime the smoke had cleared, all Julia knew was that she had lost something very precious, but was not certain what it was...

Laertia had trembled as a bit of the memory came back hard and ugly. She remembered a fire on the ship when she was very young. She hadn't been able to restore the engine area until she was 007.

Laertia went cold with shock, unable to figure out what to do with the revelation...

Present Day...

Arianna beheld a kneeling Laertia with a smile in the privacy of a white training chamber.

"Oh, how I have longed for this moment..." The Sith Witch admitted to Laertia's disgust. Uri had better come through...

"The first lesson I shall teach you...is to harness your rage. We'll build slow. Tell me, and be honest...what makes you angry, Laertia? Truly, genuinely angry? What infuriates you?"

Laertia had no choice but to answer the athletic blond in the white catsuit truthfully.

"Ursula abanndonnyngz meez."

Arianna shivered in perverse delight at feeling the truth at her words.

"Yes...that is a true raw fury...now here is your task...pretend I'm Ursula. Attack me."

Laertia flashed on her training saber, stared at the smiling blond woman...and launched herself at her...

 

[Syd Celsius]

Syd had gone over the security footage in the safety of her own ship.

This Amalgam operated with disturbing efficiency. Disabled but killed none. Syd was convinced she was after what Laertia was after. She had gotten it. Which meant Syd's initial plan was a wash.

Syd sighed. It seemed there would be little choice now except to collect Laertia for transport to Kashyyyk...

Syd rose up, clad in her blue and gold chrome suit and prepared to leave her personal quarters and fly to Laertia's ship to take her into custody--

She opened the door to the main hold and was greeted by a pair of dark skinned hands siezing her face. The hands belonged to a dark skinned woman with black hair in a tight top bun clad in a long white dress with golden cortosis weave durasteel stilettos, whose flesh shuddered as she attempted to overwrite Syd's personality by copying her own to it. It was an extremely powerful attempt. Even with the protection against the Dark Side afforded by her Armor, Syd had to fight to retain her mind at every step forcing away the foul persona of the sadistic witch trying to kill her, knowing to let even one part of her mind be fully infected could start a slow but irreversible chain reaction. Syd's psychic shell rippled and bubbled furiously and disgustingly as she resisted the overwrite attempt.

"Two can play at this game, Assembly..." she hissed at her old, mysteriously ressurected enemy.

Syd summoned an inhuman age old will to finally force the Assembly out of her mind completely and immediately engage the Witch with Dragon Kung Fu. The athletic foe countered with Snake and the next few seconds were a series of complex interlocking strikes to the torso and arms. Syd felt no pain in her flame geist state so it didn't matter how hard she was hit, as she could always hit back harder. The Assembly eventually began to buckle under the brutal assault, pummeled face starting to leak white blood everywhere.

"So tell me..." The Assembly hissed, "What's it like, being Darth Phyre and Syd Celsius at the same time?"

Syd refused to respond. She merely engaged her again, whispering a spell that summoned fiery bird constructs to harrass and attack the Assembly from all sides, but unable to truly harm.

"What could make you so bold as to attack me in the absolute heart of the Confederacy?" Syd pondered, taking a defensive stance. As the Assembly dispersed the constructs, Syd at last activated her lightsaber and leapt forward as the Assembly activated her purple shotos.

"You could not have come to Golbah City for just me..." Syd trailed. "Its the Shrodinger Box, isn't it?!"

"Who told you of that?" The Assembly sneered.

"We're all here for our own reasons...and you will share yours with me...one way or another..." Syd sneered back at her.

"You will serve The Bogan once more, Lady Phyre. It is inevitable..."

"We shall see..."

The Assembly violently lunged for Syd...

The next few seconds were vicious close quarters slices and stabs, neither one holding back. But the Assembly had overplayed her hand, though she made Syd work for her victory, launching precise blasts of electricity from her mouth.

Inevitably though, the Assembly's organic weaknesses caught up to her and Syd sent her spawling to the floor by smashing her own forehead into the Assembly's nose.

Her instincts took hold and she could not stop the belch of fire that consumed the screaming Assembly, reducing her to a charred skeleton. The stench from her corrupted blood and organs as the fire immolated them was something else...

Syd stared, sighed as the Assembly was reduced to a skeleton. She had fethed up.

But, perhaps this could be salvaged...

 

[Laertia Io]

"That's it..." Arianna hissed in delight as Laertia's blade thundered against hers.

Laertia honestly was not certain what had come over her as she attacked Arianna. Maybe it was wanting to wipe that smirk off her face.

Or maybe...just for a second...she really had imagined Ursula in Arianna's place.

She had been devastated learning of Ursula's death at the hands of The Amalgam. But when Arianna had made her suggestion something inside Laertia had cracked a little.

She had flung herself at Arianna with a ferocity that unsettled even Laertia. With unsettling sharpness, Laertia realized Arianna knew her better than Laertia had given her credit for.

It didn't mean Laertia would not kill her in the end, just that it would be slightly more difficult.

"I have always been of the opinion you would have turned out better had you accepted my offer..." Arianna admitted as she parried against Laertia. Fast. Strong Ataru Inclinations but a hint of Soresu in the footwork.

The erratic nature of her strikes reminded Laertia of The Amalgam's bladework. Same playfulness. Same viciousness. A little looser though, when it came right down to it.

Laertia dared not allow herself to slip any farther than she already had. She kept a tight reign on her emotions, using her Soresu teachings.

Still, Arianna had gotten under her skin. She didn't want to admit it, but it had been a brilliant tactic. Laertia had faced many lethal duelists, people who had mountains of corpses to attest their skill, but every now and then it was fighters like this whose mind was possibly deadlier than their blade.

Fortunately for Laertia, she had experience fighting such types.

Arianna rebounded with a flurry of strikes that actually managed to put Laertia on the defensive.

"Did you ever regret not accepting my offer?" Arianna asked.

"Nevuh..."

"Hmmm...did you ever regret being loyal to Ursula?" Arianna asked.

Laertia did not answer. She only struck at Arianna again, controlling her emotions.

"Hit a nerve?" Arianna asked with a sly smirk as she leaped out of the way of her horizontal slash.

Laertia at last countered verbally, like riposte in a duel.

"Ittz musta affeckktidz yooz iff dhats duh lyne ov kweschunyngz."

"I admit to being...irked. Can you not admit that Ursula failed you?" Arianna countered, guarding with her blade.

Laertia stared at Arianna with a death glare.

"Yess...Ursula fayledz meez..."

It was strange, to finally say that out loud. Laertia realized she had been holding it in for a long time.

Why had Ursula never visited after her injuries? Laertia could have bore every hell but Ursula not even visiting after her injuries? Her heart had broken, and had remained broken even after Moya entered her life...though Moya held her broken heart together enough for Laertia to function.

Laertia decided to take a risk. She knew what kind of a monster she was dealing with. The whole CIS was a mix of Light and Dark, strange and heretical to someone like her. She didn't understand it.

"Onn duh foyst dayy, whennz I wokez uppz inn duh hosspytullz, anndz I diddn'tz seez hurr? I wuzzint madd. I thoughttz tooz myysellfz, 'Shee jusst hazzint foundz meez yettz.' Onn duh sekunnd daytz, I thoughttz, 'Shurrlee shee wyll feelz myy painnz inn duh Foyce.' On duh thirrdz, I worriedz. Onn duh forrth, I knewwz. I knewwz shee wuzzint goinngz tuh showwz. Anndz inn dhat innstanntz...whennz I reeallyzed ittz...I wannteddz tuh kyllz hurr..."

Arianna smiled. "Thank you for your honesty..."

She shut off her blade.

"That's all for today...you may return to your ship..."

"Reelee...jusst lyke dhat?" Laertia asked suspiciously...

"Absolutely...you've exposed a long festering fury to me...a fury whose strength I think even you were unaware of..." Arianna said with a twinkle in her eye, a smile barely passing for human crossing her face.

Laertia narrowed her eyes at Arianna...

"I want you to dwell on it. Stew on it. Really mull it over..." Arianna trailed..."When you start truly harnessing your emotions for empowerment you will understand the beauty of The Dark Side..." Arianna answered. "Go and think on your hate."

Laertia backed away from her slowly, pocketing the saber, and left the training chamber...

 

[Syd Celsius]

Syd had been forced to her own disquiet to wear the white and gold armor of Darth Phyre again as she investigated the charred skeleton of the Assembly, for only alchemized blood could effectively seal the dark power of such a monstrosity.

She had been a tricky one to kill the first time around. Able to duplicate herself like all master witches of the Cult, including Phyre herself. The Assembly had employed it liberally in what Syd had once thought their final battle. It seemed she hadn't killed all of the copies after all.

Syd knew she was capable of it, but she dared not generate a full autonomous copy of herself. Certainly not one at full power...did she?

Syd knew at some point she was going to stop having to run from what she had once been, but it was so hard. It had been such a devastating blow to her, psychologically that she was still reeling from it. Laertia had been the first distraction in a great while to actually succeed in taking her mind off it.

A comfortable middle road was needed...

Syd began to think and was once more distracted by thoughts of Laertia Io as she examined the Skeleton. She bit her lower lip as she thought of her gray eyes.

The real problem now was finding the Master Copy. Was Laertia's hair as soft as it looked at a glance? The Master Copy of The Assembly would not be on planet...too easy for it to backfire, that approach. But that didn't mean there were not more copies...

Laertia's snow white skin made Syd's heart pound. Just a glance of it had burned into Syd's mind.

She sighed. She didn't have the heart to investigate the matter at the moment, despite the attempted assassination. She was too bothered with thoughts of her fellow killing machine. She placed powerful Light Enchantments, the very absolute strongest she could muster, on the burned skeleton before putting it up in storage and then went and decided to check up on Laertia and give her the bad news about this box or whatever she had come to look for.

She felt nervous and excited going to see Laertia again. In this organic state her heart pounded in anticipation. She was not sophisticated enough with emotion yet to understand it. All she knew was that she liked how it pounded. She placed blood enchantments on the whole vessel before she left as a booby trap to ward off anymore 'Surprise Visits'. She would likely have to do that every time she left now.

What did the Cult of The Brain Demon want with this Shrodinger Box...what 'was' the Shrodinger Box anyway? Did even Laertia herself know?

Syd needed more info.

She flew away from her ship, and high over Golbah City, trying to feel the Force, trying to get above the roar of life, and search the Force for an answer, trying to figure out why Laertia caused such a stir in her before flying directly to her. Oddly, she felt Laertia approaching, even at this distance. How could she pick her out so easily.

Syd flew down from on high, feeling only the naked urge to see her.

Laertia looked quiet, and Syd felt faint distress and pain coming from her as she walked the streets back to her house.

Laertia looked up, felt surprise and saw her floating down from the sky, white and gold catsuit gleaming.

"Laertia! I was just on my way to see you..." Syd remarked in mild surprise. "Is something wrong? You look...sad..."

Laertia's eyes glanced at the ground for a second.

"Fouwndz outz ann olld enuhmee wuz duh wun whoo detaynedz meez..." Laertia admitted. "Shee seemz tuh tink shee cann turnnz meez..."

A flare of sudden anger within herself caught Syd off guard, all but bristling at the idea someone was trying to ruin her like that..."

"Who?" Syd asked.

"Hurr naymez iz Arianna Belasko. Wee foughttz a lonng tymez agoz. I won. Bareleez."

Laertia looked up at her. "Yoo knowwz much abboutz ruhsystyngz Sorcery?"

Syd smiled. "I'm so glad you asked..."

 

[Arianna Belasko]

(SELECT DIFFICULTY)

I'M TOO YOUNG TO DIE

HURT ME PLENTY!

ULTRA-VIOLENCE!

NIGHTMARE!

ULTRA-NIGHTMARE!

YOU SELECTED: ULTRA NIGHTMARE!


Wearing: Ritual Gown (Pre-Purification)

Armed with: Subverter's Blade (Double Bladed Red Lightsaber)

Arianna fed on the stray Jedi she had captured from the privacy of her suite in the Castle in Golbah City. Her power in the darkness was such that this was necessary every few weeks or so. She had aged significantly since Laertia had left her, flesh starting to slough on the skeleton, platinum blond hair having gone a moldy yellow like her eyes. She was in her Ritual Gown, an old keepsake from her days as The United.

As Laertia had sent all the souls that comprised the United to Chaos, Arianna had detached herself from the rest of the screaming mass of evil and deposited herself into an emergency body. A Doomsday Scenario had come to pass. It had taken her years to get back to even this level of skill. But with severing herself from the United as it was cast forever into Chaos, she had severed herself from the Brain Demon's Magic. She would never be as powerful as she had been when part of the United.

She had been the first face to be struck down by Laertia's spirit during the battle for her mind. The one that had played on Laertia's desire to have an actual Mother. The stunning defeat had made all the other minds instantly declare her unworthy of leadership and buried her amongst them, selecting the second strongest. Then the third. Then the first strongest groupings. Then the second strongest. Then the third strongest. Laertia struck them all down, and panic and disorder set in amongst the other minds in the United, who threw their will at Laertia but Laertia wouldn't break. She burned threw them all not with just the Light, but through sheer nigh unbreakable will also.

Arianna hadn't originally been sure what prompted her to delay Laertia's departure. At the time she thought it was simply the hate of leaving business unfinished. She wanted that win of driving Laertia to the darkness.

But the other part was perhaps that Arianna wanted to understand why she had failed the first time.

She had never made the offer she had made to Laertia to anyone else. The scary thing was that she would have done her genuine best to honor that bargain had Laertia accepted.

Not a day went by that Arianna didn't think of Laertia, her mind proud and defiant, shattering her own will effortlessly and costing her power and control. The moment haunted her. Why had she not been strong enough?

She had to know...besides, perhaps she hadn't been ready to be a Mother back then.

Even with her injuries, Laertia would make for an excellent heir to whatever was left of her legacy...

The Jedi screamed as his life force flowed into flesh that bubbled and rippled, resetting the horrid Witch to a youthful appearance. She wouldn't need to feast again for many days.

Arianna savored and delighted in his suffering as she devoured his energy, face still bubbling horribly as her victim turned to dust. Only then did it return to normal.

A servant droid entered her all white suite.

"Lady Belasko. Laertia Io is here to see you..."

"This should be a most intriguing experience...droid, clean this..." Arianna commanded, gesturing dismissively to the dust pile that had been a thinking, breathing being a few seconds prior...

She headed into the reception hall to receive her old enemy...

Laertia felt darker, Arianna thought with a contented smirk as she strode up to the Knight in the all white reception area. Arianna didn't look the monstrosity she had been on the inside only minutes prior. It was as before...Laertia's true vulnerability was her Master. There had not been enough time to properly exploit that before.

"Welcome, Laertia. Are you ready for your second lesson?"

"Yess..." was all the snow-skinned woman said in response.

Arianna smiled. "Excellent. You've tasted the power of your anger. Let's teach you how Power makes your existence meaningful. Do you know how we do that?" Belasko asked, slinking up to Laertia.

"Howz?" Laertia wondered.

"I'm going to show you what a life embracing the power inside you is like..." Arianna began heading for the garage, gesturing Laertia to follow her.

Thirty minutes later.

Arianna could tell Laertia was unused to luxury. Part of her even admired that, to a degree.

The white luxury stretch limo speeder with its all white interior made the black-garbed Laertia stand out all the more. Laertia avoided looking at the beautiful Witch playing host to her.

"I enjoy little rides like this daily through Golbah City..." Arianna explained, blue eyes fixing on Laertia with a distinct, feral bent to them. Laertia's steady gray gaze fell on Arianna with restrained abhorrence.

"Wherrz arr weez hedingz?" Laertia asked

"A Knights Obsidian Training Facility...I want to show what it's like when your skills are appreciated..."

Arianna smiled as she watched Laertia subtly tense up.

"Afraid I'm taking you to your true peers, Laertia?"

"I'mm notz afraydz..."

"Not what those shoulders of yours say..." Arianna chuckled.

The Limo came to a rest on a landing pad next to a large, black, Pyramid like structure on the outskirts of Golbah. They both exited, and Laertia was surprised at the Honor Guard of Obsidian Knights that awaited them. They raised their blades to both and Arianna smiled as she watched Laertia grow visibly uneasy.

"You believe this is a trap, don't you?" Arianna asked.

"Duh thoughtz haddz crossedd myy myndz..." Laertia answered.

"My dear, I have no need to trap you. You will trap yourself when you realize what you have been missing out on." Arianna assured her with that buttery smooth confidence, striding past them in her delicate looking white gown.

"Please...this way..."

 

[Arianna Belasko]

Arianna led Laertia through the training facility. Watched young squires train with their masters. Laertia was disturbed, having expected something much more Sith Like. It was a strange mix of Light and Dark.

"See what a world without sacred dogmas are like? Cooperation." Arianna stated.

"Notz wut I herdz frumm yooz whennz yooz tryd tuh taykez ovuh myy boddy..." Laertia muttered.

"That was just business, dear. I 'did' offer to adopt you..."

Laertia didn't respond.

Arianna stopped in front of a class of Knight Squires battling droids with The Dark Side.

"Class!" Arianna called out. "I bring an esteemed guest with us today...do you know who this is? This is Laertia Io."

Laertia was creeped out beyond words when she sensed the genuine astonishment in the squires.

"Whoa...The Black Knight?" one of the squires, a teenager, spoke.

"Yes...an exceptionally skilled swordmaster. Efficient. Relentless. Doesn't stop until you're dead or she is." Arianna explained. "She is that way because she is truly passionate about what she does. She is what all members of the Thorn Chapter should aspire to."

Laertia said nothing at this, so unused to being stared at in awe and clear admiration.

"Are you going to join us, Black Knight?" one of the squires asked.

Laertia didn't answer, not wanting her speech impediment to ruin the strange moment.

"She is simply getting a feel for this place..." Arianna asserted. "We shall see."

"Is it true you killed three Sith with a pencil?" one of the squires asked.

Laertia nodded awkwardly. It was a bad day when you didn't have a Lightsaber to defend yourself.

"Whoa..." one of them said.

Even Arianna looked amazed. "With a Pencil?!" she asked, incredulous.

Laertia nodded again, and awkwardly. Hardly any group of Jedi ever recognized her, no matter how many of their enemies she had fought and killed. Those who did rarely looked at her as an ally for it...

Arianna chuckled. "As you can see, your reputation is well known to those who appreciate skill and power, Laertia...but for now, let us continue our journey."

Laertia simply followed her.

"How terrible it must be..." Arianna said slyly as they headed to a training chamber...to be respected and recognized by rivals and enemies more than your so-called "peers". I heard you were discharged by letter. They didn't even give you the dignity of a meeting..."

"Whyy diddintz yooz goez bacc too duh Syth?" Laertia asked as they entered a round, bronze chamber.

"One does not need the Sith to work the Dark Side. One does not need them to even be considered a legitimate Dark Adept. Any more than you need the Jedi to work the Light or need to be one to be who you are and do what you do." Arianna answered, pulling out her double bladed Lightsaber. Its crimson blades flashed on and Laertia tensed, pulling out the red Lightsaber Arianna had given to her the other day.

"You would be a magnificent asset to these Knights. You could be who you want to be, as long as you do your job, unlike The Jedi, who expect you to do your job and not be what you want to be." Arianna postulated, slipping into Juyo.

Laertia guarded against the slash. Arianna was a vicious as she remembered with her attacks, but it was nothing Laertia hadn't seen before.

"Imagine what you could be if you stopped trying to prove the Jedi wrong about you...face it, you aren't one of them. Not really. You raised the sword for love of another, not belief."

Laertia didn't respond, too busy controlling her emotions and defending against the next series of vicious slashes...

 

[Moya Virtu]

Wearing: Dress

Armed with: Decoy's Blade (Black Core, Green Aura Lightsaber)

Objective: Follow the plan Laertia laid out.

Syd had lain the wards out happily, using her own blood. Moya had of course made sure not to go near it.

She had never seen Laertia act this way around anyone. Moya, after running it through her databanks, realized Laertia was attracted to someone for the first time ever, and didn't realize it.

Moya wasn't sure how to process the new data, but she knew she didn't trust Syd. Even though she was helping. She was too similar to the beast. That Laertia had a subtle attraction to her in spite of this only made it more unsettling to Moya.

Moya had expertly avoided displaying any of that to Syd. She knew Syd was dangerous enough that even Moya would likely not survive if she and Syd truly went all out on each other, and that wasn't even with Moya's overheat problem.

The Biot watched as Syd finished the ward trap in the cargo bay. The white clad Atrisian smiled.

"This will definitely trap your Witch..." Syd assured Moya, standing up. "Its what I'd use if I wanted to trap myself, so I 'know' it will work on her."

Moya commited the runes to her memory Data Banks. "I appreciate your help on this, Master Celsius."

Syd nodded again. "Happy to help."

"I must confess some...curiosity..."

Syd raised an eyebrow. "As to what?"

"You've gone an awful lot beyond the scope of your mission. You're not...troubled by that. I mean, you barely know us..."

Syd shrugged. "Laertia explained how she's been detained by Countess Belasko."

"She's also asking you to help us assassinate a member of the Knights Obsidian."

"A vicious, murderous Dark Witch."

"Its not in your job description. All you're supposed to do is bring us into SJO Space. You're taking dangerous risks here, and you don't even seem to mind." Moya stated respectfully but firmly, folding her arms.

"Its my risk to take. Besides...I don't want a chance that Witch could corrupt Laertia's mind..." Syd replied back, just as respectfully, and just as firmly.

No question now, Moya thought. Syd was unconsciously attracted to Laertia also. And not just a little bit either.

It wasn't hard to understand, on one level. Past the scars, Laertia was, to put it quite simply, beautiful.

That didn't change the fact Syd had only known them a few days. Laertia couldn't be 'that' cute to her...right?

"You're right...I don't either..." Moya said, seemingly deciding to accept the answer. Syd, not adept at picking up emotional cues at this point, didn't catch on.

Syd smiled slightly. "You don't want Arch Enemies in this business. It makes everything more...complicated."

Involuntarily, her memory banks played back her brief fight with The Amalgam on Cato Neimodia.

"Yes..." Moya agreed, recalling the look in The Amalgam's eyes when she was looking at Laertia. "It does."

Syd nodded. "I have to go. SJO is expecting an answer as to why I haven't returned."

"Thank you again for your help..." Moya replied with a smile.

Syd left and Moya quickly went to Laertia's quarters.

The Shard Alien had clearly been altered by Alchemy...it pulsed with the light at close range. Plus, there was the fact that exposure to Moya's blood was helping it slowly repair itself.

Moya fixed another small vial of her own glowing green blood over the living crystal resting on a golden stand. Its mind was weak. Fragmented.

Moya wasn't sure who this was. Only that Laertia wanted it healed.

She half thought of trying to communicate but her Systems, flawed though they ultimately were, had balance. No telling what the results of interface would be...

007 hours later.

Laertia's head rested in Moya's lap after dinner, tears falling from her eyes as Moya's fingers gently glided through her hair as they both rested on the sofa in silence.

"She got to you, didn't she?" Moya asked quietly.

"Do yoo knowwz wut itz lyke too be rekognyzed morr byy yur enuhmies dhen yorr so-kalledz Alliez?!" Laertia quietly raged. "I gotz morr ruspekt, morr akgnawledgmynt, frummz duh peopullz I'mz suppozed tuh kyllz in wun dayy ov vysytyngz dhem, dhen I got duringz duh enntyre tymez I wuz akshully a Knyght."

"Its a Psy-Op, Daughter..." Moya said, not even bothering with the pretense of being her caretaker in such an extremely dark moment for Laertia. Laertia didn't react to being called that openly except to clutch at Moya's hand and press her face to it.

"Laertia...if it becomes too much...just quit. Leave...if Arianna is getting to you this badly..."

"I havv tuh fullfylz Ursula's lasst ruhkwest..." Laertia whispered. "I havvz tooz...forr myy ownnz klosurez onn duh subbjekt..."

Moya sighed. Even now, Laertia's love for her mentor influenced her behavior. Moya sometimes fantasized about meeting Ursula Sandraven, so she could yell at her for a solid 007 minutes straight about how badly she had screwed up her adopted daughter's life.

It wasn't all her fault...Laertia had been damaged goods long before Ursula had been a factor. But she had played possibly the single biggest influence in Laertia's life. She bore a serious weight upon the result.

"We just have to hope Uri comes through..."

"I can'tz leevez wythout dhat box...no mattuh wutz..." Laertia replied.

Moya knew Laertia wouldn't leave without either her, or Arianna dead. She had committed utterly.

Moya lamented Laertia's sense of commitment to goals. It became almost myopic when she did commit...

Moya dreaded to think what would happen if she ever believed in a cause so much it turned her in opposition to other Jedi...it would be a nightmare...