Private To Hell and Back

[Eyrecae Alzari]

Kaida Taldir

The big Kar'zun nodded his head. "Though brief, your words are wise, sister of ice. I am content to remain here if contact with my people can be made."
Lavina frowned. "Even if you were hanging onto the old ways, the staser is a poor choice against a Kar'zun," she said. She realised what she said. "I don't know from personal experience," she put in.
Brak'Vrasz did not seem offended. Rather he spread his hands. "Perhaps it was a message they intended to send rather than a fatal strike? Know however that fanaticism is rarely practical."
"I guess. Let's go. We'll come by again soon," Lavina promised.

XXX

Eyrecae meanwhile was in a slight conundrum. She was safe from fire behind the vehicle, but she'd never find her shooter. She had a plan, but it might be rather painful. Fear of pain was not something though she felt. She stood, looking around as if she felt the attack was over. A movement above, but it was just someone looking out. But then...another, a crack...pain.
The staser was a dangerous weapon against the unarmoured, and the spike tore into Eyrecae's shoulder. She grinned through the pain. She had them!

She broke into a dead run, smashed through the door blocking her path without stopping and ran up the stairs, leaving a trail of blood which turned to dust within moments.

"The enemy is sighted, my wrath will be upon them," she said as she ran up stairs three at a time. Not long to go.....

 

[Kaida Taldir]

Eyrecae Alzari

There was nothing more to be said, so Kaida turned away and opened the cell door, leaving the Kar'zun to his meditations. Or whatever he was doing. Not that there was much to do in his Spartan cell. Outside, their Sciiac Guardian minder was waiting. Kaida was certain that the...undead robot hybrid had been standing in the same spot when she entered the cell. Even for her, its aura in the Force was disconcerting. "Who's in charge here? I need to see your CO," Kaida declared without preamble because that was how she rolled.

The Guardian looked at her expressionlessly. She had the impression that it - he, she? - was scanning her in some manner. "I will take you to the Warden." The Guardian beckoned them to follow, moving away with heavy footsteps.
"Where'd you serve?" Something compelled Kaida to ask.
"You do not wish to know my service record. You wish to know how I became this," the Guardian said bluntly.
It was not often that Kaida had to respond to a retort like this. "Yes."
"First Order ambush. Our convoy was unprepared; our weapons were inadequate. To cover the crew's escape, I rammed my ship into the Imperial vessel's bridge. I was able to bail out in time, but my life support suit was damaged. You know the rest."
"You fought bravely."
"I fought desperately," the Guardian corrected her. "They were prepared and had modern ships, and we did not."

 

[Eyrecae Alzari]

Kaida Taldir
Eyrecae loped along the hall like a predator. So swift was her onset that as she neared the appointed door it opened and a hooded figure bustled out. Too slow.



Eyrecae accelerated, and the figure fled at her approach, still having a lead on her. They opened a fire exit and vanished out. Eyrecae did not stop as she hit the door, smashing it back so hard the outer handle hit the wall behind it and broke off.



However, her enemy was waiting for her and opened fire with their weapon. Staser bolts tore into Eyrecae as she was wearing no armour. Pain ripped through her, but she used it to fuel her into a howling leap as she swept down and smashed the gun aside.



She could see her assailant now, a female Eldorai scarred from combat. Their firearm gone they drew a knife and stabbed at Eyrecae. The ancient warrior caught the blade, the sharp edge cutting down her palm, but she soon had a vice-like grip on the woman’s hand.



“Abomination, why will you not die?!” she hissed.

Eyrecae, perhaps learning from Kaida, did not answer with words, but instead hit the woman hard in the stomach, then rammed her head into the railing. With a grunt the Eldorai went down in a heap, blood dripping from her scalp.



Eyrecae could finally take a breath. She was bleeding from many injuries and even she could not keep going forever. She reached for her commlink.



“Kaida…prisoner taken…sustained injuries. Calling for backup.”



She hauled the unconscious Eldorai onto her shoulder and carried them back up to the landing. Some civilians were looking at the scene.

“Summon the Vigiles. Council business,” she said as she slumped down. “And bring me…a sandwich.”

 

[Kaida Taldir]

Eyrecae Alzari

While they walked down the corridor towards the Warden's office, Kaida's commlink suddenly flashed and beeped. The Seraph tapped it to receive the message. "Bring the prisoner to the max-security brig. Meet you there," she spoke. Someone else might have said 'good work', but Kaida did not see the point of heaping praise on someone for doing her duty. That was to be reserved for when they went beyond the call of duty. Otherwise it became meaningless and fostered a spirit of entitlement and sloppiness.

Eyrecae had spoken haltingly, and her laboured tone confirmed her statement that she had been injured. Nonetheless, Kaida did not feel particularly worried. Nonetheless, she added, "Pinging Telara and Tryana to back you up." She could have called Siona, but the truth was that she did not trust the Harbinger that much. She glanced at the Sciiac Guardian. "One of my subordinates was attacked. The atacker's been prisoner. They'll be brought here."

 

[Eyrecae Alzari]

Kaida Taldir
Eyrecae disconnected the call. She ate the purloined sandwich greedily and felt a little better. At one stage the assassin tried to stir, but a casual twist of the arm made her still again.



In time the gendarmes arrived. “Careful, this one is dangerous. Take her to the maximum security brig,” she ordered, parroting Kaida’s words. Now rested, she pulled herself up and headed for the exit. When a medic approached her she waved them away.

“Peace, ‘tis handled already,” she said. That wasn’t entirely true, but she would soon be back to full strength again.



At the entrance as she walked down the stairs, watched by all those she passed, she found Tryana and Telera.

“You’re hurt!” Tryana said, mainly for something to say.

“’Tis recovering well. Come, let us meet our gallant icy leader at the cells.”

“Who was it?”

Eyrecae reflected. “A fool, for sure. Or just one who thought me easy prey. What they knew not was that I was rather more than they had bargained for.”

Telera meanwhile glanced at the weapon as it was being taken away by the Vigilies. “Staser? Who uses those relics these days?”

“Someone who wished to make a point.” Eyrecae considered. “A stupid point, but still one.”



They were given an escort to the brig where they would find Kaida. By now the assassin was conscious but said nothing, just glared straight ahead as she was marched inside.

Eyrecae approached. “Perhaps our stony friend might see if she is one which attacked him?”

 

[Kaida Taldir]

Eyrecae Alzari

By the time Eyrecae arrived with her prisoner in tow, the Warden had shown up, too. She scrutinised the conscious, but silent assassin. "What is your name?" she asked. The assassin said nothing and looked at her stonily.

"Did you fire upon a member of the armed forces?" The assassin just gave her a glare. "We're not the Matriarchy. We don't beat people into signing confessions we've written for them, or let humans do it for us to keep our hands clean. But you won't be helping your case by keeping quiet." The Warden gestured to the Sciiac Guardian who had escorted Kaida and Lavina. "Take her to the Kar'zun. Ask him if he can identify her. Then put her in a cell. Inform her about her rights." She looked at Eyrecae. "You'll be interviewed about the attack."

"We captured her. Well, Eyrecae did. So do we get to question the queen or what?," Telara opined.
"We have our own people for that, and channels to go through," the Warden said sharply.
"It is the law," Kaida agreed. "The Courts of War and Four Elements will be informed about anything." She did not say this as a polite request. Kaida did not maske polite requests.

 

[Eyrecae Alzari]

Kaida Taldir
Eyrecae nodded. "I am, of course, willing to assist in any way possible!" she said eagerly. It was more because she didn't have much else to do at the moment and it sounded more interesting than anything else going on.

The attempted assassin was led to the Kar'zun's cell. The door was opened and she was forced inside.
"So this is it, is it? Let the arish maul me?" She spat.
The guardian's voice was flatly stoic. "Incorrect. This is for identification purposes only. Inmate, do you recognise this woman?"
Brak'vrasz looked up. "Ah, I see that the warrior of fate was bold. This is one of those who assailed me."
"It lies! They all lie! Let go of me!"
The Guardian simply picked the struggling Eldorai up and carried them out. "Thank you for your cooperation."

Eyrecae was led into an interrogation room. She looked around curiously. "Ask me all you want, I will answer what I can. Hmm, of curiosity, do you have anything to eat?"

Meanwhile outside Tryana looked at Kaida. "So...uhh...what now?"
Lavina looked at her chrono. "It's still early. Did you want to get some caf, Kaida?"

 

[Kaida Taldir]

Eyrecae Alzari

Kaida's comm flashed. She took the call and listened to the message. "Got called to HQ." Then she was gone. The HQ in question was the Temple of the Elements. It doubled as the headquarters of the Caerith Tyari, the Shadows' equivalent of the Angelii, and as the main training centre for Force-Users on the Defiance. Given last night's disturbances, security was tight. Nonetheless, Kaida was let through after a security check.

In style and layout, the Temple was quite similar to the Citadel of the Angelii, though it was less grand in scale. Moreover, here and there one came across males wearing the armour of the Tyari, though none were in leading positions. Kaida found High Seraph Daymana Thael not in an office, but in one of the many training rooms. The commander was schooling a minion.

Most unusually, both wielded lightsabres. Back and forth the dance went, observed by a number of recruits. The commander's opponent was good, but aggressive and wielded the blade like a claymore, unused to its lack of weight. Eventually, Daymana was able to disarm her minion with a deft stroke and held the tip of her blade to her throat.

"A lightsabre is different from a Sarix," she elaborated. "The weapon has no mass, so you cannot hew opponents down. Finesse, precision, economy - those are what you must strive for." Her intense yellow eyes fell upon Kaida. "Seraph, you were trained in the use of this weapon while you served the humans, correct?"
Kaida was all but certain her boss already knew this, but replied simply: "Yes." She could not help but wonder whether the reference to her time in the Protectorate was supposed to be a jab of some sort.
"Who taught you? Your mistress at the time? Kerrigan."
Now she was almost certain it was. Her expression did not waver. "No, a Jedi in her service." She could not help add: "Kerrigan isn't much of a duellist." Kaida had respected her once, but never been enthralled by her. And she had refused to share her bed with her or her wife.
"Curious," Daymana muttered, then raised her voice. "If you had to do battle against a lightsabre-wielder, and you lacked a lightsabre of your own, how would you fight them?"
"At range: shotgun, bolter, hard-sound gun, ion paddle beamer. Closeup: Sarix with cortosis or Phrik shield. Sarzmigar has reach, but it's heavy and a sabre isn't."
Daymana nodded. "Seraph Taldir once did the bidding the corrupt Matriarchy and the humans, but we've all been through a process of emancipation. It took longer for some, but now we are all soldiers of freedom. Learn from her, as she learns from us. These weapons are strange to us and we cannot issue them to everyone, but we must know how they work and how to counter them. Talon, take over. Taldir, walk with me."

Without a further word, Kaida fell in line alongside the High Seraph. She was certain she heard some disdainful muttering leave the lips of a recruit. It sounded a bit like 'monkeigh lover'. She ignored it. The bleating of fools did not concern her. Daymana said nothing for a good while before asking out of nowhere: "What's opinion on the Kar'zun, Seraph?"
"I've killed some. I've worked with others," was all Kaida had to say on the matter. "Why?"
"After careful deliberation the Council has decided to look into the matter of this...Kar'zun Paragon."
"Why do we care about myths?"
"We Shadows do not take a stance on religion. Citizens are free to believe as they wish, provided it supports the community. But we both know that some 'myths', as you put it, walk among us and have power. I also know that you were involved in certain...classified operations in the Matriarchy." Kaida said nothing in response. "Faith has power. Look at our history, and at last night's tumult. It's important for us to know what the truth is. If Firemane or their royalist lackey were to find it before we do, they would have power over our past and present. Do you understand?"
"Yes, ma'am."
"Good. You may organise your task force as you deem necessary, but there is a degree of urgency involved."
"I'll need Brak'Vrasz to be freed. The Kar'zun the Vigiles locked up," Kaida said calmly, but intently.
"He'll be released from custody tomorrow, following a Council announcement."

FIN