To Trap A Battering Ram (Siobhan)

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

@Kalina Soluza



Err...wait, I know you? And did we sleep together? 800 years...nuts. Or she met one of the other ones! One thing was certain from Sio's perspective: None of the other Siobhans had her dress sense! Oh, and they were less badass. From her point of view at least.



"We've....never met. Eh, whatever. You look for eight hundred years! And her name's Tempest. You've been briefed? We need you to slice into the security systems of an ancient Sith Lord's space station," Siobhan responded, apparently being able to focus for a change instead of oggling Kalinai.

 

[Kalinai Soluza]

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]
“Tempest, huh? Better than Drizzle, I guess. Doesn’t have the same sort of…hmm…appeal,” I said happily. Well, this Siobhan didn’t recognise me. I was used to this by now. The galaxy was full of people who looked and acted exactly like their namesakes 800 years ago. I guess there’s a reason for it. Whatever, we’ve got a mission. A mission from Clod…well…Siobhan anyway.
“Right, old man Shads. He’s pretty gnarly, I remember him from the old days. So, you’re going for round 3, huh? Hope you do better this time.” I wasn’t trying to yank her chain (though I hear she likes that!), I was trying to be reasonable. Me, reasonable? Hey, first time for everything.

“Look, can we just get going?” Minion said. What was her name again? Tempura?
“Yes, yes, keep your hair on, we are going instantly. I have a corvette you know...the Flying Pineapple! Wanna take that? It’s got cannons.” The Flying Pineapple was my baby. Its cannons were able to like…yeah. Better than whatever these two would have. Plus I have a bar! No grill though. Shame.

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Kalinai Soluza"]


Siobhan looked a bit put out and rather dumbfounded. This was not the way the lead-up to a suicide mission/blaze of glory played out! But then nothing could have probably prepared her for THE Special Snowflake! Curiously enough Siobhan was no stranger to 4th wall breaking moments. She repeatedly got visited by other Sio Kerrigans from parallel universes. There had the Bando Gora Sio, who in her opinion had a terrible fashion sense, the angry cyborg one from some planet called 'Earth' who hated mages and some anarchist chick who railed at her for selling out the powers that be.


Whatever that meant. She shot Kalinai a sceptical look. She had some difficulty imagining her having a decent corvette. Or maybe she was annoyed about her comment about her last two encounters with Shadow not going well. I recall saving Adril from him! she thought insistently. Admittedly her former master and lover had beaten her up in the fade, but then she had gotten through to her and Shadow had been exorcised. So, yes, go her!


"The Flying Pineapple? Who calls their ship that? Never mind. Fine show it to us." Her day could not get any crazier. Actually now it definitely would!

 

[Kalinai Soluza]

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]
Who calls their ship that?! ME! I bet she was being all sneer and happy and thought I had a row boat or something! Well, I'd show her.
"Come this way, ladies!"
So off we went to space! The final frontier! Probably. So anyway, the Flying Pineapple was orbiting in space. See, I got a tech sub and everything, even if that silly Jedi wench is supposedly the author. I'm the author. Me!
Anyway, so my NON-STARSHIP-GUIDE-COMPLIANT-ASSAULT-BALANCED-SUPPORT-CORVETTE was ready for action.

So on board I went, and all my crew gave me cheers and welcomed me back! Well actually, they didn't seem to notice much.
"Smee! People for you to look after!" I called to my chief minion.
The ridiculously photogenic 1st Mate of mine came forward. "Lieutenant Kaja Elanie," she said, all cream pies and cherries. So that was her name? I bet Sio was already plotting to sex her good. Jokes on her, Kaja's straight! I know, I've tried.

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Kalinai Soluza"]


Well, the ship was..more intact and serviceable than she had expected. Contrary to what Kalinai might think Siobhan was not in much of a mood to hit on the ridiculously photogenic Ms. Elanie, as tempting as she was. After all, she was off to heroically - or foolishly - storm the fortress of old man Shads.



"Nice ship," she commented. "Let's get going. Time's a wasting. Our destination is Gromas." The journey would take a bit so there would be plenty of time for her to busy herself by hitting a punching bag. Or perhaps having potential-last-night-on-earth fade to black scenes with Tempest.

 

[Moira Skaldi]

Gaiseric had been captured and her sources had confirmed that Kerrigan had stalked off. Presumably to heroically death charge Shadow or something. Predictable as ever. Everything was going as planned and all that jazz. If she died, good. If she survived, as unlikely as that seemed, she would go off death charging Sith and that was good as well. Moreover, having her face a horde of robots specifically built to terminate force-users would be a useful field test.


Moira would be sure to monitor the Gromas system. In the meantime, there were details to handle. The news of Gaiseric being put in under custody under the Defence of the Protectorate Act - legislation Moira had found tremendously useful during the Bando Gora War and to justify extraordinary renditions - had sent ripples through the shadowy underworld. Dealers affiliated with him were diving down into the underground, others wanted to quickly sell off their stock of phrik before the hunters caught up with them.



A meeting had been arranged with the aforementioned Vitellius, a dealer an HRD placed in the Cartel had been watching. Needless to say the unfortunate fellow did not know he was dealing with death machines, just that he would be given a sizeable profit and that his benefactor could help him vanish off the board. A meeting had been arranged in an obscure landing strip on Duros.

 

[Tempest]

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]
Tempest ignored the rather odd blonde and went to her cabin with Siobhan. Once there she turned to Siobhan. "That girl is nuts, but this ship's got good guns. Maybe we can just blow that station out of the sky!" she said hopefully.

It probably wouldn't be that simple though. The corvette's guns were likely not enough to dent a truly powerful station's shielding.

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Tempest"]


"Would be nice, but he'd have planned for that. Guns are good, but I doubt they'll blow a hole through the station's shields. Should give us protection against enemy fighters though. I should be able to telekinetically wreck a good portion of the station from the corvette though. Will just be a bit...draining. Got a Sigil of Hope with me though."



Contrary to popular belief and propaganda, Siobhan could not throw Lucrehulks on her own without being super empowered or pull down an entire space station from orbit. For the record, Starkiller, who is so often mentioned, did not pull down a Star Destroyer, 'just' redirected one that was already falling.



There was a pause before she spoke up again. "I...wanted to thank you for coming along. You didn't have to."

 

[Tempest]

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]
"Thanks...couldn't let you go alone, could I? Don't need you getting all the credit, that'd puff up your ego too much!" Tempest joked. "Just be careful. Doubtless Shadow will be trying to block your attempts as well."

And so into hyperspace they went. The long trip to Gromas was broken up by the surprisingly well stocked bar of Kalinai's ship as well as a small hot tub which helped get Tempest into the appropriate martial attitude!

When they emerged from hyperspace, Tempest was ready to go, even if she was a bit nervous.

 

[Darth Shadow]

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]
"Lord, a ship has come out of hyperspace. Corvette of some sort, possibly pirate."
"So they were wise enough to bring support, were they? Interesting. Prepare the station for combat. Prepare shields and tractor beams along with weapon batteries."
The SIth Lord watched the ship approach on the scanner. "Launch fighters and engage on my mark."

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Tempest"]


As surprising as it may seem Siobhan had not been in the mood to enjoy the amenities of the Flying Pineapple. Even the hot tub had not excited her much. When the ship dropped out of hyperspace she had been obsessively cleaning guns - of which she had brought a lot. It gave her something to focus on. Or rather distract her from the fact that there was a good chance she might not survive this day.



When word reached her that they had arrived she grabbed her weapons and moved to depart from her cabin. A sigh escaped her throat. She was not the praying type and in any case Ashira had neither been a goddess nor would she probably listen to humans. Sorry, Tegs. "I'll get him...Adril. You'll get justice. I promise. Or I'll die trying," she whispered to herself before cold resolution took over her features.



Siobhan was too weak for this. Butcher Kerrigan was not. That was who she would have to be. Even if she might not like what she saw when she looked into the mirror. Just as long as she did not drag Tempest down with her - she had to make it out. She violently thrust what doubts she might have out of her mind. She was Siobhan 'I can kill anything' Kerrigan and so she would go forth and conquer. The demons of the past no longer scared her. By this sign, conquer! So she quickly headed to the bridge of the corvette as the station's defences went active and fighters were launched, though battle had not erupted yet.

 

[Moira Skaldi]

At the edge of the system, unotrusive and too small to be anything but a blip on anyone's radar, a deep space probe was watching. Moira liked to watch after all. Archangel would not directly interfere, of course. It had provided the materiel and would now observe the effects. So the arrival of the Flying Pineapple was noted and the recording transmitted to her office on Corellia. This was an unexpected variable, as it indicated Kerrigan had brought support.


No matter. It would just make the game more interesting. In the meantime, Ms. Scarlett had an appointment with a certain dealer on Duros.

 

[Tempest]

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]
Tempest could sense, could feel Siobhan’s tension when she entered the bridge. “You OK?” she asked.

“She’s fine,” Kalinai said, without looking up from a screen. “She’s just nerving herself up to go all superpowered. Shadow Kerrigan, or whatever.”

Tempest glared at Kalinai. “Look, I’m here for you,” she said.

“Good. Now, how do you want to handle this, Kerri?” Kalinai said briskly. “Enemy’s coming, and I’m not getting close enough for that station to space us. I can give you a transport and covering fire to help you get there if you’d like,” she said.

“I thought you’d at least open fire on the station for us,” Tempest said irritably.

“Oh yeah? And what am I supposed to do when they fire back, hmm? Oh fine, we’ll move in and give them a volley whilst you race in, but then we’re pulling back out of range. Got it?”

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Tempest"]


She could hear voices, people talking to her. One she recognised as Tempest, her student, the one who was willing to risk certain death for her. The other was the annoying blonde. Siobhan, tense and worked up as she was, blotted both of them out as she focused.



No, not Siobhan. She was slumbering presently. Sith starfighters had roared out of the hangars of the station and were now comiing at them like angry hornets, a swarm with murderous intent. More obstacles for her to remove. The shields of the station were already activated, doubtless tractor beams would follow soon, the entire structure bristling with firepower.



She visualised the swarm of fighters in her mind and found that their presence offended her. Nothing could be allowed to stop her. An inner voice spoke: Then why not destroy them? So she stretched out with her mind, focusing on a number of them as she harnessed the Living Force and twisted it into a weapon, a bludgeon of power, wrapping her telekinetic will around them as she exerted herself. She was the eye of the hurricane, in her grasp the Force became a Mjoellnir and with her mind she could bend durasteel.



Metal heaved and twisted in her grasp. In space no one can hear you scream and there is no sound, though it is often portrayed to the contrary. As such no one would hear the pilots scream as flying craft were suddenly immobilised, as cracks began to appear in their craft, as her mind seized the fuel core and began thrashing it, invisible telekinetic fingers that were like bludgeons. Fighters ceased to exist and were vaporised under her might.



She let out a breath as she beheld the carnage. Obviously the station was spitting out a lot more fighters not to mention a hell of a lot of big guns, but she felt better. Only now did she pay attention to what the two were discussing. "Do that. I'll try to thrash some of the guns."

 

[Darth Shadow]

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]
“Lord, she’s…she…” one of the officers called.
“She’s putting her powers to their most destructive ends, yes. However, I think she will have considerably more trouble with this station. Begin autofire on the corvette, Commander, then move your crew down towards the shuttle bay. Your part is nearly complete, and it’s time for me to deal with the battering ram once and for all.”
The officer saluted.

Outside the station a hail of turbolaser and ion cannon bolts spat at the corvette, aiming to keep it back out of range.
However a shuttle bay was consciously kept unguarded as an invitation to board.
The stations shields, engines and tractor beams provided a formidable barrier to any Force based damage, especially since the mass of the station itself was a barrier.

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Darth Shadow"]


She might not be able to tear the station apart - not without a prohibitive expenditure of energy - but that did not mean she could not cause carnage. A hail of turbolaser fire and ion and cannon bolts was spitting out of the station, seeking to keep the corvette at bay as a transport vessel roared out of its hangar bays into the vastness of space.



Presumably Tempest was the one flying since Siobhan was not much of a pilot. The ship rocked amidst the bombardment, but a force barrier shimmered into existence as the Force wrapped itself around the craft in a protective cocoon. Force Protection was something she had learned from Phylis and while it was rather energy-intensive for her she had advanced noticeably in it. Troops were amassing in the shuttle bay, this she could sense even before their craft had come close enough for her to see them with her naked eye.



Formidable defences no doubt, presumably also with manifold turrets installed. Doubtless just a warm-up for the true challenge and legions that lay in wait in the belly of the beast. Powerful ripples were felt resonating through the Force as a surge of energy was built up, then suddenly something was catapulted through the the nothingness of the void towards the shuttle bay, at tremendous speed and velocity. A poor precision, pure power shot fuelled by ferocity and a will to destruction that matched the one of the chaos gods the Bando Gora had made obeisance to.



It was a big rock that had been conveniently floating through space and now hurtled at a speed that was too fast for the eye to follow, shooting in a blur with the aim to crash into the troops in the bay and smash them. Doubtless some would be able to escape, doubtless the turrets would be able to blow off some chunks, but then this was the less well-guarded. Presumably a big hole would be blown into the durasteel blast doors and the wall as the rock was slammed right through, doubtless docked craft would be shredded.



The battering ram had arrived.

 

[Tempest]

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]
The rather dramatic entrance via improvised cannonball had also had the effect of causing considerable damage to the docking area. Crew and machines had been wrecked of course, and the remainder fled, but the rock had also damaged the containment fields in the hanger. This had caused the area to be sealed off as the atmosphere started to leak rapidly into space.

Tempest, who had just put her limited piloting skills to their limit in getting in safely, looked out at the wrecked hanger.
“Good job, boss…but we’re going to need air for the first bit!” she said. Fortunately they both had their Beskar which provided protection from vacuum and air as well.

As they emerged out into the hanger though the rapid loss of air meant that it was foggy and sounds were muted or entirely non-existent. The only sure communications were via their helmet commlinks.
Thus they wouldn’t have heard the first droids move into position on the gallery above them, and at the far end. These droids had bolters which were a quite formidable combination against most Force users.

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

One could hardly expect anything than an overdramatic entrance from Siobhan. She had not gotten where she was because of common sense. Actually, her achieving anytihng had all to do with her being good in bed and good at destroying things and nothing else. Sometimes that was enough to become Exarch - not that she had done anything as one other than death charge across Gehenna - and then company vice president. But perhaps she would not survive, which would be no loss.



Contrary to popular belief and Omega/Firemane propaganda bolters were not I-win-cards. Undoubtedly powerful, but they had low ammunition capacity and a slow rate of fire. They were also not that effective against beskar'gam unless they hit one of its weak spots, though getting bombarded by several was obviously still unpleasant. Of course, the common tactic of a force-user, namely trying to deflect rounds, was counterproductive against explosive bolts because it blew up in your face. But Siobhan barely used a lightsabre anyway. Telekinetically shoving rounds was ill-advised as well though.



Regardless droids emerged and wasted no time opening fire with their guns. If Siobhan had the time she would have wondered where they had gotten bolters from. Something to...look into because this writer strongly doubts Archangel's involvement will remain totally secret forever. Enhanced speed would...not be very effective, so when faced with the choice of drawing upon the Force to shield herself or having something else bite the bullet,



Fortunately, there was lots of debris lying around. She tugged Tempest into cover as she raised chunks of debris and bodies and thrust them forward as improvised shields against the rounds coming from above and at the far end. The shield was far from perfect, especially due to the lack of time and was blasted under the pressure as explosive bolts impacted. Siobhan was struck hard by the blast, though the effect was mitigated, and exerted herself to scatter the debris to the winds as it broke into pieces, shards of shrapnel raining down upon her.



She was painfully thrust back by the shockwave and suppressed a cry of pain as she was struck in the joints, shrapnel having found a chink in the armour. Inexpert Crucitorn kept her functioning and made her stifle the white hot pain, for now, though the shard embedded itself. Another viciouslyGiven the beskar'gam being hit by the blast was a bit like being struck with a hammer.



By and large it could not pierce the armour, but it bloody hurt. Her shoulder down to her organic arm felt immobilised, her armour was scorched. "I'll draw their fire!" Enraged as she was knocked to the ground she reached out to send a shattering force repulse towards the droids, aiming to engulf them. A wide area of effect torrent of lightning came shrieking from her fingertips.

 

[Tempest]

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]
The battle was fierce. As Siobhan drew the machine’s fire, Tempest took cover under their ship’s boarding ramp and opened fire with her bolter at the droids.
The first shot went wide, but a second round tore apart the head of one of the quadruped machines. Combined with Siobhan’s attack and lightning, several droids went down very quickly.

However, this small victory was somewhat negated when a larger droid entered from the far end, a tank droid with a large cannon on its back. This levelled and fired at Siobhan.
Meanwhile, as Tempest continued to snip at the other droids, taking a couple down, she didn’t notice that one of the droids had managed to get somewhat behind her. When it fired the bolt hit her right on the back, throwing her forward hard so her head impacted the ramp. She let out a strangled cry into her commlink and fell dazed to the deck as the droid levelled its bolter for a second shot….

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Tempest"]


A barrier of force energy wrapped itself around Siobhan in a protective cocoon, forming an invisible wall. Strain was evident upon her features as she maintained the shield around her, pouring in energy as weak spots became evident. She ground herself in the Force to keep standing as high-powered red beams came shooting towards her.


The wall wavered under the onslaught and she leapt into the air up, diving over salvoes of laser rounds and stretched, seeking to crush the cannon in her grip. Then she heard the strangled cry of pain from Tempest coming through her commlink. The sound made her angry. Very angry. Hurting the people she cared about tended to do that to her. Especially her rather loveable minion.



The droid aiming at Tempest was suddenly seized. In a grip so strong it was crushing and crumbled under her might as she violently thrust it at the tank. Even as the droid fell apart and cannon shots bombarded her, her rage being such that she did not notice it being burnt through in places, the tank droid was raised and and smashed into the ground.