We can rebuild her...whether she wants it or not

[Naamah Aesham]

[member="Amara Zarides"]


The faux Chiss pointedly ignored the remark about her similarly fake skin colour. Cue unwelcome questions. "What can you do with the Force? And where did you get your Force training from?" Having said that, Naamah pushed the bottle of cheap, unduly strong whiskey over to Amara.


Had the blonde ever drunk liquor before? Probably not. Archangel was opposed to intoxication. For her part, the Clawdite lit herself a cigarette, inhaled and slowly blew out a stream of smoke towards the ceiling.

 

[Amara Zarides]

[member="Naamah Aesham"]
Amara shook the bottle slowly. It glugged enticingly. Should she? She was only one year old after all!
Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

She poured out a large measure confidently and threw it back like she did this all the time…and then almost spat it up. A pained series of noises escaped her as she swallowed, gasping for breath.
“I…I…think it’s a bit strong,” she said lamely.

She had to pull herself together! “Uhh…I was taught by a harsh mistress. She had no affinity for any of the major groups but she was determined for me to harness my gifts and use them.”

Vague, but hopefully understandably so. “I can do lots of things with the Force,” she said expansively. She did not elaborate on what these things were.

 

[Naamah Aesham]

[member="Amara Zarides"]


'Akure' looked unimpressed, but did not prod Amara about her 'harsh mistress'. Her own Force Signature was still suppressed, obscured by a cloud of mundanity. "They better be useful things. I don't do dead weight. Or have time for bragging. You pull your load and follow my orders, you get a fair share of the loot. You screw up, and you're out. You betray me, and I'll kill you." Her tone was flat and no-nonsense. A vague disclaimer was nobody's friend. "You get a trial run. Job goes well, you're in. No second chances."

 

[Amara Zarides]

[member="Naamah Aesham"]
Without much option, Amara nodded.
“Alright, I’m in. But, I’m not going to do anything nasty, no slaving, assassinations or stuff like that. You know, just clean things.”

If the Chiss wanted her to do that? What would she do? She needed this job even if just for the cash. Would she let herself do something seedy out of desperation, or would her stubbornness prevail? There was only one way to find out.

“What’s the job, and what’s the payment?” she asked, more relaxed now.

 

[Naamah Aesham]

[member="Amara Zarides"]


"Word of advice, kid: Try to be as pure as white snow out of sheer stubborness and all you'll accomplish is end up in an early grave," Naamah remarked cynically, pulling the whiskey bottle back to pour herself a glass. Then she took a swig at it.


"There's a bounty on this Coruscanti gang, the Blue Suns. Scum. So we're going to kill them. No survivors. We split the reward and the loot." Some vigilantes had a personal code that prohibited killing. They preferred to hand over criminals to the police and let the courts judge them. However, Naamah was not that type. Far as she was concerned, the guilty must burn.

 

[Amara Zarides]

[member="Naamah Aesham"]

It wasn’t time for a philosophy discussion, but Amara bridled at the mercenary’s words.
“If you can’t have principles when it’s tough then you have no right having them when it’s easy. There is always a choice; to do what is right, or what is easy.”
She settled back, a little embarrassed.

“Alright, I’ll go with you on this. Thank you for giving me this chance. I won’t let you down.”

She sipped a bit more of the liquor, grimaced and put it down. “Alright, should we get going?”

 

[Naamah Aesham]

[member="Amara Zarides"]


Naamah laughed. The laughter was a bit mocking, but mostly hollow and weary. "Kid, sometimes there are no right choices. Just bad ones and you got to pick the least odious. I'm afraid Sunday school morality doesn't cut it. You got a lot learn." A brothel was the perfect place for philosophical discussions.


She got to her feet. "I got stuff to pick up. You might as well come along," she tossed the bar keeper a credit chit. Their destination would be a cheap motel in the arse end of town.


Naturally they had to run into Tali on the way out. The Togruta had just finished servicing a client. "I see you two got acquainted. Don't be too harsh on the poor dear, Akure. It's her first time...out. Gotta show her the ropes."


"Whatever. I got work to do," she unceremoniously removed the arm the hooker had wrapped around her shoulder and walked towards the exit.


"Oh, right. Come by later when you're...done doing whatever you do. Mistress Poena misses you," she added cheekily. Naamah grunted something in response and Tali gave Amara a cheesy thumbsup. "Good luck, my sweet, and if you see your friend again, tell her to pop by and ask for me."

 

[Amara Zarides]

[member="Naamah Aesham"]
She didn’t reply to Akure’s words. She knew the Chiss was right on an intellectual level but that didn’t make it any better. Instead she just shrugged and rose.
“You’re right, I do have a lot to learn.”

Leaving, they ran into the Togruta. Amara grinned at Tali. “Hey, thanks for this. I’ll come back and see you some time…I mean…not when you’re working, but we can get a drink or something.”

And then they were gone, walking through the crowded, rainy streets until they came to a dismal looking flophouse in the remains of a factory. Amara, who had spent her entire life in the clinical, sterile and above all clean Archangel environments, wrinkled her nose at the smell and dirt. She made sure not to touch anything as they headed towards Akure’s room.

 

[Naamah Aesham]

[member="Amara Zarides"]


"If you're hoping for luxury hotels, forget it, princess. This is actually one of the better places I've stayed in," Naamah said in a gruff tone. It was difficult to discern whether she was joking or not.


As they approached her room, she produced a small, remote control like device and pressed a combination of buttons. "Never stay for a night in a neighbourhood like this without leaving a few surprises," she added conversationally. Yes, she actually booy-trapped the place. Weirdo. Regardless, she proceeded to open the door and luckily they were not blown up. The interior was as clean as one might expect from such a dump. The bed did not look comfortable at all.


Walking towards the closet, Naamah opened it, revealing that it was stacked with more guns than anyone would reasonably need. If Amara checked the fridge, she'd find an excess of strong whiskey. Clearly the Clawdite was the type to drink most of her calories.


For her part, Naamah removed a bolt action sniper rifle. With the practiced skill of an experienced operative, she stripped the gun down and stuffed it into a duffel bag, along with some ammunition. The faux Chiss stuffed a vibroknife into her boot and tossed Amara a det charge. "Let's go. They're meeting in an abandoned temple. A wedding, of all things. We're going crash the party and make it a red one."

 

[Amara Zarides]

[member="Naamah Aesham"]
Amara looked at the scene like an anthropologist investigating a strange new tribe of undiscovered natives. Everything here was so totally unlike anything she’d ever experienced she didn’t know whether to be enthralled, repulsed…or both.

“I’ll keep that in mind if I spend a night in a place like this,” she said absently. Was that dried blood on the wall? She looked down. It was soft, it was on the floor…but it wasn’t carpet. Amara shuddered slightly and decided not to look down at the festering mess on the floor.

As far as weapons were concerned though, Akure knew her stuff. Amara eagerly selected a pair of shatter pistols, a hold-out bolter and a heavy repeater. Though not especially accurate, the repeater could fire metallic bolts very quickly and powerfully.

“A red wedding, huh? Catchy name. Still, it’s good to know that criminal scum can still find love. Here’s to Mr and Mrs Blue Sun…or possibly Mr and Mr, they might be more liberal than I thought.”

She was babbling to cover her anxiety, and caught the det charge only because it smacked into her.

“Right, let’s go. As much as I’d love to stay and have tea…bounties await.”

 

[Naamah Aesham]

[member="Amara Zarides"]


"Mr. And Mr Sun. In the spirit of these progressive times, it's also an interracial marriage between a Garhoon and a Togruta. I'm afraid there won't be rainbows, only a lot of red," Naamah responded in a deadpan tone. She had more of a sense of humour than Enyo. Slightly.


"Now stop babbling and get ahold of yourself. Come on," she added in a gruffer tone. In other words, the one she almost always used. She walked out of the dump that passed for her room and shut the door behind her. Outside, the floor creaked beneath her steps and there was a vile odour in the air. It was probably a mixture of blood and urine.


The pair left the flophouse behind them and was soon back on the rainy streets. Naamah knew the way and guided Amara with unerring precision. After a while, they reached the temple she'd mentioned. The grand place of worship had seen better days and was showing clear signs of decay, but despite the poor weather it seemed the turnout was quite high.


Music could be heard coming from the inside, Blue Suns were on patrol. Naamah scanned the area ahead of them with a pair of binoculars, then pointed towards one of the adjacent buildings. "I'll take up position on the roof. I have a good view of the temple hall from there. Place the det charge on one of the speeders. Closest to the door. I'll start sniping and blow the charge when a mob comes out. You strike from the shadows when they're in disarray and guard my flank."

 

[Enyo Typhos]

[member="Amara Zarides"], [member="Valiens Nantaris"]


The duo of Enyo and the damaged Vess had left Coruscant behind them. The clone stared out of the viewing port, looking upon the myriad celestial bodies and ships that populated the vastness of space while the shuttle docked on the Lightbringer.


Her thoughts lay elsewhere, for she could not stop replaying the last hour's events in her mind. It was so difficult to remember, for any time she did, a sharp pain surged through her skull. Nonetheless, she forced herself to.


The images in her mind were quite clear. Amara had betrayed and attacked her. She had defended herself. But it made no sense to her. Why would she do that? It hurt to think. It hurt to think. You will not remember this session.


She tried to remember, pitting her mind against the mental walls that seemed have been erected around her mind. "We have landed. Come on," Vess pulled her out of her thoughts. "I am sorry about Amara. You gave her everything and she betrayed you."


"Yes," Enyo said, sounding as if she was in a daze. "I don't understand it."


"She tried to turn you against Archangel. Firemane must have contacted her during the raid. She fed you lies because she was jealous of your destiny." Vess' voice was so compassionate and soothing. It sounded so right.


And so wrong. As she stepped through the hatch and entered the Lightbringer's bay, there was another flash in her memory, the look of understanding between her and Amara...before she'd attacked Vess.


"No, this isn't right. You betrayed me!" With a burst of power, she grabbed Vess with her mechanical hand and slammed her head-first against the hull of the transport ship with a loud, sickening crunch that resonated across the hangar.


A storm of blaster bolts and projectiles shot towards her, but her blazing violet lightsabre, more an extension of herself than a weapon, deflected every one of them. Shots ricochetted across the hangar walls, striking battle droids or pieces of equipment.


As she turned and raced back towards the shuttle, the hangar shields reactivated, trapping her. Blue ion rounds impacted upon her, forcing her down to her knees as they struck crucial systems. The clone howled in rage and powerful magnetic field manifested around attacking HRDs and crushed them, tearing them apart.


"C-c-command Code Revenant - Omega. Command Sigma," the by now rather broken Vess spoke haltingly, for her vocabulator had suffered. "Organic Minion 002, stand down and submit to reconditioning."


Abruptly, Enyo stopped dead in her tracks. She could not think, she could not move. It was as if someone had pressed a switch and shut her down. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw once again saw the armoured, masked shape with the glowing yellow eyes. "Back again, are we? Sleep. It's not time to break your chains yet."

 

[Amara Zarides]

[member="Naamah Aesham"]

“I’m glad to hear that they have entered a new era of enlightened discourse…by bonding over the enslavement, extortion and murder of innocents. And they say romance is dead,” Amara commented snidely.

When they reached the location, Amara nodded. It was a sound plan, and though it put her in the firing line it was clearly a test.
Creeping out onto the street she swiftly ducked back again. The Blue Suns were actively looking for any trouble. Instead, she had to improvise. Det charge in hand she walked briskly out onto the street and past the speeder. As she passed it, and the line of sight was blocked, she flicked the charge onto the speeder and walked past.

When she was sufficiently past she ducked back and took position. “Light them up when you’re set, Akure,” she said, and took cover behind a very stout duracrete wall.

The heavy repeater was in her hands, blasters beside, lightsabre ready. It was time for action.

 

[Maelion Liates]

[member="Enyo Typhos"]
As Vess limped forward, her pretty visage even further destroyed by heavy blows, she looked at Enyo flatly. Perhaps it was best that the droid did not share the wild emotions of an organic or she might have struck her down there and then in rage.
Instead, droids came forward and secured the unresisting clone to a moveable hoversled on which she could be easily moved around.

Maelion had watched the encounter via a security feed forwarded by Vess. No emotion touched her face.
“The organic is becoming more difficult to control. Perhaps we made a mistake persisting with her. She is a valuable asset, but her usefulness is rapidly becoming redundant. She should either be mind blanked or…we should consider the Simulacrum,” she said to Moira.

 

[Naamah Aesham]

[member="Amara Zarides"]


It was truly a touching scene in the temple's grand hall. The building looked decrepit on the outside, but the interior had been cleaned up. Moonlight fell into the hall through the stained glass windows, illuminating it. Moreover, many candles had been lit. The altar was draped in the bright, sapphire colours of the Blue Suns.


A congregation of Blue Suns had gathered to celebrate the happy couple. Naturally all of them were armed, but also dressed to the nines, wearing elegant uniforms, suits and dresses. In the spirit of the ages, it was a multiracial congregation. Gamorreans, Trandoshans, humans, Twi'leks, even a Wookiee and a Hutt had come together. Naturally, a number of them had brought slaves. These could be easily identified because they wore very little, were shackled and leashed. They also tended to look rather fearful.


The happy couple stood before the Priest and was reciting their vows. "I, Dracul Cullen, take thee, Hashtahd Taakras, to be my wedded husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death us do part, according to the Maker's holy ordinance; and thereto I plight thee my troth," the vampire spoke these words with fervour and his bright yellow eyes sparkled as he bared his fangs. Many of the guests clapped. One of them, an elegantly dressed Gamorrean, wiped tears from his eyes with a tissue.


"And, I, Hashtad Taakra, take thee, Dracul...," the Togruta began, staring into the deep, soulful eyes of his beloved. The scene was so sweet it would make syrup taste sour.


CRACK Alas, the romantic moment could not last, for a sniper's bullet shot through the window, broke the glass and pierced the romantic vampire's brain, just as he was about to take the most important step in his unlife. He fell to the ground with a loud thud, blood seeping out of his skull, and chaos broke out. Naamah's fingers clutched the detonator...

 

[Enyo Typhos]

[member="Maelion Liates"], [member="Valiens Nantaris"]


The expression on Moira's face was just as emotionless. She looked like someone studying a rather troublesome species of insect. "Put her in stasis and reconfigure her mind from the ground up. A blank slate. Emotions make her troublesome to control. Has the Simulacrum process been tested enough to use it on her? We have invested a lot in this troublesome unit. She represents sunk costs." If they could, Archangel would turn the clone into an emotionless drone. If successfully applied, the Simulacrum would turn her into the perfect blend of woman and machine.


xxx


Enyo did not resist when she was secured to the hoversled and led away. Her body had shut down, her features were vacant. She looked like a parody of humanity. The clone was trapped inside the depths of her mind, unable to act, speak or move.


However, this did not mean her mind was wholly blank. Though unable to resist, lash out or escape, there was a safe place there. One that Archangel could not touch. For now. She was in Korriban City again. The place where she had been shattered and reborn. The clone walked through the ruined streets as a harsh wind blew across the sand. The lamentations of the unfortunate souls echoed across the town.


"Why do you resist the pull of the inevitable?" the clone spun around, ready to defend herself when her solitude was broken and she found herself facing...a perfect copy of herself. A Cyborg who wore her face stood in her path, but this was one wore a black uniform and high boots. "Organic Minion 002," her tone was mechanical...robotic, her eyes devoid of life.


"That is not my name. I am Enyo Typhos," the real Enyo hissed through gritted teeth. She searched in vain for any spark of life in those cold, dead eyes. Her mirror stood as rigid as a statue.


"We have no name. We are a cog in a machine. A cybernetically augmnented Force Combat Unit," the mirror Enyo retorted. "You will submit to Archangel and perform your function."


"The hell I will. I've seen the truth. Archangel has lied and manipulated me for their own selfish ends. I will not be subjugated. I have the potential to be greater than any of them," Enyo declared angrily. "They failed to control me once. They will do so again."


"Bravado is not confidence. Look around you. See what organics do with their freedom. You struggle against what you know to be true. With each passing moment, your mind is being rearranged. By the time you awaken, you will have been fixed."


"You're just a drone. An empty shell. Bleat at me all you like. You're nothing but a shade. If Archangel was so omnipotent, they would have to resort to such means to control me. It's funny. If they'd lived up to their promises, I would've been loyal. But they've earned nothing but by undying hatred."


"You cannot fight destiny." Another Enyo had shown up from behind, speaking in unison with the other drone.


"We are legion. You will fulfil your purpose," a third spoke in a dull monotone.


"Yes, I will," Enyo said quietly, in a strangely serene voice. "I'll kill Moira and Maelion...They denied me everything, even choice. So I shall take everything from them and make it mine." Her mechanical fist connected with the first drone's face with tremendous force. Then the melee began. More and more drones flooded the alley.

 

[Amara Zarides]

[member="Naamah Aesham"]
Instantly all was commotion and panic. Angry, the vengeful groom and his minions swarmed outside…into the path of the detonation.

The speeder bomb swept away a dozen of the Blue Suns in a single, cataclysmic blast. Flames roared up, smoke and dust billowed, and the screams of the maimed filtered in.

Yet the Blue Suns were not done yet. The others who had been inside now came out or headed to the upper levels where they could open fire.

As they came out, Amara was ready. The heavy repeater was not a weapon of precision, but in this case it didn’t need to be. Resting it on a permacrete barrier she took aim, and let rip.

The clone did not have much experience with firearms, but she’d practiced enough to know the basics. The repeater, at a range of just 20 metres, cut into the gang before most could take cover. One casualty was the dapper Gamorrean with his monocle, a repeater round passing through the glass and into his brain.

There was not much fight left in the gang, but the upper floor ones started to fire down at Amara, and at where they thought the sniper was.

 

[Maelion Liates]

[member="Enyo Typhos"]
“The prototype for the Simulacrum has been perfected, but it has not been tested on a Force user as yet. Suggest we use a captured organic for this purpose and then move on to processing Enyo if that is successful.”

This would all take time though.

Meanwhile, in Enyo’s dreamscape, things were starting to become a bit Matrix-y. Fortunately Enyo was a much better actor than Neo, so should be able to actually convey emotion.

 

[Naamah Aesham]

[member="Amara Zarides"]


And so there was chaos and death. The entrance of the temple was littered with smouldering corpses. The explosion and the repeater salvoes had reaped a bitter harvest in blood. From her vantage point on the top of the building, Naamah picked off targets of opportunity. Those gangsters not mowed down by Amara fell to precise shots before they had much in the way of time to react.


However, not all fight had left the gang. Naamah took cover, pulling away from the edge of the roof and lying down on the ground as heavy blaster fire rained down upon her. "Amara, get to the upper levels. I'm repositioning," she ordered tersely through her comm, just as she heard the tell-tale whoosh that heralded the coming of rockets. In the blink of an eye, Naamah activated the stealth field generator on her belt and vanished from sight. A moment later, rockets impacted upon the roof and it caved in.

 

[Enyo Typhos]

[member="Maelion Liates"]


Moira considered this, then affirmed her colleague's suggestion. "Consensus. The organic called Taiya Linosa will be a suitable test subject. She has been troublesome." That seemed to be the trend with captive organics. Especially those who had the Force. Poor Taliya could not get a break, but at least it was not Shandris Starsprite.


xxx


Meanwhile, in the dreamscape the Matrix trend continued. The streets of Korriban City were even more of a mess than before, if that were possible. Enyo was above one of her mirrors and was busy with repeatedly punching her in the face, such was her anger.


At this point, her clone's face had been rather demolished, but Enyo did not care. Her mechanical fists were like bludgeons and she used them to hammer the copy who represented everything she hated about herself. Broken bodies lay around her.


Then one of the other copies suddenly grabbed her with a magnetic grip and tossed through the air. The clone was ragdolled and, lacking the mobility to control her flight in mid-air, was thrown through a wall. She landed upon the ground behind it with a hard thud. She was dazed and her vision blurred, taking a moment or two to regain her bearings.


Then she got back to her feet and walked out, straight towards the mob that had gathered outside. Then, suddenly, before the melee could begin again, a male fellow wearing a black trenchcoat and sunglasses suddenly appeared. "I am the One," he declared in a dull monotone.


Enyo blinked. This was her insane dreamscape. Overcome by a remarkable feeling of irritation, she raised her hand, opened her palm. There was a muzzle flash and a beam of light sliced through his chest, leaving a large hole.