We were conquers.
The acidic laced wind ripped and stole at the hem of her tattered robes, the remains of the drop ship sat at the head of the beach not a mile behind her. It’s engines still roared, stuck in idle, the burnt steel ship appeared to be in varying stages of disrepair. The Aurek team covered the machine like parasites, the burning light of power welders standing out. They had been here hours facing throes of repairs obscured in the small cove. There were a thousand footsteps left in her wake as Sybila trekked further across the sandy expanse.
The smell of pungent fumes on the air burned her nose faintly, and she drew to a halt before the shoreline of the ocean of acid. Waves lapped and ate away ever so slowly at the soil; breaking the monotony of the ocean front. Iridonia, she had been here early on in the Order’s campaigns. The planet was cast in an orange hue now as dawn made its appearance on the horizon.
“Contact has confirmed, that should be him arriving now,” Ban called from a distance, the trooper had long discarded his helmet. Sybila smiled to herself then, turning to nod to the Zabrak wordlessly. They all had peeled away parts of themselves and she could tell the man was torn between the comfort of his homeworld and their unfortunate situation.
“We’re a little deeper into Imperial space than a border planet..” the Zabrak spoke slowly after a beat of silence, the suck of breath betrayed his exacerbation as he looked across the open vat of ‘water’. There was a rumble of a ship in the distance that drew the eye and Sybila’s eyes trailed after it across the ocean.
The sun reflected off the metallic, a smaller freighter ship cutting a direct path door them. The air traffic was scant and the woman forced her own apprehensions to the back of her mind. Air stirred and whipped about them as the ship passed overhead, circling back; the roar of it’s back thrusters rumbled. She raised her sole hand to motion to Ban who shifted with rifle in hand. She had stood here before in a way, and her eyes passed to the holo pad in her grasp.
“I’ve had a bad feeling about this one ever since Muunilinst, he won’t stick his neck out far enough-so we had to come to him,” Sybila mused, her thumb swiping through the correspondences from the former Command Staff. She had to wonder if he would deny it all, there was an invisible timer now steadily ticking away. The woman was banking on the Agent’s betrayal.
“He won’t be alone, Techy says an emergency beacon just tripped...Sybila?” Ban said, wandering beside her-his armor creaking.
“No, but that’s why we have guns,” Sybila rasped, the corner of her lip twitching as she scoffed to herself.
It was a gruesome thing acid alone could do to the flesh, the moment the transport ramp hit the sand and the series of float crates were escorted down. Sybila had waited patiently for the aging man, Rego, to descend that ramp. Grey peppered his hair and his skin had begun to bloch-but he still wore a kind expression despite that as he approached her; his wariness reverberated through her mind. He wore the facade well, but five years hadn’t been kind to either of them it seemed. Minutes passed as the small contingent of Troopers transported the supplies into their hands She tilted her head in greeting, turning back to the ocean as she painstakingly rooted herself at the tide’s edge counting down the seconds as Rego approached her.
“Your deep cover mission seems to have gone awry? I’ve brought all the appropriate supplies I could manage at least but are you well Lyra? Your arm is in a sling-” Rego inquired, he had tucked his hands behind his back as he deferred to her.
“How long were you selling to the Broker? Or was it just by accident and the deal was too sweet?” Sybila grounded out, burning eyes turning on the Agent. She inhaled deeply as she tucked the data pad away in the gap of her cuirass.
“I don’t-”
A blaster shot rang out between them, and Sybila’s form whipped around staring down the barrel of her gun-the barrel smoking. The pistol recoiled in her hand with each shot as the beach erupted in a fire fight putting down the transport’s escorts, the seconds of violence ended as the man’s body hit the encroaching tide with a single splash.
This was the hardest lesson to accept, she couldn't call it resolve with out confrontation but-she didn't need to hear his explanation at the least. Sybila still couldn't make sense of it. It would never truly matter why the man had sold her emergency relays off to the Bescane circuit board’s syndicate, the one Darth Maledictus used to track her own mother down in the end. Rego had made the error-and perhaps had sold a thousand more secrets since then that pertained to the Order. Scraping past the harsh eyes of COMPNOR along the way.
The greater part of her consciousness didn’t care about the rest, she had done them a favor at the very least. The burning of flesh prevailed on the beach, flesh frothed as Aurek moved in and the men began to discard the bodies in the acid waters. Any vindication proved to be lacking as the ship parts were dragged down the beach way and Sybila trailed behind. The work was done but it was tiring all the same, it had been careless and a misplacement of trust.
She should have figured it out sooner, but Maledictus had easily consumed all attention; all her wrath. Because of that she had missed a weak link. Sybila reasoned she should be wallowing in sorrow now, but all she could manage was a heavy exhale. How much time had she wasted mourning already? Her hair fell around in a black shroud as she dropped her head, shaking it. Ban’s footsteps sounded behind her as they followed after the team, a distant beeping echoed from the freighter behind them.
“My guess is the sector’s planetary patrol will be on this-and that’s at best. At worst we’re looking at someone from the Brass or the Imperial Knight’s sect. We can’t say who got the beacon-”
“Don’t worry about it Ban, I’ll take care of it,” Sybila interrupted the Zabrak, sluggish in her movements as she jutted her hand out toward the Vorsnkr, “-just get us up and running. We’ll be returning to the Outer Rim soon enough.”
The team dispersed around them as cables were dropped and the power welder began to gut out the shot main panel. They were all hard pressed and the burn out stump of metal hanging off her right hand offered little assistance. The adrenaline had long left her body and she was coasting along, and the woman's heart called for solitary retreat; for meditation. The soldier in her wanted to laugh, but even the hunt had to wane at some point.
“Why come back this way-why do this? You don’t want to be found don’t you?” Ban dropped his voice, stooping low beside her as he fiddled with the detonator between his hands.
“It doesn’t particularly ma-” Sybila hissed.
“Those soldiers are dead, though they may have been paid off, who knows. You’ve spun this self righteous bantha shit and I am starting to doubt it. Every move you make is erratic. Giving everything for your men and now we’re here killing more people. Can you help me understand why we’re leaving this much of a trail?” the Zabrak snapped, his own patience worn thing and she could feel it through the Force alone hanging on by a thread. H espoke over her as he glared from the corner of his eyes, from this angel the sunkeness of his cheeks appeared prevalent.
They had been living off rations a little long, cramped quarters slipping between systems and the galactic borders. It was only a matter of time-
“Maybe this is a peace offering? We have discussed this if I remember right. A little thorn in the Order’s side for a crime old as time. I don’t want to be put in a position where I have to kill any more of them and you better believe that, but I simply don’t care either. You wanted to go back didn’t you? Here is our cease fire and if you don’t like it, you can start walking Ban. You have three miles of beach and several hundred thousand meters of ocean to cross until you reach the next hub. Where we’re going will eat you alive otherwise you figure it out.” Sybila turned slowly looming over him-the morning sun guarding her back, her words devoid as she raised a single brow. They were on anyone's side if she had a say in it, maybe the 307th; the fondness was her downfall. Chasing the errant though away. They’d retreat to the TURBO she had already decided, if it didn’t end in a flash and bang. Her curiosity was rooting her here in the end but they’d be skirting wild space soon enough and return to the fief holds of the Warlords-but that was going to be bloody business in itself.
“I just want to rub that salt in that wound..But no..I want my money too. I really want my money-but there may actually be something else I need before we fuck off to no where. So let me have my fun.”
Ban didn't open his mouth but if she pressed she could dig out the answers she wanted by the hook of her finger, filing through every meager and disgruntled thought that stretched his mind. The Zabrak had been her chief security officer, she was surprised he had held up this long knowing. Sybila squatted down beside him, reaching for the detonator but Ban clicked the button first-an explosion engulfing the lower beach taking the freighter with it.
"How soon can you have the new power source plugged in?"
"Twenty minutes."
Last edited:
