Star Wars Star Wars: Mirrored Souls

Ki'doo'anu nodded and said "So, where is your sister exactly? If we are going to do this, I need everything, absolutely everything that we can possibly get to help." He motions to his lieutenant, who hadn't stopped looking at Kalt, and said "This is my lieutenant, Mari. She mostly handles our data and intel, but she is also very good at making profiles for people, somewhat like a psychological analysis. Give her any of the smaller details you can about the people on your sisters ship, especially whoevers in charge." He walks over to Captain Juron and says emphatically "This here is my second oldest friend, and my second in command, Captain Juron, he mostly deals with tactical planning and giving navigational orders if I'm not here." Mari had sat like a stone, not giving this woman anything but a blank face, but Captain Juron bowed, like a gentleman, and said "Welcome aboard Ms. Bel'ator, I look forward to working with you."

Ki'doo found his seat and plopped down in it, calmly surveying the room and awaiting Kalt's reply. He assumed it would be a combination of slight confusion, none of his people were "normal" pirates anyway, and probably a bit of sarcasm. Make that a lot of sarcasm.

TAG: galactic-vagabond422

 

IC: Kalt Bel’ator
The Strife’s Shadow, Bridge

Ki’doo’anu introduces the two who hadn’t taken their eyes off Kalt, a Lieutenant, not her actual rank, more of a position, and the First Officer. The Twi’lek stares at Mari, Kalt dislikes profilers, they try to get in your head, they’re worse than Jedi. Jedi more or less announce they are one before interrogating you, profilers can hide what they are, right up until they break you. At least Ki’doo’anu gave her a heads up, she’ll be always on guard around this Mari. Juron, the First Officer, is a slightly different story. He bows like some sort of court official. Kalt has had her fill of false gentlemen among the Empire, this one isn’t different. She smiles and curtseys accordingly, all that time around Imperials gave her an understanding of courtly manners, no sense alienating the second in command. He might be useful later. She turns to face the rest of the bridge crew,

“I thank you all for your very warm welcome,” she says, a toothy grin on her face, sarcasm dripping from her words, “and I look forward to working with you all very closely.” She turns her frosty gaze to Mari, “Lieutenant Mari, I regret to inform that I do not know exactly where my sister is but, if you can get me an untraceable communication device I can get that information from her.” Her eyes shift back to the ‘Admiral’ not that she would ever call him that, not after the airlock. “You have, or at least can get one of those, right?” Her voice dips into condescension, how much abuse would this 'Commanding Officer' take in front of his men?

TAG: Codename_Strife's_Shadow

 

IC: Ki'doo'anu

Ki'doo noticed her condescension, but he didn't care, the whole crew has done it at one point or another. He points to the main holoprojector and says "we have both a standard and an untraced signal on our holoprojector. I'll have to show you how to use the untraced one, but it isn't too difficult." He steps closer to Kalt and says in an undertone "Your sarcasm isn't earning you any allies here, and your little performance has already upset the captain. I suggest you make an apology; like you and I, he has also known the Imperials cruelty and two-faced lying." Ki'doo looked at Juron to see how he took Kalt's little "performance" as he had called it; the man, who had once been kind, now looked ready to shoot the woman. Ki'doo went to sit down next to Mari and said "What do you think?" Mari sighed and shook her head "About her personality or her acting skills? Because right now, both are negative opinions; this woman is treating us all like a joke, despite the fact that we're trying to help." Ki'doo nodded and said "If you and the captain had met me a year before you did, I'd have killed you without a second thought; give it time."
--------------------------------------------------
The captain looked at Kalt, the woman the very image of what he hated about the Empire. After a few moments more he could take it no longer and said in contained anger "You! I realize you have had it rough, or however you want to say it, but if someone is courteous to you conventional wisdom is to return the gesture without making yourself look and act like the ugly side of a gundark. I do not expect an apology, but if you want allies that will help, and potentially die for you, I will expect genuine courtesy for all of the crew." He turned back to his datapad, fuming, and walked away blatantly ignoring the woman. The other members of the crew had also turned to look pointedly at their screens, or out the viewport, anywhere except the general location of Kalt.

TAG: galactic-vagabond422

 

IC: Kalt Bel’ator
The Strife’s Shadow, Bridge

Ki’doo’anu didn’t break but, his First Officer did. A small place in her mind smiles, her face doesn’t show it, she has a button to press. Juron ends his tirade and turns away, they were right, she would need allies in this venture. She had tried and failed to turn on the Empire on her own, it is what got her in her current situation. She has found its best to ask forgiveness than permission, and better to find the boundaries earlier rather than later.

“I will keep that in mind Captain,” she says keeping her tone level. “Ki’doo’anu I would like to contact my sister as soon as possible, every second I don’t check in with my handler, death moves closer to her. Unless you want me to feed the Empire just enough to make them believe I still take their orders.”

TAG: Codename_Strife's_Shadow

 

IC: Ki'doo'anu
Bridge of the Strife's Shadow

Kalt's insistence on contacting her sister bolstered his belief in the veracity of her story, but every time she brought up the Empire, the image was muddied; two steps forward, one step back incarnate. he said "I assume the Empire gave you a form of communicator? If you don't use that they will probably get suspicious, so use it, and you don't have to hide if you don't want to, there really is no point in someone taking it. Also, I will supply you a list of information you can use to feed the Empire, but use it sparingly. I recommend saying that I bring you to the bridge to gloat, and you find this information on our terminals as you go by, but that's just an idea. your choice. Dev and Ghinn, your escort, will take you to the cells to make your call, that'll make it more believable and hold up to scrutiny." He turned back to his crew, arms crossed as he heard Ghinn and Dev attempt to get Kalt to the holding cells; he was sure that the arrogant Imperials wouldn't even imagine her double-crossing them, hence why his idea would work, unless Kalt gave the whole thing away. His mood darkened and he thought 'If she gives up the crew, then blast her sister, I'll cut her to pieces myself.'

Dev and Ghinn looked at each other, nervousness etched into their eyes, and Dev said "Ms. Kalt? Should we be going yet, or do you have more to do here?"

TAG: galactic-vagabond422

 

IC: Kalt Bel’ator
The Strife’s Shadow, Bridge

Kalt turns not noticing the two babysitters that had been assigned to her,

“My sincerest apologies,” she does not bow or make a show of contrition, “I do have a communicator that I can use to contact my handler but, that is only for emergencies. Protocol is to contact via on board hyper-com, or public communication and answer a challenge.” This would not please her new ‘friends’ but, that is the way things are, she can’t change them. If Ki’doo’anu goes along she can avoid going back to that cell again. “I can claim successful infiltration but, low access. If you’d like Mari, Juron, or yourself can observe.” All the while her gaze does not lift from Ki’doo’anu.

TAG: Codename_Strife's_Shadow

 

IC: Ki'doo'anu

Ki'doo'anu considers this carefully, using either the traced or untraced frequencies would put them on the radar, but apparently, if this is to work, she needs to use an onboard communique. Ki'doo turns and says "This could work out in our favor actually. We have a communicator near the lodging for the rest of the crew, you can make contact at night, and if asked claim you snuck out of the barracks to make contact. This will also give me a little more time to compile a list of intel for you. Will that work do you think?" Ki'doo scans his crew and notes that they don't appreciate allowing her to be so close to them while they slept, but it must be done. The captain and lieutenant seem much more reserved, but he can tell that the idea makes them uneasy.

"So, how about it... Twint? That's your new nickname by the way hahahaha!" Ki'doo'anu roars with laughter; one of his favorite things was nicknaming his crew, even the captain and lieutenant had nicknames, but he normally used their real names for rank-distinction. "I'll need a plan from you that can work before I hand you intel, otherwise, no matter how crafty someone can be, you'd have been caught. Plus, and here's part of my reasoning: I'm giving you real intel. So I need that plan confirmed, or this is doomed to fail."

TAG: @galactic-vagabond422

 

OOC: I made a small typo on my CS, Kalt carries a DL-18 not a DL-17 which to the best of Wookieepedia doesn't exist.

IC: Kalt Bel’ator
The Strife’s Shadow, Bridge

Kalt bristles at the nickname, a mix of her species and twit, she hopes. Ki’doo’anu’s laugh rumbles through the room. The Zabrak asks for a plan, a plan that had been forming in the back of her mind for a while now but, she never thought she’d get to use it. Another thing that lifts her spirits is the prospect of staying out of the cells. Though he made no mention of relieving her ‘Royal Guard’ of their duties, at least it is progress. Around the room see receives more glares and sneers from the crew, feeling very naked without her DL-18 at her side, or her Kylan-15 at her shoulder, both of which were in the escape pod she took to get aboard. Now they were probably in some holding area, being fussed with by these people. Force help the being that touches her Kylan, especially if they mess with the scope, she just had it realigned.

“The plan is to string along my handler until I can ascertain my sisters location, then save her. They keep both of us in the dark about the other’s location, to prevent this kind of ploy, and have never let us work together. When we do communicate it is monitored by our handler, leaving us few options to communicate covertly.” She pauses slightly, the system she has described seems very challenging to overcome, “Never the less, I believe that I can convince her to give me clues as to her location and once this information is in hand, I can pull her out.” She looks around again, the faces give little but, scorn and indifference. “If I could make a small request of you, Ki’doo’anu, I would like my weapons returned to me, or at the very least locked away in your personal armory, far from prying eyes and wandering hands, also a shower and a change of clothes, if you have any in my size, for after I check in.” She realizes that her small request has become plural, and may not be so small but, this will allow her to see how much Ki’doo’anu and his advisers trust her at this moment.

TAG: Codename_Strife's_Shadow

 

IC: Ki'doo'anu

Kalt's requests baffle Ki'doo, a sentiment his whole crew can see plainly on his face; stumbling over his words he says "I planned on showers and clothes and such! Do you really believe we're just brigands still?" His shoulders slump and he sighs heavily as he collapses into his chair, finally realizing how tired he actually was; apparently, rage and adrenaline tire you out, a lesson he has learned and forgotten many times now. He waves to one of his crewman and tells him, his voice of command returning, "Call down to the Armory, tell them do not do anything with the captured weapons, and to have them brought here immediately." Ki'doo looked at Kalt and, by way of explanation, said with a cheeky grin, "While yes we are working together, surely you understand if I don't trust you 100% yet; after all, within a few hours we met, you lied to me... I almost killed you... and then became allies. That's a lot to take in a few hours, eh?" He looked at Dev and Ghinn, motioning to the two of them and said "I would bet most of my wage that you think I've assigned Dev and Ghinn as you're... what's the right word... handlers, but I promise that's not the case. To be frank, many of my people, who have been with me for at least two years, don't appreciate someone who, as they put it, aren't approved yet. They are just for emergency back-up; never hurts to have an extra blaster or two by you if something were to happen eh?"

TAG: galactic-vagabond422

 

IC: Kalt Bel’ator
The Strife’s Shadow, Bridge

“No,” Kalt says in her cool tone, “I don’t believe all of you are brigands,” she stares intently at Ki’doo’anu rubbing her injured wrists. It seems the altercation at the airlock has taken more out of him than she realized that information could be useful later. “But, I’ve worked on many bases and on many ships, each with their own rules. One ship showers were strictly scheduled, on another water was in such short supply that showers limited to six seconds of ice cold water.” She stops, her explanation complete, and glances at the rest of the crew. Ki’doo’anu’s statements did nothing to assuage her unease and in fact made it worse. How long would she have to watch her back? How long until the crew ‘approved’ of her? She turns her attention to Dev and Ghinn, could these two be trusted if it came down to it? There were still so many questions bouncing around her head but she kept her face solid showing none of her disquiet. “I appreciate the explanation but, I still want my weapons before I leave this bridge.” At the very least Ki’doo’anu wouldn’t allow her to be attacked right in front of him. That would do, until her blasters arrive, then her DL-18 never leaves her side, not even while sleeping.

TAG:Codename_Strife's_Shadow

 

IC: Ki'doo'anu

Ki'doo'anu pointed at Kalt's wrist, unease clouding his voice as he asks "Do you want something for those? We have topical meds for stuff like that, they should be healed by the end of the day with it." As uneasy as he was about his anger, his frustration grew as the conversation went on; getting answers from Kalt was harder than performing a root canal on a Krayt dragon. He took a deep breath, attempting to both physically and mentally calm himself, it wouldn't do anything helpful to lose control again, although if he does it should be slightly less intense now that he knows a bit more about her. He gave up trying to confirm a plan, and simply grabbed a few facts from memory that could be used reliably; bridge crew numbers, basic resources, etc. Ki'doo's wrist communication device beeped three times and stopped, he turned around and said "The armorers pinged me; your weapons are secured now." He looked at Dev and Ghinn and said "Take her to the quarters, find an empty bunk in the women's barracks, and show her the non-regular areas of the ship, including our ships armament."

Dev and Ghinn turned on their heels and led the way out the door; Kalt, in anticipation for her weapons they assumed, had turned as soon as he had finished and as she gained speed, they fell into step beside her; their job wasn't to "secure" her anymore, they were her guards and protectors, so they were a lot less rigid than they were before. After a moment, Ghinn, who had yet to speak to her, said "I know you won't believe me, but me and Dev will die helping you if need be, most people on this ship would too; your attitude and mostly your way of "handling" people will turn them against you. Trust is earned, but even if you don't trust, say you don't trust. All we want is honesty, the Empire has lied to us all enough as it is." He grew silent and his face grew into a hard mask of hatred and sorrow, Dev patted his shoulder with the typical type of male-to-male comforting and said "He's right, if the need arises, you are guaranteed at least three extra blasters by your side, the admiral included."

Ki'doo sat in his quarters admiring the weapons that had been deposited in the locker by the door to his bedroom; they were in exquisite shape and finely tuned to peak functionality. He left them on his desk and checked the time: 20:00. He heard the door to his quarters open and Mari called "Are you here?" Ki'doo called out tiredly "Yeah, I'm in the back room." Mari walked in, barefoot and missing her uniform jacket, having taken both off by the door, and crawled across the large bed to where he had laid down. They sighed in unison, exhausted from the day that had developed in great dramatic strides. Mari's head shifted to Ki'doo's shoulder and her arm crawled across his torso as she snuggled up close to him; his arm circled her shoulders and the other rested on her arm as he turned his body to face hers. She closed her eyes softly and Ki'doo said "At times like this I wish I wasn't so stubborn about the professionalism I show out there, in here is the only place I allow myself to be with you like this." Her only response was to shift and hum in contentment, and Ki'doo smiled, feeling exhaustion playing against him as he slowly drifted off to sleep.

TAG: galactic-vagabond422

 

IC: Kalt Bel’ator
The Strife’s Shadow, Bridge

Ki’doo’anu offers some salve for her wrists, she opts to let them heal on their own. As the two guards guide her around to the ship, none of this is new to her. Between missions and on random occasions she has wandered the halls of an Imperial Star Destroyer, due to the Empire’s focus on efficiency each of its battleships is laid out the same. As the three walk the halls, a voice Kalt hadn’t heard before speaks up.

"I know you won't believe me,” Ghinn syas “but me and Dev will die helping you if need be, most people on this ship would too; your attitude and mostly your way of "handling" people will turn them against you. Trust is earned, but even if you don't trust, say you don't trust. All we want is honesty, the Empire has lied to us all enough as it is." She glances over her shoulder at the formerly silent guard, his face falls into a grimace. Making friends hasn’t been Kalt’s strong suit. Even in the Riflemen it took a while for them to warm up to her. It’s only after they see her skill in battle and her loyalty in combat that they begin to give their trust to her. Her giving trust to others is impossible, not since losing her comrades and becoming a double agent, her hearth is too hard for that. Dev tries to calm her fears assuring her that, at the very least he, his partner and the ‘Admiral’ would come to her aid if it came to it. She would prefer to have her own weapons to defend herself. They make their way to women’s barracks and Dev and Ghinn peel off, they direct her to the showers and the public communication device. She activates the com device and sees a young girl in a black imperial uniform.

“There are a kind of men so loose of soul,” the girl says giving the first part of the challenge phrase, tucking a lock of blue hair under her dark cap.

“That in their sleeps will whisper their affairs.” Kalt replies giving the all clear response.

“Checking in, or do you have information already for ‘Alpha’.” The Twi’lek shakes her head.

“I have nothing yet ‘Whisper’, I just barely have time to make this call.” ‘Whisper’ frowns a bit. The girl on the other end of the holographic display, is the contact or communications go between for Kalt and her handler, called ‘Alpha’. She takes the information and passes it up the chain or puts Kalt in touch with her handler. From the way ‘Whisper’ acts and talks about ‘Alpha’ Kalt suspects something more than, superior and subordinate. It’s not a romantic feeling but, she senses something deeper between the two humans.

“’Alpha’ won’t be happy to hear that. You’re minutes late on your check in as it is.”

“I know but, this one is hard to crack, he kept me in a cell for the first day, and nearly tossed me out an airlock this morning.” ‘Whisper’ recoils in horror. The girl is an oddity, or at the very least a rare breed within the Imperial intelligence system, a person that still feels. It could be her youth or inexperience but, ‘Whisper’ always feels genuine when she speaks.

“Ok, then,” she swallows hard and looks to the side, “I’ll inform ‘Alpha’ that you need more time to gather intel.” ‘Whisper’ looks from side to side then leans close to the projector. “You should get some rest ‘Hoth’ you look terrible.” Kalt feels a touch of pain deep in her chest at the mention of her old callsign in the Riflemen.

“I will, ‘Whisper’” She replies though a false smile. Turning off the com she finds the showers and begins to wash herself. The water is cold and her body shivers, her lungs tense up. No matter how many times she takes a cold shower the first minute is the worst. She finishes quickly and dries off. Stepping out of the showers she finds two sets of clothes waiting. What looks like a military style uniform, and more civilian garb. Kalt puts on the light grey shirt and the dark colored pants provided in the civilian set, and walks out holding the tan hide jacket over her shoulder. Her new clean boots tap softly on the hard metal deck as she makes her way to her bunk. She finds her bed and lays flat upon it. The mattress is soft enough and the blanket is plenty warm but, sleep eludes her. Her mind can’t settle, thinking of all the ways a being could kill her while she slumbers. She is still without her weapons and feels the need to be alert at all times, even when her eyes are begging to close she keeps vigilant. As the next day starts Kalt failed to even get a minute’s rest.

TAG: Codename_Strife's_Shadow

 

IC: Ki'doo'anu

Ki'doo's alarm woke him with a start as it always did, he designed the sound to grate on his nerves and bring him to immediate consciousness, but at four-thirty in the morning he hated himself for it every time. He carefully extricated himself from Mari's arms so as not to wake her and got dressed for morning workouts, then bent and gave Mari a kiss and grinned mischievously; now comes the fun part. He marched to the bridge and sneaking in quietly, triggered the battle-stage alarms on full blast and said "All officers and crewmembers meet in the main Hangar Bay immediately, you all know the drill." He then walked back to his quarters to find a very awake Mari getting dressed in her own workout clothes, her lips pursed as she saw him enter and said to him "I won't pretend to know why you do this every morning, but could you at least not look so blasted amused when you come in?" He checked his grin but couldn't hide it for more than two seconds; she tried to fight it as well but couldn't keep a small grin from spreading across her own face and kissed his cheek as she left the room. His thoughts dwelled on her for a handful of moments, but then he shook himself and grabbed his and Kalt's weapons from the locker, careful to avoid bumping her optic so as not to even risk misaligning it. He knew he must have looked an odd sight carrying two large blaster rifles, two blaster pistols, and his lightsaber around the ship, with his jetpack hanging off of his back in an unfastened, disheveled way.

As he entered the hangar, he saw his whole crew gathered and standing at attention, awaiting orders. He stood up front and said "At ease! Today we are doing marksmanship training, you all know the drill: however many..." his voice trailed off as he noticed Kalt's absence. He sighed and sent Dev and Ghinn to go find her, accompanied by Mari; they were heading to the women's quarters afterall and would need a female witness just for credibility's sake should something happen.

Ki'doo and the rest of his crew waited for the arrival of the Twi'lek known as Kalt Bel'ator.

TAG: galactic-vagabond422

 

IC: Kalt Bel’ator
The Strife’s Shadow, Women’s Barracks

Kalt could do without the alarms this early in the morning, if it is morning. She still hasn’t eaten and is running on next to no sleep. She screws her eyes shut and puts a pillow around her ears. She isn’t part of this crew, most of them don’t even accept her, so she feels no reason to heed the alerts. Ki’doo’anu will most likely chew her out for it but, after trying to throw her out an airlock, she feels there is little worse he can do to her. She can sense beings standing in front of her. Cracking one eye open she sees the maroon face of Mari staring back at her, Dev and Ghinn stand in the background. Kalt throws off the covers to reveal that she slept in the clothes provided. The ‘Lieutenant’ give’s the groggy and hungry Twi’lek a rundown of recent events and walks away. Kalt falls in behind rubbing her burning eyes. They walk in a T pattern with Mari at the front, Kalt behind her and Dev and Ghinn at either shoulder of their charge. All the while Kalt smells a faint masculine odor from Mari.They enter the hangar and Kalt’s eyes brighten, in the hand of Ki’doo’anu is her Kylan 15. She rushes forward and snatches the weapon away from the Zabrak. Before anything can be said she looks down the sights and through the optics, everything is lined up right. She breathes a sigh of relief at least she wouldn’t need to fuss with the scope again. She hangs the rifle by its strap from her shoulder. Casting her eye around she gathers this is some sort of regular occurrence, and the fact Ki’doo’anu is armed means this could be a drill or some sort of target practice. She hopes it isn’t the ladder, with little sleep and a growling stomach her aim will not be her best.

“You’ve got this ‘Hoth’,” an old voice calls from her past, it’s the voice of her sergeant from the Riflemen. A Lafrarian called ‘Hawk’ he was one of the best shots in the group. He took the young Kalt under his wing and trained her as best he could. Sometimes after a successful job or good target shooting he would look at her with pride and a bit of sadness. The young Twi’lek wanted to ask him so many times what it was about but, never found the words. Now she’ll never know, he died trying to protect her on that fateful mission. “Just focus on the target, don’t worry about pain or your hunger, it’ll fade away once you spot your quarry.” Kalt turns looking up at Ki’doo’anu,

“You want me to shoot something with this?”

TAG: Codename_Strife's_Shadow

 

IC: Ki'doo'anu
The Strife's Shadow, Main Hangar

Ki'doo's response was a feral smirk, one that Mari knew intimately after working with him. He nodded and continued where he left off "As I told you, today's exercise is target practice; and as usual, for every shot you miss, you will have to run every centimeter of this ship twice." He could hear Kalt's groan and chuckled inwardly; he called out, back in command mode "Ghost Regiment, form up on me, Bravo and the 105th, form up over by the crates, Angel and Flora report to your stations. Kalt, you, Dev and Ghinn are in the 105th, go with them." They split off, Dev and Ghinn guiding Kalt to her position, and practice began. Ki'doo said "Alright first off is basic target practice boys, you know the drill; shoot the target before they shoot you." Ki'doo drew his modified E-11 blaster and his lightsaber and grinned, then he paused and gathered his breath than roared "Begin training!" blaster fire erupted all across the hangar, bright yellows, greens, blues, all arcing toward the other squad members; Ki'doo's training methods were, admittedly, unorthodox, but they were effective.

Moments before, Dev and Ghinn said in excited and anticipation voices "Quickly set your rifle and blaster to stun, the fun is about to begin." They did the same, ignoring the confusion on Kalt's face, then when they saw Ki'doo grab his saber, Ghinn turned and in an excitedly gruff voice said "You're in for a treat today!"

TAG: galactic-vagabond422

 

IC: Kalt Bel’ator
The Strife’s Shadow, Hangar

Confusion washes over Kalt if this was target practice why are they lining up like a live fire exercise? When instructed to set her rifle to stun, she scoffs her weapon is one of war it has no stun setting. What she can do is lower the power to the point it is less-lethal, it’ll leave a nasty burn but it won’t do much else. As she lines up with the 105th, was there a reason for the names, and the 105th what, regiment, battalion, legion? She didn’t have time to work out these questions there were targets to hit. Then Ki’doo’anu drew his lightsaber, apparently it wasn’t just for show. Anyone can wield a blade, just like anyone can hold a blaster, it takes skill and training to know what you’re doing. It’s easier with a blaster than a lightsaber but, experience is sometimes key. The black blade looks earie as it cuts through the air. With his size and that blade few would cross him and few would disobey his orders. Kalt wonders what happens when someone questions his orders, or disobeys. Do they take a trip out the airlock as well, or does he cut them down with the lightsaber to make an example of them. Taking cover the Twi’lek wonders if there’s anyone else on board who isn’t in the cult of Ki’doo’anu, someone who distrust the ‘Admiral’ as much as she does. She’s unsure, the Zabrak seems to tolerate dissent but, to what extent, how far will he go to maintain order on his ship.

Kalt drops from cover and lines up on a being on the far side of the hangar, she be damned if she is going to run the length of this ship on no food and no sleep. She takes a deep breath using the sound of the saber being swung to keep track of Ki’doo’anu. She wouldn’t fire on him yet, untrained or no the lightsaber could block her attack and knowing his love of annoying her would count it as a miss. Resting the barrel of her Kylan on a crate, Kalt takes a final breath and fires two shots. The sound is somewhat quieter than usual most likely do to the reduced power, or all the other blasts going on around her. She keeps her eye on her target waiting for them to fall or remove themselves from the battlefield.

TAG: Codename_Strife's_Shadow

 

IC: Ki'doo'anu

The thrill of combat was always exhilarating, heightening Ki'doo'anu's senses beyond that of humans; sound, color, everything he could perceive felt four-dimensional as opposed to the normal three, as if he could see the hidden depths of each sensation. His blade whirred around his body as he blocked the blaster bolts one after the other, sending them out in random directions in complete disregard for more accurate deflection; he loved the practice and the feeling of near-death, even if it was mock-battle. One of his men charged him from behind, leaping and wrapping his arms around Ki'doo, attempting to immobilize him; Ki'doo turned his body just as he heard four blasters open fire and he felt the man on his back go limp and fall to the ground. Ki'doo's blade never stopped moving and he rarely used his blaster, savoring battle as much as he was, he didn't want it to end.

He noticed, in a slightly distracted way, that Kalt had taken a position farther away and was currently sniping targets with her blaster; her seeming reluctance to shoot at him bothered him for some reason, but before he could think about Kalt anymore, the flurry of blaster fire intensified and he redoubled his focus to block the bolts that flew hungrily toward his flesh.

Several of the crew fell to his saber, and a handful fell to his blaster, and the ferocious, battle-crazed smile that sharpened his features and made his eyes seem to glow, disconcerted even the crew, no matter how many times they saw it. He knew this and when he saw them starting to fall back, he pursued at a slow, deliberate pace blocking and dodging bolts while occasionally sending his own bolts into the midst, invariably hitting a target. The genius of this, in his eyes, was this: now they were so scared of him, they had forgotten that half of them weren't even on the same team, and were now working together regardless of race or personal grudges.

It was a beautiful sight.

TAG: galactic-vagabond422

 

IC: Kalt Bel’ator
The Strife’s Shadow, Hangar

After picking off a few targets Kalt begins to notice that her opponents are no longer aiming at her, but at their ‘Leader’. Though her scope she can see the fear in their eyes, they’re scared. She smiles a bit, as she transfers her focus to Ki’doo’anu. She sees the bloodlust in his face, he enjoys this, he enjoys the fighting and the mock killing, and he wants it to be real. She realizes she could use this, she is already under his skin, she has already pushed him past his reason once, what’s to say she can’t do it again. She knows one button to push family, ask him about it, press him on it put him off balance. When he asks for answers give him nothing but questions in return. She will keep deflecting and frustrating him until he breaks, in front of as many crewmen as is possible. They’ll see that he is a true monster with a veneer of civility, they may begin to entertain thoughts of desertion, or mutiny. Mari and Juron will stand by Ki’doo’anu no matter what, Kalt is sure of this, but, can they stand against the whole crew?

She sets her sights on Ki’doo’anu’s legs, everyone is aiming at his massive torso and he is blocking them with ease. A few shots at his lower extremities may move his blade out of the way long enough for others to get a few hits. If she ends up running at least she’ll have plenty of company and maybe a sympathetic ear. She lets loose two shots at the tall Zabrak’s ankles.

TAG: Codename_Strife's_Shadow

 

IC:Ki'doo'anu

A feeling of mild alarm shot through Ki'doo'anu and he jumped, then saw the bolts that had been arcing toward his ankles as he somersaulted through the air and landed five meters in front of Kalt, broad grin on his face as he swung the lightsaber up, feinted and began attacking the others again, now in their midst hacking and slashing past them as he fought to beat them back.

His war-grin never left his face.

TAG: galactic-vagabond422

 

IC: Kalt Bel’ator
The Strife’s Shadow, Hangar

Ki’doo’anu makes a show of force at Kalt, he could have easily put her out of action but, he decides to leave her in play. She is unfazed by the grin on his face, having seen his true dark side, this doesn’t scare her. As the beast turns to beat back his oncoming crew, Kalt’s hand hovers over the power knob on her rifle. She could turn it up to full maybe get a lucky shot, wound or kill the man, claim fear for life and inexperience on the crew. However if he blocks it, the full power blast could hit a crewman and turn them against her, not part of the plan. Her hand moves back to the firing position, leaving the knob unmoved, and takes two more shots aimed at Ki’doo’anu’s knees.

TAG: Codename_Strife's_Shadow

 

IC: Ki'doo'anu

A flare of pain in Ki'doo'anu's left knee nearly brought him down, but he snarled and forced it to hold his weight. He knew that Kalt's weapons had no stun but even so, the blasted things hurt. The back of his knee burned from the blast, but he put the pain aside, he was not done just yet. He continued to go through the crew, albeit at a slower pace, and deftly swept their shots aside.

He spun around and fired three rapid shots at Kalt's position, mostly as a distraction, but somewhat hoping to hit home, but he whirled back to the crew and continued to hack through them with his lowered-power lightsaber.

TAG: galactic-vagabond422

 

IC: Kalt Bel’ator
The Strife’s Shadow, Hangar

Kalt smirks with pride watching Ki’doo’anu’s left knee bend, he wasn’t invincible. She moves to vault over the crates she’d been using as cover earlier. A reaction shot from the slightly slowed Zabrak grazes her left elbow, sending a light pain though her body. The sudden shock causes her left arm to crumple at the injured joint sending her bouncing off the crate and sprawling on the deck. She quickly recovers and fires two more shots aimed mid-calf on his right leg. She contemplates bringing the power to full again. He’s wounded now his concentration is breaking this could be her chance to end this. She banishes the thought, now isn’t the time. She must wait until Nuori is safe, then is the time to strike.

TAG: Codename_Strife's_Shadow

 

IC: Ki'doo'anu

As the last crew member stumbled from the strength of Ki'doo's strike, Ki'doo whirled around to see Kalt lying on the ground, her arm bent at an odd angle. He approached cautiously, moving behind cover when it became available, but never stopping his advance as his entire body groaned in anxious anticipation. Now that the excitement was winding down, Ki'doo's knee was no longer silenced, it screamed in agony whenever he had to step over a weapon, or put extra weight on it, but it still did not fail. The voice of his mind returned, and so did the unintelligible whispers, the whispers of the ancestors his mother had called them. He understood them, but did not understand how he did so, and the knowledge was about Kalt...

"Kalt Bel'ator, I know you are considering making your weapon lethal, I don't know how, but I do. Think of this though: yes you would kill me, yes you would also save your sister... but only for now. The Empire would continue to use and abuse her like a puppet, feeding her lies about your whereabouts and condition to keep her in line. They did this to me." He paused, clear melancholy on his face, but he continued strongly "I also know you think that the crew here does not know of my episodes of anger and rage; and there you are dead wrong. I have given orders to play them for the crew whenever they happen, so they all know of every single one I have had." By this point he was sitting on a crate fifteen meters from Kalt, still somewhat at the ready, but he was reassured by her lack of a hostile act.

"You still probably think I'm just psychotic... and to a degree that is not wrong... but I am Ki'doo'anu, I am a man of my word and I gave my crew my word..." he stood, drawing to his full height and put all of the conviction he had into his words now, "and I give you mine now, I will give my life for anyone in need, I will die alone and in pain if it means a child will escape, or a family will be free from bandits once more. If you are truly in need, and you truly want to save her and yourself, then I ask for two things: absolute honesty and genuine trust and faith in us all, and yourself." He knelt in front of Kalt, not in a condescending way, but meaning to convey camaraderie, and reached into one of his belt pouches and proffered his fist to her. He opened his hand and a small metal medallion fell out and chimed on the deck; it was the crest of his family and the oath he swears by: Family. He stood again and said quietly "Do you want your sister to live with of oppression and torture?"

Her response was delayed by a microsecond, but that was enough to allow anger to cloud his voice as he said "Do you?!"

TAG: galactic-vagabond422

 

IC: Kalt Bel’ator
The Strife’s Shadow, Hangar

Ki’doo’anu gave a small speech as he approaches Kalt,

“I know you are considering making your weapon lethal, I don't know how, but I do.” Her eyes go wide and she begins to back away from him.

“What are you?” she asks under her breath, the man continues, not noticing her words.

“Think of this though: yes you would kill me, yes you would also save your sister... but only for now. The Empire would continue to use and abuse her like a puppet, feeding her lies about your whereabouts and condition to keep her in line. They did this to me." Her breathing deepens in anger, he has no right to bring up Nuori, no right to use her as a carrot just like the Empire. "I also know you think that the crew here does not know of my episodes of anger and rage; and there you are dead wrong. I have given orders to play them for the crew whenever they happen, so they all know of every single one I have had." Kalt casts an eye to the crew that lays beaten on the ground, they know of his rage and they continue to serve him, are they insane. He is keeping his distance like one would with a cornered animal. She stays her hand, fear slightly creeping into her mind. She feels she has stepped into a pit of vipers, unstable vipers at that. "You still probably think I'm just psychotic... and to a degree that is not wrong...” She back further away, she was right he is unstable he admits it himself, “but I am Ki'doo'anu, I am a man of my word and I gave my crew my word..." He stands at his full height adding more conviction to his words, conviction she does not feel. "and I give you mine now, I will give my life for anyone in need, I will die alone and in pain if it means a child will escape, or a family will be free from bandits once more. If you are truly in need, and you truly want to save her and yourself, then I ask for two things: absolute honesty and genuine trust and faith in us all, and yourself." Her anger grows. He drops a medallion on the ground with some sort of sigil on it, Kalt doesn’t recognize it. "Do you want your sister to live with of oppression and torture?" She is stunned silent for a second, "Do you?!" his own anger enters his voice. She remains silent for a moment longer then straightens her shoulders.

“How dare you,” she says though clenched teeth, “how dare you use my sister as a sort of reward following you. You claim to not be like the Empire but from what I’ve seen you use fear and threats to keep me in line. You demand my trust and my faith without giving the same in return, or is the mind reading a new skill.” She stares unflinching from his gaze, “You have shared you rage with your crew but, do they know that you are a Nightbrother at best, a Sith at worst, prying into their minds without their approval or even their consent. Many keep secrets not to harm you, but to protect themselves, there are things they want no one else to know. Not because they seek to harm you but, because it’s too painful to share. Before you claim to be some sort of Jedi, I know they don’t act like this," emotion begins to enter voice, "my parents where there when Master Ima-Gun Di gave his life to buy them time in the Clone Wars. He asked for nothing from them and held nothing over them. You claim that you would do the same but you continually ask for my trust yet have done little enough to earn it, and use my sister as an incentive to be honest with you." She pauses to allow her voice to return to it's normal cool tone.

"Are you so proud of yourself that you do not see your own monstrousness, do you keep your crew in fear so that you won’t be alone. Though you claim to be willing to die alone, you constantly surround yourself with people who either revere you, or fear you, I can’t be sure which since I lack your particular skill set. I’m sure you chose them specifically so that you would never die alone. These men and women would gladly give their lives for yours or willingly die with you in some glorious last stand. Know that I will not, I will work with you to save my sister, then we will reassess our situation there but, from what I’ve seen, I will take my sister and leave. I will not continue to be a citizen of this kingdom you’ve created.” She stares intently at Ki’doo’anu unsure of what he’ll do next. He could kill her right here, or laugh this all off. Either way she has made her stand and has turned the crew against her, or made at least one ally for sanding up to the fear inspiring commander.

TAG: Codename_Strife's_Shadow

 

IC: Ki'doo'anu

As Kalt's words leave her mouth, Ki'doo becomes more and more sad, because he realizes just how jaded she must be. He sighs and says "That is what i mean by honesty, so youre halfway there. I never claim to be anything other than what i am: a very odd pirate, with anger issues, a love of combat, and loyalty from and to my crew. However," Ki'doo opens his shirt to reveal dozens of blaster scars on his chest and stomach, and he said "if you truly wish to test my truthfulness and my oath, shoot me. I will give you any shot you want and will not move, nor will i retaliate, i told you i will lay down my life for those in need, and whether or not you like it, you and... Nuori, i think her name is, need my help. Afterwards, if we're succesful, you are obviously free to do what you wish.Now," he drew a breath and let it out with the word "Fire."

TAG: galactic-vagabond422