Lineage

2 years prior to The Force Awakens...
A persistent and interactive galaxy set shortly before the events of Episode VII

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Pryngles
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Lineage

Post by Pryde »

"Watch out," Ruby cried as she pulled Gabriel back behind the crate on time to narrowly avoid having his head taken off by a blaster bolt. He ground his teeth in frustration and carefully peaked over the top of the crate. The girl who had fired the shot was moving again, dodging and weaving between factory machinery with the precision and grace of a predatory Loth Cat. She was catching up to them.

Who the hell is this girl, he thought as he loaded a fresh power pack into his pistol. The girl and her friends had been dogging them for three systems now and were always just one step behind. This time, though, it didn't seem likely that they would escape.

"Where's Felicity," he asked and Ruby nodded her head up.

"Occupied," she said simply.

Over the din of the battle Gabriel could just make out the sound of lightsabers clashing just above them. Felicity had been occupied fighting that Resistance woman who had identified herself as Sterling, although as it turned out she was apparently also a Jedi. He spared a glance up to the catwalk above and caught sight of Felicity's double lightsaber twirling in a flash of violet contrasted starkly by the Jedi woman's cerulean blade.

"We need to move, we don't have time for this," he said, "Cover me, I'm making a move towards the ship."

Ruby turned to him with a suddenness that suggested her shock and Gabriel could just imagine the look she was giving him now under that helmet of hers, but finally she just nodded and leapt over the crate firing her twin pistols. Gabriel watched her go for a moment then turned his attention to the ship just meters away from him tucked safely on a landing pad. It wasn't a very long distance but with the blasterfire heading in his direction it certainly felt pretty far away. Steeling himself he took a moment to catch his breath then burst from cover, running as fast as he could towards the ship.

Across the battlefield Isis Sinclair was forced to take cover as the Mandalorian suddenly leapt over the crate and focused fire on her. She quickly ducked behind a low wall then peaked around the corner just in time to see Gabriel make a mad dash for the ship. "Tav," she cried over the cacophony of blaster bolts raining down on her, "You and Faye cover me!"

The Corellian nodded and then he and the Resistance commando both peppered Ruby's position with a salvo of blasterfire as Isis raised her rifle to take aim at Gabriel. She had just about lined up a shot when Tav suddenly cried out.

"Isis, duck!"

Isis barely had time to react before her rifle was kicked out of her hands. That surprise was quickly followed up with a kick to her leg and a blow to her chest pushing her backwards. Isis stumbled back a few feet and managed to get her hand on her knife. She drew the blade and turned to face Micaiah.

"You know, bounties usually run from me," she said as she reversed her grip on the knife and began to circle the other woman.

Micaiah had a pained expression on her face. "It doesn't have to be like this. I don't want to hurt you, or your friends."

"Funny," Isis said with a smirk, "I was just going to say the same thing about you... Well, about hurting your friends, at least. I'm going to enjoy hurting you."

She rushed in to attack then, swiping viciously at the woman with her vibroknife. Micaiah nimbly danced her way around each attack seemingly with little effort then managed to catch Isis' arm in a lock. She was about to strike the pressure point when Isis suddenly head butted her then sent her realing with a solid blow to her left check. Micaiah fumbled for a bit then spun to the right, continuing her momentum and turning it into a spinning kick that sent Isis flying through the air, her vibroknife dropping from her grasp and clattering off somewhere out of reach.

The young woman fell into a pile of crates knocking them over as Tav quickly rushed to her side. He tried to help her to her feet but Isis pushed him away. "I'm fine," she told him, "Go stop Gabriel! Don't let him take that ship!"

Then she scrambled up to her feet and charged at Micaiah, tackling her to the ground. The two women struggled on the ground for a bit, first with Isis on top landing blow after blow on Micaiah before the white haired woman managed to reverse the situation. They traded positions a few times until Micaiah finally managed to get some leverage on the young girl and using her foot managed to toss her over her head. Isis rolled backwards into a crate while Micaiah kipped up from the ground, getting back to her feet.

"You're going to pay for what you've done," Isis said after spitting blood onto the ground and stumbling to her feet, "And this fight won't end with you. Everyone who sided with you they're all going down too and that's on you."

"I know," Micaiah said and there was a deep regret in her voice. "and I wish it weren't so. I love my family as much as you love yours."

"Then why betray them? Why drag them down with you?"

Micaiah raised her arms into a fighting position once again. "Because I have no choice," she said simply.

"Bullshit," Isis swore, "We all have a choice."

Then she pushed off from the crate and charged in for the attack. She had long ago lost the knife she was wielding and had resorted to unarmed combat against Micaiah. Granted the silver haired woman was far superior at hand to hand than Isis but the bounty hunter still had a few tricks. Micaiah was making a few of her, dancing about her attacks as though she were standing still and landing blow after blow on her. As skilled as she was, though, her attacks lacked power. Micaiah's greatest strength was precision strikes against pressure points to temporarily disable her opponent and make them easier to kill. Isis, however, was wearing body armor, which made striking her pressure points extremely difficult. A sign the young woman had learned from the last encounter.

Still, Micaiah was the better fighter and Isis would eventually tire, until then it was a battle of attrition. One that Isis was determined to win. After Micaiah had landed a blow on her shoulder, spinning her about Isis surprised the Sylarian by tossing a stun grenade at her as she spun completely around. Micaiah barely had any time to react before the grenade went off, enveloping both of them in an explosion of electrical energy. Micaiah felt her muscles contract involuntarily and losing every faculty in her body she collapsed onto the ground. Isis fell too, gritting her teeth against the pain but her armor had absorbed most of the damage.

It took Isis only a moment to recover, clawing her way to her feet as Micaiah lay spasming on the floor. The bounty hunter took one precarious step after another towards her, one hand drawing her pistol from its holster. She stood over Micaiah, her blaster pointed at the woman's head.

"I told you that you were going to pay," Isis said to her, desperately pushing back against the pain wracking her body, "and now you die."

Her finger began to squeeze the trigger but just before her gun went off it was suddenly shot from her hand by an arrow. Isis looked up in shock at the person who had just disarmed her.

"I'm sorry, Isis," Hirai said as she nocked another arrow and pointed her bow directly at Isis, "but I can't let you do that..."
Pryngles
Posts: 17211
Joined: Sat May 10, 2003 2:11 am
Location: Earth

Re: Lineage

Post by Pryde »

Hosnian Prime
Seat of the New Republic


There was something strangely unsettling about being invited to an active crime scene, but when that invitation came from New Republic Intelligence one simply did not refuse. Fortunately, Hosnian Prime wasn't far from Corellia so the trip wasn't overly long and Isis was glad to make it. Her father could be rather--stifling at times, or at least that was the excuse she gave Hirai. The two girls stepped through the holographic caution tape cordoning off the area and headed towards the center of the room where their contact was waiting for them. Isis had her eyes on the body trying to identify which senator it was, Hirai, however, had something else on her mind.

"Weren't you supposed to be meeting Tav today," she asked as the two of them carefully picked a path around CSI agents working the scene.

Isis shrugged, "Yeah, probably, but I told him something came up. It's no big deal."

Hirai gave her friend a look. "Isn't this the third cancellation in three days? What is it with you? I know for a fact all you did yesterday was lounge around and take a nap."

"It's nothing, alright, I just like being alone," Isis replied, dodging the question.

"If that were true then why am I here," Hirai asked her, arms crossed over her chest and Isis let out an exasperated sigh.

"This is going to be a thing with you, isn't it," she asked and Hirai answered her with a stern look, "Fine, alright? I just--I don't know what to do, okay?"

"About Tav," Hirai asked.

"About any of it," Isis answered, "It's not like Dad and I ever really talked about--well, anything. You know more about this kind of stuff than I do. I just freak out every time I think about it."

Hirai raised an eyebrow at that. "You know, when you say it like that it doesn't sound very flattering."

Isis made a face. "You know what I mean, Hirai. I've seen people in relationships and that's just not me."

"Doesn't have to be," Hirai said with a shrug, "Just figure out what works for you and go from there. That's all that relationships are."

Right, as if it were that easy, Isis thought as she approached the man in charge. Adrian Steele stood from where he was leaning over the body and extended his hand out to Isis and then to Hirai, clasping each of their hands in turn.

"Thank you for meeting me," he told them, "What I'm about to tell you stays between us, understand?"

Isis shared a brief glance with Hirai then turned back to Adrian and gave him a nod. "Alright," he said, gesturing to the senator's body. "Senator Torin here was killed by a single palm strike to the chest, stopping his heart. Near as we can tell there was only one assailant and the victim knew her as there were no signs of forced entry."

"Her," Isis asked suddenly, "How do you know the perp was a woman?"

"From the size of the hand print," Adrian explained, "The length and width of the palm and fingers are consistent with those of a humanoid female."

"And the security tapes," she continued, jerking her thumb over her shoulder at the holocamera on the wall above them.

"Intact, but not very useful," Adrian told her, "The attack happened about mid day with the sun shining through those windows," he said, gesturing to a large set of windows off to one side of the room, "a fact which I think the assailant had planned for."

He held up a datapad with the security recording from before the murder. Senator Torin could be seen answering the door to his residence and permitting someone inside. Who that someone was it was difficult to tell. Their face and features were veiled by a bright aura that surrounded them. One could just about make out her figure but little more.

"An Angel," Hirai asked, albeit somewhat perplexed. Angels rarely ventured far from Iago.

Adrian shook his head. "Not likely, an Angel on Hosnian Prime is not something that would go unnoticed. No, this is something else. Fortunately, this isn't the first time I've seen something like this which brings me to why you are here. If this investigation were to continue the results could be catastrophic, which is why I need you two to handle this quietly."

Isis was confused. Catastrophic? Just what the hell was he talking about? "Aren't you over dramatizing this just a bit," she asked.

Adrian shook his head. "Not when it comes to the safety of the Republic. You're both aware of General Organa's usurpation of Republic resources to form her Resistance, correct? Well, though she may not have the full support of the Republic Senate that's not to say that the Republic isn't keeping tabs on her or the people in her employ. One such individual is a young woman with abilities similar to those on display here. Her name is Micaiah and she's a Sylarian."

Both Isis and Hirai looked at each other. "Sylarian," Isis asked, "You mean that race of people who came out of hiding and petitioned for admittance into the Republic six months ago?"

He nodded, "Reportedly there were some concerns about the First Order's rapid expansion throughout the Unknown Regions. Needless to say the people of Sylaria were afraid they were about to become part of that expansion."

"Okay, so what does this have to do with this woman? Or the Resistance?" Hirai interrupted.

Adrian turned off the datapad and slipped it back into his pocket. "Not much is known about the Sylarians," he said, "and to be frank, until six months ago we didn't even know they existed. Since then we've learned a few peculiar things about them. That glowing aura that blinded the holocam, for instance, is a chemical reaction caused by direct sunlight reflecting off their skin and hair. The glow, from what I am told, is visible but faint to the naked eye, but to electronic surveillance? Well, you've seen the results."

Isis crossed her arms. "Still don't see what this has to do with the Resistance," she said.

"General Organa has a Sylarian woman in her employ and it was a Sylarian who killed Senator Torin," Adrian explained, "As an official investigation I have to turn over all of my findings to the Senate and if word of this got out the Resistance could lose what little support they have left in the Republic. Worse than that the admittance of the Sylarian people into the Republic would be called into question and I've seen their tech. Their medical technology is leagues beyond anything we have and if the First Order were to get their hands on it...," he left the rest hanging in the air and his expression grew more grim. "The Republic may be blind to the danger posed by the First Order but I'm not. I was there on Corellia and I remember what you did for us. If we are going to survive then the Resistance will need all the support it can get. They can't afford to lose it now."

"Alright, alright, I get it," Isis said, rolling her eyes in response, "Find the woman and do it quietly for the good of the Republic and all that. I just have one question, though, why me?"

Adrian just shrugged. "You've proven yourself capable," he said simply, "There aren't very many bounty hunters who can claim that they've helped to unravel not one but two government conspiracies. On top of that your investigative skills are truly extraordinary. Circumstances being what they are it's a shame to see that talent go to waste."

Isis' cheeks flushed at that last remark, not because she found it flattering at all but rather it reminded her of her worst embarrassment. Despite her success in bringing down Senator Aarik and her involvement with the incident on Juoi much of that information had been covered up. She couldn't even lay claim to her involvement in either incident as it would be her word against the Republic and who's going to believe her? As a result her career as a bounty hunter had pretty much dried up and because she had snubbed Dorval's offer she had just about run out of options. Then she got the call from Adrian. One final chance to spark her career.

"Okay then," she said aloud with a satisfied smirk, "Let's talk payment..."
Pryngles
Posts: 17211
Joined: Sat May 10, 2003 2:11 am
Location: Earth

Re: Lineage

Post by Pryde »

Planet D'Qar,
Headquarters of the Resistance


If Jessica heard the door open behind her as she knelt in meditation she showed no signs of it. A young woman, a few years her senior entered, pausing momentarily to look around the room. Any object that wasn't nailed down was currently suspended in midair. Faye Ward had heard stories of the power of Jedi but to see it first hand was another matter. The First Order had access to this power since the start of the war if rumors of what the Knights of Ren were truly capable of were to be believed, of course. Many felt with Jessica's arrival that the tide had finally turned, but Faye knew better. Not even the famed Luke Skywalker could stand up to the might of the First Order. What good would some half trained girl do them?

"You've been summoned," Faye said simply, interrupting Jessica's meditation.

Everything in the room clattered to the ground again after Jessica's concentration had been broken. Her eyes slowly fluttered open and she looked at Faye. "Summoned by who," she asked.

"Who do you think," the other woman replied and then she spun on her heel and left the room.

Jess watched her leave for a moment as a small BB unit rolled over to her from one side of the room. "I get the feeling she doesn't like me," Jess said to the little droid.

Nimbus whistled something in response and Jess made a face. "Haha, very funny," she said, rolling her eyes.

After taking a moment to collect her things the two companions made their way to the command center at the heart of the base. There the Resistance high command were waiting for them. "Thank you for meeting us," Admiral Ackbar said as she entered the room, "Please, take a seat."

He directed her to an empty chair around a massive table, around which sat the other leaders of the Resistance along with Faye and a few others.

"How is your training going," General Organa asked her before anyone else could speak up.

Jess' cheeks flushed slightly but she tried her best to hide it. "I'm not sure," she said, "Maz told me that the Force would guide me but so far all I've seen are strange images. Flashes of events that don't even make sense. If that's her idea of guidance then the Force sucks at guiding people."

Leia gave her a reassuring smile. "Give it time. Even my brother had struggled to learn patience."

"Why are we here," Faye interrupted suddenly, "What is this about?"

Leia shifted her gaze to the other woman for a moment before nodding at Admiral Statura. "There's been an incident," Statura began, "Senator Torin was killed earlier today on Hosnian Prime and we believe the culprit may be one of our own."

"Someone in the Resistance killed a senator? Who," Kyle Jensen, a commando in Faye's unit, asked.

"Our sources in the Republic say the assailant was a Sylarian woman," Major Caluan Ematt spoke up, "The cause of death is consistent with the abilities shown by the young woman in Gabriel's unit whom I am told is Sylarian."

Faye turned to him. "Are you trying to say Gabriel and his men went rogue," she asked, half in disbelief. She had only worked with Gabriel once or twice before but from what she knew of the man he could never be capable of turning on the Republic.

Caluan shook his head. "We don't believe that Gabriel was complicit in the murder. It seems young Micaiah had gone AWOL some time before the crime was committed."

"Where are Gabriel and his men now," Jess asked.

"Out on assignment," Caluan told her. "We need this handled now before the news of what had happened gets out."

"Faye, we're placing you in charge of this assignment," Admiral Statura continued, "Jessica will act as support for you and your men. The goal of the mission is to capture Micaiah alive and bring her back for questioning. If she should resist then you are free to use your best judgement. Use whatever resources are at your disposal and should you need anything else speak with the Quartermaster. He's already been briefed and will provide you with anything you need. Understood?"

Faye nodded as did the others. "Good," General Organa spoke up, "then may the Force be with you."

At that Jess and everyone around the table stood and parted ways. Jessica had hurried to catch up with Faye who was heading out of the room with several members of her unit. "Hey, um--so do you want to talk about what my role in all this will be," she asked.

Faye looked at her for half a second then kept walking without uttering a word. Kyle stopped in his tracks then turned to look at Jess. "Don't take it personal," he said, clapping her on the shoulder, "The commander just needs to get to know you first."

"I don't care if she doesn't know me," Jess told him, "but I was put on this assignment too and she's in charge. The least she could do is tell me what my part is."

Kyle just shrugged. "You're a pilot, right? Well we're special forces, we fight on the ground. I imagine command just wants you to fly the bus and provide aerial support."

"Sooo, a glorified chauffeur," she muttered, "Great."

"Cheer up, sport, we all gotta start somewhere, right? Besides, I wouldn't worry about it too much. You're new here and the General's already taken a liking to ya. You'll be getting better assignments soon, just you watch."

Then he turned and hurried after his commanding officer leaving Jess standing alone in the hallway outside the C.I.C. Nimbus rolled up beside her and whistled something at her. "Yeah, I miss Green Squadron too," she said quietly under her breath...
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