Byss: Imperial Capital
Surface
Mara hears Karen's explanation, sees the ring on her finger. Big diamond. Clearly confirms the story - she is not just a consort, but is to be wedded to the Emperor. Empress of the Imperial Remnants. Two powerful force users. She wondered if the Republic knew of their union, and how they might respond. The second half of that question - 'past regime' seems a bit strained of an answer. Karen Winton seemed to be trying to convince herself as much as anyone of the truth. That all of the cards that were used against her and her friends had nothing to do with her future husband. Mara said nothing in response, asking her second question. It seemed all tied together.
"No one defected. Melanie left shortly after we graduated. Things had...happened our senior year. Things she couldn't stomach. I don't blame her for leaving. She, like the rest of us, lost a lot that year. No one has seen her since.
Kimber attended fall semester with Valerie at the CorSec Academy. They had positive, life-affirming goals and I respected that. Unfortunately, there were larger plans at work. Kimber was briefly employed by the Empire as the Counselor who replaced me but after Phage tried to use her as leverage against Valerie, she had no choice but to run. Valerie made it clear we were to keep her away from Corellia. Phage killed their father. She did not want Kimber having any part of that fight. It makes sense now, if you are all connected in some way."
Kimber's father = Valerie's father = ... her father? Karen had said they were half sisters, so the connection made sense. But Karen's story had gaps. It didn't make sense. If Karen was protecting them, then why would Karen have trouble finding them? Maybe they HAD defected - maybe they couldn't stomach the Empire's stern way of dealing with disagreement. Any number of possible reasons to leave. Mara had no doubt, Karen had alterior motives. But then again, who didn't?
"And that's the story of how I lost my friends."
Mara watches her, analyzing her story in her head. Fact checking with things she already knew, extrapolating the things she didn't. And then they arrive. It is a beautiful estate, a durasteel gate barring their entry. Karen tries the intercomm to no avail.
And then Mara watched as the beauty queen transformed into a fighter. Saber came out and made quick work of the lock before she kicked it in., the two of them entering cautiously. Mara eyes Karen with a new respect. She was indeed a fighter. And something about her actions reminded her of ...
FLASH - an image of Alexia Winton on the platform, being brought back to life with machinery to help aid Phage in his conquest.
When Alexia had been brought to Phage's base, Phage had installed some new software into Mara's programming. Already, she, like Phage himself, bore components of a metal known as cortosis, which was known to short out a lightsaber upon contact. Such was from the original design that Phage was adapted from,the IG-100 magnaguards of the clone wars were meant to be jedi killers. But Mara had been installed with some greater abilities to respond to those with the Force, lest Alexia ever become too difficult to manage. Her blood cells had been altered, to incorporate a dormant gene from some creature on Myrkr, a dormant gene that Mara could (if her systems worked right) activate to limit the ability of the Force around her. It had, of course, never been tested, but Phage was a genius in his own right. She was also installed with some type of detector, able to analyze when something or someone used the Force. again untested, though when Karen brought out that saber, some signal inside Mara activated. It seemed to trigger that brief yet intense flashback. Was there some connection between the Force and those haywire dreams?
No. the Force did not run through machines. Not like humans.
Back to the present - it seemed Mara's mind (if mind it could be called) often disappeared into long trains of thoughts, though the speed of her thoughts made it mere milliseconds in real time. She led the way through the damaged gate, keeping a wary eye on the building - and on Karen' whose saber seemed ever ready. Mara was not sure if Karen could be trusted. Maybe this all was some type of ruse, some way of eliminating the last vestige of a line of imperial threats. Or maybe, Karen was worthy of trust. No way to truly find out..
At the door, Karen again uses her abilities, this time, a simple hand gesture and the door comes crashing apart.
FLASH - an image of Phage, standing over Valerie, casting the final, death blow.
Mara catches her breathe. Too vivid.
Karen steps into the house first, concentrating on the place and probably not noticing Mara's reaction.
Mara followed inside.
The home was clean, but had an air of disuse, dust was starting to collect on the ground, though not as much as there could be. Perhaps more telling, footprints in the dust indicated that someone had been here only a few days ago, maybe two weeks at the most.
Someone was alive who knew about this house, and the secrets it held.
Mara let her visual abilities recede as she began a more in depth scan of the location. the walls were made of paneling, but beneath them, solid durasteel, with heavy wiring coming back and forth. They walked along the hallway, not the slightest sound, the floor clearly sturdy and strong Karen had instincts, a sense of where to go, but Mara's scanners were following the wiring. up and around. The wiring was active - an electric pulse running through the systems every few seconds.
Mara glanced back at the door, or rather, what was left of the door frame. There was a broken circuit, where the door was to connect with the frame, and the pulse was coming from there.
"Karen - we tripped an alarm when we came in"
Karen glances at her, eyes showing some expression that Mara could not place. Going back now would be no good - whoever came here would know they had been here, and would probably look for a a new location, ending their search. They just had to be careful. And hurry up.
Mara scanned the other way now, following that pulse of electricity. They were walking past a study, beautiful dark wooden furniture and a richly colored yet practically short carpet. The pulse ignored the computer sitting at the desk, and instead extended onward, past a bookcase filled with what looked like old tomes and into the next room. Except, there was no next room. There was no door that led into the next room, and structurally, Mara determined that the amount of space beyond the bookcase and the wall was no larger than a closet.
Mara stepped forward, passing Karen, who was surveying the room, and made a b-line for that one spot. her scanners saw the pulse dip downward.
"There is something on the other side"
More subtle than Karen, Mara stared at the bookcase, scanning on multiple frequencies before a smile came to her lips, almost instinctively. She reached out, pulled out a book titled "A Simof", and found what she was looking for, a small keypad. Quick work of it, analyzing before typing in a sequence. The bookcase rumbled for a moment, books shaking as it pulled back about a foot and then slid sideways, behind another bookcase, revealing a small booth shaped room with a staircase leading downward.
Perhaps more importantly, the legal entry had stopped the pulse from flowing from the main entrance. That might help them in the long run. Or the shortrun. Mara, growing confidence, took the lead, taking slow steps down the stairs. She may look unarmed, but she was prepared for anything.
And though it was dark, the dim glow of the lightsaber from behind her lit the way. Besides, Mara could see in the dark.
Sometimes, it was useful being a machine.
TBC
