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This was too easy…
The Burning Star managed to fly in and connect to the much larger ship's airlock with zero resistance. Not even a single shot from any of the ship turrets. That part was easy enough to explain away though. It was an Imperial dreadnought they were boarding, and the Burning Star was an Imperial Fury-class Interceptor. But still, the larger ship hadn’t even hailed the boarders to see their intent.
Warning tickled the back of her mind, making the hair on the nape of her neck stand before they even stepped through the airlock.
The warning became a full on scream as they stepped onto the larger ship - the empty dreadnought. Where there should have been crewman, and droids, and some sign of life, there was silence. All that could be seen were empty corridors. The Wrath felt all her muscles tense in apprehension, and the Force settled in through her being. Without even thinking about it, her hands found her lightsabers, holding them extinguished but at the ready.
Calaieth stalked slowly through the empty corridor, aware of the only other presence on the ship walking behind her. The captain followed her slow pace, and she could feel his own apprehension radiating from him. Good. That meant he was aware of how wrong this felt.
“My lord, the transponder should be just ahead.” His voice was hushed, worry coloring his tone.
“Quinn… this is wrong. A trap has been laid here. I feel it through the Force.” Every corridor they passed, her golden eyes flickered quickly down the passage, anticipating an ambush around every corner.
“I believe you’re right, my lord. But we need that transponder if we hope to get past Baras’ blockade around Corellia.”
“Baras knew we would be coming. He set this ship out as bait.” The Wrath felt anger rise in her like bile, and she wrapped herself in its embrace, using it to strengthen her. Baras had always underestimated her, and whatever he planned here, the betrayer would once again find himself unsuccessful. “I hope you’re ready to fight your way out of here, Quinn. I have a feeling leaving won’t be as easy as arriving.”
A strange emotion rippled off the captain behind her, but it disappeared as quickly as it had arrived. Though she couldn’t quite place what she had felt, much like before, the hair on the back of her neck stood on end. Something was very much not right here.
“I am ready, my lord.” He cloaked himself in steeled resolve, and behind her she heard him click the safety off his blaster. “According to my knowledge of these ships, the transponder should be housed through those doors right up ahead.”
Her grip tightened on the lightsabers in her hands, until she was sure her knuckles were white beneath the fabric of her gloves. Their weight was as reassuring as the Force that flowed through every inch of her body, entwining itself into the coils of her muscles.
With no resistance, the two of them reached the door in no time at all, and Calaeith felt the anticipation settle in the pit of her stomach. Swallowing dryly, she looked back over her shoulder at her captain, her eyes locking with his. Nodding her head toward the door, he immediately picked up on the silent gesture and moved to the panel set beside the durasteel frame. It wasn’t long before he gained access, only a moment, and the door slid wide open.
It was empty…
The Force continued to pull at her, the warning still clear as day in her mind.
“I don’t understand. I can feel it. I can feel the trap that’s been set, and the spring loaded and ready to snap. But…” She felt the pull guide her gaze, and she slowly turned to her captain, watching as he walked deeper into the empty room.
The warning screamed at her again as her eyes followed his movements.
“Malavai?” She called his name softly, confusion in her tone.
Another emotion rippled through him as his name fell off her lips, but this time she felt it clear as day. Regret. It was so heavy she could taste it, bitter on her tongue. Her arms fell at her sides as realization dawned on her.
“You… you lead me here.” Anger pulsed through her, but it couldn’t drown the pain that sparked deep in her core. Unable to tear her eyes away from him, she let the anger burn its way through her like wildfire.
“I am sorry, my lord. It pains me to say, but this entire scenario has been a ruse.” He stood in the center of the room, his stance confident. “There is no martial law, no special signal emitter-“
Holding an arm straight out before her, she pointed an inactive lightsaber directly at him. “Choose your next words very carefully, Malavai. Your life depends on it.” The Wrath snarled low.
If her threat had given him pause, he hid it well from her. “Baras is my true master.”
“Baras is a coward,” she snapped, “and you’re his fodder. First he sent Draagh to die by my hand, and now it’s your turn.”
The duplicitous captain pulled out a datapad. “While I have been fighting by your side, I have watched and noted your strengths, your weaknesses.”
“This is your one and only warning, Quinn…” Her voice reached her own ringing ears. It was cold, and she was thankful it didn’t give away the turmoil roiling inside her.
Typing something on his datapad, he turned as two large battle droids stalked into the room, filling the moment of silence with the clank of metal legs on the metal floor, the loud grinding of gears and whirring of machinery. The two machines stopped short of the traitor, awaiting commands.
“Taking everything I learned, I was able to program these droids to be able to perfectly counter your every move.” There was no gloating in his words. In his mind, all he was doing was relaying facts.
“Did you care about me at all? Or was it the orders of your master that brought you to my bed?” Her anger faltered as she questioned the man, and it reflected in her voice. Quinn seemed to flinch at the question, but he quickly regained his composure, expression guarded.
The man cleared his throat before continuing on, ignoring her question. “I have calculated a near zero percent chance of your survival.”
Igniting her lightsabers, Calaieth stared down the Imperial, golden eyes burning red in their glow. Bending her knees just slightly, she shifted her feet against the cold metal, the soft soles of her boots making no sound. Calling out to the Force, she felt awash in its power as it enveloped her. All the pain and hurt and rage she felt at that moment rampaged through her, each one stoking the fire within her higher until she felt she would burn alive with it. Maybe she would burn alive. It would be preferable to this…
Peace is a lie. There is only passion.
Their lips crashed together, all propriety forgotten as they stood on the bridge of the ship, accompanied by only the stars. Her fingers gently tangled in the thick waves of his dark hair. His arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her flush against him.
“I am sorry that it had to come to this, my lord. For what it’s worth, I-“
“Shut up, Quinn! Your words are meaningless!” She roared, cutting off his statement.
Through passion, I gain strength.
Through the days they fought, side by side, achieving a synchronization that was almost second nature. They moved together, almost a dance, as they cut through any who dare oppose them. Through the nights, they found a different dance, as their bodies entangled with each other in unrivaled passion.
The muscles in her legs were coiled springs, awaiting release while she scanned her foes. Two droids. Two measly, pathetic droids. At this point, all he was doing was insulting her if he believed that all it would take to kill her were two droids and his blaster. A low snarl built in her throat as her muscles ached for release.
Through strength, I gain power.
The touch was delicate as his skilled hands worked to bandage the wounds. The entirety of her left side was purple, near black with bruising from the rubble that had crushed her. Gently he smoothed the kolto bandages over the area. There were no words as she sat on the table while her captain worked, her focus entirely on the two pureblood Sith standing before her. “The Emperor has chosen you to name as his Wrath.”
The Wrath leapt forward, vaulting over his head and landing in the center of her three opponents. Crashing into the durasteel, she sent out a wave of Force, throwing Quinn back, and knocking the two droids off balance, if only for a moment. Before they could begin their offensive, she began her assault on the closer of the two, suffusing her onslaught with her pain. As she sliced and slashed at one, the other began its own assault, blaster bolts firing indiscriminately in her direction. As she laid siege on one droid with her main hand, she twisted her torso enough to deflect the blaster bolts from the other with her off-hand lightsaber. A guttural cry of rage ripped from her throat as a bolt seared into her bicep, a moment too slow in deflecting.
A quick movement, and she tossed the hilt of her main hand just enough to twist her wrist and grab it in a reverse grip. Raising her arm up, she stabbed downward into the droid from the top, the blade slipping easily into the metal as it burned and melted its way through, straight toward the servo inside. Doing this left her right side open to the droid in such close range, and the bite of the vibroblade dug into her torso. Biting down her pain, she plunged the lightsaber deeper, and the droid fell to the ground, slicing jaggedly through her as the blade was ripped out with the droid’s fall. In her distraction, another blaster bolt hit its mark, this time from behind, burning into her back beneath her shoulder blade. The shot didn’t come from the direction of the other mechanical assassin.
Eyes wide in disbelief, Calaieth turned in the direction of the attack. Malavai Quinn stood tall, his blaster aimed directly at her, determination plain on his face. He fired again, but now she knew where it came from, she could react. She deflected the bolt, and directed it at the other droid, which continued to fire on her, it’s blaster red hot from the heat of the repeated shooting. Another shot from her captain, another deflection. Another shot from the droid, a hit to her thigh, searing through her armor to the muscle.
Using her senses with the Force, she aimed one of the captain’s deflected shots right into the droid’s visual processor, blinding the machine. Unable to aim, its firing pattern became erratic, blaster bolts dangerously firing in every direction. Fueled by pain and rage, she lashed out at the droid through the Force, a guttural scream tearing through her throat, amplified and augmented, sending a vicious wave that ripped through the air at the metal carapace and crushed it to the floor, turning to into a tangled heap of junk.. It’s blaster pistol, still glowing red and smoking, firing no more.
Now there was just the captain. His blaster was still leveled at her, but now instead of that smug confidence, there was only fear on his face. It rolled off him in waves, and the stench of it surrounded him. Turning from the scrapped droids, all of her attention was now solely on him.
In those golden eyes of hers he saw death, and he was afraid.
Through power, I gain victory.
Blood oozed from the gash in her abdomen, and the scent of burnt flesh seared her nostrils. Her burnt flesh. Everything should have hurt, but she used the Force to keep the pain at bay, wrapping herself with its power. Staring down the man, she stalked toward him, her steps slow and quiet as she crossed the room in his direction. Her menacing form was made even more so by the glow of her lightsabers bathing her in crimson light.
Disheveled, bloody, and radiating a power that filled the room, Malavai Quinn finally saw her as she truly was. Calaieth was a God of Retribution and Wrath…
… and he had severely miscalculated.
Standing before him, she watched with cold fury as the man dropped his blaster and fell to his knees before her.
Through victory, my chains are broken.
Extinguishing her lightsabers, she clipped them to her belt. A brief glimmer of something akin to relief flashed across Quinn’s face, and she snarled. Reaching out with a hand, palm facing upward, she lifted him into the air with the Force, until the toes of his polished boots scraped against the floor.
“Tell me, Quinn… are you ready to die?” She stared up at him as he hung in the air.
“My lord, I-“ Before he finish the sentence, she clawed and gripped the air, and a vice wrapped around his throat, cutting off his words and his breath.
With perverse pleasure, she watched the man as he struggled to fill his lungs. She let this go on a moment, watching his face slowly turn red, then deeper red, then closer to purple. Waiting until he was on the verge of passing out, she released the vice grip on his neck, and listened to the sweet sound of his gasping breath. Still holding him in the air, she let him catch his breath, waiting until he was near recovered.
And then she closed her grip again. His fingers clawed at hands that weren’t there, finding no purchase and leaving red trails across his flesh. It was faster this time, red deepening to purple, and she released again. His blue irises were surrounded by red of busted blood vessels, obvious to her as he stared at her wide eyed in fear.
With a push, she slammed his form hard against the durasteel wall, the thud of his body colliding loudly against the unyielding surface. He would certainly be bruised from that, and she doubt he would be able to lay on his back for a while. Sauntering forward as she pinned him with the Force, she wrapped a hand around his neck. His pulse beat erratic in his throat as she gently squeezed. It wasn’t hard enough to choke, but the pressure was close to.
Staring at him, drinking in his fear, she moved her hand from his throat, stroking along his jawline with a gloved thumb. A slow smile spread across her lips, a predator’s snarl more than a smile.
The Force shall set me free.
“Today is your lucky day, Malavai.” Pulling her hand away, she released the Force that pinned him against the wall. He dropped to the floor with a satisfying thump before slowly moving to bring himself to his knees.
Head bowed, Quinn stared at the floor, breathing in ragged gasps. Slowly, she lowered herself into a crouch before him, ignoring the way the movement caused the jagged tear in her side to scream and bleed anew. Reaching out, her fingers pressed the underside of his chin, lifting his face until they both looked upon each other.
“Today is not the day you die.”
The captain’s eyebrows furrowed together, confused by her words “You’re not going to kill me? But, my lord, I betrayed you.”
“Yes. You did. But I’m not going to kill you.”
His blue eyes searched her face for proof of a lie, but found none. All he saw was a deep sadness, no longer drowned out by her rage. He swallowed painfully. “Baras would never show such mercy.”
Slowly she withdrew her fingers from his chin, and stood up, towering above him. “I could have killed you. I wanted to kill you. But the truth is, Malavai, killing you would have been merciful.”
“My lord?”
“All you will know now is the pain of your failure. All you will feel is cold, the kind that burns to the touch. You will still serve me, but there will never again be trust, never again be friendship, and never again will there be love. And when you fully realize the meaning of what I had given to you, what you threw away, all you will know is emptiness.
“Death would have brought you mercy. Keeping you alive will bring a deeper pain than you could imagine.” Taking a step back, she turned away and started to leave the room, not looking to see if he would follow.
She already knew he would.