Your Luck is Up.

[Arthemise Xius]

Botajef - Late evening.
​

It was dark, the moon high in the skies and a cold chill moved through the mountains. Arthemise sat, perched upon a rock that overlooked the shipyards, and admired the dense fog that coated the fields surrounding. Massive rusted structures protruded from behind the thick clouds, metal hulls of abandoned ships buried forever beneath the ground. From this distance, it didn't seem like the kind of place anyone would wander after dark, though it did seem the perfect place for an illegal gambling ring which was exactly the purpose of her visit; to shut them down. In an effort to seize control of the planet and take advantage of their numerous resources, The Judgement first needed to stave the expansion of the shipyards. It was a menial task, but one that was important to their mission as a whole.

Her attention focused on the metal gates that led into the shipyards, unmanned but chained. It was unlikely that these men had forced their way in so, either someone had the key and they were hidden within, or they would be found gathered among the scrap metal that surrounded the property. Regardless, it would be a challenge, one she hoped her partner was prepared for.

The last time she had met Zazai had been on Abhean and they hadn't exactly developed a fond relationship with one another. It was possible, given their history (or lack of), that Zazai wouldn't be all too enthusiastic about the situation. Of course, she wouldn't blame him as she hadn't exactly been kind to him.

​

 

[Brandr Jarl]

What was he doing here?

He had been asked to be here by one of the Wardens of the Empire's Judgement and that made sense. What he was doing here specifically? Well that made slightly less sense.

Apparently he was the replacement for another Sith warrior who had pledged to be here but had found himself tied up with other things that prevented him from being here. He didn't care - all he cared about was the fact that he was arriving and he hadn't actually seen his partner yet...

And then he did.

He stared at her for a moment before scowling a little bit.

"You Xius?" he asked her bluntly, "Warden Ward said I was supposed to take over from some guy named Zazai on this mission."

He raised an eyebrow at her before shrugging and turning back to the objective.

"What's the opposition?"

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[Arthemise Xius]

She was silent for a moment, her eyes rested on the unfamiliar man who stood in front of her- a brutish sort of fellow with a rather unforgiving attitude. It was clear from his tone that he'd rather be anywhere else but instead he found himself here, filling in for Zazai who must have decided he had better things to do than hunt down petty criminals. It was a task that offered little in the way of respect or reputation, but one that had to be done if they wanted to secure their rule over the planet. If she had known her partner had decided not to come, she would have been content to complete this mission on her own but Warden Ward had instead sent a replacement- one Aria wasn't sure she liked.

"You can wipe that scowl off your face and address me as though it's not a burden to stand in my presence. Or, if you'd rather leave, I'm sure I can handle things on my own." Aria stood to face the man, her arms folded across her chest. Her eyes narrowed as she addressed Brandr with a scowl of her own, unforgiving of his rather heedless introductions. "I would assume Warden Ward would have made you aware of our position before sending you but I suppose I assumed incorrectly. There is an illegal gambling ring set up in the shipyards. It is my understanding they are using the funds to expand their land and that can't happen if we want to establish control over the planet."

Her attention moved back to the shipyards beneath them, keeping her distance from Zazai's replacement. "It's time to shut them down."

 

[Brandr Jarl]

Brandr looked up at Xius and narrowed his eyes at her from behind his armoured helmet. She was annoying him already so this was rather different to what he had been expecting. He looked at her for a long moment with his blank helmet staring up at her before shaking his head in annoyance.

This woman was going to be irritating he just knew it.

"You couldn't handle this on your own." he declared dismissively, adding in Deucalian, "Þú ert barn."

He looked at her for a moment before shaking his head, muttering as he ignited his lightsaber in his right hand and activated his thermal axe in his left,

"No, barn, I meant how many are we facing?" he tutted before moving to the edge of the ledge and looking down at the complex. He counted them out before scowling under his helmet, "I count nineteen foes..."

Nineteen foes around the main entrance? Clearly they were expecting trouble already... so stealth wasn't an option.

Which was fine by him.

Using the Force, Brandr raised a large boulder high in the air and glanced at Xius,

"Assistance with your own attack would be appreciated." he declared before launching the boulder down at their enemies, crushing just over a dozen of them with the one attack, "Or, perhaps, not so much..."

@MatureContentWarningx

 

[Arthemise Xius]

Arthemise definitely didn't like him, of that she was certain. Brandr spoke down at her in a dismissive tone, one that suggested that he didn't care much for her either which was fine, if she were being honest. There was a time where she would have hidden behind someone stronger when presented with opposition, but that time had passed long ago. Regardless of how some would view her, Arthemise was entirely capable of holding her own in almost any confrontation- Brandr was no exception and neither were the guards stationed below. With or without him, they would have faced the same fate but unfortunately, he was here and there wasn't much she could do but try and make the best out of it; the two of them only needed to get along long enough to complete their mission.

She eyed him, huffing in irritation as he took control of the situation by dropping an attack on the men below. In a lot of ways, he reminded her of Zazai- too quick to jump into things, heedless of the consequences. There could have been more men waiting on the other side of the gate and he had just given away their position. Of course, he did manage to take out most of them... but most wasn't enough.

Raising her hand, Arthemise used the force to pull one of the stacked cargo crates down on the remaining guards, crushing them before they had a chance to sound the alarms. Of course, crashing boulders and falling cargo crates were sure to arise some suspicion given how quiet the night had been only moments before. "You've really gotten on my nerves," she sighed, turning her back on the Deucalian to make her way down the gravel path that led to the front gates. Arthemise wrapped a hand around the hilt of her lightsaber, prepared to draw it if the need arose. "Let's get to the front gate. We can force our way in when the others come to investigate the noise."

She didn't give him much of a chance to respond, walking down towards the shipyards, contented to leave him behind if he didn't follow.

 

[Brandr Jarl]

She was useful, he would give her that much.

Thankfully, it seemed that she was useful enough to have made short work of the last of their opponents - he did so enjoy it when things went well. Sure, he appreciated a good fight as well but he was a big enough man to admit that when it came to missions it was far better that everything was boring.

As they approached the complex, Brandr tutted a little bit at the young Sith warrior as they advanced on the complex and the enemy that skulked around within.

Upon reaching the front gate, Brandr decided that it might be a good idea to just attempt to open the door. Not everything had to be about bashing their way in after all and they were, apparently, looking to take this place over, not kill the enemy so much.

Naturally the door was locked up tight.

"Brilliant." he muttered to himself before glancing to Xius, "You want to take a shot at the gate, half-pint?"

@MatureContentWarningx

 

[Arthemise Xius]

"Honestly, half-pint? Is that the best insult you could come up with on short notice?" Arthemise teased with a smile, giving Brandr a gentle push to move him out of her way. It hadn't taken a genius to figure out that the door was locked, but it would take someone with a bit more patience to unlock it without a key. Brandr seemed to her the kind of man who would much rather save time and smash the door open but Arthemise didn't mind a challenge- she reached for one of the metal pins that held her hair back, bending it straight to fit into the lock.

"I've picked a number of locks over the years," she paused, looking over at him with a cautious expression. "Of course, not that you care or that I would expect you to care." Arthemise shook her head, kneeling eye-level with the lock on the door, one hand rested on the handle and the other working to weasel the straightened pin inside the lock. It was rusted and didn't want to budge, but she was sure she could get it open.

Cursing under her breath, she pulled at the handle and listened for the pins inside, raising them one at a time and listening for the familiar click that each one made. It took her a few tries before the door opened, her pin snapped in half now wedged in the lock meaning no one would be able to lock it again. Unfortunate for the men inside, but it made no difference to her or to the success of their mission.

"There." Arthemise said rather simply, raising her eyes to Brandr. "Unlocked doors make things a hell of a lot easier."

 

[Brandr Jarl]

Well wasn't she just a barrel of laughs?

Brandr had to resist the urge to punch the smug little woman and he had to resist it mightily. She was turning out to be a real pain in his ass and he deeply regretted not simply being able to just punch her - just once - because he didn't want to annoy her Master. Why was it that the most annoying of the Sith had a Force-power Sugar Daddy?

Or whatever it was that people did with apprentices - he'd had made sure his apprentice was a twi'lek milf if he had his way.

Instead of any of that?

He just rolled his eyes.

"Lets get this over with."

Moving on into the next area of the complex, he grimaced as he noticed that there were eight more guards on this side of the door. They turned slightly, noticing him.

He grinned.

"Hi."

Before they could react, Brandr lashed out with the Force in a thin line, as a cutting edge, at neck height. Three of the eight men went down, hands clutching desperately at bleeding throats.

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[Arthemise Xius]

There was little point in trying to be genuine as Brandr was less than receptive. In honesty, Arthemise wasn’t quite sure why she had cared to try in the first place but it became increasingly clear that he wasn’t interested and showed her little kindness in return. In theory, if anything were to happen to her here (though it wouldn’t, as she was entirely capable of holding her own) Brandr would have surely have left her here to rot without a second thought- it wasn’t an entirely comfortable thought.

She rolled her eyes, drawing the hilt from her belt and ignited its blade. The sooner this was over, the sooner she could retire to her ship to mull over the nights events.

“Fine, I give up.” She confesses, wrapping one of the men in the Force to draw him towards her. His face was twisted in fear, but Arthemise was quick to put him out of his misery, plunging her blade into his abdomen before casually dropping his corpse at her feet.

In silence, she moved towards the remaining men, twirling her weapon to deflect a blaster bolt that sailed towards her chest. It ricocheted back and downed a second soldier without much of a warning.

“Save one in case there are questions later.” Arthemise stated without looking over the Brandr, her tone much more demanding that it had been previously. If he wasn’t willing to work with her, then she thought it best to take control.

 

[Brandr Jarl]

She had a point.

There didn't seem to be any others rushing to come in and replace the ones they were currently killing so that implied that there were either no other guards or that they were hidden within the complex. Considering he didn't want to spend the next day combing through the entire area, it made sense to take at least one of the remaining guards alive so that they could get intel from them about the rest of the place's defences.

Sighing, Brandr dashed forward, using his lightsaber to deflect the bolts that came his way before throwing his axe at one of the three remaining guards while he tackled a second one to the ground.

His axe flew true, killing the guard as it stuck in his face - the man he had tackle screamed at the lightsaber blade in his stomach but was otherwise alive and well.

"Xius - you got the last guy or do I have to take care of that too?"

Maybe he should ease up on her?

... maybe later.

@MatureContentWarningx

 

[Arthemise Xius]

"I would hate for you to overexert yourself." Arthemise muttered beneath her breath, back turned on Brandr as she stalked towards the remaining guard. His eyes were wide with fear, blaster aimed towards her but his aim shaken in his panic. Arthemise smirked, watching as he stumbled backward two steps for each step she took towards him, but there was nowhere for him to run that she wouldn't find him- he could call out for help but there was no one around to heed his words.

"Well, it seems I've caught myself a little mouse. Hello, mouse." A soft smile tugged at her lips, her blade rested at her side as she watched him pressed up against a rusted cargo crate- dead end with nowhere to run. He fired towards her, but she was quick to deflect the bolt before it threatened her. The guard fired again and once more Arthemise knocked it away from her with ease. She could play his games all day and loved the sight of fear etched in his eyes, but they didn't have the time to waste.

Reaching out in the Force, Arthemise bound him and lifted him into the air, watching his legs kick in panic as his blaster tumbled to the ground. "Goodbye, mouse." Again, she smiled before tossing him against the heavy metal crates with a loud thud. His back snapped, his body collapsing to the ground like a dirtied rag doll leaving only one more left...

Her eyes moved back to Brandr who stood over the wounded guard, bloodied hands clutching at his open stomach. He was alive, but not for much longer.

Arthemise moved quietly to stand beside Brandr, gravel crunching beneath her boots. She watched the wounded man for a minute and then crouched beside him, pressing a finger into his wounds and drawing a cry from his lips. "How many more?"

 

[Brandr Jarl]

Seriously - he was beginning to just get plain annoyed with this girl and he didn't care who knew it. The woman seemed to think that he was deaf in his helmet. Sure, it was a good helmet and it was sturdy... but that was literally it. There wasn't anything else going on with it.

He could hear her bitchy little comments loud and clear.

Brandr could have said something about it but he didn't want to. If she got better then he wanted her to get better on her own - not because he helped her along. The guard he had let live just squirmed and Brandr let him.

He was ready in case the worm decided that he had a second wind in him somehow.

Instead, he raised an eyebrow as the woman pressed her hand to the wound to pressure the man into giving up information on how many more guards there were. The guard groaned in pain.

"Seventeen! I swear!"

Scowling, Brandr reached down and grabbed the man's head, pushing into his mind with the Force. He shredded the man's mind in his zealous mental attack but it didn't matter - he had the answer he needed.

"He wasn't lying." he declared firmly, "Seventeen more foes in the next area - none anywhere else in the complex."

@MatureContentWarningx

 

[Arthemise Xius]

Seventeen more men waited in the next area- what was assumed to have been a rather small operation was turning out to be much larger than she could have anticipated. It wasn't anything that Arthemise couldn't handle but still, she found herself increasingly appreciative for Brandr's presence even if the nature of his company was less than desired. For as much as she hated to admit it, he had proved himself useful in more ways than one. Had she been left on her own, this very easily could have taken her the rest of the night but both of them had made short work of things up until this point. If there was any luck to be had, she would be on her way home to Lothal in no time.

"Seventeen more worthless men waiting around the corner to face their fate." She breathed deep, eyes searching her surroundings for anything that could be used to their advantage. The shipyards were stacked high with rusted shipping containers, old and outdated ship parts, and abandoned machinery- they really couldn't have chosen a more convenient place to hide.

She stood, cleaning her bloodied hand on the bottom of the now dead man's shirt and taking a few steps back from Brandr. Taking another deep breath in, she drew upon the Force and projected it around her, reaching out to find the men huddled beneath one of the cranes that towered high over the shipyards- they didn't want to be found, but it was impossible for them to hide from her. "I'll make short work of it." Arthemise looked back towards Brandr before disappearing around the corner.

Her eyes had spotted, hanging from the crane where the men hid, the thick hull of one of their ships; it swayed a bit in the breeze, the metal chains that held it creaking against the weight they held, but if she timed it accordingly it would fall on top of them before any of them had the chance to realize what had happened. Arthemise stood quiet, watching it with intent as it moved back and forth against the breeze before reaching out in the Force and snapping the chains that held it.

With an ground shaking thud, it fell on top of the group of men and wiped them from existence without a shadow of a doubt.

 

[Brandr Jarl]

Well she had confidence, he would say that much for her.

If she thought that she would be able to take out all seventeen of the remaining guards by herself then she was more than welcome to give it a shot if she wanted to. Personally he could see her taking out a few before the rest gunned her down with their numbers. The Numbers Game was a cruel mistress to be honest.

But hey - if she died he would take her lightsaber, report that she died a heroic death and all would be right with the Galaxy! As they approached the enemy, he readied himself before pausing to look at what she was doing.

She was using the Force... on the crane?

Words could not express what happened next or how he felt about it.

Something heavy fell and everyone but himself and Xius died.

It... it boggled the mind how that set up had come about.

Sighing, he pinched the bridge of his nose after putting his weapons away. There was no point to having them activated anymore after all. He just looked at the destruction before him before shaking his head.

"You got very lucky, runt." he muttered before scowling, "Come on then - call back in and let them know we've secured this dump would you?"

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[Arthemise Xius]

Seventeen men all huddled beneath a rusted hull had seemed entirely too convenient, but that didn't matter now as they were finished here. It had been rather reckless of her to move on without Brandr but in the end, it had worked in their favor- they were finished here and he could move on without her and she could retire to her ship. It was quite clear that he was less than impressed with her and there was absolutely no point in trying to change his opinion; they weren't here to be friends and even if they had been, she'd never been great at making or keeping them. For all purposes, Evandrus was truly her only

friend and she was okay with that.

"I will call it in." She gave Brandr a rather formal nod, no smiles or additional comments. Her attempts to be friendly had done little in the way of convincing him to give her chance and she was wise enough to leave it at that.

Aria clipped her hilt back onto her belt and reached for her datapad to send a message to Warden Ward that their mission had been a success. However, the message that waited for her in return made her pause, her fingers curled around the device in an unnatural grip.
Arthemise read the text over and over, hoping that she had read it incorrectly, but she hadn't. Her Master was dead and suddenly the entire world felt like it was going to collapse, but she held her breath.

She gripped the device tighter and kept her focus long enough to call in their mission, keeping the anger the boiled beneath the surface at bay. There would be a time and a place for it, but that wasn't here- not in front of Brandr. "It's done." Arthemise tucked her datapad away and began to steady walk towards the front of the complex, the gravel crunching beneath her boots, breaking the silence.

 

[Brandr Jarl]

The mission was over, it was all called in and Brandr could finally leave this place a little bit wiser, a little bit stronger and very, very, sick of these types of places.

He would have to make sure that the missions he signed up for in the future were more of the "kill and terrorise" type, rather than assaulting some dirt-cheap place and fighting some guards who didn't even know what the hell they were doing. But that was a gripe for tomorrow. Tonight he was going to take whatever credits he was paid by the Judgement and spend them on some booze and some company.

For a second he toyed with the idea of the woman - Xius - before deciding against it.

Her voice would irritate him too much and he'd likely end up killing her afterwards, which would not endear him to the leadership of the Judgement. Unless the Sith Lord was sick of having this woman as his apprentice? He paused as he noticed her distress through the Force.

Looking at her for a moment, he clicked his tongue once.

"Girl." he called out to get her attention, "Is there an issue with our mission? Or does your face always looked like a smacked bakhlið after a mission?"

@MatureContentWarningx

 

[Arthemise Xius]

"What is it?" Her eyes trailed back to Brandr, fire burning within them. Evandrus was dead and suddenly she felt alone but where others would grieve, there was instead an unfamiliar anger that boiled within her, threatening to erupt. Her vision blurred and her heart was suddenly painful in her chest- there was an undeniable urge to strike the nearest living thing to her, but she had retained at least enough common sense to know that Brandr was a formidable opponent; he could toss her across the yard and think nothing of it. Even so, she felt her fingers twitch and she curled them quietly into fists to keep herself contained. Brandr was as much a member of The Judgement as she was herself and Evandrus had been his leader too.

"No, it's nothing to do with our mission," Arthemise stated simply, taking a deep breath to calm her racing heart. "It was a message from The Judgement- Evandrus is," she paused, taking another deep breath and shaking her head. Her eyes locked back on Brandr, tapping her foot as she worked to control her anger, realizing it wasn't an appropriate time to lash out. "Evandrus is dead. I imagine Warden Ward will be taking over his position."

The words stung as they crossed her lips, but she managed to keep her tone even. She needed to escape this place, to find somewhere she could scream and throw things in her frustration. It was in moments like this that Evandrus had known just what to say to calm her down, but Brandr wasn't there for support- his shoulder was not there to lean on and she did not need his pity.

 

[Brandr Jarl]

Huh.

Seemed that the King of the Talkers was dead then. That was... new? He had to admit that he hadn't expected it. As much as he mocked the man, he knew of his power and knew that precious few had achieved such a level of power. It was, in a word, rather humbling he supposed, to know that even someone of such power could be killed...

And amusing.

He couldn't help but laugh a little bit,

"I guess he found a situation he couldn't talk his way out of." he snickered with a roll of his eyes, "Though Ward is just as much a pathetic talker in my opinion..."

He shrugged,

"All the better to kill him I suppose." he declared before glancing at Xius, "What about you girlie? You happy your sugar daddy is dead?"

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[Arthemise Xius]

Her palms ached, fingers numb as she held her fists tight at her side- his words echoed through the emptied grounds. He could have said nothing at all and she would have been content to leave it there, but instead, he chose to mock her. There was silence as she processed his words, her eyes focused on the hinted smile the pulled at his lips; one she wanted to wipe clean off of his hideous face. Arthemise was suddenly prey to the anger that boiled within her and all common sense was pushed aside in that moment. Turning on her heel to face Brandr, her eyes bore into him and all of the anger that had sat beneath the surface erupted without warning.

Taking a step forward, Arthemise swung her fist at Brandr's neck with all of the power she held hoping to suck the air from his lungs. Perhaps she would come to regret it later, knowing he bested her in strength, but right now she didn't care- he deserved it. He had chosen his words knowing they would fuel the fire that burned within her heart; Brandr wanted to watch her burn, but she would do her best to see that he burned with her.

"I hope you burn!" she called out to him, her words filled with fire and hatred. Arthemise threw her other fist at him as well, aimed at the smug smile that pressed at his lips.

 

[Brandr Jarl]

HA!

Pressing this woman's buttons was just far too easy! She practically screamed 'target' to him and he was more than happy to take advantage of that he had to admit. Her anger was quick to build and it was sharp and it was strong - it was glorious to see - but there was a problem with it.

It was nothing but a beacon as to what she was going to do. Grinning, he took a step back to avoid taking her fist to his throat. He laughed as the fist sailed past him, no doubt angering her further.

When she went to punch him in the mouth he acted, stepping back again to avoid taking the hit - but reaching out and grabbing her wrist in his left hand tightly too. Pulling her faster in the direction she had been punching, he brought his knee up, slamming his armoured knee into her gut violently enough to make the woman cough up blood. His knee was heavily armoured after all and her gut was without even a lick of armour.

He would throw her limp body to the ground afterwards.

"You're alone in this Galaxy again, Xius and it's time for you to act like it!" he told her bluntly, "You don't have the luxury of time to mourn... to pull your kark together. You act like this spoiled little brat around me again?"

He grinned darkly,

"And I will peel back the skin from your back, crack open your ribs from behind and lay your lungs across your shoulders like wings... do you understand me, Xius?"

@MatureContentWarningx @Arthemise Xius