Dawnbreaker Episode Split Destiny/Part 11

CHAPTER 31

Meanwhile, on the other side of the doors, the rest of Kiara's troops have been almost completely wiped out as well, with only the sargeant and two others staying alive, one with a severed right arm, the handiwork of Zaiya herself. However, they had killed four more Nexu, and another Nightsister, one of Zaiya's team, that one dying at the sargeant's hand, with a blast through the chest.

"Blast it, get this door open now! We won't be able to take another attack!" the sergaent yelled at the trooper working on the door panel, he and the wounded one still keeping an eye on the room's far exit, weaponz ready, as well as the two vent shafts thet were also used by the Nightsisters during the attack.

"Almost done, sir..." the soldier replied tensely, still fiddling with the control panel.

Suddenly, the sargeant's focus began to falter, as both Zaiya and DM-13 applied focused Force Persuasion on him, and the wounded trooper. His eyes started to glaze, as he shook his head briefly:

"Ah, this is a waste of time... they won't risk another attack after the bloody nose we gave them!" already influenced, lowering the weapon and standing up to assist the trooper trying to bypass the doors.

But the wounded one was not so easily distracted, the pain from his severed forearm keeping him VERI focused:

"Sir?! What do you think you're doing? They're still out there!!!" in a very strained, pained tone, turning his head fractionally to the sargeant.

But it was already too late... as DM-13 took advantage, her head and upper torso suddenly appearing upside-down through one of the ceiling vents, and blowing a toxin dart at the trooper, hitting him in the side of the face.

"Aah!" was his exclamation, as he reflexively pulled the dart out... before collapsing with a moan to the floor, dart still in hand, the blood-poison spreading to his brain.

The sargeant, shaken off of his distraction, and the other troop instantli spun around, dropping to one knee and spraying blaster fire toward the celing vent - and the main doors, where Zaiya's sillhouette could just be seen, followed by a horisontal crimson ligtwhip swipe. The sargeant dropped on hiz belly instinctively, one of his shots grazing DM-13's shoulder and making her pull back in the vent, and evaded the swipe by less then a decimeter. The second troop was a shade too slow, and the top of his head flew off of his body, as Zaiya's attack caught him. But then, the sargeant's next shot took her in the right thigh, a quarter-second before she could anticipate.

"AAAGGHHH!" she screamed, collapsing to the floor, as the sargeant's rifle tracked to her head...

Drain Life.

Desperately focusing past the pain, Zaiya stretched one hand, and a reddish aura began glowing around it, as the sargeant's exposed skin began to turn grey, and he dropped to his knees, firing one blast, which missed Zaiya's head by a hair. After several seconds, she could stand up again, her wound mostly regenerated, vhile the sargeant was almost dead, convulsing on the floor.

At that moment, the door behind him slid open, Kiara and her two troops bypassing it from the other side. She immedietly fired her DL-44 at Zaiya, wich missed, Zaiya anticipating and Force Speeding to the side, back behind the doorway and out of sight, but she did discontinue her life drain on the sargeant, her wound still not completely healed.

"Drag him out of here! Quickly!" Kiara yelled to one of her surviving troops, the other still outside, keeping an eye on the acces corridor, already unclipping another of her disintegration grenades.

Just after the sargeant was dragged out, she tossed the grenade to the far entrance, before closing the door again, thinking:

"With any luck, I'll get one more of 'em... and even if not, the blast should seal off this access point completely! They won't be able to come after us... but we'll have to find another way to the control room."

Two seconds later, a detonation sounded from behind the doors, the grenade going off.

"I think there's still at least one more on this side, ma'am!" one of the troops said tensely.

"And... there's... more than... those two... on the other side!" the sargeant groaned, before lapsing into a coma.

"They won't attack again right away... it'll take them some time to regroup!" Kiara muttered, leading the way down the corridor back to the hangar.

"I need a bacta patch for my wound... and he needs a stimulant to keep him alive after a drain like that!" she thought grimly, holding her crippled arm, but not allowing the pain to show on her face.

"What happened to the sargeant?!" the other troop ground out, that one also wounded.

"He's been drained of life through the Force." Kiara replied shortly.

"He's WHAT?!" the man exclaimed in alarm.

Kiara threw him a brief glance, before adding: "Long story... let's just get back to the hangar now, okay?"

"What kind of monsters are these Nightsisters?!" the troop added to himself, unnerved.

"I'd say you're finding out first-hand, aren't you? Now shut up and keep moving!" she retorted.

Taking the other way to the hangar, they come across the butchered, bloody remains of the three Ekatra Knights that the Elite Guards dispatched before. The two troops couldn't tear their eyes off the disfigured, bloodied, torn-apart corpses, blood literally covering most of the intersection walls, deck, and ceiling around them, still-warm pieces of flesh and guts strewn everywhere. One of the troops was already getting sick...

And then there was the Loyalist Knight's body, wich was left mostly intact - except his skin was almost completely white, almost all the blood sucked from him by the two Guardz. Kiara stopped by one of the bodies, collecting the lightsaber lying covered in blood, thinking:

"This could come in handy... I could even use it to cut myself a way to the control deck directly!"

Then she addressed the two troops:

"Okay, nothing to gawk at here, guys. You'll see a lot worse than this if you don't get moving... or it culd easily happen to you!"

"I suppose..." one muttered, as they moved on.

In the meantime, the Escort Shuttle was already halfway up to the station, since Fareeni succeeded in convincing Raze that it was in their best interest not to folloe Hale, since the Ekatra would likeli execute a clean sweep of all his bases, given enough time. With the medical pack on the shuttle, their wounds were stabilized, though far from fully treated.

8 minutes remained before the Torpedo Gunships would obliterate the station, and already, Warcraft were visibly beginning to make runs at it, with the battle outside all but finished.

20 seconds later, the first Hypermissile struck the station...

Repelled and discouraged, for a time at least, the Nightsisters were in the process of regrouping... Zaiya and DM-13 dicsussing the situation, while Zaiya's surviving teammate and DM-13's last Elite Guard were scouting the area around Hangar 9 and Kiara's position, trying to find a weakness.

"It was a prudent plan... but clearly, we have underestimated her. And now, both our losses have reached critical--" Zaiya was speakting, voice still a little strained from her incompletely regenerated wound, just as Hypermissile impacted, reverbrating the entire station for a moment.

"BLAST! Looks like those Ekatra have decided to blow this place apart!" DM-13 snarled.

Zaiya nodded, already sending a Force message to her last Huntress to get back to the airlock where their Enforcement ship was docked, before replying:

"Apparently so... and we have to depart before that happens! If Kiara escapes before the station's destruction, the hunt shall continue... and if not, if she dies with the station, our job is finished. Either was, no reason for us to stay here and get killed..."

"But... if she dies, we'll never be able to use her to access the archive depository! And my entire agenda will be for naught!" she thought...

...only then realizing that she neglected to apply mind-block, and that DM-13 was liable to pick up the thought from her mind...

...which was exactly what the Elite Guard did, pinning Zaiya with a suspicious stare, standing up herself and resting her right hand on the lightwhip handle.

"What agenda would that be, Bloodshade? What treachery is your clan up to now? ANSWER ME!!!" she snapped, also using the Force to try and read deeper into Zaiya's mind.

Zaiya scowled, realizing her slip, as she belatedly applied mind-block, preventing DM-13 from getting anything more, before she replied, trying to maintain an innocently convincing tone:

"Oh, that... nothing to concern the Fireserpents, rest assured... just something I concocted to advance my position, by exposing a traitor in our ranks."

"LIAR! You were referring to the archive depository! Nothing in there could possibly be relevant to any internal Bloodshade dispute! And I can sense you trying to shield your mind from me... why would you do that unless you're hiding something, you miserable whore?! I command you to end the mind block, so I can see for myself, or I shall kill you where you stand!" DM-13 demanded, in an imperious, ominous voice.

Realizing two things... that she wouldn't stand a chance against an Elite Guard, especially as wounded as she was at the moment, and that exposure of her full plan would spell certain disaster for the entire Bloodshade clan, Zaiya said nothing - except to dash toward the room's exit, using Force Speed, only succeeding a split instant before DM-13's violet lightwhip blade slashed centimeters behind her.

She quickly sliced through the door controls with her own lightwhip, trapping DM-13 inside for the time being, before she sent another Force message to her last accomplice:

"We have just been exposed! Get to the Elite Guard's ship and disable it... quickly, then join me. I'm heading back to our ship, after I pay a visit to that corridor where Kiara was wounded before. If I can find a sample of her blood, we will have the genetic material we need to access the depositorym and won't even have to hunt her down! DM-13 will probably instruct her last team member to stop us... but one Guard won't be a match for both of us." making sure her mind block was still in place, and that only the Huntress would be able to receive the message.

Things developed rapidly from that point forward. Kiara, upon regrouping with her remaining troops, used her lightsaber to cut a new way to the hangar control decks, only to be attacked by the remnants of the Ekatra forces aboard. While she prevented the Ekatra commander from activating self-destruct, almost all the rest of her soldiers were lost in that battle, leaving only two surviving ones from her earlier attempt, and the sargeant, still in a coma from Zaiya's Life Drain.

Still, she did pick up one of the highly advanced ES 350 H assault rifles the Ekatra Cyber Elites were using, from its former owner. Quickly going over it's capabilities, she took it, while leaving her sniper rifle behind, after removing the bayonet and rocket launcher attachment, those two being superfluous to her, not to mention making the rifle too bulky and unwieldy for her taste. Paying another visit to the armoury aboard, she also took as much of its unique ammunition as she could carry.

Fareeni, with Raze's unexpected help, had managed to fly the Escort Shuttle out to dock with the rapidly-crubling station, but the shuttle had taken more than a little damage from the Ekatra forces, and its hyperdrive was inoperable. Raze was more than helpful there, his own piloting expertise considerably superior to the Cathar hacker's. They boarded the station, only to find signs of intense battles everywhere, the station itself literaly falling apart at this point.

Surprisingly, by the time they had actually met up with Kiara and the troop survivors, not far from where Zaiya and her last Huntress had ambushed and killed the last Elite Guard together, mere minutes before, those tvo already off the station at thet point, Raze's xondition suddenly deteriorated - rapidly.

"Aahh..." he groaned, suddenly leaning hard against the wall, before caughing some blood.

"What's up with him?" Kiara asked, looking back.

"I believe his wound has worsened..." the Cathar replied, her own monotone in-control voice still strained from her partially-mended shoulder wound.

Coughing once more, Raze added: "I think I'm bleeding internally... I dont think I'll make it. Go on without me..." at which Kiara came back, exclaiming:

"Don't be absurd, merc! You're not telling me that after tangling with me and the rest on the Geyrin and surviving, almost killing me there, and getting through that Ekatra gauntlet out there in one piece, you're just going to let this beat you here?! You're too stubborn for that!" with an almost-involuntary smile at him.

But Raze suddenly doubled over with a moan, and slid down to the deck, before muttering: "I thought so... but looks like this is the end of the line for me. Kiara--" before he had to stop, with several more coughs, each one accompanied with blood.

She crouched next to him, before replying quietly: "Yes?" "What you did to my friends... I can't... can't forgive thet, ever--" coughing again "...but I understand why you did it. You were right... it was a fight."

Kiara was silent for a moment, befoe replying in a low voice: "Yes... I wish things could have turned out diffrently. But that doesn't excuse my bragging and gloating over it to you down at the base. That was uncalled for, and for what its worth, I'm sorry for that, at least." looking him directly in the eye.

The dying mercenary simply nodded, before adding one last question: "What Hale saied down there... is it true? Are you really a Nightsister?"

"I am. Something I'we been reminded of very graphically in the past few hours..." Kiara answered darkly, but her tone very remote.

Fareeni's eyes flashed briefly at that, as Raze nodded again, with a bitter smile: "That explains a lot, merc... and I suppose the storiez I've heard about your kind are very true. Heh... guess me and my friendz really made the wrong decision, taking that slug up on his offer, and going after you, eh?" as he coughed again, more violently this time. Kiara had to look away from him briefly, fighting past the sudden lump in her throat. Finally, all she could say was: "I'm so sorry it had to turn out that way... but I had no choice."

But her thoughts also drifted to the many assassin contracts she fulfilled over the years, some of them against innocent families and even children, that some crimelord wanted to make an example of, where she did, in fact have a choice - but she chose wrong, professionalism and money, over conscience... only an excuse, of course, to give in to her Nightsister killer instinct.

"I'm sorry about a whole lot of things I've done..." was her only thought at that, a single tear sliding down.

Raze's final words snapped her out of it: "Don't... don't be, Kiara... because you're good! Now, just do me one... one favor, will you? Keep yourself alive out there, merc!" before his head fell backward, and he lay unmoving against the wall.

"I'll do my best, Raze..." Kiara replied with a slight smile, slowly standing up again.

CHAPTER 32

Meanwhile, DM-13, the leader of the Elite Guard squad, and the last of the Nightsisters still aboard, was just in one of the outer areas of the station, only a minute too late to stop Zaiya's ship from leaving. She slammed a hand to the bulkhead next to the viewport in frustration:

"I'll find you, treacherous Bloodshade schutta! I SWEAR it!"

Only then did she notice out the viewport, one of the Ekatra fighters making a direct strafing run toward that section of the station, practically aiming almost directly at her position. Her savage yellow eyes widened in shock, as she quickly turned to run away from the viewport... The fighter, actually a Warcraft Bomber, unloaded a full salvo of Hypermissiles. With the station's shields long gone, and its armor crippled, the explosion was tremendous, blowing a large hole in the side of the structure.

At that moment, the Torpedo Gunships entered the range, and began firing their Nuclear Torpedoes...

"This place wil come apart soon... ve have to keep moving!" one troop shouted, as the first torpedo hit the station, snapping Kiara out of her melacholy line of thoughts.

She stirred, getting back to business: "Right... Scrambler, where's the shuttle?" she asked the Cathar.

"Waah! It is useless, Slayer! The Ekatra have destroyed its hyperdrive..." the hacker replied in a crazed whisper, obviously having slipped into her madness again.

"Oh, great..." Kiara muttered, scowling behind her sunglasses, then wincing a little as her injured arm flared up again, amaturishly dressed.

"Slayer?" another trooper repeated with a chuckle, with a thought: "Sure fits her, though..."

Kiara rolled her eyes, waving a hand in dismissal: "Long story... doesn't matter. Let's just say Fareeni can get a litle... strange occassionally. I'm sure you'll see what I mean before too long." "But we'll need a ship with a working hyperdrive to get us away from this system - and FAST!" she added.

"Hangars are still under lockdown... so the transports are out of the question." the trooper muttered.

"Wait... how did those Nightsisters get aboard? They must have a ship of some kind..." the second one injected suddenly.

At that, Kiara turend toward him, with a grin: "Of course... and given how many of them were here, and those Nexu, they must have had more than one..." already running to a nearby computer console, and checking all airlocks on the station.

"Yes... there's our shuttle, Scrambler... and another ship, docked at one of the airlocks... bottom-most deck. Let's go!" she intoned, detecting the Elite Guard Enforcement craft, still docked at the station.

"What if there's more of them left?!" the first trooper asked uncertainly, but the other quickly cut him off, just as another torpedo struck the station, this one causing the facility to begin shaking, violently: "I'd sooner fight them, then stay here to get blown up by the Ekatra! If we stay, we're dead anyway!"

"Exactly... besides, I don't think there's any more of them left." Kiara added, already running down the corridor, since she was no longer getting that - feeling, that she had ever since the Nightsisterz boarded the station.

Anything the trooper was about to add was cut off by the computer voice, saying thet the structural integrity had failed completely, and only fuor minutes were left to complete structural collapse.

"COME ON!" his partner yelled impatiently.

They picked up the travois where the sargeant was, still in a deep coma from Zaiya's Drain effect, and rushed after Kiara and Fareeni.

It took them no longer than five minutes to reach the Enforcement craft. By the time they did, the station was literally shaking itself apart around them. As Kiara had anticipated, there was no one aboard, nor did they encounter any Nightsisters on the way.

One trooper whistled in awe: "Wow... look at this place!" , looking at the smooth, almost organic interior of the ship, divided into fuor areas; cockpit, common room, engine room, and cargo hold.

"You can admire later, soldier! Put the sargeant down at one the beds and come help me get her raedy for takeoff!" - Kiara interrupted impatiently, already in the cockpit.

The man nodded, joining her, but he couldn't read anything on the control panels, everything being labeled in Dathomiri. He scowled, frustrated: "I can't make anything out of this!"

"That's the sensor-stealth activator matrix. Energize it, we'll need it to get away from these Ekatra in one piece." Kiara pointed at one panel, her own Dathomiri a bit rusty, but mor then serviceable.

Just as she was about to begin the engine-powerup process, Fareeni yelled urgently from the engine room: "NO! STOP! Waah... the reactor has been rigged to overload when engines are activated! I need a minute to ungimmick it..."

"Got it... Hurry up!" Kiara yelled back, thinking: "Must have been some kind of falling-out between the two hunting teamz... so one side resorted to sabotage, making sure the other never escapez the station! How tipically treacherous of my kind..." she thought with a smirk.

"I'm finished!" the Cathar yelled a minute later, just as the station began to disintegrate.

"Good... hit that control to release the clamps, we're out of here!" Kiara ordered the trooper, taking the pilot's seat.

Preceded by a blaze of fire, the elegant ship undocked from the airlock, shooting away from the station... which came completely apart barely 30 secondz later, in a massive explosion. They made their way through the Ekatra attack forces, their sensor-stealthing preventing their detection by the smaller ships. But the capital ship in orbit had sensors sophisticated enough to detect them... and moments later, the trooper exclaimed:

"We have Ekatra fighters on the way! They'll be in range in two minutes!"

"And it'll take us three minutez to get far enough to enter hyperspace..." Kiara thought, before replying: "Two of you, get to the turrets! There should be a dorsal and a ventral one, and a forward one for me to control."

He nodded, running from the cockpit. The fighters, a half squadron of Englads, switched power to their engines, accelerating quickly, bringting the ETA from two minutes to one minute 35 seconds.

"We'll blow those Nightsisters out of the sky..." - the squad leader thought to himself.

At the same time, Zaiya's ship was about to enter hyperspace as well. With Kiara's getawey drawing the Ekatra's attention, she and her surviving teammate were able to slip out unmolested. But they did have a good view of the battle...

"If they destroy her, our plans will be for naught! The blood sample waz useless... we still need her." the Huntres growled tensely, watching the fight between Kiara's commandeered ship and Ekatra fighters.

"Yes... I never thought I would find myself cheering for an outcast - until now." Zaiya replied with a small nod, also watching raptly, but at the same time thinking:

"No... she's not the kind to lie down and die like this! Her impressive performance against us iz evidence enough of that. She shall survive... she MUST!" biting her lip slightly in nervousness.

And Zaiya's hunch was correct...

The intense battle between the Ekatra Englads and Kiara's vessel lasted for a minute and a half, the time needed for the ship to reach hyper-entry point. The sleek ship tok heavy shield damage, some of it bypassing to score on the hull, with som minor internal system damage, but the two troopers in the turrets have proven competent, and managed to keep the fighterz at bay, destroying two, while the dropped homing minez Kiara released caught and took out one more. At that point, with a flicker of motion, the ship vanished into hyperspace.

"Did you track her hypervector?" Zaiya asked her companion.

The Huntress nodded briefly: "There wazn't time enough to get a precise bearing, but she's heading in the direction of Neutral space, between the Remnant and RTSE territory. Still, no doubt she will decide to change course at least once, to throw off any pursuit from the Ekatra."

"Agreed. Not that it makes a difference... all of our ships have covert transponders on a frekuency only we know, so we can always keep track of them at long range. I have a distinct feeling she does not know that!" Zaiya answered with a devious smile.

"So... the hunt continues!" she thought, as she activated the hyperdrive.

A second leter, the ship was gone.

With all hostiles gone from the system, the remaining Ekatra forces entered a cleanup state, with Scoutships sweeping the area for any trace of survivors. Finding none, Ekatra officials declared the battle over.

"We're away! Ufff... that was WAY too close for comfort!" - one of the two surviving soldiers exclaimed, appearing in the Enforcement craft's cockpit behind Kiara.

Kiara just nodded, before switching to autopilot and heaving herself out of the pilot chair.

"All in a day's work." - she said, the strain evident in her voice, from the pain of her crippled arm, where she had to shoot herself to prevent the spread of toxin.

The trooper shook his head in wonder, before remarking:

"I was wondering if you're even feeling the pain, tough-as-nails! Got to hand it to you, lady... you sure know how to shrug it off!" - with a grin, reaching out to help Kiara to the common room. But she shook off his hand.

"I'm fine... not my best day, but I'll manage, soldier! Take care of the sergeant."

"Already did... he's out, with a few painkillers, on one of the beds over there. Now come on, let's get that arm of yours bandaged, and that's an order!" - the man said mock-sternly, reaching out to steady Kiara again.

Again, she shrugged his hand off, walking on her own, but also grinned briefly, with a half-salute:

"Yes, sir!" - before adding - "There should be a medpack in one of the cargo compartments... aahh... at least that's where it is on most ships like this, as I remember. Go get it... and no reason to stick to formality from now on. Just call me Kiara.

The trooper nodded, heading to the cargo room, thinking to himself:

"What a piece of stone-hard work... it's like she won't even admit she's in pain! And she has to be - I mean, she actually had the steel to shoot herself with a blaster after getting poisoned, to stop the spread, and endure the pain-shock, and actually fight after it, AND defeat that Nightsister schutta in the end! Wow... you're really impressive, Kiara."

"Scrambler, what's the status on the damage we took?" - Kiara called out toward the engine room in the meantime.

"We are largerly functional, with only minor hull fractures on the dorsal section, where the Ekatra fighters' weapons fire breached the shields, moments before we entered hyperspace. Some internal system damage, but inconsequential." - the Cathar reported in her under-control monotone, exiting the engine room, and taking one of the other bunks in the common room, about to doze off.

Her own shoulder wound was mostly stabilized with a bacta regenerator and also a few painkillers, earlier, while they still had access to the Escort Shuttle's medical station. Before lying down, she looked questioningly at Kiara.

"Go ahead, Fareeni... you've earned it! I guess all of us did after today's events." - Kiara nodded.

The Cathar nodded back, lying down, but her dark eyes were still on Kiara.

"So my premonitions have been realized, Slayer... waaah! I was hoping they would not, this soon. The shadows have caught up with you..." - she hissed in a dark, crazed whisper, her madness taking over again.

Kiara scowled at that, the smoldering menace in her eyes hidded by her sunglasses.

"That they did, Cathar... but in a way, I'm actually glad for it, and the chance I got to finally face them head-on in a fight. I'm sick of running and hiding from them! You know... you didn't see it, of course... but when I kept smashing that Elite whore's skull against the wall, watching her brains flow out... all I could see was my mother's face, and what she told me last, before she died in my arms..." - she trailed off, gazing at one of the bulkheads, but her mind far beyond it.

"What?" - Fareeni asked softly, but didn't get an answer - as Kiara's memories were surfacing...

''She was staring straight up into the night sky, crimson-hued from the reflection of the fires raging nearby. The air was filled with smoke, as she looked down, to see several buildings burning. Suddenly, a desperate voice called out to her'':

"Kiara, RUN! Run, and do not look back, my child! Your sister has already fled... run, and STAY ALIVE!"

''"No! Mother, please... don't leave us! Come with us!" - Kiara answered to the voice in fear and terror, her own voice the one she had as a six year old girl, barely audible over the crackling of the fires and the death screams of many.''

''"LISTEN TO ME! You must go! And I must fight these miserable assassins with the others... it is the only way you shall have enough time to escape! Look after your sister, like she will look after you... I love you!" - her mother's voice comes back, strained, as if she was already wounded.''

Which she was - appearing from behind one of the houses, staggering, her right hand holding a nasty vibrospear wound in her stomach.

''"Mother..." - Kiara started in alarm, running towards her. Just as she got close, her mother collapsed to the ground. The little girl quickly squatted down, holding her mother's head up.''

''"Go... go, Kiara, and SURVIVE! And... cough... and remember... cough, cough... don't give in to... your instinct... and the desire for revenge! You will understand my words... as you mature. Your instincts shall destroy you in the end, if you give in to them, and leave you... empty, a person without a soul! A monster. Survive... and make a new... cough... new life for yourself... cough, cough... far away from the bloodsoaked battlegrounds... of this cursed world!" - her mother spoke, caughing, blood flying out with every caugh.''

''"Mother, please... no... NOOOO!" - Kiara screamed, as her mother suddenly went limp in her arms. She began to cry, but only for a moment, as new female voices could be heard:''

''"Slaughter everyone! Burn down everything! Not one of them shall be left alive! Leave the wounded to bleed out... slowly!" - one exclaimed, with a sadistic laughter.''

''"Wait... I sense one more left! A child... Follow me!" - another sounded out.''

''Kiara quickly stood up, and turned, running away as fast as her legs could carry her... running directly to the very edge of the waterfall. She turned back at this point, and this time could see the shadowy forms of her pursuers, Nightsister Huntresses, closing fast, their vicious, evil laughter echoing towards her over the noise of the water. She stepped on the outcropping directly above the waterfall, and whispered to herself:''

''"I shall remember... mother." - before leaping off the edge.''

However, as she was falling down to the river below, everything seemed to slow down, as a ghostly face of her mother suddenly appeared out of thin air in front of her, locked into a frown of intense disapproval:

''"How different are you from those who have taken me from you now, my child?" - the voice spoke in an accusatory tone.''

''"What?!" - Kiara replied in confusion, her voice no longer that of a child.''

Her mother's face didn't answer, but continued to stare at her accusingly.

''"I do what I have to to survive!" - Kiara continues angrily.''

''"No, you do not. You do what your instincts and your heritage dictate to you... the very same instincts that are slowly driving our people to extinction!" - her mother's face answered, before disappearing.''

Kiara looked down, and noticed her hands are covered in blood.

"There! The painkiller should be taking effect in minutes, and the bacta-regenerator wil start closing the wound. Afraid you won't make use of the arm until we get to a full medical station, though." - the trooper's voice suddenly snapped her out of it.

She stirred briefly, before replying:

"Thanks. I feel better already... what's your name, anyway?" - she asked the trooper.

"I'm Dace. And this is Kalnor..." - pointing to the second surviving trooper, who had also climbed back from the turret by now, and was on one of the other beds, who nodded.

Kiara simply nodded back, about to lie down herself, but the way Kalnor stared at her prompted her to ask:

"Something on your mind?" - in a neutral voice.

The soldier hesitated briefly, before muttering:

"That's an understatement, Kiara... given that I've just watched almost everyone I know get killed!" - his tone about halfway between after-shock and disbelief.

Kiara only smirked.

"Join the club, trooper. And it probably won't be the last time, either..." - in a cold voice.

Kalnor exploded at that:

"How can you be so cold about it?! Don't you have any human feeling left in you, you cold-blooded killer?!" - before he could check himself, as Dace intoned:

"That's enough, soldier!"

But Kiara held up her good hand.

"No, I WILL answer that!" - she snapped, before addressing Kalnor:

"Being cold is what keeps me alive. If I still had 'human feelings' to weaken me, I'd have been killed a long time ago, believe me! If you'd have spent most of your life fighting against the odds to stay alive, I doubt you would have a very cheery dispositon, either. I've nearly been killed more times than you can probably imagine, and I've learned first-hand what happens if you let your feelings get the better of you in a crunch! So I'd appreciate it very much if you'd shut up and stop judging me. Am I clear?" - she growled, before turning away.

"Hey! Don't turn your back on me, schutta! How do we know you won't simply turn on us, seeing as you're actually one of the Nightsisters? And you--" - before he broke off, suddenly finding himself staring down the rock-steady barrel of Kiara's DL-44, as she spun back around in a flash.

When she spoke, her voice was laced with suppressed fury.

"Listen to me VERY carefully, dead meat, because I'm only going to say this once. If you ever - EVER - compare me to those abominations again, or imply that I'm one of them, I'll kill you. I hate them more than you can begin to imagine, and more than ANYTHING else in my life, I want to see them all dead! ALL OF THEM!" - the last sentence a roar that made both troopers flinch, as she momentarily lost control.

"I'm sorry..." - she muttered, slowly holstering the weapon.

"No... no, it's okay. What I said was uncalled for... and you did get us through all that alive. I guess I'm just... rattled... by what I've seen! I mean - how can ANYONE be that savage? To drink all the blood from a man's corpse, and let animals tear apart the others... what kind of people are they?!" - Kelnor replied after a pause, referring to the scene of the Ekatra knights killed by the Elite Guards they came across earlier.

"Like I said. Abominations." - was the only answer Kiara gave, quietly, before she turned away, this time for good.

"And sometimes I have to try very hard, to keep myself from getting to be like them. My mother was right... those instincts would destroy me, if I gave in to them! I'm already mostly dead anyway, inside... But she was also wrong, about letting go of my need for revenge. It's all I have left to live for! All I want! And I have to do it... I have to make them pay for what they did to my family. I simply HAVE TO! If I don't, I couldn't live with myself. For the memory of my family..." Just before she fell asleep, she whispered softly to herself, the same dark, bitter pledge she made to herself many years ago: "No matter what it takes. No matter what the cost. No matter what I have to do, and become. I will avenge my family... and bring death to all those who were in ANY way responsible! After that, I can die too, and join my siblings in the next life... since I will have nothing left to live for here, anyway."

CHAPTER 33