5. Familar Faces

I kept reading the mission details, trying to make up for not listening during the brief. Pawn was asleep behind me, it was midnight. The mission was search and destroy. We were looking for a droid storage sent to the sepratists by the empire. It was a dozen advanced combat walker droids, which could carve through our tanks. If they were left alone and the sepratists claimed them, it would spell doom for a large part of our frontlines. It was also believed that a sith was there, not the big one, but another apprentice.

This one was a very careful one, who liked to hide and deal with things from the shadows. It was an intense job, considering we had to sneak under his nose and extract as fast as possible. The sith we killed earlier wasnt methodical like this one, and the squad wouldnt be underestimated now that we had actually killed one. Especially if there was an ambush, we would be in deep trouble.

I left the room, heading to the engineering lab. The lightsaber was gone. Clearly it was confiscated by the jedi. I double checked my assault cannon, thankfully the kyber crystal and all the parts were still there. It was unfortunate, the parts would have been a great help. I just mindlessly tinkered with components until I felt sleepy, then went back to bed.

-Later

A drink landed on our table, it was easy to recognise who it was, because it smelt like fruit and was pink. I slid it to Desro, who thanked me and started sipping on the straw. Onar and Errim had moved to the pool table after insulting each other enough to bet on who pays the bill.

"Sir?" Desro asked, still with a straw in his mouth, "Can I play a bigger role when we encounter the next sith?"

"Of course you can Desro, just dont get yourself killed." I answered, snacking on the plate of fries I was sharing with Pawn.

Pawn took a break from eating, "Im sure we can plan something you center around. Why do you ask, you definetly did a lot last time."

Desro hiccuped, faithfully drunk, "Well I," he paused, "Want to see if my time in the temple paid off. I still learned, I just, failed to let go of my connections." he admitted.

"You can use the force?" I asked, entirely curious.

He only nodded, but nothing else. I did not want to take advantage of his drunkeness, because if he wanted to use it he surely would have before.

"You and Pawn can go back if you want, im okay here." he said, finishing the last drink.

We said our goodbyes and head back to the barracks. The situation in the base was far more stable than it was before, and the stress was far below what it was previously. Pawn and I just casually walked, enjoying the mood.

"Are we a thing, sir?" she asked abruptly.

"Ah," I responded, "well, do you want to be?"

"Well, from what I can tell, you dont have much experience or the last one did not end well."

"How do you know that? And, you evaded my question."

"I guessed, you dont a rosey past sir, I can tell thats for certain."

I didn't respond.

"Its okay sir, you can talk about it later. I do, by the way, want to"

"Then we are offically a thing, so dont call me sir."

"You dont say that in" I covered her mouth with my hand. We both laughed when I realised it was a prank.

"What do you think about the mission?" I asked her, the opinion of our infiltraitor was very vital.

"I can get us in and out no problem, dont worry Rhodium."

I sighed with relief, with her, we could probably sneak into the emperors bedchambers, and get out when weve had some fun. Not that I ever wanted to be near an imperial controlled planet. I can only imagne how terrible that would be.

Both of us eventually got to the barracks, meeting Onar and Errim arriving at the same time. They looked far more peaceful that when we were with them. As we got closer I waved, and thats when they got a little farther away from each other and hurried into the barracks.

"Huh?" I exclaimed.

"Rhodium, you know their personalities, they've been 'insulting' each other for days now." Pawn explained, "Perhaps you should try looking at things with a more analytical eye."

I scoffed, "I quite literally do that," touching my cybernetic eyes that were very visible, "maybe you need to look at things with a less analytical mind."

I opened the door for her and she entered while saying, "I havent really thought of that, the imperial academy was that type of atmosphere."

"Can you tell me more about that later? I think we are both ready to share."

She nodded, "Of course."

-Later

We both just laid in bed, to as comfortable as possible, and close to each other. Her room was completely undecorated, no pictures hanging up or in frames. Even the things that came with the room, the bed, the dresser and footlocker, they had nothing in them except what came with. It was like she had no posessions.

She took the initiative, "Csilla was the name of my home planet, I wasnt able to see it before the empire got there, but i was told it was covered in shiny metal building and beautiful architecture. The empire built cities when they made contact, and thats where I was born. It was just like dromund kaas, a huge city with little connection to the home world. My parents were die hard loyaltists, and so was I."

"Was the planet cold?" I asked, trying to get her temporarily out of the bad thoughts.

"Yes, it averaged above freezing at most times, the entire place was covered in glaciers. I was never allowed otside the city though, and they had it heated."

"Why not?"

"I had not graduated from the academy, only graduates and the sith can leave freely. I enrolled when I was three, and I stayed until I was 'fit'."

I assumed she could predict the question, but I asked anyway, "What counts as being fit enough?"

"Being socially brainwashed enough that they are certain you would die for the empire. They even had a sith on site to help 'fix' people. I was the top student at my local one, and then I moved on to the military. There, the brainwashing was real, I felt drunk constantly, and barely remembered my life before becoming a soldier."

"How the hell did you defect?"

"It was a jedi, she helped me snap out of it, healed me of everything and realised that I wanted to make up for it." she said, more hopeful in tone.

"Thats amazing." I admitted.

She nodded at the praise, "Sometimes I still feel like im there, or like im still recovering from the effects. A sith was the one who did it to me, a man with a huge amount of cybernetics, thats all I remember though."

It was a huge story with just more reason to fight against the empire, and the sith.

I began my own story, starting from the moment we noticed the imperial fleet above our heads, to the moment I was killed by the sith.

And as I expected, "Dont say you died, you are very alive right now." she said, putting her hand on my chest and coming closer into a cuddle. Her eyes spoke volumes of wanting to hear more, so I continued.

-Later

We touched down an hour from the droid storage site. Funneling out of the shuttle, we had only been given our feet to get there. Errim and Pawn went ahead as planned. With Desro leading the way, we marched to the rendevous.

"Did you grow up on rattatak?" I asked him over close range comms. We werent in a talking distance, but half a minute away and in thick forest.

"Hmm, oh me?" He responded, "Yeah I guess I did."

Desro spoke over the comms, "Pft, hahaha, looks like you took more from Errim than her good nights rest."

I laughed, but Onar retorted, "Oh shut up, you dont get any and you are just jealous."

Desro snickered, "I dont want any of it."

The most unlikely of people said, "Damn loss for you man, you've got the face and personality for it."

Desro questioned me, "Rhodium, did you imitate Onar just now?"

"Nope." I admitted.

The rattataki who turned over a new leaf complained, "Hey! Catch me being nice to you again, I swear."

"Ahah, it seems the only thing it needs is a good night with a woman to hold. I bet I could point Errim toward your heroic acts of exploding facist soldiers, or maybe I just have to tell her you said she was a bitch." Desro said.

A feminine voice jumped in, "Desro..." angry to the bone.

"Errim?!"

-Later

Errim and Pawn sent the all clear. We dashed across the storage lot. We put our back against the main building. Desro had his hand on the keypad and Pawn gave us the code. As the door swished open I dashed in. It was clear, just as Pawn said. After she infiltrated a guarded facility like this, it was as easy as slicing their comms to keep track of everyone in the building. The only exception is those who dont have their comms on them. Since such a thing is not allowed on site, it wont be an issue. Security cameras were turned off as we went, and soon we reached the enterance to the higher security sector.

Errim called in, "Its confirmed, a sith was spotted trying to stop the assault on the other storage facility. The jedi is there too, but the sith doesnt know it yet."

The door slid open and the alarms and cameras all shut off. I led the charge down the hall, following the directions of pawn as she led us directly to the droids. We only met two patrols of guards on the way. It was easy to put them down with a sweep of my cannon fire.

The door to the droids opened in front of me. Scientists inside watched as us three shut the door behind us and swept the room. They immediately went into a panic, and we pulled them toward the corner, having them sit quietly. We were in a room full of kolto tanks, with other inside. It certainly wasn't a medbay though, the arms working on the subjects inside were not patching wounds with flesh or blood, but metal. Wiring exposed, metal skeletons, they were top of the line cyborgs from head to toe. It wasnt a storage site, it was a laboratory.

"Hey brainiacs, where the fuck are the droids?" Onar asked them, holding his detonite in his hands.

A scruffy looking man with a decorated lab coat spoke up, "What are you talking about, this labratory is entirely dedicated to cybernetic research and development."

"Are these for the field?" I asked him.

"Well yes, they are commisioned and overseen by the sith" He responded.

"Blow it." I told Onar, who was more excited than he should be.

"Wait," The head scientist said, "These people used to be my friends, you cant just kill them!"

Desro seemed conflicted with the scientists words, "Then what do you suggest? We cant let advanced cyborgs be ordered around by sith psychopaths. You already turned them into this."

He did not answer back, just putting his head in his hands. I ignored them, leaving Desro to handle them. Searching for their schematics could be a great boon for the republic, and a huge loss for the empire. The main computer in the centre of the room was still on. Remotely connecting, I copied every file that I could, easily tearing down any firewalls or passwords. With that done, I deleted everything that I could find, even records of the scientists names. It would at the very least slow down the empire in finding them if they defect.

Onar gave the all clear and Desro took the scientists outside the room. With a final nod to Onar, he set a two minute timer and we both evacuated.

The door to the hallway swished open.

The scientists were panicing about something, and Desro was nowehrre to be found. Death was ahead, a cyborg twi'lek with robes of purple and black. A lightsaber ignited to her side, purple glow illuminating the dim hallway.

The entire team of scientists was covered in lightning, and they all screamed in terror as they dropped to the floor in a spasm. Onar charged ahead, knocking against my shoulder and screaming curses at the sith. When the last scientist hit the ground, thats when I noticed Desro. He was also on the ground, his body armor crackling with eletricity. His vibroblades were in his hands, infront of his body like he had used them to block. His heartbeat came through the hud, he was alive.

I was just frozen. I was not looking at just a sith, I was looking at a blue twi'lek that I hadnt seen in years. Her lekku were shorter, cut by something. All of her limbs were robotic, high quality, but wrong. There was no way any of them were comfortable, anyone who knew how to properly attach and make them could tell that. It would be impossible to sleep with the pain the improperly installed cybernetics and limbs caused. I shook the thought out of my head, nobody made it out of there alive except me, there is no way this person is her.

Onar chucked grenade after grenade, they were all flung back. Thats when a flash grenade exploded between them. Onar had his eyes covered and he shot at the sith with his blaster pistol. The bolt struck against her chest, but she didnt flinch at all. Onar was close now, within melee range. He grabbed her wrist that held her light saber and put his blaster against her stomach. He let the entire magazine empty into her body.

After the end of the cell in his blaster pistol, I heard the crackle of electricity.

His body just fell to the ground. The cyber bitch had a second pair of arms, pointed where Onar just was. They just folded back inside her stomach, like nothing happened.

I fired an explosive round and shot it midair. She raised her hand and lightsaber to block. It pushed her back a foot, but when the plasma cloud went down she was fine. I fired more, but they just got pushed into the wall by her will.

"Rhodium." She said, the sound of longing in her voice.

I couldn't pull my trigger anymore, I was frozen. This time, it was not out of shock, she held her hand up and was forcing me still. She just walked to me, past the dead body of my friend, past the still concious body of Desro and past the dozen dead scientists. I tried my best to move, to try and pull my trigger one last time, but I could not.

"My love." the bitch said, close enough to hug me.

She wrapped her arms around my frozen body, planting a kiss onto my helmet.

She was resting her head on my shoulder, amd whispered in my ear, "You are the last one you know, the last one I need to kill to prove myself."

I felt her second pair of arms touch the the sides of my body where my hearts beat.

"Thank you so much dear, because you abandoned me, I was able to become a better being," she started to raise her voice, "just like you strive to be every god damn day!" she screamed the end.

Electricity coursed through my entire body and she laughed hysterically. I was covered head to toe in force lightening, coursing through my flesh and bone. The cybernetics I made to ground myself absorbed as much as they could, but there was too much. I could not spasm, because I was still held frozen by the force. My hearts stopped, then started again. The cycle repeated, but the pain my body was going through was too much to fall unconcious.

"Just die!" She screamed, no longer laughing, "Die Die Die!" she yelled.

The lightning absorbed by my ground seemed to increase. The lightening courseing through my muscles seemed to decrease, and my muscles grew stronger. My hud flashed a message.

Cybernetic efficiency increased by 50%.

The number climbed up by the second.

Cybernetic efficiency increased by 60%.

I could move, my muscles struggled against the force keeping me still and won. I grabbed my vibroknife, twisting it out of the sheath and placing it against the back of her throat. I pushed, stabbing her in the skull. The lightning stopped and I dropped to the ground. Desro was up, concious and waking toward me.

He was in tears, carrying Onars body toward me. The man dropped to his knees next to me and weaped.

"I failed you sir, I failed both of you. I was," he was crying too hard to continue, "I was, too scared to do anything." He hugged his friend, and weaped into his shoulder.

I pinged for evac, and fell unconcious.

Waking up in a kolto bath, I blearily looked around. I was in the medbay, which was full of people having surgeries and rest time. Safe in the base, I just rested, trying not to think.

Recovery was quick since I got the express treatment. While I was submerged Pawn would come visiting, sitting next to me as I healed. The commander and the rest of the squad also visited, checking on my health. The jedi came too, at some point, though it seemed more like a curiousity filled gander to see if I actually survived.

When I was released I immediately went to the commanders office. She was happy to see be, for certain. I could not conjure up a good mood.

"I cant do anything to replace what you lost Rhodium, but id like to reward you and your team." She said.

"What exactly do you have in mind?" I asked.

"Onar is getting the highest honors, as many metals as I can reward, and his adopted family is being taken care of."

Even now, there was so much I did not know about him.

She continued, "You will be promoted, as well as the rest of your squad. Everybody will recieve a bonus as an apology for bad information, we had no idea there was another sith in the buidling. And finally, the three confiscated and modified fury-class interceptors will be given to your squad for personal use, and you will be given a BT-7 Thunderclap."

It sounded more like compensation than a gift. I expected promotions, but state of the art ships were a new high, even if three of them werent paid for. I just nodded my head accepting everything.

"Lieutenant Rhodium, the republic would like those cyborg schematics."

I nodded my head, but made a request, "I would like permission to modify and use them for myself."

"Of course lieutenant."

-Later

I was visiting the engineering lab, trying to find my assault cannon. It was placed on the modifications table, as it always has been. Just by looking at it, I could tell parts of it were fried by the force lightning. A present, or what seemed like one, was next to it. Once again another holopad with a written message from the commander. 'They think it is destroyed, so use it well'. I opened the box, and the sith's lightsaber was inside.

I stopped associating the sith with my ex girlfriend a long time ago, but it was hard not to think about it while looking at it right infront of me. I was not to blame, I understood that well, but it stinged.

It was dismantaled as fast as possible, just so I wouldn't have to look at it for much longer. The purple kyber crystal shined far brighter than the reb one he already had in his cannon. The way she had blocked my explosive round so easily gave me an idea. The rounds it shot were probably more than enough already, he had to work on his defences. If she used her lightsaber, I would be dead.

I opened up schematics and started innovating.