((This is a co-authored fic between Kalenath and myself. Any comments please feel free to PM or drop one on Kal and my's respective walls. This is gonna be a long haul folks!

This story follows Amarath Shades after the Infinium Conflict. During the conflict she was knocked out and imprisoned by a twi'lek named Vix and her allies. Now she's coming to in a cell on an unknown ship with nothing but the clothes on her back, her mechanical eye, and a personal trinkset around her ankle.

Meanwhile Maria Ordo has managed to get 1 week of Shades being her prisoner off Vix. The twi'lek is intent on torturing Shades to death due to a number of hostile encounters between the pair. Maria however has some questions for Shades. What they are and why Maria is bothering with them, is unknown.))

The problem with mechanical eyes was that they woke up a lot faster then the rest of you. As Shades's fingers started twitching her red eye was darting about taking in things.

Maybe she should just sit and keep sleeping.

The thought had her growling a bit as she cracked her normal dark blue eye open, both eyes now looking about as she mentally wiggled her toes, fingers, and slowly moved the rest of her limbs, at least what limbs she had. Sitting up she glared where her mechanical arm should have been. It was nowhere in sight, which was not really surprising considering all the weapons in it. The jedi who had been with Dancing Girl likely had made it a point to remove the arm. Something that ate their force and spat it back at them was likely to make them uneasy. Shades didn't mind much, the contraption had made her feel sick to her stomach every time it had gone off. No arm...no tools...no harness of grenades...

A sudden panic had Shades ripping off her boot and patting her ankle. Oh thank Creation it was still there. Everything else was replaceable, given enough time. That however was not. Shades didn't like the thought of some sticky fingered punk running off with a family heirloom.

"Think later...better yet, don't think at all." Shades snipped at herself. Thinking after all led to problems. Case in point her current predicament. If her sister, Karina, hadn't come hunting for her on Nar Shaddaa to beg her to pull the Yinran Corporation's support of Zelkin, she likely would not be in this mess. Shades cursed her little sister putting her nose in the matter. Why couldn't she have stayed at whatever temple napping like jedi did when the galaxy wanted them to fight something?

Either way, the twi'lek had mentioned Karina was in the fight. Shades had no idea how long she had been out. Plus there was a lot of Coalition ships to get through to figure out where Karina was.

Speaking of...likely this was a Coalition ship. Maybe she could find out on this one before she left. Shades wasn't about to sit around for someone to go putting her on a mockery of a trial. She was getting off this ship and finding Karina so she could drag her sister out of whatever mess she was in.

Still...first things first.

Shades finished yanking on her boot and got up slowly. The lack of her mechanical arm's weight throwing her balance off as she stepped over and studied the door. Standard force field it seemed, really when would people think to try something else. She peered through the door at the sides, zapping her face some as she figured out which side had the controls.

"Ah the wonders of paneling." Shades stated as she studied the wall between her and the wiring of the controls. The metal would hold against breaking but then Shades didn't need it broken, she needed it bent.

Backing up a bit for a running start, she charged the spot and rammed it with her shoulder. It hurt but at least the blasted panel bent enough for her to pry it out with her fingers.

Glaring at the wires and back of the locked control made Shades curse. Without her computer she was gonna need a spike to crack it.

Shades grumbled and whined to herself as she reached up to her mechanical eye with her hand. Pulling out a mechanical eye was a bit harder then taking out a contact, it was more like popping a zit. It also still hurt like hell since they had to connect it to the nervous system in order for the brain to use the eye. One had to be careful not to pull the eye out to far or you'd pull the nerves and quite possibly, kill yourself.

Thankfully Shades knew herself. She only needed the eye out a few inches and then she ripped the cords connecting it. The eye would be useless now anyway, though it was likely a rather unpleasant sight to see Shades with mechanical cords danging out of an eye socket.

Carefully Shades dug into her own eye socket with two finger tips until she felt what she needed. Thank the Maker she had hidden that security spike in her eye, she'd have to remember to send Jolt a thank you card and some extra credits for a job well done.

With the security spike in her hands and not down one eye, Shades only had mild problems getting it into position. She felt rather weird only seeing with one eye and having only one arm.

"Come on you miserable little...There we go!"

The force field flickered then winked out of existence. Shades stuck her head out carefully, looking about as good as she could with one eye. She had not seen any guards while she was checking for the controls, but that certainly didn't mean one couldn't show up.

Seeing nothing she kept out to a computer terminal on the wall. Drawing on her days stuck in a hospital with only one eye and one hand to type, Shades quickly started up the computer. She cursed viciously when a language she didn't know scrawled across the screen. So much for the thought of using it the computer to help herself. She wouldn't even be able to change the language on it. She could try but she was just as likely to overload the terminal and electrocute herself without being able to read what it said.

It was the old fashion way for her then. Maybe she'd find a basic speaking computer on her way to the hanger...if she could figure out where that was.

First though, she needed a weapon. Coalition forces seeing her out of her cell were likely to try and throw her back in it. A quick search however gave her no real weapons though, just a box of tools.

It would have to do. Shades was quick to pocket a few tools that would help her with stubborn doors and hopefully in hijacking a fighter. She shoved them in her pockets since she had nothing else. Maybe she could find maintenance and jury rig a bad stealth unit to help her sneak away. The last thing she grabbed was the biggest wrench in the box. It was a bit heavy for her one hand but she'd take a club and use it over having nothing but her one arm to defend herself with. Though she had no idea how she'd do against blasters. She was rather hoping she could sneak out without getting spotted. That was possible if they were in the middle of deal with Zelkin still, and if she made it to the hanger easily. Hangers always had plenty of boxes and containers to hide behind. The hijacking a fighter to get away was going to be the really hard part.

As geared up as she could manage Shades headed for the turbolift. Like any detention block there was only really two ways anywhere. The air vents, which likely had triggers on them to say when they got opened, and the turbolift. Since it didn't seem likely that someone would be bothering with a interrogating a prisoner in the possible middle of a firefight, she was pretty sure she could opt for the turbolift and be ok. At least till someone thought to check on her.

Shades kicked at the controls for the lift, not willing to put down her wrench, and missed it twice. "Stupid people taking my arm...gonna have to pay for another..." She grumbled as she started to pick up her foot again.

Suddenly the lift gave a ding.

"Oh that can't be good..."

((Posted by Setie))

Maria stood and shook her head. Boy would be boys and her bodyguards were hyperalert at the best of times. When her XO had told her that Shades had woken up, of course they had the brig under surveillance, She had directed all of her guards to put up their guns unless she told them otherwise. And they had obeyed. Just not without a lot of grumbling. The blue armored bodyguard at her side was doing more than his share.

"Ba'buir, this girl is dangerous. You saw what she did to her own ship." Maria had to grin at the sour note in Cyare's voice. The Mando had been... discouraged wasn't the right word, but something like it. He had worked his way up to be one of the primary guards for Maria's daughter. And then Sara had gone off and gotten guards of her own. Which left Sara's Mando guards with nothing to do. Not a good thing, bored Mandos... Maria had immediately offered them all positions on the Beskad Ordo, even knowing that the extra personnel would jam her small ship to its gunwales. But now, none of them were happy with her. And it wasn't like she could come right out and say what she intended. She wasn't sure herself what she intended to ne honest, just that somehow, some way there was another course for Amarath Shades besides being dagger fodder for a crazed Twilek assassin or booted out the airlock by a beskargam clad foot.

"Of course she is dangerous." Maria replied for the fifth time." She was patient. She knew she was, but this was straining her self control. "She is a prisoner on an unknown ship. How would you react?" She held her gaze on the eyeslit of his helmet until he bowed his head in acknowledgment. "I have some questions for her. Then we can... discuss our options. Ok?"

Cyare nodded, then he turned to face the door of the lift as they arrived on the level with the brig. But when the door opened... His hand immediately darted towards his holster and he moved in front of Ba'buir. Somehow the girl had gotten out of the cell! She was a wreck, wires hanging off of her face and he kicked himself mentally even as he drew a bead center mass. Something about her though... He froze as a click sounded on his com. A hold order... He kept his blaster pointed at the girl and he knew without looking that the other four Mandos in Maria's guard detail had theirs out and trained on Shades too. He would have their chebs for dinner if they didn't. Not that the girl had anywhere to go. The corridor she was in was a straight line port to starboard and then back to the brig. He kept his focus on his target as Maria spoke.

"Amarath Shades, we meet again."

Shades's one eye was wide enough you could have planted the barrel of a gun in it. Mandos...the universe hated her enough to throw her on a mando ship of all ships! Even better it was Gun's ship she was willing to bet! Shades remember that particular mando woman quite well. Blasted schutta had sliced off Shades's old mechanical arm during the kiffar's escape from Coruscant.

She was injured, tired, had a wrench for a weapon, and now 4 mandos were pointing guns at her with another she knew hated her guts apparently in command.

Maybe she should have just let the twi'lek stab her and been done with it.

Instead Shades fixed a big smile on her face, though it gave no illusions that she was very much wishing she was elsewhere right that minute.

"Hi Guns!" She said. Then she was spinning on her heel, the wrench smashing into the turbolift controls and causing the doors to start closing. She doubted it would stop the lot of them. It might slow them down and keep her from getting a blaster bolt to the back of the head though.

"Bye Guns!" She called as she bolted. If the lot knew she was loose anyways, she'd take the vents. They where small enough to cause problems with armored folks. Since she didn't have any thanks to them taking the broken and battered light chest piece she had, she saw no reason not to abuse the advantage.

Good thing she was use to running so much. She just really hoped that one of these days she could stop and take a break. Shades would have killed for a vacation about then!

((Posted by Setie))

Cyare had to admit it. The girl had guts. Maybe not sense, but guts. But his spark of admiration for her did not stop him from planting himself in the closing door. The safety sensors did as they were designed, as they very well better on any ship Maria was captain of, and the doors started to retract. From behind him came a quiet command.

"Alive." Cyare remained where he was to keep the door open as the others surged forward.

"OYA!" Two of the other ran by him to chase Shades. The girl didn't get far. She was tackled after maybe six or eight steps and brought to the floor. She managed one good whack from her wrench before it was knocked out of her hand. The bong of wrench impacting armor was loud in the corridor. Then she was struggling in the grip of two beefy Mando's whose full armor could not hide their amusement as they carried her bodily back to where Maria was stepping out of the lift. Maria shook her head.

"That was dumb. Where did you think you were going?" Maria snapped as she looked hard at Shades and then sighed. Then the older woman reached up and undid her helmet, showing her short grey streaked black hair. "And what have you done to yourself?" Maria shook her head again.

"Let go of me!" Shades snarled as she squirmed, trying to get out of the mando's holds. Stupid armor should have weighted them down a heck of a lot more. Unfortunately her experience with mandos was non-existant. Stupid armor also kept her from getting them to let her go via stomping on feet or the like. Her only having one arm further increased the odds in their favor.

She glared at the guards before looking at Maria. She needed to keep her cool here, though she really wanted to bite all their faces off. "Four fully armed and armored mandos vs. one crappily armed girl lacking an arm and eye? Overkill much?" She snipped.

Shades blinked a bit in surprise when Maria pulled off her helmet. "Thought you were younger." She muttered a moment before shaking herself mentally. She ignored the questions completely. That would have been like surrendering, better to stay on the attack...even if it was just verbal. "Oh wow you mean you guys are alive under that armor? You got latrines built into those too or do you just have to pull the boots off and let it all run out on occasion?"

The entire time she kept squirming, trying to find a way out of the hold on her. She was breathing hard from the small run along with everything else, and of course just waiting for the bolt she knew one of these guys had for her head.

"Sorry Dad...I think I ticked off the wrong people..." She thought to herself even as she wondered if the Jedi would mind Karina inheriting the bank accounts and the responsibility of watching over Ma.

((Posted by Setie))

One of the Mandos holding Shades took offense at her choice of words about beskargam and slapped her on the top of the head. Not hard enough to injure, but hard enough to sting. Before she could react to his loosening his hold, it was secure again. Then the grip tightened.

"You have courage to spare, don't you?" Maria shook her head. "Or stupidity... Not sure which yet." Maria made a hand gesture and the Mandos holding Shades picked her up and carried her back towards the brig. Cyare was right behind Maria.

"Ba'buir..." his voice held worry, and Maria turned to him. She sighed.

"I won't take any more chances, Cyare, but I need some answers." The blue armored form wearing ancient pattern neo-crusader armor -which was anything but ancient, it just looked that way- sighed himself, and resumed his spot at her shoulder. The two followed the guards into the small brig and Maria shook her head again at the damage Shades had done to the cell she had been in. The two guards dropped Shades into the functional cell and activated it. At a gesture from Maria, they exited the room.

"Well... You really did a number on this..." Maria examined the panel Shades had destroyed, then looked as Cyare cursed quietly in Mando'a. Cyare pointed to the surviellance screen and Maria's eyes widened as she saw how Shades had gotten out. She looked at Cyare and motioned towards the door. Cyare stiffened in instant rebellion but the look on Maria's face was enough to make him choose the better part of valor. Mandos were not stupid, they knew when to pick their battles.

"Okay." Maria waited until he was gone and the door hissed shut before speaking again. "You are in a lot of trouble Amarath Shades."

"Ow!...Maker no one has a sense of humor anymore..." Shades grumbled as she got dragged back into a cell after getting smacked. With armor on the hands that hurt like the devil. Even more since Vix had cracked her in the head before.

Gently she rubbed the back of her head as Maria spoke. "I'm in a lot of trouble? I'm sorry is this suppose to be news? Here give me a minute and I might be able to work up the proper amount of worry and panic." Shades stated with dripping sarcasm.

Of course she was in trouble. She was always in trouble. Granted she had a bit more trouble now then she would have liked. She blew up her ship taking a good chunk of armada forces with. Zelkin and his cronies were likely livid with her, then you had the Coalition that likely hated her guts just for starting out on Zelkin's side and not pulling Yinran out of things. Then of course there was Yinran, Vix, Maria herself, and any other number of people Shades had ticked off during her jobs.

They could all get in line as far as she cared. She just wanted to make sure her sister was ok. If she could just get off this blasted ship, or even just to a working comm station...but her one shot had ended very badly.

Great, she only had negotiations left in her arsenal. Asking for anything though put her at Maria's mercy which Shades would rather not right that minute. She was at the mando woman's mercy enough as it was, and mando's certainly were not well known for that.

((Posted by Setie))

Maria grinned. This girl had guts for sure.

"Well, with Vix wanting your blood coating the walls, panic could be excused. But all I want is a few answers." Maria's voice was calm, gentle even, but no one would have dared to call her soft at the moment.

Maria looked at Shades, seeing the disheveled mess that the girl was, the injuries, the fear that she tried so hard to hide and almost managed. She shook her head.

"Actually make that one answer." Maria said slowly. "Would you have killed that little boy on Coruscant? The one you took hostage."

Shades blinked her good eye in confusion for a second while her battered brain pulled up the memory. She'd been trying to get away from a crazy jedi, a rat that liked to swing about on grappling hooks, and a psycho twi'lek. They had her cornered in an apartment building...

She barely managed not to cringe. It was certainly a low point for her and she certainly had not gotten a good night's sleep since then. Then again she'd been a bit busy running about as Zelkin's pet merc. She kept herself busy so as not to bother thinking about it. Busy her mind with blasted force wackos, setting up her ship, getting nicely hammered...anything but thinking about that particular incident.

"What's that got to do with anything?" Shades asked. She was genuinely curious about why Maria was asking that particular question. It seemed an odd and rather small thing given everything else that had happened. Then again Maria had been there for that incident. Not when Shades had shot Karina in the knee, or when she signed on to Zelkin's doom squad, or her train of thoughts as she wired her ship to go automated and explode.

"What is this the lecture? Dancing girl covered that I believe. I'm a horrible monster. How could I do such a terrible things? Scum like me deserve to die. I'm an overgrown thug. Did I miss one?"

((Posted by Setie))

Maria didn't grin. It was hard. This girl... She managed with difficulty to keep her face emotionless.

"I am completely serious, Amarath Shades. You see, after our encounter on Coruscant, I did some research on you. Its amazing what is available on the holonet, if you have the right contacts. I figured it would help me hunt you down and slaughter you. There wasn't much, even less on Kiffar in general. But my research left me with a lot of questions. The only one that concerns you right now, however, is this: Would you have killed the kid? If they hadn't backed off? If one of them had found your mine and deactivated it."

A very important question, seeing as how the Mandalorians felt about children. Seeing as who Maria felt about children, being a mom herself. Maria couldn't have cared less about blowing up a building, she had done worse herself in order to survive combat situations. But endangering, indeed taking a child hostage... That put Shades on a different playing field and if that was the case... There was only one major question if Shades had gone that far wrong.

How long to spend hurting her until Vix came to claim her and kill her.

Maria however was sure that there was a lot more to this girl than the tough as nails hard bitten mercenary that she portrayed to the universe. She hoped so anyways.

"Well, would you have?" Maria leaned forward so she could see Shades sole eye, ignoring the bruises, the burn, the wires hanging loose. All that mattered was Shades answer.

If there was one talent parents everywhere mastered. It was that evil eye stare that made a kid squirm and give up secrets. It always worked, specially if the kid had any actual fear of the person in question. Right that minute Shades was terrified of Maria, for various reasons.

Still Shades scowled in annoyance rather then give in to the fear in her gut. She kept trying to figure out Maria's angle. What did it matter if she would have killed the kid or not? Should she say yes or no? Did it even matter? She was on a ship full of mandos all itching to put a round in her. Even if she had not been wounded and broken she could not have managed to survive that. Still she looked about, just hoping vainly to find some way out of the situation.

Nothing presented itself. The mando woman was being stubborn as a krayt dragon and Shades simply did not have the energy for a head butting match with her. It was either just tell the blasted old bat what she wanted to deal with getting poked about it every minute.

Blast it all she didn't want this junk! She hadn't set out to go threatening kids or anything! She just needed the money for the mountain of bills waiting to get paid off. Her's, Ren's, and still the costs of burying one parent while the other lived on with legs that didn't work. She'd been shouldering the mess for years and blast it she was tired of it! Tired of the trash jobs and always having to look over her shoulder. Was a decent retirement plan that much to ask for? The angry rage at the injustice of her lot in life boiled over and spewed out. Shades didn't even have the energy to stop herself and completely expected Maria to plant a round in her head for it.

"Frakin poodoo throwing....What you wanna know so you can throw it in my face? So you can laugh at the stupid merc girl? Your frackin answer is no! No I wouldn't have killed the damn kid! I was betting that the lot of you wouldn't risk calling me on it! Worked like a charm..."

She growled then and turned herself around so she didn't have to look at the mando and so she didn't have to deal with the ridicules of her self loathing. She'd been called a beast and a monster enough that she could likely recite the whole rant Maria was about to give.

"Amarath Shades is a horrible, evil, and black hearted schutta...what else is new." She asked herself as she scrubbed at her nose. Her eye was burning but she refused to let such a stupid thing as tears happen. Specially not in front of some mando, no matter how much she wanted to.

((Posted by Setie))

Maria looked at Shades, then sighed deeply. She stood suddenly.

"I will be right back." She strode from the brig. As the door closed the sound of raised voices came. And through the air vents came the softer sound of voices, unintelligible, but the tone was... shock?

<Outside>

"Ba'buir... what...?" Cyare froze as maria stopped in her walking and turned to face him. Maria was one of the toughest women he had even met, and that made what he saw utterly unthinkable. She was crying? Cyare snarled. He turned towards the brig, but Maria was there, holding his arm. He stopped in mid stride. She shook her head.

"It wasn't her, Cyare. I..." Maria shook herself, grimacing. She dashed the tears from her eyes and looked him full in the visor. "She is a survivor. She threatened the kid to get us to back off. And I cna see it messed her up as badly as it messed with us."

Cyare stared at her. He hadn't been with her on Coruscant. Her 'detail', the ones who had been there, had all sworn bloody oaths that if Maria happened to somehow miss nailing Shades, that they wouldn't. Blowing up building, hijacking speeders, shooting at people and stealing things, Mandos routinely did that and worse. But endangering kids... If there was no other choice, yeah, they would, reluctantly. Kids died all the time. That didn't make it a good thing when one died. Cyare had nightmares himself occasionally about one that got caught in the crossfire between a group of Mandos he was with and a group of pirates. There hadn't been anything he could have done, the kid was in the wrong place at the wrong time. But the sight of the small lifeless body and the laughing of the pirates as the kid fell had incited the Mandos to the point of bloodlust. They had torn the pirates apart, in one case literally. And now Maria was... What was Maria doing?

"I need to go get some stuff. Don't... don't let anyone hurt her ok?" Cyare was utterly baffled. Maria was NOT a bleeding heart, why was she acting like one? But before he could frame a question, she was gone, hurrying away. Cyare shook himself again, then waved to his cohorts. One took his place and the other hurried after Maria. Cyare himself opened the door to the brig and walked in, taking a position beside the door. His blue armor glistened in the harsh light. he studied the form of the girl in the cell, and something... He shook his head and remained silent.

Shades was surprised when Maria suddenly left. She certainly had not been expecting that.

Still, she took immediate advantage of it. Burying her mouth in the crook of her elbow to muffle the scream that had been building and any sobs then squirmed out of her chest. She'd be panting a bit but at least she would feel somewhat better and not so prone to breaking down completely. She was not about to make herself a target of mockery for the mandos by crying, simpering, or sniveling.

It wasn't much, but she certainly felt steadier when the blue armored mando came in. Shades wasn't sure if she should be grateful it wasn't Maria or annoyed. She was guessing the mando man had been told to make sure she didn't get out of her cell again. She was out of tricks though so it didn't matter anyways.

Deciding to ignore the punk Shades managed to drag herself to the small bed in the cell. She was very tired and hoped sleep might help her some. Unfortunately she kept feeling like she was getting stared at and to make matters worse she couldn't actually tell if she was since the guy in blue had a helmet on. Sure the T was pointed at her but that didn't mean a thing really did it?

So she flipped and flopped telling herself she was imagining things. That visor stayed pointed at her though and she felt irritation start to simmer. Finally with an aggravated growl she catapulted up out of bed. Better to stand and try to look intimidating as she planted her only hand on her hip and glared.

"What are you staring at Blue Bells!?" She snarled in a combative tone.

((Posted by Setie))

Mandos were not, by and large, complicated people. They favored blunt speech and spoke their minds as they wished. After all, those who could argue with them would, those who couldn't, well, who cared? Cyare heard Shades insult but his mind was working fast. There was something about this girl, something strange... It came as much of a shock to Cyare as Shades when he spoke.

"You are pretty."

He froze. That hadn't been what he intended to say, had it? Of course through the armor, it was very hard to tell what he was thinking, for any but Mandos that is. And Shades, never having dealt with Mandos, could be excused for thinking his shock at saying such an unlikely thing was some other emotion all together.

Shades couldn't help when her jaw starting hanging and she looked at the guy like he had lost his mind. She had heard mandalorians were a crazy bunch but her being pretty was way out there. Maybe it was a new torture method? A kind of kill them with kindness deal? There were plenty of kid's holovid's that made Shades want to stab out her eyes after all.

Still what should she say to that? Shades didn't exactly keep the kind of company that went calling her pretty. Not unless they were severely drunk and then she usually punched their lights out. She certainly couldn't do that here.

"Wow been that long since you got some eh?" Shades sneered. "I'm sure we can find a nice desperate hutt for you there Blue Bells."

Sure the comment was crude, mean, and otherwise disgusting. It was also the best verbal lashing she could think of for the guy. What did he think he was pulling saying she was pretty? She was covered in minor wounds, there was wires hanging out of her eye, and she was missing an arm. What in the name of every hookie religion out there was 'pretty' about that!?

It was just an angle, and a weird one at that.

((Posted by Setie))

Cyare was saved from further embarrassing himself as Maria came in, packages in her arms. Cyare looked at her, but Maria just shook her head and motioned towards the door. Cyare stiffened, but when Maria set her packages on the floor, she stood back up with an implacable look on her face.

"Out... Now..." Cyare didn't argue. When Maria got into one of her Mama moods, it was very unwise to argue. Maria watched as he walked out the door. She knew he would guard the outside, just in case of sneak attack by someone or possible further escape attempts by Shades.

As soon as the door had sealed, Maria knelt down beside her pile of packages and started spreading things out. they turned out to be medical supplies. Maria fussed over her selections for a moment, then looked up at Shades.

"Sit down, please." She moved to the panel and deactivated the force field. She picked up a medikit and entered the cell to stand beside Shades.

"I won't ask you to lie down, those have to hurt. I can treat them better if you sit." Maria pointed at the small bed.

Shades glared suspiciously at Maria coming in with med kits, though she did sit down. She was simply become to tired to stand. The last number of days starting to finally catch up with her and drag her down.

"What is this? Some kind of new torture method where your killing me with kindness?" She snipped. It lacked serious bite due to exhaustion but it was an obvious attempt.

Shades had no real experience with mandos. She'd seen some around sure and heard plenty of tales about them. None of the rumors or the ones she had seen really pointed to how these people were acting. Maybe she got the black sheep clan? Maybe they just all liked to pretend to be mandos and really weren't?

"Aren't you people suppose to be shooting me in the head by now?"

((Posted by Setie))

"No." Maria opened the medical kit and started treating Shades wounds. "No one on this ship will shoot you unless you do something dumb. This will sting..."

She probed as gently as she could into one particularly deep wound and pulled a splinter of metal from it before coating it with a bacta spray and sealing it with a bandage. She checked the other wounds as she could find them, tending and covering each as she went. She examined the eye socket and shook her head, that wasn't something for battlefield type medicine.

It took some time, but finally Maria had finished all that she could. The old soldier sat back with a sigh.

"I don't know what is going to come of this. I do know I don't want your life any more. Flarg, I have done worse than you did on Coruscant. To survive... To protect my family..."

For a moment, Maria was far, far away. Then she focused on Shades.

"You need to get some sleep. We can talk after you wake up." Maria stood up, collecting the detritus as she went. She did reactivate the force field though.

And I have some VERY fast talking to do, to a whole lot of people... The Elders, Vix...

She bowed her head as she left the brig. Cyare looked at her, but she didn't acknowledge him, just walked. He shook his head again. Then, leaving one man to guard the door, just in case... He followed Maria with the others.

Shades opted for silence as Maria patched her up. She ground her teeth against the pain as Maria poked, prodded, and sprayed. She almost threw Maria's little speech back in her face. If the old battle axe had done worse she had no place judging Shades. Just like that blasted knife happy worm head.

Oh people just loved to judge Shades and then turn around and be all self righteous about matters. Shades was a schutta and a monster for doing things sure, but at least she didn't try to paint herself like anything else. If you dealt with her you knew exactly who and what you were dealing with. She'd told Helmet point blank she worked for the highest bidder. Wasn't her fault if he didn't understand that family usually out weighed money in value.

"Blast it Karina where the frack are you? Are you ok or did someone stab you in the face that I'm gonna have to hunt down and cut into little pieces while they are still breathing?"

Shades barely managed not to start pestering Maria for a comm unit. The mando woman was right about one thing at least, the kiffar needed rest. Even composing a note to Karina would require Shades to at least not be as cranky as she was. She'd be able to think better after some rest to...even if it did strike Shades as weird the mandos were even allowing it. Prisoners were more fragile when sleep deprived after all.

Then again, Shades didn't understand why they weren't shooting her either, other then Maria had apparently told them not to.

Bah! She'd figure it out when she was rested. Her brain could hardly work well when worn out like it was.

So Shades settled down on the cot. Laid out rather like a corpse at a wake, or a droid for repairs. Her one blue eye closing as she simply shut her body down to rest.

She'd be up soon enough and who knew what that would bring for her.

((Posted by Setie))

<Later>

"Tion'meg te shab gar vaabi?" (Basically: What the F*** are you doing?)

The harsh voice coming from Maria's com only exacerbated her headache. she had known this would be a tough conversation. But she had really had no idea at all. At all. She was a commander of a ship, true, but right now, she faced her clan Elder, well, the video of her clan Elder. And Trava Kalan was not happy.

"Trava... I..." Maria shook her head. She wasn't sure what she was doing. She did know that what she had basically decided to do was dangerous, not the least of which was what would happen if Vix found out. Trava sighed and shifted to Basic.

"I'm sorry Maria." One of the Elders of the clan said slowly. "We have lost a lot of vode in the last few hours. I shouldn't be shouting at you. but... Maria... what is going on?" Maria slumped.

"I don't know." Maria admitted. "I do know that not everything was as we believed about Amarath Shades" Trava snorted.

"What's to know?" Trava demanded. "She is an enemy. You know how we feel about enemies, you feel the exact same way. Don't you?" Maria nodded dubious and Trava looked at her. "What?"

"You know I researched her. To hunt her." Trava nodded in the holo and Maria continued. "It didn't make any sense. She should be rolling in credits as good a slicer as she is, but... shes almost broke according to my sources." Trava sniffed.

"Maybe your sources are wrong." Trava said simply. Maria nodded.

"Maybe." Maria admitted. "Anything is possible. but... I don't think they are. A bunch of things don't make any sense here Trava." Maria sighed. Her research didn't make any sense. "I do think we can use her. We need more techs." Trava stared at her.

"Can we trust her?" The eldr aske dan dthe laughed sourly at her words. Maria snorted in matching laughter and Trava smiled thinly. "Sorry stupid question."

"if this information from Yinran is accurate, she may not have anywhere else to go." Maria said slwoly. "Trava you know about being stuck with bad and worse choices, so do I." Trava nodded manifestly against her will. Trava shook her head. But when she spoke it was thoughtful.

"We will rendezvous in a day or so. When we do, we can talk more. For now... you are covered. But you better have a good explanation when we talk face to face or I am booting her out an airlock." With that Trava cut the connection. Maria relaxed. That had actually gone better than she had expected. Now however...

"Ba'buir have you flipped?" Maria sighed and turned to Cyare. The Mando had stayed in the background, easily visible in case Trava had wanted to talk to him, but silent as his Elders discussed things.

"I don't know Cyare." Maria said sadly. "I do know she is not as she seems." Now Cyare shook his head.

"Then what do you want us to do?" Teh Mando asked soberly. "The crew is getting a bit..." Maria snorted.

"Antsy, yeah..." Maria said with a sigh. "I will talk to them. Do me a favor will you?" Cyare cocked his head at her and she smiled. "Keep the guard at the brig please." Cyare nodded. The crew was as prone as any Mandos to taking matters into their own hands. But none would fight Maria's guards. Not if they had any brains at all anyway. "I have a lot of thinking to do..." The Mando turned to go and Maria spoke again. "And Cyare... thanks."

Cyare tossed her a salute as he left, still perplexed.

Shades shot up to the loud bang of a tool box hitting the floor. In her head she was already reaching out her mechanical arm for her gun, before she remembered she had neither. She did however roll off the bed and come up like she was gonna fire a few rounds into someone.

Blinking her one eye as her fuzzy, half asleep mind kicked in made Shades groan. She had rather been hoping it was all a bad dream and she wasn't actually sitting in a cell on a ship full of angry mandos.

Clangs and other sounds of work in progress sounded as Shades groaned. Was it torture time already?

Curiosity had her peering out her force field. She could barely see a mando in dark green armor working on the cell across from hers. The one she had originally been thrown in. The mando looked over at her and Shades again found herself cursing those helmets. How could you read anything about these people with their helmet's on all the blasted time.

"Well good morning sleepy head." A high voice said, showing that there was a female under that armor. Her tone oozed of sweetness but Shades could hear the message between the lines that stated the mando would rather she was roasting on a spit. "Don't mind me deary, just here fixing what you broke."

Shades snorted in annoyance but decided to keep her mouth shut. She also decided to stay up front. Going back further into her cell would look like retreat, and Shades wasn't about to do that.

The mando girl stared for a minute, or at least Shades thought she did. "You look unbalanced there girlie. Maybe we should..." She made a motion like plucking out an eye.

Shades good intention sitting quiet and passive went up in smoke at that. She was not about to take threats lying down. "Like you could. Can't even make a cell that'll keep prisoners in it."

A sound like an evil chuckle comes from the Mando girl. "Who says it would be ME doing it? And I didn't build this piece of osik. If you had been in one of mine, you would have fried yourself, just like the last idiot who tried to do what you did in here. Took us two days to clean the mess off the walls."

Shades snorted. Who did this girl think she was fooling? Electrocution didn't make a mess that one cleaned off the walls. Explosions did that, and there was no room for grenades or mines in control panels. "Oh really? What's it made of chicken wire?"

Apparently the girl couldn't come up with a good come back from that since she switched and went on the attack. "Why don't you try this panel and find out? Maybe stick those wires in your eye socket in here to jump start your brain?"

Shades managed to keep a feral grin off her face. The girl h ad the advantage that her helmet hid her expression but her comments were slowly degrading, meaning Shades was getting on the nerves. "Well shows what you know since the wires in a control panel are completely incompatible with cybernetic implant wires. What's the matter your helmet pressing your skull against your brain to much for you to come up with a better insult?"

Again the girl changed the topic. Shades had rather expected to get shot at by now. Wasn't it commonly said you never poked the pride of a mando if you wanted to stay breathing?

"You know, you curse quite nicely. Too bad your for the airlock when the elder gets here." The mando girl stated with a chuckle as she closed up the panel.

"Good, cause I thought I'd be cursed with your half baked tin can rear and your cutting lexicon of opprobrium." Shades blinked a bit in mock apology then as she mentally closed in for the kill. "Oh I'm sorry do you need me to use smaller words on that last bit?"

No one liked being called stupid. The more pride one had, the more they disliked it and the more likely they were to say something one could use for ammo in a verbal war.

"Ohh such big words from such a small fry. I can almost become loquacious in my absolute..." The female Mando broke off as the hatch opened and a blue armored form stepped in. Without a word, the Mando girl picked up her tools and headed for the door.

Shades barely managed to keep her pazaak face on. Loquacious...talkative, chatty, big mouthed...

"Yeah your loquacious alright. Your the talk of galaxy with that big mouth and what you can fit in it. How did you manage that with the hutt by the way?"

The mando girl spun back around. Shades swore she was grabbing for a gun. Though the shot would not have gotten far with the force field up. However the blue armored form intervened. Grabbing her and, literally, tossed her out the door before closing it.

Shades was grinning evilly as the blue man came over, the T in the visor pointing at her again. Without anything to guess the guy's thoughts Shades was left with the thought that he was likely glaring daggers at her.

She snorted in annoyance then at him. If she had her mechanical arm she would have it crossed with her normal one right then. "She started it. Kid should know better then to get in a verbal war assuming the other guy's an idiot." She stated. She certainly didn't think she'd done anything wrong...then again the mando guy here might have a different opinion on that.

((Posted by Setie))

Cyare shook his head.

"She may have started it, but if you keep angering everyone you meet, sooner or later someone will put a blaster bolt through that pretty little head of yours."

His voice was dry and unemotional. He had lots of practice acting unemotional. It tended to unnerve people, and that made his jobs easier. Usually anyway. He looked at the repaired panel and smiled a bit under his helmet. This girl was... He wasn't sure what she was, but stupid was not on the list.

She cleaned up well. he had to admit. She wasn't bad looking, if you discounted the wires that still hung from her empty eye socket. And he had seen worse. Prosthetic replacements for lost limbs and such were nothing new. He shook his head, bemused by his own thoughts.

She was an enigma. And enemy, but not one. A prisoner who Ba'buir had treated almost as a daughter. A hardbitten survivor, that was obvious from her wounds and missing limb, but... Something was off about her and he couldn't put his finger on it. It bothered him, but Maria had asked him to do this so he would. He wouldn't fail Maria.

<Elsewhere>

Maria was dreaming. She knew she was. This was a scene she had been part of more than ten years before. She hadn't thought about it in a long time... but seeing the name in the records had brought the memories back full force...

<Ten years previous>

"Are you sure this is the right way?" Maria turned to her husband. When Samuel had decided to visit this world she had followed of course. But this world, Kiffex, was new. it had some attractions sure, but not a lot of navigation tech. Samuel reached over and ruffled her hair. What there was of it. Being a Republic soldier for most of her life had given Maria an aversion to long hairstyles. But now that she had retired, she was letting it grow out, a little. Samuel sighed.

"No." Maria sighed as well. Samuel was many things. Dishonest was not one of them. Again she wondered just how she had managed such a catch. "But... I think I may have a way to fix that..."

Maria stiffened as she saw her husbands gaze travel further up the street. A young human boy was standing beside a rough table, cards laid out on it. Samuel walked up to the table and Maria sighed. So much for a relaxing stroll through another temple. She didn't mind that Samuel was a very religious sort, but... She heard Samuel speak, asking for directions and the boy's arrogant reply about paying. maria shook her head. Her demons were mostly under control, but...

"Excuse me, young man." Maria walked up to the table and the boy recoiled a bit. Maria carefully did not smile. She had a son of her own, and boys were very similar, no matter WHAT planet they were from. "You are going to charge for information? How do we know you are honest?"

Samuel looked at her but Maria kept her eyes on the boy. The boy stared sputtering something but as he did, Maria's hand darted out and caught his sleeve.

"Then I guess this isn't yours?" She held up the card she had pulled out of his sleeve and his face went white. Her head shot up as another voice came.

"Renmon!" The owner of the voice, an average height man with black hair dressed as a lightning farmer, was striding up. "What have I told you about..."

From the way the boy was trying to melt into the wall behind him, Maria guessed this was the boys father. A quick look showed a distinct resemblance. And the look on the boy's face was an exact match for her own son when SHE had caught him up to no good. The man came up and took his son in a firm grip before turning to Maria and Samuel.

"I apologize for my son, my name is Derrick Shades..."

<the present>

Maria sat up. Her eyes stung. It had been so real... she could almost smell her husband... Almost as if he wasn't really dead these five years... Unnoticed, tears started falling.

Blast it, Shades had been hoping it wasn't the same guy in blue armor. How did mandos tell each other apart with all the armor and such? Some super secret code with how they talked or something? Might explain them having their own language.

Even worse he insisted on calling her pretty. It grated and jangled on nerves and pride. Some people took insult to being called a schutta. Shades took it as a compliment since it usually meant she was doing her job properly. She was also honestly use to it, and worse terms applied to her.

She simply didn't know how to handle the term pretty when applied to her. Rather like when the jedi had said thank you to her on her ship before the twi'lek had knocked her out. Pretty had simply never been a word associated with the vocabulary that was Amarath Shades, even if you took out all the derogatory terms there was nothing that was even remotely like the word. Even drunk guys that hit on her on rare occasion didn't call her pretty. Even before the thermal detonator that had take her eye and arm. Now they stayed away at least. After all no one wanted a girl that could crush your skull with one hand.

So she replied to the pretty comment the best way she knew how, with hostility.

"Oh great you again," Shades growled from her spot in front of the force field. "Do I even want to know why you're here again? No wait let me guess. Admiring the view?" she spat with heavy sarcasm.

"Maybe you should get your eyes checked pal cause you much be having vision problem." A nasty smile crept across her face, "Then again maybe your visor broke while you were staring at the pin up girl of the month and polishing the ole gun barrel."

She rather loved making people angry. Was always amusing to watch them rise to the bait and swallow it whole. Plus in this situation it provided hours of entertainment. It wasn't like things could get worse after all.

((Posted by Setie))

Cyare couldn't help it. He laughed.

"Nice one. You sure have your share of courage. If not sense." He shook himself and resumed his post by the door. It would take a lot more than that to make him angry... It was possible, mind you, no one was perfect, but he had managed to keep Sara Kalenath from getting herself killed while living among a colony of Mandos and that had taken some doing... By Manda'lore, he missed her. She was a pipsqueak but had no fear at all in her. Kind of like this Shades character come to think of it...

As he stood he thought about what was going to happen. he was about 50% sure that when the Elder arrived, she would throw Shades out an airlock and hang the consequences. But... why did that bother him? Elder Trava was not a bad person, just pragmatic. So why did he not want to... He shook himself. Time for woolgathering after his shift was done.

Shades scowled in annoyance. She had rather expected a different reaction to her insults. She certainly hadn't expected a compliment and insult rolled together. Then again, she never could lay claim to sense. A sensible person likely would have left her family, what there was left, to drown in their debt.

It was like a challenge now and Shades was struggling with ideas. She'd overheard enough mandos in cantinas. Maybe she could figure out a good insult in their tongue. There had been this guy once being really loud. He had to of been barking curses at this girl...

"Ad slana'pir yaim!" Shades snapped with a grin.

She had no idea if it was good as her current tormentor just stared. Maker she would have killed to rip that blasted armor off him so she could get some facial expressions.

"What?" He asked, as if he was wondering if he heard correctly.

"Yes!" "You heard me." Shades stated trying to look superior. Unfortunately there was a sound that was sounding suspiciously like a snicker from the man. Had she mispronounced something?

The blue armored figure finally burst out laughing. "Whoever told you that was an insult lied to you. You just told your daughter to go home." He explained before he started laughing harder.

"Son of a..." Shades growled and seethed. She had successfully made herself look like a complete moron. Glaring out at him she snarled. "You wanna laugh at me at least come in here so I can smack the smile off your face pansy!"

Blue Bells finally stopped laughing though she could see his shoulder shaking on occasion as if he was suppressing the urge. "You curse quite well."

"Grah! Would you quit that!?" She yelled at him, her patient snapping.

"What?" The blue man said as he tilted his helmeted head to one side.

"That...whole..." Shades waved a hand in the air as she struggled for a word. It wasn't complimenting exactly but neither was it insulting. "Ooohh...just shut up!" She snipped, finally giving up.

((Posted by Setie))