CHAPTER 7

Blood Ties

Azure – 2 BBY

"A moment."

Nerah stopped her movement again, suppressing an urge to slouch in annoyance, and instead resorted to shutting her eyes and gritting her teeth behind her helmet. While she very much treated Mitth'raw'nuruodo as family in many regards, she had forgotten how slowly he moved in the field, taking multiple stops to observe various environmental anomalies. Trained to always keep her head forward and continue her movement, Thrawn's pauses fought every trained fiber of her being just to grant them.

And she did grant them.

This time Thrawn paused at the entrance to the massive arcology built atop the waves crashing far below them. With its blocky design and less than flattering architecture, Nerah thought it was perhaps the most uninteresting building she had ever seen, ignoring the fact that it was created above water. The Ascendancy had similar, more advanced designs, and as a cadet, water worlds were great training grounds for hazardous combat.

"Admiral…if I may…can I ask why you came and left your death trooper escort back at the spaceport?" she asked the kneeling chiss, wearing the custom armor and helmet created solely for his field operations. "I don't think this is safe for you…even if this is just an intel grab."

Thrawn continued to observe the poorly maintained durasteel doorway, until finally rising to his feet. "I believe you will be all the security I need, Commander, and you are right to trust your instincts. Take for instance, this passageway. At first glance it appears irrelevant, merely an obstacle to pass to gain entry to this building."

Nerah already started to become wary, activating her HUD scanners to get a read on what was in front of her…but found nothing.

"Remove your helmet. I shall take it for now," Thrawn offered a hand.

Nerah hesitated, wondering what she could have missed, but complied, removing the black and red helmet and offered it to Thrawn. Looking again with her infrared-seeing eyes, she took a knee, and then spotted more obvious marks she failed to notice.

"A boot scrape," she pointed to the imprint on the ill flooring. "And behind it…what appears to be the mark of a kneepad."

"Indeed," Thrawn praised. "I believe you can decipher the implication."

She frowned, looking again, only to shake her head. "There is a trap set here…but my scanners would have detected it. Besides, even if it were a laser, we would be able to see it with our naked eyes."

"Unless of course…" Thrawn said, insisting she continued his hint.

What could he see that she couldn't?

"Unless the trap is made to hide from my sensors and our superior vision, but that's nearly impossible."

"Nearly," Thrawn said. "Unless our quarry is familiar with our kind and fully expecting us."

"But that would require an intel leak…which means…" Nerah felt her eyes narrow as she pondered the notion.

"We have a spy in our midst," Thrawn finished for her.

She felt her stomach turn, sweat beginning to emerge even in the cold environment. A spy? On the Chimaera? Impossible, it had to be. No one would ever be able to exist within Thrawn's walls without being noticed or scrutinized by his intense vetting…and this mission was as confidential as Imperial coding went. The encryption was impossible to break, so no one could've possibly tapped their comms and listened—

Unless…

"Then the Admiral already knows we're coming for her," Nerah whispered to herself, but audible enough for Thrawn to hear. "Her spy has already told her everything."

Thrawn's expression did not change, which lead her to believe that he had already suspected or knew of this for some time, and just now confirmed it…all with a trap she couldn't even see. Instead he came to the doorway edge and gestured her to follow. She complied, coming alongside him…and there she saw it, the black emitter letting out not even a speck of light she could see, but an emitter no less.

"X-ray?" Nerah asked, only to receive a slight shake of his head.

"Ultraviolet more likely. There is another at the center," he gestured. "You should be able to disable them with your MAHI."

She nodded, pulling up the holographic gauntlet over her left arm, keying in the disable code, and then waving in the vicinity. The status monitors flashed to clear, and there was a disarming click from the thermal detonators attached.

"Why would they use ultraviolet?" Nerah asked herself, closing down her MAHI. "It's not as efficient as infrared, and its closer wavelength could let anything trigger it."

"Or perhaps one of our quarry can see into the ultraviolet range," Thrawn noted, more as an added point he had already known.

Nerah blinked. "You mean an umbaran? They hardly ever leave their homeworld."

"Not without good reason, yes," Thrawn nodded. "But as I said before, our enemies are fully expecting us."

Even if they were, Nerah was sure they wouldn't expect enough once she found them. She did not take threats against Thrawn kindly, and if they fully intended to assassinate him here, she vowed to kill them all.

Her anger spiked, revealing itself in the form of a scowl across her expression, only alleviated when Thrawn offered her helmet back.

"This is not the time for bloodlust, Nerah," he warned. "There will be more traps along the way, and you will need your wits clear to spot them. Understood?"

She met his gaze, trying to hide the worry she felt for him, but eventually let that determination she felt before seep back into her heart. This was what she was made to do: to serve and protect her Admiral at any cost, and to destroy any threat to him or the Empire with extreme prejudice.

As she accepted her helmet, her mind was fixed on doing just that.

"Understood."

"Traps are falling off the grid."

Nara turned from her observation seat, her boots propped up on the computer dash in nonchalant fashion. It had been several hours since they had finished setting up their ambush for this super soldier, and by now she had begun to think they would never show. Losing traps didn't really mean anything but considering the intricacies of each one…it would take a bright mind to overcome all of them without being blown to pieces.

"Still working on comm feeds," Banshee relayed, still working at a circuit board connected to the camera controls. "It's a wonder this place still has any security at all."

"Explains how we were able to just walk in," Nara said, looking back to the blasted custodian droid that was long non-functional, and then turned in her chair fully, pulling her legs down. "But that just means our friend will have just as easy of a time."

"Assuming she is as good," Banshee quipped, banging her fist against the machine, only to get no response. "Are your people any better than humans?"

Nara took a moment to realize she was talking to her. "Depends. We're certainly better looking, cleaner, smarter, more sophisticated—"

"I mean physically, and minus the terrible jests," Banshee bit out.

The Mandalorian shrugged. "Nothing overly meaningful. We can see into the infrared and have sharper hearing…nothing major."

"Both of those things can be serious advantages," Wraith warned, chastising her certainly inflated carelessness. "Having sharper hearing can be the very thing that saves you from an invisible enemy."

"I was kidding," Nara bit back, not putting up with his tone. "If she was a chiss commando like me, then she's trained in our martial style," she almost told him how it worked…but then decided against it. He or Banshee not knowing how she fought could be useful…should they ever turn on her. Wraith she wasn't worried about…but Banshee…

Something about her was wrong. Wraith came off as a seasoned mercenary engaging in just another mission, but Banshee was more like an animal on a leash, and he was the handler. Nara didn't like her chances in a fight against either of them, but that didn't mean she couldn't retreat. Mandalorians didn't run from a fight, but a strategic retreat was never frowned upon, even if she did bend the term slightly.

It was really just a fancy way of saying running for her life.

"That doesn't tell me much, other than the fact that I'll have to expect something new," Wraith said, turning his optics from his display highlighting all the active traps around the arcology. "Last time I fought her, she was quite proficient in various tumbling techniques, ground combat instead of boxing."

Nara felt the blood from her face drain a little. That was exactly what Nara had been trained in…to the letter, but she stuffed the thought away immediately.

"It depends on the House," Nara confirmed, feeling her fingers tingle a little more with anxiety. "They all have their preferences."

There was a slap and buzz from where Banshee was working. "Got it," she announced, just as an influx of light was added to the room from the surveillance screens. Nara and Wraith both rushed to her, eager to get a visual on their visitor. She continued working the controls, swiping through multiple feeds until…

Nara trembled.

"Grand Admiral Thrawn," Wraith recognized in the feed, showing the armored chiss pacing just behind their target, whose helmet concealed their face. "With one escort?"

"Too easy," Banshee almost chuckled. "We can bag the Grand Admiral too."

Wraith shook his head. "I don't believe it. No way he took this risk without thinking he would absolutely come out on top."

"He always comes out on top," Nara warned, her voice uneasy as she felt her arm shake uncontrollably. "Always."

"Well, he hasn't met me yet," Banshee cracked her knuckles, seemingly ignoring her silent plea. "Whatever he has up his sleeve, I'll be ready for it."

Nara's fist clenched so tightly she felt her bones pop, and then slammed it into the nearby dash. The sound had both Wraith and Banshee turning to her, letting the red visor she bore hound them with her internal, fiery rage.

"Both of you are fucking idiots," she cursed. "We should scrub this mission and butt out while we can."

Banshee scoffed. "Running from a fight? Not very Mandalorian."

"I'm a pragmatist before I'm a Mandalorian," she countered. "And I can tell you both this right now…this will not go the way you think. You can't just punch your way through Mitth'raw'nuruodo, even less so if he has someone like you watching his back."

She almost bit her tongue after saying the man's full name out of reflex, but decided that her companions were going to be suspicious of her loyalty to them regardless.

Like she cared anyway.

"Running isn't an option," Wraith made clear. "And before you say you can do whatever you please, may I remind you that we're your only way off this rock, not to mention the near certainty that the Empire will be swarming this place sometime soon."

Nara scowled behind her helmet at his fair points, wishing he would just burn up where he stood. "Fine."

Wraith inclined his head. "Get your blaster handy. Let's see if we can change the game."

Change the game…Thrawn will just change it back.

She felt so helpless; forced to virtually fend for herself with a couple of maniacs with death wishes, devoid of all common sense. The presence of Thrawn was bad enough, but there was a far more sinister implication his appearance brought with him.

I…I really hope it's not you in there.

One way or another, whether she liked it or not, she was going to find out who was behind that helmet.

Nerah walks with knees bent, elbows locked and optics forward. Her fingers lay loose against the handle of her rifle, one looped stiffly around the trigger. Her boots leave no sound, no marker, keeping her presence hidden from her predators.

She stops, her neck arching forward as she examines the next room, closing her fist.

"Someone is here," Nerah whispered. Her voice holds caution…perhaps anticipation.

"They will come to you, Nerah," Thrawn reminded her. "Allow me to enter first."

Nerah turns. "What?" she shouts at low volume, her voice holding perhaps outrage…perhaps anxiety. "They want you out in the open."

"I know, Nerah," Thrawn said. "Ch'ah cart ch'tra tut etah cavrcah."

Nerah's trembling ceases, and her response holds…understanding.

"Etah csarcican't nah ch'itocet vah," she vowed.

"What in blazes did they just say?" Banshee's impatient voice chimed through their comm, only to fall upon rather purposeful deaf ears in the form of Nara.

I am going to draw them out.

They will not hurt you.

That was Cheunh alright, and Nara understood every word to the letter, but believing it was another story.

It was what was said in Basic that had her shell shocked.

Wait right here for me…I'll see you on the other side.

"Nerah…" Nara repeated, her voice nothing but a breath. "No…not Nerah…"

"Why not her?" Wraith asked. "What did they say?"

Nara was about to respond, but down below, Thrawn began to walk out in front, approaching the center of the tall hallway. Wraith was not far from where Nara was situated, but Banshee was across the hall, balancing atop the roof support with her rifle in the sniper configuration.

"I've got a shot. I'm going to take it," Banshee said.

"No!" Nara protested, her heart leaping into her throat in a state of panic. "Don't kill him!"

"Do you have any idea how many battles we can win by taking him out here?" Wraith argued. "Banshee, ignore her. Take the shot."

Nara desperately tried to find an excuse to keep him from being shot dead where he stood, but she couldn't think of anything that would satisfy them. Thrawn may be an Imperial now…but that didn't mean he deserved death…not with all he was…not with what he represented for her people.

What would Bo Katan do?

Never kill an enemy if they still have something to offer.

Her eyes widened. "If you kill him, you lose your only link to the Ascendancy's Project Sunstorm. He was there when it began, and unless you want to navigate the Chaos around my home sector, you'll never find what you're looking for."

Silence followed, and Banshee's rifle hadn't blared with a blaster bolt yet. Her words were literally buying Thrawn more seconds of life…until their response came through.

"If that's the case, then you're all we need. Kill him Banshee," Wraith ordered.

"With pleasure."

And just like that, she fired…forcing Nara to watch the bolt travel in dread-riddled despair.

A reflective energy shield appeared out of thin air around Thrawn, harmlessly ricocheting the bolt directly back where it came from. It slammed into Banshee's rifle, her cry in alarm echoing through the hall as she lost her balance, plummeting three stories down until her repulsor boots kicked in, saving her legs from certainly suffering a sickening snap.

"Banshee!" Wraith called out, only to have an explosive round slam into the perch beneath him, prompting him to fall a shorter distance. His reaction time was astounding, rolling off the explosion and flipping off the pillar beside him, activating his own repulsors and landing on two feet, fists raised.

"Where did that come from?" she mumbled to herself…and that's when her ears perked up.

"Right here, sister."

Nara whirled around only to see two frightening optics as a powerful body tackled her, sending the two of them careening over the edge. Bewildered, Nara activated her pack on instinct, and they both rocketed across the open hall to the other ledge, rolling over the floor chest to chest in fits of struggle and rage. In the next instant, she was thrown into an abandoned concession stand, shattering glass and rolling through the piles of broken, rotten wood.

So it is you…

She expected to feel regret…but all she felt was hate.

"Fucking bitch!" Nara screamed, unleashing the full might of her flamethrower upon Nerah, forcing her back. "Get away from me!"

Nerah roared after her roll, landing two precise shots with a holdout blaster that dinged against her beskar armor, but the impact was enough to stun her out of her attack. Her sister charged forward with a roar, throwing the first punch that missed, but buried itself deep into the soft drywall where her head once was. Nara kicked in retaliation, only to have her leg meet a prepared shin and force her to duck under a clothesline sweep. With the miss, Nara winded up and swung with all her might.

Her wrist was caught in a frighteningly strong grip, and Nara felt herself instantly overpowered as the beskar protected her from the crushing damage. The pressure was there, however, and Nerah's other hand was quickly around her neck, lifting her off her feet with ease. She gasped, but no air came, and all she saw as she looked down was those soulless, red optics.

"The Iron Demon," Thrawn said, maintaining a poised stance with his arms clasped behind his back. "That is your rebel alias, is it not?"

Wraith had no words prepared for Grand Admiral Thrawn, nor did he ever specialize in them in the first place…but an opponent like this required a deft hand, not to mention a sharp and attentive mind. His engagements with the chiss had been limited to say the least, but he certainly knew him. It was hard not to being the prime agent of Fulcrum, the information broker systematically leaking every secret the Empire had to offer.

It just also happened to be that woman was also the love of his life…even if their paths had been forced to…diverge at times.

He forced himself back into the moment, keeping his free hand next to his holstered blaster. He dared to afford Banshee a look, only to see she was still down, collecting herself from her immensely dangerous fall.
"That shield won't do you much good against my fists," Wraith noted, letting his fingers twitch. "I'll applaud your boldness at least."

Thrawn revealed absolutely nothing in his movements. "A calculated one is the more precise term. It is a rare honor to witness one of your kind face to face, as I have discovered. Separatist records are rather limited on your activities, similarly for your associate," he gestured towards Banshee. "I do not intend to extend this visit however, as I have already gained the knowledge I seek. This quarrel, as it turns out, is rather unnecessary."

Unnecessary?

"I don't know if you never learned to count, but there are two of us and one of you, and honestly, you're not even worth half," Wraith noted.

"A truthful assessment," Thrawn granted. "But a warrior is never out of options until all his cards are played."

He was just…sitting there. It took all his restraint just to keep himself from leaping towards him and ending this now, but something was off. Thrawn just…wouldn't do this. It didn't make any sense…unless…

Unless that was the point.

Too late, loud metal feet landed around him just as Banshee rose to her feet, and the metallic black and red silhouettes of exosuits fell into their stances around him. He growled, reaching for his hilt and igniting the fiery blade in a ready stance.

Dark troopers.

On cue, green and blue blades ignite from the spot in which Banshee had occupied, and he turned to see her standing tall, her gauntlet prepared.

"That's all you brought?" she asked, chuckling slightly. "I'm going to enjoy slaughtering you all."

"That remains to be seen," Thrawn remarked, and then turned away, pacing towards the exit without any regard for the coming battle. "You may begin."

"Traitor!" Nerah shouted, her voice augmented through her helmet as Nara continued to stare down at her. Her vision was beginning to tunnel, a slow, black wave inching itself closed and condemning her to oblivion. Usually by now someone else would've helped her free…but there would be no help this time around.

She had to think for herself.

Flicking her wrist, Nara's wrist launcher activated and fired multiple tiny rockets that whistled around and searched for their target. Careening into Nerah, her armor took the blunt of their blasts, but it was plenty to force her to release her opponent. Sucking in a healthy breath, Nara tackled her sister and began to tumble, trying to enforce her will upon the much stronger woman with technique and leverage. Nerah was quick to recover, but by the time she had, Nara had utilized her flexible form to the fullest, pinning the woman against the floor with her knees against her upper arms. With the super soldier's elbows out of commission, her strength was virtually useless with poor leverage, and Nara tried desperately to pull Nerah's helmet free.

Nerah's legs kicked up, slamming her thighs into Nara's back as she struggled, more of a desperate move to knock her off balance, but she was too secure…and finally was able to force the helmet off.

Even if she had already known it was her sister, Nara still froze. It was her face…the same dark blue pigment and jet-black hair. The same beautiful red streaks that ran down her cheekbones…and the small sliver highlights under her glowing eyes.

Eyes that burned with nothing but hatred.

"Nerah…it's me!" Nara called out. "Your sister!"

"I know it's you!" she screamed, and with nothing but raw, unmatched strength, she forced her arm free and shoved her into a roll, forcing Nara to vault back to her feet with fists raised. To her surprise, Nerah did not attack immediately, but she gave no indication of ceasing her hostility. "Bloodless, houseless cur!" she spat. "I'm going to kill you!"

Those words sunk deeper into her heart than any blade ever could…words she never thought her sister would ever utter. With a swallow, Nara removed her own helmet and tossed it aside, still keeping her stance in form.

"The Empire, Nerah?" Nara asked, allowing her disappointment to show. "Really?"

"At least I stand for something!" Nerah spat back, slowly circling her as Nara mirrored the movement. "You're nothing but an aimless tocen who sells herself for the pleasure of others."

Nara's upper lip twitched as her fist clenched. "I did what I had to do to survive!"

"You left me!" Nerah stepped forward, making Nara rear back. "You left all of us!"

"I was nothing to them already!" Nara countered, all the frustration and anger she had buried when she became a Mandalorian bubbling back up to the surface. "I had no choice, Nerah…I didn't want to run away from you."

"Save your excuses!" Nerah flipped out her blaster and fired again, but this time Nara was ready, rolling out of the way fast enough to avoid her shots, especially prudent with her head now exposed. "You betrayed your own family…abandoned your own people, and there is nothing that will stop me from doing what needs to be done!"

Nara fired back with her wrist blaster, the twin yellow bolts tearing through the air and knocking the blaster from her sister's grip, but not before one of her shots slammed into her beskar chest. She gasped from the impact, and in an instant, Nerah's forearm was pressed against her, pinning her to the wall in a hail of dust…and felt the cold feeling of a barrel pressed up against the bottom of her chin.

For a moment, cold, shivering fear tore through Nara as the reality set in. She was going to die…and it would be her own sister who would end her life. Just like that, all that training, all that time spent trying to find herself would come to an unceremonious end, leaving Bo Katan without a blaster to watch her back…an Alhara without the gentler hand she desperately needed. Everything flashed before her, all the people her death would touch…how it would ruin them…how it would bring some of them pleasure, only to forget about her in time. She would die alone…uncared for, unloved…unappreciated.

It was only then that she realized she was still alive.

Nerah's teeth were grit, brow slanted…but her eyes betrayed it all. She had seen those same eyes once before…the ones she saw the last time she hugged her beloved twin sister, before watching her leave into that facility, guided by a fireteam of commandos. Nerah had tried to be strong then…but it was all a lie, a façade to hide her crazed fear for what was about to happen…the unknown side effects of the experiment she had been chosen for. Nara had never felt such fear before in her entire life, and still to this day, nothing had ever surpassed it…even when staring death right into its black oblivion.

And just like that, she was released…and Nerah was gone.

With her heart beating and adrenaline skyrocketing, Nara's fight or flight tried to dissipate, and it came in the form of rushing tears down her face.

Nerah…I'm so sorry.

Wraith hardly ever let out cries of alarm, and that went double for flying through the air and sliding across the floor. The servos for the dark trooper's exosuit creaked and whined as they slowly advanced upon him, reaching down to continue his flight as a ragdoll. Wraith grasped the metal hand, pushing back against it with all his might, which was enough to elicit screams from the trooper's systems in desperate retaliation. Their free hand cranked back, and in a slick move, Wraith rolled out from under them, forcing the trooper into a clumsy fall, and then sunk his knife deep into the crevice he has spotted around the neck area. There was a gurgled cry, and blood began to seep from the slit, leaving the trooper to fall dead along with its pilot.

With the last of his quarry dispatched, he flashed a look to Banshee, who was finishing up her own committee, and then locked eyes on Thrawn. The chiss was standing to the side, observing from a distance as the dark troopers were being dispatched, looking as oblivious as ever.

He took his chance.

Breaking into a blindingly quick sprint, he leapt toward the admiral, his quarry not even bothering to move as he flew through the air for a quick takedown.

When he reached him, he passed through like nothing was there.

Grumbling to himself as he landed on both feet, he turned to see Thrawn facing him and inclining his head. "It has been a pleasure watching you work, Iron Demon. Here's hoping this visit is not condemned to be our last," he said via the hologram, and then disappeared.

Banshee roared as the final dark trooper fell, perforating his body with her gauntlet sabers in a fit of rage. "He played us!"

He had no words to sate her rage…as there weren't any to be said…but a thought occurred to him. Pacing to where the hologram had existed, he found the self-destructed projector, but the bits and pieces were plenty for him to confirm his finding as Banshee worked out her anger.

"He said he already had what he wanted," Wraith recalled. "This was just a feint to buy him time."

Banshee finally extinguished her blades. "Time for what?"

There was nothing on Azure…nothing but…

"The safehouse," he almost gasped. "Come on!"

He broke off into a run, but in the next moment he was holding off a body that had landed atop him, legs securing themselves around his neck, and then was forced to catch the blade-holding fist that came down. Wraith grunted, the strength behind the arm on par with his own, but to his luck, his assailant wasn't making any progress, and by then Banshee had finally taken the hint. The body atop him was wrested off, but the legs held firm, and Wraith tried all he could to pull them apart, but his leverage wasn't good enough, forced to fall down with her. The impact freed him anyhow, and he was back on his feet in time to see Banshee kick her away and unleash the full power of her shriekburst sonic emitter.

Nerah took the blaring soundwave in full, enough to bring her to her knees until Banshee finally ceased the attack, leaving the woman stunned for the moment. Smelling blood, he and Banshee both advanced.

In the next instant, Nerah had her own arm raised and unleashed her own burst, this one catching them both unawares and would've diminished Wraith's hearing to a constant ring if it weren't for his helmet's seals kicking in.

"You won't stop him," Nerah vowed. "It's already too late."

"It's not too late for me to tear you to pieces," Banshee ignited her forearm blades with a clench of her fist. "I'll make sure every bone in your body faces the same punishment."

"We don't have time for this!" Wraith grabbed ahold of her arm. "Get back to the safehouse. I'll hold her off."

His companion seemed none too pleased, but her common sense kicked in, and she reluctantly deactivated her blade, beginning to sprint back the way they came.

That left just Wraith and Nerah.

"You're outdated, solider," Nerah said, reaching for the back of her belt. "The Empire cannot tolerate your existence any longer."

Wraith activated the magnetic electrode in his glove, and the hilt of his blade zipped from the ground and back to his hand. "The Empire doesn't have a choice…you don't have a choice," he declared, letting the blade turn alight with its sparkling, orange blaze. "I was created to enforce the principles of the Separatist Alliance upon the galaxy. The Empire violates each and every one of those principles…that is what I stand for," he twirled his blade, pointing it her way. "What do you stand for?"

Nerah revealed her own crude hilt, and with a snap of her wrist, the blade ignited into a dark blue glow, its curve reminiscent of the infamous Darksaber that Wraith recalled so vividly. The chiss fell into a stance, angling her blade just beside her helmet, and planted.

"Posterity," she answered.

They stared, frozen for a long moment, each tightening their grips upon their respective weapons. He could feel Nerah's commitment and dedication to the Empire in her words…and her actions suggested an unfaltering spirit, one willing to lay down her life for the man she protected.

In that regard, he found respect, but there was no escaping the truth. This woman had to be stopped.

With that, they charged.

Thrawn was already exiting the safehouse by the time Nara's flight had caught up to him, handing off a device she couldn't recognize to a pair of death troopers. They seemed to quickly take note of her jetpack's residual noise and raised their blasters, only to have Thrawn wave them off and hold their fire.

Good choice. She had no quarrel with him.

Landing at the end of the misty walkway with the water crashing far below them, she kept her hands on her blasters as their rifles remained trained on her. Thrawn never blinked, regarding her as if her appearance were expected…which hardly surprised her at all.

"Take the device to the shuttle and back to the Chimaera," he gestured to them, handing off the dark brown cube-shaped device. "She will do no harm to me. I will join you shortly."

Neither of them budged, keeping to their classic stoic demeanor. Nara let her fingertips brush against the handle…waiting for the excuse.

"That is an order, Captain," Thrawn reiterated, his voice cool, yet final…and this time, successful. Accepting the device, they both turned on their heels, jogging back to their shuttle. "You must forgive their caution, Vigan'ara," Thrawn kept his stance, while Nara lowered her hands. "The sign of Clan Kryze indicates an enemy of the Empire."

"I know," Nara said, raising her voice over the wind. "I'm not here to stop you…just to ask a question."

Thrawn studied her, and she felt that chill down her spine that always came with his gaze. He had no reason to accept her request, and with her rather self-destructive mentality at this moment, she hardly cared if a sharpshooter put her out of her misery right now. In that, she slowly removed her helmet, revealing her chiss features: her darker blue pigment of skin and feminine crimson eyes, as well as the small red tattoos placed on her chin and both sides of her temple. Keeping her helmet at her side, she let her hair blow in the wind as she looked to him, trying to search for that same comfort he had once given her all those years ago…in his own way.

A deserter from a cursed house…why would he even consider it?

"As a favor to Admiral Ar'alani…you may ask one. Any more will raise suspicion and compromise us both," he approved.

Not out of the kindness of his heart, then.

She swallowed. "Is Nerah still…my sister?"

Thrawn processed the question for a moment, but other than that, Nara had no idea what was going through his mind. "If you are asking whether or not the experiment changed her…it did not," he answered.

So that was why she was still alive now to even ask this question. Her sister was still her sister…and she still wanted to kill her. She had no idea if that made her feel better or worse.

"Watch over her…please," she begged, bowing her head. "I-I know I don't deserve anything from you, but—"

"You are more valuable to the Ascendancy than you realize," Thrawn interrupted. "Your crimes may be considerable, but your benefit could potentially tip the scale…however that portion will depend on you."

Depend on me?

She looked to him with confusion, but he offered no explanation.

"Now, return your helmet to your head if you please," he said.

Seeing no harm, she complied. "Okay. And then?"

He keyed his comm, and in the next moment, her beskar was slammed into from the side by a high caliber bolt, the impact plenty to knock her off balance and over the edge of the walkway. Careening into the drink below, she knew she should've expected as much.

Sneaky bastard.

Their duel took them around the entire arcology, blades whistling and crashing together, sometimes knocked from their grip only to be retrieved after another bout. Nerah maintained her strength, leverage and unfamiliar technique in hopes of catching her opponent off guard, but it was becoming apparent that Wraith had no interest in falling for petty tricks an unfamiliarity. If she were going to beat him, she would just have to be better, and she knew for a fact that she could.

He favors careful tactics at first before advancing into overwhelming strength.

Nerah mentally checked off another part of Thrawn's list he had given her to study before their mission, just as Wraith began to turn it on, utilizing his superior height to bear down upon him. So far his advice had been perfect, allowing her to predict his movements and adjustments almost to the letter. Sliding by another swing, she pulled her wrist up and slashed into his shoulder, that mark only catching armor, but doing enough to get the reaction she needed. He tried to compensate with a mark of his own, but overcommitted, and allowed her to land a lightning-quick punch to his lower jaw. The power behind it was plenty to stumble him backwards, breaking the seals on his left ear, and she advanced, slashing heavily for the killing bisection.

Only this time she overcommitted, and he caught her wrists with one hand and shoved her aside, buying him enough space to retrieve his balance. Slashing at her back, she pulled her arms overhead and blocked the cut with her blade, and then exchanged two more parries that resulted in his boot against her chest and her back to the floor. He leapt, driving his blade down for the killing blow, but she rolled away, the flooring in which she once was burning away as it cut in.

Switching tactics, she kicked at his knee, only to see it hold firm, but her follow-up kick hit home, and she heart the slight crack of his leg giving out. He groaned, blocking her third kick as she spun back to her feet, and then held off the overhead swing she brought down upon him.

As the blades clashed, they illuminated his helmet, her strength beginning to win out with one of his legs virtually useless for the moment. She pressed harder, and finally his own blade began to cut into his helmet, and a deep scream in pain followed.

Followed by a roar.

He pushed her blade off with more strength than she was ready for, and then as if his knee had healed in that instant, he planted his foot and landed a hard, concussion-potential punch to her helmet. It cracked, her optics useless and head spinning, and only the shattered piece allowed her to see the second fist that knocked the helmet right from her head and her back to the floor. Her hilt rattled from her grip, and still her mind was not in the fight enough to stop the boot that crushed her elbow.

The scream she emitted was the loudest she'd ever heard. Excruciating pain blazed her entire arm, and if it wasn't for the built-in section seals and armor protection, she imagined he could've severed her forearm completely free. He stood over her for a moment, pulling his foot away from where he had stepped, having all the looks of a triumphant combatant. For all intents and purposes of a regular encounter, he was.

But Nerah was far from out of tricks.

Whimpering from the extreme pain, she gritted her teeth, meeting him with a fiery gaze of continued willpower…and then opened his hand to reach for her neck.

Perfect.

In a blindingly quick movement, her holdout blaster was in her good hand and fired, the bolt tearing through the one part of his armor not protected by armor.

His glove.

He cried out in pain, a fresh hole through his hand as she took the initiative, sweeping his legs out from under him and securing one leg around his neck, pulling the latch closer with her one good arm. The maneuver was enough to pin him down just long enough for her to flip over his body and back to her feet, regaining her hilt in the process. When she turned, he had risen again, unable to use one hand entirely, similarly to herself.

The adrenaline was doing much to soften her pain, but it was beginning to mount, and she was unsure how much longer she could continue before he finally killed her.

If a last resort should ever be required, you may attempt to throw him off balance with this simple fact.

She blinked, her vision beginning to haze from her head impact…and she was beyond certain that this situation qualified.

"Fulcrum," she said, regarding him intently. "When I'm done with you…she's next."

He was as still as she'd ever seen him.

He will react most certainly without denial and attack within the next three seconds. If you are not quick enough, you will be dead within moments, but if you are…

Wraith charged forward.

…he will dig his own grave.

He slashed towards her useless arm, and Nerah's repulsors activated with her jump, clearing his swing as her shriekburst blared his ears…the left seal she damaged earlier unable to protect him. Stunned as she landed on both feet, she kicked him square in the back…straight into a ticking thermal detonator.

The blast hit home, torching his armor and sending him falling into the hole it created beneath. Wind and sunlight rushed into the room, and Nerah crawled to watch the splash that was his body into the ocean.

Finally, she breathed, letting the cool air brush up against her face, and activated her homing beacon for pickup.

Sword of Shili – 2 BBY

Nara had combed the skies for Wraith's signal, and as it turned out, her not-so-lucky trip into the water had actually saved him from near hypothermia, as she was able to retrieve him from clinging to a support pillar just above the water's cold embrace. His suit had been breached in multiple places from some kind of explosion, but to her surprise, he looked hardly beaten…almost as if surviving a hundred-foot drop into the freezing ocean was just another day.

It probably was.

Pulling his patched hand from his on-board medical droid, Nara watched him with arms crossed…only one burning question in her mind.

"My sister better not be dead," she warned, only earning a scowl from him.

"I broke her arm," he shrugged. "Other than that, she made it out much better off than I did."

Nara figured she'd have to settle for his freezing cold predicament as revenge for harming her sister. "Well, you're welcome, but no offense, I hope I never see you again."

"None taken," Wraith accepted, glowering to himself. "The feeling is mutual. Besides, I've got more important things to focus on," he said, rising to his feet and pulling over his jacket.

"Yeah?" she asked. "What's that?"

He passed her by without another look. "None of your damn business."

She chuckled at that, darkly, feeling no pleasure at all from perhaps the worst assignment she had ever taken part in…such as every assignment went when pitted against Mitth'raw'nuruodo.

Trying to make herself laugh over the trauma failed just as quickly as she tried it, and before long she felt her throat tighten, eyes water, and an uncontrollable desire to be beside Bo Katan once again.

She did this for closure…and all she discovered was pain.

Chimaera– 2 BBY

Nerah floated peacefully in her bacta tank, feeling the sweet relief it had brought to her shattered bones and broken body. She tried to find serenity in that physical mending…tried to push back all the hatred she had unleashed, only to feel it resonate within her beating heart.

At least the bacta washed away the tears that never stopped falling.

Nara…I'm so sorry.