COMMUNITY

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..."

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.

"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 teh 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!

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 looked hard at Shades and 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.

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 hurt. Before she could react to his loosening his hold, it was secure again. but 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 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.

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.

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. 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?"

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.