Revenge At Regular Increments

[Milivikal k'Vik]

Dac

Milivikal k'Vik's breath heaved. She was slick with sweat, blood, ink and water. Her hair, cut short, was matted against half her face with Quarren ink and blood. She'd been hesitant to take this assignment. She prefered to hunt the enemy on dry land. There had been an unusual amount of relief after Mili plunged the black carbon-plast blade into the data analysts's heart. It meant she could leave the lower levels of the floating city of Tiderunner Reef. The conditions were made to a comfortable level of heat and, more importantly, humidity for it's mostly Quarren population. To Milivikal it felt like a swamp.

More importantly, it meant she could move on to an assignment where the enemy was more clearly her enemy. Extra-judicial killings of Alliance personel were something of a gray area that she shied away from when possible. The Alliance of Free Planets had been entirely helpful. While Mili felt no particular debt to the organization, she also felt no animosity. It also meant that it could be a setup. This one had enough evidence of the Quarren's traitorous activity that she took the contract.

Her gifts allowed her to navigate the quarters with relative grace. She stepped into the real water fresher, mostly blind from the inky attempt at self defense. k'Vik exhaled sharply when the chilly water shocked her, even though she wore a waterproof body stocking. The shower quickly warmed. Mili let it cleanse the foreign fluids. For the first time since taking this assignment, she drew an almost relaxed breath.

[Milivikal k'Vik]

Milivikal knew that she would have to depart soon. For the moment, the warm water that cascaded over her face was the right amount of stimulus to drive away the loney thoughts. At the start of every outreach to Othniel, she asked the same questions regarding the wherabouts of her former comrades, Aurelias and Estelle. He gave the same response, which was that he could not disclose their whereabouts. Mili had even tried to locate Estelle through Jason Russard, Estelle's father. While not as cold as Othniel, he had stated that he had not seen his daughter in some time, but did say that if he did he would pass along a message. She supposed it was a small kindess.

As for Aurelias, he could keep a low profile in spite of his outsized personality. She had come close once, where a middle manager for an Imperial linked corporation had been killed, along with a "surprisingly" large contingent of security staff. She toured the local dives of the planet, found a witness that lead to nowhere. Kazaar could be sentimental but would not divulge information to a random passer-by. Mili had picked up a tail in the process, and lost the tail over a 25 meter drop.

She turned the water off. Her friends... had they been friends? It mattered not now; they were gone. She was left with a dulling sense of vengance toward Esalis. k'Vik still wanted to retrieve her original lightsaber, certainly, but the urgency had diminished. She had constructed a new weapon. The murder of Imperial agents had grown tiresome, it was bringing her no closer to her goals. Milivikal k'Vik felt a lack of purpose for the first time in several years, and it weighed on her.

First, though, she would have to escape the room she was in, and get off Tiderunner Reef. And Dac. Mili paused at the exit. She heard nothing, and proceeded into the empty corridor.