Dogs of War

[Castor Chumeda Volante]

A riot.

Castor had spent a lot of time as a Sith policing the Empire it seemed and this time he was assigned a partner and the two of them were being sent to stop a small riot that had cropped up. Apparently rebels had stirred up a peaceful crowd and now they were being very violent towards the regular Imperial Police.

Enough that Castor and Aria were being sent in to put a stop to the riot, one way or another.

Sitting in the back of the dropship that was to drop them down, Castor was dressed in typical Sith armour with the mask currently resting on his lap. He looked down at the mask for a few moments before deciding he didn't like the look of it at all and turning it over.

Looking at the other Sith, he figured they still had some time before they arrived so there would be no harm in having some conversation.

"Aria, right?" he raised an eyebrow, "Name's Castor."

He looked out the window of the dropship.

"You ever been on riot duty before?"

He really hoped she had.

@CaesarXI

 

[Aria Vandeen]

It was not a cold shudder, nor was it a worried tremble. It was a scared senseless shaking. She couldn't stop shaking. Every vibration, every creak of the dropship sent daggers up her spine. She could see them, she could see their eyes, the anger, the violence in their souls. Corellia was meant to be "easy", a simple introduction to the life of a Sith, and they had even paired her with a beast, a man, someone capable of taking control. For someone raised to be a warrior, Aria looked and felt like a child.

They had never met, of course. They were too different, from two different Academies, and from two different walks of life. The only thing that connected them were the titles they beheld, but he would never understand; he barely knew her name. His voice cut through the air like a newly sharpened blade through flesh, and her face finally rose to meet his. He was pretty, the son of some famous, rich aristocrat perhaps, or maybe a distant relative of the Emperor: it always seemed as though he had family cropping up everywhere you turned. She was green and sick to her stomach, the daughter of some poor fisherman. Her hair was tied back into a neat ponytail, and she wore tight-fitting robes.

"It's Aria," she finally, shakily replied. "and no, I haven't even stepped foot off Coruscant between the time of my arrival at the Academy and the time of my graduation."

What a mistake, being a Sith Acolyte. It was nothing but charades, but better than being purged. She was quiet for a moment, than a crippling sense dread fell over her. Why was he asking her if she had done this before? Wasn't he meant to be the one with experience? She began to shake a bit more, then choked out a few words. "Do you think they'll just go home if we ask kindly? Maybe we won't have to hurt anyone."

​

 

[Castor Chumeda Volante]

Seemed he had gotten her name right if nothing else.

Still though... she looked to be more nervous than he had expected. He honestly didn't really need her to admit that this was the first time she was facing something like this because her entire demeanour screamed it out for her instead. She looked like she was about to pass out.

Most of the time Castor wouldn't have done anything to stop it either - he really wasn't the kind of guy to do nice things for people. But there was just something about the young woman shaking in fear and nerves that reminded him of something. Stirred a long dormant instinct inside him that hadn't seen the light of day in over ten years now.

Castor remembered that he was a big brother.

"Aria - drink some water." he encouraged her, not unkindly but not as warmly as if she actually was his little sister, "Take deep breathes. In through your nose, hold it for three seconds, and then out through your mouth. Slowly."

He handed her a bottle of water before shaking his head.

"No, this won't end without some form of violence." he told her honestly, "I've seen some riots in the past and I'm going to play it straight with you - they're horrible. But you have to stay strong because if you don't, it'll be you who ends up on the ground and they won't stop when you're down. Gotta look out for yourself. Now... have you got your mask ready? Lightsabers? Blasters? Double check."

It was all about going through the motions.

@CaesarXI

 

[Aria Vandeen]

Why was he being kind? Were Sith not meant to be intimidating, abrasive, or arrogant? She was reminded of the academy, and half expected him to rat her out to the first Lord they saw; it wouldn't be very ironic that way. Aria was quiet for a moment, she peered down at her hands, and watched as she twirled the canteen in such a way that it appeared to be floating on air. It was a reflex, a way to ignore the weapon that was clipped to her belt.

"Lightsabers? Blasters?" she muttered, then slowly returned to face him, "perhaps it's time I try and act like a Sith, and not as a child."

She stopped rotating the water, uncapped it, and then drank it with a stubborn look upon her face. The Acolyte ceased shaking. It seemed as though the water had done its duty, or perhaps it was the adrenaline that was beginning to flow through her veins as the dropship began to slow to a subtle stop. Aria felt a pang of guilt in her heart; she felt terrible about what was about to unfold, but it was what she was trained to do, and it was what she would always have to do. "Ca-" she paused, "I don't want to be a burden down there, Castor, so when we touch the ground, don't worry about me. I can take care of myself, but I can't take of you if you start to focus more on me than the mutinous people in front of us."

​

 

[Castor Chumeda Volante]

She looked confused.

Confused that he was helping her or just confused in general, he didn't know and he didn't much care. The end result was the same - she looked kind of lost and that made him want to help her more. It was a feeling he was actively now trying to clamp down on, deciding that he didn't like the feeling of almost being guilted into giving her more help and advice than he otherwise normally would. It was strange and it was not entirely a foreign feeling.

The fact that it reminded him of when he was younger was one of the reasons he wanted it to stop, even though he knew it didn't work that way. He would need to meditate and focus on blocking those emotions out for the future.

"You're older than me." he noted, slightly amused by this before shaking his head, "But I can see you want to know why I'm helping you. I had a younger sister and right now you remind me of her - sorry to say but this feeling will probably pass before long so you'd do well to take advantage of it now."

Gods knew when he'd next be in a mood this helpful again.

They were beginning to descend now and Castor nodded a little bit to her. He attached his armoured mask and tapped the face plate of it twice.

"Mask up." he told her simply as he stood in the doorway as the drop ship began it's final descent, "If you aren't certain - stay behind me. I'll engage with the crowd directly, you see about protecting me while I do it. Work together and this whole thing can get done a lot quicker - alright let's go."

Stepping off and out of the drop ship, Castor drew his crossguard lightsaber and ignited it, prepared for the worst.

What he saw instead was a group of, what appeared to be, university students sat down in the middle of the road. They had linked their arms together and cuffed themselves together to form an unbroken chain of humanity, just sitting there, holding up traffic as they sang together.

Castor's shoulders sagged.

"Oh no..."

@CaesarXI

 

[Aria Vandeen]

Aria wanted to believe that his attitude and tone was all just an act. She wanted to believe that it was an attempt to get under her skin, and she wanted to believe that it was a selfish attempt to distance himself from the rest of the herd, to prove himself stronger than the rest. However, the tale he told pulled at her heart strings, and in the end, she couldn't help but feel a pang of remorse. "I'm sor-." she stopped herself, "I'm looking forward to serving alongside you. Let's make the best of it."

She looked down once again as he placed on his mask; her mask sat in her lap. It's deep, black eyes peered back at her, and although it looked quite infernal, its cold touch was unnervingly inviting, and the anonymity it offered served as a very necessary break from humanity. When she wore the mask, she could be someone different. No longer was she Aria Vandeen, but instead she was a Sith Acolyte, and she would do her duty. It attached perfectly; its craftsmanship aligning with every ridge it touched.

She reached to grasp his shoulder, but he stepped off the drop ship long before they could connect. She too stepped off their chariot, and the sight they received was none too pretty. To Aria Vandeen, the students in front of them were young and innocent. To a normal a Sith Acolyte, they were traitors.

Traitors had to be eradicated.

@Nefieslab

​

 

[Castor Chumeda Volante]

Castor knew he probably shouldn't have told her about his sister. He probably shouldn't have even really spoken to her but he had. He had fallen into the same trap his baby sister had sprung on him when they were children - that lost little look. The way she looked so lost, so helpless, spoke to that part of himself inside that had never grown up. The part of himself beyond all the layers he had adopted to become a Sith; the part of himself that was still a big brother.

Still, he wasn't going to let himself get sappy - when Sith got sappy, they got sloppy. That was how the saying went at the academy went and he fully believed it. He took a deep breath before nodding to Aria.

"Serve well and don't take any risks." he told her simply, "Remember - the Empire had invested a lot of time, effort and credits into making you the sith you area today. You are an asset to the Empire and the Empire does not risk assets without reward."

And then they were here.

Staring down the 'dangerous riot' they were told they would need to put a stop to. He paused for a moment before reaching up and touching his com link.

"HQ, this is Dagger three. Riot appears to be a peaceful protest by local students - please advise."

He hoped this was a mistake.

They were helping each other eat karking ice cream cones because their arms were in awkward positions for Sith's sake! He couldn't imagine what kind of riot these children could be instigating.

"Dagger three, this is HQ. Can confirm the rioters are the students in the area. Use standard riot protocols to disperse the traitors."

Traitors?

Castor had seen traitors, bomb makers and gunmen and thieves and the like. But these people? These people were just kids trying to effect some change in their world, in their Empire. He swallowed thickly and pulled his com link out of his ear, letting it dangle free for now. Aria had heard the orders just the same as him.

"They... they're kids."

They were Imperial citizens and they were kids.

He didn't take a single step closer.

@CaesarXI