"Thicker then water" (Invite, Myself, T.J, arm514ve )

[Thecomicbookbroad]

The streets are crowded.

People swarm the square like busy insects and suddenly ;

they fall away, breaking from the center.

You would think death was contagious.

They avoid hints of it, like its dark visage spreads and multiplies through osmosis.

The epicenter makes itself known as the masses speak in hurried whispers, disbelief, "what happened?" 's and quiet panic.

A man has fallen, he seeps from the head and a woman screams, a baby at her chest and his limp body in her arms.

Another hits the ground; this one alive, this one, this time is at the hands of police.

Its a young woman, she wreathes and struggles, kicking and lashing out as two men in uniform force her physically to relent, Her shirt is pulled up above her stomach from resistance and her canines tear at one of the officer’s forearms.

They pull her away from the gawking audience, torn between their double feature and the girl; a Zabrak with a thorny crown and fierce eyes like molten gold shouts to them.

“ You all saw! “ She cries, the mother’s sorrowful moans mix with the murderer’s fury in a duet of anguish and fear.

“You all saw and you know what? You did nothing!”




Evie sat in the gloom of magic hour. She had been awake several minutes but had stayed, slouched at the foot of her bed with the memory replaying, looping into a mesh of regret. With a sigh she lay her face in her hands, gently massaging her fingers up and musing her thick hair in surrender.

Standing stiffly she made her way to the mirror across the room and began to ready herself for the day.

Her stomach lightly gurgled at the realization it was aboard a ship, however stationary.

Lifting up her tight ,white night shirt, she examined her back in the reflective surface. The wounds from her training in the guild were still visible, but healing nicely.

After she had outfitted herself and tied back her hair she was startled.

“Eecia…” she grinned ruefully at her own likeness. Letting her locks fall around her shoulders she relaxed.

“I’m sorry…”

A picture flashed across her mind's eye of her twin, her hair pulled tight and tidy, in her CorSec uniform and the warm ember of her eyes alight,

“I can only help you so many times before its hurting you.”

The words hung in the air as Stasha took her leave.

She zipped her top up to her collar bone as she made her way to the Jericho’s front.

Her first bounty would be her last encounter with her Sister; the woman she had ruined...

And the identity she had stolen.

 

[Arm514ve]

Shawn got up groggily do to being up almost all night poring over tech manuals and working on spare parts to learn there inner workings of the Jericho so he can have a hobby in his down time and to keep his mind off of his upcomeing hunt, He walked over to the small kitchen in his quarters on the Jericho to the caff machine when a small drop of caff fell onto the hotplate making a pop and a his noise which sent him back to that dreaded night…..

It was just supposed to be a simple strike mission secure the area and hold out till relived by reinforcements or an airstrike to help thin the numbers of the enemy none of them knew it was a trap and that most of the main force had went a different route to the insurgents base in the area, and that they were being used as cannon fodder.

“Lieutenant get on the horn and contact second squad and find out what’s taking them so long to respond.”

A young private barley out of basic chimed in after Shawn gave the order "you don’t think anything happened to……” the poor lad was cut off by a sniper shot to the head, and a few seconds later an explosion near there position and a hail of bullets flying at them which cut down two unsuspecting troops.

They all got down and began returning fire when enemy air and ground support started to move in.

“Fall back to the nearby caves.” Shawn ordered as the last of there armor was cut down by enemy air, and there numbers reduced to half, already. “Lieutenant any word on second squad we could use the help?”

“No sir there to far away they said”

“Fine Corporal Evie take two men ahead and make sure those caves are clear” Shawn said as they approached the caves there was an explosion at the caves mouth sending the corporal and the two troops with her flying.

An alarm sound from Shawn’s alarm clock snapped him out of his flash back and to his surprise still standing with the cup of caff in his hand.

Shawn put on his improved armor and grabbed the rest of his gear and headed to the briefing room on the ship to see if any leads came in before heading out.

 

[T.J]

The hustle and bustle of the market would make any passer by think of it as not very out of the ordinary. To the untrained eye it looked like the million others that filled the city streets of Coruscants undercity. But this one was special, deep within its recesses was a corner of the black market, just the kind of place Eeicia needed to be. She had been hiding out with some old friends from her time as a police officer, having eyes and ears in the pits of villany had its advantages.

Eeicia stopped at a certain stall, her eye caught by the many types of slugthrowers and blasters that adorned the stall's tables. Seeing a pair of Dissuader KD-30's, she quickly picked them up and purchased them, wanting to get in and out of the cess pit that she was currently in as soon as possible. She also purchased some light battle on her way out.


She had recently gotten some interesting information about her sister, apparently she was sighted entering the BHG's flag ship, the Jericho. It meant that Stasha might come after her before she had the chance to. It only meant she had to hurry. Eeicia gathered what belongings she had and left her safe haven, hell bent on getting revenge on her sister.

 

[Thecomicbookbroad]

Evie looked up quickly, she had been strolling the halls with her eyes down cast (save for a few inconspicuous head turns at passing men.) and was becoming dizzy.

The pointed toes of her boots clacked rhythmically with the soft friction of her latex suite.

Since the embarrassing weapon failure in her training, Evie’s rifle had become her constant companion and she holstered it proudly at her hip, hanging from a thick belt. Her L-23 was at her inner thigh, modestly concealed and a small vibro knife was sheathed and pocketed inside the lining of her top, below the collar, just along the chest.

She licked her lips characteristically and took notice of an associate across the floor. She stopped moving instinctually and pouted.

Shawn Mac’Neal.

 

[Arm514ve]

“Ooh hello,” Shawn said trying to avoid eye contact with Stasha because he always saw Eeicia and made it hard for him to concintrate on the task at hand. He entered the briefing room accessing the bounty info on the main screen to see if there were any hits on the bolo,or any APBs issued, if not he was going to hit the police station, which was a risky move on his part do to his past.

 

[Thecomicbookbroad]

Evie’s eyes roamed the floor then up Shawn’s body when she noted that his blue and green fraternal eyes avoided her own. He was a young man, clean shaven with messy, fiery hair of copper and sharp, keen features.

“He’s up early; He looks so tired.” she thought.

“I’m going on my first hunt.” She commented with a smirk, standing akimbo and letting her rifle sway at her hip. The slick length of her hair gave her the lean sinister look of a snake- the small spikes along her scalp poked through her russet locks like small, sharp peaks.

 

[Arm514ve]

“Good for you” Shawn said not looking at her, feeling the effects of the earlier flash back of the op gone bad, and the lack of sleep, taking a sip of his caff while going through the files “so who is it?” and finding a quick hit somewhere in the under city

 

[Thecomicbookbroad]

Her small faintly up-turned nose wrinkled and her eye brows arched defensively

Evie’s smirk faded as she tasted the sourness of Shawn’s tone.

“…My sister.” She said letting one of her hands fall to her side.

“I’m worth 20,000 credits you know.” she added, grin resurrected.

 

[Arm514ve]

Shawn anger swelled but he kept it under control clenching his fist on the desk, “so this is funny to you a pay check that’s all, it doesn’t bug you that she’s you’re sister or that she would look after you no matter what you did and now you’re just going to hunt her down and possibly kill her just to keep you’re identity safe.” Shawn took a quick glance at her for second then sighed, "I just can’t see how you could do this so lightly and not feel bad about it not trying to clear her.... you’re name and getting you’re self out of this situation.” Shawn looking at her with tired and remorseful eyes.

 

[Thecomicbookbroad]

Evie shuddered, her mouth smoothed and she slouched. The anchor of shame tugged at her with such weight Atlas would shrug.

“ She‘s a part of me…” she said weakly, peering at her sister’s angry, former commander.

“I don’t want her dead.”

“do you have any siblings?” she asked

 

[Arm514ve]

"No and if I did I wouldn't know I was an orphan when I was younger." Shawn said now feeling bad being hostile towareds her after hearing her tone.

 

[Thecomicbookbroad]

The sudden personal outburst left Evie intrigued and she dared to move closer.

“ When you have a sister- when you have a twin, they become like a physical part of you. You associate them with yourself, like you would your name or your voice…” she titled her head and shut her eyes sentimentally, letting her thick lashes brush her chalky skin.

“You share everything because you come from the same place, you share the same womb, the same room, the same birthday, the same face…and that’s why I can’t imagine living without her. She has a piece of me.” She hugged herself.

“The position of ‘good daughter’ was already taken” she laughed resentfully “So all my folks had left was, well …me.”

“I’m going to make sure she gets the spot back, don’t worry.” she pierced Shawn’s lazy gaze with her honey colored iris’ before stepping past him.

“and maybe I’ll get promoted.”

 

[Arm514ve]

"that’s not funny" he said, thinking to himself 'why does she have to kill the the thought that she is honestly trying to find a solution, with a comment like that' as he grabbed the data he got from the APB and headed for the hanger, and boarded his ship the Alliance. placing his equipment with the rest of the weapons, ammo, and supplies on the ship, and set the Nava computer to take him to a docking port just outside the under city it would take him an hour and a half to get there he decided to take a nap on the way, to help alleviate the exhaustion.

Though his dream was not as peace full as he hoped....going back to the day of the op even in his sleep that seemed to continue where the flash back left off.

The Explosion, sending the three of them flying, the two troopers ahead of Eeicia, died in the blast, and Eeicia suffered minor burns and numerous shallow shrapnel wounds from the blast.

Shawn fell back to cheek on the group that got caught in the blast, finding only the Corporal was the only survivor "Medic!" Shawn yelled luckily the only surviving medic approached "take care of her doc" Shawn said getting up and heading for the front again to give orders to last remaining troops there, to fall back.

Shawn was half way back to the front when another enemy air strike carpet bombed the line sending Shawn flying, shell Shocked, and knocked out.....

Shawn awoke with a shake of turbulence, "Frack" seeing he was only out for fifteen minutes, he decided to check his equipment to pass the remainder of the travel time.

 

[Thecomicbookbroad]

Evie left the Guild with a grimace dressing her small, but plump lips and took to the city with the distaste of her fleeting conversation with Shawn still tugging at her sleeve.

“Stupid man…” She said aloud, nearly silent.


The metal maze of buildings was bathed in the gold light of morning and Evie’s mood lifted as she took in the sights. There was something about crowds that made her feel at ease.
She loved the comfort of company- even if it was not personal, the sounds of life going on around her helped remind her of her own heart beat. Truth be told, She was a social creature; being alone for too long left her depressed. Isolation for any amount of time made her lonesome.

“You look lovely.”

Evie turned to find an older fair haired man just inches away, grinning wryly with a small stick of metal hanging from the corner of his mouth.

“How did the guns work out for ya’?” He asked, shoving his hands into his pants’ pockets.

Evie instinctively glanced down at her thigh holsters.

She raised an eyebrow.

“….They're just fine- Have we….met before?” She asked


The clarity set in.


We have met before….Or at least he’s met ‘me’.

The man gestured to the ground with a down turned thumb and brought his free hand to his bristly chin.

“This morning,” he purred. His narrow eyes gleamed. “I know those lips anywhere.”

“I need to return them!” Evie blathered.

“What?” The man jumped back , surprised at the sudden change in volume.

“The guns! I need to return them!” Evie barked, leaning in so close to the bewildered stranger another inch would mean a kiss.

“Can you take me to where I got them?”

The man laughed nervously, laying his hands on the young Zabrak’s shoulders with care and looking about their surroundings discreetly.

“Sure thing, darlin‘.” He said hoarsely.


“Just loosen up.”

 

[T.J]

Golden eyes watched as Stasha followed the man through the crowd, Eeicia had been trailing her sister shortly after she left the large ship she was staying in. She had decided not to confront her sibling rightthen and there, fearing those inside the ship would come to Stasha's aid. Eeicia blended into the cowd easily, using her police training on how to tail a possible criminal or suspect to keep herself hidden.

The crowd thinned out somewhat as Stasha and the weapon's vendor decended into the lower levels of Coruscant. Eeicia would wait for the opportune moment, staying out of the sight range of her sister unitl the time was right. She didnt want alot of whitnesses or possilbe collateral damage when she finally gave her sister a piece of her mind.

 

[Thecomicbookbroad]

“Have you been on Coruscant long?” Evie’s guide asked.

She was suddenly aware they were alone together.

“Some time now.” she replied shortly, lowering her chin as he turned to face her with eager eyes.

His skin was dark and smelled of smoke.


Evie had been following the husky blond for several minutes, at a safe distance, but the sudden separation from the gatherings and goings-on of civilians made her rethink her course of action. With each corner he turned a scenario would play out in her frantic mind where he’d turn on her and demand her money, her life, or worse,

“I don’t meet many Zabrak women in my uhh….” he paused, “line of work.”

“Is that so?” She said fingering the holster of her closest blaster.

He laughed hollowly, pulling his navy coat tight.

“ At least none that look like you do. I‘m Mullen by the way. ”

He held out a calloused mitt and Stasha excepted, her dainty gloved hand dwarfed by his wolf paws.

They came to a sudden stop.

A rust lined tunnel with uneven steps was before them, a ruckus arising from the pit below.

Mullen quickly turned and Evie jumped for her weapon.

“Ladies first.” He said, outstretching an arm.

She scanned him suspiciously as she passed descending, by his side, into the under works of Coruscant.

“You care for a death stick?” He asked, leaning in at her shoulder.

“N-no, thank you” she said, raising a hand and falling behind as he shrugged.



“You know,” Mullen said, scratching his head, “ if you need a place to stay I have a room on ‘Vlinx’ there’s only one bed but I think you-”


He turned to find he was alone,

Save for several men staring at him like he’d lost his mind, turning an speaking to nothing.




Evie had slipped away as his sentance began and elbowed her way through the crowds, seeking a familure face or some trace of her target. The curiosities of the black market beckoned her but she pressed on, giving them but a passing glance.

 

[Arm514ve]

Shawn touched the Alliance down just out side the under city, locking down the control system and grabbing his equipment, and his contacts just incase he ran into any cops, when the com system picked up an APB that just came in that his computer picked up while monitoring the police frequencies stated that the wanted criminal Stasha Evie was spotted in one of the underground market districts, that was reported by an undercover cop in the area in district two-B. ‘Though why would she be spotted so easily when she’s trained to avoid detection and the earlier hit was too convenient, “well can’t pass up a lead.” Shawn said as he headed towards the so called markets.

 

[Thecomicbookbroad]

The air was a stale haze of misery and guilt. Everyone had the lean mischievous look of a thief or gypsy.
Pirates, killers, dealers, they were all there, bargaining, arguing and making purchases of unique and most likely illegal goods.

Evie swiftly seized the shoulder of a passing young urchin and tore her smallest blaster from his greedy hands, smacking him on the back of the head with it before continuing to make her way through the massive underground market.

The more She saw the more Stasha thought Mullen must’ve been mistaken about sighting ‘her’.

“Eecia would never come here…” She thought,

“Of all the places in all the world she wouldn’t have come to this place if it was the last. ”

Eeicia was a woman of high graces and a place as low as the underworld Stasha was roaming seemed a far cry from her sister’s sort of haunts.

Though she didn’t doubt she was desperate enough to pay it a visit, she did however doubt she would have humility to actually go through with it.

Escaping the traffic of bodies, Stasha broke from the throng and took a deep breath, She had a lot of land to cover and she felt overwhelmed.

She stood in the empty ally of forgotten hole-in the wall- shops and broken down booths for a moment, leaning against a worn rocky wall to clear her head, feeling its lower temperature against her back bone soothingly.

 

[T.J]

The boy that attempted to steal from Stasha took a double take as Eeicia walked past him. Seeing the same person twice tended to have that affect on people. He scurried off into the crowd, to scared to try and steal from the second zabrack.

A smirk flashed across Eeicia's face as she saw her sister corner herself in a particularily empty alley. She stopped several paces away from her sibling, stopping with one hand on her hip and the other on a pistol. "Why hello Stasha. I believe last time we spoke you left me to rot in jail for a crim you commited." Eeicia's tone was sickly sweet as she spoke, almost like she wasnt angry at all, of course that wasnt the case. " After all I did your you, all the pain and suffering you caused mom and dad. How could you do that to me?"

 

[Arm514ve]

Shawn just arrived in the shops and began looking around for any clue to Eeicias where about asking the questionable venders he came across and not so innocent by standards alike, no leads at all and then he spotted them, two officers that were sent to investigate the APB that was issued earlier, "of all the luck." Shawn said blended into the crowed, and not trying to draw any attention, to himself as he made his way to an ally way that lead into another part of the market away from the patrolling cops.