“Did you really think Morrigan wasn’t going to find out!?” The sounds of blaster fire echoing through the burning halls of Nova’s apartment nearly drowned out Luna’s voice.
“Palpatine’s fucking ghost, Luna! I’m not THAT idiotic.” Nova retorted, vaulting over her kitchen counter, landing her armored knee square into the chest of a storm trooper blowing him clear through the opposite wall where he collapsed onto the living room sofa.
“I’m perfectly aware that he’d suspect me. The fact that he firebombed my apartment in retaliation for Jaxx proves just that!”
The two women were situated in the hall that split into the kitchen using the island bar as cover. Putting her fist through the back of the counter she pulled a blaster through the splintered particle board and squeezed several rounds down the hallway toward the gaping hole in the side of her Tier 2 apartment. A Multi Assault Aerial Transport was hovering there unloading a small capture team to take the blond sniper into custody. Her red cloak whipping around her lithe figure Luna slid across the field of fire and let loose a few pink shots from her own weapon. Coming to a rest against the refrigerator the cyborg woman crouched down and pinned her back to the appliance.
“What makes you think he won’t just pull your plug, Terra? Leaving me here…exposed.”
The blond rolled her eyes. “I manually uploaded the files to my original self. So the November Terra locked up in some bacta tank knows the same information that we stole. I’ve had access for years under the radar. How do you think I’ve built the case thus far? Plus…Morrigan can’t alter my original form without permission from the Imperial Scientific Council whom he doesn’t have any sway with. The ISC is a division under Palpatine’s control.”
Aiming down the hall Nova nailed another oncoming trooper in the chest with a blue stun round, sending him back into his buddies writhing uncontrollably.
“In basic please?” Luna shouted as another incendiary round ripped into the apartment. A second transport had arrived with reinforcements.
“He can’t do shit!” Nova screamed as an autocannon ripped through the walls, shredding everything it hit.
Terra took hold of her underground compatriot and dragged her into the living room. Removing an explosive launcher from under the couch she leveled the weapon at the first breach to her apartment and blew the remaining walls down, forcing the oncoming soldiers onto their asses. Taking a thermal detonator from the belt of the lieutenant who was passed out on her couch she tossed it through the formal living area towards the second transport. The screams and cries of Stormtroopers avoiding the blast were muffled by the collapsing structure and raging fire around them. Ripping the radio from his belt Nova pulled the Stormtrooper up and placed him over her shoulder.
“Shield your face!” She shouted before picking up the launcher in one hand and blowing an exit hole in her living room wall.
Placing a foot to her couch she shoved it out and let it tumble to the planet’s surface. Turning to Luna as both squads entered the room, demanding they drop their prisoner and freeze, she nodded.
“We have to jump!”
Grabbing hold of Luna’s cloak November Terra leapt from the newly created gaping hole in her apartment and started the long drop toward the lower tiers of Coruscant. Within seconds the three of them had left the fiery inferno behind and were plummeting faster than they could control.
“Nice plan, asshole!” Luna shrieked.
The hack had worked. Nova and Luna had successfully grabbed the entire database at Imperial Intelligence regarding the Imperial Cloning Division or ICD. Every file with a marker or flagged to mention November Terra was grabbed and downloaded to Luna’s personal server, the storage situated inside her person, and Nova’s personal system. Major Bardan Jaxx was secured at a remote and undisclosed facility that Luna had refused to share out of fear Colonel Victor Morrigan could learn it through November’s cloned self. What those files had revealed…
What they revealed were sickening. Terra was the first and only success in a soldier development program. By creating a body with the perfect genetic base and physical characteristics the Imperial Cloning Division could then use Nova’s original body to create a combat ready clone within months. Instead of paying for extensive training and worrying about losing their asset in the field the scientists and those with High Command could download what they needed into November’s true body and just clone her physical and psychological attributes. Her mental consciousness was transferred to the clone and they could change her appearance in any way they deemed fit; hair color, bigger breasts, more muscle, denser bone structure, more stamina, more lung capacity, acute vision. Literally anything they needed in a covert reconnaissance sniper they could pre-program. November couldn’t believe what she was reading. Even though the virus had taken the entire database none of the files revealed the location of her original body for exfiltration. They only referenced someone called the Neuromancer.
“The Neuromancer.”
Luna swiped down on her monitor and it went dark.
“Before you even ask. I don’t know anything beyond rumor. Last I heard it was a high level scientist who worked for Palpatine during the war with Diablo, but that’s purely conjecture. Any records from that period are in writing and/or accessible only by Palpatine himself.” She slumped back into her seat, the soft hum of her servos adjusting her legs.
November ran fingers through her hair, releasing a deep sigh, forcing strands of blond hair to fall into her face and obscure her vision. Further reading proved to be horrifying. There had been fifty attempts before her and all of them had failed in some way. Some exploded moments are being released from their pod, some lacked the confidence in combat and were slaughtered, and some literally melted because of failed cellular cohesion.
“This is just appalling.” The blond said, sipping on a protein smoothie.
“Of course it is. Just remember that all of those failures led to your creation.” Luna remarked, swiping on her datapad as it lit up.
“And you think that somehow justifies my imprisonment and the lives lost before me? I mean, my current iteration has died at least twice based on recurring nightmares I have.” Terra rebutted, now losing her patience.
Luna rolled her eyes. “You know that isn’t what I meant. I meant that when we successfully exfiltrate your body just know that their sacrifices will have made you possible. I hope we have your red haired friend by then though, because it isn’t going to be easy.”
“Trixie.” Nova had almost forgotten her in the mess of work they had been doing.
Almost as if like clockwork each of monitors in Nova’s office lit up red with a security breach warning. Security monitors and cameras displayed a MAAT transport hovering near the exterior wall of her apartment with an incendiary launcher pointed at the door. The cameras went blank as an explosion shook the foundation of the complex Nova and Luna were currently inhabiting. Two more explosions ripped through separate sections of the blond sniper’s apartment before autocannon fire ripped apart exposed structural material to make way for infantry.
Victor Morrigan had come to silence his pet.
“Palpatine’s fucking ghost, Luna! I’m not THAT idiotic.” Nova retorted, vaulting over her kitchen counter, landing her armored knee square into the chest of a storm trooper blowing him clear through the opposite wall where he collapsed onto the living room sofa.
“I’m perfectly aware that he’d suspect me. The fact that he firebombed my apartment in retaliation for Jaxx proves just that!”
The two women were situated in the hall that split into the kitchen using the island bar as cover. Putting her fist through the back of the counter she pulled a blaster through the splintered particle board and squeezed several rounds down the hallway toward the gaping hole in the side of her Tier 2 apartment. A Multi Assault Aerial Transport was hovering there unloading a small capture team to take the blond sniper into custody. Her red cloak whipping around her lithe figure Luna slid across the field of fire and let loose a few pink shots from her own weapon. Coming to a rest against the refrigerator the cyborg woman crouched down and pinned her back to the appliance.
“What makes you think he won’t just pull your plug, Terra? Leaving me here…exposed.”
The blond rolled her eyes. “I manually uploaded the files to my original self. So the November Terra locked up in some bacta tank knows the same information that we stole. I’ve had access for years under the radar. How do you think I’ve built the case thus far? Plus…Morrigan can’t alter my original form without permission from the Imperial Scientific Council whom he doesn’t have any sway with. The ISC is a division under Palpatine’s control.”
Aiming down the hall Nova nailed another oncoming trooper in the chest with a blue stun round, sending him back into his buddies writhing uncontrollably.
“In basic please?” Luna shouted as another incendiary round ripped into the apartment. A second transport had arrived with reinforcements.
“He can’t do shit!” Nova screamed as an autocannon ripped through the walls, shredding everything it hit.
Terra took hold of her underground compatriot and dragged her into the living room. Removing an explosive launcher from under the couch she leveled the weapon at the first breach to her apartment and blew the remaining walls down, forcing the oncoming soldiers onto their asses. Taking a thermal detonator from the belt of the lieutenant who was passed out on her couch she tossed it through the formal living area towards the second transport. The screams and cries of Stormtroopers avoiding the blast were muffled by the collapsing structure and raging fire around them. Ripping the radio from his belt Nova pulled the Stormtrooper up and placed him over her shoulder.
“Shield your face!” She shouted before picking up the launcher in one hand and blowing an exit hole in her living room wall.
Placing a foot to her couch she shoved it out and let it tumble to the planet’s surface. Turning to Luna as both squads entered the room, demanding they drop their prisoner and freeze, she nodded.
“We have to jump!”
Grabbing hold of Luna’s cloak November Terra leapt from the newly created gaping hole in her apartment and started the long drop toward the lower tiers of Coruscant. Within seconds the three of them had left the fiery inferno behind and were plummeting faster than they could control.
“Nice plan, asshole!” Luna shrieked.
***
One hour earlier...
The hack had worked. Nova and Luna had successfully grabbed the entire database at Imperial Intelligence regarding the Imperial Cloning Division or ICD. Every file with a marker or flagged to mention November Terra was grabbed and downloaded to Luna’s personal server, the storage situated inside her person, and Nova’s personal system. Major Bardan Jaxx was secured at a remote and undisclosed facility that Luna had refused to share out of fear Colonel Victor Morrigan could learn it through November’s cloned self. What those files had revealed…
What they revealed were sickening. Terra was the first and only success in a soldier development program. By creating a body with the perfect genetic base and physical characteristics the Imperial Cloning Division could then use Nova’s original body to create a combat ready clone within months. Instead of paying for extensive training and worrying about losing their asset in the field the scientists and those with High Command could download what they needed into November’s true body and just clone her physical and psychological attributes. Her mental consciousness was transferred to the clone and they could change her appearance in any way they deemed fit; hair color, bigger breasts, more muscle, denser bone structure, more stamina, more lung capacity, acute vision. Literally anything they needed in a covert reconnaissance sniper they could pre-program. November couldn’t believe what she was reading. Even though the virus had taken the entire database none of the files revealed the location of her original body for exfiltration. They only referenced someone called the Neuromancer.
“The Neuromancer.”
Luna swiped down on her monitor and it went dark.
“Before you even ask. I don’t know anything beyond rumor. Last I heard it was a high level scientist who worked for Palpatine during the war with Diablo, but that’s purely conjecture. Any records from that period are in writing and/or accessible only by Palpatine himself.” She slumped back into her seat, the soft hum of her servos adjusting her legs.
November ran fingers through her hair, releasing a deep sigh, forcing strands of blond hair to fall into her face and obscure her vision. Further reading proved to be horrifying. There had been fifty attempts before her and all of them had failed in some way. Some exploded moments are being released from their pod, some lacked the confidence in combat and were slaughtered, and some literally melted because of failed cellular cohesion.
“This is just appalling.” The blond said, sipping on a protein smoothie.
“Of course it is. Just remember that all of those failures led to your creation.” Luna remarked, swiping on her datapad as it lit up.
“And you think that somehow justifies my imprisonment and the lives lost before me? I mean, my current iteration has died at least twice based on recurring nightmares I have.” Terra rebutted, now losing her patience.
Luna rolled her eyes. “You know that isn’t what I meant. I meant that when we successfully exfiltrate your body just know that their sacrifices will have made you possible. I hope we have your red haired friend by then though, because it isn’t going to be easy.”
“Trixie.” Nova had almost forgotten her in the mess of work they had been doing.
Almost as if like clockwork each of monitors in Nova’s office lit up red with a security breach warning. Security monitors and cameras displayed a MAAT transport hovering near the exterior wall of her apartment with an incendiary launcher pointed at the door. The cameras went blank as an explosion shook the foundation of the complex Nova and Luna were currently inhabiting. Two more explosions ripped through separate sections of the blond sniper’s apartment before autocannon fire ripped apart exposed structural material to make way for infantry.
Victor Morrigan had come to silence his pet.
![[Image: trixiesig2018.png]](http://www.cytokineindustries.com/chevereto/images/2018/06/12/trixiesig2018.png)