Bankor

Delmi's mind wandered through the misty roads of dreamland that evening. Sights from the day mixed with thoughts from her past with ease that her conscious mind would have never allowed. The image of Captain Organa standing up and urging them on was shrouded in a cloud of swirling vapors as her dream-self jumped from behind cover and began pouring blaster fire into the group of mandalorians in the woods. The images around her shifted and flowed seamlessly from one thing to another... half the mandos became gangsters. The woods became a rocky alcove. Delmi was her 13 year old self... The captain shifted and changed to an old grizzled fighter with a thick beard...



"Go, go, go!" Captain Koor called out as the strike team moved in on the collection of thugs that had been tracked to the mountain cave they were holed up in.

Delmi rolled from behind a large stone pillar and leveled to thugs before continuing to run quickly past the enemy's perimeter. Her father took down a handful of thugs with a well placed grenade launched by his repeater.

Delmi swept the leg of an opponent who was reaching for his gun but would not find it until his back was on the ground and a laser blast in between his eyes.

Within 30 seconds the Brentaal IV spec ops team had cleared the entire camp. Blaster fire could be heard from around the camp as the last of the thugs were quickly put down. Captain Koor came and put a hand on his daughter's shoulder and offered a smile. "Good job kiddo."

Delmi looked up with a bright smile of her own... one that her conscious self knew she hadn't shown for quite some time... She beamed brightly at the praise and holstered her pistols. "Let's find that intel sir." She said in a crisp military voice.

Her father nodded and ordered the group to search for the package which had been stolen from the count's estate the previous night. Delmi was the first to come upon it. She picked it up and unzipped the pouch to check the insides. In place of a data chip there was a small note written on paper.

'Long time no see handsome... Sorry, but you were too late for this one. Tell Delmi hi for me.
-xoxo

Delmi turned to the captain, "Sir?" She said as she extended the note out to him.

Captain Koor's eyes scanned over the note briefly as he took it in his hand. An overwhelming rage filled his eyes as he crumpled up the paper. "Damn you..."

Delmi looked up with questioning eyes, "Dad?"

Captain Koor tapped his ear to activate his comm, "Let's get out of here... Imperial operative took the drop. Gotta get back to the mansion. Count's not safe, gonna need to accompany him on his trip now."

As the confirmations came in from the members of the strike team Delmi's dad turned to her, "Tonight... let's talk. There's something I haven't let you in on about my past..."

The image of her father turned back to the image of Captain Organa aboard the transport with the captured mandalorian on the ground. Her pistol was in her hand, set to stun and aimed at the man... his form shifted and changed in the mist... and a dark haired woman in black clothes replaced him on the ground.

"Hey sweeti..." The voice began to say as Delmi shifted the pistol off stun and blasted the woman in between the eyes.

----

Delmi sat up in her bunk, breathing slightly heavily. Aside her was her father's locket... she opened it up and looked at the image of her father as she caught her breath... then flipped the inner frame to show the opposite side... where an image of a raven-haired woman with black clothes stood staring back at her with a soft and confident smile.

Jax had just finished at the gym and was walking back to the hangar his gym bag slung over his shoulder the night was humid and still warm so his shirt was in the bag. The sweat cooling him a little as it dried out, he was walking through the barracks to get back to the hangar he usually would have stuck around for a drink at the bar but he was slowing down on that taking a day off at least. He walked with his hands in his pockets and his eyes mostly on the sky seemingly lost in thought.

Delmi stood up and put the locket down while strapping her pistols around her waist over her night time wear and walked out the door to get some air.

As she walked out in a relative hurry she almost bumped into Jax as he was walking by, “Oh! Sorry.”

Jax snapped out of his reverie as he stopped just short of smacking right into the woman. He looked down a slightly sheepish smile on his lips "Oh hey Delmi sorry about that, I should watch where I am going." He took a step back so they were too close as they spoke "How are you doing tonight?"

“I’m doing alright.” She said with a slight scowl on her features.

“Out for a stroll?” She asked.

he smiles at Delmi "Your mouth says fine but your face says otherwise. I just got done working out was taking a little bit of a long way back to the special hangar for us independents. Its a nice if not a bit muggy night out."

“War’s never a fun place. Being alive is alright. Better than a lot of alternatives.”

She looked him up and down once, “How’s the campaign treatin’ you?”

When she scans him she'd see a cut and toned body kept up from years of rigorous training and workout routines also a collection of scars a few knife wounds, a blaster burn or two.

"Well outside of a couple nasty hits its been about as good as any warzone can be. You're right they are hardly ever a fun place." he stretched a bit "but ya know I've been worse places with worse people and worse pay so I won't complain too much."

“Yeah...” She said with a nod.

“They gonna make you a Republic hero then by the end of this?”

he chuckles "doubt it, guys like me aren't heroes. I'll do what I was paid to do and I'll help win this war but I doubt people will look back and think of Jax as a big hero." he looked at Delmi "Is that what you're here for? wanna be a war hero?"

She shook her head, “Nope... just paying some debts back. They sprung for my new arm. Not one to take charity... dad taught me to always pay my debts.”

"Ah yes.....perhaps that's what I'm doing here too I suppose. Republic bought me a new arm almost a decade ago. Some would say it was them paying me back for my service but" he shrugs then "I don't know I guess I feel like I owe them a little still. Well maybe not the republic but the memories of some soldier I served with." and failed he thought to himself.

“Sounds like you and I are here for the same reason then.” She said with a nod.

“My dad used to be in the Republic army... Apparently knew the Commander.”

Jax nodded back "what was your dad's name? unlikely that I knew him if he wasn't a fly boy but I got along with some of the ground pounders."

“Captain Galak Koor, he was in Havoc Squad for a good portion of the war before they transferred him over to Anaxes to teach at the military college there.”

Jax made a thinking face for a moment his eyebrows furrowed together "hm.......no can't say I knew him personally, havoc squad rings a bell or two. I thought I might've taken a class with him but I don't think so which isn't too surprising considering I was in the naval program." Jax looked back at Delmi "So what are you doing wandering around the base? look like you been sleeping."

“Wandering? This is my room.” She said pointing a thumb behind her. “Woke up. Needed some air.” She replied.

“So you used to be Republic military? Why’d you leave?”

"Ah yes I see, i didn't see where you came from I was too busy not paying attention to the would around me." He said with a casual smile.

"Uh that's a long story, short version is I got tired of some things that come natural to being in the military." He said

“Like?” She asked.

"Losing people." He said simply

She nodded, “I see. Never had many people I cared about myself... suppose that’s different when you’re in a unit like this.”

"Yeah I wasn't necessarily ever sold on the gung ho for the republic thing but my squad and I were like a family. I was kind of like the oldest brother and they were my siblings we forged strong bonds over that time." he sighed wistfully a little lost in thought but then he shook his head and smiled at Delmi.

"So what about you? what did you do before what ever it is you do now?"

"Before? It's really always just been this since I was a girl." She replied.

"Been a professional killer for the past... six-ish years. Since I was fourteen. Before that I was on the Brentaal IV defense force spec ops team with my dad ever since I was a little girl... Didn't ever want to leave his side and he was always doin' military stuff."

Jax whistled "a professional killer? like an assassin? that's a pretty hardcore lifestyle for a kid and military work while you were still a child? you must be one tough son of a bantha." his eye looked back over Delmi appraising her in light of this new information. His eyes locked onto the blaster on her hip "So I guess you're pretty good with that blaster."

She gave him a look that seemed to say, 'What do you think?'