The bar she sat at was empty. It was a small watering hole in the middle of 'NoeWhere' desert.  A place where most would just stop by get a drink and move on along the white, dry, sandy planes. For the 'girl of Shangri-la', as she is called; this little place is where she's  supposed to reunite with some old friends. 

That being said the smooth humming outside didn't sound like it belonged to any ship she owned, but it was still oh so familiar.

"Wonder how long it'll take?" The woman sighed, just before a man stumbled in through  the wooden doors. She looked towards him out her left peripheral and scoffed a laugh.

He was the textbook definition of expendable. Shaking knees, fear filled green eyes, sweaty pale skin. He wore the uniform of the Inter-universal police force or IUPF. Black slacks, blue button up shirt, long blue over coat that doubles as armor, and white gloves. He wore a bronze badge on the left side of his coat. He was a foot soldier.

She was insulted. Taking a swig of her Chasis de creme , she turned to the poor man. 

"Give me your coat." 

Her command was simple but her voice wasn't. It held annoyance and a bit of dissatisfaction. 

"Kahanni Asura Maheswaran! Y-you are under ar-"

"Give...Me...Your..Coat."

The soldier jumped at the harshness of her voice and nearly whimpered as she got out of her seat and  walked toward him stopping just a couple steps away.

She sighed and rubbed the back of her head.

"They don't pay you enough to die. I tell you what...You have any friends or family that give a damn about you?"

The soldier nodded slowly, carefully "A..A girl back at Emperio city."

She smirked. "Lucky girl...You wanna get back to her right? So do the smart thing..Give me your coat and walk your narrow ass out."

"If you do that, consider your ass expelled from the  IUPF!" A gruff and hard, yet feminine voice ranged out from the outside.  "Your orders are as followed. Capture the escaped rebel, Kahanni Maheswaran!"

"Why don't you do it yourself, Corporal Jasper; instead of sending nameless fodder, Punkass." Connie's voice ranged out with a sneer. "Wait that's right, I kicked your ass last time. Coward!"

"Umm..My name is.."

The soldier was silenced by Connie's indifference fuel stare.

"Give me your coat."

The soldier, while a head taller than her, felt like a rat facing a giant.  He was about to take it off when Jasper's voice rang out again.

"Don't let her cost you your livelihood!"

"Don't let her cost you your life. Give me the coat!."

The soldier took a deep breath..Inhale….Exhale. Then he swung toward Connie's face. The glove crackled with sparks of energy as it flew towards her cheek.

"Oh boy." She teased boringly as she took a step  forward dodging the blow and landing one herself. Burying her palm deep into his chin, rattling his brain, knocking him out cold. He collapsed onto himself in front of her. She removed the long coat from the unconscious body, ripped off the sleeves and placed it on herself. 

A few meters away from the solitary structure a tall muscular woman stood with an entourage of soldiers. Long dirty sand blonde hair, dark skinned with stripes of vitiligo, impatient eyes of gold. She wore a slightly altered IUPF uniform. Black slacks,  tight orange body shirt, gold business like coat which she wore on her shoulders with a matching trilby hat and some white heels. She stood with her arms crossed, kissing her teeth waiting for a sign of movement from the inside.

"Captain..Shouldn't we go in and survey the situation?"

Jasper said nothing to the soldier, keeping her sight forward. Her eyes widened as she saw something shoot out from the building heading towards them. They watched as it skipped off the ground once, twice, thrice, four times into it slammed into Jasper chest, nearly knocking the woman on her ass.

"Captain?"

Jasper didn't respond as she looked down at what she caught letting out a sigh of annoyance..It was the foot soldier she sent in. 

He was in bad shape but not life-threatening, most of the damage was from skipping along the ground. Razed skin, a few knots on his forehead, some bleeding from the left side of his skull, his left arm was broken as was both his legs, and internal bleeding in the chest, evident by his wet bloody cough.

"Hey, He's alive?!"

Jasper glared towards the bar as she watched Connie stepped out, wearing the coat. A slightly concerned look on her face. 

Connie leaned on the wooden railing, resting her  cheek in her glove gloved hand. "Didn't mean to make him skip....Though In my defense, he took the first swing. I just retaliated."

Connie's nonchalant tone stroked the captain's anger. She turned towards her team ordering them to get the injured into the ships medical bay. When questioned about what her plans, Jasper gave them no answer other than her silent march towards the building. 

Connie arched an eyebrow, interest glistening in her black eyes as she stood up. "Oh. Ok." 

She walked back into her bar and sat down pouring two cups of Chassis. She didn't have to wait long for the Captain to walk in and take a seat next to her. 

The two sat in silence, cups in hand, looking at their reflection in the bar mirror. Jasper looked at Connie through it. Dark blackish-brown hair in a dusty messy bun, a green and blue halter top, a blackish and slightly torn dress skirt adorned with a belt of the same color over some strained and rip tights; cobalts blue gloves and the coat she acquired from the foot soldier.

"Think you were a bit excessive there, Commander."

Connie chuckled at the name. "We're not kids in the academy anymore, Corporal."

"Captain now."

"Congrats, how long ago was that."

"Two years now."

"Ah so...Just before the IUPF ran those very,  very invasive experiments on me."

Jasper didn't say anything. 

Connie smirked. "So, you gonna ask or are we just gonna fight?"

Jasper looked at her cup unable to look at her reflection.  "What was it? What made you rebel against everything?"

Connie scoffed before laughing. "Really, that's what you wanna know? I could tell you but..you're way too in the system to believe it."

"I want to understand why a pirate, a rebel…. would cause so much…. destruction and call it 'justice'? What makes your acts against the IUPF just? WHO ARE YOU PROTECTING?"

Connie turned to her old friend and rival. "Everything."

"That's not an answer!"

"It's the only answer."

Jasper roared as she ran her fist into the marble counter cracking the surface, her eyes burning into Connie. "What do you know, really?"

"A lot...and you're gonna pay for my counter."

"Why the grudge?"

"Why did the IUPF burn down Neo-lanka?"

Connie turned to Jasper cool and indifferent as age took another slip. "Why was a whole community of people, burned by soldiers, in a war that they wasn't involved in?"

"Those people were…"

"My people."

"A threat to our present peace...Is this what your rebellion all about...revenge?"

Connie shook her head disappointed. "You really think I'm fighting against the people who have the fucking world in their palm..for petty revenge." She kissed her teeth. She took the bottle of Chasis and chugged it's contents completely. With a kiss of her teeth, she spoke.

"I'll let you get the first hit."

Jasper sucked in a breath and admittedly felt her heart broke, but she was who she was..She had her principals and she believed in her law and unfortunately, she knew Connie believed in her rebel justice.

She clenched her fist and let it fly.

Connie was knocked back from the punch, stumbling to a nearby table. She rubbed her left cheek where she was popped before standing up and slipping into a stance. Standing with her right side towards Jasper, she held her right hand at waist level, while her left was at shoulder height. Her right foot face forward;her left foot slightly to the side of her. She slightly lowered her body as she breathed deeply focusing herself.

Jasper rotated her arms a couple of times before  slipping into her own stance. Her right hand held upward near her jaw while her left breast length. Her legs were slightly parted and bent like that of a boxer.  

Their eyes steeled, ready for whatever would come from the person in front of them. they waited for a what seemed like an eternity before the wind blew just a bit louder and Like the starting Bell of a match they fight began.

Connie moved first rushing in throwing quick jabs towards the larger woman face, who blocked against her assault. It didn’t take long for her to wear her guard down as each hit felt like getting poked with a mini blade, scaring Jaspers arm and fist each time. Connie ducked as roared ther a left hook to wards Connie's head. Seeing her chance, she bore her fist deep into Jasper's left side, evoking a second of  grimacing pain. Not giving her a moment rest, Connie left palm struck straight into Jasper's face, the force, tossing the woman back the length of the bar.

Jasper crashed into a table with a groan, shaking her head and tasting blood running down her now broken nose. With a growl she stood, hand gripping a nearby chair before tossing the furniture towards a surprised Connie. In the time it took for Connie to catch and toss the seat down, Jasper closed in, ramming into her opponent hard, throwing her into the eastern wall with a resounding 'boom'. 

Connie didn't have time to register the pain; her instinct and adrenaline caused her to move to the left, as Jasper fist burst through the wall where her head was like paper. She landed a kick to the back of her right knee making her kneel. She landed another to her to have her stomach getting an irritable growl from the Captain, leaping away from Jaspers back hand and on to a table before kicking a chair towards the woman's head. Her eyes widened as Jasper headbutted the projectile, shattering it effortlessly.

"WHO HEADBUTTS A CHAIR!?"  Connie yelled as she had to jump from her opponents attempt to  her to another table. 

Jasper would not be denied that easily. She leapt towards the table bringing her fist down towards Connie who jumped away to another and watched  as she destroyed that piece of furniture as well. She tried again with an axe kick this time. Her left foot raised high before plummeting downward toward  Connie's skull. All she got was broken wood as her opponent escaped to another table.

"Stop messing up my bar, Bitch!"

Jasper ignored the banter, as she moved towards Connie and kicked the table from under her, catching her off balance and off guard. She got a grip on Connie's coat, pulled her head back and slammed her skull into the smaller woman.

Once…

Twice…

Three times, each followed by a resounding boom and Connie painfilled groan.

Jasper sighed as she looked at the body in her hands. Limbs drooped, eyes rolled back, mouth open, blood flowing from the head, unresponsive. She took a deep relaxing breath as she dropped the rebel onto the floor. feeling the pain and exhaustion from the fight. She laid back, spread out, laughing a bit. Her eyes closed as she did.

"I won...I beat you..Ha ha."

Then she felt the weight of someone straddling her stomach. Jasper eyes opened time to see Connie glowing fist collide with her face. The last thing she saw before she lost consciousness was the cold undaunting black eyes and an apathetic face, with her blood on it.

Over the radio and in real audio, Jasper team listened in fear at the thunderous sound of Connie barrage upon Jasper. They couldn't even hear a groan from their captain after the fifth hit. It lasted for minutes, the horrid thunder. The sound of flesh beating flesh, the sound of bones cracking. When it was over they heard a voice over the radio...

"In ten minutes...Come get her. Not a second sooner."

No one dared respond.

"I'll take your silence as compliance...Ten minutes."

Within those minutes, another air ship came by It never touched down bir dripped in altitude. Just hovered like a large mechanical spirit. They watched as their captain was thrown out in the same fashion as the first soldier sent in right next to the side of their IUPF ship, a twenty meters flight. They glared at Connie, as she leapt from the railing to the awning, the roof and on to the waiting ship before it took off to destinations known to her and her band of rebels.

The soldiers ran out to get their captain and froze  at the mangled mess she was. Her face was nothing but bumps, bruises and blood. Her limbs were twisted and bone was protruding from ligaments, indention of knuckles and palms were littered over her broken midsection, her stilettos were missing but she was alive. 

When Jasper awoke, a week later in the bed of  an IUPF healing facility. It was sunset and she was in a daze, trying to recall what happened to her. Black eyes crossed her mind and she growled tearfully as it came back. She rested her bandaged mostly healed fist across her forehead as she swore in anger .

"No answers, no capture...No victory or resolution...The same as last time."

She wanted to scream in lamentation for being too weak to beat her, capture her , understand her ...Too weak to save her.

She laughed sorrowfully at the thought. "Save Connie, the 'Girl of Shangri-la'? That's the last thing she needs…"  She turned her head and her eyes widened.

On the end table was a note and a vase full of Bluebells. She reached for the note and opened it.
 

Corporal,
 
I figured it will be a week or so before you read this. all things considering, you're probably through the worst of your healing, body back together and such. I give the IUPF credit for their healing chambers, miraculous things really. Now that's out the way..If you're still so curious for answers, come to Emperio in two weeks time. You should be healed enough for release by then.
 
G.O.S.

Jasper smirked, a flame lit anew. She had a lead, a destination. Another chance.

"Two weeks...Emperio city...That runs along its  annual celebration."

Now, all she needed was a small team.