((This entry is set shortly after the events of Into Darkness))
It is over.
The Grand Inquisitor is dead. All that's left of him is ash and a skeleton.
I've kept his skull. It shall remind of a time when I was...weak. Suffering. Naive.
Someone else's puppet. Never again.
Serene Springs is no more. Only ruins remain. The prisoners have brought their tormentors to justice. The few guards and functionaries that surrendered have been burnt.
They cried about just following orders. We do not accept that excuse. Only Diona was spared. I...could not kill her. She hurt me, but she...protected me. I could not backstab her. And she is so broken inside that death would be a mercy. I push the thought aside. This is just one of many brainwashing camps dotted all across Tephrike. The Dominion of Light still stands strong. The whole planet is one big Nether hell.
"So it is true then?" Rhea asks. "There is life outside of Tephrike."
I turn my gaze to the Rattataki. "Yes," my voice is low. It hurts my throat to raise it. "The Darkness was...harsh. Many died, but life recovered."
"Have you visited many worlds?" Her wods are full of wonder.
"A couple. There's as many as there's sand on a beach. You could spend your life travelling and only visit a fraction."
"Is there a Jedi Order out there? Are they like...the Dominion?"
"There many Jedi orders out there. And they're not like the Dominion."
"You mean they don't oppress innocent people then?"
"No, but they don't anything about oppression either. They'd rather drink tea with Sith and talk about the Light and peace. They're cowards. Their halo is all that matters to them." There is venom on my tongue.
Her aura is fierce. Anger flares inside her. "They should come to Tephrike and experience what we have," she scoffs bitterly. "If they are this weak, they deserve to be punished."
I've learned bits and pieces about her. The Grand Inquisitor made her his personal 'project'. No choice, no freedom. Just a slave for a monster who hid behind a cloak of righteousness. I burnt him from the inside out, and yet I feel his death was too quick.
"Yes, they do," I say quietly. There is silence for a moment, only broken by the roar of the shuttle's engines. "You're free now. You can...go wherever you want. Be whoever you want to be. What do you want, Rhea?" I finally ask out of the blue.
"I..." She falters. The very idea of having a choice sounds foreign. Then the words burst from her tongue like bolts from a repeating blaster. "I want...justice. I want to tear down the Dominion and the Vaderites. I want those who hurt me and mine to get what they deserve. I want to be strong. Will you," the words almost die on her lips, "...will you train me?"
"I...I...I don't know anything about teaching." Something like fear rises inside me. "Firemane has better ones. Experienced ones." Ones who do not see things in the flames or hear voices.
She does not waver. "They're not you," her voice is firm. "They haven't experienced Tephrike. You have. They would not understand." I am silent, so she presses on. She takes my hand. The one that is not missing fingers, fortunately. "I want you. Not Firemane. I don't know them, I don't trust them. I don't want to serve them. So...will you be my teacher?"
"Yes," I say at last. I set her free. I brought her into this strange new world. "I'll teach you all I know. And we will punish the wicked together." Two traumatised, vengeful Tephrike survivors. Scarred, defiled, but not broken. What a pair we make. I cannot tell whether her lips form a smile. My Sight leaves me blind to facial expressions. I can perceive her aura though. It makes me imagine the mirror of a smile. One that promises pain, fire and blood. I'll teach her how to be strong, free and fierce. Siobhan claims that is what she does, but she wants lackeys who stroke her ego, not equals. I shall not be like her.
It is over.
The Grand Inquisitor is dead. All that's left of him is ash and a skeleton.
I've kept his skull. It shall remind of a time when I was...weak. Suffering. Naive.
Someone else's puppet. Never again.
Serene Springs is no more. Only ruins remain. The prisoners have brought their tormentors to justice. The few guards and functionaries that surrendered have been burnt.
They cried about just following orders. We do not accept that excuse. Only Diona was spared. I...could not kill her. She hurt me, but she...protected me. I could not backstab her. And she is so broken inside that death would be a mercy. I push the thought aside. This is just one of many brainwashing camps dotted all across Tephrike. The Dominion of Light still stands strong. The whole planet is one big Nether hell.
"So it is true then?" Rhea asks. "There is life outside of Tephrike."
I turn my gaze to the Rattataki. "Yes," my voice is low. It hurts my throat to raise it. "The Darkness was...harsh. Many died, but life recovered."
"Have you visited many worlds?" Her wods are full of wonder.
"A couple. There's as many as there's sand on a beach. You could spend your life travelling and only visit a fraction."
"Is there a Jedi Order out there? Are they like...the Dominion?"
"There many Jedi orders out there. And they're not like the Dominion."
"You mean they don't oppress innocent people then?"
"No, but they don't anything about oppression either. They'd rather drink tea with Sith and talk about the Light and peace. They're cowards. Their halo is all that matters to them." There is venom on my tongue.
Her aura is fierce. Anger flares inside her. "They should come to Tephrike and experience what we have," she scoffs bitterly. "If they are this weak, they deserve to be punished."
I've learned bits and pieces about her. The Grand Inquisitor made her his personal 'project'. No choice, no freedom. Just a slave for a monster who hid behind a cloak of righteousness. I burnt him from the inside out, and yet I feel his death was too quick.
"Yes, they do," I say quietly. There is silence for a moment, only broken by the roar of the shuttle's engines. "You're free now. You can...go wherever you want. Be whoever you want to be. What do you want, Rhea?" I finally ask out of the blue.
"I..." She falters. The very idea of having a choice sounds foreign. Then the words burst from her tongue like bolts from a repeating blaster. "I want...justice. I want to tear down the Dominion and the Vaderites. I want those who hurt me and mine to get what they deserve. I want to be strong. Will you," the words almost die on her lips, "...will you train me?"
"I...I...I don't know anything about teaching." Something like fear rises inside me. "Firemane has better ones. Experienced ones." Ones who do not see things in the flames or hear voices.
She does not waver. "They're not you," her voice is firm. "They haven't experienced Tephrike. You have. They would not understand." I am silent, so she presses on. She takes my hand. The one that is not missing fingers, fortunately. "I want you. Not Firemane. I don't know them, I don't trust them. I don't want to serve them. So...will you be my teacher?"
"Yes," I say at last. I set her free. I brought her into this strange new world. "I'll teach you all I know. And we will punish the wicked together." Two traumatised, vengeful Tephrike survivors. Scarred, defiled, but not broken. What a pair we make. I cannot tell whether her lips form a smile. My Sight leaves me blind to facial expressions. I can perceive her aura though. It makes me imagine the mirror of a smile. One that promises pain, fire and blood. I'll teach her how to be strong, free and fierce. Siobhan claims that is what she does, but she wants lackeys who stroke her ego, not equals. I shall not be like her.
