Private A Good Reason

[Loske Treicolt]

"Got a Graphite container in the cargo bay. Can put it in there. It's plenty tough."

Elpsis' expression was well-warranted, based on the experience she'd had with the symbiote in it’s full form. Loske understood perfectly, and was almost grateful to hear the Firemane’s lieutenant offer up further security for the sample she was lugging along.

“Thanks.” She said, and followed Elpsis’ recommendation. She’d been on..countless ships by now, and typically they followed a standard layout. This class didn’t deviate from the typical blueprint, and she was able to find the cargo bay without much fuss.

Kneeling, she set the sample down with the same tenderness one might a newborn –– not because she cared for it, or found it precious, but mostly out of respectful fear. Even in its security, she was wary of its volatility. Sealing it away was an efficient way to compartmentalize the trepidation in a physical way.

It was a peculiar phenomenon, holding hands with that which had destroyed their lives for a timeline. And now...maybe it had the potential to help? Her conflict was more internal than anything; the need to know and the desire to just pretend it never happened. Wanting to exploit and understand, while being content to just believe it was completely over. The two didn't balance, but they existed together. Pain and relief. Sorrow and contentment. The evil and the redeeming could sit together in her heart, live together, and neither take the edge off the other.

"I have a tracker node on me, if anything hits the fan, once Buddy can get the Renegade off the ground, he'll get us."

Something in Loske’s chest slipped a little tighter –– not anxiety, nor apprehension..something smoother. Warmer. Appreciation, perhaps. A reminder of that place of gentleness and affection and potential like a hurricane eye. Even if they didn’t always know what the storm would bring, they’d somehow be prepared.

That warmth poked out a knowing grin, and she gave a discreet nod with her chin.

"The station's got all the big medical facilities. Time's a wasting. Let's go."

Truer words ne’er spoken, relative to the pressures of the constant construct. The ragamuffin crew seemed ready to go, and Maynard transitioned smoothly to establishing some level of rapport while Loske glanced about the ship.

Is this an...Outrider class freighter? Frank asked, whirling near the pale-skinned bodyguard to emphasize the demand for a validating response to his question.

"That'd be ironic." Loske added with a snickering disbelief.

 

[Elpsis Kerrigan]

"Where is it? The 'Arx'? Or is that on a need-to-know?" He inquired outright, curious more than anything.

"Hard to be need-to-know when it's plastered all over our holonet site. Not to mention millions of people live there," Elpsis remarked dryly. Somehow, Sith always managed to keep their ginormous worldcraft a secret because obviously every single inhabitant was an unthinking drone, but this one digresses. "Right now it's orbiting Tygara."

That would probably not be any more informative for the ex-Jedi since it was a very obscure planet. But there was always Hoogle. Regardless, the unlikely quartet boarded the freighter that was not at all an Outrider. Well, that was exactly what it was.

Elpsis glanced towards Rhea, who got the hint and quickly went to send off the message via Enlightenment. For her part, Elpsis followed Loske to make sure the sample was properly deposited, though she remained outside the cargo bay. Directly looking over her shoulder would have been a bit too much, even for her. She did, however, check the compartment, making sure it was sealed off.

"Right, sit down somewhere, I guess," she said awkwardly. There was a commons room with a few seating areas, table and all that. Large enough for Elpsis and her minion to practice if the furniture was packed away. A moment later Rhea rejoined them, just as the droid had taken the controls and the ship lifted off.
"Message sent, ma'am," the Rattataki reported crisply. "Flagged it as priority, to be sent to the Brigadier."
"Good. Should cut through the nonsense."

Maynard Treicolt , Loske Treicolt

 

[Loske Treicolt]

Once his suspicions of the Outrider Class freighter had been confirmed and acknowledged, his attention turned to the information about Arx. As Elpsis suggested, much information was available on the holonet for the intelligent droid’s access. Within an interval of her remark back to Maynard, the astromech projected a holographic display of the five-armed station into the lounge area while the passengers awkwardly found their seats at their hostess’ suggestion.

Loske only glanced at it briefly, only partly interested in the structure. Her mind was more consumed with the potential aboard the station, and how it might hold the catharsis she yearned for.

Frank, on the other hand, was close to infatuated with the concept of living on a station. All the more so with a population that weighed heavily into the millions.

As much as a droid with artificial intelligence could, he found it interesting that sentients could live on board a space structure for the entirety of their lives. Operating independently in orbit. All those people...sentients..organics...sacrificing the feeling of soil beneath their feet, the safety knowing that their air was fresh from the atmosphere and not constantly recycled. That their water supply was not part of a natural, self-sustaining cycle. To be so entirely dependent on manufacturing. It made him feel a sort of...empathy –– in a droid’s capacity –– for the citizens of Arx Station. Especially in parallel to the two humans he spent the most time around, who constantly fantasize over Concord Dawn –– which was a floating, self-sustaining rock in space. Did those on Arx Station have the same sort of fanatical patriotism to their home?

Something he’d have to observe once they arrived.

The only question he asked was: Why orbiting Tygara?

"Message sent, ma'am," the Rattataki reported crisply. "Flagged it as priority, to be sent to the Brigadier."

Lowering herself into a seat, Loske tightened when Rhea arrived back into the room. Not because of the woman’s presence, but the implications of her announcement to Elpsis. A message to cut through the nonsense? What had they said? And to a brigadier? That was high ranking stuff.

It seemed Loske’s request for help had gone to the right people, who knew how and when to escalate. Significantly less bureaucratic than the operations of The Alliance, and she glanced in Maynard Treicolt 's direction for a mutual reaction to the further affirmation of their choice to place trust in Firemane, versus their former allies.

With potential for answers this close, Loske’s appetite wasn’t just whet: It was an all-consuming hunger. Her figurative stomach growling in famished want, and the conversation about the massive station fell mostly on deaf ears.

She leaned forward, elbows on her knees with loose gestures and intense eye contact.

“Earlier,” Loske interrupted, looking directly at the pale-skinned Ratakki “You mentioned sorcery and...a..uhm” she paused, searching for the name Rhea had used “Shikoba’s people?" Again, she hesitated, trying the name on for size and reaction. When there came no correction, she ventured into her line of questions: "Are they on The Arx? Or.. Tygara?”

Much of Loske’s personality had been hampered with Shursia. Usually, she was the first one to establish physical contact, or offer a benevolent expression. Now, she was more introverted, almost haphephobic when it came to interaction. And benevolence had been replaced with vitriol. But her curiosity...her insatiable wondering..still managed to exist.

And that wondering had only been piqued when Rhea had originally implied the potential for Loske’s mind to still be under Taeli’s control. It had been enough for her to agree to accompany them with the sample...but she couldn’t just..leave it as a suggestion. Or a threat.

“And..you had experience with hooks in the mind you said. Just waiting to be triggered–– is that possible? Even after that darkness has been expunged through something as potent as Force Light?”

A unilateral connection –– on person more in control than the other –– was evidently possible, given the initial whisper Taeli had offered to activate Shursia’s overtaking of Loske’s mind and shattering her connection to self.

But the residual effects...

..that concept was terrifying to her. Sometimes, at night, she felt as though there was something inside grinning at her. Something terrible that grew and flexed, like a beast in her bloodstream.

 

[Elpsis Kerrigan]

Maynard Treicolt , Loske Treicolt

Personally Elpsis had mixed feelings about the Arx and the even bigger worldcraft Firemane had built for...reasons. Reasons that obviously had nothing to do with her mother's ego. The ginormous stations were a good way to reduce pressure on the environment, since they let Firemane move factories and the like into space and reduce its footprint planetside. It could also help reduce overpopulation or carry out mass migrations because the warlord of the week had decided to glass a planet.

However, she found the idea that some people would spend their whole lives surrounded by metal and machinery sad. The air they breathed and the water they drank was artificial. The gardens and forests they visited were just artificial, planned constructs; replications of the real thing. A real forest was not planned in a boardroom. It did not stop growing because humans said so. She did, however, like the arkships Firemane had built. They'd actually helped the Tygarans make their own fortunes instead of being stuck on a vulnerable planet.

The unlikely, awkward quartet settled down. Message had been relayed. Hopefully it would reach its final recipient. Firemane liked to brag about how it did what government could not and cut through red tape. This was, of course, a very self-serving argument...just like anything those with power said in order to justify having it.

Firemane, like any organisation, had an elaborate bureaucratic labyrinthe. As much as Elpsis hated to admit it, the fact that she was the boss' daughter allowed her to sometimes get access that would otherwise be a lot more difficult to obtain.

“Shikoba’s people?" Again, she hesitated, trying the name on for size and reaction. When there came no correction, she ventured into her line of questions: "Are they on The Arx? Or.. Tygara?”

"The Vashyada," Rhea spoke, giving a name to Shikoba's people. She pronounced the word slowly. Frank would probably recall them coming up in the interview that had sparked Loske's attempt to reach out. "They live on Tygara. Save for a few working for Firemane." Technically they also had their own arkships now, but she chose not to mention that. "They don't like living in the big star city much."
"Too unnatural," Elpsis remarked flatly. "Couple of them are healers working for Firemane."

“And..you had experience with hooks in the mind you said. Just waiting to be triggered–– is that possible? Even after that darkness has been expunged through something as potent as Force Light?”

Loske's next query had not been long in coming. Rhea's features hardened. "I have...though not from a Sith. Those from my world lack the subtlety. They just turn camp inmates who can't work into beasts to have more cannon fodder. I have experience with Jedi doing it. They don't mutate their captives. But they enslave their minds. Sometimes they rewrite your mind. Take your identity. Sometimes you're normal, until the moment they need you to be triggered." Beneath the table, her hands clenched. "Happened to me."

"The bastard took my mind," Elpsis suddenly spoke, eyes never leaving the two ex-Alliance Jedi. Her lips curled into a smile that was thin, cold and did not reach her eyes. There were scars on her face that glowed like fire, as if lava flowed languid under her skin. For just a few moments, the glow seemed to intensify. "I burnt him." She'd kept the skull. "How'd the process work for you anyway? Getting Sithspawnified and all."

 

[Loske Treicolt]

he enunciation of the species helped Frank’s search. He was quick to confirm that those that were born Vashyada were known as healers; which was good. That’s exactly what they were looking for. Supernatural repair.

Suggesting the Vashyada, these healer people didn’t like the superficial construction of the station, and preferred instead to be a part of a more natural planet, seemed positive to Loske on the imaginary scale of trustworthiness. Too much time spent in unnatural atmospheres, constructions of science, would probably make them appreciate how far technology could go without considering if it should go a certain distance. There was a balance that nature offered, that she appreciated every time she was reminded of it’s tenacity.

"They just turn camp inmates who can't work into beasts to have more cannon fodder. I have experience with Jedi doing it. They don't mutate their captives. But they enslave their minds. Sometimes they rewrite your mind. Take your identity. Sometimes you're normal, until the moment they need you to be triggered."
"Happened to me."

Slack-jawed, Loske was dumbfounded at the explanation Rhea delivered. She’d started with a casualness to her tone that quickly became laden in vitriolic acid. A chill started in her shoulders and rolled through her body, making her limbs heavy and numb. Rewriting the mind, taking identity...she’d felt that. She knew exactly what that meant.

It had happened to her. And if Maynard weren’t so deeply embedded in her heart and soul, she might have lost those along with her mind; and that would have completely rewritten her identity to Shursia’s control.

"How'd the process work for you anyway? Getting Sithspawnified and all."

She straightened in her seat, discomfort evident in her posture. And even more evident in the long, drawn-out pause that filled the space between all of them while she considered what had happened.

Going through the motions, the steps leading up to, the event itself, and the after-effects were a part of her self-guided meditation. But it was different to think about something, no matter how hard you thought, than to speak about it aloud. With Maynard, she didn’t have to talk about it much. He just..knew. And with Aaran..he hadn’t asked.

Making a thoughtful sound at the back of her throat, she wrung her hands together before folding them across her chest and sinking into the seat in a self-contained sanctuarium.

“It started on Felucia.” Loske started as if it were a debriefing, monotone and removed from the information. “A sith was trying to bait Maynard from the field by holding some of his men hostage. She wanted to lure us from the city..

In the end, it worked. And what was waiting for us was this Sith, which we arrested..” a knuckle slipped between her teeth and she glanced in Maynard Treicolt 's direction while considering the next few notes in the story. The next few were the worst part. They were the part that she thought about time and time and time and time again.

What would have happened if she just..let Maynard kill Eldaah then and there?

It might always be her greatest speculation and greatest regret.

“But also some massive monster. An experiment. Apparently it released spores that were undetectable and dormant for months. I got infected.” The cells had been dormant, but their malicious intent hadn’t been. They’d been active enough to squander the couple’s attempt at cultivating any sort of everlastingness to their bloodline; seeing it as a threat.

“The prisoner turned out to be directly tied to Taeli Raaf..so I was ordered to assist an investigation during The Alliance’s initial assault of Ziost.” The more Loske spoke, the thinner her voice got. “To probe her mind for any inside knowledge of Raaf’s influence over the planet. She let me into her mind, I forced it, but she let me. I'm not a mentalist..and in there..she”

Her mouth suddenly dried.

“And she..”

Zami dzana iw ri Nimyi.​

In all her meditations, Loske hadn’t revisited the terms of activation. That devilish hymn that invoked Shursia’s takeover and forced the union of parasite and host.

“There was an ancient tongue she used to activate the takeover. “ She couldn’t bring herself to say it..but the words swirled about her mind.

Zami dzana iw ri Nimyi.

Zami dzana iw ri Nimyi.​

“After that I..” Both hands cupped around her mouth, her head pounding, her entirety trembling. “I don’t..remember.”

She had to change the subject.

"When you burned him.." she started, quietly "Had anyone else been affected? Did anything happen to them when he died? Was it......" her shaking stilled, calcifying on that node of hope "Over?"

 

[Elpsis Kerrigan]

Loske Treicolt , Maynard Treicolt

“After that I..” Both hands cupped around her mouth, her head pounding, her entirety trembling. “I don’t..remember.”

She had to change the subject.

Elpsis revisited memories of her own. Being shackled in a squalid, tiny cell, with rats gnawing at her flesh. Being starved and beaten while she felt her memories being stripped away from her mind, bit by bit. Impotently raging against the invisible chains. No one could hear her scream when her lips and her tongue were no longer her own.

Begging for a chance to serve her tormentors. Renouncing her family. Moving like a puppet on strings. The leecherous, smug expression on the Grand Inquisitor's face when he touched her cheek. "You will serve the Dominion well, Jedi Roxane." Elpsis' clenched her jaw tight to control her rising anger. For a few moments, her metal arm glowed red-hot. She had been weak then. She was not weak now.

"When you burned him.." she started, quietly "Had anyone else been affected? Did anything happen to them when he died? Was it......" her shaking stilled, calcifying on that node of hope "Over?"

"Yes," she said simply. "He was ash, my mind was clear. Rhea was...alright." Relatively speaking. She had needed therapy, like Elpsis. "Helped me get out. He'd messed with her mind himself. He let lackeys do it to me. But they burnt, too. A bunch of people who'd suffered the same helped. Dunno what happened to the rest. It was just one camp." One brainwashing centre in an evil nation full of them.

"Should've killed the Sith when you had the chance," Elpsis said bluntly, unknowingly given voice to what Loske might have been thinking. "Your superiors are morons. Didn't they have any mentalists on call? You use specialists if you wanna get into someone's head." Typical Jedi, she thought bitterly. Or Senators. Same deal really.

Irresponsible, wholly disconnected from the bloodshed on the frontlines. Naturally when things went wrong they threw those who'd done the bleeding and fighting to the wolves. Rhea had gotten up to fetch a glass of water for the ex-Sithspawn.

 

[Loske Treicolt]

There was something in the way Elpsis took time to respond that tugged at Loske’s empathy. She’d seen that distant, glassy look in herself; the one Elpsis Kerrigan demonstrated now as her features grew taut and her arm started to glow. Quietly, she was nothing but a spectator to the red-head’s reflection, but she involuntarily leaned back when the woman’s metal looked as though it was becoming dangerously hot.

All the hope she’d culminated in her final question was rewarded, and gave Loske the consideration that if she could kill the source there might be no chance of anyone else having the same misfortune as her.

"Should've killed the Sith when you had the chance,"

Opening her mouth to speak, to defend herself, she quickly clicked her teeth shut and looked abashedly in Maynard Treicolt ’s direction. With hot cheeks, she downcast her gaze to the space between their feet.

Only a tight, thin whisper slipped through her teeth: “I know.”

The same motto could be said about the inappropriate use of her abilities to read Elpsis mind. Except, it hadn’t necessarily been superiors. Sure, superiors had approved it, but it had been Djorn’s request. He’d known about her affinity for memory reading from inanimate objects, and from sentients if they were giving enough.

Problem was, Eldaah and Taeli had been too giving.

With some level of mutual understanding established between them, there was a bit more comfort amongst the unlikely quartet of Force-users for the duration of their travels. How long it took to get to The Arx was relegated to being measured in Standard Ship Time. The timekeeping of Concord Dawn’s moon was no longer relevant once they’d left it’s atmosphere, and en route to Tygara introduced more complicated mathematics that overall just measuring hours between takeoff to landing was the way to go.

A few minutes to landing, Frank tootled a high-pitched sound like an alarm. At least a notification that they’d arrived.

That’s it, he observed through the ship’s viewport. The renderings certainly don’t do the Arx justice.

 

[Elpsis Kerrigan]

Time zones were a weird thing. Elpsis' standard posting was the Forge, a station located on the other side of the galaxy. But her little sisters lived on the Arx most of the time. It was the norm that whenever she called them, they were asleep and vice versa. Concord Dawn was fortunately closer, but an indeterminate number of hours passed.

With barely a ripple, the Outrider freighter made the jump and the colossal Arx came into view. Compared to its ginormous dimensions, the small transport was not even a tiny toothprick. It was shielded by a host of support ships. Upon leaving hyperspace, the freighter was hailed by the Arx and Rhea sent the appropriate clearance code.

"Mother has a bigger one now," Elpsis muttered in reference to the enormous station.
"The Arx already has more people than any city on my homeworld," Rhea remarked. She had not been to Coruscant yet, though she had heard stories about the city-planet. "Why would she need a bigger station?"
Elpsis shrugged. "Needed something new to brag about."
"How can she have enough currency to build it?"
"Lotta people buy her stuff, I guess."
"Or she really does chit gold."

Elpsis suppressed a chuckle at that. Her expression turned serious and professional when she looked at the two Jedi. "Let's get moving. Get the symbiote." Elpsis did not hover over Loske's shoulder this time. Regardless, by the time the symbiote had presumably been collected, the freighter would've landed in a hangar bay.

When they opened the hatch and stepped out into the bay, they would find a welcoming committee. As was typical for a quasi-military hangar, Firemane Provosts were waiting for them. They were easily identifiable by the MP patch worn on their garrison fatigues. They wore low-grade uniform flak vests.

However, a huge, very imposing soldier stood among the group, towering over MPs and newcomers alike. He or she, for gender was difficult to discern, resembled a golem of myth, but clad in power armour. This was a Kar'zun of the Granite Guards. The soldier looked at the new arrivals in a manner humans would consider stoic because Kar'zun expressions were hard to read.

At the centre of the welcoming committee stood an Atrisian woman in early middle age and dressed in an olive green Firemane uniform with the Order of Fire symbol on her chest. She had the rank bars of a colonel. A powerful Force aura surrounded her. She was one of the melodramatically named Commanders of Fire. "Lieutenant Kerrigan, I see you completed your assignment without suffering more limb loss so soon after your hospital stay."

Elpsis saluted crisply, as did Rhea. "I'll try not to make the nurses miss me for too long, ma'am. hief Chief Apotheracy Atsuko Kitazawa," Elpsis said for Loske's benefit.
The Atrisian's brown eyes fell upon the Jedi. "Ms. Treicolt, I presume. And that's the symbiote, yes?"

Loske Treicolt , Maynard Treicolt

 

[Loske Treicolt]

Every time she packaged up the remaining sample, Loske wanted it destroyed. It was a harmful link that continued to exist between herself and the monster she’d been. And now, with Rhea’s suggestion from earlier, the tiny sample in her care might have been an opportunity to turn the link she had to Raaf into something vile.

Potentials of both good and bad were silenced, replaced with respectful awe as Maynard and Loske followed Elpsis Kerrigan and her counterpart’s lead. Lightly armed silhouettes stood sentry in a collection that likely meant to impose, but were outmatched by a much larger mass. Quietly, the would-be Kiffar took stock of the looming presence and shifted the way she carried the sample.

Salutations and jabs were exchanged between the one person not wearing external armour and their escort. It was greatly convenient that she was busy holding the symbiote, and felt little necessity to salute like the others. This process was...incredibly formal. Though, she might have expected as much. In a surprising gesture of politeness, the red-head gave introduction and Loske took careful note of the woman’s name for her to return once she herself was acknowledged.

Unable to conceal the small smile that came with the mention of her last name –– their last name –– she let the mirth show to re-emphasize her re-found humanity.

“Yes, Loske –– and Maynard Treicolt . The droid is Frank.” She nodded in the direction of the astromech and lofted the position of the symbiote out should the Atrisian want to examine it.

“It’s a small sample, but you can do whatever you want with it to run tests. I..I want to make sure that it’s completely gone from my system...and if possible, create some sort of antidote should this grow into something more viral. The Sith that created this has an affinity for monstrous experiments and I’m worried I won’t be the last victim of this virus.”

She paused, letting that sink in.

“Thank you in advance, this...is really helpful Chief Apotheracy Atsuko Kitazawa.”

 

[Elpsis Kerrigan]

Loske Treicolt , Maynard Treicolt

"My rank or ma'am suffice. Follow me," Kitawaza said simply. Technically she also had a military rank, but she rarely bothered to use it and few dared to push the issue. Gesturing to the Provosts, she added: "I'll take it from here. You're dismissed." The MPs dispersed, though the Granite Guard followed her at a respectful distance when the Chief Apotheracy led the group out of the hangar through a utilitarian corridor and down a turbolift.

"Please outline the nature of this creature, to the best of your ability. I understand you were exposed on Felucia, but infestation was later triggered by a Sith spell." The doctor's tone was not unkind, but serious and authoritative. After having her biometrics scanned and swiping her keycard, Kitawaza led the group into the heart of the facility. This was a medical wing of the Arx managed by the Order of Fire, so laboratories, hospital rooms along with some spaces to socialise or wait abounded here.

"We'll also have to examine you to make sure it's been completely purged."
"She said she wouldn't agree to experiments," Elpsis suddenly spoke. "I gave her my word."

The Apotheracy looked at her sternly. Indeed, she seemed offended. "Examine. I'm not a sadistic quack masquerading as a doctor, Lieutenant. I know the difference between actual medicine and the debased abomination the Sith and their Imperial ilk practice. But I can't determine whether a patient has been fully cured of an infestation - from a Sithspawn symbiote we didn't know about until recently, I might add - and there are no lingering effects - mental or physical - by simply looking them in the eye and giving their aura a glance."

 

[Loske Treicolt]

SOMEONE WRITE MY NEW NAME DOWN​

In lowered whispers, Loske had prepared for this on the ship –– the Treicolts talking amongst themselves in advance of touching down on The Arx. Small whispers of reassurance and murmurs of how close this was to being over. Just a few more steps.

So by the time The Apothecary asked Loske to recount the details of her all-consuming infection, the would-be Kiffar was well-prepared. She knew her demons, sometimes they still danced behind her eyes, playing recklessly with matches -–– but the sparks were pretty now. Something she could tease, something she could turn into power. Reminders of how strong she was, how strong he’d been and how they’d together overcome the worst thing that had happened to them. This effort was to prove it, to finally make those demons unlit.

Loske parted her mouth to speak, gently touching the hand of her escort for that extra node of confidence when she clicked her teeth shut.

"She said she wouldn't agree to experiments, I gave her my word."

Elpsis’ interjection was surprising, and a small smile twitched at the corners of her mouth. Pleasantly surprised by the remarkable insistence the red-head asserted to protect her. To protect her own honour from the promise she’d made.

“Thank you,” Loske nodded to show her appreciation, despite the medically inclined woman quickly shutting down any pretenses of experimentation.

“That’s part of what I’m afraid of.” She admitted too, once the woman continued her rationalization for wanting to give her a once-over. They walked through sterile corridors and the blonde drew in a breath.

“We ran into a Sith Knight on Felucia and some sort of experiment –– a giant monster. I don’t know what sort of likeness to compare it to, but it released spores. I didn’t realize it at the time, but they settled, dormant within me or on me. That same Sith Knight was someone we arrested and I intercepted her mind and she in turn connected to mine, but her Master was in there too, and the Sith Spell was delivered directly through that mental connection. I couldn’t let go. After that..all my fears were all I could see. I blacked out, pretty well unconscious to whatever took over. I knew something was wrong.

Eventually I was relegated to an observer within my own body. Whatever took over me, it wanted us to have a union. So we became something called Shursia; it used my memories against me, mutilated them and made me live in an alternate reality while it sought to destroy the current one.

A dark, inky, self-repairing skin fully covered mine. It could weaponize itself, turn my fingers into long claws or teeth into fangs. My strength was..” she looked at Elpsis and winced, vaguely recalling the Starfighter she’d hurled. “Superhuman. Like constantly reinforced with The Force.

I only managed to break free entirely when Maynard stabbed my heart with a nexus of light, and it burned away –– at least I hope –– entirely the physical and mental influence of the substance.”

She paused, taking note of the slight tremble of her hands.

“That’s..pretty well what I remember. Other than its lust for violence.”

Elpsis Kerrigan | Maynard Treicolt

 

[Elpsis Kerrigan]

Loske Treicolt , Maynard Treicolt

Apotheracy Kitawaza nodded when Loske finished elaborating on what had happened. "I won't give you empty platitudes about how I feel for you and you're not alone in this. I haven't experienced what you have, so I can't claim to understand what you endured," she said bluntly. She had never been one for pretend empathy. Or 'thoughts and prayers', for that matter.

"I do, however, have experience in dealing with people exposed to Sithspawn viruses, mutations etc. Barbaric stuff. Few can get turned back to what they used to be and even then the mental damage may be too too severe for them to function normally. You've been a chance many don't." She looked thoughtful. Loske's mention of the entity trapping her and twisting her memories piqued her interest. "This entity is most unusual. Reports of being reduced to being an observer in one's own body aren't unheard of, but most infectious Sithspawn are so mindless they barely count as sentient. Normally the existing consciousness is simply twisted and reduced to base urges."

They reached what looked like a laboratory for hazardous materials. The moment she approached the door, there was a bright blow as decontamination procedures kicked in. Kitawaza handed the container to a researcher dressed from head to toe in a biohazard suit. "Have a look at this. Get me everything you can find. And if something happens, initiate sterilisation protocols," she said seriously.

That done, she turned and beckoned Loske to follow, leading her into a medical room with sterile white walls and what looked like an oversized MRI tube. Being a trained Jedi, Loske would probably sense Force energies radiating from the device.

"We'll do a blood test, then scan you with this. Essentially, it's a brain scan. You'll lie on the table and go into the tube. You won't be able to wear the clothes you came in during the procedure. We'll provide you with a gown to wear while inside. Any items you may be carrying will have to be handed over for safety reasons. You'll get your things back when we're done. The exam is not painful, but can take between thirty minutes and sixty minutes."