A Place I Haven't Been

[Matsu Xiangu]

A mind-trick wasn’t inherently a bad thing. Of course there were many that used it to get their way: give me your money, give me your position, tell me your secrets! To have such power at your disposable was heady and in the wrong hands could unravel the most carefully laid plans. But the Jedi were fans of mind tricks as well. Matsu had worked with her fair share of lightsiders and knew they weren’t opposed to redirecting a situation to their advantage when it was called for. Granted, their suggestions were less life-threatening (you didn’t want to point that blaster at me, you were thinking of going for a walk in the opposite direction) but it amounted to the same thing. She could feel a slight wave of disquiet from the woman and wondered if perhaps she was battling the struggle for morality most force-users came across at some point in their lives.

With great power came great responsibility, all that pathetic drivel.

She turned her head to watch the woman beside her when she spoke, tilting her head and blinking in reptilian observation. “You do what you just did as often as you can. Everyone is different, both in terms of their ability to resist your suggestions and the way you get in. You can learn to break most of them,” she answered, running her tongue over her teeth after she finished. Mind tricks were merely brushing the surface of mental abilities and though she sensed Lasedri was more involved in the physical she knew that the woman hadn’t missed the fear and raised respect that had pulsed through the group when they saw the blond woman do as she was told. “And you can find someone to teach you, someone who’s made a career of walking through people’s minds.”

It wasn’t necessarily an invitation unless Lasedri wanted it. Matsu was no stranger to taking on more permanent apprentices but thought the woman standing next to her would be a different situation entirely. “I still don’t know your first name.”

[member="Geneviève Lasedri"]​

 

[Geneviève Lasedri]

You can learn to break most of them. 'Break' sounded like such a cruel word. But that was exactly why Lasedri would want to develop such a skill. No opponent should be able to stand up to her righteous willpower--righteous, indeed.

Her musing was cut short as Xiangu noted that Gen had failed to identify herself by name so far. Like that was not intentional. "Echo," she answered, actually lying by providing her middle name instead, out of paranoid habit. "It's the only name most know." Her eyes darted to the side to insinuate that she was referencing the people around them.

Her brow furrowed as she looked away from this instructor of sorts, mind pushing and groping for the same feeling in Xiangu's mind that she had felt in the blonde's. No success so far, but Gen was a stubborn type. Though, she had considered the possible consequence of performing such an invasive action. The clawed hand was reason for concern. She decided to try to disguise her true intent by exercising another mental ability--speaking. And you wouldn't happen to be promoting yourself, would you?

She wanted to know more. But she wanted it clear that she was no one's fool.

[member="Matsu Xiangu"]

 

[Matsu Xiangu]

It wasn’t that Matsu’s morality was necessarily complicated – she didn’t have any. The one shred of a rule she had for herself, to never break in to someone’s mind unless they gave her a reason, was fast crumbling as it was and the excuses were flimsy and thin. The work she’d taken on for the various organizations she’d pledged a hand to lent her to breaking in to people’s heads often with devastating results more often than not. The weak were exceptionally prone to sudden lapses in sanity when someone dug as far as Matsu did – something like those games they’d played as kids, daring each other to reach in to bags filled with frozen, peeled grapes and squealing loudly when it felt like eyeballs.

Matsu had always reached in with no reservations, plunging her hand as far as she could and feeling around stone-faced when it was obvious it was just fruit and wishing she was really touching gore. It was the same in someone’s head – she wished there was something horrifying, something that made her sit back and wish she hadn’t dug as far as she had. But it never happened and she left them drooling and done, staring off in to space after she shredded through everything that gave them consciousness.

People were so disappointing in their virtue.

She felt a slight brushing along the edges of her consciousness, a hand testing the fortress walls. Ah, ah, ah that wouldn’t do. Tilting her head at the woman and narrowing her eyes slightly, she reached out in to Lasedri’s mind and planted a short, delicate mind shard – a little stab of pain as a warning.

The name didn’t necessarily feel like the true one but she’d at least provided something than the formality of a last name basis. She wouldn’t begrudge the woman her secrets. Matsu certainly wouldn’t trust Matsu if she were someone else, and it had been the way of her kind to lie and protect themselves since they began. (Maybe there’s something to this woman.)

“If you’re asking,” she answered back through their minds, a slow nod of appreciation for the display of power as she poked at her tongue with one fang. That mistrust made things complicated however. Most of her Apprentices had sought her out or were members of the Fringe or Empire, mutual partners in crime. Lasedri clearly wasn’t about to share details with her and Matsu didn’t trust her because of how cagey she was. So why bother? Eh, she had a weak spot for difficult people and teaching was an easy way to train oneself while annoying someone else. “If you are, we decide where we meet next and when at the end of every training session. I sense that would be more agreeable to you than ‘trading numbers’.”

[member="Geneviève Lasedri"]​

 

[Geneviève Lasedri]

Lasedri jolted and sucked air turbulently between her teeth, her brow creasing as she felt her mind pricked and the hint of a migraine fostering in her head. She had been caught and dealt with in effective method. But someday, she would hold supremacy. The concept of besieging another's mind in this supernatural plane had been planted and sprouted almost immediately. Despite her misgivings about the unchecked power that came with it, Gen craved the superiority; the possibilities. Had it truly taken her this long to grow up? Of course, it all depended on which aspect one was talking about--this being the understanding of her own potential.

Was she asking? The way the other woman continued to play with her hideous teeth was grounds for hesitation. No matter what xenophobic mantra one might pour on Geneviève for judging one's ritual and appearance, she knew that there was a reason to the bothersome, distracting motion. Gen was guilty of such things, herself. See, the eye.

But here was Opportunity, standing right before her, clothed in its typically loathsome initial appearance. How many chances does one get? The Jedi Master had been gone before she knew it.

With wary eyebrow raised as the pain in her head subsided, Lasedri admitted a shallow nod in agreement. And in return...?

[member="Matsu Xiangu"]

 

[Matsu Xiangu]

Matsu was a study in dichotomies, a crossroads of curves and edges. She was every inch a woman: dressed in designer fabrics, hair long and soft, lips painted, the hint of some obscure and expensive fragrance on the air when she walked by. But there were hints like the pointed edges of the nails on her natural hand or those sharp canines she played with out of habit that spoke to something worse underneath the veneer – perhaps a monster in a woman’s clothing.

And then there was the arm, of course.

But it was to her advantage to be underestimated, and she didn’t mind if people had no idea of her capabilities. It was becoming increasingly difficult to keep them under wraps, but she would try.

And what did she want in return for her offer? It was a good question, and she doubted her possible apprentice would like the answer. But she could taste the desire in the air, the potential ‘Echo’ knew was just within her grasp if she knew how to reach for it. Temptation was a cornerstone of Matsu’s philosophy. “Let me…experiment on you. Nothing that will alter you permanently. Just exploring your mind.” Matsu left out the part where weakness would leave Lasedri a drooling mess, but she assumed she would not allow herself to break at the first sign of trouble.

[member="Geneviève Lasedri"]​

 

[Geneviève Lasedri]

Geneviève was beginning to fathom the possible insanity of the individual she was consulting. Things had not quite made sense about her arrival from the beginning, even if Mrrew's organization had sent such a courier. Gen felt her value deflating in a matter of seconds, now understanding that she was coldly viewed as an asset to be obtained, and nothing more. Gen was a slave to no one.

But how desperate was she? Where else could she begin? It was not like persons with these unnatural skills fell out of the sky everyday. Time was limited; chances were limited. Lasedri thirsted for more--just a taste more. But the pricetag was far from attractive. To allow someone into her own mind--the one that was her very own; her personal sacrament; her security; the one thing she had complete faith in; her identity--was preposterous. She had already felt a portion of the woman's capability as her mind had been 'flicked' as penalty for her own probing attempt. What more could Xiangu do if Gen lowered her defenses? 'Experiment' was not an ominous word in the least.

Frakkit, she swore to herself, gritting her teeth and wincing as she realized that she was not going to listen to her own good judgment. Temptation. "I'm sure you have only my best interests in mind..." This was the worst idea ever. The worst. "We'll see if you can take it."

Banshee.

[member="Matsu Xiangu"]

 

[Matsu Xiangu]

Self-preservation was an instinct she could respect. It was, after all, a normal biological response. (They’re all just animals, a jumble of neurons and instinct that happened to evolve higher thought. But they’d all claw and strive to survive, cutting others down and putting themselves first when put to the test.) But she admired even more going through with it anyway despite the unknown. Though she’d never admitted to being one – though ‘Echo’ might have her suspicions – it was a belief she subscribed to as Sith: pain and suffering were a means to an end, a necessary step to get what you wanted. It was to never be attached to anything so much you couldn’t cut it off and grow stronger for doing so.

She flexed her durasteel arm, the clicking sound of her claws against her palm sounding between the two of them. (Including yourself.)

Truly smiling for the first time, she nodded. “I do love a challenge.” Rolling her shoulders she looked back out over the gathering, wondering again what was going on. It didn’t much matter to her, though she wondered if she wouldn’t see these faces again someday – cutting them down, perhaps. “I’ll leave you to it. Utapau, in a week? Same time.” After confirmation or denial and replanning she turned on her boot heel, heading back towards her stealth ship with a little smile on her face.

Perfect, perfect, perfect.

[member="Geneviève Lasedri"]​