Back in Nam

[Aithne Charr]

Solan groaned as he had to sit up with his hand pressed against his head. It hurt like no tomorrow and he stared at the back of his eyelids for a few moments before opening them and trying to figure out where he was. It was a ship and he had been in a bed, why was he in a bed. Last thing he remembered was arguing over something with Taeli and now... what in the world is going on. "Hello?" He shouted for a moment, still sitting there as his entire body felt wea and like it would collapse in a moment's time anyways.

[member="Taeli Raaf"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Solan Charr"]

"So you're finally awake," Taeli said, coming into the quarters she had placed Solan in. "You must have really taken a beating, you've been out for the last three days. Enough time to get us to Nam Chorios, we're just waiting on clearances to land on one of the space stations for decontamination processes.

Nam Chorios was infamous for the Death Seed Plague, a disease caused by the creatures known as drochs. The insidious creatures would burrow into a being and start draining them of their life force unless you had droch repellent. Luckily, ground lightning released every night would cleanse those on the surface and the tsils could warn a Force Sensitive where a major droch concentration was. They wouldn't need to go too far out of society though for they had come to do.

"Do you remember what happened on Bal'demnic?" she asked, sitting on the edge of the bed.

 

[Aithne Charr]

[member="Taeli Raaf"]

"Barely. There was something we were arguing about then its all really kind of hazy. Please tell me that you and I got into a drinking contest and it ended in a really fun time after. LAst time i woke up this rough was on the floor of a bar after the... incident with Seanna Vel..." He laughed as he didn;t even know for a moment what had happened. He though he must of been hit by mining equipment or gotten into another drinking contest. Granted if he did and Taeli was the unfortunate loser, he wouldn't complain if only he could remember the scene is all. "Why, what did happen?"

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Solan Charr"]

"I should just show you," she said, handing him a datapad with the vid files from the fight loaded onto it. "I suspected your mind might suppress what happened as a coping mechanism for bad memories, and this just confirms it for me. I have to warn you, you feel like that because of what is on these vid files."

Pressing the play button, she would allow the entire fight play out for him. It might be painful to his memory, but he needed to see this. He needed to see undeniable proof that he really needed help with his mind, and that without, he was only going to degenerate further and further until everyone became an enemy.

 

[Aithne Charr]

[member="Taeli Raaf"]

As he watched he at first thought this was a joke and looked at her with a smile but then he noticed not a single inch of her face hinted at anything but this being real. He turned his head back to it now and stared as he tried to see it without the painful realization that he was looking at something real and by the time he tossed out the napalm he grabbed the Datapad and pushed it away so he didn't have to watch more. In a moment the illusion he worked to keep up fell once more nad he looked as he did, corrupted and scarred. "That... Everything is real... this isn't some damned joke right."

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Solan Charr"]

"No, I'm afraid it isn't some cruel joke," Taeli said, closing the datapad. "I had to Force Light you to stop you, hence why you feel like absolute bantha poodoo right now. Now do you believe me that you need some specialist help?"

She felt pity for the man, for her friend, that he was in such a situation. Hopefully the people she had brought him to see could help him, and maybe they could pick up a few tricks here too.

"So, since you were unconscious, I had you moved to my ship and like I said, we're just awaiting clearances for docking with a station orbiting Nam Chorios," she continued saying. "I figured you wouldn't be objecting, this time anyways, to actually coming to see the Theran Listeners to try and heal your mind."

 

[Aithne Charr]

[member="Taeli Raaf"]

He stared at her and then at the datapad again as he spoke. "Did i hurt anyone at the site?"

He wasn't sure she told him already. Hell he didn't actually want to know but the concern on his face was clear as day as he knew if he had hurt someone because of his own stupidity he would come to regret never coming to this place sooner. He should have listened to her long ago. He shouldn't have been such a damned, arrogant, foul. His anger was spiking again as he didn't even realize how disgusted and enraged about what he had done that he was becoming. His hands curled up and the blood going to them was slowed as his hands paled.

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Solan Charr"]

"Two men were injured by the napalm, light burns from what Jaxson sent me when we stopped to get our bearings," she said, sympathy on her face as she could feel the anger bubbling up. It was directed at himself, and while she not vindictive at all, she could understand why he was upset. He had been blinded by his own pride to what he was becoming, blinded by rage and hatred.

"Thankfully, they will make a full recovery and there was no other casualties," she continued saying, a comforting hand coming down on his shoulder. "So, dunderhead, you willing to listen to me this time or am I going to have to Force Light you again and drag you to the Theran Listeners?"

 

[Aithne Charr]

[member="Taeli Raaf"]

He looked at her before nodding and sighing as his shoulders relaxed. "This is... hard to think that i couldn't control something ive controlled for years." He leaned back and stared at the wall for a few moments and sighed.

For a few lone moments there was nothing he had to say more on teh fact as he stood up and went to find a place where he can think alone. His mind was racing at a million miles a moment. He had attacked his friend, had struck at her to kill her. He had even actually hurt people who he was not even aiming at attacking. They had to find out what was going on in his head.

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Solan Charr"]

She would let him have his space while she went back to her ship's cockpit just in time to see the flashing light that clearance had been granted to land at one of the orbital stations. Good, they could get this show on the road then. Moving the ship towards the designated orbital station, she hoped this would help him. Mnemotherapy might actually help eliminate the more painful memories and emotions embedded in his psyche.

Landing in the hanger, she lowered the ramp and went to wait for Solan in the main room. It was going to be an interesting experience, no matter what occurred on the surface.

 

[Aithne Charr]

[member="Taeli Raaf"]

He came out in his usual clothing but with not a single weapon on him and his hand let the saber come out of the sleeve before he tossed it to Taeli. He said nothing and his amber eyes looked out towards where the ramp would be as he started towards it no. He would be almost emotionless to the point it would look like he shut off everything so that he did not lose control again. This was exactly what he did as he had started locking off each emotion one at a time and he was thinking to himself about it as he walked each step. He did raise a question as he reached the edge of the ramp. "Why did you become a Jedi Taeli?'

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Solan Charr"]

"The selfish answer would be to be closer to my sister," Taeli said, leaving the satchel that contained her weapons behind on the ship as they descended the ramp. "The honest answer is, that yes I get to be closer to Corvus, but I legitimately want to help people and stop the spread of the Sith. I never was cut out to be a Sith, as much as I tried to be one, but I always did things that minimized the impact on others."

She noted how emotionless he was appearing right now, and she had a feeling he was still trying to grasp the reality of just how far he had fallen and what he was on the road to becoming if his mind continued to degrade. As they moved through decontamination, she reflected on what exactly they were going to be doing here and just how much it might help him.

"We're going to need to contact some Old-Timers when we reach the surface," she said.

 

[Aithne Charr]

[member="Taeli Raaf"]

He completely ignored the part about the old-timers, for some reason he seemed to have an unusual fascination for the change to her being a Jedi. "Surely you could have helped more as one of them, or even without actually joining the Jedi could you not have? I mean, there is the distinct facts before the both of us that such a change was so... far. Of course i understand that things can be changed and that you are one such thing..." He never asked a full question, he never thought of a full question, he just talked on his rut in his thoughts. He didn't even honestly know what he was talking about and his movements just followed her.

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Solan Charr"]

"Helping more as a Sith would eventually have just attracted the wrong sort of attention from my former colleagues," Taeli laughed. "They aren't interested in helping refugees unless it benefits their power, they aren't interested in those starving and wasting away in the Undercity and desolated regions."

Pausing for a moment as they were sprayed with droch repellent, Taeli continued speaking.

"We all change eventually, Solan, it's one of the inevitable things about the galaxy and life in general. In all honesty, I reverted to how I was before I joined the Sith, it just took a long time. Losing friends and watching the destruction made me realize how much I had been blinded by Praelior's promises of power when she brought me in six years ago. Then Corvus showed me another way to live, and it just slowly pulled me in. I like being a Jedi though, it certainly gives me time to do more research on things."

 

[Aithne Charr]

[member="Taeli Raaf"]

"I see." With that he was completely silent once more though if one looked at him several ticks were clear as day. His hands gripped tight behind his back, his eyes looking at every breathing and moving thing around him, He seemed like everything around him was emanating some kind of hostile presence on this planet and it was clear it was bugging him being here. But the knew they had to come here to do what they needed so he was silent for now about this place. He did not need someone screwing things up worse, especially if that someone was him.

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Solan Charr"]

Noting the ticks, she knew his paranoia was on high alert right now. The sooner they got to the surface and met the Theran Listeners, the better. He really needed to relax, but that might be hard to do considering how things had gone for him recently. Following the few people actually heading onto the surface onto a shuttle, she leaned back in her seat and placed her glasses on the bridge of her nose.

Blinking them on, she started to surf the Holonet for interesting news stories as the shuttle took off and made the short jaunt down to the surface. A stewardess walked along the passengers, handing out cans of droch repellent as she went. They would need it re-applied every few hours or risk contracting the Death Seed plague. Something to be avoided indeed.

 

[Aithne Charr]

[member="Taeli Raaf"]

His eyes were closed with each step they took, opening them only when he knew someone was nearby and turning his head to look at the person. He then turned his head to the shuttle that he moved into behind Taeli and sat in his own seat. There was still nothing for him to say but his eyes cut through everyone on the ship. He could feel their emotions and it was irritating him, he did not want to worry about their emotions when he had his own things to sort through. He needed them all to shut up and his hand started tapping as he thought that.

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Solan Charr"]

"I could always knock you unconscious again until we get where we need to get to," Taeli said, looking over at the clearly irritated Solan. He must be picking up on the emotions of those around him, which was just fueling his headache irritation, at least that was her guess. He didn't have adequate barriers for his empathy to help him, the dark memories and emotions having shattered them.

Luckily, the shuttle ride wasn't too long and they were landing in the city on Nam Chorios's surface. Getting up, she gestured for him to follow her and they would start winding their way through the city, looking for a place to meet some Old-Timers. The cantina up ahead would be a good spot to start most likely.

"You can wait outside if you want," she said to him. "Just don't go anywhere, who knows what might happen in your current condition."

With that, she went inside to talk with the bartender.

 

[Aithne Charr]

[member="Taeli Raaf"]

He just glanced at her when she made the joke and for the first time he had no humor to be found and only tapped his forehead. A silent gesture that he was already having some trouble up there there conversation would not help him right now. At least he wasn't a telepath, feeling the emotions of others was one thing but the mere thought of hearing others thoughts was maddening to him. It was surprising they didn't go crazy faster than Empaths. But he sighed and leaned forward on his hand as the trip progressed.

Only when they landed and got into the open air did a level of relief return, up until he was hit with the feelings of the population and almost double over. The fact his barriers were almost all gone was going to kill him at this rate and he slumped against teh cantina as he waved Taeli on with the simple words. "Hurry up."

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Solan Charr"]

"Fine then," she said, heading inside and going up to the bartender. "So I'm looking for an Old-Timer, know where you can point me to?"

The bartender didn't answer immediately, just appraised her in a gruff way. The people here didn't really trust outlanders, even now after so many centuries after the Galactic Empire, and the Theran Listeners did like their privacy. She just hoped they would help them, as it seemed Solan might either pass out or lose control again if they didn't get him help soon.

"Back room, ask for Toralla," the bartender finally said, and Taeli placed some credits on the counter for him. Making sure Solan wasn't doing anything foolish, she moved into the backroom to find three men, dressed as Old-Timers, waiting with blasters drawn.

"What do you want?" the lead man asked.

"My friend outside needs to meet with the Theran Listeners," she answered. "His mind has taken a beating, and he needs help. I'm a Jedi Master and was hoping to learn some of the techniques while helping my friend."