Private Broken bodies, wavering minds

[Shira Krytall]

Shira was spending her time in the ship's gym, meditating and thinking about the entire situation that had unfolded in the last few days. Not only had she met a bounty hunter of sort, but also a Sith, whom she had defeated. While her defeating sith acolytes wasn't the interesting thing, after all, she was trained to fight other force users and be proficient in combat more than anything else, it was the fact that both of them were still alive. Usually, such duels ended with the death of one person. In this duel, however... both of them survived, relatively unscathed. While Shira tried to tell herself time and time again that it was the fact that she once had been a Jedi, not killing unarmed people or maybe the fact that she wasn't a Jedi any longer, that she didn't need to fight the dark side, there was something else. Something that confused her. The arguments they brought up to her were valid but there was something behind this. Shira had fought dark force users before and never had they caused the same reaction within her that Crysis had done. Was it the fact that Shira had lost something of herself in all the killing? Was it the fact that she actually felt something positive when the dark side called out to her? Was it the fact that she had licked blood like a starved shark when she used the force, the dark side of the force on Crysis?

Speaking of which she could feel her. Not because her Jedi senses were alarmed about the dark aura, Crysis seemed to carry like a mantle, approaching her, but rather simply because of the fact that there was something notable in the force that was nearing the gym. Something that felt so much more alive than her.

While she sat there with her back to the door, her eyes closed, she waited until she could feel the pressurized door opening behind her before letting out a small sigh and stating: "I can feel through the entirety of this ship... do you actively try to overpower my senses or is that just you being you?", Shira asked with still closed eyes, unsure what the supposed sith wanted, and even more importantly, if Crysis had felt her as well, had been looking for the characteristic empty spot that seemed to hungrily swallow in the force. Maybe she came to talk more about her ways, maybe she came to talk in general, or maybe she came to train, to ask about how Shira was so proficient in battle. Even with her sense of precognition, Shira wasn't able to see into others' minds after all. Another skill she would never be able to fully learn.

 

[Crysis]

The woman was certainly an oddity, after her and the Bounty Hunter encountered her, their conversation had tipped towards a friendly spar, which Crysis had lost. Worse had happened, an interesting learning experience for the young Scion. She wasn't necessarily upset about it. If anything, it was fun to cross blades with a real Sith. Not the type that just said it as a name either, a real one down to her blood. Maybe that was why Crysis had invited her to come along back home to meet her own Master. She certainly hadn't expected the woman to unleash purely Dark Sided techniques on her. Perhaps she felt a little jealous that she was so advanced. Though, she wasn't in turmoil over it. She seemed content enough to come along and meet her Masters; and that was enough to keep Crysis optimistic she could learn more by watching the woman.

As such, in her room aboard the ship, she seethed. Not in a meditative stance, but instead thumping back and forth in the room and letting her mind, thoughts, and signature in the Force run rampant and malignant. She considered all of the terrible things she would do those that might cross her. Let those emotions build up into a hurricane and let that hurricane spill from herself with disregard. Whispering nothings as she walked on way, then chuckling at the thoughts of carnage when she walked back the other. Her body clearly mirrored this, muscles more defined, veins on her neck protruding lightly as sweat poured from her form.

She wasn't working out, but her accelerated body functions were having the desired effect. Suddenly, she snorted in a breath of air and stormed towards the exit of her room, turning and beelining for that void in the Force. She had never felt such a thing before, but it was curious... It was something she wanted to know more about. And so, without an invitation, she would press the door panel for Shira's room, and enter, surprised that the other seemed to sense her coming.

"I can feel through the entirety of this ship... do you actively try to overpower my senses or is that just you being you?"

She was already heaving, like she had just gotten out of a fistfight with ten people, glancing around the woman's room, then looking to her with curiosity. Wasn't she a Sith? Maybe. Maybe Crysis had some wires crossed here. She knew she was too dumb for history, and yet maybe the woman could teach her something...

"I was seething, like..."

She calmed herself a bit, arms relaxing, then her hostile posture following suit.

"Like, Jedi meditation... Just the opposite. I didn't know you would be able to sense it, being whatever, it is that you are. You are a hollow place in the Force. I can only sense around you, but not you... No, more to the point, I sense very keenly what you aren't. Like The Force is pulled into a void where you are... I can't explain myself properly"

Crysis admitted, features softening further. She turned and moved to jump up on the sill for the room's viewport, letting one leg hand down as she peered at the other.

"How did you come to be that way?"

Shira Krytall

 

[Shira Krytall]

Opening her eyes slowly, Shira stared at the wall in front of her and her messy bed that stood in front of it as she thought about it for a second. Seething... Was this what the sith did to retain their connection to the force? To heal themselves, to become more one with the force? While Shira didn't like the thought of agitating the force in such a way, her way of being with the force wasn't the way of the Jedi as well. At least not any longer. Opposed to how she had meditated before, seemingly flowing through the time, content with one's emotions but calm, the way she "healed" was different now. It was as if she was slowly eating away from the things around her, even if only a little.


Still sitting in the ground, she heard the other woman's movement until she came into her view, taking a seat on the sill and waiting for an answer. An answer that Shira couldn't give her, unfortunately. As she closed her eyes for one last time, she clenched her fists as she was about to get up, pressurizing the air around her immediately in a small area, by far not enough to affect Crysis but enough o be perceivable even from her position. Opening her eyes as quickly as they had closed before, she blinked twice before she realized what was happening and slowly opened her fists.

Finally standing up quietly, the only sound that came from Shira was a small painful gasp. With her hand shooting to the wound on her stomach and remaining there, she went over to a nearby drawer which she opened and fished for a bottle of pills. Turning around now, she would have the panel at her door a small nudge with telekinesis, closing it.

"Honestly? I don't know... what I am I mean..." Pausing for a few seconds, using the time to open the bottle and swallow a few of the pills, she continued: "I only know how I feel. And honestly? I feel broken. Hollow. I-... It's hard to describe..." Closing the distance towards her bed, she took the glass of water standing on the nightstand and emptied it before taking a seat on the bed, aligning the pillows so she could lean back:

"Normally I would say it feels like I am just not here... like... my body is here, sure..." Pausing for another moment, Shira stared at the roof of her room before looking at the togruta's face, eager to see her reaction before she added: "But it feels like I am siphoning and slowly killing the things around me" As Shira ended her sentence, he hand would slowly rise towards one of the decorative plants near the window that had withered away from the start of her stay on this ship, and was looking like it had been dead for weeks.

Staring at Crysis now with intention and intensity in her eyes, she would ask her in an interested tone:

"What do you see in me? What do you feel? I mean... is there something else besides me not being there? Or am I wrong?"

While she didn't state it, Shira hoped that she was wrong, even if a part of her had already made peace that something inside of her had seized to exist and was not going to come back-

 

[Crysis]

Crysis finally let that rage seep out of her, body and stance coming to a neutral point as she watched the Sith. Her eyes tracking the woman's movements, but being otherwise silent, noting she had closed the door.

"Honestly? I don't know... what I am I mean..." Pausing for a few seconds, using the time to open the bottle and swallow a few of the pills, she continued: "I only know how I feel. And honestly? I feel broken. Hollow. I-... It's hard to describe..." Closing the distance towards her bed, she took the glass of water standing on the nightstand and emptied it before taking a seat on the bed, aligning the pillows so she could lean back:

Was she taking drugs for the pain, Crysis wondered, but quickly settled on that being the reason? It made sense, when they sparred, after Crysis had landed that kick on her midsection, it was like fighting a completely different person. Like taking the leash off of a starving Rancor. Sudden, and overwhelming Dark Presence within the Force. She liked it...

Well, other than the woman almost crushing her windpipe; she could've skipped that part for sure.

"A Void..."

She added onto Shira's words plainly.

"Normally I would say it feels like I am just not here... like... my body is here, sure..."

Crysis would glance away at that, clearly feeling form Shira even now what she was explaining. That sounded exactly like what she felt around Shira... Even more surprising that she felt it in such a way. Crysis couldn't begin to imagine... She might've destroyed herself if her connection to the Force was stripped or manipulated in such a way. Still, she wasn't the one that had to deal with it, how dare she show such sympathy, as if Shira had asked her for it...

Her eyes flickered back onto the woman, glaring as she continued.

"But it feels like I am siphoning and slowly killing the things around me" As Shira ended her sentence, he hand would slowly rise towards one of the decorative plants near the window that had withered away from the start of her stay on this ship, and was looking like it had been dead for weeks.

Hmm, that much Crysis wasn't sure about, but now that she mentioned it, Crysis would close her eyes, looking with her inner eye, and noticing the seeping flow of the Force... Disappearing into her, like she was... Feeding on it? She couldn't explain.

"What do you see in me? What do you feel? I mean... is there something else besides me not being there? Or am I wrong?"

Crysis grimaced at that, aware she had no good answer for it. Though, it wasn't a question that required a good, or even the right answer. It was a question that demanded HER answer... She would give it.

"Conflict... My Master, and the Seer will be able to tell us more. You are right though, you are, absent in the Force, yet obviously you are sensitive to it still... I have never seen it before. I'm sure the Seer, or my Master has though. Will you come all the way back to the Dominion with us?"

Crysis asked, eyes narrowing slightly as she expected an answer to the question.

Shira Krytall

 

[Shira Krytall]

"A Void..."

The other girl was right. A void... The opposite of something that was present and yet still there. It was weird for Shira. Was this void a strength? Or was it a weakness? After all, her abilities hadn't changed too much since she had noticed the changes. If there was no force within her, or at least nothing that could be felt, how was she still alive anyway? The Jedi had taught her that all things were connected through the force. And Shira would have agreed if it wasn't for the fact that she wasn't. While this not only meant that there were things that even the Jedi didn't understand, it also meant that the Jedi weren't without failure. How many things had the Jedi told her that were wrong? How many things weren't exactly correct? How many facts could have changed her life if they had been said correctly?

Replying in a dull voice, Shira agreed with the dark alcolyte: "Mhm... that seems like a good description..."

Jutsu like the sith. Crysis. Shira didn't state it openly, but she thought of as Crysis as the literal definition of a sith, starting from the aura she carried, up to the fighting style and over to the appearance. While this didn't mean that it was something bad, it was strange to say the least. All her life she had been trained to think that the SIth, sworn enemies of the Jedi wouldn't hesitate to kill them and innocents. Everything dark was supposed to be outright evil and only interested in death and destruction. Yet Crysis was different. Crysis was actually pleasant to be with. Not only was she one of the few dark force users that she parted with alive and somewhat well, but also was she interesting, had something that Shira craved, even if she didnt know exactly what it was. On top of that, she seemed relaxed and cool. Whether this was because she knew that Shira was skilled enough to put something behind her words, or if she was like this normally, she would have to find out.

"Conflict... My Master, and the Seer will be able to tell us more. You are right though, you are, absent in the Force, yet obviously you are sensitive to it still... I have never seen it before. I'm sure the Seer, or my Master has though. Will you come all the way back to the Dominion with us?"

"I don't know. I will see what you are offering... your people. Though i am still unsure... Usually, our kind does not go along well, as I am sure you know." Shira answered while looking back up to the roof and slightly smiling. The painkillers were working after all. Finally. Beginning again, she started once more: "I mean... it's nice to see you not trying to kill me... I appreciate that."

She added casually to the togruta that sat in her room before sitting up upright and asking her:

"How did you become what you are now? Who trained you in the force?"

 

[Crysis]

She still watched the other curiously, having long since calmed and was now... Perhaps even, a normal looking girl; outside of the Dark Side taint that was apparent on her face, Crysis was absent her usual scowl. Shira was indeed an anomaly, but one Crysis was intent on unraveling. Crysis had so much more to learn about the Force, and the Galaxy. This woman would help her in that aim somehow... She couldn't prove it, but she felt it in the Force. Their paths were destined to intertwine at some point further, though the reason, the when, and the location seemed shrouded.

"Mhm... that seems like a good description..."

Of course it was, silly Jedi... Or whatever she was...

Crysis unknowingly played into Shira's curiosity by remaining unmoving, watching the other carefully. Passively feeling her, or... Not feeling her presence in the Force.

"I don't know. I will see what you are offering... your people. Though i am still unsure... Usually, our kind does not go along well, as I am sure you know."

She grinned at the words, eyes flaring lightly, before her face slowly became stoic again.

"Whatever you think you are... Jedi isn't it."

Crysis said, calling her out right there on the spot. She had been able to see Jedi before, in captivity, but still having a good idea of what they were. The opposite of her. Pure benevolence, and... Forgiveness. In a way, what she thought she was. Although she knew such a thing was twisted. How could she be good when she had done so much...

Caused so much pain...

Crysis would look away, hugging at her own elevated knee a bit. A brief moment of shame echoed from her in the Force, though would be quieted, her tainted resolve finding itself again.

"I mean... it's nice to see you not trying to kill me... I appreciate that."

She rolled her eyes at that, but wouldn't let Shira think that she was going soft.

"Maybe I'm just waiting to get you somewhere I have the advantage?"

Crysis said, offering her own form of crude humor. Seemed she was something of a comedian herself...

"How did you become what you are now? Who trained you in the force?"

Her features soured at the questions, eyes glancing away as images of carnage flooded her head. Alongside images of her Master... A home long lost, abandoned.

Buried. The faces of her slain parents, still haunted her... But they were weak. Kathal had liberated her and shown her the dark path. In any case Crysis clearly wasn't happy with that direction of questioning, though other than her brief scowl, the only true indicator of this would be the questions posed, answered by a singular response.

"My Master Kathal taught me to harness the Force as a weapon, he is the one I will take you to see. Or the honorable Seer..."

Crysis responded, deflecting the initial question there...

Shira Krytall

 

[FROSTCestrell]

"Whatever you think you are... Jedi isn't it."

"Oh, you would be surprised... I was a Jedi Knight of the republic once... people don't get that title handed to them for nothing", Shira responded with amusement as well as the slightest hint of pain in her voice. She missed them. Not the order, but her soldiers. She tried her best in every mission to ensure as many people would make it back as possible, even if that meant that she was put into a lot more dangers than others. Wondering where her soldiers and the best squad she ever had were and if they were still alive, the Sonar squad, a unit of high precision specialists that were able to give her cover fire from so far away that she didn't have to care about their wellbeing, she continued: "Though I suppose you are right. My abil-... the things i can do arent exactly teaching of the light side of the force."


As her hand picked up a strand of hair and curled it around her finger, she continued to look at the togruta, when an answer came that she should have expected.

"Maybe I'm just waiting to get you somewhere I have the advantage?"

Letting out a burst of loud and hearty laughter that almost immediately got stopped by a painful whimper, she let out a quiet painful gasp before she answered, clearly amused: "Well... not in a million years unless... unless you find out about my greatest weakness..." As her tone had changed to a more serious one, she was pausing for a few seconds now. Shira chuckled slightly as she thought about it. While having her secret found out would likely cause amusement for Crysis, it was unlikely that she found it out. After all... how could she possibly know that the chest underneath her bed had a strong hint about her secret unless the force guided her? Beginning once more she started in the same serious voice: "...though I must admit... I wasn't expecting a ghostfire cybercrystal... if I was a padawan I would have surely been done for... though padawans aren't exactly skilled in combat either..." Shira thought about elaborating further for a few seconds, about how padawans were only trained to the minimum in terms of combat and spent more time with the force and understanding it, however, decided against it. Crysis likely knew already anyway.

By the time her last question had been spoken, she could see the turmoil in Crysis, and was able to feel how something inside of her had made click. With the sith's answer, it was clear that she didn't like the direction of the question.

"My Master Kathal taught me to harness the Force as a weapon, he is the one I will take you to see. Or the honorable Seer..."

Setting up a serious expression now, her hand-formed the usual sign for the Jedi mind trick as she let her hand wander from the left to the right as she said: "You don't want to talk about it..." While her movement had been an exact copy, there had been no force behind it, no intention to actually do something as she stated the obvious. Waiting a few seconds in case Crysis would answer to this, she finally stated:

"Bad memories, huh? It's alright... maybe once we know each other better....", Shira concluded before getting up and reaching for the pills once more. The pain she felt while laughing had made it clear that either she hadn't used enough or the things she used weren't hard enough.

 

[Crysis]

Still, she maintained her curious gaze at the other as they spoke. Not having much to say unless Shira gave her something to say. Though that was her mostly. More observant than anything else. She had always been a wild child, preferring to get out and do things, rather than spend her time with books, or holovids.

"Though I suppose you are right. My abil-... the things i can do arent exactly teaching of the light side of the force."

"Hardly..."

Crysis quipped then, head dipping lightly with the spoken word.

"Well... not in a million years unless... unless you find out about my greatest weakness..."

"I'd much prefer you join us, and lend your strength to the cause..."

She responded, words having become pointedly shorter, a little... Flustered, by Shira's most recent line of questioning. Though not yet turned away enough to leave the dialogue altogether.

"...though I must admit... I wasn't expecting a ghostfire cybercrystal... if I was a padawan I would have surely been done for... though padawans aren't exactly skilled in combat either..."

"Well, that's good to know, I'll it in mind if I ever have to kill a padawan..."

She made a grim joke, the only real indicator a sly smirk that briefly dashed across her features. Though, with Crysis who could tell how much a joke that was...

Setting up a serious expression now, her hand-formed the usual sign for the Jedi mind trick as she let her hand wander from the left to the right as she said: "You don't want to talk about it..." While her movement had been an exact copy, there had been no force behind it, no intention to actually do something as she stated the obvious. Waiting a few seconds in case Crysis would answer to this, she finally stated:

"Bad memories, huh? It's alright... maybe once we know each other better....", Shira concluded before getting up and reaching for the pills once more. The pain she felt while laughing had made it clear that either she hadn't used enough or the things she used weren't hard enough.

Her body recoiled lightly at the hand movement, well enough trained to have avoided such a technique, though it didn't come... Was that supposed to be a joke? Oddly enough, while she didn't find it funny, it worked well enough to keep her mind away from the fact Shira was indeed interested. Though, she was keen enough to know this woman couldn't begin to understand. What Kathal was to her... A true Father. One she could truly model herself after.

"No, I don't think that will happen. My past has nothing to do with the Dominion, or you... Or anyone..."

She responded again, this time looking very cautiously at the woman. Clearly, she was a little perturbed of the woman's interest. Crysis did want to speak about things with someone, but... This woman wasn't that person. She barely knew her, and by all accounts, she couldn't just as easily turn into an enemy at a moment's notice. She needed to remember that. Keep her distance emotionally, and keep their relationship neutral in case it came to that, that usually made it easier with others...

Though, sometimes, like with this woman, she regretted to even think of them in that way, unmoving... Staring with those cold, dead, and accusatory eyes. She thought she was used to it, and in practice she was. Though, mostly she felt shame for the atrocities she had committed.

"I... I suppose I should leave"

Crysis said, suddenly feeling self-conscious about being in the woman's room. She should limit herself from her until Kathal, or The Seer verified her. She had no doubt it was what her Master would want.

F FROSTCestrell