Long Nights With Dark Lords

[Seraphina Shel'tah]

The idea that her mind had been altered by those who had abducted her did not sit well at all. That meant to her that all of her memories were now questionable at best, and at worst, entirely unreliable. Even with [member="Darth Vornskr"]'s reassurance she was still incredibly unsure about herself. She didn't remember anything of the last several days. She had no idea how she had been rescued, why she needed rescuing, what had happened to her body, or why she was being tortured. An insurmountable number of questions raced through her mind, each one springing to life new questions of their own. As they walked through the halls she began to give herself a headache trying to trace the connections between every memory of her life. Sera snapped herself out of the daze as Kaine wrapped his arm around her. Continuing to dwell on it right now would do no good, her back was aching in ways she hadn't thought possible.

"I'm...Sorry." She said quietly, shame clearly in her tone. "I don't know if I told them anything, if I gave them anything that could compromise our security. I-" She sighed, her head was pounding. "I just don't remember. Everything is so hazy." Her eyes wandered from wall to wall, attempting to recollect the place she was being led through, the place that her...Partner? Colleague? Master? She had no idea what their relation was, come to think of it, called home. "Forgive my many questions, this is very difficult for me." The Twi'lek looked to him, not for pity, but understanding. "What are we?" She brushed her hand over the back of her Lekku. "Are we....Together?" Her voice sounded almost embarrassed to have not remembered, if that were the case. "Or friends? Or something else? Did I know you before" She waived her hand through the air. "all this happened."

Satyijau'ira? Was that a birth name or a title? Dæva? She had so many more questions. Every one he answered spawned three more. This was becoming exhausting, and she was beginning to wonder if it was going to bother him the more she asked, so for the time being she continued to simply walk aside him towards the medical ward in silence. The woman that greeted him seemed a bit on edge, nervous even at the sight of him. Perhaps things haven't been going well lately. Sera remained quiet while the two exchanged words, following the doctor only after the nod of approval by Vornskr. The female ground her teeth together to prevent herself from screaming in pain as the woman cleaned and dressed her wounds, spraying whatever type of disinfectant or otherwise into the gashes caused by the torture she had underwent. Her fingernails dug into the framework of the furniture, a few droplets of liquid welling in her eyes that she strained to hold back. It wasn't until the woman finished that Sera finally let out a heavy breath of relief, loosening her grip on the chair. Her vocal chords gave way to an exhausted groan as she slowly stood back up.

"Thank you." She said quietly to the woman, bowing her head low in appreciation, despite the pain.

 

[Darth Carnifex]

The woman never smiled, and only allowed herself a quick "You're welcome" before quickly gathering up her things and scurried off to an adjacent office chamber, closing the door behind her to leave [member="Seraphina Shel'tah"] and the Sith Lord alone once again. There was a moment of pause between the two, a second of silence that hung in the air and grew in intensity until it was finally shattered by the Sith Lord's voice. "Remember that pain you felt, harness it. And do not block out the faded memories of your torture, for it will serve you well in channeling the Force should you ever find yourself in a confrontation with those that would seek to destroy you. Pain gives you strength and it gives you focus, never forget that." He words this time around sounded more like that of a lecturing master than they did of a concerned colleague, once again making his relation to the amnesiac Twi'lek all the more mysterious.

"I'm sure you would like to change into something more suitable to your tastes, but for now you must wear what you have already. With the stability of your mind and memories uncertain, I have been tasked with reeducating yourself with the Order that you belong to. First I will inform you of where your allegiance ultimately belongs to, and then I will go through the physical orientation to ensure that your battle intuition has not suffered." He said all of this as he led her out of the medical chamber, and then began to trek higher up into the pyramid's structure. It was unknown how much of the pyramid was actually above ground, as in recent years it had begun to expand further down into the winding Coruscanti superstructure that comprised a large percentage of the planet itself. Levels were demolished, cleared, and then incorporated into the pyramid's lower levels. It was unknown if they were still below ground or in a part of the building that had no windows, and still the time of day remained unknown to most who were incarcerated within.

They then entered something that more resembled a jumbled mess of classrooms, and by far this was the least populated section that she had seen since her infiltration. Here and there were the occasional acolyte steering clear of the Sith Lord as he stalked the halls like a bestial predator, his gazes causing others to scatter like leaves in the wind. All the while there was a low hum of distant sermons by those who had been given authority to instruct the malnourished neophytes that occupied the halls. There was only a modicum of difference between each individual voice, for they all spouted the same speech thickly laced with pro-Sith Imperial propaganda meant to ensnare and subvert any concept of individuality to ensure total obedience to the Sith Order's depraved ideology. Most of the youths seen were plucked directly from the impoverished underbelly of the Imperial capital, although there were a seldom few who had been specifically imported from elsewhere in the Empire's vast domain at the behest of Darth Vornskr or his closest subordinates.

Vornskr led Satyijau'ira to an empty room that resembled a campus lecture hall, yet was vacant of any students or instructors besides the Epicanthix and the Twi'lek. He gestured towards the front row for Satyijau'ira to take whatever seat she pleased, and then turned towards the holoboard that dominated a large percentage of the wall facing the ascending row of seats. With a few gingerly applications of pressure he activated the board's holographic display, quickly bringing up the standardized indoctrination manifest that was force-fed to every acolyte within his realm of influence. "I suppose we'll begin with the basics. You, Satyijau'ira, are a member of the esteemed Sith Order, a religious Order that dedicates itself to spread order throughout a galaxy torn by war and the failed doctrines of democracy, a galaxy that requires a firm hand to guide it into a new era of prosperity and security for the beleaguered masses. We Sith have dedicated our entire existence to spreading and maintaining an order that focuses on Imperialism, Rapid Industrialization, a Centralized State, and an economic policy where the State controls supply and demand."

 

[Seraphina Shel'tah]

Telling the Twi'lek not to forget being tortured and abused was like telling someone to remember to breathe. It wasn't something that could possibly be forgotten. Sure, she could have likely buried it in her mind, but given that she'd been burdened with an eidetic memory she could never truly bury those memories. It tormented her relentlessly. It infuriated her. She hated it. Each time she thought of the torture she'd endured at the hands of [member="Kana Truden"] and the other Jedi it made her want to return the favor twofold. Someday, she thought. Someday they'll pay for what they did to me.

"I won't forget. I will never forget." Then again, how could Vornskr not know? He was the puppet master here after all. Having completely manipulated her mind and turned her into the very thing she'd sworn to destroy since her inception to the Jedi. In an instant, her allegiances had been altered and twisted to suit the Sith, and more specifically, [member="Darth Vornskr"]. Even still, this severed connection to the Force left her feeling empty, hollow. It was incredibly uncomfortable to her. She could only hope that whatever was wrong with her would be corrected sooner rather than later. "The next time I see them, I will kill them." Her nose scrunched, a look of disgust cast over her face, the tattoos adorning her face contorting with her expression.

With the mention of her attire Sera looked at herself, frowning slightly at her appearance. Something Kaine had not manipulated enough to change was her modesty. Her body was something she still took pride in, and right now she looked like hell. The only reason she failed to protest further was that there were more important things to worry about for now. She nodded and simply followed behind him without a word. Pink fingertips traced along the walls as they walked, her mind recording each footstep, turn, and corridor as they wandered the halls towards the lecture hall.

Once the pair had reached the class room, she took a seat as instructed, a few desks towards the center. She wondered what exactly she needed to learn, or relearn. Perhaps it would come back to her soon enough, hopefully allowing her to get back to her normal life once more with the Sith. It seemed a lot had changed with the galaxy, but some of what Kaine was speaking of clicked in her memory. Whether that was due to his manipulation, or because her mind had been confused now of the knowledge she had previously held as a Jedi, once believing that the information being relearned was in fact evil, instead was now righteous. "I do recall a bit of this, my mind though is still foggy." She hoped that would subside soon enough. "What is our present state of affairs master?" Sera assumed that because Vornskr hadn't made any romantic advances towards her and dodged the question that he was simply her instructor, and given the situation as it stood now, assumed that her theory was correct.

 

[Darth Carnifex]

From the board materialized a holographic projection of a map of the galaxy, and only three territories were lit up in crimson, azure, and gold; the Empire, the Republic, and the Alliance respectively. All other nations within the borders of the galaxy were ignored for the time being. "As you can see here the Empire dwarfs both of the Republic and the Alliance combined. We've been fighting against the Republic for nearly twelve years now, and we've reduced their once vast dominion into nothing but a rump state, their economy ruined, and their armies smashed. It's but a matter of time now before they fully collapse, leaving us to pick through the ruins. The Alliance, however; is relatively new. It was formed by the wicked Jedi who had become disenfranchised with the pure ineptitude of the Republic to properly counter our righteous crusade, and sought to create a new front to divide our strength. While they have created a rather stubborn stranglehold on the Rimma Trade Route, but we've conscripted Privateers to assail their territory all along the trade route to disrupt whatever trade capacity they may possess. If things go as calculated they will be starved out, and will be easy to break."

Of course he neglected to mention that the Alliance had the backing of the now defunct Protectorate that used to lord over that region of space, along with the Protectorate's rather extraordinary fleet and shipyards. Still, compared to the Empire they only had a small handful of profitable worlds while the Sith held a large majority of the Core Regions, the richest sector of the galaxy, and had access to the shipyards of Kuat, Rendili, and Corellia while also possessing immense industrial worlds like Balmorra. The Empire thrived on war, and all of its industry was geared to pumping out more and more war machines and starships to continue the war against the Republic, the Alliance, and the Jedi.

"The Jedi are stubborn, do not forget that Satyijau'ira. Their conviction to their dogmatic ideology makes them hard to dislodge, and they tend to multiply like roaches when left to their own devices. As valiant Sith it is our duty to root out these wicked fiends, and make sure their rot doesn't corrode what remains of our fractured galaxy."

[member="Seraphina Shel'tah"]

 

[Seraphina Shel'tah]

Sera's eyes glossed over the map. Every planet, star system, and oddly enough even the influence exerted over them was already embedded into her mind. She recalled each planetary location and its' allegiance with stunning accuracy. Her mind recalled the fall of Coruscant, the battles of Manaan, Kashyyyk, Telti, and others. The details of those fights were hazy at best, likely due to the unknowing manipulation of [member="Darth Vornskr"]. The more she studied the map the more she realized this particular aspect of memory appeared to have been mostly unaltered. A surge of confidence welled inside of her, one that Kaine would see immediately as the woman's head nodded in acknowledgement of each and every word the Sith Lord spoke. The single entity on the map that the Twi'lek had little information pertaining to was the Galactic Alliance. While she had heard of it during her self imposed exile, she'd never been to Sullust, nor met any of the Jedi there proper, so that aspect of information was new to her. "I understand." She said finally, "I'm confident that in due time those defiant few left in the galaxy will yield to the Sith empire." A wicked smile passed over her gentle face. "Lest they be forced to their knees."

The Jedi... She listened to his words with unfaltering focus and attention. The Jedi were what she was truly interested in destroying. If they had done to others what they had done to her, they were villains that needed to be stopped. Nothing could stand in the way of her and vengeance. With her recovery would come revenge. The only punishment severe enough would be the obliteration of the Jedi and their Order. One she was strong enough. Once she was recovered. "The Jedi will learn what it means to cross us. They will learn the true meaning of pain. I will see to that. I swear it." The female continued to observe the rest of the map, noting that certain areas held no particular color indicating allegiance. Despite that, she was still familiar with the Silver Sanctum, Primeval, Techno Union, and Mandalorians, picking them out by pointing with her finger and addressing each one individually in hope of impressing her teacher.

 

[Darth Carnifex]

"Good, good. It seems that not all of your memory had been clouded by the Jedi's deception." His deception really, but that was unsurprising. "They sought to suppress the truth of the Sith from you, dearest Satyijau'ira, for the tyranny of the Jedi is built upon blindness, conformity, and contentment. They despise freedom, they abhor individuality, and the detest our accomplishments because they are too weak to stand against us themselves. Our mere existence shines the light of truth upon their monopoly of lies, they attempt to stifle change, to strangle the very laws of nature that dictate that all things evolve into something more, something better. They would rather cling to their precious status quo than to progress, stagnant in the mire of democracy that is nothing more than a perverse mob rule. Even now the leaders of their 'Republic' shamelessly murder civilians, killing them in the streets or venting them out of hanger bays."

Ah, his wroth was truly kindled, his eyes burning with righteous hatred and vindication as all of the humiliation he had suffered at the hands of the Republic and Jedi bubbled to the surface. "This is why we fight!" he bellowed, "We fight against a regime that acquiesces to disorder, that promotes chaos and disunity! The Galaxy burns while they sit upon their mountain, letting the common folk burn while they preach about the Light. The Light is a falsehood, sterile and weak, and it is in the Darkness where we find the truth of the universe. The Galaxy needs a strong hand to guide it to its true potential, and we Sith are that strong hand. It is we, and we alone, that is destined to lead the galaxy to undiluted perfection, to establish a society governed by order and security that will last throughout time. Long has the Sith dreamed of achieving this, yet endlessly the Jedi have opposed our righteous vision."

As he said this images of Republic and Jedi officials of the highest grade materialized where the galactic map once shimmered, all of them currently being demonized by the wizardly Sith Lord with a silver tongue and an endless reservoir of propaganda to fill [member="Seraphina Shel'tah"]'s head with.

 

[Seraphina Shel'tah]

Sera's eyes lit up with excitement at [member="Darth Vornskr"]'s initial praise with regard to her memory. A step in the right direction surely. Perhaps her path to redemption was not so clouded after all, and sooner rather than later she may finally be released to take her place within the Sith and by Kaine's side. He would quite easily see the eagerness in her tone as he spoke of the atrocities of the Jedi and their Republic. She couldn't believe what she was hearing, the crimes they had committed, whatever the reasons, it was appalling.

"They jettisoned civilians out of an airlock and into space!?" The Twi'lek displayed a look and tone of complete disgust. "That's terrible!" The truly sad part was that Kaine needn't even fabricate that tale, for it actually happened. In fact, it was such an ordeal that news of it had traveled around the galaxy at the speed of hyperspace travel it seemed. The Republic had truly gone dark. Had she still been a member of the Order she may have very well left it of her own accord given that news.

Little did Sera know, but she now had absolutely nothing worth cherishing back home, her real home. Corvus had disappeared, the Jedi were splintered among various rogue groups, and even Varus had abandoned her. Had he even looked for her? She would never know. Had her memory not been erased and modified by the Sith Lord she now served, she may have very willingly come to the Black Pyramid as an offering, her belief in the light having been stifled out of existence. There was nothing left for her with the Jedi, the Republic, and her friends were scattered to the winds.

"The Jedi are mindless. Arrogant. The Republic is a crumbling state that will soon collapse upon its' own weight. A deck of cards requiring only the slightest of breezes to fall apart. We shall be that wind!" She proclaimed with enthusiasm, in hopes to bolster Kaine's own grand visions.

 

[Darth Carnifex]

"The Jedi are not only arrogant, but supremely ignorant of the true nature of the Force! They perceive the Force as a shield to protect the useless, but in reality it is a weapon to empower the worthy. The Force is conflict, dear Satyijau'ira, and much like natural selection it is used to weed out of weak and degenerative aspects of the Galaxy. The Jedi do not see this, and they would rather mire themselves with pacifism and deny the Force its purpose and silence anyone that spoke out against their dogma. We Sith know better, we see the Force in its entirety. For eons the Light Side and the Dark Side have clashed, which only further proves that the Force is conflict, and through that conflict the Sith grow stronger while the Jedi grow all the more feeble. But I will not deny that many Jedi are powerful in their conviction and usage of the Light Side, but in the end they are nothing but fools."

[member="Seraphina Shel'tah"]

 

[Seraphina Shel'tah]

The Twi'lek listened to the words of the Sith, taking in every syllable and locking it away in her memory to be called upon later on. The advice and slow brainwashing of [member="Darth Vornskr"] would undoubtedly be used in turn against the Jedi, those same Jedi Sera had formerly called allies, friends, even family. Fate was a cruel mistress, and it seemed that hers was sealed with a far more grim future than she had planned for just months before.

There was a change, a series of dark clouds rolling over her horizon that would foreshadow the falling of a woman once so dedicated to those same convictions that Kaine now spoke to turn her from. Her mind having been rewired took in each word as gospel, understanding the need to eradicate the weak, the flawed, the Jedi.

"The Republic is crumbling day by day. It is only a matter of time before their Jedi go into hiding and on the run. What then? How will we weed out the last of their resistance and ensure that their ability to rise never again occurs?"