Private Manor Getaway

[Elise Ike]

“That is correct, though these days their people have become less prominent due to said area becoming more built up over the last few hundred years“. It was noteworthy that Nindok seemed knowledge about her home, though didn’t seem knowledge enough to know about her family’s origins their or the current state of their rule over the region.

”I do agree, the legend, depending on how you asked ended with the self proclaimed Sith fleeing. Some say they were wounded gravely to the point they no longer looked human. Traveling to the outer rim in order to slowly heal and amass new forces to strike back with anger. There are even a few who say that the attempt on the region was ill prepared not due to any problem on Illiaras part but they were forced to make a move before the clone was engulfed the galaxy”. No doubt a galactic war would have made the attempt on the area less lifelike due to possibly military presence and blockaded core world planets. Herself attempting to keep a semi natural but also intrigued expression while explaining the story behind the saber, she couldn’t show much outward expression but also needed to reveal interest as to not seem odd.

”You are right, the rule of two was installed but that was only for the Main Sith Order aruond is during that time. Some speculate that throughout the many years there have been other small groups of Sith or Sith like force users seperate from the dark council or the ruling dark empires. Then there are the ever present occurrence of dark and fallen Jedis during the full length of the republics reign. The sith in the legend may have not been one that followed the code and merely placed the title of Darth upon themselves in order to appear more deadly”.

It made her heart cringe a little at that statement, she had earned her title fair and square, even if it was installed via her family and not the Dark Council, not that she viewed them in any good light, nor would she expect them to take her title seriously without cracking a few skulls in the process.

Jacen Nimdok

 

[Jacen Nimdok]

Nimdok's desire to obtain an item from Elise's collection had risen like a fever as their discussion of the legendary Darth Illiari continued. He found himself struggling to keep his eyes on her, since they were constantly darting toward the Sith blade on display beside him. The best he could do was make sure to not look too covetous; he still seemed merely to be studying the weapon with the careful, discerning gaze of an archaeologist. But blast it, he wanted to take it home with him, study it, take it apart, learn what it had seen—

Clasping his hands behind his back, he fought the mad impulse. I am not a kleptomaniac. I am not a thief. I am a scholar, an intellectual. I am Nimdok.

This time, he was able to focus completely on Elise. If his guess was correct and she was indeed far older than she appeared, he supposed she could have been present at Illiari's uprising, witnessing the defeat of the would-be Sith overlord on Atrisia. Elise herself was clearly Atrisian—few others would serve that bitter tea to their guests.

Her disguise was an impeccable one; he had not yet guessed that she was describing her own story. However, he did have his suspicions about how she had come to possess Darth Illiari's lightsaber. One of them was that she had been part of the Sith lady's army. Another, that she had fought against them.

When Elise had finished speaking, he decided to run with his theory. "Am I correct in surmising that you were there when Darth Illiari led her attack on the Quan'Lo?" he asked. To soften the suddenness of his question, he added, "You speak as if you lived through the events you describe. Not because of your words, but in your voice, your body language, the look in your eyes. Your... aura is one of profound insight." Too profound to be merely the result of being well-read on the subject.

Elise Ike

 

[Elise Ike]

Perhaps she had been a bit took relaxed in her sorry telling, after all this had been the first time she had a
shared her own failed back story. Though even if Nimdock has caught onto her age it was but a small fragment of a much larger picture. Oh how he would feel if he knew the story had her leading her enthralled army against her own grandmother, a typical Sith vs Sith for power. All due to her own arrogance in belivenig she knew the right way to use the force and would be a better leader.

It was a very painful but needed lesson that helped shape her into who she was todaym though Elsie had not become fully humbled. One day, even if it took another thousands years shed return and show her grandmother a new side of the force she dealt with. Her own dark grey side opposed to her grandmothers pitch black almost void like use.

”Well, I suppose there is no point in hiding my age now, perhaps I was there, perhaps I was nearby and heard about it, but as they say, walk a mile in another man shoes”. Herself giving nimdok a small smirk, knowing that he to was not the age he appeared. A line of though she had going since the day the two had met. “Still, you are but a child in my eyes, and you know what that mean”. Elsie streching out her hand to rub Nimdoks hair a little, chuckling slightly. Who’s a good boy, you are, yes you are”. Her tone clearly teasing and as a jest, but to an extent it was true.

As a vampire most of her kind lived to around 8000 years, some a little more. It of allowed for an almost 1:100 ratio in normal humans years, 1 vampire year being compared to 100 standard rotation . As such Elise would be in her mid thirties, Kunreai, almost 10 and Nimdock, well probably just as if not younger.

Jacen Nimdok

 

[Jacen Nimdok]

Nimdok was a bit taken aback by her playful condescension. His surprise wore off quickly however. As she stretched out to ruffle his hair, cooing at him as if he were an infant or a pet, he reached up and caught her wrist, his thumb pressing gently into the palm of her hand. His grip was loose enough that she could escape his grasp if she wished.

“You understand why I asked, then?” he said. “If you were there when Illiari rose up, you must be at least eight hundred years old, if not more. The things you must have endured in all that time…”

He trailed off, at a loss for words. Now he understood why he kept being needled by a covetous desire. It wasn’t for any material object in her collection—it was her memories and experiences that were the greater treasure. But how was he to walk away with such ephemera?

“Dr. Dixon… Elise. I don’t believe I had you fooled for a minute. You know I’m not as I seem, just as you are. We are kindred spirits.” Even if she considered him little more than a child compared to her unnaturally long life, they did have something in common. Both had no choice but to pretend they were something they weren’t.

Speaking quietly but firmly, he made himself sound as persuasive as he could, leaning into the power of his actor's voice. Most likely she would not be swayed by that alone, but it was worth a shot.

“I know a method of transferring selected memories from one person to another. If you would permit me, I would like very much to see what you have seen.”

Elise Ike

 

[Elise Ike]

Her hand retreated from his head, a slightly chuckle still resonating from Elise. She was a parent after all, no harm in acting like it once in a while, even if it was just for a joke. “If you wish to know, I am much older then 800 years, not as far back as the Galatic Cold War, but that was far off from when I was born”. “Not that my youth wasn’t filled with its own galactic drama, just Not as well known as the whole Eternal Empire and the aftermath”.

She had quite a few personal holo books about her life and events that took place around the time, though most only lead up until 800 years ago. Most of her last after that point till recently had been spent in hiding, regaining strength and power.

”Kindred spirts hu, well, my last husband did die a few hundred years ago, so I’m currently single, and if you live much longer... I kid of course”. “You do remind me of an Antz Jedi I meet with on occasion, not as old as much but fun to relate with considering our ageless like state”. “Of course the main difference being he actually likes my tea... runs his own shop actually, but we are getting off track”.

Her attention being drawn back to Nimdok as he went all persuasive on her ass, she knew it all to well. Herself no stranger to diplomatic talking, “I know what you are doing but I don’t take offence”. “As for the power you speak of, you mean memory rub right”? A grey side force power that anyone could use, as opposed to the more violent memory drain. “I haven’t used it in a while, but like a hover bike once you learn you never really forget”.

Jacen Nimdok

 

[Jacen Nimdok]

She chuckled, her hand slipping from Nimdok’s grasp. He amused her. It was better to humor her than to rouse her anger or contempt, clearly, but it didn’t represent much of a change in her attitude toward him. On Odessen she introduced herself as his colleague, a supposed equal, but there had been an air of superiority clinging to her even then. He was just beginning to understand why.

His breath caught in his throat as she revealed her true age, or at least a rough approximation for him to go on. The Galactic Cold War had occurred over four thousand years ago. Even if it was indeed “far before her birth”, as she claimed, she was much older than he had guessed.

He supposed he ought to be intimidated by this revelation, but he was not. If anything, his curiosity had increased tenfold.

Nimdok felt his face grow warm as she mentioned her last husband, whom she had outlasted by several centuries, as well as another man, a Jedi, whom Nimdok apparently reminded her of. The implication in her words was clear, if only in jest. He wondered whether he had laid the persuasion on too thick. Sighing, he averted his eyes, trying to recover his composure.

“No, not a memory rub. That would involve removing or altering your memories. What I am suggesting is something practiced by the Gutretee elders on Isis. I was taught their method by a Jedi Master, albeit in another life…” Nimdok, as Casimir Heliobas, had sat with several other Jedi in the Enclave on Hoth, exchanging knowledge of strange and obscure powers with each other. The only new ability he had walked away with that day was the Gutretee memory transfer; the rest had proved beyond him.

He met her eyes again and held her gaze. “You would retain everything that you know and all that you have experienced, but you would share certain memories of historical significance with me. Illiari’s uprising, for example, and whatever other important events you have witnessed these past few thousand years.”

Elise Ike

 

[Elise Ike]

She wasn't sure Nimdok knew the memory rub she knew. Yes it could alter and remove memories but at the same time it would just... well rub them, allowing a person to see them without altering it in anyway. Still if the archaeologist had another way around she wouldn't mind trying it out, learning some new power and experiencing it made for an interesting story.

But, it would seem she had dug herself into a corner as Nimdok seemed quite insistent to learn about her past, a long sigh escaping from Elise mouth. This was the last think she wanted to happen.... no one was around, she could kill him right? No to messy people would ask questions about his dissonance, would bring more attention.

Turn him into a slave? could work, but if she did that the man would know about her vampire origins and would probably put two and two together, that wouldn't work. Was this karma coming back to bite her in the ass for being a deceptive queen to half the people she knew? Where the Jedi ghost of her fallen comrades hanging around and causing her to fuck up so much as of late?

"You know what doesn't matter, may as well come clean, but I think it would be better for you to see it rather then me telling you". "Buuuuuuut, this works both way, you are clearly hiding your own past, if I show you the Illiari's up rising, you will show me your own back story". "If that deal isn't to your liking I will also include my time as a Jedi, I'm sure seeing the inner workings of the order sound 3000 years ago would be quite the experience".

Jacen Nimdok

 

[Jacen Nimdok]

The long, annoyed sigh from Elise after Nimdok finished didn’t bode well. He thought he detected a flash of wrathful anger in her gaze, but it was quickly replaced by a begrudging acceptance.

“Doesn’t matter… may as well come clean… But this works both ways. You are clearly hiding your own past. If I show you Illiari’s uprising, you will show me your own back story.”

Nimdok raised his chin, then slowly nodded. He knew it would come to this.

“I was about to offer my memories in exchange for yours,” he said.

It was a dangerous business, a memory transfer. Not only because she would henceforth know who he really was, but because the process would involve opening himself up to her, making himself vulnerable. But it was a risk he was willing to take if it meant having her memories.

“If that deal isn’t to your liking, I will also include my time as a Jedi. I’m sure seeing the inner workings of the Order around 3,000 years ago would be quite the experience.”

“I accept.” His response was immediate and enthusiastic, if slightly dampened by a sense of guilt. He was allowing himself to be exposed for the sake of his lust for knowledge. “I will give you the technique first, so that you may use it yourself. Allow me a moment to prepare…”

Nimdok clasped his hands behind his back and closed his eyes, concentrating. After establishing a faint connection to Elise’s mind, he pictured a room in the Enclave on Hoth, in which sat numerous Jedi from all walks of life. The head of the gathering, a grizzled old hermit named Jend-Ro Quill, was demonstrating...

“…a memory-sharing technique I got, uh, forcibly given by a Gutretee elder on Isis.”

One of the other Jedi mentioned a similar technique, albeit one that required the Dark Side. Master Quill looked alarmed. “Well… feth, we can’t have that. No Dark Side here. Ah, let’s see, what can I…”

He began the transfer of knowledge. Nimdok, as Casimir Heliobas, had struggled to follow the other lessons prior to this one, failing to grasp the various powers on display. He was an outsider, a fraud posing as a master. Still, he stubbornly reached out...

In the present, Nimdok shuddered, his head jerking back. His connection to the Force—or rather, Heliobas’ connection—was pitifully weak and easily overwhelmed. The power surged through him as if a bolt of lightning had struck his body. He floundered in uncertainty, terrified, then plucked up enough courage to fling himself at it in desperation.

“There you go. Gutretee-style memory transfer, all yours…”

Nimdok opened his eyes, slowly returning to the present. He looked at Elise, his breathing shaky. It seemed foolish to ask for confirmation that she had received the memory transferal; she was clearly far more adept than he was, older, more experienced, better trained. It was best if he simply moved on, rather than drawing attention to his weakness.

He cleared his throat. “Now, I will show you my past.” He held Elise in good faith, trusting that she would follow through on their deal and return the favor once he was finished.

Again he concentrated, opening himself to the Force. He had never shown anyone the entirety of his life story. He wasn’t sure where to begin.

But the images came unbidden, a discordant cacophony of memories, sound and fury.

His homeworld was not Alderaan, Dantooine, or any of the other planets he had claimed. It was Lao-mun. He was a Shi’ido, a changeling, a skinshifter. Arimanes Bosch was his birth name. Later he would change it to Casimir Heliobas, trying to flee his past—

Nimdok winced. He would have to surrender that to Elise, too.

“The field of genetics lies open to us," a voice said, echoing down through the years. "Forget the mysticism of the Jedi and Sith. Their powers are only the manifestation of a science which has lain unexplored for too long.”

So he participated in the experiments. The end goal was the creation of Force sensitive individuals by manipulating midichlorians within the embryo, or in the cells of children who had no sensitivity before. Arimanes was young then, an eager scientist. He believed he knew what he was doing, and so he eventually turned the experiments on himself.

It was as if a window had been opened. Light flooded in, illuminating the shadows within him. He realized he knew nothing of what he was doing. The Force was not just midichlorians writhing in a petri dish. It was a living thing, feeling, reacting. He had caused pain and suffering by his actions, by imposing his demands on the Force. He was no better than those Sith who had sought to bend the Force to their will, creating and ending life to serve their own purposes. The only difference was his terrible, unfeeling ignorance.

But he was no longer ignorant. He had to face the shameful loathsomeness of what he had done. So Arimanes changed his name and went into exile, hiding himself. There he had his awakening, the power quickening within him, faint yet present. The Force, which he had so wronged, might have a use for him yet.

Heliobas returned to the galaxy, unable to stay away anymore. He sought knowledge of the Jedi and the Sith, their ways, their teachings. Knowledge was the beginning of wisdom, and with it he would serve a purpose unknown. Heliobas had a destiny.

But then, who was Nimdok? What role did he play?

Nimdok was dead. He died along with his wife in a shuttle accident three years ago. The creature standing in Elise’s study was an impostor posing as a dead man, just as Heliobas was a fraud posing as a Jedi mystic.

“No,” Nimdok murmured, coming out of it. “I’m as Nimdok as Nimdok will ever be. That is enough.”

Elise Ike

 

[Elise Ike]

He may have not like her treating his as a child but a minute ago, but the mans very quick response to her demands couldn't help but make Elise view him as a one. No to dissimilar to a rowdy son in a lolly shop, jumping at the opportunity to get more sweets in the basket regardless of what deal the mother made for when they got back to the house. Another small smirk and light chuckle coming from the ancient women as she prepared herself for this strange new ceremony Nimdok talked of.

She would stand upright and poised, looking towards Nimdok as they connected with the force, her mind suddenly being bombarded by images of the very familiar icy planet. A plethora of faces, some actually a little familiar as the lesson on memory transfer was unfolded, a technique she found to be quite interesting. It was nothing like she had heard about before, certainly a useful gem of knowledge to have on hand.... she just hoped the Jedi within the group never found out. Something told her a powerful Sith knowing such things could cause some people to become uncomfortable, "thank you, most informative... let us begin".

Once more the two connected via force and mind, Elise once more being taken by surprise by Nimdok's past, a being not full natural, a person who themselves make mistakes. An arrogant person whom had underestimated the force and thus suffered in their own right, but what came just as surprising was the man called Nimdok himself, the being in front of her assuming the role of said man, an impostor, but at the same time a living continuation of the person who had perished.

"... that was unexpected but quite a welcome experience... seems the two of us have a little more in common then I originally thought, now i guess it is my turn". Taking over Elise concentrated onto her memories, having quite a few to sift through, delving back into the past many hundreds of years ago, an image of a women appearing exactly like her arguing with another Artisan came to mind. The scene seemingly taking place within some sort of dark fortress, though where such fortress was one could not say. 'I will prove it to you grandmother, I have far more potential then you think, hell, I bet I would be more powerful then you even as a Jedi'.

The image fading the Tython, filing through the usual training of the Padawans, Elise being seen as a prodigy among the masters, most unaware she was at least 50 years old. The mental moving changing to show varying trials and adventures taken by Elise, herself actually sticking towards the Jedi code and ethic to some extent, learning and soon becoming a respected master among the order. Unfortunately, all things would come to an end, but in Elise case it was different, not galactic wide event leading her to quit the order, nor any real disagreement with the way the council ran thing.

It was just boredom, doing the same thing day in day out, learning & training over the weeks, occasionally going out on diplomatic missions as her Councilor path demanded. Said trips taking the occasional turn once in a while when taking part in combat, though it all felt lack luster . Combine that with her almost never aging appearance and Elise had more the her own personal reason to leave the order, simply vanishing from the galaxy while traveling in the outer rim., but her things became interesting.

Through her wandering of back water planets and rural civilization Elise slowly found her passion for her current Job, seeing how local species had built up their nations over time. The changes in their body, strange rituals and religions that were absent from most modern areas in the middle rim, even compared to those of the Sith. It was awe inspiring but came with it's own dark changes, Elise melding her knowledge of the Light and Dark with these alternate view on the force over her life abroad.

Her newfound knowledge deluding the women into thinking she had found some new revolutionary way to use the force, adapting her power more akin to the varying niche magic around the galaxy. The confidence in her use of the force driving her to become power hungry, convinced this would be the ideal way to put her grandmother in place, over the course of many years slowly assembling an army of loyally fanatic followers, some of races that lived a long time, other droids but the closest ones were vampires she had turned herself.

If Nimdok hadn't figured it out yet then he would surely know now, there being several scenes of her biting the necks of the strongest among her fold, turning them into semi immortal beings like herself. The use of her vampire powers turning them into submissive subjects doing her will with no question, quite a terrifying prospect for some, all leading up to the final encounter.

What Nimdok had been waiting for, a first hand look at her attempted coup against non other then her grandmother, the fortress from the start housing her the regional lord. A somewhat small but bloody battle taking place between Elise's fanatic forces of mismatching men and machines, against the formidable Atrisian guards of the fortress. Both sides pushing forward their own dark energies in attempt to destroy each other, much of the complex being destroyed during the brutal fighting.

And, just as she herself stated, despite gaining much ground the assault came to an abrupt end, her grandmother and personal escorts joining the fray, her powers being a voided like enigma, almost incomprehensible. It was as if the entire battle was but a tease, amusing her grandmother as she made quick work of Elise's army, only the strongest making it through the ghastly tendrils coming from the even older vampire.

Pressed into a corner Elise had no choice but to fight, her own darkness crashing against her grandmothers as the elite troops of both side clashed, herself having numbers but her grandmothers shoulders having more skill. Each side taking losses but through it all Elise was losing, forcing her into one final desperate attempt to cut down her grandmother, only for her to fall into a trap. A slightly wrong step, a sloppy thrust with her saber and soon Elise found herself engulfed by a black burst of flames.

It's energy burning both mind and skin as it pushed her back, her loyal slaves and servants rushing from the fight, using their bodies and shields to protect their fallen lord. Now her only option was to escape, no longer able to fight, neither with body or the force, Elise rushing from the ruined fortress as the reminder of her army stayed behind as a rear guard, each giving their life in battle. In the final moment of the memory her hand thrusting the saber away into a nearby valley, just as Nimdok had suggested.

And just as if began it ended, with Elise running from her home, the image fading from the mind as she stood there, a somber look over her face. "Well, I guess you know now... was it eveything you hoped it to be"?

Jacen Nimdok

 

[Jacen Nimdok]

Nimdok was not a fool. At least, that is what he preferred to believe about himself. But he emerged from the fog of Elise’s memories feeling quite foolish.

The shock of discovering her true identity had worn off by the time she released him, replaced by healthy caution and fear. From the moment Darth Illiari had been brought up in their conversation, he had not guessed that he was, in fact, looking at the very same woman who had led an uprising on Atrisia so long ago. Even when Elise revealed her advanced age, he had assumed her knowledge of Illiari and possession of her lightsaber stemmed from some encounter with her many centuries prior. It seemed obvious now that he had all the pieces of the puzzle, but his own inability to put two and two together on his own gave the revelation a decidedly bitter sting.

Elise—should he still call her that?—clearly found him amusingly dense for failing to realize she had been talking about herself all along. The connection between them gave him a glimpse inside her mind. Technically he witnessed only past events, but with them came tidal waves of emotion, conviction, beliefs she still shared in some way or form. She was not the same woman she had been then, but those experiences had shaped her, molding her into the creature who stood there in the study with him.

Then there was the matter of bias. He had been prepared for this, expecting something in the line of a memoir or autobiography, colored by the limits of her perception. But he not only saw through her eyes her rebellion against her grandmother, a powerful, imposing figure who Elise admired, envied, feared, and loathed in equal turns, he also felt it. Her emotions were his.

He was not sure if she’d felt the same when he’d given her his memories. Perhaps not, given her self-assurance and confidence. Nimdok’s identity was fractured where hers was whole. It was easier for him to fall down the rabbit hole, to (in a way) become her by experiencing her memories.

While viewing her life through the filter of her emotions, he was not permitted to draw his own conclusions or forge his own opinions of the people she had encountered. The masters who had trained her were boring and narrow-minded, set in their ways, of no more use. The myriad different practices and methods she found outside the Order were infinitely better than what she had been taught by the Jedi. She was a revolutionary, discovering things which had never been done. She could overthrow Sawa Ike, take her place, build a better empire than anything she had ever produced—

Then, the comparatively young upstart was swiftly cut down. Her gathered armies were decimated, and she was forced to flee. The lightsaber was symbolically abandoned, the cause vanquished. Crushing defeat, struggling, pounding against the walls of her ancient skin, imprisoned and yet free…

And then he was pulled out of it. In the present, he found himself sitting on the floor, having sunk to his knees at some point during the ritual. The room seemed darker than it had been when he entered.

Elise stood above him, her expression somber in the gloom.

“Well, I guess you know now… Was it everything you hoped it to be?”

A short, barking laugh died quickly in his throat. He clutched his aching head, ran his hand through his hair.

“Yes,” he muttered, rubbing the back of his neck. Her eyes were still trained upon him, clearly waiting for something. Questions, demands, damnation.

He rose to his feet, steadying himself, and met her gaze.

“What are you now? A Jedi, a Sith? Something in between?”

Elise Ike

 

[Elise Ike]

TIme seemed to slow down as the two stood their, Elise awaiting a reaction from Nimdok, a small sense of what she assumed to be fear radiating from the man. Something she expected, how else would a person react when they found out the seemingly normal (compared to the galaxy they lived in) women turned out to be an ancient Jedi master turned semi Sith Lord.

Her expression remained blank as Nimdok asked what she was, something Elise never really thought of, Jedi, Sith, they were just titles nothing more, they meant something, a rank in society. That wasn't something that defined what you where or how you used the force as she had seen, from both sides in the past. Though if there was one underlying thing that Elise knew she could count on it was her work, a small smile creeping up her lips as she eyed Nimdok.

"Me, well.... I'm just little old lady Elise, former Jedi and current anthropologist, nothing more nothing less and for the time being I'd like to keep it that way". That is unless certain events force her to do act like her old self, but those where few and far between. "Now, to yourself, what are you"?

Jacen Nimdok

 

[Jacen Nimdok]

Nimdok’s eyes searched Elise’s face as she spoke. More hinged on her answer than she realized.

For her, it might make no difference whether she called herself Jedi or Sith. But to him, it would either justify his actions or condemn him. If he had made a grave error and a terrible misjudgement by giving her a new power, granting her access to his memories, and permitting himself to peruse hers, then what was he to do?

To his dismay, she became evasive, giving an answer that was no answer at all. This did not bode well.

As she turned the question on him, Nimdok looked down at his hands. He brought his fingers together, watching the flexing muscles, the bone and sinew moving beneath his skin. It took him ages to assume this form, tweaking the details down to the subtlest nuance. Yet it was only based on pictures, not flesh.

“Today I am Nimdok,” he replied. “Tomorrow perhaps I will be Heliobas. But always I will be what I must be.”

Elise Ike

 

[Elise Ike]

Elise slowly moved back to the couch sitting down as she arched an eyebrow at Nimdok, his own situation being more that met the eye. She kind of got the feeling that his new face and life was both a boon but also a small curse. Having to live life as someone else but also be your own person... kind of reminded her of a few past acquaintances but non were like the man before her.

"So you change to suit the situation you find yourself in right"? "If so once again we are not to different, if I need to be a Jedi, I am a Jedi if I need to be a Sith I am one". Something that she was capable of without much effort, to an extent she had been both at one time and was able to easily pull from her large wealth of knowledge to assume her old roles again.

Jacen Nimdok

 

[Jacen Nimdok]

Now she was playing with his preconceptions as if they were broken toys, trying to convince him that they were on the same terms, equals in concept if not in power. Nimdok sighed.

“I’m not sure I agree with that comparison.” Really, he did not agree with it at all. “We may both hide behind a mask, pretending to be something we aren’t, but I have never tried to play both sides of the Force at once. I am aligned with whatever I believe in at that time… and I am not fickle. If I change, it holds significance. I am capable of growth.”

The accusation was there - Elise did not grow, she stagnated - and he let it lie out in the open. This was a problem inherent in all long-lived creatures. They grew bored and disillusioned with the very concept of morality. Perhaps there was some truth to the belief that people would only behave themselves if they lived in fear of their own death, dreading the possibility of punishment for their misdeeds. The nigh-immortals of the galaxy were strangers to that existential fear.

Shi’ido such as himself could live to be five hundred years old, but they would ultimately know death much sooner than an energy vampire. Where he could relate to those whose lives were even shorter than his own, Elise could not. For that, at least, he could pity her. She was unable to empathize with others. Perhaps she could once, but she had clearly long since lost that ability. All she felt now was the long march of years, the idleness and boredom punctuated by the occasional drive to do something, complete some project. Always the people around her were relegated to tools with which she could accomplish her goals, nothing more.

Drained by the memory transfer, Nimdok was ready to wrap things up and head home. There was little left for him here, now that he had (quite literally) seen everything, and he had a lot to think about. But there was one last thing that bothered him.

“Why did you ask me to come here?”

He couldn’t help questioning her motives, knowing who and what she truly was. It left him wondering if there had been more to this meeting than a friendly visit between colleagues from the start. If she had invited him to her home for a specific purpose.

Elise Ike

 

[Elise Ike]

Well it would seem Nimdok wanted to go down his rambling route again. Such was fun earlier but now it felt as if he was just insulting her to the face... no that is exactly what he was doing, certainly a brave thing to do considering her power. "Ah, I see you are the one that believes there are sides to the force that make them different? The force is the force, I have not much cared for believes in quite a while, like Water the Force can take many forms and be used for different things but at the end of the day the force is the force".

"Jedi Sith even my own type of use of the force is all the same at the end of the day, but I suppose in time you will see that". Her pose relaxing, she couldn't be bothered much talking about personal political views at the movements, it was never really in her plans for the day. Perhaps it was just karma still hanging onto one last thread, giving Elise a small slap to the face just before she got to comfortable.

Her senses coming back into the room as Nimdok asked on final question. "What, an old women can't get a visit every now and then? I swear, youngsters these days, no respect for their elders". Her tone clearly joking somewhat before settling down back into her usual voice. "Did it occur to you that I just may want to talk? You can reason easily enough that if I wanted something specific I would have already gotten it by now".

Jacen Nimdok

 

[Jacen Nimdok]

Nimdok tried and failed to suppress his smile. “The Force is the Force” was a funny enough sounding phrase, but she had said it twice. Even more humorous was her hypocritical insistence that her way was right. She might think him haughty and foolish for believing in the dichotomy between Light and the Dark, but she was just as arrogant and totally convinced that her way was right.

He found that this made him less afraid of her. She might be powerful, but she didn’t seem particularly self-aware. So all he said in response to her rebuke was “Perhaps.”

But then he laughed outright. “I’m told I’m not the best conversationalist. I wish I could have warned you beforehand—perhaps you would have found one of the other members of our expedition easier to talk to.”

A thin bat’s squeak of weary regret had slipped into his tone. To avoid lingering too long, he gestured to the waning evening light streaming through the window, where the sun was setting.

“If there are no pressing matters you wish to discuss, then I am afraid I must be going. I found our time together… interesting.” To say the least.

Elise Ike

 

[Elise Ike]

Elise smiled slightly and shook her head a little, "I doubt any of the other members from the expedition would be up for conversation, the two hired guns would probably ask for payment". "As for that rouge like Sith, well having a young man like that in a place like this could cause problems, I don't need another thief trying to steal my things". That and she had many years to talk with people like that, Nimdok, while not new was a welcome change from the regular people one met in the galaxy.

Stretching Elise stood up from the crouch letting the warm afternoon light bathe over her figure, "well we have been talking for a while, I shall see you out, but do keep in mind you are welcome here if you'd like to visit again". "Oh, and do let me know if you are organizing another expedition I would very glady like to come, perhaps you can use such as a chance to show me how wrong I am in my views of the force hmmmm"?

Jacen Nimdok

 

[Jacen Nimdok]

Nimdok nodded grimly at her words. He considered the Odessen expedition a failure, but he still held out hope that they could mount another attempt in the future.

Her wry humor made him chuckle softly, being too tired to muster up a stronger reaction. He had become uncharacteristically quiet following the memory transfer, whether simply from fatigue or due to some other cause was not apparent.

“Another time,” he agreed. “I will be certain to call upon you.”

As long as the mission didn’t involve Sith artifacts, she would no doubt be an asset. The galaxy seemed curiously short of serious archaeologists and anthropologists who could stand toe to toe with Nimdok.

He followed Elise out of the study in silence, his hands clasped in front of him.

Elise Ike

 

[Elise Ike]

Elise only replied with a small nod while leading Nimdok to the front door, giving him a customary bow as he vacated the manor. Today hadn't gone as expected, though it wasn't a bad thing. After all was said and done Elise felt a small burden on her shoulders give way, almost as if letting someone else into her life story lessened the burden of it all.

Perhaps she was thinking to much into it, only time would tell, but before then, "time to get dinner sorted".