Private Metal Fist, Psychic Fangs

[Westenra Mina]

Wearing: Jedi Guardian Catsuit

Armed with: Blood Sister

Came to ExGal Alpha in: Hematologist (Solo 2 Combat Freighter)


The Crimson Combat Freighter called The Hematologist settled on the lush, newly discovered world of ExGal Alpha.

Inside, the Android piloting it, faking a Light Side Signature with her psychic aura stepped away from the piloting seat and went to her quarters aboard it.

There, she took out her newly acquired youngling rabbit from its large terrarium, black and furry, and ran her fingers gently across its scalp. The ship would release a copy of her in case she was killed. Either way, the rabbit wouldn't be alone. The blonde, muscular woman, tall and voluptuous in a dark blue skintight catsuit stared at her pet as its head nuzzled against her hand. She hugged the infant rabbit very gently and carefully until she placed it back in its terrarium and selected her Antique-Looking Lightsaber and stepped off the ship in a jungle area full of trees partly blotting out the sun. This was the only clearing she could find away from the Jedi Drop Ships...she had been disgusted at some of the First Contact Protocols, locating Force Users right off the bat. More fuel for the flames.

She had activated the locator beacon so Starlin Rand could locate her ship. They had their work cut out. Early scouts had reported the presence of a Force Nexus in multiple areas, and missing scouts. The whole planet had evidence of ancient technology upon it. But Meleena was a more terrible technology still.

Meleena waited, and leaned against her ship, waiting for Starlin. Laertia had said he was full of potential. For someone like Laertia to say that...it meant something. She had been utterly serious about it.

Meleena was already curious about this one...

 

[Starlin Rand]

Aboard the Conestoga...

Starlin blinked at the end of the message from “Meleena”, then read the whole thing over again. Well, this was definitely weird, but also intriguing.

Getting up, he went to find the professor. Nimdok was in his quarters, poring over an ancient-looking book written with ink on paper. He looked up as the door slid open and smiled. “Starlin! I thought you were playing hologames.”

“I… I wasn’t, actually,” Starlin replied, rubbing the back of his neck. He hadn’t had the time or the energy for gaming since before the Invasion of Dantooine. “Are you busy?”

“Always, yes. But since you’re looking at me like you need to ask me something, I’m going to say no, I am not currently busy.” He set aside the book. “What do you need?”

“A ride to a planet called ExGal Alpha. Someone asked me to meet them there.”

“Who?”

Starlin shrugged. “Someone named Meleena. She says she’s the sister of an associate of Syd.”

“The sister of an associate of Syd? Why not your father’s brother's nephew's cousin's former roommate?” Nimdok snorted at the pop culture reference he’d just made. At Starlin’s cringing smile, he sighed. “All right, so you need a ship. It’s too bad Meleena didn’t contact you at home on Coruscant or Kashyyyk, where you could just fly there in that gorgeous steampunk starfighter of yours, but poor timing seems to be our lot in life.” He spread his hands. “I can’t exactly abandon this expedition just to go drop you off on some unexplored Rim World. Why does she even need you to come along, anyway?”

“Well, the Silver Jedi are surveying and cataloging the planet, but she mentioned something about mysterious rune chambers and ancient technologies being discovered there, so I suppose we’re going to be exploring those. I’m needed for my purification powers in case there’s Darkness and corruption.”

At the mention of “mysterious rune chambers and ancient technologies”, Nimdok grew starry-eyed. “Do you think that maybe this Meleena has room for one more?”

“Given what happens whenever I go anywhere with Syd or anyone connected to her, you would probably be killed within the first fifteen minutes if you did go with us,” Starlin replied dryly.

“Oh, come on. You know that isn’t fair. Remember when you first met me on Jerrilek, and we had to deal with those Sith mercenaries?”

“You turned into a giant serpent, only to be downed by a single stab wound from a Mandalorian’s vibroblade.” Back then, Starlin had thought the professor was something special. Now he was less impressed by the Shi’ido’s abilities, though he still liked the pointy-eared archaeologist plenty. Which was why he wanted to keep him alive a little while longer, at least. “I don’t think you can handle the sort of stuff we might find. You’re not much of a fighter.”

But Nimdok wasn’t letting up. “I’ll bring my own bodyguard.”

“Bodyguard? You have a bodyguard?”

“Lydia has extensive combat training.”

“What, you mean your ‘personal assistant’?” Starlin jerked a thumb in the direction of the cockpit, where he knew Ms. “Lydia Mina” was sitting in the pilot’s chair. As far as Starlin knew, she was another shapeshifter who primarily acted as a chauffeur for Nimdok, a babysitter for his daughter Miri, and an occasional secretary/record keeper. She also curiously had no visible presence in the Force. This was the first he’d heard about her being Nimdok’s bodyguard, though.

“Ye-es,” Nimdok drawled, the corners of his mouth curling upward. “Lydia is much more than she seems. She can certainly protect me even if you can’t. We’ll all go to ExGal Alpha together, and if Meleena has a problem with our tagging along, Lydia and I will do our own thing.”

“What about Miri?” Starlin had passed Nimdok’s eight year old daughter in the Conestoga’s hallways. She had been curled up on a couch with a stuffed animal and a book with a picture of a fairy on the cover.

“She can stay here with Ayreon.” Ayreon was an HRD. He was apparently employed by Lydia, or was owned by her, or however it worked with human replica droids. His soulless eyes gave Starlin the creeps.

“What about the expedition you’re on right now?” Starlin protested.

“It’s still early enough that I can call and cancel.”

“You said you couldn’t just abandon it!”

“I’ll tell them a family emergency came up and I have no choice but to go.” Starlin didn’t think the professor could get any more excited, but Nimdok was practically vibrating. Standing up, he grabbed Starlin’s shoulders as if he were going to embrace him. “It’s been a long time since you and I did anything interesting together. It will be fun!”

Stiffening, Starlin leaned away from Nimdok. “Calm down. For all we know, this could turn out to be a boring, routine trip.” He had a strong feeling that it wouldn’t be even remotely boring, however. “I’ll tell Lydia where to go. Also, you really need to get some furniture in here, man.” He gestured to the spartan surroundings, then left Nimdok’s quarters.

A few light years later, the Conestoga landed on ExGal Alpha, having tracked the coordinates Starlin had received from Meleena. The Jedi Padawan stepped out, fully armed and armored. Nimdok and Lydia had lagged behind, apparently because Lydia needed time to change in her quarters.

Starlin approached the freighter to which the beacon was attached, spotting a blonde woman leaning against it. “Are you Meleena?” he asked. “I’m Starlin Rand. I got your letter, but… well, I had to ask one of my associates for a ride here, and now he and his, uh, bodyguard want to tag along. He’s an archaeologist, so it’s not as if he's just some unqualified rando, but I told him it was up to you. Otherwise, I guess he can just hang out here while we go do our thing.”

Westenra Mina​

 

[Westenra Mina]

Meleena finally spotted the ship carrying Starlin Rand , and then the boy himself. An unexpected wrinkle however...he had brought friends. Nothing she couldn't handle. "Yes, I am who you seek." She answered. "I do apologize for all the cloak and dagger, Padawan, but its necessary for operational security, especially where you are concerned. I do believe 'full' introductions are in order. My full name is Meleena Io. I am a Sister to Laertia."

She X-Rayed and telescoped his vessel, the faint purple glint at the center becoming very slightly brighter, spotted the Shi'ido and...

Meleena focused on the second occupant. Her organic sensors saw the telltale signs, the chemical make up. Another copy of herself. An altered one...

"Very well, Padawan Rand...your friends may accompany us, however, for high risk threats, I must ask that we be deferred to on the resolution of those. We are on a strict 'Defend Ourselves only if attacked First' sorta thing." Meleena explained to him. "Its a stupid ass rule, but we gotta follow it. Like we haven't contaminated this planet just by being here..."

Meleena waited for the others to show and was not surprised at the sight of Jacen Nimdok , a designated friendly after his arrival on the Absolution of Loste.

But it was her fellow biot who really got her attention. She detected a number of alterations and genetic changes...what had happened? Neural Signature was completely foreign. It might be an altered Westenra Copy, but there was no "Westenra" on the inside as far as she could tell. Likely, the biot had also detected what she was as well.

"Well, now that everyone is here..." the statuesque blonde Android began. "There is a chamber site straight ahead of us into the tropical areas based early reports. If we find out what happened to any of our missing Jedi Scouts we report it in."

Meleena's eyes glanced at the prosthetic her Sister had made to replace Starlin's Organic Hand after he lost it at Dantooine. Laertia still hadn't forgiven herself. She might never forgive herself. She was so worried about Laertia these days. She knew she needed to find some way to visit her. She didn't voice it, but she didn't trust Syd. Why had this so called Bond developed so quickly and easily between the two?

"Let's move out...watch for traps...and if we run into locals, we talk our way out before fighting..."

A half hour later.

"Laertia forced us to denounce her publicly..." Meleena explained to Starlin (and indirectly to the others) as they moved through dense forest, Meleena's strange red aura, pink cored Lightsaber cutting past underbrush. "We did not wish to, but she made us in order to protect our reputations. Melissa took it the hardest of us all...and took this more permanent Alliance with The NIO all the worse...but we still help Laertia when we can, and any friend of Laertia is a friend of ours..." she told him as she cleared a path.

Meleena, not having an Organic Soul in her body, moved far more precisely and efficiently than a regular human and it showed. The Blonde could go almost completely still, not a muscle moving as she listened or scanned something before just as suddenly beginning her trek again and gesturing to be followed through a dense jungle. Her eyes began to pick up booby traps and she gestured for all to slow down, pointing out where each trap was with her Lightsaber so they could avoid them as the moved closer to the strange ruins ahead.

Finally, her supersensitive ears picked up the faint beep of a tracker and diverted course slightly, searching through the bushes as she found a scout's freshly decayed corpse, riddled with poison darts. The corpse was in Jedi Robes.

Meleena didn't react to the intense smell, merely processing it like she would process any chemical odor as she knealt to examine it.

"He was caught from behind as he walked through the traps..." Meleena deduced, scanning the area in X-Ray mode, finding a number of boobytraps hidden nearby, some simple, some modern, all surrounding the perimeter of the ruins, which bore Flame Motifs everywhere--and Atrisian Kanji...

Meleena's eyes went a little wide as she read the inscription.

"Tomb of Cinndurr..." Meleena read out, failing to catch the big, stinking heap of foreshadowing...

Meleena focused and a purple tinged energy bubble surrounded her.

"I'll be back...don't move..." Meleena told everyone as she began walking, triggering each trap.

Some were energy based blaster traps which the bubble sustained as she walked. Others were projectiles that went through the bubble, spears and other poison darts, impacting against her chest and face, leaking bright, glowing red blood as she walked, calmly pulling out impacted projectiles. It became obvious this woman was in some ways, more of a nightmare than Syd was...Syd could never have survived some of the wounds Meleena had sustained without heavily relying on Force Regeneration.

Finally, after circling the perimeter and triggering every trap she could find, Meleena came to a stop, a burned, bloody mess, as she pulled out all the projectiles embedded in her body, even one in her head, her body healing rapidly and her blue catsuit repairing over the course of a few minutes, until it was if she had never been damaged at all.

"Right then...lets go see about these ruins..." Meleena spoke heading to the front door, detecting Force Energy as arcs of blue lightning covering the door, but not able to actually manipulate it.

She turned to Starlin. "Think you can disable that barrier?"

 

[Starlin Rand]

Starlin wasn’t shocked to find out that the “associate” referred to in the letter was Laertia Io, given her closeness with Syd. He was, however, a little surprised that Meleena was Laertia’s sister. He saw no physical resemblance between the two, though he supposed that might be intentional. Meleena’s false Light Side Aura had him completely fooled; he assumed she was just another Jedi, writing off the handful of strange traits she exhibited (like those purple glowing eyes and, later on, the bright pink of her blood and ability to survive profound traumatic injuries) as her being a member of some Near-Human species he’d never heard of.

Nimdok and Lydia (in her Combat Form, carrying several weapons in hilts and holsters) exited the Conestoga. While Nimdok noticed nothing out of the ordinary, Lydia abruptly halted beside him. “What is it?” Nimdok asked her in a whisper.

“That woman over there—is she Starlin’s contact?”

“I assume so.” He tilted his head. “Is there something strange about her that you can see but I can’t?”

“She’s… like me,” Lydia murmured. “A biot. Not exactly, but… Remember how twitchy I was when I first found you, because Messala made me from someone else’s stolen tech and had no blueprint for how it worked?” She inclined her head towards Meleena. “She’s the original. The real thing. I’m just a broken copy of a copy.”

“You’re not so broken anymore. Slip was able to fix your programming, at least.” Lydia only grunted in response to that. “Well, we should go over and introduce ourselves.”

Upon approaching Meleena, Nimdok waved in greeting. “Since Starlin has already explained the situation, allow me to introduce myself. I am Professor Nimdok, and this is Lydia. Rest assured, we will not get in your way.”

Beside him, Lydia remained silent, her eyes focused on Meleena. Nimdok frowned slightly, but didn’t press her to speak.

Blissfully ignorant, Starlin focused on the task at hand. “Missing Jedi Scouts, huh? Typical. Well, I hope we can find them alive…”

The group fell in line, with Starlin walking almost beside Meleena while Nimdok and then Lydia followed close behind. Starlin was fascinated by her pink and red lightsaber. He used his own blade for a similar purpose, helping her to cut through the undergrowth. ExGal Alpha’s jungles were hot and humid at this time of year. Starlin’s armor quickly grew uncomfortable, and his skin and hair were wet with sweat.

“I heard from my friend Tom about the NIO alliance,” he remarked. “He was disillusioned with the Silvers after everything that went down with the Elder Compact… felt like the people running the Order had mismanaged things. I mean, I definitely get where he’s coming from… Syd, Laertia and I were convinced it was real, everyone else acted as if it was real, but then they turned around after people had died and said it was never ratified? Big screwup on their part. But I at least was willing to give them the benefit of the doubt when the old leadership stepped down… Tom wasn’t. But then he joined the NJO right when the alliance with NIO went official, and all this chit hit the fan about them going out of their way to kill children in Sith academies and other civilians…”

While Nimdok made no comment, Lydia let out a derisive snort. She considered most of the galactic factions in power to be full of scumbags and morally bereft zealots. Why any Jedi with a modicum of integrity would stay on with the NJO after the news broke about their recent actions was beyond her.

They all picked up on the smell of the dead body well before they spotted it. Starlin pinched his nose closed. So much for finding the Jedi Scouts alive and well.

Nimdok was far more interested in the ruins than in the corpse. He might’ve walked right into one of the boobytraps surrounding the structure, had Lydia not held him back. “Not so fast,” she hissed. “Meleena goes first, then Starlin, then me, and you last, Mr. Intrepid Archaeologist.” Smiling, he patted her hand in appreciation, earning an eyeroll from Lydia.

“‘Tomb of Cinndurr’?” Nimdok echoed, his brow furrowing. The name didn’t ring any bells, but it did shape his expectations for what lay ahead. “Lots and lots of traps, I’ll bet. But if most of them are still intact, the contents are likely untouched. We may be looking at a pristinely preserved tomb here—”

He was cut off by the loud cacophony of noises accompanying Meleena as she proceeded to deliberately trigger every trap surrounding the tomb entrance. Starlin backed away in a hurry, eyes wide as he witnessed her acting as a pincushion to dozens of poisonous darts and spears. She showed no pain and simply removed the projectiles even as they wounded her, her body healing rapidly and clothes repairing.

“... Can you do that?” Nimdok asked Lydia.

“Well, yes, but—” She blinked. “Maybe not as spectacularly.” She made a mental note to ask Meleena how she was able to create that bubble shield.

Starlin, recovering from his shock—he remembered having seen Syd heal rapidly and supposed this sort of thing wasn’t as unique as he might’ve thought—walked over to the sealed entrance. “Sure,” he said, raising his hands toward the barrier. He envisioned the barrier itself as a tapestry with threads that could be unraveled, his inner Light serving as the tools that pried them apart. The wall over the entrance gradually faded away, permitting them to pass.

Westenra Mina​

 

[Westenra Mina]

"Well done, Starlin." Meleena remarked as he pried the barrier open with the light.

She ventured forward into the ruins, which bore flame motifs on the interior the same way they had the exterior. The place had clearly once been magnifcent, but had fallen to the ages. It had Fire Diamonds inset into the ceiling as stellar constellations. There were numerous murals depicting them, all Fire Diamonds.

"Stay here. No need for any of you to get injured if you don't have to be..." Meleena said, slowly going ahead to be the Canary, sincerely not wanting any of them to be hurt due to all copies of Westenra having very intense empathy programming to counteract their murderous potential. If a Westenra Copy kills, it is because the opponent is either extremely dangerous, or no practical means of Non-Lethal Nuetralization present themselves.

She spied an ancient workbench, Sarcophagi of skeletons in matching Gold Catsuits with red gloves and boots lined the walls behind airtight transparisteel cases, ancient crossguard Lightsabers rusted over in Stasis Chambers that failed mounted on pedestals in front of their dead owners. There was an open stairwell leading lower with a fiery orange glow glinting off bronze steps...

...and dead Stormtroopers.

Meleena went over and examined them. Scorched. Burned...New Imperial Order by the looks of it. Crap...

Meleena finally finished scanning the whole chamber, giving it the all clear to walk on, heading back to the dead stormtroopers. "Stay sharp, we're not alone..." she warned everyone, examining them, looking for anything salvageable. The equipment was as burned and scorched as the bodies were.

"Professor Nimdok, Lydia, I need you to stay up here while me and Starlin scout below. I trust there is more than enough here to make your inner tomb raider squee..." Meleena joked. "If we determine its safe, we'll come get you."

Meleena headed down the steps, gesturing for Starlin to follow.

"This doesn't make any sense...there should not be any Atrisian Ruins this far out..." Meleena mentioned, descending the steps, starting to notice the micro-sconces holding Incineration Crystals which provided the lightsources.

"Tomb of Cinndurr...Tomb of Cinndurr..." Meleena repeated, cross referencing in her database...

"Holy chit..." Meleena realized. "I've heard that name before. It was after the Sith Lord, Mythos struck Atrisia. Both Laertia AND your Master were there that day, along with...me...sort of..." Meleena explained hesitantly, noting the staircase seemed to go down a very long way, but not so long you would need flight to make it a comfortable trip down.

"Anyway, between them, they killed hundreds of Soldiers and Low-Grade Sith Spawn, probably a few dozen individual Sith Lords...but in the aftermath, Laertia was thanked by the Atrisian Government...they gave her...a crystal. A Pearl that contained an Eternal Flame raging inside it..." Meleena explained as she stopped in front of a sealed door at the bottom of the winding, bronze covered staircase. Meleena twisted a crank wheel on the side, there was a click, and sealed doors slid open.

Meleena's jaw fell slightly as she stepped forward into a vast, Arena-Sized chamber surrounded by a ring of magical golden fire, that couldn't possibly be under the complex they had arrived at. The dimensions were larger inside the under-chamber than outside.

The Chamber itself had been composed of vast rows of decorative pillars, containing either Lava Crystals or Barab Ingots, all arranged in circular or constellation patterns on the pillars themselves, guarding an actual, person sized tomb modeled after the one on Coruscant, covered in Amber paneling, a display case containing the occupant of the tombs gold and red catsuit, surrounded by Lava Crystals set into the floor around it. The tomb was warm, but not stifling. There were murals. Meleena went to examine them, familiar with the variant of Atrisian written in Kanji.

The first mural depicted apparently the owner of the catsuit on display, seemingly a powerful Force Adept with...flaming red hair...she was shown coveting a tiny flame in her gloved hands in front of astonished, faceless Jedi.

Meleena read the writing on the first mural.

"Starlin...I...I don't know what to say, but I think you should see this..." Meleena said softly, reading out loud what she had translated.

"Cidd Cinndurr was a powerful Jedi, and among the very first in the Order's history to summon flames from her mind, which made her an instant outcast, due to the deadly, destructive potential of her abilities, despite being incredibly weak when they first manifested, and Cinndurr's inability to conjure more than a matchhead size flame..."

Meleena took a step back.

"Then again, a matchhead of flame can burn down an entire building..." Meleena remarked, going to a second mural, depicting the Flame Haired Cinndurr in a lotus position, studying strange books with strange, ugly runes.

"Shunned by her fellow Jedi, Cinndurr took up archeology, and was exposed to the foreign texts of the Heretical Magic. It was here that her capacity for magic became a known factor, and her ability to understand it was immense and considerable, and grew powerful in strange ways..."

Meleena turned to Starlin.

"Starlin...I don't want to sow doubt in you over your Master...that's not what we came here to do...but I gotta ask...how well do you 'really' know her?"

 

[Starlin Rand]

While Starlin and Lydia oohed and aahed at the beauty of the jeweled murals, Nimdok studied them, searching for markers that would indicate when the tomb was built, by whom, and for whom. The Atrisian style and the fire motif was clear, though that didn’t really narrow it down much. He didn’t know of any specific Atrisian cultures which venerated fire. It was more likely that the individual or individuals buried here were associated with flame in some way, be it symbolic or literal. Ironically, Syd Celsius did come to mind, but that was impossible. Syd was still alive. This tomb and its long-dead occupants were ancient.

He was quite puzzled by the catsuit-clad mummies. They had all been identically dressed, and armed with the same type of weaponry. A personal guard, perhaps? It was eerie how similar they looked. He almost reached out to touch one of them, when Meleena spoke, saying she would go on ahead and check things out. Clearing his throat, he let his hand drop to his side, leaving the crossguard lightsaber untouched in its broken display case.

Not one to sit still and wait for her fellow biot to report back, Lydia followed Meleena to the steps, venturing far enough to see the dead NIO troops. She frowned. Missing Silver Jedi Scouts, and now dead NIO Stormtroopers. Already the factions were fighting over who was going to survey this planet first, it seemed. Unless something else entirely had killed them…

She retreated as Meleena returned, asking them to stay and Starlin to follow. Lydia turned to Nimdok, who was studying the sarcophagi from all angles. “Well, we’re alone together,” she said, her tone more anxious than joking or flirtatious. Something about this place made her nervous. Probably all the dead bodies.

“Bithia,” Nimdok said softly, using her real name. “Could you take samples of these mummies and test them?”

“Yes, but so can Ayreon when we get back to the ship. In fact, he'd probably do a better job of analyzing them—he's built for forensics.” Besides, she’d really rather not put any shriveled biological tissue in her mouth to analyze it, even though she couldn’t taste it or catch any diseases from the long-dead bodies.

“I’d like to have the results as soon as possible,” he insisted. “I need you to compare the DNA of each of these mummies to see if they’re related. I have a hunch that this a family, or possibly even clones.” When she still looked revolted, Nimdok gave her a pleading look.

She heaved a sigh. “All right, whatever you say..."

Meanwhile, Starlin followed Meleena further into the depths of the Tomb of Cinndurr. He listened in silence as the biot told her story about Laertia and Syd and a Pearl containing an Eternal Flame. “What did the Pearl have to do with Cinndurr?” he asked after Meleena opened the door. He assumed it had belonged to Cinndurr.

The tomb chamber beyond was far more vast and impressive in scope than the room they had previously been in. Starlin looked around, taking in the sights. He saw the murals on the walls, particularly the red-haired woman and Jedi, and a thrill passed through him. It was warm in here, but weren’t underground tombs supposed to be cool?

"Starlin… I… I don't know what to say, but I think you should see this..."

He turned toward the mural she was facing. Unable to read Kanji, he relied on Meleena for a translation. His brow furrowed.

“Cidd Cinndurr?” He committed the name and information about her to memory, knowing Nimdok would want to know it, before he processed the implications of it all. Cidd. Syd. Conjuring fire. Pyrokinesis. The bodies wore catsuits. Syd had worn catsuits. Now he saw with sudden clarity the resemblance between the woman depicted in the murals and his master.

“But… but how is this possible?” he stammered. “What does it mean?”

"Starlin… I don't want to sow doubt in you over your Master… that's not what we came here to do… but I gotta ask… how well do you 'really' know her?"

Meleena’s words hit him like a punch to the gut. “But what does it mean?” he repeated. “None of this makes any sense. Sure, their names are similar. They look similar. But if they’re the same, how can she be dead and buried here if Syd is alive?”

He hadn’t seen a mummy down here yet. Only an empty catsuit on display. “Where’s the body?” he demanded, searching the room frantically. The sick feeling in the pit of his stomach would go away once he saw for himself that “Cidd Cinndurr” was well and truly dead.

Westenra Mina​

 

[Westenra Mina]

"Many Force Users are older than they look...and some are so powerful they can survive a bout of being dead for a long time before coming back by usually pre-arranged means..." Meleena answered, "Others...sometimes they don't come back willingly, or they don't come back as what they started as..." Meleena answered as concisely as possible, continuing to explore and read the murals while Starlin Rand looked for a body.

"Your efforts to locate the corpse will not succeed, the structure at the center mimicking the Jedi Temple is a ceremonial Sarcophagi...but there is no corpse to be found inside. I looked..." Meleena assured, before translating the next mural, this one depicting Cidd being led in chains before a council of faceless Jedi.

"As Cidd grew more powerful in magic manipulating the elements and the flesh, she grew more ostracized by her fellow Jedi, who censured her for her study, and when she attempted to secretly teach a class on the subjects, she was expelled from the order, and in her Exile she went to her home planet of Atrisia. There, in her disgrace, she found Atrisia ruled by a vain and cruel tyrant who oppressed the people, and resolved to free Atrisia of his grip on it. But though she was skilled and her cause just, she simply lacked the outright power to truly challenge his forces..."

Meleena turned to the next Mural, depicting Cidd floating over the ground of an ancient tomb with folded arms, a levitating book covered in flames raging next to her.

"When her own efforts failed, even with her knowledge of magic, Cidd grew desperate, and altered herself stealing the Flame Heresies of another outcast, becoming a powerful Spawn of the Force with the ability to fly. She waged a terrible war on the Tyrant Emperor, and drew a number of Force Sensitive Jei Priestesses to her pyrokinetic magic and were filled with the fire of rebellion, waging war against his armies. The Jei Fire Priestesses burned the Tyrant's armies and the Tyrant began to lose his grip."

Meleena then turned to yet another mural, depicting Cidd blasting the Tyrant in white, Samurai-Like armor with flames from her mouth, surrounded by Jedi pointing their blades at her, shrouding her in light

"Cinndurr inflicted so much Damage on the Tyrant's rule, he turned to the Jedi in desperation to stop her. Though he was an oppressive ruler, The Jedi considered her a dangerous loose end that would lead people to the Dark Side, and the Republic wanted to maintain economic relations. So the Jedi and the Republic Special Forces assaulted her mountain sanctuary, and killed most of the Fire Priestesses. She bought time for survivors to flee and fought the Emperor himself, nearly killing him, only to be paralyzed by the Jedi before she could deliver the killing blow."

Meleena then reached the last, and most gruesome mural, depicting the Tyrant Emperor dismembering Cidd at the mouth of a Volcano in front of horrified Jedi and onlookers. The Jedi looked like they were forced to watch at gunpoint by the Atrisian Military.

"With her rebellion crushed, the Emperor personally carried out the sentence, viciously dismembering Cinndurr and casting her remains into the holy fires of Mount Muspelheim, defiling the sacred landmark to crush the people's will to fight. The Jedi who had helped capture were held at blaster point and cruelly forced to watch the whole, agonizing death, before being banned from the world and declared criminals, all diplomatic relationships with the Republic severed while his rule maintained itself. However, in his unabashed treachery he had managed to enrage the Jedi Order, who violently deposed him from power 007 weeks later, throwing the treacherous tyrant to angry crowds of his own subjects. Her loyal followers crafted this tomb for her in her honor, so that Cidd Cinndurr, and buried themselves to join her in death. May the Jedi never live down the shame of blind adherence..." Meleena finished.

"Did she ever mention this? Anything like this to you, Starlin?" She asked the boy, knowing he was deeply disturbed. She didn't blame him.

 

[Starlin Rand]

There is no corpse to be found inside. Starlin grimaced, gritting his teeth against the nausea and uncertainty he felt. He didn’t know what to think or what to say. All he could do was listen as Meleena continued to read from the murals, telling the complete, tragic, gruesome story of Cidd Cinndurr.

At the mention of Mount Muspelheim, his memory sparked. He grabbed the shoto Syd had given him from his belt and held it up. “This,” he said. “Syd gave this to me. The blade is focused through a lava crystal taken from Mt. Muspelheim. I remember her telling me that.”

But she had never mentioned any of the other stuff. “She told me once that she was created, not born. Someone she called the Man in White transformed her into the… the person she is now.” He shook his head. “I don’t think she remembers anything from before that. Or if she does, it’s fragmented. She seemed to struggle to remember things from her past.”

It wasn’t so much that he found it difficult to believe Syd had once been Cidd as it was… hard to swallow. He didn’t want to accept it. Which was strange in and of itself. Cidd Cinndurr hadn’t really done anything wrong, aside from studying heretical texts.

But the pieces of the puzzle weren’t all lining up. He sensed that there was more to this story that wasn’t revealed by the murals. “Are there any dates?” he asked Meleena. “Can you estimate when all of this happened, at least? I mean, if Cidd Cinndurr is really Syd, I’d like to know how old she really is, at least." There was plenty more he wanted to know besides that, but dating seemed the most logical starting point.

Westenra Mina​

 

[Westenra Mina]

Meleena, genuinely wanting to help Starlin Rand , began to study the murals more closely for details...

"Hmmm...some of the Lightsabers the Jedi are shown with are a mix of Proto-Sabers and standard blades...though I also see Force Katanas. That would mean...it would mean that if Syd Celsius is really Cidd Cinndurr, then she is an extremely ancient Force Sensitive. Ancient enough to have possibly seen some of the very first battles with the Sith. No wonder she's so powerful...it would also explain the hostile reaction the Jedi had to her. The Jedi of old were notorious sticklers for how they thought things 'should' be done. Magic was viewed as an improper, unnatural manipulation of the Force, and was very heavily suppressed..."

Meleena's X-Ray scans spotted a hidden switch mechanism. No booby-traps. She went forward and pulled the switch, disguised as a wall sconce.

One panel on a wall close to Starlin flipped, revealing another mural behind it. This depicted Cidd inscribing odd, unnatural looking runes in a chamber...and depiction of the Lightsaber Laertia battled Ryv Karis with at Dantooine.

Meleena's jaw dropped. "That blade depicted...that's the SynthBreaker...it's Laertia's...who the feth is this woman?"

Meleena then translated, growing more disturbed as she read:

"Cinndurr was tormented since Knighthood of dreams of a deadly warrior she claims she was bonded to through time and space. These dreams took a toll on our Master, slowly but surely. This tomb was constructed over her strange attempts to bridge two seperate eras with foreign Magic from outside this reality. Her attempts failed. This more than anything else helped to worsen our beloved Master's mental strength, as the pain of seperation from her beloved warrior grew to be more than what she could fully grapple with."

Meleena was slowly becoming terrified at the revelations. But in revealing the hidden Mural, she had activated something else. The slab holding the ceremonial Sarcophagi slid open to reveal a staircase. Meleena went to inspect it, spotted the unnatural looking runes which reminded her of Math Equations on the steps and walls. Her databases went active with pre-programmed knowledge...

WARNING WARNING KOLDA-BRATHA CALCULUS DETECTED. EXCERCISE CAUTION OR RETREAT RECCOMENDED.

Meleena frowned as she saw a dead stormtrooper on the steps below, burned and singed...

 

[Starlin Rand]

Syd was ancient? She had been around since the beginning of the Sith? Oh hell. Picking up his comlink, Starlin spoke into it. “Professor?”

“Nimdok here.”

“Uh… how long ago did the Sith start?” Starlin asked. His eyes were still glued to the murals.

“You mean, at what point in history did the Sith as we know them evolve from exiled Dark Jedi?” Nimdok asked. “Around 7000 BBY, give or take a few centuries, though there is much debate over what constitutes the ‘true Sith’. The Sith species that was native to Korriban is much older than that.” His tone grew concerned. “Have you found something of the Sith deeper in this tomb?”

“No, just… something a little surprising, I guess.” On the other end, he heard what sounded like Lydia talking. “How are you two holding up?”

“A dead end, then,” Nimdok said, responding to whatever she had told him. “We’re fine, Starlin. I just had Lydia perform some tests. It wasn’t what I thought. The bodies up here aren’t related by blood. If I had to guess, they’re some form of guard for a person named Cidd Cinndurr, or possibly the members of an ancient enclave of Force Users called Cidd Cinndurr.”

“Cidd Cinndurr was definitely a person,” Starlin replied. “But so far we haven’t found a body. The sarcophagus down here is empty.”

“Really? How strange.”

Starlin became distracted upon hearing Meleena exclaim over the SynthBreaker lightsaber. He was startled when Nimdok replied, “Did she just say something about Laertia Io?”

“Uh, yeah. Apparently Laertia has a lightsaber which is depicted in some of these murals.” Realizing he hadn’t explained what they had found, he brought Nimdok up to speed as much as he could, even revealing their suspicions that Cidd and Syd were one and the same.

Nimdok was quiet for a long time afterwards, not saying anything while Starlin listened to Meleena as she read the rest of the mural. His brow furrowed. “She attempted time travel?” That might actually explain how Syd was alive here and now, up to 7800 years after she was born. “I’ve heard of flow-walking, but not of anyone physically traveling through time. What do they call that? Is there even a word for it?”

“I believe ‘chronomancy’ would be the official term,” Nimdok replied. “There have been… isolated cases. But it is a very rare, and very dangerous skill. In fact, the most recent example I can think of was a Sith called Vereshin the Magus… He disappeared not long after the Invasion of Coruscant. The only reason I know anything about him is because AMCO was apparently his apprentice. Vandiir learned a technique that would cause objects or people to experience entropy from him.”

“Huh?” Starlin asked, not understanding half of what the professor had just said.

“He could make things age rapidly and decay into dust,” Nimdok repeated in Basic. “Adrian Vandiir was a quasi-nemesis of mine, going back to before I even met you, Starlin. He was pissed off at me because I broke part of a Sith holocron in front of him, among other things.”

“You broke a holocron?”

“A Sith holocron which had already driven a man to suicide, fed upon his body, and harbored information on how to become a Force Vampire. And I only destroyed the outer shell. It was a trick to fool Adrian into abandoning the chase. But then he tried to kill me as revenge.” Nimdok's tone grew dark. ”I'm very glad he's dead."

Starlin noticed Meleena heading down a newly revealed hidden staircase. “Uh, I gotta go. I’ll contact you later if we find anything else.” He turned off his comlink before Nimdok could say anything more. “Meleena, wait up!”

Westenra Mina​

 

[Syd Celsius]

Location: Atrisia

Wearing: Sage Suit

Armed with: Wind and Fire Wheels


Aboard: The Absolution of Loste


The more time Syd spent around Laertia, the more she understood just how much the Brain Damage affected her.

Laertia, for all her intelligence and battle prowess, was more of a mess in private. She would sometimes suffer intense bouts of being hot and cold. She would forget she would leave machines running, which is why either Moya or Syd would need to be present when she was using machinery such as tools or cooking equipment. Syd had personally witnessed Laertia leave the stove on, or forget to turn machines off, even if she had been using it seconds earlier. That Nine Lives must have been supervising her intensely during the creation of her Nuetralizers.

She also sometimes just plain forgot things they had done. A few weeks prior they had gone stargazing together on Naboo...three days later when Syd mentioned it, it had taken a few minutes prompting before Laertia herself remembered. She had been so happy when she did.

Laertia had not returned to the Absolution after Ziost. Syd was worried. Laertia had dampened their bond the past few days, so Syd couldn't get a good feel for what was going on with her...she felt strange.

Days she had spent worried sick for Laertia. Busy work, in between still secretly training Starlin Rand and archeology to keep her head on straight. She still had panic attacks about the path she was leading him on. She wasn't used to being that afraid. That vulnerable.

She lamented her failures. She had meant Starlin to go down a better road than the one she had tread. Instead, her own belief in the foolishness of the NJO'S policy had led her to Dantooine with Laertia. And there, Starlin's life and hers changed after killing Jedi right along with Laertia. She still had nightmares of it. Of him losing his hand. She could still feel the pain of the blow that took it. It bothered her to no end that to this day, she hadn't felt the life of the Padawan he had taken. But she believed in uniting as many as possible to fight the Bryn'adul. Ryv would never make that compromise. But the prime difference between him and Laertia was that he was an idealist. Laertia wasn't except in a very general sense. She hated working with Sthe Sith, but she would do it if it meant stopping the Bryn'adul by any means necessary.

But none of that was on Syd's mind now. All that mattered was seeing Laertia again, touching that snow-pale visage.

She had finally sent out a transmission telling her as much, asking to meet her at Atrisia. She had been working there under another guise, and had a place they could talk without being observed.

An old temple she had discovered in Atrisia's mountains with strange Dragon Motifs, seemingly styled after the Coruscant temple though heavily scaled down, had been rediscovered in her efforts to temporarily escape the situation she found herself in, fighting the NIO, and indirectly turning on the GA because of it. Here they could catch up. Besides...she had found something she thought was important to both of them.

Laertia had agreed, sending a coded transmission for a time of arrival.

Syd had headed down in her Star Courier, a photo of her next to her student after he had been initiated into the SJC.

Finally, she saw the black warship Laertia used descending through the canopy of trees, setting down on soft grass, Syd felt their bond undampen, and Syd was taken aback at how strange the Light within Laertia felt.

The Black Knight of Nar Kreeta descended the ramp in her spiky biker-wear, hair a Dark Chestnut, skin slightly less pale, lacking her facial and cranial scars due to close proximity to Syd having mutated her by accident.

Syd had not gone unaltered herself, her hair having once more changed from its fiery orange red to the same chestnut color as Laertia's as The Black Knight had gotten into her proximity.

What concerned Syd deeply was when she spotted Laertia's organic eye. It had mutated, the whites of her eyes having become a feep bronze, the iris a dark green. She was not familiar with this eye corruption variant.

That didn't mean she didn't know it was Eye Corruption. Syd wasn't stupid.

"Laertia..." Syd said faintly, floating over to her, gold chrome hand gliding gently across a cheekbone of Io's.

"Your eye...What's wrong? Tell me what happened, please..."

"Ziost. From what I can tell, somebody triggered a massive Dark Side trap that drove many of the Jedi there mad and made them murder even their own. Prominent ones fell utterly to the Dark Side..." Laertia answered softly. "I barely managed to resist the madness long enough to escape..."

"But how? And at what cost?" Syd pressed, deathly worried now, and unable to hide it.

"I...I used the Light Side...but in a very questionable way..." Laertia answered.

"And this was the result?" Syd asked.

"There's always a price for what people like us are, and what we do...always..."

"How did you learn it? Who taught you?"

"Someone who saved my life once..." Laertia answered, which was a truth on so many levels. "Telling you who they are would put them in danger."

"I see..." Syd replied. She couldn't press it, as she was hiding secrets of her own...

She couldn't help it, though.

"Your eye...its like the Eye Corruption of a Sith...yet no sulphur..."

"But it makes me nearly immune to the Dark Side for a short time, the technique I learned..." Laertia claimed. "I could demonstrate it for you, if you wish..."

Syd floated backward, wanting to observe.

Laertia triggered an aura of dark blue fire around her, and Syd felt her aura in the Force, forcibly twisting the light around herself...

"Laertia...that technique...you're forcibly twisting the Light around you to do your bidding..." Syd observed, getting more worried.

"We do unnatural things with the Force all the time. Is it really so much off the beaten path?" Laertia asked, canceling the effect. "We're not truly bound by the Order any longer. They turned their back on the future of the Galaxy to keep fighting the Sith. We cannot fight by behaving as they do. In some cases, that should mean even being willing to use the Light in ways Jedi wouldn't."

"Laertia, this power you have learned...its very dangerous. Its altered you already...I strongly advise you to use it sparingly. Twisting the Light like that...I couldn't see myself doing that in anything except the gravest of emergencies."

"Well what I faced at Ziost was a pretty grim emergency..." Laertia assured her firmly. "I wouldn't have used it otherwise. I swear it. It was a pure desperation move."

Syd floated forward and stroked Laertia's face again gently.

"I trust you...so I'll let it be...but I don't want to see you become consumed...like...like I was...by power..."

Laertia asked a question and it might as well have been a dam breaking...

"Were you Sith? Once?" Laertia asked.

Syd turned away. "I was...once. A long time ago...it was not easy for me to defend the Sith. It rips at me as much as it does you. I did awful things. Worse than awful. And I did it willingly...gleefully..."

There was silence between the two.

"I was taught this technique by a Light Side Sith Lord named Darth Themis. She's the reason I am what I am. I was altered by her a very long time ago, before I left my mother's womb, in fact. I only reconnected with her recently..."

It said much of how dead Darth Phyre was in Syd, how dead her old incantations were, that the name rang absolutely zero bells in any capacity.

Syd turned...

"I'm sorry for not telling you..." they both said at once.

At the expression of mutual remorse they embraced.

"Does Starlin know? About you?" Laertia asked, arms around her.

"No...and I'm too scared to tell him...I don't know what to do..."

"We'll figure it out...I promise...you don't have to tell me anything else if you aren't ready. There are still things 'I' am not ready to talk about...only fair..."

(Cutaway of J. Jonah Jameson watching from his seat in morbid anticipation and dread)

Syd withdrew from her embrace, each seeing the other in a new and deeper light.

"Thank you for telling me..." Laertia said to her, caring for her so much even the reveal of being a Sith wasn't enough to shake Laertia's affection...ironically, past reveals allowed her to take the revelation much better than she might have otherwise...up to a certain point anyway...

Truth was, she'd had her suspicions since Golbah City...Syd had likely possessed similar suspicions...

But the flames between them burned as strong as ever. It was at this moment Laertia knew she truly was in love with Syd, to not be dissuaded or repulsed by the revelation. She couldn't help but reciprocate the trust Syd had displayed. She needed her, loved her, couldn't bear all this torment and turmoil without her, and as they stared into each other's eyes, she knew that Syd couldn't either.

"Soo..." Laertia trailed. "This temple you found...What's so special about it?"

"I found something...something that resonates through me, and something that resonates with an aura similar to yours, in this very temple..." Syd answered, holding out a hand covered in gold chrome.

"You should see it...I can't explain unless I show you..."


OOC. Will post as Westenra, Starlin, but needed to put this interlude in first...

 

[Westenra Mina]

The chamber below the tomb was covered in the strange Algebra-Like runes as Meleena entered. Lava Crystal embedded in the walls seemed to glow as Meleena passed by them on decorative pillars.

The Android spotted more dead NIO Stormtroopers, as she moved, then she heard breathing. She silently gestured for Starlin Rand to hold his position as she explored the interior casually, before her hand shot out at superhuman speed, punching something invisible...albeit not at killing strength. The stormtrooper went flying, a shotgun in his arms. He was disheveled as his stealth device failed, armor scorched and dirty.

Meleena moved in a blur, catching his arms before he could raise the gun again.

"Relax. Friendlies...whatever that's worth..." she told the Stormtrooper.

"As...as a representative of the NIO, I claim this ruin as sovereign Imperial Order Territory..." The Stormtrooper hissed, half deranged.

"Awful lot of people to die for you to get a tomb...even if it is kinda pretty..." Meleena surmised, pulling away his shotgun and bending it, demonstrating slight superhuman strength.

"What did you find here?" Meleena asked, X-Raying his armor for weakpoints. The toxic seals had failed on it...degraded heavily from what looked like age...

Meleena, curious pulled off his helmet to find a man in his sixties. His flesh saturated by exposure to chronological forces...

"How long have you been here, soldier?" Meleena asked...

"I am not authorized to disclose vital mission intelligence, Jedi. But this is sovereign territory..."

"Shhhhh..." she whispered, running a finger across his exposed forehead, releasing a concentrated but relatively minor dose of pheremones that counted as a military grade chemical weapon in most circles bewitching him relatively quicky as he went into a mild stupor...

"Now..." she continued seductively, brushing his chin with her fingers... "What did you find. You can trust me, I promise..."

"We...wow, you're beautiful...wow...we've been here three days. We discovered it while scouting. When we realized what it contained...we had no choice but to stay until Imperial Knights got our signal and arrive to take it off our hands..."

"What did you find?" Meleena pressed, his face reflected in the faint purple glint at the center of her eyes.

"A window...to the past! Wondrous! Amazing! But...our bodies were not Force Sensitive...we couldn't withstand it fully, whatever power is in here. Its aged us every time we used it..."

"How many times?" Meleena asked.

"Twice for me...I could see things but not interact...and no one could see me...and I saw 'her'..."

"Who?" Meleena asked.

"The one that butchered and roasted my friends at Dantooine. The one the SJC call Syd Celsius...I think I found intel on her that might allow us to kill her..."

"And when did you learn this?" She whispered softly, seductively as sexy saxophone music played OOC...

"On the second trip when...when...wait...you were there...and so was 'he'." The Stormtrooper muttered, glaring hatefully at Starlin. "You! You're her damned apprentice! She gutted all my best friends at Dantooine. She killed my Brother at Helgard! You and her will pay for that treachery! You both turned your back on your oaths to fight an enemy that will 'never' be as big a threat as the Sith. You slew your own! And when the Jedi see you for what you are, oh, I hope I'm there when they line you both up against the wall--"

"Nap time..." Meleena said, black metallic fangs sprouting from her mouth.

The Stormtrooper screamed as her fangs went into his throat, his psychic energy being nonlethally drained as Meleena's flesh bubbled and rippled as it metabolized the energy...when the trooper next awoke, he would have lost a week's worth of memories...

Her flesh stopped shuddering as her fangs retracted and she removed some bacta ointment and carefully applied it to the fang wounds, wiping the small trickle of blood from her chin.

"He'll live..." she elaborated to Starlin. (Judgement Day: 90 XP)

She stood up.

"I'm not an actual Force User...More Organic Technology capable of mimicking a Force User...but there's a price, as with all things..." she explained to Starlin.

"Laertia didn't build me, in case you're wondering..."

 

[Starlin Rand]

They found a single survivor from among the NIO forces. He seemed traumatized, deranged even. Starlin was shocked when Meleena pulled off his helmet to reveal his advanced age. Unless the NIO was desperate enough to start conscripting senior citizens into its ranks, how could someone that old be a stormtrooper? Something was not right here. He could feel it.

He could also feel Meleena’s pheromones, albeit nowhere near as strongly as the trooper she was targeting. It made his eyes water when he looked at her. He wasn’t really into blondes… wasn’t he?

Luckily, the weight of what the stormtrooper was saying hit harder than any superficial lust. There was a time travel mechanism down here? He had seen Syd in the past with it? Starlin already had his comlink in his hand, ready to call Nimdok and tell him the news, when the stormtrooper recognized them both from Dantooine and went off on a rant about how they were traitors. Starlin scowled. “Hey, look here, schutta—”

Then Meleena bit the stormtrooper, causing the rest of Starlin’s words to die in his throat. He watched her feed; when she finished and turned to face him again, she would find him staring at her with wide eyes and brows raised as high as they could go.

“Uh… huh,” Starlin said. “I’m just going to pretend I didn’t see that.” He waved his hand. “So, Syd created a time travel device or spell or whatever? And apparently we were there the second time this guy used it. Great.” He sighed. “This is nuts. I assume you want to investigate it further. He said something about only Force Sensitives being able to stand it—do you think I could, or would I wind up like him, prematurely aged and senile?”

***​

Back in the upper levels of the tomb, Lydia was supposed to be standing guard while Nimdok explored. But in the absence of any threats, her gaze kept darting toward the professor, watching him work.

“Are you checking me out?” he asked jokingly, without taking his attention off the wall murals he was attempting to decipher.

“The hunched over position isn’t really your best look,” she replied, arms crossed over her chest. “Got any idea what it says?”

“Not yet.” He straightened his back as he paused to type something on his datapad. “The Holonet connection out here is… less than reliable, or else I’d have translated these inscriptions already. I think it’s one of the old Atrisian dialects...” He trailed off, frowning at his screen. “This planet is a long way from Atrisia.”

She traced over the lines of his face. It was hard to believe this wasn’t really Nimdok, at least not in the flesh. It was just a very, very good imitation, right down to the exact placement of scars and other distinguishing marks. Nimdok’s spirit was in there, but so was Arimanes Bosch. Sometimes she couldn’t tell where the man who had been her husband ended and the shapeshifter who had pretended to be him began.

“Errik?” she said softly.

He looked up at once. She only addressed him by his first name when she had something significant to say. “Yes?”

“Can we take a vacation?”

He raised an eyebrow. “You mean… right after this?”

She nodded. “Right after this. We never did have a proper celebration after stopping the Lord of Doubt. Let’s all go on vacation together, the whole family, just like old times.”

A smile crossed his lips as he sighed. “Sure, why not. Where would you like to go?”

“Naboo,” she said, blurting out the first thing that came to mind. “I’m sick of jungles, deserts, and ecumenopolises. Give me a garden world for a change.”

“Sounds expensive.”

“We have the money now. Unless you already spent it.” She leaned against the wall. “I’ve always wanted to visit Theed, you know. Alderaan was pretty enough, but if I had the chance, I would’ve taken it." She rubbed her chest. “Alderaan was always enough, but we can never go home again, can we?”

“Bithia—” he began, but she held up a hand, listening.

“Someone’s outside,” she hissed, darting over to the entrance and drawing a stun shotgun. “Stay where you are. Let me handle this.”

Westenra Mina​

 

[Westenra Mina]

The Imperial Knights of the NIO had descended to the newly discovered planet in a stealthed shuttle. The NIO had fragments of the Kolda-Bratha Calculus in its possession (Small scraps of knowledge that they really didn't know what to do with and had been forced to go outside NIO circles to learn more about them) and were looking to obtain more. Its time affecting properties intrigued them...

The red and black armored knights exited out of the shuttle flanked by NIO Stormtroopers. A find like this could potentially be invaluable to the war effort.

They had made good time, the Knights sensing the subtle but significant power of the tomb itself, only stymied by the clear presence of others, and each knight sensed significant danger ahead...

One of the Knights, a leathery looking man with a mustache from Gallidraan with dark hair and blue eyes took the lead approaching the tomb from a different direction than the others.

He sensed life. He refrained from drawing his saber, as he didn't know whether they were hostiles or friendlies awaiting. He signalled for the others to remain behind as he started going up the steps.

When he spotted Ishani Dinn , he neither smiled nor grimaced, instead holding up his hands.

"Hello there!" He said, his Gallidraan accent not as pronounced as that of other members of his civilization. "My names Irving Gloustur. Imperial Knight. I'm here on an expidition of vital importance to the aims and interests of the NIO...I mean no harm...may I inquire who you are and what you are doing here?"

Meanwhile...


"I do want to investigate it further. But I'm not sure what the consequences would be for me..." The blonde android mused.

"As you've seen, I'm not exactly normal..." Meleena explained, not exactly sure just how much she should elaborate. She liked Starlin Rand but giving how increasingly extreme Laertia's position was becoming in how her feud with the Jedi had taken on a most bitter and personal quality to it (Too an extent that all the Io Sisters save Melissa were growing increasingly concerned that she had reached the point of no return) and Meleena wasn't sure what the solution was. When Laertia got adamant with the Jedi, she had absolutely meant it. She really did believe they were wrong, and that the most overwhelming force possible was required to defeat the Bryn'adul, and she was coming apart internally over the fact that the whole galaxy didn't see what was obvious to her after Nar Kreeta...they wanted to finish their little blood feud first before they could even think about stopping the Bryn'adul. Feth everybody who died waiting for them.

To Laertia the solution was obvious for a person who had lived their life with moral compromises: Set aside your feud to deal with the bigger chitshow. But the Jedi hated moral compromises so much they'd let the Galaxy burn to settle an old score. And that made them completely selfish according to Laertia's perspective. So she sought to inflict such heavy casualties that the GA would finally decide helping the NIO was too costly, by making the war as bloody and as unpopular as possible on their end. That would leave the NIO more vulnerable to being defeated. Much more vulnerable. She was in open rebellion against the NJO and The GA. Meleena pitied her, but ever since Laertia requested her sisters to publicly denounce her to save their own careers and reputations she had had no contact. Deep cover.

She loved her adopted sister. But it didn't blind her to the fact that Laertia was inflicting a bloody cost on people because she despised their idealism in the face of such a terrible threat as what she had seen. Nar Kreeta had scarred her so terribly that Laertia dreamed of the people who died fighting alongside her.

Her enhanced hearing detected someone addressing Bithia. She had a decision to make. Nimdok might need help, but she couldn't leave Starlin.

Meleena decided to compromise.

"Starlin...try not to freak out..." she warned.

She sighed, removing a glove and pulling out the old Stormtroopers vibroknife and severing her hand. Glowing red blood gushed out for a few seconds before the suit activated along with her healing response and in minutes her hand regrew. She removed a small, gamma ray lamp from her tool belt and shined it on her old severed hand.

It broke down into dark, molasses like tissue and bubbled, spreading out until it took on a humanoid shape, forming into another Meleena, this one with flesh shaped to fool people into thinking she was covered in a metallic pink catsuit.

The Meleena copy opened her eyes and looked at starlin and the Original Meleena.

"Dire emergency?" Meleena-2 asked.

"Yep." Meleena answered back. "Accompany Starlin further into the tomb. I have to back up the others."

Meleena then turned to Starlin.

"I know this is weird, and I promise to explain everything, but right now the other need my help. Go with the other me deeper into the tomb. May the Force be with you..."

Meleena the original then departed the tomb to go up top.

Meleena-2 then smiled at Starlin.

"Okay, long story short, we're biological Androids capable of self cloning and mimicking the powers of Force Users. But don't tell anyone." Meleena-2 said bluntly before going further, to investigate, gesturing for Starlin to follow.

Meanwhile...

Meleena Prime finally reached the front where they had found the Sarcophagi.

When she found Bithia she stayed back, wondering how she would handle it, though she was ready to aid her...

 

[Starlin Rand]

Given what he had already seen so far, Starlin was almost comically stoic when Meleena cut off her finger, grew it back, then used what looked like a gamma ray lamp to turn the severed digit into a copy of herself. The original asked him to follow the copy deeper into the tomb before leaving, and the copy gave him a brief explanation of what had just occurred. Starlin simply nodded.

“Cool beans.”

Trailing behind Meleena 2.0 as she ventured through the chambers ahead, he hoped Nimdok and Lydia were okay…

***​

Bithia’s eyes darted from face to face, taking in each of the Imperial Knights before her gaze settled on the mustachioed man who introduced himself as Irving Gloustur, claiming they were there on a Very Important Mission. She gave him a thin-lipped smirk.

“Interpol Special Agent Lydia Mina. We’ve determined that this tomb is unsafe and a danger to the local populace. Several of your troops have already died upon encountering an unknown entity within. I suggest you keep out as well.”

Due to the haphazard trial-and-error methods employed in the creation of Bithia’s biotic body, her Combat Form had been rendered incapable of producing the powerful pheromones which could influence the will of others. If she could, she might’ve tried to use them on Irving. Likewise, her access to the psychology programming that would’ve helped her convince him with precise vocal inflections and deft manipulation was mode locked. Damn the Lord of Doubt and his inability to come up with something new. Instead, he just had to break something that wasn’t his, warping it to suit his twisted copycat vision...

But even if she'd had access to all the persuasive tools in her arsenal, she sensed that her attempt at reasoning with the Imperial Knights was never going to work. Caring only about the aims and interests of the NIO, they would ignore her and try to force their way through, the fascist bastards. She couldn’t let that happen. Not with the father of her child right behind her, poised to be caught in the crossfire.

In the seconds following her response, right as Irving started to (presumably) reply, she made a rather rash choice. Suddenly raising the shotgun in mid-sentence, she pulled the trigger. A stun bolt erupted from the barrel, hitting him at almost point-blank range, the energy concentrated at maximum strength, aiming to punch through his armor and render him senseless. She then immediately set her sights on the other Knights around him, firing in a precise, calculated manner. She wasn’t killing them, only knocking them unconscious, so she had no qualms about blasting away.

Nimdok ducked further into cover at the first sounds of gunfire, rather shocked by how quickly the situation had devolved into shooting. He didn’t realize that Bithia hadn’t bothered to give them a chance.

Even with her computerized aim, some of the shots inevitably missed the mark. The Knights quickly wised up to what was happening and were able to escape her fire. One particularly skilled Force Adept among them used Tutaminis to alter a bolt’s trajectory, sending it hurtling back towards Bithia. She turned her body to the side in order to evade it, only for another Knight to charge forward, slicing at her with his lightsaber. The blade narrowly missed her, clipping her shotgun near its energy cell, rendering it useless.

Growling, she slammed the broken weapon into his face, managing to restrain her superhuman strength within nonlethal limits. The Knight stumbled backwards, blood gushing from his nose. She pulled her sidearm, a stun pistol, and shot him—right before one of the chamber’s ancient sarcophagi toppled over on top of her, mummified corpse and all. At some point during the struggle, she had ventured a little too close to the coffin… although it was given the necessary telekinetic push by the same Knight who had turned her bolt against her. Wouldn’t be a fight in a tomb without some degree of artifact abuse.

She struggled to lift the incredibly heavy sarcophagus off of her. In the meantime more Knights rushed forward, their lightsabers drawn.

Westenra Mina​

 

[Westenra Mina]

Meleena sighed as it turned to violence with the NIO.

Her pink cored, red aura Lightsaber began swatting back blaster bolts that happened to be a tad too close to Jacen Nimdok , and it was only when the Sarcophagus fell on @Bithia and the knights rushed her that Meleena truly got involved. She darted towards, them, a blur of muscle and Speed as her blades, fist and feet hit them faster than most were capable of reacting, Force or not, and even those that WERE fast enough to react were quickly overwhelmed by the first few attacks she executed, her use of the martial style Ephor's Palm used in conjunction with her Lightsaber to turn aside retaliatory strikes, using up some of her psychic reserves and firing out purple bolts of energy that, when the hit, mimicked the effects of a Force Whirlwind and sent two of her opponents spinning in place, letting her round house both of them.

Next came the Stormtroopers outside, who opened fire on her and shot her up pretty bad but she still kept coming, paitiently, methodically disarming and knocking out each and every Stormtrooper that shot her up. She was a mess by the time it was over, a mutilated skeleton in a damaged, shredded catsuit held together by glowing red muscle.

Obsidian Fangs snapped into place and she sank them into the exposed throat of an unconscious knight., flesh shuddering and regrowing as she fed nonlethally on her victim, regenerating into the beautiful, muscular blonde that had met them all, catsuit slowly self repairing. She headed back to Bithia and Nimdok, who had likely helped get the sarcophagus off her by this point.

"Well...that just happened..." Meleena remarked, staring at Bithia.

"Are you alright, Lost Sister?" Meleena asked. "There is plenty to feed on out there should you need repairs..."

Meanwhile...

Meleena-2, body made to look like she was wearing a skintight gold catsuit led Starlin Rand deeper into the tomb undersection. Meleena-2 kept in front of Starlin, in case there were more traps.

It was here they started to encounter more elaborate Calculus Runes, as well as more murals of the catsuit clad Fire Priestesses Cidd led into battle.

The runes centered on a soft glowing orange crystal resting on a pedestal. Its energy resonated with Starlin, and as soon as they stepped closer to it, the runes glowed brighter, and the world around them seem to melt. Meleena-2's scans went completely haywire from Time being affected by magic in this space.

"Starlin...I feel...strange..." she breathed.

The room around them and indeed everything...went white...

The Android blinked.

She and Starlin were now in a spacious, colorful room full of plants and lava crystals with Dragon Motifs carved into the architectural scheme.

They were surrounded by incredibly beautiful women, all curvy, all wearing the same skintight Gold Catsuit with red gloves and boots.

At the center of the crowd of Witches was a woman in the same type of catsuit with sharp fiery red, long and curly hair, eyes like those of a cat with the same color as her hair.

(Cidd Cinndurr's Theme Song Plays)

(Theme: "Ring Of Fire" by Johnny Cash)

Meleena narrowed her eyes at the curious Cidd, who save for the eyes looked exactly like the Syd that Starlin had met at Zeffo.

Cidd stared at both of them in confusion...

"This ritual was meant to reach out to another. You are not the one it was meant for...who are you?" Cidd inquired.

They didn't seem to be under threat, Cidd was just as confused as Meleena-2 was.

One could only guess what was going through Starlin's head...

 

[Starlin Rand]

Bithia wasn’t sure whether to feel relieved or annoyed that Meleena had stepped in to help her. At least Nimdok was safe. She finally heaved the sarcophagus off of herself, glad she couldn’t feel the cool dry touch of the mummy within, and shot more of the stormtroopers as they rushed forward. She saved the last for a quick snack, latching onto his neck and feeding aggressively.

As the sounds of battle died down, Nimdok risked a peek, then slowly eased out of his hiding place. “What happened?” he asked. “Why did they start shooting?”

“I shot first,” Bithia replied. Turning to Meleena, she shook her head. “I’m fine.” She had been wondering how the other biot felt about her, and hearing her call Bithia “Lost Sister” just about answered that question.

“Where is Starlin?” Nimdok asked, concerned that only Meleena had returned. Once Meleena confirmed that he was with the copy, he let the subject go in favor of the old one. “Why did you shoot them?”

“Because I figured they would shoot us first, so I might as well get a leg up.” Bithia holstered her stun pistol and muttered, “Thanks for your help, Meleena.”

They had dealt with these troops, but how long would it be before more came?

***​

Starlin followed Meleena-2. He could feel the unnatural power of the runes. It made his skin crawl.

A wave of nausea washed over him as they reached the crystal. His stomach lurched, and he fought the sudden urge to puke. But the room began to glow white, brighter and brighter, until they were both awash in it…

When it stopped, another spike of nausea hit. This time Starlin lost the battle with his jolted stomach. He doubled over and deposited what remained of his lunch earlier that day on the floor. As he gradually recovered, he looked around to find that he was surrounded by gorgeous women… and he had just thrown up in front of them all. He hissed in embarrassment, wiping his mouth.

The women were all identically dressed in gold catsuits (what was it with these women and catsuits?), with only their species, hair color and facial features telling them apart, though many of them appeared to be Atrisian. Their leader was a familiar face.

“Syd?” Starlin gasped, eye wide.

"This ritual was meant to reach out to another. You are not the one it was meant for… who are you?"

“It’s me! It’s Starlin!...” But even as he spoke, he remembered what the aged stormtrooper had said. This place had some kind of time travel shenanigans going on inside. But then that must mean… this Syd was really Cidd Cinndurr, the exiled Jedi who was dismembered in the murals… right?

“I’m Starlin Rand,” he said quietly, giving in to the strangeness of the situation. “Are you Syd… I mean, Cidd Cinndurr?”

Westenra Mina​

 

[Syd Celsius]

Cidd was given genuine pause as Starlin Rand gave his answer, and deep surprise spread over her own face at his recognition of hers, as well as the variation of her name...

Her orange cat-eyes studied him, processing his answer, as well as his name. She kept away from the puke as she approached him in the middle of the rune circle, but kept her distance so he could compose himself properly.

Cidd suddenly smiled, the Original Version of a weapon kept under lock and key by Laertia dangling from her belt, its emitters scorched and singed. She sensed traces of her magic with him. Strange, but no doubt...it was hers.

"You're one of mine, aren't you? A future apprentice..." Cinndurr trailed off, grin growing wider. "This is a most unexpected success. And a most unexpected pleasure. I'm afraid that on my end this is my first time meeting you...but someday...we 'will' meet again it seems..."

Cidd then turned to face Meleena-2.

"Julia...?" Cidd trailed before stopping. "No...not my Julia...her hair is ebon, like the night sky. Who are you?"

"A tag-along, it seems..." Meleena-2 answered.

"You're not at all who I expected...but you are all welcome here all the same. You know my name, so at least introductions there are settled. We are the Fire Priestesses of Kagutsuchi. I am their Matriarch..." Cidd explained. "If any of you are feeling other ill effects, we would be happy to administer to you medically. We know many healing techniques.

Meleena-2 detected the Kolda-Bratha Calculus written in invisible, enchanted ink over everything, including plates, cups, utensils...

"After you both feel better, I'd be happy to feed you both."

"No thanks. I ate..." Meleena-2 said, smiling slightly at the in-joke.

Cidd nodded, before turning to the other Witches.

"I want to thank all of you for showing to try and make whoever arrived feel as welcome as possible. I've made you wait enough for today. Go and spend the rest of the day relaxing in contemplation of the Force." Cidd spoke to them before turning back to the pair not quite in the past OR future technically.

"So Starlin..." Cidd trailed with that same good natured grin he knew from Syd. "What's your full name? How long have I been training you on your end?"

"Mistress?" called out another voice, velvet and smooth. "Perimeter has been double checked for the night. Its secure. Alchemy Materials are present and accounted for."

Cidd turned to face a nigh-impossibly beautiful woman with fair skin and curvy features wearing the same type of Catsuit she was, with hair a deep blood red. She carried two obsidian hued Lightsabers at her side. Meleena-2's eyes instantly went slightly wide but otherwise hid her shock and growing alarm. She would never forget that face. Not ever.

"Excellent. Natalie, it appears my experiment yielded a result!" Cidd said, beaming.

"That's excellent! Did you find Julia?" Natalie asked, gently.

"The next best result...I found an apprentice from the future. The one I am apparently going to train after you!" Cidd answered, clearly overwhelmed at the whole experience.

Natalie's eyes widened. She strode over to Starlin, staring at him in a mix of clear fascination and pure surprise...

("Terminated" by Junkie XL Plays)

The young woman walked up.

"First Apprentice, meet Future Apprentice. Starlin, this is Natalie."

Natalie, who looked like a red headed version of The Amalgam smiled warmly at Starlin.

"Its nice to meet you. Both of you! Come on Starlin, lets get you to the med-bay! We have a lot of natural medicines that will clear that Nausea right up!" Natalie offered enthusiastically, exuding only a magical aura and the Light.

"Are you hungry, Starlin? I have a chef astromech. Cooks a mean beef and broccoli..." Cinndurr offered.

"If I may ask..." Meleena interjected. "Who is Julia to you?"

Cidd turned to her.

"Someone very special to me. Someone I love and hope to meet soon. Who is she to you?"

"My Sister..." Meleena answered carefully.

Cidd approached her.

"You're Julia's Sister?" Cinndurr asked, surprised and delighted. "I...I don't know what to say. I'm not an enemy. I swear it to you. Both of you..."

Meanwhile, in the Future...

Syd Celsius and Laertia walked the grounds of the temple interior, holding hands.

In spite of what she had just learned, Laertia was still giddy just clasping Syd's chrome covered fingers. Their heartbeats had somehow synchronized. Her damaged brain gurgled in pleasure at the warm caress of Syd's fiery spirit.

She stopped as they stood before an ancient shrine depicting two dragons, carved of stone, one carved to look as though they were made of flames, the other carved to look like icicles were growing everywhere.

Gripped solidly in their stubby stone dragon arms, two different sets of Daisho rested, one resonated with Syd, the Other with Laertia.

The Black Knight reached out only for Syd to gently restrain her.

"Magical lock..." Syd explained, pointing to the Crystals embedded in the foreheads of both dragons. "Fire must melt Ice, and Ice must dampen Fire."

"Can your fire melt me?" Laertia asked softly.

"Can your frost cool me?" Syd asked just as softly.

The pair kissed, the lethal flames in their throats threatening to escape, Laertia's blue flames, cold like liquid nitrogen, and Syd's, blazing orange, crashed into eachother as their lips touched.

Syd surrendered to the strength of The Black Knight as she was happily pulled with a giggle closer to one of the most dangerous warriors in the Galaxy by the waist, pale fingers running through fiery locks, bronze hands gliding over dusky strands, pulling Laertia's free arm up and clasping it.

"I love you, Laertia Io."

"I love you, Syd Celsius."

Blue and Orange flames sprouted over their bodies, Syd guiding Laertia at controlling her own barely awakened flames and directing them and hers towards the crystals...


OOC: will post whats going on with Meleena in another post. Had to get to this way point.

 

[Westenra Mina]

"Bithia's operational logic was sound at the time. I don't fault it. I may not like the circumstances but she made the same call I would have and struck first..." Meleena assured Jacen Nimdok . "We will likely need reinforcements of our own soon. If they are willing to send this many knights for just this place...they ain't done yet. We do not need them discovering what we discovered."

The Android decided to up the WTF levels to Maximum.

"We need reinforcements quickly..." Meleena explained, removing a glove and using a vibroblade from one of the Troopers to sever her fingers and thimb carefully from the hand, gushing glowing red blood from the wounds that soon sealed up, regrowing her fingers.

As before, Meleena took out the small gamma ray light and shined it on each severed finger, which broke down into rapidly swelling and growing molasses like tissue, until they had all become more gold catsuit clad copies of Meleena.

"Stalk the perimeter..." she ordered her copies, who quickly complied, leaving the temple.

Meleena then explained everything they had found underground. The murals depicting an ancient version of Syd, Laertia's Lightsaber, and the magic of the Kolda-Bratha Calculus and how it was a magical formula affecting time and how it was inscribed everywhere below.

"Professor, while @Bithia , Me, me, me, me, me, and me hold off potential reinforcements I need you to head underground where the tomb is, and see if you can't dig up anything else that I missed." Meleena requested before heading to the front of the temple to wait with Bithia for trouble.

While waiting for said trouble, Meleena indulged her curiosity.

"So, Lost Sister, how have you come to be so heavily altered? Which copy of me did your body spring from?" she asked politely to pass the time.

 

[Starlin Rand]

One of mine… a future apprentice… Julia… Fire Priestesses of Kagutsuchi… Matriarch…

The words swirled around Starlin, confusing, frightening, weird as hell. He didn’t know Laertia Io’s real name. Kagutsuchi sounded Atrisian, but didn’t ring any bells. Man, was this wild…

“Uh, my full name is Starlin Zayne Rand. You’ve been training me… since I was fourteen,” he answered. “So, four years.” It didn’t feel like it had been that long, but his age proved how much time had passed.

He noticed Meleena-2’s reaction to Natalie. Did she recognize her? It certainly seemed such. She was on her guard. Starlin wasn’t sure what was going on between them, but he thought it would be prudent to be wary of “Natalie” as well.

“Some mouthwash would be great right now,” he said, grimacing. He could still taste bile. On the other hand, he wouldn’t mind eating a little while from now, once his empty stomach had a chance to calm down.

When Meleena-2 said that Julia was her sister, Starlin put two and two together. Julia was Laertia. Cidd Cinndurr had been trying to contact Laertia. He was looking at a time travel romance. He made a face. His mother was into a time travel romance holoshow called Outlander, although this seemed more like… Terminator? That counted as a romance, right?

Cidd sure was quick to get defensive. Starlin’s gaze flicked between her and Meleena-2 uncertainly, wondering if things were about to get hostile. If they did, what could they do? “This Cidd is still our Syd,” he said softly. “Anything we do or say will echo into the future. Remember that.”

***​

As Meleena created more copies of herself, Nimdok raised an eyebrow and whistled in surprise, while Bithia watched in fascination. Could she do that? It seemed likely. A gamma ray lamp… what would happen if her entire body was hit by gamma rays? Would she simply split in two? It probably had to do with severing individual parts and making copies from them.

“With pleasure.” Nimdok accepted Meleena’s orders without complaint. He had wanted to venture deeper into the tomb anyway, curious about what else might lie there.

Bithia watched him disappear into the passage, then turned to Meleena as she asked her questions. The moment seemed inevitable; she would have had to ask eventually. “My body is an altered copy of one of your kind. She was captured on Nar Shaddaa by a Sith Lord named Messala, who experimented on her, trying to figure out how she worked,” she replied. “He made three copies, each with a human soul implanted in them, and programmed with a different mission. But they were faulty, all of them. Mentally unstable due to the conflict between their humanity and the programming imposed on them. One was killed on Zeltros, trying to assassinate one of Messala’s enemies. Another died on the planet Kiva, where it had tortured and interrogated a Jedi Knight. I was the third one, sent to find Nimdok on Thustra. Rather than destroying me, he tried to help me...”

“Please, I don’t want to wind up trapped in a broken body,” Bithia pleaded. “Don’t do this. I’m begging you.”

Nimdok grimaced. “If Slip can’t fix you, you might as well be trapped,” he replied. “I can’t let you stay with us as long as you’re like this. I can’t trust you around Miri. Do you want to be able to see her, be with her?”

“Yes,” Bithia whispered. “More than anything.”

“Then you have to let us try to help you.” He clenched his fists at his sides. “If we screw it up, I promise I won’t let you remain a prisoner inside this body. I’ll find a way to free you, no matter what it takes. All right?”

Slowly, she tried to nod her head—only to be stopped short by a violent shudder that warped her expression. She fought the self-preservation programming as best she could, but it was no use. “Hurry up and do it!” she ground out between her teeth. “I can only defy it for so long...”

“I was already fighting the programming,” Bithia continued in the present. “I managed to tell him who I really was. The mother of his child… He and a Jedi helped to undo the programming, freeing me. But I didn’t trust myself. I had to leave and kill Messala before I could come home and be with our daughter again. I finally found him and took care of him, but…”

She hesitated, wondering if she should tell Meleena about the unpleasant fate of the captured Westenra biot. In her mind’s eye, she relived the experience of finding the original Westenra in Messala’s sanctuary…

Bithia entered the room cautiously, a katana in her hand. The blade was splattered with fuel and oil from the droids she had fought, as well as Messala’s blood. The Sith Lord was still alive—she had managed to feed on him, rendering him paralyzed, and then had Silas Fogg, her alchemist associate, imprison him in amber. How delicious that revenge had been, imprisoning Messala in one of his own inventions…

Now she was exploring the rest of his lair. Not sure of what to expect, she remained in her Combat Form, weapons ready. She took a step inside, and spotted a containment field holding what looked to be the body of a beautiful middle-aged woman. The captured Westenra biot was still in her Psychologist Form…

“Oh my, is that it?” she heard a voice behind her say. Silas Fogg strolled into the room.

Bithia whirled on him. “You shouldn’t be following me,” she said. “We don’t know what’s in here. It could be dangerous.”

“Yes, yes. I can take care of myself,” he replied. “I find you a most fascinating creature, and I simply can’t pass up the opportunity to study the one used to make you. Will you let me study it?”

“It’s a living being,” Bithia snapped, though she wasn’t sure if that was true. The biot was technically a droid, wasn’t it? Still, if it did have a soul like her own, she couldn’t just hand it over to Silas to be vivisected. “I’m going to free it.”

“Are you sure that’s wise—”

But before Silas could even finish his sentence, Bithia had deactivated the containment field. The Westenra fell, lying inert on the floor, then began to shudder. Her flesh writhed and twisted disgustingly, growing monstrous in appearance. Bithia took a step back, pushing Silas behind her. This wasn’t what she had expected…

The Westenra, now reduced to a feral state after going for so long without psychic energy, lunged at her—or rather, at Silas, desperate to feed. Bithia barely fended it off with her katana. “Run!” she cried to Silas. “Lock the door! Get the others out of here if you have to!”

He obeyed, sealing her inside with the ravenous beast. Silas was hardly an innocent, but Bithia’s wasn’t so cold-blooded as to let him fall prey to this thing. Especially not after he had helped her find Messala...

The fight between her and the feral biot was long and brutal. Bithia sliced off the biot’s limbs, which decayed rapidly into starved goo after they fell, yet the biot kept fighting relentlessly. With one arm missing, it threw her across the room with its remaining hand. She crashed into the wall, her katana knocked from her grasp. The biot picked up the weapon and continued to attack her viciously. She narrowly avoided being cut to ribbons, sustaining deep wounds to her neck and bare arms that leaked glowing blood.

Her hand reached for the lightsaber she had claimed from Messala. Activating the red blade, she met the biot’s strikes, pushing it back. At last, she managed to decapitate it with a forceful slash, its head spinning away through the air and landing on the floor, tongue lolling out from between jagged teeth. She kept cutting at the head and torso, burning it, determined to keep it down. When at last all that remained of the feral Westenra was several piles of charred, smoking goo, she opened the door, collected the remains, and threw them into the molecular furnace so that no trace would survive...

Back in the present again, Bithia set her jaw. “The captured Westenra is no more, and I’m all that’s left of the copies. I’m still trying to pick up the pieces, but at least there are no more loose ends to tie up.” Hopefully.

Westenra Mina​