No Place Like Home (Dranok Lussk)

[Mima Jeth]

[SIZE=10pt]Mima glanced briefly at Dranok's clothing. For a moment, it was unclear whether she anticipated he was hiding something more than the scars on his hands. Then again, she was hiding a secret of her own. She almost seemed sympathetic when her eyes met his again, but it was as if her eyes froze into their icy gaze again. Logic had a way of countering her emotions, but her force sensitivity had a way of making those emotions more intense lately. She had no idea why this man made her slip, but at times, she rather liked it. She glanced at the floor and gently tapped the floor with the front of her right shoe. A girlish but honest expression.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt] [/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]But she was bright-eyed and mildly cheerful again when the dark Jedi spoke again. The questions clearly amused her, as if the person asking them already knew the answers. [/SIZE][SIZE=10pt]"I tried to plan and live out a normal life, but I found out that don't belong here. I'm meant for so much more, and I would gladly leave this all behind for the privilege of being your Apprentice."[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt] [/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]@[/SIZE][SIZE=10pt]Dranok Lussk[/SIZE]

 

[Judas of Vahl]

The Ex-Sith Lord offered a solemn smile, his gaze faltering as he listened to her words. There were indeed dozens of hopefuls at the Rattatak Military Academy, most of them Force sensitive and all of them wanting to be Dranok's top pupil. He hadn't taken a single one yet, mainly because the man disliked favoritism and its undermining intent in a military environment. Yet this girl stood out unlike the rest, she had just given up everything she had for a chance to be his apprentice. Given, Dranok had just revealed his reason for being here, but he didn't exactly have to take her.

"Are you absolutely sure?"

@[member="Mima Jeth"]

 

[Mima Jeth]

There was a glimmer of mischief in Mima's catlike eyes as she removed her identification badge from her business suit and set it gently on the front counter. The receptionist's eyes were wide at what she was witnessing, and she retreated into the back of her office, likely to ease the digestion of this new development along with an extra helping of coffee. The young feline woman smiled confidently up at Dranok and adjusted her backpack straps for comfort. "Completely certain. And if it doesn't go well, I could easily fall back on my piloting skills or security education. Either way, I have to leave. If I end up becoming my father, I'll lose the chance go anywhere beyond this clinic. And I'll lose the chance to fulfill my true potential if I don't acknowledge the fact that the power of the Force is affecting me."

@[member="Dranok Lussk"]

 

[Judas of Vahl]

The large man watched intently as the woman removed her ID, placed it on the counter next to a surprised receptionist, and departed only to return with a mug of stimcaf. Dranok had to admit, this one would be a handful on her own. His golden eyes twinkled in remembrance of their first encounter, the feline ripping the power cord from the wall before bounding to cover as blaster bolts soaked into the walls and floor around her. Still, given her observed abilities, he was still wary of her qualities. Dranok hated liars and deceivers, which was the main reason the charismatic man wasn't a politician. He preferred to stick with his style of candor and told the situation and consequences how they should be: truthfully.

And that smile plastered on her face didn't seem like a liar's smile.

"Good." He clapped his hands together, glancing around the room. "From now on, you will abandon everything you have known. Everything personal, everything that meant something will mean nothing now. The only thing that matters now is learning, you'll be taught by me and only me. Nobody else will have authority over you except for me, and my own authority will be absolute. Am I understood?" Dranok felt his voice grow a little deeper, the volume of it increasing ever so slightly. His military officer side was kicking in, authority and directness to its extreme.

@[member="Mima Jeth"]

 

[Mima Jeth]

Mima wasn't usually so happy about being observed, so it felt good to make an exception for once. She knew this man would find reasons to criticize her, but it wasn't like he would tell her to do anything he wouldn't do, himself. For example, she doubted he would tell her to stick her head in a vat of carbonite. Nobody in their right mind would do that, anyway. The receptionist looked like her life was derailing, but she kept to her post, a subordinate holding out until her superior was gone. A superior who turned out to be force sensitive all along, and was standing right beside Dranok Lussk and planning to work with him. She was trying very hard to recall any past moment in which she might have made her employer upset, and how she could make it up out of fear for her own survival.

Mima was aloof to the receptionist's suffering. To her, all that mattered was this placing see the back of her after months of trying so hard to fit in. Still, her head tilted a little out of curiosity for Dranok's standards. She was familiar with authority from law enforcement training and exerting a little authority, herself, from partaking in high profile arrests. But she remembered sneaking out to do some illegal street racing when she finished her studies early in the police academy, and still being top in her class. "You're the boss, sir. But if I'm going to try to wiggle for anything, I should warn you that it will be my racing hobby."

@[member="Dranok Lussk"]

 

[Judas of Vahl]

Ah, that was right, she was a racer. He'd forgotten that she was a swoop bike racer, she'd won quite a lot as well. Not bad for an untrained Force user. The Force helped guide you, guide everything around you. It was why Dranok was a brilliant strategist, it was also why Stardasher was a great pilot. A half smile cocked across the man's face as he pondered how well this girl would do once she had training. If done properly, she might even grow strong enough to rival Dranok's own power. He grit his teeth at the thought. His Sith upbringing flashed through, a Master wasn't supposed to train their apprentice to become stronger than themselves. It was simply foolish to do so, but the man didn't really care.

"That will be determined later on."

As he spoke, he noticed the receptionist behind her growing steadily fearful. Dranok could see it in her soul. Still, the man would rather not have someone focusing on their conversation with that frightened mindset, so he slowed his breathing and his heart rate. On the outside, it'd still look like he as just there having a conversation, but the inside was the definition of the word opposite. Waves of energy flowed through him and everything around them, channeling to his will before being sent to influence the mind of the scared woman. He meant no ill-harm, it wasn't as if he needed information or needed a slave. Rather, he sent easing thoughts into her mind to relax her. And so, within moments, she was softly asleep.

His gaze traced back to Stardasher, "It is time for us to leave."

@[member="Mima Jeth"]

 

[Mima Jeth]

The suspense while waiting for Dranok's word on racing was a little more powerful than Stardasher had expected. After all, racing was how she had managed to have a social life in spite of her unfortunate career decisions so far. That, and she really really enjoyed racing. If she could have chosen one thing to continue meaning something in her personal life, it would be racing. After all, it wasn't like gambling as a habit. She had worked very hard to foster her natural talents and become good at it, to the point that chance had pretty much had nothing to do with it. The answer implied that there would be only more suspense on the matter, but Stardasher smiled patiently. Any good leader allowed their subordinates special privileges and the occasional shore leave. She would be sure to work hard and earn that, somehow.

While everyone else in the lobby seemed oblivious to the fact that Dranok's influence put the receptionist to sleep, the young feline woman's mildly amused reaction to the scene was as good as an admission to Dranok that she knew what he had done. Not how he had done it, but simply that it was the power of the Force at work. For the best, really. It was a slow day and the receptionist had come in looking tired. She returned Dranok's gaze and gave an agreeable nod. It was time to go, and this was the part where the clinic finally saw the back of her. "Yes, sir. I've already finished my business here."

@[member="Dranok Lussk"]

 

[Judas of Vahl]

Dranok observed his work on the receptionist with interest. She was breathing softly, her chest rising and falling with her head cradled in her arms across the desk. His eyes wandered across the room to where a few patients awaited for a nurse or doctor to come summon them for a checkup of sorts. They were scared. Dranok saw into their soul just as easily as he did with the woman at the counter. It didn't take long for the Lord to work his magic and caused them to fall asleep as well. Weak minds were just so easy to control or influence. Good thing they were more than abundant in a galaxy like this.

But there were some that weren't weak. The most standout one standing right before him. Though she was a little over half his height and nothing compared to his stature, her flowing energies and mental state were a constant complexity of movement and thought. This was all the work of the Force. The Force guided, the Force taught, the Force just existed. Those who were gifted with a mastery over it were the most privileged beings in the entire universe. Dranok's entire career was a testament to that fact. Without the Force, he wouldn't have gotten through Carida or become a successful leader. Without the Force, Dranok wouldn't have existed at all. He owed everything to that cosmic, mystical life force.

He would teach her. He would raise her. He would mold her to his will.

She would become powerful, wise, and strong.

"Let's go."

And with that, the Lord cocked his head towards the entrance and swiveled on his heels.

 

[Mima Jeth]

Nestled between the outfits in Stardasher's backpack was a fortune in credits from selling the clinic to her employees. She honestly could have dumped it down a trash chute and not even cared at this point, but perhaps the inheritance her father left to her could go towards the expenses that came from starting a new life as this man's apprentice. She followed him with her head held high, her eyes silently laughing at every patient falling asleep in the lobby. It seemed as if they were not even smart enough to realize anything beyond the fact that Dranok was scary. And that was where they missed the opportunity to benefit from life: An understanding of the Force. An ability to harness the power of life itself and do more than the mundane.

The perpetually mediocre majority who had picked on her all of her life would one day bow before her with respect.

She stopped planning her life and calmly placed it in Dranok's hands the moment she started walking to follow him.

And she would follow him to the ends of the galaxy and back if she had to.

@[member="Dranok Lussk"]

 

[Judas of Vahl]

The pair made it outside within seconds, the patients behind them dumbly unaware of anything happening around them as they passed out one by one. It was how this peculiar pair departing the clinic would now live. It would only be them together, everyone else would either collapse like those behind them or swear their allegiance to devote their lives to them. It was the way Dranok would teach. The Force was gifted to those capable of using it for its power, they were selected by the great divine mystery that was the Force. There was a reason they were chosen. Whatever that reason was, the Lord was sure of his ability to determine the parameters of such a great task placed unto him by the Force.

The large, black-clad man continued his long-paced, but slow stride down the street. There were few pedestrians, but the small girl trailing him tended to stick to him like glue every time they passed bystanders . Ever since her admission to wanting to become his apprentice, she'd indeed grown closer to him. Both physically and emotionally. The Lord didn't exactly dislike the idea of having a gorgeous Cathar-hybrid next to him, so he dismissed the idea of remarking on her proximity to him. Rather, he questioned her in general.

"Do you not like people?"

@[member="Mima Jeth"] [Basing Dranok's observations and text off of your thread with Subject 13. You mentioned being bullied and the like in your past life, so I wanted to reference that.]

 

[Mima Jeth]

Being close to Dranok brought the Stardasher comfort, while others in the elevator and then the streets of Coruscant gave the man a wide berth. Her tail swayed gently behind her while she walked, likely one of the genetic alterations that made her unique. It provided her with stability and balance, and one could imagine that was why she kept it. The sights, sounds, and smells of the street were not all that the small woman detected while she walked down the street she could feel others' emotions leaking into her mind, as if she was smelling them with another nose she didn't know she had.

There was the smoke of anger from a disgruntled messenger. The spice of lust from a suggestive woman skulking about in an alley. The sickly sweetness of joy in a couple of boys sprinting home from school while chasing a ball. Every moment she spent close to Dranok made her feel more and more jsut how much the Force bombarded her each day. It was as if his power was sparking off of her and awakening a slumbering dragon deep inside of her. At the first encounter, it had been scary. But this second time, it was simply exciting.

"I've tried hard to like them as a child, but they had a tendency to become unlikable. I was the youngest ever to get a doctorate in analyzing and preventing criminal behavior. But it was a thankless job, and as you could see on the day we met, people treated me badly for trying to help them. I suppose... I tolerate people. But I just can't bring myself to like them. They are usually predictable and weak. Although, I admit I like mechanics. Mechanics at least make sense." A tall man running an errand wasn't watching where he was going, and sprinted right into Stardasher's path. Her superior balance and agility allowed her to control the angle of their collision, and a hidden strength caused him to literally trip over her, his chest bouncing off of her shoulder. She literally shrugged him aside and continued walking while the clumsy stranger landed flat on his face, winded and trying to draw his next breath. She continued to walk, following Dranok calmly as if nothing had happened. "I will admit my tolerance has its limit. However, I'm not used to feeling such a strong urge to retaliate, as I displayed in that club long ago."

@[member="Dranok Lussk"]

 

[Judas of Vahl]

So she was a loner. Bullied, hated, feared. It was the way Dranok had grown up as well. He was born Corellian to a pair of well-off parents, his Father a Navy Commodore and the Mother a Merchant fleeter. He was raised to meet their best expectations, undergoing rigorous private tutoring and being kept away from others tended to make the boy hesitant towards outside contact. Even his parents regarded him with disinterest in him, leaving him to toil in his studies alone or roam the streets of Coronet City. Only when he'd approached his Father with the idea of joining the Navy did he take some interest in his only son. He was accepted into the Academy mainly because of his outstanding grades and his Father's contacts.

The Academy was worse. The lone 17 year old was stripped away from his past life, of which was beginning to grow better as he'd met someone who changed his life. Demaia Veya, the girl of his dreams. The pair often found ways of being together, which wasn't too hard considering Dranok's parents left him to his own affairs. The pair grew closer and closer with each passing day, slowly progressing to the peak of their relationship that fateful night of his departure to the Academy. Unknowingly, they had grown the seeds of life.

As they separated the next day, he was shipped off to the Academy at Carida for the next 4 years for intense military training, conventional education, and leadership development. He was bullied. Bullied because he was the best of his class in nearly every single aspect. He was an exceptional strategist, holding the Academy's record for no losses in his entire virtual simulated career. However, when it came to hand-to-hand fighting, he was above average. The young man could hold his own in a fight, but not against half a dozen other cadets.

The Lord kept his pace constant as they continued on their journey to the starport.

"So what about me? Why do you trust me?"

@[member="Mima Jeth"]

 

[Mima Jeth]

The small woman began to walk in longer strides as she adjusted to the lord's pace. Her mind had a way of counting every face around her with hardly having to look. She knew the precise distance they had walked, which cardinal direction they were facing, and which of Coruscant's many burrows they were in. She knew this planet like the back of her hand, and yet, this planet knew so little about her. Her mind went back to the men and women she had dated in college. Each of them were told the truth about her gender on the third date. And there was never a fourth. Except for that one time... a journalist had bribed his college girlfriend to seduce her, discover the true nature of her intersexed state, and deliver him pictures.

While Mima had escaped exposure, she was still accused of making the other woman pregnant. The then criminal behavior postgraduate of the age of sixteen realized that this was possible. That she, a hardly male being could be a father to another being in this galaxy. She changed drastically into a responsible person, only for a genetic test to prove the father of the child was the journalist. The journalist wanted nothing to with the mother, and neither did Mima after the child was aborted. It was that day long ago that Mima decided to some day call herself Stardasher, the name fellow racers had given her. Life as Mima Jeth had been a disappointment.

She smiled her calm little smile, as if grateful for Dranok's question. "After a life of dull pragmatism and unfulfilled desires, The Force has urged me to join you. To trust you. So, I trust you as a change in my way of thinking. As a belief rather than a logical statement. As part of a larger whole that is The Force, instead of just as an individual. For better or for worse, I am drawn to your presence."

@[member="Dranok Lussk"]

 

[Judas of Vahl]

For better or for worse. Dranok hoped Stardasher would have the vitality to follow through with those words, but only time would tell. Even the Lord himself hoped she was strong enough to follow through to become his apprentice. Many have tried, and all have failed at reaching the goal of becoming his one true apprentice. Given, the man was the headmaster at the Rattatak Military Academy and taught Force users as well as multitudes of legionnaires, crewmen, and officers, but he had yet to find that one individual who would remain loyal enough to follow him to the ends of the galaxy.

"Good."

It was all he needed to say. Unwavering loyalty was what he craved. And this girl, this tiny Cathar half-breed would be the one to satisfy him of all of his needs. Oh yes, she would not receive the normal training of those placed under his mentorship. Instead, she would undergo the rigorous trials of one strong with the darkness, it would make her stronger. That is, if she could control the limitless power offered by the shadows of that spectrum of the Force. Her recent encounter with a bystander somewhat proved her physical stature, now only the mental and emotional states remained. He would break her and then build her.

The pair neared the starport, entering the medium-sized facility and making their way all the way to his freighter, the New Breed. Dranok opened the hatch, paid the port keeper and boarded the vessel with Stardasher right by his side. As the port keeper departed the bay, the large Lord turned to face the small girl who had been closely trailing him.

"Are you sure? This is your last chance. As soon as this hatch shuts, your entire being will be mine from here on out."

@[member="Mima Jeth"]

 

[Mima Jeth]

Mima was still feeling calm. It was as if a pleasurable fire was burning hotter inside of her as she followed Dranok closer to their destination. She had a mind that was hungry for the dark side of the force. She was still young and capable of being influenced. Capable of being taught. And while she was still young, being apprenticed to this man seemed too opportune to pass up. This wasn't just to give him the pleasure of molding her, but give herself the pleasure of being molded for once in her life. She had always gone off to learn on her own, and that lacked in structure. Dranok could provide the structure she needed to focus on The Force.

She knew that there were hardships ahead of her, but she also knew that intelligent beings benefit from hardship and become stronger. There was the subtle fear that Dranok would make her suffer to learn certain things. Good. That fear was healthy. She would learn through fear, too, if that is what it took to teach her. Logic ticked away in her mind, already guided by the side of the Force that excited her so much. Even now, Dranok's ultimatum made her shudder. Fear was a reason to find courage and become stronger. She did not stop to admire the ship, which was a model she already knew and loved from building models as a child.

Mima simply smiled as a distant explosion rattled across the city. It was her last act an independent woman, and it was worth the trouble of lining her own office with explosives over the past few months and finding another intersexed person who could take her place and leave a convincingly altered corpse. She shut the hatch, herself, wittingly consenting that she belonged to Dranok from now on. Coruscant authorities were by now scrambling to the clinic she recently sold. They would be convinced that Mima Jeth died a horrible death by the hand of a criminal terrorist, who stole her profits from selling the place. She had sliced her own security systems to make herself look like a target. Even that horrible receptionist who judged her for being different was implicated. "Mima Jeth's history has ended, Master. Even my name is yours to decide."

@[member="Dranok Lussk"]

 

[Judas of Vahl]

Dranok gave a small, sly smile as the girl reached her ultimatum. The closing hatch, the explosion and sirens off in the distance, and the small girl peering up into his passion-filled golden eyes. He could feel her life ebbing through her veins, her heart racing, her mind focused on Dranok's. His eyes traced across her slender form, his gaze lingering at her hips momentarily before further inspecting his new extension of his will. She will be strong. The Lord gave a nod of approval at the soft sound of her voice before speaking in his deep tone.

"Kneel, Mima Jeth."

As she did so, the large man reached back to tug his charcoal-black hood over his form. It concealed appearance save for the gleaming yellow eyes. His hands then found themselves prying for something on his belt. Scarred fingers were soon tightly gripped around the hilt of his trademark weapon. The Lord brought the saberstaff forward, poising it forward. His thumb inched downwards, journeying to the single, red activation stud where it resided for a single moment. A single crimson blade snapped to life, emitting its blood-red glow across the entrance cabin of the dimly lit freighter. With liquid motion, the blade dropped down to Mima's right shoulder, grazed over her ears and descended within centimeters of her left shoulder.

"Mima Jeth, you are now mine. You are an extension of my will and mine alone. My desires exist solely for you to satiate them, my will is your life."

The saber rose from her shoulder to align itself with Dranok's spine as he held it out before him.

"You may rise, my apprentice."

@[member="Mima Jeth"]

 

[Mima Jeth]

In all of her years of studying the intelligent mind, one thing the woman formerly known a Mima Jeth had learned was that belief made people stronger than anything else could. She was patient in the fact that Dranok hadn't yet given her a new name, and gracefully lowered herself to her knees in supplication to her new master. Her cold but gentle voice took a reverent break. The silence felt right to her between Dranok's actions and words. The movement of the glowing red lightsaber over her submissive body did not make her even flinch.

The feline's head remained reverently bowed, a symbol of her respect as Dranok spake words that made magic seem to flow through the air. She could feel her spirit being bound in a sacred and ancient rite. And with those bonds came the promise of power beyond her wildest imagination, as an extension of this powerful man who had her utmost admiration. The sensations within her body made the past emotions feel like child's play in comparison. She felt a rush of excitement that no amount of racing had ever given her.

And yet, she retained her calm and calculating grace when bidden to stand. She realized that she was now part of something far greater than herself, and the way she looked into Dranok's eyes with her own icy, catlike gaze was different this time. It was as if she was remembering to breathe just for him. And it was as if breathing felt even better for it. As always, this man's very presence sharpened her senses. She felt as if she could carry that everywhere she went now that she was bound to him as his apprentice. Even the name he would one day give her would surely make more sense than the one she was born with. Even more sense than the one other racers gave her out of respect. The name her master would give her would be more powerful than she could imagine, and one day... perhaps she would be, too.

"What can I do for you first, Master?" She felt as if even her voice sounded different. More confident in it's words. More husky and womanly than the girlish voice she had carried all of her life.

@[member="Dranok Lussk"]

 

[Judas of Vahl]

The Sith Master kept his calculating stare upon her slender figure as she rose. Just moments before, he could feel her entire being sizzling against his words. Her excitement shown through her eyes and trembling hands. The sight of such excitement brought rise to the man's own desires of ultimate power and dominance, his veins practically throbbed at the thought of his willpower making all of that possible. This girl, this young and malleable girl became his and only his. He's break her, shape her, and strengthen her.

"You will earn your name, my young one. I will allow you to view my earning of such a title."

He gave a sly grin and planted both of his hands on her head, cradling each side of her face with each hand. His golden, gleaming eyes locked with hers. His breath steadied, his heart throbbed, his mind lurched forward and into hers. Inside of her head she was see the beatings he endured by bullies at the Academy, torturers in alignment with the Sith Empire, and foes who scarred him. But she would also catch a glimpse of the power that was to come, power over life and death. Mima would watch the deaths of millions at his hands, the screaming agony of the dying, and the glory of ruling over his conquests. She would see the courage and valor displayed by his multitude of followers, their tenacity displayed against their foes as he released their anger upon them with a single command.

He showed her, because some day it would be hers.

@[member="Mima Jeth"]