Private Questionable Affairs

[Kyra Perl]

Kyra felt no greater relief than being found by a master. In a way she shoulda always expected they'd be able to come for her.

It was just the fact that she lead them to Bryn that had her feeling a little.... conflicted. She had seen that girl's life. She knew evil when she saw it and this-... this wasn't it. Bryn was a kid, like her. A victim. Not some malicious cackling evil force user out to get everyone. She couldn't leave her to harm. But.

There was no denying that Bryn had broken into SJO space. She had breached their computer systems, and she had glimpsed information that could be harmful to those around them. They just couldn't let Bryn go. Kyra couldn't get anymore answers out of the guards then a 'yes' when she asked to talk to the girl. And that was only because the master jedi had supported her.

What she was gonna say to the girl, she had no idea. But she sat outside the girl's cell anyway, waiting impatiently for her to wake.

 

[Bryn Celli Ddu]

Darkness had taken Bryn and when her eyes opened, she found herself locked up in a cell. She took a few moments to figure out if she had been hurt at all. True to the word of the Padawan, she wasn't hurt. In a way, this surprised the sithling, but she was thankful for what the girl had done for her.

It did not take her long to find out her mask had been removed along with her weapons. Even though these were gone, she wasn't entirely helpless. Under her cold emotionless state, the Force still flowed for her. Since Bryn had not displayed her small ability, the Jedi had not taken any precautions to take it away from her.

Looking around, she found the room to be pretty much empty. A datapad rested on the table facing her and there was a vacant chair on the other side. As she gazed around, her eyes fell on the door. Her cybernetic eye attempted to probe the lock for weaknesses, but in this instance, they had planned on their captive to try to escape.

Letting out a sigh, she went to stand up. Her hands weren't bound, but she was fastened to the chair she was sitting in. Retaking her seat, she wondered when the questioning was going to begin...

Kyra Perl

 

[Kyra Perl]

The master leaned against the wall, their face serene and eyes closed. Kyra could feel their conscious attempt to radiate calm towards her. It was a reaction most had when they came across the chaotic state of her mind. Kyra was never one to have her emotions under control. The little empath often struggled not to absorb and reflect the state of those around her. This moment was no different.

She took in a shake breath and let it out just as intentionally, feeling the unspoken reminder to breath from the meditating master. She understood this was a chance given to her-- a chance to see through what she had started. A chance to reach someone else. A chance to try and enact change.

But how? And... with what?

Kyra walked into the cell, her uncertainty clear across her features. She gave Bryn a pained look, practically screaming 'I told you so'. After a hesitant moment, she sat down in the other chair.

The master's sway on her emotions was significantly reduced in here. She wrung her hands in her lap.

"You okay?" She started carefully.

 

[Bryn Celli Ddu]

The eyebrow above her cybernetic eye raised as the girl from before walked into the room. In the darkness, neither of them had gotten a good and clear look at each other. Kyra wouldn't have anyway because she had been masked. Now that was torn away from her and the Padawan would get that good look at the sithling.

Her left eye was cybernetic and right entirely organic. Her skin was natural, but her bones were metal. Everything else with her body was fully human. If they had done any sort of medical scan of her body, they would already know this about her.

"That is an odd question to ask. I am unhurt if that is the answer you are looking for."

There was little to no emotion in her tone, something that could be heard of as a business one. Professional, serene and not at all like what people imagined a Sith to be like.

"How's your wrist?"

Bryn had done what she would have for any soldier in the field and treated the teen with what was on hand. One thing might be noticed. When she gave voice to the question, there was no real care underlying the words.

Kyra Perl

 

[Kyra Perl]

Kyra looked down to her hand and grimaced. A fresh set of wrappings had been applied, bracing the bones and keeping it in place. "It'll be fine, I'll visit my sister later," she dismissed. As intinutive as she had proved to be, she had missed the apathy behind the question.

Kyra really wanted to see the best in people. It was a bit of a weakness, actually.

"I'm sorry you got caught..." she trailed off, her words catching in her throat.

"But they promised they wouldn't hurt you. And..."

She wrung out her fingers, looking at Bryn in concern. "I was thinking. If we can just give them a reason to trust you, maybe-..." Every time she went to say the words wanted to say the most, they got caught.

She squirmed, visibility distressed. "Do you want help?" She started, her voice strained.

Bryn Celli Ddu

 

[Bryn Celli Ddu]

Bryn had been sent here to gather information and this girl provided her with a little bit more. She had a sister. Not that the sithling would do anything with this herself, it was something that could be passed onto her Master. So far though, this Jedi knew more about her than she wanted to be known.

Leaning forward in her chair, she put her elbows on the table between and looked at Kyra. There was little emotion seen on her face or even picked up on through the Force. Bryn had wonderful control over them and wouldn't easily get rattled.

"It is your fault."

That might not be entirely true, but the cyborg was pretty confident that she could have accomplished her task and left if the girl hadn't shown up. Her sneaking in had been captured, but she didn't actually know this. Going off her false sense of almost superiority, she would be surprised if she learned the truth.

Listening to what the Padawan was saying, disbelief crossed her features, but it wasn't felt very deep.

"What does trust have to do with anything? I don't trust you, your friends or your people. Am I clear?"

Then a real question came out and Bryn sat back in her chair. Crossing her arms over her chest, she let out a small huffing noise and shook her head. An idea crossed her mind and she met the eyes of the girl.

"Help? With what? If it's getting me out of here, I'm on board for that. Let me go and you'll never know I had been here."

The datapad remained ignored, but the face staring out of the screen was just a younger version of the assassin it was currently facing. On the screen showed a missing person report for a then 16-year-old girl. It stated the name Celeste Aybrara, her age when she disappeared and what her current age would be. The only real difference was her eyes. Both of the eyes in the image were organic.

Waiting to see what Kyra said, she fell silent and was patient.

Kyra Perl

 

[Kyra Perl]

"Well..." Kyra started slowly, the woman's words cutting deep.

"It's a bit more complicated than that..." She took a deep breath, then stood. "See... trust is kinda important here. Without it, I can't help you. And if I can't help you ... I don't know what they'll do with you," she admitted, her voice tight.

It had never dawned on Kyra before that she should be concerned over the protocols for SJO prisoners. I mean, what reason did she have to associate with that sort? And if they were prisoners, they clearly deserved whatever they had coming for them.

Right?

Expect Bryn didn't. At least, not to Kyra. The girl mighta done her actions, but Kyra didn't believe she had much of a choice. But if she could give that back to it... Maybe...

She approached Bryn with timid steps, her gaze unwavering as she studied her. In proper lighting, the black out the sith had given her was blossoming into quiet the light array of colors. Perhaps this was why Kyra didn't cross the last steps between the space between them. She hovered over her, that last bit of distance left untouched.

"In the end, what matters more to you-- your pride? Or your freedom?"

 

[Bryn Celli Ddu]

Her words were meant to cut and it almost gave Bryn some sense of pleasure at seeing Kyra hurt. This is what the Sith had taught her. How to bring pain, get some enjoyment out of it and not feel any remorse for the actions. What was missing from the cyborg was empathy, a skill she didn't even know about.

Already the sithling knew her treatment here was far better than what the Empire would have done to a prisoner. The fact she was only shackled to a chair was just one of many things. Listening to what Kyra was saying, her eyes narrowed. Then her look grew softer.

Leaning forward as the Padawan approached her, she looked up at the girl with that look. In a tone that matched her face, strange words came out of her mouth. Strange for her at least.

"I want to trust you. Not your people, but you."

Shaking her head, the hard look returned to her face and it looked like she wanted to slap herself. Mentally growling to herself, she started to try and withdraw from Kyra. Since she was chained to the chair, she couldn't get any further away.

Seeing that teen was timid, her previous idea returned to her mind. With what seemed like a drumming motion on the table, she would reach out with the Force to gently attempt to sway the mind of Kyra. To the assassin, the Jedi was weak right and now this was the perfect opportunity to try this.

At the moment she embraced the Force, a question was asked that stole it away from her.

"My freedom."

Almost as soon as she was done speaking, the Master that had knocked her out on the forest below opened the door and walked in. Looking at Bryn, she just shook her head. Turning her attention to the Padawan, she motioned to their prisoner.

"She's dangerous. Be careful."

The Master had felt the woman embrace the Force, but it was now gone from her. With one last look, she would return to waiting outside, but pay far more attention to what was going on between the two.

Kyra Perl

 

[Kyra Perl]

Kyra turned, giving Bryn her back for a moment to regard the Master. She nodded in understanding, then turned back to the girl as she spoke.



Kyra blinked as the woman's presence entered her mind. It was such a strange thing to feel, not unlike when Judah entered her mind during their training sessions. Her familiarity with the practice was the only reason she sensed it, her brows furrowing as the woman pushed boundaries that Judah had warned her off.

But she didn't stop there, she pushed back. "Then just relax," she urged. And Bryn would find Kyra trying to sway her mind in turn. The only difference was, Kyra gave her a reason to want to submit.

An image of Bryn walking free was imparted through the force, a telepathic message that was backed up again by another sway.

"You want to get out," not untrue. The urge Bryn had naturally was paired with a slightly unnatural one to boot. Like covering medicine with a spoonful of sugar. She only knew how to do this with corporation. Not force.

"So you want to let me in. Relax."

 

[Bryn Celli Ddu]

When Kyra turned around to face the Jedi Master that had opened the door, Bryn couldn't help but notice the lightsaber hilt clipped to the girl's belt. Letting out a mental sigh at her failure to capture the mind of the Padawan, she leaned back in her chair and just observed the situation. Knowing another person was present and paying attention threw a kink into her plans.

Her focus on the Force was gone, even though she could still feel its presence. Bryn couldn't touch it. Kyra turned around and faced her once again. The teen started walking back and pushing into the sithling's mind. With the Force lost to her at the moment, there wasn't anything she could do to stop her. About the only defense she had was her own mental fortitude. However, that wasn't something she excelled at.

Her head twitched a couple of times but that was really the only outward appearance to indicate Bryn was trying to fight and hold Kyra at bay. Two of the three jabs made it through to the assassin. The last one just didn't sound or feel quite right and she realized she wasn't ready to let the girl in entirely.

Much like what she had said on the forest floor. This time there was less strength and determination behind it.

"Get out of my head."

If Kyra had moved close enough, a hand would come out and another slap would be given. On the chance she was still out of reach, that arm would wave uselessly. By this action, it should be clear to the Jedi that her tricks were working. At a slower pace than what was probably hoped.

Kyra Perl

 

[Kyra Perl]

Kyra gave the girl a pained look, her resistance catching inside Kyra's chest. "I can't do that," she told her, regret bubbling through her tone. "I promised to help you." She side-stepped the hit, seeing it coming inside the girl's thoughts. She kept a proper distance, kneeling down before Bryn.

"See that screen behind me?" She glanced back over her shoulder, to the screen with the missing girl's report. "That's you. That's Celeste. And Celeste wants to be free." She turned back to Bryn, resolve forming in her chest.

"You want to be free. Don't you?" She demanded, pressing the girl both voice and mind for the truth. She reached out, daring to take Bryn's hand in that moment. An image would flood the girl's mind, so real her senses would prickle in response. A younger girl, coming home from school... Laughing at something a friend said as she went into her mother's welcoming hug... There was nothing metal about her, all flesh and bones-- youthful joy lighting up the eyes that closed inside her mother's warm embrace...

It was the only piece of Bryn's life from her time before her transformation that Kyra had received. She used it without hesitation, urging Bryn to accept her own feelings and submit.

"You want to see her again."

 

[Bryn Celli Ddu]

As she actually expected, her hit missed its mark. For some reason, she was fine with that. At the moment, Bryn felt like she was in some sort of dream. The Padawan refused to get out of her mind and there wasn't anything she could do to get her out of it.

No longer was Bryn showing she had any real intention of striking Kyra and she moved slowly. Picking up the datapad, she looked at the younger version of herself and a finger touched the left eye of the image. Out of her other eye, a single tear started to fall. Looking over the report, the pad fell out of her hands and onto the floor unless the Jedi stopped it from falling.

Suddenly her hand was within the grasp of Kyra and she saw a strange woman in her mind. A little girl that looked oddly like herself though much younger getting wrapped into a loving hug and another girl she was talking and laughing with.

She was done resisting the Jedi and the empath might feel this. One question came up and out.

"See who?"

Kyra Perl

 

[Kyra Perl]

An ache started to push behind Kyra's temple, the girl unused to such mental strain. Part of her couldn't believe this was working-- by all means her untrained butt shouldn't be able to pull off anything remotely powerful as she did now.

Yet she was. She didn't even know what she was doing, it was just... coming to her. Like an unseen hand was guiding her... helping her... directing her...

Her eyes widened in an unspoken epiphany, many things making sense to her at once.

The Force.

A bought of excitement grew in her chest, but a steadying breath pushed it back and kept her focus. Work with it... let it guide you...

Her muscles relaxed. Bryn would feel a sense of calm peace start to radiate out to her from the padawan.

"Your mom. She misses you. Hasn't stopped searching for you. She loves you. She accepts you. No caveats or pain needed... that's what family does..."

 

[Bryn Celli Ddu]

"What you might see in my past, is something gone to me. You know, I don't even know your name, Jedi. How do I even know you are telling me the truth?"

Her words might sound harsh, but her tone was calm. Bryn did not pick up on the emotions the girl was feeling. The sithling might be able to use the Force, she wasn't very strong at it and picking up on the feelings of others was difficult for her in this situation. It wasn't that she could not, but with a Master waiting just outside the door, she was reluctant to try using it again.

Even though her bones weren't human, almost everything else was. With Kyra holding her hand, she felt the muscles relax under her fingers. Tipping her head in the direction of the fallen datapad, she shook her head.

"I doubt that. Besides, I have been changed and don't remember my mother or father. Let alone if I have any siblings. No idea what my life was or could have been. Instead, I am what Vanessa made me and that can't be changed. Let me go."

There was no additional request to get out of her head, just the one for her freedom.

Kyra Perl

 

[Kyra Perl]

Kyra slowly slumped, growing sad at Bryn's continued resistance. It wasn't as if it was anything tedious or uncalled for, Kyra was simply impatient and short sighted.

And now she was doing her capabilities to boot. Had she taken on more than she could chew here?

"I... can't," she confessed, her voice pained. "I dun want to. I dun want you to go back to that. It's horrible, Cel, friends don't let friends get treated that way," she practically whined. Feeling the resistance melt out of Bryn's body, Kyra felt comfortable enough to go down on her butt, sitting with trust inside the woman's reach. She could lash out now. Kill her in an instant. But Kyra had faith she would feel something like that coming, and Bryn was not that kind of person.

Not unless forced into it.

"What if ... we could undo what was done. Memories don't just go, I saw some! There has to be more, wouldn't you like to at least see them first before deciding. Wouldn't you at least like the choice?"

 

[Bryn Celli Ddu]

"You are not a friend, Jedi. I don't need any."

Something tripped inside of Bryn when she said the word friend. With the light and accidental breaking through of her memory barrier, Kyra had opened a crack in her mind. What she said was true in her point of view. The Sithling did not feel she needed any. Since the day she had been kidnapped, friends meant nothing to her. People were meant to be used and exploited. Her opportunity to do that Kyra was fast slipping away.

That crack was slowly opening, granting Bryn something of her past. There were feelings of joy, happiness, and love. These were things she lacked in her current life and in a way craved them more. Closing her eyes, out of her organic eye, tears formed and fell down her face.

With a shaky breath, she opened her eyes and looked down at the top of Kyra's head. One hand was free to move and she leaned forward just slightly. Unless the teen pulled away, she would lightly touch her on the head and then take her hand back.

"How?"

A choice was being offered and she would be a fool to discard it. If she did, it would be for no more of a reason that pure stubbornness.

Kyra Perl

 

[Kyra Perl]

A crack of hope exploded in Kyra's chest. With their close contact, the girl already half in Bryn's mind, it would be hard for the emotion to not echo into Bryn's own feelings-- bubbling, excited, hope. Light and pure.

"I- I don't know," she offered quickly, taking this chance and running with it. She wasn't leaving Bryn to this. Nu uh, no sir re. She wasn't going to before and she certainly wasn't going to now. Not after this progress. Bryn had a friend in her, firm and true. It would be hard to deny the intention radiating out of the girl in an aura of emotions.

"But we can ask someone. A master! My friend- he's, he's a master at this stuff. He taught me what I know, if anyone can help us access your past-- it's him. Really, you'll see." Her hand tightened around Bryn's, squeezing reassuringly.

"I can go get him now. Want me to?" It was an empty question, the hope building to a painful degree in her chest.

 

[Bryn Celli Ddu]

With both of their emotions mixing and mingling, Bryn didn't know what she was feeling. If they were hers or Kyra's. Did it really matter? For the first time in a long time, she truly felt human. Not just one of a number and somebody to use. A small part of her still rebelled and wanted to be free. That was the Sith Code.

"Through Victory my Chains are Broken."

Spoken in hardly more than a whisper, one final tear fell out of her eye as she looked down at the Jedi. At the moment, Bryn felt broken. Much like the chains that held her to Vanessa. They were breaking. In a very short period of time, the Sithling had gone from a neutral dislike to the teen to a person practically crying in her arms.

"Do it before I change my mind, fool."

As before, there was no anger in her tone. Maybe something more like defeat.

"I expect, I'll be kept locked up and chained while you go gather him. Can I at least get a bed, some food, and drink or maybe a little privacy?"

Glancing in the direction of the closed door, she could almost feel that woman standing outside and watching.

Kyra Perl

 

[Judah Lesan Jr.]

JJ had been resting when he felt the mental presence of his friend Kyra. Friend was the word he used because student or padawan did not fit. She had become something to him that JJ could not define in other terms. He refused to define what they were for fear that they would grow beyond anything they could define. For the first time in his life, JJ knew there was some he could rely on, which was part of the reason JJ was always there for her. Of anyone in his life, she was the only who could interrupt him anytime for any reason.

Grapping his robe very quickly, JJ covered his torso. While there was nothing indecent about his bare chest, JJ preferred to keep himself covered when walking about the keep. If this was his home on Corellia, JJ would have not worried about it. He found Kyra waiting for him in the hall, unsure as to what it was they were doing.

She looked in pain.

"Are you okay... you look hurt?"

That was no why he was there, but she radiated the injury through their bond. It was all he could focus on until they dealt it.

Kyra Perl | Bryn Celli Ddu

 

[Kyra Perl]

Kyra shrugged him off, barely feeling it. “I’m fine. Listen.” Ominous words. he would feel her thoughts spiral and race— turning in circles and jumping through loops. Something had occurred.

She took a deep breath.

“I found a sith but she’s not a bad sith, just a sad sith, and I stopped the sith from stealing our info for the sith and we fell into the shadowland— that’s how i hurt my wrist you see—“ and indeed, it was broken— wrapped in bandage and kept close to her for the moment. “But I saved her life and she saved my life and now I cant let the other jedi get her they brainwashed her, you gotta help me!” She rattled, her eyes wide and pleading as she pawed at his robe.

Pheromones rang heavy through the air.