Return of the Mad Merc

[Antoir Setrrin]

They made their way to the showers, Ven still in Circe's arms, enjoying the 'strange' situation for a few moments. Who would have thought that the smaller of the two would be the one carrying the weight? Clearly the Sekairo herself hadn't expected it. Part of her was still really confused about the whole thing, even as she was let down by the showers. But, once again, she pushed the thought aside so she could get back to work. Or, in this case, get cleaned up. Even as Circe was talking she slipped into the stall, fiddling with the water controls. After a few moments she was satisfied with the temperature (which felt wondrously sweet against her skin) she turned to reply to Circe.

"We'll do what we have to do, as usual. I can put up with the pain. Might scowl a bit, but I'll manage," she said with a slight smirk. Sure, she was nervous, but she didn't want her companion to know that. At least not until after the procedure. "And yeah, come on in. I don't see why not."

[member="Circe Savan"]​

 

[Onrai]

[member="Ven'Rain Sekairo"]

She nodded, carefully disrobing as she did so before tossing the clothes away and stepping in, the shower engaging itself. "I admittedly am not one hundred percent sure as to how much stronger and how much more durable you are. I suppose testing will adequately determine the correct answer to that most intriguing question." Suds sprayed down, pulses intermixed with water so they didn't actually have to soap down. "I'd suggest closing your eyes - don't want to get any soap into them."

All the while, she ran her finger up Ven's back, looking for the right spot to perform the dastardly deed.

 

[Antoir Setrrin]

"Something tells me that this isn't going to be that much of a relaxing shower..." she murmured, running a hand through her choppy, mid-length hair. The dark brown locks seemed to have a few streaks of red in them. She figured that was due to her new Firrerreo genes. Those also explained the point of her teeth, the strength she felt, and the nictitating membranes she noticed. How much her strength had been enhanced by the alchemy was still a legitimate question. "If you're planning on doing something, go ahead. I'm... probably ready."

At least we're in the shower, she thought, if blood comes out it'll just wash away.

[member="Circe Savan"]​

 

[Onrai]

[member="Ven'Rain Sekairo"]

"I'm sorry." The hand would clasp firmly at the back of her neck, squeezing hard - a physical exertion of her focusing deep within Ven's spirit. Her connection to the Force, already long since rended, would find itself yet again torn away - dead, lifeless as the Vong body she once had. Being near her now caused her a tad of pain as she attempted to suppress her own Force aura, to keep her from being touched by the disconnection as she leaned back against a tiled wall.

"I love you."

 

[Antoir Setrrin]

It hurt.

Not just the grip on her neck, but the sensation of being ripped from the force, being torn away from the fabric that made up the universe. It was like being pulled away from the embrace of your mother. Like watching as the red string of fate was cut, separating you from the rest of existence. She wanted to scream. Maybe she did. Honestly Ven couldn't tell exactly what happened to her in those painful moments. All she knew was that it felt worse than dying. To go from being a part of everything to being connected to nothing but herself... she wanted to cry. Again, maybe she did. Maybe she sobbed as what had just been gifted to her was torn away in an instant.

Ven'Rain Sekairo was removed from the force once more.

"I feel so... disconnected..." She said after recovering for a minute or so. By that point she had sat down on the shower's floor (though she didn't remember doing so), her knees pulled up to her chest. She felt utterly disorientated. It was almost worse than what had happened when she had been first put into the new body. Maybe it was worse. Not that she could tell. This was a different kind of... bad. Before it had been a rush of new sensations, an excitement that had filled her, overstimulating her. But this was the opposite. This was a lack of feeling. An apathy that came alongside living outside of things. Part of her wondered how the Vong put up with the feeling. Of course, they were born like that.
She had once knew the feeling of the force, and that was why it hurt so much.

[member="Circe Savan"]
​

 

[Onrai]

[member="Ven'Rain Sekairo"]

"It's a sensation I hope you never have to feel again..." She winced, gently caressing the woman's cheek with her palm - the same one that had pressed against her neck and stolen her connection to the Force. "So please, don't die. Or use the Force next time. You know." She curled up deep with Ven, still in the shower as warm water washed over them both. "Love me?"

Her arms were wide open, after all.

 

[Antoir Setrrin]

"God, I hope there isn't a next time. I've... I've done this enough already," the mercenary said with a whimper, shifting so she could lean on Circe. For a few moments they just sat there, and she ignored the artificial rain pelting her. Things are gonna be okay. Ven kept telling herself that. Kept saying that she'd make it out of the war. That this was the last time that she'd need a new body, that it was the last time she'd be cut off from the force, the rest of the universe.

But she didn't believe herself. She never really did.
And maybe that was why she had stuck around Circe for so long. Because someone had to believe in her.

"Heh, I'll always love you, darling. Always..." With that she leaned over, moving in for a kiss...

---

---

She felt the blow before she saw it. A metal fist came flying towards her, slamming into her gut before she even had a chance to do chite about it. Of course she blamed the fact that this was a new body. It couldn't be that she was simply out of practice. Nope. While her mistakes were a mix of both, her focus didn't stay on the reasoning for long. Not when another blow was coming her way.

This time the Sithspawn dodged to the right, narrowly avoiding the training droid's arm, which shot past her head. For half an hour now she had been testing the extent of her new skills. So far she had done fairly well, considering how long she had been in her new vessel (aptly named Guardian). But she seemed rusty. Her movements lagged, her own attacks felt sluggish, and her mind was foggy.

Getting kicked in the groin was enough to clear her thoughts, though. As she fell to the ground she gestured for Circe to stop the droid. The pain wasn't that bad, really, but it wasn't the first hit that had landed on her in that session. She needed a break. Just a few minutes to heal up, then she'd get to testing her strength.

"Okay... that sucked. So maybe I need to do some sparring before it's war time. That's alright... Just, uh, gimme a sec... then we can do the other tests. The... strength ones? Grip force or weight lifting thing? Gods, I don't even know," she said, letting out a groan as she laid down on her back. Already she could feel her body repairing itself... It was a welcome change. "I bet I could crush that droid if it wasn't fighting back."

[member="Circe Savan"]​

 

[Onrai]

[member="Ven'Rain Sekairo"]

"Why don't you go ahead and give it a squeeze?" She smiled - this would likely be her last act as a Sith Lord before her retirement. She had no more plans to make new Sithspawn, or pursue things - she was completely worn out. "The bot's not going to react to it, and it's not as though I can't get a new one if you turn out to be so strong it gets sheared in half..." Like what Ashin could do. Still the correlation between the two reared its ugly head - hopefully for the last time.

Knowing Circe, though, it would hardly be the last time.

 

[Antoir Setrrin]

"I'm gonna wreck it, I swear..." Ven said, still laying on the floor. Part of just wanted to nap for a little bit. But she wasn't going to go through what she had gone through and not finish things. So after a moment she stood up with a grunt, stretching her arms a little. "Here goes nothing," she murmured, reaching out to grab the droid. Simply squeezing the thickest part of the arm (unsurprisingly) did nothing. With a frown she shifted herself, moving to grab it's wrist, still applying pressure, trying to force it to bend. After a few suspenseful moments the metal relented, moving the way she wanted it to. A little excited the woman used both hands this time, grabbing the robot's arm, and tried to break it. With a bit of effort she managed to twist the material (which was, admittedly, not of the highest quality). Another bit of effort allowed her to render the limb completely useless. Not bad... if only the I could bend Phrik like that. "Well. I did it. Now... how about we see how much I can deadlift? I'm sure I won't be throwing around any tanks, but hey, maybe I can wrestle a sentient bear again sometime."

[member="Circe Savan"]​

 

[Onrai]

[member="Ven'Rain Sekairo"]

"Again?" She raised an eyebrow, but chose to shrug instead. "Alright. I have several weights set up, and the droids can add more on if you require." She smiled, stepping back for a bit as the droid set up the entire arrangement. "I can only hope that this works, and does not injure you in any way, shape, or form. I could never forgive myself if you ended up suffering from some of the most painful of ailments because of me."

It was true. After all, she did love Ven.

 

[Antoir Setrrin]

The mad merc shrugged. They had yet to truly test her 'limits'. Lifting weights wasn't an accurate test of her abilities, but it would give an idea of where exactly she was at strength-wise. And so she made her way over to the weights, examining the selection slowly. To start off she put two fifty pound weights on the bar. For her that wasn't much, really. Though she knew that it would be best to start off with a low amount. Without much effort she performed a typical deadlift. Unsatisfied with the feeling, she kept moving, raising the bar up to her shoulders before placing it back on the ground.

"Not bad. I can do better, though," she said, going to grab more weights. A few minutes later she had gone through several more reps with an ever-increasing amount of metal on the bar. By the time she was starting to feel a good strain she had reached six hundred pounds. According to what she had read previously on the Holonet, the average (trained) human woman could deadlift about two hundred thirty pounds. Ven herself had plenty of experience lifting weights, but her new body wasn't yet in tip top shape, so even though she was far stronger than the average human (and a fair bit stronger than the average Firrerreo), she had yet to reach her full potential.

When she finally set down the bar for the last time, quite a bit of sweat was dripping down her brow.
"I... I think we're good. I've done even more than I had hoped for."

[member="Circe Savan"]​

 

[Onrai]

[member="Ven'Rain Sekairo"]

"I'm very impressed..." She smiled, watching the slightest trickle of sweat coming from her flesh as she moved forward in order to help her love out. "You are everything I could wish for and more, darling. Can we embrace one another and finally enjoy this moment? I'll call for Darren if you want him in with a lovely group hug..."

Hopefully, life would continue proper as it should.

 

[Antoir Setrrin]

"I think that sounds delightful, dear. Then we can go and have a nice dinner together," Ven said, smiling despite how sore she felt. With a chuckle she moved to hug her love for a moment before walking over to the comm system. "This will be the first time he's seen me in the new body. Hopefully he'll remember his mother," she joked, grinning. Then she hit the comm button and spoke again: "Darren, please come to the training room. Mum and I would like to speak to you."

Things will be okay. Maybe they really will be okay...
And she smiled still.

[member="Circe Savan"]​

{END}​