Private Satori

[Del]

Satori​

Location: Insatious' Flagship
Notable Equipment: N/A
Tags: Darth Insatious

---​

She was running. The Death Trooper wasn't far behind - she could hear his heavy boots against the cold metal floor boards. Delphine threw a glance back at the massive behemoth and did her very best to increase the pace. He could try to chase her all he wanted but she sure wasn't going to make it easy. At least until she'd finally arrive at a dead-end point of the ship. A short corridor ended with a closed door. She wouldn't be the least bit surprised if he could smash through it with ease - she however, would have to resort to other means.

In this case, she produced a pass card from her pocket and quickly brushed it up against the control panel. The trooper was closing in on her at a rapid pace. The doors opened and she stepped inside. Delphine turned around and clicked a button on her datapad. She flashed him a bright smile after having checked the time "I'm not the only one getting faster" she spoke with a bright and encouraging tone. She enjoyed exploring the ship and had made it a point to do it at a pace that the death trooper could keep up with. And today, they were more than half a minute faster than last time. The hulking guard slowed his pace upon arrival before he finally turned around to face the entrance of the corridor.

The girl looked up at his wide back. Was it really that hard for them to just give her a reply sometime? She wished that they could speak, even if it was just a little. Her smile faded as she closed the door to her chambers.

Originally, it had a rather spartan design. Stale metallic plates clad the walls, ceiling and floor. Benches and bureaus were slightly brighter but still maintained the grey tone like the rest. The only real source of colour had been her bed with dark crimson-coloured bed-sheets and a brighter greyish coloured pillow. It was much harder than she was used to - still, it was considerably much better than the cell. And without that Twi'lek neighbour, she could concentrate on learning. In the past, she had trained through all of the other woman's rants but now, she could read without being bothered. Of course, she read the materials that Darth Insatious offered her. He was wise and often picked out good literature for her. But she had also started to study something which she had picked herself. While it had its clear challenges, she did have a good head on her shoulders and Insatious had managed to instill some incredible discipline.

Even then, training and honing her practical skills was always what would bring her the most joy. At first, she had just tried to maintain her well-practiced form for swimming and dancing - but as time progressed, swimming became less relevant and the lightsabre forms took a prioritised spot. And then, there was the force. It was something which fascinated and intrigued her. It made for a good basis upon which to learn, whether it be under Insatious' meticulous but harsh tutelage or on her own.

But now, however, she had already been training and studying for a whole day. She needed to rest. She needed to shower. But maybe the shower could wait just a little bit. With a thud, she fell onto the bed face-first. A little nap couldn't hurt, right?

 

[Darth Insatious]

New ~ Horizons
Tag: Del | Location: Insatious' Flagship

The time since Delphine's stay as Insatious' prisoner had passed and the girl would find her life on Insatious' flagship to be quite a different experience. Most of the time, when she wasn't been put through rigorous training, she would find the freedom to almost do anything she wanted within the confines of the ship. Most of the personnel was nice toward her but were a bit withdrawn from sharing too much with her as the knowledge of her being Insatious' ward was not common knowledge.

Instead of two Death Troopers flanking her sides, she had only one of them following her. Even if Delphine talked prolonged to her personal Death Trooper or any of the other Death Troopers she would meet, none of them would ever respond back to her. Not only that, but Delphine would also be able to guess from how their supposedly flesh-helmet mouth was located, it was impossible for them to even open their mouth.

The only sign of life from them was the heavy, haggard breathing that moved at the exact same pace with only change in the breathing when they were being active.

Delphine would also find that, apart from when she was being summoned or when she was being trained by him, Insatious rarely showed himself, walking the ship's hallways. Always keeping to his chamber of gathered knowledge.

Despite living on the ship, Delphine didn't really get to mix and mingle with the rest of the crew, as everyone else did in the mess hall doing breakfast or dinner. While Insatious had assured her that it was for her own self-interest and mingling with the rest of the crew would give her less time to focus on more important tasks. Though he didn't outright forbid her from mingling, he made it clear it wasn't happy with her spending too much time with the personnel.

In reality, he saw her mingling and bonding with too many people as an absolute weakness that would haunt her later in her life. However, he did see potential in the relationship Delphine and the Commander had going on. The Commander was completely loyal to Insatious, but having his granddaughter place her complete trust in the officer, did offer Insatious possibilities to use against both later down the line if needed.

For now, though, Insatious was busy teaching his granddaughter the way of the Sith and she showed great potential, but still, much improvement to be desired. Today's session would soon happen and it was high time his granddaughter learned some of the more advanced teachings.

Standing up from the table he had been pouring his attention on and turned to a massive stone plastered with runes charged by the long-extinct species, the Sith Purebloods. He was quite satisfied by his Apprentice Cadere 's achievement of finding it. While it didn't hold much in terms of great power, it held history, history long gone from a bygone era.

Insatious was quite amused by his Apprentice's lust for knowledge, but more importantly, knowledge to kill Insatious. The Sith Lord must admit, seeing the fallen Jedi so deadset on growing stronger and finally killing him, did put a smile on the old Sith's face. Just the knowledge of Cas Tynen, the once-mighty proud Jedi Knight, fallen so low that he growled and fought for scraps of Insatious' knowledge of the Dark Side. The Sith Lord often thought of just ending the boy's life, draining him dry. How the mere thought of watching the last bit of light forcefully be torn from the boy's core, was enough to make Insatious go crazy for the sweet rush of feeding on the nectar of life.

The clones had been a particular nuisance lately and the knowledge of Cas killing himself or wounding himself through his clones brought the Sith Lord internally joy, nothing came close to doing it himself. The positive side of having complete blind loyal clones of the Jedi he had such a deep-seated hatred for is the pleasure of torturing and killing some of them himself. Unbeknown to anyone, and especially the clones, Insatious often liked to torture clones that had failed him.
Hearing the screaming voice of Cas from a clone, begging and pleading to stop as Insatious flayed pieces of skin from their strapped down bodies before he would drain that sweet nectar of fearful light.

Daydreaming, his train of thought was interrupted by a beeping.
"What?" Asked the Sith Lord, annoyed by the interruption.
"The Al Galaare, have managed to track down Subject TC-11 also known as Elryn Freestar by the Jedi. The Al Galaare is currently following a Piket-class light freighter heading for a planet by the name of Rystan" explained the voice, relaying what the Dar'mandas had told the officer.
"Interesting. Report back that if the opportunity presents itself, capture Clone-TC11 and bring 'it' to me. If not, kill him" responded the Sith Lord as the officer closed the call.

Walking away from the massive runic stone, he went over to another table and grabbed a datapad. Pressing a button, the square-sized screen came to life, showing a file called Subject-TC. Below the title was a long list of files all with the name 'Subject' and then a number beside it.

Scrolling down, he stopped by the file called 'Subject-TC 11'. Upon opening the file, a long list of data evolving the clone, Elryn Freestar . Insatious was rather curious about Subject-TC 11's successful escape attempt from the cloning facility. The 'thing', or 'it' had managed to slip past a lot of obstacles, not to mention his Death Troopers and even managed to steal a ship.

Insatious' main cloning scientist had expressed interest in having the failed clone captured, so 'it' could be opened up and studied, so future events like that could be avoided with other failed clones.

Powering down the datapad, Insatious activated a call between him and Lilliana.
"Yes, father?" Asked Lilliana, awaiting her father's order.
"I want you to track down Ki'an Vizsla and the remaining two children" ordered Insatious, placing both hands on the table.
"Shall I kill them?" Asked Lilliana completely indifferent to the fact that Ki'an was her husband and the two children were her kids, due to her sleeper agent program were still active.
"No... Just keep an eye on them from a distance for now and keep me posted" concluded Insatious after a bit of deliberation.
"As you wish, father" accepted Lilliana with a professional tone before shutting the call.

~~~~~~​

Right as Delphine hit the bed face-first, a loud knocking on her blast door filled her chamber followed by a voice on the other side. "My lady, you have been requested to chamber 53B in 15 minutes" relayed the unknown voice to Delphine before whoever told her, left to do their other duties. While it might have been called a request, Del knew by now, that Insatious' 'request' was always an order, no matter what and failing to follow his 'requests' ended in disciplinary electrocution, which many would call torture.

When Delphine finally decided to leave her chamber, the Death Trooper, silent as ever, followed behind the girl like a guardian death angel. Actually finding the chamber was rather easy and upon arriving, she would find herself in a rather unique looking chamber. Instead of a dull grey interior like most other rooms and areas on the Star Destroyer, this at least had some colour to it.

While Delphine would enter the chamber, her guardian death angel would position himself by the entrance, waiting for her.
Walking through the blast door, Del would find Insatious standing in the centre of the large open training chamber in the very familiar dusty grey matted robe, though the hood was down. Turning around, facing Delphine, a kind smile spread across the old Lord's face. "Ah, welcome my dear. Today I have a rather... unique lesson for you" explained Insatious.

"It is time to teach you the art of conjuration" announced the Sith Lord, still holding his kind smile. Conjuration was strangely never mentioned in any of the books, datapads or other types of knowledge holding teachings she had been gifted. All, except for one stone tablet, had briefly mentioned the Witches of Dathomir and how their Dark arts spoke of conjuration rituals. Sadly there were only a few lines on the witches before the carved text ended, due to it being half-destroyed thanks to time.

 

[Del]

Satori​

Location: Insatious' Flagship
Notable Equipment: N/A
Tags: Darth Insatious

---​

As the knock on the door came, the girl immediately jumped to attention. Sure, she would have liked some rest. Especially after a days worth of training. But she did miss some true company and ever since grandfather had expressed his dislike of her befriending the staff, she had tried to stay away from them as much as possible. More importantly, being summoned almost always meant that it was a direct command from Insatious and she instinctively knew that she wanted to comply.

Without delay, she moved to tidy herself up - just to look a little less worn and more formidable once the met. Perhaps the crew didn't know who she truly was but if her grandfather was going to reveal it at some point, she wanted him to be able to do without loosing face. If she wanted them to have a certain impression of her when the identity was revealed, she would have to be sure that she didn't give them a different impression now.

It wouldn't be long before she was good to go. The chamber, 53B, was close to her room. Still, she greeted her Death Trooper with a friendly smile and jogged there, partially to be absolutely sure that Insatious wouldn't have to be the one waiting for her and partially to get a little bit of extra exercise. Once arrived, she looked around as her pace slowed to a walk. It felt odd to see such a colourful room. Of course, it was nothing compared to what could be found in 'normal' societies but for Insatious, this was a colour explosion.

She nodded her head in a bow "Thank you, my lord." she said before doing a deep curtsy "I am at your service." Before having met him, this would have been the kind of time where she would note how exhausted she was and that it really would have been a better idea to take up the training another day. But he had taught her better, He had taught her the pain of defiance and importantly, that she always had to push herself further. And if she didn't push herself further, he was sure to do it himself - only that it was way more painful when he had to do it.

Then he mentioned conjuration. Delphine vaguely remembered having read about it somewhere but couldn't for the life of her remember exactly what it was. She searched her mind furiously before finally coming to terms with the fact that she didn't know. Remembering when he had been teaching her the Sith language, she knew the horrors that came with not having done her homework. Swallowing hard, she nodded once more "Yes, my lord. I look forward to learning under you" she said, hoping that he didn't expect her to know anything of conjuration yet.

 

[Darth Insatious]

New ~ Horizons
Tag: Del | Location: Insatious' Flagship

Letting his hands fall down alongside his body. "Now. As you're well aware, conjuration comes in many different forms. Most notably, Sith Magic, also known as Sith Sorcery. However, the Witches of Dathomir has managed to form an off branch from Sith Magic. Now don't let the different look or how they use and perform their little spells. They might call it Ichor and Magick, but it's really just the Dark Side of the Force" began Insatious as if they were in a classroom. Insatious quickly began to explain the connection the Sith Magic had to the Dark Side and how the particular branch within the Dark Side of the Force presented new ways to manipulate and command one's powers. Furthermore, Insatious also started to go into the history behind the arts of conjuration while showing simple examples.

As always, when he presented new knowledge to Delphine, he expected her to listen and pay attention, or she would face punishment. With that said, he continued to explain and teach his granddaughter the fundamentals of conjuration. It was a different lecture than normal as she wasn't being thrown into the deep end. Quite the opposite. She was taught conjuration methodologies along with an active magickal presentation of the utilization of the difference between Sith Magick and Nightsister magic.

"Now, this is important, apprentice, the Witches of Dathomir, believe in ancient entities that give them their magnificent powers," said Insatious, putting weight on the importance of the ancient entities. "The two entities, are called The Fanged God and The Winged Goddess. While the Nightsisters and Witches of Dathomir might refuse the connection between their magicks and the Force, that is pure nonsense, spoken by cultish sisterhoods" explained Insatious, dismissing the witch's stubborn beliefs.

Insatious then continued to explain more about Dathomir, Nightsisters, Witches of Dathomir and how the Nightsisters and Witches of Dathomir were like the Sith and Jedi in sense of what path they followed in the Force. Insatious also explained how one would gain access to Nightsister spells through the Force.

The door suddenly opened behind her, where a normal Imperial guard entered, carrying a small bowl with a thick green liquid moving around. Placing the bowl down by Insatious, he bowed to both and left again with quicken steps not looking back. With an open palm, Insatious gestured for Delphine to take it.
"Drink, and we can begin your training" explained Insatious with an eerily friendly smile.

 

[Del]

Satori​

Location: Insatious' Flagship
Notable Equipment: N/A
Tags: Darth Insatious

---​

It was hard to describe the mixed feelings she had on the matter of studying under Darth Insatious - her grandfather. On the one hand, the prospect of doing so filled her with fear. It was usually a painful and dread-filled experience as his tolerance for failure was extremely low. And once a failure had been spotted, the punishment for it would be severe. At the same time, he was more knowledgeable than most and - in his own way - decently pedagogic. She found herself listening to his teachings with interest.

It was curious to hear about these Nightsisters. They sounded like some kind of primitive cult that kept strong through ancient wisdoms. When her grandfather explained that it was in fact the dark side that they relied on, it all started to make sense. For as he had taught her, technology was not needed when one could instead control the force.

Throughout the lecture, she refrained from interrupting him. Not only was his lecture clear enough, but she also trusted him to tell her what she needed to know. That also meant that what he did not tell her, she probably did not need to know for the moment.

After a while, an officer entered the chambers from behind her. Instead of turning around to look at the man, she instead looked to Insatious. If it was a threat, she would notice it from his demeanour. If it was not, she would remain in place until told otherwise. When the officer finally passed her by, she saw the bowl with the thick green liquid. Her eyes followed it until it was placed down by Insatious' side. Her eyes then ventured back to him as she awaited his command.

She as told to drink it. While not something she wanted to do, she had expected it. What else was there to do with the bowl of liquid other than to drink? Still, she wondered why he would have her drink it. If this magick was only different in name, why would she have to drink a soup? Couldn't they rely on the force just like normal? Regardless, Delphine didn't think of it for long - Insatious had given her a command and she knew better than to question it or to drag her feet. "As you command, my lord" she said, before bowing and quickly closing the distance between them. Without any signs of fear or hesitation, she stopped once she was by his side, picked up the bowl, and started to consume its contents.

 

[Darth Insatious]

Tag: Del | Location: Insatious' Flagship

Insatious was watching his granddaughter consume the content in the bowl with an intense observation. He knew of the witches of Dathomir's powers and how they were capable of doing things in the Force, that normal Force practitioners couldn't. While the witches' belief in a Fanged God, a being by which supposedly grants them their powers, sounds more like an overzealous religious belief at best. The Sith Lord had lived for hundreds of years and in all his years, of studying the Force, both aspects, he has never stumbled upon any records or tombs that could solidify the witches' belief to be nothing more than what it was, an belief.
Nevertheless, he wasn't one to deny their Magick or what it granted as its power coursed their very being already, not to mention, he never shunned away from knowledge.

The moment Delphine felt the liquid Ichor hit her lips, it felt and tasted almost like a watery mist, despite its heavy appearance in the bowl. As the content slithered down her throat, a warmth started to spread from her stomach. The warmth continued to spread as the Ichor was absorbed into her bloodstream, like small painful needles poking her a thousand times over.

Flashes of white in front of her eyes, as visions of flying creatures and alien monstrosities, invaded the room around her. As the last drop of poisonous green Ichor was drunk, Delphine felt a current of powerful electricity coursing through her entire body. The electricity, however, was very different from when her grandfather electrocuted her, this almost felt like shock signals from her brain.
A weak numbing sensation in her fingers would begin to spread, her heart would beat faster and faster. The liquid Ichor now fully absorbed into Delphine's body whole, entered her brain for the final merging of the strange powers.

Everything went black for a brief second and when Delphine woke up again, she was changed, not only in her connection to the Force but all of her senses were heightened. Though something weird did feel off, Delphine couldn't feel the floor anymore, despite still being in the chamber and despite Insatious standing in front of her, smiling.

If the Delphine actually looked down to the floor, she could see herself floating a few feet above the floor proper. her hands were surrounded by green mist, swirling and dancing around her hands with small light green mist balls continually creating more of the same mist-like energy. Even Delphine's hair moved more like it was underwater than in the air.
Lastly, though she couldn't see the change, were her eyes. Instead of her normal eye colour, were balls of almost liquid poisonous fire as flame-like energy danced from the outer edge of her eyes. It wasn't even possible to see her eyes at that moment as they were completely devoured and engulfed in the Magickal Ichor like green mist.

"Yes! Well done!" expressed Insatious excitedly, coming off as a kind, but happy old man, ecstatic over his grandchild who had just managed to beat a sports record. In other words, this was the first time, in all of Delphine's time with her grandfather, that she had seen him this excited and actually happy with her. "Can you feel it, the Shadow Magick? Take control of it! Bind it to your will!" pressed Insatious on. While it was true that Shadow Magick enhanced and made a practitioner incredibly strong, it was also a power, without training and control, that could overcome the user and if pushed to the absolute limit, kill the practitioner.

 

[Del]

Satori​

Location: Insatious' Flagship
Notable Equipment: N/A
Tags: Darth Insatious

---​

It felt weird to consume the contents of the bowl. While she had expected it to be a rather chunky endeavour that would make her gag-reflexes go off, it was not. Instead, the liquid barely felt like a liquid - it was even lighter than that. Green ooze almost escaped her as she drank from the bowl but even then, she continued with determination. Her grandfather had commanded her to drink it and so she did.

At first, it felt good. She felt warm and even cared for. Delphine lowered the, now empty, bowl from her mouth and looked to the Darth with glad eyes. Was he actually being kind to her? The expression soon changed as the soup's effects came at her with full force. She was confused as to why Insatious was doing this to her. To her knowledge, she had not failed him recently. In fact, she had learned much - both in how his subjects should behave and the teachings that he offered. It was hard to focus on the greater picture to see why she should stay loyal when under intense pain. Still, Delphine did her very best to keep standing straight in the face of the pain that she suffered.

Soon, there was a numbing effect that spread through her body and her heart felt like it was beating faster. Small beads of sweat formed along her forehead as her jaw started to shiver. Delphine's determination was truly put to the test as she felt how she would not be able to hold on for longer. With pained eyes and furrowed brows, she looked to her grandfather - ignoring the visions of the strange creatures - when suddenly, her vision disappeared.

Suddenly, everything changed. The girl started levitating. Her hair started to float and her arms spread out to extend fully to the sides as they too felt lighter. The feeling as her feet left the ground was surreal, just as the feeling by her hands which were now surrounded by a mysterious green mist. The pain, however, appeared to be gone and she kind of enjoyed the light mist that lingered by her being. Where she had once felt fear, she now only felt the sensation of - seemingly pure - power. And it only got better as Insatious finally expressed true happiness over what she had done. It wasn't just satisfaction or pride of his hard work. This time, it felt as if he was happy for what she had done. For what she had accomplished.

Then came his commands. As if by instinct, she attempted to follow them. Delphine channeled her focus but before she was ready, two bolts of green fire erupted from her hands. Quickly, she recoiled back and two more bolts were fired off in the directions where her hands happened to be pointing at that moment. Once more fearful, she did her best not to let any of it hit Insatious as green bolts continued being fired off at seemingly random times, causing fiery explosions where they landed. Seemingly fuelled by her fear, Delphine finally managed to keep the bolts from firing until she pointed both hands at the door and fired off a more sizeable bolt than all the others - this time controlled and focused. What's more, she now managed to prevent herself from firing off more shots afterwards.

 

[Darth Insatious]

Tag: Del | Location: Insatious' Flagship

A wicked smile was just spread across the old man's face as he saw the effect of the ichor take form in his granddaughter. Even better, green bolts of pure energy were shot from her hands, manifested from the will of the Force through the lens of Magick. The Sith Lord didn't even seem concerned about her hitting him as he just watched her delicious fear fuel her powers to an even greater degree, than before. Insatious didn't even stop her as she destroyed their surroundings.

As Delphine seemed to get control over her newfound power, or at least get it under control, for now, the Lord of Hunger began to teach her how to harness and use the ichor and its magick. Unlike the other times, training under her grandfather, this training was different. Instead of intense gruelling physical training, this was much more ritualistic and meditating, which was completely opposite of what she had been through before.

Over the next couple of months, Del found herself meeting early and leaving late as she was taught many secrets of the Nightsisters and even explained the philosophical meaning behind some of the techniques. However, it was clear that some of the spells that she was introduced to, were easier than others. Spells like floating in a place were relatively easy to get the hang of or how to concoct a brew from ichor to make oneself invisible. However spells like levitating, flying, creating bladed weapons from thin air and apparition from one place to another was very taxing on the body, not to mention, completely alien-like, compare to training with the Force directly.

While Insatious still punished Delphine harshly when she got instructions wrong, oftentimes with electrocution, he would also grant her recognition upon getting it correct and show a great deal of excitement.

However long it would take for Del to learn her new untapped potential, she would one by one, maybe not master her powers, but get the hang of many of them and finally, explained that in order for her to truly test her, she will have to prove to him that she wouldn't fail him.

Calling her to the bridge, Del would find Insatious waiting for her in his usual dirty rags. "I'm sending you to Gamorr. I want you to extend my influence there as my Voice and Will. Whatever means necessary." explained the Sith Lord, turning his cold gaze to Del under the darkened hood, covering most of his upper face.

It was a clear extension of his will, granting her much more freedom than she had ever had before. Walking past his granddaughter, Delphine heard some final words. "Do not fail me" - four words, one meaning: Failure and the punishment will be severe.

 

[Del]

Satori​

Location: Insatious' Flagship
Notable Equipment: N/A
Tags: Darth Insatious

---​

Learning the tricks of the witches of Dathomir was a curious thing. Insatious was making it easy for her - he seemed to understand it well enough to teach it clinically like he always did. That helped her start to understand how it worked and how to control it. Still, he continued putting pressure on her and the pain he inflicted never ceased to terrify her. While understanding how it worked logically was all well and good, with time, she started to rely more and more on instinct - in truth, fully understanding the "science" behind their magick appeared to be impossible to the girl. But with her grandfather pushing for results, there was little she could do but to adapt and overcome the challenges she faced. Sometimes through intelligence and skill. Sometimes through raw talent. And in this case, through luck and instinct.

It was only when he called her to the bridge once more that she understood that her current chapter was nearing its end. Although she was still young, it seemed as if Insatious had decided that it was time for her to exercise some true power. Did this mean that her training was complete? Most likely, no. Did it mean that she would be granted more freedoms? Yes. More responsibility? Most definitely, yes. It was something which the athlete was carefully optimistic about. A chance to prove herself and to spread her wings. But then, there was also the threat - in truth, the Darth did not have to speak it. She was already well aware of his response to failure. The fact that the punishment would scale up in accordance with the degree of the failure was fully expected. Offering him a deep bow and a "Thank you, my Lord. I will work hard to extend your reach to the planet" - the galaxy was vast. While she had never heard of Gamorr in her life before, it was not something which would deter her.

For the following period, Del would no longer be based off of Insatious' flagship. Instead, she would stay on a small base on Gamorr. There, she would study the Gamorreans in their native environment. At first, it was a challenge - what they respected was not something she had naturally - for compared to them, her physical capacities were pathetic and she didn't bring any glory from past battles. It would be an uphill task but with time and effort, she would steadily grow Insatious' influence on the planet and make a name for herself. While there may not have been much glory in defeating someone with the use of the force or overwhelming Imperial firepower, the Gamorreans did understand raw power - and with time, they would come to respect hers.

The time she spent leading the Sith's efforts on Gamorr would be free of pain and suffering for her. While Delphine did keep up a strict training regimen and spent many hours studying the force and increasing her mastery of it - none of it was under the threat of the immeasurable pain that he would put her through. In the time that passed, she started to get used to being away from him. It felt good.

One evening, an officer presented her with the news: Darth Insatious was bound to arrive within the hour. She looked up from her study, surprised. Fear was evident in her eyes as it started to dominate her mind. "H-h-he is?"

"Yes, mistress" the officer spoke respectfully

She let out a hallow sigh, desperately trying to find her composure "Okay, ahhh, uhm..." she said, standing up behind her desk.

Standing stoically, the officer seemed just as surprised as her. Where he usually dealt with a young but bright girl who showed a surprising degree of insight, he was now dealing with an emotional wreck. "What preparations would you have us do, my lady?"

"Please, just leave me" she said, desperately wanting some time for herself.

"Ma'am?" he asked, confused

"Please" she begged as she walked up to him and started trying to push him towards the door.

"But, shouldn't we do any...?" he asked, standing completely still

"Please, just go" she asked, continuing trying to make him budge.

While he felt comfortable enough around her and enough sympathy for her to try to push for her to give him a command, the officer also knew his place. Finally, he left her study and started to instruct his men to prepare for Darth Insatious' arrival. He had not been given an order to do so but he enjoyed his position under her command and was concerned enough for her to do what he judged to be the best, confident that she would probably only be grateful for his initiative.

When Insatious' shuttle could finally be seen in the skylines, the officer entered her study once more. He couldn't see the girl but assumed that she was present regardless. And so he spoke "My lady, Darth Insatious' is near. We have made arrangements for his arrival."

Carefully and slowly, she emerged from under her table "Thank you" she said, trying to offer him a smile despite the fear she felt. With almost shaky steps, she made her way towards the landing pad. It felt as if her legs would stop carrying her at any moment, still, she would stand together with an honorary greeting party, ready for his arrival.

 

[Darth Insatious]

Tag: Del | Location: Insatious' Flagship

The arrival of the shuttle hadn't been something grand and prestigious arrival, hell, there wasn't even a Star Destroyer visible in the atmosphere. Strangely, Delphine couldn't even feel her grandfather on the shuttle. While Insatious was a master at concealing his presence in the Force, having spent so much time with the Sith Lord, Delphine would have been able to recognize the flicker of energy that was the Lord of Hunger. as such, when she couldn't sense him, even though the Death Trooper's presence was there, Insatious was not.

It was clear the soldiers posted under Delphine's command, found the Death Troopers unnerving as four of the monstrous beings exited the shuttle. Lining up, flanking two on each side of the ramp, Delphine was met with a familiar face of Commander Morr. The officer who was with her from the beginning stepped down from the ramp and greeted her with a friendly smile and a salute.
"My lady" greeted the Commander, lowering his hand from the position of his left eyebrow.

"My Lord is on his way but got interrupted and sent me in his stead to get an update on your progress" explained Morr to Delphine and raised his hand as a mention for them to enter the compound. Walking into the compound, the four Death Troopers marched behind them, all armed with blasters, walking past the regular soldiers, swallowing nervously, with some of them not even daring to look at the flesh-armoured beings.

While originally the Commander wasn't the one that would have gone to check on Del, but a lower-ranked officer, a real kiss-ass to Lord Insatious. While the lower-ranked officer wouldn't have done any psychical to Delphine, knowing the wrath it would bring down upon him if Insatious found out. He was known by many as a sleazeball who could get very uncomfortable. Being rather protective of the Lady, Commander Morr, despite the task being lower compared to his rank, offered to do the task instead.

Standing back in the room Delphine had been in before the shuttle arrived, Morr lowed his hands from behind his back and gave the girl a sort of examining glance. "If you don't mind me saying... You look pale, my lady" expressed the Commander, though he could imagine the news of Lord Insatious' arrival, would put anyone on edge, especially when one was trained by him.
The Lord doesn't exactly leave happy thoughts and memories for many if any.

His brief concern for the girl disappeared as he pulled forth a datapad and started writing. "So tell, what progress have you made?" Asked the Commander, ready to write down the report.

 

[Del]

Satori​

Location: Insatious' Flagship
Notable Equipment: N/A
Tags: Darth Insatious

---​

A sight of relief. Instead of her grandfather stepping off of the shuttle, it was Morr. An ever brightening smile grew on her lips while her eyes lit up. "Commander Morr!" she greeted him with a bow - not something custom required her to do, but rather something she wanted to do out of respect. The Death Troopers were feared by many. Including her own officers. It was understandable - for they possessed awesome prowess in combat and were, at times, used for internal enforcement within Insatious' ranks. But Delphine viewed them differently - the Death Troopers were some of the only truly reliable entities within the Darth's ranks. She always knew where she had them, they could be trusted and never had hidden motives. Like always, she offered them a smile and a deep nod.

"Commander..." she trailed off as she looked to him carefully. Unlike the Death Troopers, Morr was not someone whom she trusted in the same way. He had always looked out for her, but he had also kept secrets from her and at times, given her a false sense of security when he knew of Insatious' next steps. Delphine had become accustomed to politicking while working to spread Insatious' influence across the galaxy. One thing which she was not blind to was how quickly the former Lieutenant seemed to have climbed the ranks since he got to know her - while she didn't have anything to substantiate her theories with, it was something which raised a bit of suspicion. Still, he was one of the officers whom she had relied on the most throughout the years and he had always done a good job mending whatever rifts that were caused between them. She spoke carefully "Do you know why Darth Insatious is coming?"

Soon, Morr would ask about her pale she appeared. Delphine's gaze quickly fell as she let out a small chuckle. for the officer was spot on. It was probably correct that she was indeed a bit pale. In truth, it was hard not to be when Insatious' surprise visit was announced a little bit more than an hour ago. Still, it was a detail which she wasn't proud of. Perhaps it had been obvious to her men already but she still wanted to do what she could to avoid any negative impacts on morale "There is no reason for concern, Commander." she responded curtly but quickly tried to compensate by offering a sweet smile and a "Thank you"

The two would then proceed into her office. While skilled in the game of politics and diplomacy, Del was far from assertive. Something which she would prove as she pulled out her chair from where it was parked by her desk and offered it for Morr to sit on. Whether he accepted the offer or not, she would then move to the other end of the desk where guests and subordinates usually stood. Clasping her hands behind her back, she would start to report the Gamorr-situation to him. It was a lengthier report that included details and highlights on her short term goal of gaining the trust of a lower ranked warlord who could help her befriend two more influential ones down the line. While still having maintained the same slender and well-defined form as she had always had, it was clear that she had gained a little bit more muscle - something which she noted was a consequence of the rather strainous nature of trying to earn the respect of the local Warlords.

She finished her report with a nod "As always, Commander, I would eagerly listen to any advice you have to offer."

 

[Darth Insatious]

Tag: Del | Location: Insatious' Flagship

The Commander didn't take the offer, as he technically was below her in rank and by accepting the offer, break the chain of command. While Commander Morr wasn't hell-bent on going by the book every single moment of his being, he still respected it and followed the chain of command. Given small nods of understanding as Del explained and reported on her progress, Morr continued to write down any information she gave him and by the time they were finished, Morr had filled out a lengthy highly detailed report to present Lord Insatious.

Lowering his arms, Morr went over to one of the armoured windows, looking through the tilted shades. "I'm afraid I won't be much help to you, my Lady. Gamorrean war culture isn't exactly within my acquired knowledge other than surface-level" admitted the Commander glancing over his shoulder, but turning around.

"Nevertheless, from my brief research on them doing my Academy time, I can with certainty say that it's a matriarchy culture. The warlords marry their way to the time, from my understanding at least. They apparently respect those who used swears in their native language, though I only heard it from a third party so could very well be hearsay" explained Commander Morr, walking away from the window and back to where Delphine was.

With a short soft laugh, "I'm not sure how much help I would be to you, knowing how far you've gotten in your process" admitted Morr, feeling his limited knowledge wasn't even close to what his Lord's granddaughter had managed to learn.

Before they could catch up on each other's lives, the very air itself was split in two by a green mist. Larger and larger the opening got until it was big enough to walk through. Immediately Delphine felt a crushing sensation in the force, like getting hit by a truck. The unnatural cold, the hunger, the empty void of bleakness washed over the girl as her grandfather phased through the thinly black wail separating her chamber to wherever her grandfather came from.

The moment Insatious stepped through, the portal imploded behind him. When the portal disappeared, so did all the negative emotions that had just filled the entire chamber. Standing finally in the room, the Sith Lord wore his ever-weathered a dusty vagabond-like robe, though with his hood down, showing his greying features.

Despite having served his Lord for many years, that portal trick never sat right with the Officer as he took a deep breath before addressing his Lord. "Welcome my Lord" welcomed Commander Morr with a salute, followed by presenting the holopad.

"Progress?" Asked the Sith with a hidden undertone of a predatory aura.

"My Lady has proceeded quite far and used her time wisely" explained the Commander praising the girl highly and then stood aside.

"Leave us" ordered Lord Insatious without even looking at Morr, keeping his greyish eyes locked on Delphine.

"Yes, my Lord," said Morr and left the chamber.

Looking at the datapad and then back at Delphine. "Have you failed your task I gave you girl?" Asked Insatious out of the blue, reading the girl's reaction and body language of her answer. He was curious, 'cause he could feel the unnerving emotions coursing through her entire body.

 

[Del]

Satori​

Location: Insatious' Flagship
Notable Equipment: N/A
Tags: Darth Insatious

---​

Delphine remained by her desk as he spoke. She was observing him and the way he thought. What was of particular interest was his focus on the fact that their society was matriarchal in nature. The young athlete had gathered as much but still selected to focus on currying favour with the Warlords. They had less direct power over their clans, that was true. But then, they tended to more single-mindedly focused on combat and warfare - it made them easier targets for her to influence and win over and they would also be more useful as part of her grandfather's powerbase. She wondered if Morr was only just sharing what he knew of their culture or if he was actually trying to say something. She had spent quite a bit of time on Gamorr and would continue to spend time there moving forward - it was something which she would have to consider further moving forward. While she had taken the more direct and violent path as many great Sith lords had done in times past, a more careful and elaborate path might ultimately be better. She bowed "Thank you for your advice, Commander Morr."

Suddenly, it felt as if she a thousand meters underwater - the pressure was immense as the force seemed to want to squash her where she stood. Delphine buckled over and quickly ended up on the floor as her grandfather entered. And then, it disappeared - both the portal and the pain. Training had ensured that pain was neither unfamiliar nor impossible to recover from. Delphine quickly transformed her position into a deep bow before letting her seemingly unaffected voice greet him "Greetings, my lord."

Soon, Morr was dismissed. She had trouble telling when the Commander would be kept in the room and when he would be asked to leave. It didn't matter much now - what mattered was what Insatious wanted. His question was a simple one. It could be complicated in a thousand different ways but she knew better than to try to presume to know what the Darth was thinking. It was always better to answer him honestly than to be found in a lie or trying to deceive him. "No, my lord" she spoke respectfully. Even if the operations weren't proceeding as planned - which they were - it had still not been a failure. For slowly but surely, she had been working to win Gamorreans over to his cause. After answering, she would clasp her hands by her front and look to him, ready to answer his next question or to follow his next instruction.

 

[Darth Insatious]

Tag: Del | Location: Gamorr

Looking down at his granddaughter with inquisitive dull blue eyes, the old Sith Lord was quiet... was he thinking? It was hard to guess, even when Delphine stood so close to Lord Insatious. Then he broke the silence and turned around. "Very well. I want weekly reports for the next month apprentice" stated Insatious as he walked towards the door, leaving his granddaughter alone again. After a bit, if Delphine hadn't left the room, would hear the transport ship take off.

While Insatious left the compound Delphine had made her temporary home and base of operation, Commander Morr was tasked to oversee the training and report Del's progress, a task the Commander funnily enough didn't have too much a problem with. As ordered, Commander Morr kept Del quite busy with a new training program Insatious had instructed Del to be training with.

Unlike before Insatious had arrived, she could more or less decide when she wanted to do stuff, but she would soon find herself in a gruelling and exhausting training regimen. The training area was of a circular shape with a stone ceiling held up by five pillars hugging the edge of the arena. The ground was covered in white soft sand with a door at each end of the area to get in and out of. To the side, was a balcony raised twenty or so meters above the arena ground and served mostly for training instructors.

Most of the days, Commander Morr used it to get a better overview of Delphine and her training as he reported each training session and her progress. A couple of times he did get down into the arena, examining Delphine's progress at a more close-quarter distance. Insatious had actually provided Delphine with mercenary warriors to train with. The mercenaries were different each time and many of them didn't hold back, which probably were orders given by her grandfather to the warriors he hired.
All of them were experts in some form of melee combat style, showcasing various stun weapons or just straight-out blunt weaponry that could crack armour.

While some favoured fast and nimble attacks, some went for the heavier and power strikes and then there were the guys which took a middle ground. Some were easy for Delphine to beat, while others proved to be a challenge and then there were the ones who not only outsmarted but outpowered the girl in strength and speed.

Del did have one thing over all the mercenaries, the Force, but even with the Face, she sometimes faced warriors who were trained in dealing with Force-Sensitive fighters.

One day as Delphine found herself in a training session with four mercenaries surrounding her, they all were equipped with an Electrostaff, giving nasty electrocution if hit by the ends. The voice of Commander Morr's voice, got louder and louder as he was explaining to Insatious, the girl's progress and the goals she had managed to overcome so far as both men stopped by the edge of the balcony.

The mercenaries have been in a combat-ready position but stopped for a brief second when Insatious and Morr appeared on the balcony. Looking up at Morr, the Commander nodded and the mercenaries continued fighting Delphine. These particular mercenaries were much tougher than all the rest the girl had faced. Not only were they a group, but today's lesson was for Delphine to not attack, but defend herself from all angles. Some of the mercenaries had even managed to get a few good hits in from different sides, beating her into the ground, only to wait for her to get up in order to continue.

 

[Del]

Satori​

Location: Insatious' Flagship
Notable Equipment: N/A
Tags: Darth Insatious

---​

Whether it was intentional or not was unclear. What was clear was that Insatious' plans for her had her go through an intense period. Not only did he increase her work load by having her do regular reports to him - he also filled her schedule with training sessions. That alone would have been enough to overwork her, but the fact that her opponents were experts allowed to use shock and heavy blunt weapons also cluttered her weeks with unexpected periods of downtime. Injuries could be minimised by fighting carefully - but never completely avoided.

Still, the intensity was not something which she disliked. It was grueling and hard, but Delphine felt like she developed in different ways than she did before. It pushed her to work efficiently when managing the Gamorr affairs and it allowed her to familiarise herself with fighting a broader range of styles than she had during her time at his ship. The clones helped her understand how to fight some force users and this was teaching her how to better fight non-force using combatants.

While Morr's presence was appreciated, she no longer felt like she had to rely on him for protection like she had against the clones. At times, she lost sparring matches, but she was always confident that she would survive. Unlike the clones, these mercenaries were not determined to destroy her.

The great variance in opponents allowed the young athlete to better understand her own fighting style too. Her own style seemed to be closer aligned to the quick and nimble ones - but then, it was rare to see her do somersaults and dominate the aerial space. It taught her a valuable lesson in maintaining distance - for on many occasions, she was both outnumbered and outmatched in melee. It meant that the obvious path to success was through good footwork, keeping her distance, and witling them down with ranged attacks. 'Fighting dirty' was not really something she ever had any qualms with - for her, it had always been about survival. Thus, she was not afraid to telekinetically throw sand in someone's eyes, target weak parts or steal weapons.

Then the day came. When Delphine saw her grandfather appear on the balcony with Morr, she swallowed hard. Seeing him made her afraid. She feared that she would fail and the consequences of his disapproval. Where she was usually calm and collected, Morr would be able to see a clear shift in her demeanour. Insatious' mere presence was enough to immediately set her on an anxious high alert.

A subtle but definite shift could be seen in her facial expression as she recomposed herself. While she had no hopes nor desires of hiding the fear she felt from her grandfather, she would put on a brave face for her opponents and for Commander Morr. After taking a deep breath and steeling herself, she turned towards the podium and offered Insatious a deep bow before turning back to her opponents.

Defending herself against them would truly put her to the test. At first, she had resorted to her usual strategy. She would focus on the footwork to test them out. Instead of holding her staff like a dual-bladed sabre, she would instead hold it like a spear. It allowed her to stay back, observe them and punish them where they over-extended. It was a strategy that was safe but, it did not seem to work. Their leader was a brute of a man. He swung hard and could take a hit better than most. Staying on the front, he kept forcing her to focus on him which allowed for his fellow mercenaries to close the distance and attack her. After weaving through a number of strikes, Delphine was forced to raise her weapon to block an attack from one of the nimbler opponents. Momentarily, it locked her in place for long enough to get hit by a brutal attack from the leader.

Just as expected, she could feel her breath taken from her as the stick struck her core. The attack brought her off of her feet for a few brief moments before the stick was retracted for a follow-up attack. Before the leader had the time to strike her again, a third opponent came crashing down at her. He put his entire weight behind the tackle that easily brought her to the ground. It concluded the round - she had been defeated.

The end of one round did not mean that the training session was over. On the contrary, it fuelled her desire to continue. Especially now that she had Insatious watching. She knew that she had to prove herself and so, she quickly got back up on her feet. The tension would steadily rise as the mercenaries and Delphine prepared for battle. The leader stood face to face with her while the others stood back. They would pounce at her once the fight had begun. When the signal came, the leader swung at her.

Instead of evading or parrying the attack, Delphine allowed the fear that had been building up to manifest itself when she reached out through the force. Overpowering whatever force defence the man had, she stayed his attack before using the force to telekinetically destroy his weapon as well as lift him and his fellow mercenaries in the air.

 

[Darth Insatious]

Tag: Del | Location: Gamorr

"-and that is why I believe she wou..." Morr stopped mid-sentence as both he and Lord Insatious saw Delphine completely halt the momentum of the mercenary leader's attack with the Force. Insatious, however, felt it, a tidal wave of unimaginable release of her emotions. The sound of splintering wood all the wave up the staff, the shattering of armour as every single mercenary had frozen being lifted into the air.

The Commander looked on in awe and curiosity as the cracked pieces from the staff the leader held, began to drift in slow-motion up along the men. "Fascinating" whispered Morr, watching the display of command over her fear. Insatious was quiet, narrowing his eyes upon seeing the display.

The Commander leaned back from the railing he had leaned up to get a better view when Insatious walked out of the shadows and into the light of the Arena on the balcony.

Delphine suddenly heard cacophonous whisperings in her mind, all in different pitches.

"Kiiiiill theeeem"

"Brrreaak their bones"

The word kept repeating themselves in an almost intangible pace of madness until a single sentence and voice filled Delphine's mind.

"Have you failed your task I gave you girl?" Repeated the voice the question Insatious had asked Delphine when he arrived.

 

[Del]

Satori​

Location: Insatious' Flagship
Notable Equipment: N/A
Tags: Darth Insatious

---​

It felt as if time slowed. Yet everything was happening way too fast for her to truly reflect and react on it properly. Where she would normally be able to hear Morr's musings, they had now become mere background noise. What was not background noise, however, was the nearing presence of her grandfather. From him, she would pick up the most subtle shifts in almost all situations. In a way, she was likely one of the few living force users who knew him the best. At the same time, his influence over her was just as strong.

Normally, Delphine would not kill as a first resort. The power that stemmed from ruling over life and death usually had far greater potential when the subject was still alive. When the whispers began and Insatious' presence grew stronger, however, an eerie feeling started to take root. Strangely, the girl felt compelled to obey the instructions that where conveyed to her through the whispers. It felt as if her thoughts were no longer her own.

Delphine's fist grew tighter, increasing the pressure she applied through the force. It caused the mercenaries' armour to buckle from all directions. Slowly being squeezed underneath, pained grunts soon turned into desperate pleas for mercy. But to Delphine, their words simply faded - all drowned out by the powerful presence of her Master and the whispers that he conveyed onto her mind. In a way, she questioned whether she was truly the one controlling her actions at all.

Then, his own words echoed through her mind. Her fist immediately snapped even closer into a tight ball, causing the armour to quickly squash the persons underneath. The desperate pleas immediately ended as an orchestra of terrified screams quickly bellowed out over the arena. Then, it fell silent just as fast. Once she could no longer feel their life signatures, the girl immediately turned towards her grandfather and fell down onto both kneed. Her eyes faced the grounds as she let out a fearful "No, Master". Meanwhile, she had still not let go of the mercenaries' who's corpses still floated mid-air as the armour continued to buckle and twist under the tremendous pressure that she produced.

 

[Darth Insatious]

Tag: Del | Location: Gamorr

Standing on the balcony the Sith Lord silently watched as the wind flowed through the arena. The commander was quiet, knowing full well that he was not to speak at this very moment. Then Insatious went over to the edge of the balcony and waved a hand by a control panel revealing part of the half-wall to slide to the side followed by a small flight of stairs descending.

Placing his hands behind his back, Insatious descended the stairs before Delphine found her grandfather in front of her. Shrouding the upper half of his face in shadows a crack of a smirk formed on his lips. He was completely ignoring the bodies around them along with the mercenaries' corpses who still floated mid-air. There was a sense of thrill radiating from the ancient Sith as his dull blue eyes almost gave Delphine an examining look.

"Kneel," he said simply, giving no further explanation other than expecting Delphine to follow his order.

When she had managed to snap out of her adrenaline-induced state and dropped the corpses around them and kneeled before her grandfather, Insatious looked down at her. With a slow movement, Insatious moved his hand into the weathered grey robes he always wore and pulled out one of his lightsabers. It had a matted but weathered look to the hilt clad in black with quite a harsh design to it.

As he held the hilt in front of his chest, Delphine could hear the loud ignition of the blade activated. A vibrating 'hum' radiated around them as a dancing crimson light cast red hud on and around them.

Insatious then started to speak in Sith, a language the girl could thank her rigorous teachings for back when her grandfather had decided to teach her the language.

<"Peace is a lie, there is only passion.
Through passion, I gain strength.
Through strength, I gain power.
Through power, I gain victory.
Through victory, my chains are broken.
The Force shall free me.">

It was a Code and philosophy of the ancient Sith, spanning thousands of years back and it had survived to this time as well.

"When first I found you, you were nothing more than a chained pawn of your old life," said Insatious simply in a matter-of-factly statement.

Lowing the humming blade to Delphine's left shoulder, "through power, you have gained victory" he continued and rose the blade over her head and down to her right shoulder, holding the blade there. "and in chains, you are no more."

He lowed his blade to his side again, "raise lady Dulcis" announced the Lord of Hunger to her, granting Delphine her Sith name to which she would onwards be known to the world as.

 

[Del]

Satori​

Location: Insatious' Flagship
Notable Equipment: N/A
Tags: Darth Insatious

---​

The elderly Sith didn't look down at her. Instead, he hovered over his granddaughter imperiously. Delphine could feel how her heart was still beating at a break-neck pace, how her breath was still heavy from the training, pain was pounding at multiple spots from hits she had taken - and importantly, her still very active channel to the force. Almost gracefully, what remained of the mercenaries were lowered to the ground. Only then did the Sith Lord's eyes fall onto her.

Delphine's eyes were firmly fixed on the ground in front of his feet as he unsheathed the rugged lightsabre. It was yet to be ignited and she could only see it peripherally. Had their bond not been as strong as it was, it would have been a terrifying experience. In a sense, it still was. Not because of the deadly weapon but rather because of Insatious' deadly and unpredictable nature in general. Whether he chose to drain somebody's life through the force or stab them made very little difference to the victim. Or, at least so she thought. Regardless, the persistent terrifying aura that he carried made her slightly less receptive to the fear that ensued as the blade erupted.

As the ancient code was recited, the young athlete's lips followed along. It had, naturally, been something she encountered during her studies of the literature that he had picked out for her. While complete understanding was still far away - as it was for most Sith - it was a code and philosophy which was close to heart. Delphine listened to the elder in silence, just as was expected. Goosebumps spread over her arms as the crimson blade neared her shoulder and he started to connect her current path to the later stages of the code. The expectations of what was to come started to bloom in her mind - he was either going to kill her, or elevate her.

A fleeting and suppressed smile flashed by on her lips as she was ordered to rise. Now as Lady Dulcis. Still, this was not a promotion at a fast food restaurant. This came with responsibilities and expectations which she had not had to handle yet. Still, if Insatious believed in her, there was truly no reason to doubt herself. Delphine rose to her feet and stood up straight.

What would her first action, as a Lady of the Sith, be? To her, the answer was obvious. Offering a deep curtsy, Delphine spoke "Thank you, my lord. I shall endeavour to serve you well."