Faction Shatterpoint Tython: House Io

[Laertia Io]

Wearing: Patient scrubs

Armed With: Nothing

With:

The Battalion

Arianna Belasko

Aboard the Leviathan of Danuta

Laertia had slipped in and out of consciousness since Tython, her mind disjointed. So many dead children and Citizens. The feeling of wanting to drop in despair...

They told her Tython still lived...The Avatar had been prevented from firing.

It was a momentous defeat for The Maw. Solipsis Dead, The Fatalis destroyed, so many Maw champions dead. The Avatar stopped from firing. They would lick their wounds from this.

But so would House Io...

Battle Group A had suffered the most. They had lost nearly all their Battle Cruisers and Star Destroyers. But The Fatalis and it's escort had been destroyed. Battle Group B had lost three Cruisers and two Star Destroyers. The Leviathan of Danuta was heavily damaged, having lost most of its main weapons and limping across the outer rim with it's wounded fleet, near it's old stomping ground of Kerest.

Repairs were being undertaken but slowly. So far, only two Frigates from Battle Group A had managed to reach them, both heavily damaged. The surviving crew was being evacuated and the decision had been made to salvage whatever they could from Battle Group A and then scuttle the rest.

Xiphos had sustained massive internal injuries.

During a moment of lucidity, she noticed Maple Harte enter the room.

"Tython still stands."

"Yeah. Hooray for you." Maple glowered. "We lost thousands."

"I know. But the Maw suffered an otherwise near total defeat." Xiphos replied.

Maple got closer to her medical bed. She leaned forward.

"So because the Maw suffered a loss, that makes the Loss we suffered worth it?" Maple asked.

"Tython was a disaster for them. We certainly prevented Csilla's fate." Xiphos asserted

"Wake up, Laertia!" Maple snapped. "Losses like this cost us deeply! One more like it at this juncture and we shall be undone."

"We can't scale back right now. This is the time to make more moves, not less."

"We need to lick our wounds..." Maple hissed. "We need to spend the next six months, maybe the next year rebuilding.

"And we will do that via expansion..." Xiphos assured. "I have already chosen a target. We'll have an influx of potential recruits."

"More meat for your grinder!" Maple snapped, before angrily exiting the room...

Later on...

"We lost over thirty billion in identifiable assets." Arianna Belasko said as She rattled off all the financial losses they had taken. "Organic survivors came back heavily injured..."

"Effective immediately..." Xiphos hissed, her Consort by her side. "All Citizens who survived the operation are to be raised to Tier 2 Status..."

"That's not all...me, Draco Miles , and Percival Io encountered a you from an alternate reality. And The Brain Demon opened up portals, dragged the Avatar assault teams in and Forced them into strange bargains." Arianna explained. "As far as I can tell, she came through the reality tears. Alessandra Io made and lost a daughter in the span of a few hours."

Xiphos went wide eyed. The Battalion was non plussed.

"Are Percival and Alessandra in any state of mind to talk about it? Are you?" Xiphos asked.

Arianna shook her head. "No. Not me, anyway. We can try them if you like."

Xiphos nodded. "Yes. Someone find them. Gods...what the hell happened down there?"

"They're probably traumatized..." The Battalion mused.

"Then the sooner I can confirm it, the sooner I can help them..." Xiphos replied.

Akemi Io

 

[Percival Io]

Location: Aboard the Leviathan of Danuta
Tags: Laertia Io Alessandra Io Draco Miles Akemi Io

Percival, still covered in the filth of battle, stared out a viewport window into empty space. For once, his expression was not a stoic, unreadable mask. With eyes wide and lips parted, his gaze stretched for a million miles, as if he expected to see something out there in the star-studded blackness.

The Avatar of War had been destroyed. He knew from checking the logs that Rebecca Hahn had been aboard the vessel as part of the assault team. Other Neutralizers and Citizens had already given him their condolences, calling her a brave soldier who had given her life to the cause of House Io. In their minds, there was no chance she could’ve survived the explosion. Had it been anyone else, Percival would’ve presumed her dead too—but because it was Rebecca, he didn’t want to believe it was true. He wouldn’t believe it until they found her remains floating among the wreckage.

He couldn’t.

Not even the announcement that Darth Solipsis was dead and Tython had been saved could cheer him up. But the rumors floating around that some of the Avatar assault team had made it back via magical portals did give him hope. These rumors were murky and filled with misinformation—some claimed the Cult had something to do with it, while others pointed to the Serpents of Ashla, or said the survivors had simply taken advantage of the tears in reality created by Darth Solipsis.

A summons from Mother roused him from his stupor. He began to walk toward the medbay where Xiphos was recovering, his movements mechanical and thoughtless. Any Medical Neutralizer would be able to tell just by looking at him that he was exhibiting symptoms of PTSD.

Upon reaching the door to Xiphos’ private room, he realized he was still clutching the lightsaber he had taken from the Parliament upon her death. The hilt was caked with mud and dried blood. As the door slid open to admit him into his creator’s presence, he clipped the weapon to his belt and stepped inside.

Xiphos was badly injured. She had been in and out of consciousness for the past several hours, pumped full of painkillers and submerged in bacta tanks. He approached where she lay, only to suddenly drop to his knees. The sight of her like this brought back memories of the Parliament’s death. Struggling to his feet again, he avoided looking at her battered, broken body.

“Mother,” he began, his voice barely above a whisper. “We are victorious. But it will take time to recover from our losses.” Slowly but surely, he began to recover his usual poise, though he still wouldn’t look at Xiphos. “Why have you summoned me?”

 

[Laertia Io]

"Son..." Xiphos said weakly...

Seeing him like this hurt.

She had been where he had been. That same expression, the same Zombie-Like gait to her walk.

"I heard about what happened on the ground at Tython, Percival..." She said slowly.

"There's not a lot I can say. There's not a lot anyone can say..." She added. "You've experienced something terrible, and it's a place in my own head that I have been to many, many times. I want to help you, and I want to listen to your experience, Percy, if you're ready to talk about it. But if you are not ready, I will understand."

Xiphos looked into his eyes.

"But whatever else...I'm very proud of how you conducted yourself through it all. I'm not sure if that means much coming from me right now, but I mean every word of it.

Xiphos struggled from her bed.

The Battalion put a hand on her shoulder.

"You need to stay in bed."

"I need to be next to my son..." Xiphos replied, calling on the Force to sustain herself as she got out of bed. She walked very slowly and stiffly to Percival.

When she reached him, she embraced him.

"I love you, Percy. Please, let me help you...please..."


Percival Io

Alessandra Io

Draco Miles

Akemi Io

 

[Draco Miles]

Draco was now aboard the Leviathan of Danuta, needing a place for her ship to dock and refuel. Sitting in the cargo bay of her cruiser, she relaxed and recalled what had happened in that dimension, anger swelling in her at the convoluted task she was given and how she knew the brain demon was taking advantage of her comrades. It ticked her off to no avail… to the point of contemplating a blasphemous and heretical act. Could it even be done in the first place? Probably not! And trying would certainly hurt.

She received a summons from Arianna Belasko to give her report and groaned, reports were not a fun thing for her to give, despite her understanding it’s importance. She’d do it, but not exactly willingly. Traversing through those halls of the ship, she did not receive a heroes welcome, as who could have known of her participation in the destruction of the Avatar of War? She dropped a bomb, pulled a team to safety, then left. She wasn’t even supposed to be AT the avatar of war! So at least life felt relatively normal. She stepped to where the countess was and bowed

“You summoned me, master? How may I be of assistance?”

Tags! Percival Io The Amalgam Alessandra Io

 

[Esmeralda Io]

Attire: White Bodysuit Uniform - Siren Corps Symbol on Chest
Equipment: SE-14r Light Repeating Blaster │ Sentinel Blades - Duelist Style (2)
Tags: Draco Miles Percival Io Akemi Io

No price was too heavy.

Their mission had been a resounding success and for the first time in her short life, Esmeralda was a heroine, credited with destroying the Avatar of War, along with Rebecca Hahn. She should have been over the moon at the achievement and indeed, a part of her was happy, but there was also a lingering dread in her heart that was accompanied by a sense of unworthiness and regret. Dread, for the bargain and the price she would need to satisfy in order to resolve the debt on her soul. On the surface, her obligation seemed easy, or at the very least, not terrible, like Rebecca’s was. However, the Echani had suddenly found herself fearing it, wondering if there would be a catch and if so, how much of a toll it might extract from her. That lingering dread only fed into the emotions of unworthiness and regret, for refusing to die on the Avatar and in the process, subjecting her sister to a price that would cost her soul…

To become a Witch of the Brain Demon Cult.

Inorganic and organic Nuetralizers, citizen-soldiers, Sirens, Black Knights, and even a few Witches and Light Sith applauded the Siren as she moved through the halls. For their sake, Esmeralda put on a friendly face, but her guilt wouldn’t allow her to revel in her newfound glory. She turned away any selfies or autograph requests, instead offering smiles and nods in return, before continuing on to answer the summons of the Matriarch.

Releasing a deep breath, Esmeralda stepped inside the Matriarch’s private room a moment after she was granted entry, taking in the scene as her Mother embraced Percival Io , before shifting her gaze to the imposing Draco Miles , who seemed to have arrived a few moments before her.

“Siren Trooper Esmeralda Io, reporting.” The Siren delivered, falling into discipline and ritual as she arrived. Then, after being acknowledged, she continued on.

“I have news of…the assault teams, Matriarch.” Esmeralda began. “We’ve returned from the…dimension, but we were forced into…bargains. They were…varied and sometimes…odd terms, but there is one I need to report in particular.” The Siren paused, briefly considering her next words as she released a suspended breath, agitating the bandaged burns that she had suffered on her chest and left leg in the process.

“Citizen Rebecca Hahn was forced into a bargain to…to become a Witch. A Witch of the Brain Demon Cult.”

 

[Akemi Io]

Communication "verbal" <<technopathy>>

Objective: try to justify the loss of life
Tag: Laertia Io Draco Miles Percival Io Esmeralda Io

Loadout:
Loralora interceptor swoop
Gei Borugu Electro Spear
Light Saber (peony colour blade)
Laser Lance

The young fixer couldnt understand the fault she had developed as she sat in her quarters with her knees tucked into her chest and lubricant poured down her face and soaked her armoured clothing. This feeling was appalling, the emptiness, the network was empty, all the voices that had been silenced, deafened her in her dreams. She had sought out familiar users as she typically did whilst she was patrolling making repairs and they just weren't there. The B2 that she knew liked to gamble money of farthiers wasn't on the constanician ports, no droidekkas were watching the twilek amputee poledancer on the tatooine ports, everything that made her world special was in turmoil, she was a machine, this wasn't supposed to happen. The algorithms that were firing now and had left her sat in this darkened room for nearly four days were locked off to her, deep in her secure personality files that only their mother could adjust. She had desperately tried to find a way in, even trying to leverage her new UNITY consciousness to do it, but she had failed. And today she had to see mother as a broken droid.

She stood up, wiped herself down and waited a few moments looking at herself in the mirror opposite until she had perfected the veneer she wished to keep up. This was temporary, she would be fixed and move on, she had to, she had an important role in her family.

It didn't take her long to enter the room where the other members were, her favourite sister, Alessandra Io didn't appear to be present, she could do with her company about now, but at least Akemi knew that she was amongst the survivors.

She approached her mother Laertia Io she connected telepathically to her first <it is lovely to see you mother, i have carried out the task assigned and have the data, but i would like to request a diagnositic of my secure personality algorithms as i am developing an unpleasant droid quirk which is hampering my efficiency.> The plaintiff look in the daughter's eyes was evident that she meant the heartbreak she felt in the midst of all the loss.

She then spoke aloud as the rest of the group may find the information useful too. "Io network activity since Tython has dropped by 68%. By monitoring security certificate registrations I have the complete list of non-organic casualties with a 98.6% confidence rate, cross checked against known offline units. Organic casualty figures, based on data usage and login protocols I currently have at 76.9% confidence, I estimate I will have about 95% confidence in the full list in approximately 16 hours." Organics were harder to monitor, due to their more erratic life patterns, but they too were machines by another name, and their data use habits built up very obvious patterns. The numbers of casualties were staggering.

In the eyes of Akemi, Tython was a pointless waste, defending a tactically insignificant planet from a foreign land, she liked to run simulations for fun, and even if the Galactic Alliance decided to extend a hand in Alliance to House Io as their thanks for the territorial assistance, there was little tangible benefit from this action.

 

[Arianna Belasko]

Arianna, who had been on pins and needles of her own, felt nothing but relief as Draco Miles showed up in Arianna's partially ruined study aboard the Leviathan of Danuta, which was barely recovering from the severe damage it had sustained.

Relief washed over Arianna at seeing her apprentice again. Everyone had lost so much in this battle, that seeing Draco alive again made Arianna forget all her current worries, like trying to balance all the heavy financial losses they had sustained. They had been pushed past the absolute limits of their military capability and they were suffering for it.

They had won. The Avatar was destroyed. It was one of the single largest gambles the House had ever made. On paper it was one of Xiphos's greatest victories. Maybe the greatest...

But in practice they had lost an entire Battle Group. Thousands dead for the Avatar to be destroyed, and Tython saved.

It was a Victory AND a Defeat.

Arianna immediately went over to Draco and hugged the furry blue Drake.

"I'm very glad you are alive...now...what price did The Brain Demon ask of you?" Arianna asked worriedly.

 

[Maple Harte]

Maple Harte nursed a shot of Corellian Whiskey in one of the Leviathan's intact mess Areas. So many others were here for a drink. Even some of the Organic Nuetralizers, despite not being able to get sloshed, were here to drink and commiserate.

They had left her the bottle. And she was greatful beyond words that she wasn't a Force Spawn. She could still get drunk.

People and Nuetralizers left the crazy, schizophrenic Assassin alone for the most part. All except one person...

Maple scowled as Darth Themis pulled up a seat.

"Guess even you gotta chase your problems away now and then?" Maple asked.

"You could say that..." The dark skinned, red headed Force Spawn muttered.

"Chase them away somewhere else..." Maple grunted. "I wanna be alone..."

"You won't feel that way after a few minutes..." Themis replied, pouring herself a bottle of Juma...

"Your vision tells you this?"

"Now that Tython is cleared up, yes..."

"Did you know?"

"Know what?" Themis asked, taking a sip from her glass.

"That we would win?" Maple asked...

"I didn't start to feel that until Solipsis died..."

"Might have boosted our morale."

"If I'd told you..." Themis trailed, taking another sip. "It would not have happened." (I've come to bargain: 1000 XP)

"So..." Maple trailed before downing her shot. "What next?"

"Xiphos has a plan to distract the Jedi with an attack..."

Maple perked up. "An attack?"

"She will attack the Silver Rest on Kashyyyk with explosives."

Maple was horrified.

"And you're in approval of this? This madness?"

Themis glowered.

"No..." she confessed.

"Then help me stop it."

"If I prevent it, it causes a schism in the House with me and her later down the road."

"Always the excuses..."

"When it's not the right time to act it's not the right time to act." Themis emphasized. "Xiphos turning away from the cult has to be her own choice. If you force the issue, she'll double down. She has to make the decision on her own, just like she has to choose to stop attacking the Jedi on her own."

"And how many more is she gonna take down with her before either of those things occur? Our Forces are not limitless. Admit it Themis..." Maple snorted, pouring and downing another shot. "Part of you wants payback for the first time the Jedi stopped you..."

Themis was quiet for a few moments.

"No one is perfect."

"There it is..." Maple mocked. "There. It. Is. You know you would struggle if you tried it on your own. Laertia has a naked aggression you lack. She's a Crusader. You don't have the patience to build up from the shadows again. So you prefer this tug of war over her soul to buy breathing room. Well what if you already lost the tug?" she asked quietly.

"That's why I want you as a back up plan. While Laertia lures the Jedi away from Kashyyyk, you will journey with me to an isolated system close by. It contains vital information leading to another lost planet it is the House's destiny to reclaim, as was Khemost..." Themis answered back in a whisper.

Maple raised an eyebrow.

"Tell me of the Planet."

"It is a world called Ankhanos..."

 

[Percival Io]

Mother’s voice was full of love and understanding. She embraced him, offering her help—no, pleading with him to accept her help. How could he refuse? He hugged her back, giving her his strength as he helped to support her.

Enveloped by maternal affection, he hardly noticed the arrival of Akemi, who rattled off casualty statistics, and Esmeralda. Even if he had, he wouldn’t have known the significance of the latter until she opened her mouth. But this little Siren didn’t sing.

As Esmeralda delivered her news, Percival gradually stiffened in his Mother’s arms. He raised his head from where it had lain upon her shoulder, then began to turn, facing the Siren. Inhuman green eyes stared as if he were vivisecting her, his programming searching for signs of treachery. He wanted to believe she was lying, or that this was all just a cruel joke. But he found no such signs. Every microexpression in her face and fluctuation in her voice was indicative of pure, complete honesty.

She was telling the truth.

“Why?” he asked, his voice hoarse with grief. Even as he posed the question, he doubted Esmeralda could provide a satisfactory answer. From what little he had gleaned about the nature of the Brain Demon, she had most likely done it on a sadistic whim.

Rebecca, Rebecca. His thoughts kept returning to her, the image of her face so perfectly captured in his machine memory, playing along with the Parliament’s words. "Life's too short, My Son! Finding someone, anyone, is better than being alone!"

“Where is she now?” Percival demanded, his voice tightening. Was she with Thel? Was he in danger?

During the battle, Rebecca had left her infant son in the care of a General Purpose Neutralizer named Chloe, who had in the past functioned as a babysitter for Thel and a few of the other children in their parish. In the blink of an eye, Percival found her through the neural network which connected all Neutralizers to one another and informed her of what had happened to Rebecca. Chloe didn’t hesitate to call for backup and move Thel to a more secure location.

Hardly a second passed in real-time before the interaction was complete. Percival turned back toward Xiphos. Above her stood the Battalion, and for a moment he glanced at the Consort with a kind of futile, impotent disgust. In that moment, blinded by his rage, he saw her only as yet another instrument of the entity which had twisted the woman he loved into something he hated.

He turned to Xiphos. What he wanted most right now was not something she could grant. Mother was powerful, but she couldn’t bring a Witch back the way she could repair a damaged Neutralizer. Rebecca was gone for good. Coolant leaked from Percival's eyes, following the same cleared path down his dirty cheeks as the tears he had shed for the Parliament mere hours earlier.

“Don’t let this go unpunished,” he begged her. “Don’t let it happen again.”

The Amalgam Esmeralda Io Akemi Io Draco Miles​

 

[The Amalgam]

The Amalgam rested alone in her corners, smiling as she felt Xiphos become stricken, as if stabbed in the heart by the news Esmeralda Io delivered, absolutely destroying the moment she had with Percival Io .

She yawned as she felt Xiphos's boiling rage at the news, rapidly teleporting through the ship (but not before swearing on her very life to Percival she would punish The Amalgam and get to the bottom of this). She crossed her legs as Xiphos punched in her door with a snarl, still in her medical scrubs.

"I take it you heard about Rebecca..."

The Amalgam giggled as she found herself in a Force Choke that rapidly pulled her throat into Xiphos's grip.

"FIEND!" Xiphos shrieked in hidious rage, genuinely red in the face from it.

"We had a deal! Go after only those who are not citizens! And you just pissed all over that! I should crush you here!" Xiphos snarled.

"Julia. I know you're pissed. It was not my fault. I had no say in who The Unholy Spirit selects for glory."

"You converted her personally!"

The Amalgam cackled as she was tossed to the ground.

"You ought to be thanking me and the Unholy Spirit, really, considering we're the only reason you get to enjoy your victory."

"You will undo what you did to Rebecca." Xiphos snapped.

"I can't. The change is permanent." The Amalgam explained in a calmer voice. "If it had been up to me, I wouldn't have done it. But one does not simply refuse one's Goddess."

She dusted herself off. "It's not like I didn't try to mitigate it. While the Goddess jawed with Esmeralda and Draco and Rebecca, I was the one who convinced the Demon to let Rebecca keep her love for her son."

"AS IF THAT MAKES IT BETTER!!!" Xiphos screamed. "You and your demon have damaged my RELATIONSHIP WITH MY SON!"

"Did you think your victory would be without cost?!" The Amalgam sneered. "You asked the Dark Side to work a miracle for you! A miracle! Tython's death was all but assured! Your enemies had cut off every way in and out, and the Brain Demon and the Cult provided. For the services The Unholy Spirit rendered to you, anyone else would have been forced to forfeit their very soul! They would have been forced to forfeit the souls of everyone close to them! Instead, The Unholy Spirit demanded the soul of the one person who was able to do what you, me, and Maple couldn't!. In exchange for bending reality in your favor. Julia...you silly girl... always thinking the price will never be too steep to pay...you got off easy..."

"You tell that monster..." Xiphos snapped. "That if she ever demands another of my Citizens souls again, then I don't care if I'm married or not, I will order the slaughter of your cult! And you, you are effective immediately, banished from Khemost and all House military vessels indefinitely until your fething memory gets jogged on how to help mitigate the damage to Rebecca! Now get off my ship!"

The Amalgam only grinned, but inside she was totally exasperated that Julia still couldn't accept the necessity.

"You may find yourself waiting...a while..." The Amalgam said coldly before departing...

Meanwhile...

The Battalion didn't know how to respond to genuine pain from a "family" member.

One moment, she had been coasting on the moment between a Mother and her son. The next, Xiphos had become totally horrified by the revelation.

She saw the pain and hatred in Percival's face. She had seen such emotions expressed towards her before but it had never meant anything to her until now.

She liked having kids.

She liked being married.

And for a while, it had gotten easier and easier to sink into that role.

But this moment just now brought it all crashing back, reminding her what she was, just as she had started to forget.

Her lips tried to move, but no words came out. And she realized no words would help. Nothing could help Percival. She couldn't help him.

Right now, her enjoyment of having a family warred with her views that becoming a Cultist was a joyous occasion. And no matter how she tried to justify it, seeing her step son's face in agony slapped it all down.

"I..." she struggled, her next words going against her very nature.

"I am sorry...so very sorry... Percival..." she said belatedly. She hadn't genuinely apologized to anyone in years, and felt terror at the idea she was feeling pity for his crushed heart, remorse that he looked at her now like he did every other Brain Demon Cultist, and Fear that he would never believe the words she had just uttered.

But she meant them. Meant them in a way that shocked even her...

 

[Esmeralda Io]

Attire: White Bodysuit Uniform - Siren Corps Symbol on Chest
Equipment: SE-14r Light Repeating Blaster │ Sentinel Blades - Duelist Style (2)
Tags: Draco Miles Percival Io Akemi Io

“Why?”

“Where is she now?” Percival demanded, his voice tightening. Was she with Thel? Was he in danger?

“I…I don’t know.” Emeraalda answered, suddenly feeling vulnerable as Percival’s lethal gaze bore into her soul. “For all intents and purposes, she might be dead.” She added, steeling herself for the Chaplain’s response. It was a grim conclusion, but not one that was without merit.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t do anything more, Brother Chaplain. I knew she had a child, so I tried to take her bargain, but the…Brain Demon wouldn’t accept.” A failed attempt to make right the cowardice the Siren believed she had shown on the Avatar of War.

If this was what it felt to be a heroine, Esmeralda was beginning to realize that she didn't want it. All of her life, she had aspired to become a warrior as feared and respected as the Matriarch. Now that she had but a small taste of what that was like, the Siren found it unpalatable.

With a regretful sigh, Esmeralda watched as the Battalion hugged Percival, who seemed to have taken the news the hardest. It seemed that Rebecca had held more connections with House Io than just her son.

 

[Draco Miles]

She is not furry! She may have hair on the top of her head but that’s about it! She tightly hugged Arianna Belasko back, loving the comforting embrace and smiling, it let her forget that Arianna may technically be a result of the brain demon as well… oh, how could she find her way to get what she wanted?! First, report.

“Err… some… convoluted fethed up thing, ‘when the time comes, abandon the light, embrace the dark.’ Kinda stupid if you ask me, like I’m supposed to be trusted with something like that… not a nice lady either, tried to bargain and take the punishments of others and she simply cast me aside. I-… mm. I couldn’t stop what happened to Rebecca, master, I apologize greatly… I… must ask of you, though, are you related to the brain demon? One of her… cultists…? Witch…? I forget what it was the Amalgam had referred to them as… I must know though, before I confide in you what I have on my mind.”

She first spoke confidently, telling the price with some confusion at hand and trying her best to say it verbatim. When it came to her failure to protect the extraction team though, it was mainly shame. Her voice going slightly deeper and her words slowing as she tried to think of the right words to say, ultimately only giving ‘I’m sorry’ and hoping that was a valid excuse.

Though at her final sentence, asking Arianna that vital question, she hugged her master tightly and whispered into her ear, whispered and pondered the countess’s relation to the brain demon. It would determine their future as master and padawan

 

[Arianna Belasko]

Arianna went slack at the price.

"Oh, the cunning monster! She hooked you good. That wording could mean anything!" Arianna said with a look of genuine fear on her face.

"These are among the most dangerous of deals to make. It could demand you pay the price at any time. And it always demands you pay it at the worst possible time."

Arianna paced a bit. She paused at Draco's next question.

Arianna's flesh bubbled and shuddered hidiously as Vivian seized control.

The elderly red headed Force Spawn with fair skin glanced at Draco Miles as the flesh on her face stabilized.

"And the credit drops. I'm not related to the Brain Demon, in answer to your question. I was created under a different system from a fragment of an incredibly deadly Force Spawn. The fragment was repurposed with Alkahest and bonded to a living crystal that resides in the center of my brain." Vivian said calmly, tapping her temple.

"I was created to imitate Brain Demon Cultists. The real Arianna Belasko was a Brain Demon Cultist. One of the worst."

Vivian sat on a luxury wooden chair.

"I have access to many abilities while imitating her that I cannot replicate myself. But no. I am not related. But I am no less deadly for it. And I would dearly hate to lose you as an apprentice, for I am quite attached to you. But if we must part, then let us not part as enemies."

 

[Draco Miles]

Draco lit up like a Christmas tree. It was what she hoped for and more! Her foolish plan may actually have some ground to stand on. She looked around then thought for a moment, before offering a hand, extending it out so she could lean close and speak into @Arianna Belasko’s ear

“I wish to eliminate the Brain demon. I have heard stories of a Jedi who killed a god, and I believe we can do the same… or at least fully contain it. The things I have heard, Vivian, what I saw in there. It is a demon leaching off of our torment and would see that we are completely wiped out once it is through with us. It would be the death of the House and all it stood for! We must stop it. Contain it. Eliminate it.”

She certainly sounded set on this, adamant on her newfound quest. She knew that it could easily gain traction too, but if voiced to the wrong person, it would spell doom. Doom for her especially, losing all this freedom she had acquired in such a short amount of time. It’s also why she fought so valiantly for it, and wouldn’t hesitate to sacrifice her life for it. She confided in her master and trusted her deeply, hopefully it was not misplaced.

Although such a plan seemed preposterous, to kill a god was something akin to Praetor Rykard feeding himself to the god-devouring serpent… it seemed futile, wasteful, and stupid. But… it had been done before, and their victory on Tython against Darth Solopsis when he was nigh close to godhood proved that they very well could defeat such a foe.

She pulled away from Vivian afterwards to see what expression this old woman had, and was thankful to know now that she shouldn’t trust Countess Belasko in this plan, but could count on Vivian wholeheartedly… oh… hmm… that does complicate things… would countess Belasko agree to this? Would Vivian actually?

 

[Percival Io]

With Xiphos having teleported away to deal with the Amalgam, the Battalion offered her hesitant condolences. Percival didn’t seem to hear her. In fact, he seemed unaware of anything that was happening around him, lost in his own world.

Using his sleeve to wipe away the tears and mud, he finally met the Battalion’s eyes again. Under different circumstances, he might have been surprised that she was able to make herself apologize. He might have considered it a good thing. But what good did her sorry mean to him now?

“Empty words,” he growled. “If you really cared, you’d do something about it.”

Just then, an announcement was issued across all Neutralizer channels. The Amalgam had been banished from House Io for an indefinite period of time. Percival raised his chin slightly. He was glad he wouldn’t have to deal with her trolling and rubbing salt in his wounds.

But Rebecca was still gone.

Esmeralda was unable to answer his questions about her whereabouts. For all intents and purposes, she may as well be dead. Percival knew it to be true intellectually, but on an emotional level, he still didn’t want to accept it.

“I’m going to find her,” he said, turning to leave the medbay, provided no one attempted to stop him—though anyone who tried would risk his wrath.

The Amalgam Esmeralda Io Akemi Io Draco Miles​

 

[The Amalgam]

Xiphos had been on her way to Akemi Io when she got a notification from the ship A.I. that The Amalgam had something important to tell her.

Xiphos snorted but stormed off to the hangar when she really should have been in bed and just shooing Amy out while she tried to think her way out of this.

She found The Amalgam standing on the ramp of her Phantom Class Yacht, her back to her.

Xiphos folded her arms.

"Memory jog yet?" She asked.

"Is that really all it would take to get back into your good graces?" The Amalgam asked quietly. "One more measly crumb, after the whole chunks of bread I have given you these past few days, this past decade?"

The Amalgam turned and what Xiphos saw was the single most shocking thing Xiphos had ever seen.

The Amalgam was crying.

"You show all this bluster, all this outrage, over one soul! One! As if you have not already thrown thousands of them to the void for your goal to help a Galaxy that neither wants or needs it!" The Amalgam barked, tears streaming down her face. "How many of your children did you toss into that grinder? Children you gave the ability to feel and suffer."

Xiphos was very silent.

"You wanna know why Rebecca?" The Amalgam sneered through her tears. "It is faith that calls to us, to our cult. Faith great enough to put it all on the line, when it seems completely pointless. Faith that if she could succeed, she could possibly make a better future for her child, and spare others the horrors she experienced. She knew the risk, and did it anyway, because of the faith your son helped instill in her."

Xiphos went even paler than normal.

"Faith you built him to instill. Faith he can't help but instill. You and he cultivated the faith in Rebecca that called to The Unholy Spirit. And my Goddess chose to reward that faith, and not just to her, but to thousands of your other followers..." The Amalgam snapped. "But Rebecca and Esmeralda Io and Draco Miles ? Their faith was pure. More pure than yours. She exalts the soul most filled with faith, and you scream at me like a petulant child to undo our one tax. We took one soul, when we could have demanded the souls of all survivors of your House. Will you show the same distress at the fate of all the others who will wake up knowing their new friend or lover died burning on one of your ships, a far more violent and cruel sacrifice than anything we did?" she wondered accusingly. Xiphos had a blank stare of realization, a violent jolt across her whole mind.

"Y'know...I bet you wondered. Why? Why, after your constant resistance to my prodding and preaching, do I just not pull out the stops and just violently absorb you and reforge you? Why? It's not like you could stop me. I have often wondered why I never did. One reason is because I love you and still do. The other? I could snap. Kill your friends. Torture you to madness. Forcibly convert you as your wife was..."

The Amalgam's face shuddered and bubbled into that of Darth Phyre.

"I could even keep pretending that I had not truly consumed Amy completely, as I have been for months. But now I know why I don't. Because none of it would help. I could chew your soul up and spit it out, but none of it, none of it, would cleanse you of your original and most fatal sin: your immense and overwhelming capacity for self deception about who you really are and why you really do what you do." Phyre hissed hatefully at a now stricken Xiphos.

"You act as if you do not yourself belong to the Brain Demon. You became hers, became mine, the moment you walked into our temple and asked for our help. You even took a wife from our ranks! And still you pretend as if your banishment of me means a thing." The Master Witch snarled, the air heating up around her dangerously.

"And now you scheme to become bigger, more murderous, more brutal towards the Jedi. All while still claiming to be the best option. Those jerks you despise? The ones who lose and gain whole sectors like loose change? You're going to have to become one of those jerks."

At this accusation, Xiphos had no reply, for she knew on a deep level it was the truth.

Phyre turned away and headed up the ramp.

"Some people..." she said slowly, "only ever learn the hard way. But your way will be the hardest of all. For the moment you have to be honest with yourself, you might not survive it. But whatever. Enjoy the victory I bought you."

Phyre headed up the ramp and the craft lifted off minutes later. Xiphos was left shaking in place...

Meanwhile....

"Those words...aren't empty..." The Battalion said to Percival Io . "I'm going with you to find her. I can't fix her, but I can...erode some of her...burden...if you'll let me..."

 

[Percival Io]

Though he could hear the Battalion behind him, Percival didn’t stop moving. He walked at a brisk pace down the halls of the Leviathan, forcing her to hurry if she wanted to keep up with him.

Yet as she made her offer, he was forced to remember that he and the Battalion were supposed to be part of a conspiracy—a conspiracy to dethrone the Amalgam, no less. Such a goal seemed petty and pointless now that their goddess had made it clear she was the true head of the Cult, but at least it put them on the same page. Except Percival was part of the body text while the Battalion was somewhere off in the margins.

“How?” he demanded. “How can you help her? The Amalgam absorbed her essence, chewed it up and spat it out. Isn’t that how it works?”

He was quite familiar with their tactics. After his trip to the ancient Archive of the Cult, his brother Galahad had returned with information on the Cult’s history and methods. While he hadn’t been there to witness Rebecca’s absorption, the fact that Percival had an idea of what had been done to his beloved only made it all the more tragic.

The Amalgam​

 

[The Battalion]

"It is." The Battalion confirmed as she followed Percival Io . "But there are slight workarounds, Percival. Normally, what I am contemplating would be considered an act of High Treason against the very beliefs of the Cult."

The Battalion rounded a corner to follow him.

"But rank has its privileges. And since I am a diplomat between your mother and the Cult, It'll be my judgement call to make. I can restore some of her memories, make whatever is left of her able to resurface better if you're around, but I cannot bring her back Completely. That is the absolute limit of what I am allowed to do for you."

The Battalion searched the Dark Side.

"She's on Khemost. Preaching in the capital." The Battalion explained. I'll take my own ship..."

She knew he didn't want to be near her right now. She sighed. One more Stepson that feared, and possibly hated her. She caught herself thinking of Galahad.

"The Brain Demon has never done anything like what she did at Tython before. I am as surprised as you are. To the Cult, it's a miracle..."

Esmeralda Io

Akemi Io

 

[Percival Io]

To his credit, Percival kept his mouth shut and listened to what the Battalion had to say. Her offer was tempting. More than tempting—it was the only real hope he had. The only other option he’d contemplated involved killing Rebecca so that she could at least find some peace.

But as it turns out, his love wasn’t quite selfless enough to allow her to die. The moment a new solution presented itself, even a lackluster one, he eagerly seized upon it, telling himself that they might be able to find a better option later on.

“If it will alleviate her suffering, do it,” Percival muttered.

Her use of the word miracle drew a stern frown from him. “What do you mean, a ‘it’s a miracle’? Saving Rebecca’s life, only to reap her soul in exchange? The Cult did the same thing to you, didn’t they? Rebecca had her own religion, a faith as strong as Elaine Tear’s devotion to the Ashla, and yet the Brain Demon was still able to twist it to her design. It’s not a miracle, it’s an abomination.”

Heading for the hangar bay, he called to her over his shoulder, “I will meet you on Khemost.” He was glad she would be taking her own ship, because the similarities he had drawn between her and Rebecca made him not even want to look at the Battalion.

The Amalgam Esmeralda Io Akemi Io Draco Miles​

 

[The Battalion]

The Battalion sighed.

The young preacher had much to learn. But she couldn't argue his point on Faith. Not because he was technically correct, but because arguing the matter further might make him realize it was not the faith of the Church of The Force that had damned Rebecca.

The Battalion honestly didn't want him to experience the level of suffering he would endure should that come to light. She felt... responsible for him.

But there was still one way she could enlighten him.

"Percival, you won't understand this, not for a while anyway, but as you get more of the Galaxy in you, you'll start to understand what the Cult realized years ago..." She explained carefully, trying to not anger him further and make him completely unwilling to listen. "The difference, the real difference, between an abomination and a miracle? There is nothing, absolutely nothing, more horrifying than a miracle."

(Cutaway of Wanda smashing the blocks together)

She said no more than that to him before he entered his ship and then she was in her own, a TIE Reaper called Ession's Shadow. It would be an unpleasant trip. The Battalion wasn't any more pleased about whatever scant understanding she had been building with her Step Son getting derailed, than he was about Rebecca's fate.

She wondered if it wasn't an indirect punishment from the Brain Demon--she had obligations she owed to the Cult to try and turn Julia fully, but she had put it off, indulged in toying with Julia's perspectives. Julia had made some progress with the darkness inside her but she was still so idealistic, and The Battalion found herself dreading the idea that part of her would go away if they turned her fully. House Io...The Battalion was becoming more enamored by it,by what it tried to stand for. And as the days she was to become a Force Spawn approached, Julia behaved more irrational at times.

The Battalion was forced to admit she was terrified of destroying what made Julia, well, Julia.

She was terrified of losing this strange thing that was House Io, of her place in it, even though The Brain Demon had given the House what was basically her blessing at Tython when she had intervened in a way the Gods of the Maw had not.

And still Julia didn't understand, still she was in denial. Darth Phyre had simply gotten exasperated, in spite of all Julia's progress, and there had been progress.

But she could feel Julia's inner turmoil over owing her success to the Brain Demon. Julia herself had now begun to question why she was still fighting the obvious.

You see the pain now, Julia? The Battalion called out softly through her bond.

You see the pain that results from your Fence Sitting?

Julia gave only a one word reply.

Yes. she conceded.

Later on...

As she came out of Hyperspace following the ship of Percival Io she sent one transmission to him.

"Ready yourself...some of her will seem familiar. The rest will not."

She landed her ship in the Capital and immediately stepped out, heading to where she sensed Rebecca, now The Deluge, preaching of The Brain Demon's miracles on Tython.

Meanwhile...

After The Battalion had left, Xiphos had wearily arrived back at her hospital room, deeply disturbed by all her deals with the Devil had allowed.

And worse, she had left Akemi Io and Esmeralda Io . Percival was gone. He was gone.

The worst part was knowing he had loved Rebecca, and that she was directly responsible for Rebecca's corruption, all because of her constant back room deals, her instilling of Faith...

Her need to have The Battalion in her life...

...all that had ruined Percival, and she didn't know what to do.

She wanted to help him and had no answer.

It was moments like this that Xiphos was reminded she was going to burn in Hell, when all this was over.

She was back in her bed, doped on painkillers again, and had resummoned the pair.

"Esmeralda, for your actions, you are raised to the rank of Family Captain in House Io. You are also raised in rank in the Siren Corps...and Akemi..." Xiphos trailed, fighting back the tears from the pressure of all the secrets she was keeping, even from herself.

"I accept full responsibility for what happened at Tython. The Avatar had to be destroyed, but the losses still fall upon me."

Out of ideas, Xiphos decided to reach out.

"What are our options, going ahead?" Xiphos asked Akemi. The Fixer's could be pitiless number crunchers, but the House needed that.

"I want to know what you both think we should do. After all, the House lives and dies upon those like you, not the Leadership. Tython proved that."