Sigh No More [Soliael]

[Hazel Scheler]

"Under very dire circumstances," came her none-too-detailed answer.

This conversation was going down a path she did not like to revisit, and often times flooded with booze just to keep from traveling it. Focusing hard on her task at hand, Ivy reached for another piece of her armor and pulled it on. Then a second and a third, trying very hard not to let the memory of Samson handing her the pieces as she dressed to seep into her mind.

 

[Soliath Devin Talith]

Soliael smiled, he knew that the woman likely didn't want to talk about her apparently dead husband. He could pick up several cues of course, and it was easy to tell that Ivy was not at all pleased about where the conversation was going. He thought for a second, knowing that continuing to poke the bear likely was not a smart option, but then again no one had ever called him smart...except for his mom and that didn't really count.

“Ah yes, dire circumstances. Mine were different I suppose.” Soliael said as if musing out loud. “Though admittedly the Garhoons i've met were rather...high up on the food chain.”

He chuckled slightly at his own little quip. Garhoons ate people, equating the strict structured society they held to a food chain amused him greatly. He had only ever visited the home world of Garhoons once, though he knew its location and the society, Silencia had seen to that. In his time there he had met a few of his distant Kin, none of them had really been keen on traveling the galaxy.

It came as no surprise that Ivy supposedly met her husband under dire circumstances. As he had mused before the man had likely been and exile, or an outcast of some sort. Slowly Soliael decided to keep digging, fully expecting to get stabbed with a stun stick some time soon again.

 

[Hazel Scheler]

"They're all pretty high up on the food chain when they're hungry," Ivy commented without looking back, holding up a piece of armor for her leg and switching it this way and that before deciding that it was for the left leg.

She could tell by the singed edge along the outside, received during a firefight all those years ago.

 

[Soliath Devin Talith]

“You would be surprised.” Soliael said with a slight hint of amusement in his tones. Soliael had been on that world, he had seen how the High Bloods treated Lesser Bloods. The weak Garhoons did not survive on Garhall, they either left or died. That was what he assumed her husband was, someone who abandoned the world because he was too weak to make it there. Of course he did not say that out loud as such a thing would be asking for trouble, but it was the assumption that he made.

He pondered for a moment, trying to dig up some old forgotten knowledge that still rested in his mind. Silencia had told him much of his people, though only a fourth of him was Garhoon. His genetics were such that he did not even have the fangs, nor did he have the incessant craving for blood that came with being a full Garhoon. Though of course he was not as strong or fast as most of his distant kin either, but such was life.

Finally he continued his speak, his voice like a serpent slithering into ones bed. “I suppose you've seen the best and the worst of them.”

 

[Hazel Scheler]

Ivy made a non-committal noise in response to his comment, but at his question, "...and everything in between."

For a moment she felt nostalgic for Sephoria, her sister-in-law, which was strange considering that really didn't happen. That beastly woman, that ghastly creature - it was all she had left of a life now lost to time and plague. Her love-hate relationship with her sister was seeded with internal turmoil; a need to maintain some semblance of contact out of respect for the woman and love for her late husband ... and an abhorrence to anything remotely connected to her past and the painful remorse it dragged around with it.

 

[Soliath Devin Talith]

Soliael let out a small chuckle to himself, noticing that she was almost fully dressed while he remained stark naked. He blinked for a few seconds, wondering where his clothes had gone. His vision became obscured for a few moments as the black specs floated across his eyes. It was the first time in the last few hours that it had happened, usually they stayed away during...heightened emotions.

Out of reaction Soliael clamped his eyes shut, holding them there until he felt that the specs were gone. Slowly he opened his eyes again, and looked at Ivy. The Specs were beginning to become an annoyance, and soon he would have to take care of them.

Quickly he shifted focus back to the Garhoons. “Have you ever seen one die?”

The question was a double edged sword. He could be bringing up painful but then again a Garhoons death was usually rather...spectacular. Killing them was not an easy task, and their deaths were usually quite the scene.

 

[Hazel Scheler]

"Hundreds of them," Ivy moved to put her boots on now, pulling them over the material on her feet and snapping them into place beneath the armor pieces of her lower legs.

She'd seen them die for many reasons, natural and non, and much to her own dismay been responsible for the deaths of many herself.

Thinking about these things, her expression grew stoney again and her lips drew thin. Ivy felt herself running out of a desire to continue answering him.

 

[Soliath Devin Talith]

Hundreds? Now there was an interesting little note. Garhoons tended not to die very easily, and to see hundreds die? Well Soliael had not even seen that. Now he was truly curious, though he knew that Ivy would not be open to answering questions for much longer. Soliael was quite good at reading people, and Ivy was...well cold.

“I see.” Soliael said quietly, finally standing up from the metal crates. He didn't bother putting on clothes for quite some time, instead preferring to be naked. Nakedness was entirely underrated from Soliaels point of view, it allowed one to truly breath, and lets face it being nude was quite fun. He smiled at her as he moved in front of her beginning to loosely search for his clothes.

He turned to her, finally pulling on some semblance of clothes...underwear.

“It's a rare enough thing, seeing them die.” He couldn't think of a single time he had seen a Garhoon die, aside from one of the High Bloods killing the low. The species was not an easy one to kill, and now he was truly interested. “Have you killed them yourself?”

 

[Hazel Scheler]

The woman fell still as she reached for her remaining boot and paused as she pulled it on. Her eyes lingered over the bare feet that had wandered to the floor before her and for a moment she was haunted by memories of those days back on Garhall. At one point she'd been taken prisoner and for several nights watched as King's victims were dragged off to all sorts of obscene and horrifying endings in broad view.

Then there was the retribution, blood paid in full, and the thought of it caused her heart to miss a beat. She swallowed, sighed, and snapped the boot into place.

"Yes," she replied and slowly rose to stand before the man, armor full and complete once more. Hazel eyes moved upwards to Soliael's face where they gave him a look of cold, hard indifference. It masked many things, including the slow unraveling of her resolve.

"When we reach Exocron I'll find another shuttle to Kal'Shebbol, unless you have a fair enough selection of ships for sale."

 

[Soliath Devin Talith]

Soliael stared into her eyes for a few moments, he could feel her resolve fading, her willingness to keep everything buried. It was not a feeling he felt in the force, but simply one he could tell from her demeanor. He said nothing for a few moments, keeping entirely silent and pondering a few things. He could keep pushing her, ask her more questions, break open her skull and extract every bit of information. He could turn her into a withering heap of a woman by using her own memory. Soliael frowned slightly, and then decided against it.

Ivy had done nothing to him...aside from the abject humiliation she had delivered to him. She had proven to be pragmatic and intelligent, and beyond that a good fighter. She had been strong enough to take him down, and something like that was far more useful alive than dead...or a mental patient.

“No need.” He finally said in response to her, deciding that she would indeed be better kept alive and well...or at least held together. “When we get to Exocron i'll supply you with a ship. It won't be fancy, but well enough to get you where you need to go.”

Moross had ships to spare...at least freighters and transports. They were now gearing up for war, they didn't need small transports, they needed warships, attack crafts, carriers, and all things of that note. Soliael could spare to give Ivy a ship. “Consider it a reward for humbling me.”

"I should warn you though. Kel'Shebbol is controlled by a group known as the Omega Protectorate. They were once mercenaries...well not like you, perhaps it's nicer to call them professional soldiers. Anywho, they're nearly as self righteous as the Republic. Don't take kindly to." He paused for a few seconds as he looked Ivy over, his eyebrow perking in a strange display as he stood before her almost entirely nude. “Troublemakers.”

 

[Hazel Scheler]

This was good news. Ivy had a desire to thank him, but it wilted before it became words in her mouth. She merely nodded and batted a brow at him before giving a derisive snort.

"Good thing I'm not a troublemaker," she turned, leaned down to scoop up her journal and gun, slinging the latter over her shoulder and pocketing the former.

"Once we land I'll pay you like I said I would. I'm good on my word," she woman eyed him though her gaze remained on his face, "I hope you are, too."

 

[Soliath Devin Talith]

Soliael decided to ignore her snort, instead he finally found his robes and somehow managed to slip into them within the time of a horses whinny. Before Ivy could even say anything Soliael stood fully dressed. It was far easier for him given his lack of armor or tight bodysuit, he had found that neither really suited his style, the only thing he had resembling armor were the two uniquely black and silver gauntlets.

The Sith slipped these two over his hand, fastening the clasps into place and opening and closing his hands a few times to make sure they were correctly fitted. He smiled slightly when they were, and then looked back at the girl.

“I have no use for money. Give it to someone in need.” Never in his life had Soliael been want for money. From the day he was born to now he had never needed it, wanted it, or even been concerned by it. It's not that he did not understand the concept, its more than he did not care for it. Everything he had ever needed was provided for him, even in the outer rim he simply took what he had needed. Money was to him exactly the same as it would be to a Rancor.

He smiled slightly however, and thought of something else. “There is another way you can pay me however. A way more suited to your skills.”

 

[Hazel Scheler]

There was a pause as she considered this followed by another nod, "Very well, what did you have in mind?"

A Mercenary she was, and if that's how he wanted payment then that's what she would provide.

 

[Soliath Devin Talith]

Soliael smiled, good she was at least open to other ideas. Money meant nothing to him, what he really needed was soldiers. Moross was gearing up for war, and despite it having many billions of followers what they still lacked was a professional army. It was slow moving, given that only a handful of individuals in Moross had been soldiers. So his idea cropped up slowly, but it was there firmly in his mind.

“Quite simple. I have armies. I have Millions of people willing to go to war for me. I even have thousands who know how to properly fight. What I don't have however, is an elite.” Soliael's face became rather stern “I do not have anyone trained in the more...delicate arts of combat.”

It was easy to see where Soliael was going with this. He wanted Ivy to train a few of his men in the more...unique styles of fighting she would have picked up. “The payment I want is simple. I gather the best of my people I can find. Strong, Fast, smart, etc... And in a few months when I have gathered them. You come back and train them. Of course, I'll pay you for your time.”

The Sith said it as though it were the simplest thing in the world. He wanted Ivy for this for one simple reason, she had beaten him.

 

[Hazel Scheler]

"I'm not a Captain or a good leader," the reply was rather more straight forward than most would offer. Ivy had been the Captain of the Protectors for a time, but the responsibilities had only landed on her after the death of her seniors. Her experience with the title was not a good one and the loss of her friends...


...of Samson...

all under her watch had struck her so soundly it still rang painful at her very core.

"I've never trained anyone either. I just ... work alone. I don't know that I can give you the results you're hoping for."

 

[Soliath Devin Talith]

“I'm not asking you to lead, just train.” Soliael said simply. She may not be the most experienced at training men, but her skills were undeniable. The Sith knew the womans handiwork quite well, having experienced it first hand. He wanted a group like her. He could never replicate it entirely of course, but he could make toned down copies, and that was good enough for him.

Even if the training at the beginning was...less than fantastic Soliael knew that determination would hold through. Eventually Ivy would be up to the training and his soldiers would catch on. “It's a simple way for you to make credits, and for me to gain a valuable group of soldiers. Even if you're not the greatest of trainers your skills are undeniable...and I want them.”

 

[Hazel Scheler]

Frowning, Ivy's gaze wandered. Was she capable of teaching these skills she knew? Was that even possible? The basics were of course, but her's was a compilation of all the years lived in what many would relate to hell, to Chaos. She couldn't replicate that, couldn't even falsely serve it. These people were not her own and they would not hold the same honor, loyalty, compassion, philosophy or ideals as she. That was something they had to be born into and grow within. She couldn't teach passion or courage or devotion to a cause.

They were devoted, alright, but for the entirely wrong reasons. This wasn't a family affair - they weren't fighting for the good of their loved ones, or the honor of the innocent. Hell, what were they fighting for if nothing else other than the word of their so-called God? Neth wasn't her God and they knew that.

"Would they even follow me?" the woman looked at him again, "I'm a heretic here, why would they listen?"

 

[Soliath Devin Talith]

“They will if I told them to.” Soliael said quite simply. While the followers of Moross did not like outsiders, they were tolerated, especially when one of the gods gave the order. They would freely learn from Ivy, though perhaps they would speak behind her back. He could not unfortunately foresee the future, so he was rather tied to guessing in this area. Though he did know for sure that they would listen to him and thus Ivy, no matter how much they didn't like it.

“My words is law, and I would only choose to the most loyal men and women.” He spoke with confidence behind his voice.

It would take time to find these men of course. Moross had untold billions of soldiers. When the word was sent down that Neth himself was looking for the most elite of soldiers there would be competitions abound, this was in part good...but it would take time. Time which Ivy could use to prepare.

 

[Hazel Scheler]

Ivy's frown deepened. The uncertainty of these things was a bit more than she was willing to bargain on. She was absolutely certain that paying him in credits would be far less complicated. Uncomplicated like a one-night-stand. You left things as they were and you didn't look back. But this? This would mean backtracking. This would mean putting her purpose on hold, and that was a very sketchy road for her.

She could feel the spirit, the memory of Samson pushing at her mind. Her heart ached. She was so close to finding her way - she couldn't bear to put him on hold anymore. How much she was letting him down, Ivy thought, to not serve his memory with the justice it deserved. Yet something nagged at her doubts.

Love; it will not betray you
Dismay or enslave you, it will set you free
Be more like the man you were made to be.

Another sigh, another nod.

Ivy was not one to turn down a challenge nor an opportunity to make money, especially one that offered an honest avenue. Educating others was about as honest as one could get, and she could respect that even if she didn't fully respect the man she was doing it for. These were things Samson could abide by, which meant that these were things that the old Ivy could abide by. The betterment of the future. Maybe, just maybe, she might be able to teach them more than simply how to kill another man. Maybe she could teach them to grieve for their tresspasses.

Maybe not.

 

[Soliath Devin Talith]

Soliael smiled, good. Everything was going according to the plan that he had just formulated about ten minutes ago. Time would be the biggest factor here, Ivy would need time to prepare, time to get used to this new galaxy, time to...well live. Soliael would need time to get things prepared. To get the men, the armor, a place for them to train. It would have to be somewhere secret, somewhere no one would question it. The Sith Lord began to think.

Without another word Soliael motioned for Ivy to follow him. He could sense their approach to Exocron. Quickly he moved through the halls of the ship with Ivy following him. There was a pensive look on his face as he began to calculate things. How many men he would need, how he would draft them, where he would place them, and more importantly when he would recall Ivy to do this job. Finally his thoughts topped as they reached the observation deck.

A massive window filled with blue streaks of hyperspace filled the left side of the room. Soliael placed himself before it, and just as he took his final step the Swarm Frigate lurched forward. The ship dropped out of hyperspace directly in front of Exocron.

He looked at Ivy, and spoke “Welcome back to the galaxy.”