Private The Living Waters

[Tae'l Vizsla]

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The journey to Sundari had been long and arduous, beginning on a world far from here, and during a time far stranger. It was Tae'l Vizsla's first trip to Mandalore, and the sight was as awe inspiring as it was dreadful. Seas of blackened glass and ash littered the landscape where defenses once stood, lost to orbital bombardment long before her birth. With the rise and fall of the Mandalorian union, entire generations had fought and died among the wastes, building new cities only to lose them once again, infighting taking it's due.

And yet, some stayed. Pitiful farmland and mining colonies stood defiantly in the shadows of broken towers and the jagged remains of bio-domes.
It was thanks to these strange people and their pride which outweighed even her mother's that Tae'l and her companion found the ruins of Sundari, which could have been mistaken for a lone mountain as the black dunes swallowed it bit by bit, day by day.

Eventually they found their way beneath it all, where the battered streets and housing complexes had become like a cavernous labyrinth.


"It looks so ancient" She gasped as they finally entered the main chamber overlooking what was once the Civic Center.

In truth, these structures were relatively new, having been reconstructed by the union before the Shadow Crusade. It wasn't until after the union's abandonment that these buildings sank beneath the earth, buried by Imperial weapons testing as Katyusha likely knew. But now, with the mines so close, a new life away from Imperial tyranny was also in reach, for the presence of a great monolith meant that the Great Forge was ahead, and therefore the living waters must be beneath them.


"Ya know, I expected this place to be a little... less creepy" Tae'l muttered aprehensively, staring at the dimly lit monolith.


Katyusha Jarko

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[Katyusha Jarko]

The Living Waters​

She had only read about this place in old holos, and heard of it from the few veterans that wished to long for the days of Mandalore before it was rubble. As far as Katyusha knew, it had always been rubble. It seemed to fit for Mandalorians, to be fighting to the death over a relic of their past failures. Of course, she kept this to herself. She was loyal to Tae'l, had come here to follow her, and wanted to ensure she would remain safe.

Walking with the Twi'lek, she kept her attention on the scene around them, looking for any hint of danger. "Being honest, I'm surprised they left the foundations intact. I thought Mandalorians left nothing to chance." She jokes, stepping over a broken piece of duracrete. There were wounds here left over from the Imperial Assualt from not all that long agao. In spite of pretending to be a Mandalorian, she never felt like she understood Mandalorians. Warfare was all she had known, fought in it, lived in it, and at the end of the day...she just accepted it. For Mandalorian's though...it was more than that. It was like an obsession, like showing off who had the most scars. A high maybe? She didn't know. Frankly, didn't care. It seemed like a suicidal dance to oblivion.

"Aw, do you want me to hold your hand, Tally?" She asks, a hint of amusement in her voice, as she moves up behind the woman, eyeing the stone structure, and slowly processing what they were doing.
Tae'l Vizsla

 

[Tae'l Vizsla]

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"Being honest, I'm surprised they left the foundations intact. I thought Mandalorians left nothing to chance."

Tae'l wondered if things would have been different, had this been true. Her people always seemed to be on the attack, never prepared for their turn to defend their way of life or to build. Certainly not since The Quartermaster died, leaving them begin the cycle of vengeful crusades anew.

"Aw, do you want me to hold your hand, Tally?"

In truth it was Katyusha who reminded her that the cycle could be broken. Or at the very least, that she didn't have to participate to be Mando'ad. Instead, they could build something new together.


"Handholding before the first date? I hear that's really taboo in Aruetii culture" She teased back.

In truth, the woman's presence was soothing against the anxious backdrop of blackened glass and broken duracrete. She had gone without the luxury of company for too long, and even if she would never admit to it, the thought of being alone in the underground city reminded her too much of Level 1313.

Except, they truly weren't alone.


Tae'l put her hand out in front of Katyusha abruptly, the sound of rolling gravel and something skittering could be heard moments later.

The Twi'lek could well enough in the dark, her species being natural cave dwellers, but she was unaware if Katyusha relied on any sort of optic or if perhaps she belonged to some near-human species with similar properties to her own.

"See anything, Kat...?" She whispered.

Katyusha Jarko

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[Katyusha Jarko]

The Living Waters
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Katyasha blinked at the handholding comment, shaking her head slowly. She was glad to have her helmet on, because her cheeks were quite red. "Well, I wouldn't know. Never been on a date before." She replied, nudging Tally on the arm. "Someone never took me." She felt at ease and comforted by the woman's being, though this had always been the case. It was why she risked defection before, and why she had committed it now.

A Tally put her hand up, Katyasha felt something at the edge of her senses, then honed in on it, expanding, then fixating on the danger. She became aware of this new presence, it's mind a scattered burst of emotions; it was alive, and bestial. Lovely. She tried to keep track of it, and felt it vanish from her senses. This left her troubled. Was...this a Sith spawn? Then why did she not sense it's taint? She grabbed for her static pike, and extended one half of it. "....there's something foul down here."

Tae'l Vizsla

 

[Tae'l Vizsla]

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"Yeah..." She glanced from side to side, slowly reaching for her pistol as she took another step forward.

A low chittering sound echoed throughout the chamber, emanating from the scan-pulse module in Tae'l's helmet. Within seconds, the scanner revealed several lifeforms all around, one of which came crashing down on her from a nearby rock only to be immediately silenced by three consecutive blasts.

Each shot in the dark revealed eyes and faces in the shadows as more Alamites rushed their position, forcing Tae'l to duck into what looked like a side passage, gunning more down witch each step.

"This should bring us to the mine, come on" She called, anxiously waiting to see if Kat made it before allowing herself to leave.

"Sorry to rush the tour, Call it a speed date?"

Katyusha Jarko

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[Katyusha Jarko]

The Living Waters
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Katyusha watched as Tally fired off into one of the beasts, focusing her senses out to the tunnels, and thinned her perception to a single cone, only then finding pockets where in these monsters existed. These had to be some special sort of Sith spawn. Tally’s trigger work moved faster than her senses could allow for. She moved at Tally’s suggestion, raising a hand as she would make a barrier through the force to allow them time to move. “Let me just….give ourselves an insurance policy…” She starts, raising her free hand and revealing a cutting laser, as she begins to cut into the cave, collapsing the path before them, the barrier moves now to shield the pair from the kick up of dust and rock. The path that their foes sought to reach them had now been shut closed, harshly, partly on top of them. Though Katyusha does back up into the cave, she stows her staff for the time being. “So…is this a date now, Tally?” She asks, giving the woman a nudge to the side.

Tae'l Vizsla

 

[Tae'l Vizsla]

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Tae'l may have sound calm enough, exchanging banter with Kat to keep her cool, but internally her heart was racing as more and more monsters were revealed on scan. There would come a point when the enemy may come too close to risk being caught reloading in these tunnels, at which point she may have to rely on a slugthrower with even fewer rounds to spare.

Then when she least expected it, Kat planted her feet and took a stand. She was a fighter, that much had been proven long ago, but it was the way she fought today that surprised the young Mandalorian.

The Alamites just... stopped. They began to collide with something that not even her sensors could find.

And then it all collapsed. Stone and dust filled the air, drowning out the startled shrieks of creatures quickly buried. But the force remained, refusing to permit even the dust coming toward them. Tae'l just stood, watching the spectacle wordlessly until Kat nudged her in the side, waking her from the daze.

“So…is this a date now, Tally?”

"I uhm-" Tae'l half chuckled in, half choked. Both at the question and the display of the force, which she had only seen once before. Eventually she turned deeper into the tunnel, eyes searching for an exit in the dark, struggling to meet her companions.

"Sorry, lot of dust in the air. Cyber-lung must be malfunctioning or... something"

"I wasn't expecting you to engage with the banter like- well, like that. Battlefield humor you know, takes off the edge when shit hits the fan. I didn't mean to uh"

She stopped suddenly.

"That sounds wrong, I'm sorry. Let's... start over? I'm not good with people, Kat. While I feel like a damp cave would be a weird place for a first date- Even that's how my parents met- Well, if you wanted to I mean-"

"oh for..."

Tae'l breathed in sharply, and took her by the hand. Even with visor between them, and the force blocking materials within her helm, perhaps one could see in the way she stared that she was trying, and that she wanted whatever this was.

"Do you want this to be a date? Even if it's... with someone like me?"

Katyusha Jarko

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[Katyusha Jarko]

The Living Waters
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Katyusha kept her senses on the cave in, though she was attentive to Tally. How could she not be? Though she wondered if show casing her force abilities before the woman for the first time might have been an issue, though Tally had known about this during their last conversation on her ship. “I tried to shield us from it, apologies. Thought the suit seals would keep out what I missed. I never perfected that ability, most of my training was on body enhancement.”

That much was true, she hadn’t dabbled into the more complicated powers of the force, she never saw a reason to. What good was lightning when she could just get a lightning cannon mounted on her shoulder? She then just watched Tally stutter and meltdown, clearly flustered and this amused the woman greatly. “Are you okay Tally? You’re tripping over your words like a drunk gundark.” She teases, stepping closer to the woman’s ignoring the rock pile for now, and the fact they were in a cave.

Despite all the armor and force resistant armor, she could tell the woman was nervous. She put the front of her helmet with Tally’s as the woman spoke. “I’d only want it to be with someone like you. Why do you think I wanted to be your escort? And followed you to this place? If you want it to be a date, I’d be rather happy…and I’d only want someone like you, Tally.” She says softly, before pulling back and staring into her visor. She shifted her attention down the tunnel, then back to Tally.


She wasn’t sure what to do now.
Tae'l Vizsla

 

[Tae'l Vizsla]

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As their helms touched, heat rose from her face such that the onboard temperature regulator groaned to life in compensation of the Twi'lek's naturally heightened body heat. She didn't know if Kat understood the Keldabe kiss or what it represented, but it had served it's purpose either way.

"I had a feeling that was why. I just didn't think I had the capacity to make good on it, not without removing the chip at least"

For a time, the only sound in those caves were droplet that gently fell from the ceiling somewhere deeper in.
She continued down the tunnel in that direction, though couldn't bring herself to let go of Kat, not yet.

"A lot changed while I was away, things are still confusing and I'm not even sure where we'll go after this but- this feels right I think. More than anything else I've done since leaving the fleet"

The path would take them deeper through the mines, where small winged creatures watched from old pipes and outcrops near the ceiling, and old Mandalorian helmets would sometimes stare skyward from, half buried in the sand and rubble beneath their feet, even if Tae'l did her best to avoid stepping on them. You could see which were beskar and which were durasteel by damage, some merely growing smoother under nuclear heat and others split down the middle. Their clan colors were burned away now, but they remained all the same. To Tae'l it was as much a source of pride in the resiliency of her culture as it was a cautionary tale of what she was dragging Katyusha Jarko into.

Eventually the tunnel became less earthen, with metallic columns and walls etched in Mando'a, the contents of which told her exactly where they were before they had even reached the end of the corridor. Finally, it opened into a large cavernous room that looked undisturbed by war, even despite the thin slivers of sunlight that shone down from thin cracks far above.

Before them stood The Living Waters, nourishing plant life at the edges of this great pool, which flanked ancient stairs of dark stone.

Tae'l quickened her pace until she was at the first step, committing the entire scene to memory before turning abruptly to Kat, a newfound energy in her step that hadn't been seen since she was a child still.

"I will go first. I can't technically initiate you without first redeeming myself, apostate as I am"

She stopped herself mid step, taking one last moment to check with Katyusha.

"Are you sure you want to do this? I would love to call you Vod, But you don't have to be a Mandalorian to fly with me. One cannot take the creed lightly"

Katyusha Jarko

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[Katyusha Jarko]

The Living Waters
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It was nice to hear she at least felt something, if anything for her. Katyasha could find comfort in that, at least. She found Tally not letting go, and so, she would do the same. They'd stick together, and see this through. She closed her eyes, and let her senses wander. She kept Tally at the heart of her being, and allowed the Force to trace out the image in her mind as she trekked forward. She knew how proud Tally was of her culture, but Yuna had spent years parading around and mimicking it for the simple sake that it was all she had known. There had never been any malice to it, but, just a tool that helped her within the Empire and outside of it.

But now?

Well, for once in her life she had something outside of a career to worry about. Tally would be her future, and that, she was prepared to follow until the very end.

She felt Tally come to a stop, to which she finally allowed herself to open her eyes. Looking to the Twi'lek, she reluctantly let the hand go. "I want to be among you, and become part of you. This is the only way, and for once, it's something I actually believe in." She gave a small wave of her hand. "So, get in there, you should never keep a woman waiting." She says with a tease, before leaning forward and poking her gently at the center of the helmet.
Tae'l Vizsla

 

[Tae'l Vizsla]

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The Living Waters​

Become a part of you?

Tae'l lingered on the words for a time, unsure of the exact meaning, though she could think of a few. Then Kat poked her, causing her to say "Ow" with a slight laugh, though it didn't hurt. it couldn't, actually.

Then she turned away, staring into the dark pool briefly, flexing her hands as she began to descend the steps. The water that rose up her legs was cold, even despite her species' heightened body temperatures, but still she wandered in until it was waist deep. Strange. she expected something more... magical, or at least more inviting, but she supposed nothing in their culture ever was.

The cave was rather silent, save for the occasional droplet from the ceiling. Always a singular drop, entering the pool from the same spot. She looked down to see her own visor staring back, distorted by the ripples. Rippling from the drop, rippling from her own steps that clashed violently and from afar. With each one, her own image became blurred and incomprehensible until she couldn't recognize her own form, her own thoughts mirrored in this pool: Who will I become now?

She cupped her hands against her breastplate, one over the other, and fell backwards into the murky pool. Water rose from the pool in a violent splash, becoming blue and clear as it fell through the only ray of sunlight in the whole room, only to become dark and uncertain again as it reached where she had been. Her armor clattered against stone in the bottom of the pool, her helmet slowly filling until she was inhaling water, though her artificial lungs ensured that it made no difference. It was salty, like sea water, or a tank with something living in it. How strange.

Moments later, she sat upright suddenly, the motion throwing her lekku forward.

"fffffffFuck that's cold!" She stood, and shivered.

Katyusha Jarko

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[Katyusha Jarko]

The Living Waters
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She watched as the woman went into the waters, and just studied her. Though, the splash she made sprayed water across Kat's visor. She took her helmet off, setting it aside. There was the soft pop as the seal broke, and she was left to use her own force senses to feel out the cave, the depths, and the waters itself. There was an echo of the Force here, faint, but it lingered still. Many had come to to this place to seek their destiny, and the force had granted it. Mandalorian or no, this place was a nexus of change. Though, Kat didn't understand it.

She lived this life of a Mandalorian, only slightly aware of what it meant. But she would come to learn, here, with a woman she had....fallen for admittedly.

"Is it now?" She snickered at Tally, and would, in a probably dishonorable fashion, jump feet first into the waters in cannonball fashion. It was cold. It was very cold. But the splash she would kick up around the Twi'lek, would be very much worth it. Sadly, her armor soon began to fill with water, as the seal was now breached, though Kat managed to tread water, she felt the tug against her as she bobbed up in the murky water, smug look on her face.
Tae'l Vizsla

 

[Tae'l Vizsla]

"Is it now?"

"Kat I swear to Kad Ha'rangir if you-"

She could only flinch as Katyusha leapt into the pool as if it were a... Well, a pool. Maybe she was more stern than Kat in general, But this was different! this place was sacred.

It left her there shivering, arms folded and held close now that even more frigid water was dripping from her clothes and across her silvery armor. She began trudging towards the woman who was about to be her initiate with a slight sigh that came out more like static through the mic built into her helmet. A part of her was mad yes, but the absurdity of the entire situation also amused her in some ridiculous way.

"You know," She leaned downward a little to regard the floating woman in front of her
"I'm supposed to be the one pouring water on you, dummy. For the initiation ritual?" She laughed slightly

Then she pushed Kat under the water for barely even a second.

"Now bring me your helmet? Dry please, I need it to administer the oath"


Katyusha Jarko

 

[Katyusha Jarko]

The Living Waters
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Kat laughed at first, feeling the difficulty coming to her, but she kept afloat for a moment. Her face contorted into something of concern when she felt the weight growing, tapping into the force to enhance her own strength, yet the weight only grew to match her. She laughed at Tally, trying to ignore the rising tide of panic in her chest. Her smile falters, the splashing becomes a bit more frantic as she begins to debate on trying to paddle out, only for Tally to push her under.

She sunk like a rock, feeling Tally begin to grow farther from her, a pressure built as she felt herself swallowed by the pond, and pulled down by something unseen and powerful.

She tried to grab something with the force, hands reaching out into the abyss, but it refused to let her go. Something powerful was pulling her, more than just the water, a current maybe? She couldn't say.

All she could feel now, was the build up of pressure as she tried to save what breath she had, sinking to the bottom of this cavern.

Tae'l Vizsla

 

[Tae'l Vizsla]

Tae'l would tilt her head in confusion when Kat failed to bob up again immediately after being pushed. A brief panic spiked within as she gave the woman one second- and only one second- to reveal that this was some kind of prank.

"Osik- !"

And as soon as the mental clock struck one, she dove in.

Tae'l too began to sink hard and fast, causing her to breach the water's surface into the depths like a torpedo, feet held together and kicking in unison as if the tail of an Aiwha. Her armor was... heavy. Heavier than most, enclosed all the way around her waist with relatively few gaps to the average mandalorian who wore much lighter armor, being that hers was meant to protect her in the vanguard of a boarding team, thrown between her brothers and the enemy as they pressed the attack with knives and shotguns.

It was not meant to swim in. But she was still a child of Kamino.

The plan was to simply grab ahold of the woman and let her jetpack throw them both onto dry land. But first she had to find her.

To that end, she activated her visor's Thermal Imaging display, throwing her head from side to side frantically in a desperate search. Then she realized that she may need more than line of sight if anything should obscure the woman, such as aquatic flora. And so she would hunt as the beasts of this watery realm; with echo location.

Her Scan-pulse began painting a picture of the murky cavern in a ghostly blue hologram that only she could see, mapping out the terrain and scanning in short bursts every other second, heralded by an electrical 'chitter' that seemed to reverberate in the water.


Katyusha Jarko