Blood and Fire
The atmosphere in Lamont was full of tension. The fall of the Alliance meant that Necropolis, for the first time in generations, was factionless. That meant no protection from invasion. At any moment, a foreign power could arrive from hyperspace and lay claim to their world. Or worse...
But the fear in the air didn't seem to affect Jaina as she breezed down the street in her landspeeder. It had been about a week since Aramis proposed to her, and she felt like she was hovering through the clouds rather than just a few inches above gray pavement. Everything seemed a little lighter, a little brighter. For once in her existence, the biotic woman was truly happy.
She had already begun planning the wedding. It would be a small affair, more of an elopement than a big party. Aramis wasn't on good terms with most of his family, and Jaina had nobody, so they had kept the guest list limited to close friends. Despite this, Jaina was determined to go all-out, sparing no expense. She would have her dream wedding, whether anybody showed up or not.
Today she was going dress shopping. She had already decided she would have a dress custom made to her measurements. Her research determined that the best tailor in town - maybe in the entire galaxy - was none other than Thelma Goth. Helluva name, that, especially for Necropolis. This world might as well have been named Planet Goth...
Before heading to her shop, Jaina had glanced at her reflection in the rearview mirror, baring her white fangs to make sure she didn't have anything stuck in her teeth and smoothing her eyebrows. Her Civilian Form was the one she'd been wearing when Aramis proclaimed his love for her; she was conventionally beautiful and wouldn't look out of place in a flower-filled wedding venue. But deep down, Jaina knew that her Warrior Form was her "true" self. She wasn't as comfortable with that truth as she ought to be, but maybe getting married in it would help. With the decision made, she headed for Thelma's Tailoring, eager to commission her gown.
But when she arrived, she found the storefront in shambles. "What the..." Jaina murmured incredulously, climbing out of her speeder. Her fiery orange eyes narrowed at the broken glass and busted door of the shop. "Am I in the right place?" Even though she could see the sign underneath the rubble, she checked Holo Maps to be sure. The address was correct.
She stepped over the rubble around the entrance and into the shop. It was in similar disarray, full of dust and debris. "Looks like this place was shot up..." she noted to herself, following the trail of destruction deeper into the building.
When she turned the corner to the workshop in the back, she found Thelma sitting there sewing. Both women were startled by the other's presence, reaching for their respective weapons: Jaina her vibroaxe, Thelma her lightsaber.
"Who are you, and what are you doing here?" Thelma demanded.
"My name is Jaina. I'm here to commission Thelma Goth. But uh, it looks like this place is no longer in business..." She trailed off, looking around at the wrecked workshop. "What happened here?"
"Someone wanted me dead," Thelma answered. "They sent hunters here to kill me. I got away, but the shop was destroyed. I haven't had a chance to clean it up."
"Oh." Jaina put her weapon away. "Sorry to hear that. I take it you're Thelma?" As she studied the little redhead's face, she immediately noticed the paleness of her skin, her long and thin fingers, and the pinpricks of purple light in the middle of her pupils. Thelma was a Psy-Pire, though not a purebred one. She was some sort of mix. Interesting...
"In the flesh." Thelma set the scrap of fabric she had been sewing aside, unaware that Jaina had already deduced her secret. "You said you wanted to commission something?"
"My wedding dress," Jaina replied. "But if you're not up to it, that's fine."
Thelma's violet eyes brightened. "A wedding dress? I haven't made one of those since
Corazona von Ascania
got married the first time." She sighed. "That marriage went out the window."
Jaina, who had no idea what she was talking about, scratched her head. "So, is there a chance you can make mine? Budget doesn't matter. I can pay for any expenses. I'll even have this place fixed up for ya."
"That is very kind of you. But I don't think I'll be staying here much longer. In fact, you may just be my last commission..." Thelma pulled out a large datapad and stylus. "Do you know what you want for the dress?"
Her words were oddly foreboding. Jaina filed the info away for later. "Oh, I'm bursting at the seams with ideas!" she joked, pulling out her own datapad. "I've got some reference pictures here..."
If anything, Jaina had too many pictures representing too many ideas, with very little cohesion to bind them together. She wanted to honor her Atrisian heritage and the Necropolitan traditions of the planet she called home, but she also wanted to incorporate Hapan influences as well. And what wedding gown was complete without a bit of Naboo royal fashion?
The result was a mess of different styles, fabrics, and designs. She couldn't even decide on what color she wanted the dress to be. White was classic, but what about blue? Silver? Gold? Purple? Pink, or even black? Rainbow?!
"Well, this is... a lot," Thelma said, pausing to take a break. She had made numerous sketches in the past couple hours, none of them quite what Jaina wanted. "Maybe you should narrow down your list a bit more. Pick only the elements which matter most to you."
"That's going to be tough." Jaina ran a hand through her hair. It had been a surreal consultation, planning her wedding dress in the midst of the shop ruins. But it had also been fun. "Are you tired?" she asked.
"No. Just... hungry."
"Heh. You're a Psy-Pire, aren't you?" When Thelma looked startled, Jaina gently added, "It's okay. I'm a Psy-Pire too." In fact, she had been spliced with the DNA of the Arch Psy-Pire herself, Nine Lives. Or at least, the original biot she had been copied from was. Ugh, but that was such a long story...
For a moment Thelma seemed ready to deny her nature, perhaps out of habit. But then the tension in her shoulders relaxed. "I suppose it would be obvious to another one of our kind. But... Your aura in the Force is strange."
"Probably because I don't have one," Jaina replied cheerfully. "Well, what do you say we go grab a bite? It's the least I can do after taking up so much of your time today."
"That's kind of you..." Thelma muttered. "But I don't feed."
"What do you mean?"
"I only eat human food."
Jaina blinked incredulously. A Psy-Pire could survive on "human food", as she called it, but they'd be perpetually malnourished and would have to eat constantly just to maintain basic functionality. From the looks of her, Thelma was barely able to do that. "Starving yourself isn't healthy," Jaina said, her tone gentle. "I know it can be difficult to catch prey--"
"I have no choice," Thelma interrupted. "If I feed, I'll go crazy. That's what happened to my mother." She met Jaina's gaze, sorrow in her eyes. "I don't know how it is for you, but that's how it is for me. I lose myself in the memories I consume, whether sentient or animal."
"That definitely isn't how it is for me." Jaina's own feeding was nowhere near as overwhelming. The memories she consumed were basically just converted to pure energy, a fuel to power her biotic matrix. "But that sounds... intense for you. And I'm sorry to hear about your mother."
"She's dead. We had to kill her." Thelma seemed to be retreating inward, closing herself off from Jaina. But there was a little light at the end of the tunnel. "It is nice, being able to meet another Psy-Pire. I don't see many of our kind anymore."
"Unfortunately," Jaina agreed. Even the Progenitor had seemingly disappeared with the fall of the GA. Jaina started gathering her things, figuring this was her cue to leave. But she didn't want to depart on such a bleak note. "You know, Thelma - maybe all you need to do is find someone with memories worth absorbing. Someone you wouldn't mind becoming."
Thelma didn't respond, but Jaina thought she detected thoughtfulness in the redhead's gaze. "Contact me when you've decided on what you want for your dress," she said. "I'll be waiting."
But the fear in the air didn't seem to affect Jaina as she breezed down the street in her landspeeder. It had been about a week since Aramis proposed to her, and she felt like she was hovering through the clouds rather than just a few inches above gray pavement. Everything seemed a little lighter, a little brighter. For once in her existence, the biotic woman was truly happy.
She had already begun planning the wedding. It would be a small affair, more of an elopement than a big party. Aramis wasn't on good terms with most of his family, and Jaina had nobody, so they had kept the guest list limited to close friends. Despite this, Jaina was determined to go all-out, sparing no expense. She would have her dream wedding, whether anybody showed up or not.
Today she was going dress shopping. She had already decided she would have a dress custom made to her measurements. Her research determined that the best tailor in town - maybe in the entire galaxy - was none other than Thelma Goth. Helluva name, that, especially for Necropolis. This world might as well have been named Planet Goth...
Before heading to her shop, Jaina had glanced at her reflection in the rearview mirror, baring her white fangs to make sure she didn't have anything stuck in her teeth and smoothing her eyebrows. Her Civilian Form was the one she'd been wearing when Aramis proclaimed his love for her; she was conventionally beautiful and wouldn't look out of place in a flower-filled wedding venue. But deep down, Jaina knew that her Warrior Form was her "true" self. She wasn't as comfortable with that truth as she ought to be, but maybe getting married in it would help. With the decision made, she headed for Thelma's Tailoring, eager to commission her gown.
But when she arrived, she found the storefront in shambles. "What the..." Jaina murmured incredulously, climbing out of her speeder. Her fiery orange eyes narrowed at the broken glass and busted door of the shop. "Am I in the right place?" Even though she could see the sign underneath the rubble, she checked Holo Maps to be sure. The address was correct.
She stepped over the rubble around the entrance and into the shop. It was in similar disarray, full of dust and debris. "Looks like this place was shot up..." she noted to herself, following the trail of destruction deeper into the building.
When she turned the corner to the workshop in the back, she found Thelma sitting there sewing. Both women were startled by the other's presence, reaching for their respective weapons: Jaina her vibroaxe, Thelma her lightsaber.
"Who are you, and what are you doing here?" Thelma demanded.
"My name is Jaina. I'm here to commission Thelma Goth. But uh, it looks like this place is no longer in business..." She trailed off, looking around at the wrecked workshop. "What happened here?"
"Someone wanted me dead," Thelma answered. "They sent hunters here to kill me. I got away, but the shop was destroyed. I haven't had a chance to clean it up."
"Oh." Jaina put her weapon away. "Sorry to hear that. I take it you're Thelma?" As she studied the little redhead's face, she immediately noticed the paleness of her skin, her long and thin fingers, and the pinpricks of purple light in the middle of her pupils. Thelma was a Psy-Pire, though not a purebred one. She was some sort of mix. Interesting...
"In the flesh." Thelma set the scrap of fabric she had been sewing aside, unaware that Jaina had already deduced her secret. "You said you wanted to commission something?"
"My wedding dress," Jaina replied. "But if you're not up to it, that's fine."
Thelma's violet eyes brightened. "A wedding dress? I haven't made one of those since
Corazona von Ascania
got married the first time." She sighed. "That marriage went out the window."Jaina, who had no idea what she was talking about, scratched her head. "So, is there a chance you can make mine? Budget doesn't matter. I can pay for any expenses. I'll even have this place fixed up for ya."
"That is very kind of you. But I don't think I'll be staying here much longer. In fact, you may just be my last commission..." Thelma pulled out a large datapad and stylus. "Do you know what you want for the dress?"
Her words were oddly foreboding. Jaina filed the info away for later. "Oh, I'm bursting at the seams with ideas!" she joked, pulling out her own datapad. "I've got some reference pictures here..."
If anything, Jaina had too many pictures representing too many ideas, with very little cohesion to bind them together. She wanted to honor her Atrisian heritage and the Necropolitan traditions of the planet she called home, but she also wanted to incorporate Hapan influences as well. And what wedding gown was complete without a bit of Naboo royal fashion?
The result was a mess of different styles, fabrics, and designs. She couldn't even decide on what color she wanted the dress to be. White was classic, but what about blue? Silver? Gold? Purple? Pink, or even black? Rainbow?!
"Well, this is... a lot," Thelma said, pausing to take a break. She had made numerous sketches in the past couple hours, none of them quite what Jaina wanted. "Maybe you should narrow down your list a bit more. Pick only the elements which matter most to you."
"That's going to be tough." Jaina ran a hand through her hair. It had been a surreal consultation, planning her wedding dress in the midst of the shop ruins. But it had also been fun. "Are you tired?" she asked.
"No. Just... hungry."
"Heh. You're a Psy-Pire, aren't you?" When Thelma looked startled, Jaina gently added, "It's okay. I'm a Psy-Pire too." In fact, she had been spliced with the DNA of the Arch Psy-Pire herself, Nine Lives. Or at least, the original biot she had been copied from was. Ugh, but that was such a long story...
For a moment Thelma seemed ready to deny her nature, perhaps out of habit. But then the tension in her shoulders relaxed. "I suppose it would be obvious to another one of our kind. But... Your aura in the Force is strange."
"Probably because I don't have one," Jaina replied cheerfully. "Well, what do you say we go grab a bite? It's the least I can do after taking up so much of your time today."
"That's kind of you..." Thelma muttered. "But I don't feed."
"What do you mean?"
"I only eat human food."
Jaina blinked incredulously. A Psy-Pire could survive on "human food", as she called it, but they'd be perpetually malnourished and would have to eat constantly just to maintain basic functionality. From the looks of her, Thelma was barely able to do that. "Starving yourself isn't healthy," Jaina said, her tone gentle. "I know it can be difficult to catch prey--"
"I have no choice," Thelma interrupted. "If I feed, I'll go crazy. That's what happened to my mother." She met Jaina's gaze, sorrow in her eyes. "I don't know how it is for you, but that's how it is for me. I lose myself in the memories I consume, whether sentient or animal."
"That definitely isn't how it is for me." Jaina's own feeding was nowhere near as overwhelming. The memories she consumed were basically just converted to pure energy, a fuel to power her biotic matrix. "But that sounds... intense for you. And I'm sorry to hear about your mother."
"She's dead. We had to kill her." Thelma seemed to be retreating inward, closing herself off from Jaina. But there was a little light at the end of the tunnel. "It is nice, being able to meet another Psy-Pire. I don't see many of our kind anymore."
"Unfortunately," Jaina agreed. Even the Progenitor had seemingly disappeared with the fall of the GA. Jaina started gathering her things, figuring this was her cue to leave. But she didn't want to depart on such a bleak note. "You know, Thelma - maybe all you need to do is find someone with memories worth absorbing. Someone you wouldn't mind becoming."
Thelma didn't respond, but Jaina thought she detected thoughtfulness in the redhead's gaze. "Contact me when you've decided on what you want for your dress," she said. "I'll be waiting."