First Reply Under the red star

[Adeline Noctua]

Equipment | In Bio

Location | Unknown (Within an old field.)

Tag | Open




Hunger was a dangerous thing, many cultures held tales of beings so enamored and absorbed within hunger and death that they were no longer what they once were. Tonight this legend was true, with one such cursed individual being Darth Keres.

This armor clad figure stood within an open field, surrounded by unmarked graves who had been left here after some war. She takes in a deep breath, basking in the lingering dour filled area. But, was this creature of the night here for these abandoned souls? Negative, tonight she simply stood here and waited. For what you may wonder? Anything, anyone. After consuming so many souls, and even a dark nexus... Adeline, or Keres if you so prefer, was a beacon of unholy energy. Her force twisted, black, an abomination.

As it continued to cry out and disturb the force, she wondered who would hear the call? Who would approach? Be it a Jedi? A curious Sith looking to learn?

But who would approach the cursed stranger standing within that field? Who would seek out the monster standing under a scarlet star?
















​

 

[Tae'l Vizsla]

The sound of star-spurs grew in steady pace as lone figure approached the cemetery. They were not brought to her by premonition, and therefore came without worry for whatever darkness lay beyond. The Force had not brought them here, certainly not to their own knowledge, and therefore an almost childlike curiosity hung about their demeanor, having drawn them in during a bout of simple exploration across a world they had heard so much about in recent times, but never seen for themselves.

They were drawn in simply because they wanted to see more. Be it the force or fate, it was just a feeling. A need to know more, though in a strange way, it felt familiar.

The stranger's equipment at least would become familiar to the cemetery dweller as they neared, keeping an eye on Adeline Noctua more out of habit than fear. They wore heavy armor of dark red or perhaps brown- none could tell exactly what shade as it was being swallowed by dust from a thousand worlds- and of course they wore an iconic helmet of gleaming silver which bore a Glasteel visor in an angled T-shape. No doubt a Mandalorian, whose kind had become so familiar to the galaxy in recent history for better and for worse.

And like so many of her kind, the stranger carried numerous weapons. The most noticeable of which even in the dark was a Golden Handgun displayed on her hip. One with a history that the two figures were perhaps more familiar with than the newcomer might suspect.


"Greetings" she called out as a precaution, hoping not to startle the black-clad figure whom she could now see wore heavy armor not unlike herself. For now at least, she was only her to observe and to learn, not to fight unless given a reason. Hopefully the cemetery dweller was of similar mind.

 

[Adeline Noctua]

Equipment | In Bio

Location | Field

Tag | Tae'l Vizsla

The figure did not seem startled, not at all. Tae'l would be given a slow lookover as Adeline smiled under her helmet, fate was just such a funny little thing.

"Salutations, Vizsla."

Seeing that no force users were near, she takes a seat, gazing up at a bright red star above.

"No longer choking on dust, now stalking the fields. Give me but a moment to explain, you do not know me as much as I know you. I recall that you had a run in with my past, with the Jackal."

Showing no fear or concern, the Sith would gesture for them to sit next to her.

"It would be too complex if I tried to fully explain everything, maybe the easiest route would be to just say we have met before."

Her helmet stayed on, but even through the helmet the woman claiming to be Jackal sounded so different... Was this a lie?

"How goes the family life? That gun of mine hasn't partaken in any parenticide, has it?"

She laughs a bit, if this woman wasn't once Jackal, she sure knew a lot.

"Funny how fate works."
















​

 

[Tae'l Vizsla]

The Vizsla froze in her tracks. Were they expecting me? she thought, unknowing as to how or why this black-clad figure could possibly know from which clan she hailed. She had cast away any and all markings that could denote her lineage beyond simply being Mandalorian, leaving only the one answer: Prior knowledge. But from where? The Bounty Hunters had given up long ago, surely this wasn't one of mother's henchmen?

"No longer choking on dust, now stalking the fields. Give me but a moment to explain, you do not know me as much as I know you. I recall that you had a run in with my past, with the Jackal."

She gently traced the golden inlays on her blaster, knowing now that this must be the very thing that had given her away. But to hear that they had met before was a peculiar and unnerving twist, given that this was not the Jackal as she had known her.

The Black Clad figure then motioned for her to sit, but she did not. Though she approached, The Vizsla merely stood beside the figure.

"How goes the family life? That gun of mine hasn't partaken in any parenticide, has it?"
"Funny how fate works."

"Not yet..." She said without thinking "We became separated before it came to that"

The Mandalorian sounded calm still, but a trained ear might pick up on the agitated pause between sentences, the way she carefully picked her words as not to lose control of the flow.

"You play a funny game, miss, but you're no Jackal... You've a way of speaking that she didn't, and not just the accent"

"If you're trying to get her gun, know that it means more to me than a tool" She crossed her arms

"And that I don't appreciate liars"

 

[Adeline Noctua]

Equipment | In Bio

Location | Field

Tag | Tae'l Vizsla

"You are mistaken dear, I don't need that gun. I crafted it for you after all, besides... I am sure it has been part of a story or two. Best it stay with you, I gave my own gun away a while ago."

Even if this got nowhere, it deeply amused the woman. It wasn't like she could just take off her helm, or was it? But why do that when this has been interesting.

"The swift survive, the slow fall behind."

The stranger spoke, it was the same thing Jackal had said on their journey to Anchorhead years ago.

"Back then I had white hair did I not? Yes... Yes! Short and white! I miss my goggles sometimes, sometimes I miss my little corner of the world. That shack deep in the swamp, I can't recall if I ever took you there... Hrm."

It kinda felt good to remember the past, good to remember when there was no screaming hunger deep within her very soul. Just a free spirit living each night like it was the last..


















​

 

[Tae'l Vizsla]

"Now you're telling me that Jackal would just- what- give away her guns" She laughed "Sure this was a gift, but it took more than just asking"

Jackal had always been an odd one, that much she remembered, but this seemed too strange even for her. The black clad one's audacity was highly amusing of course, but the whole thing was just plain confusing, and Tae'l never did like being confused. Being confused meant that something else was in control, and aside from maybe Jackal herself, she hated it when someone or something else had control.

"The swift survive, the slow fall behind."

And in one sentence, the cemetery dwelling nutcase had taken that control.

Tae'l went silent for a time, no more laughs at the stranger's expense, and no more letting her focus wonder. The stranger, or whoever she was, had the Mandalorian's undivided attention now as she sat down.

"Back then I had white hair did I not? Yes... Yes! Short and white! I miss my goggles sometimes, sometimes I miss my little corner of the world. That shack deep in the swamp, I can't recall if I ever took you there... Hrm."

"Only swamp i've been to was Manpha. Went hunting for dragonsnakes" She dragged a claw across the scaly armor around her lekku before leaning in more closely, as if a closer look would tell her the truth of Jackal's return.

"But I remember that white hair... how the light bounced off in the shade less desert. It was like the sun; you could dare take a look, but only for a time. Look too long and you could lose sight"

Then she looked up at the sky, leaning back a little.

"But under moonlight you could take your time, take in the... details. Like how the edges turned pink after a kill, then red after the second. Still dangerous, just in new ways" She snickered at the double meaning, knowing damn well Jackal had been some kind of influence on her back then.

Adeline Noctua

 

[Adeline Noctua]

Equipment | In Bio

Location | Field

Tag | Tae'l Vizsla

"I did indeed give the gun away, the heavy revolver, remember it? I had also given away the name, the title of Jackal. I had found someone who needed it, who needed Jackal."

She speaks in reference to "Jackal"

"As you have noticed, my accent is different. See, you remember what I am correct?"

For once she herself pulls down the dark cloak over her helmet, soon removing the helmet too.

"I change to my desire, taking whatever form I please. This more human appearance is useful for many things, but it isn't my true form anymore."

Adeline snickers, meeting this strange Twi'lek brought back some humanity to the monster that was Keres.

"You may call me lady Keres, or Darth Keres if you so desire."

A metal clad hand is raised, sharp claws akin to daggers on display.

"No no, I care not about the feud between you Mandalorians and the Sith order. I have so much better to do, it really is all just a means to an end to me."

It didn't appear that Keres reached for any weapons, she didn't figure Tae'l to attack her.

"I suppose if my title sours the tongue... Adeline will suffice."

Not many got to use her real name, perhaps a sign of respect.

"You must be one lost soul, to encounter a monster such as myself. What brings you among the dead? Your sand has yet to run out my dear."

If the sun of the desert gave a shine to the snow white hair of Jackal, the red gloom within the skies above meshed perfectly with Adeline's raven black hair and hauntingly enchanting eyes.
















​

 

[Tae'l Vizsla]

"Sangnir" She answered, though she only had a feint grasp of what that truly meant. All she truly understood was that her kind were capable of things that most considered unnatural. And that, in an unnatural way, Jackal was just as beautiful as when they parted, just in different ways now.

"I didn't realize the species were shapeshifters"

"You may call me lady Keres, or Darth Keres if you so desire."

Twi'lek didn't have body hairs, not even real eyebrows, but if they did then they'd be standing on the back of Tae'l's neck in that moment. First Samara and now Jackal?! How many times were old friends going to reveal themselves to be Sith? Just as importantly, why had she crossed paths with so many over the years? Even Gravemind and Omon Kaa / Darth Diem had tried, the latter of which having succeeded in earning her respect for time. At this point, more of her allies had been Sith than Mandalorians.

She shifted in place, not in any sense of betrayal, not like her fight with Samara, but simply shock.

"I suppose if my title sours the tongue... Adeline will suffice."

"You must be one lost soul, to encounter a monster such as myself. What brings you among the dead? Your sand has yet to run out my dear."

"Lost... that's about the size of it" She sighed.

"Was captured by a Sith lord during the Timra Ott massacre. Supposedly I was part of his... visions or whatever but it never panned out, I was released and advised to use the opportunity as a fresh start. So I've been hiding from mother ever since"

"Wasn't proud of my time an imperial citizen so I left, redeemed myself in the living waters since the bastard stole my helmet. By creed I'm a Mandalorian again but I've got nowhere to go. Been wandering for a few days now" There was a certain sadness to her tone that hadn't been there when she and Jackal were a team. Before it was rage, now it was... empty.

"What about you, Adeline?"

Adeline Noctua

 

[Adeline Noctua]

Equipment | In Bio

Location | Field

Tag | Tae'l Vizsla

"I wasn't always a Sith, but I had a run in with two fellow Sangnir. With their help not only did I get to go through metamorphosis, but one of them had access to the darkest of arts. The force is not within me like say a Jedi or normal Sith.. No no, it is stitched to me. I am an abomination, a heretical monster to so many."

She snickers again, tapping her claws together.

"I went through horrid pain, but now? Hardly any dare stand against my ambitions, they may call me whatever behind their sharp little web of whispers. At the end of the day they bow to me, over time they learn to respect their general. I have no qualms against devouring their body and soul if they continue to annoy me, people do learn through power after all."

Adeline stares off, daydreaming about things most gruesome. Not only was Tae'l talking with a Sith, but a general it would seem..

"A battle you say? How charming, I must have missed that one... I can't recall, I have been in so many."

Her eyes glance over Tae'l, as if trying to gaze at the Twi'lek from behind.

"The chip... I think I removed that, didn't I?"
















​

 

[Tae'l Vizsla]

Jackal's antics had always been... unsettling, even if Tae'l had done her best to get used to it back then. Now was no different. And yet the most unsettling part of this to her was she still understood, to a degree. The galaxy had chewed them up and spat them out again and again until they were completely different people. As much as she wanted to hate her for being Sith, for being connected to the people who had destroyed her homeworld and put a war between herself and family, She couldn't.

They were very similar people in their own ways, and to Jackal- or Adeline- the sith were a means to an end. Just as they had once been to Tae'l, and as she had been to the Mandalorians.

A Clone and a Monster, both trapped in the same war.

"Ya know, I always hated that word: Monster" Even if she what Adeline was to an extent, the sentiment was the same as it had been all those years ago.

"People say it like it's supposed to mean something, kind of like Dar'manda. But they're the ones who keep creating us..."

It reminded her of something Jackal said a long time ago:

"Is it right to reprimand a dog who was simply hunting because they needed to eat?

Jackal become Sith made sense in a way. Her species had to consume other sentients or at least their blood, no one would accept them. Tae'l didn't fully understand the concept of a soul or why you needed one, but she was done pretending that this was different from the creed. The only real difference was that Mandalorians chose living for war. Sangnir didn't.

"The chip... I think I removed that, didn't I?"

Her claw twitched. It had been some time since she thought of the Bio-inhibitor chip that had been installed in her skull since she was in the cloning vats of kamino. The chip that had started this all. Sure her negative emotions were no longer being suppressed by it, but decades of feeding her dopamine every time she had to think about killing had done more than neutralize battlefield stress: Even now, it was an addiction.

What a horrible piece of machinery.

"Yeah, you did" She smiled, but even behind the helmet one could hear the uncontrolled sniffles.

"You know, it's funny in a sick sorta way; you were the first one to really show me a kindness like that. Everyone else was always trying to help complete a mission or make a deal, even the Jedi. You were the first one to just offer help"

Adeline Noctua

 

[Adeline Noctua]

Equipment | In Bio

Location | Field

Tag | Tae'l Vizsla

"Sick sort of way? What saved us both was ourselves, you need only to use the dark to gain such things."

It had worked well for her in the past, when stuck in such a deep hole the only way out was to embrace the darkness around you.

"As for the word.. Monster. People say it or think it of me for a very simple reason my dear, they are afraid of me."

She gives a fanged grin, soaking in the word as she had heard it numerous times by now... It fueled her, made her ego stronger each time.

"I love it when they say it, when they scream it. Monster! Ha, it serves them well to be afraid."

Adeline still remembers the looks she was given, how they all treated Jackal like some disgusting beast... But now it was just so bittersweet!

"So, little ghost... Did you enjoy those waters? Speaking to one such as I doesn't taint the sanctity of that vow?"
















​

 

[Tae'l Vizsla]

She knew that Jackal was right, Tae'l had been the one to save herself. But the strange Sangnir and Omon Kaa had been the ones to show her that there were options, something that is difficult for someone to see when they've spent a lifetime living for another. For this they would always have the clone's thanks, no matter what they were or how they parted in the future.

"So, little ghost... Did you enjoy those waters? Speaking to one such as I doesn't taint the sanctity of that vow?"

Tae'l tried to bring her emotions under control while she thought it over. The Crusader sect to which she belonged had become confusing where it had once comforted, now an obstacle without others to guide her by creed.

"If it does then I just wasted several days of my life" She stifled a chuckle.

"The thing about Mandalorians is we've never been united, I know that now. Even among my own sect, there are so many factions with different beliefs that I don't know who or what to believe myself. Some would brand me Dar'manda just for speaking with you, others for letting those closest see my face. I'm pretty sure my old squad leader would be more concerned that I let my helmet be stolen, rather than my face shown"

"And the waters are... strange. Everything on Mandalore is dead, and there's nothing magical about it. Even so, something in the pool is... alive"


She wondered if Jackal ever felt the same about the Sith code. She said it was a means to an end, but how far did that go? There was so much she didn't know about the new Jackal- this Adeline- but she certainly planned on learning before they part.

Adeline Noctua

 

[Adeline Noctua]

Equipment | In Bio

Location | Field

Tag | Tae'l Vizsla

"Wasted days... I haven't even thought about that in so many years now, time does not matter to me. It is amusing to watch time go by, everything is just a sandbox for me to play with. One leader dies, another takes the seat. One war happens, another ends. It's amazing to me really, watching everything else wither and die around me."

Surprising not a single soul, Keres loved to watch death, be it thanks to the sands of time... Or even by other means.

"Magical you say? On my side of the spectrum I find the way the code of the Sith gets results, strikes violent fever in people! It is magical in its own way dear, watching power collide until one star shines out. And what delicious stars they are, potent in power.. And yet, Jedi taste so much better."

She taps a claw onto her chin.

"Your customs are so strange, but I can appreciate that warrior spirit. Still a shame that pretty helmet got used up so quickly, beskar crunches nicely but leaves a strange taste."


















​

 

[Tae'l Vizsla]

"You've come a long way. No more living bounty to bounty, meal to meal. I'd get bored too easily but... I envy you, in a way"

Truth be told, she always had. Maybe she wouldn't admit it aloud, But Jackal had always been the better hunter, the stronger warrior. Something about this had always intrigued her as much as terrified her on some level that even the chip couldn't suppress.

Which is why Adeline's next words were met with an uneasy silence.

She'd be a hypocrite to say it bothered her, given that she had it out for a particular Mandalorian herself and that she had killed her fair share of Death Watch loyalists that worked for Apollyon The Betrayer , but the implication that this woman who had once been her friend was not only accustomed to killing Mandalorians, but enjoyed it, didn't sit right with Tae'l.


"So... you wanted to eat my old helmet?" She tried to laugh it off. It was more of an awkward exhale really but she tried. Nevertheless, she had a feeling this meeting would end on a bittersweet note.


"It's a shame that you had to become Sith, to be tainted by that connection to Carnifex. There are other ways to see war play out, but I get the impression you've got too much going on to leave that behind right now"

Adeline Noctua

 

[Adeline Noctua]

Equipment | In Bio

Location | Field

Tag | Tae'l Vizsla

"No no, you can't lose your helmet again.. They would scold you. This was back before I was even Sith, adorned in robes white as snow.. The battle for Kathol. I had been hired as a mercenary to help guard a high priority meeting, this meeting had many powerful lords within it. It was to my utter surprise when a Mandalorian blasted through the roof and started shooting at everyone! Ah you have to adore that murderous innocence, to blindly rush in."

She chuckles a bit, smiling while gazing at the sky.

"Ah, best not lose myself in though- Ahem, this gentleman had decided to stop me from moving by throwing what I think was beskar? Anyway, in a fit of rage I changed to my actual form, breaking the binds as I went after the pest. I had been soooo close to being able to crush his head... Sadly I only got to crack his helm into pieces like a candy."

Scarlet eyes look over to Tae'l, it was hard to hide ques within tones from one such as Keres.

"You sounded upset a moment ago, fret not, he did not die that day. In truth I don't think I have fought any other of your kind since then, it was a rush though for sure! I love a good rush..."

The woman continues on.

"Envy is such an amazing tool, while it is unwise to envy the damned, I encourage you to look into that more."

She pinches some dirt, slowly sprinkling it down.. Akin to sand in an hourglass.

"Live your existence to the fullest, judgement of others be damned. Grab it, hold those ambitions... The envy, anger. Hold it all close to you so that when you inevitably get knocked down.. It only tempers your desire to be even brighter! Life is cruel, little ghost. Return it in kind, and your desires will be yours."

The Sith puts her helmet back on, adjusting it before it locks in.

"I find no shame in what I am, in who I am. What matters first and foremost as a Sith is self empowerment, the desire and passion to get what you want. I play my hands when the cards are stacked in my favour, I command legions. I am Darth Keres, general and devourer."

Keres stands, a scarlet glow watching from behind her visor.

"If I am to show respect to you... I expect it in return, or else."

















​

 

[Tae'l Vizsla]

fret not, he did not die that day. In truth I don't think I have fought any other of your kind since then

"Ah, You had me worried there for a moment. My mistake. " She was relieved to hear, even if the new that they had fought on the same front was a surprise.

Still, she listened intently to Adeline's advice. It was similar now to what she had said when they met, but perhaps a reminder would do some good. After all, this woman had risen far on this philosophy. who was she to argue?

"Live your existence to the fullest, judgement of others be damned. Grab it, hold those ambitions... The envy, anger. Hold it all close to you so that when you inevitably get knocked down.. It only tempers your desire to be even brighter! Life is cruel, little ghost. Return it in kind, and your desires will be yours."

She watched curiously as the woman put her helmet on, contemplating the reasons for it as much as her words. Was she leaving? preparing for something yet to come? Should she be concerned? Tae'l did not not know, until the tone changed, and Adeline stood.

"If I am to show respect to you... I expect it in return, or else."

Tae'l stood, and faced Adeline in turn.

"I didn't intend to disrespect you specifically. If I had, we would've skipped civility by now"


She did not reach for a weapon, nor did her stance change. She had no intention of fighting her, but neither did she intend on begging. If her explanation wasn't good enough, then a battle here was as good a death as any.

"On the contrary Adeline, you're one of the few people I find worthy of respect. I just... wish things were different. Wish our people weren't forced to be enemies. Carnifex... complicated things. Things that didn't need to be complicated"

"I missed you..."​

Adeline Noctua

 

[Adeline Noctua]

Equipment | In Bio

Location | Field

Tag | Tae'l Vizsla

She squints from behind her visor, a faint twitching of the side of her lip would have easily shown signs of agitation had it not been covered.

"Had you worried over what? My safety or the safety of my attacker? Because if things had gone just a bit different I would have ate him whole and spat the bones out, anything- Anyone, that stands in my way I harbor the greatest hate for. I won't stop until my claws get around their head so that I may pop it into mushy bits! I even told others I thought the genocide was a waste, but at the end of the day I don't care who it is. I want to watch things burn! Everything, it will burn by my hand! THE-"

Keres pauses, unclenching her fists, breathing slower as she started to calm down thanks to what Tae'l had also said.

"Why in the layers of hell would anyone miss me? Do you truly know me? Know that I would burn it all to make it become stronger? I am a demon, a devil."

The woman sighs, sure that in time this girl would hate her too... But that is what Keres thrived on, pushing others to be better even if it meant their hatred.

"You think of the Sith as following only the will of lord Carnifex? Self power and ambition come first, we are rewarded for it. There have been many who tried to kill him, yet he continues to earn his power by killing them. More than half of the order has tried to kill the old man, ha! I have stabbed my blade into him a few times, but we always reach a standstill."

Adeline snickers under her mask, looking to Tae'l.

"I just now remember telling you in the past that if someone gets in the way of your ambition you kill them. The Jackal had told you to kill your mother for what she did to you... You had killed all those other Mandalorians that were under Apollyon. What difference is there in me killing whoever gets in my way, and you doing the same years ago? They got in your way, that is the most simple way to put it. Did it not feel wonderful to snap their necks?"
















​

 

[Tae'l Vizsla]

"I didn't mean-"
. . .

Tae'l just stared in silence. Jackal was a maelstrom of emotions that no one had ever taught the clone to handle, all she could do was watch. In a way it seemed like this was fate's decree, that everyone she would part with all she came across in this way. Samara. Leenic. Her mother, soon enough. Even Iris had parted on terms that Tae'l did not find ideal, though the chip prevented her from voicing those concerns.

She felt small again, speaking to the woman who had such impact all those years ago.


"Adeline... There's a lot I don't understand"
But Tae'l was determined to see this through, to understand.

"I made the mistake of coming to you as a Mandalorian, not as a friend"

She took a deep breath, turning skyward to think about her words more carefully. The language of peace had always been a difficult one, perhaps to both of them, but she would try for Jackal's sake.

"I should have taken your advice a long time ago, stopped worrying what others think. When I realized that it was truly you- I assumed things- thought maybe we could go back to the way things were between us. I'm not sure what that meant to you, but to me it was...

It's naïve of me to want both. To wish for the approval of my people now that things have changed. And it was irresponsible of me to assume that we were still the same people"


Tae'l sighed, and in a moment that defied everything she had been taught by the watch, a call back to the vulnerability she once shared with Jackal, removed her helmet. Her face wasn't so different now as it had been, save that she was older now, and even the synth-flesh was worn. She wore just a little frown on those lavender lips, but without the mystical properties sealed in her helm, the force spoke of a pain far deeper.


"Things have changed, more than I could know, But I still see a bit of the old you in there. I want to know how she's changed. I want to understand"


Adeline Noctua

 

[Adeline Noctua]

Equipment | In Bio

Location | Field

Tag | Tae'l Vizsla

"Ever since a young age I got to learn just how slimy and pathetic this whole galaxy is, corrupt companies, slavers, spice trade.. Dogmatic zealots that all cuddle up in their own weakness. It is all slothful complacency, worthless, it makes everyone weaker. It all needs to be burnt down, each person pushed to their very limit so they can get stronger for it. This is my understanding of this place we live in, how useless everything really is. I will beat someone half to death again and again until I know they can handle whatever life throws at them, the person you seek... The woman you think is here..."

How does one explain?

"Long ago, when I was a young girl who was trapped in the darkest pit you could think of, Jackal was a persona at first. A hero that I wished I could be, flawed... Yet she dished out justice when a corrupt world failed to do so.. When the light failed to do so. Over time this imaginary hero in my mind became more real, and just as I managed to climb out from the darkness I was attacked in the swamp. Years of pain, years of trauma had snapped my brain. I awoke as Jackal, it wasn't until some years ago I woke up again and here I stand. You had met my hero, the only person who cared to save that little Chiss girl, the only person who cared to save you."

Tae'l was perhaps the first to learn that Adeline had actually been Chiss so many years ago.

"But I woke up, and again I say... Here I stand. No longer scared, no longer too weak. I may be driven by spite, hatred, anger, but these are the only things I know."

Had things have been different... The tragic reality of it all is that Adeline could have been one of the brightest stars, and yet her past had made her into a monstrous void.

"I suppose I still know my way around a workbench.."

Adeline whispers a bit, proof that Jackal was still there in some capacity.
















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[Tae'l Vizsla]

"I..." Tae'l turned to her in horror. Not at what Adeline had become, but at what the once chiss had lost, and what she had failed to see.

"I spent so long looking up to you. I was too blind to see just how similar we are, that you needed help as much as I did"

She ran clawed fingers over over her lekku the way a human would through hair, so many thoughts running through that little head of hers. Was it too late? were these newest developments her fault for not acting? would it have mattered.

"I'm sorry...! I should have done something"

She knew that Adeline was wrong in saying that this ghost called Jackal was the only one who would have cared to protect that little girl, but she also the only one to save Tae'l. And for that much, The clone felt that she owed her a great deal.

Still, there was more to do here and now, things that demanded her consideration now that she was better equipped to give the attention it deserved.

"Ever since a young age I got to learn just how slimy and pathetic this whole galaxy is, corrupt companies, slavers, spice trade.. Dogmatic zealots that all cuddle up in their own weakness. It is all slothful complacency, worthless, it makes everyone weaker -

-I will beat someone half to death again and again until I know they can handle whatever life throws at them


I may be driven by spite, hatred, anger, but these are the only things I know.

"I don't know how to feel about your methods... But I can still see the Jackal in it. You're still trying to save someone, in your own way"

It was difficult for Tae'l to know where she stood, what she agreed and disagreed with. All she knew was that she didn't want to pick anything over her friend, changed as they may be.

"You did as the world taught you, that much I understand but... What's your end game with this? Do you just crusade until it consumes you? Let it Devour the Devourer? I understand going out on your own terms, but there has to be some part of the plan I'm missing here"



Adeline Noctua