Private Written All Over

[Arris Windrun]

CORUSCANT
SITH TEMPLE
Mercy
​

"MERCY!"

An elderly emissary of the Sith sprinted down the halls, best he could with joints worn as his.

He shouted. "Mercy! The Empress has returned!"

Acolytes, instructors, and Lords of the Sith all turned their heads; their discussions of philosophy, blusterings, and casual threats were replaced by whispering and gossip. Normally, the comings and goings of Mercy were never the subject of much attention, if any at all, save her fanatical freaks. But all that changed when a Triumvir was dead.

The Dark Horse found herself perched up high in the rafters of one of the Temple's many halls. She sensed that arm ever before the old man's shouting reached her ears. Lifeless cybernetic eyes glanced down as he stopped, hands on his knees, and wheezed.

"My... My La--"

"I told you not to call me that." She groaned.

In the temporary chaos of shifting power, the Academy had fallen back into Windrun's purview. Well, with Mercy's galavanting in the Holy Worlds, all of the Covenant had fallen under her purview. People were on edge, certainly, but something uncanny had occurred. That is - nothing had fallen apart. In fact, quite the opposite. They were making moves on Alderaan, and Sith from all corners of the galaxy, even from within the Blackwall, hunted for Tira, a supposed 'ultimate dark side weapon.'

"Apologies, My... W-What do I call you?" The old man stammered.

She rolled her eyes. Whatever apathetic reply she had would have to wait. She was here.

The old man twisted his body to see who it was that approached from behind. "Star-Arm," he whispered as if warding a spirit, and groveled as he backed away.

Arris slid off the rafters and dropped down with a crouch. She hadn't fully recovered from her fight with Vestra, but it wasn't a sign of weakness. No, she wore the damage like badges of honor. Every scratch, missing chunk, singed and melted layer of synthflesh, disheveled mess of blonde hair, and crudely repaired damage around her throat where Vestra's lightsaber failed to finish the job. Evidence of her victory left bare. She was pleased with herself in that sick little way that had Arris Windrun written all over.

"Did you have fun out there?"

 

[Mercy]

Arris Windrun

The amusement was ripe.

No matter how much time passed, it didn't get old for Mercy, when people made a fuss about her appearance. It played well towards her ego, which had been sizeable before and was now truly gargantuan. It seemed everyone was on edge as the mountain passed them by. Attempting not to get underfoot, because with Mercy you never knew if you would get a smile or have your skull crushed.

"Oh, it was wonderful." Those eyes tracking the old geezer making himself scarce. "The Empress of the Rim knows how to wage a good war and fight a perfect battle."

Mercy's thoughts briefly went to Srina Talon . She had never assumed she'd ever find true kinship in this Galaxy. Friendship, yes, Arris was proof of her capacity for that.

But that was different from finding a sister.

Even if they weren't related by blood and hardly knew each other for more than a few months.

"What is new?" Eyebrows went up at the damage displayed on Arris' person. "You went through it in my absence by the looks of it. Were you having fun while I was gone? For shame, Windrun."

Then the Empress looked around.

"Where is Vestra anyway? This is usually her favorite haunt."

Vestra Tane was someone Mercy was particularly proud of. To think she had started as nothing more than just a two-bit darkside-fueled enforcer.

 

[Arris Windrun]

Mercy
​

"Sorry to say there was no war waiting for you here," Arris replied. "But it seems the Imperials are truly scattered and gone, yeah?" She mused dryly.

Of course, they both knew that was never the case. They'd be back in some form or another, or several, as was often the case.

When Mercy asked if she had fun while she was away, the cyborg merely looked down at herself as if all that damage was a sudden smudge of condiment she hadn't noticed until now. "Oh."

Her sanity was rather strained between killing Vestra and her conversation with Nilira Vornix before that.

"She's dead." Answered flatly. "What's left of her got shipped off in a box for Chandrila, I think?" Arris felt she was generous to allow the arbiters to carry out the dead Triumvir's will.

This was more the old Arris Windrun that Mercy stood face-to-face with now, absent that angst and gloom. No, it wasn't gone; she wasn't back to herself. Surely, when the Dark Side adrenaline finally tapered off... But unlike the genocides and acolyte abuses, killing Vestra felt objectively correct to her.

 

[Mercy]

Arris Windrun

She was still looking around the place, taking it all in, when Arris delivered the news to her.

That got Mercy's attention.

Her gaze was drawn back to Arris, raised eyebrows in surprise. It was very unlike the cyborg to joke around these days. In fact, Windrun was usually a depressed little shit these days, which was another reason why Mercy had left the Core. If you couldn't even find fun in your inner circle, what was the point?

"Odd attempt at humor." Mercy said slowly as she watched Arris carefully. Clearly not believing that their fellow Triumvir was dead and buried. Much less that her apprentice had died without Mercy around for it.

Or perhaps part of her was starting to register it.

Because the room was starting to tremble. The floors first, slow, subtle, but clearly there as the Dark Side began to build up around Mercy while she watched her friend.

"Where is Vestra, Arris?"

The start of wroth beginning to creep into her voice.

 

[Arris Windrun]

Mercy
​

Naturally, the cyborg sensed the shift around Mercy. Others in the hall kept their distance; some chose to leave entirely.

Arris rolled her shoulders and sighed. Her tone, her body language, the coldness in her eyes - it was all a touch serious now.

"Dead. I killed her."

 

[Mercy]

Arris Windrun

White noise in her ears, between them, rumbling in her brain.

Fingers squeezing together and releasing, crunching her knuckles. Nails diving into her palms, drawing blood and carving wounds that self-corrected almost instantaneously. Eyes getting more fiery by the minute. Like caverns etched into the mountain, lit by fire and consuming the darkness around them.

Mercy didn't need to take a step forward.

Her presence simply magnified by sheer inertia until she was towering.

"Why the fuck would you do that?" She finally said, voice tight, on edge. It was a testament to her growth over the years. An earlier version of Mercy would have already launched herself at Arris to try and rip her head off.

Farewell, Tane, you were a pain in my arse through and through. But you were my apprentice. I will carry you with me. I promise.

She didn't say it, she didn't even think it. The words simply... welled up, in her flesh, making her blood hum with truth.

"And why shouldn't I rip your head off in turn?"

 

[Arris Windrun]

Mercy​

It was Vestra who went after her, not the other way around, but Arris wasn't about to lawyer her way through it. Neither she nor Mercy cared about that.

Even as Mercy's presence swallowed the whole temple in her rage, the cyborg just stood there as if apathetic to her scolding. Or maybe numb. There was a difference between the two.

There was no answer to the Titan's first question, but the second...

"You answered that when you didn't already." Okay, maybe she didn't answer that one either, but the point was made.

Arris looked up, her gaze matching Mercy's.

"Vestra failed to kill me, and I'm stronger for it. Really, we should go out and celebrate."

 

[Mercy]

Arris Windrun

The rage simmered into a crescendo and for a moment Arris would see something strange.

Mercy's form shifting, the flesh under the skin moving on its own and almost like something tried to press out of Mercy's thick trunk-like neck, before it pulled itself right back again.

Then... Mercy's expression eased down and the large woman sighed.

"You are a piece of shit, Windrun." Hands settled on her hips and she looked around. Most people had vacated the premises, the only ones remaining either suicidal or curious enough to witness a potential clash between two Triumvirs. The moment Mercy's attention left Arris they quickly made their best impression of being a tree or some other scenery.

Starting to talk between each other or picking up a datapad. Hilarious.

"Now I have to find another Lord to take her seat. We are Triumvirs, we can't be Triumvirs with the two of us. That would be silly." She rubbed her face and groaned now.

"So anyway, what else is new? Did you decide to declare war against anyone? Give away some of our territory? Slaughter a few more of our Lords? Anything else that will give me a migraine?"

Eyes went back to Arris, but now there was amusement in her eyes.

As if they hadn't just been about to rip each other from limb to limb over Vestra.

 

[Arris Windrun]

Mercy
​

She grimaced at the sight of whatever the hell was going on with Mercy. When it stopped, and when the titan sighed, Arris quirked a brow and crossed her arms.

"I know," she replied quietly. Though she didn't feel guilty about it.

Then, Mercy considered--complained? both? Arris wasn't entirely sure--about having to find Vestra's replacement. Funny that it was, apparently, because they were a 'Triumvirate' and that meant they had to have a third. As if the name itself were an immutable thing that must be answered in reality. Arris had thought so, too, that it would be best to find a replacement.

She was already contemplating a few names before Mercy, to her surprise, made chit-chat.

"No, no, no, and no." She answered one question at a time. "Things are going great, actually. Our spy in the Senate informed us that the Alliance's last Chancellor has returned to reclaim his throne on Alderaan. Lysander and Varin will go check it out."

As the pair talked, the tension seemed to settle, but their hallway was next to empty now. If anyone did move by, they did so quickly to avoid their attention.

"And..." This next thing honestly eluded her understanding. "There's been some fuss about an 'ultimate weapon' in the Temple. Apparently, one of the holocrons we recovered from Tython points to a lost world. Ships have been leaving the Temple grounds in search of it all week. I'd ask around the archives if you want to know more."

Windrun pretended to check nails that her metal fingers didn't have.

 

[Mercy]

Arris Windrun

It surprised her to hear that Arris hadn't done some other crazy shit in her absence.

But at least the migraine would be localized to finding a new Triumvir so they wouldn't have to rebrand to something as silly sounding as 'Duumvirate' or whatever. Something like a Duumvir didn't sound nearly as appealing as a Triumvir, if you asked Mercy, and at the end of the day that was the most important part of this exercise for Mercy.

The moment they started feeling like posers, she'd throw herself out the window.

"Alderaan, huh..." Her expression growing thoughtful there. "I did see that we have expanded our reach towards that fancy little planet, but the denizens seem to be mostly in denial."

Mercy licked her lips, expression growing a touch hungry.

"Perhaps I will pay them a visit myself. Just to breathe in the air and keep them on their toes. These planets can't just think they can do whatever they want as long as they pray hard enough."

Her gaze returned to Arris and turned deadpan.

"There's been some fuss about an 'ultimate weapon' in the Temple. Apparently, one of the holocrons we recovered from Tython points to a lost world. Ships have been leaving the Temple grounds in search of it all week. I'd ask around the archives if you want to know more."

"Sure would be nice to have a Triumvir who specialized in the archives, lore and practices of the Sith right about now, don't you think, you fucking walnut?"

 

[Arris Windrun]

Mercy
​

"Walnut?"

That was the only proof of her listening, as up until then she appeared indifferent, still pretending to check her nails. She folded her arms and laughed.

"Aha... hahaha!" Followed by a snort for good measure. "Oh my--Mercy... I think maybe what we need is someone to specialize in not disappearing on us regularly. That's your niche, after all, and we wouldn't wanna double down on that again, yeah?"

Really, Arris had the most thankless job in all the Covenant. She stuck around while Mercy and Vestra ran off to tend to their own boredom. Or whatever it was they did. She never quite knew for sure. But she could see it in Mercy's eyes; she knew when the woman planned on sticking around.

"Anyhow - this lost planet feels like a problem we can just throw bodies at. I imagine playing games with the Republic is more your speed, yeah?"

 

[Mercy]

Arris Windrun

"Aha... hahaha!" Followed by a snort for good measure. "Oh my--Mercy... I think maybe what we need is someone to specialize in not disappearing on us regularly. That's your niche, after all, and we wouldn't wanna double down on that again, yeah?"

"You are trying too hard. You are our ace, not our jester, stick to your role." Mercy said after a moment of having her brain frazzled at the idea of Arris trying to make a sardonic joke.

She looked back to the crowd, milling around and doing their best impression of being the back scenery.

"I will think on who would be a suitable replacement and I will let you know."

Some names came up immediately in her mind, but that immediacy didn't mean they were the right choice. She had learned the wrong way that her instincts could lead her a stray. It had caused the death of Srina Talon before she managed to yank her back into the land of the living. That sort of thing stayed by you.

It was one thing to murder someone.

It was another thing to make a mistake that got someone killed.

"Anyhow - this lost planet feels like a problem we can just throw bodies at. I imagine playing games with the Republic is more your speed, yeah?"

"Indeed. Their Senators are too uppity for my taste." Her thoughts went to the confrontation with Verity Stuyveris . "They could use some cutting down to sizes."

Mercy licked her lips.

"Are you ready for war with them, if that is what it devolves into?"

 

[Arris Windrun]

"You are trying too hard. You are our ace, not our jester, stick to your role."

Arris chirped as soon as the last syllable landed. "Merce - I went through the Gee Kay with the bespin gas logo painted on my chest. Don't tell me I can't be fucking funny." Not to mention the slogan.

She uncrossed her arms and looked down at her feet when Mercy brought up finding Vestra's replacement again. It might've been prudent for Arris to weigh in on that decision, to insist on being more involved, but honestly? She was quite pleased to have Mercy just pull the trigger. After all, if she didn't like Vestra's replacement? Precedence had been set.

Her gaze flicked back up.

"Are you ready for war with them, if that is what it devolves into?"

Something hardened in her stance, like she was just itching to take a punch - maybe throw one.

"Yeah."

 

[Mercy]

Arris Windrun

She opted not to give Arris the satisfaction of acknowledgment.

Mercy was petty like that sometimes.

Especially when she just found out her former apprentice was murdered. There couldn't be an argument about it, because Arris had been completely right. According to her own philosophies, Arris had acted exactly as she was supposed to. And so did Vestra. Just the latter had drawn the short straw and didn't manage to get on top.

Why then... did it feel like fire was still coursing through her veins?

Something hardened in her stance, like she was just itching to take a punch - maybe throw one.

"Yeah."

"Mm, good..." She opted to instead channel that fire into something else entirely. "It was fun enough to break Imperial skulls over Brosi with Srina Talon , but I have been craving a real fight."

And what was more real than a fight against the High Republic? They were one of the largest nations in the Galaxy. Full of pretentious Jedi and self-righteous nobles masquerading as guardians of the common folk. It would be good, it would be right to break their civilization apart and introduce some chaos into their midst.

"It won't even matter if we lose..." Mercy purred, her eyes flooding with amber at the thought of sinking her teeth into a Jedi's throat and ripping it out. "As long as we make them hurt. I want to see them bleed, Windrun. They have been growing fat and complacent. I want to force them to make hard decisions... and see if they can survive victory."

Yes, this was better.

No thoughts about dead women and lost potential.

Only forward. Always forward.

 

[Arris Windrun]

Mercy
​

Back to usual, huh? This was the Mercy she saw at the Red Ronin, the Mercy who dripped with an appetite for conquest, but it was always wrapped in reason.

The Covenant didn't conquer the Core to conquer the Core. They did it to stomp out the domain of an 'old man' in over his head, who dared challenge Star-Arm and then disappeared before she had satisfaction. And now, they weren't attacking the High Republic because they were the only other kid on the block worth attacking, but because they were smug and complacent, and needed to be taught a lesson.

Funnily, Arris suspected that her reasons for hitting the Republic were far more genuine than Mercy's. Genarius was just a job. Trinity was just a game. What drew her, what actually drew her was him - the King of Naboo, who offered her amnesty with a title. A way out with a better life attached, all her crimes forgotten, and all she had to do was... Leave the Covenant? It disgusted her, and it reminded her of--

A metal hand balled tightly into a fist.

"I need you to follow my lead with Alderaan." She said flatly.

Her hand relaxed. "We'll draw the Jedi and their leaders into one place, and give them a game to play. I want them to feel everything that I feel by the end."

They would face her, face the Covenant, only when they themselves questioned whether the Republic deserved to stand.

 

[Mercy]

Arris Windrun

Greedy eyes watched Arris and some sort of understanding grew behind fever fire.

"Is this a personal matter to you then?" Mercy was unaware of the King's offer to Arris, or the entire spectrum of emotions hiding behind that. And even if she knew, she probably wouldn't have understood it anyway. Mercy could be complex in some ways, but sometimes she was disturbingly simple in her decision making process.

"Well, far be it for me to judge you on that, when you followed me to the Core over personal reasons." The tease was light, but again striking Arris with how generous Mercy could be right after being a cruel bastard a moment before.

It was like two creatures lived under Mercy's skin.

The monster and the friend - and you never knew which one you'd get until it already happened.

Then she pivoted, the way she often did.

"Tell me of this Moon...path? The kid you have taken under your wing." Oh, Mercy knew Acier Moonbound 's actual name. But in her experience a little bit of prodding brought more of the truth out than earnest asking.

"I wasn't that impressed with him in the throne room, but if you are spending time on him... he must have some potential."

 

[Arris Windrun]

Mercy
​

Arris didn't confirm her reasons. Mercy's acceptance, even teasing, was good enough for her.

"Ace?" The change in subject surprised her.

"He's..." The cyborg paused. She wasn't sure where she wanted to begin. "I mean, he's the one who secured ISB. He gets the job done, but..." She gestured with one hand. "He's also odd. Never takes his own initiative, I always gotta ask him to move."

That wasn't entirely accurate, but in terms of being a Sith, he showed little interest in gaining power.

"On par with Fire Boy, though. Someone you can expect to handle any difficult task. I find that useful."

Which was the meat of Vestra's criticisms towards Arris and her handling of the academy. Where the dead Triumvir saw students to mold into Sith Lords, Arris saw soldiers.

"I will say one thing - he acts to be unimpressive. I think he wants a line between him and everyone else."

It was like Acier Moonbound needed to sever those connections before they ever had a chance to begin.

 

[Mercy]

Arris Windrun

Nodding there slowly.

"I don't know if I agree with that. Varin..." A soft chuckle as she thought back to Varin Mortifer 's performance in her throne room. "That boy has heart. Fire in his veins. Now that is someone who can become a Lord in due course." It wasn't a surprise that this was Mercy's assessment. She had little respect or patience for those that worked quieter or more subtly.

In her books that was the same thing as cowardice.

You either made your move directly and bluntly or it wasn't worth making in the first place.

"Sounds to me like Acier is less a Lord and more a gun." Her hand came down on Arris' shoulder, squeezing there if allowed as she looked down to her compatriot and friend.

"Makes sense he'd appeal to you. But do not forget, you are not a fucking gun, Windrun." The squeeze drew Arris closer, until they were almost pressed together, making Mercy lean in to keep their uncomfortable eyecontact.

"Like it or not, but you claimed Lordship on Coruscant the moment you set Imperial on Imperial and caused a genocide that will be spoken about for years to come."

Mercy was exaggerating, of course.

The Galaxy had a short memory unless it was personally wronged. Who even remembered how Tion had been glassed to shit? Who recalled that Mandalore had been put to the sword just a generation ago?

Little to few.

"Don't try and carve a Lord out of him, if he is a gun, he is a gun. No matter how much he might remind you of yourself."

 

[Arris Windrun]

Mercy
​

Mercy was aptly aware today. What had gotten into her?

When the Titan's hand came down, Arris didn't move an inch. There was barely even a flicker of acknowledgement, like a lizard with a fly on its eye. Though she was listening, and she did feel something when Mercy told her that she wasn't a gun.

Arris had always believed she was. Her whole life was spent as a weapon on someone else's behalf - the Sneaky Shens, the shockboxing fixers, Black Sun, and now the Sith Covenant. Who was she if not a very effective weapon?

Her eyes panned up slightly to maintain eye contact.

Then, Star-Arm just had to go and remind her of her actions on Coruscant. The genocide in the core... Even Vestra was disgusted. But not Mercy. Never Mercy. No, she remembered what Mercy had said.

"They'd die either way, darling, this way we conquered the Core with substantially fewer losses than anyone expected. Bravo to us."

'Bravo to us.'

"He's my apprentice. Go tend to your menagerie."

 

[Mercy]

Arris Windrun

Mercy did not let go of Arris immediately.

Their eyes remained fixed on one another. Large trunk of a hand maintaining that light squeeze, as a constant reminder of Mercy's hold on Arris. Maybe to some degree it was symbolism, even if that was lost to someone like Mercy.

"Ah..." Sighing out there and finally letting go. Instead reaching out to stroke her jaw if allowed. "Loyalty looks good on you, Windrun." Then again that shit-eating grin, smug and piece of shit.

"And a Lord always knows when to be loyal. I am glad."

Only then letting go and moving past Arris, back to where she had come from.

"Alderaan and the High Republic is yours to run as you see fit. I am curious what your demented little mind comes up with next. I will have a think who can replace poor Vestra. I will let you know."