Imperial General
Posts: 55
(10/15/07 12:53 pm) Reply
Re: Vanaprastha [Closed]
He wondered if she had ever spoken such words to anyone else. It wasn't a recited speech, or at least it didn't seem like one, and he had heard his fair share of recited speeches. They didn't sound like that, they didn't have the show of emotion unless it was completely feigned, and it certainly didn't end with the other person apologizing for having such a long answer. Much of what she said seemed to hold truth and it explained to him how the Twi'lek people worked. They sacrificed the one to save the whole. In general it was the right thing to do and honorable of the person who accepted the sacrifice. Unless of course, like Daesha before him, you were the sacrificed one.
"No reason to apologize, Daesha. You told me what was necessary, anything less would have been an insult to my person." He wanted to move next to her and be more supportive, but he was unsure of a reaction and instead stayed where he was. Evidently she did not like the hand she had been dealt, Julius could not blame her for that at all. His life story wasn't nearly as interesting, but it did hold a counter to what she had said.
"Daesha, there is always something you can do. I was not born into a military oriented family, a conservative one, yes. But not a military one. I had to leave my family to go and join the military but it was a sacrifice I was willing to make to go and do what I wanted to do." He had since visited his family and made his peace with them. And when they had heard of how well he had done they were proud and no longer held any anger at him for choosing something away from the family business.
"People who accept their lot in life are those that do the dirty work for others. There are a lot of them in this galaxy, I see them all the time. You have lived through so much, there is little reason you need to do anything for anyone. When I found you here, you did not have to feed or cook for me, but you did. And being me, I try to return the favor as much as possible." He didn't like having someone outside of work do something for him without paying or returning the favor in another way. He was not a manipulative being and despised people who were.
"The only way you will screw things up is if you accept that you are stuck as you are and allow yourself to live just to help others. You are a being as well, Daesha, you have needs just as the rest of us do." He stopped, was he really talking about this? "But don't mistake that for greed, find a balance between yourself and others." Sure was, and thinking about it, it really made a lot of sense. He found himself relying on others a lot in the military, you had too otherwise you would die. But you also had to rely on yourself to stay alive and help keep the others around you alive. Yet you couldn't go out expecting to sacrifice yourself for everyone else and have no care for yourself.
Re: Vanaprastha [Closed]
It was a surprising man she had found, that much was certain. He alternated between dismissing the worth of the lives people like her lived and encouraging her to strive for better.
"What you're saying is definitely true in many cases, and from what you've mentioned of your life it's been true for you." She didn't want to tell him that he was wrong, that he had no perspective on her position, that he'd likely never really been forced into anything against his will, nor felt that his life was completely out of his control. He had succeeded in his life, and he needed to feel certain that it was because he had earned it.
But who earns slavery? Who is born and raised to deserve nothing?
He was doing his best to help her improve her own life without compromising his duty to the Empire, and it spoke well of his character. He was seeking a middle path that meant he didn't need to betray anybody, but how much could he really do for her? Did he really know what he was asking for? Alema knew what power she had. It was a power that no one she knew would have appreciated her using: the skill and finesse to control them.
Alema's life had been a series of sacrifices for others, fleeing her own needs for fear that they would lead her astray. Even her own bitterness and resentment aboard the Revenge had been a selfish drive, and one that she had needed to deny in order to fulfill her obligations. Finally the time came that she was no longer needed, and Alema could finally put herself first.
"But for me... It's not the same balance you strike between yourself and others, because we lead very different lives. We're playing on very different traits. You have the power to shape your life as you want it. I'm supposed to have the strength to endure whatever life is shaped for me by others without resorting to that kind of power. It would probably be ugly for others even if I did get what I wanted."
"Thankfully things are different for now. I live here, and there's only me to look after... with the occasional guest," she finished with a brief smile. She took the still-warm cooking pot and dropped it inside the basket so that it would be easier to carry home. "And I didn't cook dinner because I felt that I had to do it. I was curious about you and finding that I enjoyed your company. You could say that I was bribing you for conversation."
Imperial General
Posts: 58
(10/15/07 3:38 pm) Reply
Re: Vanaprastha [Closed]
Then for her this island retreat meant so much more than it was for him. He served because he signed up to serve. She served because it was what she had been raised to do. To adapt and do what others told her. He had been raised to take orders, but also to do what he thought would be the best path to take, victory or not. Thats why he had been promoted to General, he made the correct decisions more so than everyone else.
He made a feigned surprised look, "occasional? You mean I haven't been the only person who has visited you here?" He chuckled and watched as she began to pack up her things. He figured their time shared would be coming to a close and he would be hiking back to his camp and her to wherever hers was. "See, saying bribery makes the conversation seem forced. I prefer that we call it a mutual exchange."
He glanced back towards the fire, nearly the only source of light now that the sun was practically gone. Stars beginning to appear overheard. He looked up at them and just stared, "that is certainly a sight that I do not get to see often. Too many city lights or lights from the military base while off on duty. It sure makes us all seem little." He paused, "they look much better from the planet then while traveling in a ship, don't you agree?"
Re: Vanaprastha [Closed]
She nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, they do. They make more sense when you see them through trees and past mountains or over the ocean. Place them next to life and they take on a whole different meaning."
Alema flicked a piece of shell from her lap, stood, and dusted off her pants. She grabbed the basket again and rested it on her hip as she'd done when she brought it. "Listen," she began. "It's been a much more pleasant afternoon and evening than I'd predicted, and... I know we probably won't meet again. But take care, all right? Don't make an old recluse worry. It'll interfere with my meditations," she finished with a playful grin.
Imperial General
Posts: 59
(10/15/07 4:28 pm) Reply
Re: Vanaprastha [Closed]
It was slightly sorrowful to see her go, but he knew it was coming. That was alright though, he'd finally get to be out here on his own without any worries then. Perhaps he would run into her again, though chances were unlikely. It wasn't a small island.
"It would hurt me to cause you to worry about me. Do no such thing, I assure you I will be perfectly safe." He was more concerned with her own safety than his. "Good bye, Daesha, perhaps our paths will cross again, perhaps not. Either way, remember that you have needs as well."
Julius found his way to his feet and prepared to make his departure as well. He had no reason to stay around, so he reapplied his shoes and left the t-shirt there. He'd deal with it another time. "Well, good luck to you in whatever ventures you pursue." Last words before he ducked into the forest and made towards his own camp. He'd rather he left before hand so she didn't think that he was trying to follow her back towards her own camp.
Re: Vanaprastha [Closed]
Alema watched Julius go for a moment before turning away. She doused their fire in water and headed back up the wooded slope to the home she'd claimed for herself weeks before. Leaving Julius didn't quite feel like goodbye, since part of the reason he was a safe and pleasant companion for the evening was that she could assume she would never see him again.
She walked silently through the trees, they began to thin as she neared the apex of her little island. The twi'lek reflected on the evening's events. Had she really told him so much? She'd only spent an evening with him, and he arguably knew her better than her closest friends. The question of whom she even was closest to could only be answered with a question.
Was it more meaningful to be well-acquainted with a lie, or to briefly encounter the truth?
These were the thoughts that occupied her mind as she dropped a mouse in her python's cage, watching him coil around it with her chin in her hands and her elbows resting on her knees. "See, baby?" she whispered. "I came back. Growing boys need their mice." Now it was back to just Alema and the snake which had been her only companion since she arrived.
A few months ago the brief and transient nature of her encounter would have bothered her deeply, but something had changed in her and Alema made her peace with it rapidly. It seemed likely that she would never see Julius again as long as either of them lived, and the best she could hope for was that he might now and again look back and remember her.
And if he didn't? At least she'd finally told someone. At least she didn't have to face the sunrise every day wondering what it would mean to let someone know more about her than her favorite recipes. Now she knew, and it wasn't all bad.
Re: Vanaprastha [Closed]
A campground, Imperial equipment, yes. This was certainly the place where General Julius Kiefer had decided to bed down. But where was the General? His duties were requested back on Dantooine and Stein's own orders had brought him here, and coincidently, allowed him to directly inform the General that he was on recall. Stein was here with two Imperial Intelligence Bureau troopers, both clad in black scout trooper armor and armed with repeating rifles. Two shuttles were at the edge of the island, one for taking the General back and the other for when he completed his mission.
When Kiefer did arrive, Stein wasted no time in giving him his orders to return to the shore line and be taken back to wthe ship. Why he was shirtless he didn't even bother to ask. He was still a General and of higher rank than Stein, but orders from the top were still orders, and he was just the messenger.
With the orders given, he went about his own orders for being here. Apparently, the slicer from the Crimson Ferrets Revenge, Alema Nilim, a cursed twi'lek, was on this island. On top of that, she was blue, so it would not be too hard to spot her from a distance. Orders were simple, track her down, capture her, and take her back to the ship for questioning. After that, it was all in Stein's hands. He had already sent out two troopers to scout around and was simply waiting a positive response from one of them.
Just as Kiefer was leaving his once camp, Stein's radio buzzed and he reached for it. "Vat? Did you find her?"
--------
"Bravo, bravo." Stein stood outside of the cave that had become the home of the blue twi'lek. He stood, in his black uniform covered by a field gray greatcoat, clapping his hands together slowly. He stepped in while the two IIB troopers stood at the entrance with their rifles at the ready. He removed his cap as he walk under the entrance and held it at his side. "Allow me to introduce myself, Lieutenant Stein Hall of the Imperial Intelligence Bureau." He stopped as he stood to her side, looking at the snake. "An interesting pet, to say the least. Do reptiles find other reptiles as pets more comfortable to be around?"
He stared down at her for a moment, almost daring her to make some sort of comeback. He had little patience for xenomorphs and would have little qualms with striking her down right there. But, it was her home and so he held what little respect her could. He took his hat off, didn't call her a xenomorph, and had yet to lay a hand on her. "Now, vhat kind of a hostess are you not offering me some tea, Alema?" They knew exactly who she was, Stein had studied the record multiple times to find out exactly how to attack her. He had little reason to strike her, but the leku of a Twi'lek were severely sensitive. He'd used it against other Twi'lek prisoners, and he had become what he liked to call, an expert on harming the leku without causing permanent damage. After all, what fun was a prisoner that was missing a portion of its brain?
Re: Vanaprastha [Closed]
At the sound of company, a brief moment of fear flashed open in the back of her mind. This was a criminal world, after all, and there was a good reason Alema's home was remote. At the sight of him, a silent panic raged around the edges of her mind like wildfire. This was no petty vandal or murderer. This was every alien's darkest nightmare.
There wasn't any chance of escaping, that much was sure. However, as long as they were still in her house, she had some control over the tone that was set for the rest of this. She took a deep breath and drove her fear down to be burned as fuel rather than letting it flood her mind. She needed to pay attention. The fear was buried beneath the conditioned composure of a trained courtesan, and it would have taken a trained interrogator like Hall to detect it.
The twi'lek slowly stood from her place in front of Haly's terrarium. At the first sign of defiance she knew this situation would collapse, but it might be possible to keep things courteous for a while yet.
"Lieutenant Hall, if you know who I am then I assume you're aware you brought more guards than you'll need. I'm not that dangerous." At the very least he'd removed his hat and seemed willing to take her peaceably if she didn't do something asinine like lead him on a chase through the cave network.
"I apologize for the cold welcome. I wasn't expecting guests, but if you'd really like some tea, feel free to have a seat."
Re: Vanaprastha [Closed]
He nodded to the Twi'lek, "I did not bring them because of you." Stein turned and moved so that he could stare down on the snake. An attachment for the xenomorph. Without taking his gaze off the beast now swallowing the mouse that she had fed it, "ve vere more concerned about your friend, the Mandalore." The worry that he might have been around her person was really why the troopers had been ordered to go with him. If they could have captured her and the Mandalore, they could easily cripple the rising Mandalorian threat and Stein would leave here with a leader of a group as well as an experienced slicer who knew the workings of the Crimson Ferrets Revenge.
He placed his clasped his hands together behind him, pulling the great coat back slightly as he paced to the side towards the Twi'lek. Her species could fetch an awfully large amount of money on the black market. But such thoughts were not in him, her death, the destruction of her species, was. Did no feeling of attraction exist? Of course not, he was not completely hate as the High Commissar was. He still retained his normal senses and was not locked behind a steel contraption. And it would be a lie to say that he had never bedded with an attractive xenomorph before their death was sentenced.
It was the game of life, they all seemed to think that would save them from their own destruction. He had done so with a Hapan before they had been declared as close enough to mankind to pass. She now served as a maid for one of the camp commanders on Yavin IV. "Ve have little fear of you struggling again us, Twi'lek." The word of her species coming out as though a curse would. The blue tinted skin was repulsive, as were the two bulbous objects extending from the back of her head instead of hair. How anyone found a thing something of complete desire was beyond him. "Tell me, vhy give yourself eyebrows? Do you vish to be human?"
Re: Vanaprastha [Closed]Savin... she thought. If he finds out about this... Alema wrote it off immediately. It would be a disaster beyond their imagining, because Alema knew that he would not stop once he learned where she was, what had happened to her. Thankfully he was so busy that he'd likely never notice she was gone. At any other time there might have been a trace of sadness behind this realization, but tonight it was a relief.
She hadn't spoken with the Mandalore in weeks, and if luck was with her... she never would again.
The way he was pacing, observing her, making it clear that his eye was on tiny details like this... Alema was intended to feel like she was under his lens, and she knew it. However, he also plainly knew that she wasn't planning to make trouble. Why go to these lengths, then? Because he could? Because he knew he would have ample time and opportunity for toying conversation before taking her prisoner?
Fine. She would answer him. Fear wasn't an excuse for rudeness. It wasn't an excuse for anything. Fear was a test that she would either pass or fail. If she was honest she could admit that she would fail eventually. Lieutenant Stein would see to that.
She could only control one thing: how great her failure would be. The margin would be vast or desperately thin depending on how clear her thoughts remained.
"They make my expressions easier for other races to read," she answered matter-of-factly. He was an observant man, to notice a detail like her eyebrows. Most people didn't question them. "I knew I wouldn't be living my life on Ryloth, so communicating well with humans was a priority. As for being one..." she glanced over toward his guards pointedly. "There are times when the desire crosses my mind, yes."
Re: Vanaprastha [Closed]
Stein allowed an expression on his face, he rose his brows at the answer to his question of her wanting to be human. "Really now?" His face returned to and expressionless gaze and he looked between her and the two guards standing at the doorway. A lighthearted smile coming to his face, "it wouldn't just happen to be that we were here and are human fanatics?" He paced back over towards the cage that held the python. "And lying vill not get you anywhere."
Hands letting go of each other behind his back as he bent over and grabbed the snake with his leather gloved hands. Left hand directly behind the head while the right farther down the body. "An odd pet, for sure. It moves silently towards its foe, and vhen it does strike, continues to squeeze until the prey has no where to go but its own death." He looked down at the beast again before looking back towards her.
Why did non-humans exist? It was something he'd always asked himself. Whomever created the galaxy was a fool to allow such beings to breath life. Twi'leks lived naturally hard lives, the Imperial Intelligence Bureau should seem like a savior to them. Especially the females, they were exploited by people who found the lekku and skin tones attractive, and were cursed with males that were ugly even by the races own standards.
Dropping the snake from his waist back into the cage, he heard it land with a thud into its cage. How were xenomorphs any different than pets? Yet the Imperials were branded as evil for caging them as well. They were nothing more than beasts. Eyes forcefully drawn to the things extending from her head. He spoke out in extremely casual tone, "Which one, Alema? The tchun or the tchin? Which one is more valuable to you?"
Re: Vanaprastha [Closed]He's trying to provoke you. Don't let him. Don't let him!
Even if Hall had dismissively compared her to a reptile, it was clear that he knew more about twi'leks than he was letting on. It was more than knowing the names of her lekku. He surely knew how deep ran the dread of losing even one.
They were more than appendages, more than objects of lust or emblems of beauty. They were what made a twi'lek what she was, and the manifestation of the bond she shared with her goddess. They were the daily reminder that no matter what else happened twi'leks were a vital and special elements of creation, albeit small elements. They weren't pieces of anatomy to be lopped off thoughtlessly, and even a prosthetic was simply not the same.
There was no way to answer him. There was no middle ground between sacrificing part of herself to appease him, and defending herself only to provoke further assaults. "It's a difficult question to answer. May as well ask a human which he holds dearest, his thoughts or his memories." Each made him who he was, and distinguished him from the faceless and soulless populace of the galaxy.
But there was no middle ground. These games were beginning to be unpleasant, and perhaps it would be prudent to cut them short. "You seem very curious about me, Lieutenant, and I'm not certain why. I'm no longer active in my field, so I'm hardly a looming threat. If you've come to me for information, is it really just to learn about the values of my people?"Edited by: Alema Nilim at: 10/16/07 6:00 pm
Re: Vanaprastha [Closed]
He stared at her for a moment, contemplating exactly what she had to be thinking. Perhaps surprise at his knowledge of the Twi'lek people, perhaps not. Either way, she didn't appear to be severely broken at the moment. Most xenomorphs in the beginning weren't but after time in a concentration camp they all found their place. It was below mankind's heel, to act at the whim of the human masters until they no longer had a purpose. At that moment they would be shipped off to a Death Camp or killed in that camp if it had proper facilities. Of course it was also up to the camp commander if summary executions were allowed.
"Active in the field? No, ve don't vant you for your slicing knowledge." He shook his while lifting the snake up by its neck again. "I vant you for everything else you know." His free hand moving to remove his slugthrower from its holster, thumb deactivating the safety as he placed the barrel on the underside of the snakes head. Finger pulling the trigger as the snake's head erupted, the forward portion severed and sent into the air, himself covered with splatter damage, eyes not closing at all as blood dotted his face. The sound of the round echoing still in the cave as he dropped the lifeless body of the snake and holstered the gun.
Re: Vanaprastha [Closed]
Alema started at the sound of the gun report, a slow bleed of anger spreading out beneath the fear. It was fortunate for Lt. Hall that he wasn't dealing with a combatant. She'd found that snake on Myrkr. It was the only creature that had seen her every day and slept near her, the only recipient of real affection from her in years, even if she'd only owned him for months.
Haly was the only thing that had let her feel like she wasn't completely alone. The loss of him would have driven another prisoner mad with bloodlust. Alema knew it would do her no good, but that wasn't what really held back her temper. The real barrier?
Habit. Anger was an emotion not properly suited to a woman in her position in life. She seldom allowed herself to feel it, let alone express it openly. The fact that she noticed the indignation and rage in the back of her mind at all was a sign of their magnitude.
So "we" don't want your slicing knowledge, but "I" want everything else. Setting up a very nice opposition there, isn't he? It's more intimidating if the enemy is right in front of me instead of some faceless organization.
She took a deep breath and forced the tension to leave her body as she watched Lt. Hall drop her pet's lifeless decapitated corpse to the floor of her home. The only expression she allowed herself was less one of grief than of a woman mildly put out when a guest breaks a dish.
So rude. And crass, too. The open show of brutality was completely unnecessary. Then he still wants tea. Bad manners. She resisted the urge to click her tongue in disapproval.
"That's right, I'd completely forgotten. I don't have any sugar, so you'll have to make do." The twi'lek turned away, prodded the low embers of her fire back to life, and set a kettle on it to boil. There was only enough water in it for one person, but she only had one cup. Somehow she doubted that Lieutenant Hall would want to share.
"Anyway, you want 'everything I know,' and I have to warn you... I don't know how much of use I can offer. The captain is always drunk. The women are always half-naked, and the kitchen is always a mess. My day to day life on that ship wasn't terribly interesting, although... I suppose you'll be the judge of that," she added as she poured the hot water down into the only mug she'd brought.
She held it out to him with her fingertips around the rim so that he could grasp the handle. "Don't burn yourself; it's still hot," she warned automatically. The irony of Alema looking out for the comfort of her captor was not lost on her, and she couldn't help but be amused.
I guess old habits do die hard, don't they...Edited by: Alema Nilim at: 10/16/07 8:32 pm
Re: Vanaprastha [Closed]
He grabbed the cup from her and nodded in thanks. The heat of the cup transfered across his glove to minimize the warmth his hand would actually feel. "If you are of no use to us, then you may as vell join your snake friend over there." Stein tilted his head towards the remains of what had been her snake. "Ve've little use for a vorthless Twi'lek." Which wasn't true, he was sure that she could be found a use if she co-operated and wasn't forced into a labor camp. If she got to the labor camp, their would be no open servant positions unless it had just been opened.
Taking a drink of the tea, he felt the heat burn in his mouth and down his throat. Yet his expression changed none. Lowering the cup, "this is good tea, it's better without the sweetener, I think." It really was good tea, not fantastic but better than the standard crap that was bought in a store and made by secretaries.
"As for vhat I vant to know? I don't care about the pirates. No," he stopped and took another drink of the tea. "I vant that Mandalore." That was the target, to get the Mandalore and either kill him or convince him that the Empire was the faction to ally. Which was doubtful, so they would be killing him and putting the Mandalorians back into a confused mass of people. Savin was the target, the pirates meant little to nothing. They were one ship, the Mandalorians had more than that and a small army. They were the threat.
"And your choice is simple, you tell me where he is, then you go to no camps." He took another drink of the tea and stared down at her blue form. Odd creature that sat before him. "That, or," he paused and wasted little time before getting behind her and putting an arm around her neck and the hot cup directly next to her face, not even an inch off her face. His face pressing against one of her lekku. "More violent ways,"
Even as the realization came crashing down on her, Alema knew she should have anticipated this. She should have realized Savin was the one they wanted.
The twi'lek was certain that, pressed against her, Hall could feel her heart racing. After everything she'd placed between them, after losing touch with Savin and leaving his life completely... did she still care enough for him to die protecting him?
But what did she really even know? She swallowed, hard, and tried to get her breathing under control. She couldn't panic. Alema wouldn't allow herself to panic, but she still couldn't speak either. She took one deep, shaky breath, and shook her head slightly. "Before I left, he was... he was gone all the time. I never saw him."
Alema closed her eyes. She knew this wouldn't be the answer he wanted, but it also wasn't a lie. "I've been out of touch with them for weeks. ...If he's not aboard the ship... he could be anywhere."
The one thing they wanted to know was the one thing she couldn't have told them anyway, not with certainty. If they really had no use for her without that information, then... they had no use for her and might as well shoot her. Odds were Savin would never know.
Edited by: Alema Nilim at: 10/16/07 9:34 pm
Re: Vanaprastha [Closed]
She was full of fear, he mind had to be racing. The tense feeling across her was felt through him. The shake of her head got him to pull his head off to the side just slightly. It was a negative sign, if meant she was going to tell him nothing of use. That could not be allowed. He heard her out, but little more than that. If she could not tell him what he wanted to know, then why would she be needed?
The mug of tea left his hand and crashed down onto the floor of the cave. His arm loosened on her neck and he took a step and let her go. "So you really don't know, hmm?" His voice raised with agitation. He stepped towards her to put her backed up against the side of the cave. His gaze staring down at her, eyes only a few inches from her own, clearly filled with a sight of frustration and anger behind it. But not to an extent where he looked completely angry, it was still controlled.
He simply stared, reading her expression. A minute passed by before he stepped back and his face returned to an emotionless gaze. "You really don't know." He turned away from her and paced back across the cave. Coming to stop at the body of the snake in its cage. "She doesn't know," a slightly drunken sounding chuckle emerging from him. He continued doing so even as his hands worked the strap on the holster of his slugthrower pistol before pulling it out and cocking it. Pointing the gun down in a quick motion and firing off three echoing rounds into the body of the python. Blood now covering the bottom and the walls of the cage.
He turned back towards her, eyes filled with anger and made his way to her. Gun raising as he got closer until he prodded it into her stomach. "Vhere is he you blue xenomorph whore?"
Re: Vanaprastha [Closed]
Something about Imperials and shooting her in the stomach. It must have been a more tempting urge than Alema had originally suspected, because here was a second Imperial ready to do what the first several months ago had done. Granted, the Crimson Guardsman had been wielding a heavy blaster, but this wouldn't be much better, she knew.
She took a deep breath, let it go. She was trying hard to control the rate of her breathing, and only partially succeeding.
Oh, Julius, she thought. What have you done.
It didn't matter now. Whether Julius had betrayed her or not made no difference, and didn't change the terms of this situation. It was still controllable. Possibly. She'd just underestimated the power of the IIB's reputation, and realized now that it was affecting her more than she'd like. "I told you," she said through her teeth. "I haven't been in contact with him. Yeah. If I knew I'd lie. But I'm not."
Fate was a tricky thing, with a quirky little sense of humor. For the second time in her life, Alema's best hope was that her captor would just shoot her and get it over with. Somehow she doubted that Lt. Hall could be goaded into it, though. Not the same way that the Guardsman had. Angry as he was, erratic as he was becoming... if he did shoot her, it would be on his own timing and not hers.
Re: Vanaprastha [Closed]
The blue Twi'lek was defiant, he had to give that to her. But they all had their faze where they thought they would be able to coax death to be quicker or to avoid it all together. So removing the barrel of the pistol from her stomach, he stepped back from her. "Alright," he holstered the weapon and glanced across her room. There was nothing of any true value in it at first sight. Walking over to where his cap had fallen from his grip, he picked it up and dusted it off.
"Come now, my dear Alema. It is about time ve get you off this criminal vorld." He paid little heed to whether she followed him out of the cave or not. The two guards had already been given orders that if she did not follow, they were to go in and get her forcefully. Replacing the cap upon his head when he exited the cave, Stein looked out over the trees and into the ocean where the stars reflected beautifully. What a waste, to have such a world of beauty in the hands of criminals who do nothing be kill each other and inflict pain on others. Why would a bastion of such beauty hold so many pieces of filth along with xenomorphs?
His hand went up to his face to wipe of the flakes of dried and drying blood from the snake. He knew it would not be the end of the bloodshed with the Twi'lek, but it was beginning to dry and become an irritation. He wondered exactly how long the Twi'lek would stay steady once she was no longer in any sort of safety. If she truly did not know where the Mandalore was, then they would have to find her a use or exterminate her. Perhaps a camp would like to hire her out as a servant to the commander.
Re: Vanaprastha [Closed]
So that was it. They were leaving. Haly was dead, and once her feet left the soil of this planet Alema might as well be dead, too. She certainly would be eventually.
At least there was one thing that she couldn't do, no matter what happened to her. She couldn't betray the Mandalore. She didn't know where he was or what his people had planned. She wasn't even completely sure why the Empire was so hellbent on seeking him out. Alema had no idea the Mandalorians had become such a threat under her friend's leadership.
But she couldn't betray him.
Lieutenant Stein's twi'lek prisoner followed him outside, not wishing to subject herself to the indignity of being dragged out kicking and screaming. The end would be the same, and if she was destined to die this way... at least she'd had a few weeks of freedom and meditation beforehand. Alema was ready to die, but as for what would surely come before death...?
She wasn't at all certain she was prepared for that.
Re: Vanaprastha [Closed]
The four moved through the forest towards the waiting shuttle. They hadn't come in a Star Destroyer or any visible Imperial ship, all freighters under real captains who were actually freighter captains, just paid an immense amount by the Empire. But it wouldn't matter, the money would return to Imperial hands and both the captains and their crews would die upon return to Imperial space. No evidence could be left behind of such a venture here.
Reaching the beach, the older shuttle sat hovering just off the ground. Landing gear was pointless in sand as the ship would sink right down, and the idiot captain had a faulty loading ramp. So after pulling himself up, Stein extended his hand in courtesy to help Alema up onto the shuttle. Guiding her over to a seat, she sat down next to her. He had nothing to talk about, perhaps the silence would be more frightening that him talking at all.
With the sound of the interior of the freighter beginning to echo in the shuttle. Stein knew they had arrived. The ramp was crappy and even with the landing gear down was unable to reach the ground. Pulling Alema up to her feet, he made his way down the ramp, assisting her down by allowing her to use his hands as a ladder to the ground.
"This way, Alema." No anger or anything in his voice, simply informing her of the direction they were to go. The two moved down the halls of the rented ship until they came across a room. Opening it, he allowed her to step in first. Closing the door behind him, he pointed to the two hammocks that were strung between poles. "Pick one, it'll be a short journey before we return to Dantooine." He hung his hat on a rack on the wall before removing his greatcoat and Moved over to the nearest hammock, regardless of whether it was the one she had pointed out, and began removing his boots. "Well come now, get into the bed type thing." He lowered his voice and pulled out a small device, depressed a button on it, and a small light pitch was heard throughout the room. "The ship may be bugged by the captain. You are a family friend. Get in the bed so when come by for inspection they don't have a chance to ask you any questions." He released the button before she had a chance to reply.
The captain and crew, unknown to the Empire who they actually were working for, but they had their own checks that they had to do so the Empire would not track them down. If they followed them, they would survive, but it didn't call for Imperial scanner teams to move through the ship and search for bugs, so Stein did not plan on taking any chances.
Re: Vanaprastha [Closed]
Alema nodded and slipped quickly into the remaining hammock, lying on her side and curling her fingers around the edge of the fabric. Rough against her skin, she savored the sensation for a moment. She would leave it behind, her fingers never feeling it again. Soon there would be nothing but pain and before the end Alema expected that she'd be torn down until there was nothing left.
The woman pondered it while she could. So this was to be the quiet before everything finally twisted and shattered. It was a strange sort of peace, accepting his hand in aid. Following his suggestions and instructions. For what? Mercy? Certainly not.
No, the fact was that there was no reason to struggle against the inexorable strength of fate. Alema couldn't save herself, nor was there anything another living soul could do for her. She, as an individual, was over.
There was nothing to fight for, nothing to protect. She didn't have the knowledge they wanted, and when they realized it she would die an obscure death, stolen and forgotten. So be it. Perhaps people like her were never intended to have important lives, and if all she was good for was betraying a friend... it was better to be irrelevant. Better to be forgotten than to realize such a purpose.
This was the mercy she saw now. She would die when she must. She was destined for that, but the redeeming light shining through the dust and death hanging in the air was simply this: she would die without betraying him. That was her reward for her service. It was enough.
Re: Vanaprastha [Closed]
He lay there, not asleep, just thinking. Next to him lay his prisoner, the xenomorph, a blue Twi'lek. His mind wondered how much he could get a camp commander to pay for such a thing. Twi'lek, blue, a strong chef and polite, certainly strong willed. The strong will would probably die though, and her confidence in anything will have to be rebuilt after the interrogation process. He didn't plan on selling her off before then, if she even survived it. Stein had yet to have a Twi'lek female to actually survive for a sale. The lekku were too sensitive and he had done too much to them and caused death or severe brain damage to occur. They would become little more than vegetables and be no good for anything after that.
Turning his head, he glanced over at the xenomorph. She could very well be his link to capturing or forcing Savin to stand down his arms against the Empire. If that could be accomplished, they might be able to form their own alliance. Such a thing would make the galaxy tremble, to have the Imperial Navy and Army combined with the might of the Mandalorian warrior... Then again, it could all be a pipe dream. If it was, then so be it. War would come and the Mandalorians did not have the manpower to wage such a thing. Logistics would be the victor in such a war.
It was a few hours before the ship finally exited from Hyperspace in Imperial space near Dantooine. An Imperial Star Destroyer greeting the freighter upon its exit. A Sentinel-class landing craft immediately departing from the belly of the Star Destroyer to dock in the freighter's hanger.
Stein wasted no time in getting up and beginning to put his boots back on and throw his great coat on. Placing his hat upon his head, he pulled the slugthrower from its holster and cocked the action. Turning towards Alema, "let us depart this place." He exited the room and glanced down the halls before grabbing her by the arm and moving towards the hanger bay. As they neared it, the sound of blaster fire could be heard. Though upon arrival, the area was only filled with the white clad Stormtroopers of the Empire and a few smoldering bodies of once crewmen.
He didn't waste anytime pulling her up the ramp and onto the shuttle. Quickly behind them followed the Stormtroopers. The ramp rose and the shuttle fired out into space and towards the Star Destroyer, Wessex. It, in turn, opened fire on the freighter and in moments sent pieces of it hurtling through space in a brilliant explosion. Though the two wouldn't even know such a thing happened.
With the shuttle in the hanger of the Wessex, Stein again helped her down the ramp and the two headed down the halls. As they walked, he talked. "Alema, we will be housing you in a standard cabin, the exception being that it locks from the outside and not the in." The two stopped outside of a room, labeled simply, X. He opened the door and let her set foot inside first. "As you see, standard bunk, bathroom facility and desk." He leaned against the side of the door and removed his cap. "Any question?" He paused, "with no fear of retaliation on my part. Ask away."
Re: Vanaprastha [Closed]Where there is no hope, there is no future.
Alema's first appraisal of her new quarters lent an odd impression. Surprisingly comfortable quarters, though they likely had other areas for isolation or sensory deprivation. This gave her few clues to what might be coming, except that she would be allowed to recuperate. Well, that she was prepared for. Any efficient punishment could be undone. After all, torment and torment and torment enough and pain would lose all meaning.
Where there is no future, there is no fear.
They used a soundproof room. So that it wouldn't scare the other girls. They would learn soon enough. Hard lessons, but Daesh'anilim had never lost a student, and they weathered captivity better than most. This time, though... she couldn't make any mistakes. She couldn't slip, she couldn't give in to mercy or soften to tears.
If she bent even a little to the girl's suffering... Daesha would fail her.
"Listen," she said. "Stop screaming! That's enough!" She covered the girl's mouth and nose to silence her completely, forcing her to concentrate on her breathing. "Now listen. Remember what I've taught you. What do you feel?" An low and drawn-out whine was her only answer. "Not that. That isn't important." She removed her hands, and after an initial sob the girl was quiet. "Well?"
"I can feel it on the back of my legs."
Daesha looked down. It was true; there was blood running down the tender skin behind Alema's knee. She'd still been ticklish there when they'd begun these lessons. "And?"
"It's--" Crying again. Unacceptable. If she ended up with a cruel master, what good would pleading do her?
"Stop that. You cry when you need to, not when you feel you want to. Those tears are mine now." The whip came down again, stripping away tender blue skin. "When do you need to cry?"
Alema thought, decades later, When it serves me more than them. She and her mother had never been close. She always thought perhaps it was to keep her mother from missing her, if she felt like she'd never have a daughter in the first place. Still... she'd relied on the lessons learned at the end of whips, canes, hypodermics.
It was small comfort, but what more could a slave hope for? A slave was nothing but obligation chained to duty buried under six feet of endurance. Some slaves hoped. Alema had only faith, but her faith made no promises to save her. Assurance that there was no justice, no peace, and no hope was the last bastion of sanity, and therein led some escape from pain.
Where there is no fear, there is no pain.
This room... the bed. Blanket. Toilet. These were illusions laid over the reality of the situation. They were deceptions, figments. These things signalled hope where there was none, but Alema wasn't fooled.
Where there is no hope, there is no pain.
As she pondered this, she found she did have a question after all. "What is the desk for? I don't presume you'll be letting me near a computer."
Re: Vanaprastha [Closed]
He looked at her for a moment, was it truly the question she was going to ask him? It appeared so. A smirk crossed his face, "you'll find out soon enough." He stood back up from leaning against the door frame. "I suggest you get some sleep vhile you can, Alema. You vill most likely have a busy day tomorrow." He stepped back out of the room and placed his hand on the controls to close the door. "Good night." The closing of the door emphasizing cutting off the end of his sentence.
Moving down the hall towards his own room, the room directly next to hers, he opened the door and stepped inside. It was no different than the room she was staying in, besides the fact that it was not monitored, and the desk held a computer and assorted document folders laying on it. Stripping down, he washed himself, set his alarm for five hours later, and went to sleep.
----
Alarm pulling him out of his bed, he quickly pulled on the black uniform, boots and his holster. Five hours had not been a lot of sleep, but the Twi'lek was confirmed to be asleep, or at least in her bed from a quick glance at the security camera hidden in the room. Leaving his own room, he turned, passed a guard without a glance, and stopped at door X.
Punching in a code, the door opened in complete silence. It had been added so that he could enter the captives room in utmost silence. Stepping inside, he waited until it closed in silence before moving over and carefully sitting on the edge of her bed. Twisting himself around, he placed a hand on the base of her lekku and softly spoke her name, "Alema, Alema dear, its about time to get up." Let her wake up confused, let it sink in after she wakes up from the liberating sleep that she is still caged to my whim.
At times, times such as this, he wondered exactly why he was being paid to do this. It was one of those jobs that one could do for free, it was just what Stein did. Xenomorphs were no better than the game he hunted while on leave, they were easier to clean and carve up because they were smaller than most wild game. They also spoke back, it gave another edge to the game.
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