Healing Trances (Enzio, Marie; closed)

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"Awaken..."
It was like a loud alarm bell ringing in his head, what an unpleasant noise! From the sound of it, Enzio guessed she'd be an old decrepit creature with one foot on the other side. He wasn't particularly keen on actually viewing her but nevertheless thought it impossible to fake sleep before someone capable of talking into his head like that...

The he opened his eye.

A most pleasant surprise greeted his silvery eye as his gaze caught sight of the only other person in the room, a blond man with large, dark shades and an equally golden mustache-beard combo. A stunning specimen of beau-...

Then it hit him.

Where in the Galaxy was he?!

He suddenly noticed that he was floating practically naked in some kind of watertank (though he never had any problems with displaying his body), and seemed to be restrained from head to foot. He couldn't even move his head to look around!
Had those strangely shrouded men captured him?!
Where was his Mistress?!

Then his attention was turned back to the man with the sunglasses who seemed to be watching him...

"What?"
Enzio thought back at the man in a brusquely aggressive tone, he didn't take kindly to being imprisoned like this and wanted to make that perfectly clear.

"Fiesty, you are," Shard replied aloud, his voice being carried to Enzio through the speakers built into the tank. "No doubt that will be useful later on, when we interrogate you regarding your actions at our gates. But you seem the sort who would enjoy being interrogated, am I right?" He smirked slightly, and leaned back a little as he crossed his arms over his chest. "They'll be quite interested to know who sent you, and who those cloaked fellows were, Mister Lhussuri."

He turned and walked back toward Marie's tank, regarding the drugged girl idly. "You see her? She crashed here not too long ago, the wreckage is no doubt still burning out in the valley. Only seventeen, and she's already made her own lightsaber and threatened me with it." He chuckled. "She's fiesty too, and she's also ready to get out."

A few quick taps of the keypad by the tank caused a counteragent to the sedatives to be injected; simultaneously the tank drained, and Marie floated gently to the bottom along with the liquid. The droids had removed her clothing prior to inserting her into the tank, leaving her in whatever undergarments she had on; the black dress had been charred and ruined in the crash, so Shard had sent for new robes in her size. They were now on a nearby table, along with whatever personal affects she had had on her, including her weapon.

"Wake up, Miss Desikot," the Miraluka said gently. "You've been in kolto for some hours now, and have had a blood transfusion; you're likely still sore, so don't strain yourself too much. Your things are on the table there, along with some new robes." The air in the medbay was slightly chill, as these places tended to be, so it'd behoove her to get dressed quickly; that and there were two men in the room as well.

As if to accomodate that, Shard turned his back on her and faced Enzio again. A slight twist in the Force caused him to go temporarily blind in his remaining eye, and cut off whatever Force-based senses he might have. "No peeking," the Miraluka said sternly. "Now, do you want to explain things of your own volition, or would you rather wait for the interrogators? I recommend the first course, myself."

Lux followed the man with his eye as best he could without being able to turn his head, or move at all for that matter.

Then the man called him by his name...

"Bastard invaded my head..."
The thought carried the tone of ferocity typical of someone bound and angry...
"Why don't you just fish the details out of my skull too?!
I don't have anything to hide..."
Again, ferocious.
Then the man spoke of another person he could just barely make out of the corner of his eye...
She looked kind cute.
Then things went dark and Enzio squirmed violently, the chains and restraints giving evidence of wear and strain as the tank itself seemed to moan under the stress.
"Bastard!
If you're gonna blindfold me do it right!"[/i]

Then resignation set in.
The strain on the tank and restrains eased with his body as he realized that the man before him had no idea who those cloaked men were either, he must be inside the Temple.

"The men were sent by my Mistress who sent me here. They called themselves 'The Faithful' and attacked me when i told them i didn't care to return. I don't know my Mistress' name, nor was I aware of the existence of those men...
I've decided I want to join what you call the 'Sith'..."

Marie slowly came into awareness of her surroundings as the level of kolto went down around her. As the sedatives were flushed, she became aware of several things simultaneously. First, that she was very scanitly clad, simply in a pair of panties. Second, that there were two males in the room. And third, the air in the room was extremely cold. When the chamber opened, she very carefully leveraged herself out, and headed directly for the table, pulling the robes on quickly, pulling them tight around her before gathering the rest of her things.

She shivered for a moment, and then looked over at the Miraluka that had apparently helped her. She caught what was said to the male in the other chamber, and tilted her head. But she didn't pay it more than a moment's notice, before stepping over and bowing slightly. "I would like to thank you for your help, Master Shard," she said, smoothing the robes out as she did so. One of the many habits she had still kept was to make sure that at least her clothing looked presentable, even if she herself didn't.

"As I said, I'm Marie Desikot. I apologize for the way we met. I guess I wasn't completely myself, what with the blood loss and all." Her voice trailed off at the end, and then she looked up at the male in the other tank, her head tilted as she examined him.

"Quite alright, my dear, don't fret," Shard replied, quirking an eyebrow when she called him Master. "No need to call me master, though... we have not made any sort of agreement as to your instruction, and officially I haven't been promoted to such a rank anyway." The way he said 'officially' made it seem he disagreed with the letter of the law, if not the spirit. He smirked as he regarded her again. "Your new outfit is becoming of you, I must say."

He turned and faced Enzio again, the smirk fading and becoming a slight frown. "Mysterious teachers, hidden assassins... you arrive at a bad time for climatic arrivals, Mister Lhussuri." He cocked his head to the side, crossing his arms beneath his chest. "I'm certain you will have a chance to prove your worth, though, they can't keep you chained up forever." Then the smirk came back. "No matter how well they fit."

He stepped back and regarded both of them. "In any event! Both of you are new arrivals, so it falls to me to properly explain things. As you might have gathered, we are on Korriban, an ancient Sith stronghold, and this is the new Sith Temple. Built upon the ruins of an older building, and dedicated to the vision and ambition of a new era! An era devoid of the so-called Jedi Order, of the Republic and all its corruption and stagnation!" His voice dripped with disgust at the last sentence, particularly the two emphasized words.

"Many of us are former Jedi, myself included," and he bowed slightly. "But that does not slake the intensity of our feeling in the slightest. If you seek vengeance, you shall find it; if you seek power, knowledge, personal gain, you shall find that as well, and more. But such things, like all that is worth having, do not come lightly; if you join our ranks and seek our power, you will be tested like never before. Physically, mentally, emotionally... if you cannot measure up, you will be thrown aside!"

During his speech, Shard's voice and manner had taken on a certain grandiosity, of a sort that would have seemed false or forced in anyone else. He, however, pulled it off well, in a manner befitting grand displays and words of power; the very air seemed to vibrate, in fact.

But then he stopped, looked about, and shrugged. "Oh good heavens, where are my manners?" he said lightly, casually. "I know your names, but you don't know mine!" He faced them again and bowed elegantly. "I am Charlill Sylvorr, otherwise known as Shard. As you might have assumed, and rightly so, I am one of the Sith gathered here in accordance with the will of Dark Lord Iniquitous."

He spread his hands, and the room seemed to fill with a deep, soul-searing heat; it was not physical, yet the other two felt it all the same, at the same time as they heard ghostly, insane whispers too clear to be merely audible. Shard himself suddenly seemed greatly menacing, as well. "As I also said," he went on darkly, "recent events have put us on our guard... you will not be accepted lightly, so be ready to face the gauntlet." He smiled toothily, and that smile did not bode at all well for anyone faced with it.

In the next second that strange heat disappeared, along with the whispers and the odd sense of menace, and the Miraluka's smile became more natural. "I do bang on, don't I?" he said airily.

((OOC: I had a lot of fun with this post. xD ))

Enzio's mind burned.
His grip of sanity, he could hear, was slipping through that heat, as if melting under the sheer presence of this man. Then the inferno ebbed.
He gave a mental sigh. The indulgent rush was brilliant, he wanted more...
Just as he wanted more of this Dark Side power...
"Release me and You'll see just how capable I am of taking anything you can offer, Mr. Sylvorr..."

He thought at the man before him.

This was quite the ordeal he'd gotten into. It thrilled and excited him, surging blood through his veins...
What fun...

She curtsied when he said that the new outfit was becoming of her. She thought so as well, but she wasn't as full of herself to say it out loud. She stood and listened to what he said to the other male, and winced slightly when he mentioned dramatic arrivals. She knew well enough that her arrival had probably been pretty dramatic as well. But she didn't say anything, as it seemed like he wasn't completely finished speaking.

She smiled when he said they were on Korriban. That had been one of the things the captain had managed to get out before they had been shot down, so she had already known that. It hadn't been that hard to realize that the Sith were here with what Shard had already said. But when he mentioned being without the Jedi Order and the Republic, she grinned, a silent cheer going off in her mind. She too was tired of the bureaucracy and nonsense that seemed to pervade everywhere the Republic influenced.

The admission of former Jedi made her pause for a moment, but then she realized the potential benefits of having that kind of person in the place she had found herself in. One could learn the tricks the Jedi used, and use those tricks against them. She chuckled softly, and then went silent as he continued. The mention of vengeance brought a wicked grin to her face, and she nodded, not saying anything at the moment. She knew that this was a grand speech, and as much as they annoyed her, it was one she hadn't heard a million times before.

She didn't even react when the air started to vibrate, used to such things from her uncle. He had used that quite frequently to keep the authorities from getting curious about what her teachings were with him. Because of that, it didn't really affect her that much.

The heat, on the other hand, sent her into a state of shock. Even her uncle hadn't exuded that kind of power. It was refreshing, and at the same time, terrifying, to realize that someone who left no trace within the Force could exude that kind of power. She almost didn't even hear his words over the voices that, to her, seemed to scream through the room. The voices sounded so loud in her ears that she actually hit her knees at the sheer intensity of them. When it stopped, it left her gasping for breath, one hand clutching at the robes over her chest, the other planted on the floor to keep her from falling forward onto her face.

She looked up from her kneeling position, staring in awe at the Miraluka in front of her, her eyes wide in pure awe and even a little bit of fear.

[WHOO! Fun fun fun. I enjoyed reading it, and writing my response to it. Nice work, Karl.]

Shard grinned. "You just might get your chance, Mister Lhussuri," he replied cheerfully. "I have a lot to offer, but you'll find I can be quite demanding about it as well." There was definately an undercurrent to his words; was he always like this, or was it simply that he had seen Enzio for what he was, and was acting accordingly? Hard to tell, since they had just met.

"And you," the Miraluka went on, glancing down at Marie. "There's no need to kneel, dear; we're all equal around here. Supposedly." He put a hand out, and she would feel the Force swirling around her, forming bands to lift her off the floor and back to her feet. "Don't be so put out, either... if you're going to react that way every time someone comes along, you'd best get some kneepads." He smiled to indicate he was only joking, then stepped away to regard both of them again.

"Mister Lhussuri, I am afraid I cannot release you. I have not the authority, and our eminent Lords dislike it when we overstep our bounds. You must languish a while longer, I am afraid. But look on the bright side; chains are most becoming on you." He laughed, and it wasn't clear if he was joking or not. "I'm sure when you are released we can find a place for you; you are a man of talent, and we can always use talent.

"But you, Miss Desikot... you have yet to be shaped." Now his voice was thoughtful, and the young woman would feel his gaze examining her. "Your talent is yet unfocused. It would be simple to arrange a master to train you, I am sure, but why wait?" He took a step toward her and held his hand out.

"Why not begin now?" he went on in a lower tone. "You and me, my dear... you seek vengeance, and for that you need power, ability. I can give you these things, and much more." An image came to her mind's eye, then, of herself. Only she was older, stronger; she stood amidst the carnage of battle, and around her were the bodies of scores of dead Jedi. Her hands gripped twin lightsabers, a deadly blood red; her robes, stained in the blood and gore of Jedi, blew in the fell wind of war.

She saw herself, as she could be with Shard's teaching. An indomitable force no one would ever overlook or dismiss again, who could bend the Force itself to her every whim. A deadly beautiful angel of war, with the galaxy at her fingertips to do with as she pleased. Sith and Jedi alike, men and women and children, all trembled before her power as she had trembled before his.

Then the image receded, and there was only Shard, this enigmatic Sith who could offer her so much. "That could be you, my dear," he whispered, for her ears alone. "It will not be an easy road, a quick path to power. Very likely you will despair at times, feel yourself inadequate. Overcoming such things is as much a part of attaining power as anything else, though, and if you persevere..."

He did not finish the sentence. He merely gestured slightly with his hand. "Well? What say you? Do you wish to be my student, to call me Master and learn what I have to teach?"

"Mister Lhussuri, I am afraid I cannot release you. I have not the authority, and our eminent Lords dislike it when we overstep our bounds. You must languish a while longer, I am afraid. But look on the bright side; chains are most becoming on you."

The man's laugh rippled n Enzio's head. The subtleties were not lost on him. He knew the man had probed his mind and was likely manipulating him as best he could, though he couldn't help but feel good about the supposed compliment he'd recieved.

"I'm sure when you are released we can find a place for you; you are a man of talent, and we can always use talent."
Another compliment, and Enzio wasn't even fishing for these. Was this man really recognizing the Dark jedi as someone of value or simply softening him for future use as putty to be molded and used?
The Echani couldn't possibly tell.

She flushed when he said she didn't need to kneel. She mentally kicked herself for showing a sign of weakness, but allowed the flow of the Force to lift her back to her feet, reveling in the sensation of direct contact with the Force that gave her power. She looked down at the floor when he mentioned knee pads, but then looked up again just in time to catch the tail end of the smile.

She didn't really pay attention to what he said to the male still in the chains, as he wasn't speaking to her. She was trying to sort out her impressions of the Miraluka that had told them both so much already. He had seemed, at first, like a fairly powerless wretch, what with the lack of trace in the Force. But given the display she had just experienced, she would have to say...

Her train of thought jerked to a halt when she heard her name. She ruffled slightly at the comment of being unfocused, but it didn't last long as the matter of being trained came up. Her eyes lifted, a spark of vengeance behind them at the mention of being given the very power and ability she had so sought after for so long, ever since the blasted Jedi had caused the collapse of her family's home, killing her mother and father in the process.

Then the images began to flash through her mind. Her eyes went out of focus as she clung to the promise of limitless power she was being offered, though a devious, wicked smile crossed her face, seeming somewhat out of place given her prior appearance. But little did she know that this smile looked right at home on her face now.

When the visions finally faded, there was a renewed vigor in her eyes, and she stood slightly straighter. “For four years now, I've sought the very things you are offering me. Having found nothing until now, I would be a fool to say no,” she said, her voice firm and low, the words coming slowly, as if she were tasting them as they left her lips.

“I say yes, Master Shard. I fully know what I am getting myself into, or at least partially, having already received some training from my uncle. You have yourself a...”

She paused here, and her eyes darted around the chamber, getting a bit frantic as she did. "Wait. Where's... Where's the woman that found me?" she asked, tilting her head questioningly. "You two seemed fairly close outside. Uhm... Is something wrong with her?" she asked.