The Shroud of the Mind
Posted on Thu Jan 31st, 2013 @ 3:44am by Bomoor Thort & Thane & Berry & Morgo Le'Shaad
3,387 words; about a 17 minute read
Chapter:
Chapter III: Relics
Location: Ancient Temple, Tython
Timeline: Day Eleven
OLD
Bomoor turned around sharply, an anger inside him was alight but he hardly cared as he looked into the eyes of his friend as his pale lips curled into a smirk of self-satisfaction. Part of Bomoor's mind was telling him this couldn't really be Thane, that he would never show such cruel disregard for the friendship they had built based on their mutual agreements and experience. But there was another voice inside him, an unfamiliar impulse, that told him to give in, to believe in what he saw.
Bomoor brought his lightsaber down to his side and stepped towards Thane but, quick as a flash, the smirking human darted back into the mist leaving Bomoor alone once more but with that continued sensation of being watched.
NEW
Morgo whirled around. First Berry had disappeared and now Bomoor had gone. Narrowing her eyes, suspicious, Morgo held the cortosis staff closer, the mysterious fog seeming to close in around her. At the sensation of something crawling around the edges of mind, Morgo decided she’d had enough and spun around, determined to make it back to the corridor when suddenly, the door shut in her face, the foreboding sound of a heavy lock sliding into place echoing in Morgo’s ears.
In irrational fear flared in Morgo’s chest, burning before Morgo clamped down on it. And all at once, Morgo hissed in pain, hands flying to her head as the feeling of something pushing, forcing itself through the walls of her mind’s labyrinth overwhelming her as she felt the presence of something she had not properly felt in 13 years. Like a spike of ice being driven through her temple, Morgo’s knees almost buckled from the white hot pain. Eyes flying open, Morgo grit her teeth against the pain, determined not to let her body control her mind as she straightened, blocking the pain through sheer force of will and picked up the cortosis staff she had dropped, ready to cut her way through the metal door.
As she straightened, the walls began to move, closing in until it was nothing but a four-by-four room of white cement walls. Morgo ignored the evidence of her own eyes, unwilling to believe what her senses were telling her because she knew it could not be true. There was no way in the world, she could be back there .
Yet as Morgo stepped forward, her core muscles tensed as she thrust the lightspear end of her cortosis stave into the door, the wall before her rippled, changing from stone to metal bars, and the spearhead pierced nothing but air as it slipped in between two bars.
Morgo’s mind raced for an explanation for her hallucinations—for they could only be just that, a product of her mind. Her body was no longer obeying her mind, her heart racing and her mind hyper-aware, which could only mean that somehow, her mind was no longer her own. Could she have been drugged? Or could they have awakened some dormant power left in the Temple?
Morgo was ripped from her thoughts as a hand from the other side of the metal bars gripped the cortosis stave and yanked it from her grip.
“I’ll take that now, love.” A low, masculine voice purred.
Morgo froze, recognizing that voice. Her eyes trailed from the offending hand, which was attached to a wrist, an arm, a shoulder, a neck and finally, a head of dark waves. Looking upon his face, that familiar, cruel handsome face, Morgo felt something ugly curling in her stomach, as a fierce anger, not entirely her own, possessed her.
Morgo threw herself against the bars of the cage, long fingers of both hands strangling the metal bars as Morgo pressed her face close to the man’s as possible with the metal bars separating them, their faces mere centimeters apart, “Unlock the door, or I swear, I will skin you alive.” She snarled, her pupils contracting to pinpoints in a sea of cold gray.
“Oh, but I don’t think you will. Not with this in your way, you won’t, my love.” The man said, lightly flicking the metal bars with his fingers, as if her were taunting a pacing lioness in a cage. As he laughed, he gazed, delighted in the blood-stained passion in those gray eyes. She was always most beautiful when she was angry.
Morgo’s hand shot out, gripping the collar of his fine tunic and ripping him forward so harshly that she could feel her long nails cracking and splitting, bleeding as Morgo bashed the man’s head against the metal bars. He cried out in pain, and Morgo smiled cruelly, “Open the door, or there will be consequences. You know how much I hate locked doors, darling.” Morgo said softly, almost lovingly.
The man with the blue eyes laughed as he bled, the sound grating on Morgo’s raw nerves, “Oh you bitch! You magnificent bitch! But that’s what I love about you—you’re my bitch.” And eyes shifting around the cell, before coming back to Morgo’s pale eyes, his pupils blown wide, the man’s dark hair fell into his eyes as he leaned even close to Morgo, his voice a mockery of affection, “And in this cage, I will break you, Morgo. You’ll spread your legs and take what I give you. You’ll bear me sons and daughters, and in chains, you’ll crawl the floor—as women should. Not prancing around laboratories and academies.” He sneered, his handsome face distorting with a vicious malice, “No wife of mine will partake in such foolishness. And you will be my wife, Morgo, daughter of Acheron.”
Morgo bared her teeth, a corner of her lips twitching up as she looked upon the dark-haired man, not bothering to veiled her disgust, “My children will never be yours—spawn of unworthy seed. I’d kill them within my own womb before I’d see them even breathe the same air as you.”
Lip curling in a vicious snarl, the man gripped Morgo’s wrist, which held him tight against the cage, with bone-crushing strength, watching as her smirk only grew, her eyes slightly wild, “You would kill your own children? My children?” He demanded, tone darkening dangerously.
“Any fruit you and I bear will die. That I promise you, my dear.” Morgo spat venomously, darkened strands of her hair clinging to her damp forehead, cheeks flushed.
His blue eyes flashed as he roared with rage and lunged into the cell, phasing through the metal bars of the cage like a ghost as he raised his hand and struck her down.
Berry frowned as she walked around the fog, her saber swishing around it. The steam evaporated on the blade with a soft hiisss with every swish, and Berry would have been very amused if it weren’t for her immense worry at her missing crewmates. At that, the part-Aquar smiled faintly. Her heart always warmed with the sunshine of friendship, no matter how brief. But then just as fast her smile faded. They were still lost…and she had to find them. To protect them.
Then she heard a sound. Berry quickly turned with her saber in hand, body instinctively taking the stance it knew best with that weapon—feet out, blade angled and far enough away to deflect but close enough to give light in this dark place. The water magic around her rippled as she reached out, trying to get a feel for who was out there. It was like when a dolphin would sing to see.
Her brows lowered as she frowned into the mist. Her bangs plastered to her face with moisture, and a bead of it dripped down her green cheek. “Hey, Boomy…is that you?” Shady Lady couldn’t be this quiet, could she?
But it wasn’t all quiet. There was a quiet ping , so soft and small Berry almost missed it. But missing those soft sounds of the panthers in the forest could mean life or death.
She frowned. “Hey, who’s there??”
Ping…ping…ping… It was a metallic beep of some kind...soft, and eerie.
The mists slowly parted, and Berry’s eyes widened, not like how they used to. Usually her eyes widened in amusement, in joyful surprise. But now…now it widened from something else. You could call it fear, but fear came in many flavors. This one was the kind where she seized up, knowing in the back of her simple mind that there was nothing she could do.
For before her stood a figure that changed the fate of not just her, but everyone she loved. Berry couldn’t call him a man, even if he looked like one. He was twice her height, towering over her, and had shoulder length waves of synthetic “hair.” He had a huge barrel of a body, clothed in a simple tunic and pants. Very respectable looking…except for his eyes. They were hidden by a data-lens perched on his nose, displaying the world’s knowledge. But Berry had seen his eyes before…cold, and piercing—literally. And in his arms he held that data pad. That gods-damn datapad. Berry knew…this metal man wasn’t a real man. His face was devoid of feeling it once had. His huge green square jaw now looked even more angled than ever—artificial. Berry never disliked droids…but she understood the abomination it could wreak when one lost one’s soul to the machine.
“Kovu,” Berry breathed, her saber lifted ahead of her. How he left Velusia she did not know…but he was here. Which means they were still after her.
The man stared back at her, eyes glinting as he calculated. “We meet again, Bería Z. Fieros.” Its voice retained what qualities its owner had—deep, so deep it boomed and vibrated in your own chest. “Interesting…so you have relinquished open air for a saber of light.”
“No, I haven’t,” Berry immediately denied, and she scowled up at him. “This is just…temporary. Just in case.”
“In case of what?” He stared at Berry’s fiery glare…to then look down at the datapad in its arms. “In case you lose your crewmates again. I see…” He tapped on it, creating that dreaded ping.
Berry winced. The things that made her wince could be counted on one hand…and this was one of them.
“Crewmember: Morgo Le’Shaad. Former duchess, now wanted criminal,” he began, his voice slightly metallic and dead. “Only other female crewmember aboard the Raptor besides you, and has bought you around 5,000 shells of food so far.”
Berry’s brows knit as she blinked, her gaze never leaving him.
“Crewmember: Bomoor Thort. Jedi Knight and friend of Thane. Resembles a tree and is a gentle soul with intelligence appropriate for an activist in the galaxy. Potential teacher.”
Berry swallowed down her fear and glared at him. “Yeah? So what? You can’t do anything to them. One knows a TON of water magic and has a light stick, and the other has…a half light stick, too!”
The droid-man tapped the data-pad with a ping. “It is properly called a lightsaber by those who most use it in this galaxy.”
“Who kriffing cares!” Berry snapped, her senses on high alert. “It’s what you do with it that counts—no matter what it’s called!”
At that Kovu looked up from its datapad. “And what do you plan to do with yours?” he asked, voice booming.
“To protect those around me—isn’t that obvious?”
The droid-man persisted. "Crewmember: Bería "Blue Bead" Z. Fieros. Pirate captain. Willing to sacrifice everything for her crewmates and family. Does so with an unshakeable will....and failed. Twice."
Berry swallowed, and her gaze faltered for the tiniest of seconds. Her chest heaved with emotion but she said nothing.
The mist swirled around them, and a steady drip…drip could be heard. “You say you plan to use this lightsaber for protection…when before you have used just your bare hands and your ability many call the Force. What good did that do? I still took them from you. One by one they disappeared.”
Berry’s brows knit as her grip tightened on the lightsaber hilt. The pain as her heart was wrenched from her chest reached no bounds—she ran as hard as her fatigued and overused muscles could take her to each person, each family member. The look of shock on their faces as they vanished before her eyes—she had even grabbed Orza’s shirt before it was gone. They were all gone. Her mind went numb and the world fell apart. There was no world.
And she was alone…and she had failed.
The young woman’s lips tightened into a stubborn line as she her eyes hardened at the man with no soul. She resisted the booming voice in her ears, as the fractures of her heart pulled at the patchwork seams sewn so recently. “But it didn’t really happen. You took them somewhere safe.”
“You are correct. But that does not change the unshakeable and immensely unmoving truth that I had succeeded in taking them to do with how I wanted. And you could not stop me.” The droid-man made a small turn, but Berry immediately knew what he was planning. “You hold that lightsaber, but it also will not stop me. My transformation is complete—I do as the World Government programs me to.
And they demand your head.
But not before you suffer. Admiral Titus sends his regards…he’s sure you’ll enjoy being with your sister soon.”
At that it was as though an underwater volcano erupted. Gigantic ripples of water magic rushed away from the epicenter at blinding speed, waves towering above islands, almost reaching the sky. Berry blasted toward Kovu, feeling the mist evaporate on her skin at her speed.
But he was gone. Where’d he go? No… no no no NO he couldn’t take them again! Kriffing no! She bounced off the room’s wall and raced around frantically, the saber’s light flicked off in fear of what she might do to them if she impaled them.
“MORGO! BOMOOR!” Berry shouted, eyes wide to catch any sign of them. Was that a swish of the Ithorian’s robes? Or the duchess’s hair?
Berry’s brows knit as she ran, chest heaving. “C’mon…” She screwed her eyes shut and felt around as hard as she could. She knew this violent swish of water magic would feel like a slap and a buffet against other water magic ears, but she didn’t care. She had to find them. She couldn’t lose them again.
“Where are you guys?”
Once again grasping his lightsaber firmly in the defensive Shien position, Bomoor paced forwards through the mist. Whispers and shuffling surrounded him and his heart was beating rapidly as a great fear had taken hold of him. His large eyes flicked from side to side, catching movement in the haze or trying to find the source of the voices.
"If only I had that crinking scanner of Sev's..." Bomoor spoke unusually-firmly to himself, "...I could find the exit..."
He stopped suddenly as a tall and all-too-familiar image stepped out in front of him, "Master..." Bomoor half-gasped as his former-mentor slowly paced towards him, "Tell me what is going on...please. I cannot take any more of this."
Master Thurius stopped and drew himself up with his arms behind his back and that same smirk that Thane had worn as he echoed the words of Darth Bane, "Was it not clear from the start, my old padawan? You are more blind to the world than I thought. The council does not wish you to monitor Thane. He is already falling to the dark side, we all can sense it, and he will surely kill you and all his pathetic companions in due course. Your murder will be the proof we need to destroy Thane and rid the Galaxy of another servant of the Sith."
Bomoor felt his knees shaking, "Thane is no dark Jedi..." he murmured, hardly believing his own words, "He would not murder me or anyone here."
"But he has admitted he no longer holds you in any regard," Thurius brushed Bomoor's words away, "His only goal is self-empowerment and he sees no worth in others. Regardless of what he says of strength and righteousness, all Sith collapse in on themselves eventually. Your denial of that only proves you were no more fit to be a Jedi than Thane. Your only use is as a pawn in our greater scheme. Perhaps that will give you some solace as you go to your grave."
The Ithorian's knees gave way and he found himself on his knees before Thurius, who seemed to tower above him as his words condemned the consular. Bomoor's lightaber draped on the ground, spitting as it tasted the damp and murky floor. The mist around him shifted again and the other Council members emerged once again and surrounded him on the ground.
"We are here to end it," came the stern voice of Grand Master Quellus, "There can be no room for darkness in the Galaxy. Here, where our forebears first received the gift of the Force, we shall follow its will and prevent the return to the dark times. Bomoor Thort, you shall submit to the will of the Force. Your will is ours!"
Something clicked inside the Jedi sprawled upon the temple floor. A deep defence that sent surges of great emotion through his body, "That is not the will of the Force," he growled, his grip on his lightsaber becoming firm again, "I am not blind to that. It is you!"
He rose slowly to his feet, "Your quest to preserve the light at any cost has driven you away from what a Jedi should be. You will ignore your duty of protection out of fear and ignorance - you are no better than the Sith!"
The council members shifted slightly at the Ithorian's sudden turn. They stepped back slightly and Bomoor's lightsaber flickered off for a fraction of a second. And then suddenly Thane was there once again, standing in front of the council and grinning maliciously at Bomoor.
"And you are no better than them," his friend sneered at him, seeming taller and darker than ever before. His skin's pallor was a sickly, mottled grey, and a golden glint shone in red, murderous eyes. "To have placed your trust in so many that merely use you... as the lamentable simpleton that you are." Each member of the Council rose to their full height, dark-robed and evil as they glided over to Thane's side, glaring menacingly with ill intent at the Ithorian.
Bomoor's insides still burnt with a passion, "I have hope in the Force," Bomoor boomed, "Hope that you are not beyond my help, hope that the Jedi way can be restored."
"There is no hope!" Thane roared as his lightsaber blazed to life, and the Council followed suit, over half a dozen blades shone deeply, all redder than a laigrek's eye. In a frenzy of hate, an unnatural hiss came from them all as they launched themselves forwards at the lone Jedi.
Bomoor's body shook. Fear and power coursed through him as they all flew towards him. In an instinctive reflex, the Ithorian drew in several lungfuls of the steamy air and, with a great force, he released it in an immense wave of energy that seemed to break up the very room around him. The steam dissipated, showing the walls of the room once again and the trembling figures of the three people inside it and, for a brief moment, they remained still.
BOMOOR
▬ Force Bellow Increase
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