Do You Know What I Know? (Siobhan)

[Mirien Valdier]

Unfortunately it does, my dear. She communicated in reply. Mirien really did have doubts that they could keep Siobhan in line with Alesia. Though admittedly she herself, wanted to beat the crap out of the woman and torture her within an inch of her life. However, that wasn't what could happen.

Mirien looked to Siobhan. "It's not coddling. Its doing what you otherwise wouldn't do for yourself in this situation without someone pushing you to do so. And it is out of love that we do this." A slight sigh escaped her lips, not exactly liking what she was about to say next. However, she meant every word. "If you dream of doing anything else, I'll see you sedated so you do rest. Resting is not optional." Her tone a bit cold, clearly meaning business.

And out they went to meet Aeda. "Yes, I believe we are going to see Alesia first. Then Siobhan is to address the council. From there we can begin working down the list, while Siobhan rests." At least that was her plan. Siobhan might have something to say otherwise.

[member="Aeda Shaytari"] | [member="Tarissa Cadalthor"] | [member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Mirien Valdier"], [member="Aeda Shaytari"]


Siobhan knitted her brow. She was not sure whether to feel annoyed or touched by Mirien's comment. In the somewhat morbid world they lived in, it might as well count as sweet. "Will I at least get to wake up to your beautiful face if you tie me up and put me to sleep, angel?" she asked half-jokingly. The levity was forced, but their bond might betray some real anxieties to the former Inquisitor.


To put it plainly, Siobhan felt lonely after Galina had left. She'd already sent most of her servant girls away to Tabaqui because she didn't want to risk them falling prey to Kaeshana's stormy political climate. Only a skeleton household staff remained at the villa. Moreover, the attempt on her life had spooked her more than she was comfortable admitting.


Then they were out and encountered Aeda again. The masked Grand Seraph was accompanied by a host of the Queen's Angelii. The Countess gave the Eldorai Grand Master a nod. "You two can start with the arrests while Tarissa and I chat with the council. No need to postpone things on my account."

 

[Aeda Shaytari]

[member="Mirien Valdier"] [member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

Aeda nodded. “I will take you to see Alesia now. Some of my Inner Circle are guarding it now.”

Looking to Mirien she nodded. “If you could show me the list I will get my Angelii into position to move on your word.”

 

[Mirien Valdier]

Mirien smiled, "That you would. So it won't be all that bad. However, please don't force me to do that. I don't take pleasure doing something like that to someone I care about. Was rough enough doing it to Galina when she was somewhat willing." She said as her smile faded. Some things she clearly did merely because she had to, and hated to do.

Mirien gave a nod. "Yes, we can. Alesia first, though. Please, lead the way if you would."

The brunette reached into her pocket and produced a small datapad, containing a copy of the list of nobles and commoners alike. "Keep in mind this is a list of known reactionaries and trouble makers for the crown. Not all of them will have been involved in the plot, but it's a starting point to work through who is, and who isn't."

[member="Aeda Shaytari"] | [member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Mirien Valdier"], [member="Aeda Shaytari"]


Siobhan seemed to realise how unpleasant this had been for Mirien, and nodded. She couldn't deny her dark angel for long. "Ok, love," she said quietly. She gave Aed a nod. Off to the dungeon holding Alesia they went. "Let's question the queen."


On the way, Tarissa passed a datapad of her own to Aeda after Mirien had done so. "The assassin talked a bit. Of course, she'd say anything in the hopes of a lighter sentence, but my interrogators are thorough. The temple of Matriel Vethari is worth checking out as well." That had been the abbess who'd tried to murder Siobhan in her sick bed.


They were escorted away from the Stateroom and to the dungeon in the lowest levels of the Citadel. Security was tight and heavily armoured Angelii of the Sacred Band were on patrol. Alesia was being held in isolation away from the other prisoners. Generally the Eldorai kept high-profile prisoners far away from Santaissa in the Eagle's Nest on the Island of Fallen Angels, but the duchess hadn't been taken there yet. Siobhan steeled herself as the turbolift opened and two masked Angelii took them to the small cell.


((Either of you can NPC the duchess))

 

[Aeda Shaytari]

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"] [member="Mirien Valdier"]

Aeda took the two datapads. “I will see to preparations. The Temple will be observed. It is a Sanctuary though, so I will consult the Queen for a Writ of Entry. My Angelii will assist you in any way you require.”

The Duchess sat rigidly on the small stone shelf which served as seat and bed. The Eldorai did not believe in coddling traitors.
Her hateful gaze swept over them. “The monkeighs and their lackeys are here. Doubtless to learn who wants them dead. It’s no secret, most of the true Eldorai despise your alien ways and whorish habits, despise this weak puppet Queen who you have so effectively made your pet. My sister would be sickened if she was still with us.”
Her sister being, of course, Anya’s mother.

 

[Mirien Valdier]

"Thank you, Aeda." Mirien said as they walked on down.

Coming down into the cell, the brunette remained impassive, looking over Alesia. "I suppose that list of people who want me dead is getting longer. Not that I actually care. It take talent far beyond your meager skills to end someone like me, or Siobhan, sweetie. You people have nothing on the Inquisition with backstabbing, power struggles, assassination attempts." The woman gave a shrug, seeming to hardly care. But it took great restraint not to slap the queen then and there. "Your little games make you look like a kitten in comparison."

"Thing is, you like the others aren't nearly as stealthy as you believe. I already have an extensive list of possible conspirators. Won't take long to root out the traitors like you. Really the only reason we are standing here, is to give Siobhan the opportunity to deal with you personally." While not exactly true, it made a decent threat.

[member="Aeda Shaytari"] | [member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Mirien Valdier"], [member="Aeda Shaytari"]


"Your plot wasn't half-bad. I must congratulate you actually. It's given me the pretext I need to root out the measley mafia you call true Eldorai and send them to their deaths. I stand here, alive and unbroken, so I suppose Ashira wasn't with you," Siobhan spoke mockingly. A feeling of hatred washed over her. Her aura was that of a predator on a leash. "Soon they'll all be dead. I could crush your heart right now and walk out unscathed, but that's too easy. I prefer your death to be...slower and more painful."


It took a lot of restraint not to crush Alesia's windpipe. "We have your son. Haldir. Bright, kind man, or so I'm told. Pity your petty intrigue pulled him into this game." There was a telepathic brush against Mirien's mind. Pull knowledge from her mind? Since we can't do anything that leave lasting marks, I feel like extreme sensory deprivation.

 

[Aeda Shaytari]

[member="Mirien Valdier"] [member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

Alesia’s jaw set. She rose to her feet.
“I have no doubt you could destroy me where I stand, monkeigh. You have power, but without your Sciia you would be nothing. You are the enforcers for my dear deluded niece. I wonder how long it will be before she too is discarded for standing against you?”

“And now you threaten my son, like all cowards do. If you really are intent on killing an innocent and showing Kaeshana just what your true colours are, do so. I will not give you anything willingly. I have no doubt you intend to take what I know by force. However, I will not be your tool! The dream of the Eldorai independent and strong will never die!”

Suddenly, she made a dramatic biting motion and there was a crack inside her mouth. A concealed capsule broke, and the poison inside it started to enter her system. She would die swiftly, with whatever she knew, unless her captors were quick to pull it from her.

 

[Mirien Valdier]

Mirien let Sio speak, not saying a word while she said her piece. A nod followed feeling Sio's words within her mind. I say we take exactly what we need. I'm done playing games. The brunette was getting irritated, annoyed.

"Oh sweetie, you don't know me, with or without the force, I can end you when I please."

Then the biting motion, the crack. "Oh come the feth on! How cowardly!" She was a bit pissed and someone was going to pay for not checking for that! Mirien reacted instantly reaching into the woman's mind to tear from it all the knowledge she wanted and needed. She wasn't about to let that slip away.

[member="Aeda Shaytari"] | [member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Mirien Valdier"], [member="Aeda Shaytari"]


The irony was that every single one of Alesia's complaints could be turned against the Eldorai. They would be nothing without their Sciia, which was the only reason slaver hordes hadn't subjugated them before humans brought advanced technology to Kaeshana and most of their queens had been bloodthirsty, cruel tyrants.


"Funny, your great idol had innocent people raped and disembowelled," Siobhan threw in. Then the biting motion, the crack. The noblewoman swallowed cyanide. "Feth it!" Anger rose like bile in Siobhan's stomach. The woman was taking the coward's way out and cheating her out of her revenge.


Acting quickly, Siobhan placed her hand on the woman's forehead. "Try to slow down the poison," she called to Mirien as she dug into the woman's vulnerable mind. It was doubtful Alesia would be able to defend herself against two Force-bonded masters while dying. The energies of the Dark Side flowed through her. Siobhan could not prevent her from dying, but she could slow down the process a bit. In other words, draw it out and make it even more painful. Dark Healing was not for the gentle or the faint of heart.


"You, fool. Do you think you're going to paradise? That Ashira will welcome you in your embrace? Stupid, dim-witted, inbred aristo trash. Let me show you the truth." And so images soon began flooding Alesia's mind as Siobhan dropped her mental barriers. Alesia would discover the true origins of the Eldorai, starting with Sio's and Phylis' quest for the Arithdae Codex. She'd meet Eyrecae, the so-called daughter of the Goddess, and would meet her evil, cone-headed creator. There'd also be some raunchy scenes involving Siobhan with first Eyrecae, then Chesna. "Yes, that's right, they made you. You're just test tube babies. Two of the Goddess' daughters are my slaves," she would hear Siobhan speak into her mind, "and this is the afterlife." The cold, grim and rather unpleasant netherworld would be revealed to Alesia. Well, the part of it that Siobhan and Mirien had visited. Presumably there were nicer areas. "Now you have my permission to die."

 

[Aeda Shaytari]

[member="Mirien Valdier"] [member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

Pride was the downfall of so many, Eldorai especially. Their insidious racial superiority, misplaced though it was, blighted efforts to form lasting partnerships with others in the galaxy.
Had Alesia bitten her capsule just five minutes before she would have been found dead in her cell, cheated the hangman as it were.
However, the sin of pride had made her taunt her enemies, to have the final word, and that cost her. It cost her cause dearly, but worse it cost her the triumphant peace of death.

As life left her body, time slowed and her mind’s defences collapsed. It became a two way street where data was pulled from her, and other thoughts were forced back into her.
She saw the truth, and despite her feeble efforts to deny, she knew it was the truth. The royal family knew there was a secret on Kaeshana, but few knew for certain. Most did not want to know – ignorance is bliss. Alesia had never wanted to know, and now she saw it all. She saw the world and her people as they truly were.
There was no divine spark, no benevolent goddess who had created the heavens and the earth. There was just the meddling of aliens, the circumstance of history and the luck of isolation. The Eldorai were not special, they were not even natural.

Information flowed back. It was jumbled and chaotic. Faces, events, times all scattered. Memories of childhood and adulthood mixed together to form a kaleidoscope of images. However, one image which the dying royal tried to hide was that of a large journal which she had concealed in the basement of her estate. Jumbled memories indicated it kept a list of names and numbers which might be very useful.

Alesia struggled, but there was nothing more she could do. And then she saw her fate. Sharing a relationship via such an intimate mental link had a way of validating what was shown. Fear, like a boiling tidal wave spread through her. Terror as life receded. Her body jerked, too late trying to reverse the irreversible. It was futile though, and Alesia slumped to the floor.

The shock of being in someone’s mind at the moment of death though could be dangerous to any who were not skilled mentalists. It would be seen whether Mirien and Siobhan were skilled enough to extricate themselves in time.

 

[Mirien Valdier]

Mirien for her part, hadn't known the details of the secret Siobhan had been keeping. Despite the shared bond, not all memories were shared equally. And this was one she had only been vaguely aware of with much of the details left out.

It was a two way street between Siobhan and Alesia. Though Mirien got the information she wanted, along with plenty she didn't. Some things like childhood memories meant little to the brunette and were pushed to the back of her mind to try and ignore for more important information. Then the journal, she saw it. That they needed to get their paws on.

Of course things were getting extremely dangerous as the Eldorai woman inched closer to death. Mirien doubted Sio's ability to protect herself should she be in the royal's mind at the very moment she passed. So she did what came natural to her and worked fast to place a barrier up to protect the redhead from the dangerous feedback. "GET OUT NOW!" She screamed into Siobhan's mind. It wasn't a question, or even a suggestion. It was a desperate order, to protect the woman she loved.

[member="Aeda Shaytari"] | [member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Mirien Valdier"], [member="Aeda Shaytari"]


Siobhan had not been able to get the revenge she wanted. But this was a good consolation prize. She relished Alesia's pain when the woman saw the truth. There was no heaven waiting for her, just cold oblivion in an indifferent universe.


The aristocrat's suffering brought her pleasure. However, Sio's feeling of triumph was short-lived when she found herself struggling against the massive wave of chaotic, jumbled memories. It was like she was threatening to drown in the chaotic ocean. She struggled to keep her head high above water and gripped Mirien's hand tight, as if the brunette were her life line.


For just a moment she saw the journal, then it vanished in the stream of memories. Unfortunately for Siobhan, she was still inside Alesia's mind when the woman stood upon the threshold to the netherworld. Siobhan's body shook badly and waves of pain crashed against her mind. She felt herself being pulled down into the abyss as her mind could not withstand the shock. Mirien had always been the stronger mentalist and Siobhan was in a very weakened state.


"GET OUT NOW!"

Every fibre of her being rebelled against obeying the desperate order. "I'm not leaving you! We're stronger together." She grabbed Mirien's ethereal hand into hers, wrapping it in a tight grip as if she were holding on for dear life. The clock was ticking. Tick, tock, tick, tock, as the Reapers came for Alesia. Seeing that everything was turning dark, Siobhan pulled Mirien along with her. She was heedless of the beating her mind was taking as Alesia gasped for life one last time. Pain surged through Sio's mind when she was roughly pulled out and promptly collapsed upon the cold stone ground. She hit her head hard in the process. Ouch.

 

[Aeda Shaytari]

[member="Mirien Valdier"] [member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

However hard Siobhan hit the ground, it could have been worse. The Angelii watching them had seen the poison be taken, and in just a few seconds it seemed Alesia was dead.
She was already moving forward when Siobhan collapsed, and the Angelii turned, calling on her Sciia to catch the noblewoman. This she did not entirely succeed with, but she did slow Siobhan’s descent enough that the bump to the head would be merely painful and not critical.

Cradling Siobhan’s head on her neck she turned to her companion. “A medic, now!” she ordered.

“Stay with me, my Lady, you’re in good hands now,” the Angelii promised, using her powers to try and heal or at least to soothe the damage.

 

[Mirien Valdier]

Mirien was a bit frustrated that Siobhan hadn't followed her orders. She needed her to leave to try and protect her from what she was certain Siobhan couldn't entirely handle. It was for her protection. Or so she had reasoned in that split second. "I'm trying to keep you safe! Go!" And then she found herself hand in hand with Sio being pulled from Alesia's mind.

Mirien for her part, stumbled backwards as she opened her eyes and came back to reality. She clutched at the wall, too out of it to help Siobhan and keep her from hitting the floor.

She glanced to Siobhan only vaguely hearing the Angelii ask for a medic. There was nothing she could really do as she clung to the wall and slowly slid to the floor. Her head was still spinning, dizzy and quite frankly feeling a bit ill herself.

[member="Aeda Shaytari"] | [member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

 

[Vaena Askari]

[member="Mirien Valdier"], [member="Aeda Shaytari"]


Siobhan had a habit of not doing as she was told. Sometimes one needed to employ special persuasion! In all fairness, she'd been disobedient because she was in love and stuff. Anyhow, time to give Tarissa something to do.


While Siobhan hit the ground and was tended to by the Angelii, Tarissa saw to Mirien. After all, she was one of the human monkeighs she actually liked! So she caught the former Inquisitor as she stumbled and then slid to the floor. It gave Mirien something to lean on and avoid possibly hurting herself.


"Stay with me, you'll be fine," she said in what she probably considered a reassuring tone. "Did you get the information?" The question was burning on her lips. To do something more useful, she used her powers to try and soothe some of the pain in Mirien's head. Fortunately, Angelii medics were soon on the spot to pick up our heroines. "Get them to the healing room," As for Siobhan, she was kind of falling unconscious.

 

[Aeda Shaytari]

[member="Mirien Valdier"] [member="Tarissa Cadalthor"]

Soon medics came to take the two humans to the medical centre. Their injuries were not physical, but psychic, and so the most skilled priestesses of Ashira were called for to tend to them. Fortunately, Mirien had been able to shield Siobhan from the worst of the feedback, which meant that the two would be fine given time.

Staying with them, the Angelii who had caught Siobhan had removed her helmet to reveal a pretty Eldorai female of about sixty. Even when Aeda had left she stubbornly had stuck to her post to make sure no harm came to the humans.

When Mirien and Siobhan would come to she would be waiting with news of what had happened whilst they were out of it.

 

[Mirien Valdier]

Mirien was still conscious, though incredibly weak. She clung as best she could to Tarissa. "Yes," She whispered, blinking a few times trying to stay awake. "There's a journal..." Words were getting too hard for her to form.

Without protest she let one of the Angelii medics pick her up. Though, it wasn't exactly like she could resist either, not in the state that she was in. It took her only a moment or two more before she herself passed out.

An hour or two later, Mirien finally opened her eyes. Her head was pounding, throbbing as she reached up, to clutch at it for a moment. It took her a moment to realize where she was, and recalled the exact events that had led her to this place.

[member="Aeda Shaytari"] | [member="Tarissa Cadalthor"]

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Mirien Valdier"], [member="Aeda Shaytari"]


Everything was a blur to her. By the time they'd been carried into the healing room, Siobhan was already unconscious. She could not say for how long she'd been a guest in the realm of Morpheus. An hour, two or even more. Time seemed to fly.


Then her eyes finally fluttered open. The light was far too bright, but her hand moved with glacial slowness when she tried to shield her eyes. Her heart was pounding inside her chest, as if it was at risk of bursting. Her head felt like hell, throbbing painfully. Confusion overtook her, for her mind was a mess. Being overwhelmned by a flood of foreign memories did not agree with her nerves.


"Miri, are you here?" she asked out aloud, sounding more vulnerable than she would've liked. She took a deep breath. Her legs felt like jellie and would probably protest against an attempt to get up.