Private Eternity in An Hour

[Starlin Rand]

Starlin paused as Eli expressed his concerns. Eliphas Dune was a good kid, but brutally innocent. As his master, some part of Starlin almost felt bad about putting him through anything more serious than a sparring session. But it had to be done—the boy couldn’t stay sheltered forever, not if he was going to mature as a Jedi.

“A holocron?” Starlin echoed. That sounded like a story he hadn’t heard before. “Hey, no worries man. If you feel like you need it, use the Ward Against the Dark. Otherwise, just stick close to us and you’ll be fine.”

Nimdok had walked from one end of the landing area to the other, his eyes searching the horizon. “The city looks abandoned,” he called out to them. “But it is far from empty. There have long been reports of cultists lurking here, feeding off the nexus, going back to before the Maw was just a sick fantasy brewing in the minds of a few fringe Sith. Given the nature of the Dark Side, I suspect they will either have been subjugated by the Mawites, or fighting each other.”

“Great. Well, where should we start looking for Inanna?” Starlin asked.

“They will most likely be keeping her somewhere deep in the city, possibly even underground. Definitely not out in the open.” He held up his hand. A small metal device lay in his palm, and from it there sprung a holographic map of Freehold Arctrius. “There are a few tunnels beneath the city, the remnants of an underground transport system. The nearest access point is just a couple of clicks from here. Let me send each of you a copy of the map…”

With that done, Starlin tucked away his datapad. “Okay, we ready to go?”

“Eliphas,” Nimdok said, addressing the Padawan. “Your mind is stronger than you know. If you do face one of their Taskmasters, the worst thing you can do is not fight back if they try to dominate you. If it does prove too much, call on one of us—I can aid you in a psychic battle, but your master is a true prodigy when it comes to fighting the Dark Side.”

"Aw shucks," Starlin muttered sarcastically—though his cheeks did go a little bit pink.

Lief​

 

[Lief]

Starlin seemed surprised by the mention of a story Eliphas hadn't seen fit to share yet, and in truth it just made the boy realize how much he had to divulge. Not everything of course, he doubted the man wanted his entire life story, but moments like the one shared with Matt? Well that was pertinent to his training was it not?

Still this didn't feel like the time of place for it.

"I'll explain later" he offered with a small frown. Thankfully his Master offered some words of advice, and that helped a little. He was right, he did have the ward didn't he? He'd used it well before, too, his whole body had glowed. Surely he could do the same here if necessary. Otherwise, there were two other trained individuals present.

Yeah, that eased his mind.

He rose up once they landed, and made to leave with the both of them. The Professor explained that the abandoned city was actually home to cultists. A holomap was produced, and Eliphas stepped closer to be able to get a better look at it all. To figure out if there were any alternate routes they might take that could catch the Mawites off guard. That would be ideal, wouldn't it?

Eliphas pointed to a side street which would lead more or less toward one of the underground junctions. It looked to be narrow, it could prove a worse spot should they find themselves ambushed, but it also cut through a lot of the fattier streets that appeared more labyrinthian. "How about this way?" he inquired.

Not that anyone had asked for his input. Perhaps it was his inner navigator...

He paled, sheepish, and turned to follow Starlin. Nimdok halted his approach, and he turned to look at the man. He was urged to fight back should they try anything, and though it made him nervous to even consider it he nodded his head all the same.

Life or death. This wasn't some simulation or a training exercise it was real life.

"Yes, Professor... I'll do what I must."

Starlin Rand

 

[Starlin Rand]

Some of the tension bled out of Eli, enough that he voiced a suggestion that they take a narrow side route to reach the access point faster. “Not a bad idea,” Starlin agreed, staring at Nimdok until the professor smirked and nodded.

They headed for the side street. Starlin’s gaze scanned the area as they walked. In the Force, he could already feel a certain darkness nearby. It didn’t emanate from any one place, but seemed evenly spread throughout the ruins. No wonder nobody had come along to try and purify the place—it was nigh impossible. Feeling a heat in his pocket, he reached in and almost immediately jerked his hand back out. The blue gem on Inanna’s necklace had gone from warm to hot. “Professor,” he whispered. “What’s the deal with Inanna’s necklace?”

<It is the Star of Atrisia,> Nimdok replied, resorting to telepathy to avoid making noise. <An ancient gem imbued with great powers of protection. It was used to purify Inanna of Sith poison.>

“How’d she get poisoned?”

Nimdok’s expression grew grave, and he seemed reluctant to answer. <She was—>

A figure suddenly leaped out in front of them from an alleyway, disrupting his stream of consciousness. Starlin drew his lightsaber. Her face revealed by the blue glow of Starlin’s blade, the female figure lacked the piercings and painful modifications associated with Mawites—so probably a cultist. She wielded an ancient vibroblade, and was flanked by three more figures similarly armed.

“You have entered the domain of the goddess Inanna,” the woman said. “You must pay tribute to her, or face death.”

Starlin looked at Nimdok, eyebrows raised in surprise. The professor was uncharacteristically silent. “Uh… what’s the tribute?” Starlin asked, not sure what else to do.

“The nature of the tribute is up to the goddess. You must surrender your weapons of you are to be taken into her presence.”

Starlin’s eyes darted wildly between the cultists, Nimdok, and Eli. Why wasn’t Nimdok saying anything?

<If we let them take us to her, it may prove the easiest route,> Nimdok finally spoke inside his head, and Starlin nearly sighed with relief. <But it is not without dangers—and if these cultists are worshiping her, then Inanna has indeed been corrupted. If we attack them now, it will draw attention to us. You’re going to have to make a decision.>

“You will not be harmed unless the goddess wills it,” the woman said. Starlin could’ve sworn there was a note of triumph in her tone, as though she were enjoying watching him squirm. He glanced at Eli as if to ask for permission to disarm him.

Lief​

 

[Lief]

Much to the boys surprise, they agreed with the notion of taking the side street as opposed to the main junction. He followed after their lead, remaining quiet as they discussed the necklace which was burning a hole in Starlin's pocket, its purpose, its name. Eliphas had never heard of it before but it certainly sounded fascinating to say the least.

However, upon further discussion they found themselves accosted, halted. His eyes fell over the strangers, and he swallowed back a lump of fear and doubt. Eyes widened when he heard the words spoken. Goddess? What was going on here? He looked between Starlin and the Professor, hoping that one of them might understand, but his Master seemed as confused as he.

Nimdok fell silent.

That didn't bode well, Eliphas thought.

A silence stretched on between them, and the boy shifted uncomfortably. Wished that he could make himself as small as an ant. But he couldn't.

Then Starlin was staring at him, giving him an expectant look. Were they going to go through with it, then? Give up their weapons? Well, Eliphas only had one weapon on his person and he didn't much know how to use it. So he carefully unclasped the hilt from his belt and offered it to his Master. He didn't much want to deal with the cultists himself, and this way Starlin could keep some level of control over the situation. Hold all the cards so to speak.

The boy didn't say a word, but he had grown slightly pale.

Starlin Rand

 

[Starlin Rand]

Eliphas handed over his lightsaber without a word. Starlin wasn’t sure whether to feel grateful or deflated about all this. But he passed the lightsaber on to the female cultist. Nimdok did the same, handing her a lightsaber that had apparently been hidden in his sleeve—thought Starlin knew the Shi’ido professor actually kept his hilt stowed away somewhere inside his malleable body.

Then it was Starlin’s turn to disarm. He first handed the cultist his deactivated lightsaber, then his shoto, then a slugthrower pistol, a wrist-mounted device that shot tranquilizer darts, a combat knife hidden in his boot, and finally a magical shield he had strapped to his back. The entire process went on for so long as to be almost comical, though Eliphas was too pale with dread and Nimdok was indulging in private grief over the corruption of Inanna, so presumably neither found it amusing. The cultist certainly didn’t, glaring at him in annoyance as she was unceremoniously piled with gear.

“Follow me,” she said, after passing along their weapons to her escorts. The trio of Starlin, Nimdok, and Eliphas were surrounded by cultists, blocking them in as they walked.

Their destination was the tunnel access point, just as Nimdok had predicted. They descended a flight of steep stairs, devoid of handrails, into increasing darkness. Not just visual darkness—the miasma of the Dark Side gradually became stifling the deeper they went. It had a different flavor than the older energies leftover from the massacre. Whatever they were approaching, it was a younger evil, stronger and more aggressive.

They eventually found themselves in what had once been a transport station. The air was musty and cold. Vague shapes stood, sat, or lay throughout the underground chamber—the figures of cultists taking shelter from the elements, or engaged in strange rituals or meditations, whispering amongst themselves. Starlin didn’t see anyone bearing the sigil of the Maw among them.

The female cultist brought them to a halt before a makeshift altar. At the top of the altar, a chair had been bolted to the floor. The metal of the chair looked distorted, as if it had been exposed to intense heat that caused it to melt, losing much of its shape. Seated upon this “throne” was a woman with white hair. Starlin recognized Inanna, though her appearance was quite changed. She looked painfully thin, her corrupted veins stood out against her pale skin, and her eyes had turned a sickly yellow. Seated on either side of her were a pair of Mawite Taskmasters; posed like advisors to a ruler, they were really more akin to puppet masters, controlling the woman whom they had raised up as an object of worship. Inanna likely wasn't even aware of their presence, or at least unaware of their allegiance.

“My father died because of you,” Inanna accused, her gaze honing in on Nimdok in particular with a withering hatred. "You've doomed our entire race with your foolish resistance. Even now, you want to suppress my power and keep me from avenging the billions who lie dead on Lao-mon!"

“How could we mortals steal the power of a goddess?” Nimdok replied smoothly, lowering himself to one knee. “We’ve come to serve you.”

“We’ve come to offer tribute,” Starlin added, also dropping to one knee. The Star of Atrisia was burning a hole in his pocket. He just had to find the right moment to put it to use…

Nimdok was suddenly blasted back by telekinesis, knocking him across the room. Starlin instantly leaped to his feet, wincing as he heard Nimdok crash into the wall with a sound of shattering tiles and crumbling plaster. Well, that wasn't good…

Starlin’s danger sense blared a warning as Inanna turned her attention upon him. He felt a constricting force tightening around his body, drawing taut against his resistances. While he was busy trying to not get crushed into a pulp, one of the Taskmasters bore down upon Eli, attempting to worm their way into the Padawan’s mind and entangle him in their web of control.

Lief​

 

[Lief]

Yep. Starlin's haha-funny moment was certainly lost on Eliphas. The boy was mentally preparing himself for the worst, for another deadly tango similar to that which had been faced on Alderaan, and Ossus, and the one moon, and --- Well. Feth. It felt like everywhere he went danger was right around the corner.

Was he just a magnet for bad luck?

Either way he fell into step alongside the others as they made their way through the city and toward the underground network of tunnels. What was he going to do if things turned south? These seemed like Force Users themselves, what could he do with telepathy against such beings? Likely nothing at all.

His lightsaber wasn't even on his person.

Beyond that, he knew a protection spell. But protecting himself when he couldn't actively do anything to further help his situation was pointless wasn't it?

Force, why was everything so complicated?

They were brought before the woman in question, she whom they'd been looking for, and her anger was palpable. Directed at the Professor himself. Nimdok and Starlin soon sank to their knees, as though swearing allegiance to her. Eliphas wasn't so stupid as to not pick up on what was happening, so he too knelt though he remained quiet when compared to the others.

What could he say that wouldn't evoke suspicion?

Turned out none of it really mattered, because she didn't believe they were sincere anyway. Nimdok was blasted back, Starlin was being pressured through the Force, and Eliphas himself felt a presence burrowing into the edges of his mind.

"I walk in shadow and darkness" he immediately began to mutter under his breath, all the while trying to mentally defend against the attack. Nimdok had urged against him trying to avoid fighting back against it, after all, and the professor seemed to know what he was talking about. "Ashla, protect me from wickedness!"

His skin began to glow, as it had in the diner, and he felt some modicum of strength overcome him with the knowledge that he was at least somewhat protected physically. But as for the mental?

Well, now it was up to a battle of wills...

Starlin Rand

 

[Starlin Rand]

Feeling the barbs of the other Taskmaster in his mind, Starlin also uttered the words of the Ward Against the Dark, his body glowing brightly as the protective spell wove its power around him.

But it wasn’t quite enough to completely shield him from the telepathic assault. Starlin’s vision grew warped; he felt the pains of old wounds as freshly as if they were newly dealt. He remained in some way aware that what his senses were telling him wasn’t real, but he wasn’t quite sure where the illusion ended and reality began.

Still he staggered forward, trying to reach the altar. Seated upon the throne was a false vision of his master, Syd Celsius, as she had been in her days as the Sith Lord Darth Phyre. Her red hair was like flames, and her orange eyes burned with a feral intensity. She stretched out her hand toward him, beckoning him to join her.

Instead, Starlin swung his prosthetic fist at her face. Upon impact, phrik claws emerged from between his knuckles, stabbing deep into the vision’s flesh. The facade of Syd fell away, and the Taskmaster collapsed on the ground.

“You missed a few of my weapons,” Starlin growled, turning toward the remaining Taskmaster.

There was an additional complication in the form of the cultists, who were now starting to take up arms and rush to defend their “goddess”. They crowded around Starlin and to a lesser extent Eli. Starlin scattered the ones on him in all directions with a blast of telekinetic energy, then resumed his advance toward the last Taskmaster, who picked up a vibroblade to defend himself with.

Blood dripped from Starlin’s phrik claw, a fury that had been roused earlier that morning now festering in him. The Ward's corona of Light around him began to flicker and dim. “Stay the feth out of my head!” he bellowed, taking a swing at his opponent.

While all this was going on, Nimdok was engaged in a fierce duel with the corrupted Inanna. The odds were stacked against him—he was trying to avoid harming her, whereas she was determined to kill him. The professor, never an exceptional fighter, was mainly concentrating on keeping her occupied and away from the others, at least until the other Taskmaster had been dealt with. Then they could go about finding a way to fix this...

Lief​

 

[Lief]

For a short while it was just Eliphas and the Taskmaster, one seeking to carve their way into his mind and the other trying their hardest to avoid precisely that. The boy could feel his strength of will slipping, even as he tried to do as Nimdok had instructed, even as he fought to make his mind his own.

If Starlin had not chosen that moment to turn his attention to the man, Eliphas felt certain he'd have buckled and succumbed to it. Instead the Taskmaster was soon splitting his attention between Master and Apprentice, and that suited the boy just fine. He huffed out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding when some of the strain loosened up, and took a moment to find himself once more.

Then, as though he held the weight of a thousand buildings upon his back, he forced himself back to his feet. Glanced around for something, anything, that he might use as a weapon. And found only rubble in his wake.

Feth it. It would do. He stepped over to a fallen piece of something, wall perhaps? Who knew, it was indistinguishable from the rest of the debris. Plucked it up from the ground, and wielded it like a bat as some of the cultists seemed to creep on in. Tried to keep them at bay by swinging it this way and that. He backed up toward Starlin in the process, eyes widening as he witnessed Nimdok and the corrupted lady going at it just beyond.

The boy was feeling drained already. Mentally exhausted. That didn't stop him from reaching out through the Force once more to try and distract the closest cultist who was bearing down on him.

As with the Mawites back on Coruscant, he began to throw random stupid words into the man's brain. Trying to overwhelm his sensibilities, hoping to frustrate him to the point in time that he'd be incapable of doing very much of anything.

But this was just one cultist, and there were so many others in the vicinity.

Eliphas was all too aware of just how little he was doing to tip the balance of the scale. All the same he didn't let it dissuade him from trying all the same.

Starlin Rand

 

[Starlin Rand]

As with most fights Starlin seemed to get into, the one against the remaining Taskmaster was quick and vicious. The vibroblade bit into his flesh, slicing across his chest and arms before his claws stabbed into the Taskmaster’s chest.

When it was over, Starlin took a deep breath—but his moment of calm was short-lived. More cultists were coming, and Eliphas was struggling to fend them off with a metal beam. Starlin muttered a curse.

“Hey Eli, you ready to learn another spell?” he asked. Not exactly the best time for teaching, but they might as well. “This one’s for conjuring up Force weapons—weapons made from the Force itself! How do you like that chit? The way it works is—” He paused momentarily in order to slash at a cultist with his claws. “You imagine the weapon you want, usually something simple like a—a dagger, or a sword, whatever, and then you say the words to the spell: ‘So that I may continue to play this game unmaimed, Ashla, conjure a weapon from the Infinite Flame!’”

The fingers of his left hand squeezed around the hilt of a blade that had suddenly appeared from nowhere. The weapon had a weird cadence to it, as if it were not quite corporeal—but when he wielded it against the cultists, it struck true.

“Starlin!” Nimdok yelled from the other end of the station, still locking horns with Inanna. “I need—the necklace—to save her!”

“Coming!” Starlin yelled back. He started fighting his way over to them, though he wouldn’t stray too far without Eli in tow.

Lief​

 

[Lief]

Any remaining mental strife at the hands of the Taskmaster quickly vanished as Starlin took him out; a slight amount of will was bolstered in response, sending the one Cultist into a frustrated frenzy at the babbling in his mind. He lashed out, striking down a couple of those around him who turned on him in the process.

Eliphas withdrew his thoughts, and soon enough was focusing on the makeshift weapon in his hand.

It was then that he heard Starlin call out an offer for further training. Right then and there in the middle of a battlezone. "Yes" he said, slightly strained but eager to learn anything which might make this go a little smoother. Force weapons... That's what his Master was suggesting.

Probably did a better job than the rod of metal in his hand.

He listened intently, all the while trying to stave off the cultists; he wasn't exactly striking any of them, but each swing was keeping them at bay, forcing them to remain just out of reach.

Imagine the weapon. Say the words - with conviction - and summon it into existence... He could do that, right?

Only he almost immediately forgot the words themselves.

"One more time?" he called out, swinging again and this time striking one of the bolder cultists who had stepped too close. When Starlin inevitably reminded him of the words, all while trying to get closer to Nimdok, Eliphas made sure to be fully focusing on them.

"Okay, alright I got it..."

He followed after Starlin, hoping to help him in his advancement, and shifted the bar into one hand so that he could free up space in the other. Eliphas envisioned a sword, not too dissimilar to the one he'd planned on buying from the Witch of Alderaan many moons ago, and then spoke clearly into the Force.

"So that I may continue to play this game unmaimed," he began, glancing to the glowing hand for a moment which was held out in preparation for whatever was conjured up - if indeed he was successful, "Ashla, conjure a weapon from the Infinite Flame!"

Either way he'd keep swiping with the bar, following after Starlin.

Starlin Rand

 

[Starlin Rand]

Starlin fought off two more cultists, then repeated the spell for Eli. “It’s not—one of my better rhymes, I know. Took me a long time to come up with something that rhymed with flame and fit the theme. I think there’s too many syllables in the first part, or something—”

There was something like static in the air as Eli uttered the words, and a gleaming rapier appeared in his hand. Starlin was exuberant—he’d gotten it on his first try—but had to save his cheers and praise for later.

Cutting through cultists, Starlin retracted his claws and yanked the necklace free from his pocket. The gem burned white hot, and he was glad he was holding it in his prosthetic hand. “Professor!” he called, closing the distance between them in long-legged strides.

Anyone who has ever watched two Shi’ido duke it out knows how weird it can get. When Starlin reached them, Nimdok and Inanna were literally tangled together, their bodies contorted in bizarre, inhuman ways. The professor became long and python-like, trying to restrain her, and she sprouted teeth and claws and jagged spines, trying to wound him. Merely looking at them with his eyes, Starlin wouldn’t have been able to tell which was which—but their presences in the Force were quite easy to differentiate.

What’s more, Inanna began to recoil as the gem drew near, retreating to the shadows. Starlin pressed forward, his hand extended. “Hey Inanna,” he called out. “You dropped this.”

“Don’t come any closer!” she cried. “The dark is all I have left!”

But Starlin did come closer, though Inanna began to scream in pain. He laid the gem against her chest, and her cries abruptly ceased.

Nimdok reshaped back into his usual Near-Human form, out of breath from the battle. A few rather nasty-looking wounds on his body oozed black blood, filling the air near him with a strange, alien scent. “Inanna?” he called out cautiously. Then, struggling to his feet, he hobbled over to where she lay, staring blankly upwards. “Starlin, she’s—” He didn’t bother to finish his sentence, already knowing the answer. Much like they had done to him, the Taskmasters had shattered her mind. “We have to get her out of here.” Scooping her up, he turned to leave in a hurry.

“Eli, any outstanding injuries?” Starlin asked, knowing it was no good to try and get Nimdok to stop for medical aid. Any more extensive healing beyond bacta and bandages was gonna have to wait anyway. The cultists were still coming.

Lief​

 

[Lief]

Well it worked; where once he had just a glowing outstretched hand, now he had a glowing outstretched hand with a shimmering weapon grasped within his fingers. His eyes widened, for he genuinely hadn't expected it to work first time, and dropped the piece of metal rebar he'd been wielding so that it clattered on the ground.

The closest cultist to him seemed to take a slightly uncertain step back at the sight of the rapier which had just materialized out of thin air. Once the initial shock was over, though, the boy sprung into action, dancing forward with the blade pointed toward their chest. They parried, backing up, but now they were the ones on the backfoot and Eliphas used that to his advantage in terms of advancing on Nimdok's position alongside his Master.

Though a rapier wasn't exactly the best against multiple foes, the flexible blade flexed this way and that and being that it was made of the Force he found that staving off their own weapons was easier than it had been with say a foil. Granted, back home it had never been true weapons they'd wielded in the practice yard.

But he was able to do his part either way. Kept Starlin from having to watch his back too. His Master did the majority of the work cutting their way through to the Professor, but at least he was holding his own.

And when the moment came that the crystal was handed to the corrupted woman Eliphas turned and tried to keep everyone back from their position. Starlin asked if he was injured, and Eliphas glanced down over himself momentarily.

"A little" He replied, surprising even himself with the small patches of blood here and there where the spell over his skin hadn't quite been able to take the full blunt of any blows he'd been struck with, "But I'm fine. Honest."

Nope, he was focused on trying to keep back the cultists not on himself.

Starlin Rand

 

[Starlin Rand]

With Eli claiming he was okay, Starlin turned his attention to Nimdok. The professor was limping along, carrying Inanna in his arms. Perhaps as a consequence of his malleable nature, he had a really bad habit of ignoring any injuries he sustained, assured that they would mend soon enough. He had a poor grasp of his physical limits and would push himself to the breaking point and beyond if necessary.

Starlin was in no mood to deal with a Shi’ido that was falling apart. “Professor, I can float her. You don’t have to carry her,” he said, seizing Inanna’s body with the Force and levitating her along as they fled back the way they had come.

There would be no arguing over this point, and indeed Nimdok looked relieved to divest the burden. “Once we get her back to the transport, I’ll take a look at her. I’ll need help—Eliphas, you may be of more use to me than Starlin.”

Starlin’s eyebrows rose. “Are you sure that’s—”

“Yes, I’m sure,” Nimdok interrupted, his tone clipped and rough. “I don’t think it’s that severe, but I will need assistance. It’s a perfect learning opportunity, if you ask me.”

Cutting through a trio of cultists, Starlin snorted incredulously and shrugged. “Okay, feth it! Let’s go!”

They reached the transport, where automatic guns trained upon the approaching cultists. That was enough to deter most of them—and by the time they left the city limits, it was mainly just stragglers anyway. The rest returned to their holes and havens, hiding from the light of day. Upon boarding the auto-piloted vehicle, Starlin laid Inanna on the floor and scrambled to get a medkit out for Nimdok.

“Leave me alone, damn it,” Nimdok snapped when Starlin drew near, but he allowed the smirking Knight to inject him with bacta. The professor was crouched down, his hands on Inanna’s head, his focus elsewhere as they began to rise in the air. “She’s still in there, just hidden away. They designed a cage around her to keep her from fighting their control. We’re going to help her break out of it…”

Lief​

 

[Lief]

As he prepared to help break their way through the Cultist ranks, admittedly doing little real damage to any of them that could be deemed permanent, Eliphas found himself thoroughly caught off guard by what the Professor had said.

"Me?" he squeaked, clearly not in control of his voice for a moment. No kid wanted to sound so shrill, after all. "What can I do..?" It wasn't as though he knew anything about the mind, or healing, or...

A learning opportunity.

Yeah. Olay. Eliphas liked to learn, right? But a living test subject? Oh... Ho boy...

Even so there was no room to balk at the notion or to hold them up, nope he moved alongside the pair and helped to stave off their opposition. All the way up and out of the subway system, then to the awaiting transport. He was exhausted by the time they reached the ship, sweat pooling over his brow and his left and dominant arm felt strained and sore despite the fact that the Forcely blade wasn't really all that heavy.

Still, he'd been waving his arm around.

Once inside he released the weapon and watched as it dissipated into nothingness once more. Starlin started pulling out bacta-based products, and while he didn't inherently offer the boy any he found himself taking a wary step back all the same. "Probably should have mentioned this sooner" he stated, as he instead reached for one of his own Kolto-based shots, "But Bacta and I do not get along. You know... For future reference."

He stuck himself with the kolto, allowing it to do its thing, then moved to kneel beside Nimdok and Inanna. Truly he had no clue what he was going to do to help, but at least he was willing to be of service.

Starlin Rand

 

[Starlin Rand]

“Me?”

“No, Brother Eliphas of the Cult of the Goddess Inanna,” Starlin quipped. In a quieter voice, he added, “You’ll be fine, Eli. I believe in you, man.”

He was surprised to learn his Padawan had a bacta allergy. “Yeah, uh… probably should’ve mentioned that sooner, before I stuck you with one of these.” He tossed the empty syringe away, still examining Nimdok’s wounds.

“Will you quit it?” Nimdok protested. “Eliphas—" But the boy was already kneeling beside Inanna. “Right, close your eyes and focus on her mind. I’ve already got the door open, you just slip right in. If it helps you, you may put your hands on her head, like so…”

If Eli was able to focus, he’d find Nimdok was drawing his attention toward Inanna, sending him spiraling into a strange new sense of perception. It was less a door and more a slide through a portal, into a scarred mindscape filled with brambles and thorns. Entering it would feel akin to falling on broken glass... or so it seemed.

“Don’t be afraid of it,” Nimdok was saying, his voice growing softer. “The splinters of her mind can’t harm you unless you believe they can. If you can get past what they've done to her, how they've twisted and maimed her, you can find the real Inanna inside…”

Lief​

 

[Lief]

"I figured they'd have told you when you signed the paperwork" he said sheepishly, "I'm glad I mentioned it..." Yep, this was why Eliphas tried to make sure he had a few shots on hand that he could self-tend with. It was rare that kolto products were used, much less kept in more commonly found medkits, because it was less accessible than its bacta brother. All the same, lesson learned: speak up sooner.

By Inanna's side he listened to what Nimdok said and blew air through his mouth from inflated cheeks, for a moment looking like something of a puffy-cheeked chipmunk. Or a puffer fish. Doubt began to worm its way into the back of his mind, and he glanced past the Professor to his Master. Starlin had said he believed in him. Nimdok wouldn't have asked if it wasn't important. He looked back down at the empty shell of a woman, and inhaled a shuddery breath.

No room for doubt, he decided. He squashed down the tears which threatened to rise up and well within his eyes, the nerves and the uncertainty, and tried to clear his mind. How many times had he attended those blasted sessions in the Room of a Thousand Fountains? He could do this...

Ignore the fact he'd been kicked out for lack of focus.

He could do this.

Reaching out, he lightly settled his fingertips either side of Inanna's head, over the temples, and closed his eyes. Belief was mentioned again, and it seemed as though a lot of what he was learning today was centered more around will and strength of mind than anything else. It would only harm him if he gave it the power to?

No pressure...

He tried to navigate his way through the fields of broken glass, approaching the vacuous portal and finding himself more or less pulled inside, as though the ground beneath his not-feet had turned into a slip-and-slide. Down down down through splintered fragments and brambles. It can't hurt me he reminded himself, over and over like a mantra. It can't hurt me...

Starlin Rand

 

[Starlin Rand]

Starlin inevitably receded into the background as Eli entered the mindscape, a boundless field of consciousness. Nimdok, on the other hand, remained as a constant presence, though the deeper Eli went, the quieter his voice would begin to seem.

“You’re doing fine. Tell me what you see. Anything beyond the splinters? A light, or a gleam, or something that looks important?”

Lief​

 

[Lief]

At Nimdok's urging the boy honed in on his surroundings and tried to search for anything out of place. After what seemed to him like a minute, though in reality was much shorter than that, he shook his head. All that he could see was more of the same as he sank deeper.

"No, Professor, I---" Eliphas squinted, both visibly and mentally, as something in the distance seemed to flicker. Not a bright light, or a beacon, just a flicker. "--Wait... I think, maybe..."

The boy frowned, concern wrapping itself around him. In that moment just a small amount of doubt crept in, and it proved enough to breathe life into some of the spikes and splinters. He recoiled slightly, wincing as a sharp pain bore into his mind.

"It can't hurt me" he muttered under his breath, aloud this time, before he forced himself to press on. A few more pangs of pain, before he pushed it down again and adjusted once more. Inanna? he called out to the flickering light, it wasn't as strong as he'd been expecting. Eliphas picked up the pace, doing his best to cross the length of the space between them in as few steps as possible.

Inanna..? There, just the barest spark of consciousness. A gasp sounded from the boy's body, and he stiffened slightly. But in his mind he sought to wrap himself around her, his presence, hoping to endow her with some of his own strength for whatever it was worth. He didn't know if it would make even the slightest bit of a difference, in fact he hadn't thought of the trouble he might cause by doing so, he hadn't been instructed to do this after all, but he was acting on instinct.

In that moment, instinct bade him to care, to protect the flame and ensure it did not extinguish.

You're not alone he breathed against her. Please... Show me how to help you...

He should have said something aloud, he should have updated the Professor, and Starlin, but he wasn't even thinking in terms of the realm of reality in that moment. Outwardly, Eliphas Dune had become something of an empty, kneeling, hollow shell himself.

Starlin Rand

 

[Starlin Rand]

The spark of consciousness expanded rapidly—or perhaps Eli was drawn into it. Either way, the Padawan would find himself in a new environment: a sterile laboratory. Before him stood a tank filled with a reddish-colored liquid. Struggling to keep her head above the brine was Inanna.

Indistinct figures filled the room, many of them half-remembered shades. The most prominent and detailed ones included an elderly man whose body was perpetually crumbling into ash, a smirking young man with icy blue eyes, and a woman in white who stood before the tank, watching Inanna with cruel satisfaction.

This was evidently the cage Nimdok had spoken of, the one which the Taskmasters had bound Inanna within. It was made up of fragments of memories—traumatic and humiliating, reminders of past failures and regrets. Upon noticing Eli on the other side, Inanna beat her fists against the glass, trying to break free.

Lief​

 

[Lief]

The tiny spark of life blossomed outward into a bright and sterile environment which engulfed his previously sharp and murky surroundings. He winced to look upon it, squinting slightly as it all came into focus, and glanced over the laboratory with a quickly formed frown which creased his brow.

She was there, within a tank, barely clearing the surface of its briny water, and yet between them several others lay. Impressions, nothing truly tangible; could they see him? Could they interact with him? Would they stand in his way?

The previous obstacles could not harm him until he gave them the leverage to. Though looking upon more tangible forms brought doubt, he inhaled and hoped that the same would be so here too. Be at peace, he breathed in the direction of the tumultuous woman, though he knew better than to presume it would do much to calm her. I will not leave this place without you.

With such to strengthen his resolve, as she frantically beat against the glass in hopes of breaking free, he moved across the room. He paid no mind to the echoes of the past, to the scientists and others who plagued the woman, his eyes were fixed upon hers. He drew strength from her presence as much as he endowed her with his own. They cannot harm me he reminded himself. We are safe...

Starlin Rand