Private False Start

[Kassandra]

False Start

Kassandra stepped out of the small shop, pulling up the black hood of her cloak and joining the throngs of people moving along the rough stone pathway. Her hands were clenched at her side, her nails digging into her palms as frustration flowed through her. Another dead end, that's all Jedha was turning out to be. Another dead end, and a waste of time that Kassandra could not afford. She stepped past a stall filled to the brim with fake jewelry and other items meant to draw people in to the charm of Jedha. Even without touching the items, Kassandra could tell the crystals were fake, though she was not entirely certain why.

She had been tracking leads across much of the Inner and Mid rims of the galaxy, every rumor and whisper passed to her through agents and sources that her families resources had managed to secure for her. They were rarely anything more than street vendors or insane fools preaching mystical healing, and the very, very few leads that had proved anything close to useful had eventually turned into dead ends when what they offered had not proven good enough. Nothing the galaxy had seemed to be able to halt the progress of the sickness she was cursed with. The galaxy seemed to want her to die.

Kassandra stepped into a side alley, a thick, heavy cough forcing her to stop and lean against the side of the building. The coughing fit lasted for almost a minute, getting progressively worse, until she finally spit up the blood that had begun to congregate in her lungs. She spit it onto the ground, the blood quickly drying in the dusty floor of the alley. Kassandra looked at it in silence for a few seconds, before she narrowed her eyes, and let out a frustrated scream of pain, frustration, and unending and ever present rage. The galaxy was a cruel, unfair and terrible place.

Kassandra slammed her fist into the wall of the building next to her, her flaring emotions needing a physical outlet. Instead of the pain she had been expecting, she heard a crash of stone against stone. Hesitantly, she turned to look at the wall, and was shocked to see that her fist had gone clean through the side of it, a crater surrounding the hole. She withdrew her hand slowly, looking down at it and not seeing any wounds. Glancing back down the alley to see if anyone had seen her, Kassandra took off, moving swiftly to get back to the starport where her rented transport was waiting for her.

She needed to leave.

Maestus

 

[Maestus]

Jedha
Streets

Truth be told, Maestus had come to Jedha on a whim. She'd felt stifled lately. Her research was hitting wall after wall. Her muse, normally a free flowing current, had slowed to droplets. Even her relationship with her consort had slowed to a nonexistent crawl. Too many years of science and work. All work and no play made Maestus a very dull girl.

Here she was on Jedha. She couldn't remember last time she'd been here. It seemed as good a place as any to gain some fresh air. Fresh perspective and ideas. As she strolled through the streets, her mind drifted back again. Lately, she spent time remembering the past than she did living in the present. She felt a message was forth coming, but when? What? This season of her life was about patience. What a hard lesson to learn.

Her mind had drifted back. Gehinnom. Darth Solipsis had found them. Brought them. Presented them to her. The beings that spawned her.

Her parents

She'd not thought of them since the day she left Ryloth and all its miseries behind. To see them before her. Bound. So very, very weak. The very idea that she, Maestus, was biologically descended from such pathetic specimens sent her into a rage. Since her rebirth on Mustafar, her rage always simmered just under her control. That day, it demanded release. That day she vowed to eliminate weakness within her. She would not allow herself to become as the wretches creatures, now merely burnt husks.

Had she lost her touch? Ever since Exegol, she'd distanced herself from everyone. She'd seen the signs. The visions were terrible. For over 2 decades, she threw herself into her research. Determined to not see a repeat.

Maybe too many years in the lab had slowed her down. Too long since the field of battle. Too long since she'd just...Lived.

That is why she was strolling the streets of Jedha. Somewhere reasonably unfamiliar to renew...Something inside her.

She was deep in thought when Kassandra screamed. It wasn't the sound that caught Maestus attention. It was the raw emotion within the sound. The rage, frustration and anger. Those caught her attention. She fully unfurled her senses then, both physical and through the Force.

Across the street and down a few blocks. Maestus couldn't see the alley with her eyes, but she saw it all the same. Her senses open, she allowed the rest of her to be sensed as well. It was interesting, the unconscious reactions of the denizens on the streets. The hustle and bustle continued without pause. When she stepped fully out of the cloak holding her Force presence back, it was as if the seas parted. Rage Personified now stalked the streets of Jedha. Its people opened when she neared, allowing unencumbered passing.

A few steps more, and she stood in the alley entrance. Searching...
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