Private Family Bonding

[Draco Miles]

Location: Random cafe in the capital of Khemost, the city of Midas.

Wearing: The drip

It’s Drip or drown and she may as well be Michael Phelps out here, Draco had just finished her meeting with Kay-Larr and had some cookies to deliver to The Amalgam … problem was she didn’t Exactly know where to find the Amalgam. So in the meantime as she waited for her message to Arianna Belasko to be responded to, it just asks “where can I find the Amalgam?,” she went around tea tasting! First stop was the busiest shop in Khemost, with a long line outside for its warm beverages and fun atmosphere, it was like an intergalactic Starbucks out here! Patiently waiting her turn for the front of the line, Draco pondered on all that she had been through so far and what the future would entail, how could she reach the cult of the brain demon? Who in fact was even in this cult in the first place?

So lost in thought she hadn’t even noticed the line advanced until someone tapped her shoulder. She apologized and moved forward, keeping an eye on reality and where to move while she thought… then came time to order! She… still had no clue what teas there were out there and ended up ordering a cold cup of sweet iced tea like a fool…

Outside and not really complaining about the different tastes, Draco relaxed in this time of peace… though there was always something out there to disturb it

 

[The Battalion]

The Battalion hid her own...concern...as she watched the copy of Percival Io digging a grave for the body with his bare hands and burying the body. He didn't realize he was fulfilling the ritual to a T.

"Take your time..." she said surprisingly softly. "We're in no rush..."

She regretted bringing him here now, probably more than he regretted coming here. What had she been thinking, showing him all this, when his only real experience of life prior was being stuck on the magnet? She had told herself it was to impress upon him just how awful and sadistic Amy/Phyre was--but what was the point of removing her. The Battalion may not like to take it as far as Amy did but The Battalion could still be brutally awful when she got ready herself...she just thought that being that way all the time like Amy was caused more problems than it solved. Plus, the ideology of his mother had been having some influence, whether she wanted to admit it or not.

She had thrown caution to the wind herself to be wed to such a heretic.

As he followed her to the river, she listened to him trying to tell himself it wasn't as serious as he made it out to be. She felt a bigger stab of guilt within herself for bringing him here.

His first experience of life outside captivity, and his first real, voluntary act of free will was to inadvertently participate in an unholy rite.

She was sooooooooooo gonna get chewed out for this by Xiphos. She realized it had been those gaps in empathy given to her that had caused her to have the lapse in judgement in bringing him here.

She said nothing for or against his sentiment regarding his baptism. He had fulfilled the ritual perfectly. Whether or not other groups had other standards of baptism was no concern of the Cult. Mainly because she was distressed at the sudden interest in him. But Amy/Phyre always latched onto strong emotion...and the chance to bring out the worst in others... because she genuinely believed they were better off embracing their worst possible self.

Did Battalion believe that? She wasn't certain. Not anymore. She had used to, certainly. Then she had married a crazy person who veered between moral viewpoints like a pendulum, one moment being an extremist monster who wanted the Jedi Order to suffer and feel the pain the refugees felt at losing what was precious to them, even if it meant viciously torturing them or worse. The next, she was an extremist monster who nonetheless wanted the best for her family and citizens and would do anything to see them flourish, even if it meant breaking her back.

To say she had mixed feelings about Galahad's predicament was underselling it. One part of her wanted to rejoice at Galahad unconsciously fulfilling the will of the Unholy Spirit, for it meant she had delivered him to a great honor and destiny and she would be there to guide him through it, even with Amy's help.

On the other...Galahad had been innocent...

Rescuing him had made it personal. Had made her responsible for him on a deeper level. She had looked out for him because he was her step son.

What was the best way to be his step mother when she had almost entirely forgotten how to act human on that level?

She was silent, closing her eyes as she meditated to give him some privacy as he cleaned up. When he at last addressed her, she saw the fear in his eyes.

"Galahad..." she trailed patiently, doing her best to reassure him. "Your Mother will not think any less of you. I know her well enough to know just how seriously she takes being a Mother. To take away your place with the House, to reject you would be Anathema to her. She would never try to rewrite your mind. She let one of her own stepmothers, Moya, walk away when Moya could not remain with her for moral reasons. She doesn't talk about Moya...not out loud anymore...but Moya leaving hurt her in a way she never fully recovered from. But she could easily have rewritten her mind to make her stay. She didn't, because she loved her and still does. She won't try to change you. It will just mean you will need to find other ways to help out. And there are plenty. You will never lack for purpose. Or belonging. Not with her."

The Battalion paused.

"Y'know...I know this won't mean anything coming from me..." she trailed, trying to recall the vestigial scraps of humanity left. "But...I...I...am not..."

The Battalion sighed a little. The scraps were barely stirring.

"I...I... don't want to be...enemies...with you..." she struggled out, her very 'programming' at war with itself as she said that.

"But...I...am not...sure...how to be...not this."

Meanwhile...

"This is where they mingle?" The new HRD asked David the Model 1. She was one of the new Models, a Support Nuetralizer Model 1 and David was taking her on a tour of the home so to speak.

The Support Nuetralizer, as with so many of the more recent models, had been designed with the guise of a beautiful woman in mind. These particular models were a tall but shapely variety, clad in a skin tight silver armorweave catsuit, their blonde hair done in a tight bun, only the implant above her left eye and the deadly weapon that was her left hand gave away anything.

David nodded. "Yes. Organics have a curious habit of loitering around locations to consume overpriced refreshments."

The Support Nuetralizer raised an eyebrow. "Why?" she asked.

"I wouldn't read into it too much..." David assured her. "They could be selling nothing but ice water and Organics would still come here to mingle. Mingling is a form of casual socialization. Even your older brothers don't like to train in peace and quiet."

The Support Nuetralizer blinked. "How do we mingle?"

"We start by getting in a line..." David explained.

"But we can't eat or drink anything." she noted.

"Not the point. Coming here just to drink never is." David said as he walked with her, wearing a fur coat and sunglasses. He spotted Draco Miles and waved as he gestured for the HRD to follow him to Draco.

"Yo, Draco! My gurrrrl, what up?!" David said merrily as he reached her.

"Hello, Draco. I'm Kassandra." Kassandra said pleasantly.

"She's one of the newest models of my Sisters. I'm just showing her around. How you doing?" David asked Draco.

 

[Draco Miles]

Savoring it’s sweetness and even finding it soothing enough to meditate into the light side of the force, being disturbed by David made her snap back to reality
(Ope there goes Gravity)
and jump slightly in surprise. She’d never really met anyone who was as energetic as David with his introductions either, perhaps there was something going on with his programming? Nonetheless, seeing her comrade made her smile and stand, holding out a hand to shake

“David, it’s been too long! I’ve been good, checking out all that House IO needs to offer, trying to find The Amalgam to give her some cookies too… Pleasure to meet you, kassandra, I hope you enjoy all that the Golden city has to offer.”

 

[Percival Io]

Galahad felt some relief at the Battalion’s assurances, but not enough to completely wipe away his doubts and worries. Just like with the Amalgam’s crimes, he wouldn’t believe in Xiphos’ unconditional love and acceptance until he witnessed it for himself.

Something else was happening. The Battalion was struggling to speak, stuttering her sentences out in a strained staccato rhythm as though each word was a tooth being pulled.

Dripping wet on the riverbank, Galahad stared at her with wide green eyes. Her “confession” had come as a complete surprise, but not an unwelcome one.

“Then we don’t have to be enemies,” he replied with a faint smile. The smile faded as his brow furrowed in concentration. “Do you remember that day when the House helped to drive out the Bryn’adul on Kesh?”

Percival—and by extension Galahad and Scott within him then—had become furious at the sight of the Amalgam engaging in grisly torture and other debauchery.

“House Io has standards to uphold. We should rejoice in justice and in destroying evildoers—not take joy in inflicting suffering,” Galahad quoted Percival’s words that day, then nodded to the Battalion. “If you kill the enemies of House Io in the name of your Cult, it’s no concern of mine. Sacrifice as many Bryn, Mawites, and Jedi to the Brain Demon as you wish. But if you harm innocents, or indulge in prolonged suffering just for the sadistic joy of it—then we will be enemies. That is why the Amalgam is my enemy.”

It was official, then. The conspiracy would have Galahad’s full support.

He felt a sudden deep longing to be back with his brothers. The urge went far deeper than a need for companionship—he wanted to go back to being the same person as Percival and Prescott. Things had been simpler when they were one.

The Battalion​

 

[The Battalion]

The Battalion genuinely wasn't sure how to respond to Galahad.

What he was asking her to not do went against every instinct Darth Phyre had instilled.

Her every instinct was to let him down gently at that point.

Instead...

"I...I..."

She struggled.

"I... cannot... promise...there won't be...lapses..."

She was visibly struggling, her minds clawing at each other and the teaching of the Cult.

"But...I...will...try..." she got out finally, collapsing to her knees as she began hyperventilating. He would never know just how much it had taken to make even 'that' small assurance.

The Battalion managed to pull herself back up, looking physically weak and pale.

"Let's go back home..." she said, struggling to get her breathing under control, not liking how weak she seemed to another...

But still...it was Galahad...and she felt responsible for him...

Later on...

The Battalion hadn't said much to Galahad on the way back to Khemost. She was still trying to process the consequences of telling Galahad she would try to show restraint.

Xiphos had immediately arranged to meet, especially when she told her what she had done. The Battalion had told the copy of Percival Io to wait outside Xiphos's apartment while she had a few words with his Mother. The room was soundproofed.

"What were you thinking, taking him to that place?!" Xiphos hissed in disbelief and frustration. "What would put such a Galaxy brained idea into allllllllll those minds chattering inside you that made you go 'Whelp, guess I'll take my brand new step son to the place where I do the most godless, awful things possible to other people'?"

The Battalion sighed.

"He expressed curiosity about the Cult."

"And you indulged him!?" Xiphos snapped.

"Julia, you would never have been able to hide it from him. He already had Percival's memories to go by. For feth's sake, you both saw me AND Phyre munching on Drael Burgers. "It's kinda hard to keep that chit on the down-low."

"You could have waited a couple of months!" Xiphos sputtered in outrage. "You don't just take an innocent boy on his first fething day of being free and bring him to a place like that! It's like getting someone a birthday cake except it's made of Bantha Poo-Doo instead of flour! It's like taking him to a water slide park except all the water is blood! And while the second option is actually kinda metal, it doesn't change the fact that it's a completely fethed up thing to do to a boy barely three days old!"

"In my defense, I am a Brain Demon Cultist, so those sorts of considerations never occurred to me until it was too late."

You're a Cultist too. In secret. she pointed out.

Xiphos's anger lessened but only slightly. The Battalion, in spite of her situation, couldn't help but feed on that emotion to restore herself from the sickly state she had been in earlier. Xiphos noticed but did not care.

"Yeah I suppose I walked right into that one, didn't I?" Xiphos muttered. "And what's this about a ritual you say he inadvertently completed?"

"Honey, I swear, I had no fething idea he was gonna wade into a blood pool with that eviscerated corpse. I mean, I thought, y'know, he'd be...well...genre-savvy. When I realized what he was doing, it was already too late, and, y'know, Phyre, she did not help by being all super-creeper with him."

"It's Phyre!" Xiphos exclaimed, throwing up her hands in sheer exasperation. "When is she not a Thirsty Super-Creeper?!"

The Battalion rolled her eyes. "Okay, okay, that's a fair point. But again, in my defense, total Brain Demon Cultist."

Xiphos face-palmed, then pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Elaine, I can't believe I'm actually accepting that as a valid defense for taking my son to a Dark Side Rave...but what does him completing the ritual mean?"

"It means the Brain Demon is watching him, and favors him for some reason. What the reason is, I couldn't say."

"Can't say because you don't know, or can't say because you are forbidden from saying?"

"Our secrets are your secrets, Dear. But it's the former. If I knew, I would say something."

Xiphos sighed, sat down in her seat.

"I need to go talk to my son. We'll discuss Amy's bullchit later."

"Would you like me to leave?"

"No. Not unless you want to."

The Battalion thought about it a moment.

"I'll stay. I'll keep quiet though. Not much I can offer at this point. He's scared, Julia. Remember that. He thinks you'll try and reprogram him or reject him."

"Then he's wrong. Thank you for rescuing him..." Xiphos said in response.

The doors soon opened and Galahad was allowed in.

"Hello son." Xiphos said, glancing him over keenly. "I'm told you selected the name 'Galahad' for yourself. It's a fine name. A strong name."

Xiphos sighed.

"I'm sorry, Galahad, I've always sucked at the whole heart to heart thing. I'm glad you're alive. I was going to get you but Batty volunteered, and I...agreed to let her. Which led to your field trip. I am deeply sorry you saw all that, and for what you experienced while there. The Cult are a bunch of sick bastards, and even they wouldn't dispute it."

The Battalion, sitting slightly off to the side rolled her eyes but nodded in agreement with this.

"But they're also among the few solid allies this House has...and I have a...history...with them...I don't know if you'll ever fully understand that part about me... sometimes even I don't fully understand it. But it is what it is. As bloody as it is..."

Xiphos clasped her hands together, expression soft.

"I'm not going to get into the alterations that have occured to your programming. The emergence of such an occurrence was inevitable in creating the complicated systems that govern the minds of Organic Nuetralizers. What I do want to know is how I can help you when it comes to finding your place in this House going forward. I...know you don't think like the rest of your brothers and sisters, but I don't see that as a problem. You don't have to be scared. I'll love you no matter what you decide."

Meanwhile...

David's Skeleton jaw fell open.

"You're trying to deliver...cookies...to The Amalgam..." David said in amazement to Draco Miles . And horror.

"Um...gurl...have you met The Amalgam? She's like a total full on hardcore psycho. You don't deliver cookies to that motherfether. I met her. If it wasn't for the damned no kill order, I'd have mailed the schutta at least several Thermal Detonators. Along with an intelligent chainsaw to stalk her curvy hide."

"He's correct, Miss Miles. I have a number of red flag warnings in my database concerning her and they all say I should use the biggest gun I can find to kill her if she ever turns on the House..." Kassandra offered helpfully. "Who gave you this directive? Was it what David refers to as a Troll? I don't fully understand the concept, but whenever I look it up on the holonet, it turns up images of an ugly creature beneath a bridge."

 

[Draco Miles]

Oh fun… perhaps that was why Arianna Belasko was not answering her messages? Her eyebrows furrowed and her lips drew thin as she grimaced

“How fun… Kay-Larr gave me this task, said these Dark Side cookies are her favorite. Perhaps even a meeting with a psychopath may bear the fruit of knowledge, whether that knowledge is combat experience or not we will have to find out.”

So many red flags! The matriarch seemed to have a massive distrust for the Brain Demon cult already… perhaps her opinion was more commonplace than she thought. To be rid of them would probably garner a lot of praise from all over the house! She heard Kassandra and nodded

“A troll, in the sense David refers to, is akin more to a deceiver, a prankster, jester even, if you want a more solid picture.”

 

[Percival Io]

The door to Xiphos’ apartment opened to reveal a dapper young man in a brown tailored suit. Galahad had taken the time to change his clothes and make himself more presentable while the Battalion and Xiphos met in private.

He looked first at the Battalion, before his gaze moved to Xiphos. In his memories, she was and had always been Mother, and yet this was his first time meeting her. It was plain that he was very nervous, as he approached her cautiously, almost reluctantly.

While she claimed she was bad at “the whole heart-to-heart thing”, her words were full of kindness and understanding. Despite himself, Galahad began to feel at ease in her presence, relaxing his stiff posture.

He was troubled by how she spoke of the Cult, but not dismayed. His conversation with the Battalion, and her vow to attempt restraint, was a small silver lining to an otherwise harrowing experience. Galahad had no more doubts about the necessity of removing the Amalgam from power. If the Battalion took her place, he hoped the Cult would improve their practices significantly.

Xiphos—Mother—asked him how she could help him. Galahad had given the matter some thought, and had an answer already prepared.

“I want to stay behind the scenes, so to speak,” he said. “A job as a researcher or archivist would suit me well. House Io needs to build its own library, a place where everyone has free access to information.”

Such a job would keep him away from combat, reducing the need for him to fight. In case that wasn’t enough, he was willing to offer a compromise. “If I am needed in the wars of House Io, it should not be on the front lines. I could manage communications, perhaps. But I won’t commit any act of violence against another living being, so long as I can help it.”

The Battalion​

 

[Arianna Belasko]

They had talked some more on it, but inevitably, Arianna had agreed to participate in the conspiracy to assassinate the Amalgam and find some way of keeping her dead.

But after that...

She had simply doted on him. She had snapped her fingers and droids had taken his measurements, providing him with all manner of garish clothing and then she had him pick out what absurdly expensive vehicle or star yacht he fancied. (She limited him to three of each. She didn't want to spoil him TOO badly.)

But once they were done, the Countess had been pinged on her outrageously expensive comm link with too many apps and read the message sent by Laertia. The Battalion had returned with Galahad.

The contents:

BRYNHUNTRESSSUPERSEXY007: Mom, pick up.

BRYNHUNTRESSSUPERSEXY007: Effn urgnt

FALSESKIN: Yes, dear?

BRYNHUNTRESSSUPERSEXY007: Batty's bac

BRYNHUNTRESSSUPERSEXY007: She brawt Son #3

BRYNHUNTRESSSUPERSEXY007: And magnets did chitz to hiz brane.

BRYNHUNTRESSSUPERSEXY007: He don wanna fite noww.

BRYNHUNTRESSSUPERSEXY007: He wants to go into archivinnng

FALSESKIN: Poor boy. Make sure wherever you stic himm its near the center of Midas. You don't want him feeling like he's been exiled.

BRYNHUNTRESSSUPERSEXY007: My thoughts exactly.

"Oh dear, Scott. I'm afraid I have to make some arrangements on my end. Your...stepmother...came back with the third copy. He's undergone serious alterations to his base programming. I have to select a building close to this Palace that he can operate out of, provide him with staff, make sure he's comfy it's going to take a few hours. So I'm going to have to spoil you rotten later." she said, mildly amused before excusing herself to her executive office. "Find Draco Miles ! Tell her I am sorry I couldn't meet her today. But it was a series of Family emergencies. Just don't show off in front of her."

Meanwhile...

"So be it. You'll have a position in archiving. Somewhere close to this crazy ass palace..." Xiphos thought out loud. "If you are willing, I'd also like to assign you partial stewardship between the Battalion, Arianna and yourself of Darth Mammon's Tomb Library. "

The Battalion glanced at Xiphos in surprise.

"I'm honored."

It'll also give you more excuses to be around him. Xiphos added mentally.

The Battalion was unwilling to dispute the benefits of that. She managed a faint smile for her stepson. But that left one loose end remaining...

"Dear..." The Battalion said. "Galahad has had an unpleasant three days. I'd like to stay with him for a while, see to getting an apartment and ship assigned to him. Weaponless, of course."

"Of course..." Xiphos agreed. "Matter of fact, I think I'll join the both of you. I'm free the rest of the day."



OOC:

Will make more posts under the Maranon account to deal with the rest of Percival's portion.