Five Forts

[Sawa Ike]

[member="Xi Rell"]

She looked at her and drank it in, the power the rage... the out right hatred where the sith lady herself was letting the red tendrils come to her. She pulled at them while she was waiting to see what she did and then incrased it her other hand coming up to rip at her body and life force with the draining technique to get a small laugh. "So angry, so proud. What did you think?" She said it and her voice was thicker with amusement and scorn. "I have lived for over five thousand years child, I have trained at the feet of masters and I have no intention of letting an upstart like you continue." SHe moved forward and watched her as the silvery eyes gleamed with rings of gold and her face was more angular, skin paler with black veins. "You are my apprentice, you serve me, you amuse me. If you want to fight me every step of it then you can but you can be replaced little one. You are not special, you are not safe even if I gave you that impression with silks and slaves." She pulled with the tendrils more to keep at it, to keep trying to tear the life force away until there was nothing of the girl. "Now submit to me child, beg me for my forgiveness and mercy otherwise I will tear your soul from the force."

 

[Xi Rell]

As hard as she tryed, Xi culdnt stay on her feet any longer. Veins started to show in her face, eyes going blood-shot. It wuld not be long until she vas drained of life. From her shakeing hands, both her blades droped, vith a clatter on the stone terace.

"Aagh..." she groaned, then feled down to her knees.

"Y...you... h...have... my... service..." she pushed out, as she feled half-way down, suporting her-self on one arm.

"I... I beg... forgiveness... Mistress..." she added, the vords hurting her more then the drain it-self. Her pride broken.

 

[Sawa Ike]

[member="Xi Rell"]

Sawa stopped just enough when she spoke and showed well if it wasn't mercy it was more she showed that she wasn't one to just be cruel for the sake of being cruel. That didn't serve a proper purpose before she touched her face and softened her features. "So strong, so powerful but you have the mentality of the young.... you think you know everything. That you do not need to be taught and when you want to be it has to be on your own terms." Her accent was there and she spoke while her fangs were still barred showing a wild excitement in her eyes. "Understand my apprentice. I killed my husband, my king, my master. I tore his heart out of his chest with my bare hands and ate of it. A ten thousand year old lord of the darkside and master his people. Even those who use the darkside learn patience. Until the stars burn out for that moment. Growing stronger." She moved her hand out to touch her cheek and stood tall. "Now follow me and learn apprentice."

 

[Xi Rell]

"Yes, mistress." the proud Bladeborn woman noded, her voice... unredable. Neutral. Not giving away any of her iner turmoil. Neiter reverent, nor angry, nor rezentful... just... neutral. Cold. Unredable. Like a droid. Her emotions tigtly buried.

She rizen to her feet, picking up the blades she droped, and sheathing them on her back, and folowed her mistress. She didnt even glance at the bodys of the two people vhos brains likuifyed, as a rezult of her Force Scream. She didnt even feel the rezidual pain of the burns, or the drain, as color returnd to her face. Her pride hurt more then any phyzical would ever culd. It burned in her throat, the biter taste of defeat. She known that this night, she wuld not sleep wel, and the next morning, she wuld not be able to look her-self in the miror vithout feeling disgusted by her weakness.

So she glided after Sawa, mixed vith a deluge of feelings she wuld not show. Not even realyzing it, her hands slowly clenched in-to fists so hard, that blood started seeping from her palms. She then released them. The new pain in her palms helped distrakt her from the sinking feeling of failure in her stomak.

One emotion did kristalize itself, out of the turmoil. Hate. Burning, terible hate, tovard her new Mistress. The kind of hate that permeated evry fibre of her being, and wuld give her fokus to become stronger in the Force. And one day... one day... take her revenge on Sawa, for this... this humiliation. No one in her life, has ever maked her kneel and submit. No-one in her life has ever treated her vith such... disdain. No-one in her life has ever maked her feel so weak... and inferior. She wuld have prefered death to this humiliation. In hind-sight... she shuld have rezisted. She shuld have been defiant to the end! At least her honor wuld be intact. But if she did, she wuld never have a chance to have her revenge. So yes... she wuld serve Sawa. And learn from her. Her hate wuld give her fokus. Learn evrything she culd from her. So that she culd one day destroy her. Slowly. Painfuly. Completly.

"You shuld have killed me... mistress. Because i swer on the grave of Marok Je'Kai, the founder of my Order... i wil kill you for your humiliation of me. It may take years. Or decades. Or longer. But you wil die by my hand. Nobody.... NOBODY... mocks me." she maked a dark pledge in her heart, orange eyes burning. Despyte Sawa's pathetic atempt at konciliation, at the end... the only thing Xi remembered vas mockery, that cauzed her to attack her mistress in the first place. Sawa didnt see her as her equal. And she wuld pay for that. How-ever long it taked.

Almost in a trance, she climbed back in-to her R41, and folowed Sawa's ship back to the Fortress. Eyes glassy vith tears of voice-less rage and angst. But during the flight, she gained control of it. Only her new-found hate remaind. She wuld bury it, deeply... and feed it.

 

[Sawa Ike]

[member="Xi Rell"]

Sawa could feel it, Xi was.... calculating but she was also proud, fierce and determined as the energy vampire radiated indifference towards her and the others who were here. The area around them though would serve as she let her go off. Finding a place to eat and enjoy the moment at least before the real dangers would begin with training. Perhaps the warrior would defy her again... or maybe she would learn one of the most valuable lessons of the darkside. You first needed to know what your master could do before wanting to fight them. Sawa still had some surprises and remaining there she looked at a few of the others who came around them. She had dark sister and with the snows aroudn them there was a lot more where she looked. The legends and tales of the frozen wastes were something few others could see when she left space for Xi to come back and join her for the lessons.

 

[Xi Rell]

Next morning...

Xi has showd up late for brekfast in the Palace, and vhen she did, she didnt partake in any of the pleazures at the table. She barely glanced at Chujo, even vhen he greeted her. Sulenly, she sit down at the table, direktly opozite Sawa's place, and pored her-self a glass of wine, along vith grabing a few bantha ribs in a sauce.

Picking a loaf of bread, she slowly munched on the sauced ribs, studiusly avoiding to even look at her mistress. Mostly becauze she didnt vant Sawa to see the hate in her eyes.

"So... vhat hapened out on the mountain yesterday?" Chujo broked the silence. Xi glanced up at that... aparently, Sawa didnt tell him. Good... at lest her humiliation wuldnt spread.

"Not much." Xi spoked quickly. "A prety boring trip, actualy. Hopefuly today the mistress wil chooze a more interesting place to teach me at."

The big Onnta smirked. "Realy? Vhat about those burns on yor arms?"

"Vhat do you think? I stood to close to a fire. No big deal, they wil go away in a few days." Xi retorted defenzivly.

 

[Sawa Ike]

[member="Xi Rell"]

Sawa listened but she had an amused look on her face for the moment standing up as she spoke to the two of them. "Chujo, apprentice... it is good both of you are here." She waited for them to look while she went on. "Your training my dear will continue today while we are working. Captain there is some reports from the pearl. You'll take a squad and head there to check on things." SHe said it with a look on her face. He bowed moving off as Sawa looked at Xi and her lips curled into a smile. "Oh don't be all snappish, hatred and anger over yesterday will only serve to make you burn yourself out apprentice. The emotions can be strong but if you only rely on them you'll make more mistakes."

She moved back and sat there. "We'll continue the lesson from yesterday. You still have to be able to focus and keep your connection to the force while fighting or being distracted." Shesaid it sitting back down at her seat and she was eating soem of the food. While servants came around and presented her with more and one had brought to her dark sister. THe saber hilt going on her hip. "Perfect." Before she could look around and see what might be coming though the sound of some Onna were coming in. They had brought more to drink from some of the servants who had tried to rise up and overtake well the people and family. "Well that didn't last long."

 

[Xi Rell]

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A FEW MONTHS LATER...

A curier arived, vith a very important message for [member="Sawa Ike"]

He bowed to the Mistress, then left, leaving her vith a data pad. On it, a title vas:

XI REL - LAST REPORT

SALVAGED BLACK BOX REKORDER OF BLADE'S FURY - RUNING:
INCOMING - INCOMING - SHILDS DOWN - WEAPON SIGNATURE - UNKNOWN
VITAL SIGNS - NEGATIVE - EXPLOZIVE DEKOMPRESION

Adendum: No body vas recovered, the fighter perishd in the detonation. Regards and kondolences, the Jen'ari Empire. She served us wel.