Forging a Weapon

[Antera]

It had been a few days since her initial arrival. So far, it seemed she had been judged as acceptable, but even now Somarae still felt the twinge of anxiety whenever one of the senior Inquisitors sought her out.

She had proven to have a strong connection to the Force, but one she still sought any form of real control over. She could move small objects and repeatedly demonstrated her ability to anticipate threats in her combat training, but something held her back.

She found a small, empty plaza on the grounds, and knelt in meditation. It was a religious practice more than any part of her training, one she'd ignored for some time, a simple search for her own inner balance and peace. Something she could try even in this place that set her so on edge. Deep breaths, shut out the world outside.

Her eyes closed, her mind focused only on her breathing as she knelt on the hard stones, the wind occasionally disturbing her robes but otherwise unmoving.

 

[Mirien Valdier]

@[member="Somarae"] (Apologies for taking so long! So sorry hun!)

Mirien had been watching the progress of Somarae with great interest. The Chiss a species she had grown to greatly respect, so keen, intelligent. Many had the natural gift for strategic planning and then some. All things she highly prized within the Inquisition.

Slowly she searched in the force, looking for where her apprentice was currently within the Citadel walls. Allowing for it to be her guide in her black robes, trimmed in gold and red, she moved swiftly. Each step taken across the stone floors were with purpose as she descended down from her personal tower, her living quarters as well as private training space.


Heading outside, she moved a little slower sensing the meditation and stillness ahead. Just by feeling alone, she knew Somarae was the only one in the plaza which would be ideal. Mirien loved her privacy. Which often meant she trained new arrivals in the basements, alone. Or her personal apprentices, in her private quarters.

Her steps now smoother, quieter she came across the plaza and approached without a single word to the Chiss. Finally close enough she slowly, respectfully took a seat in front of her. Crossing her legs, she waited patiently for the being before her to acknowledge her presence. And it was highly unlikely that someone as strong as the Grand Inquisitor would go unnoticed for long. No words needed to be spoken, she was here to continue the woman's training.


However she respected meditation enough to allow the woman to come out of it properly without forcing her roughly from it. Such actions could endanger the being it was done to. She had her own experiences with that and the former Chief Inquisitor Lai, the man that had tried to kill her time and again since the moment she entered the Inquisition. And yet in the end, she had destroyed him and took her rightful place as head of the Inquisition.

 

[Antera]

@[member="Mirien Valdier"]

Despite her best efforts otherwise, Somarae inevitably began to feel her senses stretch outward in her meditation. In the last few weeks something inside her that had lain dormant for so much of her life was starting to awaken, and it refused to go back to sleep. Her dreams were changing, vivid and so much more real. She could feel things in the few precious seconds before they actually occurred. Mirien herself had shown her the very basics of telekinesis, though Somarae hadn't been able to move anything much larger than a stone the size of a child's ball. And then there was the chance encounter with her fellow Inquisitor in orbit above Rakata Prime, and how his guidance and her reliance on the Force had saved both of their lives.

With her senses spread as such, Somarae could not help but notice the moment her master entered the courtyard. The sudden presence in the Force growing nearer to her set her newly discovered senses ablaze.

She blinked her bright red eyes open only a few moments after the other woman sat in front of her. Her shoulders rose and fell in a deep breath, her mind already racing in preparation of whatever test or trial had been prepared today, darting through the possibilities of what little she knew of the Force, and the bits and pieces she'd learned of the Inquisition in her short time thus far within the Citadel.

"Grand Inquisitor, how may I serve you?" she replied, placing her hands on her knees and bowing her head and shoulders forward deferentially. She was certainly nothing if not appropriately courteous, yet another mark that she was at least as much Atrisian as Chiss, if not more.

She felt her heart rate beginning to elevate as she waited for a reply, but this time she found it easier to fight the response back down. She'd given Mirien no reason to doubt or mistrust her so far, not that it would stop an experienced Inquisitor from doubting or mistrusting to some degree.

 

[Mirien Valdier]

@[member="Somarae"]

Mirien looked calmly upon the young Chiss. "There is nothing to fear from me today. I promise." Promises were something Mirien never made, ever. They were incredibly rare and only made if she was certain she could keep them. For a broken promise, was a broken reputation and that was something she could not afford.


"I see you were meditating, and I did not wish to interrupt for my business with you is not pressing and there are times when young Inquisitors such as yourself need such space, such time alone. So, I waited." The usually icy woman, seemed gentler than usual a light but very fade warmth in her tone.


"Truly my purpose in coming down here was to get to know you better, before I fully take you on as my apprentice. I want to know the true you. Who you are? What you want? What you left behind. I want to understand." It was something she did with a select few more willing Inquisitors. She gave them time, built their trust, their devote loyalty to her.
"So tell me Somarae, what did you come from, what family did you leave behind?" She asked calmly, genuinely interested. There was a purpose in all of the Grand Inquisitor's actions for a test was being settled within the Citadel for this one, though the Chiss was not yet aware of it, as Mirien closely guarded her thoughts never letting a stray one loose.

 

[Antera]

@[member="Mirien Valdier"]

"I am from Jar'Kai, Grand Inquisitor. And my family is the Empire. No one else. Not since I was a young girl," Somarae remained somewhat tense, even as the fear left her. It was unsettling to talk to someone who could so utterly close herself off, even from her new senses, "I was a ward of the state from the age of four until I came of age and enrolled at the Academy. I haven't seen either of my birth parents since, and in truth barely recall them."

"So the Navy and the Empire are my family now, I suppose... perhaps the Inquisition as well given time. Though I cannot say I've ever felt close to any individuals, Atrisia is my home. One I will always do my duty for."

She considered her position for only a moment before speaking again, "If I may be so bold... what did you forsake, Grand Inquisitor?"

 

[Mirien Valdier]

@[member="Somarae"]

Mirien stopped, just stopped for a second. Not only had no one ever asked her that question, she had no answer. She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. Shaking her head she quickly regained her composure. But allowed silence to pass between them.


It was a long while before she spoke, "I do not know." The words hung in the air, almost whsipered. Her expression deeply sad, almost heartbreakingly so, and her voice, soft, saddened, even a tinge of hurt in it. This something that pained her more than any physical wound could ever. As much as she wanted, she could not hide her pain. But she knew that simple answer would lead to more questions, so before Somarae could even ask the Grand Inquisitor began to explain.

"You see ... I don't have any memories before waking up in an Imperial Military Medbay, chained to the bed, mind you under heavy guard."


She chuckled a little, "They didn't need a single guard for me. I'd broken nearly every bone in my body and had a hell of a head wound." Reaching up, she felt through her hair and pulled a bit of it aside showing a wicked scar hidden by her dark locks. "Nasty scar, I was not going anywhere."


She paused for a moment, "I had no idea what I'd done. How I got there. Or even my own name."

"Without my memories, figuring me to be useless, the Former Chief Inquisitor wished me to be executed for crimes that I've no recollection of. But Admiral, well I suppose now Emperor Kahoshi thought otherwise. He fought for me, and in the end won. They presented me two options. One: Join the Inquisition and learn my real name, or two: die never knowing it, to not know who I was."

Mirien closed her eyes for a moment trying to relax, "I could not bear the idea of dying when I didn't know what for, when I didn't even know my name." She sighed softly, "I figure with that someday, maybe, if, I'll find out who or what I was. But for now I'm content with this life. At least I have a purpose, a duty, and honor to stand by."

Mirien's eyes were on the ground, thinking for a moment. "They did tell me I was a criminal and if not for my unique situation, I'd have already been dead. So, there are days I wonder if it's worth chasing my past. For I may not like what I find."


"The Inquisition is the only life I have ever known. And I'm forever indebted to Emperor Kahoshi. Without him, I'd not be here. I would have died the worst death I can think of. To die without a name, without knowing who you are, without knowing why they are to kill you." Mirien' looked away for a moment, fighting to control her emotions. But with this story came so much pain, so much heartbreak, so much she kept locked away from the galaxy.


"There is a reason that I ask you Inquisitors to give a fair, honorable and respectful death to those we must kill. It is because of how very close I came to the most dishonorable death there is. Let them know why they are to die. Let them know what they are, and never take away their names." In that she was dead serious, her same icy tone back. "Honor them, respect them, for they deserve that much, as any worthy foe does."

 

[Antera]

@[member="Mirien Valdier"]

Somarae's eyes went wide for a moment with surprise, blinking at the revelation. She had expected more secrecy, or even a reprimand, but seeing such an honest response from her master was simply startling. She bowed her head low, "Thank you for enlightening me, Grand Inquisitor. I cannot claim to understand all of the experience you've lived through, but I do grasp your conclusions. I will endeavor to treat our enemies as such, even if they must fall on my blade."

She lifted her head, once more meeting her master's gaze. Her usually stoic expression had shifted into a small, sympathetic smile, "I have always known my identity, but I have never truly grasped my history. I have never needed to. The Empire has given me purpose, and that's all I have ever required."

 

[Mirien Valdier]

@[member="Somarae"]

Mirien both saw and sensed the surprise but why hide a past, when there were no secrets within it to hide. It was the reality. A harsh cold one. But it was her life, and there was not a reason in the 'verse to hide it from any who should ask. It wasn't a weakness in her eyes.

"You're most welcome. It's not something I share often, most just know I have no memories before the Empire. They never ask. But in this situation, a simple I do not know, would have led to more questions, so I felt justified in telling you the truth." She said with a soft smile. Much kinder seeming than likely Soma had ever seen Mirien. "I unlike most, do not have secrets to hide. At least none I know of." She said with a chuckle.

"And I appreciate that, it's important to give them an honorable death. To not do to them what almost happened to me. It's why I ask of it." She sighed, thinking back to that cruel day, waking in agony, forced to walk on broken legs held together only by casts and metal pins. The former Chief Inquisitor quite cruel. There was no kindness in his actions. None. Even tried to force her to stand before him and the Admiral that way. But her body collapsed unable to take the pain and bear the load. The memories hurt, but Lai was long dead. Though, she still carried a deep scar on her back from where the man nearly killed her.

"It's been strange I must admit. For you discover talents, you didn't know you had. Like, I found I could read ancient sith script. Or, learning what foods you love and hate. It's different. Like being a child again. Though I was thrown into the most harsh training. Harder than I push you guys now. Because Lai then was trying to kill me. I was a slight to him, an insult that the Admiral forced upon him so he did everything he could to see me killed. Suicide missions and the like, but each time I came back. Grew stronger, moved through the ranks more quickly than any other because of skill and pure instinct."

Another sigh, "I was never trained here in the force, never. I learned most of what I can do from muscle memory if you will, my body remembers but my mind does not. Lai didn't want me trained, again to ensure my death but it did not happen. And finally one day I rose above him."A frown came at those words, that was not a good day, painful cruel and agonizing. "But a story for another time."

She looked to Soma, "Do not be afraid to look me in the eyes. Do not. I will not have an apprentice who will not look me in the eyes. For you can learn much through someone's eyes. The face may say nothing but the eyes say it all." In Mirien's a mix of sadness, pain, loss and anger of the past. So easily seen. "What is behind us, the past, is that, the past. It cannot be altered or changed. And think about this for a moment; had you changed any bit of it, any one bit of it.... Any moment you regretted, any moment you wished you'd said or done something else. If you did change those moments, you would not be who you are at this very moment."

Reaching up Mirien once more brushed her hair aside, and sighed as she often did, "I am glad that the Empire gave you purpose. I hope the Inquisition gives you a greater purpose. We are a resource so valuable, granted untrusted because of our power but the Empire needs us. We are the first, and the final guard of Atrisia. We are more than just a group that polices force users, we are spies, pilots, advance teams. Yes, we work in secret and in the shadows hiding what we are. But we must. It's for our protection."

"And Somarae, I am always far kinder to those who willingly come to the Inquisition. Who do not resist and require, education." Education implied torture, isolation or even death if one did not submit. It was cold and cruel but it had to be done. "They earn my respect as you have."

"But I will need to test you, challenge you. How much do you know of the force? And is there anything in particular that you'd like to learn?"

 

[Antera]

@[member="Mirien Valdier"]

The chiss woman listened intently to every word, sitting up straighter and meeting Mirien's gaze whenever it was offered. This was a side of the Grand Inquisitor she truly had never seen before. It was fascinating to get a glimpse of the person, rather than the title. She did her best to hold composure, though in truth she could hardly believe that such things had shaped the intimidating woman before her now without killing her in the process.

"Not as much as I need to," she admitted readily, "The Force is the tool of the Inquisition, and the power behind galaxy spanning cults. Cults that must be regarded with a weary eye and the point of a blade. As a tool, I have already seen it give me... glimpses, I suppose. Of the present, of the near future. Things that protect me, things that let me survive to carry out my duty. Beyond this... I must confess, master. I am a blank slate. Regard me as a lump of iron, and forge me as you will."