Star Wars Roleplay: Chaos

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From the Ice Inside Your Soul (Kaida)

[member="Elayne Saedaris"], [member="Galina Kerrigan-Alcori"]


There was loud noise when a fracture line was shattered in the stone and boulders rained down upon the machines. Many droids were canny enough to try and flee the storm of rock and stone, but even so several were smashed. Moreover, the assault disorganised their ranks to a degree.


This was the chance the Angelii needed. Saedaris had done her job well and it seemed Galina had stopped worrying and taken action. The girl had skill, she just needed to get over her fears and stop holding back. Kaida would teach her, whether she wanted or not. Thus when Galina acted, so did the Seraph. A cold, icy chill had spread across her bare hands, as she had retracted her gauntlets.


Ambient moisture in the air was manipulated by her power as she stretched out with her mind. In many ways, cryomancy was more of a support power, especially against machines or heavily armoured opponents. However, it had its uses and weapons were so easy to jam or put out of commission. Water was drawn into sonic blasters and Ssi-Ruuv blaster weapons, and quickly crystallised into ice. A gesture with her hand, which looked like it was covered in frost pearls, summoned pressure to split weapons or blow them up. Pieces battered against the shield wall, but the formation held.


Her hands were terribly frigid, her body temperature had dropped down to a degree that would make the unitiated think she really needed to go see a doctor and her skin was looking rather pallid, almost like a corpse. However, she cared little for this as she drew upon the tangled web of power. As the moisture on them hardened and solidifed, droids would soon find themselves immobilised as she fused their limbs together through ice. Droids that tried to struggle against the encasement risked damaging themselves, as they started to slip gears and damage servos in the process. Thus soon they stood there motionless. The temperature inside the cavern kept on dropping, making it chilling to the bone. Frost spread across the stone walls and ceiling.


"Projectile storm," she commanded icily and, as if on cue, small rock fragments of rock along with icicles rained down upon machines with a speed aking to railgun shots, accompanied by the discharge of elemental lightning that created a smell of ozone in the air, soon joined by burnt electronics and circuitry. Droids were struck by the electrical judgement and exploded, or taken down by the hypervelocity projectiles damaging critical systems. "Angelii, charge!" To give the signal, she ignited her lightsabre in a blaze of yellow light, illuminating the darkness inside the cave.


Drawing their sarixi, the phalanx of Angelii began to swiftly advance to fall upon the surviving machines. Most of the shooters had been put out of commission, but a number remained that carried blades and electrostaffs. Upon having crossed the distance and fallen upon the machines, the Angelii formation would be dissolved as they fought in small pairs. One battle sister would engage a droid up close in melee, the other would support her with elemental powers and bolter. Here and there, a battle sister was knocked out by enemy fire, but the charge could not be halted.
 
For the moment, Galina still hadn't noticed the injury she'd recieved. It was bound to be a while before it would be spotted. At least until feeling returned to her arm. At the command to charge, there was little else for her to do but to go with the flow. Drawing her Sarix she quickly advanced. Good thing she was left handed!

It had been some time since she'd been in close quarters combat of any type, not since she was much younger. Never mind the single man she'd encountered on the island on Kaeshana that she'd been forced to kill. Still, even that seemed to have been so long ago. Her mind wasn't in those thoughts right now either. There wasn't time for that.

Stepping forward a droid quickly closed in on her, electrostaff in hand. It slammed it down upon her much quicker than she'd anticipated, pushing past her defenses and colliding with her shoulder. Galina cried out, feeling the electricity surge through her. The droid pressed forward, tossing her backwards. Aiming to attack again.

No time to even think, only react. And to be frank, Galina was a bit angry. A shockwave blasted forth from her outstretched hand, throwing that droid and a few others back against the cavern walls with extreme force. Angry definitely. Ice soon formed on a pair of droids heading her way, freezing them solidly to the ground and soon enough they stood motionless, damaging themselves within the ice blocks that had formed around them.

[member="Kaida Taldir"]
 
[member="Galina Kerrigan-Alcori"], [member="Valiens Nantaris"]


The onslaught of the Angelii was ferocious and overwhelmning. Once the girls had overcome their surprise and in some cases shock, their killing instincts had kicked in. That was good. This meant they were worth the effort!


Truth be told, close-up melee combat was not one of Kaida's specialisation. Her score as a lightsabre duellist was passable, but nothing to be that impressed about. Thus she supported the spirited charge of a battle sister with salvoes of ice spikes that acted as hypervelocity missiles, taking out robots that got close. Above all, she was there to coordinate things, confidently barking out commands to her soldiers as they cut down bots.


However, one of the battle droids managed to close in on her. It was canny enough to toss in grenades. On instinct Kaida tried to deflect it, but the balls of explosive goodness had been set to detonate upon contact. Her attempt to toss them back activated the trigger mechanism. The concussive shockwave caused by the concussion grenades slammed into her chest and knocked her upon her butt, pushing her hard into rocks. The subsequent detonation of an EMP grenade caused a current of electricity to surge through her body. Due to the fact that Kaida was a bit, well, moist due to the watery goodness she had been summoning it felt like being electrocuted.


Thus there was actual pain. She shook strongly as electrical shocks coursed through her body. Moreover, her HUD went haywire for a few moments. Then the battle droid charged her, electro-staff in hand. Kaida had about enough time to bring up her lightsabre and meet its attack. Lightsabre met staff, impact hurt her arm and shoulder. She parried a blow meant to disarm her, then the droid pressed forward and gave her a hard kick to the knee. Ouch.


She fell and rolled, then when it brought its electro-staff crashing down, suddenly grabbed it with her hand. Electricity shot through her body, but rather than be put through serious agony, she seemed to draw upon her power to absorb the energy. Her power was directed outward as she let go and the droid was suddenly struck by its own staff as moisture spread all over it, shorting out power cells. Her lightsabre scythed the machine and put it out of commission. All around her, the last remaining machines were being decimated by Eldorai fury. Soon the only ones standing were the battle sisters.
 
Galina finally seemed to realize the last of the droids had fallen, letting out a sigh of relief. It was over, and she'd somehow managed to make it through. Which truth be told, she hadn't been so sure that she'd be able to do so when they started out this morning.

Now she had a moment to evaluate the scene around her. Plenty of worn Eldorai, a few injuries here and there. The young redhead turn to look for Elayne, though she didn't have to look far. Elayne had stuck close to her, as was her responsibility. She was just finishing with a droid that was still twitching, dropping a sizable boulder down on it to crush it.

Her attention then turned, also looking for Galina. "Not bad, kiddo." Elayne said as she stepped forward, keen eyes noticing her shoulder. A frown crossed her face. "You don't feel that do you?" She said as she inspected the shrapnel that had lodged itself into the little firemane's shoulder. A small bit of blood seeping out was enough to at least confirm a minor injury.

Galina glanced down, finally seeing what Elayne had. "No... Whole arm and shoulder have been numb and useless for a bit now." Seeming a bit stunned that she'd managed to get hurt without notice.

"Ah, the Ssi-ruuvi weapons. They do that." Elayne shook her head slightly, "Not much of a medic or the like myself. We'll have to let one of the others have a look. Don't really want to pull that out now, Goddess knows I'm bound to make it worse."

Galina soon was starting to regain feeling in her fingertips, just able to move them but barely. No doubt she'd be feeling the injury soon. Meanwhile Elayne stepped over to Kaida, "Seraph, the new kid's a bit hurt. Shrapnel wound. It doesn't look major but certainly painful once the numbness wears off." Best to inform her now. Or so Elayne's thinking went.

[member="Kaida Taldir"]
 
[member="Galina Kerrigan-Alcori"]


"'I see," Kaida said laconically, frostily. The cavern was littered with the wreckage of various battle droids and discarded weapons. Plenty of worn Angelii, a few injuries here and there, but nothing that would keep them from doing their job.


On average, Eldorai had a lower pain tolerance than humans, but the fresh recruits would have to learn to deal with that and simply be better. "Prepare the company to move up to the mountain and make sure the injured get tended to," she ordered. As a Talon, Elayne was the equivalent of an NCO and as utterly shameless as the girl was, the Seraph knew she took her job seriously. Having passed on her orders, she walked over to Galina.


"Put this in your mouth and bite down on it." Having said that she passed a piece of cloth over. Then she retracted her gauntlet and placed ice-cold fingers upon Galina's injured shoulder. The shard of shrapnel was lodged into it, but a piece was sticking out. Through the Force Kaida narrowed her focus down to minuscule level as she focused solely on this piece. Then she began to pull.


Very, very slowly, and surprisingly gently. It would still hurt a bit and Galina would probably have to get her shoulder looked at, but should not make a mess of things. The fact that she was still quite numb was a benefit. Finally the shrapnel dropped onto the ground and the cold moisture spreading from her hand washed blood away and cleaned the wound a bit, before she wrapped a small bandage around it.
 
Elayne nodded, heading to help others get on their feet and be ready to move on up the mountain. The human redhead, meanwhile had sat down in the cave trying to take a moment to rest, occasionally looking to the small piece that protruded out of her shoulder. She glanced up in time to see Kaida. A soft sigh escaped her lips as she reached out and took the piece of cloth. After a moment she placed the cloth in her mouth and bit down upon it.

Galina tensed knowing what was to come as Kaida put her frigid hand on her shoulder. She then winced and whimpered softly as she felt the pull against the metal. Very slowly, bit by bit it was pulled from her shoulder. Finally she heard it fall to the ground. Still breathing a little hard, Galina looked to the wound, watching as the Seraph cleaned and wrapped it. She found herself grateful that her shoulder had still been partially numb.

Breathing out a sigh of relief, she finally looked to Kaida. "Thank you, ma'am." Spoken softly as she slowly got to her feet. That simple wound had been eye-opening. It wasn't a bad wound, but still a reminder to Galina that the galaxy would never be a safe place, especially for her. She'd been wrapped in a safe little bubble for a little too long. Forgotten how things could be. With that the young redhead joined the others and started the trek up the mountain.

[member="Kaida Taldir"]
 
[member="Galina Kerrigan-Alcori"]


"Don't hesitate next time. Otherwise you'll be killed in a real fight." As ever, Kaida was a big ball of sunshine. Having said that she seemed to leave, but then slightly turned around again. "You did well, for a start." Wait, praise from the ice queen? Well, sort of.


After all the excitement earlier, the trek up the mountain was relatively uneventful, if slow and bit arduous. Fortunately no one seemed to be at risk of taking a nosedive and going on an involuntary descent down to the ground. There was a cold wind blowing their way when they completed their ascent and came across the mortar crew that had been such a nuisance earlier.


The mortars were being crewed by a couple Eldorai, who promptly threw up their hands and 'surrendered'. Quickly orders were barked out, and the troopers were taken into 'custody'. "Break. Thirty minutes. You're lucky this was a simulation. If you'd actually been hit by shells and blown to bits, you'd look like this." Having said that Kaida and a Host Leader passed around some rather grisly holopics. The recruits would get a good idea of how much getting sucked apart by say cluster munitions. It was a very ghastly sight.


"Discipline, teamwork, those are essential. If you don't carry your load, you endanger not only yourself, but your battle sisters. Ssi-ruuvi weapons paralyse, sonic makes jellie out of bones and disorientates you. A critical hit from an AOE sonic cannon will kill you. Anyone who thinks they can death charge across the battlefield waving a fancy sword because of their Sciia is an idiot." Flash, bravado and showing off were not encouraged among the Angelii. Presumably they'd have a scathing opinion of Clone Wars era Jedi tactics.
 
"I won't." Galina said softly, taking care with her arm as she moved. "And thanks." The redhead hadn't felt like she'd done well at all. But that was a thought she kept to herself. She was always going to be infinitely harder on herself, than most people around her would be. Her own worst enemy.

Coming up the mountian, the cold air honestly felt good. Something that kept her from getting too inside her head on the things that could have happened, things she should have done and so on. She only watched as the Eldorai manning the mortars 'surrendered'. At this point, she was just worn, and tired. The pain in her shoulder starting to become more and more evident as the numbness finally wore off.

She took a seat on a boulder, off to the side of the others, and Elayne soon joined her. "Shoulder's starting to bug you, isn't it?"

Galina nodded, "A little. It's not the worst injury I've had, so I'll manage." The holopictures came around and the human only looked at them briefly. Fully aware of what such weapons could do. Quickly she passed them on to the next recruit. The little redhead sighed, listening to Kaida. "I sometimes wonder if Jedi are just plain stupid. Too many times I've heard stories of them doing exactly that."

Elayne shrugged, "Ain't got too high an opinion of those folks really. Seem to do more harm than good, all from the stand point of the so called moral high ground. Not that I buy their twisted sense of morality."

[member="Kaida Taldir"]
 
[member="Galina Kerrigan-Alcori"]


Kaida's own opinion of Jedi was remarkably low. Perhaps this was a bit unkind, since the Silver Coalition had done a lot to help the Eldorai during the exodus, but her view of their abilities as military leaders was not high. 99, 99% of them seemed preachy and sanctimonious.


Regardless, her keen elf ears picked up on the conversation between Galina and Elayne, so she decided to incorporate it in her lesson. "As Talon Saedaris was kind to share with us, the average Jedi is a self-righteous ball of sanctimony and idiocy," she said and produced a datapad. She pressed a button, and then our recruits would get to see a lovely image.

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"People say the clones gunned them down due to brainwashing, I'm half-convinced it was due to their lousy generalship that ended up getting soldiers killed all the time. Regardless, their Sciia didn't save seasoned Masters from getting slaughtered, even though the clones had neither bolters nor lightsabre-resistant armour. For the record, don't charge ahead in front of the unit on your lonesome, do watch where you deflect your shots, especially if you're fighting alongside common troops. No one is 100% pinpoint accurate with redirection, and your squad can easily get shot up because you were doing your bulletproof thing."


Generally Angelii didn't have lightsabres, though some had been introduced recently. Moreover, it was possible to block shots with a sarix, though a lot less accurately. Another reason why Jedi tactics were not very applicable. Then again, they sucked in general. "You can look forward to watching a film about the 'Jedi Art of War' on Geonosis. I will expect a written critique on what they did wrong." It should be pointed out that Kaida was a bit of a grammar nazi and rather dictatorial when it came to fonts.
 
Elayne quickly turned her attention to Kaida, hearing her name. She half expected some kind of punishment, but that wasn't what happened. She gave a nod, and looked to the image. An image that left her shaking her head. So much stupidity and so much wrong in one single image. "Idiots." She muttered. "Would explain a lot if it was the clones just getting sick of the lousy leadership, and being treated as nothing more than a weapon that could readily be disposed of. Moral high ground my butt."

Galina lifted a brow watching the short clip, and shook her head. "Stupidity in action. Just absolutely brillant there." Her last words dripping with sarcasm. Then came what she probably least expected here. "Homework?" She whispered. "Thought this was boot camp, not school."

"I have bets she heard you." Elayne whispered back, in a much quieter tone.

Galina cringed a little. Not quite sure what to expect.

"Remember what I said about keen ears.... Seriously need to remember that kiddo."

[member="Kaida Taldir"]
 
[member="Galina Kerrigan-Alcori"]


In Kaida's humble opinion the clone troopers had been a slave army. Sure, Jango had consented to serve as genetic template, but he could not speak for millions of clones who'd been raised to be nothing except obedient killing machines. No education outside of warfare, no future prospects, commanded by inept generals.


"Recruit Kerrigan, I expect to see you in the training room first thing in the morning tomorrow after drills," she said sternly. Those keen elf ears were truly a lovely thing. She turned off the holoimage and put the datapad away.


"Break is over. Let's go, girls. Keep your ears peeled and your weapons ready." Hopefully Galina and company had enjoyed their brief rest! The girls could look forward to a trek across rather mountainous terrain that would soon lead into a dense forest. It, along with the mountain ridges and swamps, provided a natural barrier against attacks upon the outpost, but could equally easily be used as cover for infiltration attempts. The Angelii would perform a patrol of the area to make sure no Xioquo were sneaking in, then return to the outpost and call it a day. Of course, they could not know what ghastly secrets were hidden inside the foreboding forest.
 
Galina looked up, hearing her name. Knowing she'd been caught, "Crap." A sigh followed, and the young redhead nodded, "Yes, ma'am."

Elayne leaned over, keeping her voice incredibly low, "I told you so."

"Go ahead, rub it in."

Saedaris just grinned. "Oh, believe me, I will."

With the orders given, Elayne got to her feet, and offered a hand to help Galina up. "Come on, Kerrigan. Let's get a move on, before you find yourself in more trouble." A bit of a smirk was on her lips, seeming to get some enjoyment out of the situation.

Galina reached up with her good arm and took the Eldorai's hand, happy to have the help to get to her feet. With a sigh, she grabbed her weapon, just in case. One never knew what could happen.

And with a pat on the back, Elayne urged the human to get moving. "Go on, Kiddo break time is over." Sticking closely with Galina, they both started the trek that was their normal patrol. "Just keep your eyes open, as Taldir said. You can't let your guard down out here. It leads to all sorts of trouble. Just be prepared."

"Of course." Galina replied softly, suddenly a little more anxious than she had been.

"You'll be fine. There's nothing to be worried about. After all, you're not alone out here. We all have one another's backs."

[member="Kaida Taldir"]
 
[member="Galina Kerrigan-Alcori"]


On the surface everything seemed peaceful once they reached the woods after a somewhat arduous trek across the mountains. Here the terrain was easier to navigate, though the recruits would have to watch out, lest they trip over vines.


Birds chirped happily, frogs quacked in a beautiful blue lake. There was a certain serenity to the forest, yet Kaida was on her guard. While that might be the heroic thing to do, she had elected not to take point. Rather she was moving close to the centre of the unit, which allowed her to coordinate things better should it come to combat. Some large lizards could be spied in the distance, but they didn't seem interested in the elves.


However, the peace and quiet could not last. Revelation did not come in a bang, but step by step. A vile smell lay in the air, growing more obnoxious the deeper they moved into the forest. A smell that carried the aroma of death. Now, strictly speaking this was not extraordinary since predators lurked in the forest and, moreover, skirmishes between the Xioquo and the Eldorai did occur occasionally.


But it seemed different in this case. "Seraph!"


A voice called out to Kaida from her left and she frowned slightly. She was just a bit annoyed by how loud it was. "Yes, Mithral?" Her flat tone contained a hint at her feeling of irritation.


"I...found something. You should see it immediately."


It could not be hostiles. Otherwise the soldier would've reacted differently and been less loud. No, this had to be something different. "On my way." And so she went, after passing out orders and deputising a Host Leader, pine needles crunching underfoot. "Well?" Instead of answering, the soldier just pointed towards a massive ditch. Kaida stepped forward to the bending earth, then let out a gasp.


At the bottom of the ditch, below a thin layer of earth and wood, lay scores of dead bodies. Hundreds of corpses lay buried in the ditch. Each of them bore signs of having been tortured prior to execution. Some looked mangled, as if they'd been altered in some way. Some were Qadiri, others Vashyada, many were Xioquo. All had been branded with the mark of the dark goddess the drows worshipped.
 
Something wasn't quite right. Galina could feel it as they walked through the forest. She couldn't place her finger on it, but something was wrong. Terribly wrong. There was something even before the smell hit her, that spoke of familiarity of her past. Then came the smell, that smell she'd never been able to forget. It was seared into memory. Galina felt her stomach tighten. The smell of death in the air, hung so heavily and pulled so hard on her memories.

Elayne had already noticed the change in Galina's behavior. The tension that suddenly had come into the girl's body, so visible. So noticable. The glances to the side, almost seeming to be looking for an escape. Something was up, Elayne knew it. Galina knew it. Saedaris suspected the smell had triggered memories from the girl's past. She knew better than to ask. If Galina wanted to share, she would. It was on her terms to address what she was feeling and express it.

Coming to the edge of the ditch with the others, gasps could be heard among the group. Elayne looked immediantly for Galina. Needing to make sure she was okay. Galina had come up just as the other women had. Seeing it, ripped her back to Sigma. She froze. No gasp. No sound, nothing as she looked down.

For a moment Galina was lost in memory. Painful horrific memories that she hadn't even shared with her parents. Somethings better off forgotten. Elayne put a hand on the human's shoulder but Galina hardly seemed to notice.

Turning away from the sight, Galina walked away. She had to. All she wanted in that moment was to find a place where she could be alone, to cry. It was a matter of pride, to not let the others see her that way. And the last thing she wanted was people asking questions about her past. It often led to pity, and that was the very last thing in the world Galina wanted. Right now, there wasn't a single sign that tears would fall, just a girl absolutely stoic, but that wouldn't last. It couldn't. It was just a facade, meant to hide the pain.

Moving to the back of the group, Galina kept walking. Elayne wasn't that far behind, trying to give Galina distance, space but at the same time trying to keep the girl safe. She didn't want to push the issue, didn't want to ask. She knew better with what Siobhan had told her.

[member="Kaida Taldir"]
 
[member="Galina Kerrigan-Alcori"]


The victims had been made to suffer before they were killed. That was clear. The decaying corpses were already starting to rot. Upon examination, it was revealed that been ritually disembowelled. In the Force the bodies felt like husks. They had not just been brutally mutilated and killed, their life essence had been drained from them. Kaida could imagine them being forced to dig their own grave, then killed. Probably after seeing the same thing happen to other victims.


"Disgusting savages. How could any elves do this?" Mithral exclaimed, words full of shock, horror and revulsion. "The Xioquo are just monsters." Her words pulled Kaida away from her thoughts.


"Dig deep enough into our past, and you'll find the same," she said flatly. Once upon a time, the Eldorai had tried to exterminate a sentient race, then forced the survivors to live in impoverished reservations.


"With all respect, ma'am, we're a civilised people. This is the doing of...savages!"


"Yes, and you'll be abiding by the Rules of Engagement when we fight them, Wing Leader." Kaida's tone was flat, cold and uncompromising. Her eyes lingered on the sacrificial victims, the rotting bodies that lay piled up in the ditch in a big pile. The mere sight was revolting, and fundamentally wrong. The Seraph scowled. "Take pictures of the bodies. I want this atrocity to be documented." If this had been a more developed planet, perhaps they could've tried to ID them, but it wasn't like the Tygaran natives kept blood records of their people!


"Yes, ma'am. Understood. We have to make the drows pay."


"We will. Now get a move on. Then we'll administer the final rites and burn the bodies. We're giving them a decent burial." That said, she turned away from the pit. Not because she had a weak stomach or anything like that. She'd seen this before.


She'd been stationed on Eriadu during her time as an OP Corporal. Her comrades had come across an old mass grave from the fascist regime OP had overthrown. Dissidents had been executed even while Tarkin was making his last stand in the capital. Then came the Bando Gora, who turned ritual sacrifices and sadism into an art form. It had been one killing field after the next.


Kaeshana...where she'd gunned down rebels and frightened civilians. The bodies had been left behind in the ruins of Santaissa. She forced the image from her mind. It had not been the same. "Where is Recruit Kerrigan?" She only seemed to notice now that the girl had vanished.
 
One of the other Angelii glanced to Kaida at the question of where the redheaded human was. "She headed off that way." Lifting a hand to point in the general direction she'd last seen the girl go. "Saedaris wasn't far behind her."

Galina glanced back, not seeing Elayne. At this point she felt like enough distance had been gained to not be heard. To not be seen. On a stone boulder the young woman climbed up on it sitting down crossing her legs beneath her. Closing her eyes, she sighed heavily. It seemed like the weight of the galaxy was resting on her shoulders in that moment. Memories were a queen like that.

That stoic facade fell away as tears started to well up in her eyes. Still she was careful not to make a sound. Careful to not draw attention to herself. Slowly she removed her helmet, setting it down in front of her. Sighing again, she reached up, wiping the first trace of a tear away quickly.

That sight, that ditch, those people... She'd seen her share. Though the numbers had been greater. And she'd been there when they were tortured and brought a fraction of an inch from death before being pushed over the edge and into the massive ditch, left to die so painfully, so slowly, on Sigma in her town.

She'd thought, perhaps naively that she was beyond those moments. Beyond images like this. But that was one of the very reasons she'd pressed to return when her lineage was brought up. Someone needed to help end the Rahls. Someone had to. Galina ran a slow hand through her hair, trying to soothe herself a little. Trying to get past the point where she felt like she couldn't breathe.

Elayne stood back, hidden behind a large bit of shrubbery. Weapon drawn, as she watched Galina start to cry. She knew they were away from the others, and someone had to be ready to defend her, to have her back should some creature or foolish Xioquo. Still a part of her wanted to go to the kid, and just give her a hug. Elay had figured though, that Galina needed this moment to herself. It was clear she hadn't wanted others to know exactly how much seeing that had pained her.

[member="Kaida Taldir"]
 
[member="Galina Kerrigan-Alcori"]


Kaida sighed in annoyance. "Keep watch here," she grunted and then took off without a further word. At least Saedaris had come along to keep Galina from doing something silly or rash. The images of the horrors in the ditch were imprinted upon her mind, but the Seraph had duties to focus on. She did not have to walk long before she happened upon Galina. The girl was...crying. Truth be told, she looked inconsolable.


Kaida's first thought was to presume that the girl was simply affected by seeing so many people dead and mutilated. But on second thought it seemed more than that to her. It seemed Galina had seen horrors like this before. The sight made Kaida feel terribly awkward. She wasn't one for pep talks. Her eyes flicked over to Elayne. "I'll take over from her, Talon. Return to the unit. Make sure they don't do anything dumb."
 
Elayne glanced up to see Kaida. A bit of a worried expression crossed her features. She wasn't sure if leaving her to Taldir was all that good of an idea. "Be gentle. Girl's been through hell. I highly doubt even her folks know the full extent of what she's gone through." She kept her voice incredibly low, making it difficult for the human to hear what she said.

With that spoken, she turned on her heels and headed back to the rest of the unit. There were duties to oversee now, assuring that the scene had been documented and that the were given proper burial rites.

Galina heard voices and glanced quickly behind her. It was the Seraph and Saedaris. Quickly reaching up she wiped the tears away, trying her best to hide them. The last thing she wanted to appear to be, was weak. And stars know crying like this made her feel terribly weak.

She didn't know what to say, and well honestly Galina wasn't much in the mood for talking. The redhead sighed, doing her best to keep another tear from spilling down her cheeks. "I shouldn't have walked off, I know. I'm sorry." She finally said, breaking the silence that had fallen. "I just needed a moment."

[member="Kaida Taldir"]
 
[member="Galina Kerrigan-Alcori"]


Awkward City had two inhabitants. Kaida was probably so not the person for this. Contrary to popular belief, she was neither heartless nor made of ice. She had grieved for the Eldorai who'd been left behind and died on Kaeshana. As a matter of fact, she was still doing so.


She'd mourned her sister Lavina, who had vanished into the netherworld and never returned. However, she was used to keeping her emotions on a tight leash. Anything else seemed unprofessional to her. She didn't give pep talks to her soldiers, she gave them orders and expected them to do as they were told.


She sighed slightly. "You look like you need more than a moment," she said bluntly. Probably not the best thing to say. "You've seen atrocities like this before, haven't you? You experienced them yourself." Educated guess.
 
Galina rubbed at her forehead for a moment.A slow nod of acknowledgement came next. "Well, yes. You're not wrong there. Be that as it may, I can hardly expect the rest of the unit to wait while I sort it out. So a private moment it is." The girl shrugged with only her good shoulder, so far keeping it mostly together.

The next question, Galina swallowed hard fighting to keep the tears at bay. Once more she wiped away all trace of them quickly. "I have. More than once on Sigma, in my own town. In other cities. Happened too often. Often enough that it became almost normal." Looking up towards the sky, the young human blinked a few times.... and slowly took in a few deep breaths. "Haven't told anyone." She managed. It was getting harder and harder to fight back the tears. "Till now."

[member="Kaida Taldir"]
 

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