Private Ghosts Of The Past

[Aliris Tremiru]

"It'd be weird for you to carry a prisoner." And for her to be carried, but she didn't want to just say that. Though, why didn't he have medical supplies? He was surely human, or humanish, right? Or was he one of those weird species. That was completely possible.

"I'll be fine. Let's just.. Leave here."

Darth Strosius

 

[Darth Strosius]

Alisteri didn't hesitate to continue forward, albeit at a still slow pace, after her response. He had more than a few questions of his own for the young Tremiru once they got out of there, but of course first they had to actually leave the hideout. "Mind your footing, there may be a bit of debris here." A few bodies as well as debris from the blow open door littered the ground of the entrance, blaster marks lining the walls and the dead alike.

As he expected there was two soldiers guarding the entrance, not that they gave much of a reaction aside from a small salute as he passed them, and beyond the hideout there sat the transports that had brought the Inquisition to the world. His own shuttle had been brought up as well and he wasted no time in pulling his "prisoner" into it as the other cult survivors were loaded into the other transports.

The masked man left Aliris in the small seating area between the shuttle's door and the cockpit, opening up one of the lockers lining the wall to reveal a first aid kit that he offered to her. "Get comfortable, I'll get us off planet. Then we can have a look at that holocron of yours."

Aliris Tremiru

 

[Aliris Tremiru]

She kept her head down, avoiding any gaze or eyes that might come her way. She was still in her own head, her own thoughts. Who was he? Who was Alina? What happened to her family, their estate, all the artifacts they once had? It wasn't until they reached the shuttle and she was finally sitting that her expression changed from the pained to something more exhausted. And still pained, naturally.

At least with the medkit she could start to handle that. A bactapatch later, and the burning pain in the back of her mind lessened.

"Okay."

Darth Strosius

 

[Darth Strosius]

Alisteri slid into the pilot seat, taking a moment to send orders to the Inquisition troops to search and clear the hideout before beginning interrogations, and started up the shuttle. It lifted off the ground with only a slight jolt to those aboard before he flew up into and past the atmosphere of the planet, speeding away from the Inquisition forces. Better that they be kept in the dark about some matters.

Soon enough the shuttle had entered hyperspace and the masked man could return to his 'prisoner' once more. He peered into the hold and spared a glance at her leg before he spoke. "Now we can see about that holocron, no prying eyes and ears to worry about. Have you ever interacted with an artifact before?"

Aliris Tremiru

 

[Aliris Tremiru]

"No. Well, yes. This, but it's not y'know, alive. Or sentient. Or.. Whatever a Holocron is I guess." This being the dagger she held out, just for a little bit. The jeweled weapon was still the one prize she had left of her family. The only connection, save for the holocron. There was little chance she'd ever give it up, so back onto her waist it went.

"How do you.. Open it, I guess?"

Darth Strosius

 

[Darth Strosius]

Alisteri regarded the dagger with a slight tilt of his head, his gaze running over it for a moment before she returned it to her waist. It didn't seem familiar but he couldn't be sure. At the very least it held no real sentience so it was of little threat aside from what it could offer as a simple weapon. "First try influencing it with the Force. See if you can sense any sort of movable part or just reach out with your mind and attempt to probe into it. In my experience that is how they tend to react the quickest."

He was notably still standing in the doorway, almost as if he was either granting her some level of privacy or standing back in case of some retaliation by the artifact. Both notions could be true but it was difficult to tell. "It seems as if it hasn't stirred in some time, so something more drastic like lightning may be necessary as well."

Aliris Tremiru

 

[Aliris Tremiru]

Just reach out with her mind and try to rouse it or something? It was an interesting idea, but it wasn't like the Ashlan's were very eager to teach her how to toy with minds or any sort of mentalism save for learning how to guard her own from dark influences. Or something. She half paid attention to those classes, assuming they were more of the typical Light worshiping propaganda.

Maybe she should've paid more attention. The girl let out a sigh before reaching out to touch the holocron again. Closed her eyes to feel for it.

At first, she felt nothing. Then.. A wall. Something blocking her completely. She frowned, opening her eyes to stare at the masked figure in the doorway.

"It won't let me in."

Darth Strosius

 

[Darth Strosius]

Alisteri had watched the young Tremiru carefully as she closed her eyes, using his senses to try and observe her efforts more closely. Surprisingly she seemed to only attempt a basic probe towards the artifact. Interesting. "That is to be expected, they aren't exactly open libraries. You'll have to make your way in. By force, if necessary."

When it came to Sith holocrons, force was always necessary.

"You must push against it with your will. Unleash your passions and desires against it and whip them into a storm that can break down any barrier that it would erect." He had straightened up as he spoke, having to stop himself from launching into a more zealous speech in favor of giving proper instructions. "Let it feel your hate and ambition, make it your holocron."

Aliris Tremiru

 

[Aliris Tremiru]

By force, huh?

Aliris turned her gaze back towards the object, narrowing her eyes for a moment. Passion, desire. The Ashlan's had been adamant about never using such things. She didn't like the rule, but to keep from being punished anymore than what she had been, she had to keep it stored up and hidden. Put a stopper on all those emotions. She had them, just.. How to focus them? Her gaze drifted back to her knife.

That had pulled on her emotions before. Logic dictated she could use it to focus them further. So, with the knife in hand, she focused her emotions towards it, then to the Holocron. It was hers. By birth it was hers and hers alone. No one else had survived. She was alone. Hidden away and denied her family by those damned Ashlans. Anger and sorrow quickly turned to hate as she reached down to take up the holocron.

"You belong to me."

Her anger bubbled up as sparks that danced from her fingers towards the object, encasing it. It hurt. Her fingers darkened from the burn it brought, but she didn't let go. Not until the damn thing opened she wouldn't ever let it go.

Then, it did. Parts of it shifted and unfurled as if it was a puzzle box. Empty sockets resided within, four in total. She blinked, glancing from it to Alisteri.

Just as the message played.

Bring the cores. Every one will unlock the next lesson. Without them, this will never open fully. Only the Tremiru will ever hold this knowledge.

Darth Strosius

 

[Darth Strosius]

Even before she had uttered the words to the holocron, Alisteri had felt the shift in her demeanor and presence in the Force. With bated breath he felt a wisp of the tempting power of the Dark Side grow and expand until sparks of lightning began to leap from fingers and assault the holocron. "That's it, let it taste your power and know your dedication."

The discomfort that came with one's novice usage, and indeed could occur even to a veteran user of the technique, could be almost painful enough to deter many casual Force Users. Yet Aliris endured until the holcoron relented and began to reveal itself.

The masked man inclined his head slightly and gave the young girl, the young Sith, a nod as she glanced from him to the sockets within the artifact. That was certainly new but before he could ponder too much on what could be done a message revealed what was meant to fill the blank sockets that greeted them.

"Cores hm? Interesting." That was certainly nothing that he had heard of before, but locking various parts of the holocron behind stricter or more complex puzzles and locks did make sense. Especially with a family as esoteric as the Tremiru.

"I suppose your hunt for the relics of your family are far from over then. If these 'cores' are indeed the keys to the holocron's knowledge then finding them is imperative." He paused for a moment, thinking back to Formos and the handful of trinkets and equipment that he had tucked away from Alina. Perhaps he could inspect them for possible cores or clues towards them. "Your family wanted to ensure that only the worthy received their secrets it seems."

Aliris Tremiru

 

[Aliris Tremiru]

Aliris lowered the holocron, frowning deeply as she did so. All this, sneaking around, burning her hand, getting cut up by this Sith, all to be told the information was locked away. It was frustrating to say the least. She wasn't surprised, but.. Still. It annoyed her to no end. Was that just how the family was? Her family. She let out a sigh as she sat back, arms crossed over her chest.

"Well.. Whatever. It gives me an excuse to keep traveling around, I guess."

Darth Strosius

 

[Darth Strosius]

Alisteri didn't even need the Force to sense the disappointment and annoyance radiating from the young Sith, even with her seemingly complacent remark. He couldn't really blame her of course, if he had a birthright of any sort and it was continually denied then he'd probablybe even more upset about the whole thing than she was. "That it does. However, if I may be so bold as to suggest an...alternative course of action?" Now came the hard part, trying to convince a Tremiru to do something.

"Now while you seem more than capable of locating and gathering more of these artifacts, and especially these core things, on your own; would it not be more efficient and fruitful to have some assistance?" The masked man crossed his arms behind his back, idly pacing as he spoke. "I may not know much about your family but I know enough about them to help you on your way and give you some ideas as to what exactly their artifacts may entail." Alina may have been very different from her kin but he did know enough about them to make some educated guesses.

"However, all of these hints and artifacts could prove useless if you lack the ability to properly interact with them. You're capable in the Force and blessed with the ability to use it, but if a simple holocron could deny you access then your expertise in the Dark Side seems a bit lacking. I mean no offense of course." Lack of proper training and teaching will do that, especially if she spent any amount of time around Jedi. "I recommend focusing on training your own power and abilities first, as well as establishing a proper network for finding these relics. I can help do so but I'm far from the most capable in that regard. There's much work to be done regardless, young Tremiru."

Aliris Tremiru

 

[Aliris Tremiru]

Her grip subconsciously tightened as she listened to him. She was too weak? She didn't like that. It was true, but she didn't like it. There was no chance for her to truly get any strength under the Ashlans. With the Sith, she'd at least be able to learn some sort of power, right? So she exhaled, tucked the Holocron back into her pouch, and looked back to the Sith before her. And frowned.

".. Okay, but I don't even know where to begin. It's not like there's Sith Academies anymore, right? Who do I go to?"

Darth Strosius

 

[Darth Strosius]

"There are Sith academies once more actually. Have you not made a visit to Sith space? The Sith Order have returned to the galaxy in full once again and have established a sizable chunk of territory centered around Jutrand." It wasn't too surprising that she may not have heard of it to be fair, the Sith Order's presence was still somewhat cloaked in shadow after all.

"Instructors and masters of the Dark Side are present and able to assist you as they would have done in the days of the Sith Empire. They may also be able to help with recovering any Tremiru relics that may already reside in Sith hands." Admittedly Alisteri wasn't sure how willing they may be to relinquish such things to a mere Acolyte or Apprentice but knowing where they were was half the battle.

"I may have some items that could assist in that regard as well. Alina, your relative of one form or another, left behind some equipment that could perhaps provide some clues."

Aliris Tremiru

 

[Aliris Tremiru]

"I was on Dromund Kaas when your order came by to liberate it. I got free of the Ashlan's then." But to think all she had to do was stick around and she might have ended up getting more help. Impatienceness was the problem, then? Aliris continued to mull over her internal thoughts up until Alisteri mentioned Alina again. She blinked, glancing to him. ".. Equipment? What kind of equipment?"

Darth Strosius

 

[Darth Strosius]

"Ah, that would explain some things then. My apologies that your first contact with our order was a bit...under duress." The reclamation of Dromund Kaas was simply the first of many of course, and one that he had been eager to take part in even with it being headed by the Kainites. If Aliris's first view of the Sith had been of the Kainites then it was no wonder that she was lacking in skill and expertise.

Alisteri paused at the question and took a moment to properly thing on what could be of use to the young Tremiru. "Well her armor and weapon mainly, but she did also give me a...relic of your family awhile ago. I don't know how much use you could get out of it though, it's a vessel intended to take over and corrupt new bodies to use in order to ensure the continuation of a being called the First. I doubt that it will be all that helpful."

Aliris Tremiru

 

[Aliris Tremiru]

She blinked slowly. That certainly didn't sound like fun. She'd just gotten herself out of the Ashlan's boot camp, so dealing with someone else trying to mold her in their image wasn't ideal. And yet, she couldn't help but be curious on the name of the First. Who was that? Where they also a Tremiru? Tons of questions. None of which she was willing to ask out loud, not yet. Aliris was already putting a lot of trust in this man.

"I want to see it. The artifact."

Darth Strosius

 

[Darth Strosius]

Alisteri supposed that he should have expected that answer, but he sighed nontheless. "Look I'm not trying to keep anything from you, but you heard what I said right? It specifically targets members of the Tremiru family in order to use their bodies as puppets to prolong its...well her control and existence." He was hesitant to agree to such a thing, especially when it meant bringing her to Formos, but at the same time he didn't want to deprive the young Tremiru of her birthright. "Are you sure that you want to see the First?"

Aliris Tremiru

 

[Aliris Tremiru]

"No, but if they're linked to my family they'll have information." If she couldn't handle some old spirit trying to take her over, would she really be a Tremiru? Stubborn pride seemed to run in the family as she kept her gaze focused and unflinching on the masked man before her.

"I won't let myself be taken over."

Darth Strosius

 

[Darth Strosius]

Alisteri clicked his tongue and shook his head, idly muttering under his breath as he turned away to make his way back to the ship's controls. "You act like her too." He sat in the piloting seat and took control of the vessel once again, reluctantly redirecting course for Formos. He hadn't intended to head back there so soon but it seems he had little choice in the matter.

"Just don't say I didn't warn you about it alright? If you wind up being evicted from your body then its your own fault." Thankfully Formos was a bit closer than Sith space anyway so the hyperspace travel time would be shorter.

Aliris Tremiru