Head Games

[Caulder Dune]

ERIADU SYSTEM
ERIADU, PHELAR

PHELAR CITY SPACEPORT - BAY 034Z

[member="Jemmila Kyrgen"]

The Lords of the Fringe were collapsing on themselves. Predictable, really. Any entity based on a tenant as stupid and vague as "freedom" was bound to collapse into a disorganized, chaotic heap before very long. Tenants like "order" and "corporate expansionism" were far safer when building intergalactic nations. Now the Fringe was on its way out, and in its place something with a larger degree of wisdom would inevitably crop up. Needless to say, it was for these reasons that Adekos did not anticipate any former Fringe Lords would be milling about Eriadu and otherwise interfering with his lesson plan.

Phelar's spaceport was the largest on the planet and, in happier times, received the most traffic. The clamor of the Fringe's slow collapse put a stopper on that. Regardless of that, it was still packed to the brim with thousands upon thousands of people at any given time. Mostly humans, although with a fair spattering of the more alien races. It was here that Adekos had brought his apprentice for a new lesson. A lesson in the delicate art of the Mind Trick.

Jedi typically used this power for good, but neither Adekos nor Jemmila were Jedi. They had their faults, but they lacked the inherent naivety to qualify for the Jedi Order. Adekos trundled idly down the ramp of the shuttle they had used to descend to the surface, loyal(ish) apprentice following closely behind.

"What do you know about Mind Tricks, Neophyte?"

 

[Zola]

The Phelar City Spaceport was not a pleasant place for someone who didn't like rubbing up against the unwashed masses. A major transit hub in Fringe space, the spaceport was bustling with all manner of humans and aliens from all walks of life. With that in mind, Jemmila was grateful for the solitude of the private landing bay that housed the shuttle that she and Master Adekos descended in.

As she accompanied her Master out of the shuttle and down the ramp, she wondered if being inside the minds of the bourgeoisie would be even worse than bumping elbows with them. A question from Master Adekos broke her train of thought.

"What do you know about Mind Tricks, Neophyte?"

"From what I have read about them in my studies, Mind Tricks can be used to persuade those of weaker minds to do your bidding, Master Adekos."

Perhaps she could persuade some of them to actually use deodorant once in a while.

[member="Adekos"]

 

[Caulder Dune]

[member="Jemmila Kyrgen"]

"Precisely." Adekos affirmed. "Mind Trick is a useful skill to have; very versatile. But it's only the first step. The basic mind trick is a gateway to powers that will allow you to cripple your enemies with fear, doubt, even conjure illusions inside of their very minds. Jedi use it to calm animals or something. It's why they're losing the war."

He could go on about additional reasons the Jedi were losing the war, but that would take the better part of several years, and they had a schedule to keep. Adekos continued leading his apprentice forward, opening a pair of blastdoors with a gesture as they exited the landing bay. They entered a hallway that separated the bay from the main part of the spaceport. It was sparsely furnished. Against one wall was a five-seat bench with a fake plant to its right. Across from that bench was a map of the expansive spaceport.

"You already know how to draw upon the Force. I'm also quite sure you already know how to use your charm to get what you want out of people."

They arrived at another doorway, this one less reinforced. Another gesture from the Umbaran and the doors opened, revealing the crowded spaceport. Hundreds of people bustled about, going about their own business. Hardly any of them seemed to be cognizant of the world around them outside of their immediate, meaningless desires. The perfect crowd for Dark Side training and manipulation.

"We have initiation fees to pay now, Jemmila. The Obsidian Order is a frugal thing. We're going to need approximately five thousand credits. You're going to convince these people to part with their money... Without having sex with them, mind you. You're only to rely on the Force and your wits."

 

[Zola]

Jemmila followed her Master through a few more corridors, then he opened the doors that looked out over the spaceport. There was a sea of people milling around, oblivious to one another, all focused on either getting in or out of the spaceport, and catching their connecting shuttles on time. It was a transient place, a place no one stopped and reflected. It was pure movement. Straight, diagonal, and crooked lines. Point A to point B.

Her task was apparently to steal money from people using a Mind Trick. She rolled her big brown eyes at some choice comments from Master Adekos. The comments stung her, but she was unwilling to let him see it. You couldn't lie to an Umbaran, of course, but could you lie by omission to an Umbaran? Something to ponder later.

"A woman's wiles are not to be scoffed at, Master Adekos," she said dryly. "You act as if you have no idea just how powerful they are."

The Hapan quickly looked him up and down and then added:

"But I have a feeling that you have an inkling."

[member="Adekos"]

 

[Caulder Dune]

[member="Jemmila Kyrgen"]

Adekos was familiar enough with the wiles of women. The Queen of Kuat had been a wily woman, but now she stopped returning his calls. Clearly this was on account of her wiles. Jemmila as well was apparently just chock full of wiles. It was merely the fact that most of those wiles involved full or partial disrobement which left something to be desired. Whatever. Soon enough she was going to qualify as a Savant within the Obsidian Order. If Adekos hadn't brought those womanly desires to heel by now, at the very least it wouldn't matter once she became a more independent individual. No longer a pupil, but an affiliate. Oh, they grew up so fast.

"I have an inkling, yes. That's why I suspect you'll do well and you won't have need for this."

Along the Umbaran's belt, clipped next to his lightsaber, was a smaller cylinder. About the same size as a pen but thicker and with a blinking light at the top. There also seemed to be a button on the side, though it had a clear, hinged cover to prevent anyone from accidentally depressing it. Adekos unclipped the cylinder and presented it to Jemmila. "If you feel you are endangered, you will activate this. I will come get you."

Phelar Spaceport was a large place. Any spaceport that received this amount of traffic was bound to collect its fair share of unscrupulous individuals. More than a few of them were inclined to be in the business of human trafficking, kidnapping, drug dealing, and any other assortment of illegal activities. Better to have something in place in the event of an emergency.

 

[Zola]

Jemmila looked down at the cylinder, and then back up at the Umbaran with a "really?" expression. Adekos seemed to have an expertly honed ability to make her feel like a child no matter the circumstance. Every day, she was getting closer to becoming a Jedi Knight. She was no baby bird that needed sheltering in the nest. She was ready to fly. The device was pressed back into his palm.

"That won't be necessary, Master." she said. "I can handle myself quite well without you babysitting me."

Before Adekos could argue, she whirled on her heel and strode into the crowded spaceport.

Soon, Jemmila was lost in the sea of people. She knew that mind tricks worked the best on those with weak minds, but some species were resistant, like Hutts. She let her brown eyes travel though the throng, landing on a handsome male Zeltron with a body full of tattoos. He held himself with the ignoble air of a spice dealer, and who better to ransack credits from? The young Hapan began to fight her way through the crowd, heading straight for him.

[member="Adekos"]

 

[Caulder Dune]

[member="Jemmila Kyrgen"]

Name: Winston McGimmick
Species: Zeltron
Occupation: Spice Dealer

Winston could smell colors.

That usually didn't happen, but it was happening now. The distribution guys had told him he wasn't supposed to sample the stock. This was because, Winston was convinced, they were a bunch of selfish prudes who had no idea how to have a good time. So Winston went into the bathroom, sampled some of the product, and now he could smell colors. The faint scent of purple wafted through the air, tickling his nose hairs. The nose hairs his ex-girlfriend kept telling him to trim, but he kept forgetting, so now he was single. Because of his nose hairs. Also the drug dealing might have been a factor. She was also a selfish prude who didn't know how to have a good time. That was why she was all hyped up on her "honest" living. Meanwhile, Winston would snort things in spaceport bathrooms and get to smell colors. And taste sounds.

The hustle and bustle of the spaceport tasted fantastic.

He had trouble focusing. He had also forgotten what he was doing here. What he was doing here became irrelevant when face with this kind of stimulation. So he just kind of stood in front of the men's refresher, blinking slowly and trying to focus. Winston did not see the Hapan woman marching towards him, though he probably would have thought naughty things about her if he had.

 

[Zola]

When she approached him, the first thing Jem noticed about the Zeltron male was his freakish long nose-hairs, a feature which tarnished his otherwise chiseled good looks. If she were his girlfriend, the first thing she would do is hold him down, and trim the kark out of those things. For Edge's sake it would only take about two minutes. Without them, he could be a model or an actor. The second thing she noticed were the man's dilated pupils. The Zeltron wasn't just selling, he was inhaling, snorting, ingesting, shooting, pick-your-paraphernalia. In other words, he was high as a kite. Jem waved a hand in front of his face.

"Hey, you got some brain jagger?" she asked in a low conspiratorial voice.

As she waited for him to wipe the drool off his face and answer, she began to try and push into his mind. It wasn't a talent that she had honed as acutely as her other skills, like telekinesis, but the walls of the Zeltron's mind were unsurprisingly porous, and soon she found herself idly poking around in his brain. She wondered if he could feel her presence in there. It would be a miracle if he felt anything at all.

[member="Adekos"]

 

[Caulder Dune]

[member="Jemmila Kyrgen"]

Winston blinked once, and when he opened his eyes again they were watering. There was a Hapan woman in front of him. He had no idea what she just said, but her voice tasted absolutely delicious. Ambrosia, he would say, if he were capable of moving his mouth in a meaningful way. Winston could not actually expel air through his mouth, either, because he was suddenly self-conscious about his breathing. He had to manually command his lungs to expand and contract or otherwise he would have suffocated right on the spot. His eyes flickered over Jemmila- darting back and forth like worker bees. The gust of wind her waving hand had stirred up felt like a hurricane on his face.

She was, like, a storm god or something. And he was a little drop of rain blazed out of his mind. Sheesh, she was a pretty hot storm god. Like a fire-storm-god. A goddess of both storms and fire. Was she talking?

His mind, in the heightened state of delirium, was an absolutely open book. A playground for even the most basic mentalist. It was incredibly convenient that such an easy target was just sort of walking around the spaceport. Too convenient, someone would think. Jemmila pushed into his mind and found almost no resistance. Winston assumed this was just part of the drug, that weird light-headed feeling. The absence of a coherent command would merely make him confused. If Adekos were somewhere nearby, he would have said that it was important to do this kind of thing- to confuse the target first, then start giving them commands.

But he wasn't there, which was good, because it would have taken three paragraphs for him to explain.

Jemmila's mouth moved in ultra-slow motion to Winston's eyes. She was, like, talking, but he couldn't understand.

"WHAT." He yelled, causing a few heads to turn, but none of them stayed to watch further.