Hot Coals

[Lina Ovmar]

"Yes you do." She said with a slight smile. "Because if I do it right, then you the Alliance and the Outer Rim Coalition will benefit."

Her eyes glittered, whatever tears and emotion she had come here with lost in the epiphany.

"I'm going to infiltrate the sith empire."

 

[Sarge Potteiger]

He went to say something, stopped himself, went again... and then once more remained quiet.

Finally, he said, "Not the brightest idea, but... go for it."

 

[Lina Ovmar]

"That," she said with a slight smirk "Was not what you wanted to say." She gave a small shrug.

"Kaine had me under his roof for a year on Panatha. He's a former master and I know him well enough to stay under his radar when I need to. He'll take me back on as an apprentice, so long as I make the right gestures and he'll keep a close eye on me until I've proved my worth, after that, I'll be able to feed information out. It might not be bright, but I can do it all the same."

[member="Sarge Potteiger"]

 

[Sarge Potteiger]

He snorted, "You're correct." He says, "What I wanted to say was 'you're an idiot, go for it.' "

If she died, oh well. If she lived, even better.

"Take Archive-9 with you."

 

[Lina Ovmar]

Calina blinked. "Archive-9?" she recalled the droid in the cloak.

"The shard?" her eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Why?"

 

[Sarge Potteiger]

Sarge snorted, the answer apparently obvious. "Because it's going to be pure kriffin' gold."

 

[Lina Ovmar]

"Why do I feel like you're mocking me?" She replied with a silky tone.

"I'm not taking anyone or anything with me that's an unknown entity."

 

[Sarge Potteiger]

He snorted again, this time almost derisive. "You're talking to an unknown entity. What, exactly, do you know about me?"

 

[Lina Ovmar]

Calina opened her mouth, then shut it again.

"I know you were a soldier for the omega pyre, that you were force dead once, that you wore the same camo cloak I saw archive nine in when you first met my mother and were manipulated into sleeping with her, a stunt you repaid with two slugs to her chest and stomach. I know you don't like to be karked with, that you'd rather have a straight and honest conversation than dance around the bush about any matter and that you were in love with the lady protector Cira long before she loved you back. You are not unknown to me, Sarge."

 

[Sarge Potteiger]

The man's face split into a wide grin, a throaty laugh echoing in the room. "You know of me." He says, smiling broadly.

"You're aware of my personality, and what's in my public file. But I want you to think on this... what do you know about me." His hand came out, and a holographic image appeared in his hand. It was a woman, in an Admiral's uniform - her expression stern, her face severe, though it was easy to imagine that if she were to smile she'd be beautiful if you liked your women with sharper features to softer ones.

The holo changed again, this time, to a clearly young Ayden Cater standing next to a thin, almost alarmingly beautiful young woman. "What's my history with him? Do you know? And what of her?" He asks, "See, I understand why you think you know me, and in a sense you do. But just how much of me are you actually familiar with?"

He smiles, the display dissipating from his palm. "I don't say this to be condescending, but when you're speaking of unknowns, you're dealing with one. What changed my eyes?" He asks, "And what gave me the ability to use the Force?"

That smile faltered, and his brow darkened. "Touch my mind, Calina, and tell me what you see."

 

[Lina Ovmar]

Of the images Sarge displayed, Calina could only identify Ayden Cater, former Lord Protector of the Omega Pyre but something in Sarge's tone told her that whatever history they had went far deeper than that so she opted to keep her overly smart mouth shut.

She eyed him warily. "I don't know. I only know that it happened around the time of the dark harvest. My mother's records of you are somewhat...void in places."

She reached out for his mind, cautiously, unsure if she was walking into a trap of sorts, however unlikely. She skimmed the surface, and found...nothing, not even a hint of his thoughts. Frowning she dug deeper, still nothing. It wasn't like he had any barriers or walls she needed to circumnavigate his mind was simply...dead.

"Fascinating..." her head titled to one side. "It's like your mind is void of the force but the rest of you isn't." She shook her head. "You're still not utterly unknown and it's not like I'm placing my life at risk here. I know the rules that govern..." She wants to say friendship, but she want sure if this was that. "...this. Stepping into the empire is completely different."

 

[Sarge Potteiger]

The deeper she went, the more she'd be drawn in - there was something dark in there, something nesting, or, perhaps more accurately, imprisoned. Even Sarge didn't know. He just knew better than to go digging around inside his own mind. His smile didn't waver, and he smirked for a heartbeat. "Not at all.

You know the rules that govern the Empire. Archive-9 is just my proxy. A droid assistant for you, perhaps. But Anaya isn't the only information broker in this galaxy, and I like to hoard all that I can."

 

[Lina Ovmar]

"Wasn't." She corrected, still poking at his mind, finding herself drawn further and further in. Not a void then...something else. She gave it a sharp mental stab, just to see what the reaction would be.

 

[Sarge Potteiger]

Unable to know what was going on, he still knew bad news when he saw it. The temperature around them dropped precipitously, frost forming on the ground beneath his feet. There was no swelling of power, nor sensation of deep dread. Rather, much like diving into a deep ocean trench, she'd find herself staring into near infinite black, the pressure on her mind increasing until she'd feel as though she were being crushed beneath the sheer weight of nothing around her.

Whatever lay beneath it was impossible to tell, at least for now. But what was clear was that the longer she lingered, the worse this would become; the black hole of his mind had never actually been tampered with, and he was afraid of what might result.

 

[Lina Ovmar]

She felt as though she'd been yanked from her body, drawn deeper and deeper into the yawning chasm. She could no longer see Sarge, nor the room around her. Couldn't feel her body save for the icy pain spilled over her, constricting her mind.

Panic set in, and she retreated, fighting against the force trying to haul her in. The room came back into focus...though he perspective had differed somewhat. She had not felt herself collapse. Breathing hard she brought a hand to her now throbbing head.

"What the actual kark, was that?" She sat up, slowly, unsure of any other side effects.

 

[Sarge Potteiger]

Sarge stood, eyes closed, attempting to will away what was going on. The room was frigid, and she was on the ground before long - he heard, rather than saw, her body hit the floor. By the time she was pushing herself upright, the room was back to normal, and she'd find him taking a deep breath as his eyes opened, those pools of midnight black that had once been his eyes now, perhaps, making a bit more sense. The same could be said for the black blood visibly darkening his veins beneath his skin.

"I don't know." He says, both honest, and for perhaps once, showing a tinge of fear.

"I wish I did."

 

[Lina Ovmar]

The hell with archive-9, if Sarge wanted her to take the damn shard she would, her focus now was on what was lurking in his mind. "You mean to tell me," she said getting to her feet and moving closer to him "That you've been carrying that around in your head all this time and you've no idea what it is?"

She studied his eyes, then, completely forgetting herself grabbed his hand, pulled back the sleeve and looked at his wrists. Veins were black where they should have been blue, she could see it in his temples too. Remembering herself she let his hand go. "Have you even tried to find out? What happened during the harvest for you to get like this?"

 

[Sarge Potteiger]

Sarge gave her the barest hint of a smile, not pulling away from her touch, but clearly amused by her curiosity. "I mean, do you know what it is?" He asks, "How would I even begin to probe it?" His head tilts to one side, and then he shakes his head, giving his characteristically vague answer to her question.

"I survived."

 

[Lina Ovmar]

"That's not helpful." She retorted. She never encountered anything like it and she'd prodded a few minds in her time. The closest thing she could relate it to was the mind of an anzant but that had been pure mental defences and he had pushed her out with pain not sucked her in.

This.. thing.. whatever it was was seperate from Sarge and yet seemed to have no power over him, like possession gone wrong. "Can i poke it again?" She asked.

 

[Sarge Potteiger]

No chit it wasn't helpful. It wasn't helpful because he had no help to give. There was a flash of annoyance in his eyes, and then he was calm again.

"Please don't. I nearly got frostbite the first time. Just take Archive-9 with you."