Interview Log 003: The Fires of Progress

[Akilah Samara]

Though there was a desire to make each message Akilah sent to each interviewee personal she stared at her first message she made to interview the gentleman she'd later know as Jorus Merrill and found that it told it all. She changed a few things here and there, but the message served it's purpose and didn't require a bunch of alteration or personalization to accomplish it's purpose. After tooling around with just a couple changes Akilah hit "sent" on her holomail to another survey applicant, one [member="Elpsis Elaris"]

Dear Madam,

My name is Akilah Samara, and I am a graduate student at Obroa-Skai University. I'd like to thank you for participating in a survey I put out about the perception of Force User Cultures. If you have time I'd like to arrange a meeting where we could go more indepth on the subject and your personal experiences. I'd prefer to take you on the record, but I understand the desire for privacy, and have no problem listing you as an anonymous source if need be. The interview could be conducted in person on Obroa-Skai(I know a caf shop with some wonderful bagels a couple blocks from campus), or I could meet you at some neutral location, or we could conduct it over holocam, whichever is your personal preference. Once again I'd like to thank you for your time and I look forward to speaking with you further.

Cordially,
Akilah Samara

Graduate Student of Political Science at Obroa-Skai University
Office Hours: C 3:00-5:00 PM, Z 3:00-5:00 Room 517a

 

[Elpsis Kerrigan]

[member="Akilah Samara"]


Hello Ms Samara,


Thanks for the message. I'm ok with being interviewed. Figured that was in the offing when I clicked 'yes'. I'm cool with most of it being on the record. Just understand there might be some personal stuff I wouldn't be comfortable with being aired that way. I'm not far from the planet right now, so showing up personally on Obroa-Skai works for me.


Cordially,
Elpsis Elaris.


Elaris read through the message again, then sent it. By her standards, the wording was rather formal. She was presently on Saleucami after Firemane's mission on Dahomey had been wrapped up, so she figured a little detour would not hurt before she returned to Tygara.


Of course, Elpsis was not a Jedi Master, business moghul or Sith Lord, but any academic survey benefited from a variety of perspectives and samples. Interestingly, if one dug deep enough, one might find out that there was also a Rogue Jedi Master called [member="Coryth Elaris"], a very gifted but reclusive healer who'd served the Omega Protectorate as an Exarch during the Potteiger administration. The Galaxy was truly a small world.

 

[Akilah Samara]

[member="Elpsis Elaris"]

Dear Ms. Elaris

Not a problem, whenever we come to a question you don't want to answer publicly you can tell me that you'd prefer we skip that or that you want to answer it anonymously as we get to it. I'm free after 3:00 PM everyday this week, so just pick a time and I can meet you at the University Docking Port. Enclosed in this holomail is an ID file that'll show you're here for research purposes and you'll get moved up in the queue and be exempted from docking fees. Whenever you're ready I'll meet you there an we'll go from there.

Cordially,
Akilah Samara

Graduate Student of Political Science at Obroa-Skai University
Office Hours: C 3:00-5:00 PM, Z 3:00-5:00 Room 517a


Akilah always did her research, and checked to see if their any other potential leads that could be good for interview questions. She found their was a Jedi Master that once share a last name as her interviewee, but chalked it up for the moment to coincidence. It was a large galaxy. Just because two Force Users shared the last name didn't mean they had to be related right? Unless they were Zambranos. Even amongst the Political Sectors of Academia the Zambranos had a reputation.

 

[Elpsis Kerrigan]

[member="Akilah Samara"]


Indeed, the likelihood of two people being related just because they shared the same surname was astronomically low in such a massive Galaxy with more people than anyone could count. Unless you were a Zambrano or a Verd. The Kerrigans were slowly catching up.


An 'Elpsis Kallikora' might have been on the records of the Republic's Jedi Order, but she'd never made it past Jedi Initiate and vanished after washing out of AgriCorps. That was before non-Republic Jedi became the mainstream and the few who still held the Republic's banner high were turned into a minority.


Anyhow, at this point a time skip ensued, after the details had been settled. So on the appointed time Elpsis arrived at the University Docking Port on Obroa-Skai. Her freighter landed after she'd identified herself to the port authorities and been assigned a landing pad. There was nothing fancy about the ship. It was the sort of utilitarian, practical vessel that was common on the Outer Rim.


The redhead was casually dressed when she walked down the landing ramp, looking for Samara. Blue jeans, dark turtleneck, leather jacket. Her long red hair was tied back into a ponytail. She was also unarmed because, seriously, walking into a university whilst carrying a deadly laser sword that could melt durasteel, severe limbs and cause strong burns so was not cool. Guns in a university were right out.


She showed her ID to the security guards and spied a woman who matched the description she'd gotten. "Hi, you're Ms. Samara, right? I'm Elpsis. Nice meeting you," she said in a friendly tone, extending her hand towards the woman.

 

[Akilah Samara]

The grad student waited at the docks for her next interview, one [member="Elpsis Elaris"]. A young lady, not yet able to buy alcohol in all systems, she'd be the first interview of someone younger than Akilah. As she waited she spotted various ships dock, watching for the red hair she mentioned. Finally she spotted the young girl, dressed casually. Akilah herself sported a black skirt and heels, with a light blue blouse, attempting to look professional but not stuffy.

"Hi, you're Ms. Samara, right? I'm Elpsis. Nice meeting you." The Firemane Forcer wasted no time, coming straight in with an introduction and a firm handshake.

"It's nice meeting you too! You can call me Akilah or Kila." She said, realizing the honorific. The girl was eighteen, maybe she thought Akilah looked old. She couldn't be old yet, could she? Gizka's, she was thinking about this too hard.

"Are you hungry? We can catch a bite and some caf if you like, or we can head to my office if you want to jump right into it." She asked, while still trying to figure if she was thought of as 'old' now.

 

[Elpsis Kerrigan]

[member="Akilah Samara"]


"Ok. Kila. Guess Ms sounds a bit old and stuffy and you don't look that," Elpsis said brightly. Perhaps empathy had given her a hint about the thoughts plaguing Akilah's mind. Or maybe she was just being her usual cheerful, bubbly self.


"Some food and caf sounds good. Didn't really get the chance to eat much on the trip." She looked around a bit, giving the University complex and the docking port a bit of a one-over. "Y'know, this is the first I've been in a university." Well, Elpsis, attending one involves studying, lectures and writing academic papers. At least if you're doing it properly.

 

[Akilah Samara]

[member="Elpsis Elaris"]

"Oh really?" There was a squee of excitement in the grad student's voice. "OSU is great. We've got a great library and most all of the department buildings have gone through renovations since the end of the 400 Year Darkness, and you said you wanted food didn't you?" Akilah said as she realized she was a step away from going into an academia-passion loop that the girl may or may not appreciate.

"The library has a coffee shop that also makes some pastries, the student union has various chains and a few local things. Good atrisian place there if you're in the mood. I also have a little cloud car that could get us off campus, there a few nice little caf shops that make some good bagels if you're trying to stay away from sweets." Akilah tried to present a few options.

 

[Elpsis Kerrigan]

[member="Akilah Samara"]


"Oh, that's cool. I've been trying to catch up on my education recently. Didn't really get the chance before. The school I went to were the streets of Coruscant's underlevels," Elpsis responded. The air of sarcasm in her tone masked the fact that she felt a bit of an inferiority complex around academics.


Well, actually it was an inferiority superiority complex. However, Akilah stepped away from academia and turned the conversation back to food. Elpsis' stomach decided to remind her of the fact that she was hungry. "Let's go to the Atrisian. I like their food. Especially the spicy stuff. I blame Auntie Siobhan."

 

[Akilah Samara]

[member="Elpsis Elaris"]

The duo of young ladies made their way to the student union, with Akilah trying to keep conversation light as they went along. They'd find the Atrisian joint, wait in a not-to-long line, and order food before being lucky enough to find a group leaving one of the smaller rooms. Small and full of advanced whiteboards it was a perfect place to study, or conduct an interview. Finding a seat Akilah would be careful not to let any of her food fall to the floor, as Elpsis would find similar seating.

"So, as I said before everything'll be recorded, though you're free to say you don't want to answer something, or that you want to say it anonymously." She said as she put a datapad next to her noodles, and pressing a button, the screen clearly showing that it was recording. "You mentioned in the survey you were a Jedi Initiate, an now you're a Firemane Forcer. Can you tell me why you chose to leave the Jedi, and move into the Firemane Forcers? And what the Firemane Forcers believe and stand for?"

 

[Elpsis Kerrigan]

[member="Akilah Samara"]


So now they had spicy Atrisian food and the interview could begin. "Well, the actual name for Firemane's Force-users is Fire Order or Order of Fire. I think that's way too stuffy, but put it on the record," Elpsis said a bit flippantly. She had to remind herself not to slouch in the chair and instead sit upright.


Siobhan always took her to task when she slouched, which might be one of the reasons she did it! "As for why I ditched the Jedi and hooked up with Firemane, there's a gap of several years between those decisions. I don't think Firemane was a thing back then. Siobhan and Tegaea were probably still running OP. Leaving the Jedi also didn't have anything to do with politics back then. That thing was mostly beyond my horizon back then."


There was a pause before me continued. "Anyhow, being a Jedi was never my choice. I learned about my powers by accident, like many kids do. I was a scared little girl who wanted answers and just wanted to be normal. My parents - my adoptive parents, the Kallikoras - made the decision for me. Probably had more to do with the fact that they couldn't handle me," Elpsis was still a little bitter about this.


"Being with the Jedi didn't feel right. Stuff like Metalorn and Manaan wasn't that apparent in my mind, but it didn't make them look like the white knights they sanctimoniously strutted around as. I was kind of rebellious and a bit of a brat back then. I didn't want space magic powers. Felt like being alone in a cult where everyone was telling me to embrace the one true path. What ultimately drove me out was an encounter...with a Sith Lord on a routine mission," she took a breath.


She could do this. She would not break or cry. "Couple of us Initiates and Knights were supposed to gather some crystals. Long story cut short, I was captured. He gave me the usual 'join the Sith and gain unlimited power' sales pitch and did...horrible things to me. Or forced me to watch. See, I'm an empath, so I feel others' pain. I was an angry mess by the time Jedi rescued me. He escaped. Siobhan killed him many years later."


She decided to leave out the fact that the Sith had been her father. "The Jedi's code didn't help me. It all felt like sanctimonious crap. Suffice to say, I failed my trials and got sent to AgriCorps. So I ran away. I don't regret ditching them, though I guess I could've saved myself and others a lot of pain if I'd...thought things through a bit more. I ended up on Coruscant's streets. Things were...harsh. Eventually I became a mercenary/freelance pilot after going through the school of hard knocks."


This was a very big euphemism for what had happened during a time of poverty, abuse, crime and violence. "I got sucked into the Netherworld when Akala had her temper tantrum. After I got out, I first ran into Firemane on Arkas. One of the Fire Order's Masters, [member="Tempest"], saved my life when I got into a fight with pirates. I didn't hook up with them till a couple months later. There's a bunch of personal stuff in between, but we can skip that if we want to move along. Suffice to say I ended up doing more jobs for Firemane and eventually joined. I met and reconciled with my mother through them. My real one. [member="Coryth Elaris"]," she smiled. The tiny redhead had been a bright, glowing candle in her until then rather dark, grim life. "Felt like having a real family for the first time in my life. I can move on to beliefs, structure and so on now."

 

[Akilah Samara]

[member="Elpsis Elaris"]

As Akilah attempted to gracefully slurp up her noodles Elpsis began to share her story, from the beginning. She ditched the Jedi in the days of the Protectorate, mentioning former Exarchs Siobhan Kerrigan and Tegea Alcori with some degree of familiarity. There more to this girl than met the eye it seemed. She was adopted, and her parents misunderstood her and her powers. Akilah silently wondered how many raised among non-forcers had similar stories. Misunderstood, and only wanting to be normal.

Elpsis was unlucky however, and being misunderstood by her parents was only the start of her personal problems. She'd go on to recount fighting a Sith Lord, being captured, tortured, and forced to watch the torture of others. Akilah wasn't sure when it happened, but at some point she found her hand on the girl's giving a light squeeze in support. As much as Elpsis was telling her Akilah knew there was more. There was always more, you wouldn't tell a stranger one of the darkest parts of your life would you? Akilah sympathized and tried to stay as strong as the lady was, though her heart was touched by the story. Akilah might find later that abandonment and torture were standard amongst the lives of Force Users, but for now she was naive. When she spoke again of Siobhan Akilah couldn't figure if she was thankful about the Sith Lord's death, or worried she wasn't a part of it. Perhaps both. She couldn't imagine having gone through that.

As the Firemane Forcer continued Akilah realized her hand was still on hers, and somewhat awkwardly let it slip off and return to her chopsticks. She kept going on the middle years between Jedi washout and joining the Order of Fire. She revealed it was a small world, and her mother was Coryth Elaris, former Jedi Master, now at large. It sounded like her life was trending up, finally.

"I'm so sorry for what you've been through." Akilah said, trying to convey care but knowing she'd probably heard the words a thousand times before. "And I appreciate you sharing it with me. You're a very strong woman Elpsis." She complimented, yet wished she didn't have to be. No one should have to be like that. "Whenever you're comfortable we can move forward with beliefs. Feel free to take your time." Akilah said, suppressing the urge to talk about all of personal details inbetween. Perhaps she'd be able to talk about them later, but for now she needed to keep to the basics. Understanding her culture.

 

[Elpsis Kerrigan]

[member="Akilah Samara"]


Elpsis had heard the words of consolation many times, but still appreciated the care. She did not want pity, but thanks to empathy she could tell that Akilah was being sincere. "Thanks, Kilah," she said, sounding a little awkward. She took a breath. "It's...hard, but I've been moving on. And I got a lot of amazing people who've been helping me. People who've walked similar roads." For a moment her thoughts drifted to her mother, Tegaea Alcori, [member="Abaigeal E'ron"], [member="Tempest"] and [member="Laina Silvias"].


She slurped on some of her noodles, then took a gulp from her coke and wiped her mouth with a napkin. "Right, I guess you know Firemane. Tegaea founded it after she had to step down as OP's Lady Protector because a Sith made an attempt on her life and hurt her real bad. Started as a small paramilitary company, then got real big."


Most of this had obviously been before her time. "Think Siobhan's first student was Tempest, a former slave. Over time more Forcers joined up. Many of them had rough backgrounds or gotten bad breaks in their lives, so it was kind of a second chance for them, so eventually it was formalised. Honestly, I thought it was just an ego trip when I heard about the Fire Order. I'm also not that comfortable among most Force-users. I wouldn't say it's flawless, but I feel at home there."


She took another sip from her drink. "The basic beliefs are about balance. We don't buy into the idea of 'Light' and 'Dark' determining whether you're good or not. They're sources of strength, that's all. Your actions determine whether you're a good person, not your colour scheme. I don't know if the Force's got a will or if there's some god sitting in the sky, but I know using this or that power doesn't determine who you are. There's 'Lightsiders' who committed crimes while being totally serene. Jedi think the Force is something they must serve and believe that makes them noble, Sith believe having the Force allows them to enslave others because might makes right. So what the Fire Order does is walk a middle road and treat the Force as a tool. A gun isn't evil, but you're evil if you use it to murder an innocent. We don't claim to be the pinnacle of righteousness like the Jedi, but we're not chaotic and destructive like Sith. Training is kinda similar to a military group, which it partially is.


Members are expected to obey the rules, be loyal to the group and its leaders. We don't force our members to be monks like the old Jedi did...though I guess many Jedi aren't anyway these days. Instead we're encouraged to embrace our emotions and live as, y'know, people, but understand that control over ourselves is important. We also don't disdain non-Force users or treat them as 'less luminous people' who need 'guidance'.


You can sum up the group's principles as obedience to lawful authority, respect for others at all levels, personal discipline and courage and no mercy to slavers, traitors and enemies who refuse to yield. Don't scheat or hurt innocents, don't betray the family, don't think having Force powers makes you better than those without. The order treats its people well, but we don't let traitors and war criminals off the hook because 'the Dark Side made them do it'. Above all, it's a home for people who didn't fit in with Jedi or Sith and wanted a place to do good. We're mainly focused on protecting fringe worlds such as Tygara and Arkas and making sure the locals don't get pushed around, but we helped both the GA and the SSC in fighting Sith and other threats. I got farsight, so I've started using it to help people I see in visions."


The teenager seemed to realise that she'd talked for a long time and looked a bit embarrassed. "Sorry if I'm rambling a bit. Not used to talking about this kind of thing," she said a bit self-deprecatingly, chuckling a bit.

 

[Akilah Samara]

[member="Elpsis Elaris"]


"Oh no, you're doing great. This is exactly what I need." Akilah encouraged the teenaged firemane. Akilah certainly didn't have empathic abilities, nor was she always the most observant in a one on one social kind of way, but she tried to help and she was honest. This was exactly what she was looking for. She'd learned how the Order of Fire viewed the Force, how they viewed other Force Traditions, what their personal goals were, how they treated non-forcers and a bit of history into their founding.

"Now many Force Traditions seem to align themselves with a government, but the Order of Fire, from what I understand, seems to be aligned with Firemane Industries and Technologies. Could you go over the relationship between the two? Does Firemane provide funding or try to communicate objectives? You mentioned that protecting worlds like Tygara and Arkas, both of which house significant Firemane operations, is this coincidence or does the Order of Fire's sphere of influence mostly follow the company, and if so are their plans to expand out of the company?"

 

[Elpsis Kerrigan]

[member="Akilah Samara"]


Feeling encouraged and more at ease, Elpsis smiled. "Both are linked yeah. The Fire Order's the company's Force using arm. So the members are employees, with all the benefits and duties that come with it. Right now they're tightly linked. Siobhan heads the Fire Order and co-runs Firemane with Tegs, so they're really the same beast," she replied.


"Long as we don't one day have the Fire Order lording it over peasants toiling in the field or corporate overlords ordering us to do immoral stuff I'll be happy. I can't say how things might develop when the current leadership steps down, though that's probably not gonna happen for a while. Unless Siobhan and Tegaea adopt even more kids," she joked. The Kerrigan-Alcori brood kept growing. Their ability to adopt random waifs and strays was both heartwarming and frequently parodied.


"I can give some info on operations on Arkas, Tygara and especially relations with the latter planet's locals since things are rather complex there. Just gonna say in advance that I'm still new and my interaction with the natives have been a bit limited. Unless there's another topic you want to move to."

 

[Akilah Samara]

[member="Elpsis Elaris"]

Hmm. Part of her expected that one of the top ten corporations in the galaxy had a Force-Using Paramilitary branch, but she still found herself a bit shocked. Perhaps it was how open Elpsis was about it. Then again Corporations nowadays seemed more stable than governments. They always built themselves up, but never came back down, unless a new owner came about. Then all of a sudden they were back at square one or two again.

"Yes, let's talk about Arkas and Tygara. My memory of the planets are slim. I want to say Tygara is an Eldorai colony and Arkas is a Sanctum world." Though Akilah did her best to remember various worlds she wasn't an encyclopedia, many of the planets in the galaxy she'd only read summaries of, or heard in passing, or not heard of at all.

 

[Elpsis Kerrigan]

[member="Akilah Samara"]


The student's shock did not escape the redhead. She didn't need empathy to notice. Elpsis was young and fairly blunt by nature. This was probably a good thing for the purpose of the survey since spin-doctoring would run counter to it, though on the flip side she didn't give much thought to how her words might be interpreted.


"That's mostly a fair assessment. Arkas was run by pirates exploiting slaves, forcing them to work in mines and plantations. Firemane, Eldorai and Rangers fought two campaigns to destroy them. The former slaves now run things themselves. They got a Sanctum-protected city, Freetown. Recently we helped defeat orcs attacking a settlement, but our presence is fairly low-key. We got a couple recruits from there," she replied.


"Tygara's the new Eldorai homeworld. Kaeshana got thrashed by a massive asteroid, Firemane helped them evacuate a couple billion of their people. We heard of the place because my mother had a vision. But there's also several native elf races there. They're related to the Eldorai, but still pre-spaceflight and have their own cultures. Firemane has treaties with local rulers of the Qadiri and the Vashyada. The former are kinda similar to the Eldorai, but without a single ruler, less matriarchal and less tech-developed, the latter are like the wood elves you see in holovids. They get protection from us against outside threats like pirates. We recently concluded a war with the Xioquo. Think elves crossed with the ancient Sith and Bando Gora evilness you got a good picture of the tyrants who ruled them. Firemane's helping 'em rebuild. That's a lot of work since most of them were slaves. And the Fire Order's trying to teach their Forcers how to use their powers responsibly."


She finished her coke. Her few remaining noodles had grown cold. "Personally, I'm not super keen on the Eldorai. Common folk are OK, but most of the nobles are stuffy xenophobes who look down on Tygara's natives because they're 'less civilised' and crap like that. Current queen's alright since she's not a racist and has actually seen the outside world."


Elpsis was very loyal to Firemane and the Order, but her personal opinion was clear and undiluted. She also did not have much of a history with the Eldorai. By contrast, Siobhan was fairly enamoured with them because Adril Tythorin, her teacher and first love, was one. Ironically, the teenager's mother was dating an Eldorai soldier, but Kaida disliked most of her people, too. Well, actually she disliked almost everyone, but she was quite counterculture for an elf.

 

[Akilah Samara]

[member="Elpsis Elaris"]

Akilah made various notes as the redhead continued, piecing together the political scene of Tygara from Elpsis's words. Truth be told it didn't seem super relevant to her work, a certain species holding others as less "pure" or "civilized" due to differing origins wasn't an unheard of story, but politics was Akilah's passion. Although when she brought up the Xioquo her interest piqued. A comparison to the Ancient Sith and Bando Gora was worth noting, especially from a Firemane operative. She was probably too young to have served with the Protectorate, but most of the main people in Firemane had intimate experiences with the Bando Gora from OP. An in depth study could be useful as a microcosm comparison to the effect of the Bando Gora and One Sith on the galaxy. She'd have to put Tygara on her list of "places to go".

"So the Order of Fire helps maintain peace on planets Firemane operates, helps mentor the Force Sensitive on said planets, and occasionally steps into the galactic scene as needed to combat larger threats." She said, alluding to the One Sith, but in truth it could be any imperial might makes right Force User society. "I think I've got that part down, but if I may, you mentioned that you were training in 'Farsight' and that your mother found Tygara through a vision? Could you explain what it's like to have these visions and their accuracy? Is it something that comes and goes or it something you can conjure? What do you typically have visions about?"

 

[Elpsis Kerrigan]

[member="Akilah Samara"]


The Xioquo would indeed be a fascinating object of study. After all, they'd been ruled by darkside tyrants for millennia and thus their influence had permeated their culture. Moreover, they were presently adjusting to having their entire worldview shattered after their mad goddess had first turned out to not be their saviour, then been slain.


"Yep, that sums it up," Elpsis said with a smile. "The Eldorai have their own system and Force soldiers, the Angelii, but we work closely with 'em." She paused for a moment when Akilah steered the conversation towards her second sight.


"My mum had her vision during the whole Netherworld drama. She was talking to the Queen, then suddenly got a glimpse of an entirely different elf world. It eventually helped Firemane find the planet. To be honest, the first few times I had these visions, it was just crazy dreams I could barely make sense of. Plus real big headaches. It's taken me a long time to get any sort of control, but it's not something I can do on command. For me, they usually get triggered by dreams, touching an object or when I'm particularly emotional about people I care about. For me, it's kinda like waking up in another place. Different world, different people, flashes and emotions. The intensity kinda varies. Can be doubly painful since I'm an empath and suddenly get hit by pain that isn't mine. Putting together what they mean is another thing entirely. The future's always in motion, sometimes simply knowing about it can change things. 'sides, some visions I get are about the past."


It was always tremendously awkward if you got a vision about a murder and tried to protect the victim, only to find out that he or she had died years ago. "My mother's a lot better than me. I'm still learning, but I'm better at putting it to good use now," she thought of [member="Shalimar"], whom she'd saved from thugs on Nar Shaddaa.

 

[Akilah Samara]

[member="Elpsis Elaris"]

"That must be very stressful." Akilah said, pondering seeing a loved one, a man dying, a place of peace, a place of destruction and knowing that it could come true, or had come true. Not knowing where it would happen, when it would happen, if you could change what you saw. Akilah was not envious of the young Firemane Forcer at all.

"Does it ever get to you?" Akilah asked, realizing she just after the words left her mouth she was asking a question about Elpsis the person rather than the Order of Flame itself. She was curious how the young girl did it, with potential lives in the balance. Akilah was no soldier, and chances are she would never have to be, but as a Force User, especially one receiving such visions Elpsis might have felt compelled to be one.

"Do you ever feel like you have to stop or realize the visions? As if you've been drafted into service by the Force?" Akilah went a little further. Force Users were rare, but it seemed so many of them ended up fighting. She wondered if that was how they were nurtured by the Jedi, the Sith, the Witches of Dathomir, the Order of Flame, or if perhaps it was in their nature. A couple of her surveys described the Force as an emotional drug, causing a feedback loop in how the individual used it. Were these visions a correlation or a causation?

 

[Elpsis Kerrigan]

[member="Akilah Samara"]


"Yeah, it is. Lot of stress. It sucks being the, what's the word again, Cassandra," Elpsis said quietly. "I mean, some visions have helped me. One brought me back to my mother. But...it does get to me sometimes."


Of all her abilities, farsight made her the most uncomfortable, followed by her empathy. Few things were as terrible as seeing a loved one die or to get a vision of destruction and doom. It might come true, it might not, it might be happening this very second. Struggling against it could make it come to pass. The other reason was that it made her feel like she was not in control of her life.


She fidgeted slightly. "I'm not sure how I feel about it. After I dumped the Jedi, I did my best to turn away from the visions. I got images of terrible things happening, and I ignored them. Just used precog for personal gain when it was handy," she looked a bit ashamed. This was one of the things that separated from Siobhan, though the two had a lot in common. But the Countess felt very little remorse for her actions, except when they hurt loved ones or family. The dead of Roche and Gehenna did not trouble her.


"So yeah, I'm trying to make up for some bad stuff I did...so if I can use my visions to help people, I should. And I'm good at fighting. I just don't like the idea that the Force or some sort of higher power is directing me. I'm just a normal girl who can do some stuff other people can't. Doesn't make me 'special'. You can't toss fireballs, but you're a lot smarter than me. Besides, I'm not a spiritual person. Well, recent events have made me open to the idea that there may be something higher out there."