Let's Talk [Elpsis]

[Nima Tann]

"Unfortunately. They are quite serious about not letting anyone interfere with their business." She replied to Elpsis's comment. "Besides, I don't exactly have a rank in Firemane military. So, unless Sio says something they won't listen to me." She was more of an outside help when it came to working with Firemane. Her ex-Jedi status didn't help as well, considering the well-deserved criticisms and people's opinion about the Jedi. Nonetheless, regarding her comment about the Truthseekers afterwards, she didn't know what ISB was but could understand it was negative from the context. "They have... a certain creepy aura indeed. Uncomfortable to work with, most of them." Using pheromones to prevent people from thinking, methods to make them talk. This way of thinking was indeed hypocritical for a mentalist but she never considered what she did as ethical as well. After all, she didn't like it when other people tried to access her mind, her most private space. Sometimes, necessities overrode ethics.

In any case, the healers were done disinfecting and wrapping Elpsis's wound, so a timeskip would occur with the group travelling back to the medbay. Since Elpsis lost a considerable amount of blood, they'd supply her with more while Nima'd get some painkillers and bandages over her hand which was bleeding due to punching walls. Nima stood up from the bed once her treatment was done to visit Elpsis and see how she was doing. But before she did that, her holocomm beeped. She activated to see Isem replied back. Her face went from purple to red quite quick when she read her last words.

Oh great...

Now she had to visit her because it would be rude if she made an excuse after asking for her help.

"
Of course, I will try to visit when I get the chance.

Thank you for your assistance.

Nima.

"

She pressed the send button with a sigh. Well, at least they got their permission. She proceeded to walk towards the room Elpsis was staying.

"Hey Elpsis. How are you feeling?" She said as the door opened and she took a step inside.

[member="Elpsis Kerrigan-Alcori"]

 

[Elpsis Kerrigan]

[member="Nima Tann"]

And so poor Nima got a date! Well, not really. Regardless, Isem sent her a brief response with details for a meeting place. It was a cantina at the Firemane base. Meanwhile, Elpsis had been taken in by the medics. By now, the girl had taken well to drugs and painkillers. Her blood-covered street clothes had been replaced with hospital garb. It would not win any fashion awards, but at least it was not stained with blood and dirt.

"Alright. I'm sure everyone here will be...super nice to me," she said, giving a pretty Eldorai nurse a wink. Her eyes followed the woman's shapely backside for a moment. "Been stabbed before. No big," she added a bit dismissively. "You alright? We still haven't had that talk."

 

[Nima Tann]

When she arrived to the room she saw the nurse and Elpsis exchanging dirty looks at each other. She also heard some giggling. This made her smile, if Elpsis had the energy for flirting it meant she was better than Nima thought. Still though, she knew what getting stabbed felt like, cough cough Krook and friends. "I'm sure they'll be." She said with a smile. "It's not a matter of weakness, Elpsis. You took a spear to your stomach. I know how that feels." She added when she heard her tone was dismissive. "It's okay to feel pain. You don't need to hide it." When the conversation came to her situation, she averted her eyes. "I... need to think about it a bit. I've seen so much and it's difficult to understand what any of it means." Elpsis would feel her confusion mixed with sadness as she was an empath. Maybe she also saw glimpses of her past as she didn't know how effective the wraith's mental powers were. She looked at the lightsaber at her belt and then back to Elpsis.

"I have good news. We got our permission. The parents and the kids are being brought to the base at the moment. Unfortunately it seems I put myself in a little situation to get that permission." The last sentence was quiet. Almost like she was talking to herself. Then she added realizing it. "Ahem. Though I suspect the girl who was wounded is still here. We can visit her before if you like."

[member="Elpsis Kerrigan-Alcori"]

 

[Elpsis Kerrigan]

[member="Nima Tann"]

"That's nice of you to say...but we know Mother won't agree," Elpsis muttered with a trace of bitterness in her tone. She shifted uncomfortably. "Anyway, enough about me. I don't wanna whine. We saved a ton of people today. Something to celebrate, huh?"

The discomfort Nima felt did not escape her. Elpsis felt a pang of guilt at bringing it up. "It's ok. Sorry for, uh, bringing it up. I just worry, ok? Cause you're my aunt and I love you." She coloured slightly and looked awkward. But then her aunt moved on. Elpsis knitted her brow together when Nima filled her in on recent developments. "Gotta go sweet-talk your green lady, huh? Maybe she just really likes you and is looking for an excuse to go on a date."

 

[Nima Tann]

When Elpsis talked about Sio, Nima sighed, looking away. Elpsis was trying to be herself while Sio wanted her daughter to act in a certain way. Both had strong points to their case but didn't want to communicate which opened the gap between them even more. Elpsis was trying to become what Sio wanted from her, that was for sure, but one couldn't teach a bird how to swim. Their destiny was to fly. She didn't comment on that as saying more would just make her uncomfortable and fortunately Elpsis was the one who changed the conversation. She forced a smile. "Indeed. The wraith would be so much more pain if he found a city of people he could use as hosts. Better get rid of the problem before it becomes too big to deal." The last comment was both for her and Elpsis. Both had problems they wanted to shove away after all.

Anyway, the conversation moved on. "Please don't apologize. I want to talk too, just... not now." She said, reassuring her. "Thank you for your concern though. I love you too." She added afterwards with a genuine smile. It was nice to hear those words from someone she considered family. She lacked that.

When Elpsis talked about Isem, it was Nima's turn to be uncomfortable. "Uh umm... No no... She just wants to hear about the investigation, that's all! No sweet talking or any sort involved!" She awkwardly said as her fingers twiddled with her lekku nervously. "You really think so?" She said over-enthusiastically. Her face was red at this point. She got flustered and embarrassed even more for why she was so over-enthusiastic about it. She barely talked to her anyway, she didn't probably like her. " Knowing what she does... I don't know. It makes me creeped out. It's not natural." Poor Nima, who would prefer fighting an army of super mutants to basic social interaction, was just making excuses at this point, trying not to show that she had the hots for her.

[member="Elpsis Kerrigan-Alcori"]

 

[Elpsis Kerrigan]

[member="Nima Tann"]

"Who knows, maybe she daydreams about spreading you over the desk and doing naughty things to your lekku with her tongue. Perhaps something that involves caramel or scented oils," Elpsis responded because had obviously not embarrassed her aunt enough. Unfortunately for Nima, Elpsis had been raised in a very sex-positive environment.

So sex-positive that she did not see it as strange if her mother watched her make love to a pretty girl and afterwards gave her some pointers. To her casual sex was something perfectly natural rather than something to get embarrassed about. "Never been one for green, personally, but whatever rocks your boat." This statement was more than a little silly since Elpsis was incapable of seeing colours. For a moment her expression turned serious. "That pheromone chit is creepy, yeah. But if she wants to bewitch you I'll just set her on fire. But you did say she was one of the nicer, non-jackbooty thug ones." Such a sweet, protective niece.

 

[Nima Tann]

"Elpsis! S...stop it! As I said, it's nothing like that! We'll just talk about the investigation, that's all! I don't see how things can go that way from a simple conversation and I can't believe y.. you can talk about this so casually!" She blurted out awkwardly to her awfully detailed explanation about what the Falleen would do to her, ever so casually. She couldn't help but imagine it for a brief second before she shook her head, going oh so red. She then let out a sigh. One would think that she'd get used to the teasing by now, but it was always effective to turn her into a stuttering tomato. Perhaps that was why they never stopped teasing her. It was a loop that she found herself in quite a lot. In any case, she couldn't help it.

"I don't think any burning will be necessary. If she tries something that I feel uncomfortable with I'll just get up and report her to her boss." She said afterwards to her comment about pheromones. "I believe that she won't try anything as she has so much to lose and besides, yes. She's one of the nicer ones." She continued and then added. "...but I'll keep that in mind. Just in case."

"Anyway... It's almost time. I should... uhm... just get it over with. Call you later once I guarantee our permission?"

[member="Elpsis Kerrigan-Alcori"]

 

[Elpsis Kerrigan]

[member="Nima Tann"]

"Sure, and tell me all about your hot date with greenie," Elpsis had to throw in teasingly just before Nima departed the hospital room. The Twi'lek's journey would take her to Firemane's base on Arkas. Presumably she was able to secure transportation somehow. In terms of layout, it was a pretty standard prefabricated base. However, its defences had been reinforced after the Serenade incident. Zombie apocalypses had a way of making people security-conscious.

The command centre was surrounded by a wide defensive perimeter. Soldiers and civilian contractors were up and about. Militiamen were practicing marksmanship or being led on a job by sergeant, all under the watchful eye of armoured guards that patrolled the perimeter, which was also secured by a pair of auto-turrets. Once she had presented her credentials to a security checkpoint and these had been verified, the Twi'lek would be given the direction to Isem Xeedril's office.

"Drinking tea with minders, huh?" the guard on duty joked. "Best make sure to bring your own tea. And make sure you record every word you say...just in case the pheromones get to you."
"What was that, Corporal?" A Sergeant demanded gruffly.
"Nothing, Sarge!" the trooper declared quickly. "You can pass, ma'am. We'll call ahead," she told Nima and quickly waved her through. It was common for any military that the different branches did not get on. It was a matter of principle for the army and the navy to detest each other and for both to hate on whoever was doing the spying.

The purple Twi'lek would pass various Firemane minions and see some dramatic looking posters hanging on the wall. One showed Siobhan Kerrigan pointing dramatically at the reader declaring: "Auntie Sio Wants You!". Another poster proclaimed 'Loose lips sink ships', showing innocent lives being lost due to careless chatter being heard by an evil Sith agent.

 

[Nima Tann]

"...It's not a date." She said letting out a big sigh as she slowly moved towards the exit. Nonetheless, the Twi'lek would request a vehicle to be transported to the nearby base and arrive at the security checkpoint. One thing she recognized the first was that the security was quite tight as she passed patrolling heavily armored guards, auto-turrets scanning the area, flying drones, officers searching the people in the lines for any contraband, militiamen training at the shooting range. One would think it was a war zone if they didn't know about Arkas. What happened on Serenade was indeed a big influence on the increase of security, Nima thought, even though she thought it was a bit much. In any case, like every good citizen that didn't have any rank in military, she waited in line. When it was her time after a couple of minutes, she took a step to be searched and then presented her credentials, while explaining the purpose of her visit.

The guard spoke as she continued processing Nima's application for entrance to the system, and what she said didn't help the already stressed Twi'lek. Also, she called them minders. That was new. "Uhm..." Should I have brought my own tea? In the end she decided not to answer but to smile, because it was a joke, right? Fortunately for her, another person came and interrupted the conversation, which speeded up the process. While she was thankful for the interruption, she also noticed that the sort of animosity between the two guards. She heard that it happened a lot in the military. Nonetheless, her documents were given back to her. "Thank you." She said with a smile and then started moving towards the building where Isem's office resided. While she was doing that, she came across a poster which contained someone quite familiar doing a somewhat intimidating pose, with the words: Auntie Sio Wants You! written below. "Not literally, I hope." She murmured and made herself giggle. Firemane was a militaristic company so it had its fair share of militaristic propaganda. Nima wasn't a fan of those. She came across a few more posters that were grim, but she moved on.

When she entered the building, a strong smell immediately invaded her nostrils, making her head spin for a second. This was the famous pheromones. Maybe she should've brought something to prevent the smell from reaching her, but it was a bit late for that. She continued towards Isem's office and with each step she took, she felt like her feet wanted to go back. "Why are you getting worried about this?" She talked to herself. Worry was probably the wrong word. "You are just going to talk to her about the investigation. Calm down." Why was she talking to herself? No idea, or maybe because the smell made it difficult to think. In any case, she was in front of the door to her office now. They already informed her about her arrival, so she would most probably be in her office. With a bit of hesitation, she extended her hand to knock on the door.

[member="Elpsis Kerrigan-Alcori"]

 

[Elpsis Kerrigan]

[member="Nima Tann"]

Auntie Sio was always on the lookout for young talents. Each performed a different role. Some developed cutting-edge technology, others healed the sick or fought on the frontlines. Others...provided entertainment. Especially for the Lady.

Regardless, Nima had reached the office and gave the a knock. "Come in," a feminine voice spoke. Presumably the Twi'lek Force Master did so. Isem would be seated behind a desk when she entered. There were some plants on the windowsill.

She had evidently been studying some files while wearing a pair of glasses, but took them off before the door was opened. It did not look soldierly to wear them. In terms of attire, the Falleen wore a simple women's business suit. As a rule, the Truthseekers eschewed ostentatious uniforms. Strutting around in flamboyant black uniforms and shiny jackboots might look dramatic, but was also terribly impractical and made your job really obvious.

"Mistress Tann, please sit down. I'm pleased to see you are well, given the circumstances. I trust Cadet Alcori did not get hurt too badly?" Her being hurt in the first place had not been mentioned in the message. Maybe it was an educated guess, or the result of having people at the hospital.

 

[Nima Tann]

"Come in." The voice came from the other side of the door that belonged to none other than Isem. There was no room for hesitation now, so Nima slowly opened the door and stepped inside. The view of a slightly tired officer with a lot of documents on her desk welcomed her as she gazed upon the room. A small office which was still as she remembered, the only difference was the plant on her windowsill, it was a lot more grown now. Isem was in her business attire and Nima saw the glasses which looked like it was quickly placed on the desk. That was also new, so she was wearing glasses now. Speaking of attires, Nima's looked like a mess. Dusty, bloody bandages wrapped around her hand. She didn't have the chance to go change just yet as she directly visited her after getting out of the medbay. In any case, by her request, she found her way to the chair nearby the desk.

"Pleased to see you are well as well, uhm, Miss Xeedril." She said as she sat down. When she asked about Elpsis, Nima raised an eyebrow. She didn't remember mentioning what happened to her. This was why she felt uncomfortable around her as she knew a lot and she was so casual about it. She knew that it came with the job, but still, it was kind of creepy. "She is well enough to flirt with the nurses." She chuckled to let out some of the stress. "Fortunately we were close by so the healers could come and give her medical attention quickly. She's recovering at the medbay right now." She added afterwards.

Small talk, or not. Small talk, or not.

Maybe she should be the one to initiate it. But what would she say? I'm sorry for avoiding you because you creep me out and now that I need your help I'm here? The weather is quite nice? No, better avoid it until Isem decides to say something. For now, she decided to stick with talking business.

"I'm sorry if I'm bothering you. You seem quite busy." So many documents, so little time.

[member="Elpsis Kerrigan-Alcori"]

 

[Elpsis Kerrigan]

[member="Nima Tann"]

"The Devaronian nurse will be receptive. The Zeltron won't be, surprisingly," Isem commented dryly. "A local Firemane official in Freetown is misappropriating Compnay funds, an Acolyte of the Order of Fire has not reported the love letters she receives from her Sith stalker and pamphlets of Eldorai radicals are being spread in New Solstace," she rattled off without preamble. "However, this does somewhat pale in comparison to someone smuggling in a dark magic book and bunch of teenagers using it to summon a demon," she put down her pen.

"We have taken samples and are presently analysing the drugs in their bloodstream. If it turns out to be something from outside Arkas, we have an issue at customs and we will have to fire a couple people. If it is a more amped up version of the Najim people grow across the planet, we have a more serious issue on our hands."

 

[Nima Tann]

"Won't even ask how you know about that." She commented on about Isem knowing how the nurses would react. There were two possibilities, either Isem tried to flirt with them before or she was keeping tabs on the employees. It was probably the latter. Nonetheless she went on afterwards about the documents in front of her. Her responsibilities has increased from the last time they talked, it seemed, which affected her cheerful personality. There was now professionalism and distance in her voice and a lot of exhaustion. Their so far business oriented conversation continued to a more relevant topic. "Indeed. We'll need to know who's responsible so that this doesn't happen again." Nima responded.

"Do you have any possible clue about the drug dealer? We'd find them together faster if you could share any information." She didn't like to use Elpsis's network of drug dealers to reach the culprit, but it would help the investigation if she knew. Of course, she didn't mention her to Isem at all. "We also have another matter in our hands. The book. It's dark arcane in nature, that much I can sense it. Though the contents I'm not sure about. The wraith, however, shed some light when I invaded his mind. Something about a false king, and a Red Lady."

[member="Elpsis Kerrigan-Alcori"]

 

[Elpsis Kerrigan]

[member="Nima Tann"]

"That's rather vague. I should hope that we do not have to summon another spirit from the Nether for a chat," she said dryly. Was the Falleen trying to make a joke? Perhaps. "Regardless, a warrant has been issued for the girl's father. A Mr Norman Kalderash, according to her papers. Supposedly an antiquities dealer."

Isem leaned back in her chair. "If you were trying to find out how many people on Arkas harvest drugs, you'd have a long list. A narcotic grass called Najim is native to the planet. Or, as it is called colloquially, the Twinkle. It produces an euphoric rush. Long-term consumption leads to addiction. The Company tried to stamp out production, but to no avail. So we've moved to tolerating and trying to regulate it. This has had the effect of driving several cartels out of business. Most of what hits the market is watered down and it can be used for medical purposes. Nonetheless, there are three gangs we've had on our eyes on. Two are native, one is foreign. As for the book..."

Getting up from her seat, she pressed a button on what appeared to be a remote control. This caused part of the wall to suddenly give way, revealing a container. She typed in a combination, whereupon the box was opened. The book lay inside it. It was covered in nullification resin, which dampened the malevolent, dark aura of the book. Closer inspection of the tome would reveal that the book was bound in human skin.

"It's here for the purpose of the investigation. It will be brought somewhere..safer soon," she said vaguely. Firemane did not make a habit of scouring the Galaxy for artefacts and arcane tomes because playing with them often turned out to be a bad idea, but it had still amassed a small collection. A good number of those were Xioquo or Bando Gora in origin. Some had ended up in Sio's personal archives.

 

[Nima Tann]

"Twinkle, huh. Such an innocent name for such a dangerous substance. Irony at its finest." She commented, while she sent a message to Elpsis about the information that Isem gave to her, trying to look as casual as possible.

"Two native, one foreign gangs still operate on Arkas. I hate to ask you this, but can you check their recent activities? See if they had anything to do with the teenagers.

Please be careful and don't do anything that'll put you in danger.

Nima."

After she pressed the send button, she looked at the Falleen once again to see if she suspected anything and added with a sigh. "Unfortunately, I've come to the realization that the galaxy loves ironies." Then it was time to pry a little more and see if she could get anything else. After all, she was going to learn about these things anyway, it was better to be informed beforehand so she could be better prepared. "Do those gangs have a name? Anything that'll lead us to the culprit faster?" If Isem was willing to share more information, Nima'd send another message to Elpsis containing the said information.

The conversation moved on from the drug dealer gangs to the mysterious book.

"I have met some of those spirits. Needless to say, they aren't very... talkative. They communicate by screaming in your mind." She responded with a soft laugh. Nether was an experience one would lock in the depths of their mind, but as all the bad memories, joking about it made it a bit better. "When will the antiquities dealers learn not to meddle with objects that scream dark arcane? There are a lot of ceramics, plates, old coins, I don't know, anything safer to be acquired and sold and they choose the book that summons wraiths. It fazes me." She commented jokingly. Soon they'd interrogate this person and find out how he acquired it. Hopefully he had some answers.

When Isem stood up from her desk and pressed the button to reveal the hidden compartment that had the book, Nima got instantly worried that it was in her office. "Why is it here? It shouldn't be here. We don't know how strong the influence of the book is. I have seen... It might..." She stopped herself there and reconsidered her words. "It is not safe." From her tone, Isem would catch that Nima wasn't saying that casually. There was actual worry there. Upon further inspection as her attention was still on the book, she realized what the book was covered in. "Is that... human skin? I... touched that book. Ugh." Unfortunately for the Twi'lek, she didn't realize it due to adrenaline. Now she needed a good bath.

[member="Elpsis Kerrigan-Alcori"]

 

[Elpsis Kerrigan]

[member="Nima Tann"]

"Which is why it is coated in Resin and the container has Voidstone in it," Isem responded. Indeed, the Force was somewhat diminished in the room. Not enough to keep Nima from walking, but it would probably be more difficult to use the Force if she stood right in front of the container. However, if the book remained out for a longer period, both would probably start to feel nauseous. "We need to understand the tome first, before locking it away. See these sigils," she pointed at the cover. They were written in a neat, arcane script. One could also see an enormous snake.

"The Great Leviathan. Also known as the Blessed Devourer. Common Bando Gora symbolism. This script here reads 'in him, we achieve oneness.' You would not buy a book like this unless you wanted to consort with demons. Since apparently a teenager was able to steal it, our dealer either does not understand it or is very careless. His client must be on the planet or due to arrive," she frowned slightly.

"The Bando Gora were wiped out a decade ago, but splinter groups keep appearing. They were fond of using crudely modified death sticks to create servitors." She made a note, looked up. "The Blood Riders, the Brothers' Circle and the White Hand. Those are the main gangs in the area."

 

[Nima Tann]

Elpsis would get another message containing the names of the gangs.

“Oh, I have no doubt that you took the necessary precautions. I can feel the Force in this room has been altered, supressed even.” Nima responded to Isem with a sigh, which she couldn’t prevent herself from letting out. Perhaps the Falleen knew that she couldn’t walk without the Force. The suppression wasn’t too strong to render her paralyzed, but her legs felt numb nonetheless. “But my point still stands and ... uhm... you know me. I worry.” She added. The last word was intentionally quieter.

She didn’t know why the invisible wall of professionalism bothered her. The whole reason why she was uncomfortable with coming here was that it would be awkward, and this was what she wanted. But “normal” was as uncomfortable for her as the opposite in this case. She probably felt this way because she felt guilty for contacting her only when she needed her help. Maybe she didn’t care at all and she was worrying for no reason. She shook her head to get rid of invading thoughts. This was probably for the best. They had a job to do after all and Isem seemed more focused on that at the moment. Speaking of her, she took the book out of its container and put it to her desk. She pointed out to the sigils on the cover, each written in a language Nima couldn’t understand. The giant snake she could see clear as day however. Fortunately for the Twi’lek, the explanation came soon after.

“That... doesn’t sound good.” She reacted to her explanation. According to her, the book belonged to a former cult of assassins and was used to consort with the demons. “Considering that those types of rituals often require a group, this client of his might not just be a single person.” She hypothesised. “We can’t arrest them on the spot until we learn if they are alone or not.” Isem probably knew where she was going with this. “First, however, we’ll need to interrogate the dealer and find out who contacted him in the first place, and see if he knows anything about his daughter’s drug problem. Perhaps the two are connected somehow.” She concluded. Though she was skeptical that they would get anything useful from him about the latter, seeing how careless he was about the book to the point a teenager under the influence of drugs could easily steal it.

“Is there anything else you’ve found about the book? Any “False King” or “Red Lady” mentioned in one of the passages perhaps?”


[member="Elpsis Kerrigan-Alcori"]

 

[Elpsis Kerrigan]

[member="Nima Tann"]

Fortunately, Elpsis' datapad had been modified to accommodate her blindness. Meaning everything was written in braille. She studied the message carefully, running her hand over the screen. "Will look into it." The drugs were making her sleepy, but she was trying to stay awake.
However, before she could make any calls a woman entered. She was a slender Zeltron in a nurse uniform. "Hey there, time for your meal, dear," she said in a chipper tone.
"Not hungry," Elpsis muttered. "Need a comm."
"You shouldn't be making any long calls right now," the nurse chided her, putting down the tablet. There was something odd about her. Elpsis blinked. She knew the nurse was there, but she had trouble seeing her. It was as if she was fading in and out of existence. "And you really need your strength, dear."
"Who the frak are you and what's wrong with my eyes?"
"Right, my bad. It's because I'm wearing one of the pink harlots. As for the latter, well," she shrugged, caressing a ring on her finger. It contained Voidstone. "Why don't we have a chat...Cinder?" Her voice had suddenly become a lot deeper. Now Elpsis realised who she was.
"Lana..."

xxx

Isem flipped through the book a bit. She seemed to have studied it before, meaning she was not searching blind. "'That is not dead which can eternal lie,'" she quoted, "'and in strange aeons, even death may die. The veil shall be lifted. The red red star shall herald the end and the dawn. The hidden king shall be revealed, risen from the graves and charnel pits, and cast down the scarlet usurper. His song shall shall the foundations of the world. Heaven and earth shall be as one.' It goes on like this for a while." The room had suddenly become a good deal colder.

 

[Nima Tann]

As Isem started to read the passage about the Red Lady and the False King, Nima listened and tried to make sense of it all. It was cryptic as all the ancient books were, so it made her job pretty difficult.

The veil, the red star, the hidden king, scarlet usurper, "Heaven and the earth shall be as one.", "His song shall be the foundations of the world"...

"I... oh Force... Do you have any idea what any of this means?" She asked, confused. It all sounded otherworldly, divine. Though, this book belonged to a cult so the wording wasn't that surprising. "From what I can gather, they are... like... higher beings that have some animosity between them. When I invaded the wraith's mind, I saw his last memory. The king fell down in an endless pit after a confrontation with the Red Lady, also known as the scarlet usurper and the red star according to the book. He met his demise as he crashed as fast as he fell, broke all his bones. Then got buried alive as he tried to defy death. Soil invaded his mouth, nostrils, lungs. He choked until he couldn't resist anymore. In the end, death claimed him. As it always does." She didn't know why she gave so many gruesome details. In fact, she started to feel a bit cold and dizzy. The room wasn't as warm anymore.

She shook her head. "Ahem... I'm sorry. I don't know what just happened." She moved towards Isem, who seemed to be still looking at the book with a blank expression. "We should probably put it back. Something's wrong."

[member="Elpsis Kerrigan-Alcori"]

 

[Elpsis Kerrigan]

[member="Nima Tann"]

"Gotta say, you don't look thrilled to see me. I'm not feeling the love," Lana said in mock disappointment.
"Cry me a river. The whole sneaking into my hospital room with Voidstone kind of ruins the relationship," Elpsis retorted. In response, Lana just sat down on her bedside. Her hand covered the comm.
Elpsis tried to suppress a feeling of discomfort. "You know, that little toy doesn't stop me from setting you on fire."
"I can handle a little candle."
"What do you want, Lana?"
"Just to chat, sugar."
"What happened to the real nurse?"
"Gagged and dreaming. Now, I've jackboots snooping in places I don't want them and shaking down dealers left and right. My lackeys are flailing around like scared chicken, and this makes me very unhappy. All because of some dumb kids."
Despite still being in pain, Elpsis sat up. It was her natural instinct to flinch from the Voidstone, but she pushed herself to learn forward so that she was level with Lana. Her voice had turned low and cold. "So we can skip the introductions. You know what happened. We had a deal, Lana, and if you broke it that little piece of jewellry won't stop me from hurting you. So let's cut the bullchit."

xxx

Isem's expression had turned blank. She seemed to have difficulty hearing Nima. It was as if the Twi'lek was several miles away from her. "And on the foretold hour, the seal shall be broken. At the blessed place, in the hour of the red star, the gateway shall open. The wheel shall turn once more and then be broken forevermore...“