Mad Sounds

[Arage Bao]

[member="Dissero"]

Part of him was pleased, the part that needed, no craved power. It was the part of him that had always led him onto this pursuit of this, the part that had guided him to take over Santhe and do a hundred thousand other things to increase his own clout.

But a different part, one which was had become all the more prevalent was sad, sad and tired that he would have to do this. In the end it would mean war, Jared wasn’t sure if Dissero realized that yet, to take the hard decisions would mean to step on many toes that were very comfortable where they were right now.

Ovmar wasn’t a man to complain though, instead he simply nodded.

‘I have… ideas. Nothing too solid yet.’ he shrugged, Jared had always been in the thick of the improvisation game. But he realized that wouldn’t work, he would need a plan and stick to it. ‘But one thing I know for sure, this ain’t gonna be easy and I am expecting a lot of people ain’t gonna be happy.’

But few people were ever happy when change occurred.

 

[Dissero]

A brow knocked upwards. Empathetic he was not, but his intuition had rarely ever let him down. He wasn't keen on the tone of Ovmar's voice.

"You know I'm not like for stepping on the toes of the bigs, Varanin and Jacobs specifically. Personal ties be damned, I still owe at least Varanin a hefty debt for all that she's done for me and I'm not about to go upsetting her wife." He respected the dynamic duo far too much for that.

"Not keen on burning our bridges with Moross, either. They've been good to us and kept their word on damn near every agenda, never caused us any trouble," his ties to Moross were more than that, though. Not that Jared was aware.

"I realize change is difficult, but I've got new priorities in my life right now," the Archivist gave a short glance towards his silent Apprentice, "I'll see my projects through, but if war is the way you're aiming - that isn't my place anymore Jae."

No, now he had Verie to look after and he certainly wasn't going to pull Cerita into a firefight. He didn't doubt her abilities to hold her own, but the battlefronts weren't her place either.

[member="Jared Ovmar"]

 

[Arage Bao]

[member="Dissero"]

‘My friend, I lost the rest of my wild hair during those travels. When I was younger I would have jumped into a war for a cause I saw as righteous, no doubts, no hesitation and only a tad of guilt.’ a shrug, he would not give any apologies. It was who Ovmar had been for a long time. Apologies wouldn’t make past mistakes right. ‘I will do what I can to prevent all-out war, I will talk to Jacobs, talk to the other old ones in the Fringe.’

The ones that were left.

But in the end it wasn’t about that, it was about the following.

‘I would never expect you to follow me into this battle, Di. If it comes to that, I won’t hold it against you if you decide to leave.’

Some relationships wouldn’t change ever, at least not from Ovmar’s perspective.

 

[Dissero]

And there was one of the reasons he kept Jae on his speed-dial. Say what you will of that man, but earned Ovmar respect was a good thing.

Dissero nodded, "We'll cross that bridge if we get to it, then. You have my support, and I'd like to stay as current and clued in on your plans. Just so I know when to look for landmines and sharpshooters. Shaking that shiit off is more trouble than it's worth..."

Lifting a hand to rub at his eye, his smile returned, "Now, about my project. I've lost over half of my original site team and its becoming more bother to clue the replacements in. I'm fixing to wipe the slate clean and start over cause I really hate hang-ups. Obviously that's tossing a good chunk of the High Council's funds into the nearest sun and asking for more. Thoughts?"

[member="Jared Ovmar"]

 

[Arage Bao]

[member="Dissero"]

And that was that, but it was only one of the first things he would have to do. If he wanted to avoid a total schism and civil war between Fringe and Fringe he would need the names of the heavies behind him, Na’Varro, Jacobs, Vynea; men and women who had proved time and time again that their loyalties came to the Fringe first.

With them supporting him, the rest would hopefully fall in line. But that was a concern for another time, project… proje-

The archives.

After he had returned (and return was a very abstract form, because he had come and gone a few times already, just to check up here and there. Though the Rapturing during the Netherworld had put a chink in those plans too), he had seen to it that the archives were moved once again.

Too dangerous to keep ‘em where they had been.

The treasury is hella difficult to reach these days, Ovmar. Where ya get the money?

‘Broken and fragile foundations ain’t doing anyone good, Di.’ a certain green-skinned lady was desperately trying not to grin at that statement. In truth it was his own logic at what the Fringe needed, a clean start, new foundations.

‘With only two of us currently available? Well.’

There ain’t anyone else.

‘You got my vote.’ a scratch of the chin again, hairy beard. He still wasn’t used to it as much as he had been to his mustache of old. ‘And I will getcha the funds.’

Money had never been an issue for Ovmar.

 

[Dissero]

Caught her waning grin with a glance, Dissero smirked.

"I thought that would be the case. I'd say I feel a bit like I'm askin' my Pa for an advance in my allowance, but he was never the money giver anyway so-" not that any of his three father figures had been of much use in that department. Salvador died when he turned 4, Avicus had never been around, and Xander? Well, the two had never seen eye-to-eye for obvious reasons.

Hell, Mahet had been more of a father to him than any of them and the Noghri hadn't given him anything but a solid butt-whooping since he was old enough to take it.

"Sarova, you can start sending word to the team on your datapad. We've at least got the original Foreman - we'll keep him on for the show, and any of his old crew from the first group. Get rid of all the new faces. I'm sure we can find some other build to transfer them to."

His gaze settled back on Ovmar, "On the same ticket, you've moved the archives again. Gonna need to know where there at eventually, Jae." Sure, he could sniff them out, but time was money here and Dissero wasn't in the market for spending more than he needed to.

[member="Jared Ovmar"]

 

[Arage Bao]

Cerita nodded dutiful and after a final bow, left the room for a while to make the proper preparations. Oh, she could have simply stated and done it from the comfort of the corner of the room, but there was a simple thing that had held her back from doing such a thing. It was the understanding that those two might need a little privacy to catch up on things unsaid, or perhaps discuss a little bit more sensitive of subjects, it was this sensitivity towards things that had allowed her to bypass stepping on people’s toes. (mostly)

He’s right, ya know. ‘Bout the archives.

In the meanwhile Ovmar watched as the girl, now a grown woman, walked out of the room to gave them a vistage of privacy, before returning his gaze on Dissero. He flashed him one of his many shaded grins, the same grin that had always followed or preceded some kind of trick or self-satisfied pat.

‘Heh, noticed that, did ya?’ the Sith Lord finally replied, words colored by nostalgia for simpler times. ‘My apologies, the rapture has made me… well, I suppose you could call it more cautious about things.’

Paranoid was a different, perhaps more accurate word.

A shrug.

‘When we are done here I will make sure you get the location again, Di. But with what we will have to do to make the Fringe whole, stable and above safe again… hmm.’

For a moment he was lost in his own thoughts, perhaps the consolidation of memories, time and age was playing a role here. Or maybe there was just a lot of thoughts to look through right now, they weren’t discussing simple matters.

‘It might be a good idea to postpone the centralization of the archives for now, make sure that the nation itself is stable and safe, before we go ahead with this. What do you think?’

At this point [member="Dissero"] was the only other High Councilor and was the Fringe’s Archivist, he had as much a vote in this as Ovmar had.

 

[Dissero]

"You mean paranoid," Dissero corrected the man, "welcome to my life."

Paranoia was what made the Archivist so good at his job. It was why so many people trusted him with their invaluable possessions. Nobody, but nobody, knew the precise location of his vaults and private archives but Dissero himself.

The man wiped a hand down his face and leaned forward, elbows on knees, "I'm not normally one of those 'for the greater good' types, but I'd hate to be the wrench in the Fringe's stability system. Wouldn't be a very good High Councilor otherwise. What do we need to do, Jae?"

[member="Jared Ovmar"]

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Dissero"]

Cerita was still leaning against the wall, pondering, wondering and basically looking keenly at the interactions displayed by the two adults. Well, adults in the biggest stretch of the word, her Master was her own age and Ovmar… well, he used to be their age. But he seemed more. No, that was it, he just simply seemed something more these days.

And she wasn’t sure she liked it, mortals shouldn’t feel more. They should be boring and uninteresting, but that wasn’t the vibe she was getting from the few flashes of eye contact she was receiving, but there was something else that bothered her.

He was genuine.

The Jared Ovmar of the stories and ‘legends’ was a schemer, a man who stapled contingency plans upon contingency plans and executed Xanatos Gambits just for the hell of it. This man did not align with that image, he didn’t seem to be an old spider just scheming and plotting.

“...I don’t know, Di. I think it’s better if we keep the Archives stashed for now, they are on the Chrysalide right now, can’t get safer than that. Once this shet calms down? We can go back t-”

A ring on the holo sounded loud and clear, Ovmar seemed annoyed by it a bit, but the expression vanished as quickly as it appeared. He gave Dissero an apologetic look and excused himself out of the room for a while, to take the call.

Every fiber of her body wanted to say something, but instead she kept the cool exterior of an experienced Apprentice, waiting for her Master to address her if necessary.

 

[Dissero]

"I can hear your mental gears turning from here," Dissero remarked over his shoulder without looking back to his Apprentice. He might not have been a mentalist or an empath, but he damn well knew the sensation of a mind deep in thought. Cerita wasn't a gossip or a person to waste her breath, so typically when the woman had something to say it held a certain amount of value and weight.

He took a drink. Had he a drink? It makes sense that there aught to be one there, somewhere, waiting for him, untouched perhaps until now. The Archivist lifted a hand and casually waved Cerita forward, "What is it?"

[member="Cerita Sarova"]

 

[Jairus Starvald]

“I don’t know this Jared Ovmar, Master.” Cerita would remark without trying to hide the skepticism she was experiencing right there and then, perhaps it was the skepticism of the young. Because she truly hadn’t known Ovmar, only the reputation the man had cultivated over many a years of wars, backroom deals and elbow-rubbing with others like him.

Perhaps [member="Dissero"] had a different relationship with the man, but she could not comment on that. The only thing she could do was give him her own opinion, factualized from the few times she had interacted with him up close and the things she had heard now and before.

A ponder, before she shook her head.

“He seems too genuine.”

Which didn’t really say a lot, he also seemed to be about twenty years older than the last time they had seen each other, so perhaps time had paid ravages on his sharp senses. Or perhaps it was really that they had a different relationship.

Who knew?

 

[Dissero]

A low, gravelly chuckle sounded at this. Dissero's shoulders shook with amusement as he took another drink. What was this stuff?

"He does, doesn't he."

Tricks and plots weren't part of his repertoir, not that he was incapable. Dissero didn't tend to forge them on his own but instead acted an the accomplice. All great things in his life had been accomplished at the side of someone else greater than he. If that meant placing Jared Ovmar on a pedestal, so be it. Surely there were plenty of things Ovmar was capable of that he could not personally hold a candle to. It had never been a competition between them, which was one of the reasons they got along so well, he supposed.

"Maybe he's been spending too much time with me..." he smiled to himself and drained the last of his glass before standing. Turning to Sarova, Dissero stepped past her, placing a hand on her shoulder and giving it a squeeze, "or maybe it's you that's been spending too much time with me. My paranoia rubbing off on you?" A grin, he moved on and set the glass down on a small side table.

Chrysalide.

"Well I don't think we'll get much more accomplished here today. Let me go bid adieu to Ovmar and we can head out." With that he headed off through the same doorway Jared had disappeared through.

[member="Cerita Sarova"]

 

[Jairus Starvald]

“Got it, boss.” the smooth reply came after a slight frown disappeared from her expression, she was left there leaning against the wall and pondering on his words. Was it just that [member="Dissero"] was rubbing off on her? Could it be that she was just getting more careful- paranoid and was seeing things that weren’t really there?

Maybe the entire point had always been to seem more, not to be more.

Cerita pondered about it for a while, perhaps that was the entire dealio, the entire secret to what the Sith Lord had always been about. Perhaps it wasn’t, really didn’t matter for Sarova one way or another, the guy had set her up with Di.

Why?

Who knew why Ovmar did the things he did, that was apparently the entire point of him. Do things and let other people wonder, and while they wondered?

He would pull his actual stunt, cheeky man.

Cerita shrugged and extended a finger, pointing it at the low-table they had been sitting on a couple of moments ago. A blink or two and she was immersed in the molecular construct of the table’s legs, it took her a moment or two to weaken the basic structure.

Next time he puts something on the table… heh.

That was payback for all those times he had been mean to her, that would teach him!

She couldn’t always be the mature and levelheaded person she usually was, the problem with being a clone with no childhood. Ya gotta grab your fun where ya could.

 

[Dissero]

Didn't take long. Either it had been a short word, or Ovmar had still been on his call. Either way Dissero looked no worse for wear or time spent as he reappeared.

"Right, let's go do something fun then. Rave ever teach you Force Bellow?"

Didn't occur to Dissero that Force Bellow was generally a power learned, practiced and utilized by High Knights and Masters. This was Rave Merrill's original apprentice, after all, who knew what sorts of things had transpired between them. The man lead the way out, speaking at Sarova about something called an Aoelocron...


~~~

"You stand back there. Clear that stuff out of the way, give yourself space."

They were back onboard Dissero's ship, The Magnum Opus, clearing supply crates out of the cargo hold area. Several years ago the hold had been full to the brim with the Sith Empire's most prized and invaluable artifacts, tomes, and possessions. Now it was a glorified training ship - not that he'd made any alterations other than moving his things. He was in his training attire, which included a quick switch out of suit and into looser fitted pants. Barefoot, chest exposed, the man placed a device on the ground between himself and Cerita, muttering something under his breath, righted himself and trotted backwards.

Space, lots of space. The ship was pretty fething big for what it was.

The ground rumbled and engines churned, Dissero looked up to his apprentice.

"Force Push 501, Cerita. Warm up, give me the strongest Push you can muster."

[member="Cerita Sarova"]

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Dissero"]

She slapped her hands together, gave the palms a good rubbing and felt the heat rising just a little bit as a result. Friction followed by the steady breathing in and out of air, centralizing her perspective simply on the task ahead- whatever she was, Cerita Sarova had been Rave’s Apprentice and was now Dissero’s Apprentice.

That meant something.

And she wouldn’t disappoint either the spirit of her old or the expectations of her new Master if it was up to her, so she concentrated and started to draw in the Force.

There were almost as many ways to do that as there people in the Galaxy. Some pictured the Force as a violent maelstorm, you shove your hand in and hope you pull out strength with your hand intact, others liked to compare it to a smooth running river; you were the dam, then there were the few who figurized the Force as the Sun.

And their mind as the petals.

Cerita suddenly extended her arm, palm forward and pushed with everything she got.

 

[Dissero]

Dissero was ready from his position across the bay, body slightly turned with his right shoulder towards her, feet shoulder width apart and firmly planted. His hands were lifted, arms relaxed and ready for the impact, palms facing out. He was channeling his own control of the Force, crafting something unseen before his figure.

He watched, waited, sensed the growing power within his Apprentice, and just as she unleashed the Push he enacted a series of minor events.

Beneath his breath he uttered words in a long dead language.

Before him his hands shifted slightly, the right lifting to meet the brunt of her attack, the left lowering and turning palm-up, fingers extended towards the device on the floor between them.

Push met an invisible web; exceptional control of tutaminis took in the energy and his right hand slowly shifted again, twisting counter-clockwise downwards, relaying that same energy to the left that then funneled it to the device.

A single crystal within the device began to glow a pale white, flickering as it was fed.

For a moment Dissero was still, eyes closed, hands smoothly returning to their starting position, "Again," he commanded.

[member="Cerita Sarova"]

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Dissero"]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]At a different point of time Cerita would probably have balked with big eyes at the red pulsating crystal, wanting to dissect and study it for the entire day until she figured out what it was, how it worked and more importantly… how she could recreate it herself. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]This wasn’t the time for that though, every now and again the lines between the Master and the Apprentice blurred, they got friendly, chatty and generally enjoyed each others company.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]But when he commanded, she complied immediately with no other thoughts on her mind.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]Sarova planted her feet firmly into the flooring, pressure against her soles reminding her the lessons taught and experienced, hand lashed out once again as the power build up in her.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]Again, she would push, grabbing all that she got and throwing it at her Master.[/SIZE]

 

[Dissero]

Energies and power folded and redirected, the device lit up again, flickering with greater intensity this time before softening to a pale glow.

"Again!" Dissero commanded, watching Cerita's own concentration deepen. A third time he bent the Push and a third time the device lit, glow growing stronger. Brow furrowing, Master gave Apprentice a sharp glance, "Warm up's over, Cerita, no more playing around. Again!"

A fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh. He could sense her growing tired but did not relent, offering encouraging remarks between each, attempting to light her fire by reminding her of just who and what she represented. Not just a lost little girl sitting in a library. Not some hapless bookworm. Cerita had to be strong enough to forge her own adventures and stories. Had to be able to withstand the brutality of the galaxy. So few endeavors in their field of work were without danger, it was only right to push her.

He'd lost track of how many rounds, but a dozen was a safe bet at the very least. Cerita was winded, sweat slicking her face, and though he knew she'd continue so long as he commanded there no longer was a need.

"Stop!" the Alchemist called as he watched her wind up for another, blue eyes tracking to the bright glow on the floor between them, a grin spread across his face, "...stop. You're done..." he wasn't exactly breathing easy himself. Continual use of tutaminis was hard work, but he hoped the payoff would be worth it.

At least this time it didn't shatter...

"Good work, catch your breath."

[member="Cerita Sarova"]

 

[Jairus Starvald]

Continuously channeling the Force through her body wasn’t easy.

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]Even with all the training received, even with the efficiency that Cerita showed in her approach and with the encouragement provided by [member="Dissero"] during the trials, it was clear that if she had gone out for much longer she probably would have burned herself out. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]Transpiration lined her face, but she kept calm, slowly releasing her hold over the Force and taking a good solid breath before bowing to her Master. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]“Yes, Master, thank you.”[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]She wiped off her brow, blinked a few times and when she slowly felt the [/SIZE][SIZE=10.6666666666667px]feeling[/SIZE][SIZE=10.6666666666667px] return to her legs she breathed out again.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]Is that what satisfaction feels like, Rave?[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]Cerita eyed the object between the two of them, but declined to ask about it for now. Which really had two reasons for it.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]One, she doubted she could actually say more than a few words before falling down and sleeping for a century.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]Two- well, look back at one. [/SIZE]

 

[Dissero]

"I call it an Aoelocron."

Back in the training chamber within the castle fortress of Grievous, Dissero placed the very same device into Cerita's palm. It looked and felt just like a holocron, from the pyramid shape to the ancient rune carvings to the crytalline lattice. Yet, somehow, it was lighter. Not physically so, but metaphysically, where a Holocron's great weight came from the invaluable store of knowledge within, this Aoelocron felt ... almost like a toy.

"It's similar to a holocron in that it uses crystals as storage and integrated Force sorcery to activate, but that's where the similarities stop. The Aoelocron utilizes the storage of a specific Force power, something that works through Area of Effect - hence the name. This one contains a tri-core, three separate crystals, that should in theory allow it to be used three times. It's activated by a spoken password, not Sorcerer's frippery, so one doesn't have to be Force Sensitive or know Sorcery to use them."

His brows raised at what this implied. If successful, they could market the powers of the Force to the galaxy at large. Even non-Force-sensitives would be capable of wielding them.

"This one has been charged with Force Push. Your Force Push."

[member="Cerita Sarova"]