Private Murder Inc.

[Inanna Harth]

Inanna crossed her arms over her chest and turned away from the others, thinking. She really, really didn’t want to relive those memories. In fact, she’d suppressed a great deal of it. But if it would help to root out the Fleshtakers, and if it would just take a few minutes…

“Fine,” she said. “Get it over with quickly.”

Kahlil would find her mind shockingly easy to enter. She had none of the mental barriers associated with Force Sensitives. To put things bluntly, she was weak-minded. This flaw had caused her a great deal of suffering and trouble over the course of her life.

Closing her eyes, she recalled the events of two years ago, when she had been abducted and brought to the bowels of Freehold Arctrius for conditioning. They had succeeded in replacing her consciousness with a crafted personality that was corrupted and loyal to them.

Luckily, before they had a chance to truly unleash their little science experiment on the Shi’ido populace, Professor Nimdok had shown up with Starlin Rand and his apprentice Eliphas Dune. They defeated the Mawites and rescued her. With Nimdok’s help, Eli had gone into her mind and brought her back.

She had returned home that night to her husband and children. Within a year, they would all be dead…

“Are you finished?” Inanna demanded in the present, flinching against the traumas of her past. One bad memory led into another.

Kahlil Noble​

 

[Kahlil Noble]

Kahlil frowned, briefly. All he could hope was that the Shi'ido weren't all this easy to access, less that meant more of these Fleshtakers might be around than originally thought. He stayed surprisingly calm through the waves of dark memories, the calm smile on his face never wavering. At least, until he saw the memories that it wasn't these people who had helped her, but Jedi.

A Padawan no less.

He pulled his hand away, after the memory of Eliphas helping her. This was already more intrusive than he'd like, but it served it's purpose. The conditioning left it's own scars, though the memory of those sorts of scars weren't the same as the fresh ones those conditioned might have.

Yet they had a while different path opened up for them.

"Are you still in contact with the Jedi who helped you prior?"

Inanna Harth

 

[Inanna Harth]

Inanna sighed in relief as Kahlil left her mind alone, reaching up to rub her forehead.

“The last I heard, Eliphas was in a coma. And Ari—Nimdok was killed at Tython.” She’d nearly called Nimdok by his Shi’ido name, forgetting that wasn’t how he was known to the Jedi.

“Did you find what you were looking for?”

Kahlil Noble​

 

[Kahlil Noble]

Nimdok was dead?

Kahlil hadn't known the man, but he had heard of him. He didn't know the man had died on Tython. Too many were lost on Tython, and all he could offer was a solemn expression. But that wasn't the only bad news. Eliphas was in a coma. The Padawan was the one who healed her, right? Without his input, a lot of this might not even matter. He closed his eyes, thinking for a moment longer before finally answering her.

"What of Starlin? I think I might've found something, but it's only your memory. The more examples I can, the more I can piece together."

Inanna Harth

 

[Inanna Harth]

“Starlin wasn’t involved in the telepathy stuff. It was just Nimdok and Eliphas.”

Kahlil Noble​

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"Oh. Well. Fuck then."

So much for that idea. Kahlil frowned deeply, closing his eyes as he again drifted into his head to think. There had to be something more he could do, without needing their points of view. Nimdok was.. There was no contacting the dead, short of them being a Force Ghost. Was he- No, he didn't know the man enough to even try to reach out. Eliphas was the only one that could help. When he wasn't in a coma.

".. I'll see what I can do with just your memories, but I doubt I'll be able to pick anything up at a glance. Not without what Eliphas found himself when they healed you."

Inanna Harth

 

[Inanna Harth]

“Alright then.” Inanna clasped her hands in front of her. “Where should we start?”

“Try a heavily populated area,” the left Benandanti suggested.

“Or a place where you have reason to suspect a Fleshtaker might be in,” the right added.

“Search the whole camp, just to be sure,” the middleman finished.

Kahlil Noble​

 

[Kahlil Noble]

Kahlil let out a nervous sort of laugh, glancing through the four. "I can give it a glance, yeah, but like I said, I don't think I'm going to find someone on my own with just this one memory. I'd either need to compare it to other Fleshtakers, get lucky and find one before they turn, or hope that Padawan Eliphas wakes up from his coma soon. .. Is there a place you have that's a guarded secret? That people know exists but not where? Can always let a false location slip and see if anyone turns up."

Inanna Harth

 

[Inanna Harth]

“I can’t think of any place like that,” Inanna said. “We don’t have enough space as it is. If there was anything left over, it would’ve been used by now.”

She glanced at the Benandanti for good measure, half wondering whether they would reveal that they did possess a secret location, but the trio of telepaths said nothing. This whole affair was shaping up to be a real shitshow.

“Look,” she began, hiding her exasperation. “If you want to go see Padawan Eliphas, then come back—”

“There is one other former Fleshtaker that we know of,” the middle Benandanti spoke up. “He recently returned to us in very poor condition. We were reluctant to mention him because of this. But if you need another Fleshtaker to be able to root them out, we will take you to him.”

Kahlil Noble​

 

[Kahlil Noble]

Going to see Eliphas was probably the best bet, but before he could even voice is agreement the Benandanti spoke up. Kahlil blinked, glancing to the man, then to Inanna. "It would help, but if he's in a fragile state it would do more harm to him than good."

Inanna Harth

 

[Inanna Harth]

“Physically poor condition,” the Benandanti elaborated. “His mind will always bear the scars. Come.”

He gestured for them to follow as he led them down a corridor, around a corner, and finally into a small, plain chamber reminiscent of a monastic cell. Seated on the bed was what could only be described as a mothman.

“This one calls himself McGill,” the middle Benandanti said.

“Well, well. How could I ever forget a name like that?” Inanna remarked, crossing her arms over her chest. “What made you decide to come back this time?”

McGill batted his insect eyes innocently. “I wound up at this place on Coruscant. Sanctuary for Sithspawn who want freedom from their masters. Only one of them was a master, and she was controlling a whole bunch of the other ones.” He blinked again, slower this time. “Including your brother.”

Inanna’s lips parted in surprise. Most of her brothers were dead. “Hieronymus?”

“No, of course not. The one your daddy adopted.”

“Pygar,” Inanna whispered. “When exactly were you planning on telling me this?”

“Soon as I got out of this joint. Which, by the way—what the hell is going on up there? I heard thirty people got whacked this morning.”

“We have it under control.”

“Thirty people getting whacked in a single day sounds like the opposite of control to me, sweetheart.” Spreading out on the bed, McGill reclined on his side, fanning his fuzzy wings. “So, I take it you didn’t come down just to say hi. What do you want?”

“Jedi Master Kahlil wishes to look at your mind,” the middle Benandanti explained.

McGill shot up. “Jedi? Jedi!”

Kahlil Noble​

 

[Kahlil Noble]

Sanctum of Sithspawn on Coruscant?

Kahlil stared blankly. There was a lot more information given out in the small conversation than he expected. Some more worrying than others. Thirty people dead. Sithspawn Sanctum on Coruscant. He pushed those back for a moment, instead offering McGill a kind smile. "If that would be alright."

Inanna Harth

 

[Inanna Harth]

“No way! Get him the hell away from me!” McGill exclaimed, pointing toward Kahlil.

“It’s for the good of the camp,” Inanna insisted. “No—it’s for the good of all surviving Shi’ido.”

“I don’t give a damn about the Shi’ido! I stick my neck out for nobody!” But McGill didn’t sound fully convinced of his own convictions.

“It would take only a few minutes. He did the same thing to me.”

“If he did it to you, why’s he need to do it to me?”

“For extra data. Like in an experiment—you can’t base your conclusions on a single result. You have to do several tests to make sure it isn’t a fluke.”

“You aren’t a Mician. You don’t know how weak our minds are!”

“My mind is even weaker than yours,” Inanna replied, her voice wavering as she grew frustrated and upset. “Enough of this. Is it really so hard for you to submit to a test? Do you realize how many lives you could save by simply sitting still and letting him examine you?”

McGill hesitated, avoiding her gaze. He knew about what had happened to Inanna Yomin’s children. Everyone in the camp knew. A Fleshtaker had hidden the bomb on her personal ship, a Fleshtaker who still remained at large...

“I… uh… okay,” he muttered. “Just… make it quick, all right?”

Kahlil Noble​

 

[Kahlil Noble]

Kahlil listened to the exchange with an uncertain and nervous smile. He was fully prepared to step back and walk away the moment the man freaked out on who he was. He wasn't here to force anyone to let him help, let alone enter their very minds. His smile faded to a frown as the man seemed to relent. And the Jedi didn't move.

"You don't have to. I'm sure I can find another way."

Inanna Harth

 

[Inanna Harth]

“He’s going to. Isn’t he?” Inanna asked sternly.

“Yeah, yeah!” McGill replied irritably. “Just get it over with, Master Jedi.”

His mind bore similar scars to Inanna’s, but they were not the same. For one, McGill was one of the first Shi’ido to be taken and turned into a Fleshtaker. Months of torture, both physical and psychological, had culminated in his “breaking” at the hands of the Taskmasters.

Refashioned into their tool of subterfuge, they let him go. He had lived for months as a double agent, a Shi’ido rebel harboring a deadly secret. But it only came out when he reached the refugee camp at Erakhis, and a voice in his head told him to kill one of the few surviving commanders of the rebel army.

Commander Enkidu had survived the stab wounds McGill inflicted on him. He was charged by the Erakhian government for assault with a deadly weapon. The Benandanti did what they could for him, but before he knew it, he had been shipped off to Azrael Asylum For the Criminally Insane on Coruscant—just in time for the Mawite invasion of the planet.

His next few memories were a scramble of escaping the facility during the attack, wandering the underworld, and eventually encountering the Sith from the Sithspawn Sanctorium—but that was going too far ahead. Kahlil just needed the scars from his breaking, not his whole life story.

Kahlil Noble​

 

[Kahlil Noble]

Well now he was roped into it.

Kahlil let out a sigh, but closed his eyes and raised his hand regardless. Scanning through the memories as they were revealed to him. So they refined the process over time? That made sense, but to think this was just a recent development.. The Jedi opened eyes, pulling his hand away to step back. He said nothing, just nodded to Inanna.

He still wanted to speak with Eli, but this might be enough for him to at least scan through the crowds.

Inanna Harth

 

[Inanna Harth]

“Well?” Inanna asked as soon as Kahlil appeared to finish. The Jedi Master was being weirdly quiet, to the point where she was beginning to wonder if he really cared about any of this. “Did you find anything useful? Is it enough to work with?”

Kahlil Noble​

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"Enough to get started." Kahlil frowned a little. Seemed she didn't understand his nod? Or was he supposed to say something? His gaze traveled to the man who's trauma he'd just viewed as if it was a badly edited movie. Should he say something? Was there anything to say? He sighed.

"Thank you for your time."

Inanna Harth

 

[Inanna Harth]

McGill sniffed. "Don't mention it. Just go on and get these guys before they can do any more damage."

"Safe journey," the Benandanti added.

Inanna, feeling frustrated for reasons she couldn't quite explain, silently led the way out of the room, down the hall, and back to the submersible. She was quiet all the way back to the surface, though she did steal a few glances toward the Jedi Master accompanying her. Her gaze wasn't exactly friendly.

It wasn't any specific thing he had done to upset her. She just didn't like his attitude. Jedi were supposed to be serene, but this guy seemed detached to the point where he was lacking in empathy. Granted, seeing the state of the camp, hearing the horror stories, and even witnessing the memories of former Fleshtakers had to be exhausting. But he had shown no emotion even while he unspooled some of her most traumatic experiences, viewing them like a reel of film. She couldn't help but wonder if the camp and the problems of the people in it were little more to him than a puzzle he needed to solve in order to receive a promotion, or something along those lines. Maybe he was doing this out of obligation.

Even if that was the case, she supposed she should at least be grateful for the help. But he was no Alicio Organa , that was for damned sure.

When they were back on dry land, she finally spoke again. "We're right in the heart of the camp. Can you sense anything from here?"

Kahlil Noble​

 

[Kahlil Noble]

Ah, turmoil.

Kahlil kept a calm expression as they walked through the camp, his gaze shifting over all those around him. The noticeably taller man stood out. Inanna had made it clear from the get go nobody wanted the Jedi's help, but her constant glares his way only made him more worried that he'd done something to offend her.

Despite trying to do the opposite.

He let out a sigh, his eyes closing as they continued to walk. He could walk with his eyes closed, that was easy enough. It helped him focus. And better ignore the sharp glares from the woman beside him.

But it was too much. For a moment the expression slipped to a pained grimace. So many feelings, so much turmoil around him. People missing their homes, people missing those lost. People hating the Sith and Jedi for their wars that pulled them into it. He was an outsider. While he could see their pain and torments, it wasn't his place to give sympathy as if he was the one who'd gone through it.

The turmoil of an entire refugee camp who's surface thoughts he was scanning through in an effort to find hidden dangers and opening himself to all their troubles was a bit too much for him regardless. He hid the grimace behind a hand, slowly rubbing over his brow to pull his thoughts back to a center. Separate himself from what he, no, they were feeling.

".. So many have gone through too much. Ah, can we sit a moment?" He flashed Inanna a smile.

Inanna Harth