One More Troubled Soul

[Shalimar]

Shalimar nodded, "I hope so. It just makes a lot of things that may be perfectly reasonable, seem very strange given what I was told, and taught about said subjects." She offered a smile to Elpsis as she watched the atmosphere shift and change as they descended towards the surface.

"I'll get used to it in time. It's just going to be a bit different for a while." This writer wonders too if the feline DNA will create that fun time among cats known as heat. Perhaps this writer will flip a coin. "It looks like an exciting world. A little low on tech, yeah?" She asked curiously.

[member="Elpsis Elaris"]

 

[Elpsis Kerrigan]

[member="Shalimar"]


"The natives are very low on tech, yeah. They're still a couple millennia away from putting a ship into space. The Eldorai are pretty much on par with galactic standard, though, but Santaissa's less polluted than all those Core cities." Elpsis responded. She'd really hated Nar Shaddaa and Fondor.


"I like the wood elves. They live in peace with themselves and the forest, don't go lookin' for a fight but beat the crap out of you if mess with 'em." The redhead's opinion of the Vashyada might be more than a little rose-tinted, but she seemed to have a thing for more 'primitive' cultures.


The freighter descended gracefully from the sky and landed in a hangar bay. Elpsis got out of the pilot seat and sauntered out, with Leo following in her wake, making plenty of noise in the process. "C'mon, babe," the redhead grabbed a duffel bag and slung it over her shoulder, then opened the hatch and stepped down the landing ramp. Soon they'd run into the Eldorai Customs Service.

 

[Shalimar]

Shalimar nodded, "It does show a bit from up here." Her eyes were focused solely on the ground as they got lower in the air, getting ready to land. "That makes sense. Less pollution will be lovely and smell better I imagine. And I always figured busier worlds like Coruscant and the like had just a few too many eyes for my liking." She gave a shrug, "Just felt overly paranoid there, but that might just be me."

Shalimar listened intently as she played with the bottom of her shirt, trying to pull it down a little further to cover her skin. Clearly, she wasn't used to showing off, or maybe it was just a touch colder than Shal liked to be. Either way, she could hardly help it. "Wood elves seem like they'd be interesting people. I always wondered what real forests were like too." She spoke softly, more thinking out loud than anything else. "Cat instincts, go figure. The outdoors, real outdoors has me quite curious."

Slowly she stood up and followed Elpsis out of the ship and down the ramp. Customs wasn't something she'd had to deal with before. Nar Shaddaa wasn't those worlds that cared about such things, and Coruscant was easy enough to sneak through customs without notice. The utter lack of ID might make things a touch awkward. At least that was how Shalimar's thinking had gone on the subject. Now actually on the planet's surface, Shalimar took in a couple of heavy whiffs of the air, trying to get a feel for the different scents of the world. "It does smell rather nice here. It's different, cleaner than any place I've been before really."

[member="Elpsis Elaris"]

 

[Elpsis Kerrigan]

[member="Shalimar"]


"Welcome to New Santaissa. Do you have any goods that need to be declared? All weapons must be relinquished and subjected to inspection," the Eldorai customs officer declared in a tone that radiated bureaucratic officialdom. "All banned items will be confiscated."


There were a couple armed security guards with her. Moreover, the entire station was monitored by holocameras. The Eldorai had always valued security highly and were a bit on edge lately. Customs officials tended to be Sciians with low to moderate Force potential, but specialised training that made them almost immune to standard mind tricks. The tendency of Jedi to sneak past customs with their lightsabres was well-known, for their order was characterised by flagrant disregard of local laws.


"Just a couple weapons. I got a Firemane license," Elpsis responded, putting the duffel bag on the conveyor belt and removing her lightsabre and shatterpistol. The customs officer frowned, but accepted the profferred papers while a colleague inspected the bag's contents.


"Well, it all checks out. Do you have a permit for...your lion?" she crinkled her nose, looking at Leo.


Elpsis sighed. "You know I do," she grunted.


"Nonetheless, the forms must be obeyed. Does she have ID?" at that she glanced at Shalimar, examining her critically. The Cylix growled loudly, unhappy about his prospective mate being scrutinised like this. "Control your lion, if you would."


"Uh, her name's Shalimar. She's a...refugee fleeing patriarchal oppression and wants to accept the embrace of the Great Goddess Ashira," Elpsis declared with a completely straight face. "I rescued her. She's not carrying anything."


The customs officer frowned, looking a bit suspicious. "Really? Does this mean you're her arithrai?" Galactic basic did not have an exact word for the Eldorai term which meant ‘one which went in front of a superior and acted as a legal representative’.


"Yeah, right. Exactly. I'll be responsible for her and make her aware of all the local laws. She just wants a home. Firemane's gonna employ her."


"Well, you know the rules. She will have to fill out the standard questionnaire and submit to a health check to make sure she isn't carrying any contagious diseases. And she'll need to make a petition for naturalisation to have her legal status recognised. If she commits wrongs, it will reflect on you and, by extension, Firemane."

 

[Shalimar]

Now this, this wasn't quite what Shalimar had imagined customs to be like. In truth she hadn't given it too much thought. She couldn't help but feel her heart flutter nervously as she stood behind Elpsis, just watching the interaction and making sure to pay careful mind to it.

She shuffled her feet anxiously as the redhead explained the situation. She wasn't sure who Ashira was, but if that was what got her past this point, and onto the world without much fuss, then she could live with it. She sighed, "No, no ID. That wasn't exactly a priority in mind when I fled. Just getting out alive was the only thing I was thinking about at the time. Not whether or not I had proper identification with me, sorry." She looked to Leo and gave him a gentle pet to try and calm him. They didn't need any more trouble with customs, especially not in the form of Leo.

Hearing the words health check, made Shalimar stiffen. Needles, doctors, well she didn't exactly have the best memories of those. Too many memories flooded her thoughts of pain, misery, and fear while she was subjected to a multitude of Madeline, and Archangel's testing. She closed her eyes, trying to push away those thoughts for just a moment so they wouldn't haunt her further. She wanted to protest, to try and escape this process but knew better. She knew what they were trying to prevent on a logical level, but that didn't help to calm her.

She took in a deep breath, trying to compose herself as best she could as she glanced to Elpsis. "I only want a home, a safe place. I wouldn't dare do anything to jeopardize that here." She said quickly, trying to confirm what Elpsis was saying.

[member="Elpsis Elaris"]

 

[Elpsis Kerrigan]

[member="Shalimar"]


"Ok. C'mon, Shali. We'll get all this worked out soon," Elpsis said encouragingly, giving the blonde's hand a squeeze. The catwoman would be frisked and scanned by a female Eldorai officer, then the two would be led away to a private room by a very big Kar'zun.


The stone people made good guards because they were bloody tough and, moreover, virtually impossible to dominate mentally. Inside, there would be chairs to sit. A moment later, a customs officer would show up and hand Shalimar a questionnaire and a pen.


"You'll have to wait a bit for the medical check-up. A Priestess will be handling it. In the meantime, please fill out the questionnaire, Miss. Your arithrai can help you, but the answers must be your own." Mercifully, it was written in Basic.


The questionnaire contained standard questions about Shalimar's background, family, marital status, skills and education. Moreover, she'd be expected to provide information about her political and religious affiliation. Someone who'd been a member of a criminal organisation, a Sith or a Silver Jedi would obviously...experience a less pleasant reception. She would also have to say if she was a Force-user.

 

[Shalimar]

Shalimar nodded, squeezing Elpsis' hand tightly in return. She couldn't help it as she found herself holding her breath as an Eldorai woman frisked over her body searching for any offending objects, or hidden weapons. In this case, Shalimar had nothing on her but the very clothing she was wearing. She wrung her hands as the stone creature led them off to a more private room.

The idea of any medical exam more than made her nervous. It was just too close to what she'd experienced in the labs of Archangel. Frankly, none of it was feelings she wanted to revisit in the least. Even now the idea made her tremble in fear as they waited.

The blonde led out a heavy sigh as she sat down at the provided table with the questionnaire in hand. Frowning she looked to Elpsis, "I don't know how to explain my background. I don't have a family in any sense. And well, education, I don't think Archangel counts as any institution. I just, I don't have any of these things that I know everyone else in the galaxy has. Everyone has some history. And not the kind of history that involves being a test subject for their lifetime."

Shalimar nervously ran her hands through her hair trying to calm herself as she squirmed in her seat uncomfortably. "I mean, I don't even have a last name. Though, I suppose I do know I'm no Sith, and no Jedi either. Just have that Force thing you talked about." That much she could write down. The rest was a complicated matter.

[member="Elpsis Elaris"]

 

[Elpsis Kerrigan]

[member="Shalimar"]


"Y'know, you can always put my last name down. Shalimar Elaris doesn't sound bad, does it?" Elpsis asked aloud. There was the slightly awkward fact that she wanted to get into Shalimar's pants and ravish her, but, hey, those were just details.


She gently placed her hand on Shali's cheek and caressed, trying to reassure her. The redhead was strongly tempted to just call Auntie Siobhan and ask her if they could skip this bureauctic nonsense. "Look, you'll be fine. I'm here. I'll keep you safe. Archangel gave you some education, didn't they? Even though most of it was propaganda. Just put down...it's you got the equivalent of a, I don't know, secondary school education or whatever. Say you know how to fight. That's always good. Mention you're a Force-user, but untrained and won't use your powers willy-nilly without a license."

 

[Shalimar]

Shalimar seemed surprised as she turned to Elpsis. "I... Are you sure?" She wasn't entirely sure what that would mean for the both of them. If it would cause problems later down the road, but she couldn't go without a surname forever. She needed some connection to other people to prove her identity as remotely credible to anyone.

Exhaling sharply, the hybrid leaned into Elpsis' touch trying to relax in some small part. "I'm just frightened. I don't like this." She bit her lip, hard. "Doctors, needles, stuff like that is the stuff of my nightmares. It just makes me want to flee. I know, I can't do that, but I want to."

She nodded, "I guess it counts as something, for all it was." Shal finally opened her eyes and started to scribble down her answers on the clipboard in her hands. With her answers on paper, and at least sounding remotely believable Shalimar set the questionnaire down. Still feeling uncomfortable, she crossed her arms over her chest and drew her knees up into the chair. She looked fairly catlike perched in the chair, but at least that felt somewhat safer to her just to have her body in a more familiar position. "I've not had to do this before. Nar Shaddaa as you know doesn't have this kind of things. And I snuck around Coruscant's. I don't know what to expect, and that and it require an exam, makes me super anxious."

[member="Elpsis Elaris"]

 

[Elpsis Kerrigan]

[member="Shalimar"]


You know you wanna bang her right? Kinda awkward if she's your sister. Or do you wanna be kissing cousins? Shut up. Elpsis smiled encouragingly at the blonde. "Sure. Totally. We can be, like, cousins, right?" she stroked her thumb acess Shalimar's cheek.


"I ain't keen on needles either," she shuddered a bit, remembering the time she'd spent in Xerexes' torture chamber. "Don't think they'll use a lot of those. Their priestesses aren't that keen on modern medicine." That obviously presented some issues, but Elpsis was not a fan of hospitals and had a bit of a romantic view when it came to more primitive cultures.


"And I'll be there," she waited for Shalimar to fill out the questionnaire, then looked it over, before nodding. If Shalimar chose to stay on Tygara for a longer period and get naturalised, she might have to complete some tests. However, Firemane sponsoring her would make the requirements less arduous and, obviously, make it easier for her to prepare. Nepotism? Definitely, but it was probably better than building a space wall or similar idiotic stuff.


A few moments later, a customs minion entered the room. She scrutinised the questionnaire, then put it away. "The Priestess will see you now. Please follow me. Mistress Elaris can accompany you, if you wish."

 

[Shalimar]

"Cousins. I can work with that." She said finally, enjoying Elpsis' touch. It brought up plenty of warm, comforting feelings that she hadn't felt in a long while. Someone totally needed to fill her in on this thing called flirting as well as sexuality. The droids didn't exactly inspire that in her thus far in life.

Shalimar shuddered herself at the idea of needles. "There were too many of those with Archangel. So many." She shook her head, "I can't stand the thought of anymore, really." Though, she looked oddly to Elpsis as she cocked her head to the side. "Not, keen? I'm not sure I follow. I genuinely thought there was only one kind of medicine. And I thought that involved white lab coats and pain."

She nodded, Elpsis being there seemed to settle her down a little bit. "That would help." Familiar faces definitely would help in her mind.
Shalimar then watched as the minion came back in. She wrang her hands and waited while the woman went over her forms. Though, she did cringe at the mention of the Priestess. She couldn't help it.

She got up slowly and straightened out her shirt, pulling it down to cover as much as she could. It was a nervous habit of hers. "Yeah, I'd like her with me." She said as she glanced nervously back to to the redhead. She took a deep breath before following the customs woman to the Priestess. At this point she was having trouble keeping her breathing steady, and stopping her hands from shaking was an impossible task.

[member="Elpsis Elaris"]

 

[Elpsis Kerrigan]

[member="Shalimar"]


"Great! You'll be my pretty, blonde cousin with super reflexes and awesome legs," Elpsis declared brightly. It was probably a good thing that Shali was still so innocent and could not detect the obvious flirtation. It was doubtful that this would last long though! "There are...some types of medicine that are less sterile and invasive. Folks say it's 'primitive' and 'uncivilised', but they're just being arrogant pricks." It was interesting that Elpsis worked for a megacorporation, but still felt quite distant to 'civilisation'.


Anyhow, the questionnaire was collected and the pair was led to the Priestess. Feeling a bit awkward, Elpsis gave Shalimar's hand a good squeeze and knocked at the door. "Uh, we're here for the checkup," she said a bit awkwardly.


A moment later the door opened, revealing a tall, statuesque woman with raven locks and an imposing bearing. "You are the one called Shalimar?" she asked in somewhat accented Basic. "You have fled to our shores to escape the oppressive, heathen patriarchy, yes? Goddess' blessings be upon you, child. Come in. Demons shall not assail you here. Lie down on the bed." Clearly the Priestess had taken the story Elpsis had given the customs official very literally!

 

[Shalimar]

Shalimar giggled a little, "That works for me." She seemed a little happier, feeling slightly better despite the meaning behind Elpsis' words going completely over her head. She listened as the redhead explained a different kind of medicine that she hadn't know about before now. "That sounds a lot better to me than what I've experienced in my life. I'd much rather that, than what I've gone through before." Knowing about that made her feel less anxious as they walked down the hall.

Shalimar squeezed Elpsis hand tightly in return, not wanting her to leave her side, much less let go. She did jump when the door opened but found her eyes drawn to the Elven woman standing now in front them both. "I... yeah, Shalimar." She finally managed after a moment of silence. It had taken a second more before she realized what the woman had said as she fought her urge to run away. "Yes, that's right." At last proper words that made sense in reply to the priestess.

She took a deep breath, feeling her body tremble terribly as she crossed into the exam room. Her eyes moved to the bed, and she glanced anxiously again to Elpsis for reassurance as she walked over and took a seat. It took her a little longer before she laid down. She was still more afraid than she imagined she'd be at that point. "Sorry, not a fan of physicians. Lots of needles and pain were involved where I came from. Just overly nervous." Perhaps a lot afraid. Shalimar thought to herself as she tried her hardest to relax on the bed.

[member="Elpsis Elaris"]

 

[Elpsis Kerrigan]

[member="Shalimar"]


Elpsis gave Shali an encouraging look that could be translated as 'smile and nod, you'll be ok'. Stretching out with her empathy, she tried to soothe the blonde a bit. Nothing that seemed too invasive to the redhead. If one were to put it into words, one could translate it as 'I'm here, babe, you'll be ok', along with a gentle caress to help calm her anxiety.


The Priestess gave Shalimar a knowing look. "Outside medicine is so...cold, sterile and inhumane. It is like they're being ruled by machines with metal minds." Dramatic irony points intensify. "Here, we treat a woman with the dignity she deserves. You're in the hands of the Goddess and she's a loving mistress."


Gently, she removed Shalimar's top and placed one hand on her forehead, the other in the stomach. "This will not take long. You may feel a slight tingle," she added as she began her examination, drawing upon her Sciia. The blonde may sense the mystical power at work as the Priestess harnessed her inner flame.

 

[Shalimar]

Shalimar caught the look and tried to relax further. Smiling might have been a bit out of the ballpark for Shali at that moment. She was too uncomfortable and concerned for that. The empathy helped a little more as it sank in to ease her anxiety further. She leaned into Elpsis' hand, trying to keep her mind on the more familiar and comforting presence of the redhead.

Shalimar nodded, "It is." She didn't mention Archangel, feeling that would have been better to let that comment slide and say nothing. It was a little too involved to reveal that outside of the people she trusted like Elpsis.

Closing her eyes, she let the woman remove her top. She squirmed a little, not sure where to put her hands and found herself reaching with one for Elpsis. She gave a nod. "Okay." Of course, Shalimar had plenty of bruises to her exposed skin. And there was still a matter of a broken rib or two that was hidden within. Relatively small injuries in her journeys so far, at least she thought so. The tingle she felt almost instantly and took in a sharp breath. She wasn't sure about the sensation, but she exhaled slowly and did her best to hold still and not worry.

[member="Elpsis Elaris"]

 

[Elpsis Kerrigan]

[member="Shalimar"]


"We treat our people well, if they obey the law. Outsiders say our rules are harsh, but they keep the innocent safe and punish the wicked," the Priestess continued. Her tone was soft, but with a commanding edge to it. "You've been through so much pain, child." Her fingers pressed against Shalimar when she touched her exposed skin. For a moment, her eyes seemed to glow with a bright, white light. Far as she could establish, the blonde was not carrying any contagious diseases or infected with something that should be a cause for concern.


"Goddess, extend your blessings to this lost soul. Your handmaiden beseeches you," she spoke in Eldarai. Shalimar would feel the power of the Force flow through her, causing a feeling of warmth. It would spread across her body like wild fire, as the Goddess' magic alleviated her pain and slowly mended her broken ribs.

 

[Shalimar]

Shalimar glanced to the Priestess, her brow knitting together as she did so. She nodded understandingly. "I can get that." She said ever so quietly. Shal closed her eyes and took in another slow breath to steady the nerves. A frown creased her lips hearing the next words from the Priestess. If you only knew everything. Her life had been entirely defined by pain, misery, and loneliness. Her current injuries didn't seem like much when compared to the whole of her life.

The strange sensations and tingling seemed to spread through her body, and Shalimar tensed up in response. It wasn't a feeling she was used to, or completely understood. She finally started to relax as her pain began to melt away. She hadn't expected that, at all. The pains lessened and lessened, especially within her chest where she knew she'd been struck and injured.

It wasn't long before the pain disappeared entirely and Shalimar felt nothing but warmth and comfort. Her eyes snapped open and without moving she looked between the elf and Elpsis, in surprise. This seemed nothing short of magic to her. She'd not been aware the Force could be used in this kind of manner, to heal. She'd only known it as a tool in battles between Jedi and Sith. Though, she was starting to get there was an entirely different side to it that had been hidden from her, by the droids who had raised her.

[member="Elpsis Elaris"]

 

[Elpsis Kerrigan]

[member="Shalimar"]


The Priestess seemed to pick up on Shalimar's surprise. "Sciia is your inner flame, child. Your soul. It can be used to burn, but also to warm and heal. That is the gift the Goddess has given us," she patted the blonde's head, and glanced over to Elpsis. "You found her on Nar Shaddaa?"


Elpsis nodded, happy that Shali seemed to be relaxing a bit. "Yeah, she was being cornered by scum. Beat the thrash up." Needless so say she was not about to mention genocidal, killer robots or genetic experiments with feline DNA.


"Then you did a good deed. That world is a cesspit of iniquity. Goddess willing, it will be purified one day," the Priestess remarked piously. The glow vanished from her eyes as she ceased to actively draw upon her Sciia. "I shall tell the watchwoman that you are in good health and no risk to the populace. May Ashira illuminate your path, Shalimar."

 

[Shalimar]

Shalimar nodded, "I wasn't aware of that before now." Admittedly she'd been a touch more than incredibly sheltered from such knowledge; that was just the nature of her upbringing. But she decided not to go into the details of the hows, or whys of being that sheltered and unknowing about the Force.

She looked to Elpsis, and let her answer as she slowly sat up and picked up her shirt, quickly putting it back on. "It was kind of a mess before Elpsis stepped in to help save me."

Shalimar looked quite relieved at the Priestess' final words. "Thank you, miss." She said politely as she rose from the table and stepped over to Elpsis, who had become quite the comforting figure for her during this whole process. Shalimar might have been getting a little attached to Elpsis at that point. With her natural feline instincts telling her to trust Elpsis, who had protected her thus far and she now considered the young woman as part of her pride. After all, pride members did look out for one another and protect each other. "So, we can go now?" She asked.

[member="Elpsis Elaris"]

 

[Elpsis Kerrigan]

[member="Shalimar"]


"We're almost done, babe," Elpsis spoke encouragingly, beckoning the feline woman to follow her. "They'll want to take a holopic and your fingerprints. Then we'll be off. Hmm. Gotta buy you some clothes." Luckily for Shalimar, she was with Elpsis and not Siobhan. The young redhead liked her pretty things on occasion, but on the whole she was fairly tomboyish and practical. As much as she loved her aunt, she believed that Siobhan was way too fashion-obsessed. Seriously, did she really need that many different pairs of high heels?


So after saying goodbye to the Priestess and thanking her for her blessings, she led the catwoman back to the Customs official. "For the time being, you're cleared...Ms. Elaris," the watchwoman addressed Shalimar. "You know the steps you need to take if you seek to apply for more permanent residence. Your 'cousin' will serve as your arithrai."

Leo, who'd been forced to sit the whole thing out until now, quickly reappeared at Shali's side, nuzzling her hand. He seemed to pick up on the fact that his prospective mate was in better spirits now. This was good, otherwise he'd eat whoever caused her distress. "Please place your finger on the scanner, Miss," she pointed to some sort of fancy scanning device that took your fingerprint.