Out of the frying pan

[Jacen Voidstalker]

Gabriel was sleeping when the legs of the chair made an appealing screech as Jacen dragged it across the floor. He swung it around and placed the back towards the prisoner's bed before straddling it.

The Jedi Master had a thin sheen of sweat across his arms and wore a simple white vest and loose shorts. After thirty minutes of meditation, he had decided to put his body through a strenuous routine to clear his mind.

Chevu had been left with Omai, the battle hardened old Grand Marshall was surprisingly compassionate. Jacen's looks of pity had not been helping the poor naive girl. But now Jacen had the complete story from one point of view. It was time to get the other side.

"Good morning," he called.

 

[Gabriel Sionoma]

The sharp scrape of metal against metal resonated through the room. The dreams of the passing night lingered over Selvaris, the place he once called home. Drifting to thoughts of a grashal, a meeting in the night, and the genocide of a people that followed. Smoke and dust lingering in the early morning sky, the days that followed, it felt haunting a surreal. A body forced through the motions of a constant state of sleep paralysis, those who died beneath the hand of the Vong formed Wrath lingered with the unwilling twin. He couldn't seem to escape those dreams and whether that was a curse or not, he appreciated the certainty of it. When he closed his eyes at night, there were a thousand memories painted in the tint of a nightmare to keep him grounded. To remind him of what he did.

Brown eyes opened to the sound of sharpness in the cool room. Lifting himself from the bed, he placed his bare feet on the metal floor and scratched the scars and tattoos running the length of his forearm. Yawning, he looked towards the Jedi Master and then towards the open view of Sullust, rubbing his face. "The quality of good can be found in everything. Even in mornings like this." He said with an almost indifferent smile, looking back towards the Jedi Master. "We haven't had the pleasure of meeting. Gabriel Sionoma." Groggy eyed, he tried to ascertain the purpose of this meeting before it was announced. But beyond the recent evaluation of Chevu and his entire state of being, there wasn't much he had in common with the Galactic Alliance. He assumed the conversation would rest on one of those two things.

[member="Jacen Voidstalker"]​

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

[member="The Revenant"]

“Jacen Voidstalker,” he said with a slight inclination of the head. He looked to the transparent panel in the walls, trying to decide if that was cruel or not. His own cell had been lined in barren duracrete blocks. Perhaps the view of the moving magma flow was something to distract the mind, perhaps it was outright terrifying.

“I’ve already caught up with [member="Sarge Potteiger"]. I’m here to try and help the Marshalls form an opinion on you. At this point I find your description of Rverance’s mind wipe, and the accidental meeting a little convenient. I was quite surprised when he relayed that information. You must understand this is all very…odd. My immediate concern is regarding whether there have been any compromises of Alliance safety, before we even get to the matter your own circumstances.”

Jacen left a pause. Sometimes it was better to let the other party fill the empty space, than ask the question directly.

 

[Gabriel Sionoma]

"Convenience..." He said with a smile, scratching the back of his neck. "As if the universe cares about interpretation of timing for significant events." He looked towards Jacen, squinting his eyes. "The reflection of convenience falls on the misinterpretation of Chevu's worth." His focal point shifted from the Jedi to the wall behind him. "She has far more ability than she is being given credit for. But that's not what you are here for. You are here for your security. I can understand that. I can appreciate that." He said as he rubbed his face, trying to still wake up. Blinking widely, he picked a bit of sleep from his eye with his pinky.

"I can't give you what you want..." He said slowly. "Not because I don't have the answer. But because you can't trust me." Pursing his lips, he looked back to the Jedi. "Which is appropriate. I haven't earned that, maybe I never will. But I will see if I can help you understand."

Scooting back on his bed, he became selective of his words. "Try and recall your first memory. Perhaps..." He shrugged shallowly. "A warm memory of childhood. Now try and remember something before that. If you can't, then you understand how I value my 'chance' meeting with Chevu." He studied the beds of his nails, pressing at an over grown cuticle. "I didn't get to have memories of my own when I was with Reverance. But that was my memory, not his. So I took it." He looked up towards Jacen. "Reverance doesn't know anything about the Alliance except that it is a name of some group somewhere, ignorant of its purpose."

[member="Jacen Voidstalker"]

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

[member="The Revenant"]

"You didn't get to have memories of your own?" Jacen asked, his expression remaining impassive throughout.

 

[Gabriel Sionoma]

"No." He stated simply. "Everything I experienced, he got to experience as well. Who was in control was entirely on him, what memories I had he actively hid or burned away for his amusement." He paused, thinking. "I suspect that it stemmed from his desire to control me." He looked back to the man. "Any memory I had, he had had access to. Nothing was ever my own."

"Taking that memory was the first thing I ever did...as an independent entity."

[member="Jacen Voidstalker"]

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

[member="The Revenant"]

"I do apologise, you've lost me a little," Jacen said, leaning forwards across his chair. "When you were in control, you both experienced and remember the events, but the Wrath could take those memories from you. When he was in control?"

 

[Gabriel Sionoma]

Gabriel smiled and exhaled. "I'm sorry, I realize it must be confusing. Let me try again."

Holding his hands together, he paused and tilted his head. "We started out as two distinct entities. However, as time went on and his identity was expressed, he began slowly taking over. It started as blackouts and then turned to conscious blackouts, like losing control of your body but still seeing everything going on. So the long and short is that, during his reign over his current empire, I was never in control." He scratched the phantom scar over his eye. "I was perhaps the second thought. That when he raised his hand to kill, or commanded the death of thousands..." He held his hand up, thumb and index so close they might touch. "I was the inkling of doubt. Not enough to do anything. But enough for me to believe I still existed."

"We shared brains but not minds. It wasn't about who was in control of the body but instead, which mind exerted the most will." He squinted in thought. "A virtual tug-o-war, never ending. So he showed me his experiences. Including his murdering of my wife and children, the first time he took control for the display of malice. He showed me because he understood my abhorrence for cruelty, he gained pleasure in manufacturing my discomfort. And when I was with Chevu, he had that knowledge of her for a time. But, as I said, as he could manipulate my memories, I could manipulate his as well...with the strength she gave me and the doubt she injected into him."

He half chuckled, shaking his head. "I don't imagine you can understand or believe that. It seems fantastical when spoken aloud. But it's how I envision the mental game that was my existence for so many years."

[member="Jacen Voidstalker"]

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

[member="The Revenant"]

Jacen looked down at the hard duracrete floor, before looking back up at Gabriel. “So to make this nice and simple for me: your experiences of the external world when something of a passenger to Reverance, were what he allowed you to see?”

 

[Gabriel Sionoma]

"Yes...though he allowed me to see everything." The analogy was simple and fair, though he would have leaned more towards being strapped to a rocket and gagged.

[member="Jacen Voidstalker"]

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

[member="The Revenant"]

"What then makes you certain that he wasn't able to hide anything from you? Were you so close to his mind that he couldn't hide a lie from you?"

 

[Gabriel Sionoma]

Gabriel pinched the bridge of his nose and smirked. He could spend the next few moments describing an elaborate metaphor on how a storm doesn't shield the statue from erosion. How the storm simply is a storm, and some would argue that it might enjoy it's affect. But it was early and he feared the analysis would be lost on Jacen. So he simply smiled and exhaled.

"That's not the way Reverance works. His acts are cruel or they are depraved, there is nothing in between. And since he knows my feelings on such things, he found pleasure in tormenting me. By showing them to me." He stopped. "As for your second question: it's hard to lie when you are given a view of everything in real time." He pointed to the view of Sullust with a sweeping hand. "Does Sullust lie to you when a volcano spits out magma? Just as I could sit here and watch the surface of Sullust change before my eyes ad nausea, without ever really interacting with it, I could do the same thing with Reverance. Only difference being that here, I can close my eyes or look away."

He paused and inhaled slowly. "What can I do to convince you of that?"

[member="Jacen Voidstalker"]

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

[member="The Revenant"]

Jacen sat back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest. His next question was simple. "He could remove your memories, this you've already stated. Is it entirely beyond the realm of your imagination that you might be here because of events he set in motion deliberately?"

 

[Gabriel Sionoma]

"Emphasis on the 'could.'" He stated plainly. "Most importantly, he molested my more foundational memories. Childhood, my wife's murder, my father. All of which I have spent years digging up." He said, dragging his nails across his cheek. "At some point in our life, he wasn't interested in that any more. It takes energy and concentration for such things, to rip them from my grasp, no matter how weakened I might be. Simply put, he could hurt me more by injecting new and much darker experiences than simply removing the few I had when I was in control." He paused, like a bird suddenly sleepy, fingers outstretched against his beard.

"No, I can't disregard that hypothesis. But I have trouble understanding the strategy. That I might still know the delicate details of the One Sith...what value does the Wrath gain?" He jutted out his chin. "When he initiated the transfer, he had every intent of killing me in my new clone body. But the process weakened him beyond prediction. I could have killed him..." Rolling his chin, he looked back towards Jacen. "Do you think he would go through such risk just to plant me here, knowing that I have such detailed knowledge of the One Sith?" He shook his head slightly. "No, the Wrath you all know and the one that exists now are two different things. He'll be reckless now, fixated, and lacking of foresight. He'll dive headlong into a fight just to see what happens. He won't move for the long con, far removed from the instant gratification he'll seek in it's stead.

"He could have had his appearance changed to anything, as he did on Umbara. If he was looking to break into your alliance, or cripple it as you imply might be the possibility, he would have done a much better job than this." His hand held upward to indicate the cell. But it was starting to feel like an asylum, a mad man trying to convince his doctors that he wasn't insane.

[member="Jacen Voidstalker"]

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

[member="The Revenant"]

"Perhaps, I make it my policy to always assume the Sith can construct plots more far reaching and complex than I can fathom. Not being able to see the forest for the three, so to speak," Jacen replied. His posture was more relaxed all of a sudden, his tone more conversational. It betrayed the fact that Jacen had come to several conclusions. "The problem is if you spend all your time seeing the worst case and expecting every action to work in favour of the enemy, you'll end up losing the war through inaction. Operational tempo is critical in winning a war. Your decision cycle has to sit within the enemy's. You have to gather intelligence, make decisions and have the organisation to act on them at a pace they can't live with. Many wars have been lost by superior forces that were too cumbersome," Jacen said. He paused for a moment to double check himself, to ensure he hadn't brought any electronic devices down here with him. He'd been scanned, but it was always prudent to check.

"So...why don't you start with thinking about all those secrets you know. Pick what you think would be the most decisive and damaging action we could take based on your knowledge," he said. Of course, they weren't going to act on that. The third or fourth choice, however, those would be worth testing out.

 

[Gabriel Sionoma]

He placed his hands over his mouth, searching his thoughts about the domain of the One Sith. Decisive would be easy, but effective might be a different thing altogether. In the end, the One Sith wasn't the sort of bed fellow you hit and quit. It would take time, commitment, and persistence.

"Well..." He said, thinking. "During the great disappearance, the One Sith laid siege to multiple planets. One of them being Khomm." He looked towards Jacen. "Reverance is the major controlling entity over that planet. Because he seized control simply by asking for it. Well, and inciting riots over wafers." He held his mouth open, thinking about that day, and shook his head in disbelief. "Since then, the One Sith has used that as a point of departure for expending westward. But their domain, stretching from there to Panatha is...tenuous as best. If you could lay siege, successfully, against Khomm and free it's people from the tyranny of the One Sith, you could also cut off the supply lines to Panatha..." He held out his fingers, counting. "Atrisia, Taloraan, Cuvacia..." He stopped counting. "But..." He scratched the back of his head. "You can't just lead headlong into that. You need a point of departure yourself. Perhaps Fondor or Abragado-Rae. Consolidate your forces there and clean up any bread crumbs. So should the One Sith track you back to said location, the trail ends there. Instead of leading back to Sullust."

He held his finger to his teeth, thumb pressing against his top front. "Of course, you will invariably have to contend with the Covenant of the Black Rose. Whom openly declared war against the One Sith in hidden political discourse. A seemingly failed experiment, one of their leaders, Darth Venefica, spoke ill of the Dark Lord and of the process and declared war for herself and her fellow rose enthusiasts." He exhaled. "Your decisive action is clouded. I fear if anything, you are spoiled for choice. There are many wrongs that must be made right and you stand at the precipice of being able to do truly anything. Perhaps prudence would be the most decisive. Consolidate and when ready, strike."

He paused, as if catching an idea. "Or you could impose a two stage attack. Khomm has the safety of distance from more heavily defended planets but if you took....Dulvoyinn. You could proceed towards Tython, home to the tower of the Eye, the entity second only to the Dark Lord and his direct conduit."


[member="Jacen Voidstalker"]

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

[member="The Revenant"]

As impassive as he had been before, Jacen listened carefully to Gabriel's words. He cleared his throat before continuing. "Two more questions then. Hypothetically you were The Wrath and if you knew you were here with an alliance of free worlds. Would you think striking towards Tython as too bold. It won't be long before they're able to gauge our strength.

"And then...tell me more about this Darth Venfica?" he said. The name was familiar, but he would need to get more details through the Republic again, he supposed.

 

[Gabriel Sionoma]

He smiled and scratched his cheek. "You have the element of surprise right now. But that goes away as soon as you hit Khomm or closer planets." He bobbed his head. "It's hard to say. Striking Tython would be bold but that might be the point." He pursed his lips. "You have the opportunity to make a big splash. Something used or squandered. But as the Wrath, who doesn't know your current location, I wouldn't expect an attack at the heart of the interior of the One Sith Domain." He smiled. "At least not one that would facilitate the production of a stronghold. Pot shots aside, of course."

He leaned back and cracked his neck. "Darth Venefica is a Sith Lord, a Ember of the Vahl if I recall correctly. Similar to the Eye." He didn't really know what Jacen was asking for. "She was primarily a sorceress. Much of her power is predicated on the abstract. Sith magic, sorcery, mind tricks and the like. That's not to say that she doesn't know how to wield a saber or have a specific abhorrence to it. I simply can't recall." Exhaling, he looked up. "She formed the Covenant as some sort of twisted branch, spiraling from the breast of the One Sith. Dedicated towards sorcery and the like. Her personality is...odd. Twisted, arrogant, she felt she was some savior or significant component to the One Sith." He looked towards Jacen. "Like all Sith, pride is their greatest weakness. Though she was a Voice to the Dark Lord. Not a seat easily vacated."

[member="Jacen Voidstalker"]

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

Whilst Voidstalker had a knack for reading people now, he wasn't always the best at concealing his own feelings. His expression turned dark at the description of the Voice who was apparently expanding her influence close to their borders. As if the corrupt Union, and Imperial factions vying for power were not enough.

Jacen shifted in his seat slightly, his tongue running across the top of his gums under his closed lips. "For a moment I was hopeful she could be turned, but what you describe does not sound... conducive to that," he said. There was a pause and Jacen turned his eyes to the floor for a few seconds before looking back up.

"Gabriel, I believe that you believe your explanation of events. This is... going to be a slow process. We need to help you, but you're going to have to be patient. I'm sure we can let you out of here soon, but you'll be escorted and very closely tracked," Jacen said, his voice now soft and low. His mind thought back to how long it had taken him to earn back the trust of the others after touching the dark side.

[member="The Revenant"]

 

[Gabriel Sionoma]

"The taint of the darkside has spread it's roots deep through Darth Venefica. She could proclaim a change, departure from the One Sith meaning something in her eyes." He scratched his cheek. "But I suspect she wouldn't be nearly so appreciative of the prison of Sullust." He looked towards Jacen. "Sometimes, things can't be changed. Sometimes, we make choices that can't undone. And other times, a chance is all that is required. Once again, I don't envy your position or those of the Galactic Alliance. Judgment is never easy."

He inhaled and exhaled loudly. "I welcome the reprieve from this cell, however meager it might be. But words won't convince you, actions are the only true currency of weighing someones worth. I'd like the opportunity to help you in return, if that chance arises." He looked back towards Jacen, view of Sullust in the bakcground. "Thank you for coming to see me Jacen. I appreciate this opportunity for conversation."

[member="Jacen Voidstalker"]