Private Questionable Affairs

[Judah Lesan Jr.]

Kyra should have known by now she did not need pheromones to convince JJ to help her. She still fell back on them, though by now JJ was also used to her using them. He could not say he had built up a tolerance to them. Force knew she could get under his skin if she wanted to. The quarter Zeltron certainly was potent enough to make JJ squirm if that was ever her intention.

He tried pushing their effects out of his mind, but their bond added to their potency.

Taking her bandaged arm, Judah smiled.

"First thing is first," he said as his eyes closed and the force wrapped around the wound. It would take about a minute, but Kyra would soon feel the bones knitting themselves back together. There was no point in waiting for the Bacta shot to work when there were those adept at healing around. JJ wasn't the best, but he could do in a pinch. That was Cambria's influence on his training.

"So let's get this straight," JJ began as he let go of the arm and pulled Kyra close for a hug. If she didn't want the contact she should not have made the pheromones so strong. "You want me to help you bust a Sith out of here, one that you caught trying to steal information, and that you had to stop, breaking your arm in the process?"

It was certainly a situation Kyra would find herself in.

"You are going to get me in a lot of trouble one of these days," he said indicating for Kyra to lead the way. "You owe me a million times over by now, you realize this don't you?"

Kyra Perl | Bryn Celli Ddu

 

[Kyra Perl]

Kyra yelped, shaking out her healed arm. It didn't matter how often Nida Perl had healed her in a pinch, it was still weird to her! Unnatural, really. But only because she couldn't do it herself.

"Nooo, you're gonna help me break their mind so its working right again so then we can bust em out of here legally. She needs help," Kyra whined, bringing him to the door with her. She paused there, her gaze wide and pleading as she waited to make sure he really understood her here.

"We need to bring her back. The real her. The sith can't have her. They're horrible to her. She can't go back, I promised!"

And it was only after he showed he understood-- and she felt his solemn respect for her wishes through the bond, that she opened the door and lead him in.

Bryn would be found chain with one ankle to a chair. A screen was open in front of her, showing the missing children's report from a younger version of herself. The swelling black eye that Kyra sported would suddenly make sense, the sith before clearly Cyborg-- a stark difference to the picture on the screen.

It would be pretty obvious what had been done to her.

 

[Bryn Celli Ddu]

It wasn't like Bryn had an internal chronometer or anything so she had no idea how long she was left alone in the cell. In that time though, she had memorized the content of the missing person's report and now just sat looking at the closed door.

Questions were in her mind and she wondered what could have happened to take her memory away from her early life. All the woman knew was being a tool for the Sith and a weapon for Vanessa. Bits and pieces had broken through the block that was in place, but they weren't enough for her to put the puzzle together.

Hearing conversation on the other side of the door, the sithling tried to listen. The door was thick and the sounds were just muffled muttering. She couldn't hear anything clearly. Growing, she out her one foot forward and leaned back in the chair. Staring at the ceiling until the door opened, her eye fell on the Padawan and looked at the man she had brought with her.

One cybernetic eye and one natural assessed him silently for a moment before she turned her attention back to the Jedi.

"This is your friend I assume?"

There was no emotion in her tone, but it was a clear question.

Kyra Perl Judah Lesan Jr.

 

[Judah Lesan Jr.]

JJ sighed. She wanted him to break the woman's mind. Kyra knew it was a dangerous thing she was asking, and a mind was not broken without considerable risk, and often permanent consequences.

"You know what you're asking me to do?"

Of course she did. Kyra had nearly broken Judah without meaning to, and while Judah was more skilled, it was still going to be difficult. Kyra would not relent, nor did she let them move on until he agreed, so what choice did JJ really have. He nodded, and followed Kyra into the room only to be met with another surprise.

The woman was a cyborg. It was just going from bad to worse in regards of the risk involved. JJ shook his head.

"I'm Judah, and while she promised to help, well... hopefully she didn't overstate and overestimate my skill."

His eyes fell to Kyra, a message pressed into her mind alone.

"You did not tell me I was dealing with a cyborg. Kyra, I might kill her."

He needed Kyra to understand. Turning back to the woman in front of him he spoke again.

"You need to understand there is a lot of risk here. You might be fine when I'm done which is least likely. There may be some permanent damage, and at the worst, I totally kark this up and you die. You sure you still want to go through with this?"

Kyra Perl | Bryn Celli Ddu

 

[Kyra Perl]

Kyra hit him in the ribs. 'Shuddup! Why would you tell her that!'

She shot him an evil side eye, stepping forward to try and curb the damage. "He has no bedside manner. He's not gonna break you or I'm gonna break him! Not that it matters, her memories aren't lost-- I touched them myself! All we want is for you to bring as many of them as you can back-- safely. Or I swear you can sucker punch him too," she promised the girl, looking back over to her.

From what Bryn knew of her, she'd be able to tell she meant it.

"No damage. No hurting. Helping, only helping. If it gets to that point we stop. Period." Stepped towards Bryn, a desperate plea in her gaze.

"That sound good?"

 

[Bryn Celli Ddu]

She was free to stand up, though she could not travel anywhere. Meeting the gaze of the man, Bryn listened to what he had to say and just let a breath out through her nose. Waving her hand just slightly, the sithling, raised it to her head and thumped it a couple of times before lowering it back down to the table.

"My mind is my own. Only my eye and boned are cybernetic, Mister Judah. My name is Bryn Celli Ddu though judging by that datapad, it was Celeste."

The finger that that had thumped her head, shoved it in his direction to look at.

"If what that girl discovered is true, then my mind was already broken. The way I see it, the worst that can happen is I die. Nobody will miss me. Certainly not the Sith."

Watching the exchange between Kyra and Judah, she focused on the teen when she spoke.

"I can do that now if you want."

Saying this with almost no emotion, there was no heat in the offer. Bryn would punch him if permission was given and not feel bad for doing it. A nice bruised eye showed on the girl's face and no apology had ever come from the cyborg. Giving her a rather flat look to go with her tone, she resumed her seat and shrugged her shoulders.

"Whatever happens...happens."

Judah Lesan Jr. Kyra Perl

 

[Judah Lesan Jr.]

JJ gasped as a sharp elbow came into contact with his ribs. He shot a look to Kyra who immediately began to protest about his honesty. Naturally she felt she needed to apologize for his words, but Judah was not going to proceed unless the truth of the situation was known to all. This was a delicate thing, unlocking someone's mind, and if JJ was not careful the damage could be catastrophic.

"You want me to pretend I can just do this without any risk? I can't do that. You know what almost happened to me when all your emotion and memories flooded my mind. She's not the only one at risk you know. It's a risk I'll take, but only if she is aware that there is risk for her too. You had to know what you were asking of me, Kyra."

Judah did not often call her by name, and the two could squabble like an old married couple at times. Their dynamic was an interesting one, and JJ simply shrugged it off. He knew what it was like to be connected to someone, and while they were bonded, he tried not to read into it. There was only one thing JJ kept close to his heart. She needed him, he needed her. Kyra was always afraid of losing him, and yet they always found themselves in situations where that was a possible outcome. This one was no different.

His attention turned back to the woman.

"I promise I am going to do my best to keep that from happening... just uh... try to relax," the last he said pointing to her shackled situation. Normally Judah would have released her, but for the sake of what he was about to do... it was actually beneficial.

"Ready whenever you are then," JJ looked over to Kyra, he pressed a thought to her mind. "If things look like they are going poorly... sever the connection any way you have to."

Kyra Perl | Bryn Celli Ddu

 

[Kyra Perl]

Kyra grew a little pale. She didn't like the tone either of them took. So doom and gloom and expecting the worst. This would be fine. So fine. Nothing bad would happen, and why would it. She trusted in JJ completely. He'd feel that trust radiating through her as she nodded to him.

It was agreement on all things. The mental warning, and the permission to move forwards.

The hair on her arms stood on end, her mind growing more open as she tried to stretch out her senses and grow more aware. Towards what, she wasn't entirely sure. This was new to her. She refused to be frightened.

"Let's do this," she whispered, her voice tight and determined.

 

[Bryn Celli Ddu]

The only tone Bryn had used was of determination though her words might have been dour. If there was one thing that came out of the exchange between the two Jedi, it was she finally learned the name of the teen. It wasn't much, but it was something. Her name was Kyra.

Some assurances were given that Judah would do his best not to mess her up worse than she already was and the sithling just nodded. Being told to relax, that statement was greeted with just a flat, emotionless look. Still, without emotion coloring her words, she looked at Judah and motioned to the room around them.

"I wouldn't exactly call this a place to relax in."

Something would be made easier for him to accomplish though. Kyra had already knocked something loose in her mind. She had seen lost memories and the cyborg didn't know what you make of them. At the moment, any mental defenses she had were pretty much shattered and getting into her mind wasn't going to be too difficult.

"As I so nicely put it earlier to Kyra, do it before I change my mind, you fool."

Insults aside, she was serious in her statement.

Kyra Perl Judah Lesan Jr.

 

[Judah Lesan Jr.]

JJ simply nodded. There was nothing else for him to say or do except get on with why he had been called there. The cyborg needed some work on her bedside manner. Calling someone that was about to fish through your mind a fool wasn't the smartest of things one could do. Fortunately for her, JJ had a better handle on his feelings and impulses these days. When he was younger, he likely would have messed with personality, or planted some kind of trigger in her mind to keep the woman from treating people that way.

For now, it was going to be enough to free her mind from whatever conditioning was there. It bothered him that Kyra did not seem to understand how delicate and how dangerous of this task this was. If JJ did one thing wrong... Yet, she trusted him. Completely. He could feel the trust emanating from her. Usually JJ was the one calming her with some form of his presence. This time she was the one pushing him along, giving him the confidence he neede. Funny how quickly the mentee started to behave like their mentor.

His mind reached into that of the woman, searching for the block. All he needed to do was make enough cracks for the woman's mind to finish the work. One by one he identified them, and one by one he weakened their structure. He needed to be out of her mind before the rush of old memories, old thoughts, broke the dam holding them back.

Slowly JJ retreated from her mind, and when he was finished his eyes opened.

"The rest is up to you," he said. "The dam is weak. All you need to do is punch through it!"

He looked to Kyra.

"This is where we find out if I messed up or not..."

Kyra Perl | Bryn Celli Ddu

 

[Kyra Perl]

Kyra tried hard to pay attention, her attention locked solely on Bryn, unblinking. "How do you feel?" She whispered to the girl, taking a cautious step forward. She wanted to reach out and take Bryn's hand, but the force warned her otherwise as the poor thing was left wavering against the confines of her mind.

For a moment, Kyra felt helpless. And then an idea hit her. She grabbed the report and brought it over to her friend, holding the hold picture of her up before her eyes.

"It's yours now. You only have to reach for it. Try, Celeste. Remember who you are."

 

[Bryn Celli Ddu]

A single crack had already been formed in the block in her mind. With the additional probing done by Judah pretty much, everything shattered. Everything was done faster than Bryn even knew. Bits and pieces fell into place and the lies that had been told to her by Vanessa brought up anger. Then sadness. There was hardly any need for the sithling to punch through anything. The small sliver that had Kyra had done and the work her friend had done finished the job.

Her hands were not bound and as the anger rose to the surface, she lashed out with a harsh punch aimed at Judah. In a way, this was done blindly as tears streamed out of her natural eye and down her face. At the moment, the normally calm woman...well calm for a Sith, wasn't doing very well at keeping her emotions in check.

Not looking at the two of them, she instead looked at the palms of her hands as the tears continued. Sobbing quietly, she was actually shaking and her hands had a tremor to them. As if she could see the blood on her hands she just stared at them through her tears.

"What have I done?"

Life for her had been wonderful. She had a father and mother that had loved her deeply and had worked to take care of her. While her life might not have been one where she would have grown up to be famous or anything, it at least would have been something stable and secure.

Staring forward in almost shock, her gaze was bleary and clouded, but she saw the datapad in front of her. Kyra held it and she did reach out for it. If she was able to hold the datapad without dropping it, she would and she shook her head.

"I can't go back to what was. But I can maybe make a new future for myself."

Attempting to focus on the girl, one eye was able to and that was the cybernetic one.

"You said my mother never gave up. After six years or so and everything I have done, do you think she can forgive me? Would you welcome a murderer to your dinner table? Somebody that can easily strike at an almost helpless girl and one that has no issue taking lives?"

Memories were what had been returned, but not her entire former personality. Some certainly had and she knew that some of what she had done would be considered wrong. It was all too soon for all of her morals to have come back. Those were going to need some work. When she had been taken, she was still learning did not entirely understand just what she needed to know.

Judah Lesan Jr. Kyra Perl