Rains of Dathomir (Sith Wagon)

[Grace Darkson]

Thee ramp lowered slowly onto the Dathomiri soil. It had been too long since she had been here, too long since she had fought the Nightsisters. Here she could find a place to start Jack's teaching, with a group and a faith not dissimilar to her own. Some would argue if he didn't understand the Sith philosophy, he had no business seeing others. But Grace was an archeologist, and had her own views. Other cultures shape your own, as the Jedi and Sith have for millennia. It made sense to show what other orders there were in the galaxy.

And why they were wrong.

Smiling, she felt the woodland crack underneath her feet. "Come now, Jack, I figure we should start you somewhere comfortable." Her smile was unmistakable. "Welcome to Dathomir, home to the Witches who will make you a slave and rancors who will eat you for a snack." The mirth in her tone hid something else. Anger? Regret? It was hard to tell. "The Nightsisters are this way. I suggest you stay close. Stray to far and they'll assume you're fair game."

She paused, seeming confused. A fraction of her mind thought there was someone else she knew. An old student. Hmm. That could be fun.

[member="Jack Anderson"] [member="Cairyn Midore"]

 

[Cairyn Midore]

Dathomir had always had a certain appeal to Cairyn. Was it the Nightsisters? Nah, he hardly had reasons to care about them. The rancors, however, those he was quite a fan of. Why, he could already imagine himself having one as a pet, something to ride into battle, company for his darling Griz. After all, it was hardly fair for him to constantly have some of his pets at his side in his Orbalisks while Griz was left home. He could already think of a name perfect for the most fierce of rancors. One that'd strike fear into the hearts of some. Jiminy.

It was in his aimless wandering for rancors, probably in an area nowhere near where rancors would actually be found, that he saw the two. At first, he was waving enthusiastically. That was Jackie, after all. Probably one of the closets people Cairyn had to a friend, regardless of how Jack felt about it. As recognition dawned on him. That person with the mercenary...was that Chase? The lady that'd headed the Dominion Sith, only to so rudely abandon Cairyn when he had been so ready to learn? The betrayal had hit hard, not as hard as others, but still, he couldn't stand to let someone betray him and live.

Forgetting pleasantries, his lightsaber snapped to his hand, igniting with a tell tale hum drawn out to last as he lunged for the Sith at the same time. There would be no mercy. He had is armor now, for all intents and purposes, Chase was surely a dead woman.

[member="Lady Psyona"] | [member="Jack Anderson"]​

 

[Grace Darkson]

Cairyn. It had to be Cairyn.

It was difficult to recognize the child, all things considered. The armor clinging to his form made him almost seem intimidating. But he was still a child, a brat who needed discipline and to learn his place. There was so much potential, so much trauma to harness and use, but he squandered his life on childhood antics. He had been an impossible student. She'd have to teach him how to be Sith, even if she had to beat those lessons into his skull!

Her eyes narrowed. He had never been worth her time, and now he presumed to be able to take her on. New armor or no, he would pay for this. She flicked her own saber on, the crimson blade slashed upwards to parry Cairyn's strike. He was a waste, and she would make sure he got what he deserved. She lashed out in the Force, clawing at the brat's mind, trying to tear into the child's thoughts and disrupting his concentration. Or maybe even disabling him. Whatever worked.

[member="Cairyn Midore"]

 

[Cairyn Midore]

In his time left to fend for himself, Cairyn never did learn the ins and outs of actual combat. He'd managed to not die when Vjun was attacked, he'd since survived wondering within Dominion space and then wherever public transport allowed. He had endued the Orbalisks as they made their homes of his flesh. With some difficulty, Griz had remained at his side. His pets were the only ones who remained.

So when Cairyn attacked, it was with a blind rage scarcely exhibited by the young boy. There was a ferocity that dictated his movements that was a dark perversion of his usual energy. He swung his blade with little concern for what he hit nor for whatever hits he himself endured. His pets, the Orbalisks that fed off his person, would do their job or they'd all die trying.

Rather, that was the plan. His first trike was parried by his adversary. As he drew back for the second strike the splitting sensation of someone or something clawing at his mind hit him with full force. His strikes lost fervor, turning weak, his focus dissipating as his thoughts were intruded upon.

[member="Lady Psyona"]​

 

[Grace Darkson]

There was a difference between potential to be useful and potential for a Sith. While some beings had the potential for both, like Jack, and only needed nudging in one direction or the other, the later were nothing more than pawns to be moved on a chessboard, weapons to be forged and wielded, only to be thrown aside when they break. Cairyn, for all his pain, hatred, and rage, was the latter. He had no direction, no lust for power. He simply wanted it for the sake of his own pleasure. He couldn't be Sith. Not with what he was.

She drove the Force into the child's mind like a spike, trying to force the child to his knees. "You really thought you could best me, you little piece of bantha fodder?" narrow eyes batted aside his saber like it was nothing. "Even covered with Orbalisks, you're still less than nothing!" Her voice growled, an animalistic noise that seemed to resonate in the Dark Side. "You little karking dziuti iw sora!" The Old Sith rolled off her rage-filled tongue, and she lashed out, aiming to stab at where the orbalisks met his neck.

[member="Cairyn Midore"]

 

[Cairyn Midore]

With Chase digging into his mind, there was no point in keeping up the childish facade that'd defined Cairyn in the public eye. His mind laid bare to Grace's prying, it was all too easy for her to see just how hollow the Teevan was. Every action, every reaction, since well before his leaving his homeworld, was more often than not a mere mimicry of emotion, playing at what he thought would be human enough. As annoying as others saw it, it kept him relatively ignored by the annoying general populace, leaving him to do as he pleased. But Chase had betrayed him and for that, she would suffer. Now if only she'd kindly mind her own business and stay out of his head.

Driven to the ground by the forces outside of his control, he glared up at her. A particularly studious person could perhaps make out a slightly more yellow hue in his already sizable green eyes. "Get out of my head, Chase," Cairyn hissed, voice never actually straying far from its usual childlike tenor. "One way or another, I swear I'll end you." He jerked away, the Orbalisk he referred to in endearment as Beznik taking the blade's blow, giving Cairyn a chance to live another few moments. In retaliate, the parasite dug further into his flesh, ensuring Cairyn wouldn't leave the ground, him doubling over in pain.

[member="Lady Psyona"]​

 

[Grace Darkson]

There was something... adorable to the child's anger. He resented her for leaving. She understood that. Abandonment issues were not something easily overcome, espically when they were reinforced again and again, as the Vahla knew all to well. "Oh, I don't think you will." She responded, the animalistic growl replaced with a quiet, intense whisper. "You're powerless, weak. I know you now, maybe better than you know yourself." She smiled, a wicked look betraying the sadist inside. "And do you know what that means?"

She stepped away from him, letting the child writhe in pain at her feet. No, not a child. A shell. A broken creature who acted immature to throw others off. She understood that now. And pathetic as it was, it meant she could use it. "I don't intend to underestimate you again." Lightning flickerd between her fingers. The creatures he held so dear could be fried off of him, leaving him dying on the dusty surface of Dathomir. But she had a better idea.

"If you want to live, you will serve me. Otherwise, I will kill you, and leave your body to be devoured by the beasts of this world. No one will know you died, and no one will mourn your passing." She smiled. Having access to someone's mind was a great thing. It gave you pressure points to thrust daggers into. "Not even Griz."

[member="Cairyn Midore"]

 

[Jack Anderson]

"Sorry, had ta hang a quick piss."


Jack stepped out from behind a tree zipping up, a cigarette hanging from his mouth, and most importantly, not paying any attention to his surroundings.

He looked up to see Grace and Cairyn ready to murder each other, "Grace? Kid? What the feth are you two doing?


[member="Lady Psyona"] | [member="Cairyn Midore"]

 

[Cairyn Midore]

Cairyn glared up at Grace. Had he the strength, he'd love to lash out, show her just how he wasn't to be taken for a weakling, maybe even do a little dissection in the process. Who did she think she was, getting into his head like that, worse yet, holding it over him like it gave her some great advantage? The instant she let her guard down, he had every intention of being there, making her feel this humiliation tenfold.

"I'll make you pay," he snarled, anger spiking even further at the mention of his beloved Griz. The beast would value her life over his, he knew. She wouldn't hesitate to turn him into a snack should he miss feeding times. That was not a reminder he cared having, nor did he enjoy the way Grace said his darling pet's name, like she was a tool in Grace's game.

Jack's entrance had Cairyn reverting back to his usual state, glare dropping to a blank expression, a grin taking over his features. "Jackie! You're a bit late buddy and geez, don't you know smoking's bad for you? Even I knew that." Grace knew what the Teevan became when pushed, there was no need for Jack to know, too.

[member="Jack Anderson"] | [member="Lady Psyona"]​

 

[Grace Darkson]

"I'm sure you'll try." Grace responded, her hand reaching down to touch the first orbalisk. Lightning pumped into the same creature she had struck, but not enough to kill it, or harm the child, but enough knock the creature out. With the precision of someone used to delicate traps, she pulled the creature off of him, before pumping enough lightning into the creature to kill an Houk. The thing was dead. She didn't know how many more there were, but they would need to come off.

"Jack." The usual energy and mirth was gone from her voice, vanishing like smoke in the wind. "Cairyn's dying. These things," Se held up the fried Orbalisk up, showing it to him, "are called Orbalisks. They're parasites that latch onto a host and feed of them, poisoning them and killing them over time. Most people would take years, but he's a kid." She shook her head. "He may not have a week."

[member="Jack Anderson"] [member="Cairyn Midore"]

 

[Jack Anderson]

"Parasites eh? That's a right nasty lot to be messing with, Cairyn you outta know better than this, that is one nasty way to go."

Jack just shook his head and lit his smoke.

"Usually there's some pills you can take or the doc can cut 'em out be my gut tells me these little buggers are different."

Jack stabbed at them with the smoke.

[member="Lady Psyona"] [member="Cairyn Midore"]

 

[Cairyn Midore]

At first, Cairyn didn't move, uncertain of what Grace was doing. Before he realized what was happening, Beznik was gone, its limbs that had attached themselves to his flesh being ripped from his skin. The pain was felt twice over as the boy felt his Orbalisk friend's death in the force. "What are you doing?!" He exclaimed, voice cracking as it rose in volume. His limbs were shaking both from the pain of Beznik's removal and the weight of losing his beloved friend as he scrambled out of Grace's reach.

"I'm not dying, I'm invincible! Chase, y-you stay away from my friends," his glare returned, mixed with horror as his eyes switched between Grace and Beznik's corpse. "Jackie, tell her I'm fine! These guys protect me!"

[member="Jack Anderson"] | [member="Lady Psyona"]​

 

[Grace Darkson]

All Cairyn got as a response was a glare, the look able to turn most men's blood to stone. Most days, Cairyn's antics would have just been mindless annoyances, but now... Now that she had seen what he was like for real, it was a waste of time. Time none of them had. His claim to invincibility had to be addressed, however. Jack couldn't think that they were beneficial to the kid. "They're some of the ugliest parasites you can get. They duplicate every day, and encase the body until the victim can't breathe. Unless the victim takes certain precautions, they will suffocate in a matter of days, their body covered in the creatures." She shook her head. "Most doctors can't treat them, no. They feed off the Dark Side, and will instantly kill the host if they die. Most hospitals don't know what they are."

"As for his claims to them protecting him, the things are immune to lightsabers, they'll be killed almost immediately by any amount of electricity. Until they die or get removed, they slowly leech a poison into the host's bloodstream, causing their body to deteriorate." She turned to the teen aged psychopath. "Hold still. It's for the best."

[member="Cairyn Midore"] [member="Jack Anderson"]

 

[Jack Anderson]

"For feth's sake Cairyn you got yer self into some real karked up poodoo," Jack let out a puff of smoke. "What you have 'ere is a classic case of a parasitic organism masqueradin' as a symbiotic organism in 'erder to trick you inta letting it feed off of you so it can propagate it's species."

Jack was glad to see that with all the changes in the galaxy at least Cairyn was his usual fragged up self, the kid was still fething crazy but at least he was his own kind of crazy.

"Cairyn, kid, listen we need to take those things off of you, at least until you can learn to control them, and judging by by what Grace says that's probably never gonna happen."

[member="Lady Psyona"]
[member="Cairyn Midore"]

 

[Cairyn Midore]

"But they're my friends!" His voice cut in and out with cracks hardly being his friend. He continued his hasty retreat, arms and limbs still shaking, standing not quite something he was capable at the given time. As if it wasn't pale enough all ready, his complexion lightened, though whether that was from the loss of his friend or the toll of the Orbalisks in a stressful environment remained to be seen. "This is like me killing Jackie and I doubt you'd let me do that so leave my buddies alone! Lemme guess, you're just jealous of all my pets."

He turned to Jack, glaring up at the mercenary. "I have them under control, Jackie, they're just finicky sometimes" he winced as another wave of pain hit him mid-sentence. "And geez, if you're not gonna help, stay outta it. Don'tcha know second hand smoke is a thing?"

[member="Jack Anderson"] | [member="Lady Psyona"]​

 

[Grace Darkson]

Well, that was about what she expected. Jack was no scholar, but he knew the wilds. It made sense that he understood that element to the creatures. She could imagine Cairyn had expected the man to take his side. After all, they were closer than she'd expected them to get, either by miscalculation or simple luck. Still, it was what it was. She'd need to rip that apart when she got the chance. Of course, that was assuming Cairyn gave her the chance.

His comment about Jack didn't surprise her. He didn't see other sentient beings as people. To him, killing his so-called 'friends' was like killing a person, although whatever had convinced him that the parasites were friendly in any way was beyond her. She frowned at his continued scampering, noting him going pale. Shaking her head, she closed her eyes.

"Fine. The hard way it is."

She drove the Force into his consciousness like a spike, hoping to knock him out quickly and quietly.

[member="Jack Anderson"] [member="Cairyn Midore"]

 

[Jack Anderson]

"All right kid you win, I'll put out the cig."

Jack realised that Cairyn wouldn't listen to any sort of sense, he was far to wild to just take any orders, he was an animal and he would have to be taught like one. Jack flicked his cigarette butt at the ground and his perception of time slowed to a crawl, yet he was not sluggish. He reached down and pulled his blaster, a SoroSuub Security S-5, and set it to stun, letting a hail of bolts fly Jack threw himself at Cairyn, ready to force him into submission.


[member="Lady Psyona"]
[member="Cairyn Midore"]

 

[Cairyn Midore]

"Good, it's about time someone listens to me."

Cairyn didn't stand a chance against either's actions, even if he wasn't dealing with both at the same time. He stopped mid-scramble as he saw the flurry of movement that Jack presented. Eyes widened between large, slightly smudged frames but any other action was lost as the stun bolts hit their mark. Almost immediately in response, Cairyn's body slumped in a heap on the ground, glasses falling off his face as his head met ground.

Though currently unavailable to the world, Grace's mental attack ensured there would be no chance of him miraculously rejoining the present. For the time being the Teevan was a limp pile of skin, bones, and Orbalisk. Perhaps for the best, if Grace was holding true to removing his pets.

[member="Jack Anderson"] | [member="Lady Psyona"]​

 

[Grace Darkson]

As Cairyn collapsed to the ground, Grace simply smiled, slow, careful steps carrying her to stand next to the unconscious thing. "Right." She muttered, just loud enough to hear. She'd have to help him. While she could simply let him die, or electrocute him should the need arise, she had to at least pretend to care. Or did she?

"You know..." She began, turning to Jack. "If we leave them on him, and just let him go, we may just be rid of him." She paused, looking down at the kid. Even as she said the words, some part of her deep down regretted them. She'd grown soft in the Dominion, let herself care about others, even this pathetic excuse for sentient life. "He'd never come after us again, and if he did, well..." The energy crackled through her fingers, the thought giving new rush to the idea. "If they die while still attached, the Orbalisks dump their poison, taking them with." A twisted smile crossed her face. "Call it insurance."

[member="Cairyn Midore"] [member="Jack Anderson"]

 

[Jack Anderson]

"Aye, we could do that, or we could, ya know, just also not murder him."

Jack lit up another smoke since Cairyn was no longer to complain about it.

"If I knew that was yer plan the blaster would'a been pointed at you and not him, anyway, the kid's knocked out, let's just get those creepy crawlies off him before he wakes up."

[member="Lady Psyona"]
[member="Cairyn Midore"]