Shadows of the Past

[Mirien Valdier]

Mirien sat quietly for a minute. "Just a moment or two more, I think." She said quietly as Siobhan released her from the embrace. Right that second, she still herself felt like walking without stumbling would have been too much to ask of herself.

"And thank you for that.." Mostly honest, I've been mostly honest... In truth she wasn't sure exactly how much of her memories were transferred over, but knew well enough it was a lot. One way or another, a few details were bound to haunt her eventually. With her luck, sooner rather than later.

Another few minutes, Mirien let pass them by trying to gain what energy she could. Something told her she should wait, but in truth, she'd never been good at waiting. Finally she rose to her feet and with care walked to the bed, making sure she was steady. It certainly didn't feel it, but none the less she had given her word, and she was going to see that through.

"I highly suggest you lay back, Sio." She said firmly. For there was no telling how this was going to play out for either of them. With a sigh, she took a seat upon the bed, and reached a gentle hand out to Siobhan's head. "Just relax, let me in." Spoken softly, "I won't hurt you. You've my word on that." She promised as she started gently to reach within Sio's mind.

Once inside, a sea of fragments seemingly endless floated about. Broken, shattered pieces of memories, and for a moment, Mir wondered if that was what her mind looked like after her accident, or if this simply was just the result of the Sith's work. Sliver by sliver, with the utmost care Mirien started to piece together every last memory she could. Always seeking another piece to the extremely complex puzzle of Siobhan's last few years. The strain grew rather obvious outside her mind, with sweat beading upon her forehead, and her hands trembling ever so slightly. But she was far too determined to let that get to her. Someone she cared about, would in no way suffer the same fate if she could help it. Her breathing quickened as her efforts intensified, taking far more of her energy than she'd ever dreamed for.

[member="Tegaea Alcori"] [member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Mirien Valdier"], [member="Tegaea Alcori"]


"I know," Siobhan said softly as Mirien ordered to lay back, which she did, then felt the gentle hand of the former Inquisitor touch her head. The hands that she now knew had murdered and tortured. Broken those like her until they were willing slaves of a totalitarian Empire. Sometimes quite literally broken them piece by piece.


A flash of the grim, foreboding halls of the Inquisitorial Citadel on Atrisia appeared in her mind. The corridors were dimly lit, with the only illumination being provided by archaic candles. Yet there were cameras everywhere and one could not shake off the feeling that one was being watched. Then in a flash a mysterious dark woman dressed in the leather robes of the Order of the Inquisition had manifested in the shadowy hall. These robes, one might add, were only ever worn inside the Citadel when the Inquisitors were amongst themselves, as they maintained cover identities in all branches of the Imperial regime. After a moment the darkness in her, the Force was noticeable, to any outsider she felt cold, hard and bitter. Beautiful truly, but as unyielding as beskar. In fact those eyes of hers had a piercing quality to them, likew she could see right through you into the depths of your mind and draw out any secret you might have.


"It is simple, you are a Force-user. A weapon. Weapons must be either controlled, or eliminated. That is the choice you have. Either become an Inquisitor and swear complete loyalty to Atrisia and the Inquisition, or die." Her gaze narrowed upon you. "This is no game. The choice is simple, if you wish to live, you will be one of us."


Your answer she waited only a moment for before going on. "I want you to understand this, Inquisitors, do not retire. They do not get reassigned. This will be your life till the day you die. Failures are harshly punished. Incur my wrath and I will end you myself. Is that clear?"


The voice was as frigid as a snowstorm on Hoth. "I'm sure you've noticed, your back, and neck right around the base of your head is rather .. sore." She smirked, more than pleased to be the one holding all the cards, all the power. "Simply put, it's an implanted control device wired directly into your brain stem .... Run, and one press of a button and you'll be laying in a pile of your own drool until the control is switched off two ... And we will drag you back to be tortured, and reeducated. A painful process, believe me, one you do not wish to go through." For just a moment there was a flash of a blonde girl, bound and squirming in a chair as she was shaken by agonising spasms, screaming loudly as the pain became too much, but there was no help forthcoming deep in the dungeons of the Inquisition.


"I trust you." Yet in spite of all that Siobhan did trust her. Perhaps because both of them were...so very much alike. "Do what you must." And so she dropped all her mental barriers and let Mirien into her mind, offering no resistance as the brunette sought to rebuild her. Inside there was an ocean of fragments, almost as vast as the singular ocean that covered most of Kaeshana. Shard upon shard, broken pieces were floating around in the ocean. Pieces of a puzzle that neded to be put back together. An extremely complex puzzle, undoubtedly, but nonetheless the analogy was a fitting one. Siobhan's breathing became laboured as Mirien exerted herself but she made no move, opening herself completely.

 

[Tegaea Alcori]

[member="Mirien Valdier"], [member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

And so Tegaea was left once more to watch was deep and cosmic Force powers played out. Caught between wanting to show her support and yet not wanting to appear bored or inattentive, she sat and stared at the floor. After a moment she pulled out a datapad and started looking through her messages.
Hopefully that wouldn’t appear rude?

 

[Mirien Valdier]

Nope, rude would have been playing Angry Ewoks, with the sound blaring. With the current situation, one could easily forgive Tegaea for not paying them much mind.

Mirien hadn't noticed Tegs truly, she wasn't really seeing the corporeal world. Her eyes were solely wrapped deep in the ocean of memories, and fragments that she sought to so desperately put back together. In part as she did so, Siobhan's memories were being imprinted upon her. Though that was never her intention, it did seem to be a side effect of what she was doing.

The more she pushed to piece together memories, the harder she worked, the more exhaustion showed upon her features. Sweat now beading upon her forehead, starting to drip down her skin. Her heart raced with the strain. Her mind near to it's breaking point now as pain started to spike through her mind. Ignoring the pain, Mirien pushed forward in her task.

There was one last gift she imparted in Sio's mind, a gift of protection, strengthening the mental barriers around Siobhan's fragile memories. That she was determined would never happen again. No soul would take away the woman's memories if she had any say in it. Lastly, she left the skills behind such protections, now in place, within Sio's mind. The knowledge to protect herself and hold those barriers against the strongest of foes.

Who knew how much time had passed in total, well Tegaea might know, but Mirien had long forgotten. Her own body was done. No longer could she will herself through it, her body made the choice to sever the connection for her as she began to black out. Her hand fell away from Siobhan's forehead, and the small woman fell to the bed unconscious. It would seem, like it or not, rest would be required for the former Inquisitor.

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"] [member="Tegaea Alcori"]

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Mirien Valdier"], [member="Tegaea Alcori"]


Mirien was not the only one suffering under the strain, but Siobhan as well. While Mirien was trying to bring order to the mess that was Siobhan's mind and put the pieces of the puzzle back together, Siobhan was keeping her mind open while Mirien worked her magic, with the energies of the Force flowing through her.


It took a lot of trust for Siobhan to open herself in such a way and lower all her mental barriers, yet now she did so willingly. It was an enormous oceans of memories, feelings and tiny fragments, shards really, that the former Grand Inquistor had to put back together piece by piece. Just how much could be fixed and whether Siobhan might still have gaps in her memory after the process was complete was something that could only be determined after it was over. Perhaps the final assessment would have to wait until several days had passed.


Siobhan did her best to stay focused. Strictly speaking the process was not painful for her, but it was a drain, even more so as Mirien was evidently exerting herself and working ever harder, with exhaustion becoming visible upon her features. The sudden rush of memories Siobhan experienced when Mirien's gentle hand fell away from her forehead was overwhelmning. Memory upon memory, image upon image seemed to rush through her mind. The former Grand Inquisitor had obviously done all she could to make the process gentle and painless, but even so it was mind blast.


Images coursed through her mind...of Gehenna...her greatest victory...a Pyrrhic one. Kaelin as she wormed her way into her confidence by posing as a secretary and seducing her...herself as she burst into her dungeon and saved her badly maimed wife from the daemonette...the new dawn on Kaeshana...fighting the Lote'k, the Terror from Beyond. More images rushed through her mind. She saw Coryth Elaris as she faced the Sith on Alderaan alongside her, proving one again that pissing off a redhead is a phenomenally stupid idea. All this and so much more was thrust through her mind. Siobhan let out a very long breath and then slumped over into the bed, not unconscious yet but clearly the flood of memories had been draining for her.

 

[Tegaea Alcori]

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"], [member="Mirien Valdier"]

Tegaea noticed first one, then the other woman slump, so she went over to help them into more comfortable positions. She noted Mirien was out of it completely, whilst her wife was just stunned.
“Hey, how’re you feeling?” she asked. She’d gotten some cold water and put the damp cloth on Siobhan’s forehead. “Do I need to get the doctor?”

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Tegaea Alcori"], [member="Mirien Valdier"]

((Posting with Mirien's permission))


"Very dizzy and tired," Siobhan said, leaning against the damp cloth as it touched her forehead. She was sweating strongly and very tired, but alright. "No, no need for a doctor. Just some aspirin I guess. Got a queen of a headache."


There was a pause before she spoke up again. "I remember."

 

[Tegaea Alcori]

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"], [member="Mirien Valdier"]

(A quick little post whilst Miri is snoozing.)

“You do? Everything?” Tegaea asked excitedly. She calmed a little. “So it worked? That’s fantastic!”

She went to Mirien who seemed to be waking up. “Is there anything I need to do for her?”

 

[Mirien Valdier]

Mirien slowly was coming around. Bringing a hand to her forehead, she rubbed at it slowly, willing the pain and exhaustion to go away. In that moment she was pretty sure someone had beaten on her head with a giant bat. Or at the very least that was how she felt. "Just water...." Miri managed, having heard Tegs words. "And a blanket?" She mumbled.

Her eyes fluttered briefly before she managed to open them, glancing first to Siobhan, then Tegaea. "Siobhan?" She asked quietly, hoping that one singular word would convey the question she actually wanted to ask, but her mind wasn't quite capable of putting the words together.

It took a moment or two more before she could get her bearings with the room. With a bit of effort, she tried to push herself up from the bed, only to have her arms give way beneath her, dropping her back to the pillows. "Nope... Not going to happen."

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"] [member="Tegaea Alcori"]

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Mirien Valdier"], [member="Tegaea Alcori"]


Siobhan was still feeling rather dizzy and shaky on her legs, but managed to get up upon hearing Mirien speak, quickly covering her with a blanket and passing a glass of water that lay on the beside table over to her. "I'm fine, Miri. What you did worked," she said softly, giving the brunette a loving kiss as she tried to help her get comfortable.


"Hey, take it easy," she admonished her gently when the former Inquisitor tried and failed to get up. "Thank you...thank you so much."

 

[Tegaea Alcori]

[member="Mirien Valdier"], [member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

Tegaea fetched water in a bottle with a straw so Mirien could drink it without spilling. She also pulled a blanket from a supply cupboard and draped it over the other woman.
“There we go. Rest easy, Miri. You’ve had a busy morning. For what you’ve done for my wife, I’m truly grateful. If there’s anything we can do to repay you, tell us.”

 

[Mirien Valdier]

Mirien managed a small smile as she closed her eyes, far too exhausted from the effort. "I'm glad." She said softly, as she gently returned the kiss before relenting to laying down and not further attempting to get up. "I ... just ..." She sighed softly, "No one deserves to have their memories taken from them. I'm so happy that you didn't have to suffer through the same fate as me."

Happily she accepted the water, and shifted only slightly underneath the blankets laid upon her, to try and get a little more comfortable. "Thank you." She said quietly, exhaustion so clear in her every feature. She then looked up between both Siobhan and Tegaea, "I only ask that you both have a happy life. Treasure every last memory you have. Don't take any of it for granted. Beyond that, there is nothing I want that you both haven't already given me. The job, the home I have now, it's more than I ever could ask of anyone, and for that I'm thankful."

Smiling she sighed a bit more contentedly, feeling relief that Siobhan had her memories, and that all had turned out alright. "Don't worry on me, now. I just need some rest, probably a meal or two, and I'll be good as new tomorrow. I've just ... never done anything with memories as large as this task was. It took a toll on my body that I didn't quite expect."

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"] [member="Tegaea Alcori"]

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Mirien Valdier"], [member="Tegaea Alcori"]


"I know...I'll never forget what you did for me. And I promise...if there's anything I can do to help you remember your past, I will," Siobhan said solemnly, gently patting Mirien's hand before turning away. "Rest now. You've more than earned it. We'll be there when you wake up...you have a new home now."

 

[Tegaea Alcori]

[member="Mirien Valdier"], [member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

Tegaea patted Mirien on the hand too, then took Siobhan's arm and left Mirien to rest in the room.

Outside, she discussed the matter with Doctor Osway, leaving orders that Mirien was not to be disturbed, and when she was ready she was to be given the Villa's number so she could be picked up.