The Birth of Fire (Madeline)

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

Somewhere, far, far away from the hellish wasteland of Gehenna, Siobhan suddenly shot up inside her bed. Her eyes fluttered open and she found it was still dark outside the villa. She was bathed in cold sweat and breathed heavily.


"Is some wrong, Mistress?" As it turned out, she'd woken up Harmony, who wrapped her arms around her mistress. "Bad dreams?"


Slowly but surely Siobhan got her rapid breathing under control. "Yeah, dreams. Nothing big," she said with faked nonchalance, trying to brush the concern off.


"Aww. Don't worry, I'll keep you save from the Big Bad," Harmony could not resist the urge to troll, but then planted a kiss on Sio's cheek. "Would you like some tea?" she asked in a softer, more concerned tone.


"Yeah, that would be nice, thanks." Siobhan wiped some sweat from her brow.

 

[Illyria]

[member="Phaedra Amaryllis"] [member="Enyo Typhos"]

Talsir paused for a moment, drawing it out, then stepped back.
“Good…good. You two are like parts of a machine. You feed off each other, give each other focus. Anger, fear, these are not to be rejected, they are to be used.”

She turned aside. “We will have a short interval, and then you will put this lesson to good use. You will be fighting droids, those you cannot affect as you would another organic, so you must rely on each other. Together you can be invincible, divided you will be destroyed.”

The Eldorai pushed back her hood. Her face was scarred and marked terribly.
“The Eldorai could teach the Sith some lessons about cruelty. For my confession they burned me with fire, but I found that I was for endurance made. I will have my revenge one day, though it will be the last thing I do before I die.”
The hood came back up. “If you think that was painful, Phaedra, imagine what it feels like for me….”

 

[Phaedra Amaryllis]

Phaedra was doing all she could to just stay on her feet. She was clinging tightly to Enyo's arm. Her eyes were tightly shut, just trying to push out the images the Eldorai woman was projecting to her, and the feelings and emotions at play in the air.

The little redhead only nodded to Enyo, panting heavily. Feeling the brunette's fingers wrap around her hand, she squeezed tightly in return. Then she felt it, a flood of strength and determination flowing into her. And the painful negative emotions were being syphoned off, easing the burden and hurt the little redhead felt. It wasn't perfect, but it was enough to keep Phae from passing out.

Phae's attention snapped back to Talsir, glaring coldly. The woman was more than a might bit pissed. Feeling her pull back, the tiny woman finally relaxed. Her grip on Enyo loosened and Phae dropped to her knees, needing to rest. She needed quiet. Her mind needed not to feel what the others around her felt. She was still breathing hard, just trying to take a moment to rest. The only person she wanted was Enyo. Anything to be comforted and feel safe once more. She still held to the clone's hand, not wanting to let go. "Thank you, sister." She whispered as she looked up to Enyo.

She glanced back to the elf woman again. "I understand it was painful, horrific and tragic. You didn't have to do that to me, like that." Phae snapped, still irritated, though her voice quiet, still trying to catch her breath. Right now, Phaedra really did wish to return to the droids of Archangel, having little desire to be forced to feel anything like what she'd felt in the last few minutes from another sentient being.

[member="Illyria"] | [member="Enyo Typhos"]

 

[Enyo Typhos]

[member="Phaedra Amaryllis"], [member="Illyria"]


Slowly Enyo came down from her Force-induced high, which in some ways had felt akin to a spice rush. The negative emotions flooding from Phaedra had hit her like a massive tidal wave. It had felt like she'd been drowning inside an ocean of feelings that were not her own, along with horrible images from the Eldorai's past.


Her head was ringing and bloody hurt. But...there had been strength there as well. For just a moment she'd felt empowered. She tried to get the shaking in her body under control and wiped away some of the blood that had been dripping down from her nose.


Her eyes flicked over to Talsir. Conflicting emotions surged up inside her, ranging from feeling a venomous anger towards the woman for what she'd put Phaedra through to grudging admission that she'd not been entirely wrong. "What doesn't kill us makes us stronger, huh?" Her voice was cold; she sounded a bit drained.


"Come on, Phae. Rest for a bit." Then without a further word she scooped the little redhead up in her arms and carried her over to her chair, depositing her on it, hugging her gently.

 

[Illyria]

[member="Phaedra Amaryllis"] [member="Enyo Typhos"]

Talsir laughed, but without humour.
“I am going easy on you. You think an enemy mentalist will show you mercy? You must learn on the one hand to block out their attempts, and on the other to use them.”

She allowed them some rest, pacing ceaselessly for five minutes.

“Enyo, now it is your turn. Draw on her power. Use it…use your anger, your fear, your desire to protect her. Destroy your enemies.”

Said enemies appeared. These droids were ancient Clone Wars battledroids with sting blasters. There were still millions of them floating around the galaxy, and they were completely useless for anything except target practice, and were usually cheaper than buying proper targeters.

Two of the droids stepped forward.
“Put your hands up!”
“Roger, roger!”

 

[Phaedra Amaryllis]

She gave a small shrug. "Maybe it does. Just hurts like hell." She mumbled. Clearly still hurting, and was quite drained.

Phaedra clung to Enyo's neck as she scooped her up, still panting and clearly worn down. Her head was pounding, and well she needed the break. Phae was more than a bit unhappy. Angry was the word. The redhead was starting to loathe Talsir and her methods. She'd hurt her mind, and well that wasn't something Phaedra took lightly to.

As soon as Enyo sat her down in the chair, the redhead shrunk down in it hearing Talsir's words. She didn't like hearing them, and would have given so much just to be back in her quarters at Archangel.

The clone gave a nod, "I'll be fine. I promise. Just need to sit for a few moments. The dizziness will pass." At least that was her hope. Leaning forward she rested her elbows on her knees and laid her head in her hands. She shifted only to return the hug from her sister.

Then the break was over. She glanced anxiously to Talsir and then to Enyo, having little clue what to expect. She still stayed seated for the moment. Seeing the droids appear, she had little idea of what to do. She only managed to break an arm of a droid that had been aiming for her with weak telekinesis. Still too exhausted to effectively do much. She needed Enyo now, to help keep her safe. What energy she could, she tried to feed to Enyo, anything to help her Sister out.

[member="Illyria"] | [member="Enyo Typhos"]

 

[Enyo Typhos]

[member="Illyria"], [member="Phaedra Amaryllis"]


And so suddenly droids! In this particular case they were crappy B-1 ones. The sort of cheaply mass produced automatons that only someone as comically incompetent as the TradeFed Directorate could consider a sound investment for warfare. However, they could be dangerous en masse.


Enyo did not have much of a reprieve before the machines levelled their blasters upon her. She heard Talsir's words, though she paid whatever the elf was saying little mind. Emotions from Phaedra were flooding her like a strong wave. Both the little redhead's intense loathing for Talsir, which somewhat bled into Enyo's own mind set, and her worry. It was both painful and energising.


Droids...like the Archangels who'd raised them. Enyo was more than a little irked about being deceived and lied to. These machines gave her an outlet for her anger about her caretakers. Bolts of blue-white lightning shrieked from her fingertips. Enyo's command of the technique was unpolished and lacking in training, so she ended up suffering stinging burns across her palms, causing her to wince strongly.


However, fuelled by the emotions Phaedra was feeding her, her blasts hit home. One droid, the one whose arm had been damaged by Phaedra's telekinesis, suddenly exploded when struck by the electrical assault. The smell of ozone, burnt circuits and electronics filled the air around them. The second droid suffered damage to its circuits when bolts struck an arm and a leg, falling.


However, more droids engaged and Enyo suddenly yelped out loud when stinging blaster bolts hit her back, then her leg as she tried to keep her balance, causing her to tumble to the hard stone ground. The bolts were not lethal, but sure stung a lot and it's not like she'd been shot before. As dim-witted as the droids were, they were smart enough to exploit a chance when they saw it and so they began unloading upon her.


A shot grazed her face, then suddenly the landscape began to shift in her mind. In place of the automatons, she saw heavily armoured soldiers fighting a desperate battle against monstrosities and abominations. Tanks, blood, death and carnage, man and monster alike perishing when the mountain ceiling caved in. The images shifted too fast for her to process, the voices inside her mind rose to a deafening chorus.


"Omegans, to victory! No pity, no prisoners!"


"Blood for the blood god!"


"Fight to the death for your god!"


"Second Company needs armoured support now!"


"They have fething demon engines!"


"'This will be Kerrigan's grave..."


"Stahlmann has routed the fleet!"


"The Dark God is fallen!"


"Oh, god, she's dropping the roof! Run!"


"Lady Protector, I've recovered the Exarch."


She beheld the image of a seemingly indomitable war goddess, smiting the monsters and bringing down cataclysm upon friend and foe alike. Enyo snapped when she beheld her face, that of Siobhan Kerrigan. Something primal and aggressive was stirred inside her at the hateful sight of the woman she believed to be her tormentor. Caring not about how much she hurt herself as she scorched her hands, she unleashed a torrent of lightning in all directions against the machines. Pure devastation was unleashed upon the room.

 

[Illyria]

[member="Phaedra Amaryllis"] [member="Enyo Typhos"]

It was clear that Talsir had not expected the sudden onslaught. Swiftly, she activated her yellow bladed lightsabre, previously concealed in her robes, and used it to channel away the sparking discharges. She did not otherwise interfere with Enyo however as the clone laid waste to every single droid in the room, even the ones not attacking!

Lightning arced and slashed, destroying the lights, the control panels, scorching the walls.

When at last it stopped, in the flickering lights, Talsir walked forward.

“Well done, Enyo. The power is strong in you. But, I deem that there was something more to this than meets the eye. I sensed a disturbance in your Sciia.”

Looking to Phaedra she went to her and laid a gloved hand on the redhead’s forehead, channelling some of her own energy into the human.
“You both did well. You have a lot of potential.”

 

[Phaedra Amaryllis]

Phaedra watched, it was all she really could do in that moment, too drained to join the fight. She yelped feeling Enyo's pain as blaster bolts hit their mark. It was starting to get to a point where Phae was instinctively, though weakly shielding her mind from the onslaught of emotion and pain.
Instincts were taking over, that she didn't know she had. A protective bubble soon formed that kept her safe for the moment from the droids and the lightning. It wasn't that great, but it was a start.

Then there was more pain and a strange mental shift in Enyo. Something she'd never felt before. It took a great deal of effort to keep that from overwhelming her, and forcing her into unconciousness. But she managed. Then it was over.

Phaedra was exhausted, worn, and a bit stressed at that point. The redhead tensed against Talsir's touch but soon relaxed when she felt what she was doing. She wasn't sure what exactly it was that she was doing to her, but it made her feel better, and that was all she needed. Though, she still wasn't exactly trustful of the Eldorai woman.

"Something wasn't right with Enyo." The redhead finally said, her concern written so clearly on her face. "I felt something strange with her for a moment." What that was, the girl had no idea.

[member="Illyria"] | [member="Enyo Typhos"]

 

[Enyo Typhos]

[member="Illyria"], [member="Phaedra Amaryllis"]


Carnage ensued. Sheer aggression had taken over when Enyo lashed out with her powers. Bolts of lightning arced and slashed, blowing out the lights, destroying control panels and scorching the walls.


Darkness descended upon the room, though the lightning show cast it in an eerie light. Finally the awesome onslaught ceased. Lights flickered and Enyo slumped to the ground, feeling thoroughly drained and exhausted. However, at last her mind was at peace. The terrible images and voices were banished from her mind, which felt what could be described as serene.


It took a great deal of effort for the young clone to remain conscious and not slip into the realm of Morpheus, but she succeeded. Nonetheless, she was in a good deal of pain since she had badly scorched her hands. Her breathing was laboured as all her exertions caught up with her body. "I...saw the battle. The slaughter, the death...I saw her...Kerrigan," she all but spat the name of her hated 'sister'.

 

[Illyria]

[member="Phaedra Amaryllis"] [member="Enyo Typhos"]

Talsir had naturally been briefed by Archangel about Enyo’s relation to Siobhan, and also what to say so it lined up with what the droids had told her.

“Yes, this was one of her greatest triumphs, and yet also one of her greatest infamies. Many were sacrificed for her visions of glory. She left her mark here.”
It was likely why Enyo and Phaedra were here; their ‘sisters’ had played notable parts in the struggle.

“Your power, both your powers, were clearly displayed here. You could be great, but you must temper your emotions and forge them into white-hot fury. I will teach you no more today, you have pleased me. Tomorrow, we will do this again, or similar.”

With that the Dashdae Sciian turned and left.

 

[Phaedra Amaryllis]

Phaedra finally moved from her spot having gained some energy and over to her sister. Gently she laid a hand on the brunette's shoulder as she glanced worriedly to Talsir and then back to Enyo. Sweetly, she ran a hand over her hair, trying to soothe her. She very clearly cared and was quite attached to Enyo. "Are you okay?" She asked quietly.

Her brow furrowed, trying to wrap her mind around the conversation and work out exactly what had happened. Enyo had seen the battle that happened here. So strange. The tension in her body eased off when Talsir said she would teach them no more today. Rest, that was what she wanted. "Come on now, Enyo darling. Let's get you back to our room and get you into bed. You need to rest." So do I. But she didn't say that aloud. Kneeling down, she offered her hand to help her sister up from the ground to get her back to their room.

[member="Illyria"] | [member="Enyo Typhos"]

 

[Enyo Typhos]

[member="Illyria"], [member="Phaedra Amaryllis"]


Enyo was mostly in a bit of a daze, so most of Talsir's words washed over her without much in terms of a coherent response. However, she got the Cliff Notes. Temper your rage, white-hot fury, forge it into a weapon. She would be strong, she would not allow herself to be weak.


She unconsciously arched into the touch when Phaedra ran a hand over her brunette mane. "Yeah, I'm fine," she said, though it didn't convincing. "She collapsed the mountain, threw her own people into the meat grinder just because of her thirst for glory. I saw it. We've got to be strong to protect ourselves against a monster like that. I will be strong." However, it was not just protectiveness she felt, but something else...envy.


Taking a deep breath, she took Phaedra's hand. Her own grip was strangely feeble, but she held on and got to her feet. With her sister's help she managed to return to their spartan room, and promptly collapsed onto the bed.

 

[Illyria]

[member="Phaedra Amaryllis"] [member="Enyo Typhos"]

Talsir returned to her room and securely locked the door. Divesting herself of her heavy cloak and hood she headed to her communicator.
From there she sent a brief, somewhat laconic, message to her employers at Archangel.

Favourable progress has been made after first training session. Selection of Gehenna effective training ground. Clones being taught to effectively control and use their abilities. Will report further with continuing progress.

There was no need for greetings or sign offs. The droids only dealt with facts and nothing more.

 

[Moira Skaldi]

[member="Illyria"]


Moira was unsurprisingly still at work when she received Talsir's message. One of the many advantages of being a droid was that you did not need to eat, drink or sleep. Moreover, you weren't distracted by wasteful organic urges such as a desire to mate or buy expensive fashion. Thus you could fully concentrate on your task.


Various holographic blueprints were arrayed on her desk. The Morpheus sedative had performed well on Kaeshana and would enter full production. Several other targets had already been mapped out. A certain someone just needed to submit it to the Factory and deal with any possible quibbling.


Err, right! Meta aside, she was studying the proposed plan for an anti-personnel, enteched walker that would act as the companion to the Leviathan. Whereas the latter had been a behemoth, the former would be designed for mobility and to take out organic infantry and pesky Forcers. A flechette launcher and a chaingun sounded like promising weapons, though it would be modular in design and built like a spider to be able to scale more hazardous terrain.


It was then her datapad beeped and she read the message. No emotion crossed her face when she saw the contents. For an organic, Talsir was quite efficient and she was more reliable a trainer than Sith. Alas, droids could not use space magic and so they had to outsource. In time, the girls would learn and become a powerful weapon of the Age of Steel, even if Archangel had to hurt them. It was all in service of the Grand Vision.

However, there was something bothering Moira. Unit Callisto Scarlett seemed to have developed an affinity for the clones. This was problematic...

 

[Phaedra Amaryllis]

Phaedra nodded, glad to hear she was okay. But the emotions she felt coming from her didn't convince the redhead completely. And a frown crossed her lips, hearing the next words from Enyo. Her own hatred for Siobhan was growing. It wasn't going to take much more for her to truly loathe her. "Yeah, we do." Phae said quietly, finally admitting she might have to face what hurt her to grow stronger and more able to deal with what they may face in the future.

Phaedra took a seat by Enyo's bed, after pulling the covers over the woman and adjusting her pillow. Anything to help get the brunette comfortable. "Should I just let you sleep?" She asked, though a part of her didn't want to leave Enyo's side - not even just to go a few feet over to her own bed to sleep.

[member="Enyo Typhos"] | [member="Illyria"]

 

[Enyo Typhos]

Truly a winning argument! No one could say no to darkside cookies. At this point Enyo was feeling terribly sleepy and exhausted. The realm of Morpheus was so near, the siren beckoned her to cross the threshold and rest. She pulled the covers tightly around her, but reached out to touch Phaedra's hand.


"I just wanna sleep," she said, sounding rather tired. "If you don't wanna be alone, you can, uh, share the bed with me if you want." A slight pink hue spread across her cheeks. If she were Siobhan, this would've been a terribly transparent attempt to get into Phaedra's pants. However, Enyo was far too innocent for that sort of thing. "Just sleep," she clarified earnestly, in case the redhead misunderstood her intentions.


[member="Phaedra Amaryllis"], [member="Illyria"]

 

[Phaedra Amaryllis]

Phaedra nodded understandingly. "I understand, dear." She said softly. "That would be great... I just, yeah ... I could use the company. Makes it easier to sleep when you are around." Slowly she climbed into bed with Enyo and pulled the blankets over the both of them. "Just sleep sounds wonderful to me..." With a sigh she closed her eyes, knowing sleep would come quickly.

[member="Enyo Typhos"] | [member="Illyria"]

 

[Enyo Typhos]

[member="Phaedra Amaryllis"], [member="Illyria"]


"Sleep well," Enyo said quietly and had soon crossed the threshold into the realm of Morpheus after she wrapped her arms around Phaedra. Luckily for her, her slumber was largely free of visions of doom and gloom since she'd already had enough of that. However, soon it was morning again and the sun rose.

Eventually Enyo stirred. Unlike her counterpart, she was a fairly light sleeper. Then again, she wasn't a billionaire aristo living in a shiny villa and with a harem of pliable slave girls at her beck and call. She realised how closely she was holding Phaedra and looked a bit embarrased. Gently she disentangled herself and started to get ready. "Gotta get up, Phae."

 

[Phaedra Amaryllis]

Phaedra had slept decently during the night. Thankfully no visions plagued her and not even a bad dream of any sort. Certainly a night she couldn't complain about. She didn't stir when Enyo untangled herself from the redhead. A groan escaped her lips, hearing Enyo. Tiredly she stretched and pulled the pillow over her face, not quite wanting to get up just yet.

"It's too early to be this early." She whispered. The small woman laid there for a couple minutes more before she finally lifted the pillow from her face and started to get up, and get ready herself. "Hopefully, today is better than yesterday."

[member="Enyo Typhos"] | [member="Illyria"]