The Death of A Queen..And Her Pet

[Lira Dajenn]

Nemene Talith arose with the sound of alarm klaxons blaring.

Bloodshot orange eyes burst open with a sudden awareness that she had never felt before. She jumped out of the bed and grasped her lightsaber almost as soon as she awoke. Something was wrong, very wrong. She could feel it in the force, she could smell it in the air, she could hear it in the sounds around her.

There was fighting, killing.

She could hear blaster fire, the ringing of metals and chains. Her eyes darted around the tent, calling her other lightsaber to her palm as she walked towards the entrance.

They were not on board a ship this time, no. They had been on a slaving mission. All ten frigates had been sent to an outer rim world where they had subsequently captured thousands of slaves. An entire city had been taken, and in celebration the Flotilla had set itself down and set up a small city of its own to celebrate. Nemene had allowed it, but only as a celebration of the birth of her children. Now however it seemed something that gone wrong.

“Mistress?”

Cerise called to her, and Nemene stopped one foot short from leaving the pavilion. The Queen snapped her head back, and then made a shushing noises with one of her lightsabers.

At that exact moment a Siren burst through the door. One of the only two dozen or so that remained with their Mistress, the other having infiltrated thousands of worlds across the galaxy. The woman signed something, and Nemene's eyes burst open. “Take her and my children to the nearest ship, now.”

The Siren nodded, to Nemene, her sister quickly slipping into the tent and rushing over to Cerise.

“I will deal with this revolt myself.” As she stepped form the tent Nemene ignited her two lightsabers, calling to Evie through the bond.

 

[Louise]

With the birth of the legacy (or rather legacies) Evie returned to her regularly scheduled programming, which of course involved a life of sorcery and servitude. No complaints there, although those days the creature lacked the mind to complain. Not when Goddess was so good to her!

Being good was the name of the game and as stupid as she was, Evie played that game extremely well.

She had slept so far through the beginnings of chaos, her body requiring a lot of rest after the exertions of her learning. No, the klaxons barely stirred the woman, nor did the fighting. Need rest. The call of her Goddess of course sent eyelids snapping open as her body reacted in an instant.

She was needed.

The creature slithered out of her small bed, still dressed in the meagre rags that clung to her form. All kind treatment had long since been abandoned since her duty as surrogate ended. Of course none of it showed. Nemene kept her pretty, kept her craven, kept her happy.

She scurried from tent to tent (of course she was essentially next door), mind oblivious to the going-ons around them, all she had to do was obey. No thinking, just pleasing.

“Goddess?”

 

[Lira Dajenn]

Sirens began to appear near Nemene just as Evie showed her face.

She saw them coming towards her, brandishing rifles and blades. They of course returned to their mistress, two dozen of them coming to protect her and the children. She frowned at them, and then looked at Evie. With a slight frown she looked back to the Sirens, and flicked her fingers in quiet communication. The women looked concerned for a moment, but then moved past Nemene and Evie and into the Tent to Cerise and the children.

“Some of our slaves are revolting against me Evie.” Nemene said finally, her lightsaber droning on as the sound of battle came closer. “We need to kill them.”

They had taken too many slaves.

This last run had quite literally filled every single ship's cargo hold. Over ten thousand slaves had been captured, and with only half that number for a crew, it must have given the Slaves confidence enough to rebel. She scowled as a blaster short flew over her head. The Slaves had seized some of the arms.

Nemene dashed forward, impaling the slave with her lightsaber and cutting his torso in twine. As she split the man into two a dozen more Slaves rounded the corner.

“Evie. Give me strength.” A verbal command, it showed just how annoyed Nemene was.

 

[Louise]

Slaves? Revolt? Those were two words that shouldn't have gone together but they did, straight out of the lips of a Goddess.

Evie frowned, simple, shackled brain trying to comprehend why the slaves would revolt. Didn't they know that to be happy all you had to do was obey? Evidently not. Oh well, punishment came for those who could not be good and do as they were told, even little Evie understood that.

The shot flew over Nemene's head and fear spiked through her being like never before.

How dare they try and harm Goddess!? What if she got hurt? Well, no matter given that Nemene was one of the galaxy's best healers, but what if she got killed? Well, Evie didn't realise that she too would perish, but the idea of her Goddess being slain just horrified her beyond function.

The slave that dared to fire a weapon at her Goddess was swiftly dealt with, and the command was issued. Strength. Hands waving and weaving, it took her almost no amount of time to cast the spell that would bolster Nemene's connection and aptitude with the Force.

She had been good, she had been practising.

 

[Lira Dajenn]

Nemene felt the strength fill her. The purple lines etched within her skin began to pulse and glow a bright deep violet, and her entire being began to sing of death. She smiled, grinned even, and then looked to the crowd of on coming slave.

They began to die.

With her two blades Nemene was like death itself, dashing through the slaves and cutting them into pieces. Dozens died. It was so fast, so quick, that one might have thought it impossible. Nemene became a blur as severed limbs and torso's began to fly around the courtyard. The Sith Lady began to laugh as she cut apart slave after slave. They fell, corpses piling up as an onslaught of canon fodder rushed through her.

After a hundred fell, Nemene turned to Evie, screeching.

“Evie! Kill!” A simple command, but one that she needed. Nemene was powerful, but she could not kill ten thousand slaves on her own. Not even she was that good with a blade.

 

[Louise]

Her Goddess was impressive.

Evelynn wouldn't have shied away from admitting it, no matter how much she loathed her sister but Nemene was a true blademaster. Of course, she would have added a snide comment about how blades were all that she had given her ineptitude with the Force, but of course Evelynn is an ungrateful schutta who is gone and therefore her opinion is moot.

So the slaves began to fall, one-by-one with Evie the Useless just standing there like a proper sandwich. She was a mindless thrall, she needed command.

Which finally came.

With the energies of the dark side still coursing through her very veins the pet sorceress came into the action, steadily walking forward, hands aflame with power she began to send blasts of the dark side, one-by-one at the oncoming slaves, both hands working, both hands killing as the conjured blasts obliterated the lives that fought so courageously for freedom.

One. By. One.

 

[Lira Dajenn]

Nemene slaughtered.
She was in her zone here, she was in the place she felt most comfortable. The slaughter of opponents that could not stand against her. The lightsabers in her hand became whirling weapons of death, slicing, cutting, and ending lives in the blink of an eye.

But she wasn't fast enough. She killed dozens, but there were thousands.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw Evie. Her lips turned down in disgust as she spotted the method her pet was using to kill. It wasn't enough, she needed more, she needed more death. She needed all the slaves to die.

“MORE, EVIE!” She wanted to insult the girl, grab her and wring her face through the dirt.

The Slaves needed to die!

 

[Louise]

Girl, please.

Force blast was truly an unkind ability, and not just to those upon the receiving end. It burnt the flesh of the caster, of course, Nemene was aware of this and would heal any signs of decay that came from her efforts, but right here, right now there was no time for that.

The flesh of her fingertips were already burnt and blackening, but Evie didn't care, Evie was told to kill, and so that's what she did.

But of course it wasn't enough.

More.

Both hands together, no longer in individual blasts but now in waves. Instead of wiping out individual slaves, she moved to wipe out waves, both hands pushing out and sending those atrocious energies through the bodies and even souls of the attacking slaves.

Such a brutish display of power, it was already starting to burn.

 

[Lira Dajenn]

Evie began to kill. She began to kill more than Nemene was managing in fact, but the Queen knew that would have happened eventually. She knew that Evie outclassed her in strength in the force. Nemene was far more suited to fighting individual opponents, than large masses.

Still, the Queen gave it her all.

She cut and sliced through the enemies like butter. They died, one by one they fell. Yet there seemed to be an endless supply of them. Each time she cut down an opponent. Two more would rise. Each time she sliced through the throat of a man, another would take his place and attack her. She began to go on the defensive, reacting only to blaster shots and vibroblades coming towards her.

Nemene cut and sliced into them again and again, but it wasn't enough.

They began to surround her. Hundreds of them gathering brandishing weapons.

Whenever they got close, they died, yet there seemed to be a never ending supply to enemies, and eventually. Even Nemene would get tired.

 

[Louise]

More and more fell to the ground as they were ravaged by the sheer power of the dark side, mere slaves never stood a chance. Although, much like the overdone zombie apocalypse, it wasn't about the power of one it was about the power of many. The never-ending masses.

The burning of her flesh was spreading, up past her fingers and onto her hands quicker now as she moved to cast her spells at a swifter rate, more for Goddess. More. Killing. More. More. More.

Nemene however was fast becoming encircled by the unending horde of slaves, of course they couldn't get close enough to do anything, yet, but the sight of it already panicked poor Evie.

Everything for Goddess.

Those blackened veins protruded from her flesh, tainted and ungodly. The creature was hurting, burning, pain had been returned to Evie because she didn't like it, but she would not object, never. Suddenly the sorceress crouched down slamming her hands upon the ground.

From around Nemene a grave mist began to form, surrounding the feet of the slaves that would try outnumber her. Concentration. Energy. Then they erupted. Tendrils of the dark side, their ethereal forms instantly ripping lives from the bodies that surrounded her Goddess. It was grand, it was malevolent, it was painful.

“GODDESS!!!”

 

[Lira Dajenn]

Hundreds died, but more kept coming.

Nemene watched the slaughter, took part in it. Blood began to fleck her skin and clothes. She watched the tendrils of darkness tear through the slaves, she watched as Evie destroyed their very souls. A grim smile came upon her face, as the tendrils slowly slid away back into nothingness. She straightened herself and quickly the Sith Queen began to cut her way through the army of slaves, slicing and carving a path to her pet.

She reached Evelynns side in almost a blink, losing one of her lightsabers as a slave reached out and grabbed her, tearing at her flesh with broken and clawed nails. She cried out for a moment, flinching from the pain as the wound healed itself almost instantly.

Touching Evie on her shoulder she pushed her towards the crowd, screaming. “Kill them! Kill them all!”

She needed more! More Strength, more power. The slaves had to be killed, they had to pay, they all had to pay for what they had done! For daring to raise their arms against her.

 

[Louise]

The dark side tendrils took their toll, draining the creatures already depleting stamina by a considerable amount. It had been an impressive feat, especially given how long Evie had been learning her spells, but here was the point where she needed to stop.

But there would be none of that, no rest, no, that wasn't what Nemene wanted.

Goddess wanted more.

The shriek of Nemene sent a surge of adrenaline through her and back up onto her feet she was pushed forward, breath ragged, veins erupting, flesh decaying. She wouldn't disobey her Goddess, she couldn't disobey her Goddess. Evie was good, even when her entire being was aflame with the sting of a thousand needles. What devotion we witness from this creature.

Wordlessly she obeyed, trembling hands summoning and sending forth entire shock waves of the dark side through the ill-thought rebellion. No, they would not lay any further hands upon her Goddess.

Another large wave.

Another.

Hundreds fell.

Then so did Evie. Was it a trip? A stumble? The burn of the dark side had enveloped more of her flesh now, up her forearms. Sweat dripped, eyes bloodshot and yellowing, the creature was breathing as if she had just run a marathon. Her body was pain.

 

[Lira Dajenn]

Nemene didn't care.

She didn't care that Evie was getting tired. She didn't care that she was getting hurt and burned. This was needed, this was necessary. Her eyes darted towards the slaves, then towards Evie. Greed began to shine on her face, her eyes becoming aglow with a rage that spoke volumes. These slaves had dared rebel against her, so they would suffer for what they had done.

“Kill them all Evie! All!” She gave her pet another command

This one had to be carried out.

The Slaves would all be burned to ash. Every last one of them would be turned into a pile of dust. This was Nemene's will. This was the goddesses will, that all who went against her would be turned into nothing but dust. She willed for it to happened, pressing and pushing Evie to continue on with her spells.

 

[Louise]

There were no objections, no pleas for her to stop, nothing, she couldn't.

It had been a long time since Evie had any semblance of free will, since she could think and act for herself. Evelynn had tried, she had tried to prevent such a fate but in the end her efforts had been futile and the results remained the same. Evie could do nothing but obey.

Nemene said kill them all.

Evie would kill them all.

She struggled, slowly getting back to her feet, flesh completely corrupted. Evie was good. Evie would obey. This time instead of sending out blast after blast the girl began to gather the dark side instead. She could feel it, the absolute burn of power, pure, malignant. It hurt, it hurt so much.

Life seemed fade all around her, the very grass that they stood on dying beneath her feet as the agony spread through her arms, down her torso, her legs, up through her neck and into her skull. Evie became pain, she began to scream. The bottle was shaken, the cork primed to pop. This, this blast would wipe out thousands, it was pure power, it would kill, it was everything that Goddess wanted.

Except it never happened.

She couldn't hold it.

All of the bundled energy of the dark side that she held backfired, instead of blasting outwards they took a trip in the opposite direction, completely ravaging the poor creature from the inside. Destroying, and decaying. It was like being purged by the flames of the Force.

Everything stopped.

Evie looked down, the expression painted upon her face one of pure surprise. There was nothing, she felt nothing. She looked upon her own two hands, utterly marred and still quavering as she fell onto her knees.

To master the art of Sith Sorcery, you require patience, diligence and above all caution. These principles are key. Without them you will perish.

 

[Lira Dajenn]

Nemene watched the Sorceress fall.

She did not feel despair, she did not feel sadness or even depression. She felt rage.

The Queen watched as her pet fell to her knee's, the life slowly floating away from her. She could feel it through the bond, Evie slowly fading away from herself. A scowl grew on Nemene's face, and the remaining lightsaber came to life with a bright orange snap and hiss. With a scowl she looked down at Evie, the woman breathing heavily and collapsing onto the ground, like a rodent who was desperately trying to fill lungs with quick shallow breaths.

Then, she was gone.

“Useless.” Nemene said stepping besides Evie's lifeless corpse, the last of her essence leaving her as another round of slaves rushed at Nemene.

Her pet was gone. Her Sorceress burned out by her own stupid inability. She would have to find another, after she killed this bunch of slaves. They charged at her, and she leaned forward. She let herself stay stagnant for a second, and then she dashed forward. It was a single leap forward, and then she felt it.

A pulse of her heart rushed through her entire body.

She could feel the beat of her heart in her own ears, the slowing of her breaths, the dying of her body. Eyes opened wide in surprise as she reached the line of slaves. Her movements growing sluggish and her perceptions growing dim. She slashed her blade, cutting a man in half.

Again her heartbeat rushed throughout her entire body.

Again she slowed.

The swing of her lightsaber moved like a snail, and a blaster shot caught her in the arm. The lightsaber hilt fell to the floor, and shock rolled across her face. This was not the slaves, they could not have done this. Her head turned towards Evie's corpse.

“You!” She screamed at the corpse, howling as a blade pierced her heart.

–

Cerise didn't watch her Mistress die.

She didn't watch as the slaves killed her, tore her and Evie apart for their own selfish vengeance. She didn't watch and Nemene and her Pet were defiled and torn apart, roasted and cannibalized by starving slaves. She wasn't allowed to.

The Sirens whisked her away before any such things could be seen. Two dozen of them escorted Cerise and the babes away from the scene of the revolt. Carrying them to a single Stealth Ship, and urging them to flee. A few dozen Slaves were found on the way, and they were slaughtered by the Queens honor guard, the Sirens.

Thousands of slaves had been slaughtered by the efforts of Nemene and Evie, but as Cerise watched the fading camp out of the viewport of her ship, part of her knew it had not been enough.