Private The Load

[Syd Celsius]

Wearing: Jedi Jumpsuit (Green)

Hooded cloak.

Armed With: Barab Crystal Lightsaber (Blue)


A day earlier...




Celsius, as far as anyone knew, was dead.

She had not returned to the Jedi under her old guise, but the guise of someone completely different. She worked as a Healer named Surt'r.

Strictly freelance, volunteer. She kept her head down, stuck to healing others. Stayed away from masters normally.

So she was a tad perplexed when she got orders to escort a Senator. She wasn't sure if she should obey the summons to Coruscant.

What if they knew?

"Your doubt and paranoia radiates like a stink." came a cold voice she was all too familiar with...and frightened of, for the owner of that voice had very good reasons for wanting her deader than dead.

Syd, or rather, what was left of Syd due to a devastating loss at Korriban forcing her to merge with another Sorceress to survive, shuddered at the voice of Nathan Bloodscrawl, who she hid her face from.

Syd stood up in the quietness of a cave she hid in on Tython for Solace. Nathan always knew where she was due to their bond in the Force a perverse chain that glued their fate together. It had very sparse furnishings, the only source of light from a crack in the cave wall above them.

"Shut yourself to it, if it bothers you so." Syd replied, trying to keep calm, but the fragments of memory mixing together made it difficult to tell real from fantasy.

"Don't you think I would have if I could have."

"If you think I want this bond to you any more than you do--"

"What you want..." Nathan trailed, voice quiet but deadly cold with loathing.

"You already got what you wanted from me..." he hissed bitterly. "Many times over."

Syd could say nothing to that.

"This summons to Coruscant. It's possible they might have suspected something about me--" she said, changing the subject.

"No one decides your fate except me." Nathan replied flatly. "If you have been sniffed out do not resist. Simply flee. I'm sure you can just come back under a different voice and face."

"You are playing a very dangerous game, Bloodscrawl..." Syd replied. "If the Jedi learn the extent to which you have taken matters into your own hands..."

"They can punish me however they like...after I have destroyed the Cult..." Nathan replied. "And definitely after I decide what to do where you are concerned.

"You treat me as a monster, and rightly so." Syd conceded to him...but how well do you think they'll react to your transgressions?" Syd asked, turning to face his cold mask of an expression.

"I didn't go around sacrificing whole cities of people to a Demon during a Galactic Pandemic, Phyre. No matter what I've done, it'll be chickenfeed compared to you." Nathan snapped.

"You betrayed a Jedi to my evil self's Cult. You must have hoped they would kill her, but deep down, I think you liked the idea of turning her into what she hated--"

"SHE ALREADY WAS WHAT SHE HATED!" Nathan roared. "All your Cult did was strip away the pretense."

"And how many people paid for that, Nathan? How many suffered for your one moment of spite over the centuries? And you were wrong about her. She was sorry about your family. At least until my...other self...chewed her up and spat her out."

"You would know, Phyre. And not a day goes by where my mistake with Elaine Tear isn't one I regard as one of my greatest."

"Like I now know you were hoping me merging with that thing you freed would kill both of us. All so we wouldn't recognize we both were bonded to you. Another great mistake that made our situation worse."

"Two freaks." he scoffed.

Syd stepped closer.

"But you were much more concerned about the bond with the one you merged me with...why?"

"You're forgetting something. If I was trying to kill you both, I would probably have died also."

"I'm not saying you were not aware of the possibility. I'm saying you didn't care." she accused. "That is why you are your own worst enemy. Just like your daughter."

"I have killed people for less than what you did to me where she is concerned." He hissed, stepping closer. Only a meter separated his hands from her throat.

Syd didn't go for her weapon.

"Any time you wanna go for broke and finish what you started in that swamp you're welcome to." she replied quietly. "But I'm sorry. For all of it. I wish I could take it all back. Everything."

"You can be sorry. Lysandra can't even be that since you ate her, all those years ago." he hissed, eye twitching. "I've passed on my expectations to you. I'm going to leave. While I can still force myself to."

Nathan turned and left the lonely Syd in the cave. She collapsed, sobbing uncontrollably.

Everyone except Starlin Rand and his father hated her.



Present...

Syd had taken the least notable routes into the Coruscant temple. Her face was always hidden by a green hood, only her curling red locks sticking out from the darkness of her green cloak around and equally green Jedi Jumpsuit. Less temptation to use her flame powers ( and risk outing herself as Syd to the Jedi)

Unless they already knew... could they?

Syd (Now Surt'r amongst the Jedi) was nervous about being next to no less than Valery Noble for this. Did she know?

A flash of memories of Laertia, fragmented and mixed with other memories, made her stop and clutch her head in the temple passages. Despite being in a haven of light she found no comfort. Only Nathan's cold despise of her like ice in her blood.

Syd caught her breath, hiding her distress as she sought out the Jedi Master.

But even as she sought her out, Syd wondered what could be so pressing a Senator needed two Jedi to protect him. And why had he resorted so quickly to Jedi for protection.

As she came across him, she had her answer. He was a Senator from Beltrix 3, a Factory world. Yet nothing about him said he knew a hard day's work. He was in the finest gold threads with an equally gaudy gold cane with a black jewel on top, hair in an absolutely magnificent silver pompadour.

When he spotted her he only scoffed, pampered and fanned by his various aids

"Finally! Maybe you can explain why I have been brought here to this dreadfully stuffy temple in the middle of the Night. And where in blazes is Master Noble?"

 

[Valery Noble]

Sleheyron

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Double-Bladed Lightsaber
Tag: Syd Celsius

"She's right here, Senator," Valery said as she entered the room herself. Her fiery first turned to the senator fanned by his aides, but she wasn't all that interested in a man like him. No, she was far more interested in the woman who would be joining her for this escort mission. After some thorough research, she suspected this Surt'r to actually be Syd Celsius , a woman capable of taking on different identities.

She was also a woman who once met and befriended her beloved husband, Kahlil Noble . Perhaps it was a little selfish to want to learn more about her because of that connection, but Valery vividly remembered that Kahlil had told her he hadn't been able to stay in touch with her, among others. Perhaps he'd like it if his wife could bring some good news about where his old friend had been, and whether or not she was doing well.

But one step at a time.

Valery wanted to figure out why she was hiding her identity, and they had a senator to protect as well. The reason for it escaped her a little, but she assumed his business model had led to developing some rivalries of the dangerous kind. It that were the case, she'd want to investigate things more thoroughly, to make sure she wasn't protecting a criminal trying to escape justice.

"I don't believe any of us met before? I'm Master Valery Noble," she began to introduce herself, while her senses extended to the others to see if they were being honest in their own introductions.

 

[Syd Celsius]

"About bloody time!" The Senator from Beltrix 3 exclaimed.

"First, FIRST! My assistant wakes me up in the middle of my beauty rest and without explanation says I'm to head to this temple immediately..." The Senator complained with flustered, extravagant hand gestures as he paced about, all but caterwauling about how awful his night was.

"THEN! THEN! I don't even get my required first class seating. I was put in coach! Can you imagine the sheer indignity, rubbing elbows with all the smelly types! I may have to end up throwing this outfit out altogether just to avoid the reminder, and I just bought it!."

Oh, he's one of 'those' types. Syd thought to herself, clutching her head, not sure if the migraine was from her own swiss-cheese memory or the Senator seemingly born to be fethin' annoying.

When Valery Noble introduced herself, Syd was low key in her response. The trick to lying to a Jedi was to not tell a lie at all, but to tell the truth in just such a way that it accomplished the same effect as lying. This was normally extremely difficult to pull off, because lying to a Jedi often has to be done on the spot.

But Syd, even in her broken state of mind, had more experience in this sense than most.

"We haven't met." Syd said. It was the truth.

"I'm a Healer who was asked here to assist you." Also the truth. Syd was a healer, primarily...nowadays...

"No experience body-guarding Senators, however..." Also the truth...yet it was an answer that did not confirm or deny her having any experience of any kind at being a bodyguard of anyone.

"Name's Surt'r." The truth still...but stretched. Surt'r had been the name of one of her previous incarnations. And it was her name only when amongst Jedi. Not one of the answers had been a lie, yet they all obfuscated more important truths in small, subtle, but effective ways in their wording.

"Would someone please tell me why I have been brought here?" The Senator complained.

"Because a direct attempt was made on your life on Beltrix 3, Senator Rando..." answered a stern, bald man with black clothes and a neatly trimmed beard. He wore the clothing of an elite businessman.

"And just who the bloody feth are you?!" Rando complained.

The man sighed.

"Tom Relint. The head of your bloody security detail." he answered.

Senator Rando blinked.

"Ah, yes, I didn't recognize you. My word, man, what have you been doing with yourself!? Don't you know you're supposed to protect me?!"

Tom shot Valery Noble a withering look that screamed 'See what I deal with?'

"I am protecting you Senator. And so did the Body Double that went in your place at that meeting with that water treatment Union. The one you were too tired to go to, remember?"

Rando went red in the face.

"Tammy-"

"Tom." Tom corrected.

"Whatever. Listen, Todd, it wouldn't do for my constituents if they knew I'm only alive because I was feeling a bit under the weather--"

"Dude, under the weather?! You had Twi'lek Dancers feeding you grapes all night!" Tom sputtered in disbelief.

Senator Rando stomped his foot in a petulant, childish huff.

"That is a gross exaggeration, Tristen--"

"Tom." Tom corrected.

Rando blinked. "Whatever, Theodore. The point is, that claim is a total exaggeration! It was one Twi'lek dancer! And I was only continuously fed grapes one and a half hours out of the night! Not all night!"

"Senator, your Body Double was violently murdered via having industrial solvents used for stripping paint off vehicles poured down his throat. Every other bodyguard besides myself was murdered with sledgehammers, along with all those poor innocent Union Workers. The only reason you are here is because this is your panic button...if somebody ever gets past your meat shields, I was to run your ass to the closest, most powerful Jedi I could find. I told the temple, and they arranged for you to come."

Then Tom walked up to him, handing Rando a letter.

"What's this?" The Senator asked.

"ITS MY RESIGNATION, DUMBASS!" Tom roared, red in the face. "You're someone else's problem now! FIVE YEARS! FIVE WHOLE FETHING YEARS OF GUARDING A MORRRRROOOONNNNN!" Tom bellowed at the top of his lungs. Syd couldn't help but suppress a very small giggle.

"A MORON WHO CAN'T EVEN GET MY NAME RIGHT! ITS TOM! TOM! TOM TOM TOM TOM TOM TOM! TOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!" Tom screamed again. "A THANKLESS EXISTENCE OF PROTECTING THE MOST SELF CENTERED, IGNORANT, STUPID MAN I HAVE EVER MET IS OVVVVEERRRRRR! BELTRIX 3 WILL SIGH IN RELIEF WHEN YOU'RE DEAD AND BURIED! I WILL WHOOP IN JOY WHEN I HEAR THE NEWS THAT YOU ARE WORM FOOOOOOOODDDD!"

Tom then composed himself, smoothed his clothes out, and bowed very respectfully to both Valery and Syd, before walking over to Valery and handing her all his notes and records about the apparent attempt on Rando's life.

"Forgive me, Master Jedi...but he's your problem now. I go to seek intensive therapy for the trauma of keeping him alive..." Tom said in an extremely polite and soothing way to Valery, marching out of the room.

"Tennyson! Tennyson wait!" Rando called out desperately as Tom left.

When Tom didn't go back, he only huffed.

"Tell me this temple at least serves my favorite Corellian Coco Parfait..." he said in a wistful sigh.

"We're not a catering service." Syd pointed out.

"When then get some catering service! My Gods, must I think of everything?" Rando demanded indignantly before whipping out a large green perfume bottle out of his golden coat and luxuriously spraying himself twice (the scent of which was enough to make his groveling aids as well as Syd herself gag somewhat at it's pungent smell) before putting it back.

"And this is just a private critique, but your drapes, are horrible..." Rando said in a cattish manner before daintily walking away with his aides trailing behind.

Syd looked at Valery when he was out of earshot.

"I'm impressed with Tom's patience. He would make a good Jedi." she noted.

 

[Valery Noble]

Sleheyron

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Double-Bladed Lightsaber
Tag: Syd Celsius

Ah, he was one of those.

Valery just blinked at the senator, then decided to turn her attention to Syd Celsius instead, "I've got experience, but this is fairly unique case, I'd say." She smirked a little, and listened further to what she had to say. Nothing really stood out too much, but from what she could gather, she would likely be quite useful. An idiot like this senator was undoubtedly going to get himself hurt, so if she was a healer...

Valery felt bad for even wanting to have anybody help this man. But as frustrating as he was, a Jedi couldn't just allow him to be assassinated.

Besides, she was curious about the motives as well.

Her fiery gaze then shifted to another figure in the room — a man who introduced himself as part of the senator's security team. He seemed polite, well-researched and-

He snapped.

Valery's eyes widened a little, and turned back towards Syd Celsius to see how she felt about it all. On one hand, Valery couldn't blame the man for quitting his job, but he didn't exactly choose the most appropriate moment. That said, Valery accepted the files he had to offer, and dipped her head to wish him the best.

"I don't think most Jedi could handle this either," Valery told her in return. "Let's start with these files? We can go from there, and figure out a plan to handle this."