Private The Lost Witch's Chrysalis

[Maiev]

Kalax rolled her eyes at Nyssa, immediately reminded of how blunt the Pureblood was. Indeed, nothing had changed with her. But the spirit didn't let it dwell on her mind for too long, her focus shifting back to the mission at hand. Part of her was frustrated, wanting to just get a move on as soon as possible. Which in an odd way, Elpsis was very much that. Her curt replies to those she had gathered around her.

She was just eager to get off this station and start the investigation proper.

During the journey to the Arx, Kalax faded into the depths of the empath's consciousness. Becoming a nothing more than a silent thought in the back of her mind. Blind and deaf to whatever happened or said during the journey.

She only resurfaced when they were finally aboard the Arx, heading towards Maiev's apartment. "I haven't felt my spirit being drawn away any further, and I'm not sure if that should concern me or not."

Elpsis Kerrigan​

 

[Elpsis Kerrigan]

Maiev

Elpsis furrowed her brow. "Maybe it's a lull in the ritual? Their people got tired? Or Maiev was able to fight back somehow."
"Or she's dead," Nyssa suggested realistically, if unhelpfully.
"If she dies, we kill the whole lot of them," Elpsis grunted.

By now they had reached Maiev's apartment. Predictably, the door was locked. Diona did not let this deter her. She spent a couple moments examining the lock. As was common for apartments on the Arx, it required a plastic keycard. However, instead Diona produced what looked like a mundane black pen, and pushed it it into the DC port on the underside of the keycard lock. The lock popped open.

"Making a habit out of breaking and entering, Jedi?" Nyssa asked sarcastically.
"I had it made. Your locks are not that different from Tephriki ones, just fancier. Better than blowing the door up, as I suppose you would do." Without waiting for a response, Diona crossed the threshold.
Shikoba's eyes swept across the place as she stepped inside. The Vashyada sniffed. "She is long gone, but her imprint remains and may help us trace her. Mayhaps I can discern her spiritual echo." Presumably this was a colourful way of saying psychometry.

 

[Maiev]

The spirit glared over at Nyssa, indeed her answer wasn’t very helpful in the slightest. Kalax would know if something had happened, she’d know if Maiev had died.

As they stood there, or floated in Kalax’s case, she wondered just how Elpsis was able to remain so...patient around the Pureblood. Hell, thinking back on it she wondered how Maiev had back when they had first met Nyssa.

Which albeit...that did involve tying the Pureblood up, putting her into a crate that had been subsequently kicked over.

That and well, Kalax was particularly tense right now. She hadn’t the time for Nyssa’s remarks, they needed to make progress. Ignoring the fact they could very easily do both.

As they stepped into Maiev’s apartment, there was an immediate earthy scent that hit them. It was a very familiar smell to Elpsis, much akin to how the witch’s ship often smelt like. Although the apartment walls were not decorated with hanging herbs, a far cry from how her ship interior had been. But there was no doubt some form of alchemy table/workstation was somewhere.

“Maiev probably set up part of her apartment as a ‘at home office’. It’s likely where she manufactured her items and potions. If there’s any place her spiritual echo would be at its strongest, it’s there.”

In other words, follow the scent.

Elpsis Kerrigan​

 

[Elpsis Kerrigan]

Maiev

Nyssa was many things that could be considered unpleasant. She was crass, arrogant and casually racist. But, in Elpsis' view, she was honest. Someone who was upfront would not scorn you behind your back. And she was not beholden to Elpsis' parents or impressed by them. In any event, they made their way into the lost witch's apartment. As soon became clear, it had a certain aroma. It smelt of nature and of the earth. It instantly reminded Elpsis of the witch. "Then let's go."

"That way," Shikoba pointed. "Her spirit lingers." What they found was a workshop of sorts.
Diona checked the door. "Someone was here. The lock's been picked. But did they abduct her from here or break in to steal something?" she wondered out aloud. "The front door was undisturbed."
"They may have had the keycard," Elpsis frowned. "Or she thought it was a friend. Let's have a look around. Shikoba, do your thing. I can boost you if needed. Diona, Nyssa, check the place out."
It certainly looked like the work room of a witch. Various potions lined the shelves. A bunch of items in various state of completion lay about. Force energy radiated from them. Some cupboards had been ripped open. Nyssa bent down and sniffed, pointing to a spot on the floor. "Shoe print."

Shikoba meanwhile had closed her eyes as she opened herself to the residue of Maiev's spiritual echo. She chanted quietly, speaking eldritch words in her native tongue, Prosabia. Her hand touched one of the devices Maiev seemed to have been working on.

 

[Maiev]

Before Shikoba’s eyes, a physical manifestation began to form. Maiev was sitting at her desk, a small droid in her hand, held in such a way that its underbelly was facing towards her. A tinkering tool was held in the other hand, small enough to allow the witch to get into the drone’s inner workings.

It seemed at some point post-Kalax, Maiev had gotten into a habit of tinkering with technology. The droid was a simple model, commonly seen around the galaxy. But it was apparent the witch was altering it for her own purposes.

“Come on, just got to snap this piece in-”

A sudden flash of sparks forced Maiev to recoil, dropping the drone onto the table. The witch cursed, flexing the hand that had been holding it, trying to shake off the feeling of being shocked. The strength of the impression came from the emotion in the moment, of frustration towards herself

Even after this long, Maiev still missed being able to use the Force.

Meanwhile, Kalax was floating about as far as she could from Elpsis. Enough so that she could take a curious glance at the disturbed cabinets. All of them were filled with some items, mostly herbs that were suspiciously low in quantity. Maiev was never one for expensive material possessions.

“It’s not like for Maiev to leave her supplies this low…” Kalax frowned as she tried to think on the why, why would someone steal her herbs of all things? “Shikoba? Could you come over to this cabinet, see if you can pick up any spiritual impressions?”

What she would find, is a confused but annoyed Maiev, standing before the ripped open cabinet.

“Damn it...I’m gonna have to head off the Arx to resupply. If I find whoever stole my herbs...”

Elpsis Kerrigan​

 

[Elpsis Kerrigan]

Maiev

When Shikoba's long fingers traced a line across the cabinet, her eyes rolled back inside her head. Her eyes flared as she stared at the herbs with uncanny intensity. The vision had disappeared almost as soon as it came.
"Found out anything?" Elpsis asked.
"Theft. Her herbs - they were stolen. That is why she left the floating metal city." Shikoba's voice was strangely high-pitched, but eeriely so. "And there was a little metal golem that would not function. Your kind surrounds yourselves with them too much. It will be the death of you."

"Let's stay on topic," Elpsis interjected in a voice as sharp as a knife. "There was a break-in, she left?" The Vashyada nodded in confirmation. "So this mess happened before she was kidnapped."
"To draw her out," Diona opined, sounding clinical and analytical. "The station is monitored around the clock. They could not contend with all the security onboard. They needed her alone and isolated. They knew where she'd have to go."
"Agreed. So next stop: her ship, if they weren't smart enough to get rid of it," Elpsis said grimly. "Right, anyone know these herbs?"
"Their roots are unknown to me," Shikoba stated. She picked up some other item to examine it, as if the present debate did not overly concern her.

"I know them," Nyssa spoke up, having picked up one of the few herbs to examine and sniff it.
"You?" Elpsis could not quite contain her surprise.
"I'll have you know that I have considerable expertise in Sith sorcery and alchemy," Nyssa huffed. "We don't always use blood, you know. It's Nirnroot. Quite dull really. I should introduce her to a yellow musk creeper. Anyway, it's from Felucia. Also grows on Akiva, I believe."
"She went to Felucia," Elpsis decided. "It's where we first met."

 

[Maiev]

Kalax felt a degree of sadness, hearing even the slightest bit of what Maiev had been up to since their separation. Perhaps it was an odd thing for a spirit to feel, after having been (and technically still was) a disembodied spirit within the Netherworld. There was no real emotion, nothing like being trapped on the physical plane. Kalax had been very familiar with that, haunting Dathomir fueled by fury and anger.

Until the fateful day when she had found Maiev’s mother, all those years ago.

There had been something about being a part of Maiev that had changed the ancient spirit for the better. Even if she had refused to admit it back then.

She had continued what Maiev’s mother could no, taking care of her child. Something that had realigned Kalax to the right path. And she had parted ways, let the daughter fly from the nest without the parent.

Albeit, their situation hadn’t been anything close to ordinary.

Kalax listened to what was being said, agreeing with it all. She knew Maiev well, and knew that the only way to get the witch of the Arx, would’ve been through her herbs. Perhaps if the witch still had the Force, she’d have foreseen this as a trap. The spirit floated over slightly, peering at the herb in particular. She had gone to speak, but Nyssa beat her to it.

“You?” Kalax spoke at the same time as Elpsis, sharing the surprise of the Pureblood’s knowledge. But the answer was all the same, and Kalax couldn’t help but feel a sense of dread form. She didn’t like this…

“And it’s not a place she’d think would have a trap awaiting her, not like if it was say...Dathomir.” The culprits went after a planet that Maiev had fond memories of. Now, if they knew this fact or not was unknown. Or if they had just gotten lucky with picking a particular herb to steal.

Elpsis Kerrigan​

 

[Elpsis Kerrigan]

Maiev

The combined reaction of Kalax and Elpsis made Nyssa look quite smug. "What is that for a world?" Diona asked, frowning. She did not like admitting ignorance, but it seemed this 'Dathomir' was significant. Tephrike's long isolation meant that its people had lost of knowledge of outer space had been lost.
"Witch planet. It's where she's from," Elpsis answered.

"I see," Diona remarked thoughtfully as they left the workshop. "If her captors know that she has a support network behind her, they should have been smart enough to dipose of her vessel. Then we'd have to question natives. Is this Maiev capable?"
"Very, she's no ditz. If she couldn't fight them, she'd try to leave a message or something behind."
The former Jedi glanced at the Vashyada. "Shikoba, if this Maiev or her captors touched something, it will give you a visual impression of a past event regardless of what it was, correct?"
"I will know what I learn when I touch it. It could be a vision from her, it could be one from a century ago. Although a corpse would be the most talkative." With these cryptic and somewhat morbids parting words, the party headed back to their ship.

 

[Maiev]

Their journey to Felucia was very uneventful, as was finding the clearing Maiev always used. Fortunately, Kalax still remembered the exact coordinates, remarking on the fact the witch had always used the more out of the way locations to gather. It helped in avoiding annoying any of the locals, or butting heads with other like minded botanists.

Maiev’s ship was quickly found, and looked completely untouched. It was locked up and there was no sign anyone had even attempted to get in. Making it all too apparent she had been kidnapped while away from the vessel.

“We shouldn’t have to go too far, her usual spot is close by.”

The group found themselves before a scene of carnage. A small group of bodies littered the ground, and a closer examination would reveal they were Felucians. Their wounds indicating they had been felled with ranged weaponry.

It appeared they had come to blows with the group that were after Maiev.

For a while there was seemingly nothing more, until someone spotted an oddity on a nearby rock. It was large and smooth, an obvious spot for someone to sit. Atop it, was a small bead, something you’d see several of making up a bracelet.

One that Maiev had worn.

It ‘spoke’ with a strong emotional connection, as if it had been deliberately placed. Taking it into her hand, Shikoba would see a familiar vision as in the apartment. Maiev was seated on the rock, her arms were bound behind her back and she held her head down. Hair covering the fact she was quietly speaking.

“Hello Shikoba, at least I hope it’s you that’s picked this up. This whole plan is hinging on it being Elpsis who has come to find me, either by her own discovery or by someone else going to her. I might not have the Force anymore, but I still have the knowledge. Pumping a strong emotion into a physical item should leave an ‘impression’ behind for you to follow. So keep an eye out for more beads.” Maiev’s words were suddenly cut off as someone approached. They were dressed head to toe in light armour, a helmet concealing their face.

“Alright witch, time to get moving.”

The last thing Shikoba saw was Maiev being hauled up onto her feet, giving her a brief look at the fact there was more than one mercenary present.

Elpsis Kerrigan​

 

[Elpsis Kerrigan]

Maiev

After finding the ship, the party came across a scene of bloodshed. The corpses of native Felucians were sprawled across the ground, alongside their traditional weapons. Diona bent down to examine one of them, turning over the body to reveal a large hole in his skull. "Slug round, must've been armour-piercing. Blaster shot," she pointed at another. Looking at a discarded spear, she shook her head. "They had no chance." She turned her gaze towards the footprints, assessing them. "Six warriors at most. They lead from the ship."

"Bastards. We'll avenge them," Elpsis said grimly. If they were not on the clock, she would have taken the time to cremate the bodies, but time was of the essence. "May they find peace in the Lifeweb. Let's have a look around. Follow the trail." At first their search was relatively fruitless.

"Hey, Ghosttalker," Nyssa called out to the Vashyada. "Maybe you should speed things up and summon a Felucian ghost for a chat. They died futilely by bringing spears to a gunfight, so they might as well be useful on this search quest."
"Show the dead some respect," Shikoba chided the Pureblood coldly. "They listen, they remember. One day, your body will be worm-fodder, too and your spirit will be dragged into the endless void. And believe me, Nyssa of Vykaris, many angry spirits are clamouring for the chance to torment your black soul."
"They can get in line. Or do something about it instead of whining," Nyssa grunted.
"For frak's sake, Nyssa, back off, Shikoba, focus," Elpsis snapped in her best sergeant's voice.

"Found something," Diona interjected. Shikoba took the beads in hand and saw the vision. As always, she was a bit winded after having witnessed the impression. She swayed slightly, but was caught by Elpsis. "Maiev?" the Lieutenant asked.
"She left it for me. I see she recognises talent," Shikoba said a bit smugly. "We must follow the beads."
"Did you see anything else? Her attackers?"
"One, but they were masked."

 

[Maiev]

“And that’s if said dead Felucian would even be agreeable to answer our questions. History has shown they’re not exactly friendly to outsiders.” Kalax looked over at Shikoba. “We should push on, follow the thread between the beads, hopefully Maiev was able to leave more without being caught.”

The group pushed on, and after a bit of a trek they found themselves in another clearing. Containing a small lake and a distinct lack of deceased Felucians. What was noticeable however, was the fact the dirt had been disturbed in a couple areas. One was by the lake, a closer examination revealing someone had been kneeling there. The second spot was a fair distance away, looking more as though someone had collapsed all of a sudden.

Nestled just beside that spot, was another of the beads.

“You know what to do, let us know what you see, Shikoba.”

The scene she was greeted by was a stark contrast to the previous. Maiev was standing on the spot where the bead was found, with one of the mercenaries holding a knife against her throat. Although this one was slightly different, dressed in much lighter armour and concealed in a hood and mask combo, not a helmet.

“Put the knife away, Fox.”

“Feth that, she killed Hawk. Snapped their neck!” Lying motionless on the ground, on the same spot that in reality was now vacant, was another of the mercs. Dressed similarly to how ‘Fox’ was.

“She shouldn’t have lowered her defences then, otherwise she wouldn’t have been taken by surprise. Stand. Down.” The man speaking was one of the heavy armoured ones, the same one Shikoba had heard in the first vision. “Jackal, grab Hawk’s body.”

“What?! Why do we have to take he-”

“Because we’re not supposed to be here!” The leader snapped, turned to look at Jackal. “A few dead Felucians is fine, no one will blink an eye at that. But a dead unidentifiable mercenary? That’s suspicious. Not to mention the Sith Empire has eyes and ears everywhere.”

There was some grumbling amongst the remaining mercs. Jackal walked up and picked Hawk’s body, slinging it over his armoured shoulder. Fox practically growled at Maiev, as he stepped away. The witch just looked at him with a defiant glint in her eye, with some added smugness too.

She had worked out her advantage on this situation. For some reason unknown to her, they wanted her as unharmed as possible. Which meant she could get away with a hell of a lot, without them ever lifting a finger against her.

“Don’t push it, witch.” The leader spoke, almost as if he had been reading her thoughts. “We can easily just knock you unconscious and carry you further.”

The vision faded out as Maiev was escorted onwards.

Elpsis Kerrigan​

 

[Elpsis Kerrigan]

Maiev

And so the group went on a merry trek. Some beasts were slain on the way, but otherwise their trip was uneventful, until they happened upon a small lake. "Disturbed ground," Diona noted. "The shape in the soil...it is man-sized," she indicated the spot that looked like someone had collapsed.

"I hear a wail. It is loud - angry. Someone perished recently," Shikoba muttered to herself as she took the beads in hand. She swayed a bit after having received the vision. It was longer than the previous ones, so she needed time to centre herself and sat on a rock. "And then there was one less," she remarked.
"Get to the point. One of the kidnappers is dead?" Elpsis asked. Shikoba nodded.
Nyssa scoffed in a most unlady-like manner. "Don't these guys know how to properly kidnap someone? You shoot them with an ion paddle beamer, shackle, drug them." Elpsis gave her a look and the Pureblood shrugged. "What? It's useful to know. Moving on, did you get a good look at them?"
"Not of their faces. They identified themselves as sellswords and were clad as such. They took the corpse."

"Whoever's behind this is making sure to hide their tracks," Elpsis surmised, gesturing to the team to resume its trek. Her eyes narrowed. "Did they harm Maiev?" There was a note of concern in her voice, despite her stoic expression. Shikoba shook her head. "They must want her real bad, if they're paying their thugs enough for the latter to ignore one of their own being killed in front of them." Alternately they'd simply calculated that it meant one less person to share the payout with. "Kalax, any clue about who wants you back that bad?"

 

[Maiev]

“I am...unsure. It’s been far too long for it to be any of my disciples behind this. The only other possibility is that they’re from Maiev’s clan. But...they were all wiped out when the other clans sought to eradicate them.”

The group pushed on further, following the faint pull of the beads Maiev had left. It quickly led them to another clearing, much wider than the ones before it. There was clear evidence a ship had landed at the far end, and between them?

A field of battle.

The land was littered with the bodies of dead Felucians. Unlike the small group before, these hadn’t just fought with spears and bows, but also with rudimentary slugthrowers. It seemed whatever large settlement they had been from, they had escalated their weaponry to match the threat they faced.

And they had brought a rancor with them, if the currently dead one was any indication. It appeared to have died from some form of explosion that had taken out its jaw. A closer inspection would find a disembodied arm, bearing the same armour the mercenaries had been wearing.

The bead left behind showed what exactly had happened. With the mercenaries finally arriving back at their ship, but getting ambushed by Felucians before they could reach it. A battle had ensued where the Felucians were the only ones to lose any of their number, but one of the mercs had sacrificed their arm to blow up the rancor from within its mouth.

“I know where they’re taking me, it’s-” Before Maiev could finish, the butt of a rifle slammed into the side of her head. “-or...where the...separation happened.” It was all the witch could get out before she fell unconscious.

Kalax racked her brain trying to think what that meant, until it finally dawned on her second later.

“Yavin Four! Of course, that’s where they’ve taken her. It’s where the ritual took place. The perfect spot to draw my spirit back to the material plane.”

Elpsis Kerrigan​

 

[Elpsis Kerrigan]

Maiev

"What is this Yavin?" Shikoba asked, feeling a bit annoyed by her lack of knowledge. All these planets were confusing, and she had thought the hodgepodge of Tygara, with its many queendoms, principalities and city-states, was complicated. Seeing the many corpses, she whispered a quiet prayer to the spirits, touching the skull of the dead rancor.

"Jungle moon. An old Sith world. Purebloods settled there after the Republic's genocide. Then the Jen'jidai Exar Kun sacrificed them to preserve his imbelic existence after the Jedi beat him," Nyssa explained. She was not biased at all.
"It's where the Rebel Alliance destroyed the death star," Diona added.
"Whatever," Nyssa remarked dismissively. Off to Yavin, Red? The Jen'jidai still run it, but we should be able to slip through if we keeps things quiet." To Nyssa, any Sith who was not a Pureblood was a 'poseur' or Jen'jidai.
"Yes." Some time later, they had returned to the freighter. "Get me a line to the Forge," Elpsis ordered. After communications had been set up, a holographic apparition of Lucille Guyenne appeared. One wondered what the time was back home. In any event, the Colonel stood ramrod straight and was already in uniform.

"Report, Lieutenant." No token enquiries about how they were doing. That would have been a waste of time.
Elpsis could not actually see the hologram. She imagined that Guyenne looked stern and serious. She certainly sounded like it. "We were able to track the movements of Maiev's captors. They brought her to Yavin Four."
"Sith-Imperial space."
"Yes, ma'am."
"I don't need you to repeat obvious facts, Lieutenant. Is there any indication that Ms Maiev's kidnappers are affiliated with the Empire?"
"No, third party. They went to Yavin because it's where Kalax was separated from Maiev. They needed to go there for the ritual to work. They hired a bunch of mercs to abduct her. Looks like a small group of hostiles."
"I see," Guyenne looked thoughtful. "Your ship has no indication of Firemane affiliation?"
"Simple freighter. Got multiple transponder codes. We'll scrub our armour of Firemane symbols."
"You're authorised to go to Yavin and retrieve her. Take your team. Further assets will not be available. Avoid contact with the Empire where possible. Guyenne out." And with that the hologram faded away. She was not the type to wish anyone good luck.