Faction The Red War: Assimilate | CIS

[Lliara Daeva]

THE RED WAR: HEALERS OF THE NEW ORDER
ACT I, SHADOWFEED SCENE I
ASSIMILATE
RYLOTH
​

Terrorists. On Ryloth. Who would imagine after the Agents of Chaos came and went. 'Free' the Twi'lek? Lliara smiled to herself as she watched the figures draw near. No matter how many times anyone "freed" the Twi'lek the planet always ended up right back where it started. It wasn't only Ryloth, of course. No, it was the entire galaxy. Everything kept changing, and yet in no time at all it just returned to the same state anyone had found it. Whether that was being prosperous, destitute, or sent into oblivion... And this Mirialan knew that better than most. Not even the far too many souls that got trapped in some stasis coffin understood just how grossly cyclical existence was. They hadn't lived it. The Vampires would understand. But they, like her, were too busy promoting their own agendas for a chat.

A cloaked figure skittered through the alleyway. They'd just left a nearby warehouse and sought to remain secluded until they could pass on the delicious information they'd obtained. Times, locations, and manifests of material to be used in their grand designs. Lliara's eyes were positively aglow with that knowledge as they watched the little figure skitter about. Yes, look over your shoulder. Listen for pursuit. Check your wrist device to see if anyone was actively scanning for you. Good, good.

With the dry slip of flesh over dust and worn rock, which echoed from every direction and could easily have been the harsh winds of the world, a shadow eclipsed the skittering figure.

Lliara's boots slammed into the man's shoulders. Her knees bent and then extended so the Mirialan somersaulted to complete her journey to the ground below. Slowly she rose back to her full height as a trembling hand stretched out toward their destination. A smirk pulled hard at the corner of her lips.

One. Two. Three steps. Kick. When the cloaked Twi'lek faced her, his other hand thrust upward to throw loose or gaseous material up at her. Lliara stood there silently with the smirk locked in place. It only took a second or two before they noticed the enclosed helmet she wore. "Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. Never use a biological agent against someone that specializes in biological agents. You only end up looking the fool." More foolish seeing how her catch likely had no idea who Lliara even was. Too bad for them.

This was not the right place for an interrogation, however. As unlikely as visitors were here, she liked to work in private. In one fluid motion she jabbed an injector into the side of the man's neck and deposited a healthy amount of a special blend of sedative into his system.

Now she'd need to haul the man away before some oblivious civilian, clueless security, or thick Confederacy Agent just happened upon them. Of course she'd set up a safehouse not too far away just for today's affair. Humble place with enough questions no one would disturb her or ask annoying questions.

Tag: Open to CIS, Shadowfeed​

 

[Lanx Velishin]

The galaxy just seemed determined to not give him a break in any sense of the word. It seemed as though his life had turned into a cruel twist of the monkey’s paw. All those nights of wishing over and over again that he would be freed from the life of slavery and misery that he spent on the asteroid mining. In reality, he honestly seemed to wish that his own life would be taken, freeing him of the misery, instead of being free from the life of a slave, which seemed much too hopeful for most days. Even for a perpetually happy Cathar. But when he was freed in the raid by starfield, the monkey’s pause began to take back what was owed.

It hadn’t been all bad. He had been able to make a few companions within the shadowfeed organization, and it seemed as though people were beginning to trust him as well. He could’ve never guessed, however, his time as a spy would lead him to following cultists around and to watch them do some…horrible things. Things that were beyond his level of comprehension flashed before his eyes on the last mission, things that it seemed as though even his fellow agents couldn’t explain.

There were whispers of magik and some sort of parallel dimension that connected it all. All he knew was that he had just watched a huge number of innocent people get brainwashed by fungus and crazed hooded figures swinging around axes with black mist flowing from them, and that was almost enough for him to hand it whatever certification he needed to leave this spy stuff. Just one thing kept him going, however…the fact that there was a chance these attacks could become widespread, that the these cultists could spread their ideology so far and wide the whole galaxy would become cleansed..he wouldn’t be able to live with himself if he just walked away.

He didn’t expect to get deployed again so soon. His time with the agency had been short enough where actually figuring out how the deployments and schedules worked was still a work in progress in his mind. Still, it felt a bit..short, but the times must be dire. This time it seemed as though it would be a much shorter mission, at least. A different companion that last time, as well. The Mirialan wasn’t the droid, who Lanx truly couldn’t get a read on whether they liked him or not. And that made him more nervous than anything.

At least the Mirialan, whom he still hadn’t caught the name of just yet, was quite alright with him sticking back at the safehouse to set up the equipment for…the questioning. He knew exactly what these tools were for. Knives, scalpels, electrical equipment…poisons. They all brought back some very horrid memories of what his fellow miners had described the re-education process to be like, and the idea of possibly doing this to someone else threatened to turn his stomach upside down.

Maybe the Mirialan would be able to get the information out of the cultist quickly enough that none of the tools would be needed. And maybe..maybe he’d be allowed to stay away from the blood spray.

 

[Lliara Daeva]

Fortunately for her, Lliara knew how to go unnoticed even in broad daylight. Made it easy to transport an unconscious body thrown over her shoulders like a sack of potatoes. Did nothing to help with how much the body weighed, but The Force had other ways of providing the strength to endure for the short stroll to safety.

The door to the safehouse slid open as the Mirialan stood before it. It took a few seconds and turning sideways in order to fit through with the cargo she carried, but at long last the need to remain concealed from the sight of the ignorant faded. "Space Jockey," Lliara called out, "strap this one in the chair, won't you?" The body would be tilted from her shoulders for Lanx to remove the burden. "Just hold your breath or wear the mask like we discussed. You're too handsome to become a stool."

A long and storied life didn't mean Lliara liked being alone. If she wanted solitude she wouldn't have ventured out of her lab. Shockingly, the organization hadn't paired her up with a killjoy either. The Cathar was painfully green, but really that was just all the more charming. It'd probably put more of the weight on her to carry, but Lliara wasn't unfamiliar with such burdens. Besides, this one had potential or they'd have cut him from the ranks already. Might do him some good to have her around. So, naturally she'd remind him not to get himself infected handling their guest.

Lliara retrieved a handheld sweep and calmly began brushing away the particles from the shoulders of her meticuously cared for outfit. It was vintage, after all. No one made this style any more -- more was the pity. It just had the right look. As familiar as old leather as some would put it. "Anything new while I was out? There isn't much time. A meeting like that happens when they're nearly prepared." A soft sigh was echoed by the vocalizer in the helmet. "Which means we can't take our time on this one. Shame. We'll just have to be content learning their purpose here and now."

Torture wasn't a reliable means at acquiring information, some said. The subject might say anything to get you to stop. Well, obviously, that's why you tortured multiple people and figured out who was lying. That, however, was beside the point. Lliara didn't like using such barbaric means of extraction. She didn't make people suffer because it made her feel better about herself, or because it was the only way she found enjoyment in life. It was merely business. An affair best conducted efficiently and effectively to move on the better things -- like stopping whatever the terrorists were planning on Ryloth. Mostly so she'd get access to key information to help in her scientific pursuits.

After her outfit was properly cleansed of spores, the Mirialan set the brush down and deftly plucked another injector off the side table. She paused, planted a hand on her hip, and then looked over at Lanx for a moment. "What would you do in this case, Lanx? Time's short, lives are at stake, and all we have is this one minion to squeeze for information." Time was short, but they had a minute to spare to engage in a little cross-training exercise.

Tag: Lanx Velishin

 

[Lanx Velishin]

The final pieces of the tool set were being polished by his deft hands as he heard the busting of the door that lead to their safehouse. Given how jumpy he was, there was quite luck that he didn’t slice off a finger spinning on his heel, lifting a blaster to point directly toward the open doorway. A small sigh of relief passed through his lips upon seeing it was his fellow agent, though his uneasiness at the situation only heightened upon seeing the twilek slung over her shoulder.

Lliara’s chosen nickname for him honestly didn’t bother him too much, and the sound of it passing through those deeply green lips snapped him to attention, though her tone might’ve had more to do with it than the words. Tone and meaning and all that nonsense. His blaster was swiftly strapped to his side, but before he could take too many steps forward to help, the warning reached his ears. He was going to make a comment, thanking her for the reminder, only for his mouth to be swiftly shut by the lightly hidden compliment that came afterword.

Lanx’s smile didn’t fade from it, and perhaps even grew a few centimeters upon hearing it, though his ears did flatten lightly as his fur flushed. There was business to handle, however, and he turned to swiftly grab his mask and strap it to his face. No need to try and see if he could hold his breath long enough to get the job done. A detriment to the job, he didn’t want to be.

Swiftly, the man was removed from his fellow agent’s back, carried over toward the wooden chair that had been set up, and secured with his wrists and legs to the chair, starting upper then making his way down. All the while, he grunted out as he was carrying him, looking over to Lliara with a small grin. “Heavy son of a headtail, ain’t he?” The restraints were secured tightly, perhaps too tight. The last thing he wanted was for the prisoner to escape…especially with all the painful instruments laying out around him.

Speaking of which, as he began to stand from securing the final ankle restraint, Lliara’s voice caught his attention once more, turning his head to see the Mirialan holding what looked to be a syringe filled with a liquid he couldn’t make out. The question that followed had him standing there, looking from the prisoner back to her, tail swishing back and forth for just a moment. “I…” In truth, he wouldn’t know how to handle the situation. This hadn’t exactly been part of his training. “I’d wake him up first of all. Can’t get much information from a man that’s asleep.”

His grin that followed was more..measured. He knew fully well that he hadn’t answered the question to the fullest extent, but to say that the Cathar was clueless and didn’t want to make a fool of himself was probably not too far from the truth.

/\ Lliara Daeva /\​

 

[Lliara Daeva]

Lanx was an odd one. Not because he was 'weird' in any typical fashion. The Cathar just had this cheerful, go-lucky attitude you didn't find in many agents. Most became jaded or steeled themselves to the horrors of the profession. Of course, Lanx was also relatively new to the job. Jokes were one way to try and keep one's composure in the face of it all. Whether it was truly any 'healthier' than accepting that the world was neither fair nor concerned for any individual's sake philosophers could debate until they passed out blue in the face. Truth be told Lanx seemed on the path to being the right sort of agent in Lliara's estimation.

Son of a Headtail. An interesting mental image.

"As long as you don't remove his clothing." The Mirialan turned her helm in Lanx's direction as he worked on securing the prisoner. "I would have enjoyed if he'd lost a few stones though," Lliara agreed at last.

Once she'd retrieved the injector and posited the question, she awaited Lanx's response. Despite the brief hesitation at the start, the man had a smooth delivery. Clear. Reasoned. Confident. Not the best story to buy time, but not an utter disaster that made it known the one uttering it didn't know what they were doing either.

The face plate of her helmet split and retracted to reveal Lliara's face. Her golden eyes peered across at her companion as a smile graced her lips. "Very good," she purred as finished closing the distance. A quick jab in the side of their neck dispensed the countering agent for the sedative.

A flick sent the device sailing through the air in Lanx's direction as Lliara turned back to the table for a palm-sized object. "But you can't take things one step at a time, Lanx. You're either two steps ahead of your enemy, or you're ten steps behind them. If you aren't careful those gaps close in the blink of an eye." She pivoted about and plowed the device into the man's chest.

The sharp gasp and bang of a body rudely kept from lurching right out of the chair filled the room. Enough commotion to drown out the soft whirring sound.

"Take our guest, for example." Lliara slipped a pad from the table and began to walk around the back of the chair. "Seemingly healthy Ryl native male. Young adult specimen. Toned muscles from toiling on a harsh world. Strong lungs to combat the extremes of an arid and scorching surface, with that of the subterranean world below. Well," she waved the datapad off to one side in a flippant gesture, "mostly."

A sudden cry burst from the man before he nearly choked on it. More thrashing followed.

"Signs of deterioration. Appropriation. Assimilation. Considerable loss of gastric-intestinal tract. Dermal growths. Curious secondary nervous system," Lliara remarked as she came out from behind the chair on the other side. Her golden eyes had been on the pad most of her journey. "Will need to study more later. For now we'll stick with what remains of the original nervous system. Fairly intact, especially the spinal column and lower brain stem. Suitable."

Lliara turned to regard the patient that'd settled down with clenched teeth from the... uncomfortable exam preparations. "Let's begin with something simple. What were you doing in the warehouse where I found you?"

She lifted a finger to delay a response they wouldn't be eager to give any way. A quick look over at Lanx followed. "Please, feel free to make suggestions at any time on interrogating the prisoner, Lanx. We're a team, after all." It was so easy for the new ones to feel left out, or to try and find somewhere to 'stay out of the way' (not be involved). You didn't learn much that way.

"Please," the Mirialan smiled back at their guest, "continue." A light tap on the pad caused the device's tendrils to dig a little deeper into the man. Motivation.

Tag: Lanx Velishin

 

[Lanx Velishin]

He tried to not be too obvious in his sigh of relief from the smile given by Lliara. It was becoming quite obvious to him that even if he was green, the…green, alien didn’t seem to mind too much. In fact, by how she spoke and played along with his jokes, she was much more likely to try and teach him than berate him. This was something that the Cathar could live with, and honestly made him all the more excited to actually work with Lliara, even if the work ahead seemed quite…dark.

Quick reactions made sure to the catch the syringe before it went flying past his head and smashed into the wall. It helped sometimes to be a pilot, and honestly he was slightly proud of himself for showing off a skill like that naturally. Made his formerly bumbled answer look slightly better, he mused.

Placing it back among the rest of the tools, Lanx realized that by the time he looked up Llaria was slamming something into their prisoner’s chest. Before he even had a chance to ask just what it might be, the Twilek’s reaction seemingly gave him all the knowledge he really needed. There was no telling what the little spikes were digging with, whether they were injecting their prisoner or just forcing him to go through horrible muscle contractions, but either way, the pain on his face was evident. And that didn’t take into account the sounds he was making.

Lanx’s mind was so consumed with watching the cultist struggle against his bonds that he almost didn’t pick up that Lliara was speaking. By the time he did, his confused expression probably betrayed that he had been lost in the moment a bit. But who was to blame him? If you suddenly came back to a conversation and your partner was talking about dermal growths and second nervous systems you might just be a little confused too.

The twilek’s gritted teeth did little to hold back the venom he spat out toward the Mirialan, poison leaking from his tongue in the form of his words. “Oh nothing. Just spreading the word of the healers far and wide for the non-believers like your ugly, dirty self.” Lanx winced upon hearing this, partly due to just how..arsine it was to speak this way when tied up, but also when tied up this way…..and your pain was controlled by the one you just spoke to. Stupid, in the very real sense of the word.

But stupid..could also be confused with fanatical. That certainly could be part of it.

The Cathar took a stride forward, now standing a few feet away from the twilek, looking from him to where Lliara stood behind him. “I don’t have any real experience with these situations…but when they spoke of re-education centers when I was..” A pause, then a shake of his head. No need to drag up the past now. “They spoke of beating down the spirit as well as the body before reshaping it. I don’t know how well that applies here, but…” Another pause, but this time it was to smile lightly toward Lliara. Joking was his was of trying to hide his feelings in the situation, but this time, it felt a bit more genuine, despite the context.

“this one seems quite spirited.”

/\ Lliara Daeva /\​

 

[Lliara Daeva]

That Lanx hadn't been listening didn't bother the Mirialan in the slightest. In fact, part of the routine had been for just such an occasion. Few were as interested in the technical aspects of their work and rather 'just get on with it.' As though wishing it be over with made it go any faster. In Lanx's case it'd been more an unfamiliarity with the situation -- or perhaps, in part, a personal familiarity with it.

They all began painfully naive at some point. Lanx, at least, wasn't that inexperienced.

Golden eyes rose to regard the man as he took a stand before their guest. Seemed he brought the personal experience to bear on the situation. Good. What else was such unpleasantness good for? Driving yourself mad, perhaps, but that was just a waste of good talent. "Normally, I would agree. There's a line between breaking someone so they confess, and brainwashing them into believing whatever it is you like, however. Similar skillsets, but not entirely the same." Lliara paused to smile. "On one hand you threaten, torture, and demonstrate the complete worthlessness of their cause. The other might do something similar, but it'll structure the experience as being the victim's fault or placing Control in a position to help them out of their suffering. Ultimately it comes down to Control's personality. If you can't find it in yourself to even feign caring about the subject don't waste your time trying to brainwash them."

"This one?" Lliara stepped looked down at the Twi'lek. "We don't have time to break his spirit, and I'm not going to waste mine convincing them of the truth."

Another tap ramped up the probes within the man's body and boosted the signals coursing throughout every nerve in his body. "No," Lliara's sigh was followed with a warm smile, "I think this one I simply turn their mind into to soup. Seconds after second of pain no sentient would ever experience out there in the wide world. Suffering the likes of which the mind has biological safeguards to weather by shutting down. Much as one passed the time recovering from oral surgery -- unconsciousness. A cowardly refuge. One which I've deprived our guest here." There'd been more in that injector than a stimulant.

Another tap and the pain level increased once more. "Because, you see, Lanx, this isn't a mere zealot that believes in a cause greater than their self. They're connected to a greater whole." The Mirialan laughed for a few seconds. "So many of them claim that, but in this case it's true. A network of consciousness outside of the norm. I wouldn't call it a hive mind, really." Lliara looked upon the Twi'lek for a moment. "His responses are too individual for that. Or perhaps he hasn't earned the honor of being ushered into the fold yet. Shame... It will never happen now. Strapped her to a chair. Suffering. Hoping to escape. To finish what they started. To deliver word the Great Cause will go forth on Ryloth. And because they will fail in this simple task, they will never be anything more than trash. Ugly. Dirty. Trash. A wretch more pitiable than those they look down upon -- a failure."

Another tap.

Tag: Lanx Velishin

 

[Lanx Velishin]

As the Mirialian began to speak, answering what the Cathar had said, Lanx took a step back and retrieved a chair so that he could watch her work. He spun it, facing the back toward the Twilek, plopping down in the chair and listened as Lliara continued on. A brown and gold furred tail swished back and forth, eagerly listening to whatever the knowledgeable spy had to say. Those slit iris eyes found their way over to the twi’lek, regarding him with a curious look before grinning toward his partner. “And I highly doubt you can feign that you care too much about him, today, can you?”

She was right, however. They didn’t have time to break him. They didn’t have time to truly brainwash him. There was no telling how soon the attack would come, and if the local authorities found what they were doing here, there would be way too many questions that neither him nor Llirara would want to answer. Answers were needed, and quickly, so it made sense that a quicker and….dirtier, solution was more promising to her partner.

A pair of furry brows began to furrow as Lliara described what she would be doing to the twi’lek. He was a target, they were sent here to do this. Knowing this didn’t stop Lanx from feeling a sense of guilt over the absolutely cruel night they were about to put the man through. “Seems a bit…cruel, to me. Turning one’s mind to soup.” Sentiments, perhaps not something that every agent should have. They were still being worked out of him, but he couldn’t help but realize how close this all was to the horrific fate that he imagined some of his fellow slaves must’ve been put through.

However, slowly, it appeared as though he began to understand the stakes that they were facing as Lliara laid them out. They weren’t facing a normal threat. This wasn’t something that would be beaten by them being….kind, and Lanx was starting to understand that. Still, a sour look plastered the furred face of the Cathar, even as he watched the Twi’lek writhe and groan as wave after wave of pain washed over him.

His resistance was diminishing, even Lanx could see that. That didn’t stop him from turning his head slightly, lobbing a glob of spit right onto the Mirialian’s boot. “you…will…fail…to stop…us.” Lanx gripped the chair’s backing, sour look slowly stretching into something more akin to anger. Anger at the situation, maybe, or maybe at the devotion to turning the galaxy on it’s side that this cultish held within his heart.

/\ Lliara Daeva /\​

 

[Lliara Daeva]

Her gaze partially veiled by her lashes, Lliara smiled back at Lanx for a moment. She could reign caring about the Twi'lek, but there was no need to bother under the circumstances. She'd explain at greater length another time, perhaps. The man was already going to have loads to take in as it was. Most of it not pleasant. But it was an unpleasant galaxy and you simply had to learn how to work within the system.

After the first round of exchanges, Lliara threw her head back and started to laugh. Suddenly the pain wracking the Twi'lek's body vanished with a tap on the controls. Her golden eyes looked down her nose at their guest. "Fail? Us? Don't be ridiculous." A prolonged exhalation slipped between her lips as she lowered her chin. "I already have everything we need. Who you are. Who you report to. What you were doing. What you are going to do. Why do you think I've spent all this time stroking my own ego and helping my partner see you for what you are? Trash to be discarded in whatever manner I see appropriate."

The Mirialan began to circle back around behind the chair as she spoke. "Don't get your hopes up. This entire process won't take very long. If I were trying to break you time would be a factor, but I'm not. I'm going to watch as one organ at a time shuts down from pain as your brain steadily loses the ability to coordinate autonomic biological functions. If you think that takes a long time then you obviously didn't go to medical school. It's really much like a set of Domeeno. Once you knock one over the rest begin to topple one after the other picking up speed until... well, there's nothing left to entertain me."

As she resumed her place back on the side where she started, Lliara smiled down at the man. "We already have resources in place to deal with your kind. I'm just here to throw a little discord into your ranks. You don't appear, questions are raised, timetables are delayed -- if but only a little. It should be enough for our purposes. Then again," Lliara shrugged, "you could try to delay me by holding my interest. I don't think you will. So," her thumb tapped the control and the pain resumed at the level where they'd left off, "let's continue." Even if he couldn't fall unconscious from the pain, there came a point when a body failed to appreciate the depth of pain it was experiencing. Altering between extremes gave the body time to reset before it was reintroduced to all the wonders it hadn't truly appreciated before.

When they were done, Lliara made a note to stress the importance of this little session. The true lessons she couldn't confess out loud given their present company -- else it would ruin the moment. Any reassurance would only diminish Lanx's own responses; the natural revulsion being quite useful to demonstrate a neutral third party's opinion on current events.

Tag: Lanx Velishin