Twin Exiles

[Aeda Shaytari]

[member="Kaida Taldir"]
By the time Kaida was escaping the morgue a meeting was occurring upstairs.

Valriya and Captain General Tithyri were quite literally marched into a room where a score of masked Angelii stood ready. Members of the Sacred Band, this detachment was the elite of the elite of the Eldorai forces. They were utterly loyal to the Queen and to the Grand Seraph.

“What is the meaning of this rough treatment?” Valriya demanded. She was used to being the one meting out punishment, not taking it.
“Grand Seraph, I do not understand what has happened, but I formally request an explanation,” the Captain General said, slightly less cross, but clearly angry too.
Aeda, now in full armour, mask and weapons, towered over them from her dais. She said nothing.
“Grand Seraph, I demand…” Valriya began.
“You demand nothing from me. You answer. Seraph Taldir is dead. Do either of you wish to say anything?”
Shocked expressions. “Dead? How?” Tithyri said.
“To be determined. I suspect poison.” The mask turned to Valriya.
“You dare to accuse me?! I had nothing to do with that heretic’s demise, though her loss does not sadden me in the slightest. If you do not bring proof up right now I will take this matter to the Council. I will not be your scapegoat for your incompe…”
She gagged, clutched at her throat as pressure from an invisible hand was applied.
“Take it to the Council. Take it to the Queen. I know you for the serpent you are,” Aeda said, advancing down the stairs.
“Do…something!” Valriya choked out at Tithyri, but the Captain General stood back and snapped to attention.
“I am the Grand Seraph. Ever since the Council imposed you on me I have heard whispers. Whispers of malice and cruelty. Whispers which even your friends cannot conceal. If you killed Kaida Taldir I will flay you. If you did not I have a dozen witnesses who will give testimony at your trial before the Dragon Throne.” Aeda, perhaps exhausted by having said so much, or maybe because she had made her point, released the choke on the woman.
“You have made a terrible mistake, Grand Seraph. I wanted only to destroy Taldir and her brand of heretic, but now I will destroy you.”
Aeda’s mask completely obscured her face, but even with the blank features of the helmet, her stance was one of utter disdain. “No,” she said simply. “Escort her to the landing pad and take her to the palace cells.”

Shortly after, Kaida’s stolen uniform communicator would beep. She was needed to escort a prisoner to the docking bay and then to the palace. Fortunately said uniform had a full helmet and mask….

 

[Kaida Taldir]

[member="Aeda Shaytari"]


"Wing Leader Adani Far, report for prisoner escort." Kaida's stolen communicator buzzed, and instructions were relayed. It happened shortly after she had stepped outside of the morgue. The Angelii whose identity she'd stolen had been safely hidden.

There'd be bruises, but she wasn't in danger of dying. As ruthless as she was, Kaida would not murder a battle sister. Now the disgraced High Captain faced a choice. There was a good deal of commotion outside. By all rights, she should make her getaway now.

But something gave her pause. "For true? That pompous queen got put in irons."

"Saw with mine own eyes. Something about Valriya poisoning ice queen."

Naturally a Sergeant - or rather a Talon had to intervene to get things in order. "Stop the chatter and look sharp. You lot are on escort duty. Escort the prisoner to the docking bay, board the shuttle, bring her to the palace. Do not speak to the prisoner. Do not interact with her. Do not let her get away, or I'll have your hides. Got it? Good!" NCOs were always the same, no matter the race, army or era.

 

[Aeda Shaytari]

[member="Kaida Taldir"]
It was unclear whether the Eldorai had a ‘you have the right to remain silent’ reading of rights. If they did, Valriya had chosen to waive that right.
“I command you to release me!” she was telling the Sacred Band Angelii who was escorting her. “Are you listening to me?” she demanded, stopping. The Banda prodded her onward. “Don’t touch me! I will have you whipped for this,” she growled. The Banda made absolutely no sign, and with her own face masked no expression could be seen.
When they reached the landing pad the fake Adani Far and her comrade were waiting.
“Deliver her to the palace dungeons. No detours,” the Banda said.

Valriya looked at her new captors. Both masked, both fully armed. Even without her hands cuffed she’d be no match.
“What has been done here has been illegal, and you would do well to take me to the Queen so I can put this treacherous usurpation of power to rest.”
Adani’s ‘comrade’ clearly was not impressed. “Save it for your trial, m’lady,” she said, shoving her towards the ship. “C’mon, sis, let’s get her going. Shame we don’t have earplugs,” she commented. The ‘sis’ was not a literal, but a ‘battle sister’ nickname which was common usage for Angelii to use with each other.

 

[Kaida Taldir]

[member="Aeda Shaytari"]


There was a way to face arrest and possible punishment with dignity. Or you could make impotent attempts to throw your weight around. Some people said Valriya had a natural gift for command, but she'd never impressed Kaida.


Especially since she knew about the disgusting, reprehensible things she did in her bedroom. It was a pity the Order was a secret - albeit an open one - and thus she had not been punished for her crimes, just pushed out. I have little reason to care about their statutes anymore, she thought to herself.


She gave her sister a nod. "Aye, sis." As harsh as Kaida was, she genuinely regarded her fellow Angelii as that. The camaraderie was something she would miss. "Or a ball gag for her," she added. The electronic speaker distorted her sufficiently. Besides, would Kaida Taldir ever indulge in casual banter?

 

[Aeda Shaytari]

[member="Kaida Taldir"]
The other Angelii’s masked head turned to her, cocked slightly in surprise.
“Yeah…. I didn’t know you…never mind,” she said in an unreadable tone. There was something going on there. Kaida would likely never discover what though.

Valriya broke the moment though, as she was wont to do. “Cease this prattling!”
“Hush up,” the Angelii said, shoving her on.

The shuttles were lined up, one was fired up and the pilot was outside waiting.
“Containment cell is ready in the hold,” they said, heading for the ramp.

 

[Kaida Taldir]

[member="Aeda Shaytari"]


Valriya was shoved on and more or less roughly forced into the shuttle. Kaida gave the pilot a curt nod when they boarded the craft. "I'll secure her," she stated. She probably should not do what was she was about, but she could not resist the urge.


Then everything happened very fast. Abruptly, she shoved Valriya into the shuttle. Then the hatch was slammed shut behind them. Quickly, Kaida dashed towards the cockpit to take the controls and get the craft into the air. Her destination? The water that surrounded New Santaissa.

 

[Aeda Shaytari]

[member="Kaida Taldir"]
Everything happened so quickly at first there was just puzzlement. The other Angelii knocked on the hatch.
“Come on, open up, sis,” she said with a chuckle. But then as the engines started to power up the shouting became louder.
The other Angelii drew her Sarix and hacked at the hatch, but too late to have any real impact as the shuttle was already lifting off.

The tower was on her commlink immediately.
“Sister Far, what the hell are you doing? Power down and land this second!”

Valriya walked into the cockpit. Her hands were still cuffed but she looked smugly self-assured.
“So you chose the proper path, did you? You were right to side with me over those heretical rebels. Now, take me to the palace and I’ll see you are rewarded for this!”

Little did she know the only place she’d be taken was somewhere else much more damp!

 

[Kaida Taldir]

[member="Aeda Shaytari"]


Valriya was smugly self-assured, certain that her power could not be eroded. Her error in judgement was soon corrected. For Kaida grabbed her by the ear. She was not gentle in the least. The ship continued to fly on auto-pilot.


Eldorai ears were extremely sensitive. Stimulating them could give you great pleasure, but equally also great pain. It was no contest. Valriya was a desk officer who'd never ever seen a battlefield. Except perhaps to pontificate long after the fight was over.


It did not take much to crush the tip off. Or throw her to the ground. Grabbing her by the throat, Kaida led her to the hatch. If the aristo struggled, the frost elf simply tightened her grip around that pretty, white neck. The hatch opened, and Valriya would see that they were flying over the sea. Mercifully, Kaida undid her cuffs then.


"Remember Dorina? I do." There was venom in her icy voice. Then she gave the aristo a hard kick and pushed her into the waters, while the shuttle was still flying at high speed. Time to see how good Valriya could swim. The waters surrounding New Santaissa were rather unruly.

 

[Aeda Shaytari]

[member="Kaida Taldir"]
Valriya had never lowered herself to be submissive to anyone. She had always assumed that she was the boss and the Mistress. There was a good reason for that; she could dish out but could not take it.
The screaming yelp she made as her ear was crushed might have been comical were it not for the grim circumstances.

“Dorina?! How…I don’t know what you m…” And then abruptly she was falling.

Fortunately for Valriya the shuttle was a mere twenty feet above the water. The impact would hurt, but it wouldn’t break bones, and she was left with a quarter kilometre to swim back to shore.

However, Kaida would soon have other problems. A pair of interceptors had launched from a New Santaissa’s air defences and were inbound to either make her land or failing that…shoot her down.

 

[Kaida Taldir]

[member="Aeda Shaytari"]


"You will," Kaida spoke through gritted teeth. Her stance and expression showed utter disdain. However, now she had other things to worry about. Quickly, she raced to the cockpit. Deactivating auto-pilot, she sat down in the pilot's seat. Interceptors were inbound towards her, as the computer so helpfully informed her. The first laser salvoe was a warning shot. The next was not.


The shuttle shuddered as its shields absorbed most of the impact. But the fighters were relentless. Gaining in altitude and pouring more power into the engines, Kaida tried to evade. She did not have the weapons' systems to fight the interceptor craft and, in any case, it would be futile. Getting into space would also be impossible.


But that was not her goal. No, her aim was to reach an island that officially did not exist. It was closed to civilians, and even to most military and government personnel. But Kaida knew of it, just like she knew of many secrets the Temple would prefer to bury. By the time she reached it, her shuttle was a blazing fireball descending from the sky...

 

[Phylis Alince]

[member="Kaida Taldir"]
“Run me a translation on these symbols here, Six-Nine,” Phylis said, carefully clearing some more of the rubble and dust of history away.

The structure before her looked much like a cairn of a primitive burial. Large stones had covered a mound covered in trees. Beneath the stones though…that was where the fun began. There was evidence of visitation by several cultures of natives; Qadiri offerings lay beside Xioquo sacrifices. The Jedi Master had even found evidence of a battle long before with rusted metal blades and fragments of bone.

Beneath this though was something unexpected; a dark stone like black marble, smooth except for the carvings and completely unmarked by time.

The droid beeped after a moment.
“Symbols not recognised, hmm? They’re not any Eldorai subculture?” A negative beep. “Run Rakata,” she said finally.

A rapid beep from Six-Nine pulled her from the structure. “A ship?”

Then she saw it. A shuttle craft, its wings and tail burning, coming in to a steep landing. Two interceptors flashed overhead, and then back, one coming in the land close by the Jedi ship.

“Hmmph, never a peaceful moment.” It was then she felt a familiar presence, but not from the pilot disembarking from the interceptor.

The Eldorai saluted a little stiffly. “Yedai Mistress Phy-lis, it is our mission to hunt a rogue agent,” she said in poor Basic.
Phylis replied in Eldarai which was pretty good, though rather formal. “I understand your language, Host Leader. I am here by the request of her Majesty.”
Other than look surprised, the pilot nodded. “This…concession…is known. This area is off limits to all persons without royal writ.”
“Indeed. Who is your target?”
“I cannot say, but we will coordinate a search of this island to ensure if they survived they are detained, and also to ensure that proper practices are being maintained here.”
Phylis sniffed. “Spying on me, hmm?” She looked at the woman. “You do not need to conduct an investigation.”
“I do not need to conduct an investigation.”
“The renegade must have perished in the crash. You are satisfied with that.”
“They must have perished.”
Phylis walked the woman to the shore and pointed at the wreckage. “There were no survivors. You should organise a salvage team.”
“I need to organise a salvage team.”
“Excellent, Host Leader, I wish you well.”
The Eldorai blinked at her, and then nodded. “Yes, I will go and organise that.”
Moments later she was gone, and the ships were speeding away.

Phylis sighed and cleared her throat. “You may come out now, Ms Kaida Taldir,” she said. She could feel the Angelii’s presence nearby, perhaps hidden behind some of the rocks.

 

[Kaida Taldir]

[member="Phylis Alince"]


The shuttle was a hopeless case. For it was just a pile of flaming debris. At least the pilots of the interceptors had good aim. That was something positive at least. It would have been deeply insulting if they'd missed her and she'd been able to land on the island unmolested. It would have certainly boded poorly for the Eldorai.


The disgraced Angelii had managed to escape the burning craft in time, albeit with flames whipping at her. Reducing her Force Signature, she'd hidden behind a bunch of rocks and bushes. A very familiar figure had politely persuaded her pursuers to call off their hunt.


Kaida waited a few more moments, then emerged. "I shouldn't be surprised you're here. You already know the Eldorai's biggest state secret, so unearthing one more probably won't hurt much," she commented. She unsealed her helmet, as it had started to get stuff inside her suit. "Thank you."

 

[Phylis Alince]

[member="Kaida Taldir"]
“Hmmph, more than one, and maybe more time to come!” Phylis commented wryly. She offered a smile though. “It’s good to see you again, Kaida. I heard there was a commotion in the city; your doing?”

She dusted off her robe. “You’re just in time though. The Queen contracted me to look into this site because it may lead to answers she doesn’t want any of the, hmm, faithful finding. Don’t worry about your sisters in arms, they’ll be back in a half day or so, and you can always take cover in my ship then.”

She pointed to the area of unearthed black stone. “Six-Nine, how did your translation go?” The droid beeped a few times. Realising Kaida wouldn’t understand, Phylis translated aloud. “The Shine of the War Queen? Hmmph, how dramatic. Ring any bells, Kaida?”

 

[Kaida Taldir]

[member="Phylis Alince"]


"Yes," Kaida replied, you probably guessed it by now, dear reader, when Phylis brought up the commotion in the capital city and speculated about her role in it. The taciturn soldier must be really fun at parties. Getting her to open up was like pulling teeth.


On the bright side, at least Phylis would not have to put up with firemaned floozies leering at her tits and making crude, unwanted, flirtatious advances on her. Anyhow, Kaida had a look at the black stone. The symbols were unfamiliar to her, but she could tell that they were not Eldorai. It looked like a burial place, but the stone was not something she'd seen the Tygaran primitives use. They could not have built it themselves.


"I believe refers to one of the Paragons. The Warrior. Four are already accounted for," she spoke after a moment of thought. "'Ashira's children'". She did not make air quotes because that was not a Kaida thing to do, but the sarcasm was evident. "I'll make an educated guess and say the symbols are Rakatan." These were the Eldorai's true creators. The proud children of Ashira had come into the world as test tube babies, destined to be a slave race for the twisted purposes of cone-headex xenos.

 

[Phylis Alince]

[member="Kaida Taldir"]
“Hmmph, two live, two are dead. One is missing. I believe this may be our last Paragon, the Queen of the Qadiri, the Warrior.” Phylis brushed away more dust.

“Yes, Rakata indeed. I’ve found evidence that these stones were piled on it by the natives to conceal it. I suspect it was the Qadiri, based on the tool marks. However, I found evidence of several ancient battles here. The dry sand preserved ancient weapons, bones, rituals and offerings. They hoped to raise her from her rest in such a way, or at least keep her slumbering so the enemy did not find her.”

The Jedi Master stepped back, pausing to examine the site. It’d take effort to uncover the doors, but fortunately she now had someone to help.

“Hmm, would you care to assist, now you’re here? It’d be quicker to remove these boulders with an extra Force Master. Or, hmmph, Sciia Mistress, I suppose in your case,” she added with a small smile.

 

[Kaida Taldir]

[member="Phylis Alince"]


"My people have a tendency of running after false idols. Instead of putting in the work to succeed themselves," Kaida muttered disdainfully. Even now, many Eldorai clung to the naive belief that the Goddess would save them from whatever distress they found themselves in. They would receive a rude awakening when an enemy seized Tygara and the false goddess did nothing.


"Yes," she asked in response to Phylis' question. "I suppose it's Dashdae Sciia Mistress now," she shrugged. She didn't feel any different after apparently falling to the dark side. Her eyes focused upon the mass of rocks in front of her.


"What do you want out of this discovery? Assuming the Warrior is alive and not insane. The Matriarchy will not be able to admit the truth. Certainly not do something so silly as let her rule the Qadiri. They'll have to dispose of her or dream up a cover story and keep her away from Tygara. Fanatics will see an abomination or an idol. " She did not believe that Anya would have the ancient Eldorai eliminated unless she became a threat, but others would be less scrupulous. Of course, the last Paragon might be dead or a lunatic who needed to be put down, but Kaida liked being prepared. All this talking exhausted her more than lifting boulders. She had pointedly not mentioned what she intended to do herself. "I'm leaving Tygara. If she's alive, I want to take her with me." Slowly, the boulders began to rise.

 

[Phylis Alince]

[member="Kaida Taldir"]
Phylis seemed strangely receptive to this.
“Yes, I think it may be best. I do want her to meet one of her ‘siblings’ first though. That will be an interesting meeting, hmm. If she is still alive, sane and whole, I think she is best suited going with one of her own kind. I had not really known what I would do if I found her. Hmmph, she’d more likely be happier with you than me.”

Phylis raised her hands, making more of the rocks rise. No need for industrial earthmovers here! What would have taken days or even weeks for the ancient Qadiri to accomplish was done in less than half an hour…or at least a path was opened to the door.

“Hmm, well I can offer you passage off here and to any nearby system. I don’t suspect you want to stick around with me too long. Hmmph, not in a bad way, but my interests are a bit different than yours I feel, yes?”

She approached the door carefully. It was sealed completely, the doors so tight that only the faintest of lines visible.

“Hmm, there will be an opening mechanism, but we need to be careful. Your people’s progenitors had an unfortunate habit of creating traps.”

 

[Kaida Taldir]

[member="Phylis Alince"]


The two Paragons known to be alive where Chesna and Tylania. Meeting the former would mean Firemane would inevitably learn about the Warrior since Kaida did not trust the strumpet to keep her mouth shut around her two 'mistresses'. Tylania, on the other hand, was frolicking in the forest with a bunch of primitive wood elves. Kaida would probably not win any awards for intercultural understanding and tolerance.


"Acceptable," she said laconically. The Jedi had proved to be more receptive to her plans than expected. This was good because Kaida disliked talking. Or compromising. So she did not push the point. Phylis got a curt nod when she pointed out the Rakatan's proclicity for laying traps. Sometimes even in buildings their own kind intended to use. They were responsible for a great many magnificient, terrible and plain idiotic designs.


A sealed door stood in their way. There were alien symbols and stuff. "Can your sabre cut through it?" she asked, sounding a bit impatient. Kaida would have been a terrible archaeologist. Sadly, she didn't have her lightsabre anymore, since it had been taken from her during her brief house arrest.

 

[Phylis Alince]

[member="Kaida Taldir"]
“Hmm?” Phylis asked absently. “Oh, no, unlikely. I’ve seen this type of stone before. Neutronite, almost molecular fused. Too heavy for ships, but very useful to build something to last the centuries. You’d spend an hour trying to cut off a sliver of it.”

Phylis called a stick to her hand and tossed it against the door. Exactly nothing happened except it bounced off with a light thud.
“Hmm, if there was a force field it’s clearly been deactivated by this piling of stones. Hmm.”

She went back to a small pack and returned with a complex device and pressed it to the stone. She put the other end into her ear. She gently tapped several areas which probably looked like any other bit to Kaida.

Six-Nine beeped something.
“Yes, yes, probably. Probably concealed.” More beeping. “Neural interface? That might work. Hmm, especially since we now have Kaida here.”
Phylis turned and smiled at Kaida. “So, since I know you’re not the patient of people, we have two ways forward. I can attempt to decode the door’s sequencing lock, or we can just attempt a mental interface and force it open. The latter is of course more dangerous. But, that’s where you come in, I can interface with it, but it would help if I had some mental support against the feedback. Are you good at defending yourself from mental incursions?”

 

[Kaida Taldir]

[member="Phylis Alince"]


The Yedai tapped stuff. It looked all the same to the somewhat abrasive frost elf. She was not the most patient person. Indeed, she was a practical woman who preferred straightforward solutions to problems. Generally these involved the application of violence. Or bossing people around.


Her response to Phylis' query was predictably laconic. "Yes." Shame she could not just take the black stone and the neural interface with her. It seemed quite useful. Anyhow, she stretched out with her mind, trying to erect something like a barrier. As soon as the pair tried to construct their mental interface to manipulate the mechanism, the esoteric security system would activate. There would be quite a blowback. Bit like feeling as if someone was trying to pierce your brain with a thousand burning hot needles. Ouch.