We Will Start An Inferno

[Aela Talith]

[member="Jenna Rayley"]

She didn't even hear Jenna.

It wasn't that she didn't want to. It wasn't that she wasn't listening, in fact, she was listening to everything. Every noise, every slight creak, every single thing that emitted any type of noise within the ship. She heard it all. It was like the ship was part of her. Hyper attuned to her senses, pressing in on her and threatening to consume her.

It was very nearly overwhelming.

Surah wanted to scream, to cry, but she couldn't.

All she could do, all she wanted to do was to move towards that Siren call. To make her way towards the thing that sang to her, that called to her so sweetly and beautifully.

There were no more directions.

Surah simply went.

 

[Beatrice Govan]

Psh, last time she tried to be nice to somebody. The woman's eyebrows furrowed, clearly displeased with getting ignored but at least they were seemingly still on track. Well, that was the hope. [member="Surah"] was just moving silently, it was possible she had simply gone catatonic.

All Jenna could do was follow on, as they were finally lead to a single room.

It was...it...was quite luxurious.

Well, okay, it was slightly decrepit, nature had been slowly taking back what was once hers however when compared to the rest of the ship it was relatively untouched, unscathed, as if those who had taken over the ships had been too afraid to enter.

But not them.

“Here?”

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Jenna Rayley"]

“Yes.” It was the first time that Surah sounded steady.

There was no quiver in her voice, no quake in her tone. She sounded like a young, confident woman. She sounded like she should have, she sounded like a figure worthy of inspiration. Her back stiffened, and her bright orange eyes searched the room.

There was a haunting look to those eyes, as if there was a struggle deep within her.

“Search the room.” Surah said calmly. “It's here somewhere.”

She gave no indication of what that it might be.

 

[Beatrice Govan]

It. Thanks, [member="Surah"].

How delightfully vague What could it be that they were seeking? A trinket? A weapon? A pet ropo? It could have been anything? However Jenna didn't voice such displeasure, only choosing to remain there with a scowl upon her face.

The woman moved instantly to the drawers, the first place that people generally keep their valuables. There some small garments of clothing, and a couple of small ornate boxes that contained various other...surprises, not ones that would be what they were looking for, not ones that she would touch with her bare hands either.

Next over to the wardrobe, where Jenna proceeded to rifle through the clothing that had remained relatively unscathed in the wardrobe. Beautiful regal outfits crafted only with the most exquisite of materials. No expenses spared.

No magic maguffin either.

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Jenna Rayley"]

She began to search, almost frantically.

Her motions were hastened and her hands began to scramble all over the place. She touched everything. She looked through the desk, the dresser, the closet, everywhere. She didn't recoil at any of the object like Jenna did, she simply picked them up and threw them away onto the floor, not caring what they had been used for or anything of the sort.

Stress began to show on her face.

“It has to be here!” She yelled.

“I can feel it.” Her voice died to almost a whisper. “I can sense it. It's here. I know it is.”

Mumblings continued as she searched the room, getting on her hands and knees to check below furniture.

 

[Beatrice Govan]

“But where?!” Jenna suddenly whirled around and shouted.

Better yet, but what?

Miss Rayley had absolutely no time for this, patience to be playing hide and seek with unknown objects, Jenna wanted what she wanted and she wanted it now. Jumping through loops, travelling with an absolute wreck of a stuttering woman.

She too joined the woman on hand and knee looking for whatever it was they were trying to find. Under the bed, maybe?

Crawling beneath the imposing bed she fought against the dust that threatened to overwhelm her respiratory system. Hands searching in the dark. Wait. What was that? Finger grazed against an object that even sent a shiver of apprehension through her. A book?

A book?

“Wait!”

She came out from under the bed very swiftly, and not wishing to hold the tome in her hands any longer than she had to Jenna tossed it to [member="Surah"], hoping that this was what they were looking for.

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Jenna Rayley"]

The book was tossed to Surah, and the girl froze.

She wanted to move to catch it. She wanted to grab it, but she found herself suddenly locked into a battle with herself. The something within her clawed the the surface, the biting edge of power rushing over to her. The journal flew through the air, and just as it struck Jennas side the girl fell to the floor.

Surah let out a loud scream.

It echoed, branching through the ship and rushing through the room, pushing through Jenna and tearing apart the floor around Surah.

The Journal sat in place next to her, unmoving as the Force echoed from the Slave Girl.

 

[Beatrice Govan]

Well, that's no good.

Jenna found herself flung, torn around the room like she was just another object, the nature of the scream feeling as if it had almost ruptured her eardrums. Everything was black for a second, silent.

Then sight returned as Jenna woke up from her two second nap on the other side of the bed, ears still ringing from the prior assault that she had taken the brunt of by being in this room. By this point she didn't understand what happened, she didn't understand the significance of the journal or why [member="Surah"] had exploded in such a manner.

All she hoped was that it was steps towards her own goals.

Not feeling so brave in the face of random explosions of Sith powers, Jenna remained behind the bed, peering over the mattress to catch the action while it happened.

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Jenna Rayley"]

She clawed forward. Her hands moved like they were possessed, jutting oddly and sticking out, grasping for the journal, trying desperately to touch it. She crawled forward, inch by inch, her nails digging into the ground, blood slowly dripping from them.

Surah cried out.

“NO!” The scream echoed again, that same blasting yell of frustration and anger. She wanted to cry out, she wanted to yell again and again. What was happening? Why couldn't she control her body? Why couldn't she move her own hands. Surah tried desperately to stop herself, tried desperately to hold herself against this force. To push herself back and away from the leather bound book.

Yet she moved ever forward.

Slowly, so slowly her hands inched towards the journal.

Blood began to seep onto the floor, and the journal seemed to pulse slightly.

 

[Beatrice Govan]

As if Jenna was about to go bounding into that fray.

At least she understood now what was going on. Well, or so she thought. Inner-battle. Two minds, one body. The journal held the key, held end goal for Nemene and a definitive game over for Surah. It was understandable that the slave would want to fight until the very last breath to avoid touching the tome.

However [member="Surah"] was the only one who wanted that outcome.

Jenna would not be intefering in those however. She had two reasons for this. First and foremost, self-preservation, she had no idea what further power would be spilling forth from this scenario, and Miss Rayley had no wish to get caught in the crossfire.

Secondly, if this Sith Lord couldn't overpower the will of a single slave then, well, what worth was she? Answer: Not a lot.

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Jenna Rayley"]

Blood seeped from her hands, but it didn't matter.

The Slave girl could not hold on forever, she could not resist the will of what lay inside of her, she could not stop what was set against her. She was weak, broken, shattered into a thousand tiny pieces. It was easy for a Sith to take her, to fold her mind and break it in the way that she wanted to. Surah slowly crept forward, her hands inching, until she was about to touch the journal.

“P-p-please.” Her voice echoed, her eyes swiveled to Jenna. “H-h-help me.”

She begged.

“I-i-i don't want to go.” Her voice was desperate, pleading, and it was the only thing that she could control. Before another word could be uttered, before another thought or sentence could be said, Surah reached out and touched the book.

 

[Beatrice Govan]

Unfortunately the young woman known as Jenna Rayley was not a girl for sympathy, she didn't contain a single sympathetic bone in her body, so when the stuttering slave with the bloody hands creeping towards the book looked to her.

Jenna laughed.

The begging bolstered her confidence, letting her stand up (even if she was still behind the bed). “That's too bad,” she smirked in response, placing her hands upon her hips as she felt her own sense of triumph in this moment.

Not realising what fire she was unleashing. Not realising what consequence lay in store for her. Jenna Rayley never knew what was coming.

“S-s-s—seeya.”

The tome was touched. Nothing, no sparkles, no glow, no beam of light to administer the change that they had all been waiting for. Was it still Surah? Or now [member="Nemene"]? Jenna stepped out from behind the bed, taking a few cautious paces towards the woman upon the floor, not noticing the change in demeanour and body language.

“Is it done?”

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Jenna Rayley"]

How wonderful it was to be alive.

There had been a shift. A stark contrast of change within the girl. Almost immediately after she touched the book something had bloomed inside of her. A powerful surge. Her back straightened, her hair seemed to gain more luster, her face tightened, and her expression grew more sinister, more confident. She surged with power, an unseen glow falling all around her as power drove through her very core.

A deep breath left her, and slowly Surah stood, creeping to her feet while clutching the journal.

The scars on her face seemed to glow slightly, etching, into her flesh and accenting them even more deeply. She looked at her reflection in a tarnished mirror that stood in the corner, bright Orange eyes watching as her lithe form stood rigidly.

Slowly her head turned to Jenna. “Yes.”

A flick of her wrist, and Surah sent a small object on the table flying towards Jennas head.

 

[Beatrice Govan]

A frown.

Her question wasn't immediately responded to, as the woman seemed to take her good sweet time in having a special transformation moment. One would suppose after their moment of triumph it wouldn't be too unreasonable to savour the moment, regaining control once more must have been a huge relief for the woman.

Jenna was selfish however, Jenna didn't care if this woman wanted to savour the moment, she wanted her own moment to savour.

Finally, finally she got the response, confirming that the outcome was indeed in [member="Nemene"]'s favour.

Of course there was no time to relish or savour this moment. Before the young woman could even think she found a small granite ornament cracking against her skull. No snappy words to say, no protests or retorts.

Everything went black.