We're All Mad Here!

[Carliah Dakrone]

Carliah was seated on the throne of melted down lightsabers in the main hall of her palace.She had received word that one of Balaya's other apprentices was coming for a visit. After her initial display of beheading and ripping the hearts out of every criminal held in the dungeons, Carliah had taken a break from needless torture and slayings. Can't have the common folk getting to angry or they might start getting ideas. The apprentice didn't like the idea of having to stain the halls of her palace with the blood of someone foolish enough to try and rise against her. So, she had started granting the remaining criminals and people who had displeased her trials. They were often fixed but no one needed to know that. [member="Taeli Rae"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

Taeli stretched as her ship dropped out of hyperspace in orbit above Widek. She had been doing some more reading on the planet and what it's Miraluka ruler liked to do. While they had gotten off on the wrong foot before on Zeltros, she could see a pattern to the mad woman's actions. That didn't mean she still liked the woman, she personally wouldn't trust her until that madness was dealt with but that would be for another time. For now, she just needed her help with dealing with some Graug.

"Widek Control, this Acolyte Taeli Rae requesting permission to dock at the palace," she said, transmitting the message and waiting for a response.

"Taeli Rae, this is Widek Control, you are cleared to land, and welcome to the wonderful world of Widek," the controller said.

Taking her ship into the atmosphere, she cringed internally at the design of the palace. Who would think black and white checkered went together on a building surface, she had no idea. But she sensed a motif here as she landed inside the palace's hanger to see more checkered walls made of marble and her welcoming committee was dressed in a weird mismatched style.

[member="Carliah Dakrone"]

 

[Carliah Dakrone]

Carliah was waiting at the dock wearing her typical red and black gown patterned with bleeding hearts and knives on certain sections of the skirt. She smiled as she noticed the other acolyte walking off of her ship. This would certainly be interesting. She didn't know whether she disliked the girl or not after their meeting on Zeltros. Her brain had been too muddled with other thoughts at the time for her to think clearly on her meeting with the other woman. She looked forward to being able re-assess the acolyte.
"Welcome to Widek Taeli Rae. I hope you enjoy your stay here though I wouldn't mind knowing about your purpose for coming to visit me. Would you care for a cup of tea while we talk?" Carliah asked as she walked over to greet Taeli. The Miraluka continued to smile as she waited for a response. [member="Taeli Rae"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

"Tea would be lovely, haven't had a chance to drink any since I was on Lorrd," Taeli said, falling in step with the Miraluka. "I see you seem much more put together from when we last met."

It was true the Miraluka seemed much more within the confines of her own sanity this time, perhaps that young man was what had driven her over the edge last time. Interesting tidbit to be stored away for later. Her host's dress was a bit unsettling though, and definitely hinted at the madness within. After all who wears hearts and knives on their dresses. She looked down at her elegant black dress and then back to her host.

"As for my purpose here, Darth Praelior sent me to make contact with the Graug here. She needs further genetic samples for her new project," Taeli continued. "But, I would very much like a tour of your palace first."

[member="Carliah Dakrone"]

 

[Carliah Dakrone]

"I can certainly give you a tour in a bit, and I would have no problem assisting you with your task if you'd like." Carliah replied as she led Taeli into the palace. She bypassed the throne room, tours could wait, and headed straight for a small sitting room in her private chambers. She ordered a servant they passed in the hall to have two cups and a pot of tea to her room. Carliah slammed the door to her quarters open and led the way inside.

"I'll have a set of rooms ready for you by this afternoon. You seem a bit unsettled by things here, am I correct?" Carliah had noticed her companion studying the palace as well as her clothing and wondered if maybe Taeli found everything around here just a bit odd. She had to resist laughing at the though. The girl would just have to get used to it while she was on Widek. After all ever since Carliah had taken over, everyone on Widek was slowly succumbing to madness. [member="Taeli Rae"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

"I have to admit the décor takes . . . getting used to," Taeli replied, examining the sitting room. It certainly was showing off her host's more eclectic personality, but she shouldn't let that off set her. Many Sith, as she was learning, were a bit eccentric with how they presented themselves, their master being one such being.

Accepting the cup of tea from the servant, she took a small sip and placed the cup back on her saucer. She was curious about her host.

"So while we wait, perhaps you could tell me some things about yourself, I'm rather curious to know more about my fellow apprentices," Taeli said.

[member="Carliah Dakrone"]

 

[Carliah Dakrone]

"Well... Remember the man I was fighting with back on Zeltros? We have a bit of a... history. I suppose if it interests you I could tell you about it." Carliah replied taking a sip of her own tea. She looked around the room, nodding her approval at the way it had been redecorated since she had taken over. The light in the room had an interesting green tint, almost as if it were underwater. All of the chairs and couches in the room where green and extremely plush. The walls were green with a silver trim and strange looking green and silver banners with snakes on them hung from some of the walls. [member="Taeli Rae"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

"I would be fascinated to hear it," Taeli said, noting the strange banners. "Although, perhaps a condensed version as we do have a mission to complete. Darth Praelior did say she and I quote, 'Did not care if they were breathing or not, bring me those samples in whatever way you see fit,' which I take to mean we can get some combat practice in."

Perhaps this story and the mission would allow Taeli to gain some insight into her fellow apprentice, and just how she became as faceted with madness as she so apparently had. One would think she ranged between mania and dementia

[member="Carliah Dakrone"]

 

[Carliah Dakrone]

"Before I joined the Sith I was his bodyguard, secretary, and pregnant with his children. I was kidnapped by Darth Vornskr and tortured for months before our Master took an interest in me. Yusan, the guy I was fighting with, made no attempt to rescue me at all. Everything that happened was his fault! But you know what? I'm almost grateful to him for it. If he hadn't left me to rot I wouldn't have the power I currently possess. Perhaps I should thank him one day by killing him swiftly instead of handing him over to Vornskr to suffer what I suffered." The Miraluka explained as her insane smirk once again began to form. Her voice rose and fell at odd intervals adding the aura of madness surrounding her as she told her tale. She finished off the rest of her tea and set the cup down again.

"I believe we have work to do. Shall we go?" the Queen of Madness asked as she stood. Her voice once again normal and her face back to it's usual stoic expression. [member="Taeli Rae"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

Taeli took in every word the woman said, nodding to herself. It made sense that sort of emotional trauma, on top of the physical, would be enough to break anyone's sanity. She doubted this woman wanted to be saved from it though, she seemed to be having a bit too much fun. While Taeli enjoyed power, she really just craved knowledge, but she felt a story for a story was necessary.

"I agree, we should be off," Taeli said, standing and placing her empty tea cup on a table. "If you would indulge me, would you like to hear how I came to be Sith?"

[member="Carliah Dakrone"]

 

[Carliah Dakrone]

"I suppose it's only fair. I would expect that you would give me some information on yourself in return for what I told you. After all, everything comes with a price," she replied as they walked. She lead the way out of the palace,passing through the throne room where the throne of melted down lightsabers was. She grinned as she assumed Taeli would have some sort of comment on it.

"Don't let me forget to give you a proper tour of the palace once our work is done," Carliah said as she waited for Taeli to begin her own story. [member="Taeli Rae"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

"Interesting throne you have there, but its a bit of a waste of lightsabers," Taeli commented as they passed the throne. "Anywho, I'm from the planet Lorrd, mom was a Mando, dad was a professor at the university. So I had no hope of being content with slipping by and not working at it. Cut to post-graduation, I wanted to explore sights where Force knowledge where, since my powers had started to show themselves, but as I was heading to my ship, I was assaulted. They were about to rape me when I lost control, using my rage and fear to kill them. You'd approve of the butchering I did to one boy I think, but that attracted our master's attention. So far it's been an interesting experience, had to kill a terentatek and a leviathan."

 

[Carliah Dakrone]

"Sounds like fun, though you don't sound like you enjoyed it. Let me tell you something Taeli. Killing is easy, staying alive is the real challenge. If you can't bring yourself to slay anyone in your path to achieve what you want, someone will kill you." That was Carliah's new philosophy on life. Everyone is expendable when they stand in your way. It seemed to be an ideal easily adopted among the Sith. It was a rather cutthroat group of individuals after all. [member="Taeli Rae"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

"Oh, I'm as for killing people in my way as the next girl," Taeli said, allowing a half smile to form on her lips. "But, I would rather try and manipulate them to my way of things first."

Taeli was not above getting her hands dirty, recent events definitely evident of that, but sometimes killing someone was not the only answer. She believed in not causing needless deaths, but even civilian deaths such as on Zeltros were acceptable to her as every person that died on their enemies side was one less person to join the military, grow the economy, sabotage Sith occupations, etc.

[member="Carliah Dakrone"]

 

[Carliah Dakrone]

"Hmm... Maybe we both have things too teach each other... Tell me Taeli... What is your favored method of fighting?" Carliah asked as the continued to walk. Carliah still led the way towards their objective. She didn't care much if they were heard on their way. This mission would end in a fight anyway, why bother trying to stay unnoticed? She smirked a she waited to hear the girls answer. Taeli's mother was a Mando, so Carliah had a feeling she'd prefer a head-on way of fighting. [member="Taeli Rae"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

"I prefer a more elegant style, I was top of my fencing class in university, but lately I've been forced to use brute strength," Taeli sighed. "The creatures I've been fighting aren't affect much by elegance, so its been a lot of viciousness, Force Lightning and Choking, that sort of thing. Mother taught me the Mando style of fighting, so I can sort of turn on and off being a complete and utter socio and psychopath. If I focus on something, I'll keep going until its dead."

She was silent for a moment as she considered that perhaps it was time to learn some of the traditional lightsaber styles. As they continued on to the Graug settlement, she asked,

"What about you?"

[member="Carliah Dakrone"]

 

[Carliah Dakrone]

"Since I'm still recovering from months of torture, my physical strength and stamina isn't something I can really rely on. I'm fast and agile, but I tire easily. So, I found that ending battles before they truly begin is the much better option, but I am also well versed in basic healing and field medicine. Basic knowledge of anatomy helps a lot in fighting if you know how to use it, so I go mostly for pressure points and joints. You can't do much when someone's locked out all your limbs or made them go numb, and when that doesn't work I try to use the environment to my advantage." Carliah explained very matter of factly. She knew that at the moment she was weak and so a head on approach to battles wasn't something very suited to her in her current state. Pressure points where very effective in disabling an opponent and don't need to be hit with much force so the style suited her well.

"That's also why I ran from Yusan on Zeltros. I knew in my current state that I would never be able to win, so I used my surroundings to block his path, allowing myself to retreat." The Mad Queen added on as they drew nearer to the settlement. [member="Taeli Rae"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

"Maybe you should focus on Force techniques that take advantage of that knowledge," Taeli suggested, the settlement coming into sight. "I know several stun techniques exist, even one that can cut off nerve signals. Food for thought."

As they reached the outskirts of the settlement, she could see several lizard-like humanoids watching them warily.

"I take it these Graug have not consented to your rule?" Taeli asked.

[member="Carliah Dakrone"]

 

[Carliah Dakrone]

"It makes them nervous. They haven't consented, but they haven't openly opposed it either. Let's show them that angering the Red Queen is a bad idea shall we?" Carliah replied, smirking down at the Graug below her. She would wait for Taeli to make the first move. She wasn't opposed to killing them, but if her companion wanted to try to settle this peacefully she would not stop her. Carliah might her made a big show of being willing to slaughter, behead, torture, and just in general spill the blood of those who opposed her, but it was only for a week and only to show that she was not to be messed with. She was all for trying to be diplomatic about things now... Or maybe the word she was looking for was manipulative or deceptive? She mentally shrugged at the thought, it could be worried about later. [member="Taeli Rae"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

"On behalf of the One Sith, and in the name of Darth Praelior, I wish to speak with your leader concerning a matter that would benefit both your community and the Sith," Taeli said, but even as she spoke, she could sense the anger building around her and the Queen of Madness. Something about these reptiles seemed highly on edge, and that was when she remembered the files she had read on the Graug. Incredibly strong, but very prideful and generally psychotic if their adrenaline started pumping.

"I would get your saber ready," Taeli whispered as the Graug leader stormed through the gathering crowd of reptiles. He didn't seem particularly happy to see them, and Taeli started drifting her hand slowly towards the lightsaber she had "borrowed" on Zeltros as she hadn't built hers yet.

[member="Carliah Dakrone"]