Private Winds of Change

[Inanna Harth]

He seemed very reluctant to hand it over, and she soon found out why. Hearing that he’d forged the crystal himself, she had merely expected it to be imbued with some special properties. What she read in the stone was a lot more personal. Conflict and change, hope and fear. It was electrifying in a way that left her raw afterwards.

“Oh. Very interesting,” was all she could think to say as she handed the weapon back to him. “I can tell that you made it.”

She felt like she could tell a lot of things about him now, though she was wary of making too much out of it. If anything, she felt a bit embarrassed, like she’d unwittingly forced him to confide some deep secret to her.

“I suppose it’s only fair I let you look at mine,” she said. With a flick of her wrist, she freed a slim metal hilt from her flesh. “Have you ever seen a lightwhip before?”

She activated the weapon, if only to demonstrate the undulating coil of hissing silver plasma. But the conversation had turned to the subject of the Force, so she turned it off and looked back at him.

“I don’t think you screwed up as badly as I did,” she replied, though his sympathy didn’t go entirely unappreciated. Her tone was a lot more subdued than it had been earlier, when she’d joked around to try and cheer him up. “My father disowned me after I betrayed him. I knew what my master was, but I signed on with her anyway, reasoning that she couldn't be that bad. During my first day of training she tortured me, poisoned me, broke me...”

She trailed off. Why was she telling him all this? He hadn’t asked. Maybe it was guilt over what she had seen in the crystal. I suppose it’s only fair I let you look at my soul too. Interesting, isn’t it? Sometimes I wonder how I’m still alive.

“You’re speaking in platitudes, but you’re right,” she murmured. Raising an eyebrow, she asked, “What do you plan to do with your Gift?”

Alicio Organa​

 

[Alicio Organa]

Alicio was glad to take his lightsaber back, gripping it for comfort. She had seen something in the crystal. Enough to sense his fingerprint on it, at any rate. The Count's eyes went wide in surprise as Inanna showed off her own weapon. When she asked him if he had seen such a device before, he could only shake his head. "No," he breathed, inspecting the curved silver energy with cool eyes.

“I don’t think you screwed up as badly as I did,”

That was the problem. He hadn't yet.

He was going to, and he wasn't sure how to stop it.

"There's a reason clichés become clichés," Alicio shot back, attempting to project some kind of warmth. Inanna had trusted him with her story. The last thing he was thinking about doing was complaining about it. "Thank you for sharing." He didn't offer an apology, or sympathies. He doubted she wanted them at this point

"I plan to do good," the Count muttered, shading his mouth with a gloved hand in thought at the Shi'ido's last question. "Beyond that... I have no clue. But I was given this Gift. I figure I could use it to give back. Somehow."

"We can drop the subject, if you wish. But... your old master. Was she Sith?"

- Inanna Harth -

 

[Inanna Harth]

“You’ve got a point,” she assented. “But if you wear a hat, no one will notice.”

Har har. He probably owned a lot of hats, too.

Alicio spoke vaguely of what he wanted to do with his Gift, then asked about her old master, prefacing the question with an assurance that she didn’t have to answer. She nodded her head. “It happened many years ago, and the pain is no longer as fresh. I escaped with the help of a few loyal friends. Everything turned out all right.”

Until this war took it all away from her again. Every one of her rescuers was dead now—Hal, Arimanes, Tahiri. Only the droids were still around that she knew of, and they weren't really people. They had just acted out their programming.

“Without going into too much detail, a Sith had done something very cruel to the child of a friend of mine. He was too scared to do anything other than run. But I wanted justice. So I tried to infiltrate the Sith Empire by posing as an acolyte. That's how I met my master.

"When I knew her, she called herself Vanessa Vantai. Now she calls herself Onrai. She’s deluded herself into believing she’s some sort of Dark goddess. You can imagine what type of person she was. But she didn’t appear that way at first. In fact, she seemed quite kind and generous. Only when she had me alone in her private space station did she show her true colors.”

Lowering her head, Inanna’s shoulders sagged. “I was a different person then. More vulnerable and foolish. I was in way over my head. Vanessa probably chose me for that reason... Well, that and she could always hear my thoughts. I didn’t know it at the time, but I apparently have no mental shielding. Anyone with the Force can read my mind like an open book. Even you could, if you wanted to. Though I don’t recommend it.”

Alicio Organa​

 

[Alicio Organa]

"Anyone with the Force can read my mind like an open book. Even you could, if you wanted to. Though I don’t recommend it.”

There was a moment, however brief, that Alicio felt the urge to peek. It was an impulse, bubbling up from the depths of his id. But it passed quickly, brought in check by the burn of shame. The entire journey played on his face, before he spoke again, smiling a bit sheepishly. "I won't, but I also won't deny the temptation. It's like you've asked me not to think of a nerf. Now all I can think about is a nerf."

The nobleman turned his attention back to Inanna's story, sobering. "I've never heard of someone pretending to be Sith before. It seems they are always the ones donning masks." It was an intriguing thought. A plan that may have worked, had Inanna been able to shield her mind.

"It's not an easy road that brought you here," Alicio said, frowning at Inanna's lowered posture. "But I'm glad you've survived, despite this Vanessa. I'm glad you escaped. And I'm glad we can do some good, here and now. Or at least, try to."

- Inanna Harth -

 

[Inanna Harth]

“Are you that susceptible to suggestion?” she asked coyly. But there was no way she was offering to let him take a peek. Her mind was too damaged as it was, and he had nothing to gain from it. Except perhaps an assurance that she was no longer a Maw thrall—but if she had been, she probably would have done something nefarious by now that would make that quite clear.

“I’m probably not the first to do it,” she murmured. “Probably not the last, either. But I was one of the least prepared. In the end, I was the one who needed rescuing.” She risked a small, satisfied smile. “We did get the Sith eventually, at least. He’s rotting in prison.”

Inanna savored the victory from the sidelines, while people far more capable than her did what she had failed to do. It hadn’t stung so badly with Hal at her side. Sometimes she felt like all of it had been just a dream.

She nodded along with Alicio’s words. “We better be able to do some good,” she added, poking him lightly in the chest. “Or else.”

Almost as an afterthought, she brushed some flakes of dried mud off his shoulder. Her hand lingered there just a little too long, until the door slid open suddenly. Enkidu stood on the other side, peering in curiously.

“Apologies for the interruption, but the Count's security have expressed their concerns,” he said, turning to Alicio.

Inanna let her hand drop. “Right. We’re just about finished here, I think. I’ll give you some time to talk it over with your Council before I make any appointments with the Queen.”

Alicio Organa​

 

[Alicio Organa]

“We better be able to do some good,” she added, poking him lightly in the chest. “Or else.”

"Or else...?" Alicio broke his frown with the shadow of a smile. He only realized the tension of those words after he'd spoken them, with Inanna touching his shoulder. He swore the world of Erakhis stopped spinning for a heartbeat.

He was half-thankful for the intrusion of the Shi'ido guard, and half-shocked, as if he'd been caught doing something bad. With a quick motion, Alicio clicked Introspect back into his cane, and held it at his side. He cleared his throat, stepping towards the door. "I should return, then. They've been through a lot today as well."

He hesitated at the doorway. "I've already begun acquiring the proper permissions. But I don't need the council's say for you to talk with my cousin."

A pause. Another private grin.

"Things will work out. As long as we have Faith."

Alicio left the room, hiding a bit of pink in his cheeks.

- Inanna Harth -