Ask Corellia Hauntings

[Darth Tiamat]

Corellia
Asteria Industries

Tia blinked a few times, silence hung in the air until her comm receiver buzzed again, "Ma'am, is it okay to send her up?" the attendant asked again. She cleared her throat, masking the sudden surprise she felt when the attendant told her the name of the individual that was here to see her.

"Go ahead." she said and leaned back into her chair, feeling her body tense. She guessed she shouldn't have been surprised, there were jedi helping on Corellia with the clean up from the attack and even the repairs still being done from the Killik invasion. The woman inhaled deeply, feeling herself calm, she dealt with Sith Lords and Dark Lords, the grandmaster here, well, she could handle that too. She found herself rubbing the center of her chest, thoughts quietly turning in her mind as she found her tranquility. The woman quickly brushed the unwanted wrinkles and folds from her green dress, a particular shade of the color to show support and solidarity for the people of her homeworld. Passing the window, she checked her reflecting, ensuring her red hair was not entirely a mess as it draped loosely over her shoulders.

She exited her office, waiting in the hall as the lift would bring the jedi up. Hands placed on her hips until she heard the ping of the elevator, and Tia would greet the woman when she exited.

@Valen Pelora

 

[Alexandria Voran]

The state of the galaxy was changing rapidly. Almost every hour it seemed quake shook the politically landscape. Alex barely had time to breath before the rules seemed to change. The Chancellor was joined, Coruscant was in flames, the Empire was hurling out Sith but commanded by a man she knew was steeped in the Darkside. Changes whipped all around. The Force vibrating with each new development, and yet, the future was as clouded as ever. They needed to chart their course forward.

That was why the Grandmaster had come to Corellia. They had neglected relations with the ISC for too long. The war had shoved the two together, but she was not naïve enough to think that would change everything. She simply did not know how the Empire or ISC would react with the Sith Order banished. She was still uncertain what the Jedi would do. Alex was determined to build relations across the spectrum. She was here not to see an old friend but an old enemy. The last time she’d seen Tiamat, the girl had been fleeing captivity. Much had changes in the many long years since.

Alex rode the lift in silence. Dressed in customary robes and armor. Her face was blank. Her mind locked shut and her aura humming softly in the Force. Balance. The lift doors slid open to revel the hall and the green clad woman. Alex stepped forth. “I’d say hello, but I don’t exactly what I’d call you. You’ve given me so many names over the years.” Manat, the Eternal, the list went on. She may not have always known a true name, but Alex did know the girl…woman now…she’d enough of her. The Grandmaster gestured for Tia to lead the way.

@GABA

 

[Darth Tiamat]

By the gods she looked grumpy...

Tiamat thought to herself as the Grandmaster approached her, and only did it confirm her observation when she spoke, making a quip about the numerous identities she had given her over the years. The redhead gave a respectful bow of her head, "Names are important, they form identities, sometimes we have to use different ones for protection." Tia said, her heels clicking along the partially tiled floor, work was still being done on the building; much of the focus by contractors went to those who needed it on Corellia as they rebuilt and repaired. She lead Alex on a short walk to her office, the doors closing behind, "Can I offer you something to drink? Water? Maybe something a little harder?" she asked, and would provide for the Jedi leader before taking a seat at her desk across from her.

"It has been a while." Tia responded, "I'm surprised you are here, no doubt, but a bit...relieved that you are." she admitted, rubbing her palm along the center of her chest. She stacked some of her papers in an alternating pattern before setting them aside, clearing the space in front of her and setting down her water glass.

"I guess I will let you go first, what can I help you with, Grandmaster."

@Valen Pelora

 

[Alexandria Voran]

Alex raised an eyebrow slowly. Was Tia still hiding behind her name? She let the thought hand while she followed to the office. The sounds of work crews chasing after them. It was almost hard to believe this woman had once worn the mask of the Eternal. Almost. Alex flowed into the seat opposite the desk. “I’m fine, thank you.” After the disaster of galactic peace talks, Alex only took drinks she made herself. She did not want to wake up one day finding her strings pulled by a greater mind. Now…how to start.

“It has. Frankly, these are not the circumstances under which I thought we’d meet again.” The Mask was lost to the Maelstrom. Its location erased from all but her mind. She had hoped to find Tia after her escape. A part of her always thought redemption was part of that story. She was not entirely sure joining the ISC was the same thing. “But the galaxy has gone mad.” Alex leaned back in her chair. “Doubly so if you’re relieved to see me.” How much could you trust a woman who claimed to be changed. She was about to find out.

“The ISC has altered the course of the war. For years, we neglected efforts to build a relationship with the Consortium like other political powers. I want to try and set that right.” She shrugged. “And we have to start somewhere.” So why not start with the woman she’d imprisoned twice and try to kill at least once.

@GABA

 

[Darth Tiamat]

The woman grinned in humor, "I feel like I would have been the last one you would approach." she spoke, honestly believing that herself. "Politics are messy though, I don't blame you for wanting to create some space between the yourself, the Jedi, and galactic leaders in the past. You've had to keep a fine balance on the order's involvement and it seemed like for a while it was making it worse than improving things." Tia stated, sharing her own observations. She took a sip from her glass, "But it makes sense you would want to come see me."

The redheaded shrugged, "Want to keep tabs on me? That's fine, I can assume I make you nervous, however I don't want that to be." Internally, she felt herself recoil to such a statement, never thinking she would ever say that to the leader of the Jedi. However, she guessed there had to be some level of sincerity with her nephew training among them and that she was no longer part of the Empire.

"So how can I trust you're not here to coerce me into snuggling up closer to other politicians in the ISC?" she asked.

@Valen Pelora

 

[Alexandria Voran]

A smile. What a strange path she walked. Alex just shook her head. “You don’t make me nervous.” Her fingers laced together. “The mask kept me awake at night, but it’s gone. It will never trouble the galaxy again.” Her voice was even…iron. The truth of it undeniable. “We keep an eye on you. You are not free of guilt simply because you are free of the mask and your power is more than just in the Force.” Alex leaned forward. “But that is not why I keep an eye on you.” Her eyes never left Tia.

“We are more alike than you know. I was born on Corellia. Lived a hard life here. I often think how things might have changed if we’d found you before the Sith.” She kept her voice calm. Her face smooth. “Very few in this life have a chance at redemption. I have always believed you may be one.” Alex shrugged. “Since that first time we met in that cell.” She had hoped to change Tia that day. Manat.

She’d never gotten the chance. “I won’t try to convince you to be something you’re not. I think you enjoy politics as much as I do…but rather to give you the chance to do some good with what you have.” That was the real start to changing relations with the ISC. One small brick at a time and the politicians would eventually come around.

@GABA

 

[Darth Tiamat]

Tiamat's eyebrows rose when she mentioned how the mask kept her awake at night, assuming it will not bother the galaxy any longer. The woman had to impose a good amount of willpower to not respond with sarcasm to the Jedi woman's ignorance. She was bound to a dichotomy that it was gone forever, but it shouldn't have surprised her, Tia met Alex enough times to know she was stubborn, set in ways that refused challenge at times. This idea that she wanted to change her was the Grandmaster's chains, her suffering in her inability to control the outcomes that are presented to her.

Tia raised a hand once the grandmaster finished speaking, "Look, Grandmaster, I know its your life mission to weed out baddies in this galaxy and I'm honored that I seem to be your favorite, but I don't need the redemption." the redhead grimaced as though she had truly eaten something far from expired.

She relaxed her hands, setting them in her lap and leaned back in her seat, "I am here at this point because I am not heartless, there are things I do care for in this galaxy and this is best path currently." the woman explained, "Though it seems, our paths have come together again, and just like your teachings I'm sure, it is not just for coincidence." the woman paused studying the grandmaster for a moment, her hand rubbed against the center of her chest before she stood up, slowly pacing around the office, arms folded across her chest.

"What did the Jedi do with it? What did you learn about it?" she asked Alex; she would know she was referring to the mask. Tiamat had a feeling she would not like the answer by the way the grandmaster spoke of a safer galaxy without it.

@Valen Pelora

 

[Alexandria Voran]

Alex pinched the bridge of her nose. She shook her head slowly. “I swear we’ve had this conversation before.” Tia may think Alex stubborn, and she was but that same streak existed across the table. Her gaze followed the woman as she began to pace. It still bothered her. Alex could see it in the way she walked, that hand to her chest. That power had come with a tremendous price. “That thing posed a danger…even to me. The moment it left you, it sought a new host. Needed one.” It had taken the strength of multiple masters to keep that dark magic chained. “It was evil, Tia. You know that.” Alex did not use that word lightly. There were few things in the galaxy truly evil. The mask was absolutely one.

“It wanted nothing more than to destroy. That was its only purpose. The mask would have eventually left you a husk.” That much was clear. “Frankly, it took tremendous strength to survive.” The sincerity in her voice was real. She knew the strength to wield such an artifact was not easy. “But I tried to destroy it. I failed.” That was tough truth to admit. All her strength and she was not enough to break that thing.

“It was too dangerous to keep at any Temple. A hidden location would only invite disaster.” She had long ago decided the chance someone found it was too great. “But it is gone. That I can promise…swallowed by the galaxy. Only I know where it was dropped.” She tapped the side of her skull. “And that information is going nowhere.” She would die before anyone could take that from her head. The mask was gone. The Maelstroms had seen to that.

@GABA

 

[Darth Tiamat]

There was a slight irritation that bubbled, but not for the reasons that Alex would understand. Tia had felt it before, with her own, the assumption that something doesn't exist, therefore cannot cause harm was ignorance in the power of the Force and the dark side. A phenomenon that was understood by few and even fewer fully could hold the respect for it that it deserved. Tiamat paused when she reached the side of her desk, gaze set on Alex as she explained her decision and power in doing what she could to make it inaccessible for now.

Tiamat felt uncomfortable, not one that had been feeling when she heard Alex was here, but one that required her to trust the woman before her and that was an unknown path for the woman. Lips pursed in thought as she let the room fall quiet before she sat down in the empty chair that sat adjacent from the Grandmaster.

"I know it wanted to destroy, it fed off a part of me that wanted to be like other sith, the conquerors, warlords, victors of battle. A mindset I despised, yet desired for the respect and power, to be admired and adored, desired even..." the woman shrugged and sighed, her thoughts drifted as she thought about those moments of realization she was different from the rest.

"I'm not a heartless person." her attention snapped back to the present, "I ask about the mask because I care about others. I fear what would happen if it was one of the other sith who found it." she explained, rubbing the center of her chest, "You couldn't destroy it because it cannot be destroyed. Its connected to something entirely more sinister. After what happened at Korriban I started to keep a lookout to keep others from waking it."

@Valen Pelora

 

[Alexandria Voran]

The room seemed to grow colder. A trick of her mind…a sign of the Force. Realization with the slightest hint of dread settled in her stomach. “I see…” Alex let the words hand in the air for a moment. She could almost see the hesitation in Tia. The desire to speak the truth but a fear of what might come from it. Alex hardly blamed the woman. They’d tried to kill each other a number of times. She was a Jedi sitting before the woman who had first stormed Yavin. What trust could there be? Little…but much of what they’d done was many long years ago.

“There are mysteries of the Force, both Light and Dark, lost to the ages.” She had always thought the Mask one of them. “We lost much in the purge…I had thoughy perhaps I could not destroy the mask because of some secret I did not know.” Her head titled up. “It seems I was right. Just not in the way I believed.” Alex shook her head, looking at her hands. “A part of me wishes I could stand and walk out those doors, but you know I can’t. It’s one the reasons you agreed to meet at all.” She could not unhear those words. Something greater. Something tied to the mask. Asleep but not done.

“What do you know of it?” The purge had taken so much from them. Even so, the Old Order kept far too many secrets and were not as all-knowing as they seemed. The dark corners of the galaxy still hid the blackest secrets. The Sith were dangerous. The Killik were dangerous. She knew there were greater powers at work. Her strength gave her a view of the galaxy few could understand. It was all too easy to see they were small.

@GABA

 

[Darth Tiamat]

She was relieved the Grandmaster didn't just up and leave and even more so that she seemed to accept that despite her efforts, it was not something she could destroy. Alex wanted to know more, Tia knew she would, and despite her wanting to go into the long history of the origins, the woman responded, "Not very much, there is not much out there, I have looked, I have asked, I have searched." she explained, Alex would hear her words were genuine, and yet seeming annoyed and frustrated that not even a dark sider could get their fingers on something tangible that could give her knowledge about it.

"I still feel it, that scar will never leave me." Tia rubbed her chest again, the burning black hand could still be felt beneath her skin despite it never existing in reality, "But you have to absolutely understand, it is not something that can be destroyed, it is as natural as the Force itself, perhaps older, the feeling is...ancient, raw, intoxicating, but its as though it has developed sentience, like an entity of sorts." Tia explained and shook her head, "Its hard to put words to it because it is something not meant for us to understand, it is just is...and just like the mask, letting go into the wrong hands..."

The woman shifted in her seat, "So why am I telling you about this? The Killiks know about the Eternal Mask and this entity power, we were able to stop them on Korriban, but it doesn't sit well with me that the hive mind knows. I've been trying to keep tabs on nexuses, but by myself its near impossible to keep up and I am currently without very many allies. I need help, Alex."

@Valen Pelora

 

[Alexandria Voran]

I need your help, Alex. The words hung dead in the air…heavy as led. A small laugh bubbled up unbidden. She just couldn’t help it. “The Force certainly has a sense of humor.” She’d watch that woman work to lay waste to the Temple on Yavin. Tried desperately to turn her head towards the Light. Now here they were, far later in life, faced in a horrifying common enemy. “I know what it’s like to look around and see very few friendly faces.” It was a common refrain throughout her tenure as Grandmaster. The galaxy was not filled with friends of the Jedi


“And I suspect you know I can’t simply walk away knowing what you’ve just told me.” Perhaps that was the reason Tia called Alex her. Because the woman knew Alex would act. “The Killik have been targeting Force users since reveling themselves…particularly powerful Force user. I can only imagine what the hive mind could accomplish with such power.” The Killik were dangerous enough.

“What are you purposing we do?” Tia must have had a plan or at least the makings of one. To go through all this effort and not have something cooking would be unlike her.

@GABA