The Dark Cleanses

[EmilyHuene]

[Beebox3=80%]

Imperial Inquisition Tower
~Coruscant~
@EmilyHuene ; @TheBrokenMadMan​

​

What an interesting day. Ashlyn Sera waited on the the balcony of her Coruscant apartment for a certain shuttle to arrive. A few days ago a prisoner of war was picked up. They called him the burned man for there was no identifying him. The only reason he was taken prisoner and not killed was because he was drenched in the aura of the Dark side. The ones who found him didn't know what to do with him. So the only option was to send him to the Inquisitors. And who better to get to the bottom of the stranger than the one known as The Confessor. The blind Sith was well known for her trade of interrogation and also for converting her prisoners over to the Sith. Only the Grand Inquisitor herself could likely do a better job than she. But she would know best for she was the one who trained Ashlyn.

As always she was wearing a Sith robe that covered her outfit which was currently pulled up at the hood to hide her face. The outfit underneath really spoke to her role as she looked very much like a leather dominatrix. Which when she walked through the dungeons really worked for her. The outfit also flattered her body type and showed off her tattoos. At her side was her double bladed lightsaber which would produce two purple beams. While she chose not to use it on regular basis, it was foolish to not have it equipped at all times. Plus, it was a sign of power. And Ashlyn enjoyed the power she had.

​

[/BEEBOX3]

 

[Vinny]

This is Priest Scream. I am en route to Coruscant from Nar Shadda. I am transporting a dangerous and unaffiliated dark side force user. I was significantly damaged in apprehending him and request an official to meet me as I arrive to receive the force user into custody for reprogramming. Long live the Empire.

The image of the Givin priest flickered out of existence and Tara slid the tiny holoprojector back into her pocket. She glanced up at her father who had once more assumed the appearance of the man who had raised her. He was handsome, at least she assumed so based on the looks he got from those who passed by. She wore her officers uniform, crisp, clean, and properly adorned in the correct fashion. He wore comfortable black robes, slacks, and a nondescript breastplate. As far as one could see, he was a humble Marauder meeting with an Inquisitor.

The Dark Lord of the Sith grinned.

"Scream, mm? Interesting to see a priest performing an arrest." He quipped, sliding a hand into his pocket and drawing out an apple. He sliced a piece off with a knife that she swore came out of nowhere and popped it into his mouth. She stiffened when he offered her one.

"No, thank you, My Lord. Sir, he did an admirable job and it is his civic dut-" She nearly growled when he did not let her finish, popping the slice into her mouth.

"Tut tut! I didn't spend all that time making myself look pretty just so you could spoil my fun." The second-in-command of the Empire said playfully, Tara gave her father an exasperated look before nodding. There was no point in trying to deter him. Instead, she swallowed her pride and straightened herself up. Turning on her heel she marched toward the turbolift.

The ride up was short and mercifully uneventful. Darth Cain spent much of his time on his datapad, amusing himself with only the stars knew what. She led him along the concourse to one of the rooms along the outer wall. There were several apartment-offices occupied by the Inquisitors that operated out of Coruscant. This one, in particular, belonged to one Ashlyn Sera. Cain eyed the nameplate and then glanced at his daughter, giving her a cryptically disappointed look.

Tara ignored it, pressing the buzzer to announce their presence.

"Inquisitor Sera? This is Inquisitor Olpierr, I'm accompanied by a marauder from the Order. We've come to join you in receiving the prisoner."

 

[Vinn Esper]

Scream had found adrenaline and pain killers among the medicine the strange man had on his person. They were quite good. Scream had used one or two of them to sustain himself during the hyperspace trip. The most recent doses were wearing off and pain shot through his center mass from his broken ribs.

Scream set the ship to land on an assigned landing pad. He got up, and began to draw on the force to suppress the pain. He could've taken another shot, there were plenty, but he didn't want to be on drugs when he turned the prisoner over. He walked over to the cage where his prisoner was restrained.

"So," Scream said cheerfully through the helmet of his W11 flight suit, as his ship continued to land, "we're here! I imagine you're not feeling very well. I also imagine you intend to make good on your promise to kill me someday. Today is not that day. YOU'RE ur weapons have been secured on board my ship in an undesignated location. That means the only available weapons are the xpc I'm holding, and my lightsaber."

"So," Scream continued, "my question to you is whether you intend to cooperate or not. If you would rather not, I have no problem injecting you with some of your sedatives. Who's your pharmacist by the way?"

@TheBrokenMadMan @EmilyHuene

 

[EmilyHuene]

Ashlyn didn't need an announcement to feel the Dark Lord's presence. After being around him for years in the priesthood she would know his aura anywhere. The daughter though was someone new. The Confessor turned around and headed to the door to greet the ones before her. Even though he was in disguise, Ashlyn was likely the only one he could not fool for her eyes was not how she saw him.

"My lord," she would say and get down on one knee. "Please come in."

 

[Panda Hermit 98]

It was so cold right now...cold, dark, dizzy...he couldn't see much, just the fuzzy shapes and the bright lights...they looked so pretty. In the back of his mind, he knew he was just slipping in and out of consciousness, he was being held somewhere, somewhere metal, he could feel it against his fingers, the cold and smooth sheen against his coarse, leather skin. He could hear still, too, muffled sounds, like voices miles away in another little world...doesn't matter, all that mattered right now were the lights...so pretty. It felt so peaceful here, in this little pocket of nothingness, he just floated, weightless, like he was in the sea, no pain, no fear, no rage...just peace...

Like all good things, it wasn't to last.

He was ripped from the inky sea as the electricity shot through him, his muscles and chest convulsing and tensing and lashing around in complete helplessness. It only lasted a moment, but it felt like eternity, and that pain brought The Ragged Man roaring back into the waking world. He whipped his head around, staring at the Sith standing over him, his yellow eyes sharpening in wicked glee as he saw him. "Ahyes...n-now I...remememememememmmmber..." He slurred out, visions of his fight with the priest flashing across his mind's eye...he had been defeated...where was he now? He craned his neck to try and see out through the window of the cockpit, but it was too far away for him to get a good look.

The Sith decided to twist the knife in a little, gloating about how he was incapable of fighting back. Indeed, in his state, devoid of medicine or healing, pain pulsed through every nerve end, and he would barely withstand more than a few strikes, but he was far from defeated. In fact, thinking on his past briefly, and how often that was said to him, he couldn't help but break out into barely contained hysterical giggles. "OoooOOoOoooh...that's cute..." He said softly, standing up straight, taking a few steps toward the Sith, to the point where their face were inches apart, and let out a cool breath as his spine burned once more. Despite these infernal cuffs barring him from the force, he could still feel it, like the precious stone behind the glass case, all swirling around, just dying to come to him...hm, guess that's what some of the Sith meant when they called him a parasite. "Such NArrOw thinking, expEctEd from a m-m-mathmetician" He stated - anything could be a weapon in the right hands

 

[Vinn Esper]

Scream listened to the man's response. He was such a Sith, he just didn't know it yet. Scream found himself irritated about his lack of cooperation. Normally, he would have found it entertaining, but the constant pain had him on edge. Scream looked down at the being and said, "you're starting to make me regret that I didn't simply kill you."

The ship shuddered as it finally touched down, and then suddenly powered down. Everything except the lights shut off. "That's some of my mathematical narrow thinking at work," Scream said, "my ship is now in standby mode. It will remain in standby mode until I input the release code. So you're not going anywhere in it. There are two additional Sith outside whom I intend to turn you over to."

Scream unlocked the cage and stepped inside, "here's how it's going to work, I am going to take off the bar bent around your ankles. The other restraints will remain. You are going to hop in front of me, like a rabbit, to go meet our friends. I am going to be right behind you with my trusty xpc. If you even breathe funny, it will be the last time you breathe. Is my thinking narrow enough that you are capable of understanding."

 

[Vinny]

Tara immediately understood his cryptic disappointment when the woman on the other side of the door immediately took to a knee. She knew her father without hardly glancing at him. That meant that he had seen to her training in a personal way. Tara resisted the urge to click her tongue, instead, she stepped back a pace as the Dark Lord of the Sith strode past her. Her father chose not to dispense with the mildly amused veneer though, much to her chagrin.

"For future reference, Confessor Ashlyn." Cain drawled as he looked around the room. "If I am in disguise, it very well might be for a good reason." The Dark Lord turned to her and raised a warning finger. "You are lucky I assumed this visage as a jest."

Tara let out a breath and strode inside as well, inclining her head to the other woman.

"Sister Sera. You informed us that there was a prisoner of interest in transit. Where is this prisoner?' She asked, trying to urge her father away from the current topic of conversation.

 

[EmilyHuene]

"For future reference, Confessor Ashlyn, if I am in disguise, it very well might be for a good reason. You are lucky I assumed this visage as a jest."

Ashlyn rose and kept her arm in a saluting sort of manor against her chest, "Forgive me, my lord. Being blind sometimes has its disadvantages. I could not tell you were hiding your appearance. I'll be more observant next time."

"Sister Sera. You informed us that there was a prisoner of interest in transit. Where is this prisoner?'

She would then lower her arm and no longer pretend to be subservient to the Dark Lord. She would play the fool. "Apparently they are experiencing some difficulty as they are not here yet." She seemed annoyed, but not at either of them.

 

[Panda Hermit 98]

The Ragged Man still wore that smirk as the Mathematician boasted about the precautions taken to ensure that he would not escape, only able to roll his eyes as he droned on and on. "Ooooh, you flipped a switch and turned OFF the ship, how could I possibly g-get away?" He fretted, his tongue gushing with sarcasm. The cell chirped off and the Sith took a few steps toward him, it would be so easy to headbutt the bastard right now...but no, save him for later.

Once again, he took a moment to throw a few snide remarks his way, which admittedly made him chuckle. Said chuckle turned into a cough, with The Ragged Man vomiting out a small pile of blood and black ooze. "I'd much RAthER cRRRRReep! like a RAN-COR, thankyouverymuch" He spat, standing quickly.

Finally, staring into his eyes, inches from the man, he let the smile drop, all pretense left the room, with only The Ragged Man remaining, eyes full of nothing but hate, and righteous anger toward the man in front of him. His voice became eerily calm and smooth, a stark contrast to the jittering mess he was before. "I can count at least two ways to escape...would you like to know what they are?" He whispered, in a way that was sadistic to the point of seduction. "It doesn't matter, either way....I'll enjoy adding your tooth to my collection"

For that, he was rewarded with a face full of metal crushing his cheekbone as he was hit with the butt of the Sith's rifle. He really shouldn't have uncoiled that piece of rebar after that, but hey, everyone makes mistakes. His window opened as his ankles were freed, giving him just enough leg room to kick, which he did. With what little leg strength was available, he delivered the floating metal straight into the Priest's kneecaps, a satisfying crunch shooting out from them. He followed up on this chance as he fell to his now destroyed knees, throwing himself forward and tackling the priest. As was hoped, a piece of rebar keeping him restrained was over his head as they hit the floor, and in a second, his eyes had gone blank, blood dripping from the small open wound in his forehead.

"That was one" He grunted, wiggling his way up the wall and back to his feet. Thankfully, this ship was full of tools, so he was able to remove the rebar bit by bit, until only the force draining cuffs remained. The cuffs proved to be impossible to remove, despite the many methods he tried, which meant that he was more than likely stuck here...unless...

Moving to the cockpit, the Ragged Man examined the controls; all were dead save a few critical systems...like life support. Each ship was a sealed system that responded to the outside atmosphere, some had a safety precaution that routed power to the doors if all life support failed, though this only worked in oxygenated planets. With a little tinkering, alarms began to blare and blaze throughout the small vessel, and soon enough, the doors parted open...only to reveal a small squad of Shock Troopers armed with heavy weaponry.

Half an hour later, the Shock Troopers stood at the door to the Confessor's apartment, each and every one's armor singed, cracked, broken, and scuffed, with a hardy helping of blood soaked faces, gouged out eyes, and broken noses to go around too. Of course, The Ragged Man had once again taken a beating, black ooze dripping from his lips. "Confessor! We have the prisoner, though we had to collect him ourselves, Priest Scream had to be taken to the infirmary, we found him unconscious in his ship. He um...he put up a fight Ma'am"

@Vinny @EmilyHuene

 

[EmilyHuene]

The small group would wait just a little bit longer until they could feel the life force of the troopers heading their way. Ashlyn waited patiently by the door and had it open before they made it to the hallway. She stood there, silent and still like a statue until they arrived at her door.

"Confessor! We have the prisoner, though we had to collect him ourselves, Priest Scream had to be taken to the infirmary, we found him unconscious in his ship. He um...he put up a fight Ma'am"

"Thank you. Leave him inside." She moved aside and let them enter. While she couldn't see the physical appearances of them, she did however feel the stress and strain that each of them felt from the fight. By this alone she could tell this strange man of darkness was going to be a valuable asset to them. If he could be trained. Ashlyn was confident she could rise to the challenge.

 

[Vinny]

Darth Cain sat with his legs crossed, watching as the trooper gave his report. Behind him, Tara stood at attention, her eyes constantly sweeping the room. One of her hands casually rested on the back of the couch. She clenched her hand as the report finished. Cain sensed his daughter's rather violent opinion of a man who could not control a prisoner. He raised a hand and brushed her fingertips with his own, looking up and giving her a patient smile. She looked away and pulled away her hand.

"Unable to control a prisoner and disabled by that very same? My my, that is unfortunate." The Dark Lord cooed as the prisoner was shoved into the room. Cain's lip curled when he caught a whiff of the man's force aura. Cute.

"This is the prisoner that drew your interest, My Lord?" Tara murmured. Cain glanced up at Ashlyn and clicked his tongue.

"Yes, it would seem so." Cain leaned forward and clasped his hands together. "Would you be so kind as to give me your name, sir?" He asked pleasantly.

 

[EmilyHuene]

@TheBrokenMadMan

 

[Panda Hermit 98]

The floor was hard, cold, painful, though he imagined one only felt the last one if they too had been in extreme pain and were thrown upon it like a piece of garbage. Then again, that's all he really was anymore, a moth eaten, rotting mound of flesh and pus that just floated around the galaxy, aimless, slave to his rage, a parasite among others of the same vengeful blood, doomed to search for vengeance that will never be his...but enough introspection. He tried to haul himself up on to his knees but now he could feel it, creeping in, not pain or anger, just plain fatigue trying to drag him to sleep again. Ultimately, he found himself unable to even move after all he had been through, and just lay there oozing blood onto the carpet. "I apololololologiiiiieeeze....for the ME-E-ESS...I've had a long day..." He rasped softly, barely able to speak, let alone keep his eyes open...but then he heard it.

An old sound reached out across the fog of ages, a voice; deep, wretched, full of malice, it's tendrils suffocating any soul whom heard it...but it wasn't from the past, it was right here, in this room. The Ragged Man's eyes snapped open, inhaling as deep as he could, life returning to him, the sparks flying again in his brain. He knew that voice, and he knew the face it belonged to, all he had to do was see. With the strength and youth of a young man, he hauled himself back on to his knees and gazed up from underneath his hood, gasping softly...

It was him...The Dark Man...Cain..."CAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

The Ragged Man jumped to his knees and bellowed so loud that it's echo bounced throughout the room, out the window, falling down to the streets of Coruscant itself. His rage welled up like it never had before, every single drop, ever since he begun, from every person he met, but none stronger than his, than the boy who watched his life be stripped away at the tip of a Lightsaber, a lightsaber held by Darth. Cain.

His eyes practically glowed yellow as a sun when they met his face, and he may not have the Force, but he still had The Dark Side, he still had his rage, it's fire hotter than ever, and he still had his hands. He lunged forward, hands outstretched, intending to just pin the monster to the ground and squeeze the life from him using the robotic arm that he made necessary, screaming all the way.

 

[EmilyHuene]

"CAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

His voice was so loud! SO powerful. Ashlyn, within her already sensitive hearing, had to squint and cover her ears to drown it out. She'd end up having a headache later after hearing that. Then just like that he lunged for her Lord. Ashlyn curled and brought her hands to the ground as she did. The broken ragged man that he was would feel the Force grip him from all sides, much like a blanket being rolled up, and thrown to the ground. She held his limbs tightly to his body and pinned him there with all her might. She'd not allow this man, or creature, to do harm to the envoy of the Force; not that he'd need her protection. But she was trained to protect him and she would fight as his servant. That's what loyalty was.

"That's quite enough of that!" she'd say with some difficulty as she found holding him to be a rather painful burden. But he'd exhaust himself soon enough. His rage could not compete with her true spiritual belief and devotion.

 

[Vinny]

The Dark Lord's eyes went wide with amusement as the man lunged at him, only to be caught in mid-air a moment later. A smile spread across his lips like a coiling serpent and he actually clapped like an excited child. His daughter, to her credit, remained stoic as ever. Cain let out a playful laugh and leaned back. The voice did not sound familiar, but that really did not matter. The Lord of the Mind had other ways to identify this beraggled imp. He crossed his legs;

"Good show! Good show! What anger!" Cain applauded verbally. "Thank you, Ashlyn, timely as ever," He said and shifted a bit in his seat so he could get a more comfortable view of the downtrodden miscreant that had just made an effort to throttle him. Reaching out with the force he touched the man's mind, exploring its depths with a surgeon's hand.

"I see..." Cain licked his lips. "It seems that our guest is intimately familiar with my work while I was a student at the Academy. Fascinating." Cain laughed and rose to his feet, walking toward the ragged man. Tara shifted, ready to intercept anything. Cain lowered himself to a knee and grabbed the man by the face, squeezing his jaw and cheeks between his fingers. He forced the man to look him in the eyes.

"Now. I will ask you again. What. Is. Your. Name?" Cain ordered, cracks appearing on his skin and his eyes beginning to glow with a strange redness. "Show me you have enough wisdom to exercise self-preservation."

 

[Panda Hermit 98]

On some level, the Ragged Man knew that he was going to lose, maybe even die in the effort. Perhaps that was what he wanted after all this time, not to kill Cain, but just to die by his hand, let the suffering end. Either way, he wasn't remotely fazed as the force wrapped him in it's invisible chains and forced him to the floor, he kept on writhing futilely, screaming and shouting bloody murder as his rage burned on the hot coals. Of course though, the ones that wielded the Force weren't all powerful, they were slaves to their physical and mental limitations, and a rage that powerful only burned for so long before it snuffed itself out, and soon enough, The Ragged Man felt his blood cool over and his fatigue catch up to him again.

In a few minutes, he had gone limp again, his face hidden in the carpet, wracked with shame. He had failed them, his mother, his father, his family...he could feel him, Cain, filling his mind, probing, digging, that darkness, the polluted feeling in his heart was not him. It was more than that though, ever since that day he vowed to find Cain, the little boy he maimed was protected, safe behind the phalanx of rage he shrouded himself in to protect himself, but now he felt it all come back. Fear, Sadness, Despair, it all filled his soul again, quelling his rage, now the boy was in the driver's seat too, a boy that never grew up and barely even remembers why he was here at all. Sure enough, he was so inconsequential that even after seeing his memories, Cain was still foggy on the details, didn't even know his name. A gloved fist found his hair and wrenched his head up, his eyes locking into a stare with The Dark Man himself. Even in his tired state, he couldn't help but chuckle weakly as his name was demanded.

"E-even if I...wa-a-a-a-aaaaAAnted tO...I don't remember..."

 

[EmilyHuene]

Ashlyn relaxed some of her powers when she felt her lord take control of the man, but still readied herself to intercept him again. She stood and would brush back her hair which had slipped into her face some. It wasn't in her sight at all, just merely an irritation on the skin which bothered her senses. She didn't like the feeling of hair in her face. Perhaps it was time to cut it again? She had short hair as an apprentice after all.

"Perhaps you should try harder," Ashlyn snapped. "Unless you'd rather we send your pathetic life to the Force?"

@Vinny

 

[Panda Hermit 98]

Spoiler: OOC

Hey Em, due to his current situation, we're just going to continue the thread without Vinny, I'll post and say he walked out or something like that, and that he ordered you to break me so I can be converted, let me know if that doesn't work for you :)

"You look into my head if you think it's so easy..." He croaked, coughing up more black pus as his head fell to the ground once more, the sound of footsteps and something being said passing in through one ear and out the other. He wasn't sure what happened, all he knew was that it was just him and her now. The Ragged Man ranked his head to look at her. "Has anyone ever t-t-told you...you're actually quite beautiful?"