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Author	Topic: The Wise
Healer_Leona Registered: Jul '00	Date Posted: 9/23/07 7:28am Subject: RE: The Wise - Chapter 9: Choice
	Such a wonderful lesson. Though for a sith, I was surprised that attempting to save the moth because of beauty would be tolerated. I actually expected the Braoness to kill the moth in front of him. -----signature----- Any way youll never know The many ways I've tried
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VaderLVR64 Title: Fan Fic Manager in Combat Boots Registered: Feb '04	Date Posted: 9/23/07 1:45pm Subject: RE: The Wise - Chapter 9: Choice
	Simply incredible! -----signature----- If you have to choose between tears and laughter, remember that laughter burns more calories. Army Mom! HOOAH! Adopt a soldier: http://soldiersangels.org/
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BigE Registered: Jul '02	Date Posted: 9/24/07 7:14am Subject: RE: The Wise - Chapter 9: Choice
	Finally, the boy stood up and stepped back, placing himself next to his Master, “So, if I save the Pixie Moth, the Wisp Spider dies; if I do nothing, the Pixie Moth dies. Baroness, I do not think you could have invented a better moral conundrum if you tried.” That spider/moth conundrum was wonderful - a delightfully thoughtful discussion between the Master and Student. The chapter finished on an awesome note: the three core characters finally come together. I can't wait to see how it plays out. -----signature----- Aha! That's it. Hold it right there. Pronoun trouble. It's not "he doesn't have to shoot YOU now," it's "he doens't have to shoot ME now." Well I say he DOES have to shoot me now!! So shoot me now!
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MsLanna Title: CR GSFF Central Registered: Jul '05	Date Posted: 9/26/07 1:28am Subject: RE: The Wise - Chapter 9: Choice
	Awesome update. loved the spider&moth dilemma. Avrus has a very different third option from what he has in mind. The Baroness tenderly placed a hand on his shoulder, “The universe can be an exceedingly difficult thing to reshape.” “I…guess it can be, yeah.” Loved it! Because it's so ture. every solution has a problem... and they grow bigger. If you become my Apprentice, this question will need an answer that does work. And on a much, much larger scale.” I think this is now, isn't it. “I see you’ve brought a friend,” Darth Averus said, almost snarling. She removed her hooded cloak, and the lightsaber on her belt glinted gently from the cabin’s dim glow. I wish I knew whom she's going to strike down if any of them. Great update! -----signature----- Padawan owned by Corellian_Ale Master of CloneCaptainRex. Proud FanFic Master of Darth_Sathanos Why so serious? Master of baritonejedi
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NYCitygurl Title: Manager of SFFBC, C&G, and NSWFF Registered: Jul '02	Date Posted: 9/28/07 5:35pm Subject: RE: The Wise - Chapter 9: Choice
	I love this chapter!!! Quite a moral choice: who lives and who dies . . . I like the bit about her saying that it's like playing God. Very true. I'm really curious about who is going to die here, the boy or the girl. My theory is that Averous is the same person teaching two children, though I might be way off. -----signature----- "Not till the moon falls. Not till the world ends."
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1Yodimus_Prime Registered: Mar '04	Date Posted: 10/1/07 8:46pm Subject: RE: The Wise - Chapter 9: Choice
	raisedbywolves posted: I loved the moth vs. the spider, but it really made me wonder if the kid gets this whole Sith thing. I mean, if you're trying to remake nature according to your own ambitions, who cares about a starving spider? Yes well, he may be smart, but we can't expect him to get every lesson Averus tries to teach him. raisedbywolves posted: And if I'm not mistaken, here comes the big reveal - what's up with the apparent two Darth Averus-es? Yeah, what is up with that? oqidaun posted: I love the new title. Thought you would correllian_ale posted: Thank god! I thought my membership had expired or something! No worries. They get automatically renewed. In much the same way that the hidden subscription fees are automatically removed from your bank account. correllian_ale posted: But then, just as he thought it, there was light. From the window. Averus must have heard him. The door opened. He looked up at her, but she was looking at the girl and, for perhaps the first time since he met her, Averus was truly angry. Good, kill her. Show her who’s boss! “I see you’ve brought a friend,” Darth Averus said, almost snarling. She removed her hooded cloak, and the lightsaber on her belt glinted gently from the cabin’s dim glow. The boy looked back at the girl, and he smiled. what was it Han and Leia would say in a moment like this? Great to see this back Yod! A very manly update! Thank you! That's good to know, too, since the next update is probably going to be very girly.. Healer_Leona posted: Such a wonderful lesson. Though for a sith, I was surprised that attempting to save the moth because of beauty would be tolerated. I actually expected the Braoness to kill the moth in front of him. It does seem unusual at first. But we must remember that the Sith aren't inherently evil (well...the religion is, but they aren't their religion. They are still living beings, with feelings and imperfections), and along with that, their core values involve intense affirmations of individuality. No two Sith experiences will ever be alike, and lessons can rarely be expected to have any sort of predictability to them. Traditions are for Jedi. VaderLVR64 posted: Simply incredible! Why thank you! I return the guesture: BigE posted: Finally, the boy stood up and stepped back, placing himself next to his Master, “So, if I save the Pixie Moth, the Wisp Spider dies; if I do nothing, the Pixie Moth dies. Baroness, I do not think you could have invented a better moral conundrum if you tried.” That spider/moth conundrum was wonderful - a delightfully thoughtful discussion between the Master and Student. Indeed. I'd like to take this moment to give credit where credit is due: Anyone who has ever watched the limited-run anime serial "Trigun" will realize that the philosophical question of the spider and the (in their case, butterfly) originated in one of those episodes. I always found the question to be deliciously devious, and I kind of consider my scene to be a sort of obscure homage. BigE posted: The chapter finished on an awesome note: the three core characters finally come together. I can't wait to see how it plays out. ...Maybe they'll just shake hands and put it all behind them? MsLanna posted: Awesome update. loved the spider&moth dilemma. Avrus has a very different third option from what he has in mind. The Baroness tenderly placed a hand on his shoulder, “The universe can be an exceedingly difficult thing to reshape.” “I…guess it can be, yeah.” Loved it! Because it's so true. Every solution has a problem... and they grow bigger. Indeed they do. Really, it's hard to imagine any group taking over the galaxy, no matter how much time they give themselves. MsLanna posted: If you become my Apprentice, this question will need an answer that does work. And on a much, much larger scale.” I think this is now, isn't it. This story is set sometime in the past. I'm afraid that's all you'll get from me. MsLanna posted: “I see you’ve brought a friend,” Darth Averus said, almost snarling. She removed her hooded cloak, and the lightsaber on her belt glinted gently from the cabin’s dim glow. I wish I knew whom she's going to strike down if any of them. Personally, I'd like to freeze this moment of time, and never find out. That's just me. NYCitygurl posted: I love this chapter!!! Quite a moral choice: who lives and who dies . . . I like the bit about her saying that it's like playing God. Very true. I'm really curious about who is going to die here, the boy or the girl. My theory is that Averous is the same person teaching two children, though I might be way off. You might be. I'm afraid I am unable to reveal anything useful, save this: The question of the Averus identity theft issue will be addressed, and ultimately answered, within the course of the following chapter. Stay tuned. Expect more swashbuckling soon. -----signature----- Rule 12: A soft answer turneth away wrath. Once wrath is looking the other way, shoot it in the head. --- http://boards.theforce.net/b/b1/26481069 - The Wise http://boards.theforce.net/B/b1/21283317 - Planet Hopping
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1Yodimus_Prime Registered: Mar '04	Date Posted: 10/10/07 9:54pm Subject: RE: The Wise - CH 10, pt 1: Monster - Date Edited: 10/10/07 9:57pm (1 edits total) Edited By: 1Yodimus_Prime
	Chapter 10 part 1: Monster Mouse smiled back. The first time the real Darth Averus hinted to Mouse that this would be her final test was over a year ago. It had been only a few months earlier that Mouse truly began to realize exactly how vast and complex her Mistress’s network of spies and contacts really was. There didn’t seem to be a limit to how much information Darth Averus had access to. Every sensitive document she could imagine was filed somewhere. There was even an encrypted collection of datadisks entitled “Jedi Council Meeting Transcriptions.” Most were unlabelled, but two had “1st Hand info” written in red, underlined. Like, first hand…from a Jedi? Master?!? She dared not bring it up. She wasn’t even supposed to be there. There were lots of places Averus had explicitly stated Mouse wasn’t supposed to be, and Mouse always made sure those were exactly the places she went. It was that survival instinct of her’s. As much as Darth Averus talked about the dangers of the Jedi or the Republic or the Black Sun, Mouse knew the only enemy that posed any real threat to Mouse was Darth Averus herself. That was just how their relationship worked, even if Averus refused to acknowledge it as such. Maybe, she didn’t even realize what she was doing. Her ignorance – honest or feigned – was irrelevant. The effect was the same: Averus taught her by being her enemy. Mouse understood this, clear as if it were written on a wall, and even though she hated it…it worked. By being her opponent, Mouse was learning much faster than she ever had when she was Level’s friend. Even with Lock – shut up about them. Shut up. As someone who was incredibly familiar with trying to find the cracks in Darth Averus’s seemingly perfect defenses, Mouse knew there were some places where looking for weakness was futile. Like for instance, in the woman’s ability to find accurate information. So when Averus came to her looking furious, and vented to Mouse about how this ignorant ancient hack of a Force Sensitive named Baroness Sarogga, from some backwater called Dolus, had stolen her identity and was strutting around the underworld pretending to be a Sith Lord, Mouse was only surprised that someone actually had the guts to pull such a stunt. That Darth Averus found this out somehow…that wasn’t so surprising. The real question on her mind at the time – diligently looking for cracks, as any good opponent should – was why her Mistress had bothered to tell her that in the first place. The only thing such information could possibly do was undermine the Sith Lord’s status as someone who made no mistakes. What if Mouse concluded that Averus’s carelessness with her identity translated to weakness and decided the time was right to kill her? Even the most perfectionistic dictators in history couldn’t be on guard all the time. Surely she didn’t think Mouse was unwilling to kill her. There was no way Averus was that stupid. In fact, from Mouse’s experience, Averus wasn’t even a tiny bit stupid. Maybe…maybe this had to do with those stories she told her. The ones about the twins who fought under one of those dusty old Sith Lords from way long ago. Something-Shadow? Naga Shadow, maybe? Whatever. They were called…the Eva Twins. Averus told her all about how they rose to be the most formidable and dangerous women in the galaxy, and how they used their identical features, identical fighting styles, and identical names to help them do it. Averus had a whole handful of great stories about those two and the battles they seemed to win so easily. Their fighting style was unbeatable, because it was unique. Not only was it unique, it was irreproducible. For what they did was master a style that required two people who were exactly the same. Exactly the same in every way, down to the pores on their skin, to their very presence in the Force. No detail could ever be allowed to be different. If one got a haircut, the other got the same haircut. If one had to make a new lightsaber, the other would destroy her own and craft an identical blade. If one was wounded in battle, the other would wound herself in the same place. And so on. For the sake of their ultimate weapon, their inherent advantage, nothing could be left unchecked. They sacrificed their own identities so that they could become one person. Their lives had been devoted to one unstoppable, perfect tactic. Yet for them, it truly was worth it. The way Averus described it, seeing them fight was like seeing a tornado. Two people who could move like one creature, twice as fast as the fastest, twice as strong as the strongest, twice as cunning as the most clever, a pair of eyes always looking in the right place and another always looking to the next right place. They were so blindingly quick and precise, survivors swore it had been one person with four arms who had attacked. Everything they did worked exactly right, like a supernaturally crafted machine. They leveled armies. As the stories say, of course, this did not end without irony. The very tactic that made them so alike ultimately broke them apart. They began to hate each other, until they couldn’t even live on the same planet. In some versions of the story, they kill each other, but Averus would always temper those with the comment that reality isn’t nearly as poetic as storytellers would like us to believe. Now, though, she wondered how true that was. If it wasn’t just Averus’s own way of being poetic, and hinting to Mouse the possibility that she, too, had a twin? Averus hated telling Mouse personal things, so it was possible. It was also possible she was a friend with Jedi Masters who were giving her confidential information about Council Meetings. That didn’t mean Mouse believed it, or that it helped explain anything. So what if Averus had an rogue twin sister? That meant she always did. It didn’t explain why she chose now to say something about the woman. Darth Averus was telling her this information for a reason. But what was the reason? Possibilities ran through her mind as she trained every day. Could the impostor be searching for Averus, maybe even on her way to Wayland at this moment? No. There’d be no way anyone would stand a chance against Darth Averus, not even a twin. Even with her age, my Mistress is formidable. If that was really the case, there’d be no reason to tell me, because the Baroness would be dead before I even knew she landed. Even if they were evenly matched once, Averus has only gotten stronger. My Mistress has nothing to fear. Unless… …Unless Averus wants me to kill her. So when, a year later, Averus sat Mouse down and gave her careful instructions about how the time was ripe: Mouse was to stalk the impostor and the boy she had in tow until they were isolated, and then kill the child without alerting his false master to the deed, and how doing so would gain her the title of Sith Lord – official Apprentice to the Lord Darth Averus…again, she was not surprised. Only relieved. She was relieved, not because she wouldn’t have to kill the false Averus herself (her Mistress could have ordered her to kill the Supreme Chancellor for all it mattered to Mouse), but because it would mark the end of her childhood. To Mouse, being a child meant suffering. It meant misery. It meant watching helpless inside a space in the wall as her parents were shot ten times, even as they begged for their lives. It meant becoming so desperately hungry that she crushed a living creature with her bare hands until it died, and then tried to eat it raw. It meant shooting five men in the back, in cold blood, and not even being able muster up enough of a conscience to feel bad. It meant leaving Coruscant in the custody of an old woman with incredible power. And the last one? That one, she considered the most miserable of all. Darth Averus, Mouse had concluded, was not just her opponent, her teacher. That was the least of what Averus was. Darth Averus was, most of all, a monster. A Monster: a creature without compassion or sympathy, who hates so that it might see injustice, hunts so that it might see extinction, torments so that it might see misery, and kills so that it might see oblivion. That was how the old Sith texts defined the word. It fit Darth Averus perfectly. That needlessly cruel woman, who took such great joy in searching out people in their greatest, darkest possible moment of despair and pain, and finding the best way to make it even darker. The best way to make it even worse. Take the man trying to hang himself after failing his village back on Ferros – a failure that Averus herself had a hand in. They walked in on him only moments before he went through with it, and Averus – all smiles – let him know she had taken the liberty of warning the elders about his suicide attempt. She was “saving” him, she said. This was her “Good deed.” she said. Like she thought Mouse couldn’t see through it. Even though Averus knew how harshly they treated suicide attempts, even though she knew there was no reason to torment him any more – he had done his job, he should have been left to his fate – what does she do? She makes it so that he’s so humiliated and so utterly destroyed, he can’t even die. And at that moment, as his own legs give out from under him out of sheer emotional collapse…as he’s rendered speechless at the total undermining of not only his life, but his death as well…Averus mocks him. She mocks him. She mocks him like some cop, drinking caff over a chalk line. As he’s taken off to prison to be worked to death in the brutal suffocating ore mines they will surely sentence him to, the last thing the man hears out of the ‘greatly respected’ Averus’s mouth is how he’s pathetic. How he isn’t worth the dirt he walks on. How ashamed we all should be for breathing the same air. How he’s a lesson of failure. Mouse had been disgusted. And that’s only one example. That is one example of thousands and thousands. But it was more complicated than that, because Averus was a useful monster. To Mouse, Darth Averus was also incredibly, unimaginably Powerful. No lifeform could ever come close to matching her. If Mouse ever hoped to have a chance of having that, she would have to become the monster’s Apprentice. Only then would Averus give her the knowledge to be Great. And when that knowledge was given, Mouse would slay the monster and free the world. She would go on to become the most powerful Sith Lord in history. She would unite the galaxy so that there would be no more wars. She would become the ruler of every planet, with complete control, and she would make it so nobody ever went hungry, and no one could ever own a weapon, and no child ever lost their parents, and no one could make fun of people who were weak, and she would be especially careful to make sure no lifeform could ever kill another lifeform, ever again. Yet she knew, with a block of icy dread in her stomach, that a lot of people were going to have to die before that happened. For starters – that poor innocent little twelve year old boy who the impostor had chosen to mentor. Random, needless cruelty. Her path was being paved and it did not look good. (interesting trivia: somewhere in this chapter, I just spoiled the plot to "The Prestige") -----signature----- Rule 12: A soft answer turneth away wrath. Once wrath is looking the other way, shoot it in the head. --- http://boards.theforce.net/b/b1/26481069 - The Wise http://boards.theforce.net/B/b1/21283317 - Planet Hopping
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MsLanna Title: CR GSFF Central Registered: Jul '05	Date Posted: 10/11/07 12:54am Subject: RE: The Wise - CH 10, pt 1: Monster
	To quote myself: grabs Yod at the throat and shakes him Argh! A complete update and not a single step further to knowing what's gonna happen. Now I'll just hand in here, until the showdown comes. hangs in there Soon please? -----signature----- Padawan owned by Corellian_Ale Master of CloneCaptainRex. Proud FanFic Master of Darth_Sathanos Why so serious? Master of baritonejedi
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correllian_ale Title: Manager Emeritus Registered: Jun '05	Date Posted: 10/11/07 5:49pm Subject: RE: The Wise - CH 10, pt 1: Monster
	My favortie passage in this story in quite a while... Even though Averus knew how harshly they treated suicide attempts, even though she knew there was no reason to torment him any more – he had done his job, he should have been left to his fate – what does she do? She makes it so that he’s so humiliated and so utterly destroyed, he can’t even die. And at that moment, as his own legs give out from under him out of sheer emotional collapse…as he’s rendered speechless at the total undermining of not only his life, but his death as well…Averus mocks him. She mocks him. She mocks him like some cop, drinking caff over a chalk line. As he’s taken off to prison to be worked to death in the brutal suffocating ore mines they will surely sentence him to, the last thing the man hears out of the ‘greatly respected’ Averus’s mouth is how he’s pathetic. Mouse would slay the monster and free the world. She would go on to become the most powerful Sith Lord in history. She would unite the galaxy so that there would be no more wars. And henceforth you shall be known as Darth......Jerry! I know, I know, your're trying to write drama here. sorry. Raaaa! I'm with Lanna, all that great narrative and we're still where we were 2 weeks ago!?!? But great none the less. Now hurry up and write more! -----signature----- Consider this my "throw back" jersey... I govern my life around my own personal code of ethics, and I suggest that you do the same.
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1Yodimus_Prime Registered: Mar '04	Date Posted: 10/11/07 7:48pm Subject: RE: The Wise - CH 10, pt 1: Monster - Date Edited: 10/11/07 11:30pm (2 edits total) Edited By: 1Yodimus_Prime
	Hahaha! J.J. Abrams got nothin' on me! For the record, it was Oqi who suggested I split this chapter up. Hi Oqi! Ale: I like that passage too. It's especially interesting because Mouse claims there are "thousands and thousands' of examples, and yet she chooses one so vaguely moral. Surely there were instances where Averus proved herself to be unquestionably dispicable. I think it really says more about Mouse than it does about her Averus. Which is fine, since later chapters will be diving deep into that particular Sith Lord's mind and past. We don't need to be jumping ahead of ourselves. Lanna, do what you want to my throat, just don't mess up this new jacket, okay? Gimme a week, guys. Hell less than a week, even. Gimme till tuesday. Scout's honor. And I can say that, cuz I made Eagle in '01. (yeah, that's right. I can tie knots) -----signature----- Rule 12: A soft answer turneth away wrath. Once wrath is looking the other way, shoot it in the head. --- http://boards.theforce.net/b/b1/26481069 - The Wise http://boards.theforce.net/B/b1/21283317 - Planet Hopping
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1Yodimus_Prime Registered: Mar '04	Date Posted: 10/11/07 11:26pm Subject: RE: The Wise - CH 10, pt 1: Monster - Date Edited: 10/11/07 11:29pm (1 edits total) Edited By: 1Yodimus_Prime
	[double post] I hate comcast. I hate comcast so much. -----signature----- Rule 12: A soft answer turneth away wrath. Once wrath is looking the other way, shoot it in the head. --- http://boards.theforce.net/b/b1/26481069 - The Wise http://boards.theforce.net/B/b1/21283317 - Planet Hopping
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Persephone_Kore Registered: Jan '06	Date Posted: 10/12/07 7:13pm Subject: RE: The Wise - CH 10, pt 1: Monster
	Oh, there it is! I remembered reading this, but having blanked on both title and author made finding it again something of a challenge. I kind of figured I might as well wait until it updated anyway. I, too, am intrigued by the double Darth Averus. And both the kids, really. This doesn't appear to qualify as "without alerting" Ten's Averus, offhand.... -----signature----- Protégé: Chosen: http://boards.theforce.net/f/b1/28612428 A Rose in the Ashes: http://boards.theforce.net/f/b1/29028814 Lost Ones: http://boards.theforce.net/f/b1/29061459 Morality and the Sith Apprentice: http://boards.theforce.net/f1/b1/27581326
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Healer_Leona Registered: Jul '00	Date Posted: 10/13/07 2:01pm Subject: RE: The Wise - CH 10, pt 1: Monster
	She wasn’t even supposed to be there. There were lots of places Averus had explicitly stated Mouse wasn’t supposed to be, and Mouse always made sure those were exactly the places she went. Why do I think that's exactly what Averus expects? But it was more complicated than that, because Averus was a useful monster. To Mouse, Darth Averus was also incredibly, unimaginably Powerful. No lifeform could ever come close to matching her. If Mouse ever hoped to have a chance of having that, she would have to become the monster’s Apprentice. Only then would Averus give her the knowledge to be Great. And when that knowledge was given, Mouse would slay the monster and free the world. Sounds very easy and righteous, but by then Mouse will no foubt have replaced the monster which mean no freeing the world, just exchanging monsters. Superb post!!! -----signature----- Any way youll never know The many ways I've tried
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1Yodimus_Prime Registered: Mar '04	Date Posted: 10/16/07 7:26pm Subject: RE: The Wise - CH 10, pt 1: Monster
	Persephone: Hello and welcome! I'm quite taken that the memory of this story was stuck in your mind for that long...even if you couldn't remember that I wrote it And no, no, that does not constitute 'without alerting the impostor'. Not at all. Healer Leona: "Why do I think that's exactly what Averus expects?" Because she's a Sith Lord? Honor amongst thieves need not apply here. Mouse's dream does sound righteous...and also impossible. The sad truth here is, even if she doesn't replace the monster, her dream will never come true, because it only exists in this idealized child-like world. In attempting to force such a thing into the real world, she will inevitably cause more damage than she will fix. I'm recalling Galadriel's words to Frodo here, after he offers her the Ring. That vision of a world where someone with truly good intentions can bring about destruction really stuck with me. Expect then next update in.... ... Now. -----signature----- Rule 12: A soft answer turneth away wrath. Once wrath is looking the other way, shoot it in the head. --- http://boards.theforce.net/b/b1/26481069 - The Wise http://boards.theforce.net/B/b1/21283317 - Planet Hopping
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1Yodimus_Prime Registered: Mar '04	Date Posted: 10/16/07 7:27pm Subject: RE: The Wise - CH 10, pt 2: Despair
	Chapter 10 pt. 2: Despair Of course, before Mouse could kill this boy, she would have to track them to a place where she could best do the job. People, it turned out, were not the same as animals. Mouse discovered during the trip that there were an enormous number of things she never thought about until she had to hunt a living, intelligent being. Things like – how do you find out their next destination without them noticing? That’s an adventure by itself. Just keeping them from becoming suspicious was a high art. In comparison, figuring out how to remain downwind of a hidden predator was cake. Then there were the other issues, like, you can’t just assume they’re going to leave a planet on the same ship they arrived on. They might not even leave from the same city. Or they will, but on a public transport. Or separately, intending to meet up at some previously agreed on location. But you can’t shadow them forever or, again, they’ll get suspicious. So how much time can you afford to spend watching them when they’re planetside? Or this one: when do you take off after them? How much space can you put between you and your targets so that they don’t notice you every time they jump in, but aren’t long gone by the time you get there? And that merely scratched the surface of the kinds of dilemmas she faced. But throughout all of it, there was one thing keeping her going, and it wasn’t some moral drive or philosophical determination. It was the threat of Averus. It hung stale in the air like a phantom. If she failed, Mouse would be humiliated, and if Averus saw that humiliation, her Mistress would most certainly find a way to make it unbearably worse. It kept her awake at night. Before the trip, that knowledge made her study Darth Averus’s face carefully, meticulously. That way, if the Dark Lord showed even the most miniscule sign of disapproval, Mouse would know. She would be prepared. Which meant, of course, that Mouse knew Darth Averus’s face extremely well. Every detail, important or trivial. Even in the dark. Which was why she smiled. Because, when the impostor took off her cloak to make her threat, it wasn’t some stranger, some faceless enemy. It wasn’t even a twin. It was her Mistress, the Lord Darth Averus herself – the real one – standing at her full height, shoulders square, silver hair done up, in all her monstrous glory. The impostor, in other words, was an impostor. “I see you’ve brought a friend,” said her Mistress, using her usual voice. “I have, Lord Averus,” Mouse quickly replied, before the boy could say anything. She betrayed nothing of her emotions, even though she couldn’t wait to see the look on the boy’s face. This’ll teach him to drive a stick into her thigh. The boy was surprised, she saw. He hid it carefully, but it came through well enough for her to see – by the light flowing from the cabin – his eyes expand for a second then dart back and forth between her and his ‘Master’. MY ‘Master’ now, kid. “I told you to kill him before he got back to me.” Averus said sternly, staring straight at Mouse. “What? What’s…how do you know her, Lady Averus?” the boy said in such an exasperated, demanding tone, Mouse half-expected the woman to strike him in the face right there. But Averus didn’t break her gaze. She didn’t even act like she’d heard the boy, “I gave you very strict orders. You were to wait for the boy to be isolated, and then you were to kill him without alerting his master!” “Lady Averus!” the kid couldn’t conceal his shock any longer. Mouse bowed her head, “Forgive me, Lord Averus,” she made sure to emphasize ‘lord’. In the Sith Order, there were no ‘ladies’, “I guess you trained him better than you realized.” The old woman laughed, humorless, “Or you’ve simply learned nothing.” “I learned only what you taught me. Nothing less.” “Please, Master, what’s going on?” the boy came close to tugging on the woman’s sleeve, but thought better of it. And at that, Averus finally turned to him, “You don’t look well, boy.” “I’m…” the distress and fatigue in his voice betrayed him. Any attempt to finish with ‘okay’ would have sounded foolish. Mouse saw he was at least smart enough to know that, “…I’m confused.” “No you’re not. Bright as you are, you should be catching on just fine. But let me clarify what you know and refuse to believe:” she bent down and put her hands on her knees, as though she was addressing a schoolchild. It bore the signs of mockery, and Mouse could sense that the boy felt the same way. She proceeded to slowly and deliberately explain the situation to him, “I have been teaching both you and her in tandem, without telling either of you. And at some point, I ordered her to kill you.” She stood up straight, “I don’t think that’s confusing at all. Where the problem sits is in the fact that, even now, you seem to be under the delusion that I’m going to help you.” “You’re…? But…” he trailed off, staring at her. He backed away slowly, unsure what to do. But the look in his eyes was unmistakable. It was despair. Mouse turned away. “I told you if you looked to me for all your answers, I would take them from you. Well, when the answer is your life…I can take that too!” the sound of raw electrical current brought back terrible memories of punishments Mouse would rather forget. She felt it along with him, in her memories. Each crack, every whiff of ozone. That feeling of being punched in the chest. All your muscles flexing at once, attacking each other. Smelling your hair burn. Feeling your entire nervous system catch fire, like being dropped face-first onto a bed of coals. Acid down your back. Tinfoil on your teeth. Ice against your neck. Needles on your fingers. All at once. Relentless. She heard the boy scream. He screamed and he screamed and he cried. Even though the burst of light was short, he cried for a while. Before he was done, Mouse turned to face him, saw him curled up on the ground, shaking. She was sick at how wrong that was, how unnecessary. Mouse could have taken it, but Mouse had lived with it. This kid…this little kid…Averus had coddled him, yet she hit him with the same level of power. And what had been his mistake? He was confused?! Of course he’s confused, you kriff! He has a concussion and a broken kriffin’ foot! And he’s scared! And he… …is my kill, not yours. If she even dared to think that, Mouse knew she would never be able to live with herself. Then she would definitely become a monster. And not in a way where she could fix herself later. Darth Averus pulled out a vibroblade from her belt. It was more like a dagger for its size. She tossed it into the snow like an afterthought. The point lodged itself cleanly into the mud beneath, right next to the huddled figure, “Finish it and become something worth training,” she spat, “Become something worth mentioning in history books. Either that, or die. I don’t care.” and she walked back inside. Mouse wanted to run to him and comfort him. She didn’t dare, but it was at the forefront of her thoughts. Her blood was boiling with hate for Darth Averus at that moment, and the most irritating thing she could possibly imagine doing to that monster was show pity for the boy. Except the boy, it seemed, wasn’t even showing pity for himself. His hand was wrapped around the knife. Still shaking, he used it to lift himself enough to get up the rest of the way. He looked at her then, and at that very moment, Mouse finally saw in his eyes the thing she saw in her own eyes every time she looked in the mirror. She ran for her life. Or rather, she limped for her life. As she crashed back into the forest, Mouse could easily hear the staggering sound of someone unwilling to put weight on his right foot. For once they would be moving at the same speed, and for once Mouse could finally control where they went. She aimed in the direction of the canyon. The Western Canyon had a six-foot clearing of solid rock at the edge, where no plant could set root. She got to it out of breath, the noise from her throat jagged and harsh. The view should have been beautiful, peaceful. The sky was clear with shining stars and two grand moons, both almost full. The vista of rock and mountains that stretched outward beyond the edge was magnificent. It was a great cyclopean maze, hairline trails of reflected moonlight stretching off into winding eternity. Hundreds of waterfalls made a distant bass-tone chorus. Except, there was nobody to appreciate it. Mouse definitely didn’t. She put herself between the cliff and the forest, turned to face the sounds of the pursuing boy, and got her knife out. He approached faster and faster, getting louder and louder. Then there was silence. All she could hear were the waterfalls. The breeze. Pebbles tumbled down the cliff face. An avian called its mate, flapped its wings. The foreboding quiet felt familiar. The boy lunged out with a battle cry that shook her with its primal fierceness. A jarring treble howl, straight from some distant nightmare, that froze her in terror. Froze her like a little creature in a dark field, trapped in the dead gaze of a raptor, in its promise of a terrible and unimaginable fate. His vibroblade flashed brightly in the moonlight. Then it suddenly didn’t flash so bright anymore. She saw, as a stinging pain began to reveal itself to her nerves, that it was her blood that had dulled the shine. -----signature----- Rule 12: A soft answer turneth away wrath. Once wrath is looking the other way, shoot it in the head. --- http://boards.theforce.net/b/b1/26481069 - The Wise http://boards.theforce.net/B/b1/21283317 - Planet Hopping
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