Post by 13thsister on Jan 9, 2019 18:46:43 GMT -5
Vader’s door chime sounds. “Enter,” he says between the labored mechanical breathing of his mask. At his word, the door slides open, and two Inquisitors step in.
13th Sister strides in silently, bowing deeply.
“Lord Vader.” She intones.
11th Brother lumbers in behind her, mimicking her movement, albeit louder.
“How May we serve?” He grumbled.
Vader is standing with his back to them, looking at a read out on a holographic map with notes written in Huttese. The map is clearly displaying planets in the Mid-Rim, but to what purpose is unclear. “It has come to my attention that the two of you have returned from yet another mission together. The Jedi in question has been dealt with, however, I sense there was hesitation from one of you in the carrying out of the duties, which led to him warning others nearby of your business there. Is this true?” The door behind them slammed shut and locked with a loud click.
“Impossible.” 13th Sister stated. She brings her arms neatly behind her back, looking up at Lord Vader
“We work together well. We have from the start. Our abilities are compatible to the point of bringing you uncontested victory.” She bows her head. “With all due honor, Lord Vader, why would we warn someone we were coming? We never have in the past.”
11th Brother stood, keeping his silent vigil. His ear twitched in acknowledgement of 13th Sister’s words.
“Do you think me a fool? I am aware that it was not you that did the warning, but rather your lack of swift action that allowed the Jedi to call to his brethren before being slain at your hands. We have spies everywhere.”
Vader turned to look at the Thirteenth Sister. “I have been watching your progress. I must admit that you have grown well under the tutelage of your companion, but you are still too soft. Do you agree, Brother?” He said, crossing his arms in front of him.
“13th Sister has much to learn, Lord Vader. She is young yet. There is much that was shielded from her by the Jedi.” He admitted. “We all do our best to embolden and educate her.”
13th Sister blinked at Lord Vader. “My Lord, forgive me. Genuinely...I believed our pace swift enough. Where did we make the incorrect move? We will strive to atone.”
“And yet, she still talks too much. That is the problem. To give the target time to think is to show weakness. Is to show mercy. And that, I cannot allow. This is how you atone!” With blinding speed, Vader’s ignited saber was in his hand and swinging downward toward the Thirteenth Sister’s right shoulder, in what would be a diagonal slash down and to the left across her chest and torso.
13th Sister howled in pain, falling to her knees, bringing an arm across her chest. She fought to catch her breath, shaking with the will to stay conscious.
Without thinking, 11th Brother leapt over her in a protective stance. He bared his teeth, but dared not bare his blade. “Lord Vader, she is but a child. One does not walk into the arena knowing how to be a champion!”
Vader stood his ground, his saber still humming, adding to the sound of his assisted breathing. “That excuses nothing. You are not Padawan’s anymore. The Inquisitorius are supposed to be an elite unit of Jedi hunters. Allowing the survivors to speak to each other is tantamount to treason and will be dealt with. If you value your own being, Eleventh Brother, you will stand down.”
Vader held his blade level, pointed directly at the Shistavanen’s throat.
Eleventh Brother bared his fangs further, his paw hovering over his own weapon. “She is my Sister. Valued equal to myself. I will not. Thirteenth Sister has proven herself to be of paramount importance to The Inquisitorius. No treason has been committed, just a mistake made.”
Thirteenth Sister made a noise, looking up at him. He stared back for a moment, then backed away. Thirteenth Sister stood shakily, staring at Vader with wary eyes.
“If you will not stand down, then you will suffer the same fate.” Vader flicked his wrist and the Force would send the Shistavanen Inquisitor across the room, ultimately slamming into the far wall. Vader would then step past Thirteenth Sister, ignoring her completely, and make an identical slash towards him as he had just made on her.
Eleventh Brother, realizing he probably signed their death warrants, pulled his saber at last. He held his saber in a defensive stance. He blocked Lord Vader’s slash, growling.
Thirteenth Sister stared in horror, paralyzed with the thought that they may die here. She warred with herself over her inaction. Deciding whether to save her own life and help Vader or to die with the only person she could trust in this hellscape.
Vader moved to land a strike on the Eleventh Brother’s off arm, while making a mental note that the Thirteenth Sister had begun to move and was watching.
“You are bold to stick your neck out like this. This is a moment you will regret,” he said coolly.
Eleventh Brother parried his move, spinning deftly away. “We are called Sister and Brother. A family. I do not regret protecting my own...”
Thirteenth Sister began circling them, eyeing them both and weighing her options. When she heard Eleventh Brother’s words, she knew her choice was simple.
“Enough of this,” Vader hissed. He held his saber in his left hand and lowered it to his side, pointing it down toward the ground but still active. He then raised his right hand and, with the Force, took hold of the Eleventh Brother’s throat, lifting him off the floor in a choke grip. “This is the price for failure.” He sensed movement from behind.
Thirteenth Sister had seen Lord Vader do this before. Rage gripped her as she raced forward, pushing Vader in an effort to break his concentration. “Leave him, my lord!” She yelled, gripping his cape. “His loyalty to me is loyalty to the cause and in turn loyalty to you! Can’t you see that?!”
Eleventh Brother felt panic grip him for the first time in decades. He bared his teeth and clawed at his throat, trying to use his own abilities to attempt to free himself.
Vader shoved Thirteenth Sister back with his left elbow, hitting her hard in the ribs in the process. “One does not prove loyalty by protecting the weak. This is a true show of loyalty!” Vader released his grip on Eleventh Brother and, before he hit the ground, swung his saber across and up, severing his right arm from his body just above the elbow. “Now tell me, Sister. Is this mongrel still worth your loyalty and compassion in this condition?” He took a step back, but kept his weapon ready at his side.
Thirteenth Sister grunted, staggering back from the force of his hit. “He isn’t weak!”
Eleventh Brother’s howl of pain ripped through her. She covered her mouth in horror as she stared at his now useless limb. He writhed on the floor in agony, fighting to catch his breath.
“Are YOU worthy, my lord? You, who are made of parts as your own limbs have failed you?” She hissed coldly. She couldn’t believe her own voice, but she stared at him dead in the eyes. “He can still serve. Still fight for the cause. Still worthy.”
“Physical limbs are irrelevant, Sister!” He said, waving his free hand as he spoke. “All that matters is the Force. As long as I have that, it matters not what I’m made of. That is why I have the Emperor’s ear. Now, then,” he said, raising his weapon once more to point at her. “What are you made of?”
“I am made of The Inquisitorius.” She stared firmly. “I am made of the Force. I am made of strength and discipline. I have brought honor to this cause with victory and dedication.”
She stared unwaveringly at the glowing of his blade. “Lord Vader....we are cut from cloth apart from all others. We should stand as one. I wouldn’t be here, otherwise. HE wouldn’t be here otherwise.”
“YOU are here because HE brought you,” Vader corrected, jabbing a finger at each of them in turn. “And he is here because I brought him myself. And yet, you both still show signs of compassion and attachment. You more than he. These are Jedi weaknesses. They have no place here. Loyalty to the one is not the same as loyalty to the whole.” Had Vader’s eyes been visible, they would have shown a flicker of recollection as The Jedi’s memories briefly fluttered into his head. “You must eliminate those feelings. Let me show you how!” Vader made another lunge at Thirteenth Sister, aiming to stab her in the right shoulder.
Thirteenth Sister staggered back, reaching for her saber, hoping she could outpace him. She back flipped away from him, pulling her saber. “I do not wish to do this.”
Eleventh Brother went to reach for his own to help her, but a white hot flash of pain made him remember his saber lay in his now dead arm, feet from him.
“What you wish is irrelevant. What matters is what you are capable or incapable of doing.” Vader strode towards her with each word, eventually kicking Eleventh Brother’s lightsaber and severed arm further away without slowing his pace. When he got within strike range, he made an upwards slash motion up the center of the human’s body.
With a growl, she parried and actually made to attack him back. She slashed at him, aiming to knock his saber from his hand. “Lord Vader, this is madness and a waste of time! My past accolades speak for themselves as to my capability! What are you talking about?!”
Eleventh Brother struggled to remain conscious. He watched them through blurred vision, unable to summon the strength to go to Thirteenth Sister’s aid.
Vader easily dodged the attack, deflecting her blade with his. Then, growing bored, he used the Force to push her against a back wall, smashing the glass displays on it. “Your past accolades have all the markings of a true mercenary, but still are tainted by your Jedi past in some way. Compassion. Empathy. Even in the briefest of moments can have drastic effects on a mission and this Empire. You must remove them!” As he held her there with his power, he took his lightsaber and slashed her across the heart, piercing her armor and deeply cutting and burning her flesh. It was not a lethal strike, but would hurt immensely nonetheless. After delivering the strike, he released her from his grip, letting her fall to the floor. He deactivated his lightsaber and watched as the blood red blade vanished before clipping it back to its place on his belt. He then walked back and resumed his place behind his desk.
Thirteenth Sister gasped and snarled as she hit the wall. Her breath caught as he held her there.
Then the pain began.
Her face contorted and she screamed as he dragged the blade across her skin. She attempted to writhe as the metal and fabric of her armor melted against her already searing skin. She thought she would throw up. Or faint. Or both. But something in her kept her alert, her eyes fixed on Vader’s helm the whole time.
When he released her, she fell amongst the shattered glass, practically twitching. She kept her eyes on him, though; an iciness that wasn’t there before was in her gaze.
Her breath ragged, she thought of her next move. Through her rage and pain, she realized he had let her live. The blow directly above her pounding heart, had not pierced it. He spared her, showing her the compassion he claimed was a drawback. She would prove to him that such a move would be to his benefit.
“Thank you...Lord Vader....for the valuable lesson...”
Her voice was flat, hollow, as she spoke. She bowed her head, looking at the glass shards beneath and witnessed for the first time the gash he left. The smell of her burned armor and wound made her lip curl in disgust, but she kept her head down.
Vader did not reply to Thirteenth Sister’s statement, merely looked back and forth between his broken Inquisitors. He keyed a button on his desk and the far right wall, which had not been damaged in the fight, slid aside it reveal a droid storage compartment. Out of it came a pair of 2-1B Surgical Droids, a GH-7 medical droid, and a pair of hover gurneys. “Get them out of my sight,” Vader instructed the droids. He then turned back to his holographic display as if nothing happened. The droids got to work lifting the wounded Inquisitors onto the gurneys and began to take them out of the room and towards the medical center.
Thirteenth Sister looked at her broken companion as they were wheeled out side by side. Eleventh Brother looked at her, as if to say “*Be strong*”
She gave him one, last, crooked smile before slipping into unconsciousness.
Eleventh Brother leveled his gaze at Darth Vader, his expression unreadable. He sighed harshly as he allowed the drones to heal him...
13th Sister strides in silently, bowing deeply.
“Lord Vader.” She intones.
11th Brother lumbers in behind her, mimicking her movement, albeit louder.
“How May we serve?” He grumbled.
Vader is standing with his back to them, looking at a read out on a holographic map with notes written in Huttese. The map is clearly displaying planets in the Mid-Rim, but to what purpose is unclear. “It has come to my attention that the two of you have returned from yet another mission together. The Jedi in question has been dealt with, however, I sense there was hesitation from one of you in the carrying out of the duties, which led to him warning others nearby of your business there. Is this true?” The door behind them slammed shut and locked with a loud click.
“Impossible.” 13th Sister stated. She brings her arms neatly behind her back, looking up at Lord Vader
“We work together well. We have from the start. Our abilities are compatible to the point of bringing you uncontested victory.” She bows her head. “With all due honor, Lord Vader, why would we warn someone we were coming? We never have in the past.”
11th Brother stood, keeping his silent vigil. His ear twitched in acknowledgement of 13th Sister’s words.
“Do you think me a fool? I am aware that it was not you that did the warning, but rather your lack of swift action that allowed the Jedi to call to his brethren before being slain at your hands. We have spies everywhere.”
Vader turned to look at the Thirteenth Sister. “I have been watching your progress. I must admit that you have grown well under the tutelage of your companion, but you are still too soft. Do you agree, Brother?” He said, crossing his arms in front of him.
“13th Sister has much to learn, Lord Vader. She is young yet. There is much that was shielded from her by the Jedi.” He admitted. “We all do our best to embolden and educate her.”
13th Sister blinked at Lord Vader. “My Lord, forgive me. Genuinely...I believed our pace swift enough. Where did we make the incorrect move? We will strive to atone.”
“And yet, she still talks too much. That is the problem. To give the target time to think is to show weakness. Is to show mercy. And that, I cannot allow. This is how you atone!” With blinding speed, Vader’s ignited saber was in his hand and swinging downward toward the Thirteenth Sister’s right shoulder, in what would be a diagonal slash down and to the left across her chest and torso.
13th Sister howled in pain, falling to her knees, bringing an arm across her chest. She fought to catch her breath, shaking with the will to stay conscious.
Without thinking, 11th Brother leapt over her in a protective stance. He bared his teeth, but dared not bare his blade. “Lord Vader, she is but a child. One does not walk into the arena knowing how to be a champion!”
Vader stood his ground, his saber still humming, adding to the sound of his assisted breathing. “That excuses nothing. You are not Padawan’s anymore. The Inquisitorius are supposed to be an elite unit of Jedi hunters. Allowing the survivors to speak to each other is tantamount to treason and will be dealt with. If you value your own being, Eleventh Brother, you will stand down.”
Vader held his blade level, pointed directly at the Shistavanen’s throat.
Eleventh Brother bared his fangs further, his paw hovering over his own weapon. “She is my Sister. Valued equal to myself. I will not. Thirteenth Sister has proven herself to be of paramount importance to The Inquisitorius. No treason has been committed, just a mistake made.”
Thirteenth Sister made a noise, looking up at him. He stared back for a moment, then backed away. Thirteenth Sister stood shakily, staring at Vader with wary eyes.
“If you will not stand down, then you will suffer the same fate.” Vader flicked his wrist and the Force would send the Shistavanen Inquisitor across the room, ultimately slamming into the far wall. Vader would then step past Thirteenth Sister, ignoring her completely, and make an identical slash towards him as he had just made on her.
Eleventh Brother, realizing he probably signed their death warrants, pulled his saber at last. He held his saber in a defensive stance. He blocked Lord Vader’s slash, growling.
Thirteenth Sister stared in horror, paralyzed with the thought that they may die here. She warred with herself over her inaction. Deciding whether to save her own life and help Vader or to die with the only person she could trust in this hellscape.
Vader moved to land a strike on the Eleventh Brother’s off arm, while making a mental note that the Thirteenth Sister had begun to move and was watching.
“You are bold to stick your neck out like this. This is a moment you will regret,” he said coolly.
Eleventh Brother parried his move, spinning deftly away. “We are called Sister and Brother. A family. I do not regret protecting my own...”
Thirteenth Sister began circling them, eyeing them both and weighing her options. When she heard Eleventh Brother’s words, she knew her choice was simple.
“Enough of this,” Vader hissed. He held his saber in his left hand and lowered it to his side, pointing it down toward the ground but still active. He then raised his right hand and, with the Force, took hold of the Eleventh Brother’s throat, lifting him off the floor in a choke grip. “This is the price for failure.” He sensed movement from behind.
Thirteenth Sister had seen Lord Vader do this before. Rage gripped her as she raced forward, pushing Vader in an effort to break his concentration. “Leave him, my lord!” She yelled, gripping his cape. “His loyalty to me is loyalty to the cause and in turn loyalty to you! Can’t you see that?!”
Eleventh Brother felt panic grip him for the first time in decades. He bared his teeth and clawed at his throat, trying to use his own abilities to attempt to free himself.
Vader shoved Thirteenth Sister back with his left elbow, hitting her hard in the ribs in the process. “One does not prove loyalty by protecting the weak. This is a true show of loyalty!” Vader released his grip on Eleventh Brother and, before he hit the ground, swung his saber across and up, severing his right arm from his body just above the elbow. “Now tell me, Sister. Is this mongrel still worth your loyalty and compassion in this condition?” He took a step back, but kept his weapon ready at his side.
Thirteenth Sister grunted, staggering back from the force of his hit. “He isn’t weak!”
Eleventh Brother’s howl of pain ripped through her. She covered her mouth in horror as she stared at his now useless limb. He writhed on the floor in agony, fighting to catch his breath.
“Are YOU worthy, my lord? You, who are made of parts as your own limbs have failed you?” She hissed coldly. She couldn’t believe her own voice, but she stared at him dead in the eyes. “He can still serve. Still fight for the cause. Still worthy.”
“Physical limbs are irrelevant, Sister!” He said, waving his free hand as he spoke. “All that matters is the Force. As long as I have that, it matters not what I’m made of. That is why I have the Emperor’s ear. Now, then,” he said, raising his weapon once more to point at her. “What are you made of?”
“I am made of The Inquisitorius.” She stared firmly. “I am made of the Force. I am made of strength and discipline. I have brought honor to this cause with victory and dedication.”
She stared unwaveringly at the glowing of his blade. “Lord Vader....we are cut from cloth apart from all others. We should stand as one. I wouldn’t be here, otherwise. HE wouldn’t be here otherwise.”
“YOU are here because HE brought you,” Vader corrected, jabbing a finger at each of them in turn. “And he is here because I brought him myself. And yet, you both still show signs of compassion and attachment. You more than he. These are Jedi weaknesses. They have no place here. Loyalty to the one is not the same as loyalty to the whole.” Had Vader’s eyes been visible, they would have shown a flicker of recollection as The Jedi’s memories briefly fluttered into his head. “You must eliminate those feelings. Let me show you how!” Vader made another lunge at Thirteenth Sister, aiming to stab her in the right shoulder.
Thirteenth Sister staggered back, reaching for her saber, hoping she could outpace him. She back flipped away from him, pulling her saber. “I do not wish to do this.”
Eleventh Brother went to reach for his own to help her, but a white hot flash of pain made him remember his saber lay in his now dead arm, feet from him.
“What you wish is irrelevant. What matters is what you are capable or incapable of doing.” Vader strode towards her with each word, eventually kicking Eleventh Brother’s lightsaber and severed arm further away without slowing his pace. When he got within strike range, he made an upwards slash motion up the center of the human’s body.
With a growl, she parried and actually made to attack him back. She slashed at him, aiming to knock his saber from his hand. “Lord Vader, this is madness and a waste of time! My past accolades speak for themselves as to my capability! What are you talking about?!”
Eleventh Brother struggled to remain conscious. He watched them through blurred vision, unable to summon the strength to go to Thirteenth Sister’s aid.
Vader easily dodged the attack, deflecting her blade with his. Then, growing bored, he used the Force to push her against a back wall, smashing the glass displays on it. “Your past accolades have all the markings of a true mercenary, but still are tainted by your Jedi past in some way. Compassion. Empathy. Even in the briefest of moments can have drastic effects on a mission and this Empire. You must remove them!” As he held her there with his power, he took his lightsaber and slashed her across the heart, piercing her armor and deeply cutting and burning her flesh. It was not a lethal strike, but would hurt immensely nonetheless. After delivering the strike, he released her from his grip, letting her fall to the floor. He deactivated his lightsaber and watched as the blood red blade vanished before clipping it back to its place on his belt. He then walked back and resumed his place behind his desk.
Thirteenth Sister gasped and snarled as she hit the wall. Her breath caught as he held her there.
Then the pain began.
Her face contorted and she screamed as he dragged the blade across her skin. She attempted to writhe as the metal and fabric of her armor melted against her already searing skin. She thought she would throw up. Or faint. Or both. But something in her kept her alert, her eyes fixed on Vader’s helm the whole time.
When he released her, she fell amongst the shattered glass, practically twitching. She kept her eyes on him, though; an iciness that wasn’t there before was in her gaze.
Her breath ragged, she thought of her next move. Through her rage and pain, she realized he had let her live. The blow directly above her pounding heart, had not pierced it. He spared her, showing her the compassion he claimed was a drawback. She would prove to him that such a move would be to his benefit.
“Thank you...Lord Vader....for the valuable lesson...”
Her voice was flat, hollow, as she spoke. She bowed her head, looking at the glass shards beneath and witnessed for the first time the gash he left. The smell of her burned armor and wound made her lip curl in disgust, but she kept her head down.
Vader did not reply to Thirteenth Sister’s statement, merely looked back and forth between his broken Inquisitors. He keyed a button on his desk and the far right wall, which had not been damaged in the fight, slid aside it reveal a droid storage compartment. Out of it came a pair of 2-1B Surgical Droids, a GH-7 medical droid, and a pair of hover gurneys. “Get them out of my sight,” Vader instructed the droids. He then turned back to his holographic display as if nothing happened. The droids got to work lifting the wounded Inquisitors onto the gurneys and began to take them out of the room and towards the medical center.
Thirteenth Sister looked at her broken companion as they were wheeled out side by side. Eleventh Brother looked at her, as if to say “*Be strong*”
She gave him one, last, crooked smile before slipping into unconsciousness.
Eleventh Brother leveled his gaze at Darth Vader, his expression unreadable. He sighed harshly as he allowed the drones to heal him...