December 8, 2111
Airra
When a warlord is in need of assistance, it is Airra's job as the head warlord to see that each and every warlord helped so that they can continue to do their part in the war. After all, she was above all the warlords and needed to make sure everything ran as smoothly as possible. Not a task she enjoyed, of course. Other people's problems were not her problems, so she couldn't care less about them. Yalfari Soodo, one such warlord, had called only a moment ago with an urgent matter. As an elderly lycargan with a battle injury to his knee, he had trouble walking. If it weren't for his ability, he might've already been put down. Nonetheless, she was on her way to meet him.
Airra marched down the familiar ostensibly endless halls of her home; a vast quantity of ancient harren-tree doors, hand-chiseled stone walls, shades-of-gray pictures that were almost high enough to touch the five meter high ceiling, and dim lights that flickered as candles would. She breathed in the sweet smell emitted by the wooden doors and carved walls. In these halls she walked since she was still just a little girl; halls that were located within a mansion residing on a combination of two planets called Thearend. It was home.
"Sister." Maliv Kuss, her dear stepbrother and fellow warlord, closed a door behind him and caught up to her.
"Walk with me." Airra motioned down the hall she was going.
They began to walk. "Father was impressed with the results you obtained from the omelic prisoner."
"It was pain that got the information, that's all. Pain runs the galaxy." She gave pause. "Enough about that, what does he want me to do with the information?"
"Nothing," Maliv informed.
Airra stopped at his words. "Nothing? Is he still upset about my failure to take that stupid key from James Stone?" she asked, with some sadness in her tone.
"Come on, sis. You know he never stays angry for long. He just told me to put a pin in that for the moment."
Airra let out a breath. She was relieved to hear her stepfather was not angry anymore. She never had much room in her twisted heart, but her stepfather managed to push his way in, as did her stepbrother. "Then it's time to go back to leading the legion." After the words were said, she realized she said them with distaste.
"You sound as if you don't want to. If… if you want, I can keep on leading them. I'm sure--"
"Now, now, dear stepbrother. I know you had your fun as acting head warlord while I was away, but I still don't think you are ready."
Maliv nodded, and his head sunk.
"But you could definitely use more responsibilities." Airra smiled.
He perked back up.
She continued. "With Steion dead, and now Dro'Zer, too, we will have to promote more dytircs and lycargans to Ultras to maintain a solid chain of command. With the inclusion of korkyran warchiefs, our presence on the ground should see a significant increase in success rates."
"Remind me how that works again. I'm not sure I understand how lycargans and dytircs are supposed to work with korkyras. Our ideologies are quite different."
"It's simple. Korkyran warchiefs will command ground parties in pairs. Each star cruiser will have at least one Ultra in command, and should any of them find themselves not on a star cruiser, they shall take the reins of a unit all to themselves. Ideologies aside, it's by far the best tactic. After all, I came up with it."
Maliv joined in her happiness. "I've always believed in you."
Airra stopped. They had almost arrived at Yalfari's quarters. She placed her bark-layered palm on top of her stepbrother's head. "I want you to take lead in the Ju-Sana System - take Yalfari, too. I expect he has found the location of the last key, meaning he is free to leave this place again. Take a large force of vicious, belligerent soldiers that are ready to bathe themselves in their enemies' blood. I trust you with this task."
His gleaming eyes stared up to hers. "And what will you do?" asked Maliv.
Airra grinned, laughing, "I will do my part and snatch up the fourth and last key, hopefully stirring up mischief while doing so."
Maliv nodded, and Airra let him leave. After he'd gone a distance down the hall, Airra knocked twice on Yalfari's door.
It took a moment. Airra could hear the slow steps and thumps of his cane as he approached. The door opened with a creak.
Airra walked inside, past the old lycargan warlord. The reptilian scales below his eyes sagged. His claws and bumps had lost their sharp edge, and the natural shell around his body had a dull yellow tint to it. Yalfari was closing in on seventy, which to a lycargan was nearing the end of life.
Even with his cane, he struggled to make it over to his chair in the corner. "I'm glad you came, Airra. I have sensed a prison of darkness encircling Mara'Sane's mind. She is not well, and I fear we are going to lose her."
"How can you be sure?"
"I'm not. However, every day her mind becomes more and more shrouded to me. Something is wrong with her, and we must act now." There was clear panic in his elderly voice.
Despite her burning abhorrence for Mara'Sane, Airra knew she had no choice but to help. Mara'Sane had a vital role to play in the near future, meaning Airra needed her to live.
"Frak me," Airra cursed. "As much as I hate that ruddy bitch, what can we do to help?"
"I'm going to attempt to enter her mind with you. My hope is to find answers in there. And we must act now, or I fear it will be too late."
Airra nodded and took a seat on the ground next to the chair Yalfari sat in. She reached out her hand, and he grabbed hold. She closed her eyes and waited as Yalfari mediated.
Within a few seconds, Yalfari had pulled his and Airra's consciousness into Mara'Sane's inner mind.
It took a few seconds for Airra to regain her composure, and her senses quickly began to search for answers as to her location. She and Yalfari were near the entrance into an underground mine, with a broken down ramp leading up and out into the darkness of night. From the outside, Airra could hear the sounds of war; gunfire, explosions, shrieking, all the sounds Airra enjoys so very much. She didn't even realize she had a grin on her face from it, as it was so natural to her.
Airra headed over to the entrance of the mine and looked up the ramp leading out. There were beams of wood placed down the tunnel like a spine, used to sturdy the place. Outside, she saw only a black void. No sky at all, just streaks of a mist-like dark haze swirling around outside.
Airra looked back to Yalfari, who seemed too nervous to move. "My-oh-my, I would've thought her head would be emptier, but there seems to be a surprising amount of detail here. Quite imaginative." Airra laughed.
"It isn't that. Mara'Sane's brain has regressed back in time and locked her consciousness into this memory," Yalfari said, with a visible breath of air.
It must have felt cold for him. But being her, cold would feel just right.
"Dro'Zer mentioned a Final War his species went through. I'm sure I'm correct in saying that this must be from that time period," Airra informed.
"Maybe so, but that isn't why we are here. The day Dro'Zer died, I've felt something dark in Mara'Sane spread. He was her intellectual bar'won. They shared thoughts, they shared feelings. Meaning, she would've felt Dro'Zer's pain as he burnt to death. One cannot imagine what that would do to someone. And for it, Mara'Sane inner mind seems to be morphing into something else."
"Well, let's go see for ourselves." Airra grinned an overly curious grin. And they began to walk. For a second, Airra began to wonder if she made the right decision letting Dro'Zer stay behind on that doomed planet Idor. It was never her intention for him to die. In a way, it was partially her fault he suffered such a horrific death. Burning alive; she wondered what that would feel like.
The tunnels they walked looked like veins with its many winding routes, blackened by the abuse of explosives and tunneling. Many paths went on and on into the swelling clouds of darkness, without an end in sight - steel tracks abandoned to rust. Mine carts and crates rotted away in the damp tunnels, while old machines withered away.
Torches lit the way down the widest of the tunnels. As Airra and Yalfari ventured further into the abandoned mine, the sounds of war in the near distance grew quieter, and the sound of crying came closer. That was the sound they followed until they came around a bend. Just before the corner, from the ground to the rock ceiling, loomed an archway. Airra ran her hand over the decaying wood, it had all the softness of driftwood, with none of the charm.
"Careful, Airra. I feel a lot of pain and despair in that room," Yalfari warned.
"Sounds like my kind of place." Airra felt her body tingle with excitement and intrigue, and she shivered.
Airra led the way. They entered through the archway and followed a narrow path that led up to two rocks. Airra went behind one, and Yalfari stood behind the other. She was ready to take a look at the scene.
The barely decomposing, fresh remains of a half-dozen korkyran adults decorated the room with their gore. There was a fire in the corner, with a korkyran arm over the blaze. Sitting on a broken down mine cart, in the darkest part of the room, was a small korkyran child; her hands were over her eyes as she wept. Airra hadn't seen Mara'Sane much, but the resemblance was undeniable. This child was definitely her, but obviously from the past. No other korkyra bears a black pelt like Mara'Sane.
Airra and Yalfari stayed put behind their rocks, studying the scene. To many, a sight such as these would send them away in fear. Airra was not one of those. She was accustomed to gore. She was practically born into it.
"I don't get it. There has to be more than just a sobbing child." Airra whispered.
Yalfari gestured further behind the sobbing child to a dark shadow extending against the rock of mine's walls. "Her shadow doesn't seem to be crying." Yalfari shivered. Airra studied it with sharp intrigue, not afraid.
Almost on cue, the shadow began to creep towards Mara'Sane. As it got closer, it formed into a mirror image of her, like a twin. Then it began to hum a slow and grim melody. Its head bobbed from side to side to the tune. When it reached her, the shadow put her hand on Mara'Sane's crying shoulder. Airra sprouted a grin as her interest soared.
Then the scene changed! It was the same setting, only the time seemed to shift backward to a previous event. Those korkyran corpses were now alive, walking about, worrying over something with distorted mumbling amongst themselves. The korkyran adults bickered with each other, guns and weapons over their back, and some clutching their stomachs. Mara'Sane was still on the cart, no tear lines down her cheeks, just her playing and giggling.
Soon, one of the adults went over to her. Mara'Sane was in conversation, laughing in-between words.
"Who are you talking to?" the adult asked Mara'Sane. The room went to silence as the two began to talk.
"Dar'Ra, silly." She giggled.
"Dar'Ra?"
Mara'Sane pointed across from her and laughed. No visible person was there.
"Oh, right. Your imaginary friend, Dar'Ra," the adult muttered softly, looking to the floor. She put her hand over her stomach, holding back its groans and grumbles. The other adults were all staring at the two, with eyes sharp like stalking predators. "You are but a child. How are you not hungry, Mara'Sane?"
Her face was the definition of childlike ignorance and joy. "Dar'Ra helps me find food some nights, silly."
"Food? We are in a wasteland - a warzone. What food exists to find?"
She stopped playing and looked up to her clan mate. "How weird. I don't remember." She tilted her head in confusion.
The adult was furious, as was the group watching. "I was hoping it wouldn't come to this, Mara'Sane. I was betting on you. But it turns out you are just the weak link that everyone else says you are. They are right. There is only one source of food left." The adult's eyes were like rabid dogs as she came nearer to Mara'Sane. The group stepped closer and closer!
"Let me in," a faint voice whispered.
Time distorted again, and the scene was back to how it started. Mara'Sane was back to crying on the cart, with the shadow-thing touching her shoulder.
Mara'Sane looked up to the shadow image of herself, eyes reddened and wet. Airra had a sudden idea what this imaginary friend might be. She remembered Dro'Zer once said Mara'Sane had dissociative identity disorder, which meant she essentially has more than one personality living in her body.
Was Dar'Ra one such personality? Airra wondered.
Mara'Sane stared at the shadow and sobbed. "They're all dead. I woke up, and everyone's dead. They were my clan."
The shadow twitched its neck. "They thought you were the weak link. They thought."
"What do mean, Dar'Ra?"
Dar'Ra grinned but ignored the question. "I cannot wait to show you what I've learned."
"Learned? I-I don't understand what's happening," Mara'Sane sobbed.
"I was you, and you were me. In the beginning, we were the same."
"No. You're Dar'Ra, and I'm Mara'Sane. And we are friends. An-and you are all I have left." Mara'Sane sniffled.
Dar'Ra twitched. "Yes. We are all we have left. Just us. You and me, strength and weakness side by side. Now, no one can truly hurt us. And I'll always guide the way, and all you have to do is… let me in."
"B-but what about my clan?"
"You don't remember?"
"I-I fell asleep. And-and now they-- If I didn't fall asle--"
Dar'Ra put her finger to Mara'Sane's mouth. "Ssshh…sssshhhh. Quiet down." Dar'Ra stepped around until she was in front of her. She took a knee and looked up at Mara'Sane. "They were hungry and psychotic. But they weren't the psychopath. I was."
"Huh? I-I… I don't know that word."
"But it's okay. It's okay to express yourself in any way you see fit." Dar'Ra's head moved from right to left over and over. "Art is art. It's perfectly okay to express yourself in any way you want. Whether it's humming, drawing, or… ripping ligaments away from bones."
Mara'Sane's eyes enlarged in shock.
"No, no. Sorry." Dar'Ra ground her teeth with each twitch of her neck and wrists. Each movement made by the shadow was quick and sinister, not like any creature Airra has seen. She loved it, intrigued by the sight and mannerisms of this thing.
"Dar'Ra, are you okay? You're scaring me."
"I've got a secret, Mara'Sane." Dar'Ra grinned.
"What secret?"
"There is a lot of darkness inside of us. But I learned how to control it, harness it. The darkness, I let it in." Dar'Ra shook and twitched violently.
"What darkness?"
"Oh, don't you worry about that. I let it in for the both of us. For us. I can be anything you need me to be."
"You're a sicko."
Dar'Ra clenched her fist, and her voice went sinister. "I'm not a sicko. You know that."
Mara'Sane was horrified.
Dar'Ra continued. "You and I know what it's like to be different. It's only been us, me and you, forever."
"But you're scaring me."
"The fun never has to end. We're always together."
"I-I don't think… I don't think we can be friends." Mara'Sane sobbed. "I'm afraid."
Dar'Ra hugged Mara'Sane. "People worship what they fear. Fear is power. We are power. We are the same. You never need to fear me. Only others will fear us, because we are fear." Dar'Ra voice distorted into darkness. "Let… me… in."
Almost in an instant, both Mara'Sane and the darkness morphed. Mara'Sane was no longer a child; she was her current age. And the darkness stared back at her like a twisted, broken mirror. Though it resembled Mara'Sane almost completely, its eyes were black, with dark smoke foaming out of it. The same dark stuff leaked from her nose and ears.
"I'm really glad we're friends. And I hope our friendship never ever ends," Dar'Ra hummed. Mara'Sane didn't move. Dar'Ra continued. "You said those words to me here in this mine, all those years ago. When you needed me, I was there. I was there. And you needed me. I killed them and saved you. You survived because of me." Mara'Sane looked up into the all-consuming eyes of the darkness, her own eyes were still reddened. She stared, and Dar'Ra twitched her neck. Dar'Ra added, "I knew we'd see each other again. I saw it. I saw this coming. Did you miss me?"
"They killed Dro'Zer," Mara'Sane mumbled in grief. "I want revenge. I want them all to suffer," she growled, and her body shook with anger and hate.
Dar'Ra smiled. "Let me in."
Mara'Sane grabbed her hand. "Happily." And their bodies joined together, filling the room with hate and pain. Airra loved the feeling of it. Airra looked down to see Yalfari trembling.
"We have to leave," his eyes begged her. "I'm ending this connection now." As he was about to pull them out, his eyes nearly jumped out of their sockets as he looked over Airra's shoulder.
Airra spun around to see those evil, black eyes of Mara'Sane. "You let him die!" She grabbed Airra by the neck and smashed her against the mine wall. "You let Dro'Zer die!"
Airra laughed hysterically, enjoying the moment. Even with all of the strength of a korkyra, Mara'Sane's grip was not enough to choke Airra through her bark skin. "You can't kill me. Just like I can't kill you. The fight would last an eternity."
Mara'Sane growled and let her go. "Who killed him?"
Airra smiled. "Yalfari told me his name is Brad Swift--"
"Leave me out of this," Yalfari cried from the background.
Airra continued. "He is some insignificant, ruddy human among the squad of the James Stone who wears a marked helmet. I'll send you everything I've got, because I know you'll do right by that information."
Mara'Sane's eyes never left Airra's. "First, I'll tear him apart, arms first, and stuff them down his throat. Then I'll find a way to kill you and use your bark-skinned body as a toothpick." Her carnivorous teeth were bared, and her voice dipped into darkness. "Now get out of my head!"
In that instant, Airra and Yalfari were snapped back to reality. Airra's eyes reopened to see the surroundings of Yalfari's quarters. She was back home.
"What just happened?" Airra shook her head out of the daze.
Yalfari said, "I've lost my link with her mind completely."
"Can you reconnect?"
"I can't. She is now one of a few that I can't link my mind to."
"Who cares anyway? She'll go do her thing and leave us alone to do ours. As far as I'm concerned, that couldn't have gone better."
"But Airra--" Yalfari began to protest.
"Enough with all of this. When you urgently asked for me, I expected that you had the final key's location. So do you have it?"
"I umm…the thing is… this last one has been tricky--"
"I did not come for bloody excuses. I mean, frak, all I need is a damn planet!"
He was speechless.
"You have till the end of this month. For your sake, figure this shivf out!" Airra stood up and left Yalfari to his chair, without saying any more words. She'd have to inform her stepbrother that Yalfari couldn't join him after all.
Even though she didn't have a location, she had an itch that needed to be scratched. While she waited for that old bag, she decided to spend time doing her favorite pastime. It was time to go kill things, to feel pain through their dying eyes. That was the drug she craved in this moment.