Saber Forum

This Occurs after Children of the Aether Part 2 - Chapter 1 - Andis and then takes place during and after CotA.
Tried something different in terms of focus with this one…bit of an experiment. Hope you like it, let me know your thoughts!


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Orange and yellow danced and twirled into black spirals of smoke as the village burned.  She could feel them inside the building…their terror…black figures stood between her and the inferno…she ran, black lines coursed through the air trying to harm her, she pulled and pushed with the aether, she flicked her hand open to fire blue arcs…yet they came out as red flames…

A few of the figures dropped, but more were behind her…the dark bolts hit her back, she fell to her knees…the fire turned white hot before her eyes as the people within died…she had failed them…another bolt put her on her face in the blackened earth…she looked up at the merciless flames, they surrounded her…encased her…the fire entered her...

That was her dream…a paradise compared to the nightmare she woke to.

The ship clanked and groaned as it moved through the void, each second taking her farther from her home.  She had never known how warmly the aether of her home had embraced her until now when she was apart from it. 

The metal of her cells was stained and rusted, she was dirty and sweaty from the heat.  And she was angry….

Not just at her captors, but herself…

She should’ve fought harder, should’ve killed more…three of the aliens was not enough…she was sixteen, being trained to be a Guardian…she should’ve killed dozens…her confidence in herself left ash by the flames of defeat.

Her aunt Karintha should’ve killed more, her older sister Yorna, who had been made a Guardian in the Gathering the day before the attack should’ve killed more…old Andis should’ve killed more…disappointment burnt her pride in her people to cinders.

Her sister and her Aunt shouldn’t have been killed those….abominations! How could they be defeated….in their home, with the aether flowing through them….the flames of the aether had turned on them when they needed it the most.

Logically she understood…they had faced an enemy with overwhelming fire power, advanced technology…they were a people of farmers, fishers, apothecaries, blacksmiths and artisans…there were only ten Guardians…

There were ten…It dawned on her she might be the last…

If no others had survived…if the flames had taken them all…in the cramped stinking cell she decided…she would take the raging fire of her disappointment in herself, her despair for her people…her hate for those who had done this to them…her anger at what tortures were still to befall them…all this she would keep alight and blazing within her and then she would turn those flames outward, onto these aliens and their families, their entire civilization…they would burn.
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Her people cried and screamed as they were pushed out of the ships, some of the young men tried to fight back, they killed a few, but the merciless skeleton like machines shot them into submission and took them away. 

She was grouped with thirty three other young women and girls, none older than 30.  She recognised many, Adaea from river bend, Lysaea from double-stone hill, Cilina and Shilea from the mountain village, the new brides of two of the new Guardians. 

The girls huddled together and moved in a closed off body, all of them wrapping their arm about themselves and leaning down to be as small as possible.  Kiraea couldn’t blame them…and by now they understood what was to become of them. 

Kiraea made a point of standing taller amongst them, she had to be their Guardian now, her training complete or not.  Adaea pressed up to her as they waddled along the dark metal tunnel that was stained with black, red and brown fluids the source of which…she didn’t want to think about,

“What do we do?” she whispered, keeping her face down,

Kiraea thought for a moment, feeding the heat within her with her friends despair and worry.

“We’re Aethan’s, we’ll act like it.”
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Behind the glass of her new cell she saw various aliens come and gawk at them no doubt choosing which they wanted to buy…it stoked the fiery rage within her to stared at like that…she hated them…she would burn them…

One of the aliens a hideous thing all fur and muscle was talking with the green tentacle headed thing.  She focused on the aether, drew out the hate within her, sense the furry things body, its organs…

It was draining…here the aether was so distorted, so ugly and messy…but she held it together…from deep inside him she loosed a river of her molten hatred…she was sweating…a little more…her breathing became laboured…just…there…

She blew out exhausted, and flopped back on the cold floor, she turned her head, the furry thing grasped it midsection, it opened its mouth and jerked as if retching…then her joy was fulfilled, blue aetheric flames jutted out of its mouth as it burnt from within. 

She exuded joy in the aether as other aliens either ran away or came to help the internally burring creature, yet the other women didn’t return her joy…they were closed off…beaten and despairing…she fell onto her back once more…what else could she really expect…these were young women who worked fields, fished, sewed, painted, built houses…not trained to be Guardians like her…

She couldn’t help them this way…at any rate the strangeness of the aether made it impossible to do much…she had to find a way though…

She tried to recall Karinthas lessons…to be angry is easy…but to angry at the right place, at the right time, with the right person…that was hard…she frowned she had been too hasty…

Know your enemy and know yourself and victory is never in doubt she recalled Andis teaching them…she knew nothing of her enemies…she didn’t know where to light the fire to set them ablaze

She needed something…someone to teach her…someone she could manipulate…but most of all she needed the aether as her ally first.  She righted herself and began to open herself to the strangeness of it…to acclimatize…to empower…to ignite.
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After she had killed the furry thing they had closed the ‘shop’, but the next day they were back again, a gaggle of aliens…and there one human looking thing in a shimmering red robe…a male by the face…old, portly, sweaty…she sneered that his parents hadn’t had the decency to kill him at birth rather than blight the galaxy with such a foul creature…but then the same could be said of all the aliens…

She looked through the stained glass to the tentacle headed green thing…if these creatures had any intelligence they would realise what abominations they were and engage in mass suicide.

She focused on red robe as she dubbed him, her efforts overnight had made increased her ability to use the aether a reasonable amount…it annoyed her, after the Gathering she was meant to go with Melron into the Dead Lands, there she would’ve gained lots of experience using the aether in places where it flowed differently…she had to learn on her own now…

She touched his mind, it way reasonably easy to understand…she guided his thoughts away from Cilina in a far cell toward her, he began to head toward her.  She could sense what he was after…lecherous slob wanted a pleasure slave…

Karintha had taught her just how powerful an Aethan woman’s body and pheromones could be in controlling people through their desires…every part of your body can be a weapon against your enemies her aunt had said, do not shy away from using it.

She unzipped the front of her suit down to just below her breasts to show off a little flesh.  At only sixteen, and lean like all aethan girls she didn’t have much in the way of cleavage, but she had long dark brown hair, light blue eyes and creamy skin that should do the trick. 

He approached the glass and stared at her, she increased her pressure on his mind and flashed him a coy smile, that’s right you hideous fiend, I’m the one you want. Now for the final piece...keeping her face in a fake smile, and repressing the urge to vomit with a lick of hate filled fire, she crafted an image in her mind of red robe kissing her…ugghh…and sent it into his mind…

Red robes lips trembled, he nervously raised his hand and called tentacle head…he was hers now.

Red robe was even worse in person…his presence was oily and gross…after being bought she had been given a fresh outfit and led outside, fitted with a new shock collar and handed over.  Red robe and metal…thing…had then lead her into a flying machine…the trip was horrendous, the filthy man kept his hand on her thigh and relentlessly sniffed at her…it just added more fuel to the fire she had planned for him.

He yammered on and on…his language was similar enough for her to understand…just…about how pretty she was, how happy she would be…keep talking filth you’ll soon see what an Aethan does to those who think they can control them.

What he did say that was interesting was that they would go ;’home’ straight away, he gave orders to the metal thing, 8MO he called it…some kind of walking talking machine like from a story, it was bronze and human like…but it was eerie...it had no life in the aether…it unnerved her.

They came to a large building with ships of all kinds coming and going…some kind of port…through the passage ways light by hideous colourful signs, and filled with all kinds of stinking creatures…red robe ushered her along his hand on her rear…keep it there you scum…every second you’re touching me is another ten seconds I’ll keep you alive before I finish you off.

They finally came to a large room with a metal ship, it looked foul, golden with filigree and odd symbols…either he was wealthy or just showing off…he rushed her aboard…she could sense his impatience to use her…good she thought…she could barely contain herself either.

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The inside of the ship was spacious and richly decorated…she was glad she couldn’t sense anyone but the two of them on the ship.  Red and gold seemed to be his favourite colour.

“Here,” he pointed to a cream coloured room, “is the refresher, why don’t you clean up while I get us flying…then we can become…more acquainted…” she nodded and smiled.

He had an odd combination of emotions from hat she could read…he wanted her certainly, but he seemed to feel somewhat guilty about it…like he wanted to hide what he was doing…she remembered Karinthas teaching – “only in a person’s most dishonourable acts, those done when they think no one is judging them, are they true to themselves”…he thought it was wrong…but he was doing it anyway…not only was he a sick pervert but he wasn’t even honest about it…the fire blazed ever brighter.

As she worked out how the taps worked to make water flow she felt the ship move, rumble through the atmosphere, then lurch as it entered what she guessed was some kind of super-fast travel. 

She cleaned herself and threw on one of the various robes then propped herself up on the bed in the most seductive pose she could think of. 

When he came in she felt his aura surge immediately…

“Well I…ooh I…” she turned over and crawled toward him on the bed a wide and honest smile on her face…she was truly going to enjoy this. 

She grasped the edges of his robe and pulled him forward, twisting to throw him beneath her.  She reached into his mind…it was open and surprised, delighted and excited…she cut down any reasoning or logic that might make him suspicious by strengthening these feelings….yes she recalled Karintha’s words…”your enemies emotions are your ally, do not weaken them, strengthen them until they are all that remain – an enemy that can think critically is an enemy that can plan and predict – avoid that at all costs”.

She slipped her hands down his side, then back up to his face, he stared at her mesmerized, she pulled back a little and pouted, then pointed to her shock collar,

“oh…yes of course…”  he fumbled about in his robes before producing a small device, he reached up and pressed it to the small circle on the front of the collar, it opened with a click.  She pulled it off rapidly and placed it beside them, she arched up, he was fixed between her legs now, right where she wanted him.

She smiled warmly 
“Thank you” she said and meant it,

“Oh you can talk…oh…oh my…I,”

“shhh”  she pressed a finger to his lips, his eyes followed it…then on the tip of the finger blue light flickered…she let the hate-fire that had been building in her ever since the attack on her people take form in the material world…the light flowed into an undulating candle like flame that split in two and crept over his cheeks toward his eyes…

“whaaa…” he said, be began to move but she used her much stronger legs to pin his flabby body, she drew on the aether to pin his arms and legs by his side.  He started screaming, his tongue flapping like mad spraying her with spittle as the shriek came from deep within him.

She had always been very good at precision, even old Andis had commented she was almost as good as Valens…the blue flames reached balls of his eyes…crackling and snapping they melted to blackened pools…

His screaming continued as she stood up over him her hand pointed at his face, the fire now directed to his ears and nose, the flesh blackened and cracked into dusty smoke. 

“Waaaa….stooop,”  he wailed through his general chorus of pain

“I don’t understand” she said sweetly…”don’t you want me to touch you?”

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She stood once again in the refresher…she didn’t quite know how long it had been…the room stank of charred flesh and blood…she stared into the mirror…she wished Karintha or Yorna were here to see this…tell her if she had gotten it right…

Her face…her body was covered in blood and ash from burnt flesh and fabrics…had she avenged herself sufficiently…she wasn’t sure…she still wanted to hurt him but he was dead now…and she was alone…

She hadn’t thought of that till now…Her mother had died birthing her…her father when she was 12 after getting a cut that became infected…now her sister and aunt…even the other girls were far away…she was truly alone for the first time in her life in the middle of space…an Orphan lost in the sea of the void…

No not alone

She felt the heat within her breast, she was certain she saw an aura of blu fire about her in the mirror for a second…
She had her hate
She had her fire
She had the Aether.

Outstanding LSG!  I had thought that the eponymousl "orphan" was going to be the child Miles!  I love this development MUCH better!  Again, the Aethans are more primal Force-users; I would love to see a Guardian-training montage (such as when we get snippets of via Kiraea's remembered teachings).

This perfectly dovetails seamlessly with CotA.  Even better: it expands and enriches the universe you've given us!  I really hope that we see much more of Kiraea  :). I can tell you've really perfected the details for Aethan culture and life!

I have to admit that there is a certain macabre, vicarious satisfaction with what she does with "Red Robe"  ;D. Plus, I always associate the "Aetheric Flame" with powerful Force-users, immolating with a "cleansing" fire.  And--like you said--regardless of his reticence, he was still willing to go through with his intent.  Laser-guided karma, IMO.
I can't wait for more!

Until next installment friends  :)

Great beginning!  like Dutchman, I thought this was going to be a continuation, but I am not disappointed.  :-)

I am again struck by how ... tribal the Aethans feel in the story.  My first instinct is to assume that Kiraea just doesn't have a good sense of right vs wrong, but that's not true.  The real "error" in her world-view is that she simply doesn't see anyone other than her own people as People.  :-)  I have commented on this before, but the contrast strikes me again when I read this.  And her pure fury is utterly understandable considering what is happening to her people.  I imagine I would be equally angry in such a situation.

Her solution and method of aquiring freedom, though...  It brings to mind the phrase "hell hath no fury like a woman scorned."  I'm sure "Red Robe" would agree with me.  :-)

Looking forward to the next installment(s).

“Oh dear…Master Urha appears to be ill,” the machine said when it entered the room…she woke startled, torture that prolonged was tiring…she had been sleeping on the floor by a night stand...it was slightly less charred.

“Analysis…it appears Master Urha has suffered numerous burns and amputations…,” the machine looked at her, “Shall I place him in med bay,” 

What a strange thing, she tested her luck with it,

“No…he prefers to leave the ship at once,”

“Very well mistress,” it said and began scooping up his blackened remains. She followed the machine about, as it cleaned up, it seemed it had no orders to only obey just red robe…or perhaps she had been designated as a master as well.

“Will there be anything else mistress?”

“You are flying the ship,”

“Of course mistress,”

She wondered…”where are we headed?”

“Commenor to Master Urha’s estate,”

“is there anyone at this estate,”

“No mistress…”

“what’s a mistress?”

“You are mistress,”

That annoyed her,

“What does that mean”

“You are Master Urha’s intended companion and intended bride”

“bride…” that sicko probably thought he could just buy a slave and make it love him…”did he tell you to obey me?”

“Master Urha informed me to serve himself and his new bride…he was most excited to find you at last…he had been looking for one for many years,”

Her predications had been right the filthy pervert was a loner…better still a rich loner…after all she had suffered finally something was going right…yet she burned with the fact that such a turn of events had to occur at all.

“…can you teach me to fly the ship?,”
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8MO was a useful tool in learning.  It had taken her to Urha’s estate on Commenor and been completely open about everything…he seemed to use the machine as a personal assistant.

She wanted to go back for the others…but she knew she had to learn…she recalled hunting Vorynx when they became too numerous with Karintha, Yorna, and the Guardian Taran, “watch, wait, learn, understand, then act,”.  The delay only built her hatred so that was a plus she supposed.

The estate was located just outside a major city of some kind, it was large and white, had an air of history to it…as 8MO explained it had been in the family, of which she was now apparently a part of, for generations.  8MO had shown her around and shown her how most things worked…There were so many strange things, devices she didn’t understand…the only place she understood was the library, apparently printed books were unusual collectors’ items…

It took her a while to master datapads, she kept making it turn off or hit it too hard, but once she did she started to read things called ‘news’ which talked about events in other places.

The most useful thing though was the holo-vids…they were moving picture things about lots of different people and places…some about pirates, some about senators in a place called the Republic, some about strange warriors called Jedi that seemed to use the aether, but they called it he force…and some really weird ones she found hidden behind the rest of aliens mating, often across species, but they weren’t like the other documentaries she had seen which was odd…truly this was a degenerate civilization that would permit different types of aliens to mate…and then watch it!

She sat with a holovid in the back ground whilst reading through messages on the data pad,

“But Jenin I Love You,”  the actor said.

“Buht Jehn-iin Aye Loove yahooo” she repeated…their language was similar but differently accented, it made it hard to understand sometimes

One message caught her interest…annual payment…

“arnnuawl” she spoke out loud, so many strange new words

…of 200,000 credits for ownership of Commenor Charase Wines trademark…

She had no idea what a Charase, a Wines or a trademark was.

“Does mistress require anything” 8MO asked out of nowhere, Kiraea leapt in her seat, the dro’yd thing as they were called still worried he, she couldn’t sense it moving or what it was thinking…it was a terrifying potential weapon…a machine that could think.

“What are credits?  They seem to talk about them all the time on the movies?” she asked “And how do it get them?”
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Credits it turned out were a medium of exchange…very strange, on Aethas if you wanted something you just asked someone who had it, at worst you might have to wait for something to grow or be made…anyway she would apparently need them if she was to buy the other girls back.

Credits appeared to be made at banks, large glass and metal buildings like the one she was in now.  It was full of ugly aliens like everywhere she had been since she left Aethas, cool and light all whites and greys.  8MO had bought her some clothes, she didn’t like them…they were all sticky and…odd against her skin…not like the gormin wool she was used too. Apparently she looked ‘professional’ though.  But though 8MO could buy that with credits apparently only the person who owned 8MO could spend enough to buy a slave.

“Next,” called someone at a desk,

She got up and headed to the office with 8MO in tow.
Inside a man sat at a desk with a computer thing

“please take a seat,” his eyes still on the screen,
“You’re hear about the Urha account,”
She didn’t say anything for a while, he looked at her,
“uh…yes…I’m his wife and want access to all his credits,”
She immediately sensed suspicion flood the aether,
“Riiight…his wife…aren’t you a little young,”
“Fine I’m his daughter then just give me access, I already have his house, his ship and his do-royd”
“you mean droid?”
“that’s it droyed, give me his credits too,”

He leaned back and folded his arms, his aura was one of suspicion but also amusement at her antics

“look sweetie, I’m this close to calling security…you’re just a kid trying on a scam not even a good one…get out of here,”

Just a kid, - the fire burnt over without even consciously wanting to she felt herself tightening the aether around his neck

“a…aaack…a..sto..ple..eeez”  he chocked out

“You don’t tell me what to do! No one tells an Aethan what to do you hideous freak!” she squeezed harder

“you appear to be in pain, should I call for assistance?” 8MO asked the manager, it broke her out of her blind rage.

She loosened her mental grip but rammed into his mind,

“You’re going to give me access to the credits I want right now, then you’re going to apologise for being such a disgusting, ugly…urgh…just plain pathetic creature…then you’re going to do the decent thing and kill yourself and as many other of these fiends as you can!...” she paused to think, “make that a few days after I leave though!”

His eyes were glassy, his body swaying from the trance…

“I’ll give you access to the accounts now…”  he fumbled about with slow movements to produce an odd device, he clicked a few keys on his computer,

“please place your hand here for identity registry and transfer please, please,”  she put her hand on it, lights flashed from blue to green,

“please no name in system please…name please…”

“Kiraea” 

“please last name please,”

She was getting very annoyed now,

“Karnansdottir,”

Another green flash,

“please I’m sorry for being a disgusting ugly, uggh, just plain pathetic creature…I’ll do the decent thing and kill myself and these fiends…please”  he waved a slow aimless arm about.

“Good…8MO, lets go!”  Hey that rhymed she mused happily as she skipped out of the office.

It had taken twice as long to reach Nar Shadda as it should’ve with Kiraea piloting…she still found so much of it difficult, 8MO was able to explain things…but it wasn’t like learning with a real person.  When she was taught to read, write, forge metal, sew…she had been able to not just see with her eyes, touch with her hands…but also feel the movements of her father and aunt in the aether…that was why they could learn so quickly…adapt so easily, their connection to the aether instinctively interpreted the world around them from the emanations of others…but a droid…a droid was dead.

She started to think she had made a mistake killing Urha so quickly…she had been so angry though…and he was so disgusting…but still she could’ve learned more from him more quickly than the droid.

The landing was bumpy and she scraped the lower hull for a few metres leaving a trail for sparks, but she managed it.

The place was as dirty as she remembered…she didn’t understand it…how could people with such advanced technology allow things to decay, become filthy and unkempt…they had so little in the way of possessions back home, they treated everything as precious, keeping things immaculate…did these people have so much they didn’t care?

She wandered the vast poorly lit hallways of the spaceport with 8MO in tow, funny machines carrying crates, and gaggles of creatures of all shapes wandering about, turning into the colourfully lit bars that looked just like the ones she’d seen on the Space Rogue Holovid.

She suddenly sensed danger trickle up her spine, there were people looking at her…following her, she turned a corner toward the exit.  She stopped suddenly as a burly…thing…with a leathery face stood in front of her, two others, a human like thing and an odd green thing with a snout crowded her from behind.

“Hey pretty,” big leered at her, “where you off to hey?”

“Get out of my way,” she said firmly, her annoyance stoking the flames,

“Don’t be so rude schutta,”  he stepped toward her, her eyes narrowed as he started prattling on about how dangerous it was for ‘little girls’ and how they would ‘look after’ her.  She reached out to sense their minds…Whenever you have more than one opponent…her aunt had taught her divide their unity, or better, turn them against each other, let sister kill sister, let mother kill daughter…then finish off the battered survivors.  She pushed out mentally,

“You three should just shut up and kill each other,”

With such an alien face she couldn’t read his expressions but something crossed big’s face, then he made a strange cackling sound

“You vaped girly, you crazy!” it hadn’t worked…she closed a fist and let the flames fill her hand

“we should shut up and kill each other,” the human behind her said woozily

“Echu’to Kurm Hurchasa,”  snout nose said, his aura worried

“Get your head back in the game Neev, enough playing around grab the little schutta,”

She flicked her hand open, a stream of blue fire hit big straight in the chest it tangled around his ramshackle armour and hit the flesh, the snout nose yelled something, she turned on him and fired again, straight into his face…it burnt with a hideous smell…the human stood there swaying slowly…she really didn’t have the knack of this mind control yet…too blunt.

Aliens and cargo lifters continued to wander past as though this were nothing unusual…in fact she heard a blaster bolt somewhere down the hall…they were inured to violence here she guessed. It was just like the holovid Star Rogue….She picked up the weapons on the corpses and what little valuables they had, then turned to the human,

“You give me all you’re valuables…when I come back this way I expect you to give me more, now get lost,”

“mmmm yeahhh,” he wandered off
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The scale of the slave markets was overwhelming…not just visually…or physically…but the aether was saturated with despair…helplessness…terror…when she had first been here she hadn’t been attuned enough…and had probably been too angry to truly notice it…

Countless cages, cells, shop fronts, full of creatures beyond counting…some filthy and stinking, others immaculate…all this on sale to the thousands of buyers

“Myzm’s High Quality Stock and Servants” was one of the better looking establishments… A blue twi’lek greeted her with false warmth,

“Humans, young, female,” she asked

It was surreal…the sheer scale of the trade here…her anger was fuelled ever more…by the aether she hoped someone made this Myzm burn…she finally came to the cells…the other side from where she had been…

As she had feared most were empty now…

“we’ve had these nearly a month now…they’ve proved quite popular…” the twi’lek rambled about their qualities, only making her hate him more

In one of the cells a huddled form moved, she felt a tentative brush in the aether…she grasped at it and responded with as much warmth and sense of safety she could…Adaea…she recognised her presence as she opened up more, sensing the connection the girl in the other cell brightened into the aether, Lyaea, a girl of only ten….only ten

“I’ll take them both,”  she said firmly trying to keep herself from exploding with hate…if she died she couldn’t help them…to be a Guardian meant control of yourself and your situation she recalled Karintha saying…at a time like this she understood how hard that could be. 
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The trip back to the ship she was as cautious as she could be…Lyaea was distressed and clung to Adaea…she was only ten…Kiraea worried about her development on such strange worlds at such a young age…without older women there to teach her important things in the years to come it would be left to her…Adaea was 15…but she was only trained in the basic aetheric arts and didn’t have the same strength Kiraea did…she had to protect her too.

As they headed to the ship she noted the corpse of the human she had told to steal things for her, beaten bloody on the side of a wall.  It was a Vorynx eat Vorynx galaxy.

Entering the hangar something was wrong, Lyaea tightened her grip on Adaea, who in turn looked worried…

“What is it?” 

“I don’t know…I’ll find out…” she gesture to a corner aetherically, “wait for me there,” handing them one of the blasters she had taken, “Take this, hold it like that and pull that thing with your finger, let the aether guide your hand like when you’re playing Fly Stones,” 

Fly Stones was a game familiar to all Aethan children, they would throw dozens of stones into the air boosted by the aether, the aim was to hit the other persons stones out mid-air and get yours through to hit them.  It taught them how to wield and co-ordinate multiple objects at once as well as precision and accuracy.

She crept toward the ship and the sense of someone inside resolved in her mind…she sensed a desperation…a despair…a frustration at not being able to do something that should be easy…the fact she could sense these emotions meant it must be a human…she didn’t understand alien ones…yet…

The boarding ramp was down, not how she left it…she crept up, dampening her sounds with the aether.  Don’t let them see you, sense you, or hear you until after they are dead, her aunt would tell her when along with Yorna they’d play night-kill in the caverns…she’d played it with the other Guardian children once, Jarys often won, he was so competitive, but sometime she thought Valens let himself get caught deliberately.  She did her best to move as swiftly as Jarys did.

Tiptoeing toward the bridge she saw an old scruffy looking human with grey hair doing something to the console…

“Frelling things…64 Terabit encryption….cheap kriffing slicer…” 

She filled her palms with fire…she had to be precise she couldn’t damage the ship.  Suddenly he turned, she was about to burn him when his aura softened

“eh…oh, you looking to steal this one too…” he shook his head…

“if you’ve got a better slicer than a octo-core 2 should be a breeze, hey what…” she stared at her…

“what’s going on with your…..”  she used his distraction to pin his body to the chair,

“Who are you,”

“erghh…Colm…Colm Maynard…best…well used to be best thief this side of Denon,”

“Who’s Denon?” she probed

“What…” he looked confused…”Denon, planet Denon…jeez that’s what happens when kids are forced into lives like this…” there was genuine sadness in his aetheric energy…and honesty…

She consider her options…she could kill him then and there…but perhaps he could be more useful to her alive…she reached into his mind

“you’re going to serve me now…”  he pushed back!

“eh…damn…Jedi tricks….that take me back…you’re not from around here are you?”

“No no, I am not…” she said honestly, she couldn’t sense any malice or lechery in this one…just a sadness, the sadness of growing old and feeling useless, past your prime….”I need someone to help me and my people….but I need to able to trust them,”  She let the burning anger strengthen her will and pushed past his blockage and seized his consciousness…

“If you ever try to harm or disobey me…or any of my people…you’ll rip your own face off…and eat it…”  she should probably add more…”and you’ll tell us everything about yourself and teach us everything you know about how this galaxy works and how to survive in it,” 

His face was contorted in pain, his body shaking violently only held in place by her telekinetic grip, finally he relaxed….
“Frell girl…I don’t know what you are…but frell…”

Indeed Kiraea is, as you'll soon see far more pure in her simple beliefs. But she lacks the full training as you'll also see.  But yeah as Dutchman noted this is more about Kiraea as a person and how she deals with this strange world, gues I wanted to try a less combat centric narrative.

Well you've got "dark comedy" covered in spades LSG  :)

Excellent writing; the tonal shift is evident without being heavy-handed.  If your intent (which is rhetorical, we know it is  ;)) is to convey Kiraea's neophyte aptitude with the aether, you've more than succeeded.  What's better is that it flows organically within the first-person perspective and really gives us a sense of how "alien" this entire set of events are for her.

Nice to see some continuity with Jarys and Valens mentioned.  But the disparate feel of this story is appropriate: it "feels" more juvenile, apropos of Kiraea's naivete and her being a "stranger in a strange land."

And as morbid as it is, the humor is, again, germane to Kiraea's inexperience.  Who as a kid hasn't wanted to get "justice" on a bully (or in this case: mugger/rapist)? 

Until next installment friends  :)

I agree.  The different way she's dealing with the situation is refreshing and interesting.  I love the way she watches the holovids and begins interpreting the real world from the fictional.  It reminded me in a very indirect way of the movie Galaxy Quest and the Thermians.  :-)  Though obviously a LOT darker. 

And there's certainly the undercurrent of her youth.  This very much brings to mind a half-trained young person, filled with the zeal of their age and youthful vigor and ignorance.  :-)  Nicely written.  I am looking forward to this newly injected voice of experience to begin tempering this relationship - and her quest for vengeance.

Thanks guys.  Yes this is very much a chance for me to do some of the things I originally wanted to in CotA, lighten the mood in a dark way, but couldn't quite fit in a way that worked. 

Originally Kiraea was going to feature in CotA, but it was already getting a bit big, so I split her out in favour of more focus on Soryu...I think I made the right choice as it lets me have more freedom with her here than just being a part of a larger narrative. 

Good choice.  Sometimes the characters take on a life of their own, and Kiraea seems to be one of those characters that deserves a chance to get out and breathe a little.  :-) 

The red light beeped again and that awful whine went off….

“Ladies bloody eyes,” she yelled

“Smoother, smoother,” Maynard chimed in an unsought suggestion

“You smooth it,” she snapped

She was practicing on one of Urha’s safes, she hadn’t even known it was there till Maynard found it. 

“you’re close, just a little more gently, you can’t bludgeon your way in,”  he added

He had been teaching her how to crack safes, disable security systems and the like…for in this galaxy you needed credits to get food and things…credits had to be earned using your skill in a job or the like…Kiraea’s job would be as a thief taking credits and valuable tings off other people.  Colm Maynard had had a long career as a professional thief so that was what she would be too.

“Now reset it, remember the sequence,” he instructed, she scowled

Maynard had been a useful teacher, like an uncle…he had ended up destitute on Nar Shadda after being caught stealing from a Hutt named Myzm…he escaped but not before being tortured with a neural simulator – a device that fooled nerves into believing say a limb had been cut off when it hadn’t.   It left him with a number of co-ordination problems and damaged his fine motor skills, such that he could no longer ply his trade, and he was left trying to steal a ship to get off Nar Shadda when she had…dominated…him.

She didn’t quite understand the concept of theft at first…she didn’t understand why someone would take someone else’s things…Aethans held most things in common…except clothes, a few toys and bits of jewellery…but it had never entered in her mind to want what was someone else’s without them knowing….

Something smashed in the next room distracting her, she heard Adaea and Lyaea chatting over something…they found all these items strange and had broken more than a few trying to work out their function, even with Maynards help.

She went back to work resetting the lock.  Urha had credits in the bank thing, but she had spent most of them to get Lyaea and Adaea back…there were more things Maynard had helped her sell in the safe but it wasn’t enough for all of them for long he had informed her.

They had helped each other in a way, Maynard got a way off Nar Shadda, and to be honest a new purpose in life in looking after the three Aethan girls, and they had someone who could help them navigate the galaxy, and by teaching Kiraea his skills, find a way to provide for them

She went back to using the aether to try and unpick the lock and disable the system…Maynard was a canny operator, after seeing her abilities he had quickly realised her potential.  She had even secured a better deal when selling Urha’s valuables, encouraging the weird four armed creature with the aether…she smiled at that…she didn’t really have a grasp on controlling alien minds yet…her attempt to make the alien fence desire the goods had been…extreme…the four armed thing had ended up in passionate love with red robes clothes and paid a vast sum for them and tried to mate with them as soon as he got them!  it had been soo funny.

“Concentrate,”  Maynard said checking his data-wrist thing that should read outs of her progress.

She focused on the small components, twisting and zapping…the door swung open…

“well done Kiraea,” he said “now do that 30 more times and you might be close” …he reminded her of Karintha saying that…Until you can do it without thinking, you don not truly know how to do it.

******************************************************************************************
“You’re going to have to go….”  He said as that ate what passed for food here. 

“I don’t understand why,”  she said for like the millionth time

“ughh…”  he rubbed his face in frustration that was coming through the aether

“Kids have to go to school…people will notice and report you eventually…you don’t want the police here asking questions…I can handle the paper work,”

“don’t children just learn like normal?”  Adaea asked, she seemed less resistant, but still confused about the concept of a place where all children learnt things…normally you just followed your parents around, and picked up on things…Aethans passive aetheric abilities let them learn things from the patterns of thought and concentration in others…it was how they mastered every skill in Aethan society so quickly….had Maynard still been able to perform his lock picking Kiraea could’ve used that to become an expert faster.

“No they…you just have to do it, trust me…” he sounded slightly defeated. 

With her mind domination was still in effect she knew he was telling the truth, or he would be trying to rip his own face off by now….At any rate it was no use having him here if she didn’t at least follow his advice.

“Fine we’ll all go…” she said, Lyaea looked downcast…she was so young…Kiraea leaned over to hug her,

“We’ll do it together,”
*******************************************************************************************
School was a very strange place…young creatures from all about put in rooms of ten with an older creature to learn things.  She had kept quiet for most of the first few days, silently siphoning knowledge and understanding from the other human students.

As strange as it was though, it was helpful, she was learning a lot, Maynard had been right about that. 

“Who can tell me the about a Reduction Oxidation reaction,” the ugly old bat of a teacher asked…he was wrinkled and grey haired…Aethans got old but they never looked like that.  “Kiraea,” she pointed to her,

“Oh…it’s a reaction that has the transfer of Aylactrons from one reactant to the other one it,”

She paused as she heard sniggering behind her,

“Girls,” the teacher said sternly

“Has two basic forms Oyxaydateeon which is when one loses Aylactrons, that’s the increase in Oyxaydateeon state,”

More sniggering

“and Rayduction, the gain of Aylactrons…”  more sniggering made her anger bubble, “a decrease in Oyxaydateeon”, she turned around sharply on the two girls who were laughing at her, “Will you shut up!”

“Kiraea! sit back down, Y’Shalla, Xeanna, you should know better than to laugh at someone for having a different accent,”

At the meal break she sat with Adaea toying with what they called food here…disgusting inedible stuff…not real substance compared to what she had back home.  Her eyes were fixed on Xeanna in the other corner…

“Don’t Kiri…” Adaea warned nudging her in the aether, “you’ll get in trouble…Maynard said….”

“I don’t care what Maynard said…that Falalaleen tralk is going to get it for making fun of me,”

“I think it’s Faalleen,” Adaea quietly corrected her, “Don’t do it…”

“They won’t know…even babies are stronger than these things….”  She gestured around her at the masses of other students and teachers…all little better than corpses in terms of aetheric power. 

Xeanna got up with her friends and wandered toward them, Adaea reached over and grasped Kiraea’s hand in a supplicating gesture…

They stood at the end of the table,

“Sharing Aylectrons!” Xeanna said pointing at their linked hands eliciting a giggle from her friends, “breathing in the Oyxaygen!” more laughter

“Real funny greeny,”  Kiraea snapped back, she pushed out in the aether, “why don’t you go shove your head in a bin where it belongs,”  The other girls laughed, Xeanna’s eyes went glassy, she could feel the Faalleen trying to resist the urge to obey…but like trying not to scratch an itchy nose…she just couldn’t…pushing past her friends she ran to a nearby bin and shoved her head in it, her friends were stunned, a shockwave of laughter and amazement spread through the room.

Adaea looked slightly disappointed, but couldn’t keep from smiling…

“I thought you were going to kill her,”

Kiraea shrugged and patted her hand, “I guess I’m learning restraint!”
********************************************************************************************
She sat on the balcony of the mansion overlooking the gardens…untended and neglected the people on the holo-channel about gardening would say…returning to its natural state she would reply.

The stars were different here…she couldn’t see Varens and Anderis, the Wise brothers, Aphrodaea and her Daughters, or even Aertemisaea’s bow in them. 

The sounds were different here…instead of the gentle rumble of gormin’s as they slept on the paddocks was the hum of hovercars from the city.

The smells were different, her father had always kept blue Ladies Bells beside her bed…they had been her mother’s favourite he had told her…she had died when she was very young from an infection…instead it stank of steel and ferrocrete

For all these thing she couldn’t sleep…She just wanted to go home…to wake from this pain….like a hopeful child she would wake every morning thinking maybe today, maybe today the Guardians will come for us…and like the silly gobril in children’s tales she would go to bed every night thinking maybe tomorrow….

She hated this…hated that she had to be the one in charge, the one to do everything…she wasn’t ready for this…

“I don’t like it here too,” a quiet voice behind her agreed,
Lyaea was wrapped in her blanket watching her, she turned and spread her arms, the girl rushed into her hug. 

“Will we ever go home?”  she asked her eyes big and glossy in the starlight,

“I don’t know…” she answered honestly, obviously she had been making waves in the aether as Adaea came out next and joined them in their hug while trying to put out comforting feelings.

“It might be a long time before we go home…” she said after a time looking at the stars… “we just have to keep trying…” she wasn’t sure what they were trying for really…but then survival was sometimes the best you could do,

Lyaea yawned, “Can we sing,” she asked,

“Of course,” said Adaea, “which one?”
“Nothing too long” Kiraea added, “We have school tomorrow,” they would often sing in the evenings or tell tales back home some of them were very long though, “Just a regular lullaby,” 

Lyaea thought for a moment then started, soon joined by her and Adaea….
“There’s blood on the soil
There’s death in the sky
The Goddess is burning the sith with her eyes

Run little children,
Run back to the vale
Hide under the mountains
Old grey and pale

Aethenaea will you teach you
Aertemisaea will hide
Aephrodaea will love you
And the Guardians guide”

The light winds of the aether lifted their voices back to their home.

Very nice.  School?  Didn't see that one coming...  :)

Again, I like the pedestrian feel to this one.  Its just so ... close to home.  This is my daughter trying to get her younger sisters through being stranded in a foreign land.  Nicely done.

And the song.  Great adaption of the pantheon!  :-)  But I also like the lyrics...

"...burning the sith with her eyes..."

How utterly interesting.  :-)

This is amazing.  The tonality of this story is vastly different from all your POV chapters in CotA.  For me, it's difficult switching "voices" e.g. Zearic & Jorya.  You do it not only subtly but incredibly thoroughly (and effectively).  And as I read it, I am taken back (if vicariously) to times when I had to grow up fast.  Well done.

Another point and I know we all see it: the attention to detail, not only as a narrative device (yes, there's that) but also from SW canon.  Small details like "ferrocrete" and "Nar Shadda" really immerse us (and I know that most times I read it as setting BUT also know what kind of research goes into even just ONE chapter).  Well, that last goes to everyone who's posted: TR, Karm, LSG,  Angel, HB1. Just wanted to mention that  ;)

One theme that you've been implicitly effective at conveying: Aethan social mores are MUCH different than ours.  I remember Karm's insightful analogy of "The People."  Again, we see this in Kiraea's perspective. 

Until next installment friends  :)

Exactly.  Her attitude reminds me a lot of how Native American peoples reacted to Europeans when they first started trading.  Not that they didn't understand theft, but more that they didn't really get ownership, especially of the land.  Money?  What's that?  LOL

That view of being a stranger in a strange land and trying to feel your way through truly alien concepts and customs is really neat.  I love how she decides to become a professional thief because that's what her mentor is.  Absolutely no moral inflection, no realization that its not considered 'ok'.  Just 'this is what we do to get credits?  Ok, lets do it.  We need credits to get stuff to survive."

Awesome writing!  :-)

Thanks guys, like I said I wanted to do something very different given Legacy of the Aether is going to be similar to Children,  seems like I've achieved that!  Definitely strangers, the concept I use most for the Aethans is ancient Celts (Guardians sort of equivalent to Druids) transported into modern day US/UK/Aus, they get the basics of an organised society, but the idea of so many different people living together, strict property laws and intangible assets would just make no sense.

Her first real job…a small jewellery store, with two smelly things called Rodians in charge of it.

She had finished school for the week…she still didn’t understand the division of days into weeks…seasons she understood…but this seemed pointless…and was free for the next two days.  She didn’t mind the school now her passive learning ability had allowed her to catch up within a matter of weeks…she understood the things, trigonometry, physics, biology, literature …but it seemed inelegant to learn without the aether like they did…Maynard had warned them not to use it in public too much…the Jedi sounded horrible and she didn’t want to risk attracting one.

The Rodian things locked the doors and headed off, she waited as the street cleared before leaping across the rooves and balconies to above the shop door.  She couldn’t sense many people nearby, and so set to work. 

Gliding down she began work on the door…it was simple enough…a little different but not much.  She noted the position of the hidden cameras Maynard had pointed out…she sent thin arcs of lighting straight for them…small flashes of explosions followed as they shorted out.

She stalked in keeping herself above the floor by levitating with the aether…the display cases were empty…the jewels locked away at night.  The back room was guarded with laser trip wires…this was the difficult bit…she pushed in the aether to create a small bubble of invisible power…twisting the beams above and below it stretching a hole for herself as it spread to elongate more beams….it required a lot of power and patience…her burning heart provided the power…the patience…that was her flaw….she thought of the other girls…she had to do it for them….

It was just wide enough, she levitated through to the mess of an office, papers, half empty boxes with disgusting smelling foods…she couldn’t tell if they were rotten or meant to smell like that…she suspected the latter based on her experience of Rodian scents…The safe was a big black slab with no visible dials or buttons – remote operated by an implant key in the owners hand….

She didn’t have a severed Rodain hand…though that had been her first plan Maynard had quickly dissuaded her of it, instead she would use the aether to short it out.  She reached her mind into the mechanisms, gently getting the lay of the land…she traced the flow of current, the circuits that needed to be kept one, those she could switch off…Pressure sensor, off, heat sensor, off, internal scan, off, door nib, slide…

It opened smoothly…it worked!  She didn’t want to risk anything, she opened her satchel and used the aether to rush all the contents straight into it.  This was so easy!

The alarm blared….Kriff as Maynard would say…whatever that was.  What had she done wrong…pressure, heat, internal…timer…she’d forgotten the timer that detected when it was opened outside set hours. 

She rushed out of the room, no longer caring about the trip lasers, fortunately Commenor did not allow deadly or debilitating security devices…takes away the fun Maynard had said….but that didn’t seem to matter…from the window she could see the blue and green of a police hover car descending in front of the store.

She was trapped…she would be caught…enslaved, abused…her adoptive sisters raped and murdered….she couldn’t let this happen…

A blue glow light up around her…aetheric fire was burning from her fists unbidden…a fire…a fire would work.  She gave into her fear, her annoyance at failing and opened her palms…a sea of blue fire flooded the floor catching the display cases and walls.  The smoke instantly began to fill the room, the glass windows started to burst open…she could feel the police backing away and talking…calling in support…

She charged through the flames…they couldn’t touch her…they were born of her…and smashed through the door wreathed in her own hate.  She turned her hands to the hover car infusing the flames with a telekinetic push she blasted it apart in a ball of white blue flame. 

It felt good…really good to let it out like that.  She did it again to the store front opposite…then to another, then to a red and white lit hover craft descending near her, the blazing fires started to link up…

Yes…this was what they deserved…all of them…they had burnt her home…her people now they would pay…she fired more, and more…people ran screaming form buildings onto streets that were blanketed with even more flames…they couldn’t understand how ferrocrete could combust, didn’t understand that hate and fear could fuel a fire as much as any material substance…

Her breathing was becoming ragged…even she couldn’t pour fire forever…she had to go…she had failed…she recalled Karinthas words…if you fail and survive – learn or next time you’re already dead.  She would learn…they would burn.
***********************************************************************************************************
Maynard was waiting for her when she got home, the news holovid flickering behind him silently so as not to wake the others.

He glanced at her then the vid, it showed buildings on fire and charred corpses littering the street
“Not very…subtle…” he commented

“I forgot the time lock…”

He sighed then looked back to the vid…”If it weren’t for your…talents…”

“I know…” she flopped down on the couch…

“You have to be patient, think everything through, triple check…if not for me…and if not for your...then for the girls…they need you Kiraea…”

“I know” her muffled voice came through the cushion, her face down,

“When I screwed up, got caught pickpocketing,”  he said sitting beside her prone form, “That old Toydarain bastard would fly round and slap me stupid,” 

She raised her head with a cautionary glare,

“He was an old gas-bag and I’m glad he’s dead…but I didn’t have half the talent you did, that means you’ve got half the excuses for getting it wrong, you shouldn’t make the mistakes an alien fiend like me did,”

Clever she thought to use her hate to motivate her, she lobbed a cushion at him with the aether. 

“I knowwww…” she droned sitting up, “but your Toydarains nothing, if Karintha saw me get this wrong it would be a week sleeping with out with the Vorynx,”

Maynard was about to open his mouth to ask what that was…

She cut him off “If you ever want to sleep again…you don’t want to know,”

LSG, I really like this chapter.  There's a feel to it that reminds me of a TV show from the 80's called Remington Steele.  Sort of Steele meets Star Wars...  :-)  Not quite as comedic, obviously, but the feel of this story is so much lighter than the previous.  Its a lot more fun to read, and I really enjoyed this segment.  I know she's not doing the right thing, but I also can't help but root for her. 

Great chapter!   Thanks for offering it up!  :-)

This chapter was equal parts fun...and equal parts terrifying.  As we all have mentioned, Kiraea does not have the moral compass that most people do and while her experiences can justify some of her actions, others are done out of her fear and unfamiliarity (e.g. torching the medical craft).  This is an excellent barometer of her emotional and social awareness.

Still: who wouldn't want to be able to use the aether for the mundane (...like, say to win at gambling  ;)).  Of course, this is its own slippery slope...

Great job LSG!

Until next installment friends  :)

"...use the aether for the mundane..."   Hmm.  Do any of you recall a show from the 90's called "Early Edition"?   The plot centered around a guy who received the local newspaper a day early.  It was hinted that this was from a divine origin, and he would use it to stop bad things from happening, things he would read about in the paper.  But I remember one show, where he was placing bets at the local track, betting small amounts on several races - to supply himself with his monthly income. 

The irony was he was only betting a little bit, so he'd have money for food, rent, etc - not abusing it.  But I have to think the temptation would be to just go on bender and live easy...  :-)

Its a side to being strong in the force that we don't see explored much.  Which gives me some ideas...  But not until we're done with our current adventure I think.  Still...

... a Han Solo type character who is also strong in the force...  Oh yeah.  Definitely need to think about that...

The lock was above average in complexity, but nothing she couldn’t handle.  She performed the familiar ballet of twisting tumblers with precise movements of the aether, and shorting out failsafe circuits with short arcs of aetheric lightning.  Finally the last pieces slid out of their proper place and the door swung open. 

She created precision arc of lighting to open a gap in the protective field around the jewellery, then gently lifted the ornate box whilst pressing down with the aether to keep the weight constant on the scale.  It was very fine work…made harder still by the fact she was sitting on a ledge atop the building opposite. 

Colm Maynard had taught well, but she had surpassed her teacher, she could sit here 70 metres away, and levitate the ornate box straight over the heads of the sleeping owners and through the window to her hands.  Not a trace was left for any police to find. 

She caught the box, checked the contents then slid it into her form fitting pack.  She rose and stretched out, the cool night air doing little to quell her burning restlessness…She used the aether to glide down the face of the building, never actually touching it, another advantage she had over every other thief.  Still without Maynard she would’ve never found this line of work to support herself and her adoptive sisters.   

She came to about seven storeys from the ground and ran along the rooftops, enjoying the feel of movement, the air rushing past her form fitting black stealth suit and staring into a vast horizon after so long focused on tiny things….

She had done her job for the night, now it was time to let loose.  She stalked along the rooftops looking for some fun…people wandered about the seedier side of town into various clubs, bars and brothels…she perched atop a garish red sign and looked over Commenors night life opening herself to the aether…to the greed, the lust, the anger…

There.

She fixed her sight on two male twi’leks heading down an otherwise empty alley, hand in hand, feelings of love and expectation in them…she would enjoy this.

She flipped and twirled to a ledge above them…one was blue and one was green…funny just like the ones that had worked in the slave market she was sold at.  They hadn’t been able to find any other Aethans in the years since…Maynard had tried…but after Myzm the Hutt was happily killed by one of his own gladiators what scant records remained had vanished.

But she had another way of trying to contact other Aethans that might be out there.

She let her hate come to the surface, imagining green was the same twi’lek that had sold her to Urha, and blue was the one that had sold Adaea and Lyaea to her.  She lifted blue into the air with her anger, green tried to shout but not before she slammed his head into the wall with her annoyance and disgust for all aliens. 

Blue was outstretched, overcome with grief, confused at what was happening.  She smiled as she mentally crushed blues body and green slumped down, his skull and brains painting the wall. 

Now to her secret signal…using the precision she had developed picking locks and undermining security systems she took their blood and painted words all over the alley, on bins, walls, on their torso’s…”The Goddess Sees All,”, “Guardians Never Forget,” “By the Goddess bloody eyes you’ll all die,” to the police it was incomprehensible, appalling and baffling…much like her thefts…but to any Aethan who read the news on Commenor or the surrounding systems…it would be a beacon to find them.

“Find us,” she asked the air about her,
*******************************************************************************
“You have to be more careful!” Kiraea yelled, hands on her hips looking down…well only slightly down now, at Lyaea who was almost her height.  She had gotten into another fight at her school…she was in her final year now, nominally Maynard was her legal guardian, but he left any real issues to her, he was just the public face. 

“Why should I, I’m sick of them teasing me…just cause I have a different accent,”

“be that as it may…”  she said…she couldn’t be too angry at her for slapping the nikto given what Kiraea herself did on a weekly basis to alien creatures….

“if you kill one of them you’ll get into more trouble than I can get you out of…you have to be more restrained…and you can’t use the aether at school, how many times do I have to tell you that…”

Lyaea looked scornfully at her, her emotions bubbling with annoyance and defiance…she had been terrified of everything after Kiraea had brought her back here…but once she hit her teen years…her anger had become almost uncontrollable…Kiraea had tried…but she was barely an adult herself even now at 21…she couldn’t hope to manage a girl who had experienced such dislocation and suffering.

“I didn’t…I just slapped her…I haven’t used the aether at school forever,” 

Kiraea wasn’t sure she believed that, but Lyaea was good at concealing her thoughts, a good student…she could learn quickly with passive aetheric abilities, Kiraea had no issue with that…but when she was 14 Lyaea had taken to directly, if subtlety, controlling some of her teachers…only that Maynard knew the signs during a parent teacher interview…Kiraea might never have found out…

“Well make sure you don’t…we can’t have people investigating us…” she sighed and stretched out her arms, Lyaea looked away and lowered her head…but after a moment she came into her embrace…

“Try and save it for the Bunker Lya…I know it’s hard…”  The bunker had been built under Urha’s mansion, funded from some of her first steals, it was a large, thick walled structure that housed a getaway ship, training facilities, an armoury and most importantly a large open area with various objects for them to practice their aetheric skills on…. 

“But hey, why don’t I take you out tomorrow night and we can play with some alien brains,” Lyaea looked up from her shoulder,

“Okay…” she loved going to one of the shopping centres, sitting down on a bench then toying with people’s minds…it was such fun making a Twi’lek suddenly dance for no reason, or a Rodian shove his head into a bin singing a bawdy song. Most importantly it helped all of them get better at manipulating various aliens.

“Now go do your homework,” Lyaea gently left her arms and headed to her room…she was a good child…but Lyaea needed a Guardian…or any adult Aethan to be honest…badly…and to be honest so did she.
*******************************************************************************

Adaea came home late, busy studying…she was four years into her combined degree on advanced biology and combined engineering at Commenor Public University.  Adaea had always been a quieter girl, and being older than Lyaea…only a year younger than Kiraea…had adapted better. 

“My exams are in three weeks,” she said as they ate dinner, nerf meat and root vegetable stew…they prepared them like they did on Aethas, using their own aetheric fire to cook them in heavy pots…Maynard thought it inedible…but then that’s what they thought of most food he was used to.

“That’s good, nearly at the finish Ada,” Maynard said sipping on his blue milk.  She wondered sometimes how much of Maynard’s care for the three of them was genuine and how much purely from mental manipulation…she suspected the line between the two was gone, her programming all those years ago was just an essential part of him now.

“I just hope I do well….” Adaea said uncertainly

“You’ll do fine,” Kiraea encouraged

She and Adaea had been working on writing all they knew about their home into a single consolidated text…trying to save what they could of their people for the future.

“Hmm…I guess…”

Adaea had seem distracted lately…Kiraea knew the reason, she had befriended a human girl at her university, but it seemed to her more likely a physical attraction.

On Aethas they would be getting married off by now…it was highly symbolic, the point at which they became adults in their own right…and there was the biological side of things…the hormonal and pheromone activation that occurred at their age…Guardians were taught to be able to handle such things, but not regular girls like Adaea or Lyaea, there was simply no need back home

Adaea gave her a sheepish look, she could tell what she was thinking…she didn’t get why Adaea would feel embarrassed about it…such things were dealt with openly back home…after all they had both learned the Arts of Aephrodaea. 

“You’re thinking about your friend Siri?” Kiraea announced in a far more accusing tone than she had wanted to,

Adaea looked away, Lyaea giggled,

She didn’t want this to become a distraction…but the idea of forming a relationship with a non-Aethan didn’t sit well with her…she could order Adaea to kill Siri to show her dedication to her people….

“I like her is all….we’re just friends…” she replied after a while.

“For now…you can’t hide so don’t bother trying….” She snapped back…Maynard started to look very uncomfortable,

“I’ll just clean up the plates…” he said slowly moving to collect the cutlery,

“You just want to snookle her!” Lyaea blurted out…that girl watched far too many late night holomovies….still she was to the point,

Kiraea mulled it over…they weren’t at home … and Adaea and Lyaea were far more enmeshed with the culture on Commenor than she was…her frustration at the loss of their identity flickered her anger alight….

She sighed…she had to make concessions to the situation she supposed…hmm perhaps it was not so different to using them in other ways like she did Maynard…so long as it was the Aethan using the human it was ok…

“Fine…new rule…you’re allowed to use female humans to satisfy yourself…but only humans and only females!” She would not allow any chance of an abominable half Aethan being created…and it was consistent with their traditions for women to partner up for a while if there were no males old enough to marry…often necessary given women had outnumbered men two to one.  She thought for a moment…

”And only ones that I approve and mind control first – for our own protection”

Adaea nodded, Lyaea beamed excitedly in the aether at the thought of new toys to play with…she was picking up too many of Kiraea’s and this alien cultures bad habits…She'd hoped teaching her the first Arts of Aephrodaea would settle her down...but on a strange world, and taught by someone other than her mother, aunt or sister it just wasn't the same...

Kiraea turned on the younger girl

“Not you, you’re still too young!”

LSG, these girls are getting down-right terrifying...    We're shifting from foreign/alien culture to out-and-out 'Lord of the Flies" stuff.  Your writing is amazing, I am fascinated but at the same time...  Well, lets just say I totally agree: They need an adult in their lives.... 

But the horror I'm feeling is another mark of the excellent writing!  Well done.  I am fascinated by this story and I am very much looking forward to seeing how it plays out.

OMG Karm you read my mind!  I was literally thinking of that literary reference!  And it's made all the more terrifying as they are Aethan children... And they are getting stronger AND more curious.  And even without their cultural moral barometer, they are going to rely on themselves...

Karm said it best: "mark of excellent writing" indeed!  I love this darker aspect of the SW universe, not just for pathos.  This is truly unique within the larger SW universe BUT still feels that it "belongs."  That was a big problem that I had with the whole Yuuzhan Gong: they just didn't "fit" within the SW mythos IMO. 

Until next installment friends  :)

Given you enjoy it I might extend this series a little, have some more fun with Kiraea and co.

“That one is pretty,” Lyaea opined staring at the golden tiara in the display case, like many of the items in the Treasures of Thustra Exhibition at the Commenor Galactic Arts Gallery the gold had a purple tinge to it, much like the skin of the Sephi who created it.

The exhibition was extremely popular, they only just managed to get tickets for the last few days, and the crowds were huge…of course not around the four of them.  Lyaea was absently projecting a Naus-Field around them while keeping a small bubble within it to avoid Maynard being effected.  The crowds orbited them like a distant ring, dotted in the gaps were gallery attendants mopping up the vomit of the less well constituted species and those who got too close. 

The Naus-Field created a strong nausea sensation in most every bipedal aliens, on feeling it most simply backed away…children and species with less ability to supress retching reflexes….

“Would I look good in that one?” Kiraea asked,

“Not bad,” Maynard replied continuing their code for scoping out which ones to prioritise, “But I think you’d look nicer with the ceremonial gauntlets,” 

Whilst the security in the Gallery itself was not overly difficult to overcome, why take the risk when the items were far more vulnerable during transit in three days time. 

“I still like the robes more,”  Adaea added, gesturing toward the Sephi Kings traditional coronation garb, intricately detailed deep purple with gold thread and bound in gems, above it the ceremonial headdress a pale, and again purple tinged silver with deep blue sapphires.

“I could sew a nice dress out of them,”

That would probably be highly offensive to the Sephi Kiraea mused, their traditional artefact cut into pieces for a dress…but if they were stupid enough to put these precious cultural relics in harm’s way…Her People would never do such a thing, their relics were in the land and their stories, and most of all in their shared blood and ongoing family, not petty trinkets.

Still as she looked across the holograph displays beside each object with the Sephi virtual assistant that explained the items and answered basic questions she did find herself feeling almost…respect for their having traditions at all…so much of the galaxy she had seen was just a commerce machine…these objects showed at least some genuine life behind it all…

The next display shattered any sympathy she might have had, a vibrant marble frieze commemorating their first travels to the stars…If they wanted to have their culture fine, but don’t go to other planets interrupting other people who just wanted to be left alone…A rage filled tear slowly trailed along her cheek, as her anger blazed…it was quickly caught up in in Adaea’s arms as she embraced her from behind,

“It’s OK Kiri…” she said softly,

“No…no its not…they should’ve left us alone…”  She replied.
*****************************************************************************************

She grimaced as she used the aether to pull the damn fabric out again…it just kept riding up in uncomfortable ways…she really didn’t know why they even bothered with it.

Kiraea was many things, but a good waitress was not one of them, she stalked along with barely concealed disgust as the patrons of Koshan’s Komfort Lounge and Bar leered at her in the too tight two piece outfit.  It was made of a special optical distortion cloth that remained opaque most of the time, but became transparent around the ‘Reveal Points’ on the middle of the tables where customer had to pay 20 credits for ten minutes to get a look.  Naturally such customers wanted to look a lot so would constantly need to call a waitress over, and needing an excuse to do so bought lots of drinks and tentacle food.

The Lounge was dark and red lit, the round tables widely spaced so Reveal Points didn’t overlap and customers could remain anonymous while watching the mainly Twi’Lek dancers in the middle.  She supposed she understood the economics of it…but she would have preferred just to go naked.

“No no no, mines the Liminous Lasat, his is the Yellow Yarat silly girl!”  the old codger squealed with a raspy voice,

She rolled her eyes and swapped the drinks around then went on to deliver the next lot.  Halfway between the tables she felt it coming…but let it happen…another one pinched her butt, she turned around with startling speed shocking the diminutive Blarina.  Her greatest advantage as a waitress was that with the aether she never spilled a drink no matter how fast she went. 

She couldn’t tell from its weird face but sensed its lecherous intent in the aether, she smiled and bent down toward it,

“Aren’t you handsome,” she cooed emphasising her words with the aether,

“You like my curves,”
The little creature nodded frantically, typically talkative this one seemed oddly quiet…perhaps from shame…perhaps from over stimulation…

“Well you know what’s even better,” she strengthened her mental push,

“See that Wookie over there, see how smooth his skin is, how supple his rear is, isn’t it nice…why don’t you go and give it a lick and nibble!”

The Blarina looked at her, then at the Wookie standing at the bar, a huge black and grey furred thing with more than a few old gnarled scars, rapidly nodded then hurried off.

She spun quickly back to her next table, her true target, the group of three young and one older Sephi, Maynard had pointed them out…no matter how civilized he said “everyone wants to see some hot young vugu while on holiday,” she wasn’t sure what vugu meant until Lyaea thought to be helpful by looking it up on the holonet, it was a catch all term yielding more pictures of different alien reproductive organs than Kiraea imagined could possibly exist in one universe.

This set of orders she remembered and she began to set them down with slow deliberate movements pushing out her chest…she didn’t have much of a bust but her toned legs and enthusiasm had, according to Koshan during the brief interview that involved a lot of holo pictures being taken, made up for it.

She felt through the emotions of the party, they were all young university students on hand to deliver talks about the artefacts as part of the tour, as well as help set them up, for many this was their first time off world…the old man was too hard a sell, the female too picky…the one on the left too dull…but the one on the right, he had shy look about him.

She gave him a slow wink and dipped a little lower as she put his orange and yellow Tatooine Twin-Sunset in front of hima roar came from behind as the Blarian flew high over the table into the wall.

****************************************************************************************
Her breath was misty in the cool night air as she waited for her prey, finally the lavender skinned Sephi waved off his companions and strolled over to her as she suffused a welcoming feeling in the aether, she had made sure to keep her flirting up for the last two hours as they bantered amongst themselves.

“Uh…hi,” he said

“Hi sweetie,”

He shuffled nervously, “Ummm so you work here,”

No I just like strutting around in front of perverts….what a brainless gobril,

“Yeah, but just till I finish my studies,” 

“Really what are you studying?”

“Xeno Archaeology and anthropology,” she said sweetly twirling a lock of her hair

“Really, that’s what I’m doing my doctorate in,”

“Wow really, do you study at Commenor Public,

“No on Thustra, just here with the Exhibition,”

“Wow really, I didn’t get to see it…couldn’t afford the ticket, doesn’t pay much…” she hitched her thumb toward the Lounge then dipped her head,

“I would’ve loved to see just one thing in real life…just one…” she didn’t even need the aether to manipulate this tool.

“Well you know…it’s all packed up now…but…” he paused she could feel the conflict in him…normally he wouldn’t do this but the alcohol tipped him over the edge,

“I could show you some if you like?”

She beamed and grabbed his hand,

“Really!” she let a tear of disgust at touching the alien glisten her eyes and reflect he street lights.
****************************************************************************************
By the time they reached the space port he was starting to come off his previous high, but the adrenaline, or whatever hormone his species had, combined with her aetheric prompts kept him determined.

The bay was guarded by four stern looking security droids,

“Ident confirm,” one rasped as they approached,

“Jamaya Strolthis – Besh-5442,”

“Strolthis – Besh 5442, roger, confirm Indent,” it turned to Kiraea,

“ah…Dr. Seela Dotric University of Commenor, purpose…ah…radio-imprint analysis?” he went on starting to sweat, she placed a reassuring hand on his back,

The droid looked her over…droids she hated droids…dead empty things,

“Roger roger, proceed,” The smaller door hissed open.

Inside the elegant looking Sephi ships were quiet and dark, prepped to depart tomorrow, he led her into the larger ships cargo hold where the boxes were neatly stacked, all locked down with biometric scanners, more droids in alert mode beside them. 

“I can’t open them all”, he whispered for no apparent reason other than his own unconscious sense that this was wrong,

“But I can show you this…”  he input some numbers, a scan passed over his eyes and the top crate popped open…inside amongst deep purple synth-velvet was a collection of ancient gem encrusted ceremonial gauntlets and chest pieces of their ancient Monarchs.

“Wow, so beautiful…” she said actually meaning it,

“Yeah, yeah you are,” he put his hands around her waist as she leaned over the box…as supressed the instinct to snap his neck, she turned and placed her arms around his neck and led him away from the box…

“So are you handsome,” she backed up to one of the droids and formed an image of herself in her mind…she wasn’t brilliant at this like Valens was…as he leaned into kiss her she slid out and met “her” cold steel lips. 

She stood just behind him levitating the objects out of the box and up into the hangars maintenance ducts to collect later while Jamaya lavished his affections on the illusion skinned security droid…wasn’t enough…she sighed and turned him round, he seemed suddenly confused,

“Why don’t you open another…” she tempted him,

“You can dress up like a King and I can be you Queen….then I can undress my King and you can undress your queen?”  His confused eyes smiled and he dutifully complied, looking like a drunk Kowakian monkey trying to put on the old robes that Adaea wanted as the droids scanners absently passed him, picked up his biometric signature, then concluded he had permission to be there and ignored him. 

She slid her hands down the coronation robe…it would make a nice dress…“Lets get those clothes off shall we,”
****************************************************************************************
She hopped into the hover car, Lyaea was learning to drive, Maynard sat in the back pale as snow,

“What’s wrong with you?” she asked,

He looked at her, then to Lyaea,

“What they were going too slow!” the younger woman said defensively,

Kiraea gave them a puzzled look

“She flung three speeders in front of us out of their flight lanes….”
 
Kiraea shrugged, impressed more than anything else she could catch and toss hover cars moving 300 kliks per hour...at least she wasn't lightning shorting traffic signs anymore.

“We need to rent a hangar in two days time…and someone needs to seriously scrub a security droid…”

This was a fantastic read.  Seeing the universe through Kiraea's perspective is more than just fun (if disturbing), it reminds me of some of the best comedy: it puts many of our social norms under a microscope. 

And tangential to that: Kiraea's disgust at the Komfort bar: not for the nudity (that she doesn't mind  ;)) but the weaknesses of the patrons. Excellent characterization!  By the way, you should patent the idea for the "optical distortion" clothes  ;)

I remember having a discussion in the car with my wife years ago, about why it was a good thing I didn't have telekinesis (given my temper at the time).  Well, the Aethan children are prime examples of that anecdote  :D

Great chapter LSG!

Until next installment friends  :)

LSG, let me echo Dutchman.  I really liked this installment, but its almost the fascination of watching an on-going car  wreck in the snow or something.  These are powerful people, with a strength that is very corrupting.  This cannot last.  There will be a reckoning of some kind.  And as it goes on, that expectation of Justice finally showing up in some form and balancing the scale, as it were, is almost worse than the dread of seeing what kind of mischief they're going to get into next.

And still we keep watching, fascinated, as yet another car skids into the wreck, followed by another and another... 

Amazing writing.  They really are fascinating characters!  :-)

He walked firmly and quickly keeping his eyes forward and head high…a confident gait kept the pickpockets and gangers away…he should know he used to be one. 

His fingers twitched around the package…Myzm’s legacy…the slime ball…at least he got what he deserved…Maynard was only sad he didn’t get to see it himself.

His mouth twitched in pain…it was becoming more frequent now as he got older…the nerves were damaged beyond what the doctors could really fix at his age, even full cybernetics would be unlikely to graft properly…anyway he didn’t want that…every day he could still use his own hands was he figured a slap in the face to Myzm’s torturers.

He kept heading straight, the weight of the package seemed to grow with each step, it was a new set of thermo-cloak body suits for Kiraea, she’d need them to keep moving up in the world…he was glad she was getting more high end jobs…bigger rewards and less seedy fences to deal with. Two seedy looking characters skulked by the various pawn and barely concealed weapons shops watching him, he stepped up his pace.

Lets see once he was finished with this he had to head to the Mid-city stores to pick up some more bantha steaks…those girls could eat a whole one each a day he mused….he should probably also get some more fabrics for Adaea too, she was almost finished her latest dress…that would be something for two of them…Lyaea would pout if he didn’t bring something back for her too perhaps a…

The package flopped to the ground, his fingers opening involuntarily…he really didn’t need this to happen now…he bent down and reached…but his fingers…they just wouldn’t close…the nerves just wouldn’t fire…he started to sweat as his useless flat hand pawed at the black plastic of the package…

He didn’t have the ‘aether’ like the girls…but he could tell when someone was sneaking up behind him…he glanced to where he had seen the two characters before…they were gone…

“Frell,”
***********************************************************************************************
“50,000” the droid replied…

She really Hated droids…the Aqualish fence had finally gotten smart and now used a droid for all the negotiations on selling her inventory, she couldn’t mind control droids into giving her insanely high prices,

“60,000 at least!” she said exasperated,

She could almost hear the 1 and 0’s flicker as it computed it’s next response,

“57,000” it offered,

“Done” she slid the data drive across the shield that separated them, she was getting into higher end jobs now, the data drive listed details of some 50 million customers across ten systems for Nooma Aged Assistance Droids, to be on sold she had no doubt to Bonadan Independent Living Companion Droids that wanted to break into the market…idiots she mused, these people fought amongst themselves to offer the same thing….back home everyone helped each other develop new tools and techniques…if the Aethans had the technology and a thousandth of the the numbers this Republic did….but it was a vain dream…

The droid clicked away and made the transfers, her comm-linked beeped with a confirmation message from one of the Banks Maynard had them with.

“Thank you for Your Custom FoxyFlameFemme Eighty Seven” it finished using the handle she used on the Dark-Holonet. 

As she turned out of the chair she felt something was wrong…she opened herself to the Aether…Lyaea was alert and active, probably exercising in the bunker… Adaea slowly reacting coming off of some kind of exciting high…doubtless using her girl-toy Siri…If they were both fine then…Maynard…
***********************************************************************************************
She stood over his bed, his face purple and bruised, clear tubes pumping fluids into him as the various sensors showed an ever declining heart rate.  He had been found crawling up the steps of a pawn shop, beaten and bloody, robbed and wrecked.

It was a bad part of town and the emergency speeder hadn’t exactly come as fast as it ought to have…that, his age, and the internal injuries made his survival unlikely…or at the very best of poor quality…perhaps she might have to choose between a Nooma and a Bonadan droid soon…

“It’s alright Kiri…” he said weakly as she held his hand, Lyaea holding his other, Adaea’s hand on his shoulder, it was an odd scene that all three of them cared about an outsider so much.

 “No…No I won’t let you die!”

“It’s alright…you, Ada, Lya…you gave me…gave me a chance to do something good with my life…help someone rather than just…aghh…it’s the way it has to be sweetie,”

“No it doesn’t” she said firmly, she straightened above him, “You don’t get to die till I let you,” She reached out her hand, red sparks flickered off it…she wasn’t an expert at this…but she could do enough…

“Kiri…I’m not sure…” Adaea cautioned

“Why not, we need him…he’s our friend, we don’t let our friends die,” 

Adaea looked worried but took her left hand, Lyaea took her right forming a rough circle of arms over him.

She let all her hatred, her rage at everyone she had lost, her sister, her aunt, her father…her mother…burn freely…she felt it joined by Lyaea’s grief and annoyance, Adaea’s sorrow and quiet bitterness…

She used all the precision Maynard had drilled into her cracking locks and trip wires to see every thin broken and distorted line in his body…

She let the fire course over his body…it came as thin precise red sparks…reconnecting, straightening, and renewing his withered form.

He thrashed upwards, foaming at the mouth, the machines went haywire, she felt the nurses and medical droids coming toward her but froze them in place with a thought.

It took less than a minute…the sparks across the three of them died down, she felt a little tired and very hungry…but it was done…

Smoke rose from Maynard, his bedding was scorched to pieces…his body at least twenty years younger.  Adaea picked up a blanket and put it over him, Lyaea focused her eyes to understand better what they had done. 

Kiraea stood over him.

“We don’t let our friends die until we want them too,” she said calmly…that didn’t actually make much sense on second thought…she wasn’t one for speeches.  She stroked his forehead as he slipped into a deep sleep.

“Now let’s see who did this to you,”

***********************************************************************************************
She walked along the cracked ferrocrete street like something out of a movie, her dress a purple and gold, fluttering in the gusts from gas grates in the street.  Her Honey brown hair loose in the wind, cool grey eyes common to the people from double stone hill, she walked without any fear or trepidation on hover heels as the scum and villainy peered out from alleys and run down stores. 

Kiraea sat on the rooftop watching Lyaea stride down the street, Adaea sat next to her concentrating on the details of the dress to maintain the illusion.  She could already see her main targets…but this…this was about making a point…she couldn’t hope to find every creature that had attacked the village…but she could find the ones who attacked Maynard.  They would pay for everything the girls had suffered.

Lyaea kept the aether around her strong and welcoming, drawing in attention from the back streets…they began to form a loose ring along the sidewalks…There was usually only one reason a woman dressed like that would be in a place like this, and egged on by his friends a Carosite came out of a dingy chop-shop that catered for injuries people would rather not risk being seen by the police in a normal hospital and walked up to her.

“How much,” he asked his long fingers rubbing a credit chit in front of her.

“50 for a snock, 100 for vope, 200 for a deeb,” she replied coolly but loudly, she held up a datapad,  “anyone want to make a booking,”

The Carosite looked utterly shocked at the very low prices, the others crowded closer, nothing like cheap flesh to draw a crowd, he stretched out his hand and took the datapad.  Nodded approvingly at the prices and went to sign his name…as soon as his finger tip hit the touch pad it began.

Whilst large scale explosives were hard to come by on Commenor, flares and firework were not.  All looking at Lyaea, Kiraea had levitated them amongst the crowd, with the touch on the datapad they detonated.

Aliens screamed in a hundred different tones as bright red, blues and greens shot off amongst them, flares banged and blinded dozens who could see those spectrums instantly.  Kiraea reached forward and added her own flames to conflagration as Lyaea leapt up and out of the crowd, her aetheric illusion vanishing to reveal her matte black outfit as she poured her own lighting on the crowd before landing on a billboard.  Free from the need to keep the illusion up Adaea joined in the destruction. 

The explosions and fire formed an ever decreasing ring around the scum, hemming them in, caged and scared they turned on each other, drawing for hidden vibro-knives and hold out blasters.  Adaea and Lyaea pushed the flames in tighter and tighter as Kiraea kept the two main targets alive guding their movements with the aether.

A distant siren sounded, she would have to move fast.  She leapt down with the weight of the aether crunching a whale like creature into the blackened street, twisting to land a skull shattering kick into another of the survivors…around her rose the smoke from the fireworks and the smell of charred flesh and cheap plas-cloth and synth-leather. 

Finally only the two she had come for were left.  Terrified, astounded, furious.  They didn’t know whether to attack or try and flee into the blue flames the licked at their backs…

Two males human and H’nemthe in tattered clothes, the looks of murderous thieves, they weighed up their options, she flickered blue flames from her hand to make the choice obvious…

Kill me…she communicated in the aether…and the fire dies…

They leapt forward only to hang in the air,

“You hurt our friend…” she said simply as she used the precision Maynard had taught her to pull tendons, muscle, small bones through their skin, retching ghastly holes in the flesh as they screeched.  She made sure not to pull too much, satisfied she leapt up and felt the other girls grasp her and surge her up fifteen stories as the flames died, leaving two utterly wrecked creatures flopping in agony in the midst of dozens of half burnt low lives.
***********************************************************************************************
“Not sure you should’ve done that….” Maynard said still absently flexing his now repaired hands…she felt bad she hadn’t healed him earlier…she hadn’t realised how much she needed him till he was almost gone.

“I’m flattered and everything thing but…Kiraea…you can’t solve every problem with your aether…honestly you’re lucky it’s gotten you this far…”

“What else am I meant to do?” she asked caustically…she knew he wasn’t trying to be offensive…but it still annoyed her,

“Try…try accepting there are some things you can’t fix with a fire…you can’t get your own way all the time…”

“My own way…” she sneered, “My own way!  If I got my own way we wouldn’t be on this hideous planet with these disgusting aliens!” she yelled

“Yeah you’ve had it tough, I know that, so have millions of others, and there are some things you just can’t bludgeon you’re way out of you need to learn that Kiraea and learn it soon or...one day you’re going to finally come across someone who’s even more deadly than you are…”

He shook his head, “You’re just a child still…until you can learn to accept things…not just bash things till they work for you…you always will be…”

Her eyes blazed at him…there was truth to his words that struck her hard…No…why should she have to change…she wasn’t the one who was wrong it was the rest of the bloody galaxy,

“Fine, I’d rather be a child of the aether than an adult of the Republic,” she crossed her arms indignantly,

“I won’t let us lose any more of ourselves to this disease you call civilization…we’ve ‘accepted’ too much already…The galaxy will work the way I want it to or we’ll all die trying!” She could see him leaning away from her as the room lit with blue light from the flames in her hands…

That was the very thing he was counselling her to avoid…not fighting against the Republics insidious influence…but against her own overreactions…to be angry is easy she recalled Karintha saying…this was the wrong time, wrong place and wrong person to be angry with…

He stood up and held out his arms as she put away her anger for now…she sighed, he was learning some of their ways…no matter how much two Aethans fought they would not allow it to linger to change their affection for each other, she supposed it went for friends as well …she gave him a quick hug…the first time in the five years since they had met.

Nice chapter.  Kiraea finally accepted him as a friend.   And so it begins... 

The key to civilization is accepting that people are people ... however they look.  It will be interesting if Kiraea manages to let go of her hatred and bitterness and anger long enough to realize that she's just among other people, for the most part.

I continue to be fascinated by these characters and I am curious where this goes ultimately.  :-)  As always, your writing is darker than the rest of us but it is compelling and very very good.  Thank you for the offering.

“It’s a tough job…” Maynard said looking over the disposable datapad they had picked up from the dead drop

“Pays well though…”she replied concentrating on the thin arcs of lighting, forming little pictures of gormins, gobrils, vorynx and other animals with them

“You’re sure your up for it…doesn’t play to your strengths,” she could sense Maynards genuine concern in the aether.

“Still I can manage it,” she replied her head was starting to get woozy, she was levitating upside down while practicing her precision lightning. “You can take care of things here,”

“Do I have a choice Kiri?” he joked, she actually enjoyed his company…sometimes she forgot he wasn’t an Aethan

“Ha ha no…”  she righted herself and set down, at the other end of the bunker Adaea and Lyaea were playing Shock-o-war…Their hands clasped they tried to push their own lighting up the others arms, so far Adaea was winning, her arcs just past Lyaea’s wrist…but Lyaea often waited till last minute for a surge.

“How much would that give us?” She plonked down next to Maynard as he flicked between screens. 

“Just over 2 million,” big jobs paid about 100,000, but expenses were high for her equipment…she had to save for the future though…yet still she wasn’t sure what future they really had…

Adaea was preparing to start a new degree following her graduation., she had the patience and ability to learn the technical things Kiraea could not, while she mentored Lyaea in preparation for her studies now she had graduated her upper schooling.

Whatever the cost, acquire knowledge and understanding…her aunt had taught her…but to want end now…what would it achieve…everything just seemed to threaten diluting their culture…yet how could it stay the same…

The room suddenly lit up white with a surge of lightning,

“Got you” Lyaea squealed delight filling the aether as she won against Adaea

Maynard seemed to know what she was thinking, he had a practical wisdom she resected, born of living through many tight scrapes. 

“one million more and you’ll all be set for life, can stop working and start living…however you want to.” He said

“I know…we have to keep surviving…but is that on its own enough,” she asked

“Sometimes it’s all you’ve got Kiri, survive today…thrive tomorrow…we’ve both been there…it works out sometimes…you girls found me after all…got me out of a real bad place…twice” he smiled warmly,

She thought about that as she watched the other girls…the difference was he was already old…they were still young…his future was short and fixed…theirs…

**************************************************************************************************
She hated waiting…she hated being off world too, but sometimes she had to go where the work was…she checked her datapad…just a message from Adaea, everything was fine back…she almost called it home…

Obviously her target was going to stay for the full length of the performance...that meant she had another two hours to fill…she flipped off her perch on a roof opposite the Opera house and looked for something to do. 

The problem with upper class districts like this was the security, she hoped on one of Coronet cities many mag lev trains to ride to Blue Sector, a seedier part of town where she could amuse herself more freely.

She had a lot of pent up energy tonight…and been thinking a lot about the future since talking with Maynard …

She tried not to think about it as she leapt off the train and began stalking along the rooftops looking for something to unleash on...
 
She finally came across a large building with people crowding to get in…a holo-theatre for the latest Star Rogue production…There had to be at least four hundred people lined up down there…

She closed her eyes and stretched out her hands, letting all her hatred for all that had happened to her, her sisters…her people…flow freely…the fire…the fire of her burning village that had seeped into her…she let it flow out…a torrent of blue aetheric fire flowed rapidly from each hand, with just a small gesture she directed it downwards. 

She opened her eyes just in time to see the terrified faces looking up, all they could see was blue fire bearing down on them, her own figure was lost against the black night.  They tried to flee, but others who couldn’t see what was coming kept them pressed in.

The flames hit.

The first people it touched turned to ash, the ones nearby became frantic burning envoys of her hate spreading through the crowd catching more alight.  The fire coursed across the ground lighting up every scrap of fabric and flesh it touches in two wired circles. 

The screams rose with the smoke, they struggled in vain to bat out a fire that needed no oxygen to stay alight…

She breathed deeply, it felt so cathartic to just let go….yet afterwards…

What had she really achieved?  She was starting to wonder whether she was controlling her emotions or they were controlling her…did all this wanton slaughter really help her people survive…or did it just get them that much closer to being caught and chopped up for study…no they would die first…

She sighed…it just wasn’t as much fun as she thought it should be…maybe she was getting to mature for it…maybe they just had no future…
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Somewhat jaded she crawled up onto the 77th floor balcony.  She didn’t like having to get so close…but the job was for genetic markers- eye scan, fingerprints, blood sample…that couldn’t be obtained any other way.  This was the third such request she had had…someone was collecting…

The security on the hotel balcony door was rudimentary at best, little more than 10 seconds to unlock it with the aether.

Her stealth suit blended seamlessly to the rooms blackness…she could sense the sleeping Senator in the next room.  The door wasn’t even locked, she slid in and touched his mind, putting him into a deeper slumber so she could work.

She sat as far away as she could, using the aether to move the instruments to collect what she needed. 

She had just finished when she sensed the presence behind her…she was caught…she would not go down without a fight, she brought her rage to the fore, outstretched her hands to unleash it in torrents of aetheric fire…she turned.

She fell to her knees.

“Guardian…” she whispered

He strode forward as she lowered her hands and bowed her head,

“Rise” he said calmly, she stood before him, he looked over her shoulder to her handiwork,

“Well done...I enjoyed your show earlier as well,” he turned to look at her face, “It’s been too long Kiraea”

Something struck her, “Wait you saw what I did before?”

“The Goddess sees all,” he replied  “The Jedi were keen to find out who was stealing Senators biometrics these past few days…I happened to be in the system at the same time these thefts started…,”

She joined the dots, it was he who had hired her to steal the details…he had seen the secret messages she’d left and used it to lure her out.

“You’ve infiltrated them?” she asked regarding the Jedi

“Yes,” he read her questioning aura, “…I will clean up this mess and cover your tracks, the biometric data will prove very helpful” 

He looked her over, up and down, probing her with the aether, assessing every inch of her…even if she wanted to she couldn’t hide anything from a Guardian…even standing near him…his power was overwhelming.

“You’ve grown strong…many useful talents…you’ll have to teach me”

“Thank you Guardian…” she bowed her head, “What are my instructions,”

“I’ll give you the co-ordinates of our home world and procure a ship,”

“I have one,”

“Not likely one that can traverse the hazards in the deep core I’m afraid….”

She nodded

“You will return with the other girls, Melron will be waiting for you…he will explain everything,” his piecing gaze in the aether swept her again,

“You’ve kept yourself, and the girls safe...slain hundreds of the filth about us…”  He stepped forward and embraced her, she was shocked still,

“You are a true Guardian Kiraea”

As she realized what this meant she returned his embrace…She, and the others were no longer alone…no longer Orphans lost in the galaxy…she felt the fires deep in her heart cool for the first time since…she couldn’t remember…a weight she didn’t realise she was carrying till now it was lifted from her…

Yet she still had her anger

She still had her fire

She still had the aether

Now she had a future.

Aephordaea’s tears washed her, a blinding white waterfall at the end of the valley that poured from the snow-capped peaks into the river all year round, it was freezing but bracing.  As she washed out her hair Adaea and Lyaea swam in the smaller pools, the dark grey rocks worn away to reveal the ultra-dense blood stone beneath. 

The dark red of the revealed stone here was what had led to it becoming a special place for women, it was thought if you bathed amongst the red lit waters you’d be blessed with fertility…in turn it was associated with girls reaching maturity, they would all come here after their first period…something Lyaea had been denied until now.

She was so happy to be back, her world had such rich history and meaning in every part of it…only back home could she be truly herself….

They had come here straight after landing, Maynard was still on the ship, more than a little terrified to come out for the tales of Vorynx that Lyaea had told him.

As she splashed and played in the pools a rock suddenly sped towards her, she bounced it back only to be slapped in the back of the head with something.  She turned quickly to see the old Guardian Melron behind her, she hadn’t sensed him at all. 

“Well, let’s get going,” he said bluntly,

The other girls looked startled, not least given they were all still naked…but then it didn’t really matter, there was no one safer to be with than a Guardian.

“Go where?” 

He slapped her on the head with his cane again

“What was that for!”

He did it a third time,

“Ouch!”  she tried, but failed to catch the fourth,

“Go to teach you how not to get your head bashed in by an old man that’s where,” He straightened up and looked her over in the aether,

“Hmm…you’ve picked up some nasty habits too…Valens may have accepted you as a Guardian, but till I say so it’s not official…he knew that…he’s always been the clever one…still have some things you need to learn…” he sighed,

“Ah it’s not your fault you weren’t here to learn them…” a tear fell from his eye as they all hung their heads in memory of those that were dead or still lost,

“Now let’s go” he looked back up and started heading off,

She jumped out of the pool, still completely undressed and followed after him.
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And a fitting end to the saga!  The girls find their way home, and all is well...  Mostly.  Though they still don't constitute what I would call a "viable gene pool"...

Thanks LSG!  Great saga.  I am still disturbed, though, by the lack of ... oh, universal morality lets call it.  These Aethans are WAY to ready to kill anyone who isn't "one of them".
Reminds me a little of Bester from Babylon 5 and his view of "normals"... 

Wonderful conclusion!  Glad that the girls were able to meet up with Valens and join with Melton, given the adversity they've been through... Still calls to question: what are the motives of the Goddess?

As Karm stated, your story is darker than ours but I think that it occupies the same ambiance as "Rogue One." And like the movie, your narrative is better than anything that has been released as canon; your writing is that good LSG.  I can't wait for your next installment in the aether!

BTW, not sure how but I missed your initial post for CH.9.  I am amazed at the turn of events: from the girls' inclusion of Maynard to his rejuvenation via the Aether, fantastic chapter!

Thanks!
Indeed not a viable gene pool...but as Valens hinted there is a plan....
Yeah the morality is very...unique...but in Kiraea's particular case its at is height...she doesn't have Valens strategic mindset or abilities, and being female would feel much more threatened by everything than Jarys so I imagined she would have to rely more on rapid use of brutal power.



Yeah after so much desolation, and the ending of CotA about time for a happy one....
The Goddess will be making an appearance...perhaps not quite in the way one would expect...

Anyway Kiraea will be back...only next time with full Guardian Training from Melron and Jedi techniques from Valens....

The melding of an Aethan Guardian's training and Jedi training sounds utterly terrifying.  LOL

Can I recruit one of their descendants for the Mak'Tor?  ;-)