“If looks could kill they probably will
In games without frontiers
War without tears
Games without frontiers
War without tears.”
-Peter Gabriel
Hyperspace
Hurling through the pale swirl of doom it dawns on her.
Princess Dahlia could use a gloss touch-up. Space travel always leaves this pucker parched! They took the Royal Cruiser, a bold choice in her opinion, with Seif seething silently as they prepared for departure. He brushed off her concerns about the ship being identified with a stern sneer and muttered something about handling everything. The debrief he mentioned was little more than a high level rundown of what was to happen on Chandaar. They would discuss details on the way. Something told her he desperately wanted out from behind those citadel walls and would use this opportunity as a way to escape. He would even shelve Inquisitor Involis in order to gain distance and take action – keeping the suit handy yet hidden for the mission at hand.
The urge to pry about what went down with Erinbol was threatening to overwhelm her so she dutifully packed it up to distract herself. She was positively dying for him to drop the hot goss but Seif was in no mood for spilling. Whatever it was has got to be juicy to put him in such a mood. She would get it out of him eventually unless he decided to take her out instead. Maybe the Voss Ra made him an offer he couldn’t refuse…except he likely would not have tolerated her forcing him into an exasperating game of "bring it or leave it" with specific pieces she procured while within the innermost galactic core. A miraculous feat unto itself. Trying to find classic couture on Byss was as useless as trying to teach a Stormtrooper to shoot straight.
Soon after, they are in her polished and fully charged up cruiser – off, off, and away!
Sighing dramatically, Dahlia glances over the coordinates, surmising they are not headed where she thinks they are, “Pit stop?”
“A brief but relevant detour.”
“Still being vague I see. Cool, cool.”
He smirks at the controls. She is rightfully tense. There is a lot riding on what she must do – is being forced to do. The Voss-Ra once again pinned their prospective triumphs on a perfectly executed performance. Flaws, obstacles, and variables be damned. The Four need to commit to their characters fully. The Covenant demands nothing less.
Seif draws out the silence before speaking again, “You were both right and wrong.”
“Do tell,” she breathes, fighting the urge to scream.
“The Voss-Ra wants you to rule. Sith cannot have power unless you have power. Your success is tied to their ability to rise and rule alongside you. That much they made clear. As you have proven yourself a worthy - if not irritating and spoiled – contender for the crown and throne, their allegiance has shifted from the Winton abstract to the Dahlia specific. You are the one they back with Barrett their chosen suitor.”
“How fabulous,” she deadpans. “They are so cringe.”
“You can be petty if you choose but this is a good thing. Such a structure works for them and for us. I do not believe you have anything to fear from them directly. That is where you were wrong.”
“Grateful to hear it in this case, even if it is a bit…convenient.”
“So it is. However, you were right about Adubell. They have been working with her for years.”
Her eyes flare with rage, “I fucking knew it! What a bunch of assholes.”
“Assholes who needed something done that only she managed to do.”
“Oh, yeah? Like what? Being a compulsively manipulative, immortal bitch who cannot stick to a script to save her life – or lives - for that matter? All she does is trample everyone’s lines to serve herself.”
“Turn you to the dark side. She brought you over. Whatever she is, your engagement with Adubell led you to accept your role as Daughter of Darkness. It is where you needed to be in order to take the next step, to become who you are, and be the one who fulfills the Prophesy Persephonea.”
Dahlia scoffs, stalking back and forth behind him, “So it is written, blah, blah blah. She kidnapped, traumatized, and very nearly killed me! If that is not a villain origin story, I do not know what is. Well, congrats, she gets points for following through but I am going to stop short of applauding my psychological dismantling so that she could successfully cast me in this role. They manipulated both of us! We were forced onto this stage but they still retain all the agency.”
“Wrong again,” he says gravely, finally turning to look at her. “I took that back. For us.”
Surprised and thrilled, she stops and asks, “Really? How?”
“A show of force, of solidarity. To remind them.”
“Of what exactly?”
“That I too have power. To decide for myself. To protect you. To punish them for using riddles and half-truths to push and pull us across the board to test out their visions and theories. They fear as much as they believe, which does not appear to align until you remember why they do anything. They fear the unpredictable nature of the Etheralis combined with multiple descendants as it could be turned against them but believe it plays a pivotal role. They fear Adubell, as they did Alexander and Medivh, yet also believe that her own selfish whims will prevent her from threatening your ascension.”
She gasps, “How is that possible? She is barely human anymore."
“She will enter the fray but never leave it. I do not know how.”
Dahlia rolls her eyes, “Until she respawns and turns up somewhere unexpected. You do not know what she is capable of.”
He stands and closes the distance between them, “I know that she, like our fathers, has fallen under the sway of what the prophecy represents. The test they and Schrag failed. They were not entirely specific about the means but, while she may have her machinations, her motives are not true. Not like us, like you. That is why they believe she will fail. The elders have seen it.”
“Erinbol told you all this? Voluntarily?”
He smirks, “With some…motivation.”
“I knew it had to be good. Holy shit, what did you do?”
“Made damn sure they know we are serious and have the agency to execute on it.”
She exhales deeply, pulling the dark robes around her. He had risked much to challenge them and someone in another position may have been struck down for it but they need him like they need her. It crystallizes something between them. All the selfish pretense, the vapid façade, falls away.
“Thank you.”
Seif bows and lifts his eyes to hers, “As I said before, your assessment of them was not wrong. I suppose I needed someone to voice my doubt and frustration for me to truly confront it. I watched from afar as everything fell apart for Alexia and Karen, never intervening because it was not my place to do so. That was not my role to play, not my function, and now I know why. This is where I am meant to be, who am meant to be. I will do so in service to you if you will have me.”
She embraces him tightly and he does not pull away.
“I will.”
They find comfort and closure in the ripples that follow. He never had a family nor was the one she belonged to really hers.
So many angles in so many vicious cycles. Barrett needs to get an Inquisitor back onto Chandaar which is why this opportunity was presented in such a way – so clever are the Voss-Ra to serve their future leader while leveraging a directive as further means of control over Seif. Stopping Schrag from trying to control Dahlia with their nanotechnology only so that they could do so with her fate and future.
Everything with them is transactional, an exchange of blood for progress.
The Voss-Ra has operated for centuries undetected, using their considerable magic to infiltrate elite groups and governments, arranging matches so that these lines would live on, presenting a new Four for each cycle with the fervent belief that Winton would one day prevail. A long list of family names all traced back to Persephone…and the Etheralis. The intersection of genetic superiority and mystic power beyond comprehension. Even though he did not want to believe it, he knew from the moment he saw Dahlia’s face in the flames that he would go to the ends of the worlds to ensure her safety. She will be the one who frees them from this shared madness.
“Come,” he says. “There is something I must show you.”
Seif returns to the controls as the proximity alarm begins to sound. He eases them out of hyperspace with Coruscant looming in the viewport.
“So pretty.”
His face grows more serious still.
“The power of The Four reformed it but your union with Barrett gave it life once more. Even with The Wheel, a piece of the Etheralis, and the remains of Alexia Winton at its center, Coruscant’s rebirth signifies a new era but therein lies a warning. In order to free us, you must be committed to ending all others. No second thoughts or hesitations.”
That is what got Karen killed. Dahlia reflects back on what Adubell revealed to her – Karen lowering her saber in an attempt to reason with Melanie and being slain for it. Karen knew they were playing someone else’s game but not for how long or who the game masters really were. That is the context the previous Four died never having. But not her. Not now. Dahlia would not lower her guard or be swayed by their past connections. Allies or enemies; the sting of Adubell’s words inflict new pain upon her.
Her old master was right about that too.
No one said she has to kill the others herself. That would be a bad look. Optics play a large part in winning hearts and minds. After all, Karen did not kill Valerie, Melanie, or Kimber. But she also did not survive. As far as she can tell, and Seif has confirmed, plans are already in motion that will orchestrate their demise. The real mystery is if these plans align with a Winton victory or one that a continuously resurrected and no doubt detached Adubell has up her dreadfully dated-looking sleeve.
“Got it. How is Adubell helping them-slash-us? That part I am not clear on and we should be.”
“Erinbol shared that she has introduced instruments of terror into the environment in order to reshape things to come.”
“That is bullshit evasion and only sounds promising until they realize she has an ulterior motive. Are they that bloody stupid?"
“They are not blind to it but allow certain interference in service to the final outcome.”
“Like blowing up the Republic President, perhaps?”
“For starters.”
“My,” Dahlia murmurs, considering how Barrett would react to the news. “This is getting messsssssy."
“Only for the others, if you can deliver on their expectations.”
“Yeah, okay,” she sighs, focusing on a black square marring the lush world north of the equator, fanning out with a golden grid of lights. “What is that? A city?”
“The beginnings of one with a palace at its center.”
She turns, a twinkle in her emerald eyes, “I love palaces.”
“Of course you do but look beyond that for a moment. It is a symbol of their trust in you. A sign of faith. A shrine to your greatness and glory. Believe me when I tell you this is not something they take lightly. They trust in you as I trust in you.”
She steps back, humbled and stunned all at once. It is slightly reassuring that they have placed their faith in her. They have witnessed what she can do and helped to harness her power through extensive and exhaustive training. Dahlia is, for all intents and purposes, ready for this. She has the knowledge, capabilities, and skills required to see it through. That does not erase the lingering doubt about what Adubell is up to. The fact that the Voss-Ra, through Erinbol, left much to the imagination means they either do not know the full scope of her plan or were led to believe otherwise.
“I am honored by that trust even if I do not entirely trust the trust - if that makes sense."
“It does, and I am not asking you to, but you must be prepared to do what must be done."
“I am!”
“Are you really?"
She locks eyes with him, “Yes.”
Convinced, he guides them down through the atmosphere to a landing pad beside the partially assembled tower which is when Seif finally reveals their plan. They would take a shuttle prepared by Imperial allies to gain access to Republic space and their capital world. From there, she would make a surprise appearance before a bitterly divided Senate that would further fracture the very foundation of their principles.
She listens closely and remains quiet for some time after he has finished, ruminating on it as they load up the shuttle. It is not an insignificant task and one that would inevitably incite war from within which is exactly what the Voss-Ra want. Erinbol was not lying about that. Livid as she may be at all the liberties they continue to take, the only way out is through. There is no disputing that. It is a game of "them" or "us" that grows increasingly smaller with each round and they are quickly closing in on the main cast. Seif nods at her and pulls back on the controls, blurring the stars back into that familiar pale swirl of doom. Dahlia dabs gloss on her lips and smacks them together.
True freedom comes at a price and Princess Dahlia is finally ready to make them pay it.
-TBC
