Tentacle Covered Chaos 13

Tentacle Covered Chaos

Chapter 13: Mechanisms of Manipulation

<<<Ventress>>>

After venting the last of the bodies, Ventress found herself in the cockpit altering their course and brooding. Poppy’d brought up a lot of thoughts, decidedly unpleasant ones at that, but the more she considered them the more sense they made. 

Sith were liars, this was a known fact. Even the plebeians that were interested in Jedi history knew that Sith were liars, though, granted, Jedi biases probably made their faults even worse. But Ventress had dug up enough history of the Sith order to know that the Sith of Old were rather horrifying; even without Jedi prejudices and biases painting them in an even worse light.

Her research and teaching had also told her that those Sith were capable of far greater things than any Witch could ever dream of, but… she hadn’t been taught those secrets either. She could conceal herself in the force, twist the weak minded to do her bidding, even throw vehicles around with her will… but the Jedi could have taught her that much.

Was that irritating Poppy right? Was Dooku just using her as a tool… a slave in all but name?

“What are you doing out of your cell?” She asked as she felt the irritant enter the cockpit, not bothering to hide her annoyance.

“I was bored.” Replied the soft and aloof voice. Jedi could have learned a thing or two from it, but she dearly hoped they didn’t.

“Well, if they weren’t close minded obstinate fools,” She thought with a faint snort of derision, “Well forgive me for being a poor host,” She drawled sarcastically.

Poppy shrugged before sitting in one of the navigator chairs, leaning back slightly. “Hardly your fault. Teaching manners is hardly the first thing on a slaver’s mind.”

Her grip on the console tightened for a moment before she forcefully relaxed her grip. “If you’re wrong I will kill you,” Ventress promised.

“Fortunately for me, I’m never wrong,” Poppy retorted placidly. “Of course, even your family has lost secrets over time; mostly thanks to the last line of true Sith in existence. The Baneites, for as aberrant as they are, are true sith and they’ve stolen much lore from the galaxy.”

“Baneites?” She asked with a frown. The name felt familiar, but she didn’t know from where.

Poppy hummed before turning fully towards her, smile on her lips. “And now I have to teach you something core to Sith identity in this age? Tut, tut Dooku…” Ventress had to remind herself to not stab the smug bitch in front of her, tempting as it was. “The Baneites are an ancient order of the Sith, hailing from the days of the Ruusan Reformation; indeed, one could say they caused them to happen. Darth Bane invented the Thought Bomb, a force technique that trapped all of the souls of the Sith and Jedi on the world within itself. This marked the end of the Sith Empire.”

That part Ventress knew, it was at least partially open records. The fact Bane was the one to create the technique was new, however.

“Bane did this because he believed, rightly, that the fewer Sith in existence the stronger each would individually be,” She continued, “Concentrating the power rather than spreading it out. The Dark Side is inherently individualistic and selfish, unlike the Force proper which is far more communal.” It made sense, she certainly felt stronger when she was on her own than when she was with Dooku. “To this end, he implemented the Rule of Two. One Master, one Apprentice, no more and no less. He and his successors scoured the galaxy for hidden lore, hidden techniques, and horded them. Even among their order, much was lost; sometimes intentionally. I would not be surprised if they’d intentionally destroyed any and all information on The Sickness that they found out of self preservation, as one example.”

It was another thing she hadn’t heard of, but that didn’t mean it was a trick.

Ventress just grunted as she considered everything the smug bitch said, she didn’t think she was lying but all the same Ventress wasn’t sure if she should take her captive’s word for it.

“The Sickness was an attempt at immortality a few thousand years ago,” Poppy clarified, “It used a force sensitive flower. The Sith then took it, tortured the flower, and turned it into a potion. Upon imbibing it, the user then has a limited amount of time to find and use the last piece of the puzzle. If they fail to do so, as every sith that attempted it did, they become a walking corpse that can only think of spreading the sickness to as many people as possible. If you ever get the chance to use or create it… don’t. There are better paths to immortality, more reliable ones.” Her head shook, irritation flowing off herself. “Why the first dumbass even tried it after his experiments failed the way they did, I will never know. If you hear about a ‘Project Blackwing’, run. Run and don’t look back.”

Ventress honestly wasn’t entirely sure what to make of ‘The Sickness’ or this ‘Project Blackwing’ and opted to just remain silent. Though she did glance at the chronometer in hopes they would get to their destination sooner rather than later.

“Of course, it’s not like other force orders have been any more competent. Several tried to claim that they could use both Light and Dark, this has never ended well.” Ventress felt her eye twitch as the bitch just kept talking. “The very first Je'daii Order, as an example.”

As much as she didn’t appreciate the bitch shaking up her world view, she couldn’t deny that she was a good talker and could easily hold your attention.

“On the other hand, the Rakatan Infinite Empire showed that the Dark Side will always self-destruct too,” Poppy said, making Ventress look at her in confusion. “You know who the Rakatan were, of course. The first truly galactic power, or at least the first one we have artifacts from. What’s less known is what actually happened to them. The story goes that a plague began spreading, a plague that stripped from them the ability to contact the Force.” Her hand waved through the air lazily. “The truth is more murky. It wasn’t a true plague, even worlds that quarantined themselves were affected. It was the Force itself that was at fault, and only the Rakatan were affected. Do you understand what this means, Ventress?”

She felt her blood run cold, the Darkside was silent for a moment before almost roaring that it was a lie. But was it? Was that why the Sith always failed? Was the Force itself fighting them, ensuring the Dark Side never grew too powerful?

Honestly, its reaction only made Ventress believe Poppy even more!

“I can teach you secrets that no one wants to get out,” The woman whispered, “Not the forces of the Dark, not the forces of the Light. Histories and lore that reveal the scams hidden behind the facades. All you have to do is trust me.” Her hands went wide, open and unthreatening.

That much, at least, was a lie. Poppy was most certainly a threat.

“Just… shut up…” Ventress finally said as she reached to massage her temples, the Darkside wasn’t happy in the slightest.

“Very well,” Poppy replied, bowing her head slightly, “I shall explore the ship then. I’ll try to avoid anywhere that would kill us both.”

She only relaxed when the tentacle laden madwoman had left, the door closed behind her.

“Fracking hell…” Ventress grumbled as she closed her eyes and meditated.

[hr][/hr]

<<<Poppy>>>

Knowledge bombing Ventress was a risk, yes, but not an unmanageable one. Mixing it with lovebombing would be effective once the assassin trusted her. She’d give what she promised, she wasn’t a cult leader, after all.

But she could play at being one.

That said, she didn’t enjoy causing Ventress to possibly suffer an existential crisis. Which was only made worse by the Darkside reacting to her words; which only further reinforced the truth of her statements. It also proved to Ventress, if she had the faintest doubts, that the Darkside was, in fact, a self-destructive and self-defeating force.

“Blood in the rain, the hammer came down,” She sang softly to herself, “Knee deep in shame I cried to her cloud…” She couldn’t be an angel, not really. Gabriel was a better being than she’d ever be.

But she could try to forge someone else into such a thing. Darth Kreia was right about only one thing in her life: the Force was alive and made trouble for the Sith whenever it could. She’d teach that lesson, she’d teach many lessons. She was forced to, if she didn’t then Palpatine would surely come for her.

But one day she’d love to just… be. Not trying to prevent a lot of suffering in the background. Just do her job, earn her pay, and maybe cuddle a girlfriend or three. Was that really too much to ask for?

Probably was in the Force’s opinion, the bi-polar aspect of existence that it was.

The ship dropped out of hyperspace, the tell tale vibrations stopping, and she knew that they’d arrived. It was nearly time for her interrogation, and wasn’t that something. She’d been through several of those, it was starting to become routine.

Poppy didn’t think it would become less common over time either…

The ship began to shake as they entered atmosphere, Ventress wasting no time and not even bothering to give her a warning to sit down. The girl would need to work on manners, but that was something that could be taught. Not that the shaking was something that threatened her, she could walk to the ship’s exit with ease, it was just the principle of the matter.

“Still, I’m rather excited to meet the witches.” And wasn’t that a thought no sane person in the galaxy would have?

The ship shook violently as it touched down and Ventress arrived only shortly after, likely having tracked her position through the force. She still looked upset, but more contemplative than before. “Do you know who’s going to greet us?” Poppy asked offhandedly.

“Warriors, of course,” Ventress replied smugly, “For you. I will be greeted as family, you will be held as a prisoner.”

“Forgive me for not being surprised,” Poppy dryly said, “The Witches are renowned for their hospitality towards strangers after all,” She added sarcastically.

Ventress just scoffed, but Poppy could tell she was faintly amused by the sass. Regardless the two made their way to the back of the ship where Ventress pressed a button causing a hatch to open. And, much to Poppys lack of surprise, there was a group of warriors standing at the ready with their weapons drawn.

Not that such was the real threat from them, the witch’s magics were far more effective.

“Before you try to tie me up,” Poppy started, “Can I request that it’s a witch manhandling me? I think we can all agree that your males are far less gentle…” Not that she blamed them, being turned into an effective slave class would suck quite a lot.

A few of the witches chuckled before she was forced onto her knees by an invisible force, pain subtly flowing through her. It was an impressive show of control, and one that would establish a power dynamic if she weren’t completely insane.

A part of her wanted to snark, but she withheld the urge. She had the feeling they’d take it as permission to be rougher than she’d like.

“We shall see if you deserve a gentle touch first,” Said a woman with green light flowing from her hands, “Be silent while I greet our lost daughter.” The pain and pressure vanished as suddenly as they’d arrived.

The temptation to speak anyway was great, but self preservation won out in the end.

“I am sorry to have returned like this,” Ventress said, “And for the reason I have. She is… an irritant, but I need assistance in checking how truthful she’s been with me. Her mind is… strange and resistant.” The young Sith wanted to believe her, but she was clearly scared too.

Anger would come later, Poppy just hoped it wasn’t at her.

“You know that we would never turn you away,” The witch whispered as she walked to Ventress, “We are sorry about what caused you to become lost.”

Ventress twitched. “You had no choice.”

“Still, it should’ve never happened.” The witch said firmly, “Having a daughter stolen from us… if the fools ever return here their fates will not be pleasant.”

“They won’t,” Poppy said, “But others will. When the Jedi are weak, the Baneites will come. Your Queen has seen it, but she lacks context. That darkness on the horizon, the blood, the death.”

The witch, possibly the leader of the bunch, looked at her intensely, “Hmm, curious…” She muttered as she approached Poppy and grasped her chin forcing her to meet her eyes, “You speak of things you shouldn’t know… yes, I think the Queen will be interested in your presence…”

Ventress tensed and looked at her. Poppy knew her grin was widening, but it was hard to stop from feeling smug. “I do believe you just proved I was telling the truth to your lost sister. I know much of the galaxy and its history. I know what you’re descended from, I know that you are not the only witch tribe on Dathomir, and I know what form your death takes.”

Poppy saw the blow coming before feeling it, the witch smacking her across the face. It didn’t hurt, but it was an act that cleanly reminded her why their deaths wouldn’t be a terrible thing for the galaxy either.

“Perhaps you do, perhaps you’re just lucky and saying words to keep you alive,” The witch said with narrow eyes, “But we will verify if your words are worth the wasted air. Bring her!” She barked to the warriors as she stood up and returned to Ventress, “Come along child, many will wish to see your return,” She said kindly.

Poppy was lifted by a male Zabrak that was certainly fit for his role in their society. His muscles large and his horns many. Still, he wasn’t twisting her arms or pulling her hair. It likely wasn’t out of kindness, but instead too many lessons about how men were ‘inferior’ to the witches.

But Poppy wasn’t going to complain.

Eventually her ‘ride’ had to end, however, and she was placed at the foot of a long staircase; a rather familiar woman standing at the top. “Hello, Mother Talzin.”