You Came To Us Weak & Afraid

Kel’issa was not brooding. She was meditating. It just so happened to be raining outside at the same time.  Plus, this chair just so happened to be facing a large window. All this was just coincidence. Kel’issa didn’t brood. That was for all those mopey, overly serious Sith.  That wasn’t Kel. No sir. She’s simply too adorable to be mopey.

Today’s meditation saw the little Twi’lek reflecting on her past, the experiences and choices that led her to be the beautiful, amazing, powerful woman she was today. Did she mention humility as well? Oh yes, Kel was terribly humble. The salt of the world. Anyway, words echo in her mind; those spoken when she’d been elevated to High Lord of Mischief. 

You came to us weak and afraid. 

It was the day she first set foot on Yavin 4. Kel stood in the center of the arena, surrounded by onlookers, facing another being. A Blooding they’d called it. No killing, they’d said, or maiming. The rules had set fear gnawing in Kel’issa’s belly.  She was an assassin.  Her job, her life, was to kill. What if she lost control?  What if instinct took over? What if her Mistress had installed some mental conditioning? What if…? 

You found strength as an Apprentice. 

Cold water beat down upon Kel’issa’s shoulders. The roar of the falls was nearly deafening. She shivered, teeth chattering. “Divert the flow. Just… divert the flow. You can do this,” she’d been telling herself.  But every time she tried to shove the water out of the way it resisted. The effort of holding it proved too much, and she found herself drenched, stuck under the torrent. 

Then, it clicked. Direct the flow. Let the water show you its course. Don’t force that which will not be controlled. 

Kel’issa stepped out from under the falls, water cascading to either side, nudged into a new course by subtle touch. 

In our service, you proved your power. 

Dommund Kaas this time. Oh boy. More rain. Apparently water was on Kel’s mind today…  Anyway! She clutched the data spike in one hand, tucked beneath her robes, hood drawn up against the omnipresent downpour.  There she was; Mirialan, armor vendor, her contact. “Hey, your intel was good,” Kel told the woman with a grin. The spike was handed over, just like that. Kel hadn’t even hesitated. How… oddly easy it had been, trusting someone else. 

Rise, High Lord Kel’issa, and claim victory. 

Kel’issa looked around at the faces of her team, smiling at each in turn. She looked at the ship they’d secured; the Amethyst Feather. Soon it would be off to Hoth, with their infiltration crew. The Twi’lek looked back at the team again. Each of them had played their part beautifully. And then it hit her. At the start she hadn’t even considered that they wouldn’t. Even those that didn’t look like the sneaky type she’d trusted would be an asset. And that faith had been rewarded. 

Kel’issa leaned back in her chair, finally looking away from the window. The fog of memory clung to her. Yes she was strong. She was adorable. She was fast and deadly. And she wasn’t the only one. Kel’issa had strong, beautiful, fast and deadly friends. She had a family. The reminiscence brought a grin to the twi’lek’s face. No, she hadn’t been brooding at all. Brooding was for people who’s bad memories outweighed the good. Frankly, these days, that wasn’t Kel.