Ask Blind Faith

[Dr Ilana Morata]

Wind whipped at long white hair, tugging on the ends of her armored coat and digging at the pale flesh of her features. Peering down the edge, it was a sheer drop straight below, the waves crashing high into the air. Even from here, icy crystals spattered almost over the edge, dusting her skin.

Glancing over to Rawl, she nodded once. "I suppose I will go first," she replied, voice a hoarse rasp over the hard wind. "The climb down won't be difficult. But the climb up, I will need assistance. I cannot guarantee my long-term stamina." Perhaps not the toughness of admitting she would be fine, but far better to acknowledge the risk that she very well could lose her footing or strength, and having those climbing assets would be a boon both going up and down.

That being said, with the constant threat of rain that wouldn't bode well for them making that perilous climb down, or back up.

@muusaraD

 

[Roland Rook]

At least she understood her own capabilities judging by what she said. The doctor had self-knowledge and wisdom to a fair degree. Worse comes to worst I can fly up and pull her up with the rope.

On the way down, they would simply be able to slide along the rope. Roland would wait for her to go fully down so as to not shake the rope while she was repelling down. Before doing so though he took a step back and gave his jetboots a little test thrust before just jumping over the side. Freefalling, his body quickly fell past the point Ilana had descended. But Roland activated his boots and began to fly, swinging him fast and low into the mouth of the cave's solid ground. Didn't waste fuel if I'm mostly falling Though his heart was beating a bit faster still. The momentary rush had him pace a little at where the entrance to the Sith Temple was.

Looking around the man didn't see any immediate threats or Sith. In fact a single large slab of rock stood in front of them a little deeper in the mouth of the cave. The Mandalorian trotted back closer to the maw of the location and patiently waited for the Doctor to descend the rest of the way. With him at the bottom, he also would be able to grab and steady the rope, or the doctor, should she need assistance.

@Killa Ree

 

[Dr Ilana Morata]

She was climbing down, when he suddenly hurtled past her towards the ground. She felt her jaw drop in shock, watching over her shoulder as he nonchalantly started his jetboots and just kriffing landed like it was nothing. Scowling, she could feel the cold wind still biting into her cheeks and hands as she descended, but the wind was hard and began to shift the rope. She braced her legs and gritted her teeth. She wouldn't allow herself to be so easily pushed aside.

But the moment she touched ground, she wheeled on Rawl, amber eyes glittering coldly. "Don't do that again, you scared me," she hissed, then stalked off stiffly, jaw tight and spine ramrod straight. Not to give him the false impression that she cared... she would far rather kiss a Wookie. But that sort of recklessness was exactly the reason why she held so little faith in the galaxy. If he wanted to fling himself off cliffsides to haphazardly light his jetboots at the last moment, fine by her.

Just not when he was around her. She had enough of a hellish time dealing with patients on the clock.

@Darasuum

 

[Roland Rook]

Roland offered a hand as she got close but she ignored it and headed towards the door. His brow furrowed a moment later and he looked down slightly as he thought about what he had done. Yeah I suppose that's a fair reaction. As a Mandalorian who had been around others that utilized jetpacks and been using the jetboots for years, he had not given it any thought from the Doctor's perspective. "sorry"

Following after her, he wrapped the rope end around a stalagmite loosely just so it wouldn't dangle and be wet from handing loosely. Coming in behind her, his helmet tilted up to look at the large slab of stone that blocked their entrance into the Sith Temple. "So...that's a big door. You've been inside right?" Reaching over to his gauntlet he commanded thhe ID-21 seeker droid onboard his ship to exit the Cobalt Viper. The droid flew and would shortly come down and begin scanning the symbols and recording it for later analysis. The surveillance droid that he utilized also exited his firespray and watched over their parked ships like he always commanded it to do.

@Killa Ree

 

[Dr Ilana Morata]

She too stared up at the entrance. Anger seemed to have seeped from her expression, but she was still partially irked by his display of pyrotechnics. But he had apologized... she still stared down the doorway. Features closed, remote, she examined it, extending a hand out. Even from here, she could feel the Dark Side, its' power a sickening touch in the air.

She sighed, lowering her hand. Then shook her head once. Technically, she hadn't gone inside... at least not like Kai had. But the words inscribed there, the text... after all that time with the holocron, she began to understand.

Two. Always two. And blood.

"Not inside, no," she murmured throatily. "But if this means what I think it does..."

She sighed, withdrawing her blade, and slicing it across her palm with a hiss.

Pressing her palm to the stone, she waited for what would happen next.

Would this mean she would, at long last, obtain her own crystal?

@Darasuum

 

[Roland Rook]

The Mandalorian disguised as a bounty hunter watched the woman examine the wall. The symbols that he could see made were not recognizable and certainly not decipherable. The doctor pulled out a knife though Roland didn't move, his brow furrowed underneath his helm.

The sound of the waves crashing constantly kept the pair from experiencing true silence while they waited. Wind made the rope shift slightly as Roland searched for a sign that something was happening. If there was supposed to be a reaction, he would have thought to have seen it. "...guess it doesn't..." He finished the sentence she had left unfinished before placing her palm against the stone door.

For a moment Roland wondered if he could just use the purified lightsaber to cut through the door. But judging by it size it was probably too thick to cut through. Not to mention he didn't want to flaunt the saber taken from the Knight of Ren and add more to the complicated interactions with the Arkanian.

Roland got closer and saw numerous other bloody marks along the walls. But always in two separate sections of the door. It seemed almost decorative but the more Roland looked at it the more he noticed the blood was not always the same. Some of these may have belonged to other species...mostly human or near-human probably.

Taking a step back again and looked at the door altogether, he wished he understood the strange writings. But the location was understandable. The navigation information from the astromech would have led them to the system and maybe they could have eventually found this temple and the second location the Doctor had mentioned, but the Mandalorian had to admit so far Ilana had been doing a good job and had delivered on everything she had said. <"Don't tell my you expect me to cut my hand and put it on there."> He said in Mando'a, shaking his head half joking at the superstitious nature of it all. But his instincts told him this place was dark and meddling with it was dangerous. Roland wasn't about to smear some of his life-fluid on a dark stone surface in a creepy cave.

@Killa Ree

 

[Dr Ilana Morata]

As always, he watched, silently, perhaps even waiting. So was she. But time trickled on and nothing happened... she sighed softly, replacing the vibroblade and beginning to doctor her own hand. "So much for following the clues," she muttered, wrapping up the cut. I don't understand. Kai did it just with his, and it responded.

Perhaps... I'm not strong enough?

She squared her shoulders, staring up at the doorway. Maybe not... but soon, I will be.

She heard his words, and had to give a short chuckle, stopping herself and abruptly shaking her head. "Sorry, that wasn't very funny," she replied quietly, then sighed, running her other hand through her hair. For a couple of beats, she merely stared up at the massive stone, the bloody handprints. The strange writing. All of it, a mere handful of weeks ago she would have pursued with a single-minded intent for power. When she finally spoke again, her tone was contemplative.

"...Perhaps it's for the best it doesn't open for me. I'm trying to put this all behind me, and the past is the past. Some things can't be undone, but I can't wallow here, hoping for a better future in such a dark, gloomy place." She then glanced back at Roland, shaking her head. "It calls for two, based on evidence... but I don't want you to be in such risk personally. Instead, I'll show you where I found..." her words faltered, and then she cleared her throat, frowning absently at the suspicious hitch there, "him. But I don't want to linger too long... this place feels too dark and grim even for my tastes."

She wasn't keen to live much longer in her past.

@Darasuum

 

[Roland Rook]

She seemed to believe this was a dead end. Everything pointed towards the Doctor being honest when she spoke. It sounded like she had expected a different reaction. That was why Roland dropped his hand to his side as he felt a rumbling shake the ground beneath them. <What in the name of-> He started speaking but stopped as his sense of sight realized the rocky wall like door began moving. Roland instinctually looked for the seem and where it would first allow entry. If there were dangers inside they would have a chance to lash out. But none came.

The door came to a rumbling halt. The scent of stale dead air came out, only to be followed by the briny scent of the sea. "It seems we're not that lucky..." He said half joking.

Deeper inside the Sith temple hung a darkness that seemed abnormal. Just standing on the doorstep of this place gave Roland the creeps. "Shall I go first?" He asked aloud since she had volunteered to go down the rope first as well. If the arkanian doctor wanted to spring a trap on him, he had a feeling she would have already.

Regardless, the Mandalorian would go into the temple. Someone who had an affinity for the force would probably find their way inside without stumbling or tripping. But Roland had no such sixth sense. Instead he relied on his vision modes to see a way ahead. At least he was able to confirm there weren't any Sith waiting in the shadows to dramatically ignite their red blades.

Ahead there was a lake inside with numerous stalagmites. No, they were crystals of some kind. The Mandalorian passed over them, more impressed by the overall Sith Temple than any individual mysterious aspect.

@Killa Ree

 

[Dr Ilana Morata]

It opened.

Oh Force, it opened.

Surprise was clear across her face, both brows raised and lips parted slightly as the stone shifted aside for her.

At his joke, she glanced over, mouth closing and giving a faint nod. Far better to let him go ahead this time... though she would have, there was no small amount of trepidation to come back to this cursed place. She felt no love for it then, she loved it even less now.

But seeing the lake again, the crystals, she remembered what Kai said the last time they were there.

"We could craft our own lightsabers next time..."

She swallowed hard, willing herself to step in again. And again... that same thrill. The addicting feeling of power, of anger, of rage waiting to be used, to be twisted and channeled. She gritted her jaw, shoulders trembling slightly as though chilled. Being here again... it made her feel like he was back.

After all that time, it still hurt to be so betrayed. And there was no rational reason to feel betrayed and left behind, but it's how it felt. Like a void.

She came close to the cave. Something within was calling. A siren song... she knelt in the rock, a hand on the edge.

Gazing down... something hummed within her chest. But just what, she had no idea.

@Darasuum

 

[Roland Rook]

Roland continued to pace around the edge of the lake. His helmet looked up to find the high ceiling in the darkness. Some rumbling occured, making the Mandalorian stop for a moment. But then he realized it was likely just the door at the front of the temple closing. I hope I'm not locked in here now. He thought to himself and looked toward Ilana.

The woman was not towards the entrance but instead by the lake as he had entered. Her face seemed focused on the body of water or something else. She didn't seem to notice the Mandalorian looking at her off to the side. The body language of the arkanian told him this was not a smooth and peaceful experience for her.

His mouth opened for a moment, wanting to ask what she was doing. But he closed his lips again and looked towards one of the adjacent halls that led off from the large chamber. I wonder if he visited this place. Who else has been here? There were dark siders that would eventually return. That much Roland figured.

There some items inside the temple. Only parts of it was natural with some furnishings and carved rock in places. One item stood out, a stone throne. There were simple stone slabs and horizontal surfaces as well available that hinted at possible seating. But the Doctor had mentioned 'it calls for two' and Roland began putting two and two together. The Mandalorian walked over to the seat and stared at it. The longer he gazed at it his hands began to tighten into fists and his jaw began to clench and relax.

Pulling out the handle of his lightsaber he ignited the white blade at his side. It filled the surrounding area with the purified light of the tool that had once belonged to a Sith. Roland swung the blade into the throne with both hands. The superheated backing of the chair toppled with a crash, a few pieces chipping off from its own weight falling. The Mandalorian brought the weapon up again and hacked down into the chair and second and third time with growling emphasis. When he stopped, the stone chair sat in four unusable pieces, smoking and smelling of ozone. The white blade hummed in Roland's hand for a moment before he deactivated it. The saber like blade disappeared back into the hilt. The plated shoulders of the Mandalorian relaxing a little bit loosing their tension after the outburst.

@Killa Ree

 

[Dr Ilana Morata]

She reached into the water, mindless of Rawl and whatever he was doing. There was only the subtle tug, and her hands broke the surface to water frigid cold.

And instantly--

Her mind was snapped back to the first time. The echoing caverns. A ghoulish face, a slight smile. A feeling of deep, ancient power, a hunger. It would gnaw at her bones if she let it. It would burn in her blood and carve her away if she let it. A sinister hum in the back of her mind, a wordless promise.

The cut burned with the water soaking through the bandage, blood feathering into the water. When she came back, she pulled her hand away.

In it, nestled a crystal.

Her breathing slowed; she gazed down at it, at its purity, tinged ever so slightly red.

At the crashing sound of stone, she leapt to her feet, pocketing the crystal.

At the sight of the stone, of the white blade, her jaw snapped closed, amber eyes narrowed. She had let this charade go on long enough; she had kept to her word over and over, she had led him to the one place she would have willingly never gone to again. And yet time and time again, he lied to her.

Swallowing hard, her voice was a low rasp, soft even, as her gaze flicked between him and the lightsaber.

"Who the hell are you really, Rawl?" No words of accusation, no words of anger... but they were words that wouldn't simply be brushed aside. She was tired of being lied to, over and over again. She wanted answers.

@Darasuum

 

[Roland Rook]

The sound of the cooling rocks continued as faint strands of fumes rose in the cool cave air. Roland turned to look at the Doctor, not surprised by her sudden question.

She still stood near the lake, some of the water rippling from where she had probably touched it. Gazing at the hilt of his lightsaber he looked at it. It wasn't really that Sith's lightsaber anymore. The crystal had been purified by Indyana and now belonged to Roland, changed for the better.

Taking a deep breath, he returned the hilt behind his back and underneath the cloak where it could return to being out of sight. "Someone who doesn't think Sith should ever sit on a throne." The emperors of the past, the tyrants and corrupt officials that wanted to rule were not in the best interest of the galaxy. Roland didn't strike the throne down only because of the dark siders' history with his own people, but because he would deny the Sith their chance at galactic conquest.

The man would switch to Mando'a. If she wanted to push for answers he would humor her but do so on his terms. <"My clan, clan Rook has the snake as its sigil. A rawl."> Believers in the Way of Mandalore did not freely give out their true name to aruetiise.

<"...here..."> He walked around the edge of the lake. <"...now..."> Someone may have been intimidated by an armored warrior walking towards them in a dim lit space. But Roland wasn't intending to scare the woman. <"...I'm a Rawl.>" he stopped in front of the woman and shrugged. It was a step up from just being called 'mando' by every other non-T-visor sporting person in the galaxy.

<"You want to know who I am? Why didn't you look under my helmet?"> The man had omitted truths and withheld information and so had the woman. This had been in the background of their conversations since the two had met. It was about time they get some of this out in the open. Roland just knew it needed to be confronted and this was as good of a time as any.

@Killa Ree

 

[Dr Ilana Morata]

They were in sympathy with that agreement. She gazed at the former throne a beat, then nodded once, her voice still soft as her gaze pulled back to look at him. "...I couldn't agree more," she replied quietly, but then waited.

He was moving towards her, but it seemed he hadn't drawn any weapons on her yet. When he began speaking in Mando'a, she didn't seem to react, but remained watchful, not bothering to reach for anything herself or move back. She would stand her ground, listening to him. Letting him talk.

Rook.

Somewhere, deep in the back of her mind that rang a bell, but she couldn't say from where or from whom. But he asked. And she paused. Silence held long and deep, as she gazed levelly at the cross-shaped visor. When she spoke at last, her voice was soft, contemplative.

"Because you asked me to."

A simple statement, but there was a wealth of meaning behind those low-spoken words. "Because when it comes to my patients, I don't jeopardize their comfort or cultural differences unless I'm given consent. Because..." she paused, then arms crossed beneath her bust, gaze patient.

"It wasn't my choice to make, but when it was, I put your comfort and private safety first. What's beneath the helmet could be anything," she shrugged, still staring up at him. "But it wasn't my business to pry, nor my choice for invaded privacy or not. When you asked me, I knew it was something important to you." Amber eyes stared up at the visor unflinchingly.

"Even if it were the same situation, I wouldn't violate that right. There have been a few things I have done in my life I'm not proud of... but violating another person's preferences and comfort levels wasn't one of them, and it never will be, Rawl. If you choose to show your face, that's your choice, not mine."

There. A bit long-winded, but as heartfelt as the woman could emote comfortably, and just as earnest.

@Darasuum

 

[Roland Rook]

The expressionless face of the helmet remained silent until the Doctor said her piece. Her eyes focused on one point of his face where his eyes were and he felt the eye contact despite the visor separating the two. The man stared for a moment, allowing the muffled and distant sounds of the ocean to reach them and fill the pause.

After everything she said, Roland knew that she had been abiding by her own code. But that didn't mean she didn't have the desire to know more. "...you don't sound satisfied." The Lieutenant's face wasn't his identity. It was hard for outsiders to sometimes grasp that. It wasn't just a Mandalorian's armor either, just a portion of it. The identity of a person was at the core of their being and was represented by their actions and beliefs.

"You can be polite and worry about offending me by holding your tongue, Doctor....or...." The Mandalorian took a step away from her and to the side to emphasize he was turning his attention to something else soon. "...or you can ask what you want to know and I might answer. I'm not a mind reader." Roland wasn't going to show his face. But the Doctor had been cooperative.

"We can also talk about you, Doctor. I have some questions of my own." The Mandalorian had held refrained from asking too many questions because he actually wanted to hear her voice her interest. Just the asking of a question could be an answer. He did not have any outright suspicion of the woman that one might expect of a stranger leading him into a dark side nexus. She had given resistance when he poked so he relented. Now she was back to asking questions again. Maybe she was just frustrated by his lack of curiosity. If he understood one thing, its that people hated leaving questions unanswered.

"I had a feeling you were playing more on the 'plausible deniability' side." His hands picked up an old dark bowl made of carved clay or stone. Roland set the item back down after seeing the dried dark markings indicating the continued theme of blood magic. The man made a mental note to sanitize his armor after this spelunking adventure. "The truth sinks in a sea of lies." He repeated the quote and looked over to the Doctor again. "There's more than sharks in my line of work..." The tone of his voice was a warning but Roland knew it would be in vain. More people getting involved in dark side artifacts, tangled up in the dangers of the Sith, it wasn't something he roped people into without consideration.

@Killa Ree

 

[Dr Ilana Morata]

Being polite by holding my tongue, following a stranger as a bounty hunter, sharks in his line of work. Any questions she had of him, no holds barred. Strange indeed he followed her even to here, with no talk of reward or anything. A bounty hunter wouldn't follow the word of a person simply because she told him of a place.

"Then ask away," she told him calmly. "It hasn't stopped you before. But my question for you is, why wait to ask what was clearly on your mind? You had ample time," she waved her hand to the entrance, "to ask anything on your mind, and yet you haven't. Until now, when we're both in a cave. So why? Why come all the way out here?"

She turned as he moved, arms crossed beneath her bust. "You're not a bounty hunter, are you." It wasn't accusatory, but nor was it really a question. It was mild, calm.

She wanted to put this part of her life in the past. There was no point dwelling in this place; she had her answers, but she wasn't satisfied. But did it matter?

...No. Some things weren't worth the pursuit of learning.

@Darasuum

 

[Roland Rook]

Early on in life, Roland knew the Mandalorian people to be passionate. His adoptive family had certainly exhibited this. While not as rage prone as the reputation of the Solus clan, the Rooks had a determined motivation behind their actions. "Maybe....I just didn't care enough to bother asking." Maybe it sounded a bit more venomous than he intended but it wasn't a lie. "I'm fine with this working relationship." He thought that made it clear he did consider her reliable to the point of coming out here alone with her. Or maybe the man was just foolish. Another Ranger may have suggested waiting for backup or scouting the entire area out first.

The woman didn't look overly impressed. The skeptical expression was noted despite the cold exterior. "No." He had once been a hunter but that seemed like a life time ago now.

"Why haven't you gone to see your brother?" It wasn't like it was hidden information and with the tools at his disposal a thorough background check had been done the day after the two had first met. That was also a reason why the undercover Lieutenant hadn't asked too many questions. There were plenty of answers he was already privy to. But since the Doctor had some of her own secrets that weren't logged in any government record now was as good a time as any to ask them.

@Killa Ree

 

[Dr Ilana Morata]

"Fair," she snapped back to his response about caring enough. Irritation flared to life. Force, but he was so... so... so damn stubborn! Just like so many in the galaxy, he wanted to prod back hard, to see some sort of reaction from the doctor.

At asking about her brother, however... her expression faltered. A flash of emotions flickered across her face within the span of mere moments. Confusion, shock, pain, and then silent, seething anger. Her palms clenched hard into tight fists, her features suddenly stony but amber eyes flared bright with barely contained fury.

"My brother...?" she asked softly, her voice deceptively quiet. There was no how did you know. Nothing to indicate, at first, he had asked something in error. She hadn't misheard him at all. But her shoulders shook, her breath coming out hard. "You know nothing of my brother," she hissed, stepping in hard and fast and glaring straight into his visor. "You have never looked into the face of someone you loved--" her voice almost broke, jaw clenched into a snarl of fury as some of the careful control began to break, "and saw that they remembered nothing of you. You have never seen the empty room of their eyes and known, that no matter how much you loved them," she seethed, pushing hard at his chest with a flat palm, "nothing will ever bring them back because they are gone and not dead."

She stared up at that visor, into what surely had been the man beneath, and ached with the need to lash out at him. Stone cracked beneath her feet from sheer effort, her nostrils flared with barely contained pain and grief as she felt tears pricking at her eyes. She ached to just break him in two.

Instead, she let out a shaky, slow breath.

She turned away, her footsteps slow, careful. Blood dripped from the bandage on her cut hand, and as she wrapped her arms beneath her bust and clasped her hands onto her forearms, some of it began to trickle down her arm. But she didn't notice. She needed to calm. She needed to focus. But he asked you, didn't he? the low voice taunted in her head, subtle laughter in a sibilant hiss. Always trying to tug you around, it's pathetic. He's just another visor, another number, and yet he gets under your skin?

"You know nothing," she finally rasped out, shoulders hunched. "The man I call my brother is dead. Already buried. There's nothing to bring him back."

Her throat closed with grief remembering that face. The one person who had her back in the galaxy, who treated her as a person and not a failure and promised to look after her and free her, and he was dead. The shell that walked in her mother's estate, chained to life by machines, wasn't Calun. She knew it the moment she looked into his white eyes and saw nothing in them. Felt nothing.

How dare he.

@Darasuum

 

[Roland Rook]

Roland didn't need to be an observant ranger he struck a nerve. She got close and pushed the plated chest causing him to feel the plate, where it protected him and ended. The Mandalorian's body swayed slightly from her outstretched arm but it didn't cause him to step back.

The words Ilana spoke told him there was actually more than he knew when it came to the woman's brother. He stood for a moment and tilted his head to look towards the ground. He was a firm believer that he was out of his league when it came to some things. The doctor was likely right in that regard. but his heart was beating slightly faster, he didn't want to let it go. His head turned to look at the rest of the cave and the Doctor to see if there was some cause of this aggression.

"Di'kut" The voice sent a chill down his back while his hair stood on end. He turned to face the source of the voice back in the direction of sliced throne. "Laandur" Taking a few steps out of the shadows was a Mandalorian clad in scatterweave Mandalorian armor.

<"What the %$&* are you doing here?"> Roland wasn't questioning the sensation of anger that had been influenced from an outside force. <"You have no appreciation for theatrics. I'm still your parent after all."> The dark armored mando didn't seem to look towards the Doctor at all. Roland could feel his jaw clenching slightly and staring down the familiar individual.

<"The Sith aren't as bad as the tales say, kid. Paid us a lot to find that Ranger who pulled you onto this path."> Roland bristled at mentioning his mentor. <"Us?! Who's-"> <"The tribe, kid. We've all joined.">He knew it was his father behind the helmet from his voice. The armor design was familiar too but he knew his father had not been able to afford scatterweave the last time he saw him. It meant he also covered up his clan symbol. The fanged rawl was nowhere to be seen.

Not another word was uttered before Roland leapt forward with his jetboots to closed the distance. But the man was met by a blast of force pressure at the leveled and braced arm of his father's gauntlet. Roland flew back trying twisting and trying to recover but met the ground too quickly and slide against the hard and damp cave ground. Growling, the lieutenant's face was contorted into focused anger, staring down emotionless black figure. <"There's no chance for those that don't follow. You can still join us, son."> "Shut! UP!"

@Killa Ree dice roll

 

[Dr Ilana Morata]

She didn't have to be an empath to sense the hostility that sparked back from the Mandalorian. Good. She hoped with bitter satisfaction that satiated his own invasive curiosity, but she wasn't out of the range just yet. He hadn't said anything at all in response to what she said; another flare of irritation made her whirl around, thinking that the insults hurled from the dark were from him to her, anger flaring to life in amber eyes.

Instead, she saw another Mandalorian.

Her features tightened with anger, frustration. Resentment bubbled hot and painfully in her chest as Mandalorian words were tossed as though at her... but nothing surprised her more than to feel Rawl's own anger flaring to life. Her head snapped towards the other Mando.. and a slow light began to come in her eyes.

An understanding.

She supposed she ought to be glad to feel him hurting. To feel his anger, his own resentment, but the effect was hollow. Cold. Something within her stirred at the sight of the stranger.

A clarity.

Why had she just snapped that way? She was normally so in control, so capable of expressing her own without resorting to aggression... and the haze cleared from her mind. Just as Rawl pushed himself forward and was flung back, making her take a single step back in surprise.

Hearing his words, her jaw gritted tightly. She stared at the apparition.

She felt calm, cool-headed. The man that was beside her hated this person, whoever he was. But he said one word she caught; son. Son.. heh.

Guess karked up families were the norm for people who came here.

"You."

She scowled, withdrawing a vibroblade, pointing at the figure before them.

Unlike before, she seemed calm. Her features focused.

"You don't belong here," her voice came in a low hiss. So saying, she slashed her hand forward, intending to violently shove the specter against the wall. If that movement prevailed, she would hold her vibroblade at the ready, prepared to attack if need be.

She might not like the Mandalorian, but she disliked the torment of others all the more. And if the vision would persist, she wouldn't hesitate to fight it herself.

She fought hard to be free of this place, and yet had returned. She would fight it again herself if it meant being absolutely free at last.

@Darasuum dice roll

 

[Roland Rook]

Hearing the Doctor's voice reminded Roland of her presence. But his focus remained on the man before him until he lunged out of the way of the force attack from Ilana. The dark helmeted figure in turn faced the woman who had tried to throw him. "Oh on the contrary..." The figure took a few steps back, growing softer as the scatterweave allowed him to seamlessly merge with the intense darkness of the Sith Temple.

"I'm the ONLY one that belongs here." The sound of metal being dragged across stone echoed through the halls. The voice of the Roland's adoptive father, menacing in its tone and provoking the Lieutenant to try and switch between his vision modes to find him. "...for now." The last sentence whispered as if it were said right behind her and strangely in her own voice. The temple, the urges of those that had been soaked in to the each crack and crevasse of the site pulled Ilana more towards the dark side. It tempted her still and Roland too, though in a different way.

If the woman turned around to face the source of the words she would find none. Roland launched himself across the cave, searching for any sign of the man. The scatterweave had been the reason he thought he couldn't see him. But before he came to the realization on his own, the dark armored figure materialized out of thin air. Both hands out stretched, grasping on either side of Roland's helmet and grasped it.

The next thing he knew was he felt himself dropping to his knees. The energy sapped from his body. "You want to belong here." The figure swirled in darkness and turned into a twin of the Doctor. However the apparition took on a darkly robed outfit. The amber eyes were slightly more yellowed than they normally were. Her head turning to look as coldly at her as the dark T visor that it had replaced. The hallucination brought on by the temple looked down at itself and then back at Ilana. "There's a lot of work you need to do to get to reach this....perfection." The hints of a smile showed at the edge of her mouth. It was clear that it no longer considered Rolland a threat and the Mandalorian showed no signs of being able to move.

@Killa Ree dice roll