The Emperor's Hand

[Ophelia Solaris]

Ophelia gazed over the dark waters of Lake Natth, her arms crossed loosely over her stomach. This planet was historically significant for the Sith—well, nothing to really be proud of—and the lake emanated a strong power from the dark side of the Force. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply through her nose, the hairs at the back of her neck standing on end. A pleasant tingle ran down her spine.

As soon as she had realized that the ‘Jedi’ on Bothawui had to have been an accomplice of the Emperor’s attacker, she raced to Coruscant to speak with the Emperor himself. He would know where to send her. She had stormed angrily through the halls of the palace, literally shoving officers and attendants out of the way as she made her way to the main chambers where she stopped, trembling as she stood before the heavy doors, trying to compose herself before entering. She was not frightened… but furious. The moment she was officially summoned, she entered, brows furrowed as she surveyed the damage that had been done to the once pristine room. The Emperor was sitting on his throne, fingertips pressed together as he stared down his nose at her—a brooding, statue of a man whose very presence seemed to draw the darkness to him. He waved a hand as she entered, welcoming her to come closer. She knelt before him, head bowed with reverence.


“My Lord, I came as quickly as I could. I apologize if I have inconvenienced you by making you wait.”

“My child, you have served me well. You may rise.” He paused a moment, inspecting her. “I can sense the conflict within you. Your powers have grown strong but you have not yet been able to fully harness the restraint to wield them. Remember to concentrate on the training you have received.”

Ophelia remained silent, squaring her shoulders as she gave a slow nod.

“Despite this, there are matters that must be attended to. It is true that my former apprentice, Darth Jeluvitas, came to my chambers and challenged me. Unfortunately, he was not as capable as he thought himself to be. I have disposed of him. Yet, that is not the problem. He had in his possession a certain powerful artifact that must be acquired. I cannot allow it to fall into the hands of the wrong person. You must find it and bring it to me.”

Ophelia meditated on these words as she began to reach out with the force. The power from Natth felt sublime and it was tempting to allow herself to be lost in it, but the Emperor’s voice was a constant reminder that rang through her mind. Reaching out past the lake, there was indeed a stronger pull. She opened her eyes. That was where she would need to go.

[Ophelia Solaris]

As she made her way around the lake, Ophelia continued to reach out with the Force for that beacon of energy that seemed to emanate from the middle of nowhere. When they had landed on Ambria, she refused the aid of any Imperial officers. She did not want any of them accidentally finding her prize. If she had it her way, she would have flown here on her own, but that was the price she had to pay for not knowing how to fly a ship. That was what underlings were for.

The sun was beginning to set and the four moons were beginning to rise, one after the other like a line of waterfowl. But she was getting close, she could feel it. So close, in fact, that she could feel tremors of energy pulsing through her like a heartbeat. She sighed in rapture. Yes, this was it.

Scanning the sandy terrain, something caught her eye. A battle had been here, no mistake. She crouched next to a streak of blood in the sand, feeling the reddened grains between her fingers. And then she saw it… a hand lying in a pile of ashes seemingly undamaged.

She slowly approached and picked it up.

“So what does this thing do…”

[Darth Jeluvitas]

the hand glowed brightly and shot a cone of lightning straight into the air, followed by a weak, tinny scream of rage. slowly the lightning subsided and formed a small hologram of darth jeluvitas in the palm of the hand, surrounded by the claws curled towards his figure.

"who are you, and why are you disturbing my rage?"

[Ophelia Solaris]

Ophelia’s body lurched forward with a start, causing her to almost drop the hand, but she clutched on, staring down at the figure with knit brows. She had never seen Darth Jeluvitas, but she imagined that he would look something of the sort only… bigger?

“Ophelia,” she managed, “Ophelia Solaris, hand to the Emperor, and I’m taking this hand to him.”

She paused a moment and sneered, feeling a surge of confidence. He was dead after all, wasn't he?

“I thought you were supposed to be dead, spirit tortured by the blackness of Chaos. Which would be more than you deserve.”

[Darth Jeluvitas]

jeluvitas began to chuckle to himself, and then laugh loudly, as loudly as a sith lord can contained inside a crystal hand.

"fool! why would i resign myself to the torture of chaos when i could harness the dark arts to live forever, to instruct the generations of sith to come? i knew that apprentice would fail. i could not leave the fate of the sith in his hands.

Jeluvitas stopped talking as he pondered what to say next.

"i am not dead, but only just. i am sure given enough time, i could find a way to ressurect myself, but the idea holds no interest to me. my essence is contained in this hand, as is my knowledge. you would be a fool to simply hand me over to your master. i learned things that even he could not possibly imagine during my trip through the void. i could teach you the secret to his power, and beyond. he never told you how he threw me through hyperspace itself because he was afraid of my power. and yet, even that could not kill me. no, it took the random luck of a madman to kill me.

[Ophelia Solaris]

She arched a brow. “You went through the void and survived? Preposterous, you would have been ripped apart.”

Yet… Why would he lie? It was true that the Emperor often withheld information from her, but that was to protect her. Access to the secret to his power and beyond? That was intriguing, to say the least. She stared at the hologram for a long time, her face set in a look of doubt.

“You would impart your knowledge of that power to me?”

[Darth Jeluvitas]

"if you earned it. be warned, the forces at play here are more powerful than you can imagine. this is what i had to sacrifice to gain this knowledge."

jeluvitas form contorted into the gruesome shape he had just before his death.

"if you would like me to demonstrate this power for you, as an act of good faith, i can show you. but i will need you to recharge my body with force lightning. i can no longer hold the force for myself. i can only use the energy given to me. however, in time, i can teach you to use this hand for yourself, and i will simply live here as an observer.

[Ophelia Solaris]

She grimaced at the image of his broken body. “I take it you’ve looked better.”

At the mention of force lightning she sighed. “I’ve never been successful with force lightning,” she admitted, quickly adding, “but I’ve almost perfected torturing people with the fears they hide within the deepest recesses of their mind… I’ve simply never bothered with lightning.” Ophelia shrugged.

[Darth Jeluvitas]

"if you are to learn from me, that is something you must master. fear may give you power over the weak minded, but it will never conquer the strongest of jedi.

his body returned to its original state

"the only way i will teach you the ultimate power of traveling through hyperspace is if you defeat my previous apprentice. however, you are not ready for such a challenge. his mind is so twisted that fear and illusions will not affect him. for now, seek out the lost planet of zonoma sekot. it is a sentient planet, and is home to many strange and potent technologies, some of which can bend gravity itself. this is where we will begin.

the image of darth jeluvitas disapeared, and the fingers of his hand relaxed.

[Ophelia Solaris]

Ophelia slumped down when the hologram had disappeared, continuing to stare down into the palm of the clawed hand as if she expected him to return. Not giving the hand to the Emperor as soon as possible would result in treason. The kind of torture they would put her through if he found out would be unbearable. Then again, he would understand that Jeluvitas had been convincing and know that it was not all her fault… He would understand. At least, she hoped.

“Better to ask forgiveness than ask permission, I guess…” She bit her lower lip.

To be taught the kind of power that Darth Jeluvitas had spoken of would be more than she could ever imagine. Her eyes narrowed. Maybe then she would become even more powerful than the Emperor. Perhaps then he would be bowing to her. Ophelia leapt to her feet, safely placing the hand in the pouch secured to her belt, and began setting a pace in the direction of the ship.

Step one, find Zonoma Sekot. Step two, learn force lightning. Step three, kill the apprentice.

[Ophelia Solaris]

Back on the ship, Ophelia removed the satchel containing the hand from her belt and made sure it was secure inside a safety deposit box that would remain locked until she herself, and no one else, put in the passcode. It would do no good if she told the Emperor she could not locate the hand only to have a pesky Imperial guard find it.

She had heard of Zonoma Sekot, but only in stories. In fact, she was not even sure it truly existed, but if Jeluvitas wanted her to find it, she would. This, all of this, was risky however that would not deter her from increasing her knowledge and thus her power. Figuring out how she was going to explain the situation, she made her way to the ship’s telecommunication room and knelt on the platform where she could communicate through holographic imaging.

“My Lord, I have grave news.”

[Sith]

The bulky visage of The Emperor, once more concealed by his heavy cloak, flickered to life in front of her, "Ophelia." he said in a tone that was both dark and pleasant,"I assume you've made contact in order to inform me of Jeluvitas' demise?"

[Ophelia Solaris]

“Well, yes… and no. I have found what appears to be the place where Jeluvitas struggled, but I could not find him, or his opponent, or his hand. I believe he has escaped, my Lord.” She licked her lips. “I have reason to believe that he has not yet met his demise, but has fled to the fabled Zonoma Sekot. I am unsure as to how, but I have this… feeling. Perhaps the Force is trying to tell me something.”

Ophelia paused before drawing in a deep breath and continuing, “If it would be your pleasure, I will continue to pursue him. I will obtain that hand for you.”

[[ OOC: Life is cray-cray, guys. ]]

[Sith]

[Guuuuuurl. You so cray.]

The Emperor stood silent for a long moment. If there was any acknowledgement on his face toward any of what Ophelia had told him, it was lost beneath the murky darkness of his cowl.

"This is interesting news indeed Ophelia...", he said after a time. "I would like to know how you came across this information, but that can wait. For now you must follow up on this lead and find any information you can regarding Zonama Sekot. Can you do that-- Apprentice?"

[Ophelia Solaris]

With a solemn nod, she bowed her head. "Yes... Master." With that, the transmission crackled and ended.

Ophelia released a burst of breath and collapsed onto the ground, shaking. Her face had drained of all color when he calmly said those sharp words, but there was no chance that he noticed—not with the colorless hologram. Apprentice? He knew, he had to know. The Emperor knew that she was not telling the truth and there would be Chaos to pay. Wrapping her arms around her trembling body, she curled up on the floor, feeling cold although sweat beaded at her brow. "Calm down, Ophelia," she whispered and closed her eyes, meditating until the Force washed over her and the shivering stopped.

When she had calmed down she picked herself up, brushing off her vinyl leggings, and keyed the door open. Her eyes settled on a pair of Imperial soldiers loitering in the hall. “Your leader. Where is he?”

One of them stared stupidly. “...You are.”

“Not me…!” She closed her eyes in frustration. “Karking incompetent… Where is your Commander! I need to speak with him. Now.”

She held out a hand toward his companion, fingers tensing as she pierced his mind. He fell to his knees, wailing in agony. “Go get him now. Time is running out for your friend; and when time runs out for him, your time will be next. Go.”

He obediently bobbed his head and hurried off. Within a few minutes, he returned with the Commander in tow. Clenching her fingers, the man on the ground suddenly stopped screaming and fell onto his face, jaw slack and eyes wide. Noticing the look on their faces, she purred coyly, “Don’t worry, I didn’t kill him—just his mind. She pointed to the soldier. “You can take this vegetable away. I don’t want him drooling on my pristine floors.”

Ophelia turned to the Commander whose face could only be described as a contortion of horror and disgust. “I need you to get into contact with the Palace library. In fact, get in contact with all of the libraries in this galaxy and the next. I need information on Zonoma Sekot—what it is, where it is, how to get there.” Her eyes flickered to the vegetative soldier being dragged away by his arms. “Think you can handle that?”

He nodded.

“Good. Get going and don’t disturb me unless you have good news.” She turned, stepping lightly into her quarters, the door snapping shut behind her. It surprised her how easily her mood could turn around. One moment she was a weepy mess on the floor and the next she was a ruthless murglak, terrorizing her guards. It didn't make a lot of sense, but one thing was for sure... it felt good.

[Ophelia Solaris]

Ophelia sat cross-legged on the floor of her room inside the ship, the backs of her hands on her knees, fingers curled gently toward her palms. She closed her eyes and began to meditate, concentrating on producing lightning from her fingertips. It was frustrating work and several times she broke concentration to stand up and throw things across the room as she paced back and forth. It was during one of these tantrums that she stopped mid-stride to consider why this task was proving so fruitless.

Perhaps it was the conflict within that was interfering. Sighing, she once again sat down in the middle of the floor. She had always dreamed of becoming the Emperor’s apprentice, ever since she began her training. But now, things were no longer straightforward and her desires were a bewildering mess. “For the first time in my life, I don’t know what I want…” she muttered. She wanted the kind of power that Darth Jeluvitas had spoken of, but what if he was merely using her? But for what ends? The thoughts she had of overthrowing the Emperor terrified her. But as it was, wasn’t he also using her, in a way? Ophelia closed her eyes and began rubbing her forehead with the palms of her hands, agitated with the decision she had to make. Her hands smoothed out worry lines and came to rest over her lips.

She would not abandon the Emperor... but she would not abandon Jeluvitas either. The more power she had, the better to serve her Master and the Empire. Calmly, she drew in a deep breath, slowly releasing it as she flexed her fingers before relaxing her body completely. In the darkness behind her eyelids, faces swam before her—the Emperor, her parents, her previous Master who she had not seen in years due to his unfaithfulness to the empire, Darth Jeluvitas, Lana… Lana. She had forgotten about her sister, the one she had killed when they were mere children, and as soon as her face disappeared she forgot about her once more.

As she further meditated, her mind began to grow foggy and images blurred together as though she had one too many glasses of Corellian wine. She felt faint, but in her mind’s eye, something in the distance was throbbing with a dull glow so, compelled, she began walking towards it, hands outstretched. As she approached, she realized what it was. “The family Krayt pearl.” Her voice was immediately muffled by the pressing darkness around her, almost before the words left her lips. Picking up the green pearl that she normally wore around her neck, she rolled it between her palms. A heat was emanating from it, blistering hot, but her hands remained unmarked and unharmed. She then plucked it up between two fingers and placed it in her mouth, swallowing the two-and-a-half inch pearl. Ophelia placed her hands on her stomach, feeling as it passed down her throat and into her stomach where the warmth started to branch out into the rest of her body. It was in her blood—she could feel it like molten hot durasteel, coursing from her abdomen into her legs and arms until it flowed into her fingers. A prickling sensation formed at the tips of her fingers and, looking down at them, it was as though she could actually see the tingling in her fingerprints. She watched as it seeped through her skin, becoming more and more evident until it sparked and crackled.

Ophelia slowly opened her eyes, coming out from her vision to see that it was true. Apathetically, she flicked out the wrist of her right hand, sending a crack of lightning to the other side of the room. "Looks like I can check that off the list."

[Ophelia Solaris]

Although she could now summon lightning by siphoning power from the Force, it was weak. If she were to direct it at any sentient, it would most likely only produce a moment of sharp pain and then a tingling sensation, like their circulation had been cut off and their limbs had fallen asleep. Ophelia demonstrated another strike of lightning, curling her bottom lip into a pout.

“Well, this will be sure to instill fear into the hearts of all,” she scoffed sarcastically. “Oh no, here comes the big bad Ophelia, coming to turn my legs into Andorian jelly!”

She Force pushed a chair across the room, sending it tumbling into the far wall. “Chaos take me…”

She sighed, angry with herself for her pathetic display of powers, and threw herself onto the bed, pressing her fingers into her throbbing temples. If this was anything like learning how to control another’s mind, this would take time. She had the determination, she only had to be patient.

Ophelia flipped onto her side, staring silently across the room at the locker that contained what was left of Jeluvitas. What did he want?

[Ophelia Solaris]

She couldn’t wait any longer. The trickle of sparse information that was found about Zonama Sekot was unacceptable and there was only so much of one planet she could handle. Setting the lock to the door of her accommodations, she knelt before the safety box, inputting the passcode while placing her left hand over the sensor. It popped open and she pulled out the hand. Up until this point, she was determined to speak with Jeluvitas, but now as she turned the hand, passing it between her own, she realized she had no idea how to summon him once again.

“So help me, Chaos…” She tapped the hand against the ground, beginning to hit it harder when nothing happened. With an exasperated cry, she flung the hand off to the side and, as if to punctuate her irritation, sent a burst of lightning from her fingertips to fry the karking thing.

[Darth Jeluvitas]

the hand absorbed the lightning shot at it, and began to glow with its energy. the image of jeluvitas reappeared in its palm.

i see you have completed your first task, however incompetently. when you can do more than simply giving me a mild shock, i will show you more. this hand is a object of balance and sacrifice. the more you sacrifice yourself to it, the more power you will receive in return. when you learn to control it for yourself, you will be able to use it as i have, as a weapon.

[Ophelia Solaris]

She came closer, looking down at the projection of Jeluvitas with pursed lips. “I can, I just don’t know how to fully gain control of the Force.” Ophelia stared at him for a moment, pressing her fingers together. “Teach me.”

[[ Oph's shortest post! ]]