SWTOR Character Tales: Rise of Mamine Interlude 2

Welcome back, my beautiful freaks, to the Assassin's Den! It's time for the Rise of Mamine Interlude between KOTFE and KOTET!

With Arcann now somewhere where he couldn't be reached and Vaylin settling in to the Eternal Throne, Mamine had a couple of weeks to take care of some new people that her specialists had informed her to join the Alliance.  Her first mission was to Hoth to retrieve a group of Jawas led by a a jawa named Blizz. Mamine took Suthazi and headed to Hoth, where they explained Blizz what was going on and how Blizz and his team could help.  Blizz said that if Mamine could deliver some supplies to Blizz's crew and bring them to a location where a rival gang, a group of Uggnauts, were located, and helped them defeat them, the Jawas would join them. After the Uggnauts' defeat, Blizz and his team joined the Alliance, though Blizz, now calling himself "boss", decided that Mamine had to be called "big boss", which Mamine just shrugged off; whatever this Jawa needed to do in order to understand the heirarchy of the Alliance.

Not long after, Casek told Mamine of something Talos Drellik found on Yavin 4; a Dashade who had been in stasis since the end of the Old Sith War against Exar Kun and Ulic Qel-Droma.  After going through the effort to release the Dashade, Mamine and Suthazi were forced to battle him. After defeating him, the Dashade revealed his name as Ak’ghal Usar, and he wanted revenge against Exar Kun for the destruction of his homeworld of Urkupp during the Cron Supernova. Ak'ghal wasn't pleased when Mamine told him Exar Kun was dead, nor was she pleased when the Dashade asked to join her in return for information on how to get access to the ghost of Exar Kun. She was also concerned when she remembered that Khem Val, Casek's personal bodyguard, ate Force users, but realized that if she bound him the same way Casek bound Khem, and said that she'd allow the Dashade if he made a binding oath that he would obey her commands, and not act against her wishes, to widh Ak'gal agreed, joining the Alliance.

A day later, Mamine was informed by Hylo that a former gladiator, Bowdaar, was on Zakuul and running a cantina attached to a pit fighting circuit.  She headed there with Suthazi, and was informed that Bowdaar was trying to organize the arena slaves, helping them save up money to buy their freedom, and he asked Mamine if she'd help him. Mamine took this opportunity to say that he'd fight for Bowdaar, and he'd donate all his winnings to Bowdaar's cause.Suthazi wanted to join in as well, but Bowdaar said he only needed one champion. Mamine then went down to the promoter, who told Mamine that she needed a fighter's name. Mamine suggested "Battlemaster", which was denied due to "having seen 3 Battlemasters this week", and then suggested "the Mysterious Stranger", which got Mamine to chuckle inwardly; "the Mysterious Stranger" was Revan's name in the Taris arena 300 years before, according to the history texts.

Mamine went in and won ten rounds of increasing difficulty, though for Mamine, with a pair of lightsabers and the Force, none of the rounds were particularly noteworthy.  After ten victories as "Bowdaar's fighter", the man whom Bowdaar was warring against confronted him, and demanded that Bowdaar, a former Arena Champion himself, fight his best fighter and end this feud once and for all.  Bowdaar agreed, and entered the arena with Mamine, and the two won the battle, with Bowdaar finally agreeing to join the Alliance after all the fighters were finally freed.

Upon returning to Odessen from that mission, Mamine got another mission from Hylo Visz about a Wookiee contact of her, Gryyzak, and he was willing to meet on Alderaan.  However, when Mamine and Suthazi got to the meeting place, Mamine found a bunch of wrecked speeders, so they was forced to investigate what happened. Apparently, the Wookiee delegation was attacked, and were forced to flee on their speeders. Following the trail, the Cathar pair came to a twi'lek male who had been run off the road by the battle and pointed them toward another crash site.  Investigating this crash site finally led them to Gryyzak, who was being accosted by a violently psychotic Talz, who blamed Gryyzak for his people's current weakness.  This forced Mamine and Suthazi to battle the Talz, but when Mamine tried to arrest the Talz, he attacked Mamine, forcing Suthazi to kill the Talz.  Later, after returning to Odessen, Mamine was approached by Yokonari, who told Mamine that she held no ill will against her for killing his former companion Broonmark, the Talz who was the one who put them in this situation in the first place; Broonmark was dangerous, and she was glad to be rid of him.  It was this moment that Mamine said she wanted to talk to Yokonari when they both had some free time in private, and Yokonari agreed, saying that the best time would be during her evening detox session.

Mamine had a couple of somewhat busy days before her next recruitment drive, this time, the subject was brought up by Sana Rae.  Mamine remembered a conversation she had with her previously, about how she was not used to people not following her words exactly as they should, and asked Mamine to talk to the people about it, and Mamine reminded her that they weren't on Voss; here, she wasn't a revered Mystic. She was just a Force user from one of many Force using cultures, and that she needed to be more tolerant and explain why her visions should be followed that wasn't "The Mystics are never wrong", because a willingness to understand another's culture meant that they were willing to understand yours. Sana Rae took this to heart, and it was in this vein that she brought up a Force user who saw the Force differently than others; she wanted to understand his view, and thought he might be willing to aid the Alliance.

Thankfully, Blizz knew this "shining Jedi Man", as Sana Rae's vision suggested, and took Mamine and Suthazi to Nar Shaddaa to meet a Mon Calamari that Suthazi knew, Languss Tuno. Apparently, "Guss" as Suthazi called him, went back to finish his Jedi training, and had been approached by the Padawan's Collective, as he was older and more experienced than most of them, Guss but found an unusual master to teach him.Suthazi, however, was unimpressed with Guss' master, and continued to lead the Padawan's Collective herself.

Guss took Mamine, Suthazi and Blizz to meet his master, and Suthazi wrinkled her nose at him, and mentioned how this "teacher" was nothing more than a man who failed his Jedi trails.  He was no Master, and he wasn't suited for the Jedi lifestyle. "Master" said to Suthazi, "Oh, so you think your Master can do better?" when they talked about Guss' training, and Mamine said that she didn't exactly have a standard Jedi upbringing either, and said that she would have a non-standard perspective.  So the "Master" gave Guss a task; get a storekeeper to give Guss a bottle of the "Master's" favorite alcoholic beverage by manipulating his mind with the Force. Mamine agreed, knowing full well that telepathy was her specialty.

During the trip to the sector, Mamine talked to Guss about her own path as a Jedi; about how he too came to the Force later in life, and how she too needed a more philosophical approach to the Jedi Code and rules than what was taught to children.  When pressed, Mamine said she had learned the hard way that they needed to understand their darkness, not outright rejecting it, while choosing the Light.  Mamine explained that, as adult students, they already had coping mechanisms for dealing with fear, anger, passion and jealousy built into them from just growing into adulthood, and they should be more concerned about whether or not their coping mechanisms were healthy coping mechanisms. If they weren't healthy for the student, they needed to learn ones that were, something that Mamine had learned the hard way, and stated that Guss' way of experiencing what the galaxy had to offer was a good thing so long as it wasn't done to excess, since it gave Guss a "what does the Dark Side have to offer me? I have what I want" mindset. Guss was impressed by this philosophy, and said it made more sense for him than what Master Lorenn taught him.

Mamine continued, stating that in order to master the minds of others, a student needed to know himself.  And this led Mamine to ask Guss to tell Mamine about himself.  And Guss immediately launched into that; who he was, where he was from, his life experiences with the Voidhound, all of it.  When Guss was done,, Mamine realized that Guss' innate abilities were similar to some things she figured out; he unconsciously manipulated the emotions of others while he talked. Guss needed only to recognize this within himself to truly grasp the Mind Trick.

So, when they got to the first stop, Mamine just said "Don't worry about affecting their mind; just talk to them. Get a read on them.  See if they are receptive to what you want, because a willing mind is much easier to influence an unwilling one."   Guss went into the shop and even though he failed to get what his "Master" wanted again, he understood where Mamine was going.  The second stop had Mamine continue the lesson; now that Guss could get a read on the subject, Guss should, while taking, try to influence the feelings of generosity and compassion, the emotions that would make them willing to give Guss what he wanted.  Mamine also added that Guss shouldn't worry about getting what he wanted here either, and to just apply what Mamine told him.

When Guss came out this time, he was excited; he had failed again to get the bottle, but this was the first time anyone had politely told him "no".  Mamine smiled, and told Guss that he was learning quickly.  They continued on to the final store that sold the drink, and Mamine said it was time to apply everything Guss learned and finally use the Force to get the item.  Mamine reminded Guss of everything he had been taught; talk to the target, get a read on their emotions, influence the right ones, and finally, reach out and directly influence the mind.  Guss went in, and after coming out, he was elated at his success. He told Mamine that he did just what Mamine told him; he went in, talked, got a read on his situation, and during the conversation, they started talking about a food item they both liked, and Guss reached out and said "You should have one", which caused the merchant to repeat Guss, which made Guss realize what he had just done. They continued talking, and Guss was able to influence the mind of the merchant to give him the drink.  Mamine congratulated Guss, and started their way back to Guss' "Master's" home.

They returned to the "Master's" residence, only to find he had headed to the Cantina off the Promenade from Blizz.  The trio headed to the Cantina and Guss gave the drink to his "Master", who then rewarded Guss with some of his favorite food and drinks in a room nearby so he could have some privacy with Mamine.  Suthazi once again glared at the "Master", who ignored her said "I'm surprised you go through to him, with you being a fully trained Jedi filled with their dogma." And Mamine shot back "I came to the Force as an adult, and only reached an equilibrium after drowning in Darkness. I understand that one needs to experience what the galaxy has to offer, but not to excess, because that can lead to corruption."  She and her Padawan then turned away from the failed Padawan and joined Guss in his celebrations, returning to Odessen when the Mon Calamari was sated.

Sana Rae was curious about Guss' view of the Force, and Mamine stated that it wasn't all that different his own, and that he could benefit from further training in the Jedi arts by someone like Anstrisil, but so long as they took the time to get to know the young man.

A few hours later, Mamine was given another mission back to Nar Shaddaa, this time by Bey'wan Aygo.  Upon arriving at the mission point, Mamine noticed that her contact was his old teammate, Fideltin Rusk. Rusk, now a Provost Marshal, a leader a unit composed of conscripted criminals called the Dead Man's Legion.  Rusk's command style was perfect for this unit, as Command didn't care whether these criminals lived or died, as they were all death row inmates, so long as the mission got done.  Rusk was happy to see Mamine, though upon asking what happened Mamine, expressed concern about the Emperor controlling her again. Mamine assured that she was still the person she had become after her exile from Cathar, and her mind was a LOT stronger than it was 12 years earlier.

Mamine, Suthazi and Rusk took the Dead Man's Legion against the Black Sun thugs, when they came face to face with something they weren't expecting; a woman in heavy armor standing over a headless Houk, his head attached to her belt.  When the group demanded answers from this woman, she removed her helmet to reveal Alliance member Azulini. Azulini explained that she was here to help; that a Black Sun Vigo had put a bounty on Skadge's head for the problems he was causing the Black Sun through his actions on Nar Shaddaa.  Azulini explained that, when Hardatt found out that this bounty was connected to Aygo's mission, thanks to him slicing Aygo's records, they figured they'd kill two birds with one stone and get some extra money on the side.  Mamine told Azulini the same thing she told Yokonari; she appreciated the effort, but she was not to take Alliance operations into her own hands in the future. Azulini complied, saying that if that was a condition to keep working for the Alliance, they would do it.  And as Azulini left, Mamine told Rusk to have his Legion wipe out the rest of the Black Sun thugs here and told him to meet her on Odessen from there.

Upon reaching Odessen, Mamine saw HK-55 standing over a human corpse with another droid beside him in the main hall. She asked for an explanation, and the droid stated that, after a mission to capture the Shroud, he went through an entire adventure which put Mamine's programming to the best; HK could not blast an old blind man that attacked him with only a vibromop, but he was able to kill an unarmed Malforia, simply because she had access to the Force, all because Mamine explained to HK that those trained in the Force were never unarmed.  He then returned to Odessen to stop the Shroud from blowing up the base, only to find that his companion, Z0-0M, was the Shroud, and the man he shot had planted bombs around the base.  However, thanks to a failed attempt to erase HK-55's memories, Z0-0M fried her own memories, and HK-55 suggested to Mamine to have Doctor Oggurub scan her parts to ensure she didn't have any surprises for them.  Mamine grinned  and said "Do what you need to, HK," and headed to see Bey'wan about Rusk, and informed him to either only allow Rusk command of the Dead Man's Legion, or only have him train other recruits, and to never give him troops they wanted to see again due to Rusk's tendency of looking at his soldiers as "we have reserves".  Bey'wan agreed, and Mamine took Suthazi for more training exercises.




After all this was done, it was finally time for the meeting Mamine had set up with Yokonari; she wanted get through this tension there had between them ever since Yokonari killed Kaliyo. It was scheduled for Yokonari's evening detox treatment in her quarters, in which Mamine found Yokonari sitting in a treatment chair, completely nude with a bunch of tubes sticking out of her, as she had the last time she entered Yokonari's quarters.

Mamine started it by asking what Yokonari's problem with the Hand of Jadus still was; hadn't she killed him and dismantled his operations already?  Yokonari, calmly for once, stated that it wasn't just the Hand that was involved in her suffering; all the members of his crew were responsible, save for the dark skinned female human with weak Force Sensitivity.  Yokonari explained the assault on her home were done a combined force of Imperials and Killiks, an alliance from which the Hand of Jadus gained from his work with Joiner Vector Hyllus.  Killiks that captured her parents and her brother, and turned them into Joiners. Doctor Lokin's research on the Rakghoul plague's potential to mutate a genetic code combined with SCORPIO's research into Sith biology were the springboards for the virus that would be crippling her were it not for her cybernetics. And Kaliyo herself stabbed Yokonari in the spine, severing the cord at the waist while Yokonari was just about to kill the Hand during their raid.  They were all involved in her current suffering, and they all earned the death that she had brought them.

Mamine interrupted Yokonari, saying she knew required that she required a twice daily detox for fatigue toxins, but Yokonari interrupted right back, saying it wasn't just the detox that they responsible for; her cybernetics reinforced bones that had become brittle due to the virus, stimulate muscles that had been severely weakened, enhancing lung capacity back to her previous ability, and her artificial cardiac pacemaker forced her heart to work at the capacity it did at at her peak. However, thanks to the cellular damage caused by the virus warping her genetic code, whenever she did act in any real physical capacity, including training, she was in unbelievable pain.  She was in constant torment at all times save for when she underwent her detox, and when she was sleeping, though that was only because she allowed her medical droid to inject her with painkillers to help her sleep.  And when Mamine asked why she didn't just use painkillers before or after rigorous activity, Yokonari's reply was simply "Would YOU want to dull your senses?" and Mamine was forced to admit that no, she wouldn't.

Yokonari went on to recant the stories of what had happened to the Hand's followers; the Human Raina Temple, who only stayed with the Hand to avoid being handed over to the Sith, escaped the Hand during the raid on Yokonari's estate and returned to the Chiss Ascendancy. Eckard Lokin was on Alderaan working on his Rakghoul virus when Casek electrocuted him to death, and Vector had returned to his hive, where Yokonari found that her parents and brother were Joiners. Yokonari's rage burned so hot that she utilized Pyrokinesis, a Force ability that allowed her to use the Force to conjure flames from the air and burned the Killik nest and all the Killiks and Joiners, her parents and Vector included, alive.  She regretted torturing her parents like that, Yokonari said, but she rationalized their minds were already dead, and that it didn't matter what happened to their bodies now.  The only one she hadn't killed herself with SCORPIO, the only one left of the Hand of Jadus' crew.

The worst part was that this virus had no cure. Neither the Hand, his people, nor Doctor Lokin had created any cure.  And it was this reason why Casek had delved so heavily into biological sciences in addition to his arcane knowledge; Sith Alchemy could change her on a genetic level, but they needed to isolate what was wrong with Yokonari's genetic code first. However, because Sith Alchemy had a tendency to drive the target insane, Casek was trying to isolate the defect introduced into her genetics, and until he did and cured her, Yokonari said she would not know peace; that besides SCORPIO, that her suffering was the last legacy of the Hand of Jadus that needed to be wiped away.

 It had been an eventful couple of weeks, but Mamine knew that Vaylin wouldn't sit idle for long. So she made sure that the Alliance stayed ready, and prepared to act when Vaylin started causing trouble.