Morrigan and Nora stepped into the large space granted to Nora so she could build her training arena for her classes to find Solomon standing in front of a row of veteran shock troopers as well as surrounded by administrators, one of them being Emily.
“Miss Flannigan, it appears you are late for your own class,” Solomon pointed out casually, his tone devoid of any irritation.
She gave him a bright smile and shrugged, “What can I say? I was busy last night becoming a puddle in a beautiful woman’s arms. You know, priorities,” she stated blatantly casting a mischievous glance at Morrigan.
Morrigan blushed fiercely, “That’s… that’s not exactly what happened…” she responded shyly, losing all momentum half way through her comment as she eyed the Lord Inquisitor.
Solomon smiled and chuckled quietly before composing himself, looking down at Nora as she stood her ground in front of him. They way she stood screamed defiance, yet the look on her face told everyone she was just itching to mess with someone.
“Well, we do expect punctuality, especially from the trainers. So, I do hope you plan your… evening events, more thoroughly next time,” he stated awkwardly, avoiding the subject of Nora’s excuse as best as possible.
She only grinned and gave him a mocking salute, “Aye, aye boss man. Besides, these cannon fodder are going to be thankful for the reprieve I gave them by the time I’m through with them!” she said loud enough for all to hear before sauntering around towards the other side of the shock troopers.
Morrigan quietly stepped up next to Solomon as she watched Nora find a headset within the single supply crate sitting out in the open.
“The same goes for you Miss Clarke, shouldn’t you be in class yourself?” Solomon said when he noticed her approach.
Morrigan shrugged sheepishly, “Nothing is going to keep me from watching Nora’s first test run of her class. Instructor Dezinaria will just have to get over it.”
Oh, such a rebel hahaha Apollyon said sarcastically.
She smiled, “Oh be quiet, you.” Though her smile vanished when she realized Solomon didn’t comment. Now she worried if she would get in trouble until she forced her focus back to Nora.
Nora adjusted the headset and fumbled with the side buttons before it came alive over a hidden intercom system.
“Damn that’s loud, heh, anyways, so ladies, you want to be saboteurs, eh? Well, anyone can blow something up or break something if they put their mind to it,” she paused and started laughing to herself, “If I can shut down a gravity generator on a CoU ship with nothing but an old-world coin, a boot and screw driver, which was a lot of fun by the way, then anyone can break something,” she finished eyeing her trainees with good humor in her eyes and a small sadistic smile.
Morrigan’s spine chilled as her core heated, which was a very confusing feeling to experience.
Nora straightened cheerily with no sense of professionalism, “So, what makes a saboteur you ask? Someone who can safely navigate a starship without raising suspicion, duh. Now, I’ve spent the past few weeks explaining to you and teaching you all the of various traps, pathways and obstacles one has when moving throughout an enemy ship that does not include the enemy themselves; all the while the engineers and builders created my beautiful labyrinth!” she turned and flourish towards the large, plain looking one-and-a-half story building she had built.
“Now, the true test of a saboteur is the unholy design of a pirate ship. We’re not known for our cleanliness or our… safety procedures,” she mused turning back to her trainees, “Anyone who can survive making their way through a pirate’s starship, much less come out the other end unscathed, would have my deepest respect as well as the title of a master saboteur.”
Solomon crossed his arms and stroked his beard with his hand in intense study.
“I have yet to see the layout of my own creation, basically I explained to them the general idea of what I wanted based off what I remember of the last ship I worked on and let them have at it, traps, layout and all so I’ll be going through first,” she stated as she paced back and forth. “Anyone who can beat my time, gets my entire year’s salary as well as free drinks on me for the night at Dora’s!” she faced them with an evil grin.
The troopers all looked to one another, considering the prize and becoming excited by such an incentive. Emily scurried over to Morrigan and leaned in, “I read the reports from the builders, I’m told it’s a real mad house in there…”
Morrigan smirked and glanced over, “Have you met my girlfriend?” she remarked, trying the term out for size even if it made her blush.
Emily looked at her touching her arm, “Really? You guys are official?” she asked with a huge smile.
Morrigan smiled as she stared at Nora getting ready, “Yeah… last night.”
Nora strut up to the large security door on the front of the building, “Hello beautiful,” she commented aloud, forgetting she was on speaker before pressing the button to open the door and start the clock.
She disappeared into the darkness of the doorway and the silence became nerve wracking for Morrigan.
“Awe man, they put that upside down… oh well, I guess it works,” everyone suddenly heard over the intercom.
Some of the troopers sniggered at that while Morrigan watched Solomon's face grow more intrigued by the odd display of education.
“Oooooh, sneaky, sneaky. Almost got me there haha! Gotta hand it to them, they got creative, I’m almost proud,”
“Oh, oh no, the urge to touch that is real! Why would they put this here!? Ugh! Resist Nora… oh yay, they put in the cameras I asked for in here. Good boys.”
Everyone listened to Nora talk to herself until she reappeared on the roof of the building and slapped her hand on a button stopping the clock at 5 minutes and 43 seconds. She looked down at her six trainees with a satisfied grin as she looked over the controls of the console in front of her upon the roof.
“You guys are in for a real treat. Oh! By the way, the interior is supposedly set to reconfigure each time a trap is triggered but seeing as I didn't set anything off well… good luck! Whose first?!” she bellowed excitedly.
Morrigan turned to Solomon as she watched the troopers lose their nerve over Nora’s excitement.
“Do you have any idea what they're walking into?” She asked.
He shook his head, “No. The only thing in aware of besides her “classroom” portion of the course is that she requested a large quantity of live explosives… which of course I denied however, given her philosophy of instincts being taught through pain, we settled on non-lethal stun munitions… though what she did with them I am uncertain,” he said with a mix of intrigue and worry at the possible mistake he made in giving her anything remotely explosive.
One man stepped forward which made Nora laugh, “Awww, you’re a bunch of pussies. Well? Assholes and elbows my dude, clock starts when you open the door and remember what I taught you,” she sang.
The man opened the door and within 12 seconds there was an explosion resonating from the interior of the building followed by the sound of loud grinding and thumping of thick steel mixed with Nora’s hysterical laughter.
Morrigan’s eyes went wide, as did everyone else’s.
No one interfered though as continuous explosions resonated through the area as each trooper went through her labyrinth of horrors.
“Oh, please touch it, I so wanted to…” Nora was cut off by the sound of something electric, “Oh gods! I’m glad I didn’t touch that… just… owie,” Nora chimed as she watched the monitors while those who ran her gauntlet lay around the roof in pain, looking worse for wear.
The last woman who went through surprisingly did not set off any horrible traps as she made it to the roof and slapped the completion button.
Nora cheered with raised arms before giving the woman a hug, “Looks like we have a real saboteur out of this bunch… though your time could’ve been better,” she scrutinized as she turned her attention to Solomon and the rest of the administrators.
The time the woman made it through with was ten minutes and four seconds.
“See big boss, even these morons can be taught, and we have one who didn't even hurt herself! You should really give her a promotion for that!” Nora complimented.
Solomon clapped, “Well done Miss Flannigan. I see there is potential in your training regiment. Though, I will need a full report as to how your class was conducted as well as the… training course you built. Including full schematics and materials. Crude, yet, I think your philosophy has merit to it.”
One of the men sputtered, “The woman is bloody mad sir!”
Nora giggled, “Awww, kitty cat go meow! Grrr!” Mimicking cat claws at the complaining man.
Morrigan couldn’t help but chuckle as did Solomon.
“It’s a fresh perspective lad, and one from someone as experienced as your teacher is of significant value. There is no sense at being a sore loser,” Solomon mused with wisdom.
The old man has a point, so does your girl. Pain is great experience, Apollyon interjected.
Morrigan nodded, “That it is for sure…”
“Hey Nora? I have to get to my class; I’ll see you tonight?” Morrigan called out.
“Hope you enjoyed the show babe! Show that old hag who’s boss!” Nora exclaimed for all to hear which caused Morrigan to nervously glance at the administrators’ direction. Most of them chuckled in good humor, including Emily who giggled next to her.
Solomon chuckled at Morrigan’s nervousness, “Come Miss Clarke, I’ll escort you to your class,” he stated with levity.
Morrigan sputtered at that as she shook her head, “What-no, no that’s not necessary. I can get there myself…”
Solomon chuckled and gestured for her to start walking, “Oh I insist, dear. If anything, my presence will tame Dezinaria's anger for you being so late. Besides, I’m curious to see how far your training has come, sure I get reports however, seeing it with my own eyes would be significantly more enjoyable.”
Morrigan’s shoulders shrank at the thought. Having Solomon there to watch made her nervous for some reason, and having to deal with her instructor’s complaints would only make matters more irritating.
A question dawned on her, “She says she is the one who trained you how to use your powers?”
Solomon smiled as they walked with casual stride, “Yes, she did indeed. She was one of the first mages to live a symbiotic life with the Eskarii and they trained her on the fundamentals of magic. Our magic is different than theirs more often than not, so it was quite the learning curve for them as well.”
Surprise came to Morrigan’s face as she listened. Part of her wanted to respect the older woman more than she already had, yet the rest of her refused to accept and tolerate the woman’s ornery nature. How Dezinaria could be so grumpy after living life with Eskarii, which was a young dream of Morrigan’s, was beyond her.
The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
Maybe she has a couple of those hybrid creatures runnin around that she seems so well aware of. You humans get all sorts of ornery when you’re away from family, Apollyon suggested curiously and distastefully.
That brought a whole new array of questions to the fore, she knew mix breed of human-Eskarii children were possible now, yet she hasn’t seen any around.
“Sir?” she chirped to gain his attention, “Dezinaria mentioned that Terrans and Eskarii are able to have children, but I don’t think I've seen one before.”
Solomon nodded, “There are many aboard the Void Star. Though they are harder to spot than you would think. It turns out the Eskarii genome is rather dominant and our women have a higher reproductive cycle than theirs. So, it is often a Terran woman bears a mixed child though it has been known to happen that an Eskarii woman to become pregnant by a Terran male. To truly identify the mixed offspring is to look at their physique.”
Morrigan furrowed her brows, “Their physique?”
He nodded with a smile, “Yes. As you may have noticed, all Eskarii are lithe in frame regardless of how physically strong they are. Skinny and lanky as it were, where as a mixed child will grow into a body that looks like Eskarii, nearly undiscernible, however, they will develop a more… think of a highly athletic human frame,” he said with an uncertainty of his explanation.
She nodded though, “I get it. Now that you mention it, there’s someone in my class that has a physique such as you described.”
Solomon hummed in affirmation as they approached Dezinaria’s training area. Morrigan jumped at the vast amount of power being unleashed all at once as she witnessed one of the trainees block the blast with a green, vibrant shield.
Dezinaria saw who approached and switched gears in a heart beat, “Miss Clarke! I am aware I gave you a week off to recover but that is no excuse for tardiness!” she snapped.
Morrigan ground her teeth, “My apologies, I had a prior engagement that took place before…”
The old woman cut her off, “I care little for excuses Miss Clarke. You may be an Initiate Inquisitor but that does not give you free reign to do as you please.”
The woman’s tirade did nothing but raise Morrigan’s aggravation. Solomon was the next to speak though.
“Vanessa, I implore you to show some leniency, I had the fledgling Inquisitor occupied prior to coming here,” he said bending the truth dramatically.
“You act as if I care, Lord Inquisitor. You of all should know I care not who is in my class or what their responsibilities are. I hold every single student to the same standard just as I held you to the same standard!” she stated with a glare.
He smiled though, “Well then, I suggest we should get your testing underway then?” he gestured at the older woman.
She scowled and shook her head in irritated disappointment, “If you fail this test I will fail you completely and have you retake this training from start to finish with my next group of trainees,” she growled out as she stared down Morrigan.
Morrigan narrowed her eyes as she took a few steps forward, saying nothing as she bit her tongue.
Ohhh hehehe, I feel your anger, little goddess. Lets teach this woman a thing or two about respect, shall we?
Morrigan nodded to Apollyon though it looked as if she nodded to her instructor who let out an indignant huff.
“Your final test is to properly block a fully charged attack from me. One of the most dangerous things in the universe is the full power of a mage. Each attack you may come across in the universe is roughly about 15% of a mages true ability unless they’re given the chance to unleash their full potential,” Dezinaria stated as she took her position.
Dezinaria raised her arms and the air hummed with electricity as a bright orb of electrical arcs danced rapidly between the old woman's hands. It only grew larger and more dense as her instructor drew more and more ambient energy into it with furrowed brows.
Morrigan scrutinized the technique and amount of focus it required for the woman to draw forth the impressive amount of energy.
“Child, raise your shield! I am close to releasing this energy!” Dezinaria called out in warning but gave a look of worried surprise when Morrigan just stood there motionless.
“Quick child! Before I…”
Dezinaria was cut off by the sound of a loud bang as Morrigan had drawn her pistol with blinding speed and grazed her instructor’s leg with a bullet.
Dezinaria collapsed on the ground, crying out as she grabbed her leg and the immense amount of coalescing power scattered harmlessly back into the cosmos.
Apollyon cackled like a mad man inside her head which only caused the smirk on Morrigan’s face to grow deeper as she holstered her side arm.
“Are you fucking mad woman!? You shot me!” Dezinaria howled.
Morrigan crossed her arms defiantly, “First of all, I only grazed you, you’re fine. What I did do though was break your focus so that you couldn't release such a vast amount of power. Don't think I didn't notice how much concentration that took…” Morrigan put her hands on her hips condescendingly, “The best way to block an attack is to never need to block in the first place, as they say, the perfect defense is an even better offense, and such,” she said with a casual shrug, feeling significantly better about the situation now.
“Gregor! Are you going to sit there and let her get away with such insolence!?” Dezinaria barked through grit teeth as a small amount of blood seeped through the clothing next to her leg.
Morrigan’s blood went cold as she momentarily forgot that the Lord Inquisitor had been standing less than ten feet away from her. She turned and gave the man a cautious sidelong glance to see him standing stoically as ever.
Solomon held a straight, contemplative face before a chuckle slipped his lips, followed by a bellowing laughter. Morrigan’s spine locked at the odd reaction, uncertain whether it was a good thing or a bad thing that the superior officer of the entire Inquisition was laughing.
The older man wiped tears of laughter from his eyes as he settled down. He looked between Morrigan and Dezinaria with an amused grin, “I can’t say you didn’t have this coming, Vanessa. I will admit I’m surprised it’s taken this long for one of your students to take a shot at you,” his voice carried over with thick amusement.
“What is the meaning of this!? Arrest her Gregor!” Dezinaria exclaimed. While Morrigan looked at him with wide eyes.
Solomon shook his head as he heard someone approach from behind, “I bring people aboard to integrate their individual views and experience, Lady Dezinaria, and what Miss Clarke just did was not only taking an old world tactic to heart but also using it in a very real world and unorthodox situation. Frankly, if I would've thought of it so many years ago I think it's safe to say I would've done something similar. Her solution to the problem at hand was simple, thought out and executed with impeccable accuracy,” he said before giving Morrigan a small smile.
Dezinaria scowled and grunted as she stood up while the medical support rushed over to her, “Fine, have it your way you brat, but there will be no more firearms allowed in my sessions!”
Solomon tsked her and shook his head, “You know it is a rule that all military personnel be armed at all times if the need ever arises. Maybe you should find a lesson in this Vanessa. There are two or three take-aways I can think of from witnessing this affair.”
Dezinaria let go a stream of curses as she was taken away by the medics, which Morrigan ignored. Most of the tirade was directed towards her.
As a very tall woman approached, she began clapping as she eyed the instructor being taken away, “I’m almost ashamed that I never thought of that,” she said with a wide jovial smile.
She was the tallest person Morrigan had ever met, standing at what had to be six foot eight, the long brunette hair she had cascaded down her surprisingly full figure as she strode predatorily up next to Solomon who was half a head shorter than her. It took a moment for it to click on her mind of where she recognized the woman from, it was Inquisitor Clare Tindal.
“Ah, I'm happy to see that you've arrived, Inquisitor Tindal, I'm sure you're excited to be here today,” Solomon said as he turned to her with his signature smile while Morrigan gaped at the woman. Despite being twice Morrigan’s age, the woman was gorgeous.
“Oh, that little display from my ward was well worth the trip itself. I definitely stand by my statement earlier,” she stated with an amused grin to Solomon before turning her attention to Morrigan.
“I'll give you this, from the looks of it you gave her a harder time than I did, that's impressive,” Clare stated with a proud smile.
Morrigan blushed at that as Solomon chuckled at that, “Yeah, you were a bit unruly, weren't you?” He mused.
She snorted and asked, “So, have you told her the news?”
The sound of news broke Morrigan out of her awe inspired trance, “What news?” she asked looking between the two superior Inquisitors.
Solomon shook his head, “Not yet, this class was priority at the moment, though I suppose I would consider that a successful completion of her final test from Dezinaria, I suppose now is as good of a time as any,” he stated with a casual tone, not hinting at whether it was good news or bad news.
“Do you want the honors or shall I?” Solomon asked. Morrigan didn’t enjoy being ignored and the rising curiosity that had slowly began to form into anxiety at the base of her spine did not help her feelings about the matter.
Clare grinned, “Well, she is my ward, even if this is our first time meeting face to face.”
“Yeah, I didn’t expect you to be so… tall…” Morrigan interjected.
Clare laughed with playful amusement at her comment, “Yeah, that’s a neat trick about video communication, shaves off a whole foot as well as ten pounds,” she noted playfully.
That managed to break through Morrigan’s rising anxiety, as well as getting her to snort and smile.
“So, looks like I have some bad-ish, good news to tell you,” Clare said, bringing back the supposed point of her being there. The notion of bad news caused Morrigan’s nerves to freeze though.
“About four days ago one of our Inquisitors lost their lives while boarding a derelict ship that didn’t happen to be derelict. It was actually a pirate trap. Inquisitor Toph lost his life, and his ship took some damage but came back with me today,” her voice sounded pained yet light, as if this had been the expectation.
Which, if Morrigan thought about it, the Inquisitors often lived lonely, solitary lives outside the Void Star, so it was natural for an Inquisitor’s life to be cut short every so often.
“But, that depressing bit aside, today officially marks your day of becoming a fully bona-fide Inquisitor, today's your graduation so, congrats kid!” Clare finished with a bright smile.
Morrigan's eyes went wide with shock at that revelation.
Hoo’oh! I did not see that coming! Drinks and blood cleansing tonight on me! Apollyon cheered in her head enthusiastically.
“Wait… what? How?” Morrigan exclaimed in confusion.
Both Clare and Solomon chuckled at her shock, “Well, normally upon graduation we would requisition a ship to be built for a new Inquisitor and the new Inquisitor would play a support role for a year or so within the Cathedral until it is finished however, sometimes events like this align where one Inquisitor passes on their own ship to a new one, either through retirement or in this instance, death.”
Morrigan blinked as the daunting weight of reality settled upon her shoulders. Though the many weeks they had her testing and preparing left her feeling confident in her abilities; reality was now about to throw her to the proverbial wolves. Now she had to prove whether she was an alpha, or if she would be eaten by the universe.
Ohhh, my little goddess, you are more than ready. Bask in the opportunity presented before you and take hold! You said you wanted the power to make a difference then now is your chance hehehehe, Apollyon prodded her with a sadistic chuckle.
Apollyon’s words turned some of her anxiety into resolve as she let out a deep sigh, “I really thought you were going to say something about my mother… speaking of…”
Solomon smiled, “About that, that is another situation that has good news and bad news I’m afraid.”
“What?! What do you mean?” she said as panic started to rise.
Solomon chuckled and tried to wave away her fears, “Do not worry, I am a man of my word Miss Clarke. I did happen to get in contact with your mother a few weeks ago. She is well as are those who have been assisting her. We devised a plan to give them escape from the Federation before the Federation pushed an attack forward that cut off all communications with Earth, planet side that is. However, the ship I had ordered to go and retrieve your mother and her team had reported success in their objective and your mother is safely aboard the Inquisitorial Destroyer Trickster’s Sleight and are on their way to the Void Star as we speak.”
Even as all of her worries shifted to excitement, she furrowed her brows, “What’s the bad news?”
His smile falter slightly though the level of genuine certainty was still there, “It appears during the receiving of the ship your mother was on, the Trickster’s Sleight's “Faster than Light” engine took damage, though they are attempting to repair the engine, it may take as long as six months for them to return if they are unable to repair it as they use their warp drive to move as fast as possible.”
Morrigan frowned at that, though she was ridiculously grateful that her family was now safe, it hurt to have to wait that much longer to see them again.
“Thank you… for telling me and for seeing my request through,” she said with a sad mix of appreciation and sullied happiness.
Clare frowned back at her, “Hey, none of that being sad shit tonight. It’s your first night as a full-blooded Inquisitor! We’re going to party like it’s the 1999!” Clare stated animatedly to cheer her up. In her defense, an Amazonian of a woman dancing childishly is certainly a way to cheer someone up.
Morrigan giggled at that and gave her a nod though Solomon spoke up before she could say anything.
“For the moment, we will need to head back to the Cathedral. We have much to discuss but I promise not to keep you for too long, Inquisitor Tindal is correct, you should celebrate tonight. It’s been quite a while since we’ve had such potential in a single Inquisitor, to say you are beyond our standard is quite the understatement,” he said proudly.
“You two have fun with that, I got some stuff I have to do but meet me at Dora’s yeah? Know the place?” Clare asked.
Morrigan scoffed at that, “As if anyone can not know Dora’s,” she said incredulously.
“That’s my girl! See you tonight!” the tall woman said with twin thumbs up and a shit eating grin before sauntering off on her own.
“Oh, I wish I could have brought you two together sooner in your training though she has had nothing but positive things to say from your discussions and her… doctrine training as it were. Anyways, come and let’s make your promotion official,” Solomon mused before gesturing her to follow him.
Morrigan’s nerves vibrated in a mix of nervousness and excitement as the limitless potential began formulating in her mind now that, albeit surprisingly faster than she expected, she was now Inquisitor Clarke.
Trust me girl, you may have become one of these so-called Inquisitors, but you are far more than just that. You are the embodiment of death, granted the power to destroy and sunder everything in existence and the will of woman’s wrath. Your potential is only just beginning, my little reaper, this is what you wanted and I will guide you towards your dream.
“You think so, that this is the path we need to take?” her inner voice sounding more childish and unsure though she knew deep down Apollyon was good for it’s cosmic truths.
Oh yes, the galaxy will rue the day it earned your ire. Just remember, you are far more than what meets the eye, Apollyon said in prophetic praise as its words dripped heavily with the promise of violence.