♙Fifth Fact ♙[video]
[There’s a woman on screen who looks like she could be Tenel Ka, but only in another life. Her hair is done up in an intricate knot as jewels practically drip from her ears, throat and wrists, and she’s wearing a beautiful, expensive dress.* Beyond all these differences, however, is the expression on her face - haughty, superior, and with an overt sort of knowledge that she looks damn fine right now]
Queen Mother Tenel Ka Chume.
Tenel Ka sighs, excusing herself from her current conversations quietly before turning to face the other version of herself. The sight is not all that unusual to her, necessity having compelled her to wear similar attire in the past although she usually forgoes so much jewellery - ripped ear lobes and potential strangulation have never been an enticing prospect. The use of her full title sets her teeth on edge slightly, but it was not a secret that she had expected to remain as such forever, anyway.
“I have been expecting you,” is all she says, seemingly unfazed. She is a Jedi, after all; facing the darker side of herself is less of a surprise and more something she feels is inevitable. It is not the first time, and she highly doubts it will be the last.
“Ah. Of course. It is seldom you are surprised, after all.” The other version of herself gives a mocking nod, falling into a faintly swaying walk as she speaks. Idly, Tenel Ka notes the distinct click of heeled shoes on the stone floor.
“Seldom is not never, but in either case it would be arrogant of me to assume I would remain unaffected when so many others have not,” she points out, keeping her eyes on her double - more for prudence’s sake than any real sense of fear.
“You say this as if arrogance is not in your nature.”
“If you wish to think such, I have neither the means nor the will to stop you.” She may be proving the mirror version of herself correct by thinking it, but Tenel Ka remains unsurprised at the direction the conversation is taking. Her potential for mistaking arrogance for confidence in her abilities is something that has been of great concern to her in the past, after all. Still, it seems that her other self is somewhat behind on the times; Tenel Ka has long since come to terms with that particular tendency. Indeed, she has long since come to terms with most aspects of herself.
“Or so you assume.” The woman is replying directly to her thoughts, which suggests that she is, in fact, an outgrowth of Tenel Ka herself rather than an outside influence. She continues to regard her, calmly, the hint of frustration in the double’s voice all too obvious when one considered how rarely it was present in the real woman’s tone. “You believe you have acknowledged all that you are, Queen Mother, and yet you continue to reject these parts of yourself, resent them and wish they were not a part of you.”
“Acknowledgement does not require approval,” Tenel Ka notes. “It is possible to acknowledge aspects of oneself and still dislike them.” She pauses, considers her words carefully before forming a further reply. “Further, the fact that I hold a position does not make it a part of me. I wish I was not the Queen Mother, yes, and I resent the fact that it is necessary; this does not, however, entail rejecting any part of myself.”
She waits, her expression more patient (with a hint of long-suffering to it) than anything else as she watches it twist into a mask of rage and hatred on the face of the woman opposite her.
“You are nothing more than a mouth-piece for the power you hold, and while you may be so arrogant to believe it will not infect you, it is that belief that will make it so easy for it to do so. You will awake to realise one day that you have become the very thing you loathe and yet claim to be unaffected by, that where once you had comrades and companions you now have slaves and those who plot behind your back to undo you, and you will know that it was your own actions which brought you to that point. And you will revel in the power, and you will not care.”
Tenel Ka stands before the onslaught unbowed, simply listening. When the other woman is done, she closes her eyes for a moment and nods, sighing heavily. “It may be so,” she acknowledges; her eyes open, and with a snap-hiss her face is bathed in the teal light of her lightsaber. “But it is not a certainty, and I do not rely solely on myself to prevent it from happening. That is not something I would expect you to understand, however.”
The other woman snarls, red lightsaber glowing to life in her hands, double bladed. “Explain it to me, then.”
But Tenel Ka shakes her head. “The time for words has passed,” is all she says, and before her dark side has had sufficient time to process her words, she pushes forward, bringing her weapon up in a movement as natural as breathing. The other woman moves to attack, rather than defend as she should have, and it’s a simple thing for Tenel Ka to deflect the offensive and slip under her guard; lightsaber in her left hand, she runs her through. The other woman may try to choke something out, but Tenel Ka aims true as always. It takes only a few seconds for the hatred to die from gray eyes, and she disengages the blade before the sudden dead weight of the woman slices her up the middle.
[Tenel Ka stares down at her own body dead on the ground for a moment, before she stoops and gently closes her eyes. That done, she returns to her datapad in order to continue her previous conversation]
*the sleeveless dress at the back!
Queen Mother Tenel Ka Chume.
Tenel Ka sighs, excusing herself from her current conversations quietly before turning to face the other version of herself. The sight is not all that unusual to her, necessity having compelled her to wear similar attire in the past although she usually forgoes so much jewellery - ripped ear lobes and potential strangulation have never been an enticing prospect. The use of her full title sets her teeth on edge slightly, but it was not a secret that she had expected to remain as such forever, anyway.
“I have been expecting you,” is all she says, seemingly unfazed. She is a Jedi, after all; facing the darker side of herself is less of a surprise and more something she feels is inevitable. It is not the first time, and she highly doubts it will be the last.
“Ah. Of course. It is seldom you are surprised, after all.” The other version of herself gives a mocking nod, falling into a faintly swaying walk as she speaks. Idly, Tenel Ka notes the distinct click of heeled shoes on the stone floor.
“Seldom is not never, but in either case it would be arrogant of me to assume I would remain unaffected when so many others have not,” she points out, keeping her eyes on her double - more for prudence’s sake than any real sense of fear.
“You say this as if arrogance is not in your nature.”
“If you wish to think such, I have neither the means nor the will to stop you.” She may be proving the mirror version of herself correct by thinking it, but Tenel Ka remains unsurprised at the direction the conversation is taking. Her potential for mistaking arrogance for confidence in her abilities is something that has been of great concern to her in the past, after all. Still, it seems that her other self is somewhat behind on the times; Tenel Ka has long since come to terms with that particular tendency. Indeed, she has long since come to terms with most aspects of herself.
“Or so you assume.” The woman is replying directly to her thoughts, which suggests that she is, in fact, an outgrowth of Tenel Ka herself rather than an outside influence. She continues to regard her, calmly, the hint of frustration in the double’s voice all too obvious when one considered how rarely it was present in the real woman’s tone. “You believe you have acknowledged all that you are, Queen Mother, and yet you continue to reject these parts of yourself, resent them and wish they were not a part of you.”
“Acknowledgement does not require approval,” Tenel Ka notes. “It is possible to acknowledge aspects of oneself and still dislike them.” She pauses, considers her words carefully before forming a further reply. “Further, the fact that I hold a position does not make it a part of me. I wish I was not the Queen Mother, yes, and I resent the fact that it is necessary; this does not, however, entail rejecting any part of myself.”
She waits, her expression more patient (with a hint of long-suffering to it) than anything else as she watches it twist into a mask of rage and hatred on the face of the woman opposite her.
“You are nothing more than a mouth-piece for the power you hold, and while you may be so arrogant to believe it will not infect you, it is that belief that will make it so easy for it to do so. You will awake to realise one day that you have become the very thing you loathe and yet claim to be unaffected by, that where once you had comrades and companions you now have slaves and those who plot behind your back to undo you, and you will know that it was your own actions which brought you to that point. And you will revel in the power, and you will not care.”
Tenel Ka stands before the onslaught unbowed, simply listening. When the other woman is done, she closes her eyes for a moment and nods, sighing heavily. “It may be so,” she acknowledges; her eyes open, and with a snap-hiss her face is bathed in the teal light of her lightsaber. “But it is not a certainty, and I do not rely solely on myself to prevent it from happening. That is not something I would expect you to understand, however.”
The other woman snarls, red lightsaber glowing to life in her hands, double bladed. “Explain it to me, then.”
But Tenel Ka shakes her head. “The time for words has passed,” is all she says, and before her dark side has had sufficient time to process her words, she pushes forward, bringing her weapon up in a movement as natural as breathing. The other woman moves to attack, rather than defend as she should have, and it’s a simple thing for Tenel Ka to deflect the offensive and slip under her guard; lightsaber in her left hand, she runs her through. The other woman may try to choke something out, but Tenel Ka aims true as always. It takes only a few seconds for the hatred to die from gray eyes, and she disengages the blade before the sudden dead weight of the woman slices her up the middle.
[Tenel Ka stares down at her own body dead on the ground for a moment, before she stoops and gently closes her eyes. That done, she returns to her datapad in order to continue her previous conversation]
*the sleeveless dress at the back!