what do you desire

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

continued from here (http://sw-fans.net/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=32244)



The trip to Yag'Dhul had been quiet - s'Il spent most of it in the infirmary, alot of her time spent sitting beside Fa'Rawn's bed as the girl slept, sometimes fitfully. Not that the Lupine blamed her. What she'd gone through had been ghastly, and s'Il still felt a little responsible for not being able to help in time. But, at least she'd shown up, stopping whatever it was that'd gone on. Desaria had proved nothing more than the kindest and caring of hosts, and the Lupine was forever grateful for the hand of friendship he'd offered. It was something she couldn't help but be utterly thankful for.

And even on Yag'Dhul, when Fa'Rawn had been taken from the shuttle and into one of Terrisz'Voss' main buildings, she'd stood, staring as the young woman was wheeled away. Hyde had been there, and with Desaria by her side, s'Il had calmed the CEO. At first his eyes had been accusatory, but she'd been able to avert his anger. After all. She had plans to get the stolen data back. She would, there were no doubts in her mind, she would just need a few things to help make the job easier.

And everything she'd needed was written down on a datapad and handed to Hyde before he turned to head for the building, his shined dress shoes hitting the tarmac of the upper landing pad as his overcoat remained buttoned over a trim, black business suit.

Less than an hour later they were once more heading through hyperspace towards Thyferra - s'Il clad in nothing more than a pair of loose fitting white trousers and an equally white, loosefitting gi. her feet were bare, and she'd made no attempts to rectify the situation. A metal briefcase case, given to her personally by Hyde, had not left her possession since they'd departed Yag'Dhul, and the Lupine refused to allow its contents to be searched. What it contained was private. Sensitive. And something that could only be used for this mission.



Now, sitting with her legs drawn up, the Lupine rested in a deskchair, the case sitting on the desk's surface before her. Desaria had let her use on of the rooms aboard the Star Destroyer, and she'd taken full advantage of it. Most of the time spent during the trip was in solitude, as she worked out - both in her mind and on hardcopies - how her plan would be executed.

All she needed now was the Grand Admiral's willing consent.

And that was where she found herself now. She'd sent a message to him, asking him to see her in her temporary quarters. Privately. She needed his help. And hopefully, he was willing to give it.

Without him, she knew she'd fail.

[Telan Desaria]

" Wait here Malik."

Grand Admiral Desaria adjusted his tunic and quickly raised a hand to forestall the protest of his ever loyal guard.

" She would let as little harm come to me as you would. If anything goes wrong, I know how to use a pistol."

Entering the room, what little light glowed found reflective home on his polished jackboots.

" Madame Duchess."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

With a calm eye, she turned her head to regard him. As ever, his spotless, wrinkle-free uniform stood out in the dimness of the room. A smooth, barely noticable tap of her fingers on a panel built into the desktop raised the brightness just a little, and s'Il uncurled her body from the chair to stand.

She didn't know how much time he would grant her, so the Lupine cut to the heart of the matter, and letting her fingers slide from the case to rest at her side, she stared the Grand Admiral straight in the eyes.

"Have you ever wanted to be a demi-god... ?"

[Telan Desaria]

The Grand Admiral barked a laugh, his epaulettes jostlings as his chest moved with an intake of air. It was dull roar not intending to initmidatem but it may have.

Realizing the seriousness of her question, he pasued.

" No. why do you ask?"

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Her head canted to the side at his reaction, but the Lupine remained where she was, unmoving and deathly quiet, complete seriousness written on her features. Her hair was tied loosely back, and her eyes bored into his.

"What would you say if I offered you the chance to become one... the chance to go wherever your mind takes you - the chance to go beyond your body... ?"

[Telan Desaria]

" I would say with all due respect that you need to return to the infirmary so your morphine anesthetic can wear off safely."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

"Cute."

Brows arched, she lifted a hand, a single finger motioned for him to come closer while her other reached behind her for the case, sliding it more into arm's reach before udoing the clasps with a few flicks of her fingers.

"You think I'm still being affected by your medical drugs? Very well... "

She lifted the lid, exposing a very private technology, packed carefully in formfitting foam - wires connecting miniscule circuit boxes in an intricate pattern. and in he middle of it, rested a small orb, onyx black and also connected with the thin wires.

"I don't think you quite understand the scope of what I'm offering you."

[Telan Desaria]

" Oh?"

First among the emotional priorities of a Grand Admiral was a lack in display thereof, even in the company of friends. Though publicly counted as his friend, Silancy was an officer of a company that was not bubbling with joy at being on an Imperial protectorate world.

As such, the mood took on a business-type air. Desaria regarded all with skepticism.

" Do tell..."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

"Simply put, I need your help to fix the problem that has arisen. There are things that are going to have to be done that I can't do - and you're the only one who can. On the other side of the coin though, there's things that I can do that need to be done that you can't. Which led me to the decision that I made before we even arrived at Yag'Dhul.

"I'm offering you the chance to have for yourself, albeit temporarily, a taste of the technology that I myself possess."

She stood just a little bit straighter then. "In fact, I'm begging for you to take it. I won't be able to do what needs to be done in person...

"... I need you to be... an extension of myself."

[Telan Desaria]

Grand Admiral Desaria had a history of being an officer, the entireity of his life spent in the service of something greater. Decorated with the most prestigious awards the Empire could bestow on him and promoted to the heights of the Admiralty, he had never balked, his courage never faltered.

Until now. Faced with what he assumed was a decision to remain human or become machine, he withered.

" I cannot."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

The look in her eyes was one of hurt, and it was easy to see she'd cringed just a little bit at his words. She took a step forward, haltingly.

"Why not? I've never seen fear in your eyes - barring the first time you saw me change... but that was because you saw something that you didn't think possible - something you didn't understand. You've seen me change a few times before that, and it seems to me you've become somewhat accustumed to it.

"What's so bad about this... ?"

[Telan Desaria]

" Madame, I remember vividly the first time I saw you transform into whatever that was. Not a time has passed when that memory was upon me that I did not awaken in a cold sweat. What happened to you was the most frightening thing I have ever seen.

" I have lead men to their death and done my share of killing. But what you ask is beyond the realm of warfare and dare I say friendship. I will help you in anyway possible, but what you propose is hardly my idea of going anywhere close to deism."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

"It's only temporary - nothing permanent. There are no side effects other than a heightened awareness during the period of time that you would have the hardware and softare installed. It's painless. And as far as going beyond friendship, I can tell you right now that that's not true. If anything like that were to occur at all, it would only serve to solidify such a friendship. And not because you would agree to do this - but because... "

She sucked in a breath, her voice lowering.

"... because you would in essence, be within my mind. You would be able to see, firsthand, and without physical barriers, who I am.

"I need your help Telan. Please"

[Telan Desaria]

" Describe in more detail the process - and why exactly you need me and not some one from your own company who does this sort of...thing."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

A sense of near-relief welled in her chest, and the Lupine blinked before taking a step forward. She circled to stand behing the Grand Admiral, and slowly, her hand reached up, fingers placing themselves at the nape of his neck just below the neckline of his uniform.

"A simple injection - painless. The software travels through your nervous system and creates its construct around certain parts of the brain. This is not a permanent construct - as mine is, mind you. You won't have reinforced neural hardlines in anyway. Think of it as a temporary symbiont. It will allow you to interface directly with me either face to face or over large distances."

A finger traced up the length of his neck and she let her fingernails lightly scratch his scalp before freezing in place over the back of his head.

"The construct is an aide to your own neural and nervous systems. It enhances your perceptions and shows you the digital world in such a way that you could never have thought possible.

"And I ask you because you are my friend, and in many ways a confidant. In all truthfulness, I would not trust anyone else with the chance to see me within my own mind.

"I ask because I trust you."

[Telan Desaria]

" This is all so very sudden. I have a great retiscence to do anything like this. Becoming something of a machine is never anything I anticipated. How do I know I won't...."

He swallowed hard.

"..become like you?"

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

The Lupine sighed, shaking her head as her hand retracted and she paced around to stand before him. It was something of a surprise that he thought he'd become a machine in any way, and s'Il couldn't help but wonder what had taken him to the conclusion that he'd lose any sense of humanity.

"A machine? This is nothing like that. It is simply a tool which makes it easier to use any sort of computer or piece of machinery. Like I said before, it's temporary - I wouldn't even consider asking you this if it was a permanent integration. But, because it's not, I'm asking.

"As far as becoming... like me... I don't think I quite understand your concern. I'm nothing but a Lupine - and there's no way for you to become like me unless I wanted you to. And believe me when I say I do not."

[Telan Desaria]

" I have no choice but to acquiesce. I must stipulate though - this can take no longer than twenty hours: then the Intimidator docks for repair and I am needed on Thyferra."

Having relented, Desaria sighed, and looked S'Ilancy in her eyes. His eyes showed not fear, but resignation.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

The Lupine nodded, turning from him to once more face the desk, and reached a hand out, she pulled a small vial from one of its protected foam-enclosed enclaves. Setting on the desk, she then pulled a thin, fragile looking syringe-type device out, setting it beside the vial.

She then looked back to Desaria.

"Take off your tunic and lay on the bed - on your stomach."

[Telan Desaria]

There was nothing now that Telan Desaria could do: he had given his word and he was bound to honor it. To be remiss in doing so would forfeit his honour, and thusly his life.

With a flick of his fingers, the right-sided clasp of his double-breasted tunic flung open. The inside lining was a fine silk though more of an ivory than pure white as the garb's exterior.

The garment fell open and then off the Admiral's broad and slumped shoulders. It slipped effortlessly down until resting on the arm of a nearby chair, its epaulettes ruffled but still maintaining a stiff rigidity to their air. Desaria felt a flash of pride, then looked away.

Like a barb in his side, the Grand Admiral's left came to the back of the collared-undershirt he wore. Resulting from his movement, a four-pointed cross topped by a pair of rubies over a Pforr leaf fell down into the open right. The Emblem of the Empire burned at the cross' center over which fingers curled to conceal.

The undershirt was next to be removed, its buttons of pearl separating without effrot or notice. One more garment, tight and regulation, peeled from the Grand Admiral's frame before his flesh was exposed for all to see.

Running from shoulder to thigh along his right side ran a massive gash and bruise. In the immediate area was a slight tinge of blue denoting tried but failed bacta treatment. Only complicated surgery had repaired the damage, but nothing had removed the pain on his soul. Emotion and time had deadened the nerves, but not a memory. Hoping for its ignoring, the Supreme Commander of the Imperial Navy lay himself on the bed. His was a lithe frame, ever the shockball champion of his youth, but was by no means a strapping stormtrooper.

C'est la vie.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

s'Il was no stranger to either physical or emotional scarring - and said nothing thereof of Desaria's old; and quite visible wounds. She had her own, one of which was clearly visible at her neck - the lightsaber scar that blazed a vertical trail down the center of her body. It'd been something that she'd in all actuality died from, but after being beaten enough times with the science stick, she'd come back.

Taking up the syringe and vial, the Lupine walked to the bed before lowering her small frame onto the edge. Bringing the vial up to meet the tip of the syringe, s'Il pressed a small button on the side of the thin, cylindrical tube. A hissing could be heard then, as the contents of the vial were pulled into the syringe. As she set the vial - now empty - on the floor, she shifted her body, getting to her knees before straddling the Grand Admiral across his back.

With one hand she held the syringe, while the other traveled to the back of his neck, massaging gently at first before beginning to knead the muscles and tendons of his neck. Something must have felt good, and she smiled when she heard him mumble something under his breath - and definately not in Basic.

Bringing the syringe to his neck, s'Il gently pressed the tip of the needle to his skin. She continued her massaging for a few more moments before suddenly pushing down with a sharp motion. She felt Desaria jerk, but the hand at his neck went to the side of his face, gently pressing her fingers into his cheek and temple in as soothing a manner as she could as the thumb of her other hand depressed the injection switch.

What happened next would be next to impossible for the Grand Admiral to describe - as the nanobots responsible for forming the construct around his brain were injected into his body. Almost immediately they shot through his bloodstream, examining every inch within his body to easier facilitate their "spawning".

And less than 10 seconds later, the vial was empty - its contents now assimilating to Desaria's body.

Pulling the syringe away and setting off to the side, the Lupine maintained her hold on his face while her other hand went to once more massage the portion of his neck that'd been punctured. The small wound itself was almost unable to be noticed, Leaning forward so that her forehead touched the back of his own head, s'Il accessed her internal remote link - the nanos had been constructed to operate on the frequency of her own electrical impulses, and so she was able to moniter their progress as the began building the construct around the Grand Admiral's brain.

Eyes closed, she let a slight smile grace her lips as she watched through her mind's eye all that was being done. The little buggers worked quickly and efficiently, and soon enough they had the internal commlink network finished.

Still atop the Grand Admiral, s'Il let out an inaudible breath as she accessed the fledgling internal network now shared by the two.

The words she spoke would only be heard by him - being that they were in his own head. Even her voice had seemed to change while in the medium of contact - it was as soft as silk; soothing; relaxing; and seemed to coat everything with a gentle feel.

hello Telan... welcome to my mind...

[Telan Desaria]

In every instance of his life, Telan Desaria had assimiliated all he saw, optic images and neural impulses recorded in chemical orders. Words and views became ingrained in his mind, a brain hungry for knowledge sapping up all it could to become better and better. He had read books numbering in the thousands and committed Holorecordings to memory in single sittings.

Nothing in his career as soldier or scholar could compare to the influx of information his brain was undergoing. Memories and patterns, emotions and acts all flooded his brain. The Grand Admiral screamed as he never had, not verbally for his mouth did not move, simply let loose the full furry of a man overwhelmed.

When chaos settled to black, he was calm.

Where am I?

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Her body was motinless, perched atop his as she contiued to lean her head against his.

But, within her mind a completely different environment was being observed. A world devoid of anything physical - devoid of anything, really. Only simple blackness. And then, white. Everywhere, surrounding everything. The Grand Admiral found himself standing, adorned only in pair of simple black drawstring trousers. Everywhere as far as the eye could see was white. Nothing else.

And standing behind, was the Lupine.

She appeared to be the same, however, as she had been in the physical world, her white garments covering her body loosely. It was her face though, that had changed. Instead of its normal steely gaze and sometimes hash lines, it held a peacefulness that Desaria had never seen. Her hair was down as well, falling past her shoulders. And in her eyes was tranquility.

"I didn't think the construct would be so intense for you," she started, watching as he wheeled to face her. "I made sure it was a rather slow integration.

"As for where you are, you're in my own construct. Think of it as limbo, i guess - anything is possible with the mind - "

And reaching out, s'Il laid her hand on his chest just above his scar before running it down its' length. The wound disappeared as her hand passed over scarred flesh, leaving only an undamaged surface. And soon enough his entire scar was gone.

A soft breath cam from her lips. "Your construct is still being built though, so the process isn't done quite yet. In the meantime, I thought you would like to wait here."

Hands going behind her back, the Lupine looked up and to the side.

"Rather peaceful, yes?"

[Telan Desaria]

" Really?"

There was moment of hesitation before an arched eyebrow and mischevious gerin worked its way across the face of one of the most powerful men in the Empire. It that flash of an instant where once a painful reminder of love lost had burned and disppeared, the Grand Admiral had an idea.

Falling back freely, he hoped for the embrace of a padded chair. Then, he let his mind wander to what a Grand Admiral could do with limitless power....

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Bringing a hand from behind her back, s'Il raised it up a little, palm facing upwards, and the Grand Admiral halted in midair. She was still looking to the side though, and affording him a sidelong glance, gave a smile. She could feel his mind wandering, exploring her own.

And in the process, something appeared in the distance, walking closer.

Lowering her hand slowly, s'Il released her hold on Desaria and he settled softly into a plush white chair, his frame depressing the cushions as they seemd to almost wrap around his body.

The figure came closer, and s'Il idly moved to a second chair that sat next to the Grand Admiral's, seeingly appearing in the blink of an eye. Lowering her own small bulk into its depths, she leaned back.

"Taken to it already, I see," she laughed slightly as the figure became more discernable. It was herself. In a uniform no less, and the Lupine couldn't help the smile that curled her lips. She could feel his desire to instill order and establish discipline - to create a system that in theory benefitted all.

"I take it this is your way of showing me that even the lawless can be assimilated into a lawful culture... ?"

[Telan Desaria]

My mind works in mysterious ways. I seem, even now with machines about my mind, to be ruled by the subconscious. With you here beside me, anything is possible.

His head cocking to see the woman who was as attractive in belief as in truth. Standing before him, she was shapely and gorgeous - as gorgeous as a Centaurian male could discern. Her curves were perfect and skin pristine, the quintessential feminine counterpart.

To his left sat a woman that was in no way sensual. Over stately curves and a godess-like physique lay a well cut uniform ushered forth from the most refined tailor; there was no rank plaque on her breast, but there was an obscure medal. Her hair was tied and braided elegantly, resting on shoulder in a manner worthy of Daala. Silken flesh was shielded by a pair of bright jackboots.

Indeed.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

"Anything? Friend, I like to make it a point to do the impossible."

The uniformed woman ebbed away, and when Desaria turned to look at her disappearing form, the Lupine sighed...

And as the Grand Admiral looked back to her, the other woman gone completely, the person who sat beside him had completely changed. Instead of s'Il's own instantly recognizable frame, a man had seemingly replaced her, his body lightly tanned and body seemingly cut from granite, hard lines denoting chiseled muscles and tendons. He was dressed in the same attire as the Grand Admiral, except his own trousers were pure white. Blonde/brunette hair fell into his eyes - eyes that were a crystal clear blue.

"Is this more pleasing to your eyes then... ?"

[Telan Desaria]

There came a gulp deep in the throat of the Empire's most eligible bachelor. Seated next to him was a male human no more than twenty-five standard years old. As a Centaurian, Telan Desaria was instantly attracted to what rested at his side.

The man, nay the boy, tilted his head as ot incant towards his neighbor. It was then that the Grand Admiral was visited by a ghost from his past. Desaria tried desperately to close his eyes, to forget and push it away, but the image would not waver. Instead he remained there, a thorn in the Admiral's mind.

There was no stopping it when Desaria leapt from the chair a near four meters behind S'Ilancy. His face had gone from calm and calculating to horrified. Every pore was gushing sweat and his eyes had gone blood shot.

" No!!!!!!!"

Drawn from the over-active mind of a military professional, the vision of his only love whom he had failed to save drove Grand Admiral Desaria into a fit.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

The Lupine stood as the Grand Admiral moved from his seat, his face contorted in something of a terrified memory. The chairs themselves disapperared, and s'Il stood stock still, watching as Desaria cried out. She could feel the construct within his mind being built, halfway completed now, and the man that Desaria saw before him spoke once more.

"Stop this. Now."

She strode forward, her own mental hardline interfacing with his still incomplete construct, and in less than a second the Grand Admiral was rendered immobile.

"The digital world in which you are now is a place to on occasion allow yourself a release from the reality you call 'home'. Would you really like to see what you are currently a part of? Very well."

And almost instantly the white around them began to fade, replaced by translucent panels, layerd over one another, and humbers as well dotted the digital landscape that was revealing itself before the Grand Admiral's eyes. The transition was soft, gentle, and when it was over, the two stood in what appeared to be the middle of a complex and elaborate puzzle made up of nothing but nearly transparent paneling and number sequences. It was beatiful and almost hypnotizing, even.

"I brought you here to forget about your life for a small amount of time - and yet you seem to wish to dredge up memories that have no place here."

The man before Desaria walked closer, moving through each panel as if they weren't even there, the numbers almost invisible as they went about their own business.

"If you so wish, with what you have at your disposal thus far, you can have those memories blocked."

[Telan Desaria]

I can't do this. I couldn't save him.

The words came slowly, Desaria seeming to stare off into space. He could feel the neural network growing in his brain, but now he did not care. More than anything at that moment in time he wanted nothing but to hold his long-lost lover - - and apologize.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

"You can't do what," came the query, before the Lupine continued on, waving her hand in dismissal. "Never mind that."

And with a sweep of a hand, the man before the Grand Admiral drew closer, and reaching two fingers up, rested them on Desaria's forehead, and with a barely perceptable shudder, s'Il let herself fall into Desaria's mind... trying to find out what the source of this grief was...

[Telan Desaria]

A cheer went across the bridge. Men who had labored through blood soaked bandages gave one hurrah before collapsing into the care of medics and droids. Debris littered the once-pristine decking, fires smoldered where consoles had exploded, and the recycled air had taken on a hint of fog.

Standing between two pits of proud soldiers and crewers was the Captain of the Archduke Vallinn, Telan Desaria. Like his men, he had taken a share of pain while his first true command battered its way through six Republic frigates. Indeed, the olive tunic every officer of the Imperial Fleet wore hung open revealed his white-collared undershirt and a slowly growing stain of red near his left shoulder.

There was little time for celebrating, the ship requiring a considerable amount of attention to remain in tact, but the men found a way. Contented with his first victory in command, Desaria moved aft and made his way to the medical bay closest to the bridge.

On arriving, according to Imperial General Orders saying rank was inconsequential in treatment, he waited in the corridor until room opened for a mild shrapnel wound.

Sitting among his peers and subordinates, Desaria overheard mention of a name - Arias Tirel. On doing so, all pain vanished and he stormed ten meters to the man who had uttered it.

" He saved us. The boarding party we knocked off ruptured a power conduit. He took two hits to shield the tech repairing it."

" And??" The Captain grew furious. He had a reputation for being good to his men, unlike other officers, did not treat those assigned menial tasks as lesser soldiers but instead, soldiers all. To him no task was too small, and had never become enraged in eye-shot of those he was to command. But then, as he stood in a corridor lined with the dead an dying, his eyes burned intense fueled by passion and urgency.

The soldier swallowed hard before turning his eyes to the floor. He shook his head from side to side, and the Captain of the Vallinn recognized it immediately: they had left him behind.

Brusquely, Desaria flung his open tunic to the floor and stormed down the way.

Captain Desaria ran at a fast clip around corners and down emergency stairways. Debris and spilled chemical littered his path but surmounted all in his quest. From the ship's command tower he stormed, through the hull over the reactor core, and towards a battery-munitions hold Arias was guarding.

Arriving at the scene where twenty Imperial soldiers had halted fifty rebels who had boarded the Destroyer, Desaria could make little progress towards the hull, engineers everywhere working feverishly.

Over the din of plasma drills and laser torches, he could hear what was horrid news: according to standard procedure, emergency forcefields had been erected when a breech of the armor was detected. Any person in the affected area was sealed off from escape and condemned to drifting about space to save the ship itself.

Bellowing fiercely to part the whirring sea of specialists, Desaria identified himself. He pushed and shoved and stomped on equipment until he reached the edge of the forcefield. The decking was bent and torn, an entire section ripped away when the rebels set a hollow charge against the hull.

Captain Desaria went pale when he gazed out into space. Drifting without care or force was the remains of one frigate, its cloud of shattered parts creating a brilliant pattern against anearby star. But that beauty was overshadowed by horror and pain.

Holding onto a pipe for support was a face chilled by vacuum, skin frosted as fluid and flesh froze in the cold. The eyes glared into the bowels of the ship telling the final moments of a young Lieutenant's life. Wounded and scared, he had clawed his way along a corridor to escape a blast. He did not reach the security barrier when the explosion tore the ship open to space and was trapped.

The face belonged to Arias, lover and fiance of Grand Admiral Desaria. ..

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Her hand remained where it was, fingers resting on his forehead. She'd seen everything he had seen, so long ago, and she'd felt his pain and anguish.

And it was then that she let dropped the visage, once more letting her true form show, and in that moment she brought Desaria's head down to rest on her chest in consolation as the two lowered themselves to sit within the comfort of a couch that had appeared.

She let him seemingly burrow into her mind - it was strange for once, to feel something like that, but she didn't stop him, only offering peace and calmness.

"Why have you not taken another," she asked quietly, still holding his head gently.

[Telan Desaria]

The Supreme Commander of the Imperial Navy did not cry. Indeed, he had not for many years. A tear or two had been shed now and again, but never to the extent that a normal person would allow: his release found its home on the battlefield.

Even as a woman he considered his closest (civilian) friend held him in her confidence, he could not bring himself to release emotion. Instead, his voice was dry, apathetic.

I have never been able to forgive myself. I am the one who stopped him from resigning when we were cadets. I have never let myself feel love as I did. I will not allow myself to hurt another being in such a way.