Shalema
Shalema
Shalema is a veteran spy and mother to Tesin Movahesh. Prior to her excommunication in 317 AG, she was also a senior agent of Project 9, where she was responsible for the training of Tesin and several other young Lashunta in the same generation. Now, she is loosely affiliated to the Dream Team and the Free Captains, going wherever her current line of work leads.
Mental characteristics
Personal history
Shalema was born to her biological parents in 272 AG, but was promptly sold to Project 9 as an infant, and thus lived her entire life within their walls. While little is known of her training, records indicate that she was an exemplary agent, having earned many advanced missions even as a junior member. Information is sparse until 297 AG, when Shalema left the Pact Worlds on a mission to investigate a Gray artifact on the edge of the galaxy, leading to the discovery and Shalema's ensuing corruption by the entity Ololot.
After fleeing home, Shalema learned that this biological union had forever changed her DNA, and resulted in her immediate pregnancy with Tesin. While she was permitted to raise the girl through her early years, the two were separated when Tesin came of age to join Project 9. Rather than allowing them to wipe Tesin's memories, Shalema made the decision to Splinter her own daughter, hoping that she could one day put the girl's psyche to rights. Still, Tesin had no recollection of her mother, and was later reintroduced to her as Shalema's apprentice — a role Shalema had fought tooth and nail to obtain, despite protocol to the contrary.
As a mentor, Shalema was incredibly cruel to Tesin, and pushed her to be the very best agent she could be. While her actual goal was for Tesin to survive the horrific selection process that Project 9 subjected their candidate agents to, the level of trauma Shalema inflicted upon her daughter was unforgettable, leaving deep scars on top of her already-damaged mind. This was worsened as Tesin reached adulthood, which would mean that her recent memories would be wiped at the end of every mission, up to the day she graduated from the program.
Fearing her colleagues would find Shalema's deceitful Splintering, and that Tesin's mind would shatter under their harsh protocols, Shalema abandoned her role as Tesin's mentor, and fought instead to be the head of Project 9's psychic infiltration department. From that position, she was able to continue Splintering Tesin upon her return to Station 9, all while seeking a cure for the dire effects of the condition. Meanwhile, Shalema also began to plan her exit strategy, encoding psychic command words into all of the junior agents, which went unnoticed by her less-skilled peers.
When Tesin finally escaped Project 9, and was excommunicated for her actions on Varos, Shalema decided to strike, murdering Jessel Kesh and several other senior agents. She escaped imprisonment by disabling the population of junior agents, and then fled to Apostae, where she hoped to find a cure for her daughter's mind. While she encountered Tesin on ocassion — such as the first expedition to Ezorod — the two were always at odds, and thus Shalema was unable to explain herself.
Unbeknowst to her, Tesin and her friends were able to fix the issue on their own after the Malikah Conflict, although news of this did not reach Shalema for some time. Knowing that Tesin was now aware that Shalema was her mother, she made an effort to reconnect with her daughter, although this ended in failure. During the events of the Pact Summit, Shalema and Ololot used their powers to Skip Tesin off of the Idari, allowing her to return to Night (where she was summarily imprisoned).
Unsure of what to do, Shalema began collecting her daughter's friends in the wake of the disaster, taking up a position as interim captain of the Aga Jain, becoming a Free Captain after defending the vessel from Horchata and her crew, and helping the tribes of the Ikal Expanse in their fight against the Black Formians.
Tesin and Shalema met again after Ezorod freed itself of Alistair's influence, but the two's relationship has yet to recover, and thus Shalema is content to do whatever might lead to her daughter's happiness and success — even if Tesin doesn't want her around.
Comments