Andri frowned heavily as she crossed her arms in thought, pressing a fist to her mouth as she racked her brain. She honestly didn’t know if Nal Hutta had even been a part of the Galactic Republic at the time of Evocar being conquered - she wasn’t even sure how long ago that was. They certainly weren’t a part of the Republic now.

“I’m afraid you have me at a bit of an information disadvantage,” She spoke finally. “I do not know much about the fall of Evocar and the rise of Nal Hutta due to how long ago it must have been, though I am aware that the Hutts have remained separate from Republic purview for many millennia now. Was Evocar actually a part of Republic space at the time of its fall? If not, then we couldn’t exactly step in on a world where neither party were subject to the same laws as us.”

Miasa didn’t hesitate to answer, despite not really knowing the truth. “Yes. Evocar was a Republic world. The Hutts paid off enough senators to make the Republic ignore their actions upon that world.”

Andri frowned even further. “I don’t have much to say about that, except that it was our forefathers who allowed that to happen - both the Jedi Order and the Sith Empire’s - who allowed it to happen. Certainly, it may have been the Republic, but the ones who later were exiled from the Jedi Order are descended from the same people who allowed that to happen. By that logic, even the Sith Empire of the time would have allowed it to happen - there was no split between our people, and all the choices of our forefathers belong to both Orders.”

“so you claim the Jedi Order rules the Republic then and now? How interesting… I wonder…. How would the Republic senate view that statement?”

Miasa smiled a little before continuing. “It is the same Republic that existed then as exists now. Sesame corruption. The Empire, unlike the Republic, does not accept corruption. Species that try that are dealt with. Harshly. Corrupt bureaucrats are punished.”

“We do not rule the Republic.” Andri retorted. “We advise them. But we are a part of their people, and so we have to abide by their laws. Even the Jedi - especially the Jedi, in fact - are not above the laws of the Senate. If they do not wish to listen to us, then we cannot force them to. As much as it would be nice if they listened to us more often, the Jedi are peacekeepers and advisors, not rulers or dictators.”

“so rather than keeping corruption at bay, you let it flourish? How interesting…”

“We try, and that is all we can do. How do you change the minds and ways of thousands of years of a certain way of thinking? Slowly. My job within the Order was to be an advisor, to encourage people to disregard the corruption. I worked on a case by case basis, doing what I could, and it was working. Certainly, it is just a small drop in the ocean, but even a small drop can join another and become a flood. The Sith way of simply stepping on everything they disagree with, tearing down with no thought for the reasons behind it breeds nothing but resentment and rebellion.” Andri took a breath, centering herself once more as she felt passion start to slip into her voice. It was a subject she felt strongly about, but to let passion rule her words would not be to her benefit in this discussion.

Miasa did not intend to let the Jedi get a pause. If she could get her to really be engaged in the conversation, her emotions would not remain buried long. “so you teach them to ignore the corruption. How nice for the citizens of the republic… We Ssith do not stomp on everything we disagree with. That is the Jedi way. They are known far and wide for their narrow-minded policies. We Sith punish crime and corruption, but most of all, we encourage freedom.”

“And your attack on Coruscant, destroying our temple, killing our Masters and stealing our children was...what?” Andri pursed her lips. “You say you encourage freedom, but you didn’t even let the data save on a peace talk before you kidnapped our people. If you were so interested in freedom for all, and rooting out corruption, then why has your precious Empire never approached the Order with honest intentions? Why has every meeting between our people ended with bloodshed and death? If the Empire truly desired freedom for the people, a release from the corruption of the Senate, they would have been working with the Jedi to ensure it, not destroying us and halting any of our attempts.”

“Necessary. Better they be freed than be indoctrinated by the foolish ideas of the Jedi Order. The very order that does nothing to eliminate corruption, that breeds mistrust of anything that deviates from their narrow-minded ideals. The Empire has a policy of not working with corrupt officials. It is clear the Jedi order does not have such a policy. As we speak, Lord Baras is laying out fair terms to the delegates of the republic, saving days, if not weeks of negotiations.”

“The Order that was trying their hardest to do so, you mean. But even trying is not enough when you have millions of people going against your every attempt.” Andri closed her eyes, the Sluissi words bringing doubts she remembered from when she was a child living among the elite of Alassa Major to the forefront of her mind again. Certainly, her master had always advocated for the Jedi to work closer with the Republic and Andri was the type to believe the best of everybody, but even she had doubts sometimes. It was hard to see how her little victories could ever truly weigh against the sheer amount of corruption she had seen on that planet.

She took a breath and beat the thoughts down with her belief that people could change once more. “Then you should have approached us, and offered to help us, and our Orders could have worked together and learnt new things together. The galaxy could have been even stronger. Instead, you have destroyed the Jedi Temple, scattered our people and denied us the freedom to have our own beliefs, because you see them as flawed and wrong. Is that not a narrow minded view? You see us as different, so you cast us down and denied us the right to follow our own path.”

“You yourself said that you encourage people to disregard the corruption. Unless you speak a different language, which clearly you do not, that means ignoring the corruption before you, all in the name of ‘working closely with the republic’. Why should the Sith trust the Jedi and the Republic not to try to exterminate them? They have tried many times before. Do you know the legacy of Ss Supreme chancelor Pultimo?”

“Though he was no Jedi, he was a poster-boy for their view of the Sith. He did his best to exterminate an entire species, slaughtering defenseless women and children, all in the name of ‘peace’. This current war would only have had one outcome if it had gone on. Your utter annihilation. We Sith moved to give you the chance to live, rather than to kill you all. Is that not granting you freedom? Is that narrow-minded of us?”

“I have heard the tale.” Andri stated shortly. “And I did not mean that we encourage them to simply ignore corruption. I said disregard as in disregard the bribes, ignore the people trying to bribe them and be incorruptible themselves. To cast away the thought of themselves becoming corrupt and bring corruption to light so it can be dealt with properly, not to simply ignore others who are doing so. I meant-” She took a breath, crossing her arms over her chest to steady herself, “I meant for the people to put themselves above corruption and be decent people, and work together to bring corruption to light and eradicate it. Slow it may have been, but it was working.

“And - well. I thank you for the chance you have given us to live, however backhanded it may be by being the ones to almost cause our destruction. And I have no words to offer as condolences for the atrocities the previous governments and the forefathers of the Republic have committed. But I have said this before and I will say it again - should you punish the child for the sins of the father? It is better to teach than to destroy everything, to work together than to simply declare ‘this is how it shall be’. The Sith have done the latter - you have declared that our way of life is over, and that we must conform to your way, instead of trying to teach us how your way is better. This is why I do not believe in the goodness that you are trying to portray the Sith as having.”

“Telling people to be above corruption does not make them be above it. To stop corruption, you need to punish those who are corrupt. Telling them ‘be nice’ and stroking their hands will not make them do as you say. Why should they listen when the corrupt pay them not to listen?”

“As for forcing people to behave a certain way, you Jedi are anything but clean. Some three thousand years ago, you chased away those who disagreed with your views. They became the accessories of the Sith. About thirteen hundred years ago, you did your best to exterminate us, all for having a different view on the Force. There are countless other examples, but those are the greatest. For centuries, we have been among you, trying to teach you better. For centuries as, you have ignored the advice. Why would you listen now? You understand only strength. The Force has made us Sith strong. You Jedi have been helpful that way, but soon you will see it right. Soon you will embrace your birthright, the full power of the Force.”

“I-” Andri stopped. She had no retort, nothing her Master had ever taught her had truly prepared her for a clever Sith who obviously knew her way around words, and knew her history well. The Epicanthix could throw back all the times the Sith had attacked without provocation, but with the way the conversation had been going, the Sluissi woman would find some obscure piece of information and twist it back around on the Jedi. Andri could talk her way around Republic Senators all she liked, as most of them didn’t know history beyond that of their own planets and even then it was spotty at best, but this woman had access to all sorts of information on her computer, and was not afraid to use it.

Her next words had a bitter tinge behind them as she dropped her shoulders defensively. “Well, I suppose you’ve got your wish then - the Jedi are yours to teach as much as you like. Congratulations. Though, if the Trandoshan is the standard for the rest of the Sith on this ship, I don’t suppose we’ll last long. He seemed pretty determined to permanently maim us at the least; I wouldn’t be surprised if he killed a few of my fellows. Then where will your ‘chance’ go?”

“Lord sis is a brute. He has his success, but he is ruled by his emotions. He does not rule them like a proper Sith should. His kind are best pointed a direction and unleashed. I was surprised to see one of his kind here. Someday, someone will kill him after he makes another mistake. You must embrace your emotions, but you must not let them rule you.”

Miasa pondered what to do next with the Jedi. She had been fun to discuss with, but appeared to be spent for now. Jedi like her just weren’t reliable for a truly long discussion. “What do you think of your fellow prisoners?”

Andri tilted her head at the change of topic, but didn’t protest it. She didn’t really have anything more to contribute to it until she had a chance to gather her thoughts once more - something she doubted the Sith in front of her would allow. “Well...I only know two of them. One shared a Master with me, and the other I met this morning. But they all seem nice. Though…”

She trailed off for a moment, wondering about actually discussing her fellow Jedi with a Sith. In the end, as long as she didn’t share anything that could compromise the others, she didn’t really see any harm. There would be no negative repercussions from saying she thought someone was nice, after all. She shrugged. “I think a few of the younger ones might be a bit hasty to leap into a confrontation, as I did stumble upon the scene between Lord Sish and three of the younger Jedi when I left the bathroom. Other than that, I haven’t talked to them enough to really find anything out about them. How about yourself? What do you think of the other Sith, other than of course that Trandoshan?”

It was an odd feeling, to be having small talk with a Sith after the emotionally charged conversation she had just partaken in.

“Each has his or her uses.” Miasa answered cryptically. “Which prisoners shared a matter with you?” Miasa had no intention at this time to give the Jedi anything useful to use against the other Sith. She might give her something later, if it meant humbling of someone that had gone against her wishes, but not before. This Jedi clearly valued loyalty, so betraying her own would not be beneficial at this time.

“There are none you would consider just...talking to? None you would just say hello to in passing?” Andri asked her. She tried to ignore the Sluissi’s question, not particularly feeling like divulging that particular information. Besides, if they had captured them all, then they should have information on each prisoner. It wouldn’t be that hard for the Sith to look it up, but at least Andri would be able to say she didn’t freely give the information away. “You wouldn’t even simply talk with your apprentices that you mentioned earlier about something inconsequential?”

“My apprentices are themselves. If they choose to speak, then that is their choice. They are all working on projects for my master, as is proper. They have freedom to speak if they wish.” Miasa accessed the console before her, banishing the image of Nal Hutta, bringing up some data from the ship. She ‘accidentally’ let it show that they were in orbit above Tatooine, just to see whether the Jedi would spot it. “Interesting. It seems Lord Sish caused Darth Nyiss’ gas system to knock everyone unconsciousness a while ago. I doubt my master is pleased with him now… I wonder how many he killed or maimed before they were all put to sleep...”

She could easily have skipped saying anything about that, but it would be interesting to gauge the reaction from the Jedi.

Though Andri spotted Tatooine out of the corner of her eye, she didn’t focus on it. Instead, she winced at the mention of Lord Sish maiming and killing her fellow Jedi, frowning in worry as she glanced at the door. Though she had flippantly remarked it earlier, it was in a moment of bitterness over the previous conversation. She glanced back at the computer system and answered. “Well, I can only pray she activated it before anyone died or was seriously injured. I can only hope she was that merciful; though, she is a Sith. Mercy is not something I have heard of Sith showing very often.”

She chewed the inside of her lip as she watched watch the woman was doing at the console, trying to keep her hopes up about the situation back in the prison complex.

Miasa smiled at how worried the Jedi looked at her casual mention. Clearly the Jedi did not realize the information was given intentionally. That worry could be used later. It was a weakness, a flaw. “My master is merciful. Did she not grant one of the prisoners a new hand, no strings attached? She could have killed me back when I was a foolish child, but she kept me alive. I serve her willingly, for she provides what I need in turn. I have served her longer than you can possibly know. Her mercy is legendary.”

“I was not aware of her supplying one of the others with a new hand - it must have happened while I was otherwise occupied or sleeping.” Andri admitted. “But if it is as legendary as you say, then I have hope that my fellows weren’t too badly damaged by Lord Sish. She wouldn’t want her new students to be harmed, after all.”

“They were foolish to attack Lord sish. Had they attacked someone weaker, they might have had a chance. Doing so while unarmed is beyond stupid.” Miasa might have scorn for Lord Sish, but she did not consider him to be a powerless Sith. The fact that he had risen to his current rank at all indicated that he was more powerful than one might expect.

“You will think on what I said, yes? Anything you learn from the others may prove beneficial to share. Unlike Lord ssh, I do not wish to see you harmed.”

“I - yes. You have given me a lot to think about.” Andri wasn’t just saying this to placate the Sith either - she truly did have a lot to think about, and some meditation would be beneficial to her, to help her settle her thoughts and emotions once more. “I suppose this is the end of our discussion then? It was..interesting to talk to you.”

She hesitated a moment, before deciding it wouldn’t hurt to be polite. All the information on Andri was probably readily available for the Sluissi’s perusal anyway. “My name is Andri. Maybe under different circumstances we could have been good friends?”

Miasa thought about how to answer. She could ignore the Jedi, or she could share her own name. One might seem haughty, but the other could seem too kind. Not an easy choice. “The guard outside this room will see you back to the cells. You can call me Miasa, though in time you might call me Master.”

Andri grimaced at that last rejoinder, as it reminded her of her own Master who was now dead, and stepped back as the doors opened at some unseen signal from Miasa. She fell into line between the guard easily, allowing him to escort her back to the prison cells without protest.

The telekinetic blast caught him off guard, barely recovered. He didn't have time to defend himself against it, he closed his eyes as the lightning came streaking towards him. Firing along his limbs as he was slammed into the far wall. He winced as he slid down the wall into a heap, about to gather himself up and get off the floor an alarm began to sound. There was a click and then a hiss as a gas entered the room. Had he been in better condition he may have used the Force too keep the gas away from his head or entered a hibernation trance in the hope that by the time he needed to take a breath the gas would have been extracted from the chamber.

However he was not in better condition, his head groggy and in pain. The darkness consumed him like an ocean.



Koren awoke, his back pained him. His head pained him, his limbs were numb. But he stood up, he forced himself too. Stretching himself out. Whatever had knocked him out, it hadn't lessened the pain. He grimanced slightly as he saw the other Jedi around the room. All in similar positions to as he had been, moving over to the Kel Dor he saw his chest rising and lowering in a slow yet natural rhythm. He wasn't dying, the blade had cauterized the wound. He could wait, the blasted idiot that he was. Instead he ran over to Xid and placed his hand on the young Knights neck. His breathing was erratic, he was in need of aid. If the breathing didn't give it away the slick layer of sweat and distinctive paleness to the humans skin definitely gave it away.

Looking around the trashed room he searched for the table. It was cast off, bent from all the throwing around and he cursed silently. Clearing his mind he then used the Force to lift Xid, not daring to move him by hand. He slowly rotated Xid until he was hovering on his back, guiding him into one of the living quarters and onto one of the beds in the middle of the room. Ignoring anyone else in the room.

He then ripped the young Jedis top off, gently. What was left of it anyway, noticing the swelling and bruising he winced slightly. He'd need someone more medically inclined to check this wound when they awoke. He was an investigator, he could go back to the room and determine what had happened to it's full extent but healing someone in this condition... it was a bit beyond him.

In fact, it was a galaxy beyond him. He used the ripped up shirt, after carefully moving Xids arms, to tie him to the bed. The worst thing would be if Xid woke up and sat straight up causing even more damage. After that he returned to the medical bay, wincing as he saw all the damaged and destroyed medical supplies. I'm surrounded by the most idiotic Jedi in the galaxy. He stepped over the glass vials, broken tools and various other supplies carefully. Making his way to a cabinet he pulled out several Kolto patches and even some spray.

Looking at the empty Kolto tank, the glass now shattered. If it hadn't been useless enough before now with even less use! He sighed and shook his head as he moved back to the room in which Xid lay. Placing patches very carefully over his torso and even spraying some of the more superficial wounds. All in all this had been a terrible day. They got beat up, several of them badly injured and he not only gave away his ability of creating Illusions in the Force but he also gave away that he was an empath.

He was going to slap every single one of the Jedi responsible.

~| Day 2, 8:11-11:32 GST |~
~| Aboard the Kaggath, Prison Complex, Medical Bay |~

Tolun Fi’s mind was, as ever, racing.

He had returned to the prison complex unharmed, although without Nazca in company, and set about immediately going to familiar surroundings to contemplate what he had observed. Most Jedi resorted to meditation, but Tolun Fi was not one to sit idle. He began organizing the medical lab, losing himself in the work, ignoring any inquiries that would break his concentration.

Darth Nyiss… an enigma, and a prime example of how science could be grossly abused. What she was trying to do with Nazca was unsettling, and not because of its cruel practice, but because he had no idea what the result she was hoping to obtain was. He tried to recall exactly what he had seen in the strain, looking for clues, and despite how different from the human genetic code her experiment was, she continued on recklessly. Tolun Fi had no idea if Nazca was going to survive, or if Nyiss’ test would ultimately cause the rash young woman to succumb. She had returned with Tolun Fi, who would provide on-going care and observation while keeping records for both himself and Nyiss' benefit. If she died, it would likely be a calculated risk on Nyiss’ part to pressure Tolun to work on a solution to save lives and make her tests bond. He doubted she was not intelligent enough to do what she planned, but she had plans for the Kaminoan. By appealing to his scientist nature, and treating him as a peer instead of a mortal enemy, she was carefully stripping away his reservations. Perhaps she wanted him to carry on his own research and twist it for her own means. The risks were unfathomable, but he had to act eventually, and he had to play along to some degree so Nyiss wouldn’t close the door entirely.

The other Jedi would likely start to suspect him of being manipulated, or even being a traitor, and that was fine. Their compliance was not required for him to do what needed to be done.

Xid and Shiri had also ducked away from the main prison quarters, likely for privacy. Tolun Fi had barely noticed the pair, their affairs their own. It did not take a genius to recognize the attraction between the two, the adolescent lust that drove teenage specimens of the human species to oftentimes sickening and regrettable courtship rituals, ignoring the fact their bodies and minds were ever evolving, and where a chemical cocktail of poor and confused decision making. The sounds of a kiss broke into Tolun Fi’s concentration, prompting the Kaminoan to groan almost inaudibly. Xid, I expected better of you. Could you not suppress your animal instincts until you were free? Tolun Fi thought, frowning without turning around at the two star-struck teenagers who were failing resist the biological impulse to copulate and bear children. The Sith would exploit it, almost certainly.

Xid was a colleague and a friend, and he was essential for an escape plan. And he had allowed himself to be compromised by some stupid girl.

As if to demonstrate that the Sith were always watching, the repugnant scent of the Trandoshan filled Tolun Fi’s nostrils. Sish had arrived. Unable to focus on his own thoughts any longer, he turned to watch the exchange… and the resulting chaos. Threatening Shiri had, predictably, pressured Xid enough to engage an opponent who was very much counting on him acting rashly and like an idiot. With the burst of a vial over Sish’s face, the fight had commenced.

Turns out this facility will be required sooner than anticipated. Tolun Fi thought, staying away from the skirmish as he began to prep surgical and first aid equipment, and the Kolto tank. It was not a matter of if someone was getting hurt, it was a matter of numbers. The Kaminoan reflected how unfortunate it was that he was the only doctor aboard the ship as he ignored the violent brutality commencing, only meters away.

Then, something happened. A surge of the presence of the Dark Side filled the air like an airburst munitions and Tolun Fi turned in time to witness the Kel Dor, Alat, unleash a Dark Force ability on the Trandoshan. Tolun Fi regarded Alat coolly, his eyes fixed on him like a predator would be. And now I have my control population... he thought, his heart racing, a decidedly uncharacteristic thing for it to be doing. He had a solution to a problem that had been vexing him for years sitting in front of him.

Sish let out a Force Scream, causing Tolun Fi to cringe in pain and cover his ears. In the narrow confines of the medial bay, it was deafening to the point of making hearing loss be something of a minor concern, secondary to the potential threat emanating from the Sith. His fury filled the air, a malice unlike any other Tolun Fi had experienced. The assault on Alat was a sight to behold, and he did not wince in empathy as digits were severed from the Kel Dor, sailing nicely across the air and skidding across the floor. Tolun Fi was busy deciding if he could make it over to them without drawing attention of the combatants before Alat lifted the examination bed, as he tossed it at Sish. The aura of the Dark Side emanated from Alat, forcing the Kaminoan to regard him as a stranger. Under other circumstances, Tolun Fi would be far more upset about what he was beginning to see as “his” lab being dismantled, but there were bigger concerns at hand at the moment.

Namely, an unidentified gas compound flooding the room. Tolun Fi reacted, rushing towards the amputated finger before the gas reached his head, which was mercifully higher than the rest of the people in the room. Even so, as the others succumbed to the anesthetic, he was beginning to feel drowsy and his vision rapidly blurred. He reached out for the finger, the important prize, before he passed out. He had hit the ground before he knew if he was successful.

An unknowable amount of time passed before Tolun Fi began to come to, and the others were starting to stir. Being put under twice in two days, how irritating. Tolun Fi thought, rising shakily to his feet and seeing the amputated digit sitting on the floor. He swooped down, grabbing it, and he rushed to the medical center for a plastic bag to wrap it in, taking stock of the trashed laboratory. Even the precious Kolto tank was not spared the onslaught, a worrying crack down the facade that threatened to shatter with any more abuse. He took the wrapped finger, as to not arouse suspicion, and made his way to the counter, where kolto supplies were already laid out and showed signs of use. Spraying the severed end of the finger with the spray and wrapping it with the bandage was all he was able to do for the time being until he found a better solution. A strip of adhesive bandage sealed the bag, and he slid it quietly into a drawer before going to locate the others.

The Kaminoan hurried to check over the belligerents of the fight with Sish, who was mercifully missing. As it turned out, the lab was more or less empty and the wounded were taken to the bunk room. Xid was tied down, his side bruised and swollen, potentially a break or fracture. Koren was there, tending to Xid, which Tolun Fi found commendable. From what he recalled, Koren was not medically inclined, but the fact he had taken initiative and moved the casualties somewhere more tenable was commendable, although he strongly suspected he didn't check to see if either Xid or Alat had a broken neck or back; they could potentially be paralyzed. There was no sense in worrying about it; there was work to do. He nodded to Koren as he approached, greeting him. "I see you've been busy. If you wouldn't mind assisting me, I need to assess the damage to both of our casualties." he said simply, his voice clinical and detatched. "I would also recommend we secure Alat for the time being, his demonstration of a connection to the Dark Side is... worrying, to say the least. It would be wise to determine his disposition and loyalties in a position where he is unable to act out."

Taking a penlight and crouching in front of Xid, Tolun Fi held the unconscious youth’s eyes open and shone the light in, looking for signs of concussion. Satisfied, he stared at Xid for a moment longer than necessary. “I am disappointed in you.” He said simply, standing up and carrying on to Alat. He would tend to Alat, and he would even try to reattach the severed digit. It was his oath as a doctor, after all, but there was no trusting the Kel Dor at this juncture. Ironically, Alat would prove instrumental to what Tolun Fi needed to do. The best part of the whole arrangement was his consent and knowledge was entirely unnecessary.

"If you wouldn't mind joining me back to the lab, I need to find what equipment is still functional and may require you to act as a nurse if surgery is required... particularly if I am able to reattach Alat's finger." he said to Koren. "And yourself, are you well? If you wish, I could give you a quick examination and determine if there's an injury."

~| Day 2, 8:20-11:34 GST |~
~| Aboard the Kaggath, Prison Complex, Medical Bay |~

Nazca would have loved to say that she noticed anything on the way back to the Cells, but she didn't. She was too busy trying not to vomit as she was forcibly carried by two Imperial Troopers, her knees dragging across the floor, the very touch of the floor and their hands bringing agony to her. If she had had energy to scream, she would have. As it was, she merely She didn't know what that red skinned bitch had done to her, but she did know that she hurt everywhere. She was nauseous and weak, unable to walk unaided. When she tried to stand, freed from her restraints by Nyiss, she merely collapsed to the ground and lay there, slipping in and out of consciousness. The next thing she knew was that there were four new points of pain along her arms as she was picked up, soon to be joined by another two as she was dragged along the floor. My skin is agonizingly sensitive. Great. Nazca thought hazily as she was drug through the halls. She wasn't sure how long it took for them to arrive at the medical bay of the cells, nor was she fully aware of when she was placed on a bed. She was aware, however, when blessed darkness claimed her.

She had nightmares. The Hutt surgeons were operating on her again and she couldn't escape, she couldn't escape. Her heart pounded with terror and she could only watch as the red hot rings lowered on her spread out fingers. In the background she heard the screams of her companions as they were murdered and she tried to struggle free, but it was useless, useless like she was. There was a burning pain and she screamed and all she could here was the malicious chuckling of that red skinned bitch.

Nazca panicked and thrashed as she woke up, falling off of her bed. She hit the ground hard, her world spinning. When her mind finally stopped making the world spin and she was able to get on her hands and knees, she vomited on the ground, throwing up whatever gruel she had managed to eat. Worryingly, her vomit was laced with blood. "That's...fucking disgusting." She mumbled, crawling away from the mess she had made. Have to get on my feet. Can't show this much weakness to the Sith. She thought, stubbornly. Her hands reached up to grab a nearby upturned table-Why did they flip over a table?-and she grasped the leg of it, pulling herself to a knee. She rested for a moment, gathering her strength, and then paused and stared at her hands. Yes. Hands. Plural. Two of them, in fact. One that is real and one that looks almost real. Now you're back up to full skill with your thievery and splicing!

Nazca's mind rambled a bit more like this until she stopped marveling at her new hand long enough to look up and see the devastation. "What...what happened?" She asked, her voice coming out as a weak rasp. She struggled to her feet, leaning heavily upon the upturned table. Her eyes flicked over to Koren and Tolun, both working on someone. Nazca's eyes widened in fear as she realized it was Xid. NOt again, not again, not again. "Xid!" She took exactly two steps before her strength failed her again and she hit the ground with a cry. "Sith's Blood! Xid! What's wrong with him!?"

~| Day 2, 11:34-11:38 GST |~
~| Aboard the Kaggath, Prison Complex |~

Koren was about to respond when... Fierfek, what's her name again? Nazca entered the room in a fuss. He didn't really notice two hands, he didn't even really know she had lost one. "Oh the usual zeltron affair. He met a girl, teen hormones rushing. Him and the girl fell in love or something, the girl kissed him and then the Sith saw and tried to take her. Testosterone kicked in and-" He pointed at Xid with both his hands. "Bing, bang boom. You get Xid in, presumably critical condition. A Jedi using the Dark Side and loosing a finger. The Sith learn I'm an empath and may know that I can cast illusions and most of our medical supplies are left in ruin." He sighed shaking his head. Attatchment was once forbidden for a reason, families for a reason, romantic entanglements for a reason. It was just a pity that something so horrible had to happen to teach Xid this. Oh he could understand it, the whole teenager thing. He had been young himself once but he had learned to overcome that struggle, his duty was to the galaxy and all the people of the galaxy.

Families lead to Jedi Dynasties, such as the Rahn family.

Romantic relationships led to passion, jealousy and anger or a Jedi dedicating themselves to one life in particular putting others at risk to keep it safe.

Overcoming these desires, biological and psychological was part of becoming a Jedi. Emotions clouded judgement, shifted perception. To use the Force to the most of ones ability requires focus and dedication. Jedi did not get to live normal lives, it was a sacrifice all of them should be willing to make. He had hoped Xid knew and understood this, perhaps not. He soon realized though that he had been contemplating this for too long, likely getting looks from the other two Jedi so he released a smirk. "Well the important thing is he will survive, we do have another healer onboard." He nodded out of the room. "A Rahn no less. Perhaps she could assist you better than I... Tolun Fi is it? I apologise if I'm wrong about the name."
There is no emotion, there is peace. "Until recently I was stationed on Manaan, so I am a little behind on temple politics. Though I do agree with you-" He looked between Alat and Xid. "-We should keep a close eye on both of them. For two entirely different reason. I myself am fine, just plagued by an old injury. Put me to work, and you-" He looked at Nazca. "Should rest young Padawan."

Xid didn’t stay asleep for long, through the activity he showed would announce his wake up shortly. His figure jerked a bit and eyes shifted under closed lids while his body was slick with sweat. The young knight’s breath was a bit labored through his gritted teeth as he started to come ot, his head aching from the headache pounding in his forehead. His neck edge upward the farthest it would go without hurting and peeled his eyes open. Still a bit watery, he waited for his vision to clear from its blurry haze and absorbed the scene for a moment. He wasn’t on the floor where he could barely recall being on last. Xid hissed in pain when he shifted, noting two things: One his wrists were tied and two his side seemed to be burning with pain.

He coughed heavily. Was it either to clear out the gas’ aftermath still clinging in his throat or because of the pain, he wasn’t sure. Every inch of him wanted to curl into a ball and just let the pain fade away. His wrists were getting numbed from the upheld position, his blood flow dampened and his joints forced straight instead of allowed to be bent. He didn’t understand why he was being bound as his hand tried to pull loose, his side flared with each movement causing him to bit his tongue. In another harsh jerk and he literally bit his tongue hard, getting a taste of the copperish flavor from his blood.

After struggling a few moments, Xid spoke. “Will someone...please untie me.”

He had to pause between a few words just not to scream, his breath heavy and trying to keep his calm. His eyes glanced to side and blinked to notice Nazca trying to move, her body immediately crumbled toward the floor causing his limbs to jerk. Xid’s arms trying to rip off his bindings and help her up. Damn bindings, he thought and glared at the cloth holding him in place. All the things to be held back by, he found it rather irritating to learn it was nothing more than ribbons from his own tunic! Again, he twisted wrong causing him to yelp in pain but he didn’t cease until someone finally untied him.



Karlie lead the Jedi inside, his shop a modest place filled with dust and parts ranging from ships to droids. With his wife hovering, the old man’s hands waved about and shooed the darker haired woman into the adjacent doorway. It connected their home to the shop which was a graveyard for all things machine currently. Wires, metal and droid limbs were all scattered about the simple sandstone room, making any seating possibly unlikely without getting jabbed in the ass by a stray metal finger. The old man was shoving a half crushed protocol droid aside and hunched over into the cabinet, pulling from it three half beaten cups out. He stubbed his foot on the same droid causing him to curse out loud as he hopped on foot. His head turned to hear his wife slip out of the door then let it shut again with a thump. In her hand was a glass jug filled with water from the local vapor farms and was gently set on the clearing her husband had push clear. The junk clattered to the ground, causing Karlie to flinch before pouring the two Jedi something to drink.

“So...what brought you here? I doubt you’re here to buy a droid, ship part or scrap something.”

Everything's going wrong today, I'm making too many mistakes... Today didn't start right... I'm such an idiot... I shouldn't have... That damn Lea, those damn Sith. Every single damned mistake is because of them... Today... I kept letting it get to me, and now I've lost it. Fucked up everything. Shiri slowly managed to piece a few thoughts together during the fight, realizing what she's been doing wrong and barely able to suppress her anger at herself. She shouldn't have gotten up today. If she hadn't she could have missed eavesdropping on them in the shower. She wouldn't have failed to keep calm with the Sith earlier. Wouldn't have gotten into a fight with a monster.

But which monster? The Trandoshan may have picked a fight either way, but Jealousy could be avoided or contained. Shiri did neither. She would have to find a way to get closure with both Xid and Lea later, but right now she had to focus and calm down. She'd started this when she kissed Xid, which she really shouldn't have done and would probably be berated for by every other Jedi on the ship. Xid would probably start avoiding her after this, although that might be for the best, considering.

As she collected her thoughts the Sith was responding to the other one, the voice. Shiri barely heard his words from the slow-growing bubble of thoughts taking her focus, although she snapped back to the now as Sish turned his attention to Alat and threatened him. In the next moment she felt herself being pulled towards the Sith as he choked her again, although Alat caught her before she got close enough for Sish to grab her. She got her breath back as Alat put her down again, a whispered thank you escaping her lips before he asked her to apologize to Xid for him.

Before she could question why, the answer came as Alat suddenly let off an aura of hatred. The air seemed to grow darker as he attacked Sish, flipping over to the other side of the monstrous Trandoshan. She understood, Xid was going to flip out, and Alat probably wouldn't be able to approach him later to apologize or explain. Not that she'd be in much better a situation at that time. She didn't approve of his use of the dark side, but the way the Sith acted directly after Alat's attack made Shiri think that there may have been more to it than simple fighting.

The Sith went into a rage, his aura exponentially stronger than Alat's just seconds before. Before Shiri could do anything to react, Sish screamed, knocking her down and almost knocking her out as her head hit the wall. She barely knew what was going on anymore, just that the Sith's focus seemed to have shifted away from her for now.

A few seconds passed, and felt like a lifetime as she watched the rest of the fight, ending when some alarms came on and gass filled the room. Shiri held her breath, closed her eyes, and put her hands over her ears to try and avoid whatever the gas would do, knowing it wouldn't do much good however. She managed to keep awake just long enough to clear her mind and refocus her thoughts into a rudimentary game plan. Whenever she awoke again she'd be calm, a mental restart to the day.

Hopefully she'd be able to fix her mistakes then.

Lord Jewel Namore looked down at the limp body of the Twi'lek Jedi, Shiri, as she was known to her fellows, that had been unceremoniously deposited on the floor of her quarters by a group of Imperial troopers. She couldn’t do very much with a lone Jedi, other than simply inflict pain. While that was certainly an option, it was not an ideal one. There was already another Sith Lord taking the route of pain, a Sith Lord Jewel considered herself better than. It was far more favorable, in her mind, to find and target the weakest points of the Jedi’s psyche’s one by one. If that failed, pain remained an option.

Initially, Jewel considered retrieving the one that Shiri had feelings for, the human Xid, but before she could ask, another idea occurred to her. While looking through the large quantities of footage from the prison cells (which she had had wired through to her quarters) she had noticed another of the female Jedi seemed to be somewhat interested in Xid. “Fetch me the one known as ‘Lea’” She said to the soldiers before they left. Perhaps she might also be able to discover a little more about this one when she spoke to her as well. Lea had been here before the sacking and Jewel found that quite suspicious. Something was different about her, and she wanted to find out what.

When the troopers marched into the prison complex and unceremoniously pulled Lea down from her bunk and carried her out, she was still unconscious from the gas. Others might have woken up, but she had not done so, due to her trying to resist its effects as long as she had. Even with the recent gassing, these troopers did not take any chances. While only two of them were needed to carry the slight girl, the other four had their weapons lowered, pointing, but not firing, them at anyone else who moved in the prison. After the recent murder of one of their fellows, they were extraordinarily careful. Not to mention that they had all previously been deployed on the front lines and knew how dangerous Jedi could be.

If any of the other Jedi had any mind to try anything, their weapons clearly discouraged that. Lea did not wake all at once. The first time consciousness slipped in, was in the turbolift, but it slipped out again mere moments later. The next time, she was being carried right past the arena. She remained conscious for all of three seconds, then slipped back into unconsciousness. Though the troopers were distrustful of her, they nonetheless carried her carefully. When they carried her through the Sith common room, she was starting to regain consciousness on a more steady basis, but not it was not full consciousness, more like a lower form of it. Vague impressions filtered into her mind. The pure, crimson color of the carpet. The glaring lights overhead. The sound of marching troopers. “Master?” she muttered, confused. None of the troopers answered her.

A minute later, the doors to Lord Namore’s quarters hissed open and their unceremoniously deposited her in a chair near one of the walls. After saluting the Sith Lord in the room, they marched back out. Lea slowly started to regain her consciousness, but remained confused about where she was and what was going on. Last thing she could recall was the gassing and being on her bunk.

Before the girl regained full consciousness, Jewel slipped her hands behind her back and cuffed them. She was taking no chances, not after she had seen the mess Jakali got himself into. These Jedi were not nearly beaten down enough yet. Then she walked back across the room to sit and wait for the girl to wake up completely. There was no point speaking to her while half conscious, she likely would not remember anything clearly enough. “Wake up Lea.” She said neutrally to try and hasten the process. Patience was not one of her virtues.

Lea’s waking up, while it had fitful before, was now at last becoming consistent. She heard a voice telling her to wake up. At first, she thought it was her master, but realized moments later the voice was all wrong. Whomever’s presence she was in was not her master. She shook her head, trying to clear out the fuzz someone had filled it with. That proved harder than expected. Her memory started to return and she managed to connect not only what had happened, but where she was. She was a prisoner. The person who had spoken had to be a Sith. She tried to brush her hair aside, only to figure out that her hands were restrained by a pair of stun cuffs. Most inconvenient. After opening her eyes, it took her eyes unusually long to focus on anything. Before her, seated in a large, voluminous chair, was the Sith that spoke earlier.

The first thing Lea noticed, was the hair. Long, thick and deep red in color. The second, was the dark grey, almost black, armor. While the armor did not leave overmuch to the imagination, the impression it gave was that of being a threat. The lightsaber hooked to one of the Sith’s belts only made that threat clearer. Had Lea been less wise, she might have said something blustery, something to make that threat seem less. But she knew better. Firstly, she was cuffed. Secondly, she was unarmed. It was obvious that if the Sith wanted her dead, she could do nothing about it right now. Her time as a captive had seen to it that she had no illusions about just how vulnerable she truly was.

Shaking her head a bit, she managed most of her hair out of the way. Enough to see passably, at least. “Who are you?” she asked. Her master had taught her that knowledge was power, and if the Sith offered any information, she might have use for it later.

“I am Lord Jewel Namore, and you are Lea.” Jewel stated. Many Sith had the idea that they should not give out their names, or at least their real names, to anyone if it wasn’t necessary, but jewel frowned on that idea. She liked people to know who she was, so that when she dominated them, they knew who had been responsible. After all, what was the point of power if one was not also recognised as being powerful.

“I’m sure you already know Shiri over there.” Jewel waved casually in the direction of the Twi’lek, who was similarly cuffed but still unconscious in another chair. Jewel had given her an extra sedative earlier to make sure she stayed that way until she wanted her awake. “You both have something in common.
And no, it is not that you are both captives. Can you tell me what it is?” Jewels voice was factual and then condescending, like she was speaking to a child. If the Jedi said something ‘smart’ she was going to regret it, though if Jewel’s read on the personality of this Jedi was correct, that would not be the case.

Getting a name was good. At least this Sith Lord did not try to keep that a secret the way the previous Sith had. She still wondered a bit about who that other Sith was, but she did not think this ‘Jewel’ would answer that even if she asked. Not to mention, seeing how the other Sith had almost certainly known she’d taken a saber from the arena, she did not want this Sith to look for the time she encountered the other Sith. If she did, she might discover the acquisition, and that could be bad.

“Yes. I am Lea Rahn.” It was only reasonable to give her own name when her captor had presented herself. Her master had taught her that much. When the Sith Lord mentioned Shiri, Lea looked to the side and saw the unconscious Jedi half-sitting, half-lying in a chair much like her own. Like her, Shiri appeared to be restrained by a pair of stun cuffs.

Lea tried to figure out what the Sith Lord meant, but couldn’t understand what the she referred to. “As I do not understand what you mean, I can’t say I can tell you what it is.”

“That is quite disappointing.” Jewel began. “You’re not even aware of your own feelings.” Jewel spoke as though Lea should know why that was such a bad thing. “Perhaps I can help you.” Jewel tapped a few buttons on the side of her chair and turned to face the screen on the wall. Footage from one of the interrogation rooms began to play. It was from the previous day; visible on the screen were the Sith Jakali and across from him, Xid and Shiri. Events spiralled quickly out of control as Jakali ordered troopers in. Quickly Shiri leaped to protect Xid, and not long after, Xid was similarly leaping to protect Shiri. By the time the dust had settled, Xid was a wreck. Though not particularly hurt physically, he was obviously incredibly disturbed at having killed an Imperial trooper, even though it had been to protect Shiri.

While the footage played, Jewel turned back to watch Lea’s reactions intently. When it finished she said “Tell me, do you think Xid would leap to your defence as eagerly and viciously as he leaps to hers?”

“From my impression? Yes. He really ought to think more before he acts.” Lea’s answer was succinct. Some part of her liked Xid, but she had no illusions about his almost suicidal tendencies when it comes to protecting others. Properly armed, while unhurt and rested, those tendencies were nice, but when tired, unarmed and injured, rather foolish. “Someone ought to teach him to do that.”

Lea didn’t really get what the Sith Lord was aiming for here. There was something, some plan behind it all, but Lea simply couldn’t figure out what it was. “What are you trying to do here? If you got something to say, just say it. Don’t slide around the edges. I’m not some child that needs to be handled gently. The Sith that captured me was honest at least.”

“Is that so? All indications thus far point to you being quite childish indeed. Younglings are unaware of their own feelings. They feel them, but they do not acknowledge them. Like you.” Jewel felt a twinge of annoyment that the Jedi was both insulting her and smart enough to have noticed Xids tendency to get himself in trouble for others. She would have to phrase her questions more carefully with this one.

“While I agree that Xid is over eager to sacrifice himself, you have entirely missed the point. Do you believe, that if forced to chose between you and Shiri in such a situation, that he would chose you? I doubt very much he would. Shiri is his friend. He cares for everyone yes, but he cares for her more. More than you. You are no one to him. Just another fellow Jedi.” Jewel spoke coldly and harshly, not with anger or passion.

“You don’t really understand him, do you? He’s overprotective of everyone. Even Imperial Soldiers.” Lea still did not get what Jewel was hinting towards, and the subtle hints were starting to annoy her. She liked it when people were direct, not when they sidled around the edges. “Are you trying to tell me something about him?” she asked, still a bit annoyed, but also curious.

“Your ignorance of yourself is astounding!” Jewel exclaimed, momentarily exasperated. “I don't care about Xid. One day, probably soon, he is going to get himself killed over something trivial. I might even be the one to kill him. But that doesn’t matter.” Jewel paused for a moment to take a shallow breath and push down her anger once more. It was subtle enough that few others noticed it, she had long ago learned to incorporate calming techniques into natural pauses in the conversation.

“I care about you, and what you feel. I will attempt to guide you to your own feelings one more time, and if you still prove completely blind, I will tell you what I have observed.” Jewel pointed towards Shiri. “She loves Xid. I’m sure the Jedi would frown on such emotion, but she is young and barely a Jedi. Plain as day to see for one who looks. You Jedi spend so much time burying your emotions that when you cannot, they are advertised for all the world to see. Xid has not realised this yet, but he soon will, provided he survives. Should he decide to return such feelings, they will support each other emotionally. That will make my task far more difficult. When that time comes, many of my fellows will exploit their bond to break one or both of them, but it will be too late. Such a thing will only strengthen their feelings. He will ignore you and your… clumsy advances then.” Throughout, Jewel did her best to keep the edge of frustration out of her voice. She had never truly realised how totally blind the jedi were to their own feelings.

“Shiri is weak.” Lea muttered. Nothing about the Twi’lek had given her any indications of any hidden sources of strength. What Xid could see in the girl Lea had no idea of. Unlike her, Xid actually was fairly powerful. Lea wasn’t sure about how powerful, but there was more to him than met the eye.

“Advances? What do you mean?” She asked, her previous irritation forgotten, now fully replaced by curiosity.

Jewel forced herself not to sigh in exasperation. This was not a totally lost cause yet. “Shiri is indeed weak. And yet Xid will love her before he ever loves you, because while you exemplify Jedi blindness to emotion, she exemplifies selflessness and kindness in his mind. He is a Jedi, and believes in the Jedi ways… Ways which she shows and you do not. I sense your confusion, your disbelief. I’m surprised you have not yet asked why any of this even matters.”

Jewel shifted her position in the overlarge chair and her voice altered more towards how she sounded when teaching an apprentice. “It matters, because I have observed in your behaviour, the hints that you have strong feelings for Xid yourself Lea. Though now I wonder if perhaps it is merely a younglings wild crush, given how oblivious you are. That is what you have in common with Shiri. You and her both love Xid.”

At first, Lea did not answer. She had too many things to think about. Her, loving Xid? Could that be right? She didn’t know the first thing about love. None of those who had trained her in the past had ever talked much about love, let alone explained how it worked or even common signs of it. Thus, she had virtually no facts to go on. But the Sith Lord before her seemed to have some knowledge at least, so for all she knew, it might be true. She thought about Xid for a minute or so, realizing her memories of him were remarkably detailed. What he looked like. What he smelled like. Her frustration when he couldn’t keep himself from harm. How his face had reddened when she had been near him naked back when she showered. How that made her feel.

All combined, this claim by the Sith Lord could indeed be the truth. She still could not figure out why Xid would love Shiri, as she had very little to offer him. Other than frequently being someone to rescue, that is. “Huh. I didn’t even notice that. How interesting...”

For Jewel, this was a brilliant moment. Success at last, for even though she had had to outright tell Lea what the girl felt, Lea had still come to the conclusion on her own. She was starting to get a feel for how Lea thought, and that too was brilliant. She felt that soon, Lea would be as clay in her hands, to mold as she saw fit.

“Now do you understand? Shiri is going to have Xid’s full attention very soon. You know how much he can devote himself to others. If he chooses to devote himself to her alone, you will never have his attention again. Not in the way you desire. You are already disgusted at Shiri’s weakness, that is good. She is weak and deserves such disgust. But now you have reason to hate her.”

“She is not worthy of hate. Hate leads to anger. Anger leads to pain. Pain Leads to suffering. I have no intention of suffering. Try again, Sith Lord.” Lea answered back. She had no intention of falling to this one’s games. Darth Nyiss had tried these games shortly after capturing her. They hadn’t worked then, they wouldn’t work now.

Deep down, she resolved that she would find out more about Xid. These emotions she had concerning him, if they were truly love, would be worthy of exploring. Too bad she knew nothing about how to act when it came to them. Nobody had taught her anything about such. Not her master, not the Masters of H’Ratth. Not even her parents.

Jewel’s eyes went hard at Lea’s response. “You are correct about one thing. Anger does lead to pain. It also leads to power. Allow me to demonstrate.” Jewels voice was ice, and as soon as she had stopped speaking she stood slowly. The Jedi had taken a step too far and now Jewel’s rage was boiling over.

Lea could sense the Sith Lord’s anger suddenly unveiling itself seemingly out of nowhere. Clearly she had gone too far. She didn’t even think before raising all her barriers as high as she could. It was not the first time she’d faced the full rage of a Sith and it wouldn’t be the last. The question passing through her mind was simple. Would her barriers be sufficient?

Jewel’s left arm suddenly jerked up towards Lea, her fingers clawed. With the Force, she reached into Lea’s body, seizing the girl's heart and throat in invisible bands of force and gently crushing. A savage grin split her mouth and her eyes burned yellow as she channeled her anger over this and many prior slights.

Moments after she raised her barriers, she felt the first part of the Sith Lord’s attack. It was as if someone squeezed hard deep inside her chest. Had her hands been free, she would no doubt have clutched her chest. At least if the attack had gotten through her barriers. For now, the barriers held, but she involuntarily tried to break her cuffs. Knowing the current form and target of attack, Lea focused more of her power into resisting it. The Sith Lord’s power was immense. Her breathing grew heavier as she strained against it. When she pushed her barrier back out, trying to force the attack away, she screamed, partially in frustration and anger, partially because doing so was beyond difficult. She certainly did not have anything left over there and then to attack back.

Jewel’s fury only increased as the girl refused to submit. She added more vectors of attack - picking Lea up out of the chair and pulling her towards her outstretched hand. She also reached in to gently constrict the blood flow into the girl’s legs. Initially that would cause numbness, but when she released it, it would cause the blood to rush back and cause severe pain.

Lea found herself outmatched by the Sith Lord’s skill with telekinesis. Just the power or just the skill, she might have resisted, but the combination was far beyond what she could resist. She found herself lifted up as if she were just another inanimate object, her barriers easily bypassed. When the second wave of attack arrived, or third if she were to count the lifting as an attack, she found her resistance spotty at best. To her surprise, the attack was not one that felt like a true threat. The Sith Lord did not cut off all blood flowing to her legs. At most, she cut off maybe three-quarters to four fifths of it.

For what felt like an eternity, she tried to push against the Sith Lord’s attacks, hoping to fight them off. She tried to sneak in some attacks of her own, but she had not nearly enough power to spare, and the Sith Lord’s barriers far outstripped her own. After four-five minutes, the numbness in her legs was rather severe. Suddenly, she felt the Sith Lord’s squeeze down there simply disappear.

The feeling she had next was hard to describe, even for a trained healer like herself. One moment, her legs were numb almost senseless, the next, the blood flow to them was fully restored. All the blood that had been prevented from going to her legs now went there. Unable to resist, almost blacking out due to so much blood not going to her head. Lea let out a scream of raw agony. The pain was of such intensity. It was like nothing she had ever felt before.

The attack relented the moment Lea screamed in pain, a blood curdling sound that filled Jewel with no small degree of satisfaction. She continued holding the girl's neck in her gauntleted hand until she was sure she would not be passing out. As quickly as it had arrived, Jewel’s anger was bottled up again, her rictus grin returning to a calm, neutral face and her eyes returning to their natural color. A wave of weariness briefly swept over her and she threw Lea casually back into the chair as it did. Then she calmly sat back down in her chair, as though she had stood merely to pour a refreshment and not unleash the power of the darkside.

“Power. My anger gives that to me. Hate is an excellent source of anger, and anger is a source of power. The Jedi teach that the Dark side is self destructive. Without control, it is. To be Sith, however, means to control your emotions. Use them when it suits you. Store them for later when it does not. You have control, your skill in the Force is undeniable and though lesser than mine, still worthy of note. But you lack power.” Jewel paused for a moment to breathe, trying not to let her brief fatigue show too much to Lea.

Still more than a little dazed from the sudden rush of blood to her legs, Lea did not offer any reply to the Sith Lord. She could see that there was a logic behind it, but her stubbornness would never allow her to truly consider it after such a painful argument from the Sith Lord. It certainly did not match up with any Jedi teachings.

“Any reason to hate is a gift. It makes you stronger. The stronger you are, the easier it is take what you want. You know what you want. Do not let anything stand in your way. No, power will not help you gain Xid’s affection, but it will allow you to keep him alive. This ship is filled with selfish Sith. Do you really believe that they will not exploit your feelings for him? I myself considered bringing him here to torture in front of you. I am not the worst of the Sith here either. Think hard about what you want the next time you choose to ignore the teachings of a Sith Lord that is trying to give you the gift of power.”

More than a little unsettled, Lea whispered her reply. “I will consider everything you said and did, Lord Namore.” Her tone indicated that she was more than a little humbled. “The means will have to be considered carefully, but not be delayed overmuch. She,” Lea added while pointing with her head to Shiri, “will not have him.”

“Good.” Jewel stated. “It would be such a waste for you to miss out on the chance to feel because of someone like her.” Jewel stood then, the fatigue that accompanied extended use of rage already falling away. “Shall we wake her up and find out what she thinks of all this?” Jewel asked rhetorically, walking over to Shiri, taking a syringe from a nearby shelf.

“Is there any benefit for you in that?” Lea asked the Sith Lord.

“Of course there is. I don’t believe with certainty that you will take to heart what I have said. If you don’t perhaps she will. That, and I find that emotional subjects tend to have more impact when said face to face, not relayed by another.” Though she would not normally be so revealing of her plans or as blunt in explaining them, Jewel was rapidly coming to understand that Lea appreciated such things. Since she had nothing to lose by informing Lea of that much of the plan and since the girl would probably figure it out on her own anyway, Jewel decided to break with her traditional approach for the sake of results.

“Then wake her. It is not as if I can stop you from doing it. You are in control here.” Lea replied, having understood what the Sith Lord intended. She had yet to decide how much she would play along. She suspected that fighting over Xid would not work too well, but she was equally certain that she would not let Shiri have him. She would have to practice some subterfuge in this case.

“Yes.” Jewel said matter-of-factly, as if doubting the fact was ridiculous “I am.” With that, she bent down and injected an antidote for the sedative into Shiri’s arm.

“Peace is a lie.” Those words and the rest of the Sith Code were inscribed into the very walls of the prison. Miasa had built the droid that carved the code herself. A lowly apprentice could not be trusted to do it right. The very idea that anyone not a Sith could do it was unthinkable. She knew every curve, every line like the tip of her tail. It was too bad none of the prisoners yet offered the code the respect it deserved.

Though the prisoners had seen violence, they were no doubt growing complacent. Unless they were foolish enough to attack the Sith fetching them, they most likely invariably thought themselves free from harm. That nothing could happen to them. Fools. No initiate, no apprentice, no Sith should ever feel safe or grow complacent.

She opened her crates, pulling out the necessary parts. She always kept more than enough of them available. Within twenty minutes, she had assembled it. A fully operational war droid. Just to be on the safe side, she added a no kill clause to its operating system, then sent it to the arena the back way. No need to warn the Jedi.

Once it was on its way, she sent instructions to a squad of troopers. They were to fetch a random prisoner, then toss him or her into the arena to be confronted by the droid. Due to its programming, it would seemingly try to kill the Jedi, but would not fire the killing shot. If the prisoner was worthy, he or she would survive unscathed. If he or she proved weak, harm would be the result. She would watch to see which it ended up being. They might find some practice weapons down in the arena, but no instantly lethal weapons, so to kill the droid, they would have to be creative. She looked forward to it already.

Nazca gave a slightly mocking laugh as Koren spoke. “Oh yes, I’ll just rest hop skip and run over to my bed so I can rest. I’m just laying here collapsed on the ground because I feel like it! It’s comfortable, you know? Also, not a padawan. Youngling. I was in the temple for a short time, and then the Sith came and I assume you know the rest. Red Skinned bitch came and decided to experiment on me. So that’s why I can barely move, because everything fucking hurts.” She crawled back to the table, bringing herself back to standing. “Schutta. No better than the slugs.”

Koren turned to Xid, and waved his hand at the boy on the table giving him a slight Force nudge. He nodded at Tolun Fi. “Give me a shout if you need me.” He then turned back to the girl who was currently the exact opposite of peaceful. He took a deep breath, focusing on her state of conscious. She was angry, scared, pained and confused. He didn’t linger, bringing his mental barriers back and shaking his head. While they weren’t far different in terms of age, she was still very young.

He took hold of her in the Force, helping her stand. Though he didn’t take all the weight for her. Merely enough of it that she could walk without falling. “You’re not a youngling anymore. If you have No-Master then I shall fill the role. Come with me, Padawan.” He walked out of the room nodding at Tolun Fi as he did so, he didn’t force Nazca to follow him. Merely helping her into what was a currently abandoned room. He was sure he had seen Lea in here earlier… but that wasn’t important now. Sitting on the floor cross legged he indicated the spot across from him for her to do the same.

“Let us start simply. I am Jedi Watchman Koren Omi-Ren, and you are Padawan…?”

Nazca’s head immediately snapped over to Koren when she felt something holding her up. It didn’t take much of a logic jump for her to figure out the Jedi speaking to her was the one helping her. Cautiously, she let go of her table and took a step. When she continued to feel something holding her up she followed the Watchman. Even with Koren’s help she was shaking and exhausted by the time she sat in front of him.

What did she do to me? She thought, her skin pale and sweaty. She was exhausted and still in pain, and she didn’t know why. She waited a few moments to catch her breath, and then spoke. “I am N...Padawan Nazca Barsavi. What suddenly brought me up from Youngling? Last I knew, I wasn’t even remotely close to being prepared.”

Koren just eyed her with an element of suspicion. “While you can’t quite control the Force, yet to what would be expected at your age and I doubt you have a very firm grasp on the code you have shown strength and resilience.” He signalled the room around him. “You are still here after all, you haven’t turned and accepted the way of the Sith. While I commend your willpower and resolve it isn’t going to be enough for you to survive this place I’m afraid.” He raised his hand to indicate those outside the room.

“Some of our beliefs are already being questioned, and that is what the Sith want. For us to second guess ourselves, to think is our way wrong?. Once we let them grab purchase we are lost. We need to stand strong, as one and believe that we will survive this and be stronger because of it.” He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, letting the Force flow through him as it did so.

“I am willing to train you in the ways of the Force and the ways of the Jedi. I feel it is your only hope from this place without joining the ranks of the Sith. However, the choice is always our own and I will only become your Master should you chose it.”

Nazca stared at Koren, trying to get a feel for what type of person he was. If she agreed to this, she would be putting herself almost completely in his power. Not that I’m not already completely in all the Siths’ powers. She thought with a slight smirk. At least this is my choice. “I can’t use the Force at all...Master.” The word felt strange in her mouth, making her uncomfortable. She hurried on. “I was in the Temple for all of a month before the Sith came. As for the code, well, I know it ends ‘The Force’. You don’t need to worry about me joining the Sith.” A flash of anger went through her. Slugs. No more than powerful versions of the slugs.

“So..Master..where do we start?”

“Meditation.” He gave her a slight smirk. “Also if it feels more natural feel free to call me Koren. I was born and raised among the Jedi, using the title is natural for me. However I feel that these…-” He waved his hand around the room as if trying to pluck the elusive word out of the air. “-Extreme circumstances can let you get away with not using a little protocol.”

He took a deep breath. “Close your eyes, and focus upon all the emotion welling up inside you. The hate, the anger, the pain. These emotions are part of us, yet they hinder us. Have you ever tried to fix something only to become frustrated at it? The more you fail the more frustrated you become till the task is impossible? This is why as Jedi we must push such thoughts away. So accept them, then walk past them.”

He let out his breath. “Calm your mind, don’t try to force your mind to quiet. Do not scream CLEAR YOUR MIND internally, do not force thoughts out of your head. Acknowledge them, accept them. Then instead of focusing on them, let them pass and move out of your mind. This is all we need to for now, we’ll save you connecting to the Force until you’re feeling better.”

Nazca’s smirk fell as she heard the word ‘meditation’. She didn’t do good at that. At sitting still and focusing on herself. There was too much to do, to think about, to work on. Still, she did as he commanded. Her eyes closed, hands on her knees-Odd, how I got used to my missing hand so quickly that it is still a marvel to have it back.-and she took a deep breath. It was harder than she thought it would be, to step past her emotions.

They had been keeping her going for so long. Anger had been the fire to keep her warm through years of scrounging and shivering as a street urchin. Hatred her strength to keep fighting when everyone refused to join her crusade against the Hutts. Fear had kept her alert to danger that faced those who had joined her. And the one time she had let go of it, an ambush had killed everyone she knew. You did it before. You can do it again. Let go. Relax.

She was shaking, her hands clenching her knees hard. Terror rolled off of her in waves. Let...go. Her shaking increased, but she slowly managed to do it. Anger’s fire dimming to cool embers, hatred’s strength leaving her. Fear took the longest, it’s alert whisperings refusing to let go, refusing to make her less alert. She managed to shake it free, unaware that she was crying. As her paranoia and fear slipped away, past her focus and leaving a certainty she was going to regret leaving them, a storm of thoughts swept into her mind, no longer held back by her need to focus on survival, moving too quickly for her to focus on even if she had wanted to.

Eeni was probably tortured before she died, Zabrak resilience is legendary. Zissk is nothing more than a red mist on the floor. Oaya I hope they killed. Mandalorians don’t rape their victims, do they? Xid and Shiri you lovestruck fools what are you doing? The Trandoshan is an ugly bastard, and sadistically cruel. He would have loved to face and break Gaartatha. Did he die with Adann Kryze? Did they even die, like the rest of them? Aggrak you stupid, brave piece of gunsos. Jayda suffers just as much under her master as the rest of us, but keeps going through the need for vengeance. Tolun, how can you remain so calm, so composed? Do you even feel? What did that Red Skinned Bitch do to me? What did she do to me? WHAT DID SHE DO TO ME?

With that last screamed thought, the storm seemed to end. She was calm, her mind exhaustively empty. Her eye cracked open to look at Koren. “I-I think I did it.”

Koren studied her through the exchange, his mind probing the edge of hers. Picking up on the general tone of her emotion. “Well, I can’t say it didn’t seem to be overly dramatic but success is a success.” He waved his hand, focusing heavily on the Force as the room appeared to flicker and fade. The metal shimmered as if caught in a heatwave as their surroundings slowly disappeared, eventually the only thing that made it certain they were sitting on a deck of a ship was the cold floor underneath them.

A drop of sweat slid off his brow as he concentrated on the illusion, as a mist raged through the room. “Just remember, that trying to fight the storm is fruitless. No matter how strong you may be in the Force or with your limbs. Trying to fight it will just cause yourself to be harmed, and grow more and more frustrated. Your mind will become clouded… but if you let it past.” The mist lifted revealing Koren sitting there smiling.

“All will be revealed.” With that he lowered his hand, letting the illusion fade. He was somewhat glad that she wasn’t as skilled in the Force as a regular Padawan would have been, the illusion wouldn’t have worked otherwise. He offered her a smile. “Though, perhaps you have questions for me. As such I will answer what I can, then I’ll help you get to a bed to get some rest. I don’t want you passing out on me.”

Nazca’s cracked open eyelid turned into a full glare at Koren. Or as much of one she could manage while aching all over and exhausted. “You try surviving on Nar Shaddaa using your emotions for most of your life, and then have someone say ‘Yeah, you need to stop that. Right now.’ Overly dramatic my ass…”

She jumped visibly when the room darkened and mist swept in, storming around them. Only the fact that Koren didn’t mention it at all made her stay put (not that she would have been able to get anywhere far or quickly). She merely raised an eyebrow at Koren. “And you say I was overly dramatic?” Despite herself a smirk tugged at her lips. “Me? Pass out? After being experimented on by that Red Skinned Schutta Bitch? Perish the thought!”

However, she quickly frowned, formulating her questions. “Alright. Only two that really need to be answered right now. One; Why are emotions so, I don’t know, taboo in the Jedi Order? I mean, I get this,” She waved a hand vaguely around them to indicate the Sith Ship as a whole. “but this is only emotions in excess and when they, with the Force, are used for evil. No different than a Police officer using a blaster as compared to a thug using a blaster.”

“Two, I assume I am to be only taking instruction from you? There are several other Knights here, and I assume you all didn’t get trained the same way. What if one of them knows a method that you don’t?”

Koren shrugged his shoulders. “Theatrics are a useful tool sometimes. More often than not they can prevent fighting from being necessary. There is a mysticism around Jedi it can be quite useful to play into it. For example in hot climates many Jedi still wear their full robes using the Force to keep cool, do not take drinks at negotiations and so on. It’s all theatre of course but it works.” He eyed her with suspicion.

“Jedi are not barred from their emotions. It’s far more complicated than that. A Jedi is compassionate to all the people of the Galaxy. They are just, they are fair. We get upset the same as everyone else, sometimes we grow attached just the same as every other being in the Galaxy. The important thing is that unlike the Sith we do not let these feelings guide our actions. We control our feelings and do not let them control us. Emotions are raw power that often guide us down a dark path, so to most other beings in the Galaxy we seem emotionless.” He smiled at her. “Fear, keeps you alert. Though if you don’t acknowledge that fear, and let it go unchecked- as you had. That could lead to pain and suffering.”

He paused a second to study her. “Besides, you have it easy. You’re not an Empath. I require to perform some level of mental effort to prevent me from having to deal with everyone else's emotions let alone deal with my own. However you’ll learn in time to control your own. Take your Police Officer and Thug Example. A Police officer only uses a blaster with control and restraint. Whereas a Thug doesn’t show that restraint, and innocents are often at the other side of that blaster.”

“In regards to other people training you, that is up to them. I was raised a temple life, I quite often had different teachers to teach me many different things. Later as a Padawan I had my Master who would take me on missions and would teach me most of what I know but I would still occasionally study under other Jedi. So-” He spread his arms out to indicate the other Jedi. “-If they offer assistance you can feel free to take it. Just… avoid Alat for the time being until me and Tolun Fi determine his allegiance. With him using the Dark Side and all.”

Before the newly titled padawan could answer her new master, or even question him about Alat, the doors of the turbolift hissed open. Behind them stood not a Sith, but a squad of Imperial troopers. Being covered by the black, crimson and gray helmet standard to Imperial soldiers, no expressions could be seen on their faces, but anyone could guess that it would have been a mix of determination and no questions asked had their faces been visible.

Koren could sense them heading towards him as they entered and he merely sighed. “It looks like it’s my turn to entertain our hosts.” Before they fully approached him he just looked at Nazca. “I go willingly, don’t put up a fuss. Get some rest and barring that, mediate.” He smiled as he stood up.

They did not wait longer than for the doors to open fully before marching into the bunk room. The six of them split into two groups of three, immediately surrounding the light-haired Jedi Knight. Two of them pointed their rifles at him, the other two at the younger girl. The last two grabbed one arm each on the Jedi and pulled him along, into the turbolift.

Koren just shook his head putting his hands behind his back as he was practically dragged out at gunpoint. “You know, I am a reasonable gentleman you could have just asked me to come with you.” He grunted as one of them tightened his grip. “Seriously guys, we may be on opposing sides but I’m not unreasonable.” He thought back to the altercation earlier, he would have shrugged if he had been able while thinking about the devastation.
“I take it back, some of us appear to be unreasonable. Though I was meditating and most of the damage was done by the Trandoshan. So if you’re taking me to pay the bill… it’s only fair we go halves.” Still the troopers said nothing. “Seriously guys, where we going? I don’t do well with surprises. One year on my birthday a couple of other Jedi jumped out at me to surprise me, I nearly cut one of their hands of. Then when I found out the present was an Anooba I nearly fainted! Then I heard that the Sith Empire won the war!”

He looked between them. “Two of them are lies, can you guess which ones they are?”

Darth Nyiss strode purposefully through the halls. There was one more thing for her to take care of before she could rest for the night. The Padawan that she had first subdued as she entered the temple, a young Cathar female, had been kept segregated from the rest of the Jedi, locked in one of the small rooms near the Sith quarters. Nyiss had decided that this one was to receive the harshest of her planned experimental procedures. She had decided to keep her apart for several reasons. Firstly, the initial treatment was going to be particularly harsh on the poor girl's body, and Nyiss did not want another of the Sith damaging her physically too much. The other reason, was that she did not want Tolun to know with surety that she had done what she was going to do to this girl. She did not know whether the Kaminoan would really fall for the ruse that painted Nyiss and the Sith as perhaps less cruel than they were at heart, but she would at least try. He was the only Jedi on board whose opinion she actually cared about after all.

When she reached the correct door, a quick series of taps at the controls unlocked it and caused it to slide open. “Jedi.” She said softly but with an authoritative edge. “I am Darth Nyiss. You are my prisoner.”

Canisha jerked awake at the sound of the door opening, and blearily blinked up at the imposing figure in front of her. It took her a moment to recognise the woman, and she jerked her head back when she realised it was the Scary Sith Lady. Her head hit the metal wall behind her with a thump, and she rubbed the back of her skull with a wince. She murmured under her breath, “Ah, Sithspit. I was hoping I’d been rescued by slavers…”

Her stomach let out a grumble, breaking through her concentration, and she warily glanced up at the fearsome woman. “Um. Not very nice to meet you, Darth...Niss? Seeing as you took me prisoner and all...but can I have some food? I’m kind of hungry…”

“No. You may not.” Nyiss said bluntly. “You will be fed when the others are fed. Tomorrow.” Nyiss didn’t have the patience for another smart mouthed Jedi. If this one acted up like Nazca had, she would suffer for it. “You will follow me, and then I will put you with the other Jedi. Unless you’d rather stay here for another day or two.” She could sense a little fear still remaining in the Jedi, no doubt an after effect of the brutal application of Force fear Nyiss had subjected her to earlier. It was satisfying to Nyiss to know she had made an impression.

Canisha shut her mouth with an audible snap of her jaw at the harsh words of the Sith Lady, fear coursing through her veins once more. Obviously the woman wasn’t in a good mood - though really, were Sith ever in a good mood? - and any attempts to backchat would probably be met with pain. The Cathar was in enough discomfort already from having slept in an uncomfortable position and no food or water for who knows how long; she had no intention of making it worse by getting herself injured.

She shakily pushed herself to her feet, using the walls behind her as support as she tried to shake out pins and needles from her left foot, and nodded, trying to hide the fact that she was still staying as far away from the imposing woman as she could. “Okay, you’re the boss. Are we going straight to the other Jedi?”

“No. Follow me.” With that, Nyiss turned and walked out of the doorway, turning towards the turbolift. Though her back was turned, she had senses beyond her eyes to make sure the Cathar did not sneak away. “What is your name Jedi.” Nyiss spoke the question as a command, not a pleasantry. She wanted to know more for the sake of labeling her subject file correctly than out of any real desire to know who the subject was.

A shiver ran down Canisha’s spine as the Sith turned to walk out of the room. For a moment she debated just running the opposite direction, and maybe finding somewhere to kind and curl up in a ball and pray for rescue. The continuation of the same decor in the hall outside the room she had woken up in suggested that doing so would be a Very Bad Idea, however, and her ears drooped as she slunk along behind the Scary Sith Lady, trying to blend with the background as much as possible. “Uh, Canisha. Canisha Lhados.”

Worry piled up in her stomach, mingling with the fear and making her already empty stomach rebel against her as the brunette wondered what the fearsome woman wanted with her.

“Canisha Lhados…” Nyiss repeated absently, mentally noting down the name for the future. She moved quickly towards the turbolift that would take them to her quarters. She was not in the mood for speaking to the subject right now.

Once they arrived, Nyiss led her to the room with the operating table, cleaned since Nazca had been there, and motioned Canisha towards the table.

Canisha’s legs wobbled as fearsome woman made her gestures, and she took a moment to look between Darth Nyiss and the table. She really did not want to get on there, as who knew what kinds of cruel things the Sith Lady would do to her? The Cathar tried to stall for time, despite knowing she would probably have to get on eventually. Her mouth opened and a torrent of words came out, So, uh...what’re you gonna do to me? Torture, interrogation, just playing with my insides? If it’s the second, I really don’t know anything - I don’t even know if I was Knighted. That’s what I was doing when you stormed the Temple, you know, waiting to see if I passed my Knight trials. And I kind of like my inside where they are - you know, inside me. So I guess the first is the best course of action here? Oh...but I don’t think I like the idea of being tortured.”

Finally getting ahold of her tongue, Canisha swallowed thickly and stepped up so she was just beside the table. It was clean, like it’d never been used, but the brunette seriously doubted that was the case. “Can’t we just chat or something?”

“Why? You have already told me you know nothing. Unless you have something else to talk about that is worthy of my time?” Nyiss asked, not really expecting the Jedi to have anything to offer her. Even if she did, the experiment would still proceed. Nyiss was not going to let this be a waste of time.

“We could...talk about the weather on Manaan?” She tried weakly. At the unimpressed stare from the red-skinned woman, she grimaced. Reluctantly sitting on the table and swinging her legs up, she muttered under her breath, “Okay, fine. I can take a hint.”

Nyiss was, needless to say, not impressed. When the Cathar lay down on the table, she tapped the button that activated the restraints. “What I am going to do to you, Canisha, is going to hurt. But I want you to know, that it is not intended as torture. Eventually, you will understand that what I am doing here is necessary.” She was looking down at Canisha while she spoke, an almost tender, almost motherly expression on her face. When she finished, it quickly disappeared, her face returning to the impassive mask it had been before.

Canisha didn’t reply, swallowing thickly as she tested the metal bands restraining her arms. Fear curled in her stomach as she watched the Sith, her eyes never leaving the woman’s actions.

Nyiss then took a syringe from one of the nearby benches, this one filled with a translucent, faintly glowing red liquid, and placed it down next to Canisha on the table. “Subject Canisha Lhados, beginning dark side energy exposure prior to injection.” Nyiss stated in a businesslike tone, not for Canisha’s sake, but for the sake of the camera’s recording what she was doing.

“Wait - Dark Side? Injection?” Canisha asked, jerking her head to try to get a better look at the vial.

Taking a padded piece of metal from the bench, Nyiss placed it between the Cathar’s teeth as she spoke. Not only would it stop her from speaking, but also stop her from biting her tongue. No sooner had she done this than she stepped back, leveled her hands at the Cathar and unleashed Force Lightning upon her. Only in a low intensity burst, but still painful and coursing with dark side energy.

Canisha instinctively bit down on the metal between her teeth and was instantly glad for it the moment the lightning coursed through her. She tried to curl in on herself, her back arching as she let out a strangled scream as the lightning raced through her veins. Tears gathered in her eyes at the pain, and any thoughts she may have been entertaining fled under the onslaught of energy.

The crackling lightning continued for precisely one minute, Nyiss looking on impassively as the young girl writhed under its effects. When she stopped, she stated, once again in a businesslike manner “Initial dark side energy exposure complete. Proceeding to the injection.” She picked up the syringe then, moving to place it over Canisha’s heart.

Canisha’s chest heaved as she breathed harshly in the moment of respite she got as Nyiss halted her lightning, staring up at the impassive woman and silently begging her to stop. Not that she expected the woman to do so, but one could hope.

Nyiss then plunged the needle down into Canisha’s chest, depressing the syringe to inject the fluid. She somewhat absently removed the needle, more interested in eagerly observing the effects the fluid generated in the young Jedi. She was not sure what to expect from the aggressive treatment, but even now the alteration genes would be detecting residual dark side energy and replicating.

The Cathar screamed around the chunk of metal in her mouth as the syringe plunged into her chest, her jaw clenching harder. Her chest attempted to curl in on itself, and she tried to rip her arms and legs from their restraints as what felt like pure pain - cold and hot and sharp and dull all at once - spread from the injection point, slowly travelling towards her extremities. Her chest felt like it was freezing in the wake of the pain, her breaths coming in short, sharp, erratic puffs as she struggled to breath through the constant screaming coming from her mouth. Blackness creeped around the edge of her vision, and Canisha screwed her eyes shut against the deep red decor which seemed to pulse in time with her heartbeat. She paid no attention to the way the restraints were cutting into her wrists as she tried to pull her arms closer to her body.

“Interesting.” Nyiss stated, watching the Cathar writhe. “Subject in immense pain, but remaining conscious. Subject is writhing, but no other visible effects. Note for future attempts - procure better restraints, subject injuring herself.” Nyiss placed the syringe back on the bench at the edge of the room before returning to Canisha’s side, watching silently for another minute.

“Now beginning weakening of subjects resistance.” She stated, reaching across to place her hand lightly on the young girl's neck. She did not physically constrict her fingers, instead beginning to sap away Canisha’s energy with the Force. Nyiss also made a point of not absorbing such energy into herself, unsure of precisely the consequences that would come from Force Draining an individual undergoing the experiment. She was expecting the visible effects to die down now.

The pain lessened slowly in the wake of a cold chill that swept from her neck down, and Canisha’s muscles stopped trying to curl in on themselves as blessed numbness took the place of the feelings whatever Nyiss had injected left behind. She would have shivered under the unnatural coolness the Sith’s fingers poured into her neck but lethargy, brought on by the tension induced by pain and the numbness, had her almost relaxing into the table as her head seemed to drift somewhere about waist height. The Cathar could vaguely feel something as it seemed to travel through her body, though it felt detached and distance and slowly slipped away until she was left staring up at the ceiling of the room. The red face of the woman swam in her peripheral vision, and she tried to say something around her unresponsive tongue. “Tha’ bah-dee hur’.”

“Subject responsive to weakening.” Stated Nyiss, ignoring the Cathar’s attempts at speech and withdrawing her hand. “Initial symptoms of rejection fading. Now we wait.” Nyiss then stepped back to the controls and shut down the recording. Stepping back to the operating table, she looked down at Canisha, a hint of compassion in her eyes for just a moment. “This is for your own good. You’ll see.” She said gently, to, in her mind, make up for all the pain.

Canisha focused on Nyiss’s face, trying to summon the strength to talk some more but her efforts failed. She settled instead for staring at the woman.

“Now you can see your fellows.” She said more briskly this time. A button press opened the door and summoned a nearby group of guards to take her back to the Jedi cells.

It was an uncouth explanation, but Knight Watchman Koren certainly had a succinct way of explaining complicated situations. Tolun Fi exhaled slowly, knowing full well that the extent of Nazca’s condition might not be known for quite some time, and it was unclear if she harboured any ill-feelings towards him for his part in Darth Nyiss’ experiment. He would have to take her through physical therapy to get her used to the robotic arm, but at the time being there were more pressing matters. Namely, the aftermath of whatever happened in the Medbay with the Trandoshan Sith Lord.

The Kaminoan turned to Koren when he spoke. He nodded deeply, with respect, to the Jedi Watchman. “You have my name correct, Knight Watchman Koren. I’m afraid I never made the rounds around the Temple nearly enough when I had the chance. But as they say, it is better late than never to make acquaintance. I had always intended to visit Manaan to expand my medical expertise, but perhaps after, there will be time. But for now, let’s-“

“Will someone...please untie me.” Xid spoke, his voice hoarse. Tolun Fi turned to the young Knight, the brilliant machinist he considered the only person close enough to consider a friend, and for once, his towering height made Xid seem a world away. The Kaminoan had rather come to relate to Xid on account that the young man seemed incapable of forming normal human attachments with people, nothing like he could with his machines, and both were engaged with their own field of expertise in a way that seemed cold and alien to anyone else. There was an understanding between them that had very suddenly found a crack; the young man was becoming reckless and emotional, incapable of following instruction. He was sacrificing his talents and their ability to save the Jedi captives in favour of throwing himself at death time and time again because he was incapable of controlling himself. Did he no longer trust Tolun Fi, or worse, no longer respect him? It was troubling, to say the least. Looking down at Xid, he could almost believe for a second he was looking at someone else.

Instead of saying anything he began to undo Xid’s restraints while Koren took Nazca to the central chamber for training, which was easily the order and stability Nazca needed after her ordeal. It was easy to admire her spirit and raw physicality; it was easy to imagine her coming back from any ordeal more or less herself. It was encouraging.

“Give me a shout if you need me.” Koren called, prompting the Kaminoan to nod a silent acknowledgement. He began to inspect Xid’s wounds, not speaking for some time. Before he decided to break the silence, the sounds of Imperial Troopers filled the room and Koren was taken away, presumably for an interrogation session. Tolun Fi made eye contact with Xid, staring at him severely. “If I were to venture a guess, if you were in any other condition, you would have thrown yourself at those guards to try and stop them from taking Koren. Tell me I’m wrong. Tell me you understand me when I say that the only way to help everyone is if you control yourself, because I am beginning to question if you are the same young man I had befriended and worked with for years. Where does it end, Xid? At what point do you stop yourself from acting and realize it is your talents that may be the key for everyone making it off this ship alive and uncorrupted. I trusted you to know better.”

The Imperial troopers either did not have a sense of humor, or couldn’t care less about the Jedi Knight’s answers. Whatever the reason, they did not reply. They held him tight even as the turbolift traveled down one level, then hauled him out to the rim of the arena.

Only pausing for a moment, two of the others shouldered their rifles, then picked up the Jedi’s legs, before the four of them tossed him down into the arena. After that, the Troopers marched off to the doors to be around in case the Jedi was foolish enough to try to jump up to the arena rim, but not so close as to risk being hit by anything from down there.

Koren rolled as he landed on the floor. He looked back up to the rim of the arena. “Well that wasn’t very nice!” He yelled up. “If I hadn’t have been a Jedi I could have broken something!” He looked around the arena and grumbled under his breath. ”Yeah like they fragging care” Looking around the room there wasn’t much to look at, he was about ten metres down and could another entrance into the arena. Obviously being dropped in wasn’t the only way in, which was good to know.

The lip was also designed to stop people from jumping out, though he gauged the height of it and while other Jedi may struggle he could probably make it. Though that probably wouldn’t help matters. He walked over to a nearby weapon rack. Blunted swords, axes and a couple of staves filled most of it. As well as a couple of electrowhips and electrostaffs, even a spot that looked like it should hold a lightsaber. Though it was suspiciously empty. Typical.

He picked up one of the electrostaffs, he wasn’t sure how he’d handle an actual sword being too used to a lightsaber while he had done some training in pole arms. Though now he was wishing he had done significantly more training, maybe when he got out of here he’d look into a longer hilt for a lightsaber… he doubted his old one still existed. He took a deep breath spinning the weapon around in his right hand before bringing it in front of him and swapping it over to his left. It was no lightsaber, that was for sure. On completion of his movement he held it with his left hands palm near the middle of the hilt and the weapon running from near the floor up his arm almost reaching his chest.

There was no need for showing off, but the Jedi had been taking a beating and if this was the Arena he thought it was they’d be able to see him from above. Nothing like a little morale boost. “So, what next?”

He looked up as there was a metallic thud as one of the doors opened, there was clanking as a war droid walked out of the door and he just sighed.

He spun the electrostaff. “Well, off we go then.” The droid fired, and he twisted his torso spinning the staff. He didn’t bother trying to block the bolts, not yet. It fired again, and he lowered his head down towards the left ducking to avoid the shot. His breathing was calm, relaxed. He let the Force fill him as he focused on the task at hand, someone wanted a show. He’d give it to them, though only because he hadn’t quite figured out how to disable the droid with the staff. No doubt the droid was resistant to electrical shocks, so, that left physical strength and the Force.

Though he’d keep the Force in reserve, for as a true Jedi he’d never use the Force to attack. As the attacks picked up in their ferocity he hit the control switch for the electrostaff, the weapon crackling to life. He spun it between his hands, though still relied on dodging the bolts as he knew that with an unfamiliar weapon the chances of dodging them all were practically nil. He closed his eyes, though his senses alert. He entered a trance like state his feet moving, body twisting in the right moment at the right time.

A couple of time, lapses in judgement, he felt the heat of a bolt pass though none struck their mark. He broke into a run at the droid. Twisting his torso left and right as the bolts continued to come towards him, using the staff to block the occasional shot he couldn’t dodge. Within five metres of the droid he pushed off the ground into the air, spinning as he went. At the peak of his arc he extended the staff sending a bolt of electricity through the droids head compartment.

It stumble slightly, though continued to stand. Had he used his lightsaber the droid would be a pile of scrap on the floor of the arena by now. It was surprising just how much he missed it. Landing on the ground he used his momentum and pirouetted on his right foot. Left hand holding the staff he pushed out with his right focusing the Force using it to push the droid. It scrambled for purchase as it defied physics and tumbled to the other side of the room. Once there Koren dropped the staff and using both hands focused on the swords and other pointed weapons on the weapon rack.

Sweating slightly he brought the weapons out of their racks and flung them towards the droid, the weapons denting, bashing and piercing it's Armour as it shuddered from the multiple impacts before it’s legs gave way, he didn’t smirk. He mainly stood straight. There was a drop of sweat on his brown but he wasn’t tired, not yet. He looked around the arena, he could still sense the troopers watching him. “So, do I need to jump out or are you guys waiting till you’ve won a bet or something?”

Zanna, after asking Jayda all she knew about the reason the alarms went off and why Lord Sish was being carted out unconscious by Imperial Troopers and asking those troopers where Lord Sish was going, was waiting with Jayda, the two jedi prisoners, and their original guards. It had taken a couple of hours for the Troopers to fix everything and find Lord Sish's lightsaber, which he had apparently lost. Zanna was looking at Jayda, her attempt to understand what the Zabrak was going to do next (if Darth Nyiss killed Lord Sish), masked by a facade of bored indifference. Now that she was more fully awake and away from the terrifying darkside presence, she was able to make use of the information she had learned and match her body language up with what her face displayed. Lets see if you're clever enough to recognize that, impure whore. Zanna thought, letting none of her worry or frustration show. If the damned lizard died, Jayda would likely leave and then all of Zanna's plans would be ruined. Don't die. Don't die you bastard. Beg for your life...

It was with visible relief that she saw they were beginning to end their preparations and repairs. They evidently found the Trandoshan's lightsaber, as one man left carrying a lightsaber carefully in his hand. The Red Sith's eyes shifted to genuine interest as she noted another Jedi coming down the hall, a woman this time, escorted by two Imperial Troopers. As soon as the trio was within sight, Zanna spoke. "They're almost done cleaning up the Trandoshan's mess. Wait here a little while and then you can drop your charge off in the cells." She turned her gaze to the female Jedi. "Would you happen to know why Lord Sish was in the Cells in the first place, and how he came to be unconscious?"

Andri blinked in surprise as the red-skinned young woman spoke to her, taking a moment to process the question as she was jolted from her thoughts. "He was...attempting to take one of my fellow Jedi and a few of the others protested the idea. One of the other Sith, Miasa, told me that the gas system knocked them all unconscious a while ago though; I would have thought your troopers would be more efficient in resolving the problem than this."

Jayda was edgy, her body weakened and leaned against the wall to stop her from crumbling face first into the floor. She was one of the first to notice the buzzing of the Imperial, her teeth gritted in silence upon seeing Sish being carted out. There was clear unease in her body language at the sight while she noted him breathing, a relief in her mind. On the outside, he was merely passed out as he was pushed toward Nyiss’ quarters. She spotted his lightsaber in another trooper’s hand, following in their wake. She didn’t like the fact her ‘master’ had already likely upset the Darth onboard. That dangerous, a fact even she had common enough sense to know. yet he still managed to do it.

The zabrak stared off into the hallway distance in quiet, her breathing steadier than. She could only wait to learn of the result and hope he wasn’t killed, her mind unsure what her next move would’ve been if he was executed.

Her head tilted toward the new Jedi’s arrival while Zanna took charge, ordering the troopers to leave her and followed up with a question. The Epicanthix seemed to acknowledge the presence when she was addressed, her expression surprised, then answered. At her last bit, Jayda’s mind pondered over the fact that the troopers hadn’t really tried to stop the fighting in the cell until the gas was released and Nyiss had given the order. On first glance it seemed to be nothing more than the staff was incompetent and useless but then… would they be really assigned to a ship destined to be filled with Jedi? The Zabrak had naturally assumed the prisoner Jedi were preplanned through it made little sense to allow a staff ill trained, skilled and able bodied to man the prison ship. There was also the matter about several Sith onboard at once. If they were even a quarter like Sish, they would’ve been at each other’s throats and corpses would’ve been piling up.

Jayda spoke her guesses out loud, her hand rubbing her neck back and pushing away her hair from her neck. “Maybe it’s not the troopers’ responsibly to keep the Jedi in line. Besides, anyone foolish enough to get in between Sish and prey is risking an early grave. He doesn’t take no for an answer at all.”

Khan mainly kept silent throughout the chaos and exchanges that went on around him as the fallout from what was apparently a very serious slip-up on his captors' part unfolded. This was an educational experience in-of-itself really. Importantly, Khan now knew about the riot suppression system. He would have to work around that if he wanted to attempt any real resistance in the future. Although maybe he was getting ahead of himself there. Also while it had been fairly obvious already, there seemed to be divisions and uncertainties in their jailers' ranks. That said most of them were attempting to project very neutral body language, but the very fact that things had escalated to the point they apparently had was telling in terms of how smoothly or not things were actually running.

There was one notable exception in the smooth, bored body-language surrounding Khan, too. The Zabrak. She was staggered, weakened with the fight and control gone out of her, concerned enough that to the Echani's eyes she might as well have pacing frantically or maybe even weeping with frustration to the Echani's mind. Her expression and stance when a reptilian involved in the incident was carted out was telling in the extreme to Khan. There was unease, fear...concern(?) and a palpable sense of relief when her eyes seemed to flicker over his vital signs. From there fear and worry seemed to predominate her stance again, though she seemed to control herself better and steady her breathing after a while.

Maybe there was an opening there? Khan had never really bought into it, but his Master was fond of saying that compassion and conversation were weapons as strong as any lightsaber wasn't he? Besides, Khan was getting bored even if he was a prisoner on some terrifying torture ship in the middle of a crisis. Apart from that older Jedi's joke nobody had spoken to him in what felt like ages and the ship was mostly uniform metallic hallways. So when he talked words came out as a torrent.

"The...Trandoshan? The one they brought out of there, he's important to you, right? Is he your Master? His wounds look minor and I'm almost certain the other Jedi will be blamed before he is...which admittedly, is probably not positive for me huh? But is he the one who trained you, because your stance is quite good, so he should be proud. I don't recognize it, though, your stance. Also um...what's going to happen to us next, now that the riot's over? Is this the part where we get tortured?"

Khan was really, really hoping it wasn't, but you never knew. Besides, he was trying to follow his Master's teachings and make a friend out of an enemy but even his Master would probably agree that torture would put a damper on his attempts.

Jayda's eyes shifted and pinned on the boy's figure, her other hand pressed against the wall to keep her upright. For a moment her eyes softened in regret, her body stepping from the side she had been settled against. Her muscles screamed at her determination while she ignored all of it.

Denso had stayed silent and just simply listened to the others as they spoke, the two Sith women, another captive Jedi and the prisoner he had been escorted alongside. He did not understand the name that had been spoken, 'Sish', a boring name, a Sith from the sounds of it. But he also learned about the riot suppression, a solid piece of information while he was a POW on a ship. Apparently the head honcho Sith had thought ahead and actually put something to kill riots before they got out of hand.

Jayda had been about to lower herself to the Echani's eye level when the older Jedi spoke, her head jerked up and body stopped all intentions to lower to one knee.

"I don't think trying to get friendly with the enemy will lessen the torture. It certainly didn't help me on my previous visit to a Sith stronghold. Tried making friends with one of my captors and he broke my nose." Denso spoke to the boy, then glared at one of the Sith, Jayda. "Why don't you just gang up on this Sish bastard? You speak of him like he is some demon haunting the halls of the ship, enough lightsabers in the back will take him down."

"That is if your lightsabers are pointed at his back, I wouldn't put it past you Sith to instead go after each other. You as a faction don't seem to understand teamwork." He said, shifting between Zanna and Jayda as he spoke, a smile on his face.

Zanna listened with interest as the latest captive replied, only giving some of her attention to the Echani as he questioned Jayda, after the Zabrak replied. Smart, for an impure. Zanna noted, before focusing back on the Jedi. "Can you tell me who he was going for? Or at the very least who fought against him?" Her face scrunched in distaste as the Echani asked about torture. "Torture? Not from me. Lord Sish, will most definitely torture you. He is a brute, born for the battlefield and with a strong blood lust. He has no purpose here, and seems to think that falling back on what he knows best is how to survive this ship."

She gestured to her new scar, the blue goo still in it. "This was given to me simply because I was too close to his door for his liking." She left out what he had been doing and exactly how close she had been, and hoped Jayda would be smart enough to do the same. Her gaze flicked to the Zabrak, a slight smile playing on the Red Sith's lips. "She can tell you more about her 'master'."

Jayda's teeth gritted and inwardly cursed Zanna. She was positioned in front of the Jedi as her eyes barely moved from the youth, debating on her options. Her voice was calm while she spoke to Zanna. "He's doing something right as he's survived this long."

She inhaled and paused when Zanna addressed the one trying to mock her. If he expected a reaction then he would fail in seeing in one. It was not the way Jayda was taught as she exhaled, then added mode before Zanna spoke. "No, little one, he didn't teach me how to fight and I'm sure he'll live. Someone else taught me. As for being proud, if he knew what I have done then I'm sure it wouldn't be pride he would feel."

Zanna turned her attention to the beaten Jedi, and raised an eyebrow. He seemed to find himself amusing. How long will that last, I wonder. "You don't think that hasn't been tried before? Or that Sish hasn't been in that situation before? His kind were the ones on the front lines of this wars. I somehow doubt he survived this long because none of your Jedi Knights and/or Masters attacked him in groups. Besides, it is forbidden for Sith to kill Sith. If we were to mob and kill him, the Darth would be very displeased and would likely display her displeasure by giving us an agonizing death. Perhaps you enjoy the idea of martyrdom, it has no appeal to me. As for teamwork, we understand it well enough. After all, it took teamwork to conquer Coruscant and capture the Jedi prisoners. You can ask them all about it when they wake up."

"I couldn't tell for certain," Andri erred in response, not exactly wanting to give the Sith an actual reason to target one of her fellows. "I think he was just going for whoever was closest. As for who fought against him - well, I tried to help but I'm not sure how much good I actually did, and there was too much going on for me to really pay attention to who was actually fighting him at the time, and then I was taken away by Miasa, the Sluissi, before the fight ended."

She eyed the Zabrak as she spoke; something about her was very familiar, though the Epicanthix couldn't quite put her finger on it.

"It sounds like him, but now that you've shown resistance... It's like blood in the sand. He'll target the one that drew the most reaction and keep torturing them. Each time leaving them more broken than the last." Jayda stated simply then returned her focus on the youth. She dreaded what Sish would do and deep inside, knew he would tear the child apart. It didn’t stop him the last time. She then asked all three Jedi a question she knew she would later regret. “What is your names? Unless you prefer to be known as just Jedi. Either way doesn’t matter much to me.”

"Andri." The Epicanthix replied. She slowly tilted her head as she looked over the tattoos covering the Zabrak's face, and pool of suspicion mixed with dread welling up in her stomach. Those tattoos were very familiar, since she was taking the chance to study them, digging up memories of receiving holo images in the mail and conversations via letter. "And yours?"

"Khan Sainen" was Khan's obvious answer. It probably couldn't hurt to be honest with the enemy on that small a detail as long as he was taking the less than violent option for dealing with them. Besides, personalizing himself to his captors might not help him avoid torture, but maybe his master's weird philosophy was right and he'd be rewarded somehow for his more kindly and peaceful approach in the long run. Either way Khan thought that just being referred to as 'Jedi' for the duration of his capture would be weird. It would definitely be really confusing at least! the whole ship was full of Jedi prisoners after all, so how would he know if they were talking to him or not? Really, it was a strange idea to him. They could always get his attention the proper way by attempting to punch him, but non-Echani simply didn't seem to know how to go about things at all, in his opinion!

Denso's eyes followed the Sith as they spoke, it appeared to him that the Red Sith of the two did not know about the incident that the other's master was involved in. A curious thing to the Jedi captive, he did not know either but it made him wonder just how connected the Sith were about information on the ship. He glanced at the scar that Zanna showed, both of them spoke of Sish more as if he were a monster than man. Fear was such a powerful thing within the Sith Order, it was sickening.

He listened silently as Jayda answered Denso's words, since when did rules or taboos stop the Sith? It was forbidden to kill the reptile lord but he almost snickered at the thought that any of the other Sith onboard honestly agreeing to such a rule. If he knew one thing about the Sith it's that the ones that actually took their twisted order as seriously as they took themselves didn't really care about rules. Perhaps Denso needed to learn more about the other Sith, it was always a wise idea to scout out the enemy before trying anything.

"Denso." He replied, though he seriously considering giving them a fake name, maybe a really over the top one, Dak Starblaster or something. But he was unsure of how wise it would be to potentially anger either of the Sith who so far had acted courteously to him and his fellow captives. He hated to admit it but he actually would to try not to mess with all of the Sith, if he managed to piss all of them off then that would only lower his chances of escaping the ship with all of his extremities intact. He did take notice of his fellow captive's names, not recognizing either one.

"Where are you taking us? I doubt we, the Jedi, were brought on this ship to wander the halls making tedious small talk with our sworn enemies." Denso asked both of the Sith.

Andri's stares were beginning to make Jayda uncomfortable as the Epicanthix tilted her head and seemed to study the Zabrak's Jato. It was if the Jedi was hoping to identify her in some fashion. She tried to cast aside the building caution ringing in her head while she answered the Knight’s question, her arms crossed on her chest and leaning back slightly. Her own eyes met with Andri’s as she held it, her eyes questioning what the Epicanthix was looking for. “Jayda..”

She turned her head to face Danso, then began to answer his question. “Likely, after they are done cleaning up the mess, it will be back to the prison cell with the rest of the Jedi. It would make sense.”

Already it seemed the individuals were wrapping up their clean up, forcing the small group to remain in place until the crowd had thinned out enough to travel to the lifts. Jayda was getting twitcher by the moment during her wait. Her mind shifted between Sish’s condition and her future, neither she wanted to consider, causing her to dig her fingers into her robe slightly. Another hour or so seemed to have passed before the clean up crew was finally gone and the all clear was given to the Sith to bring the prisoners back to the cell. It took about ten or more minutes to reach the lifts which had been repaired once then escort the prisoners into the cells within the one of the bunk rooms across from where the other Jedi were mediating and training, right as the one called Koren vanished into the lift with the troopers. Jayda had remained in the lifts while the troopers nudged the prisoners in then waited to see what Zanna would do as the Jedi were marched into the bunk room.

---

Xid had continued to struggle, trying to ignore Tolun Fi’s eyes upon him as he flinched at his ribs still stinging. Deep inside something told him there was disappointment in the Knight’s gaze and his teeth bit down on his tongue at the thought, the pain an easy distraction with his tolerance to pain. His wrists were already starting to hurt more before becoming numbed a bit with each struggle. He stopped the moment the Kaminoan approached, his head pulled away while he felt his wrist ring untied. The cold, serious movements were done with purpose and with little effort wasted. It finished up quickly when Koran and Nazca exited the bunk area.

Relieved to have the blood flowing through his hands again as he gently lifted upright to sit and averted his eyes to the floor. Xid idly started to rub some feeling back into his wrists while he allowed Tolun Fi to examine him. He paused long enough to remove his top, revealing his bare torso so the Knight’s examination would be hindered. Each touch around his fractured ribs made him involuntarily flinch at the pain and swallowed down the yelp. He managed to focus on his breathing, calming himself down.

The teenager's head jerked about to spot the Imperial Troopers come in and become pale. His eyes began to watch them collect Koren then depart. On meeting Tolun Fi's eye contact, Xid felt like a small youngling again. His figure once alert and tense, immediately went into submission when Tolun started to scold him.

“Yes, I would’ve gotten involved.” Xid stated honestly, knowing he couldn’t bring himself to lie. A trait Sela had managed to keep from Tolun Fi’s influence through it was clear some had been dangerously severed and replaced with radically different behavior. “A lot has changed Tolun Fi since I became Sela’s padawan. It’s only logical since her methods were much different than yours. For starters, she didn’t fully liked the fact I sounded less like a person and too much like the droids I worked on, ‘You sound too cold Xid,’ were her exact words. I needed to learn empathy because she said it would make me a better Jedi.”

He paused to let Tolun Fi absorb his words, not sure what the Kamino would think of them. The boy knew it was a terrible excuse but it was the truth: he was no longer the boy he had been. “In some ways, I am the same but others… I don’t know. If it had been any other Sith, I would’ve let it happen Tolun Fi. However I fought the Trandoshan. I know how he functions, Tolun Fi, and any Jedi caught in his grip, might not return alive. Or barely.”

Xid couldn’t keep the worry out of his tone though he tried, his arm wrapped around his wound. “I know I should stay out of the way and try to avoid attracting the Sith’s attention. Andri’s already agreed to take my place and I’m sure others will as well, but at some point they will notice this… then it won’t matter.”

Canisha must have fallen unconscious somewhere between the Darth’s chambers and the prison complex, as her memories skipped from the Troopers grabbing her limbs and carrying the Cathar through the ship, to opening her eyes to yet another unfamiliar ceiling.

She bolted upright, panic filling her veins as she stared around the room in alarm. She didn’t recognise it; her memories were fuzzy but the Scary Sith Lady had said something about Canisha being sent to join the other Jedi, so she assumed the room filled with bunks was part of the prison system the Sith had set up. The brunette whipped her eyes around the room, but no other prisoners were immediately visible, and a sliver of despair started welling up in her stomach. Had the Sith lied about there being other Jedi? It wouldn’t surprise her; Sith were known for their lying after all.

Swinging her legs out of the bunk, Canisha tried to stand but instead stumbled slightly as her legs gave out from underneath her, and she collapsed to the floor. Her stomach churned, not helped by the slightly distorted view of a room underneath the one the young lion was currently in, and she closed her eyes in an attempt to settle herself. She muttered the code to herself to centre her mind, “There is no emotion, there is peace.”

Canisha opened her eyes again just in time to see a man - a human, by the looks of him, with blond hair - being thrown into the lower part of the room below by troopers. By the way he landed without being harmed, Canisha felt fairly secure in assuming he was a Jedi as well, and relief flowed through her at the thought. She wasn’t alone on this ship.

A whoosh from somewhere behind the Cathar caught her attention, and she poked her head above the side of the bed to see what it was. A trio of people - all humanoids, two males and one female - were escorted into the room at that moment, and her eyes lingered on the obvious cut of the tall females clothing which denoted her as a Jedi. The relief she'd felt at seeing the male below blossomed, filling her veins and making her head feel like it was floating.

"Hi," She started, her ears perking up even though she stayed sitting on the floor beside the bunk.

Lady Lansha had left the comfort of the surveillance room shortly after her encounter with the demonic spirit that had scarred her perfect face. She had retreated to her own personal quarters, partly out of fear of being jumped by the creature again due to her enjoyment of solitude. For a short time she had meditated in her chambers, the doors locked, two guards inside with her silent as she sat on the floor and bathed in the dark side, helping to calm herself.

But calmness was the last thing on her mind as she thought of the terrifying encounter, the helplessness she felt. The Sith Lord only felt anger in the early stages of her meditation. The need to crush the creature that dared to damage her immaculate complexion. Sure she could cover it with makeup but it would always be there as a mark of the encounter. She still hadn’t figured out exactly what the being was, though she decided that its origin was on the dark side of the Force, perhaps a result of Nyiss or a sick game created by her. If she was able to get her hands on the beast then she would personally watch it suffer before her, drain every drop of blood from it if there was any inside of it. There would have been none when she was finished.

Once she had received word from one her servants she had exited her room, the meditation complete. She had simply asked to be alerted when one of the Jedi was returned to the cells, the young Jedi the two girls were smitten over, Xid. She had some ideas with what to do with him and the Sith almost laughed out loud at some of the thoughts she had, perfect little thoughts where her manicured claws were dug into all the right places.

She had quietly walked to the Jedi prisoner sector, a small group of guards behind her. She would not allow herself to get ganged up upon by the captives like another idiotic lord had done just before. She came around the corner right as a lift came open which caused her to pause in stride, the guards doing the same behind her.

Jayda and Zanna, with their own six troopers, had finished delivering the Jedi prisoners and were coming down the lift. The box smoothly moved downward causing the Zabrak to press against the wall tightly while she waited out the ride. Her breathing shallow and quiet, uneased by the tight space. There was too many people in the small area which only helped in pushing her to a corner. Her eyes flickered between the bodies until they started to file out.

Zanna and her were among the last before they came face to face with another Sith, her purple eyes darted down for a moment and avoided eye contact in a submissive posture. Something screamed for her to be careful inside her instinct but what it was, she wasn’t sure. The person before her had the same icy chill causing her hair to send on end while she side stepped to allow the Sith through.

Vivithe glanced at the two Sith as they exited the lift, a look of surprise on her face for a moment. She had met one of them before, the red Sith, Zanna, but hadn’t yet met the other one, Jayda, Lord Sish’s abused apprentice. She finally had the opportunity to do so without the apprentice’s beastial master around. A better situation as she wouldn’t have to be wary of Sish snapping on her at a moment’s notice.

“Hello Zanna, and you’re Jayda. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.” Vivithe spoke as she glanced at each of the Sith.

Jayda stood perfectly still, a little more than she would’ve liked. As she heard the Sith Lord speak, she could feel the sensation of being observed a bit. Briefly her eyes flickered toward Zanna, a minor questioning look, when the apprentice’s name was spoken and quickly placed them back to the floor. The only thing on her mind was being careful followed by a desire to escape. The last instinct, as strong as it was, was crashed down to prevent her haste and possibly gain this Sith’s unwelcomed wrathed.

If she was anything like Sish, Jayda doubted she would make it away unscratched. Inhaling slowly she replied. “Yes, it is.”

She knew there should’ve been more to say but her tongue thickened in her throat. Saying too much was just as bad as saying too light, her mind seeking a way to get by.

Zanna smiled at the Lord, not even giving Jayda’s sudden change in personality a glance. The Zabrak clearly knew they were in the presence of a much stronger predator. She gave a slight bow, speaking carefully. “Hello again, Lady Lansha. Jayda, this is Vivithe Lansha, a Lord though she prefers the title Lady. I assume you’re here for prisoners, My Lady? They should be easily collected. Apparently, Lord Sish recently went in and they fought against him. Things got so bad that the riot system needed to be activated, and apparently several of the Jedi were injured.”

“Lord Sish himself got caught in the gas, and was taken to Nyiss’s quarters. Jayda and I were on our way to the camera room ourselves to see who Sish was grabbing to draw such violent resistance from the Jedi, and what they did to force the Darth to such...extreme measures. With any luck, we’ll be able to isolate and draw out some of the Jedi who are quick to jump to their allies aid. Who knows? Maybe we’ll find something we’ll be able to truly manipulate. After all, it must have been something considerable to cause such drastic measures.” Zanna shrugged. “Or perhaps they were merely testing their chances against only one of us. Unfortunately for them, that one was Lord Sish. If you’ll excuse us, My Lady.” Zanna attempted to step past Lansha.

“They did indeed resist, dear. Lord Sish is very direct with his methods, he underestimated a group of desperate captives. He came for the little Twi’lek, one of the others didn’t like that, from there the dramatic events just came one after another,” Vivithe said as she stepped aside to allow Zanna past her. “I saw the whole incident. Where were you two during it? I would’ve figured the apprentice of Lord Sish would have sensed something and came rushing to see what was going on.” She added, one eyebrow raised at Jayda.

Jayda listened as Zanna explained more, causing the Zabrak’s jawline to tense briefly in a nervous gesture. Her eyes followed the Red Sith for a moment, to see her clear the Lord, then was asked a question about her whereabouts. She spotted Zanna shaking her head in warning slightly and for once, felt a tightening in own her twin hearts. Jayda closed her eyes for a moment delaying the reply a second longer before she spoke. “I was occupied with assigned tasks from Sish. He did mention he would make me stronger if I followed him.”

It was the closest to the truth Jayda would come, her voice trying to mingle the lie with her recollection of Sish’s ill fated promises and aid to allow her to kill him one day. She chose her words very carefully while knowing if Lady Lansha asked him, the Lizard might end up furthering the lie then approach her later about it. At least, she hoped. She hadn’t dared to move until the Lord was allowing her leave though Lansha had moved to the side and allowed them through. Her mind wasn’t willing to accept the Lord wasn’t at all like Sish since he was the only one Jayda had known for the last eight years. In ways she rather she didn’t.

“Hmm, I see. It is really none of my business what a master and his apprentice do but it is peculiar to me that you didn’t abandon your task once you felt Lord Sish’s frustration.” Vivithe replied, her arms folded in front of her, her expression plain, though she held back a smirk at the girl’s reply to her inquiry. There was a connection between a master and apprentice, the girl should have sensed what the lizard was going through during the incident. She paused before she spoke again to Jayda.

“Are you afraid of your master?” She asked, both eyes on Jayda as she awaited a reply, though she knew the real answer.

Zanna, from her position behind Vivithe, put a finger to her lips and shook her head, hopefully encouraging Jayda to not reply. “I’m afraid Jayda can’t properly answer your question, My Lady.” Zanna spoke up, moving so that she was within Vivithe’s eyesight once more. “As you may remember from our conversation this morning, Lord Sish is a particularly brutal teacher. His lessons are harsh and memorable.” She gave a wry smile, and gestured to her newest scar.

“Jayda’s recent ‘lesson’ was ruthlessly cruel and it came after the assault on the temple. Of which she participated in Darth Malgus’ frontal assault. She lost a lot of blood, and Sish scarred her even more, perhaps giving her a minor concussion. That, I suspect, is why she didn’t run to her master’s aid. Her thinking and reaction times are slow, her body barely starting to recover from the damage done by the Jedi and Lord Sish.”

“As for fear, have you ever seen a beast after a particularly bad beating by its master? It will be terrified of the beastmaster, cowering away. But that will pass, soon forgotten, and the beast will return to it’s normal state. The same thing can be applied here. While I still view Lord Sish as a barbaric lizard fit only for combat and whose purpose on this ship is a mystery, I am afraid of him. After all, the last time I got to close to him he gave me my latest scar. I imagine Jayda is in the same state. Wary after a ‘lesson.’ Couple that with her wounds, she can’t give you a proper answer. Didn’t you see how she hesitated before answering you, her eyes closing? She had to gather her thoughts for a simple question. Something she was doing mere moments before she understood that her master was in distress. So, if you’ll forgive us My Lady, we have to leave your presence. Jayda needs her rest, after we view the video feed ourselves, and I need to train her for the day. We have an agreement. I will help her with the Force and she will help me with lightsaber combat.” Zanna gave a crooked smile. “As you may have noticed, Lord Sish is a great combatant, but the finer ways of the Force escape him.”

There wasn’t a word in agreement or denial over Zanna’s words from Jayda, her purple eyes still lowered to avoid the Lord’s eyes. Even she wasn’t stupid enough to ignore aid in a situation that could quickly become dangerous. The fact this whole ship was out of her comfort zone was proof of that. At least Sish was predictable in his violence and the apprentices were closer to her power level, some even easier to kill if she had to survive. Lords… if they were even close to Sish’s level, her life would’ve ended in less time it took for Sish to flay her alive. In some cases, his methods would’ve likely been a blessing in comparison. Jayda swallowed the saliva collecting in her mouth then nodded in agreement. “It is best not to upset one’s master in the end or the punishment could be severe. Especially in Sish’s case, his method are more… claws on. He doesn’t take failure in his apprentices very well and I much rather not fail him again.”

Jayda tried her hardest not let the bitter lie cause her face to scrunch up, her nervous all too clear though it wasn’t because of Sish. “May I leave, Lady Lansha? I rather he not return and not find me where he expects me, his orders were very clear.”

She paused and waited for the answer that might release her.

Vivithe almost rolled her eyes as she listened to Zanna’s rambling interruption. She had half the mind to turn and silence the red Sith mid ramble but decided not to. The Sith Lady’s face turned into a frown as she turned her head to glare at Zanna, her eyes visible in the lit room despite her raised hood.

“You let this red Sith speak for you as if you are unable to, like a close friend would do. In all my years I have very rarely seen any genuine friendships within our Order. Everyone in the Order is seeking of a way to continue climbing up it. If I were not a more composed Lady of the Sith then I might have taken other action at such a display.” Vivithe said as she looked right at Jayda, daggers in her eyes.

“Perhaps think over your ‘friends’ on this vessel. They could be an undoing.” Vivithe added, then glanced at each of the Sith before she spoke again. “Both of you can go.”

Zanna blinked in genuine surprise, refusing to flinch at the glare. “Friends, my Lady? Where would you get an odd idea like that from? We are assets to each other, nothing more. She needs me for my Force Skills. I need her for her lightsaber abilities. I answer for her because she can’t, and because I do not want to have my asset destroyed because her master’s methods are brutal and her thinking isn’t clear. Good luck with your prisoner, My Lady.” She gave another slight bow, before turning on her heel and leaving. *Nesvanis dziaronira . She thought, keeping her emotions carefully smothered. She couldn’t deal with Lady Lansha. Yet.

Jayda hated depending on Zanna as she eyed the Red Sith leaving, her head bowed respectfully then moved cautiously past Lady Lansha. Her neck hairs standing on edge at the closeness of danger causing her pace to quicken her movement. She knew she looked ignorant and likely nothing more than a follower, but at least she was alive. Her anxiety started to fade the farther away she became, keeping within the other apprentice’s wake.

Lady Lansha shook her head as both of the Sith slivered away from her. She would deal with them both later, separate each one then really interact with them. Zanna was playing the poor Zabrak girl like a musical instrument, she had no doubt in her mind that there was some greater plot she was thinking of, there always was with red Sith. She took a deep breath, calmed herself then turned and entered another room, the one that contained the prisoner she was looking for.

“Xid, please come along with me.” Vivithe said to the boy, the group of soldiers behind her ready to go to action if any of the Jedi tried anything, the Sith Lord herself ready too.

*Filthy bitch

---

Denso grunted as he was pushed into the room alongside the other prisoners. As he turned to say something to the masked guards that placed him in the room he noted they were gone as quickly as they had entered the room. He heard someone speak to him, and faced them, it was a woman, a Cathar, one that he hadn't seen before like all the other prisoners that he wasn't dragged into the cells alongside. His first thoughts upon seeing her were curiosity about how many Jedi prisoners there actually were on the ship.

"Hello, who are you? How many of us captives are there, do you know?" Denso asked as he stood up and glanced around the room, his eyes on the bunks and lack of a prisoney feel that the place he was previously incarcerated at had. Also actual beds, in the last place the captors had just tossed him onto the cold floor to sleep in another method to try to break him. It was odd, he expected it to be similar to the last but it was not. No screams of torture echoed through the halls. He rose a hand up towards his bent nose, grimacing in pain as he felt the cut on the bridge.

"There are others, right?" He asked Canisha.

After the Jedi had been put asleep, the little droid ended up quickly scattering down the narrow tunnel of the vents. It was clear Navi was frantic and panicked as his thinner legs clicking along the metal insides, the force quickly propelling him down the path he was set on. It took him a few minutes to determine his location before he came to a skidding halt. Scanning its surroundings, it came to a conclusion it was completely lost… again. The droid whirled in what could easily been assumed to be the droid version of cursing out his rotten luck and foolish haste, his sensors trying to determine his location. He knew going back was a dead end, his programming shivering at seeing Xid laying there motionless, causing him to keep moving to see if he could discover another way out.

A long time passed before something caught his attention, his interior clock reading 12:02 Standard Galactic Time, while he peered down to look at the source. Immediately his sensors registered Korens figure being escorted by a few Imperial Troopers. An idea clicked in the metal circuits as Navi followed the small group, his figure using the vent to keep out of sight while he kept reasonably close.

It wasn’t long before they came to the arena where Navi was forced to stop just outside the entrance. Without warning, the troopers immediately lifted Koren and tossed him into the pit below, his force power kicking in enough just to prevent him from breaking something. While troopers just stood there along the upper edge and watching the Jedi, Navi had a chance to seek out a lower level vent. Quickly it began to melt off the bolts keeping the metal grate in place and caught it with its front legs before it could drop and catch unwanted attention when it hit the floor. Carefully setting it down, the droid exited then hoisted it back up where it soldered it back into place. A covered vent would draw unwanted attention and likely alert others.

Since the match created enough noise to cover his activities, all Navi had to do was wait.

The match over Koren returned the electrostaff to the rack. Though he wasn’t entirely sure what he was supposed to be doing next. He could no-longer sense the guards. Then something in his head clicked, this whole thing reeked of being a test. He sighed looking up at the top of the arena, no doubt he would find the door open at the top. From there the path to the turbolift would be unlocked and that would take him back to the prison. He could linger, or he could try and take an alternate route however both options were stupid.

He looked up, able to see the faint red Nazca through the glass and several of the other Jedi. Sure he could escape, probably get himself killed or some of them killed for his defiance. No, they’d all leave this ship together. He’d play the game. Though that didn’t mean that he wouldn’t bend a few rules.

He moved over to the war droid, clenching his right fist and pulling back as the weapons pulled themselves free of the droids carcass. He looked for the best possible entry point and sighed as he couldn’t find one that would let his hand in easily. He closed his eyes, and focused on the droid in the Force. It wasn’t living, but the Force still interacted with it in it’s own way. No doubt Xid could decipher it better but he wasn’t exactly in condition to be here.

He grabbed what he felt was the centre of the machine. Hopefully some form of powercell and pulled it with the Force. There was a spark and a hiss as it pulled free flying into his hand. He eyed it, still not really understanding if it was the piece he was looking for.

Though with not much time he took the piece and for a second wished he had brought his outer robes with him to try and hide it. The long black robes were currently sitting on his bunk. So he resided with the next best thing. Bending down, pretending to tend to his shoe he put it in his… sock. It obviously bulged but it didn’t fall out, that was the important thing.

He just had to hope that most of the cameras wouldn’t catch him from the side to see the bulge at the back of his left ankle. Hell, at least it wasn’t a weapon. He did consider it, even wooden staves would be incredibly useful in training. If the Jedi hadn’t just rioted he may have even considered it though now was not the time.

He began walking towards the edge, eyeing up the jump. Sure he could make it, easily. Though he wanted to play it up a bit, make himself appear more tired than he really was. No point playing your full hand in the first bet. Then he noticed something, a tiny little droid and he was taken aback.

”Navi?”

When the guards bizarrely exited the arena area, Navi cautiously darted out from his hiding place. His receptors heard the clicking of his own legs bring him carefully toward the edge of the pit where it stared down at the lone Jedi among the droid wreckage. Any normal droid with have a processing unit in its circuits might’ve felt compassion and sorrow at the graveyard below, but Navi felt nothing. He could be a heartless little thing if he needed to be. In addition, in his readouts, the war droids had little to no hints of higher memory which meant they were nothing more than tools.

Tools were always disposable in the end, thought Navi.

When Koren called his name, the droid whistled and clicked in binary quite loudly. His head tilted down then waited for a reply.

Koren gathered the Force, pushing against the ground as he augmented (To the best of his ability) the strength in his legs. Jumping up the side of the pit, but falling short of the ledge by design. Grabbing the rim he pulled himself up and rolled over the lip, though he wasn’t out of breath. He gave Navi a wink, the little droid would know he could do less than that. As it had no doubt seen on Manaan, if it still had those memories.

He then lingered for a second as if catching his breath before pushing himself to his feet and looking at the door. Again he wished he had somewhere to hide the little droid. “You’re a hearty little one Navi, and I must say it’s both surprising to see you and a good thing. Xid I am sure will be pleased to see you.” It may even snap him out of this suicidal spree he seems to have going. “I’m afraid I could only hide you on my person if you felt like getting in my other sock, and that may be unpleasant for the both of us.”

He looked around. “You think you can hang onto clothing and move out of the way of cameras?”

Navi clicked twice, then gave a beboop as if in agreement, though there was some irritation in the tone and it was easily noted. The droid considered something for a moment, his gears clicking and whirling in its center processor. He gave a look to Koren about the comment about the sock as it gave a soft, sarcastic whistle. The little droid edged closed then waved his little leg to flag Koren into leaning down where he then scaled under the Knight’s tunic and gently latched on around the shoulders. Navi hung there like a large bag strapped to the front of the older Knight. His back legs folded underneath while his front two were placed on both shoulders.

Koren looked down at the strange bulge now in the front of his shirt, making him look like some form of weird human alien hybrid. Or like some weird pinup. “Uh, Navi.” He wasn’t really sure on how to put it. Though he just went for it. “This wasn’t really what I had in mind, but I guess if it ain’t broke don’t fix it.” With that he walked out into the corridor, again there were no guards.

“You know, if this isn’t a test. Something seriously bad must be going on somewhere, though I’m going to go out there and hope this is a test.” He turned at a junction with two turbolifts, he came down in one of them. The other one, if he was correct, should come up in Xid's room. He walked into the one, the door closing and the turbolift starting to rise. “Xid’ll be glad to see you little Navi. Though… he’s not in the best shape. He kissed a girl, Sith happened.”

When Navi heard about the kissing, he gave a disgruntled click and beep of clear disapproval. His eyes flickering in unhappiness at the fact his master kissed another which risked his well-being on the ship, making his job that much harder. He seemed to flex his limbs a bit in frustration while he managed to hang on to the Knight’s shoulders. The little droid tried not to flex so much so he wouldn’t fall off by accident.

The turbolift shuddered to a halt and he walked out, he couldn’t see Xid from this angle but he could see Tolun Fi so he decided to just roll with it. “Xiiiiiid. I’ve got a preseeent for you” he then moved to a position where he could see a bed. “Oh you’ve got to be fragging kidding me.” The bed lay empty, he’d obviously been taken.

Navi peered up and slowly started to crawl out of Koren’s tunic, scaling his way down the man’s body. It might’ve created a slight tickle with the small legs dancing over his surface. His legs collected under himself as he reached the floor and steadied himself. He had expected to see Xid, something promised by Koren, causing the droid to twist about to face the older Jedi with very loud, and angry sounding beboops, whistles and clicks.

“No need to get shirty with me Navi. If you didn’t notice I was busy fighting a droid.” He pointed over to the tall Kaminoan Jedi. “Go ask Tolun Fi. He was actually here, he’ll know where Xid is. Hopefully he’ll also be able to understand what you’re saying.”

The droid glared at the man’s tone for a moment or two, his eyes flickered then his legs scrambled over to the medical bay, mindful of the cameras, as he discovered Tolun Fi working on the clean up. MNavi climbed the table leg then settled into the Kamino’s lap like a metal cat, still buzzing out Koren. It was pretty clear he didn’t find Koren’s excuse acceptable in the least.

“One of the many points Master Sela and I found reason to disagree on.” Tolun Fi lamented, continuing his physical examination on the wounded Xid. “The fact she didn’t accept your personality and tried to twist it into something that was more comfortable for her and others is a point of contention that I rather take issues with. I let you pursue your goals and never once asked you to change your behaviour to suit my tastes because it is simply who you were, and the Jedi Order has no jurisdiction mandating the self-identity of its members. I was never anything more than the cold, unfeeling scientist that took little effort to mingle with others in the order. They accommodated me, as I did for you.”

He handed Xid back his shirt, satisfied his ribs weren’t broken. “While empathy is a good quality to have for a Jedi, it can also be used against you, like any emotion. You would be foolish to think the Sith didn’t take notice of your affections and began to use them against you. They know you’re easy to provoke if someone else’s well-being is on the line, and part of being a Jedi is having the wisdom to know that you will have to make hard choices that benefit the greatest number of people.

“I tell you, time and time again, that no one else has your skills and if you become incapacitated or worse, then it will be you who potentially doomed all of the captives to slavery and death, unreachable by the rest of our Order. So, ask yourself; is Shiri or even myself worth more than everyone else in this cell block? These are the kinds of choices I’ve had to make for years as a Consular, knowing full well that many have died and suffered from the results of my mediation between conflicting factions. I wish to save as many of our fellow captives as possible, and I cannot do that if you aren’t using your head. Stop giving into your emotions. You are becoming less like the man I wished to ask to be my padawan and more like someone the Sith can mold into an apprentice.”

Tolun Fi stood, gazing down from his towering height at Xid. “Figure yourself out, Xid. I expected so much more from you.”

He was preparing to leave the bunk room when the cell doors opened and several Imperial troopers entered, accompanying a maroon-cloaked human woman with a lightsaber clinging from her belt. It was another Sith Tolun Fi had not yet encountered, so he studied her with great interest. She wasn’t physically robust, which didn’t necessarily amount for much, considering how some of the greatest Jedi sword masters and Force users the Kaminoan had witnessed were also physically unassuming, but her escort of guards was notable. Some Sith came with an escort, others did not. Was she worried about being outnumbered or surrounded, or did she simply like having an intimidating presence at her side? There were many things to learn from this woman, and little enough time to learn them.

However, she approached Xid, Tolun Fi found himself grinding his teeth, silently pleading for the Sith to take anyone else. The last thing Tolun Fi wanted was to see his friend like this, and their last words having been so harsh. As Xid labourously left the bed and allowed himself to be taken by the Lady Sith, Tolun Fi called out to him, “May the Force be with you.” It would have to suffice, and with what some would describe as a heavy heart, Tolun Fi watched Xid be taken away. Needing to take his mind off current situations and do the equivalent of meditation, the Kaminoan walked at a leisurely pace to the broken med-bay and began the tedious, but relaxing process, of cleaning up.

Some time passed, and after having most of the glass cleaned from the floor and sharp objects policed, Tolun Fi was busy extracting a blood sample and cleaning up the cauterization in hopes of reattachment of the amputated digit that had come from Alat, the fallen Jedi. Suddenly, his attention was diverted by the familiar metal scrapings of nimble robotic legs and Navi had perched itself on his lap. The Kaminoan looked down in surprise, blinking. “Navi, aren’t you full of surprises? I imagine you’ve been all over the ship looking for us.” The chirps and whirring were familiar enough that Tolun Fi knew Navi’s speech like a second language. He was there when Xid made the droid, after all. “Xid was taken by one of the Sith, a woman with a burgundy cloak. If I were to venture a guess, she does not appear to be the type to beat her prisoners senselessly, or so I’ve been telling myself. I lack a clock, but I estimate it was about 15 minutes or so ago since they left.”

He continued to work on the digit as he spoke, trying to look for anyone who might be watching that there wasn't a droid on his lap. He was facing a wall from the bench, so the nearest cameras were behind him, unable to see what he was working on. "If it isn't too much to ask, I do have a few favours I would like to ask of you while you're able to traverse the ship."

Xid was quiet as he took what remained of his tunic from Tolun Fi’s grasp, his eyes locked in a submissive position looking down and he mentally reflected on what the Knight stated. If it had been any other Jedi, their words might’ve not hurt so badly, but it was Tolun Fi. Their history was deep and started before anyone, making his impact a deeply rooted one. He knew he had changed from the kid Tolun Fi as he learned many unsavory things about himself thanks to the prisoner on Belsavis.

“Figure yourself out, Xid. I expected so much more from you.”

Tolun Fi’s words tossed and turned in his head, lingering there while he whispered his answer in a quiet tone. “Tolun, what if what I figure out turns out to be something I don’t want to be true? Something...terrible?”

Any more conversation was halted when a woman, followed by several troopers, entered through the lifts in the bunks. His head jerked to the sight feeling his heart thumping in his chest and teeth tightened in his jaw. Arms already through the sleeves, he finished up covering himself up when the Sith made her request of him.

“Xid, please come with me.”

The sound of his first name passing through a Sith’s lips sent chills running through his spine as he tried to swallow them, fearing what was to come. Gently he pushed off the mattress and moved toward her expecting the worse, his eyes noting the trooper’s weapons on Tolun Fi, himself and the door should the other arrive to stop him. Through deep inside, he knew they wouldn’t. Sish had broken something, the event did at least, and it was going to take time to fix it.

Xid had expected silence from Tolun Fi only become surprise when the Kaminoan Knight spoke a lightening comment, “May the Force be with you.”

This, small gesture as it was, caused him to flash the Knight a gentle, half heartening smile then walked into the lift.

The Sith’s enchanting perfume could easily be smelt by Xid as Vivithe followed him into the lift, standing beside him with her hands folded on each other. The five troopers that had followed her into the cells crammed behind both of them with not too much difficulty, neither the Jedi or Sith Lady were large figures. She turned her head towards Xid, then rose both hands to lower her hood and reveal her face in full detail.

“It is nice to finally meet you Xid, I have heard much about you. Though I don’t believe you know who I am. You may call me Lady Lansha.” Vivithe said, as she glanced at the boy, her hands back folded over each other.

He turned toward her, letting his mind absorb the details as he knew Tolun Fi would want a report, and stayed quiet for a moment or two. His mind tried to form the words in the best way through at the moment it failed him. “I’m sad to say, I can’t say the same due to circumstances. As for my name... it means the cameras I spotted had audio as well. Else you wouldn’t have learned it any other way.”

His body leaned into his left, trying to keep weight off the side he had injured his ribs. He had intended to try force healing himself but the Sith had denied that, forcing him to bare with it. Xid was a bit unnerved to consider what awaited for him past this trip as he made himself face forward and keep silent for the most part. He wasn’t sure if this tactic would work as he couldn’t exactly ignore his unwanted host due to rudeness, a fact that still stuck with him since Tolun Fi.

“You are correct with that assumption. What use would cameras be without sound?” She asked the boy, a smirk on her face. As the lift stopped and opened Vivithe stepped out of it, Xid alongside as she walked. The guards following behind the duo keeping an eye on the young Jedi.

“That was quite a brave showing you put on against Lord Sish. He’s a dangerous one, but you and the other Jedi worked well together. If you had weapons then I’m sure it would have been a different outcome,” She said, she was half lying as she didn’t know for sure. The lizard was a monster of a fighter, even if all the Jedi had lightsabers she wasn’t sure they’d be able to avoid getting massacred by the cold blooded bastard. “But, you fought with all your might to protect the Twi’lek girl, that was something.”

Xid then commented in a blunt, even tone that tried to keep his emotions from seeping into the conversation. “With what I’ve observed, I was wondering. As for what I did with the padawan,” He was careful to avoid to mention her name as he continued, “I would’ve done for anyone else too.”

His right arm held close to cradling his side while they walked, his steps a little slower to prevent him from being crippled by the pain. Through his head was held down and keep up the depression he felt inside, his eyes flickered to examine the wallings and tried to keep track of which direction they were heading for later. Maybe, if he could get out of the cells at night then he could try to map this place starting with the places he was taken to. He considered asking about their destination but held back, not wanting the Sith to put two and two together then likely lie to him. Or worse.

Vivithe abruptly slowed down, a door to the side coming into view. The door sliding open as she approached it, Xid and the guards following behind. Three of them posted outside of the room, forcing Xid to enter by way of standing outside of it. Two had followed in, each one standing at a side inside of the room. It was a smaller room, a living quarters for some of the servants, forced workers another word.
There were four servants inside currently, two asleep on makeshift beds on one side, two women on another talking as they sat, their eyes immediately drawn Vivithe and then Xid as they entered. One of them popped out of her seat and approached Lady Lansha, who stood still as the servant meekly stood before her. She was a frail human girl, pale, a scar on her cheek from where one of the people she was serving got angry with her and struck her.

“Lady Lansha, you came back, you said you would. Did you learn anything about my husband?” She asked the Sith who grasped her hands carefully and spoke to her with a soft tone in her voice.

“I’m afraid he was killed while on duty. A Jedi killed him, it was not a pretty sight but I’m sure his last thoughts were of you.” She said, as the woman glanced at Xid.

“Is-s that the one who did it? The Jedi?” The girl asked the Sith who simply nodded.

Xid’s teeth gritted an darted his eyes to Lady Lansha, his expression held tightly to keep his worry and guilt off his face. He examined the woman’s face, noting the scar, and tried to keep his face from showing his horror at possibly being introduced to the wife of the man he had killed. It was accident, at least he kept telling himself, and now that lie was about to be bashed with reality. At least he thought. His eyes twisted about to face the Sith and spoke. “I don’t suppose you showed her the video where the Sith ordered him to attack us? Where he held the blaster to her head... What are you up to with this?”

“I don’t know what video you are speaking of. I simply asked the other guards after Raya here asked me why she had not heard from her husband in the last day, they told me of the incident involving you. If that scenario was that lead to his death then it was not his fault, he would have been simply following orders. Not doing so would have brought harm to him and potentially Raya.” Vivithe replied as she stood there, her face straight and giving the full impression of honesty that she had not seen the video.

“I can’t believe he’s gone, what will I do now?” The servant asked Xid and Vivithe as tears began to form in her eyes. Vivithe placed a comforting hand on her back.

“His life is with the force and at peace, which means he will be with you always.” Xid knew they weren’t the most comforting words but they had helped him through some rough times in his own life. His heart ached, despite Tolun’s words trying to push him into a being a cold hearted being and failing. Sela’s influence had long ago changed who he was that he knew Tolun Fi would never see him the same again, making it difficult to follow the Knight’s logic.

He hadn’t commented on Lady Lansha’s words, but he suspected foul play or at least a lie within them. Sith were never known for telling the truth from his teachings in the Temple and he didn’t expect any differently from a Lord. He observed the effect his words might have on the woman, while being prepared for her reaction either in a positive or negative way.
“That doesn’t help with the money problems, we had to support a young boy. The Force isn’t going to pay the taxes or help him get over the death of his father,” The woman said as she walked towards Xid, the tears flowing down her face. “Why did you kill him? He was a great man, he only took this job to support me and his son. He didn’t ask to die! How could you?” She said, the emotion in her voice rising as Vivithe stood silent behind her.

“I didn’t mean to, my aim was to knock him out cold.” He said quietly, his feet rooted to the place he stood and trying to not react. His throat felt dry and constricted, making it hard to breath with his eyes unable to take them off the tearful girl. His fingers balled up in visible anxiety while he repeated himself. “I didn’t mean to kill him and I’m sorry he died.”

“You’re sorry? You could have avoided killing him but you didn’t. Why didn’t you? He was just doing his job, he was going to see me after and we were going to read the message from our son,” She said, then slapped Xid on the chest in her high emotions before Vivithe stepped forward and pulled her off the Jedi. “What do I tell him now?” She screeched at Xid as Vivithe held her by the arm.

Xid flinched as she slapped his chest, his body braced for more to follow while the Sith gently removed the victim’s wife from him. He felt...hollow inside to the emotion swirling around him. Like his heart had turned to ashes and was choking him from the inside, another voice leaning in to whisper into his guilty thoughts.

‘You know why… because you’re capable of being just as dark as I am. We both knew it the moment we met on Belsavis. There’s no use denying.’

Xid shuddered at his mind playing tricks on him at the worse moments, his breathing increasing slightly and his middle feeling sick in a way he never liked. He was at a lost of what to do as he felt the ache fill him from where the woman stuck him. His next words felt thick while he addressed Lady Lansha and tried to keep his pain under a mask he built up, struggling with it.

“Why Sith, did you do this? What do you gain from this?”

“I just wanted to help a widow g-” Vivithe started to say as Raya tore away from her, almost causing the Sith to stumble as the servant ran towards Xid, tears raining down her cheeks as she tackled him. She sat on top of him, slapping him in the chest while she shrieked. “Why did you kill my husband? Why? Why?”

With each slap another tear seemed to fall as Vivithe moved towards the entangled people, the guards near the door started to come forward to, but a look from the Sith in the room stopped them. Her maroon robe flowed as she moved towards Raya, trying to pull her off Xid, who had one hand clinged to his clothes. Vivithe trying to yank the servant off, not using exactly all of her strength.

Xid’s breath was knocked out of him when he landed flat on the floor, his ribs flared with fresh pain, as he bit back a yell. Her hand pounded into his chest as she screamed at him causing the boy’s hands to reach for hers. He wasn’t the strongest Jedi but he could at least try to control the damage while he wondered, faintly in pain, if she actually broken one this time. He couldn’t get a hold of one which had latched onto his tunic then made a loud rip when she was yanked off. Xid’s body rolled over onto his hands and knees, his arm clenching his side where he had damaged his ribs.

“It was an accident, he wasn’t suppose to die and I tried to save him” Xid repeated for what felt like the hundredth time, his body curled into a bit of a ball.

Vivithe had yanked the girl off of Xid, and now held her in both of her arms right in front of her. One of her hands was on her shoulder as she rubbed it, showing that she was trying to calm her down. What the Sith had seen pleased her greatly, the boy was practically breaking down in front of her. She spoke to the girl, her words loud enough for Xid to hear.

“I’ll make sure every credit he was due to earn goes right to you.” She said, then motioned for the other woman who had been talking to Raya when the Force users entered the room. The other girl approached Vivithe and the servant, then lead Raya away, towards the beds they were by before, tears still in the eyes of her as she did so. The two other servants had been awoken by the commotion, and were both now silently watching the scene.

“Rise, Jedi. I calmed her down,” Vivithe said to the Xid as she took a step towards his form, her caution high as she did not want to get too close to him in case he were to try to escape the room on her. “Dealing death is a thing you must be comfortable with doing. A Jedi can not go his entire life without using his lightsaber. Especially if you are to protect Shiri.”

Slowly, Xid rose to his feet. His arm still cradling his side as he turned to face the Sith and inhaled. “If that was what this was about? Sith feed off pain, misery, and anger which is what you got out of this, something that was truth in the teachings in the Temple. As for using my lightsaber, it is a tool to protect myself nothing more. Not a tool to take life.”

He flinched for a moment to adjust to the hurt as he tried to ignore it. “This isn’t bring her closure but opening new wounds. A fact, I’m sure you knew…”

“As I said before, I don’t know what you speak of. This was just a gesture of kindness from me to her, empathy is a thing in the Sith order.” Vivithe said, speaking straight and forward again giving the impression that she was not lying.

“And sometimes, young one, in order to protect yourself and the ones you love you must be willing to take a life. Showing mercy on an enemy in combat can backfire very easily.” Vivithe said, as she locked eyes with him. She had seen what she needed to from their encounter.

“Empathy and Sith aren’t suitable in the same sentence. And if this is kindness as you see it, it explains a lot...” Xid stated plainly and held Lansha’s gaze, his body trying to stand upright despite his side killing him. “Have you finished your task or is there something else?”

“It is done. I shall return you to your prison.” Vivithe replied, then nodded at the guards as they each approach Xid and grabbed him by the back of his arms, then started to lead him out of the room. Vivithe following behind.

Ven'ren had been wandering the corridors a while this morning. Heavy armour left behind this day, so there was no clinking of metal boots to warn anyone of his presence this time around. Instead, he took some joy in stalking through the ship silently, taking note of how long it took for people to notice him. He had found a Jedi, left apparently alone and unmonitored in the arena. This did not trouble him in the least. The Sith that left him there would have had a plan with it. And things did seemed to be set up as to allow the Jedi to cause a fair bit of trouble.

If someone was going to notice him sooner rather than later, it would be a Jedi, so Ven'ren kept his distance. He caught a glimpse of it messing with a defeated droid, but then stayed out of sight until the Jedi disappeared into the turbolift. Ven'ren followed the same way. Stepped into the prison complex as though it was not full of people that could potentially be a danger to him and identified the individual who had come through the same door just before. He indicated who he was talking to with a gesture.
“Why don't you come with me, I want to talk to you.”

Koren used the Force to lift the droid piece out of his sock and send it rolling along the floor as he pulled his head back and groaned. “Seriously? I just got back.” He leaned a bit to look out the far door, not even acknowledging the… he’d like to say Sith but the presence was… different. Anyway he didn’t turn, yet. When twisted to look out the door he shouted. “I’ll be back later Nazca! Remember, what I said earlier.” He then turned around facing Ven.

“So? Where we going? I hear Akiva is nice at this time of year.”

“I know you did, I followed you.” Ven'ren stated, thinking this should have been obvious. He snorted. “Well, that would be nice, but unfortunately” he paused, as though this was new information, and he wanted to let the Jedi down easy, “We are on a sith prison ship.”

He went back into the same turbolift he had just exited, waiting for the Jedi to follow. “So we are just going to go for a walk in here. And you can keep your toys, you are expected to cause some trouble anyway, it looks like.” He shrugged. “More interesting like that I suppose.”

Koren turned to follow him into the turbolift. Though that didn’t mean he couldn’t speak as he walked. “Me? Cause trouble?” He placed his hand on his chest as if thoroughly insulted at the concept. He followed the man into the Turbolift hands clasped behind his back in a non-threatening gesture.

“You know, I never would have figured this for a Sith Prison ship. It’s too nice, I was thinking I was on board some kind of pleasure yacht-” He cast a sideways glance at the man, a look of slight distaste on his face. “-That isn’t why you’re taking me is it? Cause I gotta tell you, even if I wasn’t a devout Jedi, you don’t do it for me.”

The Sith tilted his head into a rather impressive angle and it takes a few moments before he responds. “That is very unfortunate. I am sure my master will be very disappointed when I fail to seduce all the Jedi. And this is my nicest mask too. But you know, so far you have said five things and they have all been jokes. It makes me wonder if the fourth one isn't. We are being very nice to you. You don't seem very damaged at all. Strange, that.”

He stepped out of the lift back into the arena and looked around, but only stayed there for a moment, electing to continue to somewhere there were no more jedi watching through the roof. Made him uncomfortable.

“You’re keeping count? I’m honoured. I really am.” Why they were back at the overlook into the arena he didn’t know. Though part of him felt like giving the man a good shove over the edge. See how good he was at his telekinetics. “I have to say though, on the damaged note. You’re in the presence of a Watchman. We’re very good at the whole questioning thing, and used to prisons.” He shrugged.

“It also helps that I was meditating for a while, kept myself out of trouble. That’s another thing I excel at, keeping myself out of trouble. Take now for instance-” he raised his arms to encompass the whole room. “-I could start a fight if I wanted. You’re alone, I’m alone. There are weapons with my reach, if I use the Force and yet. I’m doing nothing.” He offered a smile. “Perplexing isn’t it?”

“The game is rigged though, isn't it?” Ven said as though this question was the answer to the previous one. “You stay a Jedi, you don't throw yourself to aggression and attack someone like me, someone just talking to you. But if you cooperate you cooperate with Sith. And we want you to cooperate, don't we? If you don't fight us, then we win. And if you fight us then you are like us and we want you to be like us, don't we? You could start a fight now, there are weapons within your reach but what good does that do you Jedi? Not a very Jedi thing to do is it? If you take all your strength and fight us and you break your moral code then we win. I know this.”

Koren let out a real laugh, just a single one then. “Depends on where you stand on the code. From a certain point of view the very concept of this ship, and having us prisoners has you an aggressor attacking us and our believes. Some would argue that from that standpoint alone if I were to incapacitate you here and now, it would be no different to if you pulled your lightsaber on me right now.” He shrugged. “Also non-aggression is not the same as me joining the Sith for the record. I hold to my beliefs, to the code. As strong as I always did.”

He walked nearer the edge of the arena. “I have no quarrel with co-operating with the Sith. You are human, I am human. If you cut us open we’d both have a heart, two lungs, intestines and a liver. As well as various other organs.” He turned back to face Ven. “I have a problem with those who harm others, and I will co-operate with you until it brings harm to someone else and then. Co-operation will cease, which in the end.” He laughed again. “Doesn’t make me very useful in your bigger picture. Now tell me, you’re bound to know my name. If not, I am Koren Omi-Ren. Jedi Watchman, do me the courtesy and tell me yours.”

Ven'ren tilted his head a little again. “Strange that. Because we did attack you're home and destroy everything and you do not fight back openly and you are not angry and I wonder, what could we harm to make you fight us that we haven't already? Do you think that you can escape us, you think you can win? It would be interesting if you did, very interesting, but this is a prison ship and everything you can do must be by design, or else they would not make it so. If you have a chance of getting out of here it is because it is a part of a greater plan by Sith. Does that not bother you?”

He silenced after that. He got a feeling he should not say his name. That that name meant something else at this time. So far the discussion had left him feeling almost empty, like there was nothing in what the Jedi was saying that he understood, nothing to anchor by, but now the defensiveness returned.

“My name is Ven'ren.” He said finally, when he had decided he was just being silly about it. “It would be nice to meet you, but that was a long time ago.”

“Time flows by, as does the Force. It may have been nice to meet me a long time ago, but does that not make it so now?” He shrugged. “Anger doesn’t help a situation, it clouds judgement. Makes people make rash and poor decisions, do I want out of here? Simple answer is yes. Of course I do. Is everything I do part of some grand design?”

He paused for a second, closing his eyes briefly as he let himself touch the Force. “Of course it is, my doing is the will of the Force. I let it flow through me, I do it’s bidding in an attempt to bring peace and prosperity to the Galaxy. To help those in need, I do not try and bend it to my will. I flow with the current, not against it. Yet my will is my own, I chose this path. Tell me, how do the Sith plan to take this from me? Pain? Humiliation? Anger? Grief? All of these things I have felt.” He pointed to the ceiling where you could faintly see the other Jedi.

“As have all the other Jedi here. What differs from you and I, is I accept these emotions for what they are. I do not hang onto them but I let them go. I do not let them consume and control me.”

Ven'ren snarled, somehow, this is what made him angry.
“Good! Stay that way! See where it gets you. See how long your friends survive!” He was not quite shouting yet, but his anger was clear.

“It doesn't work like that!” Barely aware he was using the force, with these words, Ven pushed the Jedi away in anger. Not mentioning what part of what Koren just said didn’t work how. He stood a moment overlooking the arena, realizing that he was, in fact, conveniently in an arena.

“It doesn’t work like that.”

Koren followed the simple philosophy. Absorb and deflect, he let the current of the Force take him over the edge and into the arena. There he flipped in the air and landed on his feet perfectly, his left leg twinged a bit as he did so but it was nothing major, he could easily ignore it.

“You know, I’ve already been here once today without a reasonable explanation. How about you tell me what doesn’t work that way?” This was getting curious and curiouser. This Sith… was almost broken. On edge, off balance. If it was possible for a Sith to be even more unbalanced than usual.

The sith walked around the edge of the overlook, ready to jump down there himself, but delaying. Lightsaber was in his hand, but not ignited.

“You think I haven’t heard all that? You think I wanted this?” If Korens question even registered, he made no sign of it. “And you say this now? Now, like it matters! It was a long time ago and you come with it now.” The last part had gone back to a snarl again. The chaos that was this sith’s aura calmed somewhat. Still angry, still conflicted and still thick with darkness, but focusing.

“We are not getting far with you I suppose. Perhaps you will stay like that. Perhaps until someone cuts your friends open and hands you their various organs and you, as you said, would cease co-operating. Perhaps still.” He shrugged, fairly calmer now, almost sounding friendly but with the swiftness of his mood change last time, he might not stay that way for long.

“Now that you are down there without good explanation again, would you kill me if I joined you?”

He had already observed the location where the Electrostaff from earlier lay abandoned, he had noted it on his fall and cold call it to hand in a split second if necessary. “You speak as if I knew you before you joined the Sith. I didn’t, would I have said this then? Yes. I would. Do you think the only one the Empire has twisted and chewed?”

He was taken steps back, slowly. If the Sith did jump he wanted to increase the time in which he could have a weapon in hand. “Violence breeds violence, a path of war and destruction only leads to more violence and destruction. If it comes to you attacking my fellow Jedi I will intervene.” He was now nearer to the centre of the arena than he had previously been yet he still projected the calm Jedi. Hands clasped behind his back.

“Now just to double check do you mean kill you if you were to join me in this arena? As if so, no I wouldn’t think so.”

The sith stood on the edge of the platform, just stopping himself from jumping down. He had planned to. But he didn't. You watch your enemies, before you strike them. Ven truly wanted to take his anger out on the man in front of him. Self-congratulatory thing. Thinking it knows better. Still, challenging the Jedi here, with just the two of them could go either way. Sending in the animals just felt petty, and would not be satisfying enough, but it would have to do. He stepped away from the edge.

“Of course I don't.” He responded to the first question. “I don't see why you would think that. And I wasn't specifically threatening to hurt anyone. But they will start with that at some point. It's an efficient strategy.”

“And it is nice of you to not kill me,“ he continued as he walked over to release one of the beasts kept by the arena. ”I might have to put that to the test later on, but since I unfortunately missed your last fight here by a few minutes, bad luck that, I will have to watch how you fight first. Solve this peacefully and I'll be impressed.”

Koren just shrugged. “If attacked, I will respond in kind.” He smiled. “As I said, violence breeds violence. The difference is my attack will be to incapacitate not kill. Also to do it quickly, not to simply cause pain.” He turned to face the door to the arena, awaiting the entrance of… whatever beast the Sith had chosen to entertain him with.

“You should have figured I am far beyond the point of platitudes.” Ven said as he released one K’lor’slug into the arena. Just one, but a pretty big one. Not something likely to kill a jedi, but Van didn’t really want to do that. He mostly wanted to see the Jedi fight. And be annoying. He sat down by the edge of the arena, close enough to the pit to continue the conversation. “You know, I had a point with all this but I think I've quite forgotten about it now. Right now I just can't let you make me angry and then let you get off without some sort of consequence.”

Koren hit the activation stud of the weapon as the beast came out of the door. Crashing through. He struggled to recall the beasts name. It had slug somewhere in there… it was nasty that was for sure and it probably would want to eat him. As it’s head focused on him and it charged Koren just nodded his head, to no-one in particular. It definitely wanted to eat him.

It ran at him, going straight in for the torso kill. At the last second he jumped over the beast, flipping and landing still facing the beast. He couldn’t remember what it was called but he remembered what it was. The Sith truly were arrogant if they had one of these aboard. In fact-

His eyes scanned the room there was still only one Sith in the room. If he wanted to cause bother for the Sith then there was one simple solution. Force this beast out of the arena and make it work it’s way down into the ship where it could lay its stupid amounts of eggs. Though then he looked back up at the Sith and realized something, the man was broken. Much like he was, the difference was Koren had a handle on it (For the most part). His training and resolve prevented him from being so twisted.

He had sensed something different about this Sith. Perhaps that difference in itself, could bring him to the light. Though if he went through with this, any chance of that would be gone.

“You know, you could have asked me for a stress ball. Though I don’t have one, but if you hit your head on a wall repeatedly I assure you it removes any stress or anger issues you may be having.” He lunged forward pushing the blade out with his left side leading as the beast approached, the electric shock hitting it as the beast jumped back eyeing him with suspicion. It did momentarily glance up at it’s possible escape out of the arena.

Though he gave it a slight mental tug to keep the beast's attention on him. “For future reference, just so I don’t need to fight off a beast every time I speak to you. What’d I do?”

“You know, I've come to almost like those things.” Ven'ren remarked casually as the duel between the k'lor'slug and the Jedi started. “They're even edible, but I wouldn't suggest it. Whatever gruel they feed you in the prison is probably better for you.” The prospect of the creature escaping was not something that had troubled the sith at all. Ven'ren was a very efficient k'lor'slug hunter.

“And banging your head against a wall does not help against anything.” He continued with a certainty that comes with personal experience. “Besides, I am Sith. We don't use stress-balls, we hurt people for no good reason. That shouldn’t surprise you. But if you want advice, sure. I honestly thought you expected this outcome though. You are a man of some spirit. You could always try not to be condescendingly lecturing to the Sith around. Might have been a little ill-advised in hindsight. You can’t throw that shit about letting emotions control you as though I haven’t heard it before! As though it works!“ Returning to that conversation got him angry again, and he got up to walk around the ledge of the arena. It calmed nearly instantly to mild annoyance. “Or perhaps it does. You will have your chance to prove that now, won't you?”

Koren twirled the weapon as the beast jumped back at him. Pushing back against it. The blade whirled as the electrified ends sparked and fizzed. “You know, you have a weird taste in pets-” He spun the blade clockwise, at the middle of his turn he pushed the bottom out to hit the beast as it moved high to try and strike past his guard and hit his head. “-You know there are far less dangerous pets to look after.”

He rolled to the right as it tried to strike him again and he winced as he hit his left knee on the cold hard floor. Pain shot up his leg, but his leg didn’t give way. “Also have you really tried banging your head against a wall for a really long time? I promise it really works! No more stress, no more anger guaranteed.” He stood ready, his right leg under him while his left leg was stretched out at an angle to his left.

He then did the unexpected, dropping the weapon and standing up tall. Closing his eyes. “As I’ve said before, with a clear and calm mind.” He reached out to the feelings of the beast. It was scared, it was angry, it was hungry. Koren wished he could have done this again under less… stressful conditions but they said stress was a great motivator. He focused on the calm feeling within himself, projecting it towards the beast. A feeling of safety and serenity. The beast recoiled slightly, however then lowered itself to the floor still eyeing Koren curiously. “Anything can be achieved.” Koren closed off his mind and opened his eyes, the beast still lying there.

It was calm, yet it wasn’t quite sure what to do. Koren turned to the Sith. “I feel sorry for you, that you were never really given a chance to be one with the Force. Though that doesn’t mean you should take your pain out on others, what do you gain from it? If you were to jump in this arena right now, slay this beast and then throw me against a wall what would that achieve what would you gain?”

“Oh those are not very good pets at all.” The sith said, sitting down again. “I did manage some sort of relationship of mutual acceptance with them, but generally I tried to keep them out of my territory.” He watched to fight for a moment. Snorting at the question about the wall. “Is that what you do? To keep your pain, humiliation, anger and grief from consuming you?” He would have continued, making fun of the headwall therapy, but he wanted to watch this.

“Oh, so you are doing that!” He watched the Jedi attentively, could feel the k'lor'slug calm down. “Impressive. Well, you have done what I asked now, haven't you. And I won’t do that. Lure that back into its pen again. I’m sure you can convince it, as much its home as you get now, after all.”

“Well, there are plenty of pets that are nicer. A Whisper Bird for example. Have you ever heard a Whisper Bird sing? Truly astonishing.” He sighed at the thought. “Also-” He looked at the beast pushing in the idea that the arena was a bad place, undesirable and the area it came from was safe. Secure. Nobody would harm it there.

“-I don’t tend to do the head-bang method of releiving stress. I am a Jedi Knight after all. We tend not to get humiliated or angered. Grief is something that affects us all, but I rejoice those we lose for they become one with the Force. In terms of pain? That is a fact of nature. No amount of training can truly avoid that forever.” He shrugged, as he too sat down. He however sat cross legged in an almost meditative pose. The Sith he remarked, looked as if he was sitting on the ledge in an almost leisurely way. As if a child.

“Also, I feel I have been honest with you. What do you have to gain by causing pain? How does this benefit you? You say it is an undeniable fact, that Sith do it for no-good reason. If there is no reason, there is no point. If there is no point there is nothing to gain so I ask again why?” He was growing more and more tempted to probe the Siths mental defences, see if he could get in. See what emotions toiled under the surface, yet his mind was still working on locking down the thoughts and feelings the k’lor’slug had pushed through his mind.

“Jediiii, you're lecturing again.” The sith reminded. He shook his head at the questions about causing pain. “You don't understand, but that is alright. You don't need to. You did what I asked, so I won't get angry again. Even if you do feel sorry for me. I survive. You'll end up like this too.” The k'lor'slug did not put up much resistance to the feelings the Jedi projected, and slowly backed off towards the gate in came through. Ven'ren closed the gate behind it and then came back to the ledge. “Well then you're done.” He said, and oddly, stretched his hand down to the arena as far as he could reach, in order to help the Jedi up again.

Koren shrugged as he stood up and walked over to the edge. “I hope you do not feel insulted if I do not take you up on your offer of assistance. After all you have not truly answered my question merely skirted around it.” He gauged the jump, again trying to figure out the way he would need to do it in order to just make it. He still wasn’t ready to play his full hand yet.

Running and then launching himself in the air, using the Force to augment his muscles and then his jump he grabbed hold of the ledge with his hands. Pulling himself up the best he good he got high enough to put his leg over the edge. Once that was done he merely rolled away from the ledge. Taking deep breaths as if tired out from an extraneous exercise. He doubted the Sith would believe his play, however if he did even better. If not all he would know was that Koren wasn’t revealing his true strength. He wouldn’t know how strong or weak he truly was. He usually worked against the unknowns and yet today they would work in his favour.

“So, do I walk myself back or is date night not finished yet?” He sat up, turning to face the Sith. “I should warn you though, no sugar on the first date. Also if you want to continue this relationship you should probably get a sex change.”

Ven went over to the place where the Koren was crawling up on the ledge, considering for a moment if he should decide to feel insulted and kick the jedi down again out of spite. He didn't really though. Instead he just watched the Jedi get back on his feet, arms folded. The wish to do so came back with return to joking about dating. He decided against it, having no interest in doing this whole thing again, and besides, only being mildly annoyed now.

“You do know I just threw you down this very arena five minutes ago for annoying me, right? And now you pick up right were you started. Are you sure you don't get continually thrown in there on purpose? And yes, we are done, you are free to return to your prison cell. Congratulations. And I” he continued, already feeling less annoyed again. “would never take my mask of for you, so don't worry about it.” He made a dismissing gesture, but did not leave.

Koren shrug. “I feel like we’ve gained a rapport. Life is… fleeting. If you cannot enjoy every moment of it, then what is the point?” With that he just shrugged as without even turning back he walked towards the exit hands clasped behind his back. He was still not entirely sure what the whole ordeal had been about but he had learned something so there was always that.

He stood in the turbolift as it took him back to the prison. The turbolift door opened and he walked back into the cell.

Through the room he nodded at Tolun Fi “You know, yesterday nobody even cared that I was on the ship. Now that’s two times in the arena in less than two hours-” He sighed.