It was good to hear most of their loved ones, particularly Neta and Yerbol’s parents, opting to stay the night in various available guest lodgings on Zinuthra rather than catching the very next transport off-world. The ceremony had been, despite all the stress, very pleasant. Neta had outdone herself when it came to the catering arrangement, the quality of dinner far surpassing the expectations Aria had subconsciously set. Like Yerbol, Aria was left incredibly puzzled by Neta’s cryptic message. When Yerbol frowned down at her and asked if she knew what the redhead had meant, the Champion simply shrugged and mumbled.
“I don’t know….very strange.” leaning into her partner’s side as he slipped an arm around her waist and suggested that they spend a considerable amount of time lying around like good-for-nothings in order to recuperate.
The half hour between the end of the celebrations and them finally arriving back at their room seemed to last forever. If it hadn’t been so restricting, she might have even considered just flopping onto the covers and sleeping in the dress (that, and the thought of the lecture she’d get in the morning for getting it creased, of course). As it was, she was very much glad to finally get out of the darn thing.
“I’m going to change. ” she mumbled to her partner, who had a MUCH easier time of shedding his formal apparel than she did, leaving the other Champion to make use of the bathroom while she worked on wiggling out of her dress and into her usual comfier sleep clothes. When the door was shut, she could have sworn she heard voices speaking though couldn’t quite make out who they belonged to at first. Before she could ask if Yerbol had been calling to her, she heard him ask her the same question. Frowning, Aria responded.
“...No! Did you?” though she wasn’t sure he had heard the question.

“Forgotten what my voice sounds like already, boy?” the voice this time around was clearer as it spoke to the Champion again, and unmistakably Roan’s. “I’m offended.” the Sith Lord’s apparition once again shimmered into view, his eyes just as sharp and cat-like as ever despite being slightly less pigmented and closer to their natural slate grey colour than they had been when he was alive, arms crossed over his chest to convey his apparent annoyance.
“I had expected you to have the courtesy to ask for my blessing first, Yerbol.” when the Champion responded with a slack jaw and an awkward stutter, Roan rolled his eyes and smirked, following up immediately with:
“Although I suppose not all of us have the luxury of summoning the dead at our leisure, eh?”
Roan paused as Aria’s voice, tinged with confusion, called from behind the bathroom door.
“Bol? Who are you talking to? Couldn’t they at least KNOCK before creeping in unannounced like that?”
Leaning (or floating?) closer, the deceased Sith Lord growled firmly.
“Just thought I would drop by to check up on both of you. I’m holding you to that promise, boy.” a ghostly finger was jabbed in Yerbol’s direction as Roan affirmed: “You had better take damn good care of her, or I promise you, you will find yourself in possession of a personal poltergeist for the rest of your life!” Roan’s features spread into his usual sharp-toothed grin (which Aria had inherited, the resemblance shared between the father and daughter in such a small gesture was uncanny). “And I don’t mean me. I mean her MOTHER. And trust me, that is something you do NOT want. That woman can nag the ears off of a Loth cat, make no mistake.”

“Bol?” Aria called again, the bathroom door whooshing open as Roan’s spirit dissipated with a final nod in his daughter’s direction. “Is everything okay?” she frowned, squinting as she plopped down next to him and rubbed her eyes, not sure what she had seen. “Was that...who I think it was?” the Champion sighed and shook her head, putting it down to being REALLY tired which was making her hallucinate...voices and apparitions. Yes, that was it. Probably. Right?
Sighing softly, she scooted closer to him, tucking herself into her usual place against his chest. “Must be seeing things...that was something I’m glad we only have to do once. I could hardly breathe in that dress.” giggling at the silliness of it all (in hindsight), she proceeded to explain the predicament of discovering the tailors had been misinformed of the measurements and the quick attempts to fix it had left the fabric a bit tighter than it SHOULD have been (which she also teased him “hadn’t been a bad thing because it had been kind of funny to watch him turn to jelly as soon as he looked at her”). Yerbol had made some other witty (and perhaps inappropriate, had they not been alone) comment in retort, which left both of them laughing until their sides ached.
“Anything of that sort of nature is going to have to wait until tomorrow. I’m far too tired now.” she smirked teasingly, planting another kiss on his lips before adjusting the pillows underneath them to a slightly more comfortable position.

“Is it weird that this feels...different? Even though it’s not really…” she mumbled, eyes fixed on the ceiling. “I kind of got used to sleeping with you holding me.” a faint flush of colour came to Aria’s cheeks as she mumbled. “Couldn’t sleep at all when you weren’t here.” she slipped her arms around him, hugging him tightly. “I really meant it. I’m not ever leaving you like that again, and don’t you DARE ask me to, you hear?”

Yerbol was left speechless by the appearance of Roan, who seemed to have only gained a higher level of spookiness than when he was in the flesh. The Champion attempted to communicate with him, but after picking his jaw off the ground, Aria called out and asked if anyone was there, which Yerbol couldn't reply to in time. Roan made sure of that when he disappeared, but not before issuing a warning regarding Aria's mother. Yerbol would trust Roan's assessment of his wife's character and assume that whoever could scare Roan was a powerful force to be reckoned with, even from beyond the grave.

When she sat down next to him, she asked if she had seen something.
"What, your dashing husband? Yes, yes it is." A quick jab of humor prompted a smile to crease his features as he slid under the covers while his companion did the same. He listened with a few sympathetic nods and remarks to her story, although the bit about being tighter prompting him to cast a playful glance in her direction.
"I like it when things are tight on you. I think you should know that by now."

After some laughter and snuggling up to each other, Aria made a remark that engendered some thought within his mind.
"It is different now. I mean before we were together, but now we're bound forever. You heard Voldon..." He cleared his throat and lowered it a couple of octaves to impersonate the officiating Elder:
"'Bound together by the Force forever.'" Kissing her cheek as she drew closer, he nodded in appreciation of her comments.
"Wouldn't have it any other way. We're in this together." His eyes began to droop closed, mouth opening wide for a yawn.
"I think we should probably get some sleep. That resort we decided on is a few hours away, so I think I'd like to be coherent enough to handle the controls of our ship." Before he rolled over, a hand grazed Aria's cheek.
"I hope you never get tired of me telling you that I love you. Cause you're going to hear it. A lot." He kissed her tenderly, fingers tracing across her upper back. Upon releasing, he simply told her:
"Tomorrow, we begin forever. I'm looking forward to it."

----End of Interlude------

--Begin Act III--

"No, stand like this...there's the stance you need! See, look at that? Wasn't so hard, was it?" Asha's straw blonde hair ruffled as he shook his head, a relieved smile crossing his face as his right leg dropped back in line with his left, careful to make sure that he didn't lose his balance and knock Wendi over...or anyone else around him. His instructor walked to the front of the expansive, square shaped training room and thrust his hand forward with an open palm, the other maintaining a steady grip on the wooden training blade.
"FORWARD!" A resounding shout came from the group as they mimicked the motion, most able to hold onto their sabers without faltering, prompting a proud grin from the Champion.
"BACK!" The arm responsible for holding the saber cocked back, elbow thrusting to eliminate an invisible attacker that would have flanked them. Again the group did fairly well.
"DOWN!" The students crouched, then jumped forward a few inches, blades slamming hard onto the padded floor.
"EXCELLENT!" A few chuckles from the students bounced off the walls, Yerbol setting his saber down before addressing the afternoon close quarters combat class:
"I know this has been difficult for most of you, but I've seen a LOT of progress. Which means...I think I'm going let you out a bit early." The youngsters cheered in approval, but were quickly silenced when he followed up with:
"But that means we advance further tomorrow. Be ready for some simulated scenarios!"
"Simulated? As in-"
"No, you won't have to worry about the dogs this time. Wildlife won't be something you'll have to deal with as often as free-thinking enemies, unfortunately. Besides, Ede, you did just fine against Taral...that one time." The Twi'lek who spoke up shuddered a bit.
"Alright, that's enough. Go get some food! We burned about a bajillion calories today." Gleefully taking their sabers and chatting, the students filtered out, leaving their instructor to lean against the wall opposite of the training room entrance and blow out a contented sigh.
"This teaching thing hasn't been so bad." He mumbled to himself, looking around the empty room with a pang of mourning. It was actually becoming...well, fun. To think that he would have been thrust into an instructional role and gotten accolades not only from the Elders, but his students was unforeseen, but a welcome purpose. Much better than cavorting around the galaxy attempting to thwart power hungry maniacs or former Sith Lords with genocidal tendencies.

Yes. Much better.

In fact, "much better" appeared to be the overriding sentiment of the past six months. The Academy was flourishing at a rate that Yerbol hadn't expected nor the Elders, which meant that they were hurting for instructors. Thankfully over the past few months more experienced Force users have found Zinuthra, their stories riddled with the familiar overtones of betrayal, sorrow and pain that Bracknell forced on the galaxy about a year(!) ago. Former Knights, Inquisitors, Lords, Consulars and every other rank imaginable made appearances on the Qyaari homeworld, most of whom were grateful for the refuge and decided to be ordained members of the Qyaari. Some, however, left after a week or two, deciding that they would find their own way through the galaxy. Others left on more vehement terms, claiming that the Qyaari would fail as an order and that those who were "smart enough" to realize the failings of the fledgling order needed to leave while they could. The last group was of particular interest to Yerbol, seeing as in the latest Council of Elders meeting he and Ari had been asked to attend Malu alluded to an "underground network of Force users" that she had encountered in her first couple of weeks scouting for other Force users. The Elder had attempted to follow up on the whispering she had heard, but was confronted with a dead end at every turn. She speculated in this meeting that Force users who were rejecting the Qyaari might be fleeing to this "network" as an alternative to formalized structure. "After all," Malu pointed out "who can blame them? We're an Order of Force users. The last time there were Orders, they were blasted into oblivion." The Council decided that Malu should continue to investigate with some assistance from a handful of recently ordained Knights that needed field experience.

Other than those speculative rumors, most of the galaxy was surprisingly quiet...well, as quiet as a new government in it's first year could make it. There were riots to quell, embassies to establish, trade agreements to consolidate, rival governments attempting to wrest power from the Alliance, but Saresh steered through all of it with a firm and steady hand. More and more, however, Saresh's edicts were coming through the Vice Chancellor, one Lisan Won, a tall reed of a man that controlled the podium with precision. Whatever that meant for the Alliance was more than likely discussed behind closed doors, but the relative prosperity of a unified galaxy was slowly actualizing. Hope was the order of the day, which was a refreshing change.

He and Aria's relationship had changed, but only for the better. They were closer on every possible level two people could be, which was hard to imagine before they were married, seeing as he felt like they knew each other on an already intimate scale. After their two week adventure of planet hopping and cutting themselves off from everyone imaginable, they returned to Zinuthra rejuvenated, which made the Council all too eager to send them into the classroom. Occasionally one or the other would be asked to accompany a training mission or act as an ambassador for the Elders when none of them were able to make it to Coruscant or Dromund Kaas. The past couple of months the duo had seen more time away from the classroom on diplomatic assignments and supervising missions. More and more Yerbol believed that the Elders were grooming them for...something. They were tight-lipped when asked, although Matt let slip that "everyone needed to train for a higher purpose", prompting a glare from Cheriss and a punch in the arm from Aliel. Nevertheless, it was nice to have structure and operate within stability for the first time in...well, in his lifetime.

Yerbol had found his way back to their quarters and was about to undress when his datapad chimed softly with a new message, which was read to him aloud by the "non-invasive VI" Manso had installed on his datapad in order to test the "validity" of putting the program on ALL the Academy datapads. It's soft and oddly seductive female voice(something Yerbol would have to address with Manso next time he saw the boy...or young man now, right?) gave him the following information:
"Meet me in the meditation grove tonight at eight. Have a job for you. M."

Malu? What did she want? And why the secrecy? Just then Aria's datapad pinged from across the room.
"So we're going behind the Council's back?" He mused aloud, their door opening after the question to reveal a certain wife he hadn't seen for most of the day...or yesterday for that matter.
"And where for Force's sake have you been?" Yerbol said with a teasing smirk, walking to his lover before planting a kiss on her lips.
"It's like my wife suddenly...vanished."

For once, everything seemed to be running smoothly, or….as smoothly as could be. Of course, the Alliance government had to fend off various critics and Saresh was oddly absent on many occasions (something which Cheriss was currently looking into, though according to the Elder, Vice Chancellor Won was somewhat evasive on the matter.) Rumors began to circulate through the Academy, as Vano would tell Aria whenever the Champion frequented the library during the mandatory “study lessons”, which some of her students loathed just as much as she did...though Aria dutifully reminded them that theoretical study was “Just as important to their learning as practical demonstrations”, though others breathed a sigh of relief as soon as they heard the word “library”.
Aria and Yerbol had dived back into their tutoring roles at the Academy after their short two-month honeymoon period, only improving themselves further as instructors with each class they taught, much to the delight of the presiding Elders. The duo’s teaching styles were as different as their combat proficiencies, which kept each budding student on their toes. While Yerbol preferred to lead with clear, straightforward explanations supplemented with in-depth study and practical demonstrations, Aria favoured more “field-based” learning, giving the students an hour or so of classroom based instruction where they would learn the basic framework of the technique, before she threw them into a practical simulation out in the courtyard or the jungle where the students had to use their wits combined with their newly acquired knowledge to figure out the solutions for themselves while Aria barked corrections at them like a drill sergeant (not to say she was incapable of being gentle and patient for the more...sensitive students, but she did believe in being as firm and straightforward as possible, gaining quite the reputation amongst the student body for being “the stern-faced teacher who tolerated no nonsense in her classroom”).
One such session had been the source of her absence for the past two days, when the Champion had trooped her over-excited students out into the foothills surrounding the Academy grounds where she had enlisted the help of Janika, Yoruba and some of the other Knights to recreate a rendition of the attacks on Korriban and Tython, where Aria and the Knights would play the roles of Bracknell and Soto’s supporters while the students and their classmates would have to use nothing but the skills they had learnt in previous lessons, their trust in the Force and teamwork with one another to reach a rendezvous point (which was dubbed as “Zinuthra” or “Wild Space” for the purpose of the exercise) before the sun set later in the night. At the start of the exercise most of the pupils had treated it as a joke, much to the Champion’s ire, guffawing and blundering through the undergrowth like a herd of stampeding Banthas and failing in EVERY attempt to remain unnoticed.
“Your enemies are NOT going to take it easy on you just because you’re young and inexperienced!” she had hollered at them after catching Zi’veri and K’odai slacking off near the lake which provided the main water supply for the Academy. The youngsters had been most surprised when their stone-skipping contest had been interrupted by the torrential wave which Aria lifted out of the body of water using the Force and soaked them from head to toe.
“How do you expect to learn anything if you can’t make an effort to participate instead of mocking everything I say?” the Champion scolded the unruly pair, hands on her hips as they muttered apologies that sounded more sincere than the last ones, at least. “The attacks on Tython and Korriban were VERY very real, and not a joke in the slightest, so try to have a bit of respect for the people who died there. If they hadn’t you might not even be here today.”
“I did TRY to tell them that Master,” chirruped Iruba, another student in the group as she dropped down from her vantage point in the tree above their heads. “I TOLD them I saw you watching us but they didn’t believe me.”
“That was very observant of you, Ru. Advanced stealth techniques like those leave very few visible signs.” the young Chiss preened under Aria’s praise, standing up a little straighter and sticking her tongue out at her Twi’lek classmates. Aria had been somewhat apprehensive of Iruba at first, mostly due to her species’ resemblance to the Xiis and the fact that the young girl’s sharply angled cheekbones kindled flashbacks of Illesia in the back of the Champion’s mind, but the Chiss turned out to be one of Aria’s most attentive pupils who thrived both in the field and in the classroom. Aria had pointed out to Yerbol and several of the Elders during meetings discussing the students and the curriculum that she envisioned Iruba moving quickly through the ranks to become an instructor herself one day. Thankfully, after the firm scolding the young Twi’leks had thrown themselves back into the exercise with renewed gusto and the class completed it in record time, enjoying it so much that they had pleaded with her to run it all over again.

She would have obliged had Ailel not contacted her on her personal comlink and requested she report to the hangar post-haste to make ANOTHER trip out to Quensu with another group sent through to Wild Space on Lisan Won’s request, to “learn about the first discovery of the True Sith temple and the part it played in helping the Qyaari’s philosophies to be established”. The routine was becoming rather repetitive and she had grown somewhat tired of recounting the experiences she and Yerbol had encountered there or trying to explain how intricately complicated Force bonds were...but she had gotten used to it, since the Elders seemed to INSIST that the duo partake regularly in such endeavours although they had yet to receive any explanation other than vague hints from Matt before Cheriss or Ailel quickly silenced him.

Aria was just returning to their quarters, where she had accidentally forgotten her datapad in her footlocker two days before (oops!), in time to faintly hear the comical woman’s voice reciting a message from her partner’s datapad. She chuckled softly as he crossed the room and embraced her, slipping her arms around his neck to reciprocate the gesture as she responded in kind:
“Well now, I wouldn’t have been doing a good job of going unnoticed if you knew where I was, would I?” she planted a second kiss to his nose, her eyes twinkling as she shook her head slowly. “Practical training simulation, which sort of turned into an assessment of sorts. You should try that sometime, it’s a lot more fun. Then Ailel strong-armed me into another diplomatic fiasco and well...here I am! I missed you...”
A quiet groan of exasperation left the Champion as the datapads pinged insistently and Yerbol’s female assistant read the message aloud once again.
“Well…” Aria checked the chronometer on the wall close to the door and sighed. “I suppose that takes priority over us having an early night in then.” the pair had gotten used to being pulled away at a moment’s notice for some task or other, but that didn’t make it any easier to accept it without complaining a little when it did happen. After the nightmarish experience with the Xiis it had been taken a few months of getting used to working apart again without worrying that the other partner would end up in some kind of terrible danger, but their relationship had only solidified further and the bond between them had become so strong that they could still have an inkling of the others feelings even over greater distances, so it was easy to quickly check in on each other “just to make sure”, and before they knew it they were having to do that less and less as they settled into the less dangerous lifestyle once again.
At least this time, Malu wanted to see them both. Although that in itself was somewhat strange, usually the Council summoned them separately in order to maximise effectiveness by having the duo deal with a scenario each.
“...That probably does mean she hasn’t told Voldon or the other Elders about whatever this ‘job’ is yet, right?”

The Champions would promptly find out as they joined the Miraluka Elder in the garden at the designated time, which just so happened to be dinner time as well...so the other Academy students and staff would be preoccupied in the dining hall and not be around to eavesdrop their conversation.
“Why the secrecy, Malu?” Aria inquired with a raised brow as the Miraluka greeted them with her usual mysterious smile.
“I have an...inkling of sorts, that I’d like you to investigate for me. Given the...nature of the target, I would rather send two people who I know have done this sort of thing before.”
“Target? You make this sound like a bounty, Malu.” Aria frowned warily, exchanging a glance with her partner.
“Of sorts.” Malu confirmed with a nod. “The Council just got word that Soto escaped her holding cell on Coruscant. Ailel swears blind that it’s a hoax because when she left Coruscant she put Soto under the watch of some very capable Alliance troops but I’d rather not take the risk. There’s a possibility that she could have had...help, shall we say.”
“...you really think this underground network you’ve been trying to track has something to do with it?”
“It’s certainly possible. And if my feelings are correct then we have no time to waste. You need to track Soto and re-capture her before she can rally any more of these Force users who are opposed to the Qyaari back to her cause and start that bloodbath anew again.”
“...Got it. Coruscant, are you sure?”
“She could have moved off-world already, but that is where I suggest you start, yes. As soon as possible.”
So much for normality….Aria thought as she exchanged another glance with Yerbol.
“Well, guess it’s time to fire up the ship again. Any last advice, Malu?”

"From what we were told by General Garza, the underground prison that she was being held in featured some of the best security in the galaxy, including cells that were lined with electricity and other incentives for prisoners to stay put instead of trying to break out. It bothers me that a supposed maximum security facility could be disabled from the outside so easily." She snapped her fingers in recollection.
"You might want to bring in that hacker friend of yours, the one that Voldon mentioned as the 'skinny twat who saved our lives' at the Alliance tower. He might be able to help you pick up a trail." Yerbol groaned inwardly at the thought of having to look at Junoco's smug face when they came to him for help AGAIN, but Malu was right; they would need his level of expertise.
"One more thing: Garza told us that the entire facility was empty. No guards, no prisoners, nothing. It was as if the entire facility had been abandoned. They haven't been able to find missing personnel or captives since then, which makes me think that this was a coordinated effort by a group of professionals who went out on a limb to free Jean." The Elder shook her head as she motioned for them to go.
"Just leave now. I'll make sure that your classes and arses are covered for a few days while you sort things out."
"I don't like doing this behind the Council's back, Malu."
"Neither do I, darling. But if my suspicions are correct about who's behind this, then I hope our little ploy will make sense."
"I do too."

______

"It still stinks." Yerbol muttered, walking up the reconstructed ramp that led further into the Undercity of Coruscant, eyes attempting to adjust the lower level of lighting that was emitted from crooked street lamps and neon lighting from a few newer looking clubs that weren't there before the Xiis attempted to destroy the infrastructure of the planet. Maybe more people felt like they needed to get away now? He would've thought the successful government would drive people AWAY from establishments that had holograms of scantily clad aliens and humans of both genders suggestively motioning for them to come in, but then again, whether in success or failure there would still be the perceived "need" for establishments like these.
"And now it's gotten even seedier." To their left had been an empty loading area, but was now converted into one such club, two hostesses standing outside and welcoming a few uniformed officers that came from a corridor just off the main thoroughfare the Champions stood on. As the hostesses walked away, Yerbol looked for a brief moment and nodded before making eye contact with his partner and smirking:
"I think that an outfit like that would look amazing on you...Although I do remember seeing something similar a couple of weeks ago that was quickly removed..." He trailed off, obviously enjoying their relationship status as they hung a right into a slightly narrower interior hallway that branched left and right, the occasional droid skimming around them to deliver whatever message they were programmed to. The Champion dug into his pocket and withdrew the miniature nav unit, map projecting from the circular object.
"So this was where he said he'd meet us." A red blip indicated the spot Junoco wanted the two to be at once they arrived, promising that he would be able to deliver "the kind of info that'll knock your bloody sabers off!" before adding he would even be doing this "free of chrage" due to the kind of threat Soto possessed.
"Why am I not surprised he hasn't shown up yet?" He blew out a sigh, feeling out his environment with the Force to no avail.
"I knew we should've taken along that Alliance tech specialist." When they had arrived on Coruscant and spoken to General Garza at the Alliance tower, she had not only given them the location of the prison on their map, but also wanted to send a tech specialist to help them with whatever they needed. Knowing that Junoco probably had a rap sheet the size of a small asteroid field, they had turned down her offer and said that they had their own source that was "trustworthy"(in hindsight, maybe Yerbol shouldn't have used that word). Even though Junoco had indeed helped thwart the Xiis, Yerbol had a feeling that throwing his name into the open as one of their allies might not have been the wisest choice with the Alliance attempting to build an image of honesty and integrity. Integrity, of course, was a trait that the smuggler did not seem to possess in the highest amounts, proven by his tardiness to their meeting.
"I say we head to the prison and hope he catches up."
"Well that's no way to greet an old friend, is it?" The voice was tinny, seeing as it came from speakers embedded into the nav unit, but it was unmistakable.
"Junoco, what-"
"I'm already at the prison. Decided that it would be easier to, you know, scout the area out before you lot came around. Just follow the path laid out for you on the map that should appear...now." A red line ran from where they stood down a number of different corridors before finally reaching an end point that matched up exactly with the coordinates Garza gave them.
"This should make your path much less conspicuous. See you when you get here!"
"I'm not even going to ask how he found out about the location."

Aria’s nose wrinkled distastefully against the smell as they descended into the Undercity once again, snorting a derisive laugh. “Tell me about it. Maybe if it smelled less like a Rancor pit it wouldn’t be quite so bad.” as they passed the newly minted night club, she regarded the hostesses impassively, before catching the teasing glint in her partner’s eyes.
“Indeed. I do recall telling you there was no point in making all the fuss if it was going to get thrown aside before you even gave it a proper look.” they shared a chuckle as they rounded the corner and checked the map, the Champion scanning their surroundings for any less obvious signs of their smuggler counterpart. Surprise surprise, she thought, he isn’t here.
“I’m beginning to regret thinking he’d actually be helpful.” she snorted dryly. Hearing Junoco’s voice unexpectedly projected from their navigation device caused Aria to jump in surprise, a hand instinctively flying to the lightsaber hilt on her right hip.
“I’m a little concerned about your grasp of Basic, Junoco. When you ask someone to meet you somewhere the general premise is that well...you’re ACTUALLY HERE when we arrive.” Aria’s eyes followed the red lines as they branched out across the projected map of the Undercity, the Champion huffing softly in response to her partner’s comment. “It’s probably better that we don’t. It’s probably illegal, you know how smugglers are. Can’t trust them as far as you could throw them.”

The Champions followed the pathway Junoco had laid out for them, arriving at the underground prison facility some twenty minutes of travelling later. As Malu had claimed, the entire facility was devoid of life forms...except for Junoco of course, who was loitering in the front courtyard and grinned smugly as he raised a hand to wave at them.
“Long time no see, eh, my Force using friends!”
“ ‘Skinny twat’ was an accurate descriptor.” Aria muttered under her breath as the Champions passed through the front gate to join him. Taking note of the pristine condition of the boundaries designed to keep the convicts inside, she mused aloud. “No signs of blaster fire or damage at all, means whoever it was that did this knew what they were doing and the guards never saw it coming....right?” another glance was shot in Junoco’s direction. “Could they have hacked the security systems and deactivated them? Is there a way to get into them and check?”
The smuggler grinned jovially and headed towards the main building with the two Champions in tow.
“Let's head inside and find out, shall we?” the trio proceeded inside with caution, to find the prison exactly as they might have expected: the lights were still on, the hallways mostly pristine except for a few scuff marks and chunks of missing paint that could just as easily have been ordinary wear and tear. A few security droids marched down the hallway on their regular patrol route, stopping in alarm as they spotted the three new faces though before they could raise their blasters to fire, Aria took a step forward with her hands held out in front of her.
“Woah, woah hey! We’re non-hostiles! General Garza sent us!” Garza’s name seemed to placate the droids, who looked the trio over before nodding to each other and proceeding on their programmed route. While intelligent enough to predict possible movements of prisoners and respond to help stop them escaping, the droid’s circuits had either been tampered with or they simply weren’t capable of the cognitive functions to notice it was….odd, that there were no prisoners left to guard, or wardens to give them orders.
Junoco made his way across the reception area to the terminal at the front desk, tapping away at the keys as he worked on accessing the system while Aria and Yerbol examined their surroundings in more detail. A few spots of blood on the ground around the desk terminal aroused some suspicion, the Champion crouched down to examine them, chewing her lip as she glanced up at Yerbol and Junoco again.
“This is the only sign we’ve seen so far of anything like a struggle. And it’s little enough to pass off as something as simple as a nosebleed. I don’t like this.” sighing, Aria reached for the holocommunicator in her pocket, turning it over in her hands absently as she spoke her thoughts out loud.
“I know it’s a disturbing thought but...is it a possibility that this was an inside job? That one of the wardens was a plant by whatever organisation these Force users Malu was tracking, to find Soto and help her escape?”

Junoco's nearly smug demeanor hadn't changed, although there was a scar that now adorned his chin. Yerbol filed that bit of knowledge away for now, reminding himself to poke fun at the smuggler for "getting his hands dirty" another time(which he, as Yerbol remembered, profusely hated doing). Thoughts about the smuggler's face were thrown aside rather quickly upon entering the drab prison, a sudden chill coursing through Yerbol's spine and down through his legs. Something had gone horribly wrong here. Thankfully Aria talked the droids down to make up for her partner's momentary lapse in attention, Yerbol apologizing:
"Sorry, but I just got this...well, for lack of a better term, chill. It's almost the same feeling that I got when we first encountered the Xiis." Not wanting to follow up on anything Xiis related, the Champion didn't carry the subject further, instead choosing to follow Junoco to a reception area with steel chairs bolted down in rows of three in the square shaped room along with a terminal behind a desk nearby.
"Just give me a moment and I'll...see what I can...do..." Already the smuggler slash hacker was busy hammering away at the keys on the terminal, humming a soft tune to himself while the duo investigated the room. Yerbol had been on the other side of the room looking at the blank walls for ANY sign of a fight when Aria not only informed him of trace amounts of blood, but also a theory that made sense.
"Well how else could Soto break out? It's not like the prison is easily accessible...for most people." Junoco snorted a chuckle.
"Maybe the network has agents inside the Alliance and we don't even know it." The thought of having to uncover ANOTHER governmental conspiracy prompted an inward groan of annoyance, so he changed his focus to the lack of struggle on his side of the room:
"I've got nothing here. Maybe we can get to the cells, see where Soto was held? Could've been slipped something while inside."
"That she was." With a crack of his knuckles, Junoco motioned for the duo to come to the terminal before telling them rather triumphantly:
"A maximum security facility like this keeps logs of EVERYTHING, including food distribution, guard rotations, shifts and....well, you get the point. See this here?" He pointed at a list of names along with two columns marked "shift 1" and "shift 2". The list was dated for last month.
"This is the shift schedule for the guards here. Seems like they had two crews that shuffled personnel around. Except for..." He cycled through each week's schedule, two highlighted names popping up on the same shift.
"Weird, isn't it? Jones and Mattias on shift two(which, as you can see by the abbreviations next to each shift, is the night shift) every single week. That doesn't seem like protocol. It was almost as if someone manipulated the rosters to where these two were on the same shift every week for the past month."
"So who changed them?"
"Looks like...well, based on this change log that's only accessible by the Warden himself...the Warden. Yep. The change occurred a few minutes before the logs were released for public viewing. Name of the Warden is Nuly. See?" The name popped up next to every single change that had occurred to the logs, prompting a curse from Yerbol.
"So we ARE dealing with corruption."
"Don't sound so surprised. Not all Alliance personnel are trying to establish the glowing new world order that your people and Saresh are advocating for."
"Just tell us where we can find Nuly."
"Easy enough." With a few clicks, Junoco had brought up Nuly Surian's profile, a surly looking male staring at them with blank eyes.
"Address is listed as a tenement in Justicar territory. How fun for you both!"
"You're not coming?"
"Oh no. No no no, not down there. Haven't you people kept up with the news? The Justicar's made a huge comeback after those blue demon things nearly tore a hole in the planet. People down there are happy to have them around, but their brand of justice is...excruciating. Alliance personnel have been trying to push them back for weeks now, but no luck. Maybe they'll let you two in cause, you know, you've got lightsabers."
"Just give us the bloody address and we'll be on our way."
"Fine, fine, don't be so touchy. I'll always be available to help-"
"Unless you're not."
"See?! Not hard to understand." After relaying the address to the duo and nearly skipping out the door, Yerbol told his partner:
"Before we go interrogate Nuly, let's check the cell out. I'm just...curious." After ascertaining it's location, the duo found themselves at the end of a wide hallway, containment fields that were once firmly in place now flickering in submission. The cell that Soto was listed to be in looked no different except for scorch marks along the edges of the field.
"Odd." While all the other fields were at least attempting to revive themselves, there was no activity here. If Junoco was accurate, then no one else could have altered the containment fields from the outside.
"More evidence that we need to talk to Nuly, eh?"

_____

"Back away, Qyaari...real slow." Yerbol shook his head in frustration, hands up as they complied with the directive of one of the three armored Justicars, all of which were holding massively oversized rifles that could have been mistaken for assault cannons. This blockade was directly in front of the entrance to what was once another expansive residential section for the middle class, but had been taken over by gangs, then the Justicars, then the Xiis and then...well, back to the Justicars.
"We're not here to cause trouble."
"Uh huh." Yerbol looked back at the empty taxi pad, chiding himself for taking such a stupidly visible route into enemy territory. He would need to rely on his stealthier counterpart to bail him out(she was going to give him grief for this):

I wanted to slip in a lot more quietly than this. Any ideas?

Junoco promptly left their company at the mere mention of the Justicar gang, which caused Aria to roll her eyes somewhat.
“Coward.” she muttered, before following Yerbol down to make an inspection of the cells. As they found the cell marked to have once contained Soto, the Champion whistled softly as her gaze flicked over the scorch marks.
“Warden Nuly sure has some explaining to do.” With their assessment complete, the duo began to head down towards the Justicar sector of the planet. Yerbol naively suggested that they just use the taxi pad located nearby, to which Aria shot him a look of disapproval.
“Sure babe, let's catch a taxi so EVERY Justicar in the sector can see us coming.”
“They can't be watching everywhere.” he had protested, and made a somewhat fair argument of: “Besides, won't they be expecting people to try and sneak in the back way rather than taking the most obvious way?”
“Bol, they're a GANG. They're gonna shoot at us no matter which entryway we go through.”
Yerbol then pointed out that the chances of the gang members attacking would theoretically only increase if they perceived the Qyaari as a threat. Therefore, approaching in the most obvious and normal manner, made some sort of sense. Aria had been unable to come up with a suitable counter-argument to that point, and upon noting the lack of other transport in the area as a potential alternative, she reluctantly agreed to his course of action despite her misgivings.
_____________________

Aria's “uneasy feeling” proved to be correct once they stepped off the taxi pad and found three gang members toting GIANT cannons in both hands approaching them. Instinctively, Aria had reacted by reaching for her own weapons, but that was when the guns were raised and pointed directly at them as the leader ordered them to back up. The rifle-canons looked very dangerous, and as such not something they wanted to encourage the Justicars to put to use, therefore the Champions complied. As Yerbol asked her for an idea of how to get out of this sticky situation, Aria glanced sideways at him and responded:
Told you you should have listened to me, honey. The statement was accompanied by an all-too-sweet smile that in and of itself implied he was going to get his ears talked off for this later. Fighting the urge to roll her eyes, for fear of the gesture antagonising the Justicars, she grumbled. Well I think all our chances of “quiet” went down the drain as soon as they saw us. Why is it that whenever we don't take the dogs with us we always end up in MORE trouble than usual?!
Their beastly companions would certainly have been a helpful deterrent for the ornery gangsters, had they been present. They had, however, taken to the habit of vanishing into Zinuthra’s wilderness for days at a time in semi-regular intervals and as such had disappeared on such a jaunt precisely as Malu had called the duo into action. Aria still wasn’t sure where the Tuk’ata were going, or why, but assumed it was because they decided they needed space and so made the decision to leave without them and let them be for now. She was beginning to regret that decision now. As for what we do now. Well, I'M short enough to duck under his arm and make a run for it...though I doubt I could wrestle a gun that size off someone as big as him.... The Champion managed to talk down her own master plan as she tried to think it through in more detail. I think we're in trouble, again.
Out of the corner of her eye, Aria caught a glimpse of a pinpoint-sized red light that could have only come from the targeting scope of a sniper’s rifle and froze again. Now they really were dead. Thanks, Malu. She was mentally making a note to come back and haunt the Qyaari Elder for being the one to send them into such a questionable situation, when the shot from the sniper went off and skimmed right past them to imbed in the infrastructure beside the Justicar’s jugular.
What the…?!

The Champion discreetly tried to turn her head to figure out what kind of clumsy oaf could miss a target sniping from that distance, when a familiar Mandalorian’s voice spoke from one of the rooftops behind the Justicars:
“Next one goes right between your eyes, mate. Unless you lower your weapons and let them pass, of course.”
“You think someone with crappy aim can intimidate the Justicars?” the man sneered.
“I thought it’d be rude to shoot you in the head without giving you a chance to back off first.” Sho snorted. “If you prefer I could just drop you all like flies off a Bantha’s ass.”
“I don’t think they’re buying it, Sho…” Aria called out, exchanging a relieved glance with her partner and slowly lowering her hands to reach for her sabers.
The gang leader looked from the Qyaari before him, to the rooftops as he tried to locate the Mandalorian, who had of course kept herself well concealed.
“Who the hell are you anyways?!”
“Oh, just an Alliance-contracted bounty hunter who got offered a pretty penny to get her hands dirty going after dangerous criminals and gangsters in the Undercity. You guys are taking liberties down here, JUST a little..” Sho answered in a somewhat sing-song tone of voice. “So, you can either all back off, real slow, and we can forget we ever saw you. Or the three of US arrest all three of YOU and haul your asses back to Vice Chancellor Won; and y’all can explain why you were stupid enough to threaten two Qyaari at gunpoint.”
A discreet glance was exchanged between the leader and one of his wingmen, who promptly turned and fired in the direction they had determined the Mandalorian to be hiding. The impact shattered part of the roof due to the assault rifle’s sheer size, and made Aria wince painfully at the realization that if Sho had in fact been in the vicinity, the Mandalorian was toast. Thankfully, it seemed the bounty hunter had the foresight to pack up and move in the time she had bought exchanging words with the gangsters, because when her voice next spoke it was from a different location entirely, and closer than before:
“Y’all got worse aim than a cross-eyed moisture farmer!” the Justicar took a rather nasty blast to his leading shoulder (and nearly dropped his rifle on poor Aria’s foot as a result!) for his insolence.
“Now.” Sho’s voice was hard-edged now. “You can clear off, or I swear on Mandalore next shot I take WILL be at your head.” the gangsters seemed to decide it wasn’t worth further injury (or death), shooting the Champions and their mysterious rescuer dirty looks as they slunk away between the buildings. Once they had disappeared, the bounty hunter popped out of the alleyway she had taken cover in, removing her visor to grin broadly at the couple.
“Fancy running into you two all the way down here in this slum! What brings Qyaari down here?”
“Thanks for that.” Aria smirked, heaving a sigh of relief at their luck. “We’re looking for Nuly. The Warden from the facility.”
“Ohhh, you’re here about the big breakout? That’s been all over the HoloNet.”
“That would be the one.” Aria huffed. “You know where he lives?”
“Course I do, baby-face.” the Mandalorian grinned, patting Aria’s shoulder before motioning for the two Champions to follow her. “Just down this side street, c’mon.”
We either have the worst, or best, luck. Right now I’m not sure which one is more accurate. She smirked, exchanging a knowing glance with Yerbol. You know we’d have been in for a nasty confrontation if she hadn’t showed up?

He had forgotten completely about their canine companions until Ari mentioned her desire to have them as back up, which would have indeed been helpful and would have MAYBE gotten him less of a talking to by his spunky wife. He would worry about the ramifications of his dumb decision on their relationship later, seeing as the Justicar's trigger fingers were getting far too close to letting loose a volley of blaster fire that would more than likely set off a call for more reinforcements. They couldn't afford to start a small-scale assault on contested territory like this, especially with CorSec stretched so thin. They would have to come up with SOME kind of-

A voice dripping with smug confidence bellowed threats from a nearby rooftop, prompting a brief vocal exchange between the Justicars and the voice before shots were exchanged. Yerbol reached for his saber and was ready to ignite it, but it seemed as if the now revealed Sho had intimidated the guards enough for them to slink away in temporary defeat. Yerbol echoed Aria's sentiments:
"Seriously, thank you. Without you I think we would've had to take on the entire Justicar force without back up. That's a frightening scenario." A brow cocked upward at Sho's mention of the break out being "all over the Holonet". He would've expected Garza to keep this quieter...besides, how could anyone know about a secret Republic prison failing and allowing one of the most dangerous human beings in the galaxy to escape? Junoco hadn't leaked the info, had he? Maybe he would kn-

Right, they were moving.

As Sho led them past the entrance, Aria reminded him of how lucky they were for Sho to...well, show up. He returned the teasing smirk as he told her:
I think that the Force might have led her here so that she could save you from your husband's dumb idea.

The smirk vanished upon Sho's proclamation that they were at Nuly's place.
"Can't be easy, can it?" Yerbol drew his saber upon seeing the grisly mess that stood in front of them. Nuly's door had been thrown(presumably) wide open, blood spattered in a random scatterplot that stood out as a stark contrast to the other apartment doors that flanked the place. The trio cautiously stepped past the doorway and almost instantly an acrid stench slammed their senses. With a quick survey of the studio style living space, the source was made clear: charred remains lay right at the foot of what was once a bed, the object mirroring the state of it's owner. Taking a more detailed scan of the apartment with his eyes, Yerbol grunted in realization before musing aloud:
"Nothing else looks damaged. If someone used a flamethrower or even a wide dispersal scattergun, there would've been evidence somewhere on the walls." Sho shot the Qyaari an impressed look, asking how he knew anything about munitions, to which he replied with a chuckle:
"I served in the Republic as a 'squadron commander', which was a fancy way of saying they wanted to use the Jedi as soldiers. I learned a WHOLE lot in the field, believe me." Across from the crisp remains was a desk littered with magazines that, when examined by the Champion, were about weaponry, gardening(?) and a datapad.

Ah.

"Found a datapad." He turned it on to be greeted by a black screen that only had the words "PASSWORD INPUT" in white letters at the very top. No keypad was visible to input numerical or alphabetical codes, which meant that the thing was probably voice activated.
"Right. Unless we can replicate his voice, I don't think we can-" A circular object jutted out from beneath a stack of magazines, Yerbol retrieving it and smiled in relief.
"A holocomm unit. If the logs aren't erased, then maybe we can at least figure out what he was up to." Handing the datapad to Aria, he pressed the "playback" button on the side and heard a warbly, distorted voice aggressively point out:
"You shouldn't be using something like this." Another voice, much less distorted, spoke:
"Come on, you know my track record by now." A sigh from the distorted party before it retorted with a question:
"Has it been altered?"
"Yeah, all done. Should be ready to go by tonight. My guys will make sure the drill goes on as scheduled. But ah...that means your people will be there, right?"
"They will all be disposed of."
"You're sure it won't come to back to me, right? Cause I mean...I can't afford that."
"Your role will be obscured completely. I promise you that."

Exchanging a worried look with his partner, he pocketed the holocomm unit, telling her:
"We'll have to see if we can trace the origin of the call. Maybe head up to the Tower and..." The same chill that he felt during their exploration of the prison returned, this time infiltrating his veins, blood running frigid, hairs standing on end.
You feel that, don't you?

The door to the apartment slammed shut and three forms emerged from various points in the room, each garbed in jet black armor traced gingerly with red and blue on the shoulders and chest pieces. Each had a saber hilt in their hands, igniting simultaneously.
"Oooof course." No words were exchanged, but the forms moved in sync with the other, two going for Sho while the third threw their saber at the Champions, hoping to distract them long enough for the initial duo to dispatch Sho. To counter, Yerbol threw up a barrier around Sho and Aria momentarily, ducking the saber as he shouted:
"Keep them off Sho, I'll handle this one!"

Aw, don’t feel bad Bol. It wasn’t THE worst idea ever….just, a little stupid. She reassured him with a quick pat on the arm before her attention was drawn to the state of Nuly’s apartment. Covering her mouth and nose against the strong smell, Aria coughed out:
“Well....what’s the bet our friend over there’s Warden Nuly?”
“A pretty good one.” Sho grimaced as she glanced over at the corpse. Sho gingerly moved forward to survey the other end of the room, while Aria frowned carefully at the scoring on the walls, glancing at her companions for confirmation of her suggestion.
“Could it have been a flash grenade….?”
“With that small a blast radius?” Sho shook her head and clucked her tongue. “Not likely, baby-face.”

Yerbol returned to them with the holocomm in hand and the trio gathered round, frowning as they listened to the exchange.
“Something...tells me they decided Nuly couldn’t be trusted.” Sho muttered. As the transmission ended, Aria felt a deathly cold shiver creep down her spine, not unsimilar to that dreadful feeling Illesia had once-
You feel that, don't you? Yerbol had reached out to her in the same instant that she attempted to, the smaller Champion responding with a nod.
Yeah. I feel it. She cast around for the source of the energy shift, spotting the armoured figures gliding out of their refuges in the room. Her attention immediately went to the flying saber, which thankfully skimmed Yerbol's head as the Champion ducked out of the way and engaged its bearer, though Aria quickly had to refocus on the two assailants heading for their Mandalorian friend.
“Stay behind me, Sho.” she instructed the Mandalorian, igniting her own lightsaber and taking up a protective stance in front of her. Yerbol's shield deflected an incoming blow from one attacker, Aria's blade blocking the other.
“Hey, I saved YOUR asses a moment ago, I'm not some kind of damsel in distress okay?” Sho protested indignantly.
“You want to go toe to toe with a lightsaber duelist?” Aria retorted abruptly as her own weapon snapped to life. Predictably, Sho went quiet.
Gritting her teeth, the Champion pushed forward, her elbow connecting with the man's jaw and propelling him backwards into the desk while the Champion dashed towards his companion to aid Sho. Unable to get a clear shot in such close quarters, the Mandalorian spat a curse (or that's what it sounded like...Aria didn't understand the language used, probably a Mandalorian dialect), sidestepping to avoid the armoured man’s lightsaber impaling her shoulder, allowing Aria to deftly intercept the movement with her own blade.
“You're all under arrest.” the Champion proclaimed, prompting a derisive snort from the attacker as he lunged forward to deliver a blow to her shoulder in an attempt to disarm her. Aria parried the blow, distributing her weight back onto her back leg so as not to leave Sho unprotected by stepping backwards and putting the bounty hunter directly in the lightsaber-wielders’ path.
“Don't think they're going to come quietly…” Sho muttered, dropping her blaster back into its holster (it was far too risky to even attempt taking pot shots at such close quarters, she could risk hitting either of the Qyaari instead, or hitting some other object in the room and distracting their attention from their opponents, which wouldn't end well either) and grabbing the vibroblade she kept on hand as a “backup plan” for such situations.
“Doesn't look that way, more fun for us I suppose.” Aria answered sarcastically, flipping her wrist to the side to avoid a disarming blow. “You picked a fight with the wrong people.”
Across the room, Yerbol was exchanging blows with the first assailant while the other scrambled to right himself after knocking most of the furnishings off the desk. He charged again, only to be intercepted by Yerbol's flying lightsaber as the Champion dispatched his former opponent and turned to help Aria and Sho, who seemed to be doing a decent job of fending off the single attacker between them. The Mandalorian was doing an impressive job of holding her ground, her sword deflecting and parrying the odd blow from the man's lightsaber surprisingly well for an ordinary weapon. Snarling in frustration, the man thrust out a hand and produced a powerful blast of energy that sent the two women flying in opposite directions away from him.

Twisting in mid air, Aria managed to right herself, landing behind the second remaining assassin and knocking his feet out from underneath him with a quick sweep of her leading leg, causing him to lurch forward and allowing Yerbol to finish him off. Sho on the other hand was somewhat less graceful (and less fleet of foot, considering her bulkier frame) and had to pick herself up off the floor as the assassin charged again.
“Sho!” Aria called out in alarm, throwing her lightsaber to try and aid their friend, but missed, diving after the assailant and hoping Sho could collect herself in time to avoid being decapitated...

She had been expecting an entirely different scene, with a lot more drastic consequences, than the one that did unfold. Sho managed to get her feet underneath her again relatively quickly, flicking her blade up to block the vicious downward slash that came towards her neck from above. Sparks flew from the tempered steel as the lightsaber struck it, but didn't cut through it. Instead the vibroblade held firm while the energy blade sputtered violently and shorted out.
“HA! Forgot what a Cortosis weave does to your energy swords? Sucker!” the Mandalorian crowed triumphantly, following up with a vicious elbow blow to the man's exposed stomach that knocked him towards the approaching Champions. Raising a hand, Aria lifted the man off his feet and threw him back into the wall, keeping her hand outstretched, maintaining just enough pressure to keep him mildly uncomfortable and pinned in place but still allowing him the ability to croak out an answer to her questions.
“Who sent you, Soto? Somebody else? Where did they take her? Start talking.”
“Who do you think?” the man sneered, struggling in vain to break himself free.
“Give us a name and I might just ask Won to lock you up for a few years instead of letting you join your buddies back there.” the Champion hissed, jerking her chin back at the two lifeless corpses on the other side of the room.
“Heh...she will come and find you, when she's ready to...they were right all along, not to...believe in your...delusions of peace and balance!” he coughed out the words, grasping at his throat in a vain attempt to alleviate the pressure.
“Who are these people?”
“You will soon see...then the Qyaari will all kneel...and Force users will have their...rightful place again.”
“Straight answers only.” Aria's fingers curled slightly and the man cringed in pain. “Or you'll find breathing becomes a lot more difficult. My patience is wearing thin.”
“You don't have the guts!” he sneered. “Not like Soto...and the others.”
Aria exchanged an exasperated glance with her companions, scoffed out loud, and closed her fist. The assassin’s legs kicked once, his eyes rolling back as he went limp and slid down onto the floor.
“jeez, did you have to kill him?” Sho protested.
“I didn't.” Aria corrected the Mandalorian’s assumptions with a shake of her head. “Just knocked him out.” extinguishing her lightsaber, the Champion crouched to gather up the discarded weapons of the three assailants.

“Call Garza and let her know what we found. Get her to send someone down to pick this guy up, maybe they can get more information out of him while we try and trace that call.”

Their attackers obviously hadn't taken into consideration that they were not only dealing with two very powerful Qyaari, but they would also have a Mandalorian that could hold her own. Thankfully their underestimation led to their quick downfall, Yerbol managing to quickly sever his foe's head from the rest of their body before rejoining the attack against the other two. It wasn't long before the trio had taken out one and forced the other to the ground, who shouted about "Soto and the others" and other nonsensical answers that would give them no help. When Ari looked at the other two in exasperation, he commented:
"Just finish him." His wife delivered a powerful jab, knocking the man out so swiftly that Sho mistakenly thought that Ari had killed him.
"We don't kill at random, Sho. Not exactly a way to build trust in the galaxy." He offered her a teasing smile as Aria spoke aloud what Yerbol was thinking, a common feature in their relationship.
"I don't trust anyone who can't use the Force around these guys." He quickly added:
"Present company excluded, of course." Yerbol took a quick survey of the even more damaged living space, attempting to discover any other hidden clues that may have escaped their attention, but to no avail.
"I'll get Garza on the line, though." The Champion stepped outside and withdrew his comm unit to find that there was a message sent to his inbox flagged as important. There were a select few that knew the Champion's private comm unit's address, which meant that someone important had decided that something was critical.
"One thing at a time." He breathed a sigh as he contacted Garza, who promised that a platoon would make their way down immediately. Without the Justicars guarding the entrance plus the close proximity to said entrance, CorSec wouldn't have much trouble getting to them. With the platoon in tow, Yerbol decided to open the message:

Alliance convoys attacked again. Were headed to Zinuthra, but intercepted. One shuttle managed to escape. Why do I think that this isn't coincidence?

-M

"Ari..." He called her outside, showing her the message before telling her:
"We need to be the ones to interrogate this guy. If these Force users got to a warden at one of the most secure prisons in the Alliance, who's to say that this network hasn't already obtained supply routes? Might explain why several of our convoys have either suddenly 'disappeared' or gotten attacked." Even with extra security assigned, the past couple of months had proven to be rocky in terms of getting supplies. Convoys had been randomly attacked by small fighters that appeared "out of nowhere" according to the pilots that survived. Either that or the convoys just never made it, ship signatures suddenly dropping off radar and not able to be traced.
"How embedded are these guys? And why are they attacking now?" Yerbol worriedly thought aloud, casting a glare at the still body of their lone survivor.
"We'll need to press this guy. Hard." He gave Aria a mischievous smirk as he told her:
"Your inquisitor training is going to come in handy for this. Big time."

__

It didn't take very long for the platoon to arrive and help secure the survivor, the entire party making their way back to the surface. Instead of heading back to the tower, they diverted to a smaller Alliance base a few miles away from the bustle of the upper city. Hidden away from the maze of skyscrapers and hovering vehicles was undeveloped forest that Alliance officials decided would be perfect for planting bases of operations for security personnel that needed more "discrete" surroundings. The base they had arrived at was flanked by massive oaks that shot up to the sky, their tops forming a canopy that let in just enough sunlight to see, but blocked nosy ships from spotting the Alliance site. The two story durasteel framed building had security personnel running frantically on the first floor, banks of computers, holo terminals and communicators going at full speed. According to the captain of the platoon, this was a hub of communication for Alliance Operations in the Core, hence the traffic. The captain did promise that they would be given a quieter location for their interrogation, which happened to be one floor below the chaos. It was a drab basement that reeked of dampness, sets of steel doors dotting the singular hallway every few feet. They were escorted past a set of these steel doors into an equally soul crushing room with no furniture except one chair in the middle, a few bulbs embedded in the ceiling casting a pallid glow.
"All yours." One of the platoon members dropped the body onto the chair, wrists still in cuffs before they withdrew, doors ominously slamming closed.
"So...I'll be the good guy? Or just the not as bad guy?" The still armored Force user began to twitch.
"Not as bad guy then." Yerbol rapped on the helmet with his knuckles.
"Come on, you got enough rest on the way over...and why on earth are you still wearing this? I think we've earned a look in the eye." Yerbol planted both hands on the edges of the helmet and in one smooth motion ripped it off to reveal a young man, barely in his upper teens probably, eyes seething with hate.
"You're wasting your time! No way am I talking!"
"Woah woah, slow down." Yerbol got on one knee as he continued:
"What's your name?" The boy turned his head.
"Can't even get that, huh?" He motioned to his partner.
"I'm assuming you know our names though, huh? But I don't think you know what we were before the Qyaari."
"It doesn't matter!"
"Oh it does, son, it does. You see, I was a Jedi Knight, schooled in restraint. Being afraid of me isn't really an option, but my partner back here...you know what she was? An Inquisitor." Yerbol could feel a spike of fear from the boy's mind. Good.
"Inquisitors were known for getting information from people in whatever way possible or necessary. So if you don't give us the information we need, she can take it from you. Slowly." The boy's chin jutted forward.
"No! I am Faceless! I won't betray my brothers and sisters!"
"The Faceless?" More silence, prompting a sigh.
"Ari, honey, he's not talking. I think you know what that means..."

Aria nodded slightly after peering at Malu’s message, knowing there would be no alternatives to the Champions conducting the interrogation. They accompanied the platoon back to the compound where the leader took his leave of them after dropping the captured assailant into the chair in the center of the bleak interrogation room.
“Oh boy...this takes me back.” Aria snorted quietly, popping her knuckles as they waited for the man to come back around.
“So does that make me the bad guy?” the Champion chuckled in amusement. “Well, I suppose I AM more used to being scary than you are.”
She tried not to be surprised when Yerbol pulled off the attacker's helmet....he certainly was younger than Aria had been expecting.
“Come on, kid...You're not making this easy on yourself.” as Yerbol spoke, attempting to pull some information out of the boy by scaring him, Aria paced deliberately slowly around the chair, her eyes never leaving his. A soft smirk graced Aria's features at the surge of fear that dominated the young man’s mind when he heard the word “Inquisitor”.
“That's right...so, you can answer our questions and tell us what we want to know, OR I can take it from you. Forcefully. And it WILL hurt.”

Regrettably, their informant remained stubbornly tight-lipped and refused to give the two Champions any solid answers to their questions other than mentioning “The Faceless” which was….SOMETHING to go on at least.
“The Faceless? Is that what they call themselves?” Still nothing. Aria joined her partner as he sighed.
“...he's not talking, you know what that means…”
“I was hoping we wouldn't have to, but I suppose he hasn't left us much choice has he?” Aria responded, nodding slightly. “Alright, kid. Last chance...you can tell us what we want to know.” she extended her Force presence towards the young boy’s, seized hold of it just long enough to give him an idea of the discomfort it would bring him, then let him go again. “Or I WILL do what I have to, to take it from you against your will.” if he had doubted before that they were capable of orchestrating the threat, she hoped it would be dispelled now and the boy would tell them what they wanted to know. “The Faceless. WHO are they, and WHERE can we find them?”
The young man’s chin wobbled, bottom jaw tensed as he hissed out the words:
“The Faceless take care of their own. They do not bend to the Qyaari, who waste their time pandering to the weak Alliance Chancellors, they do not feel the Force like we do, they are not fit to lead this galaxy.”
“Oh, and I suppose YOU, or more accurately Soto, are? Is mass genocide a good public image for a government figure?”
“Better than forgiving them and acting like it never happened!”

Rolling her eyes, Aria leaned forward to brace her hands against the arms of the chair, the Champion’s eyes locked with his.
“Alright, kid. No more playing games. The more you fight me, the more this will hurt.”
“You'll never get anything out of me!”
She had to give him some credit for attempting to resist her control, but he was still young and his abilities basic and unsharpened. With his hands still cuffed firmly, the boy could do little to break the eye contact between them other than wriggle feebly in place and attempt to shut his eyes, though Aria was easily able to tap into her former Inquisitor training and break through the weak mental barriers he attempted to use to block out his memories.

Dark, lights flickering faintly overhead. Buildings that looked deceptively ramshackled, with boards over the windows. A network of drainage pipes nearby, that wound through the underground tunnels throughout the planet...out of which emerged a familiar, round-faced blonde Jedi Master.
“Jean. It's been a long time.” a man, reasonable height and a clean shaven appearance, approaches Soto and embraces her.
“...I had wondered who would bother to free me.” there is recognition between them, that brings the beginnings of a smile to Soto’s face. “It's good to see you, Ma-”

But before Soto could utter his name, a surge of anger gave their informant new strength to break the mental vice Aria had locked his mind into, the Champion staggering backwards with a painful huff as the boy’s forehead rammed painfully into her nose.
Her voice muffled through her hand which now clutches her (possibly broken, given the sickening “crack” it had made on impact) nose, she growls.
“The man. That's your leader? What's his name?”
The boy’s teeth flash in a smug grin.
“You mean you don't know? Well that's a shame, isn't it, Inquisitor?” his chin lifts in apparent defiance, but there is an unsteady wobble to his voice that betrays the lie. “You don't scare me. I'll die before I betray them.”

“PSH!” Aria snorted, turning to Yerbol. “They’re somewhere in the Undercity, that's for sure. A district near the pipe network...the old Hydrosupply station.” a spike of alarm from their informant confirms the Champion’s theory. “I only saw his face briefly, but that doesn't matter.” turning back to the informant in the chair, Aria scoffed again.
“You're very lucky we aren't on Korriban anymore, or I'd tell the jailer to stop feeding you. Know how else we used to deal with troublesome interrogations there? Those who resisted the Inquisitors got shocked.” for good measure, she sent off a small spark that made him squeal like a frightened Bantha when it hit his nose. “Over and over...higher voltage every time you don't give an answer...and if you still don't cooperate? They let the beasts have you.”
Another jolt of fear. Good. Little whelp should be afraid.
“B-Beasts?” he squeaked, clearly not too keen on the prospect.
Flashing her signature sharp-toothed grin, Aria patted him on the cheek.
“Oh yes, and that...I can tell you I'd get away with. Our two are just back at the Tower, we could send for them...it would be unfortunate for you if they happened to be too hungry not to tear you to pieces if I gave the word.”
Sweat beaded on the boy’s forehead as Aria touched Yerbol’s arm and gestured to the door.
“But let's give you a little chance to change your mind shall we? We'll be back in a few hours and if you tell us what we need to know you may just have to deal with the jailer instead of hungry Tuk'ata.”

She tried to ignore the look her partner gave her as the steel door slammed shut behind them.
“WHAT? He wasn't going to talk any other way, was he? He doesn't have to know the dogs aren't here.” she pointed out, cracking her nose back into place with an uncomfortable wince. “I saw the guy’s face briefly but I didn't recognise him...maybe he was a Jedi before.” she shrugged, placing her hands on her hips. “Either way, I think we should call Malu and let her know what we've found. Maybe she can help us figure out who he is.” another sigh as she glanced over her shoulder. “I'd like to get more information, rather than going in blind. This is Soto we're dealing with here, and any accomplices she's gathered up. She knows how to manipulate the law to her favourite. I think we should ask Sho to come with us again, a bit of extra help wouldn't hurt..."

He knew that his alarm would have come through their bond or the way he was looking at her when they exited, not saying a word on the subject until she was finished. A part of him wanted to address what she had done in the interrogation room now, but confronting her about it right after she set her nose back in place wasn't the best time. Deciding to file the incident away for when they had time, he agreed with the ideas she put forth:
"You're right about Malu. From the hints she dropped when we left, she already knows who's running this network and just needed evidence to confirm her suspicions. Could probably use the communications hive above us to reach Zinuthra." He took a moment to evaluate whether or not Sho's help would be beneficial, walking to the elevator that they had taken before vocalizing his input:
"She held her own against them in super close quarters. I suppose it would be nice to have somebody who can precisely fire a rifle in the back of an enemy who may have one of us cornered." After asking the guards posted at the elevator to ensure that there was proper security around their new inmate, they rode up to the main level before finding a private office not being used that was set up with a comm terminal that featured holo calling. After dialing up Malu's frequency, a blue-tinted projection of the Elder appeared, her features betraying grave concern.
"I assume you two have found out something worthwhile?" The Champions recounted their venture into Justicar territory and subsequent interrogation, Malu cutting Aria off right after she was done describing the vision:
"So it IS true...Jean had help from Manus."
"Who?"
"Manus Vo. Former Jedi Master and thorn in the Empire's side for years. He was one of the battle strategists responsible for taking down Dromund Kaas and giving Voldon a clear shot at the Emperor."
"Master Vo...I've heard of him. He was talked about like a demi-god by those who met him."
"He can be rather charming. I fought with him a couple of times before the Treaty was signed. He almost convinced me that I didn't need to send him flying off a cliff on Tattoine..." She shook her head, returning to the present:
"Manus' name had been circulating among some of the contacts I made within this strange 'underground network'. Some said that he was responsible for the entire network, others claimed that he set it up, then quickly abandoned them for reasons unknown. In any case, making sure we bring Manus and Jean into custody should be first priority. Even if they aren't responsible for the attacks on the convoys, they'll probably know who is."
"So you want us to take them alive?"
"Ideally."
"So two former Jedi Masters, one of whom was renown for being five steps ahead of his opponent and probably is anticipating us?"
"I didn't say you should kick down the front door. We'll need to smoke them out somehow, which I think will be much easier when you have some back up. I'll inform the Elders of our progress. No doubt Voldon will be joining you two in figuring out how to trap Manus."
"Voldon? Why?"
"I'll let him explain their connection. For now, I suggest you coordinate with Garza and gather the resources I'm sending you now." Withdrawing his comm unit, he read the list aloud:
"Food and water rations, two crates of scatterguns, one crate of military-grade armor..." He looked at the projection of Malu with skepticism, asking:
"So you want us to pull together supplies? That's it?"
"This is the kind of cargo that our transports had been carrying when they were intercepted. If we can assemble a payload like this and, say, flag it as mission critical and say that the destination is for one of our outposts-"
"Then Manus might be tempted to come out of hiding and snag the shipment before it leaves? But why would he risk leaving the comfort of his own lair? If his operatives are the ones knocking our transports off, then why would he bother doing it himself?"
"Well, if this transport were to, say, have two Champions on protective detail..."
"So we're bait, too?"
"Well, you and Voldon." He thought for a moment about the validity of the plan, then added:
"How are we going to get the word out about this shipment so that it doesn't smell like a trap?"
"Well, you DO have a young man in your custody who could be persuaded to put the word out..."
"He didn't seem very cooperative."
"Who's to say that you try to get him on his side? Just simply make sure he overhears that there's a very important shipment headed to Zinuthra that's guarded by you two. I think you both are creative enough to figure out how that's executed. Get the boy to believe there's a shipment headed out, release him and then coordinate with Garza...unless you have another idea that I'm not thinking of."

Manus Vo...the name vaguely rang bells in the back of Aria's mind. She recalled sitting in Roan’s office during her early training at the Academy and hearing her father arguing back and forth with Cheriss about the man’s strategic capabilities...okay, now this all made sense. This was NOT good, putting Vo and Soto together? They'd have a problem on their hands if they couldn't capture them and get this entire network under control.
“One issue I can see...where, exactly, are we supposed to amass a believable stash of these goods in such a short space of time, Malu?”
“Ask Garza.” the Miraluka chuckled softly in amusement, waving them off. “They're simple enough things that the Alliance military has access to.”
“True....alright, we'll be ready when Voldon gets here.” The Champion promised before they disconnected the call.
“Soooo...how do you want to do this so it's most believable?” she turned towards her partner again. “We could speak to Garza about the supplies first and make sure we get them, perhaps it's more believable for one of us to go in first and the other to come in afterwards, make it look like we think he won't hear us, drop Voldon’s name and the hyperspace route and then let him run?” it was a far more likely scenario than trying to convince the boy to lie to his supposed allies.
__________

The plan seemed to be working out relatively smoothly. After securing the needed inventory, Yerbol returned to the holding cells (“I'm the bad guy, he's not going to believe me if I tell him we’re letting him go is he?”) to “release” their informant while Aria wrapped up the loose ends with the supply drop and worked with Garza to procure a suitably “secure” ship they could use as a transport. She returned to the room precisely as Yerbol was assuring their guest of his newfound freedom.
“Yes, I'm very serious son. General Garza has agreed to let you go. You're very lucky.”
“VERY lucky.” Aria cut in precisely as they had agreed would be “the right time” in the conversation, “Considering trying to murder two Qyaari should be a life sentence at least. But Garza’s right, you're not the instigator so...You're free to go.” flashing the young man what she hoped was a convincingly long-suffering smile, Aria made a show of pulling Yerbol back into the hallway with a declaration of “we've got bigger problems to deal with anyways”, and “forgetting” to shut the door in her haste.

“Voldon’s due to land in half an hour or so. The Elders say they're attacking our convoys now, want us to guard the next one and make sure it gets to Zinuthra.” a pause, during which Yerbol feigned surprise and nodded firmly in agreement, and Aria risked a peek at their guest from under her partner’s arm.
Think he's buying it?
Looks that way to me. Aria confirmed, quickly returning her gaze to Yerbol to deviate any suspicions. One way to find out, right?
Out loud, she finished with: “So, let’s get the kid out of there and get going, we haven't got time to waste if we're going to make this convoy.”

The two Champions unlocked the cuffs and, after returning his helmet to him, sent the young man on his merry way. Needless to say, it didn't take him long to scurry out of sight of the facility and in the direction which Sho confirmed was likely to be towards a tunnel network heading towards the Undercity. The Mandalorian had agreed, under Garza’s orders, to act as the convoy ship’s co-pilot (that way if things got a little close, they had a sniper with a good trigger finger that claimed she could “drop those space monks with a few stun rounds no problem!”), while the Champions and Voldon posed as the guards set up as an extra security precaution. They met the Elder in the private Alliance hangar which Garza had arranged for the ship and the supplies to be sent to, Aria whistling nervously as she took in his stony facial expression.
“You look....a little more serious than usual.” the Champion prompted carefully as they headed up the ramp while Sho and the pilots performed the last checks before take off. Voldon did not appear too eager to elaborate on the point as they settled into the makeshift seating area. The cargo lay securely in the hold immediately to their right, everything had been set up to ensure their success and yet Aria could not help but share some of Voldon’s apprehension.
“Hey, what if this is a cop out and Vo DOESN'T come after us?”
A long-suffering sigh from Voldon before he insisted:
“He WILL. Manus isn't the kind of man to pass up the opportunity to take out three powerful enemies in one operation.”
“Even if this is a huge bust, at least y'all get the supplies you needed back to Zinuthra, right?” the intercom crackled for a few more seconds before Sho finished with:
“So all three of you should stop frowning so much, it's not very comforting for the rest of us.”
Aria responded with a half-hearted snort, ignoring Sho’s lackluster attempt at humor and turning to Voldon again.
“So, when they DO show up, we'll handle Soto and leave Vo to you?” another nervous chuckle escaped the Champion. “I get the feeling there's some kind of history there? Not that I'm trying to be nosy, of course...but it was implied. And well...you ARE more experienced in fighting master tacticians than we are. Unless part of the plan was to let them beat us around a bit first, cause Malu didn't tell us that.” she was aware she was babbling unnecessarily, so Aria quickly forced herself to stop talking and attempt to focus her mind for the anticipated confrontation. The ship fell into silence apart from the low hum of the engines and the occasional clanking noise from the cargo as they entered hyperspace.

Slowing her breathing, she channelled the Force around her whilst keeping her hearing alert for the signs that the Faceless had begun their assault. Voldon theorized that they would try to track them and then pounce as the convoy dropped back into known space, which should be in the next few hours thanks to the new hyperspace lanes Won had set up between the Core and Wild Space after the Qyaari had signed the treaty.
She just hoped they really would be prepared for whatever Vo and Soto could do when the time came.
“Any last advice, Voldon? I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a LITTLE anxious over here.”

The plan seemed to work smoothly enough, their shuttle lifting off into hyperspace with enough gear and food to help several Alliance squadrons make it through several weeks of field work. Yerbol knew that the supply convoys were transporting important supplies, but to see the sheer size of resources being stolen by these Faceless was troubling. What were these "Faceless" planning? Anarchy? Destruction of the Qyaari through brute force? Somehow forming teams of their own to strike at various Alliance strongholds? All of the above? The amount of doom filled scenarios that floated through his head made the Champion even more eager to eliminate this threat as soon as possible. While the Alliance was reaching a point of stabilization through Saresh and Won's combined efforts, there was still a lot of unrest across the galaxy. Pressing on the right nerves could prompt mass panic and chaos from the general public.

These thoughts and many others floated through his mind as the shuttle entered hyperspace. Yerbol plopped onto the floor of the spacecraft, legs crossing, back resting against a bare wall as his eyes closed in preparation for meditation. Before he could slip into a trance-like state, Ari asked Voldon for any advice, prompting Yerbol's eyes to open and follow up on the question:
"Ari and I both. We've faced off against a number of threats before, but this just...feels different. Any idea why we're feeling so jumpy?" Voldon grunted in agreement with their shared feelings, taking a seat on a nearby crate.
"You should be jumpy. Manus has the most brilliant mind I know. Cunning, tactful, always ahead of his opponent..." He shook his head, a remorseful chuckle crawling out of his throat.
"Manus and I were trained by Masters who frequently collaborated, which meant we were in contact with each other quite frequently. We became Knights together and quickly pushed into service with the Republic soon after. His mind gravitated towards more strategic matters and I was much more prone to cutting someone down rather than trying to figure out how to disable his armor's shielding." Something like sorrow crept into the Elder's voice as he carried on:
"We were successful on so many operations together that when our opportunity to strike at the Emperor together, we took it. He guided our entire effort from Coruscant. It was so flawless, made it look so easy. We took down the most powerful Sith in the known galaxy and Manus had me on a shuttle fleeing the Emperor's temple within two hours of our arrival. In a word, he was magnificent...until a couple of months before Bracknell made his move. Manus had become more erratic in his behavior, disappearing for days on end from his post on Tython with no explanation as to where he had gone. When Bracknell decided to initiate his purge, I tried to find Manus, looked for him everywhere. That's why you found Kira and I on Nar Shaddaa. Manus gravitated towards old wisdom, ancient knowledge, that kind of thing. The temple ruins on Nar Shaddaa was one of my last hopes for finding him." He snorted a derisive laugh.
"To think that he turned to this..." He cast a steely glance at the Champions.
"If Manus appears, you will stand down. I have to talk with him first. See what his reasoning is behind this 'Faceless' nonsense is and hopefully put a stop to him. Hopefully Jean hasn't corrupted him."
"Did he and Jea-"
"No."
"Bu-"
"No." Taking the hint, Yerbol closed his eyes once more, telling his partner through their bond:

Looks like Jean Soto is a touchy subject for almost everyone we meet. Wonder why for Voldon, though?

He cast a mystified glance at his partner, then for a third and final time decided on meditating, but not before he asked:

Feel like sharing your meditation session? Wouldn't mind a partner.

_________

Mutual meditation had become a common practice, but the strength of their relationship seemed to make it even more rewarding than before. Their minds, which were once very closed off to each other, were practically open books, allowing both of them to draw on the other's strengths and "sync" their "energies" together(this subject has been one they've been studying through old Sith holos from Quensu and consulting with the Elders, hence the "buzzwords"). Currently they were taking a breather, Yerbol telling her about a time that he had almost stumbled into the Chamber of Secrets on Tython because he was trying to find a dog that had run into the ruins just outside the Chamber when they felt the shuttle rock violently. Coming out of the trance, Yerbol could hear the pilot shout:
"Three bogies incoming! Six, nine and three o clock positions!" The shuttle shuddered as the pilot proclaimed:
"Shielding hit! Staying stable at...eighty five percent!"
"Get us on the ground somewhere! We need them exposed!"
"Gonna be bumpy!" The pilot swore profusely as she glanced at her instrument panel, weaving around a burst of turret fire from another shuttle before she shouted:
"Got Kashyyyk in view! Emergency landing in progress!" Voldon commanded the Champions:
"Help me get a shield around the shuttle, NOW! We have to make it to planet-side!" Bracing against a weapons crate, Yerbol threw his hands upward, focusing on the exterior of the ship as he channeled the Force with the other two Force users. A blueish green sphere surrounded the craft as it descended rapidly towards the Wookie homeworld.
"HOW LONG TILL IMPACT?!"
"SOON!" Was all the pilot could scream as the thick tops of Woshyr trees greeted the incoming shuttle, the craft managing to squeeze into a minute gap in between two trees before screeching further down.
"BRAKES, BRAKES!" The pilot slammed on the panel in front of her, engines slowing, but not fast enough for a smooth landing. The shuttle bounced off the forest floor a few times as it rocketed forward, coming to a halt by way of slamming into the base of yet another Woshyr tree. The impact knocked Yerbol over the crate and onto his back, head connecting with the metal floor of the shuttle. It took a few moments, but the Qyaari managed to eek out:
"Everyone....ok?"

Seems that way, doesn't it? Aria raised an eyebrow in agreement, a little at a loss for why Soto seemed to be such a thorn in every former Jedi’s side. Shrugging, she added: Guess we'll never know unless Voldon tells us.
Meditating together was something they often did before a mission, and this one was no different. What had started out as a difficult concept for both of them, due to their natural tendencies to close their minds off to one another, had become second-nature as their bond grew. It was as easy as breathing, which helped to calm Aria's nerves somewhat.

She still wasn't completely prepared for the attack which interrupted Yerbol’s amusing story, the Champion’s eyes flying open as the craft rocked violently.
“Guess they found us, then!” she muttered, lips pursed together in a tight line. As Voldon hollered for them to shield the shuttle on its way planetside, Aria quickly rolled back to her feet and flung her hands up to help support the shield the other two had begun, pouring Force energy into it to hopefully sustain it long enough that they wouldn't all be ground to space dust when the shuttle hit the ground.
“BRAKES, BRAKES!” Aria held her breath as she heard the pilot screaming and Sho cursing profusely in Mando’a as they frantically tried to slow the shuttle’s momentum. They crashed through the canopy and connected with the forest floor, the shield taking the brunt of the damage for the first few impacts as they skipped across the ground like a stone on a lake, but as they slammed into the Wroshyr trunk the Champions and Elder lost their focus and were thrown in different directions by the force of the impact. Aria was flung sideways, her head banging painfully into the shuttle’s hull while one of the crates slipped from the stack and slid towards her, the Champion just managing to shove it away again with a Force push before it squashed her against the shuttle wall.

Groaning, she sat up and cast around, still disoriented, for her companions. Her ears were ringing, but she managed to make out Yerbol’s question, deducing that he had hit the back of his head during the crash by the fact that she could feel a throbbing pain in the back of her skull, which hadn't hit the hull.
Sho's voice, distorted, crackled through the intercom.
“That was a close one! You guys okay back there?”
“F-fine!” Aria coughed, calling out a little louder than necessary due to the whining noise dominating her hearing. “I'm fine!” staggering to her feet, she peered over the top of the fallen supply crate and located Yerbol and Voldon, who were both starting to get up too.
“We're all okay!” the Elder confirmed. “What about you two?”
“We're all good, considering how we landed!” Sho reported. “Very lucky to have such a good pilot, or we could have landed IN a tree.”
“I suppose it COULD have been worse, couldn't it?” Aria sighed, running a hand through her hair. “I'd take a bet they'll come looking for us down here, though.”

“It's highly likely, yes.” Voldon agreed.
“So instead of waiting here like sitting mynocks for them to find us, let's go find THEM?” Aria suggested carefully.
“In the middle of the Shadowlands?” Voldon quirked a brow dubiously. “This place is renowned for being as dangerous as the tombs on Korriban were. There are beasts crawling every inch of the forest, we don't want to be caught unawares.”
“Can we risk the same thing happening to Vo, or whoever it is he sent after us, before we get to them?” Aria pointed out matter-of-factly.
“You make a fair point.” Voldon grumbled, brows pinched together in a tight frown. The Qyaari looked up as footsteps approached from the cockpit and Sho reappeared, helmet tucked under her arm.
“Well, if y’all don’t want to go I will!” the Mandalorian volunteered. “It’ll be just like back home, only the trees are like...ten times bigger. Nothing I can’t handle.” she beamed, overly-confident, Aria thought, for someone who had just been blasted out of space by three possibly homicidal shuttle crews.
“I dunno Sho, I don’t think that’s such a good idea…” she exchanged a glance with Voldon. “But I guess at least you should scout out some sniping spots from close by, in case you do have to hit them with stun rounds.”
Voldon was of course, the most experienced member there and he would get the last word on their next course of action.

"Sho makes a good point. Get as high as you can and don't fire until I give word."
"I'm staying in here, right?!" The pilot looked back at the gathering with an apprehensive smile.
"That you are. Assess damages, fix what you can from the inside and DON'T leave the shuttle unless one of us asks you to. I want to make sure the shuttle is in working order if we need to make a quick escape."
"You got it, Elder!" The shuttle door slid upward upon Voldon's slamming of a button next to the exit, the party greeted by a misty forest floor with various shades of green and beige as overtones for the foliage. Light thankfully peered in slightly from gaps in the canopy above, silvers of yellowish-silver light helping visibility dramatically. Their craft had landed in a relatively wide space flanked by a number of branching paths that led further into the wilderness, inviting any adventuring soul to have their brains torn out of their heads by looming monstrosities or fall into a trap laid by scavengers that were desperate to find their ticket out of squalor.
"Focus, Yerbol." Voldon sternly chided, feeling the Champion's drifting thoughts with agitation.
"Right, sorry. Plan?"
"They should be here momentarily. There'll be more of them than us." He motioned to the massive tree trunks surrounding the rectangular shaped clearing.
"Hide, see their numbers and then thin them out."
"Do we take them alive?"
"Manus is our primary target. The others will get in the way of that." Yerbol wanted to counter the Elder's harsh suggestion, but understood quite well from their previous encounter with these "Faceless" that they were out for blood. No need for restraint when the opponent would gladly cut your head off.

"Hide. Now." Complying with the directive, the trio of Force users scattered to different points around the clearing, Yerbol choosing a spot directly opposite the scorch marked shuttle. Sho was on her way to her own point of cover when the whine of hyperdrive engines became audible from above, then slowly grew in volume as two of the three shuttles landed parallel to each other. The same ebony colored armor with red streaks were visible as five, then six Faceless emerged from both shuttles respectively. Where was the third shuttle?

Manus must think this is a trap...or doesn't want to do the dirty work.

As the group of Faceless made their way to the supposedly defenseless shuttle, he heard Voldon cry out:
"NOW!" Two bolts cracked from the darkness of cover, slamming through the helmets of two of the operatives, bodies crumpling to the forest floor. Sabers crackled to life on both sides as the Qyaari leaped into action, taking advantage of their startled enemies, who were a hair too slow in responding to the assault. Yerbol dispatched of one with a simple thrust into the gut, twirling the blade so as to launch the body against one of the assault shuttles. In mere moments, the squadron was dispatched.
"Were they..." Yerbol's stomach churned in guilt as he stood over one of the bodies, removing the helmet to reveal a Chiss girl who looked maybe eighteen.
"So young. So bloody young."
"And more of them will die if we don't get to Manus now!" Voldon roared, a vehement glare cast at the bodies before looking upward.
"SHOW YOURSELF YOU COWARD!" The words reverberated across the forest, but also seemed to work, seeing as a few moments later the third shuttle descended and perched itself at the farthest end of the clearing. When the door slid open, a man with dark eyes and a shaved head smiled narrowly. His plated armor clinked as his boots landed on the ground, gaze moving from the Champions to the presiding Elder, smile growing slightly wider.
"Voldon. Champions." His voice had a silky gravity to it that seemed to invite questions about the greatness of who spoke.
"Manus, what in Force's name are you doing?! These are CHILDREN and you're manipulating them to serve your own agenda!"
"Children, yes. But they knew what the cost was for joining our cause. They will be remembered."
"FOR DYING IN VAIN?!" A vein in Voldon's neck pulsed in zealous indignation.
"No, for contributing to the rise of something greater than themselves." He motioned to the Force users haphazardly, hand limply pointing at the Champions particularly.
"Don't tell me that these two aren't serving the same purpose? Your anointed Champions stand as examples of something bigger than them. Same as these. They will fall, but others will take their place, I assure you. And soon, your philosophy will undo you."
"The Qyaari stand for what we should've been, not-"
"NO!" Spittle flew from Vo's mouth as he retorted:
"The Qyaari are EXACTLY WHAT WE WERE, Voldon! Can't you see that?! All this talk of Harmony and Balance WILL be distorted over time, turned against you. You can't preserve this so-called 'golden age' of Force enlightenment. In the end, we will be divided, always."
"And you're not contributing to that division?"
"I don't want unity, Voldon, I want freedom. They are two very different things. I want those who use the Force to give into it, to BECOME a living arm of the Force and use it however they wish."
"So anarchy?"
"Enlightenment! To think that every Force user could tap into their innate connection with the Force and use it however they wish! Free of philosophical restraints or codified law. Their identities BECOME the Force. They are Nameless. Faceless, if you will."
"Enough of this." Voldon's saber snapped to life.
"I'll give you one shot at surrendering peacefully." Manus let out a hearty chuckle, shaking his head as he responded:
"Always the stoic soldier, never thinking beyond the immediate battlefield. You didn't think I was completely ignorant of your ploy? I sensed you and your champion's Force energies the moment you all stepped on world. I wanted to see you face to face, to see how far you've fallen, to remind myself of what I'm fighting for." He gestured to the shuttles.
"The shuttles contain several pounds of explosives that could wipe out an entire city block. Trying to escape and chase me will only result not only in deforesting some of the Shadowlands, but also cause the Wookie delegation attempting to forge peace talks with the Alliance to have serious doubts about their partnership with the Qyaari. Reckless endangerment of their hallowed proving ground and all that." Manus stepped back onto his shuttle.
"The disarming mechanism isn't that difficult! Shouldn't take you too long."

Yerbol hated him already.

“But-!” even Aria, who was more used to having to kill opponents than Yerbol, had to protest somewhat to Voldon's harsh outlook, but remembering how they had failed to talk down the three assailants in the Warden’s home gave her the resolve to know it was their only option.
“Still a shame that this is what it has to come to.” she sighed, giving a nod to their Mandalorian companion as they scattered to find hiding places amongst the clearing. Sho disappeared into the shadowy tree canopies frighteningly quickly and Aria lost sight of her completely as she took up her own cover in a large swathe of grass (which, though it LOOKED like grass, was actually well upwards of a quarter of the height of the tree trunks, it made good cover nonetheless). Two of the shuttles set down and more Faceless Assassins appeared, advancing towards the shuttle and what they thought was the unsuspecting pilot. On Voldon's mark, the group attacked before the Faceless could dispatch their poor pilot, Aria launching out of her cover place and slamming into the back of one of the Faceless, her lightsaber making quick work of dropping him to the floor. She dodged a swinging blade from another, a sharp kick to his gut sending him sprawling into his counterpart which Yerbol had just dispatched.

The fight was over in seconds. Far too quickly, Aria realised with a sickening sense of dread. “They're too clumsy and careless…” she swallowed, exchanging a regretful glance with Voldon and Yerbol. Yerbol removed the helmet of one of the fallen attackers and confirmed their suspicions. Aria's gut twisted horribly, she had not felt so….sick, after killing someone, in a very long time. She almost didn't hear the third shuttle arrive, had Vo not stepped down and begun speaking to them. Voldon attempted to assure Vo that the Qyaari were different than their predecessors, but the man vehemently protested the fact, instead throwing back arguments of his own. Her jaw stiff, Aria felt a stab of worry pierce through her. The way Manus spoke, he sounded so….sure, so, right. Shaking her head, Aria hissed at Manus.
“You're no better than Bracknell. You will never bring people together by squashing them under your heel!”
Voldon's saber snapped back to life and the Elder moved as if to engage Manus, had the other man not drawn their attention to the other two empty shuttles before promptly fleeing.

“Son of a bantha!” Aria hollered after him, casting around for their Mandalorian munitions expert with another shout: “SHO, BOMB!”
“Got it!” Sho called in response, leaping from her perch and clearing the distance to the shuttle on the other side of the clearing with the aid of the jet pack on her back. Aria ran for the other shuttle, not really having the first clue how to disarm explosives but they couldn't take the risk that the two mechanisms were unconnected.
“Sho...what am I doing?!” the panicked Champion called to the Mandalorian, who had already dropped into a crouch and was working away on the other shuttle.
“The red wire!” Sho shouted. “JUST the red one, not the blue one, not the brown one, RED.”
“Red, right….” Aria gulped, locating the front panel which sported an ominous countdown of red numbers and prising it off to reveal the electrics underneath. Sho’s shuttle beeped profusely and nearly made Aria's own heart stop, before it powered down just as quickly. “Got it!”
“GAH!” the Champion fumbled to try and follow suit, but found the task somewhat more difficult.
“Tick tock, Ari!” the Mandalorian barked. “Not like we're all gonna die or anything!”
“DON'T RUSH ME!”
“My apologies, your highness, but I AM rushing you! I DON'T WANNA DIE TODAY!”
Gritting her teeth, Aria managed to grab what she could only pray was the correct wire, and severed it just as the ticking from the mechanism increased to that unnerving rate.

She exhaled nearly all her breath at once as the explosives deactivated and didn't detonate.
“...that was a close one.”
As she shakily got back to her feet, Aria noticed Voldon was still glaring at the break in the tree canopy where Manus’ shuttle swooped in, finally turning to move back towards their shuttle. They returned to find the pilot still tweaking with the nav panel, though she smiled brightly as the Qyaari and Sho reappeared.
“The hull took a beating, and some of the more complex functions are fried, but looks like that shield you put up took the worst of it. With a few tweaks I think I can get it flying again enough to get us back.”
“Good.” Voldon nodded. “We need to contact the other Elders and update them on…”
Aria tuned out the rest of the conversation as Sho slid into place beside the pilot and the pair chattered away with Voldon while they worked on the necessary repairs to the shuttle. Moving away from leaning on the shuttle doorway, Aria stepped back out into the clearing to get a bit more space away from the seemingly menial conversations the rest of the group were participating in.

Her feet carried her a reasonable distance from the shuttle before the Champion stopped, emitting a heavy sigh. She had hoped being back out in the open forest air would soothe the sickening churning in her stomach, but it had not quite abated. She felt, rather than heard her partner approach, unsurprised when he stopped behind her and murmured close to her ear.
“Something’s bothering you.” of course he would know. Thoughts and feelings passed so easily between their bond now, she ruefully hoped her weak stomach wasn't making Yerbol feel queasy too.
“Mhm. I was just....thinking about what Master Vo said.” she answered slowly, teeth digging into her lower lip. Aria had easily dismissed his ramblings as being akin to Bracknell’s, but somehow she couldn't shake the feeling that in some way, they may make some sort of sense. “About the Qyaari and...what if part of what he said was right, Bol?”
She heard him sigh, turning to face him as he slid his arms around her waist.
“You don't really think that, do you?” Yerbol murmured, his tone inviting her to elaborate a little further rather than entirely condemning the train of thought.
“I just…” Aria struggled to find the appropriate words for a moment, huffing in frustration as she pressed her forehead to his shoulder. Another few moments of silence, then:
“Those kids today, Bol....they were only kids. And we just...killed them. We didn't even TRY to talk to them. The interrogation room, I was so desperate to find Soto that I just dove right into that kid's head without thinking about whether I really NEEDED to...” what if the Qyaari really were heading down the same path, and they just didn't realise it? The thought was unsettling.
“I'm not saying that what Master Vo is doing is right, but does that make what WE'RE doing right now “right”, or are we just as bad? When did we become so quick to hurt people instead of helping them?”
Yerbol looked as if he wasn't entirely sure how to answer her questions.
“Hey, lovebirds!” Sho’s voice cut into the conversation, beckoning them back to the shuttle. “Whenever you're done, we're leaving!”

Yerbol had some experience with munitions, but that was a while ago...not to mention that he was more on the side of throwing explosives at enemies rather than disarming them. Instead of fumbling with detonators and blowing themselves up, Yerbol and Voldon erected barriers around each of the party members. Just in case something DID occur, the shields would do whatever they could to protect those enveloped in it from the worst of the blast. Thankfully with some daft maneuvering by both Sho and Ari, the bombs were disarmed and a galactic incident of epic proportions was avoided. After convening with their pilot, who professed that she would be able to get the ship up and running in a few minutes, Yerbol thought aloud to the Elder:
"It's hard to believe that Manus could have predicted that we would land on Kashyyk."
"The timing of his attack was perfect. He had it charted out down to the millisecond." Voldon briefly watched Aria walk away from their ship before turning to the other Champion and stating bluntly:
"I'll need you both absolutely focused on finding Manus and bringing him in at whatever cost."
"I figured as much. Dare I ask about our teaching schedule? What about our students?"
"They'll have other teachers who can work with them. You both are too valuable for us to not have in the field."
"Here I thought I could retire into a life of pedagogy." The jest bounced off Voldon so hard that Yerbol could feel the lack of amusement in his gut.
"Right, so what now?"
"We head back to Zinuthra and discuss our next move. Rash and hasty decisions will result in Manus gaining the upper hand. A thought out, deliberate course of action is an absolute must when facing him."
"Yet we can't really afford to sit on our hands."
"I did NOT imply that." The Elder grabbed Yerbol's shoulder, squeezing tightly as he locked eyes with the Champion.
"Manus MUST be stopped. He WILL be stopped. No matter what we must do." Yerbol could only nod, loosening himself from Voldon's death grip and went after Aria while Voldon turned around to give instructions to both Sho and their resilient pilot.

Gently coming behind her, he could now feel the doubt swirling in her mind; well, it wasn't JUST doubt. Fear, disappointment(?), anxiety and a whole other host of emotions tumbled through their bond.
"Something's bothering you." He drew her closer to him by placing his arms around her waist, kissing her on the back of her head as she relayed her concerns about what she felt the Qyaari was becoming. It took a moment or two for Yerbol to digest the sentiment, in which Sho barked for them to return to the shuttle.
"A minute, please!" Yerbol retorted with a playful wave of the hand, turning his attention back to Aria while tuning out whatever jab Sho threw their way.
"What we've been through over the past year? Bracknell, Illesia, terrorists, outlaws and so on? That takes a toll on the mind. I've noticed a bit more viciousness in my swings, more...bitterness? I don't know if that's the right word, but I think you know the feeling." He sighed, placing his chin on her head as he continued:
"What we need to remember is that we walk a fine line as Qyaari now...and sometimes that might mean we deviate from that line at times. Doesn't mean we can't get straightened out." He turned her around, their foreheads gently resting against the other.
"We'll get back to Zinuthra, get through the Elders meeting and then we can go back to our quarters. We can meditate, drink tea, even watch that movie you were trying to convince me to watch about the Wookie and the...Twi'lek?" A soft chuckle.
"And if you keep having doubts, we've got MOUNDS of teachings from Renso and other Sith that we could go through to help us better understand how to 'balance'." The shuttle's engines roared to life, prompting a nod towards their ride home.
"Let's leave before the Wookies find out we almost blew up half the Shadowlands."

"I can't believe Manus has resorted to this." Matthew sat back in his chair, his expression one of grim reverence for their new enemy. The assembled Elders and Champions seemed to all wear similar expressions after Yerbol and Aria made their report. A silence permeated the chamber for a few moments before Voldon broke it:
"We'll need to focus on two areas: ensuring that our outposts and Academy are safe from potential spies that Manus has implanted(or will try to) as well as being proactive, attempting to stay ahead of him."
"From what I remember facing off against him, Manus has a contingency plan for just about any scenario, which means that we'll have to come up with a strategy he truly won't be expecting." Malu thought for a moment before suggesting:
"If we take away his base of followers, then he won't those children to throw at us. And it's not as if there's an unlimited amount of Force Users in the galaxy. Take out his network and he should be exposed."
"Malu, you mentioned that you had contacts in this greater network of Force users, right?"
"Indeed, Matthew. And if you're suggesting I reach out to them for aid, I don't know if we'd get the results we're looking for; after all, this network was created as a way of avoiding having to associate with us. Their help would GREATLY assist in our cause, though." He tapped a knee with her right fingertips.
"Shouldn't conditioning children to mindlessly fight for a cause be enough?"
"Matthew, I don't think you quite understand how willing most of these force users are to NOT get involved in affairs involving the Qyaari. The contacts I have are only contacts because I give them resources. If that dried out, they'd disappear quickly."
"Could we spin Manus into a threat to their supposed neutrality?"
"Not really...unless Manus DOES something to sabotage the network he helped build."

This was going to be a long meeting.

Aria sighed again, nodding as she listened to her partner's reassurances.
“I suppose you're right...I just don't want us to become what we were trying to prevent in the first place, because what does that prove?” her focus turned to the meeting, which would be the next thing they would need to think about, before they could worry about what they would do afterwards. A slight smile came to her face as he mentioned the movie, the Champion shaking her head slightly in mock disbelief.
“It's a CLASSIC, Bol. I can't believe you haven't seen it yet!”
The shuttle’s engines started and cut off any retort Yerbol might have had as they made their way back to return to Zinuthra.
__________

“That would certainly be a favourable solution.” Cheriss nodded in agreement. “We can't risk him going to the media and planting false stories. It would ruin the better reputation we've managed to build, if HoloNet reporters started claiming the Qyaari weren't beneath killing children in order to keep ourselves “in control”.”
“People wouldn't actually believe that, would they?”
“You would be surprised how quickly some civilians believe what they hear on the news, Aria my dear.”
Thoughtful silence fell across the Elders chamber as its occupants processed the points brought into the discussion.
“So you mean to tell me, Malu, that the fact Manus is sending these children straight to their deaths is not enough to convince their parents to stop bringing them to him?” Ailel sighed. “I find that difficult to believe…”
“They need resources, correct?” Cheriss spoke up once more, the Dathomirian’s sharp gaze returning to Malu. “We must have ways to find some to spare. A show of good faith, as it were. They wouldn't refuse that.”
“Would they offer their help in return, though?” Ailel frowned warily. “I can't see that being enough, if they aren't convinced by the fact that he's killing CHILDREN.”
Aria groaned softly, pressing her fingers to her temples.
“Are we not getting one step ahead of ourselves, just a little? I hate to say it, but if we are going to have any hope of cutting Master Vo’s connections to the network, we have to win the support of these supposed neutral Force users first. WITHOUT forcing their hand.”
“And that is where we have our dilemma.” Ailel huffed, her hands clasped tightly together.
“Then perhaps the first question for us to be asking is WHY are they so short on resources that they would accept supplies from Malu? Is it possible that Manus could be to blame for that?”
“Is there a way for us to prove that?” the Champion asked, her gaze moving over the Elders present.
“Possibly…” Ailel nodded. “And even if it isn’t Manus, if we could send representatives, WITH some of Malu’s resources, and they could help this group to find out where their stolen goods are going, and take them back….”
“...We could win their favour.” Voldon finished, his mouth still a tight line as he nodded along with the plan that was unfolding between them.
Exchanging a glance with her partner, Aria reached out towards him through their bond and commented with a snort:
Why do I get the feeling that those “representatives” are going to be us?

It was.

After a brief respite period overnight, during which the Champions meditated and then relaxed for a few hours while they watched the aforementioned movie with Chwuq and Taral curled up snoring at their feet, they were once again situated on a shuttle bound for the capital world.
“Everything about this still makes me nervous.” Aria muttered as they docked in the spaceport. The Tuk’ata gave low growls of agreement, their tails twitching as they padded after the Champions down the ramp. “Where did Malu say we were supposed to meet these people again?” Aria cast around as if there would be some kind of clue, whether a Force presence or a particular person who stood out to them when they laid eyes on them, but so far could not locate anything that stood out.
“It might be risky, but I almost want to suggest that when we DO find them, we let whoever it is we’re meeting with stay in charge and follow their orders.” Yerbol failed to hide the sharp spike of surprise (mingled with amusement) that radiated from his mind at her suggestion. Even Chwuq’s head shot up, red eyes blinking at the shorter Champion as the beast gave a dumbfounded grunt.
Smirking, Aria caught his eye with a sideward glance. “Yes alright, the thought of me following a total stranger’s orders is hilarious. Just think about it...we want them to believe we’re trustworthy, right? I doubt they’re going to like it if we march right into their little group and start bossing everybody around.”
They were just passing through the customs terminals again when she felt a gentle tug through their bond, Yerbol lightly nudging her arm in the same moment. Turning her attention away from her search and back to him, Aria followed the subtle movement of the Champion’s eyes to the cloaked figure loitering close to the port’s doorway. They were too far away to make out any of the woman’s facial features, but her posture indicated that she appeared to be scanning the crowd looking for someone, and extending her senses out further Aria was sure she could feel ripples of Force energy coming from her.

As the two Qyaari approached and her eyes settled on them, the woman gave the two Champions a somewhat nonchalant nod. Blue eyes framed by sweeping red tattoos scrutinised the pair as they stopped in front of her, a smirk colouring her features as she commented:
“You look taller on the HoloNet.”
Aria met her gaze evenly, her tone flat as she retorted:
“Yeah, everyone says that.”
“Malu isn’t with you?”
“That’s not a problem, is it?” the Champion quirked an eyebrow, quieting the uneasy Tuk’ata with a quick hand gesture.
“Hmph.” their new companion snorted, as if brushing off the question, then turned on her heel and beckoned for the Champions to follow her, sounding a little more friendly now that she had been given a chance to assess the strangers for herself. “Well, let’s get away from unwelcome ears and we can elaborate on the details, shall we?”