Posts 38-40 were lost during the Guildfall, and could not be recovered. However, some details as to what they covered yet remain. A brief summary of what was contained and who was in each post is presented here.

Post #38: During this post, Apprentice Vanda Sakti murdered Padawan Burin Pentag, and was sentenced to death for the act. A public execution was held at Darth Nyiss command, in which Vanda was fed to the Sithspawn beast Nyiss keeps above the prison deck.

Post #39: Calista Praxon replied to Jewel Namore in this post. She recognised that Jewel carried Calistas Lightsaber.

Post #40: This post Featured Zanna, but its content has been lost at this time. Hopefully some idea of its contents can be gleaned in the future.

Sep, Echo and Ellri - Guide, Nyiss and Luhon

Guide stood on the bridge, or rather in the cockpit of the small transport. It wasn’t as extravagant of vessels used by many Sith in their routines, however it suited his purposes. It got him from A to B, kept him comfortable and even had a small lab inside of it. He sat in the seat, replaying the recording he had received from his niece only a couple of days ago: “Guide, I’ve been working on a little project lately… well, several, really, but we’ll discuss that later. For now, I need you to go to Tatooine and help an individual of some repute with the final stages of one of these projects. He can tell you the details when you get there. Looking forward to seeing you, Darth Nyiss.” He finished playing the comm and then stood up, she wasn’t entirely being helpful in saying an individual of some repute however if she was serious about this matter he wouldn’t expect her to be. He stood up and began walking down through the ship towards the boarding ramp, activating security suites as he went; droids, turrets, traps and finally a self destruct if the intruder got to the cockpit.

He walked down the boarding ramp and looked around, no-one in the immediate area. The sight of a red-sith had obviously been enough for him to skip customs. He turned back to the ship, making a point of typing in the control panel which was actually completely fake. While he was doing this he used the Force to press a small hidden button, closing the door. Of course another Force User could easily break in which is why there was the pass code upon entering the vessel. He smirked, no-one would disturb his ship and if they did they wouldn’t live to regret it.

Walking out of the bay he scanned the crowd passing the hangar bay, even in one of the more luxurious and more expensive bays the corridors were packed full of merchants, travellers and mercenaries and frankly he didn’t have the stomach for being around all these lesser species, though it had been several months since Nyiss had last contacted him so it was likely to be important and if it wasn’t then she would not be getting the gift he had brought for her and he’d save it for another day. He began walking around, rather aimlessly although he did not show it nor would he admit it, waiting for this individual of some repute to make an appearance.

Since shortly after being hired, Luhon Aban had found himself on Tatooine. So long as the credits were good, he did not care whom his employer was. He preferred working for the empire and neutral parties over working for the republic simply because of the nature of their jobs. He craved adventure, and few created more adventurous jobs than Mad Sith or eccentric Hutts. Still, that did not change the fact that his current job was a cut above most. He liked that. He liked it much more than the lies and politics back home. His fur rippled with thoughts of home, clearly indicating his discomfort with thoughts about that place.

Before he could think further, his wrist unit beeped, signifying that a person of interest had arrived at the spaceport. With a simple set of commands typed into the unit, he sent the person, whomever he or she might be, a message indicating where to meet. Which happened to be right where Luhon was sitting, in a small, half-empty cantina. With lots of background noise.

Guide got the command, walking over to what he discovered to be a Cantina. He shuddered slightly, composed himself and then walked in. The stench of alcohol, sweat and even blood assaulted his senses and if the heat was bad outside it was even worse in here. He took a moment to create a small flowing breeze with the Force to keep himself cool and soothe the assault on his nostrils. The music when momentarily silent, a Red Sith did not merely walk into a cantina. However they soon continued, not wanting to cause any issues. He could sense their fear and he couldn’t help but feel some joy at that. It always did well to remind the rabble who their masters were.

He scanned the tables, going from Wookies, Givin, Humans, Bothans, Twi’leks. However everyone appeared to have a partner or already in a conversation. He decided that he would allow whoever he was meeting to come to him. As was proper, he moved to an empty table and sat down. A serving droid came walking over however he simply pushed it away gently with a wave of a hand. After its second attempt the owner of the droid gave up its futile attempt. He leant back, observing the room and even a Bothan that appeared to keep casting looks at him, he made note to keep an eye on him. Though for now he merely sat and waited.

After the message through the serving droid failed, Luhon sat there quietly for a while. It had immediately become clear who his contact was. Red Sith were, after all, not often seen outside the empire. In fact, Luhon had never before seen one this old. That in itself was curious. Once he was sure he had been noticed, he raised a single paw and motioned with one finger for the Sith to come to him. While not outright overt about it, neither was he all that subtle. He did not want to leave the safety of thick walls on two sides. There were more than a few from his former clan back on Bothawui that wanted him dead. Not that he had heard anything from anyone in years about that.

Guide stood, and he was gone. Well, he wasn’t gone however he would appear to be gone in the eyes of those who were in the Cantina. Merely an illusion, strong enough to fool any Force users in the Cantina as he didn’t have to worry about Force Users detecting it, there were none here or he would have sensed them long ago. He moved through the room, dropping suggestions through the Force for people to move when they stood in his way. He was in the seat by the bothan, who now had a surprised look upon his face and then dropped the illusion. “You have not worked with Sith often it appears that when you are summoned, you do not obey. That is a risky habit you have.”

Though the Sith disappeared, Luhon Aban was not all that surprised. He knew the Sith had tricks at their disposal. Granted, he had not seen this one before. Usually when they wanted to disappear, they fooled anyone around into not noticing them. When the Sith, still invisible to his eyes, started getting close, Luhon could smell him upon the air. Just to please the Sith, he acted all surprised when he appeared out of thin air. Another Bothan wouldn’t have been fooled, though. Upon hearing the Sith’s words, he smiled. “Better an annoyed Sith than a stunner blast in my back and a prison ship back to Bothawui. Nothing you can do to me is worse than their plans for me.”

“Now now, we’ve only just met. Don’t be so quick to judge me, I’m sure I could think of something. It must be a failure of imagination on your part to believe that whatever your kind do to each other can be worse than what I can inflict. However we’ve only just met, let us fight later. Darth Nyiss gave you quite the compliment, I do hope you can live up to it however why don’t you get to the part where we start working. Where’s our target and more importantly, what is it?” There was no point hiding that he had no idea why he was here, if he did then it would simply cause complications later. It would also let the Bothan feel all the more happy and confident, safe and secure.

“I don’t need imagination to know their plans for me. They announced it widely, knowing it would reach me. Five years of constant pain as my body is being shredded, fried, dismantled and mended over and over again. Apparently they don’t like me.” He paused for a moment then smiled. “Our target, as your Darth Nyiss clearly has not informed you, is simple. And large. We, are going to fetch a Krayt Dragon. A fun prospect, I think.”

“Five years of constant pain? My your kind aren’t very imaginative are they.” He straightened himself up, silently cursing his niece, what was she up to now wanting a Krayt Dragon, in fact he didn’t even want to know however she was playing with fire and with what he had been hearing back on Dromund Kaas it may not be the best course of action for her. However she had his support, for now and he would sort out any issues later. “Killing a Krayt Dragon is easy, capturing one alive is a different sport. No more difficult in fact I am rather insulted that she felt I needed help in this matter. Tell me where the specimen is and then we shall retrieve it, it shouldn’t take too much of your time.”

Luhon laughed. “Three days out in the Dune Sea. Give or take a day. If we were going on foot, that is. Unless you really want to walk, I suggest we skip that. I have a few locals tracking it down right now. Should be reliable enough. My time has been bought and paid for. Paid well. And hunting a Krayt Dragon sure beats dodging the idiot bounty hunters hired by my former clan.”

“Why ever would we walk? I also do not care who you have tracking it, if they aren’t reliable then they simply aren’t of use and will be dealt with as such. I also do not care about your petty troubles and you are not paid to force me to listen to them, so I suggest you keep them to yourself where they belong.” Guide stood up and flexed his muscles slightly, miniscule movements that didn’t even ruffle his robes. He had sensed a familiar presence, not on the planet though getting closer. “I will require the co-ordinates if I am to fly there, the sooner the better. Your boss is here. I am bad when disappointed, I can make you hurt in ways you didn’t even know were possible. She’s worse.”

“That is acceptable. I am sure you have means at your disposal for disposing of useless assets that are far more memorable than I have. If the hired locals prove unreliable, I will leave them to you.” He smiled at the reaction to his mentioning walking. Just as he had predicted. “Is your vessel large enough to carry a fully mature Krayt Dragon? If not, I suggest utilizing the freighter I have acquired here. It is not as fancy as an imperial ship, but it will do the trick.” Luhon could see the Sith reacting to something. It was almost like the Sith was familiar with something or someone nearby, but the gestures were not quite right. Or maybe it was just that he was of a species whose bodily gestures were unfamiliar. “I have equipped the vessel with holding mechanisms that should prove adequate. Your Darth provided the funds to do so. She clearly wants very much to have this Krayt Dragon. Shall we go fetch it?”

“You mistake me, we are not travelling together. I am taking my ship for I have materials I require, once we are finished I shall also be flying directly to Darth Nyiss’ flagship not passing through another ship first. Also there will be little need for your holding mechanisms, the beast will be quite docile and well fed by the time we are loading it onto your vessel.” He took out a small dataspike and deposited it on the table. “Send the coordinates to that commlink code and then depart yourself.” With that he turned and left, passing back through the halls and corridors of the spaceport. People moved out of his way either willingly or with a little persuasion and then he came face to face with someone who didn’t. He scowled at the being, an affront to him. Completely uncivilized, a Jedi. He merely bowed his head in mock recognition “Jidai” and then continued on his way, back to the ship and opening the lock with the secret pressure plate. Climbing the ramp a warning light flashed and two droids rounded the corner weapons raised. He merely had to speak to deactivate the systems. “Tash Nu.”

With that he travelled to the cockpit and activated the astromech pilot. “We should be getting coordinates any second now. As soon as you have them launch and get us going.” The droid merely gave an annoying tweedle in response and sat in his chair as the ship began to hum as its systems began powering up.

After the Sith departed, Luhan remained in his seat for a few minutes, smiling to himself. Nothing like dealing with Sith to spice up the day. Just after he pocketed the data spike, before he could get up and leave, someone else sat down at his table. If the clothes were any indication, it had to be a Jedi. ‘oh great.’ he thought. “You. Bothan. In the name of the Galactic Republic, tell me what that Sith paid you to do. Now.”

He really did not want this now. Jedi were annoying nuisances at best. “Nothing. He paid me nothing. And he won’t pay me anything. What I do and whom I talk to is my own business, not yours.” He did not utter a single lie in there. Sure, he left information out, but it was all true. That Sith, whatever his name might be, never paid him anything.

The jedi looked at the stubborn Bothan for a moment. Usually Bothans were quite friendly with the Republic, but every race had exceptions. “Its obvious you’re working with him. What job are you doing for the Sith here on Tatooine?” He asked fairly civilly, if bluntly. “You want to tell me.” He added, waving his hand and putting a gentle Force persuade behind it.

“No. I don’t! Ah told ya, it ain’t yer business!” To another Bothan, the strain needed to resist that use of the Force would have been apparent, but to anyone else, it was not. It had taken him years of training to build up even this small resistance to mind tricks, but it sure came in handy to foil some lesser Sith. Risky perhaps, but fun. And it sure had saved him from embarrassing actions many times. “Leave me alone, Jedi!”

One of the Serving droids wheeled in and poked the Jedi with one of its many arms. “Leave Paying Customer alone or Bouncer will remove you.” The metallic voice was clear, but emotionless.

At the signs of a confrontation in the making, a small crowd had begun to form and the cantina had become suddenly eerily quiet. Tatooine was a fairly lawless place, and thoroughly under the control of various crime lords, making it no secret who the small crowd of scum might support should things get ugly. The Jedi looked around as bodies began to press in behind him. If this did get ugly, a number of them would come out for the worse, but he was just one Jedi. “No, you’re right. Its not my business.” He said as he stood. “I’ll be leaving now.” Amongst the crowd were murmurs of disappointment and they began to disperse, robbed of their days violent interlude. They let the Jedi go however, as no one sentient felt like getting between a man with a Lightsaber and the door.

Luhon sighed with relief after the Jedi left, knowing that the outcome might have been painful for him if it had come to combat. There was no telling with Jedi these days. Sometimes it was like one could not tell any difference between them and the Sith. He had no doubt he’d be followed, but that was a problem for later. He quickly left the cantina, then went to the spaceport by a roundabout route. No point in giving the Jedi that would no doubt follow him an easy job. Once back in the ship, he transmitted the coordinates to the Sith, then had his simple freighter lift off and fly in the direction his local hirelings were supposed to be.

Guide received the co-ordinates. Now that he had met the Jedi he could sense him running around, trying to find out what was going on. Of course if the Jedi decided to follow them he’d get a nasty surprise when it came time for the Krayt dragon. He doubted the Jedi would restart the War over an unknown project and a Sith as old as himself, though he had been gathering some intrigue not many people had seen a Sith so old without escorts before and surely not without a speck of death. His ship, smaller and faster than the transport that was made to carry a Krayt Dragon arrived first, and he disembarked into the boiling sun and warm sands. Drawing upon the Force to keep him cool before he had even released a sweat, he could see the other transport coming in now and shielded himself as the ship kicked up sand while landing.

He walked out into the space between the two ships as the Bothan approached him. Off to the side the other workers stood watching the exchange. “So, is the ship ready to take the dragon? Whatever hatch requires opening I advise that you do it now. It will need to be ready for when the dragon walks on board.”

Luhon sighed. While in transit, he had contacted his hirelings, and while they had located a Krayt Dragon nest, they had yet to lure the creature outside. It was obvious enough that they were rather inept. Still, he saw no reason to reveal that to the Sith now. It would be better for them to reveal their incompetence directly to him. Lifting a small, handheld remote, Luhon pressed a quick combination of keys. Soon afterwards, there was a loud hiss from the vessel as the landing gear extended further, lifting the entire ship high up above the ground, the bottom of its cargo hold splitting open like a mouth. “The ship is, as you can see, ready. The cargo hold is designed to lift the Krayt Dragon straight up, holding it in place with a series of hydraulic clamps. No matter how docile you make it, there is no point in being careless.”

Guide watched, not really betraying any sense in emotion, he merely looked like a bored observer which he truly was. The ship was nothing to be overly impressed with anyway, not much of a modification. “You are quite correct, if we become foolish and let our ego get the best of us we will end up like the Republic, I did not live so long by taking unnecessary risks.” He turned and faced out into the desert, there was a collection of mountain hills nearby no doubt the Dragons cave was among them. He had gathered the drug that he would need and now all he needed was the volunteers. While Luhon would do it was obvious his niece had some form of, respect, for him and as such he wouldn’t unnecessarily kill him when he had plenty of other candidates. “Now, where is this dragon? Darth Nyiss will be arriving soon and the quicker we get this done the quicker I can get off this wretched planet and you can get on with your life.”

Luhon pointed towards a particularly tall rock nearby. “Sensor readings reveal a cave on the far side of that rock. The dragon should be within. At least it entered there yesterday. The locals I hired have been camped outside that cave ever since.” Luhon paused for a moment. “I scanned the surrounding area for other cave mouths, but found none of sufficient size.”

Guide just stalked in the direction that Luhon pointed in. All of the way he manipulated the sand in the Force to prevent him from sinking and keep his skin cool despite the sweltering suns blasting heat into the desert. It took them nearly twenty minutes to reach the cave entrance Luhon had been talking about, the camp was in place exactly as Luhon had explained. He walked up as several of the locals stood up from mixing some form of brew over an old fashioned fire. “Has the dragon been sighted?””No.””No, My Lord.””You gotta be ki-” He stopped speaking as Guide wagged his finger in a disapproving fashion. “Well done Jar, you have just volunteered.” The man's lips moved, but no words escaped. It was a particularly unpleasant mind trick, where one was aware of what their body was doing however had no power to stop it. Guide walked up and took a small injector, stabbing it into the mans arm as the vein below the skin turned blue momentarily before resorting to its brown form. He waved him away, and the man walked into the cave with a look of pure terror in his eyes.

Several minutes past with no sound other than the crackling of the fire and the breathing of each of the members outside of the cave all deep and heavy due to the sweltering heat except for that of Guides who despite the heavy black robes appeared rather comfortable. Then, all of a sudden a blaster could be heard as well as a mighty roar and then a scream. Guide gestured one hand at the locals as their limbs suddenly went rigid as if in salute, confusion and surprise in their eyes. Guide turned to Luhon. “We will need roughly two more Volunteers. Chose.”

Looking at the remaining locals, Luhon spoke. “Would you explain exactly why you have not gone into the cave and retrieved the Krayt Dragon you were paid to get? Or would you rather go in and fetch it now? Each ten seconds you delay in retrieving it is another credit your families will not get should you die in the process.” he smiled. “Mind you, whomever survives will get the greater share of the credits, not to mention get to live. Decide now.” After that, he turned about. Within seconds, he could hear them fighting and shouting. “That ought to do it, Sith. Enjoy the sight.”

Guide released them as they began to shout allowing them to fight amongst themselves. However luckily they were close enough not to resort to using blasters. It would be wasteful for them to all kill each other before the dragon was retrieved. Eventually one of them just turned to run, Guide grabbed the users mind and performed the same trick he had on Jar mere moments ago, he was hoping that this one would run. Gammorrean, it was obvious he would be one of the two though he had hoped to send him last. Merely as the icing on the cake, no matter. Using the same mind crushing technique as before the Gammorrean came towards him, his face almost screaming in terror if he could find his voice. Guide used another injector before sending the beast into the cave, this time it was substantially less time before the shot was fired and the beast roared, it was coming out of its cave to discover the source of all the food. He could sense it now, and sense the drug at work. One more would be enough.

The fighting had stopped, and the locals turned to face him. “One more is required, try to run and you shall go in.” He let the message sink in, he had still let go of his control on them. Then their weapons raised, but no fire came. His hand was extended and he had grasped them all. The heat of the suns took him momentarily as he shifted his concentration, though shortly he had it regulated again. A simple mind trick or illusion would be easy on four vermin however he wanted to ensure that they suffered. He walked up to them, they were trying desperately to speak or move out of his grip as he injected them all. They then began heading towards the cave as he gave up control of their vocal cords to ensure they made a noise. The beast reared its head out of the cave, blood and torn flesh still in its teeth as it roared. One by one the remaining locals were consumed.

Guide then lit his lightsaber, a deep violet contrary to the popular red used by most Sith. The beast turned towards him and Luhon as Guide extended his arm and the beast stopped in its tracks, its pupils going wide. They walked back to the ships in silence, the only sound the thundering footsteps of the beasts following them and climbing into the vessel. Guide relaxed, the beast still stood in the hold glassy eyed and completely still as Guide turned to the bothan. “You may close the vessel now. Our job is done, now you need merely deliver the goods and collect full payment, for yourself.”

“Perfect. I so enjoy working with you Sith. Keeps the day interesting and deals with incompetent hirelings in satisfactory manners.” Luhon then pressed a single button and the freighter closed up again and lowered itself back down. The Krayt dragon was secured inside, but there was no proper seal. Modifying a freighter to open like that was hard enough. Modifying it for extra-atmospheric flight would have been too expensive. Not that he had received specifications for docking any ship with the Sith transport vessel in the first place. “Shall we meet again at the spaceport, Sith?” When the Sith nodded curtly, Luhon entered the freighter cockpit, lifted off and flew back towards Mos Anis.

Guide turned, his heavy black cloak billowing in the wind as he did so. Again using the same passphrase and such to enter his vessel he moved to the cockpit, as the droid powered up the main systems and prepared for takeoff he sent a sense of achievement to his niece so that she would know it was done and the next phase would begin. It would however be interesting on moving the beast to whatever ship lay in orbit waiting for it. No doubt he would have to move it from one vessel to another which would be entertaining and hard to miss. Likely the Jedi would would make a reappearance however he would be helpless to do anything without reigniting a war.

~|Several Hours Later|~

Darth Nyiss stepped from the cool confines of the Imperial shuttle into the harsh heat and light of the blasted world of Tatooine. It was not pleasant here, for while Nyiss was used to heat and an arid climate from spending so much time on Korriban, this planet was at a completely new level for such things. The Moff had tried to force a squad of guards onto her, but in this case many hands did not make light work. They made obvious work. She’d accepted the presence of the Lieutenant though, the woman who was more than she appeared. It was thankfully both a covered over journey and not far to travel to reach the hangar where the Krayt Dragon was being stored. The transport vessel she’d had built for it would be called down only when she had confirmation of the live Krayt dragon. The ship had been an expensive favour to have built, and she didn’t want to risk it unduly. Especially after relying so much on the despicable locals for the missions success.

Just before reaching the Hangar, she sensed two Force presences. One she expected, that of her Uncle, a dark and familiar presence that brought a degree of comfort with it, but the other was unexpected. That of a Light-side user. On this planet, that could only mean a Jedi. None of the scum here could maintain the Light even if they wanted too, a bitter irony given the bright physical light of the twin stars. The Jedi would have to be dealt with before she left, and so she made no attempt to hide her own Force presence. With luck, the Jedi would not be able to let her go about her business without sticking his head under her lightsaber. They were foolish like that. If not, she’d have to hunt him down. Easier said than done, unfortunately.

The caged beast came into sight as Nyiss stepped into the Hangar, and a magnificent sight it was. An actual living Krayt Dragon! Here! And it was all hers! She had to forcibly control herself, the surge of excitement almost overwhelming. She’d half expected to find a paltry half dead runt, but then she’d employed her uncles services precisely to ensure that didn’t happen. “Magnificent… Simply magnificent.” She said, mostly to herself. Then she turned to Allende, arresting the girlish smile that had begun to form on her face, and spoke again. “Signal the Moff to send the transport. Tell the transport crew that we have acquired a Prime specimen.” She sensed her uncles presence close by, but he hadn’t yet shown himself. He’d arrive in his own time.

Guide rounded the corner, his mind still focused partially on the beast keeping it docile in its drugged state. Its pupils were still dilated and it was breathing in deep long breaths. As if in a strange form of meditation. “Did you expect anything else than a prime specimen ‘ari-nuyak? I have to admit, this… creatures cohorts proved of little use other than feed for the beast however you were correct in his usefulness” When mentioning the creature Guide absentmindedly pointed at Luhon, who was standing in a far corner watching the entire exchange no doubt trying to get a read on either of the Sith. A futile gesture except for the obvious amusement his niece was having at viewing the beast, she should of known especially as a lord to conceal such things. No matter, such things were not for discussion in company.

Nyiss’ face lit up at the sight of her uncles wizened features. She might have used a more physical greeting in a private setting, but for now she settled for words. Too many people were watching, and the relations of a Sith could be weaknesses. “Of course, I only expect the best from you. I must say-” She continued, her voice changing to a slightly sarcastic but friendly tone. “You are looking more dessicated than ever. Tell me, is it the sand? Perhaps the Sun?” Her smile grew wider as she finished speaking, and she held out her hand to clasp his in her own.

Guide suppressed a chuckle as he allowed for his hand to be clasped and then respectfully bowed as was his position in terms of society and ranking. “Strange, you still look like the same little Siqsa I remember seeing last on Korriban. Perhaps I merely stayed in the refresher too long and pruned up a bit. You have to be careful about these things at my age. Just you wait.” He pulled back his hand and then returned to his previous posture, it would not do well to linger having his hand clasped or for her to linger in clasping his hand, while she was mature in some aspects occasionally the repressed child within escaped. “Now, I feel I should inform you now that at the behest of the Dark Council that I come aboard your vessel.” Of course this was a lie, he had pretty much free reign in most aspects and was only occasionally called upon for advice and had instead chosen to oversee his nieces project. She would of course know, for no-one who had actually been assigned by the Dark Council would admit it unless they had no understanding of the way of the Sith.

“Oh stop…” she said, not meaning it in the slightest. She loved being complimented on her appearance. “I had a good teacher. What can I say?” She managed before the Sith before her became serious again. He had an irritating tendency to not go along with her less serious whims for long, but she’d long ago learnt that it was pointless becoming stroppy with him or holding it against him. As he mentioned the Dark Council making a request, she knew he was just eager to find out what her current project was. She didn’t doubt the Dark Council would send someone to keep an eye on her - indeed, they may already have done so - but it wouldn’t be him. Still, she went along with it. It was better to keep nothing being what it appeared in the Empire, it was simply safer that way. “Well they do love meddling in everything. Can't leave well enough alone. But at least they sent someone useful this time.” It seemed their reunion would have to wait until later, however. The presence of the Jedi was growing closer, and Nyiss didn’t want to risk him interfering with the transference of the Krayt Dragon. Recapturing it and explaining the destruction of a city on Tatooine was more effort than she could be bothered with. “There is a Jedi nearby, and I’d prefer if he didn’t see our prize. Perhaps he should adjourn to the adjacent Hangar?”

Guide nodded at Nyiss. “As you wish my lady. It will be interesting to see how your combat skills are faring as of late, the infighting isn’t lessening since the cold war. However instead the council is full of Jen’Jidai and not true Sith and they are more violent and cause more infighting than anyone else.” He turned and walked out of the hanger, the beast reared slightly however while walking away a vial flew from Guides pocket and into the beasts mouth as it returned to its semi-conscious state. Walking between the hangers he waved a hand at several passers by and walked into the hanger. He then yanked the being close and stared into his eyes. The man began to scream and convulse before falling to the floor. In the brief moment they were alone Guide looked at Nyiss with a fondness he often did not often express. “Well, I’ve had my fun. I presume the Jedi will now be making haste so you may have yours.”

“I imagine he’ll be quite unhappy with that rather imaginative bait. Good. Angry Jedi are easier to manipulate.” She said as she followed her uncle. The presence of the Jedi suddenly started moving much faster towards them, no doubt he was rushing to save all the innocents the Sith were no doubt torturing. Ever predictable the Jedi. The hangar they entered then was eerily empty. Just as they entered, the door on the other side opened and the Jedi stepped into the Hangar and dropped his cloak to the ground. His head had small horns poking through his hair and his battle armour was clearly visible. “Don’t be ridiculous Jedi. There is no need for violence.” Nyiss said calmly. It was partially to provoke him. Sith didn’t generally ask for peace.

“You won't succeed with your plan Sith!” The Zabrak Jedi shouted back at her, reaching for his Lightsaber.

“You Jedi are so predictable. Always with the same lines. I already have succeeded, and now I’m cleaning up the mess, namely, you.” Nyiss said, her voice changing from jovial and calm to irritated. She’s been hoping for a human Jedi to add to her experiments, but this one was not human. Possibly close enough, but the effort of restraining him seemed like too much. Besides, she couldn’t help but show off. She didn’t bother to remove the obscuring out-robe, but still pulled her lightsaber from its clip on her belt, activating one of the blades.

That was all the Jedi needed to leap to the attack, activating his own Blue saber mid jump. Nyiss’ expression was a pained one as she recognised the classic Jedi Guardians opening move, one she’d long ago learned to counter. Her free hand shot up, in a claw-like shape, and a short burst of Force Lightning arced between her and the Jedi in mid-air. Unlike the last one to try this move against her, this one had the quick thinking to block the majority of the lightning with his Lightsaber, but enough of the blast reached him to disrupt his attack. He rolled when he hit the ground instead of delivering the power-stroke that normally came at the end of a Force leap. Nyiss made use of the opportunity to once again blast him with the Force, slamming him down into the ground before he could complete the roll. “After calling you out on being predictable, Jedi, you still use that attack?” She chided. “Could you get any more obvious?” She continued, placing the tip of her lightsaber on the back of his neck.

While the blade had burned the Zabraks neck Guide used the Force to deactivate Nyiss’ lightsaber, and the bolt of light returned into the hilt. He could already sense the anger from his niece growing stronger with his actions however while the Sith used their emotions to benefit them only children were ruled by their emotions. He merely cleared his throat and shook his head. While she was powerful and in the favour of the Dark Council an action that could start a war wouldn’t be in her best interests. If the rumours were true about what his niece was doing there could be other uses for this Jedi. Especially such a strong specimen. He had long preferred Zabrak to other Non-Sith species, they were strong warriors and loyal if they could be coerced. He had no issue with them as long as they did not try to rise above their station and remembered their place.

Nyiss looked up at her uncle when he deactivated her Lightsaber and Glared intently for just a moment. He was one of the few that knew precisely where to apply the Force on her weapon to deactivate it, and it was, at times, quite frustrating. But after the moment passed, her expression mellowed. A small smile returning to her face, even as her eyes belied vicious intent. “Of course you’re right, we really shouldn’t waste any resources, even sub-standard ones like this.”

“Higher standard than the ones I hear you may have, if the rumours are true.” He looked down at the Jedi, near unconscious with pain. He closed his eyes and explored the routes of the creatures brain until he came across an artery, pinching it closed the man began to convulse having a seizure. His mouth was gurgling slightly as he did so. “The more the merrier.”

“Well, since he was your idea, I’ll leave you in charge of keeping him docile until we reach the ship. We depart as soon as the Krayt Dragon is in the air.” Nyiss said with an air of finality, turning as she did so, replacing the Lightsaber on her belt.

Sep/Ultimate523 - Guide/Strago

Guide walked down the row of cells, occasionally peering in at their occupants. Too many lesser species for his liking. He took extra care to look at the Kaminoan, he had heard of such foul things but he had never seen one before. Truly they were even more hideous than what he had been told about them. However he had to respect that such an obviously, fragile being managing to become a Jedi and prove itself worthy of being captured rather than killed. However if he had been assaulting the temple he would have made sure to get less hideous specimens. He walked out of that block and into the last one he had not inspected yet. The first Jedi he inspected was a perfect specimen, damaged however but still the prime candidate. No missing limbs as he would of expected from a prisoner, tall and strong build. He pointed in the cell to the two guards he had accompany him. ”This one.” “But, M’lord. This one recently escaped, Mistress Jayda was wounded in the exchange. He is to stay here.””I grow tired of people not doing as commanded.”

He grabbed hold of the Guards body, allowing him his mind and raised the mans hand towards the force field. ”Open the door, and bring the prisoner. Whether you open the door or not you are going through.” The other guard hit the switch and the field went down, for the two guards to go in and grab the Jedi. One of the guards went to inject the Jedi with a sedative. ”Not necessary, he won’t escape.””M’lord, it is-” The guards sentence was cut off as he was flung into the far wall, slumping to a heap on the floor. ”Looks like you will have to lift him yourself.” They walked out, the guard working hard to carry the Jedi. As they left the cell Guide re-activated the Force field trapping the guard until someone decided to come and free him.

He took the prisoner to the Combat room, having the prisoner placed in the centre and the guard ordered outside. Everything had been removed from the room, and the door had been tampered with so that the keypad buttons did not work. Requiring one to put in a numerical code with the use of the Force. Once he had ensured everything was secure Guide moved over to the prisoner, two injectors in hand. Inserting the first, a combative agent to counteract any drugs in the mans systems. He inspected the mans visible wounds and checked for bruising that could indicate internal ones. He would have to speak to his niece about the treatment of the specimens, while the Sith had been right to not dismember any of them this was intolerable and he could of died from wounds alone had he been weaker. He held his hand over the cuts and focused on the Force to close them…

It took several minutes to finish, at least the man wouldn’t break open any old wounds however he was still heavily scarred, Guide wasn’t one to spare the time making flesh picture perfect and if this man was successfully turned to the Dark Side, these scars would remind him of the pain that would be brought upon him if he ever turned back to the light. He injected the man with a second drug, to wake him up as he walked to back to the door and waited for the man to wake up.

Strago woke up slightly for a moment as he felt someone grabbing him, his eyes only opening for about half a second, realising he wasn’t in his bed, and hearing some sounds around him, but
quickly passing out again. Once again he awoke for just a moment for only about a second longer this time, able to nudge his head slightly to look around. He could see the metal of the ship, and could tell he was being moved, but couldn’t do anything about it as he passed out yet again.

Finally, Strago woke up once more, this time not passing out after being awake for just a moment. He moved around slightly, feeling much better than he expected to, but then quickly darted his head around the room to make sure there was no immediate threat, his focus quickly turning toward the older male Sith in the room.

Strago decided not to say anything as he looked at the Sith, his eyes showing a slight curiosity, thinking quite a lot at the moment, not sure of what to do. He made sure to put up a mental barrier in case the man tried anything, and made sure to be aware of anything that might happen physically as well, starting to move slowly now to get used to how he felt. There was still some pain, and soreness, but it was nothing compared to what he had felt before.

Deciding it would likely be a good decision, Strago began to stand up slowly, not taking his eyes from the Sith man, but showing no signs that he would attempt anything aggressive, mostly waiting for something to happen to react to, whether it was an attack, or simply speaking, remaining as aware as he could at the moment.

Guide looked at the man as he stood, visibly cautious. Obviously any Sith who had been attacked by this man had shown some sign of weakness and deserved whatever fate had been assigned to them. The man, as well, was visibly playing the logic game. Checking what was in the room, testing out his body and indeed he felt slight shift in his mental demeanour as he obviously put up a mental barrier. He checked his chrono on his wrist. “Ah, you’re awake. Well from the local time I feel as if I should bid you a good morning. However I presume you are still on Coruscanti time on which case I am afraid I cannot bid you the proper greeting. I am Guide, there is nothing else you should call me or think of calling me for it is the only name of mine that still exists today, who might you be?”

Strago was surprised at how friendly the man seemed to be, unsure of if it was simply how he was, or some kind of trick, but deciding to act as if it was the former, not wanting to create any conflict if it could be avoided, but keeping in mind not to trust the Sith too easily, if at all, “I’ve been asleep a little while, so morning fits.” Strago said, hoping to keep the mood lighter, “As for who I am, my name is Strago. You likely know enough of the rest.” He said, knowing there wasn’t much point to talking about being a Jedi, or any of that like he occasionally would when certain people asked him who he was.

“Well, I know that you’re a Jedi and were skilled enough to be taken prisoner in the siege but not skilled enough to be exceedingly dangerous. You are also a cut above the rest of the other, prisoners-” He had to avoid using the word specimen. “-On the ship in the fact that you are at least somewhat compatible with the Sith geno. Anyway, let us pass these formalities shall we? You no doubt hate me being your evil captor and such or even fear me. Know this, you need only fear torture on two conditions. If you try to withhold important information from me, I won’t be asking you for all your Jidai Secrets that isn’t exactly my department. Pain will also be the punishment for not doing something I order you to do or for doing something I order you not to do. It is a simple system really.” He opened his heavy coat that was over his robes slightly, taking out what was obviously a lightsaber hilt. “The best thing about training Lightsabers, is they cannot kill. They cannot decapitate, cut through doors and can only inflict enough pain to teach younglings their lessons. In the Sith Empire many see these as little but toys and real weapons are sometimes used especially in certain families wasting useful limbs and reducing the potential of many a Sith or Jen’jidai. However I keep one for these situations.” He tossed the weapon over to the prisoner. “Do not fret, you will not be fighting me, and is merely a test if you will. Non fatal.”

Strago listened to the man as he spoke, taking in all the words, obviously understanding the situation. There was a lot he could say, though he wondered if there was much point for a lot of it. He caught the lightsaber as it was thrown to him, not turning it on yet, feeling reluctant to do so, not sure what the Sith had planned. However, he made sure to get used to how it felt in his hands, looking at it just to see if there was anything on it to take a mental note of, but deciding there wasn’t, “I won’t pretend that I’ll follow all your orders without a doubt, but I am aware that there will be consequences for that.” He said, wanting to make it clear, and remaining quite calm in many ways, but also alert, and ready.

“If you were willing to take the orders of a Sith willingly you wouldn’t be a very good Jidai now would you? So no I do not expect you to go without doubts or try and refuse me now and then. I just want to ensure that you realize that in these situations pain will be your reward.” He pressed a button on his wrist and several seconds later the door opened making it seem as if the button was what opened the door, to see if the Jedi would attempt to take it however that was not the purpose of the test. A War Droid MKI walked into the room, its weapons currently deactivated. The door instantly closed behind the droid. “I hope you have strength to defend yourself, I would be disappointed if you could not hold off a mere droid.” The droid was programmed to begin firing as soon as the lightsaber was lit.

Strago continued to look at the man as he spoke, obviously not surprised at all by the response. He then pressed something on his wrist, and a door began to open, a droid coming out. Strago just watched it, staying at a distance for now, but not moving farther away either, knowing he would need to get in close if it attacked him.

It wasn’t often that Strago had been in a situation like this with a droid. It wasn’t a living creature, which made him less reluctant to do something, but he was also not used to being the aggressor, even after being forced to earlier on in his attempt to escape. After a moment more, a thought occurred to him, a slight curiosity making him decide to follow the decision, “Do you speak, droid?” He asked, assuming it probably didn’t, but wanting to be sure. For a reason he didn’t know, it hadn’t attacked him yet, and he felt the need to give it some respect because of that. He also didn’t like the idea of yet another Sith learning how he fought if it could be avoided.
Guide smirked, the man was still a man of faith to the Jedi order and did not become the aggressor, even confused about the droids reluctance to attack asked it if it could talk. Guide simply nodded his head slightly and the droid raised its weapons arm and the lasers could be heard charging, however it instead fired a concussion grenade, the only warning that it had fired a grenade was a small -thut- as the grenade launched out the tube towards the Jedi. Of course Guide could and would save the Jedis life if he had to, solely for the fact that the Jedi was of more use to him alive than dead.

Strago watched as the droid began to react after Guide’s nod, hearing the weapons charging, quickly followed by a slight sound. Instinctively, he turned on the lightsaber, and jumped toward the side, using the Force slightly push it even further away from him, mostly upward, then quickly facing the droid with his lightsaber in front of him in his usual defensive stance. It began to fire at him now, and he deflected several of the shots, making sure to occasionally send one right back to the droid before jumping forward, and slightly to the side, quickly slicing the droid two, then another time at its arm with the gun, wanting to detach it from its body just in case before moving back slightly in case there was some kind of trap, or explosive of some sort on it.

Guide pressed the button on his wrist again and two guards came into pull away the remnants of the droid. It appeared that while this Jedis record indicated he was the most common at escaping that he was a bit more calculated in planning it. He was admittedly disappointed that the Jedi did not bat a single bolt at him in trial however these things happened. Now, for the next part. He held out his right hand. “I will be having the training sabre back now Strago. You won’t be needing it again.”

Strago held the lightsaber in front of him toward the guards as they took the droid away, taking in as much information as he could from them, and the direction they went in. It was almost tempting to try to escape again, but Strago still had no idea what this Sith was capable of, and also knew he wasn’t in the best shape, which wouldn’t help the situation at all. The thought of it also reminded him to begin healing himself slightly now, wanting to be stronger for whatever might come next.

He looked over at Guide as he asked for the lightsaber back, and turned it off quickly, but continued to hold it in his hand firmly for a few seconds, looking over the older Sith quickly, almost turning the lightsaber around the other way out of habit, but deciding against it, not wanting to open himself up to any tricks. He kept the part where the blade would come out face toward Guide, but rather than throwing it, he moved his grip lower on it to give Guide room to grip it, walking toward him slowly, knowing that moving close to a Sith was a risk, but feeling like it might be worth it to see what he would do.

Guide took the lightsaber, before placing it back behind his jacket, whenever Guide went into his jacket both his sabre and the training saber were visible. “Very good Strago, you’re learning your place and not even attempting to escape. That is very good, the better you behave the better you are treated. Though do not think that this means we will be lax in your security at any rate. You will still live in your cell and still do as we command, you will just face far less punishment and be treated slightly better, fed better and left to rest for far longer between these little sessions, do you understand me, if so I shall be taking a sample of blood.” He moved his arm inside his jacket to remove a needle while Strago answered him.

“And if I don’t understand I don’t have to get my blood taken?” He asked, intending it more as a joke than anything else, but not liking the idea of another needle in him either, not sure if it would really just be a blood sample, or not, though for the moment he seemed to be telling the truth. Strago didn’t move at all for the moment to try make it easier, but knew it would likely be wise to if Guide asked him to do so, trying to judge what the best decision was at the moment.

Guide removed the needle and jabbed it into the mans arm as it drew blood, filling a small vial. “Very good, I just need to perform some tests. I don’t want any other Sith to off been poisoning you, not to mention I have never tested the drugs I used on you on humans before. It shall make an interesting read for me. However let us not bore you to death with these details. Now I shall have some questions-” He raised the vial up to the light focusing on the vial. “Now, I do have a question. Were your parents Force Users? It often helps strong Force Users when their parents were powerful wielders.”

Strago looked at the needle as it took blood from him, not seeing anything suspicious about it, but still remaining skeptical as he continued to listen to Guide speak, “I don’t believe either of them were.” He replied, feeling it was likely best to give a short reply for the moment, being honest about it as well.

“Strange how the Force always tries to restore the Balance, the Sith are too few so it allows new breeds to use the Force in strength. While the Sith and the Jedi may never find balance in the Force it itself shall always restore it, I do not even seek it and while the Jedi claim they do this is a lie. We are two sides of the same Coin and together we create it. Thankfully I do not claim to strive for balance. However, this is all I require of you for now.” Without warning Guide came crashing down on Stragos mind, assaulting it and binding it, separating his conscious thought from his body. It was more of a challenge to do so on a Jedi especially one who was awake however he still had the advantage in being a more powerful Force User and his opponent being weak. While he was now in control of the mans body, Stagos mind remained free. “Let us simply call this a demonstration.”

He walked out of the room, followed by his Jedi Prisoner. It would be torture for him he was sure, he was essentially free but could not run, could not speak or shout. He could will his body to act all he wanted but it wouldn’t work. They soon came back to his cell where Guide released control over Strago while at the other side of the Forcefield, the guard bowed at Guide with a hurried apology before leaving. “I shall speak to you again. If any Sith attempts to drug you other than Darth Nyiss, send them to me.” He then simply turned and walked away.

Strago listened to Guide as he spoke, agreeing with him more than he expected to with a Sith. He had been far more used to Sith who viewed the Force as a tool than in that way. Very quickly after Guide had finished speaking, Strago felt something manage to go through his mental barrier surprisingly quickly. His body then began to move without him wanting to. He had never felt this before, and was very confused at first, doing his best to start moving it on his own, but quickly realising he couldn’t, and that Guide was doing this. He wanted to speak, but he couldn’t at all, which caused him to feel much more frustrated than he normally did. He did what he could to try to resist Guide, using as much of the Force as he could muster, but failing to do so as they moved back toward the cells.

Once they finally got to the cell block, he could finally move on his own again, and just stared at Guide quite coldly, looking at the doors after he left. The feeling of someone else controlling his body was far worse than all the pain he had felt from the other Sith who tortured, and fought him. It took him another moment of staring before he finally turned back, and headed toward his cell to lay down on his bed, quickly beginning to meditate, healing himself as much as he could, but also reaching to the Force, hoping to find some sort of guidance from it.

Navi

Time: 78:45:16 (3 days, 6 hours, 45 minutes, and 16…seconds)

Navi was nervous. It was very nervous as it hung there, suspended just a few feet over the floor by a thick cable. Currently it was jacked into the Maintenance console port and hacked through the first, minor, firewall while its eyes cautiously peered around for the door’s familiar hiss that would once more force it into the nearest dark corner. Minutes seemed to tick by, twisted into hours which allowed the bot to reflect upon how it had, of all places, come here. And into this unavoidable predicament that put it in a risky position.

When things had finally settled down within the hanger, Deck 01 as it later learned, the little bot had finally gathered enough courage to venture out of its small hiding space onto the floor. It swayed and wove though variety of crate sizes on its way towards a better spot and hopeful a more productive one. Only a few eyes noted its movements, mostly labor droids as their hollow and vacant eyes made a passed glance before once more they returned to their work. At the sight, Navi couldn’t help but feel an electrical impulse which caused it to shiver mentally. No matter how often it saw a mandatory memory wiped droid, Empire or Republican, it gave Navi what was best described as the creeps. Hastily it put on speed before it disappeared into the nearest vent entrance capable of supporting its size.

From Deck level 01, Navi wandered, carefully, up to the next deck. Some of the vent systems interconnected yet not all. Much of the vent systems had been dead ends, too dangerous, or too tight to squeeze in without a tool to make it larger. For the most part, Navi had spent several hours wandering the connections between the levels where it either got lost completely or made progress. At what Navi would later learn was the Storage Level, all its vents were independent from the next level which frustrated the droid and forced it to change tactics. Navi quietly scaled the roof where it stayed there, scrambling towards the first isolated console which happened to be a fair ways from its location. Once more the droid lowered itself and pushed in its jack, rotated it, and hacked beyond the firewalls set in place. The procedure took minutes as it reached the first data collection. Sadly there was little useful data to be gleaned from it. No information about any high level prisoners onboard, any registry of holding cells or clues that any Jedi, Xid included, was even on the ship. For a disturbing moment the droid had considered that maybe its master wasn’t on the Hâsk. Immediately it shook the notion away and decided to gather more Intel about the levels to start with.

It first noticed something… odd after hacking several other consoles, slowly pieced the Hâsk’s size and level ratio.

At first look, most droids wouldn’t have paid it any mind but Navi was not the average droid. Something about the information rubbed its metal shell wrong as it rescanned the Hâsk dimensions then ran right back through the level listings, finally to take note of the oddity: There should’ve been more levels. Unless the ship’s middle was hollow, then there should’ve been more listed levels for a ship of this volume. However when Navi attempted to access farther details, it seemed some of the data had been deleted and any fragmented data was heavily guarded under security. Getting pass it would take too much time, Navi decided, when it thought to take another action course. This time it headed back to the Maintenance Deck. Though droids strictly set for maintenance never left the area, there was also human staff which both received and logged system repairs. It was mainly to prevent too many staff from working upon the same projects at one time throughout the ship. At least… Navi had hoped.

The doors made a loud hiss when they came open causing Navi to swivel its eyes in that direction. Instantly it released its cable, soundlessly its six legs dropped to the floor and scrambled under a tight crawl space. It had glimpsed an Empire maintenance worker walk in just moments after its run for cover! Navi couldn’t confirm if it had been spotted and wasn’t about to risk revealing its position if hadn’t. It noticed the woman had stared right at the console it had hid under, her eyes narrowed and focused hard upon it. Finally, after a few seconds, her boots started towards it. In dread the bot froze in wait, the worker drew closer and closer with each step. Then she stopped but never lowered her body to look underneath. Her fingers made loud clicks upon the terminal’s key panel, and seemingly sought something on the display screen. Slowly the little droid retreated farther into its hiding spot, a faint hope to stay out of sight yet it was stopped…by something warm and alive. Navi’s eyes quickly came backwards to identify it.

It was a creature and a nasty looking one!

Some faint traits identified it as once being a female Scurrier, an omnivorous creature found in many different places according to the Jedi archives, but obvious there was something very wrong with it. Her skin took on a pale, sickly yellow and had several seeping warts giving her a rough texture. The eyes glowed bright red and glared at the bot before her, the slightly flat mouth pulled back to reveal several needlelike teeth in a hiss. The slightly larger body was squeezed into the space while she raised a small clawed paw threateningly. In a flash it attacked! Strong back legs kicked off the wall and the Scurrier launched herself at the droid, her teeth ready. Navi’s legs hopped to the side causing the creature to miss. The little bot spun around, its eyes upon the little she’s devil’s movements, as the Sith spawn moved for a second attempt. It wasn’t going to happen. With a slight click and buzz, its laser was out and aimed at her, threating. The Sith Scurier seemed unfazed by the contraption that was pulled on her. Her body drew closer and teeth clamped down upon Navi’s leg right at the joint. Hastily Navi pulled back to pry her from it. Instead the creature’s grip tightened, its maul started to pull the leg from its body joint with surprising strength! The droid gave a whirling sound equivalent to a human scream and finally let the beam loose at the creature’s eye. At the burnt sensation within her eyes, the Sith spawn yelped then jerked passed the bot to vanish into a nearby hole. In her wake was the smell of cooked flesh.

Navi stared after the hole in which the Scurrier had vanished. Satisfied that the Sith spawn wouldn’t return right away, its eyes swayed to view the damaged caused. It tested the leg, gingerly, able to view the wiring that peered out of the dislocated limb. Despite the look, the damaged was mendable. But it would take hours, unlike when Xid did it, for Navi to complete the needed repairs. In addition it would need to salvage and reformat any needed materials for the patch job. Clearly annoyed by the growing list, the bot slicked and buzzed its sour mood while it vanished in the Scurrier’s wake to retrieve the items. Its laser held at the ready the whole time…