[IC] You never see it coming[Freedomliveson/The Elvenqueen]

[freedomliveson]

The Sith snorted a derisive laugh, his crimson tendrils shaking in prideful snark.
"Alas, acolyte, I see the fruit that has been born within you. Untamed anger and passion lead to nothing but destruction. Our planet is a monument to our failures, but soon, very soon, we will ensure that balance is restored to the galaxy." Yerbol's brow arched at the Jedi-esque manner in which the Sith spoke, asking:
"You believe in restriction of passion? Of balance?"
"Those are key tenets of what we purport, but of course circumstances dictate how we use our self-imposed restrictions. Everything must be judged on context and perception rather than moral rigidity." He blew out a sigh, shifting his weight onto his right leg.
"But enough of such philosophical meanderings. You have come this far and you are ready to be initiated as True Sith...that is, of course, you want to be. Because if your heart does not conform to our teachings, then I will be forced to serve as your executioner." He quietly bored his gaze into Yerbol, the young Knight feeling shivers creep down his legs and arms. The same frosty gaze was directed at Aria for a few moments before he shook his head.
"You have passed the physical trials, but your hearts are far from where they must be. Allow me to reorient them." With a sudden crackle, the Sith ignited his saber, twirling it in his right hand before jumping to the center of the tower, his reddish-orange weapon glowing with anticipation.
"Fight! Fight with every ounce of anger, of serenity you can muster!" With the exhortation, he flung bolts of energy at the duo, Yerbol rolling to his left before activating his saber and blocking the last of the barrage. The Knight soared several feet into the air and devoted himself to a powerful slash aimed at the Sith's right shoulder. As Yerbol landed, he channeled just enough energy to summon a gust of energy that accompanied his feet striking the marble. Even though the Sith was quick to block the blow, the burst of power from Yerbol's landing drove him backwards within inches of the wall. The Jedi threw his left hand forward in a vain attempt to throw the Sith further onto his heels, but was instead pushed back himself as the Sith chuckled, motioning with his left hand and throwing the Force energies back in Yerbol's direction. Staggered, the Knight called out to Aria:
"We're gonna do this your way! Let's take him down hard and fast!"

[The Elvenqueen]

Aria shifted her weight in an almost impatient manner while Yerbol and the Sith exchanged words, snapping abruptly back to attention as the red skinned alien made, what sounded to her, very much like a threat to their existence. Their gazes locked again for a fraction of a second, and a shudder rippled down the acolyte's spine. Growling softly, Aria snatched her lightsabers from their holsters at her belt scarcely in time to block the first onslaught of electricity he directed towards them. The majority of the energy bolts bounced off the bright red blades as they hummed to life, a few stray forks of the energy fizzling past her to connect with a point on the pillar above her head.
She ignored the shower of debris that followed behind her, keeping her attention focused ahead of them as Yerbol went toe-to-toe with the True Sith. Despite the Knight's best attempts to catch him off guard, it seemed that the alien was a far more experienced duelist than either of them. A simple shift of his weight onto the other foot and a nonchalent flick of his wrist was all it took for him to shove the pair back towards the staircase and regain his own footing.

Aria grabbed hold of Yerbol's forearm as the Jedi staggered backwards towards her, both pulling him to a halt and using him as a solid anchor to steady herself so neither of them would be sent tumbling back down to the foot of the stairway. The acolyte nodded her head in acknowledgement, eyes narrowed in determination. "Keep moving, don't let your feet touch the ground for more than a few seconds." she hissed under her breath, hoping that despite his more muscular frame Yerbol would be well-versed enough in Force acrobatics to accomplish such maneuvers. "He can't hit us if he can't be sure where we'll be from one moment to the next!"
She rocked back onto her heels, glancing across at Yerbol again, she added quickly. "And for Force sake, whatever you do, don't trip." a simple loss of balance on a landing or take off would be all it would take to tip the advantage back to the Sith alien; giving him enough time to grab an ankle or another appendage and then it would all be over. With little more time to spare, he could stop smirking at them and launch another energy attack or worse at any moment, she darted towards the crimson man, throwing one saber ahead of her in the hopes of catching him off guard either with the weapon that flew through the air or the blade still held firmly in her leading hand. With Yerbol close behind her, one of them was bound to land a blow one way or another.

Using Force speed to augment her own momentum and give herself more lift, Aria didn't wait for any tell-tale shout or resistance against the energy beams that would indicate a successful impact, sailing almost immediately over the Sith man's head to land behind him instead. This would leave an opening for Yerbol to take her place directly in front of him while Aria twisted to aim for his vitals from behind. The strategy had the desired effect, the Sith tutor clearly not expecting the duo to be able to work together quite so cohesively at such short notice. Despite an instance where his lightsaber barely skimmed the top of her head, she landed a solid blow to the alien's torso which then unbalanced him enough to give Yerbol the opportunity to slice through his jugular before the man had realised what was happening.
"Shit...that was a close one!" Aria snorted with laughter, dropping onto her knees as the projection disintegrated before them with one last cry of despair. "Guess we didn't pass, then?" it seemed ironic for them to have come all this way just to be refused at the last stage of the trial. Not that there was anything they could do about that now. No, they needed to worry about what would come next. Was there other information in this temple about the True Sith's plans that they could uncover with some careful exploration?

[freedomliveson]

Their combined effort to take down the Sith was so smooth, so effortless that even Yerbol couldn't help but laugh along with Aria when she sunk to her knees, the projection uttering a last shout of pain before disintegrating. There wasn't very much they had to communicate; instead, it almost felt like their minds were totally in sync, their movements complimenting each other with precision. A bond like this to form so quickly...no, it wasn't that. There was no bond. It was probably just a miraculous effort on both their parts to channel the Force at the same time. This was a powerful source of Force energies, so it wasn't too much of a surprise, but still...

Aria's quip about not passing brought his attention back to their current situation. He nodded slightly, looking up the snaking staircase.
"Although...maybe we were supposed to destroy the projection. Maybe the whole point of the test was to overcome the guide that was given us." Yerbol strained his senses to feel for anything irregular in the environment, eyes closing for a few moments. When they opened, he shook his head.
"Can't feel anything different. Maybe we just climb to the top of the tower and see what's stored up there. Here's hoping it's not another malicious projection out to destroy us." He extended a hand to his companion, helping her to her feet as words tumbled out of his mouth that he wish he could've taken back:
"Did you feel the initial forming of a bond between us?" He swore right after the words came out before quickly supplementing the thought:
"The way we fought just now. It was so blasted effortless and that has NEVER happened to me before. I mean, I've fought with others in the training room and on battlefields, but I've never had something that fluid come over me before. I've heard about bonds forming between two Force users that can be forged in stressful situations and..." He rubbed the back of his neck nervously.
"Point is, something was different about that fight. I wanted to know if you felt the same way." Yerbol then walked to the base of the staircase and began the ascent, hoping that the action of climbing stairs could negate some of the potential awkwardness he had caused by asking...or the potential difficulties that could come from her confirmation. After all, they had ONLY been together for a short period of time, including their fight on Korriban and subsequent flight to Taris. She had murdered his sister and almost succeeded in killing him as well. Could a bond truly form between such opposites?

Although the duo were occupied in conversation, Yerbol could sense something shift as they climbed the staircase. A soft grating, then a quick whir...then silence again. They would have to address that after their discussion.

[The Elvenqueen]

Aria frowned at Yerbol as he started asking something about a bond forming between them, but took his hand and let him pull her back to her feet regardless. Now that he mentioned it, when they had fought she could have sworn that she felt a strange kind of shift in the Force; and suddenly it seemed so much easier to work alongside him, like she could predict his intended movements and adjust her own in kind to mirror or compliment them. At first she had chalked it up to adrenaline and her nerves messing with her, but now Yerbol appeared to be telling her that he had felt it, too, so perhaps it HADN'T been her imagination after all?

She trailed up the winding staircase after the Knight, maintaining a white-knuckled grip on her lightsabers as they ascended. "Something was definitely different." she admitted at length so as not to leave him hanging, but her thoughts were still racing and she found it hard to organise them in any way. "I thought I was losing my mind, if I'm honest." a short laugh escaped her and she shook her head, finally meeting his gaze again despite the tense atmosphere that hovered between them since the fight had ended. "I'm glad it's not just me, but....what does it mean?" she wasn't sure if Yerbol could provide such an answer, or whether she wanted to hear it for fear of the implications it would place on them.
"I mean, what little I do know about Force bonds would suggest that it might have...though they usually form between Master and Padawan, and rarely between others. I mean R-Revan and Bastila shared one but....you and I?" Aria didn't know much, but she had glanced over a few old texts a while ago, her father had been interested in studying Force bonds and she'd sat in on one of his research sessions in the hopes of learning something useful. Not that she'd needed any of it, until now apparently. "That's insane...we're not even supposed to BE a team, we're enemies, for Force sake!"

Aria shook her head as if it would do anything to shake away this new discovery, but it did nothing to get rid of this new presence in the Force that she could feel, like an invisible anchor tethering her and Yerbol together, whether they wanted it or not it would seem the Force had joined them together. The acolyte growled angrily under her breath. This was bad. If they hadn't been in big trouble already by being sent all the way out here into Wild Space to do a Jedi Master's job, they were SO dead now.
"Shit, my father's going to KILL me when he finds out." she couldn't imagine Yerbol's Masters in the Council being all too thrilled at the thoguht of him being tethered to a Sith acolyte, either.
Aria paused as they neared the top of the stairway, tilting her head to the side as if she had heard the noise as well, and frowned. In their concern over the possibility of a bond forming between them they had almost forgotten where they were or what it was they were supposed to be doing.

"I don't suppose now is the best time to be talking about this, is it?"

[freedomliveson]

Revan and Bastila, that's right! They had been enemies beforehand, engaged in an actual life or death duel and then somehow managed to forge a Force bond that even current Masters are perplexed at. He hadn't mustered the courage to ask Master Satele about her great grandmothers force bond with one of the most enigmatic figure in all of galactic history, so he had resorted to reading about it in various texts that all ended with similar strains of "Till this day, no one has ever been able to replicate the strength nor the depth of a Force bond, let alone actually creating one."

Aria's father would be the least of HIS worries. The Masters would more than likely demand that the duo be separated, then Yerbol would be forced to meditate for days on end to "purge" himself from the "taint" he had received by spending time with such a malicious human. He chuckled inwardly at how stale and stiff he made the Masters out to be, knowing that they weren't ALL like that.

Most of the time.

Her question brought him back to reality, nodding.
"You're right. Gotta keep moving and get off this rock alive...and I also assume you heard what I did?" The Knight looked up, spotting the platform they had made their original destination. Instead of there being a sealed door, however, was an open doorway with light drifting lazily on the other side. Upon walking past the threshold, they found themselves in a large, open aired square shaped room with shelves lining the walls stacked with parchments and old holo disks that seemed to be in some kind of order. To their right, floor to ceiling windows extended from the threshold all the way down to the end of the room, putting on display an expansive valley teeming with verdant grass. Snowy peaks were visible in the distance along with a couple of smoking volcanoes that flanked their non-lava bearing cousins.
"You know, if we weren't on a planet teeming with monsters that could rip us to shreds, I'd say that this is a gorgeous planet." He leaned gently with his left forearm on one of the windows, savoring the rest they had earned.
"It was no wonder the True Sith made this their planet. Beautiful and terrifying all at once. From what we've seen, that's falls right in line with their principals." He turned from the window before taking his dark brown robe off, planting it on the cool marble floor and stretching his arms overhead.
"I suppose..." His arms returned to his sides.
"We've won, haven't we? Makes sense. We overcame every obstacle up here, so now we have to 'study' the ways of the True Sith. We're full fledged disciples now." Walking to a shelf, he took one of the older holodisks off the shelf and turned it over in his hands, snorting a laugh.
"These are ollllld. Looks like first generation self-projecting holo disks. These things probably only hold, what, ten minutes of footage?" He placed one of the ground and pressed the center, a miniature hologram of a man garbed in an elaborately patterned tunic, his eyes focused and hard as he spoke:
"Insertion phase is nearly complete. Some of our newly minted brethren encountered problems. They have been eliminated one way or another. We will need three more on Coruscant." As the holo cut out, Yerbol's brow rose.
"Uh..." He looked to Aria, eyes widening.
"Insertion?"

[The Elvenqueen]

They passed under the archway of the open doored room and were greeted with vast rows of floor-to-ceiling shelves stuffed to the brim with scrolls, holodisks, books and other lore related items. All neatly arranged in some kind of methodical order, Aria was silent for a moment as they drifted towards the center of the square room, taking in the sheer volume of knowledge that this room alone presented the duo with. "Woah...this is...something else." she breathed, turning around to flash a giddy grin at her companion. With no more ravenous beasts hot on their heels, the adrenaline levels that had been rushing through her body were beginning to crash and it was an oddly satisfying sensation. The acolyte couldn't contain the bursts of relieved laughter any longer, savouring the ability to stretch out her cramping muscles properly without having to worry about needing to take off again at a moment's notice.

"Damn straight we karkin won!" she crowed, somewhat of a spring in her step as she accompanied Yerbol to the shelf, a degree of awe shining in her eyes as the pair examined the holodisks set out before them. Scholarly pursuits had never held great appeal to Aria, but despite her lack of interest in pouring over old tomes even she had to admit that the amount of lore the True Sith had collected here was impressive. Yerbol plucked a holodisk from one of the middle sections of the shelf, it had no date to give them any indication of the exact time it had been recorded but the Knight was right about it looking nothing like the modern-day holo's she'd come across.
"Ten minutes? Is that it?" a somewhat exasperated groan left her. "It's going to take us FOREVER to watch all of them if that's the case!" Aria grumbled, throwing her arms out as if it would somehow further reinforce the sheer amount of holodisks in the room they would have to go through to get all the information.

Regardless, this is what his Masters wanted after all, and the Sith Masters would have some interest in whatever they contained as well, so they might as well get started. Aria huffed out another annoyed breath, plopping herself down on the ground beside the holo with her legs crossed, Aria kept her gaze on the projection it emitted when Yerbol activated it. As the projection played on, Aria leaned closer as if she were trying to hear better, and her features gradually creased into a frown. When the holodisk flickered and died down into static and she looked up at Yerbol, she saw he looked just as confused as she felt.
"The hell's that supposed to mean...?!" it was obvious that Yerbol had no more clue as to the answer than Aria did herself, so she quickly shook her head, adding on. "Well, whatever it means, it doesn't sound good!" Stretching up on her hanches, the acolyte plucked another disk off the shelf that looked like it was marked to be the next one in the sequence.

More static fizzled as Aria pressed the button and set the disk down in front of her crossed knees, before it too spat out another projection of a crimson, tentacle-faced alien like the one they had faced before.
It seemed the recording did indeed continue directly on from its predecessor.
"-The final weak links in the chain have been eliminated, successfully planted the remaining three bretheren within this so-called 'Senate' that runs on Coruscant, back up contacts were placed for them on Onderon in the event they should be displaced or become a liability. Deployed an extra two to Tython just in case the Jedi suspect something, infiltration of Korriban has so far been very successful, those who claim to work in our name will discover what it truly means to have your enemies at your mercy...We must wait and bide our time before we strike, let them weaken each other and eventually we will be able to wipe them all out with very little casualties to our own bretheren."

The second holo cut off, Aria leaping back to her feet and wheeling around to stare wide-eyed at Yerbol.
"If I'm hearing this right, it sounds like they've got karkin sleeper agents in every big government in the galaxy! Sounds like they plan on doing some sort of purge, probably of all the Force sensitives, given the trials we just had to complete." she shifted her weight restlessly, teeth sinking into her lower lip. "This is BAD, Yerbol." the adrenaline was rushing back all at once, she felt panic rising and screwed her eyes shut tightly, taking a few deep breaths and focusing on the Force channels until she managed to re-center herself and think logically about what they were going to do with this information. "We have to go back, we have to warn people, they have NO idea what's right on their karkin doorstep!"

[freedomliveson]

The information on both disks would be more than enough evidence to convince anyone with ears that there was a plot involving sleeper Sith agents in known space, but he couldn't believe it. Not yet.
"Let's hold on a minute." Even after Aria had taken a few calming breaths, he could feel waves of nervous energy emanating off of her. An understandable reaction, considering that if all this were true, then the very fabric of their collective society was at risk of being torn apart, including her father.
"These are old holo disks on an abandoned planet in a temple of a dead Order. We can't jump to conclusions. What if this was recorded hundreds of years ago? The Republic and the Empire have been around for almost a thousand years. Maybe there was a Sith incursion and it was dealt with quietly. We both know that our respective governing bodies are VERY good at covering up the truth when they don't want their people discovering things." Yerbol retrieved another holodisk from the same stack.
"Let's play another one, see where it leads." Upon activation, two individuals garbed in robes, one of them looking awfully familiar. She spoke in clipped, harsh sentences, but he recognized her piercing eyes and thin lips almost instantly:
"With insertion complete, we move to manipulation. Tactically, we must deplete them however we can." The man next to her added:
"The Treaty can be easily broken. We will ensure of this." The duo looked at each other with solemnity before returning their gaze forward.
"If all goes well, their weakness will cripple them." The man finished, his projection disappearing. The woman, however, remained.
"Five seven two, take this holodisk with you to these coordinates with the rest. We'll contact you again when we need your services." As the projection flickered out of existence, Yerbol shook his head vehemently, leaning against one of the shelves.
"That was...wow. Ok." He placed his hands behind his head, laughing.
"That was Master Soto, the newest member of the Council. She was initiated a few years ago, right around the time I became a Knight. I can't...she was always so kind. So genteel and to see her..." He made eye contact with his companion.
"You're right. Someone has to know what's going on so we can find the insurgents, wherever they are." A stroke of realization flashed through his mind.
"How many other events have the Sith manipulated? If they were responsible for breaking the Treaty, then the death of the Emperor, the Hutt Cartel's resurgence, whispers of 'growing dissent' between Jedi and Republic forces...if this is true, if ANY of this is true, then this Order wants to destabilize the relationship between Force Wielders and the governments that are over them. Without the Emperor, the Empire would be free from having to obey the Dark Council. Without the Jedi, the Republic could operate without fear of Jedi revolt...Oh man. Ohhhh man." He paced between the shelf and one of the windows, gesturing as he continued:
"But then how WAS there a resurgence of True Sith? We stumbled onto their star map, but that was by accident. It would take years of training, I would assume, to internalize the True Sith's code to want to turn against the Known galaxy. What was the trigger point..." As he turned from the shelf once more, Yerbol spotted dark clouds forming over the mountains, billowing towards them.

They needed to move.

[The Elvenqueen]

Aria could not contain the loud huff of relief that left her as Yerbol agreed to her proposal of returning back to the known parts of the galaxy. There was no telling how long this had been going on, they had to get back as fast as possible and get the warning out. Everyone needed to know what they were up against. It was pretty obvious that these True Sith planned to overthrow the leaders of both sects of Force sensitives as the galaxy knew it, and take their place in the ensuing chaos, there was no denying it.
The question, as Yerbol rightly put it, was: 'how'? The holodisks the information was contained on were so old, they could have been recorded millenia ago, and yet the Knight claimed this Soto woman was a relatively newly introduced Master. Of course, individuals attuned to the Force DID age slower and as a result live longer than their non-sensitive counterparts, but for her to live thousands of years and STILL look as if she was barely out of her twenties just...wasn't possible. Not without some serious Force tricks, the likes of which usually came from the Dark side.

The young Jedi was pacing now, rambling on and on as his own nerves began to show. Aria followed her companion's gaze to rest on the swirling pillar of dark cloud that was drifting ever closer to them. They didn't look like the kind of storm clouds you wanted to be out in the open for when they broke. Giving Yerbol a brisk nod, the acolyte smirked wryly.
"Back to the ship?" there was of course, no arguing with that either. She turned and started to head out, but then thought better of it a second time and stooped to pick up the two holos and stuff them in a pocket first. "Just in case no-one believes us when we tell 'em." she added in case Yerbol threw her a questioning look.

Retracing their steps was impossible after the fight with the projection had destroyed most of the original chamber where they had entered, so they had to follow another set of stairs downwards to come out on the other side of the tower. But they were outside again, at least, and that was a start. She took off at a brisk jog, soon passing the totems that had guided the pair to the temple in the first place. Then it was a relatively simple matter of following their own footprints (which the weather had thankfully not been severe enough to wash away yet) back to the clearing where they had set the shuttle down. "Well..." Aria cleared her throat as they ascended the ship's loading ramp, crossing her arms tightly over her chest. "That was NOTHING like what I was expecting to find out here." Outside, the winds were beginning to pick up and as a precaution she flicked the switch to slam the loading ramp shut before any manner of rain, hail or any other extremes of weather came lashing through the opening.

In her head, she was already running through a multitude of scenarios they might encounter on returning to the Jedi with the news of the True Sith. Would any of them believe the pair, or would they be more concerned with this apparent Force bond that had been forged between them? Would they insist on separating them by any means necessary? And what would happen if they tried? Her father had warned her that severing a Force bond, once created, was virtually impossible and almost always resulted in the death of one or both parties involved. An uncomfortable shiver passed down her spine at the thought.
Yerbol was still quiet, presumably lost in similar thoughts, from what she could feel through the bond. Clearing her throat, Aria peered up at him nervously.
"I've been thinking about what you said before...about how the True Sith could have risen up again and gained the strength to plant these double agents and, well...on Korriban there's a lot of lore that suggests when Revan disappeared a second time, he came out here into Wild Space, to look for the True Sith. The Force kept sending him visions of them, and he had to come out and find them...that projection said it had been a very long time since they had an acolyte come to pass their trials." she was chewing her lip again, probably a nervous habit of hers, "What if...Revan was the last person to pass the True Sith trials? Maybe they turned him and he helped them to plant the agents in power right now?"

It was a long shot, true...but how else could they explain it?

[freedomliveson]

His mind was heavy with thought throughout the whole trek, the young Knight stunned to silence by the monumental weight of what had just been revealed to them. He almost didn't hear the hatch slamming shut or the wind that howled in protest, rain beginning to patter gently on their shuttle. After removing his tunic and sliding into the pilot's chair, he began to make preparations for take-off, the engines firing up right as Aria mentioned something about lore on Korriban. It wasn't until the shuttle lurched into the air and began ascending through the stratosphere that Revan was brought in as a factor.
"The boogeyman of every single Jedi and Sith mystery." He commented sardonically, the Sith home planet now completely left behind.
"You'll forgive me if I'm a little hesitant to believe that. We both know that Revan is almost ALWAYS brought into a discussion about something that can't be explained." The shuttle's engines let out a high pitched whine as they entered hyperspace, Yerbol now rising and joining his companion in the seating area. He plopped down on the singular row to the left and continued:
"But this does match up a lot better with what we know about Revan...or at least, what's been said of him. So much of his legacy is shrouded in hearsay and claims that have proven to be false time and time again." He sat back, the cold metal of the seat comforting him. They were entering known space to a stable entity. They would be fine. Things would get explained, the bad guys would get stopped and everything would go back to normal.

Whatever normal meant.

"Look, since we're throwing out possibilities that could potentially reshape the course of history, we might as well take it a step further. IF Revan somehow was turned to the philosophy of the True Sith, then that would mean he would have had a major influence on how the True Sith operated. After all, he was the one with the most up to date knowledge of the galaxy, had taken Darth Malak down and didn't seem to adhere to the Jedi Code as religiously as the Masters would have wanted him to. Maybe these True Sith we're dealing with are disciples of Revan's 'True Sith', not actual Sith. Maybe that Star map on Korriban, the relics on other planets...maybe that was Revan's way of guiding disciples to his cause. He was a charismatic leader from all reports, plus his reputation..." He trailed off, hand resting on his knee.
"Ok, so maybe it's not as far fetched as I thought." He blew out a sigh, head resting against the inner hull of the ship.
"I tell you what, if we somehow save the galaxy from a menacing external Order, I'm demanding you lose the title of acolyte." He gave her a playful smile as he shifted in his seat, shutting his eyes for a moment.
"I think I'm going to just close my eyes for a min-"

almost complete
Overthrow them
Destroy
Kill
The
Force
Kill
Th-

His eyes snapped open, ears assailed with the wailing of the comm unit. With a bleary gaze, he moved to the pilots seat, slamming his hand down on the receiving button to find a stern Master Satele.
"Master..."
"How close are you to Tython?" Rubbing his eyes, he spotted the chronometer on the panel in front of him.
"A couple of hours at most."
"When you arrive, go to your quarters and do not approach the chambers. We will contact you when we deem appropriate."
"Master, is everything alright?" The communique ended, leaving a very befuddled Yerbol to sink into his chair.
"Kill the Force..." As the words came out of his mouth, a sharp throbbing started at the front of his skull, piercing down his spine, seizing his legs. His teeth grit in agony, attempting to summon the will to stop the-

It was gone, leaving only a gnawing foreboding in the pit of his stomach. Something was going to happen. Something horrible.
"Aria? You feel that, too?"

[The Elvenqueen]

Aria smirked as Yerbol tried to dismiss her theory of Revan, and the cult following he had assembled when the Knight went rogue a second time, being somehow involved in this whole endeavour to re-shape the respective cultures that Force users grouped themselves into; then trailed off mid-protest as he seemed to realise that there was no substance to it and that the theory was entirely plausible.
"In favour of what other title, 'just Aria'?" she quipped back at him, eyebrows raised as she stifled a laugh of her own, "Doesn't sound quite so intimidating, dunno if I could agree to that." The Knight didn't answer her, prompting a frown.

"Yerbol?" she called his name, concern creeping into his voice when his eyes remained closed and he still didn't respond. "YERBOL?!" she tried again, louder, fumbling blindly with the control panel in front of them as the comms started screaming loudly to announce an incoming transmission. Somehow, the shrill blaring of the comm unit managed to cut through the stupor induced by the vision, or whatever the hell it was he was experiencing.
"Hey, wait a minute-!!" Aria began to protest, but before she could so much as get the question out, Master Satele's hologram had vanished with no further explanation of why exactly they were banishing the Knight to his quarters, for how long the restriction would last, or indeed where she was expected to go, or wait, in the meantime.

The pain was so sudden and so intense that even Aria wasn't prepared for the sensation, it was like being sucker-punched in the gut and hit over the head at the same time...and that was just what she could feel through their link. She couldn't imagine the kind of pain Yerbol must have been in.
Kill the Force...Aria wasn't sure if that was even possible, but she didn't like the idea of it, not one bit.
She nodded shakily in response to Yerbol's question, pressing the heels of her hands into her eyelids for a brief moment, she took in a shaky breath and finally managed to force her jaw to move and form words again. "Y-Yeah, what-what WAS that?" she swallowed the lump in her throat, looking across at the Jedi Knight. "Are you alright? I thought you'd passed out for a second there...man, I got a BAD feeling about this."

What had spooked Yerbol's Masters so much that they weren't willing to share with the duo? Did they know what had happened on the planet somehow, including the Force link that now existed between herself and Yerbol?

[freedomliveson]

"I was...I thought I fell asleep." He checked the chronometer once more to find that not more than a few minutes had passed from their initial departure from the planet. It seemed as if their journey had taken much longer to get to the planet than their return...was there an error in the device or was something much stranger going on? He shrugged the feeling off, chalking it up as a side effect to the mystifying, near nightmarish words that pounded through his head just a couple of moments ago.

Well, not just his head. Aria had encountered the same pain and phrases, further emphasizing that a Force bond might have actually manifested itself between the two. Or maybe it was a side effect of spending a prolonged amount of time on a planet teeming with unchecked power. In any case, he agreed with Aria's premonition:
"Something's off. Maybe it'll be good for us to get somewhere quiet and refocus ourselves. I don't think we'd be in very good shape to talk to the Masters." He shook his head in a vain attempt to remove the tingling that shot through his brain.
"Just a couple of hours left. Probably should get some rest."

______________________

It wouldn't happen. It couldn't.

He sat on the edge of his bed, head buried in his hands, the walls of his quarters seeming to close in on him, suffocating any chance of hope. To think that they would leave a galaxy that had relatively known factors and return to such chaos was unfathomable. But he, no THEY, had to evaluate the chain of events with an eye towards the real instigators. It started when they arrived on Tython, greeted by a packed temple filled with Jedi of all ranks buzzing in discussion. The rumors were that the Council was having a heated debate about how to handle the widely broadcasted peace talks between the Republic and Empire. Both sides had publicized it on the holonet very quickly and stressed that these talks might bridge the gap between the two parties. Those who were near the Council Chambers when the announcement came heard fierce yelling coming from within, some of them attempting to check the disturbance out, only to be shoved aside an angry Master Soto, who had entered the chambers with a couple of the other Council members. They had been locked in discussion for almost an hour and any attempts at the Knights trying to restore order were met with apathy, seeing as the Knights assigned to guard the Temple were themselves lost in thought or checking the Holonet on their personal datapads for any updates. The lack of order was strange to see, but understandable. This was the first time any sort of event between the Republic and the Empire occurred without the Jedi involved. A few more minutes of waiting passed before the doors to the Chambers flung open, Master Soto screaming:
"AND THIS IS WHY THE JEDI WILL NEVER HAVE A PLACE IN THE GALAXY!" Jaws hung open along with a few gasps as the young Master surveyed the mass of Jedi, her dark blonde hair waving in defiance as she craned her head around, eyes piercing whoever met her gaze.
"You all deserve better than this." She firmly stated before forging her way through the crowd. Masters Satele and Bakarn emerged with narrowed eyes and scowls, the latter barking:
"All of you to your quarters, now! Knights on duty, punish any who disobey the curfew!" As the Jedi dispersed, Satele's eyes met Yerbol's and Aria's. Without a word, she motioned for the duo to follow her.

They were thrust in the center of the Council, Masters Bakarn, Satele and Braga situated in the three chairs nearest the center of the half-circle pattern the seats were organized in.
"What did you find?" Bakarn asked curtly, prompting the duo to recount their experience on the Sith home planet. The Council's faces remained stoic throughout the entire recollection, even when presented with the holodisks that they found in the archives. When they had completely exhausted their story, Braga was the first to speak:
"This is a deception."
"Explain." Satele retorted.
"How is it that recordings of a massive conspiracy within both Empire and Republic could be so easily obtained? True, what these two experienced must be meditated upon, but we cannot assume that this is nothing more than a red herring."
"A red herring? Master Soto was on one of those recordings. She was the one that lobbied for us to not join the peace talks, she was the one who encouraged us to pull all Jedi representatives from the Senate as a show of 'good faith' in lieu of the recent attacks on troopers."
"This could have been manufactured."
"It falls too easily into place.' Satele mused, pausing a moment before adding:
"For months the three of us have seen how Master Soto can easily exert influence over others. Ever since we appointed her Master, she has been elusive about her methods, but we've allowed it due to the results." She blew out a sigh.
"Even if a portion of these recordings are true, we must consider apprehending Soto and interrogating her for more information." She looked at the two standing in the center of the room.
"Go back to your quarters. We will speak to you again when we have decided a course of action." Yerbol wanted to object, but knew that trying to might actually cause him physical harm, so he simply nodded and left, guiding Aria through a number of winding hallways to his quarters.

Speaking of Aria, it had been about forty five minutes since they had gotten back to his quarters when she had suddenly vanished. He had been checking his datapad when he looked up to find the room vacant.

What kind of trouble was she getting herself into?

[The Elvenqueen]

After they had touched down on Tython again, everything passed by in a blur of accusations, questions, and instructions. For the most part, Aria stood silently beside Yerbol as they were situated in the center of the Council's meeting chamber. After she and Yerbol had collectively recounted the trials they had faced on the Sith home world, she said very little at all, her eyes darting between each of the Masters warily as they each spoke, adding their own viewpoints into the exchange. On a few occasions, her mouth would open as if she wanted to put her own points into the discussion, but whenever Master Satele or another of the Masters would cut in and ask another question, Aria would frown and close her mouth again as though she had thought better of saying anything for the time being.

The acolyte crossed her arms tightly over her chest and, eyebrows still knitted together in a tight frown, leaned to the side to mutter under her breath in Yerbol's direction. "Is it just me or does it sound like they think we're making this whole thing up? I don't like where this is going." despite the fact that Master Satele seemed to share Yerbol and Aria's suspicion of the younger Master Soto, it seemed that the other Jedi on the Council were more reluctant to question Soto's loyalty to the Jedi code of honour. Aria was somewhat surprised when the pair were dismissed to Yerbol's quarters soon after, with so little progress made regarding a course of action. Huffing crossly, Aria marched after Yerbol, letting the young Knight lead her through the labyrinth-like corridors until they finally stopped at what he indicated was the door to his quarters.

Did the Jedi not understand how much danger they were in? That the longer they took to debate the validity of the evidence they had been presented, the more vulnerable they would be? Patience had never been a strong point of Aria's, but she really did try to sit and wait patiently with Yerbol. Before the hour was up, however, Aria found she could no longer stand sitting still. She just had to do something, exactly what, at this point, she wasn't sure...but anything was better than sitting here and being kept in the dark about the lengthy debate the Jedi Masters were currently having. Glancing across at Yerbol, she found his attention was absorbed in reading something from the screen on his datapad, giving the Sith the perfect opportunity to slip away unnoticed. For the briefest of moments, she'd considered asking Yerbol to accompany her, but that idea was quickly dismissed. She wouldn't be gone long....he'd never notice.
Due to the curfew imposed by Master Braga only a little while ago, the hallways were largely deserted meaning she didn't have to explain herself to any unsuspecting Light siders that she might have met on her wanderings. Originally, her intentions began in an attempt to sneak back to the meeting room and try to eavesdrop on the conversation inside, but she soon discovered that the guards from before stood at the door just as vigilant as ever, and any hopes of getting close enough to detect anything with her Force senses without being noticed were dashed. The acolyte grumbled a few unsavoury phrases under her breath, sitting with her back against the wall while she pondered on where else she might be able to 'overhear' something.

Her attention was diverted as she glimpsed Master Soto breezing past the corridor out of the corner of her eye. After taking a split second to look between the door to the Council chambers and the hallway that the suspected True Sith agent had hurried into, the temptation proved too great for Aria to resist and she abandoned her original recon mission in favour of trying to sneak after the other Jedi Master and find out what she was up to. She managed to locate and catch up to Master Soto, shadowing her until she stopped in an otherwise deserted alcove to fish some kind of holocommunicator out of a pocket. It was impossible for Aria to make out any features of the projection, but by risking getting a little closer, she managed to catch a small snippet of the conversation.
"--I didn't expect them to survive the last trials. Do the Jedi suspect anything?" asked an all too familiar voice on the other end of the channel.
"I'm not sure. They're still deciding whether or not it could be a trick." Soto answered, her frown apparent in her voice.
"I see. Keep a watch on them, then. And don't let them leave Tython alive."

Perhaps it shouldn't have surprised Aria to hear Bracknell's voice on the other end of the communicator, given what she now knew about the True Sith's agenda, but nontheless it shook her enough that she didn't realise the call had been cut off until she looked up to find herself practically nose-to-nose with Master Soto.
"Were you following me, Sith?" she asked sharply, her eyes narrowed expectantly. Stifling a yelp of surprise, Aria quickly scrambled backwards, shaking her head as she fumbled for an excuse to cover up her mistake. "U-Uh, no Ma'am! I...er, I needed some air and I thought I would just slip outside a while but I um...got lost."
Soto eyed her from head to toe, Aria dropping her gaze to the floor to avoid the piercing scrutiny in the Jedi Master's gaze. Panicked, she shut her eyes and latched onto the link between herself and Yerbol, hoping that somehow he might pick up on her thoughts that way and come to her rescue.
Help, Yerbol!

[freedomliveson]

He poked his head out of the doorway, the eerie silence hitting him all at once. Never before had he heard or seen the Temple this quiet nor this foreboding. It almost felt like an entirely different place. Yerbol grimaced, his head disappearing back into his quarters as he tried to think of where Aria would have gone. She HAD tried to escape once, so maybe she was attempting to again. Honestly, he wouldn't judge her for the decision. After all they had discovered, wouldn't it be easier to get off world and report back to Lord Bracknell and company? She would stand to gain quite the prestige gain, maybe even be vaulted into full "Sith-ship". Yet, something told him that she hadn't left, something deep inside his...well, to sound horribly cheesy, heart. It was odd, but he just knew she hadn't left. Maybe he was being naive in thinking that an aspiring acolyte that had once tried to kill him after killing his sister would stick around to try and heal the galaxy. He laughed slightly, knowing Aria would reject the notion rather quickly. Healing wasn't the first thing that probably jumped to her mind, yet she did appear to have a bit more depth to her than most Sith, who allowed their lightsaber to do the thinking for them. To think! A Sith that didn't want to kill him the moment they laid eyes on him. He winced when he actually called her a Sith in his mind. The past couple of days had seemed to blur the line between Jedi and Sith between the two of them. She was a fellow Force-user that believed differently from him, but enemies? They started off that way, but he felt that maybe, just maybe they were slowly working past their differences. Maybe-

Help, Yerbol!

I'm coming!

Without a second thought, the young Knight grabbed his saber and stormed out the door, wrapping around a couple of corridors garbed in black shorts and a loose off-white t-shirt which wasn't noticed until he pressed his back against a wall to avoid two senior Knights on patrol near the Council chambers. He cursed silently at his lack of preparation, then cursed again when he realized he didn't know where Aria was. He closed his eyes, breathing deeply. Focus....focus....

There!

He made a right down a hallway, sprinting full speed for a few meters to find a rather irate Master Soto glaring at Aria, who had her head tilted to the ground. The Master's burning gaze shifted to Yerbol, who was now stationary next to Aria.
"Two of you? My, my, our patrols aren't doing a very good job of keeping you in your rooms." Her voice dripped with bitter venom, but a small smile crept onto her face.
"But then again, how could I expect that to happen?" Her smile shrunk.
"These are the two that the Council sent into certain death and came out alive. A simple curfew wouldn't hold you down." How did she...oh right. True Sith and all.
"My apologies, Master, but I wanted to make sure that-"
"That your Sith companion was safe, yes, I understand that. I'd be more cautious if I were either of you. Things are tense. Who knows what could happen to you." The smile broadened, almost filling her small, roundish face.
"Go back to your room. This should all blow over soon."
"Of course, Master, thank you." As Yerbol led Aria back, Master Soto said at a volume just loud enough for the two to hear:
"All will be resolved. All."

"What on earth were you thinking?" Yerbol hissed, the door shutting behind the duo as he placed his saber on a nearby bookshelf.
"You're a member of the Jedi Order's sworn enemy and you plunge right into the heart of it all? You trying to get yourself killed?" He shook his head before adding:
"Sorry. Don't mean to chide. Just glad you're ok and that we now can confirm that there IS a bond between us. A strong one. I mean, I had a bond with Lysa, but it didn't feel THIS strong nor was it any kind of official 'Force bond'. I think it was just because we were siblings." He leaned against the door.
"One thing at a time though. You learn anything while you were out there?"

___________________

Soto stood at the entrance of the Temple, eyes half-closed. Instead of the trademark beige cloak of the Order, she was garbed in jet black pants and a white tunic that shimmered in the moonlight. At the base of the stairs to the temple, a few Jedi stood, looking up at her. The day they had discussed had finally arrived. All they had to do was wait.

[The Elvenqueen]

Aria stumbled over her own feet on more than one occasion as Yerbol guided her back along the corridors to his quarters, abruptly shutting the door once they had passed through it. Aria rocked back on the balls of her feet, grinning sheepishly back at the young Knight as he scolded her carelessness. "I'm sorry, okay!" she huffed in annoyance, crossing her arms over her chest, "I just wanted to know what the hell was going on! Believe it or not, I've got family and a couple friends back on Korriban that I'm REALLY worried about right now!" her expression creased into a scowl. "Besides, we both know Soto's in on it, and she looked like she was up to something!"

Thankfully, Yerbol's anger dissolved pretty quickly and soon he was instead quizzing her about what she had managed to find out. Aria sank her teeth into her lip, blowing out a heavy breath as she met his gaze and blurted out. "It's Bracknell! B-Bracknell's the Korriban agent." it wasn't until then that she realised her hands were shaking. She pressed two fingers to each of her temples, groaning loudly as she tried to fight down the urge to start pacing. "My dad is in BIG trouble...I have to go back." Aria grimaced as she braced herself for the vehement protest. She couldn't imagine Yerbol would be keen on returning to Korriban, especially not to pick up more Sith companions. Even if Yerbol didn't agree to go with her, Aria had already made up her mind. She was getting back to Korriban, by any means necessary, with or without his help.

She spun back around to face the door again as a commotion began outside, exchanging a worried glance with Yerbol.
"Yerbol, we gotta get out of here, while we still can..."

__________________________________________

Shortly after Master Soto had left Yerbol and Aria in the hall, she made her way to the front steps of the Jedi temple, where the disciples she had managed to sway to their cause were beginning to gather. There were fewer than she had originally hoped to gather, but the one-sided views of the Jedi were hard to combat and indeed the day to make their move had come somewhat sooner than any of the True Sith brethren could have anticipated. While unexpected, they were not unprepared and it was still possible that this could come off. They simply had to storm the temple and overwhelm the remaining Council members before they were able to decide to take measures against the takeover. Then of course, there was the matter of making sure Aria and Yerbol didn't escape. The LAST thing they needed was those two little brats getting off-world and undoing all of her hard work by warning members of the Republic and Empire against the True Sith's plot.

Facing the crowd, the young woman raised one hand into the air to quiet the hushed mumbling that had gone up between individuals as they waited for their instructions. Soto cleared her throat once more as the noise died down and then spoke, keeping it short and simple so they could begin sooner rather than later.
"Well, my brothers and sisters, our day of action has arrived sooner than we thought. But we did not expect the lambs to escape the slaughter and alas, as a result of our carelessness our intentions have been revealed prematurely." before any more protests could begin, she kept speaking. "But no matter, we have gathered enough strength and political power that we may still succeed in our goal, the time of waiting is over. We do not advocate unnecessary bloodshed," she reminded her followers, that same broad smile coloring her features, "however, any who cannot be swayed to our viewpoints will have to be...apprehended or disposed of accordingly. I will take a small task force with me to apprehend the two younglings before they manage to slip away again, the rest of you carry out your duties as was previously discussed."

With their directions given, the group advanced onwards into the Temple with Master Soto in the lead.

[freedomliveson]

Yerbol's heart sunk as he heard cries from the hallway, the Force rippling in sync with the chaos. He drew his saber to his right hand before rushing out to the hallway and was greeted by the body of a young apprentice, a neatly cauterized hole in the center of her gut. Up ahead were apprentices and Knights engaged in fighting off what appeared to be fellow members of the Order, but the latter's fighting style was FAR different from the normally conservative approach that was the Jedi hallmark. Their blows were controlled, yes, but aggressive, lightning fast. Parries were made with flourishes and pomp rather than with footwork. Those were the True Sith.

And they were winning.

Shouts of final agony rang through the hallway as two of the formerly sentient Jedi fell to the ground with fatal wounds, their attackers catching sight of Aria and Yerbol, prompting them to set out in a dead sprint. Igniting his saber, Yerbol dodged to his right as one of the True Sith thrust his saber forward, the Knight then slashing diagonally towards the shoulder. The blow was parried and a blur of light nearly connected with Yerbol's neck save for his ducking in the nick of time, allowing Yerbol to deliver a strong blow to the stomach with the blunt end of his hilt. Staggered backwards, he took the opportunity to run the Sith through with his saber, his eyes making contact with the ebbing body of the Sith. Upon close examination, Yerbol realized that he had seen this man before. He had been one of the newer Force sensitives brought in by...well, Soto. The other Sith was the same way, Yerbol throwing aside his own assailant before examining the body of the other that Aria had dispatched.
"Both of them came in with Soto a few years ago along with others that gradually came in. The Order hadn't seen that much growth in a long time from what I understand." His jaw clenched.
"They were here the whole bloody time and we didn't see, the Council didn't see...some protectors they are." Yerbol could feel rage attempting to seethe through his being, making him feel nothing but spite for the Council, for the entire Order. Maybe the True Sith were right in their purge of the galaxy, maybe...

Maybe they didn't have time for a pity party in the middle of anarchy.

He moved forward, planting his back against the edge of a wall and peered down the main corridor that connected the entire dormitory. At the end of the hall were more bodies along with the sounds of battle floating towards them. The Council chambers weren't visible from this angle, but one could assume that most of more intense fighting would be happening there.
"The Masters can hold their own. We can help the younger ones, get them to safety before we try to help the Master..s..." He trailed off, looking to Aria.
"Do we even need to help them?" The Knight shook his head.
"Ignore that question. Let's take this one step at a time." He rounded the corner, leaping over the bodies to find the main foyer engrossed in a mass genocide of Jedi.

The True Sith were eviscerating the Order.

Yerbol's hands shook as he sprinted to the nearest youngling about to have a red-orange blade plunged into her side, slicing the Sith's head cleanly off his neck before motioning to the previous hall.
"Get in your quarters and stay out of sight. We'll be back for you." A brief nod and the girl was off.
"Ari, we need to clear this hall. You up for it?" He shot her a small, teasing smirk.

[The Elvenqueen]

Of course, the commotion out in the hallway was only the beginning. Yerbol darted through the door and right into the fray, it didn't take long for Aria to realise he probably wouldn't agree to just bolting and leaving the rest of the Jedi Order to their fate. That was if they could even get past the True Sith and make it to the hangar, because as soon as they saw the pair emerging from Yerbol's quarters there was a pair of Sith bolting towards them. They were right on top of them before Aria and Yerbol could take more than a few steps, Aria leaping to the side to avoid the red-orange blade as she activated her own lightsabers and prepared to face off against her opponent. The Sith held his own quite well, blocking and parrying the onslaught of blows she directed at him, but as his companion stumbled backwards when Yerbol hit him, it provided the distraction Aria needed to slice through his neck and finish him off.

"Figures, doesn't it?" she scoffed in response to Yerbol's statement. Of course Soto had brought them in. That had been the whole reason for the Sith to introduce their agents into the Order, how of course they had managed to evade detection by both respective Councils was a perfectly legitimate thing to ask. But it wasn't the right time to ponder it, now they had to fight for their lives. Aria's head flipped sideways, peering down the hall as she jogged after Yerbol, they came up to the main foyer together to find that the carnage had not abated, if anything it was much worse.
She only vaguely heard Yerbol muttering about the Jedi Masters as they ran, more focused on trying to differentiate the presences of the True Sith from the innocents, the devoted Jedi and the younglings who followed them, so that they didn't end up cutting down the wrong person out of reflex when they rounded the next corner. Yerbol bolted past her to rescue a young girl, ordering her back down the hallway they had just cleared and turning to face her again.

Dropping down into her most familiar stance, Aria smirked back at him. "Like we have much of a choice even if I wasn't?" her gaze hardened as she swept quickly through the room, identifying the Jedi who were the most overwhealmed by their Sith assailants. Surprisingly, however, she realised that she had no wish to see these Jedi slaughtered for the sake of the True Sith's cause, nor could she have lived with it if they HAD jumped ship in all the chaos and abandoned the Order to its fate. Another glance and a nod of confirmation in Yerbol's direction, before she launched herself across the room to defend another Padawan who had just lost his saber and was about to be eviscerated just like the rest of the bodies now littering the floor. With a hefty shove, Aria sent the Sith stumbling backwards, putting herself between the youngster and his attacker, eyes narrowed.
"Hey! Pick on someone your own size!" she snarled, sabers lifted and ready to deflect another onslought of blows. The Sith chuckled as if amused by the attempted taunt, and leapt forward to lock blades with Aria again. This time she had to block and parry more often than she would have liked, but Aria planeted her feet and refused to let him push her into retreating, matching each of his blows as closely as she could. Perhaps she would have been better off trying to feign fighting like a Jedi, because it was her more aggressive tactics that tipped the True Sith off to who exactly, out of all the other Force users in the room, Aria and Yerbol were.

It all went downhill from there.

She threw the Sith back into the crowd with a burst of Force energy from her palm, turning for only a split second as he recovered to survey the room and see whether they were any better off. The Padawan was nowhere to be seen (she hoped to Force he'd made it out alive), and the number of Jedi left standing was thinning down at an alarming rate; but she could glimpse Yerbol fighting fiercely across the foyer. A flash of movement behind the Kight caught her attention, another Sith creeping up behind him while he was occupied fighting one of their brethren.
"Yerb-!" Aria began to shout out a warning to him, but what she hadn't realised was that her assailant had recovered, and was employing a similar tactic on her. She didn't even manage to get the Knight's full name out before a crippling weight slammed into her chest and she was sent staggering backwards, nearly dropping her sabers in the process. Her back slammed into someone's torso, a strong grip clasping hold of her shoulders and preventing her from rolling away.

There was a sharp sting at the side of her neck and very suddenly her limbs felt heavier, her vision started to blur and trying to focus on breaking free or finish her shout towards Yerbol was like wading through quicksand, very faintly she was aware of a similar sensation of pain from Yerbol's end of their connection....

....then everything went black.

[freedomliveson]

With the number of Jedi in the hall decreasing seemingly by each passing moment, more of the Sith were focusing their efforts on Yerbol and Aria, which was making the young Knight extremely vulnerable to what would come in a matter of moments. He had heard Aria's cry, felt her concern and looked in her direction to find her upper half in the arms of one of the Sith, her body growing limp, her presence growing dimmer.
"NO! ARI, HOLD O-" Two of the Sith exerted a crushing pressure on his limbs, Yerbol's mouth open in a scream of agony as he too felt a burning sensation in his neck, then...then things got so easy and simple. It was getting dark. Time for rest. Finally. Rest. Re-

As both the targets were subdued, a Sith emerged from the Council chambers, blood dripping off of her hands and robe.
"We leave now! Get them to the meeting coordinates! Master Soto and I will meet you there!" Compliant, the taskforce of Sith left through the Temple's main entrance before the blood stained warrior returned to the shouting match that served as the interlude between battles. Bakarn lay on the ground, blood oozing from a wound on his left leg, the other two Masters on the left hand side of the chambers forming a protective barrier around their fallen comrade. Master Soto and her companion stood on the opposite end, the latter casually brushing a stray lock of ebony colored hair away from her face just as Satele had spewed:
"The True Sith have been deceivers from the beginning, Elenda! Please, think about your actions!"
"You're right. Deceit is one of the largest tools one can use to exploit the weaknesses of the enemy, which in your case is complacency."
"Don't forget utter incompetency." The younger Sith piped up, a smirk creasing her features.
"This plan you have...it will tear the entire civilized galaxy apart. Is that what you want? Anarchy? Chaos?"
"Through chaos, there is determination. Through determination, strength." Elenda pointed her silverish red saber at the remaining council members.
"You wouldn't understand. Nor do the imposters who proclaim themselves to be Sith. We will unravel what you have clumsily put together and ensure that true Order is established."
"That will never happen." Satele's eyes narrowed as she leaped across the room, angling a strike towards Soto's neck.

Their sabers clashed, filtering through the chamber doors, interrupting the absolute stillness that dominated the Temple. Nothing moved. Nothing spoke.
___________

Something hard was underneath his head.

He groaned, shifting his head and frowning. Yep, still hard.

Grumbling, his eyes opened to find a beige colored ceiling above him that was very, very high up. When he craned his head to the right, he spotted a small passenger shuttle with its bay door open, two figures(presumably Sith) standing on the threshold discussing some topic Yerbol couldn't quite make out. Further past the ship was the massive exit, it's normal purplish energy barricade lowered completely. They had managed to infiltrate every part of the planet, hadn't they? He cursed inwardly, looking left to find Aria's back to his, although there were no restraints on her. He fiddled his hands, moving them slowly. No restraints either? They must have had supreme confidence in the sedative they had given them or thought they had enough numbers to swarm the duo in case they awoke before being transported to who knows where.

Not wanting to act rashly, the Knight closed his eyes, feeling the ever growing presence of Aria in his mind and tapping into it. He focused for a few moments before he mentally called out to her:

Ari? Can you hear me? Don't move a muscle if you can, just try to speak back to me using this...method.

[The Elvenqueen]

When she was able to open her eyes again, Aria wasn't sure exactly where she was or what had happened since the Sith had overwhealmed her. She had no concept of where the wall ended and the ceiling started, it seemed so much higher than the main chamber, almost as if it never ended. For a brief moment, she wondered if she was dead...then the muscles in her neck seized up into a spasm that told her otherwise. Hearing Yerbol groan behind her, she realised they were sitting side by side. Wincing, she tried to lift a hand to the source of the pain in her neck; but found that her arms didn't seem to be responding particularly well to instructions, and when they did it felt like they were weighted down with lead and they hardly moved at all save for a somewhat pathetic twitch.

Perhaps that was just as well, as the two Sith sitting in the passanger shuttle's loading door turned around sharply to check on their charges. Burning gazes swept over the two for a brief moment, then they returned to their previous conversation as a presence gingerly found its way into her mind. Aria recognised it as Yerbol's before he spoke, her features knitting into a frown as she concentrated on trying to form words through the fog that swaddled every recess of her brain.
....The hell just happened? she growled a soft curse, taking a moment to recall the struggle against the group of True Sith and the moment of stinging pain before the confusion had started. Ugh...they stuck me with something, I can hardly think straight. They get you too?
The bright lights beating down on them from the roof of the shuttle hurt her eyes and she screwed them shut tightly to try and block it out. Clothing swished and footsteps thudded past them, fading into silence only to be replaced by the roar of ion engines as the small craft started up and presumably shot out of the Jedi temple's hangar bay. Looks like the Jedi had lost this battle despite their best efforts to put up a good fight.

Where do you suppose they're taking us? a pause, then, accompanied by a sarcastic snort, Da da da, we're so karkin' dead. after all, Aria and Yerbol had nearly exposed the true Sith Order's scheme, they had turned their backs on the opportunity despite profuse warnings from the apparition at the end of the trials, and forced them into enacting their plot sooner than they might have liked. She doubted they would go through so much trouble to sedate them and dampen their ability to function if they wanted to have a friendly chat.

[freedomliveson]

Fairly certain they'll dump our bodies out the nearest garbage shaft once they have the chance.

Yerbol tried moving his right leg, which didn't comply right away except for his foot, which could be rotated ever so slightly to the left. So the sedative WAS powerful. He hoped that they had given him a dose that was for the "average" man so he could shake off the effects sooner(it paid off to be as big as he was) and get back to the Temple. Of course, that was assuming they were at the port of entrance for the planet. He didn't know of any other hangars in the Temple minus the one on the second floor near the Council chambers, so they were more than likely being stowed away for transport. But then why would the Sith who were so cautiously watching them previously bolt on that shuttle? Maybe they were scouts that Soto was sending out for some operation that needed their immediate attention...but wouldn't this be a key cog in the operation?

Yerbol could feel blood rushing down his right leg, his foot regaining full movement, bringing his mind back to their current predicament. Somehow, someway they needed to get rid of the effects of the sedative.

Think you can come up with a way to get rid of this so we can, you know, move?

His ears then picked up on shouting coming from the left side, Yerbol spying a black-haired Sith coming their way, her gait hurried and strident. As she approached, she turned her head and shouted back:
"Leave them behind! You heard what Master Soto said!" She glared down at the two Jedi, eyeing both of them before maliciously smirking.
"I can't wait to see what you two can do when you're not so dull." Another Sith came behind Aria and picked her upper half up just as another shuttle zoomed into the hangar before parking itself near the incapacitated Jedi, the shuttle door clanging onto the ground as another Sith ran from the ship and attempted to lift Yerbol off the floor, grunting in effort as he dropped the Knight, cursing. The black-haired one shook her head as she lifted her right hand, Yerbol's reviving body lifting in the air. If he could just snap out of this...

A few moments later they were lying in the shuttle, the black-haired Sith issuing orders:
"You two go back towards the Chamber of Secrets. We have a few stragglers left that need to be taken care of while the others help Master Soto take the Chambers."
"Of course." It was then that the Sith with the raven hair stormed onto the ship, the door clanging into place. Yerbol grit his teeth, leg regaining feeling. Almost there...

Hey, I have an idea. Maybe if we use our bond, exploit the energies we're sharing between us to break free of whatever is flowing through our bodies. Worth a shot, right?

[The Elvenqueen]

Maybe we can, yeah... Aria answered slowly, opening her eyes again as more Sith approached to help transfer the two prisoners over to the next shuttle. Yerbol was larger than she was and it seemed the dosage they had been given wasn't quite strong enough to keep him incapacitated. She only hoped his idea would work. Latching onto their connection, she let the energy flow more freely between them. Slowly, she could feel it working, the sensation returning first in her fingers and toes, then slowly ebbing back into the rest of her limbs. Hey, I think it's working. now they just needed a plan, so that they could escape the guards without being re-captured before they could get off the shuttle.

Chamber of Secrets? She tried not to frown too deeply, or otherwise move in a way that might indicate the sedatives were no longer in effect, listening in on the exchange between the Sith. Aria wasn't sure what this Chamber of Secrets was, but it sounded important. Before she could peer outside to try and get an idea of where exactly they were, the shuttle door slammed shut with an ominous 'boom' behind the dark-haired Sith woman. Narrowing her eyes in frustration, Aria slumped back against the cold metal wall, risking a glance over in Yerbol's direction.
No going out that way, then. Guess we wait it out, make a break for it when we land? they might as well make the most of the situation, perhaps they would be taken to the person who was actually pulling the strings, and if not they would at least gain some more information about the people they were trying to fight against.

The flight likely wasn't a very long one, it just felt that way because they had to spend the entire time trying to feign drug-induced helplessness, ignoring the verbal taunts and occasional shove that their captors directed at them. The craft shuddered as the landing gear deployed, dropping down into a landing zone. The duo were hauled to their feet once more and herded down the loading ramp. Without the freedom to properly turn her head, Aria couldn't see much, but even the odd glimpses of buildings or wilderness that she did catch at the edge of her vision were unrecognisable.
"Hey, keep moving!" growled the woman in charge of leading her along, giving Aria such a forceful shove from behind that she lost her balance and nearly had a face to face introduction with the ground, had the woman not caught hold of her forearm to steady her.
Schutta. Aria glowered at her from underneath her eyelids that were still heavier than she'd have liked. But at least she could move well enough to fight back, when the time was right. No good breaking free if they had no idea where to run to afterwards. Hey, Yerbol, you know where we are? she asked the Knight, hoping that if they were still somewhere on Tython then he would be familiar with their current surroundings.

Disguising it as another stumble, she moved her hand to her belt to check. Her sabers were gone. Dammit. Though they seemed confident that Aria and Yerbol couldn't escape them thus far, the True Sith had at least been thorough, or smart, enough to disarm their prisoners if they weren't going to place them in physical restraints.

Okay, here's the plan. First we need to get our sabers back, then we track down Soto and find out what their next move is, we can't stop them if we don't know who and where they plan to hit next. there were far too many worlds in just the Outer Rim alone that Jedi and Darksiders (were they even REALLY Sith, anymore? She wasn't sure) populated or travelled to on a regular basis, it would be impossible to guess where the new Sith Order's next point of attack would be. And that's just the easy part. Aria paused to let out a dry, humorless laugh, the corners of her mouth twitching slightly. Once we know what we're up against, we gotta double back and hotwire one of these shuttles so we've got transport, then high-tail it to the next busiest spaceport we can and do everything we can to throw them off our trail so we can, you know, actually stop them from getting away with this.