[center]~| Day 1, 17:52 GST |~
~| Aboard the Kaggath, Main Prison Complex: Shiri, Jakali & Xid |~[/center]

Shiri jumped at the sudden whisper, and turned quickly to see Xid had also woken up. He nodded his head toward something, and Shiri just barely glanced in the direction he indicated and whispered back to him. "I wouldn't worry about that right now. We need to know what we can't do before we figure out what we can do." She smiled slightly at him and spoke a little louder. "I'm glad you're awake, but you should probably lie back down. You're a lot more injured than the rest of us."

Xid blinked and looked at her, his eyebrow raised as he frowned at the door. He knew he could easily open it without much trouble but doing it around the cameras was a bad idea. Sighing, his hand rubbed his head back and replied in a casual volume. “I’ll be fine. I was only sliced up, pinned and had my pride broken a bit. the droids were the ones I felt rather bad about actually, their deaths weren’t very merciful at all or quick.” 

He flinched a bit when the fingers touched his bump on his head, his voice hissing in pain. “It’s nothing that is important really. Though I’m curious as why they didn’t kill us. It can’t be good at all, don’t you agree?”  

“No, not good. Nothing to do with Sith ever is.” Shiri noticed the hiss and looked at Xid, worried. “You seem to have had a better fight than I did. I’m still not quite sure exactly what happened.”

Jakali moved towards the prison complex, following in close proximity, four armed soldiers, each clad in armor which kept their anonymity total. The Sith didn’t care the tiniest bit who the men were, just as long as they were able to do their jobs, which what he was asking of them was a very, very simple one that even children could do. He entered the turbolift, the soldiers entering it in silence. As the lift moved towards its destination, the bunks in the prison, Jakali rose the hood over his head, well enough to keep his identity hidden, he didn’t need anyone disrupting his plans. 

Then, he entered the bunks, the soldiers spreading out behind him, he rose his normal hand, keep his other under cloak, and motioned at two of the Jedi inside, a young Twi’lek, Shiri, and Xid, a human. Right after he made the motion the soldiers moved towards the Jedi, two on each one, before he entered the complex he had precisely instructed them to be careful with handling the prisoners he was going after. If any of them didn’t follow that instruction then he would have been forced to punish the soldiers, severely, but they followed well enough, simply approaching the Jedi with their weapons in plain view as Jakali stood with his arms crossed, waiting in silence.

Then once both of the prisoners were under control he exited the room, his lackeys following him out as the door sealed shut once more. He brought them to another room, one much more private than the bunks, away from curious eyes. He already had the room set up, a square table in the middle, two chairs on one side, one on the other, two plates of well cooked food on each of the plates. An odd sight on a Sith ship. Other than that accommodation the room was barren.

“Please, have a seat.” He said as the prisoners were brought into the room, then with a hand wave he dismissed the soldiers, the four men exiting the room as the door automatically shut behind, leaving the two Jedi and the Sith inside.

Shiri stepped back a few feet when she first noticed the Sith and guards. When they started coming towards her and Xid, she wanted to run back to the room she had woken up in. The others there would probably be able to help them to overpower these few. Unfortunately, as she finished coming up with the idea they were already surrounded by the guards. She followed them, giving up momentarily on the thought of running  as they were led through the hallways. 

When they got to the room, she hesitated for just a moment, considering running. a guard pushed her into the room and she recovered just as the door closed. There were two meals set on a table in the center of the room, and the Sith told them to sit. Shiri took a few steps until she was standing behind one of the chairs, and then waited to see what Xid would do. 

Xid went wide eye when spotted the Sith entering the prisoner area, his force presence seeped into his core as the young man turned about immediately. He hadn’t even answered Shiri when his expression became grim, managing to utter a single sentence.  “We’ve got company…” 

His blue eyes watched the four troopers spread out and single the two out, his jawline tightened while he tried to figure his way out of this situation. It seemed there wasn’t one unless he aimed on getting blasted from one of the blasters the troopers held tightly to their bodies, all four pointed at Shiri, their fellow Jedi, and him. Inhaling slowly, he complied to the gestures made by the men. They moved out of the arena and into the hallways,  traveling the length of the ship to only the force knew where. With each step he was nervous and that anxiety grew, his head flickered side to side trying to memorize his surroundings though he knew it would fade during the event that was to come. 

When they came to a stop, he never expected to find the table, chairs and two hot meals waiting for them within that single room. Xid just stood even after the man spoke, requesting them to take a seat, his figure was on guard for something to happen. “I think I prefer to remain standing.” 


“Suit yourself,” Jakali said as he moved towards the table, then pulled out the solo chair on the opposite end where Shiri was standing, he took a seat, then lowered his hood, revealing his face to the Jedi. Recognition was not an issue, when he ‘helped’ Sish capture Xid he had his hood up and the boy never got a look at his face anyway. “This food really is quite scrumptious though, better than the slaw they serve you in the bunks. Had a chef cook these meals just right, if you aren’t having any then I’ll take it, though I’m sure you’re hungry.” He added.

“Please, have a seat my dear.” He said, locking eyes with Shiri, a friendly expression on his face, both of his hands folded together on his lap below the table. 

Shiri met the Sith’s gaze, but stayed standing. Honestly, she was pretty confused. She would’ve liked to ask Xid for help, but in front of a Sith that would be even more than embarrassing. Finally she decided to sit, but not before muttering a few curse words under her breath. She didn’t want to give this Sith any real reason to attack either her or Xid, so she’d comply for now. 

Xid watched her sit, though he tried not to let the disappointment seep into his gaze, and remained standing. His eyes looked at the man some, squinting though he couldn’t understand why something felt familiar with the sith before him. He folded his hands into his sleeves while he began to ask a question he wondered if he would regret later. “I get the feeling you've separated us from the others just for a meal. It’s not Sith to be generous without  a motive behind it.”  

“Is that so? Can I not enjoy a fine meal with people I have yet to meet. One must enjoy the simpler things in life, food, wine, friends, love.” He said, not turning his head, instead raising his organic arm, twisting the fingers slightly as he used the Force to lift a single piece of fruit off one of the plates. He then grasped it out of the air and ate it in one bite, a ‘mmm’ noise coming from him as he chewed it down, signaling his enjoyment of it, whether that enjoyment was genuine or not was not known.

“It’s a pessimistic view to assume every action has a sinister motive behind it.” He said as he used the Force once more to raise a jug from the floor next to the table, a finer type of wine. He uncorked it and poured into an empty glass in front of him, then glanced towards Shiri, locking eyes with her once more.

“Would you like some?” He asked, picking up and taking a sip from his own glass.

“You’re kidding right?” Shiri said, glancing at Xid. [i]Great, I did something wrong, and now I can’t undo it…[/i] “Pessimistic. So you consider yourself an optimist?” Shiri didn’t know why she bothered asking the question, she didn’t know why she had even hesitated to run before. Perhaps she could make useless conversation with this sith until they were allowed to go.

“Sith aren’t exactly known for their generous nature. In fact, quite the opposite. Torture, greed, and worse. I believe if you were angered, you would be little different than any of the Sith who raided the Temple.” Xid said, his tone cold and firm in his belief. 

“More of a realist. One who sees that very same Temple burning while we speak. As for anger, it’s a natural emotion, I try to control my anger the very best I can.” Jakali said, then finished the glass of wine. He put his arm back into the other where it seemed he was folding it but he was instead setting his finger near a device on it which would call in the guards from outside of the room. 

“Tell me, do you remember anything of the raid?” He asked, still not turning his head. His gaze was upon the table, but from time would focus onto Shiri, his voice still calm and cool.

Shiri stayed silent, trying to think through what was happening so she could be sure of her actions. The sith was talking more to Xid than he was to her, yet by her count he never looked at Xid, instead constantly glancing at her. When he asked them what they remembered of the raid on the Temple she smiled, just slightly. “So that’s it. And here I was all worried.” She mimicked the sith’s posture, crossing her arms across her chest and leaning back in the chair, staring him straight in the eye. She didn’t say anything else yet, she wanted to see his reaction first.

Xid inhaled, his mind already realizing the Sith spoke the truth. His gut had been feeling it all this time though he pushed it to the side, hoping he was mistake. Something terrible had happened to unbalance the force and this sith seemed to make sure he knew what it was, a fact that did little to help him tame his emotions. His fingers tightened but remind hidden under his robes, making it difficult to note, while Xid merely stared harder at the man across from him. “Does it matter? Besides, I rather forget it as it’s in the past.” 

Quietly, Xid took a step close to Shiri and unfolding his hand, he place it upon her shoulder. When she looked at him, he gave a small smile before returning his stern gaze back to the sith before him. 

“It’s quite hard, well for me, personally to forget it. Twisted, desecrated corpses, still twitching Jedi, soldiers that mowed them down laughing and congratulating each other. Younglings with holes in their chests from blaster bolts, like the holes torn in the walls. The smell of burning flesh filling the once beautiful temple. Some Jedi still alive begging for mercy, yet it is not given. Mercy is an odd concept.” Jakali said, looking right into Shiri’s eyes before he pressed the button on the device within his robe, within a moment the four soldiers who had accompanied him stormed into the room. One of them moving to slam the metal butt of his blaster rifle into Xid’s stomach. The other three with their weapons raised, all at Xid, Jakali still keeping the same pose.

Xid’s head jerked to the side when the doors opened.  He was expecting the troopers arrival as the first one thumped into his stomach, sending him to kneel over and crumble. A yell of surprise escaped his mouth, his wrapped about his middle when the air was knocked from him. Without thinking, his instinct kicked in. Xid’s hand raised and did a force pull right at the first trooper, tugging it to the side and causing the man to be tossed into his nearby companion.  

The other troopers still standing kept their weapons raised, they were waiting for the order from Jakali who was now standing and facing the action. He gave none and simply watched how the scene unfolded, his mechanical hand near his lightsaber on his belt. He didn’t think he would have to use it. He had given the solders exact orders, they would fire their weapons when he said so. His reassurance? The prisoners were Jedi, they never killed those they had already beaten down. Jakali’s wrath was what to be feared if they didn’t listen.

Shiri jumped up when the troopers entered the room, and hit one over the head as it aimed at Xid. It managed to grumble something at her before it got knocked over by the trooper that Xid had thrown into him with the Force. The remaining standing troopers aimed at Xid, but didn’t fire yet, so Shiri went over to where Xid had doubled up on himself and put an arm around him to help him stand, but not before swiping a fork from the table and concealing it in her hands, a hidden weapon.

Xid was coughing hard, trying to suck the air back into his lungs. His raised hand had came to rest upon the floor and slowly, his body stopped rattling from the blow. Raising his head, he spotted that Shiri had struck out at one of the troopers that Xid had crashed another into. It was a surprising fluke on his part which made him smile lightly at Shiri’s reaction being quicker than his own. His ears caught her boots making her way to him and pull his own arm over her shoulder, supporting him upright again. 

“Thanks.” He rasped out through catching his breath. His eyes caught something shiny in her robes, but avoided staring at it, trying to figure out how to get a hold of one of the trooper’s guns. He couldn't use it or aim well. However he could lower the threat from the weapons which made their chances of coming out unscratched greater.   

Jakali continued watching the scene, though in one of his ears he heard noise from behind, before he could do anything the Twi’Lek girl has gone around the table to help Xid. Well at least he knew of their relationship, they cared for each other, and that was something he could manipulate. He rose his organic hand in an instant, channeling the Force to pull Shiri backwards, planting her against the wall. Then he spoke to one of the remaining troopers that was still standing.

“Move over towards her now, put the barrel of your blaster to her temple, your finger on the trigger, she so much as moves then you end her short life immediately.” He said, his voice still calm, he had to adjust his plan a bit, but was still perfectly composed. The revelation he had just seen gave him a different idea. The trooper did as the Sith asked, scrambling towards the girl and sticking his rifle up against the left side of her head.

Xid finally managed to gain purchase on his feet before his world was sent into chaos. His head darted about to see Shiri smack into the far wall, the force pinning her there. Horror filled his gut as he heard the orders being called and the trooper move quickly into position, pressing the blaster tip into her head. Without thinking, his feet moved against his will, bring him to interrupt the trooper as his hand reached out. It touched the metal and his mind focused on his Deru Mechu, sending a spark through the gun before jerking the weapon away. With his force he sent it right into the wall in much force as he could muster, the pieces immediately cracked and shattered on impact near where the sith was currently placed. He hoped the sudden sight of an incoming blaster would cause him to lose focus and release Shiri.    

Jakali blinked and the Jedi was in a different spot, throwing himself at the trooper in a fit of pure aggression. Before the Sith could say anything he had a blaster flinged at him. He rose an arm in reaction, the weapon bouncing into the nearby wall and pelting him with pieces of metal. He grunted as the pieces land on him, momentarily releasing his focus on the task at hand. He managed to bark out an order, his voice raised.

“Fire at him, blaster set to stun! You, don’t just stand there, get your hands on her! ” He barked at the two remaining standing trooper as the Sith shook away any fragments on his body. The troopers doing as their superior ordered, one raising his weapon and setting to stun before a finger pulled the trigger as the other lunged at Shiri.

“Shiri, down!” Xid shouted as he pushed her down, his hand jerked to send a plateful of food right into the armed trooper’s face. The man jerked and still fired, the blaster shot nicking the Jedi’s shoulder. 

Shiri Had gotten Xid on his feet, and then suddenly was slammed against the far wall, the impact making her lose what little of a plan she had made. She heard an order from the Sith, and immediately froze, closing her eyes and trying to think. In the next few seconds though, she heard metal being smashed and more yelling, and then she opened her eyes and Xid was pushing her to the ground. She scrambled back up after a second and dodged the trooper that had lunged for her, managing to trip him and kick him in the head as he fell. She took the fork from her robes and threw it at the Sith as hard as she could, hoping he wouldn’t notice until it was too late and it would hit him in the eye.  

Jakali ducked right as the fork whizzed over him, clanking into the hard metal wall behind him. Then when he was on his feet he rose his hand towards Xid who was already stunned from the blaster bolt. Then suddenly, lightning shot from his fingertips, a cruel blue color which reeked of the Dark Side of the Force. He took no enjoyment in the act, but the situation was getting out of control. He had enough control over the lightning that he could keep it from killing the young Jedi, as long as he knew just when to stop. He suddenly spoke as the lightning streamed towards Xid.

“Step away from him girl, I can very well end his life, you hold his fate in your hands. Move away from him, towards the door. Now.” He said, his tone harsh.

Xid screamed when the force lightning hit him, his body seized up into a ball. His hands shook while he tried to get past the nerves being set on fire. He didn’t want to look pitiful but he knew he did, his figure unable to unfurl while he kept screaming from the pain, nearly drowning out the Sith’s commands. If it kept up, he would soon pass out cold. 

Shiri watched in horror as she saw Xid get hit by the lightning, and glared at the sith as he told her to get away from him. She looked at Xid again, trying to make a decision, when she saw the blaster on the ground near him, dropped by one of the guards earlier. She grabbed it off the ground and quickly fired a few shots at the sith, backing towards the door as she did. 

Jakali began to slow down with the lightning as he watched Shiri move away, then he noticed she was going for the blaster and moved to act but before he could several bolts from the weapon were screaming towards him. By the time he had his lightsaber in his left hand one of the bolts already hit him, striking into his right leg, causing him to grunt in pain and surprise. As he ignited the blade another bolt zoomed right past him, he had enough experience with deflecting blaster fire that he was able to block the final shots flying towards him. 

“Stop her, shoot her!” He said under pain as he felt the spot where the bolt hit him, searing right through his cloak and clothing. Thankfully it didn’t hit a vital area or he would have been in trouble. He then stepped, well more hobbled to the side before focusing all of his energy in the Force on the table behind him, it levitating off the ground as he sent it towards the door with another grunt, hoping that it impacted and blocked it off before the girl could reach it.

Xid was drifting. In and out of awareness, his mind numbed by the pain coursing through his veins that he was sure he would die if it continued. His body couldn’t move. His mind couldn’t think. Worse of all, he couldn’t help Shiri and it was terrible in his mind, more painful than the lightning raced within him. He barely noticed the force lightning had stopped when he stopped shivering. His mind tittering on blacking out, he focused on Shiri in his efforts to get up on his feet. He was wobbly and weak as a newborn, his eyes shot to the nearest trooper. The plate that had shattered when he rocketed it into the one trooper’s face was still scattered around and one partially large piece caught his attention. A voice, thick and heavy, not apart of the presence echoed within his head. 

‘Don’t focus on the means, Xid. Just the result or you will fail to reach it at all.’ 

Xid jerked his hand up, the piece rose up and in the next moment it few to the man’s head. Xid meant to stun the trooper but the man moved, his throat exposed. Instantly, the shard was lodged within the trooper’s throat. The man looked as surprised as he was, the trooper’s voice gurgling while he collapsed upon the floor. That wasn’t what Xid intended to do, his eyes unable to remove them from the man as he scrambled to the fallen trooper. His hands trembling and tried to stop the crimson rushing forward, his expression set in fear and guilt. “No… no... “  

Shiri kept shooting at the sith, even when she felt the door at her back. There was no way she could think of to open it, but also no time as the sith used the force to throw the table at her, hitting her hard and pinning her to the door for a moment. She pushed it away enough to slip out from behind it, and then saw Xid crawling across the floor towards a trooper that was lying on the ground. At first she thought he was going to take a weapon from it and help her, until he started trying to stop the bleeding from it’s neck. “Oh, no. Xid!” She dropped the blaster and rushed over to him, trying to pull him away from the fallen trooper. 

Jakali blinked as the table impacted with the door, catching the girl in the process. She managed to slip away from it without any serious injuries which was a relief. Then he turned his attention towards Xid and the dying trooper, a shard in his throat as his life painfully slipped from him. A smile crept onto his face as he started towards the scene, Shiri now near him trying to pull Xid away who was in hysterics. 

He clicked off his lightsaber then clipped it to his belt, realizing he wouldn’t need it for the immediate future, both Jedi on the floor in a pathetic display. He rose his hand, then focused on the dying trooper, choking what remained of his life out of him. The eyes underneath the helmet open in a state of death. He then moved towards the now corpse and yanked his helmet off, revealing the dead human underneath, a bloody wound in his throat, the shard still embedded inside. The Sith tossed the helmet to the side, then spoke.

“Do you see that, Xid? The eyes? In a state of death, they are even open. I finished him off, a small act of mercy, But you did most of the work. Your emotions allowed you to overpower him, a grown man, highly trained and selected over dozens of other candidates. Now he’s just another corpse,” He said, placing his arms behind his back as he walked, his eyes on the two Jedi then the other troopers who were showing signs of life. “You did what was necessary. If you didn’t stop him then he would have hurt Shiri.” He said as he glared at one of the troopers as they both rose to their feet, picking up their weapons.

“The Jedi would have looked down upon you for this, possibly even reprimanded you. I won’t.” He added.

Shiri had finally managed to get Xid away from the body as the sith pulled the helmet off and taunted him. He started leaning against her, mumbling about how that wasn’t what he had meant to do. Shiri put her hand over Xid’s eyes and whispered gently in his ear. “I know, don’t look at him. It wasn’t your fault, and I don’t judge you for this. There are many who have done worse.” Shiri continued to hold him, and looked the sith in the eye. “I’d call you a schutta, if I didn’t think you’d like that. Who would reprimand a mistake?”

A struggle and war over his conscious raged, his ears filled with words from both the Sith and Shiri. His hands had long ago released the troop’s now dead body as she pulled him away, his body shaking yet too weak to resist. He leaned against Shiri and looked at the Sith, his eyes filled with regret and pain. He slowly turned to Shiri’s words while she scowled at the sith and reprimanded him in her sassy way, his pain lessening just a bit at the death. However he couldn’t get the dead eyes out of his head. His head turned to the dead trooper with the cold skin and pale complexion, never able to move again and knowing it was his fault. “I’m sorry Shiri. I didn’t mean to kill him…”   

“It’s not your fault.” Shiri repeated to Xid, pulling him to his feet and supporting him, staring at the sith and daring him to do anything else to them with her glare, not bothering to say anything else to him.

“I’ve been called worse, my dear.” Jakali said as he glanced at both Jedi then at the now three remaining soldiers, the third the man who Shiri had knocked down having walked over and joined the others. It had not gone how Jakali wanted it to, but he still learned some things about the two young Jedi. 

“I feel our meeting has met its conclusion, now lets head back to your quarters where you can join the others.” He said to both of them with a smile, before giving a nod to the soldiers as they moved behind Shiri and Xid, nudging them towards the door and out of the room as Jakali followed behind, moving the table away from the door.