[b]Collab Intermission

Shadows Regret, Lena & Ko'Chul[/b]

Opening her eyes Lena looked around confused and then at guard, something woke her up and it took her a moment to realize it was the beeping noise of some equipment on her desk, approaching it she waved her hand and a small hologram appeared of the officer on duty on the bridge. The hologram bowed its head, "My lady. Apologies for the late hour but a priority call from home base, for your eyes only. Can I patch you through?"

Lena nodded slowly and a moment later the holographic image became blurry and was replaced by the image of a very familiar individual. She smiled as she saw the figure get on her knees and present herself towards Lena, even though she was lightyears away. "Ko'Chul, so good to see you. Rise, please. My congratulations to you and your team, your efforts on Thyferra have not gone unnoticed and you performed your task with excellence. My sympathies for the Noghri lost on the mission. They did their clans and me proud with their service."

Ko'Chul remained kneeling. "They served faithfully and with service, their sacrifice not forgotten."

"Indeed it will not... add their names to the scrolls and they will be honoured." Lena said solemnly, letting silence remain between the two of them for a moment before she continued. "You are wondering why I bid you contact me the moment you returned to Phindar Moon. I find it... difficult to send you on another mission, while your latest is still so fresh in your mind but I have need of you Ko'Chul, you and your talents." Ever since she saw Ko'Chul her mind had become fully awake and she recalled why she needed to see her Noghri friend and operative. "I received a report that apparently some members, or at least one particular member, of the Syndicat on Phindar do not wish to honour our business transaction that made the moon my property and they no longer have any stake or interest in anything that goes on the surface. My Kubaz agents as well as one of the brokers in my service has given me intelligence that apparently someone in the Syndicat Hierachy is plotting a series of schemes and operations to undermine and wrest control of holdings in my possession.

You are to go to the surface of Phindar, find out the identity of this Syndicat member and make sure that this scheme does not get carried out. Killing their members who refused to leave the moon and try to take back what was mine after they sold it to me should have been their warning. This behaviour indicates that at least one of the members of their ruling hierarchy has not understood the warning." She said coldly. "Make a example of this person to make sure the Syndicat stays on Phindar and leave me and my moon alone." She stretched, "The resources on Phindar Moon are at your disposal, I do not want to go to war over this however, so keep it small. Use the Shadow Commandos."

Ko'Chul looked up and nodded, "It will be done my lady, my apologies for waking you."

Smiling Lena shook her head, "No need to worry, noticing the time I would have been up shortly regardless. Hunt well Ko'Chul. We will speak soon." They both ended the link and Lena rubbed her eyes, lost in thought. She was satisfied that Ko'Chul would handle the matter close to home, no the matter away from home, at Korriban would be the more interesting thing to handle. According to her navigators they would be arriving at Korriban shortly. Knowing she would not be able to fall back to sleep she dressed and left her chambers, walking the corridors of her vessel to the training areas, she felt like getting into a sweat. She had been practicing with her force powers as of late and wished to see if her trials and experimentation's to crush objects with the force would finally pay off.

---

[b]Dedicated Training Session,

Lena & Gra'tua[/b]

Slowly the melon lifted up from the floor and then stopped, hovering at eye-height. Lena stood a few meters away, tilting her head, studying it with keen interest and then focused the force and at the same time clenched her hand in a fist, the immediate result of the action being the melon going 'splat' mid-air as she crushed it to pulp with the force. Clenching and unclenching her hand she studied it curiously, hearing heavy footsteps behind. "I have always wondered... people like us, who can wield the power of the force. It is mostly done with our minds and yet, for most displays of power, like pushing or pulling a object, choking someone or flinging a hand out to send forth lightning or other destructive forces. It requires a gesture of some kind, I wonder why."

Gra'tua let out a snort, "I am not well versed with force powers, I always liked the more... martial lore and techniques of a sith warrior. But if I am to guess, while it is true we can concentrate and will the force in some kind of manifestation or another. The hand gesture is like a conduit, a means to channel and let loose the energies." He shrugged, "But I am no force scholar, that's merely how I always looked at it when I bothered to think about it."

Nodding she decided to experiment, she still had a number of melons left, willing to move one with her mind and keeping her arms and hands to her side, the melon wobbled and then moved. Doing it again but this time with a wave of her hand was much smoother, flexing her fingers she chuckled and stared at them. "So curious, to rely on gestures for proper control over our powers." She turned to regard Gra'tua noting he had brought his coterie of people with him and they were sparring elsewhere. "We will soon arrive at Korriban, know of what we can expect?"

He was tracing the outline of the blaster at his waist, he had disliked the weapon at first but gradually, over time with Gorans training it had become an all too familiar part of his outfit, he no longer needed to think deliberately of adding the holster, he did so naturally by custom now. "No clue, Azazel better be fine... if she isn't and Andrea just let something happen to her... then I will end her." He spat out, anger or worry pouring out of him in tangible waves.

"I see." Lena replied dryly, raising her eyebrows. "End her with just the people you brought with you while she would be at the center of her power. And no I would not assist you in such mad folly, I very much doubt Andrea would let anything happen to Azazel, not to mention that Azazel would let anything happen to herself."

"Oh I trust Azazel, but she is pregnant with my children Lena." He glared at the other sith, "And any children of my blood I will protect with whatever means I have at my disposal. Be it my sabers, power or ships and troops. I will defend them... and crush whoever tries to harm them."

Lena chuckled and ignited her blade, lazily swinging it around in a en garde position, motioning for Gra'tua to engage her. "Even if it is their mother?"

He frowned behind his mask but he had retrieved both his sabers and ignited them, saluting Lena before swiftly strike out towards her as he replied. "What do you mean."

She jumped back, narrowly missing the blades and parried a second stroke as she twisted her upper body out of the way of the other, striking low with her own blade. "What if the mother of your children seeks to harm your kin?"

He growled blocking her strike and tried to kick at her head, "I doubt Azazel would harm her own children... Andrea is a different matter... was a different matter." When his kick failed to connect he lunged, one strike at her head while the other would try to block her saber.

She jumped back, smiling as she twirled around and leaped back as she saw her sparring partners momentum carry him, trying to use that vulnerability. "Perhaps, perhaps not. Still I would loathe to see this alliance get ruined due to a matter of who has custody over a pair of children." She blinked when Gra'tua suddenly seemed to reverse his movements as if he was rewinding time, so fast did he move, blocking her saber with both of his, pushing her back. Straining against his strength she tried to push back, looking for a opening.

He growled again, menacingly. "If you are trying to make me angry Lena, it is working. I refuse to listen to this... even if this alliance... I assume you are speaking of our private arrangement between the two of us. If I were to be in danger you would come to my aid, wouldn't you?" He tried both to concentrate on beating her in this duel and listen to her answer, whatever she said next would determine the trust he would place in Lena.

Chuckling she suddenly pulled back, feeling Gra'tua put more strength into pushing against her blade, hoping he'd fall over and deliver a quick jab with her blade over his chest plate. "I am sith Gra'tua. I would come to the aid of the one who seems to be the more promising one that can give me power, any kind of power. That or I remain at the sidelines, watching, observing to see who comes out victorious." She was saying while moving and then froze, Gra'tua had dropped both his blades and had reached for his blaster and was aiming the barrel between her eyes, mere inches from her face. She remained calm however, her eyes looking at the eye-slit of his helmet.

He tightened the hold on his blaster, looking at her, studying her. Lowering the blaster and putting it back in its holster, "A honest answer, not something I am used to hear coming from the lips of a fellow sith." He summoned his fallen sabers to his hand and clipped them to his belt. "If it ensured your own survival or prestige you would let me die?"

She smiled, deactivating her own blade and locking it back in place to her cane, leaning upon it. "Only if you were unaware of my part in letting you die or if I was sure whoever sought to kill you would succeed. However as it stands, I feel allying myself with you is only beneficial to myself, to those under my command and my plans. And will defend you as I expect you will me if something sought to annihilate me, even if it is a fellow sith. Naturally if for some reason Azazel wants me dead for some reason I expect you to talk her away from it. I will not force you to fight your own.,.. I believe the Mandalorian term is 'riduur'?"

"That is the word, yes. Again my thanks for your honesty. And for the duel it was refreshing." He said the last bit louder, knowing eyes were watching them.

"Too bad you lost." Gra'tua blinked and growled about to hurl curses at whoever said that when he noticed it was Goran who stepped forwards.

"Excuse me? What do you mean, I won." He snarled, his hand resting on his saber hilt once more.

"Perhaps in practice but if it was a real fight you would have lost." He gestured to the blaster at the waist of his host warleader. "You forgot to put a fresh powerclip in it."

Letting out a snort he crossed his arms, "Oh really? What makes you say that? It would have had enough juice in it still."

Stifling a chuckle and suppressing a smirk Lena just watched back and forth, the past few days of travel she had become quite fond of watching Gra'tua interact with his blaster instructor, it was quite amusing to watch.

The Mandalorian warrior and sharpshooter was clearly smirking. "I have been counting how many times you have shot that thing during our training and at what power levels, you are running dry, right now if you tried to shoot me it would refuse to fire and I could easily take you out, if you didn;t had those fancy swords of yours, then again maybe even with those swords."

"Are you really expecting me to keep a count of how many shots I have fired to know when my blaster is about to run dry? Some of these models can last for indefinite time!" Gra'tua replied with scorn.

Goran shrugged, "Thinking like that is what gets you killed on the field of battle with a empty blaster. I always slot in a fresh power pack after a major battle. They last long ,it is true but that only is of use to the lazy and I thought you claimed to be a warrior and not a lazy individual, or was I wrong?" He clapped his hands together. "If both of you... sith, would excuse me, I need to borrow one of you to drill some practices outside of firing a blaster but how to properly maintain it so it won't fail you in times when you need to fire said weapon."

Smirking now Lena turned to Gra'tua, "You are excused, your master needs you, apprentice."

Gra'tua froze and glared, "Don't you start too... or encourage him."

She just kept smirking and bowed towards Goran, "He is all yours warrior, lets see if old dogs can learn new tricks."

"I can end you." He snarled.

"I have no doubt, but can you with a blaster? Better go with Goran to make sure that you can." She laughed now, shaking her head as she walked away after bowing to Gra'tua.

He watched her go and let out a snort, getting out his blaster, aiming at her back and pulled the trigger, all he got was a warning bleep that he needed a new powerpack. "Huh, guess you were right Goran."