[center]~|11:01 - 11:27 GST|~
~| Aboard the Kaggath, Sith Quarters: Jewel and Lea (with Shiri as unconscious spectator) |~[/center]


Lord Jewel Namore looked down at the limp body of the Twi'lek Jedi, Shiri, as she was known to her fellows, that had been unceremoniously deposited on the floor of her quarters by a group of Imperial troopers. She couldn’t do very much with a lone Jedi, other than simply inflict pain. While that was certainly an option, it was not an ideal one. There was already another Sith Lord taking the route of pain, a Sith Lord Jewel considered herself better than. It was far more favorable, in her mind, to find and target the weakest points of the Jedi’s psyche’s one by one. If that failed, pain remained an option.

Initially, Jewel considered retrieving the one that Shiri had feelings for, the human Xid, but before she could ask, another idea occurred to her. While looking through the large quantities of footage from the prison cells (which she had had wired through to her quarters) she had noticed another of the female Jedi seemed to be somewhat interested in Xid. “Fetch me the one known as ‘Lea’” She said to the soldiers before they left. Perhaps she might also be able to discover a little more about this one when she spoke to her as well. Lea had been here before the sacking and Jewel found that quite suspicious. Something was different about her, and she wanted to find out what.

When the troopers marched into the prison complex and unceremoniously pulled Lea down from her bunk and carried her out, she was still unconscious from the gas. Others might have woken up, but she had not done so, due to her trying to resist its effects as long as she had. Even with the recent gassing, these troopers did not take any chances. While only two of them were needed to carry the slight girl, the other four had their weapons lowered, pointing, but not firing, them at anyone else who moved in the prison. After the recent murder of one of their fellows, they were extraordinarily careful. Not to mention that they had all previously been deployed on the front lines and knew how dangerous Jedi could be.

If any of the other Jedi had any mind to try anything, their weapons clearly discouraged that. Lea did not wake all at once. The first time consciousness slipped in, was in the turbolift, but it slipped out again mere moments later. The next time, she was being carried right past the arena. She remained conscious for all of three seconds, then slipped back into unconsciousness. Though the troopers were distrustful of her, they nonetheless carried her carefully. When they carried her through the Sith common room, she was starting to regain consciousness on a more steady basis, but not it was not full consciousness, more like a lower form of it. Vague impressions filtered into her mind. The pure, crimson color of the carpet. The glaring lights overhead. The sound of marching troopers. “Master?” she muttered, confused. None of the troopers answered her.

A minute later, the doors to Lord Namore’s quarters hissed open and their unceremoniously deposited her in a chair near one of the walls. After saluting the Sith Lord in the room, they marched back out. Lea slowly started to regain her consciousness, but remained confused about where she was and what was going on. Last thing she could recall was the gassing and being on her bunk.

Before the girl regained full consciousness, Jewel slipped her hands behind her back and cuffed them. She was taking no chances, not after she had seen the mess Jakali got himself into. These Jedi were not nearly beaten down enough yet. Then she walked back across the room to sit and wait for the girl to wake up completely. There was no point speaking to her while half conscious, she likely would not remember anything clearly enough. “Wake up Lea.” She said neutrally to try and hasten the process. Patience was not one of her virtues.

Lea’s waking up, while it had fitful before, was now at last becoming consistent. She heard a voice telling her to wake up. At first, she thought it was her master, but realized moments later the voice was all wrong. Whomever’s presence she was in was not her master. She shook her head, trying to clear out the fuzz someone had filled it with. That proved harder than expected. Her memory started to return and she managed to connect not only what had happened, but where she was. She was a prisoner. The person who had spoken had to be a Sith. She tried to brush her hair aside, only to figure out that her hands were restrained by a pair of stun cuffs. Most inconvenient. After opening her eyes, it took her eyes unusually long to focus on anything. Before her, seated in a large, voluminous chair, was the Sith that spoke earlier.

The first thing Lea noticed, was the hair. Long, thick and deep red in color. The second, was the dark grey, almost black, armor. While the armor did not leave overmuch to the imagination, the impression it gave was that of being a threat. The lightsaber hooked to one of the Sith’s belts only made that threat clearer. Had Lea been less wise, she might have said something blustery, something to make that threat seem less. But she knew better. Firstly, she was cuffed. Secondly, she was unarmed. It was obvious that if the Sith wanted her dead, she could do nothing about it right now. Her time as a captive had seen to it that she had no illusions about just how vulnerable she truly was.

Shaking her head a bit, she managed most of her hair out of the way. Enough to see passably, at least. “Who are you?” she asked. Her master had taught her that knowledge was power, and if the Sith offered any information, she might have use for it later.

“I am Lord Jewel Namore, and you are Lea.” Jewel stated. Many Sith had the idea that they should not give out their names, or at least their real names, to anyone if it wasn’t necessary, but jewel frowned on that idea. She liked people to know who she was, so that when she dominated them, they knew who had been responsible. After all, what was the point of power if one was not also recognised as being powerful.

“I’m sure you already know Shiri over there.” Jewel waved casually in the direction of the Twi’lek, who was similarly cuffed but still unconscious in another chair. Jewel had given her an extra sedative earlier to make sure she stayed that way until she wanted her awake. “You both have something in common.
And no, it is not that you are both captives. Can you tell me what it is?” Jewels voice was factual and then condescending, like she was speaking to a child. If the Jedi said something ‘smart’ she was going to regret it, though if Jewel’s read on the personality of this Jedi was correct, that would not be the case.

Getting a name was good. At least this Sith Lord did not try to keep that a secret the way the previous Sith had. She still wondered a bit about who that other Sith was, but she did not think this ‘Jewel’ would answer that even if she asked. Not to mention, seeing how the other Sith had almost certainly known she’d taken a saber from the arena, she did not want this Sith to look for the time she encountered the other Sith. If she did, she might discover the acquisition, and that could be bad.

“Yes. I am Lea Rahn.” It was only reasonable to give her own name when her captor had presented herself. Her master had taught her that much. When the Sith Lord mentioned Shiri, Lea looked to the side and saw the unconscious Jedi half-sitting, half-lying in a chair much like her own. Like her, Shiri appeared to be restrained by a pair of stun cuffs.

Lea tried to figure out what the Sith Lord meant, but couldn’t understand what the she referred to. “As I do not understand what you mean, I can’t say I can tell you what it is.”

“That is [i]quite[/i] disappointing.” Jewel began. “You’re not even aware of your own feelings.” Jewel spoke as though Lea should know why that was such a bad thing. “Perhaps I can help you.” Jewel tapped a few buttons on the side of her chair and turned to face the screen on the wall. Footage from one of the interrogation rooms began to play. It was from the previous day; visible on the screen were the Sith Jakali and across from him, Xid and Shiri. Events spiralled quickly out of control as Jakali ordered troopers in. Quickly Shiri leaped to protect Xid, and not long after, Xid was similarly leaping to protect Shiri. By the time the dust had settled, Xid was a wreck. Though not particularly hurt physically, he was obviously incredibly disturbed at having killed an Imperial trooper, even though it had been to protect Shiri.

While the footage played, Jewel turned back to watch Lea’s reactions intently. When it finished she said “Tell me, do you think Xid would leap to your defence as eagerly and viciously as he leaps to hers?”

“From my impression? Yes. He really ought to think more before he acts.” Lea’s answer was succinct. Some part of her liked Xid, but she had no illusions about his almost suicidal tendencies when it comes to protecting others. Properly armed, while unhurt and rested, those tendencies were nice, but when tired, unarmed and injured, rather foolish. “Someone ought to teach him to do that.”

Lea didn’t really get what the Sith Lord was aiming for here. There was something, some plan behind it all, but Lea simply couldn’t figure out what it was. “What are you trying to do here? If you got something to say, just say it. Don’t slide around the edges. I’m not some child that needs to be handled gently. The Sith that captured me was honest at least.”

“Is that so? All indications thus far point to you being quite childish indeed. Younglings are unaware of their own feelings. They feel them, but they do not acknowledge them. Like you.” Jewel felt a twinge of annoyment that the Jedi was both insulting her and smart enough to have noticed Xids tendency to get himself in trouble for others. She would have to phrase her questions more carefully with this one.

“While I agree that Xid is over eager to sacrifice himself, you have entirely missed the point. Do you believe, that if forced to chose between you and Shiri in such a situation, that he would chose you? I doubt very much he would. Shiri is his friend. He cares for everyone yes, but he cares for her more. More than you. You are no one to him. Just another fellow Jedi.” Jewel spoke coldly and harshly, not with anger or passion.

“You don’t really understand him, do you? He’s overprotective of everyone. Even Imperial Soldiers.” Lea still did not get what Jewel was hinting towards, and the subtle hints were starting to annoy her. She liked it when people were direct, not when they sidled around the edges. “Are you trying to tell me something about him?” she asked, still a bit annoyed, but also curious.

“Your ignorance of yourself is astounding!” Jewel exclaimed, momentarily exasperated. “I don't care about Xid. One day, probably soon, he is going to get himself killed over something trivial. I might even be the one to kill him. But that doesn’t matter.” Jewel paused for a moment to take a shallow breath and push down her anger once more. It was subtle enough that few others noticed it, she had long ago learned to incorporate calming techniques into natural pauses in the conversation.

“I care about you, and what you feel. I will attempt to guide you to your own feelings one more time, and if you still prove completely blind, I will tell you what I have observed.” Jewel pointed towards Shiri. “She loves Xid. I’m sure the Jedi would frown on such emotion, but she is young and barely a Jedi. Plain as day to see for one who looks. You Jedi spend so much time burying your emotions that when you cannot, they are advertised for all the world to see. Xid has not realised this yet, but he soon will, provided he survives. Should he decide to return such feelings, they will support each other emotionally. That will make my task far more difficult. When that time comes, many of my fellows will exploit their bond to break one or both of them, but it will be too late. Such a thing will only strengthen their feelings. He will ignore you and your… clumsy advances then.” Throughout, Jewel did her best to keep the edge of frustration out of her voice. She had never truly realised how totally blind the jedi were to their own feelings.

“Shiri is weak.” Lea muttered. Nothing about the Twi’lek had given her any indications of any hidden sources of strength. What Xid could see in the girl Lea had no idea of. Unlike her, Xid actually was fairly powerful. Lea wasn’t sure about how powerful, but there was more to him than met the eye. 

“Advances? What do you mean?” She asked, her previous irritation forgotten, now fully replaced by curiosity.

Jewel forced herself not to sigh in exasperation. This was not a totally lost cause yet. “Shiri is indeed weak. And yet Xid will love her before he ever loves you, because while you exemplify Jedi blindness to emotion, she exemplifies selflessness and kindness in his mind. He is a Jedi, and believes in the Jedi ways… Ways which she shows and you do not. I sense your confusion, your disbelief. I’m surprised you have not yet asked why any of this even matters.”

Jewel shifted her position in the overlarge chair and her voice altered more towards how she sounded when teaching an apprentice. “It matters, because I have observed in your behaviour, the hints that you have strong feelings for Xid yourself Lea. Though now I wonder if perhaps it is merely a younglings wild crush, given how oblivious you are. That is what you have in common with Shiri. You and her both love Xid.”

At first, Lea did not answer. She had too many things to think about. Her, loving Xid? Could that be right? She didn’t know the first thing about love. None of those who had trained her in the past had ever talked much about love, let alone explained how it worked or even common signs of it. Thus, she had virtually no facts to go on. But the Sith Lord before her seemed to have some knowledge at least, so for all she knew, it might be true. She thought about Xid for a minute or so, realizing her memories of him were remarkably detailed. What he looked like. What he smelled like. Her frustration when he couldn’t keep himself from harm. How his face had reddened when she had been near him naked back when she showered. How that made her feel.

All combined, this claim by the Sith Lord could indeed be the truth. She still could not figure out why Xid would love Shiri, as she had very little to offer him. Other than frequently being someone to rescue, that is. “Huh. I didn’t even notice that. How interesting...”

For Jewel, this was a brilliant moment. Success at last, for even though she had had to outright tell Lea what the girl felt, Lea had still come to the conclusion on her own. She was starting to get a feel for how Lea thought, and that too was brilliant. She felt that soon, Lea would be as clay in her hands, to mold as she saw fit.

“Now do you understand? Shiri is going to have Xid’s full attention very soon. You know how much he can devote himself to others. If he chooses to devote himself to her alone, you will never have his attention again. Not in the way you desire. You are already disgusted at Shiri’s weakness, that is good. She is weak and deserves such disgust. But now you have reason to hate her.”

“She is not worthy of hate. Hate leads to anger. Anger leads to pain. Pain Leads to suffering. I have no intention of suffering. Try again, Sith Lord.” Lea answered back. She had no intention of falling to this one’s games. Darth Nyiss had tried these games shortly after capturing her. They hadn’t worked then, they wouldn’t work now.

Deep down, she resolved that she would find out more about Xid. These emotions she had concerning him, if they were truly love, would be worthy of exploring. Too bad she knew nothing about how to act when it came to them. Nobody had taught her anything about such. Not her master, not the Masters of H’Ratth. Not even her parents.

Jewel’s eyes went hard at Lea’s response. “You are correct about one thing. Anger does lead to pain. It also leads to power. Allow me to demonstrate.” Jewels voice was ice, and as soon as she had stopped speaking she stood slowly. The Jedi had taken a step too far and now Jewel’s rage was boiling over.

Lea could sense the Sith Lord’s anger suddenly unveiling itself seemingly out of nowhere. Clearly she had gone too far. She didn’t even think before raising all her barriers as high as she could. It was not the first time she’d faced the full rage of a Sith and it wouldn’t be the last. The question passing through her mind was simple. Would her barriers be sufficient?

Jewel’s left arm suddenly jerked up towards Lea, her fingers clawed. With the Force, she reached into Lea’s body, seizing the girl's heart and throat in invisible bands of force and gently crushing. A savage grin split her mouth and her eyes burned yellow as she channeled her anger over this and many prior slights.

Moments after she raised her barriers, she felt the first part of the Sith Lord’s attack. It was as if someone squeezed hard deep inside her chest. Had her hands been free, she would no doubt have clutched her chest. At least if the attack had gotten through her barriers. For now, the barriers held, but she involuntarily tried to break her cuffs. Knowing the current form and target of attack, Lea focused more of her power into resisting it. The Sith Lord’s power was immense. Her breathing grew heavier as she strained against it. When she pushed her barrier back out, trying to force the attack away, she screamed, partially in frustration and anger, partially because doing so was beyond difficult. She certainly did not have anything left over there and then to attack back.

Jewel’s fury only increased as the girl refused to submit. She added more vectors of attack - picking Lea up out of the chair and pulling her towards her outstretched hand. She also reached in to gently constrict the blood flow into the girl’s legs. Initially that would cause numbness, but when she released it, it would cause the blood to rush back and cause severe pain.

Lea found herself outmatched by the Sith Lord’s skill with telekinesis. Just the power or just the skill, she might have resisted, but the combination was far beyond what she could resist. She found herself lifted up as if she were just another inanimate object, her barriers easily bypassed. When the second wave of attack arrived, or third if she were to count the lifting as an attack, she found her resistance spotty at best. To her surprise, the attack was not one that felt like a true threat. The Sith Lord did not cut off all blood flowing to her legs. At most, she cut off maybe three-quarters to four fifths of it.

For what felt like an eternity, she tried to push against the Sith Lord’s attacks, hoping to fight them off. She tried to sneak in some attacks of her own, but she had not nearly enough power to spare, and the Sith Lord’s barriers far outstripped her own. After four-five minutes, the numbness in her legs was rather severe. Suddenly, she felt the Sith Lord’s squeeze down there simply disappear.

The feeling she had next was hard to describe, even for a trained healer like herself. One moment, her legs were numb almost senseless, the next, the blood flow to them was fully restored. All the blood that had been prevented from going to her legs now went there. Unable to resist, almost blacking out due to so much blood not going to her head. Lea let out a scream of raw agony. The pain was of such intensity. It was like nothing she had ever felt before.

The attack relented the moment Lea screamed in pain, a blood curdling sound that filled Jewel with no small degree of satisfaction. She continued holding the girl's neck in her gauntleted hand until she was sure she would not be passing out. As quickly as it had arrived, Jewel’s anger was bottled up again, her rictus grin returning to a calm, neutral face and her eyes returning to their natural color. A wave of weariness briefly swept over her and she threw Lea casually back into the chair as it did. Then she calmly sat back down in her chair, as though she had stood merely to pour a refreshment and not unleash the power of the darkside.

“Power. My anger gives that to me. Hate is an excellent source of anger, and anger is a source of power. The Jedi teach that the Dark side is self destructive. Without control, it is. To be Sith, however, means to control your emotions. Use them when it suits you. Store them for later when it does not. You have control, your skill in the Force is undeniable and though lesser than mine, still worthy of note. But you lack power.” Jewel paused for a moment to breathe, trying not to let her brief fatigue show too much to Lea.

Still more than a little dazed from the sudden rush of blood to her legs, Lea did not offer any reply to the Sith Lord. She could see that there was a logic behind it, but her stubbornness would never allow her to truly consider it after such a painful argument from the Sith Lord. It certainly did not match up with any Jedi teachings.

“Any reason to hate is a gift. It makes you stronger. The stronger you are, the easier it is take what you want. You know what you want. Do not let anything stand in your way. No, power will not help you gain Xid’s affection, but it will allow you to keep him alive. This ship is filled with selfish Sith. Do you really believe that they will not exploit your feelings for him? I myself considered bringing him here to torture in front of you. I am not the worst of the Sith here either. Think hard about what you want the next time you choose to ignore the teachings of a Sith Lord that is trying to give you the gift of power.”

More than a little unsettled, Lea whispered her reply. “I will consider everything you said and did, Lord Namore.” Her tone indicated that she was more than a little humbled. “The means will have to be considered carefully, but not be delayed overmuch. She,” Lea added while pointing with her head to Shiri, “will not have him.”

“Good.” Jewel stated. “It would be such a waste for you to miss out on the chance to feel because of someone like [i]her[/i].” Jewel stood then, the fatigue that accompanied extended use of rage already falling away. “Shall we wake her up and find out what she thinks of all this?” Jewel asked rhetorically, walking over to Shiri, taking a syringe from a nearby shelf.

“Is there any benefit for you in that?” Lea asked the Sith Lord.

“Of course there is. I don’t believe with certainty that you will take to heart what I have said. If you don’t perhaps she will. That, and I find that emotional subjects tend to have more impact when said face to face, not relayed by another.” Though she would not normally be so revealing of her plans or as blunt in explaining them, Jewel was rapidly coming to understand that Lea appreciated such things. Since she had nothing to lose by informing Lea of that much of the plan and since the girl would probably figure it out on her own anyway, Jewel decided to break with her traditional approach for the sake of results.

“Then wake her. It is not as if I can stop you from doing it. You are in control here.” Lea replied, having understood what the Sith Lord intended. She had yet to decide how much she would play along. She suspected that fighting over Xid would not work too well, but she was equally certain that she would not let Shiri have him. She would have to practice some subterfuge in this case.

“Yes.” Jewel said matter-of-factly, as if doubting the fact was ridiculous “I am.” With that, she bent down and injected an antidote for the sedative into Shiri’s arm.