[center][h2]~| The Jedi Temple on Coruscant |~ ~| Day 1, 11[sup]th[/sup] hour |~[/h2] [h3][u]Sish[/u][/h3][/center] [hr] Sish's lightsaber came up just in time, deflecting a blaster bolt straight into one of the two Temple Guards attacking him. The man fell over with a cry, his blaster falling from his limp hand. Sish reached out a claw, slamming the other man into the wall. He fell, gasping for breath. The Trandoshan walked forward, grabbing the Guard by the throat. "Where are the other Jedi hiding?" The man spat in his face. Sish grinned, squeezing tighter as the man choked and scrabbled at the claw around his throat. "No matter. I'll find them on my own." As the man began to asphyxiate, the sith suddenly looked to the side grin widening. He had vaguely sensed a fight going on between his companions and the jedi, and was beginning to sense his fellow sith dying. "I might have a use for you after all." He dropped the guard, leaving the man to gasp and choke. "Where are you..where are you.." He muttered, moving his head side to side. His eyes widened in excitement as he pin pointed the source of the fight. "There you are." Sish strode through the halls, dragging the Temple Guard behind him. He continued following the fight loosely, tracking the dark and light sides he sensed fighting close by. More of the sith died and Sish's footsteps moved faster and with more excitement. These jedi were going to put up quite the fight. The Guard muttered curses and insults as he was being dragged along, which Sish ignored. The Trandoshan activated his lightsaber as he walked down the hall, pulling his victim behind him. He picked up the Guard by the back of the neck, holding him up as he entered the room. He grinned looking at the Jedi in the room. "Jedi! You know how this goes. Put down your lightsabers, or I'll kill this innocent, defenseless, prisoner. Simple choice really, your morals are your life." [center][h2]~| The Jedi Temple on Coruscant |~ ~| Day 1, 11[sup]th[/sup] hour |~ [sub][sup][sup][i]Zanna and Shiri - Somewhere[/i][/sup][/sup][/sub][/h2][/center][hr] Zanna wandered the halls, looking for a Jedi. So far, her theory had proved annoyingly false. No matter. She’d find something useful to bring back to Nyiss. She had to, otherwise she’d be left on the planet or worse. She was poking around another hallway when a Twi’lek suddenly ran in front of her, panting hard. Zanna, hiding her surprise and adrenaline at the sudden appearance, drew her lightsaber and activated one blade. No sense in revealing that it was a saberstaff just yet. The Twi’lek was a Jedi, she could sense that much. Hopefully one that wasn’t very good at fighting, or she would never get the chance to even earn her place on Nyiss’s ship. Zanna held the blade across her chest in a defensive position, eyeing the Twi’lek. “Surrender Jedi. Make this easy on yourself.” Shiri wasn’t sure where she was going. Sith could be felt everywhere in the temple, and yet she still ran, hoping to be left alone if only for a few minutes. It was stupid really, running away from Xid and the others as if she could outrun the fact that Master Iblik was dead. She just couldn’t stay there though. She shut her eyes and ran as fast as she could down this next stretch of hallway, slowing down only as she sensed she was about to hit a wall. She skidded to a stop, her breath coming in heavy, lopsided gasps as she simultaneously tried to catch the oxygen she needed and attempted to keep the tears that still threatened to blind her at bay. Her hand went out to the wall she’d nearly crashed into to steady herself as she thought. Thinking was the problem though. She had to put Iblik out of her mind if she wanted any chance at surviving this onslaught to mourn him later. A few seconds had passed, probably, since she stopped by this wall. She hadn’t sensed anyone close by when she’d been running, so the sound of a lightsaber being activated and a voice speaking to her so suddenly made her jump as she snapped her head up to look around for the source of the noise. A red Sith stood before her, blade drawn and already fallen into a defensive stance. Great. “You mean, surrender to make this easier for you, right?” Shiri’s voice was airy as she drew her lightsaber from her belt and ignited it in one fluid motion. She couldn’t deal with this right now, not when she was on the verge of falling apart on her own. “Sorry but, you’ve got no such luck, Sith.” She stepped away from the wall, her right hand falling comfortably to her side as she held her blade loosely with her left. She took no stance, but simply stood aloof for a second as she sized up her opponent. She had to end this quickly. They were about the same height and probably evenly matched in terms of physical strength, but other than that she couldn’t tell much about how she would fight. “Only one way to find out then…” She muttered quietly to herself as her grip on her blade tightened before she rushed at the Sith, aiming for a head-on strike at her right shoulder before jumping away to the side and circling around to get behind her opponent. “It can’t be both?” Zanna replied, suppressing her fear. There would be a time to use that later. She waited for her opponent to attack, heart thumping in her chest. Old fears died hard. When the attack did come, she was ready. Her lightsaber caught the blow, a shower of sparks flying as the Jedi’s blade slid off her own, and she immediately lashed out with her own blade as the Jedi leapt back. She circled with the Twi’lek, watching her movements. Zanna filled her body with Force Speed, waiting a moment more before attempting a slow on the Twi’lek and slashing at her right leg. Debilitating, quick, and non-lethal. Shiri saw the attack coming and stepped out of the way, the Sith’s blade only barely missing her as she noticed her movements slowed down. She kept moving, her lightsaber at the ready as she stepped in a slow circle around the Sith. “You could surrender instead. It’d be just as easy, and I’d grant you a quick death as opposed to whatever the Sith have planned for those they capture.” As she finished speaking she stopped moving, hesitating for a second before falling into a more defensive position. She could just run again. She doubted this Sith would be able to keep up with her if she did. “I have a pretty good idea of what the Sith plan to do with those few Jedi. Not that you’d be treated any better by the Jedi if anyone lets you live.” “How hypocritical. You call us monsters then promise to treat us the same way if given the chance.” Zanna replied. Thankfully the Jedi had stopped circling her. It had been annoying to say the least. The Jedi was slowed, she could tell that much. Excellent. She pushed the Twi’lek’s chest with the Force, then immediately pulled at her left leg and took a step forward, slicing at the Jedi’s left side. Shiri went with the force as the Sith pushed and pulled at her, doing a backflip as she dodged out of the way of the strike. “Treat people the way you want to be treated, Sith. You come here and attack us in our Temple, killing and capturing my fellow Jedi on whatever sick whims you have. If you get captured by one of us we’d just be returning the favor.” She ran forward and aimed to disarm the Sith, striking the Sith’s blade and pushing to the side. “That’s not hypocrisy, that’s fairness.” Zanna flooded her veins with speed, dodging backwards. “Isn’t that a bit against your precious code? ‘There is no emotion, there is peace’? Seems like revenge torture is quite [i]emotional[/i]” Zanna taunted. This was dragging on too long. She could keep going through her force speed, but eventually she’d screw up, like she always had in the past. Then she’d die. She wouldn’t get another chance, like in the Academy. There were no second chances in this fight, it was win or die. She didn’t want to die. The idea of it terrified her to her core. Zanna gathered her fear and frustration and launched it at the Twi’lek, lightning crackling from her fingers as she shot it at her opponent. “Well, calling it ‘revenge torture’ sure makes it seem that way.” Shiri ignored the taunt, bringing up her lightsaber to block the lightning heading towards her, but she didn’t react quite in time. The lightning deflected at a weird angle, hitting her on the side of her face as she cried out in pain. She fell to her knees, dropping her lightsaber as she moved her hands up to hold her head. The lightning had caught the edge of her face and then hit her right Lek, and as she curled in on herself she felt around to try and figure out how badly she was hurt. She could hear the blood pulsing through her head, and her right eye refused to open. As she began to get over the shock she calmed down a little. It was just lightning, and while it hurt she wasn't seriously injured. At least that's what she told herself. Her Lek hurt more than she could remember it ever having felt before, and her vision was blurred and tinged with red as she gently pulled her eye open with a hand. She was more hurt than she thought. A wave of relief rushed through Zanna as she saw the Jedi fall and curl into a ball. The fight was over. She immediately yanked the fallen lightsaber to her hand, tucking it into her belt. She wasn’t wasting this opportunity, no matter how over the fight was. She cautiously approached the Twi’lek, lightsaber at the ready. “It’s over Jedi. Surrender.” She commanded, lightning crackling in her hand again. As Shiri heard the Sith speak, her left hand reached out to take up her lightsaber again, only to find it wasn’t there on the ground beside her anymore. She glanced up at the Sith, her right hand covering her injured eye as she did. Despite the injury, she quickly noticed the lightning in her opponent’s hand and her own lightsaber now clipped to the Sith’s belt. Her mind raced, jumping from idea to idea, yet she knew nothing she thought of would work. Without her lightsaber she had no chance against this Sith, and even if she just tried to run she’d just get blasted by lightning again. She was dead. It only took her a second to reach this conclusion, but even as she looked back down at the floor and said the words, she couldn’t accept it. “Mercy… please, mercy.” She’d rather die than become a prisoner of the Sith, or so she’d told herself a dozen times, but her fear overpowered her. She brought both her hands to her face now as she started to cry. She’d failed as a Jedi. She was too emotional to get into a fight when she’d run into this Sith, and she’d ignored her instincts and teachings as she fought. She should have just kept running. “I’m sorry, Master..” Zanna froze in place. Her lightsaber shook slightly as the Jedi’s begging stirred up memories. [i]A young Sith crying out as he was beaten: for mercy, for his sister, for it to stop, for his parents. His sister lying dazed on the ground with a black eye and broken nose, unable to pick herself up, much less protect him. He needed her, and she could barely muster the energy to turn over and spit out blood. She was weak, so weak and pathetic and they were going to die here in this barbaric-[/i] Zanna snapped out of her reverie, her emotions running wild. Anger, fear, grief, and hate all raged inside her, the lightning in her hand crackling dangerously. Smaller bolts leapt out as her control deteriorated. Zanna stared at the crying Jedi a few moments in silence, then gave a deep sigh. Her lightning disappeared, sparking into the ground, and she hooked her lightsaber on her belt. She rustled in her cloak for a moment, bottles gently clinking, before pulling a small jar of powder. Kneeling in front of Shiri she grabbed the Twi’leks arms gently but firmly, pulling them away from her face. “Stop crying. You’ll stop the powder from taking hold and then you’ll never stop hurting.” Her voice was gently insistent, using the Force gather the powder. “Open your eye, I can make it numb.” Shiri pressed her palms against her eyes, trying to control her tears, but it wasn't really working. As the Sith took her hands from her face, she didn't try to fight the movement. She just blinked her uninjured eye in confusion as she listened to what the Sith said, bringing her gaze up to the Sith’s face before she spoke. “Why would you..? I can't open it right now, it just won't.” She blinked her tears away as best she could while trying to get one of her hands back. She could pull her eye open again, though that almost hurt as much as the lightning itself had. Zanna ignored the question, examining the Twi’lek’s eye. “I’m going to have to open it for the powder to go in. Do some sort of Jedi meditation or whatever, cause this is going to hurt.” Zanna reached up one hand and pried open Shiri’s eye. As soon as it was open, she used the force to push the powder into Shiri’s eye, closing it again. Her hand covered the Jedi’s eye, pressing in the powder. “I’m going to have to hold it there for a moment, make sure it takes hold. Or you can, if you prefer.” A few moments of silence passed, then Zanna spoke. “I’m Zanna. Who are you?” Shiri let out a breath as she tried to center herself before the Sith began to put the powder on her eye. She was able to keep still at least, if not block out the pain. She reached up and moved Zanna’s hand away as she said to keep pressure on it, doing it herself as she answered the Sith’s question. “Shir’inilim... or, just Shiri.” She sat in silence for a moment until she thought enough time had passed, removing her hand from her face before she spoke again. “Thank you, I guess. Though I’d still like to know why you’re helping me instead of just dragging me off to wherever.” Her voice was calm now as she studied Zanna’s face for any answer to her question, the look in her eye the only thing betraying the curiosity that was eating at her now. “Everything I can remember being told about Sith and all my experiences with up until now have led me to believe you’re all heartless. Incapable of compassion or care.” Zanna chuckled slightly. “You mean all the information told to you by propaganda to prepare you for war with us, and the soldiers you fight who assumed that it was a fight to the death didn’t prepare you at all for all the different types of Sith there are? Weird. Sith tell me the same things. Jedi are all emotionless robots who kill and weaken the galaxy, so on so forth. What governments strive to hide and what people fail to realize, is that both sides are just like the other. Hopes, dreams, fears, loves, we both have all of it. It’s only our ideologies that are different.” An explosion sounded in the distance and Zanna started, looking around in alarm. There wasn’t anyone nearby, the hall still empty of anyone but them. She looked around more cautiously, hoping no one had seen her slip up, or at the very least would assume it was an act. She glanced back at Shiri, shaking her head slightly. What was she doing? Helping the enemy, who had promised to kill her horribly, and chatting with the Jedi about philosophy as if they weren’t mortal enemies? What’s more, she wasn’t acting to get the trust of jedi either. She was going to get herself killed. She focused herself again, pushing aside whatever had made her show mercy to the Jedi. “You were right about one thing though.” She stood, gesturing down the hall. “I am going to drag you off wherever. Please don’t run. You will not enjoy what I’ll have to do to stop you.” Shiri shook her head as she stood, holding her hands up in front of her in a ‘I give up’ kind of way. “I’ll go quietly. I already know I don’t have any chance of getting away now. Don’t really want to either..” She spoke the last part quietly, waiting to follow Zanna’s lead. Zanna didn't reply, wordlessly gesturing for Shiri to walk ahead of her. They made their way quietly to the ship, each wrapped in their own thoughts. [/hider]