As the Faceless girl raised a hand and began to fire lightning from her fingertips, Aria had stepped forward to shield Vaerth somewhat and taken a defensive stance with her own blades, though Kartan quickly intervened and sent the youngster into an unconscious state, much to the Champions’ surprise. Regretably, it seemed Manus had dug his philosophy rather deeply into this youngster’s thoughts and thus, she would not be swayed by any persuasive statements attempted by either of the Champions. They would have no choice but to treat her as a prisoner until such time that they could convince her otherwise, or as a worst case scenario….well, Aria didn’t want to think of that. It wasn’t right, or fair. Instead, they found themselves gathered with Kartan, Vaerth, and Viqi while others in the outpost dealt with giving their newest charge a change of outfit. Aria was relieved to hear that the Twi’lek former Master seemed to be coming around to their suggestion of allegiance, Viqi on the other hand did not seem pleased by the idea in the slightest. While she was sure the Council would have something to say about Yerbol’s brazen suggestion, Aria couldn’t argue that it would be the best move forward for everyone involved in this little outpost.
“You’d have just as much freedom as you do here, we can assure you that. But better protection from anything Manus could possibly send your way, if he would even dare...which, we’d like to hope he wouldn’t.” once again, the Twi’lek’s lekku vibrated in agitation, for a moment Aria worried that he would refuse the suggestion entirely. Instead, they were bid to wait outside after putting in the holo frequency for the Qyaari base. 

They weren’t waiting an incredibly lengthy amount of time, but the hour seemed to drag by at a granite slug’s pace...especially with sand blowing at them from every which way. It was unsavoury, to say the least, and Aria did not like it one bit. The Tuk’ata, on the other hand, seemed to be rather enjoying themselves; frolicking about like pups and diving in and out of the dunes, tails wagging back and forth in delight all the while. Aria tore her attention away from Chwuq and Taral’s game of tag as Vaerth reappeared and beckoned the Champions back inside, to be greeted by the holographic images of the Qyaari Elders. Voldon and Cheriss both looked abnormally somber, even for the Dathomirian Elder. Between them, Matthew and Kira looked somewhat uncomfortable, but still more serious than she had ever seen them before….whatever words had passed between the Force users of the outpost and the Elders must not have been entirely pleasant to hear. Before either Champion could inquire further about WHAT had been said, the image disconnected and they were left with the simple instruction to escort their new allies back to Zinuthra. 
[i]Well, they’re all hiding something….this can’t be good, can it?[/i] She muttered telepathically to her partner, exchanging a glance with him before they busied themselves with preparing the four shuttles and all of the salvageable equipment and possessions that Kartan and his followers had managed to keep with them over the last few years.
_________________________

Once the shuttles had made the jump into hyperspace, it was safe to hit the autopilot and leave the shuttle to steer itself for the several hour long journey back out into the formerly Unknown Space sector where Zinuthra was situated. As Yerbol made a comment about having sand in his boots, his partner responded by kicking her own shoes off and shaking them out to get rid of the offending grains that had also found their way there.
“Pretty sure it’s impossible not to get sand in your shoes on Tatooine, though I have to question how said sand managed to work its way THROUGH my socks and end up between my toes.” Aria flashed him a grin of her own, adding: “And you don’t wanna KNOW where else I think I’ve got sand, though you could help with that when we get home. Might as well join you and save hot water, right?” their banter was interrupted by a loud protesting growl from Chwuq, who situated herself between them to scowl disapprovingly at Yerbol. Aria rolled her eyes, smirking as she ruffled the hound’s ears gently. 
“Hey, just cause your man’s not in the mood!” the Tuk’ata huffed again, shaking out her coat as Yerbol changed the subject and brought Aria’s attention back to their guest, still unconscious opposite Taral, who had taken up his position of guard dog dutifully instead of pestering the Champions like his mate. 
Aria’s brow crinkled into a concerned frown, another sigh accompanying the shake of her head. 
“I don’t know….we can hope for the best, can’t we? It’s not going to be easy, breaking through that kind of...of brain washing. But at least she’s safe on Zinuthra, if nothing else it might give her the chance to start thinking for herself instead of following whatever lies Manus has been feeding them.”
“Uff! Uff!” Taral’s warning grunt alerted the Champions to their captive returning to consciousness, almost as if she had heard the topic of conversation shift onto her. Exchanging a glance with her partner, Aria rose from the co-pilot’s chair to move back into the passenger part of the shuttle while the Faceless girl groggily tried to push herself into a more upright position, only to find her hands tightly bound. 
“Relax, we’re taking you back with us...nothing is going to happen to you as long as you don’t try anything stupid again.” despite the warning, the girl attempted to struggle and free herself, thankfully the bindings held tight. “Now, if you hadn’t tried to shoot lightning at us, maybe we wouldn’t have had to sedate you and you wouldn’t feel like you’d been trampled by a herd of Banthas.” the Champion smirked, dropping into a crouch so as not to appear too condescending. With no weapons and the sedatives keeping her Force abilities stunted, it was highly unlikely the girl would try to start a fight...and if she did, she had guts (and Taral would likely deck the poor kid before she could touch Aria, so there was that). 

“You’re wasting your time, I’ll never join you.” the Faceless captive proclaimed, her jaw jutting out stiffly. “My loyalties are to my Master alone. He will come for you, and you will regret the day you crossed him.”
“Funny, we’ve heard THAT one before haven’t we?” Yerbol crossed his arms as he too joined them. “Bracknell said the same thing.”
“And the Xiis.”
The girl scowled at the two Champions, protesting. 
“We survived Bracknell’s attacks WITHOUT your help. We don’t NEED the Qyaari and yet you subjugate Force users to your laws and your control, you’re no better than Bracknell was.”
Another glance was exchanged between the pair, before Aria returned her gaze to their guest. 
“Is that what Manus told you? I can tell you right now, that it’s not true. People are free to come and go from Zinuthra as they please; no one stays there against their will….well, except you, when we get there in a few hours. But you attacked us, so that’s kind of on you.” 
“Besides, if you work with us, there’s no reason we couldn’t grant you that freedom as well.” Yerbol put in, with a hesitant smile. “We’re not the monsters Manus has made us out to be.” 
“My Master is more powerful than you will ever be, why would I give that up to join the losing side?” 
“Freedom of speech, the opportunity to grow your abilities, and study the Force in a safe, peaceful environment instead of being thrown into the fire by a lunatic in the guise of a master tactician?” Aria shrugged, “I dunno kid, you tell me.” the Champion rested her chin on her palm, propped up by her knee to study the young girl’s face more closely. “The Qyaari would never throw a twelve year old child into a battle with Force users twice your age and far more experienced than you….you’d need years more training before you were physically OR emotionally prepared for that kind of opponent. What would your parents think, if they knew where he had sent you today? You could have been killed, if we were less careful about hurting you.” she was young enough that Aria hoped pressing that issue might jolt enough sense in her to at least prompt the girl to start thinking for herself...or else, they would have a difficult time indeed reversing Manus’ conditioning. “Do your parents even KNOW where you are, or what he’s asking you to do? They must be worried about you. I know mine would have been.” 
For a split second, a flicker of doubt appeared in the youngster’s eyes, before she shook her head violently and squashed it back down, expression returning to the venomous glare she had worn upon first awakening. 
“My parents are not ashamed of the Master’s goals. It is an honour to be chosen for training.”
“BAH!” Aria scoffed, rising abruptly to her feet as the shuttle’s navigational system chirped to announce their drop out of hyperspace and subsequent approach to Zinuthra, signalling the need for a pilot to bring them in to land. “You sound like a Sith Acolyte.” 
Heaving a regretful sigh of his own, Yerbol re-joined his partner in the cockpit, his own expression one of concern prompted by her white-knuckled grip on the controls and all-too-intent focus on their flight path. 
“This is MADNESS.” she muttered under her breath. “In what universe is it okay to brainwash children into thinking that being used as cannon fodder is a PRIVILEGE? I swear, if Voldon doesn’t kill Manus the next time we see him, [i][b]I[/b][/i] will.” the Champion trailed off with a shaky breath out, trying to calm her own wayward temper. “I'm definitely up for joining you for that shower, to clear my head before we have to discuss all of this with the Elders."

To top it all off, something just seemed...not right. She couldn't quite place it, but there was something amiss. "Does something feel...off, to you?" She frowned across at her partner. "Like something has happened that Voldon isn't telling us about?"