[right]That same evening, Teya IV. Dashara Horizon, Kurin Tonaal.[/right] [hr] From his chair on his ship’s bridge Kurin had seen how his quarry moved across the planet surface below. It wasn’t exactly hard to track her. Other than to deviate around geographical obstructions her path was fairly straightforward. watched his quarry’s movement across the planet surface below. She appeared to have settled in for the night in a small village. That simply would not do for testing her mettle. It was time to flush her out. Kurin rotated his chair around, to where his female specialist was currently standing. “Kira. Contact the garrison commander, Captain Luthin.” “It will be done at once, Inquisitor.” she answered, her hands moving quickly across one of the consoles. Moments after the chair turned back around the captain’s image appeared on the viewscreen built into his bridge’s viewport. “Milord Sith, to what do I owe this pleasure?” the captain asked. “I have a task for two of your squads, captain.” He looked confused. “A task? What sort of task? My men are at your disposal of course.” He added the last bit after a few seconds. “I need you to send some men to these coordinates. There is a village there. Have them ask the locals about a pink-skinned humanoid. She is hiding somewhere in the village. I want her flushed out, but not yet captured. I will inform you when that changes. Do not let harm come to her.” “O-of c-course, m-milord Sith.” the captain stuttered, a bit confused. “That will be all.” Kurin said. Kira ended the transmission at exactly the right time, knowing from experience when he wanted it over. [center]~|~[/center] Dash had walked into the village. She left her speeder bike on the outskirts of a small field and covered up, hidden to anyone who wasn't looking hard. She didn't think there was much crime in the more rural areas, but she'd been wrong before. The last thing she needed was someone pilfering when she wasn't looking. Her eyes took in the village preparing for the night. It was a bigger village than the one she came from. About a good fifty thatched or wooden huts were within walking distance. Pretty close to the center, where she headed, were a few stone ones. She assumed they were more communal in nature than the individual homes. They had a purpose, either for worship or other function. From outside the village to the inside, she saw corrals for the people's livestock. Green equine beasts with segments lining and fused into the neck snorted in compliance. Stone covered hooves carried them into fenced-in areas where simple ropes tied the gates. She felt a spark of pity for them but quickly pushed it away. Not everything could appreciate freedom over survival. Her designation took her into the more clustered part of the village as she stepped into the inn. A male Strak smiled when he looked up from his book, likely records over who had lodged for the night. Dash put on her charm as she spoke. This time she put her pheromones away while she negotiated prices. The Strak was pretty reasonable and she even tipped him for his kindness before he led her to her room. The Inn itself was pretty basic. On the outside it was a stone building with a wooden roof, the center being a square shape. This was where most of the foot traffic happened. Each rented room was circular and attached to the center. On the end, nearest her own bedroom, was the kitchen. A brief glance inside made clear it was pretty modest in its meal preparations. She nodded her understanding when the inn manager explained the rules. Impatience and excitement stirred in her when he finally left her to own devices. Immediately, she pulled her new lightsaber and examined it. Emotions of awe washed over her. It was very light when compared to her vibro-rapier with excellent balance. Dash twirled her fingers, letting the hilt dance between them. She flipped it between her dominant and the other hand, seeing how well she could wield it. Even if Neith didn't want it, she would make sure to use it well. For her, it was easy to ignore the fact it had a red blade when she didn't turn it on. Deciding she risk enough to satisfy her, Dash shoved it into her bag and turned in for the night. Her peace was short-lived when her ears caught distant sounds. Sounds of someone banging on doors and talking. She got up from her bed and moved to the window. Her eyes glanced outside to next door. Several Strak in pale black uniforms appears to be searching for the area. They talked with locals and many started to point in the direction she had taken to the inn. Dash couldn't be completely sure who they were looking for, but part of her didn't want to stick around to find out. She had to leave now. With extreme caution and paranoia, she exited her room. She silently slipped into the kitchen after the inn owner walked to the front door and open it. Thankfully the banging distracted him enough not to spot her. A fire crackled at the center, warming the building when she entered. The individual watching it had slumped over and fast asleep. Lucky break, she thought as she continued to move. She spotted a back exit that wouldn't be covered until they confirmed her presence here. She managed to slip out when the group passed the kitchen's open entrance, the owner leading them to her room. The cold air shrouded on her bare skin causing her to shiver. Her eyes strained against the darkness. Torches fastened to poles gave off dim light and lined the dirt paths. Thanks to these, she could note the direction each shadowy figure was moving. Her heart pounded when she found a storage shed to take refuge in. She decided that having the lightsaber on her person was too risky. If she was caught, she would never see the light of day again. Dash glance around. When she realized the floor was made from mortar and stone, she smiled. Her hand took out her dagger and began to dig out some of the mortar around a cornerstone. She had managed, somehow, to remove the stacks of wheat and feed before she started. When the stone was loose enough, she pulled it out then dug a hole. She set the lightsaber, wrapped in some cloth, inside. After she buried it, she replaced the stone then left. She would be back for it later. With the buildings so close to each other, it was easy to make it out of the center and toward her vehicle. The village outskirts were where she ran into trouble. After she entered it, she crouched down near the corral fence to hide. Mud covered some of her exposed flesh, dulling the bright pink of her skin. The beasts nearby snorted and milled around, but otherwise ignored her presence. She saw several lights wander through the fields. They had to be looking for her speeder bike or hoping to prevent her escape. As she thought about how to remove the challenge to her freedom, her eyes caught movement. One of the Strak had managed to wander far too close to her current hiding spot. His torchlight drawing closer with each step. Dash's eyes looked up and found the rope tying the gate. An idea sprang into her head. She once more took out her dagger and stood high enough to reach the gate's crude 'lock'. She began to cut at the rope while eyeing the authority closing in. Her arm jerked and pulled, desperate to speed up the process. The rough material gave away bit by bit to the sharp edge. The light rose to fill her vision, blinding her for a moment. The young Strak turned his horned head and shouted at his companions. "I found her!" At that exact same time, the rope gave. Dash shoved the gate to the side as she rushed in, her blade still in her hand. In her need for distraction, she let her empathy spread. The animal's eyeless head shook and their flanks quivered, her fear pounded into them. They screamed and snorted, a few rearing in reaction. Dash smacked the old stallion causing him to rush out. The others followed as the more Strak began to move in on her position. As the few in the back began to take off, her hand gripped one’s neck protrusions and swung her leg upward. She clanged to the side as the animal's flesh bounced against her, threatening to toss her off. After a short distance, she felt her grip numb and release. She wasn't trained to hold on as she did. Dash hit the dirt hard, flipping across the ground. When her world stopped spinning, she lifted herself then rushed for her speeder bike. The escape worked better than she hoped. It scattered the Strak and created chaos. They were too busy not getting trampled by the equine creatures to notice her take off into the night. [center]~|~[/center] Specialist Kira looked over her shoulder towards Kurin. “Inquisitor? The tracker is stationary.” He chuckled to himself. “Smart girl… Contact the captain.” ~|~ “Captain. Do you need time to prepare if the starport needs locking down? My quarry decided to leave the tracker I provided her with behind.” “What? Locked down? Why?” the captain sounded flustered. “My quarry is a Force-sensitive who has not reported herself for transport to the academy. If necessary, I will need to search every departing ship personally.” Kurin smiled at seeing the shock on the captain’s face. He clearly wasn’t experienced at dealing with Sith. “I thought it reasonable to give you advance warning, just in case it proves necessary.” “My troops are in place already, milord Sith. There’s hardly any traffic to or from this place. Locking it down will be easy. I thank you for the warning in any case.” “Good. Do not initiate a lockdown until I tell you to.” The transmission ended without allowing the captain time to reply. “Kira. Do you have a location on our target?” “I-I…” she stammered a bit, her fingers flying over the controls. “I lost her, Inquisitor. She let out a herd of the local wildlife. I am sorry.” “Not optimal. We can assume she will head for the starport, to get away. Especially now that she’s been flushed out. That will take her several hours at a minimum. We have time to retrieve the lightsaber from where she hid it. Iris. Take us down to the village.” ~|~ Kurin looked at the half-protesting local as he walked past it into the large building near the center of town. “The fugitive left contraband inside your building. For your own safety, I will remove it from the premises.” He had been tempted to search manually, but with limited time he decided to cheat, using the tracker. With his mask on to provide a semblance of bright light, he easily saw that the girl had disturbed some of the goods. A small pile of dirt had been hidden between two bags and one of the floor tiles had clearly been lifted up. “Sloppy.” he muttered to himself. “Rushed.” He grabbed hold of the offending tile with the Force, lifting it up and away, revealing a cloth-wrapped bundle underneath. He yanked that up with his other hand, putting the tile back into place. Then he left, clearly holding the bundle. “Your cooperation has been noted and you will be commended to the garrison commander. Any inconvenience will be well-compensated.” The empire did not need anyone getting insurgency-ideas now. Rewarding cooperative locals was an excellent tactic to avoid just that. He returned to his ship, which took off the moment the boarding ramp had risen. ~| high above the spaceport, pre-dawn |~ “Search for any speeder bikes approaching the spaceport.” he said as he came up to the bridge. From the hold he heard some grumbling from the other prisoner, who apparently did not enjoy their quick maneuvering. He did not care. “We have… seven, Inquisitor.” Kira replied. “Scan them. Identify possible candidates.” Several minutes passed for each speeder with the bridge silent but for the occasional negative mutter from the signals specialist. One by one, the speeders were eliminated. Some went to the wrong places, others had the wrong number of lifesigns. “Erek. Send a message to the captain. Order him to put all departures on hold for inspection.” [center]~|~[/center] Dash felt stiff muscles and bone ache fill her core. It wasn't the pleasant warmth after a one night stand, but she held onto some comfort. At least she was free. She rose up from her laying position into an upright one. Her eyes glanced toward the cave's entrance, a shelter from the elements. Woods filled the air with their various scents and spores, giving her an isolated feeling. Creatures squawked in the canopy then rushed from branch to branch. She stretched once more then began to pick herself up. After Dashara dusted herself off, she grabbed the purify canteen from her bag and walked out. It took a bit of navigation, but she reached the nearest source of water. A small brook bubbled across the landscape adding to its small appeal. Dash crouched down and leaned close to the edge. She dunked the bottle into the moving water, letting it fill up. When it reached the last line, she corked it and tilted it. The water splashed through some filters which had purified it. She curled up her lip at the chemical aftertaste, but still drank it. Her stomach growled as she returned back to camp. Dash rummaged through the meager selection of snacks she brought along. She had one bag left. Careless due to her over indulgence. It was put back as she pushed the bike out of its hiding spot and continued forward to her final destination. [center]~|~[/center] Dash's hand twisted the starter causing the speeder bike to sputter to a halt. Her figured leaned back and her hands popped off her helmet, her lips frowning at the situation. She expected the worst. A total and complete lock down at the starport. Since her escape from the last village, Dashara questioned how things went downhill. The bounty wouldn't have been enough to cause this much fuss and the Exchange had no influence here. As much as she rattled her brain for answers, no simple ones came. Not wanting to drive herself nuts, Dash dismounted and once more hid her speeder bike. After she finished up, she stepped back. Her eyes harden and she frowned. She cocked her head to one side in hopes that another angle made the flaws more obvious to fix. It didn't. Dash sighed. She dusted off her hands and decided it was good enough, unable to spend more time on getting it perfect. Hopefully, no one would look too closely for it. She hunched down and moved into the village. For a bit, she did well hiding by the personnel as she darted from one hiding spot to another. A few meters from the starport, she scanned how thick security was. Distracted by her intent to find a weakness, she heard someone's foot step in behind her. Hairs on the back of her neck rose as she became still, the male voice spoke. "Hey, you're not supposed to be-" Dash reacted fast. She stood upright and kicked backwards. It hit him square into the knee, the Strak crewman's leg snapped to the side and crumbled from the attack. As he began to cry out, she slipped behind him. Her left arm positioned across the throat as she crossed her left into a sleeper hold. Dash was mindful not to hit the horns on her way to subdue the alien and silence him. Some distance away Kurin observed the subject skirting about, clearly trying to be sneaky, but failing utterly to hide from him on account of her near-constant channeling of the Force for some purpose of which he was not entirely sure. Commendable to be sneaky, but ineffective towards its goal. He did not yet feel any need to step in, though her incapacitation of a member of a ship’s crew was a bit excessive. Efficient, but excessive. As the crewman began to struggle, Dash attempted to silence him. She cut off any sound at the throat by tightening her grip. His movements began to slow and finally ceased. Dashara removed her arms, ready to resume her choking if needed, then lowered him down. She checked his vitals. Still alive. She gave a breath of relief and glanced around. No one else seemed to have heard the scuffle causing her to relax more. There was little time to deal with the body and everyone would've noticed her trying to stash it. In her haste, she used the baggage to obscure line of vision to the body. It wouldn't be long before they found it. With a deep inhale, she began to realize a hard truth. She had to wait until nightfall and use her ship to get out of here. Having done enough recon, she began to fall back to the way she came. A premonition of sorts struck Kurin, giving him the feel that his prey had abandoned its attempts to sneak onto some ship. “Empire 1 - Opposition 0” he muttered to himself. He let her depart for now, moving between the ships making quick inspections and seeing each ship take off, making sure that she was far away when it happened. After less than half an hour, only one ship remained in the starport. It did not take a genius to figure out that it had to be hers. He called over one of the squads of troopers. “Impound this vessel. Until I say otherwise, this ship will remain here.” “At once, inquisitor.” the trooper said, gesturing to some of the non-combat personnel to come over. “Clamp it.” Kurin did not wait to see them do it. He headed away, straight for where his prey had gone to ground. Dash had taken a longer route to arrive back to her 'camp'. She doubted she was followed, but the extra time allowed her to think. When she reached her bike, she leaned against the speeder's seat and she thoughtfully bit her lip. Frustration rolled off her in waves, but she didn't react to it. She didn't stomp or kick anything. In fact, she just stood perfectly normally. Deep down, she had learned it rarely helped to let her emotions control her. And it never made the situation better. The day had such promise too. She found herself regretful that she left the lightsaber back in the last village. It would've been useful now. Initially, Kurin watched the camp from a considerable distance away, using a pair of macrobinoculars. His ship now hovered above the camp and he had, for now, transferred the inspection role to the local garrison. His target did not appear to be happy. He made a note on that for his report. He really did not have time to wait forever on her to move. It was time to end this. With a measured gait he headed straight for her camp. Dash heard footsteps approach causing her to look from her thoughts. Her eyes narrowed on the black robe figure, recognizing him from the starport. The one checking the ships. She made her frustration vanish. Gone like a ghost in the imagination of children. Her lips curled into a smile, It was difficult to note if it was real or fake as she addressed him. "Well, hello there. Didn’t expect to see anyone out here.” “I know. I have been watching you.” he said to her, stopping a short distance away. “It has been interesting.” He looked at her, checking for tell-tale signs of her preparing to flee. He made no aggressive moves. “You have potential, young one. Potential that if properly trained will see you rise far.” He wondered how she would respond. "I'm glad you enjoyed the show." She giggled, revealing nothing of what she was actually feeling. Her hands had been on the seat as she braced them flat, pulling her ass onto the seat. She ensured she was still facing him so not to give away her intentions. Her figure appeared to settle for a moment, her hands moved where he could see and completely relaxed. "You look like a Sith, am I correct on that?" “Thank you.” he answered, not at all being sarcastic about being tagged as a Sith. She appeared to use her emotions as a defense, hiding her true self beneath that shell. He could work with that. He got a sense that she was casing the area, even as her eyes appeared locked on him. It did not take a genius to figure out that she had plans to flee. He would, for now, let her continue to think that was an option. "You're jumping to praise far too quickly. I've not heard too many good things about you guys. I was once told you and I quote: ‘Sith are nothing but vicious and heartless monsters.’ Nothing too flirting, I'm sad to say." Her right left shifted to mount the bike, but she retained her relaxed posture. She reached her right hand to grab her snacks with a casual movement. Though her head had moved to see where she sat them, she kept tabs on his location and kept playing stupid. The only thing left was to start it up and take off. She doubted he would let it be that easy. For now, she kept him talking while she figured the rest out. “No doubt from a Jedi.” he retorted. “I will show you the difference between a Sith and a vicious and heartless monster. It is quite marked.” With a virtually imperceptible gesture he disconnected a power coupling on the speeder bike, effectively disabling it. "Would I still be here if it was a Jedi?" Dash lied as she returned her attention to him, placing her food to the side. "In neutral space, you're not exactly popular. So there has to be some truth to it, right?" Her attention, through her eyes stilled rested on him, flipped to the scenery and looked for a way out. A clearing just to her left was perfect for a straight shot to leave this monster behind. “The Jedi are notoriously dense, so probably. Which is part of the reason they’re not exactly popular either.” He casually ignored her obvious plans to escape. “People are afraid of that which they do not understand and cannot control. You appear intelligent enough to overcome such flaws.” Dash chuckled a little more. "I'm also smart enough to see when a phrase is nothing but a tool. Even if you believe it yourself." Her hands reached for the bars and clicked it on. The engine roared for a moment then sputtered and died. She sighed. That figured it couldn't be as easy as that. "I had suspected you wouldn't make this easy..." “Oh, they are far more than tools…” he said, not caring whether she was willing to accept it or not. When she quite expectedly tried to fire up the speeder, his small alteration made its dysfunctionality obvious. “With proper training, you would perhaps have noticed the speeder being disabled. I will see to it that you receive that training.” Dash inhaled, biting her lip. Her attention returned to him, still pretty far out from her position. He was clearly in no hurry. "And if I decline your generous offer?" Dash asked, suspecting the answer was not in her favor. “It wasn’t an offer.” he answered. “You are Force-sensitive. This is imperial territory. Imperial law demands that you get trained.” He took a single step closer. "Sounds like another cage to me... I don't do well when someone steals my freedom." With that, she shot off the bike and did the only thing she could: run. Beneath his mask, he smiled. She was quite predictable. “There is no need to run from your destiny.” With those words, he reached out with the Force, freezing her mid-step. He didn’t even have to put in much effort. Her defenses were woefully inadequate. He walked closer to her, looking her in the eyes. He could see her struggle against his stasis. He could feel her cold fury. It was strong, very strong. She had great potential. He started speaking, just barely louder than a whisper, "Peace is a lie, there is only passion. Through passion, you gain strength. Through strength, you gain power. Through power, you gain victory. Through victory, your chains are broken. The Force shall free you." He relaxed the stasis after a few seconds, freeing her head. Dash felt her body tense. Her feet stopped in mid-step and she couldn't move. This was not something she expected to happen. She was so fucked right now. Fear should've been coursing through her, but instead fury took its place. The bastard took her freedom. "Fair bit of advice... Don't lecture a Zeltron about passion and emotions. Now, what the fuck did you do?" For a couple of seconds he didn’t answer, recalling what little he knew about that particular species. From her looks, she was clearly not full-blooded. “Yes, you [i]would[/i] be familiar with passion. Then you know what a powerful source of strength it can be. I can see you fitting in well at the academy.” He walked slowly around her, feeling her frustration at being trapped, somehow she was tapping into his emotions, trying to distract him so that she could escape. Unfortunately for her, he had been trained long and hard to maintain control over others in this manner, so her efforts would not come to fruition at this time. “I am holding you in place. A simple technique you may one day learn for yourself. I imagine you can find some creative uses for that, given your species’ predilections.” While where she could see him, he flipped open the armored lid on his wrist computer, pressing a few buttons inside it. “Soon the ship will land, and I will take you to the academy, where the overseers will train you to use the Force far better than anyone else can.” He could feel the frustration turn back into fury directed at him. It was a good thing she had no training in using the Dark Side yet, or this could have been very painful for him. "Yeah, familiar words. A world that will kill the weak and spit out the strong. It wouldn't be the first 'cage' I've been in." Dash spat, venom for the thought. It wouldn't be the first time she escaped it, but she wouldn't let him know that. That she spoke of having been caged before was interesting. He would have to investigate that at some point. Or at least, have someone investigate it and provide him with the report. “If you put suitable effort into it, you will not need to fear dying on Korriban. You have more than enough potential to thrive there.” For a moment he was silent before continuing, “The initial training will be limited in freedom, but it will not involve any cages. You will be free to move about the relevant areas of the academy. Unlike the Jedi, we seek to free you from your chains and limitations, not hammer you into a single standardized mold. The reduced freedom is an unfortunate sacrifice, but necessary to guide you down the path to reach your true potential.” “In time, you will find that you can study what your heart may desire, for example holotomes on the fleshy arts long thought lost in the Republic. You might find them [i]educational[/i], should you find yourself with access to them.” "A cage or leash isn't always physical. It's all about control over someone's life. Your statement, your actions are all I need to know this." Was Dash's simple answer. How often had Ikle dangled a false freedom in front of her? The question was easy enough to answer and she realize it after a year of true freedom. Dangerous her life might've been, but she had full control of her own action and risks. This Sith's words were depressing because they were familiar. "I was free... and that's all I want to be." “You are free… To follow imperial law.” Dash just shook her head. She wasn’t aiming to be around long enough to exercise that ‘freedom’ if she could help it. Her eyes noticed the ship moving in and descending into a landing nearby. Her mind was still trying to puzzle her way out of this, but until she was freed there nothing she could do. The moment the ship landed he activated his comlink. “Lieutenant Angavel, please come down with a stunner. This one is moderately feisty.” A second later a female voice replied, “At once, inquisitor.” "I get a sense you enjoyed saying that..." She made a sarcastic comment. “We both know you have a variety of plans for mischief. It will waste my time and might lead to you being harmed. Both unfortunate and undesirable results, would you not agree?” "Yes," Dash stated firmly, her breath exhaled. Her anger dissipated to a smaller degree, but didn't completely vanish. Kurin saw no reason to give his new recruit any extra opportunities for mischief. He had no doubt that the girl had plenty of pheromones in the air, though these were naturally filtered away by his mask. He would have to observe their effect upon his pilot. If they incapacitated her, then it would be inconvenient but no true problem. He was more than capable of plotting out the course back home without her. He just preferred to leave the flying to her, so that he could focus on his own business. He really hoped he wouldn’t need to provide them all with breathing masks for the entire journey. Lieutenant Iris approached, carrying the stunner ready, already pointing it at the half-zeltron. Dash hadn't realized it, but her pheromones had filled the air. It created a thick atmosphere like an intense high on anyone approaching them. Her eyes shifted to the Sith, noting why he wasn't affected from the very start. That mask. It filtered the air and prevented the chemicals from affecting him. She couldn't be sure how the Imperial woman would react, but she decided to chance it. Her head tilted away from him and seemed to try to glance around the horizon. She moved her lips to silently mouth 'help me' to see the woman's reaction. The closer she got, the more the lieutenant shook her head, trying to clear the fuzz that was creeping in. The influence wasn’t mental. She had been trained to handle that well. It was different. A part of her wanted to help the prisoner. She knew she shouldn’t. It wasn’t her job. She struggled with the dilemma for several seconds longer than normal, even having to work hard to press the trigger on the stunner. The moment the blast hit, the young woman’s head sagged down and the fuzziness started to clear, though it still left her quite muddled. Kurin watched the effect upon his pilot, noting that the pheromones were definitely affecting her. When the stunner knocked his recruit out, he slowly relaxed the stasis, catching her before she fell. “Carry her on board. Put her safely in the second containment unit.” His pilot nodded, accepting the burden without question, carrying her up the boarding ramp and into the cargo hold, where a small section had been repurposed into a set of containment cells. She would be searched, but the energy fields of the cells could not easily be manipulated from within, so there was no need to disarm her for now. Conveniently enough, the other prisoner was currently asleep, so when she next woke, she would find herself with a fellow captive. The ship took off soon after all three had gotten on board and Kurin sent a short message to the garrison commander telling him about the speeder bike, to lift the inspection routine and to do with the impounded ship as he saw fit, on account of its owner now being on the way to Korriban and therefore no longer needing it. A hyperspace course was plotted, and the ship departed moments after leaving the atmosphere of Teya IV. It would take over a week to get to korriban, just shy of seven days.