[IC] Coruscant Sacked: Aftermath

[SpiritedDream]

~|Day 2: 11:56-12:03 GST|~
~|Aboard the Kaggath, Prison Complex: Andri and Canisha|~

“I’m Canisha!” The Cathar chirped, relief making her rather chipper despite the direness of the situation and whatever Nyiss had done to her. She pulled herself to a standing position, revealing that she was only in her mid-teens to the others, and cautiously tested her legs capabilities in terms of holding her weight. “And I don’t know. I was kept away from everyone else until just now. But I know there is at least one other prisoner?”

The young lion pointed down, to where she could vaguely make out the shape of the Jedi male fighting something through the thick flooring.

“My name is Andri,” The Epicanthix answered Denso’s question as well, “and there are at least half a dozen of us, by my guess. Other than the people in this room, that is.”

Andri looked down through the flooring and thought she recognised the man fighting as the one who had involved himself in the scuffle with Sish. Her brows furrowed in concern, “Do you know why he is down there?”

“Uh, no?” Canisha replied. “I only just woke up.”

The Cathar finally felt comfortable standing without the assistance of the bed, and took a step out from behind it. She glanced at the final prisoner, an Echani by the look of him, who had yet to speak. “What’s your name?”

[Zoldyck]

~| Day 2, 11:50-12:15 GST |~

Entirely as Miasa expected, the droid she had sent into the arena soon found itself outmatched by the Jedi prisoner the troopers picked out. It did surprise her a bit that the Jedi picked an electrostaff to fight the droid with, but not overmuch. Of the weapons available, it was one of the more reliable ones there. She immediately saw areas such a droid could be improved for the purpose of fighting Jedi, but did not feel like assembling another yet. Once the droid was fully mangled and disabled, it did not surprise her even a little that the Jedi started digging inside its remains. Even an initiate would know there’s good salvage in a war droid, but she did not expect him to take what looked like the Gyroscopic stabilizer. Was he stupid or did he have some sort of plan for such a part? What possible use could he have for that?

She thought it would be particularly interesting to build a close-combat droid with a cortosis weave shell, then equip the Jedi with a lightsaber. But if she did, she would have to implement some means of containing the Jedi within the arena so long as he was so heavily armed. That idea would need some further thought. Once he had hidden the part he took, Miasa saw him jump up to the side of the arena. He had not been foolish enough to grab any of the weapons. After that, she turned away from the monitor. The Troopers would ensure he did not stray from the appropriate areas.

~| Day 2, 12:13-12:20 GST |~

Meanwhile, a few clicks away from the Kaggath, an Imperial shuttle jumped out of hyperspace. It bore the markings of the Imperial Intelligence agency and slowly made its way over to the much larger Gage-class transport. This particular shuttle had left several hours earlier from a prison ship that was stationed a few systems away from Tatooine and it bore a very specific cargo: A Jedi Knight.

This Jedi was Kara Paan. She had been captured a few weeks earlier on Alderaan and had been detained on an Imperial Intelligence prison ship. She was seated in one of the many chairs available on the shuttle and was flanked by two troopers who kept their blasters at the ready incase she might have some funny ideas. The fact that her hands were cuffed and that she wore a shock collar didn't really seem to make them feel any more confident. That being said, Kara didn't seem too relaxed either. After all, she was onboard of a shuttle and if there’s one thing she hated, then that thing is flying.

As the shuttle approached the Kaggath, the shuttle-pilot requested permission to dock aboard. Permission which, after a short scan of the shuttle, was granted. And thus the pilot steered towards the main hangar in preparation to drop off his cargo and be on his way again.

~| Day 2, 12:16 -12:25 GST |~

The arrival of the shuttle was expected. Or rather, some very few expected it, Miasa among them. Like a good Sith, she had contacts in numerous places, some of them more valuable than others. The contact that had provided her this particular bit of information was among the more valuable ones, deep within Imperial Intelligence.

She did not care how the Jedi had been captured, only that it had. Her source told her the Jedi had quickly been isolated, before any of the more competitive members of Imperial Intelligence got word of her. There was no real value in having Jedi tortured solely for information, when they instead could be taught to use the full spectrum of the force and maybe even be made into proper Sith.

Pulling out a datapad, she read up on the information available about the prisoner. There wasn’t much. A name, species, physical description and a few other minutiae. The usual. The prisoner was unusually tall and heavily built, but not excessively so. With a few quick taps, she instructed the droids to assemble a set of clothes for her. A future Sith should not wear a prisoner’s jumpsuit. The clothes might not be a perfect fit, but they would be better than nothing.

With the efficiency true only to droids, the clothes arrived moments after she slithered into the hangar. A full four septets of Troopers arrived moments after that, led by a single corporal. She handed the clothes to the corporal, including the boots. He in turn handed them to one of his subordinates. The troopers formed ranks around where the shuttle would land.

The shuttle passed soundlessly through the forcefield protecting the hangar, its engines making a roar the moment they once more burned in an atmosphere, though they quickly powered down as the shuttle landed. Miasa coiled herself up before the troopers, awaiting the disembarking of the prisoner. Though largely semantics, she nonetheless believed the setup would provide a suitable impression to the prisoner. Dressed as she was, she would certainly not try to fight immediately. That Miasa found satisfying, for she thought it a great waste to kill a prisoner, especially without gaining any valuable information from the prisoner first.

As the shuttle touched down in the hangar an Imperial Agent walked out of the cockpit and looked down at Kara with much disdain. “We’ve arrived at your new destination, Jedi scum.” He gestured at the troopers sitting next to Kara to release her restraints. While one trooper did just that, the other kept his blaster aimed at her, not willing to take any chances. After her restraints were removed Kara kept sitting, staring at the ground, lost in thought. Where was she now? What were they going to do with her? These were the thoughts that were racing through her mind.

One of the troopers nudged Kara with his blaster, breaking her train of thought. “Get up and get moving!” The Agent said to her. “The sooner I can get back, the better.” After quickly recomposing herself she uttered a loud annoyed grunt as she got out of the chair and proceeded to stand up straight, towering over the others onboard. She smirked at the Agent. “Ooh please don't tell me that you’re going to miss m-” But before she could finish her sentence she felt a jolt of pain originating from her neck and coursing through her body. “The only thing I will miss is using this shock-collar on you.” The Agent said. “Now get moving!”

The shuttle’s ramp slowly lowered and the artificial light of the hangar started to flood the inside of the cramped shuttle. Kara had to blink several times before her eyes had finally adjusted. Then she was finally able to distinguish as to who, or what, was waiting for her. A squad of troopers had been arranged in perfect symmetry, headed by what appeared to be a snake-lady… What were they called again? Kara couldn't really remember.

But before she was able to say anything, Kara already felt another nudge in her back. Again it was a trooper with a blaster. She rolled her eyes as she slowly stepped forward towards the snake-lady and her troopers. Meanwhile the Agent walked right past Kara and straight towards this lady. He clicked his heels together and saluted her. “My Lord. It is my humble honour to deliver this package to you.” He said in a way Kara could only describe as being horribly servile, her disgust for him clearly portrayed on her face. “I hope that you are satisfied?” He then asked.

“It will do.” Miasa answered, looking at the prisoner. Had she been less secure about herself, she might have had an urge to stretch higher up so as to tower over the human, but she saw absolutely no need for that. “You no longer need that.” Miasa said, as she motioned ever so slightly with her finger and Kara's shock collar fell away, clattering to the floor. Miasa saw her looking down at the discarded collar, free to do more than she had been able to do before.

Kara rubbed her sore neck, as this is the first time in weeks that this blasted collar had been removed. In all honesty, she would have liked to pick that thing up and fix it on the Agent’s neck, see how he likes it. But that wouldn't be a very Jedi-like act now would it? Besides, this lady and her troopers would probably not be too fond of that idea. So Kara to take the sensible approach and not do anything rash. Instead, Kara locked eyes with the snake-lady in front of her, trying to gauge her. That was easier said than done as Kara had never met anyone of this species.

“Who are you and what am I doing here?” Kara said bluntly. Considering she needed answers, the easiest way would be to just directly ask, wouldn't it? If this lady answered then Kara had information that she needed. If the lady didn't answer, well, then Kara hadn't really lost anything, had she?

Miasa did not see fit to answer the prisoner’s questions. There was no hurry, and the prisoner would learn eventually in any case. Time was not of the essence. It never was. “Thessse clothesss will replace the clothesss you wear currently, who do not befit your ssstation. Then you will essscorted to the appropriate location.” Miasa indicated the stack of clothes in the hands of one of the soldiers.

Ooh, that’s a horrible sis she’s got. Well, what else do you expect with a forked tongue like that. Anyway, apparently she didn’t want to answer any of the questions, which was a shame but kind of expected. Kara looked at the stack of clothes. They were just ordinary black clothes and sturdy boots. To be honest, it would be a massive upgrade over her current attire.

Kara looked back at the woman. “I appreciate the gift and this whole...” she gestured at the squad assembled in front of her, “...welcoming party. But what do you have to gain from this? Surely you’re not doing this just out of hospitality?” She said with a barely veiled hint of distrust. “And euhm… You said you wanted me to change in those clothes. I hope you meant after we get to the ‘appropriate location’ and not right this moment, right?”

“Do you have anything to hide?” Miasa asked curiously before turning to look at the Imperial agent and her men. “Leave usss.” She turned her focus back to the prisoner, knowing the agent would depart. Less than a minute later, the shuttle took off again, returning to whatever location it had come from in the first place.

Kara didn't know what bothered her more. The fact that this woman wanted Kara to undress right in front of her. Or the fact that she seemed oblivious to the fact that humans appreciated their privacy. Then again, this was probably another prison ship, so privacy wouldn't really be high on their priority list. In her head, Kara was thinking of ways how to get out of this situation. She wasn't just going to undress because a weird snake-lady demanded it… But what else could she do at this stage? Attack her? That’s not really very Jedi-like now is it? But what else could she do at this stage?

After thinking for several seconds Kara couldn't really think of a way to get out of this mess, so she just sighed and let herself come to terms with the humiliation which she was about to experience. She looked at the soldier who carried the stack of clothes, her eyes would be burning with anger if she wasn't able to control her emotions thanks to her Jedi training. “You!” She said briskly. “Hand me those blasted clothes.”

The soldier approached her with a faint smirk. Kara chose to ignore it and undid herself of the prisoner's jumpsuit and only the jumpsuit. She was not some Hutt slave after all, so she didn't make a show out of it either. As she threw the jumpsuit off, it revealed the many scars on her muscular body. These scars ranged from vibroblade cuts, blaster shots, claw marks and even a lightsaber burn. She then reached for the clothes provided by the soldier and it took all her self control as to not punch the guy on his nose. She quickly got into the new clothes, dark grey tunic and trousers, and noticed that while they were a bit on the small size. But hey, better than nothing.

As she finished dressing up she looked back at the lady-snake, choosing to ignore the troopers behind her. “Happy now?”

“That isss more appropriate.” Miasa answered, somewhat pleased at the Jedi’s irritation. It was not quite as good as true anger, but it was a start. Apparently the Jedi had humility. That could be used further. The Troopers, she noted absently, seemed to alternate between not looking and looking. Some of them appeared to be doing the latter while pretending to do the former. She did not really understand why.

“Corporal. Sssee to it that the prisssoner isss essscorted to the prissson where she belongsss.”

The corporal stepped forward and gestured at Kara to follow him. Before she would however she’d first look at the woman one last time. Kara was thinking of something to say to her, but that would just be giving in to her frustrations, something she could not permit herself to do. And thus, all Kara did was just look at her and give off a nod before following the corporal to the prison block.

~| Day 2, 12:40 GST |~

It didn't take too long before they finally arrived at the prison block. The corporal had been walking behind Kara, not taking his eye off of her for a second. She was tempted to try and make for an escape but she knew that it would be a futile attempt. Even if she somehow made it past all the guards and the Sith onboard, she’d still have to fly in a ship. Something she despised. So perhaps it was better to just stay here and sit it out for a while. Finally the corporal called for a halt and opened a door to a turbolift. Apparently this led straight to the prison complex. Kara stepped inside without any hassle, no point in causing any of it is there? After which the corporal shut the door behind her and the turbolift went on to the prison complex.

Kara noticed that there were several other prisoners, though at first glance they all appeared strangers, yet almost all of them seemed to be Jedi. Atleast, if their clothes were anything to go by. Now, how did they get all these prisoners? And why were they all here? And where was here anyway? Kara was sure that the answers to all these questions would become clear in due time. For now though, she decided that she wouldn't cause too much of a fuss and just remain quiet. If someone else would start a conversation with her, then she’d maybe talk. But as of now she’d just scan her surroundings a bit, as well as think about what just happened.

[Dblade26]

~|Day 2: 11:56-12:10 GST|~
~|Aboard the Kaggath, Prison Complex: Khan Sainen|~

Khan had been more than a little distracted, taking in the details of the room that was apparently to be their sleeping quarters and assessing them. He had frankly expected something a little more dungeon-like, though that seemed to be a running theme with him and his observations so far in terms of this whole experience. The beds actually looked comfortable enough, which he supposed was important for everybody's morale. Unfortunately there seemed to him to be a lack of anything that could be considered a viable improvised weapon when a possible time for escape came around. Well, unless the young Echani particularly felt like attempting to pillow-fight his Sith captors to the death. The thought almost made him chuckle in spite of himself, although mainly his stance shifted to a more amused one. He did, at least in the back of his mind, take in the fact that someone had mentioned there were perhaps half a dozen prisoners on board in addition to the ones in the room. He should probably try and meet all of them, at some point. If he had to fight, it seemed increasingly likely that his skills and body would be his only weapons when the time came. That was fine, he'd been training his whole life to do just that and-

Oh, someone had asked him his name! A Canisha apparently, one who seemed to be suffering from some sort of semi-debilitating injury, but whose stance nevertheless seemed rather bright, relaxed and happy by his estimates. Naturally this brightened the young Echani's own mood considerably, although he was already surprisingly full of energy.

"I'm Khan Sainen! I've only recently arrived, but apparently there was a big riot earlier! A lot of us will be staying here, right? That means we'll probably have a good chance to meet the other prisoners soon enough! Then we can all exchange whatever we know and get to know each other, at least!"

Again, it irritated him just slightly that hardly anybody knew how to properly introduce themselves outside of the Echani, but then again this Canisha seemed injured, so an introductory sparring session would probably have been a bad idea.

"Then again, even if we do get to know each other and figure out our situation it's not like we have weapons to fight back with...well, unless you want to help me pillow-fight the Sith to death!"

The thought had been bouncing around in his brain a little since he first had it, and besides that a little humor couldn't hurt too much right? This Knight Denso had shown that much when Khan was first brought aboard, at least.

[Rtron]

~| Day 2, 11:50-12:25 GST |~
~| Aboard the Kaggath, Prison room|~

Nazca muttered a curse under her breath, watching Koren get taken away. A sudden spike of fear went through her. What if the red skinned bitch is taking him? No...no she's powerful enough she would just walk in here and take him. For whatever reason, he's been taken away by someone other than her. Can the regular Sith troops just take us? Or are we strictly for the Sith? Nazca's thoughts continued on this rambling path until she noticed that Koren had been tossed into the arena beneath her. "Fuck." She could only watch helplessly as he first tested out the polearm, and then had to fight against a war droid. Every blaster bolt that nearly hit him made her flinch. Fortunately, he had everything under control. The War Droid was eventually destroyed and Nazca breathed a sigh of relief, watching as Koren left the Arena. With him out of immediate danger, or at least she couldn't see the immediate danger he was in, she relaxed. And was immediately hit by a wall of exhaustion she had been staving off for a while.

Without the ability to carry herself Nazca couldn't really move from her position in the middle of the room. Thus, she laid on her side and closed her eyes, muttering, "Can nothing have happened when I wake up? Please?"

An indeterminable time later, Nazca awoke. She didn't feel any better, nor did she feel like she had any energy. But she could hear Koren and a few other, new, voices. "Great. Some others got caught and dragged to this ship. Fun times!" With that, Nazca crawled over to a wall and picked herself up. Muttering curses all the way, she heavily leaned against it and made her way towards the sound of Koren and the others. Once she was in the doorway, she gave a pained and exhausted smirk. "Two times? My, my, someone's popular. Who were your friends this time? The Trandoshan? The Red Skinned bitch? The one who thought he had charm but was really just an asshole with a scar?"

[Fallenreaper]

~|Day 2, 12:17-12:32 GST|~
~|Kaggath: Prisoner Cells, (Bunks) Xid|~

When the Sith Lord dismissed him, he was escorted back to his cell by the troopers. If he hadn't been feeling so terrible, Xid would've been relieved and glad to escape her presence as the chill faded with the distance. His feet kept a steady and consistence march with the men dressed in uniform while his arm cradled his side, both it and his chest feeling pain edge across the surface. Seeing her tears and emotions, he was grateful that he hadn't been able to use empathy like Koren. The teenager was sure his mind would've sank far lower than it was already, making it nearly impossible to recover while his head lifted to see his surroundings. Mentally he was counting the steps he was taking back to the cell before he realized he was leaning to one side of his body, making his gait uneven, before they finally arrived at the cells.

He flinched when one of the troopers shoved him into the lift causing the Knight to hiss in protest. There was no reaction beyond their fingers tightening on their weapons causing him to obey silently and stepped first into the lift, his guilt ridden mind comforted by the metal rattlings of it rising to the cells above. His back pressed against it to absorb its strength while he waited for the troopers to drop him off and leave. Xid could feel their eyes staring at him in blame though none had spoken a word beyond a mere order since he was passed into their procession. As much as he wanted to break the awkward, unnatural passing of time, he wisely chose to keep his mouth shut.

Right now, all he wanted to do was settle into a bunk and just sleep letting his body recuperate from this day. Between Tolun's disappointment in him, his mistakes, and worse, Xid's mind was a utter mess. He wasn't sure if he felt up to attempting to repair the damage to some of the equipment done during the earlier attack though he was certain someone would remind him of how important it was.

He inhaled sharply causing his figure to flinch, his fingers clutched his side a bit harder to keep from yelping in pain. It wasn't until the troopers order him in, did Xid acknowledged the lift had stopped. His body gingerly pushed off the back then walked toward the exit, his ears catching the fast closing hiss of the doors and followed by rattling of the lift leaving. He didn't bother looking back to see it depart. Instead he waddled to the nearest bunk where his arm reached out and steadied himself, crawling into the mattress while flipping onto his back where he just laid there. His eyes stared into the bottom part of the top bunk bed and tried to purge the memory of the trooper's death. All the time, the pressure of the situation was starting to pile on top, leaving him worried he couldn't quite accomplish what they needed by the time the Sith's influences started to affect them.

Xid just closed his eyes then relaxed, or tried to.

~|Day 2, 12:20-12:25 GST |~
~|Prisoner Cell, Medical Room Navi|~

Still irradiated at being denied Xid, as promised by Koren, its eyes turned upon the alien whose lap he was settled in. He whirled and clicked in curiosity, interested in what task the Knight might have for him. It couldn't have been too much since he was assuming someone, even with Xid's help, could rig the lifts to allow the Jedi to escape. Why they hadn't wasn't a mystery, but someone had to be working on the mapping of the ship in some fashion. Eagerly waiting for Tolun's reply, it tilted its board head to indicate its interest about Tolun's request. It fought the impulse to merely scramble back up the vent to search for Xid, choosing to remain still and wait.

However even with the the verbal request being made, there was little promise the droid would carry them out. Anything that conflicted with him keeping Xid safe was never an option. Though Xid was blissfully ignorant of this, Navi hadn't the moral constrictions the Knight had. If it came down to a choice between any one of the Jedi and Xid, Navi would easily leave the Jedi to die without a regretful circuit within his geared body. Including Tolun himself.

[cqbexpt]

~| Day 3, 18:05-19:50 GST |~

~|Location: Tatooine, Mos Eisley|~

Fa held her breath for a few moments, then let out a grunt as she finally secured the last piece of her armor, apart from the helmet she was carrying in the pack on her back. She had a much more difficult time than usual putting on the set, mostly because she was attempting to do so in a small, cramped storage closet. Her room, unfortunately, was not a private one, so it was rather inconvenient to get equipped without anyone else seeing the Republic armor. Of course, she never really found wearing armor or clothing to be comfortable, given her upbringing, but she could tolerate it when blaster fire and shrapnel were heading her way. At the very least, her armor was light compared to Vebra’s.

Once the hard part was out of the way, Fa put on the cloak she had taken from Vebra’s room, making sure it properly obscured her armor and weapons. Though annoyingly large by her standards, it would at least keep her from attracting attention. With it, she was finally able to get moving towards the loading bay to meet up with Vebra, carrying with her a case containing her larger weapons, and the meal she had grabbed from the mess: a whole, uncooked gizka.

Vebra had taken quite a bit of time making his way to the loading bay after he dropped off the cloak for Fa in their bunk. His first stop had been back to the mess hall for atleast something. It had been awhile since "morning's" breakfast so he figured food could become hard to come by on the desert world, well good meat anyways. His hopes of good meat were quickly dashed however as he found that the were serving gizka. While at first apprehensive to the idea of eating the tiny lizard bottom feeder he quickly warmed up to it when he could feel his stomach snap at him. He elected to have it raw seeing as he probably wouldn't be able to taste the diffrence anyways. He devoured the creature right there and then after sitting a table seeing as he was actually hungry. While most of the bones he elected to just eat considering how small they were little impeded the Zabrak's consumption.

After being satisfied with his work on the carcass leaving little more then big bones and parts of the digestive tract he discarded the carcass and grabbed a cup that he left with back to the bunk. He began working the bones out of his throat and mouth spitting them into the cup while simultaneously working his way through the somewhat oddly designed ship. When he finally arrived at the bunk he saw that Fa had cleaned all of her gear out and Vebra quickly went to work doing the same. While he had packed rather lightly this trip the fact that he had to stow his helmet took up quite a bit of room in his pack. After checking to make sure no one was around he went to work attaching anything that he couldn't carry in his pack to his waste. This mean his blaster and it's sling were going to be wrapped at his waist and he would not be able to bring it to bear quickly. He wasn't terribly concerned though as if they got into trouble his armor could atleast absorb a shot or two for him, had before. Then there was the blade at his hip that while not quite the rang of a blaster could be rather useful even in a blaster fight.

Throwing his pack on over his cloak he began to make his way down to the loading bay where he was sure he would meet Fa. Just then the captain piped over the ship's intercom that they would be landing within the next several minutes and something about getting off his ship. the hallway before the loading bay was full of individuals and families alike gather all of each other together to leave this rust bucket. Some of them looked like they were carrying their whole lives in bags and other like they had just left with the clothes on their backs. The impending Imperial occupation was not something a lot of people wanted to be around for. He figured that was enough reason to get out of Balmorra, he had seen occupied worlds before. While clean and orderly usually he knew about all the secret raids of dissidents in the night and the constant fear all of the populace lived in of the Empire. There was no reason this time should be any different.

He quickly found Fa in the huddled masses as with the cloak on she looked almost more raggity than most of the refugees. Coming up to the side of her making sure she knew that it was him approaching her he spoke over the sounds of planetary re-entry that were sounding dulling through the hull. "For a second I thought you were a refugee. Maybe teaching you how to blend in was a bad idea." Vebra said with a grin as he threw up his hood being careful of his horns.

Fa was among the crowd in the loading bay, somewhat near a garbage chute. She was most of the way through the gizka, which meant the viscera was plainly visible to any watching her. Indeed, she had already received a few judgmental and disgusted glares from some of the other refugees, but at the same time, none of them were actually willing to confront her. Few among the refugees looked like they had the confidence to confront even the smallest of percieved threats or offenses, and Fa could not say she blamed them. The fighting on Balmorra, from where most of these refugees had originated, had been dragging on for so long that it had sapped the will out of even many trained soldiers. For these civilians, Fa could only imagine their state of mind, After being caught in the fighting for so long, peace could only seem like a myth, and with the expansion of the Empire throughout the galaxy, that might not be far from the truth.

Casting aside those thoughts for the moment, Fa gave a nod to Vebra as he approached. The hood obscured most of her head in shadow, and the cloak hid her tail, so the only visible indication of her reptilian body was the end of her snout, which protruded a few centimeters beyond the hood. Overall, it was an adequate disguise, as long as no one paid too close of attention to her. Otherwise, she would need to be careful not to let any piece of her armor peer out from underneath the cloak.

"Vebra..." Fa began as she let down her hood, then ripped out another chunk of meat from the gizka's insides. She looked at him and gave a smile, revealing her sharp, blood-soaked teeth. "...I'm never going to blend in." She joked.

Vebra smiled at the lizard as the massive cargo doors began to open on the freighter. The hot dry air flew into the relatively cool ship, carrying handfuls of sand with it. While he didn't mind the heat he had to consciously close his eyes to avoid the onslaught of sand that hit him. Not having his helmet on was something he would have to get used to again, seeing as the war was "over". The huddled masses of refugees began disembarking some running off the vessel and kissing the dirt while others collected all their things walking off solemnly. As the doors came to a rest on either side of the hold Vebra walked out onto the short ramp down the hold and felt his boots hit packed dirt. Even in the biggest port of the planet they couldn't be asked to laydown some dura-steel, he thought.

He lightly brought his gloved and hooded hand close to his blade at his waist just to ensure that it was still there. Confident with the quick brush of the sword against his finger tips he continued forward on the dirt moving towards the far side of the port and out of the landing area. While Vebra was not terribly tall for a near-human most of the people around him were obviously refugees which meant they were hunched over their respective belongings or bending to weight of them. This meant Vebra had an easy time seeing over everyone as he attempted to locate transport. He briefly watched as two speeders flew by in front of him leaving a massive cloud of dust behind them in the "street". After blinking out the sand he was greeted with the sight of two Dewbacks and a Jawa holding the reigns of both of them looking off to the side conversing with several other Jawas. Vebra approached the Jawa and pointed to the Dewbacks and nodded it's head yes while also saying something in it's launguage. Vebra threw two credit chips at the Jawa who let go of the reigns to catch them. He figured it was a fair price and he wouldn't very well be able to barter with the Jawa's considering that he couldn't speak their language.

Vebra grabbed the reigns of one of the Dewbacks and jumped his leg up over the Dewback's back. Resting his hands on the saddle he called out to Fa. "Well, let's make this quick then."

"Yeah...quick." Fa commented before climbing, slightly reluctantly, up onto the beast. Sitting in the saddle of the ungainly, overgrown lizard was just about as comfortable as it looked, and her armor was not helping. At the very least, the cloak was nice for keeping out the sand; all she had to do was pull up her hood to deal with the dust cloud from the speeders. "Just two chips? I'm guessing they have some way to track these things, so...we might want to get off a little ways from our destination, just to be safe." She suggested.

Since Vebra's datapad was the one with their intended destination on it, Fa was able to just follow his lead...not that there was any kind of view to appreciate. Tatooine was the definition of a backwater planet, and Mos Eisley was a slum with more corruption than sand. Even the rich on the planet were poor by most galactic standards, and just about every place on the world would try to kill you in some way. Overall, it did not seem like anywhere close to the ideal destination for any refugee when first thinking about it. However, she felt she might understand the reasoning for some. Obviously, the Sith and Republic were yet to turn the desert world into a battleground, so the standard day went by with considerably less blaster fire. And, even if the Empire did go out of their way to capture such a worthless place, it was honestly unlikely that much would change for its inhabitants. It would still be a dry and dangerous rock in the middle of nowhere, just with different tyrants collecting the taxes.

The hot dry air constantly blowing into his face with the occasional bits of sand thrown in was rather annoying to Vebra. He wished more than anything he could put on his helmet if only for the fact that he wouldn't have to keep rubbing his eyes. Luckily Vebra didn't have to guide the Dewback much as it went pretty much straight without him doing anything. He kept having to pull the cloak over himself tight again just get the hood to block out some of the dust. Even by Zabrak standards this place was hot, while he found it just outside of comfortable he assumed Fa didn't mind it even more than he did, being she was a lizard and all. Still he would need to remember to keep drinking water or he would dry up and die out here. The last thing he wanted to do was to die from the elements on some forsaken backwater with his helmet not on.

With speeders constanly racing back and forth in the streets it became hard to see more than a hundred yards infront of himself. He began to wonder what the Jedi thought they would find here. He knew that people hid here when there was nowhere else to go but the Empire couldn't possible be so far ahead of them as to have already driven any sources into hiding already. Not being terribly familiar with the endless junkyard of a planet Vebra managed to occupy most of his time checking the datapad compulsively hoping that they weren't lost.

As they slowly reached the outskirts of the town on the beasts of burden Vebra turned around as another gust of wind kicked up more dirt into him. "I think that domed building up ahead is it. I don't see anyone outside but be prepared to get into trouble." Seeing as the dust had cleared up and they were only a few yards away he decided to hop off his Dewback with a swing of his leg. He then patted the beast on it's neck and told it to go home. The Dewback made a ghastly noise then turned to go back they way that they had come from. Vebra adjusted his pack so it fit over his shoulder pads making him look slightly less threatening.

Fa was cautious as the pair approached what appeared to be a scrap yard in the distance. It was a place that seemed shady and at least potentially dangerous, although; to be fair, so did every other part of the city. In this veritably lawless frontier of the galaxy, safety was provided by the speed at which one could draw their blaster. Luckily, her sonic blaster was well-within reach just under her cloak. The heavier weapons were still in the case she carried under her arm, but they would not be as useful to grab on a moment's notice regardless.

Dismounting from her dewback alongside Vebra, Fa sent the trained beast on its way as well. Their apparent destination was just a short walk ahead of them, but inside, they had no idea what kind of welcome awaited them. Lyric's Jedi could have run into trouble since they had last been able to contact him. Of course, if a group of Jedi ran into trouble in such a small, confined area, Fa would reasonably expect them to come out of it just fine.

"That's it, then? Let's just hope Lyric actually took the time to radio ahead. The last thing we need is for the Jedi to be doubting us." Fa commented as they approached the door to the domed structure. She looked between the door and Vebra, then shrugged her shoulders. "So, I guess we should just...knock?"

"Well if it all goes sideways it wouldn't be the first time we've had to improvise." Vebra said quietly as he crossed the street with Fa in tow. This place was comparatively quiet considering where they had just been. Though if they got into a fight he supposed no one would really come running to help them. Once they reached the metal door Vebra reached up with his gloved fist and made an effort to knock instead of banging it. It had been awhile since he had to actually ask for a door to be opened.

[Fallenreaper]

~| Day 2, 11:57- 12:20 GST |~
~|Kaggath, Security Room: Jayda & Zanna (Part 1) |~

Zanna waited until they were a good distance from Vivithe before relaxing. She let out a breath, looking over her shoulder to give a slight smirk to Jayda. “You need to get better at lying. Quickly. She’s going to try to isolate you from me or me from you. From that friend comment I’d guess she thinks one of us is playing the other, or that we’re both fools. Seeing as we’ve already caught her attention, I doubt she’ll just forget about us and let us go on our merry way.” She stopped and turned to eye Jayda critically. “Speaking of on our merry way, shall we just skip the camera room and go straight to the rest part? You don’t seem to be doing well. My alchemy can do many things, but restoring lost blood is not one of them. We can train tomorrow, if you’re feeling better then.”

The Red Sith’s footsteps had slowed, with her checking around to make sure that they were more or less alone. “I’ll even help you with lying. I don’t believe Lady Lansha believed us and if she gets you by yourself you’re doomed.”

Jayda followed quickly on Zanna’s heels, her anxiety fading with each step, as she struggled to keep up. Already her hand pressed to the side and her body leaned over to feel her weakness creeping in on her for the second time. Pretending to be strong while adrenaline was coursing through her vein but now, all that had died and she was left huffing heavily while her hand pressed into the metal surface. Her flesh slightly drenched in light sweat skimming along her surface causing her become painfully aware of much energy she had wasted, realizing she would have to eat in another hour or two else her body would start to devouring itself. Losing more muscle mass, especially after recovering during those four months recovering from a long time of near starvation,wasn’t an experience she wanted to repeat.

She listened to the fellow apprentice speak the truth about their little departure, her body nearly crashing into the Red Sith when the female abruptly stopped in front of her. Jayda cursed in Ul’Zabrak under her breath at the action then tried to keep herself upright and standing. “She might gain an unsavory surprise then… Besides, she wouldn’t be the first and with any luck, I’ll off the ship before she can. Sish brought me on board for a reason and until I complete it, he will not leave me alone for long. She would be lucky to see me alone for a few seconds and I don’t think she is the type ask Sish if she could borrow my help, do you?”

She took a breath and tried to steady herself. “No, I need know what happened. In addition, I need to eat soon again.”

Immediately Zanna started to move again causing Jayda to grind her teeth in frustration while she followed. “As for lying, I’ll figure something out and soon.”

Zanna, upon glancing back again and noticing what state Jayda was in, slowed until she was at a complete stop. She eyed the Zabrak, wondering how long it would be before she collapsed. Such pride. Its just as likely to to kill her as it is keep her alive. “Sish isn’t around to protect you now. We don’t know how long Nyiss will keep him or if he’ll even return alive. If he doesn’t, I assure you that leaving this ship won’t be easy. Lady Lansha is interested in you. Why, I cannot say, but she asked me about you at breakfast this morning.”

She arched an eyebrow at Jayda, a slight smirk playing on her lips. She was beginning to realize more and more just how out of her depth Jayda was. “What, pray tell, would that something be? Your attempt at lying seconds ago was...cringe inducing. Lansha will believe you even less than she believed me.” She leaned against the wall, giving Jayda time to rest and recover before they continued on.

“You need lessons on how to lie and Force use. Just as I need lessons on combat and reading body language.”

Jayda was pressing against the wall, listening, thankful that Zanna had realized her trouble at keeping up. Even if her pride was irritated she failed to overcome her weakness. As much as she hated to admit Zanna was right, the Red bitch had points even she would be blind to ignore. Her eyes turned up to see the playful smirk start to edge on the Sith’s mouth causing her to frown deeper. “Fine... “

The word came out in a bit of a growl while she pushed herself upright again, using the wall to aid her toward their destination. “We’ll start our lesson in the camera room then.”

Zanna rolled her eyes at Jayda’s growl. She was beginning to understand that the Zabrak was always in an angry and upset mood. “Seems as good a place as any. You’ll probably make it there.” She replied, following Jayda as the other apprentice lead the way to the camera room. As they entered, Jayda heading towards the cameras for the prison level, Zanna spoke to the troopers in the room. “Leave us. Do not let anyone in here without warning us first.” She put just the slightest bit of Force in her voice, to help persuade anyone considering resisting.

Jayda was quiet while she watched Zanna speak. The Red Sith's words sounded normal but way the trooper's eyes looked, it was clear she applied Force to them. There was no question or curious looks when they exited causing Jayda to cast a look at Zanna. Instead of voicing her desire, the Zabrak shifted casually to the console.

When the troopers quickly left the room, a pair of them move to stand outside the door as it closed. “There.” Zanna said with satisfaction, “Now there won’t be any interference.” She moved over to watch the recording of Sish’s incident with the prisoners with Jayda.

Jayda nodded then shifted her attention to the holo screen. Her eyes narrowed into each individual during the reply as she noted it all started over a simple kiss. In normal conditions, she would've rolled her eyes and smirked at the love sick pair. However, it was much more serious than that. Sish discovered and naturally things became worse when they resisted.

Knowing she had to teach the Red Sith at some point, Jayda leaned upright then spoke. "What can you tell me about the individuals within the recording? Look closely and make your best guess based on what you know already."

Zanna didn’t bother turning her gaze from the recording, brow slightly furrowed as she watched the battle play out. “Lord Sish is...holding back. Being cautious. The boy is desperate. The only ones who are calm is the Kel-Dor, the Sluissi, the Kaminoan, the other human and the Twi-lek. More than that I can’t tell you.” She glanced uncertainly at Jayda, filled with the uncomfortable yet familiar feeling of being out of her depth and not knowing what she was really doing. A smile ghosted across her lips. Who would have thought I’d be learning from a filthy impure?

"Is that all you see?"

Zanna looked again, brow furrowing once more. For a few moments, she was silent. Then Alat’s attack upon Sish’s head happened. Her eyes grew brighter as pieces fell into place before her. Her finger pointed towards the monitor as she spoke of each person. “Aside from the obvious, Sish being in pain, the Kel-Dor is tired. Whatever he did was exhausting. The other Jedi are surprised. It was an ability they didn’t know he had.” She looked at Jayda expectantly, waiting for the denial or the confirmation of her thoughts.

"Yes, note how they are wary and surprised. My guess is that it is not a light force one either. Now Sish will lose control and will likely try to maim the Kel-Dor. And this is when the gas stops.." Jayda confirmed as she turned off the holo screen. Her finger made a slight click and absorbed the details Zanna had missed. Easily her mind picked out possible assumptions to test though observation as she listed off the odd things within the fight. One hovered over her with such obvious light, she was surprised Zanna hadn't noted how the boy held himself.

"Also the lights flickered when this one," She pointed to Koren," is in pain yet the lightning hasn't touched him until later. Another important note... the boy might have a broken or fractured rib, maybe more. See how he's leaning to the side, favoring one over the other?" She continued bluntly, her tone emotionless.

Zanna’s eyes followed Jayda’s finger and absorbing her words with obvious interest and respect as she listened and saw what the Zabrak was talking about. “Unless Sish has no mental defenses it has to be one that ignores them...Drain Knowledge perhaps? But that has a high chance of giving him useless information..” She muttered to herself, before refocusing on the task at hand. She stared a brief moment at the boy, brow furrowed, before nodding. “Yes, I see it.” She couldn’t help but wince at the limp way he fell to the ground on his bad side.

“I doubt he’ll be taken for any harsh physical torture, lest he die.”

“Sish would end up killing him accidentally in a secession as he tends to be excessive. Especially with those of younger age and believes they can handle much more then their bodies are actually able to. After all, he never listens to their cries when it matters.” Jayda stated in a slightly hollow tone, her mind recalling the last youth Sish tortured and a dry lump found its way into her throat. She gritted her teeth, her claws digging into the console’s edge deeply before retracting her fingers. “He hasn’t much self control.”

Her hand waved toward a moving chair then slid it over, rolling toward her where she stood then sat hard into it. It would be the first time someone, other than Sish, had actually witness her force control. Her body leaned into the support as she felt release from her legs, relieve in her body’s weakness. Jayda keep in mind her father’s teaching methods and tried to apply them. She continued, struggling to keep her emotions out of it, to point out more evidence. “There’s three combative experienced Jedi among the prisoners and three none.”

Jayda replayed the vid from the start again, slowly going over the scene bit by bit she pointed out things she could draw facts from. “The woman, man and Kel-Dor here. The Kel-Dor is a predator, likely strong in close quarter combat but… something feels off. The other two are better at support tactics, while the teenagers are mostly the weak links in this despite the boy starting it.”

Instinctively, she leaned up and pointed at the screen where the Twi’Lek had hopped into the lift then hunched down. “The Twi’lek, if I was to guess, is sabotaging the lift of some sort. She could have Mechu-deru or be a simple splicer. Not sure what the boy’s speciality is but his force is weak and clearly not combative.”

Taking her finger to tap her chin, Jayda played the vid a bit more then pointed at the Knight holding the boy back. “The woman holding the knight back knows Soresu, it might be her only or primary form. Here another Sith comes in here and he’s not taking this match seriously....”

“Now, any guesses how I knew all of that?” She managed to keep her irritation at Sish’s toying with his victims out of her voice, pausing the vid on key moments she was studying and waiting to see if Zanna would note her own observations.

Zanna thought for a moment, before beginning to speak slowly. “The combat you noted from how each of them held themselves, and how they reacted. The Kel-dor and the other two are calm and seem to be assured of what they’re doing, as if they’ve done it before. The Twi-lek is calm as well, but she’s not attacking. So she’s been in desperate situations before but not quite combat. Or if she has not this type of combat.”

Zanna continued, enjoying the challenge this lesson presented. “The boy is merely throwing himself at Sish, reacting more on instinct than thought. The Twi-lek’s splicing is from her position. Kneeling on the side of the panel, hands and arms moving, et cetera. Soresu, and other lightsaber forms, Sish taught you how to note. The stances, movements, so on so forth. After all if you don’t know what you’re facing your chances of death rise.” The Red Sith looked at her teacher, eyebrow raised.

Jayda’s eyes flickered in anger, her teeth grinded together, as she frowned when Sish was mentioned. She inhaled then set on correcting the Sith in a cold tone. “I learned to read combat stances, movement and more before I ever met Sish. Since I was eight years old and being born on the Zabrak homeworld. We learn combat as soon as we’re able to hold a weapon in our hands and swing. As for Soresu, that was a form I learned before I met Sish. Now he makes sure to decapitate anything he needs to kill.”

Zanna inclined her head slightly, acknowledging her mistake. She did not fail to notice the Zabraks’ reaction however. Her past is a touchy subject, it seems.

She calmed her anger before continuing. “Yes, when you know what you’re looking for than being able to tell who’s a threat and who’s not is simple. How one holds her or himself, might show the individual’s personality. Lady Lansha isn’t a direct combatant, both because of her demeanor and the fact her hands don’t show callouses like these.”

The Zabrak slowly pulled off her gloves, revealing the hardened skin that years of practicing brought while she held them for Zanna to examine. Her eyes wary of the Sith’s actions at all times. “It means she will refuse to fight unless cornered into it and rather let others fight for her. Your hands show a different path. There’s burns, cut scars, and other markings associated with an inventor or chemist. Your alchemy talents and work show in a very, very obvious way.”

When Zanna finished looking at her own hand, Jayda quickly re-gloved them. “Even a simple trait, as meaningless or mundane as it seems, can tell you a lot.”

Zanna’s eyes studied Jayda’s calloused hands, resisting the urge to lightly trace them with her fingers. She glanced briefly down at her own, seeing the old burn scars and smiled to herself. “You’re right. I do have my talents on my hands.” She looked back up at Jayda, curiosity evident. “But how do you tell the difference between your callouses and the callouses of, say, someone who has worked with tools all their lives? Difference in location and intensity? Or do you just have to assume based on what you know of them?”

The Zabrak nodded, her hand reached to pull out her lightsaber then held it in one hand. “Also the shape and style of them. Lightsabers handles are built for combat, made to keep in the hand of the wielder with little risk in slipping loose. Also, tools end up leaving cuts, and unless you’re a beginner, you wouldn’t want to get ‘cut’ by your own weapon. In addition labors often have additional scars, wounds, and more in places you wouldn’t want to see on a lightsaber wield. Often the knuckles, fingers, and palms depending on their daily task.”

She took a breath and moved onto the next subject. “While you can’t officially tell if they are merely a labor worker or a lightsaber user, you can at least make educated guesses. You can also learn a Jedi’s or Sith’s most used form through their hands.”

In her none used hand she spread fingers out while she continued to point at the areas where her hands made contact the most with her own style. Her finger and thumb webbing, side of her thumb and fingertips were the most thick through her gloves managed to hide those facts from sight. “Soresu is purely defensive and requires both hands. Through it can flip and sway to block, few users ever use it one handed alone unless they are dual wielders. You can even tell some style possibilities by the callouses depth in their groove. More offensive styles dig deeper into the handle due to strength being a primary factor. More defensive users side swipe and deflection to block and shove an attack away. Ataru depends on flips and jumps, less strength as well that means defined muscles in the legs. Now.. look at your own hand and tell me what you see?”

Zanna dutifully looked down at her own hand, brow furrowing as she concentrated, her hand splayed out in front of her, palm up. “ Someone who relies on something other than lightsaber skills to keep her alive. Likely alchemy, judging from the burns. Past mistakes, perhaps.” Her free hand traced the burn scars and slight bumps. “She learned just enough lightsaber skills to delay the inevitable long enough to, she hopes, have her dubious allies or her alchemy to save her.” She looked up and gave a rueful smile. “Perhaps I’m going based off of too much personal knowledge.”

“Not the answer I was looking for…”Jayda stated calmly, “You’re stating knowledge you were already given and know. What can you tell about a topic you’re not so familiar like your lightsaber form? What areas are more heavily calloused and worn compared to others? Based on your form style, why can you safely assume that others of the same style might share similar features?”

Zanna nodded, and looked down again. Her fingers lightly traced her splayed up hand, brow furrowing again. She spoke slowly, unsure if she was reading her own palm right. “My callouses, slight as they are, are evenly distributed. There is no favoring in any one area. I learned the basic skills, but little more. Others would have the same feature because Niman is a lightsaber form designed to be easily picked up and supplemented, usually with the Force. Others may favor defense over offense and have slightly more callouses similar to the defensive forms, and vice versa, but general Niman users won’t have heavily calloused hands. Their studies would have been directed to other things. The Force. Alchemy. So on so forth. They’re likely to use said other things in combat.” She looked back up at Jayda. “Better?”

[Sundered Echo]

~|Day 2, 9:40 - 9:50 GST|~
~|Kaggath, Nyiss' quarters |~

_{Sish & Nyiss}

Sish awoke to darkness. Rather than giving into his instinctive desire to scramble to his feet and fight off the enemies that were surely around him, he laid still and continued to pretend to be unconscious on the richly furnished floor. Obviously he wasn’t in the prison cells anymore. His nose drew in unfamiliar scents, and one familiar one. Oh no. This isn’t good. Despite himself, Sish immediately tensed in preparation and wariness. He didn’t want to die horribly afterall. His eyes opened and he slowly sat up, looking around for Darth Nyiss. When he found her, he got to his feet and then took a knee, eye focused on his lightsaber. “My Lord. What do I owe the honor of meeting you in person?” This very dubious honor. He was clearly prepared to act quickly, should she attack, and didn’t particularly care if Nyiss noticed that he was.

“A crude weapon.” Darth Nyiss said, looking at Sish’s lightsaber, held gently in her hand. She then shifted her gaze to Sish’s ugly, scarred reptilian face. “For a crude individual.” Nyiss paced back and forth then “What shall I do with you.” She asked rhetorically. “A Sith Lord who deosn’t seem to have comprehended the idea that I want all of my prisoners to remain alive. A Sith Lord with so little control of his own actions, that a group of Padawans can send him into a murderous rage.” She stopped pacing then and looked back at Sish. “What shall I do with you?” She repeated, less rhetorically this time.

Sish carefully watched Nyiss as she paced back and forth in front of him, ignoring her remarks. If being called crude was all that happened in this room he would be extremely lucky and very thankful. As she listed his offenses, he merely waited for the punishment. Surely there would be one. Darth’s didn’t ask, they merely did whatever they pleased. Thus, there was a brief pause as Sish realized she was legitimately asking him.

“Whatever you please, My Lord. We both know that I am incapable of putting up more than a paltry fight if you thought killing me was the best course of action. But if I may, if it hadn’t been me it would have been one of the apprentices, or Lord Namore. The prisoners have been on this ship for two days. They would have tried something like this sooner or later, and they would have succeeded with someone else eventually. And it would have fell to that person to punish and teach them. If we want them to be Sith they have to learn one of the most important rules; Everything has a price, a consequence, especially knowledge. If they are not strong enough to pay that price, they will die.” Sish’s gaze was unwavering, his tone respectful.

“My rage was great, yes, but it was not murderous. The Kel-Dor would have been crippled at worst. I was teaching them a lesson, weeding out the weak. They have to be either very smart or very strong to achieve their goals and they were neither when they tried to stop me. The strong ones will learn from this lesson. The weak will not. After all, My Lord, isn’t the primary purpose of this ship to convert the Jedi? What use are converted Jedi if they die within a week of being thrust into our world? You know as well as I do how ruthless Sith politics can be. A dead converted Jedi is a weak converted Jedi and a waste of our resources and time spent on them.”

“Your argument is sound.” Nyiss stated, pausing only a moment before continuing. “Or at least, it would be if the full extent of my plan was converting the Jedi. I require them alive. How can I trust that a blunt warrior such as yourself will control his rage to always remain non-lethal? You have already shown that you are more than willing to kill a fellow Sith for no reason other than his annoying you.” Nyiss did not expect an answer this time. She was in no mood to debate with him at length when he knew so little of her grand plan. “You would do well to remember that you are presently more expendable than the Jedi. Though it is to your credit that you did not beg for mercy.”

Sish didn’t allow himself to hope that he would escape unharmed. He knew Nyiss wouldn’t be merciful beyond letting him live. So it came as no surprise when she continued, making certain that he was going to be punished. “I would not have killed the apprentice Jakali, had he not tried to kill me. Merely punished him for his insolence against someone stronger.” His lips curled in a snarl of distaste at the implications of Nyiss’s last words, baring what remained of his razor sharp fangs. “Warriors do not beg.”

With that, Nyiss activated Sish’s lightsaber. “Before the war ended, I may have been inclined to show some mercy for the sake of retaining your capabilities as a killing machine. But now, I am feeling much less lenient. And so, I will give you a permanent reminder that controlled rage defines a Sith, not wild fury. Tell me. Which of your limbs do you favor most?”

She knew that this would likely be seen as an overreaction by her. Perhaps it was, but not only was it her right, in her eyes it was the only way forward. She needed the Sith below her to remember their place and make an effort to not cross her in the future.

Besides, this particular beast had slain her most recent lover for no reason beyond his own annoyance. If he was so willing to commit such a petty act, he had to be willing to be on the receiving end of pettiness as well. Jakali may have been replaceable, but so were Sish’s limbs.

Sish didn’t hesitate, presenting his left arm to be sliced off by the Darth. There was nothing he could do and the pain of losing a limb was an old friend by now. Still, there was one thing that needed to be addressed. “I will need a replacement one, My Lord. I have reached the age where my limbs no longer regrow, and I would rather not give the Jedi temptation to try and attack me again. I can deal with them one armed, but I doubt I could do it without maiming them.”

Nyiss preceded the strike with only one quick flourish, bringing the Saber down to cleanly sever the lizards arm at the shoulder. Following that, she deactivated the lightsaber and tossed it at his feet. “Miasa will construct a new arm for you.” She stated. “You may leave now. And do take that with you.” She said, briefly gesturing at the severed limb at his feet.

Pain. Excruciating and familiar pain rippled through Sish as the lightsaber neatly sliced off his arm. His teeth clenched together and he hissed, but other than that he gave no reaction. With his remaining arm he picked up his lightsaber, clipping it to his belt. “As you say, My Lord.” He replied, jaw aching. With his severed arm in his remaining claws, Sish turned and exited out of Nyiss’s quarters.

When the Lizard had left her quarters, Nyiss walked over to the nearest wall comm and activated a channel to Miasa. She spoke in a somewhat bored voice. “Miasa… You may soon receive a visitor in need of a new arm. He lost his current one as a punishment, so do keep that in mind when you build a new one for him. No blasters, flamethrowers, rockets, blades or other such tools. Other than not making it useful for him… Do be imaginative.” Her intent was merely that the Lizard not manage to acquire any ‘upgrades’ from this event. If Miasa misinterpreted her and gave him a defective arm though, she would not be at all annoyed.

[Zoldyck]

~| Day 2, 12:43-13:00 GST |~
~|Aboard the Kaggath, Prisoner cells|~

After a few minutes of just carefully observing her surroundings Kara came to the conclusion that, all things considered, this wasn't the worst prison complex she had ever been in. At least it seemed like in hear they had some room to maneuver and could atleast talk to each other, instead of being packed together into relatively tiny cells. This looked like it had some luxury, and thus it was a cause for concern. Why would the Sith go out of their way to make their prisoners feel comfortable? For an ulterior motive of course, but what was that motive? Again, she had so many questions. If only she was able to find someone who could answer them.

But at the moment she did not really feel like looking for an answer. She was way too exhausted for that. Traveling a ton of parsecs while being basically chained in a cramped shuttle tends to deprive you of your sleep a bit, especially when your handler has an itchy shockcollar finger. At the moment Kara felt like just resting for a bit. It took her only a few seconds to find the room called the “bunk area” and she couldn't help but chuckle at the memories which she associated with bunkbeds. Fond memories of course.

As she walked into the bunk area Kara noticed that it was rather empty. At first glance it even seemed completely empty. This disappointed her somewhat. Although she wasn't really a person who tended to talk a lot, being all by yourself is just kind of depressing. Then she spotted someone laying on one of the bottom beds. From the looks of it he didn't seem like a big fellow and seemed rather young, not that she was really old either. From her estimations he could even be a Padawan, but she would reserve that judgement for later.

Kara thought for a moment about if she should walk up to him and ask if the bunk above him was claimed. It would probably seem like a silly question, considering there’s a bunch of tidy, empty bunks in this room. But she just felt like being near someone familiar, a Jedi, might help her get rested a bit. Finally deciding that yeah, she should just walk up to him.

As she approached the boy it was clear to her that he was lost in thought and from the expression on his face it seemed like he wasn't thinking of any happy memories. As she came closer she also realised that he was holding his side. Maybe he got injured earlier today and that’s what’s bothering him? Kara thought that it would be better to not startle the boy, as he might be a bit on edge if that were the case. So when she finally spoke up, she tried to in a gentle fashion, which was surprisingly hard for her, subtlety and gentleness weren't really her thing.

“Hey,” she said, trying to put on a reassuring smile “I euhm wondered if this top bunk was taken.”

Xid’s mind was in deep thought and at Kara’s words, he was ripped back into the present. His head turned to to take in the new prisoner as he tried to place her, realizing slowly she wasn’t with them originally during the raid on the Temple. He couldn’t help feeling his skin go a few shades whiter following the realization. Leaning upright, his arm cradled his side while gritted through through the pain. He hated his low tolerance when it came to pain and it was a reminder of his weakness, one that could be used against him later on. Xid pulled against the bunk’s frame then spoke. The tone was gentle and friendly, likely not the ideal Jedi stereo type but enough to show he wouldn’t last long as a Sith.

“Hey. No, no one has claimed bunks really. Not sure it would matter though if you want the top, you’re welcome to it.” He inhaled softly then added. “I take it you weren’t caught during the sacking on the temple, were you?”

He knew he likely looked dumb but he wanted to get his facts straight instead of assume he was correct. It was something he learned from Tolun Fi after all. At the thought, his heart hurt at the thought he had already disappointed the older Knight today and he pushed the thought away from his mind.

As the boy tried to sit upright Kara could see that he was in pain.She couldn't really see any surface damage, though those could obviously be hidden by his clothing. Kara wondered if the Sith would distribute kolto to their prisoners onboard. To be honest she kind of felt bad for the boy, she thought he was too young to be exposed to something like that. That being said, her master would have probably thought the same way about her. The boy answered her question and Kara was relieved to find out that the top bunk was infact unoccupied and it didn't seem like the boy was against her using it. Good, now she didn't look like a fool.

But then something struck her. Did he just say sacking on the temple? He didn't mean the temple on Coruscant, did he? She recalled her wardens talking about a great victory for the Sith, but thought it was just propaganda or at worst on Alderaan… But Coruscant? The heart of the Republic? No, that can't be, right? Her face became pale as she asked the following question. “Sacking of the temple?” She asked, her voice soft and filled with concern. “What sacking?”

Immediately he regretted his lacking finesse in the delivery when he realized she wasn’t aware of the tragic end at the temple. Xid hadn’t chosen his words correctly and now he might’ve upset the new prisoner more than was needed. He flipped his legs over the edge then pushed himself upright, his hand reached out to balance himself on the way up. It didn’t stop the vertigo filling his head on the fast raise causing him to pause. Sickness filled his stomach and threatened to come up, spilling what he hadn’t eaten yet. “Had I know known, I wouldn’t chosen my words more carefully. The Temple on Coruscant was attacked by Sith. It’s where many of us, including myself, were caught. I’m… sorry to be the one to tell you such news.”

His feet shuffled uncomfortable while he looked away, unsure what he should do. Most would argue he should leave her alone to collect her thought but he couldn’t bare to. Through he truly believed the moment he did move, he might actually collapse which would cause more issues. Instead, he waited for either words for him to leave her alone or question to rise.

The boy’s words hit Kara like a bomb, as if she was violently hit in the face. She felt her legs getting weak and had to lean against the top bunk to not fall over. She held her face in her spare hand as she was trying to fight off the tears. She wanted to scream with all she had. This was impossible… The Temple sacked?! How could this have happened? How could the Republic allow an attack on their capital? These, and thousands of other questions filled Kara’s head. She wanted to ask all of them to this boy but realised that he probably knew just as much as she did.

After standing there in silence for a few seconds her sadness was replaced with anger. She tried to repress it but, with this much of destruction there was no way that she was able to restrain herself. She should have been there! She could have made a difference! Seeking a way to vent her frustration, Kara started to rapidly punch the top bunk bed.

For a moment, Xid thought she was going to collapse as his own pain was forgotten. His hand reached to help her remain upright only to notice she was already on it. Her arm whipped out to catch herself and managed to snag the bunker post before her legs gave completely out, his worried face increased visually. At the moment she started to slam her fist into the solid post, he flinched. Xid recalled doing that back on Belsavis back in his quarters several times within the last months on the planet, the prison complex feeling much like a prison it was suppose to be back then. Especially after Ithor’s attempts to manipulate him.

He waited a second before reacting. While he knew she would calm down at some point, the damage caused would only make things worse and it only helped the pain for a time. In addition the camera were watching and if the Sith saw…

Without thinking about the possibility of her turning her fists on him, he quickly tried to intercept her last punch by wrapping his good arm about her waist and tried to pull her away. His words whispered quietly enough for her to hear him. “Stop, please. There’s cameras…”

After several successive punches she felt that the boy was trying to stop her from hurting herself by wrapping himself around her waist. Kara was about to vent her frustration on a different target, namely him, and raised her fist in order to hit him. That is when she saw that she had damaged her knuckles, which were now bleeding, and realised that he was trying to prevent her from harming herself. That, plus he whispered something about cameras, which Kara hadn't noticed yet to this point.

She steadied herself and looked down at the boy, who looked like he was about to throw up. She saw that the boy was scarred, internally. He of course witnessed the destruction of his home, right before his very own eyes. And if that wasn't enough, he was also locked up on this blasted ship now, that wound was probably the result of torture or something like that. But besides that, she also saw compassion in him. He seemed like he wanted to help her but didn't know how to.

He has suffered through a lot and he still seemed concerned about her. Without thinking twice, Kara stepped forward to the boy and embraced him in a hug. Normally she wasn't like this and kept people at a distance. But with news like this and after what she’s been through she really didn't know how to respond. Even though it looked kinda odd with their height difference, she didn't care at the moment. But… What if he minded?

She quickly let go and became a shade of red. “I’m sorry about that,” she said, slightly embarrassed, “I just dont know how to deal with this at the moment… Sorry if I made that uncomfortable.”

Xid blinked in utter surprise when the Jedi abruptly hugged him, however he didn’t pull away. Instead his arm awkwardly rested upon her shoulders while he used her figure to help him balance. It didn’t help he was at least half a foot shorter than her which only added to the clumsy attempts at comfort. He relaxed after a moment when she quickly realized what she was doing then pulled away. Without warning, he couldn’t adjust his weight fast enough causing his legs to wobble underneath him and nearly give out. He barely snagged the post in time to keep him from falling down.

Biting back the ach renewed in his side, Xid spoke in the calmest voice he could muster. “It’s alright. It’s been an emotional experience for all of us. Many of us were sought out and encountered Sith, which we fought back only end up here. Now, sit so I can start to mend those knuckles.”

He turned about slowly then gestured for her to sit down on his bunk.

Kara couldn't help but feel guilty as she saw the boy struggle to stay on his feet. If she hadn't pulled back so suddenly then she could have continued to support him by letting him lean on her. Seeing him in pain because of his injury only increased this feeling.

She was about to apologize when the boy suggested to heal her hand. She looked at it, after having totally forgotten about it, and saw that it was bleeding pretty badly, though it did not hurt very much and she didn't break anything. At first she wanted to refuse but as she looked at the boy’s expression she could see that there was no way of changing his mind, so she relented. But not after first helping him sit down on the bed, doing her best to not make him feel his wound too much. After sitting down she extended her hand, kind of curious to see as to how he was going to heal it.

Xid examined the hand after being help down, his eyes studying the wound and see it was just outer shell damage. The skin busted and bled as he gingerly touched to see if there was any broken bones. Thankfully there wasn't, his expression showing his relief while he closed his eyes.

For a few seconds nothing happened. However, slowly a tingling spread from his fingers throughout Kara’s hand as the flesh mended itself. The busted skin scabbed over and now was looking several hours old compared to their earlier display, but it wouldn't heal completely. It would take at least a few sessions to completely heal, even more than their resident healer Lea, but his conscious refused to wait.

“My name’s Xid Terrick, what's yours?” Xid asked during using his force heal. His eyes bright and lips pulled into a smirk.

As she looked at the boy working on her hand, Kara could feel an odd sensation across her hand. It felt as if her hand was being tickled while he was healing it, something which surprised Kara as she had expected it to at least sting a bit. It felt quite nice, she could even get used to it. It was then that she realised that she didn't even know who this boy was. As if on cue the boy introduced himself as Xid Terrick, which Kara thought was a nice name.

Trying to put on a smile Kara responded in a calm voice to the boy. “Well, I guess it’s time for me to introduce myself now, isn't it?” She said with a chuckle. She adjusted herself a bit to face the boy, sliding one of her legs on the bed to gain a better sitting. “My name is Kara Paan, I come from Corellia and I am part of the Jedi Guardians.” Kara said with a faint hint of pride in her voice. She continued smiling as she said. “Nice to meet you Xid Terrick and euhm,” she gestured at her hand, “thanks for your help, I really appreciate it.”

This was when she was suddenly reminded of his own wound. “But why are you using your skill on just some skin damage of mine while you yourself seem to be in a far more worse shape?” Her smile disappeared as she said that. “I really appreciate it and all, but isn't your own health more important at this point?” She asked, seemingly worried. She didn't quite know why she was so worried over this person she didn't know a few minutes earlier, but somehow she didn't mind.

Xid’s eyes looked to the ground at her mention of him being more important, reminding him of Tolun Fi’s words. He was quiet for a moment then spoke, honestly and his voice a quiet whisper. “I much rather not think that my life has much more worth than anyone else. Through Knight Tolun Fi has already chewed me out about my earlier mess up and I feel bad enough.”

His hand reached up to scratch the back of his head, rubbing his hairline where his short hair fell. Appearing nervous, he raised his eyes to look into Kara’s and then continued with the conversation. “As for the injury, I’ll be alright. The Sith Lord could’ve done much worse but instead, it was just emotionally exhausting.”

Discomfort spread over his features causing Xid to try to relax within his mind’s guilt-tripping him again.

Seeing Xid suddenly becoming this uncomfortable made Kara feel bad. She felt that it was her fault for him suddenly feeling like this, so she tried to think of a way to cheer him up. She returned his gaze and as she did Kara could see that Xid was having to deal with a lot at the moment. Not wanting to prod more and possibly make him feel even more uncomfortable, Kara used her free hand to gently pat him on the shoulder and smiled. “Listen Xid, you’re a good kid and you obviously care about others. You should do whatever your heart tells you to and you shouldn't care about what others think about you, alright?”

She rubbed him on his shoulder, trying to calm him down a bit. She did wonder what kind of Sith were onboard of this ship and would have liked to ask about the Sith who apparently did this to Xid, but Kara felt that this wasn't really the time to talk about this topic. Instead she tried to divert Xid’s attention to something else. “I must say,” she began, “your healing is really good. I actually like it a bit. Not enough to cause extra injuries of course…” she chuckled.

“I wish it was that simple,” Xid stated in a slightly depressed tone. His hand raised to rest on Kara’s rubbing hand and he smiled a bit, thanking her mentally for her support, “It doesn’t help I’m everyone’s best chance of getting out of here alive. I’m sort of useless when it comes to combat but machines are practically as simple as reconstruction on an artificial limb.”

At mention of his healing be good, Xid shook his head. He immediately corrected her assumption he was pretty good at something he only had minor skill in and did it in a gentle way, “Nay, if you were a droid I would’ve had you patched up almost good as new. I only know basic healing which I learned from another teacher back on Coruscant. Sela didn’t have the knack but could see I had some so she had one of the knights teach me before we left for a Corellian prison ship. It was actually my first test to see how much I had im-”

Xid paused, realizing he was beginning to ramble. He smiled sheepishly and quickly corrected himself, feeling bad for going off into one of his experiences without allow his new ally a word in edgewise. “I’m really sorry about that. I tend to ramble a bit sometimes. I’m sure after your ordeal, this is the last thing you want to hear…”

Kara actually didn't mind Xid talking all this time. The only time when her smile wavered was when Xid said that he wasn't good at healing, making Kara think that he shouldn't be so critical about himself. When Xid suddenly stopped and apologised for him going on a ‘ramble’ Kara couldn't help but smile again.

“I didn't mind it at all.” She said as her voice sounded comfortable. “In fact, I actually quite liked the story.” Which wasn't lied, it was a nice way of getting their mind off of their current troubles. When you’re in this kind of situation it’s best to think of as many stuff to distract you from your uncertain future. At least, that’s what she was told back on Alderaan by one of the soldiers there, and Kara thought that it worked.

Kara tried to think of a way to continue the conversation and lighten the mood. She had already realised long ago that Xid didn't think too highly of himself, maybe a boost to his confidence might help him get on a bit? “Also, I don't think it matters if you’re good in combat or not.” This was kind of a lie, as Kara herself showed great pride for her martial prowess, but if a person was able to compensate for their lack of combat ability by something else, like Xid’s healing, then it was of course justified. “It’s much easier to hurt people then it is to heal someone.” She said with sincerity. “Don't think that just because you’re not physically strong or highly skilled with a lightsaber that you are useless. For instance, you’re helping me get rid of this injury. And that’s not all, you’re also helping with making this place seem less like the hell that it actually is by having this conversation. That’s far more important than some brute who is only good for direct combat.” Kara smirked as she uttered that last phrase.

A second later Kara chuckled, realising that now it was she who was rambling on. Normally Kara took a very long time to get adjusted to other people, yet somehow she felt at ease with Xid. As she came to this conclusion she shook her head and she continued to smirk. “Now look at me, I’m already getting soft here.” She said as she used her now healed hand to ruffle his hair a bit.

“Nothing wrong with being happy and hopeful in a place which none exist. Sela taught me that before…” Xid dropped off, recalling Sela’s life being snuffed out by that same dark presence in the cell earlier. Now that he had thought about, he realized who it belonged to. It was the very Darth on this ship who had ended up heading and crossing his master’s path, his mind wondering if she was still alive or now with the force. If it wasn’t for the dark energy here then he would try to meditate and learn himself. His hand fisted then smack against the soft mattress in slight frustration while he recalled the memories of Coruscant flooding in his mind.

Feeling her ruffle his hair, he chuckled a bit accepting the affection. He decided to reveal a tidbit to make a little more hope in this dismal place. “I’m better at machines actually, though it didn’t help me much on the front lines. Balmorra was a mess with the troopers shooting and Sith trying to cut down the defenses, I don’t how I managed to get them back up afterwards.”

He inhaled and continued. “I’ve already examined most of the system here which usually is pretty basic, especially compared to the Corellian prison ship a knight, her padawan, my own and me broke out of back in Republic space. It was a test to see if the defenses could hold Sith prisoners by seeing if it could hold Jedi. It didn’t, obviously so I had to adjust the specs. Improve them. So, breaking out of here shouldn’t be much of an issue but where to go can be another issue.” His eyes looked toward the nearest camera, hinting in silence where it was, while his words rambled on without missing a beat “However, I wished Navi was here as he has the best tools to help me. Right now, we need a map of the ship to where the hangers are and a few weapons. I already know how to build a device to grow a crystal and the part to make a lightsaber is fairly simple. It won’t be pretty however.”

Xid turned to face Kara. “So what can you provide to help out? Currently, Lea and Tolun Fi can heal. Shiri can splice, Koren’s a firm fighter. Nazca is a pickpocket and sadly, Alat is in lockdown after a bit of a surprise. He was trying to protect Shiri and ended up showing he knew how to use a dark side power, making all us uneased.”

Kara listened intently to Xid’s story. She was glad that Xid had at least experienced something of the war. It would be bad if this was his first time he had felt the stress of it, baptisms by fire rarely go well in these circumstances. The fact that he seemed to be experienced in escaping prison ships made Kara a bit hopeful that there might be a way to get out of here. However, she didn't know what she would be facing onboard besides that snake-lady from earlier so she reserved her excitement a bit.

When Xid started naming the prisoners Kara did not expect to know any of them. However, she was quickly mistaken. The first familiar one was Tolun Fi, who Xid had actually already named earlier. As Xid mentioned him Kara cringed slightly. She didn't really know how to feel about being locked up with him. She never really had a meaningful conversation with him, but from what she knew about him her opinion of him wasn't that high.

The second, and more surprising one, was Koren. A faint look of surprise could be seen across her face as Xid mentioned him. This couldn't be the Koren she met on Manaan, could it? She recalled the dueling she did with him on that planet, duels which he won. If this was the same Koren then Kara was kind of disappointed that they would meet again under these circumstances. She had grown considerably stronger since their last encounter, both physically as in skill. But this was not really the ideal place for a rematch was it?

Xid asked her if she had any skills which might be valuable to help the group escape. Kara looked at Xid and grinned slightly. “Ooh well, I think I can help out a little bit in the fighting department.” She gestured at her arms. “As you might see, I’m pretty strong when it comes to physical strength.” She said with pride. She was thinking about flexing her arm, but that would just be showing off. Besides, it wasn't hard to see her muscles because of her tunic fitting tightly around the arms and shoulders.

“Though,” she said as her grin disappeared and she leaned in closer to whisper to Xid incase of any bugs planted around, “don't rely too much on me when it comes to Force powers. I can enhance my own physical limits very well, but besides that my Force powers are rather lackluster.” She then leaned back and attempted to regain her grin for the cameras.

“Does that sound good enough for you?” She said with her fixed grin.

“Did I say something wrong? You flinched at Tolun Fi’s name and seemed surprised when I mentioned Koren. Do you know them?” Xid asked, his eyes looking at Kara in much the same way a machinist looked at a project. His hand removed itself from his neck then fell into his lap. His body was already feeling the toll from his force healing weighing on him and through he knew he needed rest, his mind was curious about his new friend’s reaction. It worried him slightly. “As for the finesse part, I think someone else can cover that part. Right now, according to most everyone I need to stay safe. If I’m hurt too badly then I can’t get us out of here. It’s not easy to explain machines to people with no experience of them.”

Again, his nervousness showed through a sigh. “I just hate the fact I can’t protect anyone without risking our escape.”

Suddenly, his mouth yawned as his fatigue washed over him becoming visible on the outside.

As Xid asked his question Kara cursed herself internally that she was so easy to read. “Well, I don't really know Tolun Fi that much, just ran into him sometimes.” She then chuckled. “Koren on the other hand, well I do know him. I’ve actually dueled with him sometimes. Lost both of the matches though, but that’s 4 years ago.” She said with a grin.

As Xid talked about how he hated the feeling that he couldn't help anyone without risking their escape Kara couldn't help but to feel sorry for him, not in a bad way of course. She would also hate it if she couldn't protect those she cared about… She had a direct experience in that.

Suddenly Xid looked very exhausted. Maybe his healing powers were really straining him? This might be a good moment to stop their little conversation and let him rest, he helped her after all. And besides, she was still feeling tired as well, so resting might be a good idea anyway.

“Well, guess you’ll want some rest now, or are you bored of me already?” She said in a teasing fashion. “I know when I am no longer wanted.” And with that she ruffled his hair again and stood up from Xid’s bed. “You didn't bother me taking this top bunk, did you?” She asked just to confirm and to which Xid nodded in confirmation.

Kara was about to get into the bed when a thought occured. Koren was apparently onboard of this ship as well. She was actually pretty excited about this to be honest, though she didn't really know why. It might have something to do with knowing that there’s a familiar person onboard? Or maybe the prospect of a rematch? Well, the chances of that were very slim of course, but a girl can dream right? After thinking for a while Kara decided that she’d try and find him and possibly get acquainted with the other prisoners.

[Sep]

~| Day 2, 12:25 - 12:31 GST |~
~| Aboard the Kaggath, Prison room|~

Koren turned away from the droid, which was still giving him the cold shoulder, and Tolun Fi and smiled at his new found Padawan. "You know what, I'm glad you've noticed my popularity. When we get out of here it will make it so much easier for you to deal with the fame of your Master. I am known all over the Galaxy! I land at a space port and they cheer my name." He shrugged and turned his head back to Tolun Fi. "Yes, I took a Padawan by the way." He leaned back to face Nazca. "On a serious note, the first time I am not entirely sure who was responsible for my little, venture, into the arena to meet the droid to then dismantle the droid and bring back what is apparently a useless part of technology."

He walked over to Nazca. "Second time I met a Sith called Ven, interesting fellow. Has some anger management issues, which I realize is saying something when I'm talking about a Sith. On a serious note, I passed his little test and he even offered to help me out of the arena so-" He clapped his hands. "-Making friends wherever I go." He closed his eyes for a second as he felt himself falter, letting the Force course through his veins, from his centre out to all of his extremities. He then opened them again and smiled. "So my young Padawan, yes I know you probably aren't much younger than me, what have you been up to? Also do you feel ready for another lesson?"

[Rtron]

Melloch

~| Day 3, 19:45-19:55 GST |~
~|Location: Mos Eisley, Tatooine|~

Getting into their contact's building was...a process. It took him a few minutes of effort and maneuvering from Melloch, but he got his considerable frame into the doorway that was only meant for humanoids. He looked at the mess all around them with a slight amusement, accidentally hitting and pushing junk as he moved through the shop. Such organized...chaos. He used telekinesis to pick up the offered cup, as his own hands would have dwarfed the drink and he didn't feel like being careful and delicate with his fingers. "We're here on leads about a Sith Ship. The Kaggath, specifically. Stopped by here for supplies. We believe that you can tell us where it's heading next, or at the very least you can point us in the direction of people who could tell us where it's heading next." Something went off in Melloch's robes and he paused, smiling somewhat sheepishly. "Excuse me." Turning around, he pulled out a communicator, his bulk blocking most of the words. "Yes Lyric? Really? Sanctioned? Didn't think so. A brief description of both please? Alright, we'll keep an eye out for them."

He turned around, tucking the communicator back into his robes. "You're going to more visitors shortly. A Zabrak and a Tiss'shar. They're on our side, though they're not Jedi. They'll help us with the contacts and your little debt problem." Almost as soon as he finished speaking, there was a knocking at the door. "That should be them now." Melloch turned around and made his way through the junk filled room again, opening the door to the knocking. He, after making sure they were the two he was expecting, smiled down at the two of them. "Fa and Vebra, I assume?"

Sish

~|Day 2, 9:50 - 10:00 GST|~
~|Kaggath, Nyiss' quarters |~

Sish kept his severed arm in his remaining claw as he walked towards Miasa's workshop. Agony pulsed from where his stump of a shoulder was and he was tired but he wouldn't let a single sign of weakness show through. He was already a tempting enough target to the other Sith and he wasn't about to make himself a bigger one. So his face remained indifferent to the pain, occasionally snarling at any imperial who stared in surprise too long. He needed a new arm and soon. Both because Jayda's training would suffer without a live opponent to face, and because a one armed Sith Lord whose specialty was combat was someone who could be attacked and killed at any moment. He was weak now, and in this ship and the galaxy, only the strong survived.

Zanna

Zanna and Jayda pt 2

~|Day 2, 12:16-12:30 GST |~
~|Security Room: Jayda & Zanna (Part 2)||~

“Yes and I think that's enough of a lesson for today. I suggest, when you interact with the prisoners you use it to determine their forms. Acknowledge their weaknesses and strengths. I can't teach you the scent part as you lack it.” Jayda commented in a knowing manner, upright on her feet, her eyes turned toward the screen.

Knowing Sish and her own weakness would be seen easily, her hand reached for two storage devices then inserted them in. Her nails tapped the console as she filtered the vids differently into them. The first held the whole copy, untouched or edited, while she only allowed scenes and segments to transfer into the second. Through Zanna had seen the vids with her, the Zabrak felt it was best not to give the Sith a physical copy for further study. However having one that primarily focused on the prisoners was ideal for practice. She also downloaded her conversation between Lady Lansha and herself but only in the first.

It was likely a good idea to see what she could collect on the Sith Lord before their next encounter. Then prepare for any possibly of a threat or manipulation that could interfere with her revenge.

When it was finished, Jayda pocketed the first then passed Zanna the second one. “See what else you can glean from these and make a list of everything and how you concluded it. You have two days to show me the results.”

Zanna idly watched Jayda download and delete the videos, pocketing her own copy with only a slight smile. Evidently Jayda didn’t want her studying her teacher’s body language. “As you wish. For now though, I want you to put your storage in and play our encounter with Lady Lansha. I’m going to start teaching you how to lie. I don’t know what happened in that room, but I certainly don’t want to attract Lady Lansha’s interest. She will get you to crack if she sees you again without Sish to act as a buffer or me to distract her.”

“Fair enough, though if you're curious then we can try to seek out any vids directly linked with it.” Regardless any comments or requests, Jayda inserted her copy then pushed play. She was careful to select the scene with her and Lansha then took a seat again.

Zanna paused the video at key points, pointing out Jayda’s errors and successes.. “You hesitated too long here, as if you were gathering your thoughts. Every Sith on this ship would be alert for you to be lying to them immediately from that. The assigned tasks bit was good, though I suggest you have those tasks planned out ahead of time. Next time she might ask about them. I assume Sish has promised to make you stronger? Good. Keep weaving truth into your lies. You need to mask your nervousness. It’s blatant, and while you may be able to pass that off as fear or respect of a Lord the first few times, they’ll begin to question if you continue to be nervous after repeated interactions.”

As the video ended, Zanna turned to face Jayda, regarding the Zabrak for a moment. “The best liars have their stories planned out, don’t show their uncomfortableness or nervousness with lying, and weave truths into their lies. You know how to control your body to hide the messages it gives to others, I assume. Do that when lying. Forcibly make yourself appear calm. Always be ready to expand upon your lie, in case anyone inquires further into it, and stick by it until they absolutely have to tell the truth. Over the next few days I want you to lie to me about what you’ve done, what you think, or what you know. If I catch you, I’ll correct your mistake. If I don’t, you’ve made progress.” Zanna gave a slight smile. “Try to refrain from doing it while I’m teaching you or you’re teaching me.”

“You assume my nervousness was from her or the fact I was forced to lie.” Jayda said, her tone lowered defensively as she continued. “If that was the case, I wouldn’t have much difficulty.”

Zanna raised an eyebrow at the sudden defensiveness. “Well, what is the reason then? I can’t help you fix the problem if I don’t know the cause.”

Jayda was quiet for a moment, her eyes set downward before finally seeing little benefit in lying. “The most contact I’ve had with other Sith were at a distance and even when I saw one face to face, there was only one or two present in the whole area at the time. And none even close to Sish’s power. It took me several days to get use to his. However, this ship... . It’s something that makes me nervous to feel the energy within it. I’ve been jittery since I’ve arrived here.”

She paused as she inhaled, then added a last bit. “Feeling like a caged animal, how would you react?”

Zanna nodded slowly. “Wary. Forever on the defensive. Uncertain of who I could predict and, after a fashion, trust. There’s nothing we can do for that except give you time to get used to the realization you aren’t a predator anymore. Unless, of course, you want to spend more time with other Lords and Sith to get use to them?” Zanna smiled again. “Regardless, you can use it to your advantage for now. A new apprentice on a ship with the venerable Darth Nyiss and several Lords? Who wouldn’t be nervous? Still. Remember what I’ve said; Hide your nervousness, weave truths into your lies, and have your story straight before your lie comes under scrutiny.”

Jayda glared at Zanna when she mentioned more time with Sish and the other Lords, her fingers digging into her chair’s armrest. She knew trust was never something that could happen in this place. Not if the Sith were all like Sish as she made small notes in the back of her head before settling back into the seat. “I’d much rather not reveal anything of myself if I can help it. Most of what has been stated was essential or obvious enough.”

There was a subtle jab at Zanna's intelligence with the last sentence. Namely as Jayda had to tell her about the nervousness’ source and fact it was spreading to other area, her head turned away toward the room’s door. “I suppose now we’re done with our lessons and I aim to see if what has been lurking on the ship actually has a face.”

A few clicks later she pulled up the camera display just in front of the living quarters, playing it around the time of the murder. It showed an older Sith entering then the sound of a muffled voice that turned into a fight before it died down. No one had went in or out since. The thought wasn't a pleasant one to learn her suspicions were correct with what her nose knew, Jayda stared at the screen then looked to Zanna.

Zanna merely quirked an eyebrow at Jayda’s words. Apparently, someone wanted to be clever. She glanced down at her palms again, running a finger idly across the burn scars. We’ve both made assumptions, haven’t we? Zanna looked up at the video. It gave them nothing. They already knew someone disappeared in the room. “That gives us noth..wait.” Zanna paused, leaning forward to type in the video. “Lady Lansha was injured. Something hurt her, and she said she had been in this room. What happened there, I wonder?”

Jayda moved away as she let Zanna take the console, removing herself, and watched the Red Sith type. She recalled the mention earlier though she didn't feel it was suitable to bring it up first.

Zanna pulled up the recent video feed with Lady Lansha in it. She frowned. Something was wrong. They could see Vivithe reacting to something, but all that could be made out was a clawed, red, hand. And that was only barely through the static. There was nothing else. They couldn’t even hear what Lady Lansha’s attacker was saying. “Sabotage.” She spoke aloud, more for her own benefit than anything else. The Red Sith leaned back in her chair and glanced at Jayda. “So we know it can make illusions powerful enough to fool a Lord, and it apparently only attacks people who are alone. Great. Tell me again how you don’t want me to sleep in your room?”

“We also know what it smells like,” Jayda stated reminding Zanna of her nose and thinking in depth what it could be. She continued to mentally recall everything she knew from her own experience, “There’s also a large amount of dark side force energy, more than a Lord from my guess. Which makes a good reason to worry. Is it natural through? One of the Darth’s experiments or another Sith, with permission? I can’t imagine she would willingly allow such a thing to roam freely unless she had little to worry about…”

“Not another Sith’s. It would have tried to kill Lady Lansha if it was, and when she was weakened it’s master would have swooped in and killed her, and then deleted this video.” Zanna replied, almost absentmindedly. “It could be Nyiss’. Something to test us. She wouldn’t care if it killed a few of the weaker ones. It could be why it left Lady Lansha alone. It tested her to Nyiss’ desire, then left.”

A thought occurred to the Zabrak “How is getting around unnoticed on the ship? It didn’t leave the room into the hallway nor did it enter the room through the door…?”

Zanna thought for a moment, brow furrowed as she concentrated. Her mind thought back to everything they had found in the room. “The vents.” She declared suddenly, looking excitedly at Jayda. “The melted bolts, remember? Besides, that’s the only thing that would make sense. That’s the only other way into the camera room besides the front door and Force Illusions don’t affect technology. At least, it wouldn’t affect the technology now. It has to be getting through the vents. So it’s either tiny or it’s form is intangible. Doubtful that it’s tiny, from the position of the hand and the way it threw Lady Lansha about. So it must be able to become intangible.”

“Then why would it need to use the vents?” Jayda asked, her mind thinking of the reasons it would require the use of the vents then it could just walk through them. “Something doesn’t make sense. There’s no reason it would need to use them if it could basically walk through the walls.”

She expected the excited look to vanish from her expression and leaned back into her chair, looking for answers the Sith might have.

Zanna appeared to grow even more excited, hands gesturing as she talked. “Intangibility doesn’t necessarily mean it can walk through walls. It’s most likely something like mist, fog, or water. Something that can slip through cracks and vents. Perhaps it’s not subtle or fast enough to slip under the cracks of doors. If you saw mist pooling under your doorway, wouldn’t you immediately be on alert? But how often do you spend watching your vents? Think about it. It’s a system that connects all throughout the ship. There’s a vent in every room, even the prison cells. How better to move unknown about the ship? One moment you’re in the camera room, the next you’re gone and in the prison cells. The perfect predatory situation.” Zanna regarded Jayda with an eager gleam in her eye, as she waited for the reply.

Jayda moved to the side, avoiding the hands waving about as she raised an accusing eyebrow at the Red Sith. Her purple eyes narrowed in on the show of passion erupting through her seated position while the apprentice’s hands waved about. It took studying since the excitement became obvious to realise the Sith was clearly enjoying herself, the mental challenge sparking something Jayda herself only had when it came to learning how to use her force or trying to master the Soresu form under her father, those days long jaded thanks to the misery she had suffered. She had her own doubts she could remember how to smile again since her brother died. Curiosity overcame her judgement as she lifted up from her seat then closed her eyes, her nose inhaling softly to absorb the sulfuric scent filling the room’s air.

Zanna smiled, somewhat sheepishly, at the eyebrow Jayda raised at her. “Sorry. I like to gesture when I get excited and I’m talking.” She watched the Zabrak stand up and inhale, presumably to get the scent lingering in the room. “It’s the same scent, isn’t it? I’m willing to bet my stuffed bantha-” Zanna stopped and blushed in embarrassment before hurrying on. “bet my entire alchemical supply that you’ll find a greater concentration around the vents.”

Jayda ignored but noted the fact it seemed Zanna still used stuffed animals to sleep with, a matter that could be used to assume much through now wasn’t the time. She inhaled and focused her nose toward the scent collected near the back of the room. It was where the vents were located causing her head to look upward. The scent lead right up an untouched grill untouched, it’s bolt intact and not melted. “You were right though… this one is untouched. There’s no melted bolts or signs of entry unlike the earlier scene.”

She wrinkled her nose in disgust as she held upright on her feet, both fighting the urge to vomit and the vertigo that followed. Her head turned toward Zanna and added. “Come look for yourself. It’s a very unsettling difference between this vent and the last.”

Zanna, cursing her lack of caution and thinking when she was excited, came over to examine the grill herself. She craned her head to look at it, cautiously eyeing the Zabrak to make sure she doesn’t collapse, she frowned at the sight of the untouched grill.

“Well… We’ve never saw any evidence of this thing, whatever it is, before. We’re assuming it’s been created by Darth Nyiss, and I would guess recently. It would have been released our first day here had it been created beforehand, and there have been plenty of times where a Sith has been alone and unsuspecting. Perhaps it couldn’t control its powers in the beginning, and had to force the grill open rather than maneuvering through it. The man was killed in a very public attack. No illusions, very little talking. It just attacked and killed him, then presumably ate him. Lady Lansha it toyed with, more in control of its powers and not hungry anymore, I imagine.”

Zanna looked over at Jayda, one eyebrow raised. She could still feel the blush on her cheeks but ignored it in the hopes the Zabrak would forget about her slip up. “Unless you have any other ideas?”

“Predators attack loners because they are unable to fight back, easy prey. Through there was still interaction with its prey… why? What does it gain from talking, toying or engaging first the Apprentice then a Lord? What does it feed off of? There wasn’t any signs of a body, barely any blood and judging from the lacking blood… Both the Lord and the Apprentice took time to converse with the thing before it started to take them down. Does it mean it has the intelligence to have a conversation?”

Jayda paused then made a consideration, one that made her hair stand on end. “ If so… will it try to separate us or worse, learn when we’re weakest then strike for a quick meal? We’ve already established its traveling through the vents but I’m still confused as to why the means isn’t the same in both cases. Wouldn’t it have been smarter to melt the bolts off in the first instance than the second? Even with the powers needing time to grow… Something’s off with the first encounter.”

Zanna thought back, biting her lower lip thoughtfully. “It seemed to be able to chat with both of them. I would assume that it is intelligent enough for speech and ambushes. It doesn’t eat in a way that we think of as eating. There’s no mess. No blood. Not even a scent of it. So perhaps it dissolves its prey? How else do we explain the lack of the apprentice’s body? There was only one way into that room and as far as I know there is no way to shrink bodies. As for the separation, maybe. It will certainly try to strike when we’re weakest. It’s testing the ship now, trying to find the weakest members and when best to strike. Sith in the common room will be fine when they sleep. Sith who have their own rooms...less so.” She looked meaningfully at Jayda, before continuing.

“There are two options; Either it needed to force the vent open, for whatever reason, or something else opened the vent. Perhaps the Apprentice did, to hide something.” Zanna tapped her fingers on the computer table, looking at Jayda. “We didn’t thoroughly check that vent. Perhaps there was something he wanted to hide from his fellow Sith.”

Jayda growled in frustration, and though she wanted to slam her fist into the nearest wall she resisted the urge. She, unlike Sish, could control her temper when needed. However, it didn’t mean she wasn’t above considering it for a moment or two. “Maybe, through I’ve been seen with you enough. We have no idea when Sish will return and I much rather not explain why my intentions with the… Tandoshan. If he’s still alive.”

Her arms had crossed over her body while her fingers buried deeply in her robes, nails piercing through the fabric and into her skin a bit. She needed to mediate and soon before her emotions burst out. Already she felt like a hot, red iron was burning her insides slightly and she didn’t want to see what happened when it burned her up. “I can’t really check the vent in there as it would seem rather odd, namely as I have my own. It seems like you’re going to have to check it out on your own.”

She looked at the apprentice, expecting an excuse to the cold, hard fact Jayda had presented.

Zanna shrugged. If the Zabrak wanted to play with fire, even after what they had all seen, she wasn’t going to push the matter any further. Some things just had to be learned on their own. “Telling him the truth worked last time. But if you want to play it safe, very well. Stay on guard. This thing likes prey that is weakened and alone. You’re both.”

“Sudas.”* She muttered when Jayda told her she’d have to check the vent on her own. The flash of fear she had was ruthlessly crushed and repressed. It wasn’t the time for that now, the impure bitch was right. “Very well. I’ll see if I can glean anything from the Force traces left behind as well. Hopefully it will be public enough that it won’t risk an attack, if not I suppose I’ll be able to identify our mysterious murderer.” Zanna gave a small smile, not letting her fear show throuogh. This thing gave Lady Lansha a fight. What can I do against it?

“Bring a trooper with you, then either drug him to forget it ever happened and erase the evidence or something.” Jayda stated, recalling the fact a non force sensitive had ended up chasing the creature off. “It doesn’t seem to want to mess with groups of any mixture since a mere employee managed to save the Lord’s life after all. I’m sure your Alchemy could do that at least?”

Zanna sighed. Jayda had no subtlety. It’s what made her a bad liar. “I’ll figure out something. In the meantime, when do you want us start training you in how to better use the Force?”

“We’ll start with your lightsaber lessons first, for now. Mine can wait.” Jayda didn’t elaborate why this time as she didn’t want the Sith knowing her trust was still rather fragile. The notion of Zanna trying to teach and not take advantage was impossible for her to accept immediately. “Any other questions?”

Zanna smiled, slightly wolfishly. “As you wish. Are you even healthy enough to train me in lightsaber combat? You nearly collapsed by us merely walking.”

Jayda bared her left side of her mouth, showing her canines briefly. “I didn’t say right now we would train and after pointing that out, how much good would your Force training do me if I can’t wield it without collapsing? The force requires physical health just as much as mental, else I couldn’t use it at all.”

There was venom in her tone and clear familiarity with the matter she spoke of. One she had dealt with at least twice throughout her trials which she wasn’t fond of trying again. The Kyyykash shadowlands were a lesson forever imprinted in her memory and a painful truth of her own weakness at the time. If she hadn’t been physically fit before then she would’ve died during it.

Zanna raised an eyebrow at the venom and the snarl. “Mental defenses don’t require a fit body, merely a strong mind with the right training. You posses a strong mind, that much is clear, but your defenses are broad. They leave weaknesses, cracks a skilled Force user can slither into and expand. Lady Lansha would have taken even fewer seconds than I did to break into your mind. But, if you wish to get all of your training started on the same day, we shall wait. Do try not to collapse on your way back to your bed.”

Zanna turned to leave, ready to react should the Zabrak try anything stupid. Fortunately, Jayda did nothing more than watch her leave the room.

Before she headed towards the room where she had picked up her latest lightsaber, however, she turned and headed towards Nyiss' quarters. She needed to gain access to the Darth's Alchemy lab, as she had already ran out of her own supplies, spent on Jayda. Stupid impure bitch better help me stay alive... She thought, idly dropping a hand to her saberstaff. With deft sure steps she approached the Darth's door, biting back on her nervousness at the idea she was just casually walking into the lion's den, pressing the button announcing her presence and waiting, lightly pulling on her face tentacles. I hope this wasn't a mistake.

*Fuck

Nazca

~| Day 2, 12:31 - 12:33 GST |~
~| Aboard the Kaggath, Prison room|~

Despite herself, Nazca smiled at Koren. "Nice to know you're so popular. Makes it easier to steal things from people while they're busily gushing over you." She held up both her hands, waggling her fingers. "You could say I've got sticky fingers. Nearly got a Sith's lightsaber. Would have gotten away with it to if wannabe pretty boy hadn't checked for it." Her face clouded over slightly at the mention of the Sith helping him. "More than likely just an attempt to get you to trust him before he betrays you. Common tactic on Nar Shadda. Especially with the Hutts."

She pretended to contemplate his question, her new hand idly rubbing her chin. "Well, I watched you fight a robot, very nice if a bit close at times I must say, fell asleep, and then woke up to you being sassed by another robot." Her eyes briefly flicked to Navi, before returning to Koren. "If by lesson you mean anything involving physical work, no. Any other lesson, yeah, sure. I'm good to go for that."

[Ellri]

~| 10:14 - 11:41 GST, Miasa’s quarters |~

Though Miasa had had fairly free reins with the creation of the new hand for the prisoner Nazca, she did not have such with this new arm for the Sith Lord, Sish. She would have to be careful there. If she were to make it too weak, she would offend the Sith Lord. If she were to make it too powerful, her master, Darth Nyiss, would be angered. Neither of those results were desirable, and she knew well that her pride in doing a good job prevents her from making flawed cybernetics. From the moment she got the message about constructing a cybernetic arm, her thoughts began churning out ideas.

The first step, of course, would be to replace whatever remained of the Sith Lord’s shoulder with a suitable bracket and interface. It would not do to have the flesh begin to fester and rot. She might not approve of Lord Sish’s methods or behavior, but he was still a Sith Lord and thus worthy of a modicum of respect.

With only a brief knock to announce his presence, Sish entered Miasa’s quarters, still carrying his other arm. He nodded in greeting before moving to his reason for being her. “Miasa. I assume the Darth has already informed you of my punishment and the fact that I’ll be needing a new arm? I’m going to assume she told you not to make it too useful. So no weaponry. Lightsaber resistant, cortosis perhaps, and claws are all I’ll be getting.”

The moment the Sith Lord stepped into her chambers, Miasa composed herself and began to study her patient.

“Lord Sish.” she said, looking him in the eye. If he was in any sort of pain, it did not show.

“I will have to cut into your shoulder to remove the burned flesh and bone before attaching the brackets and interfaces. Do you need anesthetics before I do?”

Sish waved a dismissive hand. “No. Save them for the others. Pain is something I am well acquainted with.” He turned armless shoulder to Miasa for her to begin cutting, dropping his arm on the ground nearby.

“I will not rush the construction of your new arm. You can have a temporary limb attached to the shoulder while I make a proper one, or you can be without one. The temporary limb will have limited functionality and be nothing like the final product. It will not be suitable for combat.”

Sish thought for a moment before making his decision. “No temporary limb. It’d merely get in the way the next time I have to fight.” Though he chafed at the delay of his new arm, he knew a rushed one would merely result in his death. Sish gave a light chuckle as he realized that he was getting the same arm as the apprentice he had killed.

“You do not shy from pain. Good.” Miasa said with a hint of respect as she deftly cut into his shoulder. Though lightsabers cauterized the wounds they made, preventing excessive bleeding, they wreaked havoc upon the tissue in the process. Though the limb had been severed cleanly without removing the shoulder, much of the tissue there was ruined.

“I will remove much of the shoulder joint. The flesh is ruined.” she said, cutting into it, using a laser scalpel to cut flesh and bone alike. In some ways, it resembled a lightsaber, but it was tiny and much more focused, singeing shut veins and arteries, but not damaging the underlying tissue. If the Sith Lord was in any sort of pain, he did not show it. That alone was an indicator of his self-control while unprovoked.

“Very well. Ruined flesh is weak and useless anyways.” Sish merely waited as the scalpel began to sear through what remained of his shoulder. Compared to the pain of before, this was nothing.

Once the ruined tissue was gone, Miasa began the real work, isolating nerves, looping veins and arteries, hooking muscle fibers in place. It was a slow process, but it could not be rushed. Rushing meant mistakes. Mistakes meant failure. Failure led to bad things. That process took a good hour, but once finished, the only sign he showed of having been harmed was the ebony-black framework where his shoulder used to be. After the arm was built and attached, she would of course cover that up with proper armor plating, but not before.

“It isss done, Lord Sish. You may depart. Leave the arm. I have use for it.”

After the excruciatingly slow process was done Sish reflexively went to roll his aching shoulder, and merely shook his new framework. “Thank you, Miasa.” He turned to regard the other Sith, nostrils flaring slightly as he took in her scent, nearly hidden by the stench of burned meat. “What use would that be?” He asked, shifting to better face her. He was merely curious. If the Sluissi had wanted to kill him, she would have done so while he had presented his weak side to her.

“Several.” Miasa answered enigmatically. She had plans for it, and she did not see fit to share them, not even with a Sith Lord. He might not fully approve of all the plans she had in place. She did not care. Her master had given her a task and she would see that task completed, even if it would be in her own fashion.

Sish narrowed his eye at Miasa. “Enlighten me.” That vague answer had put him on the defensive. He wasn’t about to leave his arm with someone who couldn’t answer a simple question directly. She had something to hide, something she didn’t want him to know. And that was never good.

Miasa found his suspicion bothersome, but should have expected it. “In order to accommodate my master's wishes, I have to make sure the claws are the right strength. To do that, I either have to have your arm, or you need to stick around for a long battery of tests.” She waited a moment before continuing, “The other reason is to give your new arm the right shape and girth. Scans and images do not give the same feel.”

Sish stared at Miasa for a few more moments, before giving into her ruthless logic. Even if he still didn’t trust her, Nyiss had commanded them both and he didn’t doubt she could get what she wanted (whether it was indeed what she told him or not) from his arm or himself during tests. “Very well.”

“I will contact you when your new arm isss ready.”

Sish gave a nod before turning and leaving, wondering who he could find that could make sure his new arm isn’t sabotaged in some way by the Sluissi. That she would do it, the Trandoshan didn’t doubt. He was on a new battlefield, one where actual combat was frowned upon and every battle was fought with shadow blades and poisons. I hate this ship.

[Sep]

~| Day 2, 12:33 - 12:37 GST |~
~| Aboard the Kaggath, Prison room|~

Koren just shrugged. "You know, stealing isn't exactly the Jedi way. We tend to stop the people who do the stealing more than we do the actual stealing ourselves. Though on rare occasion a Jedi may need to commit theft. Though that's very rare, this ship qualifies. Just incase you were concerned, stealing a lightsaber on this ship aslong as you don't get caught or in any form of trouble... I'll let you get away with. Aslong as you don't intend to use it yourself, there'll be plenty of time for that after we escape and you can enter formal training. Whether that will be with me or a Master who knows how to teach will be up to you, and the council if they decide to have a say in it." He nodded at Tolun Fi before walking upto Nazca and leading them into the central chamber that linked the prison complex together.

"I don't doubt he was likely trying to get me to trust him in order to get on my good side and possibly gain some information. Don't forget I am a Jedi Watchman. If that doesn't mean anything to you... Watchmen are stationed on a planet. They rarely leave said planet unless the situation requires them to. It is our job to try and keep the peace, perform any investigations asked of us by the local populance and scout out potential candidates to join the Jedi Order. I've dealt with criminals and their ilk before, quite a lot of Sith are no different. Often resorting to the same tactics, the way we often mirror law enforcement agencies. The difference is that Jedi and Sith have the ability to use the Force and fancy lightsabers-" He lowered his hand to his belt where his lightsaber traditionally hung. He missed it, even just the weight of it on his hip. While some others had either replaced the first lightsaber they had ever constructed with a more complex model, or had to replace it due to damage or loss. His, was the original. Albeit with quite a few modifications over the years.

It was very much a part of him, and despite being a staunch believer of the code, he couldn't help but miss it. "-Okay. We're down the fancy lightsabers right now. I'll give you that before you go there. But at least we still have the Force, and eachother." He smirked as he looked her in the face. "Always positive." He sat down in the middle of the floor again signalling for her to sit down. "Yeah it was a little close a couple of times with the War Droid. An Electrostaff isn't typically my weapon of choice, took a little to get used to the balancing of it and using two hands. Though it was the best choice there, it does look like there should be a training lightsaber on that rack but either the Sith didn't feel like sharing or another Jedi had sticky fingers. Anyway, no we won't move onto combat. First, you're not feeling well. Second..."

He again signalled the room. "We haven't disabled any cameras yet. They might object to me arming prisoners. They'll probably object to me training you in the Force as well and the ways of the Light Side but on that count-" He shrugged. "-They can blow up and burst." He smiled. "Anyway, you've connected yourself to the Force. Let go of the past, expanded your horizons and whatnot. Let's move onto something a bit more flashy." He reached down to his belt, grabbing one of the metal pins that held his belt in place and pulling. Using both his physical strength and the Force to remove it from the leather and placed it between them. "I hope you know Padawan, I've had this belt for years. It was a difficult sacrifice..." He shook his head in faked disdain.

"Stretch out with the Force, while you won't feel the actual pin feel how the Force interacts with the pin. Use the Force as an extension of yourself, picture it as an extension of your arm and use that arm to grab the pin and move it. You don't need to lift it if you do not want to yet. Just move it, close your eyes and picture it in your mind. Picture all the inner workings between you and it, see it all fit together and then... move it." He placed his hands on his knees. "I will not interfere."

Reference Image

[EliteCommander]

Fa-Val-Kul

~| Day 3, 19:55-19:56 GST |~
~|Location: Mos Eisley, Tatooine|~

Vebra’s knocking was answered rather quickly. Although, as soon as the door opened, Fa found herself staring ahead at the torso of a hulking being. As he was pretty much directly in front of her, she had to crane her neck back considerably to actually make eye contact. Off the top of her head, she had no idea what he actually was, if he was even a he. Fa thought she could remember seeing something like him in a spaceport or something, but she had never spoke to one, and certainly had never bothered to look into what they were. Regardless, she guessed, and indeed hoped, that this was one of Lyric’s Jedi. Having someone of that size on their side came with some advantages she could think of pretty readily; some definite disadvantages as well, but they could work around those.

Fa let down her hood so the Jedi could see her face clearly, in case Lyric had given his Jedi any physical descriptions. Of course, someone would have to be exceptionally inattentive to mistake Fa for anyone else; she would not be surprised if she was the only Tiss’shar in this sector. ’Looks like that old master did actually radio ahead’ She thought to herself before she responded. “Yeah, we were ordered here by…well, you know who.” Fa answered, as she did not know who they were in the presence of, literally. She tried to peer around the massive Jedi into the building, but he was wide and close enough that she could not get a good look inside. Honestly, she had a hard time imagining how he managed to get through the doorway in the first place.

[Ellri]

~| 11:41 - 14:00 GST |~

~| Miasa, alone in her quarters |~

Once the Sith Lord left, Miasa could finally get to work. She shut the door behind Lord Sish and activated the lock. That would not keep out any truly determined Sith, but it would make it abundantly clear she had no interest in being bothered by anyone. She had work to do. Though she would not rush the construction, she would not delay it either.

The first thing she did was push all the crates up against the walls. Before they had been seemingly haphazardly placed, even though they really had been organized carefully. For this particular project, she would need space all around. She had pride. No matter what restrictions were placed on her project, like the rules on this arm, the idea of providing anything other than a prime-quality product did not even enter her mind. But at the same time, she did not trust Lord Sish. He was a violent brute, that much was clear. But a merely violent brute would not attain the rank of Sith Lord. Or at least not keep it long. Doing so required more.

According to the records, he had been a Sith lord for a good while. That meant that there was more to him than met the eyes. That meant he needed to be carefully handled. She needed an insurance policy. Pressing a few commands into the room controls, she set up a large worktable in the center. The first step would be to scan the limb the Sith Lord had left behind. That would provide the general shape.

After that, she would compare it to its DNA. Creatures like trandoshans could regrow their limbs if lost. If she recalled correctly, which she did, they did not regrow limbs after a certain age. Sish’ request for a cybernetic limb clearly indicated he was above that age. She noted that down in her head for future reference. That process took but a few minutes. It pleased her how the ship’s computers were suitably strong.

Pulling up a simple holographic copy of the arm, she started “removing” pieces. Skin. Muscles. It didn’t take much effort to figure out how each component worked. Like her, he was reptilian in origin, so many of the same functions were present. Not that mammals functioned all that differently from reptiles in that aspect. An arm was an arm.

Her hands flew over the controls, starting the design process. The framework was first. She considered replicating the bone structure, but decided not to do that fully. For organic limbs, it made sense, but not for cybernetic ones. Thus she went with a more streamlined structure. She next applied small servomotors to make it exactly as strong as a trandoshan specimen in prime condition should be. Per her master’s orders, he was not to gain any advantages from this.

As she had expected the analysis revealed that the arm, had he been younger, was supposed to have grown longer. A small part of her wanted to make the new arm the same length as the old, but professional pride won out and she chose to make it the exact length it was supposed to be. After that, she proceeded to analyse the claws in order to fabricate claws of similar sharpness, length and size, but with much higher durability. She had absolutely no interest in regularly replacing his claws due to wear and tear.

This was all still purely the design. Not a single component had even been picked up from the crates. There would be plenty of time for that later. Then she designed the fingers. Same number of joints, same count and same size as the fleshy origins would have been if they had grown in properly. That was the basic framework. After that, she proceeded with the wiring. As with everything else, she designed it with what some might call excessive redundancy. In her mind, it was sufficient redundancy. Had she not had these restrictions in capability and size, she might have gone with even more redundancy, but the restrictions were as the were.

She certainly would not even have considered anything like blasters, flamethrowers or rockets in the design even without the restrictions. Not only was that impractical, but it was also harder for the recipient to learn to use. She moved on to implementing the processing core and nerve hookups, seeing how those would have to be installed before the outer shell could be considered. Only once that was done, did she start the process that she had no intention of Lord Sish learning about before it was far, far too late. The insurance policy.

The system for that would be entirely separate, the circuits shielded from any interference. The Baradium, just enough to obliterate a 1.13m radius, would be seeded throughout the entire framework. Not enough to obliterate Lord Sish completely if triggered, but enough to terminate him, no matter what. It would naturally be possible to trigger remotely, but only after receiving a quite intricate signal. Or upon the push of a minuscule Force-activated trigger. Perhaps she should consider having the Sith Lord’s own apprentice do the deed. There was a certain traditional charm in the apprentice killing the master once the master failed.

The final stage was the outer “flesh” and shelling. She did not want to make an arm that looked like it had been ripped from a protocol droid. This arm should be worthy of a Sith Lord and should look the part. She thought about numerous designs and color schemes, then settled on the traditional imperial black and red. You could never go wrong with that. A few crimson lights would accent the design nicely.

She thought about adding a couple of sinister-looking spikes on the shoulder, but realized after a bit of experimenting that it simply didn’t fit directly on the shoulder. They would have to be fitted to a looser pauldron. Thus she put that into the design.

It was only at that point she could take a slide back and look at the whole. There were numerous notes and schematics beside the hologram, but the look was nonetheless clear. She could soon begin the manufacture. Though he had asked for it, Miasa did not see fit to give him cortosis. That she would save for more worthy projects. Projects without a bomb installed. Instead, she would use alchemy to make it impervious to lightsabers. Much more challenging. Much more fun.

At that point, after almost an hour and a half of design work, did she begin to collect the parts from her crates. It would take many hours yet to find them all and assemble the arm. Night would fall on the ship before she would be done with even the general assembly. She estimated it would be dawn before the alchemical processes and finishing would be complete. It was a good thing she did not have any immediate plans for anything weak like sleep or feeding. She had fed a good three days earlier and was still digesting that meal. Humans and other species like it were so weak, having to eat daily, if not more often. Inefficient. Wasting time used for better things.

[Dblade26]

~|Day 2: 12:00-12:30 GST|~
~|Aboard the Kaggath, Prison Complex: Khan Sainen|~

To put it simply as impossible as it might seem on a prison ship run by hostile Sith, Khan had gotten really bored! There was hardly anything going on and he had been striving to at least keep himself cool and collected, but he was too worked up about his circumstances to meditate well without guidance or at least some help, so he had decided to watch what was apparently some form of prisoner gladiatorial combat going on through the floor beneath him.

The combatant involved was certainly one of the more skilled the young Padawan had seen. He seemed to be using a more passive and reactionary fighting style Khan's own master would have approved of were he still around, and his stance and movements mostly exerted calm serenity, though it was clear he wasn't a master of his current weapon. Moreover, it was clear to the Echani's trained mind and eye that this warrior wasn't even utilizing his full capabilities during his bouts, despite their seemingly lethal nature. After all, Certain movements appeared just a little bit off in a way that didn't have to do with the electrostaff, almost like a song where a few notes had been skipped. The finish with the droid was an inspired application of the Force Khan hadn't considered, and the ending of the duel with the strange beast where it was pacified instead reminded the Padawan of his own Master's methods and teachings.

Inspired by the fight Khan decided to move through some Echani martial arts forms as a type of 'action meditation' as he had been taught in his much younger childhood. He started out with simple forms of striking with all eight major points plus the head along with blocks and parries. Over time he ran through more complex striking and blocking patterns against numerous imaginary opponents at once before moving on to the agility-based strike-and-evade patterns used on a battlefield against blasters. For this last part he used the bunks in the room for improvised climbing, acrobatics and leaping. It was in the middle of climbing on an upper bunk in the middle of the room that he found something much more interesting than his own attempts at exercise.

Wedged between the mattress and the frame of the bed was a curious glint of metal. Alert to anything new or potentially interesting, Khan shifted himself to examine it better. It was a lightsaber! Well from this angle it didn't seem like a real lightsaber, just a training saber. The sort that couldn't actually kill someone except if it were modified or used with some very specific circumstances or techniques in mind. Khan briefly wondered how and why a training lightsaber came to be hidden away here under a bed. Still, he wasn't one to question his immense good fortune in finding such a rare weapon in the enemy's own holding cells! He longed to hold it in his hands and practice with it, especially considering he had hardly been able to refine his abilities with the lightsaber much lately. But he knew that if he wanted to keep it, he would have to make sure it stayed secret from the Sith. So, he disguised his short pause as the prep work for a rather flashy and impressive backflip off the bunks, though his lack of mastery of Echani arts and lack of supplementation with The Force meant it hurt his knees more than it should have.

With that done Khan ran through a short cool-down exercise and decided to wander in search of this arena combatant. Perhaps he could learn something, and even if not he really wanted to meet some more fellow captives!

[Gowi]

Talija

~| Day 2, 12:29 - 12:47 |~
~| Aboard the Kaggath, Prison Complex |~

The force never freed her from her own nightmares, it seemed. A fact Talija realized as she awoke sporadically throughout the course of hours of time. The darkness that manifested on the ship bled into her dreams and taunted her as it threw her jagged throughout her mind. As defiant and resilient as she was she still felt pretty unprepared for what sort of trials she had just been begun to be put through; both mentally and physically. The whispers of her masters were one of the few things keeping her together as she knew that the days that were coming would be her most perilous. Her nightmares attempt to make her give in to despair was wasted though; as it would take much pain to make her resilience and stubbornness be quelled. She knew the Sith were practitioners of darkness and misery, she had read up on her enemy to her best capacity; she refused to let them win. But the fact her emotions on her first “night” were so strong worried her.

With her removal from her nightmares she took a heavy breath to calm her nerves.

“There is no emotion, there is peace.” She murmured in her thoughts.

Talija found it difficult to go back to sleep and get more rest despite her jagged sleeping schedule due to her sudden lack of consciousness when the Sith Trooper’s barrel hit the back of her head some three or four hours ago. This left her with an uncertain feeling of what to do to bide her time until the next Sith encounter which left her with getting familiar with her surroundings, meditation, or conditional practice. Her mind felt still too reeling to focus on meditation and after her physical beating at the hands of the Sith before her capture conditioning didn’t seem to be an ideal option either. Which only left exploration of the prison complex as her only option out of her miniscule choices. However, before she made the decision she heard movement in another bunk; her eyes carefully moving to see what it was from her position.

“An Echani?” She was surprised she noticed the boy flip out of his bunk and do some quick conditioning before wandering off himself given her physical state, but it provided noteworthy information on her surroundings as well as one of her fellow Jedi who were imprisoned on the vessel. She decided not to speak outwardly as she went back to her thoughts; perhaps he was unsure of what to do as well? It worried her that she hadn’t seen Xid since she had waken, but perhaps he was in a different bunk room entirely? She shook the thought from her head as she decided to remove herself from the bunk and do what she had intended; perhaps she’d run into the Echani later on?

She hoped so.

She hoped she would fine many fellow Jedi to see what kind of skills they were working with on the ship to defy the Sith at hand.

“Alright Talija, let the force guide us through this accursed prison.”

[Sep]

~| Day 2, 12:37 - 12:47 GST |~
~| Aboard the Kaggath, Prison room|~

Nazca blinked her eyes innocently at Koren, a smirk on her face as she used him to remain upright. “Thank you so much for letting me get away with stealing Koren! What would I have done without your approval! Would you like me to keep attempting to remember pathways along the ship? What about making sure that the others are okay and Shiri and Xid don’t do anything stupid?” She shrugged at the mention of a new Master. She had literally just met Koren. Getting a new master if she survived this wouldn’t be a very large change for her. Hoping they would reach a stop soon, she hid her exhaustion and general pain behind a blank look when he called himself a Jedi Watchmen. “Oh! So you’re basically the Jedi police. Anyone ever stationed at Nar Shadda?”

She smiled back at him. “Yes, on this ship always positive.” She gave a slight snort at the comment about combat. “‘Not feeling well’ is an understatement. I feel like I just got beat up by a bunch of Gamorreans and then started bonding with an unusually violent Zabrak male.” Despite herself she chuckled at his burst comment. “If only they would. Getting out of this place would be so much easier.”

Minor alarm showed on her face as he grabbed his belt, edging slightly backwards. She relaxed when he pulled out a pin. “I’ll have you know, Koren, that I had my hand for years. It was a difficult sacrifice but I made it.” She continued eyeing the pin in minor confusion as he explained what she wanted him to do. “If you say so...inner workings and all that.”

Nazca closed her eyes and attempted to stretch out with the Force. She felt odd and more than a little stupid, straining to reach out with something she couldn’t even see. She pictured how the Force worked and how she used it. It was a great machine in her mind, something that needed fuel to operate and pick the pin up. What could I use… She reached into her emotions searching for something to use. There. Her ever present hatred of the Hutts and all like them was waiting, and even eager she suspected, to be used. She had claimed to get past it, but all she had really done was shove deeper down. You didn’t just completely get rid of something that you’ve clung to all your life, after all.

So, Nazca used her hatred. She grabbed it and placed it into the machine, fueling her Force. A burning fire ignited and she felt power coursing through her.Unbeknownst to her, her hatred was easily felt throughout the small room and perhaps beyond, as the pin shook and then levitated into the air. Not very high, perhaps an inch, and she lost control and direction after a few moments, but she did it. As the pin fell back to the floor she opened her eyes and grinned at Koren. “I did it!”

“I really, really. Don’t want to know any of your…” He waved his hand in a circle movement on front of him trying to come up with the right word. “Personal habits or preferences.” He threw a wink to show that he was only teasing her. Nazca gave a rude, playful, gesture in response. He then sat and watched as she focused on the pin and frowned as he felt the darkness well up within her. As she searched for something deep down within herself and then brought it to the surface. Using those emotions to move the pin into the air, shakingly but into the air. He had hoped for slight movement, would have marvelled at lifting it into the air. Though not like this, this was risky.

Perhaps she wasn’t as ready as he hoped she had been. He couldn’t just take it back, he couldn’t just scold her… He needed to teach her. This was so different from when he had learned, from the occasional time he had helped teach others in combat techniques. In those situations he was dealing with a Jedi. Instead before him sat someone who had virtually no training in a situation that was truly dangerous for all of the Jedi and she had potential. The problem was that this potential was raw, and shaped by experiences far too brutal for him to even want to understand. Let alone let her draw from.

To do so was risky under regular conditions here.... it could prove fatal. “Well, yes and no. I have to ask, what did the pin do to you to be the poor subject off such hate? You likely won’t feel it now but once you release the feeling you built up you will feel the cold grip of the Dark Side.” He struggled to put it into words, weighing each one carefully. “I know you didn’t have the most typical upbringing, our lives themselves contrast between how we were raised and how we found home in the Order. So I shall try teaching a different way than I was taught.”

He signalled to the turbolift that he had come through when returning to the Arena. “I had free roam of this ship when I was left in the Arena. I could have gone anywhere, or do anything. I could have taken the easy path to do what I wanted. Though that would have brought pain, and suffering to all of you. Possibly even death, whereas the longer more difficult path ensures your survival. This is the difference between the Dark Side and the Light. The Light side of the Force allows you to shape it, and use it as a tool and a very unique way of life. The Dark Side seduces, and corrupts. Until you want to twist it even more for your own purposes, become a husk of who you were once and then you become it’s tool.” He sighed. He had a feeling he was going to lose her in this train of thought.

“I was watchman for Manaan.” He thought back the feelings on this one, and would just have to hope whoever watched the security tapes would skip over that sentence and the ones to follow it. “The world I was assigned to protect was attacked for not joining the Sith. For trying to avoid this war. Ahto city had been my home for years, many of the Selkath were my friends. While the Jedi Code forbids attachment, you are allowed to find companionship in order to help you be compassionate. For as long as you understand on how to let go the Dark Side can not take hold of you.” he worked through his next set of words carefully.

“I have been in pain, ever since that day. I cannot sleep, sometimes I cannot even live a waking moment if something remembers me of not the life I lost. Of my failure, the people I promised to protect dead or in eternal agony. I managed to save a handful out of so many, hate and fear I will admit clouded my mind for a time but I overcame them.” He smiled a sad, weary smile at her. “For think of it this way. If you become afraid, or become hateful. All those who hurt or tortured you have won. However. Everytime you smile, laugh, play or even just draw breath is the greatest insult you can ever offer them. It proves you are strong, and that you are right. I know, we have only just met. Though I believe Nazca that you have that strength within you, and you certainly have the ability to insult someone.” He stood up, speaking about his experiences had not been easy.

“I hope my trust and faith in you has not been misplaced Padawan.” He turned and paced a little facing back. Drawing a deep breath as he did so, it had put him on edge. Even the slight conversation of Manaan but like Nazca he needed to learn to control this, before the Sith did. “I am willing… I am willing to teach but I want to try and ensure that me teaching you does not cause more harm than good.” He turned around and then back again. “You are an innocent caught in one tragedy after another and… I just… I don’t want to see anyone else caught in this petty rivalry between Jedi and Sith… and I don’t want to see your innocence and purity lost. As no matter what you have been through you still have it.” He let out a sigh.

“I’m sorry Nazca, I should probably have shut up a while ago.”

Nazca looked at Koren in confusion. The hatred wasn’t directed at the pin itself, it was merely a means to an end. It was power and strength, pure and simple. She listened quietly as he began to explain what she did wrong. She gave a slight snort at his comment about typical upbringings, raising an eyebrow at him. She didn’t interrupt however, letting him go on and explain what he wanted her to do. She was unfazed by his revelation of being on a planet destroyed by the Sith. Everyone had something they lost when people like the Hutts and Sith started throwing their weight around.

She actually laughed as he spoke about her innocence and purity. “No, no it’s fine that you spoke that long. However, you obviously can’t see very well if you think that I have innocence and purity left.” She paused for a moment, gathering her thoughts. “I get what you’re saying. Using emotions, the Dark Side, is like taking strength enhancing drugs. It offers power and strength, but in the end merely makes you a slave to it if you can’t control it.” Nazca gestured to emphasize her next words.

“But I can. I’ve been dealing with and controlling my emotions for years now. I watched my parents die in front of me, killed by the Hutts. I controlled my anger, my hatred, until I could put it to good use. Control is something I’m better at that you might think.” She raised her hands in a placating gesture. “But if you insist, I won’t use negative emotions as fuel again. They’re attributed with the Dark Side and evil. It is how we use the Force that differs us from the Sith right? So what does it matter if I use positive emotions? Joy, love, protective instincts. As long as I’m using them to defend my friends and don’t use them for evil, I should be okay, right?”

Koren shrugged. “It will be a start, technically as Jedi we aren’t to use any emotion though quite a few of us do at some points or other. Some more than they should, though let us not get bogged down in internal politics. The difference is, hate is a powerful emotion.” He raised up his hands in order to show his feigned surrender. “I will freely admit that. As is anger, the important thing is as I said… using these emotions do not always let you have a clear mind. Which is how the Dark Side of the Force corrupts.” He shrugged. “I’ll admit I’m maybe not the best person to explain all of this but you have little other choice. If you chose to use emotion, just remember. The Sith want us to use these dark emotions, don’t let them win.”

He then signalled back down to the pin. Move the pin again, remember the only fuel you need is your willpower. Will the pin to move, and the Force will move it for you. You need to try and add more power into an infinite power source.”

Nazca smirked at Koren. “Yeah. Good luck with making me anything remotely resembling Tolun Fi. My emotions, as I’m sure you’ve noticed by now, are an intricate part of me. Still, I shall avoid negative and dark magics if.” Her smirk turned into a scowl. “Especially if the Sith support it.” Reluctantly, she closed her eyes again and reached for willpower to power her ‘machine’ rather than emotions. For what seemed like the longest time it didn’t work. She pushed and strained against the machine, trying to get it too work. Move. Move. Move!

The pin shook and then slid across the floor a small amount. “There!” She smiled at Koren. “It’s not as powerful as before, but it’s progress!

“Yeah Tolun Fi is what one would call too closed off. It’s a delicate balance and to be entirely honest, I’m not sure if I have the balance right myself. Emotions shouldn’t be ignored or disregarded, but they should be controlled instead of letting them control you. Which is why using emotions such as Anger with the Force can have dire consequences… the power is like a drug. I think you can agree that drugs aren’t the best substances given what little I know of your upbringing and those that take them aren’t usually the nicest of people.” He smiled as she then focused on the pin. Willing it to move, rather than forcing it too. Eventually it did.

As she said it wasn’t as powerful as it previously had been but it had moved. He smiled at her, a genuine smile almost caring. “That is all the power you need, your power and resilience. You’ve already interacted with the Force in a bigger way than most people ever will in their life times. For that, you should feel pride… on the condition that you don’t let that become arrogance.” He shrugged. “It’s a fine line I know, but it’s a line. I won’t recite the code I’m sure you’ve heard it enough at the temple, especially learning among younglings. Had you been at an enclave you might have managed to avoid being in a class with people less than half your age, again I’m kind of guessing your age but you get the point.” He levitated the pin back to it’s former location. “Anyquestions before we continue?”

[Fallenreaper]

~| Day 2, 13:20-13:25 GST |~
~| Xid, Prison Bunk B|~

Nightmares again.

Though he tried to mediate a calmness within his mind, the memories resurfaced like bad habits and refused to let him go. His skin was icy with sweat pouring across the surface and the dampen sheets plastered to his figure. It tangled about his limbs during his tossing and turning movements, all the while his mind was trying to purge itself from reliving his past. Nothing he did seemed to have been successful so far. While the memory played out, Xid's body curled into a tight ball to rid out the emotional storm about to rock through his very being. The thoughts picking at age old wounds he had thought were scabbed over and faded into scars. Instead, they were merely festering under the flesh.

Mirror, Mirror, Who's the Darkest One of All?(Part 2)

Belsavis

Xid followed Sela, their bare feet padding quickly across the prison's steel flooring and moved deeper into the complex. His eyes couldn't help but wonder, feeling the excitement within his core buzz and fill him since his experience with the abrupt shift in climate. It was a technological miracle to alter a planet's natural subzero conditions into a creating a tropical paradise, especially when it came to keeping it hidden from the naked eye. Yet here he was, currently walking within such a wonder. Awe emotions tingled in his core causing Xid to harden his mask over his excitement, his eyes keeping track of both his master and his whereabouts. His hands folded into his tunic sleeves to prevent his nervous picking of his cloth while he managed to keep a steady pace during their escort toward their quarters within a makeshift barracks.

Movement, unexpected and sudden, caught his eyes when an ancient warden droid floated. Without a second thought, his head to whip about to watch it eagerly until it passed out of sight. He had barely realized his feet had paused to allow the thing to continue by until Sela sensed his absence then spoke calmly, yet firmly in her tone toward him. “Xid, you're falling behind. It isn't a good idea to dwell within in one place, at least not until we've reached our quarters first.”

Those words were enough to break the short lived spell over his fascination. Flinching at the realization he had been caught, Xid's head jerked back to note her words were all too true to his horror. His teeth gritting and trying to resist the urge to cry out for time to catch up, the teenager quickly tried to cut the growing distance by speeding up his pace. Sela merely shook her head, her lips curled into a light smile, keeping her eyes on his approaching figure until he was walking right beside her once more. He watched her head turned back to the Commander and realized he hadn't paid the least attention to Xid's blunder, the Padawan silently thankful for it.

Unsurprisingly, his eyes roamed again to the scene surrounding them. The current section they were in held a high security vault, all units designed and housed many non-humanoid prisoners. Their cells seemed to accommodate each individual species living conditions like some maximum, high tech zoo rather than a prison a Republic civilian would've imagined in their wildest dreams. However, at first glance, the containment cells didn't look like much but each one was far beyond qualified to imprison their current subject with little effort as well as care for them. Animals from meat eating Rancors to other bizarre and unidentifiable creatures, many he couldn't completely identify accurately, were all well settled within their habitats. Their forms meandering around various landscapes where their various calls echoed within the prison. Sounds of all kinds filled his ears as his eyes noted several droids were hovering from one cell to another, each carefully monitoring their status.

Xid couldn't help but wonder, in a grim way, what would happen if a glitch or malfunction was discovered within the security measures. Would the subject be purged and repaired made, or completely eliminated? If the later, what happened to the remains? Were they-

He abruptly stopped his swirling of questions for two reasons: the first was the obvious fact he had no answers, and the second was it was a grisly line of thought. Considering what Sela would say, his mind pushed aside the line of thinking grudgingly. His eyes turned to his master, his silence lasting for several more minutes before his curiosity began to swell within his core. It tingled and itched his insides, pestering until he finally asked his master one of the most and least morbid questions twisting within his mind. The question he felt was most important yet simplest one.

“Master Sela, why are we here? You've mentioned very little, save that it involved my talents and technology. Currently, I find it interesting but I don't quite understand.”

While waiting on an answer, his eyes studied his master in the usual admiration he held since they first met. The dark complexion and calm demeanor, Sela held herself in alignment to the very ideal image of what many expected to see from a master of the Order itself. Her dark, tightly bond curls were placed within a ponytail at her head back while her arms folded within her sleeves. Her walk was evenly paced enough to allow him to keep up easily as she absorbed his question, seeming to ponder over it for the right answer. Deeming he had waited longer enough, she replied in a teacher's tone and hinted at slight amusement over his naive question. “Filled with so many questions that one finally bubbled to the surface?”

Xid blushed at her correct assumption, his teeth gritted to hide his guilt and eyes averted from hers. It merely made the woman chuckle at being right then continued in a light heart chiding. “Sometimes watching and observing is the best teacher, one you can learn much more from than merely asking numerous questions you deem important.”

Letting the words sink in, she seemed to stare into the endless and ever winding tunnels ahead with a thoughtful expression. “However, I believe you do deserve some answers. Even if it will help ease your anxiety and feed your curiosity. Sadly, I suspect it will only increase your questions rather than quiet them.”

They turned to the right, still keeping the captain within visual range, when they heard him point then mention their destination dead head. Xid, his curiosity ever present, jerked his eyes upward to see the door entrance just meters away. It took him several moments to conclude what that difference was: silence. Utter, complete silence created a void where the prior cell block's active, noisy cellmates filled with their endless cries. Wondering about the matter, his eyes shifted to the tunnel sides where several cells displayed their prisoners locked within stasis and stared blankly with voided, empty eyes toward the very hallway center the trio causally walked down. Lights flickered and formed their padlock cages while many were fixed at the prison's center and barely moved a single muscle, giving the best impression of a stuffed creature Xid had ever seen done.

Strangely, even with all his reading within the Jedi Archives between Tolun Fi and lessons, he couldn't fully place a single entity Sela and him passed along the way. Some feature or coloring was always off when he managed to identify it which ended up secretly frustrating him at his failure. Part of him, deep inside, shuddered at the thought of those trapped inside this complex ever seeing the light of day and the damage they could devastate upon countless innocence. Xid shuddered then hastened his pace, forcing out the thought, as his desire to be out of this place got the better of him. His mind was immediately distracted by Sela's voice answering his earlier question.

“The technology on this planet, as I'm sure you can tell, isn't like any other from this current date. It is rather old and dated far back to an unsettling and depressing time where an alien race once enslaved entire cultures and people. They tampered with DNA, planetary climates, and more as experiments. To do this, they used force-based technology. An area of expertise you're rather adept by nature.” His master took a breath then continued onward, getting slowly to the point of the conversation. “The Order and Republic is hoping to use your ability to improve their own defensive systems for planets and aid in defending activity against Sith. This can hopefully turn the tide within this horrible war, limiting the lives lost.”

Xid blinked in surprise. His expression adjusting to the given factors before biting his lip, his eyebrows scrunched together then released. Sela was correct to assume it wouldn't answer enough questions and instead, bring up more as the first one popped into his mind. Was the assignment was long term or passed to another after he figured the difficult part out? How did technology and the force related within the machinery, causing them to work in seamless union? Was it possible to replica? A small sense of sickness settled in his heart and drifted down, bottoming out into his middle where it spread to coat his stomach in a heavy sensation.

Seemingly to note his uneasiness, Sela attempted to honey over his worry with reason and reassurance. “Don't worry, whatever you discover will be applied defensively. The Jedi Council wouldn't have loaned us to the Republic's disposable if it risked creating a planet shattering device. To dwell on the possibilities of your good intentions will merely tie your stomach into knots, at least over factors you can't control. Especially before there's cause to be concerned.”

When the end of the hallway was almost upon them, Sela slipped back into a quietness which allowed him to think on what she had told him. Passing the last cell, something broke the uneventful experience and tossed the small group's quiet walk into chaos. An item clicked causing the green light to turn red suddenly. An earsplitting alarm shattered any peace and flooded the air all around them. Instinctively Sela's hand raised. The force pulled her lightsaber to her side, her eyes scanned for the immediate threat only to see nothing. Xid on the other hand shoved his hands over his ears, a vain barrier against the pain lancing into his hearing, making his teeth grit in pain. His blue eyes widen while he tried to seek out the source of the disturbance as his voice tried to retrieve answers from his master. “What's happening? Why is the alarm going off? Is a prisoner escaping?”

There was little time for a reply to his questions before his heart was filled with dread.

It happened too quickly for his mind to register what caused the wet, sticky sensation leaking through his tunic, the source centered at his middle. His eyes lowered to it, Immediately he spotted the nasty gash, one spreading from side to side, which had cut through the tunic easily. It sliced past the fabric into his skin underneath and from the look of it, had hit something rather vital. The shock numbed his mind to the supposed pain. Distracted, he failed to defend himself against the needle-like teeth that sank into where his shoulder and neck connected in the following up moments. Their points pushed past the skin into the muscle. A fresh wave of blood was drawn.

The Padawan, his awareness sparked by the need to survive, tried to jerk out of the grip. His caught muscles and flesh tore in the thing's mouth before his navel wound started to burn like acid. Whatever had seized him was setting his body on fire causing all his pain to surface again. Xid didn't have time to react when something thick and scaly wrapped around his torso, squeezing tightly. It jerked him closer before he could fully escape. The pressure immediately constricted his lungs, preventing him from breathing as he gasped for air. The tail, his mind finally piecing together what held him, stiffened then whipped him instantly to the side. He easily was shoved off his feet and came to a hard stopped when his figure slammed into the wall. At having the wind knocked out of him, Xid crumbled into a heap.

Agony instantly flooded his mind causing the sickness to spread through his being, his lungs unable to scream in pain. An unnatural shudder rippled through him that turned quickly into a shiver, his limbs becoming helpless. His mouth opened and heaved, failing to get air into his lungs. A queasiness swept through his stomach causing it to rise to his throat. A moment later, he vomited everything he had eaten in one instinctive motion. The sour taste collected in his raw throat and he moved against the wall, pressing tightly against it. With each breath, he tried to rein in his system back into line. Already his mind was trying to get to his feet. Still trembling, all he could manage to do was forcefully prop himself upright on his side. His head was still spinning around and around, making his vision blur slightly, disorienting his awareness. Any remaining color in his skin drained away creating a white pallor. Xid struggled to hoist his head above the mess, finally his feet managing to get under him only to stumble again. His body tossed back on to his side then into a ball. Mentally, he cursed his weakness.

That was when his ears caught the buzzing hum from Sela's light saber. His eyes lifted to see his master's green blade glow and come to life in her skillful hands, her fingers tightening on the handle. In reflex, her legs fell into the familiar stance for attack. Her head eyeing the threat that had attacked her Padawan, she quickly moved toward Xid's fallen figure. Weakly he lifted his head to watch his master's approach while Sela bent down and checked his breathing with her fingers, assessing the damage with a touch. They both knew something was wrong but all she could do was hope he could ride it out, uttering a quiet command to stay put. Clearly struggling to keep from falling onto his side, Xid merely nodded faintly. He continued to fight whatever was coursing through his veins.

Something howled in fury, inhuman and dangerous, causing him to cover his ears to protect them against the harsh sound. Sela's attention shifted to the immediate threat as it closed in on her. Their escort, recovering from his shock, finally unstrapped his blaster and fired off three shots. His boots scuffling toward the down Padawan quickly only to be halted by Sela's words.

“Commander, first let's deal with this threat then we can attend to him.” She shot forward, her saber coming at the beast's right flank causing the large alien to flip over to the left.

It hissed again, the frill on its domed head flared out in aggression while it swiped out with one of its humanoid hands. Three claws sliced through his master's tunic when she rolled away. It seemed frustrated at the miss, its head pulled back to rise upright and over the older woman as if sizing her up. Its figure had thin skin lining the decreased muscle underneath giving it a scrawny look with flesh stretched from the humanoid arms to the digitigrade legs, not helping its malnourished appearance. A roar revealed several needle like teeth. The head bobbed side to side to study his master's motions before it lashed out a long tail, the forked end made to clip her legs only to hit air when she flipped backwards. Her form was magnificent despite her past injuries, assisted by the force, as she barely cleared the attack.

Meanwhile, Xid was still fighting the haze that swelled within his head. His focus split between trying to identify the threat and yielding into his own weakness. His mind was still able to sear a hasty image of the beast within his memory. Its hide was a dark green with black and yellow stripes, the surface pattern marred by faded scars. This alone was enough to tell him that the beast was a fighter, if he couldn't already see that for himself now. The crest on its dome, eyeless face raised in alarm as the Sela's saber came close to nearly nicking it causing it to retreat a bit. The size was large and his mental calculations estimated it was about that of a horse like beast he had seen on other planets. A predatory and aggressive beast- possibly frightened or starved from stasis- was doing what its instincts demanded of it.

If it wasn't for the fact his master was the 'prey' in this, he might've found the beast rather fascinating.

Seeming to have guessed the same thing, he spotted Sela's hand raised and tried to link with the animal's mind. To sooth and calm its pain, only to frown in confusion at her failure. She jerked back when the creature's forearms lashed out for another attempt to rip off her limb. Her efforts were in vain and instead, seemed to have angered it more.

The scuffle was enough to attract the security droids. Two quickly arrived on the scene, their appearance was enough to distract the beast's attention from his master toward them. It erupted into another howl of warning. Ignoring it, the first droid charged into the fray to subdue the beast and return it to its cage. The result from its effort was easily casted aside when the monster whipped about and used its tail to send it crashing into the nearest wall. Metal screeched, easily cracked by the impact, causing Xid's stomach to churn in sickness not related to the inner conflict happening within his own body. The creature wasted little time, its legs pounded upon the dazed droid then pinned it to the floor with its hind leg claws. Three, long fingers seized the first tiny niche it could find then thrust its bony head into the droid's. Once, twice, and finally three times it happened before the droid's metal brain caved in under the pressure.

Not ceasing, the animal pulled away the outside to reveal wiring, gears and more underneath. At reaching the inner 'guts' it tore out them through the gape until the droid was disabled, now just a machine husk that was casted away. During the brief struggle, the second droid had pulled in close. A suicide move, the droid propelled at the beast where it slammed into the side hard enough to cause a loud, violent crack of one of its ribs. Hurt and surprised, the prisoner's hands clenched its side. The droid didn't stop its assault. Instead it slammed into the beast again, sending another shockwave through its being and filled the prison block with another frustrated cry that echoed through the halls.

Allowing herself to break away from the engagement, Sela started to rush to Xid's side again. Her body had fallen onto one knee over him as she again, noting his visual struggles, check his vitals. Her connection was worrisome because she could sense his pain and stress. Xid smiled weakly when he finally managed to push his body to lean his back against the wall, bring him to sit upright. Blood soaked through his shredded tunic but thankfully most the flesh was still there. However, something was still wreaking damage on his inner immune system. It raced within his veins, each one felt hot and feverish, when he heard a fresh sound of metal being ripped into again.

Xid turned to see the last droid torn to pieces easily. A strange thought, his eyes widen in horror, crossed his mind from his observations: this thing seemed to know the droid's weak points far too well and easily took them apart within moments. Pushing his dread to the side, he asked Sela a question in a raspy voice. “What is that thing?”

Still frowning, Sela's answer was simple. “Something that was left behind I'm assuming. And we need to get it back into its cage.”

Her head darted back to the cell where the creature came from and mentally seemed to debate with herself a moment, coming to her next conclusion to be left up to him. Her arms wrapped his about her neck while she tried to ease him back onto his feet again. “I'm going to work on getting it close to its cell, can you close the door again?”

“I think so... Something doesn't feel right. I think the impact crushed some of my ribs.” Xid admitted through gritted teeth, his side hurting when she pressed into it.

It took a serious amount of control not to push her away and risk crumbling back into the ground. His breathing increased and deepened instead. His other hand reached out for the wall as a support, the other cradled his side where the throbbing was strongest though he barely touched it. Sela hesitated, for a moment, before she finally let good and he reminded upright.

A few more droids had arrived on the scene but the beast was dismantling them left and right, the whole time using its energy effectively. Yet, despite its purposeful movements and minimal effort, its movements were becoming tepid. The high adrenaline rush from earlier was already exhausted and now it was just delaying the finale. This gave Sela a chance to gain the upper hand. She stepped out from under him, her hand raised then gathered a Force Push within her palm. With a simple gesture she whipped it out at a downed droid, sending it right at the beast. The empty thing bounced off its target gaining the creature's attention.

Its dome turned to the master's direction, hissing softly, in its pause. Falling to all fours, it started its attacking at the master and seemed to recall her earlier limitations. It nimbly strayed in and out of her range while the master tried to severe the forked tail or a limb, each time missing just narrowly. The whole time she struggled to keep the earned distance between them as the pair danced about.

Trying to ignore the dangerous combat happening just in front of him, Xid crept inch by inch to the cell's control panel. Brief moments, he would risk a sparse glance toward the individuals to determine how much time he had left. Each one attacked and retreated, their skills surprisingly close in power though his master was the more obviously experienced.

On reaching the cell, his hands carefully taking off the case cover. In that moment, he wished Navi wasn't still at the ship and instead on hand. Sela had insisted they first track to the prison complex than could return later for the droid and their belongings. Part of him wondered if she was worried Navi might've went off exploring when they first entered and that was why he had been forced to leave his friend back on the ship. His thoughts were interrupted by a sense of urgency sent by his master causing the padawan to focus in the present. He didn't know how to splice but he could make it where the cell would never open for a long time-at least without his help- which seemed the best solutions currently.

When Sela positioned the beast just outside the cell door he had finally finished sabotaging the panel, then replaced the cover once more. Its patience drawing to a close, the beast coiled then sprung at the master's exposed side. Instead of countering it, she rolled to the side and applied all her force energy into its legs on its landing. She jerked back causing it to become knocked off balance. The surprise attack seemed to have done its trick, the forearm jerked back painfully causing its face to collide into the ground. Its body skidded across the smooth cell where it came to a halt by smashing into the far wall, carried by its momentum. Xid's hand smacked the panel button the instant it cleared the doorway. High energy created a wall, blocking it from getting out and trapping the beast within.

On realizing the trick, it let out another angry roar that almost sounded like a curse at them. Acknowledging his task was over, his legs managed one step when they gave out from under him. He collapsed where he stood. Xid was numb to the ache from the impact, his vision darkened edges closing in on his sight, and the last image was his master rushing to his crumbled figure. Her shouts distant, muffled by his weakness. In the end, the fight against slumber was a fruitless one. It won in the end no matter how much he tried to fight it and his eyes closed.

“NO!” Xid shouted. This voice echoed from the bunks to the main section of the prison as his body bolted upright, his fingers clutching his sheets twisted about his thin figure. Sweat drenched him in a chill that made him shiver alongside the fear prickling along his spine. It was a dream... it was a dream. The words repeated over and over within his head, each time trying to convince himself it wasn't real. With no true believe in his own logic, Xid's hands flung away the clinging sheets to reveal a fade, healed over scar across his navel. It wasn't bleeding or peeled wide open, mere just a scar.

Relieved it was nothing more than a nightmare, Xid flopped backwards upon the bed. And quickly regretted it when his side made its injury known, his arms wrapped about and clenched it. His head turned to examine it noting the purple coloring had increased making him sigh in frustration. Not wanting to risk falling asleep again, he decided it was time to get back up. Carefully he raised upright as his legs flipped over to the edge, gingerly placing his soles against the cold, metal floor. Testing his strength, he leaned upon one hesitantly. It seemed to hold so he applied more weight, followed by the other, and gradually lifted to his feet. His other hand placed on the bunk post, he didn't' let go until he was certain his legs could withstand his full weight.

Inch by inch, Xid dragged his bare feet to the doorway. His hand trailed from the bunk post to the wall and remain there, pressed firmly for balance, during his padding to the main complex. Being idled had only made his condition worse and though he didn't feel well enough to tolerate company, being alone was much worse for him now. It left his mind to wander into things best left forgotten as he cautiously padded into the main section where other Jedi seemed to be collecting. He had discarded Lea's robes for now and snatched his trousers, mildly damp now, from where she had laid them. Though he would've been more comfortable using his own tunic and robe to cover his scars, they were still pretty wet since they took the most water during his slippery clash with the bathroom floor.

He knew he likely looked as terrible as he probably felt. Then again his mind could be exaggerating everything he felt was normal. Casting his doubts away, the Knight made to get dressed before anyone arrived to check on him. He was sure his outburst was likely to draw attention and though he didn't feel well enough to tolerate company, being alone was much worse for him now. Some scars were beyond healing, festering thanks to the atmosphere of the ship, which deeply concerned him inside. How long would he last until he lost his sanity completely?

[Gowi]

Talija

~| Day 2, 13:20 - 13:29 |~
~| Aboard the Kaggath, Prison Complex |~

“NO!”

Talija’s ears twitched upon the sound of the short burst of terror that echoed throughout the prison complex— a voice she recognized. Despite being only an hour out of her own experience with her own nightmares she knew it well, though the fact the tone and timbre of the voice was familiar to the Sephi girl. Her mind went back to her Sith “greeter” and the videos she had shown her in some way to inspire a reaction; anger, despair, fear— the machinations of the Sith were clear to her in that moment. Talija took a light breath as she looked at the direction of the voice as one name rung out in her mind: Xid?

If her mind was not deceiving her and the Force was clear then it was as she thought. But it had been so long… to meet again in chains was something that felt out of place to her despite it logically making much sense given what she had seen and what situation both Padawans had been in. This was war after all. Still Talija did as she did, reacting with the Force itself as her feet moved her past the central chamber and into the other room. The Force spoke out to her to do such. She remained quiet as she stepped through the doorway, her narrow eyes widening as she looked through the darkness of the Sith dungeon.

She couldn’t think of words, she couldn’t express them. She felt a hollow uncomfortable feeling— not fear, not rage, not sadness; just absence of reaction. Perhaps she felt that this situation was a product of what was expected or maybe it was simply that she was still shocked by all of it being true— for the Sith to have gotten victory over this many Jedi with this simple prison ship… she hated the way her mind worked sometimes. She wished she could’ve had abundant emotions that they would overflow her logic and faith. She felt like a droid in situations like this.

She finally took a light breath as she took another step as a reassured smile poised her lips for a second.

“Xid.” She paused, for a second. “I thought I felt your presence through the force.”