Nyxella
TokyoPewPew
Tlaloc
~| Day 1, 18:28-18:36 GST|~
~| Aboard the Kaggath, Main Prison Complex |~
~| Aboard the Kaggath, Main Prison Complex |~
The kaminoan approached Alat without hurry and watched as Xid was escorted to one of the bunks by a young twi'lek, pleased to see the young knight had made it. His attention returned to the Jedi who had tried to address him before he was taken. He offered the kel dor a long, semi-irritated blink. He had never cared for metaphors, especially for situations such as this. The Twi'lek returned and offered her own ideas of what to do about their situation, something Tolun Fi happened to disagree with immensely. He caught sight of the other prisoners and decided that the conversation should probably be kept in confidentiality, lest everyone in the room be implicated. He steered Alat and Shiri away from the others with a slow walk, hoping that no one would take their separation as conspiratorial.
“Game tokens do not kidnap and murder.” Tolun Fi replied tersely. “I had just witnessed one of our temple’s guards fighting slaves to the death with blunt instruments. Forgive me for not finding amusement in board game analogies.”
He felt as if he was being a bit harsh, and in truth, he wasn’t particularly mortified by the combat demonstration, as he had become accustomed to witnessing much worse. “I do not suppose you’ve considered that what we know is next to nothing other than we have been captured by the Sith, and they are taking us for interrogation one at a time, for the time being. We have no way of knowing the layout of the ship, and I do not think it is necessary to remind you that each of us were forced to submission by these same individuals. Trying to plan an ambush for when they come again is clearly something they’ve planned for, and the Sith do not care for individual lives.
“We could defeat one or two Sith by virtue of our numbers and that our Force abilities do not seem to be suppressed, but it would be foolish to think the Sith haven’t accounted for the fact that we may try that. We do not have lightsabers, so how many lives would be wasted in exchange for one or two Sith, especially when the Sith would not likely care what happens to a few of their own? We’re speaking of an order that promotes treachery and murder as means of promotion.” he looked over to Shiri, frowning. “We need to be mindful that what we’ve witnessed so far isn’t necessarily the patterns they will adhere to. We must tread carefully. We cannot help anyone, let alone ourselves, if we get ourselves killed by half-considered actions.”
Shiri nonchalantly followed Tolun and listened as calmly as she could to his opinion, no matter how much it seemed like he was lecturing. “Well of course their habits could change, but for right now I don’t think they will. As time goes on, they will likely grow more confident in themselves, and more careless around us. Yes, these are the same Sith that captured us, one on one, but as they come to take us to interrogation they are alone and we are a group.” Shiri had more she could say, but decided not to yet as she crossed her arms and waited to hear what they would say.
“We have time yet.” Alat had folded his arms behind his back. “We’re seeing the front the Sith are putting forth.” He looked from Shiri to Tolun. “This isn’t a game for me believe it or not.” He turned his soulless stare on Tolun momentarily. “This war is over. We aren’t prisoners of war. We’re test subjects. That is the only reason the Sith would have taken so many prisoner.” He looked from one to the other. “I couldn’t guess to what end but I have no doubt they will begin to target the weak links to see if they can convert us.” He continued to walk. “The Sith are predictable if you watch them long enough. The trick is to keep in mind we are still prey to them. Our time will come to be predators but it is still a ways off yet.”
“A fair observation.” Tolun Fi said, continuing the leisurely pace. “I believe our prerogative should be to find out about as much of the ship that we can, how many Sith there are, their habits, and other security measures. We also should see if there is a way to gain access to the turbolifts.” he paused, blinking slowly as a realization set in. “Xid. We should inquire if he is able to override the lifts and what tools he would need to do it. That might involve somebody willing to break free of their interrogator if the opportunity arises with the knowledge of where the maintenance section of the ship is. Regardless, the only way the Sith are going to let their guards down is if they think they’re breaking us and we’ve lost the will to fight back. It’s a fine line to walk, admittedly.”
Alat smiled “I think Xid is a decent place to start. I would keep an eye on Nazca. She is barely a Jedi and the Sith will target her, she will be easy to mold.” Alat continued to match Tolun’s pace. “Perhaps she shall be our weapon.” He looked at Tolun again “You seem to have come back unscathed from your time with the Sith. What did you gather?” Alat was waiting to pick Shiri’s brain when he’d solved the mystery of Tolun’s interrogation.
“A division amongst their ranks.” Tolun Fi replied, looking at Alat. “The Sith who had collected me was more interested in discussion than torture. As I mentioned, I was forced to watch three slaves and one of our temple troopers fight to the death, which was unpleasant. He permitted me to speak my mind in exchange for me listening to his. It wasn’t entirely unpleasant, I admit. This Sith might be someone I can leverage for information, and I attempted to spread the seeds of doubt over his over. The only thing I know for sure is that he disagrees with the methods some of the other Sith use, and for that pieced together that each of the Sith are acting on their own according, likely towards a similar goal.”
Alat nodded carefully at that, folding his hands behind his back. “Certainly a weak spot in the armor.” Alat turned towards Shiri. “You’re...Tetsu’s Padawan yes?” Alat turned to look at Shiri with his sightless mask. “What have you divined from your time here.” Alat’s voice did something it never did. It softened ever so slightly. While his mask prevented little adjustment in facial features it was less. Fear inducing.
“Yes. I am glad she wasn’t at the temple during the attack however, she would have fought to the death with the sith.” Shiri smiled a little at the thought of her master, and wondered a moment on what she would do when she heard of the attack. “Xid and I were taken a short while after waking, and I suppose the sith’s plan was to try and be nice so we’d talk to him. He had food set out for us and we talked a little, but it ultimately ended up as a fight. Xid got the most of it, and accidentally sent a piece of a broken plate into a trooper’s neck, who the sith finished off and started taunting Xid about…” Shiri trailed off as she glanced back at the bunk where she had left Xid. “The only thing I can think of that the sith was trying to do was see what we remembered of the attack on the temple.”
Tolun listened idly as the other two Jedi reminisced about Master Tetsu, waiting for the conversation to get back on track, which it did in mercifully short order. “This Sith, did he have a mechanical arm?” Tolun Fi asked.
Shiri took a moment to remember. “Yes, I think he did. Have you met him as well?” It wouldn’t be strange if he had, that sith seemed a bit eager to start speaking with the Jedi, judging from how soon he had taken her and Xid after they woke up.
“He’s the same Sith that questioned me. Curious, he’s been rather eager to get us to talk. It’s possible he’s trying to build a sense of trust so we’ll be willing to divulge information later on. We should be careful with him, but I sense he doesn’t buy entirely into the Sith cause. We may be able to have him see the Light side if we play our hands right.” he said, glancing at Alat. He made a silly game metaphor. That should keep the kel dor happy. “So, let’s see if we can get Xid on board for helping us. I have a good relationship with him, perhaps he’d be receptive to me.”
Alat nodded. “I’m sure he’d respond well to either of us. You’re welcome to ask” He seemed deep in thought. “The Trandoshan is going to be a problem.” It was like watching a hawkbat tense for an attack the way Alat seemed to react to bringing up the other sith. “That one is a predator if I have ever seen it.” He paused for a moment “the kind of Sith I hunted on the battlefield.” Alat came back to the conversation in short order. “That is only two though. What of the Zabrak that follows the Trandoshan, she seems. Unsure.” Alat let the unspoken question stand.
“If the Sith are trying to get us to go dark, then we might as well bring them to the light. There’s no way to know for sure if we can, but I’ll sure as hell try.” Shiri spoke confidently, and smiled lightly at the other two. “In them trying to gain our trust, we might just gain theirs. The only catch is that we don’t know who we would do the best with yet.”
“Spoken like a Master.” Tolun Fi said approvingly to Shiri. “It’s settled then. We’ll learn as much about our captors as we can and devise a plan. For now, let’s think about what we discussed. I will speak with Xid in due course.” The kaminoan said, nodding to the others before heading back to his bunk room.
Shiri hung back as Tolun walked away, noticing one of the turbolifts bringing yet another Sith into the prison. He singled her out and beckoned to her, leaving promptly afterwards. Well so much for an ambush. She thought to herself as she walked up to the turbolift. She wanted to go check on Xid, or anything other than go deal with another sith, but eventually she just sighed and entered the lift.