Space

[Haphaestus]

Haphaestus' darkmetal staff, which he had propped up against the wall nearby, lifted off the ground and floated over to him, where he grasped it. "There is," he said. "The enormous breadth of abilities that the Force bestows upon the practiced is difficult for the unlearned to comprehend." He held out his hand, and a small flame appeared above it.

 

"Though to some these would appear parlor tricks, they are in fact the result of talent and practice, drawing upon a very real energy field," he explained, his voice heavy as though what he shared was of great importance. "Few have the aptitude to become truly great in its use, but the Force itself revealed to me your great potential."

 

His gaze rested on her in all its weight, a dark and powerful sorcerer searching for redeeming qualities in one who was nothing. "If you are willing to accept my tutelage, you may achieve your destiny and place yourself far above those who once enslaved you. The decisions you made in the mine are but a taste of the power you may someday hold, if you are patient and tenacious enough to prevail over the challenges ahead."

[Ary the Grey]

"The Force wills what the Force wills. Chaos and Order will never stop trying to dominate each other."

 

Aryian had to think a moment before answering the last questions, though.

 

"Umm...years, actually. He was my best man. We've worked together on and off since then, but because of the nature of our jobs, it was never long and never often."

 

((At this point, I'm just going to land the shuttle. He's been waiting for us long enough. Next post on Ossus.))

[Kitaara Shiri]

Unnaturally, the staff that had been the reckoning of so many down in the ryll mines floated through the air to rest in Haphaestus' hand. Intrigue swelled within her to eclipse the shock and fear that she felt, and when fire appeared in his open palm, she forgot her trepidation entirely. Hungry for the light and warmth that he created, and for the power that she could sense rolling off of him in waves, she nodded up at him.

 

"If you can teach me these things, I will learn from you. I know how to be patient, and I know how to endure. I waited, horrible years, in those mines." She looked down at her body, the dried blood of her judgements crackling and sloughing with every movement, and suddenly felt very tired. "I didn't mean to kill them."

[Haphaestus]

"Yes you did," the Sith Master responded. "What you felt was both valid and natural, just like what you are feeling now. Instead of feeling shame over it, you must instead examine what drove you to it and accept it. Through emotions such as these, your access to the Force will be awakened."

 

He stood. "We will be in hyperspace for a few hours," he said, leading Kitaara into the ship's main living area where the freed slaves had congregated. He located the refresher and glanced inside to confirm his theory. "This unit is equipped with a sanisteam. I believe it would be prudent for each of you to clean up and conduct a thorough search of the vessel in case the now-deceased owner left any clothes that might suit you over what little you have." He wouldn't be surprised if there were a few outfits, but it wouldn't be nearly enough for everyone. It mattered little to him how they determined who would wear what garments they found.

 

Haphaestus turned back to Kitaara. "When you are done, return to the cockpit and we will see if you are ready to take your first steps into the Force."

[Kitaara Shiri]

She nodded wordlessly, turning back to the group. They were unfamiliar faces, but then, most of the faces of her cellmates had been unfamiliar. They had been kept in nearly constant darkness and only a handful of them ever came into contact with one another. The one face she recognized was-- "Nob!" she cried out happily, reaching out for the green-skinned Twi'lek, whose face lit up at the sight of her until he spotted the blood covering her body.

 

<"Little Kit! What happened to you?"> He said in the Twi'lek tongue, unable to keep fear out of his voice.

 

Haphaestus' words came immediately to mind. You must instead examine what drove you to it and accept it...

 

The smile vanished from her face. "I brought justice to our people," she said quietly. "We will never again be enslaved."

 

He opened his mouth as if to ask a question, but the emotions of the day were proving too much for the girl, and she turned on her heel to go digging through the crew quarters for clothes as Haphaestus had suggested. There wasn't much that she found suitable, but there was a slightly overlarge jumpsuit made from a lightweight grey material that would do. Her current piecemeal romper had seen better days, and for that matter, she had no desire to keep anything as a souvenir of her life in the mines. She stepped into the refresher and pressed a button on the panel that slid the door shut behind her.

 

They were allowed a sanisteam only on rare occasion on Ryloth, and it was a wonderful luxury. Kitaara sat on the floor of the sanisteam unit, after protest from her tired legs, and her mind began to wander.

 

With a jolt, she woke up. Scrambling quickly to her feet, Kitaara shut off the sanisteam unit and poked her head out of it. It felt like only a few minutes had passed, but she moved with urgency nonetheless. Haphaestus did not seem like the kind of being one would want to keep waiting.

 

Adorned in the soft grey cotton that was far more conservative than anything she'd ever worn before in her life, Kitaara skirted around the outside of the group of freed slaves, not wishing any more questions about the day's occurrences, before treading slowly on bare feet into the cockpit.

 

"I am ready," she announced. Quizzically, she cocked her head to one side. "What am I to call you? Haphaestus is a mouthful."

[Haphaestus]

Haphaestus sat in meditation when the Twi'lek returned. He could feel her physical exhaustion in the Force. He would need to make a time allowance for her to sleep soon, something that thankfully had not come with the gift of flesh Nurgle had bestowed upon him. It was a necessary annoyance when it came to working with pure biologicals, though he could think of few things less productive than lying comatose for six to nine hours out of every twenty-four.

 

"In the tradition of the Sith, the Order that wields the Force as I do, we would be master and apprentice," he said. "It would be your place to call me Master. However, I will not require it. I am not your new slavemaster, and anything I ask of you will be with the express purpose of empowering you. Motivate yourself accordingly, not out of fear of my retribution."

 

His previous apprentice, Zutia Lavell, had turned out reasonably well, but they'd trained in isolation on Almas. She'd learned skills but had never applied them. It had been all theory, and he had never seen how she imposed her will on others in the greater galaxy. This time, it would not be so. Kitaara's potential was to rule others, to cast down organizations. He would need to train her to lead and to think, just as Nurgle had transformed him from a guard droid serving a dead master into a general for his armies. The Force would only be a small part of the work he would perform within Kitaara. He knew she was capable; he'd seen it in the shatterpoint. Her failure to achieve it would be his failure.

 

But it started with being able to touch the dark side. "Let us begin," he said. He was sitting cross-legged on the floor behind the pilot's seat, and he indicated for her to join him. "The Force, as I described, is an energy field that binds the universe together. It is in all things. The Code of the Sith has been passed down by our brethren for many thousands of years, and within it are the secrets to accessing the Force:

 

"Peace is a lie, there is only passion.

Through passion, I gain strength.

Through strength, I gain power.

Through power, I gain victory.

Through victory, my chains are broken.

The Force shall free me.

 

"Dwell on these words. Do not merely memorize them, but know them intimately. Find within yourself your passion, the truth of your base of your character. The part that enjoyed feeling the blood of the Devaronian that for so long mistreated you. Within that instinct lies the ability to command the Force to do your bidding."

[Raynuk Montar]

Having been stolen by Azron, the Traitor’s Hope appeared in a void of space after making no less than three hyperspace jumps from Raxus Prime. Azron immediately instructed the squadron commander that had accompanied him to make his way to the back of the ship. In his purging of the computer systems, he had found a full schematic of the YT-1930, which included the location of several critical systems, including the Quatex power core that was nestled between the sublight engines and the access corridor for the gunwells. The commander turned to do as instructed as Azron programed another hyperspace jump, taking the Traitor’s Hope to another random location in space.

 

By the time they arrived at the next location, the commander was standing in the access corridor, waiting for further instructions from Azron. The cultist leader was waiting, but in the meantime he clued the commander in on the plan while pulling up a copy of the ship’s schematics.

 

“Commander, place a remote ion mine on the left side wall, halfway between the jog in the corridor and the gunwell then move to the starboard docking ring and standby.”

 

He received an affirmative from the commander, closing the schematics as he scanned the stars before him for signs of what he was looking for. A few moments later his patience was rewarded as the three shuttles that had fled from Raxus Prime along with the Traitor’s Hope each popped into real space one after another.

 

Once again in comm distance with the shuttles now that they had arrived at the rendezvous point, Azron signaled for two of the shuttles to proceed back to their bases, observing standard procedures about not being followed. They acknowledged, peeling off before making their jumps in opposite directions. The remaining shuttle was told to dock with the Traitor’s Hope along the starboard side, and moved in closer to follow it’s orders.

 

Once the two ships were connected securely according to the squad commander, Azron stood from the controls and cleared the navicomputer of all data, even that from before the ship had been stolen, before beginning a shut down sequence of all the ship’s systems and exiting the cockpit. He moved to the computer and communications panels in the crew lounge, likewise purging all data to hide any potential traces of who he and his soldiers were. Only then did he begin moving towards the starboard docking ring and the squadron commander. He passed the captain’s cabin along the way, and paused. He looked at the door, which were still locked, leaned in close to it, speaking through the door.

 

“Goodbye little Jedi… hope you’ve had a fulfilling life.”

 

He doubted the teenager had even recovered from the effects of the multiple stun blasts, but his words were icy and evil none the less as the cultist continued his path, joining up with the squadron commander.

Taking one last glance at the ship, Azron stepped through the docking ring into the shuttle, with the squadron commander following after. Once the docking ring was sealed and depressurized, the shuttle broke free of the Traitor’s Hope with enough force to push the YT-1930 drifting slightly. Azron watched trough the viewport of the shuttle’s cockpit.

 

“Commander, trigger the mine.” He said without looking away from the ship.

 

The squadron commander retrieved the detonator from his belt, and thumbed the trigger to the ion mine he had left on the Traitor’s Hope. At first there was no visible response, but then the ship rocked as the mine went off, the force of which visibly buckled some of the plating in front of the top gun, but did not open the ship to the vacuum of space.

 

Jolts of ion electricity danced across the hull a moment after, as all visible lights dimmed along with the engines. The ion mine had been placed strategically on the wall directly next to the power core, effectively cutting all power to the entire ship. Gravity, life support, lighting, communications, computers, shields, engines, controls and transponders were all instantly cut of power.

 

Azron, feeling that his mission had been a success as he watched the other ship float away, told the shuttle pilot to make the jump to hyperspace, and a few moments later, the last shuttle blinked out into hyperspace. The Traitor’s Hope was now left drifting through the depths of space, completely dead and alone. And Tirzah Jade was still locked aboard in the captain’s cabin.

[Kitaara Shiri]

The Force shall free me.

 

A strange joy filled her at his strange, mystic words. In her mind's eye she replayed the twisting, curling metal of her cell door, falling uselessly away from the wall in the explosion of her anger towards Ivaani's careless killers. The Devaronian's dying gurgles that had guaranteed her freedom had come at her hand, and raised the question: why had she not taken such action before prompted by Haphaestus' arrival in the dark?

 

Perhaps simply because she had not realized freedom was possible. Or there was some ingrained, outdated sentiment concerning the value of life. If her mind could expand to consider every option for such situations, not simply the probable almost-certain future, then the only thing lacking would be the strength to follow through. The code that he presented to her seemed to follow a logical conclusion to freedom. Her great desire was for freedom, for broken chains--but if Haphaestus was right, there was a progression that led to such a result, and it started with passion.

 

After a tentative glance up at the impassive mask, she closed her eyes. For hours, she had been trying to fight off the images of the deaths she had caused in the mines. It felt strange to effort to recall them. Almost instantly, the image of Utunavi's sneering grin came to mind. Was it truly less than a day than he had left her strung up in solitary confinement, her body mirroring the effects of his self-righteous abuse? The fabric of her dignity had been utterly ripped away in the mines, any consideration for her as an autonomous being disregarded in the most egregious way. Crushing helplessness crowded her consciousness. The crawling fingers of the Devaronian, the sharp sting of the back of his hand, the tyranny of the lash... stress, like a knife, twisted in her gut, and every muscle tensed at the recollection. If she had possessed the ability to direct the power that Haphaestus was confident she had, what could she have done? What was the source of the stress that had pushed the truth out of Utunavi's mind when she had needed it?

 

The cold, paralytic emotion she worked to bring to the surface had been a near constant of her life for the entirety of her adolescence, and she'd never bothered to put a name to it. Was it stress? Excitement? Shock?

 

Fear, the word slithered into her awareness.

 

Focusing on that cold darkness, she found her consciousness beginning to expand. The fear that had seized her at the thought of Utunavi's retribution for her theft flooded her again. Her senses heightened, and she was all at once aware of the traumatized bodies in the main hold. A shuddering gasp escaped her. She could feel them. Their fear was like an ice storm, a cold cloud that hovered over them, apprehension that locked them down. As she became aware of it, however, it ceased to paralyze her, and instead, fueled her awareness.

 

Startled, her eyes shot open and she stared into the haunting visage of her teacher. "I can feel them," she said in astonishment. "All of them. They're terrified."

[Haphaestus]

"Yes," Haphaestus said thoughtfully. "They are hurtling through hyperspace in a new sort of cage, captives of a being they know nothing about, unaware of where they are going. The ryll mines were bad but they were consistent."

 

He found it curious that Kitaara had used fear as a gateway to the dark side. Many did during their first steps, but Zutia for one had refused to ever embrace fear for any reason. It was good enough for now, but it would need to be transformed into more productive emotions as Kitaara's power and experience grew.

 

"An expanded awareness is the first step into the Force," he said, subtly attempting to reinforce the Twi'lek's connection by providing a current into which she could tap, if she found it. "On the surface of a world you would feel much more. Continue to explore your surroundings in your connection, and attempt to impose your desires upon it. Objects can be moved. The will of our passengers can be easily bent by a stronger one."

[Kitaara Shiri]

Are they captives? she thought warily. They had followed this being here with the thought of liberation. But nevertheless, Kitaara closed her eyes to ponder what he had said, reaching back into the fragment of her consciousness that had brought such awareness to her. It seemed as though it was waiting for her this time, and she immediately felt the terror from the other passengers. Two of the distinct presences that she could detect had a heightened sense of adrenaline coursing through them, and she could almost see the scene as it played out in the main hold--two young Twi'lek females, not much older than she herself, squabbling over a sleek jumpsuit with shiny silver buckles that had been uncovered in a forgotten drawer in one of the crew cabins. Withdrawal was starting to set in, at a much faster rate with these others than it was with Kitaara herself. Their nerves were shot, their control lowered, as they scratched and clawed at each other, to the horror of the onlookers.

 

They had just been released from the promise of a lifetime of captivity, and this was their first choice of action? Fighting over clothing? They were utterly despicable. Derision rose up in Kitaara, and she found herself clenching her hands. She wanted to show them how far their dignity had fallen away. She wanted to claw the jumpsuit into shreds the way they were clawing at one another. "Watu wetu wenyewe, indeed," she said, scoffing. Suddenly, shock replaced desperation and terror as the primary emotion emanating from the hold, and a moment later, Kitaara felt something slippery and soft hit her face. Opening her eyes, she looked around her, spying the culprit. The jumpsuit lay in a pile on the floor next to her. Frowning, she reached a hand out to pick it up.

 

A moment later, one of the girls, a broad-shouldered Twi'lek with blazing orange skin she had seen only once or twice in the mines, rounded the corner. "That's mine, lek-rat," she growled, her muscles quivering from withdrawal, with not a glance at the shadowy figure of Haphaestus.

 

Kitaara sneered at her. She ought to shove this ingrate out the airlock to burst open in vacuum. "Get back to the hold, schutta," she shot back, unwilling that this scum make a fool of her in front of her masked teacher. "And shut up."

 

The cloud of awareness that she had entered into hadn't abated, but rather, had intensified as she plumbed the depth of the way she despised this girl. It was still surprising, but less so than it had been before, when the girl's face slackened. "I'll get back to the hold," she said carelessly, her eyes seeming to go out of focus the way Utunavi's had. The thought of him sent a fresh wave of fear through her, but Kitaara didn't move her gaze from her kin as the latter turned on her heel and called back over her shoulder. "And I'll shut up."

 

A sly half-grin wandered onto her face as Kitaara glanced back towards Haphaestus. This new discovery would be useful, indeed.

[Haphaestus]

She was taking to her first lessons well. "You are beginning to awaken," Haphaestus said. "How many years did you spend cowering timidly in the darkness, oblivious to the power that is yours by birthright?"

 

The question was rhetorical, and Haphaestus knew that even as she took her first steps she would need also to learn temperance. "Through experimentation will you discover the limits of your abilities. But I must warn you; there is a time and a place for all things, and often for restraint. The mind trick is not permanent, and many will come to their senses in time and realize what happened afterwards," he explained. "You will need to learn more traditional forms of persuasion if you are to make lasting allies. Among the Sith, we do not use the Force as a crutch, but as a tool to elevate and test ourselves, that we might by our own merit and that of our allies achieve a great and lasting work in the galaxy."

 

His eyes glowed from behind his mask. "Accordingly, your instruction will extend beyond study of the Force. I am capable of teaching you philosophy, history, leadership, politics, other topics of significance and some of your choosing. You will learn to fight, to fly, and to survive. For only with all of these skills will your true destiny be realized.

 

"It is no small undertaking, that which you face," he continued. "A great investment of time not only for you, but for myself. This is not a quick path to power that you will gain in a few days to be turned loose on an unsuspecting galaxy. I would be doing you a great disservice if it were so. But I must know that you are willing to see this great opportunity through to the end, despite many trials, for your own enrichment and that I may some day call you my peer."

 

He was overplaying the investment for himself, being essentially immortal. This girl's whole life was but a blip to him. But what a blip it could be if the work he began in her was followed to completion.

[Adenna Alluyen]

Adenna sat silently as Tobias explained what he was doing and why they were on this mission. For a half minute after he finished, she said nothing, but instead searched the Force for how to respond. Things around the man were quite clouded, but that in and of itself didn't mean anything. He had secrets, but then, so did she and almost everyone else. Some of those secrets had been laid bare now, but there were others. She didn't mind it so much: everyone had a right to some privacy and it wasn't as though they were married or anything. If only he knew some of the things she had done on Thalassia over the last few years, he may look at her in a different light.

 

"I am very glad you are telling me these things," she said at last. "I agree, we need to do something about the Sith, they have been growing and killing for too long." She stood up and smoothed her robes. Her hand, while healed, itched slightly from the new skin there, but it was irrelevant. "I have always wondered why the Jedi were so content to not fight and held themselves back too much. Make no mistake, I serve the Light, but there are times when I can almost understand the mentality of 'ends justify the means.' It is a dangerous path to take and not one that any Jedi should do. Almost always, it leads to the Dark side and utter destruction. Too many find themselves becoming what they are fighting, but I don't think I have to tell you that.

 

"The most difficult thing for a Jedi is to find where the line is and to stay on the right side of it. I absolutely believe that Jedi can go on the offensive against evil. I proved that when I brought the Jedi to Thalassia and later when I helped lead the attack on the Sith Temple. Aggression should be shunned, but attacking those who have already attacked you or committed atrocities is not aggression, it is justified action. The Sith have always been our enemies and will always be. They have attacked us so many times that it can't be counted. Therefore, any attack against them is justified and will get my full support."

 

She sat back down and put her hand on his lap, not inappropriately, but intimately. "I am honored you trusted me with this information and choose me to help keep you in the Light. I will help you with this mission and help you navigate the boundaries so that I don't have to kill you." She smiled warmly at him and teased, "It would be an utter shame if I did, such a waste of good potential."

[Kitaara Shiri]

With his words, Haphaestus painted a picture on Kitaara's mind, his every phrase passing like brushstrokes over her consciousness. She had a sudden vision of herself as a great conqueror and liberator, brandishing fire in her hand, traveling around the world to crush injustices like the ones she had endured as well as those who had caused them. Her throat was dry. She attributed it to the scrubbed air being wafted around the ship.

 

"I wish to learn," she said quietly. "All of these things and more, I wish to know. But what do you gain from this? Such an education would be worth huge sums of money, which I don't have and may never acquire. You speak of my great destiny, my birthright, but you already have this power. What is your great and lasting work in the galaxy?"

 

There was a wealth of knowledge to be had, and she felt the sudden gravity of her situation. To be entering into a realm of power where the effects had galactic repercussions was no small task, and nor would it be without cost.

[Haphaestus]

"My work will be accomplished in time," Haphaestus answered. "By necessity it will be very gradual. Some day the Sith will be united, a vast brotherhood under my leadership or that of one like me, with the strength to defeat the Jedi once and for all. But for now, they are contentious. Divided. Too caught up in personal ambition to see the greater picture."

 

His gaze rested upon the Twi'lek again. "By teaching you the true path to power, I hope not only to gain an ally, but one who may in time pass on her teachings to another; in time we shall multiply and transform the Order into our image through sound philosophy and leadership."

 

He would transform the Sith just as he was transforming the Dark Tongues on Almas -- by overseeing successive generations of individuals across the coming decades and centuries, each a little more perfect, until the end state matched his vision. When he had been Dark Lord, he had attempted to force them to transform all at once. It had been his folly. Evolution was not a fast process, but with a guiding hand it was inexorable.

[Kitaara Shiri]

"United," said Kitaara, rolling the word across her tongue. She nodded, one of her lekku coming over her shoulder to curl gently around her neck. It was much colder here than she was used to. The jungles of Ryloth were hot and muggy, and even the mines had been warm, the heat radiating through the core of the planet to the cavernous chambers.

 

Her people had never been united. In truth, even her own family had turned against her. What did she know of unity? But then, Haphaestus promised to remake her entirely. The lessons he promised to teach were beyond her wildest conceptions for herself, and even the illusion of remaining reticent didn't feel entirely honest. She had been liberated, given purpose, handed the tools to get there. What was there to lose?

 

Some of the terms he had used still made no sense to her, "Sith" and "Jedi". Not wishing to appear as ignorant as she felt, she kept her mouth shut, but filed them away in memory to ask later, if all did not make itself clear in time.

 

"I need to rest," she murmured apologetically, somehow self-conscious of such a basic need of life, but feeling the crushing exhaustion of the day. "How long until we reach our destination?"

[Haphaestus]

"Four hours, thirty-three minutes until we emerge from hyperspace," he answered. "You may take all of it to rest if you wish. I believe you will find yourself capable of convincing the others to give up the cabin for your use if you desire a bed." Kitaara was infinitely more important than them. If they wanted to rest or squabble in the main living space, they could do it. This story still ended fairly well for many of them, and a few more hours of discomfort was a small price to pay for the opportunity that was being presented to them.

 

He supposed it would be appropriate to address them, as some knowledge that they were to be given a chance to live free lives might serve to pacify them somewhat. It was almost offensive to him that they appeared so unworthy of the opportunity he was giving them. The ones he would turn them over to would be unjustly lenient. But even though his promises of power and knowledge had sufficiently enticed Kitaara to the point that he did not think she would forsake her destiny even if he killed the lot of them, he did not want to give her cause for sedition so early lest it fester in her mind. Not when he stood to gain much by making her a close ally of his.

 

For his part, he returned to meditation. His organic half was just happy to be doing something. His machine half accepted that this was more productive than remaining perpetually on Almas, even if it came with some inherent risk.

 

Meanwhile, the ship hurtled through hyperspace toward Nubia, the droid brain indifferent to the complex and fragile psyches of its passengers.

[Raia Montar]

Raia had seen that expression many times from some of her teachers when she asked too many questions at once, so she immediately fell silent and didn't question him further, grateful for the answer he'd given. Falling into step behind him and the other two men that had joined them she strode up the ramp of the new vessel and spent the rest of the time Raynuk was dealing with the ship builders figuring out what she could about the ship. The design wasn't as sleek as Emily's ship's was, but it seemed to suit Raynuk, in Raia's opinion, much the way the Shine did Emily.

 

At his instruction for her to take one of the guest quarters, she nodded and headed back towards where the bunk rooms were, ultimately choosing one of the two directly across from his quarters. She put her satchel on the bed, taking out her lightsaber, rancor figure, and the bag of shiny rocks that awful man, Delta, had given her. There was something else in there as well, that odd ball thing the even odder and smelly creature had given her at Last Call.

 

She took it out and hung the bag in one of the room's lockers, deciding to unpack her clothes later. Setting it on the desk for a moment, she hadn't expected the thing to blossom out into some sort of mechanical creature and dash off out the open doorway as though hunting for something. "No!" she cried, grabbing the bag of rocks and typing it to her belt before scurrying after it. It dashed about the common area of the ship before running forward towards the cockpit. She dove just in time to feel her fingers close around it. "Got ya! Uhh...sorry Master Raynuk. I don't know what this is. It was a ball that little creature gave me after the thing with the band. All I did was put it on my desk and it came to life. Maybe you should keep it?"

[Jaina Jade Skywalker]

It was cold. The darkness was something Tirzah was used to, but it was the cold and possibly the feeling of floating that had finally caused the girl to stir from her stun-blast-induced rest. She twisted her body against the weightlessness, which proved even more disorienting for the blind girl who no longer knew up from down as she tried to figure out where she was on the still-unfamiliar ship. The silence was also unsettling in and of itself, effectively rendering her deaf as well as blind.

 

Don't panic...nope...gonna panic...this is bad bad bad bad... she swept her hand out trying to feel for something anything to help her orient herself as she chose to ignore all of the calming techniques they'd tried teaching her over the last five years among the Jedi and just gave in to the unfairness of the whole situation she'd found herself in.

 

She couldn't sense anyone else on the ship and the lack of any sound led her to believe that whoever had been at the door when she'd opened it had opted she was too much of a liability, even though she couldn't even begin to identify who or what he'd been.

 

I'm alone...and this place will be my tomb...I wonder if it will hurt...

 

"Stop it!" she shook herself with the sound of her own voice. "Think...panicking won't do anything but spend whatever oxygen you have left. Everything is dead but you...what can you do?"

 

I can use the Force...I can use the Force! She shut her eyes tightly and reached out for someone, anyone, praying that they would find her in time pouring every ounce of her energy and concentration into the call.

 

Force Users were hidden all over the galaxy, surely she could get the attention of one of them some how?

 

I just hope it's not some Sith...that would be bad...but preferable to dying, I guess...

 

-------

 

It was an odd feeling to experience oxygen deprivation, but it was almost a euphoric senseation to let herself slip back into sleep. She just hoped that someone would get to her before it all ran out...

[Tobias Vos]

So there she sat, right next to him. Was this all a dream? Could it be? Maybe this was the point where he had made his dreams come true. He felt safe, secure, his presence- wanted, what he had been looking for- who he had been looking for. Part of the whole reason he came back was right there. It was another moment he would savor for a long time to come- not only the feeling within the Force, but the feeling from another being. Letting the recycled air circulate through his lungs and then through his veins. Hesitantly- he grabbed her hand with his- ungloved. Her skin was so soft- and after a moment he let himself relax. The psychometry didn't kick in on its own. Partly because she wasn't an inanimate object. Calling himself silly for that- he closed his eyes, letting his head tilt back to the metal wall- he soaked this feeling in.

 

There was a smile on his face. The lines on his face flexed in response. Pressing his feet against the floor- that pressed his back against the wall- his feet still crossed at the ankles. After about a minute- he interlaced his fingers into hers- running his thumb over the side of her hand. An argument rose in his mind- she was going to help him. Now he had to tell Adenna the full plan. It would be such a long explanation, with a bit of banter back and forth no doubt. But his end-goal, or at least one of the goals- he was nervous to share with her. It shook him down to the core- no telling what she would think of him. Now was not the time for that detail.

 

"I know of your efforts back home. The details are vague, and I would like to hear your recounting of that adventure. On Thalassia, what you've been doing these past few years. But-" His voice was soft and gentle- a pleased tone about it. Tilting his head forward- he saw her hand intertwined with his - the smile spread a little further. Something so simple had made him so happy. Perhaps this is what the Sith lack? Sure they lack passion, he never saw two just relax together- they were always fighting...back stabbing...lying. "...but... I'm just going to enjoy this moment. This-" he squeezed her hand gently. "- and a compliment from Adenna Alluyen. I must be doing something right if the Force saw fit to make both happen."

 

He looked over to her, the smile had morphed into a grin. A slight nudge from his elbow- of course he would tease her a bit right now. It was a perfect opportunity. Cherry on the top of an Alderaanian Float.

 

The comm system crackled softly- "Hey Chief, we're almost there. Basically within the next round. Station construction site coming up." Ni had called over the comm. Vos almost didn't hear it- he was enjoying the moment.

[Raynuk Montar]

Once the Ravenhammer had cleared the atmosphere of Coruscant, Raynuk finally took the time to look at the coordinates on the datapad that Raia had been working with while he finished his errands. Plugging in the coordinates so that 2-VSH could begin to calculate a jump to hyperspace, he then decided to compare the coordinates to the most recent starmap to get a better sense of where exactly in the galaxy they were jumping.

 

What he found, was that the coordinates Raia had given him were 0.27 lightyears closer to the core than Mandalore, in a region of space that was the definition of ‘empty’; no planets, no stars, not along any trade routes that were even remotely used. It was not an area of space that a ship would be in unless it did not want to be found. Whether on purpose, or accidentally, the Traitor’s Hope was adrift there, and the Force had seen fit to inform Raia. In his mind, it was likely that they were the only ones who knew where the ship was.

 

While Raynuk has been studying the coordinates, 2-VSH had finished the calculations and set the Ravenhammer into hyperspace, and began to interface more completely with the VCX-350.

 

<>

 

Raynuk nodded to the droid, giving him silent permission to optimize the ship. Any improvement to get the ship to where they were going would be welcomed as far as he was concerned. With little to do in the cockpit until the Ravenhammer dropped out of hyperspace, Raynuk stood and resolved to unload his pack within his quarters. From elsewhere in the ship however, he heard faintly as Raia yelled out in surprise and then heard the sound of her running and the sound of tiny metal legs scampering across the deck plating. He was just about to go investigate what was going on when the small, orb shaped droid appeared, scurrying directly towards him before Raia dove after it, barely getting her hands around it.

 

"Got ya! Uhh...sorry Master Raynuk. I don't know what this is. It was a ball that little creature gave me after the thing with the band. All I did was put it on my desk and it came to life. Maybe you should keep it?"

Raynuk’s initial response was little more than raising an eyebrow as he looked down at Raia, sprawled on the floor with an orb shaped droid wiggling in her hands. Once she stood up and held the droid out to him, he paused before reluctantly taking it from her. He examined it swiftly as it continued to try and scurry out of his hands. He walked past Raia back into the common room as he tried to decide what to do with this orb-droid. After holding it long enough however, droid suddenly retracted back into its orb.

 

“This thing is likely to be more of a menace than useful if left alone.” He ventured.

 

Raynuk’s brow furrowed slightly, and he decided whatever this thing was, he did not want it freely scurrying around his ship. With the orb in hand, he descended to the cargo area and cracked open a locking crate before unceremoniously dumping the orb into the crate, sealing, and locking it again.

 

When he returned to the main deck, he quickly stopped by the cockpit, telling 2-VSH to inform him when the ship was preparing to revert to realspace. He then made his way to his quarters to unpack his belongings from the bag he had brought with him. Dumping the contents out onto the bed, he began the process of setting the room the way he wanted it. The Sith tapestry that he had originally taken from the temple on Ziost was hung on the wall over the head of his bed, while the various holocrons from Carida were put in one of the side drawers of the small desk in the corner. Collecting the series of datachips that contained the knowledge banks of his previous ship, he began to upload the information to the computers.

 

In the middle of uploading the information however, Vex’aedr pushed his nose into the room, pausing for non-verbal permission to enter. When the tuk’ata did enter, Raynuk saw that he was carrying the Katarn armor helmet that it had taken from Delta, and couldn’t help but smile. Vex walked over and dropped the helmet on the bed next to the rest of the objects before turning to Raynuk with a whuff before walking right back out. Apparently the tuk’ata wanted Raynuk to have the helmet; a fact that was perfectly fine with the Sith. He stood and picked up the helmet, running a finger over all the scratches, gouges, and tooth marks that now covered the helmet. If nothing else, the helmet was durable he thought, before placing the helmet on top of one of the storage lockers across the room.

 

Raynuk continued placing items throughout the ship as time went on, including hanging the severed wookiee paw over his desk. Less than an hour later, the last two items laying on Raynuk’s bed were the neural whip that had belonged to Jaina, and the small wooden box. The whip was a weapon that he put into the Kûsk pouch on his belt without much further thought, allowing it to remind him of what destiny he was currently traveling to. He had finished placing his possessions, and picked up the wooden box as he exited his quarters and decided to check on Raia. He found the girl sitting on the bed in the room she had apparently decided upon, the door left open. He entered and placed the box on the bed before her, and turned to leave, speaking only as he was exiting the room.

 

“I also picked these up for you. Feel free to use them here; whatever the outcome.”

 

When the girl opened the box, she would find that it was a professional quality painters kit. Containing twelve different colors of paint, containers to mix colors, a palette, and several brushes of varying sizes. Meanwhile, Raynuk has gone to the galley and had gotten a mug of caf before returning to the cockpit, sitting down in the pilot’s seat as 2-VSH began recounting how his subtle modifications had resulted in a marked improvement for the ship.

“How long until we reach the coordinates?” Raynuk asked sipping his mug.

 

<>

“You already know where we’re going. As to why? Simple. To be big damn heroes.”

 

-------------------

 

Five and a half hours later, the hyperdrive alarm went off, and the Ravenhammer reverted back to real space. Raynuk called back to Raia, telling her they had arrived, his eyes scanning the seemingly endless spread of stars before him. The reports of ‘middle of nowhere’ were not exaggerations he confirmed in those moments; there was nothing to be seen except the stars. But he knew that somewhere out there, there was indeed something out there.

 

“2-V, start scanning for anything that is out there besides stars and dust. Tell me as soon as you find something.” Raynuk said, turning to glance at Raia as the girl appeared behind him, before turning his gaze back to the stars. He took a breath and closed his eyes, and began to reach out with the Force as far as he could, trying to feel for whoever was on the Traitor’s Hope, both hoping that he could feel their presence, while hoping he would not recognize it as being Jaina.

 

Half an hour after the Ravenhammer arrived, and with 2-VSH having stated a handful of times that he had not found anything, Raynuk heard a message through the Force that was barely more than a whisper. His eyes shot open, and he looked at Raia, who had likewise been trying to feel for the mysterious girl in the middle of nowhere. His expression said what words failed him, and he turned back and immediately fired the engines full blast, pulling the ship hard to the left. 2-VSH turned to Raynuk in what counted as surprise for a droid.

 

<>

 

“I have.” It was the only two words he needed to say.

 

Soon enough, the shape of the Traitor’s Hope became more visible as the endless stars of the area began to blink out as the YT-1930 floated in front of them. Raynuk checked his sensors, confirming what he was worried to be true; the ship was completely shut down of power, and he couldn’t find a single system that appeared to have power.

 

“2V, you have the controls… bring us in to dock with the ship on the port side. Raia, lets go.” Raynuk said as he stood and left the cockpit, heading towards the airlock. As he stood waiting for the two ships to dock, Raynuk pulled his lightsaber into his hand, his grip tightening and loosening nervously. He turned to Raia.

“I don’t know what we will find Raia… Keep your mind sharp.”

[Raia Montar]

Raia had opted to spend much of the journey utilizing the new gift that Raynuk had given her as she settled into her new space. As she thought of her home, she began to paint along one of the blank walls.

 

Five and a half hours later she stepped back from her creative trance and saw that she'd now covered two of the walls in the forests of Dathomir. When she'd seen all that she'd done, she froze for a moment, wondering if Raynuk had meant her to use them on something else.

 

Feel free to use them here; whatever the outcome, his words came back to her. Oh well. It was too late now to worry about it. She went to clean her brushes and palette in the nearby galley area before putting the kit away and joining Raynuk in the cockpit just as he ordered the droid to begin scanning.

 

Cautiously, Raia followed Raynuk's lead feeling first for his dominating presence and then reaching beyond to reconnect with the presence from her vision. Her eyes shot open at the same moment his did, knowing that in his stronger connection to the Force, and possibly to this Jaina person, he'd found something. V-2 gave a bit of protest as Raynuk brought the ship roughly about, causing Raia to grasp the sides of her chair to avoid spilling to the floor.

 

Then the blackness gave way to a small ship, the same shape and size as the figurine in the marketplace had been, though it grew larger as Raynuk maneuvered the ship into a docking position. He didn't bother to allow the ship to complete docking, leaving that to his new droid instead as he moved past her and towards one of the docking ports, lightsaber in hand.

 

"You want me...to go with you...on to that ship?" she hesitated, not yet reaching for her own lightsaber. "Is there air? Do you even know?" The look he gave her brooked no further argument as he palmed the airlock once the seal indicated green. Tentatively she stepped after him and through the door on the other side of the docking port.

 

Apparently, without power, the ship's security systems weren't operational so the pair of Sith had little trouble boarding the Traitor's Hope. Raia immediately began to feel a bit queasy as the forces holding her to the deck seemed to lessen and disappear altogether and she found herself floating. Just managing to grasp at one of the locker's handles, she found an anchor point in the cargo hold and did what she could to combat vertigo caused by the lack of gravity on the ship. "What's going on? Why is this ship like this? Why are we floating?"

[Raynuk Montar]

Raynuk stepped through the airlock cautiously, immediately feeling the lack of gravity as his eyes swept the immediate area as they had entered the Traitor's Hope on the starboard side. The air was also much more stale than he would have liked to find it, causing him to turn and make his way quickly back to the Ravenhammer airlock. Once there he opened the nearby locker, grabbing a pair of breathing packs and then made his way back to the Traitor's Hope, finding Raia clinging to one of the locker handles in the cargo hold.

 

"What is going on? Why is this ship like this? Why are we floating?" The girl asked, just a hint of panic in her voice.

 

Raynuk pushed off the doorway towards her, using the Force to slow himself as he handed one of the breathing packs to her.

 

"While there is air here, it is much thinner than I would have liked to find it. As for the state of the ship..." He paused and floated back over to one of the displays next to the cargo hold door, tapping a few buttons. "Given the absolute silence of this ship and nothing being turned on, It looks like the power has been cut, or at least turned off. Which means no artificial gravity -- the thing that keeps you on a planet when you're on the ground -- Nevermind. I'll explain the physics behind it later. But that lack of power means nothing on this ship is working, including the air scrubbers. Don't worry about the floating, its not like you can go far without bumping into something."

 

He turned and ignited his lightsaber, pushing his way through the doorway into the main hallway of the ship, his orange blade casting an ominous light as he went. Countless objects were floating around inside the ship, slowly bouncing off the walls before floating off in another random direction. Raynuk continued through the hallway, eventually coming to a room on the right side that appeared to be a crew's quarters judging by the double bunks. He floated in, shining his lightsaber to the various corners and even under the bottom bunks. Several objects were floating through the room here as well, and all the lockers were open. But he found nothing in that room, and turned to re-enter the hallway just as Raia came around the corner, grasping at random things along the hallway.

 

"Just like if you're climbing a tree; grab something and pull yourself along, and repeat." He said, his eyes still looking around for anything that stood out.

 

He turned and continued on through the hallway with Raia behind him. But almost as soon as he moved to continue his search, he came to a door that unlike any door so far, was shut; sealed shut by the looks of it. That was enough to cause Raynuk's brow to furrow, as he turned and aimed to shine his lightsaber farther down the hallway, seeing that he was not far from an intersection in the hallway. He quickly pushed off the door, springing further down the hallway. As he reached the intersection he turned to look in all directions; to the right he saw stars, which after recalling the layout of the ship, was most likely the cockpit, as the fact that the ship still had semi-breathable air meant there was no giant hole in the ship. To the left was a narrow passage that was probably the access corridor for the gunwell, and straight across was another open doorway that lead to another room too dark for Raynuk to identify. Now the single sealed door was even more out of place he resolved, and turned, quickly climbing his way back to the doorway, turning to Raia.

 

"This is the only closed door we've come across, and it’s sealed to boot." He said as he reached out and placed a hand on the door, closing his eyes again. He reached out with the Force, extending it through the door and almost instantly he felt a presence within. It was worryingly faint, and seemed to only be getting fainter. "She's in there... I can feel her; whoever she is."

 

His eyes fluttered open as he mulled over the presence. It was not Jaina, that much was for sure. Being physically this close to her, even if she was unconscious, Raynuk somehow knew he would have recognized her presence instantly. But this... was not her. Which made the images of the vision only serve to make him seek more answers. He waved Raia to back up a bit as he floated away from the door slightly, his eyes examining the door itself. Then he looked at the lightsaber in his hand, as if considering it for the first time.

 

"Forgive me..." He whispered to the corner of his mind that shared a connection with Jaina, before he stabbed his lightsaber directly into the door amidst a shower of sparks and smoke as the blade sunk almost to the hilt. With a grunt, he planted his feet on the decking and began to pull the blade upward, slicing through the door. The whole ordeal took a few minutes as progress was slow, but steady. Eventually, he had cut a rough circle that was over a meter wide, and pulled his lightsaber out of the door, reaching out with his other hand to the door to grasp the plug with the Force. In an instant he crushed the plug slightly and yanked it out of the door.

 

Even with the thin air in the majority of the ship, there was a clear difference once the room had been vented to the rest of the ship; the air inside was even more stale and thin. Raynuk didnt waste a second more before diving through the hole with his lightsaber. He slowed himself as soon as he cleared the door, catching the corner of the storage locker and planting his feet on the decking. As soon as he was in the room, he spotted her; floating near the back of the room, face down and hair splayed out.

 

"I've got her." He called through the hole in the door to Raia. "Help me get her out."

 

He immediately dove through the room towards her, catching her and then twisting to spring off the far wall, propelling himself and the unmoving girl back towards the door. He again slowed himself with the air of the storage locker, and then carefully turned the girl over in preparation of pushing her through the hole towards Raia.

 

It was the first time he looked at the girl’s face; and she really was not much more than a girl, probably younger than Raia. But her facial structure and even hair color reminded him so much of Jaina it was almost uncanny. But whoever she was, the girl still needed help, and figuring out who she was could wait until the girl was at least safely aboard the Ravenhammer. He pulled her arms in close to her body, and then carefully guided her through the hole in the door to Raia. Once the girl was clear through the hole, Raynuk pulled himself through and planted his feet on the decking.

 

“Who is she?” Raia asked, taking the girl and holding her close, her voice sounding odd through the breathing mask.

 

Raynuk looked at the girl’s face once more, then pulled out the breathing pack and moved to affix the mask to the girl’s face, giving her a much more tolerable air supply.

 

“I don’t know mazais… I imagine she will have just as many questions when she wakes up. But first we should get her to the Ravenhammer” He answered her as he pushed off the wall, using the force to pull the girl with him through the corridor, back towards the airlock.

 

Once back in gravity, Raynuk took the girl in his arms and swiftly made his way towards the infirmary, placing the girl on the bed located there and setting up the machines to monitor her until she woke up. “Stay with her,” he ordered Raia.

 

She nodded and moved to examine the girl, using what she could of her healing knowledge to determine what she could of the girl’s condition. She gasped in surprise when she saw the girl’s blank eyes. “Master Raynuk, she's blind! Just like the baby Jaina had in one of my earlier visions. I remember her eyes. Do you think it could be her?”

 

And there was the final puzzle piece, sliding into place in Raynuk’s mind. He moved to her side, pinching open one eyelid to confirm for himself that the girl’s eyes were blank. He had heard rumors many years ago that Jaina had been pregnant before her death, but he had never found any solid evidence one way or the other in those days, even with all his searching for threads of Jaina to pull her from hiding. It also was an explanation as to why this girl was on the Traitor’s Hope, and may even have explained partially why Raia and Raynuk had both seen the vision.

 

He turned to finally answer Raia. “It is her… She looks just like Jaina.” His voice was oddly solemn when he answered, as if Tirzah was serving as a reminder of the mistakes he had made.

 

But in that moment of answering Raia, he couldnt help but also notice how much she also resembled Tirzah. He had noticed before that Raia reminded him of Jaina, but had initially passed that off as a response to his nagging urge to seek out Jaina. But now, with a potentially legitimate daughter of Jaina lying on the medical bed, the resemblance was even more present. Both teenagers had the chestnut hair that he so vividly remembered framing Jaina’s face, but while Tirzah had a bone structure more like her mother, Raia’s almost mirrored his own stronger bone structure. A glimpse of what is, and what could have been… The phrase came to him almost philosophically as he considered the two of them.

 

Raia nodded in response to his answer, turning back to the girl, her brow knit in concentration. She hadn't seen any injuries like this on Dathomir, so she wasn't sure how useful she could be. “I don't know what I can do for her or if anything I do might make things worse. She won't be alone when she wakes. I can see to that at least.”

Raynuk then moved to the doorway and hit the intercom once more, calling to 2-VSH who was still in the cockpit.

 

“2V, we found a girl onboard that ship, I’ve transfered her to the infirmary here. I'm going back to the ship to investigate, meet me at the airlock; I may have need of you as well.”

The droid acknowledged as Raynuk turned to Raia again. “If and when she wakes up, try and keep her calm. She no doubt will be confused and not know where she is; even more so if she truly is as blind as it seems. Let me know when she wakes up and I will come back.”

 

He then endeavored to show her how to use the ship’s comm system; how to trigger the comms instead of the intercom, where to input his comm frequency, and which button to push to talk. Satisfied, he then moved to go back to the Traitor’s Hope, but suddenly got an idea and diverted to the cargo area, where he picked up the small storage container that he had placed the orb-droid in previously. If the orb-droid did indeed repair things as Raia had told him it did, perhaps the object could be of some use aboard the Traitor’s Hope. By the time he reached the airlock with the container, 2-VSH was waiting for him.

 

< the droid asked as he approached.

 

“Lets see about getting that ship some power 2V. Right now everything appears to be offline.” The Sith responded as he passed the droid and re-entered the other ship. One design feature Raynuk had not realized 2-VSH came with was the ability to magnetize it’s feet, allowing it to negate the effects of zero gravity, and greatly speed up its movement through the ship.

 

Having studied the technical schematics of the YT-1930 while Raynuk and Raia were attending to the floating passenger, 2-VSH lead the way through the main corridor to the gunwell corridor, informing Raynuk that that was the way to access the main power core of the ship. They arrived to find all the evidence they needed as to why the Traitor’s Hope was drifting; a massive hole in the wall, with the main power core sitting directly on the other side. Between the two of them, they examined the wall, the power core, and the surrounding area, and came to the conclusion that an ion explosive was used to knock out and damage the power core, and tear through the wall at the same time.

 

“2V, head back to the Ravenhammer; connect a power line from our ship, to this one. We should be able to feed it at least some limited power for now. I need more answers.”

 

The droid nodded, and turned to do as it was commanded, while Raynuk returned to the junction in the main corridor. Alone for the first time aboard this ship, he could not help but let his thoughts drift to its owner, silently asking where she was, now that he knew in his heart and mind who the passenger was.

[Adenna Alluyen]

Blood streaked down the walls, turning what had once been a flawless white surface to one covered in red, green, and even a little dark blue. The reek of feces and human filth assaulted her nostrils, as did the cries of the dying. There were three individuals standing before her, but they were far outnumbered by dismembered bodies and two limbless victims.

 

Even as she stood there, lightsaber drawn and lit, the cries of the dying faded away as they bled out. The three individuals stared at her without any sense of regret in their eyes. In truth, they were strangely calm about facing a Jedi in a room with no exits except the one she stood in. That didn't concern her, not in the least because though they had killed dozens of helpless slaves, their end was upon them. Justice would be short and swift and she would issue it without remorse.

 

As the four stared each other down, she flicked the switch that turned her orange lightsaber from a low powered training level to its full, supremely lethal strength. As one, all four sprang into action, though that action was over in mere seconds. Cleavers and hatchets of durasteel were simply no match for a lightsaber wielded by one seasoned in how to use it. She wasn't a helpless, unarmed slave, she was a Jedi and had years of practice with her weapon.

 

Two of the three slavers never even felt the blow that killed them. Pieces of them were strewn among the parts of their victims. The third, though, was no so lucky. Not at all. That third one, a Niktu, now missing both of his arms at the elbow, was on the ground atop the various limbs of the slaves he had helped kill. Standing above him was one quite angry Jedi who was not in any mood to be merciful. Instead of finishing him off with her lightsaber, she choose a different weapon.

 

A simple gesture with her free hand froze her victim in place. She shut off her lightsaber and drew a regular knife. Without any expression, she pierced her forearm and let some of her blood flow onto the confused and terrified Niktu's face. Once several dozen drops had landed, she paused a moment to stop the bleeding and moved to her new purpose. Nanites from her blood seeped into the Niktu's pores and began their new, terrifying purpose. While she could heal and cure most all injuries and diseases with them, she could also use the microscopic machines to inflict ghastly damage and carnage.

 

Now that her purpose was finished, she turned to leave the room. Even before the door closed, the Niktu began shrieking as the nanites began activating every single pain receptor in his body. His agony would overload his nervous system so much that he would die a slow, agonizing death that was, unfortunately, vastly quicker and more merciful than the lives and deaths of the thousands of slaves he had presided over.

 

She felt no remorse or regret as she left. Justice had been done and there were three fewer slavers in the Galaxy.

 

"I know of your efforts back home. The details are vague, and I would like to hear your recounting of that adventure. On Thalassia, what you've been doing these past few years," Tobias said.

 

Adenna smiled at those words, thinking of all that she had been through and done on and around her homeworld. She smiled again at his joy at receiving a compliment from her. Oh, she was glad for it because it showed he was able to appreciate the simplicity of goodness instead of constant deceit and hatred. "Yes, it is. Many good things come from the Light, only pain and heartache come from the Darkness. I may tell you of my time on Thalassia, but not today." She heard the comms report they were approaching their destination. "We better get to the bridge." Before she got up, she leaned in and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "Let's go see this new station of yours."

[Jaina Jade Skywalker]

Her mind was floating in a vast ocean whose lapping waves carried her on their tide. It was sweet oblivion, a reprieve from the relentless tide of questions that pummeled her awareness. Where was she? No idea. Who was she? Didn't matter. There was only peace, stillness, the gentle rocking of the endless sea.

 

But this wasn't the peace that the Force brought. Something felt wrong. The freedom she had felt just a moment earlier was suddenly stifling, like a cloth pressed across her face, and instead of floating in a peaceful sea, she was drowning in a tidal wave, torrent after torrent buffeting her body. Fighting her way back to the surface, she thrashed, kicked, unsure of which direction to go, unable to perceive anything about her surroundings. Suddenly her fingers connected with something smooth and soft, and she swam toward it, reaching, grasping.

 

And just like that, Tirzah broke the surface of her consciousness, dimly aware that she was crying out, throwing her head back and forth uncontrollably, the thrashing of her dreams mirrored in her body's movement. She was lying on some sort of a bed, and struggled to sit up, to gain some kind of bearing. Her limbs were uncooperative, and dimly she recalled some measure of what had happened. She had opened the door for the terrified librarian. Had she been floating? Somehow the weightlessness of her dreams hadn't yet left her, but the lack of strength in her body was a present reminder that gravity still existed somewhere in the galaxy. Trapped by her disorientation and fear, she tried to reach out with her senses but it only served to overwhelm her. "W-w-where am I?" Her breath came quick and shallow. The hum of an engine surrounded her. It wasn't the Hope's baritone thrum.

 

Almost unwillingly, her senses told her that there was someone else in the room. Her--and somehow, Tirzah knew it was a her--presence was void of malice, instead holding curiosity and concern. "Who are you?"

[Raia Montar]

Raia had stepped away to check the monitors that seemed to fulfill the function she had as an apprentice healer, monitoring the girl's vital signs and reporting back. The girl started to stir and that brought Raia over in an instant. She made the mistake of touching the girl's hand which immediately set her to flailing about violently and caught a mean left hook on her cheek for it.

 

Vex, who'd been laying opposite the open door growled slightly, though a look from Raia along with the assurance through the Force that the girl didn't mean it made him put his head back down, though his gaze never wavered from the other girl.

 

Ignoring the pain that exploded across the side of her face, she held the girl to the bed, while attempting to exude a calm she did not feel as the girl cried out in fear. "Shhh, shhh, shhh. It's alright. You're safe," she soothed until the girl calmed enough to stop resisting her. "I'm Raia and you're on the Ravenhammer. Master Quietus and I rescued you. He said to call when you woke up. I'm just stepping away for only a moment to call him back from your broken ship. Don't worry. I won't leave you. I know what it's like to be alone in a strange place." She patted the girl's hand twice and then stepped over to the comm unit and operated the unit exactly as Raynuk had instructed her.

 

"Master, she's awake," Raia began, "You said to let you know..."

 

She turned back to the girl, who was now staring blankly in her direction, "I-I'd like to check you out...make sure there wasn't too much damage from whatever you had happen. I'm going to place my hand on your forehead...is that okay?"

 

The girl nodded slowly and Raia approached her again, hesitating slightly before placing her hand over the girl’s forehead, half covering her eyes. She took a deep breath and let in some of the Force, just enough that she could use the spells she knew from her healing training. Things seemed to be fine, but then she felt drawn further in by the girl as her vision grew darker and her senses expanded to compensate…

[Jaina Jade Skywalker]

All of a sudden, the world exploded into color. Tirzah’s mouth opened to cry out, but the sensation swirling through her pounding head left no room to react. A dizzying warmth pierced her mind. She seized Raia’s wrist as if to hold on for dear life, the girl’s hand felt cemented to her forehead, and she dreaded what might happen if somehow her touch broke loose. The heat seared her eyes, and she gritted her teeth.

 

Then the pain stopped, and there was light. At least, she assumed that it was light. It bore all the qualities that people talked about when they referred to light. What had once been the Little Fairy flitting around in her mind was now as the heat of the closest star, illuminating the shadows of the objects surrounding her. Warm, bright, giving shape to all that filled the room, the Force played a trick on her that it had been withholding: Tirzah could see. A girl approximately her age appeared in her mind, her face contorted in the surprise that Tirzah herself felt.

 

Immediately, her thoughts turned to Jaina, to the moment that all the pretense of Jedi serenity faded away and they were simply mother and daughter, reforming the galaxy around one another, her hands finally learning the face whose likeness she bore. What would her mother look like, in this world that opened up to her like a budding flower? With a fresh jolt of joy, the remembrance of her first taste of belonging washed over her. In truth, elements of the bone structure of the face gazing back at her were reminiscent of what she had learned from her exploration of Jaina’s.

 

Reaching for the girl, to compare the feel to her mother’s, she was startled when a hand appeared in this new awareness, slowly stretching across the distance to rest on the other girl’s bruised cheekbone. It wasn’t until her fingers actually came into contact with Raia’s skin that it sunk in: it was her hand. Her fingers. And she anticipated the touch before it had happened.

 

Then it all went dark.

 

Raia’s hand fell away from her forehead as the older girl fell to the floor and hitting her head, unconscious. The last thing Tirzah was conscious of was the mass of a beast’s keening whine that somehow seemed to convey Sithspit...they broke each other, and his prompt disappearance from the doorway in search of its master.

 

((Raia’s actions posted with permission))

[Raynuk Montar]

Raynuk had stayed standing in that corridor until 2V returned, dragging a rather large power cable with him. Together, the droid and it's Master set to work trying to tie the Traitor's Hope power systems to that of the Ravenhammer, but were constantly met with setbacks and problems. Whoever had set the apparent ion mine had known enough to perfectly place the device to do a significant amount of damage without utterly destroying the ship itself. IN time though, the pair managed to restore partial power by bypassing the damaged power core completely, but was only able to restore very limited power to the abandoned ship, and even then Raynuk had been forced to shut down the engines and weapons on the Ravenhammer to ensure that there would be enough power to help the Traitor's Hope without risking over-working his own ship's power core.

 

With the artificial gravity and life support systems operating again on the Traitor's Hope, Raynuk was going to head to the cockpit to attempt to glean some information about where the ship had come from and what had happened to it, when his comm pinged, Raia's voice following soon after.

 

"Master, she's awake, You said to let you know..."

 

"Alright Raia, thank you. I'll be there in a moment." He responded, turning to head back to check on his new passenger. But reaching the airlock, he paused, spotting the storage container he had deposited the little orb-droid in. It couldnt make the ship worse, right? he thought, before opening the container and pulling the orb out. For a moment he held it in his hand, examining it and trying to figure out how to activate the thing, when it suddenly sprouted open; four tiny little spidery legs and a number of tiny little appendages with different tools connected to them. It began making a whirling, clicking sound as the Sith held it, to which Raynuk decided to try and speak to it.

 

"Repair; understood?" He spoke as if commanding the droid, and was met with a series of whirls and buzzing sounds. Taking it as a good sign, he let the orb go on the ground, and it immediately skittered off, at one point climbing the wall before it disappeared around a corner. Raynuk only allowed himself to wonder for a second if that had been a smart idea, before he shrugged and turned, walking back onto the Ravenhammer and heading towards the infirmary.

 

When he got to the doorway however, whatever random thought had been in his head vanished, as he saw Raia collapsed on the floor. "Oh damnit.., Not again." He dashed into the room, only to find that the other girl was likewise collapsed into a pile on the floor. And there standing over both of them was Vex'aedr, whining slightly as it looked back and forth between the two before looking up at Raynuk. The Sith quickly crossed the room, placing a calming hand on the side of the tuk'ata as he crouched down placing a hand on Tirzah, checking to ensure that the girl was still alive and breathing. Thankfully she was, and Raynuk picked her up again and placed her back on the medical bed before turning to deal with Raia. He likewise checked for a pulse and breathing again before sitting her up and leaning her against the wall just inside the doorway.

 

Clearly something had happened while he was away. He assumed that Raia had again gotten lost in her abilities, given that the girl was once again passed out, just as had happened with the tree. The question was whether the other girl was also knocked out by Raia's powers or as the result of something else. But for the moment both teenagers seemed to be stable, and so Raynuk stood and examined the room, just in case he had missed some detail.

 

Oh sure Raynuk, save another teenager, what could possibly go wrong... he thought with a sigh, before turning to potentially the only witness to what had happened; Vex'aedr. Raynuk crossed over to the tuk'ata, placing both hands gently as he held the beast's massive head between his hands and reached out with the Force to more substantially connect with his pet.

"Tell me what happened Vex'aedr." He said, speaking to the tuk'ata physically, but also through the Force. Vex'aedr whuffed and blinked slowly as an acknowledgement.

 

<>

 

The tuk'ata spoke to Raynuk in the language of the Sith, and allowed him to get brief glimpses of memories that the beast had witnessed just moments before. It was indeed as Raynuk had suspected; Raia had attempted to use the Force on her own, and just as had happened the last few times she did so without a strong presence to anchor her, the Force had consumed her to its will. First the tree in Alora's apartment had been shattered, then regrown, then grown even further. It was a series of events that left Raynuk with just one question as he looked between Raia and Tirzah:

 

What was the effect and outcome this time?

 

It was something he would have to wait for one of the two to awaken in order to get answers to. And so he waited, idly stroking Vex'aeder's side as he thought about some of the countless thoughts that continued to gnaw at him.

[Ary the Grey]

Making the usual obligatory post in the space thread, Aryian's shuttle, which was unspecified at this point yet carried both he and Dahar, zoomed through the hyper lanes well past the speed of light. For all Aryian knew, he could be piloting a glowing neon green stuffed unicorn, but as such creatures didn't really exist in the Star Wars universe, this was highly unlikely, although Aryian himself probably wouldn't know any of this.

 

To summarize, ship go zoom, much travel, wow.

[Jaina Jade Skywalker]

Raynuk Montar would be waiting a long time indeed--mainly because she was lost. Tirzah was hopelessly and completely lost in some kind of dense jungle. Her head pounded. Her eyes ached in protest of the increased activity to which they had been subjected. On every side, there was no sign of horizon, no hint as to where she might find a clearing or a way to gain her bearings. Slowly, she moved through the underbrush, picking her foot placement carefully. It was marvelous, the ability to discern the location of things around her using just her eyes. But then it hit her--

 

Even the ability to see couldn’t help her out of this mess.

 

After what seemed like hours of walking, ducking under twisting branches and squeezing between close-clustered trunks, she sank into a heap at the base of a tree to rest her legs. Sweat dripped from the ends of her curly hair, which wound tighter due to the humidity of the forest in which she now found herself. Everything seemed to glow with an eerie haze; the sunlight that filtered through the branches bore a quality that she was unable to describe. Tirzah was getting thirsty.

 

A roar sounded from deep within the jungle, striking alarm into her senses, and a small creature bounded across her path as if in response. It was covered in downy fur, with sturdy back legs that propelled it in leaps and elongated ears protruding from the top of its head. It paused for a moment, turning to stare directly at her, rubbing its tiny furry snout into its front paws. For some reason she couldn’t explain, Tirzah knew this creature. Slowly, so as not to startle it, she leaned forward onto her knees and stretched out a hand. Just a little bit closer, she thought in desperation.

 

A twig snapped somewhere in the forest, and the creature startled. “Hey, wait!” she called, jumping to her feet and running after it. Never had she felt able to run with abandon like this before. All physical activity, for her whole life, had been tempered by the disuse of her eyes. It was a new kind of exhilaration as she chased the mammal through the forest, feeling the hot wind whipping through her damp hair, leaping over fallen logs and ducking under tangles of vines. A branch she hadn’t anticipated slashed at her cheek, and she clapped a hand to her face as she ran, warm, wet blood leaking into her fingers. She looked down for a moment to study the liquid on her hand, and the momentary lapse of attention betrayed her.

 

Her foot caught on a vine in the underbrush, and she went sprawling, tumbling down the side of a ravine. She landed on her belly in the ravine’s basin with a whoosh of air escaping from her lungs. Jerking her head up, she could just barely make out the creature darting down a hole in the distance, lost to her newfound sight.

 

Dirty, bloody, sweaty, wound up in vines, Tirzah slowly pushed herself to her feet. “That went well,” she muttered sarcastically to herself.

 

“Are you okay?” came the soft voice from behind her.

 

Tirzah turned but didn’t immediately see where the voice was coming from, then something stirred amongst the underbrush and ferns, causing her to instinctively reach for a lightsaber that wasn’t there. Finally, she saw it. A small fieldscurry with stormy grey eyes and fur the same color as Tirzah’s hair emerged, approaching the girl cautiously.

 

When it was within a few feet, it shape-changed into the girl she’d just seen in the medbay, Raia.

 

“I'm sorry, this is all my fault.” Raia apologized. “I never should have tried to use the Force without Master Quietus there. And now I've trapped us here, but I don't know where ‘here’ is, other than that it looks like my home world. And this is deeper into the jungles than I have ever ventured before...”

 

Incredulously, Tirzah gaped at her. Had she imagined the fieldscurry? Nothing felt quite real here. Surreptitiously, she pinched herself, but earned only sore skin for her trouble. Brilliant. I’m stuck in an endless jungle with a girl who is also a rodent, she groaned inwardly.

 

But even if this was all happening in her head, or within the Force, she had no way out. Might as well stick close to Raia, who allegedly knew the planet. It was better than the unknown. “Maybe there's someone else out here. I thought I saw another creature up ahead,” she pointed in the direction the scampering long-ear had disappeared. “Although if all the creatures in this jungle are going to turn into people, I’m not sure I want to run into whatever made that sound.”

 

Winding along the path of the rocky ravine, they pressed on in silence. Somehow, there was an understanding between them: to speak would attract unwanted attention. After another ten minutes’ walk, the ravine forked.

 

“Which way, do you think?” she whispered to Raia.

 

“If you don't know where you're going, any road will get you there,” came another voice. Instinctively, Tirzah reached out for Raia's arm, linking her own around the older girl's and scanning for the source of the voice.

 

Sitting high up on the bank of the ravine was a predatory feline that sat about as tall as Tirzah stood, gracefully grooming her fur with her tongue. “What?” Tirzah called.

 

“Do you know where you want to go?” The feline blinked impassively at them.

 

“No,” she replied. “Only that we’re trying to find our way back.”

 

“Then it doesn’t matter. If you walk long enough, you’re sure to find your way.”

 

Reticent glances passed between the two girls, but on a prompting from the Force, Tirzah quirked her head at her. “Will you show us?”

 

With a single lithe spring, the animal launched from the bank, and by the time it landed before them, it had taken the form of a woman. Wiry, athletic, and graceful, with dark hair and a mischievous glint in her mismatched eyes, she laid a hand on each of their shoulders. “Follow me,” she said quietly.

 

((Actions posted with permission))

[Raynuk Montar]

Minutes ticked by as Raynuk waited for sign from either of his two passengers, but none came. Time continued to move, and ten minutes after he resolved to wait this newest wrinkle out, his resolve and patience broke, and he knelt beside Raia, his normally stoic face slowly giving away to concern. He placed a hand on her forehead, and began to focus on the Force, diving into it in an effort to find the girl he assumed had been lost to it. Almost immediately though he was buffeted by the full, unrefined power of the Force, understanding for a brief moment what it must feel like for Raia, before even he was at risk of being swept away. He was forced to retreat back to reality, his eyes snapping open as he took a breath he did not know he had been holding. Raia was far deeper adrift than he had anticipated it seemed.

 

For a moment the Sith cursed himself, wondering if he had attempted it sooner if he would have been able to pull the girl out of the raging Force. But he quickly pushed those thoughts aside, knowing there would be no point, and no help, from dwelling upon it now. He stood and moved to the bed, where Tirzah lay in much the same state as Raia. He repeated the gesture on the other girl, and again had to pull himself out of the maelstrom before he got swept away. Whatever had occurred was now holding both teenage girls beyond his reach. He was quickly running out of options. He needed a plan, a goal; something he could work towards and move upon. It did not take very long for the first accomplish-able action to come to mind.

 

He exited the infirmary, walking through the ship and to one of the smaller crew cabins. Specifically, he opened the door to the room he had planned for use by the tuk'atas, complete with a number of plush, over sized pillows that he had placed within for comfort for the pets. He quickly grabbed one of the larger ones, throwing it over his shoulder before moving back towards the infirmary. Vex'aedr met the Sith half way, tilting it's head as if questioning why Raynuk was 'stealing' one of his pillows.

 

"You have plenty, stop it." He said as he walked by the tuk'ata. Once he entered the infirmary again, he placed the large pillow on the floor next to the bed where Tirzah lay, and then carefully moved Raia over and placed her gently down on the pillow so the girl was laying down on it comfortably. The Sith spent the following minutes prioritizing all the different medical devices between the two girls, ensuring that he was able to keep a sufficient stream of data from each of them, and then programming the medical computer to forward the relevant data --heartbeat, breathing rates, brain activity -- to his datapad. If anything out of the ordinary should happen, he would be alerted to it instantly.

 

Once that data stream was set up, Raynuk moved to the cockpit, plopping down in the pilot's seat for a moment of rest and reflection. He knew when he had positively identified the Traitor's Hope that he was going to send word to Emily about it, given that the woman was off who-knows-where attempting to track down Jaina. But he had intended for his message to be much more positive than it was now going to be; having both Emily's Apprentice and her Niece unconscious and 'lost' in the Force was not exactly a strong endorsement of Raynuk's abilities to keep either of the girls safe. But in the end, he knew there was no other way to deliver what had happened. And so he turned to the comm terminal, and opened up a comm, pinging it to the Shadow's Shine

 

"Emily... I have news. I do not know if you have found your aunt yet, but irregardless I hope this message finds you well. Raia and I were on our way to Dathomir, but the girl received another of her visions; of a ship floating through space, with a girl, younger than she, trapped aboard. She was insistent that we follow her vision, and after looking at a star chart, gave me the coordinates, and off we went. Emily, I.... no, we... we found your aunt's ship; we found the Traitor's Hope. It was the ship of Raia's vision. And we found the girl, unconscious within. We brought the girl aboard my ship, and I left Raia to watch over her while I investigated the ship. When Raia told me the girl has awoken, I returned... but I found them both unconscious this time. Something happened; I believe Raia was swept up by the Force again, and somehow, she took the girl with her. And even I can not safely pull then out. They do not appear to be in any immediate danger, but I continue to monitor them regardless. I will remain here, and continue to investigate what happened to the Traitor's Hope and attempt to effect repairs. I have attached the coordinates to this message."

 

He attached the current location of the Ravenhammer and Traitor's Hope along with the message, and encoded the message as Priority One. Raynuk knew that it was entirely possible that Emily had somehow already found Jaina, and had taken efforts to not immediately identify himself if that were the case; the Jedi woman had a history of fleeing in the opposite direction when even the threat of his presence loomed. Whether Jaina was aware that her ship and her daughter were missing or not, it would still be better for the news of its recovery to come from Emily rather than him when it came to Jaina. There was a great deal surrounding this entire situation that Raynuk was blind to, and all efforts would be made to reduce any further threat, even if that meant not telling Emily everything right away. He then checked in with 2V, who was still on board the Traitor's Hope attempting to fix the ship's power core, but was informed of how slow progress was going on the other ship.

 

Until a response came in from Emily, the best use of his time would be to aid the droid, not to mention putting his mind to a task to distract him from the current storm he had walked into. So he stood, and moved to join the droid on the other ship.