The Hapes Cluster

[Ki Vastor]

The doctor had been working secretively on the implant that Ki had requested and had finally gotten the last componants for it. He had heard that Phillip had returned and now did the finishing touches on it, completing the project he'd been diligent enough to create. He hid the implant in a special location until Ki could come in for it then called in one of the messengers, hoping that it wasn't too late already...

 

"Go and find Lady Ki and give this message to her. She will know what it means"

 

The messenger had no idea what was going on, having been kept in the dark, but he too was loyal to the royal family. He headed off in the direction of where the two women had been resting, poking his head round the corner and speaking to the slave girl, his voice quiet as he asked where Lady Ki was. Being told, and seeing on the monitor still that she was in the other room and currently in Phillip's arms, he headed off to complete his errand.

 

The door was open so he knocked then entered, moving to speak with Lady Ki. He bowed low to Phillip and his guest before looking at Ki. She looked like she was half asleep and that Phillip was cradling her in his arms.

 

"Excuse me Lady Ki. I was asked to deliver this to you."

 

Ki opened her eyes, looking at the messenger. She could feel her body tingling all over with energy from the blood she had ingested. Energy beginning to surge through her body, her body becoming on fire as she became aware she still had herself wrapped around Phillip, wondering why she wasn't moving away from him already. She was confused, she didn't know what to feel now.

 

Her hand rose for the piece of paper, flicking the fold open and seeing the words "Whenever you are ready". A brief flare of excitment went through her as she read those words she had been waiting for. Quickly she schooled her emotions, unsure of when she would be able to get away to see the doctor for her 'checkup'.

[Capt. Phillep]

"Macleod, the purpose is to offer a suitable combatant for our first exercise. In such a way, both of you can train at once. And, not only do I get a skilled and vile seductress/assasin as well as a capable of strike leader/super-human pilot."

 

The silver-tongued Phillep allowed the messengers gift to cross Ki's eyes, crossing his own with a smile, What could possibly be occuring within these frail walls. "Combat is essential to the Sith, it is... a base upon which to build your new identity."

 

The messenger boy, felt the cruel hand of death cleaving within his skull. It was a powerful leaching effect of the Force, striking into the human's brain-matter, squeezing it into itself... before his eyes burst forth in small spurts of blood.

 

The door locked behind them, with Phillep smiling, "You see, Macleod, Ki, you're going to face off... test the physical limits of your body, tax them. In this, you will feel the influence of the Force. Let it come to the forefront of your body and unleash the Dark Side."

 

Phillep placed one hand in the other, behind his back, stepping over the corpse, "Ready?"

[Ki Vastor]

Her hand crumpled the piece of paper, letting it drop to the floor. They wouldn't know what it meant even if they did read it, Ki determinedly guarding her secret within her mind. The sooner she got that implant the sooner she'd be protected again... in both ways. Phillip's words, when they sank in, caused her to glare back at him. So he wants me as his seductress assassin does he? Not while I have anything to say about it! Memories flicked through her mind of when he had tricked her, when she had first thought she'd been with Kabe. He'd made her promise to do anything for him to make her feel like he made her feel again... another moment of doubt...

 

Ki shook her head. No. He'd lied to her, he'd tricked her somehow into feeling like that. It would never happen again because she never wanted him to claim her that way again and with the implant, he nor anyone else could cause her pain like he'd done to her when he'd first ripped her implant out. Ki found it hard to believe he had sounded so gentle, so loving, only moments before, how he had encouraged her to him... the feel of his arms holding her gently... Confusion increased as thoughts flowed through her mind, why, if he had wanted her as a seductress assassin, did he rip the implant out to begin with? There was no way she ever wanted to fall pregnant - not like what he'd done to Aisling. In a moment of regret, Ki briefly wished she'd had Kabe's child - at least there would have been someone to carry on his legacy, She had been so lucky that she hadn't fallen to Phillip that time, only for the fact the contraceptive hadn't left her system she felt had prevented that fact.

 

Her confusion solidified back into hating Phillip as she saw what he did to the messenger that had been sent with the message for her. She moved away from him, repelled at his cruelty but not surprised at it any longer. Ki moving to where the dagger lay on the floor, calling it back to her hand and clutching it tightly. Her eyes going towards the door... her escape route... as the lock clicked, sealing them in. Hatred filled her eyes as she felt her rage building inside of her. Nurgle had said to convert her emotions to anger, she recalled how it felt to hold that powerful weapon. She wished she had it now rather than the dagger she held as her gaze focused on Phillip.

 

Her glare turned to the other man... Macleod. She could feel now why he was here. He too must be another of Phillip's play toys, his pawns, and more so since he wore one of the Imperial's uniforms. This was confirmed when Phillip told them that they were to face off... That they were to be pitted against each other... Ki's anger was surfacing again, her anger at Phillip, even at Aisling for willingly being his pawn, there was no way Ki was willing to be... she had her own mind and she hated him.

 

She didn't know how Phillip had made her drink, she'd barely been conscious. It had to be some trick or something he'd done to her the first time he'd made her drink his blood. Her tongue moved around her mouth, over her teeth, making her gasp as she felt how sharp they were. With horror her gaze went back to Phillip. What the hell did you do to me?? His teeth were obvioius fangs. She choked back a sob of fury at what he'd done to her. It hit her with full force then, everything clicking in to place. His power over her was because he had made her ingest his blood. He had made her dependant on him to survive... Her rage was barely under control now, her fury at what he had done...

 

"You bastard! Why did you do this to me?? WHY??"

[Capt. Phillep]

"Because, I knew it would make you angry."

 

Phillep's eyes glazed over for a split second, the maniacal expressions that surfaced within the Mad Admiral passing quickly, "Because only when you come to full terms with the Dark Side's hold over you... will you be worthy of being my weapon. And partly, because... I like the ability to control you. You need me. And in some sick, perverse way, I like to know... that I need you."

 

Letting his eyes move across to Macleod, "At the same time, Colonel, it gives you a measure of what exactly you've pledged yourself to. Different bands of darkness, there are some more ethical than I, this may be so... but many value such cruelty in hand-picking their minions."

 

Phillep's lips curled into another crazed smile, "Hmm... it seems, Lady Vastor has chosen a blade. Macleod, feel free to use what you will."

 

The biological armor that ran along Phillep's body quickly, almost on command, protected his face and any exposed skin, symbiotically breathing for him... as he sat down to watch his pawns face-off.

 

Meanwhile, General Faust's encrypted report came in and a slight curse fetched itself within the Dark Admiral's mind... Are the Kamino-stationed vessels ready for deployment?

[Lieutenant Macleod]

Macleod watched the man fall to the ground, dead. He was very troubled that Phillep could read his thoughts so easily.

 

It makes sense that combat is the basis of my training. I am here for that kind of power after all.

 

Macleod looked with surprise as the messenger was killed so easily. That was the power he was after. He was about to ask what exactly the purpose of that death was, when Ki did it for him. Phillep was very perceptive in addressing part of his answer to Macleod. He knew the Colonel well, so well Macleod found it unsettling. But he didn't really have time to be disgusted with Phillep's murderous dead or wonder at Phillep's knowledge of his thoughts, he was more worried about fighting Ki.

 

I'm not exactly in top physical condition. Last time I was engaged in hand to hand combat, I ended being kidnapped and held for ransom.

 

He was very concerned for his life, but Macleod was no coward. He pulled his broad sword off his back. The family weapon appeared almost brand new. Macleod had rarely used it and that was not good. He had some training as an Imperial soldier, but this was going to turn out badly for him. He looked at Ki.

 

"I'm as ready as I'm going to be. Stop whining lady, and come at me."

[Capt. Phillep]

Phillep's hands managed to clap, This will prove a good show and I am in mighty need of entertainment.

 

Then, his voice, filtered through the living armor, but still clear, "The purpose of this exercise is not death, it is exertion. Stress. Exhaustion. You have much before such a task is given to you. And we begin with the body, as it is the first of the psyches that we need to break and mold. Fight well... for on some level, it does determine the next round."

[Ki Vastor]

That he enjoyed making her angry made her feel worse because of knowing she was acting predictably, though didn't stem the hate she felt for him right then. The only thing that stunned her was the tone of his voice when he said he needed her. Doubt briefly entered her mind before she hardened herself against him again. That it was all sick and perverse, his twisted ways of control disgusted her. Need me for what exactly? Her eyes narrowed more. The only thing he'd need her for was for more of his manipulations. She was nothing to him at all but another pawn to manipulate and she hated him for it.

 

Arrgghhh how typical is this? The only reason why Ki had her small dagger was that it had been the only weapon she'd been able to spirit away on her. She hadn't been allowed anything else. No vibroblade, no sword... That her dagger had been put in place told her only that it had been her personal maid that had dressed her, knowing that Ki felt safer with something rather than nothing.

 

It was so typical that Phillip pit her against some old hand soldier with nothing but a dagger and no form of protective clothing what so ever. It wouldn't have surprised her at all if he'd not even let her have a single weapon at all. There was no way apart from throwing her dagger that she'd get anywhere near an opponant. Her hatred filled gaze returning to Phillip once more. It bubbled more as she saw the armor covering his body. In the back of her mind she wondered what sort of armor it was that it covered him like that without being bulky, without him actually putting it on at all. Coward! Next round?? There wouldn't be a next round if she was dead, which is exactly what would happen since she didn't have a decent weapon to keep herself alive.

 

At Macleod's taunt her anger split over towards both men. That he had a large broad sword just fuelled her rage further. That and Phillip's lie about this being an exercise and not to the death. How could it not be when he pit her, a small woman with only a very short knife like blade, against someone with a long broad weapon that had an even longer reach. She'd never get anywhere near him, and it was obvious to her that he'd only revived her so that he could let his soldier kill her.

 

"Oh of course..." her voice was pure sarcastic venom, her gaze shifting back to Phillip, "Let him have a decent weapon with plenty of reach. You wouldn't of cared if I had nothing at all. That I only have a dagger won't count for anything will it?!"

 

Ki was seeing red, she only had the one small dagger and would only be able to make the one throw. She'd be weaponless after that. Weaponless against a long broad sword. Her only chance of any kind of survival would be disarming him in the first throw. If she missed by some twist, and she wouldn't put it past Phillip to manipulate things so she did miss her target, she'd be a goner.

 

The only fighting she had done since becoming his prisoner had been fighting his men off from their constant need to rape her in a weakened state. She'd only just managed to be successful last time she fought as she'd passed out cold afterwards. That Phillip had only just made her drink his blood was why she now had the power surging through her veins as if recharged and would be the only thing she had going for her.

 

Her eyes bore holes in first Phillip and then Macleod as she looked at his grasp, currently not even worth throwing her dagger. Not against a double handed grip. Just how the hell was she supposed to do any good with only one dagger?? All she could do was stay out of his range by keeping her distance... not an easy task in a room without much space.

[Lieutenant Macleod]

Macleod watched Ki, waiting for her to make her move. He ended up waiting quite a while. The old Colonel began to get impatient when she did not attack. But Macleod was still loathe to make the first assault. He could tell by the way she moved she was much more skilled than he was. The advantage his weapon had over hers did not even enter his mind. He'd seen skilled warriors kill hordes of men with just a knife. Macleod would've given anything to be in a TIE fighter right now.

 

Don't be stupid. You took down a few people in your younger days. Phillep said there would be no death.

 

But Macleod wondered if someone had once told that dead messenger the same thing. Phillep didn't exactly give one a sense that he was an honest man. Macleod held his sword tightly trying to remember his training. He swung awkwardly at Ki, not even hitting close to her. The sword was heavier then he remembered. He'd nearly left himself open to her dagger. Macleod hefted the weapon again, getting a better feel for the weapon this time. He remembered his father teaching him how to wield the weapon. Even this did not give him confidence.

 

Maybe if I stand here long enough, she'll just get tired.

 

He looked into Ki's eyes. He was not trained, but even a non-Force user could read someone's facial features. He felt like her angry stare would cut a hole throught him. He had to hit her before she hit him. Macleod sliced in an arc toward her stomach.

[Capt. Phillep]

His eyes, beneath the second-skin, seemed to absorb all about him with excessive accuracy... and then, he let the Force be his eyes, testing some of the last lessons with his former Master. It was enough to cause the small incision along his chin that dripped little blood... he'd become accustomed to such a transformation.

 

"You fight as poorly as you, because your real weapons have not come into play yet... where is your sense of emotion? Of desire? Anger? Hatred? Greed? Any small motivator? Even, the deep, innate desire for survival... what if I am lying?"

 

The Dark Admiral's hands danced where he stood, he appeared almost giddy...

[Ki Vastor]

Ki made sure there was furniture between herself and Macleod, the room being scanned quickly as she avoided his slashes. He seemed clumsy with the weapon but Ki knew that it would only be to sucker her in. He would have to be more skilled than he appeared. Her eyes caught sight of Phillip standing there, his voice seemingly directed at his soldier as Ki ducked behind a chair just before Macleod's blade was aimed at her belly.

 

"Got to hell... the both of you!"

 

Ki screamed at them, loosing her dagger and seeing it make contact with his lower arm before it lodged into the wall behind Macleod. Now she didn't have any weapon... and to her dismay, her senses seemed fine tuned to the scent of Phillip's blood. For some reason he'd began to bleed and she was somehow tuned to that, her body reacting to that scent. It didn't matter if Macleod was bleeding from her dagger cut, it was the reaction to Phillip's blood that made her body react in a manner that made her whole body tingle.

 

She fought the reaction, her hand grabbing hold of the first thing she could find to use as a weapon, finding the poker for the open fireplace. It came up just in time to stop another slash of the sword as Ki leapt over an obstacle and screamed again in anger. This time she held her free hand towards Macleod, her hand tightening in a closing grip as she focused on choking the man. She hadn't done that since she had fought against Phillip initially and this time she had the concept of what she was doing. She squeezed tightly through the force with all her hate and anger for Phillip channelled into it as well...

[Lieutenant Macleod]

Macleod had felt the cut as the blade passed beside him. It had been painful and surprising, but he'd also been pleased she'd acted so rashly. Now she was unarmed. The wound was minor and not of consequence to the Colonel. He may not be the best fighter, but he knew how to take pain. The blood did not phase him. He'd been in quite a few crashes as a pilot, not to mention his tortorous ordeal during his kidnapping. A soldier knew how to take an injury. The Colonel heard the words of Phillep,

 

How does he expect me to get angry at this woman? I don't even know her. Not only that, I do feel some admiration in her defiance.

 

Nevertheless, that all vanished as she picked up the poker and began to Force choke him. His sword dropped from his hand, shocked by the maneuver. He had expected her to be as untrained as he was in the Force. Phillep had pitted him against someone who not only was a better fighter, but also had Force training. His vision began to black out as he fell to his knees.

 

She's not letting up and Phillep isn't interfering. She's going to kill me!

 

At first he had panicked, but now the realization calmed him. It was a death in battle as Macleod desired. Not in space as he preferred, but it would have to do. He had nearly accepted his fate, when he was reminded of the power Phillep had wielded. Of this power Ki was using to gag him right at that moment. He didn't understand it, but the thirst for that power was rising within the old Colonel the more he felt his mind slipping. The Force choke was affecting his brain, but he felt it was more than that. He did not want to die in battle anymore. He didn't think he wanted to die ever. Not now that Phillep had shown him it wasn't necessarily an inevitability. His vision was blurry, but he knew where his sword lay.

 

You've guided concussion missiles in space. Surely you can move a sword a few feet.

 

Almost unconscious now, Macleod focused on that spot in his mind. His Force awareness was stronger the closer he came to being killed by Ki's Force hold. The sword rattled slightly, and then slide across the floor very fast. It was out of her line of vision, and she could not see it coming as the weapon swept her feet right out from under her. She was thrown onto her stomach hard. Macleod gasped for air as her concentration was broken. He wanted to tell Phillep how he felt about all this, but could not speak. He was certain the Admiral could read his thoughts anyway.

 

This is bull, you've already worked with her. I have no chance.

 

But that didn't stop Macleod from getting up, despite the pain in his throat. He had made his feelings clear, but that wouldn't make him back down. The Colonel stumbled toward Ki, seeing now that her forehead had hit the floor. She would be moving soon. He fell forward the rest of the way, throwing the poker away from her body. She began to stir as he turned her over. His gloved hands closed around her throat. He squeezed hard, anger to the point of tears in his eyes. His voice came out hoarsely,

 

"How does it feel? You were going to kill me. If you want to kill Phillep, you should have had the guts to go for it, not blame me."

[Ki Vastor]

As his sword hit her legs, the blade cutting through her leathers into her skin, blood poured from the wounds. The shock of the pain as she fell forward intense, so intense she'd not even stopped herself falling forward and hitting her head, a red bump appearing on her forehead to go with the hand mark already there from the slap from her cousin. The blow made her see stars. Tears of frustration and pain trickled down her cheeks as she forced herself up from the position, knowing how much of a weakened state he had her in. He turned her over and gripped her throat, choking her in return. Ki gasping again for breath, the second time since she'd been in this room.

 

She hated men, hated them all, hated Phillip, hated this one. Her windpipe was being cut off again, her thoughts going through the same process of before. Phillip had revived her only to have her killed at his soldiers hand. She forced words out, victory appearing in her eyes as the life again began to fade.

 

"I ... tried... He... can't... be... killed..."

 

Her gasps were becoming more labored around his choking of her. She fell still, not even struggling. That she had already tried to kill Phillip - and failed was obvious.

 

"I... win... kill me... end it... end my misery... DO IT!"

[Lieutenant Macleod]

Macleod wanted to squeeze the life out of Ki for almost killing him. He wanted to destroy her for her weakness, her inability to stand against Phillep. As a soldier, Macleod despised cowardice in any form. But most of all, he wanted to kill her to feel the power that Phillep felt over others. He wanted that power more than anything. But a voice of reason sounded in his mind.

 

She is losing on purpose. You cannot kill someone who has given up, it is not your way. You are Macleod, not Phillep.

 

Macleod wanted to ignore the voice, intoxicated by the power he had over Ki. But he had not yet crossed that invisible line. Macleod still had control over his emotions, control he valued above all else. Shaking Macleod forced himself to release her throat. He lashed out angrily,

 

"If you want to die, have the gets to end it yourself."

 

Macleod stood and picked up his sword. His throat was still sore, but it was starting to feel better. He turned to Phillep, waiting for the man's reaction.

[Ki Vastor]

As air was again forced into her laboured lungs, stinging with every breath, Ki's frustrations grew. Why? Why didn't he do such a simple thing as end it? Why continue her misery? Wasn't her death what they wanted? Ki coughed, her throat raw, the hand marks bruising the flesh, burning it where he'd twisted his hands about her neck. She had felt the strange sensation around her legs even as he choked her, the wounds closing up and whatever substances within the blood that had been transferred to her, what Nurgle had injected her with before, healing the cuts. It still hurt like hell, Ki not sure if she'd even be able to stand up. The rage surged through her again that he couldn't even do that one simple task of finishing her off, the emotion powerful enough to make her push herself up to a sitting position. Her eyes caught sight of the pool of blood beneath her. She couldn't even bleed to death because of whatever Phillip had done to her, though it would weaken her if she lost too much more. A weird fascination occurred when she caught sight of part of the wound as it closed before her dull brown gaze turned fiery, meeting Macleod's.

 

"Coward!"

 

Her breath was raspy, her chest heaving, new fury surging through her. Air drawing into her, filling her lungs so that she was no longer gasping for breath.

 

"You call yourself his soldier?! You couldn't even finish me off when you had me at your mercy" ... You'll pay for that...

 

The small voice sounded in her mind, pressure building inside of her, the strange feeling coursing through her legs as nanites that had transferred continued their work. Vaguely, since it had been so long since she had morbidly, purposely cut herself in front of Aisling to see the wounds closing themselves, she recalled that both Phillip and Nurgle had done something, injected both girls with something to prevent them dying through losing too much blood. The only thing Ki thought about that might have done it is if she was covered in cuts. What had Nurgle said? Make them resistant to diseases, to make them more agile? Well, too late for Macleod now, she was furious... He had his chance and he blew it. Her eyes took on an unnatural yellowish tinge as her rage began to surge, Ki having only the rudimentary skills regarding the force, and nothing she had actually learnt from Phillip. She'd learnt not much from Garou, she hadn't learnt much more when Nurgle had taught her, basically only to channel emotions into anger, power.

 

His mistake was when he turned away from her to look at Phillip, Ki now rising to her feet. Her wounds were now closed, and the pain she channelled to her anger, just as she had her fear when Nurgle had given her that one lesson ages back. She swept her hand towards him, pushing him backwards and hearing a satisfying *thwack* as he impacted with the wall. Her hands then reached, one towards her dagger in the wall, the other to the steel fire poker. The dagger was lodged into the wall, only jiggling at her call, Ki furious that it didn't obey her and return to her hand. The poker however, dragged across the floor before rising up and into her waiting grasp. She didn't hesitate, her anger making her able to ignore the pain in her legs as she advanced on him. The poker being swung with such force that it knocked the sword from his grasp.

 

Ki hesitated only slightly before she threw the poker down and grabbed the front of his uniform, her eyes glazing over with her rage. Her strength as unnatural as the colour of her eyes...

 

"You made a mistake soldier... "

 

Her voice now a hiss as her knee drove into his gut as she pulled him up the wall. She could feel the power surging through her body, still the scent of Phillip's blood in her nostrils, filled with the mingling scent of her own blood that she'd lost. Her leathers soaked with the crimson liquid. Her hands curled into fists as she hit him then, unnaturally she wondered what his blood would taste like... he'd made her lose blood... why not replenish what she'd lost... Phillip had full armor on, she couldn't replenish that way... her teeth clamping down on his exposed arm, the fangs that she'd only just discovered piercing his skin. Her actions were like someone else's, the insane need for blood... stemming from the scent of Phillip's making her actions more an impulse than conscious thought. If she'd realised what she was actually doing, she'd be horrified but right then, with the anger, the fury surging through her, the tantalizing scent in her nostrils, she wasn't herself... she didn't even know what reactions he would have to her biting him... not knowing what had been injected into her previously...

[Lieutenant Macleod]

Macleod had believed the battle to be over, he believed himself to be victorious. But the Imperial had underestimated the twisted world he now existed in. He had already begun to believe that Phillep and Ki were not entirely human. What happened next confirmed that belief. Ki had attacked him. He had believed her wounds too severe to move this fast or perhaps to move at all. And yet she still had him. She was still pounding her fists into his body.

 

It is not possible. She was barely breathing when I left her. She shouldn't even be able to speak.

 

But there was no doubt he had heard the word coward escaping her lips. It was a grievous insult to Macleod, but as his sword hit the ground and her knee slammed into his gut, he had no time to be insulted. His life was more important than Ki's harmful words. Macleod felt the wind fly out of him. He might have even heard a rib snap, he wasn't a young man. He could not take such violence as well as he used to. She had the upper hand in so many ways.

 

There is no mercy this time. No fear. I have no desire to die in battle with a monster like her.

 

But Macleod could not see a way out. She had the advantage with more Force power, more strength, and whatever the heck allowed her to heal so quickly. Macleod was just a man, she was something from a another world. These thoughts flashed through his mind as Macleod screamed in shock and pain when she suddenly bit him. Her teeth were animal-like, cutting deep into his skin.

 

She actually bit me!

 

Macleod wished he'd have killed her now. Any admiration he'd had for this creature was long since gone. Pity and shame at his previous attempt to kill her went with it. Macleod grabbed her by the hair, pulling as hard as he could. Fistfulls of it came out, and still he could not get her mouth unlatched from his arm. Blood made his green sleeved uniform appear red. Macleod was beginning to panic. He swung her around so her back was to the wall. Macleod began to push her head back repeatedly slamming it against the wall. His blood loss was severe now, and the Imperial knew he would not last much longer. His attempts were weak, not even breaking the skin of her scalp. No amount of pounding seemed to release her teeth from him, he was barely pushing her at all. Macleod fell backward nearly passing out, Ki on top of him.

 

Stay conscious. You cannot give up like before.

 

Macleod's hand reached out grasping the poker she had dropped. He would have to stab her. She had left him no other option. He brought the weapon up, burying it deep into her side. He was not sure if he had hit any vital organs, but either way she finally released him. Dizzy from the pain and blood loss, the old Colonel pushed on his wound with a grunt of agony trying to stop the bleeding. He was not even looking at Ki to see if he'd finished the job. Macleod tore off his cape wrapping it around his arm. He was lucky to have got her off before she killed him. Macleod would not make the mistake of mercy again. In a furious rage, he grabbed his sword with his good arm. Macleod stood over her and brought the weapon down toward her neck.

[Ki Vastor]

While Ki had bitten into his arm, as her sharpened teeth were only small she couldn't have done much damage with them. It was superficial but she must have gotten some part that bled profusely. If he were to look beneath his shirt, he'd see that the bite was only very shallow. That his mind had played tricks on him as to how much he had lost compared to her. She didn't like the taste of his blood but was almost powerless to let go. It came more so from having her head being smashed against the wall that kept her stubbornly hanging on, her mind blacking out from the impacts, only reflex having kept her teeth clamped. Superficial blood, nothing like when Phillip had cut her arm open to remove the implant. He'd cut an artery there. This was only surface.

 

Ki had been knocked unconscious, not even feeling the poker being rammed into her side or the breaking of most of her ribs, her lung being punctured. Pain is what brought her to the surface of those murky depths, a gurgling sound instead of a scream coming from her throat as she coughed blood. The nanites were at work already but even they couldn't heal instantly, her lung filling with blood. Her eyes fluttered open, her vision blurred, not focusing through the immense pain. He was standing over her, his sword held high, swinging at her. Some reflex, she didn't know what or how but she pushed with the force, his blade not decapitating her, though it did bite deep into her shoulder and back, lodging there, blood pouring from the wounds so she now lay slumped in a pool of her own blood.

 

Blackness was closing in again, Ki fighting against it this time, she had to do something... anything... She realised then that the poker was lodged deep inside of her body, it triggering pain as she tried to move, it was holding the hole in her lungs open to be filled with the crimson fluids. Her dagger was in the wall, her focus as scatty as it now was, concentrated on it alone, calling it with all she could muster. It jiggered for a while before coming loose this time. It flew with force, stabbing into his lower back before she passed out. She wasn't breathing properly now, every breath labored, every breath bubbling with the blood filled lung. She only had one lung that was functioning as it should, but it wasn't enough... she'd drown in her own blood. This time she didn't want to die... she found the energy to grab hold of the poker, pulling it out with effort only to have her eyes widen at the gush of blood that escaped.

 

Her gasps for breath were half air, half blood as she began to drown. A terror filled her eyes... she had hoped she would at least see Aisling have her child but now it looked like she would escape after all... into death. Phillip was just standing there, Ki could have swore he was laughing at the damage done to her. She hated him so much. Her last conscious thoughts were just how much she hated him... he had turned her cousin against her so that Ki was totally the outsider... You died the day your mother lied about you dying... you're whole life has been a lie Ki... at least it's over... The blackness won, claiming the girl that had blood pouring out of every part of her body now...

[Capt. Phillep]

"Oh to be a sadist..." it was the first words out of Phillep's mouth as he looked at the eventual carnage. It had been an amazing battle, and if the two had stopped bleeding or being on the verge of death for about a split second, they would have realized what had truly occured... and the nature of his bastardized exercise.

 

Phillep's own force signature ebbed with the dark and bloody chaos that erupted between the two... pawns. It was a cold and cruel existence.

 

Standing from his seat, he walked over, a warm smile hidden beneath the greenish-aqua layer of living armor, "Welcome to the nature of the Sith."

 

His hands became exposed, one slicing open his palm to allow the trickle of blood to escape and another to produce the wound... "You will both survive, but you both took a new step in the nature of the Dark Side."

 

The small trickle from the gash, he allowed to fall into Ki's parched and open lips, slowly offering the vital regenerative fluid. Removing the poker and placing a new device about her neck, it was a new collar for his pet. Similar in material to his own armor, with a similar color pattern... it had a different purpose, a binding purpose. As if she was not already bound to him... but she would live and she would serve.

 

As the process quickly came to an end and he left her body to fall upon the floor, rebuilding itself, his gaze settled on Macleod, "You have done well, you have learned something and you showed control. Control is important... and we all exercise it, we have our needs for it and our methods, of course. But restraint is what we must never accept. If you are wishing to perform an act, you finish that act. Kill or be killed."

 

A relatively smile escaped his slowly exposing face, "However, I am glad you did not kill her... although she wishes she were dead. It was the nature of the exercise, to test your ability to follow an order under the most dire of circumstances. You didn't kill her... that was good. You weren't supposed to."

 

Phillep looked at Macleod, "There is a gift I have given them, this... transformation, through the Master of my former Master, that I came upon this power. It is dilute as it passes on... weakening amidst my students. Of which there are three. I offer this... disease to you, or an alternative. The alternative, adapted from the work of Geki and Sanity's End... the nanotechnological bio-enhancements. Powerful cellular regenerative capabilities... at least to allow minor wounds to heal during battle. It will assist you... prevent you from succumbing to something as frail as death."

[Ki Vastor]

Pain, intense pain... Her body screamed from it, a gurgling... choking sound, aware of being lifted slightly, of the full removal of the foreign object that had penetrated her lung, broken her ribs, as well as the removal of the sword that had bit deeply into her shoulder and had lodged itself there having missed slicing through her neck. She'd only been able to pull the poker far enough so that the hole would close before she had succumb to unconsciousness. As if not enough blood already escaped from her mouth, more was dripped into it as she was held at a different angle. The nanines and disease allowing for the slow draining the crimson fluids that had filled one of her lungs, as well as Ki having blood in her windpipe that needed to be cleared. Somehow she swallowed what had been dripped into her mouth, though ending in a coughing fit. Each hacking cough racking her body with even more agony, each cough bringing up blood from her lung, her whole body going the black and purple colour of bruising, literally head to toe...

 

Something constricting closed about her neck before the sensation left her, another anguished cry of pain escaping her lips as she was dropped back into the pool of blood on the floor, not a part of her not covered in the sticky crimson substance, her leathers soaked through...

[Lieutenant Macleod]

Macleod pulled the dagger from his bleeding back with a scream of pain. The wound was serious, it was potentially fatal. He realized now the full scope of Phillep's control. This was a choice between the two offers, he had to choose one. If he did not, Phillep would probably permit him to die from his wound or kill him personally. Macleod lost all illusion that becoming Phillep's apprentice was a smart decision. The Sith controlled his life now. Macleod used his sword to support his body, gazing on the vile creature before him. He made a silent vow. Even Phillep's Force power could not tell what that vow was. Macleod's deep rage kept this one thing hidden from Phillep through a mental barrier. The man spoke, his breathing shallow,

 

"I think you know I must choose the second. You didn't honestly expect me to wind up one of your pets did you? I'm sure the nanotech has its own set of unpleasant side affects, but nothing can be as bad as what you did to her. I won't become a dog."

 

The old man had walked down a path he could not turn from. It seemed a part of him had died on this battlefield. The part that believed he had any measure of control over his own destiny now. But still he was able to cling onto his vow, that one last hope that Phillep's penetrating gaze could not see.

[Capt. Phillep]

Phillep nodded, "As you wish, Colonel. I don't think you'd work as one of my... dogs, anyway."

 

Phillep's eyes crinkled, the sort of sickening warmth that the man adopted, easily hiding his otherworldly perverse nature... disconcerting to the few that knew the kind of man Phillep was, and a blessing for the sick and twisted manipulator to those who did not.

 

A pair of officers and a medical tech appeared outside the door, the barriers falling to allow the three men inside, "Gentlemen, take Colonel Macleod to the Medical Station, I trust you shall treat the old war-dog well. Send another Medical technician to aid her... actually, find me the Royal Family's doctor, if he isn't dead yet."

 

Phillep offered Macleod once last command, "You will find the nanites relatively painless after incision..."

[Ki Vastor]

Ki groaned, her body still awash with pain. The whole in her lung had been knitted closed, the blood drained out of it. She shivered, regaining consciousness to find herself still on the floor, surrounded by her own blood. Her shoulder felt like it was burning, the cut from the sword had been so deep. Likewise of her side where the poker had been driven in to her. She tried to move only to scream in pain as her broken ribs made their condition known.

 

Ki panted for breath against the pain before the blackness claimed her again.

 

One of the technician's went ahead to find the Royal Doctor, telling him to get his medical kit, that Lady Ki was in a bad way. He grabbed his bag, heading straight for the room in which they said she was in, having one of his assistants come with him. They passed the others in the hallway, the doctor taking note of the other's injuries.

 

Arriving in the room he spared a moment to glance at Phillip before moving to Ki's side to assess her injuries, careful not to slip on the pool of blood. He ran a scanner over her, checking her pulse in her neck and vitals, noticing the collar that now surrounded her neck. He got his assistant to help him lift her onto the table, noticing the wound that was slowly closing up on her side as well as the long wound on her shoulder. The shoulder wound while deep hadn't done anything to her vitals, the scanner having told him that she still had a small puncture to her lung. He had seen wounds close up with her before, knowing that something had been done to make her heal.

 

He and his assistant carefully removed her blood soaked clothing, the doctor covering her with the spare gown from his bag. Through the wound in her side, he used one of his tools to realign her broken ribs, having heard from the other technician about the nanites the other was to have, and figuring that she'd had the same treatment. A scan of her body indicated the nanites, though what he wouldn't have known was the way they had been transfered.

 

 

He fixed her injuries to a point where the nanites would take over, having given her pain relief as well. He turned to Phillip,

 

"It will take time for her injuries to heal, though they should in the next several hours. She will need to be carefully bathed by her personal servants and her wounds dressed again after she has been cleansed. She should wake soon."

 

 

Ki groaned again, this time aware that she had been moved, also that the pain had dulled. She had no idea where she was, her eyes fluttering open to see the doctor standing over her. Once her vision had cleared, she saw him give a slight shake of his head, his eyes telling her that he hadn't been game to bring that item with him.

[Lieutenant Macleod]

Macleod felt dizzy from the loss of blood and barely heard Phillep's words. He allowed the medical technicians to hold him up and sheath his sword for him. They seemed unphased by the bloody scene before them. It was not the pain the Colonel was concerned about anyway. He did not want to become a slave of Phillep.

[Aisling FarDarrig]

Aisling did as Phillep suggested and sat and rested for a while”¦ she was feeling invigorated, and after a bit, got restless”¦ it had been so long since she had seen Phillep, and she didn't want to wait while he tried to deal with her spoiled cousin”¦ ”œJust like Ki to throw a tantrum to get her own way”¦ she really needs to get into line.”

[Capt. Phillep]

Phillep smirked, "She comes to see us."

 

Phillep's hands made a gesture to move the two bodies to the appropriate Medical Bays and to clean the room.

 

He stepped out to catch Aisling in her rage-storm, "Yes, mi'Lady?" His smile was its deceptive, debonair smile...

[Ki Vastor]

At Phillip's voice Ki cringed away. Ki knew who she was and didn't want to see her either. As far as Ki was concerned, Aisling was just as bad as Phillip now. As the doctor and his assistant carefully lifted Ki from the table, onto a stretcher, she let out another scream of pain as the wound opened up again under her shoulder, blood leaking onto the stretcher. Her ribs were causing agony to her everytime she was moved. Her leathers and boots, or what remained of them were placed at her feet on the stretcher, all blood soaked as the blood also seeped through gown that covered her.

 

Ki was carried out past Aisling and Phillip, Ki turning her head away from them, a mix of pain from her injuries and disgust at both of them showing on her face. She wouldn't care if she never saw them again. She could feel Aisling's anger and just didn't care any longer. That Phillip had manipulated Ki's life as he had so that she needed his blood to survive haunted her.

 

"Get me out of here doc, get me away from them"

 

Her voice was rough from having been choking on blood, from being choked. Her body, or what was showing from under the gown was already black and blue from bruising. Ki didn't even look like the same woman that Aisling had seen just prior in the other room. All Ki wanted was to be as far away from them as she could be. As they went further down the corridor away from them, Ki again croaked out an order,

 

"Take me to my room. Not the medical center. I don't want to be where he expects me to be."

 

Her defiance was still there, and besides... if her body was healing on it's own she'd heal in the comfort of her own room rather than the medical center. The doctor glanced back towards where Phillip and Aisling still stood down the corridor, half torn to follow the orders he'd been given by Phillip. Ki saw the look and yelled through her pain,

 

"You'll take me to my room. I don't care what he told you"

 

The effort left her gasping, though the doctor did obey and instead of turning towards the medical wing, he and the assistant turned towards the living quarters, taking Ki to her room.

 

Once there, he injected her with another painkiller and let her maids take control. Tressa's disturbed look was schooled quickly as she and the other girl Ki had saved, along with some of the others that Tressa now called in quickly moved to help Ki. She was taken, still on the stretcher to where they ran a bath, the women made the doctor and his assistant wait out in the other room while they carefully lifted and lowered Ki into the bath. The water turned crimson, and when they would have drained it to refill it, Ki stopped them. It would be of no use right then, not with her still bleeding out of her wounds.

 

She rested her head back against the support they placed in there for her head so she wouldn't slip under the water, wincing as they carefully began to wash her multiple wounds. They knew better than to ask where all the injuries had come from, but Tressa did speak up,

 

"What is around your neck Mi'Lady?"

 

At Ki's puzzled look they brought a mirror to her. She took in all the bruising and hand marks around her neck where Macleod had tried to choke her, the hand mark where Aisling had slapped her face and then her eyes took in the sight of the collar. She saw how it was the same colour as Phillip's armour, her hands, though ever painful, raised up to try and get it off. She'd throw it away. Her right arm came up easier than the left, because of the shoulder wound. Fresh blood spilling to the water as she raised her arm. The mirror was held where she could see what she was doing as her hands began to turn the collar around looking for the catch. She couldn't find it. Her hands moved desperately around the collar again, trying to remove it. It wouldn't pull away from her neck and she couldn't find how to undo it. She let out another yell of both frustration and pain as she wretched her shoulder, blacking out from the pain...

[Aisling FarDarrig]

Aisling stopped at Phillep stepped in front of her to belay her forward motion... Her Hapian defiance was over powering his little trinkets as her rage had taken over... "What is going on here...???? What happened in here?" she asked as she looked into the room beyond Phillep...

 

Her face was red with anger, every muscle in her body was tense as she stood there facing him... Forgotten was the child she was carrying for the moment...

[Capt. Phillep]

Phillep's eyes stared down the very angry Aisling, "Training."

 

His tone was considerably cold, a bit bothered by her impulses, the feminine defiance picking away at his concentration. "She and the Colonel are undergoing training. That is all that went on in that room. Nothing more."

 

Phillep's jaw set squarely, "Is there something you need?"

[Aisling FarDarrig]

Aisling looked at him just as coldly... "that is not what I saw on the monitor to this room... she was kissing you and had her body wrapped around you... and what do you mean training... the two of them look like they are dieing... is that how you train people.. kill them???? "

 

She watched Ki as the medics passed her, and shook her head... "Although, after kissing you, she probably got a better beating then I would have given her... "

[Capt. Phillep]

"She wasn't kissing me. I was helping her regain her strength, like you she needs me to survive. As for the Training, it is a way to teach them to harness their inner strength. The beating is not permanent, both shall heal faster than they imagine."

 

He paused, "It is a part of them learning to become stronger than their bodies limit them."

[Ki Vastor]

Ki regained consciousness, still in the tub though they had drained the water during the time she had blacked out so she wouldn't become too 'wrinkled' from the soaking. They now filled it again, the water becoming crimson all too soon, though her wounds were slowly closing. Her body was very tender, very sore. Ki was still very weak, feeling every injury she had sustained.

 

Tressa and Lashana carefully brought her upper body forward, careful when she winced over her injured ribs, draping wash cloths over her private parts so that she was partially decent when the doctor came in. He requested the tub drained again in preparation for the bacta that would be brought. Her ribs were knitting together, the doctor sending his assistant to get the bacta brought up so she could soak in that within the tub since she refused to go to the medical center and be placed into the tank. He also requested the female assistant return to assist Ki.

 

"I can also bring that other up next time I come to check on you Lady Ki. I dare not right now, not with your injuries as they are. You need to heal first."

 

Ki nodded as he moved to check out the wound on her shoulder while she was leaning forward. She knew that he would have to be careful to bring the item to her at a time when it wouldn't be suspected, nor that her intentions had been. He injected her with another pain medication before he examined her further.

 

"It is closing nicely, though you will need to soak in the bacta for a while before you will come right."

 

They leant her back, Ki again wincing in pain as they did. The doctor looked over her bruised rib area, also noting that the puncture wound had almost closed up now. The female assistant arrived, followed by the other assistant bringing the bacta supply barrels on a hover lift. Between them, they poured the bacta into the tub, having heated it so that Ki wouldn't catch a chill from it being cold. The last thing she needed to do was to tense up now when she needed to heal. Once she was again immersed, they removed the barrells to go and refill them with fresh bacta for next time. She would need to soak several more hours and another soaking before she would be right to be removed from the green fluids that were now being tainted with crimson.

 

When all but Tressa and Lashana had gone, the doctor promising to come back and check on her in a few hours, the two girls brought chairs up to either side of the tub to keep Ki company. No one had even attempted to touch the 'thing' around her neck, Ki the only one to attempt to remove it before. She would wait until she regained more strength before trying to remove it again.

 

Tressa sent for some foods that would be gentle on Ki's stomach and a nutrient drink while Lashana fussed as she looked at Ki's leathers. She felt she could have her boots repaired, though she would order a new set for Ki, complete with internal dagger sheathes as she took note of the old boots that had been damaged. She headed out to see if she could get some more leathers for Ki. Once Tressa and Ki were alone, after the food had been delivered, Tressa held the glass up to Ki's lips, the injured girl feeling very lethargic from the ordeal, from healing and from the pain medication she'd been injected with. She had a sip and rested her head back, letting the green liquids heal her body.