038 - Week 3 Day 5: Long Words

The shuttle had rapidly ascended up from the planet’s surface and flew in approach to the large capital ship hovering over one side of Ryloth. Out of habit, Lea’s eyes sought out the discrepancies that separated the Hâsk from most other Terminus-class destroyers. Most would never have noticed them, but she knew exactly what to look for as she gazed over the shoulders of the shuttle’s pilot. After all, it was one of her master’s own vessels. In the back she heard her apprentice muttering about something, but chose not to investigate. No doubt he was trying to deal with his droid or the experiences with Warrior Kohnarik’s Jedi prisoner. Whatever it was, she sensed that it would not help to interfere right now.

Instead she took in the sight. The ship itself was magnificent, but so too were the seven Mk VI supremacy fighters currently surrounding it. That was but a small fraction of the complement it carried, but that did not make them less impressive. The pilot transmitted the clearance codes and was quickly given directions for where to land.

The moment she felt the tell-tale shuddering and thudding sound of the ship landing in the hangar bay, she spun around and strode back towards the shuttle’s exit ramp. “Come, Xid.” she stated, knowing that when he obeyed, so too would the two droids. Her master had summoned her and it would not do to make a Darth wait unnecessarily. A part of her desired to change her robes for a better set, but she knew Darth Nyiss would not consider vanity an acceptable delay so she threw that desire away for now.

“I would appreciate it if you joined me Xid, but I will not force you to do so. You need to overcome your fear of my master.”

Originally Xid had considered repairing the damage that Jaslyn did on the hutt base, but his plans changed. He had begun to develop a distinct hatred for Huttese. It added to his frustration building in his core causing his temper to reach critical mass quicker than normal. His master noticed then insisted he followed her up to the ship rather than stay below. It indicated her worry or a sense of distraction, but he didn’t dare reflect too deeply on this moment.  

At Lea’s statement, he sighed. Despite the option being presented as a choice, he didn’t believe it was. She would make him face his fear of her master down the path they rode.

“Let’s get this over with then. I still need to struggle with the hutt systems taken down earlier and that will be an all day affair.” Like a well trained apprentice, he stepped in behind her.

The corners of Lea’s mouth lifted in a slight smile. Her apprentice might be reluctant and at times foolish and disobedient, but he knew enough to accept the inevitable. Besides, it would do him good to face Nyiss again, no matter how undelighted he was at the prospect.

She led the way to the Hâsk’s primary secure communications chamber, her apprentice and both their droids following at her heels. That is, Xid and Kintik doing that, while Navi just as much crawled across the ceiling above the three of them. As was only natural with this being her master’s ship, she recognized more than a few members of its crew, having indirectly dealt with them in the past. Most she did not acknowledge, even if she noted their presence, but she did subtly acknowledge the few who had stood out in the past. It was a fine balance to tread, the path between giving non-Sith too much and too little attention, but her master had ensured that she knew how to navigate it quite well.

Once at the chamber, she eyed at the two droids. “Navi, Kintik?”

While her droid acknowledged her immediately, it took a moment for Navi to do so.

“You will not record this meeting. You will allocate all records of it to your temporary processing cores only. When the meeting is over, you will purge all records of what transpired.”

Kintik chirped out an acknowledgement, followed a few seconds later by a far less enthusiastic response from Navi, which was again followed by numerous statements that were rather impolite in Lea's mind.

At Navi’s language, Xid shot him an icy blue glare and the droid clicked in disgruntled silence. His head turned to Lea with a subtle, apologetic look. The earlier tension faded into something warmer before it vanished back underneath his sober mask. Exposing too much emotional affection put them both at risk within the Sith world even among the non-force users. Information of weakness for any Sith was a dangerous thing, especially for them.  

The chamber itself, compared to most other areas on the Hâsk, was rather small. Hexagonal in shape, maybe seven meters across. Lea led her apprentice and the two droids inside, then telekinetically activated the door controls, sealing them inside. That, she knew, also activated the room's snooping countermeasures.

Other than the door controls and a single console to control the communications array, the room was fairly spartan. There was a crimson carpet leading up to a raised dais with the holographic projector upon it. Everything else was concealed within the walls, floor and ceiling.

After entering the appropriate access code and verifying it with her biometrics, Lea moved to right before the dais. Less than a minute later the holoprojector powered up and she knelt before it as her master's visage appeared floating before the two Sith.

Xid recounted the number of years since he faced Nyiss in person, the anxiety filled his core and flooded his systems. He took a deep breath to expel it in a small amount before the Darth’s image flickered on the pale red display. Naturally he found a place beside the droids in the background. The fact Lea was the center of attention brought him some relief, but not nearly enough as avoiding the whole situation. As if sensing this, Navi pressed its metal body into his shin causing Xid to glance down. A small smirk crossed his lips then vanished when Nyiss’ image appeared over the red display.

Immediately he kneeled onto one knee to show submission to Lea’s master and respect.  

“What is thy bidding, my master?” she said respectfully, even as her face displayed a slight smirk as she gazed up at the enlarged image of her master. It was rather fascinating to her just how physically similar she had become to her master.

“Lea. Get up.” Nyiss stated firmly. “While displays of deference are charming in public, your mockery of it in private is not.”

Rising to her feet again, Lea couldn’t help but chuckle a little. She enjoyed poking her master like this, while well outside her immediate reach. The fact that it might help her apprentice see that Nyiss was not always dangerous was also factored into her choice. Some would say such behavior is dangerous, but Lea knew her master. “Why did you summon me, master?”

“I have sensed considerable turmoil from you in the Force, apprentice. I would have your report directly.”

Glancing over her shoulder, she noted Xid was still kneeling. She gestured for him to rise, then answered her master. "Evidence implies there is an unusual number of Jedi here. Too many to be reasonable for such a remote location for the Jedi. It would have been helpful if you had informed me of how some of them had ties to my apprentice's past."

“Yes. It would have been easier.” Nyiss answered, her rich contralto voice displaying no hints of remorse or regret.

Lea shook her head. She had not even for a moment expected her master to react in any other manner. "One Jedi in particular proved noteworthy so far, a padawan named Jaslyn Dayne. Unfortunately another apprentice, a warrior by the name of Caxal Kohnarik, has laid claim to her."

A slight tension washed over Xid when Lea mentioned Warrior Kohnarik’s claim, but he quickly reined it back in.

Lea ignored the reaction she sensed from her apprentice, then added one more piece. "He had captured that padawan and seemingly plans to train her. I cannot say I understand his methods, seeing how he let her out to roam freely, setting up demolition charges within the compound loaned from the hutts." After that, she waited for her master's response.

"You did not arrange for her death?" Nyiss queried.

At those words, Xid immediately stilled and froze into place. Every joint appeared to forget how to function as he stared into the far wall. As much as he wanted to speak his concern, silence was best right now. Drawing Nyiss’ attention was the last thing he wanted.

"I spoke with him prior to that event. It was glaringly obvious from what he said then that his reaction to her sudden death would have proven… problematic. Apparently his master had sent him to Ryloth just for her. Something about getting her 'sound of mind and body.' whatever that means."

Pausing for a moment, Lea looked at her master. “What would you have me do?”

“Were any of your or Apprentice Nimm’s assets damaged by this?”

Lea shook her head. “No, master.”

“Then do nothing. This is undoubtedly a game set up by Darth Enpice or his apprentice. Since neither you nor Nimm were directly disadvantaged, there is no need to get involved.”

“As you wish, master.”

“What else have you to report? I sense there is more you have to say, apprentice.”

Lea looked over at Xid. "Tell her about the planet. She needs to know."

Xid’s lips pursed for a dangerous moment. It was obvious he didn’t want to fight in front of the Darth or reveal information about the planet. A secret held as long as this was difficult to share to anyone he didn’t fully trust.

“I don’t think it would benefit her much until there is a location to go with it.” He cautiously stated, bracing for the reply to come.

"Xid…” Lea stated warningly, her eyes glowering.

He considered holding his ground, but Lea’s look made it clear he would face the repercussions for his foolishness. Navi looked from her to him, its gear clicking to figure out how to resolve the issue. Xid’s posture crumbled into submission as his eyes turned away.

“I know of a Republic planet called Belsavis.” He purposely kept it to the minimal description, not fully yielding to his master’s wishes. At this point, he regretted telling her anything and wished he kept silent.  

Darth Nyiss’ face revealed no reaction, but surprisingly Lea got the sense that it was not known to her master.

"Go on…" the Darth instructed.

“The Republic is using an old structure as a prison, holding various… things from war prisoners to experiments.” At this point, he struggled a bit when it came to describing the place in question.

"This world is . . . unfamiliar." Nyiss said after a moment. "However, I sense it may have greater value than you know, Apprentice Terrik. You should not fear sharing such with me or your master."

“As I told my Master, some memories should be left buried.” Xid didn’t know what possessed him to be so forward with his next statement, but when the words slipped… he couldn’t take them back.

"And some memories are uncomfortable, making you want to bury them. You are young. In time you will learn to distinguish the difference between the two."

"There are certain assets the republic military have taken from the empire. Most believe them destroyed, but the fact that they have a secret prison world no one in the empire even knows of makes me suspect that might not be the case. I ask that you work on recalling more about this mysterious world. In particular, it's location. In turn, I will determine how best to utilize the knowledge."

I already know more than I want to, Xid bitterly thought and sealed it behind clenched teeth. “I was not allowed the information of its location.”

Lea observed silently as her apprentice and master interacted.

"Of course you were not provided its coordinates. However, that does not mean you do not know enough to identify that. Did they keep you from knowing how long the journey from Coruscant was, from seeing the night sky?"

“Master,” Xid continued, “It took a month, but I doubt it was a direct route. We weren’t allowed off the starship at every single stop as requested by the Republic. Master Sela followed this rule very strictly.”  

"Republic High Command is many things, but fools is not one of those things. Only a fool would take a direct route to a secret world if there is any alternative. However, a month of travel does give an idea about how far out it is from the galactic core. There is a fine balance between diversionary delays and wasted time."

“As for the comment about the sky, I rarely saw it. The few times I did, it was fleeting and I was too distracted to pay much attention.” He didn’t mention he was recovering from wounds during an incident.

"Think about what it was like. Were the stars densely packed? Were there any moons or other planets in sight? Was there a single sun or more than one? What color was the sun? Ask yourself such questions and you might be surprised by how much more you picked up than you thought."

“It’s difficult to know if an artificial environment is actually accurate without a real life representation and considering the race that created the prison… I’m more confident in saying it was tuned to their preference and not the world’s.”

For a moment, Nyiss was silent. "It was Rakatan, was it not?"

Xid stiffened then narrowed his eyes onto the Red Pureblood. “Yes.”

"You might be surprised, but that narrows it down somewhat. Much about them is lost, but there are many regions of the galaxy they never visited." Nyiss turned her gaze back to Lea. "I will send you a map of their known and suspected territory, Lea. When the time comes to depart Ryloth, you will study that and whatever star charts you can get hold of. Let the Force guide you together and you might uncover more than is consciously known."

“...” Xid simply accepted this unwanted turn of events. Nothing he could say would change the Darth’s decision or erase the fact he exposed a past he wanted to keep buried. A slight rage began to brew, but he merely remained in place until he was dismissed.

"You have done well, apprentice Lea and apprentice Terrik." Nyiss' gaze shifted back to Lea. "Is there anything more you wish to tell me?"

"Not at the present." Lea did want to acquire some extra trainers for Xid, but she could not exactly ask about that in front of him. He would be far too likely to protest the necessity of it right now.

"Good. Return to the planet surface. I still have a need for the two of you down there."

"As you wish, master." Lea answered. Nyiss' visage disappeared a moment later, terminated from her end. Lea turned to look at her apprentice, sensing he had something to say.

Xid let the silence spread throughout the room. His eyes focused on his master, a sense of betrayal and anger shimmered underneath the surface. Folly was a sour injection to endure as he turned on his heel toward the exit. His hand rose causing his force to activate the opening trigger, allowing him to exit. Nothing he said mattered, but he would take the lesson and learn from it.

Lea wouldn’t argue with him in public, but would instead talk it out with him on the journey down to the planet. She had known well he wouldn’t want anything shared . . . but then, it felt like he didn’t really want to know about it himself. The choice had rested between informing her master behind his back to letting him do it himself. Sure, they could have tried to keep it from Nyiss, but what was the point? How would that benefit either of them? Knowledge of that type would be hard to utilize without the proper connections. Unlike them, Nyiss actually had that.

Rather than seek out a shuttle down to the planet, Lea instead sought out their shared ship. On approaching it she was a bit surprised to sense him already having boarded it. She made her way on board, but did not immediately approach him. When he did not cool down after a bit, she slowly moved towards his small workshop.

Xid had begun to work on one of his numerous projects. His back was turned away from Lea as he heard her enter. She wanted to talk in the privacy of the ship and force the conversation.

“I could have informed her behind your back, but I did not. Had this only concerned you, I would have had no need to tell my master anything, but this does not only concern you, this concerns the Empire as well.”

"And you did not have to tell her now." Xid lacked any defining emotion as he replied, the evenness the defining indicator of his anger.

“Yes I did. We need to find that place and deal with it. Permanently.” Lea slowly entered the starboard engine room, leaning against the wall. “I let you decide exactly how much to tell her. Like I suspected you would, you did not inform her of the personal issues you have with the planet. Nyiss doesn’t need to know about them.”

"I did not hide well either. The Darth is not a fool and at this point, I rather you had strapped me to a table and tortured me than do that." Xid bluntly countered.

“Of course she suspects. However, you might have noted she did not push. Why, you might ask. The answer is simple: she doesn’t need to know the minutiae. She trusts that you and I will handle those ourselves when the time comes.”

"I doubt it was out of kindness and likely she will take over when it suits her."

“If it suits her.” Lea countered. “Kindness is not a signature trait of my master, but neither is unnecessary cruelty. That she leaves to other, less cultured individuals.”

"Considering some of the experiments have strong similarities with Sithspawn… it is less if and more when." Xid checked the circuits out of instinct rather than conscious thought.

"Even if the methods are outdated, you can not say she would not be interested in anything remotely in her fields of expertise. Knowledge is power after all."

“Of course she desires knowledge about her favored fields. Can you say that you would not want to know more should you find something of a more mechanical inclination? Say, a rakatan starship?”

"No, but I also learned that place is better off dismantled than explored. A choice I am willing to make rather than feed my curiosity."  

“That is the nice thing about being Sith… We can take what we need and want from it and we can destroy the rest. Even discounting the fact that the republic currently controls that world, they would not let us do that.”

"And if Nyiss or someone higher wants it left untouched for their uses?" He let the question hang there.

Lea smirked. “Accidents can happen in the process of liberating it from the Republic.”

Xid did not appear satisfied with her answer or her casual attitude, but simply leaned into his seat. His eyes didn't even drift to her direction at this point.

“If I tell my master something is better off destroyed and have reasons she can understand, then I think she will accept it. At least so long as we provide her with something else that is useful.”

"What if we can't?"

“If we can’t, then we have gone about it in a very poor manner. Nyiss is not the type of Sith that micromanages and questions everything her apprentices engages in. So long as she gains something from the whole business, she won’t be overly concerned about what we do in the process.”

Xid saw nothing more to add to the conversation that would benefit it. His eyes scanned the darkness of space while he fell into silence. In time, he would figure out things and proceed from there.

“Other Sith are of limited concern. Once we convince Nyiss, they will have to go through her. That is part of why I even considered involving her. She knows how to use it without letting anyone who is untrustworthy know something undesirable.”

"Yes." Xid kept his answers short now.

“I will let you tinker a bit for now. You have earned it and I have some things of my own I want to deal with. We shall take the ship back down to Ryloth in the morning. I trust you will join me later for the evening meal?”

"If I said yes, it might be a lie. I learned a lesson and I intend not to make the same mistake again." Xid continued to focus on his project.  

“I will make it worth your while.” Lea answered, having expected a response along those lines from him. She didn’t need to use a suggestive tone of speech. She knew very well that he would get the idea.

Xid twisted about in his chair as he faced her, his expression softened just slightly. As fun as her offer sounded, he knew it would only ignore the fact she broke his trust not just once but twice now. She was lucky his loyalty ran deep or any apprentice would've sought to remove themselves quickly.

"Lea… please, I just need time alone. I doubt your offer is going to make this better."

“Your doubts are noted, my dear. I will leave you alone for now.” Lea knew he would calm down in time, and she had a few other tricks up her sleeve that would get him to come out when the time for the evening meal came.