Chapter 4: All Alone

Lo stirred. Her figure pushed upright as she fought against a faint headache. The pain threatened to burst out the back of her skull, mental note to treat it using payne root. With the passing moments, the haze began to clear enough for her to recall the attack. Her hand jerked for her lightsaber only to find it gone. She looked at her waist and confirmed it, realizing it had to been taken so she didn’t cut her way out. A long annoyed sigh escaped her muzzle. She head panned the detention cell.

Barely furnished at all, she noted the cell only housed a bed and open water closet. The basic needs for indefinite stays as long as the meals were provided. Lo rubbed her chin side when her skin crawled and tingled a little. She inhaled again and began to rise from the bed, aiming to explore the cell more thoroughly.

Zygerrian slave keeper, Silus Linaki, stood in front of Dominik as the man was being suspended, held in a containment field along one wall of the main control room. There were windows across from Dominik, but all he could see was the horizon of the land, which only meant they must have been very high up. His thoughts were interrupted when another stream of electricity was forced through his body; his wrists held by metal cuffs that generated electricity, along with the blue energy field that seemed to flow around him like ribbon.

“Eyes on me, Master Jedi.” Silus said, a remote control in his hand letting the slaver activate the containment unit from afar. Silus walked over towards Dominik from a wall of screens and holovids, security cameras feeding a constant eye to the men in the room. “Why did the Republic send you here?” he demanded an answer, to which Dominik took his time to give. Silus activated the field a moment later in annoyance at Dominik's lack of response. The Jedi took deep breaths, attempting to reign in control over the shock the electric currents brough him.

“The Republic didn’t send us, the Council did.” He replied bluntly.

The Zygerrian keeper frowned in annoyance, “But why did they send you here?” Silus restated, to which Dominik raised his head to meet the Zygerrians as he stood directly in his front. “Because the Council does as they please.”

Silus face started to contort in anger at Dominik’s avoidance in answering his questions with something more than a blanket answer. One finger moved on the remote and Dominik was met with another vicious current of electricity, causing the man to hiss in pain.

“If you won’t talk, maybe your little Padawan will. Bring the other one here!” Silus demanded, turning to two guards in the room who quickly turns and left to retrieve what he wanted.

Back towards the containment cells, Zygerrian guards kept watch over all of the prisoners, many of them taking turns pacing up and down the hallways to ensure none were misbehaving.

“Keeper Silus is not very pleased.” One of the men said, glancing at the cells as he walked by them, another Zygerrian male at his side.

“Why? Because the Jedi are here?” the other asked.

“Not just that, but they disrupted the ambush last night, a lot of the men were injured.”

Lo’s ears pressed to the cell door when she heard muffled voices speak. Her hands braced herself against the metal and rapidly considered an idea. A half-planned, dangerous one, but worth a try.

She stepped back then loudly spoke to the slot in the door. “What type of injuries? How severe? Did you check for internal ones too? How many were hurt exactly? Did you use payne root in tea or create a balm from some of the local plants? Are their pupils large or can they follow a light pretty well?”

The two men stopped suddenly as the barrage of questions came from the Jedi’s cell. Both looked at each other, slightly confused, before turning to face the door as the questions just kept coming.

“And what do you know about any of that, Jedi?” one of them asked, walking closer to the door, his arms crossed.

Lo caught his steps getting closer. She leaned back and kept her head tilted upward, straining her neck to ensure her voice could be heard. Her voice took on a false strength to it as she spoke.

“I was raised in a temple that specializes in healing. If you don’t believe me, I can heal a small wound to prove it.”  

The two Zygerrians looked at each other, both obviously asking the same question to themselves even if they didn't speak. Their comrades were hurt, and quick and easy aid wasn't an option on Ryloth.

"Fine," one of them said, his hands moving to the door, his blaster held at the ready, "but no funny business Jedi."

“I don’t have my lightsaber to block your blasters if you decide to shoot me…” Lo stated the obvious.

"You still have that freaky magic you call 'the Force'." The other said, mockingly.

“... Do you want me to heal your friends or not?” The Bothan puffed a bit, her arms crossed over her chest.

He held his blaster at the ready as his comrade opened the door, one of his clawed hands grabbing Lo's shoulder before they started to lead her down the hallway. The second Zygerrian made sure his blaster was trained directly on Lo as they led her through the hallways.

It took only a few minutes, but the two Zygerrians turned down another hallway and into a large room. It had rounded ceilings, the arch minimal as support beams led from the floor to the center of the room. There were large bay windows along one side that allowed the occupants to gaze out at Ryloth's horizon. It was midday, as the sun was centered and high over Ryloth.

Many beds lay in rows around the room, a good majority of them empty, but the rest filled with Zygerrians whose injuries ranged from simple cuts and bruises to broken bones and worse. It was obvious the Twi'lek people were putting up a fight, and not just in the fight Sar and Dom had tried to lead.

Lo paused when she entered the room, her connection with her master stirring her worry. Her head looked back toward the door as if to guess the cause.

"This way, girl." One of the men growled.

Lo jumped and nodded, understanding his orders. She was led over to beds near the back of the room, a few Zygerrian men and women hovering over the patient's that lay on them. Most had their wounds wrapped, on their arms, legs or head. One of the men struggled against the novice Zygerrian healers who were trying to wrap his broken arm. Lo’s lips puckered in disapproval as she rolled up her rode sleeves and stepped closer.

“You’re going to set it wrong then you will have to rebreak it and let mend again. Let me show you.” Her hand rose up and gently held the patient’s wounded arm in the air. As she did, her attention looked at the mangled mess of bandages and sighed. She gently lowered the limb onto the bed then handed the most tangled parts to the novices.

“Focus on untangling those and laying them out straight. I need the splints ready and try to find some payne root for the pain. It needs to be ground up and boiled into a tea, then he needs to drink. It will be bitter, but it helps.”

Her attention looked to the uncooperative patient next with a toothy, friendly grin. “Now, try to stay still. I don’t want to have to make you.”

The injured Zygerrian scowled at Lo, the idea of a Jedi healing him making the man hesitate at listening. The novices however were reluctantly following Lo's instructions. The injured man, seeing his comrades listen, said nothing to Lo but remained still to allow her to do what was needed.

“Thank you.” Lo’s expression softened from her meek attempt to be firm.

Lo's attention shifted briefly onto the wounded. She instructed and directed with a softer tone than before. Her eyes darted around the room in search for medical supplies or bandages. every time a novice began to help, she insisted she retrieve them herself or occupied them.

Despite her attention being scattered, she collected information over the room's layout. Only one exit and it through the two guards. With only one door, her options to escape were limited.

In the quiet peace that was Lo tending to the man, through the entrance came two more guards.

"There she is, the little runt." One of them growled while the other followed.

"How did she get here?" The second asked, looking to the two Zygerrians who had escorted Lo before.

"She said she could help us heal our wounded. Plus she's just a little Jedi, she can't do no harm!" One of them said in an attempt to justify their actions.

Lo's ears caught the argument starting causing her to glance in their direction. She had been wrapping a leg as she sensed the others attention drawn to the tension's source. Finishing half-way, she began to slink to the door in the disguise of obtaining more herbs. Already the fight began to escalate leaving the exit wide open. Lo inhaled then rushed for it.

One of the guards spotted her movements and raised his blaster, firing off a shot. It breezed by her as it landed into the table. The supplies toppled to the ground as everyone scrambled into action.

Lo just kept running. Her breath heavy and paced while she searched for another corridor to slip into. As she drew close to the next path, her senses caught incoming danger. With a burst of adrenaline, she ducked down the corridor narrowly missing three shots. She yelped in surprise as she kept going. Her peripheral caught them on her heels causing her to turn into another hallway.

A dead end caused her to abruptly skitter to a stop. She bit her lip then searched for a vent or another way out. Just several feet above her head, she spotted several horizontal pipes. An idea appeared in her head. She jumped from one wall to the other as her arm reached out, snagging the pipe above. With a little effort, she managed to cling onto the roof and held her breath.

"Are you sure she went this way?" One Zygerrian yelled as the group rounded the corner. They all stopped at seeing nothing at the end of the corridor.

"I know I saw the little brat go this way."

"Well she's definitely not there, you dimwitted fool."

After some more cursing, the group turned around and split off as they continued to look for the young Bothan.

Lo stayed up in her hiding spot as she watched them move underneath her. They couldn’t tell where she went and it gave her courage to shimmy across the pipes. When she neared the end, she gently lowered herself and dropped to the ground. Her landing failed to be silent. Her breath held in her chest while she flipped her head from direction to another, fearful that someone might’ve heard. Not sparing much time to find out, Lo rushed down the hallway she came from. The path looked familiar while she collected her bearings.

After several minutes of following the Force, Lo managed to finally find the command room. Her figure hunched low while she pressed tightly to the wall. Her ears flicked at the sounds of voices coming from one door way.

"You Jedi think you can just interfere in the natural order of things. The Zygerrian slave empire is thriving no thanks to you or the Republic. We prosper, our customers prosper, yet the Jedi think they're going to come in and wipe that all away!"

Silus paced around the room as he spoke to Dominik, his hand holding the remote, fingers brushing along its surface as he contemplated making the Jedi suffer again.

"Slavery is cruel and disgusting. No lifeform should have command over the will of another." Dominik said, his head hanging in exhaustion from where he hung, suspended in the containment field. The man's eyes were closed, but he was not quitting. His thoughts raced as to what he could go from his position. And he tried to keep the man's attention, his complete attention, for he sensed a sneaky little Bothan not far from him, and he wanted to give the man no reason to take his attention away.

"Yet you Jedi peruse around the galaxy preaching peace and justice. And here you are trying to disrupt the way of life that Zygerria has lived under for thousands of years!" Silus retorted, his fingers pressing multiple buttons in a row as the field Dominik was held by began to activate.

The Master Jedi grit his teeth and tried to keep from yelling out as the voltage invaded his body.

Lo whimpered a bit too loudly when she saw Master Rothul suffer. Her hand jerked up and popped over her mouth, silencing her. She jerked back around the door to stay out of sight. Her eyes looked upward then to the sides, trying to find a way to hide.

Upon hearing the whimper, Silus suddenly turned, pulling a holdout blaster from his waist, and started firing at the direction of the doorway.

“You two!” He growled, looking to two guards that stood besides the containment field, “go grab that little runt!”

The Zygerrians didn’t hesitate, both pulling their blasters from their waist as they started towards the door.

Dominik couldn’t help the slight pang of panic that he felt in his chest, he looked towards the door way as the guards ran past it.

“Run Lo! Get away from here!”

Lo rushed for the corner, Dominik’s voice echoed in her head and drove her on. She gritted her teeth while she pushed her body harder. One blast slammed into the wall behind her as the next one clipped her shoulder. Lo screamed in pain, but managed to keep upright. Her left side smacked into the wall and righted her once more. Again she raced for the detention cell in hopes to find another place to hide.

After weaving the halls, she looked back and spotted no one. Her feet once more pushed against the ground and brought her to a full stop. Breathing heavily, her head twisted about to seek out a new escape. Her eyes landed on a grate cover on a vent. With the force she extended her hand and focused. The frame rattled then finally ripped off from its fixings. Despite exhaustion filling the void of her energy, Lo began to crawl into the vent and disappeared just when two guards rushed in.

“We’ll see how well you’ve trained your Padawan, Master Jedi.” Silus said looking back to Dominik who’s face attempted to reflect no emotion towards the situation, though anger was clearly present.

“We will deal with you and your little Padawan accordingly. Perhaps our Sith allies would like to know that there are Jedi helping the Twi’leks on Ryloth, hmm?” The Keeper said, turning back to one of the consoles and grabbing a handheld holocommunicator.

Dominik couldn’t hear what Silus was saying as the Zygerrian walked towards the opposite end of the room. The Jedi could see a figure in the holo communicator, but couldn’t make out who it was from his containment field prison.

Turning, Silus started back towards Dominik whilst still holding the communicator in his hand, conversing with the figure on the other end. “Yes Lord Daeden, we are holding him in the control room.” the Zygerrian said as he walked back up to Dominik. Holding the holo communicator up to the Jedi Master, the figure on the other end became a lot more clear. It was the same apprentice he had fought against with Xid, eight years ago on Balmorra.

“Jedi Master Dominik Rothul, what a pleasure it is to finally see you. It’s been so long.” The Sith teased, to which Dominik frowned.

“I wouldn’t call it a pleasure to look at your ugly mug again.” The Master challenged, to which the Sith just scoffed.

The man in the holovid turned where he was, effectively bringing his view back to Silus. “Hold him there, I must discuss with my local council on how we will deal with this treachery from the Jedi. I will send someone to retrieve him in two days time.”

With that, the holovid ended and Silus looked up towards Dominik, smirking before turning and leaving the Master to his thoughts.

Lo crawled deeper into the vents and ducts. Her small size helped her avoid becoming stuck within the cramped confines of her situation. Left… right… left...left… Her mind failed to keep track of her whereabouts as she continued to retrace her steps back to the command room. Every so often she glanced down and spied into the room below. Several Zygerrian scrambled to locate her, but failed each time. She inhaled then kept going.

Abruptly something rattled then gave out from underneath her. Gravity took hold and the young Bothan fell through the loose vent, tumbling into the ground. She shifted to attempt to land on her feet. Her reactions were too slow causing her to land on her ass instead. She scrunched her face as she rubbed her tailbone, feeling the tenderness flare.

“Ooowww.” Lo muttered, cursing the stupid vent above her. She glared at where she fell from, seeing the vent cover swinging open.

“Lo?”

A familiar voice came from the corner of the dimly lit room. Looking around the room, Lo quickly recognized Sar, along with four other Twi’lek warriors.

“Sar? Where’s everyone else?” She asked as she began to pull herself upright.

“They split us up amongst all the detention cells. Everyone from the village plus others they've taken from other villages." Sar explained, moving to the bars that separated Lo from he and the warriors.

"Where is your Master?"

Lo swallowed and began checked her surroundings. The room was bare save for the lower grade isolation cell.

She took a moment to examine it, noticing its larger size and door covered with an energy field instead of completely boxed in. Her upper teeth bit her lower lip.

“Did anyone see the combination, know how many digits, or anything?” She asked the Twi’lek, hoping it would be easy.

All of the Twi'leks shook their heads, including Sar. "We were all out when they brought us here." He explained, watching Lo. His thoughts went to the other Jedi, Dominik. If Lo was here alone then something must've happened to the older one.

Lo went through her options. She noticed some buttons held more wear than others, indicating being pressed often and likely used in the combination. However, without the actual number of digits or pattern made this information less than helpful.

“Sar, can you gain-” Lo tensed, her fur bristled and stood on edge. A dread filled her system without warning causing her to feel sick. Her hand back pressed to her muzzle, barring the sour taste from spewing into the floor and leaving evidence of her presence behind. She swallowed then repeated herself.

“Sar, can you and the other Twi’leks get someone’s attention and get them to come over here? I’m going to force shove them into the force cage to knock them out and take the blaster. From what I can tell, this cage is old enough that a blaster shot in the energy wall or panel might short it out.”

Sar watched the young Jedi for a few moments, worried for a second when Lo looked like she was going to be sick. She seemed to have pushed past it as she asked then to create a distraction. The Twi'lek man nodded before he looked back to his friends. Moments later they all started yelling, shouting names about Zygerrians and calling for the guards.

Lo hid around the cage side. She held her breath and hunched down, trying to make herself as small as possible. Her ears heard the guard’s boots stomp in followed by his muttering. Tentatively peering around the corner, she caught a young Zygerrian scratch his chin as he grumbled. His hand held a blaster at the ready then began to holler at the Twi’leks to shut up.

Lo’s worry and insecurities gnawed at her courage. She swallowed it as she thought about her master, realizing she had to save him.

When the slaver began to turn away, Lo pushed out of her hiding place. Her hand raised and yanked him to the side. The feline alien had enough time to cry out as his body slammed into the energy field, electrifying him into unconsciousness. Not having much time before others showed up, Lo worked fast. She tugged the blaster free then examined it to find the trigger.

“Stand as far back as you can, I’m going to try to blast the energy field. If that doesn’t work, I’m trying the panel.”

After Sar and the others collected against the far wall, Lo pulled the blaster up and aimed at the upper part of the field. Thankfully it was large enough to make it hard to miss. She pulled the trigger causing the bolt to strike at the energy field then deflect into a random direction. The little Bothan flinched when it landed near her foot, escaping damage at the last moment. Lo exhaled and settled her fear before she tried the panel next.

She held the tip nearly on top of it when she fired. Her eyes closed and braced for the impact, pulling the trigger again. The energy field immediately dissipated allowing the Twi’leks freedom. Lo shortly presented Sar with the blaster as she muttered, “It’s not my thing. I prefer my lightsaber.”

Her eyes looked to the fallen Zygerrian then back to Sar, “What do we do with him?”

Sar took the blaster from Lo with a nod in thanks. He looked to the Zygerrian as she asked what they should do.

"We could bring him with us and use him as leverage. Zygerrians are savages but they won't risk the life of one of their own." he explained as one of the warriors picked the man up and threw him over a shoulder.

"I heard some other guards talking about the rest of my people. We should find them first. The more of us there are, the harder it will be for the slavers to fight back." Sar explained, looking to the young Padawan to see what she thought.

Lo nodded, feeling her adrenaline wane. With its absence, her shoulder began to throb and ache again. Her head turned to her shoulder. The blaster left black streak, churring the fabric, fur and skin underneath. She gently began to peel away the damaged area. Fresh pain seared through her attention causing her to to hiss. Tears shamefully found their way into her eyes as she paused long enough to collect herself, wiping them away. A scratch compared to others after all.

“Sound logic. Also, I think we should keep an eye out for weapons and first aid. It will come in handy for the fight we’re about to start.” She decided to leave her wound alone for now until she could properly care for it.

“Do you know where they are being held?” Her voice calmer now.

"There's a larger bay just down the hall from here. Most of them should be there." He explained, to which many of the men behind him nodded in agreement.

“Doesn’t sound too far. Let’s hurry, I doubt your escape will go unnoticed for long and we still need to rescue Master Rothul. He’s being held in the command center. I feel...I think he’s being tortured.” Lo tried to keep the worry and fear from her voice.

"Don't worry Lo… we'll help my people and then hurry to Master Rothul's aid. Zygerrians are ruthless but I know he's stronger than anything they can throw at him." Sar said, trying to comfort the young Padawan before the group started towards the rest of the Twi'lek people.

---

Rounding the corner to an empty hallway, many of the Zygerrian guards attention had been taken by a small group of warriors that had split up from Sar and Lo. The Twi'lek leader didn't waste any time hurrying up to the control panel and pointing his blaster. He looked away to shield his face as he fired a blaster bolt into its circuits, trying the panel and causing the large energy field to dissipate. Many of the Twi'leks stood up in surprise at the sudden noise, and didn't hesitate to hurry towards the exit of their prison. It was a large group of about forty Twi'leks who had been kept in the bay, many of them men, but there were women and children as well. All stolen from their homes to be put into slavery.

Not one of them ran out the doorway, instead they all stopped and formed a horse shoe around Lo and Sar, many of them speaking in Twi'leki and vowing to help each other escape.

The sight warmed Lo’s heart before she focused on the matter at hand: saving Master Rothul. She inhaled then held up her hands, cutting the conversation short. Her eyes fixed on Sar.

“Sar, we need a few of your men to take the women and children to safety. They need to return to the village, collect whatever they can carry and head to a safe place. We can find them after we save Master Rothul.” She didn’t state the possibility of if they failed. It wouldn’t help morals or reassure them to leave with the warriors.

“Rest of us need to get into that command room.” Lo really wished she had her lightsaber, it would make things easier.

Sar didn't hesitate as Lo began to speak. She took her orders and translated them into Twi'leki so that some of the Twi'leks who only spoke their native language could understand. A few of the warriors immediately volunteered to lead the women and children to safety, while the rest stood confidently at Sar's side, ready for the fight that was to come.

"Lead the way, Lo." Sar said, smiling to the young Jedi.

“Before I do, how much do you know about this place?” Lo asked. She noticed how the men began to move women and children out of a door she never entered at, her curiosity drawn to understand.

"This is the control building of Ryloth's capital city, Lessu," Sar asked as he started down the hallway they had came, "though it seems they've done some construction since they overtook it months ago." He explained as he peeked around a corner, his blaster ready. "They've added a lot of technology we did not want, like the cells." Sar added, looking down at the small Jedi.

“Do you think they might’ve stashed weapons in the original room? We might be able to even the odds a bit.” Lo’s fur perked up showing how pleased she was of herself. It fell short of being smug though.

“Perhaps. The Zygerrians do like their weapons.” He replied shortly, keeping an eye out around the corner in case more came their way.

Lo nodded then looked to the other side, seeing no one approach. “Looks like it is all clear. Let’s head to the weapons stash first then the command room. Now it’s my turn to say ‘Lead the way’.”

Despite the seriousness of the situation, she managed to flash a cheeky smile.

Sar smiled back at the little Padawan before taking the lead. Many of the Twi’lek warriors followed closely behind Lo, along with the larger group aside from the women and children. Should any Zygerrians challenge them, the Twi’leks and Lo had numbers, and spirit.

It took just a few minutes before the group arrived at the weapons room. An energy field barred the doorway, but guarding it were just two Zygerrians.

“You must’ve stirred up quite a ruckus. If there are only two of them there, the rest must be guarding the command room.” Sar said quietly, peeking around the corner and watching the Zygerrians closely.

“When you’re ready, we’ll charge them.”

“All right, is there another path we can circle around while a group here distracts them?” Lo asked Sar, figuring it might limit casualties.

Sar nodded to Lo before glancing behind him. Two of the warriors from before didn’t hesitate before stepping out. “Over here, scumbag!” the younger one yelled, while the older one started around the corner. The younger one went the opposite direction at the “T” of the hallway, causing both Zygerrians to split up in order to catch the two that had ran.

“They’ll lead them away this way we can go straight in and save time.” Sar explained, looking down to Lo as the sounds of the chase started to die down. He knew the Zygerrians preferred to catch his people versus shoot to kill; they wanted to make sure they could supply as many Twi’leks for slave labor as possible. Even one less Twi’lek meant less profit.

“Let’s go.” She darted forward to the door, her hand pointed to the panel and Sar fired. Both turned their heads to avoid the flash as the panel hissed and the energy field powered down. Several Twi’lek rushed in to arm themselves.

“All right, next stop is the command center. It’s going to be a lot harder to get in there. Any ideas?” Lo looked to Sar since his people knew the place better than her.

As Lo asked for ideas, one of the Twi’leks from the group yelled to Sar. The Zygerrian from before had started to wake up, and now was in a headlock as the Twi’lek man held him. The Zygerrian was spewing curses at them, Sar knew they had to hurry before someone heard him.

“We’ll go in and offer an exchange.” Sar began, looking back at Lo before he glanced at the Zygerrian before.

“That Zygerrian is the son of the Slave Keeper, Silus. He’s the one who had your Master confined. We can offer a trade. His son, for your Master.” he suggested, glancing down the hallway to make sure no one approached them to investigate the Zygerrian son’s yelling.

“But we have to hurry.” Sar added quickly.

“Right.” Lo led the way to the command room since she could recall most of the way.

As they drew closer to the corner, two blaster shots scorched the wall as Lo jerked back. She smacked into Sar and muttered an apology.

Sar made sure Lo was unharmed as he backed into her, before ushering the young Bothan behind him. The Twi’lek warrior from before brought the struggling young Zygerrian to Sar, who took him in a not so gentle way and put the younger creature into another headlock. While holding a blaster to the Zygerrian’s head, Sar started to step out into the hallway.
“Hold your fire! We have the Keeper’s son out here!” Sar threatened, holding the younger being tightly as he walked into sight. All firing stopped just as quickly as it had started. The Zygerrian slave keeper, Silus, stepped slightly outside the door to confirm for himself what was said. He glared at his boy before that same glare looked to Sar. The man glanced sideways to his guards before backing into the room. “Let them in!” he hollered, to which the guards stood down, lowering their blasters as Sar started to inch towards the doorway.

“Stay behind me, Lo.” the Twi’lek man ordered as he started to inch towards the command room, keeping the  young Zygerrian in front of him and held tightly. Many more of the Twi’lek warriors followed behind as Lo followed Sar’s lead.

As Sar, Lo, and a few more Twi’lek warriors filled the doorway, they saw Silus positioned in the center of the room. Silus stood, his body openly facing the small fighting group as they entered. He knew there were many more Twi’leks outside, anxiously waiting to see what was to happen with the exchange, all ready to spring into action should a fight erupt. Both Jedi’s lightsabers could be seen hanging off of the man’s belt, almost as trophies to his catch.

Silus held up the remote to the containment field, pointing it in the direction of the Jedi Master who hung within the field, motionless.

“Easy now… one push of the button and I could kill your Jedi friend right here and now.” Silus warned.

“And I could kill your son with the squeeze of a trigger.” Sar shot back.

Lo’s fur rose in fear, an instinct she hadn’t fully trained out of herself.

Silus smirked at Sar’s threat before his eyes moved to the young Jedi behind him. “You’ve bet your friend’s life and your escape on my son? Expecting me to hand over such a prize for someone who has failed me so many times?”

Silus growled, to which his son tensed at the statement. In the containment field, Dominik’s body hung motionless, eerily silent, as if his body had been pushed to its breaking point. Sar’s eyes moved from Dominik back to Silus, his hold on the Zygerrian son not lessening, and the blaster not moving from the side of his head.

“Don’t be a fool,” Sar yelled, watching Silus and the remote as the Zygerrian adjusted his stance. “Take your son and give us the Jedi, we will leave!” He demanded.

Suddenly, Silus free hand moved to his waist as the Zygerrian took hold of his blaster and raised it, firing a flurry of bolts towards Sar, Lo, and the Twi’leks behind them.

Lo’s force sense tingled causing her hand to raise and her eyes found her lightsaber. It zipped from Silus’ belt as she pushed past Sar, her posture fell into a defensive stance.

An eruption of fighting ensued as the Twi’leks behind Sar all dove sideways, some taking hold of the guard’s blasters and others starting to fight; throwing kicks and punches. From the side of the room, Dominik’s eyes opened slowly, just enough to allow the man a clear view as chaos ensued. They followed his Padawan and she deflected the blaster bolts away and back towards Silus.

When the blue blade hummed to life, Lo took stock of her targets. Silus’ arm and the containment unit. She adjusted her wrist as she batted away three of the four bolts fired at her. One shot to the prison while another shot back at Silus’s arm, grazing the remote on his arm. The last deflected one completely missed anyone. She turned too slow on the last one, he reflexes still green and unrefined. It hit her leg side bring a fresh heat to her pain.

She fell to one knee, crying out from the wound. Charred skin and fur filled her nostrils while she pushed herself upright.

One of the blaster bolts Lo deflected into the containment unit hit its base, shooting a hole through the machinery and frying wires and circuit boards, causing the prison to deactivate. The Jedi Master fell to the floor, but almost immediately, Dominik started to move. Whereas Silus thought Dominik’s motionless response after hours of torture reflected the Jedi’s beaten will, it was the opposite. Dominik had allowed himself to fall into a trance with Crucitorn, thus his body started to reserve its strength for the moment the Master Jedi could find an escape; Dom just hadn’t expected his Padawan to bring him that opportunity.

The Master stood slowly, pushing himself up off the floor with his hands and knees. It didn’t take him long as he stood, the expression on his face reflected the care he felt for his Padawan, and the ire he felt towards the Zygerrian who had threatened them. One hand reached out, as Lo took a blaster bolt to her leg, and pulled his saber from Silus’ belt. After it reached his hand, the man suddenly pushed both hands out.

As Silus raised his blaster, the aim trained on the young Bothan’s head who had been distracted by the bolt she took to her leg, he felt a sudden forceful push. The slave keeper  flew across the room hitting the bay windows on the opposite side and crashing through them. By Dominik’s guess, they had been eight stories up, at least. His mind off the being he had just shoved out the window, Dom’s eyes moved to his Padawan and the chaos that continued in the room.

“Sar! Get your people back! We need to escape the city through the rear bridge… the front will be too heavily guarded!” He ordered. Dominik reached out with the Force to one of the consoles, pulling a lever towards him. The lever controlled the two bridges that connected the capital city of Lessu across a canyon and to the other side. Dominik pulled on the lever and then used the Force to bend it out of shape, rendering it unable to be pushed back should the Zygerrians try to deactivate the bridge.

Sar heard Dominik’s orders and did as he was told, dispatching the remaining Zygerrian guards in the room and pushing back to the hallways, yelling orders to his people in their native tongue.

Lo trembled a bit as she tried to remain on her wounded leg. Adrenaline hadn’t numbed the hurt like it did last time. Her eyes looked to her thigh where it centered and saw it went pretty deep. It burned through not just the surface, but the muscle underneath. Her thumb clicked her lightsaber off as she ripped her sleeve off to bind her leg quickly. Left open to the air risked infection setting in.

Dominik hurried over to his Padawan, positioning her on his right side putting one of her arms up and around his neck while his right arm hooked under hers, holding her securely. He was careful of her injured leg as he started to raise her off the ground.

"Hold on tight to me, Lo. We're leaving this place." He said. His lightsaber in his free hand, he quickly followed after Sar and his people as they led the way through the building and fought to get to the lower floors.

"Right." Lo tried not to whimper, any movement jarred her injuries and caused her to flinch. Her head leaned against him while she held tightly. Fear and worry battered at her control, threatening to overwhelm her. She swallowed as she focused on her breathing.

Master Rothul moved with intent, his actions showing no hesitation as he followed the Twi'leks through the structure. Many split into separate groups in order to easily take care of the Zygerrians who tried to stand in their way. Many times Dominik drew his saber and deflected incoming blaster bolts, protecting Sar as he moved alongside the Twi'lek, and making sure Lo was not in harm's way.

It wasn't long before the freed Twi'leks and the Jedi bursted from the ground floor of the structure, surprising many Zygerrians and enslaved Twi'leks who were just outside. Many of the Twi'leks moved to help their enslaved brethren, while others fought off the Zygerrians. Dominik kept Lo held close to his side, his lightsaber twisted this way and that in a show of experience and finesse as the slavers shot blaster bolts back at him. A large group if Zygerrians rushed Dominik, but were quickly knocked down as the Master Jedi held out his hand, Force pushing many of them out of the way.

The Twi-leks quickly made it to the rear bridge which was made up of a flat, bluish energy field that stretched across the canyon. No one hesitated as they charged across, many knowing the bridge's switch had been locked in place in the control tower behind them.

Seeing it would be useless to pursue, many Zygerrians stopped running after the group as soon as the last Twi'lek passed the bridge. By the time the escaped group reached the nearest treeline and disappeared from view, the total count of freed Twi'leks had reached almost ninety. Many others had been helped from cells on the inside, plus those that were performing hard labor at the base of the structure.

Sensing the danger had passed, and seeing many of the Twi'leks had stopped to rest and help each other while they hid amongst the trees, Dominik searched for Sar, his arm still easily supporting Lo. It didn't take long for him to find the Twi'lek man who was tending to a few wounded farther in the treeline. Many Twi'leks had gathered around as he gave orders to each.

"Sar! Are you alright my friend?" The Master asked, walking up to the kneeling Twi'lek who stood as soon as he saw Dominik.

"I am, and you? Your Padawan?" He asked, one hand moving up to rest on Lo's shoulder as he looked at the young Bothan. He was with her both times she was hit with a blaster bolt and frankly was surprised she was still looking awake and alert. "Set her down," Sar began, "Let me take a look at her leg."

When Dominik set her down, Lo adjusted her seat and presented her leg. She slowly began to untie to reveal the wound underneath. Outer edges had been burnt by the blast’s heat and left it sealed, but nasty looking. Her eyes skimmed her shoulder noting it looked better than her leg.

“It could be worse…” Lo chuckled trying to make light of her situation.

Sar smirked at Lo's attempt at lightening the mood. "We'll need to get somewhere more secure than the forest so I have time to look at it." Sar explained as he looked up to Dominik.

"We can't go back to the village. Not after today." Dominik said. Sar didn't respond, but the Twi'lek knew he was right. After the chaos they caused, the death of the Keeper, the Zygerrians would be out for revenge. "There will be Sith here, on Ryloth. In two days time." He said, and suddenly all of the Twi'leks around went silent.

Sar looked up at Dominik, before looking back to Lo. "It was only a matter of time before the Sith got involved."

There was silence amongst everyone before Sar stood again. He held out a hand towards Dominik to which the Master quickly embraced.

"We'll find somewhere new. We'll rebuild. Together, we'll free Ryloth." Sar said, to which Dominik smiled and nodded. "Everyone! Gather what you can, we've got a long journey ahead of us as we free Ryloth from the clutches of those who wish to control it!" Sar yelled, to which many Twi'leks held up their arms and cheered.

"We'll head East," he then said, looking to Master Rothul. "The forests growth thicker, and the land may serve us well in hiding where we settle. Are you ready, Master Jedi?"

Dominik looked down at Lo, thinking, eyes watching his Padawan as his heart searched his past. With a nod towards his Padawan and a smile, he looked to Sar, "We're ready. Lead the way."

“To be honest, I’m ready for anything. But I agree with my master. Lead the way.” Lo agreed, her muzzle smiling despite the anxiety for the future building inside her. She watched Sar walk away as he began to gather and check on his fellow villagers.

Dominik kneeled down in front of Lo, one hand moving to rest on her shoulder as he looked at her. His head bowed for a moment as the words he was searching for didn't come right away. It had been years since he had said anything similar to a Jedi Padawan, it had been years since he had taught a Padawan.

"I'm beyond proud of you, you know." He finally said, pulling his head back up, a soft smile on his face as he looked at Lo. "You showed courage in the face of defeat. When you were all alone you found a way and beat them." He said, moving to gently pick her up, holding her as he had been before, before moving to follow a group of Twi'leks as many started to move.

"And I can't take credit for any of it. All you did back there was because of what you learned on your own."

“I wouldn’t say I did it alone. Sar helped some and so did the other Twi’leks. I just stumbled about and landed on my ass a few times.” Lo shrugged as pride warmed in her heart, showing on her fur.

“I felt dread when you were being tortured. I didn’t know what to do and I felt scared.”

"But you didn't let it control you. You fought it, Lo, and came out on top." Dominik pointed out, glancing to his Padawan as the Twi'leks began to gather. "You didn't let your emotions decide your actions. Sar and I are both alive because you found a way to beat your emotions. You saved everyone here today, Lo."

“I don’t feel like I did. At least not much. I mostly hurt and feel exhausted. Part of me just wants to curl up into a batch of grass and sleep. Is this what it is it going to be like all the time?” Lo asked, her figure settling into Dominik’s arms.

"It'll get better with time. Your body will grow stronger and your mind will think faster. I think it's time I train you, as a Master should; as you deserve." Dominik said, smiling at Lo as he continued to walk. "Once you're healed, we'll get to work."
Deep space, somewhere along the Corellian Run.
week 4, day 3, late evening.


The visit to the beautifully ruined Jedi had not been at all productive. The information stored in the system had proven worthless. Not even the so-called guards had proven any challenge to bypass. To be honest, Nimm had found the entire trip dreadfully boring. Even if the odds of it being productive had been low from the start, she had at least hoped that something would turn out interesting there. Alas, it had not, so she had to depart without even that meager satisfaction. Even so, she had spent considerable time on that world, working behind the scenes to arrange events to her satisfaction.

The fact that the travel from Coruscant to her next destination had already taken ten days did not make it more fun. It was fortunate that she had only a short distance further to go. As it was, she had diverted from her original destination following the report that some merchants had run into some trouble with their deliveries. Normally, such would never be the business of a Sith like her, but she was bored and the merchandise had particular value to one of her projects. Thus, she had decided to go deal with it herself.

She had a feeling that the Jedi were meddling again. If they were, she would almost certainly get some enjoyment out of it. There was unfinished business with them that needed dealing with. Violently. She smiled to herself at that thought. Any Jedi would be foolish to go this far out from their precious Republic. Such a short jump away from an Imperial sector. So easy for someone to get lost. And if there is no body and no recording to link to it, did it really happen?

---

A few hours later.

---

The ship floated down, no longer moving at the velocity it had needed to pass through the atmosphere. Slowly it moved onto the landing pad. Though with similar capabilities, it did not look like an Imperial Fury-class interceptor. There might be a so-called peace treaty with the Republic, but that did not mean they let imperial vessels move around their territory freely without being watched. Preferring not to be observed during her work, Nimm had commissioned multiple vessels that would blend more in whenever she traveled outside imperial space. She had made a short stop at a base in the Denon system to switch from one such vessel to another, just in case someone had actually observed her on Coruscant.

With a dull but loud thunk, the ship came to a stop. Nimm rose from the pilot’s chair, walking to the aft where the landing ramp was located. No doubt the merchants were sending a representative out to meet her. An ugly species these Hutts, but many of them were reliable enough when it came to delivering the ordered merchandise.

She was already on the way down the ramp as it lowered, doing nothing to hide her identity as a Sith. At this point, she wanted them to know exactly what they were dealing with.