023 - Week 3 Day 4: Hurtful Sands

Nimm noted the entry of the other Sith’s prisoner into the arena. She had not seen the prisoner before, but the utterly malevolent look upon the prisoner’s face made it very clear to her that the serum had taken effect. She noted that her troopers had done their job of placing the bait into the arena. Apprentice Caxal’s pet had yet to notice the whimpering prisoner, but that would likely not take long to change.

Not one to waste a useful prisoner, Nimm turned around quickly, heading around the corner to where the two troopers held her own prisoner. “Now, my pet… You will fight.” As she said this, she held out a pair of blunted daggers for Lo to grab.

“You will enter the arena and you will protect the one I placed within from the aggressor.” she smiled viciously at her pet. “Or you can let her die. The choice is yours. I would not delay choosing too long, or the choice will be made for you.”

Lo’s sight had finally sharpened and cleared the darkness away. When her legs were strong enough to stand on their own, the troopers released her and stood within her personal space. Second melted into minutes as they waited in silence for something. A twisted worry took root then grew with the passing time. When the Sith spoke, her eyes snapped to the dark haired woman. The forewarning in her gut became clear when the instruction came.

She considered rejecting the offer of the daggers, but ignored her bitterness. Her hands reached to take them and examined the weapons. Confusion crept over her open expression as she commented.

“They won’t be much help. I don’t even know how to use them, but I guess better to injure myself than someone else.” Sarcasm lined her notes on the fact her experience lacked in this type of weaponry.

Even with the edge dulled, enough force it could embed and damage the body. Lo just hoped not to be on the receiving end of it.  

“That is your problem, not mine.” Nimm sensed the building malice within the neighboring arena. “I would go in if I were you. I doubt that girl will survive without your… protection.”

“Of course.” Lo stated.

In spite of her common sense, she hoped she got hurt just to force more work on the Sith. A petty thought? Yes and she acknowledged that fact. It still comforted her to not make things easy for her captor. Lo took a deep breath to purge her mind of all emotion and center herself into the moment. She quickly stepped out into the center of the arena.

Once her pet entered the arena, Nimm activated the energy barrier surrounding the pit and took up a place in the stands to watch. She fully expected Apprentice Caxal to take up a place nearby. She wondered how close to her he would position himself.

It was not long after Nimm had sat down that Apprentice Caxal joined her, roughly in the middle between the stairs and the red viewing gallery, halfway down to the Arena floor from the room’s outer walls.





Lo’s nervous energy rippled across her chest into her soul. It tingled within her muscles and filled her with erratic drive, her worry a fuel for it to burn through. She took another breath to center herself for this moment. The daggers reminded her of the malicious intentions forced on her as she paused to weigh the responsibility. Her ears flicked when she caught the energy barrier hum to life behind her. She looked over her shoulder and the sight confirmed her suspicions.


The young bothan female shrugged off the sprouting fear in her heart. Her right foot took the first step down followed by the left. Her bones bounced as she descended the stairs to the arena’s center.


“Trust in the Force.” In her memories, Master Rothul’s words spoke alongside her own whisper and filled the emptiness with courage.


No matter what happened, she had hope. The hope to survive to escape and to remain in the Light against the odds surrounding her. Her thoughts were tested when she reached the bottom. A tidal wave of rage washed over her. It clawed at her mental defenses, but her wall held against the tide as it coiled back. The last thing Lo expected had been to see another being within the stained sands.


“Oh no…” A breathless whisper escaped her lips.


Her eyes watched in horror at the predatory visual Jaslyn presented, her hands wielded a staff.


"Hello Lola. Fancy meeting you here. Or maybe not. It's far too contrived to be coincidence. Where is Takryn?!" Jaslyn started pacing.


A few steps in one direction then the other. "Stop calling me that! I am not your anything!" Jaslyn was visibly on edge. She'd been bad on Tython but this was worse, as if she were at the point of breaking and that break would drag others down with it. "Where do they have Takryn, Lola? He said you know. Don't keep it from me! Tell me and I'll let you go! You probably didn't do it on purpose! I'll make sure you get out. Where. Is. He? WHERE!?" Jaslyn’s body leaned forward straining against something invisible. Rage poured over her as she focused on Lola. Convinced that she was the one that had inadvertently gotten Takryn captured but still disturbingly angry about it.


Lo’s chest tightened and air rushed from her lungs, her throat tangled in a small knot. Her eyes softened at the woman who she remembered from Tython. The warm, kind features twisted up in madness as words bubbled from her mouth. Images overlapped, but only one showed an earnest, cold reality. Lo stood there in silence. Her mind sought an appearance to tie to the name, but came up empty. She had never met the individual Jaslyn spoke of or his whereabouts.


Instinctively, her foot took a step back. She forced her words to pour out.


“Who’s Takryn? Why are you here? You shouldn’t be here.” Lo uttered the truth, her posture relaxed and hesitated in her next actions.  


Snarling Jaslyn pushed against something invisible then turned and paced more. "Who is Takryn? Only the Zabrak who followed me around everywhere. My Force Bonded. We hitched a ride with the last convoy that was coming out here. Came for you. Looks like I made a mistake that will, if we're lucky, get us killed."


The rage poured off Jaslyn fear following in its wake. She smiled and the emotion crawled its way across the room menacingly, slowly. It was as if it were an entity all its own. "If you move off the sand I get to pick what they send back to Master Rothul to prove you still live. Perhaps your eye?" she tilted her head in a predatory way. "I hear the Sith can do all sorts of wonderful enhancements. Something tells me you already knew that though." Straightening to her full height her body went utterly still and her face went blank except her eyes.


Jaslyn’s eyes resembled a snake's fixation. Intent on pulling Lo apart piece by piece. Rage and destruction reflected back at Lo. There was no give in the emotion.


Lo flinched at the fresh wave of fury pounded against her mental defenses. If not for Master Rothul’s training before her capture, she doubted she could hold it back. Her soul cried out as she sought for answers. She glanced back the way she came and wondered if the Sith did something to her friend.


“I don’t understand. Why do you want to hurt me? This isn’t what a Jedi does, we protect others. You have to clear your mind.” The young Bothan attempted as her eyes shifted across the arena.


A young twi’lek, about her own age, curled into the sand. Her painful expression drew Lo’s eyes to linger too long before she snapped them back to Jaslyn.


"DON'T YOU DARE LECTURE ME ON JEDI WAYS!" Jaslyn roared pointing out Lo’s outfit. "I see an Empire bitch! How long did it take for you to change? Did you wait an hour out of respect or did you put it on immediately? To think I considered you family. My mistake Sith Neophyte." Jaslyn gave an exaggerated bow and noticed the chained Twi’lek.


Jaslyn was beyond angry, furious, livid, the rage only got worse as she pushed it down. Something told her that if she gave in she'd feel better.


Lo held back the tears collecting at the sides of her eyes. Her knuckles tightened on her dagger handles, but she stood in place. She resisted the trembling in her arms as she tried to save a fellow friend.


“Jaslyn, listen to yourself. What happened before you were placed into the arena?” She hoped to keep Jaslyn’s attention on her rather than drift to the helpless Twi’lek.


"I don't want to talk about it. Stop. I'm done talking about this since I have to fight you harder, I'll just use your friend to get you to answer." Jaslyn stared at the Twi’lek.


“You would hurt someone else just for answers I don’t have? That’s not right and you know it!” Lo’s face paled at the obvious threat in Jaslyn’s tone.


"Poor little Twi’lek. They forgot to mention that if you kill us you'll go free." Jaslyn lashed out feinting for the Twi’lek only to knock one of the daggers in Lo's hand to the Twi’lek and swept Lo’s feet. "Oh whoops." Immediately Jaslyn stepped back and walked to the other end of the arena as she let go of the rage pouring off her trying to drown her. She used herself as a conduit and let the torrent go toward the Twi’lek and Lo.


When Jaslyn lashed out at the twi’lek, Lo’s protective instinct kicked in. No… no! She extended her arm to grip the woman’s shoulder. Her built-in warning system tugged her attention to the right. A sharp sting thumped through her grip and her dagger flew from her hand. It skidded across the sandy terrain. As the end swung back around to catch her legs, Lo’s knees bent then snapped up. She curled her legs over Jaslyn’s head then twisted midair. When she landed, her teeth gritted, and she managed to catch her balance.


“Please, don’t do this. We’re better than this.” Lo pleaded one last time.    


"Make this easy on yourself and do what you were sent in here to do. Give in. You know you want to. You're just a fraction away from it. But you keep backing away from the edge. You're a tease. Kill the Twi’lek or watch it kill you. Get ready."


“No. I won’t give in and you shouldn’t either. Whatever the Sith have done to you, you’re stronger than it. I know you are. Please Jaslyn, don’t make me do this.” Her eyes locked with Jaslyn now that the young bothan had positioned herself between the two.  


Jaslyn smirked and shook her head. "You don't understand Lola. I won't be welcome back. I can't feel my bond and even if I could I have already stepped on that path. No one will accept me now. I'm too Jedi to be Sith and too tainted to be Jedi. I'm tired of fighting the inevitable. I've been doing it for years. With Takryn missing I don't care. I want the easy way." She flicked a hand and pushed the Twi’lek into Lo causing them to stumble and forcing more rage into the Twi’lek.


Lo twisted about. Her hands caged the Twi’lek prisoner when she crashed into the young bothan, the pair tumbled into the ground. Nails began to scratch at her face and fists pounded at her figure. Lo didn’t even bother to defend herself from the abuse rained down upon her. In the end, her guilt knew she deserved it for killing Master Rothul. Her main focus settled on limiting the Twi’lek’s damage to herself.  


"Fight back or I'll end it how you should. And I won't be nice about it." Jaslyn sneered knowing that Lo could fight back and even immobilize the Twi’lek if need be. It might take a moment but Lo could do it.


“...” Lo didn’t answer. Her attention remained on the Twi’lek as the prisoner continued to lash out. So much flooded into her mind, but she had to fight the emotions and keep her head clear. It wouldn’t solve the issue if they just went into a blind rage together.


“No. I won’t let you make a decision you’ll regret.”


"I regret nothing. Nor shall I regret saving you from yourself." Jaslyn whispered as she stood and closing her fist pulled the Twi’lek off Lo and closer to herself. "Know the rage you feel? The pounding of your heart? Did you know too much of that can kill you? It can make your blood flow too quickly, your heart pound too hard. It can overwhelm you and sweep you away, little one. But how much is too much? Where is that line? Shall we see Lola?"


“Don’t make me do this.” Lo whispered to herself.


During the struggle, she had managed to get her arms about the Twi’lek’s neck. She tightened her grip to gradually cut off the airway without crushing the windpipe. Gradually the prisoner’s struggles started to fade until an invisible force began to tug the girl from Lo’s grip. Lo tried to stop it, but the limp figure was ripped out of her grasp.   


In her panic, she rolled over and glanced back to the direction she originated from. A shine glinted off a metallic surface and betrayed the location of her weapon. Her arm reached out into the direction of her stray dagger. Emotion tried to overwhelm her defenses as she focused on it. It twitched then only slid an inch.  


Jaslyn could feel the Twi’lek lose consciousness. She pulled the emotions back in. It was like flexing a muscle. One that yet again filled her with a dark rage. It was easier to think once she pushed them out. The malevolent feeling was starting to become a normal feeling."Get up." The demand was delivered in a cold rage. She was done talking. "The Rakatan never predicted this and shouldn't have meddled in what they know not. Get up and move away." The voice was Jaslyn but the inflection and accent was not.


The back of Lo’s hand wiped against her muzzle. Small red lines covered her features, but only superficial wounds. Her eyes remained on Jaslyn as she rose to her feet.


“No.” A simple resolution crept into her voice.


"Flee with the girl if you must. I am attempting to hold her at bay. This is not something she wants to do, her hand was forced. The Hound in her rises. She is more like us than we realized. Hurry little one. I would not see her broken this way."


“I don’t understand. What’s going on? And if you haven’t noticed…” Lo lifted her arms to gesture at the whole arena.


“There’s nowhere to flee.”


She let her arms drop. Ignoring her pain, her head tilted and her lips frowned.


“I don’t want to leave either of you here.”


Jaslyn turned to the stands above where their captors sat. "I concede. Let the Bothan and Twi’lek leave."


“I don’t think that’s going to work…” Lo knew if it did, she would’ve done it before the match started and saved them all the trouble.


Jaslyn gave Lo a glance out the corner of her eye. "Information for their lives. I'm willing to trade. The boy would be interested."

High up in the observation gallery, Xid had been struggling to swallow his discomfort during the whole match. It reminded him of Feena in the worst ways, and he hoped the match would end swiftly. The bothan appeared to be younger than he expected which only made it worse. Something vaguely familiar about the red-haired woman gnawed at him, but he cast it away.

As he shifted in his seat, he forced his eyes to witness the barbaric scene.

When the word Rakatan escaped the redhead’s mouth, he stiffened. The world stopped around him as a dark, familiar voice echoed it from his memory. A soft, mocking chuckle scraped across his consciousness. You can’t escape the cycle…. His breath quickened in his chest and his skin drained of all color. Xid shut his eyes against his own mind without success. A subtle tremble flowed through his very structure. He couldn’t stop it.

The familiarity grew as he began to try to place the woman in the arena below. A faint voice mumbled under his breath. “How did she know that word? They are gone… extinct. He told me they were.”

Lea knew that watching unwilling combatants fight was not exactly a favorite activity for her apprentice, but it was unfortunately a necessity. Like the disgusting hutts, a lot of Sith seemed to enjoy it, so he would have to learn how to remain impassive while watching.

Initially, he had no trouble doing so. No more than usual, at least. She sensed that there was some strange, flimsy feeling attached to one of the combatants, but it faded fairly quickly, so she did not put much weight to it. Suddenly, she felt him stiffen at the mention of the word ‘rakatan’. She vaguely recalled reading something about some ancient species or something with a name like that, but she couldn’t recall anything else.

Strange images flashed into her mind from across their bond. A temple-like structure. A dark corridor. Xid playing with a red-headed human child. Overlaying the images was a phrase, ‘You can’t escape the cycle…’. Without turning to look at her apprentice, Lea reached out to take his hand in hers and whispered, “What was that?”

“A nightmare. One that needs to stay buried.” Xid answered, his heart unable to calm itself.

His fingers wrapped about hers, but managed not to hurt her. He continued to stare forward and keep his body fixed within the chair. In truth, he wanted to leap out of his skin and leave the arena.

That concept at least was not new from her apprentice. He kept trying to hide from his past, but it seemed to her like it kept rearing its ugly heads. She knew he refused to admit it, but sooner or later—preferably the former—he would have to deal with it. “Your past does not seem to want to remain buried.” she whispered softly to him. “And who was the girl in the memory?”

"Jaslyn, a friend of- was a friend of mine." Xid corrected himself as he opened his eyes.

He reined himself in and remained in place, but he couldn't do it indefinitely. The longer the conversation carried the more he wanted to walk away. Too many questions plagued his mind and no time to find answers.

“A friend?” She eyed him out of the corner of her eye, but did not push further, as right then Nimm started speaking.

“What sort of information could you offer that would be of any benefit to the Empire?” Nimm questioned, slightly impressed that the prisoner down there could at all resist the rage serum. It was not as big a dose as she had given her pet, but that was still impressive. She had not known the nature of Apprentice Caxal’s prisoner, so she had not provided him with more than a small dose of the serum. Used incorrectly, larger doses could have rather adverse effects.

She was curious about whether the other apprentice would try to take over the questioning, or if he would let her take care of the questions for now. If he did try, she might let him. Provided he had the right type of questions. At least young Lea and her apprentice had not tried to meddle from where they were watching. No doubt Lea held her ex-jedi apprentice in check. Even this long after her transformation, it was uncanny how similar the young pureblood was to their master. She knew some about the sciences their master had used on young Lea, but only enough to comprehend how far beyond her skills they were.

Jaslyn tipped her head. "Knowledge long forgotten but once used to the benefit of a young Empire. One that you wouldn't find in recorded history. Planet coordinates if need be. Thor Yor if that strikes your interest. If you even know what that is."

Jaslyn raged against the offers made with her voice. A muscle ticked in her jaw. Xesh had no right. The internal argument escalated and each time it did she found herself tucked away in a memory; only to have parts of it play out and the rage pour over her as she realized that's what it was, a memory.

Though really it had only been a few minutes to Jaslyn it seemed like hours, days that she was pushed to the side. She unleashed her rage on the memories and she was soon spent. Inwardly she thanked the timely intervention. She would have destroyed both Lola and the Twi’lek female, apparently destiny had a different idea.

Caxal held a bit of amusement in the situation, though he didn’t mind the outcome. He had successfully gained a bit of knowledge of his prisoner’s strengths and had more he would look into at a later time. He kept his face neutral, eyes steady as he leaned on the wall. In times like these he knew that Nimm held the higher expertise. They both knew it. He was a titled Warrior after all and most of his brethren could barely handle any sort of position he did.

It took a moment for the terms to jog Nimm’s memory. The Infinite Empire and the precursors for the Jedi Order were not subjects she had studied in any significant depth, but her research had led her to encounter references to it in the past. “And how does a young Jedi padawan like yourself possess such knowledge?” Nimm strongly suspected that the knowledge did not belong to the padawan, but had not yet determined the nature of it. More study would most definitely be necessary.

Shaking her head Jaslyn smirked. "Lives for information. Oh and sticking them in a hole doesn't count. They need fresh air and sunshine. Regular meals and," Jaslyn leaned over and sniffed making a face and shuddering. "baths. Then again that's almost always the case. A little velvet goes a long way. You'd know that if you didn't always break your toys."

Lo recoiled a bit when she spotted Jaslyn close the distance. Her eyes fell onto the ground while she listened to the negotiation. The young Bothan sighed internally at the scene before her. Once more, her life seemed to fall into the hands of others, and she hated it. Her hands reached around her neck to touch the collar fastened to her spine.

Casually she walked over to the unconscious twi’lek then she crouched down. Her fingers checked the female’s vitals to note steady breath and began a modest examination. It distracted her from the sense of helpless festering at her core.

“It is almost as if you imagine that you hold the power here. How fascinating.” Nimm smirked. She then whispered softly to Caxal, low enough that no one but he could hear, “Do you mind if I bring in an expert to get information out of your pet?”

Caxal frowned, the expression hidden under his mask, before quickly controlling himself and forming an inquisitive look. His reply was just as low, yet with his mouthpiece on, came as more of a rumble. “It would depend on who. I’m not in the business of killing off my prisoners or damaging them far more than allowable. I need this one in a mostly sound mind and body.”

“Your prisoner knows things she should not have the experience to know. Besides, you have to have to agree that those terms were entirely unreasonable, right?”

“Indeed.”

“Information retrieval is not my specialty, but Lord Vane? She has specialized in that.”

“However, on the contrary, I do know of a method that could prove most useful in this case... “ He cracked his neck. “Though I would much rather not have an audience during the.. Interrogation.” He scans the room.

“I sense that you do not trust Lord Vane with your pet. I can understand that sentiment. As for the lack of an audience? That can be arranged. I know a thing or two about what she spoke of, should that be relevant. The past has been of interest to me for some time.”

“Very good. Lord Vane’s habit of breaking prisoners would not be a good factor for my purposes. And I would be interested to hear of the things you know that she spoke of. I remember my apprentice telling me them distantly, Vex seems rather awed by this Tho Yor… She spoke of it as some sort of ancient ship or weapon? A very… Interesting find.”

“It stems back to the time before the Jedi Order. Back when the Rakatan Infinite Empire still existed.” she turned to look at the other Apprentice. “If you have access to means that will not necessitate involving Lord Vane, then we can avoid that inconvenience. I trust her motivations about as far as that twi’lek can toss a rancor.” Nimm indicated the prisoner she had acquired to bait her pet. “What do you think of that most unreasonable set of demands from your pet or whomever is speaking with her voice?”

Caxal nodded at the sentiment towards Vane. All knew the fickle nature of his own Master, and Vane was not much different. “I am of the belief that all is not as it seems. I recently destroyed her lover and left him for dead, yet she did not speak with this… Inflection… At that time. She is rather skilled in the force for one so young, and I have been told of some unusual abilities the Jedi may possess…”

“Her manner of speech is incorrect for one so young. I suspect another personality has, somehow, been overlaid on top of the one that belongs to your pet. To be specific, the personality of a Rakatan, a rather nasty but presumed extinct species. Artifacts of theirs do turn up occasionally. I would assume this young Jedi encountered one."

“If that is the case, it is no match for me and I still will be able to gain the information I seek.” He scowled at Jaslyn. “It will only be as strong as she.”

“And she is a Jedi padawan.” Nimm finished for him. She was uncertain whether he could back up his claims, but she did not let her uncertainty show. Besides, it was not her prisoner, so she only cared so much.

“Aye.” He nodded. “I say keep to it’s more ‘reasonable’ demands for now, and I will find out what it knows.”

Xid had been on the edge of his seat the whole time. His eyes didn’t leave Jaslyn as she spoke in a weak attempt to bargain with Apprentice Deenia and the other Sith. The calm in the woman’s voice was strange. It clashed with his memories of her, evidence of how time had changed them.

Over in the Observation Lounge Lea’s communicator chirped. She pulled it up, seeing the simple message from Nimm. “It appears Nimm desires our presence outside the compound’s eastern gate, a short distance into the Jungle.” she said to her apprentice. “I wonder what she has planned…”

Xid tensed. His eyes narrowed in suspicion, and he frowned, his attention distracted from the events below.

"Whatever it is, it won't be good for some of those involved."

He hesitated to move despite the obvious limit in his options.

“Most likely not. Though I do suspect that she does not plan any direct harm to either of them at the present. I do not see how that would benefit her. Shall we go?”

“I…” Xid inhaled and looked back to Jaslyn. He swallowed his confusion and fear then turned back to Lea.

“Yes. Navi, come on.”

He rose onto his feet, in a rush to get the assigned task over and return. In the back of his mind he hoped things wouldn’t escalate much farther. Jaslyn played a dangerous game and not a favorable one for her. She already risked and pushed far too much for his comfort to gain too much.

Lea sensed his hesitation, but she did not need to push him into moving. It would take a bit of time to get out into position, but so too would whatever else Nimm had planned. She decided she would send Kintik up onto the facility roof to act as an extra sensor array. He was not too efficient at moving through jungle terrain and would be far more useful up there. She did not try to stop Navi from moving when the droid began to squirm off her lap. There was no need at this point.

Down below, Nimm ignored the attempt at spreading discord. She hoped that the other Apprentice was experienced enough to understand that she had a plan that he would not have reason to object to. As per the traditional agreement, she would not do anything that might put his prisoner at risk without his permission. “You may pace if that pleases you, Jedi. Your escort should arrive soon.”

Caxal gave a halfhearted shrug. He would concede his objection, for now of course. He had plenty of time on his hands and very few obstacles. “I will collect the information after the… Hospitalities are seen to.” He glanced over at Nimm for confirmation.

Nimm nodded. She heard the nearby hum of the turbolift, which she had good reason to presume signaled the troopers coming in as requested.

Lo laid there. Her ears perked and listened to the conversation between Jaslyn and the Sith. A gut instinct plagued her heart as the deal concluded. Her body took its time to recover. A numbness had spread in the wake of the pain. When feeling returned into her limbs, she cautiously sat upright on the sand.

“Frack.” She stretched her neck and gave it a tender rub.

Her hand merely touched the metal surface, unable to reach the real point of pain. At the sound of footsteps approaching her, she lifted brown eyes. Her heart sank to see them reach then haul her upright. Lo held back her sharp words and flinched when they set her on her feet. Fear poured over her enough to glance at Jaslyn being gestured to the closest turbolift.

“No, please. No, I didn’t agree to this. Jaslyn!” Lo’s voice heightened a few octaves, her figure pointed to the opposite one.  

The troopers refused to ignore their orders. One man reached for Lo, the others closing in to help. The Bothan flinched then stepped back, her figure pushed a small ways to the exit. She glanced over her shoulder then to Jaslyn. Not willing to go, Lo strengthened her posture and planted her feet.

"I'm not leaving." A small growl emitted in her voice, but she didn't realize it.

The trooper shrugged it off. His hand once more reached for her. A sharp smack echoed as her arm swung to the side, slapping it away.

"I'm not leaving her."


“Yes you are.” Nimm stated, her hand hovering over her wrist unit, clearly visible to Lo.

Lo froze for a split second. She lifted her head to look at the Sith and the subtle threat. A guard managed to grab her arm, but she shoved him away. Every fiber in her body screamed at her not to let this happen. Two more stepped in to push her further towards the exit. Her panic rose as her feet began to lift. A shallow breath replaced her earlier steady one. She raised her arms then pushed outward, sending the guards flying backwards across the arena.

“I said no!” Lo nearly screamed it.

Nimm tutted softly, shaking her head. “Your choice.” she said as the collar’s automated programming caused a series of shocks to pulse through Lo’s body. She did not yet press the button that would render the young girl unconscious, but she was ready to do so.

Seven long pulses rippled through Lo's body. The Bothan screamed at first as she hit the sand hard, her body locked into the too familiar convulsions. Her eyes shut tight while she tried to focus on her cucritorn. She lost count of the shocks, but the first few came and went. It was a lesson she refused to yield to this time. She willed herself to focus. The following three gradually grew better to handle. Her muscles still reacted to the electricity, but when the last one passed… Lo managed to rise up onto her feet against the odds.

“I think your punishments are losing their effectiveness.” The young Bothan huffed quietly. Her stance bent weakly at the knees and her balance cocked to one side.

“That you imagine that to be the extent of what I might punish you with when you misbehave is laughable.” Nimm stated, shaking her head again. “Now do be a good girl and behave yourself.”

“Not to point out the obvious, but I seem to fail at that.” Lo retorted, a bit of her subdued behavior disappearing.

“You imagine yourself a Jedi. It is only to be expected that you will fail with that in mind.”

“I will take that as a compliment.”

Jaslyn watched Lola and the Sith female square off resulting in Lola getting shocked. Gritting her teeth Jaslyn wanted to have the roles reversed for Lola and the Sith. She sneered. "Truly a pathetic show of impotency, a Sith reduced to a shock collar. Seems like I got the better Sith, unfortunately for me. Oh and she is a Jedi and always will be a Jedi. You must be getting your last kicks in because freedom means no collar." Jaslyn raised an eyebrow at Nimm.

Nimm did not rise to the bait offered by either of the prisoners, nor did she see any reason to answer this additional attempt to alter the deal that had been made.

Looking over at Lola and nodding Jaslyn’s features became calm and steady. "There is no chaos, there is harmony. There is no death, there is the Force. Remember your training Lola. I will be alright. Don't give them this." Jaslyn nodded again.

"Jas, please don't do this. There has to be another way. I don't trust them and I know she will twist this around somehow. I don't care about myself. I’m worried about you." Lo tried not to beg as she dug in her feet.

Already the troopers were closing the gap and gripped her arms. They began to pull her away, but she jerked back and tried to wring herself out of their grasp.

"Padawan Lyra'Tre. I'm not sure you understand the gravity of the situation. I appreciate your sentiment but it is not you betraying the order at this point. It's just one more black mark against me."

"You're not exactly a Knight, Padawan Dayne." Lo mumbled through her gritted teeth. Further words were interrupted by the Sith's commentary.

“Oh no. The betrayal was when she poisoned a member of the Jedi High Council.” Nimm stated casually.

Lo flinched at the truth. The snide fact distracted her long enough for the troopers to shove her back toward the exit. She stumbled a bit, like a newborn nerf, as she braced her arms on her knees.

Jaslyn laughed unabashedly. "No I'll never be that Lola. And if you think for a moment that you can shake my faith in that bright star you can kiss that goodbye Sith. She no more poisoned Master Rothul than you would be able to truly love someone unreservedly and purely."

Smirking, laughter still danced in Jaslyn’s eyes. "Besides I still have stories to tell you Lola. You can bet I'll be right behind you. If you don't cause a scene. That's my thing, not yours. Quit taking my thing."

At that time, the second group of troopers advanced upon Jaslyn to take her out through one of exits at the opposite end of the Arena, to wherever Apprentice Caxal desired her to be taken.

Jaslyn called out. "Just trust that everything will work itself out. The Force works in mysterious ways Lola." She went with the troopers without a fight. She'd need strength for later.

"I still have faith in you. Don't give up, I'll get you out. Nothing you say or do is going to change that." The young Bothan shouted back, the words strong despite their weak value now. She couldn't simply give up. Not this time.

Lo watched in utter horror as Jaslyn left her alone. What little strength she had managed to retain, fled her body and her legs buckled. The troopers held her firmly while they began to haul her off. Her head lowered itself. Her hair fell down and shrouded her misery at what felt like another failure added to her list. She didn’t look forward to the new hell waiting for her.