Session export: The Academy - Chapter 3

Shadow Academy Campus Uskil Continent, Arx

The entryway doors to one of the many landing pads slid open with a mechanical hiss. For several heartbeats nothing happened. Then, a fiery skinned man clad in a skin-tight lavender bodysuit and gray jeans stepped throat. He glanced to the side with an inquisitive gaze and froze his neck in place, even as his legs advanced. With his head still frozen in three-dimensional space, Nejj Ithurinos reversed his advance and his lower body disappeared back behind the doors, followed shortly by his head and narrowed eyes.

He peaked out once more and made note of anyone he saw in the corridor. They had no idea what they were in for. But they would. Oh, how they would.

Nejj’s lips spread into a thin, cocksure smile and his golden eyes seemed to sparkle.

Oh yeah. It was all coming together.

He raised his chin skyward and began his march into the expansive halls. The Zeltron exuded swagger and the kind of confidence that can only come from ignorant courage.

snnnoorrrt

Follow the sound and you would find a sleeping Mirialan. Purple hair was splayed all over on the books and the table. One would assume just by appearances that maybe this student has been studying too hard.

They would be wrong.

Upon on closer look, they may discover that the book was open on page one. Table of contents.

Slowly, carefully, inch-by-inch, the tome-turned-pillow started to slip away from the veil of purple hair. It slithered, guided by an unseen hand, until i rested just before her prone head.

THUMP

The tome slammed shut as if by torrent of sudden wind, though no wind affected the library, just the will of the Force. The noise would be quite startling to even someone that had no been dozing…

As the book was being slid out from under her, she stirred slightly, “Five more minutes,” mumbled Sagitta in her sleep.

THUMP

Sagitta yelped as she woke up and stood up so quickly that the chair fell behind her and she almost lost her balance but regained herself.

Her hand slip down to the hilt of her vibrioblade, now alert and admittedly, slightly groggy. Pink hues darted around in attempt to find the culprit.

The culprit wasn’t hard to find. He had taken a seat at the other side of the table, and sat with his hands on the table in front of him, fingers steepled. His long, ash-gray hair parted evenly to both sides of his face, revealing bright blue eyes and a tight beard. His cloak was parted just enough to display his Envoy Corps-fashioned Exarch Robes and the Golden Envoy badge worn as a broach. He slowly removed the glasses he wore, folding them and sliding them into a picket within his cloak.

“I don’t blame you,” he said in a calm, lilted monotone. “That volume isn’t very interesting,”

If he was bothered by her pulling a knife on/at him, his face did not show even the faintest hint of concern.

When she saw a man sitting at once empty spot she watched him carefully. He had to be someone important. “You look familiar. Why do you look familiar…hmm,” puzzled Sagitta as she seemed to relax some. Her hand was no longer over the hilt as she was tapping her lower lip then laughed sheepishly as she looked at the book, “Yep! I’m supposed to learn some more but I don’t know how they expect me to learn things from books and scrolls and papers, I’m so sorry if you love reading, you might since you just put away your glasses, but seriously, I am not cut out for this so called studying, it took me more than average to learn languages cause all I had was bloody- I’m talking too much again.” She immediately tightens her lips.

“So much for improving on listening skills,” blurted the impulsive Mirialan. Then she facepalmed herself for saying the quiet part, loud.

Marick listened quietly to the Mirilan’s explanation but showed no sign of judgement or reproach. “My name is Marick Tyris Arconae- I’m the current Exarch for the Envoy Corps. You might also know me around Selen, as I spend time around the Citadel.

"You are Sagitta,” he leaned forwarded slightly and said plainly, “Val'teos’ latest apprentice, yes?”

He paused to give her a chance to process, but kept his hands still and together with no movement as the tome to flip closed, lifted up telekenetically, and returned to one of the shelves.

“Listening is important, yes. But understanding that everyone learns differently is also a path towards power. Reading is one way to learn, but it is not the only way. And these glasses are not for reading, they are for knowing. Would you like to see?”

Whoa. “You are so cool! Didn’t even yell or scold or anything! Or even laugh!” Wait, she just interrupted. She cleared her throat as of her way of apology and for him to continue.

He knew her name and who her teacher was. This cause few slow surprised blinks but she regained herself. He’s important. Obviously.

“Wait, back up here, how do you know me- oh yes please!” She didn’t even get to finish her sentence and hopped on the chance of seeing what he meant by knowing with the glasses. Anything better than reading but how would one ‘know’? In a moments notice she was right by his side, hands out and ready to be very careful of the item she was about to receive.

He pulled out the glasses and handed them over without much concern. As she was closer, she could see that his posture showed no hint of concern. While she wasn’t sure why that was, it was in fact because he knew where all the entrances and exits were.

“It projects an overlay only your eyes can see. Knowledge is power, and this is but a fraction of it.”

With an excited smile as if she received a gift, she carefully opened them and placed them on “Oh! Holy kark! Wow! I have to get me one of these! Maybe it could help me constantly remind things that I’m always forgetting or even keeping me in line, as others have said! Where do I get these M-“ she froze.

Kark.

What was his name? As if on cue, it seemed to pull him up. “Marick,” Sagitta triumphs as if she had won a massive jackpot.

Marick offered a very faint smile at the revelation. He extended a hand and patiently gestured for them back. “Indeed. They are but a tool, though. Training your mind to act on information is where you start to see the real impact.”

Sagitta cheeks puffed for a moment. They weren’t hers after all. With a deflated sigh, she handed them back to Marick, “Thank you for that! I will see if I can get ahold of one- wait training?” Has she been bamboozled into a training without her knowing? “Wait, no, let’s go back. How did you know me? I’m prettttty sure I wouldn’t get the attention of someone important like you, uh, no offense, with that get up and all…. Sir” she added that the last bit in hopes to not get in trouble.

“Knowing people is part of my job, as I am in charge of the Envoy Corps,” he explained flatly. Seeing her reaction, however, he quickly shifted his tone and shrugged a bit, then held up his hands in what he hoped was an amiable, non threatening gesture.

“In this case, I happen to be friends with your Master. He spoke of your promise.”

“That’s a fair point.” Course, it would be good and important to know the ins and outs. Maybe she was always meant to be a solider, she did not have the attention or aptitude for it.

Then she became quiet. Real quiet. Her arms crossed and she was uncomfortable.

“Oh.”

Her attitude towards the Force was extremely somewhat shaky and a new territory for her. She did show her first one at a young age when she was in danger but it was mostly ignored, by Sagitta alone, as she grew up and it was then her dad realized it was time that her sister and her get the help they needed.

Karran had been helping her but she still felt like using a jetpack while holding 20 Ewoks.

Marick frowned, his eyes taking in her stillness. He found himself, unintentionally, mimicing it, then stopped himself and shifted slightly in his seat next to her.

“I know that words can seem hallow, but everyone starts… somewhere. And rarely is it ever as pretty on paper as we would like it. But the Force isn’t something you should ever feel..tepid about. It is a gift that can help you grow, but to rely on it solely as a means is folly.”

“Karran is a good mentor. And your clannmates all have different levels and experience and powers with varying degrees of control. Everyone has a story…”

He was talking too much. He frowned and tried to think of a better way to word it. He cleared his throat.

“If you want some help understanding your power, I’m probably a good person to come to. I was once a Shadow but now an Arcanist, like yourself, ” he said more directly. “And I’ve been doing this for a very long time.”

Sagitta was still. She listened. She was actually absorbing the words he was saying. She couldn’t explain the tight grip around her throat and the increase need to run.

After a few moments, she didn’t want to break down in front of a fracking stranger, she only had one question, “Did seeing as an Arcanist, change you?” Sagitta may have just admitted her biggest fear to a complete stranger.

Marick’s posture remained calm like stillwater. His usually stoic visage seemed more…human up close as he seemed to let a bit of his mask fade as he genuinely tried to connect with another person who needed him to be better.

How else would he atone for all the things he’s done. The people he’d killed; the fact that he’d survived; the soldiers and agents sent to their death and the loss he’d witnessed.

He remembered of Atyiru, dying, and recalled thinking that the one person who had truly understood him was simply gone.

But then he remembered what he did to get her back. He unconsciously ran a hand though his once jet-black hair. He had given up his very life force in the ritual that helped him bring her back.

And now they had a life together, with their children, and there was hope. Marick had to be better. He had to find ways to help the next generation and hope they would do better–be better.

Can you even help one person? Can you not thaw your heart of stone and empathize?

“Seeing always changes you,” Marick replied finally. “But change is an inevitable part of life. We move forward. We are challenged, and we grow.”

He didn’t reach out to touch a hand to her shoulder or anything, but kept his attention on her without the weight, hopefully, of expectation.

“Arcanist push past the veil to witness the true secrets of the living Force and how it connects all things,” he added.

A really long pause, he didn’t have to answer if he didn’t want to. The pause was enough.

As annoying as people always called Sagitta, she didn’t want to change. She was terrified of it.

Still is.

Training. She knows training is important, after all, it helped her to be where she was now, some combat skills and a bit of shooting skills.

She shook her head. She’ll just have to hold on the only piece she likes about herself as hard and long she could, “Okay. What’s first?” Then she groans, “Not reading?”

He noticed that his words had mixed results. But at least she didn’t run away. He’d need to get to know more about what concerned the Mirilan, but it would take time and trust which he knew wasn’t something that came overnight.

“Fifteen more volumes of…” He watched Sagitta’s face start to fall and then cut himself off and tried to flash a smile to demonstrate he was joking.

“–well, we can start with how Dowsing works, and we can find my old understudy somewhere around these dusty halls…”

He pulled out a piece of cloth. It didn’t seem like much, and honestly looked quite dirty and spoiled with a mixture of dried blood and dirt.

“This is a a bandage I saved from our last time in the field. With it, I can pinpoint him through the Force, following the connection it has to him. The threads are thin and hard to see, but if you really focus…”

Marick’s eyes focused intently and snapped off towards the other side of the library – out the hallway and to the workbench area in the adjacent room.

Of course that’s where he was.

“Follow me,” he said as he got up and walked out towards the door.“

“Oh, don’t you start, you little…”

The latest of frustrated utterances and Umbaran curses escaped the Jedi’s lips as he struggled to center himself again. Under typical circumstances, working on his lightsaber was a meditative joy. Today, the exception defines the rule.

“Karking-” He recoiled in pain. A sudden shock from the power cell he was struggling to compact singed his fingers. He shook his hand and briefly licked his fingers. Any pretense of hygiene had been dropped after the first hour, and his mouth tasted of copper.

“The philosophy of a splitting lightsaber is the philosophy of a true Niman stylist-” an old Holocron chirped to life.

“-to flow in the Force and adapt to any battlefield, I get it, old man.” He’d heard the Academy’s approximation of Jedi swordmasters explain this at least fifty times. “Give it a rest, will you?”

“Bwoooo-oop?” BD-99 purred, legs folded beneath him. The droid would often play music while Adem worked, but his companion had not been in the mood today.

“I know he just wants to help, buddy, this just isn’t working.” Adem wiped his brow and sighed. “Can you hand me the wire cutters?”

“Bwee?”

“Yes, again, little guy.” The Umbaran busied himself with disassembling his hilt to begin anew, eyeing the magnetic couplings resting next to the holocron, which carried on with its presentation.

“The magnets should not pull apart with a simple tug; ensure a secure connection with a locking mechanism-”

“-a simple twist-and-click will do,” Adem muttered. His concentration wavered again as he sensed someone’s approach, embarrassed to be seen struggling with his specialty.

“Fifteen more volumes of…”

Just like that, her heart dropped as horror crept over her face. Her jaw dropped but then he started to smile. “Wah,” exclaimed the Mirialan, “That’s not funny!” She pouted towards the man. While giving him suspicious look, they mentioned about Dowsing and finding his old understudy. “Aw yea! Now this one I’m excited to learn! I always liked finding people but usually I go with hunting kind of things, like tracks and -what is that?” She stopped at seeing Marick pulled out an old dirty thing and… was that dried blood!? This caused Sagitta to rise her eyebrow.

He… kept a bandage. Out of all things that he could get from his understudy, it was a bandage. What an odd thing to be carrying this whole time. Threads are hard to see and she needed to focus. Well! Here goes nothing!

But he was gone, “I- wait!” She yelped as she quickly patted herself down and looked at the table to make sure she didn’t forget anything, a habit she had to learn over time. “I didn’t even get to focus!”

“Day fourty-two of infiltration and they still suspect nothing,” Nejj murmured as he ‘blended’ with the researchers. They didn’t know what he was up to of course, as the pair in front of him walked down the corridor while debating the details of their datapad’s readout.

Nejj stood behind them in monk-mode, his hands clasped and chin to his chest while keeping step with them. Perfectly incognito.

Awesome incarnate.

Then the Zeltron was hit with a severe case of ‘oh a piece of candy!’ and he was suddenly drawn to a flashing terminal. He swaggered over while humming his own secret agent theme song. Nejj arrived at his destination as he transitioned to full on ‘dun dun’s and sliding his head side to side. “What does this button do?” the Zeltron inquired. “Excellent question! It must be tested!”

His boot began tapping rhythmically as Nejj went about his business. He wasn’t exactly a master slicer and, in the end, was mostly just easily distracted as he was on his way to look into some Jedi related archives. A few button presses later left him with an 'oh’ face and a red screen.

“Well, the security works,” he remarked with a nervous chuckle. A few quick glances for witnesses and Nejj was backing away. Then an alert siren screamed to life in the hall. “Leg it!” he exclaimed and sprinted away from the terminal towards one of the large libraries.

Workbench Room

Marick followed the thread through the Force, trusting Sagitta to be following as he crossed the hallway and entered into the room that had some parts, tomes, holos and other mechanical tools.

“Even if he’d been hiding his signature in the Force, or cloaking with it, I’d still have been able to follow this thread,” Marick explained to Sagitta as they entered.

“Adem, hello,” Marick greeted the Umbaran at the workstation. “Hello, BD-99,” he added as well.

The myriad lightsaber components shuddered above the table as the Umbaran Jedi’s concentration wavered, then recovered after a moment. His telekinetic grasp held the disassembled weapon in the air between his hands, and he slowly turned to greet his mentor.

“Nice to see you, Marick,” he said, burying his frustration under some warmth. At another time in his life, the Exarch’s presence might have been disruptive to his focus, but now Adem found his confidence bolstered. He regarded his mentor’s companion. “Making new friends? Beedee’s getting a little bored watching me tinker.”

“Beep-ooo-oooo”, the droid warbled sheepishly, and hopped off the table for proper introductions.

Sagitta was almost jogging to catch up with Marick, “But you didn’t even give me the time to see this so called thread! Just went, ‘Oh I found him,’” Sagitta tried to mimic his monotone voice the best, “‘Follow me’ And I’m practically jogging to keep- Oh? We can still see it despite the cloaking? That’s pretty cool actually- Oh hi!” She smiled as she saw the one that she assumed Marick was trying to track.

“Beedee?” Brows furrowed in confusion before she realized they meant the droid, “Aw! Hello little one? How are you doing? You are so adorable and sweet aren’t cha? I’m Sagitta, it’s so nice to meet you Beedee!” Then she remembered her manners, “OH SORRY!” She sat up quicky before greeting Adem, “It’s also nice to meet you.”

Marick seemed pleased at the two’s introducing. His own droid, yet to be named, floated and circled around Beedee, hovering and shifting its polyhedral chasis in curious patterns.

“I was demonstrating to Miss Sagitta the basics of Dowsing,” he explained to Adem. Then turned to the young Mirilan.

“It might seem weird, but keeping small affects or items belonging to people close to you can be an invaluable tool to an Arcanist.”

She thought she was getting better.

Growing, finding those who cared about her despite what happened, trying her best to atone for her mistake, letting people in, letting herself get closer to Alexandyr. But she wasn’t, not really. Sure she went through the motions of eating and sleeping and interacting now, but the problem was still there, scratching away inside her mind.

She still saw Tema’s eyes when she closed her own.

Still heard his mother’s caterwaul of desperation when she saw his little body when she wasn’t focused on anything.

Her slender fingers gripped the holoscreen in her hands, causing the screen to flicker in protest. Finally snapping back from her trance-like state, the Chiss gasped softly and loosened her hold on the device. She felt that nagging sensation at the back of her mind, those hypothetical icy fingers of the Dark Side nagging at her…

If only you had waited. If only you could have saved him.

ES-70R beeped beside her, its body fluctuating and spinning as if to grab her attention. She looked at it, her eyes tired and dry. She didn’t know how long she had been here sitting, reading, obsessing. The droid bloop’ed at her, spinning and undulating once more.

“This is your three hour set reminder to hydrate from BD-313.”

Right.

-

“Please instruct Ellie to snooze that reminder for another hour.”

“Error— Unit BD-313 has refused this request on the grounds of: the alarm has been snoozed three times, please go and hydrate.”

Sivall sighed softly and rubbed her face with her free hand before placing the holoscreen on Sith Alchemy down. She knew Ellie would come into the library if she didn’t comply. The medic reached out and took ahold of the one closed bottle they allowed her to bring inside. She uncapped it, downed about half of the contents of said bottle, then recapped it and set it down.

ES-70R made a delighted beep.

Siv picked the holoscreen up and began reading again, despite her vision blurring. She was researching different methods of healing— focusing more recently on the Sith Alchemy used by Bril’s ancestors, the Nightsisters. The inhabitants of Dathomir had created magnificent creations, amulets capable of even bringing the dead back to life. If any of that knowledge could help her prevent more deaths, she would have it.

“Can’t go wrong with dirty laundry as a tracking material,” Adem chuckled, familiar with the technique, perhaps quietly unsettled by however long Marick had possessed the bandage. “Blood’s about as good as you can ask for, especially if it’s fresh. Think we’d have any luck talking the Voidbreaker into monthly blood drives?”

Marick opened his mouth to say that, actually, part of the health protocols of the medbay required they have each crew members blood type and a sample of each, he smartly kept his mouth closed instead.

“I wouldn’t have an old bandage in my bag if you didn’t get injured all the time.”

“I’m an enthusiastic donor.”

Sagitta smiled at the other droid, “I’m so sorry! Hello to you too!” She waved at them as Marick went on explaining that he was showing her the basics of Dowsing, “More like saying mystical stuff and running off before I can do something,” Sagitta muttered under her breath, if they were paying attention, they might caught what she said. Right on cue, Marick mentioned about having small items from those she knows would be good. Then she had an idea. All the sudden her brain starting shifting gears.

“Voidbreaker?” She asked towards them, not knowing what it was. Hearing their banter, Sagitta snorted under her nose as she’s starting to think of how to prick or ask her family for blood so she could track them when the time came… after all, she’s in training and soon, possibly moving out of the life of a ship.

“The ship Adem is currently stationed on, part of House Qel-Droma’s Battleteam of the same name. They handle various operations for the Clan,” Marick replied.

“Do you want to give it a try this time?” he asked her.

Hmmm. Another ship. Operations? Now that she can’t wait for, get out of the training and back out to the field. But anyone would tell her that it’s best to be prepared.

Isn’t learning as you go the best way to be prepared anyways?

“Oh! Um.” She blinked few times at the dirty bandage. Seriously? Why was she hesitating? She had gotten down and dirty few times, even shot at or her face up against a burning grill, what was stopping her? A slow exhale escaped from her, she didn’t realize she was holding her breath for a bit.

Her hands rose as she took the bandage from his hand, oh how she desperately for it to not work. Well. She’s here. Might as well. Her eyelids closed as she tried to concentrate.

HA.

‘Okay. Focus. So I was thinking that to get their blood- no wait. I’m suppose to focus. Focus. Breath in. Breath out. I could accidently prick them- why can’t I focus. This should be simple. In. Out. Visualize your ribs expanding as you inhale and getting smaller as you inhale. As the videos I used to watch a lot on the ship between operations and assignments. Speaking of which, did I take out the trash? Yes. I’m sure I did. Wait, focus. In. Out. In. Out. Do I really want to do this? What if my worse nightmare comes true? Oh, for frack sake! Focus on the thingy you are holding! I wonder what happened to him? Does the poor guy get hurt so much he had to make a joke that he’s an en- oh my gosh. Why can’t I fracking focus!?’

“Frack. You would have a better time to ask porgs to never fly again…” Sagitta’s brows furrowed as she was evidently frustrated. She can’t get her mind to be quiet or still for her to concentrate.

Adem set his work aside and moved a bit closer.

“I know you’ve heard it all before,” he began, meeting Sagitta’s eyes with his silvery gaze for a moment. “That old saying about the Force, how it connects everything? I always saw it… how do I put it…” He considered for a moment, and held out his hands. He stretched and closed his fingers, stretched and closed, over and over. “I think of it like… a web. It’s hard to see at first, but the light catches it on some strings. Look long enough and you start to see more. Step in and you feel it wrap around you, and eventually you can follow every strand.”

“And now he prefers to connect with droids,” Marick added dryly, which was dangerously close to showing some kind of emotion.

“Machinery’s not that different,” Adem elaborated. “Everything’s connected to something else in a machine, hydraulics, electrical transfer, wireless signal, plenty of it made with natural materials. The Force is in all of it, if you know what to look for.” He’d been listening to the holocron for too long.

Marick seemed to be sated by Adem’s self realization, because the corner of his eyes crinkled.

Sagitta didn’t want to let them down. They were strangers yes but as of now, they were her comrades and trying to help her out. With a rose eyebrow she glanced towards Marick for adding another jab at Adem. Adem seems to be right on cue to how machinery is not that different. “Hm.” He had a good point, the connection with the machines helped give her SOME idea at least.

With a soft sigh she nodded. She focused again.

‘Let’s try again. Maybe focus on … ya know the Force instead of the breathing.’ She mentally told herself. She took in another inhale. Put aside her fear for the time being, it was blocking her. Just do this one little thing. It wouldn’t change anything for her that much. Just a string. As she relaxed some, her shoulders drooped slightly and she felt more at ease. It wasn’t long before she smirked, “I see it!” She exclaimed, it was very very faded and weak, Sagitta assumed it was because her and Adem didn’t have that strong of a connection.

Marick shrugged a shoulder slightly. “Very good, but this was an easy one. Interested in trying out something a bit more difficult?”

“Just remember: It’s not so much about your connection to the other person, though that can help of course. Really, you are simply linking two similar things through a sympathetic link. As Adem mentioned, blood is the strongest because it’s a one-to-one transference. So it’s more about the source and the target than it is an emotional connection.”

“Uhhhhhhhhhh,” started Sagitta, she was not expecting to have to try something more difficult right off the gate. She was worried. Would he give her a random item and she would have to find out who owns it? Marick continued to explain some more about the connection and blood really is the strongest. She glanced towards the string she was seeing as she sighed. Was she still holding back? Was she really that scared? It took her a few seconds, “OH! Right, you asked me a question, heh…” She scratched her cheek sheepishly as she handed the bandage back to Marick for him to take, “Yes.”

A pit had appear at her stomach.

What was going to be this challenge and how hard will it be?

“It is simple. I will give you something of mine, and you will try to locate me within these halls using only the Dowsing,” he explained simply. “If you’ll forgive me, to make it easier…” he took out a knife from somewhere on his person, pricked his finger, and pressed it into the corner of his cloak, which he ripped a piece off of with the same knife.

“Here, this should be a good link to me, as it has my blood and something of what I’m currently wearing. Give me ten minutes, and the search can begin,” he explained, and waited to see if she was still interested in this. Honestly, if she got bored and decided it wasn’ worth it, at least he could say he tried.

Oh! This challenge didn’t sound so bad! “Okay! That sounds good!” She said with a wide smile. She loves running and climbing on her spare time, even sometimes hunting. Though she hasn’t exactly been a good hunter so this can definitely give her the thrill she needed. Not that she would admit it. Sagitta grimaced slightly as he made it easier for her, it’s just, Sagitta never did well with pain. In fact, she becomes a big ass baby. “Ten minutes?” She asked, more to herself as she was now a bit worried. Sagitta had the tendency to get distracted or forget things.

“Alright, let’s go!” She sounded sure… and not sure at the same time, if that was even possible.

Nejj felt a disturbance in the Force. It was as if a thousand voices cried out…having fun without him.

Unacceptable.

The Zeltron was playing it cool after the incident with the terminal. He had to. The reason there was that he had made it to the library and was immediately rebuffed by the attendants for lacking access credentials. It was hardly his fault and they shouldn’t blame him of all people for not being in the database. Keira said she had gotten him basic access.

That woman clearly sat on a throne of lies.

Or she was exhausted from being a parent. That was likely. More likely, even.

Anyhow, the story was getting away from the important part. It was Nejj.

Nejj was the important part. (At least within his own internal narrative.)

He took a deep breath and centered himself at the crossroads between two corridors. The man closed his eyes and breathed out entirely too loudly. Then he harmonized as he inhaled.

So he couldn’t access the archives. Annoying, but not world ending. He could still be productive. The academy was full of people after all. People in need of guidance. His guidance. They just didn’t know it yet.

Marick made his way deeper into the shadow academy. He knew the layout from memory. It had been part of his security serials and plans as Voice, and working with Headmasters and Headmistress over the years. Spending time on Arx again was different, but his memory was still edicit.

After the time had passed, he found a hidden reading nook and leaned back. He grabbed the first holo he could see and behan to scroll through it.

Tick. Tock. Sagitta started pacing back and forth and made sure to stay out of Adem’s way. At least she was actually paying attention. For once in her life. Can she really do this? “Thanks for helping me earlier!” She added as she smiled towards Adem. Then finally! 10 minutes was up! Her heart was racing. The hunt was on. Oh this was so exciting!

Okay. Just like before! Breath in and out. Focus. She started to see the strings. Oh!

What a cute droid!

How adorable! “I meant to ask, what was it’s name again? Do you always call it Beedee? It’s so adorable, where did you buy it from? Do you take with you on your travels on Voidbreaker? Exactly what is your job on Voidbreaker? I wonder if I can join Voidbreaker, who else is part of it? Do you have anymore droids? How many crew is on Voidbreaker? Wait, how many cute little droids are on Voidbreaker as well?”

Marick felt something in the Force reaching out toward him. He didn’t make much effort to hide from it, and almost did so casually. But something told him his concealment didn’t work. Perhaps he was geting old.

He hadn’t planned on visiting the archives today. The last few weeks had consisted of rigorous investigation into the nature of the various forms of Dathomiri Shamanism, and other obscure approaches to the Force. He was tired and the dark circles beneath his eyes showed it. To make matters worse, he was a few days removed from his encounter with a Zabrak Jedi and the Dathomirian artifact that both men had been searching for. Unfortunately, that artifact had managed to take hold of his mind, and the remnants of that possession still lingered as a heavy mental fog that made it difficult to … well, anything. Another brush with the Dark Side of the Force had convinced the young Zabrak to give himself and his mind a break, so he decided to treat himself to a nice, hot cup of caf and whatever breakfast was being served in the cafeteria.

That was, until he felt something calling out to him from the depths of his mind. A fleeting image of a young Chiss woman delving into her studies appeared in his mind. When that image faded, a torrent of emotions took its place: sorrow, doubt; loneliness, guilt …

Desperation.

The woman was surrounded by a potent cocktail of difficult emotions that on their own were potential egresses to the Dark Side, but together they spelled disaster for even the most stalwart guardians against the Dark.

Bril felt like he’d been punched in the chest when the Force revealed to him that the woman was none other than Sivall.

“Oh, no.”

He’d never run so fast. With how quickly he made it to the section of the Academy archives that Sivall was, one wouldn’t have been wrong to assume that he’d used the Force to enhance his speed.

=

The automatic doors to the library were barely fully open by the time he stepped through. When he found where Sivall was sitting, he hurried over to her table and took a seat in front of her, looking her over with an expression devoid of the usual cheerfulness that both knights had grown accustomed to seeing when encountering with one another. He broke eye contact with her only to glance at the datapad sitting on the table between them; his lips tightened at the sight.

“Sivall,” he began, no lora this time. “What’s going on?”

Minding Sagitta, Adem sent a ripple across the weave of the Force, brushing across a familiar presence, that was… smaller than it should be, too small for his friend.

How like him to give her a challenge.

“Come on, buddy,” he said, beckoning his droid to shoulder. “His name’s BD-99, sometimes I call him Nines. He turned up in a salvage and I fixed him up. Hasn’t left my side ever since.”

Her attention span was still severely lacking as she watched the droid go to his shoulder. “Nines? Aw. Is it okay I can call him Nines? ANd that’s so sweet! Sometimes you find the best ones in a place you would never think to look!”

Few seconds go by.

Sagitta let out a startled yelp as she remembered to what she was suppose to be doing.

“Oh, kark!” Right! Okay, holding the material, she started to concentrate and saw a thin line. Alright… here goes! This should be fun!“ With a smile, she headed out of the door and followed the thin line.

Sanguine eyes didn’t stray from the holoscreen in her hand, even as Bril approached. Even as he addressed her, even at the tightness in his voice and the lack of the familiar nickname he had taken to calling her. Her eyes were tired, lacking their normal sheen, and surrounded by bags just as serious as her brother’s. ES-70R whirred worryingly over her shoulder, sensing something was wrong.

The frigid fingers crept further.

“I couldn’t save him, Bril…” She whispered, “I couldn’t save Tema…” Her fingers gripped the holoscreen again, enough this time to cause tiny cracks in the glass. Her lips were set into a hard line, her expression more serious than it normally was.

“A little boy is gone now, because I wasn’t good enough, wasn’t strong enough, wasn’t assertive enough, wasn’t….” She sucked in a pained breath and swallowed hard. It felt like she couldn’t breathe, like she was being drowned in an arctic sea. She could see it clearly again, like she was back in Tekpantli. The murderous looks given to her Consul because of her. The looks that should have been given to her and not Qyreia. The pain in Qyreia’s voice, her anger at Siv that nearly choked her, watching the sick and dying at The Hollow and being unable to help any of them.

Schuttas shouldn’t have been fighting anything!

How do you think I feel?!

This is what I think of your sorry.

“Wasn’t experienced enough. It won’t happen again. I won’t let it. Enough death has occurred because of me, because I was inadequate.” Her eyes had begun to take on an orange tint; she wasn’t wholly unfamiliar with the Dark Side of the force. She had been trained in it most of her life, after all. But it had never felt like this.

Connor was right. He was right. He was-

Her vision tinted red and tears formed in her eyes, her jaw set. “I will not become what he tried to make me.”

Sagitta made sure she paid attention. Even when she started to doubt herself, she would look at the line again and see it clear as day. Where was the doubt coming from? “Stop it,” She muttered to herself as she smiled again, this was suppose to be fun! It’s a hunt! Let’s see, turn here. .turn there…. doors…. then she found Marick. She let out a triumph yell. “HI! I did it! I’m so sorry for taking so long, I got side tracked and talked to Adem a bit more about his droid, it’s so cute! Apparently he-” She abruptly stopped, “Sorry. Trying not to talk so much anymore.” Sagitta lifted her arm to hand over the material with Marick’s blood, unsure if he wanted her to keep something like that.

Marick nodded and put away what he had been reading. He was already finished with it anyway.

“Excellent work. Sagitta.” Marick replied. He took the cloth back. Then he took out his lightsaber, ignited it, and casually held the cloth to the blade to disintegrate it.

Then he sheathed it and replaced it into his belt, as if he’d just used a hydrospanner to tighten a bolt on a speeder.

“Care to try a bit more of a challenge?”

Sagitta took a step back when he got his lightsaber out as he used it to get rid of the cloth. Huh. Man knows how to get rid of evidence. She rose an eyebrow, what could be more challenging than that… though she got this. After all, she made it this far! Should come much easier for her now! “Yea, alright, let’s do it! That was fun!” She felt a bit tired.

Maybe that nap on that book wasn’t restful enough.

He nodded, then handed her his Golden Envoy Badge. “This time, just an item. No blood. Same thing, give me ten minutes and then go.”

With that, he made his way off, moving with quiet steps in a way a former Shadow did even when not meaning too.

Sagitta blinks as she was holding a badge. How is it that something so light made her so nervous to hold? It looked important so that didn’t help any. Decided to take a moment to rest, she sat down and exhaled softly. She runs every morning. Even if they were going between planets, she would run up and down the ship, which drove her family nuts but they got used to it. The Mirialan climbs if she was where she could do so. Why was fatigue getting to her? Hmm. She started to think back if she ate enough for toady or even drink enough water. Pink hues glanced behind her as she realized Adem was there as she yelped in surprise, “OH! Sorry, I didn’t know you follow me. So, apparently suppose to try to find him again, with this,” She held up the badge. “Can you imagine taking on such a responsbility? I would never want to be a leader.” Then she looked at Adem with a smile, “What about you? Ever considered being a leader? Or you just want to work with the cuties droids?”

“Happy to be supporting cast, I think,” he said, relaxing a bit. BD-99 peered over his shoulder, and he patted the droid’s head. “Little guy here gets me in enough trouble as it is. Someday, we’ll get a ship, explore on our own.”

“Remember to focus on that thread,” he said, nodding at the badge. “Feel your way through the weave, and pull on that connection.”

The new chair that Marick found in his new location was very comfortable. Since no one else was around he spun in circles a few times.

“Aw. I’m sure he doesn’t get you in that much trouble, I hope,” she chuckled gently towards them. “Oh exploring! That would be so much fun! I really do like that idea. Marick mentioned Voidbreaker was a ship for uhhhh House … something? A battle ship I think. I’m leaning towards that idea! Can explore and help out with operations!” Sagitta glanced at the clock, “Right! Okay!” She concetrated on the badge and while it was a bit harder, she was able to see the thread. Took few steps and just like that the thin line vanished as Sagitta grimaced. The Mirialan aggressively shook her head, her purple hair shaking with her as she attempted again.

A slender, tattooed hand moved across the table and rested atop her own, encouraging her to put the datapad down and take his hand instead. Not only would this allow her to squeeze his hand, if need be, but it would allow him to more easily project a sense of tranquility across their Force connection. It wouldn’t completely rid her of her feelings, but hopefully it would provide some calm while she worked through what she was feeling.

The frigid touch of the Dark Side that pulled at her mind crossed their connection and tried to do the same to him. It was a dangerous game they were playing, but he found the strength of will to dismiss its call, for now.

Some images did flash in his mind, clearly memories from Sivall as she explained what had happened. He caught glimpses of people he didn’t recognize, of the troubled expression that none other than Ruka wore on his face, and of a little body covered by a sheet.

He took a breath to keep his own emotions in check. A flood of sadness and sympathy for his sister was waiting to be released, but he kept it at bay for her sake.

“Look at me, *lora,” he said, his voice softening. “Look at me and focus on my words.”

“I’m sorry for what you’ve been through. But you can’t blame yourself for what happened, especially to the point that you open yourself up to the call of the Dark Side.”

He gave her hand a squeeze, keeping his gaze trained on her face. “Death is as much a part of the Living Force as life is. We do what we can to forestall it, to help people, but sometimes things are simply out of our hands. I know what it’s like to come out of a mission feeling wholly inadequate, lora. Weak.

I haven’t said anything because I didn’t want you to worry, but I’ve been fighting what has felt like a losing fight against the Dark Side ever since my mission on Kenari.”

He paused, trying his best to ensure none of those wretched memories slipped across their connection. None did, but he was unable to keep the feeling of

-

terror he’d felt that day from revealing itself to her.

“Please take my word for it: this is not a path that you want to go down. So much has happened…it isn’t worth it.”

His eyes shifted to the cracked holoscreen, catching a glimpse of the content she was reviewing. His lips tightened at the sight of the word “Nightsister” written on the page. “Especially not that.”

Siv’s eyes finally broke away from the holoscreen when Bril guided her to put it down. That hand in turn clung to his tightly, like a lifeline, like it could pull her from the cold sea. She took a deep breath and mustered all her self control, her eyes focusing on the Zabrak as he spoke. This was her brother after all… he was just looking after her. He wanted her happy and whole, to grow and succeed.

Through the storm of her own thoughts, she listened intently. He was important to her, and so were his thoughts and feelings. She listened till about the point where Bril mentioned the Living Force.

The first crack in her self control appeared.

Her jaw set tighter as she pushed herself to finish listening to the Plageius member, eyes narrowing just a bit from focus. Her heart ached in her chest as he mentioned his own troubles with the darkside. She felt her own tension ebb at the fear that drifted across their bond. She wanted to console him, let him know he wasn’t alone. That she would always be here to hold him up when he couldn’t stand on his own…

But then Bril mentioned that it wasn’t worth it. The knowledge wasn’t worth the danger.

“K'avim,” she snarled, the last of her self control shattering.

She snatched her hand away from Bril to try and save him from the vitriol in her veins, but it was too late. In her moment of hesitation, the storm of her thoughts broke through— along with the sheer, suffocating rage she felt. At the force, at life, at her circumstances, at the injustices she had seen. At herself.

Bril would be overwhelmed for a heartbeat of memories of being drowned in an ice bath so cold it hurt, of being denied food when she didn’t meet expectations, of standing cold and naked for punishments, of Ju’lia hitting her when she ‘embarrassed her in public’, of looking in the mirror in ridiculously expensive dresses and being told why she didn’t deserve to wear them and why she would never be ‘beautiful’.

-

Of a loth-cat of pure white with no markings and red eyes, still warm but very much dead and broken in her arms. Her fault, her fault.

Of hands, disgusting hands, touching her with the intention that they payed good creds so they could do whatever they wanted.

Siv stood up abruptly, knocking her chair back. She felt betrayed by her own mind— she wasn’t ready yet. Wasn’t ready to let anyone in that deep. Wasn’t ready to be the object of pity; she had survived. Damaged and unwhole and broken to the core, but here. On her own. Clawing and bleeding and crying.

“Ravri'ihah to ‘Csarcican’t bah to Force’,” she hissed, her hands gripping the table, “Children never deserve to die. Old and sick, those with their timing running out? Sure. But not children, their life hasn’t even started. They haven’t lived.”

Ruka and Zuji both had tried, tried explaining to her the Will of the Force. Tried to get past the one mental block that held her back. But she couldn’t. Because admitting the Force had a will meant admitting that the Force willed her mistreatment, willed Fia to die, that it was all part of some grandiose and convoluted bigger picture.

Her frame had begun to tremble, her red-orange eyes intently staring down her botmun’i, her k’ihn, as a tear broke loose and rolled down her cheek.

Marick idly levitated a few scrolls with a faint effort of will, rotating them before picking one and idly flicking through the data it contained.

“Interesting.”

Another slow exhale. It’s so odd. This fatigue was quietening and stilling her mind. Or giving her a massive brain fog. She wasn’t sure which. Concentrated again, she found the line but it was flickering almost. What was going on? Wasted no time, she hurriedly made her way towards Marick.

Finding him, she exhaled softly, her body rested against the wall. “Okay. That was a bit more hard.” Her voice was low and soft as she shakily handed the badge to Marick, “But I kracking did it.” She smiled, despite how tired she was, she wasn’t going to lose that upbeat she holds dear.

<@350064387937140738>

Marick grinned and accepted the badge back. “Not even going to ask what this is?”

He noticed her fatigue, and seemed to have a bit of…interest, excitement in his eyes?

He had helped train a generation of agents and operatives for the Inquisitorius. And sure, Socorra was an Elder now, but her apprenticeship had been more of a guiding hand to her natural drive and talent. All of his other students had come after their initial journeys. Adem coming back to Arconan at the time he did helped Marick feel less of a failure.

He had promised to be better, do better, for his Clan, and his family. But he also liked teaching. Knowledge was power, but power on its own was not enough to prevent the past repeating itself.

“Are you ready to try the other unique abilities Arcanist can do?”

Pink hues glanced at the badge, “Honestly, scared to ask.” Sagitta admitted, “People have medals, badges. Could be something simple as this is my home, clan, or family. Could be something extreme as I lead an entire army and helped bring down the threat. I never understood the latter, is that really something to celebrate?” She understood the importance of operations and assignments. But she never understood what the war/battles costs on either side.

*‘For the galaxy. For it’s beings. For family.’ *

Sagitta gave him a blank look, “ We can do something else?” She asked, a bit puzzled and surprised. Wondering if she had the energy to try it, “Yea! Let’s try it.” Eh, screw it. If she doesn’t have the energy, well, maybe he would excuse her to take a nap.

<@189568236201705472> <@350064387937140738>

“It’s a Golden Envoy Badge. It means even without being the Exarch, it grants Diplomatic immunity when acting on behalf of the Brotherhood,” he explained.

Then he nodded at her eager response. “Very well. The other trick we have at our disposal allows us to channel directly from the Living Force to restore our own energy.”

He closed his eyes for a moment. Then reached out into the very slipstreams of the Force. He had always visualised it as throwing a lead into the wild, surging waters and finding purchase, then using the tether to rejuvenate his reserves.

At this point, he did it without so much as thinking. It was like drawing in a deep breath, but being rewarded with renewed vigor.

When he opened his eyes, he saw that Sagitta was watching, and seemed to actually be able to sense what he’d done.

Sagitta glanced at the badge for a moment before letting out a soft ‘hmm’. So he was basically, the bridge for the Brotherhood. Als,o not a job she would want, her attention span was worse than a hyper Ewok on a sunny foresty day. Not good for a Diplomatic Envoy. She seemed to perk up slightly at the mention of restoring their own energy. What.

She paid attention and glanced around… somehow, she really was able to see what he was doing. With a smile, as he opened his eyes, she closed hers and attempted it as well. With already being tired and exhausted, it was going a bit slower than Marick’s. She took in a deep breath of relief and exhaled as if she just got some fresh air. “Aw yea! That was awesome! I am feeling a lot better now! Thank you so much, Marick! You too Adem and of course, you as well Nines! I feel good, man, I want to go for a run or climb or something!” She let out a whoop, not loud, she knows how to use her inside voice (sometimes).

Marick smiled, faint and tight as it might have been. “Let’s go back towards the main floor. I have a…sense that there is someone that might need some looking over.”

Sagitta squinted at Marick’s smile. She had seen smiles before so why did it seem like his smile was different? She had no idea that he doesn’t usually smile. Much. Sagitta rose an eyebrow as Marick brought up that he has a sense that there is someone that might need some looking over. Looking over? “Is that someone hurt?” She asked as she followed Marick.

Marick stretched out with his own senses and…felt something. Familiar, but not too familiar. It was almost like when he could sense Wyn was up to something, but this aura was slightly different. He had a general idea of where to go, but nothing concrete, so he kept walking. “No, I don’t think they are hurt, just you never know where they could…be”

Sagitta felt better knowing that they weren’t hurt and that you never know where they are. Instinctively, she looked around for vents. Her older sister, Asani, and her younger sister, Erin, had the tendency to hide in vents so it was a knee-jerk reaction for her. “SOOOOO!” Sagitta started rather loudly, “About the Voidbreaker… how can I show my worth to work on a battleship like it? Are there more? Do they have any openings?” She asked Marick, “I’m a Mandalorian, Clan Armis, so it’s been a rough transition for me lately and I think being on something possibly long-term might help me with my bearings and I can offer my services as well.”

“I wouldn’t call it a battleship,” he tried to explain. “Battle Teams are just a sub-unit within a clan structure. In this case, the Voidbreaker II is actually a Minstrel-class Yacht. So it’s a luxury vessel that’s been customized to also enter battle if needed…”

“The Arcona military has a lot of positive and openings. The Voidbreaker II is just more specialized for the members of the House within Arcona…”

“You’re in good company though, I think. We have multiple clans of Mandalorian here, and a general open- acceptance to anyone that joins us.”

“Mary!” Nejj exclaimed excitedly as he rounded a corner.

The Zeltron didn’t actually know Marick that well. Or much at all. But he knew his brother Wyn like he knew the back of his hand. Which was to say a lot. Right?

He checked the back of his hand with narrowed eyes.

Right.

He picked up his pace and one part skipped, one part ran up to the pair. Once reaching them, he stopped and feigned catching his breath, complete with a raised finger for ‘pause’. Once composed, he raised up straight and nodded to no one in particular.

“The fun has arrived!”

Sagitta listened, “Ah. I see, thank-”

“Mary!”

The Mirialan heard someone shout and since neither of them are called Mary, she didn’t pay any mind at first, “Well in that case-” The sound of someone was running so her attention was taken for the moment. She saw a Zelton seemingly making a beeline towards them as he stopped to take a breath. Sagitta’s brows furrowed in confusion as she sides eye to look at Marick, more confusion was evident. “I-I’m sorry, neither of us is called Mary?” But then her lips curved into a smile, “OH! Did you say fun?! I am envious of this Mary you are looking for!”

Marick, used to interruptions like this from Wyn, organically just let his talking trail off and went quiet. No use fighting chaos theory in motion.

“Nejj Ithurinos,” Marick acknowledged the Zeltron. He then exhaled slowly.

“I assume he’s picked up on my wife’s nickname she calls me by,” he explained.

“Oh, is that what she calls you? I was just bouncing off Wynny and throwing it at you because honestly who has the time to say ‘Marick’ all the time. I mean, it’s got ‘ick’ in it and I don’t need that in my mouth of all places,” Nejj unloaded in a rapid fire cadence.

He tilted his head and scratched at his messy lavender hair, his fingers becoming lost in the thick curls. “If she calls you that, then it’s as the ancient masters always say: great minds plagiarise!”

That was not, in fact, what they said. But Nejj’s mind was always mix and matching. Or, fabricating altogether. It was part of his ‘charm’.

Sagitta heard Marick mention the Zeltron’s name and that apparently, Mary, was a nickname that Marick’s wife called him by, “Aw that’s so cute!” The Zeltron, known as Nejj, talked really fast as Sagitta got excited, she usually talks pretty fast too! And somehow, she got all that he said. “Oh wait, I think it was great minds think alike? Though I do like the great minds plagiarise! It’s a lot better!” Then she glanced towards Marick, he was oddly quiet. “Are you okay, Mari-, sir?” She stopped herself from saying his name, not knowing how things are run around here. Let’s be real. She didn’t pay attention for her to know.

“Marick is fine,” he assured her. “Eq-Adept Nejj,” the Exarch smoothly corrected himself, “this is Neophyte Sagitta, one our newer recruits to the Brotherhood.”

Nejj’s golden eyes flared to life and any respect Nejj might’ve had for personal space was left to the dust. He got real close to Sagitta and grabbed her hands, looking her squarely in the eye.

“Welcome! You’ve taken the first of a great many steps. Never ending steps, in fact, but you are well on your way to your Golden Path!”

Not leaving time for reactions, he released her and hopped back. At the same time, the man ran his fingers through his hair (which stretched at the already tight fabric of his shirt).

“If you’re ever ready for assistance on your journey, never hesitate to reach out,” he exclaimed.

Marick felt an instinct to move and…take action. But he stopped himself. Instead he watched Sagitta, curious to see how she handled the interaction.

Sagitta smiled as Marick introduce her, “Hi, it’s really wonder- WAH!” Sagitta yelped in surprise as he got really close to her and grabbed her hands, instinctively, she attempted to grasp his hands tighter and almost worked to get him into an arm lock, or wrists lock or even direct her knee right on upwards while pulling him in but she stopped herself. Her body being tense wouldn’t go unnoticed by the watchful eye. She hopes that Nejj didn’t think anything of it, “I am very excited! Thank you so much! Hopefully, you’ll help me with those steps and I must say, I ADORE your HAIR.” He stepped back, “I will take you up on that if I need to! That’s one hell of a welcome, you rock!”

“Of course I rock! I’m the best me I can be, but that me is always working on being the next best me.”

Nejj nodded sagely. “I can’t wait to see you be the best you. Oh, also, Mister Mary, they won’t give me access to the archives. Probably because I tried to edit them last time.”

Only because they were wrong.

Marick blinked once. “Curious,” he said, then seemed to grow pensive. “That definitely sounds the like kind of action the Headmistress herself would take. Perhaps you could ask her about it?”

Sagitta nodded, “Frack yes, always work on the next best you!” His attention turned towards Marick as she decided to send a message real quick on her comm. She did pick up what he asked for though, to have access to the archives and that apparently he tried to edit them. Deep down inside, Sagitta trying to figure out if she should be impressed or worried that he had admitted doing something like that. Marick suggested that he should go talk to the Headmistress herself as Sagitta grimaced for a moment there.

Maybe buir was right, always look up the important people before entering new places. Or was that Lillian? Maybe Uncle Alex? She needed to stop being distracted and finished sending a message.

Nejj made a face at the mention of Alethia. It was one of those ‘oh dear heavens no’ faces. Like when a terribad memory is triggered.

“Hm. No. No, I’d rather not,” Nejj murmured.

His internal dial spun from pensive to overexcited at the speed of light and he was gushing towards Marick once more. “Hey, listen, I have been working on a few new strains of my homeopathic remedies. I call this one ‘inny-to-outty’ and need an introvert to test it on!”

Nejj punctuated the unasked question by trapping his tongue between his lips, slightly rotating his head, and waggling his eyebrows at Marick. Then he added finger guns.

Marick made a mental note. Nejj afraid of Alethia. Similar to Wyn avoiding Satsi and Lucine? Curious…

Marick, someone who actually worked at an apothecary clinic and considered himself well versed in homeopathic remedies, was dying to see where this was going. Fortunately, he’d had years of training to handle being shot with finger guns. “Go for it,” he said, keeping an eye on Sagitta as well.

“AH SHOOT” Yelped Sagitta as she rememberd something she was suppose to do, “I WANT TO WATCH AND BE THERE” She pouted, stomping on her feet for a moment then she had an idea, “Quick, give me something of yours, I’ll go do the thing I need to do and catch up on you guys later!” She smiled towards Marick

Mabye being an Arcanist is handy after all.

Excitedly, Nejj produced a pouch of loose leaf tea and handed it to Marick. As he did, he clasped his other hand over Marick’s. “Keep it secret. Keep it safe.”

Nejj nodded and backed away. “But more importantly, let me know if you’re more…outgoing after.”

The Zeltron’s own calm was broken by Sagitta’s sudden yelp. He spun to look at her. “What’re we watching!?”

Marick took the tea very securely and nodded. “Of course. You have my word.”

His eyes flicked from Sagitta to Nejj and then back to the Mirilan. “We’re working on her tracking abilities through the Force through a series of exercises.”

Sagitta blinked once. Twice. “Ohhhh nooo I meant I wanted to watch him,” then she got an idea, “oh I know! We can go somewhere secret and private and safe! I won’t tell a soul what I see!” Sagitta seemed to be a woman of her word. She forgets things easily anyways. “Pssssh I did good though! What are your awesome abilities, Nejj?”

Nejj glanced around conspiratorially. He raised a hand as if to cover his mouth. “I…am a Master of the Arts most Martial and Mystical.”

Marick just nodded his head once.

Sagitta’s eyebrow rose as he looked around. Was… he seeing something she was not seeing? She looked around too before seeing him raise his hand, seemingly wanting to keep it low so she leaned in slightly. Once he explained his ‘abilities’ she slowly leaned up and side-eyed once again towards Marick, watching the nod of the head once. Suddenly, she was very glad that she didn’t follow through when he grabbed her hands earlier. He could possibly, very much kick her behind.

“That’s awesome!” She whispered towards him, “Maybe you could teach me a few things?”

He had never seen her like this. He had never seen her so angry. She’d practically growled something in what he presumed was Cheunh, and the fact that he couldn’t understand what she said made her reaction that much more difficult to witness. Bril felt a tightness in his face as his expression veered from shocked to despair, his hand left there in the emptiness born from her sudden withdrawal of her own. Though, the abrupt loss of contact didn’t come before a flood of ruinous memories snuck their way into Bril’s mind. In their time together, Bril and Sivall had hinted at the tribulations they’d faced, but neither of them had been completely forthright about their history. He had never thought to question his sister’s reluctance to share details about her life before the Brotherhood, knowing that it was her right to share as much or as little as she desired. Now, as a scintilla of that history slipped past the walls she’d carefully placed to protect both herself and her botmun'i, Bril understood why she had chosen secrecy.

A conflagration stirred within him, fanned by his own disgust and hatred toward those kriffing bastards who tormented her the way they did. He jumped to his feet when she rose from the table, taking care to keep the rage he felt in check lest the Dark Side come knocking in his mind once again. Fleeting micro-expressions betrayed the mask of stoicism he wore in the wake of the increased tension between them, hinting at his own internal battle fought just beneath the surface.

“Malu'to,” he spat, words practically dripping with contempt. “I’m so, so sorry, lora.”

He didn’t know what else to say in that moment. What words could capture the depth of sorrow he felt for this woman who had been through so much? Who had survived so much?

-

Seeing a single tear roll down her face nearly broke him, but he soldiered on, gingerly moving toward her with his arms outstretched and palms visible. If she’d allow him to do so, he would pull her into a tight embrace, one meant to convey that he was there for her in whatever way he could be.

“Children never deserve to die, you’re right,” he began, hesitating as he searched for the proper words. “I’m sorry. I should have chosen my words more carefully. We’re not puppets to the Force’s will. Ours lives aren’t predetermined. Choices matter, of course … but sometimes, tragedy strikes, leaving us wondering if things would have been different had we done more, been capable of doing more. But that way of thinking is a trap, Sivall.”

He sighed, knowing that his words were as much about his own troubles as they were about hers. “We do what we can. And yes, we practice and learn to make ourselves better able to help and protect others in the future, but some ways to do that only invite more ruin into our lives.”

Bril gestured toward the datapad again. “This is one of them. Some things are better left in history. Take it from someone who was recently possessed by the very magick you were researching. They didn’t respect life like you do, lora. It’s dangerous. Please, don’t let your guilt send you down a path that will consume you and everyone you love.”

Crystal blue eyes searched the Chiss’ face for a sign, any sign, that his words were getting through to her.

Her veins were on fire, but it was a cold fire. Rage and bottomless sadness. It felt like she was sinking further beneath the surface, further away from Bril, further into the Dark. She could see that dreaded pity in his eyes, could see tiny faint reactions to her past. She didn’t want it, didn’t want his pity, she couldn’t handle his sadness on top of her own. She went to take a step back, to move further away, to place distance between her and her brother who now pitied her…

He opened his arms for a hug, but in a way that reminded her of how Ruka always asked before he touched her. Her vamci, her home. The shift was subtle, but visible; Siv’s jaw relaxed and the orange tint began to fade from her doe-like eyes. She began to return to herself.

She took a deep breath and slowly began to repair her mental walls while she listed to Bril talk once more. Quiet, observing, as she usually did.

They didn’t respect life like you do, lora.

This time the change was instantaneous. Like a switch was flipped. The orange tint disappeared and her posture relaxed, her eyes regained their clarity. Suddenly the frigid ocean was gone and she was so very tired. A frown filled her features after a heartbeat as her senses returned to her, Bril had been possessed. She rushed to her botmun’i, wrapping her arms tightly around his torso.

“Are you okay?”

No concern for herself, for how exhausted she was. She must have been sitting in the archives for a half of a day or more, obsessing over Nightsister texts. None of that mattered right now, because she could think again, and she was so very worried about how haggard her brother looked.

That was better. There was the Sivall he’d been searching for this entire time. As she accepted his embrace and replied with an even tighter hug, he felt like he could breathe again. He hadn’t realized until that moment that he had been holding his breath while waiting for her to respond.

He took a step back only so he could get a good look at her. Seeing her eyes returned to their proper color was a massive relief. She looked tired. How long had she been here, racking her mind over how to best prevent herself from letting others down? Of letting herself down? He could hardly stand the thought of her forcing herself to study this stuff when she could be out there, living the best life she could. After all this, after everything she’d been through, and she still found room to worry about how he was feeling.

“I will be,” he said, his tone hopeful in a way that disclosed his need to convince himself as much as to convince her. “I’m more concerned about you, though. Are you okay? Are we?” He hesitated before continuing, wanting to be careful not to offend her more than he already had. “I know you didn’t intend for me to see what I did, but I want you to know that I’m always going to be here for you. I’ll be here to remind you not to abandon the path you’ve chosen for yourself because despite your wounds, there’s an unwavering light within you that’s waiting to shine on everyone you meet.”

He smiled brightly at her, extending one hand to lightly poke her on the forehead. “Don’t let go of that.”

She waited for Bril to finish talking, but her reply was nearly immediate. Her voice was soft, not angry, but stern. She would squash any fears that her.. episode had elicited.

“We are fine, botmun’i.” She finished with a soft smile, hoping it would reassure the Zabrak. She would always be by his side, no matter what. She dodged the question about her own well being.

She looked at the floor, her soft smile continuing.

“As for what you saw…” she started carefully, pausing for a moment to regulate the feeling of bile raising in her throat and of her chest tightening, “It is done. If you have questions, I’ll answer them. You speak of my light, Bril, but I am broken. There… might be things I have done that will make you see me different. I don’t want to be seen different. I’m… I’m just me.” Sanguine eyes finally raised to meet Bril’s crystal blues.

“And if you want to talk about what happened with you, I’m here. We are k’ihn— family. I will always be here to help you shoulder your burdens. You are not alone.”

“The feeling is mutual. You know that,” he said with a smile, and placed a hand on her shoulder.

“There’s nothing that’s going to make me look at you differently.”

Maybe talking about what they had been through would be good for them. It could be therapeutic, in a way. But that would have to wait for when they were somewhere more private. He glanced to the other people who moved about in this section of the library and shook his head. You could never be too sure about who was listening, especially in Brotherhood territory.

“I do have something to tell you later, but for now, would you like to get something to eat? I’m starving.” He patted his stomach with a chuckle, hoping that his comment would lighten the mood a little.

Nejj paused at those words. Someone actually wanted to be taught? He didn’t have to force the lessons?

He looked choked up for the briefest of moments. “You will find your Golden Path!”

Siv covered Bril’s tattooed hand with her own, watching as the man looked around. Then he mentioned food, and the little Envoy-issued droid that had faded into the background prior piped up with yet another reminder, spinning while it’s triangular like structure pulsed.

“Unit BD-313 is sending a reminder that sustenance is an important criteria for the survival of organic life forms. It has been exactly-“

Nope. Not worrying Bril further.

“Understood, Tor,” she hurriedly cut the droid off, looking at it with an expression that screamed ‘was that really necessary’. The droid did a lazy circle and she had never wanted to punt a synthetic life-form so hard in her life.

The Chiss turned back to Bril and forced a smile onto her face. “Food sounds amazing. To the mess halls?”

Arx Shadow Academy Entrance

The tattered and dusty robes belied the man underneath. It was his first time back here since his capture. The fighting on Arx had been extreme to say the least. Years he had spent in the prisons of the Collective. Tortured for information at first, then when he refused to divulge the location of Clan Vizsla it seems it was just torture for the fun of it. Well at least for his captures. Korvyn still didn’t know what made him come back here first. But, he didn’t know why a lot of things happened. Sometimes you just let the force take you where it will. He just wish it hadn’t taken him here.

The Shadow Academy felt both the same and different. The dark power was still present the halls were once full of students practicing the ways of the dark side of the force. It was less oppressive now though as if the darkness was being lessened like one would change the shades of paint. Much like Korvyn himself, once a butcher with no remorse, his time in captivity had given him a new sense about the force.

Hopefully, the cache he had left years ago was still present in the halls. His Lightsaber and gear stashed hastily before his capture. If he could even remember where that was.

“Halt, state your business.” the guards at the entrance stated quite frankly.

“Korvyn, formerly of Clan Vizsla.” the human stated knowing there was no use in lying. “I am here to retrieve a lost item from the Collective attack on Arx.”

The guards seemed to discuss something before one pulled out his data pad. A few moments later Korvyn was given his answer. “Korvyn died defending Arx. His name etched into the memorial.”

“Yet here I am.” the sarcastic bow and reply came before the human could stop it. A trait he had developed with his captures to throw them off guard. Now however was not the best time for it to come out as both guards drew their blasters.

A human about twenty-seven with ivory colored skin, wearing new black robes, a beard about two inches off his face, with dark brown hair with the sides and back shaved and the top left short and choppy, a scar stretches across his face from left eyebrow to right side of the chin. A lightsaber on his right hip walks into the front entrance of the campus. After following a case of a monster attacking in a near by village, Rylem Westrev, finds himself arriving at this academy he is not at all familiar with, in search for more information on the monster the villagers described to him.

He approaches a desk asking for directions to the library. “Excuse me, my name is Rylem, I’m trying to find information on local creatures in this area, do you mind pointing me in the direction of the li-“

The individual behind the desk stops him before he can finish his sentence, finishes writing something down on a small sticker and slaps it on his chest, it read; ‘Hello, my name is Ryan!’, “Sir this isn’t even my-“ the person behind the desk stops him again and hands him a brochure and a handful of datapads and says, “Welcome to the Shadow Academy, Jedi, Sith, or whatever you are, these are all the things you need to get settled on this campus. Have a great day!” The enthusiasm in this individuals voice does not match their deadpan facial expression as they spin Rylem around, give him a hard smack on his butt which boosts him walking down the hall.

Rylem organizes the objects in his arms as he walks in a direction, struggling to open the brochure to see if there is a map in it. “Ever since I got to this planet everyone has been incredibly weird. I should finish up what I’m doing on this planet and hop to the next one.” Continuing his way forward the brochure points him in the direction of the library and he heads straight there, as soon as he finds a table he sets down the datapads and brochure and proceeds to look at the sticker on his chest. “What kind of name is Ryan?”

Academy Courtyard Adem had quietly slipped away and back into the academy grounds to clear his head.

So much talk about connections and I can’t even connect two lightsabers.

The disassembled hilt sat in his tool bag, the components rattling gently against one another. He’d been absentmindedly turning the pale gold kyber crystals over in his palm, their myriad edges gently pressing into his alabaster skin.

What am I missing?

Marick seemed content to let Sagitta go off on her own, even if it was with Nejj. Surely Adem could also help?

He had picked up on a new curious mystery. Why didn’t Sagitta’s name come up in his files. Other than her entrance to Arcona.

Curious indeed. But apparently there was a whole book series of a character with the same name.

“If you’ll excuse me…I need to do some reading about a certain lore hero…”

Sagitta looked sincerely concerned as he was choking up, “Are you okay? Have I upset you? I am so sorry if I did! You don’t have to train me if you don’t wish! I’m not going to impose!” Then he went on about the Golden Path, again. Now curious and slightly confused, “And what is the Golden Path to you?“

Marick excused himself and mentioned about looking up a lore hero. Her eyes sparkled, “Wait, do you mean books? If yes I highly suggest Adventures of Sagitta! Buir, dad I mean, loves them so much that he named me after Sagitta!” She smiled from cheek to cheek.

Course she was young when the ordeal happened, she didn’t have much memory of wanting to be called Sagitta. It was then she realized something, “Oh no, did we lose Adem and Nines?”

<@350064387937140738> <@189568236201705472>

Marick was already grabbing up holodisks. He did stay near the others, but was clearly preoccupied reading.

“Oh no, I’m not upset at all. And what a wonderful way to phrase that question! The Golden Path is unique to everyone. It’s the steps we must take to achieve our enlightenment! As the ancient masters have told us: don’t stop, get it, get it.”

Nejj nodded and put his palms together in front of his chest, entering what he personally referred to as ‘the zone of zen’. Then his scatterbrain took note of Sagitta’s name dropping.

“Lost sheep? They must be returned to the flock!”

“Yes, lead the way, Nejj…”

Marick’s senses reached out and felt another….presence. Someone new had entered the academy. But who? He tried to gesture at Sagitta to follow Nejj.

“Oooh,” was Sagitta replied as she nodded in agreement, not wrong at all! Got to keep going to one gets what they want. What does she want?

It seems Nejj was interested in finding the one that accidentally separated and Marick mentioned for Nejj to lead the way, “Okay! I’ll follow!” With that she follows Nejj but wondering how this would work since Nejj may not know Adem? Or maybe he does! He seems popular enough to know many!

Bril quirked a brow at the droid and pointed toward it. “That’s new,” he said before turning and heading toward the library doors. “Let’s hope they’re serving something good today.”

Nejj marched confidently down the corridor. He made a left turn. Then a right. Straight on ‘till dawn. Then he suddenly stopped.

“Query! Who are Adem and Nines and where might they be!? Because I—” He paused and raised a triumphant finger. “Have no idea.”

<@189568236201705472> <@216702440140046336>

His lora followed closely, sighing softly. ES-70R followed behind them. “It’s an Envoy thing,” she sighed, “It helps translate, so I brought it with me because I couldn’t read some of the texts on my own.” Rattaki, Ancient Sith, and even more— Tor helped with them all.

She stepped out of the archives and was suddenly made aware of how hungry she was. Her stomach lurched and she placed a hand against it, letting out a soft breath. It was like she had been under some kind of trance that broke as soon as she left those texts behind.

Sagitta followed with an extra bounce in her step before stopping when Nejj paused. “Oh! That’s okay! Marick seems busy with reading and I don’t have anything of his to use my new ability so maybe we should back track before we found you!” Then she looked at Marick, “Unless you let me borrow the item again?”

<@189568236201705472>

“How convenient. It seems like your work with the Envoy Society has been fruitful,” he noted, tucking his arms behind his back as they walked. “After our last mission together, I can say that I’ll likely be lending them my services from now on.”

When they stepped outside, Bril smiled upon feeling the warm sun against his skin. It was a sunny day on Arx but thankfully not as humid as when they’d first met, and a cool breeze rolled through the Collegium grounds.

Figuring that now was as good a time as ever to discuss what he’d alluded to earlier, Bril slowed his pace to a leisurely stroll so they could have plenty of time to speak before arriving in the cafeteria.

“Lora, about what I mentioned earlier,” he began, “I’ve been doing a lot of thinking and I’ve decided that the best way for me to work out what’s been happening to me is to spend some time alone. That being said, I’ll be leaving in the coming days or so.”

He maintained a calm and resolute demeanor and tone while explaining his plans, a clear indication that he’d thought about this a lot and his mind was made up. He hoped that the measured confidence with which he spoke would assuage any concerns that his sister may have had before they came up.

Marick pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Yeah, of course. Why don’t you see if you can locate our friend. Just be sure to return the item to him, or hold onto it until I meet up with you again.”

Marick turned and, following another flicker of awarness through the Force, started towards the main entrance to the Shadow Academy. Perhaps it was his experience, or that he was now more attuned to the newer, retruning, and existing members of the Brotherhood in a way he had not been since years before when he served as Voice.

The Exarch checked his datapad and pulled up a few files. Yes, how could he have forgotten. Qyreia had mentioned a new recruit arriving at the Academy. Since Marick was the closest Arconae, and no other Arconan Summit members were present, he was supposed to find the one known as Ryan-no, it’s Rylem Westrev.

Marick quickly memorized the recruits dossier: Human Male, Jedi Order connections, possibly. Ivory skin, green eyes. Scar from left eyebrow to left eye towards the lips.

It didn’t take much trickery through the Force. The Master’s preternatual eye for detail helped him sift through the Journeyman gathered until he found his mark.

“Novice Rylem Westrev?” Marick asked as he quietly but politely greeted the human.

Rylem looks at Marick

“Please don’t put another sticker on me with a name that isn’t mine…. And don’t slap my butt, one person already did that today and not only did I not give consent but I wasn’t wined and dined first. Are you the person I can talk to about local antagonistic beasts?”

He shifts his posture with his left hand on his left hip and tilts his head to the right as he looks Marick up and down.

Marick blinked twice. His face was a neutral, unreadable mask but in this moment, he actually seemed to…not have an answer for that. “…If someone touched you without consent, we can file a claim with the Headmistress…and, sure, I could probably answer some questions about the creatures native and imported to the Planet Arx.”

Rylem waved his right hand around and shook his head. “Nah nah nah, that sounds like too much work anyway. Besides finding the creature is much more important.”

Rylem slapped his cheeks to focus and looked Marick dead in the eye, shifting his entire demeanor from lax to serious.

“This village not far from here has given reports of some lanky clawed monster attacking their farmers and killing their livestock. They say it’s dangerously aggressive. I agreed to help but they couldn’t give me anymore details than what it looks like. I’m hoping once I have an image in my head of what it looks like and how it can be tracked I can find it much quicker.”

A drive was visible in his eyes, of his wishes to help those people in need. It was also obvious to see that Rylem’s manners must have gone out the window after so much time had passed since he was in the Jedi order.

Sagitta smiled as Marick handed her the bandage once again. “Ah, thank you! And see you soon!” Then she glanced over at Nejj, “Let’s go!” Sagitta concentrated on the dirty bandage, it wasn’t long until she saw the webs again. “Aw, yea, I could get the hang of this. Let’s find them and then we can go find Marick!” Sagitta was feeling more confident in her abilities as she set out to find Adem and Nines.

Marick listened, processed, and then worked with the description and information. “It could be a few things,” he said slowly, buying time for his mind to filter down possible results. “The SARLAC event was some time ago, but that doesn’t mean that all of the creatures didn’t get collected or bred somewhere.”

He pulled up his datapad, tapped a few buttons. “It could likely be a mutant strain of Mastiff phalones, nasty claws on them, stalk prey in the countrysides. Could be Fyrnock’s…but they only hunt at nights and are weak to the sun…” he trailed off, thinking.

“This is the best plan ever!” Nejj excitedly proclaimed as he went to follow Sagitta. The joy on his face disappeared as if by a switch flipping off and he affixed Marick with a narrow glare. He pantomimed “we’ll find you” complete with pointing from his eyes to Marick’s and back again. Then the switch flipped back and he was off on an adventure with a huge grin.

Rylem continued to listen to Marick’s rambling.

“Sounds like it could be a lot of possibilities… Perhaps I need to just stake out and wait for the creature to attack.”

Rylem had let out a sigh and shrugged his shoulders.

“Not much to do about it but go back… Although I am more intrigued with this place now that I’m here.”

Rylem looked around and begun to wander towards a shelf of books.

“It’s been quite awhile since I was in a library like this, reminds me of my days back when I was in the jedi order…”

Rylem’s eyes became distant like he became lost in thought about the past, having reached upwards with his right hand to stroke his beard and rub his face. His eyes seemingly shifting emotions between sadness, frustration, anger, and regret.

<@189568236201705472>

Sagitta smiled at Nejj, “Yes! Best plan!” With that, Sagitta concentrated and saw the webs once more. Following it she found Adem in the courtyard. “Hey, Adem! Hello there sweet little Nines! Sorry, we didn’t mean to separate! Marick was suddenly looking for someone and we,” She gestured towards Nejj, “Ran into him! So we came to find you!” Then her hues glanced towards the kyber crystals, she knows what they are. Not in detail, but she got little knowledge about them, “Oh, whatcha doing with those?” She questioned Adem.

<@185936112441622529> <@350064387937140738>

Nejj did ‘jazz hands’ at his introduction.

“Fruitful enough,” she remarked, following the Zabrak closely. Shen they got outside of the archives, she took a deep breath. The weather was always so beautiful on Arx– not that she was particularly use to humid, hot weather, but the heat on Coruscant was it’s own beast some times. The warm of a planet full of cities living all at once.

Siv looked at Bril as he started to speak, matching his slowed pace. Her expression changed from a passive one to a deeply sad one as a frown formed on her lips. So Bril was leaving too? How was it that she was so simultaneously happy for him and sad all at the same time. The young Chiss looked forward, wrapping her arms around her torso. She could tell Bril’s mind was made up so she wouldn’t try to talk him out of it.

Her heart ached a little that she might have not known would they not have run into each other today.

“I will miss you deeply, Bril…. I hope you find your answers out there. Please keep in touch, if for my own sanity than anything…” She was not one to hover, but how would she be able to help keep her botmun'i safe if he was beyond her reach?

He was taking off, like Alex. She was beginning to see a pattern.

For a moment, Adem considered how to explain. If he understood the issue, why hadn’t he fixed it?

“Well, you see,” he said, turning the crystals over in his palm as he laid his bag of components out before him. “They’re having… compatibility issues. I’ve been over it a dozen times new, rebuilt every assembly and checked every power cell. It’s not the components.” He rolled the gems in his hand again, careful to treat them delicately. “They’re living things, you know, like coral. You can’t make them do something they don’t want to do.”

Although Bril wasn’t looking at Sivall by the time he finished his explanation, he didn’t miss the abrupt change in her emotions. Traces of both joy and acute sadness flowed into his mind with no effort on his part. Her spirit had become heavy, threatening to trap her beneath her leaden fears. It was a lot to take in, especially following their discussion regarding Sivall’s motivations for researching the Nightsisters. But they needed to have this discussion. She needed to know the depth of his struggles and that he hadn’t made this decision lightly; moreover, he needed her to understand that he wasn’t abandoning her. A sigh escaped his lips, but he kept his eyes trained on the horizon. Part of him feared that if he looked at Sivall, the sorrow reflected in those crimson eyes would shatter his stoic demeanor.

“This isn’t goodbye,” he began. “I don’t want to go, to leave you and everyone else I care about. But it’s only a matter of time before my inability to exorcise my demons will lead to you getting hurt, too.”

The feeling of regret crept into the tumultuous landscape of their shared Force bond, mingling with her own emotions. He hadn’t meant to hurt them: Hevan, Draca, and Minnie. In his right mind, he never would have dreamed of it. But his mind wasn’t right, not after he’d let those things in.

“Karran was right, lora. I need to forge my own path. No one can do it for me.”

Insurmountable as his tribulations presently seemed, Bril knew he needed to find a way to surmount them. For his own sake and the sake of his linare, his family, he was willing to do whatever was necessary to find balance.

Another deep breath and moment of silence steeled him, bolstering the equanimous resolve upon which he relied to continue their conversation. “I’ll keep in touch, of course. And depending on how things go, I would love for you to visit me,” he said, turning to face his sister. His expression softened. “I know there’s a lot you want to say, and it wouldn’t be fair to not allow you to say it. So, please–speak freely.”

The Medic was quiet for a moment, looking at Bril while the wheels in her head spun. There were so many things she wanted to say, so many questions she wanted to ask. Why couldn’t he stay here and work things out? Was there anything she could do to help him? To prevent him from going? She had so few people, and despite Bril saying otherwise, part of this did feel like a goodbye. Like when the protagonist left his family towards the end of the story in those dumb, cheesy holovids she had been watching.

Anything could happen to him out there.

She couldn’t protect him.

But she understood. Despite the fear and heartache, she understood. The guilt she felt ebbing from him matched her own guilt. A special pain from making a mistake that stabbed you to the core. She wasn’t sure how to heal her wounds yet, but Bril had found a way to heal his. And because of that, even if it left a hole in her life, she would let him go.

Her small blue hand grabbed his own, pulling him to a stop so she could get a good look at him. Her hands lingered on his arms for a moment before she took a half step back. Sivall wanted a full picture of the man who had become her best friend and brother. From his head to his toes she took a mental snapshot, in case this was the last time she would get to see him. Her heart wrung tightly in her chest. That thought alone made it hard to breath. She took a deep breath, shoved all her emotions as deep down as she could…

-

And then she smiled.

A kind, full, sweet smile. One of the biggest lies she had pulled yet, but she needed to do for Bril what he had always done for her; she needed to give him that reassurance that she would be fine, that everything would be fine. That he could go and find himself without worrying about her, or her problems, or her struggles with the Dark.

She could sense he needed that before he left.

“Just promise you’ll come back. Come back home, to the Brotherhood, to Minnie, to me. Promise you’ll come back and you won’t forget about us out there. And… that you’ll take care of yourself, and enjoy your time.” That you won’t forget about me, she added mentally, but held that part from going further than her own mind.

“The Jedi Order…” Marick repeated calmly.

“You would not be the first of the Order to find their way here. The Brotherhood, as we are called, is collection of Jedi, Sith, and Disciples who takes a more spiritual approach to the Force.”

“There are Mandaloriand among our ranks as well. We offer resources, training, and most importantly, knowledge. You would also not be alone in your efforts to protect these people.”

He took our his lightsaber and held it out towards the man, and offer to hold or inspect it.

“Dual-phase function altered to offer a stun saber mode. Reflexive grip.”

He gestured at his two other lightsabers as well.

Sagitta had to refrain from laughing when Nejj did jazz hands. It was so nice to meet someone who has energy too. People can so serious and it can be a bit of a downer. When Sagitta asked Adem a question, she watched him pause as her head tilted towards him. “Compatibility …. with each other or with you?” She questioned him as she nodded slightly, “Well, I don’t know much but doesn’t some coral don’t get along with others?” Then she tilted her head at Adem, “Come on, we need to find Marick! Maybe we can brainstorm on the way, sometimes talking things out loud with others can help you see things from different perspectives and get the answer you needed!” <@185936112441622529>

The Zabrak gave her hand a gentle squeeze before she stepped away. At first, he’d felt relieved when his Chiss friend smiled at him. As difficult as it would be to see him go, it seemed that she had found a way to accept that his ensuing journey was a necessary one. At least, that’s what he thought until she let something slip. She had tried to suppress it, to bury it beneath the babel of emotions that churned in their shared mental space. She was afraid for him, of course, but what scared her most was the thought of him abandoning her–of being forgotten.

A look of pity transformed his stern expression. “I’m never going to forsake you, Sivall,” he said in a reassuring tone. “In this short time, we’ve managed to form a bond that is going to weather whatever this crazy galaxy throws at us. I’m not going to forsake that. I’m not going to forsake you.”

He cracked a woebegone smile, fighting back tears that appeared in his crystal blues. “I’m going to be back for you and Minnie. You two will take care of each other while I’m gone, right?”

Rylem took the lightsaber in his hand and inspected it.

A small smile crept across his face, his eyes reflected reminiscence of a time long ago.

“The day I met my master he did this exact thing.”

He returned the lightsaber to Marick’s hand and met with his eyes.

“It’s been far too long since I was apart of something greater than myself. I hope I will not disappoint or fail anyone here.”

Sivall nodded, wishing so badly that she could have been strong enough to give Bril what he needed. She fought back her own tears— she didn’t want to cause her botmun’i more sorrow.

“Yeah. We will, I promise. You don’t gotta worry about us, Bril. We’ll be okay.”

She began to pick at her nails subconsciously, her eyes turning to look at the ground. Her mental snapshot was saved. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

Bril pulled her into a tight hug and held it until he was sure that she was going to be okay. After a few long moments, he took a step back and smiled. “Now, let’s get something to eat,” he said, his voice a bit livelier than before. “Nothing like some good food to raise one’s spirits. Isn’t that right?”

“Not all who wonder are lost,” Marick found himself quoting. “You’ll be in good hands here. Do you want to meet some of the others?”

“Sure, lead the way…. Uhhh… what was your name again?”

Rylem rubbed the back of his head, slightly embarrassed that he didn’t catch the man’s name.

“Marick Tyris Arconae,” he said. “Marick is fine, though.”

“Alright, Marick. Lead the way.”

Rylem ripped the name tag off his robes, balled it up and slipped it into his pocket.

Siv nodded, gesturing for Bril to continue before starting to walk to the mess halls herself. She felt a bit better but was still apprehensive about him leaving. She hoped food and lighter conversation would make him feel a bit better before they parted ways for the day and she went back to studying.

Marick didn’t need to use Dowsing, even if he had still retained one of the parts from Adem’s workbench he’d been in contact with. It was faint, but the Master Arcanist had a feeling where his old understudy probably had went.

“So, Rylem-not-Ryan,” Marick tried to make small talk. Though he was not very good at it. “The Shadow Academy, and Arx in general fall under the umbrella of the Brotherhood. Inside of the Brotherhood, there are 7 Clans, each with their own home systems they govern. Together they form a…loose pact that helps us all prosper. My job, for the Brotherhood, is Exarch. I lead up what is called the Exarch Corps initiative. And it’s exactly things like your situation that we aim to solve: using our power and resources to help those who need it. To make the Galaxy a better place…in our own way.”

They weaved through the halls towards a courtyard, where he senses Sagitta, Adem, and Nejj.

“Sounds like a lot of work for 7 Clans across several systems. Despite being under the same umbrella, would you say there’s much conflict within it?”

Rylem kept pace with Marick, he kept a side eye on him to watch his expression as he waited for his answer.

Curiosity in his eyes.

Marick’s features were, as they had always been, a stoic mask. It was the armor he’d worn ever since he was forced into limelight as a leader at a very young age. As a result, he had very good control of his facial expressions and emotes, and only in the recent years as a new father had he begun to let his guard down, slowly.

The comment did actually manage to break his impassive persona, and he let out a short, quick bark of a laugh. It was the faintest of chuckles, gone almost as soon as it had appeared.

“Erm. Yes. You could say that there has been conflict. Rivalries between Clans have…evened out in recent years as threats from our…common enemies has mounted and calls for unity. But the old ways die hard, and I’d be lying to you if I said there wasn’t still those that lived in the past.”

He felt the scar between his shoulder blades itch, though the wound was fairly old. Taldryan was different than it was when Marick was an up and coming leader. He remembered the Dark Crusades, but quickly nudged the memories away.

life before death, journey before destination

He tried to remember the words that had changed him. The words that had been whispered to him from seemingly the world beyond worlds, with the offer of hope for his own future, for his wife to come back to him. Despite the odds, there had been hope and he’d said the words and spoken the oath into the aether of the Living Force. No longer a Shadow, dedicated to the Arcane, dedicated to the future.

“The other members I’m going to introduce you too are from Clan Arcona, which happens to me my home Clan and where I was taken in,” Marick continued leading the way. “And Nejj, well…he’s not affiliated with a Clan, but he’s really his…own person in every sense of the word…”

As they got closer, as if on queue, he could hear the Zeltron’s boisterous voice from the courtyard.

“And that’s why—” Nejj’s booming voice grew louder as they approached while he wildly gesticulated. “—clothes are the enemy of freedom and prevent us from knowing ourselves.”

Marick exhaled very slowly, his mask back on with all the calm patience of a father of a hyper-aware Force sensitive 5 year old.

“You lot are some interesting folks.”

Rylem smiled, a bit of sadness behind it.

“I like that.”

Rylem looked at Marick once more before facing forward.

Sagitta was thrown off by Nejj’s comment and sudden boom of his voice, a shock expression was clearly seen on her face. “I’m sorry, what?!” She yelped in surprise. He did the jazz hands and suddenly was talking about the restriction of the clothes.

Then she saw Marick with someone else, “OH HI!!!!! Frack, was hoping we could go hunt after you.” Sagitta crossed her arms playfully before tilting her head towards Adem, “He’s having a moment, something about the crystals.”

The Zeltron’s arms folded across his chest. “I didn’t stammer. Clothing is a means of hiding oneself. Though it can be argued they can also be used as a means of expression.”

He puzzled it out for a moment while tapping his chin. “It swings both ways.”

“Sounds like him,” Marick replied to Sagitta. “Adem, do you want some help?” he then asked.

Marick nodded to Rylem and then turned to the gathered group. “All- this is Rylem Westrev. New recruit to the Shadow Academy, I figured I’d introduce him to a few folks. I gave a breif overview of the Brotherhood, but he has a quest of his own he’s in pursuit of.”

It didn’t take them long to reach the cafeteria. As they entered, the rich aroma of a hearty soup filled his nostrils and encouraged him to take a deep inhale. “Smells delicious, don’t you think?” he asked, turning to see if Sivall was feeling any better. If not, then he hoped a good meal would help. If there was one thing growing up in his household had taught him, it was that a nice meal could do wonders for a hurting spirit.

He placed one hand on her back and guided her to an empty table, encouraging her to sit. “Here, just relax,” he said in a tone that reminded him of his mother. Bril didn’t give her a chance to refuse his generosity. By the time he’d finished his sentence, he was already headed to the front of the room to get them each a serving of whatever was on the menu for that day. When he came back, he placed to trays that consisted of a large bowl of hot soup, a sizable cut of fresh bread, and a bottle of water. After taking his seat across from Sivall, he slid the tray in front of her and gestured for her to begin. As he was wont to do, the young Zabrak waited until she started eating before he touched his food.

Rylem raised his hand.

“Hello there.”

Siv went to protest Bril telling her to relax, but the man was already gone and heading off towards to line to get food. Once Bril was gone she shot a look at ES-70R and the droid blooped at her passively. Little ktah. She dismissed the droid back to the ship to join Ellie.

When Bril returned she took a bite of bread, hoping that would be enough to spring her brother into eating too. She chewed and swallowed before breaking the silence.

“Talk, botmun’i. What questions do you have? I will answer what i can.”

Adem held up the crystals, confounded. “Help couldn’t hurt.” He considered for a moment that he hadn’t explained the issue very specifically. “Double bladed lightsabers are some of the most demanding to build, not only because you need twice the crystals, but they need to be aligned with each other, figuratively and literally, to balance the blades properly. Otherwise, all it takes is one bad spin…”

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“They’ll work independently, but once I try to line them up with the mag-locks, the whole thing overloads.”

Once she began eating, Bril did the same. He remained silent for a moment to consider her question. “Nothing comes to mind at the moment,” he said, his tone softening a bit. “At least, not about my journey. Is there anything you’d like to ask me? Preferably something more lighthearted but if there’s something pressing on your mind, then don’t be afraid to bring it up.”

“Where are you gonna go?” She was happily dodging the tougher topics of conversation, instead focusing on the excitement of Bril’s upcoming journey, “Somewhere nice, I hope. Not too hot.”

“That’s a good question,” Bril replied, tapping his finger on the black bar of a tattoo that ran up to his bottom lip. “I’m not entirely sure, yet. I likely will allow the Force and my edalinare to guide me. It’ll make it more of an adventure that way. I’ll be sure to fill you and Minnie in on where I end up, though.”

He tore off a piece of bread, dipped it into the soup, and popped it into his mouth. It wasn’t the best he’d had, mostly because the balance of spices seemed off, but it was okay. “Once I’m confident that I have things under control, you two should visit,” he suggested, “I’m sure it’ll be nice to go on a girl’s trip, too. You’re good for each other.”

A look of intrigue filled Siv’s face as she watched Bril rip s piece of his bread of and dip it into the soup. She looked at her bread, then the bowl of the soup, before looking back to the bread and ripping of piece of it off. She mimicked Bril, dipping the shred of bread into the soup and popping it into her mouth.

It was delicious, how had she not tried this yet?

The Chiss nodded at Bril’s comment about them coming to visit, popping another piece of soup-soaked bread into her mouth. A happy ‘mmmmm’ emanated from her before she responded.

“As long as it’s not… roughing it out in the wild, I would love to come visit,” she sheepishly smiled, “I’ve never done the camping thing, but I’ve spent enough time without necessities for the rest of my life.”

“Balance. Hmm. Might be a bit different than working with machinery. Balance of the mind and focus…” Marick mused.

Seeing her enjoy the soup more by dipping the bread in it made him smile. “Back home, we tend to eat with our fingers more,” he noted. “Some people consider it uncouth, but we say it more enjoyable.”

So, she wasn’t one for camping, then? It was a shame because he was sure she could have enjoyed it under different circumstances, but he gave her an understanding nod. “Something tells me that any camping involving Minnie would be more like … glamping? I believe that’s the word?”

“Glamping? What’s glamping?” The question was an honest one. She knew about camping but not.. glamping.

Siv made note to look up Zabraki traditions instead of nightsister texts when she went back to studying. She wanted to some day make Bril something to eat.

“It’s like, camping, but in a glamorous way,” he explained, trying to find the words. “Camping, but with luxury tents, bathrooms, things like that. Camping lite, if you will.”

“Huh,” she stated, popping another piece of bread in her mouth, “I think I could learn to like that. Being outside and doing all the fun stuff, but still being able to have basic things.”

“There’s a connection between them, there has to be, I just haven’t made it yet.”

Bril nodded. “I’m used to both, sort of. Life on the plains of Iridonia was challenging in general,” he explained, pausing only to have more of his soup. “But my mother’s family are also wealthy city dwellers. Got a taste of both worlds.”

Sagitta looked at Nejj, utterly baffled. “I- Okay.” This was the first time that she didn’t have a response. The Mirialan is an energetic person but the random yelling about the restriction of clothes threw her off. Sagitta chuckled weakly when Marick responded by mentioning this is who Nejj was. Well! If that’s the case, at least he livens things up! “Hi it’s so nice to meet you, I"m Sagi- WAIT.” She suddenly went up in front of Rylem, “A QUEST!? Well, my good friend, what kind of quest are we talking about? Adventrous? Personal?” Then she grimaced, “Please don’t say research… don’t say research, don’t say research..”

Adem went on explaining about the crystals as Sagitta scratched her cheeks, not understanding one ounce they were talking about. Marick brought up a balance of mind and focus, “Balance! For me, the best way to know the balance of your mind and focus I find is to walk on a tightrope without cheating. I guess the good way to think of it, place two crystals at the ends, need to find the connection, as so, need to have the rope, OH WOW I UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU GUYS ARE TALKING ABOUT!” Shocked at her own accomplishment, she quickly cleared her throat, “Sorry. Carry on.”

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The Chiss blinked a few times— she couldn’t really imagine Bril living the city life. He had a wild feel to him that contrasted harshly with the pampered people she had gotten to know on Coruscant. She saw him more at home in a remote cabin somewhere than the steel-gray towers of a city.

“Which one do you prefer? Toughing it out in the wilds or city life?”

“You know, I’ve never really thought about it,” he said. “I enjoy both, but I have to say I like more rustic living a bit more.”

After finishing the last of his bread, he lifted the bowl of soup to his lips to drink. “The city life has its perks, though. Chief among them is the variety of clothes outlets you can find. What’s one of your favorite things about the city?”

Marick blinked once, then nodded to Sagitta. “Yes. Unlike mechanics, where there is more physics involved, the Froce is…much more emotional and fickle. Meditation isn’t required, but everyone focuses differently. Clear mind means the ability to accept each kyber crystal without being clouded, and tends to make it easier to syncronize them.”

Marick had never went through the effort or bothered with a double-bladed weapon, as it always seemed unnecessary. But he’d been working with kyber crystals since his early days at the Shadow Academy and Citadel on Selen.

“It’s just some village getting attacked by some creature not far from here, I’ve offered to help before coming here but need more info on the creature first.”

Rylem replied straight forward and to the point, not skipping a beat.

“I’m sorry to butt in on the conversation about the crystals but, what if these two particular crystals aren’t attracted to each other, the way you explained sounded like when you put magnets together on the same side to where they push each other apart, what if these two are so alike that they just don’t work together. That or one is just so powerful that all it require is ventilation….”

Rylem crossed his arms and stroked his beard, running a finger across his mustache.

“Or perhaps maybe build it like two individual sabers and a slot at the pommels that puts them together and detaches them.”

Rylem paused then starts to mutter to himself, attempting to recall some passive readings he’s done on lightsaber construction.

Marick notes the posture and introspection that came over Rylem’s expression. He smiled on the inside, but was careful to keep his expression neutral on the outside.

He glanced over at Adem to see if the advice from others was helping, or making things harder for the Umbaran.

Adem considered the advice about magnets for a moment. The couplings themselves obviously weren’t the issue, the pommels connected and locked without fail. No, of course the couplings weren’t the issue.

“The crystals are attuned to me,” the Umbaran said calmly, “but not each other. They’re… competitive, I think, for primacy.”

“What I need is help convincing them to find a common thread, and at this point I can’t do that on my own.”

Rylem gestured to Adem with his left hand as if to point at him but then his hand rested back to it’s folded position in his arm.

“I believe the most obvious common thread is right in front of us. It’s you, you’re the common thread. Our blades are no more than…” Rylem took a beat to gather the correct words needed to complete his thought. “Mere trinkets without these crystals. No matter how we see it they are weapons that are an extension of ourselves and if these crystals can’t cooperate and come together then you are defenseless. Open to any ambush or attacks that you can’t defend yourself against without their cooperation. If they wish to serve you best then they need to work together to be able to protect you.”

Rylem twirled his mustache a little as he continued to think, his brow furrowing a bit, but then shook his head as if to shake away an impulsive thought. Then just looked to Adem and waited for his response.

Marick blinked once, and remained quiet. His bright blue eyes shifted back and forth between the two, studying, calculating, measuring.

That gave her pause— did she really like living in the city? Or did she just hate it less than living out in the wilderness? The Medic blinked a few times, deep in thought.

“The anonymity,” she commented, uncapping her water, “In the city you’re no one, right? If I said something stupid to someone, chances are I won’t see them again. You just… blend in. Even with blue skin.” The last part was added as a joke, with a little smirk breaking her otherwise blank expression.

In the city you were one in a million. Not alone, but not important. She liked that. Back on Coruscant, no one recognized her. She was just another Chiss— not a Jedi, not a Sith, not a slave, not anything. Part of her wished she could go back to that.

“What about you? What do you like so much about living out in the wild? Surely something I can’t see.”

Bril nodded. It made sense that she preferred the anonymity that being in a large city or ecumenopolis like Coruscant provided. Not only because of her background, but because of the skills she displayed on their missions together. Espionage and stealth were her forte. He chuckled at her joke and said, “You know, your preference for blending in would make you a skilled hunter back on Iridonia.”

He considered his sister’s question for a moment, thinking of his time back on his home planet. He could almost feel the warm breeze flowing through his hair, the feel of the yellow clay they would paint their skin with to ward off the harsh sun on long days out in the plains. “I suppose what I like the most about it is how connected you are to everything,” he explained, “to the land, the flora and fauna, your kin. You can practically feel the heartbeat of the land itself. We have a saying back home: every Zabrak has two hearts - one that comes from their parents, and the other that’s a gift from Iridonia itself.”

Sivall beamed at Bril’s comment, that she would make a skilled hunter. How different would have her life had been if she was born somewhere else, using her talent with the Force for providing for people instead of killing in alleyways? Would it have saved her? Sun-kissed skin and calloused hands from a lifetime of serving a community.

If only.

Her botmun’i’s expression as he recalled his people’s saying warmed her heart and partially prevented her creeping sadness. Knowing your people, your culture, it was a beautiful thing.

“That’s a beautiful thought,” she commented softly, “I can tell you love your home, love your people. I’m glad you have that connection, botmun’i. A common tether. Hold on to it, it’s special.”

Bril smiled brightly, but it eventually turned into a more serious expression, though one more encouraging than what he’d given her during previous conversations.

“That can be a tether for you also, if you want it,” he said. “My family would love you, and I’m sure they’d be more than willing to welcome you into our fold. Then, we could be brother and sister for real.”

He hadn’t considered the possibility of that until just now, but it made sense. There was room for adoption of outsiders into his tribe, also. It didn’t happen often, but it was possible.

Sagitta paused for a moment when Marick brought up the Force being more emotional and fickle as she was suddenly feeling a bit discouraged but it was a passing moment. It was gone as fast as it arrived. Luckily, Rylem started explaining about the village being attacked as she frowned, “ARE THEY OKAY!? Was there any wounded?” Then she looks at Marick with piercing pink eyes, “Why are we not doing anything!? We should be heading down there and helping them!”

But as if right on cue, Rylem was also interested in the crystal conversation. “Oh no..” She mumbled, never really good with research or books. The only books she liked were fiction and that was it.

Rylem turned to Sagitta and smiled a little, a bit of sadness and concern in his eyes.

“Some are injured but most of their livestock are dead.”

Siv’s smile faltered slightly, her expression turning slightly sad. She could barely handle being in one family, having run away from Ruka and his family for over a month, but having to balance two? She couldn’t disappoint two families.

Plus how could she handle another culture on top of her non-existent one?

“I’ll think about it, botmun’i. I would love to… but… I also don’t… I…” she sighed, frowning now, “I’m not good with the whole “family” thing. I don’t know how to do it. I’m already kriffing up enough with Cora and Ruka and the kids… I don’t want to disappoint you and your family too…”

“I’ve told you before, lora, that you can’t disappoint me,” he said, giving her a reassuring pat on the hand. “My family either, but I will respect your wishes. For the record, you seem to be doing a pretty damned good job at being a sister. Look at how many times you’ve helped me out. Especially in the field.”

“You’re too hard on yourself, dear.”

Marick furrowed his brow slightly. “I will send word to the Voice and Headmistress. The Council should be able to dispatch Iron Legion soldiers or Inquisitorius agents to assist the villagers with supplies.”

He paused. “It is not the solution you were hoping for, as I know you want to rush off and help, but it will be effective. Perhaps we can then, all of us, join you and aid you in finding the…root cause of these attacks.”

Sagitta crossed her arms as she pouted at Marick. He was acting like a dad. Wait. Was he a dad? No matter. Then she had an idea.

She looked over at Rylem, “We should go to the village!”

Then she looked over at Marick, “I can use the abilities you taught me today to figure out what is attacking the village. After all, don’t you want me to practice and improve my skills?” She asked with a huge innocent smile. “Books can’t always give answers you know.” She added, hoping that this would somehow convince Marick to let the group go out and help the village. “If we go, this can help the Council lessen the need to find dispatchers to find out what is attacking the village. I’m sure this can work out if you oversee us?”

Siv’s expression softened and she took a sip of her water. She could argue about whether or not she believed she was doing an okay job at being a sister to him, but she was tired and chose not to. Instead she looked down and started picking at her nails.

“Thank you, Bril. That makes me happy to hear. I wish I was as in touch with myself and my culture as you were. I feel like some weird amalgamation of Human and Chiss.”

Rylem looked back and forth at Marick and Sagitta then shivers as a cold chill crawled up his spine then shook his head.

“UH- No no, that won’t be necessary, really, I can handle it on my own!”

A slight look of panic comes across his eyes as he then cleared his throat and attempted to compose himself.

“I’ve been doing these kinds of things on my own for some time now, I don’t want to drag any of you into the mess I decided to put myself in…”

Marick leveled a very flat look at Rylem, the weight of his power and station paling to the eyes of a knowing parent.

Rylem refused to look at him and chose to look at the floor.

“I’ve gotten good people killed because of this life, I do not wish to succumb you all to that.”

Rylem looked as if something was sitting on his shoulders and whispering dark thoughts into his ears, the past clearly haunting him.

“There are those that have survived or unwilling complicit for a region wide purging, simply for being different or deemed Undesirable,” the former Voice said carefully.

“I’ve held dying friends heads in my hands. I’ve sent thousands of troops to their death, sent agents into deep cover aliases we knew they would likely never return from.”

His eyes went a bit hard, his expression now blank as a gargoyle. The walls were up.

“I’ve been betrayed, and turned my back on those who took me in, and killed. I am not alone in this. But what I have learned, Rylem Westrev, is that our lives are not about just the results. The journey is just as important as the destination, and while you still draw breath, your journey continues. Yours, I know, is just beginning.”

“We can aide you without issue. I was simply offering one of the Brotherhoods larger resources on our home planet and seat of power.”

“That doesn’t sound so bad,” he said. “When two cultures come together, it creates the potential for something entirely new and unique to be created as a result.” The myriad tribes and cultures across Iridonia had seen this very thing happen for millennia. The planet boasted a staggering amount of ethnic diversity, which was why it was no surprise that some of the galaxy’s best and brightest anthropologists and ethnographers often flocked to the planet in the hopes of learning more about the rich tapestries of people there.

Bril tapped his fingers on the table while considering his words. He knew enough about her to know that the topic of her Chiss heritage was a sensitive one, and he didn’t want to offend. “Well, when you’re ready, I’m sure there are plenty of ways in which you can reconnect with your Chiss heritage, right? That door is open for you, should you choose to step through it.”

Rylem sat in silence for Marick’s words to marinate in his brain, his hands gripped into fists, guilt in his eyes.

Sagitta’s cheeks puffed when it seems like doesn’t want them to join as she crossed her arms. Marick seemed to give him a ‘look’. It was then Rylem mentioned about losing people.

Then her shoulders dropped, “Oh Rylem!” Without warning she wrapped her arms around him and pulled him into a hug, holding him tightly. The hug wouldn’t be suffocating, it’s more of a heavy warm blanket on a very cold night. “There’s loss,” Then she pulls back with a warm and comforting smile, “and there’s growth. Look!” She smiled as she nodded towards Marick, Nejj, Adem, and Nines. “We may become your new growth in the empty land. Or we may not. That’s the best part. You get to decide to bring us in or cut us off. It’s okay to accept the new growths. We might be weeds or we might be the nurtirtion your soul needs.”

Then her stomach rumbled in protest thinking about fruits and vegetables.

A sweat formed on her forehead.

Rylem began to blush darkly as he had never so much as been touched by a woman in anyway shape or form and proceeded to step back.

“O-okay, s-sure, th-thanks…”

The hug from Sagitta seemingly worked on his mood as his expression has gone from traumatized to embarrassed.

Marick seemed to recognize his words. His trained awareness let him assess Rylem’s reaction, process. Then Sagitta’s reaction added to it.

He went quiet and still. Almost unmoving, body tense despite no actual danger present.He frowned. He wasn’t doing a very good job of mentoring. Perhaps he was expecting too much too quickly.

Sagitta smiled at Rylem. “Of course! It’s never easy. But there’s always more growth!” Then she looked at Marick and saw a frown. Well! He’s not getting away! Her arms went around Marick quickly too as she squueeeeeeezed him into an embrace.

Marick was hugged for a moment, but then years of paranoia, an assassin’s awareness, and reflexes honed to dodge and avoid danger kicked in against his will.

His lean figure wiggled out of the taller Mirilan’s embrace like a slick serpent. He came to stand just beside her and gingerly reached out a hand to pat her shoulder.

“Sorry, just need to warn me next time.”

“I’m not sure if I’m worthy of it,” she muttered, then frowned. She hadn’t meant to say that. Gods damn it. She took a deep breath and tried to pull lighter thoughts to the front of her brain. Something in those texts had dragged her down and kept her down.

“Bapun ch'at vizehn ch'eo vit cat to nob,” she grumbled to herself, looking up at the ceiling of the cafeteria. She rubbed her face, then looked at Bril again, forcing a soft smile to her lips.

“But I know, you know? It’s up to me to start that journey. I will… some day.” There, better, more hopeful. “I’ll get the courage to do what you’re doing. Searching for answers and finding yourself. I owe it to me, right? To heal those wounds.”

“Of course, you’re worthy,” he reassured her. “And if you ever need a plus one to come along, then you know I’m just a call away. And yes, you do. You deserve it. To heal. We both do.”

Her sudden use of Cheunh caught him by surprise. He had only heard her speak it a handful of times, mostly in the form of the occasional curse word–at least that’s what he’d gathered they were based on her tone when she used them. Along with Mando'a and possibly even sign language, that was another language he’d have to learn. He liked being able to speak or at the very least understand the languages spoken by those he cared about. It made him feel closer to them.

“So uhh… how long have you all been here?” Rylem asked, coming out of the embarrassment.

Sagitta’s cheeks puffed when Marick slipped out. “Warn you next time? Okay! I can do that!” She smiled. Rylem asked them a question. “OH! Okay so-” She froze. “No wait.” Her brows furrowed. “Hold on, I know the answer.” She started to count on her fingers and mumble to herself. Sagitta laughed before glancing at Rylem. “I have no idea.”

Rylem chuckled at Sagitta’s lack of awareness as to how long she’d been here and said, “I hope that’s a good thing.”

Nora Olen stepped off the private shuttle, her heart pounding with anticipation and excitement. She had finally arrived at the renowned Shadow Academy, a prestigious institution nestled within the climate-controlled confines of the Arx campus. As she emerged onto the landing platform, the heat and humidity of the tropical rainforest enveloped her, a stark contrast to the artificial coolness she had grown accustomed to during her journey.

Arx, a planet teeming with life and vibrant ecosystems, boasted a diverse range of biomes within its sprawling rainforests. Nora took in a deep breath, the air tinged with the unmistakable scent of flora and the earthy richness of the swamp that surrounded the Academy. The atmosphere on Arx, classified as Type-I, was breathable but heavily saturated with greenhouse gases, a consequence of the rampant pollution from planetary industries. This pollution contributed to a warmer climate near the equatorial regions, where the Academy was located, while the poles experienced a colder, more frigid climate.

The Shadow Academy itself stood as a testament to architectural brilliance, its grand structure rising above the canopy of ancient trees. Its sleek, angular design seamlessly blended with the natural surroundings, reflecting the harmonious coexistence between technology and nature that defined Arx. The entire campus was a masterpiece of engineering, carefully constructed to sustain life and learning within this untamed environment.

Despite the climate-controlled nature of the facility, Arx’s turbulent weather still made its presence known. Storms frequently ravaged the oceanic regions, fueled by submerged kyber crystals released from the planet’s crust, which ionized the atmosphere and created awe-inspiring displays of lightning. These tempestuous conditions posed challenges for atmospheric travel to and from the planet’s surface, but the Shadow Academy had found an ingenious solution.

A series of shield gates, acting as checkpoints and security measures, encircled Arx’s surface, protecting the Academy and its inhabitants. These gates were not merely stationary structures but suspended in the air by intricate skyhooks, eliminating the need for starships to land on the planet. Nora marveled at the sight of these skyhooks, colossal and imposing, their metallic tendrils disappearing into the clouds above. They held a multitude of starships, ranging from sleek vessels of the Sith to other enigmatic crafts, all moored safely away from the dangerous electrical currents that pulsed through the planet’s atmosphere.

As Nora ventured further into the Academy grounds, she noticed a commotion ahead. Curiosity piqued, she hastened her pace, her Zeltron physiology giving her an advantage in navigating the dense undergrowth. Pushing aside foliage, she caught sight of a figure, unmistakably human, darting through the trees with an air of mischief. Zuza Lottson, a renowned mercenary known for her daring exploits and hijinks, had found her way to the Academy.

Zuza’s escapades were legendary, her audacious nature drawing both admiration and exasperation from those who crossed her path. Nora watched in awe as the mercenary leaped and somersaulted through the air, her agile movements a testament to her exceptional physical prowess. It was said that Zuza had never encountered a challenge she couldn’t conquer, and her presence at the Academy promised to add a touch of unpredictable excitement to the already vibrant atmosphere.

Nora couldn’t help but feel a surge of excitement and anticipation at the prospect of witnessing Zuza’s antics firsthand. As a Sith Zeltron, she had chosen the path of the Dark Side, drawn to the power and intensity that it offered. The Shadow Academy would provide her with the training and guidance she sought, and the arrival of a daring mercenary like Zuza only added to the allure of this unique educational institution.

With a determined glint in her eyes, Nora made her way towards the Academy’s entrance, eager to embark on her own journey of self-discovery and mastery of the Force. She knew that within these hallowed halls, she would encounter countless challenges, forge new alliances, and face her deepest fears. The Shadow Academy awaited her, promising to shape her into a formidable Sith, and perhaps, if fate allowed, she would even cross paths with the enigmatic Zuza Lottson, a force of chaos and excitement within the already extraordinary world of Arx.

Siv let out a sigh, but it wasn’t a bad one. She downed the rest of her water and pushed her tray aside. She seemed a bit more relaxed overall than earlier.

“Thank you, botmun’i. Maybe it’ll be my turn for a trip after you, ey? Get away, sort myself out. Maybe go see a therapist.” This time her smile was warm and full, causing her eyes to crinkle a little.

He nodded with a smile. She hadn’t given him a yes, but it wasn’t a no either, and that was a start. Bril knew it would take time for her to become truly comfortable with the idea of exploring her heritage. And that was okay. Although they had progressed through the Brotherhood at a similar pace, that didn’t mean they had to move through life that way. He was happy her to accompany her at whatever pace she needed to heal properly.

“Imagine how different the galaxy might have turned out if everyone had a therapist,” he said, chuckling at the thought. He held up his datapad while leaning back in his chair to pretend like he was a therapist taking notes. “So, Mr. Vader, tell me about your childhood.”

He snorted, covering his mouth as he erupted into a fit of muffled laughter. Once his sides stopped hurting, Bril rose from his seat and picked up his tray, gesturing for Sivall to join him. “Let’s go read some books, lora. Something that isn’t all dark and broody.”

Zuza knew exactly where she was going. The woman had adorned black clothing. It wasn’t so unusual in the academy at least, and was helpful for blending in when she finally came to the entrance. The one that would lead her toward the museum.

There, an artefact was being transported between exhibits to the archives. She’d only have a small window to take the box and make her way to the exit. Where she’d give it straight back. Zuza wasn’t sure who’s idea it had been, and dearly hoped she wasn’t about to get shot trying this, but she was to test the security of the Academy. Test the students who perused the halls for their attentiveness to suspicious activity. She noticed Nora, a notable leader from Plagueis. Very new, but the power she had gained and shown off in such a small amount of time was impressive. If a bit worrisome.

Zu did her best to not give two karks about the past of others clans, but the past was very recent for Plagueis. She hoped Nora had been a voice pushing for the breakdown of their slavery rings.

Ah well. There were plenty of faces here. This was not the time to be distracted by potential friends.

The entrance was easy to pass through, she walked with enough speed and a focusssed expression that no one even looked up at her. It helped probably that they knew her face, but it could have been an illusion! Maybe.

Zuza shrugged mentally, and made a direct path toward the musuem. Stepping inside, there were plenty of guards and the oppressive sensation that came with so many dark artefacts in the area. You didn’t need Force sensitivity to feel that aura. It also smelled… coppery. Resisting the urge to pull a face, Zuza spotted her target and walked towards it, her hands tucked into her pockets.

Nora’s senses heightened as she watched Zuza disappear into the depths of the Academy. The mercenary’s purposeful stride and focused expression gave away her determination. Intrigued and slightly concerned, Nora decided to follow discreetly, curious to see what Zuza’s intentions were within the museum.

The museum was a treasure trove of artifacts, relics, and historical records, showcasing the rich history and cultural significance of the Sith Order. Its hallowed halls held ancient Sith holocrons, preserved weapons of legendary Sith Lords, and even remnants of battles long past. The Academy’s commitment to preserving the heritage of the Dark Side was evident in every meticulously curated display.

As Nora entered the museum, the air seemed to crackle with an aura of mystique and power. The lighting was dim, casting long shadows that danced along the walls adorned with intricate tapestries. Soft ambient music filled the air, heightening the sense of reverence that enveloped the space.

Navigating through the exhibits, Nora kept a watchful eye on Zuza, her footsteps echoing subtly against the marble floors. The exhibits were organized in a deliberate manner, each artifact positioned to showcase its significance. Sith students, historians, and enthusiasts moved about the museum, their hushed conversations adding to the atmosphere of scholarly intrigue.

A surge of anticipation coursed through Nora’s veins as she spotted Zuza in the distance, approaching a glass display case. Nora’s eyes focused on the object within the case—a small box, radiating an otherworldly energy that only Sith artifacts possessed. Its presence alone sent shivers down her spine, a testament to the power contained within.

The security around the exhibit seemed robust, with surveillance cameras discreetly positioned and guards stationed at strategic intervals. Nora pondered how Zuza intended to bypass these defenses, her mind filled with a mixture of curiosity and concern. Was this part of a planned test? Or had Zuza taken matters into her own hands, seeking to challenge the Academy’s security protocols?

Nora’s training as a Sith had taught her to embrace her instincts, to seize opportunities when they presented themselves. In that moment, she made a decision. She would support Zuza, not because she condoned unauthorized activities, but because she recognized the potential for growth and learning within this unconventional situation. It was a chance to prove her own skills, to showcase her resourcefulness and adaptability.

With a surge of determination, Nora moved closer to Zuza, concealing herself within the shadows, ready to intervene if needed. Her emerald eyes glimmered with intensity as she observed the mercenary, waiting for the next move in this enigmatic game. The museum’s aura of ancient power and the weight of responsibility settled upon her shoulders, fueling her desire to excel and prove herself as a Sith of great potential.

There was one guard close enough to the targetted case. She had no idea what it really was, it looked like some form of pendant. But after a cursory glance at that and some other items she sidled up beside the guard.

“Long day huh?” Her expression was sympathetic, leaning on the wall beside him. The case was still in her view, but her gaze was aimed upward the Human stood guarding.

He hesistated for a moment as he glanced around before sighing, feet shifting uncomfortably, “Yeah.”

“Don’t they let you patrol or anything? Gotta drive ya crazy to stand there all day like that?”

“Well. We rotate, but we don’t patrol no.”

“Damn that’s rough.” Zuza frowned. That’ll be something to mention, bored and uncomfortable guards weren’t ideal. Obviously considering he just told a stranger part of their system. Still, she bounced back and forth with him, aimless small talk that drifted from the job to generic speak of families and the frustrations of public transport.

Then his rotation came, and with a grateful smile he began to move away. Another security agent came up to move the case as a the rotating guard began to cross the room.

She turned, walkig toward them with her shoulders back and a stern look crossing her face.

“Hey! Didn’t you get the orders. You aren’t taking that out of spot anymore.” She looked around spotting the other guard and then smiling to the agent, leaning her head towards them conspiratorially, as if exasperated but kindly so, “Come on, with me. Or you’re gonna be in a right mess. We can sort this out round back. How’d you manage to miss the memo Kollot?”

Kriff this was too easy, she’d laugh if the Headmaster wasn’t going to sigh hard enough to kill someone.

The Twi-Lek had looked about to protest, not initially even beginning to go with her until she said their name. Then they glanced around, and still carrying the case followed after the woman.

Zuza was, due to her lack of Force, unaware she was still being followed. For now at least.

Nora watched with bated breath as Zuza effortlessly manipulated the guards and security agents, seamlessly blending in and leading them away from the exhibit. The mercenary’s skill in social engineering was evident, her words and gestures persuasive enough to persuade the guards to follow her without question. It was a testament to her cunning and adaptability, qualities that both impressed and worried Nora.

As Zuza and the Twi'lek guard made their way toward the back of the museum, Nora decided to seize the opportunity to further investigate the situation. She stealthily followed them, her Zeltron agility allowing her to move swiftly and silently through the shadows. The dim lighting of the museum provided her with the perfect cover, her emerald eyes focused on the unfolding events.

She observed Zuza lead the guard to a secluded area, where they would supposedly “sort things out.” The Twi'lek, named Kollot, appeared perplexed but compliant, his trust in Zuza’s authority evident in his actions. Nora’s mind raced, trying to piece together the motives behind this elaborate charade. Was it a test for Kollot, to gauge his susceptibility to manipulation? Or was there a deeper purpose that eluded her understanding?

The back of the museum was dimly lit, a stark contrast to the grandeur and mystique of the main exhibits. Crates and storage containers lined the walls, their contents shrouded in mystery. It was in this secluded corner that Zuza seemed to be steering Kollot, their figures fading into the shadows.

Nora hesitated for a moment, contemplating the potential consequences of her actions. As a Sith, her loyalties lay with the Academy and the pursuit of power through the Dark Side. Yet, there was something about Zuza’s unconventional methods that resonated with her. The mercenary represented a different approach to challenges and security, one that didn’t adhere strictly to tradition and regulations.

Gathering her courage, Nora decided to reveal herself, stepping out of the shadows with a confident stride. “Zuza,” she called out, her voice carrying a mix of curiosity and caution. “What’s the purpose of this little game?”

It was worrying how easy people were to coerce by just being nice in this place. And while it hurt to break the flickering trust with Kollot, the Mercenary still followed through. Taking a step behind him and jumping. In that moment, she wrapped her arm round his neck and let her weight drag him back. He dropped the case but the glass was a sturdier material than it appeared and just bounced, the artefact secure in its place within.

It was a short lived struggle, the shock of being caught off guard and having the wind knocked out of him making for a short job of knocking Kollot out.

She laid him down carefully, and let out a breath.

Zuza turned as Nora’s voice came from behind her, surprise visible in her face as she spotted Nora. Someone appearing suddenly behind her was unexpected and it was hard to hide, yet her lips curved into a wide smile. “Nora. You were watching huh? Nice.”

The question registered then and Zuza had the shame to look a touch sheepish, “I’m on a job, this isn’t as illegal as it looks don’ worry.”

As I observed Zuza from the shadows, my senses tingling with anticipation, I couldn’t help but be impressed by her skill and resourcefulness. The way she swiftly incapacitated Kollot, a man who appeared to be a seasoned mercenary, spoke volumes about her training and abilities. I had been intrigued by Zuza since we crossed paths at the Academy, and now, watching her in action, I couldn’t deny the electric thrill that surged through me.

Startled, I stepped forward from the concealed alcove, my gaze fixed on Zuza as she turned to face me. Her surprise at my sudden appearance was evident on her face, but she quickly regained her composure and a wide smile spread across her lips. Despite the unexpected nature of my arrival, I couldn’t help but feel a flutter of pleasure at her acknowledgement.

“Nora. You were watching, huh? Nice,” Zuza greeted me, her voice laced with a mixture of amusement and satisfaction. It was clear that she appreciated the fact that I had witnessed her triumph over Kollot. My crimson-hued skin flushed slightly with a faint pink tinge, a characteristic trait of my Zeltron heritage.

I took a step closer, my emerald eyes sparkling with a blend of curiosity and admiration. Zuza had proven herself to be a force to be reckoned with, and I found myself drawn to her intensity and determination. “Indeed, I was,” I replied, my voice laced with a husky undertone that often accompanied Zeltron speech. “You have quite the knack for getting yourself into interesting situations, don’t you?”

Zuza’s sheepish expression didn’t escape my notice, and I couldn’t help but feel a surge of amusement. The twinge of guilt that flickered across her features hinted at her awareness of the potential illegality of her actions. Leaning against a nearby wall, I crossed my arms over my chest and studied her intently.

“I’m on a job, this isn’t as illegal as it looks, don’ worry,” she explained, her words infused with a touch of defensiveness. It was clear she wanted to assure me that she had everything under control, that her actions were justified. But as a Sith, I was no stranger to the blurred lines of legality and morality, and I found myself more intrigued than concerned by her admission.

A slow smile curved upon my lips, revealing a hint of sharp teeth. “Oh, I’m not worried, Zuza,” I responded, my tone low and tinged with an alluring playfulness. “In fact, I find your willingness to bend the rules rather… enticing.” As I spoke, I took a step forward, closing the distance between us, my presence radiating a subtle aura of confidence and intrigue.

Locking gazes with Zuza, I could sense the mixture of surprise and curiosity swirling within her. There was a magnetic pull between us, an unspoken understanding that we were both drawn to the allure of danger and adventure. In that moment, I couldn’t help but wonder where this path would lead us, what secrets and thrills awaited us on this journey we had embarked upon together.

That.. sounded like an offer. In a way Nora reminded her of a previous Arconan Consul, Lucine. There was danger there, but also a lot of oppurtunities. The silence hung on the air.

Now that she had the artefact, she was supposed to deliver it. Supposed. Why did Zuza feel like that something else was going to occur beforehand. Well. No one had given her a time frame in the briefing. Probably.

“Enticing huh? Sounds like someone wants in.” A grin crossed her face. “I am gettin’ paid here, but if you have any ideas I’m open to bending rules some more.”

Marick watched as the newer recruits spoke, a small feeling of comfort settling over him. There was indeed hope for the future. The things that they had done in the past, the things they had faught. Sagitta and Rylem were part of that future.

He remembered what he had originally been doing here. Research on the Children of Mortis’ history, where they came from. You had to think like them to know how to beat them. And with emerging reports of the Collective emerging…it seemed there truly was no rest for the wicked.

He idly checked his datapad, looking at pictures of his new child, Weyne, being held by Kirra, now five years old. He smiled faintly then let his expresion go calm and neutral again.

Rylem’s stomach growled loudly as he curled a little and held his stomach and let out a breath.

“Is there any place to get food here? It’s been a few days since I ate anything significant…”

As Zuza’s words hung in the air, a mischievous glimmer danced in her eyes, and I couldn’t help but be captivated by her daring spirit. The invitation was clear, and it stirred something within me, awakening a hunger for adventure and the thrill of the unknown. My mind swirled with possibilities, and I found myself contemplating the potential paths we could tread together.

Leaning closer, my voice dipped into a seductive whisper, carrying a hint of anticipation. “Oh, Zuza, you have no idea how tempting your offer is,” I murmured, my words laced with a dangerous allure. “Bending the rules has always been my specialty, and with your resourcefulness and skills, there’s no limit to what we could achieve.”

A gust of wind brushed against our bodies, the hidden alcove providing a sense of privacy in the midst of a bustling world. My emerald eyes delved deep into hers, searching for a spark of shared desire and a hunger for the extraordinary. There was a magnetic pull between us, an unspoken understanding that we were both seekers of the extraordinary, willing to traverse the treacherous paths others dared not tread.

“But first,” I continued, a playful smile quirking my lips, “let’s ensure this precious artifact finds its rightful place. Together, we can navigate the shadows and unravel the secrets it holds, all while reaping the rewards it promises.”

My gaze shifted to the case, still intact despite the struggle that had ensued. The artifact nestled within its sturdy confines held untold power and potential, a key to unlocking hidden realms and ancient mysteries. As a Sith, I was attuned to the resonance of such artifacts, drawn to their dark allure and the possibilities they represented.

“We shall deliver it,” I declared, my voice laced with determination. “But in our own time, on our terms. This is just the beginning, Zuza. Our journey together will be filled with danger, excitement, and a touch of chaos. Are you ready to embrace the untamed currents that beckon us?”

I reached out my hand, the gesture laden with a silent promise and a silent plea. In that moment, I knew that the path we were embarking upon would forever alter the course of our lives. The tapestry of fate was being woven, threads intertwining to create a destiny only we could unravel.

Marick furrowed his brow. “A few days?” his voice didn’t change. It was the same calm, low monotone as usual, but there was some kind of inflection that showed on his expression. “Yes, there is a mess hall on premise. Would anyone care to join us?” he asked Adem, Sagitta, and Nejj.

At the same time Marick said a few days, Sagitta said the same thing, only louder. “FEW DAYS?!” She yelped in surprise. Nope. No way. Nah-uh. “Way ahead of ya, come on-” She grabbed Rylem’s hand if he let her, “I’m practically starving too. Marick trained me all day and I haven’t had anything to eat!”

<@189568236201705472> <@698974928690610228>

Marick nodded and left the invite lingering and open to Nejj and Adem.

Rylem blushed again as he let Sagitta lead him by the hand.

“W-w-well y-y-yes, w-w-while traveling I don’t really make any money so I can’t afford food so I just try to focus and lean on the force to sustain me…”

Sagitta frowned as she turned and looked at him, strictly looking like a scolding figure, “No, hold on, that’s no way to live. We can’t always rely on the Force. Psh. You’re welcome to use our mess anytime! I’ll make sure that Marick makes sure, okay!? We’ll get you a badge or something.” With that, they were off to the mess hall, “CAN YOU SMELL THE FOOD!?” She shrieked and added a hop to her step, “What is your favorite food? I think mine has to be waffle with fruits, I had that every morning for 18 years with my fami-” She froze as she entered into the mess hall. Family.

She forgot about Asani.

Again.

“Oh. Oh no…”

“Something wrong, Sagitta?” Rylem asked with concern in his voice.

“NICE OF YOU TO SHOW UP!” a yell erupted from the mess hall. Its source a diminutive figure turning a grey color. Some food flew Sagitta’s way. If she were able to dodge it or not would be up to just how quickly she could register it was her sibling scolding her and by the tone she was a bit upset. The lagomorph hadn’t registered there were others with her sibling, until after she had launched the food. She hoped no one else would be caught in the cross fire.

Sagitta laughs weakly at hearing Rylem’s question, “Well you see-”

NICE OF YOU TO SHOW UP

Sagitta grimaced as she turned to look at her sister, “I can ex-” Then she ducked. Luckily, Sagitta got some food on her but not all. “Whoa, sis! One moment, LOOK!” Sagitta yelped in surprise, “I was helping someone who is new!” She sidestepped and gestured to Rylem as if she was showing off a trophy.

“Oh, and that one over there is Marick.” She pointed her thumb at the older male.

Rylem instinctively reached out with the force and caught the fruit without even a second thought, in the event that he would have failed he had pivot his body ninety degrees to the right. He blinked once and then twice as he looked at Asani who had just thrown the fruit then pulled it into his hand and took a bite out of it, making eye contact as he politely chewed his food with his mouth shut.

Marick, similarly, but more by perpetually on-alert reflex slide to one side, avoiding the fruit-based projectile without missing a step.

“Ms. Asani,” Marick bowed his head politely, regardless. “Pleasure to meet you.”

She paid no mind to the new recruit her sister was dragging around, until he managed to stop the fruit that is. She was decidedly more cautious now, curious even. But her curiosity would have to wait.

Seeing Marick something about him seemed to exude authority. She stood tall and bowed politely in return. “Mr. Marick, the pleasures all mine. I was unaware my sister was with company. I hope I haven’t stained you.” she apologized in her own way. She gave Sagitta a look and stuck her tongue out at her.

Marick waved the concern away with a casual gesture. “No harm done, but we do need to get our new friend here something to eat instead of wear…”

Sagitta hid behind Marick, “it’s his fault though! He actually made me train! You know how much I hate training and it made me forget like that one time Buir gave us shock gloves to settle an argument?! Then I refused to hit you but you happily tried to hit me but it backfired?!” Then she stopped, confused, “Wait, what was the point I was going to make…”

She perked up at hearing food, “oh! Yes! Food!”

Marick did raise a hand apologetically. “My fault for holding her up. Apologies. But your sister shows promise.” He bowed his head slightly, his low monotone calm and still water.

Asani did something Sagitta didn’t usually see, she smiled, not in her usual mischievous way, a much more gentle smile. She picked up some of her surviving fruit and walked over to the trio, handing a piece to each of them. She stood beside the taller man, expecting him and the rest of the trio to walk further into the hall to fetch an actual meal rather than the fast food she had delivered. “Its quite alright. Im happy to hear you think she shows promise. Might I ask what it is you were doing for training?” She asked curious as to what her sister and this new teacher were up to.

Sagitta paused and smiled softly. She haven’t seen that in awhile. “OH RIGHT!” She grabbed Rylem’s hand, “onwards good sir!” With that she took him to the buffet section and handed him a plate and lean in to whisper in his ear, “go to town, no one will judge!” With that, she started to load massive amounts of food on her plate.

Figures, an abnormally tall female would be very hungry.

<@698974928690610228>

Marick accepted the offering, and then made a gesture towards Rylem to see if he wanted it. He looked back at the Kushiban. “The Arcanist ability we have to find things through sympathetic links through the Force.” He tried to simplify that in his head. “How to track people through the Force using something that is linked to them.”

Rylem grabbed the offering and let Sagitta lead him to the buffet, he blushed again, although lighter this time , he was slowly getting used to Sagitta, but still shy because she’s a woman. He stuffed the fruit in his mouth to hide the fact his face was red then proceeded to pile food on the plate, a large appetite very much similar to Sagitta considering he was only a couple inches shorter than her, his stomach growling in anticipation, his bright green eyes seemingly lighting up like a child’s on christmas morning. It’s obvious it’s been some time since Rylem had been around such a feast.

“That sounds quite arduous and id presume it requires focus” she commented looking at Sagitta and Rylem dash to get food. They had worked up an appetite by the looks of it. The boy had at least grabbed the fruit offered. “I’d appreciate some help in learning how to do that, if it is at all possible to train me? I am still learning how to handle the Force and all the power it provides. How long have you been training in order to use the force?” she was curious about him and how it is he might’ve have been training the starving duo.

Marick’s eyes went a bit a distant. “I escaped Hapes when I was a teenager. Was picked up as a stowaway on a freighter by a former bounty hunter who was part of Clan Arcona. Instead of killing me, he took me in, so I started my training on Selen, at the Citadel, just like your Battleteam.”

Marick remembered a burly Barabel lifting up a starved looking street urchin out of a food ration crate.

Zakath. He remembered the killing blow he’d delivered to the Barabel. Mentor and friend. But it had been his way to prove himself to the Grand Master. To gain trust as the new Voice and head of the Inquisitorius. It worked. And he still never stopped remembering. Everything during that time was a gray streak of crystalline clarity.

“I’ve dedicated my entire adult life to studying the Force, using it, and to the Brotherhood and Arcona. I was a Shadow first but have since found solace in pursuits of the Arcane.” He made a vague gesture, realizing he was probably boring them.

Rylem gets settled at a table with a stack of different food on a plate he waved Marick and Asani down in case they didn’t notice where he decides to plop himself and the his own personal feast, he finished eating the fruit then proceeded to chow down with no regard of manners, you would think he had been starving, he practically was.

Marick moved to join, but waited to see if Sagitta and Asani would sit first.

Sagitta worked hard. She made ten plates, all full of food. Then carefully, one by one she placed them on her arms, the rims barely touched each other as she struggled with the last few.

By some miracle forgiving grace (it was the dice rolls) she managed to get to the table without dropping a drop. Then she started to eat quickly and speedily as possible.

Woman was hungry.

She had laughed, too, a soft and clear sound. The absurdity of Vader reclining in one of those dramatic chaise lounges as he detailed his childhood trauma standing out strongly in her mind. Some times that was all a person needed to stop them from tumbling down the wrong path, just a very good therapist.

She let out a content breath as the laughter stopped and Bril offered for them to go read. It was very rare that she got a reading partner— Alex joined her some times, when he was home.

“Yes, lets. Maybe Ellie will stop fussing at me from the shuttle.” She stood and cleaned up her tray, then waited for Bril.

Seeing his eyes grow distant, hearing his story Asani felt a bit sheepish at the boldness of her question now. Perhaps she had maybe pushed too far without having realized it, she would remember to be less forward next time. “Im sorry your life did not have the happiest beginning. But I am glad you’re here and passing on what you’ve learned.” she looked to Sagitta who was practically playing a game of balance with all of her food and noticed Rylem had already begun wolfing his food down. She sat across from them offering Marick a seat.

Marick smiled down towarsd the Kushiban and took a seat. “Life is about the journey, not the destination. I too am glad to be here now, even if I probably shouldn’t be. You are all working under Zuza Lottson now, correct?”

Rylem keeping pace with Sagitta with his modest plate stacked with food, looking a bit envious at the amount she had then huffed and went off to the buffet again, getting two plates, stacking them with food and bringing them to the table and carefully doing this as not to try and play a game of balance he knew he would lose then proceeded to grab two plates of food at a time to match the amount that Sagitta had. ‘Am I turning this into an eating contest with a woman I’ve only known for under an hour?’ He asked himself under his breath. He blushed again, embarrassed once more then huffed. ‘Yes I am.’ Then proceeded to scarf down food again. He looked at Sagitta once and awhile to make sure he was keeping pace, he wasn’t sure what had gotten into him but whatever it was he was full of some sort of pride for whatever reason.

Marick blinked twice, but if he was impressed or otherwise it was impossible to read on his features.

“Huh?” Sagitta said with her mouth silently full before she swallowed the food down, “did you say something?” She asked towards Rylem, confused, before moving onto her fourth plate.

Asani observe the eating duo with a mixed look of something close to being impressed and horrified all the same. “Y-yes we’re under Zuza’s command, recently had a small training to assess where our abilities might be and what we should improve.” she informed Marick, her stare never drifting from the scene before her.

Rylem said nothing and made eye contact with Sagitta, a challenge in his eyes. Pushing onto his third plate.

Marick nodded, having read Zuza’s notes. He needed other hobbies besides work, reading reports, and entertaining Kirra–his daughter– and her invented games. “I admit that is where my familiarity with you all comes into play. All except for Rylem here, who…will be joining us in the non-conventional manner, but joining nonetheless.”

After cleaning off his tray and placing it in the proper receptacle, Bril began making his way to the exit. “Who’s Ellie?” he asked, “I don’t think you’ve mentioned them before.”

As they walked, he moved a bit closer so he could prop one arm on the top of her head. One of the perks of being tall: it was never hard to find an armrest. “It’s getting difficult to keep track of all you Arconans.”

Sagitta paused, brows furrowed as she was confused. What was Rylem trying to tell her? What is going on?

….

…

“Oh.”

“OH!” Then she pointed at Rylem with a leg of something. “ITS ON MY MAN!”

Rylem smirked in excitement as he continued to chow down on his food but once he reached the halfway point of his fourth plate his face began to turn green as his cheeks puffed up and with that he sprinted for the nearest bathroom.

A soft chuckle escaped her but she didn’t make a move to remove Bril’s arm. Bril had proven time and time again that he was safe— like Ruka, like Alex. So she just walked alongside him, serving as a mobile armrest.

“Not an Arconian, a BD droid. BD-313– Ellie. Anders inspired me to get one, ‘cause of Buddy.” She smiled softly as she recalled the personable and kind BD unit that had taken a liking to her.

She forced herself to not think of Anders’ saber in her face.

“I can see he and my sister are uh…equally unconventional.” she commented seeing them create what seemed to be a food contest in a manner of seconds without sharing a word. “Have you ever seen anything like this?” shed asked Marick, perhaps this wasn’t his first time judging a food contest.

“It is uncommon, but not unusual,” Marick replied slowly and diplomatically.

“Ahh, that’s right. That was a really cute droid,” he admitted, smiling as memories of Buddy flooded his mind. “I think they make them that way on purpose. Makes people like us more likely to purchase them.”

His lips tightened at the mention of Anders. He had mixed feelings about the man. On the one hand, he was grateful for the advice he gave on how to master vaapad, and for the expertise he brought to their mission. He was even happy that he’d inspired his Sivall to get a droid companion of her own. On the other, the Chiss Inquisitor had a serious ruthless streak that had made their mission more difficult at times. Even more egregious were the threats he leveled at her.

He stopped for a second and dropped his arm so he could look at her. His expression darkened. “If he ever threatens you again the way he did on our mission, I’ll kill him. I don’t care what it would take,” he informed her, his voice devoid of any of the life or warmth that it normally had.

Zuza tugged her backpack off of her back as Nora spoke initially, a smile still across her features but taking the time to get ready to go. It’d be a bit big, but Zuza was capable of balancing herself out thankfully so didn’t hesistate to pull the bag under and up over the case, zipping it shut. She slipped it onto her shoulders before standing again, to an outheld hand.

Untamed.. currents? Zuza ran through what had been said by the Plagueian. She was always down for a good time, respectfully, but there was something in the Zeltron’s expression that threw her off. As if there was more to this than just romping around the academy dodging guards for a bit.

Well, she supposed if it all started going too far she could reign things back easily enough. Afterall, to know how to avoid guards, took knowing a lot about where they would be too.

Zuza took the hand with a grin, happy with the notion that this wouldn’t go too far. Probably. She shook it with a firm grip.

“Let there be chaos then! Within not getting executed for treason.. bounds.”

The last bit was added on for a extra bit of hopeful security, but the grin didn’t waver.

With the deal sealed, Zuza looked down at Kollot. “We better get moving soon though, we’ll be cornered in here if he wakes up and sounds the alarm before we’re clear.”

Rylem arrived at the bathroom and puked his guts up into the toilet after he finished he cleaned himself up, sighed and proceeded to try and sneak away, he felt guilty for feeling like he needed to do this alone but he couldn’t put others at risk, not again, not like his master. He took a breath and slipped out of the bathroom and made his way down the hall to the nearest exit. <@189568236201705472>

Sivall frowned at the darkening of Bril’s expression. She remembered how angry he had been— first at her for offering herself as a hostage, then at Anders for seemingly having zero care about who he hurt during the mission. The smell of her own skin cooking resonated in her mind.

The darkness on Bril’s face made her heart squeeze painfully in her chest.

“I’ll be okay, Bril,” she reassured the Zabrak softly, her eyebrows creasing together, “I can handle myself. He won’t have a chance to hurt me.”

She smiled warmly for him, hoping it would pull him back out of whatever dark place he had gone. She didn’t like seeing him like this. Her reassurances were mostly truth, but she wasn’t sure if she could match her fellow Chiss in a fight.

She’d sure as hell make him work for it though.

He wasn’t finished, but at least his tone softened when he once again raised his grievances with her behavior on their last mission. “And you. How could you be so reckless, lora?” he began, though he had to sigh to keep his emotions in check. Mind the balance.

“Offering yourself up as a hostage? He could have killed you. The mission objective was secondary to keeping you safe. That’s what my job was. And I failed at that. You can’t do that again.”

The sternness of his words were belied by the deep concern reflected in his eyes.

“It’s what kept us safe…” she whispered, looking down at the ground. She couldn’t stand the look in his eyes. In her mind it was one of the only choices that made sense. The pirate wouldn’t have trusted Anders or Bril, but he easily underestimated her. Weak, fragile, a damsel in distress.

Memories of a thermal detonator going off too close flashed in her vision. Of realizing it was about to go off and kill Kadrol too, of Wyn saving her at the last possible second like a strange guardian angel.

She felt bad, but wasn’t apologizing, wasn’t agreeing that she wouldn’t do something like that again. Because that would be a lie and she wasn’t going to lie to Bril.

“He wasn’t gonna release the detonator without some kind of reassurance. I was that reassurance.”

“Pardon me a moment, Asani, Sagitta,” Marick politely excused himself and, moving with a calm quiet efficiency of a renowned assassin, cought up to Rylem as he tried to flee. “You don’t have to worry about things like that,” he tried to say gently. “We don’t judge here.”

Bril shook his head, clearly unsatisfied with the answer she gave. “Then, I would have taken his hand with the detonator,” he said matter-of-factly, “There are people out there who would have killed you as soon as they were no longer in danger. It worked out fine for us, for you, this time … what if next time, it doesn’t?”

He stared at her for a long moment, trying to ignore the mental picture of her lying against that wall, her clothes singed from lightning. “There are people who care about you who wouldn’t know what to do with themselves if something happened to you.”

He had planned to continue, but the knot in his throat and the tears that began to well up in his eyes made him change his mind. Turning to face forward and quickly wiping his eyes, he started down the hallway again. “It’s fine,” he said curtly, “You can handle yourself, right? I saw what you were capable of. Very impressive, really. Let’s just go to the library.”

Sagitta blinked slowly as she finally slowed down on the eating. “Whoops…” She muttered under her breath. Her new friend just up and left. Marick pardoned himself as he left as well. She glanced toward her sister in confusion. “Did I do something wrong?” Sagitta asked, concerned. Then she shrugged her shoulders, “After I’m done eating, I know how to find him.” She smirked, rather liking her new abilities.

She made him cry.

She made him cry she made him cry she made him cry.

Knowing she was the cause was the worst feeling in the world. It made her feel sick, caught her breath in her chest. Had… Did she worry people that much? Truly? Ktah. Bril had already begun to walk away so he didn’t see her eyes begin to mist, her skin turn a few shades paler.

He was already moving away, speaking more words that made her heart churn in painful ways. She played the mission back in her head, trying to recall— oh.

Bril’s knuckles tight on his saber, the blade dragging the ground, the disbelief and panic and anger, following closely, ready to strike if he needed to.

When she moved it was faster than she meant to.

Thin sky blue arms wrapped around the Zabrak’s torso from behind as she hugged him, a deep frown on her face. If he pulled away to keep walking she would let him, she was the one who messed up, after all.

“I’m so sorry, botmun’i,” she started, her voice strained, “I’m so new to this… ‘mattering’ thing. I’ll be better, I promise. I’m… I-I’m so so sorry….”

-I figured out eventually how much it hurt the people who loved me when I acted like that.

She hadn’t paid too much attention when Ruka had told her that, it hadn’t clicked that she was doing the same thing. But now it did.

She politely bowed in acknowledging Maricks hasty departure, he seemed like the responsible type who would take care of their new friend. “No no, he’s just a di’kut, and never enough to take on you in an eating contest.” she replied while grabbing an item off one of her sister’s many plates before she devoured it, taking a quick bite. “He also looked sick so that’s a victory for you” she chuckled gently. “So how was training?” she asked, now curious as to her sister experience training a new skill.

Rylem stopped in his tracks unable to turn and face Marick. It was obvious that the guilt was gnawing at him inside, his shoulders a bit slumped.

“I’ve lost one person close to me already and it was one too many.”

His voice sounded gruff whether it was from the vomiting or the grief in his tone it was hard to tell.

“You all seem like good people, seem like you all have a lot of good things to do and I would never forgive myself if my choices led to your deaths…”

Rylem turned to Marick his green eyes looking dull, his expression slumped as if whatever mask he had put on since meeting him had finally come off.

“Please do not take this as an insult to your abilities or others’ capabilities to handle a situation like this but…”

Rylem sighed and gathered his thoughts, wanting to start over from what he’s trying to say.

“Death and misery has followed me for a long time, I do not wish to curse good people with my burdens and the promises I have made to others. It wouldn’t be fair if I just allowed this task to be put into someone else’s hands.” <@189568236201705472>

Marick didn’t immediately respond. Very little escaped Marick’s awareness. It was almost a curse, every detail, posture change, slouch, fidget, not-fidget was a tell, and he had a difficult time turning that instinct off.

He didn’t interrupt Rylem, though, and simply listened three times with his full attention, and made sure he knew that his attention was fully on him. He didn’t reach out or try to touch him. So he simply folded his arms across his chest, and let out a quiet, “Hmm.”

After a pause, he spoke. “No insult taken. Losing someone is never easy. Fear is not something to run from, however. Fear is natural, and part of life. But no one is every truly gone. And sometimes, against all odds, they can come back to you in different ways.”

He took out his datapad and pulled up a picture of his daughter. Small frame, sundress, tousled white hair, and a pair of mismatched eyes: one blue, like Marick’s, the other a milky white. He turned the tablet around to Rylem.

“This is Kirra. I missed her birth because my father staged an assault on Clan Arcona’s stronghold, kidnapped me, and tried to steal her from me. It was, perhaps, the lowest moment of my life. But these people- some that I had wronged in the past, or argued with, or killed someone close to them-stood for me and the future I thought I’d never have. We thwarted my fathers efforts, and I finally got to hold her and now see her grow.”

His face remained impassive as he spoke, mixing memory with introspection. “She’s named after my wolf, Kirra, who was taken from me during one of the ‘Great War’s’ the Brotherhood has been a part. She was white furred with heterochromatic eyes. A piece of me died with her, in time with the betrayal of the one who carried out the deed. But she came back to me, somehow, in the spirit of my daughter.”

He swiped to a second picture, of Atyiru and him, holding Kirra together. “I almost lost her as well.”

“The Collective attacked us when we were focused on a different advesary. A kamikaze ship. She made sure everyone else got out safely, stayed behind. I wasn’t there. A tubrolift collapsed on her. She should have died.”

He shook his head slightly. “It would have been easy to give up. I chose to dumb myself, instead, and threw myself into my work. I spent every breath and every waking moment working to destroy the Collective. Not just defeat them, eradicate their existence. In the end, we came close…but we didn’t follow through and it’s no longer in my hands.”

He tapped the datapad and Atyiru’s picture in general. “Thanks to my research, and the support of everyone here, I learned of a way to bring her back. Despite being in a coma for years, I was able to leave behind my life as an assassin, commit to something greater within the Force, and bring her back.”

He tapped his fingers against his bicept. “I know that’s a lot to process and take in, but I suppose my point is this, Rylem Westrev. Everyone here has a story. All of us have suffered in some way or another, or carried the pain and guilt of failure. But together, as a Brotherhood, and for us, a Clan inside of it, we are the ones who dictate who lives, who dies, and who tells your story.”

“I won’t tell you what to do. But I’ve seen your eyes many times, including in my own reflection. It’s not easy. It doesn’t happen over night, but I promise that if you give us a chance, you will grow stronger, and find your own path towards living your life the way you want to. You don’t have to be alone, and you don’t have to run.”

He slowly extended an empty hand towards Rylem.

Sagitta snorted as she tried not to choke on her food, “Yea, I don’t know what’s up about Rylem challenging me. Hopefully, he’ll come back. If he puked it all out, I’m pretty sure he would be hungry again.”

After cleaning quite a few plates, Sagitta let out a sigh of relief as she sit back for a moment. “Hmm? Oh! So apparently I have these abilities called uhhh what did he say?” Sagitta tried to remember. “Oh! Arcanist. So I’m able to track anyone as well using the Force to …kind of like charging battery. It charges my Force and I could use it again and again.” Then she looked over where the men exited, “He doesn’t show emotions. It scares me a bit. But somehow he has a wife and daughter so I guess he shows in bed.” She said as matter of factly as she took a bite of a juicy peach.

Asani practically choked on her food for a moment, coughing a few times, juice spilling all over her staining her fur. She had to take a few moments to gather herself and breathe, grabbing the water she hadn’t tossed at her sister to dislodge whatever had decided to make her a victim of a shut wind pipe. “H-how…why would you think he’s good in bed? what possessed you to comment that?” she asked shaking her head, taking a deep breath. Her fur was changing to a light blue hue around her face and ears. “So battery battery, you said tracking? thats helpful.” It seemed the older sibling was changing the subject back to matters that interested her more. “Could you track anyone? How does it work?” she asked for specifics then. Her hands hanging onto the cup like it was a shield from what her sibling had just announced to the mess, she might as well have said it to the galaxy.

Rylem sat there for a moment looking at Marick processing what he had to say then took a deep breath and blurted out, becoming lax once more and scratched his head.

“You don’t seem very good at this kinda thing… How the hell am I supposed to cooperate with you if you show me the people I’ma have to watch break down if something horrid happens to you…”

Rylem’s brow furrowed in frustration.

“Listen, you make really good points but….” Rylem huffed as he placed his fists on his hips and continued, “If you can promise me whoever goes out there to help those people, won’t die then I’ll stay, but I can’t live with the knowledge of someone else dying on a task that I was signed up for…”

Rylem met with Marick’s eyes. He had broken through Rylem’s grief and guilt and convinced him, but there is still a shred of doubt in his eyes.

“I can’t promise that no one will die. Death is a part of life,” Marick stated bluntly.

“However, if you’re worried about my life and what affect my passing would have on my family? You underestimate both myself, and them.”

He tapped his bicep again, thinking. “Would it help if I backed up my statement first with evidence?”

“If the evidence is kicking my ass, I’d rather not, thanks. I’m worried about the lives of those taking this job.”

Marick lifted one a hand up and lifted his shoulder slightly in a faint shrug. “I try to teach my daughter that lying is bad. So I can’t tell you no one will die. I can tell you that the Brotherhood isn’t a playground. I’ve personally trained our spy network operators and agents. I’ve worked with our armed forces. I’ve had years working with Arcona’s armed forces defending our home.”

“I was going to offer your two new friends a chance to team up on me. You can watch if you’d like, but I’m happy to demonstrate my abilities if you really are concerned if I can handle myself against some wild creatures on a planet where I have access to a full scale military and intelligence complex…”

Sagitta was worried as she got up from the table, leaned over, and patted Asani gently on the back. “Are you okay?” Then she rose an eyebrow, “I’m just saying what’s on my mind. It’s usually very… passion. Rough. Calm. Depends how you want it. I just can’t imagine hearing that calmness in my bedroom. That’s all. I don’t see a problem in talking about this? Don’t we usually talk about this kind of thing at home?” She questioned her sister, wondering what made things so different now.

“Yep! So I focus REALLY hard on an object or my link with someone and it … comes like a really really crowded spiderwebs. Even more than the first time you went into the vents when you tried to hide from me when I wanted to read you a book. So the point is, the person I want to find, their web thread so to speak is the brightest of them all. Closer bond I have, the brighter it becomes.” Then she smiles while focusing slightly. “Yours is pretty bright! I wonder why.” She stuck her tongue out at her sister.

“It works depending on the bond I think and the item they hand me. If there’s something personal on the item such as blood and fluids, it’s easier.”

Rylem sighed in relief seeming to relax even more. “Alright, that makes me feel better…. Although aside from not getting my ass kicked I would like to see what you can do first hand.” Rylem took a moment to take in Marick’s every detail. Actually sizing him up this time, not in a ‘I can take him’ kind of way but in a manner that tells him how bad will his ass be handed him on a platter.

Rylem shuts his eyes and reaches through the force as if to touch his inner being with Marick’s to better understand his capabilities in the force and in battle. Wanting to know if Marick was a force to be reckoned with not to challenge but to understand him on a deeper level than words could ever explain.

No words came to Rylem, but visions through the inference and slipsteeams of the Force.

A single silhouette moved through a crowd, grays and black, hood drawn, blades at its sides. Around it, bright colors, bright shapes, crimson, yellows, blades, blasters. While the crowd never collapsed in on the silhouette, they each took turns attacking. Most missed, but some struck, but nothing ever seemed to find true purchase. The silhouette continued to move forward with determination, undeterred, never stopping, never slowing. And when the hooded figure countered or struck, the attackers dissapeared and vanished.

Another flicker.

“` A large, massive, towering Loth-wolf standing by itself. Blue eyes, too-rich and bright of a shade that they almost seemed ethereal and fake. A true blue. Its fur was all gray and majestic, and its fangs, too were shades of sharp sleek grey.

It stood guard over it’s den, not sneering, not growling, but watching, waiting, patient. ”`

In his breif looking into this “Academy” where he had hoped to find help. Rylem remembered a name being thrown around. “The Gray Fang”. While he did not know where the name had come from, Marick’s ash-gray hair and demeanor matched the reputation of one of the most deadly assassins in the Unknown Regions.

Flicker, this time, it was words.

“` A powerful, unworldy voice radiated through the Force.

"LIFE BEFORE DEATH. JOURNEY BEFORE DESTINATION I WILL DEFEND AND TEACH THE ARCANE WAYS OF THE FORCE IN EXCHANGE FOR THIS VOW, AND A SUBMISSION OF THE SOUL, I GRANT YOU THAT WHAT YOU WISH”

A last vision of the silhoette lowering the hood to reveal Marick, laying down his assassins daggers and instead igniting a lightsaber and holding it in a defensive stance that even a fledgling Jedi would recognize as the protective form of Soresu. Beside him, a woman’s figure appeared, back to back, together, again, and posied to take on anything that dared to come between them again. “`

“Yes at home, where you can give me all the juicy details of any escapades you have with boys and I can live through you. Not in public!” she hissed with gritted teeth. “Especially not about someone who looks like he’s high ranking!” she added, her fur still light blue in certain places. When she finally calmed down, her fur managed to go back to its off white color. “Thats useful for tracking, guess ill have to get better at hiding in the vents” she stuck her tongue out at her sibling once more. “We should check on them…” she looked around towards the direction the two men had vanished in.

Rylem opened his eyes to meet with Marick, he understood him now. He approached him and offered his hand to shake.

“I’ve only just met you and through the force I know I can trust you.”

Rylem smiled brightly, completely relaxed now.

“And if you’ll have me I would like to spar with you so that I may improve my own skills. I haven’t fought another skilled fighter in a long time so i will be quite rusty in that regard.”

Sagitta brows furrowed. What makes this so taboo? No matter. “Come on. You still love my readings at night. You’ll miss it when I move out.” She finished eating the peach and nodded. “Yes! We should I guess,” she got up from her seat. Gathered the empty plates, she had an idea.

Placed the dirty plates where they go, she grabbed bunch of fruits and some dried meat into a bag. They headed out.

“Oh I didn’t have to track that much! Hey guys!” She said with a smile and wave as she handdd Rylem the bag of food. “Slower this time, hmm?”

“ yeah yeah i know” The thought of her sister leaving still left her unsettled. She preffered not to think about those things. She grabbed her unfinished fruit and followed her sibling, spotting their missing friends a little ways off. “Look at that you might just be a master tracker” she teased. “Yeah try not to make yourself sick” Asani said looking up at Rylem with a raised brow, arms crossed.

Marick shook Rylem’s hand firmly.

“Alright then,” Marick said, clearly a bit relieved and having opened himself up perhaps a bit too much. “Let’s return to the mess hall and see if Sagitta and Asani are interested. We can use one of the training halls.” He walked back with Rylem and waved a hand at Sagitta and Asani.

Rylem goes to stop Marick but is too late and just takes the food.

“Thank you, Sagitta.”

Rylem looked down at Asani and sweat drops from his temple.

“Yeah it was bit foolish, huh?”

“WAH!” Sagitta yelped as she fumbled back with Marick turning and almost ran into her.

“I’m right here! Hard to miss me you know? Tall. Green.” She pointed at her hair, “Purple hair!”

Rylem took the food. “I figured you might be hungry considered you may have vomited it all out. So! What we doing?”

Marick blinked twice, looking Sagitta up and down. “You must have been working on your stealth after Asani’s sneak attack earlier. Impressive.”

Asani stiffled a laugh and tried to regain her composure. “So then, would you be guiding us all in more training Sir Marick?” She asked wondering if perhaps he may need to leave them sooner rather than later.

“Just Marick, please,” he gestured. “Yes, there should be facilities on sight we can take advantage of. Follow me, if you would.”

Rylem does as he’s told and follows Marick.

The sensation of foreign warmth, of two arms wrapped around his torso, gave Bril pause. The steady rise of the Zabrak’s chest heralded the escape of a protracted sigh. The exodus of Sivall’s feelings of regret into their shared mental space commanded his attention, forcing him to tuck his own feelings of frustration and hurt away so he could address hers. That’s what he’d done before and it was what he’d continue to do for as long as he could.

He rested one hand atop her own and gently patted them. “It’s okay, lora,” he reassured her. The decidedly saturnine tone with which he spoke belied the sympathetic and encouraging warmth he sent across their bond. Evidently, today was a day of catharsis for the two knights. They’d both been through so much so quickly, so it came as no surprise that they’d eventually dropped the weight of the feelings they’d been carrying for weeks, now. But he hadn’t expected their revelation to come in the space of a single evening and, although he was resilient enough to handle it, it still left him feeling drained. And that showed in the flatness of his tone. He would have to let the Force convey his emotions in his voice’s stead.

“I just want you to be safe,” he continued. “I understand that a lot of this is new to you, and I don’t want you to feel like there isn’t space for you to learn and become accustomed to being loved by so many people–because there is. Just don’t go trying to make a martyr of yourself, okay?”

Using his thumb to free himself of her hold, he turned around to rest his hands on her shoulders. “We’re okay. Promise,” he said, offering her a smile.

Combat Training Center Arx, Uskil Shadow Academy

Marick lead the way towards a very familiar facility. It had been constructed when the Brotherhood was first establishing the new Shadow Academy, and its base of operations for the Council. It had been one of his first projects and designs as Combat Master, and had the uphill battle of trying to be a neutral, benificial space for the rival members of the Brotherhood, especially those new to it, to get ready for the challenges ahead and the strains of battle.

Through the towering, tinted, transparisteel sliding doors, the central area was large and spacious. A large sparring mat was next to a spread of training dummies, and the far wall held a number of blunted melee weapons and stun-based training weaponry as well.

Marick entered and looked around. He did not see Krin Murphy, which made him a bit sad. He had meant to follow up with her to see if Idris had kept her around, but the dedicated trainer for the Combat Center was no where to be seen. Still, some droids were attending to the facilities, so they were still operational it seemed.

Marick removed his Envoy Corps tunic and set it on a hanging rack nearby. Beneath it, he wore a simple synth-weave shirt that hugged his frame tightly. He shrugged out of his armorweave cloak and let that hang as well. Then he took out his assortment of knives, two of his lightsabers, and the inquisitors stilleto he kept as well, setting them down neatly in a row. He took his Envoy Corps glasses off and set them down.

One lightsaber remained at his hip: Radiant. He stepped over to the weapon racks and took out a pair of blunted training knives and slid them into his belt sash, then moved to the center of the room.

“Arm yourselves with what you will. There are stun-sabers available as well. When you are ready, form up here, and we can begin,” his calm, monotonus filled the room without him needing to raise his voice.

Sagitta gave Marick a blank look as he said if she’s been working on her stealth. “I… have?” She said confused and off they went. “Wait! What!? Where are we going!?” She stumbles as she caught up on the trio.

They entered as Sagitta shouted in relief, “Thank frack, not research stuff!” Then Marick started to take off his clothes. “Wait, what’s going on…”

It was when he started to grab the blunt training knives and mentioned them to arm themselves as she gave him a blank stare.

A bit longer.

Little more.

“Oh, we’re fighting?” She glanced down at her sister before shrugging and taking off her jacket. A wolf-like scar would be noticeable on her shoulder. She removed her blaster and two vibroblades and placed them down. Not neatly either. “Is this a tag team or… free for all?” She asked as she grabbed some thick padding for her left arm as a ‘shield’.

She saw the stun sabers and considered them for a moment. Not yet comfortable, she doesn’t pick them up. Then a blunt blade as she slid it into the sheath that her vibroblade previously was. She stood to the west where Marick was standing. Sagitta faced his side, her right hand on her hip as she waited.

“I would encourage the three of you to work together,” Marick replied. He idly levitated the molded hilt of his lightsaber and let it spin in circles just above his open palm.

Rylem set aside his lightsaber and picked up a sparring one. His demeanor changing entirely as he enters a battle mindset. His green eyes now focused on Marick.

“From what I sensed, Marick isn’t someone we should treat lightly. We need to work together and treat this like we would any other match. If we’re to prove ourselves and come out on top of this we need to rely on each other’s strengths.”

Rylem took a few steps back as to keep Marick within view as well as Sagitta and Asani. He began to focus using his battle meditation to assist Sagitta and Asani but also focusing on Marick with it as well. Rylem took to a defensive stance in preparation to whatever may come his way.

Marick nodded his head in approval. “Smart.”

He closed a fist around his lightsaber and ignited the blade. The black-cored blade crackled and split the air as the shroud of white plasma encased around it. He made a quick twist of the wrist, thumbed the dual-phase dial, and the blade suddenly became pure white.

“It is now switched to a stun crystal, so no true harm should come to any of you. And do not hold back.”

Then he made a gesture, as if he were tossing aside the blunted training knives to the floor, but then cought them with the Force telekinetically. The knives floated up to either of Marick’s shoulders like pointed drones, flanking out to each side.

Sivall listened quietly, but her mind was a torrent of thought. Sanguine eyes were still misty and a faint frown was still present on her lips even after Bril finished speaking. The sigh, the flatness of the tone despite the emotions he sending across the force– feelings she had a hunch might be forced for her own behalf –had set of a chain of events in her brain.

It felt like he was lying. Lying to her.

She simply only nodded to his reassurances while voices, most not her own, replayed in her mind. Very toxic voices, assuring her that she had messed up, that she had ruined this too– one of her only friendships. And while she didn’t ignore the words her fellow Knight offered to her, they were strongly contrasted by Bril’s curt words just moments before. She rested her left hand on top of his hand on her right shoulder and gave it a squeeze before moving from out underneath them.

“Okay,” she replied quietly, returning his smile with her own faint one. There was still that nagging, screaming feeling that he was lying, hiding, babying, pitying her. She wiped at her eyes with one of the gloves from her envoy robes. “Books, right? Onwards then.” She gestured with her head and started walking, making sure to keep pace with Bril once he started walking himself.

Should the Zabrak reach out through the force, he would find himself blocked. The Chiss had withdrawn inside her own head, hiding herself, wanting that safe space of someone not reading her thoughts and emotions for once.

She didn’t want to be babied or pitited. She didn’t want people to walk on eggshells around her. She didn’t want to bring misery and pain to the people she loved.

She was suddenly very tired.

Asani followed Marick patiently, her surprise was noticeable upon her face when entering the training area, jaw parting slightly. It was spacious, droids, training dummies and a wall of weaponry. Sure it was all blunt or stunning for safety reasons but it was still quite impressive. Stepping over to the assortment of weapons she left her own gear behind, choosing a stun-saber. Inspecting it a few times she seemed content with it.

She picked up three blunted knives as well, stashing them within her robes. The more weapons at her disposal the better their chances at victory. And she was feeling particularly competitive.

“I make sure not to underestimated my enemy. They’ll make the mistake of underestimating me.” Asani commented to Rylem, her stance steady, strong ready to dash at a moments notice. She moving around a bit, before she started dashing at Marick ready to strike at him. Her eagerness got the better of her, while striking she moved perhaps too fast, missing her mark a bit. She found herself closest to the ‘enemy’ now, behind him in fact.

Marick might have slid sideways ever so slightly. Might have. The Kushiban was so quick that it would honestly have been hard to know if she just overcompensated or Marick had somehow moved quicker. He did not turn to face Asani, now behind him, but did clock her with a shifting of his eyes to follow her movement, before restting his attention back on Rylem and Sagitta.

Right after Asani attacked, Sagitta followed and dropped her body down as she swung her leg in an attempt leg sweep.

Marick sensed the attack coming even before Sagitta launched it. Thanks to Rylem’s concentration, it seemed, however, Sagitta’s alacrity was more impressive than he’d anticipated. While she might have not been the best at focusing on lectures or long explanations, her battle instinc was clearly evident. He would not make that mistake again.

But physics was the ultimate master of this world, Force or no Force. He did not move fast enough, and the Mirilan’s sweeping attack caught the Hapan’s ankle, and sent him falling backwards onto his back.

His shoulder blades flexed on instinct to help absorb the blow against the light padding of the mat. As soon as they touched down, hands went out to either side of his head and he breathed in with the Force. As his momentum carried his body backward, heels-over-head, his body surged with sudden speed that helped propelled him back to his feet after a backward somersault.

Just outside of Asani’s reach. Surrounded.

Good.

Marick clocked Asani’s position, and then swung an exploratory swing downward in front of him to try and catch Sagitta exposded. But his stun-setting blade completely missed.

Marick blinked twice. And actually seemed surprised.

Why was it so difficult to say the right thing? To come up with the words that would make everything clear and put her at ease? It didn’t take the Force to feel the tension that lingered in the air like cigarro smoke, exacerbated by her own terse responses. When Bril reached out across their bond as he was wont to do, it felt nothing. It was as if the metaphorical thread that joined the knights’ minds had been severed, preventing him from getting a read on what she was actually feeling.

He had gotten so used to them having an open channel to each other’s sentiments, that he was left with a deeply unsettling sense of stillness, though not like the stillness he often felt in his long meditation sessions with his master. This was a stillness born from something lost. A dearth that needed replenishing … a void that needed to be filled.

Suddenly, the notion of reading didn’t seem so appealing anymore. But he didn’t say anything. That was liable to make things worse, so Bril tucked his hands into his pockets and followed along in a simmering silence.

Rylem deflected the daggers aside and held his focus on battle meditation.

Asani decided a dash at him again, swinging upward might be the best way to grab Maricks attention. Maybe even provide an opening for her sister to get in on the action. She fumbled the swing, he was close but not close enough for her to reach and land her intended hit. This was not her day.

Sagitta’s body tensed at the on-coming saber but to both her and Marick’s surprise. He missed. She wasn’t going to let that pass. Her hands grabbed his wrist roughly as her legs went around his arm and she roughly twisted her body to have him on his back and arm-bar him. Her hues glanced at Rylem, she can’t see her sister as she quicky flicked her eyes down to the slightly loosened saber and to Rylem as if hinting him something.

Marick barely sidestepped Asani, but was clearly not expecting this much pressure. When Sagitta launched up at him like an angry loth-cat, he tried to shift and reposition, but found his wrist locked, and felt his saber drop from his grip. He tried to bring his now empty hands up to counter, but then the Mirilan locked her legs around his arm behind his back, trying to push him down and pin him beneath her.

Okay. They’re taking this seriously. Good.

Marick felt himself trapped. But it was nothing he hadn’t experienced before. He calmly tapped the Force for strength, flexed the lean, tightly honed muscles in his whipcord arms, and pushed back against Sagitta’s lock. As the two landed on the mat, he managed to throw her off of him with preternatural might.

He quickly rose back to his feet, body a blur, as he recalled his lightsaber back to his hand and re-ignited it, shifting into a defensive Sorseu stance, one that Rylem would be very familiar with as a former Jedi.

His ash-gray hair split evenly to frame his intense blue eyes as he doubled-down his focus and regained full control over his Telekenetic knives, and sent them once again to harass Rylem.

Asani now moved to face their ‘teacher’ again. She positioned herself in front of him, lifting her hand and hoping to blind him. She hoped she wouldn’t blind her sister or their comrade rather than their clearly quite skilled teacher. Should it prove effective shed be running at him again.

He didn’t want to say it was the height difference, but Marick managed to turn his head away just in time so as not to catch the full flash of light.

Rylem took in a sharp deep breath as he took the hit to his shoulder from the blunted blades, there was a flash of anger in his eyes for but moment but then he took in a deep inhale, his refocused, and released steam from his mouth, using the force to amplify his dash straight to Marick and just as he reached him he swung his training saber in a horizontal motion towards Marick’s left side.

Marick’s pale white blade snapped down and parried the attack, both stun-blades locked together. “Impressive control of your emotions,” Marick commented casually.

“Trust me when I say it’s not perfect but with the life I live now sometimes anger is needed.” Rylem pressed his stun-blade against to Marick’s to close the gap, trying to keep Marick’s attention to himself.

Landed swiftly from being tossed like she was nothing, she saw Rylem and Asani. Rylem went for the lock and she was worried about those knives. Made her way as Rylem and Sagitta were back to back, she attempted telekinetics to control those knives away from Marick and put them away.

Marick’s mastery of the Force, in this instance, held strong against Sagitta’s valiant attempt. The daggers remained in his control, but they did start to move in Sagitta’s direction..

Marick’s will sent them zipping towards Sagitta, each attacking high and low at her.

He tried to break away from the saber-lock, managed to do so, but after a quick exchange of left-right-left-down-crack their blades locked once again.

They got back to the library quick enough and Siv settled back in her chair, pulling one of the other holotexts in the stack— a book on Nautolan physiology and anatomy. The Chiss relaxed back, a soft frown on her face, and supported her chin on her hand as the other held the holo device.

She hated this. Hated this silence. Hated this tension that she created. Without Bril in her head, her mental scape was a tumultuous ocean of voices and memories.

You are destined to ruin everything you ever touch, Sivall. There is not a soul who could ever truly stand you. Please stay, please…

She probably would’ve cried if she wasn’t trying so hard not to.

She gestured to the holotext by lifting it up and wiggling it a bit in her hands. Any sort of conversation would be nice right now.

“Started studying Minnie’s people. Hoping if her or her brother ever need help, I can be of assistance.”

“Frack!” She exhaled sharply and controlled herself as she put up a barrier to protect her from the oncoming knives.

The knives hit and struck the barrier, but to no avail. They retreated slightly and almost seemed….sad that they hadn’t been able to find purchase with the Mirilan

Bril had decided to read … nothing at all. Instead, he sat in a chair at a right angle to where Sivall was sitting, one leg crossed over his knee and one elbow propped up on the back of the chair.

Staring ahead at nothing in particular, he released a stifled sigh.

He didn’t look at her when she finally spoke, but he didn’t appreciate that she decided to save them both from the maddening silence. “That’s a good idea. Let me know what you find. It’ll help me if I ever need to heal her,” he said. Then, his voice took on a more serious tone. “I would give Foxen a wide berth, Sivall. He isn’t likely to harm you because Minnie cares about you, but I wouldn’t go out of your way to get close to him.”

Asani took the momentary distraction Marrick suffered from being saber locked to dash at his legs, her height being her one advantage, jumping and landing a kick at his knee in full speed. She was not about to be easily discouraged by her previous attempts failing.

Marick felt his knee buckle slightly at the surprising force of the Kushiban’s kick. He did stumble slightly, a reward to Asani’s efforts, putting him slightly off balance. He maintined his hold on his knives, though in a practiced manner. He did not seem to be sweating, either.

‘Rylem, switch with me. Let me know when. Asani, please, get his face.’

’Yes, ma’am!’ Rylem responded telepathically and a respectful yet focused tone.

Rylem swung to attack and missed then back flipped behind Sagitta and in his overconfidence his ankle rolled and he face planted into the mat, landing prone.

“All you.” Rylem groaned.

Marick made an attempt to strike at Rylem, but honestly was not expecting the athletic manuver. His stoic face his a wince as he watched Westrev misplace his landing.

‘Are you okay?’ Sagitta asked quickly. She went to try to grab his wrist and put it in a lock. If she was successful (she wasn’t) she would have his arm bent behind his back.

’Yup… nope… I lied… I hurt…’

Rylem audibly sighed from the ground.

’I hurt my ankle…. Okay… I lied again…. I hurt my pride…’

Marick slid backwards with natural fluidity that seemed to betray his ‘age’. He didn’t honestly, wearing a compression shirt and simple pants, look all that intimidating. But this was a man who had survived wars, trained assassins, intel agents, and had killed more people than he’d likely saved. He saw her attack coming in this time, and made his free hand into a flat-edge.

He swatted her strike aside, then followed up by taking her own momentum, side-stepping out of the way, and pushing her forward, right into her sister. He then excused himself of that mess and turned towards Rylem, saber ready. He recalled his two floating knive to himself.

The smallest member of the training trio dodged her flying sibling, hopping over her as she was flung her way. “walk it off Gitta” she nearly commanded, her saber in hand, she started circling Marick, like a predator readying herself for another strike.

Marick’s preternatural awareness tracked on all three at the same time, eyes shifting quickly, never settling, but always moving and alert. Despite her shifting, Marick struck out with his lightsaber at Asani- a deft little feint that caught her on the shoulder. The blunted-stun was uncofmortable for a moment but then passed, and pushed the Kushiban’s smaller frame backward, giving Marick some space.

As he did that, the two knives controlled by his telekentic mastery attacked the prone Rylem, each striking at him.

He took a quick moment to tap into the slipstreams of the Force, refilling what small amount of his energy he’d expended.

Rylem took each hit while rolling in Asani’s direction, one across the face and the other in his right side, he huffed in frustration as he hopped to his feet, sweat dripping down his brow, his bright green eyes flashed red momentarily. His anger was starting to get the best of him.

“Yeah I’ve heard… some things about him. I’d–” her comment cut off ass she bit back what she was going to say, afraid it would just anger Bril more. She took a deep breath and reworded what she wanted to say. “People are more than they let out, yeah? We all have our dark sides, even me. And we all have reasons for them. All have histories. So I’d like to meet him, you know? Form my own opinions.”

She worked at the inside of her cheek, scrolling through the text. She had reached the part about different abilities of different subspecies of Nautolan.

“As for what could help Minnie, absolutely. You know I’d be willing to share any of my knowledge, botmun'i. Even for your people. We’re all a little bit different, even at the most basic of our parts– especially you, Mr. Bicardiac Vascular System.”

Sagitta rolled as she was being tossed around like nothing. ‘Walk it off, Gitta.’

Sagitta scoffed at her sister as she exhaled. “Always.” Sweat was starting to form on her. That made her slow down on her breathing as she quickly attempted to surprise him while he was busy with Asani. Her hand grasped the hilt of her blunt blade, unsheathing it, and swung the blade at Marick.

<@189568236201705472>

Marick went to sidestep, but again seemed to not move as fast as he’d have liked. The blade cracked into his shoulder, a meaty thump that while there was no cracks, definitely left a mark and inflicted blunt-force pain.

Marick’s face remained a stoic mask. If there was any pain he was indeed feeling, it did not show. But his left arm did seem to slump slightly compared to the right that gripped his saber.

Unfortunate, he said to himself.

Rylem’s eyes turned red as his rage had finally taken over and he sprinted straight for Marick, aiming to cutdown on his right shoulder.

Marick shifted, reacting on instinct and years of combat experience. As the now enraged Rylem launched his assault, Marick quickly recalled his two training knives and crossed them into an ‘x’ to parry the blow. Close…

He then reached out with his mind and mastery of the Force to call a new training lightsaber to his side, activating it.

He was down one arm, but he could slowly feel the tingling and numbness retreat very slowly.

Maricks saber had managed to catch her, it stung and she closed her eyes for a moment wincing at the pain but she would recover, pain was a lesson learned. Her moving around so much was beginning to tire her out a bit, and being pushed around didn’t help either. Catching herself, she began to push at the leg she had previously kicked again in order to try to keep him off balance, it was already injured after all. A little distraction here and there helped a lot. She could keep his footwork down, they might have a chance at doing something if she kept the pressure coming.

Marick took the hit and slide backwards, digging his heels in and using a bit of nimble footwork and body control to stop himself from sliding too far back.

Raging, dodging, bruising… He assessed the trio surrounding him.

Bril gave a curt nod, knowing that what she said was technically correct, but not at all enjoying that the logic was being applied to someone with whom he was on difficult terms. “Yes, of course,” he said, “Form your own opinions–at a distance. I’m serious, lora.”

He turned his head to give her a serious look, trusting that she understood that the same promise he’d made regarding Anders, also applied to Foxen and anyone else if they laid a hand on her.

Knowing more about Nautolan anatomy would be useful but hopefully he’d wouldn’t ever have to use it. But, given their affiliation with the Brotherhood, Bril knew that such idealistic notions were far from the reality of their situation. Injury was inevitable in this life. When she mentioned his “bicardiac vascular system”, he shot her a look and stuck out his tongue. “No one told you to go reading about Zabrak physiology, Siv,” he teased, “Plus, studying a book only gets you so far. What I know, I’ve had to learn by doing.”

Thud. Thud. Her heart was beating fast and the back of her head was drenched in sweat from the heat. “Calm down, Rylem…” She didn’t like the way he was looking or where this was going. With a nod to her sister, she threw the training sword at her. Sagitta then quickly attempted to grab Marick and turned on her heels, throwing him over her and onto the ground below.

Rylem pushed Marick’s blade back with a push of his saber opening his chest for an attack and horizontally swipes across his chest with the training saber.

Rylem’s eyes glowed blood red, his rage has taken him. His only goal to defeat Marick.

Seeing Sagita nod and toss the blade she nodded in return using the force she managed to hang onto the blade and toss it straight towards Marick with as much power behind it as she could. They needed to end this soon, she was getting tired and by the looks of Sagitta and Rylem, she wasn’t the only one. Seeing Rylems eyes go red she knew his next moves might be more trouble than help.

Sivall chuckled, a smile filling her features at his teasing. He was right, of course she didn’t need to study his people— she wanted to. If they were ever in a situation where, gods forbid, she had to do field surgery on him? She wanted to make sure nothing surprised her. So she would make sure she knew where every muscle was, every vein, every nerve.

“Oh is that right?” she chuckled, resting back in her seat, “Maybe you could teach me the practical physiology then?”

She immediately regretted the words the second they let her lips. Vivid flashbacks of Bril’s inebriated dream floated up from her subconscious and she choked on her spit, dissolving into a fit of sputtering and coughing. She tried to recover by clearing her throat, hoping the dread of being in this situation would kill the telltale indigo flush before it started.

“S-sorry,” she waved her hand to show she was alright, “I’m okay. Um. I-I’ll look into some more hands-on-experience,” STOP “Ask the Envoy Corps about it, o-or Karran.”

Bril blinked upon hearing Sivall’s comment. Holding her gaze, the young Zabrak leaned forward in his chair and folded his hands in his lap. “Well, I wasn’t expecting this conversation to turn in this direction,” he said, narrowing his eyes. Something slipped across their Force bond again, offering him a glimpse of her feelings and the thoughts on the surface of her mind.

His eyes widened in realization of what she was seeing. A palpable, unignorable heat formed on his face, forcing him to look away. “You’re … not supposed to know about that,” he said, coughing into his hand.

Kaaaarrrkkkk!

Siv buried her head into her hands holding back the urge to scream. He knew. He knew she knew. He knew she had seen into his head while he was passed out.

Could the gods just smite her now? Please? Just kidnap her into the Force, never to be seen again.

“I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to see! Your mind is supposed to be a safe place, yeah? Dreams don’t make sense, you don’t control them. But you were kriffing passed out, and I was worried you’d fall while we waited for Minnie! So I let you sleep on me! A-and….”

She groaned, remembering Minnie’s teasing, remembering how she couldn’t karking sleep between snuggling with Minnie and Bril having the most off the wall dreams.

Eidetic memory sucked.

She would have been happy to have never talked about this.

Marick shuffled backwards from Rylem’s push-off, then quickly wove his saber in a tight coil, a blue of white saber-lite and parried once more.

But instead of trying to match Rylem’s fury-fueled assault into another blade lock, the Soresu practitioner actually gave in and retraced his saber from Rylem’s.

And since Rylem was putting all of his weight and power into the swing, his momentum continued to carry him forward…past Marick and slashing at the air behind him.

In the same flowing motion, Marick registered Sagitta’s strike. As she tried to once again use a grappling technique to incapacitate him, Marick actually let her throw him over her shoulder. But instead of sending him crashing into the floor, a surge of preternatural agility allows the Hapan to twist, crouch, and land in his feet.

With a flourish of his lightsaber, he slashed out at Sagitta to force her to retreat back a few steps.

Then the third attack came. While unexpected–and Marick would make sure to praise the creativity later–the Telekinetically thrown sword from Asani…sailed harmlessly passed Marick’s head.

Now with a bit of space, he recalled the three floating weapons to his side, forming a protective circle around himself.

He noticed Rylem was given in to his rage. He’d seen it before. He had to do… something.

Sagitta, Asani, can you lay off for now while I try to calm our friend down from his rage? he spoke telepathically.

Rylem was gone, wasn’t he? The anger was making the Mirialan physically sick. No matter.

Sagitta felt the twist and quickly jumped back when the lightsaber swung at her. Damn. The sword she threw at her sister, that her sister apparently threw back but only towards Marick. Sadly, it missed Marick but there was an attempt. Then she heard Marick as she glanced over at Rylem, ‘Let us know if you need our help.’ Only Marick and Asani would hear the telepathy she sent to them. Her pink hues glanced over to Rylem as she kept a close eye on him, at the ready if she needed to. She worked on slowing down her breathing while waiting.

Asani could see Rylem was lost in his rage now. In real combat he’d be a problem, he was lucky this was just training.

Her little plan to throw the sword didn’t really do as well as she expected it to. Marick dodged it with so much ease she felt she might as well have kept the thing instead. She managed to hand him a other weapon she realized, a problem for later. Shed have to work on catching enemies off guard to land hits better she supposed. Hearing Maricks message she nodded ’Anything you need we can help’ she responded to Sagitta and Marick telepathically. Whatever plan he had the sisters would help should it come to that. The shorter sibling reading herself to dash should she need to, her stance pointed toward Rylem.

Rylem glared at Marick.

“Gotta win.”

Rylem rushed at Marick, aiming towards his side again.

A wordless nod to the Mirilan and Kusiban. He didn’t so much as reply, but nodded in appreciation inside of each of their minds.

“Win by saving people, or saving people by winning?” Marick spoke sternly, the weight of his voice a hammer. He didn’t need to draw Rylem’s focus, but wanted to make sure he was engaging him and him alone.

The Exarch’s eyes glanced around to the surrounding items on the training and weapon racks. He had automatically committed the area to memory, but his keen eyes were able to find what he was looking for.

Stun-prod…

He didn’t reach out a hand, but reached out with the Force to draw the item to him. He’d have to be prercice, though.

Marick was careful not to telegraph his maneuver. He’d done it many times before. He might not have been the freak of nature athlete he had been years before, but his experience and timing was at its prime.

He tapped the Force for augmented agility and waited until the last possible moment for Rylem’s slash to try and cleave him in two. Only as much as he needed to. Just a pinch of power.

Fast enough.

Marick’s lean figure leapt up into the air and his body inverted, boots pointed towards the ceiling, head floating just above Rylem’s and the space he now occupied.

In the same fluid motion, Marick felt feeling return to his left shoulder, and reached out his hand to snatch the stun prod out of the air as it flew towards him.

His mometum carried him head over heals, landed behind Rylem, and allowed him to quickly strike out into the back of the man’s shoudler blades with the stun-weapon, hoping to incapcitate him and end the rage.

Rylem shouted back, “”BOTH!””

Rylem rushed with raging velocity and tried to cleave into but growled in frustration then shouted in pain as he just took a shocking amount of pain to the shoulders. He whipped back to meet with Marick’s eyes. He’s enraged but not so out of touch that he’s willing to do something drastic to claim victory.

Shit

Marick shuffled backwards, willing both training knives and additional floating saber to create a barrier between him and Rylem. He glanced over at Asani and Sagitta.

Sagitta, I’m going to draw his attention towards you. Try and graple him.

Asani, once she has him, try and do the same trick you tried on me earlier with the flash of blinding.

Marick started to side strafe towards the girls.

Bril buried his face in his palm, unable to bring himself to look at Sivall. “It’s fine, it’s fine,” he insisted, a message that was just as much for himself as it was for her. If only he had a way to scrub this entire conversation from his memory, like with one of those mind erasing gadgets he’d seen in an old holomovie when he was a kid.

“Let’s just change the subject.”

But, when the Zabrak dedicated his attention to trying to do just that, he found that it was easier said than done. A palpable tension hung in the air surrounding their table. Looking around, Bril’s locked onto Sivall’s datapad. “Do you prefer reading on your datapad or having physical books to hold?”

The two continued to speak for the better part of that afternoon, exchanging stories from their favorite books or things they’d learned in the research–not the worst end to a rollercoaster of a meeting.

Rylem attempted to use the force to grab Marick’s ankle and fails due to being blinded by rage then just starts swinging his lightsaber again to try and hit Marick.

Marick managed to slip the attacks, and then moved quickly to disarm Rylem. His hands moved in a blur, hard to follow, but a wrist twist and lock sent the weapon clattering from his grip.

This left an opening for Sagitta and Asani to hopefully help him quiet Rylem’s rage and take him down safely.

An opening!

Sagitta saw her chance and quickly grabbed his collar and threw him over her hips. while holding onto his arm. If successful, she would roll back and wrapped her legs around his arm and keep it in the lock.

Seeing her sister manage her take down Asani dashed toward the tangled duo. Hopping around until they were finally on the ground. “Keep him steady!” she commented, managing to climb on top of them, using her body and tail to shield her sister from the light, unleashing the bright flash, hopefully with Rylem being disoriented, they’d be able to work something else out.

The flash worked, as blinding light consumed Rylem’s rage-fueled vision. Despite his single-minded-focus, the disorientation was too much even for his augmented, surging muscles.

Thanks to Sagitta’s help on the grapple, Marick carefully took the hard metal end of his lightsaber and jabbed it quickly against the back of Rylem’s head. It was enough to knock him out, and not leave any lingering injury. It was the controlled blow of someone who’d trained their entire life to be a means to ending lives but had made a new commitment to preserving it.

Marick untangled himself from Rylem, who now lay face down on the training mat, peacefully unconcious. He nodded at Sagitta and Asani.

“Good work, and quick thinking and acting,” he stated. If it was meant to be a compliment, it would be hard to tell because he said it so matter of factly and plainly. His voice never really changed its tone, showed no signs of struggle or weariness.

Marick straightened, and returned his telekentic weaponry to the racks they came from. He deactivated his lightsaber and clipped it back to his belt, then knelt down besides Rylem.

Marick held out a hand and tried to will the Force into healing motes to help bring Rylem back to conciousness. For whatever reason, the Force did not answer his call. He actually frowned, looking down at his own hand, as if it had betrayed him, as if something was…wrong.

“Medic,” he call out, and sure enough, a medical droid rolled out from the side-room of the Training Center and started to attend to Rylem with its tools. It mechanically administered some bacta and then produced a stim that it gently prodded into the prone Human’s arm.

Rylem would come to in a few moments with a throbbing headache, but no rage and no worse for the wear.

Rylem groaned as his eyes slowly opened.

“What the hell happened…?”

Marick remained kneeling but helped Rylem back up to his feet. “You, understandably, fell into a rage during the sparring, and Sagitta and Asani helped me knock you out. Your harnessing of the Force is impressive, but needs refinement. The raw power is there, but contorl is everything, and that goes far beyond Jedi ‘peace’ or Sith "anger”. We will help you carve your own path.“

Sagitta exhaled with relief as she let him go but remained laying on the floor. “I’m going to take a nap.” She was joking. Or was she?

Marick offered her a hand up. “Better places for naps.”

Rylem looked disappointed in himself, sadness in his eyes, falling silent.

Sagitta grumbled at Marick before taking his hand and getting up. “Morn-“ she started to joke towards Rylem and noticed the look in his eyes. “Look, I don’t know about him,” she pointed her thumb at Marick. “But I’m not going to lecture you. It happened. What’s different now what are you going to do next?” She smiled at him, “Are you going to be mad at something where we weren’t hurt or learn from it, realize it was in a safe place, and grow? Hmm?”

Marick narrowed his eyes slightly. He wasn’t lecturing…was he? He really needed to work on this.

Rylem sat there for a moment letting Sagitta’s words bump around in his head then let’s out a sigh.

“I suppose you’re right…”

Getting off her sibling and their sparring partner Asani brushed off her fur. “Definitely better places” she chuckled, seeing her sister be far too merciful she piped in “I’ll lecture him for you then, you’re an idiot and need to train or you’ll be a liability in actual combat” she commented arms crossed starring at him with her brow furrowed. “Train hard otherwise you’ll hurt your own allies” She stated as a matter of fact. She moved away toward the weapons, putting back those she had picked up for the exercise.

Sagitta gasped and frowned, “There’s no need to say that, Asani!”

“Sure there is! Buir was never so soft with us!” she replied waving the training weapons without looking back at her sister.

Sagitta frowned and found a soft training flip flop and threw it at Asani. “It doesn’t mean we have to become like Buir!”

Rylem chimed in.

“She’s right.”

He stood up, probably a little to fast because he staggered as he rose and he looks at Asani.

“This exact thing happened when I lost my master.”

Frustration flashed across his eyes, his brow furrowed, he shut his eyes as if to recall it then shook his head.

“I don’t seek forgiveness for this but I do apologize for putting you all in this situation. I’ll be better.”

He calls his lightsaber to his hand through the force.

Asani was done putting items away when she looked back, unawares of her sisters actions, she received a flip flop square in the face. It slid down to reveal an annoyed look. “We don’t have to become like him but there’s wisdom in his words” she commented throwing the flip flop back at her sister, sticking her tongue out and pulling her lower eye lid down gently mockingly.

“The point of all of this was to…demonstrate competency. Even with a loss of control we were able to resolve the issue. Peacefully.”

He idly reset a few more things Telekinetically.

“There is nothing to apologize for. And we’re all here still.”

Rylem took a deep breath and folded his arms after placing his lightsaber hilt on his belt, letting Marick take the training saber and place it where it belongs.

“What’s next then?”

Rylem looked at Marick, unsure of what to do next.

Marick allowed a small, very slight grin. “More training,” he said, glancing at Sagitta and Asani as well.

Rylem smirked a little, the idea of more training was enticing. Probably because he’s been starved from not being around people like himself for so long.

Sagitta stuck her tongue out at Asani. ‘More training.’

She rolled back and groaned as she laid on the mat.

“Fine, since there’s no studying involved.”

“At least well be having a productive afternoon Gitta, think of it as provisional training” she seemed to enjoy training, or perhaps she enjoyed seeing the exasperated look Sagitta had. Asani would then run over to where her sister was, taking a few lighter steps as she approached, she drooled on her hands and stuck a finger into each of her sisters ears, any protest or movement would have her drooling on her sibling further.

“But studying is an essential part of training. The body is nothing without a honed mind…” Marick trailed off philsophically.

“UGH,” Sagitta shouted as she grasped Asani’s paws. “Got you!” With that, she threw her sister across the room, having faith that she’ll land just fine or maybe accidentally smack one of the guys. They’ll live. “How old are you, Asani?” She glared at her sister while aggressively rubbing her ears to get the ‘feeling’ out.

Of course, doing this, she didn’t hear one bit to what Marick said.

Marick started to move almost on instinct. Reflex took control as he burst into sudden motion, his body a blur of light and an after image faintly trailing behind him. He tracked Asani’s trajectory, held out a hand, and used the Force to lower her down safely to the ground. He was careful not to “catch” her physically, since that would have been rude. But he guided her down then calmly walked back over to Sagitta and Rylem as if nothing had happened.

Rylem like a smart ass stepped as if to attempt to catch Asani but ‘fails’

“Oohh nooo.”

Sagitta snorted as she leaned over to Rylem, “Psst.” Then her palm was facing him for him to high five.

Rylem smirked and gave Sagitta a five.

Her eyes opened wide as her sister had managed to grab her paws, she looked down and up again. “Got you!” and before she knew it she was flying through the air. She was grateful Marick had caught her and gentle settled her down, she let out a breath without realizing she had held it. “Thank you Marick” She looked up at their ‘teacher’ bowing politely in gratitude. “A year older than you” she said looking to Sagitta, sticking her tongue out and letting some drool build up before sliding it back into her mouth. “Whats wrong Gitta? Dont you love your big sister?” she asked in a singsong fashion.

Tajga totally forgot if her temporary guardian was still around her. She just finished the next book and put it in the pile next to her. Next book about slicing, and she will have 10th in the row. She found it funny as in the jungle’s camp there weren’t many books she could read, and usually any book she brought was straight away eaten, or used for a nest by many of the Archian’s creatures.

From behind the door started some sort of whispering, quite not calm movements could be heard too. From between the frame first two white furry arms had popped out holding a book, and turning pages. Then the third arm grabbed the frame of the doors, and the fourth was holding the red balloons at the string. Whole body of the Chillaks had passed the door, and Tajga jumped happily off from the chair, leaving all books behind. She made a hold at the spread forward arm which was holding a book, and hung from it with both arms. It was their usual greeting. Tajga smiled at the creature, as she knew that it is almost always a huge fun if Jori came around.