Session export: Contract 002 [Envoy Corps]

Anders wasn’t typically the type to work with others. He was a lone operative most of the time, which meant he could take things at his own leisure and pace. Adding others into the mix was like a chef adding too many ingredients to a dish that was already perfect. It spoils, and leaves nothing but disappointment in its wake.

Alas, he was nothing if not a consummate professional. You don’t make it as a Chief Inquisitor and Golden Envoy without being able to adapt. The team seemed aptly able enough, at least from what he could see from his datapad.

Dossiers really were a beautiful thing.

The two other Chiss travelling with him gave him pause, however, as he pondered their connection to their homeworld. One had a fair, how did Anders put it, fierce reputation as a Doctor in Arcona. Rhylance. Anders had heard the name before. He’d be keeping a close tab on him.

Eat concerned him most was, as of right now, the lack of information regarding the Chiss scientist they were looking for. No dossier, no physical description, no information regarding personality or habits, the things that help identify a person.

BUDD-E nestled it’s head into Anders’ shoulder, letting out a soft beep in his ear. Anders patted the droid on its head, giving it a small smile. It had a point. No sense in being strangers if they had to work together.

“Is everyone else here as in the dark as myself when it comes to our objective?” Anders asked the group.

Rhylance quietly sat in the shuttle, his eyes glued to the screen of his datapad..he had heard the others joining the room and settling in for the mission briefing. While he agreed to join in on the mission, he also had more important matters to attend to at the moment, so he sent out messages to the members of his inner circle on what to do while he was gone.

“I have my suspicions, but more data is necessary for a logical coclusion.”

As he spoke, his droid assistant M.O.R.S.E. was hard at work keeping notes on their situation for later reflection.

“I imagine we’ll be debriefed on the situation before we get there.” Chimed in a soft voice from the back corner of the shuttle. Sivall sat with her knees curled up towards her chest, her arms wrapped around them. She had sat herself near Bril, one of the few familiar faces here. There was also Kadrol, the Pantoran she had done her first Envoy mission with, and Dr. Rhylance. Her eyes avoided direct contact with the man. He reminded her too much of her father… or at least what she could remember of him. Self assured, cold…

In fact the amount of Chiss present was enough to make her more nervous than normal. Missions were always nerve racking. Missions with two members of a race you felt like a fraud for calling yourself apart of?

That made it worse.

Siv cast her eyes downward, opting to start picking at her sleeves instead to busy herself.

Bril took a breath to calm some of the nervous energy that coursed through him. It was his first time on an Envoy mission and although he had no doubt that he would perform his duties adequately, that did little to assuage his building excitement for whatever the day had in store for him. It was similar to the pre-fight jitters he often felt leading up to one of his matches at the Belkada. That familiarity made his nerves easy enough to manage with a few breaths and a constant stream of rhythmic beats projected from his datapad into his ear via a tiny earbud.

There were a lot of new faces to take note of, and he did so while offering a brief nod to each of them before turning his attention to Sivall. She seemed more nervous than he was, so he lifted a hand to pat her on the back. “Everything alright, lora?” he asked, giving her an encouraging smile. Since their first meeting on Arx what felt like ages ago now, the two knights had gotten close over the course of their brief history, and Bril had even started calling her lora: the Zabraki word for “sister.” Although they hadn’t spoken about their pasts much, he couldn’t shake the feeling that they were kindred spirits, in a way. Perhaps, it didn’t need to be discussed at all for them to understand it.

“Maybe this will help you relax? It helps me,” he said, offering her the second earbud if she wanted to listen in one ear.

Once he had finished speaking to her, he directed his attention to the Chiss man who had addressed the group first. “I haven’t been given any information regarding the assignment, but Sivall is right. That’s what the debriefing is for.”

Sivall offered a small smile to Bril before taking the offered earbud and placing it in her ear. It wasn’t what she listened to normally, sure, but it served to distract her. She scooted a bit closer to her Zabrak friend, closing her eyes, her body language relaxing slightly.

“Thank you, Botmun'i.” She whispered. Botmun'i— brother. “I’ll be alright.” She didn’t use Cheunh around many people, but Bril (and Alex) were exceptions. Despite Bril being in a different clan, he had become one of the few in her “family”. A close companion, a good friend.

“Good, good. This is our first real assignment together, you know.” He gave her a playful bump with his shoulder. Well, that wasn’t entirely true, but he preferred to not talk about the strangeness involving their last mission. Somethings were better off forgotten.

He shook his head before continuing. “Something tells me we’re going to shine today.”

Kadrol looked around from the space he had claimed for himself on the shuttle, trying to spot any familiar faces. It amazed Kadrol how alone someone could feel while being surrounded by people. It was a feeling he often felt at the beginning of a mission. At least Sivall was here. They had met not too long ago on a previous Envoy mission.

I suppose that counts for something at least, he thought to himself. The two had worked alongside each other for nearly that entire mission; almost died together at that. Hopefully this time they wouldn’t cut it so close.

Anders rolled his eyes at the comments he received. Yes, he was fully aware if the debriefing, but it should have already happened by now. This whole thing felt unorganised, like something was being hidden from them. He didn’t like it. He especially didn’t like the amount of Chiss involved with the assignment. Why were there so many, victim ir otherwise? It was like his past refused to be ignored sometimes.

That was besides mentioning the tension in the room. If you ignored the shy girl in the corner talking with her boyfriend, there didn’t seem to be much of a desire to form a report with one another.

Regardless, Anders had his ways of getting the answers he wanted, whether they knew it or not.

He closed his eyes, focusing on forming the intricate Web of the Force between all of their minds. Voices came crashing into his mind like sirens. One by one he isolated them, making them more manageable.

Apparatus, something was more important to Rhylance than the task at hand. Anders would defined keep an eye on him.

Kadrol seemed to be lacking companionship. It was hardly fitting on a mission such as this. Anders too hoped to avoid any close calls.

Peering into the Neti’s mind had, thud far, yielded no results.

Though what surprised him most was Sivall. She was perturbed by the presence of Anders and Rhylance. Not deserving to call herself a Chiss? Luckily for her, in Anders’ opinion, most Chiss couldn’t claim to be part of that race, nor the Ascendancy. It was as corrupt and blind as the Galactic Empire.

Anders shot a glance back to her and Bril listening to Force only knew what through their earbuds. BUDD-E hopped down onto Anders’ lap, drawing his attention.

“What?” Anders asked.

BUDD-E looked at Sivall and Bril, then back at Anders, the Unquisitor picking up on what his little companion was suggesting.

“No.”

BUDD-E, however, was not willing to take no for an answer. It hopped down, and jumped from seat to seat until it landed on Sivall’s lap.

Anders followed it.

“Buddy, what are you doing?” He paused and gave a slight bow to Bril and Sivall. “I do apologise for its behaviour. Its not usually like this.” Anders shot a small glare to the little droid, which tilted its head, trying to look as cute as possible.

Rhylance thought he “felt” something in the back of his mind. It was familiar to what his… partner… would do with the Force when attempting to gather information from him without him noticing. Such lengths of mental fortitude that he has built up made this more difficult for most Force users. Only those with particular strength broke through his barriers.

The Chiss glanced around the room, noticing the flicker of eye contact with the one known as Anders. Rhylance took a moment before setting aside his work, handing off the datapad to M.O.R.S.E. He stood up and walked over to the other male Chiss.

“Find anything interesting in your mental probing?” His voice was low, but firm, showing no room for changing his mind. He also spoke lowly enough that the others would be unaware of what he was saying. “I do not appreciate your lack of respect for your teams mental facilities. Force Users who do these things, entitled acts of dominance simply because they can, and with no regard to those they afflict, are the sort of Force Users I normally cannot stand. But I can also tell that you are an intelligent specimen of Chiss, unlike our Ascendent brethren. So I will look past this, for now. I would rather us not be adversaries from the onset.”

“I do not intend to make adversaries out of anyone unless it is justified,” Anders was not as subtle as Rhylance was with his answer. “As for this team’s mental facilities, I had my suspicions, and it seems I was correct. There is little thought to the objective at hand and more on personal habits and feelings. If we do not focus, one, or more of us, could be the death of each other. I refuse to let that happen.”

Anders took a deep breath. The dark side swelled within him, and he was determined to control it, rather than let it control him.

“But, it may appear we have gotten off on the wrong foot. I am nothing if not a man who can be reasonable,” Anders offered his hand to Rhylance. His comment about the Ascendancy having piqued the Inquisitor’s interest. “Chief Inquisitor Anderson, though you may call me Anders if you prefer, Doctor.”

Rhylance glanced at the offered hand before taking hold of it. He gave a socially proper grip and handshake. The Chiss appreciated the respectful tone of the Inquisitior.

“Rhylance will do, until such a time my position is more importantly than my presence. As for your comment on where everyone’s minds are at, I prefer to not get stuck on wondering about a mission I am uninformed on. I prefer to utilize the limited time I have to the best of my abilities, and continue with my works. That being said, once the mission has begin, my focus will be on the tasks at hand. I for one am curious if this missing Scientist is one Jonz'ind'iana. If so, it is interesting that three of our kind have been selected to search for him.”

The pale blue chiss looked down at the droid who had made himself at home in her lap and smiled faintly. She placed her hand on it’s head and gently ran her thumb back and forth. It was a cute little droid.

“I don’t mind, really.” She reassured Anders, making no movement to remove the droid from her lap. It was helping to ease her anxiety. It was like an emotional support animal…. Emotional support droid?

The medic’s eyes stayed cast down at BUDD-E’s head as Rhylance accused Anders of probing his mind. She had no thoughts on the situation— nothing had been private to her under her owners, even her own thoughts and feelings. Plus, with her recent probing of a droid without its permission, she had no right to judge. The woman’s mouth tightened to a solid line as the brief altercation ended and Rhylance returned back to discussing the possibilities of the mission.

“Indeed, it almost seems too strong a coincidence,” Anders placed one hand behind his back and rested the other under his chin. “Usual protocol dictates that we should have been briefed about our objective by now, yet we’ve received nothing. I suspect a potential trap, though I have nothing to confirm this.”

Meanwhile, BUDD-E gave a few happy excited beeps at the affection it was being shown. It really had a knack as an emotional support droid.

“He likes you,” Anders said to Sivall with a warm, genuine smile. BUDD-E turned its head towards Anders and gave a low beep. Anders suddenly frowned. “No, Buddy. We cannot keep her.”

BUDD-E noticed the drop in Sivall’s demeanor and nestled it’s head in her arm.

The smile that had remained on Bril’s face while he spoke with Sivall faded abruptly. Something felt off, a faint pressure centered on the spot between his eyebrows that he’d only felt before while training his defenses against mental intrusion with Tahiri Thorn during his youth. Someone had taken it upon themselves to poke around in his head without his permission, and they did so without him noticing until the last moment. Impressive, but also annoying. Narrowing his eyes, the young knight opened his mind to the Force, carefully surveying his surroundings for a presence that similar in feel to the subtle “footprints” left in his own mind.

It wasn’t Sivall, nor did he have any reason to suspect her of such a blatant breach of his privacy. One-by-one he tested the ship’s occupants against the trace he kept at the center of his awareness, and his search ended when he came to the Chiss Inquisitor, who just so happened to be approaching them after his little droid hopped into Siv’s lap.

After returning the nod, he gave Anders a disapproving look. “If you have any questions for me, you can just ask,” he said, “You seem old enough to know that you shouldn’t go poking around in stranger’s heads. Never know what you might find.”

He glanced to Sivall, who seemed to be in better spirits thanks to the BD-droid’s friendly disposition. Good.

As for Anders’ concerns, Bril waved his hand dismissively. “Rhylance is right. There’s no need to fixate on details when we don’t have any, yet. When the mission starts, you won’t have to worry about me being focused.”

“Do not fret, I have no questions for you. Draca informed me all about you, Bril,” Anders shot the Plaguain a coy smile.

Rhylance looked to the female Chiss. She seemed…nervous…u sure of herself. A shrinking flower. He approached her calmly.

“So you are aware, your skills have drawn my attention. Not many could say that. I have my eyes of you, so I will be most interested in your performance today. I am sure you will not disappoint.”

The Zabrak stiffened when he heard his name mentioned in the same sentence of Draca. Did he pull that name from his mind? No … he wasn’t thinking about him at all. He concluded that the two must know each other.

Bril narrowed his eyes while staring back at Anders, only to click his teeth before looking away.

Sivall bristled. She was not one to get angry on her behalf, but on the behalf of the people she cared about? Always. The Chiss scooted even closer to Bril. Her face was a careful mask and her voice was calm, but anger boiled in her chest.

“Lets get to know each other before me make assumptions based on hearsay, yes? This mission will likely pivot on our ability to work together.”

She looked down at the BD unit in her lap and gave it a light stroke across it’s head, trying to calm herself. Her hand stopped mid-stroke when Rhylance addressed her. Sanguine eyes slowly drifted upwards to look at the Doctor. In her mind she was screaming. She blinked slowly once, then twice, like her body had switched to manual mode.

I’ll be watching.

Ktah.

She had already messed up once, not to mention nearly killing herself on her last envoy mission. It felt like all the air had left her lungs. She forced herself to take in a deep breath and smack a gentle smile onto her now two shades paler face.

“I-I will try my best, Doctor. I am honored to be worthy of recognition.”

‘Oh kark, please kill me now.’ She cried mentally.

Anders closed his eyes, tightening them. To anyone watching, it would be obvious what he was doing.

He poured a simple phrase into Silvall’s mind.

You’ll be fine. Stop worrying, it gives him control.

“I understand that this mission briefing is several hours late, granting us less overall time to prepare. I can assure you the Headmistress will be getting a detailed report from the Inquisitorius regarding the matter. Such tardiness is unprofessional,” Anders took a deep breath. “Firstly, did Doctor Jonz have a team with him of some description? I find it unlikely that one lone proffesor was excavating a newly found temple by himself, especially if it potentially contains a nexus to the Force.”

Bril crossed his arms and directed his attention to the center of the room when the holoprojector flickered to life. He felt his breath quicken when the woman began their debrief, a natural consequence of his growing excitement for the mission to come. He took a deep breath to settle himself and pulled up this Doctor Jonz’ dossier on his datapad so he could follow along. Odds were that this temple the Doctor discovered was connected to the Force in some way, whether that be due to the presence of ancient artifacts or possibly even a nexus. That was the Shadow Academy’s primary focus, after all.

Anders question was a good one, and the Zabrak found himself nodding in silent agreement with his reasoning. Even if Doctor Jonz was the type to be guarded about his research, which would come as no surprise if he thought he was on the verge of a major breakthrough, he likely still would have help - even if they were droids. “Any droids recovered from the site? Seems unlikely that he wouldn’t have an analysis droid on site, even if he is a Chiss.”

Another concern came to Bril’s mind, and he brought it up to their Envoy contact and the rest of the group. “The lack of intel on what we should expect once we’re planet-side is … worrying, to say the least. Does anyone here specialize in reconnaissance? Once we arrive, we could have someone scout ahead so we aren’t going in completely blind.”

Kadrol had been contented to sit back and watch all the chattering chaos unfold around him. He would get to know his teammates in time as the mission unfolded. The mind-numbing small talk didn’t interest him anyways.

What did interest him however was the subject of the mission. While not explicitly stated, it was pretty easy for Kadrol to infer that Dr. Jonz would be an archaeologist like himself. What other type of professor would be off gathering data on a newly discovered temple, he reasoned. While Kadrol always tried to put his best foot forward to complete any assignments, he had an especially strong stake in this one now. Kadrol now knew that if it came down to it, he would with absolute certainty sacrifice himself if it meant the doctor and his team could all return to safety. The preservation of the data that site held was too important.

However, the archaeologist in him did still have one question. “Do you know if the professor has additional field notes or artifacts with him or at the site itself that should also be extracted?”

A distraction, thank gods. Sivall listened carefully to the situation, sanguine eyes flicking between each person as they talked. Despite the other’s obvious distrust and/or displeasure of the handling of the situation, Siv was just pleased that this was a rescue mission… not a manhunt. She could be of use here.

“I can scout ahead, Bril. I’ve got a better-than normal ability to blend into the shadows,” and get shot doing it, “Unless there’s someone with greater stealth abilities. Then I will assist in what ways I can.”

“You may take Buddy with you,” Anders smiled at the little droid as it cocked its head towards him. “You will find it’s utility to prove most useful.”

“Is there anything you want to add to that but feel you may not be allowed to?” The oddly accented voice drew everyone’s attention to an empty corner of the shuttle as the Neti creekingly released himself from his deep meditation and commenced undoing the techniques he had been using to ensure nobody paid attention to him. He’d felt a tiny sliver of mental probing but he’d quietly redirected it, making it appear to have not been noticed.

“It is interesting though, either the research project pertained to something non-Force or plague related since otherwise they’d never have been allowed off Arx by the Dark Council. Alternatively, they did bring along one of the finer medical minds available”, slowly nodding towards Rhylance, Ood continued his verbal analysis. “So maybe the research was too dangerous to conduct on Arx, or it required an immobile resource or artifact.” The ancient Arconan moved closer, to join the group properly.

“Ah, good morning, Ood. I must admit, I almost forgot you were there,” Anders coyly smirked at the neti. “Either way, we request complete access to everything that Doctor Jonz was working on, ever before this trip. Research notes, holocrons, recordings, anything that might give us an indication on where he might go, or what is potentially waiting for us.”

Anders turned to her. “Very well, my dear. I understand.” He clasped his hands behind his back, never losing his smile. “It will be at our own discretion what research survives, if any at all, along with Doctor and his team if applicable.”

Bril cocked his head to the side. Surely, the Chiss wasn’t suggesting that he would actually jeopardize the mission because he wasn’t given access to classified information? And even worse, hopefully he wasn’t expecting the rest of them to aid him in such a dishonorable course of action? Bril scoffed at the idea and shook his head, making no effort to hide his displeasure with the implication of Anders’ words.

Slender fingers patted Bril’s bicep softly as Sivall gave him a soft smile. A look that said ‘I know how you feel, it’ll be okay.’ She then turned to the holo-projection of Cordelia. “Thank you for the information, Ms. Cordelia. My only question is if we have any information on the wildlife present at our destination? If the Doctor has fallen prey to the natural inhabitants of the planet, it would be helpful to know what venomous or poisonous animals might be around the temple.”

‘If I can avoid us getting hurt as well, that would be fantastic.’ She thought, carefully hoisting BUDD-E up in her arms as she stood. She was relatively short compared to everyone else here, including the massive sentient tree that had made itself known from the shadows. A sentient tree. She would have to let Alex know about that one.

Holding the BD unit in one arm, the Chiss pulled out her datapad and began looking through her available dossiers and the information on Gonda. A good field medic was a prepared field medic.

BUDD-E provided his own light, using its in-built scanner to illuminate her datapad.

A tap on his arm prompted him to look to Sivall, and he gestured toward Anders before making an exaggerated eyeroll. Not usually one to be silly, his playful mocking of the Chiss man made him chuckle, but that playfulness faded when he heard Cordelia mention garu-bears.

“Well, that’s worrying,” he said, his expression darkening. “They’re rare, but I’ve encountered garu-bears on Iridonia. They travel in family units and are extremely territorial and protective of their young.”

He glanced at all the others gathered in the shuttle. Even with as many of them as there were, he knew that running into a sleuth of garu-bears would cause a lot of trouble for them.

Anders payed no mind to her scathing comments, nor the feelings of his team members. Why should he? He knew he was right, and if it came back to bite them, literally in the case of garu-bears, then justice would be enacted in due time to those responsible.

“We should prepare for landing,” Draca spared a glance towards Bril and Sivall. “Buddy, you will be good for Sivall, won’t you?”

The little droid beeped, practically dancing gently on Sivall’s shoulder. Anders let out a small chuckle.

“Yes, if you are good, I’ll treat you to an oil bath, and not that cheap stuff from Dantooine either. I mean the really good stuff. That is, of course, assuming you require his assistance, my dear?”

Happy beeps. Lots and lots of happy beeps. BUDD-E spared a glance to Sivall, hoping for the answer it wanted.

Ood calmly lumbered down the ramp, letting the light hit his face as he enjoyed its warmth. Spreading out his senses, the Neti carefully blanketed the surrounding area with the Light Side as he began to see where the shuttle had deposited them.

Anders followed suit after Ood, taking in the surroundings. The area was bright, and warm, yet a light breeze wafted past. It brought with it the relief amidst the temperate climate.

He scanned the surroundings, the silhouette of the temple overshadowing every landmark in the distance.

Anders approached Ood, giving the Neti the space he needed to finish his work. He placed his hands behind his back and waited patiently for the results.

“I’m not noticing any hazards in the immediate area.” the Neti stated as he turned to look back at the ship ramp. “So feel free to disembark!”

Anders felt a few presences nearby. Clearly, their landing had not gone unnoticed. He internally scoffed. This was why you brief well before the start of a mission.

He closed his eyes, letting the tendrils of the Force spread over his teammates for this endeavour. Having done it once already, he found it easier to connect to everyone. He sent out a message.

‘We are not alone. I have felt several presences watching all around us. The closest is above us on the cliff edge. I nominate we send Sivall to investigate whilst we set up base here. I will keep a mental link open so she can communicate what she finds between us. If you need backup, Sivall, tell me. I’ll hear you.’

Sivall stepped out of the shuttle and gently placed BUDD-E down. The tree man had made them aware that the immediate landing zone was safe, so she was free to take a few seconds to ready herself. She closed her eyes, calling on the force to see if she could find their target some where out there in the fabric of the force.

But whether it was the anxiety of feeling the people around her, especially Rhylance, or being scared of what else could be drifting through the living force, she couldn’t ascertain the Doctor’s location. She let out a soft cuss in Cheunh under her breath, then opened her eyes as Anders reached out to them telepathically. It seemed he had had a better time sensing out their location than she. The pale Chiss gave him a nod, letting him know she had heard him.

“While I’m out there, it will be hard to detect me. Worse case scenario, I’ll send BUDD-E back.” The short woman bounced on the balls of her feet and outstretched her arms, warming her muscles up for the trek through the pass. She couldn’t see much from her current location, so she would need to be cautious.

Siv kneeled down and took off the backpack she had on, letting Ander’s BD unit climb inside. A soft smile worked it’s way onto her face as the droid made itself comfortable. She would need to get herself one.

“Alright buddy, you ready?” Beep beep. “Good.”

She closed the back pack but left a spot where BUDD-E could still see out, then slipped the straps around her shoulders. Now that the droid was out of eyesight, the soft smile slipped from her face and was replaced with a more serious, more concentrated look.

She took a deep breath, eyes still facing forward, as her image shimmered not unlike a mirage. Within seconds, she was gone from sight. She took one last look at her group, then made her way into the pass.

It didn’t take long until BUDD-E, much to Sivall’s potential dismay, decided it didn’t like being cooped up in a bag. It tried to take a peek into the light…

Making her way through the passage wasn’t easy, but it also wasn’t the hardest thing to do. Thankfully for her, her full musculature had still not come back, so she was still fairly thin and able to squeeze through the parts where the walls got close together. She could see that she was nearing the end of the path.

She felt movement in her backpack.

The medic chuckled softly, dodging behind on of the bends in the wall to pull BUDD-E from her backpack. He didn’t like being stuck in a stuffy bag. She understood that. Sivall carefully placed him at her feet, patting his head with her invisible hand.

“You gotta be quiet little one, okay? If anything tries to attack you I’ll swoop in, I promise.”

With that, she continued on, rounding the last corner to see the courtyard leading to the temple. The Chiss crouched and leaned against the stone wall, looking around. Her eyes squinted and she reached out, feeling if that connection to Anders and the group was still there.

It was. Thank gods.

‘Reached the courtyard.’ She said telepathically to them, ‘Passage is clear. Scouting continuing. Stand by.’

Copy that, check if there’s enough space to set up a basecamp in there, we’re too exposed out here by the shuttle for my liking. The heavy, age-laced mental voice of the old Adept came back to her nearly instantly.

The Chiss woman blinked a few times at the Neti’s mental voice. It was…. definitely different. From the little she had heard him speak, it rang true for what you would imagine a tree to sound like. She didn’t see any danger, and didn’t feel anything more than birds or wildlife around her.

‘Start heading up the passage. In case.’

With that, she slowly began to move into the courtyard, looking around and trying her very best to not step on anything trap-like. She had a bad penchant for getting hurt accidentally.

Once Sivall he received word from Sivall that they were clear to begin moving through the passageway, Bril made sure that he was the first person to step off the shuttle proper and onto the winding path. He made sure to grab a duffel bag of supplies on his way out, slinging it over his shoulder to reduce his chances of getting stuck during his trek to her location.

‘Roger roger,’ he projected across their mental link, “And don’t go too far ahead too quickly. I can cover you once I’m there.”

It didn’t take Bril long to make his way through the passage, even with the bag hanging from his shoulder. He took his place just behind Sivall and looked out into the open cave structure.

Kadrol stepped off the shuttle, eager to get going on the mission. Wandering up the passageway, his mind wandered. The narrow pathway, the occasional set of stairs along it, and the ruins looming over top of everything nearly made him forget the mission entirely. The set of gear he carried seemed to become one with him as he moved, the Pantoran becoming mindless to everything he was supposed to be paying attention to and focusing on the path and ruins ahead.

However, the excavation work itself had Kadrol questioning everything. For a team of professional archaeologists under the direct supervision of a professor, the work had been done surprisingly poorly. Perhaps they had a different research goal and only bothered to excavate enough to get through, Kadrol reasoned, dismissing the oddities and pushing his questions to the back of his head.

After trudging through the narrow pass, it began to open up, revealing the ruins in all their wonder. The situation in the courtyard could almost be described as a crime scene. Tables had been flipped, papers and tools were all over the place, and Kadrol was pretty sure that if the ground itself could have been flipped over, it would have.

‘As I suspected before, my friend. A trap is likely possible. Everyone be on alert. We have the edge knowing we are being watched.’

Anders followed behind Kadrol and Ood. He wasn’t carrying much in the name of supplies, instead focusing on maintaining the mental link between them all.

‘Excellent work, Sivall. I trust Buddy is behaving?’

Speaking of Buddy, behaving was last on its list of things to do right now. It was a utility droid, practically a scout! It leaped out of Sivall’s backpack and began to scan the surrounding area.

Rhylance followed the rest as they exited the shuttle. Close behind him was his personal droid, M.O.R.S.E. The two entered the courtyard that was in such disarray.

“M.O.R.S.E, I want you to collect these papers and tools, and categorize whatever you find. All of this will be considered evidence, possibly pertaining to whatever caused the Professor Indi’s disappearance. Review whatever you can with the paperwork.”

As you wish, Doctor. M.O.R.S.E replied in his androgynous voice. He willingly served his master well.

“We should be careful to not miss anything of importance. The Academy will not take failure lightly.”

The Neti had been setting up the camp with the majority of the team while young Sivall had continued exploring and some had begun gathering the materials strewn around. As such, priority had been given to set up a tarp over some flat blocks of stonework, creating a makeshift work surface. As Rhylance’s droid brought papers and items in, he placed them there for future review and analysis.

Around this space, a few tents had been erected to serve as storage for materials, ammunition, food rations, and to house the team.

A slight cramp in his shoulder had the Neti recall the annoyance of having to navigate the narrow access to this place. It had been a set of close calls in order not to get stuck in there.

Soon, Sivall would report back, or the droid would find something of use and they could start working out what had happened here. It wouldn’t do to just rush through this place, the target had not been inexperienced in these matters. For something to have caught him off guard, something had to have gone wrong here. Best to make sure the recovery team did not fall victim to the same.

Scrutinizing eyes of crystal blue surveyed the chaotic scene, finishing up by the time the others arrived and began either setting up camp or collecting the materials scattered throughout the area. Following a hunch, the young Zabrak honed his focus on the myriad footprints in the area, hoping to find signs of a physical struggle; if he had, that certainly would have explained the site’s state of disarray. But alas, Bril found nothing of value; the steady flow of new footprints from his teammates and of the droid’s tracks made it all but impossible to differentiate their tracks from the old ones. He clicked his teeth in disappointment before standing upright.

“Hmm, this place… it’s old.” Ood carefully touched a piece of fallen masonry, “It’s protected from the elements in here but still has this amount of weathering… I’d say 25.000 years give or take a millennium. Not much younger but I could be missing a factor and they’d be far older than this too. Can’t determine the original purpose… yet. What’s this, it doesn’t seem to match any known civilization… This is something new.”

Turning towards Rhylance, the Neti addressed his clanmate, “Doctor, could you ask your droid friend to fully separate the blank papers he finds, I have need of a journal to chronicle these surroundings. This could be quite the discovery we stumbled into.”

Rhylance nodded to Neti. He respected the work of Ood, and that was surprising, for Rhylance respected very few, especially for intellectual purposes.

“I too am most curious, and the slightest bit excited by what secrets may be unlocked by these ruins. Consider me an ally in your pursuit of Knowledge.”

Bril found himself glancing in Sivall’s direction when the Neti described how old these ruins were, giving her a knowing look. This would mark the second time they had the opportunity to interact with an ancient object whose construction didn’t match any known civilization. What were the odds? With that information in mind, he carefully made his way up to the temple’s entrance to have a closer look. When the Force began to pass him impressions of other people that had been in the area, he felt a jolt of excitement course through the back of his neck. Had he found something?

Alas, it didn’t take him long to work out that the presences he felt were of himself and his own team. Bril shook his head and returned to the group. “I’ve got nothing,” he said while rubbing the back of his neck.

“Doctor, if this is a yet undiscovered civilization, pay attention to the architecture. The size of doors, rooms and such may give clues as to their stature and other biological aspects. Is this species still extant in some fashion? Or is this something new?” Ood responded, after briefly considering Rhylance’s words.

“We should also be wary of traps,” Anders said, walking casually beside the group at the temple entrance. If something like this has gone undisturbed for as long as you say, then there are likely countermeasures in play to keep sentients out, or, perhaps, keep something protected inside. What’s to say our good Doctor Jonz hasn’t encountered such a thing?“

Anders placed a hand under his chin, and inspected the temple entrance…

He attempted to seek out any remnant of alchemical modification, whilst he felt some trace of it, it was difficult to discern exactly what it was. It could be that the team’s use of the Force had stained whatever presence might have been here.

This complicated things.

“I can’t confirm it, but I suspect alchemy might be involved. Kadrol, tread carefully.”

Kadrol made his way towards the nearest entrance to the temple to search for any clues. Anders’ gentle warning gave Kadrol a moment’s pause before he continued as normal. He’s probably just being extra cautious, Kadrol thought to himself. Intentions aside, it was good to know his team cared for his safety.

As Kadrol searched the entryway, he spotted a set of glyphs, etched into the stone and painted over. The red paint had faded significantly, weathered away over the millennia. The glyphs themselves looked familiar, though Kadrol couldn’t quite place where he had seen them before. “Hey guys, I think I found something!” He called out to the rest of the team.

Still trying to figure out what the runes were, the Pantoran ran his fingers along the grooves, tracing them with his fingers. He racked his brain, desperately searching his mind for any information on the subject. As he continued to trace the roughened surface, he felt a sharp prick on one of his fingers. The sensation made the archaeologist’s heart skip a beat for a second as he recalled the warning he had received earlier.

Luckily, it had only been a thin flake of stone that had sheared off as he had touched it. The stone skittered down the side of the ruins, coming to rest on the ground.

Rhylance collected the pages with writing on them from M.O.R.S.E, and after studying the writings realized he held no recollection of them. The Chiss looked to his Neti team member before approaching him. As Ood wrote on the blank pages, Rhy cleared his throat.

“While I am significantly adept at many things in the scientific realm, ancient languages are not especially among them. Perhaps one with your resources and ability could be better suited for this.”

Rhylance handed the pages to Ood to examine before approaching the temple doors. He decided to study the architecture, hoping to garner some knowledge before they continued on.

‘Behaving pretty well. He’s rambunctious.’

While the others had began to set up base camp and survey the mess outside the temple, Siv had been working on scouting around the temple itself. There were two entrances from what she could see, one to the furthest on the right and the main entrance at the front of the temple. Two of her group had made themselves at home at the front door, so she decided to take the road less traveled and go up the steps to the right of the building.

She whistled softly to BUDD-E and moved her way up the steps. Again, she didn’t see anything that outright yelled “trap!”, but all the same she tried her best to be careful.

‘You dont know the half of it.’

Anders briefly pondered of Sivall heard the scoff he gave.

‘Keep us updated. I’ll check on every few minutes to ensure you are fine.’

A thought then occurred to answer as he overheard the conversation between the Doctor and the Neti.

‘What language is that in? Do either of you know?’

Siv chuckled to herself, then slipped inside the temple. Inside she found a little alcove with four sleeping bags and some discarded lighting supplies. She looked around briefly at the structure of the temple. Despite being old and falling to ruin, she could imagine how it used to look. It must have been beautiful… it still kind of was, in a very sad and discarded way.

‘Up the steps to the right was a sleeping chamber. Four bags, so three extra people on top of the Doctor.’

She recalled Cordelia mentioning that the doctor and his research were the only priority and frowned. The other three people, whether they were guards or researchers, they still had a life and likely family and friends. Weren’t they important too?

If it came down to it in a mission, would she be classified as ‘unimportant’? She pushed those thoughts from her mind and took a closer look at the sleeping bags, hoping to find some sort of clues about their inhabitants– anything to point her in the direction of the Doctor and co.

“The building has Rakatan features mixed in with something else. I am unsure if it is a Rakata precursor culture or one of the slave species adopting architectural traits after the fall of the Infinite Empire though.” Ood stated as he kept writing and drawing furiously in the newly made book.

“As for the language on these notes and the carvings, it appears to also be similar to Rakata, but I’ve only seen said language in passing. I couldn’t be entirely sure.” the Neti responded as he leafed through the pages. “The Academy has a few experts on Rakatan culture if memory serves, let’s secure these notes for them and continue our exploration of this place.”

The pale Chiss quickly sorted through the sleeping bags and found nothing of interest, other than perhaps that one of the researchers had been an avid nocturnal snacker (and a slob). Her lip twitched in disgust and she quickly and quietly dusted off her hands. Nasty, she thought.

Since there was nothing here of notice, she moved on into the room on her right.

‘Your life is of importance to us. Do not underestimate your value. Keep in contact. Let us know what else you find.’

Stepping into the large central chamber of the temple complex, Bril reached out with the Force to keep his senses trained on Siv’s location. For some reason, he couldn’t pinpoint exactly where she was, but it did give him a general sense of her being somewhere to his right.

‘I’m in here with you, lora. I have your back if things start to go sideways.’

If Anders were perfectly honest with himself, the team was starting to grow on him a bit. Sure, he had his reservations back in the shuttle, but they were proving themselves to be incredibly hard working.

Ood and the Doctor were investigating the writings and drawings.

Bril and Sivall had entered the temple with the former watching the latter’s back.

Lastly, <@314889552848224257> had exclaimed he had found something? If he was that excited, then it deserved further investigation.

The team was growing on him. Slowly, but surely. His respect was growing for them.

‘Kadrol, I’m on my way to your location now. What is it that you’ve found?’

As everyone began to enter the Temple itself, Ood looked towards Rhylance and indicated they should maybe join the others inside the ancient structure.

Walking through the doorway, the Neti looked around to further behold the columned hall he now stood within.

Sivall saw nothing more of use in the room she was in, and feeling more comfortable knowing Bril was nearby, she began moving into another nearby room… only to stop in the doorway. It seemed to be a crypt of some sort, with multiple coffins and probably more behind the walls. She felt a shiver rise up her spine.

‘A crypt,’ she mumbled telepathically, ‘Be careful and cautious. The dead are watching,’

Rhylance walked around the interior room of the temple, taking in the sights. He figured Ood was probably salivating(do Neti do that?) at the idea of cataloging everything they’ve seen, and will see.

“M.O.R.S.E, go ahead and look for clues. We need to find a lead of some kind to locate out missing Doctor.”

Of course, Doctor.

As the pair entered the temple, the Neti left Rhylance in the entrance and wandered to a side alcove below what appeared to be the tower. Candles & more wall art. Again in red … was it maybe blood? It didn’t look too fresh, so probably not from the target or his attendants though.

“Doctor, these drawings, those notes, and the carvings outside. All in this brownish red color… do you think it’s perhaps blood? And if so, do you think we could get any information from it? Or would it be too old?” Ood turned back towards where he left Rhylance. As he began to leave the alcove, he noticed the others had moved closer towards the altar

Bril continued moving down the central path of the temple’s main section, and stopped when he noticed the altar and statue that towered above it. He was joined by Sivall shortly afterward, and he gave her a quick nod before taking a step closer to get a closer look at the altar and statue.

Taking note of the auric runes carved into the altar’s base and the oblong indent in its center, Bril catalogued the information in his datapad before relaying the information to the rest of his team via their Force link.

Found an altar. Gold runes carved into its base. Unusually shaped indentation in the center. Brushes and other tools scattered about.

He continued examining.

The statue is of some species that I don’t recognize. Oblong shaped head, low-sitting eye stalks, but the right eye is missing. Wait, hold on…

A sparkle caught his attention, and he narrowed in on the statue’s eye.

The left eye is some kind of crystal. Going to take a closer look.

It seemed there was nothing of value in the areas she was searching, and all seemed clear, so she made her way back to the group. Before she left, she bowed her head in respect to the dead present in the crypt.

She came back down the stairs and stopped near Bril, dropping her cloak and seeming to appear out of thin air. BUDD-E trailed behind her, seeming to have enjoyed his little adventure.

“I found nothing out of the ordinary to the right. Or, at least, no threats.” She looked at the statue herself, folding her hands in front of her. It was a work of art, for sure.

The old Adept’s mental voice rang out across the connection: “Be careful, the reddish drawings, wall art, & the carvings outside are coloured in what looks to be blood. If this cult used blood to this extent, there is a possibility that the altar was used for sacrificial purposes. In that case, there may be a mechanism for moving the statue so the ‘god’ kills the victims on the altar. Maybe avoid getting on the altar itself?”

“Be careful everyone.” Ood’s voice rang out both verbally and mentally. “That gem is more than it pretends to be. It tried to ensnare my mind just now, yet it couldn’t … maybe a broken or damaged Rakatan mind prison device? Whatever it is, either tag it or grab it. The Academy will want to study whatever this thing turns out to be…”

The Neti cast his eye over the statue and surrounding ruins. It seemed stable, why not remove the danger from his young compatriots. He reached deeply into the Force and tried to call the crystal to his hand. What could go wrong?

The Crystal, and its stone housing now securely in his right hand, the Arconan wondered what secrets it held.

‘Blood and altars? A crypt? Sounds to me like this is some sort of sacrificial Temple of Doom. Whatever they needed the blood for, remains to be seen. In particular if it has affected our good Doctor Jonz and his team.’

Anders paused. He had just reached Kadrol who still seemed so enamoured in whatever he had discovered. He was like a schoolboy finding something shiny in the sand.

‘We are on our way. I will approach last so as to cover our backs. Do not forget that we are being watched. Oh, and Ood? Be careful with that crystal. I know of Sith spells that enact once they latch onto a host. The results are… horrifying, to say the least.’

Anders turned to <@314889552848224257>. “Come along, my young friend. You can inform me of what you have discovered along the way.”

He practically dragged the young man into the main part of the temple. If there was a trap here, then they would deal with it. Ninety percent of Inquisitor training was learning to adapt to situations when they happened. Those who couldn’t met a grievous end.

That could apply to his status as a Golden Envoy too, right?

They looked around the main temple area…

Anders took a closer look at the alter. It was by far the most obvious structure inside, which naturally meant there was likely nothing here worthy of note, but one could not leave any stone unturned.

There was a bowl inside a figures hands, not the most uncommon thing in a temple, likely used for cleansing or giving blood, depending. However, Anders caught something peculiar in the corner of his eye.

A red… fish?

How odd. There wasn’t even much water nearby. This had to be more recent. The smell was putrid. It had clearly been here for some time, but not long enough that it could have been from anywhere else other than their quarries team.

‘Lady and gentlemen. I require your attention within the main temple’s altar. I believe I may have found something.’

“Oooh, you know me…” Ood started to smile. “Hmm, now to figure out who you are!”

The Neti shook himself out of his musings, placing the newly acquired bauble into a deep, wide pocket of his robes before looking around to find the voice. “Maybe someone I knew back when I worked at the academy?”

Bril stiffened when he heard the voice, knowing that it didn’t match any of the voices he’d heard thus far. Did everyone else here that, or was it just me?

We may not be alone… Or it’s a Force Spirit!

Or Sivall was right and the dead are waking up! Most people who know me are dead you know, benefit of being older than dirt.

That … doesn’t make me feel better, you know.

The regular undead are easy, blasters and sabers are basically hot enough to ignite their dried out husks, just tap them with a saber or even a glancing blow from a blaster will do the trick. Now wet undead, especially swamp ghouls, are dangerous. But we would have smelled those already.

As the Neti’s inner encyclopedia kept rattling off facts on different types of undead in folklore and seemingly reality, it appeared lost on him he’d just potentially confirmed the existence of such creatures to the group.

Swamp ghouls? What the frakk is a swamp ghoul? And why are you talking about the living dead so casually? I thought those only existed in holofilms.

Oh, I’m not allowed to answer that question. Sorry, Dark Council directive from my days as Praetor…

‘I realise it may have been a long time, Ood, but do you at least recognise the voice? The accent? The mannerisms in which this spirit speaks?’

“Ehh, probably a Force ghost. Happens a lot once you hit your first millennium. Anything interesting with that Altar there?” The Neti stated verbally, voice ringing out across the structure, finally breaking the silence that had begun to choke the room. Yet his eyes moved through the shadows, as if searching for something.

“A literal red herring. Either a decoy, or a clue. Probably tbe former,” Anders called back to him. He then focused on his mental link, strengthening it. He had gotten sloppy, but what he had here was an opportunity. If he could strengthen the link, maybe they could communicate with the spirit more directly.

‘Good afternoon, I am Chief Inquisitor Anderson, Golden Envoy. Though you may call me Anders if you prefer. To whom, may I ask, are we speaking with?’

It was like a dagger had stabbed Anders in the side of his head. He went wide-eyed, clutching the side of his head as the mental link he had created for his team thus far began to weaken.

He dropped to one knee and clenched his eyes shut, partially due to the pain, but mostly through sheer stubborn will to not let that link break with his team.

A damned ghost was not going to beat him here and now.

Several harsh groans later, he re-opened his eyes, sweat dropping down his face. He checked the mental link.

It was there, weakened, but there.

‘Checking in. Can everyone hear me?’

This ………. be ….. distraction ……. know……………..

A shiver had passed through her at the disembodied voice, otherwise the Chiss was throughly distracted by looking at everything to see if she could find anything of use. She was determined to be of some use here— archeology wasn’t her forte and her stealthiness seemed unneeded and unnecessary.

A look of concern appeared on Bril’s face when Anders doubled over in pain. What was happening? Did it have something to do with the voice they’d heard? The young Zabrak crouched next to him and placed a hand on the Chiss’ back.

“Yes, I can hear you,” he said, having chosen to speak aloud since they were right next to each other. “Are you alright?”

Kadrol examined the ground carefully as the others went to check out their own areas. The floor was covered with trails of bootprints all over the ground could’ve lead them towards someplace that might unveil some more clues as to where the researchers may have gone. Unfortunately, the trails were all muddled together and the only clues left behind were the excavation tools themselves. That definitely meant the researchers hadn’t meant to leave. Perhaps an emergency had required them to evacuate quickly, or more likely they had been taken. Kadrol couldn’t say for certain. What he did know, however, was that there were more than four sets of boot prints, though… maybe… it could’ve been his fellow teammates leaving those behind.

Siv’s eyes squinted at the footprints, her brain trying it’s best to track the different sets. It took her a few moments, a bit longer than she’d care to admit, before she saw and outlier. A set of footprints leading off towards the left side of the temple between some rubble.

’Maybe this leads to something?’ She quietly began to move in that direction.

Bril accompanied his lora, keeping his senses attuned to their surroundings as he walked next to her.

Her path led her to a huddled figure, and instantly her medic brain kicked into action. A serious look plastered it’s way onto her features.

‘Bril and I found someone.’ The Chiss began to move towards the figure in the corner.

He grimaced when he rolled the body over and saw the gash across his chest. It’s as I suspected earlier. The mess we saw when we arrived was indeed the result of a struggle. It looks like this person was murdered. A duros male … looks like something is clutched in his hand.

Bril looked to Sivall and gestured toward the body, “Maybe you should examine the wounds, lora, while I see what they were holding.”

The Chiss crouched nearby and looked over the wounds, frowning. Was their research so important it was worth their life? Obviously the massive gash in their chest was the killing blow, but the marks were beyond her,

She felt an itch at the back of her mind. Unable to help, again.

She looked up at Bril, the frown still on her features. “I’ve never seen wounds like this…” she whispered, “Maybe Rhylance would be more helpful…?”

He exchanged glances with her and offered an encouraging smile. “I’m at a loss, as well. You’ve been plenty helpful and will continue to be. I think we should wait for the others, though. Their experience would likely be useful, here.”

Anders staggered towards Bril and Sivall. Whatever had deemed itself worthy enough to attack his mind had failed, though it had certainly taken its toll.

“Get.. the doctor… he… might know…” Anders suggested as best he could, using a nearby structure to keep himself upright.

BUDD-E immediately leapt to his side, having seen its master struggle. It let out a series of concerned beeps and boops.

“Yes, Buddy… I’m fine… it takes more than… a little mental intrusion to defeat me…”

Anders closed his eyes. The link might have been weakened, but he only needed to get a few words out.

‘Rhylance-Left Side-Body’

<@206692046424113152>

Rhylance felt the weak connection in his head. He truly hated the Telepathy of Force Users at times. Regardless, they had a job as a team and he responded by going where Anders wished. As he made his was over he saw that Inquistir with a pained expression and the other two with the dead body.

Without a word he began to examine the corpse. It smelled, clearly the decay and decomposition settling in. The Duros was stiff; the coloring, or discoloring, or the flesh seemed to be at minimum 3 days old. The wound to the chest caused by a jagged blade. Whoever did this wanted it to hurt.

The object in the bodies hand was held tight as rigor mortis wad in effect. The Doctor merely smiled as he grabbed the wrists of the deceased and pressed on a pressure point. The Duros hand opened and the object was released. Rhylance picked it up to examine it.

Rhylance looked over the patch that fell into his grasp. It wasn’t a picture he recognized, but it also didn’t look like something he’d have deemed important. He looked to his companions and handed it off to whoever wanted to take it.

“Better served in your hands than mine.”

Anders took a glance at it, taking it from the Doctor’s hand. He determined it might be better suited in…

“Bril, you are able to track objects via their connection to people, correct?” Anders said, straightening his posture. He was, thankfully, recovering. Though the migraine persisted.

<@1056685516441006091>

Ood reached deep into the Force, molding it to piggyback across his connection to <@837236610684813342> in order to reach and boost the entire network back into working order.

*Oh no, that’s too much power… *was the last thing his mind broadcast before his tether to <@837236610684813342> and the wider network snapped. ||Good thing too, if the tether had held, would it have fried parts of the Chiss’ brain? Interesting premise, could make a nice research topic… if he still had the aptitude for immoral research.||

A flash of light, like a fuse box switch blowing flickered in Anders’ mind. What now!? Somehow, the link felt… lighter like there were less people involved within it.

Kadrol, Bril, Sivall, Rhylance…

Ood…

He was missing from the link.

Why him?

“Ood,” Anders called out to him. “What did you do?”

“Well, I was trying to boost the telepathic net you had thrown over us.” the Neti called back. “I may have overdone it a bit in regards to power.”

“Are you feeling ok? Feel your forehead would you? Is it hot to the touch? Do you smell something cooking? Can you smell sounds? Or see scents?” Ood began to move closer to the Sith Equite as he kept asking questions.

Anders’ hand instinctually lingered over his lightsaber. He wasn’t about to threaten the Neti, but his sudden barrage of questions had caught him off-guard.

“I am fine, thank you for your concern. Though, in future, we should communicate before attempting something akin to that again. Don’t you agree?”

Bril nodded. “Yes, I can. The stronger the connection with the person, the more precise the details I’m given by the Force.”

Anders handed it over, giving the young Iridonian a smile and a nod. Who knows? Maybe Draca was right about him.

Taking the patch in his hand, the Zabrak knight closed his eyes and focused his attention on it. Centering on it with the Force, he offered a silent prayer to the Force and the Edalinare, entreating them to guide him to whomever the piece of cloth belonged to. Through the darkness came flashes of images and other sense impressions. The flickering light and enlivening warmth of a fire cut through the darkness and cold air of an unfamiliar room. Laughter and bright smiles came from obscured faces. Those around him would notice his visage tighten as he concentrated on bringing the faces into focus but alas, he could not. They remained just out of focus, moving with a sedated pace like how one would move if they were underwater.

The images of that scene faded into the darkness only for another to take its place shortly thereafter. This one felt less distant than the first, closer in time. Although he couldn’t see the other people this time, he could feel the presence of others just beyond his field of view. Only a few of them were laughing. Then, the image of the flame that had warmed the room to a more comfortable temperature than the first vanished, replaced by a face whose expression screamed one emotion to him: fear.

When Bril finally opened his eyes again, the rest of the team would notice that they had changed from their normal crystal blue to a cloudy white, but it faded shortly after he came out of it. His chest rose and fell in a heavy sigh, and he placed a hand on Sivall’s shoulder to steady himself. Once he was feeling better, he began to relay the information of his vision to the rest of the group.

Siv left the body to the much more experienced Rhylance. Instead, she stood and made her way to Anders. The man was much taller than she, so she hopped up on one of the pieces of nearby rubble before gently taking her fellow Chiss’s head in her hands. It was clear that his continued linking of them all telepathically had begun to take it’s toll, and while she wasn’t experienced to help in much else, she could help with this.

The pale-blue female closed her eyes and focused, calling on the force. She smiled softly when it answered her call, and she focused it through her body and down her arms. She felt the familiar cool sensation fill her fingertips, like dipping her fingers into a lake.

Anders would feel much the same, the cool sensation filling his head and dousing the pain he was feeling while also healing any other symptoms of force exhaustion. He would feel brand new, like before he started the mission.

Sivall pulled her hands away and kept that soft smile on her features. “There,” she commented softly, “That should help a bit.”

“Indeed…”

Anders was momentarily perturbed. For a moment, he considered slapping her hands away, yet the young woman had shown as insistence that she had failed to display up to this point.

“I do feel better. Thank you. In fact… I think we should stop dillydallying and move forward with our investigation. Doctor Jonz is still missing and we are no closer to finding him than when we started.”

BUDD-E let out a series of concerned beeps.

“Yes, Buddy. I’m fine.”

The little droid nestled it’s head against Anders’ leg.

Sensing she had crossed a line, the Chiss woman backed up. She was so very bad with the whole “boundaries” thing. She frowned softly and sat on the piece of debris she had used as a step stool.

“Ah. Yes. Well, it seems like Rhylance and Bril have found something. I have confidence we’ll move on soon.”

“Nobody panic or let on you noticed” the Neti spoke in a quiet voice that, nonetheless, rang out in the silent temple. “Through the Force, I’ve managed to divine a set of side doors to this place.” as he pointed to the side, Ood’s eyes followed his finger. “Oh never mind, we already knew those were there! My bad!”

Bril smiled and gave Sivall a gentle nudge. “I told you that you would continue to be a great help to this team.”

Kadrol proceeded to the far end of the hypostyle hall. The columned space still looked as impressive as ever, even after all of these millennia. At the far end was a statue. Perhaps there’s something around here, Kadrol thought as he walked around each side. The archaeologist wasn’t well versed in the culture that had built the structure, but he also wouldn’t be surprised if there was a hidden drawer or lever somewhere in the area.

The Pantoran pushed on a few of the stones, hoping something might give, revealing its secrets… nothing. He wrapped around to the other side. Again, nothing revealed itself. He probably should’ve expected it, but the statue seemed to be, well, just a statue.

“Indeed, <@264959101384130560>. You’re biggest problem is a crippling lack of confidence. Once you surpass that, you will find your abilities will grow exponentially.”

Anders didn’t wait for a response. He wasnt usually the type to offer compliments. Instead, he offered what he liked to call helpful critique. Still, he appreciated.

“Feel free to take point, <@1056685516441006091>. Guide us to wherever you feel the Force is taking you.”

A soft nod was given to Anders and Bril. Not much else was said on her part regarding her lack of self confidence.

“Lead us, botmun’i.”

“Hmm, I’d wager our best bet would be to go break up basecamp, pack it all up and return to the shuttle. Maybe the computer or that briefing giver can tell us more about this symbol you found” the Neti stated, focus already shifting towards his journal as he started to wander the ruins, taking notes and drawing schematics. “I’ll catch up before the shuttle leaves, no worries! Just want to finish recording this location.”

Bril shook his head upon hearing Ood’s suggestion. “No, wait,” he said, lifting a hand while closing his eyes. Opening his senses to the Force once again, he felt a tug, a subtle call that beckoned for him to follow. “After I attuned to the patch, something is calling me east. I think that’s where we should go. In the direction of the town that was mentioned in our debrief.”

“I nominate we follow Bril. The Force, if nothing else, is the best guide. Unless we split up, of course. That is your decision to make,” Anders gestured towards the Zabrak. “Lead the way. I’m curious to see where this leads us.”

Siv hopped off her perch snd stared up at Bril. “I’m with you Bril.” It was a quiet promise, she would stick with him not matter what.

“Alright then! We still may want to clear up basecamp though so we don’t leave it behind if we have to make a hasty escape later on.” The neti seemed distracted, “Also, it’ll give me time to finish the preliminary survey of this temple.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Anders gave a nod in confirmation. It bothered him that they had apparantly found little evidence to Doctor Jonz’s whereabouts, and the temple left more questions than answers, but hopefully…

“Bril, where to?”

The young Zabrak would be able to guide them to something worthwhile.

Anders had to curse the irony of having to trust another Iridonian. What were the odds?

Kadrol, having finished his solo exploration of the temple, returned back to the others in the group. “What’s going on guys,” He asked the other group members, “do we have any leads?”

Once Kadrol caught up, Bril took the time to fill him in on the details that the group had gathered so far; in particular, he explained what he saw in his vision and how the same Force connection was calling him east.

After that, he turned to the rest of the group. “Ood is right. Let’s pack up here and head back to the shuttle,” he said, “There’s a town in the direction the Force is calling me, and if I’m willing to bet that that’s where we need to go.”

This is somber.

The group had followed Bril’s signature in the Force into the nearby town some 20 mins away. To Anders, the place seemed fairly… quaint. If one had no access to the Force, you could mistake the place for being deserted.

If not, of course, for the beat of music playing in his ear. He had two choices; follow the music, or interrupt the one lone person he saw making strides across the town.

Anders stood in front of the farmer. “Excuse me, good sir. Good afternoon, we’d like to ask a few questions.”

Anders smiled at the man, placing a hand on his shoulder as he whispered into his ear.

“You can relax. You know you can trust us…”

Bril was the first to enter the town and the first to notice disapproving glares of those who stopped to look at him and his team as they entered. “Play it cool, folks. Don’t want to offend the locals,” Bril advised, keeping his head on a swivel.

When Anders approached one of the farmers, Bril took a step forward to observe the interaction more closely, not only to make sure that Anders didn’t do something they’d come to regret, but also to see if he could pick up something of value from the man’s mind.

It was clear that the man was afraid of them, but why? He opened his senses to the Force, focusing his attention on the farmer who shifted uncomfortably before them.

…please don’t hurt my family…

…why is it always me… and

…I don’t have enough money to pay you again…

That was all he got before the pervasive feelings of fear and mistrust was replaced by ones of warmth and calm - a result of Anders’ own Force manipulation, no doubt.

He turned to the rest of the group. “I caught a few of his thoughts. I think these people are being extorted by someone. He mentioned not being able to pay us again, and feared for the safety of his family,” Bril said with a look of sympathy on his face.

Anders raised a brow. Mercenaries, perhaps? Was it connected to the disappearance of Doctor Jonz? There were always five main questions that needed answering.

“OK, my good man. I have a few questions that need to be answered. Firstly, who is threatening your family, and when did this start?”

“My dear fellow, we have only just arrived in town. We are not locals,” Anders flashed another smile towards him. “Maybe we can be of assistance to one another, no? But, if you trust us, you need to answer our questions. Who is threatening you, and when did this start?”

Anders made another slight motion to Bril to continue reading the farmer’s thoughts.

<@1056685516441006091>

“We are not pirates, young man.” the Neti stashed the journal in a handy pocket and looked down with a smile, “We might be able to help you out with that problem. If you could answer a few questions first…” Ood turned to the others, “Show him the logo on the patch.” as he turns back, he makes sure his lightsaber is briefly visible to the farmer.

Anders does the same. After all, what kind of Pirates brandished lightsabers? They were far too worth the credits when they could be sold to ludicrous amounts of money.

“Have you seen this logo before?” Anders asked.

“Hmm, in that case…would you like to never have to look at the sigil again? We have business with its owners, that business can easily be expanded to be more permanent.” The Neti smiled again, “They took something….important.”

“Do you know where they are? If not, when they’ll be back here or if there are some in town right now? I’m getting this feeling of wanting to stretch some muscles.”

“Indeed,” Anders hands grazed his lightsaber. Pirates were little more than scum in his eyes. If the rest of the team had no issues eliminating them, then who was he to argue?

“Right then, off we go.” The Neti stated, ignoring the fleeing civilian. “Anders, try to keep the mind trick going until you’re out of sight, it prevents them from realising what happened usually.”

Siv turned to her group before they followed the direction the civilian was pointing in. Her eyes betrayed the calm and collected look on her face, her heart was breaking.

“I’m going to get on the roof and look around, cover you guys.” She pointed up to the roof of a nearby building, “If something happens, call out to me. I’ll come.”

With that she moved to the side of the building she had pointed to. After failing to physically climb it, one force-charged leap got her to the roof and she settled in.

“I’m a trained Inquisitor. I’m well aware of how it works,” Anders rolled his eyes.

Anders was getting tired of the dillydallying. He placed BUDD-E on the ground and gave it a pat on its head. “Go take a look in that building up there. If you scan the surroundings inside, even better.”

BUDD-E gave a happy chirp, and a little salute with its leg and leaped towards the building.

BUDD-E let out a chirp as he snuck in the first set of doors as someone left, but let out a loud chirp when he got stuck.

Anders rolled his eyes. “Alright, alright. I’m coming…”

So much for the stealthy approach. It was up to everyone else if they followed him.

“Let’s try not to make a habit of violating the autonomy of our hosts,” Bril commented, folding his arms against his chest as he walked behind Anders. Knowing that if these pirates were in the cantina that they would likely have a fight on their hands, he kept his kept his right hand close to his side so he could quickly fetch his saber if need be.

He sent a brief message across his bond to Sivall. Watch our six, lora. Just in case.

“Let’s try not to make a habit of violating the autonomy of our hosts,” Bril commented, folding his arms against his chest as he walked behind Anders. Knowing that if these pirates were in the cantina that they would likely have a fight on their hands, he kept his kept his right hand close to his side so he could quickly fetch his saber if need be.

He sent a brief message across his bond to Sivall. Watch our six, lora. Just in case.

The reply was quick.

Always, botmun’i. Be safe.

The reply was quick.

Always, botmun’i. Be safe.

Of course. And, why did you say it twice, lora?

Peeling off from the main group, the Neti walked towards the side of the road, sizing up the figure leaning against the wall. ‘Now what was this about.’

‘Hmm, a kid. Perhaps upset at what’s going on here’

‘oh, what’s this… potential!’

The old Arconan quietly made his way across the street and sat down next to the kid. His nice, colorful robes flaring out. “Pirates, amirite? Sorry, that is what the kids say isn’t it? Would you like to help me and my friends deal justice to these vile villains?”

“Oh, just curious but how many of the people in that building my companions wandered into are pirates?”

Bril stepped into the cantina and scanned the room. The people there looked beaten down and worn out. The feelings that they exuded into the Force told a tale of people who were at the end of their rope, whose misfortune and abuse at the hands of these pirates, whoever they were, had robbed them of their joy - of their hope.

He frowned and made his way over to the bartender. “Hello there,” he began, a touch of sadness in his voice, though his confident posture told another story. “I would like to pay for a round of all these people. After that, I’d like to ask you a few questions if it isn’t too much trouble.”

Sometimes, you just had to talk to people. The Force couldn’t solve everything.

Siv blinked on the roof, she had said something twice? Maybe she was getting tired. She made herself comfortable and watched Ood approach a child that she had seen on her way up. She smiled softly and kept a look out, her eyes scanning the area.

“You’re angry, you hate them. Don’t, they’re not worth that attention.” The Neti smiles. “I’m old kid, thousands of years old, I’ve been around. Do you know how you get a pirate? Aside from murderhappy morons with guns turning their hobby into their profession that is? Honest people, who get angry, start to hate someone or something and then slowly, the hate turns widespread.” Ood seemed saddened as his voice grew more quiet. “Doesn’t seem like fun, now does it? I’m one of those people that goes around and fixes these issues. Helps people. Does that seem like something you’d like to do as well?”

Anders approached Bril’s side. The Force may not solve everything, but thoughts never lied…

Anders placed a small satchel of credits down. “My good man. You care a lot for these people, don’t you?”

Bril looked to Anders, searching his features to try to get a read on what he was thinking. Then, he placed his own bag of credits onto the table and slid it to the bartender.

“No, I’m not. Iridonian, if you couldn’t tell,” he replied, casting another glance at the people gathered there. “My friends and I heard that these people have been on hard times. Can you tell me more about that?”

Anders connected with Bril’s mind;

‘Bril, he’s apprehensive of us. Wants to protect his clientele and bar. See if you can play on that a bit.’

“And what would the condition be?” the elder’s voice as calm as ever.

The hope faded as the voice became slightly more strict. “Alas, the one prize I will not grant. Should he die in battle, perchance. But we will be taking as many as possible in alive. I shan’t promise you a murder, as such would be antithetical to my beliefs.” The Neti beheld the child more closely, “I will promise you, you’ll see justice done, either with them carried away to rot in a cell somewhere or should they resist and perish… anyway, they’ll not be able to bother anyone again once we’re done. Is that acceptable?”

Getting Anders message, he sent a quick ‘got it’ across their connection while keeping his eyes trained on the bartender. He nodded while giving him an understanding look. “I can tell. They remind me of the people back home. Ever the survivors, doing what they have to do to endure,”

He looked around the cantina again to make sure no one was listening a little too closely. Then, he leaned in and lowered his voice a bit. “Look, I know I’m putting you in a weird spot, but I want to help these people. To help you. I don’t like bullies. People who take advantage.”

Bril pointed at Anders with his thumb. “If you’re not comfortable saying anything, just think it. My friend here or myself will be able to hear it. Nothing will come back to bite you or your people.”

“So that’s what they’re called. How cliché. Now tell me, the drinking hole over there, any of them in there?”

“Hmm, describe them to me.” Ood replied as he gathered the force to send the description off towards where he assumed Anders had gotten to.

Anders locked eyes with the bartender. Already, the intricate threads of the Force wormed its way through the cage the man kept his inner, most deepest emotions locked away in.

Mistrust… Anders felt it first. He could work with that. He moulded it into something lieing deeper down beneath the surface, something that the mistrust was used as a blanket to hide.

Hope. Desperate hope… followed by…

Rage.

Anders knew the feeling well. He brought it up, latched onto it, and followed the bartenders gaze towards the two men huddled in the corner whispering.

‘Bril, I feel a lot of anger from him directed at the two men huddled in the corner. Ask him what they’ve done, but do it telepathically. We don’t want to draw their attention… yet…’

<@1056685516441006091>

‘<@837236610684813342>, In the tavern … an Echani and a Kiffar … they’re part of the pirates but seem to potentially have issues with the others … either take them out or turn them to our side. Try to avoid using mind tricks if you can.’

“Now then, did you just feel a strange tingle in your head?” Ood asked, oncemore focusing on the kid.

“Well now, how interesting.”

Turn them to our side? Pirates were scum. In Anders’ mind, there was only one outcome.

He left Bril at the bar and looked over to the two men huddled, whispering…

Bril waited until both pirates began towards the door to begin moving across the room to follow them. However, the bartender shouting at him about his drink ruined any chance of him following them stealthily. Playing it off, Bril turned around. “Oh, right, thanks for reminding me,” he said with a smile.

Better do something now. Don’t want to lose them. He said to Anders across their force bond.

The Neti slowly explains some basic meditation technique to the girl about how to scatter an emotion into the Force. Not the denial of emotion from Jedi Order during the twilight years of the Republic but the more healthy approach of releasing negative emotions and sharing the burden with the Force.

Of all the…

Anders was doing perfectly fine. He had begun to influence the pirate’s mind with the Force until Bril had drawn the bartender’s attention. Anders’ little probing had been interrupted and now they were leaving.

‘Foolish boy!’ Anders snapped back in their link.

Any chance of stealth was now gone.

If you wanted something done right,do it yourself…

Anders turned towards the pirate scum, pouring his seething darkness to his fingertips. Sparks jittered before lancing towards the pirates in a forked stream of lightning.

It struck them dead on.

Their screams was music to Anders’ ears. The pain they had inflicted on others was being payed back to then tenfold. Good. It was what they deserved.

He didn’t want to kill them, though. Not yet.

The lightning ceased with the pirates writhing on the ground like the worms they were. Anders approached cautiously, grabbing his curved lightsaber hilt.

Snap-Hiss!

The crimson blade sprung to life as he towered over them.

“Here’s how this is going to work. You are going to tell me where your base of operations is. If you don’t, I will start dissecting you. Limb. By. Limb…”

“That’s what happens when you go too far in a search for vengeance. The darkness starts to control your actions. They went in there for information, I wonder how much they learned.” Ood Bnar sighed as he got up and dusted off his robes. “Come along then youngling, lead us to where we need to go.”

“Knight <@264959101384130560> , you can come down now. Could you let the others know to finish up their business? It’s time we went to deal with some pirates.” The Arconan spoke up loudly, as he looked to the heavens.

‘Screams, to the south. And Ood seems to know where we’re going. He has a little one with him.’

Sivall looked down at Ood and clambered down from the roof, making it to the ground whole and hale. Apparently it was much easier to climb down a building than climb up. She pointed in the general direction of where she had seen the commotion and people running.

“There was some screams from over in that direction. I saw a pair of figures round a corner out of sight…. Might be worth investigating.”

“Excellent, I’m feeling the need to stretch a bit. Sivall, what’s your main saber form?” Ood responded as he began to walk towards the hidden people Sivall had indicated. “Oh, right. Sivall, meet street urchin. Urchin, this is Knight Sivall. Be nice to her, she’ll end up saving your life someday.”

“Shien, sir,” she answered, desperately hoping that her lightsabers stayed where they were—sheathed. Ood introduced her to the child she had seen from the rooftops and smiled gently.

“Hello. It’s nice to meet you, I’m Sivall as you heard. You can call me Siv too, if that’s easier.” She hesitated for a moment, carefully thinking about her next words. “Do you have a name?”

“Ah not to worry Urchin. You’ll be Padawan Urchin before you know it!” the Neti’s voice boomed as he rounded the corner in hopes of triggering whatever trap had perhaps been set.

Siv followed close to the sentient tree and the little child. Her nerves were humming, her stomach in a knot. She didn’t like the idea of leaving Anders and Bril alone in that cantina.

Bril extended his hand and called upon the Force to seize the blaster from the Echani’s hand, but his grip proved to be tighter than he anticipated, and he managed to hold on to it. Sucking his teeth in frustration, the Zabrak ignited Concord, illuminating his surroundings with a golden glow.

“Can’t have you shooting my teammates again, sorry,” That was the last thing he said before he lifted his saber aloft to sever the pirate’s hand at the wrist.

Ood smiled gently, “I’m afraid I cannot do that. Please put those weapons down and allow me to arrest you.”

A silver blade erupted from the Neti’s left hand as the right one came up and stopped the first shot in mid air. The air crackled as reality seemed to wonder what was going on. The superheated plasma hanging in mid air vibrating frantically.

Calmly sinking into Soresu, Ood began parrying shots, taking careful aim to wound, not kill his opponents. He wondered if they were pirates or if someone had called in the local sherriff to handle what Anders was doing in the tavern…

Beside him, he noticed Arcona’s newest Knight move up. He wondered what weapon skills she had picked up from her teachers.

“Then they fall,” she commented softly to Urchin. The Chiss dropped her stance slightly, her legs bending just enough to tighten the muscles in her thighs. She focused the force into them, letting that power build up over the span of s heartbeat before she took off in a blur.

The first hit to the Rodian’s gut was with that speed as Sivall slammed her elbow into him. Following up quickly behind that, Sivall stood and slammed a fist into the Rodian’s throat. She let out her breath in a soft huff, then took a few steps back and readied herself— he wasn’t down yet but he would be soon.

Pain led to suffering…

Suffering led to hate…

Hate led to the dark side…

How dare they get the jump on him.

This was why Anders proffered to work alone.

He seethed as the plasma bolt crashed into his left shoulder. He closed his eyes and winced in pain, though maintained a tight grip on his weapon.

What kind of Makashi specialist would he be if he didn’t?

When he re-opened his eyes, his immersion into the darkness was there for the kiffar to see. Blood-red pupils had become tinted with sun-burst yellow. Like a supernova about to explode, the dark side burned within him.

There was only one thing Anders wanted to do.

“No… wa-”

Anders plunged his lightsaber through the kiffar’s heart, delighting in the immediate end to the pirate’s life. He then turned his attention to the Echani, who was being monitored by Bril. He staggered towards them, trying to ignore the growing pain in his shoulder. No words. The time for talking was over.

BUDD-E hopped over to him cautiously, concern wracking its circuits.

With his grip still on his lightsaber, Anders stretched his fingertips out towards the Echani. Almost instantly, the pirate began writhing in pain. He clutched at the sides of his heads, screaming, begging for it to stop.

It did not.

Anders, instead, like a drill into his skull, delved deeper, and deeper, finding the Echani’s inner most desires, loves, and fears. Those sweet, torturous fears. Anders latched onto them and pulled them to the forefront of the Echani’s conscious, forcing him to relive every excruciating moment and emotion that came forth. The Echani began to twitch, foaming at the mouth with his eyes rolling into the back of his head.

Anders loosened his grip on the man’s mind, but only slightly, just enough to so he could answer his question;

“Where are the rest of you, and do you have Doctor Jonz?”

“Unfortunately, you both made your choices, and you chose poorly.”

Anders flicked his wrist, slicing his lightsaber blade across the Echani’s neck and throat. His head rolled across the ground as his body fell motionless.

Revenge was served. Anders felt a wave of satisfaction cross him. These scum would never hurt another being again. He’d made sure of it.

He closed his eyes, forming as much of a telepathic link as possible with the rest of the team given his injured and fatigued state.

‘Pirates… Farm… loca…tion…’

He needed to do something about his injury… luckily, there was someone there that wanted to help him.

BUDD-E launched itself out of the Cantina and went looking for Sivall, having seen her help him earlier back at the temple…

BUDD-E caught her eye as she stepped back, the droid’s frantic hopping raising alarms inside her. Those alarms only screamed louder when Anders’ voice came across the telepathic link strained. Something was wrong in the cantina. She knew she shouldn’t have left. It would take Rhylance too long to get to their location from the ship.

“I’ll be back Ood!” she shouted, calling on the force once more to hasten her steps. A blaster shot hit the wall behind where she was standing just as she moved, but the Chiss didn’t flinch.As she passed BUDD-E, she picked the droid up and held it close so that she wouldn’t drop it on her race back inside.

The medic skidded to a halt just in front of the Inquisitor, a frown on her face. Her eyes held a deep concern for his well being as she looked at the blaster wound on his shoulder. It was.. a bad hit and Anders seemed to be struggling.

Sivall placed the BD droid in her arms down and went to reach for Anders’ shoulder but stopped herself, pulling her hands back. Sanguine hues flicked up at him, seeming to remember his distaste at her touching him last time.

“May I?” she inquired gently, asking for consent this time.

Anders’ breathing was raspy, the surge of the dark side taking its toll. He nodded lightly, applying his own healing capabilities with hers. He felt… better… but it wasn’t perfect. It likely wouldn’t be until Rhylance got a look at it.

“I appreciate your effort,” he said to Sivall.

Sivall offered a half-hearted smile to her fellow Chiss, ignoring the voice screaming at the back of her head that she was a medic, and had very much failed to do medic-y things in this mission so far.

“I’m sorry, a conflict broke out outside. I’m… winded.”

Now that Anders was okay, she turned to look at Bril and went tense. The Zabrak was backed up against a nearby wall, his breathing quick and his eyes wide. She rushed to her brother’s side, looking him over for injuries. She found none. So why then…?

Oh.

She reached out into Bril, feeling out the reason for his panic. It didn’t take much searching, she got a quick answer— Anders, the Dark Side. Sanguine eyes snapped to the bodies on the floor that she had previously not been aware of due to her rush to get the taller of the two Chiss healed. Her heart lurched in her chest; what a waste of life.

She turned back to Bril and reached up, tapping his cheek softly a few times.

“Botmun’i? Botmun’i breathe. In— two, three, four. Out— two, three, four. Breathe with me.” She took a few deep breaths herself, demonstrating, “You are okay. Ey, ey, focus on my voice not them.” When that didn’t work she made Bril look at her, trying to pull him from his mind. “Remember, you are in control. You. Not the voices, not the Force, but you. It can only take control if you let it.” Another soft tap. “Come back, Bril. We need you here, not in your head.” Her voice was soft, soothing, hoping to guide the Plageius member from whatever mental hell he was stuck in.

“What seems to be the matter?” Anders approached them, trying to mask the pain in his shoulder. BUDD-E had climbed, latching itself carefully over Anders’ uninjured limb. “Is he wounded? I didn’t see him take an injury.”

The Ancient Jedi cursed his distraction. He’d been ready to congratulate urchin on taking the first step to becoming a Jedi Knight when the bolt hit. In his urgency to check for fire damage, he’d missed the blade. If that had been a saber, he’d have been on fire!

With a decisive flash, the Rodian fell to the ground with a thump. Followed quickly by a softer pairing of a thump and a clatter as his arm and knife fell to the ground as well, a bit further away.

Turning his attention to the Quarren, the Neti asked with a calmness only brought on by being centered in the Force, “Would you like to surrender now, or later?”

Sivall didn’t look away from Bril as Anders addressed her, giving the Zabrak all of her attention.

“No injuries. That’s all I will say. It’s not my story to tell,” she murmured quietly, still holding Bril’s face in her hands. She monitored him as he took deep breaths, looking for that tell-tale green in his eyes that would alert her that he was losing control. Thankfully, instead, Bril tapped one of the hands holding his face with his own and cracked a half-smile.

He suddenly looked so tired.

“Thank you, lora. I’m okay now,” he tried to reassure her, but the concern in her eyes screamed that she wasn’t buying into that answer. Regardless, she pulled away after a moment and let out a soft breath— an almost sigh. She wanted to argue with him that he was obviously not okay, but this was neither the time, nor place, nor were they around the right company. She remembered the comment shared between the two men earlier. She doubted Bril wanted to have that conversation here.

The Shadow turned to Anders, crossing her arms.

“Ood is still outside fighting and I would like to rejoin him. Will you two be okay?” Out of the corner of her eye she noticed Bril glance at the two bodies and let out a sharp ‘tsk’ before looking away again. She glanced at her botmun’i before turning her gaze back to Anders. “You two are not in a position to fight right now, I would suggest taking a moment somewhere else before joining us.”

Anders gave her a firm nod. The rest of the cantina patrons were likely going to be giving them a wife berth, so they probably had free reign for whatever conversation they were about to have.

“At least take Buddy with you.”

The little droid beeped happily, jumping from Anders’ shoulder to Sivall’s in one swift motion. Anders gestured to the corner of the cantina.

“Come, let us talk, Bril. We have a couple of moments.”

<@1056685516441006091> <@264959101384130560>

Ood watched the Quarren struggle to run. “Why do they never surrender? It’s got to be me right? I’m not doing the request for surrender right!?”

Quickly catching up, the Neti swung his blade and removed the pirate’s left leg at the knee.

Loudly announcing, “<@264959101384130560> , can you mind Urchin and stabilize that Rodian? I’d like to have at least one prisoner to give these farmers their day in court!” the Arconan bent down and checked the Quarren for weapons and tech.

Before he stood, Ood picked up the fallen blaster and held it out, “Urchin, take this for now. It’s a blunt weapon, try to use it only in self defense alright?”

A quick succession of cheunh cusses escaped from the tiny medic as she sprinted past Anders and out to Ood. Annoyance bubbled in her veins— what was up with these people maiming and killing?!

She stopped beside the quarren and ripped a piece of fabric off of her robes— she’d get a new pair when she returned to Dajorra. With the piece of fabric and a remotely stick like option she fashioned a makeshift tourniquet and placed it on the pirate.

“Did you really have to cut off their leg, Ood?”

The Quarren’s money securely in his pocket, the Neti smiled. “I did ask her to surrender herself to face justice first. The lost leg is entirely her fault. Just as the arm was his.” gesturing back towards the Rodian, Ood ruffled the urchin’s hair as he passed. “Come along apprentice, we’ve got a pirate lair to raid.”

Siv moved over to the Rodian to stabilize them as well, only to catch their final exhale. The Chiss reached out and felt for a pulse, utterly silent. Her face was a tense mask, eyes searching frantically for signs of life. Nothing. She waited a few moments. Still nothing.

She realized she had messed up.

This must have been the one Ood had called her to save, but she hadn’t heard. Had she? She tried to search back in her brain, her mind reeling as she recalled the last few minutes. No, he had told her, and she had heard him. Too much had been going on and she hadn’t listened.

She gripped at her robes, her jaw setting tight. Another karking life she couldn’t save. Maybe she should have stayed in the ship instead of Rhylance— he would have been able to save them both. She remembered his work on Tekpantli, his skill, his sureness.

I know you won’t disappoint me, he had said. As if. It seemed like she had a knack for that— disappointing people. Anger bubbled inside her, noxious and suffocating— not at the pirates, or Ood, but at herself.

You can’t save anyone, Connor had said.

A tiny blue hand punched the ground beside the now deceased Rodian. Siv then took a deep breath, shoved everything deep deep deep down, and stood. Another name on the docket. Another mistake.

Although he heard Anders address him, Bril didn’t take his eyes off the two bodies lying on the cantina floor. Even as the petrified civilians cleared the room, and the air lingered with the smell of ozone and seared flesh, the Zabrak’s gaze didn’t waiver.

“Yeah,” he said, his voice flat. He wished Sivall had stayed.

BUDD-E felt the Chiss Medic tense. He nestled its head gently into her shoulder, letting her know it wad there. It worked on Anders, maybe it’d work on her too?

Anders took a seat at the table. His shoulder ached, each little movement causing him discomfort. Yet, he refused to show it.

He was Sith.

He was an Inquisitor.

He was above willingly showing weakness.

“What is the problem?” Anders asked bluntly, though he raised a finger before Bril could provide an answer. “I should warn you, do not lie to me and tell me nothing. I have ways of getting the truth out of you without you knowing. I’m giving you a chance to do so on your own free will.”

Bril didn’t look at Anders either, though the subtle threat of him using the Force to invade his mind earned the Chiss a scoff. He could certainly try. And if he succeeded, then he likely wouldn’t like what he found lurking there. Despite his dissatisfaction with the Sith’s approach to questioning him, Bril knew that he was in no state to resist Anders’ intrusions if the man decided to go that route, so he acquiesced to his request. But he only intended to give him what he needed to know to satisfy his imprudent curiosity.

“I have been … troubled by my recent encounters with the Dark Side,” he explained, choosing his words carefully. “Your reliance upon it just now triggered some unpleasant memories that I’ve been working with. I’ll be fine.”

Anders raised a curious brow. “I see. Post traumatic experiences manifesting from my use of the dark side just now. Are you not a member of Clan Plagueis? That Clan is steeped in the dark side of the Force. My boy, you are literally surrounded by it. Your dossier also informed me that you are a practitionerof Vaapad. Is that information incorrect?”

“Plagueis members aren’t just walking around exuding the Dark Side,” he explained. “My master, Nora, is aware of my struggles and has been instructing me in how to maintain balance in light of my … overexposure to the Dark Side of the Force on a recent mission.”

He sighed, knowing that the man was going to continue prodding until he had a complete picture of what had happened. “It was Vaapad that did this to me. Myself and another Plagueian were ambushed by Tuk'ata. Ancient beasts born from and steeped in the Dark Side.”

Bril paused for a moment and shut his eyes to steel himself, taking a deep, shaky breath. “Had to buy us time to secure exfil. Used Vaapad to kill two of them. Nearly died myself. But the real damage was done to my mind. I’m sure you’re aware of how Vaapad works.”

“It skirts the penumbra of the dark side. It is different from Juyo in that regard. Control instead of surrender, acceptance instead of lusting for power. I am aware of how it works, yes.”

Anders tapped the fingers on one of his hands on the table.

“Regardless of what some members in Clan Plagueis do, the Clan has a history steeped within the darkness. To not accept as such is idiotic. You’d have to be foolish, or blind. I do not believe you are either. Naive, yes, but not stupid. Is this the first time you have struggled with Vaapad?”

Well, at least Bril had that going for him. “Thank you?” he said while tilting his head. “Yes. Never had any issues using it before. Likely owed to the nature of the enemy I faced.”

The mention of his clan’s history made him frown, clearly a sore spot for the young Zabrak. “I try not to think about it, to be honest. You could say I’m the odd man out,” he explained. His answer brought to mind another Zabrak he knew: Draca Zul. “Though, I imagine I’m not the only one who has experience with rubbing elbows with Sith and Dark Side users despite not being one myself. How in the world did Draca, a Jedi, end up working alongside an Inquisitor?”

“Working with me is a… bit of a loose term,” Anders scrunched his nose as he searched for the right way to describe his relationship with yet another young Zabrak Force wielder. “I took the young boy in when he was eight years old. He was initially being trained at a Jedi enclave that was attacked by a Nightsister splinter group. He ran away from home, and the vessel he was on was attacked by pirates. Imagine my surprise when I encounter a young boy trying to defend the people on board with a lightsaber. I took him in, and I haven’t been able to get rid of him since.”

Anders chuckled, though saw the unanswered question on Bril’s face.

“I had no intention of corrupting the boy, and that was fine with me. One should be allowed to follow the path they wish to seek, so long as they reap the consequences of them, don’t you agree? At the end if the day, we both seek the same thing. Justice in a galaxy that is devoid of it. We may have different ideas of how to achieve it, but he has a good heart. That’s why I think he stayed with me. Despite our conflicting methods, we want the same thing. He actually spoke highly of you.”

Anders leaned forward slightly. “And you are lucky. I am not as forgiving as Draca. If that were me at Black Spire Outpost, I would have killed you. Now, back to your Vaapad, you mentioned previous enemies not having the same effect. Tell me more.”

So, that was why Draca was so adamant that the Nightsisters and all things associated with them were evil. He shook his head to dismiss the sudden feeling of guilt that bubbled beneath the surface. He would have to apologize to the man later. “That puts a lot of things into perspective,” he commented. “That was kind of you to do.”

He nodded in agreement with Anders’ statement. Everyone should be allowed to walk their own path, to make their own choices. Hearing that Draca spoke words of praise about him did come as a surprise. “Why? I attacked him.”

The Sith’s next comment made him shake his head with a slightly disappointed look. “See,” he said while wagging his finger, “We were getting somewhere, but you can’t help yourself. Had to say something rude.”

“It’s not so much a difference in effect than it is in intensity. I’ve never had a problem managing the raw emotions of other enemies I’ve had to use Vaapad against. But those hounds … it’s like they were the Dark Side itself. Too much. Far too much.”

“You might have attacked him, but you did so under the effects of a Nightsister Amulet. He spoke highly of your combat abilit, as well as the regret once you were freed from its grasp.”

Anders shook his head. “Foolish. I told him to just destroy it once we got our hands on it, but he wanted it authenticated first.”

Anders listened to Bril’s explanation, deciding to ignore the comment about his rudeness for the moment. “I think I see the problem. You felt the intensity of the darkness in the hounds and you shut down, maybe not intentionally, but Vaapad requires an open channel, a filter, if you will. Imagine that you are the funnel that opened, the emotions of your opponent passing through you into the beaker that is your well of power. If that funnel should close for whatever reason, it overflows and breaks. Does that make sense? Vaapad is about acceptance. Accepting the thrill of the fight, as well as the rage of your enemy. You channel it through you like the funnel, using it to power yourself. This trauma you have is forcing your funnel closed. You need to accept it, not necessarily move on, but accept it, as well as the affinity of your Plagueis clanmates. Once you do that, I think you’ll find a new avenue of power will open up to you with that form.”

“It’s not often that one comes across Dathomirian artifacts, so I can understand his desire to have it authenticated. I just wish there was a way to preserve it without, you know, being possessed.”

Bril paused only to listen to Anders’ explanation, cataloguing the explanation and analogy therein away in his mind. “You’re right, thank you,” he nodded. “Part of me has known all along that I need to make peace with what happened to me. With my position in the Brotherhood.”

“Do not force it. If you do, you will only serve to make the path ahead more difficult to walk,” Anders shot the young man a smile. In a way, Bril reminded him of Draca.

Maybe that was why he was keen on helping him?

“Regardless, we should rejoin the others.”

Anders rose to his feet, waiting for Bril to do the same before they left.

Bril returned the smile with a nod. “You’re right. Let’s get back to the others,” he said before dusting himself off.

“Oh, one thing I should do.”

Bril took a moment to look through the pirates’ pockets. He didn’t find much, unfortunately - only a few credits and evidence that the two of them were planning to leave this place together.

He shook his head, crumpled up the piece of paper, and left.

With shaky hands, Siv grabbed a nearby cloth from one of the buildings and wrapped the Rodian in it. She worked carefully and quietly, despite her right hand throbbing with the pain of punching the ground.

She finished wrapping him and sat on her knees beside the body, waiting for Bril and Anders to emerge. The body would likely be left here, and the Quarren would be taken with them.

The Chiss closed her eyes, both because she couldn’t stand to look at the body anymore but also to give her respects. He was a living being, after all. He deserved a final goodbye.

Bril caught up to Sivall shortly after finishing his conversation with Anders. Kneeling next to her, he placed a hand on her shoulder. “Are you alright, lora? Remember to breathe.”

“My child,” Anders took a seat opposite the child, ignoring any objections Ood may have had regarding his new apprentice. “I understand this must be difficult for you, but I am going to take a look into your mind to retrieve a layout of the farm and a general idea of their numbers. May I?”

The Urchin hesitated, but nodded. Anders gently placed his hands on the side of her head and closed his eyes. The farm, he could see it, a repressed memory so vivid and alive within her. Whilst he could not exactly make out the location of Wurm, he could at least memorise the specific locations the pirates were using.

Anders let go of her, allowing a small smile. “Very good. What is your name?”

<@379840612788076544>

“Sith, pray steppeth thee away from mine apprentice.” The Neti had lost his ever present gentleness. The voice belied thousands of years of experience. Ood had shed his scholarly appearance and for the first time in five centuries redonned his Jedi High Councillor persona as his hand moved to his belt and he calmly moved urchin behind him.

“You’ve known the child for barely a few hours. Are Arcona or the Jedi that desperate for recruits?” Anders scoffed. “It matters not. I firmly believe it should be her decision to decide whether she apprentices to you. Regardless, a datapad please. I have information to share with you all.”

Siv had been dealthy quiet the entire ride to the farm, staring at some sort of spot mid-air in an attempt to calm herself and stop the spiral of thoughts in her mind. She hadn’t answered Bril when he had probed her for what was wrong. Now that they had landed, she went to work. The Force didn’t answer her call when she reached out to it to cloak her from sight, so she defaulted to trying to sneak down the path and alongside the enclosure they had seen upon landing.

She hadn’t looked to see if anyone had followed her. She just wanted to complete the mission and get home to a book, and away from the rest of those who were able to read her very unpleasant thoughts.

Rounding the side of the enclosure, she stepped on something that made a snap noise and cringed. Gods, that was stupid. She heard someone nearby stop, then call out a name. She bit her lip, trying to decide if she could pass herself off as someone else or if she should just give up an attack.

As for Anders? He didn’t particularly care about stealth, but was smart enough to know running in flailing his lightsaber like a madman we likely going to get him killed.

He knew where the pirates were, and so did the team. The first priority was figuring out how many there were exactly in the barn and pinpointing Doctor Jonz if applicable.

Anders closed his eyes, willing the dark side to answer his call…

The Neti gestured at Urchin to keep herself safe and out of sight if possible. Sinking deeply into the Force, Ood felt it prod him into action. Slowly unhooking his saber hilt and placing it up his left sleeve for ease of access, the Elder started to walk towards the front door.

“Ding Dong!” the noise rang out as the Arconan pressed the doorbell.

Anders growled at the idiocy. He didn’t want to believe the stories of naivity regarding the Jedi, but Ood was being a prime example here. What did he expect them to do? Open the door and offer him a drink?

The Chiss himself had felt the pangs of fear surrounding the maliciousness of the pirates. He approached behind Ood.

“I hope you know what you are doing. If you bothered to reach out in the Force, you’ll know they likely have prisoners as bargaining chips or meat shields.”

“I did reach out young one. Will of the Force!”

Anders rolled his eyes. Fine. Be it on Ood’s head when things went south. He folded his arms across his chest and waited. BUDD-E chirped in his ear.

“I agree. This is either going to be ingenious or downright stupid. Which do you think it will be, Buddy?”

Curiosity got the better of him. Anders re-established the mental link between himself and Ood.

‘What are you up to? I refuse to believe an Elder Jedi of the Brotherhood is this foolhardy. You have a plan. If you intend for me to follow along, then I suggest you spill it to me now.’

Reaching into the Force, the Neti grabbed hold and pulled the Weequay out of the building. His allies would deal with that one, he thought as he calmly strolled in. Inside his sleeve, his hilt ready to jump out and deflect fire should it come to it.

Anders attempted to call upon his lightsaber to cut him in twain as he flew passed, but thanks to Ood’s complete lack of communication in his eyes, he mistimed the attack and nicked the Weequay’s shirt. Lightning cackled at Anders’ fingertips for a moment, the Weequay looking on in awe.

He ceased the lightning. Clearly this man was too stupid to be worth their time.

Assuming her cover was about to be blown with the commotion at the main building, the Chiss moved out of her cover and bee-lined for the pirate. The pirate stumbled back, his eyes wide.

Without pause, Siv released a flurry of blows aimed to render the pirate unconscious— and she pulled no punches. If she couldn’t heal, she could at least stop the danger before it reached her team.

Once the person became a crumpled heap, she made her way towards the main house. The force still didn’t answer her call so she was stuck sneaking the traditional way.

Anders kept his saber ignited, though had a different tactic. If Ood had things controlled at this side, maybe he could be of use around the back. Pincer them in with no chance of escape.

The Chief Inquisitor approached the back door, and knocked on it.

Siv approached Anders and placed herself against the wall— enough to hide herself but close enough to join the Chiss once he started fighting. Her sabers stayed where they were, sheathed.

Anders looked at her and mouthed a question. Lightsaber Form?

The Medic stared back for a second as she processed the question, then responded by holding up five fingers and mouthing back ‘Shien’.

Anders nodded, responding back by holding up two fingers, and showing off his curved hilt.

Makashi.

A faint smile pulled at the corner of her lips, breaking just slightly the hardened mask that had been stuck on her face since the cantina. She had wanted to learn Makashi. Maybe she would get to see it in action today.

Anders waved a hand in front of him. Already, it was like his mind was a door waiting to be opened. The Chief Inquisitor simply turned the handle.

The Pirate turned around and walked back into the middle of the room, trembling, shaking, tears forming. He smiled at his fellow pirates, took his blaster, pressed his chin against the barrel with water forming in his eyes, and pulled the trigger.

After spotting the man shown in their initial briefing to be the pirate leader, Bril wasted no time in preparing his energy bow and loosing two arrows through the window in rapid succession. Much to his displeasure, though, the man didn’t go down. It looked like he was going to have to move in for some close contact work. So, he placed the bow on his back before moving forward with his hidden blade bracer engaged.

A tiny blue blur passed Anders as Sivall sprinted towards the second Pirate, their gun already raised towards Anders standing in the doorway. She would not let him get shot again. She stopped beside the pirate, pulling the person’s raised arm forward. Then she loosed a hit to the arm at the inner elbow, looking to break is so he couldn’t raise it again and hopefully disarming him. A punch to the chin, then all her weight into a chop at the neck— which felt like chopping at a tree trunk.

A hiss escaped between her teeth, sanguine eyes narrowed in effort and anger. She took a few steps back and readied herself, placing herself firmly between Anders and their opponent. She could heal herself at least if she got shot or hurt.

Bril’s next move was to jump through the window so he could tackle the bastard, and he had primed his legs to do so. Now, was finally his chance to shine! He was going to subdue the pirate leader by himself and reap the praise of his entire team! That’s how he pictured it going, but it seemed that fate had different plans for him. When he actually executed the jump, his cloak got caught on something and snagged, ensuring that he epically failed in his attempt to burst through the window.

He grinned at the pirate leader sheepishly while tugging on his cloak. “Sorry, give me one second, and I’ll redo that.”

Makashi was a lightsaber form designed for combating opponents wielding lightsabers.

Anders mentally shrugged. It was close enough.

As Sivall danced back, Anders weaved around her like a dancer in step with his partner. He lashed out with a simple flick of his wrist, catching the pirate off-guard, slicing through his hand.

It fell to the ground, vibroknife still in hand.

It had happened so quickly, all in mere moments. Anders pointed his lightsaber at the pirate. “As a soon to be dead man once said. The little lady wants to fight.”

He gestured towards Sivall to end him.

She almost didn’t care about the dismemberment, almost, because of how elegant the attack was. A work of art. Anders made an opening for her and she went to attack, but due to her being distracted she missed.

The pirate smirked.

She saw red.

Her hands gripped into tiny fists and her eyes took on a slightly orange tint. This bastard. The pirate’s eyes went wide as he was caught by a sudden telekinetic grip. She didn’t even hesitate— she was too angry, too frustrated, and the position the pirate had been frozen in had put him in the perfect position. She reeled her head back and then absolutely head-butted the kark out of the guy. She felt his nose break against her forehead.

She stumbled back a bit, rubbing her forehead as Anders loosened his hold and the pirate crumpled to the floor.

The Chief Inquisitor lurched forward, like a hungry vornskr stalking its prey, lightsaber humming a bloody crimson-red in his hand, an almost unfeeling look plastered on his face.

No more words were said as he swiftly cut the head off of the Nautolan, ensuring their swift, yet painful demise.

The medic watched Anders dispatch of the pirate, numb— but only for a moment as ice cold fingers ran along her scalp. The Chiss closed her eyes and looked away, taking a few calming breaths and focusing on the throbbing of her head and now bruised knuckles from earlier. Once she was sure the Dark side had been chased away, she opened her eyes and looked at Anders.

“Thank you,” she softly intoned. She went to reach for Anders but stopped herself short, reminding herself— boundaries. Turning to face the hall leading to the rest of the hall, she reached out for her brother.

She found him, and he was hurt. Hurt and fighting and alone. She took off through the door and down the hall, gritting her teeth. Whoever had hurt her botmun’i would pay.

Anders dropped BUDD-E next to the prisoners. “Stay here with them. Come get me if any trouble arrives.”

The lite droid gave its trademark one legged salute as Anders chased after Sivall. Whatever had gotten her worked up, it couldn’t be good…

The Neti took a step further in and raised his hand as if in greeting to the shocked pirate who had just noticed his compatriot become a ballistic missile. A thud was heard as the pirate crashed down, seemingly hitting something. The gesture carried a telekinetic wave with it to further elevate the pirate over the table.

The lumbering Neti launches himself over the table and into the pirate. Breaking the chair he just stood up from, both landing on the ground.

Ood looked down into the eyes of the pirate he was now ontop of, “Hello there!”

It didn’t take long once she saw the arguably important pirate saunter out of the room she felt Bril near to connect the pieces. This k'usm'acim'i was the person who hurt Bril. She stopped dead in her tracks as anger filled her tiny being. Oh he would pay.

”You,” she snarled. Who knew such a soft voice could hold so much malice?

With red clouding her vision she rushed the leader, first landing a kick to his right kidney, then two very hard kicks to the back of his left knee. She wanted to shatter it to pieces, wanted him to feel the pain as his knee collapsed under his own damn weight. Her eyes were the color of fire, blazing bright behind her raven lashes.

She stepped back as the leader swung wide, snickering as he missed her. She bounced on the balls of her feet as she decided how to hurt him next, how to make him pay for even daring to hurt her kih’n. Lightning crackled along her fingertips.

“Damn, that actually kind of hurt,” Bril muttered while rising to his feet. That was his first time getting blown up by a grenade and hopefully it was his last. After taking a moment to clear his head, he didn’t hesitate in stepping through the destroyed window when he felt Sivall nearby. To his relief, she was alright, and she was actually engaging the pirate leader. And kicking his ass, as well. He had never seen her so angry, so determined.

When the man took a swing at her and Sivall evaded him, Bril seized the opening it provided by slipping past her and leading with a quick elbow aimed at the top of the pirate’s head. He managed to avoid the strike, but the drilling front kick that followed soon afterward found its mark in his stomach. And Bril was prepared to engage the pirate again were it not for the appearance of another figure from the next room–a figure who grabbed his edalin and pressed a knife against her side.

“Bastard,” he said through gritted teeth. Both of them would bleed before this was over.

Anders reacted instinctively, summoning the dark side through him in tendrils of lightning so vicious that it lanced out of his fingertips like hungry krayt dragons. It struck the pirate, but also Sivall as well.

She screamed.

Maybe it was the exhaustion, maybe it was because Anders had caught her off guard, maybe it was both– but she couldn’t block this pain. It felt like all of her nerve endings were on fire. Her only consolation was that it hit the bastard holding her hostage too. She tried her best to breath through it, waiting for the force lightning to stop, for the pirate holding her to fall unconscious. But he didn’t.

She got an idea.

The Chiss focused hard, making the force listen to her this time. It took a few seconds of ragged gasping, but eventually lightning erupted from her entire body, doubling the shock to the pirate that Anders had given him. As he let go of her and dropped to the floor, she stumbled to the side and held herself up on the wall. Things were going… suboptimal, for sure. The force lightning, both hers and Anders, had all but melted her hair tie causing her wavy hair to fall around her face.

“That… hurt… Ktaaaaahhh.”

Anders attempted to stab the pirate, but the sheer power output by Sivall put an end to any advance he had in mind. He could do nothing but watch as tbe young woman electrocuted herself.

Siv sucked in a breath, trying to ignore the pain as she rushed forward and aimed another kick at the Gungan’s legs. Her kick didnt do much and she swore loudly before retreating back.

She was so tired. Could this be over already.

The screams of his fellow Knight echoed in his mind with no relent, and as the fight continued, Bril shot Anders a cutting glance. They would have words later about his reckless use of Force lightning around Sivall. In close quarters. For now, though, he had a Gungan to kill. Usually, he didn’t like to kill, but this time he’d have to make an exception.

The Inquisitor’s timely use of the Force to choke the pirate provided Bril with a clear opportunity to strike, and he capitalized on it by slipping past Sivall and driving the vibroblade of his bracer into the side of the Gungan’s neck.

“I want to see yoy karking bleed,” the Zabrak said between heavy, adrenaline-fueled breaths.

Anders felt the darkness rising in Bril. He recalled their earlier conversation within the cantina in town. The young Zabrak suffered from similar issues to Draca. The dark side.

For whatever reason, Anders couldn’t allow Bril to fail. Maybe it was his similarity to Draca that propelled him forward as he towered over the Gungan. Before Bril could do it himself, he cleaved the Gungan’s head from his shoulders.

It was a mercy killing, but not for the Gungan. It was for Bril. He didn’t have to do it himself.

“Focus,” Anders said. “Control the funnel. We still have opposition.”

Ood looked at the crystal, ‘how interesting.’

“Anyway, enough laying about. Time to get on with it, I suppose.” the Neti stated as he pocketed the crystal and moved to knock the pirate under him unconscious.

The voice of the Chiss Inquisitor cut through the noise that had begun to accumulate in his mind. He hadn’t even noticed that at some point after he’d stabbed the Gungan in the neck, Bril had ignited his own lightsaber with every intention of taking the man’s life. Luckily, Anders had taken that step for him, saving him from acquiescing to the Dark Side’s call. Any anger he’d felt toward the man for putting Sivall in harm’s way faded, replaced with a feeling of appreciation that shone clearly on his face.

“Thank you, Anders,” he said, gripping Concord’s hilt tighter. “Let’s move.”

Happy that Anders had seen to her brother, Siv collapsed against the wall and slid down it till she was sitting. She was so tired. She raised her hand to her two teammates in a “give me a moment” kind of gesture before resting her head back against the wall and taking a few moments to breathe.

Sanguine eyes closed as she focused on healing the wounds caused by Ander’s lightning and her own. She felt like one of Minnie’s grilled cheese sandwiches.

Bril narrowed his eyes at the pirate and pointed Concord’s golden blade toward him. He backed up to where Sivall was sitting against the wall and crouched next to her. She looked terrible, and a guilty look appeared on his face as he assessed her wounds. He should have been there. He should have been better, and this wouldn’t have happened the way it did. “I’m sorry, lora. But I’m going to take care of you, don’t worry,” he said to her, lifting his free hand to touch her shoulder. With physical contact established, he reached out through the Force to begin healing her.

With that process started, he turned his head to address the pirate, making eye contact with him. “You’re right,” he began, “No one else needs to die today. So, put down the detonator. I can’t guarantee that my teammates will spare you, but it’ll be a lot easier to make a case for you if you’re not threatening us with that thing.”

His gaze shifted from the pirate, then to Anders. He knew the Sith wasn’t going to let him live. An idea crossed his mind, but he didn’t want to leave Sivall. He wouldn’t.

“You’re putting me in a difficult spot here, man,” Bril said, “Believe it or not, I don’t want you to die. But you’ve got to give me something.”

“Take me with you,” Siv piped up from where she had made herself comfy on the floor. Her sanguine eyes were half lidded, she was exhausted. Better than she was before but definitely running on empty. “I only struggled before because my friend was in danger. I’d fight to the death for my friends, my family. I didn’t want anyone to die today.”

The Chiss pushed herself up from the floor with wobbly legs, unclipping her sabers from where they were sheathed and handing them to Bril. “Take me with you, do whatever you need to. Just… please, put the detonator down and leave my friends be.”

What did she just say? She was going to give herself up as a hostage? Taking her lightsabers in his hand and quickly clipping them to his belt, Bril rose to his feet and went to block Sivall’s path, but the pirate had already seized her by her hair before he could act.

Why the hell would you do that, Sivall? His grip on Concord’s hilt tightened so much that he was sure that his knuckles were white. He had tried to reach out to her through the Force, to scold her for making such a stupid decision, but the only thing he could muster in his anger was to convey to her just how upset he was.

He was the first to follow, dragging the blade of his lightsaber across the floor while he watched the pirate carefully. If he tried anything, he’d be dead before he took his next breath.

The detonator was gone. Thank gods. She relaxed and closed her eyes. It didn’t matter that she could feel how jittery the pirate was, or the screaming at her scalp as he roughly pulled her hair. It did matter when she felt Bril’s emotions trickle over to her, equal measures upset and angry. But none of it mattered because they were safe. She didn’t need Wyn to save everyone this time.

“I hope you find a better life,” she whispered to the pirate, “I know that it’s hard to get out of certain situations, but see this as that out.”

Finally the grapple came to an end. The Neti got up and hoisted the unconscious pirate up onto the table.

With a quick query to the Force, Ood knew the pirate he had thrown out the door was running for his life in a random direction.

The pirate grabbing hold of Sivall suddenly weakened his grip, seemingly out of nowhere. Unlike before, this pirate was weak-willed, a puppet on the string for its master to use.

Anders walked up to the pirate, hand outstretched. The pirate let go of Sivall as Anders raised a finger, wagging it in front of the pirate.

“You have no honour, resorting to idle threats and kidnapping. The galaxy will not miss you. Goodbye.”

Anders retrieved his weapon, activating the crimson blade in his hand as he readied to pierce the pirates throat…

The grip on her fell and she let out a sigh of relief, thinking that perhaps the pirate had had a change of heart or was letting go to run.

She should have known better.

Anders voice caused her very heavy lids to snap open wide. He ignited his saber and went to stab, and she tried to block— she did. She wanted someone other than the amputated pirate back on the ship to live. She hissed as her block failed and Anders’s blow struck, partially decapitating the retreating pirate.

The Chiss woman gasped then began to pace, yelling out all sorts of colorful obscenities in Cheunh. She stopped eventually and stared up at the Inquisitor, gritting her teeth, her eyes blazing again with that deep anger.

“He was leaving! We don’t have to kill everyone who dares come near us! What is wrong with you?!”

Anders pointed his lightsaber at her, inches from her nose. “I think the better question is what is wrong with you?”

He carefully lowered his weapon, but kept it activated in his hand.

“He was a pirate. Regardless of his intent, he associated with pillagers, murderers, kidnappers, and much worse. You were willing to let someone like that flee without reprimand. Do you remember the look on the Urchin’s face when she told us what they’d done?” Anders stepped closer. “What I have done might be seen as cruel, but I have prevented these pirates from inflicting harm upon hundreds, if not thousands others. Justice is not always pleasant, but it is fair.”

He deactivated his weapon, and placed it back on his belt. He turned to walk back inside, then paused.

“Oh, and Sivall? Lance at me like that again, and there will be consequences.”

Angry tears had gathered in her eyes, but she let Anders talk. She greatly resisted to urge to flip him off as he turned back to her, her fists trembling at her side.

He was right, but she hated it. She hated so vigorously that he was right, because these pirates were still people. People who made bad choices, but karking people!

“You can dish it but you can’t take it then, inquisitor?” She retorted to his last comment. Her eyes narrowed and her tiny figure stormed off back towards the back room of the house to check on the prisoners. She needed to be anywhere but near Anders right now.

The Inquisitor scoffed at the outburst. Anders had taken his fair share from his Sith Master during his training and the Chiss Ascendancy before that. The scars adorning his flesh made him instinctively grasp his arm. Who was she to judge him? She was young, naive, foolish. She didn’t understand how the galaxy operated. The injustice, the chaos…

He had half a mind to reprimand her telepathically, but something else caught his senses from the corner of his subconscious. Tumultuous emotions cascaded upon him like an avalanche. He soon heard them coming from the main door.

Curious…

Anders went to investigate, seeing the Urchin, tears welling in her eyes. He carefully approached, his hands behind his back.

“Hello again. I believe we were rudely interrupted last time we spoke. I never got your name?”

Walking into the back room again, Siv’s demeanor softened as her eyes set on the prisoners. She moved over to them and started checking them over and pulling the hood from their heads.

Her eyes widened as one of the chiss matched the picture on the dossier for the doctor.

Relief washed over her face. She tried to reach out to her group through telepathy but she was officially tapped out.

“Don’t worry Dr. Jonz, we’re gonna get you back home,” she reassured the researcher, a soft smile on her face.

Then she turned and shouted back towards the main part of the house.

“TARGET FOUND!!!”

Anders smiled at her. “I can assure you, there are no mind games being played. I could, very easily, but I won’t. Not to you. I apologise for prying into your thoughts, but I got the feeling that if i didnt, you wouldn’t tell me whats wrong.”

He knelt down beside her. “I’m not up to anything. What I see is a young woman who’s parents, family, and friends were the victims of pirate greed. Yes, it might have looked merciless, but justice isn’t always pleasant to watch, yet, it is always required. Let me ask you. If we let them go, they would be free to hurt families in different farms and towns on a different world. Would that be fair? Would that be justice? These were pillagers and murderers that lacked morals. I did what had to be done to protect other innocent people. May I ask your name one more time? No Telepathy this time.”

Anders placed one hand on his heart and raised the other. “I promise.”

“Kina,” Anders gave a small nod. “That’s a beautiful name. Much better than Urchin if you ask me.”

He chuckled lightly.

“Tell me, Kina. What is it that you want? Do you wish to become a Jedi? I know my… teammate, is heavily insistent upon it, but I believe one should be allowed to make their own choices.”

“I’m sure your family are very proud of you. What you did today was right, don’t let anyone tell you otherwise,” Anders placed a gentle hand on Kina’s shoulder. “If I may inquire, what is it you see when you close your eyes?”

“If you focus. What do you feel is the right thing to do?”

Anders gave her a light squeeze on her shoulder, letting her know he was there. “You are doing very well. I know this is traumatic for you. I feel the Force is trying to sway you in a certain direction. Like it’s trying to tell you something. What do you think that might be? Focus on your feelings. They are your ultimate guide, your truth.”

“Had I not been specific enough earlier? Get thee awayeth from mine apprentice thy foul sith!” The Neti calmly stated as he came up behind the girl, “Come along Urchin, let’s have a look around in here. Gather up some stuff you’d like to keep, stuff that should go to friends and relatives and see what we can do to erase the damage these pirates did to this place…”

Slowly Ood wandered by into the house, seemingly expecting Urchin to follow him.

Anders followed closely behind, but halted in the doorway. “Her name is Kina. You would know that if you actually bothered to talk to her instead of resorting straight to the Jedi tradition of kidnapping children. If you don’t mind, I’d like to finish what I was saying to her. After that, I will leave.”

The young chiss woman offered herself for support despite having trouble keeping herself upright. She tried not to visibly cringe at the ‘member of the ascendancy’ comment. She never was nor likely would never be part of it.

“Aye, sir.”

At this point, Bril stepped into the room. He had taken a moment to collect himself after their battle ended, feeling that he had once again teetered a bit too close to the Dark Side. He entered the room to the sound of shouting, and sighed when he saw the rest of his team gathered around another Chiss and the child that Ood had taken under his wing.

“What is happening?” he asked, his tone more measured than it had been before. He pointed to the Chiss male that had assaulted Kina next. “And who is that?” He sounded out of it. Clearly, his struggles with the call of the Dark were beginning to take a toll on him.

BUDD-E recorded that little tidbit od information for Anders, then hopped up onto Sivall’s shoulders, giving her a little tap with its mechanical legs.

Out of reflex, the Neti did what he had done to the two other similar crystals. Reaching out through the Force, Ood encountered the same maliciousness, only stronger. Some idiot had anchored himself to a crystal, then some semi-rakata had shown up and carved the gem into pieces to decorate a temple?

With nary a thought, the Elder Arconan telekinetically pulled the crystal to himself and dropped it into a pocket in his robes. It clinked against the other gems briefly and settled into place.

Sinking into a meditative pose, Ood began to engage the evil presences he now held in his pocket. A quickly prepared mental sidestep had the crystal presences unable to recognize eachother. It wanted to recombine, best not let it.

“Urchi…Kina was it? Don’t let anyone interrupt me, alright?” The Envoy stated as he addressed his potential padawan.

“<@837236610684813342>, call Doc. Get the shuttle here fast, I’m going to be keeping the spirits bound to this gem busy but the faster we reach Arx the better. Get <@264959101384130560> to sedate Jonz, he’s been under its control for awhile and may become hostile. Once we’re in orbit….call ahead. I’m going to need at least 6 other elders with experience in possession, the mental arts, and illusions to assist me in containing whatever this is properly.”

Having said what he needed to say, the ancient Force user let himself drop deeper into the currents and eddies of the Force. He’d need allies to fight this, and his greatest ally was the Force.

Anders turned to Kina. “I apologise for the abrupt halt to our conversation. This is an important matter that needs attending too. I promise we will finish our talk, for now, listen in…”

Anders closed his eyes, setting up the telepathic link with the rest of his team. He strained, Kadrol and Rhylanve being much further away complicated matters.

Nevertheless, he wasn’t gifted in Second Sight for nothing.

‘Everyone we have a situation. Ood is currently keeping a spirit bound to a crystal in his possession. Doctor Jonz has been under its effects for some time. Sivall, if you are still with him, subdue him immediately. Rhylance, bring the shuttle towards us and prepare for an immediate departure. The faster we can get to Arx, the better.’

Mental message sent, Anders turned his attention once more to Kina. “As I was trying to say before I was rudely interrupted…”

He spared a cursory glance to Ood. “If you seek to protect others, there are many ways to do it. The Jedi path is one such way, yes, as is the Sith. I, myself, breve that you will make tbe right decision based on what is right for you. Maybe the Jedi way isn’t for you, but that’s OK, there are other paths to walk on with doors to open. I should know, be mindful of your options. I should know. I’m a Sith that has trained a Jedi, would you believe?”

Anders gave her a nod of approval. “Then you will make a great and powerful Jedi. Whilst I do not adhere to the philosophy, I at least understand it enough to teach it. If there’s anything you need, feel free to contact me. I can also get you in contact with the Jedi I trained. He’s a fine young man. For now, we should depart. Where is that ship?”

Anders sat down, taking a moment to close his eyes and catch his breath. His use of the Force up to this point had been taxing to say the least, and he was happy for the reprieve.

That is, until BUDD-E leapt up into his lap.

Despite the interruption, Anders couldn’t help but smile at his little companion. What would he ever do without it?

“Yes, Buddy. I’m happy to see you too,” Andefs patted it on its chrome head. It started shaking its leg, excited, happy. “Now, I believe I owe you and oil bath?”

BUDD-E, however, instead of getting even more excited at the prospect, relayed the important information it had learned directly from Doctor Jonz earlier.

Anders’ eyes shot open. “Are you sure?”

BUDD-E beeped, it was all the confirmation Anders needed. He glanced back, eyeing the Doctor with suspicion. He’d be keeping an eye on him.

Back in the shuttle, Bril leaned against the cold interior wall near the ship’s off-ramp with his arms crossed. Despite the success of his mission, he couldn’t bring himself to feel anything but frustration. Not only had he failed to perform as well as he would have liked on his first Envoy mission, but he also failed at ensuring Sivall’s safety. He silently thanked the Force that things hadn’t gone as poorly as they could have, but the errors made during the battle that brought their mission to its conclusion replayed in his mind like a broken holorecord.

Crystal blue eyes first fell upon Anders–for all his power in the Force, the Inquisitor’s rash nature nearly cost him a friend. It nearly cost him a sister. The advice he’d given him on how to better control Vaapad, as appreciated as it was, didn’t assuage the subdued choler Bril felt for the Chiss who had shocked his lora with lightning.

Speaking of which, he looked to Sivall next. Her decision to offer herself up as a hostage was reckless … stupid, even. He refused to dwell too long on the all-too-real possibility of the pirate deciding to detonate the explosive with her still in his grasp. A scoff escaped his lips before he averted his gaze.

As pointed as his criticisms of those two were, they were dwarfed by the blame he placed on himself for not preventing those situations in the first place. If only he’d been faster, smarter … things would have been different. Next time, he had to be better.

Bril finally turned his attention to Kina, the young girl that the Neti Jedi had taken under his wing. She didn’t appear that much younger than Bril when he was first introduced to the Brotherhood. “Tread carefully, kid,” he said, his voice stern but nonetheless sympathetic. “You’re headed down a path not for the faint of heart. Perilous, but also extremely rewarding. Just promise yourself that you’re not going to lose sight of why you chose to come with us, to embrace the path of a Force user. Okay?”

-

He paused for a moment to let the weight of his words linger in the air. He hoped to the Force that she understood what he was trying to convey. “Let that be your anchor, and never be afraid to ask for help if things start to feel too heavy for you to carry on your own.”

Another pause came, followed by a chuckle. “And be careful playing with explosives. You might take your arm off one day.”

Anders couldn’t resist the temptation of having a little fun with the Doctor.

‘A museum seems a rather unjust for such an artifact, wouldn’t you agree?’

Well… that was no fun.

Anders wasn’t sure if Jonz was fully aware of the mental intrusion or not. Regardless, he’d keep a close watch. No thought would be unheard. Anders was listening… watching…