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Harrin, Capital

Sephis hopped up onto the windowsill and jumped. It doesn't take you very fast to travel fifty feet when falling. Sephis hardly had time to cushion himself. He landed awkwardly, hurt his ankle, and swore. A loud bang resounded from the room above and Sephis swore again. He would have been dead, if not for his quick thinking, morphing into his canine form and watching the soldiers peek out the window, glimpsing nothing more than an awkward dog, standing on clothing. When they cleared from view, Sephis let out a long sigh of relief and slipped into his human form as fast as he could.

Sephis was half dressed when he heard the whine of the TIEs die out. He'd heard the sound of mortar fire cease minutes ago, but dismissed that in a split second as the Imperials having swept the floor with the Harrin forces. Sephis looked up, confused as to why he heard no sound. He heard no sound, because there were not TIEs anywhere in sight. He could see multiple Imperial capital ships high in the sky, but the starfighters had vacated the area. Why had they violated his orders?

Then he saw something approaching his position. The TIE fighters were his first guess. Possibly chasing down a cloud of air or spacecraft that had miraculously survived the TIE's in orbit. But as it approached, he noticed the sound was different. He wasn't hearing a TIE fighter whine. It sounded more like...

Massive red cannon fire slammed into Harrin's capital building, above and behind him. The sound of rolling thunder, the feeling of the rumbling ground, and the deafening impacts of cannon fire onto solid ground and buildings threw Sephis into a panic. Abandoning the rest of his clothing, he grabbed his lightsaber with a Force Pull and took off running at full sprint. Then, augmented his speed with the Force, traveling faster than he'd ever felt himself travel before.

The ground erupted around, in front of, and behind him. He wasn't going to make it. His TIE fighter was too far away. This was his end. He'd turned his back on one of his targets, Morbella, Grand Admiral Rice's lapdog, and been stabbed in the back for it. Nothing would repay this treachery, although Sephis wouldn't have the chance to try.

"Master...!"

Sephis leaped over a crater and a wall of red came crashing down in front of him...

Anaxes .
Seeker...

xxxxx░░░░░░░▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ ▒▒▒▒ ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒
Companion to our demons
They will dance and we will play
With chairs, candles, and clothXXXXXXXX
Making darkness in the day

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Mab bristled at Irella's second question, though the blonde could not see it. A momentary flicker of unforgiven rage crossed her yellow eyes and when she spoke it was with ice on her voice. "Ronyo Storm." She said simply.

The pieces were putting themselves together so quickly that Mabysyn had little left to do than to tell the truth; something that would ring in Irella's ears for longer than just this afternoon. "The man who imprisoned me in the shadows of Malachor for five years. That is where I have been for all this time, Isani." She says, redirecting the conversation to her peer while all too aware that Irella would hang on ever word. "Kept in a box with no other prisoners than myself, without even the Force to sing me to sleep. I was stripped of it and, with it, my ability to feed. While I was trapped, starving and being driven mad by my isolation in that broken sector of space, Ronyo Storm visited me frequently -- never to ease the pain of my captivity, but to simply acknowledge it. Perhaps I was a trophy, of sorts, I do not know.."

Then her eyes were on Irella's again and she stepped forward to catch the girl's blue orbs with her own. "This man has plagued you too, sister. I have it from his own mind of the times he hunted you down and stalked you, following you even to planets you once found sacred, despite the many times you told him that you would not join him. Would you like me to show you? I can share these memories with you just as I can give you your own."

Predator -- en route


"Reading... nothing, ma'am. No radio traffic or communications from the planet."

"No one's left down there." Xang translated unnecessarily.
"What route shall we plot next, Admiral?"

Morbella still stared at the display screen unflinchingly though she was chilled to the bone. So much death. Her hands would never be clean again. "Correllia." She answered finally, barely audible over the quiet beeps and alerts from the computer terminals around the bridge.

"Correllia... a direct course, Admiral?" Xang asked, sounding even more confused than he had been when she retracted her orders from before.

"Yes. Have the fleet apprised of the change in itinerary, as well. I'll have no one falling behind while the rest of our ships wait at Correllia for us." Though it was under the guise of simply not wanting to keep the rest of their forces waiting, Morbella had no more stomach for the course before them. There were to be at least five more planets like this one, including stops at Duro and Devaros to re-fuel and re-supply, but without the Darth to enforce those orders... she couldn't help but wonder what it would have been like had she been in his shoes. She was having a difficult time trying to think of anything worse than being left behind on a planet that's to be set to fire.

Bella closed her eyes then, glowering at herself from inside. He would have done the same to you, Bella. She reminded herself, though it was a cold comfort. She wasn't a Sith, hadn't even been, and she had it in her to be better... but by who's standards?

"I'll handle the status report, Xang." She said, anticipating the question. "Secure communications to my quarters."

Leaving the bridge and making her way to the personal quarters afforded to her took longer than ever before, though it only felt that way. Though she ought to have been activating the secure channel to the Corruo for a message that would be transmitted in real-space, she instead accessed her last received communications from Hunter.

"Kill the apprentice." The voice played out, an automated recording that had responded to her own message. She played it a few more times before growing suddenly angry. Hypocrites, she thought, but it was only half-true and she knew it. He was a Sith, after all, and the sworn enemy of Hunter and Watcher. Of course she'd be expected to kill him... and the planets; so many planets would have followed Harrin if he'd lived. the shapeshifter told herself, but when she saw her face reflected faintly in the computer screens all she could think was liar.

Harrin, Day Two

Sephis awoke to dim light. His skin felt moist, and half of his body had reverted to its canine form in his sleep. He spent several hours alternating between shouting for help and giving his lungs a rest. He knew there was no one around. I knew that he was trapped on a backwater world, but rolling over to die just wasn't the way that he wanted to die.

Sephis couldn't stop feeling sorry for himself. In the absence of natural light, there was no way for him to differentiate between the seconds and the hours. He was going insane. He'd made a mental list of all the injuries he had and his tally came up to eight broken bones, three lost teeth, one collapsed lung, along with 14 cuts of various dimensions.

Sephis deluded himself into thinking that his wounds were not fatal. This was nothing he should be losing sleep over, Sephis supposed. Sephis had never heard of Harrin before he'd traveled with the Imperial armada. What little knowledge he'd had about it came from the briefings that he'd read. Why would Morbella attack him like this?

Why would Morbella try to murder Sephis on Harrin? Sephis thought Morbella worked for the Empire. By Ensis' cold heart, why would she risk losing the one person out there that could possibly defeat Darth Venia? And then it dawned on him. Sephis was sure that Morbella had aided and abetted that intruder's escape from the Corruo. And that intruder had escaped with Darth Neiva.

Morbella wasn't working for Ensis' Empire. She was planning on equipping Venia with that armada, to give the power to hold her own Empire. Sephis felt like a moron. He'd just turned his back on an enemy of the Sith Order.

Point Nadir, Zietta's Palace

Kal looked up at the young woman's gun, still in pain, and stared into it's cold, hard barrel at pointed at Kal's face. Kal growled, but he did not move. He wished Daesha was here. She was supposed to be here. Where was she? More to the point, however, he wished somebody was here. He wished someone from Epsis, Sable Dawn, or even one of Zietta's own lackeys just walked into the room and--

"OW!"

Something sharp burned into Kal's temple for only a moment. Kal turned, enraged and was burned again, this time in the eyes, knocking Kal out and frying his eye-implants to uselessness.

"Oawwwww..."

Kal's vision faded to black.

Nar Shaddaa, Black Sun Territories


"Thanks for the back-up, Eden. Didn't think I'd be needing it on a 'listen' job, though. Something you know that I should know?"

"I don't know anything, Sunrider. That's why I sent you there." Eden answers smoothly. Slightly disheveled, she'd been woken up from sleep for this call. This accusatory tone that the human is giving her is annoying, but not half so annoying as seeing a third, unfamiliar, figure within hearing distance. You'd better be certain he's unconscious, Sunrider. "Do you have something you'd like to tell me?" She asks. Casually, her eyes flit to Maedris Martins, but she's unsurprised to see that the Bimm has made contact with Sunrider. It was, after all, part of her mission. At least some of her operatives had the ability to function. If they were all as bad as the humans she's have gone to droids a long time ago.

"Nothing out of the ordinary, really... oh, except for this fellow over here trying to kill... a mutual acquaintance of ours." Good. she thinks, at least you have the common sense not to speak too plainly in that cantina.

"I see you stopped him." She says, looking to Maedris again.
"Yeah. The Childkiller showed up and saved my neck. He was..." Malo seemed to pause before finishing, "He got close. What do you want to do?"

"I want to talk to the Childkiller alone." The Bimm's infamous nickname is awkward on her tongue from misuse, though if Malo hasn't used Maedris' name then Eden won't bother to correct the issue. She doesn't see the hands that do the moving, but from her vantage point it's clear that she's been handed to the bounty hunter and moved further from the table.

"Finish what the man started, Maedris. Kill the slug for me.. then come back to Nar Shaddaa and I'll give you more than an ample payment for the service." Eden's never liked Hutts, but always found them necessary. If someone should be trying to kill one however... she found it both intriguing and useful. It was really a shame he'd been interrupted. "Say nothing to Sunrider, but help her on her way."

Tython/ Jedi Temple – Training Room

Two very interesting individuals and two very different individuals as well, the woman seemed wanting more and on the verge of losing her patients with waiting while the man was still holding on to his military training. Both ideas Ronyo could understand as he had been in those Padawan shoes and also those military boots years ago. Looking to Sam then to the Padawan and soldier Ronyo grinned with an idea coming into his head. Ronyo spoke to the Jedi hopefuls in turn with his hopes and ideas.

“Soldier at this point the path you go down is of your own choice not of an order given to you. Know that the choice you make will likely effect your destiny as it may also effect others destiny as well. While you think on the matter I would like you to be Master Joelk’s personal escort while she gets adjusted to the planet.”

Ronyo smiled and looked to the young woman then who seemed so eager. He could sense her excitement and want to expand her training. He could also feel small trimmers of doubt and disdain towards some of the Jedi which no doubt created her comment of ‘holding her back’.

“Patients is part of the test of a Jedi, but I can understand the want to expand ones knowledge and skill. If you wish it I can help you further your training, but know that it will not be easy and likely more challenging than most of the other masters here. I was trained by the best and so will pass that on, if you are ready that is.”

Finally looking to Sam after the time allowed for her to acknowledge her new escort Ronyo was still grinning. Her comment about not trusting the Mandolorians was more than enough of a reason to have Sam teach the Mando the ways of the force. It would help both of them grow in the force and as people, hopefully with little bloodshed Ronyo hoped.

“Hope you don’t mind the escort but I know you will want to explore the place yourself and having someone who knows the layout might help some. Plus if you get the want to help the man out with understanding his choices it might be nice,” Ronyo turned his grin into a full smile at that point showing he did have the best of intentions, “Also once you feel up to it lets have that duel I asked for on the ship, in truth I’m kind of looking forward to showing you how much I have come in the past years.”

Sam caught Ronyo's grin, following a glance at the Mandolorian, and narrowed her eyes suspiciously. If he he's thinking what I think he's thinking... no, he wouldn't without talking to her, surely? But, sure enough, the next thing that came out of his mouth was an assignment to the Mandalorian -- to her. Her lips pressed together firmly to refrain from expressing her distaste in the arrangement. If she knew her padawan, which she liked to think that she did, then he had ulterior reasoning for this pairing... ulterior reasoning that was completely inappropriate considering her unique situation. He knew enough of her current situation to know that she was the last person who should be influencing someone, no matter the age or rank.

She looked at the Mandalorian and sized him up again, openly. It was bad enough that he was older, almost old enough to have been her father, maybe, but that he was a Mandalorian... Sam-el knew enough of the warrior culture to know that training him in the force would be like... teaching a rancor to sing and dance. There was no hint of approval or consideration as she studied the soldier and then returned Ronyo's look.

"It would he helpful to have someone who knows their way around," She could give him that much. As to the rest... "But, with the Grandmaster's leave, I may not be on Tython for very long. That duel will need to wait until I've recovered some things." A lightsaber, for one. Though she was sure that Ronyo would agree to an unarmed duel quickly enough. She also needed to recover her strength, remember her training as well as hone it, and remember herself. "Unless you're so eager to take advantage of my weakened state, Ronyo." She added. It might have been a tease, but her displeasure at the arrangement that the Grandmaster had just seen to made her voice cold. You might have spoken to me first, She thought, but made no effort to communicate it to him. No doubt he'd be reading her mind enough to gather it himself.