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The Advent (Kal's ship.)

She paced back and forth without a pause, not wanting to sit, not wanting to calm down. Kal had come to Ithor to look her up, not so much as telling her before showing himself that the reason for it was him being chased by the clutches of the Sith he thought to have escaped years before. To top it off, these Sith had gotten away with their lifes and had even confirmed to know of Daesha's identity.

"What were you even thinking!?" She questioned aloud, before remembering just how stupefied he had looked to see them and how easily he had let himself be tricked. "Nevermind, you probably weren't." She snapped.

Any dock or hangar they'd land at now would leave behind a trail for these Sith to follow, regardless of which of their ships or who's I.D. they'd use to register. It was bad enough she had to be careful for pirates and looters when smuggling cargo, but now she'd have to look back over her shoulder to make sure the Sith weren't on her tail at every turn as well.

She was very angry, not even so much at Kal, but more so at her incapability to do anything to fix or help the situation. Though, she certainly did seem to take it out on Kal. No resources to erase any evidence of travel, no contacts to hide ship I.D.'s or access to zones that allowed anonymous and unregistered landing, just to name a few things. They needed more resources, more influence. They needed to get higher up.

"How many credits have you got?" She suddenly asked, her voice lowered as she finally stopped moving for a moment.

Naboo/ Theeds

The journey to Theeds had been a quiet one for the most part, Ronyo had stayed quiet as he drove seeing Sam appear to be lost in thought. Omega had also remained quiet and didn't even stick his head out the side of the speeder like he had done on the way down. It was so strange to have Sam back after such a long time gone and yet have little to say. Ronyo knew it was more circumstance of events that stifled the tongue more than anything else, but that did not make it any less troubling to the Jedi Master.

They had stopped outside and a few blocks down from the town homes Sam had talked about. Ronyo had done so on purpose so he could talk with Sam for a bit and maybe try and sort some of this mess out. The more he knew the more he could help her try and regain some of her past self, although it almost looked like part of that woman that sat next to him didn't want to remember.

"Mas...Sam...what happened?" it was a simple question but one that likely carried a lot of weight behind it, "I felt you through the force do to a surge of pain and grief stricken emotion, I rushed here as fast as I could expecting...well I'm not sure but," a sigh came out of his lips as he tried to think of his words better, this was not like him to be lacking the right words, "I want to help you Sam, anyway I can but you have to tell me what happened...back at the farm and...and when you left all those years ago," Ronyo looked to Omega for some assistance but the wolf remained quiet, "You don't have to tell me now, I know there enough emotions flooding you right now to drag up more but when you're ready I'll be ready to listen."

Ronyo had lifted hand to brush some of the teal hair out of her eyes but stopped remembering last time he had touched her. It was almost an alien feeling being the one trying to help and comfort the woman who had taught him so much. Ronyo had assisted a good number of Academy students in studies and matters that they were unsure about but this, this was Sam-El Joelk a woman he knew was strong in both the force and will. He just hoped she would let him help in some way.

Sam straightened and lowered her head slightly as Ronyo slowed the speeder and parked it, the shade from the tall buildings and the silence of the quiet streets leaving her with nothing to distract from his questions. Of course had questions, who wouldn't.. even she had questions, but right now she couldn't answer anyone or anything.

"You have a right to know." She recognized, keeping her eyes down as she spoke low. "But right now I don't have the strength, or the will," Pausing, she glanced over her shoulder at the cloth-draped body. "It's not in me to relive those memories.. yet."

With that she promised that she would tell him when she could, but for now there were matters that needed her. The old habit of doing what she must, what was expected, began to come more naturally to her as she silently encouraged him with a glance and a hand over his own to take the speeder the next few blocks so that what needed to be done would not wait any longer.

Corruo, Hangar Bay

Morbella growled and ordered her stupidly strong-willed lieutenant to leave. He saluted improperly, which Sephis didn't care about anymore, and and left the hangar immediately.

Sephis felt a pressure... It was a sensation as thought it were growing at the back of his head, but he knew that, physically, there was nothing there. It was his master, incredibly close to his present location. If she wasn't inside the hangar now, then she would be in a moment.

"If you have concerns about the actions and motives of myself or any other officer on the Corruo, you should know who to talk about them," Morbella said as Sephis felt the pressure building behind him.

"Why is it that the one with power is no longer here?!"

The voice traveled throughout the hangar, clearer than any loudspeaker would have. His master's tone was calm, though Sephis knew the wrong kind of explanation could earn the lash, in more ways than one. Sephis turned the direction of his master, and answered his master flatly.

"Because she has escaped."

Sephis cast one last dark look at Morbella, and gathered his cloak around him, turning toward his master. He leaped, covering great distance across the hangar, and landed calmly less than a dozen feet from his master. He took a few steps towards her and then dropped on one knee, bowing his head. He heard the motion of many others in the hangar following suit.

"My Lady, I have failed you," Sephis said, taking full responsibility for the intrusion and the escape. If he'd learned anything, as a Grand Admiral, there were no bad soldiers. There were only bad officers."Both of the intruders have escaped."

Sephis spared no backward glance for Morbella. If Sephis needed to track her down again, he would be able to find her easily using the Corruo's systems.

Advent

Kal smiled greatly as Daesha mentioned their "business." How clever it was that they called it that, though he knew it was a common expression.

"We need to make friends in all the wrong places of the galaxies..."

Kal's smile dropped.

"The kind with a reputation as big as they are hard to find..."

Kal wasn't sure where she was going with this.

"You know the ones I'm talking about..."

Yes, Kal did. Daesha was talking about big time Hutt crime lords, infamous smuggling rings, notorious crime syndicates...

"Then we become them..."

Kal widened his eyes. Then he narrowed them. Then they returned to normal as he cocked his head and gaped. Daesha had his attention.

"You... Want to go big time...?"

Kal wasn't sure he wanted to go big time. After this incident with the Sith, couldn't she understand what that meant for him? He'd be making himself a bigger target, making Daesha a target...

"Shouldn't we lay low?" Kal asked. "Shouldn't we hide from the Sith?"

Corruo, Hangar Bay

Shocked at how mild her reprimanding of Sephis was, with little more than a kick and a violation of personal space, Sephis was frozen with fear and confusion for a moment as Ensis kneeled down over him, dangerously playing with his face and hair.

"And what exactly did you mean by 'both of the intruders'?"

Now, see, that was complicated. He needed to clear that up immediately.

"There were three intruders, ma'am."

Sephis hesitated. His fear was driving him to use the wrong formality, a military formality that was not appropriate for his relationship to Ensis. He needed to get a hold over himself.

"The two that I mentioned were Force-sensitive," Sephis continued, feeling heat rise to his face as he continued to lay on his back in an uncomfortable submissive position. "The third, I believe, was not. Little more than a third party here to enact their escape plan. She said she had a message for Darth Neiva... The former Empress' second-hand... A member of the Triumvirate."

Ensis knew what the Triumvirate was. The old Sith Triumvirate. "Sith/Imperial" would have been more accurate, since Sephis hadn't been inducted into the Sith Order, at that time, but that was what it had been called. It was what it was labeled by the crewman, as well as what was detailed out in official Imperial records. It belonged to the Sith, anyway, so Sephis supposed beggars couldn't be choosers. The Triumvirate was finished, though.

The swift disappearance of its two leading members quickly led the Empire to its doom... Until Darth Ensis had arrived, assumed power on her own, and spared Sephis' life, overlooking his past failures for the potential of a new apprentice. And so, the question begged, what was Darth Neiva doing here now? Was that really Darth Neiva that had been in that hangar bay but a few minutes ago? Where had Darth Neiva been for all this time?

"I am not sure who the other intruder was, My Lady," Sephis admitted with a weak voice, looking away. "I could not ascertain her identity. There is one other thing, however..."

Sephis looked back up at Ensis, his face still feeling hot, but he felt more assertive than before.

"The third intruder, the one that arrived with the ship to take the first two intruders off of the Corruo... She said that she carried a message from Darth Isani," Sephis explained.

Darth Ensis might not know who that is. The Darth had decidedly abandoned the Sith long before the Triumvirate had even formed, before Sephis had become a Grand Admiral. She was believed to have passed away some time ago.

"The former-Darth Isani is a traitor to the Empire and to the Order," Sephis said. "If the message truly is from her, then there is far greater danger to your power than any two intruders could pose."

Sephis dared lock stares with his master as she knelt over him. A dangerous gambit, considering her current state of rage and disappointment, but his master was never one look kindly upon weakness, either. As her apprentice, to cower as a puppy would be to sign one's own death warrant. And he wanted to cement home the fact that the Jedi Isani would be a more deserving and efficient focal point to center her rage on.

The Advent (Kal's ship.)

"And how exactly do you suggest we do that, hmm?" She questioned him, hand at her hip.

Sure, they had credits now and If they wanted to, they could probably disappear without leaving a trace. Well, that was until they'd run out of credits and then they'd be both vulnerable and poor. It was not a reliable long-term solution.

"Look, Kal..." She started, after a quick sigh. "What I'm trying to say is that... have you ever tried finding one of the Vigo's? To meet them personally?"

It was a question she meant for him to really think about. He might never have tried, but he should still realize that it was near impossible to do so. Still, she did not wait for him to answer.

"They are hidden, Kal. Really hidden. Everyone knows them, hundreds or thousands do business with them, but not one could ever tell you where they truly are."

She leaned in closer to Kal and poked him in the chest.

"That's what we need. Protection in power, not to... crawl in the sewers of Coruscant's undercity."

She felt the eyes of the Anzat fall upon her, a feeling most uncomfortable and she dared not look back, not yet anyway. She tried to ignore it.

She had to think, what made it possible to use the Force back on the Corruo, how did that attack she perform not get blocked like her previous attempt at a Force push.

The only difference was, the time she had been successful, was because she had had felt the Anzat's excessive energy from her attack and then had touched upon it. Siphoned some of it.

For just a moment, it had awoken her own abilities of the Force. She had seen the male Sith Knight coming before he had been there, as well as another vicious signature coming from further away. Then, when she had unleashed the attack, she had felt drained, empty and void of any connection with her own Force energy once more.

Somehow, she had to put it to the test. Carefully looking up, she noticed that the eyes of Neiva were no longer upon her, her attention had been taken by something else. Irella was most grateful for this.

As one of the crew on the ship passed by her, she pretended to stretch out, her hand bumping into his.
"Oh, sorry."
It had given her an annoyed look from the man, but it had also given her what she sought.

The strength of it was minimal, she could barely feel it, but what could she expect from someone who did not seem to be force sensitive. Thankfully, the forces natural connection to life had been enough for her to drain away the slightest drop of energy.

She took it in, felt it open the smallest of connections to her own force energy, then subtly moved her hand at the chair across from her. Immediately the connection dissipated, leaving not a trace behind, but she seen the chair tremble under her influence. Perhaps, if she were able to siphon the energy from someone more powerful, she could permanently restore the connection to her own Force energy.

This time, it were her eyes that slowly descended down upon the Anzat.