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"You are excused," Atra said coldly, silently listening to the one side of the conversation she could hear. From what she could gather, and from what she already knew and what was rhetorical, Skkou had asked for the records to be digitally sent.

She noted with amusement that Skkou's last words had been ... and no arguments.

Several toned beeps confirmed Atra's educated guess, and she siped down to pick up the datapad. Much to her pleasure, several new files had been added... one being updated ground zero pictures and the other being the docking records.

"Thank you," she said flatly. Once again, her display of politeness had been out of protocol rather than will. "These will no doubt prove to be useful in upcoming endeavors, hmm?

Her last statement was an underlying threat: if Atra didn't find what she was looking for, there would be dire consequences.

"Of course," Skkou replied, beginning to stand. Atra's growing impatience was beginning to outweigh her careful emotional shield. She could see the Dark Lord's eyes flash in anger whenever the captain did anything more than breathe incorrectly.

"I hate to draw things.. short, but I'm sure I can investigate this situation further.."

She completed her task of pulling herself upright again, and gave the Dark Lord of the Sith another bow, this time deeper. It was her way of sucking up, as to exit these dark, tainted corridors unharmed.

Skkou's eyes widened and she both shook her head and gave a vocal answer. "No... of course not."

As the two trainees took her forearm, the captain jerked away, sending them both a muted glare. As she caught one of her own from Atra, however, she pursed her lips and allowed herself to be half-dragged away.

She made a mental note to send a holovid next time.

Atra's senses perked as the use.. or overabuse.. of the Force heightened her mind. Her eyes blazed momentarily as she strode down the hallway, one purpose in her mind.

Her hands were clasped behind her back, and she hadn't yet had the time to take off her flowing robe. The hood was still on, as she had neglected to lower it when she first entered her Temple again.

Her eyelids lowered dangerously as she arrived at the source of her Academy disturbance.

"It's not your place to do that," she said acidically after taking a moment to survey the area. Her powerful gaze moved from one student to the next, coming to rest on the one student who had sparked the whole ordeal.

"Do I make myself clear?"

Atra raised her chin, catching the elusive wisps of defiance that blew around her underling's eyes.

Immediately, her hand lashed out, striking him across the face. "Protocol demands respect, Boy, she said. Her voice tone barely fluctuated, making her slound eerily calm and at peace with the world as she did so. "It'd be wise to stare someone else in the eye."

That said, she clasped her hands behind her back again. This was one of her more talented students, and she would hate to see such Force sensetivity go to waste. She could only pray that this apprentice, that this Steven James Draiman would take her advice. There was no room in the Dark Side for such displays of grandeur. Not yet.

She gestured for Draiman to follow her as she strode down the stone corridors, walking away from the cluster of students. When the two were out of earshot, she spoke. "Are you aware of current events?" Her voice was sharp.

Atra nodded slowly. "Growing resistance to Force Users," she said bluntly. "And it's becoming a major pain in the a**... there have been three bombings in Dreshdae so far... 'twould seem that they don't know of our location yet. The idiots."

She stopped her short rant, glancing idly back at Draiman. And this holy planet is being polluted."

She spat out her last word, her intents obvious. She meant that other Force Users... the Lightsiders... had taken refuge on their planet. She stopped walking, now standing in front of a large wall covered in carefully engraved markings.

"If these Lightsiders continue their stay here, our atmosphere will be polluted." Atra wasn't speaking of anything ecological... it was deeper than that. For centuries-- nay, millenia-- the Sith religion had taken post here. The vast amount of dark energies used had tainted the very planet itself... and now, with the presence of the Light Side, any Force User could feel the disturbance.

"The Lightsiders are at their weakest now-- recovering, yet their powers dampened by the Dark."

Atra blessed her favored trainee with a rarely-seen smile of approval. "A 'search' would be an understatement-- I want you to scour the planet. Leave no cave unexplored, no rock unturned. I want them found.

She gave her head a small tap. "Use the Force to get a lock on their presence. But when you find them, I want none of them harmed. For now, anyway. They might prove to be useful in gathering information."

Atra crossed her arms, ignoring the way the thick robe material flowed around her whenever she made the slightest movement. Again, she began walking. When she came to a fork in the hallway, she took an abrupt left, obviously heading for the Temple foyer. "Take a ship; and make sure you can fit a speeder on board."