694. Like Womprats in a Cage - Trychon

After dropping Anya off in her less accommodating quarters, they promptly headed to bring Tyr down for questioning.  Rather than an aggressive greeting upon entering his room, the Sith accepted his cuffs without incident, much to the wiry guard's surprise.

Nal was again relegated to observing from the next room over.  There was less chance of an issue than there was with the girl, but Master Solumi was pleased with how Val handled the first interrogation, and did not feel like changing their approach.  It was more likely that consistency would allow them to pick up anything awry between the two interviews.

Given his relatively calm demeanor, Tyr did not even have to ask to have his stun cuffs removed upon sitting.  Val merely gestured to hold his hands out, and had them removed.

Despite his situation, Tyr couldn't help but give the blue Jedi who'd so easily bested him a small lopsided grin.  "Pretty trusting, Blue.  I'll give you that."

"Since your capture, you've given me no reason not to, Tyr."

Tyr just nodded, and waited for the Jedi to get to his point.  He wasn't impatient, as he didn't have anywhere else to be, but he still didn't see any reasoning behind playing games.

Val took his hint.  "I'll get to the point.  Where is your base?"  

Tyr rolled his eyes.  "You're not going to get that from me.  Anything else?"

Val hadn't expected an answer on that particular question, but he had decided it was best to let the playing field be even and make it plain what they were after from these meetings.  In time, if they wore down, they'd know exactly what would be best to share.  "Do you know why you're here?"

Tyr chuckled.  "Where should I start?  Was it Coruscant? Abregado-dai? Pelagon?"

"Of course, that's a part of it."  Val admitted.  "But you're here because we want to help you."

"Naturally.  How noble."

The Jedi knew it would sound hollow, but it was still important.  "Your family has a history with our Order.  Why did you join the Sith?"

"I'd really rather not discuss my family right now.  I don't think it would help things."  

Val gave him an understanding smile and waited to see if he would give some sort of an answer anyway.  When nothing was seemed forthcoming, he pressed on.  "You've been involved in at least two horrific crimes, yet we had a hard time tracking you because of your erratic movement and actions.  What were you up to?"

"Just leading a chase, mostly... and having fun, I think." 

Val picked up on a bit of confusion in his expression.  "You think?  Were you having fun?"

"I thought so... but Anya had done something to me, and I wasn't entirely myself."

"And the others?"

Tyr shook his head. "We knew you were after us.  We split up to even our chances up.  I've barely seen them in the past year or so."  

Val folded his hands on the table and decided on his next question carefully.  "Do you think they tricked you as well?"

"No."

"Maybe we'll come back to that.  Do you know what they were up to?"  In a rare break of a static facial expression, Val raised an eyebrow.

Tyr actually stopped to think about it.  "Not really, no.  Before you dismiss that, I'll tell you that sometimes I did.  I won't tell you about those times either though."

"They've been staying off the radar since they hijacked a planet's worth of yearly earnings... literally."

Tyr laughed.  "Yeah, I suppose the goal of us splitting originally was for us to draw more attention.  But - It's our fault... My fault we got caught.  We got sloppy.  Reckless.  I allowed her to take control.  I'm still not sure how."

Val paused.  "Your compatriots have been rather low profile, other than the major hits we've discussed.  Meanwhile, you've been recklessly seeking our attention to use your own words.  Are you positive that they were not setting you up to fail?"

Tyr glared at him.  "Look, Blue... you bested me in single combat.  You've been rather honest and fair with me as near as I can tell.  I'm not happy about the situation I'm in.  I'm rather kriffed off at Anya."

"I Understan..." Val started before being interrupted.

"Don't misunderstand.  I've got no love for the Jedi, other than the fact that they're soft when dealing with prisoners.  I'm not happy with my friends at the moment, but they're my friends.  The Jedi have done nothing for me other than give me a metal slab for a hand, and a go se childhood."

"Fair enou..."

"I'm not done.  My friends may have dumped me off a bit.... but we also took off a bit on our own, thanks to a bantha brain thinking she should be the mastermind.  Things may be bad for me right now, but the guys you're looking for?  They're not stupid.  If I wanted to... I could certainly make it a lot easier for you to catch them.... don't get your hopes up.  That's not happening.  That's a hell of a chance to take though, don't you think?  Offer your enemy the key to catching you?"

Val scratched at the stubble that his cheeks had built up more than he normally allowed. "Or maybe we'd already have them if we hadn't been chasing you, thinking they were with you."

"No.  You wouldn't. You don't even have the slightest clue where they've been outside of when it was obvious."

Val had to think for a moment before deciding whether or not he'd be overplaying his hand.  "You're right.  We actually thought they were with you."

"I should have been with them.  It was her  that insisted we were better off on our own after... anyway.  If they were trying to get rid of anyone, it wasn't me.  I'm not sure I could blame them."

-----------------

"He's defiant... yet so calm, Master."  Nal was in a state of near disbelief. "I am getting almost a completely different feeling from him den dat girl."

"Yes... he's quite different indeed."  Master Solumi stared off into space for a few moments.  "He's not ready yet though... not yet.  Val will have to continue to handle him for the next few days, at least."

693. Like Womprats in a Cage - Trychon

Val sat across from the Sith woman and simply waited for her to take his question seriously.

Anya nervously chuckled.  "I'm not really sure where the others are now.  Ever since our last trip to Korriban, we've all been on the run.  We've actually only met up with them once recently, and that was in the middle of space.  We've been going separate directions since then.  I think they were setting us up to be caught, actually."

She tried to look pitiful.  She hated that she couldn't tell if it was working.  The Chiss' eyes betrayed nothing but his usual calm.

"Ms. Tachi, tell me.  Why did you join the Sith?"

"Call me Anya.  Please?"  She batted her eyes just a bit, trying to reconcile with the Jedi, while still keeping her apologetic body language.

"Only if you insist.  Please continue, Anya."

She sighed.  This wasn't going to be hard to fake sadness for.  She hated telling this story.  Instead, she'd have to try to avoid spilling out rage, as it was the memories she pulled upon to call on the Dark Side of the Force.  For the first time in a while, she allowed her eyes to well up in the tears she needed as she recanted the tale of being rejected by the Jedi at a young age, and the horrible years that followed.  She explained that she never wanted to be helpless again, and knowing that she had some aptitude in the Force, even if it was little, made her think that it was her best opportunity.

Neglected by the Jedi, she bawled, she had nowhere else to turn.

Val nodded.  "As I understand it, many stories that lead to the Sith begin with tragedies.  I do not have all the details in front of me, but I understand there was some... questionable recruiting issues years ago.  If you remember correctly, I apologize on behalf of our order."

Containing her anxiety, Anya didn't make eye contact with him.  She was growing to hate his emotionless red eyes.  She simply stared at the table and sniffled.

"Do you know why we had to capture you, Anya?"

"Because of Coruscant... and stuff."

"Kind of, yes.  You're in a great deal of trouble.  If we didn't capture you, someone somewhere would have taken you down.  With us, we hope to have a chance to help you to relieve some of the bad you did.  You can never erase it... but by becoming a power for good in the galaxy, you can simply help."

She looked up at the Jedi once more, and it took everything she had to keep the hate from her expression.  She wasn't positive that she succeeded.

"We want to help, Anya.  We want to help your friends before they get in more trouble and bite off more than they can chew.  I'm sure you're aware of the history of the Sith.  Regardless of how powerful they become, it never ends well.  We want to help you."

She couldn't take his glare anymore.  He was trying to sound compassionate, but he was a blue skinned freak that could never understand what she'd been through.  "If you wanted to help me."  She started, calmly.

"You should have taken me away from my family before they made me a slave and a piece of meat!"

She lunged over the table and grasped for the ugly sub-human's neck with both of her hands.

As though he was simply catching a datachip tossed to him, he casually intercepted her attack with one hand grasping both of her wrists.

She squirmed and pulled as much as she could, but she was stuck laying prone on the table with her arms stretched out in front of her.  He was holding on to her arms tight enough that she couldn't move much else of her body at all.

"Ms. Tachi, we are trying to be accommodating and welcoming for you.  You're making this hard on yourself.  For that, I'm sorry."

-------------------

"I tried to tell you masters."  Nal shook her head, glad that she wasn't asked to be in the same room as that Sith trash.  She had to maintain a half-meditation to keep calm even watching via holo in the next room.  "Dis one is psychotic.  She will not help us, and I do not tink she is redeemable."

"Everyone has their place in the galaxy.  She may yet prove useful, do not give up hope."   Master Solumi gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulder.  "You did the right thing bringing her back.  For her and for you.  Do not doubt that."

She turned and gave a proper bow to her elder.  "Yes, Master.  Of course."

Solumi grabbed his comlink.  "Val, we're going to have to follow the program and move her to a lower level cage.  If she doesn't appreciate hospitality, she doesn't have to have it."

On the holo, they saw Val tap his earbud comm and nod as the guards dragged out the recently re-cuffed blond Sith, kicking and screaming.  "Agreed, Master Solumi.  I will walk her down myself."

692. Like Womprats in a Cage - Raezyr

Val stood outside the door to the Detention Suite with one other Jedi, a young man brought here by Masters Taisun and Solumi for the express purpose of guarding the prisoners. Most Sith were taken to Coruscant, but this operation was still on-going and their plan called for a much smaller, quieter location.

Currently the Chiss was wondering just what skill level the Sith inside the suite actually had. She had managed to stay elusive enough to avoid the Jedi and other authorities for quite some time, yet here she was, not even bothering to conceal herself on the other side of the door.

Val could sense that she was tense, yet patient and a little excited. Her intentions were clear as day to him. She had sensed the arrival of the two Jedi and was coiled on the other side of the door, ready to pounce. The big Jedi shook his head sadly and looked over at the guard. "You ready for this?" he asked.

In response, the Sith guard just patted the pair of energy binders clipped to his belt, then crouched into a defensive fighting stance. Val punched in the code and the door swooshed open.

Out popped a blonde human fighting like one of the Kath hounds native to the plains of Dantooine. She sprang straight for the guard and swinging her fist at his head. He ducked his head back as he swung his arm up, deflecting the rest of the blow.

He turned slightly sideways and, using her own momentum against her, allowed her to pass by and giving her back a shove with his opposite hand. The block and sidestep all flowed together in one fluid movement, resulting in the Sith crashing into the duracrete wall just beyond him.

Anya grunted in pain. Slamming into the wall had been the least of her expectations and had been quite painful. She tried to pop up and spin around to face the two Jedi but a hand grabbed her wrist, pulled it behind her back and shoved it up until she thought she could almost touch the back of her neck. She was mashed against the wall as the weight of a body was slammed into her, effectively pinning the Sith. She screamed in pain and rage, sure that her arm was about to be ripped out of it's socket. Suddenly she felt the familiar cold rings of a pair of energy binders being snapped over her wrists, holding them securely in place at the small of her back.

Anger flooded her as her first escape attempt came to a disastrous close. She swore under her breath at her own stupidity, immediately knowing where she went wrong. She had been so focused on her plan of attack that she had forgotten to conceal herself. They had been completely ready for her 'ambush.' On top of that, this peon was clearly an expert in some martial hand-to-hand style of combat.

Anya was pulled back from the wall and spun to face the tall, broad-shouldered Jedi. What she saw in his eyes angered her only further. Pity. This fool actually felt sorry for her. She vowed to make him pay for underestimating her and spat in his direction. He dodged his head almost casually.

"Please don't do that, Ms. Tachi," he said calmly, his arms folded across his chest.

It dawned on her that he hadn't even moved a muscle when she had come through the door.

"I really don't want to have to gag you," he told her, "but we will if we have to." Val stepped past her and moved down the hallway. The guard, his charge deftly in hand, followed.

In her mind she went through her list of Force powers, desperately trying to think of one that would be of use right now, but unless making small objects invisible or altering her hair color would somehow free her, she was out of luck.

If only I knew how to choke someone, or make lighting, she thought to herself, but despite her many attempts, she had never been able to manage either of those. She settled for trying to imagine what color the Chiss's guts would be if they were strewn across the floor.

Suddenly, it dawned on her. Her best power, other than creating illusions, was her ability to make people fall in love with her. It had worked easily on the clients she had seen during her 'escort' days back on Corellia. It hadn't worked quite as well on Tyr, but if she could bewitch a Force user like him, surely it would work on a Jedi, too.

Except he'd never let his guard down as long as she was fighting. He had to think it might be real.

She closed her eyes as they walked down different corridors and through doorways, allowing herself to be guided by the guards firm grip. She did her best to meditate and shove the rage and anger into a deep recess inside of her and lock it away in a place where no Force user could detect it. The blonde Sith then did her best to cover it up with a sense of peace... and a bit of sorrow for good measure.

Finally they stopped and Anya opened her eyes. She was in a small duracrete room with a table in the center and two duraplast chairs, sealed to the floor. The guard seated her in one of the chairs while Val took the other.

She took a moment to look around. There wasn't much to see. The walls were an unpainted gray as was the door. The only other things in the room were holo-cams mounted in secure housings in each corner of the ceiling.

Anya turned slightly and indicated the energy binders. "Please? They chafe," she asked calmly.

The big Jedi looked at her with his blood-red eyes that seemed to peer deep inside. She wondered if he could sense what she was up to, but nothing in his manner changed. In fact, she couldn't recall every getting any sense of emotion other than calm and peacefulness from him every time he had been around. The other Jedi, however, was clearly apprehensive.

"Do you think you can behave?" Val asked her.

"Of course," she responded almost sourly. It was a struggle to maintain this other persona, but she had done a superb job of acting for many of her Corellian clients. She knew she could do this. "I... it's just... I'm... back there... it was a mistake." She dropped her eyes down to her lap, trying to show shame.

She could sense the man behind her was still apprehensive, but despite that, Val said, "Well, we'll give you a second chance then." He indicated to the guard to remove the binders and leave. The man hesitated a moment, but then did as he was expected. The door whooshed closed behind him.

"Now tell me," Val began calmly. "Where is your base?"

Now was the time to start adding the charm.  Anya had never figured out quite how this power worked, but if she could just kiss him, she knew she he'd be powerless. She smiled as she tilted her head down and looked up at him. "Korriban, of course," she said, jokingly referring to the traditional Sith homeworld were their Academy still lay in ruins.

The Jedi didn't smile.

Uh, oh, she thought to herself. This might be harder than I expected.

691. One Foot in the Door - Trychon

The politician took a deep breath as he stared at the screen that showed the press room next door.  It was packed.  His own fate in danger in the upcoming election, the people still cared about him and still believed him when he said he had a very important announcement.

Representative Maflay knew he was risking his life by continuing with this conference.  He had to trust that increased security could protect him, and beyond that, hope that after the news was out, the Sith who had visited him in the middle of the night and caused him to soil himself would have nothing to gain from killing him.  If anything, it would only implicate Helwae further.

He hoped that was what would happen.

More realistically, he was going to die... but the people deserved to know what he did.

His assistant approached from the hallway.  "Sir, it's time.  Are you positive this is what you want to do?"

Maflay stood and straightened out his suit.  He stared into the mirror on the wall and at his own visage staring back.  Without a word, he walked slowly but with a purpose towards the hallway.

No. He admitted to himself.

------------------------------

Trychon plopped down on their new comfortable Siskriskin couch, and waved a motion in the air to turn on the flatscreen display and holoemiter combo he had just finished installing.  He hadn't had a chance to meet with the investment broker Mon Muhnn, who had agreed to manage their new assets for them for all the time they are off planet... but the previous owner of the Farrian Arms Hotel had a pretty decent allowance set up for himself in the monthly budget.  Without instructions otherwise, the accounting department had kept things the same and just shifted where the allowance went.

Raezyr had made a heck of an investment in getting their hands on this business, not that Trychon wanted or needed to tell him that.

Knowing that the press conference was about to start, his brother joined him on the couch with a couple of ales and some bar snacks from the hotel lounge, and they found the local news channel that was covering it.

They had a good laugh about the idiocy of carrying on with the press conference, right up to the time Representative Maflay walked up to the podium.

The hologram miniature of the man looked extremely tired, and the two Sith knew why.  The rest of the world was about to find out too.  He waved to the assembled journalist crowd for quiet so he could begin.  He seemed more likely to lose his breakfast.

He nervously cleared his throat.  "Ladies and Gentlemen..."  then he paused to clear his throat again.  "I have come here today to share a warning of a grave danger with you all."

Raezyr looked at his brother to see him restraining a chuckle so they didn't have to turn up the volume.

The representative continued, his voice cracking slightly.  "I originally set this conference so I could clear the air with honesty about my opponent, local businessman Zhan Helwae.  Instead, I have even more troubling news that I am risking my life to bring to you all, and to my constituents whom I have humbly served these many years."

There was quite a bit of noise in the background now as the crowd began to talk amongst themselves.  Maflay waited for the ruckus to die down a bit before continuing.  His eyes were darting around the room with paranoia.

"Please listen, everyone.  I confronted Mr. Helwae and pleaded with him to drop out of the race because he would not be honest about his past, and he would not.  I had evidence that I warned him I would have to share."

The buzz grew quickly again.  Rather than wait for it to die down this time, Maflay began speaking louder, and sounding more frantic as he continued.  "Please!  Listen!  I need you to understand, and I'm going to need protection, just for bringing this public!  Helwae has hired a Sith to scare me out of the race!  I was visited just last night by a man at least two and a half meters tall going by the name 'Sith Lord Vulcanus Tiberius'."

The crowd as well as the two brothers enjoying in the privacy of their own suite was now laughing, rather than talking.

"This is not a joke!  He nearly killed me, and likely will now!  My only hope is that Helwae is brought to justice even if something happens to me!  My building security promises me that they are working on securing evidence of all of this, but are simply delayed by red tape and requirements for procuring security footage."

Trychon barked out a single laugh at that comment.  "Well, that's a clever excuse for why they can't give him anything.  They're probably hoping this will all go away because the guy seems nuts.  In reality, they simply can't find one tiny drop of corroborating evidence."

Raezyr smiled.  He knew that if there was video evidence of their visit with the politician, it would be interesting, because while the costume Trychon forced him to wear did change his appearance, the Force also helped him project the inhuman size.

Voice now cracking entirely, likely out of a mixture of fear and because of the response he was getting, the representative went on.  "Lord Vulcanis Tiberius made me delete the evidence of Helwae's past!  That's proof enough of his collaboration for me, and for any court on our wonderful planet!"

Raezyr rolled his eyes.  "Only if you have proof that happened, dimwit."

"What the Sith Lord didn't know... was that I have video of my meeting with Helwae.  I know that it is illegal to secretly record as such, and I am more than willing to make a plea in return for security.  However, I beg you to watch this."

With a nod to his campaign manager, a giant vidscreen popped up behind the podium.

Then a video played.  The room got silent for the first several moments as the crowd deciphered what they were looking at.  Maflay looked dumbfounded and had ran over to the control panel to gesture and argue with his manager.

Then the video's lighting began to improve, and it became slowly clearer that they were looking at the inside of a bedroom.  Maflay was horrified as he stared at what he surely recognized as his home.  There was a lump under the covers that was moving restlessly and soon the representative heard his own voice mumbling through his sleep.  The voice was panic stricken and went from mumbling to shrieking.

Words like 'No!', 'Sith!', 'Stop' were easily audible, but the rest was just fearful crying.  He never seemed to break out of his slumber, though.

The two Sith were hysterically laughing at the impromptu end to the press conference, as the representative began yelling at the crowd and screaming that he needed protection and wasn't crazy.  His own security had to restrain him and pull him away.

After Trychon managed to catch his breath, he managed to speak in between chuckles.  "It's smart to have backups of information that you're using to blackmail someone, and even better to have videos of meetings, like he thought he had... but it was retarded of him to think the files were safe while he had them on his datapad, which was plugged into his main network."

Raezyr just shook his head and laughed again.

690. Like Womprats in a Cage - Raezyr

Anya was furious. The whole time she had been sure Tyr would try something, especially after that comment of his back on board the Unity about how they were daring him to make an escape attempt. She had been ready for it, and ready to back whatever play he made for their freedom.

Right up until the door to her cell slid shut, she had thought Tyr had a plan. Instead, the son of a nerfherder just marched along complacently. Clearly he was the brainless slug she always figured he was.

She'd get out of here on her own, no matter what she had to do. Anya vowed to herself that she'd never give in to these slime sucking Jedi. She'd show them. They'd rue the day they turned their backs on her and abandoned her to a life of slavery in that whore house. No amount of pandering and pleasant talk of peace and harmony would bring about forgiveness for that.

She looked around the meager room for anything she could use as a weapon, but the bed was molded from duraplast and sealed to the floor somehow. The chair and desk, also duraplast, were just sturdy enough to accommodate her sitting on them. They were too big and bulky to swing with her hands. If only she had learned to lift things with the Force better, she could send them sailing at whomever came through the door.

It was the only shortcoming that she would admit to herself, but even that wasn't a big deal. She had heard it was common for Force users to excel at some things while having difficulty in others. Moving objects just happened to be hers. What she truly excelled at was illusions. Somehow, she had to make that work for her.

In the mean time, there was little else in the room. The dresser was firmly attached to the wall and the drawers didn't come out. Nothing in the small lavatory was removable either. For the moment, she'd have to wait. But she'd never give in, and never give up fighting. Every attempt at escape that arose, she'd take.

Upon a bit closer inspection, she found a change of clothes. She spat on them and threw them in the corner. "Shu ma nyaow Jedi garb," she thought aloud. She stripped off her clothes and washed them in the sink, then laid them out to dry. After a long sani-steam, she flopped onto the bed to wait for her clothes to dry.

It seemed like forever since she'd been able to stretch out on a real bed. The soft blanket felt good against her bare skin. She closed her eyes, and in an instant, slept the sleep of the dead.

----------

The Jedi Knights known informally as Val and Nal  stood in the Enclave Council Chamber. Masters Eliatra Sabre-Rivalen and Orion Rivalen had recently been the presiding Jedi Masters here at the Enclave, but they had been caught in an unfortunate training accident on the plains of Gwahoon on the other side of Khoonda. They had been trampled in a gizka stampede. The whole episode was now infamously known among the Jedi Order as the Galloping Gizka Incident of 3937. Shortly afterwards they had succumbed to the injuries sustained, hence the reason they were not present now.

Two other Masters bore that responsibility now: Master Taisun and an older human man, Master Tanner Solumi. They were the ones tasked by the Jedi Council on Coruscant to oversee the pursuit of the villains of the recent massacre on the Jedi homeworld and it was under their authority that permission was given to use the secret detention facilities on Dantooine as long as they also oversaw the training of the younglings located there.

Nal and Val were currently being debriefed on their mission so far. All the proper reports had been filed as dictated by regulations, but often Knights were required to give the particulars in person to whomever had sent them on their particular mission. Sometimes they were not, but this wasn't one of those times.

Nal Talla started off the debriefing, relating the events which had taken place initially while Caecillius Kostek had still been on the mission. The Miraluka Jedi had been a childhood friend to both Nal and Nylan and had agreed to help Nal track down the Sith who had carried out the attack on Nylan and the Galactic Senate Building on Coruscant. During the investigation, he had been called away on a more secret errand and Val had taken his place.

From there, Val and Nal both took turns telling the story and filling in the blanks when the other forgot a detail, and after the course of an hour, their report was finally finished. Taisun and Solumi had sat quietly, letting the two Knights tell their tale. Now it was their turn to ask questions.

"It is quite disturbing, young Talla, that you came so close to falling to the Dark Side," Solumi said. "Val, you have been working closely with her. In your opinion, is there a risk of her falling if she continues on this mission?"

"I do not believe so, Master," Val replied. "Between the meditation techniques I have been teaching her, and the counseling sessions she and I have had, I think we are making great strides in preventing a recurrence."

"Good," Solumi said. "I have known you since you were first sent to us, and I trust your judgement in this matter very much."

Nal wished she felt as much confidence as the other two Jedi seemed to feel. The whole time, Taisun had just stared at her with his feline eyes and they seemed to see right through her. She shoved her personal concerns deeper down inside, and concentrated on the present.

Taisun spoke up, and for a moment, Nal was worried he was going to call her out, but instead he said, "To get back to the other matter, has anyone questioned the prisoners yet? They might be willing to give up the location of their comrades without much hassle. Sometimes a few days in detention is all that's necessary to get a prisoner to talk."

"We have not yet spoken to them, Mastah Taisun," Nal replied, fielding this question. "We thought it best to leave the questioning to you. I would add however, dat I do not tink dese Sith are going to give up dere cohorts so easily as dat... at least not dat girl."

"I am in agreement with my partner's assesment," Val said. "We can talk to her, but I think the man is your best bet for information. Personally, I think your special circumstances might be our best bet, Master Solumi."

"Indeed it might be," Tanner said. "At the same time, it might only serve to push him farther from the Light once he's told."

The four Jedi stood in silence for a few moments, thinking. Finally the big Cathar Master spoke. He informed Nal and Val they were to question the Tachi woman, but to keep Nal in the viewing room to watch, just to be safe.

"Master Solumi and I will question Tyr. We'll wait however, to reveal anything to him." Taisun said. He looked over at Tanner to make sure the approval was there.

Tanner nodded solemnly.

689. Like Womprats in a Cage - Raezyr

 It took some doing to get the two Sith off-loaded from the Unity. Getting them aboard initially had been easy. They had been given drugs to keep them unconscious so the ship's medic droids could apply the temporary prostheses to the prisoners, and it was a simple matter of transporting them. Now they were awake. Sure, they had energy binders clasped around their wrists and Nal and Val weren't the only Jedi around as four more had flown up from the surface of Dantooine for the sole purpose of this prisoner transfer, but that wouldn't preclude a Sith from trying something dangerous.

As Tyr and Anya were escorted  to the awaiting Jedi transport ship, he was happy to see that his own ship, the Nefarion Wraith was being warmed up, as was the Wasted Rancor. Apparently they were going to take the ships to the surface rather than confiscate them in the 'name of the Republic' or whatever excuse they might come up with.

He was also quite impressed. Despite their poor showing against that Chiss, and despite the fact he was present here, the Jedi felt it necessary to bring a contingincy of Jedi aboard. Six full Jedi for only he and Anya. Val, or whatever the blue Jedi's name was, had warned them not to try anything, that the four other Jedi were specialists. Apparently they were specifically trained to guard Sith prisoners. Of course he wasn't going to let the Jedi know he was flattered. "Only six of you? Might as well let us go now. You're practically daring me to escape," he taunted.

Val was the only one to reply. "Of course I personally would hate to see you make such a decision as it will result in unnecessary violence, but in the end, it really is your choice to make."

The indifference in his voice infuriated Tyr, but he said nothing further. He knew it was foolish to try anything right now. They were prepared for this. Much better to wait until a time when they let their guard down. He just prayed Anya wasn't dumb enough to actually try something and get them both killed in the process.

The drop to the planet's surface below didn't take long. The Jedi piloting the shuttle rocketed as fast as he could toward the ground at insanely fast speeds. It was obvious they wanted to get down as quickly as possible to minimize any window of opportunity the Sith might think they had.

Finally they set down in a medium sized hangar with a thump. The door opened and the loading ramp extended as the two Sith were escorted from the transport. At the bottom they were met by a huge male Cathar dressed in Jedi robes was standing there waiting to greet them.

"Greetings, Tyr and Anya Tachi," he said. His accent gave everything he said a slight growling sound. "Welcome to the Jedi Enclave at Dantooine. I am Jedi Master Taisun."

Turning to the Chiss and Nautolan Jedi he continued. "It is good to see you in the flesh again." His lips turned up what looked like a snarl. Anya assumed that must be what passed for a smile.

"Hey Nal," Anya called, speaking up for the first time since having left the brig area on the Unity. "You really should keep your kitty cat on a leash. I mean, don't cats like to eat fish?" She chuckled to herself at her own cleverness. Tyr rolled his eyes.

The Jedi ignored her and continued. "It is good to see you too, Mastah Taisun," Nal said, giving the Cathar a bow as was due his station.

Taisun turned to Val. "You look none the worse for the wear my friend."

"The journey was long, but required merely patience," he replied. "Unfortunately, it's not over yet." He shot a glance at the two Sith from the corner of his eye. "But we shall discuss that in our debriefing report."

"Indeed," Taisun said. "For now, please show our guests to their quarters. Once that is done, report to me in the Masters' Chamber."

After a further exchange of bows, Taisun moved off and began speaking with another Jedi. Val indicated for the Sith to follow him and Nal. Their cooperation was prompted by a nudging from the Jedi guard standing behind them.

After passing through several sets of very secure doors, and checking in with the guards posted at each, they arrived in a small corridor with several doors. Nal opened the first one. "Anya, dis will be your room for now, the Nautolan said after she had entered and one of the guards had removed her binders. "Please, don't try anyting stupid. Dis room is nothing but a nicely furnished Universal Energy Cage." Nal stepped out and, after punching in a security code, the door clanged shut.

Val opened the next door and let Tyr in. "What's with the posh jail cell, Blue?"

"We need to make sure you don't escape, and to be sure, you can't, but," he said, "you aren't here to be punished, so there's no need to treat you like you are... unless of course you show us that we need to treat you that way. We do have some more... sparse... cells, if you'd prefer."

"Whatever," Tyr said and watched as the Chiss stepped out and the doors closed behind him.

Damn Jedi, he thought. They want something, but whatever it is, they won't get it from me.

688. One Foot in the Door - Trychon and Raezyr

Representative Maflay laid restlessly in his bed, staring at his ceiling.  His LoDo loft was one of the nicest you could afford without being among the real elite of the economy.  In fact, it was a bit nicer than most could afford on his sort of income.  He had managed to get quite a reasonable rate for his home.  Being in the political arena had treated him well for the past 15 years though.  Well enough in fact, that he made a point of it to try and take as few 'incentives' as possible.

He wasn't perfect... but he was more perfect than most, and he was proud of that.  He looked around his bedroom and smiled.  His loft was perfect for him.  There was a number of interesting artifacts from visiting dignitaries laying about on his authentic Mon Calimari drenchwood cabinets.  On the walls were pictures a number of famous people from this planet and others, including the great Art Vandelay, personally signed for him.

Still, he was a bit anxious.  In the morning, he had a press conference.  A local upstart businessman was about as close to defeating him as anyone had come in his career.  He'd sold off all of his businesses, though he was limited as to how much he could contribute to his own campaign.  Somehow, he'd secured a large donation very recently that was helping push him towards the lead.  He'd had it investigated, but was unable to prove any foul play.

At least, not with the contribution.  His investigators were able to unearth information that was ten times as damaging as any campaign contribution could ever be.  He didn't like playing dirty, but he'd offered this Helwae a way out, and he hadn't heard back.  Rather than leak the information subtly, he was going to address his constituents and be honest about his findings.  It was the right thing to do, regardless of the benefit for himself.

He turned over in his bed and tried to get to sleep.  Nearly an hour later, he could feel himself drifting off, but he suddenly became overwhelmed with an uneasy feeling.  He did his best not to open his eyes, but he found himself tossing and turning in his bed.

He was about to doze off again when a strange rattling startled him.  He opened his eyes and screamed.  Only his throat was shut and he couldn't breath, let alone make any noise.  He clawed at his throat, trying to find release, only to scratch his own neck severely.

At the foot of his bed, stood a three meter tall monster, unlike anything he'd ever seen.  The beast's face was obscured by a demonic looking mask, which let out the deep rattling noise which had awoken him.  The only thing protruding from the apparatus was two very large and sharp looking horns.

As the dark figure's black cloak billowed around his imposing form, Maflay tried to scramble out from under his covers to smash something, do anything to make enough noise to bring help.  He found that it was just as futile, and he was completely rooted in his spot.

Suddenly a wave of sheer and utter horror swept over him and all rational thoughts left his mind. Run! Flee! Escape! Were the only things left. Finally, the beast spoke in a guttural, feral-like voice which brought more terror with each word. "Puny human! I am Sith Lord Vulcanus Tiberius, and you have made an egregious error."

The monster held up a cylindrical tube which suddenly emitted a blood-red beam with a snap-hiss barely audible above the rattling breathing and demonic growls. "Do exactly as I say and I might not devour your soul."

Maflay found the invisible grip on his throat loosened just enough to let out a whisper. "Yes, my Lord," he squeaked as one of his body functions suddenly had a mind of it's own.

687. Like Womprats in a Cage - Raezyr

Nal sat in the room which had been reserved for the Jedi to work out. Her legs were crossed and her large black eyes were closed. The everyday sounds of the ship didn't really reach inside the well insulated room, but the omnipresent thrum of the ship's hyperdrives seemed to keep her from the level of concentration she wanted to reach.

Even before Val had suggested this meditation regimen, she knew it was what she had to do. Too close had she come to falling to the Dark Side. Too close had her emotions come to taking control, emotions that should have been suppressed long ago. She was supposed to be a Jedi Knight, above feelings and emotions... or at least strong ones.

She was also supposed to be above attachments, but Nylan had been her best friend. They had arrived at the Jedi Temple on Coruscant at about the same time and about the same age. As Younglings, they had been in all the same classes together, and had spent all their free time running about the Temple, trying out their fledgling powers to sneak into places that Younglings weren't allowed. Of course, they were caught more often than not and sent back to their rooms, even put on cleaning duties a few times as punishment. As Padawan's they had been on several missions together, their Masters being close as well.

A sense of calm and peacefulness swept over Nal, and she instantly knew that the Chiss Jedi Knight was close by. It was the same sense that always seemed to surround her partner and she envied him for it. She looked up as he entered the door. "How are da prisoners doing?" she asked.

"They're as well as can be expected," he replied, sitting down on the floor across from the Nautolan. "But you shouldn't be concerned with them right now," Val said, changing the subject. "How is your meditation therepy coming along?"

She looked down at the her hands still clasped in front of her and resting in her lap. "Not as well as I'd hoped," she replied. "I keep getting distracted by thoughts and remembrances of the past."

"Which, as you've said, is what got you in trouble in the first place," Val said, finishing her thought.

Nal was silent for a minute. It was comfortable. Peaceful. It was always peaceful when Val was around and she soaked it in. She thought back to just a few days ago and to the rage she felt. She had been reckless and out of control, and powerless to contain it. Nal hated herself for that weakness. Only when Val had showed up had she been able to clamp the flow of anger. She shuddered to think what might have happened had Val not shown up in time.

"How do you do it, Val?" the female Jedi asked. "How do you stay so calm always? How do you make the emotions go away?"

"The Force is a funny thing," he replied. "It surrounds us, and binds us. The Jedi draw their strength from the peace and serenity that it brings. Yet at the same time, a Sith draws it's draws powers from the very same well of energy." Val went on for a while, explaining how each Force user was like a well, themselves and how you had to struggle to guard your well. One single drop of poison in a water well can spoil it for a very long time, and sometimes things that can seem so harmless at first can end up destroying it. He knew these were basic teachings that most padawans knew, but he thought it was probably a good idea to go over them again.

He proceeded to teach her some techniques he liked to use to enhance calm and peacefulness, and in the end he reminded her, "to guard her well diligently."

"Only you know what is dangerous to you, and can pull you down," Val told her. "Sure, I can guess at things. The Jedi Masters can speculate and we may even be right. But in the end, only you know."

686. One Foot in the Door - Trychon

Later that night, the two brothers were walking home after a quick detour for some unusual supplies.

"I feel ridiculous even carrying this bag of junk."  Raezyr grumbled in his favorite intimidating tone.  "I still don't get the point of going to all the extra effort we seem to be going to.  I know you can get rid of any trace of the files from our Suite.  Or from the club, for that matter.  That would discredit any hard copy he may have, and make it seem like a forgery."

"Indeed."  His older brother admitted.  "But sometimes it's important to pass on lessons."

"Don't tumble with the Sith?  I think most people know that, Trych."

"No... you need to learn that while politics may seem boring... and maybe it is... controlling politicians can be fun."

Raezyr resisted the strong urge to strike his sibling, due to the fact that they were entering their large 'home' and they were too easily noticed there.  The conversation was over for the moment.  Even using vague terms, they had to be careful what they discussed in open.  In the streets, they were two random guys still.  Inside the hotel they recently purchased, they were supposed to be two dumb miners who got lucky and struck it rich.  The workers would raise some eyebrows if they weren't careful.

They headed up to their large suite and talked things over a little more.  Raezyr couldn't help but chuckle when the whole thing was laid out.  He still resented the political nature of it, but he agreed that it was inevitable.

Trychon stole away to his room to do homework on the building they'd be headed to the next night as well as the various systems in place.  His younger brother also went to his own room, but instead to meditate on a skill he'd been shown to hide his scar.

He sat on his bed with his legs crossed.  His new artificial leg felt all at once normal and unnatural.  The droid lover a few rooms over would tell him it was in his head, but it was an annoyance and a distraction.  He did his best to clear his mind and focus on projecting a mental image.  Only now, he was working on something larger than he'd ever done before in changing his scar, quite literally.  He needed to make himself appear larger and also exude pure fear.

Hours later, and right on cue, Trychon knocked on his door.  Done with his 'homework', he had a plan to test out Raezyr's progress.  He led them into the den, lined up several ales, and then grabbed a few more to line up.

"Ok.  I'm going to get real drunk like and not control it so I can try to imitate a weaker mind."  He grinned.  "That'll help me be able to see your progress more clearly.  How's that sound?"

"Like an excuse to get real drunk and not control it."

There was no answer, just the sound of an ale being gulped mercilessly, directly from the bottle.  A second bottle followed, then Trychon sat on their couch and signaled for him to start while he opened a third.

------------------

Hours later, both Sith were hysterically laughing at some of the 'modifications' they were able to make to Raezyr's appearance.  They had long ago decided that he had in fact increased his mastery of the skill enough to follow through with their plan, and had since resorted to entertaining themselves with the skill, with continued drinking.

From the corner of the room, HK-51 stepped forward.  "You are receiving a transmission from Mr. Helwae."  When they were all in the suite like this, the droid served as their main computer interface.

Trychon pointed for his younger brother to take it as he stepped out of the camera's view.

Raezyr frowned and stood up.  "Put it through to the vidscreen, Huck."

The image of the larger than life political hopeful sprung up.  His eyes were squinted and his hair indicated that he had just rolled out of his bed.  He was certainly worse for the wear, but there was also a look of concern hidden behind his eyes.  "Mr. Vandelay.  Good to see you this morning." His voice rang true as though he had just woken up from a healthy ten hours of rest after a day of reading.  He was clearly in control even when he wasn't feeling well.  "Glad to see I caught you while you were still in.  I was calling to thank you again for meeting up with me so I could thank you properly last night." 

"Call me Raezyr, Zhan.  If you insist, so do we."  He let his words come out a little rougher, trying to show that they were still recovering, even though they'd sobered up a number of times during the night and barely noticed that they hadn't slept.

"Fair enough, Raezyr.  Listen... I also wanted to reach you and check in... make sure you didn't misunderstand me at all.  I may have said some stuff hastily that I shouldn't have.  It's not just that though... I trust you guys to keep things to yourselves under such circumstances.  I am a great judge of character, and I know you boys are great guys."

"Um... you too?"  Raezyr shrugged, unsure what else to say at that point.

"Thing is, I think I may have given the impression that I needed help with something, or asked you guys to do something for me.  I don't need you to do anything... rash."

A light went on in Raezyr's head.  He hid the recognition, but it was pretty obvious why Helwae was calling.  He was having hangover remorse, and was worried that they were going to put a hit on his opponent.  That would be potentially worse than the news he'd shared coming out.  He needed to find a more subtle way to deal with it, or accept his consequences.  He underestimated the Sith... which was understandable since he didn't have the slightest clue that they were in fact Sith.

"To be perfectly frank, Zhan.... I uh... Don't really remember... much of anything.  I know we had a good time.  That's about all.  Any idea how long of a sanisteam I should take?"

Helwae's posture straightened almost immediately and his eyes brightened.  He held himself well even before, and most wouldn't have noticed.  Raezyr could see the difference in composure like it was a newstream feed running across the bottom of the transmission though.

"Well, I'm sorry to hear that you don't remember our night, it was a good one to be sure.  I am glad though that I didn't give you the wrong impression.  What about Mr. Alu... er... Trychon?  Is he around?"

Raezyr pointed off to the side.  "He's not up yet.  I can tell you though that if it weren't for me, he wouldn't remember to come home, or even what planet we were on, after drinking like that.   He's horrible."

A smile of understanding covered what was certainly more relief.  "Well, we'll have to do it again sometime so you can remember, maybe a little more carefully or private.  When Trychon wakes up, give him my best.  If he does remember anything... funny... just have him call me and I'll clear it up."

With that, the transmission ended.

From the couch, Trychon clapped.  "Bravo, brother.  Bravo."

685. Like Womprats in a Cage - Raezyr

"Are you going to ignore me forever?" Anya asked. Both she and Tyr were held in Universal Energy Cages set up inside a large room in the brig on board the Republic Hammerhead-class cruiser, Unity. The cages were designed specifically to hold Force users and reflect their Force powers back toward them two-fold. It allowed non-Force using members of the crew to attend to their two Sith prisoners. Two other empty cages sat in the same room as well. Apparently they had anticipated up to four prisoners at once. It was a telling fact as a single cage was built and installed at enormous cost.

Tyr was in no mood to talk. He hadn't been in the mood since coming to in the ship's prison two days ago despite all of Anya Tachi's attempts at conversation. He couldn't so soon forget the thrall in which she had held him for so long. He looked back on that time in sheer awe. He could vividly remember her acting the task master and him complying so completely, no matter how poorly she had treated him.

If only he had had his wits about him sooner. He never would have left Trychon and Raezyr behind. What a fool he had been to let her convince him he was in charge. In retrospect, his Sith training had nearly stalled while his fellow Sith apprentices' had clearly advanced well beyond his own level. Had they stayed, his own mastery of the Dark Side would be just as competent as theirs, and maybe he would have stood a chance against that damnable blue Jedi.

The more Tyr thought back though, the more he began to realize that it had been Trychon who had sent Anya and him away in the first place. Could it have been possible that it was their plan all along to hoard the training to themselves and thus subjugate Anya and himself? No, the two Sith had sought them out, called them back and had initiated the plans to bring their training up to speed and fill them in on the things they had missed. But still... they were Sith.

He dismissed the idea finally. Sith or not, they were friends and two of the few people he knew he could trust with his life. No, this whole mess was Anya's fault. Her and that psychotic ego of hers. And his fault too. He had failed to keep his guard up and got caught up in the fun and the passion. It suddenly dawned on him why the Jedi so abhorred emotions. They were dangerous. He'd just make sure he stayed in control of them next time.

Tyr flexed his hand and looked down at the temporary prosthesis. It was like a big clumsy metal gauntlet enveloping his entire hand. Sure, it replaced his non-existent thumb, but it was so unwieldy that his hand was barely useful anyway. He glanced over at Anya and the similar field prosthetic she had on her hand and wondered just exactly what she was missing. He hoped it had been extremely painful.

Anya Tachi saw Tyr looking over at her. "Hey, we have to start trying to figure a way out of here," she said. "Next time a guard comes in, try using a push or something."

It was too much for Tyr. "Hu che hou zi de pi gu," he said with a snarl. "I'm not your slave anymore."

Anya looked indignant. "No need to get testy," she replied. After a moment she added, "Apparently your two days of silence turned you into a potty mouth."

All Tyr wanted to do was to shut her up and hurt her at the same time. "I'm sure you were called worse back in your Corellian whore house."

The blonde Sith's pale face went red, then turned white. She opened her mouth to say something but Tyr interrupted.

"Shut up and listen to me for once!" he screamed. "We've been doing this your way for a long time and all it's gotten us is an energy cage and a metal glove. Well, we are going to get out of here, but we're going to do it my way. I don't know where they're taking us, but when we get there, we'll figure something out, but for now: SHUT UP!"

"Dantooine," said a voice from the door. Both of the Sith apprentice's heads snapped around. During the yelling, they hadn't heard the door to their cage chamber swoosh open. The big Chiss Jedi took a step into the room and the door closed behind him with a slight clang. "We're headed for Dantooine, at the moment," he said.

"Now that no one is trying to kill anyone, I thought I'd come in and see how you both are doing," he said as he walked toward the cages. "My name is Val, by the way. I don't think we've ever been introduced."

"I don't care what your name is, you blue freak," Anya said vehemently. "When I get out of here, I'm going to kill you, you know that, right?"

"I'd sure hate for that to happen, Anya," Val replied. "Personally, I'd love to see you join me on the Light Side of the Force."

"No," she replied in a low menacing voice. "I'll never join you."

"Well, if you won't turn to the light, then maybe he will," Val said, indicating Tyr.

"My father was a Jedi Knight," Tyr said coldly. "I slew him with his own lightsaber."

"Yes... I know. It was a sad day for the Order. I met Jaron before he died. He was a good Jedi, and he loved you very much, or so I'm told," Val said.

Tyr's face twisted. "That's a damn dirty lie."

"I'll admit that's possible," Val said, completely unphased. "Regardless, there are some people who would very much like to speak to you on that subject when we get to Dantooine."

Val turned and headed toward the door. He paused before leaving. "I do hope you both change your minds about joining us. I can imagine those cages are quite inhibiting. I know I'd hate to be stuck in one for a long period of time." He closed the door behind him without waiting for a response.

684. One Foot in the Door - Trychon and Raezyr

Trychon looked over at his brother, who kept fussing with the leg of his trousers. "It looks fine. No one is going to notice that you're a droid... that is unless you don't stop messing with it."

"Shut up, Trych," he said under his breath."I'm just glad I have a droid lover for a brother."

Trychon was about to retort when they noticed the tall blonde human walking toward them. He approached the table and stuck his hand out in greeting. "Alucard, Vandelay, Great to see you two, boys!"

Trychon stood and returned the handshake. "It's good to see you again as well, Mr. Helwae."

Helwae sat down and ordered a drink from the waitress who had appeared. "And whatever these gents want is on my tab," he told her.

Once the waitress had brought their order Raezyr spoke up. "Frankly, Mr. Helwae..."

"Zhan," the older man corrected. "You guys call me Zhan."

"Very well," Raezyr said, continuing. "Zhan, we're a bit surprised that one, you knew we were back on planet, and two, invited us out."

Trychon shot his brother a worried glance. The candidate sitting across from them could be a huge contact if he were to win his election, and it wouldn't be prudent to offend the man.

"That's what I like about you boys," Helwae said with a chuckle. "Get boring old business out of the way so we can get down to the fun."

He took a long pull from his glass before he answered the questions. "I've had my people watching out for you to return. Your generous donation to my campaign is almost single-handedly responsible for putting me in the lead. I'm way ahead in all the polls right now, and this is just a small token of my appreciation for you boys."

Helwae turned his attention to an alluring set of identical twin blue Twi'leki dancers who had approached their table. "Ah, this evening's entertainment has arrived," he said. "Dell and Frell Vanna. The two most beautiful dancers in this sector. Normally they're booked well in advance, but their owner is a personal friend of mine and I pulled some strings," Helwae said with a wink.

The drinks flowed freely for most of the evening and all three men enjoyed the the down time as well as the entertainment. The Vanna twins were indeed quite popular as attested by the fact that many other patrons, many of whom where unknown to Helwae, Trychon or Raezyr, attempted to join them; They were all turned away.

Eventually, the manager had to call in a Gamorrean bouncer to keep the other patrons at bay. The guard and famous dancers drew a lot of attention their way, and both Trychon and Raezyr were glad for the dark recesses of the alcove where their table was located, keeping the other customers from being able to recognize who was sitting there.

One of the tricks the two Sith had learned was to use the Force to process the alcohol in their system faster when they wanted to, allowing them to sober up very quickly, or to maintain a comfortable level of inebriation, no matter how many beverages they consumed. They found it amusing that Helwae was attempting to keep up with them, and they soon found out just how handy the ability could be.

The Sith allowed Helwae to do most of the talking, and the political candidate was happy to oblige. The drunker he became, the more freely he talked. "I love you guys... you know that?" Helwae told them.

"We're pretty fond of you as well, Zhan," Trychon replied. He figured it was better to go along than to remind him that they barely knew each other.

Helwae continued, barely noticing that Trychon had said anything at all. "It's just too bad this whole frackin' thing is gonna come to a crashing halt, ya know?"

"What 'whole thing?'" Raezyr asked, intrigued by the vague comment. Both brothers could tell there had been some underlying issue that was worrying Helwae and they figured they were about to find out what it might be.

"A'right... I'm gonna tell you guys a secret. My campaign manager tol' me not to say anything to anyone, but I love you guys.. you guys are my guys, ya know?" He leaned closely over the table before continuing. "When I was you guys's age... I killed some people."

"Things happen, and that was a long time ago," Trychon noted.

"No, no, no, man," Helwae said. "I crashed a speeder and killed the girl that was with me and two people in another speeder."

"Like I said, accidents happen and..." Trychon began, but was interrupted.

"You don't understan'... I was drunk, guys," Helwae explained. "An' I thought it was gone. Disappeared. My dad, who owned the brewery you guys bought from me at that time, paid off the families of those who died, and then a few well placed bribes... and 'Poof!' The whole incident... gone."

"So, no problem, right?" Raezyr asked. "Even if someone talks now, there's no proof, right?"

"Tha's jus' it," Helwae went on. "The incumbent for the Senate seat I'm running for somehow came up with th' case file. He knows everything and has judicial reports to back it all up. He contacted me yesterday and tol' me I have three days to withdraw from the race or he goes public." Helwae banged his forehead on the table in frustration.

During the time the candidate had been relating his story, Trychon had sobered up and quickly formulated a plan. "Zhan, what if I told you that my business partner and I could make this whole thing go away again? It can go away, and you would be completely unconnected to it's disappearance. What would you say?"

"How?" the older statesman asked.

"We have many contacts in all levels of society," Trychon explained. "Let's just leave it at that."

Helwae was ecstatic, and the rest of the evening kept thanking them profusely and telling them how much he loved them.

Later on their way back to the Farrian Arms, Raezyr turned to his brother. "Why the Hell did you get us mixed up in some political entanglement? I hate politics."

"Raez, like it or not, with power comes politics and vise versa.  We're just scratching the surface of our eventual influence now... but that doesn't mean we can't get a foot up when the opportunity arises."

"Fine.  That doesn't mean I have to like it though."

"No.  No it doesn't, brother.  You may be surprised though."  Trychon turned and smiled at his brother, a little extra bounce in his step.

683. One Foot in the Door - Raezyr

Raezyr sat up and patched into the encrypted link his brother had set up so they could make contact with Dianna at the King's Lair hideout back on Hoth. It took several moments and finally he got through to some underling he'd never seen before. She was a human female about his own age who was nice enough, but clearly had no idea who he was. Despite giving all the correct passwords, she politely refused to provide any details.

"You do realize this is a private and secure channel, correct?" he asked the girl on the other end.

"Yes sir, but Captain Kingsdoom is still not available at this time," she replied.

"You might not be aware of this, but I'm a pretty big deal around here," he stated, getting a bit frustrated. "What's your name?"

"I'm Rhox Vegah, sir."

"Rhox, I'm going to need you to go get Dek, or Teera or someone who knows me," Raezyr said finally.

She agreed to do so and a few minutes later Dek's voice came on the line. "Hey Raez! How are you guys?"

"Been better, Dek... where's Dianna? The 'eff-en-gee' won't say anything other than she's 'unavailable,'" Raezyr said.

"Yeah, sorry about that. Captain Di is likely to be gone for a couple weeks and since you and Trych have been gone a while, I guess we forgot to fill her in. She's good people though," the young slicer explained. He went on to let the Sith know that Dianna was on an important job and even Dek didn't know where she had gone.

Raezyr left a message for his lover with Dek, explaining that they were alive but that they'd be tied up for a few more days. He purposely left the message vague. No need to go into unnecessary details.

The procedure at the hospital only took a few hours. They were quite shocked when he refused to be put under and instead, insisted on only a local anesthetic.

"Mr. Vandelay... you realize we're cutting your leg off, correct?" they had asked. In reply he told them to shut up and get it over with. He didn't feel it was prudent to explain that due to his wanted status within the Core Systems and Hutt bounties on his head that he wasn't taking the chance of being unconscious in strange place without his Sith brother looking out for him.

Finally the med droid that was completing the testing informed him he could leave. He looked down at his new leg and the raw, jagged line above his knee where the original leg ended and the new one began. He had to admit that it felt pretty normal, despite the shiny metal composite which now took the place of flesh.

For some reason he thought of that night back on Coruscant and the Nautolan Jedi who's leg he had cut off. He wondered what kind of a leg hers was. He dismissed the thoughts and finished getting dressed and headed back to the Farrian Arms.

Aitchkay met him in the private bay as he climbed out of the air speeder. "Greeting: Hello, Master. I hope the procedure went well."

Raezyr had a feeling the HK-51 droid was there for other purposes than to just say, 'hello,' and decided to cut to the chase. "What do you need, Huck?" he asked, continuing past the droid without stopping.

Aitchkay turned and fell in step with the Sith. "Master Trychon requested I inform you of an invitation extended to you from Zhan Helwae to join him at Club Sky for drinks."

"Zhan Helwae? That guy we bought the brewery from? The one running for some political office?" Raezyr asked, trying to remember just who the guy was.

"You are correct, Master."

"And just what was Trych's reply to the invitation?"

"He replied in the affirmative, I believe," the droid stated.

The big man shook his head and sighed. "No rest for the wicked, I guess."

The gun-metal gray droid spoke up. "That is incorrect. Master Trychon had quite a long nap while you were in the hospital."

Raezyr sighed. "Figures."

682. Earning Their Title - Raezyr

"Being sorry for one's actions doesn't negate the consequences," Raezyr was saying as he and his brother sat down in the galley slash dining area on board the Twilight Stalker. They had left Meisos a few days ago and both brothers had spent some time under bacta therapy to give their bodies a boost in the healing process. They'd most likely have to spend some more time in the tanks, and Raezyr would need surgery to replace his destroyed knee joint, but at the moment, neither sibling felt like sitting around in the cramped tank in the med-bay.

"Oh, I completely agree," Trychon responded. "If we were to land on Coruscant right now and apologize for that incident last year (although it wasn't our fault to begin with), we'd still be arrested and sent to prison no matter how sorry we were." He reached over into the miniature refrigerator next to their table and pulled out two ales, handing one to his brother.

"It doesn't matter how sorry you are afterward. If you jump off a cliff, you'll still hit the bottom," Raezyr agreed.

Both Sith sat in silence for several moments, reflecting on their stay on Meisos. Finally Trychon cracked open his brew. "This is for Schyrt and Reed," he said.

"I'll drink to that," replied the younger sibling, and both down long pulls from their respective containers. They began reminiscing about their two assistants, and quickly realized that despite the amount of time they had spent with the two men, they really knew very little about them. They quickly grew silent again, not sure of what else to say.

Finally Raezyr interrupted the awkwardness. "Non sequitur here, but bringing up the incident on Coruscant reminded me of something: Do you realize that this is the first time you and I have wreaked this much havoc in one place since then?"

Trychon chuckled. "And this time we didn't need some elusive 'Master' to tell us to do it."

They discussed Lord Eiron for a few minutes, deciding what to do about the crystal they had acquired. As far as they could tell, their 'Master' hadn't left any instructions on what to do with it. In the end they decided two things: 1. They'd keep the crystal safe for now, and decide what to do if and when Eiron ever contacted them again, and 2. Having faced and defeated a pure blooded Sith Lord, they were pretty sure that not did they not need a master anymore, but that they had finally earned the right to use the traditional Sith title of "Darth," if they so chose.

"Darth Raezyr has a nice ring to it," Trychon noted grinning as he opened another ale.

"As does Darth Trychon," the younger sibling noted, catching the ale that was tossed his way. "And I know I've used the title in the past, but it always felt fake somehow. Hollow."

"You know... the title I want to hear next to my name is 'Lord.' Lord Trychon sounds nice, if you ask me," he said, his usual smile on his face.

"Don't get too big of a head, Trych, or someone will be likely to try and knock it off your shoulders," Raezyr warned as he reached across the table, taking a playful swipe at Trychon's head, which was easily blocked.

"Watch it, or you're likely to lose a hand," Trychon chuckled.

"That's alright, I'll just have them replace it at the same time they replace my leg," Raezyr said smugly.

"Speaking of," the older brother began. "Are you wanting to stay on Den Var long enough to get that done now? Or are you planning on taking care of that later?"

Raezyr noticed his brother's disapproving look at the second question and chuckled. After what happened last time he let his pride get in the way and ignored the injury, he couldn't blame Trychon. Of course, the difference this time was that he couldn't hardly stand on it without some sort of external assistance and walking was completely out of the question. Sure, he could wrap it and brace it, but that made him just that much less mobile. As much as he hated the thought of cybernetic parts in his body, he didn't see much choice.

"Yeah, I'll get it done there. We need to pick up Aitchkay and check on our interests there," Raezyr concluded. "And we might as well see about hiring some more assistants. Not that they'd ever be able to adequately replace Schyrt and Reed. Those guys had some unique abilities."

"Indeed," Trychon said.

Over the next several days the Sith Warriors spent more time under bacta therapy as well as studying their holocrons and Sith tomes, until they finally reached their destination. Getting clearance to land a ship the size of the Stalker on Den Var was next to impossible without needing repairs, and since it used massive amounts of fuel anyway, they hired a shuttle to come and pick them up, leaving the big capital ship in orbit around the planet.

Before the shuttle arrived, they made sure to inform the Farrian Arms that the hired ship would be dropping them off in the private shuttle bay near the top of the building to ensure they'd already be cleared to land.

An hour later, after getting the report of success regarding Aitchkay's mission, Raezyr flopped down on the big, luxurious bed in his room. He was nearly asleep when his com buzzed. "Yeah?" he said, answering it sleepily.

"I made the appointment for your knee," Trychon's voice said. "Mr. Raez Vandelay's appointment is in two hours."

Silence answered him.

"Raez?"

"I had forgotten about those stupid names," Raezyr answered finally. "I hate you, Trych... I really do."