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"Did you find anything useful?" Grand Lord Skywalker asked the guard.
"No my lord. The Jedi revealed nothing. They chose to die rather than talk. This is the only one left." The guard in question was a Sith Saber.
Through the prison window, a young woman knelt in the grim and filth of the prison floor. Her eyes were close and a serene expression held on her dirt covered face. The chains that were meant to hold her wrists and ankles rested slack on the floor.
The Sith Lord brought a hand up in longing and touched the window.
Vestara.
He hadn't seen her in years.
Not since, before his turning.
"A Jedi." He choked, fighting back a wave of pain and surprise. If the Saber noticed the tremor in his voice, he did not acknowledge it.
"Yes my lord. It seems this one was once one of our own. She was an apprentice to Lady Rhea. Her last known whereabouts were dated back seventeen years ago to an unnamed planet within the Maw. Vestara Khai." The guard inserted with visible distaste.
"The Jedi took her back with them." Grand Lord Skywalker stated with contempt. How ironic, he and Vestera, were what the other once desired and now despised.
They took her back and left him. How could his father do such a thing? To take with him a mere Sith apprentice with no ties to him, and leave his own flesh an blood behind at the mercies of the Sith?
"She looks harmless, but she's a savage. No matter how many times we re-shackle her, she somehow manages to free herself. If security matters were improved, she would not pose such a threat." The Saber commented.
"If security matters were improved, she would be treated as any other prisoner and most likely be dead by now. Just like the rest of the Jedi captured." Grand Lord Skywalker commented coldly. His icy blue eyes turned on the Saber. There was barely contained hatred in his eyes. They promised death.
"You are dismissed. Return your light saber to my attendant on your way out. I am rejecting your title as a Sith Saber. I will not have my orders questioned. Be thankful that I have decided to show you mercy." The Sith Saber shuddered at the Grand Lords words.
Bowing quickly, he left to comply.
Seeing that he was alone, the Sith punched in a security code that deactivated the lock on the door and opened it. Stepping inside, he wrinkled his nose from the assaulting smell of sweat and body waste. The cell was lit very poorly, intended to add terror to the prisoners. The dirt floor was covered in blood and waste.
Coming from behind, he had a chance to study the prisoner.
Vestara.
How he had missed her. He thought of her every moment back in the days of his torture at High Lord Taalon's hands. The days when he had still been a Jedi himself. Before his pain and torment betrayed him. He had hoped and prayed that someone, his father or at least some Jedi would come, rescue him. But when they didn't and the High Lord had shattered every last hope within him, he had thought of her.
Taalon exploited his desire and passion.
Surly, he would see Vestara again. He knew she had liked him.
A brief image of them kissing as teenagers aboard the Jade Shadow fluttered across his mind.
That image kept him going in his darkest moments. After he turned all he could think about was her. The power meant nothing without her. When he had found out it was all for nothing he had been devastated. She was presumed dead and there was no chance of being with her. But it was too late and he could not turn back.
Anger surged up inside him. It seemed he wasn't the only one twisted and reshapen.
Walking around her, Ben fought the urge to touch her hair. The dark locks were pulled back in a low ponytail that cascaded down her back. Despite her poor treatment, the black locks were still shiny and healthy.
She was clad in the remnants of what used to be Jedi robes. They now resembled rags.
Her face was looked terrible. Ben noticed immediately that the Sith tattoo above her left eye had been surgically removed. All that remained was a scar. Her once high cheek bones were wane and thin from hunger. Dark circles hung under her eyes from sleep deprivation. Her skin was chalky and covered in dirt. Her lip was bleeding and a an ugly bruise was forming over her left eye and cheek.
They had beaten her.
New rage built up in him.
"Don't be angry. I am prisoner. All things considered, I've been treated well." She commented, as if reading his mind. Ben closed his eyes.
Her voice was the same.
Ben swallowed thickly, trying to remember what his purpose was in coming to her.
"There was a small team of Jedi that you consisted of that landed here on Kesh." He began. His back was stiff. Vestara looked at him calmly. Her eyes were beautiful.
"What mission did they have?" If his memory had served right, there had been fourteen of them. They couldn't possibly have wanted to take on the entire Sith race. The Jedi team would have been wiped out. It was suicidal to even come to a planet populated with their enemy.
"What was their purpose here?" He asked kneeling down so that he was face to face with her. She looked at him in earnest.
"To come rescue you." She told him tenderly.
Ben staggered back, almost falling over in his haste to get away from her. He brought his mental shields up, using his hatred to keep his hope at bay.
"Don't lie to me." He bit out. He had to turn his back to her to keep her from seeing his weakness.
"I'm not-" She began only to be harshly interrupted.
"Don't lie to me." He told her icily, turning around to meet her eyes. Vestara held his gaze refusing to look away.
"It's been over fifteen years. If my father, no, if the Jedi wanted to rescue me they would have done it sooner." He told her, composing himself.
He sensed Vestara trying to reach out mentally to him but her touch only found a mental steel wall of defense.
"Ben listen, there was war. Do you remember Natasi Daala?"
"The Galatic Alliance Chief of State." He told her automatically. Vestara nodded in earnest, using what little strength she had to stand. Ben fought the urge to help her.
"The Jedi were driven out. She hired commandos to wipe out us out. We've been fighting for our lives. Resources are limited. We've only juts begun to recover." She tried to explain.
"Your father never gave up on you."
"Then why didn't he come?" He shouted suddenly. Vestara went still.
"I can sense that you've closed your mind to me. There's no point in explaining further. You won't listen to me. No matter what I say." She told him sadly.
Ben closed his eyes, calling on the force to give him control.
He opened his eyes in shock when he felt her run her hand over his cheek.
"Ben, come back with me. I can sense there's still good in you. It's not too late. I can save you." She told him softly.
Ben smiled at the irony.
"No you can't. It's too late for that. But I can save you." He told her gently. Leaning down, he gripped her chin. He felt her tremble beneath him when he his lips touched hers.
"I've waited so long for you to return. Your family has missed you a great deal. Renounce the Jedi ways and take your place at my side." He ordered. Vestara looked away. Ben felt her shame and longing before her shields pushed him out.
"You have the information you came for. I am of no further use. Soon the Sith will have me put to death." She told him, resolved.
Ben felt his anger rise again.
She would rather be put to death than be with him.
"I was hoping that you would agree to be mine, but it looks like you need another day to think about it." He told her. The door opened and without another word he left. His temper was dangerously close to consuming him. He had to leave before he did something he would regret.