"How long have I been unconscious?" Casarius asked. "At this time, eight hours thirty-four minutes my Lord." The droid began changing the healing gels on the Sith's face.
"How do you feel?" Iwelith caught herself. "Master" she added. Iwelith was looking at the medical readouts, it was part of her attempt to avoid eye contact with the Sith. Odd that she still thought of him as "the Sith" when she had also begun addressing him as Master, she thought.
"2V-R8 attend me." Casarius worked to prop himself up on one arm. He tested the med droids work on his wounded arm, and was gratified with the results. 2V-R8 entered the room as quickly as the protocol droid could manage. "Yes Master, I am gratified to see you awake. I was not looking forward to serving anyone else." Casarius cut him off. "Bring me the data pad marked XR424-V, quickly." 2V-R8 ran out of the med bay without comment.
"Iwelith the data pad is for you. Please read it as quickly as you can." Casarius lay back down. 2V-R8 waddled back into the room with the data pad in hand. Casarius motioned for him to give it to Iwelith, which he did.
Iwelith gave it a cursory review. "This looks like a history, or personal journal?" she continued to review it, but did not look up. "Yes it is mine; it will furnish you with a detailed account of what I have been." Iwelith looked up, meeting his gaze for the first time since she attacked him.
"Why? If you will forgive my asking, Master?" she asked. Casarius searched her eyes.
"You have taken your first step onto a new path, but before you can fully commit, you must understand." He was interrupted by a rack of coughing. The med droid administered medication, and watched readouts on a number of medical terminals.
"I will not touch the force until you fully appreciate who I have been, and what I have done. Hopefully you will also come to appreciate what it has taken for me to change, as you have now done. If not, I will be in no shape to stop you from finishing what you started out in the jungle." Iwelith could sense his pain, she was still not sure if he was holding the force, she did not truly care, but she was not going to admit that to him, yet.
"I will read quickly, Master." Iwelith gave him a thin smile. Casarius closed his eyes again.
Four hours later, Iwelith finished the journal and found herself shaking. Her new Master was not just Sith, but an inquisitor, who had spent years torturing and breaking the most hardened enemies of the Sith. He had been born a human slave, was trained on Korriban, and rose within Sith ranks, over a number of years. Casarius had provided a detailed list of what could only be called atrocities.
Iwelith had watched the first few torture recordings and skipped the rest. The volume of material required that she use the force to speed through it. Using the force to read, or review information, had the normally beneficial effect of locking it into one's memory, certainly a negative, in this case.
"Master, I have finished reading your journal." Iwelith felt that he was awake, his eyes both opened at the sound of her voice. He put out his hand and Iwelith placed the data pad in it. Casarius tapped at the main screen and the device beeped, flashed and began to smoke. He opened his hand the data pad floated over to the recycle bin, collapsing into a broken mess of metal before it dropped into place. Clearly Casarius had taken hold of the force. He sat up and ordered the droid to remove the bandages.
"My lord you are not fully healed yet, I cannot guarantee." Casarius raised a hand and the droid stopped talking. Casarius smiled at Iwelith.
"You now know who I am, and what I have been. What have you to say?" Iwelith stood next to the medical bed. She looked into his eyes for a moment, as if taking stock, putting together all that she had read, and what she saw in this man's eyes.
"The only thing that has changed is my understanding of the words evil, and Sith." Iwelith paused for a moment, to reign in her fear. He did not react to her comments. "You have been true to your word, and I have done you more harm than you have me." She broke eye contact for a moment.
'There is a part of me that understands that you are capable of manipulation at a level I did not think possible. Am I a dupe? An experiment in manipulation?' Iwelith's thoughts begged for voice, but she gave them none.
"You laid out a path before me that I did not want to see. I was afraid, there is a part of me that is still afraid. But, when I look inside, when I search your words, my feelings..." Iwelith stepped back from Casarius, he could see her internal struggle, but he remained silent.
"...Each time the answer is the same. You are right, there has to be another way, a path that does not involve a never ending battle between Jedi and Sith." Iwelith knelt before Casarius and offered him her lightsaber. "A path that does not include another thousand years of needless bloodshed. I want to walk on that path, Master."
Casarius swung his legs off the med bed and turned to face Iwelith. He grabbed her gently by the shoulders, and pulled her to her feet. Iwelith was slow to meet his eyes, somewhere she was afraid that she would see glowing eyes filled with evil satisfaction staring back at her. She was caught off guard when she saw pride instead.