One week had passed since Cal and Kara were imprisoned on Mustafar, one week since Darth Vader had them within the grasp of his proverbial palm, to shape them into Imperial Inquisitors. Something Cal feared, and Kara soon came to understand is that the Imperial Outpost stationed on Mustafar was a hidden base. A facility used to train Force Sensitive beings into the ways of the Dark Side.
Much in the same way as the Sith Academies once were on Korriban during the Jedi Civil War, the learning curriculum on Mustafar was much similar in structure. Students were encouraged to study, to learn the skills necessary to survive and then putting them to the test in battle. The spoils and pleasures of their victory coming from those who are the most cunning, the most powerful or the most intelligent.
Whoever reigned supreme would be the one truly worthy of serving the Galactic Empire and Emperor Palpatine.
However one crucial deviation from the education of Inquisitors rather than the traditional Sith from the days of old was how Inquisitors were deprived of the bastion of the Sith history which lay buried on the Ancient Sith Homeworld of Korriban and on Coruscaunt within Emperor Palpatine's domain, intentionally done to prevent the downfall of his Empire by means of an internal power struggle culminating in the implosion of the Empire from within.
Much easier to keep the Hopefuls in the dark that way. Hopeful in this case being an ancient term used to describe Sith initiates, not once deluding them into thinking that they are in fact true Dark Lords of the Sith just yet. Only when they had risen above their peers would they truly earn the title befitting of a Sith Lord.
And Kara and Cal were forced to be indoctrinated within this institution.
Only adding to their dramas was one major problem that they had feared more than anything else in the galaxy.
They had to wear... UNIFORMS!
A shock to Kara to be certain, the girl having lived her life in the nude for so long being forced to wear clothes again made her immediately reject the idea, desperately pleading Phara to change her mind and let her walk around naked.
But unfortunately for her, Phara was having none of Kara's insolence despite her attempts to chew and tear off her clothing to be free and naked again.
"RAAAAARGH! Lemme go! I want outta this stupid thing!" Kara growled, pulling at her clothes, so desperate to get out of them, finding them too tight on her body only to further suffer their constriction by Phara who kept her hands docile by keeping them away from her Imperial Uniform.
"Well not here Kara" Phara scolded, her tone of voice stern about the self proclaimed 'Wookie' girl's incessant whining about her current attire.
"I wanna go back to being naked" Kara stated grumpily, pouting with her arms folded while she sat on the ground of her and Cal's living Quarters childishly.
Phara let a small smile form across her face as she gave the girl a light sigh.
"You know you're surprisingly cute, Kara" Phara remarked, lightening the younger girl's spirit despite Kara still not in total agreement of wearing clothes.
Phara proceeded to escort them into a classroom, the walls adorned with Sith teachings, the code from which all Sith derived their values and creed, alongside many other facets which would prove useful to them in accumulating the knowledge essential to their survival as an Inquisitor of the Empire and an agent of the Dark Side.
Even just seeing this place again had Cal shivering in discomfort, overwhelmed by painful memories of what had transpired here over ten years ago, recalling the exact moment that made him decide to run and never look back.
Embracing her role as his older sister, Phara gently placed her hand on Cal's shoulder, trying to reassure her little brother that everything would be okay. He appreciated her gesture but found that his inner turmoil would be any less potent, instead deciding upon putting on a brace face in front of his personal adversity, steeling his nerves as he prepared to face his inner demons once more as he re-entered the place which he had turned away from so long ago.
Upon taking their first steps into the Classroom, Cal had taken notice of many other Sith Hopefuls within the room, each of them giving him a bad feeling about their circumstances as he once again remembered the ruthless hostility of the students being particularly unforgiving when it came to a dog-eat-dog atmosphere contextualized by their desire to become an Imperial Inquisitor.
Kara meanwhile, looked around the room with wide eyed curiosity, still tugging at her clothes with the innate desire to be free and nude again. However she was finding the encapsulating darkness surrounding herself and Cal unsettling, so very unsure of what she was feeling whether it was simply a bad feeling, or perhaps something regarding the Force giving her precognitive warning signs about the ill-intent of the other Hopefuls.
Regardless of such, as Cal and Kara began taking their seats, the lesson soon began.
"Good morning class" Phara chimed, her voice unusually chipper upon greeting a class filled with Dark Side initiates who would sooner kill somebody with such chirpy inflections to their voice than obey their commands. However they had returned their greetings to Phara, seemingly assuming the role as a teacher, perhaps a result of Vader believing that her experience would be better able to educate the Students in a way where other Imperial Instructors could not.
"Today we have two new students. Kara and Cal" Phara spoke, directing attention to the two newcomers, Cal wincing as he found all the attention drawn onto himself and Kara, wondering whether or not this was intentionally done as a means of painting a target on their back by his older sister to get the other hopefuls to screw them over in some way or another.
"Say hello Cal" Phara added, her sly tone outright confirming her intent to the Pyso boy as he saw the cheeky grin on her face smirking as she exploited the opportunity to embarrass her baby brother in front of an entire class of people.
Understandably so, Cal didn't dignify his sister's remark with a response.
"Okay... Moving on" Phara stated after a pregnant pause had occurred during Cal's silence, the boy breathing a sigh of relief as Phara mercifully moved onto talking about Galactic History, recounting a rather biased depiction of The Clone Wars in how the Jedi had betrayed the Galactic Republic, plotting to overthrow the Senate and eliminate Chancellor Palpatine forcing him to heroically take action and cause the mass culling of the Jedi Order known as Order 66, wherein the Republic's clone army had exterminated the Jedi Population with only a few remaining in hiding.
However it was while Phara was recounting history from a long time ago in a galaxy far far away that Cal noticed a presence watching him from behind.
Another student, her intent unlike the other students was not hostile from what he could sense. He found it odd that he could sense somebody's intent leading to him wondering if the Force was beginning to manifest itself within him before turning behind him to see a girl with long waist length silky black hair flowing loosely down her body with her eyes hidden by a blindfold that covered her eyes.
She was a Miraluka. Beings who could see through the force and were known to have been a near human species that lacked eyes, hence why they hid their eyeless sockets behind a veil or blindfold.
To say Cal felt uneasy was an understatement. While the Miraluka girl's intent might not have been hostile there was something about her that made him feel like a piece of meat on a butcher's hook, a tasty morsel that though not immediately trying to consume him, was curious about what made him tick and that frightened him.
The Miraluka girl stared vacantly as she sensed the Light within the Darkness, the presence of two Force Sensitives who deviated from the Dark Side of the Force. A focal point within her sight which had her transfixed, perceiving an entity which she had never seen before.
Meanwhile, distracting Cal from the presence watching over his back he noticed that Kara had fallen asleep, her head laying on the desk, softly snoring, finding the history lesson to be quite boring.
"Sleeping are we Kara?" Phara queried in almost a singsong voice while the younger girl continued napping in class. Cal face-palming once again as he remembered that Kara usually talked in her sleep which lead him to the realization that it was incredibly likely that he was going to become the center of attention once again.
"Nyaaah... Cal, stop tickling me" Kara muttered, giggling as she dreamed up some kind of silly scenario in her head while lazily swatting away the dream version of Cal, all while the class just stared at her blankly, all coming to the realization that Kara was most likely not the sharpest tool in the shed to put it bluntly.
"Kara were you even paying attention?" Phara asked, the question awakening the wild girl as her eyes widened, realizing that Phara had caught her sleeping in class.
"Uh... hehe?" Kara chuckled nervously, shrugging her shoulders awkwardly as she soon realized that she was in a lot of trouble.
"I suppose you will have to see me after your initiation is over, but right now you have combat training" Phara sighed, wondering what she was going to do about Kara, thinking about how she could educate her without boring her to sleep.
Kara on the other hand grinned happily at the prospect of getting to use her hunting skills to her advantage, confident in her abilities against the others, believing that they won't know what hit them if they ever square off against her in combat.
As Cal and Kara progressed to their new class, they were greeted by their instructor who was there to instruct them on Lightsaber combat given that they would likely face off against the last remnants of Jedi Knights considering that despite Order 66 being a good 20 years in the past since the protocol's activation, there were likely still a few straggling Jedi who needed to die.
Their instructor had began to square students off into Lightsaber duels, starting off with some of the hopefuls while Cal slowly started to find the taint of the Dark Side within this place far more discomforting than he had back when he was here the first time.
They were spoken of the some of the basic forms of Lightsaber combat, the first three forms that boasted basic use with Form I: Shii-Cho, pure swordsmanship with Form II: Makashi and lastly the defensive Form III: Soresu, designed to fend off against blaster fire.
Of course these were only basic techniques and the Empire wouldn't give away its secret Lightsaber combat forms at the drop of a hat so naturally the instructor encouraged the Hopefuls to use their own methods and cunning to their advantage in defeating their opponent with the matches being no holds barred save for killing.
After all it would be pointless to have the death of a student so early lest they excel in other areas which the Empire could exploit.
Watching the matches themselves only further made Cal on edge as he watched the others attack each other more like wild Kath Hounds than trained Inquisitors, constant slashing and brutal attacks, each one a mere play into the war of attrition to see who could last the longest before dying. Pure survivalism if there was ever an adequate term for it.
However as fate would have it, Cal found himself being pitted against the Miraluka girl in combat, both armed with Lightsabers about to enter a fight to the near death.
Cal ignites his Lightsaber while the Miraluka girl remains silent and unmoving. still quietly studying him as if to decipher the same thing that Vader had seen in him. It was nerve racking to see his opponent who hadn't even activated her Lightsaber just quietly stare at him despite the fact that her eyeless sockets were obscured by a blindfold and the fact that her unemotive facial expression had remained equally as stoic leaving Cal in a state of anxiety while also at the mercy of what she could possibly be thinking of whether she was just as evil as the other Students wanting to rip him apart or perhaps something far worse.
The two stood there, moments passing as Cal worked up the nerve to begin an attack, planning how he should go about it and test the waters of her abilities lest she attack first. But that was just it, he needed to see what this girl was going to do which to any melee combatant was easily seen in their stance, their expression, their very presence alone even... But her? She simply stood there like a ghost as her pale skin only added to Cal's paranoia of her possibly being some kind of scary ghost girl who would more than likely haunt him and give him terrifying nightmares when he goes to sleep tonight.
"KICK HER BUTT CAL!" Kara cheered, thankfully managing to cut through the tension as Cal found himself relaxing thanks to Kara's support and encouragement, knowing that he could always count on her to lift his spirits no matter what.
Not wanting to waste the burst of courage Kara had endowed him, Cal lunged into an attack. A powerful overhead strike to begin the fight.
Cal had truly believed he was going to eviscerate her clean off as he swung his blade in a downward arc, mere centimeters away from her face before the Miraluka girl ignited her Lightsaber, clashing with Cal's blade so very close to her face as she held a tight grip against her blade, pushing against Cal in a tug of war for control over the blade lock.
She'd made her move.
Managing to push Cal's saber off hers, Cal went in for another swift attack, their red Lightsabers clashing at every turn as the two dueled on in a strategically fought battle of wits to see what weaknesses and errors in their techniques could be exploited for an easy finisher.
Unlike the other students who were hungry for each other's blood Cal noticed that this Miraluka girl wasn't intent on killing him, or from what he gathered even desiring to harm him at all. Regardless he pressed on with his strikes while she simply continued blocking his attacks.
Minutes upon minutes had passed and Cal found himself beginning to tire, the Miraluka girl wasn't expending the energy to attack him while he gave it all he could against her while working within the parameters of not killing her given the nature of the lesson.
And that was when the gears in Cal's head had finally turned as he at last realized what this girl's plan was. She was never intent on attacking him nor even directly hurting him as a result of her actions. He was weakening himself. Like an unstoppable force meeting an immovable object, the two of them were a match up that could only end in one way.
Stalemate.
By the time Cal realised this he noticed the Miraluka Girl slowly raise her arm, opening up her palm as her long hair covered her face, summoning the power of the Force Push to propel him backwards into the wall thanks to a torrent of wind given to her by the immense power of the force, sending him face first into the metallic structure before slumping into unconsciousness, deactivating her Lightsaber and dropping the weapon beside her as if she didn't need it at all.
"CAL!? Cal, WAKE UP! Please!?" Kara cried, rushing over to her injured friend, cradling his body in her arms as tears threatened to spill from her eyes, dreading to even think that her best friend had died and left her all alone inside an Empire ridden hellhole.
"Ugh... I'm up, I'm up..." Cal groaned, regaining consciousness to a near crying Kara holding him before her expression changed to one of complete happiness, embracing the boy in a tight hug, overjoyed that Cal didn't die.
"Kara, relax. I'm okay" Cal spoke, hoping for Kara to release him from her huggy deathgrip of hugginess.
"Nope. I'm not gonna let you die on me. We look out for each other. Wherever you go, I go" Kara stated, her voice displaying her usual cheerful demeanor, however also containing a sense of determination to her words.
It was clear that after her little speech Kara wasn't going to stop hugging him despite the awkward situation this put him in with how the whole class seemed to be staring at him in a loving embrace with his little 'girlfriend'.
" I think I understand you now" Spoke the soft almost whispery tone of the Miraluka Girl's voice, surprising Cal as he had finally seen a sign of normalcy in the girl who up until that point remained stoic.
"Huh... What?..." Cal queried, wishing to know what the girl had discovered about him.
"The bond you share. Can you not feel the force flowing through you both? Connecting you, binding you together as one?" the Miraluka girl replied, speaking softly towards the two newly indoctrinated students in a calm almost emotionless tone while her expression remained equally as unemotive as her tone.
"Who are you anyway? And what do you want with us?" Kara asked, narrowing her eyes towards the very girl who got it into her head to hurt her best friend thinking she could get away with such a thing without having to go through Kara of Kashyyk.
"My name is Malya. I wander in the Path of Darkness but perceive the Light within your souls" Malya answered, finally having a name to call her.
"What the heck does that mean?" Kara asked, confused by her method of speaking over a normal person actually talking about how they feel rather than sounding like somebody's dark poetry readings.
"It allows me to see the world as it is truly meant to be seen... Through the Force" Malya answered, concluding the conversation as she began to walk away from the two leaving behind a plethora of questions that needed answering.
Never the less upon the day's conclusion, Cal and Kara returned to their living quarters and to Kara this meant only one thing.
"FREEDOM!" Kara exclaimed happily, removing her clothes in what could only be described as a tornado, flinging the articles of clothing far away from her before proudly standing back in the nude with her hands on her hips, overjoyed to be naked and free.
"You do remember that you've got detention with Phara right?" Cal remarked, reminding the silly girl of her little snooze cruise that had gotten her in a whole heap of trouble.
"Indeed" Phara stated sternly, standing by the door to their quarters with her arms folded.
"Hehe... Whoopsie Daisies" Kara giggled nervously, gulping as she shrugged her shoulders before Phara dragged her away while Kara struggled out of her grip, holding on tight to the doorway while Phara grabbed her by the legs to finally rip here away and drag her naked butt down to detention to face the consequences of sleeping in class.
Cal was seemingly left alone... Or so he thought.
"Your isolation weakens you" spoke a soft whispery voice.
"WOAH!" Cal shouted, jolting in shock out of the fact that the Miraluka Girl Malya somehow managed to appear in his quarters without him even seeing her.
"How the hell did you even get in here?" Cal asked, his heartbeat beginning to slow after he nearly suffered a heart attack from Malya's apparent ability to pop up and scare people.
"That is unimportant. What is important however is what you hope to achieve by coming to this dark place" Malya replied, her tone still dull but her words portraying a sense of curiosity despite her unemotional delivery.
"Uh... This is where I sleep" Cal replied jokingly, his attempt to relieve the tension from the blindfolded spooky girl who thought it a fantastic idea to sneak into his room and frighten him.
"Forgoing your comic remark, I must know why one who walks the Path of the Light shrouds himself within Darkness?" Malya asked again, digging deeper into Cal's mind, the boy outwardly recognising that she had suspected that he being an Outsider who obviously didn't want to become an Inquisitor or a tool of the Empire was obviously holding ulterior motives to being here.
"Lets just say that darkness always has a way finding me" Cal answered melancholically, making it clear that whatever answer Malya was looking for was a great deal of pain for him.
A pregnant pause fell over the room as silence enveloped the two before Malya's head tilted to the left as if she had found something intriguing.
"I can see why she likes you" Malya stated calmly, referring to a certain wild haired girl from Kashyyk.
"Who?" Cal asked, his obliviousness making Malya wonder whether or not he was just playing coy or if he was truly unaware of what the two shared as a result of their connection to the Force.
"You know who. The child of Kashyyk, one who's tribalistic upbringing purveys a protective instinct towards those who she loves. And you it seems share a far deeper connection than you realize, the bond you share with her is forged by The Force" Mayla answered, explaining the precipice of what a Force Bond meant to a confused Cal
"Of course..." Cal replied, not quite grasping the concept entirely but getting the gist of what Malya was saying
"But the question still remains. You speak of the darkness inside your heart drawing you back to this place, and yet you appear unwilling to embrace the Dark Side. May I ask why?" Malya queried.
"Because I didn't come here by choice" Cal answered, his voice displaying a sense of bitterness for having to be encapsulated within the Imperial Facility on Mustafar for any longer than he needed to be.
"You were captured?" Malya asked
"Yeah. And by my own Sister of all people" Cal answered, still frustrated that Phara wouldn't listen to reason and see that not only did he not want to join the Empire but she was serving an Emperor who had obviously held ill intent for the galaxy with the power to do as he wished at his finger tips.
"Phara Pyso? I suspected as much. A woman who walks within the shroud, so uncertain of herself. She's torn between her loyalty to her family and the only life she's ever known as an Imperial Inquisitor" Malya commented, having apparently studied Phara long enough to get a significant insight into her internal struggle between family and her duty to the Empire as an Inquisitor.
"I just hope that she isn't gonna be too harsh on Kara" Cal sighed, wondering how Kara was going to take a detention considering Phara's rather stern attitude.
XXXXXXXXXX
"Aww... This sucks!" Kara groaned, folding her arms grumpily and making a sour expression with her face to only further emphasize her disdain for her detention while Phara escorted her towards the classroom.
"Don't be like that. At least we get to spend some more time together" Phara remarked, her warm tone attempting to cheer the younger girl up.
"I guess... but I wanna go back to doing something fun" Kara sighed, knowing that whatever she was going to be doing was going to be menial and boring.
"Well after this how about a special sparring session. Just you and me" Phara suggested, Kara's expression perking up in surprise about Phara doing something so nice for her.
"You mean it?" Kara asked as if she was getting to open her favourite Christmas present one day early.
"Yep" Phara answered with a smile on her lips.
"WOO HOO! YEAH! Thanks Phara" Kara exclaimed, raising her first into the air in triumph over the fact that she'd actually get to do something awesome.
"You're welcome" Phara replied.
The two girls headed down towards a training room adored with Lightsabers on the walls, a place deisgned specifically for single opponent Lightsaber combat, the perfect place for Kara and Phara to spar.
Phara: "Seeing as an instructional lesson had little impact on you. I'm instead going to be teaching you in a more hands on manner" Phara began, handing a Double Bladed Lightsaber to Kara before equipping hers.
"What do you mean?" Kara asked.
"I'm going to teach you Form IV of Lightsaber Combat. Ataru" Phara answered
From there Phara proceeded to inform Kara on everything that comprised the Ataru technique. Aggressive acrobatic moves best suited to Kara's fighting style, her small size and hunter tenacity given that she was raised on the wild, untamed jungles of Kashyyk.
Even though she had yet to truly master the technique Kara had already found the Ataru fighting style to her liking, grinning gleefully as she utilized the acrobatic moves to her advantage in an attempt to outfox Phara.
Of course she had much to learn, but in essence if she was going to have Phara as her teacher then Kara was happy none the less to know that there was somebody who could teach her how to hone and master the Ataru combat form.
"Want to hit the showers?" Phara asked, panting heavily after a tiresome sparring session with the self proclaimed 'Wookie Girl'.
"Y-yeah... Thanks for showing me how to kick butt with a Double Bladed Lightsaber Phara" Kara replied, recovering her breath, equally as fatigued as the Pyso woman before the two headed off towards the showers, both of them in the nude as they prepared to clean the sweat from their bodies.
A nice hot steamy shower. The perfect cover for two unsuspecting girls to fall right into the hands of an unknown assailant while everybody else is unaware of their presence. The thick fog of the shower steam fogging up any kind of surveillance equipment and the loud noise of running water spooling on the ground deafening the ears of any who could come to their rescue.
The only sound that could be heard beneath the spats of water drizzling down upon the shower floor was the seething hum of a red Lightsaber illuminating a dark figure from within the fog.
Sensing the danger around her, Phara summoned the power of the force to call her double bladed lightsaber back into her hands, igniting the two blades, ready for battle.
"Damn... I was hoping I could take you by surprise. Ah well, I suppose Lord Vader couldn't care less if I simply brought him your corpses." chuckled a male voice, his voice emanating a deep gravelly sound from his vocal chords with his intent and tone rather sly and confident.
"Who are you?" Phara asked icily.
"My name is Bandon, not that you'll live long enough to know of my reputation. I wish to have my first taste of the Dark Side, I want all that power it encompasses. Surely you know of it's forbidden fruits Inquisitor Pyso?" Bandon replied, never losing the cocky demeanor he possessed, his tone teasing as he brought mention to the Dark Side of the Force and the abilities it granted those who sought to wield its power.
"Indeed I do" Phara stated coldly, firmly gripping her Lightsaber, ready to eviscerate the enemy into a mess of arms, legs and organs.
"And how does that feel? Knowing that while you revel in the infinite power of the Dark Side, your worthless brother drifts towards the way of the Jedi." Bandon remarked, attempting to push Phara's psychological barriers as he figuratively pressed his way into her mind, drawing strength from her emotional weakness within her baby brother.
"Cal is NOT worthless" Phara seethed, her eyes slowly turning a blazing yellow as she felt the anger beginning to reach boiling point.
"Don't be foolish. He's a parasite. You're too blinded by your family ties to see that he's pulling you into the Light Side of the Force without you even knowing it. How else can you explain why you took some runt of a girl to train in the arts of Lightsaber combat? If that girl ever heard the stories of what you have done during your time serving under Lord Vader I doubt she'd be so quick to trust you" Bandon explained, cruelly mocking the Pyso woman, intent of drawing out her anger to unveil everything that she truly was, having sensed the Light Side of the Force within the brown haired girl standing to Phara's left who began clenching her fist with a dead serious look on her face.
As a result of his verbal actions, Kara unleashed a powerful punch, striking Bandon across the face before leaping back, Bandon recoiling in pain despite recovering moments later with a Cheshire grin on his face, having received the emotional outburst he wanted.
"Your hatred fuels the Dark Side. Use it on me and you lose yourself to its influence just as I have. Are you prepared to walk that path Inquisitor Pyso?" Bandon queried slyly.
Phara wanted no more of this. Violently sending Bandon crashing into the wall, his head impacting an industrial looking pipeline used to carry water sending him spiraling into unconsciousness
Phara could only look on and contemplate what he spoke about. Bandon's outlook warped by the power of the Dark Side. Could this be something that could happen to her? Would she abandon her morals for something that was such an easy path to power? Truth be told such a thing frightened Phara, especially when she realised that her brother had been warning her about the dangers of the Empire and their allegiance to the Dark Side of the Force ever since Felucia.
Taking her leave alongside Kara, leaving the Student's body where he lay dazed, Phara chose to try and put such thoughts out of her mind lest another student think it prudent to attack an Imperial Inquisitor such as herself, leaving her clothes behind her as she put such rudimentary concepts like modesty out of her mind after the attack.
To the surprise of both girls they found that Cal was not solitary in their absence.
"I see you've made another friend, Cal" Phara remarked, amused by the prospect of seeing how her brother would awkwardly act around another girl.
Kara meanwhile was seven different shades of suspicious around the Miraluka Girl, narrowing her eyes suspiciously, glaring a death stare towards Malya before questioning her.
"Who are you and what do you want with Cal?" Kara asked, her tone firm as if to sound threatening, but unfortunately for her she just ended up sounding cute and adorable rather than intimidating.
"As I have said before, My name is Malya child of Kashyyk. And I simply wished to question him about the bond you share between one another" Malya answered, her tone seeming so unnatural given her calm delivery by Kara's interpretation, ready to accuse her of trying to hurt, or worse seduce Cal to the Dark Side before the Pyso boy himself opted to speak.
"I see both of you are naked again" Cal commented, highlighting the appearance of both Kara and his sister standing in front of him Au Natural.
"As we should be!" Kara remarked proudly, beaming as she placed her hands on her hips with a big grin on her face.
"Well I must admit I have become quite taken to the freedom of being naked" Phara chuckled softly.
"Speaking of which... Why aren't you naked Cal?" Kara asked, a mischievous smile forming across her lips, her tone salacious as she formulated a plan in her head before waiting for the right moment to strike at her target.
"Well there is another girl here and she might not be accustomed to male nudity." Cal replied, his face turning red from embarrassment given he could already see the spark inside Kara's eyes which gave a clear warning signal of what she was going to do to him, stammering out his answer in a vein attempt to save face before the inevitable.
"Not if I've got anything to say about it!" Kara exclaimed happily, jumping atop Cal as she pulled at his clothes, liberating him from the Imperial Uniform he was wearing and getting him back to the way she liked seeing him. All naked and free.
Malya on the other hand merely stared at them with abject curiosity.
"Is nudity a common practice among you?" Malya asked curiously.
"You betcha!" Kara replied gleefully, her cheerful demeanor shining brightly
"Interesting. My eyes can see into your soul and the presence of the Light is unwavering" Malya spoke, displaying a melancholic intrigue to her voice.
"Oh yeah, I forgot to ask but why are you wearing a blindfold? How are you supposed to see with that thing tied around your eyes?" Kara queried, unknowing of the Miraluka species.
"My species is Miraluka. Though we look human in appearance, one key difference between our species is that we lack eyes. Should you ever see me without my blindfold you would find eyeless sockets which have proven to be of some discomfort to many people." Malya explained.
"I feel uncomfortable revealing them to people... Only those who I truly care about are those who I will let see me for who I truly am... In a way I envy you for that." she added, her tone displaying a sense of worthlessness within the way she described her desire to hide herself away comparatively to Kara's easygoing and open nature.
"What do you mean?" Kara asked confusingly.
"For being so open about yourself. Naked in front of people, both in the literal and metaphorical sense" Malya answered.
Having observed the melancholic disposition of the Miraluka girl, Kara smiled warmly and decided to offer her something that would hopefully lighten her spirits.
"You wanna join us?" Kara queried simply.
"Join you?" Malya replied, taken by surprise that Kara would extend her hand in friendship to somebody she barely knew so openly.
Still, Malya hadn't quite known what to do in that moment, standing there as if frozen in time. Recollecting her isolated past, living for so long as a mere tool for Darth Vader to find jedi who escaped Order 66, always living in isolation away from other people, so lonely and depressed given her lack of social interactions, finding herself almost at a lost for words that she would be accepted by somebody so quickly.
"Yes" Kara stated, her eyes displaying pure sincerity as she truly wished to have Malya join her and Cal as one of her friends.
"Unlike most of the others here you're probably the friendliest person we're ever gonna find in a hellhole like this. Even if you are a little on the spiritual side, we'd love to have you as our friend." Cal remarked, conveying his honest thoughts towards Malya, united with Kara's gesture to have her along as his friend.
"I... I want to join you" Malya affirmed, her tone initially shaky, breaking from her usual deadpan streak in a brief display of emotion before Kara rushed in for a tight hug, exclaiming how she was so happy to have her with them as well as making a new friend.
Malya returned Kara's hug, letting a small smile grace her lips. Genuinely feeling happy that she had made a friend, been among people who were so ready to accept her despite being kept isolated for all those years at the hands of Darth Vader.
Wasting no time in her initiation, Malya took it upon herself to release herself from the proverbial shackles of clothing, liberating herself from whatever negative emotions she may have felt as she sought to see how Kara could remain so positive, perhaps attributing nudity to her laid back happy go lucky demeanor.
"YAY! That's the spirit Malya. Let it all go FREE!" Kara cheered, raising her fist into the air triumphantly.
While Kara was busy bouncing around like the bubbly and excited child she was, Malya breathed a relaxed sigh as she soon came to see why Kara, Cal and Phara enjoyed walking around in the nude. Malya opted to keep her blindfold on, wishing to keep her eyeless sockets hidden away from disturbing people.
"I feel... At peace" Malya whispered quietly, for the first time in her life knowing contentment.
Interrupting the moment came a series of electronic noises coming from Cal's Comm-link.
"*Cal, do you read me? This is Captain Keyla of the Seventh Rebel Squadron do you copy?*" called out a female voice over the comm-link, Cal immediately recognising the Togruta woman by voice alone before announcing her name.
"Yeah I copy" Cal affirmed, happy to hear Keyla's voice after being trapped on this Imperial Outpost.
"Hot damn, it worked! It's good to hear your voice Cal. We've been trying to break through the communications scramble to contact you after you were captured by Phara. Are you okay? Is Kara with you? What happened?" Keyla sighed, likely having tried to contact them all day before asking prevalent questions about their current situation.
"We're both safe for now. We're at an Inquisitor's academy on Mustafar" Cal explained over the comm-link, informing Keyla of the information she desired.
"Looks like we've got two birds with one stone. Okay, the Alliance is planning a full frontal assault on the Academy so we're gonna be coming in with the intent to blow that Imperial Facility to bits. What we need you to do is fight your way out to the landing pad so that I can swing by in one of our drop ships to pick you up." Keyla replied, expositing the details of the Rebel Assault plan to attack the Imperial Outpost and the way in which she planned to rescue him and Kara from the Empire's clutches.
"Got it. I'll pass this on to Kara" Cal affirmed, acknowledging what was to be done.
"Good. And remember, just make sure you reach the landing pad by tomorrow or you'll be blown to dust along with the rest of the Outpost." Keyla added.
"Wait! What about the rest of the students?" Cal asked, concerned for the safety of the students yet to be turned into pawns for the Galactic Empire. Sure they might have been conditioned by Vader but surely there had to be some who weren't persuaded by an insane lust for power, especially for death on such a scale to be their fate.
Unfortunately Keyla had ended communications and the room fell silent with Cal left alone with his thoughts.
"Do not waste your energy on such things. I have seen into their souls and saw nothing but darkness. They have been lost to the Dark Side of the Force." Malya began, suddenly popping up from behind Cal as he jolted up in fear and surprise at her innate ability to scare him without even knowing she was there.
"G'YAAAH! You were listening to me this whole time!?" Cal exclaimed, his heart still racing from the initial jump-scare as he tried to calm himself down.
"When you are deprived of perceiving the world of the flesh and physical matter, your other senses tend to take precedence over your direct field of vision. I apologize if I was intruding, but those Sith Hopefuls would sooner destroy you than give themselves to the path of the Light... Lord Vader had conditioned them to believe as such" Malya stated, her emotionless tone back in full force as she explained what she saw inside the hearts of the other students.
"Yeah I suppose but I still don't want them to die" Cal remarked, truly empathizing for the students who were going to die if he didn't do anything to help regardless of whether or not they followed the Empire.
"You are of a kinder spirit than most. Many would leave their enemies to die, whereas you it seems would try to save them despite your differences" Malya commented, finding some inspiration in the altruism of a being so selfless that they would aid those lost on the path to safety despite the road to ruination being a choice they had long since accepted walking down.
"Thanks" Cal spoke, smiling upon being given the Miraluka Girl's compliment.
"If you are going to escape then I shall help you. My strength stems from the force and my Miraluka gift of the Force Sight may prove useful to you. But in addition I wish to travel along with you and Kara. Perhaps I may help you both to hone your abilities in the force and provide support in your endeavors." Malya stated, convicted in her desire to aid her newly found friends.
"What about Phara?" Cal asked, not wishing to leave his sister high and dry when the bombing started.
"That depends on her decision. She appears undecided about her choice and I think you might be the one to convince her to walk the path of the Light. Talk to her, and see if she's willing to join us in the fight against the Empire." Malya replied, suggesting that Cal be the one to convince her to walk the path of the Light as he did.
"Alright by the way when did you decide to turn rebel?" Cal queried, wondering what it was that made Malya want to join him and Kara in taking the Empire down.
"I have been trapped within the dark for so long. Before I met you, I was isolated in this dark place. Never once seeing anyone, knowing of no other person outside of Lord Vader. He tried so many times to break me, fill my head with the Dark Side Teachings and coerce me into becoming his eyes, believing that through the Force he could eliminate all Jedi and crush the one thing the Rebellion needed to destroy the Emperor." Malya began, speaking from her heart as she spoke of her history, poetically worded perhaps, but giving an explanation none the less.
"To put it simply, my choice to rebel stems not from my pain, but rather by opening my eyes and looking into the Light. Through you and Kara I have seen such light Cal. I find you beautiful. That is why I want to help you, to bring light into a galaxy shrouded by Darkness." Malya added, surmising her reasons for joining them in a way in which she believed Cal would understand.
"Alright we will go to the pad tomorrow." Cal stated, determined to escape from this wretched place once and for all.