Chapter Seven

I wonder why Vergere is trapped at the top of the Citadel and not somewhere a little less obvious. Perhaps it was a trap and my Mistress was reluctant to let me go because of that Depa thought to herself. Arden Lyn might have been relatively innocent compared to her but she saw and anticipated many things that Depa herself couldn't see. It was possible that she had seen the obviousness of Vergere's place of captivity as a trap that should be avoided.

But what could Depa do now except move on to see if she could help the poor old woman? She had been here since before the battle of Naboo and who knows what the Yuuzhan Vong might have done to her during that time? However, as she approached the immense Citadel, she wasn't as horrified by it as she thought it would be upon gazing. True, the biomechanical technology still threw her off (some of the walls opened and folded back to the corners by themselves) but it wasn't very scary.

However, it was when she saw the tortured prisoners of the Citadel that she began to shudder in shock. Some of the prisoners were twisted into unrecognizable collections of twigs with skin and blood that slowly oozed its way out where many bone shards had pierced through. The eyes of some of these prisoners also bulged out beyond what was normal and the tears shed were tears of blood too. Some were virtually crucified as they were slowly mangled alive by contraptions that likely explained the abnormal shapes of the others.

"I've done no wrong, by the gods, someone hear my cries!" a female prisoner begged. "The gods don't care about Shamed Ones here, forget about begging them for help here," a male replied. Shamed Ones... the Yuuzhan Vong run on a caste system and that sounds like the lowest caste there is. I'll have to remember that in case it becomes useful to us later Depa told herself.

Guards initially opposed her but when she used Pyrokinesis, Lightning, and even Kinetite, they didn't stop her from completing her journey. When she arrived to the tower, she saw how the torchbearers looked very much like teeth and the surrounding area like gums. Shaking her head, she continued to ascend the stairs despite being grossed out by the transformations that the walls took. Sometimes, she even wondered if the trap was not Vergere but rather, the biology of the Citadel that she walked inside of right now.

However, when a door suddenly opened in much the same fashion as a mouth, she knew she was out safely and would be soon arriving at the top of the spire. She looked back down to see that she had covered more than three miles of tower and base of the great Citadel. All that work and so much distance covered... the liveliness of the inside of the damned place made it seem like longer she thought.

But maybe that was the magic of the Citadel: it played tricks on the minds of those who would break a prisoner or group of prisoners out of its guarded horde. There's no way that these deformed prisoners are the only valuable thing that this place protects, it's too big for that she told herself. She was nearing the top of the spire and she could sense Vergere's presence in the Force, a good sign of Nom Anor telling the truth. However, she also sensed an aura of the Dark Side about this woman; Depa knew she needed to be careful about her approach.

"I hold nothing personal against you Arden Lyn, I have always gotten my way either through extortion or polite persuasion," Nom said. "Dispense with the apology formalities, I have no use for them," Arden snapped. "You say that as though you believe yourself already dead," he stated. "In some ways, I should be dead: I was born more than twenty-five thousand years ago," she admitted.

"Then how are you still here with us? The typical human lifespan is not even more than a century if I am mistaken," he asked. "When I was twenty-six years old, I was placed into a trance by Jedi Master Pina which saw me staying in a dormant state until fifteen years ago," she answered. "How is that possible?" she inquired.

"The power of the Force can do amazing things when one is susceptible to most of its effects which are telepathically and telekinetically related. You and your people have a special immunity to those sorts of powers and we are limited to energy-based attacks against you. However, that doesn't stop anyone of your people who has the Force from doing terrible things, I imagine," she explained. "Terrible like what, for instance?" he asked, his curiosity slowly etching into his voice.

He needed to know what she could offer in case it had anything to do with Onimi's closeness to Shimrra, he needed to know how he could counter it for his own gain when needed. "Some applications of the Force include a Voice ability that allows the wielder to control whoever they speak to with the it. It was an uncommon application in my day but I wouldn't be surprised if its popularity has soared since," she answered nonchalantly. Onimi could be using this Voice she speaks of to control Shimrra and make him do his will Nom observed.

Smiling, he asked her what other applications Onimi could use as a Yuuzhan Vong with a connection to his own people. "Depends on what the strength of his connection is: the stronger it is, the more he can do. If strong enough, he can teleport from one place to another so long as he can look at it or he could use the Force to accelerate his Speed so greatly as to cover vast distances," she said. Most impressive, maybe that's why Onimi was used as a messenger in his early days he thought silently.

"How come you do not teleport or use the Force to enhance your Speed?" he inquired aloud. "Because a wise warrior reserves those sorts of powers only for emergencies such as an escape or there is no other way to overcome an enemy," she replied, her anger somewhat showing. "Yet you are not just a warrior: you can also heal damaged minds and bodies, as I recall you saying," he stated. "Your memory serves you well, yes I can do all that as well though I must admit I have had a little help with that in the past," she said before revealing a prism of glass.

"What is it?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "The Kashi Mer Talisman, probably the only artifact that can that has all the powers of a god. If there is anything that this thing can't do, I haven't found it out yet," she answered. The powers of a god could be in my grasp with this thing, I could destroy Onimi and Shimrra, taking the title of Supreme Overlord away he thought excitedly.

"May I hold it?" he inquired. "Absolutely not: mortal hands wouldn't survive its power for a second," she hissed. She says this merely to intimidate you young man: I spare those I wish to spare for usage of my power Nom heard a voice say. How is it possible for a little piece of glass to be speaking to me? he asked mentally.

As Arden said I can do many things and telepathically speaking to all species, regardless of their connection to the Force, is amongst them. I am, after all, the creation of probably the only being anyone could call a god in the physical universe the Talisman replied. Nom smiled just slightly enough for Arden to not see and great enough to express his enjoyment at this revelation. He knew he couldn't make a move to grab the artifact now but he would work on that slowly.

He would build up her trust and even add his possession of the Talisman as another bargaining chip for Arden's return home. The wheels in his mind turned in ponderance as to what he could do with the powers of a god in this prism-shaped, glassy artifact. Once Onimi was out of the way, he would persuade her to let him have it as a final token for her passageway home. If all went well, she would be so broken and saddened that she would more than willingly hand it over to him.

"How much longer before we arrive at your headquarters to begin your little rescue?" she demanded. "Oh, not much longer, it's three turns that add up to half a standard mile of distance that reveals a small palace. Granted it isn't as splendid as the Citadel or even Shimrra's Palace but I think you will like it," he answered. When they arrived, Arden did have to admit that she liked his palace but she didn't really care for it at that moment.

"And here we are," he stated with excitement visibly mounting in him. "Just show me to where Quoreal lies and I will begin my ceremony," she commanded. She keeps her hardened edge even in the face of fulfilling the task that her extortion has commanded of her. Indeed, she would make for an effective leader in any time due to her containment of her inner impulses he thought.

"Due to the need for secrecy, I have brought his body to a laboratory underground but not very far since my house camouflages the entrance rather well. I think you will find the laboratory just as interesting as my palace and the inside of it," he continued. "And why should I?" she demanded. "Because it has a mind of its own even if it's under my control and no one else's," he replied, smugly.

Czulkang felt bad about leaving Arden and Depa alone with Nom Anor even if he was his ally. True that Nom held political power that Czulkang could never hope to have and was useful in that arena. But he was slipperier than a wet amphistaff on a rainy day and there was no telling what he would persuade the women to do for him. Indeed, he couldn't have sexual relations with either of them, Intendants are castrated at adolescence once they have united with a wife unless emergencies came up.

Because of how seldom those came up and Nom Anor's perfect health record, Czulkang very highly doubted that he avoided castration. However, it was just something about the way he often experimented with other people was a way that had yet to backfire on him. His method was to slowly gain the trust of whoever he wanted to use until he could persuade them to do anything. True that he might occasionally need to extort them at the start but that was very occasional in his data.

Czulkang knew this was dangerous due to having employed similar methods in his youth and finding them to be wrong seldomly. Tsavong also employed these methods but he did this only when he truly had to, preferring to win his battles through honest work and fair fights. Admittedly, Czulkang could see that Tsavong's methods were also effective but proved more rewarding than his own. Why they did was probably because of the virtue behind them than his current methods, something inspiring.

For Czulkang had once used methods much like Tsavong's and even praised him accordingly. However, politics forced him with no choice but to turn away from those methods and he knew that Tsavong would eventually understand why. Hopefully, he wouldn't turn from his current methods but Czulkang did wish that his son would see why before the end of his days. It was one of the greatest tests a Warmaster had to face and the sooner Tsavong overcame it, the better off he would be.

It would not only be good for giving him the complete mastery of the ability to disconnect from his emotions during battle unless he had a child of his own with him. Much as Czulkang had stupidly done with Tsavong at the final battle of the war, fifteen years ago, a mistake that the Council pointed out. As a result, his esteem went down a lot but not unrecoverably so: he worked back into his prestige with his reputation and his hard work in the post-war efforts. The same could not be said of Nom Anor's reputation which only seemed to spiral downwards as time passed and the effects of the war wore out.

Soon, Czulkang and Tsavong would have to cut off ties with Nom Anor in order to save their own honor and their lives. Associating with him would become a thing of the past, a condemnable act that only invited death and destruction. How long Czulkang had before that happened remained to be seen but he had a feeling that it would be soon. Those girls had accelerated events with their presence whether they knew it or not though he could easily guess the latter choice.

When Depa finally arrived to the top of the Citadel's largest spiral, she had to admit that she was initially disappointed to see only the Fosh woman chained to a pole. Judging by the slump, unlively position her head took she had been knocked unconscious by something though she didn't know what. No doubt Nom Anor had something to do with this even if he wasn't the one that ordered them to happen to her. Such a pity that a member of the Jedi almost as old as I am has been here for most of her time and not back on Coruscant Depa thought to herself as she examined Vergere.

Depa observed a traditionally-designed lightsaber at her belt and she wondered why the woman wasn't disarmed when she was brought here. She also felt a saberstaff in Vergere's right sleeve, likely a concealed weapon, but the fact that she had these weapons was confusing. Did her captors have so much confidence in her docility that they afforded her the weapons without fear of reprise? Freeing her from her chains, she watched her fall down and did nothing to catch her as she pondered what to do.

Just then, the "false sky" she had observed earlier passed over her head and began to release moisture in a manner that simulated rain. Reminding herself that the Yuuzhan Vong were physiologically adapted for tropical worlds, according to Thrawn, this rain became no surprise. This observation would definitely be good to bring up to his attention if we ever meet him again she told herself. As she continued to think about what she should do, the rain not helping, Vergere awakened.

"You, what are you doing here!?" she demanded. "My name is Depa Billaba, fallen member of the Jedi Order and apprentice to the great Arden Lyn," Depa replied calmly. "Depa Billaba... yes I remember the name: you are considered one of the wisest minds of the Jedi or at least you were," Vergere said. "So we do know each other from within the Jedi Order?" Depa asked.

"Thracia Cho Leem was my Master and as I recall, she was one of Master Windu's true friends. If my memory serves me additionally right, you were Master Windu's Padawans and we served missions together," Vergere answered. The fact that Depa had completely overlooked the name of Vergere's Master proved that the Dark Side had clouded many things in her mind. But of all the things she could've allowed herself to be clouded in, she would have never thought of this one.

After all, Thracia was one of the few people to make Mace smile with just the words she said if she wanted to. Things like that had a profound impact on the shaping of Depa's personality during her time in the Order and Thracia had almost been like a mother and Vergere a sister. "Remember me now!?" Vergere demanded. "I do yes and it sends a white-hot dagger into my heart to see you here in such shape as you are," Depa admitted.

"Do not mock me now Sister, I pray. The Yuuzhan Vong have enlightened me to the wisdoms of the galaxy far beyond the struggles of the Jedi and the Sith! Your so-called wise mind would never comprehend what I have seen and what I have been asked to do for these people," Vergere hissed. "Do not hold me in such spite for failures that were not mine, I beg you. Your Master tried to find you and even had Master Kenobi journey with his Padawan to find you after you disappeared," Depa said.

There was no lie there: Thracia had become so attached with Vergere as a result of having seen her hatching that she had begged the Council to send a search party after she disappeared. Even when they went to Zonama Sekot, where Vergere was last seen, they found nothing and the search ended. "Let me guess, they found enough to consider me lost just as Nom Anor anticipated!" Vergere snapped. Depa nodded but had internally noted Nom Anor's hand in this, wondering if he was her captor and this was just a ploy to manipulate her Mistress through their attachment.

"I don't want to kill you Vergere, in fact, my Mistress and I hoped to rescue you. So please, if you come with me now, I am sure that we can arrange for you to return home with us," she said aloud. "You don't understand Depa: I am home!" Vergere shouted. "Sister, don't make me destroy you: I can if you make it necessary," Depa warned, reserved but sadness swelling in her heart.

"The choice has already been made and the price of my Master's life has already been paid," Vergere said as she indicated the lightsaber at her belt. Depa sighed, knowing there was nothing left but the dangers of a battle with her old avian friend much as she hated it. "Then you leave me no choice, Vergere: either I can free you from the insanity that grips you or I have to kill you," she said. "I hope it's the latter choice rather than the former," Vergere replied with a wicked smile before calling her saberstaff to her and beginning the duel.