Several days had passed since both Vestara and Mirta finally departed the world Ship had deposited them so that Vestara might receive medical treatment, during this time Vestara had acquainted herself with the inside of the vessel in which they were traveling, which she had come to know was called the 'Kandosii' the Mandalorian word for indomitable. She had also in this time been introduced to the crew and, true to her and Mirta's predictions, she was not so warmly welcomed, though no one acted out towards her she could very well feel that there was an amount of hostility directed at her. As a result of this she and Mirta wound up sharing quarters, much to Mirta's chagrin as she had wished for her own personal space, but Vestara pleaded the point that she didn't feel secure all by herself in an entire ship full of people who significantly loathed Sith, at last not until she was in proper physical form again. Vestara also made a note to research the event Mirta described to her, 'The clone wars' , she deemed part of the story to be somewhat outlandish, such as an entire army of clones, but true to Mirta's tale the events happened almost exactly as she described them when Vestara inquired about the details history couldn't verify she explained that since several of her family members were present for some of these events they were personally documented.
During their continued journey Mirta and they other clone descendants sought possible solution's to the problem with their home world, so far they held no luck but Mirta made a point to explain to Vestara she would be called upon in the event that anything promising turned up, to which Vestara had been working on her physical rehabilitation so she may begin walking again.

While Vestara practiced standing using nearby objects to support herself Mirta was sitting nearby reading something from a data-pad rather intently, once she seemed satisfied with what she read she turned to address her roommate.
"So how exactly is your standing/walking going?"
"I can stand and walk as well as someone who has just done horrible things to their liver."
"Do you think you could pretend at all that you weren't...structurally compromised? That is if circumstance prompted you to?"
"Why?!"
"Might have found someone who can help, and your coming with."
"Okay you gonna have to explain that to me, I mean before when you were by yourself and had no other form of assistance I could understand why my presence might have been necessary. But now not so much, you have an entire vessel full of people apparently related to you, who don't like me by the way, and a consistent means of transportation. So what exactly do I bring to the table."
Mirta's answer to the question was a very simple one she simply raised in her hand a small metal cylindrical object that Vestara recognized as her lightsaber, which Mirta had yet to relinquish back to her, and waved it slightly.
"I'm coming because I can use the force."
"A rare skill-set that no one else aboard possesses. Now we all pride ourselves on being decent at telling when one is lying to us, but it's my understanding that you can actually TELL if someone is being dishonest, that right?"
Vestara gave a heavy sigh "People trained with the force can sense emotions like dishonesty and yes, assuming the individual isn't trained in hiding or concealing their thoughts I could theoretically sense when someone is lying. It mostly works by gleaming what their thinking about at that moment."
"Are you saying you can read minds?"
"No...not exactly, if one doesn't know how to hide their thoughts I can glimpse what's on the top of their mind, but only what they are thinking about at that moment, it's a good interrogation technique, you ask someone a question and they think about the answer reflexively even if they are trying to keep you from learning it, they are in some way thinking about it."
Mirta stared somewhat bitterly her eyes narrowing as her mind shifted towards a very painful moment in her life. "Then answer me this. The Sith lord who infected Mandalore's atmosphere, he interrogated me, he tortured me, he wanted information and at first I would not talk, not until he threatened to release the nano-killer. When I told him everything he wanted to know he didn't believe me, he insisted I had to be lying, so finally I told him what he wanted to hear, the answer he wanted, it wasn't true but he wanted to hear it, then despite apparently believing me he STILL release the virus. So why WHY couldn't he just gleam that I was telling the truth the first time?"
"That depends what was he asking you about?"
"It was when we were trying to kill him, I was part of a strike-force that besides myself consisted of several Mandalorians and Jaina Solo, during the fight Jaina severed his arm, but I was captured when he retreated. He sat there and asked again and again how many Jedi came with me that day. When I finally did answer I told him the truth, the only Jedi that came to kill him was his sister, but he insisted that it was Master Skywalker who attacked him."
"Is it possible he actually WAS there and you just weren't privy to it?"
"No. Jaina made it clear Skywalker wouldn't be joining us on the mission."
"So...why did he think it was him?"
"Caedus, the Sith lord we were fighting, he...he murdered Skywalkers wife, Ben's mother. I guess perhaps Caedus couldn't fathom the idea that Skywalker wouldn't come."
Vestara was only half paying attention now, she stared wide-eyed at the realization that she knew absolutely nothing about Ben's mother, she only ever saw him with his father, and he never even referred to his mother. The idea that she might be passed entered her mind, but she never asked, she realized that they weren't together as a couple long enough to learn these sort of details of his life. Wishing to take her mind off of this somewhat depressing thought she turned back to Mirta.
"So why exactly didn't he come on the mission? Luke I mean."
"Jaina was vague on that, something about how although Caedus needed to be stopped, needed to be killed, if he or his son did it, it wouldn't be because they needed to, but because they wanted revenge. And so they would risk becoming Dark themselves."
More proof that he and I are so completely different. Vestara thought to herself "So what did you tell him, Caedus?"
"I eventually told him Skywalker was there just to satisfy the lunatic, but he still went through with his threat."
"Question, would you describe that man as having been paranoid?" Mirta gave a very heavy nod "My guess is he was so paranoid he couldn't comprehend the thought of Skywalker not seeking vengeance, and when he interrogated you, he probably thought you were still simply hiding your thoughts even though you were telling the truth, but when you finally told him what he wanted, he sensed you were lying and you know the rest. I don't think there was a way to win in your circumstance."
"Nothing more reassuring than knowing I was screwed from the start."

Vestara continued her standing exercises for a short while longer, while Mirta went back to reading her data-pad. After a short period Vetsara sat down and remebering their original conversation turned towards her silent companion "So, where exactly are we going? Who are we going to meet?"
"Ah yes, we are going to see a bio-weapon's expert named Ord Palagus."
"His name sounds like a vegetable."
"Anyway, he presently resides in a space station in a nearby system, given his line of work he isn't actually allowed to work planet-side. And he does freelance work for several planets within the system in which he resides, by not officially aligning himself to any particular government he maintains a diverse clientele, and because he isn't aligned with anyone, in the event that something goes horribly wrong as a result of his work, the governments have their scapegoat. So while he holds no personal loyalty he knows better than to rip people off. "
"You said 'bio-weapons expert' what's that mean?"
"Bio and Chemical warfare are hardly new, and when someone goes and makes some new weapon that will melt your skin off, they give it to someone like him to study it, figure out what it's made of, and develop safeguards or possible antigens to these weapons. However since he is technically freelance anyone can procure his services, albeit for a slightly higher cost that his traditional customers. We have a sample of the nano-killer in the cargo hold which we want him to study , and YOU are going to carry it."
"Why me?!"
"Because if it breaches your the only one on this whole ship that it WON'T kill."
"Nice to feel important."
"Not like you'll be in any danger, NOW, about your appearance."
Vestara gave a weary glare "What...about my appearance?"
"You don't look like you even remotely belong in this crowd."
"Technically I don't."
"Now if we go around with someone who looks out of place, and it gets out your Sith, people will think we don't trust them."
"Which you don't."
"Yes, but we don't advertise our mistrust to everybody, or they wouldn't consider doing business with us. Now what do you think the impression Palagus is going to get when we show up with a human lie detector?"
"So what do you plan to do about my appearance?"
"For starters your clothes." After finishing her statement Mirta walked over to the room's closet and dragged out a trunk over to Vestara before opening it "You are going to wear this."
Vestara peered into the trink to see it held a suit of Mandalorian armor, intended for a woman based on the curvature of the breastplate, similar to what Mirta wore albeit a size or two smaller and an almost black shade of dark grey. "Where did you get that?"
"It's mine, I wore it like five or so years ago when I was 18."
"Why do you have two sets of armor?"
"I keep it as a spare to use if my current one gets damaged and I need protection. And also I think you will need this." After finishing her statement Mirta tossed a small object towards Vestara which she caught easily upon examing it Vestara realized the object was a small crystal, pitch black in color.
"What is this?"
"A working lightsaber crystal."
Vestara looked up to realize Mirta was holding out her Lightsaber towards her, Vestara readily accepted the item in question before asking her query "Where did you get it?"
"A member of the crew had it, something about the old republic, a horny guy with no legs decapitating some other guy, and some Jedi's dead girlfriend, to be honest I wasn't fully paying attention. Point is that it still works, and let's face it, a person walking around with a red-blade kinda screams one thing. It will help keep people from knowing who you are."
"A black crystal? Kinda DARK don't you think."
"Hey apparently it's original owner was a Jedi so, you should pass for one if need arises."
Vestara looked at the dark crystal, then the rather dark colored armor, then at her own black clothes. Sith traditionally wore black as a way of broadcasting their connection to the dark side of the force, while Jedi traditionally wore light colored clothes, and while Vestara generally casual clothing in lieu of traditional robes, they were still black. "Is all this some sort of jab at my choice in clothes?"
"Now would I do that?"
"Do I have to do all of this?"
"Yes, if you want to be of some use you have to look the part, now if you like can explain to the rest of the crew you don't feel like helping, and maybe we can get your flying metal friend to pick you up." Vestara stared somewhat confused the statement. "Hey I was kidding I'm not gonna sick the crew on you."
"Were you kidding about Ship?"
"You didn't honestly think he...it...wasn't following us did you, we've picked him up on radar a couple of times."
"I...don't wish to go anywhere with Ship right now. Not until I figure some things out."
"That's fine and all, but you still need to change."
"And how exactly is this going to help in the long run? I mean I can still barely walk or stand without my legs buckling underneath me. Forget me dressing suspiciously, what are they gonna think of a Mando with equilibrium issues?"
"Pretend, make it look like your fine, take your pain meds, I don't care BUT I will not be conned again. Not on something so personal."

Mirta exited the room to give Vestara privacy too change, the armor Mirta provided wasn't as padded or reinforced as much as the one she wore now, essentially it was a thick t-shirt with armor attached to the front and back of the upper torso and collar bone, with pauldron's attached as well, however the sleeves did not cover her entire arms and had no protective armor on them at all, and the abdominal area was exposed as well. The pants themselves had little in the way of protective covering, but from what she could tell Mandalorians didn't seem to emphasize armor on their leggings, probably to prevent and impeding of their range of motion in their legs, the leggings Mirta had given her only had covering in the knees ,a detail Vestara was thankful for, and the groin area, which suit of Mandalorian style armor she had seen so far had armor in that area, the boots themselves though were armored , another thing she enjoyed as it covered her ankles, thus ensuring each of her healing injuries were covered and protected.
After fitting the armor on she noticed that while it seemed to be about her size it still felt loose, likely a result of Mirta possessing slightly more muscle than Vestara, and it was fitted to her specifically.
Vestara then turned her attention to her lightsaber, she didn't like the idea of simply inserting a crystal she had never seen before and had not yet had a chance to examine to ensure it would function properly, but it was perhaps time she accepted that at least for the time being she wasn't acting in the capacity of a Sith. Any Sith she had ever been aligned with now hated her and most definitely wished her dead, and the new unheard of faction of the Sith Ship wished for her to join were a complete mystery to her, she didn't know them and so for all intents and purposes they were not her allies, they were not her friends, they were nothing to her and as she held no bond to them she honestly couldn't say she truly was a Sith, not right now at least. To this point she must stop presenting herself as a Sith
and so a crimson blade was no longer needed.
She picked up her Lightsaber and using the force levitated it in front of her, with small gestures of her hands the components at the top end of the lightsaber detached themselves until the slot where the crystal rested was exposed, with another small gesture of her hand the crimson crystal removed itself and floated down into her hand, meanwhile the black crystal floated towards the slot where it's predecessor previously rested and inserted itself. With one larger gesture form both of hr hands the remaining components each aligned perfectly and clicked back into place. Vestara lightly shook the object to ensure no pieces were out of place or loose, once satisfied the lightsaber had been reconstructed without error she held it straight and clicked the activation panel.
With a momentary brightness the blade of plasma immediately emitted from the opening without any discernible difficulty, Vestara stared for a moment at the blade, it was differant not just in color but how it glowed. Traditionally as Vestara had seen lightsabers emitted blades the color of their crystal but the center, the core of the blade was always a bright white. With this crystal the blade was technically white but with a thick pitch black core, and the blade as a whole did not emit that much light, in fact it almost seemed to darken the area around it.
"And this once belonged to a Jedi? Was black their favorite color or did they just have issues? As far a s hiding my past as a Sith, I think she could have done a little better."

Before finishing completely she thought of what Mirta had said about Ship following them, it honestly didn't surprise her, after spending roughly around a week recovering and then left without so much as a word to Ship, she expected that he wouldn't be pleased as he had already made it clear he wasn't too keen on the idea of her halting their journey to even take the time to recover from her injuries. As much as Ship seemed to hold some regard for her it only seemed to extend to how useful she could be to the Sith, after all that's what he was, a tool for the Sith. She thought about how he called her a Sith lord, it was title at one point she might have coveted, but now not so much. She looked at herself in the mirror and thought of where she was now, on the run from both Jedi and Sith alike, dressing like a Mandalorian as a means of concealing her identity, even disguising her lightsaber. Here she was traveling with Mirta because she saw no real alternative at the moment, save for an option she new little of. She thought about this unknown faction of the Sith Ship seemed so insistent on her joining, perhaps they would welcome her, perhaps there truly was a place for her with them.
But they were unknown to her, and at this juncture in her life the unknown was quite a frightening thing, and whatever frightend her she wanted to generally avoid.
Once she had wanted nothing more than to become a Master of the Sith, a fact she suspects was what drew Ship to her, then when she received some recognition when she was given a title above master, she doubted it was what she wanted anymore.
She remembered the young woman she referred to as 'First', the first person she murdered, she did so not because she needed to but rather because she simply wanted to, she wanted to kill somebody that day, the young woman didn't want to die and had done much to ensure her own survival but it was all for naught when she was seen by Vestara that day. Vestara had been raised to be a killer and had taken to it so much she craved the sense of fulfillment she thought she might feel from actually taking another's life. But now as she was would she do the same?
"Probably." she thought "But not for the same reasons." If she was as she is now when she met that girl she might still take her life, not out of pure self-centered malice but rather self-preservation born of fear of what the other Sith might do if they ever learned she had spared that young woman. Then when she realized she never learned her name Ship told her to give the woman a name, as if to lay some sort of claim of ownership over another's life. Vestara was almost disgusted at the thought of her past self thinking about how absentmindedly murderous she was "But have I improved at all? After all in the same situation I might still not have spared that woman's life. Does it make much difference that it would be because I needed to or felt that I needed to, rather than wanted to? Am I any better?"
She once again took a look at herself in the mirror "I am no Sith lord. Certainly not as I am now."
She took a moment to examine the pouched attached to the belt she was now wearing when she noticed one in the back large enough to conceal her lightsaber and quickly tucked it in figuring that it would be better if no one actually saw she had it.

Vestara exited the room expecting to simply find Mirta waiting for her, but when she exited she suddenly felt something solid being quickly placed over her head momentarily obscuring her vision until she noticed and opening of sorts that she could still see somewhat. After the immediate disorientation passed she realized she could see Mirta in front of her with an almost playful and mischievous expression on her face.
"I apologize, but I just couldn't resist, I take my entertainment where I can find it."
Vestara wasted no time quickly removing whatever it was that now covered her head to see it was a mandalorian helmet, specifically it appeared to be the helmet that went with the armor she now wore realizing the opening which she could still see through was the visor.
"You slammed a helmet on my head? WHY?!"
"Traditionally all Mandalorian armor possess a helmet, I just found a humorous way of giving it to you."
Vestara looked at the helmet momentarily before turning back to Mirta "I'm not wearing this."
"You need to, or you wont look the part...although your hair might be an issue. We usually keep our hair short or shaved so our helmets fit better."
"I'm not cutting my hair and I am NOT shaving my head, I don't care what you say you come at me with clippers and I swear I will create a thunderstorm indoors."
"Okay well at least tie back your hair and carry the helmet with you so you look the part. Agreed?"
Vestara nodded before noticing someone else, Rook, standing in the hall with them "If you two girlfriends are through, we've arrived."
Mirta turned to Vestara "Ready to meet a Bio-Chem weapons expert?"
"What the hell, not doing anything else."
"Great let's go everybody!"

A/N Two chapters in the same week, I'm awesome.
I'VE REACHED DOUBLE DIGIT'S, I'M OFFICIALLY AWESOME, or more awesome than I was before. And in the event I reach triple digits THEN I'LL BE AWESOME!
ENJOY!