Last time: Viran found out he is going to be a father.

Now: Sasha finds herself in quite a spot.

Chapter 2- Captive

Sasha awoke to her stomach turning as a severe wave of nausea passed over her. Turning onto her side, Sasha groaned as she tried to get her stomach to calm down, rubbing circles on her belly. That's when she opened her eyes to notice she wasn't in her bed. She was lying on a nice and soft bed in a medium sized room with some simple decor. There was a window that appeared to look out onto a planet's setting sun and had a red ray shield around it. Probably preventing anyone from getting in… or out.

Once the wave passed, Sasha slowly sat up and immediately noticed something else was off, aside from being in a room she didn't recognize. The Force felt strangely disconnected from her for some reason. But why? She could also smell something almost fruity in the air, but couldn't place its origins.

As she sat there trying to figure it out, everything else flooded back to her. She remembered returning to Haven with Kyr and finding out that Cien was there. She remembered facing that other, younger Sith in the safe room. And she then remembered the baby. That's right. She was pregnant and had literally found out recently. She rested a hand on her stomach to feel for her child, but she couldn't feel them through the Force. However, she did notice there was a very tiny bump forming. So her child was still there and what she was feeling was real, but the Force was just missing.

Taking an uneasy breath, Sasha had to figure out where she was and potentially get out of there. Moving from the bed, Sasha moved towards the large door, hoping it to be the exit. Instead it opened into a small living room and sitting there in a chair was Cien.

"Hello Sasha, how are you feeling?" Cien asked, her facade still flat as ever.

Sasha remained where she stood and placed a protective arm around herself. "I'm okay. Where am I?" She asked.

"You are my guest, here in my palace." Cien said simply.

Palace? So they weren't on the Bloodstorm. That explained the window with a view. "Why can't I feel the Force?" Sasha asked as she took an uneasy step forward into the living room, still trying to get her bearings on where she was and what was happening.

Cien stood from the chair so she could face Sasha standing. "The room is filled with an aerosolized Force suppressant drug, we didn't want you damaging the palace or reaching out to your friends." She said. "I am immune to it." She commented, in case Sasha might try to attack her physically.

Sasha narrowed her eyes at her. She wanted more answers to her lingering questions, but she thought it best to start with just a few basic ones to get an idea of her situation. Escaping may have to come later once she has a better clue. "How long have I been here? Where's Kyr?" She asked, assuming he might have been taken too.

There was a slight twitch of anger that got past her facade when she mentioned his name before her face became unreadable again. "It's been two days since we last talked." She answered.

Why did she avoid my question about Kyr? Is he not here then? She thought. Suddenly the feeling of nausea returned, Sasha tensed as she wrapped her arms a little tighter around herself. She needed to be strong right now. For herself and the baby. "How long do you plan to hold me captive?" She asked, trying to calm her stomach again.

Cien looked at her, as if measuring her. "About eight months. After that it will be up to you." She stated. "If you need anything, ask the guards outside. They will fulfill any reasonable request." She turned and headed for the door of the suite.

Eight months? Does this mean I am a month or more along? If that was the case then when… The knight test celebration night, She thought as it dawned on her. That brought another question to mind for her to ask. "Cien, wait," Sasha started to ask, then decided against it. Maybe a question for later as she was ready to retch any second now. "Never mind."

Cien had stopped and turned, but when Sasha disregarded it, she turned and left through the door.

As soon as Cien was gone, Sasha felt the morning sickness hit her again. She turned and rushed to the refresher in the bedroom to clear out her stomach. Once she was done, she sat there and cried for a long time. She wanted her friends. She wanted Viran right now. She wanted to be home and not here. And she wanted to know what happened to Cien, because that woman was not her friend she once remembered.

The guards closed the door behind Cien as she exited. Ikari was waiting in the hall for her. Ikari bowed slightly to her when she came out then straightened.

"My lady, pardon my asking, but when I thought we were going to take the girl, she was going to be in… less comfortable quarters," Ikari said. "Why are we treating her like a guest? I thought she was our prisoner? At least until the child is born as that is what we discussed before."

Cien looked at her coldy. "There's no need to unduly stress her or the child. With the Force suppressant, she is as powerless here as she would be in the dungeons."

Ikari twitched as a bit of irritation slipped through, but she bowed her head, avoiding Cien's gaze. "I understand, my lady. My apologies. I was just a tad confused. Please forgive me." She apologized, but irritation was apparent in her undertone.

Cien looked at her, trying to decipher what the twitch meant. "Walk with me." She ordered, as she started heading towards her throne room. Ikari fell to her side. "My own master paid a great price for his unnecessary cruelty. Through strength we gain power, and through power we gain victory. Nowhere in our code does it say we must impart suffering unduly. And even a brief glimpse of history will see that doing so only rallies enemies against us. That was how Palpatine failed." She said, hoping it might reach her Acolyte. She appreciated Ikari as her Acolyte, for her loyalty and how well she served, but occasionally she glimpsed worrying signs in her. "It was your suggestion to capture the Jedi, and raise the child from birth. How might you think chaining the mother in the dungeons and causing her to suffer for the next eight months would affect its development? We want the child to be healthy, not crippled from birth."

Ikari nodded, looking ashamed. "I see your point, my lady. Then I will make sure her stay here is comfortable and well until the child is born. You have my word," she promised.

Cien looked at her and nodded. "Attend to your other duties." She said, dismissing the Acolyte.

Ikari bowed and left without another word.

Kyr pushed the levers forward and the Shadow Runner jumped into hyperspace, the mottled tunnel appearing from the starlines. They headed to the Unknown Regions, picking up the trail where Kyr had left off years earlier, when he had tried to track down Cien after Endor and hit a dead end. A part of him, then, had not had the heart to follow through with the search, having no idea what to do once he actually found her. He wasn't sure about seeing her again, but he hadn't wanted to report her to the New Republic navy so they could go obliterate her either. So when he had hit the place where the trail went cold, he had spent some time trying to find the next step, to try to figure out where she had run. But ultimately he had not had his full heart in it since it could have only ended badly one way or the other

This time though they had to find out. And whatever trepidation he had about what would happen at the end of this journey, of which he had no illusions about how this would end, they needed to get Sasha back. Viran was in the lounge, probably absently playing a game with Tac, Op was in the co-pilot's seat being Op.

"Are you okay?" Oppie asked his brother.

"Of course I'm not." Kyr replied, looking over at him from behind his buy'ce. "She got kidnapped on my watch, when I should have protected her."

Op was silent for a while, "I did look up the security footage of what happened." He said quietly.

Kyr glanced at him, but said nothing.

"I don't want to pry, but -" Op started to continue before Kyr interrupted.

"There is only one way this ends, one way that Sasha and her child, our family can be safe." Kyr said heavily. "And after what happened, I'm okay with that."

Oppie, though he was not gifted with the same empathetic powers as Sasha, was still able to discern the coldness that fell over Kyr. And the fact that he was not okay with it, at all. But he decided it was best to tread lightly. "We'll get her back." Oppie said, looking forward into the mottled tunnel of hyperspace.

"Yeah, we will." Kyr stated.

"So where are we headed?" Oppie asked, trying to change the subject.

"Valocose." Kyr answered. "I was given the name of a contact there." He said numbly. "It's the last planet on the way into the Unknown Regions, where ultimately she'll be."

"Someone you know?" Oppie asked, falling into his investigative mode.

"No, but…" Kyr trailed off. "He's a former pilot in the Alliance that disappeared there so that he could get away from our side of the galaxy. People I trust gave me his name. He may have heard rumors of whatever is going on out there. From there we just follow the chain."

"Okay, sounds good." Oppie agreed.

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