"Anything to report."

As he had every time he was on watch duty, Samuel gave the most belated of shrugs as he twisted his chair around. The sight of a hot drink being carried in by Culligan was a welcome respite from the tedium now just behind his shoulder. "She just stays in that headstand, constantly. Freaky enough with that stare of hers without meditating like that." He slowly twisted his head back around. For a moment he had the terrifying impression that she was now staring at him through the camera display.

"Don't let her get to you. Remember what good ol' Rasters said. You only need to be afraid of something the Dark Lords can't kill. I bet Lord Kiarna could take her down in a pinch." Culligan took up the other seat while placing both his drink and Samuel's down on the small bench. The Twi'lek was still in her normal pose, standing perfectly still on her hands. It was almost comical to see, though none of them would dare crack a smile at the cost of any Sith.

"Rasters also has Morgak to protect him from them. And our merciful red skinned overlord is off in the ass-end of the galaxy for all we know. You really think the lizard is going to protect a couple of corporals from that thing?"

Culligan was quick to shush him rather fiercely, constantly looking around the room on the odd chance they were also being observed. "They'd have your neck if they caught you talking like that. Would you rather Lord Rak'Sakar does the deed over the Twi'lek?"

"He wouldn't invade the bunk in the middle of the night and rip your intestines out. Or chew your eyeballs while she hangs you by your ears. There's Sith, and there's screwed beyond sanity. So yeah, I really would prefer the unseen blade over the flesh eater." When he finally took a sip of his drink, it brought a much needed feeling of relief. In an hour he would be off observation duty again, free from the tension.

"Observation Station; you are hereby ordered to terminate all surveillance and recording equipment, and return to your standing posts for the next hour. Comply immediately." A clearance code followed immediately after. Silent was issuing the command.

Both men were shocked briefly before carrying out the order in a very hurried state. Unlike the Dark Lords, the executive torturer made a point of knowing every single face in the Imperial army.

"Another visit to the Twi'lek? Why is he so insistent that there be no record of them?"

"Not our place to ask. You said yourself, she's mad as hell, and I doubt even Silent's sabacc face holds up in there." Culligan took a short breath once the last monitor had been switched off. While less stressed about the whole matter than his colleague, there was still a notable sense of dread over whether they would conform to orders in time. "Standing posts? We're off duty in an hour anyway?"

A smile crossed Samuel's face as he retrieved his drink, taking another long gulp. "I think you have the right idea. Let's round up who we can in the game lounge."


As soon as Masaka sensed a cease in the activity in the monitoring equipment around the room, her eyes flicked open.

With barely a thought, she began levitating up towards the ceiling. Once there, she crossed her legs and rested both hands on her knees. A normal sitting position, except for the fact that she was actively defying gravity in the process.

"Separate. Speak. Listen."

She turned her head to the left. From her eyes poured two streams of energy, twisting and merging into a humanoid form. It took the form of a human man, bearing scars that matched her own. The Sith master of speed. As she had taught Kiarna not that long ago.

She turned her head to the right. Another stream of energy poured from her eyes, this time taking the form of a Twi'lek man. His lekku bore a matching pair of spikes that had been driven through the flesh. The Sith master of warping. Lasidia had been most interested in its use, though she had not explained why.

Finally, her gaze moved to the spot across the ceiling light from her. A Kaleesh woman was formed, her mask split down the middle in line with the large scar that divided her face. The Sith overlord of balance, the one thing keeping all four of their minds from consuming each other.

"You have news for us, young one?"

Masaka nodded sagely, her fiery eyes glaring between the three of them in rapid succession. "The lizard is growing more suspicious by the day. He suspects I know that he plans to betray Lasidia when we find the superweapon. He plans to kill me before that, we must learn how to survive his attack."

The human, Darth Properatus, nodded with a low hum. "It would seem the art of Force speed has been refined drastically since my time. I focused on distance, size. he focused on single strikes. The same power condensed into a single blow would take the Force a truly focused Sith Lord to deflect. Even us four together might not be powerful enough to stop such an onslaught."

After a pause for further thought, Masaka turned to her right again. "Darth Fradactus, Could we simply warp an explosive into one of his body cavities? He would have a hard time cutting it out before detonation."

"I have contemplated that at length, child. But you would need an impression of such a cavity." A ghostly hand moved up to feel around the hard spikes. While it was all an illusion created by Masaka's mind, the pain still felt very real to him. "Kiarna could teach you to perceive through the Force, but Rak'Sakar would be alerted immediately and protect himself against such an attack. Technology would suffer the same drawback."

"A dirty trick would have been better, but if we must outwit him in combat, so be it." She turned her attention forward again, meeting the unwavering gaze of Dark Lord Trutinavi. "Any ideas? I certainly don't have the physical strength to fight him in a 'fair' match."

For a while, barely a sound came from the Kaleesh. Even in their ethereal state, with no reason to blink, her uninterrupted stare was harrowing. The raw malice, hatred, and fury trapped behind the carve down her face. Thousands of years of being trapped in a tiny box while her mortal remains faded into dust had slimmed that restraint by a great deal.

"Attack his weakness. Find the head of his mate, hanging on the wall of a Mandalorian hunter's home. Take her dead eyes and crush them in front of his." When she leaned forward, both men to either side of her leaned back just a little, still very much fearful of her presence alone. "The pretenders are the pinnacle of everything wrong with what the Sith have become in our absence. Lasidia has the courage to admit her utter disrespect for the true ways. Rak'Sakar knows only the corrupt shadow of them, ruined by centuries of pride and greed."

"Of that I am well aware. It still sickens me that I had to suck up to the bitch just to be released from that cell. She cannot comprehend the suffering she will feel for taking my lekku." Masaka took a long moment to breathe. Maintaining the three projections took an enormous amount of effort on her half, and for once she couldn't draw on anger to fuel that effort.

Her thoughtline soon moved to their long term plan. Something she had nothing to be angry over. "Properatus, I believe there are more than enough humans to sift through for a suitably powerful host. We can arrange acolyte trials as soon as the leash is off, you will be free soon enough.

With his nod of acknowledgement, she looked to Fradactus again. "When we capture my sister, we can find a superior genetic match for her. If she really does have hidden powers as Lasidia believes, then I can think of no better a being to inherit them when she gives birth."

"If only we had more Sith like you in our time. Glad to murder and torment family members for the benefit of all."

A smile cracked her face when she once again looked to Trutinavi. "Since Force sensitives of your race are rare, we may have to break a Jedi for you to inhabit. I cannot guarantee they will be of the right gender either, or nearly as powerful as you once were at first."

"It matters not to me, child. My days of rule ended when the traitors cut my head down the middle. A new body to complete my work with is enough." She twisted her head around to glimpse at the door behind. For a moment, the slits of her eyes glowed bright against her transparent form. It was a while before she returned her gaze to the bright light they were circled around. "I sensed the presence of another. It was not Sith, or Jedi. Not the Jedi of this era at least."

"Perhaps another of Lasidia's dangerous ghosts. Now, is there anything else that must be discussed as individuals?" This time when her eyes glanced over the three, it was much slower, only moving when an acknowledgement had been made. None had further matters to discuss.

With a deep breath, she released her hands from her knees. "Converge. Whisper. Hear."


Silent's fingers clasped around the middle of his forehead. The newest wave of acolytes had been performing so poorly that it was impossible to pick out the weakest for target practise. Rak'Sakar's demands for more frontline duelists and casters had only made the task that much harder. Even fear and anger weren't enough to conjure the slightest spark from their fingertips.

The arrival of Masaka following her private hour only served to further his headache. Keeping up his mental defences against her prying eyes was strenuous enough. "If you're here to gloat about being right, go somewhere else. I am not in the smiling mood today."

"I've done some thinking. I want an apprentice. You have my word I won't harm the ones I don't choose, physically or otherwise." Her soft smile grew a little more as he seemed ready to capitulate immediately. It hadn't been long at all since she was one of those acolytes herself, and already she was making headway with her new plans.

"Fine. Everyone line up!" As the mess of dark red robes formed into a line, Silent walked down along them with his hands clasped behind his back. "Some of you may know Masaka by reputation. The 'Twi'lek monster in a cage', or the 'Tail-head with no head tails'." His hand moved to his lightsaber as he noticed a few of them snickering when he passed by. "If fear of me, or anger at the fact that you are all too easy to trip over in the hallway is not enough to make you into Sith, I suggest you take another look at your potential master."

At the end of the line, Masaka gave a small wave while baring her wicked teeth. The scars covering her body were glowing red to further her appearance. "Hello younglings. I do hope you remembered to bring your hands to school today."

With a wrist flick, the lightsaber on her hip flew out and activated mid-air, chopping off the hands of the nearest acolyte. While she fell to the floor, crying in pain at the raw stumps that made up her wrists, Masaka moved on to glare at the rest of the apprentices.

"First rule of being a Sith. The truth belongs on your deathbed. Lies start in bed, in the workplace, and…" Another movement sent the head of the next acolyte rolling along the floor, having flown past Silent's ear. "Every test you take. But remember, I am allowed to lie because my life means something to the others. Yours do not, therefore lying will just make you lose limbs faster."

Her hand moved again, bringing her lightsaber to the knees of the next young woman in the line. The little mumble, and trembling of her lip made Masaka's glee even stronger. "I saw that. You're a lot like my sister. Too busy looking at tits when she could have been making something of herself." The lightsaber remained at the acolytes knees while she circled around, moving in close enough to feel panicked breath on her lips.

"Would you like a closer look?"

For a fraction of a second, the terrified acolyte glanced down.

Just as quickly, Masaka's hand struck her face with enough power to send her sprawling across the ground. "Disgusting little wenches, the lot of you. Grow up and find men that will give you good children already!" She twisted her head back to the others again. It took a while for her disgusted expression to return to the smile of a joyful killer. "Anyone who isn't a human male is dismissed. My needs are specific, but I couldn't resist a fun little speech. Good Sith always have long winded monologues about their vision for the future. Darth Lasidia certainly seems to think so."

The whimpering from the first acolyte caught her attention. With a simple wave of her arm, the dismembered hands floated back through the air to her wrists and reconnected themselves. "Ask me nicely, and I will do nice things in return. I am not interested in your suffering like Lord Kiarna is. Now go and make sure I didn't make your arms a few inches shorter, dear." Her eyes flicked over to the beheaded acolyte. "Practise for restoring my lekku does have limits. Don't bother asking me to reattach your head."

Once the aliens, females and alien females had departed, she paced along the line again. None of the men looked remotely like Properatus, but that was of little concern given the ease of facial alterations. "I am looking for the strongest of you. Intelligence and wit are not as important to me right now. I make decisions, you will follow my instructions. Don't need much of a brain for that." The right corner of her lips twisted up into a weird half grin. "That said, those of you with wit, and good observation will know what my needs are."

She rolled her eyes briefly as some glances went down to her slender curves. "Lust isn't the way of the Sith. But you're not getting anywhere right now, so we'll make do. Do keep in mind that having a reward touted in front of your nose for doing well comes with a new level of intense training and strictness that will make you cry." The breath she took following that lasted a fair while. It was so easy to monologue on and promote the idea that she was completely insane.

"Are there any questions not relating to my body?"

A lot of murmuring from the men followed as they glanced at each other, and at her fiery eyes. Eventually they all shook their heads

"Good. We begin once Darth Rak'Sakar gives his approval to continue. Since Darth Lasidia is on vacation to the ass-end of the galaxy we need to make do with what authority is available. Dismissed." When they took their time to leave, her smile faded. "Get out!"

After a tense minute of bustling, the only two people left in the room were Masaka and Silent. And the headless body.

"This isn't a dating service. Do you really have any intention of training whomever you choose, Masaka?"

She shot a glare at him before making her way back to her quarters. "As a matter of fact I do. Perks aside, I need someone that I can trust a handful of secrets to. Since your loyalties are to Darth Lasidia, it necessitated an apprentice. And it turns out I love how my voice sounds when I'm giving speeches."

At the threshold of the training hall, her smile finally returned. "Like I said, the first rule of Sith is that Sith lie. Best to start the day with a healthy dose of irony." Every step down the corridor was accompanied by another beat to her soft chuckle. Maniacal laughter had quickly lost appeal with her, and it made Silent that much more annoyed.

Sooner or later, he would tell her the significance of the glass rod, why it made her hear the echoing thoughts of her sister. Why it glistened in the light so perfectly. The secrets of the tiny Jedi artifact would become clear to her in due time.


"I do not understand why they spend so much time in motionless silence. It is infuriating!"

Morgak cracked a slight smile at Darth Rak'Sakar's growing frustration. Very slight, as he knew better than to anger him with jest. "Personally I prefer a good hot drink, some parlour games with the officers, and then a book of intrigue, mystery and suspense. It may be as simple as males finding concentration in activity, whereas females find it in tranquility. That would appear to be the case between us all."

It earned a growl from the Barabel, who dragged his tongue along his teeth to help with his boredom. The burning desire to start tearing the place to shreds for the sake of activity was far worse than usual. "I have no use for games, including the one you are trying to play with me right now. I do not like intrigue, mystery and suspense. I want that weapon! I want Mandalore the Steadfast to grovel at my feet!"

"My Lord, a message is coming in from Lord Kiarna's ship, but it is not using the standard encryptions."

With a gesture of his hand, Rak'Sakar brought up a holographic display of the message in text. A grumbling hiss soon rolled from his lips as he took a while to make sense of the contents. "Two weeks. Two weeks and she continues to move her wretched people around in a taxi service. If she and Lasidia are so afraid of the Twi'lek's sister, why does Kiarna continue in this pointless endeavour? And why does she drag my slave along for it all?" Another wave of his hand made the report vanish.

"As you said, they fear what she has already started doing to that stupid girl. You saw the way she ran away right into the arms of her motherly figure. If she had eyes, there would have been tears streaming down under that mask." His jaw shifted to the right as he looked directly at Rak'Sakar, now becoming the one who had to contain his inner feelings. "She has been broken by the Twi'lek, and now her predecessor is taking advantage of that exposed weakness. And still she refuses help from anyone other than her master, who we obviously cannot call upon for help now."

Another growl came from Rak'Sakar, his slitted eyes starting to glow in a fiery orange. "You test the limits of my patience, human. Lasidia may consider you a friend, but she and I do not always agree." He was about to lift his hand towards Morgak in a threatening gesture. Such action had always proven to be more than effective on other Imperial officers who overstepped their bounds.

The unwavering look of determination was enough to make him lower it down again. Unlike most humans, Morgak was definitely not someone he could scare easily. "You are right however. When Lasidia left me to pursue the superweapon, I was given the impression that we already had what we needed. She did not tell me that the pilot we captured was for another purpose entirely."

"She works in strange ways, I will admit. And while I would normally be the first to say we should trust in her judgement, and wait for her to execute her plans…" Morgak's gaze finally shifted away from the Sith to the empty space ahead of their vessel. Somewhere out there, the Ashbringer was being raided by Jedi, looking to rescue that very pilot. Just as she had planned. "The matter with Kiarna is a clear exception to all of that. She should be here, learning the ways of an Empress, like an actual leader. And now the only two who know what is happening inside her head are both beyond our reach. We don't even know what this Maarani looks like, beyond resembling Masaka."

A shuddering sigh briefly broke his composure. "She did leave you in command, so I will defer to your authority, as any and all loyal officers of the Empire would. She is not here to object to your orders.

This time it was a hiss that Rak'Sakar made as he approached the viewing platform again. It was not with malice however. "I am giving the orders now… General Morgak, organize a meeting with your subordinates. It is time we begin to re-evaluate our situation."