So often she had been the one to lecture the other pilots in their wing on their duties as Republic soldiers. It came with being the flight lieutenant commander of the ace squadron, and wingman to their leader. Before every battle with the Imperial forces, she started with the first duty, no matter what would follow afterward depending on the situation.

Destroy the enemy. Escape capture. Come home alive.

She had failed the first two, and with every passing day, it became more and more apparent that she would fail the third as well.

The first week had been a waking hell. Initially after her capture, they had barely touched her. Aside from stripping off her uniform and binding her to a cold metal bed, there was virtually no physical harm like she had expected.

That had been a very mild discomfort compared to the painful strobing lights that bombarded her eyes when they were clamped open. Piercing sounds that rattled right through her montrals until it felt like they would shatter. Smells and tastes that forced her to vomit, and subsequently choke for several frightening moments when she couldn't clear her throat.

The touching began when she was forced to wake hours later. People in plain surgical masks and darkened goggles, pressing around her body in all places with their cold gloved hands. All humming a low tone that she couldn't escape from despite every effort she made.

Somehow, it still managed to pale when her captor finally arrived.

One of her people no less. Possibly one of the most twisted minds she had ever encountered. Losing her lekku had not been painless by any stretch, but the disgusting look of pleasure that she had seen still haunted her. The taste for the blood of her own kind, a raw desire to see suffering.

There were old stories about a Togruta witch who had been exiled from Shili, after having her lekku cut off as a warning to never return. As if everything else the Sith had done to her wasn't enough, they had to bring that haunting nightmare to life.

Worst of all, the only thing she felt was a dull sense of emptiness. Her emotions really had been snatched away, including fear. All that remained was a skinny wretch of a body that scrounged up whatever they fed her for the past several days. Escape was a distant thought in her mind.

She couldn't even remember her own name anymore.

"Omena Rami, back away from the door."

The voice was muffled by the thick metal, but she understood the instruction well enough. More than likely it was another cruel game that her guards for the day had decided to play. At least by going along with it, she could escape far worse possibilities.

Her hand immediately went up to shield her eyes as a lightsaber blade burned through the door. It wasn't until chunks of hot carved metal were shoved inside that she realized the blade itself was bright blue.

"Sorry we took so long. Only just got tipped off about this ship hours ago." Through the doorway stepped a woman who had to bend down to half her height just to make it safely. Upon seeing the frail Togruta, she clipped her lightsaber back onto her belt and crouched down amongst the cooling metal chunks. "I'm Jayden. I'm with the Jedi to rescue you. We know you must have been through some awful things, but you have to let us help."

Omena was very hesitant to do anything at first, aside from recoiling a little more from the towering woman. She looked far too muscular for a Jedi, and paranoia was focusing in on every little detail. It could very easily be another deception, just to give her captors something else to mock her with.

"You're not Jedi. I'm not falling for another trick.

The sound of blaster fire began to echo into the cell, along with yells from Qoso. Time to calm their rescue target was being chewed away by the second. "You're right. Husband and I are Mandalorians, that's him yelling out there. In short we owe Blue Squadron a favour."

She extended her arms out, ready to lift Omena up off the cold floor. "Now I'm carrying you out either way. You can struggle, or you can hold on tight."

At the back of Omena's mind, what Jayden was saying seemed to make some semblance of sense. Aside from the fact that she had little choice anyway given her weakened state, what had been said did sound like her previous encounters with Mandalorians. A constant tone of honesty and honour.

A slight nod was all she could manage in the end. The idea that she was being rescued at that very moment still felt distant. Just as distant as the missing part of her body.

Jayden wasted no time in lifting her up and returning to the doorway. "Qoso! We clear to leave?" She had a much harder time getting back out, not being able to hunch over nearly as much with the woman in her arms and holding on for dear life. The delay only served to allow more blaster shots to fly past her face.

From the other corner to her left came Sereti and Koor. A fireball from an explosion in the security wing was right behind them, though fortunately blew past down the other corridor.

Upon seeing their rescue target was safe, Koor swiftly moved past to help Qoso defend at the end of the cell block where more and more Imperial troops were arriving. An increasing number of them were being handed out defensive equipment to advance their line. "Third wave of charges are ready. On your mark."

"Didn't think Jedi were good at laying explosives. Here's hoping." After a quick mow down of coverfire, Qoso ducked back around the doorway for a moment's breath. "Jay, remind us how fast you can run while carrying someone the whole way."

"Faster than your cousin on our wedding day. She used to be the fastest in our clan." A frown followed as she noticed how unamused Sereti was by the remark. Not an easy thing to tell from someone who covered half their face.

She leaned her head out to look at the approaching attackers. There weren't nearly as many soldiers as the Sith could throw at them, especially considering the lengths they had gone to in capturing Omena to begin with, but even then it was more than they could handle for much longer. "Set it for four minutes. Let's go."


Omena's memory of everything after her cell door being opened was a long blur of activity. Blaster fire, explosions, a lot of yelling. Not unlike being in the pilot's seat, except she was very cold the entire time.

Freeze dried meat had never tasted so wonderful. Actual fibre that she could finally chew on to sate her long starved natural drive for flesh. And while she longed for more, the others had been very clear that it would be a long time before she would be ready to eat normally again.

For now, she had been left to contemplate the fact that the rest of her life would not be the same. It was entirely possible that she wouldn't even be allowed to return to active duty.

Her growing anxiety apparently drew the attention of Sereti, who entered the room only moments later to sit down opposite her. It was her first time meeting any of the Jedi Council in person, and in other circumstances she would have felt quite proud at the opportunity. All she felt at that moment was a cold emptiness, and mixed desire to not be alone any more.

"It's like radio silence on patrol. You hear nothing but your own breathing, and heartbeat. Only it's all gone forever, isn't it?" Her eyes drifted downward as she clasped her hands in her lap. The actual verdict wouldn't come until she was treated at whatever hospital they were headed to. After all, if there was anything the Jedi could do for her, they wouldn't have waited so long to tell her.

Sereti could only watch in solemn silence, feeling the quiet pain that Omena was going through, focused around the left side of her head. There was a noticeable dullness there in her presence. "We are already searching for genetic researchers, cloning experts; anyone who can potentially restore your lekku through biological means. And we have access to some of the best cybernetic surgeons in the galaxy already."

Omena's head soon followed her eyes, lowering down in defeat. A month ago, she would have started snapping about cushioning the hard truth, or demanding that every effort be made to get revenge for such a desecration. There was no passion, anger or determination she could feel. Just the cold.

"That's a lot of effort for a pilot that doesn't have anything to do with the Jedi. I wouldn't even expect that much from the military. Are you planning to pin a medal on my jacket before it goes into storage?"

"Tegama'Arani is latent Force sensitive, and there are many issues surrounding her at this point in time." A lingering sigh came from Sereti. She wanted very much to hear everything Omena could say about Maarani. Any little detail could provide much needed insight into how her sensitivity was lost eight years ago, or why she was more emotionally turbulent than they had ever anticipated.

It soon came back to the hard truth about the other pilots. She didn't like the idea of throwing such horrific news on her after the ordeal, but if left unmentioned for too long… "She was one of the few survivors of your squadron. The White Terror got to the others, we are still unclear as to why she let Tegama go. But while she is pre-occupied elsewhere, I will personally ensure the rest are able to visit when you have had time to recover."

Again, Omena was silent for a while, still somewhat perplexed by the fact that such shocking news was barely having an effect on her. She couldn't even feel anger at the fact that the ability to grieve for her close friends had been snatched away. And yet, at that moment she was starting to experience real contempt.

"Little blue ball of misery was special after all then. Took eight years for that to come through, only it's not doing the squad any good now. Bet she's happy that she's free from drills and practice."

"Considering what prompted her to join in the first place, I don't think it's fair to…"

Omena finally began to feel something other than emptiness, or dull variations of annoyance. For a moment she had no regard for who Sereti was, or what lengths they had gone to in her rescue. The mere idea of passing judgement on her attitude was something she couldn't ever ignore.

"I had to put up with every one of her sob stories. I know exactly what 'prompted' her to join, and all the shortcuts she was given because of that, whether she wanted them or not. Spare me."

Sereti merely tightened her lip and departed at that. Any hope of gleaning information from her had been dashed out. Perhaps altogether, given the apparent disgruntlement. It was now up to Omena's own superiors to handle her eventual debriefing.

Her disappointed state of mind was apparent to the others as soon as she entered the room they had gathered in. "It seems Tegama was not exaggerating to Dana. Her relations with Omena at least were far from pleasant, if not outright hostile. I do have to wonder why nothing was done about it over all these years though."

Koor shrugged as she leaned her chair back a bit more, both arms folded firmly across her chest as she looked to each of them. "She had me fooled for a while there. While that was partially because the truth about her was kept from me for so long, it doesn't change the fact that she can be a pretty good liar when she wants to be."

"It's possible she was intimidated into keeping quiet for the sake of the squadron." Jayden in contrast sat forward when she spoke up. "I don't know her personally, but so far she doesn't sound like the type who would want to appear like she can't handle the pressure. If that got out, they'd go right to her squadmates to learn more and find out they were doing the opposite of being supportive. Last thing ace pilots want is a record of picking on someone who's falling behind."

"And now over half of them are dead. In any case, it is out of our hands." Sereti moved around to take a seat as well, still keeping to her more formal demeanour. "Tegama needs to overcome a lot more than any one of us has in the past. Our focus must be helping her to do that. We owe her that and so much more to begin with."

Her attention soon settled on Jayden across the table from her. "Atris is struggling with her more than I expected. When they do depart for wherever we can send them next, I believe someone far more patient and firm can help guide her. Now I realize I have already asked a lot of you on very short notice…"

Jayden lifted her hand with a soft smile, keeping Sereti from going on more. "I think I can handle a Twi'lek on my own fine. And being involved in this mission did help settle my priorities." Her gaze moved to the left where Qoso was sitting quietly. Clasping his hand in her own, the exchange of looks between them seemed to say more than enough.

"It'll be a while before I get over the leg, but at least I won't be sitting around constantly thinking about it." She turned back to Sereti, her hand remaining firmly closed around her husband's. "Should I book passage to Telos soon then, or wait at their next destination?"

"Dana will know best. We can ask her at the next check-in." Sereti found herself briefly distracted by Omena again, who had left her bed to pace around the room in a fuming mood. "Mind talking to Omena? I think we need to consider the possibility that the Sith did more than extract information from her." From her unseen point of view, she continued to observe until Jayden entered the room a few moments later, at which point Omena seemed to calm down a little.

"Here to say how Maarani's changed a lot while I was stuck in a cell?"

Jayden gave a bemused shrug while pulling up a seat next to the bed, appearing very unfazed. "Apparently I'm going to be teaching her soon. As second squad leader, you'd know what gets through to her by now."

A dark look from the Togruta made her shrug again. "Suit yourself. Enjoy the fact that you can only feel dark emotions now. That seems to be the point behind cutting off your lekku, turning you into something like Darth Lasidia herself."

Her eyes were intently watching Omena's face for every reaction that followed. The sort of flicker expressions that she often noticed amongst those who worked for the Sith during her previous assignments. It fell into place with what they knew about the current Dark Lord. To her relief the point did seem to make it through, as those looks of anger and such soon faded away.

When Omena finally came to a state of calm, she sat down on the bed and returned to her more solemn pose. "She said it was a message. And something about 'showing her the way to the Rakata'." Her head began to spin as she was thrust back to that traumatic hour. Feeling the vibrations of the blade, and a tongue gliding along her wounds. "What gods did I upset to get that kind of treatment?"

With her best face of comfort, Jayden stretched her arm out to grip onto Omena's left shoulder, being very careful around the stump. "I know having a leg blown off doesn't really compare, but I will say that closing yourself off from those trying to help doesn't work. And as much as you might want to get back into the action, take two weeks off at least. Then ask for a dangerous rescue mission of your own."

It didn't get a smile out of her, but both knew it wasn't because Jayden's words were not helpful. Another long winded sigh followed before Omena finally had the will to sit up a bit taller. "I wonder if anyone will even notice. I never cared for being nice, or friendly about anything."

"When you get your lekku fixed up, that would be a good time to start." Jayden's hand slid off her shoulder, coming to rest on her own cybernetic leg. "Once you get over the realization that it's just a lie to yourself, it's not so bad. At the very least you get something back. Sometimes it's just enough to forget about the pain for a little while."

Omena let it sink in for a long while, her gaze unwavering from the floor before them. In essence, she had to accept the fact that nothing would return to how it was. Her choice to leave her tribe to fight with the Republic would be the first new challenge to face, as she now had nowhere else to go but home.

Whatever dark place she had fallen into in the cell, Jayden had managed to bring her out of it for a little while at least. That much she owed her for. "Maarani is a bit of a crybaby, but she does have real determination when she actually wants to be focused. Just give her a daily routine to follow and she'll stick to it." Her gaze finally lifted away from the floor, slowly turning to the woman herself. "If she is going to fight the Sith eventually, ask her to find out about my lekku. Whatever Darth Lasidia did with it, I want to know."

"I'll let you know when it gets to that. Don't count yourself out of the fight just yet." Jayden left it at that to return to the main room.

By then, Koor and Qoso were both working on the holocommunicator while Sereti paced around the other end of the room. She was quick to notice Jayden's return. "Something happened at Telos. We can't make contact with the Distant Star, and so far Citadel Station hasn't responded. We might have to take a detour there if Atris is out of touch as well."

Conveniently, a holoimage of Atris was finally projected up in the middle of the table at that moment. Her focus immediately went to Sereti. "The HK droids attacked the station. Word is they were after a Twi'lek, and both Tegama and Dana are missing. That was three hours ago." A trembling breath followed after. Her composure was clearly poor. "The droids have a Republic destroyer that picked up a passenger and left shortly after. It is entirely possible they were able to track down the Distant Star"

Her breathing became a lot heavier. For a few tense seconds, the projection flickered violently as she began to stumble out of the scanner zone.

Worrying looks passed between the others until the image returned, this time of Shamara.

"Master Atris says it was just a mild panic attack, but I fear it may be worse. I would ask that help be sent when possible, so we can attempt to track down the Distant Star ourselves. Right now I do not believe we can leave her alone at all."

"We will have a medical transport there immediately. But while I appreciate the offer, you and the others must remain on Telos to help restore order." She turned her head to Jayden, who nodded in clear acknowledgement. "I already planned to send someone to help Tegama with her training, they will be able to find her and Dana."

"Very well. Good luck to you all."

As soon as the communication ended, Jayden lightly rested her hand on Sereti's shoulder. "I'll find them, no matter what. They can't have gone far in just a few hours, no matter what the circumstances." She turned to Qoso as he approached as well, a soft smile forming as she took his hands in hers. "I know we've had so little actual time together, but from now on I'll make a real effort to call every day. Let me know where you're posted to next, okay?"

"It was worth seeing you happy again. My life for yours, just as I promised." He kissed her for what would be the last time in a long while, taking hold of her shoulders in that moment before releasing her to her duties.

Koor was the only one to notice a slight shudder from Sereti during the exchange.