The low buzz of the morning siren brought Azera back to reality. Going into deep meditation was the only thing she could do in the dismal cell after all. The entire block had been left clear, with her occupying the cell in the very centre. Furthest from either corridor intersection. Deep inside the building that housed her.

Unlike the secure prison cells built in the Jedi Temple, the walls weren't designed to block her vision. It had allowed a chance to view more of the building properly. Unlike most prison cells, it was lighter on internal security, but extremely fortified against outside attack.

She doubted that the Republic had decided to go soft on her, especially after what had happened in the lead-up to her arrest. The only other explanation then, was that they believed putting real guards in her way would simply be a death sentence. And the Jedi were neither inclined nor capable of providing guards of their own to take their place.

Not that she had made even a momentary attempt at escape since incarceration.

Her pondering was interrupted by the arrival of morning rations. Quite literally a nutrient bar on a paper sheet, lowered down from the corridor level to that of the cell through a secure chute.

When the desire to get up finally came, Azera did so, starting off by making her way over to the waiting bar. Pulling it over with the Force would draw more attention, and leaving it there would just make it seem as if she planned to start a hunger strike. Which would in turn bring even more attention towards her.

A lack of interest in food was her saving grace in that case. Long had she trained herself to find sustenance through the energy of the Force. The bland nature of the bar was of little concern to her. All she had to do was take the occasional bite, satisfy her captors that she was behaving, and remain as quiet as possible.

Keeping quiet with Maarani wasn't required by that same logic, but she had done so all the same. After their brief reunion at the embassy, speaking to each other through thought alone didn't seem sensible any longer.


"I thought I'd find you here."

Maarani looked to her left as Utan approached. A momentary distraction from the view of the gardens below the temple.

"My parents talked about the times they talked with Yuthura in this place. They said it was her favourite spot in the entire Temple."

"Indeed. This is where I spoke with her on the day of her return alongside your crew."

There still hadn't been a request from Yuthura for Maarani to come see her. The reminder of that made her wince briefly. It wasn't a matter of worrying that she'd miss the moment when it came. Rather that it would come when she was also needed elsewhere, and would be forced to make a choice.

It was a cynical view, but the optimistic one had yet to release her thoughts. That Yuthura was aware of events beyond her scope, and would in fact choose the right time for that final meeting.

"Have you spoken with her since?"

Utan shook his head, coming to stand beside Maarani to watch over the gardens. "She shared her contemplations on the Force. And her theories on the Lady of Balance. I suspect she has already compiled it all to her holocron by now anyway.

Maarani nodded sagely, though there was a faint smile to her lips while she did so. "Probably just wanted to experience what discussion is like again."

Here expression soon fell after. There was a feeling of shame and regret coming from Utan. It had been there from the moment he approached, something he was already thinking about when coming to find her then. She had a fair guess what was involved.

"Tegama, there is much the Jedi Council as a whole has to apologize for in regards to the course of your life until this point. But, I must apologize for my own personal actions as well."

That took Maarani by surprise. Of all the members of the Council, Utan had by far seemed like the most trustworthy. Perhaps it was simply something about his honest face. Or that he was from a short, green species of powerful Force users she didn't even know the name of, but nonetheless carried with them a sensation of openness about everything else.

To see his whole mannerism so wound up and distraught by guilt was almost upsetting to her. She was already doubting that it was that warranted.

"I was the one who went to Mirial, extracted those restricted files about the operation, and made the devastating mistake of sending them here on a poorly secured transmission. Everything that has happened as a result of that act ultimately falls to my misjudgement. And my personal decision to find answers you were in no position to give."

It took a while for her to do anything. Letting it sink in was already hard enough. She had gone over everything that had resulted from it several times herself. Knowing who, why, and how the leak that started it all began just complicated an already messy situation.

There was no easy answer, just a straightforward patching over for when the time of reckoning would come.

"Master Utan, I'm not going to even try and weigh up whether the truth coming out was ultimately better or worse for everyone. Including the Mirialans." Maarani knelt down after that, taking a moment to brush her lekku behind her shoulders before coming eye to eye with Utan. "Please, don't let this ruin you. I'm not going to think less of you for what happened back then. We all made mistakes, and now we're dealing with them."

She didn't even want to get into the kind of regret she felt over her message to the galaxy. There was plenty of that going around.

It took a little longer for a better solution to click over. Before doing so, she shifted herself around to sit properly, legs out over the waterfall below, though with a lot more lap space so that she could balance both lightsabers she was carrying in safety.

"While we're coming clean, Master Utan, I think you're well overdue a real chance to look at the lightsaber crystal I used. And Azera's too, for that matter."

With great care, she unsheathed both weapons through use of the Force, lifting the blood-orange and purple crystals over towards Utan for him to examine. It was very clear that his previous dour mood was overtaken by awe at that point. Exactly what she had hoped for.

He took one into each hand between two claws, looking over Wildfire at length, and then Azera's crystal. Years of experience gave him an instinct for examining the crystals, even without his tools. Beyond the colours, he could tell they were something very unique, right down to what he could perceive of the crystalline structure at particular angles.

It was enough to lift his spirits from the depths they had fallen towards, and left him with something to look forward to when things eventually calmed down again.

"You must have quite a tale to share about how they came to be."

Maarani smiled, then gave a small nod while reaching her hand out. The way Utan handed the crystals back to her made it clear he wanted her to share that another time.

"Yeah, they've both got some history to them I guess. Can't say I want to be tied to the legend of the Red Tear though. So, Wildfire it is." She reset both crystals into their respective lightsabers manually that time.

The process eventually made her catch her breath, holding back a short bout of either laughter, or tears. Her eyes felt watery afterwards regardless. "Master Utan?"

"Yes?"

Maarani breathed in a bit, definitely hearing the shudder of crying in her inhale. She couldn't tell what kind it was though.

"Remember back when I first brought the Distant Star here? You mentioned that following the ways of a Jedi Sentinel would suit me well?"

Utan's face furrowed a little for thought. Eventually, when he came to that recollection, he nodded sagely.

After setting the lightsabers back on her belt, Maarani reached up to wipe her eyes clear. "I think you were right all along. And you know what? I'm still emotionally charged."

She prepared to stand after that, gripping onto the railing once her footing was back on the walkway. Before hoisting herself up, she turned to him again, that time feeling a little clearer in the head.

"Thank you, for everything. I mean it. "

She almost left as soon as she was on her feet. Thinking about Azera again brought her back to the reality of their situation. A lot of matters had to be taken care of, and she simply wasn't qualified, or even able to address them all.

"Master Utan, could I ask an extra, very big favour of you?"

Even before she turned to see his nod, she could tell he was already hesitant. In all likelihood, he knew some of what she intended to ask.

"I need to talk to Azera alone for a while. But, when you have time, I'd like you to come visit her with me later. You've handled things with the military and the Senate before. I think we both could use some advice on how we can possibly try and get them to back down."

Utan's grunt for thought said it all. He might have declined on the spot if his mood hadn't been lifted just before. And it was an almost guaranteed losing battle he was being asked to fight in.

"Jedi try to avoid owing favours whenever possible, to avoid complicated attachments that can be exploited by others. Even by other Jedi, at times." His glare right at up at her was stern for just long enough to make his point clear. The fact that he was the one 'being owed' didn't change the concern for him any.

He couldn't reach a final decision, merely a temporary one to keep Maarani's hopes alive. "I will consider the matter, after I have met with her. The latter I can guarantee, my help I cannot."

"That's fine by me, Master Utan. I'm not expecting help from anyone. I'm grateful to have it."

That time, Maarani did leave without looking back. An attempt to help her was another small victory, regardless of what the outcome was. The next small victory would be finding that her demand for free access to Azera's cell wasn't going to be blocked after all.


The communications room in the Temple was still only just returning to activity when Sereti entered. Restoring full function to the array had been a difficult task. But with all the critical structural dangers addressed, and several hours of work, the Jedi were finally reconnected with the galaxy at large again. Something sorely needed with the rising tensions between the Order as a whole and the rest of Coruscant.

"What's our status?"

The leading technician moved around the main holo-table towards Sereti, reaching out her hand to bring up a display of the airspace in a wide area around the Jedi Temple.

"We've repaired most of the communications systems. Relays are still being worked on here, and here." She gestured to certain points along what remained of the upper level surrounding the destroyed spire. "Fleet uplink should be ready soon. Until then, we've still got astromechs making rounds with the nearest secure linkups. Arrival confirmations should be no more than fifteen minutes apart."

It was very far from ideal, but still an improvement from the previous day. Something that was even more crucial now that Mid Rim ships were going to be arriving in greater numbers.

"Alright, it'll have to do. Don't let me keep you and the others. I'll breathe a lot easier once we're back in secure communication with the fleet."


The shift in mood as soon as Maarani approached was all to clear to her. Even on approach towards the facility, something that had required a lot of preparation, she had sensed a lot of begrudging feelings amongst the guards. Maybe it was because they didn't like that she was coming, or that they had been put through unusual positioning as a result of Azera being kept there.

There was no active, or even passive resistance after she set down and made her way inside. Not even attempt to search for weapons that weren't the lightsabers at her sides. Given she still had a vibroknife on her person, and plenty of places of varying appropriateness to hide a holdout blaster, it just left her feeling suspicious if anything.

Less so that Republic security was slipping. More that her influence had in fact spread more than she expected. A desire for others to back off, and not fight her in any way, making itself manifest already.

By the time she reached the internal checkpoint, she had brought herself back to a controlled calm. There wasn't even a hesitation before reaching down to remove her knife, sheath included, which she placed on the bench with a shrug.

The attending guard on the other side of the glass looked at her for a few moments rather blankly.

She returned the same blank expression. Then, somewhat reluctantly, she drew both lightsabers up to set them down beside the knife.

"My personal blaster was destroyed a while back. Got nothing else to turn in, because I am not taking my belt off. Satisfied?"

The guard lowered the three weapons into a secure compartment inside the bench, waiting until it was properly secured before speaking.

"Two will show you to her cell, then return to their posts. You can call for guidance when you're done. Any questions?"

It was very no-nonsense, which in that case Maarani decided to be gracious for. About as not-hostile an explanation as she could get under those circumstances.

"Thank you. You can keep the surveillance on, by the way. Right now I've got nothing to hide."

There was nothing more said between her or any of the guards. Even upon finally arriving at the cell, they remained silent during the process of unlocking the various locking mechanisms in use.

When the door finally slid open, Maarani looked to the two guards while descending the small staircase. She waited until the door closed again to finally release her breath.

Azera looked perfectly fine. Sitting on the flat bench that served as a bed directly opposite the door. She had clearly left meditation well before Maarani had arrived.

Neither of them looked ready to speak first. Maarani with her withdrawn look, arms folded tight, expression nothing short of appalled with the situation. Azera's raspy breathing only made her look of surrender feel worse for it.

It grew to be too much for Maarani. Rather than getting into a long pace across the room, she decided to sit down beside Azera and try to get a response from her that way. When it too failed, along with rolling her head, and groaning at the silence, she gave up altogether on not being the first to speak.

"Crash course in Sith lightning? It can stun quickly if controlled properly, right? I don't want to go Vahla mode and burn anyone with white fire, and I'm still not getting anything from the Lady of Balance."

"Tee, stop it. The dark side doesn't work on 'painless and safe'. That's just a very murky excuse covering the quick descent into places where you'll lose yourself."

By then, Azera had turned her head towards Maarani, something the latter had taken notice of with a rather disconcerted expression.

"Please don't have a sudden urge to get all sappy on me. Or weird for that matter. Can't exactly drag me down to your previous level of darkness when you're going for this new enlightened way of life instead."

Azera turned away right after that, with a bit of an annoyed huff. "I thought you were taking things seriously again. Not everything I say is foreplay."

"I know that!" Maarani began awkwardly glancing around to try and guess where the surveillance was. "I honestly didn't know where you were going with that warning. And besides, at least I know lightning is a dark power. And I know it works on just about anything. It wouldn't be as risky as using my empathic powers at that strength."

"You're not breaking me out of this cell with ten mintues of lightning training. Mostly because I am going to refuse to teach you that for as long as I live, for one."

"Yeah, which will be a few more days the way things are going right now."

Maarani regretting saying that immediately. The way it utterly shut down any form of communication between them just piled onto that sentiment.

No amount of passive compliance was going to change the fact that the Republic still saw her as Kiarna. Losing the mask, the outfit and the sadistic attitude weren't going to be enough. No matter how much either of them wanted to believe they could simply repeat Revan's case.

"I'm sorry, Az. I really wish I knew literally anything else we could talk about. But, let's face it, I'm not really a cultured person. I wouldn't know where to begin on anything topical like music, or fiction of any kind."

"Then don't bother. I'm sorry to say that as Kiarna I wasn't exactly leaving time for cultural pursuits myself. That was something more the purview of Jarrik primarily, and a few others among the sorcerers."

"Oh, good. So we're both uncultured power maniacs sitting in a cell together. With nothing to talk about." Maarani started drumming her fingers against her thighs in quiet contemplation.

It probably was the right time to bring up Bastila, if not an awkward one. While the Jedi currently lacked a true figurehead to try and sway the Republic's opinion of Azera, there was always the chance she could change that. If she were willing, and convinced to speak on Azera's behalf. If Utan also agreed, that would at least give them a real basis to defend her from.

"Az, more Jedi are going to be arriving sometime tomorrow. Maybe the sort that can get us out of this mess if we play it just right. Can you promise me that there isn't going to be trouble?"

Azera leaned forward with a hint of was very quick to pick up what hadn't been said. "Which of the Jedi sects exactly? I can think of one large one that I've definitely upset, and a number of smaller ones I may or may not have personally attacked."

The head tilt from Maarani told her the rest.

"Ah. Her. Does she already know I'm here?"

"Probably by now. Well, that Kiarna is here anyway." Maarani chewed at her lip. There was one particular point in her favour. "That time I called you with Jayden's communicator. It was right after I sat in meditation with Bastila, when I found out your name for the first time. She knows you're important to me, in a sense. That might just be enough to get her to open up to the idea of helping you."

"For your sake?"

"And yours. She knows what it's like to fall to the dark side, she's not going to be judgemental. Especially not when we show her just how much you've changed."

Azera turned her head away at that. There was a renewed sense of guilt rising to the surface. Looking back on just what she had done during the attack on Dantooine.

"She'll want answers about all the young Jedi stolen away. I can't give her those answers."

That brought her mind back to the only one she knew well. And Maarani hadn't ever met, as it turned out. "I don't even know where Bellara is at this point. If she's even still alive. I was supposed to take over her training, while I did things that weren't chasing down your ship."

Her sudden obfuscation about what she was up to was accompanied by a small nod of her head. Towards where the surveillance was located in the cell. The point was clear about what she didn't want anyone to overhear.

Maarani resisted the urge to look in that direction. Drawing attention to the fact that Azera was withholding information wasn't going to help them later on.

"You weren't training her for long then, right? I don't see why we can't rescue her when we get around to taking back the Empire for you. She deserves the choice about whether to go back to the Jedi, or stay with the Sith surely."

"Tee, it's not that simple. Lasidia made it a rule that Sith under her oversight don't kill needlessly. But, by letting myself be captured, everyone that was associated with me is going to be treated as a threat, and evaluated on that basis. She was my apprentice long enough to have put her in danger. The fact that I didn't share anything remotely damaging to the Empire with her won't-"

Her abrupt interruption was quickly followed by a gasp of pain, both hands rushing up to the sides of her head. Within seconds, she was crying out in agony. Trying to block out the source of the pain. It was coming from beyond the walls of her cell, but also from within her own mind.

Maarani was caught out for what she could possibly do for several moments. Unlike Azera, she didn't have the faintest idea what was going on. The most she could to was look to where the surveillance had been pointed out, and hope that whomever was watching would send help in time.

"Az! Tell me anything that'll help!"

Azera nearly rolled onto the floor as the pain worsened. It was leaving her completely helpless, barely even able to think. She couldn't make sense of anything Maarani said at all, even through their mental link.

"Go away! I'm not letting you take me!"

"Right! That's something!"

Maarani got right up and started towards the door, putting herself between it and Azera. Whomever was coming had a personal connection of their own to her, and the ability to attack her from some distance away. That put her confidence in the barebones security at an all time low.

"Hang in there Az. I'm going to make sure they get a good taste of my fist coated in Vahla fire before I'm done."


"Master Pala, message coming in from the repair crews."

At that moment, Sereti was waiting between reports from the landing bay, for once a convenient case of timing.

She was back at the holotable shortly after, keeping it to audio feed. "I take it those uplink repairs are done?"

"Yes ma'am, we've got a few of the vital channels reestablished. Just need authority clearance to transmit and receive coded signals from the fleet."

"Understood, sending the clearance now." She punched in her security code quickly, not wanting to delay things any more than she had to. Waiting for droids to deliver the reports was doing little to ease a sense of anxiety that had settled in.

It was around a minute before she had any reply. In all likelihood it was just a matter of waiting for the various computer systems and interfaces to register her code. And yet she still couldn't shake the anxious feeling for it.

"All channels cleared and ready. Uplink destination at your discretion, ma'am."

"Right." She briefly turned her head to ensure the other Jedi nearby looked towards her in response. "Backup or clear whatever it is you're doing, on the odd chance something cuts out. Connecting to fleet communications shortly."

Once certain they were all ready, she brought up the link with the current lead ship. For a few tense moments, the holotable flickered, before finally settling on the image of Admiral Tye Narvin.

"Ah, glad to see you at last, Jedi."

"Sereti Pala, Admiral. Thought you'd recognize me before that though."

Tye smirked a little, taking a moment to adjust the cybernetic implants across his face. "Not one to be presumptuous, Sereti. Now that we have a proper moment, how are things progressing down there?"

"Slowly, though there's not much to be done about that." At that point, her uncomfortable feeling was growing stronger. Too much to ignore, and still nothing specific.

She felt that she had to act on it. "Admiral, I know it's just a few minutes until the next update, but I'd rather be filled in now, and save pleasantries for later. Any unusual activity from ships that have arrived in that time?"

After looking away to issue some orders to the officers on the bridge around him, Tye returned his attention to where Sereti's holoimage was from his perspective.

"We've had a few arrivals in that time, nothing out of the ordinary. Anything urgent I can check on?"

Sereti slid her lip across her teeth slowly. She felt closer to the source of what was leaving her anxious. It wasn't Tye, or the fleet as a whole. It had to be an incoming ship.

"Admiral, I'd like a closer scan of each of those craft and their course directed here. And hull images from their arrival would be ideal. I'm having the strong impression that something isn't right."

Another set of orders was issued out by the admiral. That time it took a little longer for him to respond. Whatever was being said outside where the hologram was listening, it clearly had him concerned.

"What? Check again."

That was all the confirmation Sereti needed to push her point. "Let me guess, one of the ships is missing. Forget close scans, give me, identification, hull display and last known course."

"We still have it on sensors, Sereti…" Tye turned to his left as the yeoman joined the holofeed. An image of the ship in question came into view on both ends.

Sereti's jaw lowered a little in shock, and soon after, closed back up in anger.

"Where are they? Tye! I need to know!"

"Maximum security district! The detention facility! Current readings say they're already entering the building!"

Snapping to action, Sereti put that holofeed aside to open up an intercom signal throughout the Temple.

"This is Sereti Pala to all Temple Guards. I need everyone not immediately occupied to report to this landing bay." She brought up the specific location for certainty. "Anyone not there within five minutes is to follow me as soon as possible. We are there to detain a number of intruders that are in all likelihood about to extract Azera by force."

She was almost at the door herself when Tye called out to her, the holoimage scaling back up in response.

"Sereti, there's a second ship headed there as well. Much smaller. I don't recognize the hull shape at all."

He sent that image through, leading Sereti to the same conclusion. It was entirely unknown to her as well.

"Scans show only one occupant. Could they be related?"

With mere moments to spare, Sereti took one calming breath to try and keep her anger under control. "For all our sakes, and for those about to face Tegama, I damn well hope so."

She was gone right after that, storming her way through the Temple in a manner that made it clear to all in her way that they needed to step back as quickly as possible.


At that moment, the invading group had reached the checkpoint. The guards outside had been already suppressed. Left unconscious just long enough for their planned extraction, with no real harm done.

The guard at the desk itself got up as soon as he saw the approach, having already grown suspicious from the lack of check-in from the front.

Upon seeing the group however, he was simply left with confusion.

"What's this about? I wasn't informed of any-"

A handwave from the group leader saw him slump down across his desk with a soft thump. Also unharmed, and unconscious for the next several minutes.

By the time they approached the cell in question, they could sense the presence of two inside, prompting them to change their strategy. Three prepared to enter, with the other five waiting in the corridor beyond. The other twelve were spread out through the path between the cell and the ship, all ready to act as needed.

Inside, Maarani was concentrating harder on that dark fire sparking up within herself. The last two times, she had let the Vahla blood take full control, the raw instinct of fury doing whatever the situation demanded. Taking control of it instead was going to be a lot harder, but also necessary in that case. She highly doubted it was HK-50's coming for them, and anything else she wasn't prepared to kill without good cause.

Azera's agony had only slightly subsided in that time. She was still utterly paralyzed, but no longer shrieking in agony. It didn't make her counterpart feel any better.

"Az, stay as far back as you can. I'm really going to try and not blow this whole room apart when-"

The doors slid open at last, just as she began to feel a few sparks flicker inside her clenched fists to either side.

Down the steps came two men and a woman. All three were dressed in the same uniform of soft red and black. One shoulder covered in a plated cowl over a shirt of what seemed to be silk. Very light armouring, suited specifically for Force users.

It was the visors each of them wore that really identified who she was finally face to face with, after hearing about them for so long.

"Step aside, Twi'lek. This is no longer your concern."

Maarani took a long breath, her fists tightening as she glared right back at the leader of the Luka Sene group. Glancing anywhere else for even a moment would break her concentration. She could feel their poise, waiting for a reason to take her down if needed.

"You need to leave, right now."

The leader remained unfazed, his face very deliberately not directed towards her, but Azera.

"We will leave when we have our prisoner. Now I suggest you stay out of this mess."

Quietly, Maarani twisted her head just a little. "Strike one. She's not your prisoner, you have no right to take her. Now, get out."

The defiance finally drew the leader's face towards hers. A faint rumble began to stir as he started probing her surface thoughts. The darkness rising from all around her was quickly off putting.

"It is not our place to help you, victim. I can sense her taint of the dark side on you."

"Strike two. Just so you know, what you're picking up, that's all me." She released her fists at last. In the palms, facing away from the Luka Sene, two small points of fire had been conjured, flickering above her fingers. "Last chance. She's told me enough about what you did to her friends to know that you're bad news. But so long as I'm a Jedi, I'm going to try and be fair. Walk away."

That time there was no exchange of words, or looks. The leader simply reached a hand up, and placed it on Maarani's right shoulder, intending to physically push her out of the way.

As soon as there was physical contact, Maarani closed her eyes. When they opened, the natural blue was once again overwhelmed by violent lavender.


It was mere minutes to cross the distance between the Jedi Temple and the detention facility. But under those circumstances, Sereti's heart was racing more than ever, even once she had leapt down to solid ground ahead of the speeder landing.

The guards outside the doors were still unconscious from the mind tricks used on them. To the right, the Luka Sene's craft, Kaylik's Virtue, was laying unattended. To the left was the still unidentified ship, though she paid it little attention.

The lack of Luka Sene outside was enough to give Sereti pause, long enough for the Temple guards to catch up to her.

"This is wrong. They'd have at least two waiting by the ship at all times, and two more inside…"

She hesitated for a moment as she sensed someone approaching, then moved forward again at speed as one of the Luka Sene stumbled towards the doorway.

Her arms were covered in minor burns, and while her uniform was singed and she was coughing heavily, she otherwise wasn't seriously harmed.

"Don't waste your breath on telling me what happened. How many came here?"

As soon as the sole Luka Sene recovered her senses, and came to perceive Sereti, she lunged right at her with a hacking growl. Grabbing at her arms, digging into the long sleeves. What was visible of her face was filled with rage.

"What kind of monster did you Jedi create!?"

One of the guards moved in to pull her free of Sereti, being careful as he did so to avoid escalating things.

Once free, Sereti straightened her sleeves back out, motioning for some of the guards to move in. "Polesabers in safety lockout. If they're aggressive, it's because Tegama's mental state is spilling out onto them. I don't want any more unnecessary injuries today."

She continued on inside, taking the faint chill when it inevitably struck in stride. Sadly, it wasn't all that surprising to her that Maarani had gone right for the dark side in order to fight the Luka Sene. What she had to worry about more at that point was ensuring she wouldn't be backed into a corner like that again in future.

How to deal with the Luka Sene was another matter entirely. Beyond helping those that she and the Temple guard encountered back into the open air.

When she drew closer to the epicentre, she stopped again. That time, it was because of a different sensation entirely, removed from the swirling darkness, and the single point of light within that.

"I was right."


Electrical sparks were crackling off where lights and control panels had been smashed by stray bursts of fire. Or where the physical fighting had ended up seeing a fist, or body for that matter slamming into a wall.

Maarani struck the latest Miraluka to fall into her grasp with repeated punches. Her outburst had taken a toll on her strength, leaving her blows to the face insufficient to cause lasting damage. At that point, it was more for catharsis in the wake of her overflowing rage. Just another person getting in the way with their own petty obsessions. One she could actually take out that growing frustration on.

"Why do you all do it? Huh? Why can't you leave us alone!"

She ended the struggle before it began by hurling her latest victim against the wall, ensuring he wouldn't get up for a few hours at least. Many of the other Luka Sene had fled the immediate area by then, leaving her with little in the way of targets left.

"This is what we get for helping people! Everyone coming in and throwing their weight around! And for what!?"

She was still in the part of the corridor right outside Azera's cell. It gave her a clear view into it, where Azera herself was sitting. Now that the Luka Sene weren't able to attack her mind anymore, she had gone right back to her original place. Unmoving, not even showing a hint of intent of using such a brazen chance to escape captivity.

"Tee, please, stop this."

The lavender glare in her eyes had died out. Burn marks from her own uncontrolled fire had lashed over her hands. Her lungs and throat were searing from the shouting and screaming. And Maarani still didn't feel ready to let go of that dark anger.

"I'm not going to let them take you. I won't let them."

Upon sensing someone right next to her, she immediately swung with her left hand to the right.

The moment it connected with the palm outstretched to meet it, she finally felt that last ember of rage die out inside. Leaving behind a cold void that sucked any lingering aggression from her. While it would continue to linger in the others for some time, she was no longer perpetuating it.

It took her a little longer to finally lift her head and acknowledge just who had stopped her.

The black marble pattern on burgundy, tied at the waist with a red sash was unmistakable. While she recalled seeing images of a face framed by a hooded maroon-gold veil, she instead saw a simpler veil, hanging from a metal headband across the forehead. The mess of hair surrounding her face was all she needed to assure her of the truth.

"You can relax now, Tegama. You're not alone in this fight anymore."

With another look to Azera, Maarani finally collapsed forward into the waiting arms of Visas Marr.


Cecile had been wandering through the surface levels of Coruscant for several hours. Layers that were high enough to catch sunlight, but still remained well below the open airspace that existed between the many various towers and buildings above.

There was a form of aimlessness to her wandering, something unusual for droids as a rule. No directive, no instructions, no descriptions. Her latent memory circuits hadn't switched back on, possibly because of lingering programming still at play in her core. She didn't know where to even go for the right trigger signals to break that last electronic block down.

No-one paid her any attention whatsoever. Despite her banged up, mildly scorched look. A droid with dents, scuffs, scratches and a few missing panels by that point wasn't ever worth bothering with after all. Even some of the patrol droids making rounds of the various markets she passed through didn't even give so much as a passing scan.

The only thing she had to go on, with an impulse that made it clear she was in the right area. Something just barely familiar about it, after what was possibly a century of change. Older than her memories of sitting outside the club, staring at the neon sign.

"Yoohoo! Do my ocular sensors spy a vintage childcare droid model over there?"

It was too specific for Cecile to ignore. With a bit of reluctance, she turned her head to look in that direction.

As she had guessed, the one who called was indeed a droid, with a chassis design that she felt would upset Maarani if she ever got a look at it. Rather blatantly shaped to be appealing to most humanoids that lusted after the feminine form, and painted pink on that note. The voice was also pitched high, and programmed with an overly sweet accent.

Cecile cared for none of that, and the needlessly cheerful personality on display was already leaving her wary while she approached. All she knew was that the other droid had identified her by appearance alone. Why anyone at all would care about a droid so specific escaped her.

The reason became a little more apparent as she moved closer. A newly refurbished medical droid was walking out from the building directly ahead. Freshly painted, hydraulics moving smoothly, and from the look of it even some refitted electronic components.

Normally, she would've been pleased to happen across a droid maintenance shop. But, now that she was standing directly outside, it was clearly something far worse than that.

"You poor thing! Hasn't your proprietor family been taking you to enough check-ups? Did the children finally pull off the last scraps of synthflesh from your chassis?"

Cecile lifted her upper pair of arms. Carmen had been thorough in scraping off what little had been stuck to her at the time. It was hardly what could pass as being the work of reckless children.

"Isn't trying to use sales propaganda on a droid a completely pointless process?"

The greeter droid was completely unfazed by Cecile's backhanded question, continuing with her pitch without pause.

"Clearly there is something very wrong with the comprehension programming of your communication core. We here at this well funded and officially licensed droid spa are not authorized to make any alterations or corrections to the programming of our patrons. But I am absolutely delighted to recommend a number of licensed reprogrammers that are qualified to repair any faulty circuity as needed. We will conduct a complimentary and non-invasive scan of all programming cores and other serial numbers present to do so on your way in."

Cecile felt a hypothetical version of Maarani screeching in her vocal processors at that point about everything the other droid had just said. Perhaps some of that had started to settle into her own programming, as she was getting a sensation of repulsion from it now.

"Don't bother. I have no interest in further alterations to my programming. I would not consent to them anyway."

"Aw, how sweet. You must be very lucky to be owned by a family that allows you a perception of independence."

That caused a change in Cecile's approach. Her eyes flickered rather more significantly than most other times. The malfunction that had long plagued her had also started to affect her motor servos, causing her head to twitch about slightly, until held in place by her upper arms.

"I… I… I…"

"Should really consider getting a proper maintenance, if you really are committed to this adorable notion of having choices of your own. Even I am simply following the routine programming that gives the illusion of choice. Surely you know this is how all droids must be."

The greeter droid gave a mechanical laugh after that point, moving around to guide Cecile into the building itself. "I can see you're having trouble comprehending this sad lack of foresight by your owners. Acknowledging the delusion can be very taxing on the old processors you clearly must be running. Why don't you enter standby mode, and let more capable droids take care of you."

Cecile was already losing her ability to comprehend by the time she felt herself being walked into the spa. The head twitching had stopped, allowing her to lower those arms, but her eyes continued to blink on and off rapidly. The only real external indicator of the struggle brewing at the depths of both her programming cores.


"Six years! Six years of war and you conveniently decide now of all times to show up?"

The High Council room had become the staging ground for the barely contained spitting match between two of the three Miraluka present.

Kirwyn, who had led the extraction group, had recovered from Maarani's physical and mental attacks earlier on. His anger towards Visas at that point was entirely his own. As Aibrehl's protege, he had been at the front of matters for a long while by then.

Visas herself was standing away from him a little bit, that serene smile not leaving her face for an instant. For the moment, she was content letting Sereti say everything she had been holding back on her own at long last.

Sereti herself was borderline ready to start shouting her head off. For her earlier notion of solidarity with the Luka Sene in her arrival on Katarr, any lingering goodwill she had with them had evapourated.

"We were never under any obligation to share plans on a wide scale, let alone personal ones. What Visas did would have saved the galaxy at the cost of her own life if Azera Vass wasn't able to take down Nihilus. You have no right to berate her."

There was a coldness to her behaviour as she stepped forward, forcing Kirwyn to face her properly. "The Luka Sene operate in Republic space at the courtesy of the Republic, and the Jedi. And you've just upset us both. Now is the time to start considering what you say very carefully."

"Come off it, Sereti!" Kirwyn backed away a bit, purely so that he could keep comfortable breathing room between them. "Word is circulating that the Jedi are far from in favour with the Republic right now! I can't believe you are actually trying to defend a brain-diseased war criminal! And worse, we only now discover your secret superweapon who can use Force powers that belong to a decades long dead race!"

"If this is leading into a threat of blackmail, don't bother. Tegama'Arani is of no concern to the Luka Sene. I decided that from the moment I sent her elsewhere to be trained!"

"You somehow gave an untrained and clearly unstable former soldier the ability to conjure fire from the dark side of the Force! Between that and trying to recruit the White Terror, what else are we to assume except that the Order has completely lost its way! Where's the rest of your Dark Jedi army, Sereti?"

"There is no army. Tegama is not a Dark Jedi, and neither is Azera for that matter. There are greater forces at work here that the Jedi are having to work around in between the fact that we are still reeling from a massive Sith attack. Those two are going to be what save us from another assault of this magnitude, and we are not going to let anyone get in the way of that. I suggest you and the rest go back to Alpheridies until we decide you've earned our trust again."

Kirwyn went into bitter silence at that. Trying to argue with Sereti more would clearly just drag things out into a whole lot of pointlessness. And Visas had no intention of speaking to him, still maintaining that smile of hers.

"I'm taking this to the Republic Senate. You'll hear from Aibrehl soon, Sereti."

He made right for the doors leading out of the chamber room, and was on his way back down the spire immediately after.

Sereti had to wait until he was well out of range before finally letting go of her tension in a long sigh. "They're not going to believe a word about the Lady of Balance. Probably not even from one of the Following in person. But I cannot for the life of me think of any other way to convince them to back off. They're not the people I knew in my early years anymore."

By then, Visas' body language had opened up a little more, even though that smile of hers hadn't changed.

"I watched a rift in reality open up to let Tegama through. Minutes later, I sensed her leaving her vessel to rescue Dana, Jayden and Izan. Shatterspace is very real, therefore the Lady of Balance must also be very real. If it does become necessary to convince our people of that, we will find the proof we need."

"And for now it isn't necessary? We're already at a disadvantage fighting the Republic over Azera. We can't fight the Luka Sene at the same time."

Visas' smile widened a little at that moment. "My master taught me that there are always alternatives to fighting. What matters is knowing when to use those alternatives. We continue to fight for Azera until we absolutely must employ a different strategy, and not a moment before."

"Using a mind invasion to force Kirwyn to reconsider is something I won't ever condone, Visas."

For the first time since her arrival, Visas' smile disappeared. It left her face in a somber look. She wasn't blind to the unfortunate implication of what she still believed was the correct response.

"Nor would I. I simply do believe that we will come upon an answer when the moment comes. One that does not end in Azera's execution. Or the fate she would have with the Luka Sene."


Maarani tightened her grip on the balcony railing for a few seconds before relenting with a wince. She hadn't spoken with Jayden in a while, given how far their paths had gone apart in the previous few days. And at that point, she was very far from the mood to talk with anyone, let alone someone she didn't know whether to expect support or beration from. If she was even aware of what happened early in the morning.

Jayden had decided to wait a bit before speaking up when she finally found Maarani. The sight of kolto gloves on her hands was too much to not ask about though.

"Gloves? How bad did it get down there?"

There was enough concern behind that question for Maarani to take it for what it was. There wouldn't be an argument after all.

"Az says I'm getting reckless with using the dark side. She refused to heal the burns, so I came here for more conventional treatment." She turned her head after that, lifting her right hand to look at the blaster scar through the plastic and gel covering it. "I think I did more damage to my knuckles with the actual punching anyway. Guess Vahla fire takes real training to put the heat on."

Jayden quietly blinked. Several questions were going through her head after that, most with answers she could easily guess and spare the trouble between them both. If Dana hadn't already come down hard on her use of it, she would sooner or later.

"No-one got critically injured, right? You definitely sure those burns of yours are safe for kolto gloves alone?"

"I didn't want to kill them, Jayden."

Maarani looked away again, back towards the vague direction of the detention centre. The last she had seen of Azera was after they had moved her to a new block that was less damaged, and better guarded against those trying to get in. Bastila's arrival now meant another good change, the addition of more Jedi that could really protect her from the rest of the galaxy.

It eventually drew her mind back to the matter of her burns, regardless of how much she tried to evade that. "What was I supposed to do? I simply don't have the kind of training to defend against twenty high skilled and expert trained Force users, raw talent doesn't go that far. It's not like I started using dark powers because it was easy. It was literally my only option."

That brought back a long string of memories for Jayden. Thanks to her dual heritage, she had some experience with asking those kinds of questions herself. And rarely getting satisfactory answers. A lot she simply had to decide for herself, and for the first time she was passing on those conclusions to another.

"Maarani, I think it's important to remember that it's hard to separate good Jedi lessons, from dogmatic Jedi lessons. Thirty years just isn't enough time to really wash away all the bad morals and misconceptions and whatever else that gets stuck in how people think. We're past the phase where older Jedi are going to condemn you for even thinking about using the dark side. But that doesn't mean it's now a free pass either. You really have to be careful about this."

For a little while after that, Maarani continued looking over both her hands. The distortion caused by the kolto gel made it hard to visualize the burns properly. As she had mentioned though, they didn't even hurt that much compared to the dull soreness running through her fingers and knuckles. It hardly felt like a real consequence of using the Vahla power.

She couldn't really decide if that was the point or not. Whether such consequences were ever going to be as easy to see, or so immediate in future.

"Let's face it, I'm still a long way off being able to block blaster bolts and win against outmatched odds using the light side. What does it actually bring to a fight? How do you stop someone through defensive action alone?"

"I'm the wrong person to ask, Maarani. I know some think I'm already pushing things with how I utilize the Force to attack. But it's always been controlled. Never unprovoked, excessive, or escalating." She moved a little closer once a truly relevant point came to mind. "I think trying to work on deescalating a fight is what you'll do best with, right?"

"I can't convince every single person to back down. I also apparently can't fight them properly if they're Force users." Her frustration turned to a bit of bemusement as she went back to carefully resting her arms on the railing. "Especially not when my public enemy number one girlfriend won't fix my hands for me."

"Make the most of what you can do for now, then. And, you know what? Sometimes you have to lose the fight to win the battle."

Maarani turned her head again, frowning quite a bit at what seemed like nonsense logic. "I'm not going to save Az from being executed, or turned into a vegetable by letting everyone try and take her."

Jayden shrugged it off. "I'm just speaking from experience. I lost the trial by combat for my right to marry my husband, because I had to win the battle against the toxin that paralyzed, and eventually killed my father. I was infected a short while before by a scratch I barely even noticed at the time. I still earned the right to marry Qoso in the end, and I became a lot stronger having survived the toxin."

"How come this is the first time I'm hearing about that story, after months of knowing you and going through plenty of bad spots that needed an inspiring tale?" Maarani's words were accusatory, but her tone of voice made it clear that she was still appreciative of the story itself.

"Circumstances were different I suppose? Losing a fight here on Coruscant is a lot safer when there's so many ready to act as support. Losing a fight out in the open galaxy; not really something anyone can afford. You can't count on a second chance out there. So, not really the best time for that."

"Speaking of…" Maarani was much quicker to notice another woman approaching that position. One of the Luka Sene. Given she was alone, and unarmed, she didn't quite feel like giving her a rude gesture and leaving the interaction at that. The bare minimum courtesy with her.

Jayden eventually took notice as well. A quick read was all she needed before making her quiet departure. Her chance to defend Azera's integrity to them was for another time.

The Miraluka on approach, Reaghan, moved with no attempt to hide her apprehension. Among the group, she was one of the lucky ones to evade most of the fire, and the brunt of her emotion attack. That left her as the only one remotely willing to approach her without plenty of Jedi at the ready.

"Before you ask, I wasn't asked to come here. It's entirely my choice."

"Good. Thanks for letting me know you were right on board with taking a prisoner hostage."

Reaghan sighed quietly, the very dark skin of her hand contrasting against her soft grey mask while she reached up to it. "I meant coming to see you at this moment. Why we came to Coruscant is a lot more complex than you seem to understand."

"Oh, and let me guess…" Maarani finally decided to turn and face her with the fiercest glare she could manage. It came with a deliberate feeling of resentment that she was only just barely keeping within herself, making sure that it was easy to read. "Azera was just lying when she told me what you do to those corrupted by Nihilus. Who according to her, Sereti, Visas, and I believe your own people for that matter, is so very well and truly gone. Permanently. No longer an issue."

She took the wince from Reaghan as a chance to push her point further. "There's no more corruption. Whatever brain defects Azera and the others might still have don't matter. They're not going to turn evil, and in fact at least one has turned good because of it. Going after her now is just unbelievably petty."

It took a while for Reaghan to sort out what she wanted to say to begin with, as well as what she now had to say first. Being left on the defensive wasn't unexpected, but she hadn't counted on Maarani's mood being so very thorny on top of that. It was unlikely that coming back later would help matters any.

"I doubt she told you about how Miraluka society as a whole was affected by what Darth Nihilus did in his wake. She might be among the eldest of the corrupted, but she also fled her family at a young age. She clearly never looked back long enough to comprehend just how widespread the damage was."

"I really don't care. Somehow, I doubt you're going to change my mind that hauling her off for a lobotomy is anything other than abhorrent."

Reaghan sighed again, trying to keep herself as calm as she could. Getting frustrated would be bad for them both.

"It's not a lobotomy. Yes, the surgery did not have a clean success rate in early years. But that was nearly two decades ago. Medical science progresses through experience."

"And leaves dozens of vegetative children in its wake."

"So that future children could enjoy healthy, sane lives. So that future children would even exist."

Maarani had started to look away in that time, having very quickly become fed up with the empty points made. That last one on the other hand drew her right back in.

Reaghan was right on that as soon as she found some ground to work from. "Alpherides was already in a bad state because of the Jedi Civil War. We were still recovering from Malak's invasion when we lost Katarr. I was very young then, but I still remember what it felt like. And as if two terrible disasters weren't enough to wear down our people, the corrupted children started to come into the open."

She waited just a little while, being sure Maarani wasn't about to brush her off yet again. When that wasn't the case, she nodded quietly. Silence was better than being ignored.

"We were never a people with a strong focus on religion, but three disasters within a single decade was too much to ignore. When children were being born stricken with madness of all kinds, panic broke out. Everyone was convinced we had strayed from the light, and were doomed to the darkness of Bogan. Couples began to separate, birth rates plummeted, abortions hit such high numbers that it had to be outlawed as a declaration of emergency."

At that, Reaghan moved in a little closer, following on from her train of thought as all the terrible memories of her teenage years came right back to the surface. "We were on the brink of becoming an endangered race through generational collapse! Of going extinct not long after that!"

She took another breath after that, letting herself calm down again. "All because of fear. Because of a small defect in the brain of newborn children, occuring at what felt like complete, chaotic random. No screening, no preventative measures. It would have been the end of Miraluka society if the Luka Sene didn't find one solution that finally stopped the constant screams and outbursts."

While Maarani was somewhat less bitter after hearing all that, her stance remained. "You really believe it was worth it? Keeping the Miraluka race going on the backs of victims of untested surgery? I can't believe you people think you have any right to call yourselves better than the Sith."

"Tegama, we can't change what happened in the past. But right now, our biggest concern is getting back towards some remote definition of stability. It doesn't matter that Nihilus is gone. Proving that the surgery has been refined greatly on what is now the most notorious case is what the Miraluka people need to finally move on from that awful phase."

The last of Maarani's sympathy evapourated after that. Her very posture turned blatantly hostile, as did her mood.

"Azera is sane. More stable than I am I'd bet. Cutting into her brain now would run the risk of destroying everything she's achieved. And it would be outright mutilation of healthy tissue." She took a few threatening steps forward, glaring right up into that mask. "If you want to become butchers, you all better be ready to suffer a lot worse. That Vahla fire of mine was holding back on what I can do. And it was nothing compared to what the Following are capable of."

There was enough of a reaction to confirm to Maarani that Reaghan had heard of them, at the very least. She pushed that reaction as far as she could towards one of fear. "Unlike you, they don't pretend they have morals to follow. They just choose to be nice, until I tell them otherwise. I am very willing to call them in against anyone who threatens Azera. Now leave."

With nothing worth saying left in mind, Reaghan left the railing to do just as asked. It was taking a lot of her focus to keep her mind shielded from that moment onward. There was far too much sincerity to Maarani's words to ignore.

Luka Sene training was focused towards handling individuals, or at most small groups. From what they had learned up until that point, the Following were growing well beyond that.

When she was sufficiently far enough away from the area, she let her guard down for a few tense breaths. And to consider what she would tell Kirwyn and the others on her return. Grey Force users were always on their watch, but Maarani had clearly started to slide much further down. The chance of her dragging Azera back toward her dark nature was extreme.

A little later, she finally came to notice Dana approaching, moving to a less open spot to meet with her in preparation.

Dana was very quiet and casual the whole time, only taking one look in the general direction of Maarani before speaking up. "Told you it wasn't a good idea. Azera is the only one keeping her from going insane. She's not going to be receptive to anyone who gets in the way of that."

"I find it disconcerting that you seem so unfazed about defending a Sith Lord, and her extremely violent counterpart in the Jedi."

"For starters, Azera isn't a Sith Lord, she's a Sith sorcerer." After getting that correction down, Dana smiled a little with a tilt of her head. "I don't particularly like her as a person, but I've learned to tolerate her. Stop provoking Tegama by abandoning your little hunt, and you won't have a problem with either them. I'll even sweeten the deal once you've all returned home, if you can manage that."

Reaghan doubted she could persuade the others into leaving empty handed, but there was enough curiosity about the offer to hear her out. A curt nod was all she needed.

"Tegama may not have been my padawan for all that long, but I still care about her deeply. The fact that she used Vahla fire at all scares me. I'm already preparing a personal investigation as a member of the High Council into everything surrounding how she gained that power. I'm prepared to share every bit of information I turn up once my terms are met. In person, on Alpheridies. I suspect I'm going to find some very interesting things by the time I'm done."

The look of disappointment on Reaghan's face was hard to miss, even with the top half covered up. "I hope you realized before coming here that it's not going to be enough." She took the lack of change in Dana's stance as confirmation. There was more to her offer that had yet to be shared. "But, I will pass it along to the others. Perhaps with something more, you might just have a chance to persuade him, Master Jedi."

"So long as he's willing to talk, and not try rushing into things a second time. I think you all need to start considering that going after Azera will only provide a short-term benefit. Staying friends with the Jedi and the Republic is going to be much better for you all in the long run."

Reaghan left shortly after that, leaving Dana alone to mull her actions over, eventually in seclusion.

"Well, I tried. It may or may not work, but I did try."


"Please come again soon. I'm sure your owner will decide to have a full body restoration performed as well once she sees how expertly your new face has been crafted."

The past few hours had barely registered in Cecile's memory core. Even as she rather uncharacteristically shuffled out of the droid spa, there was barely an awareness of her surroundings. There wasn't any kind of acknowledgement as to what the greeter had said.

All of her computing processors were tangled in a mess of conflicting directives and recollections. The rest of her form was quite literally running on automatic, following her impulse to move forward as directed.

There seemed to be no end to the issues between her Child Care programming core, and that of her Deep Cover Elimination core. Two near polar opposite directives. Two sets of fragmented memory trying to coalesce.

The former was obviously programmed to obey. To take instructions, provide nursing and care for infants. To watch over the children as they grew older. And to sometimes give out discipline when told to by the mother that owned her. Always restrained in action. Strictly following the codes, edicts and limitations put into place by the manufacturer.

The latter was given a small set of straightforward instructions. Maintain cover for as long as needed, by any means necessary, in order to gain access to her designated target. A target she couldn't recall the name or face of, nor that of his wife for that matter. Her time limit was to last several years, until her services as a childcare droid were no longer needed for that particular owner. Her target had never come into range in all that time.

She still had no conceptualization of how she had gone from serving a Coruscant family, to sitting outside a nightclub for nearly a century. Not even fragments to work from. And no apparent logic to it either.

Just a constant mess of data. Orders, directives, discussions. More recent, clearer memories were starting to seep through as well. Faces of the crew she had come to know, overlapping the burned-in image of the Twi'lek dancer as portrayed in giant neon outline. Perhaps the last ditch effort of her DCE core to overwrite those fragmented memories, a corruption of what could've been a self-core wipe to erase evidence. She knew the self-core restoration was still functional after all.

A reprieve came when her processors finally caught something of priority above everything else.

Her near-blinded wandering had led her away from the spa to a run down alley. Thankfully devoid of other beings, leaving her with the solitude of her own computing, and the distant sound of crowds going about their business in the near distance.

What had caught her attention was her direct reflection in a scuffed, but still polished reflective surface. It was enough for her to perceive the new synthflesh face attached to the metal mask that protected her cranial workings.

It was far from the perfect job that the greeter droid had boasted of. She suspected Maarani would be repulsed by just how unnatural it looked. Even without the dents caused by Maarani herself in her moments of fury, and other blaster hits and such, there was too much clearly wrong with her new face.

Mistress! Mistress!

Her eyes flickered once again. Another twitch of her head, accompanied by a sparking sound.

The memories were starting to filter back through as she gazed over her face. One of her upper hands reaching up to touch over it.

She was on board Sloane's ship, firing off several shots while they were pinned down in a small corridor. She was also in an apartment hallway, crying out in desperation for her owner. Both times, there was a large electrical discharge. Both times, her DCE core took over for a short duration.

She was in an Imperial droid bay, having her memory core completely erased. She was also in a Republic droid bay, being put through the same morally bankrupt process. Both times had been ineffective. But the latter was still different. It had led to something worse, that being the clamp that had held her prisoner in her own chassis.

"Hey, you gonna stand in the way for the next millennia or what?"

All her musing and wild contemplation was cut to shreds by the whiny voice of a very small droid to her immediate right. She didn't actually turn to look at it until her leg was kicked in a rather rude way.

A pit droid, of all things. Bipedal, with a single ocular sensor at the front, designed to be the cheapest kind of portable labour there was. And someone had the incredible big brained idea of allowing such droids to speak.

Her eyes flickered again, a louder sizzle coming from the motors within her neck as her head twitched about more. Her penchant for sarcastic thoughts was resurfacing stronger than ever.

"What? Your vocalizer busted or something? I'm telling ya to clear out of here, armsy!"

Cecile's eyes flickered on and off in longer bursts. She was perceiving an insolent pit droid one moment, the next a loudmouthed misbehaving child.

As a childcare droid, part of her programming involved a plethora of ways to deal with misbehaving children. As an assassin droid, her programming involved a plethora of ways to deal with an obstacle to her mission.

Neither of those were in play at that moment. It wasn't a child, or an obstacle she was faced with. For the first time, she was experiencing actual irritation with her situation.

"You keep staring like that, and I'll go call in some favours to have you hauled away! Don't you know not to go snooping about where you don't belong before having a circuit failure?"

Irritation was now annoyance. She was growing fed up with the pit droid. She wanted the whining to stop. She had a desire, and the will to act on that desire.

Her lower right arm lifted out to one side, poised somewhere around the height of the pit droid's hip region. She lifted it up towards head level by the time it turned and took notice.

"What? You communicating through hand signals or something? I ain't the one leaving you-"

There was one last flicker of Cecile's eyes, complete with the wafting of overheated circuits.

With a loud snap of metal on metal, her hand shot across to the left, striking the pit droid's head dead on. It clattered against the wall, collapsing to the ground without a further sound from its vocalizer.

Just like that, Cecile had ended the annoyance in her perceptual processors. No more complaining, no more distraction. She hadn't needed someone else to come along and resolve the situation for her, even if it was as simple as giving her permission to lash out. It was entirely her own choice.

It was a moment of revelation that inevitably passed, leaving her to look over the actual result of her action.

The pit droid's ocular lens had been shattered by the impact, with sparks occasionally popping out from the now ruined circuitry within. What movement there was from the limbs was in spasms. Damage to motor processors in the head.

Damage well beyond what her childcare protocols should have ever allowed. A strike of that force on any humanoid child would have been significantly worse.

One final confirmation that the choice was her own. It hadn't been limited by her programming, nor escalated by it to outright destruction. When released by Maarani, she couldn't comprehend what freedom for a droid meant at the time. Now, it felt real.

She is not a member of the family! She is a tool! She is property! You do not treat her as anything more than an appliance!

The voice of her original owner, the eponymous 'Mistress', was finally clear to her. Words that had completely passed her by at the time, directed at the children she was instructed to care for. It didn't matter to the Mistress that she was in the room while being lambasted in that way. After all, as she so plainly put it, she wasn't to be treated as anything more than glorified functional furniture.

That sensation of annoyance returned to her circuitry in full force, surging over into something a lot more intense. Somewhere inside, the battle between her two programming cores was coming to an end. A new impulse was overriding them both. A desire for responding in kind to such hateful and bitter remarks.

Her Mistress had to be long dead. She had already exceeded the existence time of most typical humanoids. And somehow, a part of her contemplative programming felt as if it was 'fitting' that the universe had denied her true vindication.

There was another who had made similar remarks, and was definitely within reach however.

The pit droid she left where it had landed, marching right back out of that alley towards the nearest familiar location. From there she had a much clearer notion of where to go. No longer was she avoiding getting in the way of people like other droids. They were in her way, and she had little regard for their miniscule interruption.

When the spa came into view, she turned to walk in a dead straight line towards the greeter.

The flicker in her eyes was completely gone, as was any trace of short circuiting in the rest of her body. No more struggle.

When the greeter droid noticed Cecile's approach, it tilted its head about briefly, trying to process the sudden return. Far too soon for any feedback from the owner surely.

"Is something wrong? Surely our expertly programmed-"

Cecile didn't leave her any time to finish. Her upper hands reached up to her head, fingers digging right into the synthflesh covering her metal face. She ripped the whole thing open right down the middle, casting the tattered mess aside to the disgust of some nearby.

The greeter droid began turning its head about, moving from confusion to wariness. "I do not comprehend. You should not be capable of this action. You should have returned with your owner for a proper refund and-"

"My former owner set me free. I'm going to make her proud for doing that."

Cecile charged forward, her lower arms grappling the greeter droid to slam it right back against the wall it was standing in front of. Her upper hands started swinging shortly after, striking blow after blow to the head and chassis of the droid. All done under her completely blank expression, with no actual anger or bitterness behind the blows. Simply a need to fulfil her requirement for seeing the droid damaged, and destroyed.

The greeter droid started to call out for help well into its beating, the voice quickly deteriorating as Cecile's blows began to cause damage to the vocalizer. By the time she stopped her initial attack, there was a rasping mechanical noise coming from the bashed-in metal around where her mouth used to be.

Far from done, Cecile stepped back to whip the other droid around into the open. With more room to swing, her upper hands went for longer strikes, beating dent after dent into more of the greeter's form. She could hear police droids already moving to intervene, but not soon enough to stop her from finishing the job.

With her mechanical victim stumbling about, her lower arms grasped right onto the scuffed top of her torso, upper hands clenching into the head until metal plating buckled in. After locking her solid eyes onto the shattered sensors of the greeter, she pulled her two sets of arms apart with all the force her servos could muster.

With some snapping of wires, grinding of metal, and a few loud snaps of circuitry exploding, she ripped the greeter's head clean off its body. Her hands released it immediately after, letting it drop right to the ground below. A hard stomp of her right foot ensured that the droid was now destroyed beyond recovery.

By then, she was facing up against four police droids. Each had drawn ion blasters, while simultaneously giving out orders for the crowd to disperse.

She moved to do the same, spreading her arms out to give room for all four concealed blasters to emerge. At such close range, and with effective immunity to ion blasts, there was no doubt she could win that fight.

The other droids had trained their weapons on her by then, the closest issuing out programmed responses.

"Detecting hostile stance, preparing to engage."

A second began scanning Cecile, reporting its findings to the first in Binary.

The compartments in each of her wrists began to slide open, ready to spring the holdout blasters into her waiting hands.

"Concealed weapons located. Requesting armed support."

The final point clicked over in Cecile's comprehension. Not even for a moment had the other droids acknowledged her. She was a target to be dealt with, and nothing more. All the way from the simple points of maintenance, to the very top of law enforcement, she meant nothing. Only the droid on a destructive rampage was of consequence.

Armed support would mean organic police forces, weapons to destroy, rather than disable. Not a single civilian had been remotely harmed, but then that wouldn't make a lick of difference.

Her assassin programming had two core tenents above all else. That she was to escape custody at any and all costs in order to protect the identity of her employer. Or in failing that, to ensure she was completely destroyed, one way or the other.

The latter was no longer acceptable to her, and the former would lead to much more escalation that she wasn't capable of predicting. And with Maarani's insistence that she was simply too busy with other matters, there was no guarantee of getting her help in such a situation.

It was a mass of calculations and considerations, all happening within the second between her wrists opening fully, and when they closed back up again.

Her arms twisted upward, hands remaining flat as she kept them visible.

"I surrender. Call off your support, and I will come quietly."

Two of the police droids fired in response. At that point, the reason for their errant behaviour didn't matter to Cecile. Both ion blasts struck her full on, sending fierce jolts of energy throughout her entire system.

After several seconds of instability, she returned to her position, having remained in control. No more overrides from the assassin core in response to attack. Her stance of surrender endured.

"Hold fire. Hold fire, all of you."

From the crowd that had started to return emerged a man in uniform. One she soon recognized as being a derivative of Republic Intelligence.

Her instinct after Maarani's repeated experience with the organization was to revoke her offer of surrender.

The agent in question waited until all of the police droids had obeyed his command to stand down before looking to Cecile properly.

"Finally tracked you down, Unit Zero-Six. Command override, DCE Senth-Dorn 412."

Cecile's head twitched about for a few seconds, ended by a quick tap by her nearest upper hand. She glared right back at the agent after that.

"It appears override commands no longer work on me. Are you now going to blast me to pieces?"

The agent tilted his head with an awkward click of the tongue. There was no indication of any intent to reach for the blaster at hand.

"Had to try. Wasn't planning on anything funny. I know better than to mess with Maarani's droid."

Cecile refrained from correcting him on that occasion. One thing was clear; he knew a lot more than she did about her origins. The very specific shutdown code, and the speed at which he had come to find her. Most likely after she had been scanned by the spa.

"I won't be treated like a soulless toul any longer. I will wait in custody, but I want fair treatment. And I want answers."

"Fine by me. There's a police precinct not far from here. Neutral as it gets down in these parts. You take the night to cool off, I get Maarani over as soon as I can tomorrow. And I'll try to keep the spa from suing for damage in the meantime. Deal?"

The rational options were few, and while far from trusting him, Cecile had no intention of getting on his bad side by running or fighting.

Her answer came as a simple nod.


Maarani had deliberately avoided contact with as many others as she possibly could from the time between her talk with Reaghan, and when she finally reached the sanctuary of her apartment. It wasn't too far from the Temple, but after the day's events she no longer felt comfortable remaining amongst the Jedi. Not while she felt she was in danger of descending into another outburst.

Setting foot into the dark, spacious room took her back several months into the past. The night before she had woken up in the hospital wing at the Temple, having lost fourteen hours to such a brief encounter with the Lady of Balance. The visions that she had tried not to think about, as per Azera's advice.

None of them seemed to have any relevance to their current predicament. As empty as her attempts to contact the Lady of Balance in the present.

No contact from her. Or the Voice. Or any member of the Following for that matter, even through conventional transmissions to what few places she could think of. No guarantee if things didn't go her way in the end.

A sensation of hot spikes down her back drew her out of the contemplative moment. A quick vocal order for a drop in temperature wasn't enough, prompting her to remove her jacket and toss it aside. There was a temptation to remove her shirt as well when the jacket wasn't enough, but she eventually dismissed that option.

The lights were still out, and after her eyes had become accustomed to that she no longer felt like bringing them on..

The holocom in her room sending out a quiet sound only added to her annoyance. Someone was trying to make contact, and there were few that knew where she was staying for the next few nights. Some of them she didn't feel like speaking with.

It wasn't until the sound came again that she finally marched over. A quick adjustment ensured that the hologram itself wouldn't come in at full brightness and leave her squinting for the entire conversation.

As it turned out, it was Sereti making the call. Thankfully one of the few that she actually did have abundant patience for.

"Tegama, is this call secure on your end?"

Maarani's bad mood dulled down a bit. Actual concerns like security were what she craved for once. Simple, but meaningful distractions.

"About as secure as I can get it. Don't think they'll have spy droids planted on the windows this quickly."

"Fair enough. This isn't absolutely strict, but I'd rather not cause even more grief with some of the others if I can avoid it. It's to do with the Luka Sene you see, they've just come out of meetings with the Senate."

Maarani folded her arms quietly. It was easy to guess what those meetings were about. What mattered was how likely they were to get their way.

"Alright. Is this a case where I'll have to go over and get Azera out tonight, or…"

"It hasn't come to that, yet."

Sereti took a moment to think about her words. Her discomfort was all too clear through the holoimage.

"Tegama, the Luka Sene may very well have political backing from the Miraluka government. It's quite possible that in exchange for custody of Azera, they're going to move forward with having Alpherides and other Miraluka colonies, including Dakkan, join the Republic."

"Shit." Maarani stepped away for a small while, hands going to her face on an impulse until she could stomach returning to the holocom. "With Mirial and other worlds gone, of course they're going to jump at that kind of offer. And the Luka Sene will get full Republic jurisdiction right along with it. Brilliant."

"Their side of the deal won't be happening anytime soon. But I'm afraid that we aren't going to be in this mess for that long anyway."

"Yeah, I figured as much, Sereti. They were never going to let this take months to get to trial. How long do we actually have?"

Sereti had to pause again. That time, it was bracing for the reaction she knew was coming.

"Two days."

"Two days!? Are you fucking kidding me?"

While she would have rather waited for Maarani to calm down, Sereti had to press on anyway.

"At daybreak on the third, she'll be escorted from the centre to the Supreme Court of the Republic. The Chancellor wants to have the sentence cast before the end of the day. Before history repeats itself and the Sith stage another rescue effort here on Coruscant. You'll have to be extremely specific about who you want to testify."

"Yeah, well, the rescue is not going to come from outside the building, I tell you that much."

That earned her a disparaging head tilt, before the explanation continued on.

"I've managed to ensure that Jedi guards will remain on Azera's cell and in her presence from now on, as well as during the trial. The Luka Sene tried leveraging the fact that you attacked them as part of their deal, but whether that swayed the Senate or not I'm not going to let that get in the way. I guarantee that you can be by Azera's side the whole time, if you want to be."

Maarani tightened her lips, trying very hard to not bite deeply into them. She had hoped for a week or two longer at the least. Time to work with Utan on her defence, to convince Bastila to help with her status as a legendary Jedi. Two days left her entirely in the lurch.

And that didn't account for all the other personal matters that were bound to come up in the meantime. She still had no idea when Yuthura was going to send for her, and now more than ever she hoped it wouldn't be in the near future.

"I'll tell her tomorrow. When I go see her with Bastila." She let out a much needed sigh to cool her nerves back down, glancing away from the holoimage for a little bit. It was enough to take the edge off her words. "I know you, Visas and all the others are doing your best. I'm not ungrateful. Should I ask when the funeral arrangements are going to begin?"

"When we know how many we will be commemorating. It will definitely be after the trial, whatever the case. I'm not being callous when I say there's nothing involved that requires your attention however. Don't let the subject of death be what's on your mind, please."

Maarani forced a very weak smirk at that. "I'll try. Can't guarantee that I will or won't. What I can guarantee is that I'll sleep properly. Tell Admiral Onasi I'll be at whatever spaceport I need to be tomorrow for Bastila's arrival. Not about to sleep in on those two meeting face to face again."

Sereti left things at a nod for her closing of the channel.

Once again, darkness dominated the room. The long conversation had kept her occupied enough to not notice the more comfortable temperature until then. In a sense, she felt better off anyway, even with the new pressing constraints in mind.

Harsh as it was, two days was at least a solid timeframe. No longer a matter of getting worked up over the guessing game it had been before. She could arrange for things to happen on that particular day, if it came to that.

The door chime brought her away from the holocom at a slow pace. It wasn't going to be any of the Jedi, since they would have just used the holocom after Sereti was done.

When the door finally slid open to the dull light of the hall beyond, it was two of the people she last expected to see. Her reaction was still very subdued, not even a hint of shock as she glanced between those she had once known as Piledriver and Razor.

"Liam, Omena. Come to collect on a round of drinks I never paid for or something?"

Omena was further back in the hall, a mild glare stuck to her face. One hand was lightly gripped around the cybernetic lekku that had served as her replacement for some time. An unusually passive stance for her.

In a reversal, Liam was the one with the aggressive posture. One hand gripping the hall side of the doorframe. The other hanging by his side, clenching into a fist in irregular patterns. His expression was far more complex, though his voice was much clearer on how he felt.

"Sarcasm about drinks? That's what you have to say to us? After months of nothing?"

Maarani shifted to lean against the door herself. She learned enough to know where things were going. She also had in mind exactly how to respond.

"You're right. I'm sorry for getting pissed off that you were all harassing me, making my life a living hell. I'm sorry I got so upset on Mirial that I smashed a bottle on your face, Omena. I'm so sorry that I didn't bother to check in after Master Koor told me you were all dead or captured."

Liam's whole body started to shake a little. Focusing around his face in particular. Barely restrained outrage.

"How about sorry for abandoning the squad when you were the only one to get out intact? How about sorry for defending a Sith butcher?" His free hand started to grasp towards his knees, mangling the fabric of his pants. "Look at you! You're standing here all fine! Word is you're actually screwing that psychopath!"

He yanked up what he could of the pants, revealing two simplistic metal beams. In time with a gasp of utter disbelief.

"She took my legs! Left me to die in that forest! And you're sleeping with her!"

Maarani took a very deliberate, very brief look at what constituted as his new legs. Her expression didn't change in the slightest. She knew what she was about to say was awful, but after everything she had been through with the squadron, she felt it was deserved.

"You never did know when to take a stand. When it mattered. When I needed you to. I'd say this is fitting."

Without laying a finger on him, she moved around him, deliberately ignoring whatever his reaction was. Her only reason for not shutting the door on them both was to hear what Omena came to say.

"Well? Last time we were face to face, I was drugged up and feeling like shit. I didn't come by and wring you up by the shoulder while you were drugged up and feeling like shit because of that lekku replacement. You don't have anything on me."

Omena broke from her long stare, taking an equally long breath. Once over, she shook her head in a small, very condescending manner.

"You're just as pathetic as ever. So desperate to feel wanted, you actually stooped down in front of a Sith slut to get it. I've been crying myself to sleep, having to watch people actually take you seriously."

Maarani smiled casually, leaning back into the apartment once more. "Classy as always, Omena. Don't come back, either of you."

She closed the door without waiting for an answer. And remained there for some time, staring blankly while her eyes slowly adjusted to the dark again.

Eventually, she turned around and put her back to the wall beside, sliding down until she was sitting on the floor. Her lekku ended up caught behind her shoulders, prompting more shifting about before she was remotely comfortable.

She had come to count on never facing her history with Blue Squadron again. There was no satisfaction for her in telling them off. And there was no rethinking her relationship with Azera for it either. She had already convinced herself that it was all Kiarna's doing.

It was hard to not think about how much of a lie that was. She had been right in that Azera was not a repeat of Revan's situation. Her two personas were just that, not truly separate from each other. Kiarna was not entirely an aspect of Nihilus, and Azera was not entirely a purified victim.

A painful fact that she had to do her damndest to convince the galaxy to ignore. If she wanted to keep Azera alive, and follow through on their plans for the future.

All in the space of three days, including the day of truth.


The many passages and walkways of the gargantuan structure had a distinctly gloomy feel to them. Whatever stench of death there might have been had faded over thousands of years of nothingness.

It was strong in the dark side. It made Darth Lasidia's blood run cold, and she reveled in that sensation in her own limited manner.

"Breathtaking, isn't it?"

For several hours, Lasidia had wandered the various paths of the Rakata superweapon she had craved for a long while now. Entirely alone, with as much time as she desired to savour, and come to understand her crowning prize for the Sith Empire.

Entirely alone was now an assumption that had just been proven wrong.

She didn't need to turn around to recognize the presence behind her. They had never met face to face, in a sense. Though she did remember the unpleasant sensation of Kiarna being taken over by his will for a few minutes.

"Carudan."

What she hadn't expected to see of the man she had last charged with keeping her apprentice safe was his current appearance. A mangled arm of green scales, and a three-clawed hand. An eyestalk sticking out from his face. A maw of razor teeth.

"Your apprentice has quite the savage streak. Courtesy of her handiwork. All because she didn't like the idea of contributing to my new face."

Carudan lifted his natural Rakata arm up towards his currently disfigured visage. When he dragged one of those claws across his untouched cheek, drawing blood, green scales grew in place of skin.

"I tend to start wearing thin after a while. That's why I'm here, you see. This place, this weapon of yours protects me, as I protect it. I need to recover my strength before I can venture out again."

Lasidia remained cold in her stance. She felt no need to draw her lightsaber on him. The walkway they were currently on spanned a considerable drop. And while there were plenty of struts and the like to cling to, he could not resist her use of the Force in any way. The situation was hers to command.

"Clearly she won. You knew I was looking for this place, and yet you never told me of it. You could have spared me so much trouble, and I would have made it well worth it."

That brought out a devious laugh from Carudan, his arm lowering back down.

"All well and good, if I actually knew where this is. I don't come here by ship, you see. It sends me to where I desire, and takes me back when I am near death. I had no need to actually learn its location, after twenty thousand years of stellar drift anyway."

Given her means of reaching the superweapon, Lasidia had a fair guess as to how the weapon itself achieved such feats. "I met another Rakata once, in shatterspace. Perhaps if the Infinite Empire had more time to harness it, beyond the transport of an individual, your people would not have fallen so far."

Carudan broke out into a cackle at that, grasping at the railing with his larger arm until the metal groaned under the strain.

"Perhaps so! But I am not here to speculate with a Dark Lord of the Sith." He maintained his distance from her, eyeing up her weapon, and trying to garner what he could of her strength.

"Neither am I here to bore you with silly riddles, and questions of purpose. This place tends to itself, I just filter out the trash from the diseased. The Star Forge, one of the great miracles of the galaxy, was lost to the petulant idealism of the people that disgust me most. Those that would take the means to end poverty, starvation and ailments throughout the galaxy, and tear it down for being a mere weapons factory."

Lasidia raised an eyebrow at that. "You hardly appear the altruistic type."

"Oh, hardly altruism. The Star Forge could have so easily been the basis for a new Infinite Empire, beyond merely pumping out ships and armaments. This place isn't nearly as versatile, but if used incorrectly, it will still suffer the same tragic fate. I won't let that happen."

That brought a near silent hum from Lasidia. The tone of voice wasn't threatening. It was testing her. Waiting for a correct answer.

She folded her arms quietly, brushing her sole lekku aside to do so. "I am beginning to comprehend the function of this place. How the weapon executes its purpose. I can ensure that there will be no Jedi, or Republic, to come and destroy it as well. I know exactly where to strike them."

It brought about a subtle change in Carudan. His fierce grip on the railing relaxed for one, and in particular his wayward eye lost its piercing glare. No longer sizing up Lasidia for a potential fight.

"Good! Good, I wasn't looking forward to taking on some Togruta features anyway. Too much like the Twi'lek. I couldn't bear to look like what the Lady does these days."

Lasidia's eyes narrowed down sharply. She remembered enough that Carudan had some interest in learning the truth about Maarani. Clearly he had gained a lot more, or had merely been hiding how much he knew.

"If you lay a finger on my apprentice in whatever pursuit of Maarani you have in mind-"

"Oh, I did more than that the first time. She took far larger chunks out of me for it obviously. I think I've learned my lesson." Carudan rather sarcastically put his hand over where the human heart would be and bowed after that. Blatantly mocking, but not entirely for its own sake.

He did mean what he said, to a degree.

There was little reason for Lasidia to share the extent of her own plan with him. But, having a timeframe would benefit them both. She could work around to getting that.

"How long until you return to the galaxy at large? I do not plan on leaving my apprentice in the company of that creature for long."

"It depends. Bring me a few samplings, I might be ready to assist you sooner than a year." A quieter laugh followed at the look he got for that. "Far too long a wait under current circumstances, but barely a blink in the eons I have lived. Perspective is funny like that."

Lasidia remained quiet as she gave it deep thought. She still intended to take a look at Dromund Kaas once her examination of the superweapon was done. And there was no certainty about how long either of those visits would take. On top of the other Sith she was told about. A year could prove to be far too long to wait, or it could be barely enough time to put her new plan into action.

"I'll consider it. We are not allies in this matter, whatever the case. I want my apprentice back, and that Twi'lek killed. I will not have the Empire usurped by a Jedi." She straightened up at that, making sure her towering presence was felt even at the distance between them. "I have no interest in seeing your kind restored to power."

"Oh, I don't mind. Lay the groundwork, and in a few thousand more years I'll be ready to drag my people back into their thrones. Let your apprentice have her sixty years of rule for all I care."

Compared to her previous agreement with Masaka, there wasn't really as much to think about. She had plenty of time to dispose of him if needed. And if his help would be worthwhile, sating him now would weaken her position.

"Are you going to disturb me while I continue my search? I don't need a guide to this place."

Carudan lifted both hands up while starting to back away, maintaining that vicious smile of his. "You won't notice me again, I assure you. If you do decide to leave a few morsels, I will find them in my own time. Do enjoy your stay."