Chapter 9

AN: Well, after two months I'm finally able to update this, sorry for the long wait lads. This chapter mostly consists of Acina taking the lead and mingling with nobility while giving some lessons to both Shmi and Triz, hope you like it and as always leave a review.

Messorem-Dust: I'm glad you liked it. Yeah, a lot of people cheat on cards (Lando definitely).

In one of the city's most exquisite and high-end fashion shops, a peculiar event was taking place, an ancient dark lady of the sith and her young acolyte were browsing and trying on expensive clothes. When the two first entered the clothing shop the woman that was working at the counter had first tried to make them leave, saying that this shop was too expensive for them and that they don't cater to their kind, the woman stopped speechless when Acina showed her the credits. There was still some hesitation from the clerk's side but the sith ignored it and started to look around, her new acolyte following closely. The young teen had never seen clothes this fine, this colorful and most definitely not this expensive, just the price of one of the dresses on sale could feed a family of Saleucami for a while. Triz just stared wide-eyed as Acina walked over to a rack of clothes and started browsing.

"Hmmmm, too white," the sith said as she looked at one of the pieces before continuing "Too short…too boring, has too long sleeves."

"I would have never taken you for a fashionista," Shmi said with surprise as Acina continued to pick through random pieces of clothing.

Acina chuckled good naturally. "Oh dear, there are many things you don't know about me. Just because I wore a bit more armor in the memories you've seen of my life it does not mean I wore it all the time. As the saying goes, clothes make a man, but they also make a woman. If people see someone who is sharply dressed they will think that person must be important, clothes can serve as a sign of status, they can also be used to fit into the crowd," Acina said she lifted a red dressed and looked at it critically. "Not to mention it's always good to look better than everyone else."

"Now you are just being vane," Shmi said, she did not agree with Acinas choice of how she was going to use the credits she earned but could do little to stop her, they had a deal and the credits belonged to Acina. "The prices of these clothes are ridiculous, it's like they are made out of gems, not cloth. There are people who work their entire lives and don't earn this much money."

"I never said that I was without pride and by now you should be aware just how prideful I'm," Acina said eyeing another dress, this one black in color. "We been stuck wearing the same old smuggler's clothes since we left Korriban, we are in desperate need of a wardrobe change, preferably something nice, something befitting of a lady."

"I'm starting to feel there's more to this than just clothes," Shmi said in an accusing tone.

"And what makes you say that?" Acina said in an innocent tone.

"You been in my head long enough for me to pick up on some things, not to mention the card you swiped from the man who sat next to us during the sabacc game. Care to tell me what that is about or should I guess," Shmi said.

Acina smiled. "Good, you are noticing more of your surroundings even when not in direct control, you are improving," she said, praising Shmi.

"I am," Shmi said. "But you still haven't answered my question."

"You are correct, forgive me, a master has the right to be proud of their student after all. That card you noticed me so easily liberating from that fat man's pocket is an invitation to a gathering, a party under the roof of house Greyshade and it just so happens that the party is happening this evening."

"How do you figure that? It looks like a normal card to me," Shmi inquired, honestly intrigued by how Acina knew it was an invitation.

"For starters," Acina said as she pulled the invitation card out of her pocket and looked at it. "The Greyshade family crest is on it plus it seems that since my time little has changed in the form of the card's design, I had received one before and it looked almost the same as this one. This silver piece of metal will get us inside the Greyshade palace without any effort."

"And why would we go there?" Shmi asked, she was starting to get suspicious of her partner's motives.

"To mingle with the upper-class society of course, dear," Acina said matter of factually. "These kinds of parties might seem elaborate and yet boring on the surface but there is always something interesting to be found there, if nothing else, the food and drink will be far better than what you are used to eating."

"Then why don't you let me experience them?" Shmi asked.

Acina chuckled. "Forgive me dear, but you have as much class as rampaging rancor compared to the nobility that would be present. I might be rusty but I still remember my etiquette and fit in with that type of crowd, you not so much. You are learning but it will take time before I let you go by yourself so this time, the older, more experienced person will deal with this, not to mention that it's been so long since I last attended any event akin to this and it might be fun."

"You just said that events like this are usually boring, how can then they be fun?"

"Well, if people in the upper circles know how to do anything it's how to gossip, and gossip can become information. This will be a learning opportunity for you, my dear apprentice, you will learn how to blend in and become one with the crowd. Becoming a random face on the street is one thing, becoming a random face in a room filled with stuck-up, greedy, ambitious aristocrats is another. You can never let them in on anything about you and yet you have to tell them everything. You will have to charm them, lead them on and let them believe that they are leading you on, that's how the game works. Those with wealth more often than not look down upon those who they see as their lesser, people with less, people who were not fortunate enough to be born into privilege. The Greyshades are old money, their rise to prominence is to be respected but as years go by, with each generation, the roots of one's rise are forgotten and the important thing becomes not how one achieved their power and wealth but how to flaunt it around without purpose. If not careful, wealth and power can lead to a false sense of security, and a feeling of being untouchable. I have seen enough individuals who fall into that category during my lifetime, one should never forget their roots, and one should never become lax. If one does, then they give their enemies a perfect chance to strike," Acina told her other half, her voice serious, without the usual bravado and mirth that was often found in her voice when she spoke to Shmi. Then suddenly her demeanor became more cheerful. "Besides, there is always a chance of some scandal happening at these parties, I remember one such instance when a fellow sith found his lover with her back against a wall while being in a hands of his apprentice, the look of shock and anger was priceless," Not to mention the duel between the master and the apprentice that followed and the execution of the lover and student at the hands of that sith.

Shmi took a moment to go over what her mentor had just told her, Acina did have a point as much as Shmi disliked admitting it. She didn't really like the idea of sneaking into an event filled with stuck-up rich people but she promised Acina some time for herself and she did feel that she owed a debt to the sith for everything Acina had done for her so far. One miserly party can't hurt, right? One peculiar thing Shmi had noticed is Acinas opinion of the nobility, she respected some while detesting almost all others. She could see why Acina disliked those who grow up with their every whim catered to compared to those who actually had to earn their keep.

"One party can't hurt," Shmi said with a small sigh. "What is the worst that can happen?"

"You would be surprised," Acina said as she looked at a long black and red sleeveless dress that had a small opening at the back. The sith liked the dress and moved to the changing room where she tried it on. Acina looked at herself in the mirror. The design of the dress was to her liking, not too elaborate like some people preferred it and yet not too simple, it was the right combination of both. It hugged her body just enough without it being skin-tight. Acina offered a pleasing smile. Just a few more things and they will be ready for the gathering. She exited the changing room where the clerk was waiting for her. "I will take this one," she said before turning her attention to her acolyte. "Found anything you like?"

"I think so," Triz said with a bit of uncertainty and showed Acina a long dark green dress with long sleeves and a high neckline. A bit conservative for Acinas liking but pretty enough, it will do. "I tried it on, it suits me well."

Acina eyed the acolyte critically for a moment, the zabrak felt her discomfort rise as those yellow eyes bore into her but did her best not to show it, she needed to stay strong, to prove to her new mentor that she had not made a mistake by taking Triz in. Acina then gave Trit a soft, charming smile.

"Good, if you like it they it's yours. Come on, let's buy what we want and move on, we have a few more places to visit if we wish to make ourselves ready in time for the party, wouldn't want to keep the Grayshades waiting," Acina said.

"Greyshades?" Triz asked confused.

"Yes, they are the rulers of Columex, have been for generations," Acina explained. The teen looked at the sith with a shocked expression, she had just left her home on Saleucami and will already be meeting a ruler of another planet. That train of thought led her to a peculiar thing. Shmi was someone powerful, that was clear as day but how could she be invited to a gathering held by the ruler of a planet, she doesn't appear as someone who is filthy rich, at least she did not when they left the ship.

"I know what you are going to ask and the answer is no, I don't know the Greyshades, we weren't really invited, we are crashing this party actually," Acina explained.

"W-What?" the clerk who had been standing there and listened to every word the master and acolyte said, spoke. Acina looked at the clerk with a bored expression before moving her hand through the air.

"You will forget what you just heard and move back to the cash register," Acina said as she used the mind trick on the woman. "Also you will delete the last half an hour of security footage."

"I will forget what I heard and delete the security footage," the woman repeated before walking away. Triz could only stare in awe and wonder at what the older woman had just done.

"What was that?" Triz asked with excitement.

"It's called a mind trick, I will teach you how to use it in time. Now let's get going, we don't want to be late, do we?"

"Isn't it good to be fashionably late," Triz said in a cheeky tone, her composure coming back to her. Acina could not help but laugh at the zabraks words and Triz relaxed more when she heard it.

"Right you are acolyte, right you are," Acina said smiling. "We can be a bit late but not too much, it's not nice to be late for social gatherings, especially high-profile ones such as we are going to attend."

"If we are going to hang around a bunch of rich people, wouldn't that mean that we would also need to pretend to be rich...I mean to be someone important, like a name or planet," Triz said.

"Don't worry yourself, my dear, I have everything taken care of. We will indeed be posing as important individuals but not from this world, I'm crafting our story as we speak," Acina said, a knowing smirk plastered on her lips, Triz could not help but wonder what lies her mentor was concocting, it must be something good.

The next several hours the sith and the acolyte spent purchasing jewelry to go with their clothes and going to a beauty salon. Triz could barely believe what was going on, she had never seen that many jewels and precious items in one place, and she was now being allowed to buy what she wanted. The time spent in the salon was a bit awkward, she never had that many people pampering her, while Shmi looked completely relaxed during the entire time. The teen had never in her wildest dreams thought that she would end up in a situation like this. Yes, she dreamed of exploring Saleucami and planets beyond but getting ready for a gathering held by a ruling family of a world had never crossed her mind. When all was set and done both were dressed in their freshly bought clothes, adorned with a piece of jewelry of two like a dark ruby necklace in Acinas case or amethyst bracelets that adorned Trizs wrists. The teen was stunned and speechless when she finally looked at herself in the mirror, she looked like a completely different person.

"I….I….," Triz stammered.

"Look beautiful my dear," Acina said with a smile as she looked at Triz. "Who would have thought under all that dirt is a fine young lady? The universe has the knack for surprising us at every turn it seems."

"I… thank you," the girl said still in shock at the sight in front of her.

"I would love to let you gaze upon yourself all day long but I have to remind you that we have somewhere to be," Acina said playfully.

"Oh, yes, yes, sorry," Triz blabbered out. "It's just..."

"I know how it is to see yourself out of the rags and put into something presentable for the first time my dear, you don't need to worry yourself about that," Acina said in a kind and gentle tone as she moved closer and put her hands on Trizs shoulders, the mirror now showing the image of the two. "Splendid isn't it?"

"Yes," Triz said nodding her head, her eyes still wide in awe as she looked at the reverse image of herself and Shmi in the mirror. Acina leaned back after a moment.

"Come on, no more time to waste, if we leave now, we might just be the right amount of fashionably late," Acina said and went over to pay the clerk. Triz shook herself out of her stupor and followed the older woman. Once finished with the salon the two called a cab and Acina told the driver to take them to the Greyshade manor.

"There is one thing I must ask," Triz said.

"Go on," replied Acina.

"I don't really know anything about how to act around rich people, what if I do something wrong and mess up?" she asked, uncertain of herself.

Acina chuckled. "Don't worry yourself, just follow my lead and all will be fine. Just remember to stay vigilant, keep your eyes sharp at all times, and if someone decided to talk to you give them short answers. Once we enter the best thing to do is to keep your poker face on, that will do the trick."

"I don't think I have a poker face," Triz pointed out.

"Well, it's as good a time as any to find one. You can think of this as your first lesson," Acina said with a hint of amusement in her voice, Triz turned her head to look in front of her, clenched her hands, and sighed. There was no turning back now, she had made her choice back aboard the ship, If she is to be trained by Shmi she needs to do what the older woman says. She will do as told, she will learn and get stronger, and better, and no one will hurt her ever again. The zabrak lifted her head up, her face forming the best emotionless expression she could muster. "Not bad, it needs work but for the first time it will have to suffice."

Soon enough the cab stopped at the public landing pad on the Greyshade manor. Manor would be the wrong word for it as it looked more like a palace, the center tower reaching high into the sky. Acina looked at it for a moment, to anyone else the building would have looked mesmerizing and the sith could possibly admit that but she would rather be consumed by maggots than admit that. Shmi thought that the manor looked beautiful even if it was a bit too much for her tastes while Triz was doing her best not to show the awe and wonder she was feeling right now.

"Come on, let's go," Acina said and started walking towards the gates of the manor, Triz following close behind. She noticed several more speeders arriving with other guests, she didn't know who they were but the night is still young, she might find out by the end of it. The human and the zabrak were stopped at the entrance by a protocol droid and several guards.

"Invitation please," the droid said and Acina showed the invitation card. The droid took it and gave it a look before handing it back to Acina. "Thank you, I hope you enjoy the evening. Can I please get your name so as to know how to announce you?"

Acina smiled. "Lysana Dumat, representative of the Intergalactic banking clan and this is my assistant, Maenora Novis."

The droid looked at the two of them before he asked them to follow him. Turning around the droid proceeded to lead them further into the manor. They walked along several long hallways until they reached a tall entryway that lead into a large ballroom.

"Lysana Dumat, representative of the Intergalactic banking clan and her assistant, Maenora Novis," the droid announced, some of the attendants moved their gazes to see the new arrivals while others remained willingly preoccupied with what they were doing. Acina and Triz walked down the stairs, the ancient sith radiated elegance and authority as she descended towards the main area of the ballroom. There were at least a hundred people there, all dressed to the nines, talking and laughing, taking drinks that the servants and droids offered, and occasionally going over to one of the side tables to grab one of the desserts that were on offer. The two of them stopped near one of the columns of the ballroom.

"What now?" Triz silently asked.

"Just follow my lead," Acina said and then took two glasses of champagne a waiter droid offered and handed over one to Triz who gave it a critical look.

"I'm seventeen, should I be allowed to drink?" Triz asked.

Acina raised an eyebrow. "I highly doubt that you never drank alcohol before."

Triz flustered a bit. "Maybe once or twice with friends."

"Then this should be no issue," Acina said and after a moment of thought, Triz took the champagne glass. The older woman raised her glass. "To you and your first voyage through the stars."

Triz gave her mentor an appreciative smile and raised her glass as well. "To me then."

Both Acina and Triz took a small sip from their drinks. It was a moment later that Acina sensed someone approaching them. The person must have not been paying attention to where they were going as they almost bumped into Acina who gracefully moved to the side just in time to avoid the person. The person turned her gaze from the Siniteen male that shared her company and looked at Acina and Triz.

"My sincerest apologizes, I almost collided with you," the person said. It was a female, the species whom Acina did not recognize. The female was humanoid, had green skin, sported bright red eyes, and eight horn-like protrusions on top of the head.

"No apologizes are needed, nothing of the sort occurred," Acina said in a pleasant tone.

"Still I apologize, I was too busy talking with my colleague that I failed to see where I was going," the female said.

Acina chuckled. "It is alright, truly. But if you wish to apologize then I would prefer that we introduce ourselves to each other first," the sith said in a diplomatic tone.

The green female's features hardened slightly. "Of course, where are my manners? I'm senator Voe Atell and my companion here is senator Bec Lawise of the Confederacy of Independent star systems," Voe said and motioned her hand toward the Siniteen.

"Greetings," Bec said with a slight bow.

"I'm Lysana Dumat, representative of the Intergalactic banking clan," Acina said and offered a bow of her own.

"I'm Maenora Novis, I serve as lady Dumat's assistant," Triz said and copied Acinas bow. The sith was pleased with the young one so far, if she continues to keep up like this then she might just be worth Acinas time.

Bec raised an eyebrow at the young zabrak. "Aren't you a bit young to serve as an assistant to a representative?"

"She is but her parents are close friends of mine and so I decided to give her a chance, so far I'm pleased with her capabilities," Acina said turning her head slightly to look at Triz before returning her gaze back towards the two senators.

Veo hummed. "And what brings a representative of the banking clan to this event?" she asked.

"Same thing as you, I'm officially here to represent the interests of the Banking clan while you are here to represent the Confederacies senate, unofficially I'm just here to grab a free drink and see if anything interesting would come up. This is a far better option than paperwork," Acina said and this got a small laugh out of the female senator.

"That's for sure," Veo said.

"Although the drinks could be a bit stronger. The taste is nice, so I guess I don't have a right to complain."

"Try the wine next, it might suit your tastes better," Veo added.

"I definitely will," Acina said. "Are you two here alone or are there any more senators gracing us with their presents this evening?"

"A few more," Bec said simply.

"Most of them are currently occupied with listening to one of Simon Greyshade's supposed triumphs," Voe said with a scoff.

"Careful Voe, it is not proper to speak of ones host while you are still in their home," Bec said.

"Oh please Bec, you know as well as I that the man is where he is only because of his cousin's untimely demise. Simon uses his political position only for gambling, racing, or sleeping around. If the Greyshades did not run the Commonality we wouldn't need to be here," Veo said, her dislike of the Greyshade clear.

"As senators of the Confederacy it is our duty to represent it, you might not like the man but you will have to put up with him at least up to the end of the evening," Bec said.

Shmi and Acina had done a bit of digging before their ship landed on Columex. The Commonality and Columex were officially still a part of the Republic but Simon Greyshade had so far kept himself and those he speaks for neutral in the conflict. If a group of CIS senators is here, then they might be here for more than just pleasantries and soft drinks.

"I have yet to encounter our dear host, you two are the first ones I was able to speak to since our arrival," Acina said.

"If you wish to meet him, we were just about to return to our friends," Bec said.

"That would be appreciated sir," Acina said. She could see that Veo was not all too kin on returning to where their host was entertaining his guests but as a politician and senator she had little choice in the matter, she was used to putting up with fools and stuck-up people by now but it never gets easier. The sith and her acolyte followed the two senators through the crowd toward the other end of the ballroom.

"Oh, by the way, there is another representative of the Banking clan in our party, Aemont Sillib, do you know him?"

"Perhaps, the name doesn't sound familiar but I will know when I see him," Acina lied. This was an unexpected turn of events, one that could potentially blow their cover. The sith felt her excitement rise, it's been so long since she had been on any undercover mission or infiltrated a facility of any kind. It seems that she would have to rely on more than just her charm to stay uncovered tonight. A good opportunity to get the dust off so to speak. "You be unusually quiet this entire time," Acina told Shmi.

"I decided to let you do your thing and not get in the way, after all from what I gathered acting aristocratic is kinda your forte. I didn't wish to distract you," Shmi said. "I been paying close attention and I have to say that I'm impressed."

"Thank you, dear, it all comes with years of experience and talent," Acina said smugly.

"But how will you deal with the real representative?" Shmi asked, she believed in her sith mentor but that did not mean that she wasn't worried.

"Don't worry yourself about it, just let me deal with it, I have done this dance more times than I can count," Acina said. Not too long after the four of them reached a place on the other side of the ballroom where five people were standing and talking among themselves. The first one was a human male with light skin, brown hair and mustache, and blue-gray eyes. The second and third ones were also human while the fourth was surprisingly a zagyrrian.

"Slaver," Acina heard Shmi say with hate.

"Indeed, I wonder what he is doing here?"

And the final member of the group was a Muun. Muuns were tall and gaunt humanoids with thin bodies and elongated heads with hairless and smooth craniums.

"Ah, Veo, Bec, we thought that you left us for the serving droids," one of the humans joked and got a laugh from the group around him.

"Bec and I just wanted to chat a bit," Veo said. "Good thing too as we found someone I believe you would want to meet," she added and all eyes turned to Acina and Triz.

"Greetings senators, I'm Lysana Dumat, and this is my assistant, Maenora Novis," the sith falsely introduced herself and her companion.

"She is from the Banking clan just like you, Sillib. Do you know each other by any chance?" Bec said. The Muun looked at her carefully, his shrewd eyes going over every detail of her face. He stopped for a moment to look at her strange yellow eyes, a feeling of unease went through him for a moment before he averted his gaze. While he studied her, Acina also studied him. He was dressed in brown and gray formal wear that looked to be based on armor and wore a silver headpiece.

"Is that so?" The Muun asked.

"What you heard was true," Acina said to the Muun. Muuns were extremely intelligent and both greedy and cautious, so one should never let themselves relax around them.

"Ah, I was not aware that any more representatives will be attending this gathering," the Muun said.

"Neither was I," Acina said. "It would have been splendid if we were aware of each other beforehand, at least we are able to meet now. Sillib, forgive me but the name does not ring a bell, what branch do you work for?"

"I'm a loan officer for the Banking clan, I was sent by Chairman San Hill to negotiate some changes concerning the potential loans the Banking clan was offering to the Commonality," the Muun said, he was about to continue when Simon cut him off.

"Enough about business, if I wanted to talk about it I wouldn't have thrown a party," Simon said as he took a few steps towards Acina, he then took her hand and kissed it. "Don't mind our Muun friend here, he means well but you know how it is with them my lady, it's always just about business and numbers with them."

Acina let out a small laugh. "I'm well aware sir, I work for them. They might be business focused but that does not need to be a bad thing, more often than not that's a good thing. A person who does not take their job seriously is destined to fail. Muuns are good at their craft, that's why they are the best bankers in the galaxy. Even at a young age, they can perform complex mathematical equations that most would not be able to make heads or tails from."

Sillib looked at Acina for a moment before standing just a bit straighter. "You are correct on that account miss, it is good to see someone appreciating the effort our field of work requires."

The sith could easily sense Sillibs skepticism concerning her, the best thing for not is to play along. Acina gave the tall humanoid a nod before returning her attention to the man of the hour, her venerable host, Simon Grayshade.

"I thank you for throwing such an illustrious gathering senator Greyshade, its been some time since I last attended anything close to it," Acina said in a flattering tone and offered a charming smile.

"But of course madam," he said with a toothy grin. "The hospitality of me and my home is yours as long as you need it. I do have to say, if you were the usual representative of the Banking clan, I would have no issue with meeting you whenever you wished."

Acina chuckled at the man's antics, the man was charming, she will give him that, a typical playboy but something like this would never work on her. She knew what his intention was, the chances of that happening were zero, for one he was not her type and two she was sure that Shmi would not appreciate her using her body for a one-night stand, but he didn't know that leading him on just be a bit would be fun.

"Thank you, sir, one can only wish that all senators were this hospitable to their guests," Acina said.

"Most of my colleagues in the senate have gone too rigid from all the politicking but not me, it's going to take a lot more than a few boring sessions in the senate to make me forgo my courtesies and become a bad host," Simon said enthusiastically.

For the next several hours Acina and by extension Triz continued to mingle with the guests attending the party. The remaining members of Veos party introduced themselves, senators of some backwater Outer Rim worlds. Simon continued to make his moves the entire time while Acina just played along. She could sense Veos annoyance being directed at their host just as the intentions of her and her companions, were to persuade the Commonality to join the Separatists. Simon might have been a wasteful fool when it comes to wealth but the man it seems was not an idiot when it comes to politics. As long as he keeps himself close to the Republic he would have no issues with the chancellor and the senate and as long as he stays neutral in the conflict he would have no real problems with the CIS. But seeing as the warships were already in the planet's orbit, it's more likely that the Commonality had already chosen a side. The commonality still traded with both sides and was a powerful player, having it on one's side would surely benefit one's cause. Sillib minded his own business for most of the evening, but the doubt never went away. Triz was more than a bit nervous but had managed to do a good job at controlling herself thus far, even engaging in a small talk from time to time. She had learned a few interesting tidbits about the galaxy's political climate concerning the CIS and the Republic, information that could prove useful later down the line. The Zygerrian was the interesting one in the group of attendants, she could sense that the feline man was pleased for some reason.

"We need to find out why the slaver is here, I doubt that he is simply here to bolster Simon's ego," Shmi said, the detest for the slaver clear in her voice.

"I agree apprentice, by the glance I caught him sharing with Simon I believe there is some kind of a deal between them," Acina said.

"A deal? How do you know that?" Shmi asked.

"It's always a deal when these types of men are involved, Simon most likely wants credits while the zygerrian whats something else," Acina explained.

"Like what?"

"Could be anything really, safe passage for zygirrian ships through Commonality space, place to refuel, or most likely a way to procure more slaves to sell, anything is possible," Acina said.

"We need to learn more," Shmi practically growled out.

"If the opportunity presents itself then we will," Acina said.

"You better or else I will be taking control over my body back and doing it myself," Shmi said in a threatening tone. Acina was annoyed at the threat but did not show it and was also proud somewhat of her pupil for showing her teeth.

Everything continued the same for a while until the Zygerrian carefully managed to leave the group and proceeded to walk away toward one of the side entrances.

"Follow him," Shmi said, it was not a suggestion but a command. The sith did not really have any qualms about slavery but she needed her host to surge deeper into the dark side and slavery was the key to it. Acina took Triz to the side and told her that she had something to do and that Triz would be covering for her until she returns. The acolyte nervously nodded and accepted her task. Acina went to follow the slaver while Triz returned to the group of senators, when inquired about her senior's whereabouts, Trizs replied that lady Lysana went to refresh herself and that she will be returning shortly, in her best mimicry of her mentor's diplomatic voice of course.

Acina followed the zygerrians trail, it was easy to sense him and track him down thanks to the force. Soon enough she found him standing in a middle of a dark hallway, the only light illuminating the space being the blue hew of a holo communicator. She hid behind the corner and leaned in just enough to listen in on the secret conversation.

"… as planned, Greyshade has agreed to the proposal. As soon as the credits are transferred he will allow us to use the Commonality space for our endeavors," the zygerrian said.

"Good," a female voice responded in a pleased manner. "This will allow the Zygerrian empire to bolster the number of the merchandise we can acquire and transport. Simon Grayshade is a greedy little man who only cares for himself and not at all the people he is supposed to represent. You did well Tusan, you will be greatly rewarded for your efforts."

"I live to serve my queen," the zygerrian said a moment later the holo projection ended leaving the room in the dark once more. So, her hunch was right then again it's not hard to guess what zygerrians could want. Time to make a move.

Just as Tusan was about to turn around at the corridor Acina jumped in front of him, catching him by surprise.

"That's quite an interesting conversation you were having, I think I would like to know more," Acina said, yellow eyes staring menacingly at the feline humanoid, he took a step back.

"There must be some..." he started but was cut off by Acina.

"Oh there isn't some mistake here, I can assure you I heard everything, even if I didn't I could still make an educated guess," she said as she took a step forward. "Now you will tell me everything you know about the slaving operation in his sector and beyond and I might let you live."

"I think we can come to some kind of arrangement concerning your silence," he offered.

"I think not, you have what I want and you will give it to me, now," Acina said in a threatening tone, she was a patient person by nature but she had little patience for useless banter. The zygerrians eyes narrowed at the woman, something gave off a weird feeling about her. He ignore the feeling, he was taller and stronger than her, and taking her out would be easy. Tusan reached out for the knife hidden in the sleeve and tried stabbing the woman with it only to find himself stopped dead in his tracks unable to move a muscle. The woman's hand was slightly raised in front of him. "Tsk, tsk, tsk, pulling a knife on a lady, some gentleman you are."

"J-Jedi," he said through greeted teeth, anger filling his eyes.

"No, not a Jedi," Acina said, she did not appreciate being confused with the light worshiping fools, the galaxy has truly forgotten the power and straight of the sith. Fools, all of them. "You will tell me what I want to know."

"Never," the zygerrian spat. Acina looked at her pray for a moment before shrugging.

"I offered you the easy way out, now we will do this the more painful way," she said and moved her hand towards his forehead. Using the force Acina started to enter and unravel the zygerrians mind, causing him to start spasming as pain filled his body. Drain Knowledge is a telepathic dark side ability used to extract knowledge out of a sentient without his or her consent. Beyond simple reading of thoughts, the Drain Knowledge ability disrupted the Force to steal deep memories and information in a violent and merciless way. Such a process might damage the subject psychologically, not that Acina cared about that and she knew that Shmi shared the sentiment in this case. She saw images of a world, Zygerria, slaves being marched, beaten and sold everywhere. She saw the task that was given to Tusan by queen Miraj Scintel, how he made a deal to use Columex to secretly gather more slaves and freely ship them through the Outer Rim territories. She saw every sin Tusan had committed in his life and could feel the anger and hate rising and rising with Shmi, all the while the zygirrian kept floating in the air while being kept in complete agony.

"Your call," Acina told her host, not that she really needed to, she already knew what fate will befall their would-be assailant.

"Kill him," Shmi said, her voice glazed with venom and hate. Acina simply moved her hand slightly back, ending the probing of her victim's mind and clenched her fist. A sound of a neck breaking was heard and the body went limp on the floor, an expression of utter fear and pain forever etched on the slaver's face. Acina gave the body one last disinterested look before walking away.

"Someone is going to find him," Shmi pointed out. Acina turned around and looked at the body again. Using the force she opened one of the doors and threw the body inside, closing the doors immediately after.

"By the time they do we will be long gone," Acina said.

"What do we do now? We know all about Greyshades and Zygerrias little plan, killing the last remaining link would be a sound solution, it would stop the trade from ever commencing."

"Its already too late for that, the Zygerrians have what they want and will start with gathering and transportation soon enough. Killing Tusan will cause them to become cautious and if we kill Simon then they might go underground or stay away from the Columex system entirely. The best course of action is to wait and to draw them in, this way the slavers will fall into our hands," Acina explained. "Besides you need for practice and our new acolyte needs to start her own training, this will be a perfect opportunity. Now let's get back to the party, I'm sure we have left Triz alone long enough with those Senators."