Ainar saluted Steffan as he walked up the ramp.

The Valiant was prepped for takeoff, so he sat down in the chair while the ship rose out of the underground storage.

He looked at the scanner readouts, trying to pick up her ion trail. There was a faint trail there.

Great...so she could be in that quadrant of the galaxy

He aligned the ship to her ion trail and set up a jump across the core, in the same direction as Callista had jumped.

This might take a while he thought as he pulled the lever and the ship entered hyperspace. A while indeed...

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She awoke to find herself sprawled across the cot in her cell. The cold air seeped up from the stone, chilling her. Shivering, she pulled her robe close, and curled up on the small cot.

Her jaw still throbbed, and the cold made it ache. Not knowing what the Sith planned for her, she sank into a short healing trance. She gritted her teeth against the pain as her jaw repaired itself. She didn't dare put up her pain block; she needed to learn to deal with the pain.

She shivered again, and not from the cold. A presence invaded her mind, and she knew who it was. Healing yourself, Jedi? She could hear his laughter in her mind. I'll have none of that while you're here… She heard him laugh once more, and then nothing. It was as if she was blind. The Force was not there….

Her first reaction was to panic. But then Steffan's lessons came flooding back to her. "Remain calm, for there are more things at your disposal than just the Force. Use ALL your senses…." Taking deep breaths to slow her racing heart, she calmed herself, and readied herself for whatever was to come.

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The following morning, Callista was roughly awakened as her guards fed her a small meal of rations. One tossed her boots at her. "Put these on and come with us." Silently she drew them on and followed them from the room. They led her back to the room from the previous day. He took in her slightly rumpled appearance. "Had trouble sleeping?" he asked innocently. She glared at him, for they both knew what he meant

He stood up, cracking his knuckles and began to speak. "First things first, allow me to introduce myself, I am the Dark Lord of the Sith Keiab Benas; and in the knowledge of you victory over Mephisto, I would be willing to take you on as my own apprentice."

Her face must have betrayed her shock, for he grinned. She shook her head. "I came here for answers, not to become your student…" He cracked an evil grin, and his eyes narrowed, "You do understand, if you refuse, I can not allow you to leave here alive." He flicked his hand and his lightsaber sped to it.

She straightened, setting her jaw. "Then so be it." She dropped into a combat stance, even though she lacked a lightsaber.

"This is unfitting..." he drew out another lightsaber from his long, black cloak, and using the Force he tossed it at the young Jedi, the hilt landing near her feet. "Now. Fight me, or die."

Picking up the saber, she recognized it instantly as Mephisto's blade. The blade felt alien in her hands, but a saber was a saber at this point. She settled into a high guard, the crimson blade over her head.

"Yessss, that fits you quite nicely..." He steadied his blade at a right angle to his side, an unusual style. Then he darted forward with a deafening yell, holding his blade tight, and took a hard swing directly at the young Jedi's head.

Her saber snapped down, her reflexes quick. She barely caught his in time, their blades intersecting two inches in front of her face. She had to rely solely on training and instinct, for the Force still eluded her.

He pushed the blade forward, but realizing he wasn't going to get anywhere, he jumped back and violently pushed his hand forward, using the force the propel the young Jedi backward. "Is this what you want? To die here? You do realize I am holding back, quite a lot."

She caught herself before slamming into the far wall. "It doesn't matter what I want...it matters only what the Force wills..."

He rushed forward again, "Why remain a slave to the force, serving it...when you can free yourself and make it serve you." He shoved her with the Force, sending her flying across the room. She caught herself before she hit the far wall.

"I am no slave, to the Force, or anyone..." She shoved off from the wall, and raced to meet him. Her blade crashed into his, sparks flying as it slid down and hit his hand.

He drew it back in agony and kicked the young Jedi in the knee, causing him an opening to evade outwards. A curse escaped her lips as her knee gave. Not again, she thought. She fought back the pain, and regained her footing.

"I underestimated you young Jedi, but this is your final warning, and don't worry about my hand." He pulled back his glove to reveal that it was a metallic alloy, only charred at the surface. "You aren't the first one to hit it."

She brought her saber around once more, settling in a middle guard the blade diagonal across her body. Locking eyes with him, she asked, "Why kill me? What could that possibly accomplish except to get the Jedi after you?"

"Why kill you?" he said with a chuckle "My dear, do you really believe the Jedi would have authorized your visit to Korriban? I am not stupid; you left without the proper authorization, even if anyone comes after you, I am more than able to dispatch a search party of young Knights."

She paused at that, considering. Then she leaped at him, her blade striking for his neck. He whipped his head aside, and while he was distracted, she made a grab for her own blades where they rested on his belt. She snagged one of them. She dropped, whipping her blades around and sliced into his leg.

The old Sith yelled and kicked the young Jedi in the face, knocking her down.

"Remember the hand? Why don't I just tell you, the reason I made to be a Dark Lord! Only my chest and head are still organic. Though it will cost me repair bills, wretch."

"But if that is the way you wish to play." He dropped his lightsaber and thrust his metallic hand forward and clenched the fingers tightly cutting off any chance of being able to breathe, as he said while still holding tight.

"Realize you are outclassed, before I crush your internal organs into bits and make you vomit them out."

She dropped both blades, and they clattered across the room. She struggled to suck air for her screaming lungs past his grip. Futilely, she lashed out with her fists, catching him in the throat.

He took the pain in the throat like anyone would, not very well, as he threw the young Jedi into the floor with as much force as he could muster, and flicked his wrist bringing back both lightsabers to his cloak. "Are you angry? Do you hate me, young Jedi?"

She crashed to the floor, curling into a ball from the pain. She struggled to keep the rage and agony from boiling over, yet failed miserably. Sobs wracked her body as she lay at his feet.

He walked away from the body, laughing as he clapped his hands. As before the 3 guards entered the room, "Let this one rot in the same room as last time for a bit longer this time, if she survives the injuries, we see how things progress."

Callista didn't even fight this time as she was dragged away. Her only thought was the pain.

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Her guards dumped her in her cell once more; and none too gently. As she crawled towards the cot, she heard a second bar being placed across the door to her cell. Her arms ached from dragging herself across the room. With her last bit of energy, she hauled herself onto the cot and passed out.

She lost all sense of time, even her meals were irregular. Her diet now consisted solely of bread and water as the Sith sought to break her further. The knee had stiffened; it was agony to even attempt to move it. Sleep did not come easily to her as it was filled with pain and nightmares.

Her treatment at the hands of her guards steadily worsened. They hardly spoke to her, speaking only to command her to do something. The way they woke her up was to dump her from the cot, having no concern for her injuries. One brusquely shoved a hard piece of bread into her hands, while the others looked on. "Eat," he ordered. He stood there with his arms folded until she had finished, and then he left.

Frankly, she was surprised she wasn't dead. In fact, she probably should be. She had snuck into the base of her own will, bringing this on herself. Why did I come here in the first place? She thought. It was stupid, and now I have to deal with the consequences.

Sitting up carefully, she flexed her injured leg experimentally. It was all she could do to keep from crying out in pain. The kneecap had been dislocated, and would have to be put back in place. Clenching her teeth, she set to the grim task. She held her knee steady with one hand, and shoved hard with the other. The pain was enough to make her almost pass out again.

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Keiab watched her via cameras hidden in her cell. He had to admit, she had guts. Not many would take on a Sith Lord such as himself, and then be able to set their own injuries. Her determination was very apparent, and he knew that his task would be difficult. Her control was surprising, and he reevaluated his opinion of her as she set her own injuries without a sound. Even without the Force, she was able to do things that most Jedi would shy away from.

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Her dreams changed, from agony to memories of her lessons with Master Karrde. She clung to them, for it was all she had. They were her only source of calm in the midst of all of this. Her strongest memory was that of the day she had reached a new level in her connection to the Force. She still felt nothing of it, but the calm was still there.

There was nothing much to do as she sat in her cell, so she turned her attention to regaining her fighting skill. Her knee was still weak, but at least it gave her something to do. She submerged herself in it, the movements providing a focus that she sorely needed.

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