You were my wife dammit! His words kept echoing in her head, long after the clamorous footsteps drowned out the final words she had uttered before the guards rushed into the room. Long after she turned and left, unable to watch as he was escorted away.
Treg was from her past, a decision she had made years ago and now was not the time to second guess her choices. Mio understood that, as well as she understood and knew he hadn't heard her reply, because it wasn't even voiced. In fact, it was barely loud enough in her own head for herself to hear. Still, it kept playing in her mind, growing louder after every instance of recalling his final words to her, You were my wife dammit!.
With no other sounding board, beside herself, she replayed her final words to him, over and over. Her words were growing louder, eventually even she could not ignore them any longer, despite how much she tried. Despite the fact that he never heard them, never would, she heard them, clearly now. She couldn't help but wonder why they wouldn't go away, why they were dominating her every move. Everything seemed to be focusing on those final words, "I'm sorry Treg."
But no, she couldn't give in. She had already risked too much to hand it all away because of one momentary lapse in judgment. The majority of her sacrifices had already been made. To change anything now would be a fate worse than death. She would be sentencing herself, tossing aside all her earlier sacrifices. And surely, after she had endured all that, the rest should be easy. This was just one more trial she would have to endure, for her sake. For her career, no matter what the cost.
She stood tall, trying to ignore those last words, despite the growing echo. Trying to ignore the nagging at the back of her mind. How much do I sacrifice? How much longer can I go on?
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"Mr. Unic, at long last our paths cross again. I must admit though, I never expected you to end up in such company. You have made things much easier." Sargac's voice came, growing louder, as Treg became more aware of his surroundings.
He was strapped to a table, covered only in a sheet as his legs and arms were sprawled out on either side, held by a secure electronic cuff that had wires connecting to a large terminal. Still confused he muttered the first thing that came to his mind, "Sargac?"
"I see you are more aware now Treg." Sargac chanced a glance at the wires that were connected to Treg, feeding information into his computer. "I must thank you for bringing the future Dark Lord to my facility. I have gained much respect and trust for that."
"What are you talking about?" Treg replied.
"Are you that ignorant that you were not even aware you traveled with the former and upcoming Dark Lord Revan? No, I doubt that." He thumbed a thoughtless finger against his face. "You always had a gift with people. I'm sure by now she had admitted that much to you."
"Obviously that gift didn't work with you." He replied.
"Mio tells me you know the truth about what happened to you. But I'm sure there are still some details you aren't aware of. I will enjoy telling you all of this, almost as much as I will enjoy recording your reactions." Sargac moved to sit down as an amused look crossed his face. "She has also told me you have developed quite a fondness for the Dark Lord."
"Do you sense any indication that I have absolutely no idea what you are talking about?"
"Yes I do sense that, but I also know that it has nothing to do with Revan."
Treg played at innocence, "Revan? What in the world does she have to do with your rambling about a Dark Lord? It's just a name Sargac, lots of people boast that very name."
"Perhaps, but not ones so gifted in the force, nor ones affected by my projects."
"Your projects? I believe I have first hand knowledge of your projects."
"So now we come to the heart of the matter. Yes Treg, my projects. Much as yours, actually, thanks to yours. Let us travel back in time a bit."
Sargac relaxed his position, settling in for a long story, "Your ambition and what you wanted to do, did you ever think beyond that? What would you do after?" He waited for a reaction from Treg but none came.
"Well, I was in that position. I had achieved so much. What more was there for me, what else could I possibly do to elevate my name higher?"
He paused, "Until a day I was approached by your very lady friend."
He waited, grinning when he noticed he had finally struck a chord with Treg. "Yes, it seems your Revan had some quite ambitious goals with her Sith fleet. The resources we used from that moon, the ones you used in your very experiments, she felt the power in them. A deal was struck, I would cultivate those resources, refine them. Provide her with the perfect weapon – a method to amplify all dark side feelings within a person." He shifted positions, "Oh now, don't look so shocked. Anyway, where was I? Oh yes, It went well, for a time, she was patient, she saw the future of what I could provide." His voice turned sad, "But then she was defeated, or so we thought."
He rose, moving around the room before becoming excited again, "Imagine my good fortune when Lord Malak sought me out, looking for something that would restore memories? Why, I knew what you were working on. I knew it would fit in perfectly." His look became agitated, "But Malak did not have the patience of Revan – he was very demanding. I knew things weren't right yet, but, when you approached me, told me you planned on experimenting on yourself… well I couldn't pass up that opportunity. With Mio's help, of course, we incorporated my design with yours. And Treg," his voice became concerned, "believe me when I say I had no idea what it would do to you. I had not taken into account that my research was based solely on force users and you were not a force sensitive. And for that I do give you my apologies. You were my brightest student. I had great plans for us."
He shook his head before continuing, "Using the information I gathered from my experiment on you, I tried to fix some of its flaws. I had to do it quickly, so I could give Lord Malak what he wanted, figuring I had time to perfect it later. I used an implant, so the effects would be continuous, along with your studies on neural connections to the brain. He only wanted to restore memories. Although I had greater plans, none of us expected the results we have had." His voice became loud, powerful, "We can now control any force user with this implant! Amplify their inherent darkness, turn them to this side. This is exactly what Revan had envisioned from the start." He gave an eerie chuckle, "Little did she know it would one day be used on her!" His laugh echoed throughout the room, "What luck for one of Malak's own to stumble across this knowledge, why, I had given up on this! Until he approached me … until you came. And now I understand that you have also inherited a bit of force sensitivity, due to that first experiment. You have provided me with great influence. We can reach an even greater following once I perfect this. Imagine, creating dark side force users? Oh Treg, my brightest student," His words became amplified as Treg realized what he was saying, "You have now become my brightest experiment."