Chapter 39: Playtime
"That will be all, you are dismissed."
Siri gave the Jedi Council a bored look at the end of another disclosure session. "Is all you're going to do is drag me up here for these little groupies?"
Obi-Wan groaned from near the door. "Must you Siri?"
She ignored him. Honestly, it had been weeks of this now. Call her to a meeting, dismiss her, apparently argue about what she revealed for hours to days before submitting it to the Chancellor. She was flabbergasted on how slow the whole thing was, they should have had her debriefed in the first week alone. They should have gotten it all, ranked her revelations by importance, and started hitting them from top to bottom, bam bam done. Instead, they bicker and argue and think and meditate when they should be acting.
Force, why in all nine Corellian hells did she decide to do this again? The Jedi are giving Sidious to much time to dance around their efforts. This is barely going to end up a roadbump for him at this rate. She should have risked bailing out and attempting to strike out alone for as much as she'd most likely fail without a barrier between her and Sidious.
"That was our agreement," pointed out Master Piell.
Siri rolled her eyes. "I also offered to also show the Jedi how to fight a Sith."
Windu frowned at her. "And how exactly would you plan to do so?"
"You give me my lightsaber and I slap any Jedi who wants a piece of me around a training room," she said.
"You expect us to trust you with a lightsaber?" asked Windu, incredulous.
"It's not about trust," she said flatly, "I'm in the middle of your kriffing temple, if I kill one of you, I'm dead. It's common sense."
"Or do you truly fear little old me so much?" she mocked, hand to her heart in mock flattery.
Windu scowled at her, and she just snicked, "C'mon Windu, aside from Yoda and Dooku, you're probably the only one in the room who would stand a strong chance of actually winning from what I know of you. Surely you want to have a go at me."
She tilted her head back. "Besides, do you even want to contemplate facing Sidious without even trying your hand at the Apprentice?"
"We will consider your offer," said Windu flatly, "You are dismissed."
"Who pissed in his cereal?" said Siri to Obi-Wan not-so-quietly as she left the room, entirely amused at the Jedi's expense, "I don't really remember, was he always like that before? Did he get surgery for that permanent scowl on his face?"
Obi-Wan scolded, "Master Windu takes his job seriously, Siri."
She squinted at him. "Then why are you trying to hide a smile?"
Obi-Wan coughed and turned away to fiddle with the elevator controls.
Dooku merely sighed. "Your infantile act grows tiresome the more I am exposed to it, Sith."
She grinned and moved into the elevator when it opened. "Glad you approve."
He shook his head, but didn't rise to the bait.
"You say that," added in Siri, "But I can feel your reactions every time I rile up the council."
He narrowed his eyes at her.
"You can't hide feelings from a Darksider," she said mockingly, "At least not with your normal shields."
She snickers when he reflexively tightens his mind at her words. Poking at Dooku is a cherished passtime. "Don't worry Dooku, you'll have a chance for revenge soon enough if they let me have my playtime."
"A Jedi does not seek revenge," he chided back
"So says the man with anticipation radiating off him," said Siri with amusement.
Dooku glowered, but Obi-Wan seemed thoughtful, "You can really get that off him? I can't sense anything."
"Like I've said before, the Dark Side is emotion, its not easy to hide what you feel from a darksider if they know what to look for and they are paying close attention," said Siri, waiting for Obi-Wan to take point as they walked out, temple guards following in behind them, "So tell me Dooku, why so eager? Cant get your kicks smacking around knights and masters?"
Dooku wrinkled his nose at her. "For one, I will require more experience facing a Sith in the chance I ever cross paths with your Master, and for two, you held back."
She turned her head a little and raised an eyebrow.
"I've watched the recording of your fight with my padawan and grandpadawan, Sith," he said dryly, "You did not exert the skill nor technique against me as you did them. As one of the Order's most skilled duelists, it is an insult."
Ah, wounded pride.
"Well, one, Sidious didn't want you dead, and two, I didn't want to reveal what I was nor what I was fully capable of," she answered simply before tilting her head, "And three, I wasn't interested in sticking around long enough to risk you killing me. There is like a fifty year age and experience gap between us, and you are the Makashi master, fighting you head on in saberplay is suicide."
She'd like to think if she cut loose with her sorcery she could win, but gambling like that against someone like Dooku was risky. But regardless, beating Dooku in a real encounter would revolve around not being anywhere near him. Kill him from afar with the Force or risk his lightsaber. Set up a trap perhaps, sabotage a ship, place an explosive. Not everything revolved around defeating someone in a fight.
"Hmm," said Dooku, noncommital, "Does your Master know Makashi?"
"He knows all the forms," she answered.
Dooku frowned. "A jack of all trades?"
"No," she answered sourly, "A Master of all trades. He can use all forms at a far beyond Master's level. You're probably a bit better at Makashi than him, but he'd trash you in every other way imaginable."
"So you say," commented Dooku.
Siri considered rebuking him, she was tired of her warnings not being taken seriously enough, but merely went silent. He'd find out the hard and painful way should he and Sidious cross paths. Honestly, the Jedi should all be mid-freakout by now, but no, they just go about their lives as if hardly a thing is wrong when they should be scrambling to save themselves. The revelation that the Sith are alive and actively working to destroy the Jedi should be a massive life changing event. But no, they treat it as a mere obstacle to overcome rather than the true threat it is.
They'll die for that one day soon enough.
It's a thought she carried into her room as she once more laid on her couch and stared aimlessly up at the ceiling...
A brief sharp knock came two days later, and not at the usual times Obi-Wan would come in to drop off food. Siri's eyes flickered as Windu and Yoda entered the room, pausing at the entrance to star at her lazed form on the couch. "What?"
"It has been decided we will take you up on your, offer," said Windu sourly, "If you try anything, Sith, it wont happen again."
Siri grinned and shifted to sit then stand, a thrill of anticipation going through her. Over three months of either being stuck in a cell or lazing in this room and she'd finally get some action, the adrenaline of battle, the hum of a lightsaber, the red glow illuminating her and the surroundings. There would be no kill, though at her saber's lowest setting it would still leave absolutely nasty burns. So there would be pain to feed off of.
"Don't worry so much Jedi," she mocked, "I'll be on my best behavior."
Yoda grunted and shook his head. "Say that, you do, but malice, do I feel."
She hummed. "I have some issues to work out on the Jedi. I wont kill or maim anyone, but I am a Sith, don't expect me to play nice."
They led her to one of the larger training room, bleachers on the sides already filled with Jedi, observation rooms up above teeming with the light-happy-filth as well. There were some Jedi that tickled compartmentalized memories, but she didn't acknowledge it. There were also a number of healers present, if Master Che and the other similarly garbed Jedi around her were present. Her eyes briefly lingered on a Mon Calamri standing next to her, on Bant, but kept her gaze moving before they could make proper eye contact. It was mostly a gathering of knights, masters, and Senior padawans. The only youngling here was, oddly, Skywalker. Even with the padawan robes and haircut she'd recognize him. Hells, she'd recognize him blind, that presence was a supernova in the Force even with him having developed beginners shields since last she saw him. Qui-Gon sat next to the boy, eyes on her, face watchful. Obi-Wan sat next to his old master, his face carefully blank for this session.
Her observation of the room ended when she saw Dooku standing in the middle of the room, her lightsaber on his belt. Oh how she craved to hold it in her hands again. She could feel the agitation of her kyber crystal, being upon the unworthy's belt, surrounded by so many scouring lights. She followed Windu and Yoda to the center where Dooku handed off her lightsaber to Windu, who eyed it with disdain before turning to her.
"You will set your lightsaber to it's lowest setting," said Windu warning, before scowling, "Since your trap prevent us from doing so."
Siri blinked at him. "My what now?"
He narrowed his eyes. "The kyber in your lightsaber shocks anyone else who tries to turn it on."
It did what? Oh she officially loved the crystal, Siri hadn't been aware of that neat little feature. Though, she was curious why it hadn't shocked that Dark Jedi who had been pilfering it out of their hideout that first time she had gone there... maybe it just wanted to hitch a ride? The Bane's Heart kyber crystal was a weird one after all. She hummed and took her lightsaber from him when offered it, a jolt of familiarity going up her fingertips, the purr of the crystal for its chosen master. She wrapped her hands around the hilt and smiled down fondly at it. She ran a hand along it, almost lovingly, before she levitated it into the air and took it apart with the Force to adjust its settings.
"What is that kyber?"
She glanced over at Windu, who was staring at one of the levitating crystals; she gave him an smart ass answer. "One of the ones I use in my saber."
Zannah left very little to chance in the construction of her saber. If someone managed to cut it in half, both sides of the lightsaber had all they needed to keep on functioning as separate pieces. That of course depended on where exactly the cut was made.
Windu narrowed his eyes, she could feel him probing at it. "It's not bled."
Siri snorted. "Because it's a synthetic crystal."
Bane's Heart itself gave a more magenta hue on its own, the second crystal in the blade was what made it entirely red when the lightsaber was active. It had taken Siri awhile to figure out what exactly the crystal was, she had never previously heard of creating a kyber crystal after all, she had thought they all were found naturally. Just another secret the Jedi Order kept from its members.
"You know how to make them then," said Windu, watching her.
"I am aware of the process," she said slowly, toying with whether or not to keep it to herself before deciding it didn't matter, "But I have never preformed it myself."
Windu eyed the lightsaber as Siri began to pieces the levitating parts back together. "Then where did you find this one?"
"It was bequeathed to me," she said in a careful tone, "Or I suppose you could say the crystal chose me. It belonged to... one of my predecessors."
"I am surprised a Sith doesn't use a bled crystal," probed Windu.
Sora rolled her eyes directly at him, not amused by the not-so-subtle poking for answers. "Plenty of Sith, both in my order and previous ones, used Synthetic Crystals."
She activated the lightsaber, watching the now dulled red glow burst out of it. She enjoyed the way it made most Jedi in the room tense a bit to see that red blade. She deactivated it and clipped it to her belt, crossed her arms, and gave him an unimpressed look. "Bleeding a crystal is stupidly dangerous. Not only will the crystal fight you on the bleeding, it will never properly belong to you either. You are dominating it, bending it to your will, not becoming in-tune with it. A bled crystal will only ever be an object, a tool in your hands. So, why bother with that when you can just make a crystal to be in-tune to you, or find a synthetic open to a darker user?"
She wrinkled her nose. "Honestly, natural crystals should be grateful we'd want to use them, not pitch a fit the moment a darksider gets a hand on them. If they're going to bitch and moan about it, I'll readily use synthetic, custom made crystals that don't whine and are actually built for being a lightsaber crystal rather than being adapted."
The scowl Windu shot her told her his opinion on the matter, she just gave him a bored look. "Shall we, Jedi?"
Windu slowly shook his head at her before turning and striding a few steps to address the Jedi in the room. "You have all been gathered here, as some of our most active Jedi Masters, Knights, and Senior Padawans, in the wake of the Naboo Incident, and the revelation of the survival of the Sith, in order to gain experience in confronting the Dark Side of the Force."
Siri scoffed under her breath. "Survival, right."
"As part of her parole, the Sith Apprentice has agreed to provide her, services, in this matter," said Windu, his voice clipped, "Any who so wish to may volunteer to spar against the Sith, while the rest will observe and learn."
He gives it a minute for the Jedi to absorb it, though judging by the lack of surprise for most, they had already been briefed on this beforehand. Its mostly the senior padawans that seem a little anxious, or hot headed and barely suppressing their eagerness to have a go at a Sith, so they're just getting this dropped on them. Still doesn't explain why Skywalker was here though. That's one thing she can't really figure out. He'll be insanely powerful one day, maybe they want him to watch and observe a Sith to one day fight them (Sidious wont let him live that long to become a threat, he'll kill or convert the boy long before he reaches his prime), but that also runs the risk of him liking what he sees. He's young, a former slave who has been powerless most of his life, such power might be enticing to him. Or it might not. Who knows.
"Are there any volunteers to begin?" asked Windu, glancing around the room.
"I will," came a firm, female voice.
Siri turned her head slightly towards the voice, and had to lock herself down firmly to not show any reaction as nothing short of a Master Gallia lookalike strode forward. But no, her eyes were purple, not blue, her cheeks a little more pudgy, not to mention she was shorter. There was something distinctly familiar about the Tholothian, more than just her similarity to her late Jedi Master. She heavily tickled Siri's compartmentalized memory, yet she hadn't chosen to hold onto this woman when Plaguies was ripping into her head.
"Master Allie," said Windu, tipping his head curtly, and not looking very surprised at all to see her the first up.
That name...
Ah screw it.
Siri half closed her eyes, focusing inward and opening her old memories, a wave of pain erupting through her mind. She savored it, using it as tinder for the fire she was going to need to burn through this session. She dug through, ignoring flashes of old, unimportant, irrelevant, worthless memories (of more peaceful times). She got what she was looking for, along with a massive headache she has to draw heavily on the dark to kill. The woman's name is Stass Allie.
Master Gallia's cousin.
Siri's stomach felt like it was falling into a black hole.
The woman stopped a few paces in front of Siri, waiting for Windu to leave center of the training area. She drew her lightsaber, fiddled briefly with its power, and ignited the green blade. When Siri didn't react, she narrowed her eyes, speaking out in disproving derision. "Something the matter, Padawan Tachi?"
Siri abruptly shoveled the flurry of emotions going on behind her shields into a mental garbage can and narrowed her eyes; who cares if she's related to Gallia? Jedi don't care about such things, and she's being a bitch at a moment. "Apprentice Tachi if you must, and I'm waiting for you to choose a partner, unless you feel you are capable of besting me alone where both Kenobi and Jinn failed?"
"Padawan Kenobi and Master Jinn allowed you the advantage of choosing terrain that suited you, and wanted to take you in alive," said Master Allie.
"Oh? You don't intend for me to live?" said Siri, giving a mock shudder, "How utterly bloodthirsty of you, Master Jedi."
The Jedi shook her head. "I always remembered you as a respectful and serious young Padawan. I see neither of those traits were actually true."
Siri activated one half of her saberstaff, the red blade giving Siri's face a bloody-hue as she moved it into the Soresu opening, blade angling downward. "Few things about one's former self survive a Fall intact. But you, in particular, neither have my respect nor deserve any serious attention."
"Survive, or were they ever real to begin with?" jabbed the Jedi, taking a few gauging thrusts, which Siri batted aside as they started to circle eachother, "Were you ever a Jedi? Or just a power hungry monster waiting for the first chance you had to stab your master in the back and throw yourself at a darksider's feet?"
The red haze of rage ripped through Siri's head, malice dripping from Siri's mouth, ice in the air, it took a concentrated effort not to throttle the woman to death with the Force, "I'm not here to argue the past with you, Jedi. You can blame me for your cousin's death all you wish, perhaps from a certain point of view it's even true, but imply that I intentionally murdered Gallia or that I willingly chose to kneel at Sidious's feet again, and I will send you to the Halls of Healing for a very long stay, consequences be damned."
Before Stass could respond, Siri bit out, "Egging on a Sith is a very, dangerous, thing to do. I'm going to show you why."
Siri moved, drawing on the dark heavily to augment herself, wrapping the Veil of the Dark Side around the Jedi Master to deny her the Force's guidance. She lashed out the moment Stass jolted from startlement, crossing blades and then forcing the saber down, both sparking against the floor before Siri backhanded the Jedi Master across her face, sending her staggering, and then crying out to the ground with a blast of lightning. Siri stepped forward, twirled her blade, and drove it straight down into the woman's chest in what would have been a killing blow normally, but would instead leave nasty internal burns. Siri deactivated her lightsaber as she withdrew it, picking the woman up with the Force, and tossing her across the room in the healer's general direction.
"Does anyone else wish to so arrogantly challenge me?" inquired Siri with hostility, her lips peeled back into a sneer.
There was a stunned silence across the room.
"What, was that?" demanded Windu from the sidelines, "You flooded the room with the Dark Side..."
"It's called the Veil of the Dark Side," said Siri, her voice dripping with derision, "It blocks any lightsider's ability to receive guidance from the Force. It's a more focused clouding then what Sidious normally employs."
She gave him a coy smile. "Or perhaps none of you have noticed the murkiness plaguing your feeble Jedi senses for some time now?"
There was a stony silence from Windu, murmurs of hostility or surprise ripped through the room; one of the other councilors, Plo Koon, rumbled out, "So it has been the Sith clouding the Force then."
Siri raised an eyebrow. "You never asked."
"I never expected you to offer an answer," replied the Jedi smoothly.
"Hmph," was her only response to that, "I'm already visible to the Jedi. It has reduced importance to me."
Not that it wasn't still incredibly useful in a fight.
"Is there a way around this 'Veil'," posed Windu.
"Not unless you are willing to use the Dark Side to peer through it," she answered.
Not that Sidious couldn't probably figure a way to manipulate it to block Darksiders too if he really wanted to.
There was a tap on the floor from Yoda's gimer stick. "Discuss this, in private, later the council will."
She gave him a coy smile. "Why Master Yoda, it almost sounds as if you're planning on hiding information from your fellow Jedi. Should they all not be informed of this?"
Yoda gave her an unimpressed look. "When determined what is truth, what is deception, what is embellished, then will the council speak."
Siri rolled her eyes. "Have I been dishonest thus far?"
"Remain to be determined, that does," said Yoda in a flat tone, "Especially when advocate use of the Dark Side to breech this veil, you do."
Siri huffed. "I did not 'advocate' it, its the only way I know how to look through it and I was telling you such."
"Determine the truth of that, the council will," the little green troll answered.
"Yes, because you've been so successful with that thus far," she drawled.
He shook his head. "Difference there is, in knowing that being intentionally blinded we are."
He waved his stick around the room before she could refute that. "Here to discuss this, we are not. Poke and prod when not wasting time of our knights and masters, you shall."
"I shall be a nuisance when I so deem fit thank you very much," she said cheerfully, "Now, who wants to get their ass kicked next?"
Yoda interjected. "Use Force Lightning again, you will not."
She scowled at him. "Do you, or do you not, want your Jedi to get experience fighting a Sith?"
"Put you in true danger in training at the start, did your master?" posed Yoda rhetorically, "Work up to it, they should."
"As a matter of fact," she said flatly, "Yes, Sidious did. The training droids were always in murder mode, and I ended up half-dead in the infirmary multiple times a week for awhile before I started to learn. Sidious himself when we trained refrained from killing and permanently maiming me, but that's about it."
Yoda deflated a bit, ears dropping, shaking his head in sadness (in grief for her that she loathed). "Expect that, I should have."
"Yeah, considering everything else you've heard, you really should have," she said snidely, "I'm not some weak pampered Jedi brat anymore. If you want me to go kiddie mode on your Jedi, then fine. I'll refrain from using most of my more active abilities, I'll even refrain from using the Veil. It will be doing them no favors though, because if you expect a Sith to ever truly go easy on a Jedi when it counts, you will be sorely mistaken. Now, whose next?"
It turns out being rude to the Jedi Grandmaster made most want to volunteer to fight her, because there sure as hell wasn't a lack of volunteers for the next two hours straight. Unlike with Stass Allie though, she didn't go for quick, brutal wins, she still could have even without the veil or the Dark Side, but she needed the practice. She took her time. She had been inactive for roughly three months, confined to small rooms where the most of a work out she could get was stretches, push ups, and sit ups when she wasn't blanking out or being bothered by Obi-Wan. Certainly nothing to keep the sharp edge of her skills. But it all came back to her, oh how it did, so easily.
The smooth effortless motions of Soresu were therapeutic, to turn aside any blow, parry it away, or a sudden firm block for a poor strike that rattled her opponents grip and made them easy prey. To move through the flow of battle, her rhythm never breaking, never standing still and just dueling it out, always repositioning and out-maneuvering. A defense none of these Knights or Padawans could breech. Then came the Makashi finish: she was capable of fighting with Form II an entire fight, oh yes she could, but that would be quick wins. She used it as an 'execution', to end the blow with precise motion.
She was however aware she wasn't fighting anyone great yet. Mostly just Knights and their Padawans. The actual respectable masters and experienced knights were watching and learning for their own turns, you know, the intelligent thing to do, let the fodder go first and get their asses kicked instead. This was just the start, only the beginning. Not that she was tiring or anything, the padawans alone leaked enough fear and agitation into the air when she fought them to snack on, a continual pick-me-up to ensure she never wavered. Until finally something different showed up...
At first glance, the Jedi wasn't anything fancy. Just some Besalisk. Yet... he for one, challenged her alone, and for two...
She smelt pride and arrogance and a hunger for power and strength radiating off him that most Jedi barely had a tenth of. The Dark Side whispered to her, of how easy it would be to take and twist this one. It could be her first real try (Obi-Wan hadn't counted, he didn't!), her first learning experience in corrupting a Jedi...
Except she really had no use of him.
"Are you sure Master Krell?" asked Master Windu.
"Absolutely," sniffed out the Jedi, "As one of the best and more unique duelists in the Order I wish to test myself alone against the Sith, and prove the superiority of the Jedi."
Siri's lips slowly peeled back into a sadistic grin. She smelt prey. She spoke, not mockingly loud or boisterous, but soft, low, dangerous. "Careful Jedi, that sounds like pride and arrogance."
Krell sneered at her with open contempt. "That, coming from a darksider? Your warning leaves much to be desired."
She gave him a wide, predatory smile. "So then, Master Jedi, does that mean you wish me to ramp it up? You think you can handle more than your little Knights and Padawans?"
He withdrew and activated two saberstaffs from his belt. "Of course."
"Well," she said, eying the green and the blue double bladed weapons, "Someone's overcompensating."
The Jedi bared his teeth at her. So easy to rile up. She was oh so tempted to actually fight him. It might be fun trying to anticipate two saberstaffs in a fight, a thrill of a new challenge, she might actual lose if shes not ontop of her game if she limits herself to just using her own saberstaff. However, there was just one, slight, tiny, inconsequential problem that had her desire to rip this Jedi's innards out. She noted Krell had most certainly not lowered the power settings of his lightsabers. What a sneaky little bastard he was, and most certainly not exhibiting any Jedi traits right there.
She deactivated and belted her lightsaber; his eyes narrowed. "Giving up already?"
"No, not at all," she said, "But I think its time I pressed home a lesson that you Jedi fail time and time against. That your little glow sticks are insignificant before the power of the Force."
She raised and clenched a fist in a quick motion, grasping the Baselisk by the neck with the Force and lifting him up. The Jedi jerked into the air, dropping his lightsabers as he grasped at his throat. "What's the matter Jedi? Sith got your tongue?"
She squeezed tighter, her Force presence too smokey and slippery for him to get a grip on to shove off. "Why Master Jedi, it appears you're choking, do you require any assistance?"
"Enough Sith," snapped Windu, "Release him."
She eyed the Korun. "But Master Jedi, he's turning the most lovely shade of purple."
Windu's lips thinned. "I will not ask again, Sith."
Siri threw Krell across the room, slamming into the upper walls where he slumped down, barely caught in time by his fellow Jedi, coughing and rasping, a ring of bruises already forming around his throat. "The next time you choose to breech your own rules, Jedi, and bring full powered lightsabers into these fights, I will not be so forgiving."
Windu eyes the the lightsabers on the floor with the slightest of frowns, she can practically read in his eyes him deciding whether or not to check if she's speaking the truth or just assume she was making up an excuse. He held out his hands and called the sabers to him, scowling briefly after getting a hand on them. He walked over and handed them to Krell with a warning, "Remember to check your lightsabers next time Master Krell, forgetting in a spar here, let alone with other knights or padawans, can have consequences no one wants to deal with."
Krell massaged his throat for a moment before taking them, voice rasping out, "Of course, my apologies for the lapse, I suppose I was to overeager to test myself."
Bullshit.
If anyone was bothering to sense for it, they'd read the lie in an instant. She made a decision that every time Krell ever stepped into a spar with her, she was going to absolutely destroy him. She only bothers with a cursory pass around the room, funny enough, Skywalker was the only one who had narrowed eyes at Krell; slaves knew better than to blindly trust the words of another. Obi-Wan on the other hand, his face is carefully schooled, not betraying anything outwardly. She, oddly, can't get a read on him. Perhaps he's actually been paying attention and learning then, adjusting and adapting his shielding. There is of course a general air of disapproval in the room, but most of it is directed at her rather than Krell.
Though, there is another predominate rising emotion. Where it is disapproval from the Knights and Master's, its no small amount of shock and fear from the padawans. There are a few whispers that she sharpens her hearing with the Force to catch while the healers check over and tend to Krell's neck. Most are babels about her dominating the Besalisk, apparently he's a big deal with his sabers. She can't honestly remember, there's only he faintest of tickling from her compartmentalized memories. He wasn't important to her then. All the better then that if they were to learn something, that their over-reliance on their lightsabers instead of the Force was a weakness...
Then one particular whisper caught her attention.
"If the Dark Side isn't stronger," whispered a scared female human Padawan to another, "Then why has she won every single fight? Without even looking winded."
Siri's ears twitched, head tilting in the young teenage Jedi's direction and spoke, making the Padawan jump a little, "Because for one, since you Jedi refuse to use your emotions it allows me to do so, and all that fear the younger Padawans in the room feel is something I can feed on for strength. With all of it that you are all leaking into the air, I can keep going on for hours without issue."
The girl's face turning red as many of those in the room look towards her and Siri.
"For two," said Siri, rolling her eyes, "Because you Jedi are idiots. The Light and the Dark are both stronger and weaker than one another. The Dark in singularity, the Light in unity."
She made herself sound offended. "You are sending one Knight and Padawan at me at a time, whose collective combat experience is either against blasters, or sparing with other Jedi. That's practically suicide against the line of Bane. Unless you are the utmost elite of the Jedi Order, facing a Banite without superior numbers is a guaranteed way to die. One on one? Perhaps a few of you could best me, but again, I'm the apprentice. The only Jedi here who might stand an actual chance against Sidious alone would be Yoda. Everyone else is literal cannon fodder."
She cracked her neck to one side, then the other. "If you want to see me lose, send two pairs of Knights and Masters, or send me a pair of councilors."
The young Jedi sputtered a bit before the elderly hand of who Siri assumed was her master landed firmly on her shoulder, no not firm, tight to the point of minor pain if the flinch Siri saw was right. "Calm yourself Padawan Jinzler."
The Padawan bowed her head a bit. "Of course, sorry Master."
Siri took a brief moment to look over the Jedi Master. Her first thought was; holy hells, for a human he looked even older than Dooku did. A wrinkly chiseled face, white hair, along with a massive white beard for a human. Intense brown eyes despite his age that shone with confidence and surety. He didn't trigger any tingling, so she definitely hadn't interacted with him as a padawan herself. He met her gaze unflinching.
So she did the natural thing and taunted him rather than move on for the next challenger, "Aren't you a bit old for taking on a Padawan?"
"Nonsense," he said, "A hundred and one is the prime of my life."
She scoffed. "You're more likely to fall over to a stiff breeze than live to see her knighted."
The man's chin tilted up. "I've spoken with Master Dooku a number of times, and considered how often he has shown you your lack of experience I question your views on age. Or are we all still pretending that Iris was not an alias of yours?"
Her lips peeled back into an amused bared teeth smile. "Well Master...?"
"C'Baoth, Jorus C'baoth," answered the aged Jedi.
"Master C'Baoth," she said slowly, probing the dark. There was something about this one, he was like Krell, just not in the same manner, more like the Jedi he had just praised, "Dooku has yet to experience my full strength and range of ability."
No, it wasn't just that he was like Dooku... he smelt of... what was it? She can't quite place it.
She wrinkled her nose. "Not that I can express either here, especially in this little room, he'd win here no contest. But I digress, perhaps you would care to have a go, old man?"
"As you wish," said the Jedi Master before his gaze briefly flickered to his padawan, his voice baritone, "Come Padawan, the best way to conquer one's fears is to confront them."
Sidious.
That was it.
This Jedi had been around Sidious. Which meant one of three things: The duration had been years, long enough to gradual leave a small whiff of her Master's presence, he had recently been around an unmasked Sidious, or Sidious had directly influenced him. The first and the last were the most likely, as the man wasn't yet dark. Either way, he was an unwitting pawn for Sidious to use and manipulate at some point.
Padawan Jinzler swallowed thickly before nodding and following her Master out. Siri's eyes flickered to the Padawan again, sizing her up as the teen steeled herself. Siri instantly noted the dual tension. Not just towards a Sith, but to her own Master as well. Were this a real fight, perhaps Siri could use that to her advantage and pry that open into a wound. Whatever caused the tension wasn't particularly her concern, but from what Siri could sense, the Padawan was at odds with her Master over something, and Siri couldn't feel an ounce of affection nor care from C'Baoth to his padawan. Whether they just didn't click together, or it was abuse, she dismissed it as a Jedi problem.
"I profess...," said C'Baoth as he re-positioned himself neatly a bit behind his padawan, and Siri was struck with a bit of disbelief; was he using her as a meat shield? "That I am surprised a darksider would admit any strength of the light."
Siri wrinkled her nose. "This again? Just because I am dark does not mean I am blindly arrogant. If you Jedi didn't have some kind of strength, you'd have been wiped out thousands of years ago. I am not ignorant to the fact that the Jedi usual come out on top of the wars between the Sith in the far past."
She huffed. "The Jedi have the luxury of not being worried about their fellows stabbing them in the back after all, you only have to fight your opponent, not eachother."
"That's not a luxury," said Padawan Jinzler, "It's common morality, trust is a pillar of society."
"And one wonders why the Republic is steadily crumbling," said Siri dryly, activating a single end of her lightsaber, "Sure you don't want another pair of Jedi here?"
Jinzler activated hers, the green blade jetting out. C'Baoth merely flexed his hands. "You say that as if you would not use such numbers to your advantage. Four Jedi trained to fight together could perhaps work efficiently to take you down, four Jedi without such effort spent will merely get in one another's way and allow you to pick us apart."
Siri hummed. "Perhaps, would have been nice experience either way."
"For whom? Us or you?" he said pointedly.
Siri smiled dangerously, "A Sith must always be improving. This is as much a test for myself as it is exposure for you Jedi, now, enough chit-chat."
She made a beckoning motion as she opened with a downward angled Soresu. Strangely, the Padawan didn't attack, she merely planted herself firmly infront of her master who...
Siri barely had a moment to brace herself as the old Jedi threw a hand forward, her defense caused her to besent her skidding back with the Force rather than launching her away, thrusting her own hand forward to repulse the Force attack. Her arm shook, and she quickly realized she wasn't going to beat him in a straight up macho contest of who had the larger Force presence. He has almost eighty years on her, and unlike many of the guardian's she's fought over the last few hours, he's obviously a counselor, the Force is much stronger in him than most. She pushed her hand forward to briefly rebuff his energy before throwing herself to the side in a roll to get out of the way, feeling the energy gust past her. She bursts forward, jabbing a hand in a stabbing motion against his mental shields. He wavers, flinching, but his padawan is there in the way.
Siri throws away her defense, going straight into Makashi, she slashes high and then drags her saber down when the padawan blocks, slashing downward into her side, burning the tunic and making the girl yelp in pain. But her Master recover from the mental attack and Siri found herself thrown backwards. Then man clenches his open palm into a fist, and Siri finds herself gripped tightly in the Force, struggling to move. She growls under her breath, glaring at the Jedi.
"Disarm the Sith at your leisure Padawan," said C'Baoth with haughty superiority.
Arrogant son of a bitch.
Siri allows the Padawan to draw closer before she taps deeper into the Dark Side, a ripple of the energy chilling the room, briefly making C'Baoth lose his focus. Siri raises a single finger at his padawan. "Sleep."
She jabs deeply with pinpoint precision piercing into Padawan's shields, injecting the command in. To the girls credit, she resisted for a moment, trying to shake it off.
"Sleep."
Padawan Jinzler dropped at the second infusion of the Dark Side with a hefty thud. If she was going to beat C'Baoth, she needed his distraction/meat shield out of the way. She sees him refocusing, his hand beginning to curl; she drapes the Vail of the Dark Side not around him, but herself, making her Force Presence difficult to grasp at. She feels his efforts slip around her, and she returns the favor, thrusting a hand forward and sending him flying, skidding along the ground nearly to the bystanding Jedi. C'Baoth, to his credit, hardly moves like the old man he is, up on his feet before Siri's half way across the distance to him. He throws an arm forward, rather than trying to aim, he just releases the Force in a wave. Siri yelps as shes lifted up and tossed backwards, landing hard on her back, but already rolling as she hits the ground, springing up...
She tenses when she feels the Force swirl around her. C'Baoth can't get a grip directly on her, but he's clever. She feels the Force swirling around her like a net. He draws it in, containing the area rather than Siri herself, and she is once again restrained. This time, the Jedi Master lifts her into the air before twisting his hand, and her lightsaber is yanked out of her hand. She growls under her breath, struggling against the Jedi's grip. She contemplates breaking Yoda's orders not to use Force Lightning. There's also a few different incantations she could use here, but she's rather not reveal them...
"Do you yield, Sith?" asked the Jedi, eyebrow raised.
"Unless you land a blow that would kill me in a real fight, or knock me unconscious, the answer is no," she spat out.
"As you wish," he said mildly.
He clenched his fist tighter, and pressure started to build all over her body, black spots beginning to dance in her vision. She is briefly surprised that a Jedi would actually do something like this. Its not exactly dark, but she's fairly certain its disproved of. She lets the thought slip away and refocuses, eying the Jedi in thought before something caught her eye. His padawan's lightsaber on the floor, having rolled a bit out of the unconscious girl's hands. Siri drapes the Dark around the area, to his credit, C'Baoth keeps his grip this time.
"I already have you," he commented mildly, "Clouding the area with the dark does noth..."
She grips his Padawan's lightsaber with the Force, throws it through the air, and activates it. If it had been at full power, it would have cut him in half. As it is, he'll have a nasty burn until he gets tended to. He drops her with a surprised grunt, staggering a bit, hand going to his side. Siri lands on her feet, stumbling a bit before righting herself and giving him a cocky, haughty grin.
"Clouding the area lets me get away with that, actually," she mocked, "Didn't feel that coming did you?"
For a moment, the Jedi looks positively furious before he schools his expression. "Hmph. I see that in a fight against a Sith, a Padawan has no place."
Siri raised an eyebrow, she was tempted to mock him for blaming the loss on his padawan, but chose to let it slide for something different. "Do you honestly expect to be able to choose when and where and who you enter a battle with on any given mission?"
The Jedi tilted his head slightly, studying her for a moment. "Wise words for a Sith."
She gave him a foul look. "Dark doesn't equal stupid."
The man ignored her, turning to briefly kneel down next to his padawan and give her a sharp shake; Siri imagined he did something through their master-apprentice bond as well. "Wake up."
Padawan Jinzler stirred. "Hngh?"
"The spar is over Padawan," he said dryly, "If you so badly wish to nap you may do so in our apartment, not on the floor."
The young Jedi blinked a few times, glancing around, and then starting, her face flushing. "I... sorry Master."
C'Baoth said nothing more, just hoisting her upward and then walking away. The Padawan swallowed thickly, bowed her head, and walked after him. Honestly, Siri almost felt bad for her. There was a little niggling in the back of her mind from the dark, of potential, but what kind and how, Siri wasn't sure. Still... she wasn't exactly good anymore at being 'nice'.
"If it's any consolation, little Jedi, it took me two attempts to put you down," said Siri to the girl's back, grinning ferally.
The girl took one look at her and then quickly walked after her Master. Siri rolled her shoulder's a bit, a little sore from being squeezed by the Force. The Jedi around the room seemed to have gotten the hint, or reprimand their padawans; there was very little emotion leaking to feed off of. If she wanted to end this on a high note, she'd call it now. It had been a few hours after all, it would appear reasonable (though she had boasted not to long ago about being able to go for hours). Hmm... ah what the hell, one more.
She glanced at Windu. "Alright, we've been at this awhile, I have better things to do then smack Jedi around," she really didn't, "One more round then I'm ready to call it."
Windu narrowed his eyes and opened his mouth to speak before pausing, glancing behind him. Siri couldn't help but tense a little as the soft tapping of Yoda's gimmer stick echoed through the room, the little green troll calmly and slowly strolling out past the other Council Member. Oh hells... why did she have to open her mouth? She watched, as over the course of one of the longest minutes of her life, the Jedi Grandmaster made his way out to the center of the floor a few feet from her before resting both hands on his stick, waiting.
"Well," she mused, "One way to end a session I suppose."
Yoda cocked his head. "Open to anyone, this is. Many experiences do I have, in almost nine-hundred. Many a darksider over my life, have I faced. But to confront a Sith? An encounter I have not."
That's really not going to matter if he's never fought a Sith before, maybe if she were at her prime and the Sith Master it might, but not against an apprentice. Siri wondered idly to herself how long she could last in a serious fight against Yoda were he aiming to kill her. Thirty seconds? A minute? Her measly twenty some-odd years of life did not even begin to scrape at almost nine-hundred years of life and experience. Though, it was possibly almost nine-hundred years of stagnation to. Not that she had any exposure to his fighting style to take advantage of that possibility.
Still, she wouldn't show weakness; she spoke dryly, "You want me to go easy on you?"
At that, he looked amused. "Take the risk I will, use what you desire, but aim not to kill."
"I'm not arrogant enough to think I can actually take you down," she admitted sourly.
"Always chance there is," he commented, "Happen, accidents do."
Right...
She eyed the Jedi warily, more than aware of the danger...
Except...
She paused. Except there was no danger. This was a spar, not a life or death fight. She blinked. Oh. This actually was an opportunity of a lifetime, she could face off against the Jedi Grandmaster without fear of death or capture (she was already a pseudo prisoner anyway). A Sith was an ever growing entity, shaped and evolved by their experiences. There would be few things quite like taking on Yoda. Even if she was guaranteed to lose, she could still learn from the challenge, improve herself.
She slowly smiled, the Dark purring into her ear, to use the Jedi's foolishness to strengthen herself. "Alright then Yoda, lets give you a crash course in fighting a Sith."
Yoda blinked, his amusement gone, going wary as he studied the sudden change.
"Lesson one," she said, raising a hand, "Lightning."
Blue arcs of lightning ripped from her, surging at Yoda. The little green troll cast aside his stick and then...
Siri's eyes widened as Yoda did not use his lightsaber, he reached out and CAUGHT the lightning. She narrowed her eyes as it compacted in his hands. Plaguies had been able to do that against Sidious, hadn't he? She studied how he curled the Force and the dark energy in his hand, wondering if she could figure out how to...
Then he thrust his hand and threw her own lightning back at her. She barely managed to get her lightsaber up and activated in time to block the Force attack, blue light dancing across her vision. "Cute."
"Said I did once, that limited to Sith, that ability is not," commented Yoda, "The first to use it against me, you are not."
"Well then," she said, drawing in the dark around her, poking at hateful memories for strength, "Let's up the ante then."
The next stream of lightning from her hands was more intense, but not the strongest she could produce. Pain wasn't her intent, no, she wanted him to reflect it at her. Hungered for it. To see and learn. She watched as he caught her lightning again, focusing on how he compacted it. It wasn't a negation, no, more like he cupped it in a small shell of light. The lightning never actually touched his skin, just a small manifestation of the Force around him. He funneled the current back around as he thrust his hand forward, and launched it at her.
Siri lowered her lightsaber and held out a hand, trying to emulate what he did. She yelped instead when it failed, lightning cackling into her arm, causing it to spasm briefly. Siri scowled deeply, glaring down at her hand. Honestly, why had she thought that would work? She wasn't a Jedi, trying to do a Jedi technique, only dark instead, was stupid. She'd have to make her own darker adaption of it.
"Mmm, use this as a lesson for yourself as well, you do," commented Yoda.
Siri raised a challenging eyebrow. "Stagnation is death. A Sith must always be improving, learning, adapting."
Yoda shakes his head. "Always a time for rest, there should be."
"I've had this argument before with Kenobi," she said, thumbing at the Jedi in question, "Resting is what sleeping is for."
She readied her lightsaber, pulling her arm up and angling it downward from above her shoulder, her other hand pointing two fingers at Yoda. "Now, lets see what the great Jedi Grandmaster is made of."
Yoda moved aside part of his outer robes with one hand, and held out the other, calling his lightsaber to his hand, briefly adjusting its settings, and activated it, assuming an Ataru opening, blade griped and held vertical. Siri was about to make a snide comment about frivolous use of the Force when Yoda practically FLEW at her, a green blur vaulting through the air at abnormal speeds.
Holy kriffing shit.
All of Zannah's lessons, all the repetition of her katas, the harshness of her training beaten into her, were the only reason Yoda didn't destroy Siri in ten seconds flat. The Jedi Grandmaster was a whirlwind of lightsaber strokes on a spinning and leaping little form. Siri switched between single and both ends of her lightsaber activated to keep up with his mobile form on nothing but instinct and the Dark Side's sharp commands, barely able to even think between saber-strokes. She ground her teeth and thrust a hand out as Yoda leaped again, his lightsaber spinning in what would have been a clean stroke to take off her arm in a real fight if it landed. She threw him back with the Force, causing him to spin through the air where he merely tucked and rolled on the floor before coming at her again.
But those few seconds bought her time she needed to really draw herself out. No more playing with the weak, pathetic Jedi. Her blood sung for a real challenge, the Dark Side salivating like an animal in her ear to confront such a opponent. The Dark howled around her and in her, but she didn't try to take the offensive. Her predatory eyes washed over every aged wrinkle, he was so old, a whisper of patience murmured in the back of her mind. Let her blade be her bulwark, and let him crash upon it again and again, each stroke and act slowly sapping his endurance.
Siri couldn't honestly recall a time where she had such a active and thrilling challenge. Sidious always made it a point to crush her into the ground the rare occasion they sparred. This was in the same venue, but, rather than just obliterating her, Siri was finding it hard to even spot a single opening that she could try to exploit. For an almost nine-hundred year old midget, he was so blasted fast. Smaller and hard to hit. His Shoto lightsaber was something she did not have experience with either. There had already been a few near misses where if she hadn't already been moving backwards, a miscalculation would have let his smaller saber slip under her's when she's expecting to parry a longer blade.
Siri ducked and rolled as Yoda leaped overhead, reactivating the other end of her saber to parry aside the attack and then, as he landed, finally tried to attack, curving her grip to strike down at him. He merely shifted back a single foot, her lightsaber passing within centimeters of him, and then leaped at her again, lightsaber angling for her shoulder.
Siri did something completely undignified in the face of the green ball surging at her.
She yelped, fell backward, her feet coming up and kicking Yoda high into the air. The Jedi Grandmaster gave an indignant sqwack, flying overhead and into the ring of Jedi. He deactivated his lightsaber, landed gracefully despite the sudden throw onto one of their shoulders, and then leaped back into the sparing area. Siri was already up, breathing starting to become a bit heavy. Defensive style or no, keeping up with him was ridiculous. She angled her blade back into her opening stance and waited.
Yoda didn't immediately attack, studying her. "Mmm, taught you Soresu, did who? Very curious I am, very skilled they were."
Siri idly wondered how Zannah would have reacted to being complimented by the Jedi Grandmaster. Though, speaking of Zannah, the holocron has to be pretty pissed at this point. Siri hid her ship in Naboo's forests, cloaked and wrapped in an illusion. Outside of a freak occurrence of someone randomly bumping into the ship while being out in the forest for some reason, that ship, and Zannah, are stuck there for awhile. Her eyes narrowed slightly when she heard/felt what seemed to be a mocking hiss from the Dark Side. The Force did have the tendency to be an ass about taking such things as a challenge...
She refocused and gave Yoda a non-committal hum. Not going to give him any kind of answer on that.
The Jedi Grandmaster took it in stride, though she felt the stirring of mischievousness from him. "Mmm, very skilled indeed. Treated my fellow Jedi to what, call it you did?"
Siri blinked a few times. "Kiddie mode?"
"Mmm, that," said Yoda, "Feel I do, that need such a handicap, you do not. Seriously, can I fight, if wish it, do you."
Siri's heart half-sank half-seized for a long moment. Oh kriff, Force please say he's joking, showing off, exaggerating, or something (most likely not), because she'd hard pressed to keep him at bay as it is. Still, pride says she can't back down now. "Go ahead, lets see what you're made of."
She can't help the flinch nor the hiss that escapes her lips when Yoda's presence blazes like a beacon through the Force, ancient and so very light that its almost like staring into a sun to look at him. That merely being in his presence is like standing in an open flame being cooked alive. She feels sluggish as she shifts her lightsaber to block his initial strike, guided by the Force when her eyes failed to even see him move from the light-beacon in her minds eye. Its like she's moving against a warm current, surrounded by light that even dark as she is it's hard to keep away. If there was such a thing as a Veil of the Light as there was of the Dark, this would be close to it, just not weaponized as such.
She activates the other end of her lightsaber as the dark in her howls in frustration, knowing that defeat is imminent but still screaming at her where he's going to attack from next, snarling and clawing for a victory it can't have. She barely manages to turn and block before he's leaping overhead. In that moment, she understands that she will never stand a ghost of a chance against him without her full power, the strength she had those few minutes against Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon. Even with it, if she's not a fully trained and experienced Sith Master at the peak of her power, she won't win.
She still wants to though, so she turns and swings in an arc with all her strength; it ends up feeling like she just tried to punch a metal wall with her fist with how hard the block it. It rattles up her arm, and in that moment, her grip loosens. With a twirl of his lightsaber, her own is out of her hand. Rather than call it quits, she does the logical, Sith thing, and lets loose Force Lightning from her hands before he has the chance to put his lightsaber in her face and declare himself the winner. Yoda's eyes widen slightly, dropping his lightsaber to catch the lightning in his hands.
Rather than release it, she continues to pump the Dark Side through her hands, teeth grinding. Yoda's eyes narrow and he takes a step forward, pushing the lightning back towards her hands...
The energy combusts in an explosion of blue light, and Siri is sent hurtling backwards through the air at a rather remarkable speed. She has a moment, as she sees through blue spots in her eyes, Yoda flinch away from the burst before his eyes widen with concern as he reaches a hand out, trying to slow her velocity down, to know that she's probably going to wake up to the face of a healer after she hits the wall...
Siri blinks and wakes up to a face full of Mon Calamari. "Hello Bant, been awhile."
"It has," her old friend agrees, "And Dark Side or no, you still don't know when to call it quits."
"I'll take that as a compliment."
Bant huffs, shakes her head, and offers a hand to help her up. Siri doesn't take it, rolling to the side and then pushing up off the ground. They were once friends, but not anymore. Not after everything that's happened, and especially not after Garen. Obi-Wan may be the one thing from her previous life she wishes to hold onto, but no one else. Trying to cling to anyone and anything more when she's already almost assuredly doomed to not keep Obi-Wan is idiotic. If Bant knows about Garen and somehow forgives her, then she's a fool; if she doesn't know, then Siri sure as hell isn't going to get to see if Bant can tolerate the Dark Side and be someone Siri can potentially stand to be around in the temple only for that to come up at some point.
She can feel Bant's disappointment, but tunes it out, eyes surveying the room. Roughly three fourth's of the room has emptied while she was out. Most that remain are Councilors, Dooku, Obi-Wan, and a few random Masters talking with one another. Yoda's still here, and in the process of hobbling over in her direction. She watches him approach. She wonder's if he'll be smugly superior, an arrogant light-filled filth. Propping up the light while bemoaning the dark. She knew she was guaranteed to lose, but it still stings. She doesn't like to fail, especially when she has a large audience. They'd surely feel so damn vindicated after she spent the last few hours pounding them into the floor.
Yoda stops a few feet from her, hands on his gimmer stick as he looks up at her. "Impressive your Soresu is. When master it and yourself, you do, unsure I am if penetrate such a wall of defense, I could."
Of all the things Siri expected, that was not it. She blinks down at him, unsure of how to respond to the compliment. She goes with her usual kind of response. "Aren't you the one who says 'do or do not'?"
Yoda harrumphs and wacks her shin with the stick, turning and walking off. Siri grins a little at the small win, but it fades quickly as she stares at the Grandmaster's back, contemplative. Her mind drifts to the battle Sidious and Plaguies had, comparing it to what little taste she got of Yoda actually fighting seriously. Yoda isn't flashy, there's nothing massive or explosive when fighting him. He's just intense, really intense, using the Force to augment himself physically. He fights primarily with his lightsaber, but has such strength in the Force that he can meet someone head on with it no problem. If Sidious were to fight Yoda, would the Dark Lord of the Sith even have time to go for more of his darker arts? Or would it be a struggle and a scramble to either keep up with Yoda or keep him offbalanced?
She doesn't know.
She doesn't like not knowing.
Frankly, any possible scenario of the Jedi actually somehow beating Sidious revolves around Yoda. Sidious won't let Skywalker reach the age and strength the boy needs to in order to challenge Sidious without converting him to the Sith or killing him. Any other scenario, where the Jedi massively outnumber Sidious and overwhelm him, is very unlikely to occur. Not to mention, there is the very unsettling fact that Sidious, until recently, was actually the Sith Apprentice to Plaguies. Just how much more does Sidious have to grow before he reaches his own pinnacle? How old is Sidious actually?
From what little of his face she's seen with that hood of his always up, he's an older man. But is that old as in Dooku old? Or older as in forties, fifties starting to turn gray? There is a massive difference between the two that represents Sidious being around a lot longer than she'd hope if its the latter. Not to mention being the latter also guarantees he still has time to improve and most likely still will. It's highly likely that with time, Sidious would have ended up strong enough to kill Plaguies straight up in a fight. What chance does Yoda have against that?
The Dark Side whispers to her so quietly, slinking through the light-stained halls of the Jedi Temple, that if Sidious is to die, it won't be Yoda who does him in. The future is always in motion, but... any of them that Yoda kills Sidious feels like a small minority. She wishes she could make the Force show her ANY future that Sidious dies in, but visions were never her strength. The murmurs of the Force, hints of the future, were the most she generally got.
The thing she doesn't like about the whispers was the IF in that statement. She'd rather Sidious not be the Sith that figures out how to live forever. Its a thought for another time, she's sore after that fight against Yoda. Lazing about on her apartment's couch sounds pretty good right about now...
Sidious sighed as he watched his would be stand-in apprentice crumple, the staves of the training droids beating her into the floor. He let it go on for a few moments longer, her body accumulating black and blue to showcase his displeasure. He waves a hand and deactivated the droids, walking over slowly to stare down at the bloody form. He's already missing his real apprentice, this is just disappointing.
"Tachi learned this lesson at half of your age with less than a year of exposure to the Dark Side," he said with disapproval.
"And what," she rasped out, "Lesson is that?"
"That one's lightsaber is a tool, that the Force is by far the more powerful weapon" he said before going snide, "Though even your skill with a lightsaber leaves much to be desired. As a former apprentice of Yan Dooku, you are rather sloppy."
Vosa snarled and spit up blood at him.
Sidious glared down at her, flexing his hands and released a torrent of lightning. He found himself missing Tachi's insolent tongue over this woman's bestial snapping, but her screams took a little off the edge of the constant fury that had been trailing him since his apprentice has become... misplaced. Then, Vosa started begging for mercy, and his mood soured again. He couldn't remember the last time Tachi had begged for mercy. Perhaps in her first year of apprenticeship. Honestly, Vosa was a grown woman and had been a part of the Bando Gora cult, this paltry amount of pain should be nothing. He supposed it just went to show that others Dark Side sects were pale mockeries compared to the Sith.
"You," he snarled, stopping his lightning, "Are pathetic. You've allowed your skills, your mind, and your potential to erode within your little cult. You wish revenge on Dooku? I can guarantee as you are now he will defeat you with childish ease. That's not even considering that my apprentice will slaughter you when she learns of you if you don't shape up quickly."
Vosa panted and glared up at him in a mixture of fear and spite. "You mean the apprentice who chose the Jedi over you?"
Sidious kicked her face with Force enhanced strength, breaking her nose and causing her to roll over clutching it. He growled and began calling on the dark to prepare a more intense lightning. "You will find, foolish woman, that my apprentice most certainly did not choose them, she is not, and will not be light ever again. She is merely... overeager and is attempting to usurp me far to early to actually work," not to mention her desire for Kenobi, "She could escape their temple at will, but merely chooses to try and use them to her advantage."
Lightning cackled along his hands. "I will reclaim her and show her just how badly was her misstep, and if you are not strong enough when I pit you two against eachother, she will maintain her claim to her place with ease, and you will die as NOTHING."
Lightning erupted from his fingers, and her screams filled the room as he began to laugh. She would die and be forgotten no matter how things turned out. Whether to Tachi, to Dooku, or if somehow those two failed in their purpose, eventually to Skywalker. That's assuming she didn't fail and die on a mission somewhere. It was still disappointing, he had been hoping he'd be ale to use the stand-in apprentice immediately. It would have been better if he had Dooku at the moment and had him kill her, but he'd make do with what he could.
If he were to be honest to himself, he most likely needed to scrounge up a few more acolytes as well. Either by pilfering more Dark Side sects, or perhaps perusing the Jedi Service Corps for potentially useful washouts. Good help was so hard to find. He smiled a little to himself, watching Vosa as she spasmed, losing herself to unconsciousness. Sidious tsked to himself, ever since Maul died he had been doomed to women and their weaker constitutions. Tachi rose above her gender, and may even make use of it by bearing and bringing Leia into the Sith. Which would be again ironic, to have another female, but he digressed, he had more important things to be doing that bemoaning such trifles.
For instance, he had been feeling his apprentice in combat for quite awhile now, and was rather curious what exactly she was doing. He recalled in the trial she offered to 'teach' the Jedi how to fight the Sith, and hid a chuckle as he relaxed his lightning and levitated Vosa into the air to be carried to the infirmary. Tachi had to be having the time of her life playing with the Jedi. He so did hope she enjoyed it while it lasted, she wouldn't have the time for such amusements once she was back in her proper place.
He wondered if he should make a call for Young Skywalker to check in on the boy, invite him over to talk again. He could feel the boy's presence in the vicinity of his apprentice, perhaps he could get an overview of how it transpired, not that he expected the boy to understand the intricacies of combat yet. It would still serve as to keep some kind of eye on his apprentice and the Jedi. That boy did love to hear himself talk after all, serving unknowingly as an unwitting spy...