Terri had never been so bored in her life, she'd been protecting the ship for what felt like a month but was more likely a week, Zash was learning with the sisters and she wasn't allowed to be there for some reason; she wondered what she'd done Zash had never put her on the sidelines before. Zash had said it was because she wanted the ship to be safe and ready in case the commander caught up again, she knew that made sense but she felt like something was off.
Still she had done as Zash said she had to trust her like she said, she slumped down in her chair her white hair draped over her head she'd already sewed 8 or so scarfs to pass the time but it hadn't stopped the boredom. Terri was wearing all the scarfs for fun, each a different colour, it was something her and Lusari had done when they were bored at the academy, she felt a sudden twinge of sadness thinking about Lusari had they done the right thing? It didn't feel like it when Zash was leaving her in the ship and after what the commander had said about admitting flaws, it seemed fairly arbitrary but why would the commander admit to being cruel and trying to be better. She didn't know who to trust anymore the Jedi looked down on them and she never knew which sith were trustworthy, she'd tried to look up Zash but there wasn't much about her apart from her ascension to Darth she couldn't find anything too wrong with her but there was plenty on the commander.
She'd looked it up during the week during the Eternal War there were so many allies she had killed, some she got they messed up, but death? It seemed like too much but then again she'd saved the galaxy right? She didn't know what to think about the Commander except she wouldn't stop chasing them. Zash and her history was clearly complicated; she wondered if they could come to some sort of peace but it seemed unlikely with the commanders track record.
She'd thought about a lot of this stuff over the time she was watching the ship, she hadn't really had a chance to stop and think for a while but it just left her with more worries than answers. She sighed she guessed she had to keep going; she didn't know how else to honour Lusari and her wishes.
A little later her comm flickered to life and she answered it "Terri come in is everything good on your end?" Terri didn't even move she'd heard this everyday
She sighed "yeah everythings great here I found a new level of boredom I didn't know was possible, how's learning awesome nightsister magic? oh I wish I knew" she'd become increasingly sulky each conversation they had
Zash just sighed "it's going well I have managed to understand the basic manipulations of Magick, and don't worry I will teach you at some point" Terri hoped so she wouldn't mind a little advantage over the rest of the sith
Terri complained "why can't I just learn it now Zash I've been here all week and there's no sign of any people coming near the ship" she'd asked this before but thought why not maybe Zash would change her mind
Zash exhaled heavily clearly irritated "as I keep telling you with the rate the commander has been catching us she is likely to again and I doubt I can keep fighting all three of them off Terri so we need a quick escape until we're ready ok" Terri pouted she was so sick of waiting around
Terri folded her arms "why can't we just make peace with the commander she doesn't seem so bad she's trying to be better" Zash tutted shaking her head
She sighed "Terri she is clearly lying to you so she can expose your weakness, you saw what she did on Savereen she'd say anything to get what she wants she certainly did before she trapped me in that prison" she got very stern and serious "she is so bad and she won't stop but we're one step ahead right so we can win" Terri shrunk down she felt stupid of course the commander was lying to her
Terri nodded "yeah I guess you're right I hadn't considered she was lying about that too sorry, you said I should only trust you I was just frustrated" Zash nodded
She smiled "it's ok Terri don't worry it's fair to be impatient but I have a lot to do so please for me keep it to a minimum" Terri nodded as the comm shut off she felt bad she was being pretty childish Zash was probably a lot more stressed…
Kyradia tapped her foot impatiently as they travelled towards Ragna III even when she'd been in control of their weird dream space Zash had still managed to get inside her head on Savereen, she had to be vigilant and careful she was already vulnerable and she couldn't let Zash capitalise. Her mentor had been running circles around her like Kyradia hadn't experienced in years she didn't get how she kept getting outsmarted, the extreme power Zash had gained from the acolyte had definitely helped but now she wanted more and she wanted the source of Kyradia's power. She shuddered Zash with that kind of power could do so much damage it certainly wouldn't benefit anyone, Ashara had mentioned the Mirialan girl and about trying to get through to her. Kyradia knew what that position was like and wouldn't wish it upon anyone but she could also expose a weakness in Zash, she had definitely told the girl one million lies already and it was going to be hard to untangle them.
She felt a hand on her shoulder as Ashara shook her "Kyradia are you ok you look really anxious" she clearly was worried and Kyradia appreciated that but there was little to be done about it
Kyradia sighed "I am Zash has been playing me like a fool and I'm worried it's going to get worse and" she took a deep breath "I'm worried I'm gonna make another mistake like Ossus or… you" Ashara's face softened and she hugged Kyradia
Kyradia fidgeted awkwardly really uncomfortable "we won't let that happen me and Malora will be right beside you I promise just like on Savereen right Malora" Malora was focussing on her device but gave a half assed nod which was about as good as she could've hoped for
Kyradia sighed "I know I know but every time I see her she gets to me I don't know if I trust myself enough to face her, we have to stop her but… it's getting to me" Ashara let go nodding and continuing to comfort her
She smiled "then let me take some of the burden you know I will I'm with you till the end whether I like it or not" she half laughed followed by a weak smile
Kyradia nodded "thanks Ashara you're the best friend I could ask for" Ashara gave her a very genuine smile as the planet came into view, Kyradia took a deep breath and she was ready.
They made their way down to the surface but Kyradia couldn't quite sense Zash she turned to the others "do you sense?-" Malora interrupted still staring at the tracker
She finished Kyradia's sentence "the potent force energy yes it appears they are not the only force users here" without regard for the other two she walked out to the landing ramp "the nanobots are on the verge of decomposing so we need to find her coordinates soon" Kyradia would never understand the tech speak but Ashara peered over her shoulder
Ashara frowned "this is all we have to go on coordinates?" Malora ignored her as she confirmed the coordinates on her datapad
She turned to Ashara "so do you have a better way of tracking Zash you've been hiding from all of us" she frowned the friction between the two was clear
Ashara pouted "no but I'm just being cautious" Malora raised her eyebrow clearly whatever heart to heart they had didn't stop their squabbling
Malora tutted "ah so you don't have a plan so how about you trust me and follow me to the large caves to the west which match up perfectly with the last coordinates of the nanobots" Ashara scrunched up her face clearly livid as Malora passed the map to Kyradia
Kyradia had a look at it and she raised her eyebrow "it seems there's some kind of tribal settlement do you think Zash went there?" Malora nodded as she got out a pair of goggles
She nodded "I believe it's probable but why I'm not sure I thought she was collecting ingredients" Kyradia had to agree it was a little strange there was one reason she could think of but she'd rather not
Ashara shrugged "maybe the tribe have knowledge of how to collect the next ingredient" Kyradia hoped so as they began to walk
Malora was quick to grab Ashara's collar as she walked ahead "hey what the Kriff Malora not cool" Malora tutted adjusting her goggles
She took out a small torch and bent down to break a tripwire "you're welcome" a rope net zipped up in front of them "this area is likely to be trapped you need to be careful Ashara" Kyradia just stayed behind them looking at the sticks and little tribal structures she hated how eerily familiar they were
Ashara pouted "why didn't you tell me this area was going to be trapped Malora" Kyradia already knew the response
Malora blinked her goggles briefly closing "I thought the goggles made it obvious but more importantly why wouldn't you have expected traps Ashara you need to take care of yourself" Kyradia rolled her eyes had she and Andronikos ever been like that?
Ashara folded her arms "I'm more proficient in the force ok I'm not extremely spatially aware" Malora seemed to note it down in a datapad
She groaned "fine I will point them out to you and maybe I'll make you a set of goggles when we get back" Kyradia walked past the two of them they'd be here all day if she let that continue
She rolled her eyes "can you two bicker and make up later we don't have time for you exchanging gifts" they both looked embarrassed and followed Kyradia forward, the next hour Malora would point out and disable a trap and then move slightly closer to the cave whoever was here didn't want visitors.
They reached the edge of the forest and Malora held them both back "I sense something strange but my goggles show no sign of a trap" she frowned looking to each of them, Kyradia could also sense something but she wasn't sure what
Kyradia nodded "I sense it too but it's not very strong we should be careful" they both nodded and slowly crept forward towards the cliff and the cave entrance around the side, Malora breathed a sigh of relief as nothing went wrong.
Kyradia frowned the area was weirdly flat she wasn't quite sure what to make of the area it certainly seemed manmade
Ashara smiled "see no need to be so para-" as they spoke suddenly they all felt the ground beneath their feet disappear and they began to tumble down a hole where the floor had been
Kyradia felt herself fall and then slam against the ground she stood up getting her bearings, her eyes widened as she saw bars around her, to her left and right Malora and Ashara were in identical cells and a chamber lit by torches jutted out.
Malora groaned "you just had to say it didn't you" she stood up as Kyradia looked around the room her eyes wide she recognised this design, the green flames, the tribal walkways with wispy mist underneath
Ashara stumbled up "hey I wasn't going to anticipate a floor that disappears how did they do that" Kyradia looked back and forth and began to breathe heavily but concentrated and kept her mind on Zash she couldn't let this get to her
She exhaled "Magick" as she said that two figures came round the corner dressed in those red wrappings that cause Kyradia to twitch nervously
Ashara gasped "Nightsisters" Kyradia wasn't sure how much she'd told Ashara about the sisters themselves but she'd know about the Wrath at least "We gotta be careful" Kyradia nodded as they arrived
Malora frowned "I thought they were only native to Dathomir" the two reveal their hoods each sporting black hair with a sliver of white through it
The taller one tutted "oh well that's the idea we're not exactly an open organisation but you're special acquisitions apparently" she turned to look at Kyradia "oh wow a Dathomiri Zabrak a rare commodity what did they do to you then" Kyradia twitched as she bit her lip trying to control her emotions
She snarled "don't you talk to me like that" she concentrated and tried to stride out but slammed into the a green barrier causing her to become very dizzy and groggy as the force energy filled her brain
The sister laughed "Oh I wouldn't do that this enchantment stops prisoners form being well difficult" Kyradia shook her head she knew this feeling
Ashara rattled the bars "let us out now" she drew her saber and slammed it against the barrier but it merely bounced off
Kyradia tried to get her bearings as the sisters laughed "the Outsider said some trouble would be coming and she also told us to bring the native" the barrier in front of Kyradia disappeared as she tried her best to fight them off before they jabbed something into her neck "I assume that's you Zabrak, there that should dull your muscles" Kyradia felt as her muscles became extremely lethargic no she had to stop this she couldn't let them take her not again
Malora snarled at them "you dare take her and I'll make sure you don't see the light of day" they grabbed Kyradia's arms as she struggled to focus she'd fallen right into their trap just because she wanted to ignore the signs of her past her head was so muddled so many bad memories all at once
Ashara called out echoed due to Kyradia's lethargic state "I promise we'll get you out of this" Kyradia tried to nod as she felt the sisters drag her out of the chamber, she tried to struggle but her limbs wouldn't obey she had to concentrate
The sisters seemed to talk as she was dragged but she couldn't make it out, she felt so overwhelmed but she used that energy and began channeling it into anger and felt her muscles begin to regain some control she just had to be patient.
But still everything she saw reminded her of home, of that, they exited the building they'd been in and entered the walkways, the green mist under the platforms licking and curling around their feet she hated that mist more than anything. She was dragged into a large chamber where a cauldron sat in the middle on one side was a tall older nightsister, her black hair much longer with more white streaks and on the other was Zash smiling like a devil. Nightsisters surrounded them clearly they had a plan and Kyradia could only imagine Zash had her own.
But Kyradia's eyes were fixed on something else, a table with restraints she felt herself start to breath heavily, her pupils dilated and her fist clenched as she was dragged towards it no no no not again…
Ashara was freaking out unsure what to do as she watched her former master dragged off "Malora we have to find a way out of here right now! The nightsisters are bad I can't be sure but Kyradia has a lot of bad experiences with them and we can't let them hurt her" Malora merely nodded and scuffed her shoe.
Ashara didn't even know what to try she'd never dealt with sorcery like this "how could we have been so stupid Zash is here to learn sith sorcery it's so her, and we fell right for the trap we should've been more careful, I should've sensed something" Malora continued silently scuffing her shoe and nodding
Ashara started to hyperventilate "we have to find a way out of here we can't let anything bad happen I saw her pain I gotta help her I just gotta give her a chance, can you stop JUST SCUFFING YOUR SHOE MALORA WE HAVE TO HELP HER" Malora turned to her clearly agitated
Malora took a deep breath scuffing her shoe once more and a bunch of parts came out of the sole "I am finding a way out I just thought your inane babbling would get in the way" she starts to construct a little box "and it did but I have a solution; you're welcome so please calm down" Ashara did calm down and take a deep breath
She sighed "sorry it's just this is bad and it could've been avoided I didn't mean to yell" Malora nodded as the box fit together and she raised it up "so what does your cool little box do" Malora looked at her quizzically
She almost smiled "thanks for asking? Basically this is magic force energy so likely normal force techniques will be useless but a bit of science mixed with the force allows me to collect such energies" she held out the box as it began to absorb the barrier "like so, I keep one on me at all times just in case" Ashara nodded actually very impressed
The barrier disappeared and Malora ignited her saber "and you keep it in your shoe" Malora sliced through the bars and walked over to Ashara's cell
She frowned "that's the part you question I will never understand you Jedi" she stood there as Ashara frowned
She pouted "well I don't know any tech questions" she paused "are you gonna let me out" Malora frowned holding up the box
She stifled a laugh "of course I'm not just going to leave you there you're still a valuable ally if annoying" Ashara decided to take that as a compliment as she cut through her own bars
She rushed forward "well thanks and we need to hurry if we're gonna save Kyradia before anything goes wrong" she took Malora's hand "come on I can turn us invisible" Malora nodded as they set off to save Kyradia but as they got closer they already heard signs of conflict...