A/N: Hello, sorry for the long break in the story. School's been taking over my life. :( but the craziness has died down a bit now and hopefully I will be back to updating more often.
Vette watched as the young former Jedi excitedly prepared herself for her upcoming mission. The twi'lek smiled at her companion as the young girl double checked her equipments with a nervous look upon her face. She knew the former Jedi had been waiting eagerly for her first official mission as the apprentice to a Sith Lord ever since she first set foot aboard the Fury. The following two weeks vacation nearly killed her with anxiety, "You sure you're not forgetting anything?"
The young woman turned toward her and frowned, "I certainly hope not." She then proceeded to recheck her equipments once again much to Vette's amusement.
At that moment, the ship's Captain strolled into the crews' quarters, whistling to himself as he passed the two girls.
The unusual sound caused his two companions to turn their head in curiosity and watched as he went about his business. The scene was so bizarre that they had to keep turning their heads toward one another to be sure they weren't imagining or dreaming it.
"What's gotten you in a cheery mood?" Vette asked.
"Did you get on Darth Baras' good grace?" asked Jaesa.
"Or Xy'liah's?"
The Captain turned to both of them, "I'm already on both of our lords' good side. As for the source of my uplifted spirit, I'm planning on reuniting with a few comrades of mine as soon as we are planetside."
"I didn't know you had friends! I always thought you were destined to die alone and friendless. What a relief. Now you won't be so lonely when you go," said the sarcastic twi'lek as the Captain frowned at her statement. He turned away from the twi'lek's smile and rummaged through his wardrobe.
"We may not be close in relations, Captain, but even I know a few friends aren't capable of this," said Jaesa. "Plus my gut instinct and senses tell me otherwise."
The Captain ignored their comments and turned around to close his wardrobe. He then proceeded to walk toward the exit, but just as he was about to walk out of the room, Xy'liah stepped in.
"Good day, my lord," said the Captain continuing his stride. He gave the Sith a smile and wink before disappearing into the hallway.
Xy'liah raised a brow and turned toward her two companions, "What in the galaxy is the matter with him?"
The two girls shrugged as the Captain's footsteps went further and further away.
The Sith Lord took one last look in the Captain's direction before turning once again to the twi'lek and her apprentice. She had a skeptical face on as she watched the two girls, "Sometimes I wonder what idiotic things you guys do behind my back. You must be really bored aboard my vessel. Perhaps I should find more work for you guys, and here I thought fourteen hours a day was already enough."
"I swear we had nothing to do with that," said Vette pointing in their Captain's direction.
"The twi'lek's right, Master. We were equally dumbfounded and confused about Captain Quinn's unusually good mood," added Jaesa.
Silence went by as the Sith Lord contemplated whether or not to believe her crewmates, then, "Yes…well, finish up what you were doing. We are about to land on Nar Shaddaa and I don't want anything interrupting your focus. You are here as my apprentice and as my apprentice, you have a reputation to uphold. I will not tolerate any idiocy."
"Understood, Master. With my recent training, I feel ready for anything."
"Meanwhile I'm going to see to it that the Captain doesn't happily kill us all when he lands."
"Is there something you want to say, Jaesa?" asked Xy'liah as she navigated the taxi toward their destination.
"Uh…I'm sorry, Master. Forgive my current state of being. I'm just so…excited about this. This is my first official mission as your apprentice. I hope I am up to the task," replied the former Jedi.
"You're a strong one, Jaesa. You'll do fine in keeping up. It's just the learning part that I hope you concentrate on. There is much more to being a Sith than everyone, especially the Jedi and Republic, makes it sound like. It's not all about killing and domination with us. But I do admit, we have a lot more fun than the Jedi," Xy'liah gave the young woman a smile as she steered the taxi onto the landing port. She wasted no time cutting the engine and jumping out of the vehicle. "We're here. Keep close."
Jaesa nodded and helped herself out of the vehicle also. She ran to catch up with the Sith ahead of her, doing her best to match her master's prideful stride.
Silently they entered the building, taking out any personnel that stood in their way. Once in, they heard voices down the hallway and followed them to a small room. There was an older gentlemen seated at a desk surrounded by a few guards and to the opposite of him was a blue-skinned person that Jaesa guessed to be a Chiss. She had never seen one personally, but heard of tales of how loyal this species was to the Imperial army. Apparently not all of those tales were true.
"General Gonn, I am happy to report that Jedi Master Xerender has landed safely on Hoth. I saw to it personally," said the Chiss to the older gentlemen.
Xy'liah leaned against a column as she watched the two exchanged information.
General Gonn stood up from his chair and came around toward the Chiss, landing a hand on his shoulder, "You are a valuable asset to the Republic, Fawste. Someday, the rest of the Chiss will follow your lead."
"Fawste, thank you for leading me to General Gonn," said Xy'liah interrupting the two men's sentimental moment. "You've been, as the General said, a valuable asset."
"Men, we've got trouble. Rally around the general!" cried out the Republic guards as they all ran to form a barricade between the two Sith and the general.
Jaesa's hands went instinctively to her lightsaber, but made no move of retrieving it when she realized her master was standing there defenseless. Her eyes observed the general's and Chiss' looks of confusion from her master's words. How clever of her to turn the two against each other.
The general took out his blaster and pointed straight at her master and suddenly Jaesa felt slightly uncomfortable about the numerous guns pointed in their direction. Her hand lay rested upon the hilt, ready to activate the deadly weapon should it become necessary.
General Gonn turned toward the Chiss, who backed away from the sudden intrusion, "What's this, Fawste? Have you double crossed me?!"
The Chiss had a worried look on as he trembled to get out the right words, "N-no, General. I'm-I'm not…I mean…uh…" The poor Chiss looked around confused as the men behind him took out their weapons and pointed toward the Republic, who turned their firepower toward the Chiss and his crew.
"Give it up, Fawste. The general's no dope," edged on her master.
"General, it's a lie! I swear to you!" the Chiss pleaded.
There was a moment of silence as the general contemplated whether to believe the Chiss or not. After a few minutes, he put away his blaster, "I believe you, Fawste. Sith are notorious liars. (Xy'liah shrugged at the statement.) Don't worry, our bond is not broken." His dark eyes turned toward Xy'liah. "I think I can guess who you are, Sith. For all of Darth Baras' covert manipulations, you have banged around the galaxy rather loudly. Now Baras has finally found me…I'll have to be more careful moving forward."
"Doesn't matter. I'll still find you no matter what."
"Sith, you are D-darth Baras' apprentice? We've heard of you," said the Chiss turning his worried look now over to Xy'liah. "This isn't what it looks like."
Xy'liah frowned at the Chiss' attempt to save his own hide, "I wasn't born yesterday, traitor!" She held up her hand, choking the Chiss, but was interfered by the general and his men.
"Men, attack! We need to defend our friends!" yelled the general and at the sound of that, Jaesa immediately activated her yellow lightsaber just as a bunch of red bolts came their way. The young apprentice deflected most of the bolts, shielding her Sith master, giving her enough time to activate her two crimson lightsabers.
Xy'liah flipped over Jaesa and brought her lightsabers down on a few of the Republic Sentinels, relieving her apprentice of the constant heavy fire.
Fawste looked up at the battlefield as the two Sith acrobatically defeated the Republic. His eyes widened when one of them sent dark energy strikes toward a few of the Republic, killing them almost instantly. There were such raw powers radiating from the both of them that he found himself contemplating whether or not he should run while they were being distracted by the general's men. But before he could come up with an answer, one of them struck her lightsaber straight through General Gonn. Fawste watched the general sank to his knees as the life drained from his surprised eyes. Then he fell forward, hitting the ground loudly.
At the sight of that, the Chiss backed away in fear as his men behind him readied their weapons. The two Sith turned their attention toward him and his crew and Fawste stood up, shakily just as Darth Baras' apprentice came forth to address him.
"You killed them all!" he exclaimed looking at all the dead bodies around him. "Please, mercy! I—we will rededicate ourselves to the Empire." He continued backing away as the Sith stepped closer and closer to them.
Behind her, her apprentice smiled and chuckled softly to herself, something that made the Chiss even more uncomfortable.
"What did you help Gonn with?" Xy'liah demanded.
"I-I helped a Jedi Master landed on Hoth undetected. I believe he is searching for something in the starship graveyard, but that's all I know!" He quickly confessed.
"Hmph," said her master. A smirk came across her face. "The offense is too great to let you live." And with those words, Xy'liah sent one of her lightsabers flying through the Chiss's chest, killing him in the same manner as General Gonn.
Jaesa activated her lightsaber once more when the Chiss's men fired their weapons. She wasted no time charging them and taking them out quickly. She looked down at the fallen men before her, more than half of which she took out herself. The young apprentice smiled to proudly to herself. There was such a rush and satisfaction from killing these men, a feeling that Jaesa could not yet comprehend. All she knew was that the rush she received from the action far outweighed the morale of the situation and she was totally fine with that.
The former Jedi looked to her new master proudly to see the young woman smiling back at her.
"Nice work," Xy'liah complimented as she deactivated her two lightsabers. She looked around at the dead bodies around them and made her way to the exit, stepping over the bodies that were in her way. "Now, I believe we are due on Dromund Kaas. Ready to meet the most boring Sith in the world?"
"You are referring to Darth Baras?" asked Jaesa as she followed Xy'liah out. Of course she was, what a stupid question was that.
"You know of any other boring Sith?"
The apprentice shook her head silently as she followed her master out.
"So how was it?"
"Great!" Jaesa blurted out gleefully. "Like I said before the fear you instilled in your opponents brings out the truth. The Chiss confessed rather quickly to his offenses."
"He knew he was dead once I came in. It was just amusing to see how he would try to save himself."
Jaesa nodded silently with a childish grin upon her face. She couldn't wait to get back to the ship to tell Vette all about her mission. The twi'lek probably wouldn't be able to handle it, but it would be amusing to see her try.
Quinn took a breath of air as he stood at the entrance of Kaas City. He smiled as a slight breeze blew in his face. How he missed this city! Life on Balmorra was far too boring compared to Kaas. He looked around the city excitedly. Kaas City had indeed changed quite a bit from the last time he was here. It was certainly nice to be back and even better that he was off duty and free to roam the city to his heart desire.
"Yep, this place is gloomy as always," came a voice and immediately any good mood Quinn had came crashing down as he turned around to see the twi'lek and two Sith standing behind him.
"So this is the city of the Sith," said Jaesa as she eyed the tall skyscrapers. "It's…different from Coruscant."
"Let's not keep the Dark Lord waiting," said Xy'liah stepping forward into the city. "We're on his turf now and he has eyes everywhere in this city."
"Yes, Master," said Jaesa walking to catch up with her master.
"Be at the ship when I call," the Sith warned Quinn and Vette. "Vette!"
"Hm?"
"Don't get into any trouble! It'd be a shame if some other Sith decided to take you."
"Hmph, my sympathy will be more for the Sith," Quinn said under his breath as Vette gave him a frown.
"And Quinn!"
"Yes, my lord!" the Captain called out.
"Knock yourself out."
"Right…I'll take that as permission to enjoy my time off while on here."
"So anything planned in mind?" asked Vette following the Captain into the city.
"If you don't mind, I have a private matter to attend to," he said walking faster in an attempt to lose her. He should've known that that was going to fail.
"Oh right, your colleagues," she said as she hurried her pace to keep up with the Captain. "Well as much as I would like to hang out with your friends, military personnel aren't exactly my thing. I think I'll head to the cantina for a drink or see what the market has to sell. See ya!"
Quinn continued walking without turning back though he heard the footsteps following him around. Eventually they faded, but he kept on his trail, afraid that if he did turn around, the twi'lek might take that as a sign to follow him around even more.
He took some time to re-familarize himself with the city before heading out to the cantina himself. This should've given Vette enough time to get drunk and leave the cantina. Quinn frowned at the thought of running into her. Hopefully the big mouthed twi'lek somehow gets herself captured by slave dealers and taken off planet somewhere never to be seen again. It wouldn't be quite a tragedy if that had actually happened.
The Captain stopped in front of the Nexus Room cantina. He smiled as memories flowed into his head. Surprisingly he had spent a huge amount of his time here while he was briefly on Kaas City. This place has been the default spot he would go to whenever he needed a break from his Imperial duties.
A couple of drunk Imperials walked out of the cantina, laughing and talking rather loudly as they attempted to balance themselves and walk correctly. Quinn watched them go with a soft smile before entering the building, heading straight for one of the back private rooms.
He looked around while making his way back. Yep, the usual patronage was still here, enjoying their time off or partying with friends. It was as if nothing had changed, in this part at least.
He came upon a door to his right. This room seemed pretty small and isolated from everything else, placed in the corner compared to the rest of the heavily decorated room, but that didn't bother him the least. He didn't plan to spend much time here anyways.
The young Captain entered the room to see three familiar looking faces turn his way.
"Malavai!" cried out one of them. A red-haired young woman dressed in the Imperial army uniform similar to his ran into the Captain's arms.
"Lila Aiden," said Quinn a bit surprised at the display at affection. "It's been a while."
Lila smiled at the Captain, her cheeks turning a bit red from her earlier action.
"So, you did make it after all," said the other human behind her. He smiled as his blond hair fell into his blue eyes. "Sair and I were just betting if you were going to show up or not."
"I don't remember agreeing to any condition," said the Chiss next to him. "But if I did, I would have bet you to show up."
Quinn smiled as his comrades greeted him. They were all here…all three of them, except, "Where is Beau?"
"Ah, he was called off planet some where," said the human male. "Come, sit. We already poured you a cup, waiting for you."
Quinn walked with Lila and sat down at the table next to her. He took the mug and took a gulp of the ale, "I apologize if I kept you waiting. I had a prior engagement to deal with." A thought of the twi'lek ran through his mind as he said this and he felt quite glad that he had somehow ditched her within the city.
"Still the same old Malavai," said the human male. "Always work and duty. But I can assume that has all paid off now." He eyed the Captain's rank insignia attached to the left chest.
"It was a recent promotion, one that I have been quite grateful to receive given my previous circumstances," Quinn smiled at his friends. "But I have been keeping up with yours as well. Congratulations to all of you. I've only heard through holonet and rumors some of your achievements during my…absence."
Lila frowned next to him, "We all missed you, Malavai. Beau the most. He was quite angered when he heard what had happened. He tried to find a way to get you off Balmorra, but every single attempt was blocked by higher command. No doubt works of the Moff, but I heard through rumors that he is gone now. Just up and disappeared."
At this, the Captain smiled proudly to himself. All thanks to me.
The next few hours were spent with the four reminiscing of their time together at the military academy and what had happened to each of them since. Quinn watched them all as they interacted with one another. He had forgotten what it was like to just relax and socialize. Ever since he was sent to Balmorra, Quinn had subconsciously blocked anyone that had ever made an attempt to get into his private life, these three included.
As they talked, Quinn's own mind wandered off through old memories he had of them. They were good people, all of them and they all shared a certain passion together: the future well-being of the Empire.
Quinn watched as the human male talked. His name was Marcus Orion and from what Quinn had heard, he was also a Captain, married with two kids. Marcus had always been the hearty one of the group. His optimistic personality was what attracted Quinn to him in the first place. He had that special quality that not too many people had in the Imperial army. His good-nature and optimistic appearance instantly shed light on any hopeless situation and never failed to calm everyone around him. He was superb at rallying morale, even back in the academy whenever they were faced with a difficult task. It was this quality, Quinn was sure, that made him an excellent leader.
Then next to him sat quiet Sair or Kres'air'nuruodo. The Chiss had always been the quiet one in the group, but he was cool and collected. He was almost always calm in any situation and came up with the fastest of the solutions to the problems, ones that weren't rash.
Quinn had met the Chiss at the academy a few days after he started. They were assigned to a mock mission together. It was the first time Quinn had worked with a Chiss. He had his doubts at first at the foreign humanoid's capabilities to keep up with the rest of them, but was soon proven wrong when Sair was the only one able to figure out an acceptable solution to the dilemma given to them. Since then, the Chiss never failed to prove himself capable of handling just about any situation thrown at him.
Quinn had always felt a certain connection to Sair. One being that their personality mirrored each other's exactly to a certain degree and they both had difficult circumstances to overcome. Quinn had the Moff's vindictive nature to deal with and Sair had to deal with a majority of the Imperial Forces underestimating him. Because of this, Quinn was quite pleased to see Sair doing well despite his problems.
Lila let out a chuckle at Marcus's last statement, which brought the Captain's attention to her. Lila Aiden. She was the beauty—and brains—of the group. She was quite skilled at retrieving any information and infiltrating the most guarded systems. But she was deadly as she was beautiful and smart. Her aim with any kind of gun was almost always accurate. She would have done well as an agent of the Empire, but refused when approached. She was never quite fond of ruthlessly killing people, but that didn't stop her whenever it became necessary.
"I would miss you guys too much," Quinn remembered her saying one time when Beau constantly pestered her about becoming an agent. "I may have all those qualities, but my emotions run too strong. I could never keep my cover." And she was right. She had always been the honest, caring, emotional one in the group. It was because of this that she had people taking constant advantages of her, something Quinn had worried about back then. The world of military and politics was not the safest of place to be and if you cannot stand your ground, you will be pushed aside like debris from space.
"What about you, Malavai?" Lila asked.
Quinn snapped out of his thoughts and turned to face the young woman, "I'm sorry?"
"You've been so quiet, sitting there. Are you alright?"
"I'm perfectly fine. I actually enjoy listening to everyone reminiscing about the past. It relaxes me in a way."
"How is that Sith you are assigned to?" asked Sair. "I heard you are working for the apprentice of the Sith that is responsible for helping you with Moff Broysc. Paying back a favor?"
"You could look at it that way. I aided her when Darth Baras sent her to Balmorra. Her mission proved successful. It pleased her master so much that he relieved me from my duties upon Balmorra and I was able to reassign myself anywhere."
At this, Lila gave him a small frown, "Why didn't you come back here to us?"
"I figured I would better compensate for the time lost if I travelled with his apprentice than back here. She has given me much liency in completing my work."
"I've heard stories of working for Sith," said Marcus. "Mainly from Beau. They're much worst than any Moffs I have known. How are you holding up?"
"Quite the contrary, my friend. Like I said, my master gives me much liency. She has delegated me the responsibility of her vessel and crewn. I can't think of any better way to help the Empire than to be with one that has been profoundly impacting it." Quinn eyed his comrades as they all eyed him intently. The expressions upon their faces showed just how curious they were about working under a Sith. From what he concluded, they had barely been contacted by any Sith. He smiled. Now this he did not mind sharing about.
Jaesa nervously looked around as she followed her master deeper and deeper into the building. She was completely surrounded by Sith on each side and perhaps it was out of old habit, but she couldn't help, but rested her hand upon the hilt of her lightsaber just in case anyone tried to attack.
Every head that turned their way only eyed them intently before turning back to their work. Jaesa sensed a lot of curiosity as she passed them by. Of course her master and her were known in this city. She was the promising young Jedi that had fallen to the dark side, and Xy'liah was the Sith that was responsible for it.
Jaesa stopped as her master came upon a huge doorway. She looked up and to the side, eyeing the intricate designs that snaked their way down the huge metallic doors. Her brown eyes turned toward her master as the young Sith in front of her turned to address her.
"Ready?"
Jaesa nodded as she felt a big lump within her throat. It slowly went down as she was led into the room however.
The former Jedi looked ahead to see the familiar short Sith that frequently appeared on their ship's holoterminal. He was facing away from them, talking to someone on his holoterminal as the two walked in quietly and stood behind him.
"Baras, are you responsible? Was it you who took out General Gonn?" the holo image of the man asked.
"It was, Lord Vengean. The fringe systems are now ripe for the taking," said Baras with a small respectful bow.
"Such an advantage will prod the rest of the council out of passivity. They will see war as the only answer. You have delivered to me what I most crave."
Xy'liah's eyes narrowed as Baras continued to communicate with his master. It was strange seeing the powerful Sith act in this manner. She watched him as the older Sith in front of them bowed even lower, "I will always serve you to the full extent of my abilities, master."
Lord Vengean's lips curled up into a smile, but it was immediately followed by a frown as the Sith Master turned his attention from his apprentice to the room surrounding him. His eyes narrowed as he scanned the room, "Who stands by eavesdropping? I do not like to be observed."
Xy'liah took that as her cue to walk forward into the view of the Sith Master.
"My lord, this is my most distinguished apprentice. And the deliverer of General Gonn's death," introduced Baras. He stepped aside, making room for Xy'liah to stand next to him and to face the Dark Master.
Lord Vengean turned to look at her, "I see. Funny you haven't mentioned this one. You, apprentice. By serving Darth Baras, you serve me. Do you understand?"
Xy'liah frowned at the tone of voice the Dark Lord chose to use with her. It was as if he was speaking to an imbecilic humanoid, who barely comprehended Basic. But the young Sith quickly pushed that thought aside as she answered, "I comprehend your meaning." Her eyes narrowed a bit at the Dark Lord.
"Good. It is time. I will send my destroyer to the fringe systems and they will be mine before anyone is the wiser. The order is given, Baras. Enact Plan Zero. Vengean out."
Baras and Xy'liah nodded as the holo image disappeared. A relieved sigh was let out as the Dark Lord turned to face his apprentice.
"Excellent," he said, smiling behind that mask of his. "I have waited a long time for this order. Apprentice, Plan Zero is the systematic elimination of the Republic's top military leaders. A preemptive strike that will leave the enemy headless."
"We all know how this goes. Just tell me who I'm after and I'll be gone in the next second."
Baras chuckled a bit at his apprentice's statement, "I admire your enthusiasm on this. I have been tracking the targets for years in anticipation of Plan Zero. There is no time to waste. Make ready your ship. I will contact you there."
Xy'liah nodded and turned to leave before Baras stopped her again.
"Are you not going to formally introduce me to your apprentice?"
Jaesa watched as her master stopped in her tracks and heard her let out a small sigh before turning around.
"Forgive me, Master. Like you said, I'm quite enthusiastic about this upcoming mission." She turned toward the young girl and back to Baras. "Jaesa this is my master, Darth Baras."
Jaesa bowed, "I'm honored, Master."
Baras laughed, "You're maybe her master, apprentice, but it wouldn't do you any harm to learn a thing or two about manners from her."
Xy'liah frowned at the statement and watched as her master quickly circled Jaesa.
"Yes, you are what I imagined you to be," he said. "I sense the Force flowing tremendously in you. I trust my apprentice will guide you well on your journey of mastering it. But of course, as only my apprentice, her knowledge with the Force will be limited. If you allow me, however, someone, who is a master in the arts, to train you, I can see your powers increasing tenfold."
"You are too kind, my lord," said Jaesa bowing once more. "But so far, Master Xy'liah has proven to be a superb mentor to me. I only hope I am graced more by her wisdom."
"Come, Jaesa," said Xy'liah before Baras could say anything else to persuade her apprentice from leaving her. "We have a mission to complete." Xy'liah gave her master a small bow before heading out of the room with Jaesa following her.
"It sounds like you're living the luxurious version of our lives," said Marcus as Quinn finished up his stories abroad the ship.
"I highly doubt that," said Quinn. "But there are definitely some advantages to it."
Their earlier conversation had somehow moved to the private quarters of Lila, but Quinn didn't mind. He was getting restless sitting on that barstool for hours.
"I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news. As much fun as this was, I'm afraid I have to get back to my duties," said Sair. "There is a project I must complete within the next few days." He stood up. "If you would excuse me."
"I think I better be going to," said Marcus. "The Mrs. Is probably wondering where I am at. I'm sure those two kids of mine are probably driving her crazy right now." He turned and gave Quinn a quick hug. "It was good to see you again, old friend. I hope our paths cross more often in the future."
"Likewise," said Quinn. He watched as the two walked out of the quarters, leaving him and Lila alone. Quinn turned toward the young woman. She had been unusually quiet during their conversation. "Perhaps I should leave too."
"No," she said quickly. "Please, stay a while. Who knows when is the next time I will see you?"
"Whenever it is, I hope it won't be as long as this," said Quinn.
"Malavai," said Lila. She trailed off a bit as if contemplating whether or not to continue with the conversation.
Quinn tensed up at the sound of her voice. The vibe had quickly changed from being pleasant to being somber. Something about the tone of her voice had Quinn feeling quite uncomfortable and he found himself quickly thinking up of different appropriate excuses to leave.
"It's just that, I know you're probably having fun, travelling the galaxy with your new commander and all, but honestly, do you think it not better to be here? After all, it is what you had always desired."
"It was what I desired. During that time, I had never imagined I would be where I am at presently. Think about it, Lila. If I stayed here, I wouldn't have accomplished much. There are so many rules and regulations here and while I have no quarrels with abiding by them, I find it more liberal to be where I am at."
"I see," said the young woman softly. Her blue eyes looked away and down to a spot on the floor.
"I was given a second chance, something I thought that I will never see, and I do not plan on taking it for granted," Quinn quickly added before Lila had a chance to say more. He had hoped this would have ended their conversation.
"I see," Lila said once more. She looked up at him and smiled. "You were always a hard person to persuade, Malavai. Once you set your mind to something, you dedicate yourself completely to it. But have you ever thought of what happens afterwards? When your master's mission is over? Did you think you'd stay aboard her ship and under her command forever?"
A few moments of silence past as Lila searched the young Captain's face for a subtle hint to what he was thinking. But he kept his face rigid as he returned her look; his eyes completely emotionless. Then slowly he opened his mouth to respond, "When that particular time nears, I will attend to it. As of right now, paying it mind will only create unnecessary complications for me."
Lila cocked her head to the side at his response with a skeptical look, "You really do believe that you will be under her command forever, don't you?" She scoffed. "Don't be a fool, Malavai. Whatever she told you are probably all lies. She's just using you. All Sith are the same. They have their own agenda, one that we do not fit nor belong in. I'm giving you a chance to secure your future. You talk about getting a second chance, but what you don't know is that you're slowly wasting it the longer you stay where you are!"
"I do not expect you to understand, Lila. I need to be there. She needs me."
"Needs you? She doesn't need you. She can easily replace you. You are so engulfed with the romantics of space travel that you can't see that you are nothing more to her than a pawn in her campaign. If you were to fall in battle, she won't care. But I do. You are a smart man, Malavai, but you are completely dense when it comes to matters like this."
Quinn frowned, "I think I overstayed my welcome. Please excuse me. I have other matters to attend to." And with that, Quinn turned and left, leaving a very frustrated Lila.
Quinn sighed as the cool breeze hit his face; his mind was replaying the earlier scene over and over again. Was everything he said true? Was he saying it out of obligation and duty? He admitted that this was not what he had planned for, but he was content with the current situation. There were multiple times when he found himself debating whether to leave or not, but each time he had always come up with an answer justifying his stay aboard Fury.
If this had been a few years ago when he was still languishing on Balmorra, he would have gone back to Kaas City in a heartbeat if offered the chance. But things changed and even earlier when they had first landed in the hangar, Quinn had found himself already looking forward to returning to the ship and to be back on duties.
What was most interesting to him was how angry he found himself getting when Lila had mentioned Xy'liah. He had thought the feeling to come from his loyalty to Xy'liah, but yet there was something else, something he couldn't quite put his finger on yet. It was something for him to think about on his way back to the ship, he decided.
The Captain turned a corner and walked aimlessly along the edge of the city as more thoughts roamed through his head when a familiar voice sent his heart racing.
"CAPTAIN!" Quinn turned in the direction to see Xy'liah, Jaesa, and Vette standing at the block ahead of him. The Sith motioned for him to come to her. "Where have you been?! I have been looking for you everywhere!"
"Forgive me, my lord. I was clearing up some prior engagements. I am more focused now and ready to be back on duty."
Xy'liah rolled her eyes as she led the way to the taxiport, "Seriously, Quinn, even when on vacation, you go out and find work to do. I'm starting to think giving you any vacation at all is pointless since you waste it on work-related matters anyways."
Quinn smiled as he climbed aboard the taxi. This situation may not be the ideal one he had envisioned, but with each passing second, he was becoming quite content with it.