The first thing Milowi noticed was the smell. She smelled...dust, and grime, and the biting, acrid stench of rusted, rotting durasteel. She could almost taste how dirty her surroundings were, once she got past the lingering bitterness of her own blood in her mouth. Pain was only just beginning to register, but she pushed past it, forcing her eyes to open...

Despite her throbbing, disorienting headache from an elbow she had taken to the temple, she could tell she was laying on her right side on the floor, but there was no discernible light source anywhere to illuminate the room. She knew her eyes were open, but with no reference point and no other information available about the area around her, she had to be methodical and careful about how she moved. Her training had already kicked in, keeping her calm and collected when others might have panicked.

Sore from her violent encounter with a hooded assailant in her own bedroom, her muscles protested and burned fiercely as she carefully extended her foot, delicately tapping the floor with her toes to find a wall or outline a boundary of some kind. She felt and heard nothing but solid durasteel under her legs, so she began to raise an arm, but was surprised by how abnormally heavy it seemed. Something thick and metallic was tightly clasped around both of her wrists, forcing her to strain to lift either of them. She felt around them to determine exactly what they were, but other than discovering that they weren't attached to each other, as binders would be, she found no other distinguishing characteristics. Though a little unsure why she would be held with such odd devices on her, she pressed on.

Slowly pushing herself up off the hard, cold floor, she struggled to reach one hand above her head, making sure there wasn't a low ceiling over her. Once she could, she stood with painstaking precision, keeping her muscles tense and primed for reflexive moves if the need arose. With her arms tucked at her side, she stood motionless in place, listening intently for anything new. No alarms sounded, and she heard no other sounds, save for her own silenced breathing. Wherever she was, she was isolated, but there had to be a way in and a way out. Though still blind in her cell, she needed to find the door.

A quick tap of her bare heel on the durasteel floor sent a short, crisp echo around the room, but no one direction sent the sound back to her faster than the others. She was either perfectly centered between four presumed walls, or the room was incredibly well insulated. She took small, shuffling steps forward, and eventually reaching a wall in front of her with no obstacles in her way, she rested her hands on it, getting a feel for its texture and composition. Though the wall, too, was cold and unforgiving durasteel like the floor, a strange grime coated it almost uniformly. It reminded her of the decaying underlevels of Coruscant - centuries of neglect and pollution eroded the framework to a structurally-deficient state. If she was locked in a similarly degraded building, she could find weak points in the walls and exploit them to escape.

Still, she continued moving along the wall, seeking a door. She had noticed that the cuffs on her wrists were putting out a subtle buzz, the distinct hum of electricity. If she could find the door's control panel, even though it was likely locked from the outside, she could tap into the door's wiring and short out the cuffs to get them off, freeing her to activate the comm link and distress signal in her bracelet...

Sudden intense, bright white light flooded the room and instantly froze her in place as her eyes closed protectively. Unsure of the light source, she turned around to face the interior of the room though her eyes remained useless, tightly shut and watering from the rapid, painful change. She readied herself for a fight, her pulse racing form the rush of adrenalin.

...but nothing came. No further sound, no footsteps, no door opening, just...light. She determinedly forced her eyes open despite their reluctance; she had to see.

Though her vision remained blurry and overexposed, she could still tell she had been right about the walls' decay. Instead of the usual polished luster of unadorned durasteel, a dull rust coated every surface, even the door, which she finally spotted opposite her. She waited even more, certain that her captor would make his appearance soon...

But as she stood in place in front of the wall, a new humming sound emerged, and she felt her arms inexplicably raising up, leaving her completely powerless to fight it. The cuffs at her wrists were being pulled upwards by an invisible force, and they lifted her painfully off her feet, dangling her in the air as the familiar blue glow of a containment field surrounded her. Though she knew it was useless, she tugged with all her weight to wrench her wrists free, but the cuffs were magnetically locked in place.

"You probably shouldn't struggle so hard," came a gruff, amplified voice from across the room. "You certainly proved you're strong, but...you're not that strong."

Finally meeting her captor, Milowi somehow managed to maintain a neutral expression. She had seen the security recordings from the Dalon Medical Center where a Kel Dor had attempted to kidnap the Rys'tihn and Natiyr children, and it appeared that she had been taken by the same man instead. Fighting him in the darkness of her bedroom while he kept a hood over his head, she hadn't been sure of his identity in that instant, but she had suspected it. Now she knew, and it tied her stomach into knots.

The Kel Dor's antiox breath mask covered his eyes, nose, and mouth, leaving her with nothing but his voice to read to analyze his intentions. He stepped closer to her, but he stopped just short of what she assumed to be her kicking range; with her legs free from confinement, she could swing her feet up for a quick strike, but he appeared to have considered it, as well. His movements were slow but confident as he crossed his arms over his chest, seeming to look her over.

"Milowi Jax," he continued coolly. "You know, as the wife of a high-ranking, well-decorated military officer, I hadn't expected you to put up such an impressive fight. I have to admit, you very nearly had me beat."

The attack had happened so suddenly, it had left her no time to process much of anything. She had relied solely on reflexes and agility to survive as long as she did, but she still had been overpowered and knocked out by a well-placed blow to the head. Had she not feared for her husband and her daughter's lives, she would have simply escaped the lumbering brute's reach, as she was much faster than he was, but in trying to fell him instead, she had failed. Her heart raced with the thought that her family might have been harmed, too, though she outwardly showed him no trace of anxiety.

"I can handle myself."

The Kel Dor nodded casually in agreement. "And that got me thinking. Why would you have such skills? You've no rank, no title, no ties to the Royal Forces here except for your marriage... What is it that you've been trained to guard?"

It must have been his calm curiosity that set off warning alarms in her mind. He either knew far more than he was letting on, or he was simply not an average mercenary. His intelligence had obviously been severely underestimated by the other covert agents she had talked to; they had assumed him gone after his failure at the med center.

With her silence, he went on, undaunted. "I'll confess: your husband was originally my target. I knew for sure that he would have the intel I needed, since it's his job to know. But you...you intrigued me. You quickly made it clear that you were far more valuable than he was, so I took the chance.

"Now, I suppose that makes me look impulsive," he continued plainly. "But I am also very, very patient. I get paid the same whether I get the job done today, tomorrow, or a year from now. So at this point, everything depends on you. That means you have two options: one, you tell me what I want to know right now, or two, you still tell me what I want to know, but with some...persuasion, which will last as long as you do."

Clasped in one of his four-clawed hands was a small remote she hadn't seen earlier. She already knew what it would do, but she took in a deep breath to steel her resolve. Maintaining her silence, she held a steady, unrelenting gaze on him, readying herself for the torture he was about to unleash.

With the smallest of movements, he pressed one of the buttons between his fingers, sending white-hot electrical current through her entire body. Her already damaged muscles seized and shook intensely as the current ravaged her, but she withheld a scream, determined to not give him the satisfaction. Just as she felt muscle fibers begining to shear from the extreme tension, the current relented, leaving her even weaker and gasping for air. Her lungs hardly worked, traumatized by the electricity, but she forced air in and out. She could endure the pain, but she was already beginning to fear that her body would give out before her willpower would.

Suddenly in her face, the Kel Dor spoke quietly but with the most malice she had heard from him yet. "You will tell me eventually. You know what information I want. Your time is limited, not mine."

He turned around and began to leave, but not before he pressed the remote's button a second time.

Nearing the end of a two-day journey through space, Koril returned to the Celestia's cockpit and sat at its controls, ready to bring the ship out of hyperspace. His only companion for the trip, Ri Banarecc, had remained quietly in the seat beside him, but he could tell she had been wary of him the entire time. Feeling her gaze lingering on him as the tense silence continued, he maintained his gaze out the viewport as he addressed her curtly.

"Are you expecting me to snap?"

He regretted his words the instant they left his mouth, and expectedly, Ri's response was delayed.

"No."

The honesty and slight fear in her voice made him feel that much more guilty. He closed his eyes and released a slow breath, calming himself, but he wasn't expecting her to speak up again.

"I was just trying to think of a way I could help you."

Hearing her mother's genuine warmth and kindness in her words put him at ease, though he still felt guilty for his rudeness. He gave her a weak smile, appreciating her concern. "You are helping me, just by coming with me for this." His expression fell after a moment, expressing his remorse. "I'm sorry."

But Ri returned the smile a bit, shaking her head to dismiss his guilt. "It's okay. I know you've got a lot on your mind." Briefly silent, she shrugged and gave a soft laugh. "Actually, I think I'd be more worried if it didn't upset you."

He returned his gaze to the viewport, recalling his many and lengthy sessions with Master Kanomin he'd endured over the past few months. "Master Kanomin says my emotions are controlling me. I'm...working on it."

"I know it's not easy."

Initially skeptical of Ri's sympathy for his situation, he quickly realized the ten-year-old girl had been through just as much turmoil as he had. She had lost both of her parents and a half sister, all before much of her training, yet she still sat at his side calmly, patient with him through his moods. As odd as it sounded, he could probably learn a thing or two from her, if he ever got the chance to ask.

"Every time I make any progress...something comes up and knocks me back right where I started, or worse. It's an awful cycle. I just want to stop it, turn it off..."

"If it were that simple, we wouldn't need any guidance." Again struck by the girl's wisdom, Koril looked over at her as she continued softly. "The struggle makes it that much more worthwhile."

He didn't disagree, but still... "I didn't ask for this."

Ri smiled again, almost amused. "We didn't ask to be Royals, either. It's just who we are." Waiting to see an improvement in his expression, she quieted her voice once more. "You'll get a handle on it, Koril. I believe in you."

He had begun to respond with his gratitude when the Celestia's nav computer beeped, easing the ship out of hyperspace. The familiar sight of Coruscant's bustling activity quickly engulfed the viewport, forcing Koril to focus intently on the sensors and the calm chaos ahead of him. He navigated the ship easily enough, and once in the atmosphere headed to his contact's home, he could speak again.

"Do you know this agent we're going to see?"

"Ceyelle? No, I don't think so. But I haven't had much interaction with our deployed agents, anyway. Jec's handled that since Dad died."

"What about your Ghost Heirs?"

At that, Ri smiled warmly as she nodded. "The older one, my uncle. I met him about a year ago. He's very nice, and he reminds me a lot of my dad. He's about your age, you know."

Surprised, Koril blinked. "Your Master Heir is that young?"

Again, Ri nodded, answering him casually. "Our Tyro is just a year older than I am. I don't know who retired ahead of him... Like I said, Jec's been taking care of our business, since Uncle Veron won't, and Aunt Vianne is too busy with her sons."

Confused, Koril remained silent briefly, thinking through the Ghost Heirs he'd inadvertently met over the years. Of course he wasn't supposed to have contact with any of them besides his own, but five years ago, all of the Master Heirs had come together to help the disgraced former king Veon rescue his daughter Ri from a bounty hunter. Each of them looked so much like their Known Heirs, he didn't even have to ask which family they belonged to. The Banarecc Master Heir had indeed seemed young to him at the time, but he stood beside his older brother Veon, whose apparent age had advanced significantly with all the grief and stress he had borne in the wake of the Dalon Palace collapse and his exile. Except for the Banarecc, the other Master Heirs were roughly the same age, at least in their forties. It was odd that a Master Heir was nearly as old as others' Tyros...

Finally reaching their destination, Koril slowly lowered the Celestia down onto a vacant landing platform, easily settling her though her repulsors had kicked up a swirling cloud of dust and grime into the air. A ship so large hadn't landed there in quite some time, he figured, and he wasn't surprised. It wasn't exactly the friendliest of areas on the cityplanet, but then, not much of the Underlevels were. He knew that well from firsthand experience years ago.

He stood from the controls after the ship had completely powered down, and Ri did the same, pulling her dark brown travelling cloak over her shoulders. The lightsaber hilt hanging at her waist, now hidden, still seemed surreal to him, since he still saw her as a young girl, Paneau's Princess, not a Jedi. Regardless of what she had been, he now owed her more than he could repay after she had used her new lightsaber to defend his son Derek from the Kel Dor's first kidnapping attempt. Just like her mother, Ri had put her own safety at risk to save another. She was already well on her way to becoming an impressive Jedi.

But Coruscant was unforgiving, even for the most experienced of Jedi. "Stay close to me," he told her solemnly as he clasped his own cloak at his neck. Though the Celestia was emblazoned with the purple and crimson colors of the Rys'tihn Royal Family, he wore no distinctive Paneau clothing, and neither did Ri. Their goal was to remain as anonymous as possible once they left the ship; they had adopted dark and drab colored shirts and pants as their temporary uniforms.

Though it had been years since he had walked these dangerous streets himself, little had changed that he could remember. The surrounding buildings still looked as old, damaged and decrepit as he recalled, yet he and Ri were the only beings nearby that he could see. The alleys that had once been full of criminals and Coruscant's lowest of the low were now by contrast eerily vacant, unsettling him even more than a passing gang of thugs. He felt exposed and vulnerable, like they were walking into some kind of trap, but Ceyelle had secured the area in advance of their arrival, hadn't she?

Finally spotting the agent in a narrower alley up ahead, Koril gently ushered Ri forward with a hand at her shoulder, still keeping a wary eye around them. As they got closer, he could see a stern look of warning from Ceyelle, but like any good covert agent, she remained silent until they were both safely locked inside her compound.

"I don't understand why you had to come here just so I could tell you the same thing I told you two days ago: I don't know where she is!"

The disapproval in her tone was harsh enough, but hearing her usual calm Coruscanti accent faltering the slightest bit was even more off-putting. He knew it was going to be hard to convince her to share intel on his exiled Ghost Heir, but he had to try.

"Ceyelle, you were the last person to have any contact with her," he began carefully. "You even helped her when she became sick. You have to have some idea of where she would've gone."

Though her expression remained the same, Koril noticed her gaze momentarily lingered on Ri beside him before she returned to him. "Yes, I helped her, but I shouldn't have." Closing her eyes almost immediately, Ceyelle released a slow breath, retracting her words. "I don't regret what I did for her," she confessed, briefly more sympathetic as she looked back up at him. "But it has put me in a very delicate situation. If the other Heirs find out how I was involved with her recovery..."

"They won't."

Koril's assurance only influenced Ceyelle's demeanor minimally, prompting him to plead even more. "I need to talk to her, please. One of our covert agents is missing, and Deilia is the only one who knows how to find her."

Ceyelle had been a Banarecc covert agent for years; she was quite experienced and knowledgeable, one of the few Koril had worked with who was employed by a Royal Family other than his own. The genuine shock on her face as she processed what he had said was completely unmasked; she made absolutely no effort to hide the fact that she knew nothing of the incident. He struggled to to recover from his own surprise.

"Milowi Jax was attacked and taken from her home. I have to find her, Ceyelle. I owe Major Jax and his family that much."

Still speechless, Ceyelle hardly moved. Surely she knew the grim significance of a covert agent's abduction, but she also seemed to be reeling from the realization that she may have been kept intentionally in the dark by the Royal Family that employed her. Swallowing hard, she began forming words to speak, but it was another female voice from behind them that spoke up first, freezing Koril's breath in his chest.

"Who? Who took her?"

Though he immediately knew that it was his twin sister Deilia who had spoken, the woman he turned around to see looked almost nothing like her.