A few long hours later Savage had reached their home ship. He set Talon down in the refresher shower and turned the shower nozzle on her. She moaned in the refreshing feel of the water. He watched the dried blood fall off her face and run down her arm. Small amounts of blood dripped down her arm slightly. He grabbed a medical wrap from the first aid kit. Talon weakly pushed his hand away from the long cut on her arm,
"It's fine… it'll… stop bleeding… eventually."
Savage ignored her and wrapped her arm,
"It'll make me feel less worried."
They sat in silence for a few minutes, Savage tending to Talon. Talon weakly placed a hand over her stomach and felt the weak Force pulses of the little growing life. Savage pretended not to notice, but snuck a glance. Talon passed out on the wall of the shower. Savage removed her hand and felt for himself the small radiating waves. He smiled weakly when he felt them and tears welled up slightly in his eyes. The baby wasn't even born yet and they were already getting attached to it. He lightly stroked Talon's stomach before resuming his working over checking her over and cleaning her off.
About an hour later Savage had Talon in his arms again and gently set her down in their bed. She opened her eyes,
"Savage."
"Yes Talon?" Savage replied gently.
"Don't go on the mission." Talon pleaded.
He sighed,
"I have no choice. I refuse to put your life in jeopardy again. I can't lose the only family I have left."
"You've got Maul…" Talon said quietly. Savage shook his head,
"I lost Maul the moment he planned to kill you. All I've got left now is you and the baby. And I'd be damn well stupid if I ignored Talzin's request. She's already made her threat quite clear."
Talon sighed and relax her head onto the pillow,
"Well don't take too long on your mission. We've only got about 3 or 4 months before the baby is due."
"Finding the witch will be easy. It's getting close to Dooku that's going to be hard." Savage replied, "Get some sleep. I'm going to secure the ship and I'll be right back."
Talon nodded and fell back asleep almost immediately. Savage was not going to sleep tonight. He needed to find an arrangement for Talon and then he planned to guard the ship until morning.
The next morning Savage careful moved everything Talon would need into the orphanage where the newly acquired Nightbrothers were kept. Except the keeper of the building, Kye, had a room separated to give Talon some peace.
"Thanks Kye for putting her up. I'd take her with me, but I'm sure Talzin would find out and galaxy knows how she'd react." Savage said.
"It's no problem Savage. It'll be good for the recruiting boys to have some female interaction, but I'll make sure they don't over exercise this privilege." Kye replied. Savage looked around the room,
"Everything's set except the sleeping beauty herself."
He walked back to the ship to retrieve Talon. He gathered her in his arms, called her lightsaber to his hand and carried her into the village. The other Nightbrothers saw Talon's conditioned and grew concerned. Savage nodded to them to assure them she was okay for the moment.
He arrived back at the orphanage and quietly hurried up the stairs to the back bedroom. Kye was guarding the doors. Savage gently set her down into the bed, set her saber hilt under her sleeping hands, and motioned for Kye to follow him.
"Kye, do not let any of the boys steal her weapon. It's not a dingy sword and they don't want to have to deal with her temper. Also I want two guards outside her room at night. Oh and here," Savage passed him a comlink, "contact me if she causes any trouble or goes into labor early. I don't know how soon I'll be back. Just make sure she's comfortable." Savage explained. Kye bowed,
"Of course Savage. I will go speak to Viscus about guards, I wish you luck on your mission."
Savage thanked him and turned to say goodbye to Talon. She was slowly waking when he walked back in,
"Hello my beauty." He cradled her in his arms and planted a kiss on her lips,
"I'm leaving soon. I have ensured you have all you will need."
Talon looked up at him with pleading eyes,
"I wish you didn't have to go…"
"I don't want to, but if it's to keep you safe…" Savage whispered. They kissed each other for a few minutes before Savage pulled away. He held her face in his hands,
"I love you."
"I love you too."
And with that they departed. Talon tried to relax and Savage mournfully started the engines of the ship. He hung his head as it lifted out of the atmosphere. He punched in the coordinates to Tatooine and prepared himself.
As tired as Talon was from her experience the previous night she was ultimately awake since Savage had left a few moments before. She lied in her makeshift bed for a few minutes before painfully pulling herself out. As she groaned out of bed a pale yellow Zabrak poked his head in to check in on her.
"Yes? Can I help you?" Talon asked rudely. The Zabrak grinned,
"No, but can I help you?"
Talon bared her teeth at him,
"No I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself!"
"Maybe so, but Savage left YOU in MY care. So it is my business to make sure you are comfortable." The Nightbrother replied. Talon huffed,
"I don't need a babysitter. I'm fine by myself. I'm only thankful your allowing me to stay here while he's away."
Just as she had finished talking she lost her balance slightly from loss of blood and the trauma on her body still visible. The Nightbrother rushed forward to help her stand,
"You've had a rough night. Let me call a Nightbrother forward and we will take you to a hot spring to relax your body. After that you can be free to do whatever you wish."
Talon stayed silent, quietly accepting the help. The Nightbrother nodded and left to call a younger Nightbrother to help him take her to a hot spring.
"Jorax, come forward and take this lady to a hot spring." The older Zabrak ordered.
"Yes Brother Kye."
Jorax wrapped an arm around Talon's waist and helped her hobble out of the orphanage. Talon was actually thankful for the young warrior's help. She had a horrible headache and she could actually not see straight. Her walk wavered a little.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Jorax asked, concerned.
"Yes I'm fine. I had a… hard night and got my head screwed up with. Why is everyone so concerned with my well-being?" Talon asked.
"Because Opress is the first warrior to ever return to us so that is a big thing to our village. Even though we are split into tribes, we take care of one another the best we can. You are also the first female not be rude to us or kill any of us, so we respect you. You are also Opress's mate and since he is now very much respected, we want to celebrate his return which also includes following his orders to the fullest." Jorax explained.
"Oh… That is very kind of you all. But you have to understand I'm very much unaccustomed to such a luxury. I was raised to take care of myself on everything and was harshly treated to make me into the assassin I am." Talon told him.
"I will keep that in mind and mention it to Kye. Maybe then he will be a little more lenient on your wishes." Jorax replied, "Well here we are. Make yourself comfortable in the waters and I will return in an hour to escort you back into the village and then you are free to do whatever you please." Jorax said. He bowed and left. Talon sighed, she was glad to have some alone time. Before she leisured herself to the welcoming waters she sat down and meditated for 30 minutes.
Once she had achieved her mind into a blank state she reveled back onto her promise to Viscus and decided today she would start to fulfill that promise to him. Talon stripped her clothes and lowered herself into the water. The warm water seeped into the long wound on her arm and opened it slightly. She put some pressure on the wound and it stopped bleeding. She sank lower into the spring and dozed a little.
"Milady?" Jorax softly called. Talon's eyes shifted open,
"Yes Jorax?"
"I'm back. It's about an hour since I left. I will give you a few moments to dress and then off to the village we go." Jorax told her. Talon rose out of the water and put her clothes back on. She called to Jorax to signal she was ready. He walked out from behind a boulder and motioned for her to follow him. She did. Soon they were back into the village, which was somewhat quiet.
"Well you are free to do as you wish now. Normally Kye closes the doors of the orphanage after sundown, but I think for the time you're staying with us, he'll leave them open all night." Jorax said to her. He then turned and left to head off to the training grounds. Talon stood wondering what to do next. She decided to visit Viscus. She strode towards his building. Inside he was sitting alone, studying a map of Dathomir.
"Hello Viscus. I have come to ask you permission to allow me to teach today's younglings session." Talon said simply. Viscus looked up,
"My dear… Not to sound rude, but your clearly in no fighting shape."
"Ah but you see Viscus… Being a strong warrior is not all about physical condition. It's also being a strong manipulator, knowing how to use your words, and using your mind. The brain's a muscle and the more you use it the more effective it becomes." Talon explained to him, 'Imbecile. To think a warrior is all strength, so much more to an excellent warrior' Talon thought. She stood awaiting his response. Viscus sat, debating his answer,
"Fine. Let's see if the young warrior's learn anything from your teachings. Once you've birthed your child though, I expect you to teach the younglings your excellent fighting skills."
Talon smiled,
"I expected no more of you."
She turned and left with a note from Viscus of his decision. She hurriedly made her way to the training grounds. She was desperate to redeem herself after her failure to turn a Skywalker descendent to the dark side. Even though she was no longer with her master, she would not fail him for the future.
She stepped down the last step and saw the young warriors working on a type of martial arts form. She also saw that Verun was the one teaching today.
"Hello Verun. I have asked Viscus to allow me to teach the session today. I have proof of his allowance too." Talon said and showed him the note. Verun sighed and gave control of the class over to her.
"Hello young ones. You all know me as Savage Opress's companion, but my name is Darth Talon. When I teach though you will address me as Master Talon," she looked at Jorax, who was in the class, "Today's lesson will be in clearing your mind and using it to reach out to the Force. Those of you without will be of use to your tribe. Those with will be just as important, if not more even." Talon said. Talon sat down into her meditative position,
"Follow my lead." She instructed. They did.
"Now close your eyes and think of nothing," she said, "This might be hard the first few times, but eventually you will get the idea easily."
One Zabrak boy spoke,
"Actually this is easier for us than you think. Leader Verun and warrior Opress, taught us to clear our minds to figure out our opponents."
"Good. It's a very useful method for all sorts of situations." Talon replied. Soon she felt all the boys' minds cleared and focused,
"Now. Reach out with your mind and think of Force and how it guides us. If it is meant to be it will make itself apparent to you."
"How will we know if we have it?" a Zabrak boy asked. Talon stayed motionless and focused on lifting one of the tribal pillars stationed to the ground. The boys all looked and saw one of the pillars lift the air and stay there. They looked awed,
"That is how you will know. When the impossible becomes possible." Talon stated. The boys went back into concentration. They thought of the pillars lifting into the air. Talon heard the noise of rock slightly separating. She saw 2 pillars lift. Quickly she searched through the class and found the 2 boys who were showing potential. One young warriors was red and the other was a fierce orange. Talon smiled, double the apprentices, double the redemption. She focused back onto the lesson.
"Good for those of you who demonstrated potential. Now let us move onto the art of manipulation." She stood up now, motioning for the boys to do the same,
"Find their greatest emotion and use it in your aid. An example is if they want something, use it to taunt them into a trap. I don't mean using this method in the childish manner. I mean with words. Such as accomplishment, anger, attachment etc. Use their emotion to your advantage. For now I'd like you to pick a partner and each of you play the prey and then switch."
She turned to Verun and flashed a smile. He walked up to her,
"How is any of this teaching them to be warriors?"
She turned to him,
"Not to be a bitch Verun, but none of you seem to realize a great warrior isn't just strength. It's also knowing how to get your enemy to do what you want without force."
"So what was the point of your first lesson?" Verun asked.
"That was to find who has the potential to be an apprentice to me or Savage. Although Savage needs to be finished. But I'm thinking of asking Viscus to cut them out of the regular training and put them under my training once I'm back into fighting shape." Talon explained. Verun shook his head,
"He won't. The point of their training is to mold them into Dathomir warriors and be able to pass their Passage to receive the name of being an official Nightbrother to the village. They are about 5-6 months away from achieving that." Verun told her. Talon shrugged her shoulders,
"For now that is fine. I'm not able to teach much more than just the basics of conditioning their minds. And Savage is away so he cannot aid in physical conditioning. And if they still have not completed their trials once I have given birth that's fine. It will give Savage and I time to figure out our schedule with our child. If I have to play by some of Viscus's rules to be able to stay here in the village then I will."
Verun only nodded.
The rest of Talon's day consisted of teaching other sessions to rest of each tribes children. By the end of the day she was ready for a good meal and to fall asleep. But before she fell asleep, she sent Savage a message through the Force,
"I miss you Savage. It is odd to be stranded on a planet I do not know without you. I hope you will return to me soon."
Savage arrived on Tatooine within almost a day. He landed the ship well outside a city to have it hidden from thieves. He also left the deflector shields up. He had heard from his brother long ago of little alien people who loved to dissemble any machinery.
He walked down the boarding ramp and began his walk into the city. Surprisingly it only took him a few hours to reach the city. He walked through, trying his best to seem as though he belonged there. He wandered aimlessly, although he was sending dark Force waves through the Force for any response back. He felt a faint pulse. Through his mind's eye he searched the city, but found the signal to be out of the city and farther away. He grunted. He did not want to have to move his ship and look for a new hiding spot. Savage then noticed a somewhat decent speeder parked. He jumped on it and revved the engine. He heard a shout and felt a hand grab his arm. He growled, expecting the grip on his arm to disappear. It didn't. Using his brute strength he threw whoever was holding him backwards. He heard the crash and then sped out of town.
He rode for only 30-45 minutes, following the dark signal, before reaching another city. Savage junked the speeder and strode through. This city was much more livelier than the other had been. He followed the pulse to a cantina. Inside he was hit with all sorts of emotions, mostly cockiness and inebriated individuals. He walked up to the bar.
"What'll it be stranger?" the bartender asked.
"How do you know I'm a stranger?" Savage asked. The bartender cocked a smile,
"Because only thugs come into this bar and I've seen the face of every thug on Tatooine and you ain't one of them."
"I'll have a bottle of bourbon." Savage said answering the bartender's previous question.
"A glass of bourbon coming up." The bartender said.
"I said a bottle." Savage said, his voice becoming deep and rough.
"You got it."
Savage turned his head, searching for a pale bald head of a Nightsister. From what he could see he didn't find it. He turned back and found his bottle in front of him. He twisted the cap off and took a swig. She would come soon enough he was sure.
"I said a bottle."
Asajj's eye's widened. She knew that voice. She looked around uneasily. Her friend noticed her uneasiness,
"What's wrong?"
"Someone from my past is here." Asajj answered.
"So? The past is the past." Her friend said.
"The past, if left unfinished can come back to haunt you and kill you." Asajj added.
She looked around and saw the hunking figure of the creation she had helped. She watched him look around and return back to his drink. 'Why the hell is he here? What does he want from me?' she thought. She then remembered the other asshole he had been with the last time she fought him, 'If he's here the other one must be here too' she thought. Quickly she looked for a red cyborg Zabrak. She didn't see him anywhere. She watched him and leave and decided to follow him. She would end him once and for all and be rewarded with the bounty on his head.
"I've got some business to take care of. I'll pick up the tab later." She told her friend and then left. Asajj followed the massive Zabrak into the city. He weaved down the street, stopping at various street businesses. Asajj kept herself hidden and had her helmet over her head to keep her identity hidden from him.
Savage knew she had found him and was now following him. 'If finding Dooku is this easy I'll be back in no time to Talon. But I've got to make it seem like I don't know that Nightsister bitch is following me' he thought. He stopped at a few street businesses. Finally he turned down an alleyway. He stopped when he heard the feather light footsteps.
"Glad to know you've found me Nightsister witch." He greeted her.
"What are you doing here? Where's your accomplice?" Asajj asked him curtly.
"He and I have parted ways. I'm here for you." Savage said.
"You won't live to have the chance to capture me!" Asajj shouted. She flew at Savage and launched a flurry of attacks on him. Savage quickly countered all her attacks.
"I'm not here to capture you! Talzin sent me to give you a message!" Savage said loudly over the humming of the lightsabers.
"Oh? Even after how she left alone after the battle with Dooku's army? Yeah right!" Asajj retorted. Savage growled, 'Guess I'll just have to defeat her'. He launched a defensive attack against her. He pushed her back. She ran up the wall and leapt over his head. He quickly turned and stopped her sabers from plunging into his back. He twirled, having both ends of his saber swing in a circle in an attempt to graze her. She saw this and ducked at each swing. He stopped and used all his strength to push down on her. She dropped to one knee and tried to push back on him to gain the upper hand again. But she couldn't. Savage kicked out her other knee and she fell onto her back. Before she could react Savage had her in a Force choke. He held her in the air.
"Now if you'll listen! I didn't want to come on this mission but I had no other choice! If I could right now I'd snap your neck, but I can't. Talzin sent me here to tell you to come back to Dathomir. I don't know why she'd want you to come back. And I'd do it if I were you because if she rips my life apart again I will come back for you and this time I won't be so easy on you. This time I won't fail my heart's desire!" Savage said breathlessly. He dropped Asajj and turned to leave. He needed to move on with his second assignment.
"Wait! How am I suppose to get back?" Asajj asked.
"That's your problem. I need to find Dooku now that I'm done with you." Savage answered.
"Are you on a suicide mission? After how you tried to kill him he'll kill you the instant he sees you!" Asajj exclaimed. She was shocked that the warrior she had help create would take on a suicide assignment.
"If I want my life to stay in one piece I have to do this! If I had a choice in any of this I wouldn't be here!" Savage said. Asajj wondered what he meant. She didn't recall him doing much except being an apprentice to the cyborg Zabrak.
"If I help you find Dooku will you allow me passage onto your transport?" Asajj asked. Savage stopped walking.
"Why would you help me track down Dooku?" he asked.
"That bastard destroyed my life. He destroyed my home, killed my sisters, and now I'm living a life of hiding in the shadows." Asajj told him.
"Your home isn't destroyed. Just the part you actually called home. My side is safe from your craziness." Savage said. He continued to walk. Asajj took his statement as a yes. She limped out of the alleyway and followed him.
He walked back into the cantina and looked through the database there. He saw it was mostly wired to show wanted bounties. He quickly saw the one with his face on it and chose that one. Before anyone could recognize him, he rewired it to show the recent Separatists attacks. He found a few on another planet. He quickly brought the datachip he had stored on the ship and downloaded the recent attack files. He motioned for Asajj to follow him. She hobbled up the stairs and to his stolen speeder. He settled himself on it and grudgingly motioned for her to get on behind him. She did. She touched as least as she could. Soon enough they arrived at his ship. She almost laughed when she saw it,
"This is your ship? Did a girl pick it out for you? For a Nightbrother I expected something junkier!"
Savage growled,
"At least no one will expect a beast such as me to exit it and wreak havoc. It's a good cover."
Asajj laughed,
"Maybe so but it's such a…regal ship for a Zabrak."
Savage growled louder this time. He decided to take the stolen speeder with him. He loaded it down in the engines room and shut the boarding ramp. He then proceeded to cockpit and installed the datachip into the communication table. Immediately all the information popped up. He clicked on the most recent attack and set the ship's coordinates to it. He sat deeper in the pilot seat as he navigated the ship off Tatooine and into the space. Asajj stood up.
"Where are you going?" Savage asked.
"To the refresher. Since when is it your business where I'm going?" Asajj snapped.
"I don't trust you. For all I know you're planting a bomb in my engines to explode when we stop." Savage retorted.
"Right… I'm going to blow up your ship so neither of us can return to Dathomir." Asajj shot back.
"You don't even want to go back!" Savage shouted. Asajj scoffed and left. She walked into the refresher to wash her face off. She looked in the shower and noticed a woman's shirt lying on the ground. 'He's been busy I see' she thought, 'I'll do some sneaking around. He'll be too busy looking for any tracks of Dooku to notice.' She snuck around the rest of the ship and noticed the newly remodeled living area turned into a training area. She then proceeded to the master bedroom and noticed the ruffled sheets. She looked in the closet and saw an expensive looking pair pf black pump heels. 'Has he got himself a girlfriend?' she though, 'It'll be a surprise if any woman could ever love him.'
Asajj finished snooping in the bedroom and was walking back to the cockpit when she noticed a room full of new furniture. She walked through the doors and gasped. The room had been turned into what was obviously a nursery.
"Helping track down Dooku doesn't mean searching through my ship." A deep voice said behind her. Asajj spun around, her eyes blazing.
"Is this your plan? Lure me into following you with a "message" from Talzin when all your really going to do is force me to bear a child as by Dathomir tradition?!" She screamed. Savage pulled her out of the room,
"No. I'm merely doing my mission so I can return home."
He dragged them both into the cockpit. Asajj was still confused and irritated, 'Why won't he tell me anything? Maybe he bought the ship like that and hasn't had time to rip all that junk out' she thought. She was so confused on his intentions, but she was almost sure he really was going on the hunt for Dooku.