Here is more!

Last time: A mystery woman arrived to a homestead. And Sasha pulled Selina in the mindspace, but was taken back to Vestora when she was first on the run. She fell down a dark path and became one of Dracula's newest Acolytes.

Now: We see what really happened when Sasha entered the mindspace.


Part 1 Chapter 1- What Is Going On?

"I'll be the judge of that," Sasha snarled as she marched forward towards Selina. Once she was within arms reach, she seized Selina by the wrist before she could react.

The two were frozen in time as Sasha pulled Selina into the mindspace. But not even a heartbeat later Sasha collapsed, unconscious. It felt like slow motion as it happened. One second she was fine and then the next her body went slack as she fell to her knees and twisted to the ground in a heap, unmoving.

That brought Kyr out of his horrified, despondent panic. Selina staggered back, her eyes wide as she looked around.

Kyr unsheathed his knife and started stalking towards Selina, his voice deathly calm. "What have you done?" He demanded in a low growl.

Selina looked at him, looking like she wanted to say something, then back down at Sasha's unconscious form.

"What did you do to my wife? What have you done to my sister?" He demanded, still in a deathly calm growl. He stalked forward and grabbed her by the throat, shoving her back against the wall, and chains jangled from the movement. His other hand brought his knife up to her throat.

Selina yelped and made choking sounds. "Stop!" She said, looking up at him.

"WHERE?!" Kyr yelled at her, all the hate, all the anger, all the pain and fear coming through his voice, amplified by his buy'ce as he glowered down at her. There was a thin red line of blood that traced along the edge of the blade at her throat.

"It's me," Selina said, her voice choked off.

"What?" Kyr yelled, his grip on her loosening.

"Cyar'riduur, it's me." She said through her choked voice.

Kyr stood frozen as he looked at Selina, still holding her in place, still staring at her. "You don't say that." He seethed as his grip tightened, "whatever game you're playing I won't fall for it."

Selina gasped in his grip struggling to say something. "What… may yet… be." She managed to wheeze out.

Kyr froze, under his buy'ce his eyes widened in shock. His grip loosened, and Selina fell to her knees, coughing and choking, trying to catch her breath as Kyr stumbled backward a step, his arm lowering as he stared at her.

Kelce, who had been watching the scene with a tenseness about him and confusion written all over his face, moved forward cautiously, keeping an eye on Selina. He knew what this woman was capable of as he thought back to when they found Kyr in a room similar to this one. He didn't trust her and knew he had to get Sasha away from her.

Once he was at Sasha's side, Kelce knelt down and rolled her gently onto her back. Her head rolled to the side as he moved her and he could see the subtle rise and fall of her chest. So she was still alive. He pulled out his scanner and started to assess what her situation was. As he did that, he subtly glanced up at Kyr. "What's going on?" He asked the Mando as Scamp, Troy and the Marines filed into the room as well.

Kyr stood there in shock, just staring at Selina as she recovered, still coughing and taking deep, gasping breaths.

"The hell?" Scamp gasped. "Is that Selina?" He asked rhetorically as he stared at her for a moment. She matched the description Sasha and Cien had given them back before the assault against the Gold Leaf as well as the holo on file from the militia on Caranas. Especially in a room like this. Whether it was her or not, he wasn't taking any chances and based on how Kyr was reacting to her, it was easy to put the pieces together. He turned to the marines. "Arrest her."

Two of the marines nodded and moved forward to bind Selina's wrists and take her into custody.

Wynnie stepped forward to Kyr's side. "Colonel?" She asked quietly.

Kyr was standing there, his breath shaking under his buy'ce. He turned to Kelce. "Is Sasha okay?" He asked, trying to focus on anything but Selina and what she had said.

Kelce frowned and looked up to him. "The scanner registered her vitals and they are just fine. She's alive, but she's not responding. It's almost as if she is in a deep, deep sleep," he explained, solemnly. "I'll need to perform further tests to know what is going on."

The Admiral's voice cut into their comline. "All forces be advised, commander Taipan has surrendered. Boarding procedures will begin at once, and all Imperial forces have been ordered to stand down. Surrender ROE is in effect. Stay cautious."

The marines were helping Selina get to her feet and putting her in binders. Kyr didn't look as he focused on Sasha. "Shades." He called into his comline. "Can you dock at the neck airlock? We need a medevac. Now."

"On it. Meet you there." Shade's voice called back.

Scamp looked at Troy as the marines ushered Selina towards the door. "Get her out of here and locked away in the cells on the Defiant. And make sure a guard detail is on her at all times, is that understood?" He said seriously.

Troy nodded. "Yes sir."

Scamp nodded as Troy turned and followed his marines out with Selina. Scamp glanced back at the others before following his step-son out.

Kelce put the scanner away and moved to pick up Sasha. He still had his expandable stretcher, but wanted to save that for Cien and he hadn't brought a spare. He cursed himself for not thinking of bringing an extra as he got his arms around her shoulders and under her knees. He then stood up with Sasha in his arms, adjusting her slightly so she would be comfortable.

"Viran." Kyr called into his comline. "Can you guys meet us up at the neck airlock?" Kyr said numbly. "Sasha is unconscious, Kelce says she's fine but you should be up here with her."

"What? What happened?" Viran asked, worriedly from the other side of the comm. "Never mind. I'll be there soon." He hung up the comm.

Kyr numbly followed Kelce and Sasha out, keeping a wary eye out as he always did for any Imperial forces, but his mind churning as Selina's words went through his mind. What… may yet… be. Such profoundly simple words that would only ever mean anything to him and Cien. And Cien would never have any reason to give that up to Selina no matter what torture there was. Selina wouldn't have known to ask, and Cien wouldn't have had any reason to give it to her. He closed his eyes, trying to keep himself together as Wynnie walked at his side and they escorted Kelce who was carrying his unconscious sister to the airlock. Already they were passing boarding teams of marines that were filling the ship, and here and there a few stormtroopers or Imp officers who were under guard, kneeling on the ground with their hands clasped behind their head.

Sasha knew Cien was aboard this ship. She knew she was up here, somewhere in this section. She had to be aboard, he would search every damn room until he found her, hoping without hope that she would, somehow, be miraculously safe along with their children. But with every footstep he took all he could think of was what Selina would have done to her as he tried to keep himself together.

Kelce glanced down at Sasha in his arms, adjusting her slightly so her head rested more against his arm rather than hanging limpy over his forearm. He then looked past her to Kyr. "Colonel? Are you okay?" He asked, quietly as they walked along to the airlock.

Kyr didn't answer as he numbly walked along.

Kelce frowned and looked ahead as the airlock came into sight. "Sasha will be okay, Kyr. I will see to it. And you will find Cien. Don't give up hope and don't let that woman's words fog your mind," he advised gently. "Here." He gestured towards his pack. "Take my expandable stretcher, just in case." The item in question hung on the side of his pack. Even though he said that last part to Kyr, he looked at Wynnie when he said it, hoping that she would take his suggestion.

Wynnie took the offered stretcher, since the Colonel made no move, and slung it around her shoulder and took a step back.

Viran appeared from around the corner that led towards the turbolift. He spotted Kyr first. "Kyr! Where is she? Where's Sasha?" He asked pleadingly as he ran forward.

That shook Kyr out of his stupor as he looked up. "Here." He said, looking to Kelce.

Kelce came to a stop and turned to face Viran, revealing Sasha in his arms. Viran picked up his pace as he ran over and came to a stop before Kelce, looking over his unconscious wife in the medic's arms.

"What happened?" Viran asked, worriedly as he looked up at Kelce then at Kyr. "Did you guys find Cien?"

Kyr started to speak and couldn't bring himself to.

Wynnie piped up. "We… we found Selina. Sasha tried to do the hand thing and interrogate her but she went unconscious. We didn't find Cien." She glanced up at her despondent Colonel. "Yet."

"The hand thing?" Viran asked, then looked at Sasha. "She used the mindspace?" Kelce nodded. That made Viran's face drop. "She's still in there?" His facial expression then hardened. "Is Selina still in there too? Is she unconscious?"

"No," Kelce shook his head. "She is awake and under arrest at the moment."

Viran breathed out as he ran a hand over his face. "This isn't good."

"No, it's not." Kyr said, finally. "I'm going to keep looking, do a room by room search if we have to. Stay with Sasha, keep her safe." Kyr asked, his voice almost an order.

"I will," Viran said without question. "May the Force be with you, Kyr." He looked up at Kelce. "Let's get her out of here."

Kelce nodded. He looked at Kyr. "Everything will be okay, Colonel." He promised as he followed Viran to the airlock.

"I'll go with you Colonel." Wynnie said, glancing between all three as they all started walking.


Kyr stood before the door that led to the VIP suite that was meant to be the sleeping quarters for whatever moff or grand admiral or emperor might have graced the ship during the time of the Empire. But since… She had commandeered the office space to turn it into another recreation of the gallery, he had to assume she was the one pulling the strings behind all of this.

Selina had survived, whatever Cien had done to her when they had come to rescue him. Cien had been certain she was dead, but she had been playing them all along. She had resurfaced, back in charge of the cartel. More careful, more in the shadows than ever. She was, somehow, in charge of this Imperial Remenant cell; Jiardon's lost squadron. How the hell she had been able to take charge of it he had no idea. But she had. Which meant the forces they had fought on Caranas, the Imperial Remenant that was there, that had been her doing. Cordova had been her puppet. All of it to continue her psychopathic need for revenge. He stood in front of the door, Wynnie at his side, and he didn't have the strength to hit the keypad to open the door because he was terrified, more deeply than he had ever been in his life, of what he might find inside.

"Colonel, Wynnie," Nova's voice called from behind them as she ran up to join them. "Kelce called me and told me what happened. Are you okay?" She asked as she slowed to a stop behind them.

Kyr looked at her, then back to the door. "These are Selina's quarters." He said in a numb voice.

"O-oh." Nova looked at the door then at Kyr with a frown. "Well, um, we found out their hyperdrive is blown," she informed them, swallowing.

"Why?" Kyr asked, looking at her quizzically.

"We looked into it, but someone knocked out their hyperdrives in just the right spot so as not to cause the whole system to explode," Nova explained. "They did it well before we arrived."

"They did what you guys were going to do?" Kyr asked, confused.

"Someone did. Dravis is looking into the security footage to see who did it," Nova said, shrugging.

Kyr nodded and looked back at the closed door, still frozen in place.

"Want me to get the door?" Wynnie quietly asked. She had been standing at his side for quite some time before Nova had come up.

Kyr glanced down at her, and looked at Nova in his surround view cameras. He sighed and shook his head, gathering himself, and he pushed the button.

The door slid open. There was a large, comfortable receiving room on the other side, something lavish enough for the Emperor to make due in a pinch. To their right was a dining room that could double as a comfortable conference room. To their left was a private office space. Beyond those two rooms at the end of a broad corridor was a comfortable living space with windows that looked out across the breadth of the star destroyer's hull as it spread before them. It was furnished with some pieces of art that looked like they could have come out of the same warehouse that supplied every known hotel.

Kyr took a step into the receiving room, not really seeing anything noteworthy, and not really having had any idea what he might have pictured for Selina's personal quarters. There were less brimstone and flames, he numbly supposed.

"What are we looking for?" Nova asked carefully as she stepped into the room, looking around curiously.

"Anything." Kyr said, swallowing, looking around. "Sasha sensed Cien up here, we're looking for any evidence of… where she is." He said.

"Okay." Nova nodded and walked further into the room. She stepped over to the door that led to the bedroom to begin her search there.

Wynnie followed Kyr as he stepped into the office space. There were the ubiquitous two chairs that were in front of a broad desk made out of a rich inlay of wood with a grand and plush leather chair behind the desk. Kyr took the room in with one long sweeping look. He froze when he saw what was on the desk.

Wynnie swallowed seeing what was on the desk as well. "Nova?" She called, asking for help.

Nova hurried over from the bedroom. "What…" She saw they were looking at the desk and followed their gaze as she finished her sentence. "...is it… oh." She said gulping. She looked back up at Kyr, trying not to frown. "Colonel?"

He walked forward as his heart tightened in his chest. Cien's lightsaber. Her beskar ring. Her heart piece, still attached to the simple chain she had worn it on under her robes when she had been at the conference. They were laying on the desk, he put his hand on her saber. She never let him handle it before. He swallowed as he picked it up, his other hand he reached for her ring and her heart piece, holding them out before him. Looking at these artifacts of his wife that she would never have left behind.

"Kyr?" Nova said gently as she came to his side. She wasn't sure what else to say.

Kyr just stood frozen, looking between the items in his hands.

"Kyr, I'm sure she is okay and around here somewhere," Nova said as comfortingly as she could. "Those were maybe just confiscated from her." She said trying to sound hopeful, but feeling the doubt in her own words.

"Yeah, we'd take this kind of stuff if we captured a high ranking Imp." Wynnie said, trying to sound reassuring.

Kyr closed his eyes in the privacy of his bucket as his head fell. "Maybe." He said quietly to the other two.

"Come on," Nova said quietly. "Let's keep checking this floor and see if we can find her so you can return those to her."

Kyr nodded, putting the ring and the heart piece in one of his pouches. Her lightsaber, for lack of anything else to do, he clipped it to his waist belt. "Was there anything else in here you saw?" He asked, turning to Nova.

"No, nothing of interest, but I hadn't finished looking when you guys called me over," Nova answered. "I'll go finish my search." She said as she walked back over to the bedroom to finish looking for any other clues.

Kyr nodded and followed her. The rest of the suite seemed neatly organized, like someone had barely lived in it. There were no possessions, nothing to really make it feel like it was anything other than temporary quarters for a guest who would be gone in a week after being here for only a few days.

"Colonel, Scamp, Nova, anyone here?" Dravis' voice came over the Copper's comline.

"Nova here. I've got the Colonel with me," Nova answered first.

"Scamp here too. Go ahead, Dravis," Scamp responded on the other end of the comm.

"I think I might have something. I found some internal sensor recordings that show… something. I think it might be good news but I need Tac and QT to help me restore it. Someone tried to wipe it while we were boarding." Dravis informed them.

"What is it?" Kyr asked warily.

"I want to clean it up before I say something definitive." Dravis said.

"How long will it take to clean it up?" Scamp asked.

"Not sure. I'm taking the file back to my lab. I'm hoping we can get Tac and QT to meet up with ROVR in my lab to recover it and we can get back to you by the end of the day?" He said hopefully.

"Dravis." Kyr said, his tone belying absolutely no patience. "What do you think you have?" He asked.

"Someone escaping from the ship." Dravis replied simply.

Kyr looked over to Nova and Wynnie at that.


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