-Than-

Upon returning to the Ascension, I was carried to the med bay by the Specs. When I came to, Ster and Stroh were standing by the bacta tank I was in. They said that I had a severe concussion and that the blade to the side cut much deeper than they thought and that I had lost a ton of blood. The good news was that most of the healing was done and that I would get to leave in a few hours, when everything would get better. However, they said that I would need to avoid doing anything physical for a few days and that as long as I took the pills they gave me, the concussion would heal perfectly.

After the med bay, I ate dinner in my chambers since loud noises hurt my head. Lysis dropped by and told me that Grellan may be coming soon. However, he still didn't know what he was doing or where he was. I found this altogether frustrating. He knew he might be coming, but had no idea what was going on? He had to be hiding information.

Later that night, I went to Lord Terrias's throne room to report on the mission, and was surprised to see a female in black robes that I didn't recognize standing next to him, laughing with the Sith Lord. I racked my brain for who she could possibly be and why at this time. A consort, perhaps? She wouldn't be the first.

As I approached the throne, Lord Terrias said "Than Valum. I trust your mission was a success?"

"Aye, m'lord." I kneeled before the Sith Lord. Normally, I had no need to kneel, but when Lord Terrias had guests, or company of any sort, I knew that the Sith Lord enjoyed flexing his power. I doubted she was nobility or had any clout, but since I had no idea who this woman was, I decided to play it safe.

"There's no need for that."

I stood and faced the woman. Human, blonde hair, blue eyes, slim frame. Lord Terrias always did have a fine eye for his companions.

"Than, meet Sylvia, one of the students Darth Grellan has been training."

So that's why he's been gone.

"Sylvia, meet Than Valum, or the Vindicator. He is one of the greatest Seyley warriors in our ranks."

"Pleasure to meet you," I said with an outstretched hand.

She smiled sweetly and shook my hand. "Pleasure's all mine," she said, her voice matching her beautiful features.

"You will be working with her to track down this 'Wort'."

"With all due respect, I believe that I am more than capable of tracking him down without assistance."

"I am fully aware of your capabilities. However, Sylvia is extremely capable as well, and I believe her talents will be required."

I wanted to continue arguing, but I held my tongue, knowing that I would not get anywhere. Instead, I asked "What about Grellan? Lysis mentioned that he might be here soon."

"He is on Malachor, training the other pupils. He won't make it here for a long time. A few minor setbacks have occurred."

Sylvia looked at him, confused, and asked "Did the Swiftflight's kill Jinks?"

Lord Terrias hesitated, which told us that that was indeed what had happened.

"I told Jinks to cut it out. To stop making fun of them. He had it coming," she said.

"Than, dismissed," Lord Terrias said quickly. Clearly Sylvia had said more than Lord Terrias would have liked.

I spent the majority of the next few days sleeping. The drugs helped a ton with that. They knocked me right out. Slowly, I could feel my head throbbing less and the pain behind my eyes disappearing.

I looked at the gibberish written before me. The ravings of Gayne Quelt. What he had said would have been thoroughly dismissed by me had it not been for Lysis mentioning a similar thing a few days back. Now I had to know what was going on, and I had to know what Gayne knew,

I heard the door open, but didn't glance up from the paper.

"Good evening."

When I heard the melodious voice, I stopped reading and looked up. Leaning on the frame was the slender figure of Sylvia. She was wearing black robes again, but these were more slimming and had red thread woven into them, giving them the hint of red while staying primarily black.

"Evening" I said curtly, and went back to reading. After a paragraph of Gayne raving about the Junel replacing the Seyley, I said "I don't remember letting you in."

"That's how you're gonna treat your new partner?" she asked as she waltzed in and took a seat in the chair in front of my desk.

"These are my own chambers. PERSONAL chambers," I said, disliking the way she said 'partner'.

"Oh, boo hoo."

I read a few more sentences, then asked "Why are you here?"

"I figured we should get to know each other. I mean, we are going to be spending a lot of time together."

"I prefer not to do that sort of stuff. Most partners I work with tend to die. Makes everything easier," I said without looking up at her.

"What if I promise that I won't die?"

I smiled quickly, but didn't look up.

"Why are the lights so dim?"

"Concussion. Still a little sensitive to light. And noise." I hoped that she would get the hint and leave me alone.

"Was that from the mission you reported to Terry when we met?"

"Terry?" I asked, shocked that she would refer to him as 'Terry' and not a more respectful name.

She shrugged. "I call him Terry. Not to his face, but he's Terry. So was it?"

"Yes."

She sat there, clearly waiting for me to say more. I was battling the urge to spill the details. When I didn't she said "Man of few words, huh?"

"I'm busy."

"With what?"

"Research about Wort."

Suddenly, the papers I was reading flew out of my hand and landed on the far corner of my desk. I glared at her angrily.

"We have plenty of time to do that later. I want to get to know you. To trust you."

I felt the anger disappear, almost unnaturally. I said "What exactly do you have in mind?"

"Oh, I don't know. How about a drink?"

"I can't."

"You can't you can't or you can't you won't?"

"I can't I can't. The concussion medicine specifically says no." Truthfully, that may have been the most painful part of the concussion. Reading on the pill bottle that I couldn't drink anything for a week.

"Alright, fine. Do you have anything here to drink?"

"Yep."

She waited for me to elaborate, or ask her if she wanted anything, but I refused to do that. I don't care how pretty you are, you aren't barging into my room, interrupting my work, and then ordering a drink. Finally, she asked "May I have some?"

I wanted so badly to tell her yes, she could have a drink at my place, but I pulled myself from the temptation and said "I can show you where a bar is."

Clearly shocked at my denial, she let out an eloquent "Uhm…"

"Here, let me show you." I stood up from behind the desk and led her to the door. When she stepped outside I said "Down the hall, make a right, make a left, then another right, and you're there."

Before I closed the door, she said "Wait!", and I thought I could see a hint of desperation in her eyes. She then pressed her hand gently on my chest where the circular scar was barely visible and asked "What's this from?"

I winced slightly at the touch, even though it didn't hurt me. It was more the memory that brought the pain. For some reason, I felt compelled to tell her. Quietly, I said "My brother was a traitor. For his crimes, my family died. All but me."

"I'm so sorry," she said softly. I became very conscious of her other hand, which was also softly pressing against my chest. I realized how closely we were standing, and that the hallway was empty. She was staring into my eyes, and I felt the overwhelming urge to kiss her. Slowly, I moved towards hers, and she did the same. When we were centimeters apart, I said quietly "You wanted trust?"

"Yes."

"Then stop trying to mess with my head," I said as I pulled away and slammed the door in her face.