The Dancing Mug

A bar, hotel, casino, you name it, it was here. The tinkerer stepped inside the place and found herself first confused, then overjoyed with the place as she looked around taking it all in. THERE WAS SO MUCH TECHNOLOGY! All sorts of computer terminals lined many tables, as well as many other items of note, even some holographic pads were set up in some areas of this massive apparently luxary resort for dancers to appear in holographic form. To Car Key it was the technology heaven she'd been looking for all her life. For Ston, her assistant it was a place to relax and not get shot in the ass by his boss.

Spotting the counter where there were two signs, "Check In Desk" and something in another langauge she could not read. Going over to it she decided now was a good time as any to find herself a room and bed down, maybe take the week off. So she went and checked in, then went back down to the bar.

Car Key noticed a few rooms and doors going to other places, yet she focused instead on finding a table, and watching the nearby holoterminal table for apparently a game going on of some sort called Animus Core Games. Wolfpack Session Seven. As she neared the table the seat floated up from the ground and she sat down and got comfortable. Ahhh, this was it, a nice place to properly relax. Car Key ordered a drink then. Along with some food. A Boga Nogus Burger.... That was new to try!

9 of clubs
4 of diamonds
6 of clubs

Hell's Fang pored over the cards carefully before waving her hand over the table. Around the table others did the same. The stoically put his hand on the table.

8 of hearts
10 of clubs
3 of spades

Around the table other players cursed as their money was collected and put before them. Fang just laughed and turned in her hand before collecting the chips she had left and bouncing off. Hmm... now what to do? The strip club was open and she almost went in before her stomach interrupted her. Fine. Food then. She strode over to the bar.

Inside was dark and warm, a cozy environment, if a bit crowded at present. Finding an empty seat at a table occupied by a tech-burdened woman , she plonked herself down on the seat that rose for her. She flashed an ID at the electronic waiter, letting him scan it. "A beer. Stella Artois if you have it." She peered at the menu briefly and then shrugged. "And whatever the woman across from me is having."

She leaned back and dropped the menu to the table again. "So. Who are you? How ya doin'?"

The woman barely looked up as she was already pulling wires out of the table to see how the thing worked if that. then again the woman was dangerous too as many of those wires were extrenely high tension, killer stuff at that. She barely looked up as someone joined her. But she did however look up when the order was given.

A woman....

No, a girl, young looking too, yet apparently allowed in by some means. The fact that Car Key was allowed in there alone was scary. Thank goodness for dataslates!

"Who I am and how I am are normally my business, yet sometimes my business becomes others and since my business is to make business and weapons for others, I guess the feeling is mutal" Car Key replied calmly, her hair sticking out haphazard in a few places due to electrical jolts as she fixed the holopad, now the dancer came up clearler. With a satisfied grunt Car Key put the wires back into their place and covered the table side back up with a solid smacking.

Looking back to the young woman Car Key half smiled. "Name's Car Key, captain of the Mayday Brigade, currently taking a rest after a recent battle not too long ago, letting my crew get some much needed R&R" She said, never offering her hand for a shake. Sometimes she did not exactly trust such folk to touch them right off until after she got to know them a bit.

Plenty of space in the local starport, and a big hotel casino nearby, this was the prefect place for a man of the cloth to go in search of those who needed their lives uplifted by the grace of NIRO. He was wearing recognizable desert attire and he checked his scepter at the door as was proper of him.

Ivan pulled back his hood as he entered, flashing his almost too perfect smile at some of the patrons he passed as he made his way further inside. He found himself seated next to some young women, one of whom was tinkering with their table's holodisplay. He wasn't sure if that was allowed in this establishment, but he kept his mouth closed.

He ordered a local entree and leaned back in his seat with a glass of water to await his meal, cybernetically enhanced hearing allowing him to listen in on the nearby conversation. The Mayday Brigade? He'd never heard of them, how curious.

Fang smiled, "The name's Hell's Fang. Pyromancer and an expert at dealing with paperwork."

The waiter came with the beer and Fang lifted it from the table, taking a sip and smiling even wider. "Ahh. Now that's a Terra beer all right." She raised the glass to the light. They've been making this stuff since 1947 and do they have it figured out." She half-emptied the glass and put it back down. "Business and weapons hmm? Sounds exciting. I can appreciate those." Her eyes fixated on the now working holopad. She filed the information away.

"Well Car Key, I asked you two questions and fair is fair. What would you like to know of me?"

"A pleasure" Car Key said in reply to the name being given, an interesting name yet in this galaxy who really gave a fuck to begin with anyhow ? Car Key surely did not. She only ran weapons when needed and even made weapons for those that wanted them as well. No questions asked. All in all it was a good life. Her own massive ship. the Neblun-B was perfect for both cargo storage as well as other items.

She smiled when Fang mentioned the drink raising her own in a toast "Welcome to Ariel. The Jewel of the Galaxy!" Ariel was a massive planet and half of it was a city in and of itself, and that cantina, the Dancing Mug, was in fact a very popular establishment. So much so that it made perfect port every time they stopped in. Besides even the spaceport had space docks that high up! Turbolifts and whatnot to get to and from the ground planetside was also good too.

"Depends, you lookin to cause trouble, or is trouble already following you and you looking to defend yourself ?" She could see several men not far away making bets on a Animus Core game session. Watching the holotank display the massive rather amazing setup was actually pretty nice. Apparently Car Key was already thinking in terms of business.

The food came, the Boga Nogus Burger also had a side of Skuzzi Spits, which was like Calamari in a side stand eatery in a big city. But better properly prepped. "Ah thank you" Car Key said to the clearly alien waiter. Not the least bit phased by the fact the alien had no hair, and huge black eyes, and dark blue skin, and two tails poking out the back of the head. The cook however was in fact a Wookiee or some such thing. The waiter soon left to tend to another table.

Fang grinned, her feline-esque teeth showing. "Hey now, those are business questions! I thought those were your own. Nonetheless, I'll answer true. Mayhem is my game. Course that means trouble is always on my tail, but what's life without a bit of sport eh?"

The food came and Hell's Fang ate, particularly enjoying the Spits. After getting a refill on her beer and getting Key a refill on her drink she leaned back again. "So then, you still haven't used your allotted 2 questions."

"Two questions you say" well this was turning out an interesting and entertaining meeting of first merit for certain! "I do believe I have answered them, yet if you insist I shall ask two more" She had a hint of jest in her voice, she was truly relaxed and simply looking for some fun, something to pass the time and let her crew relax for once.

Car Key smiled as she thought of the questions she was planning to ask. Should she ask them right then, or later ? It didn't matter did it ? Of course not! Asking the questions now meant that she'd have two questions to answer down the road, so if she had two questions to ask down the road, then.... this lovely young lady of Hell's Fang seemed to owe her two questions ?

Car Key had no idea how it worked only that it felt right to her. So for the moment she simply ate her food for the moment.

Hells laughed loudly, drawing the attention of nearby tables. Her eyes flickered merrily, "It has been a while since I have had conversation with those who don't hold the power of the stars. Let me speak in fewer riddles. I asked two questions about you and you answered them. So now you may ask two questions about me. Whatever you like." She took another sip of beer, more intrigued in the company than the drink.

Vercerigo appeared in a violent cloud of black smoke. He stood there impatiently rocking back and forth on his feet until the smoke dissipated. As soon as it did, he walked over to the bartender and rapped his fingers quietly along the railing, looking around nervously. He attracted the attention of a bartender, who walked over, cleaning a glass.
Vercerigo spoke in a low voice. "Sir, has anyone by the name of Alice stopped by? Alice Raine?"

The deeper one went into the city of Duraisa, the more grapic stuff became to the point where one was walking on nothing but holograms and through holograms. the walls were covered with holograms advertising various races performing live in that cantina or in other areas of Durasia. Ariel itself was a mix of races and aliens of all kinds. The first thing noticed was the name of the place, Dancing Mug Cantina.

The fact they hosted a nightly bar fight should have sent up warning bells yet the Jedi Master, and his two guests, Vir, and Sadr, were admitted without incident or need for the Mind Trick either.

They were lead to a table where they could see everything on the lower floor, from the stairs leading up to the main floor, to the band and full view of the dance floor. The music was seedy and the garish lights made it kind of hard to see, yet in many places, it made sense. The fact that the floor had holographical arrows directing people what way to go as well as holographical hardlight rooftops to shield from rain and in this case backwash from certain things such as sewer shit.

As Vir once said it, Same Sith, Different Day

This made sense in this world.

Once seated Tuyer ordered a drink, Vir ordered nothing, as she was currently just a bit high off the kolto pack, possibly in orbit but with the Force Hounds it was not easy to tell, far from it. Once they were all seated, Tuyer turned to Sadr, "So my friend, pray tell what you seek. You have an air about you of one with a story to tell."

Flashy. That was the first word that came to Sadr's mind as he walked on holograms, around holograms, through holograms. It was a digital world in this bar and it was already making the Force user's head spin. He would've walked out had it not been for Vir and Jedi Master Tuyer leading him through the place.

Calm down...focus your energy...

Slowing his breathing, Sadr followed as they approached a table overlooking the bar. As he cleared his mind, he was already feeling a bit better. He was getting used to the atmosphere, ignoring the glaring lights in his face everywhere. His eyes looked back and forth between the two. His cowl still covered his features, even though the two of them knew what he looked like. Force of habit, he thought.

"I must ask something of you first," Sadr responded calmly, scratching his chin, "None of this is to be forwarded to the Jedi Council. Nor the database. I've worked hard to keep my identity hidden from the galaxy so far and I won't compromise it now. Not to mention my enemies will likely be able to find me through it. It's rather easy for the Sith to hack into the database...much easier than either of you may realize."

His eyes were dead set under his hood, eyeing Tuyer in the most serious of fashions. He was serious about this.

"When I first heard of your arrival the Council insisted I let the matter drop, yet my curious mind cannot be sated until speaking to you, and hearing your.... need. You may rest assured that anything said here will not be repeated." Vir had many secrets, one one of which she told none, and will never tell anyone for that matter. The secret of her birth. It was one secret she planned to take to the grave when she died.

Yet Tuyer seemed calm as he spoke, His staff seemingly that of an old sage leaned against the table. Any inquiring minds were turned away thanks to Vir standing guard, her imposing yet slender build was bulky in her armor. "Besides" Tuyer continued as Vir looked their way, her back to the table, her gaze however lingered a moment or so on Sadr, the man could have killed her, why didn't he ? Sith killed the weak because they were simply that, weak.

Her mind was trying to piece together just why Sadr did not strike when he had the chance to do just that.

Tuyers words however rang true, sure the threesome would appear on the holocams in the cantina, but what they were saying couldnt be heard.

Sadr could trust them

The question now remained, would he ?

Sadr Stardasher closed his eyes and began to focus...focus on himself...focus on his surroundings...focus on the Force. He channeled his energy into it, a mixture of pure concentration and hate, pulling power from both sides of himself to feed one purpose. More often than not, either one channel or the other took over, resulting in an appropriate power to take control. Otherwise, the channel became unstable and the Force reacted violently around them.

This time, he let concentration win out, allowing him to calmly view the scene around him. A man and a woman were arguing in a booth, their relationship on the line. Two men sat at the bar, one older than the other, the younger listening to the man's tale. A "wolfpack" stood on the outside, scoping the scene for their prey in which they were to release their "blue balls" syndrome into that night. A typical setting for a bar. Nothing too outlandish. He was safe.

And then he took his hood off, revealing his features to Master Siya. A stubble of a beard on his chin was the only bit of facial hair on this young man. His black hair was rather messy, but kept fairly short. What made him compelling was that distant stare in his golden eyes, that look that always seemed to make other people thing he could be in two places at once. He stared at a person and stared through them at the same time. It was a broad and mysterious look, one that sent a couple chills down the spines of the burliest of men. For Sadr, it was just another veil.

"I was found on Nim Drovis," he began, eyes on Tuyer and Vir, "Rescued by a Sith Lord from my role as a slave to a dishonest war hero of the town I lived in. From there, he taught me the ways of the Dark Side and how to channel my hatred into power. How to inflict pain on those who deserve it. How to defend myself from those who wished to inflict pain on me. How to claim revenge." He hovered over that word as if the word itself carried power, "And then I got my chance..."

---

It wasn't a foreign place on the hull of the ship for Sadr to stand. In fact, he'd likely left foot imprints in the sole spot he'd always stood, looking out the window as the vastness of space around them. Five years ago when he first stood here, the stars fascinated him. Of course he'd seen a couple barely through the canopy of the trees he used to call home. But back then, this was a view he never had before. Among the stars.

Since that first day, their luster wore off. The stars became nothing more than a reminder of the space he could rule one day, the power he could have. The world he could create once he had a firm grasp on it was planned and precise. Efficiency would reign supreme and order would be established throughout this galaxy. It was his for the taking. This fantasy Sadr had placed in his mind was all the luster he needed.

And yet, here he stood, gazing out into the space beyond.

"Sadr."

A firm, yet soft voice broke the air of silence around the Sith apprentice. Sadr whirled around to address this person properly. For in the frame of the door stood the man who had rescued him all those years ago. For a Sith Lord, this man looked entirely human. Nothing about his full head of brown hair said dark and sinister. Nothing about his blue eyes screamed intensity or anger. They almost held a fondness to them...like a father to a son. Had it not been for the dark clothes he wore or the lightsaber he knew would glow red when it sizzled to life, Darth Feero could pass as a Jedi Master.

Sadr was not one to dilly dally. He approached the figure and kneeled before him, "Yes Master?"

"Sadr, these past five years have been vigorous on you. You have been taught in the ways of the Force and how to use it in aiding your success. You have been taught in using your anger and hatred to strike down those who bring grief to your life. You have been taught the skills of lightsaber combat so that you can bring anyone to your knees, begging for mercy."

Sadr had a ghost of a smile on his face when his master praised his skill in lightsaber combat. He truly was one of the best duelist out there, proving himself capable to measure up to Siths as legendary as Darth Maul himself. What he lacked in Force ability, he made up for in fighting technique. It was his gift.

"And today, you prove yourself one last time, earning your title as a Sith Lord and joining the fight against the Jedi Council. It is time."

Time? "For what?" Sadr asked curiously, slowly lifting his head to meet Darth Feero's gaze.

"To finish what we started," Feero said as he put on his hood and proceeded to leave, "We will be landing shortly."

Sadr lifted himself onto his feet, his gaze turning to the window once more. The scene was a bit different. An orb occupied that space shown through the window...the orb of a planet. His eyes widened slightly as he felt the air of familiarity descend upon him, that sense of Deja Vu creeping through his chest. Even without the layout of the continents below, Sadr knew where they were. After all, he had the same view leaving the planet only five years before.

He was heading towards Nim Drovis. He was heading home.

A sniff and a wrinkle of the nose were the actions Sadr took upon stepping off the ship, "Smells like home."

From the platform they had landed on, Sadr could get a elevated view of the city he recognized as the capital of this planet. Built by beings from the planet Alderaan, Bagsho wasn't the most appealing of most populated cities on planets. It had a very rural feel to it. Most of the older buildings on the other side of the canal looked worn and one small wind away from collapsing completely. Even New Town, the more appealing part of the capital and the more recent additions, were built with stone and wood and came together rickety at best. The air had this constant smell of jungle rot and gangrene and the humidity made breathing a struggle. There was a reason why the residential area was called Thousand Stinking Ditches, after all.

It wasn't like Nim Drovis wasn't possible of advancement and development of society. It just happened at such a slow pace. The appearance of the Alderaan beings helped immensely, but it was still going to be a long time before Bagsho was considered a respectable city. Only recently had they established a Sector Medical Facility and it was in the Stinking Ditches. Even worse, it was the only one. Such care had not been taken to the rest of the civilizations among the planet…partially because they didn’t want it. While the Drovians were quite receptive to the foreign technology and medical practices, the Gopso'o stuck with the herbs of the planet as a source of healing. It was well known that they hated each other, the tension bleeding over from the civil war between the two tribes. Nowadays, so long as you didn't mention the word "truth", you should be fine. Still, it would be a desolate world for a while.

Sadr walked along the wooden bridge, overlooking the canal that split the city in half. The water below looked a murky brown and remained stagnant. Trying to ignore the slightly unstable environment the city always tended to be in, he kept a gaze on his master, trying to figure out what he had in store. He didn't dare pop a question. He was sure Darth Feero wouldn't respond anyway. But that didn't stop the apprehension from showing in his body language. Under the guise of his cloak and being a trained Sith, the public eye wouldn’t notice anything weird. However, his master who had spent five years training him and had a sixth sense for this kind of thing would.

“You’re nervous about being back,” were the words he spoke. Not questioning. Stating. He could read Sadr like a book and he knew it.

“Only you know my past, Master,” he replied, “Nim Drovis was never a safe place for me.”

“Indeed,” Darth Feero rubbed his chin elegantly as he peered down into the canal water, “Let this fear of this place consume you. Let it drive your actions towards your goals you wish to commit to. Let this place make you more powerful.”

Sadr nodded as he began to breath, in and out…in and out. The feeling of being mugged or stabbed when he walked these busy streets. That sense of claustrophobia he got when he was among a crowd of slaves just like him. That knowledge of things being unpredictable and that no one would care if he died. No one would even bat an eye. These feelings all came back to him…filling him with hatred of this planet.

“Good,” came the soft spoken reply from Darth Feero, “I can feel your energy getting stronger. You’re doing wonderful.”

He let the words consume him along with these feelings. His gaze darkened. He held back with much temperance, but it wouldn’t be long before he would feel the itch to unleash this power…to enact revenge on this planet that had treated him so poorly. To establish order among the people and work towards efficiency.

To send this city crumbling to the dirt where it belonged.

“Conceal yourself,” Feero told Sadr, “We have a task to do and I’d rather do it with as little attention drawn to us as possible. Especially in case a Jedi is around.”

Sadr did as he was told, yet that didn’t stop his curiosity from taking over his tongue, “What is it we’re exactly doing?”

There was a pause, then Darth Feero passed a knowing glance to the young adult.

“We’re completing your training.”

The further Sadr and Feero progressed beyond the town and into the forest, ironically the more familiar thing became for the young apprentice. Certain pieces of moss stuck out to him. The way the trees shaped the canopy above him felt eerily familiar. Certain patches in the path caught his eye and lingered there. While he couldn't quite put his finger on it, he got the impression that he'd been here before. A tingling sense of Deja vu coursed through his veins...one that Feero could easily feel.

“I can sense it within you…your feelings have come to surface…feelings that were once buried when you left Nim Drovis all those years ago. Feelings that you used to enhance your skills in the force and progress through your training. Feelings I asked of you to use…to see…to feel true power…to understand what injustice had been brought upon you and why it is our duty to change it.”

The feelings grew stronger. The emotions were welling up inside him and Sadr’s typically cool and even breath was now heavy and burdened. More and more, the vision in his head cleared. More and more, the path below him looked like the one he had traveled many times before. He glanced around. Key structures were missing. Certain roads had slightly overgrown and certain buildings were covered in moss.

Yet he could see everything clearly.

“The Jedi are weak,” Feero stated, “They will do nothing to prevent such travesties like slavery from happening. They sit in their temples and keep the system running. The system of the galaxy that took advantage of you, Sadr. A young boy desperate to survive against the cruelest intentions of those who thought they owned him. A young boy I rescued from its clutches and turned into a powerful warrior. Only the Sith can truly bring order and resolve conflict throughout the galaxy.”

And then Sadr’s eyes rested on one place in particular…a small hut caved in from time’s constant haul and improper maintenance. A hut he knew from long ago…five years to be exact…

"Do you know where we are, Sadr?" Feero asked him. It was only after this statement that he could find the words to speak.

"This is...," Sadr said as the realization set in, "This is the slave camp. This is where I lived…since I was a small boy.” He placed a careful palm on the weak structure, feeling like a gentle breeze could topple it for good. He turned to Darth Feero. “Why did you bring me back here?”

“I told you why,” Feero simply stated.

“How will bringing me to my past help complete my training?”

Feero stood there, his head kept low to hide his features underneath his cowl. A loud crash came from a building due east from their current position. The door had opened, and a Drovian had stepped out. The Drovian looked skinnier than most Drovians were supposed to look, its skin paler. Its claws looked extremely rugged and weren’t even sharp enough to cut through an apple. He was breathing heavily and appeared to be burdened with a sickness. It looked like he was on his last leg, living in agony. But Sadr could easily recognize this Drovian by the scar it carried on his cheek…the scar that was a constant reminder of the “legacy” he used to have.

This was Qintok Druugan. This was the slave owner.

“Oy!” he spoke in his native tongue, “Wha you two doin’ ‘ere? Dis be my porperteh!” The Drovian began to move towards Sadr and Feero.

“You may do what you wish,” Feero said, giving Sadr a nod of approval. Sadr turned to look at the one who had treated him so badly once upon a time.

He didn’t even need to think twice about it.

With a cry of anger, Sadr brought both his arms forward, palms facing Qintok. The Force Push the Drovian sustained would launch him back so quickly it caused a crack in the structure. Qintok was scrambling in the dirt, trying to find some traction in his feet and flee from this predator. But Sadr had other plans.

“Do you remember me? HUH?!” he roared as he telekinetically pulled a huge chunk out of the support for the house. It could come crashing down, turning it into a pile of rubble. A large piece of that rubble fell onto Qintok’s leg, crushing it underneath. The cry of agony from the Drovian would only fuel Sadr’s anger.

“You don’t even know what pain is,” Sadr growled as he approached, drawing his two lightsabers, activating them at the same time. The red glow would illuminate the deathly stare he was giving the Drovian as he stared into eyes begging for mercy. He held out a claw, not to attack, but to try and persuade him to stop. Instead, Sadr lashed out at it, cutting it off cleanly. Qintok howled as he fell back into the dirt.

Sadr held the two humming blades crossed in front of him, Qintok’s head caught in between. The young Sith stared into the Drovian’s eyes.

“Say my name,” he said, bringing the blades even closer to his neck. “I know you know it.”

The Drovian squirmed as he replied in his native tongue, “S-S-S-Sadr…” he managed through stammers of pain and fear. “S-Sadr S-St-Stardasher…”

Now Darth Feero had come right behind his apprentice and nodded his head. “Good…very good. You demonstrate power. You demonstrate dominance. You know what you must do. Finish him. End his life. Let the anger of what he's done flow through you and strike him down with it. Only then can you become a true Sith Lord."
Sadr felt his grip tighten on the sabers he knew better than he knew anything else in this world. He deserves it, his mind was saying. He brought your life hell. Now it’s to enact your revenge. Killing him would be so satisfying.

“P-please don’t kill me…” he heard Qintok plead.

Or would it?

Sadr felt something tugging within him…some pull of light that seemed to be clearing the dark clouds away. He could feel a memory churning through his head all of a sudden. He could see himself when he was young...when he lived in this place.

He wasn’t the only slave. He lived with many others, boys and girls, young and old, human or otherwise. He remembered a few of their faces and he remembered the hardships they endured together.

He remembered saving lives.

Through gritted teeth, Sadr suddenly drew back, using the blades to cut the saber hilts at the top. He tossed the destroyed things to the ground, the smoke winding into the air in front of a whimpering Qintok, who was more than grateful to be alive. Sadr didn’t even look at Feero when he said, “I won’t do it.”

Feero’s head peered up slightly, “What?”

“I said I won’t do it,” Sadr said again, “If I kill this…fop…now, I’m becoming him. I wouldn’t dare stoop to his level of devaluing life. All life is precious. Qintok Druugan doesn’t realize this. And if I kill him now, then I will have failed to realize it as well. No matter how much it would please me to do so.” He dropped to his knees and stared at the ground, looking at the lightsabers he’d just destroyed.

Feero didn’t move…not at first. Sadr didn’t need to sense the Force to know this. Nor did he need the Force to feel the stare in the back of his head. Not even Qintok moved. The forest was silent.

And then Sadr heard a couple steps...then the brushing of a clock…and then a hiss of a lightsaber activating.

Almost immediately, Sadr pulled out his training lightsaber, a shorter blade that he had used to propel him forward in lightsaber combat that he refused to let go of when he’d obtained his other two. He spun around and clashed against his master’s saber, the sparks flying between the two.

And thus their duel had begun…

Despite having the disadvantage in saber size and strength, Sadr went on the offensive immediately, throwing Feero off guard and forcing him to go defensive. A rapid follow-up of diagonal slices was capped by a side swipe aimed at Feero’s left hip. To Sadr’s surprise, his master could barely keep up with him, barely catching the stroke before stepping back and gaining distance. Feero brought the dirt up and into Sadr’s eyes with Telekinesis before pushing forward, a jab aimed at the boy’s stomach. Sadr tapped into the Force just as quickly and parried the blow.

And so the struggle went on. Try as he might, Feero couldn’t get past Sadr’s defense. Every stroke he attempted towards the boy was either blocked or parried. Such strikes were limited as they were because immediately following, Sadr would strike back. And Feero had a tougher time being on the defensive against the well versed saber combatant. This wouldn’t be a fight Feero would win, Sadr realized.

And then he played dirty…

On their next connection, Feero made his move. When the sabers separated, Sadr suddenly felt his body fly back. A second later, it made impact with a tree, causing his head to whip back and his grip to be loosened. The training saber was jarred out of his hand and hit the ground with a soft clink. Feero closed the distance before Sadr could recover and held his singular blade poised against his neck.

“You don’t know the sacrifices I made to accept you as my apprentice!” Feero spat at Sadr, which shocked him. Feero was always the calm one…the patient killer that knew how to redirect his anger in ways that it didn’t show on his face. And here he was, eyes wide, brows hardened, snarl on his face as he shouted at Sadr. [i]Shouted. Sadr had never heard him shout.

“I rescued you! And you turn your back on me?!” Feero continued as he grabbed Sadr by the cloak and slammed him into the tree again. “You have made my time useless. And for that, you will die.”

Sadr clenched his teeth and his fist as his mind froze, unsure of what to do. The hum of the red lightsaber grew louder and louder as the blade got closer and closer. In a last ditch effort, when Feero brought the saber back behind him to deliver the final blow, Sadr held out his hands as if to catch the blade and closed his eyes.

And then power surged through him. Contact had been made, but it wasn’t against his flesh. He felt the Force all around him in an instant. And when Sadr opened his eyes, he found that Feero’s own saber had flung out of his hand, the wielder losing his grip as the blow reverberated through his arm. Sadr stared at Feero, shocked to see his master topple to the ground. Did he just Force Barrier?

Not waiting around to see if he could do it again, Sadr ran. Into the forest…away from Qintok Druugan’s slave camp…away from Darth Feero. He didn’t look back.

---

“I found an abandoned ship a few hours later and made my way off the planet,” Sadr finished, eyes on Master Siya, “Feero’s been following me since. As have the rest of the Sith…or whoever he hires to come after me. That is why I ran from your Hounds earlier. I have grown accustomed to running.” He got up from his chair, glancing around at the holograms and the bustle of people that were in here.

“This is why I cannot train Vir. I will always be moving. There will be no time for me to stand in one place and teach someone the ways of the Force that I haven’t even figured out yet. I’m sorry, but you will have to find her another teacher. Now, I must find a toilet.”

Sadr made a slight bow to Tuyer Siya before heading into the Men’s Restroom.

There was a song tug of something saying find me in the Force, yet Tuyer did not feel it, nor did Vir. However Vir was mesmerised by Sadr's story, he was constantly on the run because the sith wanted him ?? it got her thinknig, but before she could speak her Master and keeper beat her to it "It is most understandable Master Stardasher, that you wish to keep one step ahead of those seeking you. Perhaps aid can instead be offered ?" While Vir didnt show it she was disheartened slightly

She watched then as Sadr excused himself to a refresher, she turned back to her master who spoke to her in an ancient langauge of the Rakata "Follow him, he can teach you only what he knows, more than I no doubt, do not let him know you are following, I sense he is in danger. You know what to do" Tuyer said. Vir nodded and faded from view. Completely unseeable, not even Tuyer could sense her through the Force

A soft voice was eard, a whisper on the wind as Sadr neared the bathrooms. An ancient blade no doubt was hidden away near there. from someone who had been there ages before ? It did not matter, but the voice, the strange ghostly whisper rattled against Sadr briefly through the Force "I have seen empires rise and fall..... " It was clearly an echoy almost clearly female voice for that matter

A few steps later and the strange voice echoed again, this time, oddly, Vir also heard it "I have always loved the stars...." Vir, though unseen twirled around, was someone next ot her that she couldnt see them ? Unknown to Vir, someone equally hidden had simply walked into the cantina

Someone powerful.

Someone.... Who sought someone else. Vir's worry increased, Sadr! sure they had only sparred, but even then she felt like she was in his debt, he didnt strike to kill, nor did he try to take advantage of her, but he did express worry of training her

Along a the dusty streets a figure walked slowly as he had for several days. Vinculum followed the path laid before him through the force as his former master once taught him. Long days in deep wastelands of his homeworld with fragile islands of greenery. High Matriarch Bvetin slowly helped Oculi put their lands back together as Master Ale trained Vinculum in new nodes of growth throughout their world. He'd learned that the force came in fleeting dances across his vision. Small quick bursts caressing the inside of his legs under thick carapace. The pulsing churn of life running past his feet. So that river was what he followed an inexorable boulder rolling along the force to his destination.

It stopped at a door to this bar a swirling pool in front of the door. So this is where the path ends. Then here he learns for Oculi he supposes. A heavy figure clad only in hard organic plates pushes open the door looking around the bar. Two black eyes looked carefully around the room Matriarch Oculi's own awareness a constellation orbiting behind those dark pools.

As Sadr stepped away and proceeded to walk towards the bathroom, he thought he heard something...a whisper of some kind. He turned back towards the table he had been sitting at...towards Vir. Her eyes seemed distant and longing. Was it her that whispered? His golden eyes turned away as he cursed himself inwardly for thinking such a stupid thing. Of course not! he told himself, She's all the way across the bar! How could you have heard a whisper from such a distance with all this noise going on?

He pushed the bathroom door open and proceeded to head immediately towards the sink. Taking a deep breath as he turned the faucet on (making sure the setting was on cold) and splashed his face repeatedly, he told himself that he couldn't do it. No matter what Master Siya said. No matter what Vir wanted. It put him in danger of being found and, more importantly, being associated with the Jedi Council. And even if Tuyer was true to his word, what good would it do? The Jedi were weak, anyway. They didn't know what they were up against. The Sith was much more powerful than they realized-

All of a sudden, he felt it...a shudder in the Force. An overwhelming aura that swallowed the air around him as it spoke, "I have seen empires rise and fall..."

Sadr wasn't sure how to react at first. He was confused as to what was trying to get in touch with him. Normally, he could blot it out, but this ability magnified twenty times over his own...and likely then some. He could feel it's weight bearing into him...trying to tell him something. However, he wasn't taken completely over by awe. He was still able to think rationally as his mind narrowed in on an objective.

Use the Force. Pinpoint an origin as to where this is coming from. Find whoever is speaking to you...

He closed his eyes and stepped away from the sink, the water continuing to run. He began to try and feel the energy around him...letting the Force guide him. He even sent a message back, just to see if he would get a response. "Who are you? Where are you?

The answer was even more cryptic: "I have always loved the stars..."

Okay, well that wasn't straightforward. But it sounded closer...it felt closer. Each step he took in the bathroom felt like the air was getting thicker and the power was magnified. The voice even sounded closer. There was an origin point, Sadr realized, and it was in this bathroom. Onward he pressed, his senses tingling with wonder and mystery as to exactly what this was and why it reached out to him now. His foot grazed a cracked tile, the jagged surface seemingly gliding smoothly across his feet.

It was like a game of hot or cold that he could feel within his mind. And when he passed the second stall, he began to feel the energy slightly dissipate. Sadr steeled his mind and lasered his focus as he stood in front of the stall door, opening his eyes. Whatever this was, it was in there.

With a smooth exhale, Sadr pushed open the door and gazed within.

The raw energies of the Force washed over Sadr as he opened the stall, through cracks in the steel and hologprahic projections on the wall the force was leading him towards something thast glittered behind the hologram. But the voice didnt answer, not right away. "Everything will fall, Light and Dark, together..... It will be paid, in blood" The door t othe bathroom opened, but with the Force so raw in that room at that moment made for something else entirely.

Vir entered the bathroom unseen, And just in time too. As she did so she saw a hand fade into view, reaching forwards towards Sadr's exposed back. A hand slender, yet with the raw power of the Force Vir couldnt pinpoint how powerful the person before her reaching for Sadr was. At least until the woman appeared completely, staring Vir watched unseen by both as tthe white haired amber eyed woman reached forwards with a hand.

And right when her hand touched Sadr's cloak she was thrown back from the raw enerfgy as he found something, an ancient lightsaber ? Impossible! Slammed back without a sound the woman disappeared from view before Sadr could see or feel her presence, the hilt of a lightsaber glittered within the wall of the stall he stood within

And as he mneared it he saw briefrly, visions of the past. An ancient conflict, a powerful force storm, hordes of unfaced soldiers fighting to destroy a single planets inhabatants. Countless ships in space, The Sith Emperors face.... His son, and then later his daughter.... Finally the death of Valkorion at the hands of his own daughter, a white haired woman of some kind dressed in blood red with long white hair.

Long white hair, like Tuyer's own hair.....

As Sadr picked up the lightsaber the visions faded, the silver and black hilt was mostly generic, but he could see clearly that it was a saberstaff. Did it still have its crystal ? Did the lightsaber call out to him ? Vir stood in the door way, holding it shut with her unseen weight. This was interesting.

Again the woman made her move, This time to try and grab the lightsaber, only once again she was flung back before he could turn and see her, quickly hiding in another stall Sony watched and waited. That lightsaber, the Sitrh could feel the raw power in it, the raw energies that forged it into what it is, into what it was.

Outside in the bar proper Tuyer took a sip of a Alderaanian wine brought to him. He spotted the new comer and felt the Force from him briefly, and somewhat faint, ah, one of the Hive Minds ? They had force sensitivety ? Most interesting

Vinculum's surface smoked faintly as his head darted in place the force giving speed in place to the alert burly body. Vinculum felt the tides of the force smashing around the rocks of surely planted bare feet. Gardeners were one bonded to their blasted limping land the force held him to earth every footstep. Vinculum made his way across the room stopping to sense where the intense activity remained. The sheer smashing energy released confused him. He wasn't yet prepared to hear things that might be worthy of a Matriarch's understanding. Still any guardian of the Matriarchy knew the telltale shadow of a locust in the garden. Something hid from sight a shadow dancing around his head among the spray but his sense of the force couldn't lay a direction on it quite yet.

One rock spied another causing eddies in the tide as Vinculum's head darted left, staring at Tuyer, thumping closer to the man. His movement was ponderous but smooth a muscled neck looked askance at Tuyer. Though Vinculum had a feeling that this energy was from elsewhere he spoke nonetheless Gardeners as hypersocial creatures were not an distant people. Deep pitched rumbling voice came from a quietus transceiver on his shoulder as Gardeners had no voice, "There is something wrong but you are in the garden and steady among the flood. Curious, I wonder. Still, among the garden I hear a locust."

It was like walking into a nuclear explosion of Force activity. Through every wisp of air and every occupied space, it moved. Sadr moved with it as it drew him forward, letting it wrap around him and envelope his mind. He couldn't sense beyond this immense measure of the Force as it acted like a barrier as much as it did a guide, though to what remained to be revealed. As he walked forward, he could see the visions.

The war...the powerful force storm...thousands of soldiers, without face, slaughtering the millions of lives on a single planet. Their cried could be heard faintly through the Force. And then the faces. Three of them, all with a legacy to their names and the power to back it up. The Sith Emperor and his spawns. He couldn't quite place it, but he felt a link between these faces and someone in the distant confines of his memory. He wasn't sure what this link was attached to, but it was like a strong chord vibrating within him, giving him a clue or telling him a warning.

"Everything will fall, Light and Dark, together..... It will be paid, in blood"

Something glittered in front of him. Something behind the hologram. Though it should've been, Sadr's hand wasn't shaking as he reached out to grasp it, clutching it and bringing it towards him to examine. It was a saberstaff, he realized. A dual-pronged lightsaber, simplistic in design and smooth to the touch. And it fit in his hands well.

But why? he wondered. Why did the Force guide me towards this blade? What secrets did it carry? He was half tempted to activate the saber here, but chose against it, feeling the confined space he was in. The walls would likely sustain some property damage if he did.

So he pocketed it, clasping it to his belt hidden underneath his cloak as he took one last look around to make sure nothing else was there before making his way out of the bathroom stall, more questions than answers on his mind.

Out of nowhere a voice rang in Sadr's head, it echoed through the Force, it was as if the Lightsaber was a Force Nexus. The lightsaber Deiyi had poured most of herself, her blood, sweat and tears into making, yet when used it looked as if the blade was to come part from overheating or something, pieces of it floated off the blade a few centimeters, making the blade have a fractured bronze core, almost as if it were afire.

It didnt matter, much at that point yet trhe voice, out of nowhere yet echoing through the Force "Sadr! Drop!" WHAM Something hit the stall door as he opened the thing, denting it and nearly nailing him in the face had that not occured. Vir chose that moment to let herself get seen as she dove for Sadr to get him out of the reach of the suddenly actrive vibrosword cutting out of the stall wall.

Once back to safety in the more open area of the mensroom however Sony just up and launched the stall door like a shot and threw a ball of lightning towards both Vir and her target. Vir dove forwards, twisting as she did, her back to Sony, the lighting lanced into her, searing her flesh, yet, she never winced, her back was burnt under her armor though that was for sure. "Go! Hurry" She hissed to Sadr before activating her Forcesaber and turning towards the unknown whitehaired assailant

But this assailant looked strangely familar, the vision! Impossible! This strange clearly female creature going after... him ? And now Vir coming to his rescue ?? Ok something was wrong here.... Very wrong here.... The blade he'd picked up seemed to want to fight. Want to defend Vir who was clashing skillfully with the dualvibrosword the strange whitehaired woman carried and used with deadly skill.

In the wating area of the Cantina however Tuyer was quiet and thoughtful, when Vin spoke he smiled, a Jedi spoke in strange ways. "And when the garden is disturbed, either go with the disturbance, or move to intercept before further damage is doine can be possible. Move as well to improve a relation with another, be it friend or possible enemy" He mused, "Unless of course it is an enemy and not a friend in any manner wherein it would then be prudcent to defend one self"

Vinculum observed Tuyer the slow placid feel of him much like his missing teacher. Then looked toward the bathroom the waded tide from that room pushing at his legs the speaker intoning placidly, "That which disturbs the garden must be dealt with but one must first observe a thing to call it a weed or locust. So says master Niketas. Defend my future with new flowers or defend my present quelling new weeds."

Vinculum pulled at the pack where his saber was held. Some part of it was missing and he'd not known what yet. With one look back he let go of it, "Even if one must do what is necessary by hand. We find in our barren land friends often last shorter than their enemies will wait."

The hulking figure's heavy movement quelled as Vinculum took hold of the river of the force pushing him ever forward. The slowness in his legs tensing as it went a slow progression of elasticity around heavy movement. The thin trigger plate of the heavy creature's force counter entered the door well before Vinculum's hand pushed at the bathroom door.