Open your eyes (Ezra Na'chtion)

[Lady Frygt]

What a dump Rikke Frygt thought to herself as she trudged through the reddish dirt of Korriban, "Keep up V3!" She said to the hybrid droid struggling in the dirt and dust. She walked back to the droid when she realized the droids leg had become entangled in something unknown to her.

She leaned in near to the droid's head, it's optics and receptors would sense her closeness, quietly and quickly she flipped a switch on the processor in the droid's head. "Do you know where we are V3?"

The droid paused for a moment, likely reaching into the memories of it's organic brain to determine any significance of Korriban to the memories of the brain's former owner. "Yes, -zzt-Lady Frygt."

"Oh, there you are, Southstar" She said and smiled. At one point, before his organic body died, Southstar was the darkside master that led the old Sith Order to whatever limited glory it had in his day. "Everything you built," she continued taunting the helpless droid-person, "I'm going to steal and make my own."

"You. ...wil try." the droid's deep voice said as it began to wriggle the leg loose from the sand and rocks that had grasped it. While keeping the Southstar droid around was useful at times, it was wildly unpredictible if Rikke let the organic brain take control of the metal body. Whatever was left of Southstar, a brain and some darkside power, hated Rikke with a passion she'd never seen before. Her former master, Darth Rive, believed that the man's hate stored inside the brain was the only thing animating the organics as Rive had once already dealt what should have been a fatal blow to the organic brain. Such hate was attractive to her, such power. But Southstar was a fool and his time had passed, seeking out immortality was terribly foolish. The Sith ought not fear death but embrace it. While Southstar had great power, he lacked understanding, which was his downfall.

Finally the metal leg was freed from the ground. the droid, V3, stepped back and glowered at her through the droid's optical sensors. "You should keep a better eye on me." The droid said as a lightsaber hidden in the frame and mechanisms of the forearm activated. The red blade illuminating the metal body of the droid. "I've been giving myself periodic... upgrades. And here, where the darkside is strong, I will kill you."

Rikke swore, she hated fighting. To her, the darkside was more a philosophy of life and death than means to combat. But she was no stranger to her own lightsaber. She called it from her belt to her hand and in seconds ignighted it just in time to parry the droid's attack with her crimson blade.

Fully aware that her conscious combat skills were far below average, she turned inward to the Darkside and relinquished control letting it animate her body so that she might survive the fight. In her meditations with the Dark, she had discovered that in many ways the Darkside had a will of it's own, in deepest meditations she could enter a trance that could activate and use abilities she didn't know she had.

In what limited consciousness she had of her body she felt the a tingling sensation on her skin that grew in power and intensity as it bored deep in her body. Her muscles twitched as if electricity were coursing through her body. In a detached state, she saw her left arm raise and point towards the droid. In a flash of searing pain, the electric surge pulsed throughout her body and shot from her fingertips. As she regained conscious control of her body, she saw the electric energy jump from her fingers to the torso of the droid. The lightsaber attached to it's forearm exploded, as did the sensors in the head, however, the organic brain and it's connections merely fizzled and emitted wisps of smoke.

Upon regaining full awareness of her mind, Rikke fully realized the power that now lay dormant in her body. She could call forth lightning. No one, certainly not a Force insensitive, could ever stop her. In the moment of intoxicating power, she felt fully satisfied yet could only think of the glorious pain of darkside lightning coursing through her body. As with most Darkside techniques she learned, she craved more and fought a desire inside to indulge in the power until it killed her. She imsgined staying on Korriban for as long as her body would last and repeatedly indulging in Darkside energy until her body could sustain itself no longer and died.

She stared at the fallen droid and wished she could taunt the former Sith Master and flasunt her power before him, but with damaged environmental sensors, the organic brain, if still functioning, would not be able to hear or see her. She smiled wide, exposing all her sharpened teeth at the thought that the former master was now immersed in the complete darkness from the lack of environmental input. No, she sensed a presence, his presence in the Force, roaming and searching the landscape of Korriban. He had no real input from the sensors, but he still had the Force. "What are you looking for?" She mused outloud while trying to follow the trail his mind left as it searched. She felt only his presence for a moment, but suddenly there were two conscious thoughts that she could feel, Southstar's and then another weaker in the Darkside. Then she realized what was happening, Southstar was commanding the weaker presence with his mind, animating it like a puppet. Then she heard his voice, as itmust havebeen when he was alive in her mind, [i]"You are a fool, Frygt. You brought me to where I am most powerful, my home, and believe yourself able to defeat me."[i]

Stiil grinning, she replied, You don't know my power...

"You should fear me." a male voice behind her said.

She turned her head and saw a man who must have been beautiful at one point in time. His face was horrifically disfigured now and his naked body was covered with now healed lacerations. Uncontrollably, Rikke laughed. "Are you in there glorious Sith Master?" she asked through laughter and then through the Force she saw plainly what was traspiring in front of her. "No, just directing the lifeless body. Pathetic. I can take even your puppets from you." She said stepping over the fallen droid body and approaching the disfigured person, barely standing on it's own power, it ignited it's lightsaber, a green blade extending into the air.

She called the weapon from the puppet's hand and deactivated it once in her grasp. "Jedi's weapon..." she said, studying the hilt for a moment. "Peculiar." She latched the weapon to her belt next to her own lightsaber and took the puppet's hand in hers. "Were you a Jedi once?" She asked, knowing that the drone's consciousness was somehow still active on a low level. It appeared that the drone, when it was still a person, had been mentally assaulted to the point where the person it was barely existed. "Was this your hobby, Southstar? Creating mindless living toys?" Inaide the drone's mind, she could feel the withered remnant of the Jedi it once was pathetically struggling against Southstar's influence.

With the drone's hand in hers she lifted it to her face, on an impulse, as she suppressed Southstar in the mind of the drone, the drone caressed her face, fingers following the rigid warped bones of her semi-human face, cautiously it moved to her teeth, she licked the finger and then grinned wide, her cheek muscles pulling back to reveal the full row of teeth that stretched the full width of her face. The Finger probed on curiously.

"You know," She started knowing Southstar could hear her through the Drone's ears. "Pain focuses the mind." The she bit forcefully on the drone's finger, severing it at the main knuckle, the drone reacted instinctively and held it's severed finger in it's opposite hand. "Even in the mindless." She grinned, the finger still in her mouth, blood surrounding her teeth. For a moment she felt Southstar still peering through the drone's eyes but then as the drone retook command of it's mind She felt Southstar retreat like a terrified Mon Cal Cephalopod, the tendrils of his influence slithering away between the crevices of the living drone's mind.

---

"There it is." Rikke said as the space station came into view. "The perfect place for an unethical, Force-sensitive, biologist."

"Must have been an unused older model the Imperials weren't using anymore and handed it over to this... Ezra person." Janus, the former mindless drone said.

"From what I've heard, his research is incrdibly advanced, the Imperial R&D department is talking about going back to something similar to the clone trooper style soldier, or monster troopers, I'm not sure, my point is the kid is doing things the Empire hasn't dreamt about since Palpatine's days."

Rikke turned the holo disc around in her hand and finally activated it again so she could watch the Sith with the red eyes anoint her father as master of the Sith Order. She was getting so close to answers that she could taste it.

"And what of the Southstar droid?" She asked Janus.

"He'll be offline for at least a day, the lightsaber he snuck in there was powered from his main power core, it drained all his power."

"Foolish. Maybe he's not as recovered from the brain damage as he, or I, thought."

"Why keep him around at all?" Janus asked

"It brings me pleasure to know he's watching me as I destroy what he created. I enjoy taunting him and I'm still yet determining how to make my revenge more complete."

"It occurs to me, if I may suggest, my master..." Rikke nodded that he should continue. "that attaching the brain to a droid with the capabilities of a protocol droid is giving him too much power. Why not attach the braincase to a simple hover droid?"

Rikke scowled, it was an obvious solution that she ought to have thought of it long ago, perhaps she was just comfortable being around the familiar shape of the V3 droid. Southstar could float around on a hover disc for a while until she decided how to end him completely. V3 could be outfitted with a standard protocol processor, or some other brain if she wanted to continue using organic hybrid droids.

"Open a line with the station." Rikke ordered and composed her message in her mind.

"Ready when you are."

"Ezra Na'chtion, this is Rikke Frygt aboard the Vengeance. I am the daughter of Jorshal Vuntana, former Master of all the Sith Order, I request an audience with you." She said smoothly into the comm and then turned it off.

To Janus she said, "Prepare to dock anyway, regardless of his answer we are boarding that space station. I will not be denied."

[Ezra Na'chtion]

Drip... Drip... Drip...

The sound of the slow, rhythmic beating of water droplets on durasteal bulkheads was the only sound that whispered through this level of the research station. The air was thick, almost choking, with humidity and heat. His bare feet padded across the uneven floor, over the moss and foliage, and the rare patch of bare bulkhead still visible between the twisting vines and stones. Sweat and moisture clung to his body, soaking the simple tunic he wore. A rustle in the underbrush disrupted the near silence, but he did not even turn his head toward the sound. There was no fear in his face as he walked the length of the floor, not even as something low bodied and bulky dashed from one side of the room to the other. Instead his mind calculated the speed and his face split into a smile at the efficiency.

Jokiro Station was the Imperial Biological Research Facility were once great biologists went to die. Located on the boundaries of civilized space and orbiting a dwarf star, the station was nearly self sufficient and an ideal place to square away once great minds who had fallen on harder times. Researchers like his former, and late, mentor Doctor Akalay had occupied this station; spinning their wheels. Old men grasping for straws as their minds succumbed to the fog of old age. They still created things, but hardly what could be considered a break through in any field of biology. Akalay and spent his years riding the coat tails of his success mapping strange and exotic beasts found on the edges of space and his entire tenure on Jokiro Station had been spent writing his memoirs and tutoring bright new minds.

They were all gone now. It had started with Akalay. Stabbed in the back with a Hssiss fang. The madness and near instant death was well documented, as was the effects of the Hssiss toxin on his dead and decomposing body. His facility was re-appropriated and no one was the wiser. The Imperial funding, as meager as it was, kept flowing and the other biologists never even felt the need to check up on their absent colleague. It spoke volumes of what a sad and miserable life Akalay must have lived, isolated and alone on this station with no friends among the scientific community. The man was a hermit, writing in the darkness and hoping some of it reached the light.

It now made sense why he had ever agreed to tutor a young boy from Tatooine. He must have been truly desperate for a connection with the universe outside the bulkheads of this space station that was more prison than research facility. The other biologists were similar stories; former front runners of the Imperial Science Divisions forced into this place. Some of them had far greater acolades, and were responsible for great atrocities such as the development of toxins and gasses for the military. All the greatest and most dangerous biologists forced out of sight and contained where they could do no harm to the new Imperial War Machine.

When Akalay's facility could no longer contain the burgeoning experiments the other facilities were assimilated. The population of the station began to drop, as it's researchers were either chased off, manipulated into leaving, or murdered when their stubbornness proved too strong. The small station was teraformed, using it's impressive life support and environmental systems to create sections of the station that were entirely inhuman and hostile. It was dangerous and the rapid changes was ruining the infrastructure and damaging the systems. Already sections were without power or shut away. It was only a matter of time before either the station fell apart or the Empire came knocking.

So here he was, the almighty king of his own crumbling empire. Ezra Na'chtion; biologist, Sith Alchemist, and the father of monsters.

Another creature flashed by, slower this time, giving his human eyes time to spot the mottled purple and brown hide. Coiled, powerful muscles on a low, heavy body. Teeth, so many teeth, and claws like blades; dripping with poison. They were his greatest creations, and yet he had no name for them. The greatest qualities of the Vanx, Boma, and Hssiss give new form. The ultimate hunter. Fast, powerful, and all consuming. What a pity splicing them was so costly. With even a pack of these hunters he could disrupt a city, and with more he daresay an entire planet might be overrun. All he had yet to overcome was their own sterility. With a breeding pair he could have an infinite supply.

A siren wailed in the distance, drawing his attention away from the pup hiding in the bushes. The humid jungle was left behind as he slipped into a turbolift shaft and began climbing the auxiliary ladder. The lift could no longer reach this lowest floor, where the shaft was choking by creeping vines. Each floor he passed was another environment, another test of his children to see just what they could survive. Eventually he reached the command center of the station, where dirtied bulkheads were absent vines and beasts. The console bleeped, indicating an incoming vessel.

Sith spit!

It was too soon, he was not ready to abandon the facility just yet. He needed time. More time for his beastiest to incubate and grow. They were deadly, but so few. The console chirped. An incoming message. "Ezra Na'chtion, this is Rikke Frygt aboard the Vengeance. I am the daughter of Jorshal Vuntana, former Master of all the Sith Order, I request an audience with you."

Oh, this was an unexpected direction he had not anticipated. How very interesting. He would have communicated back, but unfortunately that system seemed to be no longer in service. No matter. The docking module was unlocked, an unfortunate consequence of not knowing the pass codes to his own facility. Doctor Marthias had gone to his grave with them, and the module had been broken in order for Ezra to come and go when he needed. There was no keeping his visitors out, so he might as well prepare for their arrival. Behind him chains clinked and a low moan floated through the heavy air.

"Patience my beauties. You may feed soon." Ezra whispered as he took the chain of the twin zombies and pulled them in the direction of the docking module, only stopping to grab his coat and fix his hair so that he was at least presentable. The lightsabre in the pocket was only a hollow reminder of just how useless it was in his inept hands. The module cracked open, and his pets tugged at their chains. They were always hungry.

[Lady Frygt]

"Petulant, Pretentious, little welp." Rikke Frygt said when sufficent time for reply had passed.

"Prodigies.." Janus replied, "However it seems the docking module is wide open, you will be able to board within minutes."

"Hmm." Rikke murmured, she heard Janus but her mind was already aboard the station, probing the abundant life on the station. For a minute she wondered if she had plunged in too deep but dismissed the notion as she knew she would feel quite at home amongst the horrible creatures of Ezra's design. Two creatures attracted her attention already, a type of undead humanoid connected via the Force to Ezra. Careful not to alert the young mad biologist she weaved carefully around his Darkside influence over the creatures and investigated their minds herself. No, mind was too generous a word, these creatures were pure instinct and impulse. "Beautiful." Rikke said out loud, ignoring the docking procedures. Similar to how on Korriban the dark lightning had permeated every cell in her body she found herself meandering through the cells of these macrabre creatures, she began at their teeth, then the rotten tongue and finally down their hungry, pulsating throats. Entranced in the Force she found herself experiencing consciousness as the cells that made up the creature's digestive system, she could feel the acid the cells secreted to break down the flesh Ezra fed to his pets. When Janus broke her trance, Rikke expected to be secreting stomach acid from her body.

"My Lady?" The disfigured man said tentatively.

As her consciousness returned to her body keratin claws extended through her finger tips, in an instant the razor tips were pressing against the man's scarred throat. "Let me make one thing absolutely clear: Under no circumstance will you ever interrupt my meditation again." In her rage the Darkside beckoned her to relinquish control and embrace a fury that would take the man's life and add one more body for her to dispose of. "I swear, Janus, I will devour you while you watch." But now was obviously not the time as she had a child to coerce and bribe and Janus was far more useful to her alive than dead.

Janus swallowed and spoke, "I'm sorry my Lady."

Rikke retracted her claws back into her hand and gathered her things to bring to Ezra. "Don't be sorry, be right."

------

Relying on her senses and the Force, Rikke Frygt stalked carefully among the corridors of moss and foliage. Animals of some sort, most likely created hybrid darted in and out of the trees and vines. She thought, Perhaps I was foolish to come unarmed? She had left her lightsaber on The Vengeance in hopes that if the young Sith prodigy might interpret her as less threatening than she really was. Of course she always had the weapon of her body, during her apprenticeship to the woman she considered a mother she had undergone a fairly radical genetic modification to alter her skull into that of a true carnivore as well as restructure her forearm and fingernails to give her very deadly Keratin claws. The result of her gene mods was that she was both horrific to look at and never unarmed.

However if the young Sith attacked with a lightsaber, keratin claws and teeth would do her little good. Again she thought of the Dark Lightning extending from her fingertips and disabling the V3 droid on Korriban. If only she could master that skill, after hours of trying while traveling through hyperspace, she had found that outside the dark energies of Korriban, she was a terrific failure at summoning lightning. Though in time she knew, felt, the power would be at her command.

As she stepped over snaking vines and reached with the Force to find the little monster that ran this place, but it washardly any use, with all the life in the station, the boy was all but invisible. The cannibal monsters, however, were like gravity wells to her, their hunger and desire was impossible to ignore, though she felt their desire for flesh, she coulf hardly pinpoint their location within the station, she could be going to them or they could be coming to her.

[Ezra Na'chtion]

He did not dare wait for her to come to him. There were far too many dangers lying in wait throughout the station to let her wander. Too many habitats for her to disturb. One wrong step and one of his beauties might spring upon her, and although he had no clue the power this woman possessed he did know that even the most hardened blade master or sorcerer would be horribly ill equipped to deal with the sudden onslaught of even half a pack of the creatures he had created. Worse even she might injure a few of them, and that was absolutely unacceptable. His bare feet padded across moss and durasteel plates toward the docking module, turning the corner just as the woman stepped through the portal. Immediately his pets tugged at their chains, but never for a moment did they try to tear free of his grip. They did not dare oppose his will. He hushed them like one does a child, and they fell silent. Docile.

Ezra's eyes looked across the distance at the woman, his meager old body horribly dwarfed by the towering undead at his sides. She appeared to be human, but he knew more than most that appearances could be deceiving. Many times he had used his youthful appearance to lure adults into a false sense of security. Few would ever imagine that a tiny child was capable of tearing apart their minds or cutting them in half. Who knows what horrors a self professed child of Sith Master Jorshal Vuntana was capable of. She was either a charlatan or what she claimed to be. Either way she was dangerous.

"Audience accepted." He said at last when the silence between them had grown uncomfortable. "The daughter of Master Vultana is quite the claim, and there yet remains whispers and remnants of the Sith Order that would not take kindly to such a claim should it prove a lie." It was not as hollow a threat as it would sound. While he did not actively search them out, he had heard the whispers, and seen events on the holonet that he could see the signature of former allies and colleagues. An honor bound warrior like Zereth Lancer or vengeful spirit like Jegan Olra'en would not take kindly to a charlatan prancing around in the skin of their friend and master.

"Why have you come to me?"

[Lady Frygt]

There he was, right in front of him, the beautiful monsters he created as well. Instinct said to go to the monsters and take some time to recognize their macabre beauty. But her mind told her she had to focus on the person before her.

"Why have you come to me?" he asked.

She responded with a grin, showing off her own genetic enhancements in the form of a wide row of jagged teeth. Then her mouth closed slightly, just at the sides, the cheek and jaw muscles returning to their usual place on a human head, only her front most teeth showed as she spoke.

"Information." She said curtly. "As you know, my father was Jorshal Vuntana. As much as I have been able to determine, he is likely dead. Or might as well be. Without him in his place of master of the Sith Order, the Order has crumbled. Their base on Corellia all but destroyed. Same for Korriban, and what's worse is someone has been looting the ruins." She suspected Ezra was the thief and knew that he knew she suspected him of this.

I really just jumped into it there, should've established my credentials first She thought to herself and then said, "My mother was Rayna Eclipse, a Jedi monk of sorts sent to Corellia to infiltrate the Sith Order for reasons unknown to me. She studied under Southstar and alongside with Jorshal, with whom she had a sort of forbidden romance, resulting in myself. Through Southstar's manipulations, my mother was stripped of her position in the Sith Order and degraded to spice addicted prostitute in Coronet, I was eventually born and abandoned. My mother eventually recovered and returned to her homeworld in the Deep Core. She's dead now. Suicide. I have not been able to determine to fate of my father, What remains of Southstar has been of no help. I've been to the base at Korriban, not many clues left. Whatever that Sturkov woman didn't destroy has been stolen. Especially one item of interest..."

She held forth a holo disc and activated it. The scene, shown from above depicted a Sith she did not know, anointing her father with a ritual sword. "I know not the significance of this event, but upon anointing that Sword became my father's, which means it is mine by right and I expect to either find it here or learn where else it might be."

"My sources tell me that it has been you that has been looting the ruins on Korriban.

[Ezra Na'chtion]

As those lips pulled back his eyebrow raised in unison; interest rose as the sharp, carnivorous fangs came into view. It was something unexpected, but a wonderful surprise. It made him wonder how he had missed it in the first place, but now that it was out in the light he could see the lines where the muscles were opened up and played with, the skin where it stretched over a shape it was not originally designed for. To the untrained eye she looked marvelously human when he mouth was shut, but he had a keen eye for this sort of work; the splicing of the physical body into something it was never designed to be. Whomever was responsible for her bio-mods had done a commendable job.

He made a mental note to find out who that was, to either learn from or remove from competition. Or both.

His ghouls howled as his face tightened into a scowl. They balked and pulled at their chains, hands reaching for the woman. "Stay your tongue. Do not forget where you stand." His reply was sharp, but he made no movements himself. Instead his ghouls felt his anger and reacted through the bond they shared, pulling and clawing at their restraints. They wanted nothing but to consume the subject of their master's ire. "You do not come on to MY space station and make accusations." From underfoot, under bush, and around corners little purple and brown creatures peeked out, large mouths open, a hundred teeth each. Small, beady eyes stared. Muscles were coiled. Ready to charge.

"Korriban is a dead world, and the Sith Temple abandoned. Was it Master Vuntana, Lord Lancer or Olra'en who braved the wastes, the traps, and the assassins to reclaim our home? No! It was me. Not the mighty warriors with their muscles and weapons or the wizards with their sorcery and tricks. I spent two years working my way back to that planet so I could salvage what was lost. Through wit and cunning I triumphed where others failed or worse never tried to begin with. I did this not with an army or servants, but as a child. Alone! After both Baralai Lotus and Sin, my two masters, abandoned me. I made the journey, I was the first Sith to set foot inside that Temple since we left, and it was me who killed the regent who sat the throne. I who drove a spike into it's eye and reclaimed the Temple.

But Korriban will never again be our home." His voice calmed, but only just. It never lost it's edge, but the ghouls backed off, becoming docile again. Like slumbering giants they waited, as if biding their time. "The Woman in Black, if she found us once she could do it again, raise another clone army. I took the artifacts and treasures, the rich history of The One and True Sith Order and hid them away where no tomb raider could ever find them. What I could not carry I buried. The Temple must never fall into the wrong hands. Now tell me again how I looted what was rightfully mine? I made the effort, I made the journey. By the laws of the Sith Order it belongs to me now, and I could claim to be the now and future Lord of the Sith; but I have no desire for titles.

You have no rights here, you have no claim to anything. Nothing! I am not without reason. Master Vuntana is a man I respected greatly. He had a finesse for accomplishing what he set his mind to. Brutal efficiency. I owe him a debt I doubt I will ever have the chance to repay. The sword will be yours. I do not have it here. It is hidden away in my personal collection. Consider it an act of good will, and know that I do not do this lightly. I am not a generous person. I cannot even begin to understand what use an ancient Sith Tremor Sword could possibly be to you."

This woman had a way of picking at his interest over and over again. She was a mystery. An enigma. She was impudent and impatient, like a child. She made demands for things that were never hers. If he was any number of other Sith of the Order she might be split in half already and her tongue ripped out, but he gained nothing from that. This was a transaction, an exchange. He would not give up the sword for nothing. Equivalent exchange was fundamental, although extremely flawed, cornerstone of alchemy and he would see something returned for this. Perhaps it was more investment that a purchase. One had to make ripples before waves.

[Lady Frygt]

She sighed, "Very well, keep what you like, I need only the sword." What was it that caused Darksiders to insist on being as non-compliant as humanly possible. "It is by right yours, as one of the last remnant. I will not contest that. And given that most of the Old Order is dead and you remain, does that not make you the sole heir?"

She wondered how strong in the Dark Ezra might be, could he sense her ambitions to revive the Sith Order and bring forth new days of glory? She doubted it. Ezra was most certainly an adherent of the Dark, but she suspected his talents did not lie in the various talents the Force allowed it's chosen to perform, sensing feelings, anticipating enemies' moves. She was sure Ezra's talent lied in less combat-practical skills. Why else keep those magnificent rotting body guards? If it came to a physical fight, She was sure her she could win without any major loss to her body. And even then, significant body loss was no concern to her, silently she wished for a painful death this day.

She clenched her jaw and said, "Master Vuntana... Olra'en... Lancer. Do you know if they still live? My own research into my father's ultimate fate has been inconclusive." She knew little of the others, she believed Lancer was somewhat senior to her father, Olra'en she knew almost nothing of beyond that prior to taking on her parents as apprentices, Southatar had trained Olra'en. If Jegan Olra'en was anything like Southstar, she would have to see to it that he died soon. She pressed further, "It is very important that I know of any other surviving Sith."

"I have plans, you see, for a new Sith era, a lasting era that no army of clone monsters can destroy." She said carefully. It would be imprudent to reveal all her plans to this stranger, but his input and compliance could be of great use. She walked nearer, letting her monsterous lust for pain refocus her mind towards the beautiful chained monsters. She picked the one to the right and drew closer, reaching out to just touch the rancid flesh of the creature. The creature grew agitated as she got closer. Finally, she was in range, but the shackles prevented the monster from doing much besides impatiently fidgeting.

"Hmm." She murmured as she saw the exposed teeth of the creatureshe carefully reached with her index finger until she felt the firmness of it's front teeth and could feel its hot fetid breath on her skin. She said, "You're hungry aren't you, little monster." and giggled as most normal people do when around a puppy or similar cute creature. Finally she pushed her finger deeper into the putrid maw. The creature bit down, hard, crushing the phalangeal bone nearest to her palm. She pulled her hand away, the sinew stretching out, bloody as it drew lines in the air from her hand to the creatures mouth. The creature didn't savor her gift and chewed but a moment before swallowing.

With a mild wince she wiggled the severed digit in front of her face. She'd have to get a new finger now. But it was no matter, the thrill of being devoured, if only partially was entirely worth it. Somewhere in the creature's digestive system, her finger was being dissolved amongst whatever acids the creatures body could still produce.

She walked behind him now, over to the next creature. "Your work is beautifully excellent, Ezra." She said and without the prior drama, she fed the second creature the index finger of her left hand. "It feels unfair to give only one a treat and not the other."

Bleeding from both hands she stepped back to her prior place and stared deeply into the boy's eyes. "I have a place for you in my undertaking. Should you want. Unlimited funding, nearly unlimited space, human and alien test subjects, complete freedom from Republic or Imperial law, all the recorded knowledge you need, Sith or Jedi holocrons... Anything you need and want."

"And, of course, in exchange, I need something... Information, mostly. About the Old Order. I need to find my father, if he's still alive, or at least learn how he died and avenge him if necessary.... A daughter's burden."

She paused, wiped the blood on her leg and licked the remaining stub on her right hand, her tongue serrated from the many accidental cuts she sustained when her teeth were still new.

"It's a new day for the Sith, Ezra. Open your eyes and rise to the top with me."


OOC: I need a little clarification as to how old Ezra is at this point in time. As I recall, he was an adolescent in the TSO days, How long ago the great destruction was is kind of ambiguous in my mind, I usually write as if it were around a decade ago. So I have no idea how old Ezra might be or if something had happened in the meantime that affected his age. I've been writing as if he was still somewhat young, at least younger than Frygt. But a little light on this would be helpful. Thanks!

[Ezra Na'chtion]

The idea of inheriting the Sith Order, and it's property, had never before passed before his mind. Yes, he had liberated the items for his own ends, but not until now had that reality clicked together. And it filled him with bile. There was nothing worthwhile in that stake. Being the Lord of the Sith meant nothing if no one was alive to recognize it, and he was hardly capable of defending such a title. No. That was not his place. Baralai had taught him well the merits of working from the shadows. The puppet master, always behind the curtain manipulating the strings and using minions as extensions of yourself.

There would be a time and a place for the galaxy to know who he was, but he would not announce himself as the Lord of the Sith. A much grander title would have to be designed for what he planned to unleash upon the galaxy; his plague of beast and undeath will creep from one edge of the galaxy to the other. They would call him the greatest Sith Alchemist of all time, even greater than Exar Kun and the Sith Lords of old. Some day, somehow, he would achieve that, and this woman appeared to have arrived at just a fortunate time.

And what a strange woman at that. Besides her own biological modifications she seemed a bit unhinged. Masochistic even, as he teased one of his ghouls with a finger and paid the price. His eyes did not so much as wince as she pulled her bloodied knuckle away only to repeat it with the other ghoul. Insane was perhaps the appropriate label, but she showed no pain, no hesitation. Whatever she is was impressive indeed. He would have to discover that answer.

"I will tell you what I know, but I regret that it is not much. After the Sith Temple on Korriban was attacked by those clone soldiers those of us who survived fled to Corellia, where we had a foothold within it's government. It was at this point that my master, Baralai Lotus, foresaw the weakness of the Order and the inevitible fracture and instead left with me. In time he too disappeared. I do not know his whereabouts.

Vuntana and Olra'en disappeared into the stars. I have never heard so much as a peep about them. I did hear a whisper that Hara Kiri ended up in Inquisition control, to what end I do not know. The acolytes Yurza, Naira, Ambrose all unaccounted for. The only one I have heard tell of is Zereth Lancer, who has spent all the years since waiting on Corellia for Vuntana's return like the good toy soldier he is.

But what is your goal in all this? Housing and funding me, looking for the old order, to what end? There must be more."

OOC: Ezra is about 17-19.

[Lady Frygt]

She grinned as she tried to wiggle her missing left finger, the phantom limb syndrome was setting it hard. Instead a thick droplet of blood formed and fell to the floor. She said, "To what end? Power, of course. Power over the Force, power over my life, so I can right things and make them as they ought to be."

Power of course was only the tool, the desired result was the freedom to do as she pleased, without hindrance. Discovering the Darkside was the greatest moment of her life. In its shadows she discovered a new aspect of herself, almost a new person entirely and she loved being that person, it thrilled her and more, in a way it completed her. Finding that wretch inside her mind and soul brought a new meaning to her life.

When the Darkside discovered her and filled her with such agony that it redefined the purpose of her life, it radically altered her view of the Galaxy. Every sentient creature stumbling through the Galaxy lived their life trying to avoid pain. But they either ignored or didn't see that it was being able to sense pain that defined being alive. The dead felt no misery, but the living did. Sensation of pain and the senses simply defined being alive. And the whole Galaxy spent it's time trying to avoid it, sao therefore the Galaxy was essentially dead, her purpose was to share this discovery of life with the Galaxy and bring it to life.

But she couldn't explain this to the young scientist, Despite the great revelation the Darkside brought her, most other Darksiders also sought to avoid the pain of life as well. But instead of using words, she opened herself through the Darkside and let her thoughts and feelings radiate from her to Ezra through the Darkside. She couldn't explain her intent and desire in words, but could at least let the young man feel some part of what she felt.

Finally she removed a new holodisc from her bag and activated it. A medium sized planet appeared in the blue light, most of it's landmass covered in fields of grain with sparse mountainous areas poking through the seas of plants.

"This is Taanab." She said. "It's a farming planet on the border between Alliance and Empire, on the Perlemian Way. The people there are totally uneducated, generations are raised to simply repeat what their parents did: farm. The resources of the planet are completely untouched, unexploited, as is most of the trade money that passes through between Coruscant and the Rim."

"Civil War and Revolution will transform the planet, and is historically inevitable, The population is governed by a corrupt Senate propped up by the Alliance and made rich through the Trade tariffs they collect. If the population ever knew how much money was being funneled into Senator's pockets, they'd revolt. With the right leadership, a Revolt could become Revolution. With a friendly government we can have whatever freedom we want and need. Imagine having real and dynamic populations to test. With rising Urbanification, land would be unlimited. Imagine how your creatures might evolve on their own, if they could be tested in the field instead of a lab. And as Taanab realizes the Truth of the Darkside, other planets will follow."

"Aside from that, there are other Darksiders running around the Galaxy accumulating power. The old way of the Sith was to violently destroy any potential Rivals. On Hapes and Onderon, a Sith of the old order is amassing power. How long do you think he'll go before he decides to do something about the little dark scientist creating armies on a space station in the Rim? The old Sith are notorious for their jealousy and insecurity..."

[Ezra Na'chtion]

So, it was just the same means and end as always. Power. Nothing but power. In the end it always came back to that. He could understand and appreciate the fantasy that power brought. It was not his own goal. Ezra wanted recognition for his work, for his name to go down in history books regardless of how society painted him. Power was meaningless without accomplishment. It was not a cloak to wear around your shoulders for society to see and respect because of how big and mighty it is. He had no desire for riches or comfort, or lust for the material or the flesh. He found those very concepts foreign and alien.

And then she opened herself to him. It was so unexpected that it caught him off guard, causing the chains to slip from his fingers as he gasped for air as the flood of imagery and sensations flooded his mind, overloading all of his senses. Through it he caught glimpses of her life, her feelings, and the pain. So much pain. It was like an overflowing bowl tipping and sluicing through him. Pain, that was her answer. Not power. Her ultimate goal was... freedom? That was different. Ezra had never had freedom in his life. There had always been someone standing over him, always a teacher or master or shadowy figure guiding his hands right up until the moment they disappeared.

But when they had all disappeared he was the one that dusted himself off and carried on. He was his own master, and the force his only guide. He understood now. Others were still trapped where he had been, dependent on others, lost and helpless. They needed hands to steady them. Not to control them, but to prop them back up when they fell so they could try to walk again. "Through pain, my chains are broken. The force shall free me." He whispered, twisting the words of the Sith Code to a new meaning.

Ezra was very familiar with pain. His pursuit of alcehmy had forced him to learn the art of sith healing, which was less about nurturing and healing and more about exploiting the pain centers of the nervous system to new ends. Repressing pain rather than healing the body in a medical environment. In the laboratory he used it to connect with his test subjects, to feel their pain as he cut into them, to find the damage and errors in the wiring of the nervous system so he could fix it. It had been uncomfortable at first, but now he found the experience to his liking.

"I am quite familiar with Tanaab. A planet with no native animal species of it's own. All species currently located on it have been brought it from offworld. An almost completely person made planet. Every single species was introduced to expand the agriculture minded industry of the planet, and the species that did not adapt died and the survivors grew stronger for it. It's a marvel of modern terraforming, and a perfect place for me to raise my children.

You should let me treat those fingers. It would be a shame for you to bleed to death." Despite releasing their chains, the two ghouls had not moved. The chains were really just for show. He had a connection to his creations, and they did not dare disobey; not even as he stepped away from them and took the hands of the woman, raising them up so he could appraise the damage in the poor lighting.

"You may be surprised how many old order sith had tried to take advantage of me, and how many of them lay at the bottom of unmarked graves. Everything I have accomplished was predicated on people assuming that they were the ones taking advantage and not the other way around. If this sith came for me I would play his own game against him like all the others, right up until I put a knife in his back. Alas, I am not a child anymore. Time has always been my strongest enemy, and it has stolen away my greatest tool. Innocence cannot be distilled and bottled. It can only be savagely taken. Much like these fingers."

As he said that he pushed his thumbs into the bloodied stumps and breathing deeply as he picked up on the sensation of pain within her own nervous system. Even if she did not react to it, there was pain there, and across this small distance he could taste it. Marvelous. It filled him a dark and a hollow place within him. He was a boy, no man, of very few desires in life, but there was something carnal and addicting about pain. Not his own, mind you, but the pain and suffering of others.

His thumbs pushed again, and he traced the pain, letting it draw him into her body, mapping out her nervous system like a hologram in his mind. It drew him down into her being, and through her limps and into where the tips of her fingers should be. There were the nerve endings that no longer existed, but the body promised they were still there. He found the damage and while his ability to actually heal tissue was weak and the scars ugly, he encouraged the coagulation of the blood vessels and in moments the bleeding would stop and scarring would begin, although at a much faster pace with the encouragement given.

"When do we leave for Tanaab?"

[Lady Frygt]

"When do we leave for Taanab?"

I knew I'd convince him. She thought to herself, but then a new voice was picked up by her ears, it sounded like hers, but she didn't cause it to think or speak, it said, Of course you did, the Darkside is strong within you. All who follow the dark will inevitably be drawn to you and follow the Dark through you. You ARE the dark.

She thought to herself, Just great, voices, I'm hearing voices in my head. Fantastic She moved her attention to her severed left finger, it was scarring over quite rapidly, still a bit tender, but at least the bleeding would stop and she wouldn't have to worry about bleeding out through her index fingers. She wiggled both nubs, she still had the phantom limb feeling.

That was a bit rash and poorly thought out, wasn't it? the voice said, she searched with her eyes for a source of it. Nothing obvious. Was Ezra toying with her somehow? Her mental guard was fairly strong, it would be tough to get past it without her noticing. No, she was sure this was created through her and inside her, wonderful.

"I couldn't help myself." She said softly outloud. Ezra, just eyed her suspiciously without moving his head. Apparently he didn't hear the voice like she did. She grinned through her jagged teeth and said, "Sorry, thinking out loud. We leave as soon as you are ready, I borrowed a minimally damaged ship from the Order's palace on Korriban. The border is about a day away, and then another day through Alliance space. The ship is spacious and I've got a few things I'd like you to look at to keep you occupied. Biology things.

Watch this one, he could destroy you. the voice, apparently in her head, said.

I'd like that She thought to the voice I'd like to be one of those rotting monsters.

You're depraved.

She just smiled again.

----

The ship slowed as it approached the Alliance space station at the border. Three Alliance soldiers boarded the ship, blasters drawn.

"Remember me?" She said and coerced them with the Force to holster their weapons. "You'll be granting us passage and won't report that we were here." She said, "Just like last time." She grabbed one soldier by his uniform and pulled him close. "And this one is coming with me."

The remaining two soldiers nodded and exited the ship. The ship broke connection with the station and continued it's journey to Taanab.

She sat in the common area, physically forcing the soldier to sit next to her. She leaned to his ear and whispered, "How fortunate for you that you now belong to me!" She'd released her mental hold over the man as she liked it when they resisted, but still left a tendril of influence in his mind.

"Please, I have a family."

"You can forget about them right now, I'm the only one that matters to you now."

"The Alliance will look for me."

She licked his ear and tasted a nervous sweat, "They might, but it won't matter soon."

Finally she opened the maw of her jagged jaw and pinched his ear between her teeth, his bitter blood stimulated her tongue. With a forceful bite and a slight pull, the man's ear was removed from his skull.

The man screamed and held his hand to where his ear was. Rikke smiled and looked Ezra directly in the eyes as she swallowed the raw flesh whole. "Pain focuses the senses and I speculate that through such painful focus, even the most untalented mundane can touch the Darkside. Imagine if the entire sentient population could become Force-sensitive. I propose that through excruciating pain and mental torture, we can create a Force sensitive army."

"Torture him." She saiod to Ezra and threw rthe still screaming man on the floor. "See if we can make him become a conduit of the Darkside." She stood up and dug the tip of her boot into the bloody mess where the soldier's ear was. "He's all yours, if he dies, do with the body as you please. In the meantime, I've got a date with a Sith Lord's brain."

As she left the room for the lower hold, the soldier's scream,s had turned to moans of despair. You're truly wicked. the unknown inner voice said to her. She just smiled through bloody teeth.