Bruises fade, but pain lasts forever (Vengeance)

[Armand Temi]

Livna enjoyed hearing Marcus recount his experience as an Acolyte. His training under Darth Validra sounded par for the course, until he mentioned Darth Timoris, and the Caprine had to control the surprise on her features, attempting to keep them as blank as a duracrete landing pad.

"I understand what you mean about relying on yourself, although I never had the opportunity to do so until now."

The decisions she had made during her short time of freedom - for better or worse - from training with the Sith Lord to her street brawl with the Dark Jedi had been hers to make. Even though the mistakes were bittersweet and often thought of with regret, she had no one else to blame but herself for making them. But still, she kept coming back to the unexpected emotional revelation that Marcus had been in love with a woman. And although Livna knew better than to pry, she couldn't help herself. The admittance was too unusual on his part.

"You mean the self-proclaimed bachelor was willing to give up his padawan conquests for a woman?" the blonde Acolyte asked with genuine curiosity. "You continue to surprise me… My Lord," she added remembering who she was talking to. "She must have been something special. But what happened to her?"
"Why is she not by your side now?"

The thought that perhaps Darth Timoris perished crossed her mind, but hopefully the truth was something more innocuous and not as tragic.

[member="Vengeance"]

 

[Kenrath]

He shook his head playfully chiding her.

"I thought you were here to train........not pry into my personal life."

He smirked.

"That is a complicated story."

He paused with a sigh.

"Darth Venefica was a Sector Voice and her Apprentice Darth Timoris wanted to make a trip to the crystal caves on Dagobah." "I decided to tag along.........not because I knew either one of them but for kicks." "When I say Timoris it was love at first sight." "We ended up next bumping into each other during the second invasion of Glee Anselm and ended up on the same mission during the invasion."

He smirked.

"The attraction was so immediately strong that even the other Sith could see it......more than a few comments were made." "It was during the Invasion of Mindabaal that things got serious." "We were there as guests of the bride, a Sith of course, and after the vows were exchanged murdered everyone in the room."

Vengeance looked away for a moment.

"Unfortunately as things go the carefree days did not last forever." "Venefica did as all Sith eventually do and made a power play against her fellow Voices." "Only she made a miscalculation and as a result Venefica, Timoris and Venefica's entire power base was exiled on penalty of death if they ever returned."

...............................

"I did manage to see Timoris after that exactly one time offerign to leave the One Sith myself just to be with her." "She meant more to me than anything else on this world." "However Timoris knew that leaving the One Sith would effectively end my career and ensure that I never rose to the mantle of Sith Lord."

He frowned.

"I would go on to leave the One Sith anyway to be with her but by the time I could make a clean getaway she and one of her sisters had disappeared." "I spent months trying to track her down but failed...........she is presumed dead."

[member="Livna Zios"]

 

[Armand Temi]

Livna sat down on the floor, and as she listened to Marcus, she stretched her long legs, limbering up for the training ahead.
But her blue eyes grew sad with the admission that Marcus’s lover was presumed dead. She was so early into her Force journey, and the darkside had not corrupted her yet. She would feel genuine empathy for the Sith Lord and his loss.

“I’m so sorry,” she said. “She must have been very special to you.”

While she didn’t express these thoughts, Livna realized her new Master was extremely different from the Sith that she’d encountered in her young life. She could understand how a bond may have formed between himself and Darth Timoris as he was not only handsome, but intriguing, quite mischievous and a little bit deadly – a captivating mix to say the least. And much more human than Sith, despite his early cruelty towards her, and for this, she was grateful and satisfied with her choice of coming to his side to train with him.

Livna was worried that an hour into her Academy visit, and especially after her first encounter with Tadala, she would be trying to find an exit out of which to escape. But here she was captivated by Marcus’s life stories.

“I won’t leave you,” she said. “Not that I’m your betrothed,” she added quickly. “But I will be loyal to you. If you scar me during training, I will wear those with pride. Unlike my former Mistress’s whip marks, each failed strike which causes me pain by your hand will be my pleasure to take.”

With a determined look, her lips curling in a smirk, she said, “I will pry no more. But I would like to fight you, My Lord.”

Hopefully the physical activity of warding off her attacks and vice versa would help both of them forget their bittersweet pasts.
[member="Vengeance"]

 

[Kenrath]

Vengeance listened to her but did not speak. He lip did curl into a smirk when she mentioned fighting. Instead his sword hand shot forward towards her the tip would stop a fraction of a millimeter from her nose.

"Think you got a shot kiddo?" "Think you got what it takes to beat me?" "Let's see those acrobatics you enjoy so much."

His voice was playful as he said it but right as he finished speaking his foot shot out in a kick to plat it firmly in her chest.

[member="Livna Zios"]

 

[Armand Temi]

As the sword nearly touched the tip of Livna’s bruised nose, she realized that show and tell was now over, although with Marcus she hoped there would be more show and tell later, perhaps in his quarters. Like the Sith Lord, the Caprine enjoyed amorous relationships as much as any male of her species would. And now that she wasn’t under the persistent and restrictive eye of the Priestess, she could have who she wanted when she wanted.

But first, they would spar. She was still watching the sword very carefully, when the Acolyte felt Lord Vengeance’s foot connect with her torso. She fell flat on her elbow and tailbone, both of which would enjoy matching bruises tomorrow. Might as well add to the collection, she thought with a grin.

Jumping up in one motion like a gangly foal, she realized that she was not acrobatic at all. Livna had a natural grace and beauty, but she was no circus performer. Perhaps this was why her Master was not an expert in Ataru. But she wasn’t going to give up so easily. Using a Force Jump, she sprang upward, both hands on the sword hilt, but pulled to her chest as he’d instructed her to do. It was only when Livna was right on top of Marcus, she swung the sword, attempting in a diagonal arch to connect with his shoulder blade.

[member="Vengeance"]

 

[Kenrath]

Vengeance didn't react, he didn't move giving nothing away until the last second.

As she brought her sword down his front foot slid forward just a hair his own sword came up to connect with hers and pull away as he spun around her to get behind her. As he did he twisted his training sword and swung aiming to hit her with the wide part like a paddle to the small off her back.

He would follow it up sliding his other foot back resuming his stance. For the moment he would prove his point not by beating her soundly on the aggressive attack but by sticking to defense and counter-attack.

[member="Livna Zios"]

 

[Armand Temi]

His reflexes and timing honed like the sharp point of a needle, Marcus did not even flinch when Livna swung, until the very last breath, and then he parried his sword against hers with a clunking sound. The wooden hilt reverberated in her hands as his sword slid off of hers, and with amazing speed, he was suddenly behind her.

The Caprine would twist her body around to connect with his blade, but not before getting a swift thwack on her lower spine with Vengeance’s sword. As though he hadn’t moved at all, he edged back into his original stance.

Smarting from the blow, Livna launched into another attack, this time approaching head on, with both her sword and her horns. As she reached him, she tucked her head in so she could hit his chest with the silver keratin horns as well as swinging her sword again, this time from the bottom to the top attempting to connect with one of his strong thigh muscles.

The problem with this move was that her line of sight was obscured, something Livna only realized now that she was dangerously close to the Sith Lord.

[member="Vengeance"]

 

[Kenrath]

Vengeance still gave nothing away. He side stepped his body turning towards her. His sword hand came up and around swing down the blade this time aimed for her now exposed shoulder blades. The leg she was trying to hit with her sword would come up fast and hard a knee aimed her her chest.

And then he would simply spin back and away and resume his stance not a word uttered the entire time.

[member="Livna Zios"]

 

[Armand Temi]

Marcus was a consummate swordsman, and Livna was quite the amateur. He parried her blows easily, his wooden sword connecting with her shoulder, peppering the Caprine with more bruises.

She would hurt later and the Acolyte said, "Maybe you can ease my wounds later. In your chamber. But for now I will not let up until I'm on the floor." She growled and swayed back and forth on her bended knees.

Then adrenaline took over, and she drew back and like the stubborn goat she was LIvna went right for Vengeance's chest with her keratin horns.

Passion and anger fueled her now. She would spar him head one, until she could spar no more.

[member="Vengeance"]

 

[Kenrath]

Vengeance shook his head but did not say a work as she repeated the same attack for a third time even though it ended in failure the first two times. This time when she charge he didn't side step. Instead he brought the sword up even with his shoulders gripped it in both hands and brought it down hard and fast aiming for the top of her head between her horns.

He followed it up quickly bringing his leg up in a kick curling his toes back the ball of his foot aimed for her stomach.

[member="Livna Zios"]

 

[Armand Temi]

Livna was powered by fury and anger now, the darkside coursing through her, a feeling unlike she'd experienced before. But Vengeance hit her square between the horns, a sensitive spot indeed.

And then his foot connected with her rib cage again.

The Caprine, now on the ground, seethed and huffed, breath moving back and forth, visible on her ample chest.

"I don't know that I can go anymore," she admitted, defeated from her prone position on the floor. "I hope I haven't failed you. If I have, perhaps you'll let Tadala have me for awhile. She has some refreshers that need cleaning I'm sure."

[member="Vengeance"]

 

[Kenrath]

Vengeance shook his head.

"Go to medical.............get evaluated and treated." "Once they release you come back here and we can discuss why you find yourself in your current condition."

He moved over putting his training sword back on the rack and hit a button on the wall. Not a minute later to medics entered the room with a stretcher moving quickly over to Livna. Vengeance turned back around and watched from a distance.

[member="Livna Zios"]

 

[Armand Temi]

Livna was disgusted with herself. This was not the sleepy, cobblestone Naboo streets where she was beaten like a stray dog by the Dark Jedi she’d shared a few drinks with. In front of her was a powerful Sith Lord who had the intelligence, cunning and might to elevate her standing in the galaxy. And here she was flailing around like the same old servant girl she was raised to be.

Furthermore, she’d suffered much worse under Priestess Tiin's clawed hands. The scars from a brutal flogging were a physical testament to that. She'd cried out in such pain that day, her vocal chords would not work properly the next day. Not to mention the psychological trauma and subsequent nightmares.

These bruises from the sword were nothing compared to that.

“No,” she said in a determined voice, rising to her feet. “I am okay.”

As the medics came into the room, she panicked, not wanting them near her, and with a furious blast of Telekinesis, sent them flying into the wall. Whether the blonde Caprine needed to employ Crucitorn or even Force Rage to get through this training, she would do so. Summoning a dark and potent anger, she enhanced her strikes, this time with the Force, forgetting about the acrobatics.

Livna would try to tap into her natural precognitive ability to predict where Vengeance was going to strike, and then parry with a renewed burst of energy, her own stubborn pride not allowing her to give up. As she attempted to connect with Vengeance's body - any part of him would do at this point - she growled through gritted teeth, “I will only go to the medbay when I’m unconscious.”

[member="Vengeance"]

 

[Kenrath]

As Vengeance watched Livna attack the Medics and then turn on him he growled. His hand reached out but it was not the wooden training sword that came to his hand but his lightsaber. Igniting it he met her charge with one of his own. As they reached each other he would swing both hands on the hilt. His goal not only to slice the delicate wooden sword in half but to bite flesh as well.

He would follow it through until he was been behind her spinning he brought the saber up to make an nice X slash into her Flesh. His hand would then come up reaching out through the Force and ripping back to slam her past him and against the back wall. Turning back to face her he would reach out through the Force to crush her entire body.

His eyes were not yellow now no Vengeance was pissed. His eyes were a deep red his mouth formed into a snarl like a Tukuta Roar. His whole body shook in anger. This little whelp had shunned his mercy, his concern for her injuries, attacked his people, and dared to attack him with the Force. He had killed people for less and Livna was experiencing the full wrath of a Sith Lord. Her words echo through his mind...........unconscious............unconscious................she would be lucky if she lived.

[member="Livna Zios"]

 

[Armand Temi]

Here she was trying to impress him, but Livna only managed to make her Master angry. In a split second, she recalled that he despised her wild, undisciplined nature – some of which came naturally from being a species known for unsophisticated behavior, and some of which remained out of her control.

As he spun around with amazing speed, she threw the sword down and tried to grab him with her hands to gore him with her horns. Perhaps she made contact, perhaps she didn’t because in the next second, she felt the crisscross of Vengeance’s saber cutting right into the place where she’d been so fervently whipped, flogged until her flesh fell off in ribbons by Priestess Tin. She had no prior experience with Crucitorn but understood of its properties from Briga who often employed it. Therefore she stopped fighting and let her body be slammed into the wall, the pressure of the Force crushing her vital organs. Concentrating on her own Force power, she tried to dull her pain, but the acute agony still coursed through her. When she was able to eliminate one wound – the saber burn for example – the others flared up until she could no longer block any of the pain.

His face was a monstrous mask; she’d never Marcus so angry. His crimson eyes burned as though blood leaked out of his tear ducts, and the fury radiated off of him, only adding nausea to her pain as though he was peering into her very soul, pulling out every single disturbing event and amplifying it to the fullest extent. The mental and physical torture she’d suffered in her life came flooding back, mingling with the rippling agony, and Lina got her wish.

She passed out, slumping down from the wall, her body briefly in shock before she lost consciousness.

[member="Vengeance"]

 

[Kenrath]

As she fell Vengeance watched a smile playing across his face. It had been too long since he had crossed that line......and it was like a drug. After a few minutes he managed to cage the beast enough to move over to the fallen Medics. He straightened the over turned stretch setting the medics on it and wheeled them out the door towards the med bay.

For a little bit he left [member="Livna Zios"] crumbled in the floor to bask in her failure and defeat. She had earned it and he would not rob her of it. In the end though two medics would come for her to take her to be looked at. They were given specific instructions to toss her in a cell when she was well enough to be released. She would know the full extent of her misstep and it would be one he guaranteed she would not forget.

Many a Sith believed Imperials to be useless pawns to be used and tossed away on a whim. Vengeance was not one of those people.

 

[Armand Temi]

Once Livna was revived in the Academy medbay, which for now, was empty but for the feisty Acolyte, she slept for a while under sedatives and bacta patches. Vengeance’s saber wound required a quick skin graft that was taken care of by droids. Instead of using the Caprine’s own soft hide, they would use synth-skin, of which the blending was difficult since her skin was covered in an extremely light layer of fur. The medical droids did their best, but in the end, the wound just added another layer to the existing whip marks on her back.

She was confined to the bed for a few days under doctor’s orders. During this time she did nothing more than wallow in self-pity and pain, not talking and not eating very much at all. But this injury-induced melancholia didn’t last long and she began to feel like her normal self again soon enough.

A week later after she awoke had stimcaf and breakfast, the 2-1B droid ordered her to walk around a little in the medbay, test out her strength, sit, stand and move around a lot. Livna did extremely well. She felt strong and nearly back to normal aside from a few aches, pains and yes, more bruises.

“She’s ready for the cell,” said the droid to the Academy guards.

“What? I beg your pardon!”

The Caprine Acolyte quickly realized she was not going back to training or walking in the gardens in the courtyard, or even mingling with the other students. She was going into detainment.

The entire way there she cursed at the guards in Caprinean, as they struggled to get her down the hallway and into the cell.

“Niyatemb ukub kub izze neityhaka Kowakian monkey-lizards!”

In a way, it was a relief to know that her fury had returned with her stable health.

Angry about trading her comfortable patient bed for the hard floor of the detention pen, she sat quietly meditating with the Darkside of the Force, circling it around her as though a black, destructive blanket. But nothing would actually be destroyed. Merely her thoughts swirling like a maelstrom, first considering revenge against her Master for putting her in the cell, but then realizing that the real person who put her here was Priestess Tiin.

[member="Vengeance"]

 

[Kenrath]

Exactly twenty four hours after Livna was taken to her cell three men would enter the detention center and approach her cell. The one in the middle was a man of average height looking about mid 40s in full dress uniform. His rank insignia gave away that the man was an Imperial Moff. On his left and right both men were in full combat armor carrying blaster rifles, helmets hid their faces. One was a Captain and the other a LT.

The Moff cleared his throat for a brief moment a document in his hands he began to speak.

"Sith Acolyte Livna Zios, be order of the Emperor handed down by the Grand Moff you are hereby charged with the following crimes."

There would be a short pause before the Moff continued.

"Two counts of murder in the deaths of Medics Sgt Nicholaus Atticus and Cpl Sebastian Martin, and one count of attempted murder of the Emperor's Hand Sith Lord Vengeance." "Due to the seriousness of your crimes you are to be detained until your trial commencing one week from today."

The Moff would put away the document before looking at Livna.

"Does the accused understand the charges?"

[member="Livna Zios"]

 

[Armand Temi]

Livna’s eyes snapped open when the Captain, Lt. and sentries came into the cell area, and then her mouth dropped right after. If she was drinking a glass of luma, she would have promptly spit it out. “Who are you?” she asked, though the impressive display of Imperial might was a sure sign that she had no pull, sway or even a voice in the matter. “Where’s Master Vengeance?”

Wait… she’d murdered the medics? Livna’s lower lip trembled slightly as their names were read out. Nicholaus… Sebastian… they had titles and likely families… She’d never killed anyone, anything, not even the spider-rats when they’d taken up residence in her bedroom in the ancient temple on Iktotch before Briga’s Grand Temple of Ax’no had been built. And quite honestly, the only individual she’d ever wanted to murder, to throttle her tender throat until she could feel the cartilage pop and break, was Priestess Tiin.

“This is a mistake!” she hissed. “I did not try to murder my Master. We were training for combat, and the situation got out of hand. But I’m no criminal.” Emperor’s Hand, you stupid goat, thought Livna. How did you not know that?

“I understand the words of the charges, but I do not agree with them.” Livna had never watched many holoshows as the Caprine colonies were not techno-sophisticated, but when she was finally free and staying in seedy hotel rooms across the galaxy, she binged watched many an episode of Law & Order: Coruscant.

“I want a lawyer.”

And if Livna didn’t get a lawyer, she was going to figure out how to escape. She had no Force suppression collar on her presently, and the cell was a material structure.

Still, she waited for the answer over her request for council.

[member="Vengeance"]

 

[Kenrath]

The Moff listened unflinching to Livna's outburst. Her words meant nothing to him and she was better off saving them for the trial. When she requested a lawyer and the room fell back into silence he finally spoke again.

"Save your objections for the trial Acolyte."

He paused.

"Where do you think you are Acolyte the Republic, there are no lawyers here." "You will have the chance to explain and defend your actions at your trial next week and then the Emperor will decide your fate."

Then in unison the three men took two steps back, turned, and exited the detention center. They left her to the solace of her cell until her trial. Her only company the five minutes twice a day one of the guards brought her food. Vengeance would not come to visit her. She would not see him again until she appeared before the Emperor at her trial.

[member="Livna Zios"]