Building A New Spice Rack

[J3C0]

Well, that was the wrong answer. Mierin was up and moving from her seat in almost the blink of an eye. She lacked the speed that Nemene Talith had so often displayed, but in the close distance between herself and Hal, Mierin moved more than fast enough to pin the young man against the bulkhead with a perfectly manicured foot, not that he could put up much resistance anyway.

He made a loud thudding noise and the crack of a bone could be heard and Mierin kicked him into place.

“The One true Dark Lord of the Sith.” Mierin said her lips turning down into a smile. “The one who has reclaimed his rightful place in the center of the galaxy.”

Hal Terrano had better watch his words.

 

[Hal Terrano]

Well that was a mistake.

A pained grunt escaped his lips as her foot connected with his chest, his sternum protesting with a rather worrying snap. Out of instinct his hands moved to grab her ankle in a vain attempt to alleviate any pressure she applied.

Evidently it was the Dark Lord of the Sith. He wasn't there when they took Coruscant, something that had admittedly eaten him on the inside. Guilt is a Jedi's best friend, but how was he to know? They had stayed so well hidden in the shadows that they never had a chance. It wasn't his fault, what could they have done?

Slowly he withdrew his hands from her ankle. Keep calm. Keep composed.

“I see.”

 

[J3C0]

“Yes.” Mierin said as if confirming for him that he did in fact now see the truth. Her foot slowly descended from him, planting itself on the ground again before she slowly returned to her seat. It was clear that the Sith Pureblood was perhaps not quite as impassive as she put on.

“Now, Hal.” Mierin said returning the palms of her hands to their interlaced position above her knees. “Who was keeping you within that cell, and why?”

She was still lacking that very important bit of knowledge.

Mierin had so far guessed that he had been a Jedi at some point, the discipline he still showed and his lack of knowledge in the Dark Lord showed that he was trained, but not by the Sith. He was either a Jedi of the Republic, or one of the other dozen Orders that now existed within the galaxy.

 

[Hal Terrano]

The tensions of the room subsided as she removed his foot from his delightful new injury. If only Nemene had inflicted that kind of pain, that would have been easy. The Sith sat back down, but in the back of his mind he was now aware of just how quickly she could close the gap, and well, that was likely her intention.

“Nemene Talith,” he answered, skipping any and all elements of small talk.

“She captured myself and another after a failed mission to apprehend her,” Hal continued, voice holding no emotional inflection. What had happened, had happened and there was nothing to be done about it now. All shame at being captured had been thrashed by logic. The other Jedi got caught out by their own emotions, Talith's guards were more competent than first though and the woman herself was by and large a very skilled fighter.

“Nemene Talith is a well-documented sadist, she holds a fondness for torturing and often killing Jedi,” the blonde man finished, stating nothing but pure fact.

However a voice chimed in the back of his mind, a voice of need, of want that craved and in a sick way adored Talith. He still wanted.

 

[J3C0]

Mierin pursed her lips for a moment, the thing she did when she was lot in thought. The piercings in her lower lip grated against her, and provided and almost soothing sensation to her. The Pureblood thought about the womans name, Nemene Talith. She was sure at one point she had heard it. Suddenly her eyes narrowed, ah yes she remembered.

A Sith.

One after Mierins own heart. The woman was a torturer and murderer supreme, a killer and a slaver. Previously within the Fringe Confederation and now...well they had lost track of her. Nemene and her companion had declined to join the Order and thus had been placed on an eventual list of heretical Sith that needed dispatching.

How interesting that she would leave this man behind.

“She did not kill you?” Mierin asked, knowing full well that most Sith didn't leave loose ends.

 

[Hal Terrano]

What do you mean, she did not kill you?

If Hal Terrano was a man that had attitude then he would have shot a scathing look in the direction of the pureblood, but as it stood he was not at all sassy and thus let the comment slide. Although anybody else in the galaxy might have said: 'Yes, she did. I'm actually a ghost. Boo.'

“No,” the man said abruptly, slowly placing his hands upon his knees.

He frowned, forehead creasing as he contemplated what Nemene's plan was for him. “I do not believe she intended on killing me,” he admitted, voice sounding slightly unsure. He wasn't Nemene, he couldn't tell what she was thinking, what her plans were.

“Whether I was abandoned or intentionally left to perish is up for speculation,” Hal continued, a pang of hurt involuntarily coursing through him at the notion of being abandoned.

 

[J3C0]

Mierin cocked her head slightly in thought. Nemene had perhaps not intended to kill this man, but why keep him alive? Why kill so many other Jedi and not this one? An apprentice perhaps? Or maybe she had intended for him to be something of a link to the Jedi Order, a spy that she broke and completely controlled. The Pureblood saw logic in that.

Of course the idea of having Hal as a pet never occurred to her, she wasn't Nemene after all.

“Then I assume you do not know where she is.” That would have been quite handy. They could stop off before Coruscant and slaughter the tart. Another heretic crossed off the list of people the Hands of the Dark Lord would eventually have to kill, two in fact, given that Nemene was hardly ever absent of her companion Evelynn.

The thought made Mierin smile, both women gutted and rotting.

She had no idea.

 

[Hal Terrano]

He shook his head, “No, I do not.”

Isn't Hal Terrano the easiest person to interrogate, ever? Isn't he so gracious with short snappy answers filled with fact rather than opinion? There's no trying to turn you to the light, no passive aggressive nature, just answers. Take a moment to appreciate that. Imagine having some hoity-toity Jedi in here trying to play head games with barbed words.

There was a pause, and man looked down upon his hands, upon his wrists, protruding bones wrapped with sallow flesh. He hadn't caught glimpse of his own face yet, but he imagined that he must have resembled a corpse.

“What do you plan on doing with me?” Terrano finally asked, voice quiet and distant.

 

[J3C0]

Well, perhaps it had been too much to ask for. She held one wayward Padawan, and that was enough for now. Letting out a disappointed sigh she allowed her eyes to meet Hal's for the first time, her chin held high and the bone spikes from her face twitching slightly as she smiled at him.

“That is entirely up to you.” Mierin said calmly. “You could cooperate with us. Learn from us and train under me as my apprentice.”

The offer would be more appealing than the other option. “Or you can die.”

Simple and effective.

 

[Hal Terrano]

Had this choice been given to Hal before his time spent in Nemene's care then he would have definitely chosen the latter, and he would have spent the time a lot tighter lipped, but this was not that man. No more stalwart defender of justice. His principles were lost. He no longer considered himself a Jedi.

Of course jumping across to fight for the other team was a bit too much of a leap in the opposite direction, but that was his choice.

Join them or die.

For a few moments Hal's face remained completely blank as those corrupt yellow eyes stared into his blue. He would not die today. The impact of Nemene Talith had unwittingly saved his life. As a Jedi he would have given his life to the order, but as a man, he had desire and that desire spurred him on to live.

“Very well, Master.”

 

[J3C0]

Well, that had been easy.

She had been expecting at least some resistance, at least a little bit of a fight from him. Maybe an argument about how the Sith were inherently evil and doomed to do evil things for all time and his moral compass simply wouldn't allow him to join such an order of people.

None of that came however.

She would have to send Nemene Talith a postcard before she found and killed her.

“Then rest young one, tomorrow your challenge begins anew.” Slowly Mierin rose from her seat and turned away from Hal. She was hardly worried about being attacked, the boy was naught but skin and bones and any power in the force he could muster would be paltry compared to her own strength.

Hal would need much time before he was back to fighting state, though Mierin intended to ignore that fact.