One Step Forward, Two Steps Back [Arthos]

[Lief]

Her prison was a small one, too small. A square of floor space and no bed, that's all that came with being locked in a cell onboard a personal transport vessel. Stun Cuffs bit into her wrists, murmuring the same hum as the energized walls around her. She wasn't alone either. Several other bright red containment fields all occupied the same room - strong men who looked as though they'd never missed a days work in their life. In a cell beside her there was a woman with a child who couldn't have been much older than she had been the day they sent her to the Academy. She could feel the woman's plight pulsating around them through the Force, the misery and confusion of the child. The men, though... They were oddly stoic. Perhaps they were not strangers to being treated like cargo.

Jyn, however, was very much new to it. Sure she had been dragged from place to place on some fools errand her entire life, but never as a captive. Not even that incident with Krius had left her in such a binding state. Knelt there, too afraid to lean against the vibrating red walls lest she suffer a burn, Jyn simply stared ahead and tried to think back to everything she had been taught. Then she realised just how little that was. You can protect your thoughts, stop whoever is doing this from subverting you to their will... Tirdarius had once taught her to do as much during their time with the Inquisition, or at least attempted to. Her mind had been as wild as a storm back then, relentless... Untamable. That wasn't to say now was any better. She had come a long way, but in which direction? Had progress really been made?

 

[Arthos Vynea]

Just another day in the depths of cold space, unfeeling and uncaring for the trillions of souls within it. Most would exit as quietly as they entered, and be completely forgotten before they grew cold. He'd nearly fallen into that category, and he knew it, a bitter pill to swallow. The one person who he knew would never forget him was gone, a gut wrenching fake walked in her place. He'd broken his chains, but his training was incomplete, his place in the galaxy unknown besides this his last piece of her. A pitiful slaving operation that had lost it's purpose, now just another business with no greater goal then meeting the daily numbers.

It was a gift though in some ways to the Zabrak, he'd never had more passion at his disposal. At a rather leisure pace the Sith brought himself into the belly of one of a half dozen small ships. Freighters all designed to capture lost souls in the dark and bring them home to him. Here they would be broken and reforged, tools sold for credits to those who didn't know how to use a tool. Others he would forge into his own tools, usually the younger the better, fewer habits to break. He wasn't here for the girl, the little one in the cell next to her was his goal but he could smell the Force on her like a seductive scent that wouldn't leave him be.

Clothed head to toe in a rather simple black robe he stopped momentarily at her cell, but decided to continue on, let the fear sink in first. Turning he starred down at the child and mother his small smirk invisible under his hood. After standing for a moment he spoke softly, his voice low and emotionless for a Sith. “Don't make this difficult for the child, you're lost and you know it. For him there may be hope for more then a young slave's death.”

Unsealing the door he stepped inside as the near shaking woman nodded pushing the child away from her. Her hand going to her shoulder it was obvious she'd misunderstood what the man wanted, but most men wanted such simple things he thought. Instead he simply took the child's shoulder and pushed him softly towards the exit. He could feel the shoulder's start to spams slightly as the child's tears fell down his face. They'd misunderstood but it got him what he wanted, the child out of the cage without having to kill his mother in front of them. It brewed good hate, but could turn into issues later, vengeance never really died in the heart.

Turning he pushed a button shutting the door with the Force and as the woman discovered her error her scream of fear and anguish filled the room. She'd given her child up and without even a fight, what a wretched feeling it must be. Nodding to one of his crew they took the confused child his arms out stretched towards his mother who he thought had sent him away. No doubt the woman wanted to let him know, she wanted to call out and let him know she cared. Her voice was silent though as Arthos' held her silent until the door shut behind the child, and then with a flick of a finger he filled her cell with knockout gas. Silence was golden.

Turning his eyes towards her neighbor he tilted his head slightly and smiled coldly. “You know usually I only take the children for myself. They're more easily molded and their loyalty as complete as you could ever ask for. You're no child, but I'm intrigued. Tell me why I shouldn't sell you to some cartel to be drained of that youth until your a hollow shell, a ghost who no longer remembers her life from before this. Tell me why you are worth my time, or I'll sell you to the people who would make you wish for death.”

[member="Jyn Sol"]

 

[Lief]

She could smell the tension in the air as a man approached, several of the prisoners shying back, no doubt having seen him walk through here before. Jyn, however, remained unmoved. By now she had faced most of what the Galaxy had to offer. She wasn't afraid, if anything she was frustrated at her present position, knelt there like some whelp. She longed for the feel of a blaster in her hand, but it was hopeless to dream and hope of such so she set that aside and instead watched. The man approached her cell, and she could feel smug satisfaction flow about his person. No doubt he was hoping for fear, which was truthfully provided in the cell beside her own. The moment didn't last long, just a once over, before he moved on to the mother and child.

It was clear, from her vantage outside of the situation, what the man wanted. The mother's confusion was likewise just as obvious. And as the realisation came crashing down Jyn's heart felt pierced with a white-hot blade. There was no anguish akin to that of a mother who had lost her child. "Let him go" Jyn found herself demanding, voice far louder than she had anticipated. Watching as the boy was dragged from the room, the young girl shook her head and glared with vehemence. "You're a coward" she spat, loathing individuals who preyed on the weak and helpless. Even when he turned his attention to her, even when he stated her two options, Jyn's temper would not settle. "Who do you think you are?" she asked, rising from where she had been knelt for Force knew how many hours, joints stiff yet poised for attack should he be reckless enough to open the door.

[member="Arthos Vynea"]

 

[Arthos Vynea]

Her words echoed in the room as she stood there her rage pushing her bravery onward. He could taste it in her, the rage fueling her strength to stand there against all things. It fueled her, and it could fuel so much more. In her mind she had denied his request and faced him head on. Arthos though found the one thing that may have actually truly interested him, and he was interested in so little these days. Moving his hands up to his hood he pulled it down to view her outside the shadows.

“Who do I think I am? That is an interesting question indeed, but there is only one answer for that, I am Sith. At one time I was almost not, but I found my passion again. I can see it in you, you know? You have the potential, but do you really want to be free of your bonds? So many do not, it is one of the things I've learned. Some embrace their bonds like that child would have holding onto his mother all the way to the Kessel mines. Instead he'll have the opportunity to break those bond, to free himself.

Clicking a button on the wall the energy wall vanished in front of her, but the stun cuffs bit into her flesh still. “Simple test then brave mouse, get past me and you can leave. In fact I'll let you take the boy and mother with you as a prize. Fail though, well fail and you will submit to me. I will accept nothing less.” Pulling his arms out of his robe he shrugged it off allowing it to fall to the ground. His tonfa lightsabers both in hand now but off, he didn't care if the girl was hurt, dead was another story though. She'd try to gain her freedom of that he had no doubt, it was so much better to break them when they had hope in their hearts.

[member="Jyn Sol"]

 

[Lief]

The man was unphased; moreso than that he actually seemed impressed. Which only sought to make the girl frown - was she playing into his plans? Certainly not! Clenching her jaw the girl glared at him, feeling overly protective of the child who had been sent away without a choice, his voice would remain unheard for years to come and talking out could have it ended prematurely. Jyn knew all too well the perils which accompanied being drafted into the Sith at such an impressionable age. Many children did not make it very far at all, their minds were often not strong enough.

He showed himself to her and Jyn could not help but be rather surprised. Many of the Sith she had known, staunch Imperialists, held the belief that only true Humanoids could be Sith. It was rare to see those from other races elevated to such a status, much less Iridonians. Then again, most of the Iridonian lore she knew revolved around the Nightsisters. In such a Matriarchal society, it wasn't unheard of for the males to be left trampled underfoo--

No, she had to get back on track. All at once the hum around her dispensed as the red walls disappeared. The cuffs, however, remained in place about her wrists. He was giving her a chance to prove herself - her! The silly little girl who didn't even know her own origins. She who had failed to learn from her Master before her. Who had suffered and watched all that she cared about crumple into ashes. If she had to prove herself to anyone, it was most definitely not this strange little Zabrak! Still, the thought of becoming another Sith pawn was most definitely not inviting. So she did something unexpected.

She called back to the training she had received upon Atrisia. Her eyes closed and for a moment it looked as though she was giving in without a fight. Subtle usage of the Force swirled around her as the girl made her presence minuscule and insignificant... And then she vanished into thin air, without a trace.

Or so it seemed. In truth Jyn was stood very, very still. She had held her breath, despite knowing it was a foolish thing to do, and her face was becoming really rather red under the strain. Immersion was not a skill she ever took for granted. It was one she practised only in the dead of night, and even then most of the time she severely failed at it. The few times she did manage to do it correctly it usually only lasted a few seconds before thoughts came flooding back to distract her. How did Tirdarius manage to vanish so effortlessly?

There was no way that she could move while immersed, her control of White Current was extremely subpar and she knew that even a simple twitch would cause massive ripples and force the facade to crumble around her. Instead she waited a few seconds, to startle the man if indeed that proves possible, before making a run for it.

Her visage returned almost instantaneous when her foot moved from the ground in order to step forward. Jyn may have been a rather slow learner, pathetic with her Force and Weapons knowledge - save for her blaster, of course - yet one thing she was most definitely not was slow. Light on her feet, swift and agile, she did her best to use the situation to her advantage and duck around him. The cuffs made her feel encumbered, however, and skewed her balance rather significantly. Still, even if she nearly ran into a wall doing so, Jyn made a break for the exit. No damn Sith would keep her here!

[member="Arthos Vynea"]

 

[Arthos Vynea]

His smirk faded as she did, it had nothing to do with her, but she triggered something inside him she could never have known. It boiled in him then like a river of pure rage, she was all he saw, and they would all die for it. He didn't see her dive for the door as she turned visible, the ripple failing as she moved away, but it wouldn't matter the door was already sealing them in, all of them. His eyes instead turned to each cell as he deactivated their cells his lightsabers burning brightly now.

The fear in the room was palpable now for those who might have lived to be slaves, in his eyes they would die to a one. First though he would punish her, how dare she use her against him, and as he turned his head to her he didn't even notice his own breath coming in deep ragged gasps as emotion overwhelmed him. The chains that bound him now he knew no way of breaking.

Tilting his head an idea struck him, he would show her what she could be, yes. He would show her the Sith Code, and she would never forget it. Putting his left tonfa away he pulled out a little remote and set off her stun cuffs to near maximum. It wouldn't knock her out, oh no he wanted her awake for his, but she wouldn't be able to move and alter the art she was about to become.

It was with the utmost care he touched her skin with an edge of his lightsaber, slow and sure to ensure that each word was perfect. Slowly her body became a tapestry to the sacred code, the only truth a Sith ever needed. Her very body would tell her how to break her chains, and the scars would never fail to show her that Peace was a lie. She would be Sith.

[member="Jyn Sol"]

 

[Lief]

Jyn had no notion of her idiocy until the last moment. Reaching the door, which failed to open on her approach, the young girl turned in anguish and growled toward the beastly man. How dare he cheat! She might have done more with the rage that boiled to the surface, yet in that instance the Zabrak had turned while Jyn fell to the ground, a sharp shock jolting through her body and keeping her incapacitated upon the ground. Her jaw set, and for a moment she worried she might have bit through her tongue as she became paralytic. Her mind, however, was fully conscious.

The man neared her fallen form and a muffled sound left the girls lips, though whatever she might've intended to say was indiscernible. Every muscle in her body was stiff and aching, even her lungs burned and breathing became extremely difficult yet somehow still manageable.

And then came the pain.

The heat from his lightsaber warmed her skin as it neared, and Jyn felt certain that she was about to meet her end. It would not be as bloody as Fuz's death, she reflected as snippets of her life flashed before her eyes. Memories which had been locked away in the farthest corners of her mind unearthed, of the streets of Serenno, a Jedi who gave her a chance, and a Sith who tore it all apart. A solitary tear trickled down her cheek in a moment of uncontainable grief and weakness, after all at this point she had no control over her body.

Instead of the swift end she was expecting, however, seering pain gauged through her skin. Her skin like living, breathing parchment, the man worked away, burning away with a delicate precision she did not know a lightsaber could possess. It was agonizing: paralyzed though she may have been, she could still feel every single stroke of the plasma, so painful infact that several times she almost slipped into an unconscious state... Only for him to stop for a moment of respite. It was as if he knew, as if he wanted her to feel every laceration that would scar her skin for the rest of her existence.

After what felt like an eternity, with her eyes watery and her skin tingling, the man stopped. Every inch of her body was alight, every inch that was except one very specific part of her face. Jyn could not help but find the irony in it, she might have laughed if she could; with clothes on only the left of her face would be scarred; was Typhojem's hand in this? Did he seek a walking monument of his work?

Jyn did not know the worst of it yet. All she knew was that the burns she had sustained would not heal. What horror she would find once she was able to look into a mirror for the first time...

[member="Arthos Vynea"]

 

[Arthos Vynea]

The air was ripe with the smell of cooked flesh, such sacrifices were necessary though if the text was to take hold forever. As he read each word in his mind his ragged breath slowed, turning he looked around at all the others still in their cells. Oh no, their fates were as sealed as this one's fate, and tied to her. She would need to sleep now, too much more pain and the body would attempt to put itself into shock, to escape this cruel world. No, these chains wouldn't be broken that easily, she would not escape him. Bending down he moved his face close to her's, the agonized breath that near whispered out of her throat slowing as the tranquilizer he'd just injected her with took effect.

"Your first test, when you awaken read your lesson well. Do not attempt to leave your room, simply contemplate your lesson. These unlucky ones who shared a room with you, they shall be your reward and punishment. You care so for their lives, you'd fight for them? Then know this, ever time you fail to obey one of them dies. Not a quick death either, oh no, you'll watch them be thrown right out the airlock into the uncaring void of space. Can you break this chain? Are you willing to?"

As she passed out Arthos closed the cells, and pulled his hood up before exiting the brig. Perhaps it would have been better for them to die as slaves in the mines, but now they'd live and die on her acts. Turning to one of his own outside the door he spoke an almost bored tone considering the range of emotions that had just assaulted him. "Bring her to a guest room, and leave the door unlocked. Have the boy bring her food when he awakens, if she tries to run don't stop her, just seal her in the hall." Nodding acknowledgement as the guard saluted and moved to obey Arthos went to his chamber to wait. The converted ship was full, and there was credits to be made, however he had something on his hands so much more interesting then credits. Crossing his legs he sunk to the floor his voice barely a whisper as his consciousness wrestled control of the Force pushing his mind out as though. His attention all around as though awaiting another ship's arrival. Peace is a lie, there is only passion. Through passion, I gain strength. Through strength, I gain power. Through power, I gain victory. Through victory, my chains are broken. The Force shall free me. Meditating a faint thought burst through his focus, she would never be able to run from it again, it was part of her now.

[member="Thédus Lorr"]

 

[Lief]

Jyn writhed in agony.

How long it had been since the man had disgraced her skin as if it were parchment, the girl could not say for sure. But she had woken with the threats of the Zabrak ringing in her mind. Obey or have the blood of innocents on her hand. Obey or worse was yet to come.

Her room aboard the ship was simple, yet there was more space than there would've been had she been lumbered in one of the crew cabins. A large mirror adorned the room across from her bed, and so it was that she could not escape the visage of herself it produced. At first she thought she must've been mistaken - her eyes had to be playing tricks on her. But the pain which lathered her body and the left of her face spoke otherwise.

The first instinct was to lift a hand and trace the redhot scars which lined her face, but even moving at this point was painful beyond compare. Screams could be heard down the hall the first time Jyn attempted to rise from the bed, and now that she had made her consciousness known to the crew it wasn't long before the little boy she had wanted to save arrived.

He seemed sullen, yet in one piece. His eyes were dark and ruddy, and she could feel misery and distress marking his approach. He brought food with him, yet Jyn did not feel like eating. Instead she turned over in the bed, bit back further tears of pain, and closed her eyes. She wanted no part in whatever was going on.

Jyn knew the sign of the Sith, their ancient tongue now marred her flesh the way it had been etched above the entrance to the Academy back on Korriban. Their vile code was now apart of her, whether she liked it or not. But she would not be so quick to take the Zabrak's lesson to heart. There was still fight in her yet.

[member="Arthos Vynea"]

 

[Arthos Vynea]

He watched her as she lay sobbing in bed before ending the holo display and leaving his room for hers. The boy he caught half way there his face downward, and no doubt afraid as he crossed path with the man who took him from his mother. He was also no doubt angry, maybe even tinged with the dark thoughts of violent revenge. Stopping in front of the boy the Zabrak watched him freeze, his muscles tense as he stood there looking at Arthos' boots. Moving his hand to the boy's chin to lift it the Zabrak stared into his eyes bathing on the fear and anger he found within.

“Do you think you hate me child? Do you think it is me you're angry at? Was I the one who threw you away like garbage? I told her the price and she gave you up, so tell me, all those tears of anger and sorrow are for me? I am the master of this ship, and you will learn to obey, but your life will not be wasted like those slaves. Unless of course she goes through everyone of them, and then you'll be the last. Remember that, her defiance will kill you, child. Run along now and report to your lessons and exercises. I will fight for your life against her stubborn disobedience but only she can choose to let you live.”

With a simple pet on the head the Zabrak left the boy, his young mind confused and searching for answers with his new information. His training would start shortly if he lived to become one of Arthos' own, but if he died, he died. Outside the door to her room he stopped a moment meditating on the Force as he took control of the Force, his emotions a storm around him. His passions fought each other, and even fought to control him, but it was his will that would guide them. They were a chain she'd taught him to control, and thus break. That was long ago though.

Walking into the room he took a cursory glance around before returning his eyes to her shaking form on the bed. Focusing the Force's energy like a hand he yanked her covers away leaving her shaking on the bed exposed in all her beauty, for now she was truly beautiful. Beauty was a seduction he'd never fall to again though.

Slowly he stepped over towards her until he reached the bed, “Report on your lesson.” He didn't bother to cite the repercussions again, he only gave instructions once before punishment was dealt out. After all hadn't he hung on her every word? He would accept no less from the one shaking before him, even if it was being forced unto her. Sometimes gifts could be harsh he supposed, but she would be free.[member="Thédus Lorr"]

 

[Lief]

She felt his approach, there was no mistaking his presence anymore. What he had done would have an everlasting effect on her life, and that brought about a severe bond even if it was held upon a pillar of hate and loathing. She could not escape him, no matter how much she tried to burrow down into the blankets. Almost immediately the duvet was yanked from her, leaving Jyn lay there in a nightgown. The lower half of her legs were exposed, the rest of her body covered - including her arms. Even so her legs bore the same archaic runes as her face and the rest of her body.

Ashamed at the fact, Jyn sat upon the bed, brought her knees up to her chest, and pulled the nightgown down over her feet. She watched as the wretched Zabrak approached her, and set her jaw. While she tried to keep up her rebellious facade, the sight of him was truly terrifying and her insides shook, body beginning to feel like soft, formless putty.

He wanted her to speak, to show what she had learned from his cruel actions, but Jyn could not find her voice. The girl stared at him, taking in each inch of his gruesome visage. The dark markings which adorned his face might have been obvious, but the scars which would form across her body would remain a more hideous trait than even nature itself could produce.

Lesson... She had to report her lesson. Else someone would die. Likely the mother, she deduced. Make both girl and boy suffer. Breathing in she did her best to steady her quaking mind. "L-Lesson..." she repeated, what was her lesson? What had he been trying to teach her? The folly of her ways? The allure of the darkside? Bah! Like forging the Code into her flesh would entice her to follow it.

"Comply, or suffer."

There was nothing else to take from it. The Galaxy was cruel, running her in circles this way. Sith to Freedom. Sith to Freedom. Sith.

Jyn had no desire to become a Sith.

[member="Arthos Vynea"]

 

[Arthos Vynea]

He clicked his tongue in response as her short answer turned over in his head. Comply, or suffer. It was a lesson, but not the one she needed to learn for the day, no suffering was a tool, she needed to find the problem. With a slight tilt of his head he looked down upon her before suddenly sitting next to her on the bed his eyes examining the walls now as he spoke softly. "Comply, or suffer? Too simple, too easy. Why did you suffer? You suffered because you could not free yourself from the chains that bind you. You look at your scars, and I imagine you see something hideous. I see only beauty, your body is a lesson, a code. We all follow it, without realizing it, fighting every day of our lives to free ourselves from our chains while others seek to bind us. The first step is you must realize you are bound though, so I have given you a gift, and you call it a curse no doubt."

Turning towards her he reached over and turned her face slightly so he could see the start of his work, he examined each line with satisfaction. "Peace is a lie, there is only passion. Do you understand it? Without understanding the code is useless, and I imagine there are many who have said it, echoing the words from their Master but never truly understood. Peace is death, its stagnation and death. The Force I have no doubt is opposed to peace, without the pot being churned it spoils and everything in it dies. There is only passion, passion is ever changing moving and flowing. Change is life, energy, and yes power. Every species constantly moves to grow in this galaxy, and every individual within it to move upwards and onward. The ones who don't are dying, the stagnating ones are just that, old and lame set out to pasture. Even the Jedi practice this in truth, they may try to deny it but each one is constantly trying to grow. To take the next one's place, even up to their vaunted Council. You'll notice no tears though when a new one replaces an old one. Passion is in our emotions, all of them. Its in our ambition to grow stronger and better. Every feeling you have fuels you with that passion, you cannot fight without it, and yet by fighting you just obey the code. The Jedi would preach peace and calm, and its why they've suffered so."

Standing up the Zabrak walked towards the door stopping only for a moment as he reached the door. "Tonight you will eat a full meal, and rest. Tomorrow you will explain the first line of the code to me, and after as today I will teach you the second line. The boy will serve your meals, and fetch what you need. Soon we will arrive home, and once we do we will start your training in earnest."

[member="Thédus Lorr"]

 

[Lief]

He was not impressed with her answer. Then again, Jyn hadn't expected him to be.

When the man neared her and settled upon the bed she could not help but back up slightly. The strange thing was, while he did not like her answer he wasn't exactly angry with it either. Even his voice when he finally came to speak spoke of a softness she had not known possible from such a being. It sort of reminded her of the way [member="Tirdarius"] had been whenever they were in an odd situation - Belkadan, hovering over the world of the dying, Atrisia, with the paranoid and hypocritical Inquisition... He had always kept his cool under pressure. How he managed it, Jyn had no idea. She would've been a quivering mess had his strength not been enough for them both.

But that felt like centuries ago now; Tirdarius was no longer here to support her.

So Jyn listened to what the Zabrak had to say. She hung on his every word, not because she respected him the way she had her former Master, nor because she felt she really had anything to learn, but because she knew the survival of not only herself and her sanity but the likes of the mother and child rested within her hands. Obey or suffer. He could phrase his little lesson however he wished, the crux of it came down to those three words.

Or so she thought.

What she was met with instead was not the interpretation of the Code she was expecting. For so long she had watched as Sith gallivanted throughout the Galaxy, without any real care for the others who inhabited it. Worlds had been all but obliterated, wiped of Sentient life, to fit their Imperialistic agenda. Men, women, and children had suffered, tortured for information they didn't know they had; Acolytes too had faced the same, only their suffering was different. They had been made to impose their will on others, to derive pleasure from other's pain, from their own pain too.

And for a girl who already felt everything everyone else experienced, it was heartbreaking to bear. Impossible to shoulder.

Yet here this man was speaking of self-forged Eudaimonia, the freedom to accept one as who they are and break the chains set by not only the greater society but the individual too. There was no mention of corruption, or exacting her will over another, just freedom... The freedom to live rather than merely exist.

He reached for her, turning her face to gaze upon him, and this time she did not shy away. She watched as his expression turned from indifference to satisfaction, truly prideful of the work he had done. Did he really view this as a gift? Even now she could feel the burns resonate, every touch a fierce reminder of what he had done. Was it true that she could learn to grow from it? Cast aside all fear and doubt, and build a better Jyn? Not a breaker of worlds, but a breaker of chains?

The Zabrak uttered the line of the code which was etched upon her face. She knew it well, she knew what many took it to mean. The embodiment of chaos. But was it really chaotic to seek anti-peace? Progression could not be made if the Galaxy was permitted to stagnate. And not just technological advancement, but the people's understanding, medicine, longevity... Peace brought indifference, it brought contentment, over contentment. If there was nothing to build towards, time would cease to turn.

Jyn could not believe what she was thinking, what his words were stirring into life within her. She could not deny the truth of them. But how did she know that this wasn't all just some ruse to lure her in? Anyone with a silver tongue could manipulate the foolish into seeing a cause in a different light, and Jyn was most definitely a fool.

He did not push for an answer, he did not expect her to sit and gorge on the whole Code and its meaning, he did not even ask her to recite it back to him. He simply wanted her to think on it. Jyn was good at thinking, if nothing else. She watched as he left, without a single word uttered in response to his instructions, and long after he was gone she still stared at the door. Her mind was in turmoil. She had been fleeing from this Code her entire life, and now it would be ever present whether she chose to listen to it or not.

Her contemplation's did not cease until the door reopened and the young boy entered with her supper. "Thank you" she managed, saving him the worry of any trouble by taking the tray from him. She did not want anyone harmed for her choices. He could rest easy tonight knowing that neither he or his mother would face the Zabrak's chopping board.

[member="Arthos Vynea"]

 

[Arthos Vynea]

The business of the day held Arthos' attention for a short while the next morning. He'd had a cache of slaves to sell, but now they weren't going to be slaves, were they? Well at least slaves to be sold. He had a plan for them, but first he'd plant a seed. Like it or not in his mind he had to accept he'd taken her as an apprentice, another chain forged around him. Had it felt so for his own Master when she took to training him? They were all chains really, he was still growing to understand the Sith code in truth. As his experience grew so did his understanding, and things he thought he'd truly understood were suddenly so much more then what he'd thought.

Walking through the slave cells he simply stood there watching them for a moment. Sweeping his hood down he met every eye for a moment before moving to the next. “Your Master has allowed you all have another day. She has obeyed and learns. As you will obey and learn. We are all slaves born into a life that from the moment we are born seeks to chain us down, break us. Thus it has lead you to me, and I will break you and reforge you that you may be free. As my men are all free. First though you will serve, freedom has a price. Every chain you cast off leaves a scar behind.”

Turning his eyes to the mother he took a step towards her cage standing over it in silence for a moment. “Your son was a chain, but it was a chain you loved so you bore it proudly. His Master is your Master, and you will bear that chain as he does. You may come in time to love that chain, and when the opportunity to break it comes, you may choose not to. That is your choice to make, perhaps the only real choice we ever receive in life. Is freedom worth it's price? When we land you will began your training.” Sweeping his eyes from the woman and back onto the room as a whole he spoke once more then left. “All of you, will serve her.”

Leaving the room he moved past the child once more as he left the girl's room, his robes brushing against him as he went. He bore a slave collar, but it seemed to have a few additions. A red button and a green button, both encased so they couldn't be pressed accidentally. His neck bore no scars from it's use though, they weren't used for that purpose. The red button would kill whoever wore it, not as a punishment, but a simple refusal to be a slave. Freedom had a price, and those who wanted the short way out, the price was high indeed.

Finally he arrived at her door entering without warning though he had no doubt she could sense him. Someone had trained her before, but it wasn't the time for those questions yet. Silently he moved over to her and nodded. “Report on your lesson.”

[member="Thédus Lorr"]

 

[Lief]

Jyn had barely slept.

She tossed and turned in the guest bed, each movement threatening to break a cry of pain from her lips that she barely managed to hold in. Perspiration settled upon her brow, and the sheets were crumpled with her at their center. But she was exhausted, her body still facing trauma, so allowing herself to stay awake was not an option.

It wasn't until she heard footsteps down the hall that Jyn finally ceased her quaking and sat upright in preparation. The boots distinguished whoever was on their way as her captor, as the boy wore thin shoes or none at all. In fact he had frightened her when he brought her food the first time he had been so quiet.

He said nothing at first as he ventured to her side and stared down. She noted a slight nod, and heard his instructions follow. Report your lesson. Jyn remained silent, her eyes wide with thought. Her lesson. Well it wasn't obey or suffer, although that was still something which hung over her head.

"Peace is stagnant" she finally muttered, before chewing on her lower lip and turning her gaze down to the sheets. "and we're all the breaker of our own chains; no one else can free us." A simple response, but the girl was exhausted, she was in pain, and she didn't feel like recycling his words from the day before.

[member="Arthos Vynea"]

 

[Arthos Vynea]

His lip twitched for half a moment out of amusement, she was listening. He had her attention, and she got the root of it all, and that was all that really mattered. Moving to her bed he motioned her to move her legs back and sat down next to her. Moving his hand up to her arm he traced the next part down her arm with his fingers. He had no doubt they were still sore so he didn't press, but she would feel the touch. "Through passion, I gain strength. Passion is life, and all of life is touched by it. Your pain as I touch is passion, and it can give you strength, and focus. Even our opposites the Jedi follow this creed, they confuse passions to only contend to the so called baser emotions. Fear, rage, hate, and all those darker emotions you'd relate to most users of the dark side. Of course they attempt to deny their emotions, control them. Love is their great fear really, Have you ever loved? Felt the emptiness that follows it's loss? The depth is infinite, and the power of such loss shake their denial. Instead of learning to deal with their emotions and control them, they simply deny their existence."

Standing up he scanned her quietly as he touched the Force, his emotions seeming to cascade over him in waves. His greatest sources were a depth of sorrow and hate, with a tinge of something else, something he hid inside. Just touching the edge of her mind he knew she could feel them, and for a moment he let them engulf him a tornado in his mind. Then suddenly he released it all forcing his emotions to calm as he released the Force from his grip. "A Sith does not deny life, we do not deny emotion and the very things which make us alive. We draw strength from it all, we don't fear life and run from it, we embrace it."

Taking a step towards her he leaned down and pulled her chin in his hand lifting her face he smiled, oddly soft. "Through this I gain strength, my emotions bolster me when I am weak. My rage strengthens my bones and muscles when I am weary. My sorrow has brought me perspective, and wisdom. My hate gives me unwavering focus. Every chain around you has a cost to remove, including mine. Do you have the strength yet, the will to break this chain? That may be a mistake though, every chain links us. I am as much chained to you in this as you are to me. What chains do you wish to shed? Have you ever stopped and counted them, the things that bind you and keep you from being free? How many do you have the strength to shed, and how many are simply greater then you?"

Releasing her chin he stepped halfway out the door before speaking his last instructions. "Tomorrow we will be home, and your training will began in earnest." Leaving he half expected her to attempt to attack him, after all some chains are worth the price to break.

[member="Thédus Lorr"]

 

[Lief]

She felt him near the bed and moved up to make room for him to sit down, after all there was no other piece of furniture in the room. His hand traced the burns down her left arm, where the second line of the Sith Code could be found. Instinctively she winced, while he wasn't poking and prodding even the touch of the bedsheets had been enough to cause spasms of pain, and his hand was no different. He recited the line she knew so well, began his explanation, the skewed viewpoint which was considerably different from that which she had learned back on Korriban.

And then he spoke of love. Jyn had never known love, that of a parental figure, a sibling - although Jiaa and she had been close in their youth - or otherwise. Fuz was the closest thing she'd ever known, and she adored and doted on the little monkey. Had that been love, of the most innocent form? He continued to speak of emptiness, of loss, and she realised that she had loved him. She missed him dearly to this day, and thinking about the way he was so horrifically taken from her made the girl numb.

All at once the man rose, and within a few moments Jyn could feel a whole multitude of emotions flow from him. They were so intense that her eyes began to water under the strain of trying to keep everything in check in her mind. It was almost suffocating to behold. And then it was gone, and Jyn gasped for air. As she tried to steady her mind she did not immediately notice his approach until his hand grasped her chin and lifted her gaze to his.

How many chains did she have? She had thought she'd broken most of her ties, losing Fuz had been the last straw and since then she had been very much alone; she relied on nothing, on nobody, and she had been no mans prisoner or slave until now. "I have no chains" she whispered, "Save the one you've placed upon me."

But he was leaving by this point, his presence there having been short yet the words lasting. She made no attempt to attack him, she wasn't strong enough yet, her body was still stressed, in shock and pained. But she knew that one day she would have to fight, else she would fall beneath the rising tide.

[member="Arthos Vynea"]

 

[Arthos Vynea]

It was to be their last day in space, the cold uncaring void would be traded for a world outside anyone's control, Teth. It was an easy choice to make for a headquarters, his Master had created a great foundation of power there and pieces lasted even after her death. Her vision was greater then his though he supposed, after all now he was just a small time slaver, well compared to when he enslaved a planet for her. Still it was home to him for a time, as much as any place was. The ship would be touching down shortly, but before they left there were more lessons still to teach. He was certain with enough effort she would break, and soon. He would pass along her teachings, and she would not be forgotten.

As though on cue the small boy passed by his own room then returning with a mostly empty tray, good she was recovering. Moving he barely registered the sounds of the slaves being ready for transport. It was always the interesting part where they thought inside maybe, just maybe they might find an opening. His own made sure there was none, but invariably someone always tried something. Most of the time it was the desperate quick talk of what they could pay off a guard, or running away as soon as their legs were beneath them. They never got far, a push of a button sent them paralyzed from the stun cuffs.

His eyes swept the room as he entered, he was expecting her to try to rebel soon, while she still thought it was the right thing. Of course there really wasn't anything he'd given her to use against him, so she was wise enough to bide her time. Moving to the bed once more he sat down examining her for a moment. "Through strength, I gain power. Simple enough, no? Your emotions enhance you, and multiply our strength. It seems bare to the root that this would lead to strength, but it is more then that. What is the nature of power? Do we speak of physical power? The ability to dominate your opponents, and defeat your enemies through strength of arms. Is that not the power to destroy your enemies, and grant you fear and respect? Do we speak of willpower? The power to control another's mind, and quite literally enforce your will? Perhaps the power of influence is what we mean? Power over armies that fear your strength, and abilities. Maybe even wisdom? The power to know the Force, to bend it to your will and create the galaxy as you see fit?"

Looking her in the eye he raised his hand to her throat, it was slow movement, and his grip was almost soft. "Does this give me power over you? Does it create fear in you which fuels your strength, and gives you power? What power though is it giving you? Its simple, far simple then all of the obvious points. It gives you the power to act, the power to resist, the power to break chains! I have power over you until you act, and then you will challenge that power. If you win in whatever form you attack I would lose my power over you, because you had the power to act. So many people wish they could act, child. Wish they had the strength you have inside you to change the galaxy. Does that mean you must challenge me physically though? Of course not, the mind is a weapon, a shield, and your greatest asset. What are your strengths? How can you use them to achieve the power to act within the price you're willing to pay to break your chains."

Dropping his hand from her throat he simply stared at her for a moment, almost daring her to try. It was the wrong time, but still, did she understand? Standing he moved towards the door before turning to her. "We all have chains, if you think I am your only one you are wrong. Before I rescued you from the stars what were you doing? Where were you going? The answer is nowhere in truth, surviving floating out in the void purposeless. How could I allow such waste? No, sometimes the chains that bind us are in our own mind, sometimes we are our greatest enemy. Get ready to leave the ship, I'll be back once we land." Walking out he could see her out of the corner of his eye for a moment, just a trick of the eyes, and heart of course. His chain was unbreakable, and if forced to the question, he didn't want it broken.

[member="Thédus Lorr"]

 

[Lief]

Jyn felt as if she had been in the bed for an eternity. Food would come and go, she would rise to use the refresher and feel utter pain throughout doing so, until she succumbed to fatigue and drifted back beneath the sheets. She didn't want to do anything, at times she barely even wanted to breathe let alone force herself to be productive. The pain was still horrific though more bearable than it had been. She just wanted it to stop.

Yet again her day was disrupted by her captor. The threat of the other prisoners' death hung over her, all that kept her in place. She would not have that on her conscience. She shuffled up on the bed when he came to sit down, the way he always did. Jyn wondered why he didn't just place an armchair in the room, or something.

She refused to speak during the time Arthos was in the room this time. She listened to what he said, seemingly attentive enough, though her eyes were dulled compared to normal. Jyn wanted to go back to the way things were, before she had stumbled into his grasp, before she had turned up on the Station without her ship, before Fuz had been taken from her. It made her want to scream, to cry, but instead she could be nothing save stoic and numb.

All at once she watched his hand raise and grasp her throat. The girl tensed, her neck straining despite the soft grip. Jyn glared at him, breathing through her nose to try and keep herself calm. She hated the thought of how effortlessly he could snuff her, of the power he seemingly had over her. She would not let it be so. She would not allow these chains to remain.

Finally he released her throat and rose up. Still the girl said nothing.

And when he left she just curled back under the covers. She would not go anywhere with him willingly.

[member="Arthos Vynea"]

 

[Arthos Vynea]

He'd been surprised this time, if she accepted or not she'd been more responsive, more receptive of his words before. This time she appeared less so, before he could see the gears of her mind slowly working through, and now for whatever reason she'd decided she wasn't interested. That in itself he found curious but after taking a short time to consider it decided it didn't change anything. She could simply just be accepting her anger, her hatred towards him, and while they were good passions to turn to strength they might keep her from truly learning. Ah well, there was no limit on how long he had to train her, or at least no limit until she attempted to create one finally and break her chains. Her physical condition still kept that possibility at bay he felt, her wounds were healing, but the healing agents necessary to heal here faster would damage the scarring. However if pain was what was blocking her learning he'd need to take that into consideration.

So after the slaves, and cargo were off the ship returned to the girl a single long needle in his hand. Without a word he pushed it into her arm and injected her, warm bliss would spread throughout her body then her eyes lids would grow heavy. She'd awake two weeks later, during which Arthos had completed another trip to gather more goods, and sell. A tidy profit in the group actually, mostly younger passengers and the ship was worth decent salvage. He was waiting when she woke though, not present in the room but watching. Her pain should be gone now, her muscles a bit sore from lack of use, but the scars would no longer burn as they had. Her room was rather well decorated, and he'd left several tools she could use in truth against him, but that was all part of how these things were handled. Her clothes from her ship were in a dresser, and a private bathroom was open to her as well. No doubt she'd want to take her own bath after weeks in bed.

He watched curiously, he would intervene first, but for now she had a couple days, and the boy would give her access of the full grounds. They were after all on a small island, there was no where to run, and no ship to leave in. She could enter her own slave's barracks, but not the guards or the other slaves. There was no where to run, the compound was surrounded by a high fence, and the sea outside. He didn't believe she would try to run though, not without her slaves. If anything perhaps she would try to free them, or unite them against him. She'd start the first stages of a plan to end him and escape no doubt, but not yet attempt it. She didn't have a way or enough information to do that yet. Still she would act, and that in itself would teach him something of her, so he watched her patiently waiting.

[member="Thédus Lorr"]