Red and Green

[Vrak Nashar]

[member="Taheera Sollo"]

When she awoke she would find that Vrak had taken her advice; he had left the ship.

Of course, what she likely hadn't been expecting, what she would probably dread upon waking up, was the fact that he had taken her with him. When Taheera finally regained consciousness she would find herself within a cavern, the soft glow of a bio-luminescent fungus illuminating the space around her. A small crate sat beside her and atop it a lamp. In front of her was a small fire, and opposite sat Vrak with his elbows resting on his crossed legs.

His eyes were closed.

If she payed attention she would feel a darkness opposite the flame, power surging through the Pureblood as he quietly meditated. Outside the cavern, just beyond the entrance a storm raged. Lightning struck down onto the surface of the planet, rain poured down in droves, and howling gales broke any silence that might have stemmed upon the planet.

The Sith Pureblood did not move as she stirred.

Instead he stayed still, calm. Besides him sat two lightsabers, his own, and hers.

 

[Taheera Sollo]

[member="Vrak Nashar"]

A soft, whimpering moan escaped her throat as she stirred and clawed her way back to the waking world. She felt that buzz of energy again but it was muted and far off. Though, she knew it would only be a matter of time before...

Was that a fire she was hearing?

Myrtle-ellipses snapped open. Disorientation made her head feel lighter than it already did. Palms pushed against the cavern floor as she lifted herself to a seated position. A sick and twisted heartbeat of dark, pulsing energy wafted from across the fire. Eyes fell to the lightsaber hilts beside the sith.

One of her palms opened.

Slowly, mind reached forward with the force, probing the area around her lightsaber hilt. She wanted to see if he would react. And she had a feeling it was a trap.

 

[Vrak Nashar]

[member="Taheera Sollo"]

"Just because I haven't killed you yet." Vrak said before the lightsaber even twitched. "Doesn't mean I won't."

His eye slowly folded open.

The eyes that had been bloodshot due to the burst vessel had returned to it's deep yellow color, the cuts on his face had healed, and his hair was once again slicked back instead of a wild mess. Vrak looked more tamed, more under control, deadlier. His lips were thin however, as though it had taken him a significant amount of effort to get to the state he was. His gaze rose from the flames and up towards the Jedi where she sat, his fingers still resting in his lap.

What she wouldn't see of course was the remote still in his palm. "Don't make me do something you will regret."

She still had her uses for him. Vrak was still unsure of what he would do with her. There were any number of options, but for now he had known that she was more valuable alive than dead. Eventually The Alliance would show up, and perhaps she would make a sufficient hostage for them to give him a ship.

Though that was only one of many ideas he'd had in the last few hours.

 

[Taheera Sollo]

[member="Vrak Nashar"]

Palm closed slowly as she withdrew. Knees pulled up to her chest. Bound wrists circled around them with a clink and clatter of medal. She had to listen to and trust the force. This is where it wanted her, so this is where she would be.

That didn't mean she'd let an opportunity to escape go by, though.

"You're looking chipper," she mused. Gaze went back to the pounding rain just outside. Heart twisted a little. It was all a little too familiar and reminded her of her time with Val not too long ago. That same buzzing energy was building. Slowly.

Fingers dug into her shins. She didn't want to be knocked out again.

"You bring some caf? Oh wait, you broke my favorite mug so that's a no."

 

[Vrak Nashar]

[member="Taheera Sollo"]

"I grabbed the crate of emergency supplies stashed inside of the wall panel." Most shuttles had one, it had only taken Vrak a few minutes to find it. He had known her words rung true about the Alliance, and although it would have made a perfectly fine shelter he figured he didn't want to be there when the Alliance finally popped up and came for Taheera. The cave had been easy enough to find as well, Ruusan was full of them.

"I doubt there is Caf." He said simply. "Though perhaps some stimulants."

He still had to consider what to actually do with her. He was sure that the Alliance would eventually show, but could he really trade her for a ship? Did he want to? She was a healer, she would be valuable. The only trouble was getting her back to Athiss in one piece, and even then it was doubtful that she would ever willingly heal anyone, much less him. He frowned for a moment as he observed her, trying to piece together some kind of plan.

There had to be a way. "How much can you heal?"

The question might have seemed sudden, but it was an important one in assessing just how much she was worth. If she could bring someone back from near death...well it made her all the more valuable.

 

[Taheera Sollo]

[member="Vrak Nashar"]

Releasing her grip around her knees, she wiggled over to the crate,popping the top. Kneeling, she peered over the top and began rummaging around. She froze at the question. Eyes remained on the contents of the crate. There was another water bottle. Some dried fruit.

She snatched them both.

"I healed you, didn't I?"

Eyes remained on the rations as she awkwardly sat back down. She was wary of the 'why' of his questioning. Way beyond bad feelings. She'd always been a natural at healing. She knew it had something to do with her original. It came easier than other force skills.

Well, besides whatever this weather stuff was.

Hands fumbled with the cap of the bottle. She refused to meet his yellow eyes.

 

[Vrak Nashar]

[member="Taheera Sollo"]

It was a good point.

Vrak had been at the very edge of deaths door. His wounds, and the poison had been enough to sunder him. He wasn't the most powerful Sith on Athiss, nor was he at the pinnacle of what his species could do, but it took quite a bit to fell him even now. He frowned for a few moments, trying to translate what she had done for him in his head. Healing came from the light side, could it heal ailments of the darkside? He frowned for a moment.

"Can you heal anything?" Might as well ask.

He needed to know her limitations, what she could do. He had to decide...well plainly what he was going to end up deciding to do with her. There were so many options, and as he learned more a few were becoming rather appealing.

Not the least of which was simply taking her with back to Athiss. "Injuries of the darkside for instance?"

 

[Taheera Sollo]

[member="Vrak Nashar"]

She frowned, finally getting the water cap off. She took a sip, staring at the dancing flames. Green nose twitched as she pondered his question.

"I don't know," she paused. She'd never done that before. She could see things through the force on the microscopic level. In theory, it made sense that she'd be able to do it, like, if it was a sith poison. What other injuries of the darkside did he mean?

Lightning.

It wouldn't so much be what caused the injury in that case. Burned and damaged cells were burned and damaged cells. "I've never tried it before. What kind of darkside injuries do you mean exactly?"

Again, she was being cautious. She would be truthful but she'd also naturally sell herself short.

 

[Vrak Nashar]

[member="Taheera Sollo"]

"There are methods." Vrak began. She likely hadn't seen them before, they were not common throughout the galaxy. Some Sith Lords were capable he was told, but many of them had forgotten the true power of it. They had tainted it with the millenia that had passed, weakened it. Vrak had some talent in the old ways, though he'd always been better with a blade than the magics his father had excelled in. Not that it had mattered much. "Some call it the truest expression of the darkside."

It took on many forms, many 'spells' as they were dubbed. She would have known it as Sith Sorcery likely, though for Vrak there was no such thing. It was simply the force itself, the expression of what...well what his species was truly capable of when at their peak. For him it was more natural than a push of the force, easier than a spark of lightning. "It burns the flesh, but not in an ordinary, burns away the light."

He described it in an almost...mystic way.

Perhaps for him it was, after all Purebloods revered their ancestors, and for him this was something that had come from the old world.

"Not Lightning." It was as if he read her mind. "Something more...refined."

Why was he so keen on this? For one simple reason. There was an Elder back home, a man who had at one point held considerable strength upon Athiss and within the Council. An attack by an Assassin however had weakened him severely, his very heart scorched by spears of hatred. The attack had not killed him, he was too strong for that, but it had weakened him to the point where he could barely make it out of bed. Were Taheera to heal him...he would make a powerful ally for Vrak.

 

[Taheera Sollo]

[member="Vrak Nashar"]

Quietly, she munched on some dried fruit. She was famished after the healing and the beating and the next round of healing. But she was trying to hide it. She didn't want to show Red all the cards. For good reason.

She'd heard stories of other healers disappearing. There was a reason they were so rare. But most healers also didn't fight back. She wasn't one of those.

"Sith sorcery," she murmured. It was well beyond her personal experience. "It's possible but like I said, I've never tried anything like that before." Eyes locked on his through the flames. "Better to cut your losses. Go while you can. I'm sure the Alliance will be here for me soon."

 

[Vrak Nashar]

[member="Taheera Sollo"]

"I'm sure they will be." Vrak said happily.

It was possible she had said. That meant he had little choice in the matter. If there was a chance that she could heal him, then he had to take it. Vrak was in a battle for his life, not just here, but back on his homeworld. There were things in motion that he couldn't stop now, and having him as an ally...it would secure his position on the Council.

That was something he needed.

"I'm counting on it." He told her simply. "I need a way off this world after all."

His voice was cold.

His intent was more than clear.

 

[Taheera Sollo]

[member="Vrak Nashar"]

She finished off the fruit and took another healthy gulp of water. A huge part of her was relieved when he said 'I' instead of 'we.' But the threat was still there, only not directed at her.

She felt the same buzzing energy. The storm was still raging outside. She could tap into that power even if she couldn't control it. One thing was clear, she couldn't let him hurt the alliance members. Still, the odds were in her favor. There would probably be a small squadron. Maybe even another force user.

"What will you do? You'll be one against many."

 

[Vrak Nashar]

[member="Taheera Sollo"]

He looked up at her. He could once again feel the power slowly beginning to flow through her, the steady flow of the force that was beginning to course around her. He frowned slightly, then glanced out of the cavern and into the storm.

Was she drawing power from it somehow? No. That was absurd.

"You'll see." He closed his eyes. He tried to focus himself on her, his senses. It was an odd thing really. Though Vrak was a rather tenacious student he certainly didn't know everything, yet there was something odd about this woman. He frowned for a moment more, but decided he wouldn't comment on it just yet. He still had to plan things out for when the Alliance got there, not to mention how he would smuggle her onto Athiss without the others noticing.

"Not to worry." He opened his eyes. "I won't kill any of them if you cooperate."

 

[Taheera Sollo]

[member="Vrak Nashar"]

An icy feeling went down her spine. Muscles tensed. Eyes flickered toward the cave entrance as his closed.

She wanted to run.

"What do you mean, if I cooperate?" Weight shifted to the balls of her feet. The rain seemed to fall a bit harder, just outside the cave entrance. Or maybe it was just an illusion that made it seem like that. Palms subtlety shifted to the dirt, ready to push off.

 

[Vrak Nashar]

[member="Taheera Sollo"]

He could hear her move. The pushing of the dirt as she shuffled her feet, the press of her hands. He couldn't help but smile slightly, his fingers slowly curling around the remote that still sat in the palm of his hand, obscured from her vision. Vrak wouldn't allow her to run of course, there was not a chance in this world or the next. She had shown her value now, and that meant she would not just be thrown away or tossed aside for a starship.

"Cooperate." He repeated the phrase. "Do not try to run. Do not try to fight me."

It really was as simple as that. Vrak was not a cruel man, not really, he was pragmatic. All he wanted was to get ahead in this galaxy, all he wanted was to restore the Sith to their rightful place in this galaxy. It was a simple want, a simple request. It would require decades of work of course, but he was willing to accept that. Every little step would bring him closer, every single move he made was another inch closer to his ultimate goal.

"Then they'll survive. All of them." His tone implied honesty.

Though who could tell with Sith.

 

[Taheera Sollo]

[member="Vrak Nashar"]

The thing was, she didn't trust him. And she still didn't get the cooperate thing. Did that mean he was going to take her with him now? Or, did he just mean so he could take a ship and then drop her out of the airlock later?

Purple lips thinned into a straight line.

The energy was still there. All she had to do was dip in. If she was gone, he'd have no leverage to use against the Alliance members. Maybe she'd even be able to warn them. It was her duty to try. She had to try. She knew she wouldn't get another chance like this. And if she didn't take this chance, she'd regret it.

Like a fuse already building, she exploded.

Cuffed hands pushed forward and a wall of energy was released at the sith's robed chest, taking some of the fire and wood with it. She didn't know where the remote was. But she didn't take him for a fool. It had to be on his person somewhere and she hoped the force push was enough to either knock it away or at the least to distract him long enough so she could get a bit of a head start. Maybe get out of range. Because just as quickly, she pushed to her feet and bolted for the cave entrance. She didn't look back, it was hard enough to keep her balance.

 

[Vrak Nashar]

[member="Taheera Sollo"]

He was no fool.

Vrak had known she would run. He had known that she would try to flee. She had done so twice before now, and the way she spoke to him, her body language, the subtle scrape of her boots against the ground, it was obvious. Amusement carried through him as he felt the build up of power. He could sense it, her anger, her fear, the determination that rushed through her. She was strong, perhaps stronger than he, but that didn't matter.

As the press of the force rushed out Vrak raised his own palm.

The hand that had not been holding the remote folded up and flat. The wave of the force that rushed for him was suddenly met with a press just as powerful. The two opposing forces came clashing together. Fire and broken wood went flying, heat soaring over the room. The waves crashed together, and then exploded outwards. As Taheera ran she would feel the press of the force pushes at her back, Vrak half being thrown back against the wall as the dual forces rushed throughout the cavern.

His head swiveled as he went crashing against the wall, he watched her rush towards the exit, then suddenly stumble as the two colliding force waves caught up with her. The press caught her, and quickly she fell to the ground with a loud thud, feet knocked out from beneath her. Vrak grinned, and then pressed the button on the remote he was still clutching. A surge would run from the stun cuffs, power rushing through her to knock her out once more.

As she would pass out, Vrak's voice would echo in her head. "Now they'll die."