Private SOMMER'S END PT.2 -4

[Arcubis Kornelius]

Location: Rooftop Shuttle Pad, The Gilded Veil

The alarm klaxons pulsed dimmer now—background noise to the heavy silence that fell over the rooftop.

Arcubis Kornelius stood near the landing ramp of the obsidian shuttle, arms crossed, silhouette massive against the backdrop of Nar Shaddaa's smog-riddled skyline. Crimson-red warnings pulsed faintly across his personal HUD.

—Force Field Disruption Detected.
Subject ZG: Status = NULLIFIED.
Device Class: LTI Forcebreaker, Mk I.
Duration Remaining: 11h 57m.

He watched the readouts update.

He didn't flinch. He didn't curse.

He just tilted his head slightly… and smiled.

"Interesting."

From his vantage point, he could just make out the dim flashes of combat inside the Veil. The sharp shriek of saber on steel, then the sudden absence of Zori's signature energy.

"So that's how they play."

He tapped into his comm.

Zori's voice didn't respond.

She was alive — he knew that. But defanged. Humanized.

Unworthy… for now.

He took a step back toward the shuttle, then paused.

One of the Heralds stumbled out from a side corridor — barely holding their side, armor cracked.

Arcubis stared at the Herald.

Then, in a low tone, more amused than angry, he spoke:

"She was supposed to own them."

"Sir—she's—"

Arcubis held up a hand.

"This was her crucible. And she failed it. Not because of weakness… but because of ego."

He turned fully now, stepping up the shuttle ramp.

"Let them keep their club. Their Forcebreaker. Their victory."

His crimson optics gleamed one last time over the Nar Shaddaa skyline.

"I was only ever here to watch."

The shuttle doors closed behind him with a hiss.

The black vessel lifted silently into the sky, disappearing like a shadow folding into the night.

But not before Arcubis left one final encrypted signal on a private channel:

"Phase I complete. The girl resisted. Zori faltered.
Now… let the others move.
Let Azis judge the rest."

 

[Zori Galea]

Location: Lower Holding Wing, The Gilded Veil – Secure Chamber

Her wrists were bound with shock-linked mag cuffs. Her ankles the same. The cold nullifier collar around her throat emitted a quiet hum that ensured no whisper of the Force could touch her again—not while the LTI device was active.


Zori Galea sat alone in the reinforced cell of the Gilded Veil's secure wing.


Not because she was dangerous.
Because even without the Force, even bleeding, she was terrifying.


The room had no windows. Just dull violet walls, reinforced durasteel. A faint buzz from an old ceiling fan. The smell of oil and scorched cloth.


Her lip was split. Her once-pristine braid had unraveled. The side of her gown was sliced open where Kael's blade had grazed her ribs.


And still… she sat with her back perfectly straight.


Eyes closed.
Breathing steady.
Not broken.
Processing.

[Her Mind, Flickering With Fury]

How long has it been? Minutes? Hours?

They'll make a show of this. Parade me like a trophy.
But they won't kill me. They don't have the will.

And if they do… then Azis will raise someone else.
Another vessel. Another flame. My role isn't divine—it's disposable.

That thought stung more than the cuffs.

Zori's lips curled into a sneer.

"You'll regret not finishing this," she whispered aloud to the room.

 

[Sommer Dai]

Location: Sommer's Office – Gilded Veil, Private Briefing Floor

The walls were still scorched from the chaos. One panel sparked occasionally near the corner where a Herald's blade had scraped the circuitry.

Sommer leaned back in her chair — not her usual graceful posture, but slouched, one boot kicked off, hand resting over her mouth. Exhausted.

Kael paced behind her, arms crossed.

Alyssa stood by the windows, arms also crossed, biting the inside of her cheek.

Arq typed furiously into a secure console, pulling up dossiers, off-world contacts, military-grade transport protocols.

The silence spoke for them.

Until Sommer finally broke it.

"She knows we won't execute her."

 

[Kaelon Virex]

Kael stopped pacing. "Would you?"

 

[Sommer Dai]

"No," Sommer answered. "But I might space her if she so much as twitches."

 

[Alyssa Kydd]

Alyssa with arms still folded, her face still taut with adrenaline.

"She doesn't look like a god now."

 

[Arq*]

Arq, hand to his chin, frowned. "She still is, in her own mind. And that's what makes her dangerous."

 

[Sommer Dai]

Sommer said nothing for a moment.

She just watched the woman who had haunted her dreams, corrupted her visions, and nearly broke her mind… sitting in chains like a fallen idol.

Finally, she spoke.

"We need to decide what to do with her."

 

[Kaelon Virex]

Kael glanced at her. "We can't kill her. Not like this. Not while she's bound. That's not us."

 

[Alyssa Kydd]

"Hand her over to the GA?" Alyssa asked. "Risk her breaking out during transport?"

 

[Arq*]

Arq sighed. "She'll manipulate them. She always does."

 

[Sommer Dai]

Sommer exhaled, her voice low.

"We can't keep her here either. The Veil is already unstable after this. And we don't even know what else she's planted. She said this all leads to Azis… What if this was just the opening act?"

Everyone fell silent.

 

[Zori Galea]

Until Zori herself spoke, loud enough to carry through the audio feed.

"You think this ends with me in a cell?"
Her eyes opened, cold and unreadable.
"You're not watching my fall. You're watching my eclipse. And when I rise again—your little empire burns."

 

[Sommer Dai]

Sommer narrowed her eyes, walking closer to the glass.

"You lost."

 

[Zori Galea]

"No," Zori whispered. "I learned. And next time… I won't be alone."

 

[Alyssa Kydd]

Alyssa turned. "We should hand her over. GA Intel Division. Get her off our turf."

 

[Arq*]

Arq shook his head. "And let them claim a win they didn't earn? She'll manipulate the legal system before her second interrogation even starts. Not to mention half the Senate is compromised."

 

[Kaelon Virex]

"I agree," Kael said. "She's too smart. Too… Zori."

 

[Alyssa Kydd]

Alyssa frowned. "So what? We keep her locked up here? In a club basement? What if she has loyalists? A signal beacon? We don't even know what Arcubis is planning."

 

[Sommer Dai]

Sommer blinked slowly, still staring at the datapad in front of her.

"We don't keep her here."

Three sets of eyes turned to her.

She pulled up a series of coordinates on the screen.

"We move her. Quietly. Far edge of the Mid Rim. There's an old station — abandoned orbital prison used by the CIS during the Clone Wars. No one's touched it in decades."