The Power of the Force.

[WolfMortum]

[member="Paige Argous"]

The vast emptiness of space surrounded the dormant durasteel hulk that was The Baccara, the modified YT-1300 Corellian Freighter baring the Inquisition Industries insignia upon it's hull; the only sign of it's affiliation to any one reputable group. Seated at the helm, the cockpit viewing port arcing over him, Zarack Zorathi sat in the pilots seat, his shoulders slumped and his forehead being supported by his right hand, fingers pinching the bridge of his nose as he remained motionless; save for the rise and fall of his upper half, taking slow intentional breathes as he tried to unwind from the situation that had developed back on Demonsgate at the behest of his Master.
He did not feel much like the boy that he had been back on Eriadu anymore, it seemed difficult to find his reflection resembling anything of the youth mixed up in the poverty stricken district fighting to support his brother in the absence of family security and structured livings. No longer did he have the reason to battle for anyone but himself, that niche for supporting the younger Karrus, having kept him in-line and able to see a light at the end of the tunnel so to speak.
Here, there was no light. Here there was only himself and the memorable screams of the people that he had chosen to kill. The decision made of his own right mind, knowing that consequences would await his return had he failed to deliver in some way, a result that might please Shinju Ayashi, the woman that seemingly had him on a leash despite all that he despised her and her methods for controlling others.

His entrance into the discovery of the Force and his potential to wield it felt like anything but what he'd have expected had he seen it coming. He was now armed, a blaster and two lightsabers though he rarely made use of the second; a freighter that he'd named after the Black Rose itself more so because there was little else that came to mind that he could consider his own. The ability to travel throughout the galaxy that had once only been a pipe dream as he lay awake during the polluted nights of the lower levels back home listening to the neighborhood that rarely sounded of anything but criminal activity and hostilities. In hind sight, perhaps it was no wonder why he had wound up where he had but living with himself was another struggle entirely.
What he had done on Demonsgate was an entirely other level of injustice, he had trespassed and killed under the pretense that if he did not, his master would kill him in turn for his failures. One wrong to excuse another, yet didn't take away from the fact that he had done so in cold blood and for little more but selfish and desperate earnings. Having powered down the bulky freighter, he had been seated for a time he could not recall, his eyes away from the visible present, closed and flickering as he tried not to relive every death over and over through visual recollection. Zarack was not well trained in the Force, he had little to no experience in using it and his survival thus far had been based purely on his instincts and a stroke of luck, in his mind than what mysterious power he'd seen guided by the hand of his Master. The lights had not dimmed yet in all his angst, he'd failed to notice that the room had dimmed into a steady depression, a shadow of an aura that was his own, casting a gloom upon all that surrounded him, his expression broken and eyes giving birth to tears, tormented by his guilt and furious at himself and the life that he'd been forced walk through; knowing that his pride would not allow him an end without fighting, clinging to some hope, independence and the strength to shape his own future.

 

[Paige Argous]

[member="Zarack Arkaos"]

Sometimes, things went the way they were planned. Other times, they did not. For the vast majority of Paige's life, it seemed that the latter was the case. Her earliest memories were of Korriban, where her life as an apprentice was one filled with hellish training by the Sith. At that time, she had thought she would naturally grow to dedicate her life to the Sith Empire, and contribute towards the downfall of the Republic. Unfortunately, things quickly went south for the empire when she became a knight. Her old master disappeared, and the only home she knew fell to the forces of the Republic. With that, the late Sith Empire crumbled, sending Paige to fend for herself in the still-conflicted Galaxy. Several years later, Paige had found that the Sith had made their return in the Galaxy - this time under the bannner of the 'One Sith'. Point was, things moved quickly in the Galaxy, whether or not one was prepared to adapt.

This particular day, Paige found herself in the middle of nowhere. Well, somewhere in outer space to be exact, really, but that was the same thing. The Sith Knight woke up to the roaring sound of some ship's engine, sitting upright from where she was. Blinking in slight confusion, the blonde woman looked around, observing the ship's interior that surrounded her. "Some variant of a YT-1300", she thought to herself. And clearly, it seemed that the ship was in the midst of some travel. It was when she started walking towards the cockpit that she remembered why she was onboard. Paige had been seeking transportation to get her to Coruscant (which supposedly was now in the hands of the Sith), and had simply wandered onboard one of the ships docked at a port, planning to hijack the ship and fly it herself to Coruscant. Or, she realized, she could just coerce the pilot to get her there. It didn't really matter either way.

Not caring that she could perhaps surprise the living feth out of the unsuspecting pilot, Paige simply strode confidently into the ship's cockpit, admiring the cockpit view of space. Choosing to ignore the rather brilliant array of emotions she detected radiating from the seated pilot, Paige decided to take care first of her basic needs. Introductions could come later. "You've got any food onboard?" the blonde asked abruptly, striding forward and tapping the pilot on the shoulder. "And maybe some extra clothes?" she added, nodding with her head towards her scantly-covering outfit that was more suitable to a hot planetary climate, like that of Tatooine. "It's rather cold out here in space, you know."

 

[WolfMortum]

[member="Paige Argous"]

It hadn't occurred to Zarack that he might have picked up a passenger back on the world of Demonsgate, the last thing on his mind had been the need to run a proximity scan of the primary decks in the case that there might be a stowaway following him regardless of his actions back down on the planet yet as his vessel had been docked and loads of Phrik had been carted back and fourth before their people killed, he realized there'd been opportunity and soon justified the alarming voice that came from behind him, a hand touching his shoulder and causing him to swing about in his pilots seat, his right hand instinctively moving for his blaster pistol and lifting it to point up at the intruder, his finger hesitating as his eyes took her in, a woman. She could've killed him and he wouldn't have been any the wiser had she been armed, perhaps she was and he hadn't yet noticed but the first thing he did see was her hair, her blonde hair that for all the calamity in his mind, gave him reason to hold off from pulling the hair-trigger.

"Just who are you and how'd you get on board my ship..." He responded in as cold a tone as he could, trying to mask his surprise for confidence, his free hand quickly triggering the auto-function for the vessels primary programs while he could climb to his feet and stand before her and the controls, his eyes looking her up and down trying to assess whether or not she'd come in as a potential threat or otherwise not alike that of the women he'd met in the Order of the Black Rose, cold and merciless; He hadn't had a good run with women lately and she'd picked her timing awfully. 'Food...-Clothes? Who does she think she is...' he thought out of irritation and disbelief before replying quickly with an ounce of wit, "You're cold huh...-Why don't I blow you out the airlock and you can really freeze".

Waving his pistol at her slightly, he tried to gesture to the open living area at the entrance of the cockpit hallway, "Out..." He ushered, soon moving to follow her when she did finally decide to listen, though his tone was commanding, his annoyance held more confusion than it did anger. "I hate to break it to you, lady but this ain't no cab...-I don't make a habit of picking up strays..." He shook his head, showing all the right signs of being put out by her appearance yet against character, contradicting himself as he moved to find her one of the ration-packs from within the chiller and soon tossing it her way, "No clothes...-Not a lot of company aboard this freighter, most aren't silly enough to sneak aboard...", a pause followed by an admittance, he glanced back to eye skeptically, uncertain of how she was going to pan out and what exactly she wanted with him. "C'mon now, what're you doing here...", his left hand moved to sit at his belt, brushing away the lower portion of his jacket to reveal the hilt that remained clipped to his side.

 

[Paige Argous]

[member="Zarack Arkaos"]

Paige found herself smirking at the young man when he offered to shoot her out of the airlock and into outer space. Completely ignoring the inquiry that was made regarding herself for the time being, the Sith Knight slowly backed away to the open living area at the entrance of the cockpit hallway, putting her hands up in a sign of mocking surrender in response to the man's waving of his blaster pistol. The blonde maintained her calm composure while taking a closer inspection of the ship's owner: she was slightly surprised to find that the pilot was some youngster who couldn't be older than seventeen.

The blonde found herself raising her right eyebrow slightly when she found herself called a 'stray'. "Careful with what you say, kiddo." she replied briskly, as she caught the ration-pack that was tossed her way. Although spoken rather light-heartedly, Paige's tone made it clear she wouldn't have much patience for putting up with disrespect. Well, under the circumstances, it was understandable the way she was being treated as an intruder. But nevertheless, the Sith Knight didn't care to listen to any further comments regarding her current predicament.

Ignoring the demand for her to explain herself, Paige gazed piercingly at the boy with her emerald eyes, analyzing him careful. "Now, isn't a YT-1300 a bit big of a ship to have all for yourself? What's a kid like you doing here in outer space?" she inquired. Suddenly, her eyes widened when she noticed the hilt of a lightsaber clipped to the teen's side. With a slight flick of her hand, Paige abruptly utilized the Force to get the hilt to leap into her right hand, and immediately activated the weapon. "This weapon. Where did you get it?" she demanded rather menacingly, pointing the blade threateningly back at Zarack.

 

[WolfMortum]

The air suddenly grew dense around them, as if some sort of presence had clouded the two and made it difficult for Zarack to breath. He'd felt this way only a couple times before and had learned that it usually came moments before something was going to threaten him. He didn't try to catch the hilt of the lightsaber that left his belt, instead he pulled the second so that by the time [member="Paige Argous"] has his own blade pointed at him, he had one equally vibrant, red and humming wickedly as it was raised in his defense, pointed back at her while still holding the blaster in his right hand. She was force sensitive, not only that but she was trained which spoke horribly to his disadvantage. Training had hardly began by the time the call was put out for him to join the others on Demonsgate and his master while having spent some hours with him more or less instructing him in what little saber skills one might learn from such little time, they hadn't had the chance to dabble into much else.

His eyes narrowed, glaring back at the woman as she called him a kid; how he hated that and the title had been thrown around a lot lately. "That lightsaber belongs to me, as does this ship and everything on it", such possessions he'd never had during his civilian life, such things he could never have dreamed of owning and now it was being threatened by someone who had hidden themselves on-board. Though The Baccara wasn't exactly considered a small vessel in his mind, there wasn't a great deal of room to move about the living quarters facing off in lightsaber combat, especially when still a novice and unable to meet the other with the intensity that was close quarters assault; having no ability to distance himself when falling on the back foot.

"Where did you learn to do that..." He asked though spoke in something of a demanding tone, "Who trained you in the Force...-Answer me". The defiant look that he gave for her, eyes caught aflame in the glow of the two lightsabers keeping the pair just shy of swords length from one another. He hadn't been among the Order of the Black Rose for long but he'd been there long enough to know they had many enemies and had she been one of them, it would be little doubt to him that she would take his life. Her allegiances would dictate his actions and had she not to respond, he expected that would mean she was just as guilty. Resulting in a potential fight that he likely couldn't win yet refused to be treated like some child, he stood his ground awaiting her answer.

 

[Paige Argous]

[member="Zarack Arkaos"]

Unyielding defiance against insurmountable odds. Now that was something Paige thought rather highly of. She simply grinned as the young man produced a second lightsaber, the crimson blade humming with energy while he was also pointing with his blaster, ready to defend himself with everything he had. Although Paige would personally have loved to engage in some close-combat with the teenager, just to test out what he was made of, there was far too high of a risk that their little skirmish onboard the vessel could easily cause some irreparable, and likely fatal, damage to the ship's structure.

The blonde found herself letting out a soft laugh when she was faced with another set of questions. They were responding to each other with inquiries, and that would get them nowhere. Hence, resisting the urge to pin down the boy via any close range combat, Paige simply deactivated the lightsaber she had taken from him, lifting it up closer to her face so that she could inspect it. Clearly, this young man was no Jedi. In fact, it seemed that at this point, he had not been trained to make full use of his great potential. She decided, thus, to make her allegiance be known. It would be a pity if this kid infront of her wasn't the someone Paige expected him to be though, since as the code dictated, she would then have to kill the 'witness'.

"Where did I train..?" she repeated, pondering the question for a moment. "Korriban, Dromund Kaas, Kashyyyk... In battle, in war." Paige answered simply while slowly circling the boy. "My name is Paige, a Sith Knight currently serving the Order of the Black Rose."she stated plainly, deciding against bothering to remove her outfit to show off the sisterhood's dark mark that she brandished on her body. "Now, I'll give you fifteen seconds to explain yourself, kid. I regret to say that an unsatisfactory answer at this point will result in your rather unfortunate, but neccessary, agonizing death..."

 

[WolfMortum]

"You're lying to me and you don't give the blasted orders here!" He lifted the lightsaber to point higher to her throat though did not step forward any further, "This ship is The Bacarra, she was named after the Order of the Black rose; the name means Black Rose" He scowled under his breath looking back at her, "And if you were on Demonsgate with the rest of us...-As there is no other reasonable explanation for you being aboard my ship, why would you look to smuggle aboard another when you could have just joined the rest of us. I know for a fact that Lady Exedo was on that system and while you do not know who I am, there's no possible way you cannot know her if you're part of the old Covenant". If [member="Paige Argous"] had been seeking a way out or to avoid the Black Rose in some way, she'd chosen the wrong flight off of Demonsgate; she seemed to circle him though he'd never show his back to her, moving to turn as to remain facing her, the room that the inhabited on the ship seemingly fading out as his sole concentration moved to the female, expecting her to lash out and waiting for that instinctive silent scream to move and to react, to respond with the defiance that Lady Exedo expected of him.

"I'm giving you one final opportunity and then, for which ever direction it will fall in, this conversation will end...-That name is not one you throw out as an excuse save yourself. The Order of the Black Rose will not tolerate having it's name desecrated with no shed of evidence to support you...", It felt as he was staring his death in the face, his tone wavered as he stomached and forced himself to speak up for what it was that he had come to share with his Master, the Covenant of the Black Rose now become the Order of the Black Rose to which resembled the only sense of belonging that he could claim to know, loyal perhaps not to Shinju Ayashi but certainly to the Order itself, he refused to become the scapegoat for a potential other infiltrating their ranks.

'Korriban, Dromund Kaas, Kashyyyk....All systems who have seen a great deal of bloodshed. A Sith Knight...-I have no chance here' His brows furrowed, hoping that his lack of confidence hadn't spilled out into plain sight of himself.

 

[Paige Argous]

Paige's eyes narrowed with annoyance at the boy's response, while she remained unflinching as he brought the lightsaber closer to her throat. She rolled her eyes as he explained the significance of the ship's name, her mind focused elsewhere. It seemed clear to her that this boy infront of her, whoever he may be, was affliated with the order. Paige had certainly heard of the Sith Lord that the boy referenced - some cannibal, if she remembered correctly from her time with the Sith. Regardless, Paige was done conversing with him. She had not the slightest intention of bothering to explain her choice of transportation off of Demonsgate. nor going onto convince this kid through further talking that she was part of the sisterhood.

Clearly [member="Zarack Arkaos"] wouldn't be giving her any respect or recognition through mere talking - Paige would have to earn them through action, which she was more than happy to do. She closed her eyes momentarily, feeling the unconfidence and apprehension that radiated from the boy. "You are afriad..." the Sith Knight commented blandly. Then, as abruptly as she could, Paige drew upon the Force and quickly propelled a Force Push to the boy infront of her, aiming to send him flying back so that he would hit the wall of the ship.

"We shall see if what you said about your allegiance to the covenant is true." she stated, before extending both of her hands and calling upon the Force once more in an attempt to extract the blaster and second lightsaber out of the boy's grips. Paige wanted the fight that would ensue to be a hand-to-hand combat, for a lightsaber duel under the current circumstances would be outright foolish. "Show me what you've got." the knight demanded.

 

[WolfMortum]

Zarack's brows furrowed as everything seemed to slow down, arguably his mind racing to process everything much quicker than was the norm yet as the moment seemed to drag on, confusion and alarm took him as the air seemed to pull away, growing dense as [member="Paige Argous"] drew upon the Force, harnessing it and preparing to hurl it all back at him. By the time he realized that it was her doing, everything suddenly surged forward moving to quickly for the boy to be able to defend himself or retaliate. An invisible wall slammed into him, seemingly holding more wait as it struck with his chest and lifted him up off of his feet; throwing him several meters back only to collide with the durasteel wall that was his ship, wires, cables and the corner of a compartment offering no mercy as he hit the jagged surface, gasping for air and falling to the floor, his hands catching the ground yet struggling to keep his weight, his head soon bounced once as his forehead met the metal. "N-ugh..." He wheezed, taking in a large breath, pushing himself to his knees a moment, only to look back towards the woman; his expression pained, wincing from the blow more so to his back than from the front. 'I'm sick of being everyone's blasted tool...'.

Slowly he climbed to his feet, his jaw tight, mouth shut yet teeth clenched together as he thought on what she'd said, 'One thing after another with these people'. His first few steps were something of a stumble, he took his time trying to readjust, doing his best to ignore the pain in his back while he watched her. Paige now had his lightsaber, both of them as he'd somehow missed her drawing in the second. He'd must have dropped it on impact with the wall, as she held the blade in her hand yet didn't seem intent on using it anymore, it'd been deactivated. 'Come to think of it...?', his hands moved for his belt, searching for his blaster before shooting a glare back at her once again, 'Witch!' he silently growled to himself; 'How could I let her disarm me...-In my own bloody ship'. It wasn't difficult for him to feel the anger swelling up inside, the attack to his pride (though it had always been battered at by the way his life had knocked him around), intruding upon his grounds, his territory so to speak only to treat him as much of a child as his Master did so often. Both of his hands balled up into fists, his knuckles whitening while his fingernails dug into his palms a little.

His eyes glimpsed passed her a moment, considering their surroundings. A Freighter floating without active power, space the vacuum of life in which it would kill in seconds. This woman was far about what he could manage to bring down without any weapons and yet it was kill or be killed in his eyes, she'd offered him little to think otherwise even after he'd tossed her a rations pack. If he were to survive going toe to toe with a Sith Knight, unbeknownst as to the woman's intentions, he expected that he'd have to use the ship itself. Perhaps living up to his earlier remark though that would be a likely suicidal game of chance.

"Come and get it then, woman".

 

[Paige Argous]

[member="Zarack Arkaos"]

The blonde smirked to herself as she observed the helpless situation of the boy. He had yet to be fully trained, but that could be rectified. Perhaps this could be his first lesson from me, Paige thought. She felt much anger and frustration vent up inside of him, especially at this particular moment, and the knight understood the powerful tool those emotions could be when properly utilized. "You are quite pathetic..." she began.

"You'll have to do better than that if you want to live." the knight remarked, as she balled up her fists for close quarter combat. Sure, it was fun and what not to keep throwing the boy around, but why do that if she could go and beat him up into a bloody pulp herself? Without waiting further, she surged forward in a burst of speed that was aided by the Force propelling her. Perhaps the boy would be prepared, or not, but it didn't matter to the blonde woman.

As she accelerated towards him, she planted two quick sucker punches from the left followed by from the right. Giving no chance to retaliate was her strategy, and if there were any-counter attacks, Paige would try to block them with her arms. Following up the punches, the knight whirled around to give a roundhouse kick towards the boy's chest, her loose outfit greatly to her advantage in terms of flexibility.

 

[WolfMortum]

[member="Paige Argous"]

She moved with such speed, more so than he was prepared for and more than he'd ever seen in one persons approach, it was unnatural; his mouth opened in alarm, his eyes wide as he spoke in little more than a mutter "Oh shi-..." his useless exclamation cut short by the first of two well executed hits connected with his cheek, pressing the inside against his rough teeth, cutting flesh and spilling blood, spraying it In a thin shower as his head was thrown left, only to be shunted back as her next punch connected with his nose and soon, felt the hard metallic surface of the wall connect with the back of his head a second time; yet she wasn't finished with him. The air from his lungs was sudden exhumed from his body as her foot dug in just beneath his sternum, his gasp lifeless in sound as he stumbled back what little space remained between he and his own craft before crumbling to the floor, landing on his knees and clutching his front as if to try and pull his breath back into him.
It hadn't been his first fight but her hits were punches stronger than what he'd expected from a woman, he wasn't a sexist by any nature but the blows he'd taken didn't feel like those he'd received back home on Eriadu, there was a clear element of power in her movements that was impossible not to notice, she'd basically cast him aside in those three short blows. As helpless as he felt, he slowly pushed himself up from the floor, looking back at her with a defiant glare "That all you got..." he spoke coldly, his lower lip bloodied from the cut within his cheek.

There wasn't time for Paige to respond, Zarack wasn't that stupid, as pointlessly defiant as he was trying to be, to maintain some sense of pride within himself and refusal to give in. He threw himself forward from the floor, feet propelling him forward, carry his weight as he slowly lifted his head and with such close proximity attempted to tackle her from the waist. He hoped to pick her up off of her feet and bring her back down into the floor yet his mind was focused on something else passed her. Whether or not she was able to counter him didn't matter so much as his reaching the other side of the room and pulling the yellow and black lever to the left of the airlock. He'd take them both down before he'd let someone else throw him about like some worthless ragdoll.