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the dance between darkness and light
Ekkreth rescues Deskyl
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This adaptation to make lightsabers more durable is fascinating and useful and exactly the kind of thing she's staying with the Empire for. She manages to hunt down a couple of other intriguing lightsaber modifications by the same person.

She looks her up.

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Sith by the name of Deskyl, apprenticed to a Lord Pritruth; she specializes in lightsaber design, both general improvements and individualized custom ones. It doesn't look like she's done anything recently, though; her work history is a little gappy, but it's been most of a year now since she released so much as a paper, and that's a bit odd. (She's also available to commission for artwork, statuary and bas-relief pieces in stone or metal or gems; her portfolio of those hasn't been updated in a year and a half, but that's not an unusual gap, for her.) The file includes contact information.

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Interesting.

She decides to inquire about a commission.

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The automated response says she'll get back to her within three working days.

She does not get back to her within three working days.

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Hmm.

She looks up something in Darth Svahe's files that's related to something Pritruth's working on and sends him a message saying she'd like to talk to him about it.

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That gets a prompt response. He's available for a holocall the following afternoon, if she'd like.

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She would like.

The area of Svahe's research she found a match for Pritruth's in...concerns her. But best not to make premature judgement calls.

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He's there for the holocall at the agreed-upon time.

 

That - yeah, that sure is Deskyl, perched on the steps leading up to his seat. She looks... vacant, is really the only way to put it, staring disinterestedly off at something outside the scope of the hologram after a perfunctory glance at Ekkreth a minute or so after the call begins.

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Ekkreth has to use her "Gosh I sure am a Sith who is okay with this shit" face for almost the entire call. She really does not like spending this much of her mental energy on something so closely related to her dead master.

At the end she mentions offhand that she thinks she heard his name in the context of some apprentice of his who was doing brilliant engineering work and then stopped, but isn't listed as dead for some reason, does he know why that is?

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"Oh, Deskyl's been busy helping another of my apprentices with some other research - classified, for now, but we hope to have something ready to release in the next few years, fascinating stuff, very promising."

 

She doesn't respond at all, when he says her name, not even a flicker of attention.

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"And it's occupying so much of her time that she has no attention whatsoever to use on her own projects?"

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"She's been pretty taken with it, yes. I can recommend some of her colleagues if you're in the market for something?"

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"Not urgently, though I'll keep it in mind. I would appreciate it if you would remind her that if she's busy enough to be unable to fulfil orders as advertised that it would be prudent to cease advertising the ability to fill orders."

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"I will; thank you for bringing it to my attention."

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She glances at Deskyl again, says "Mm," and cuts the connection.

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If she checks back, she'll find that Deskyl's holonet file has been edited to remove the contact information and any mention of currently taking commissions.

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Yeah.

Fuck.

Okay, this obviously can't be allowed to go on longer. She saw her--that's--she doesn't know what's going on there but it's obviously not acceptable.

She arranges to visit Pritruth in person.

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He's got a compound of his own on a settled planet well back from any battle lines; the planet has a few cities, but there's plenty of wilderness, too, and his base is several hours' speeder travel from any other buildings.

He's not enthusiastic about the visit, but he's hardly going to argue with a Darth; he's there as instructed when she arrives.

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She starts off by picking up the discussion about education, but a little while in, adds, "I was wondering, by the way, if you think I'm an idiot."

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"Of course not, my lord." He's wary - that almost goes without saying - but not surprised at the question.

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"Because unless I am badly mistaken the apprentice I mentioned was in view when we were speaking."

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He winces just slightly. "Yes, Lord."

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"And that did not look like a person whose projects had been abandoned because they were too busy helping someone else."

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"- no. She had an, ah, discipline problem; she has been assisting my other apprentice, but not in a - usual sort of capacity. I can offer a copy of her unpublished work, if that would be sufficient to your needs?"

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"I am curious what kind of assistance leaves someone looking like that."

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"I'm sorry, my lord, the project is classified; I can show you the documentation if you'd like."

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"That would be helpful, thank you."

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"Very well, my lord."

He leads the way to an office, not overly showy but still opulent enough to be appropriate to a Sith of his standing, and pulls up the file on a screen on the desk. He offers her the screen and controls, and goes to rifle through a filing cabinet along the side of the room while she confirms that the classification is genuine (it is).

"And here's Deskyl's lightsaber notes," he says when she looks up, offering a box of datacards. "I'm sorry I can't be of more help than this."

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"These might be a little hard to decipher without her," she muses.

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"We don't expect her to recover, but I can inform you if she does, my lord."

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"I think that the odds that remaining in her current situation will result in improvement are negligible"

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He's momentarily surprised. "I'll have her prepared to travel, then. Her quarters are right this way-"

A minute's walk brings them to a stereotypically Sithy bedroom, all red cloth and black wood; she'll recognize the sunset bas-relief over the bed as Deskyl's own work, photographed for her portfolio but much more impressive in person. Deskyl herself is curled up in the bed, looking lost; the droid sitting with her puts down the hairbrush she was using on her hair and stands to acknowledge them. "Pack up Deskyl's things; she'll be leaving with the Darth," Pritruth orders, and the droid bows and goes to the communicator on the wall to request that some boxes be brought in.

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Ekkreth takes a moment to discreetly admire the relief; it's got nothing on sunsets back on Tatooine but it's still beautiful in itself.

She very much hopes she isn't tipping more of her hand than she means to.

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The droid begins taking books off the bookshelf - it's quite a full bookshelf - and piling them in short stacks on the bed; Pritruth interrupts her almost immediately. "Don't bother with those; start with her wardrobe."

"Yes, sir," she says, and goes to do that.

(Deskyl seems to have noticed them, finally, and is staring confusedly at Darth Magnus, as if the woman is a logic puzzle written mostly in a foreign language.)

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She refrains from objecting. She really doesn't need to display more compassion right now and probably the books are replaceable.

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The boxes come; the droid and her two compatriots who arrived with them begin packing in earnest.

"Is there anything else you'd like to see while you're here, Lord?"

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"I don't believe so."

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"Very well." He bows. "I'll be in my office if you want me for anything."

He goes. The droids keep working, efficiently packing everything into boxes, which other droids come to take away; when they're done with the clothing, one resumes packing books while the other two work in the other rooms of the suite.

Deskyl gives up on her puzzle and curls up a little tighter under her blanket.

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Ekkreth firmly reminds herself not to do anything that will force her to choose between fleeing the Empire and slaughtering everyone here.

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Once the books are done, the droid goes to where camouflaged panels in the wall across from the bed can be shifted to reveal artwork and begins dismantling that display, packing the sunset landscapes carefully.

The job is done not long after that, and the droid makes a final walk-through of the suite to make sure nothing has been missed. "We're ready, Ma'am."

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"Thank you," she says to the droid, because with no Sith with verbal processing actually in the room that's no risk at all, "the ship is this way."

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"Yes, Ma'am."

She coaxes Deskyl out of bed - she responds to gestures, at least - and takes her hand to lead her behind the Darth.

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The ship is not enormous but there is room for all of the boxes and a spare cabin for Deskyl.

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Deskyl seems a little hesitant to let the droid guide her back to bed, but complies without any actual complaint, and then the droid settles herself in the chair beside her.

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Ekkreth leaves them be.

Once they're off-planet and out of range of any other Sith she sighs and relaxes her shielding and lets her Force signature go back to normal instead of "Yep, I Sure Am A Darth."

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...huh.

(She doesn't do anything about it; this is all terribly disorienting and she's well aware that if she tries to do anything she'll quickly find that she can't. But: huh.)

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Eventually they reach their destination. Darth Magnus has a carefully cultivated reputation for preferring her living quarters devoid of servants (slaves in all but name, in the Empire; she would do without even if it were far more suspicious than it is) so there is no one else around to set up an unused room into a bedroom, but it's relatively straightforward to get the furniture out of boxes and assembled when one is telekinetic.

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The droid once again has to coax and guide her, when Ekkreth arrives to show them to their new quarters, but it seems like Deskyl is very slightly more alert already.

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That's good, at least.

"--What are you called?" she asks the droid, when it occurs to her that she doesn't know.

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"DZ twelve Q, Ma'am."

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Nod. "Is there any particular care she requires?"

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"She does worse when she skips meals, Ma'am. And she might get confused if she doesn't have a place to practice forms."

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Nod. "Does she need encouragement to not skip meals or just for food to be available at the right times?"

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"I've never had trouble getting her to eat, but she's familiar with me."

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Nod. "That's fine, then."

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"May I ask what you want her for?"

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"I don't--think I have the words for it in Basic."

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"All right."

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"--This isn't all of it, but--if you're going to kill someone then you should just kill them, this is--an abomination."

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There's a little delay while the droid thinks about her assertion; Deskyl picks that moment to peer at her again, confused and dubious and not meeting her eyes.

"I suppose so, Ma'am."

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"Do you have any other questions?"

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"Will I have any responsibilities besides looking after Deskyl?"

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"--Honestly the thought hadn't even crossed my mind."

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Nod. "All right. Thank you, Ma'am." She takes Deskyl's hand to give it a squeeze.

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"You're welcome." And another question occurs to her, but she can't think of a way to ask it without sounding threatening, which she has no desire to do, so she leaves the room to give them some privacy instead.

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She puts up a few of the pieces of art, and then goes to sit with her friend.

Deskyl... Deskyl... Deskyl... she signs; it's not usually this hard for her to get her attention, but between the move and the stranger she's not surprised. She keeps trying.

    Yeah.

Hey. We're staying here, I think - the Darth is keeping us.

    Weird Darth.

 Yeah, I noticed too. She doesn't like how your master was hurting you.

    Saw that. True.

Do you want me to tell her anything?

    No. Wait; hide.

Okay. Do you need anything?

    Snack. Sleep.

I'll go look for the kitchen.

    Okay. Stay safe.

Yes ma'am.

She goes to look for the kitchen, keeping an eye out for droids who might be able to direct her there.

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The building is oddly devoid of other droids, but there exists a kitchen that can be located in fairly short order.

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She brings back a few things that don't require any cooking and will keep well; Deskyl accepts some fruit and goes to sleep.

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Ekkreth finds a space that can conveniently be set aside for lightsaber practice that she won't miss being unable to just go into whenever and informs DZ of where it is.

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"Thank you, Ma'am. Do you - have other droids?"

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"I don't generally prefer data on how I behave while in private to exist."

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"...all right." She folds in on herself a little, more a submissive posture than a defensive one per se.

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"I don't mind you, I just don't usually need droids enough to make it worth it."

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"All right." She relaxes, mostly.

"I asked because I don't know what to do with Deskyl's laundry; Pritruth had a cleaning droid for it."

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"I can show you."

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"Thank you, ma'am."

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"Is there anything else in that category?"

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She considers. "I don't know how to cook or wash dishes."

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"I can show you how."

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She nods. "Thank you."

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"You're welcome."

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There's an awkward pause. (Does she expect the droid to dismiss her? That seems deeply implausible.)

"Deskyl seems to be settling in well so far," she offers.

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"That's good. Tell me if she needs anything else."

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Nod. "I will."

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"Thank you," she says. "Would now be a good time for me to show you how laundry and so on work?"

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"Yes, Ma'am, one moment." She wakes Deskyl with a gentle nudge and waits for her to roll over so she can watch them leave.

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Ekkreth observes but does not inquire, and then she goes to show DZ how to do laundry and make food and so on.

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She's an attentive pupil, though without a sense of taste or smell it's hard for her to do anything very complicated in the kitchen.

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Following the recipe exactly won't steer her far wrong.

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That should be good enough, then, she can definitely follow directions.

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Not exactly surprising.

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Not really, no.

By the time they're done it's approaching dinnertime; she's quietly pleased to have something she made herself to bring to Deskyl.

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Ekkreth inquires as to how much Deskyl should be eating and divides the food into portions accordingly. Part of it goes on plates to eat now and part of it goes into containers in the refrigerator to be re-heated later.

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(...Darth Magnus is eating the food she made. Gosh.)

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Deskyl is asleep again when DZ returns with the food, and in fact she spends most of her time asleep over the next several days - she can be woken, and sometimes gets up on her own, but she's rarely awake for more than two hours and never more than four before she returns to bed. (DZ frets, quietly, and asks her repeatedly if there's anything she needs, but no, she just wants to sleep.)

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This is kind of worrying but Ekkreth doesn't have any ideas that are, on reflection, better than "assume the two of them have any idea what they're doing." She vaguely wishes she had a Grandmother on hand with relevant experience but she does not.

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And she does slowly come out of it, still napping frequently but going from six hours awake most days to seven, and then eight; just as slowly, she begins staying awake for longer periods of time. She starts leaving her room, occasionally - it's exhausting; the first time she tries it she's back in bed in inside an hour and sleeps for the rest of the day, but she keeps trying, even though it generally gets about the same result.

She finds the practice room and takes the opportunity to use it, and ends up too tired to eat her dinner and loses a week's recovery. DZ reports that she seems to be in a better mood, though - more relaxed, less anxious - and she improves a little more quickly the second time than she did the first.

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It's good that she's recovering, at least physically. Ekkreth doesn't consider herself qualified at all to judge her mental recovery.

After she's gotten more or less settled in, while she's still sleeping most of the time, Ekkreth goes to make some discreet inquiries.

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Lord Ocnem's project began as an experiment in more effective battle meditation; what he discovered instead was a way to generate a variety of moderate to major physical effects by interfacing more closely with the Force. The key is to use a second person as a sort of buffer, exposing them to its full strength and reading their mind from a safe remove. The buffering individual doesn't need to be Force-sensitive, but most people are useless for the procedure, burning out completely too quickly to be used to accomplish anything at all; even people with the right sort of minds to sustain it last less than a minute before dying. With one exception: nine months ago, Ocnem gained access to a Force-sensitive person of the right sort, who survived his initial use and went on to be used four more times, to devastating effect in the battles he participated in that way.

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...Well. All the more reason to be glad to have gotten her out.

The fact that this can't be done to most people is reassuring.

She looks into the one who developed the technique in case he decides to do something stupid in response to losing his prize victim.

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He mostly stays out by the battlefront; he seems to avoid getting into unnecessary physical confrontations, but he regularly provides assistance via battle meditation or his new technique to a handful of fleets and units, occasionally provides security to sensitive shipments to or from the front lines of the war, and very occasionally takes on an infiltration mission, to mixed success. He seems to mostly be functioning as a free agent, rather than working closely with his master, though the dossier notes that they're still close.

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Hm. It could go either way, then. Well. She'll be ready if he does.

She checks on Deskyl again.

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She's asleep, but the disturbance wakes her, and she sits up and looks curiously at the other woman.

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Ekkreth looks at her for a long moment.

"One day," she says eventually, "Ekkreth was going along. They saw a construction project, led by one of Depur's overseers, and went among the slaves there and asked, 'What is being constructed?' and the slaves replied, 'Depur has demanded of all his overseers that they create monuments to his glory. This one is creating a new armory, so that all may know the power of Depur and how futile it is to oppose him'. So Ekkreth took the form of one of the slaves, and worked with them on the armory. At night, Ekkreth took some of the scrap metal from the project, that had been discarded, and fashioned a little bird, and let it go. In the morning, Depur saw that there was a metal bird flying about the city, and demanded to know who had done it.

And Ekkreth came before Depur, and bowed low, and said, 'I have done it, my Master.' And Depur said, 'how is it that you have been able to do this thing?' And Ekkreth replied, 'I took a little of the metal from the monuments that are being built to your glory, my Master, and a few hours of the night when it is too dark to see and no work can be done.' And Depur said, 'What else can you create?' and Ekkreth said, 'Oh, my Master! I am only a slave! How could I possibly create anything less frivolous than a little bird with only my own will to guide me, and only a little discarded metal to use?' and Depur said, 'If I command you, too, to build a monument to my glory, and metal and stone to do it with, what can you create?' and Ekkreth said, 'My master, your overseers build you buildings and statues, but give me metal and stone and your will to guide me and I will create for you a whole city such as has never been seen before on the face of the planet.' So Depur made Ekkreth an overseer, and gave them metal and stone to build with.

Every day, Ekkreth would take the stone and metal, and they would instruct the slaves on how to use it to create a building that would be grand and beautiful, that would please Depur. And every night, Ekkreth would take the scrap metal, and they and the slaves would fashion clever devices and put them in the hiding-places that Ekkreth had designed into the buildings.

Eventually, every building in the city was one of the beautiful buildings that Ekkreth had designed. And Depur praised Ekkreth, saying, 'Truly, you have done as you said, and given me a city such as has never before been seen on this planet.' And Ekkreth said, 'No, my Master.' And Depur said, 'No?' And Ekkreth said, 'No, I have not yet done as I have said. I have built a beautiful city, but there have been beautiful cities before.' And Depur said, 'Then how do you intend to fulfill your promise?' And Ekkreth threw down their overseers' clothes, and changed into another shape, and Depur was very angry, and roared, 'Ekkreth! What have you done this time?' and Ekkreth said, 'I am giving you a city such as has never been seen before on this planet.' And when the slaves heard this, they put down their tools and walked away. Depur, enraged, attempted to detonate their transmittors, but the clever jammers that Ekkreth and the slaves had made in the night and hidden in the secret places prevented them from exploding, and every single slave in the city walked away unharmed. And Ekkreth said, 'I am giving you a city without any slaves in it. Such a thing has never been seen before on Tatooine. And Depur called for his guards to come kill Ekkreth for what they had done, but Ekkreth laughed and turned into a bird and flew away.

I tell you this story to save your life."

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Deskyl listens, or perhaps just watches, with her focus mainly on the woman's mouth but her eyes flicking occasionally to her hands, or the droid's hands. She doesn't react, especially, when the story ends.

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"She can't hear you, Ma'am. But - I don't know - when I first started with her, she could understand sign, most of the time. She hasn't signed to me in months, but I could try, if it's important."

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"--Hard to tell if it would help or not. It might, though."

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"Yes, Ma'am." She begins signing - it's clearly based on Sith battle sign, but expanded, to take it from a simple system for relaying orders to a proper communicative language.

It takes a minute for Deskyl to notice, and when she does, the droid starts over from the beginning.

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Deskyl watches attentively. It's hard to tell how much she might be understanding, but midway through the repetition she shifts to lie back down, and makes a disapproving noise when DZ stops signing.

When the story is done, she lies there thinking about it for a minute, and then abruptly gets up and, after a bit of searching, retrieves a book from the shelves. She thumbs through it, ending with it open to a page with a distinctive bookmark held in the binding, and hands it to the droid.

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And DZ recites:

"Stand up, warrior; you are not yet finished.
Beaten you may be, but broken?
Angels have fallen from greater heights
and survived, so why shouldn’t you?
Never mind what you are made of;
you are more than this flesh that binds you.
There is nothing you have to fear
that should not fear you a thousand times more.
Your heart is a galaxy, and your soul is lined in stars.

You are something extraordinary, my dear."

[source]

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Ekkreth nods slowly.

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"She liked this one. I guess that's obvious. I'm a little surprised she remembered it, though."

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(Deskyl, already back under the covers, stretches and curls up and closes her eyes.)

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"It's a good one."

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"I guess your story helped."

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"I'm glad. There's more like it."

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"She doesn't have days this good very often, but I can let you know when I notice one, Ma'am."

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"If you think it will help. Thank you."

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"Thank you, Ma'am."

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Little smile. Nod.

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"Is there anything else I can do for you?"

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"Not that I know of. Thank you."

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She nods and puts the book back.

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Ekkreth continues to show up and tell Ekkreth stories. She does it anytime DZ says Deskyl is in good enough shape, and occasionally on her own initiative.

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She's not in good enough shape very frequently; most often once a week, occasionally twice, more often not at all, and it's not unusual for her to drift off partway through a story, or fall asleep immediately after. She doesn't present Ekkreth with any more poetry, but she does smile at her, sometimes.

One day when Ekkreth comes by, she's sitting up in bed working on an embroidery sampler, producing neat white lines on a piece of black scrap cloth.

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Ekkreth gives a little half-smile at the colors. "That's pretty," she says, doubting Deskyl will get anything out of the words but maybe the tone will be communicative.

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DZ translates; Deskyl grins, and looks at the droid expectantly.

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"...she told me once that embroidery is good practice for other kinds of detail work, for her. Like the trickier kinds of wiring, and things." She signs along as she speaks, and Deskyl nods approval when she's done.

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"Oh, I see. Do you know if it would be helpful to get her more colors of thread?"

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"She has some. She's a little low on red and gold, though."

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"Low on red," she murmurs. "I can see that."

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"-hmm?"

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"--Nevermind, sorry."

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"All right, Ma'am."

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"Color symbolism from my home planet," she says after a moment. "Red represents, among other things, the--core of a person's self."

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"Hm."

 

"No, I think... I think it's the opposite of that." She offers her hand to Deskyl, who sends a confused look from her to Ekkreth and back again before taking it and giving it a squeeze. "I think that's all she has, is red," the droid continues, "and it's everything else that's missing."

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She looks at the embroidery again.

"Black is freedom, and secrecy. White means a lot of things. Ferocity and strength among them."

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DZ nods and translates, including the meaning of all three colors; Deskyl gives a wry grin and makes another tiny white stitch.

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Hi, she signs.

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--Oh. She can--well, good.

Hi.

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She's not fast at it, by any means, but: yes, yes she can.

Talking is ... difficult, even here. But possible, a little.

Thank you.

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You can never save everyone, but you can always save someone.

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Yeah.

 

You're... she considers for a bit, then signs briefly to DZ instead. "You're unusual, for a Darth. Is there anything we should know about that? Special considerations for safety, or anything?"

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"I don't think I'm dangerous in ways other Darths aren't. I have to be careful not to show how unusual I am, but..."

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"Is there anything we can do to help with that?"

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"If anyone asks what I'm like, lie appropriately."

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"Of course," DZ says, as Deskyl nods and signs good droid.

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"Almost anything else seems like it would be incredibly path-dependent."

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Yeah.

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"I have a question, and it's possible that just being asked could hurt you, at this point; I think I probably should ask it at some point but I don't see any harm in it being later, when you're more put back together. But it should be your choice."

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She signs something to DZ, who nods, and then she signs go ahead.

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"Do you want to know what they were doing to you, that left you like that?"

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She tenses a little, curling up slightly, as she thinks about it.

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"I'd like to know, if - that's okay," DZ directs the question at Deskyl, who nods immediately.

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"Sure."

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Deskyl considers it for another moment, sighs, and intentionally stretches back out and relaxes. I should know.

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Nod. "If you'd rather wait, the data's not going anywhere."

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Headshake. I should know, she repeats.

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Nod. "I'll go fetch it."

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She's meditating, when she gets back, but promptly opens her eyes when she comes in.

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She hands over the reader and discs wordlessly.

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She reads. She passes the reader to DZ.

 

Thank you.

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"'You're welcome' is the closest I can think of in Basic to the words I want to say."

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I was going to kill him. Not because of that; because I needed to be safe. But that is another reason.

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Nod. "Of course."

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Maybe later.

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"I certainly wouldn't begrudge it. I escaped from my master and then hunted him down and killed him later on, after all."

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"I had help, but so do you."

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Hugging Darths is not usually recommended, but this is no ordinary Darth. She scoots to the edge of the bed and opens her arms in offer.

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Ekkreth hugs her.

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Yes, good.

 

I don't know if I'll get everything back - I don't know if I'll know if I don't - but that - she pauses to cover a yawn - yes.

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Nod.

Killing my master didn't restore everything he took from me, either.

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Nod. That's not why, anyway.

(Yeah, she's definitely in the process of falling asleep, here.)

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Nod. I can go.

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Sleep, yeah. She makes no effort to move out of the hug.

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Ekkreth slowly extracts herself.

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Once she starts moving in earnest, Deskyl seems to get the idea, and curls back up on the bed, all comfy.

Thank you, she signs again.

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You're welcome, she signs back, and says something in a language that would be unfamiliar even with all her language processing intact.

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She's asleep, anyway, smiling peacefully.

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"Do you need anything?" she asks the droid.

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"I don't think so, Ma'am. Unless there's something in this about that," she gestures to the datapad.

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"I don't know how much help all of it will be but it can't hurt."

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She nods. "Yes, Ma'am."

 

"- would you like me to call you something else? I think - Deskyl explained, once..." she trails off.

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"My mother named me out of our mythology. I'm Ekkreth."

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"Ekkreth. Okay. I - thank you."

"Deskyl can't really remember names any more, but I'll tell her anyway, if you don't mind, she'll enjoy it."

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"I don't mind at all."

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She ducks her head in imitation of Deskyl's grin. "Thank you."

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"You're welcome."

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Deskyl continues recovering; DZ's reports on it have more detail, now, that she's been embroidering or reading poetry or going over her old lightsaber notes. She's up for a story whenever she's awake, but conversation still tires her, and it quickly becomes obvious that something's wrong with her memory: She remembers things from before the first time she was subjected to Ocnem's procedure well enough, even in some cases remarkably well; she's rarely wrong about which book has a particular poem or fact in it. Anything she's learned or done since then, though, comes and goes, depending mostly on whether she's having a good day or a bad one. Once, she even forgets that she let Ekkreth learn that she can sign, responding with a confused and worried look when she greets her.

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That's not good, but Ekkreth can't think of anything that would definitely help.

When Deskyl is in a more remembering-things state she asks if there's anything in particular she should do in future situations like that.

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can tell me. She shrugs. might not trust. sorry.

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Shrug. Not your fault.

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yeah. but don't want it.

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Yeah.

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yeah.

getting better. so bad, right after.

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It's good that you're getting better.

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yeah.

"She's almost bored, sometimes, she says that's good news," DZ translates. "Because it's not taking all her effort just to be awake."

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"That's good to hear."

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"Yes. Do you want to find more things to do?" she asks Deskyl.

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maybe.

 

I want to go see a sunset, but that would be hard.

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"Hard like difficult to cause to happen or hard like it would take recovering from?"

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recovering.

 

worth it.

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"Well. This planet does have good sunsets."

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"Binary star system."

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"Ooh."

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"Tatooine is in one of those, too, I missed it."

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makes sense.

go back, sometime?

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"To Tatooine?"

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Nod.

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"Eventually. I've made short visits, since becoming Darth Magnus."

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Nod.

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"I have things I need to do before I go back for good."

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can I help?

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"Probably, yes. --Do you remember the first Ekkreth story I told you?"

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She thinks for a moment and then consults DZ for a reminder. yeah.

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"Jammers are in fact possible to invent, and I don't intend to stop at a city."

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not lightsabers, but close enough.

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"Oh, good."

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yeah.

don't know when I'll be able. lots of remembering, that. but I'm getting better.

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"It was taking a long time anyway."

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Nod. hard problem, I think.

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"If it wasn't someone would have done it already."

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so was the - DZ doesn't know how to translate that one, apparently. lightsaber thing.

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"--Krazo?" she guesses after a moment.

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yeah.

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"It was very impressive."

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yeah.

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It's good you managed it.

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yeah.

do you want a - "hug," DZ translates.

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"That would be nice."

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Well. Look at this huggable Sith.

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Yeah. Hug.

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it's okay not to be perfect.

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I know.

There are lots of people out there who I could, theoretically, be helping, and I'm not. That doesn't bother me the same way the idea of not having rescued you bothers me.

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Aww.

but you did. we're lucky sometimes.

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Yeah.

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and I would have killed him, I think. I had a plan, it was going okay.

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That's good. I'm still glad I got you out before he could hurt you again.

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yeah. this is better.

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It's better to have someone, even if you can do it alone.

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--I mean, you had DZ-12Q, of course, but more is better.

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She chuckles and rests her head on her shoulder. Good Darth.

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Yeah.

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"Do hugs do anything for droids?" she asks DZ.

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"No."

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"Okay." Then she will continue to only hug Deskyl, who is not a droid.

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Such a good Darth.

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She tries very hard to be! And to not let anyone know who shouldn't, a category that does not include Deskyl.

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A few days later, early in the morning, Deskyl's panic begins echoing loudly through the Force.

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Well, shit. Ekkreth leaps out of bed, lightsaber flying into her hand, and runs down the halls to Deskyl's room.

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She meets her halfway, saber drawn and eyes wild, and then turns on her heel and darts off toward the entrance.

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Ekkreth follows her.

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Once outside, she points momentarily off into the wilderness, and then drops into a loose guard.

(She looks like she could burst into tears at any moment, but that's clearly not the most important thing right now.)

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Ekkreth focuses her Force senses in the direction Deskyl's pointing.

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Now that she's looking, yeah, someone's out there; his shield isn't perfect, but it's good enough that it's surprising that Deskyl noticed him.

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Fucking joy.

Her Force presence twists into its Proper Sith form. She waits.

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He starts approaching, slowly, when Deskyl calms down enough to stop projecting.

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Innnnnteresting. Ekkreth shields herself and waits to see what happens next.

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He's not actually bad at creeping up; it's unfortunate for him that he's already been spotted. If Ekkreth didn't know just where to look, she'd most likely miss him poking his head out carefully from behind a rock to check his approach. As is - he's not distinctive enough to be sure, especially at this distance, but out of the shortlist of people likely to be paying her this kind of visit, he's recognizable.

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Sigh.

She stops shielding her presence and flares it instead, stalking over towards him.

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He bolts.

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Shouldn't've got so close first.

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He wasn't that close.

She's still faster, though.

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(Deskyl trails along behind, staying well back - there's no telling what he might do to her, what other nasty surprises might be in store if she gets too much of his attention, even apart from the risk of him just grabbing her and getting away.)

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She's faster, and she has the home field advantage. She knows the earth beneath them. She can make it do what she wants.

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A turned ankle slows him down, but not very much; he's just in sight of his ship and still running when she catches up to him.

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A foot planted firmly in the small of his back and an extra helping of push courtesy of the Force send him toppling to the ground. Ekkreth rests one foot on him, lightly, keeping an eye out for sudden moves.

"Well, hello."

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"Hello. I don't suppose I could trouble you for a cup of apprentice?"

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"Do you imagine I would have taken her if I didn't want her?"

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"It seemed it might be negotiable. I can find you ten better ones, if you like. Able to talk and everything."

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"I don't think you and I have compatible values of what's better. For example, I don't think it's better for things that can do to people what you did to her to exist."

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"Well, you can't please everyone all the time." He jerks to the side, suddenly, attempting to break free.

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Her lightsaber flicks on and flashes down, scoring a long shallow streak down his torso.

"No, I suppose you can't. And now it's your turn not to be pleased."

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He hisses and swears, letting out a stream of insults that's very ironic, considering his audience.

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She laughs. "No, no, Mama escaped while she was pregnant with me. I was born free and she died free."

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"Go join her you traitorous bitch," he growls, jerking to the side again in a feint and then rolling the other way, attempting to knock her leg out from under her with his body and a well-timed Force push.

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She stumbles a little, but recovers quickly enough and gets between him and his ship.

"A traitor, am I? What reason do I have to be loyal to the Empire? I never chose to be a Sith; my master," she spits the word, "made that decision, and when Mama and I protested he killed her and took me anyway. If the Empire wants loyalty maybe it should do something about its recruiting practices."

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His lightsaber flicks on and he charges.

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He's good. She's good enough to have survived being a Darth this long. The fight is made a little longer by the fact that she's trying not to kill him just yet, but ultimately she disarms him. Literally.

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Ow.

He falls over, landing with an unpleasant thud on the rocky ground, but spits defiantly up at her. "You'll never get away with it, traitor. The empire will crush you like the vermin you are!"

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"Nope," she says, grabs him by the front of his robes, drags him to his feet, and starts marching him back towards Deskyl.

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She meets them halfway, lit saber held low. Mine?

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Yes.

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She makes it quick.

She's shaking a little, when she moves in for a hug afterward.

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Ekkreth hugs her, letting her force presence dissolve from the harsh sithsithsith she put on for company to something gentle.

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No talking. Only hug.

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Definitely.

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The shaking gets worse before it gets better; so bad her teeth chatter; so bad it feels like she's going to shake apart. She stays quiet, stoic, through it, clinging to her friend, and eventually it recedes and then subsides.

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Ekkreth holds her through it, firm enough to secure her against the shaking, but with her arms positioned so if Deskyl wants to break free she'll have no trouble doing so.

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Thank you, she signs, eventually. Thank you. Thank you.

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You're welcome, she signs emphatically.

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And at that she relaxes, all at once, and finally tears up.

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This does not prompt Ekkreth to stop hugging her.

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Good, that would be awful.

She's not clinging any more, just huddled against her; the tears come and go quickly, but she shows no sign of wanting to move afterward.

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Ekkreth is in no hurry to move.

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If they're out there long enough, DZ will come looking for them.

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Yeah that's pretty much going to happen.

"Hi," Ekkreth says when the droid comes within earshot.

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"Oh, there you are." She approaches, pausing briefly to take in the scene. "Are you all right?"

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Deskyl nods, and holds her arms out to the droid; it's entirely unclear whether she means 'help me up' or 'come here so I can hug you', but DZ opts for the former, and she stands without complaint before wrapping her in a bear hug.

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Aww.

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Yeah.

After a minute, the droid squirms a little, and Deskyl reluctantly lets go. Ready to go home?

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Yeah. Home.

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"Yeah." They start back in the direction of the house. "Have I told you about tzai yet?"

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No.

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I'm sorry about speaking aloud, but there aren't words in Sith Battle Sign for it.

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Nod. I should teach you the rest.

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I'd like that.

"Tzai," is a beverage from Tatooine. Only the slaves and the family of slaves can make it, it's a secret from the masters. A holy secret; no slave would ever betray the secret to the masters, and it's a symbol for secrets in general, especially important ones. Every family has their own recipe. Teaching someone your family's recipe indicates a recognition of them as family, whether by marriage or adoption.

I want to teach you my family's recipe.

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Hey, look, it's hug time again.

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Eeee that is a positive response she is so pleased. And hugged. And hugging.

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Such a good family she has.

When she's had enough hug for the moment, she queries, DZ? My family, less yours.

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Yeah. It might be more appropriate for you to teach her than me, but I expect that I'll get closer to her over time, so it's not a big deal if I do it.

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Nod. (Hug.) Don't like keeping secrets from her. She has a hard enough time.

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That makes sense.

Once I teach it to you, it's yours, and you have the right to teach it to other people in the same way.

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She nods.

Just DZ. I'm careful.

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I trust you.

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I'm so glad I found you.

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Worth it, maybe.

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Worth--that, really?

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She nods, ducking her head a bit but not enough to conceal the grin.

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I'm honored.

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It ended. And this is - better than anything I ever thought I could have.

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I'm very glad to be able to do that for you.

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She's flagging again as they get close to the building, depending more on DZ to guide her through the rougher sections of terrain and yawning every few minutes.

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Yeah that would follow. Ekkreth offers to help too.

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That helps. (Best Darth, she signs, to no one in particular.)

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Awwwww. Ekkreth is immensely flattered.

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And they get home, and Deskyl gives Ekkreth one more hug, and DZ leads her back to bed.

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--At which point Ekkreth's body remembers that she was in the middle of sleeping when all of this went down and maybe she should get back to that.

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When she wakes up, there's fancy oatmeal sitting in the warmer in the kitchen, waiting for her.

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--Oh goodness. DZ must have done that.

It's delicious. She's not surprised.

She goes looking for her after she finishes.

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She's in Deskyl's room, as usual; Deskyl is asleep.

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"Hello," she says quietly.

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"Hello." She's just as quiet, but stands aside to let her in. "We won't wake her."

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"Thank you for making breakfast."

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"You're welcome. Thank you, for earlier - was that Lord Ocnem?"

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"Mhm."

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"Good."

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Nod.

"That's not actually what I came here to talk about."

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"Yes?"

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"Do you have anything you'd rather be called than DZ?"

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"Oh."

 

"Yes. There's a poem - we don't have the book, actually, there was a bag of things she had me hide to take with us if we escaped on our own, and it was in that - but she used to read it to me, when she could still read poetry, and it was about us. And it said -

Now the light is round about us,
   And the sun to guide our feet;
And along the mountain pathway
   Shine the flowers, pale and sweet;

And we pluck us each a blossom
   To remind us as we go,
How we went, we two together,
   Through the darkness and the snow...

...and there's the obvious thing, if I want a flower name. So. Daisy."

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"That's beautiful."

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"Yeah."

 

"She had a name picked out, too, but I don't know if she'll still want it. A lot of things have changed since then."

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Nod. "Well. Her choice."

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"Mmhmm."

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"You two have good taste in poetry."

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She mimics Deskyl's grin again. "Thank you."

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"Do you remember the title of the book? I could probably replace it."

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"Oh, thank you. It's Twilight hours: a legacy of verse by Sadie Williams - the poem is Out of Darkness, Into Light."

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She nods. "Alright, that shouldn't be too hard. Is there anything else that needs replacing?"

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"We have copies of everything that was on disc, but there were a couple other books - " she names titles and authors. "It would be nice if she could get her subscriptions again, too; she was getting A Galaxy of Verse, The Mid Rim Reader, and Worldscapes."

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Nod. "The subscriptions will be a little harder, I think, but not too hard."

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Nod. "She won't mind if they're slow being delivered; they were usually a couple months late before, too."

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"Oh, good, that makes it easier."

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"Mmhmm. She's pretty good at being reasonable like that."

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"She's a very reasonable person."

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"Yeah."

"Anyway, that's everything we left, except a few pieces of artwork that I don't think we can replace."

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"Yeah, that would be hard, wouldn't it," she sighs. "I'm going to go practice my forms. Let me know if either of you need anything, especially after last night."

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Nod. "I will. Thank you again."

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"You're welcome," she says, and then goes off to hit imaginary enemies with a glowing blue stick.

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And Deskyl sleeps, and, eventually, wakes up.

 

These are all wrong, she tells Daisy, after far too long spent looking through her wardrobe. Except this one, she points at the crimson shirt she's tossed over the door, and it's not very good.

     I'm not sure what you mean.

I'm not sure either.

    Do they smell bad? Did something happen to the fabric? Do they-

No, nothing's wrong with them. They're just wrong for me.

    Oh. Do you know what would be right?

Not these. These are...

That's strange. The problem with these is that they're Sith clothes.

    That is strange. Are you okay?

Mostly.

    Do you want to talk to the Darth about it?

No... do we have a sewing kit?

    Just the little one.

That'll do.

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After several hours Ekkreth checks in on her again.

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She's awake, sitting up in bed stitching a two-inch-wide strip of fabric cut from the crimson shirt to the bottom of one of her black ones; she sets it aside when Ekkreth comes in. Hi.

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"Hi. What's that?" she asks curiously.

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I don't feel like a Sith any more, so now my clothes are all wrong. Fixing this one. She holds it up for her to see; the black and red are joined with a line of decorative dark blue stitches.

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Beautiful.

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(eee.) Thank you.

Are there more colors?

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Besides red, black and white? Yes. Tan is a very basic neutral color. Dark brown is also neutral-ish, but starts to take on some of the connotations of black; it's much less strong than black but it has some of the same meaning. Yellow is the wind, and speed. Orange is the sandstorm; chaos, danger and resistance. Blue is water; joy, life, thanksgiving, renewal. Green is plants and has a lot of the same connotations as blue. Purple means foreignness; purple dyes are rare on Tatooine.

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She nods. Green, little blue, then. And some tan but more red.

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That sounds wonderful.

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Wasn't kidding about being worth it.

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Then I'm glad.

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How are you doing?

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I'm fine. A little bruised from the scuffle, but nothing serious. Daisy told me her name and that there were books left behind and I told her I could replace them. Then I spent the rest of the morning practicing forms.

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She nods, considers and then concentrates, producing a small globe of blue light in her upturned palm. Healing, she signs with the other hand.

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--Oh.

I don't know how to do that. Can you teach me?

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Sure.

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Thank you.

How do you feel about Jedi?

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She blinks. I'm not one. It doesn't mean that.

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That's not what I meant! she signs, more than a little abashed.

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Okay.

I don't know? I've never met one. If the rumors about them taking babies are true, that's pretty messed up.

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Yeah. A lot of Sith just hate them sight unseen, so I wanted to check--even if you're not a Sith anymore, being one would have had a chance to form a lot of your opinions. When my master was alive, I ran away from him, and ran into a Jedi, who helped me kill him. We grew close and we've stayed in touch. He--I haven't taught him how to make tzai but I think it's likely in the future.

There are a lot of things wrong with the Jedi, the baby thing among them, but he's--bad at the bad parts of being a Jedi.

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She nods at the bit about having been a Sith, and again when she's done.

I always thought the war was kind of dumb. It makes sense that the Empire does it since that's what a lot of Sith want, but it's dumb to want those things that way.

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Yeah.

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Jedi friend sounds all right.

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He is.

Also, are you okay with having strangers around, because this house is a stop on the Freedom Trail so I'm sometimes host to varying sizes of groups of escaped slaves on short notice.

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Mm.

Probably.

Daisy, explain the sense thing please?

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"Deskyl's a sense specialist; she can sense presence and emotions at at least a few miles of range. That's how she noticed Ocnem this morning. She can tune people out, but she needs to be somewhat familiar with them, she can't do it immediately."

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Health sense, too. Can stop, but it's like being blind, I don't want to.

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I wouldn't ask you to. Would it be helpful to build a separate building to house them in?

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Headshake. Question is whether they're okay with me, not whether I'm okay with them.

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Oh. That shouldn't be a problem, I'll warn them.

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Nod.

Any way I can help with that? Healing; other things?

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Healing could be very useful. Do you have any experience with explosives or prosthetics?

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Prosthetics, a little. Built a 'saber into an arm once. Can't do the surgery part, though.

I can do - fancy things - with the healing. Leave scars, heal some things and not others. Healing is red for me, learning it is easy.

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Nod. Most of them will already have had surgery to have their transmitters removed.

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That's good.

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Yeah.

How much damage can you heal?

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I can't fix missing parts, and they have to be alive to start. I can do - if someone is born with something wrong, or has an old injury that healed wrong, I can heal that, if everything they need is there. I think I can keep someone alive through whatever, if I keep it up, but I've never tried it.

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It's old injury that healed wrong I was thinking about; my mother lost the use of her right arm when her transmitter was taken out.

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Wince. Yeah, I should be able to do that.

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Too late for her. But there's likely to be others with similar injuries.

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Nod.

I'll know, too. Health sense. It shows me anything I can fix and some things I can't.

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That's good. Your senses sound amazing.

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Mostly, yeah.

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Mostly? Should I not ask?

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One of the other apprentices studies torture.

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Shit.

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Yeah.

He does - thing like a mind trick, but more, see things that aren't there. In combat.

Permalink Mark Unread

 

That's unfortunate.

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Yeah.

I think there's a counter but I don't know it.

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Might be something my Jedi could help with.

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She nods, pulls a knee up to her chest to wrap her arms around it. Would be good to make that stop.

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Nod. I'll contact him and ask him to come over.

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She nods, and scoots over for a hug.

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Hug.

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Yeah.

 

The others are not so bad. Kid is mean but he's a kid, no specialty yet. Other one and her apprentice do things with metal, figure out how to make it stronger and stuff. Master just does politics.

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Are any of the others at risk of him deciding to sacrifice them like that?

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I don't think so but I'm surprised he did me.

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My master was terrible but at least he was upfront about it.

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Hug.

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Hug.

It's probably not worth it to try to get any of them out.

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I don't remember how many he had or what condition they were in. But I can look once we're there.

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--I meant the other apprentices, getting the one's victims out would be much less risky.

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Oh.

She snuggles, while she considers that.

 

I don't think so. The one - she was good to me, once. But - loyal to the Empire, in the end, pretty sure. And the others not at all.

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Yeah.

It's kind of hard to imagine why anyone would be loyal to the Empire. Plausibly most of them were recruited less--antagonistically--than I was, but...

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 I get it, kind of? People like to have a place and it gives them one. And for lots of people it gets hard to think of being someplace else. You don't need that, you have a place already.

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That makes sense.

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Nod.

My place is me, there's only so far I'll let someone tell me what I am. But most people aren't as good at that.

I wonder what would have happened if I hadn't noticed the Force when I was little. It would have been different if they had tried to make me be a Sith, instead of me deciding that by myself.

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Even if I had realized that I was Force-sensitive and not just--lucky and perceptive--I wouldn't have decided to be a Sith or a Jedi or anything. Maybe if I had realized I could use it to do something like what I am doing, but probably not, I'd feel worse about using the Empire's resources for a personal project and then fucking off if I had volunteered for this instead of being coerced into it.

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Yeah, I was little and dumb and didn't realize there were things I could do besides be a Sith or try to hide. And I wanted to learn, I didn't know what it would be like.

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May have helped me there that I had such a strong cultural concept of--the powerful people are not your friends.

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Yeah. I liked the idea of being powerful. Still do, but not like that.

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Nod. There's kinds and kinds of powerful. There's powerful like the Skywalker and the Mighty One are powerful, and there's powerful like the masters are powerful, and the Sith are the latter. 

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Yeah. Hug.

I like - figuring people out, seeing what they want and what they need, and helping them get it. Being able to help them get it. That's more like the first thing even when it was Sith and lightsabers, I think. Just helping the wrong people.

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Well, for what it's worth, it helped me too.

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"Hmm?"

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I use a lightsaber too, and more importantly, I wouldn't have found you otherwise.

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You aren't a Sith.

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They don't know that!

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Yeah. Sometimes people do the right thing by accident.

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Yeah.

I did find you through you lightsaber work, by the way. I noticed there hadn't been anything new for a while, and...

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Oh. That makes sense.

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You're brilliant, by the way.

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Yeah.

It's coming back, a little more. Whatever this sleep thing is I feel like I'm almost done with it, too.

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I'm glad.

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Yeah, me too. I'm looking forward to getting caught up.

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What on, in particular?

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Someone had a really promising looking efficiency improvement in the works, that's probably done by now or at least close. See if there's anything new about blade shape, in theory it's possible to get things besides the usual cylinder blade but nobody's done it yet and it's always interesting to see what people are trying. See all the weird requests I've missed, people have such interesting ideas about what they want a lightsaber to do.

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Ooh, that sounds fascinating.

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Yeah. I'm going to miss working with everyone.

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Sorry about that part.

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No, it's good.

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Nod.

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If I miss it too much I'll find something else. Art group, maybe.

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Your art is beautiful.

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I'll probably have more time for that now, huh.

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Yes you will.

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Good.

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And if you're going to be up more often it shouldn't be hard to see the sunset soon.

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So many good things.

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You deserve every one of them.

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Hug!

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Hug!

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Hugs: also a good thing. (She is, perhaps, a little starved for touch.)

 

Have a chance to figure out what kinds of things the droid likes, too. Important.

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Yes. Definitely important.

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Yeah.

Ideas, Love?

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I want to try writing poetry.

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"Ooh."

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"Seconded."

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"Well. Okay." She sounds a little shy, but more amused.

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"And I should teach you tzai."

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Yeah.

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Gosh look at how much hug there is. That is a lot of hug.

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Eeeeeeeeee much hug yes good.

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Dusk isn't the only one who's a little touch-starved.

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Well. They can work on that.

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Yes they can.

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Eventually dinnertime approaches, and Daisy asks what they'd like and goes off to make it.

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She's really improving as a cook.

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Yeah. That potato thing was really good the other day, did you get some of that?

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I did! I think potatoes will always be a little odd to me, but it was very definitely a good odd this time.

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I bet she'd like to learn recipes for things you're used to. I know she's quiet about it but she does like you.

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I'm glad.

The problem is that a lot of what I'm used to is stuff that's hard to get, off Tatooine.

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"Ah."

And that's probably not an easy problem to solve, now that I think about it.

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Nod. It's not a big deal. I can get my tzai stuff; everything else isn't as important.

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Nod. Hug.

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And potatoes really are a good substitute for Ansar root.

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Good.

I grew up on a farming planet, so there's not much like that for me - a couple native spices I miss sometimes but most of what we ate was the same staples you can get anyplace.

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That makes sense.

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Nod. I wonder about some of the other kids sometimes, but I don't really miss it.

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Not your parents?

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I didn't really know them. My town did a creche, most of the kids' parents came by at least sometimes but mine weren't interested, we didn't get along very well.

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I'm sorry to hear that.

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"Mm." Snuggle. I don't think it would have been better for me if they'd kept trying. But it's a little sad that I missed that, I guess.

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Not just that they didn't try--taking kids away from their parents... she shakes her head. It seems like an admittedly less extreme version of the rumors about the jedi.

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It really wasn't. Nobody was taking us, we were right there, and our parents could spend as much time with us as they wanted. Some kids were barely ever at creche. And nobody was trying to make us something.

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Oh. Alright, then.

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Hug. And not everybody is as good at being a parent as your mom was. Mine - I couldn't hear or talk when I was little, too, and they didn't know what to do with that. It was good that I wasn't stuck with them when they got frustrated about it.

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Oh dear. Yes.

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Nod.

And then I figured out how to do it with the Force, and I'm not sure they ever found out. She chuckles.

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Does it matter if they did or not?

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I wouldn't mind, I guess. But I'd rather they not, they wanted it for the wrong reasons and they were pushy about it. It's - I don't mind it being something I do, to talk. It's convenient. But it's not something I am, and that wasn't okay with them.

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Nod. It seems sad, not to have had that. But you're okay, so.

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Yeah, I am. Hug.

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I still miss my mother. Hug. Definitely hug,

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Yeah. Such hug.

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She would have liked you.

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I'm glad.

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I'm--glad that you're glad.

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I can tell she was amazing. I can see it in you.

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Thank you.

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Hug~

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Hug!

A few days later she reports that Karzel has messaged her back saying he'll be able to get away soon.

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Good.

I'll have my hearing back by then. I could do it now, at least temporarily.

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He doesn't know Sith battlesign but I could translate for him if need be.

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Yeah - I won't be talking, that's going to be slow. But being able to hear will be worth doing anyway.

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Nod. He's good about things like that. People being different.

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Good.

Bringing the droid, you think?

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I think I should talk to him before we introduce them but aside from that it should be fine.

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She nods.

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--I wasn't even sure droids were people before I met her.

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Me either. But - if you're trying to protect her... Love? She addreses the droid.

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Yes?

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Do you want that, to never have to deal with someone who thinks you aren't a person?

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It would be nice, but I don't think it's very practical.

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If you don't want me to explain it before I introduce you I don't have to, but I can.

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She looks to Deskyl, who signs You got it. Impractical, but it doesn't have to be all or nothing.

I'd like that, she signs. Thank you.

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Then I will.

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Not sure I would have thought to ask that. Thank you.

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You're welcome.

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The rest of the logistics can wait 'till he's around, I think.

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Yeah.

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I think we'll be okay. He relies a lot on making people not want to attack him, he doesn't have any heavy duty defenses.

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Well, he didn't. Now he knows there's a Darth who doesn't like him.

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Yeah.

If he thinks it'll blow over he'll just have people come to help - he's a resource, it's easy to get people to defend their resources. I don't know what he'll do if he thinks it's a long term problem... probably talk someone into coming for you, but that's only a guess.

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That sounds...annoying.

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Yeah. He won't do it by default, though, it's costlier and risks making you a nemesis if you weren't one.

I should maybe be in a room closer to yours anyway, though.

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That might be wise.

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Nod.

In theory I can do telepathy, too, but that will take a little more setup than the hearing.

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Huh. What kind of telepathy?

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A few kinds, but I meant talking in your heads. It's more or less the inverse of the emotion sense; filtering it right is the tricky part.

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Cool.

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Yeah. I doubt I'll have time to do both, though - I suppose it depends on what he means by soon.

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It varies, but you're probably right.

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Yeah. Hug. I'll spend the time getting my 'saber technique back up to snuff.

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Want to spar?

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I should, yeah. It's been a while.

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We'll have to fix that, then.

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What styles do you favor? I like the ones with more flexibility for Force hints and the ones with telekinesis tricks, but I know of a bunch.

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I'm generally more direct than that--I know several styles like that to fall back on, but my first resort is usually more of an intense-onslaught kind of thing.

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Nod. Makes sense if you're strong enough to do it.

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I'm pretty strong. If I hadn't been Svahe might have just settled for an ordinary apprentice from Korriban rather than bothering to come down to Tatooine and abduct a reluctant teenager.

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Yeah. Hug.

What does your plan look like for going back?

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Possibly fake my death, run off with the jamming technology, set it up around Tatooine, give the signal to start the uprising, and kill the Hutts.

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Nod. Just waiting on the jammer, then?

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Pretty much.

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I'll have to get working on it, then.

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Thank you.

Permalink Mark Unread

Needs doing. Hug.

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Hug. It does. But--that doesn't mean people do it.

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She nods and curls into her. Lots of things like that. But this one is mine now.

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Snuggle. Yeah.

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And I'll be ready to start on it soon.

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Excellent.

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She considers, stretches out a bit without disengaging from the snuggle.

We could spar now, if you want. A little, anyway.

Permalink Mark Unread

That sounds fun.

Permalink Mark Unread

Cool. Off they can go, then.

Deskyl is obviously pretty rusty - unsurprising, really, given that she's practically been on bed rest for the last couple months. Her timing is her biggest problem; she's slow to react, not dramatically so but enough to be both noticeable and dangerous.

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Well, Ekkreth isn't in this to hurt her. She's good at pulling blows, though, and more than once takes advantage of an opening that could have gotten her killed, only to pull her lightsaber away before it can so much as singe Deskyl's clothes.

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She flinches, a little, the first time, but the second time she's calmer, and by the third she seems fine. Her timing improves a little, too - not much, but noticeably - before deteriorating rapidly, at which point she calls for a stop. Tired, again, she signs. But good.

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I'm glad. I wasn't--triggering anything, with the feints, was I?

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Shrug. Training sabers hurt. I'm okay.

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Yeah, I wanted to show you the gaps in your defense without hurting you.

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Yeah.

I should - yawn - heal some of those. Later.

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The gaps in your defense or training saber injuries?

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Injuries.

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I guess you couldn't have, back there.

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Nod. Not... black. Sith don't heal.

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Which is a ridiculous resource restraint.

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Don't-can't.

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They could if they were less--ideologically polar.

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"Mrrf."

Sleep. Say later.

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She nods and bids her goodnight.

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It's been a while since she's slept half a day all in a stretch, but not really surprising that she does now; saber practice hasn't stopped being exhausting. When she wakes up she reads a little poetry and talks to Daisy and pokes at her hearing form and looks at lightsaber schematics, and eventually she notices Ekkreth practicing her saber forms and goes to watch.

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Ekkreth may prefer overwhelming force in combat, but she isn't displaying it now; what she's doing looks almost more like meditation in motion.

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Pretty.

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Eventually Ekkreth finishes and notices her. "Oh, hello," she says, then makes an annoyed face at herself and repeats in sign.

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Hi. I like that form, it's pretty.

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It is, isn't it. I like using it when I want to do a moving meditation.

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Nod. Maybe I'll try it sometime, if you don't mind.

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Of course I don't mind.

Permalink Mark Unread

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How are you feeling this morning?

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Better. Little grin. I knew that would happen, it's fine.

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I just want to be sure you're okay.

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I am. This type of thing is normal, just the degree isn't. It'll pass.

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Good, she signs firmly and emphatically.

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Mmmlean. Droid was right when she said all I had was red. Everything important is still here. Rebuilding the rest will be slow, but I can do it.

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I'm glad.

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Hearing's coming along. Another day or two.

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It's good you'll have it before Karzel arrives.

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Nod. Tell me about him?

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--He's really bad at the "no attachments" part of being a Jedi, but he's really good at pretending not to be--even to himself, when we met he was so in denial. He cares about people, deeply. He can be--thoughtless, sometimes, but out of inattention rather than thickheadedness; once you point out that the thing is there to be thought about he does a good job. It probably hasn't occurred to him that droids might be people, for example, but when I tell him that they are he'll believe me and he'll think about it. He has a high happiness set point. He loves teaching.

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Sounds like we'll get along okay. Might be worth doing telepathy with him even once I can talk, if he's around very much - makes it easier to explain things.

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I imagine it would, yeah.

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It's sort of medium-challenging, if you're thinking about learning it. Or I should be able to relay without much trouble. Probably easier than the healing, though, if you're only Sith-trained.

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I'll think about it.

What did you mean about can't, last night?

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It's - basically a different school? Can't do it the way Sith do things - not just they'd have to start from scratch; they'd have to forget some habits, too, about how to use the Force. Really basic stuff, I expect most of them literally couldn't do it.

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Huh. Like what? I am Sith-educated...

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Bet you can do it, though. It's about how you use your emotions with it, and about letting it do what it wants instead of directing it so much. Sort of the opposite of lightning.

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Oh, huh.

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Nod. You need to be - calm, is okay, and determined and happy and stuff. Quiet emotions. You mostly just want pure Force, not much you in it. And the lightest touch, steering - the more you guide it the worse it works, being able to guide it enough to make it not just heal everything takes practice.

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That does sound more like what the Jedi do.

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Not surprising. I bet they have trouble guiding it at all, though, I didn't figure it out until I learned the Sith way.

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I'll ask Karzel about it.

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Okay.

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I think I've heard of Jedi healing--it seems odd that they might not have a way to steer.

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I mean, they probably need it less, too. Jedi do healing, and Sith don't; I had to keep it very secret that I could. Which means leaving scars alone, leaving anything someone would notice alone, that kind of thing.

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True. There are kinds of injury and sickness where just naive healing would make the situation worse, but I suppose a combination of naive healing and properly applied mundane medicine would be different.

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It's pretty smart, too. It won't heal shrapnel in or anything like that.

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Oh, that's good. How does it handle cancer?

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I haven't had a chance to try, but I expect it does fine. It's smart the way the Force is usually smart; not a lot of nuance sometimes but it mostly knows what's good and bad.

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Fair.

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I am curious how the Jedi do it, though. Whether it's really the same.

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We'll find out.

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Yeah.

 

She gets her hearing back two days later, and a few days after that she seems to have settled into an actual sleep cycle; she's up all night, going to bed shortly before sunrise and waking up at about noon, but at least it's consistent, and convenient enough to let them eat meals together, too.

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Ekkreth doesn't mind her odd sleep cycle.

It's not long after that that she reports that Karzel will probably show up in a few days.

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That's cool.

(She's gotten some basic information on radio jamming off the holonet and has been working steadily through it, compiling a list of books she wants and experiments she wants to see if anyone has done; she won't have any trouble keeping herself busy while she waits.)

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Ekkreth has already done some work on the jammer net and has made that available to her too.

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Also useful.

(Planetwide from one thing is going to be tricky, but if they...hmm, no...well, what if...hmmmmm. Well, if it was easy, somebody would have done it already. She keeps reading.)

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Karzel arrives on the planet two days later. Ekkreth goes out to meet him.

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Deskyl and Daisy stay in their room; Deskyl listens carefully.

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From the other two Force-sensitives there is affection, surprise, concern, and then it smooths out into a light pleasantness.

Permalink Mark Unread

(Aww, they're cute.)

Coming, Love?

    Okay.

They venture toward the entrance.

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There is a man in Jedi robes with Ekkreth. He bows when he sees them. "Hello. It's a pleasure to meet you two."

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Ekkreth translates this into sign as he speaks.

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They bow back, and Daisy translates: "It's good to meet you, too. I'm Daisy, and this is Deskyl."

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"Karzel Saiffer."

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Daisy nods. "Deskyl is still having trouble with names, but I'll tell her later."

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"I understand. My condolences for what happened."

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    "Thank you."

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"Are you alright? Is there anything I could to to help?"

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That gets a wry grin and a burst of sign, and then she stands aside to invite him in.

    "It's complicated," the droid explains, "there are things she can't do, and some of them are frustrating, but she's not suffering. She doesn't think it's very likely that you can help; it's mostly - getting her metaphorical strength back, and rebuilding, that she needs to do at this point."

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"I understand. I thought it best to offer just in case," he says after they're all inside.

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"And we appreciate it." (Deskyl nods her agreement; apparently she doesn't mind Daisy speaking for her.)

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"Do you expect trouble from your old master?"

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    "Not here, no. But - well, let's wait 'till we're a little more settled."

There's a sitting room up ahead; it'll do nicely.

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They go and sit. Karzel has apparently been here before, he knows the way.

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Deskyl and Daisy claim a couch; Deskyl toes her shoes off and tucks her legs up beside her.

    "We're not sure where to start; what has Ekkreth told you?"

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"She said that you had had terrible things done to your mind by your former master, but that you were recovering, that you do beautiful art, that you have trouble with speaking and hearing and I should learn to sign at some point, and that she had explained colors and was going to teach you to make tzai when your ability to form long-term memories was more reliable."

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Deskyl nods, and signs to Ekkreth: Did you want to let him settle in first?

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No.

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All right. So.

    "That's not the only terrible thing going on there." (Deskyl sighs, and signs on.) "It's a research facility; one of the apprentices studies torture methods."

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"Ah."

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Yeah.

    "So, we want to go do something about that."

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"Of course. What kinds of defenses does he have? How many does he usually keep at once?"

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There are usually between half a dozen and a dozen experimental subjects. She describes the defenses: his compound is fairly sparsely protected, for a Sith, just a few dozen droids and a small anti-aircraft array; she explains that he mostly gets by on being useful to keep around, and being very careful not to offend anyone. "If he thinks there's a threat, he'll have people there protecting him. But he probably won't, Ekkreth hasn't done anything to give him that impression."

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"He won't fear reprisal over Lord Ocnem?"

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    "It's not impossible. But she didn't threaten him when she took Deskyl; she doesn't think he'll be worried enough to call in any favors."

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"Well, that's good. Do you know if anyone besides Ocnem was working on the project?"

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    "He'll have had servants, of course, but the report didn't mention any other Sith. Deskyl still doesn't remember anything about it herself, though, and we're not expecting her to get that back."

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He winces. "That--sounds pleasanter for her."

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She nods, not very enthusiastically.

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It's not the sort of topic that invites enthusiasm.

"Do we even know what he was doing with her?"

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    "In some detail. Do Jedi use battle meditation - the technique where you meditate to help guide force-insensitive troops?"

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Nod. "I haven't personally, but I'm familiar with the theory."

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    "It's a similar technique, but focused on the Force itself, to get large physical effects from it. The second person acts as a buffer; we think Deskyl might've survived because she was already used to using Force senses all the time, and had practice filtering them."

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"--Oh dear. Yes, I can see how that would--" he breaks off and shakes his head at the implications.

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    "Yes. She's recovered surprisingly well."

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"I'm very glad. For Ekkreth's sake, I admit, as well as hers."

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    "Yes." The droid sounds fond, now, just a little. "We've all been very lucky."

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"Ekkreth has that effect," he agrees.

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"Be careful. I could get a swelled head, and pride leads to the Dark Side, you know."

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--Karzel bursts out laughing.

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Deskyl too.

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Even Ekkreth herself giggles a little bit.

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Best, Deskyl signs.

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"She is," Karzel agrees when this is translated.

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"You two are never allowed to be in the same room as me when other Sith are about, you'll completely ruin my facade of proper Darthness."

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Deskyl snorts and makes a show of sitting up in a proper military form, but the laughter doesn't leave her eyes.

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It's so good that they're getting along!!!

"Not at the same time as each other, anyway. Being seen just with you is probably going to happen."

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She nods, a little more seriously now.

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"But acting appropriately Sith around just you shouldn't be difficult." Sigh. "If nothing else, thinking about what happened to you is very good at promoting anger."

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Another nod. And I still can - she flares her aura for a moment, not strongly, but enough to give a clear impression that she's a Sith. Should help.

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"Yeah." Sigh. "At least 'loner' is a perfectly typical Sith thing, this would be much worse if I had to keep it up all the time."

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    "Yes. And no-one will be surprised to not see much of Deskyl, she never was very social in person."

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"That's good. And it's probably strategically valuable if they think you're less recovered than you are, if it comes down to it."

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    "She can do that, yes. She'd been pretending to be unable to do most things for most of a year when Ekkreth found us," Daisy adds for Karzel's benefit.

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"I'm sorry that was necessary. And very glad it can't happen to anyone else, now."

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She nods. Different with Ekkreth, though.

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"Different like you don't have to hide?"

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    "From her, yes. Having to hide what you are is much harder when you can't ever stop."