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[Selina Vadcasta]

(Sometime after the balle and presentation threads)

The stars sped by, creating a hypnotizing tunnel before Selina’s very eyes. In the cockpit of her shuttle she sat unblinking, gazing out the view port. Certainly Selina was projecting the image of one in a deep trance, at least on the outside. On the inside however there was a never ending struggle as always. Now alone, she had no reason to hide her emotions but letting her guard down would simply be allowing a volcano to erupt. Undoubtedly the eruption was coming. It was simply a matter of time. In essence, this was the calm before the storm.

Though much time had passed since she’d left her home planet of Rinn, she’d never really come to terms with the events leading to her departure, nor the ones that followed. Her twin brother was gone, and had been for longer than he’d ceased to exist. Selina had done what she had to do, freeing his body but still his loss affected her greatly. While she’d come to terms with having to do it, she missed him. Selina had seen her parents very rarely since then but felt as though she couldn’t face them, as though she’d failed them somehow. It wasn’t actually the case, but still she felt guilty. Her brother had her tortured and left her to die, yet still she was sorry for killing what little remained of him. She couldn’t save him...

That was the day that her journey on the path of the dark side had begun under Revan’s ever watchful green eyes… eyes that Selina found herself gazing upon many times over the years...eyes that were a window to the soul within that she loved so deeply. But that soul belonged to another, and not her. As much as she wanted him, he wouldn’t be hers. As he’d put it, he could not give her what she sought. The two had raised his son together for the first five years of his life and she loved Jayden too as though he was her own. But he too belonged to another. It broke her heart the day Revan brought Layha to meet her son. Selina supposed it was selfish of her to want to protect Jayden from his mother who’d long been unstable. But alas, it was not her place to keep him from her, as she was not the boy’s mother, nor was she Revan’s wife. In the end, she was powerless and lost everything that was closest to her heart.

Only recently, Revan had left the balle with Layha, never to return. In essence, the two were getting their happily ever after. This particular journey would be like rubbing salt in open wounds. The prospect of seeing him again had stirred feelings that she’d tried desperately to bury. It was also possible that she’d see Jayden again. She knew that he would be pleased to see her, but he’d never really knew how much she’d missed him and wished that he was her own. When she left the two this time, it would more than likely be for the last time. As much as it would break her heart to leave them, it was for the best. They didn’t need her in their lives, and she certainly couldn’t stand by and watch the happy family.

Having requested leave already, she cited reasons of advancing her Force training, which was the truth. The only thing she’d not done was warn Revan that she was coming. It would be a surprise to say the least. She briefly wondered if he’d be pleased to see her as well, but quickly pushed that thought aside. It would be easier if he wasn’t. With a sigh, she moved out of the cockpit and to a bunk, flopping down and closing her eyes.

[Selina Vadcasta]

Selina had another being to consider now as well in her feelings. Tall, dark and handsome seemed to be her type. This one however was hers for the taking, if she wanted to. Yes, there were the physical attraction and physical connections with Ryden, but was it enough? Perhaps she was old fashioned, but being emotionally unavailable didn’t seem fair. Her feelings for Revan were not exactly a secret, but she hadn’t shared them with Ryden. In fact she wasn’t sure what to do about him. Telling him might deter him from pursuing her. Not telling him wasn’t fair either however. Hell, she wasn’t even sure if she was ready to be pursued or speak of her feelings. Maybe it was something she had to deal with on her own. Her mother told her that she could have any man she wanted, but she was wrong. The one she wanted would never love her the way she loved him. Selina obviously wanted the wrong man if what her mother said was true. One man at a time Selina…she reminded herself. She’d have to get over Revan before moving on would be possible.

When did life become so complicated? When her brother changed, that’s when. Sometimes she wished she could go back to simpler times when there were no men in her life other than her brother and father. Training with her mother was simpler and didn’t hurt her. Perhaps she should return home…As she considered that possibility, she fell asleep.

--

It was some time before Selina awoke, and it was the beep of the console alerting her that the ship would be dropping out of hyperspace in an hour. She grumbled and rolled over. Already she was questioning her decision to come. After a few minutes, she got up to freshen up a bit, not wanting to look as rough as she felt. Though she didn’t have to impress anyone, she’d been a regent for a number of years and had developed the habit of always looking her best, and whether or not her feelings matched it was irrelevant. When the shuttle dropped out of hyperspace, she was ready and made her approach to the planet.

Upon reaching orbit, she identified herself and stated her business. Revan would know then that she’d arrived and Selina wouldn’t bother to contact him. In fact, he’d notice something completely different about her. Her motives were training and nothing more. She planned on saying as little as possible, though she didn’t know how that would go over. Selina could only hope that he wouldn’t draw her in again, as she knew that she’d fall hard. Already she was doomed…

--

It wasn’t long before she was setting the ship down on the landing pad and heading down the ramp. She’d barely reached the ground before she was nearly bowled over by Jayden. Selina kneeled down to hug him properly, likely too tightly, but she’d missed him terribly. “Look at you. You’ve gotten bigger.” She smoothed his hair and smiled down at him. “How you doing kiddo?” Already she was being drawn back in. It was then that she heard the voice she both dreaded and longed to hear “Hello Selina.” Her eye level raised, and she released Jayden before standing up to her full height once more. She simply stared for at him for a moment before finding the courage to return his greeting “Revan…”

[Selina Vadcasta]

Selina was silent for another long moment before giving her head a shake and silently scolding herself. No Selina, stop doing this to yourself. He will never be yours. Finding her voice again, she spoke “I need to speak with you as soon as possible.” Her tone would indicate the importance of her words, and hopefully relay that she wanted privacy. Revan simply nodded, never saying more than absolutely necessary, out loud anyway. Immediately he led the way, leaving her a little more time with Jayden. In the time she’d been away from him, it seemed that she’d missed a lifetime, at least the way he described it.

The transfer to their destination was short and upon exiting the vehicle, Jayden was back inside within moments announcing their arrival. Selina however did not get out of the vehicle, and she touched Revan’s arm to keep him from getting out “Wait.” Now seemed as good a time as any to tell him what she came all this way to tell him. “I had a vision.” Selina had his full attention then. After a moment she went on to tell him about the vision she’d had about the possible location of Layha’s missing children. In doing so, she believed she was securing Revan’s happiness. What he did with the information from there was up to him. She’d done her part, and she’d have no further role in it. As she spoke of her vision, she decided that training with Revan was not the best idea. Selina needed to get away from him before she lost her nerve.

Trying desperately to keep her composure, she looked to the driver “I’ll be returning to the landing pad in a few minutes.” When her eyes fell to Revan’s once again, she tried to force a smile but she had to look away. “You’ll say goodbye for me won’t you?” Selina was of course referring to Jayden. “I won’t be coming back. I hope you both will understand.” Before he could speak, she pressed her fingers to his lips “Don’t…Please just go.” Selina had to turn away then, and she closed her eyes so she wouldn’t watch him go. That did not stop the tears however, as she had no control over them at that moment.

Selina was silent as the driver returned her to the ship. Putting her hood up, she moved swiftly out of the vehicle and into the safety of her ship. Never had she gotten off the ground as quickly as that particular day. While every fiber of her being told her not to go, and her heart broke, she couldn’t listen. No, she had to let him go. Clinging to hope for so long made things difficult now, if it continued she’d never be able to let go. As she made her way to orbit, she typed out a message and sent it as she moved out of the gravity well and plotted a course. It read: I’m coming home.

With the message sent to her parents, and the coordinates of Rinn set in the NavComp, she engaged the hyperdrive. It was but another moment before she moved back to her bunk where she curled up and cried until she was exhausted enough to fall asleep.

--

The beeping woke her again and she was groggy. Evidently she’d been asleep since the trip began, and now she felt like a bag of bantha droppings. Her eyes burned, her stomach felt as though it was eating itself and she felt completely exhausted from dehydration. If she looked at her reflection, she might think she was ill. For a moment she didn’t remember where she was. It wasn’t until she got up and moved to the cockpit that she even remembered her destination. She was home. Her parents would be worried when they saw her, but she was too exhausted to care.

Somehow she managed to get the ship to the ground safely, contacting her parents with a rather flat voice to let them know she’d be landing shortly. They would know instantly that something was wrong, but Selina wasn’t in any condition to discuss it. In fact, there was nothing that she’d like more than to return to bed. Of course her parents wouldn’t allow that, and it was likely that her mother had already cooked in preparation for her arrival. For once, Selina would not object to them taking care of her.

--

Within a few days Selina regained her strength under her parents care, but her spirit was still crushed. Eventually her mother had had enough of her moping around and took her outside to train, trying to distract her from her thoughts. It worked though. Selina completely submerged herself into her training and eased back into a full training regiment, body, mind, lightsaber, and in the Force. As long as she was training, she wasn’t thinking, which for Selina was a good thing. Training was her escape, and she pushed herself harder than she ever had before. Selina would be strong and independent…one day….

[James Stratus]

High Prince James Stratus sat in meditation in the private meditation chambers that historically only he and Layha had ever been in, sometimes together. No other person had ever been admitted there; it was a place seperate from even his normal private office, it was where he went to be alone to meditate on deep matters. He had quite a few things on his mind. Dana was of course, on his mind the most. He always worried about her whenever she was away, and his feelings for her were quite strong. When she was not on missions she lived with him wherever he was, either Coruscant, Kuat, Corellia, or out in space aboard a capital warship. He was quite a mobile person. As was usual he focused on Dana during his meditation, though his mind wandered to that of his staff.

He did have a lot of female staff, but he was interested in them professionally only, though some were good friends of his. He saw in his mind himself training Selina. Her training was complete as a...whatever she was, a Dark Jedi Knight perhaps. But there was something he needed to do. There was more training she needed, and there were only three people that could give it, and he was one of them. It was clear he needed to do additional training. He no longer cared much for training individuals in the dark jedi arts. He had trained many jedi in his lifetime, Layha being one of them, in both light and dark ways of the Force. He was a Shadow Jedi Grand Master, and believed in using and maintaining a balance in the Force. He was cautious when others used the Dark side, as most could not maintain a safe balance between the two. There was more than just light and dark, and that he had been trained in as well, in other aspects of the Force, by those of the Aiing-Tii and Falanaasi. They were guarded arts that he did not choose to pass on, yet there were some things he did. He would have to be cautious about this.

He summoned Selina through the Force. She would meet him in his private office the next day. For now, he would get some sleep, and send some happy thoughts in Dana's direction.

[Selina Vadcasta]

Selina did indeed receive the High Prince's summons. Unfortunately she was not as close as she needed to be. After receiving the summons, she halted what she was doing and prepared to leave. Her parents wondered where she was going in such a hurry, and she answered simply that she was going back to work. That was true, as she really didn't know why she was being summoned. Still, she wouldn't ignore such a summons and was off the ground within an hour of receiving it. From orbit, she plotted the course, then transmitted her estimated time of arrival before entering hyperspace.

--

Upon her reversion back to normal space, she found herself a bit anxious. It could be any number of reasons that he summoned her back to Coruscant. With a deep breath she forced all thoughts out of her mind. Dwelling on the possibilities was not helping matters at all. Selina would simply have to wait and see. Her approach and landing on Coruscant went smoothly, as it normally did in her position where she had little problems in getting authorization. Today, she was expected after all. As such, she made her way to the office where she'd find the High Prince. After announcing her presence, she sat down and waited, actively trying to keep her mind clear.

[James Stratus]

The High Prince signaled for them to bring in Selina. She came in and bowed and he nodded. "Guards, leave us." With a flick of his hand the guards left the room and the door sealed shut. "Rise Selina. I have called you here because the Force is beckoning to you. I have forseen a mission you must undertake, one that is very dangerous to you but that the Force has shown me in a vision that is necessary. This, combined with a few lessons with me before you go, will make your training complete. I will the Force that you survive and are successful, and when you are you will return to me and report. I do not ask this assignment of you lightly, but there is no doubting the will of the Force. In the Outer Rim, in the F-5 sector, there is a nasty pirate brood. They are the Ishtakar Pirates. It is very dangerous territory, and the DCC has a presence out there as well. You must destroy the pirates and rescue their captives. You can take only yourself, a ship, and your weapons and wits with you. You may find a friend or two along the way to help you. You may be gone for a month or more, but I have faith that you will eventually succeed, though not without facing heavy trials. You must be brave, have courage, and expect the worst. Be prepared, that is the key. These pirates are very formidable enemies against the Jedi, and they have been successful in killing some in the past. When you are through return and report, and I will complete your training for advancement to Master."

-----------------------------
The following events which are to come that shall serve as trials for Selina's advance from Knighthood to that of Master in the Force.

Trial of Skill
Eliminate a pirate base single handed or with assistance from no more than 2 non-force users from within the prison

Trial of Spirit
Withstand the torture, see others tortured in front of her

Trial of Courage
Not give up even when she feels competely alone, fight the pirates and the DCC and not divulge information that is sensitive

Trial of the Flesh
Captured and tortured by the DCC for information, then handed over to the pirates for their own purposes as a prisoner
----------------------------------------------------------

[Selina Vadcasta]

Selina watched from the corner of her eye as the guards left. It was quite obviously of an important and confidential nature that she was summoned. She wouldn’t have to wait long for the High Prince to speak as to his reasoning however, for before she could even greet him he’d begun speaking. There was a mission for her to complete, and thus complete her training. Already she knew that she would be going on the assignment, no matter the risk. This opportunity would be good for her.

Carefully she listened as he briefed her on the situation in the Outer Rim. Pirates, and the Imperial Republic’s biggest enemy. It would indeed be dangerous, and she’d be going alone it seemed, with only a ship and her weapons. It would take some time, and she might find a few allies along the way, but Selina knew full well that the only person she could count on now was herself. Once more, she bowed “As you wish your majesty. When do I leave?” Given that he’d mentioned lessons with himself before she left, she was curious as to when this task would begin.

[James Stratus]

The High Prince paused for a brief moment and contemplated. Having been seated before at the seat of the Throne, he stood to his full height. Instantly a lightsaber appeared in his hand and a very quick snap-hiss was heard. Before she could react another lightsaber was in his other hand, though slightly slower in activating than the first, there was something very familiar about it...it was hers. The High Prince was instantly behind her, then to her side, and then was not to be seen. His voice boomed throughout the room, though it was not his normal voice, it was altered significantly so that any person other than Selina in the room would not recognize it. It was powerful and commanding, and it was that of an announcer over a loud speaker at a military briefing.

"YOU WILL ENCOUNTER DANGEROUS SITUATIONS UNLIKE THAT YOU HAVE EVER ENCOUNTERED BEFORE. YOU MUST BE PREPARED TO FACE THESE CHALLENGES WHENEVER THEY COME, OR YOU WILL NOT SUCCEED." His voice changed slightly and got quieter, the announcer effect was gone, but the commanding voice was certain. "At times it may seem all is lost. You may in fact feel as if the Force itself ceased to exist. You must then remember, that all around you, wherever you are, there is the Force, and there is life." The High Prince was again visible from a distance, and began walking to her. "There will be times when you seem without any defense, but where there is life there is hope, and where there is hope there is victory." Her weapon reappeared in her hand, but did not appear to ignite. "You must also be weary of illusions, for there are many things out there that are not what they seem."

As she looked harder and focused, she could see that her lightsaber was in fact, ignited and at full strength. "You must learn to find strength not only in yourself, but also in others, and learn to rely on them for your personal safety." There were many dangers and threats out in the area she would soon venture, many of which the High Prince himself had faced before in his own journeys. He had a good idea, from personal experience, but even more through the visions of the Force, of what she would soon face. Without warning a trap from underneath the floor opened up and Selina was dropped into a room full of threats and dangers, weapons firing from all directions.

After a time, when Selina finally had conquered what threats were apparent, a power blast came out of nowhere and she had no inclinations or warnings from the Force. Before she could react, a powerful purple blade appeared in front of her and blocked the shot. The High Prince was standing between her and the blast, and heavily armored security droid, unlike any she had seen before was looking at her from behind the Prince. "Disengage, Stratus Alpha," the Prince commanded. The droid obeyed and deactivated. A medium sized creature rested on it, and she could see a person standing behind the droid that came out. She could not sense the person, or the creature atop the droid.

"There will be times when you cannot feel the Force itself, or individuals who are part of it. You must still be on alert, for these threats, of which you will have no warning at all." An airlift brought them both up to the Prince's Throne Chamber.

[Selina Vadcasta]

Selina raised an eyebrow when he stood up after a long silence. A snap hiss made her narrow her eyes, but before she even reached for her saber, he had it in his hands. His presence moved around her, with her head snapping around as he appeared and disappeared. A loud and ominous voice told her that she had to always be prepared or she would not succeed. She was almost annoyed that he was reminding her of things she’d known for a long time. It didn’t occur to her immediately that it was a warning of things to come. She had her weapon back, which made her raise an eyebrow. It wasn’t activating it seemed. A moment later she discovered it was an illusion. Before she could open her mouth to protest or question his motives, she found herself falling through the floor. What the…

She landed as silently as possible in a crouching position, but it mattered little, for weapons had already begun to open fire at her. Her saber still gripped tightly in her hand, she expertly batted the bolts back to their origins and sent powerful Force waves at them. It was a few moments before she was able to neutralize them all however. She had barely moved from her position, when a blast came at her. Had the High Prince not stepped between, she would likely have been blasted. The droid disengaged on command causing her to blink in surprise. There were others in the room that she could not feel, and creatures. It was unsettling to say the least. Selina was utterly confused by the High Prince. His methods were much different than she was accustomed to. It would certainly take some getting used to on her part. He had succeeded in proving his point though, that she would not always get a warning through the Force. She needed to be ready at all times. She nodded and followed him to the throne chamber. Many questions began to run through her head then, all without answers. She did however understand why many of the staff was paranoid and edgy though…

[Selina Vadcasta]

Upon entering the throne room, she blinked. As her eyes took in her surroundings, she recognized them as the very surroundings she’d grown up in. Her house, her yard, her tree…When did she get to Rinn? Was she at Rinn? Was this an illusion? A vision? Selina blinked a few more times, but her surroundings remained the same. She was walking toward her home it seemed. Unsure of what was going on, she simply decided it was better to go with it then to fight whatever it was that was happening to her. The sounds of the creek brought a smile to her face as she moved toward the back of the house.

As she neared the house she could hear her parents’ voices and laughter. But the laughter she didn’t recognize as it did not belong to either of her parents. With an eyebrow raised, she moved swiftly and silently to the house. Her eyes very nearly bugged out of her head at the sight before her. Both of her parents were bound to chairs much like the one she’d been bound to by her own twin brother. The hooded figure in front of them was the source of the laughter. There was blood and dirt covering the faces and clothing of both of her parents. Her presence had not been discovered yet, but already the rage within her threatened to boil over.

As a blood covered blade glimmered in the sunlight and caught her eye, Selina pushed out with the Force. What should have knocked the figure into the side of the house did not. In fact, the figure hadn’t budged at all, which enraged her further. The figure still didn’t seem to notice her presence at all and moved on her mother with the blade in hand. Reaching for her lightsaber which normally rested at the small of her back, she found it wasn’t there…

With no other viable options, she decided simply to rip the figure apart with her bare hands. Silently she walked up behind the figure. Her parents didn’t seem to recognize her, or realize that she was there which was good for her, as she still had the element of surprise. As the hooded figure cut into her mother once again, and her mother’s cries filled her ears, Selina could feel the rage within her begin to flow as freely as the Force did. Voices of the dark side whispered to her, urging her to unleash her fury on the hooded figure. In that moment, she closed her eyes and surrendered to the dark urges. From her fingertips the energy of the dark side began to flow and a sick smile crossed her lips.

[James Stratus]

Until she found herself back in reality, lightning flowing from her fingers in the direction of the High Prince. She might have been shocked at the fact of what she was doing, but she was probably even more shocked at what was happening.

The High Prince was smiling, only slightly, and his hands were stretched out, simply absorbing the lightning as if it had no effect at all. As her energy began to drain the lightning stopped completely, and she collapsed. The Prince walked over to her and helped her back on her feet. "You are strong, young one. Remember to control your feelings and anger. You must learn control. When you conquer yourself, that will be the biggest victory you can ever achieve. Now you must go, and complete your mission."

[Selina Vadcasta]

Selina simply let the energy flow, though she could feel her energy draining quickly. When she opened her eyes again, the lightning stopped. The scene before her eyes had changed once again. Now before her was the High Prince, who seemed to be absorbing the energy. With no reason to continue the attack, or the energy to do so if she wanted to, she simply collapsed to the ground, panting softly. Selina was incredibly tired then, and barely made it to her feet when he helped her up. She could hardly believe his words. Selina certainly didn’t feel strong at that moment, and she certainly wasn’t as young as she once was.

Control however was not something she had a great deal of over these days. Being an emotional wreck was certainly not helping in that respect. The High Prince was right though, and she knew it. When she managed to conquer herself, she would be just fine. But she suspected that it was all part of the mission, but that it was but the beginning. Quietly she picked up her lightsaber, putting it back at the small of her back where she’d kept it for years. After what transpired, she wasn’t exactly sure what to say so she said simply “I will not fail.” Selina bowed to the High Prince before moving slowly out of the throne room.

The High Prince had instructed her to take nothing other than herself, a ship and weapons, so she really didn’t need anything more than she had on her at present. Making her way to her shuttle, she decided to rest once she’d made the first of many hyper jumps. After all, it would take a few to make it to the outer rim. She also had to mentally prepare herself to deal with the pirates that would be waiting for her. Thus far, she didn’t have a great deal of information to work from, so she was unable to formulate any kind of plan other than arriving. Perhaps meditation would bring her greater clarity on a direction…

The pre-flight checks were mundane and routine by now, and took very little of her time. Selina’s shuttle was ripping through the atmosphere a short time later, and just as sleep threatened to take Selina, she made the jump to hyperspace. Now she could rest. Moving to the back of her shuttle, she drained nearly an entire bottle of water before lying down on her bed.

[Terrence Thorne]

In the Outer Rim, in the F-5 sector Therrick Morales stood on the bridge of the modified gunship 'Immortal Despair' and was looking into the expanse of space wondering when then next sucker would actually show up to join their ranks of prisoners. A slight smirk on his face in remembering one of their most recent aquisitions, a former Imperial Officer and his ship, and what a ship it was indeed. Therrick still wondering how a retired officer had managed to acquire such, and in such a condition, but they would find out soon enough once the man would eventually subcome to their "treatment" of the prisoners. He smirked a bit to himself not really recalling anyone being able to resist or actually overcome their torture in getting the information they wanted and needed. It was simply just a matter of time. He really had no idea about how long he had been out here this time around but thankfully they all took turns in shifts to be manning this forefront of an ass end of the galaxy and thankfully his shift was drawing to a close. He yawned a bit for himself and walked back his seat and picked up his glass containing some kind of stimulant to stay awake and contemplated who would actually be allowed to take that particular shuttle for a spin.

He looked around at the other pirates on the bridge and assumed that they was just as tired of waiting out here on this shift. But Therrick knew that each and every shift would indeed not mean a capture, especially not out here where they were. But that simply just meant that they had found a lot of other different ways to spend their time. So he smirked and returned to the deck of cards he was playing with some of the others at the centre of the "bridge" while a few of the others took turns in making sure that at least someone was indeed on watch should something show up. But they didn't have to wait long before the alarm went off alerting them to the fact that their gravity well projector had indeed caught something and had dragged it out of hyper space. Therrick snapped at it and started barking orders and getting the crew ready for action. Meanwhile the fighters outside came back to life from simply laying idle in space and waitred and flared their engines at flank speed and started to close the distance to the incoming vessel. Its occupant most likely confused of the sudden revert to realspace, if they even noticed before it was really too late. Meanwhile Therrick approached the communications relay and hailed the incoming ship. "This is Therrick Morales of the DCC, lower your shields and power down your weapons or be shot down. This will be your first and final warning" he said and hoped the ships occupant would be at least somewhat more forthcoming then their last catch since it had taken some slight fighting actually managing to get that particular pilot to surrender in his ship.

But a slight smirk crept on his lips as he watched his fighters approaching the ship like bees to a pile of honey. Hopefully the pilot of the vessel would realise that fighting would indeed be futile and surrender before hand. And if not?, then they would be all and ready to take the fight with her then and there. That particular part of this game wasn't new to either of those stationed at this particular point......

Edited by Terrence Thorne, 13 June 2009 - 11:51 PM.

[Selina Vadcasta]

Selina had made the final hyper jump nearly a day before and had begun to prepare herself for anything to happen upon her arrival in the Outer Rim. In the last day, she'd ensured that she was well hydrated and fed. The High Prince had warned her of the dangers the mission represented, so the best she could do was meditate for guidance. With several hours remaining on the clock before the ship would revert to real space, she curled her legs under her and closed her eyes.

As always, it seemed the Force had a way of guiding her without her needing to seek it. Selina's meditations were interrupted by a series of beeps and whistles from the consoles. Her eyes snapped open and she cursed as she moved swiftly to the cockpit. She knew very well that it was not the scheduled arrival time. Familiar shudders told her that the ship was dropping out of hyperspace, but Selina wasn't exactly comforted in that fact. When the ship finally reverted to real space, Selina slammed the controls, still cursing. There was no explanation for the sudden reversion, and all systems appeared normal from what she could tell. So whatever was happening, it was not within her control. Swiftly, she raised the shields and hoped that she wasn't about to be blown out of the sky.

She didn't have to wait long it seemed, as she received a transmission. Slamming the console, she rolled her eyes and sighed at the voice announcing its presence and instructions. Grumbling, she lowered the shields as instructed. After all, it was difficult to rescue anyone if she was blown up. For a moment, she considered how to respond. If she identified herself as a member of the Imperial Republic, that would likely seal her fate. No, she still had the element of surprise for the moment. Instead, she replied calmly “I have complied with your request. What is it that you want?” It wasn't that she was refusing to identify herself, she simply wasn't going to offer more information than was absolutely necessary.

[Terrence Thorne]

Therrick held his smirk on board the little bridge of the gunship as the fighters closed the distance and slowly started to circle the lone freighter holding Selina. At that point however neither of them knew of her real and true nature which prompted a slightly less stringent response at first. Therrick instructed their fighters to retain a octagonal patrolling pattern around the lone ship as he approached the communications relay of the ship again: "Whoever you are on that ship I will give you 2 options. You can have the easy way or the hard way its. Up to you really. First off you could tell me who you are and what you are doing here and give me one good reason why I shouldn't just shook you out of the sky while I have the chance" he said and crossed his arms. Not that it really mattered as the communication had no visual output to Selina and carried only voice. He smirked a bit for himself and gave the helmsmen a slight nod of his head to acknowledge that it was safe to crawl closer to the unsuspecting ship. Whether she was going to try to fight it or not however would be the actual issue. But he pressed the button once again: "I am Lt Therrick by the way, and very nice of you to fall into our little trap here. Suffice to say you are but one in a long line of people" he said and chuckled, and kept the line open just long enough for Selina to actually hear part of the chuckle before the connection was cut rather abruptly.

Therrick paced a few back and forth the bridge wondering what would make someone in such a particular freighter fly to this place in space. It was something he always considered with every catch to determine for himself whether their reasoning was actually any close to be the truth, or it was a simple and utter lie. He pressed the button once again: "Oh by the way, welcome to the outer rim and don't expect to be leaving anytime soon" he said and smirked and awaited the reply from the other ship before forcing any hands at that really.

Edited by Terrence Thorne, 13 June 2009 - 11:52 PM.

[Selina Vadcasta]

Selina watched the fighters moved in on her. Her ship really wasn’t equipped for a fire fight, so she’d be forced to surrender. The voice instructed her to identify herself and her purpose there, and tell him why she shouldn’t be shot out of the sky. Lt Theryk was kind enough to inform her that she’d fallen into their trap just like the others had. Well, that gave her something to report anyway. Thankfully, she was smart enough to record all she could of the transmissions. The laughter of the pilot was disturbing, but then he really didn’t know what he was dealing with. Selina quickly tapped out a message to the High Prince, including the recording, which would hopefully be of some use. From her personal comm device, she sent the message then answered the hails.

“My name is Maye. I was sent here to collect some items. I’m happy to cooperate.” It was sufficiently vague, but truthful in a way. She’d come to pick up the others that were captured, and thus far had managed to get captured herself. Selina supposed that it was the easiest way in. The problem would fall when she wanted to get out…

[Terrence Thorne]

Therrick rubbed his chin slightly not entirely sure how to take the woman's reply. Her being there to collect some items wasn't something he really fell for. Simply because most just didn't come to the outer rim for something, unless it was really a peculiarity. He did however smile somewhat in her partial surrender. At least she had been somewhat smarter then the last person they managed to trap here. Trap was so much said as the person was already working for them at that point, they just needed his ship and well him out of the way in the mean time. Suffice to say his ship would have a rather tarnished reputation once the DCC would be done with it. Which was a thought that caused Therrick to smirk even more as he nodded to his second in command: "Tell the fighters to escort her and us in. Let the base know we are bringing in another catch" he said and chuckled as the small gunship slowly turned around and headed towards the base closely followed by the fighters who kept a tight formation around Selina. Meanwhile another ship would be heading out from the base to take their place as was customary in the event more ships would indeed be pulled from hyperspace during their absence.

During their flight back to the base they passed a small asteroid with a rather large anomaly placed on its side. Based on Selina's experience with technology or capital ships she would make out the device to possibly be a Gravity Well Projector, and most likely one scavenged from another ship. And what most likely was the cause of her sudden reversion to real space before time. And if not, then what looked like some oddly shaped object placed on the asteroid for whatever reason. But on their way back they passed the other ship on its way out at roughly the midway point with the fighters vigilantly keeping their eye on her, and most likely with her "Targeted" indicator flashing all the way back to the base. But the flight back to the base took roughly 30 minutes after having met the other vessel and the gunship and her fighter escort started the travel towards the surface of an otherwise seemingly ill inhabited world. But at present Selina had no real option but to follow them or simply be blasted off the sky.

Upon descending to the base Therrick gave the fighters specific orders to cycle the area while activating the communications relay once again: "Land in the designated landing spot, clearly flashing and power down your ship and extend your landing ramp. Failure to comply will be met with lethal force." he simply said and moved to land the Gunship a short distance away into her designated berth. But upon descending to the small pirate base Selina saw a rather peculiar sight at least in this part of space. Located next to where she was supposed to land she would find a Lambda Class shuttle, one otherwise looking in mint if not near mint condition. Where and how the pirates had gotten their hands on such a ship however it gave no clues to. But she was however not painted in IR colours or any colours representing anything she had ever seen, with her hull kept in a dark hue, with black tinted windows as if her owner and or pilot had tried to make her harder to see while she moved through space. But upon exiting her ship she was met by several armed guards as well as the Lieutenant from before who simply looked at her and gave her a quaint smirk. "Your ship will be a fine addition to our little fleet, much like this little treasure" he said and padded the Lambda Class shuttle.

But Selina was not allowed to wait for more then a few moments before the guards was ushering her out of the ship and was moving towards the building located off the side of the otherwise intermistic spaceport the pirates had erected as their base of operations....

Edited by Terrence Thorne, 13 June 2009 - 11:55 PM.

[Selina Vadcasta]

Selina looked around through the viewer trying to figure out where the voice might be coming from and silently trying to will him into believing her claims. When she wasn’t blown out of the sky, she let herself breathe again. So far, so good…

Then the orders to follow the fighter escort came. She transmitted simply “Understood.” The shuttle stayed within the boundaries provided by the fighters. They passed an asteroid field, which immediately drew her attention. Her head tilted slightly as she spotted the anomaly. Some sort of technology. Shifting to get a better look, she was almost certain that the device was a gravity well projector. That was a useful piece of information that she added to her transmission, as well as the fact that she was now essentially captured.

With as much information provided as was possible for the moment, she let her eyes move about her ship. There was one more piece of business to attend to before she exited her ship. Her lightsaber... If she was found with it, it was likely the pirates would have some sort of precautions in place for a Force User. It was simply safer for her if they didn’t know. Already she had one hidden on the outside of her shuttle, and now there would be another on the inside of it, providing she could hide it well enough that they wouldn’t see it upon searching her ship. The best option she could think of was to tuck it into the panels at the controls. Hopefully they wouldn’t find both sabers; else she could be in quite the pickle.

As the ship moved through the hangar door, she tucked the saber away as discreetly as she could manage. The orders that were transmitted were clear enough and were standard procedure for her anyway. Selina complied with their requests. When she exited the ship, she saw a Lambda shuttle next to her own. Evidently, she was not the first to fall into the trap, as the Lieutenant had mentioned. For the moment there was no reason to panic. His comment that her ship would be added to the growing fleet was somewhat irking, but she knew that one way or another she’d not let them have her ship. She was barely able to pause however before they began directing her to the building away from the spaceport. As they walked, she memorized as many details as was possible, including counting her paces as they moved. After all, she had to know how to get out of there when it was time to go.

The question remained however, what did they plan to do with her? To the naked and uneducated eye, she was a small woman and did not look like a real threat. Her presence was cloaked in the Force, in the event that they somehow were able to figure it out. Hopefully by the time they figured it out, she’d have discovered the other captives and would be well on her way out of the outer rim…That is, if she left any of them standing.

[Terrence Thorne]

Selina was escorted inside the building before being pushed against a wall and thoroughly frisked. Judging by the hands of the person doing the frisking he was obviously enjoying it at his hands lingered a bit too long on certain areas as well as taking himself certain privileges. And judging by the smiles and smirks coming from around her the other guards was apparently enjoying the show as she was being worked over. She could easily feel how the males of the room was all somewhat centred on her, some on how they wanted to have been in the other guards shoes while the thoughts of others were a lot more vivid then that, and not stopping at just frisking her. But after the frisking her thumb and pinkie were stripped together and two of the guards grabbed her by the arms rather roughly and halfway dragged her along and walked for a good few minutes before opening a door and dumping her in a chair and taking up a position inside the door. Inside the room Selina found a man sitting, his fingers clasped and looking at her, but what was even more worrying was that she could not feel the force at present. Because unknown to her the room next door housed a Ysalamir in captivity, one of the few the DCC had been managed to extract and place on this world for their protection against the Jedi.

But the man looked up at her and gave her a wide smirk. "So tell me. What does make such a pretty lady as yourself travel so far out in the galaxy in a vessel nearly anyone would assume belonging to the Imperial Republic?" he said and threw her a playful smirk at that. He obviously didn't really know where she was from yet, but simply halfway drew the assumption that she might have come from the Imperial Republic seeing as she had come on a Lambda Class Shuttle. But he was also very well aware that a few Lambda's had made into private hands over the years, Lambda's like the other one they had already acquired. But whether her Lambda was owned by the IR or herself that was just something he would have to find out, the easy way or the hard way. He smirked slightly and looked back at her: "Whether you tell me everything now or later makes no difference. We have the means to let everyone's tongue glide like it has like never before" he said and flashed a menacing grin. Truthfully some had decided to share all after this speech of his while others sadly needed a bit more persuasion. But either way worked for him as he would no morale issues with causing someone pain in order to get the information they would require.

But the man slowly sipped his drink and slowly leaned back in his chair and looked at her wondering which option she might take and what to do with her in either case. Thankfully her cell was being prepared as they were sitting there, yet another cell to yet another prisoner. Some of the people they had caught would be sold off as slaves and others simply killed once their information had been spilt and been confirmed by the DCC.

[Selina Vadcasta]

Selina raised an eyebrow as she was pushed up against a wall. “Is this necessary? I told you I would cooperate, so there is no reason to be rough with me.” Her annoyance was somewhat evident, though concealed for the moment. There would be time to fight later. The hands were lingering which angered her. She couldn’t very well attack the man though, or put him in his place as she hadn’t completed her mission yet. For a brief moment she closed her eyes to calm herself. The emotions of those in the room disgusted her, but she shouldn’t have expected anything less from pirates. Still, they were being rough with her, mostly dragging her down the hall. She’d protested once however, so there was no point in wasting her breath. Evidently they weren’t listening to her anyway.

Getting pushed into a chair, she turned to the one dragging her and gave him a look that in different circumstances could mean his demise. Unfortunately, the Force was not with her at the moment however, so she’d have to do with the dirty look. When she turned to the man at the desk, she tilted her head as he spoke. It seemed that he already suspected that she was of the Imperial Republic judging by her shuttle. Then the threat came. Selina smiled and spoke “I think you need to have a chat with your men. Evidently surrender and a promise to cooperate is not enough to warrant some measure of trust. And I don’t appreciate being violated either.” Her glare was cold. “As for what I’m doing here, I told your lackeys that I am here to pick something up.” Her answers were largely irrelevant, for they weren’t likely to believe her anyway. No, she just needed to get to the holding area to see what kind of numbers she was going to have to deal with. From there, she could try and formulate a plan of escape with the others.

While she wasn’t afraid of the torture that was more than likely to come, the lack of connection to the Force was somewhat alarming. It wasn’t her doing that much she was sure of. Hopefully it was simply the area that they were in otherwise she could indeed be in a pickle….

[Terrence Thorne]

The guards had cared little for Selina's protests and just spurred them on if anything else really. But most of the men here was so unfortunate to not really see nor spend time with that many women other then when sent back home on leave. Said fact naturally meant that they would snap at any chance to have a bit of their own fun before having to send her on to some of the higher ranking ones, and thus ending their fun. Her attitude and posture however did save her a bit of grace as they would rather not risk getting themselves in trouble because of her. Had her attitude and demeanour been anything but what it was and she might have found herself in a more problematic situation then she would have. It was after all not just about everybody who found themselves so fortunate to simply be allowed to stream around the galaxy in one of the pristine shuttles of the Republic, even if a few had managed to make it into private hands. Much like the one they had managed to lay claim to a few weeks before Selina had gotten caught there.

But the man that she sent the deadly stare all but ignored it sending her a smirk before blowing her a kiss which got him an rather disapproving stare from the man across the desk as he left. He looked at her and his face was as if a slate of stone as she commented that he needed to have a chat with his men which caused a slight chuckle to stream from his lips. "I would think you are not really in a position to make any demands at this point. What happens from now is in my hands, but rest assured that what ever my men did was nothing compared to the fate other females has been put through. This is a rather tight and secure operation so figure how much female attention these guys are getting" he said with a sly smirk. He was knowing of the raping of the prisoners going on, it wasn't that he really condoned it, but he was not one to go in and prevent his buys from having a bit of fun. These "actions" after all did keep them loyal and on his side, and so what if a few of the prisoners would have a few scars on their souls forever. "But I can assure you that as long as you keep me interested I can and will keep you out of harms way. Which begs the question, what is it that you are picking up so far from no where and in a ship like that. And what is your name?" he asked and looked at her. He had no doubt in his mind that she would be sticking him just another plate to deal with just like all the others before him.

But eventually they would break her, or so he at least expected. But little did they know of her hidden talent and that was possibly gonna be one of her biggest assets in a few moments. But the man she was speaking to simply nodded his head and looked at her: "But perhaps a night in one of our cells will indeed make your tongue more willing to speak?" he asked her and smirked and pressed a button on his desk and 2 guards entered and grabbed her while she was still tied and both grabbed her before putting a hood over her head and walking off with her towards the holding cells. The actual walk took around 5-7 minutes and the way there at least felt rather confusing with them going back and forth, left and right a lot of times making it seem like the complex was either rather large or they were simply just walking randomly around before she heard a door being opened and being pushed inside as the hood was dragged from her face and her bonds being cut. One of the guard smirked at her: "Enjoy your stay" he said and closed the door and locking it from the outside and she could hear footsteps walking away.....

[Selina Vadcasta]

Selina memorized the man’s face as he blew a kiss at her. He would die one way or another before she completed her mission. The man asking the questions didn’t seem particularly impressed with the gesture either, which was good for her. When he spoke, she was absolutely disgusted. He was next on the list of people to kill. He really seemed to think that she was going to keep him interested in return for protection? Not in her life time. Then came the inevitable question of what it was that she was picking up and her name. Selina smirked then “I already identified myself. Maye. As for what I’m picking up…I’m not paid to ask questions. Clearly, I do well enough, so let’s not spoil what we have here with logistics.” She too could be coy.

Evidently her answer was unacceptable, as she was offered a night in a cell to think it over. Before she could even answer, two guards entered and grabbed her, blinding her as well. Her previous strategy would not be effective in her escape, as she was not touching the floor and couldn’t count paces or have any real sense of direction while being carried. However, as they moved away from the room she’d previously occupied, she could feel the Force again. Eventually, they dumped her into her cell and freed her from her bonds and blindfold. She was free to move around her little cell it seemed. The guard left with a smirk. Selina closed her eyes and listened to his footsteps as he moved away, silently counting them.

When she could no longer hear them, she opened her eyes and let them move over her surroundings. It seemed too quiet, but she could feel others nearby…

[Terrence Thorne]

Terrence had been coupled up in this damned cell for so long he had started to loose track of time and hard started to carve numbers into the wall to at least keep track of the days that passed. He had long started to simply just sleep and doze off more or less the entire day and well trying to make time pass and tire himself out with a bit of exercise. But truthfully this kind of confinement was slowly driving him nuts, and a lot sooner then later at present. Most of the days were more or less the same and others were broken by a bit of sound and scuffling as new prisoners were brought to the holding cells and while others were removed to be sold as slaves or at least so he figured. Either that or simply being shot once they had served their use. He had however not been lured there or captured by the gravity well but had actually started working for them, and that under a rather lucrative contract. But he had simply decided they had only signed that contract to get him here so they could eventually apprehend him and take his ship and then tarnish its reputation to pieces with their vile smuggling runs and what not. He was far from too happy and pissed more then likely about the entire situation as he heard the guards coming a lot closer then they were usually getting and he rammed himself against the door and causing it to rattle in the hinges.

But that was really all it did as he heard the guards moved into the room adjacent to his and spoke a few words before closing the door, which caused him to shake the bars of the door and smacking it a few times with his fists even if it hurt himself more then did any good. "If any of you damned cowards actually had a spine you would let me out and at least allow me one fight with either of you. But no you are too much of a damned coward to risk that aren't you. Keeping us here like animals because you are too scared to take the chance. But let me out of here and I will make sure this day will be the last one you will ever see" he called out and kicked the door in anger. But all the response he really got was a few laughs from the guards as they moved on down the hallway caused him to curse inwardly with a few words slipping out through his lips as he allowed himself to drop down to the floor and rested his head against the wall to relax himself. "So they got you too hmm?" he asked rather loudly hoping somewhat to get a response from the person now placed in the cell right next to his......

[Selina Vadcasta]

Selina raised an eyebrow when she heard rattling and shouting. It was understandable of course, but pointless she felt. By the sounds of things, he was angry. He promised revenge if he got loose, which made her smile. It seemed that she might have found herself an ally, just as the High Prince had predicted. The guards didn't care and laughed him off. They wouldn't be laughing when she did spring them loose. As her neighbor settled himself back down in his cell, he spoke, stating the obvious that she'd been caught too. For the moment, there was no harm in answering him “Yes, obviously.” With the guards out of her line of sight, her eyes moved around the cell once again trying to work out an exit strategy.

One thing was certain, she couldn't do it alone. Selina closed her eyes and reached out through the Force to touch his mind gently. It was likely that he wouldn't even notice her intrusion as she was hardly ever aggressive in doing so. Her empathic and telepathic abilities were among her strongest and well practiced. For a few moments she was silently navigating his mind, trying to get an idea of what she would be working with. Alarm bells were not going off for her, so she decided that he would have to do.

While it was risky to reveal her true nature, she'd have to show some measure of trust. Selina spoke softly in his mind ~Don't be afraid. I'm going to get us out of here, but I need your help...~

[Terrence Thorne]

Terrence smirked inside his cell when she acknowledged his question. Not that he had thought it otherwise himself but really was trying to make a bit of small talk. It had after all been nearly 2 weeks since he had spoken to anyone but the guards or one of the interrogators. But Terrence knew his very own cell as well as the pants he was wearing, suffice to say he would nearly go as far as saying that he knew each and every crack in the stones by this time. But that wasn't the entire truth. No he had taken enough time to familiarise himself with the cell to at least get his mind wrapped around which parts might be used as instruments usable for training as he simply refused to wither for several weeks in a cell. He had actually tried that once before and that wasn't any particular fond memory of his, having to fight his way out being in the weak state that he had been in back then. No lesson learnt and what a lesson indeed.

*But in connection with his mind Selina would quickly come to realise that the man most likely was a soldier or at least had been due to the thoughts and the very routines he was going over inside his head. As if he was preparing for the event that he would get an opening to strike, an opening to overpower one of the guards and perhaps manage to get out of this prison. Thoughts going on where they might store his equipment, how to get a weapon and other thoughts of that nature roamed his mind, but that train of thought was quickly broken as she spoke into his mind, and causing it to blank for but a few moments before the thoughts slowly returned.*

Meanwhile Terrence was sitting in his cell pondering over various solutions and ends on how to break out of here. How to get a weapon, get to the landing pad and other such practical information. But that train of thought was quickly broken as someone spoke inside his head. Not that he hadn't tried that before, but it felt just as strange and confusing as last time as the person told him not to be afraid and that she would get them both out of the there but that the person needed his help. Not being force attuned or at least to his knowledge nor trained in telepathy he simply proceeded to kick the door once to signal that he had indeed understood her seeing how speaking up would most likely get either her or himself in trouble. But instead he approached the bars and listened for a few moments before speaking in a hushed voice. "So how did you end up here, and how would you want me to reply to what ever it is you are doing" he asked somewhat uncertain and a bit confused at that but also somewhat interested in seeing how a force user had ended up so far out here and what had taken her here.....

[Selina Vadcasta]

Selina noticed that his thoughts seemed to be along the lines of her own, with the difference being the thought patterns. His were very structured, military like she thought. Her voice had distracted him however. She was pleased that he seemed to understand the urgent need for secrecy and he communicated with non verbal methods. His voice followed a few moments later with an inquiry as to how to respond. His curiosity seemed to be winning out over the plotting, for the moment anyway.

Gently she responded ~I am a telepath. I can read your thoughts.~ For the moment she would ease his curiosity. ~I've come here to rescue those captured. I'll need your help. Any information you can provide would be helpful.~ As an after thought, she added ~My name is Selina, the guards believe I am Maye. My ship was pulled out of hyperspace but I've managed to report as much to those that have sent me.~

Selina paused then, allowing him time to mull it all over. His thoughts would be interesting she thought. It wasn't every day that one met a Force user after all. Especially way out in the outer rim where they were presently being held. She hoped that she'd not placed her trust in the wrong person, but she couldn't be sure at the present moment. Should the need arise, she would keep his silence. She did hope that it wouldn't come to that, as doing so would raise suspicions about her identity. At the moment, the element of surprise was all that she had going for her....

[Terrence Thorne]

At present he was a bit confused as to how to communicate with someone who was rather obviously able to "speak" to his mind. He however was not gifted with such abilities, at least to his knowledge which would make truly hidden communication pretty hard. Which was really why he had spoken out the first time, not that he didn't assume the guards would think that some of the prisoners would indeed talk to each other. Which was originally why people had been placed so far from each other cell wise at least. And sticking to non verbal means from his part with nothing being visibly or audibly returned from her at that would indeed rise suspicions. Or thats at least what he thought, and he would prefer to keep what ever advance they had at present to level out the playing field even if it only made their odds slightly less disadvantageous.

He not as much listened as he focused as he heard her voice inside his head, and found it rather unnerving that she was actually able to read his mind. Not exactly something he felt well comfortable with honestly. When she asked for his help he became a bit suspicion, and started considering whether or not these pirates had actually placed her there not to actually help him, but to make him slip his tongue easier. He did however listen and well present some part of the knowledge he had managed to obtain that was not critical to at least his mission, but then again. They never really captured him like they had captured her so in that aspect he had no knowledge they would truly want or could use so eventually he reasoned that it would make no really sense to try to place an infiltrator close to him to gain more knowledge.

But naturally the prospect of running into a force user was indeed strange at least for someone like him, and especially in these parts of the galaxy. But exactly asking her more about herself was most likely to push her trust towards him as he might trust him just as little as he actually trusted her at present. He would wait with that for later. She did however say she was there to rescue him and the others, but he wasn't entirely sure how she was planning on making that happen seeing the strange creatures the pirates had at their disposal and figuring in the number of men located on the base. Being a soldier he had naturally tried to survey the base and determine what a proper military response would indeed be if one wanted to neutralise it. It wasn't as if he had really intended on working for these pirates for very long and had considered selling them out to however was the authority on these parts once his contract was done. But obviously the pirates couldn't or wouldn't allow that to happen, and that was actually why he was there, and well because they needed his ship.

He drew a few deep breaths not feeling entire comfortable with what he was about to do at that moment and "tried" to project his thoughts: *I am Terrence Thorne, retired officer from the IR. The black Lambda you most likely saw in the hanger belongs to me. Pending my resignation from the Republic I had started out as a civilian contractor, transporting people and goods across the galaxy. After all, who would make a better transport for your precious goods?. Some random pilot, or someone who had actually had combat experience?* He said and waited a few moments to wait on her to either confirm, that she had indeed 'gotten' it all or not, before he carried on. *These pirates hired me as a contracted pilot to run a few errands for them, but in taking their offer I didn't know what trap I had fallen to. Roughly 1 week ago, but I am not sure, they seized my ship and threw me in here. But to answer your questions.* he said and tried to clear his mind and remember the very details he had figured out himself both in coming here, but also in working for them.

*You are but the first one they have pulled out of hyperspace. There has been others, before both you and me. Even people like you, which makes me somewhat surprised that they haven't locked you up in one of the more secure cells actually prepared for force users?* he thought and leaned his head against the wall to cool it and took something to drink before carrying on. *They have apparently been able to acquire and old Gravity Well Projector and hooked it up to an abandoned asteroid, which is where they are controlling it from. That way they can keep their small operation secure as well as contain anyone that actually finds it. As to our chances to escape I won't even harbour a guess since I have no idea how many men are stationed here at the moment. But I have a rough figure from before they took me into custody. And oh, they have some kind of creature they use to nullify force users I think they called it.* he thought and rubbed his chin for a while trying to remember the name of the creature. *I think they called it Ysal something, I can't remember though* he said and left it at that, still a bit unsure whether he would in fact incur a punishment for speaking or that Selina was indeed who she said she was.....

[Selina Vadcasta]

Selina could feel his hesitation and suspicions of her. Not that she blamed him. It wasn’t exactly comforting to have someone in on the inner workings of the mind. His train of thought almost made her smile. A smart man. His mind seemed to work the way that hers would, very analytical. It occurred to her that she might have to provide the man more information about herself. After all, she had invaded the most sacred and secret of places in another person.

She held back a smile as he gave her his name and former affiliation. That would certainly make things much easier. The ship was his as well. He was providing her more details than he required, but they were his thoughts and not hers. She’d simply be patient and sift through the thoughts later. He stopped suddenly ~Go on~ She was not surprised to hear that the circumstances of his capture greatly differed from her own. So he tried doing business with them…Additional information followed after he finished his thoughts of himself. He wondered why she was not inside a more restrictive cell. Then she smiled. Very clever indeed…He confirmed that they had a gravity well projector, which she’d seen on her way in. Unfortunately he didn’t know how many were in the station, but that wasn’t a problem for Selina in her immediate surroundings anyway. It was definitely possible that there were those that she could not sense because of the little pets. He even knew of the creatures. She smirked. The High Prince wasn’t kidding when he said she’d make a few allies along the way.

When he finally finished, she took the opportunity to clarify a few things for him. ~I am a part of his majesty’s staff. The reason I am not in a more secure cell is because the pirates have no reason to believe that I am indeed Force sensitive. My weapons are well hidden on my ship and I have refrained from using the Force since arriving here. His majesty has foreseen the events that will follow and sent me to rescue those captured. The creatures you speak of are Ysalamir. They nullify the Force in a radius around them. Fortunately they do not employ them here. I’m hoping it stays that way. It may be our best avenue of escape at present…~ She paused to let him absorb the information she’d presented him. After all, it was quite a lot to process if one was not familiar with the Force and its applications.

[Terrence Thorne]

Terrence waited for her reply and went as slow as he had to in explaining his present situation for her to keep track. Naturally knowing she was inside his head wasn't exactly a comforting thought to say the least. But in their present situation he would just have to move past that feeling and emotions for the sake of them both getting out of here.... perhaps. Not that he really had anything to hide about himself that couldn't bear to be brought to the light of day really but still. Sure he was giving her more details then required, but in a situation like this there really was no knowing if information he otherwise found nonessential was actually rather essential, at least to a person such as Selina at least. That was at least what he had considered rather basic during his career, to simply report anything and everything to make sure no real details were left out, but that didn't mean that "really" everything was added as that was just plain retarded. No only stuff in relation to their mission and its parameters was indeed added into his report.

After he was done explaining he slid down into the cold floor and rested his head against one of the walls for a brief moment, enjoying the semi cool touch to his skin and a few thoughts went through his head. But that didn't last very long as he heard her voice inside his head and pushed his thoughts aside to keep a clear a level head and actually hear anything and everything she had to tell him. He smirked a bit to himself as he heard she was a part of staff belonging to the Emperor as well as the reasoning behind her not being in a more secure cell. That piece of knowledge however alarmed him as she would most likely be discovered if they kept communicating like this, as he held no reservations as to the collective intelligence of the pirates. Naturally most were not really blessed in this department, but he had to admit that even masterminds could be found among your common criminals and undesirables in the galaxy. His head cocked a bit as she explained a bit more about the creatures he had both seen and heard the guards talking about.. *So thats whats the slimy little bastards are called. Guess the damned things can't resist a blaster bolt* he thought for himself and smirked. And she in reality was not the only one hoping she would in fact be able to stay here and remain outside the range of the lizards. Terrence had long realised that there was no real hope of escape in his present condition until he realised she had in fact been a force user.

He hadn't seen or heard a lot about them over the years, but still had some knowledge about them. Either through what he had been able to overhear from others or had been able to find in old books and data-pads. At least with Selina he somewhat expected they had a chance, and throw in some weapons in his direction as well and their chances would increase somewhat as well. He thought for a bit before grabbing the bars in the small window in the door and whistled to get Selina's attention, he waited for a few moments to make sure she was in fact attentive and listening. He quickly looked around and made sure there was no guards within visual or audible range: "We might have to do some part of the non essential communication in another way. Otherwise I will suspect the pirates might catch on, if you catch my drift. " he asked in a low voice, adding to the difficulty of eaves dropping to their communication. Now he just had to wait for her reply and then decide how to go about it really.

[Selina Vadcasta]

Selina almost chuckled at his thought of the annoying little lizards. She tended to agree. It seemed that he was also thankful that the pirates were unaware of her identity and abilities. She’d found the right person after all. His thoughts seemed much more optimistic than when she’d first invaded his mind. A small smile crossed her lips. He had faith in her abilities it seemed. It would be easier now that she didn’t have to convince him to help her help them all. Her thoughts were interrupted by his whistle, causing her to blink back to reality. His words gave her a great deal to consider. If they were able to communicate telepathically, it would be much easier as they could separate. Perhaps if he was capable of manipulating the Force she might be able to teach him a few things…

Closing her eyes again, she decided to find out if her new friend was attuned to the Force. Not that he would notice, but she began to probe the deepest parts of his mind with the Force…

[Terrence Thorne]

Terrence let go of the bars and paced back and forth in the room a few times. Suffice to say he was far from amused as he closed his eyes and counted to 10 inside his head before moving towards the corner of the cell. He had obviously tried this manuever a few times so far with no luck, but something told him he might eventually get lucky. It was just a matter of time and then the wall or hopefully the lock would indeed give in to the stress from his constant attempts to get out. He took a few deep breaths of air before couting down from 3 and charged the door like so many times before and tried to use his momentum to land a kick to the door right about where the lock was on the door. Naturally he hit the lock like so many times before, with a substatial force which did nothing but alert anyone close that he was obviously still trying to get out, but wasn't having much luck at it. He cursed a bit under his breath and let his fingers trace the wall around the impact sight, or well the piece of the wall basically keeping the door locked. *Requires a damned lot more then brute force if I ever want to make any decent attempt at getting out of here* he thought as his mind drifted and he looked at the wall and placed his fingers on it, resting his forehead against it. The cold feeling against his forehead caused him to relax just a bit as he breathed in and out a few times to cope with the frustration as he somewhat looked at the wall trying to invision how Selina would indeed look like considering he had not seen her when she was brought into her cell. Her silence did start making him question whether or not it had actually been a clever decision to simply open his mouth and start speaking or he should just have held himself for himself and basically just decided to wait out his time. But he knew that, that would simply be futile as they most simply come for him eventually and either kill him or simply sell him off as a decent slave.

He sighed a bit as he allowed himself to slide down the wall and sat down on the otherwise chilled floor, and allowed the cool touch of the ground and wall to permeate through his body, using it to cool down and move beyond his annoyance and frustration about having been couped up for just too long. Someone was indeed going to pay when or if he would indeed get out. Whether or not that actually was going to happen only time would truly know. But for now he simply accepted his fate unknowing of what Selina was presently doing....

[Selina Vadcasta]

Selina was not surprised to find that he was not. After all, it wasn't a common gift she thought. Her eyes opened as he slammed into the lock of his cell. What in the hell was he doing? She sighed. Not a lot, other than making a great deal of noise that would draw attention. All was quiet again then for a moment so she spoke. “You realize you're simply attracting attention by doing that.” Silently she continued communications ~Don't do that again. We want the guards to feel secure enough to drop their guard. Alerting them that you're trying to get out will not accomplish that.~

She sighed audibly then. Yes, she could open the cells without a great deal of effort. That was not the primary concern. Once they were out of the cells, they needed to be able to get past the guards without alarm bells going off. Plus, she didn't exactly know the way back to her ship from where they were. No, she needed a plan. ~I need to meditate now. Sleep and conserve your energy.~ She stretched out on the small bunk. It wasn't exactly comfortable, but she'd appear to be asleep to the guards if they happened to pass. Selina needed some sort of guidance to formulate a plan...

[James Stratus]

A pirate came to her cell. The big boss wants to talk to you, missy. They had searched her ship thoroughly and must have found her ligthsaber and other things. It was the only explanation. They had learned many lessons on how to defend themselves against Jedi. Oh and don't try anything, cuz it won't work. Trust me. He grabbed her from the cell and a few other pirates with heavy rifles aimed at her were standing in the hall, and more on the other side.

As she was undoubtedly planning instant strategies, suddenly she could no longer feel the Force at all, and she soon found herself in a dark room. They strapped her to a chair, and a hairy man with many scars stepped into the dim light. She could not feel him or anyone, or anything for that matter through the Force. It was like it had ceased to exist. Just like the Prince had forewarned.

[Terrence Thorne]

Terrence didn't care if the guards really knew what he was up to. It wouldn't be the first time he had tried to storm the door, actually he had lost count of the attempts but also knew from experience that eventually the door would indeed not be able to withstand. But whether it was 100 or 1000 tries time would only tell. But he sat back then when Selina spoke, first and words and then inside his mind causing him to shake his head. Was she insane?, all he had been doing until she had been placed next to him in the cell was basically trying to move around the small cramped cell and trying to keep his body somewhat functioning aswell as sleeping. But it was then that he heard a few of the guards approaching and unlocking the door to her cell and started to drag off with her. Which promptly brought him to his feet and hanging from the bars wanting to see where they would be takin her, even if he knew the answer. She was on her way to be proccessed.

Different time, different place:

Selina opened her eyes when a pirate spoke to her. Judging by his threat, they'd discovered she was a Force Sensitive. Ah Interrogation. She sighed inwardly and got up from the bunk, leaving her hands in front of her in plain sight. Soon enough she found herself strapped to a chair and unable to manipulate the Force. Her eyes scanned around for the little beast causing the problem.

Pirate Chief Marius stepped out in the light with a slight smirk on his face. His face was covered in various scars and gashes from varies cuts and bruises. He stopped just as he had stepped into the light and looked at her: "So a jedi here. What a fortunate coincidence. Your kind tend to fetch a high price these days" he said and rubbed his fingers together signifiging money before nodding his head. From behind Selina someone came up and grabbed her arm and she felt a slight sting as a needle pierced her skin and she could feel some liquid enter her system that slowly started to make her veins burn.

Marius smiled: "Just a mild sedating to keep you from trying anything." he said and took a seat at the other end of the table and tapped his fingers against each other and looked at her with piecing eyes: "So I suggest you start talking"

Selina gritted her teeth as she was injected and she felt as though her blood might boil. She was fighting a losing battle against the sedatives for the moment. She tilted her head "What would you like to talk about?"

He perked a brow: "First and foremost who you are and what you are doing here dear "friend". What my men are indeed telling me you told them I think is indeed not the truth"

Selina narrowed her eyes "I told you. My name is Maye and I'm here to pick something up."

Marius let out a slight laughter: "And I don't believe you." he said and narrowed his eyes. "Everyone coming here think they are so damned bloody smart. But sooner or later you will start talking. And I suggest it better be sooner rather then later" he said with a slight smirk and nodded his head as someone moved to the side of her and grabbed her hand and palm up and looked at him. "So what is it you were sent to pickup.hmm?"

Selina was still calm, mostly due to the drugs. "I transport things. I don't ask questions. All I know is that it will fit in my shuttle."

As the pirate chief approached closer and leaned over her body, she noticed a familiar cylindrical object inside his cloak, though it was definitely not hers. Thorne shook his head: "That was the wrong answer my dear" he siad and nodded his head and the person holding her hand slowly and forcefully broke her finger, bending it to its breaking point and keeping it there for a time letting the pain run through her body before breaking it in one forcefull snap

He looked at her again: "Same question once again....."

Selina was in a great deal of pain, but you wouldn't know it to look at her. No, Selina wore a tired smile. "People."

Marius sighed and looked at her: "What kind of people?" even if he was somewhat annoyed with the one question one answer way. A slight smirk on his face: "Hopefully you will keep answering truthfully or I
would think one such as you would find it hard to really do much with 2 broken hands" he said and revealed a slight sinister smile

Selina narrowed her eyes at his threats "Refugees."

He burst out laughing: "Refugess in a single shuttle with no escort or backup. Thats jut too good to believe. Reminds me of this guy we got in the brig who worked for us believing we would let him walk." he said and shook his head. "Now little missy, I don't believe you. So what are you going to do about that" he said and nodded his head as that all too familar pain returned, but the finger was not snapped........ yet

"Only a few obviously. A bounty of sorts." she said.

"You gonna continue to take this crap from her boss? *An impatient pirate with obviously other intentions said.* Give me a few minutes with her and I'll get it out of her. *He was obviously eager to deal with the woman, though his boss had more patience and self-control.*

Marius tabbed his fingers and looked at the other person and raised his hand: "You will have your fun with her if she doesn't start speaking soon". he said and looked back at Selina with a twisted smile: "Tell me more, or I might have to let my boys here have their fun with you" he said and smirked

Selina sighed "I'm picking up a small family. Their release has been bartered."

Marius smirked: "Out here in the middle of nowhere?. I don't believe that" he said and signalled with his finger and her other finger was snapped. He snapped his fingers and Selina could hear and feel something being attached to her chair, but not exactly what it was. He nodded his head and the only slight warning Selina got was a slight tingling in the fingers as her body was hit by a several kilovolt electric charge running through her entire body setting her nerves on fire

Selina gritted her teeth as electricity charged through her body. She'd felt it before. She breathed a little more heavily through her nose, keeping herself composed. The sedatives were no longer an issue as she was very alert.

*The words of the High Prince rang true in her ears.YOU WILL ENCOUNTER DANGEROUS SITUATIONS UNLIKE THAT YOU HAVE EVER ENCOUNTERED BEFORE. YOU MUST BE PREPARED TO FACE THESE CHALLENGES WHENEVER THEY COME, OR YOU WILL NOT SUCCEED." "At times it may seem all is lost. You may in fact feel as if the Force itself ceased to exist. You must then remember, that all around you, wherever you are, there is the Force, and there is life." "There will be times when you seem without any defense, but where there is life there is hope, and where there is hope there is victory." She could almost hear his voice as if he were standing there himself.*

Marius just watched and smirked knowing she was most likely doing to withstand the surge for much longer then a normal being and breathed in as the air started to fill with the smell of flesh being burned by the electricity He nodded and the electricity stopped and he looked at her with a serious look in his eyes: "This is just a small taste of what will happen to you next time if you don't come clean. I don't take very well to lies and tall tales, so either you start talking or I will make sure you can have some company at night" he said and smirked while looking at one of the guards there before calling the guards close and they unfastened her from the seat and started to drag off with her, towards her cell.

Selina glared "They were slaves."

"And so too will you be, until we decide to get rid of you." The pirate chief replied.

*A few moments later they had returned to her cell and she was forcefully thrown inside, this time with a Ysalamir close to make sure she could not use the force during her "stay"*

Selina knew that was not the case, but said nothing for the moment. She would simply bide her time if necessary. She curled up on the bunk and closed her eyes. She would need some time to recouperate and think.

Meanwhile Terrence was still back in his cell and laid on his bunk but couldn't find much rest in reality knowing what the pirates was most likely doing to Selina. He himself had been beating up, tortured and what not, but eventually the pirates only discovered that he had no real information of any value since he had indeed left the Republic some years ago to work a a freelancer. Which truly left only thing they really needed... His Lambda class shuttle, but he figured that whatever ship Selina might have shown up in might have a bit more interest of theirs as it most likely was either fully registered or at least partly as belonging to the IR. Which simply meant the pirates would be able to stir up a hell of a lot more trouble with her ship then with his. But he had been laying there for a good 10 or 15 minutes, but in reality he didn't know as he had no real grasp on days and hours at this point as he had had his chronograph taken from him.

But he had been just about to doze off as he had heard the guards come walking down the hall dragging someone behind them, before unlocking her door and tossing her inside before securing the door and slowly walking away. But he laid still for a few moments and listened if she was interested in some conversation.

[Selina Vadcasta]

Selina lay there quietly, trying to get over the discomfort of not having her senses to guide her. It was then that she decided that her little pet needed to die, quickly. When her strength returned she would be getting out of there, one way or another. If she had her senses about her, she might have felt Terrence’s concern. For the moment, she said nothing. She simply closed her eyes and allowed herself to drift off to sleep. Her body needed it.

A couple of hours later, she awoke but didn’t move from the bunk. She spoke softly, wondering if Terrence was even still there. “They know,” she announced sadly. She hadn’t told them, but she assumed that they found at least one of her lightsabers on her ship. If that was the case, it was likely that the ship would no longer be where she left it, for they couldn’t possibly have trusted her now. No, Selina needed a new plan. Assuming that he was there, she continued to talk softly. “I didn’t tell them, so they must have searched my ship…”

Her eyes began to scan the small room around her once again. She had a different perspective now, that of desperation. Somehow she had to kill the little creature above her head. She couldn’t see it, but she knew it was there. Selina sighed “There’s a lizard close by. Can you see it?” She paused, still looking around. “It needs to die, and we need to get out of here…”