"Do you truly know the muffin man?" [Colton]

[Slade Xandir]

"She didn't smell of one of them in the Force," he murmured, his finger tapping on the bottom of his lip. If Slade had been informed otherwise, he had kept silent to his other side, refusing to inform Blood of more than what he robbed from the main persona. As often as he had come across both the Verpine Jedi Master and that once he crossed a Padawan, he hadn't seen or smelled anything of the sort in Siya. But then again, Blood knew nothing of her, let alone cared. This was Slade's battle, not his. He was only complying with this situation to rid himself of these annoying dreams.

So this man knew of Sith Life? Knew of the Dark Side, and every great and wonderful agony that came with it? "It is unintentional- she visits me, not the other way around. I can accept death much easier than some." Ironically, it was Krynn who gave him that as well, the ability to be griefless in the presence of death. If his Son, Raphael, perished, he would not mourn. Even if he were the one to strike that final blow himself, there would be no sorrow. And if there was, it was to be channeled into recycled energy within the Force, and make himself stronger.

Something that came more of a panther's patience being sated for the moment slid from the man's posture, as Blood was released from his executioner's block. The Sun Armor sat with him, just across from him, in fact. Legs crossed, and back straight; powerful, and waiting. It was a reward for the Sith, a slight victory, so in turn, he rewarded the Mandolorian with his tale of Birth, Death, and Resurrection.

"The one who speaks to you now is another half of who once inhabited this Body; still does in fact, as it was his ceaseless grievance coupled with those dreams, which brought me to you. This man's name is Slade, whereas I am Blood."

Getting the Blue Bantha out of the room, he continued his story.

"Slade was a bounty hunter, as well as an illegal exotic animal dealer. He trained and tamed multiple creatures, making a business off of that, and contracts. His presence was well met on Tattooine, and very little trouble came for him. On this sand rock, he met this splendid modest Twi'lek, who was titled 'Siya', and she flit around a fellow bounty hunter named Kyramur. Attending to his companionship and needs, the Twi'lek simply let go of her giving nature, and her innocence made her a personal slave to Kyr. Slade befriended her, buying her food and nourishing her where Kyramur did not, taking her out and enjoying what little they could on Tattooine. "

A little sigh left his lips as he continued into the slightly darker elements.

"The last thing Slade had done was given her an excruciatingly expensive and rare pet, an Albino Correlian Panther, which she became best partners with. Her and 'Mercy' were inseparable. However, Slade's past had finally caught up to him, and the mafia he once captively ran with in his youth, found him on Tattooine. Knowing how careful and lethal Slade was, they watched him as he broke one of the most valuable rules of any assassin tradition- Never make Attachments."

Stretching his neck to the left and right, Blood recollected the deeper aspects of the tale.

"The Corvione Family, the mafia that kidnapped and corrupted Siya, was the same he had once run with. The night he chose to not visit her, Slade took that night for himself in the uninhabited deserts of the planet in a small shack with a pet garral. Resting, the night became unnatural as the Shadow Pup appeared, and toyed with him. Krynn not only infiltrated Slade's mind as he remained non-hostile with her, but she impregnated it unnaturally with the Force, something he was not born with or meant to have. Her influence was rank of death, and with it being a foreign aspect in his body, his mind attempted rejecting it, only making it destroy itself, in turn. Krynn had stripped away the majority of his humanity, and filled him with the absence that only a white shadow knows."

Finishing his stretching, his silken voice picked up where he left off once he resumed his motionless stature.

"Krynn left him that night, her last words being 'There are more frightful things than death,'. Once he awoke from the vile process he had endured, the world no longer looked as beautiful as it once was to him. In the maelstrom of a migraine, he stumbled to Siya's living quarters hoping to find comfort in her, and found a note which read "Come and get her, S." Of course he knew it was the Corviones, but in reality the muscle knew they had no chance against the ex-Shadow Suit. So they hired a Sith Assassin to wait him out in the location they provided, a warehouse far outland, on the note. Immediately, Slade took his garral and went to face the kidnappers, only to be trapped and tortured with lightning in the warehouse by the assassin. Unprepared, Slade and his garral were both near death until Kroxata, a dathomirian I'm sure everyone has heard of," he said mockingly rolling his eyes. "saved him. Taking Slade and his garral back to the ship and putting them in bacta tanks, they were restored and brought to Tormentous as a gift. Knowing it was the only way to get stronger and find Siya, Slade accepted the offer to join the wicked cult, and trained until he could find where the Corvione's had taken Siya."

Blood tipped his head back, taking a breath.

"Once he found himself growing in skill, Slade tracked down the new base the Corvione's set up on Nar Shadaa, and wearing his old Shadowsuit, he infiltrated the Cantina entrance without any problems. It was almost like he was back at home, which he technically was- but he swapped back to Corvione slang and everything, the whole nine yards, as he went deeper into the establishment and found where they had kept her. It turned out they had her long enough to 'Make' her, and she ended up a Songbird, one of the female sects in the Family who were deadly in their charm just long enough to put a blaster to your skull or a garrote up to your jugular. In the end, he was confronted by her, and his disguise slipped as his horror to what they had done to her, surfaced."

He popped his forefinger, the release of pressure bringing a little bit less irritation to his murderous hands.

"In the end, she tried to kill him, being so at 'home' with those 'monsters' that she alerted the entire establishment of his presence. But the Godfather of the Family, Father Corvione himself, walked down the staircase amidst their fight, and put a bolt through her head, himself. Finally at full loss of control, Slade managed to kill who he hadn't realized to be his actual biological Father with another reluctant member of the Corviones, and with the packbrother's help, they blew the establishment sky high as they set charges and made it out the door just as it exploded."

Deciding to leave the rest of the following details vague due to their lack of necessity in the story, he finished up.

"With the personal funeral he held for her on Tattooine, Slade had finally lost a true friend to himself, and thus began his journey into the true harlems of the Dark Side. With every use of the Force, a wedge was shoved between reality and fantasy for him, pain being that middle ground. And finally, that shambled mind splintered in two, and thus Blood, myself, was born."

[Colton Hunter]

It all came flooding back to him then.. Adara had been the one to meet Siya, and Colt had tried to help her... but Null had won her over. Though Colt had often offered her a chance at true redemption, like every one of his students, they were all free to make their own choices. Colt sighed as he listened to the words of the Sith Lord. There was no denying it now, as he felt that duality before. One who took the title of Lord among the Sith often made a deal, somehow, with one of the spirits of the Dark Side. To Colt, this Blood had revealed to him a startling weakness. Slade had succumbed to the weaknesses of emotion, and Colt couldn't fault him for that... but Blood... Blood was very much an enemy, wherein Slade could become an ally. He wondered if the host before him realized what he had done in telling Colt his story.

"The Force is a strange thing," he commented. Of course Krynn had had a hand in his alterations... and the Dathomiri Hammer? Huh, one he'd not face yet, but he had heard of him... and knew he'd find him lacking, if ever their blades crossed. "She had a great deal of potential, did you- I'm sorry- did Slade recover the body? Or rather, have you been so filled with the Dark Side all this time that you cannot hear her voice anymore?" he asked him, holding up a single finger.

"I once served Lady Dali, of the Sith, I was her personal assassin, sent to kill many Jedi in my time, very successful... that was until I met the Jedi, Celeste Dmir. She was strong, strong enough to defeat me, but she never killed me, she left me alive, time after time.... because she felt something stronger than the Dark Side within me... she spared me because she saw my destiny, perhaps? Or she knew that I could be saved from the monster I had become... so came the day I finally defeated her... she knelt at my feet, my blade at her throat... and her seeds had sparked something in me... I couldn't do it... I had somehow, against all odds, fallen in love..." he explained, he had difficulty telling the story even to Adara... Celeste had made him do it... But it was getting easier...

"I ran from the Sith just to be with her, and we went to the Jedi, but the information she had fell upon deaf ears... corruption could have been caused, instead, we took what info we had, and as I had ran from the Sith, she had ran from the Jedi... fugitives from both... It was a few years later when another assassin, my own brother, was sent to kill us both... Celeste gave her life to save mine, and bade me to take her essence... to drain her... So I did..." he showed him both hands, palm up...

"My brother and I fought to a stand still, the temple in which we fought crumbling beneath our power... and in the end, we both had to retreat... I spent a great deal of time hiding... from everything... my people, the Sith, myself... the very Force," he mused, "Until my brother found me again and I was forced to tap into it's power once more to save myself... I escaped, injured, weakened from disuse of those muscles... and then I heard her voice..." he tapped his head.

"I carry with me the spirit of Celeste Dmir, and she's the temperament to my rage... a constant reminder of what I lost, and what I stand to loose... and the one thing in this life that doesn't let me give up when I am surrounded by my own failures... but the Dark Side often clouds those voices..." he added, "Can you hear Siya?" he asked him, staring at him through his visor.

[Slade Xandir]

It was his turn to listen now, the shed of light to who this man was beneath the shield of golden armor, beneath the traditions and alliances- This man was one of what Blood could have been had he mastered what emotions Tormentous told him of. Love was not barred from the Sith Lord, but if was what would rob him of power had he let it get to him within the loss of it. Yet, Colton here hadn't lost his edge in the Force; he simply kept the blade sheathed through the reminder of his destruction. The voice of his mate, and with it, judgement of another spectrum.
Behind every good man, more often than not, was a good woman.
But this man had not started out as a good man.
In fact, he was once in the same shoes as Blood.
But Blood lacked what Slade had, and if he truly came across Siya where Slade had, Blood knew he would have struck gold. Quite literally.

Many times he had not been strong enough to take over Slade's body before the death of Siya, so many implantations of Slade seeing himself killing the modest alien, bringing a freshly sharpened vibrodagger right over that slender neck of hers until it showered him in a wealth of rubies and garnets.
All of that life, gone, spread over him, around him, around them. It would have been intimate, just that blissful moment of suffering.

But now that she was gone, Slade had nothing to hold onto, nothing but memories, those memories and voices being the only weapon he could torment his worser half, with.

"Slade held her burial on Tattoine. He gathered what he could of her corpse, and cremated it. The ashes were to lay beneath the heated sands in an intricate bottle that spells her name."

He paused, the words the Mandolorian Chieftan replaying in his head through a much more enchanting way. It snatched his attention from his own selfish mindset for once, as he branched out to say, "Strange a Sith finds love in the enemy- There's something irresistibly enticing about the way you worded your enamorment. I was not told to stay away from love, not even my own Master, Tormentous, restricted me from such 'nonsense' as other, narrow-minded Sith put it. But instead, he told me of it's power. We are a sect who drive our stake through hearts from the emotions we toil behind the blow; if love is what you draw immense strength from, it too serves a purpose. Tormentous understood this, and taught me of such a rule. But he also warned me of loss, and how that in itself can be your downfall."

Peering even more intensely where this man's eyes would lie, Blood murmured almost lovingly to this Mandolorian.

"It's almost inspirational to hear your complete journey through it, and even more awesome that you are so controlled in this leash of hers.... I almost want to try it, myself."

The Sithian hadn't said it in a disrespectful way; it was so natural for him to seem a bit unnerving in his mannerisms, though.

"Siya has nothing to say to me. If there is any words or emotions she passes, they belong to Slade. They have no place in my world unless they aim to please and stoke the flames of my power. But," he mimicked the finger the Chieftain held up. "if I ever lose control enough to where Slade returns, most immediately he will keep you updated to his contact with Siya, if he has any."

Putting his hand into a satin pocket, Blood pulled free the intricate bottle he spoke of, earlier. As pronounced, it was the ashes of Siya, and though not many were laid to rest within this bottle, this was what remained that Slade could muster after the explosion. The bottle was a pearlescent shine of amber and sun-hued mix, a sheen of passion made with a graceful ceramic that was lightweight and elegant. A white top was corked within the opening of the bottle, some driftwood and sand mixed with perfumed dyes and resin. 'Siya Nataliya' was scripted in a gorgeous cursive across the ceramic, painted over with shimmering ivory ink. It was befitting of her, and almost anyone would be fearful of breaking it by something as harmless as a glance.

Holding it in his hands as gently as a newborn, Blood looked down, reanalyzing the bottle as if he was seeing it for the first time, again. Sometimes, he wished he knew someone as meek as Siya. But thoughts like that lasted very limited in the Dragon Master's mind before it was shredded with every vile thing he could inflict to anyone who matched her description.

"Considering I hardly have intentions of setting Slade free any time soon, I find it might be fitting for you to have this. Your...culture seems to have a more fitting home for it than the tasteless sands of Tattoine."

Turning the bottle around with the ease of a wine dealer, he held the bottle out to the Mandolorian, almost crushing it in his desires to immediately rid himself of this onject. It may have seemed like a regular bottle, but from it radiated a Glowin the Force, and as minute as it was, it stank of her aura. Whimsical petals of sincerity and enjoyment fluttered about a breeze of appreciation and empathy, all concocted in it's own perfume of 'Good'. It took an immense amount of control from his own part to not have smashed it prior to this moment. But as he handed it in the direction of Colton, he briefly wondered...

What if this ash, this last remaining speck of Siya, was what would have brought Slade back to being sensible? Would it completely erase him? Or would it bring him to being a two-toned devil, a monster on a leash, as this ex-Sith before him was?
How would such a harmony like that work without sending him berserk?

[Colton Hunter]

He smiled just a bit, an amused thing, from beneath his helmet as he watched the man. Listened to him.

"You have never been subject to the rage of a Jedi then... no, there is no leash, I am free to do as I please... she is my council, my temperance. I listen because I respect her opinion..." he mused, as he withdrew the ashes of Siya... His heart sank a bit, but Blood had just armed him. His eyes fixated on the ashes... and Blood would feel the Force tighten about it, shielding it, protecting it... and yet... her essence was given free reign. He allowed it to flow forth, the familiar touch between them, in the Force... he began to weave a tapestry. Letting the energies flow over Colt, coupling with his energies... then flow back over Blood... weaving the energies of the Force...

A touch from Siya, a whisper... perhaps her giggle... he would focus on drawing it forth, altering the flow of it... she had never become strong, not as he had hoped... she had so many chances... And Null had taken it from her, and Slade had offered her another chance... and his past had caught up to her... He let Blood... no.. .he let Slade feel all of Siya's essence that remained... a reminder of what he lost, and what he was going to lose further... (Alter Flow).

"Her body is gone, but her spirit remains... there are others out there that could use your help, in her honor..." he said, "But what would she have wanted of you?" he asked. He stood then, focusing all of his energies into reaching out for Slade. Trying to reach him, bolster his strength... Tormentous was his Master, was he? Then this dual persona'd man was what he was looking for. He was the key to saving Adara Silver.

[Slade Xandir]

"If I would have felt that wrath from them, I would have congratulated them for growing a pair."

Blood snickered a bit at his crude laugh, just enough to apprehend his growing glee. Way too excited to be rid of that vial, and it was only just starting to bud. However as the Mandolorian took the bottle, it was clear he had more use for it than just hanging it atop a shelf. The Force made an graceful whisk over not only the bottle, but once reinforced by threads of Colton's own scent in the Unknown, it was passed almost blanket-like over Blood.

It made him sick.
But he realized it wasn't for him.

It was for Slade.

His brows furrowed as he looked to Colton, following the form of the standing Mandolorian who began weaving something else in his speech that made him nauseas. "Her body is gone, but her spirit remains... there are others out there that could use your help, in her honor..."

Blood felt his center grow hot as his own rivaling energies rose to prevent any lick of Light from reaching the fragmented crevices of his mind. Just as it began to form a Force Shield for him, raising barriers across the expanse of pathways in the halved mind, a musical lilt of voice played out, echoing deep in the recesses. It sounded so familiar, almost something he could put his finger on as a recognition-
And unintentionally, a shard of light peeked through the darkness.

"But what would she have wanted of you?"

The weight of the air felt almost torturous. He couldn't decide whether he wanted to risk hurting himself again in attempt of Waves of Darkness, but it was jousting against another familiar aura. His other half, Slade, had heard enough- that little voice, that golden little whisper that gave him immortal hope in the future for he and Siya.
But before his shaking hand could reach for that delicacy, Blood forced himself to stand, his body defensive, and his feet well grounded. The prison bars slammed back over the lost man, and his Force Shield had raised itself in a riveting sphere around the organ. There was no tricking this trickster, and he would not allow the coaxing of a truce between souls that were unrelated. This Mandolorian played his hand, and heat began to boil in Blood's veins as his control was contested.

"I appreciate your appreciation, Mr. Hunter," he hissed, that silken voice turning venomous. "But I believe our little tea party has finished, here."

He purposefully chose not to answer those questions, his fury at almost being swayed so easily from a 'kind' gesture akin to being stabbed in the back. Though it was a first, Blood did not approve of his own game being returned to him, nor did he like the taste of the very medicine that was under his own name. HE was who dealt the punch-drunk love songs to swoon the naïve, not the other way around. He was a Sith Lord. There was no honor in this deadly game he lived. There was only the legacy you forged in the amount or dominance you displayed. Honor was for the weak, for the mindless men such as Kroxata to be enamored by. Honor was a fantasy that tasted sweet, but ultimately led to your own downfall.
Your downfall from people who did not regard honor.
Your downfall from people like Lord Blood.

[Colton Hunter]

Colt's hand may have reached for the bottle, but he still hadn't taken it..

"I wasn't talking to you, Lord Blood," he said, and he pushed harder... this time throwing the physical essence of the Force into Blood. "Siya would be very disappointed in you if you let this monstrosity reign supreme... but she saw something in you... do you wish her last thoughts of you to be naïve foolishness? She cared for you! She trusted you! She knew you'd come, and you did, a bit late... but in her final moments, she knew you had come for her... so come for her now!" he called out, the Force lashing out, wrapping around him like a torrent of energy, and the tonfas sprung into his hands once more, the four blades humming loudly over the small expanse between them.

"This tea party is far from over, Blood... you of all people should respect trial by combat, yes? Dare you face my ire, while Slade battles from the inside?" he asked, and then he turned his hand, fingers pointing toward Blood... and he let loose a surprising torrent. This man who walked the razor's edge between light and dark showed what pieces of the dark he had clung to. As lightning crackled from his finger tips...

"He'd have you forget her, Slade... erase her from the memories of everyone who ever cared just to be rid of the strength she gives you.. but Blood is merely a tenant in your mind... evict him, cast him to the ether... the Force he wields is also yours... shatter his barriers, and cast him out..." he added, advancing.

((OOC: Well, if you'd like, after ten posts each, looks like we may have a battle here, primarily because Colt does have a tendency to try to save people, even Sith))

[Raphael Xandir]

Back aboard the Sith Infiltrator, Raphael casually wandered the halls awaiting his father’s return. They had landed on Jakelia not too long ago; a world the young acolyte was unfamiliar with. At this point he felt like he was never going to get acquainted with it either, as he had been feeling the dull sense of boredom take over him on the ship. Staying put on the Infiltrator was his primary assignment for this trip; Blood must of felt the situation to hazardous for the young man.

After pacing the Infiltrator back and forth, Raphael began to feel restless. Knowing his father, the acolyte was always prepared for situations were he had to defend himself. The two often found the biggest of creatures and strongest of enemies in their travels, Raphael wanted to be suited up if an instance like this popped up.

Suited in a set of bone-plated armor he had received from a magnificent Reel and two vibroswords crossed on his back, Raphael was prepared. Gazing upon his newly formed armor, he was saddened at the fact that it looked so dull. Without the scales of the serpent, it looked like any other suit of armor. That was for another time though, as he still had to complete the armor set.

Overtaken by the need to do something, Raphael quickly found himself in front of the Cathar Cyborg “Valkyr”. There was no attachment to this being as the cyborg simply had no feelings or emotion. Raphael mainly used him as a body to speak to most of the time. He poked and prodded at the mechanical side of the cyborg until his interest began to dull again.

The anxious teenager then moved down the lift to the lower level to inspect what was within the storage bays. Two 2-1B Medical droids stood firmly within one of the storage bays, nearly scaring Raphael to death after the door opened. He then moved to the second of the four storage bays to find out that his master had left behind his armor on this trip. This was a curious decision, as Lord Blood didn’t often have peaceful meetings.

“Glorious…” Raphael spoke quietly to himself as he inspected the set.

[Slade Xandir]

"Siya would be very disappointed in you if you let this monstrosity reign supreme... but she saw something in you... do you wish her last thoughts of you to be naïve foolishness? She cared for you! She trusted you! She knew you'd come, and you did, a bit late... but in her final moments, she knew you had come for her... so come for her now!"

His mind became something more or less animalistic as Colton rang that chorus of challenge to him. His weapons were not in his hands- but the bottle was.
And ceramic was easy to shatter.
His grip tightened on the intricate and beautiful holder, and smoke began to unfurl from heated hands.

"Do you know how long it takes to piece back together a shattered mirror, Mr. Colton?"

His baritones lost their honey, soured and slicked in molten venom.

"Long enough. But it takes longer to piece back together this bottle. Even longer to attempt pulling all of girl's ash from the floor of this despicable planet of yours."

'I paced around for hours on empty-
I jumped at the slightest of sounds.
And I couldn't stand the person inside me...
I turned all the mirrors around.'

The Sith Lord was fully prepared to walk from this planet with no sense of looking back. Colton hadn't realized he was attempting to invoke a side that was never returning to the light. Nor did he know how useless it was to try returning Slade to the bright of day. Slade was a slave to the sadistic Blood, and his return was waning with every use of the Force. Force Blood had no problem with displaying.

"If I face you unarmed and unarmored, there is no honor, Mandolorian," he growled at the man before him.

His finger simply tapped the top of his holowatch on the left wrist, and the screen lit up. The com to his ship was in sleep mode before it rang his voice throughout the Infiltrator. "Siarbras Wo, nesti nuyak leidimas." he spoke clearly in Sith to his watch.

From that second, Blood maintained a firm hold on the bottle. It was unfortunate Colton had not secured the bottle within his own possession- now Blood would be holding this Twi'lek's essence as hostage. His nerves were wired, all muscles coiled to react to any movements, adrenaline bleeding into his system, rapidizing his perception almost inhumanly fast. His mind was clear.

He was not to revert to Slade.
As a true adherent to Tormentous...
Your former life was gone.
And only alive was your allegiance to the Sith.

[Arruna Lom]

The journey to Jakelia had been fairly uneventful. It was of course an incredibly long journey, so the fact the she had Hanix and Colton to talk to made it relatively pleasant. Things had been going so well.

That was until the arrival to Jakelia.

Arruna had no idea if Colton had planned on meeting a Sith there, or not, but when she found out that there was indeed a Sith there, Arruna became incredibly nervous and started to pace back and forth. It had been quite a while since she had left the the Sith, and up until now with the exception of the bounty Hunter on Tattooine and the time she had first met the Blue Star Pirates she hadn't had enough courage to face them, so she had used her knowledge of stealth tactics to hide from them. It was imperative to avoid any confrontations with them in the Twi'Lek's mind to prevent herself from being entrapped by them and the darkness once more for the longest time, especially considering how she had that raging battle within.

And even now, she prayed desperately that Colt could take care of the Sith alone, because she still didn't think she was prepared to face them. Not yet. Though she might have found balance in her opinion, recently, Arruna was still fearful of that beast within being reawakened.

Colt might think otherwise, and she knew deep down she should trust his judgment, considering how many times the Mandalorian had been correct about things, but Arruna still wasn't convinced she was ready.

"Please let him be able to deal with the Sith, alone," Arruna whispered to her Protocol droid, Kira as she waited in nervousness as she continued to pace back and forth, quite on edge.

[Colton Hunter]

"There's no honor when dealing with Sith, just sacred duty in destroying them," he stated, "Beside, what Sith is ever to be considered unarmed..?" he asked. Colt had not been expecting the Sith until they had entered the atmosphere to be fair... but now that he had one before him, he'd give as good as he got... And to be fair, he wasn't known to give any Sith quarter. He launched himself forward, blades behind him to strike... but when he landed before Blood, it wasn't the tonfas that came for him... it was his foot... one leg lifting for a powerful, Force fueled kick, aimed at his chest. His essence was fighting against Blood's, as it held onto the bottle... and he felt that pulse within, smiling just a bit... if he broke it, her essence would then blanket Blood...

"Light, Dark, I don't care, ones path is their own, the only path that puts people in direct conflict with me, is when they've joined the weakening Sith," he added simply.

Inside the compound that was the Sorrel encampment, Sid, a jet black Zabrak with many a tattoo adorned on his face, his armor just as adorned, monitored the many screens that showed the battle outside. Sid was known as the main technician and engineer of Sorrel. Which was saying something, since Clan Sorrel's main skill, aside from battle, was technology. They were engineers and tinkerers.

"Relax girl, the only time I've heard of Colt losing to a Sith was that Tormentous sod, and even then, the time he lost to his brother, he turned right back around, came back, saved the Silver Knight, and took his brother's arm clean off," Sid added, "In a one on one fight, the Jensaari has it," he offered. So far, none had seemed to notice the second Sith aboard the ship...