Strike First, Strike Hard (Kita/Warv)

[Kell Sangros]

=Karza, Inside the Citadel of Warvanus=

Inside the citadel of the War-Bringer was an area, that by natural means had no business being there. When one stepped inside the room and the door slid shut, one could not tell that this was artificial, there was a floor but it gave way to ground, green grass and the pond in the center, had a round platform resting on the surface. Inside the large pond were fish of different species. Trees, and in some areas stones erected, they bore runes and symbols associated not with the Dark Side or the Sith but with Tera Kasi. Throughout this paradise was a wooden deck that would allow one to gain access to different parts of the terraformed oasis. In short this large area was a garden with a stream and a pond but it was also setup like a dojo. There was a small building off in the distance about half way across the area setup like a large gazebo, inside was mats, and a rack of all different kinds of melee weapons. In another area were punching bags, and in another an obstacle course. This was his Tera Kasi temple.

Warvanus sat in the platform in the pond, he wore a black uniform that was custom for Tera Kasi artists to wear, his black belt secured to him. It was sleeveless he sat with his legs crossed his hand sat in his lap. His other arm was missing part of his forearm as well as his hand. He was not meditating or communing with the Dark Side, not here in this place. He was awaiting the arrival of Tormentous’ newest apprentice with whom he had been charged to give her some martial training. It was the Emperor’s will and he would obey.

He had met her briefly and to his eyes she was very malnourished, no doubt from the time she spent at the Spire. So the first part of training would be to eat a good size meal to get her nourishment. That was always the first and last thing she would do while under his supervision. The Emperor valued her for what purpose he did not know but the Emperor’s will was his own will. Of course once she was ready she would arrive and they would begin. Anybody who came across his halls would get training in martial skills so if they could not rely on the Force they were not helpless. Off in the distance his apprentice Kinta Vetasa was in the gazebo sparring with a trio of training droids. She had learned her lessons well, but she had been military in her past life and so for her they came naturally.

Here he would teach hand to hand, and weapons training along with physical conditioning. It would be hard but an apprentice of the Force needed to be in shape and nourished, even the Jedi agreed with this and so he waited for the newest being chosen by the Emperor to arrive.

[Kita_Ikari]

Without so much as caring to announce her arrival, the young woman slid open the paper screen door and walked in, gently closing it behind her. "Wow..." She whispered as her bright blue eyes took in the indoor training ground. Walking in, she stopped briefly to view the fish that swam in the pond. Elegant, beautiful, and quiet. In other words...relaxing.

Her gaze averted to Warvanus as he sat near the pond. She turned and approached him quietly. Not hours ago had Tormentous told her after some force training to be seen by his right hand. Kita recognized him in a instant. She wasn't so sure whether to be happy at seeing a familiar face from the battle on Vorpa'ya...or annoyed. This guy was unresponsive mostly as she tried to greet herself the first time. Crossing her arms, she smiled slightly at him. "So...surprised to see me?" She mocked. Her first words to him in a year, and of course it was a smartass remark. "Seriously though. Long time no see." She said calmly. "I suppose...Lord Tormentous..." His name rolling off her tounge was strange as she paused briefly still registering the name he told her to use it when addressing him. "...wanted you to train me?"

Glancing over at the rack of weapons, Kita tried seeing if perhaps there was a staff of sorts among them. As much as she didn't mind trying new weapons, she still loved the feeling of a staff in her grasp. It was familiar. Safe. Not that she wasn't adventurous to trying new things...but she did love having the advantage in something considering she was untrained in everything else among a house of sith.

[Kell Sangros]

Warvanus did not need the Force to know that Kita had arrived, she was not noisy but Warvanus could hear her enter. His back was to her, and he was not one to sit idle. He got to his feet without disturbing the balance of the platform he was sitting on , a short jump had him back on solid ground.

"So...surprised to see me?" she was goading him, he remembered this young woman from about a year ago who went missing on the same mission that he had. She would notice that his right hand and part of the forearm were missing. But otherwise he was unchanged. Well maybe not entirely true, he rarely did not wear his armor. Here he was in a GI. He took a couple steps towards her as she spoke again.

“Seriously though. Long time no see. I suppose...Lord Tormentous...wanted you to train me?" Her tone was calm. He stopped just a few steps shy of being in her personal space before he spoke. But his first words were not to answer her question. No Warvanus, right now was a Sensei, a Teacher and that was a different gear shift for the War-Bringer especially since this was the Emperor’s new hand picked apprentice. His job was to equip her with skills and get her to peak physical conditioning and he would do just that.

“Did you get enough to eat?” he asked with genuine concern then he continued after she answered “Yes our Emperor in his perfect will has decreed you come to me for training. He has deemed it his will that he be the one who would train you in the ways of the Force, sometimes I will step in and help where I can, but I am to train you in martial skills, such as Teras Kasi, Weapons, Tactics, Physical Conditioning and Survival Training, all the skills you can rely on in the rare instance the Force is blind to you” Briefly his memory flashed to that settlement on Tatooine where he began his Teras Kasi training. The Physical conditioning would benefit her when training under the Emperor as well as his bloody right hand.

He,in a rare moment of explanation addressed her snarky remark, it was matter of fact. “I must apologize for before, I had to be sure you were not a mole planted by Blood. I took an opportunity of rescuing our Emperor Darth Tormentous and by doing so would have had my life as forfeit for defying the then Emperor. I had to be sure that Tormentous was protected, Tormentous was blind to the Force and it was my sole duty at that time was to keep him alive until a time as when he could touch the Force again. What’s different now Kita” He looked her in the eyes “Is You are his chosen apprentice now and as such you study at the feet of the Emperor himself which in itself within the Sith is considered a great honor, by being the Emperor’s apprentice you are set apart from the other apprentices in the Sith, you are a tier above them. Much like I was his when I came to the Sith, and Blood before me, so as his chosen apprentice we are on the same side, as long as you remain in the Emperor’s good graces.” He gave her a couple of minutes to process all that. Then continued “When we last met I was a rogue Sith Lord, now I am the Emperor’s hand much like the High Priest Silas Karn, we are his hands. I speak for the Emperor, and I carry out his will. I am his enforcer, I am his General.” He told her all this not to brag, but for to understand the hierarchy and to show what she could aspire to if she took her studies with a serious mind.

He circled her now as if evaluating her on where they would begin. “We will start with physical conditioning I think, but before we begin do you have any questions?” He was now standing in front of her.

[Kita_Ikari]

She watched as Warvanus got up from his seat and faced her. "Did I you get enough to eat?" His concern threw her off. Last time she had seen him he didn't seem much to care. She looked at him confused and also not that surprised considering how much weight she had lost. "Well...I...I am eating. So yes. I'm fine. I ate not long ago on the ship here." She replied. Although that was hours ago.

Kita tilted her head slightly, hands clasped behind her back as she listened to him. She smiled at the thought of partaking in some martial arts training and other battle techniques. It was already something she had been interested in from the beginning of her adventure. And she enjoyed training with Tormentous aka Jacobi back on Zoist...minus the almost dying of the bitter cold part. So knowing she would get in on some action was exciting. Kita nodded in response. "Some ive already done with Tormentous back on Zoist...Survival and battle training."

There were alot of surprises today as Warvanus explained his cold behavior back on the day of the war. Hearing he was suspicious of her being a mole or wanting to harm Jacobi wasn't so crazy now that she knew the fact Tormentous was in danger from blood and undercover at the time of meeting her. "Your forgiven. Although if you just talked to me in the first place you would have known I wasn't any threat to Tormentous. Just the opposite. Also, I'm still adjusting to the fact I had been training under Tormentous before he got his place back on the throne." He continued.

"What’s different now Kita, is you are his chosen apprentice now and as such you study at the feet of the Emperor himself which in itself within the Sith is considered a great honor, by being the Emperor’s apprentice you are set apart from the other apprentices in the Sith, you are a tier above them. Much like I was his when I came to the Sith, and Blood before me, so as his chosen apprentice we are on the same side, as long as you remain in the Emperor’s good graces.”

Kita couldn't believe Blood had been trained under Tormentous. Warvanus she understood. But Blood? "I'm actually kind of happy studying under Tormentous as his apprentice...but I'm surprised Blood tried killing Lord Tormentous at all...i mean if he was his apprentice...you think he would have just...i don't know. Leave him alone?" Obviously Kita didn't understand fully the ways of the sith. The fact one sith was always trying to kill another never occured to her. She frowned at the mention of Blood's name.

"And..as for Blood...i don't much like him. No offense. Just after what I went through in the spire under his rule...im not to happy with him right now. Being trapped in the spire really slowed down my training. And ive now got multiple scars from the inflictions put on me in that wretched place." She added bitterly while not caring to show them. The only visible scars currently were on her wrist while the rest were hidden well underneath her attire, and she didn't like talking about what went on during that year.

As he continued, Kita got more explanation onto what his role was. “When we last met I was a rogue Sith Lord, now I am the Emperor’s hand much like the High Priest Silas Karn, we are his hands. I speak for the Emperor, and I carry out his will. I am his enforcer, I am his General.”

"Wow. That's alot of responsibility to carry." Kita knew there was alot for her to learn. And alot of customs as well as dedication put into the teachings alone.

She watched cautiously as he circled her like a shark within the depths of the ocean preparing to capture its prey. “We will start with physical conditioning I think, but before we begin do you have any questions?”

Kita glanced down seeing the stump on Warvanus arm as he stood before her. She couldn't help but wonder how he managed to lose his hand. "If you don't mind me asking...didn't you have 2 hands the last time I saw you?" Her voice was filled with curiosity. She did think she remembered him with two hands as he jumped out of the aircraft skydiving onto the planet Vorpa'ya. She remembered taking the leap with him, Tormentous, Kress, and others whom she didn't really remember at the moment.

[Kell Sangros]

Warvanus circled her once again and listened as she spoke , he listened as he circled her, he was still evaluating her and stopped as she asked about his hand at which he once again stood in front of her. She was hungry for knowledge, and she had much to learn, and in time she would. Some lessons through instruction, some from doing. Some lessons she would fail at first. Failure was the best teacher.

First he addressed the apprenticeships “Our Lord Emperor, trained both Blood and myself at different times, in the Sith of Old, it was a right of passage for the apprentice to challenge the Master for supremacy it is our way. If the apprentice proved the victor then the apprentice would become the Master, and their master would die. If the Master won then the apprentice was not worthy. Now of course the loss of a Sith hurts us as a whole.” He paused as he was choosing his next words “The way Blood turned on Tormentous was considered dishonorable and weak. Blood employed an agreement with both the Imperials and the Jedi GrandMaster. It should have been Master vs. Apprentice and only them, While not against the Sith what Blood did was despicable among warriors” he paused again as he made this admission

“My one great regret was I was on the wrong side of that awful affair” He wondered if she knew this already “I was left to die on Korriban under rubble after a wall collapsed on top of me, nobody sought me out , except my own apprentice” He motioned to another part of the room where the young woman was still engaged in a spar with multiple training droids. “When I was back to health I reflected on my mistake, and I began a pilgimage to study the cultures of War, it was on this that I discovered where Tormentous had been taken. I made a choice, I had to right the wrong I did and so I rescued our Emperor from the Jedi Grand Master, it was then that I pledged to my Emperor that I would not rest until what was rightfully his was restored to him, Blood tried to rule in seclusiion, making alliances, treaties at least at first then there was nothing, The Sith began to erode from within, The High Priest had been cast out , so much infighting, we were at our weakest under his rule, the Sith rule by Might, they conquer, they take what they please” He then stopped with his telling as he realized he rambled on but he continued on nonetheless.

“I am aware of your training with our Emperor, one never stops learning, not even the Masters the fact you have had some will be a boon to you”

He folded his arms “When you come here and before you leave you are to eat I want you nourished, you will need your strength for the training that both I and the Emperor will impart upon you, the kitchens will prepare anything you desire”

Next he addressed his hand, he held the stump up as if examining It for the first time “Oh this? I woke up one morning and it just fell off” in a certain point of view this could be truth. He did wake up that morning and it had fallen off. “This” he held up the stump “was the price I paid to the Dark Side for unlocking a long lost secret” then added “I have been spending more time here acclimating myself to using my good hand for swordplay”

He then motioned for her to follow him and as they walked he spoke again “I do not think anybody likes Blood right now, but Blood has his uses” He remembered their early rivalry early in his apprenticeship spawned from jealousy because he had the Emperor’s attention, only now Kita was in his former role and he was in Blood’s. The only difference was Warvanus was a Master in his own right and he saw the currents of destiny swirl around this young woman. To indulge in petty jealousy was beneath him, and a disservice to her, it was his duty to help her realize her potential and as the Emperor’s hand he would do just that.

He then stopped at what looked like an obstacle course, an area devoted to walls to climb, hurtles to jump, all manner of obstacles that would help with conditioning anyone. “You will start by running this course, this course has many levels of difficulty and as you master each one we will turn it up a notch. Do you understand?” When she did, he stepped to the side, “Begin”

He then watched as she would attempt to negotiate the first level of the obstacle course,of course they would not use all their time to this but in the beginning it would be a big part of it. Kinta Vetasa walked up behind Warvanus to observe as well. Both waiting to see how the Emperor’s chosen would do

[Kita_Ikari]

Kita listened quietly as Warvanus explained the history of the sith and the battle between a
Master and their apprentice throughout history. She kept a straight face, but inside she was falling into a pit of despair. Killing your Master to become the Master? It seemed barbaric to this innocent girl. "Does that mean...i have to kill Tormentous to become a Sith Master??" She thought. Kita couldn't even imagine herself striking him down. Much less...dead at all. The thought alone was to devastating in its own right. A life without Jacobi/Tormentous by her side? In a bizarre way it seemed...wrong. Not by morals as much since he was already evil...but just heartbreaking to her. She couldn't, no...WOULDN'T kill Jacobi.

"So...by trying to kill Lord Tormentous with a group of other people...that kind of death unless it was a one on one is considered dishonorable?" She let him answer before continuing her thoughts. "That is...I mean...i understand the reason...but also...i think its a little extreme..." Her voice trailed off as she looked away. She didn't want to sound like she disagreed with that fact. It made sense after all...however in a twisted way.

Once Warvanus started his story, Kita looked up, attention fully intent on him. His story of saving Tormentous from the Jedi really blew her mind. "Isn't that almost impossible though? Breaking into a place secured with Jedi?" She awaited his answer and then let him move on to how he knew about her previous training already. Well of course he would know that if he was Tormentous right hand.

Hearing his command at her needing to eat before and after training seemed to slightly annoye
her. Kita didn't like being told what to do...however she kind of gave that up once agreeing to become fully Tormentous apprentice. She just nodded in response and kept quiet. None of this was a bad thing. She knew she needed weight back on her...and knowing that they could cook whatever she wanted seemed pretty enticing. "Ok."

Kita's mouth dropped. "Fell...off???" The words tumbled out if her mouth slowly in shock. She could easily imagine his hand just falling off onto the ground like a apple falling from a tree. She closed her mouth quickly as the comment of the dark side came to mind. "What long lost secret?" She was curious at that bit of information. After he answered her she followed along with him as he brought up Blood.

“I do not think anybody likes Blood right now, but Blood has his uses”

A smirk crossed her soft features. A smartass remark crossing her mind. "Yea...as a pair of leather scaled boots maybe." She laughed.

Once reaching the obstacle course, she listened and nodded in understanding of what she was to do. Not long after he finished, had Kita took off just starting to jump a few first hurdles. She was already tired from her earlier force session. But refused to lag behind. "You have been through worse." She muttered as she had shifted her weight along a long line monkey bars. Not having much strength right now due to lack of muscle mass, she struggled just getting from one to the next. Then again, she never had strong arms to begin with. Thats why she depended on her leg strength in battle mostly and preferred vaulting or using a staff over her own arms and fist. She tried making up for her weak points in physical strength with smarts and agility.

[Kell Sangros]

He did not pick up on her thought on Sith Traditions but he addressed it regardless “In the Sith, the Strong rule, it is an old tradition, now we need every Sith Lord and Apprentice we have, I have no intentions of trying to strike our Emperor down, he has earned the right to rule. It might be barbaric but that is what separates the Sith from the Jedi, well that and the fact we are stronger than they are. The Emperor values every subject who can use the Force which is why you are here” He referred to being trained not because of why she was here. “Either way, we all need each other as being a Sith marks you for death by our enemies”

He paused

“It is not dishonorable, most Sith don’t go by a code of honor” his thoughts turned to the old Zabrack the one called Kroxota he continued his thought “It is however considered an act of weakness at least in my eyes”

They were at the obstacle course now “I know it sounds demanding but you are mal-nurished, you need to put mass back on your frame if you are to not only survive training but excel at it. Don’t treat it like a command, I want you to enjoy the hospitality I offer. You would be surprised on how a full meal will make you feel better” He did not look at her when he spoke as he was examining the course. He would answer the rest of the questions after she ran it, he had to get an idea on a starting point.

He watched her as she negociated it, this was level 1 and she appeared to be struggling, they had alot of work ahead of them. When she had completed the course…

“The ability I uncovered had been one that was lost through the ages, a Dark Jedi by the name of Saris was the last recorded practitioner of it. The power I speak of Is I have the power to kill just by looking at them, but when I did it, my hand and half of my forearm disintegrated right before my eyes” He would not mention about the fact he made the dumb-ass move of looking at his hand after he had performed it with success. Nor would he mention how much it took out of him to perform this power.

At the comment of Blood he chuckled but would not comment further.

“Now” he said turning fully to face her “We will spend time working this course, also will do weight training. But it will not all be weight training, I will show you skills on how to fight better, When I am done with you, you will be a force to reckon with, when I am done with you, you will be a War Machine, a Master of weapons” He motioned to the woman behind him “This is my apprentice, Lord Kinta Vetasa, she will be training with you at times as well. She was a sniper in my special forces unit before I discovered her affinity with the Force.”

He then started to walk, to a far area within the oasis, where there was weights, and weight training equipment. “In the beginning you will be doing more PT than training, we need to get you strong and fit and of course once that happens itll be more training then PT, here and the obstacle course you will be spending alot of time working”

“I have also had a room prepared for you, for when you are here it will be your room, I hope you will find it adequate” He tried to think of anything else that needed to be addressed but could not think of anything.

He looked at her “When you have your evening meal I will tell you how I sprung our Emperor from Jedi bondage” Warvanus did not warm up to many people but this new apprentice of his Emperor’s was one of the few.

[Kita_Ikari]

"Enemies..." The thought echoed through her mind. "Well your working for the Sith now. What do you expect? A warm welcome as you walk down a city street? The heart is treacherous...and yet you follow it for the most hated villian in the galaxy." Her conscious scolded her. Kita deep down felt A sense of guilt on the that thought. But she felt compelled to stay by Tormentoua side.

She understood why he said for him it was a sign of weakness.

Before she ran the course, Kita thought on something when it came to the food. "Ok but...I can only eat certain things..." She was quiet a moment before explaining. "I lost a few teeth in the spire..." Subconsciously she felt with her tounge the smooth empty gaps where a few of her teeth once were. Having been in the spire, she had lost some teeth during a torture session upon arrival in the hellish prison. "Needless to say, I don't like talking about what happened that much...but let's just say that was unfortunately one thing to happen to me in that prison."

Kita had made it to the end of the obstacle course...however...not without falling and or tripping through every section of it. She wasn't happy. She had fallen off the monkey bars towards the end of the course tripped over a couple of hurdles in the 1st and 4th section, as well as whacking herself in the face as she fell into a tire while hopping the trail. "Sorry." She seemed to be dragging her feet a bit as she tiredly walked over to Warvanus, a grumpy seeming look on her face. "Just not easy for me right now working the course. Haven't had much sleep since i left the spire."

Once again Kita was surprised by the forces power. "Well...remind me not to get you mad at me then." She half joked.

It was reasonable to suggest weight training since that is what she really needed the most at the moment. That and working the obstacle course. She smiled and waved at Kinta before looking back at Warvanus. "I'm fine with that."

Following behind the two Siths, they soon came to the weight lifting station. "Physical Therapy? Am i really that bad off??" She folded her arms hugging herself worriedly. "Maybe i am in a worse condition then I originally thoughy.
She let Warv answer before hearing she would staying here in her own room while training. "Sounds good. Would be nice to have my own space."

Kita smiled. "I would be more then happy to hear how you got Tormentoua out."

[Kell Sangros]

Two Weeks Later


It was a marvel of a difference what two weeks made, since Kita came to the War-Bringer’s citadel she had been giving it her all in her conditioning and her training. Worlds apart from the first visit. She kept to her routine, she was gaining mass she no longer looked malnourished and the results were obvious. She navigated the easiest level of the obstacle course and he felt she was ready for level 2. He was chipping away the unneeded pieces as if a sculptor creating a masterpiece. He had began basic techniques , kicks, punches, stance. When not training they would share a meal together where Warvanus would educate her on the culture of the Sith Empire and some of it’s history. By doing this he felt it would benefit her when training with the Emperor.

Warvanus was in the Oasis as he called it, sparring with a droid while he waited for Kita to arrive. Despite losing a hand and part of his forearm he had not lost any of his ability. Teras Kasi came as naturally to him as calling on the Dark Side of the Force. It was another part of him. When he was not overseeing Kita’s training he had been working on a new armor design. It included a prosthetic hand, he was still designing the suit but soon he would give it to his artisans and they would bring the design to life.

When Kita entered the Oasis Warvanus ceased his spar and went for a towel to dab the sweat from his face. He turned to face her as she approached. He said nothing. She had appeared to change so much in the last two weeks. She appeared to walk with confidence or maybe she just faked it better now. If he had to guess he would guess the former not the latter. He was garbed in his Gi, in truth Warvanus enjoyed the training, it was an opportunity to not only serve his Emperor in this fashion but it was a chance for him to commune with this part of him. For so long he had no idea how he had these skills. Back when his mind was fractured. Another lifetime ago…

When she got close Warvanus spoke “Welcome back Kita, are you ready?”

[Kita_Ikari]

Already have entered the training room, she was quick to notice Warvanus turning her way, awaiting for her so they could get started. She had been quite happy the last 2 weeks during her sessions. It wasn't easy at first. She had indeed been struggling through the training course that first week. But quickly it got better as she began properly eating and gaining muscle again on her one extremely slender frame. She still had some more body weight to gain back...but she now appeared much healthier then when she first arrived, and she was ready to conquer whatever Warvanus threw at her today.

“Welcome back Kita, are you ready?”
She smirked and nodded, placing her right hand on her hip. "As ready as I'll ever be." She stated seriously. Kita was definitely more confident in herself since joining the sith...however it went unnoticed to her. All she could think about was continuing her training as the days went on.