SithLore

***Prakith System, Deep Core, Grid Coordinates K-10***

***Citadel Inquisitorius***

"No Captain", the aging Commodore Ludolfus reassured with a subtle growl, "I do not have issue with your sudden arrival. I would have much appreciated a memo as to why you've come bearing half a transport's worth of load-lifters!". "My sincerest apologies, Sir", Vassyl offered back, visibly confused by this somewhat irregular outburst from a man known for always being wound a little too tightly, "Considering I was lacking any Sith artifacts or crazed warriors, I thought my small addition did not need an introduction". "Any addition you bring only leads to more grief for me, Vassyl", the Commodore lamented more from nerves than anger, "And this day has already been a hassle enough as it is! What with the new prisoner and all...".

"New prisoner?", Doren pressed, not missing the probing beat of Ludolfus quivering voice, "Have they been identified?". "Not yet", the Commodore grumbled dejectedly, "But Mister Caesar is debriefing Inquisitor Prazutis as we speak". "Who is keeping watch?", Vassyl inquired with a raised eyebrow. This was the first real captive the Inquisitorius had produced in its brief two-year tenure. While the hulking sentinel droids that stalked the citadel's halls were easily a force to be reckoned with, both the Commodore and the Captain were not want to take chances on this particular avenue. "Inquisitor Rahmma is with them now", Ludolfus confided in a hoarse whisper, "I don't think he's left his post since their arrival". "Well", Doren announced, striding past the nominal leader of the program, "We'd best not keep them waiting, eh?".

***

Dojhai Rahmma's fur still had yet to settle after Ahron was initially deposited into one of the security corridor's premier cells. The gleaming golden swirls about the feline's irises practically shone with disdain at the Inquisitor kept watch over the sedated reptile. Though there were some cultural exceptions, by and large, the Srrors'tok did not abide by reptiles, especially one such as this. Dojhai had little difficulty detecting the psionic turmoil churning within the scaly interloper, and needless to say, he was not put at ease. Though the younger agent of the Empire had yet to construct a lightweapon as his superiors had before him, his stunbaton would do well to dissuade any moves to escape- as would his claws and fangs, sharpened on the weekly to maintain their killing edge.

Ahron stood at the bars of her cell, a look of... Confusion plastered across her face. She was in a cell. A prison cell to be specific. Why was she in a cell? Did the Inquisitors suddenly decide she was dangerous? Had she offended the emperor somehow? Perhaps she was just too pretty to be seen in public! All of these, to her drug-addled mind, was entirely possible! Who knew! Only the force did, and it was making her life miserable at the current moment, so she doubted she would get any answers from it any time soon.

So, she stood at the bars, idly looking around, swaying back and forth as she examined her guard with a lazy gaze. Back... Then forth... Then back... Then forth. The motions were slow and methodical, unintentionally so, but none the less so. One one of her back sways, she went just a tad to far and stumbled, catching herself with her feet and simply taking a few quick steps to regain her balance before giggling. "Well that was fun..." She cooed with a slow glee, walking back over to the bars and clutching them, pressing her muzzle through them and looking over the guard again.

"You know... I find it a little strange," She said, looking around the security cell. "I was willingly brought here... To be trained in how to control the force..." Ahron explained, her voice airy and light. Unfocused. "And now I am in a prison cell. Given I remember this trip, getting on the shuttle, being drugged, getting off the shuttle, and inevitably being led here," She sighed, giving the guard the best sidelong look she could manage with her muzzle between bars, "I can't help to wonder. Why am I in a prison cell? Would a bacta tank, or a bed not be a better place for me?" She asked.

Admittedly, she wasn't a force easily reckoned with physically either. She too had claws and teeth and talons. Large ones, in fact. It was not a long stretch to think meat was commonly on the menu for this woman given how aggressively built she was. "If it were the fact I'm channelling the force at a personally unprecedented rate, I feel I would be stuck somewhere a little more... Force User unfriendly?" She added, Allowing her body to fall backwards, catching herself with her arms and swaying back and forth on the bars. "I mean... I can only assume it's a force user they left to watch over me. Another inquisitor perhaps? Maybe once we get this misunderstanding sorted, I will be standing with you, staring at the next drugged up lady lizard force user that happens to wind up in this cell?"

Prazutis had been making his way towards Vassyl already when Caesar had approached him.

"Inquisitor... who is this prisoner that you have brought us?"

Prazutis looked at his ally for a moment, confused before he realized who the man was talking about.

"Oh, for hutt's sake... she's not a prisoner, she's a recruit." Prazutis spoke before walking towards the prison sector, getting more frustrated by the minute, both with this girl and now by the misunderstanding of the imperials to lock her up. Though, he knew the blame for this also fell on himself for sedating her the way he did. It was a split second decision that now created a giant headache... if he could feel pain, that was...

Prazutis made his way towards the prison sector, seeing the inquisitor on guard of the girl. He waited for their reaction of his presence nearing, already knowing and expecting the same hostilities from all the force adepts for his place within the dark side, rather than the inquisitorious' dedication to neutrality in the force.

Even so, he needed to clear this up with the inquisitors before she takes this as them trying to contain her and wishes to leave the Empire entirely.

"Normally you would have a point, Inquisitor", Vassyl mused at Prazutis, the rhythmic squeak of his boots subtly announcing his presence, "But if memory serves, you were out on assignment when you met this asset, and we must take care with procedure when repatriating an individual back to Imperial Space". Doren paused to glance over at Ahron, noting her phenotypic traits and the sluggish aspect of her movements. It was no great deductive leap to see she had been medicated heavily. All the better, the Captain thought, given the nature of their journey. "The woman makes no attempts to escape", Dojhai commented coldly, "But while Prazutis may trussst her- I do not!". With a snarl, the Srrors'tok's whiskers bristled and stood on end, his gaze still unflinching on the reptile that lay before him.

So intense was the feline warrior's focus that he had scarcely noticed Prazutis' approach. Still, one of Doren's infamous visits never failed to garner attention, and the semi-rare utterances of the Captain's level voice had pricked the hunter's ears almost immediately. Of course, Vassyl was not the lead officer of the program, but his name passed around frequently as the overseer of expansions and experimental supplements to the division. Likewise, it had been Doren's own initiative that had dragged the Inquisitorius out of its state of dormancy, and Vassyl himself had spearheaded the search for the first wave of recruits- Mister Rahmma included. "I'm sure our guest won't be going anywhere, or trying anything", Doren reassured, "Still, with a little conversation we might at least afford them a more comfortable stay".

Straightening up some, the young Jaeman turned to face the gray-scaled lady head on, and cordially began, "It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Madame. I am Captain Doren Vassyl. It is due in part to my policies that you find yourself in these lackluster surroundings, and I apologize for any minor discomfort the situation has afforded you". A frown began to form on the naval officer's countenance, and his previously friendly air weakened some into a serious pitch, "However, the Core is no place to be caught idling. We are at war, and certain observances must be made for the purposes of keeping our borders secure". Taking another moment to center himself, a lightness reappeared across the young man's features, as he concluded, "Still, if you speak honestly, there should be no issue. Please, start at the beginning, Miss-".

Ahron seemed unperturbed by anything that was happening in the room. If anything, she watched with a strange sense of curiosity as the conversation carried on, the Captain walking over to her. Her gaze into his eyes was unwavering and intense, the grey reptilian eyes seemingly obsessed with the single point in space that his eyes occupied and nothing more. If her looks were lasers, he would certainly be dead right now.

Thankfully they weren't.

She looked over the alien. Would he be an alien actually? The thought rolled through her head for what seemed like an eternity. She was an alien to him... But he was very much so the alien right now. Did the world operate from a single point of perspective? Was she just a side character in some grander story? Or perhaps one of those nameless background characters no one ever found out about or even cared to do so? The existential crisis continued as the Captain asked his question.

"The... Beginning?" Ahron asked slowly, her face screwing up a little in pain. "That is a long... Long time ago... The universe was created in the beginning, but is that really the beginning?" She asked, pulling herself back up to the bars and sticking her muzzle through. "How much further back could a being go? Can the force go further back? Would this imply a limitation to it's power?" She asked, stopping herself and still looking concerned in a moment of internal reflection. "Question for another day..." She sighed, looking back up and Doren.

"New question," She said, her gaze growing more intense. They were likely only a few inches apart at this point. Her muzzle opened slightly. Then her tongue flicked out across the captain's nose, and retreated back into her muzzle, her gaze unbroken. The tongue was dry and cool, so it at least didn't leave any unfortunate or unpleasant residue. "Huh... I guess humans do taste like Wookie... I never thought I would get the answer to that question..." She sighed softly, her eyes flickering for the first moment.

"I am Ahron Rol. Where I come from is, unimportant. Not that I don't think you shouldn't care, but more... I really don't think you would," She said, looking down. "Really my life is quite droll. I don't remember my parents, I never really had anyone to rely on, and I am only aware of the force because it helped me survive... Until it started trying to kill me itself," She said, looking back at him with a lazy smile. "And then I met Prazutis, and everything was fine! He said he would take me somewhere to learn how to use the force. I didn't trust him. Still don't really... Something is off with him, makes me feel funny on the inside," She giggled, flowing into a long laughing gasp as she leaned back, once again hanging off the bars. "And then he drugged me, I fell off the ship, and now I'm here! Talking to you! Isn't that just amazing?" She smiled, gleefully at him, the expression tainted by the rows of teeth that filled her mouth.

Prazutis gave an audible sigh as he watched the train wreck of an encounter. She gave the gist of what has happened so far, but Prazutis thought perhaps it would be better for someone in their right mind to give the explanation.

“If I may, Captain, I found her on Coruscant after feeling a strange disturbance in the force. Once I had found her, it seemed that her senses were too much for her. Her mind is trying to take in all of the information from her senses at once without prejudice. And this, I had to sedate her to prevent her mind from overwhelming itself.”

This, mixed with what she had said about Prazutis taking her to teach her about the force, was mostly the entire story up to this point, Prazutis thought to himself. He just hoped her current dazed state wouldn’t push the captain to turn her away.

“My apologies on her behalf for her behavior. She isn’t in her right mind, obviously.”

Vassyl very nearly leapt straight out of his boots as the lizardlike ward smattered her tongue across his person. Nonetheless, after retreating back several inches, Doren made no moves to interrupt the bizarre, disjointed narrative. While her speech was slurred and her recollection was questionable, there did not appear to be any overwhelming malice reverberating from Ahron's voice. Though her sanity was still a matter of debate, the vibe she presented struck the Captain as relatively genuine, even honest. This gut-feeling was further bolstered by Prazutis' sudden appeal, in spite of the Dojhai's primal repartee. "Apology accepted, Inquisitor", Vassyl confirmed with a wave of his hand, "I dare say, given the poor woman's state of affairs, you've earned a few points for near-humanitarianism".

Clasping both hands behind his back, Doren's focus shifted to the masked Zabrak, and began to outline his thoughts, "If she is naturally-gifted, as you say, and amenable to serving the Empire, I am willing to entertain the notion of adding Miss Rohl to our roster". Inquisitor Rahmma was visibly blind-sided by this declaration, but did little more than mutter a few curses in his native tongue- a gesture which Vassyl has all too happy to ignore. "As this recruitment was your prerogative", Doren continued, "It seems only fitting that you yourself oversee her basic training". "However", the Captain scowled, shooting an accusatory finger out his go-to Force Adept, "I caution you to remove any Sith devilry from your curriculum. Miss Rohl is to be instructed in core concepts only".

"Your liberal methods put the program in enough hot water as it is", Doren warned, "And I am barely allowed one deviant inquisitor. Such being the case, unless you intend for your upcoming student to serve as your replacement, I trust you play things by the book!". Vassyl's tone had become void of its subtle, usual warmth. The Captain was not playing around, and the seriousness of his dull brown eyes added further weight to this ultimatum. Prazutis was bold, but loyal. Doren was not particularly worried that his Force-Wielding Frontrunner would disobey this command, yet he felt it imperative to make his point known. "I should be getting back to offloading the new equipment", Vassyl concluded at last, "Unless you have anything else to add, Inquisitor?".

Prazutis put his hands behind his back as well, grasping his wrist with his other hand as he quietly listened to the words of the Captain.

"Of course, Captain. She will do as I say, not as I do."

Prazutis didn't retreat in the words of his superior, not worried about his teaching methods. He may have chosen his path, but he knew the ways of both sides of the force. His time as a Sith, and as somewhat a Jedi, he understood how to keep within the balance, which was what the Empire wanted for their inquisitors.

"I only ask that my methods are not labeled 'Sith' from here on. Although I take note from former Lords and I choose to walk the path of the dark, i am no Sith."

Prazutis kept his gaze on the Captain as he continued,

"With all due respect, captain, I abide by my own method of completing my objective. I have no complaints over the methods of others, whether it be yourself or other inquisitors, as long as our objective is completed. I ask that you see me the same way. However, I understand that our superiors do not share this perspective."

Prazutis looked back on the girl, and while he knew she could hear him, he paid no mind to her attention as he stood a few feet from the cells.

"I will teach her how to walk the line of balance, just as most all other Inquisitors do."

Ahron stood at the bars listening to everyone speak. Apparently she was going to be trained! This was good! This would mean she would get opportunities! To learn! The force! This was the most important thing ever!

And then the new most important thing ever struck her. She, was cold! She leaned back up to the bars, looking at everyone carefully. "Uh... Can I have a blanket? Or a hug? It's kinda cold in here and I'm not really a fan of the cold..." She said slipping her arms through the bars hopefully. "I promise I don't bite! I usually only eat things that are dead."

“That much is fair, Inquisitor”, Doren conceded, tipping his hat forward some in a slight nod, “Sith you most certainly are not: I shall make sure not to perpetuate any further slander out of respect for your continued commitment to the program, as well as your service record”. Vassyl moved to face the less-than-lucid lizard once more, but paused for a moment, and shot a cheeky grin back at Prazutis, “Although, I would be extremely interested to hear what sort of critique you might have of my ‘methods’. Perhaps at another time, when our work provides a measure of respite”. With that, the Captain turned about to look upon the sorry creature once more, and stood in meditation, migrating a gloved fist upward until it came to rest under his bearded chin.

“Of course, there is little reason to keep Miss Rol confined in this manner any longer”, Vassyl began again, motioning for Prazutis to do the honors of releasing his guest, “And, while it only seems sporting to make sure she is kept at arm's length from Mister Rahmma, we should have a room cleaned and ready for our newest counterpart well within the hour”. Taking another second to collect his thoughts, the Captain mentally noted the immediate need for a fresh set of maroon zeyd robes, the appropriate keycards, code cylinders, and, needless to say, a synthweave quilt to fight off the bitter frost of the long Prakithian night. “It seems only fitting to assign Miss Rol with the quarters adjacent to yours, Inquisitor”, Vassyl quipped, “Unless you’ve decided to vacate the space entirely”.