It really was quite soothing, for want of a better word, to know that Kory was safely ensconced in our room at the Academy, unmolested by other acolytes or apprentices and no longer have the lightsaber hanging over her neck for failing to complete a trial in a satisfactory manner. With her safety as ensured as was possible, under the circumstances, I could devote the entirety of my focus on performing my next trial. Which was good, because this particular trial -the second to last- was going to involve fighting through a slave-and-soldier rebellion and some very large k'lor slugs. Not to mention the possibility of running into other acolytes and apprentices that, as usual, might want to cause me issues.
Of course, collecting the tablets and going the Hate Machine wasn't my only objective, there was also a certain Jedi Knight that had, bravely but foolishly, tried to infiltrate Korriban itself. I didn't know who had given Quorian Dorjis his orders, but they didn't seem to have done a very good job at preparing him for a spying and infiltration mission, given how quickly he had gotten caught.
Which brought me to…
"Hold there, Acolyte. I have need of you." a female voice called out to me as I made my way towards the Academy's main entrance, and I turned with an expression of polite interest towards the woman that had addressed me, bowing as I 'recognized' her Inquisitorial robes. "Whatever errand your master is sending you on can wait until you have served me."
"My Lord?" I stepped closer and bowed again, resisting the urge to arch an eyebrow at her. "I am of course at your service, though I ask you inform Overseer Harkun of such. I would hate for him to believe that I am attempting to put off my trials or somehow game the system."
"Your Overseer will not be an issue." she informed me bluntly, folding her hands behind her back and looking down her nose at me. Metaphorically speaking, of course, I was a few inches taller than she was, not that physical size mattered much in the face of power in either The Force or politics. "I am Inquisitor Urinth, tasked here in a matter of great importance for the Empire. Some weeks ago, we captured a Republic Commando that was attempting to spy on this Academy, having arrived in disguise as one of the many marauders trying to find their fortune in our sacred tombs. Rather than execute her, we plan to use her against the wretched Republic and the Jedi that they've collared."
She paused for a moment, either savoring her success or looking for some sort of response from me, and I curled my lips upwards in what she would likely consider to be smug satisfaction and amusement at the idea of turning the Empire's enemies against themselves. Of course, it helped that I did actually feel those very same emotions, if not for the same reasons that she would presume I did.
Then both the pronouns and the position of her captive sank in, and my eyes widened in shock. I had always wondered why a single Jedi, and one that was apparently 'soft-minded and easy to manipulate' had been sent to Korriban in an effort to spy on the Academy alone, but I'd always figured that I was A) putting far too much thought into a sidequest, even of pre-EApocalypse Bioware game and B) that some of the Tomb Raiders running around were probably SIS agents doing the same thing. In my idle musings, I had wondered at that and wondered at how it would change if it were 'real'. It seemed that at least some of those musings had come true. Which might be a good thing, if true, though given some of my other 'idle musings' it could be a terrible thing if it happened again. As it was, this was the first time something was deviating from the game without me causing it to do so through my own actions -like binding Kallig or saving Kory-, which was both exciting and mildly terrifying.
"Unfortunately, she is not weak-minded enough for us to manipulate easily. Even with all the efforts of our alchemy and sorcery, we have not been able to twist her mind and memories as we see fit, so we have been forced into a longer, more complicated method. Memory traps have been planted in her mind. Over time, as she tries to make her way back to the Republic, these traps will activate while she sleeps. As they dissolve, they will twist her memories slowly, subtly." she groused, not an ounce of respect to be had for her captive despite the fact that the woman had apparently resisted the efforts of she and her fellows for at least several weeks. "You will meet her in the prisons, defending her from the depredations of another acolyte, earn a little bit of her trust. With your, hmm, background, it shouldn't be difficult for you to do that much. You are then to help her escape, either by helping her reach whatever ship brought her or by some other method. We will see to it that your way is clear."
"A fake defection?" I asked with a frown, folding my arms beneath my breasts, even as I screamed in confusion in the back of my head. "That's likely to get me executed, and how would I separate myself from him before she returns to the Republic without arousing suspicion?"
"Hardly anything so convoluted as that. You are a mere acolyte, and slave-born at that. The complexity required for such an elaborate plan is beyond you." she quite literally flapped a hand at me in dismissal of the idea, and I tried not to be offended by that. It wasn't like she was entirely wrong, after all, and it was a reasonable assumption to make given the information that she possessed. "No. You are young, new, and pretty, with a backstory suitable to the deception. It makes you a plausible traitor, taking pity on the poor, beautiful soldier, suffering so under the cruel hands of the Sith, just as you once suffered. Your dalliances with that other slave-girl will provide you a compelling reason to stay behind. In fact, bring her along for this, it will suit the plan quite well. I trust she will do as you tell her?"
"Of course she will." I responded immediately, honestly as it happened. Kory wouldn't say anything to blow 'our' deception, especially if I primed her properly.
"Good. Then you will begin this task immediately." she ordered, sounding coldly pleased, and I bowed one last time before turning away. I didn't make it more than a handful of steps, however, before she called after me. "And acolyte, know that if you foul this plan, your death will be slow, painful, and public."
"Not to worry, Inquisitor, I have every intention of getting that Commando back to her people with each and every one of your memory traps intact. Your plan will be followed to the letter." I promised her honestly, waiting until I turned a corner to allow a genuine smirk to crease my lips.
I'll just be adding a few things of my own to this plan.
####################################################################################
"Getting involved in the games of the Inquisition is not how I expected things to go once I wasn't an acolyte any longer, Ves."
Kory's tone wasn't quite a whine, but it was definitely at least a plaintive complaint, and I flashed her an unrepentant grin over my shoulder, getting an eyeroll that spoke volumes in response, though she seemed -unwillingly, it must be said- a little amused as well, judging by the small, quirking tremble at the corners of her lips.
"Don't complain, baby girl. You'd hate doing nothing but lying around in my bed all day while I'm running around doing whatever it is the Overseers want me to do." I teased her gently, before my look took a distinctly wicked edge, holding it silently for long enough for her to give me a wary look. "Well, that's not quite true. You do love lying around in bed, freshly fucked and leaking like a sieve. I'd go so far as to say it's your favorite thing in the world, now."
"And there it is." she sighed, shaking her head with a soft scoff, running a hand through her hair in a now-familiar gesture of affectionate aggravation. "You know perfectly well that I've been studying hard whenever I can. I'd be getting a lot more done if you weren't putting me down for the count so often."
"Are you complaining, pet?" I asked, feigning mingled offense and heartbreak as we descended into the depths of the Academy. "I can always leave you to your studies, if you'd prefer, uninterrupted and without any attention to distract you from your efforts."
She gave me a withering look that was somewhat undermined by the flush creeping up her neck, her presence oscillating between affection and worry that I would actually . "You know that's not what I meant."
I laughed and nodded, grabbing on of her hands and pressing a kiss to the palm as I enjoyed the momentary levity before the serious task ahead. The prison levels were not a place I frequented willingly. They reeked of despair and pain, the Dark Side particularly potent in a place designed to break spirits, and reminded me far too much of a certain stupid bastard's 'play-room' to make me happy. Even if it wasn't quite so depraved, it was a well known fact that more than a few slaves were kept at the Academy for the express purpose of serving as entertainment.
I would be worried for Vette, if I didn't know that she was far too valuable to Baras to allow any of his acolyte pool -or anyone else- to abuse her too much. And I wasn't worried about who her master would be, because I had plans to kill the Sith Warrior and, if necessary, kill whoever replaced him as well. Vette was a good girl, top-tier waifu to say the least, and I would suffer no (grievous) harm to come to her.
"So," Kory said, lowering her voice as we approached the guard station, "what's the actual plan here? I assume we're not just following the Inquisitor's orders to the letter. I know you, mistress, and you never do anything as you're told."
"Astute as always, sweetling." I murmured with a smirk, pinching her hip lightly in 'chastisement'. "You're only partially correct. We'll be flowing 99.9% of the plan. Actually, arguably, we're following 100% of the plan, there will just be a few…bonuses at the end. Now hush."
The prison guards gave us little more than a passing glance—they'd clearly been instructed to expect us, and to ask no questions whatsoever. One of them, a burly human with a cybernetic eye, gestured down the dimly lit corridor.
"Cell block D, third cell on the left," he grunted. "Inquisitor Urinth said to give him ten minutes alone with the prisoner to…soften her up." He emphasized the last three words with a knowing smirk that made my skin crawl. Though at least part of that might have been from the way he was leering at the two of us. "Get her nice and ready for you."
"How generous," I intoned coolly in response, letting a hint of my disgust show, which only seemed to delight him more, the sick fuck. "And the other acolyte?"
"Getting started, now that you're here. Knows to make it look good but not to actually kill the Republic dog. Surprised we can't hear her screaming already, he was looking forward to it." He tapped something on his datapad, eyeing it for a moment. "The timer is running, so get comfortable for the next ten minutes."
I couldn't help the distaste that curled in my gut, and the contempt. I hated these games of cruelty -genuine cruelty, not the fun games I played with my lovers- that seemed to be the Empire's favorite pastime, but as pointless and purposeless as they so often were, at least it served our purposes today. I nodded curtly, gesturing for Kory to follow me as we stepped away from the guard station.
"Ten minutes, huh?" I muttered under my breath, jaw working. "Time enough to plan our entrance, and consider what we'll say. Though I certainly will have a few choice words for whomever it is."
We lingered in an alcove just out of sight of the main corridor, close enough to hear when the sounds began—a man's voice, taunting and cruel, followed by the dull thud of impact. No screams yet, which impressed me, even if it was guaranteed to make the other acolyte even nastier. Ploy or not, he likely wouldn't tolerate what was going on. Our Republic commando was made of sterner stuff than her captors gave her credit for. God, I couldn't even sense any pain in the Force yet.
"She's strong. Good for her." Kory murmured, her expression hardening as we listened to his apparently-futile efforts continue. "Though it won't be pleasant for her when he escalates."
"Which is why we'll be interrupting before it gets too far, because I doubt he's going to be following the Inquisitor's orders to the letter." I replied, checking the chronometer on my wrist, willing it to move faster than it's seeming crawl. "Seven more minutes of this farce should be sufficient to sell our intervention as genuine."
Another impact, louder this time, followed by a grunt that might have been the commando or her tormentor. Then a voice, female and defiant despite its ragged edges: "Is that really the best you can do? I've had a worse time of things in a bar-room brawl during shore leave!"
I couldn't help but smile at her spirit. Whoever this woman was, she had durasteel in her spine. There was something about her voice, too, something familiar, but I wasn't sure what it was. Still, whoever she was, I could sense the spike of outrage and hate that followed her defiance, and the acolyte's response was as immediate as it was harsh—a crackling sound and ozone stench that I recognized as Force lightning, followed by the first real cry of pain. It wasn't a scream, but it was enough to make me wince. Force lightning was no joke, even a novice's attempt could cause excruciating pain. And somehow I doubted this acolyte was a complete novice, either.
"You've got a big mouth for a Republican whore that's locked in a cage." the male voice sneered. "Let's see how many more jolts it takes before you're begging. Not that it will do you any good, I'll just enjoy it even more when I hurt you."
Another crack of lightning, another stifled cry, louder and longer. I felt Kory tense beside me, her hand instinctively reaching for where a weapon would be if she was still permitted to carry one.
"Four minutes, baby. Be ready." I murmured, placing a restraining hand on her arm, jaw hurting from how hard I was clenching it. "We need to make this convincing."
The next two minutes stretched interminably as the sounds from the cell grew more vicious. When a genuine scream finally echoed down the corridor, I jolted. That scream was a sound that chilled me to the bone, not just because of the raw agony it conveyed but because I recognized it. That voice—I knew that voice, I had know that I recognized it, but now I knew how and why.
"Shit!" I hissed, my hand spasming towards my own vibroblade as lightning of my own began to crawl up and down my arms. "That's not just any Republic commando."
Kory's eyes widened as she caught my sudden tension. "Who is it?"
I didn't answer, already moving down the hallway with purpose, not giving a damn about the handful of minutes that remained, nor caring for . Another crack of lightning, another scream—this one bitten off halfway through, as though she'd forced herself to swallow it. I swept into the room just in time to see the Sith Warrior -God damn it all, as if I didn't want to kill him already!- tightening his grip on the commando's throat further still, her hands scrabbling desperately at his gauntlet in an attempt to pry it free before she passed out. She was utterly naked, covered in injuries, and for a moment I remembered my own past. A memory that had me lashing out rather harder than the plan called for with the Force, tearing his hand away from her neck harshly enough that his wrist snapped, before hurling him towards the far wall.
The other acolyte crashed against the durasteel with a satisfying crunch, dropping him to his knees beside another cage -I absently took note of the very pretty, very naked Lethan Twi'lek that it held, who was watching everything with shock and interest-, and his crimson eyes widened in shock before narrowing with fury.
"What do you think you're doing, slave?" he spat, cradling his injured wrist. "This prisoner is mine to break!"
I advanced into the cell, positioning myself between him and the prisoner he had just been torturing. Behind me, I heard the woman's ragged breathing as she gulped in precious air, and Kory slipped in behind me, moving immediately to the prisoner's side and doing what she could to help her.
"If you have the strength to force me aside, feel free to try. But otherwise, you're done here." I growled back, and while it might otherwise have been part of a ploy, I truly meant it.
"I am the future apprentice of Darth Baras himself…!" he started, only to be cut off as I backhanded him across with the Force, wishing desperately that I could do it with my flesh and blood hand.
"You are nothing more than another acolyte, not different from me, except for the fact that you're trying to hide behind a master you don't yet have!" I hissed, flexing my hands and wishing I could kill him here and now. "But why would I expect anything different from a man who can only get his hands on a woman if she's a naked and caged prisoner. Coward!"
"You're nothing more than a slave, a nobleman's toy with delusions of grandeur! How dare you lay a hand on me?!" he roared, his fury as genuine as my insults, neither of us playing a part any longer.
"You must not know who I am." I purred dangerously, wrapping my hand around his balls through his pants, my telekinetic grip tight enough to hurt, but not quite enough to do damage. I was stilling trying to keep my head attached to my shoulders, after all, and while killing in the Academy wasn't permitted, I had no idea if maiming was equally forbidden. "I am Vestara Khai. I won my place on Korriban by slaughtering my old master and his household guard, leading a slave revolt on Dromuund Kaas itself and earning the approval of Darth Marr, Dark Lord of the Sith, Master of the Sphere of Imperial Defence. No rushed trials or pampering for me, no Overseer holding my hands through each and every hurdle. I won my place here by spilling an ocean of Sith and Imperial blood and earning the favor of a Dark Councillor, and I have crushed every obstacle since then through nothing but my own strength. So either draw your blade and take this woman back from me, or crawl back to Baras' office."
Oh, I could sense -and see, for that matter- how badly he wanted to kill me. He was straining with desire to leap across the room and attack me, to lash out with his admittedly impressive power in the Force, but he didn't dare. Thin though the veneer was, we were both here on the orders of the Inquisition, and he knew as well as I did that he wouldn't survive their wrath if he fucked up their plans. Which meant, as much as it turned him apoplectic with fury and hate, he had no choice but to 'retreat'. To yield. To appear weak, and I savoured his helpless knowledge of that fact as he shoved himself to his feet and stalked towards the door.
"This isn't over yet, whore. I'll see you and your pet broken, and rape this whore to death over your corpses." he swore, every syllable dripping with cruel promise, and I bared my teeth at him in something that could charitably be called a smile.
"I look forward to seeing you try. One more dead pureblood on my tally." I responded in kind, watching him leave before turning my attention to the prisoner Kory was tending to. She was covered in bruises, scrapes, cuts and burns from the torture she had endured at many hands, Kory tending to them as best she could, but her jade-green eyes were clear and strong all the same, and I smiled softly as I knelt down beside her, a flick of my wrist summoning a med-pack from the nearby wall. Opening it, I looked her over. "Well, now that the blue-blooded prick is gone, what say we lend you a hand?"
The commando's eyes narrowed with suspicion, those gem-like orbs flicking back and forth between my face and the medical supplies in my hand, and I couldn't blame her for that mistrust. Certainly not under the circumstances, and certainly not after what she had been experiencing not moments ago at the hands of someone who was, so far as she was aware, a colleague of mine. Even with Kory's gentle ministrations, she was tense, coiled like a nexu ready to strike despite her injuries. And I had a feeling that, if she did, she could still do plenty of damage to either one of us if she put her mind to it.
"Why would a Sith help me? Against another Sith at that." she rasped, voice still raw from being choked. "Is this another game of your Inquisitors?"
"No, it's not, and I'm helping you because not all of us are monsters." I said simply, keeping my voice low and passing several kolto dispensers to Kory, even as I set to work disinfecting her wounds. I tried not to admire her as I did it, but it was hard. She was a gorgeous woman, powerfully built with full breasts and a sex that had clearly once been clean-shaven, judging by the thin patch of auburn fuzz topping her folds. Even the scars that she bore only added to her beauty, rather than detracted from it, and I reminded myself to keep my touch clinical as I worked. "Some of us have been in positions not dissimilar to your own, and remember what it was like. Some of us aren't willing to ignore it so easily when it happens right in front of our eyes."
She flinched as the kolto made contact with a particularly deep cut, one with a burn surrounding it, on her toned shoulder, but her eyes never left mine, searching for any hint of deception.
"You expect me to believe that?" she asked, but there was a slight waver in her voice now. "After weeks of... this?" She gestured vaguely at her battered body.
"I don't blame you for your doubts." I sighed, lips quirking slightly as I considered things, hands going to my shirt as I talked. "You heard what he and I said to one another, I assume?"
"Yes, which is one reason I doubt it. Sith, training slaves to use the Force? If you're going to come up with tall tales…" she scoffed, only to fall silent with a strangled gasp as I shed my clothes her eyes wide as they fell on the mundane scarring that littered my body…and the great, glowing rifts in my skin. In the face of that damage, I don't think the two prisoners even noticed my cock, and I wondered what their faces would look like when they did. From the direction of the twi'lek I heard a savage invective, and my lips quirked.
"I was owned by a man named Arnuwanda Luwian, once. A member of the Spheres of Biotic Sciences and Ancient Knowledge, who fancied himself quite the researcher. When my mother got pregnant, he experimented on her for all nine months of her pregnancy, upto and including the day of my birth, which she didn't survive. Then, it was my turn to go under his knife, with the results as you see before you. One-fourth man, three-fourths woman, with wounds on my flesh and soul that will never heal, rifts that shine day and night to mark me as something simultaneously more and less than human. A trophy he kept about for his own amusement, to show off to his colleagues to display his 'mastery' of the Dark Side." I told her, and her eyes snapped down to the space between my legs. Or, rather, the lack of space, and her eyes widened as her mouth fell open with shock at the confirmation of my words. And, unless I was misreading her presence rather badly, at my girth as well. A soft giggle from Kory had her flushing and her eyes snapping back to my own, and I gave her a rogueish wink, before subsiding to a wan smile. "When I was strong enough, I made him suffer for what he had done to me, for the mistake he made when he kept me alive and in his house. Darth Marr found me in the aftermath, and rather than kill me for what I had done, he sent me here."
"And she saved my life. I was going to be raped to death in the tombs, but she cut down everyone that came for me, man or woman alike, before arguing for my life to Lord Zash and the Overseers themselves. She saved me from death, saved me from slavery, and now she wants to do the same for you." Kory added softly, still tending to the woman's wounds, before shooting me an amused glance. "Though, she could stand to show a bit of shame and put her clothes back on, rather than swinging her manhood about to impress a few girls."
"Hmph. I thought you liked it when I swung my manhood around. You certainly seem to beg for it often enough." I 'complained', starting to redress all the same, both having made my point and wanting to avoid spoiling the bonding moment we were all having by getting aroused or otherwise looking like the unrepentant pervert that I absolutely was. A glance at the prisoner from beneath my lashes showed her blushing quite heavily, for the circumstances, with her eyes darting between my cock and my breasts, and I resisted the urge to grin at the almost reluctant arousal and appreciation that was laced through her soul. Shaking my head, I knelt down again. "At any rate, suffice to say I have no interest in watching you get raped to death and abused by people like that beast from before. I might not be able to save every slave in the Empire, but I can help you escape to safety." I chanced a glance over at the twi'lek to confirm something, and smiled faintly as I saw it was, in fact, a crimson-skinned and black-tattooed Vette. "I'm afraid I can't do the same for you, love, but you're Darth Baras' personal prisoner. Making one Republic trooper disappear is one thing, but a Darth's pet project is another thing entirely. Not from here, anyway."
"…I'll accept you're not like the others. You couldn't fake what was done to you, and your story sounds a little too real to be made up as a trick, but that doesn't mean that I trust you. " she said, wincing and hissing through her teeth as I worked on a wound just below her right breast, one that spread across a good portion of her flank and rib-cage.
"I wouldn't expect you to," I replied honestly, finishing with the disinfectant and moving on to bandaging a deep cut on her arm. "Trust has to be earned. But right now, I'm your best chance of getting out of here alive. So give me something to work with, and I'll prove it to you."
"…I ran to the tomb of Tulak Hord, tried to hide out in the middle of that slave revolt that's going on out there. Ditched most of my gear out there to try and blend in, not that it did me any good. Your Inquisitor's caught up and figured me out just fine anyway. I need you to find my equipment and bring it closer to the Academy, and I'll need you to bring me my utility belt so I can get out of this cage." she said after a long moment of silence, eyes probing me for deception still, not that I blamed her for it.
"We can do that," I assured her, noting the way she'd carefully avoided giving us her name, or anything else we could use to identify her. Smart woman, even if it was fruitless given my meta knowledge. Not that I had proof, but I had her voice and I had her face, and I could make a damn fine guess. "But I need a bit more to go on. The tomb of Tulak Hord is vast, and there's more than one place you could have stashed your gear. Searching every hiding spot in the middle of a revolt and the garrison's attempt to put it down won't work out well for either of us.
She hesitated, eyes darting between Kory and me, clearly weighing her options. Finally, she sighed.
"Third level down, western chamber. There's a sarcophagus that was partially broken open, between the statues of two champions with slaves kneeling at their feet. I tucked everything behind it." She conceded, clearly reluctant despite the necessity of telling me. "The belt has an emergency beacon built in. If I can activate it, my extraction team will know I'm alive, and they'll be able to track me for retrieval once I get out of here."
"Assuming they're still waiting for you after all this time." I pointed out gently, wondering if the SIS would send who I expected them too, or if he would be kept clear for certain entirely understandable reasons.
Her jaw tightened. "They are, I can gurantee it." she ground out, before shaking her head. "Go on, get out of here, before someone decides to check in and hear what's happening." she gave me a small, wry, barely-hopeful half-smile. "I hope you're on the up-and-up, Khai. I'd hate to think that, after everything you've been through, the Empire managed to turn you into the same kinds of people that did that to you."
"That will never happen, I promise you that." I told her, rising to my feet and meeting Kory's eyes, tilting my head towards the door. "Kory will try to check in on you every once and a while when I'm absent, but I don't know how successful she will be. One way or the other, though, we're going to get you home to your family. Until then, stay here and stay strong." my own lips quirked as I looked down at her. "I'd hate to think that, after everything you've been through and after I put our lives on the line for you, you'll break before I can get you out."
"That will never happen, I promise you that." she parroted back to me, and I grinned and nodded in approval before turning my head and leaving.