Private Freedom

[Yenna]

Dromund Kaas/Dungeon​

Unknown Time/Dark and Gloomy​

Dark and cold. It was something Yenna was tired of waking up to whenever the dungeon's floor got too uncomfortable. She had been broken down in the dungeon with no idea of how long she was in there or even where she was. Another violent cough erupted along with more dry heaving as she laid on the floor. Her body was shivering constantly, a combination of the cold as well as a lack of alcohol. The cold sweat didn't help things either. This was arguably the lowest she had been in a very long time... physically as well as mentally.

Her mind was a mess. Every now and then a thought would creep into her mind that caused her to cry all over again. Fears that she would never get out, fears that she would be used as an experiment for a project, fears that people would forget all about her and simply carry on with their lives. But there was one hope that kept burning brightly. The hope that Cas would come swooping in and break her out. The hope that he was out there looking for her and trying to hatch a plan to help her. It was that hope that gave her the power to emit a small sliver of light from her little palm. It was a little ball no bigger than a marble and the light it gave off was weak in the overwhelming darkness. But it was a tiny sense of comfort that kept her hopes alive and her sanity in check. The Force was testing her, she was sure of it. And she didn't want to disappoint. Not after everything the Jedi Order and Cas had done for her.

She looked to the door again and raised her hand to release a force push. It was little more than a gust of wind at this point. She had tried before to break out, but there was no way out. She laid down again as another tear rolled off her withered cheek. Her golden eyes were faded and almost empty... but there was still that glimmer of hope as she stared at the sliver of light suspended in the palm of her hand.

The was the thought that she could die in this hole. She meant nothing to the Sith. She wasn't surprised if her captors actually forgot about her. But if that were to be her fate... she was ready for it. A very small and dark spot in her mind told her that she expected it. She had been for the last hundred years. Every time she watched a family caring for her die or a loved one she cared deeply about, there was the hope that she wouldn't survive. That desire was familiar to her... and if her hopes weren't going to become reality, she was fine with the outcome.

Aristeia Zambrano

 

[Aristeia Zambrano]

Her new body was....uncomfortable to be frank. The world seemed smaller, and she herself felt all the lesser for it. Funny, the things a vibro-axe to the skull can do to a person were astonishing. Regardless, she found herself unable to sleep now, haunted by nightmares of her death on Myrkr and her failings in that deployment.

It was because of those nightmares she now found herself wondering, her mind riddled with guilt and shame, feeling that there was something lurking in the darkness seeking to drag her back to the horrible place she had found herself lost in. It was for that reason she walked about the dungeons of her fathers palace, her saber at the ready, feeling like at any moment battle would be upon her, and she would be forced to battle the entities just as she had before; be they real or fragments of her imagination.

Reaching out with the force, Ari shifted deeper into the dungeon, her senses telling her that there was another force presence, and one that she had dealt with before. It didn't feel like one of the entities, rather something far weaker, far...purer. A jedi? Here? That seemed unlikely, but then again....there were all manner of things kept down here. The once actress turned unhinged Sith crept forward, her crimson blade flickering to life as her eyes looked for the invisible foe, desperate for her paranoia to be justified, wanting to be free of the anxieties eating away at her mind.

Yenna

 

[Yenna]

Still lying on the ground, Yenna felt something in the Force. Her senses were weak but she could still feel the presence nearing her. It certainly wasn't any of the guards or the big guy himself again... but it still felt familiar.

The presence was on edge, paranoid about something. It was a dark and troubled presence but she knew for a fact she had met this presence before. With a weak groan she forced herself to sit upright and scooted against the dungeon wall to support herself. She sifted through her foggy memory and battered thoughts to figure out who it was. Her tired eyes went wide as it hit her like a speeder truck.

"Ari?" she croaked with a parched throat. She couldn't remember the last time she actually spoke properly. She tried to clear her throat but it merely earned another cough and a groan from the little green Jedi. "Ari?" she spoke again with her hoarse voice.

It likely wouldn't even be audible for the Sith, but there was a ripple in the Force, as if Yenna was trying to project her voice telepathically.

Aristeia Zambrano

 

[Aristeia Zambrano]

There was a distorted voice in her head now, which wasn't abnormal, her mind had been wrecked with such things lately. But this one was familiar, weaker than the others, not as angry. She...knew this voice? Didn't she? The Sith pauses, her body tensing up as her saber flared to life, bathing her in red light as she tried to find the manifestation that accompanied the voices. To her surprise, one didn't come. "WHERE ARE YOU?" She called out, her voice carrying with it a degree of anger, though the quivering of her hands and legs indicated she was terrified. The specters would never let her go it seemed, not until she had killed every last one of them.

Stepping slowly down the hall, Ari could feel the force reaching for her, like a silver thread leading her to her attacker to be. A critical mistake on their end, but she wouldn't give them a chance to respond. As she crept forward, movement out of the side of her eye caught her gaze, and she lashed out in the only way she knew how. The air crackled as a bolt of lightning smashed into an empty cell, burning the steel within, and giving a loud 'clang' that echoed through the dungeon. Eyes widened, Ari continued forward, feeling the force growing closer, and knowing her target was oh so close to being found.

To her surprise, as she rounded the corner, she knew the creature that dwelt within the cell, the name coming to her as if it never left her. "Yenna." It was a strange form for the phantom to use, but not one that she would have any trouble in disposing of. Yenna looked weak, sickly, her appearance indicating she had been trapped her for some time. Reaching out a hand, lightning began to crackle and pop along her fingers, as Ari focused her rage at her apparent tormentor, when the thought crossed her mind; why wasn't it fighting back? Confusion broke out within the mind of the woman, as she slowly lowered her hand, head turning as her saber arm lowered. Was...this not an illusion? Was Yenna actually here? The crimson blade was sheathed, as Ari approached the cell, the lightning finally ceasing it's crackling as she reached for the cell bar. "Yenna, what are you doing down here?" She inquired, knowing the green skinned padawan had no business being here. They weren't exactly friends, but Ari couldn't muster a reason to hate the woman; after all, she had been kind to her in the past. "I....don't know if I believe what I'm seeing right now." She confessed, tilting her head as she studied the woman further, not liking what she was seeing in the slightest.

Yenna

 

[Yenna]

The door was swung open and the being stood at the ready with a lightsaber in one hand and lightning in the other. Yenna tensed in shock but quickly relaxed as she simply stared at the woman with drooping eyes. She didn't even try to defend herself. But to her surprise the person knew her name. Even more surprising was that this presence felt like Ari... though she looked nothing like Ari. She asked her why she was there but no answer came from the girl. She merely blinked a few more times with heavy eyelids and timidly hugged her legs against her chest.

With another hoarse cough she looked up at her again. Her thoughts were a mess but she was starting to really think that this was definitely Ari. "Ari...?" she muttered as she stared up at the girl. "Your... your hair... blonde, it was." she managed to say before she rested her forehead on her knees. "Sorry... for stealing... your projector, I am." she muttered as she lifted her head again as another faint trail of tears glistened on her partially sunken cheeks.

"Here, why are you?" she asked her softly as she slowly crawled back to her bundle of clothing on the floor. The only article she had on was her oversized shirt that served as a tunic. Ther rest were all an attempt at making some cushioning for a bed on the hard ground. "For you... a bad place... this is. Leave, you should." she whispered as she laid down in a shivering ball.

Aristeia Zambrano

 

[Cadere]

Cas was breaking a million different rules by coming to Dromund Kaas, but breaking the rules wasn't exactly new to the Jedi Knight not did he care at this particular moment in time. Right now, his main priority was rescuing his Padawan whom he had failed, and now, had to make things right with. It was also unwise to arrive without backup but Can refused to put anyone else at risk in order to fix his mistake, this was something had had to do alone and had to atone for... alone. Maybe then, he'd find some way to forgive himself.

Cas' emotions burned hot which tempered his ferocious determination currently, a determination to get Yenna out of whatever hell she was currently in, safely. If that meant clearing out the entire area where she was kept, powering his way through any of its forces. This wouldn't be a moral issue, not at all. The Jedi Knight's presence in the Force was a dim but scorching light - if Yenna were to sense it, the Padawan would instantly recognise the unique yet conflicted signature of her Master.

Making his way from his starfighter, with the intel he had gathered over the past few weeks Cas knew that Yenna was being held somewhere in the dungeons. Inhaling deeply, Cas closed his eyes and reached out with the Force to find Yenna's presence. She was close. Pulling his lightsaber from his belt, Cas' weapon hand hung at his side as the Jedi Knight ignited the amber blade and approached the entrance of the dungeons.

Yenna Aristeia Zambrano

 

[Aristeia Zambrano]

There was a very real chance she was going insane. Now, if she was in fact losing her mind or not, Ari wasn't sure, but try as she might she couldn't find it in her to destroy the potential apparition before her. "Yenna, what are you doing here? This....this is my father's prison, you shouldn't even be here." She muttered, stumbling back as weariness overtook her.

This didn't make sense. Then again, few things had been clear to her since she was brought back from death. Yenna's question about her appearance brought with it a series of images, many of which began to overwhelm the woman. A sharp pain drilled through her skull, a yelp slipping through her lips, as Ari stumbled backwards, hitting a wall and sunking to the ground, gripping her head, trying to see past the mental haze that was blinding her. For several moments, it almost consumed her, but eventually the pain began to fade, and with it she was about to finally awnser. "I...was killed on Mykrk, I think?" It felt weird saying that she had died, but the memories were still fresh. A virbo-axe cut her in two, her body stumbling back as a Mandalorian came down on top of her, the forces she had such mastery over for so long ignored her call, as darkness engulfed her. "I...woke up sometime after that, but I'm not sure how or why..." She sputtered, her eyes looking back to the caged jedi within her cell. She had to get the jedi out of her, least she wither and die like Ari was now. At worst, this apperation might kill her, and the cycle could begin over again. At best, she could return the favor for someone who helped her. Regardless, she would get what she wanted in the end; a release from this torment. "Yenna, get back." She warned, raising a hand as she gripped the door of the cell, and began her attack. The metal began to buckle, the frame folding, as the screeching of metal rang out through the dungeon, echoing through the structure, until it has finally been ripped from it's place. Her hand dropping down, Ari curled herself into a ball, her head pressing against her knees as she hugged herself tightly. She could feel the voices coming now, she specters that sought to drag her back into the netherworld. They would be here soon. "Yenna, you need to run. I can't protect you from them." Ari warned, her force senses flairing up as several force presences were felt by her. Hell, she couldn't even defend herself if she was to be honest. She just didn't have the strength anymore. Not in this condition.

Cadere Yenna

 

[Yenna]

Yenna managed to lift her head and watch as Ari struggled with her mind. Even in her broken state she wanted to help her. When Ari got up and told her to move back, the little green Jedi crawled back and covered her eyes as Ari started to tear off the door. She flinched at the loud noise but looked up when she saw she was done.

She forced herself to get up when Ari told her to run, but she didn't take off for freedom. She slowly limped to Ari and rested against her knees to catch her breath. A small hand reached out and rested on Ari's head as Yenna gazed at her with tired golden eyes. "Come with me." she muttered at her. "Hurt, you are. Help you, I want to. Escape, help me... please. With me, you can come." she begged her as her hands rested on her knees. With another deep breath she looked around the place. IT was then that she felt a familiar presence. One she had been hoping to feel ever since she wound up on the planet. Her parched lips curled into a smile as she looked back at Ari. "Ari... here, my master is. Help you too, he can." she spoke as her eyes started to tear up.

She rested her head on a knee and reached out with the force to the best of her abilities. She was very weak, utterly useless and unable to defend herself... but there was absolutely nothing that could break the bond she shared with her master. A frail and weak echo of her voice called out to him through the Force. But the joy and relief was unmistakable. "Master! Make it, I knew you would."

With tears running down her sunken cheeks she reached out with a shaky hand towards Ari's. "Come on. Escape, we both can." she spoke gently as she smiled at the girl.

Aristeia Zambrano Cadere

 

[Cadere]

Shortly after making his descent into the dungeons, Cas hadn't met any opposition... yet. But he knew in these kinds of scenarios, things never end peacefully. The dungeon had a stench like no other with a mixture of feces, urine and rusted mouldy water pipes. How anyone can put up with this was a mystery in itself, although this simply made Cas feel even more guilt ridden as Yenna was forced to suffer through all this. The Jedi's lightsaber lit up the area with a golden glow, it hummed in unison with the periodic water droplets that echoed through these dungeons.

Cas was getting closer, Yenna's prescence in the Force was growing stronger... but... something else was there too, darker, broken. Then a familiar voice echoed in his mind, it was her but she sounded weak and so was the projection. A smile grew on the Jedi's face however, she was okay enough to use the Force at least. Ready to project his thoughts to her, he was distracted by the reverberating sound of a metallic voice throughout the otherwise quiet dungeon. "Unauthorised lifeform detected. Engaging in offensive measures." followed by the sound of blaster rifles being loaded up.

Two droids rounded a corner in front of Cas and swiftly opened fire, deflecting the first few shots easily, Cas released his right arm from the hilt of his blade and used the Force to slam the two droids together, the droids struggled as Cas held them together before the Jedi Knight threw his lightsaber at his enemies which quickly dismembered them. Summoning his lightsaber to his left hand with the Force "Yenna. I'm coming." he finally projected as he made his way to the end of the hall and turned the corner where the security droids had initially came from.

What met him on the other side of the hallway was full of droids. Blaster fire echoed through the dungeons as soon as Cas was spotted, Channelling the Force through his body, Cas began deflecting the barrage of blaster dopes with inhuman speed. In a burst of speed, Cas cut through the first row like a bullet. Deflecting more blaster bolts, Cas advanced to the second row with a Force-imbued leap, cartwheeling mid-air onto a security droid's soldiers, slicing through its head in a yellow horizontal flash. Backflipping off of the collapsing body, he deflected two more shots from nearby droids before cutting into the remaining droid in the second row with a diagonal strike - smoke and melted metal filled Cas' nose, but it wasn't over.

The third and final row Cas dealt with swiftly, the Kiffar extended his right arm before thrusting it back and with the Force, yanked the first security droid toward him and plunged his lightsaber in the middle of its plating. Melting through it. Cas pushed out his right arm again and threw the droid into the last one, sending them both into a wall at breakneck speed, dismantling them both. With that over with, Cas continued on his way to Yenna and after a few more halls cleared and a few more droids cut down - he found her... with someone else but he didn't care about that right now. "Yen..." he uttered softly.

Aristeia Zambrano Yenna

 

[Aristeia Zambrano]

Yenna was free, free to leave now. Ari now remained in her ball, mentally grappling with herself over the battle that was to come. Despite what Yenna claimed, Ari felt there was no rescue coming for her. She was Sith, he was jedi. There was no way around it. At best, he would ignore her and take the padawan with him. At worst, he'd kill her just to be sure they wouldn't be followed. Besides, a jedi knight was the least of Ari's concerns. The creatures would be after her soon enough.

It was then that Ari felt it, a trickle in the force, as another presence burst through this dark place, the sound of blaster fire and explosions echoing off down the hall; someone else was here. Yen continued to insist that Ari could leave, that she could go free with the pair and be free of this place. If only things were so simple. As thankful as Yenna might have been, Ari had no way to break free such as the padawan had. Her heritage tied her to the Empire, her name would haunt her, and no matter where she might turn to go, something would be lurking to take her down. She was a failure in the eyes of her mother and father, a creature to be cast away and forgotten. It was for that reason that the specters came for her, it was for that reason she had to be left behind. Yenna would never understand that, such a thing Ari was certain of.

"Yenna, you'd never escape if you brought me with you." Ari said plainly, her breath steadying as she would attempt to rise to her feet, only to falter against the wall in the process. The lack of sleep was starting to eat away at her, Ari's very body was having trouble just trying to move about. "When your master gets here, you need to-" She paused, her eyes fixating on the figure down the hall, as she knew the man before her far too well to not recognize him. She had encountered him once on the jedi temple on Kashyyyk, where their encounter was....less than admirable. His name eluded her for the time being, but that didn't make him beneath her notice. Ari's gaze lingered on him, saying nothing as he drew closer, his attention being on that of his apprentice. She doubted that the jedi would recognize her, after all, little to nothing was left of her original form. Perhaps she could slink away after all, get the peace of dying with her own thoughts, rather than be drug out and executed by the jedi.

Unless Cas wished to intercede, Ari began to stagger away, intent on letting Yenna and her charge depart without so much as a word.

She could feel the creatures coming for her any moment now. The closer she was to them, the more danger they would be put in, all the more reason she needed to get distance between the pair.

Cadere Yenna

 

[Yenna]

Yenna looked on with a saddened gaze when Ari refused to come with her. She hoped that she could help the poor girl in this moment. But unfortunately that wasn't the case. And she was in no shape to try and convince her. "At least... in the right direction, point me, can you?" she muttered as she looked up at the poor girl.

But before she could do anything else, she heard a commotion from another hallway and soon the form of her master was standing in their hallway. Yenna let go of Ari and simple stared at Cas with tears in her eyes and a bright smile on her lips. "Master..." she muttered as she limped towards him and wrapped her shaky arms around his leg. "Make it, you would, I knew." she cried with a laugh that quickly turned into another violent cough. She held onto him for support as she coughed down towards the ground. When she recovered, she looked up at him with glimmering eyes. "Missed you, I have." she muttered as she hugged him again.

She looked back at Ari. "Sure, are you? Help you, we can." she offered again, but she had an idea of what the result would be. Her gaze lowered for a moment before she looked up at her again. "Ari... be with you, may the Force." she spoke softly with a nod before she looked up at Cas again. "Carrying me, do you mind?" she asked him as she gave his pants a light tug.

Aristeia Zambrano Cadere

 

[Cadere]

A swirl of emotions threatened to overwhelm the Jedi Knight as he locked eyes with his Padawan, mainky relief, but Cas remained composed and closed off his feelings through the Force. She was injured and didn't look like herself, it quickly made anger stir inside him for he wanted to wrap his hands around the person's throat who did this to her. Keeping an eye on the red-haired woman besider Yenna, Cas approached the green creature and helped close the gap between the master and apprentice.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't find you sooner..." the Jedi apologised as he allowed Yenna to hug his leg, when she let go he kneeled down and embraced her small frame and despite all the guilt and grief he felt, for a brief moment he let himself feel happy "I missed you too, kid." he said softly, hugging her tightly. When that was over, Cas stood up and watched the exchange between Yen and the red-haired woman before addressing the bantha in the room.

"I got you. Yen, who's this?" he asked, as he kneeled down to gently place Yen on his shoulder. Although his Padawan had just called her "Ari" he had no idea who she was but... strangely, she seemed familiar to him. Her signature in the Force was also somewhat of an anomaly, there was a darkness there but... she didn't seem like a threat. Not yet at least. Regardless, it seemed she wanted to remain which was out of the question for Cas - if he had the opportunity to save someone, he would without a doubt.

"Hey you, you're not going anywhere in that shape." he commanded, clearly aware that this Ari wasn't at 100% "We gotta get outta here. Come on." Cas held his arm out toward Ari, speaking with authority and a stern but determined voice, something rarely seen from the Jedi Knight. Although, he only had a one-seat starfighter... but that was an issue for later.

Aristeia Zambrano Yenna