Private Hear it Sing

[Darth Ophidia]

Darth Strosius

"The droids will take care of them."

She nodded for him to follow as she turned away and clasped her hands behind her back. As they left, a squat, little robot with long, spindly arms and round, red eyes came to collect the holobooks, scanned them, and placed them back in their shelves, chattering quietly all the way. It, like the other service droids, was exceedingly gentle yet precise in its handling of the holobooks.

"Did you enjoy your reading?" She asked, polite in her tone. "After the next task, you may stay here for a while if you desire."

Ophidia brought them to an elevator which took them several floors down. Each floor was marked with a red, glowing line passing them by quickly. Then, it slowed and the shimmering forcefield keeping them protected disconnected.

This part of the library was different from the stacks up above. It was darker, the air mustier, and everything was eerily quiet. There were no droids down here, but a deep chill threatened to pierce cloth, flesh and bone alike. Their breath hung like a cloud in the air for a moment before dissipating like a spectre. Looking up, there were old scorch marks on the walls and faded murals decorated with strange, jagged writing. Four statues lined the chamber, hooded figures holding cylindrical rods in their hands, supporting the ceiling on their heads and the tips of their weapons. Their features were worn away. Some of their fingers had cracked off.

This was clearly an older section.

Ophidia lead Alisteri to the middle, where it split into a crossroad. Ahead there was a triangular exit, from which a dull, green light which momentarily flared, then faded. In the distance came a muffled "chit!", followed by the hissing of water suddenly vaporising. The right and left path both lead to similar, triangular exits, but they were dark and still. Ophidia lead him on the left path and through the triangular pathway.

"Inside"

It was a workshop of sorts. There was a stack of boxes containing a multitude of components. There was a steel table with several devices seemingly made to hold items in place, as well a a little anvil and a selection of hammers, soldering irons, and more. However, deeper into the room there was a circular recess into the wall, in the middle of which stood a roughly hewn pedestal. The walls surrounding it was decorated in similar faded murals as outside, but also dusty, red crystal held in place with seams of gold.

"This is where you will construct your weapon."

 

[Darth Strosius]

Darth Ophidia

He glanced back at the holobooks for a moment before following after his master. He still hadn't gotten used to being a Sith yet, he supposed. Well, being free more so than being a Sith but regardless.

"I did indeed master, it was...surprisingly serene and pleasant. I may come back later, provided that I have the time to do so of course." Alisteri idly wondered if he'd be able to return to the library at a later date. He hoped so, although the idea of having to go through that maze all over again just to read for awhile didn't seem all that appealing. Perhaps he wouldn't have to make that pilgrimage again, even if he did he knew what to do anyway so it mattered little in the long term.

The elevator ride gave him some time to reflect on the information that he had garnered from his time reading; a determined attitude settling over him as the elevator stopped. He was ready and eager.

He suppressed a shiver as he followed Ophidia, his gaze flickering around the old walls and statues that comprised this section of the library. His experience with any sort of cold was fairly lacking; the sight of his breath before him caused him a moment of pause here and there. Better than the heat from the sun, he supposed. The Sith seemed to like their dark, cold places. Alisteri could see the appeal.

The apprentice didn't lag far behind his master, even as he occasionally slowed to peek down one of the other paths or to examine something on the wall.

Once they emerged into the workshop room, his excitement flared up once again. Tools, he was used to those. Although these ones were clearly not for spice mining. "My weapon?" His head swiveled back to Ophidia, surprise etched onto his face. The crystal in his grip had certainly been without a vessel for too long, of that he was certain. "I have examined the Jedi's weapon master, but I am unsure if I am able to replicate something similar..."

He had spent nearly the entire journey to this planet attempting to understand both the crystal and the lightsabre it powered after all, but his knowledge of it was still lacking in his own eyes.

Still, aside from his reservations, he could feel his whole body nearly shaking in excitement. He had waited his entire life for this, whether he knew it or not.

 

[Darth Ophidia]

Darth Strosius
The library temple was easy to love, and the deeper one went into its mysteries, the deeper one's love for the temple could grow. There was much to learn here, but also much to fear. There were beings who walked these halls that would rend the mind and the soul to pieces, books that drove the reader mad, deep, dark tunnels and secret laboratories that had not been unlocked for millennia.

"It would take you years to understand, and through the coming years you will change it."

She unclipped the sabre on her right side and held it out, not for him to take, but to see. It balanced on her fingers as though it was part of her hand. The metal had many marks of use and the leather was so worn it had begun to change colour, yet there was a distinct elegance in the curve of the hilt and the single quillon extending out to protect the fingers.

"This was not my first design" "It took me years to learn, to change, and finally, to construct a weapon that suits me." "Your first weapon will not be perfect, but it will serve you."

She rolled the hilt into her hand and activated the blade vertically, casting the room in a red light. The blade was slender, yet radiated power. While it cast bright light, it also was seeped in darkness.

"Listen to the Force and it will respond." "And so will I, as far as I can." She turned off the lightsabre and put it back at her side. "The first step is the most crucial." Ophidia stepped around Alisteri, approaching the middle of the room as she looked at the pedestal near the far wall.

"The crystal." "It does not listen to you, it does not know you. You must teach it." She looked at Alisteri as she continued toward the pedestal, running her hand along the rough top surface. "Teach it your anger, teach it your pain, teach it about everything you hate and it will sing a hymn of darkness back to you." Her teeth clenched as she reached the opposite side of the pedestal, gesturing to its middle, she waited for him to approach.

"You need to make it bleed."

 

[Darth Strosius]

Darth Ophidia

Alisteri tilted his head slightly in confusion as he listened intently. He had assumed that lightsabres were hardly changed after their creation, but then again the most experience he had with such weapons was when the one in his possession now was used against him. There was room for error, in that regard.

His gaze ran over his master's weapon, noting the details and clear signs of use and age that it presented. He idly wondered how much had been changed since it's original construction, but ultimately it was difficult to tell what could have been there since the beginning and what had been changed after. He supposed one day his lightsabre would be much the same in that regard.

"I see..." He muttered in response with a small nod.

Reflexively, he took a small step back as the blade ignited and lit up the room. He wasn't worried about being struck by it of course; it was merely the unfamiliarity and the surprise that got him.

The apprentice watched as Ophidia walked towards the pedestal, his eyes tracing it before he followed after her. He glanced between the pedestal and his master in confusion, setting the crystal down in the center of it. "Right...I see..." He understood what she meant, to an extent anyway. The crystal had been unresponsive, amidst all of his poking and prodding of it in the past it had kept him at bay.

"So I just...pour my emotions into it?" Alisteri looked back at his master for an answer that he already halfway knew. All of his rage, all of his pain and anger and torment. He didn't want to relive it, he had spent his entire time of freedom trying to get away and forget it. The thought made his eye twitch. His eye, his one eye and his one replacement eye. It had to be replaced because it failed, because it was injured beyond repair. If he failed, then perhaps he would be replaced too...

He would not fail.

With a sigh to compose himself, he closed his eyes and focused his attention on the crystal. His mind prodded and poked at it once again, this time with renewed energy and purpose.

"Make it bleed...I will do this."

 

[Darth Ophidia]

Darth Strosius

"You must dig deep."

She removed her hands from the pedestal, letting him have it. Behind her, the carved runes seemed to shift and dance.

"No base feeling will do but the ones that split you to the bone"

The crystal responded to his attention and, resonated with the Force. In the beginning it resisted the darkness. It was a fight, and Alisteri would have to conquer.

"Peace is a lie, there is only passion" The Sith Lord's jaw clenched in anticipation as she spoke. "Remember this; use it."

Her words nearly a hiss.

Every light dimmed, and her eyes were like the barrels of blasters, or the lashing of a whip, just waiting to inflict pain and drive through fear and domination. She expected much of him, pushed him, sent him bouncing around the galaxy and running through arrid canyons, then pouring sleeplessly over tomes. She did not want him composed or fresh, she wanted him so tired he could not stop himself from feeling all the pain he had ever suffered.

"Take control!"

Eyes bore into him, like melting steel.

 

[Darth Strosius]

Darth Ophidia

He could feel the crystal's resistance as he attempted to breach into it, it was a sensation that he was used to. This wasn't the first time he sought to delve into the crystal, but with any luck it would be the last.

Alisteri could feel the tension in the room around him, idly feeling the hairs of the back of his neck standing up in response to it. His demeanor stayed calm and collected...for the moment anyway. Slowly and reluctantly, he peeled back the barriers that he had erected in his mind. He had locked away so much of his feelings about his past, there was just no reason to dwell on it in his mind. His thoughts had been shifting towards his past however; the trials that he had faced forced reflection upon him.

Each barrier that was cast aside stung, like a scab being pulled from a wound just after the scab had fully set in.

He focused inwardly, and inch by inch; could feel his calm break as a result of it. There was no going back either; he couldn't just ignore his own mind at the end of this. His scars would stick this time.

He remembered his childhood, growing up with loving parents. Those parents however, and by extension himself, weren't in a "loving" position. They made sure to instill in him that he was only worth what his body could provide. He was a piece of property, meant to work until he was replaced by either machinery or a better laborer. His body began to shake after a moment, his repressed rage at being robbed of his own childhood flaring up like a raging fire.

As his form trembled under the mental and emotional strain, he focused his anger at the crystal. His previous messy poking was reshaped into a ram against the crystal's resistance as he went through his own mind. He grew up in a place of suffering and work. As such, even though he was a child, he wasn't spared from it for long.

The days of labor flooded back as his mind settled on that one, accursed day. The day his parents died.

He was only seven, and yet he had already begun to work in the mines alongside his family. Cave-ins were fairly infrequent on Kessel, yet they still occurred of course. They tended to be caused by vehicles or machinery of some variety, and that was what had done his parents in. He remembered that he had been awarded with a day off that day, as the child slaves simply couldn't work as long as the adults could. He had been trying to learn to read at the time. That was when he was told what had happened.

His clenched eyes couldn't stop the tears that began to leak from his remaining eye. He had rushed ahead of the group of slaves, a dumb child in disbelief that his only family could be dead. Unfortunately, the cave-in was far from done by the time he arrived. He didn't feel the wrath of any rocks from the cave-in, instead he was struck by a malfunctioning light. He had fallen right into it, his left eye pressed against it as it exploded from overload.

Tears were flowing freely now, the pain of losing his eye coming back to him as he remembered how it had felt. The pain hammered against the crystal, mixing in and amplifying the rage that was already pounding its defenses.

He wasn't sure why his old master had taken pity on him. An injured slave, crying over the loss of his eye and of his parents. Regardless, his master evidently decided to be merciful that day. Alisteri was given medical attention far above the usual kind that was reserved for slaves, that saved him from death. There was no salvaging his eye however, most of that part of his face had to be replaced by machinery. He could feel the metal even now, as it sat in his skull and flesh. In that moment, he remembered that he had hated it too.

Then, the young man's knees gave out and he kneeled before the pedestal. His hands were still raised and his mind was still assaulting the crystal, yet his body still shook with rage and pain.

The rest of his life flashed like the light from a passing vehicle. His growth to adulthood, his education and hard labor during that time went by like a speeding shot from a blaster. Soon enough his mind replayed the events of his capture by pirates. The mine was assaulted by several groups of pirates, eager for free spice and some experience slaves. His adoptive...."father" had been killed in the attack, although that thought only brought a minor increase in his rage. He had never stopped hating that horrid man, even after all that he had gifted to him.

Those pirates that had taken him were disgusting. They only got him because of their minor role in the attack, so they only got one slave. He didn't care for why they had taken him, it didn't matter. His hatred sharpened into a brutal spear of pain and unfettered hatred as his anger began pouring from his mouth in the form of growls and shouts of rage. Said spear thrusted into the crystal's resistance with no mercy. The pirates had belittled him, changed him up like an animal and even used him as target practice at one point.

Killing them had been so sweet, so liberating. A cruel grin somehow formed on his face at the thought. And just like how he had torn them apart, he would tear this crystal apart if he had to.

 

[Darth Ophidia]

Darth Strosius

She could tell from his interaction with the crystal that he had prodded it before, as she would have expected from someone with his tenacity and penchant for curiosity.

Ophidia half closed her eyes as he delved into the crystal. She saw flashes of his memories, thoughts and emotions that rolled off him like smoke off a fire. While the spice mines on Kessel were different from the gutters of Rattatak, the contents of his visions were familiar to her. Kessel bought flesh to dig for and transport spice; Rattatak traded flesh and war for spice and credit. Their masters had held the whip, but in turn their subjects would rise. Where some might see kindness and relief, Ophidia only saw exploitation, hidden agendas, and self-congratulatory pats to the slave-owners' backs. Kindness never came without an agenda; whether that agenda was to inspire loyalty, awe, or simply to relieve oneself of guilt.

She had risen above guilt.

She, a former slave, had herself owned others. If they be worthy, she gave a chance at greatness. Those who were not worthy were lain down as bricks before those who were. Status, breed, riches, these things did not matter to the Force, nor did it matter to the Sith. Only ability let one scale the ladder of the Sith Order.

Every kindness, every evil, given to the right individual with the right will to power, were steps to ascension.

"If you give up now, you are nothing." "If you persist, you can have everything."

The crystal grew hot in his hand, searing, seemingly writhing to get out of his grasp. It screamed soundlessly against the agonising process. Make it scream. Make it sing a hymn of darkness. Make it bleed. Ophidia stared intently. Whether or not he would make it, she could not know. That was why she tested him, after all. She could not help, that would weaken him. He had to break and fit himself back together, piece by piece.

Only feelings that split one to the bone would work; only true passions would cut the crystal and cause it to bleed.

True fear, true anger, true pain, true hatred, true suffering.

"Through victory, your chains are broken."

Her fists clenched hard, knuckles pale.

 

[Darth Strosius]

Darth Ophidia

He could feel the searing pain that slashed through his body, coming from both the crystal and his own mind. Alisteri had become fairly adept at suppressing his own emotions, a lifetime of pitiless work had done that sure enough, but all of his barricades had long since fallen. Just as he attempted to bring this crystal to heel, his repressed emotions wasted little time cracking his façade of control and calm.

His body was tired, he hadn't slept in days. That wasn't too unusual of course, he often went without sleep for a few days at a time, but this time his body was more exhausted than usual. Between the training and the space travel alongside his battle with the Jedi, the apprentice had been at a near breaking point. The library proved to be a welcome relief, even if it didn't bring him sleep; by now however, any sort of rest that he had managed to secure had been seared away by the taxing efforts of this crystal.

Said crystal was firm in its efforts to break free of his mental barrage. He could feel it as it resisted him still.

That fact, that little resistance against him; caused him more rage and frustration than any of the past trials that he had experienced under his master.

"Why...won't...you...break?!?!"

Alisteri growled the words in a fit of anger, sounding more like a raging barbarian howling against their enemy. As he poured his anger and pain and utter hatred into the crystal, one last emotion made itself known in the back of his mind.

Fear.

The young man prided himself on not being afraid of many things; it was one of the few certainties he had in his life. He went through his whole life hardly ever fearing the path he treaded. Did he fear death? Of course, no sane creature didn't. Still, he was hardly troubled by such things. At this moment however...amidst the rage and pain of his past, fear began blooming in his mind.

For a brief moment...he doubted himself.

He was afraid of the outcome of this whole charade, he decided. This crystal could kill him couldn't it? It powered lightsabres and could fend him off mentally, so why couldn't it kill him? If it didn't and he failed, then his master would kill him. He had a very real chance of dying on this accursed planet, even more so now than when he had been scaling cliffs and facing down Jedi.

More than that, Alisteri feared what he would become if he survived and succeeded this whole ordeal.

His emotions couldn't be denied anymore, his past could never be scrubbed away or brushed aside again. He would be forever changed, regardless of how this ended. If nothing else, he decided he would live to see the end of this.

With reckless abandon he poured all that he had into the crystal, even as it struggled and lashed out against him. The emotions and memories bombarded the both of them as he could feel the blood pulsing in his veins from the stress. His mind held fast against the onslaught of both his inner turmoil and the crystal's resistance. Every single moment of pain, rage, frustration, and fear was brought from the depths of his mind to be lain down on this field of mental warfare.

 

[Darth Ophidia]

Darth Strosius

While, on the surface it might appear as if her apprentice was failing, it only took one look deeper to see the progression he was making.

It was one thing to learn that peace was a lie, but another thing entirely to feel it, to experience it, to live it. This failure, this doubt he was feeling seemed to her like the shattering of his inner complacency, his peace with himself and his own abilities. Only when that peace was purged would the bleeding occur. He was unravelling, and all his secrets spilling out into the open. He would be laid bare, broken, and from there build himself up.

In his hand, the crystal writhed in pain from the onslaught of his rage and pain. True passion, the ones that cut one's very core.

It lashed out, growing hot as a burning coal and throwing his hate back at him through visions of past, present and future. Reality itself almost cracked as the crystal tensed, threatening to break.

Would he call its bluff?

Ophidia herself watched intently, her face somewhere between judgement and amusement. A part of her enjoyed watching him and the crystal writhe in the feedback look of their own deconstruction, but another was sitting at the edge of its proverbial seat, waiting, watching, and for lack of a better word, hoping for him to succeed. She was an inventor watching the first run of her machine; she had stakes in it, time and money invested in the rewards it would yield. If he failed, she would have to begin again. Starting again was difficult and taxing. Ophidia was not growing any younger any time soon.

With the enemies at their gates, they needed more strong Sith. Not just the disposable ones pushed to the front lines too soon to inspire dread and then die in the trenches. She needed one who could rise to the occasion and shape the future of the Sith even when she was gone, when all the Sith of her age were dead and forgotten.

She needed a successor.

- True Sith.

 

[Darth Strosius]

Darth Ophidia

The apprentice struggled to keep himself steady as the battle of wills between him and the crystal continued to its climax. His mind was full of turmoil, his emotions and memories racking his inner thoughts with doubt and confusion as he fought against the crystal's resistances.

Alisteri could not find a single moment of reprieve in his own mind, his entire body and will focused on bleeding the crystal that was in his grasp.

His own defenses had long since collapsed in an effort to put everything he had into breaching the crystal, and he didn't bother trying to erect them again. It was too late anyway, his own mind would torment him far better than anything the crystal could. Right as he felt his limbs weaken and grow numb, right as he felt his own consciousness fading; the crystal finally bled as a scream of rage escaped him.

An explosion of immediate relief from the lack of resistance overtook his body, his eyes slammed shut as the backlash of his own efforts briefly washed over him. He fell back in surprise, a string of raspy curses spilling his throat. His voice had gotten rather hoarse throughout his little mental battle.

The crystal that he had spent so much effort on; sat on the pedestal as if nothing was wrong with its owner, the only difference being that the crystal had submitted to the will of Alisteri and had turned into an eye-catching red. The same red that a proper Sith's sabre had. Fatigue had made itself known to the young man, a small groan leaving him as he felt soreness blossom throughout his entire being. Both body and mind.

"Did...did it work master?" He asked, more out of surprise than actual disbelief. The glow from the crystal was fairly bright as it settled into its new form, so Alisteri could indeed see its color. He could hardly believe that he had actually done it, and had c

He had bested killed a Jedi, then he had taken the Jedi's crystal for himself like a true Sith would.

 

[Darth Ophidia]

Darth Strosius

There it was, the sight of true potential.

It was possible he did not feel it, but she could see the room itself shake with the power unleashed in his struggle to bleed the crystal. As he screamed in rage, the crystals around him resonated by growing bright like embers, while the very air around them had grown as cold as Rhen Var. It was an impressive display.

He fell back, his exhaustion and confusion visible.

Ophidia stepped up to the pedestal again, but did not reach out to touch the crystal that lay there, red, powerful, perfect. The heart of a Jedi turned and corrupted into the weapon of the Sith.

"It did." Her eyes shifted from the crystal to him. "You have done very well, my apprentice."

"Even now, your training has served you well." "Your adversaries have granted you growth, and with this weapon you shall face yet even greater challenges."

She looked him over, ashen lids decorated with finely applied black narrowed around the burning irises of her eyes as she surveyed his physial and mental state. The trial had taken a toll. The journey, the battles, the restlessness, and frustrations, and finally catharsis. He had deserved his reward before she put him through more. It was good that she could find his limits in this way.

"You have yet to construct your weapon, but to do so you must gather your strength again." "Rest, and meditate upon your victories."

She turned away from him and, extending her left hand, focused on the Force. The walls shook for a moment, and a door that had thus far appeared like part of the decoration, opened up with a slow grinding sound. Inside there was darkness. Even though this place exuded an unnatural cold, that dark space with its simple bed and rough sheets seemed oddly warm and inviting.

"When you awake, I will help you make your lightsabre." "Lest you blow yourself up in the process."

She dismissed him with a motion of her hand.

 

[Darth Strosius]

Darth Ophidia

His eyes closed for a moment as he attempted to steady himself. He calmed his labored breathing but his body was still sore, and his eye stung just a bit. His body still throbbed in pain and exhaustion as he sat up, grunting from the effort as he managed to right himself.

Alisteri looked back at his master as she spoke, his eye twitching at her words as he reluctantly nodded in acknowledgement and thanks. A part of him was embarrassed to be in such a position in front of her, so weak and exhausted. Another part, this one more prideful, idly thought that he could handle the rest of the lightsabre construction as he was now. It couldn't be anymore taxing than what he had just gone through right?

He quickly decided that he didn't want an answer to that question until later.

"Of course, my master. I shall be prepared to finish this task soon enough." He blinked in surprise at how raspy his own voice sounded.

That scream had done a number on his throat it would seem.

His gaze shifted quickly at the sound of grinding, shooting a suspicious glare at first as he watched the door open. He was also quick to suppress the groan from the sight of the bed. The apprentice could hardly remember the last time he had gotten any proper rest, let alone rest in an actual bed of all things.

With a small sigh as he prepared himself, Alisteri picked himself up off the ground. Wincing at the effort and strain, his gaze landed on the crystal that had caused him so much grief and emotional turmoil within the past few...minutes? Or had it been hours? The soreness in his body certainly leant credence to the hours theory.

"Ah...of course my master..." He sincerely hoped that she was joking about the whole "blow up" part.

He managed a small bow before reaching out to take the crystal from the pedestal. The strain in his joints made itself known as he walked into the room, although he wasn't sure if walk was the proper word. Perhaps hobble would be a more accurate term. Regardless he made his way into the room, setting the crystal aside on the bed before hauling himself onto it with a hiss of pain. "Oh thank goodness it's warm." He muttered under his breath.

 

[Darth Ophidia]

Darth Strosius

As her apprentice crawled into the dark alcove with its warm bed and quiet respite, Ophidia looked at the room around her. Shelves of materials, boxes of components and rows of tools waiting to be used in the creation of the staple of a Sith.

She remembered her own training, the making of her own sabres; they had gone through many a format since the first one she had made.

The original was brutish, simple, half scavenged from the vibroblades she had been more familiar with. Over time, her sabre had become more elegant, more effective. Her way of fighting changed, and so her weapons adapted. The first blade was straight and simple, but she had defeated a Jedi with a curved hilt and adopted the design. She then twinned the design, created new crystals, and added the protective guard. Comparing her current pair to the one she had made originally would make most think that they were not made by the same person at all.

In a sense, that was true. The originals were made by Saiah, the final form was made by Darth Ophidia.

They truly were different people.

Ophidia quietly moved over to the boxes and picked out a few materials. They were the types she knew he would need: Circuits, power cell, focusing lens, wires and connections. He would need to learn how to put it together, so he could continue to improve on it, replace it if he had to, and eventually teach others to do the same. She opened a metal cupboard, sealed to protect it from fire, and flipped through the schematics there. She recognised some, took a moment to look at others, then gathered a few of them in her holographic device.

"That should suffice."

She placed the device on the worktable and sat down in the chair.

For the first time, the Rattataki allowed herself to relax. The tightness of her features faded a bit, showing her age and concern. Her fingers intertwined, a hand of ink with a hand of ash, as her elbows rested on her knees. Ophidia closed her eyes, let her shoulders sink, and felt the Force touch her mind. Something momentous was coming, and Alisteri needed to be prepared. They all needed to be prepared. The Empire was under siege, and she knew she would not be alive to see the end of the war. Not like this, anyway. Her hands reached up to her head and caressed the hairless face. She felt the thin skin, the wrinkles, the scars. each one held a memory: Ferus, the master who had trained her and the acolytes she had trained with; Animus, Alisteri the apprentices she had taught; Cerbera. Yes, Cerbera most of all.

Another cup of tea would have been nice.

 

[Darth Strosius]

Darth Ophidia

For the first time in a decent while, either due to his exhaustion or just simple luck, Alisteri's insomnia failed to manifest itself as he slumbered within the alcove. The crystal laid not too far from his sleeping form, the light and energy that it emitted not seeming to bother him in the least. If anything, it was almost as if he slept better with it being there.

Whilst his body rested however, his mind was still active.

The process of the Bleeding had drained him physically yes, but it had also revealed and reminded the young man of the scars that had been pushed aside and forgotten in his memories and psyche. Said scars would prove to make themselves known in his dreams. Then again, it wasn't as if his dreams were all that peaceful to begin with anyway.

He had almost always been hampered by nightmares since his parents died.

Flashes of his past and all the pain that they brought with them troubled and overwhelmed his dreams as he rested. His parents, his slavery, his abduction then liberation from pirates, and the trials that his master had put him through, all circled and battered his mind via his dreams. A part of him knew that these nightmares would more than likely become a habit until he had settled with his past, but that part wasn't in control. Besides, the rest of him was too busy wrestling with those nightmares to listen to that part regardless.

Although his inner thoughts were far from peaceful, the young man still managed to get a good few hours of rest before his eyes slowly cracked open once again. His gaze immediately landed on the crystal that was next to him, his hand reaching out to take it after a moment.

Time to get to work, he supposed.

Alisteri reluctantly sat up, wincing as he was reminded of the soreness still in his muscles. He pushed past the pain and stretched as he stifled a small yawn, soon sliding off of the bed and standing up as he finished the last of his stretches. He glanced back down at the crystal in his palm, finding the new red color to be far more soothing to his scattered thoughts than anything else at the moment.

Soon he emerged from the alcove and glanced around the workshop. "Master?"

 

[Darth Ophidia]

Darth Strosius

When Alisteri emerged fromt he alcove, he would find her kneeling on the floor before the massive holographic form of the Sith Emperor. Their words were muffled, or perhaps they spoke a language he did not understand. Either way, it was near impossible to hear what the two had to say until the very end. He would not have caught the Emperor's words, but Ophidia's response was clear.

"The timeline has changed." She looked up at the hologram. "I will leave for Bastion tonight to prepare for the siege."

Darth Ophidia rose to her feet as the Dark Lord flickered out of existence, the holographic call ending. Straightening herself, she turned and looked at Alisteri over her shoulder.

"At last, you are awake."

The holographic device jumped into her hand, which then vanished behind her back as one hand clasped the other in her usual stance, where the disk was slipped into a pocket in her belt. She looked Alisteri over, sensing his energy and state of mind before pushing on with the teaching. Now that it had been revealed she had less time than first assumed, she needed to make sure her apprentice had what he needed to progress in her absence.

"I have sent for food to be delivered. It's not good, but it is edible." "Meanwhile, we have a lightsabre to construct." She turned to the worktable and activated the second holographic device. "I have gathered some schematics and components for you, but in the end you will put the weapon together yourself."

She looked at him again while a hologram of the available schematics floated over the table.

"It's a fickle operation, you must focus. Any mistake could be catastrophic."

While she appeared calm and collected, there was a pressure in her tone that suggested they hurry.

 

[Darth Strosius]

Darth Ophidia

Once he had spotted his master, he was quick to step back into the alcove as to not be caught out in the open. He didn't want to be rude after all; that, and walking in on a conversation with the Emperor sounded like a good way to get himself killed.

Against his better judgement however, he did listen in a bit. All he caught was the ending, but that little bit of information was enough to cause a stir in his mind. A siege on Bastion? Who would be insane enough to attack that planet? He brushed those questions aside however, stepping back out and giving his master a small bow of respect right after the call had ended. "I apologize for making you wait."

He did his best to not visibly flinch at the idea of food. The thought of what this planet could provide for sustenance unnerved him, even though he did feel rather hungry. His discomfort was quickly overshadowed as she spoke however, perking up slightly. For a moment, he idly thought he could feel the crystal pulse in his hand. Perhaps it was as excited as he was.

"I see...thank you master."

He stepped closer, his gaze wandering over the worktable with interest and excitement. His master's warning didn't even seem to phase him that much as he examined the schematics.

Alisteri had a very rudimentary understanding of lightsabre construction, as he had assembled and disassembled the Jedi's lightsabre a couple of times in the past. He wasn't too familiar with any sort of engineering or construction either, but he did have some experience from his days on Kessel. Usually it was just grabbing tools or whatever else for the actual workers, but he had helped repair both machinery and vehicles alike more than once.

With any luck, he would be able to recall those memories as he worked on his weapon.

His attention soon split between the schematics and what was on the worktable itself, now standing over said table and setting the crystal off to one side as he examined his options for construction. "Right...I can edit and reconstruct it later yes? So I just need to get a working lightsabre at the moment?" He asked for confirmation.

He just hoped that he could make a working sabre at all, but he wasn't about to let his misgivings be known.

 

[Darth Ophidia]

Darth Strosius

She nodded, listening to his questions but with less intensity than some of the previous days. There was something else on her mind. Even so, she was focused enough to force him to pay attention to the matter at hand.

"Only time and experience will show you what your weapon should look like."

Reaching into the hologram, she selected one of the schematics. It appeared as assembled, but disassembled itself as she gripped it and spread her fingers. Every component had a small tag that could be expanded to explain what each piece did and what he would require to build it. The most essential elements were there: The power cell, circuits, connecting wires and an emitter lens, and of course the crystal. However, it needed the outer shell and activation system, but it was likely he would be able to find something in that order somewhere in the storage around them.

"But in order to survive that long, you need a weapon that works." "It is of no use if you cannot hold it."

She closed that schematic and opened another and turned it around with her fingers. Her eyes narrowed and lips thinned as she considered it.

"It may be a good idea to look at the weapons you already carry for inspiration, or even parts"

She glanced at him, then back to the hologram. "And there is nothing wrong with using an existing casing if it suits you, and doesn't resist you"

 

[Darth Strosius]

Darth Ophidia

Alisteri watched the hologram with interest, his eyes widening slightly as he saw how it disassembled and listed the parts that he would need. He found it rather interesting but knew it wasn't something to be toyed with of course.

"I see...I believe I understand."

He muttered after a moment of scrutinizing the design on the hologram. Although he did spare a glance at the hilt that he still carried with him, ultimately he decided that it wouldn't do. This was his own weapon, not one stolen from another. Besides, the idea of it resisting him in someway only made his body sore as he remembered the Bleeding. So, he dismissed that possibility.

A small hum of thought left him as he reached out to touch the hologram himself, experimentally moving through another schematic as if just to see that he could. He decided on something fairly simple for now, as to keep the construction necessary not all that complex. Still, even in simplicity there was always room for a little bit of flair.

Finally, after looking over a couple other possible schematics he landed on one that caused him to pause as he looked it over. He spun the image around too look at it from a different angle, then disassembled it to look at its parts.

"This one seems very interesting."

He spoke after looking over the schematic as well as glancing at the parts that were nearby. It wouldn't be the simplest design that he had seen, but something about it called to him.

With that in mind, his gaze shifted back to the parts and he began combing through them to gather what he would need.

 

[Darth Ophidia]

Darth Strosius

Ophidia took a step back when her apprentice began inspecting the various schematics. It was his choice, and it was supposed to fit him, and she was only there to facilitate him. As such, being able to step back and let him find the type he preferred was something she considered a win. Her hands crossed in front of her chest as she waited, letting other thoughts in for a moment.

Only when he spoke again did she look once more.

"Indeed, very interesting."

She simply stepped aside to let him comb through what he needed. While Alisteri was rummaging through one box, she reached up and extended through the Force to move another one out of its shelf, then hover it down next to him. The grip itself was probably fairly easy to find, but she knew he probably would have to make the emitter piece from another element with a bit of sawing and filing. With the tools they had at disposal, it should not be too challenging or time consuming, but it was perhaps unnerving. In some of the boxes there lay half-finished combinations of sabre parts that were easily altered, ideas that were discarded by their owners. Such elements could cut time, if he could find the ones that fit together.

"That circuit is blown, toss it." She gestured to one of the items he had collected. It looked fine, but she saw a flaw.

 

[Darth Strosius]

Darth Ophidia

Alisteri glanced back up at the schematic for reference as he pulled out some potential parts for his weapon. Thankfully there were some tools to modify whatever didn't fit exactly. That was until he saw the new box next to him of course.

He tossed the part that he had been holding aside without much hesitation. He didn't notice anything wrong with the circuit himself, but he trusted his master's eye far more than his own in that regard. The grip was by far the easiest part to scavenge or cobble together, especially with the fact that one of the boxes had many half-finished hilts that he could work with.

After a few minutes of working, he had the hilt itself mostly done. He had gone through a little refitting and reworking on the hilt more than once but he hadn't struggled too much with it regardless. Now he decided to work on a piece for the emitter. Obviously whatever he found would need some modification to match the schematic but if he found the proper one to work off of then it wouldn't take too long. Some time searching later and some sawing, followed by some file work that he was particularly proud of; and that piece was basically done as well.

With everything mechanical mostly in place, the apprentice then carefully worked to get the crystal into its functional place.

That had taken probably the longest to do, mostly because he had momentarily misplaced the part that would keep said crystal in place. Thankfully, he found said part fairly quickly.

Finally, everything clicked together. A sigh left him and he felt all of the tension that he didn't know he had leave him as well, holding the now completed lighsabre and turning it over in his hands with a triumphant look. It had taken a good long while, and plenty of tools to make everything slide together properly, but he had done it.

"I believe...that it's done!"

He finally spoke after a moment, twisting the hilt in his grip so that he could activate it for the first time. After a moment of hesitation, he ignited the blade. The red light from the blade illuminated his relieved face as he gave it a small test swing.

"It actually works!"