Prisoner of War

[Scherezade deWinter]

Unnamed Government Building beneath the Citadel​

Tags: [member="Cay-Yo"] & [member="Srina Talon"]​

Madalena would have loved to say that she was covered in grime and dirt after the fighting on Copero. But the truth was, that aside for her ruined boot, she left the battlefield pretty clean, dragging behind her through the Force, a little guy ([member="Cay-Yo"]) that had been fighting for the Jen'ari side.

She had bested him in combat, though it wasn't much of a combat; a lightsaber strike, missed knives, and then the Force Choke that had put her on top. If everything else had failed, she could've of course tried to sit on him, seeing how she was 6 feet of wonderful thickness and he was little over 100 grams condensed into 40 centimeters. But although she was a Sith, she was not unnecessarily cruel.

The way back to CIS space had been uneventful, the little guy caged and kept sedated through it all. The rest of the people had gone for another round of Cards Against the Confederacy for a bit before everyone retreated to rest on their own.

Of course, Madalena had informed both Vicelord [member="Darth Metus"] and Exarch [member="Srina Talon"] that she had secured the prisoner. Her suggestion had been swift and immediate – convert him to the Confederacy's side. There was a whole lot of information that they could get from him, and if that happened willingly, they could have a much easier time at the next instance that they picked their lightsabers up to go fight an Empire on the other side of the Galaxy.

Arriving on Geonosis, Madalena wasted no time in taking her prisoner down to beneath the Citadel, where prisoners of this kind were being held. She gently placed the little guy inside one of the detention blocks, along with some food which she hoped was suitable for his biology. His weapons were, of course, taken from him, and hung on the wall so he could view them. Force Shackles were placed on his hands in case he decided to do something stupid.

Madalena, washed and refreshed, and wearing her Obsidian Armor now, pulled up two chairs in front of the block, and sat on one of them. The other chair would be in place for when [member="Srina Talon"] showed up. And all she had to do now, was wait; for Cay-Yo to wake up, and for Exarch Talon to arrive.

 

[Cay-Yo]

Cay-Yo opened his eyes slowly and blinked hard as the blurry room began to form around him, he was completely disoriented. When he attempted to wipe his eyes with his hands he felt them unable to move, something was holding them in place. His eyes focused on what looked to him to be shackles of some sort, looking around the now less blurry room he realized that he was in some form of room. What had happened? Why was he restrained? Cay-Yo still felt the exertion from the fight on Copero and was extremely weary due to it. Instead of standing the Patitite hoisted his torso up so that he sat cross legged on the floor of the cell.

Something caught his nose, it was the smell of food! Cay-Yo looked over his shoulders before seeing the plate of food near him, while he was hungry to a degree he did not eat. If he was a prisoner, which he had now ventured to believe he was, he would not be eating just everything that was placed in front of him. Out of the corner of his eye Cay-Yo saw a figure "Who are you? Where am I?" he asked. The person seemed to be sitting on a chair "Take these off." he said with tired exasperation while holding up his bound hands.

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

Madalena hated waiting. She was a woman of movement, of action. Even when she read something, it was usually while walking on a treadmill, simply because sitting still bored the heck out of her. More than one trainer had been surprised as her inability to gain any form of control over the Medication force power, as even sitting still for a bit had simply put her on edge instead of calm and centered her.

She'd worked out first. Pushups, pull ups, climbing on and off the chair. Then she'd sat in the chair and counted made up Kaadu's wearing pink lacy underwear. Then she lay down and attempted a nap. Cleaned her nails with one of her knives. Pretended the room was covered in glitter.

And then finally, the sedating began to wear off, and the creature in the cage began to stir.

Madalena jumped back to her chair and sat her tush down, looking at him as he came to, glowing green eyes full of wonder and curiosity.

"No," she answered with a smile as he asked her to take his cuffs off, "you're within Confederacy space. You and I battled near the parliament on Copero and you lost."

That, hopefully, would remind him who she was. "My name is Madalena. I'm a Pathfinder with the Knights Obsidian." If he checked her words through the Force, he would know she spoke the truth. There was no reason to lie. Madalena did not care if her name got back to the Jen'ari; they did not scare her, and she was pretty sure that even if she could not best individuals within them, she could still call enough allies and friends to best them regardless.

"What's your name?" she asked with a friendly smile, "By the way, feel free to eat and drink. The food is safe. Don't want anyone complaining that I mistreated my prisoner of war."

[member="Cay-Yo"] [member="Srina Talon"]

 

[Cay-Yo]

Narrowed his eyes when she informed him who she actually was. So, he was in Confederate space now was he? His brief look at the known galactic map which was present in the shuttle he had taken to Copero showed that Confederate space was on the other side of the galaxy "Then I guess you've defeated the Jen'ari, yes?" Cay-Yo stood up as best he could and looked over to the food that she urged him to eat. The Patitite turned to face her again and held up his bound hands "It is hard to eat when you cannot move your hands." he grinned "Besides, what is the harm? I do not have a weapon. Didn't you say you wanted me to join you? This is not how friends treat friends."

Cay-Yo was under no delusion that his bargaining position was nearly non-existent. He could not break out on his own and the chances of the Jen'ari Empire sending anyone to free him was about as likely as them actually winning a battle. All he could do for now is attempt some sort of negotiations.

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

"Maybe we did, maybe we didn't," Madalena answered with a careless shrug. In truth, she simply hadn't received the news yet about how that war had ended. She knew that her part in it, as well as the part of her friends, had been successful, but a war was more than her own battle. There were bigger things into it, and she cared more about resting and having fun than about what the politicians were going to call the outcome. There'd be a party later that week anyway.

"You can move your hands from the plate to your face and back," she smiled then, "but I don't have the required access to get you out of those shackles even if I wanted to. I just have the clearance to put them on you."

Kicking her feet up, the Sithling looked at the little guy. "So what do I call you?" she asked again, "I mean, I can call you Shrimpie, but I don't think you're gonna like that too much."

[member="Cay-Yo"] [member="Srina Talon"]

 

[Cay-Yo]

Looked to the food and then back to his captor as he was now sure that there were no getting out of these shackles "Fine." he stubbornly conceded before walking over to the food and tearing off a handful for him to shove into his hungry mouth. It wasn't bad but there was nothing like home cooking. When she asked what she should call him he turned to face her and straightened up with dignity "I am Cay-Yo, the most powerful Patitite to ever live! Also owner of Big Meds, we sell bandages." he tacked that last little bit on with a smug smirk, how many Patitite owned businesses that traded outside of the planet? Him!

The Patitite got another handful of food and stuffed it into his mouth and spoke through his chewing "The way I see it you have two options." he began as he took another bite of food "You could either kill me or convince me to join you." he took yet another bite, the food was starting to grow on him. He hadn't ate in a while and he was still recovering from all that physical exertion from the previous fight "Because the Jen'ari told me nothing, I don't know where any big boom things are or where the Emperor takes his naps.So I have no information to give. Jen'ari do not care about me either so they won't trade or pay ransom." Cay-Yo wiped his mouth with the shackles then walked towards the gate of his cell "So what will it be monster?"

 

[Srina Talon]

Location: The Citadel [Detention Sub-Levels]​

Tags: [member="Scherezade deWinter"] | [member="Cay-Yo"]​

Small. Tiny. Miniscule.

The only member of the Jen’ari that the Confederacy had managed to capture alive, versus, leaving a body behind was a pocket-sized Patitite. The wintry woman had never seen one before in the flesh. She paced slowly before the holo-screens that monitored their new house guest, truthfully, assessing this young creature through a variety of spectrums. His presence was deeply steeped in the Force but with the provided restraints he would not have access to it. Without it—He could not escape.

Knight Antares [[member="Scherezade deWinter"]] seemed to almost have taken a liking to it. The silent Exarch believed in the time-honored tradition of feeding their enemies to the Leviathan in the Petranaki Arena, however, she also saw the value in retaining a potential asset. He was a laughable little thing. But, somewhere, in such a diminutive frame, lay a warrior. There was a strong heart. Either that or there was a misplaced sense of courage coupled with an overblown ego.

She didn’t know yet. But, anyone that stared down an entire invading force virtually alone was worth a second glance. When she left the observation deck two Dauntless suddenly straightened up. One greeted her, with a brief “Ma’am”, whilst the other nodded his head. Mercurial eyes met theirs without hesitation and slow nod caused them to fall in step behind her. Typically, she employed Magnaguard. Today? Dauntless. It made sense to vary her security for those watching. “Should the prisoner escape, restrain, but do not kill without my consent.”

They nodded and the biometric scanners flared to life, before, allowing the trio to pass. She was dressed in the same clothing she had worn in the offices of the Citadel that day. Pale, flowery, and almost delicate. Moonlit hair flowed down her back in shimmering waves whilst an equally white gossamer cape ran whisper-soft along the floor behind her. Nothing about her seemed to echo with the might of the Darkside. She wasn’t wearing the hooded, hexagonal pattered, armor of the Knight Obsidians. Nor her Scarlet Vow.

The portal to the holding area slid open and the slender female stepped forward. The Dauntless waited just inside the door, one on either side, and glacier eyes fixated on the Patitite. They were intrusive. Insightful, in a way they had no right to be. They were pools of silver, speckled with stars, and made for lesser beings to drown in. “Is our Jen’ari detainee behaving himself, Knight Antares?”

Her question was soft but the strength of her voice carried regardless. They would both hear her without trying. She moved into the room, noting that he hadn’t eaten, and well knew that his restraints remained. “I am Exarch Talon of the Confederacy of Independent Systems.”, she began, speaking formally, as the situation demanded. She was known by many names. The White Lady, the Dread Queen. Darth Omnia. There was no warmth in her. No light. Her soul might as well have been a barren wasteland for all she seemed to notice his uncomfortable predicament. “As my Knight has already asked, small one, we require your name. Include your ranking in the Jen’ari Empire. Answer our questions, and please, do not attempt to lie.”

“Should I suspect it your accommodations will become far less hospitable.”

A prisoner of wat was just that. A prisoner. His fate was yet to be decided. Knight Antares seemed to think that there was something more than one of the Jen’ari Emperor’s dogs but the verdict had not yet settled. Whether he survived this encounter or not would depend entirely on him. There was no one coming for him. Not the Jen’ari, not any other Sith, and no one with the capability of breaching the defenses of Geonosis. He was buried beneath the beating heart of their nation.

There were only two ways out. With them, or against them. By his own will—Or in a shoe box.

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

He was Cay-Yo, the most powerful Petitite to ever live, owner of Big Meds. He seemed so proud, standing there to his full height of forty centimeters. Madalena had to forcefully remind herself that this was a prisoner of war, someone who worked for the Jen'ari, someone who ruined her boots! Some of those sins were unforgivable, and yet she still wanted to coo over him and melt at how cute his façade was.

Walking over to the cars of the cage, Madalena removed one of the Czerka knives from her body and ran the sharp edge over the bar. "Maybe I could kill you," she said in a dreamy voice, "I used to breed Hutts. Baby Hutts. Then strapped them to bombs and sent them up sewers or whatever, tell them when to go boom. It was a beautiful sight." She looked at Cay-Yo, the glow of her green eyes so very tangibly hungry, "they were about your size."

Monster. He called her a monster. Was it meant to threaten her? No, if anything, it widened her grin even more. There were a very few and fine lines that Madalena would never cross. He wasn't anywhere near one of them.

The doors to the room slid open and Madalena didn't need to turn her head to know who was there. She'd picked the scent of Exarch Srina Talon up already and unless severed from the Force, would know her anywhere, under any guise. Still, she turned around, offering a respectful bow of the head.

"Yes, Exarch," she said with an ear to ear grin. It would be hard to miss how much she was enjoying her position right now.

Stepping aside, Madalena let the Exarch ask her questions. Cay-Yo had given some of the answers already, but she supposed Exarch Talon was on her way to the holding cells and did simply not know yet. Or maybe, not that Cay-Yo would be facing her, his answers would change. Madalena had detected no lies in his answer before, but there was always something more that he could say.

Madalena sat on one of the chair she'd brought with her earlier, wishing she had a box of popcorn with her.

[member="Cay-Yo"] [member="Srina Talon"]

 

[Cay-Yo]

When his captor came near the cell with the knife being brandished against him Cay-Yo stepped forward towards it daringly "Maybe." he sneered with emphasis on the possibility of her not being able to kill him. One thing was for sure, this Patitite was not afraid of his current predicament! As Madalena recounted her past actions with infant Hutts the notion seemed to escape him, he had no idea what a Hutt was. What did a baby Hutt look like? "So you kill children?" he asked in a perplexed tone.

Then a newcomer had entered the detainment cells and he looked over to see who it was. She was not like the others he had seen, she seem cleaner, in a way. His eyes looked her over intently before he had a realization "I know you!" he began to grin "Copero." he stated smugly recalling that he had seen her at the steps of the parliament building. At the time he had not known she was working for the Confederacy.

"Exarch? What is that?" he asked under his breathe with the same perplexed attitude he had given when Hutts had been brought up. The Patitite did not have that word in their vocabulary but by the way she spoke and carried herself it was a title that leaders used. Cay-Yo gave her full attention although his confidence did not wavier, his small voice pipping up boldly "I am Cay-Yo, Acolyte of the Jen'ari, the most powerful Patitite to live!" he loved saying that but then something clicked in his head and he quickly added "Also owner of Big Meds, we sell bandages." he quirked his eyebrow with not-so-subtle arrogance "Former Acolyte." he was under no delusions of returning to the Jen'ari Empire. If by some strange twist of fate that the two women released Cay-Yo he would not return to an Empire that could not defend themselves and who had so many external enemies.

 

[Srina Talon]

Location: The Citadel [Detention Sub-Levels]​

Tags: [member="Scherezade deWinter"] | [member="Cay-Yo"]​

Her wintry gaze lingered on Madalena for a long moment before her focus shifted to the prisoner. It always surprised her, how different, Madalena was over her other self. The Exarch still didn’t know the specifics of her memory loss but she was open-minded enough to see that things had changed. Whether it was for the better or not was still undetermined. Parts of her couldn’t help but wonder what happened to the spitfire Scherezade. Was she still in there, somewhere?

“The Hutt are overgrown slugs. I would not choose to use them for warfare, however, they served the purpose that Knight Antares desired. Waste not. Want not.”

The small creature in restraints seemed to recognize her. Slowly, her head inclined, and ivory hair spilled over her shoulder. “Yes. Copero.”, she responded quietly. Though her glacier nature was not deliberate there was something achingly beautiful in the stillness that surrounded her being. She was near-human but even that seemed far-fetched. Her eyes flickered when she remembered the bodies of the Chiss that had lay slain on the steps. Though blue-skinned, the Chiss, bled so much red…

So much red where the Jen’ari had chosen to kill their own people over offering sanctuary.

“The Vicelord is to the Confederacy as Darth Vyrassu is to your Empire. I am his long arm of the law. A right hand.”

It was the simplest way she could think to explain it. She was the right hand whilst [member="Adron Malvern"] was the left. They were both second in line to succeed [member="Darth Metus"] if something went awry. Fervently, the young woman hoped it never happened, but she well understood the need to be prepared. The snow-kissed female remained silent whilst the Acolyte introduced himself. She searched him for any sense of falsehood. Her gaze focused, sharpening, and she took a step forward. “Former Acolyte?”

Again, not a lie.

She ruminated for a long moment before making a decision. It would be clear that the Echani had unseen decisions rolling around in her mind that could not be easily settled. Her distaste of the Jen’ari was not personal, nor, was it born of hatred. It was simply due to the fact that the Confederacy would not suffer the birth of a new Empire in silence. They had borne the oppression of the Galactic Empire for what felt like an age. She had nearly died during the event.

The Vicelord would not risk his people. He would not risk the lands of their former allies.

“The Jen’ari are a cancer, little Cay-Yo.”

The simple words were spoken without emotion. Without feeling. There was nothing in her that felt as if she were slandering the Empire. They were the enemy and their status as a malignant tumor was well known. “How did you find yourself among their ranks? A Patitite in Chiss Space seems a little strange…”

“You were a long way from Patitite Pattuna.”

It was true that travel could have taken him far from his home world, or perhaps, he had never been there at all. Not all Echani were born on Eshan. It stood to reason that could also be the case. Regardless, he should catch her meaning. She was searching for his goals. His origins. His loyalty it seemed was easily shifted. It was either a character flaw or a triumph.

At any rate, she brought to hand up to her holo-comm and a few quick keystrokes caused that which held Cay-Yo captive would fall way. He was powerful, for such a little one, but Srina held no fear of retribution. He might try to escape, but that, would be a mistake. He would never leave the Citadel alive. “Knight Antares was right. You should eat. While you do…Fill in the blanks. What do you know about the Jen’ari infrastructure? The hierarchy? Military?”

Their might had already been tested. They had failed. Now, it was time to ensure that the extermination had been successful. Details could be gleaned a variety of ways but there was nothing better than hearing it from the horses mouth.

 

[Cay-Yo]

Continued to keep his eyes on the Exarch, while she was otherworldly in her demeanor and appearance to a Patitite many things appeared this way. As she confirmed his suspicions that she was indeed the woman from the steps of the parliament building Cay-Yo seemed pleased with himself "I like to think I'm fairly perceptive." He stayed silent as she explained the dynamics of the Confederacy to him as to how important the Vicelord was to the CIS and her place within it. It appeared that the Exarch's interest was perked by his mention of his rank "Former Acolyte, yes. Nobody will come for me, I might as well be dead to the Jen'ari."

Srina's questioning seemed standard enough so Cay-Yo was not concerned and answered in a calm manner, with a slight tone of smugness beneath it "A Jen'ari scout was chased to the surface of our planet by the Chiss. My people spoke to him about me and he was interested. He spoke of powerful beings and said that I could be like them if I came with him. So I did." he explained "You big people think we Patitite are primitive just because we haven't built ships. No! We know about the big ships that cut through the stars, huge armies, droids, and we have legends of wizards." at the last sentence he chuckled "The Sith and Jedi aren't as frightening as our legends say." Cay-Yo up to this point was not impressed with the Force wielders he had personally encountered, nothing seemed to bend the realms of imagination. Of course he had seen some floating knives but Cay-Yo could levitate rocks, same concept.

As the tiny restraints clattered to the cell floor, Cay-Yo looked down at his wrists. He now had a choice before him. Did he attempt to break out of his prison or did he go along with the Exarch's little interrogation? The Patitit'e eyes flicked side to side quickly before he raised his head and clasped his hands behind his back to stare straight up at the two women "I already had some." he nods his head over to the food. He did not blame anyone for not noticing, he had small hands and a small mouth "You want to know secrets?" he gave a curt laugh to that "They told me nothing. Taught me nothing. Their soldiers, they are armed with rifles and grenades. There's the Emperor and then his dark council but I never met them. They have big buildings, not shiny." Cay-Yo folded his arms over his chest and tapped his mouth with one of his four fingers "Hmmm. Darth Animus, if he's alive, was on the council and he was supposed to be on Copero. Diarmid was the Governor of Copero, the Breakwater Protocol was a retreat order." The Patitite rubbed his chin as he continued to search for useful information "They wanted to evacuate the Executive Council first, then the parliament. I made sure the leaders were gone before you got there." Cay-Yo looked up to the Exarch and stared into her eyes intently with a certain ferocity "If I knew how weak they were I would have left them in the streets with the other red-eyes." He had not given the order for the troopers to kill the Chiss but he did not disagree with it. They were the ones that wanted into his building, not the other way around.

Cay-Yo began to pace back and forth in his cell, arms behind his back once more "The Jen'ari didn't even fight back! They are cowards. If my people were to fight, we fight until it's finished. These bigs just leave. Their people did not fight back. Who did they want to defend them? Fight for yourself. Besides if you lose you'll just get crushed. It'll be quick." he spoke mostly from the Patitite's point of view. If you couldn't fight for yourself how could you expect anyone to fight for you? Tales were passed down of his people charging the two giant droids and defeating them. While the Golden Droid brought them democracy and the White Droid killed the legendary villain Big Hay-Zu, his ancestors did not know this! They fought with giant steel constructs and won through their tenacity and bravery. Cay-Yo was a believer in the Patitite's martial past. From the unification wars under Big Hay-Zu to the wars in the name of ideas under their democratically elected leaders.

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

Overgrown slugs. That was exactly why first Scherezade and then Madalena had made good use of them. She'd looked at every blueprint of security detailing that she could get her hands on; motion sensors, heat sensors, signal sensors… Almost everything was looking for either humanoids or droids. Nothing was looking for cold blooded sentient sluggies who were tiny enough because they were still technically babies. It was a perfect plan, and one that had so far worked.

The thought of killing children was not in any way strange or horrid to the Sithling. A life was a life. There were those she protected because she cared for them. There were those she protected because she got something out of it. And then there was everybody else. The lines were very drawn, and very clear to her. Sanctity of life was rarely something Madalena bothered herself with.

Remaining silent in her seat, the curvaceous brunette simply took mental notes; at how the Exarch conducted her questioning, but more importantly, what the little bald Ken-doll was saying.

In truth, she found it interesting. Part of her wished they had met under better circumstances. While she could not detect blood lust that equaled hers, she detected a god honor of fighting and battle underneath his words. And he was right, of course. You either fought for those who would fight with you, or you fought for those who could not fight. You never fought for those who were too weak in power to fight, too scared of their own shadow.

Madalena did not care of empires rising one way or another, but she loved being pointed in the direction of an enemy and be given free reign to destroy thing.

Destroyer of Toys. That title sounded very nice inside her head.

Glowing green eyes continued to watch as the conversation between the Exarch and the Prisoner continued. There was no reason for her to interfere in any way.

[member="Cay-Yo"] [member="Srina Talon"]

 

[Adron Malvern]

​

[member="Scherezade deWinter"] | [member="Cay-Yo"] | [member="Srina Talon"]​

​

There was nothing the Exarch wanted more than to retreat to his flat and lose himself in a bottle of the finest whiskey The Confederacy could offer. The Campaign against Copero had been dull and uneventful, even from the administrative view it had been a relatively easy invasion. Of course, the Exarch was never one to take something like that for granted. He had been reviewing the records from the battle, an old habit from his time served as Minister of War, though it was something that had been cultivated years ago when he yet served the Galactic Empire as an Imperial High Moff. The file that had found itself on his desk was one passed from his counter-part, [member="Srina Talon"]. She alerted him of the prisoner that had been taken from Copero and even had made plans to speak with him herself. His presence was not required, Srina was more than capable of gaining any and all information that could linger in the small thing's mind, yet Adron made his way to the sub-levels of The Citadel never the less.

At the peak of the detention level stood a duo of Commando droids. As Adron came into view the droid's optics illuminated a deep shade of crimson. One of them stepped forward but as it scanned the Exarch's features and realized who he was it returned to it's post. "Good evening, Exarch." It's metallic voice called out as Adron approached the terminal before him. He allowed the device to scan his biometrics as he did not bother to return the automatons greeting. Why would he? It was only a droid and he despised droids.

As the door gave a soft click and parted, allowing the man passage below. He soon found himself descending to the cell where the Jen'ari prisoner was being held. Approaching the door, it too would part upon his approach and his azure eyes would look over those within the room. He could sense each and every one of them far before he saw their faces. Glancing at the Dauntless Commandos who stood guard, he paid them little mind before his gaze fell on the small detainee who stood before him. [member="Cay-Yo"] was an unimpressive prisoner, in fact he did make the Exarch regret this journey a bit, yet at the same time he knew this was a warrior who fought for the Jen'ari which meant not only could he be dangerous, he could hold a wealth of information.

"You are a little thing, aren't you?" His silken voice called out before he chuckled out softly. He turned, giving [member="Scherezade deWinter"] a brief glance before his lips drew into a thin line. So the Knight deWinter who now went by Antares had been the only one to take a prisoner?

"It seems you've brought The Confederacy a useful prisoner. Well done." The praise was brief, yet deserved. There was no grey area in the halls of war, wither you had done well or you likely had died. Since few losses occurred within The confederacy it was obvious they were victorious. Adron looked to Srina with a gracing smile before stepping back and crossing his arms over his chest. "Don't let me interrupt, please continue." He said, content to hear how things would play out, rather than attempt to pull the strings.

 

[Srina Talon]

Location: The Citadel [Detention Sub-Levels]​

Tags: [member="Scherezade deWinter"] | [member="Cay-Yo"] | [member="Adron Malvern"]​

Srina paused before carrying on. It wasn’t as if she had a lack of questions or if she’d forgotten what to say, moreover, she simply gave Knight Antares time to interject if she so chose. When silence greeted her she let her hands link together while the Patitite went on to answer everything that she had requested. A silvery brow rose, faintly, whilst he pat himself on the back for remembering her but she did not comment. It was not difficult to spot an ivory beacon is a sea full of blue-skinned Chiss and the dark-skinned Sith Lords she had been standing betwixt.

Even beside [member="Darth Tacitus"]…She did not fit in. He was a mountain, monstrous, and on that day he’d been hell-bent on raising the dead.

“How do you know that no one will come for you? Are the Jen’ari so willing to sacrifice their own?”

The Echani already knew the answer to that. Of course, they were willing. The bodies of the dead Chiss on the steps of the parliament building, the lack of reinforcements, and the weak resistance told her everything she needed to know and more. Regardless, she wanted to hear it from their little guest.

For the moment, however, what she received was a lesson on the intricacies of his pill-box species. The notion that Jedi and Sith weren’t frightening drew a slow, silvery laugh, from a place in the middle of her chest. The sound was sweet, melodious, and filled the room in ways it didn’t have a right to. “Most Jedi would be glad to hear you say that. A Sith…A Sith would simply insist that you have yet to meet the right one. Not all Force-Users are created equal.”

Cay-Yo, as he called himself, claimed to have already eaten. Some? Was it enough? Srina did not pretend to know anything about his internal structure or metabolism. Only, that he did not want him to pass out when she was still gathering details. When the small being admitted that the Jen’ari had told him nothing, taught him nothing, a derisive sound escaped her. How was that possible?

There were some things worthy of note, including, Darth Animus—But mostly the small fire that suddenly seemed to burn in Cay-Yo. Her head tilted whilst she examined him and moonlit hair spilled over her shoulder like a crystalline waterfall. “Everything serves a function. Everything, even the weak, have a place. We not only govern but serve. This is something you will need to adjust to within Confederate Space. It is your new reality.”

When Cay-Yo began to pace and launched into a speech about how the Jen’ari were a cowardly lot the Echani could only shake her head. He was so animated, for a creature so small, so thin. Her lips parted to respond further but she paused when the portal behind her slid open. The Dauntless tensed and a familiar presence washed over her like a misting rain. Srina did not turn around to greet her fellow Exarch but let her hand rise so that when he stepped forward it rest delicately on his forearm. It was a kindness that most would mistake for something more. “You are late, Adron, though you do not interrupt.”

Never, would he. Srina wondered if he had considered her proposal to get the prisoner some sort of mount to travel more easily with. They had yet to come to a decision and it would be difficult for him to keep up. “Now…Cay-Yo…We seem to be at a bit of a crossroads. You don’t seem to have any loyalty for the Jen’ari, however, there is a chance that I could be reading you incorrectly. With that in mind…What do you suggest that we do with you?”

They couldn’t let him go, but, they also couldn’t trust him. Yet.

 

[Cay-Yo]

"If the Jen'ari wanted me I wouldn't be here. Someone would have come to help and not let me fight the battle myself. They don't care about anyone but themselves." as the woman ( [member='Srina Talon'] ) informed him that he would need to adjust to life in the Confederacy he defiantly scowled and crossed his arms tightly over his chest "Maybe. Depends on how much serving the weak there is." the head-strong Cay-Yo didn't like to think of having to change himself because others told him to. Cay-Yo turned his head to look at the unfamiliar man who entered with an air of authority about him "Small? I'm normal sized!" he countered curtly. So this one's name was Adron ( [member='Adron Malvern'] ) "Small Adron." he quipped under his breath with no small degree of sass, yeah that'd teach him.

When Cay-Yo was asked what he suggested his captors should do with him he paused in silence for a few long seconds then put his hands on his hips, puffed up his chest, and imperiously looked up to the others "I'll fight you or with you. Either you are my allies or you are my enemies. I'll eventually break out of here, and now that I'm expecting you I won't be so easy! You may be bigger than me but that doesn't mean that I'll go down without a fight! I don't even need that glow sword! I'll use my magic." he said without fear. He was feisty but he wasn't stupid, he knew that the chances of him successfully breaking out of his cell and then making it away from whatever complex he was being kept in was minimal... but what's life without a bit of smack talk? Cay-Yo's eyes shifted between the three of them "Besides, I sell bandages. Everyone can use more bandages." he reminded them.