The punishment of a lifetime

[Cemas D'baen]

A slow but steady dripping sound dominated his mind, each droplet echoing in his mind as he stared at the unadorned walls around him. Not even broken up by a single scratch they were solid and dull in color, well if you didn't count the fourth wall made of energy. His cell was wider then those he'd used back when he was a cop, but this one was better made too. The floor was no better, hard and unyielding a good fall would most likely put him out for the night, hell if he could fall from high enough it put him out for good. Of course he didn't really have that option did he? Not even a damn bed to sleep on, just a slab of itchy cloth on the floor.

He moved almost mechanically as he flipped over and pushed his body up with his arms, a few dozen push ups to occupy his body while his mind worked. One bad heist, not even really a heist just a small time smash and grab, and here he was. His punishment, this cell and a lifetime induction into some Sith's new apprentice. He didn't honestly want anything to do with the Force, but he supposed it was better then door number two. Poodoo once they were decided he'd be loyal he'd even get out of this damn cell.

The ache in his muscles pulled him back as he continued to push just a bit harder before standing. He needed to keep his strength, but he didn't want to waste it all before his, well whatever the hell was going to happen. Stretching his arms back he walked over to the sink grabbing a long drink of overly sterilized water, it felt like liquid nothing pouring down his throat. It didn't even have a cold or hot setting just a room temperature flow that could barely be felt. The room itself felt like it was made to drive a prisoner mad, as bad on the mind as the body, sensory deprivation on a slow scale.

Yawning he continued to stretch, and as his body warmed up he thought over a routine as the energy wall suddenly vanished. It seemed it was time, taking another long drink, even pretending to savor it at the end with a long sigh of satisfaction he sauntered out of his cell. “What no red carpet guys? Just as well seems I've forgotten my shoes somewhere anyway.” The instant blow of a rifle butt against his gut made him grunt but he kept his smile going. No big deal just life right?

 

[Lief]

Xanxus was gone. Lord Croshim was gone. Heck, even the few Jedi she respected were gone.

Ayvari was a fish out of water, pushed into a responsibility she didn't know she was qualified to undertake with students she knew nothing about. Did Croshim's demise grant her reason enough to toss them aside? They would simply add to the already heavy chains that were actively binding her, suffocating her.

But she supposed that failure was not an option. She had a duty to the memory of her Master, to the memory of the Empire, to pass on their traditions. Like it or not, these were the cards she had been dealt.

Her boots clicked against the durasteel floor of The Painted Mynock, approaching the formerly vast cargo bay. Now it was just a vast room, with training probes and kendo sticks galore. Through the hall she ventured, until she reached a side passage. To the left was the medical bay, and to the right the containment room.

Entering the latter, Ayvari was surprised to find one of her two captives.... students.... outside their cell and keeled over. "Enough, Kay-Four" she said, to the droid who had raised his rifle in preparation for another beat down. "Get up" she said, to the prisoner she was supposed to be training, "and follow me, else Kay-Four will be the least of your worries."

Heading back toward the corridor which led to her training room, Ayva shouted to the droid over her shoulder. "Grab the other one, drag her along if you have to."

[member="Cemas D'baen"]

 

[Cemas D'baen]

With a grin and a deep breath he pulled himself upright and followed, playing disobedience would lead down roads he didn't want to touch on. A bit of sarcasm was one thing, but blatant refusal, most likely death. As he walked down the hallway he heard the muffled footsteps behind him of 'the other one'. He assumed she had a name much like him sometime before this, but it didn't feel like it much mattered at the moment. She'd evidently chosen the walking option because she lacked the distinctive sound of a dragged struggling body.

As they entered into the training room he whistled for a moment, plenty of space here he supposed.The walls were the same here almost as the cells and checked another little box off in his head, made escaping harder and easier. He couldn't just run that was for certain, but if he did get to the cockpit he'd have control enough to get away at least.. maybe? Ah well, there was time for that later, for the moment he imaged between the guards and at least one Sith he wouldn't make it that far. So he waited as 'the other one' caught up, he supposed he'd get her name later, or make up one for her. Moving his eyes back to the Sith he mentally looked her up and down, she had a rather tough look and rather lithe build, prolly a wildcat in the wee hours.

[member="Ayvari Dorian"]

 

[Lief]

It didn't take too long to reach the training chamber; it had seen much use, the durasteel walls were streaked with lightsaber marks and the ground was scuffed from boots and blaster bolts. Still, despite all that, Ayva was the only person to have used it or passed through it since it was installed, her entire crew made up of droids. Until now, that was. Leading her two would-be-students into the room, Ayva paced towards the center before turning to face them. Without a word the girl was pushed to stand beside [member="Cemas D'baen"] across from her.

"I don't know your names, and I don't care to know them" she began, her gaze moving between the pair, "and you shall know me only as your Master. You will obey, or you will die. There are thousands of others out there waiting for an opportunity such as this one. Your deaths would be inconsequential."

Ayva turned her attention to Kay-Four, and with the slightest of nods the droid took a few steps back - on hand but without an overbearing presence. "Whether you know it or not, you were chosen because of your acute sensitivity to the Force... Any other skills you might possess will henceforth take a backseat to your training. Your loyalty will be unwavering."

Beside Cemas the girl whimpered. She couldn't have been much older than fourteen, and bore a few unsavory scars. It was obvious that she had fought whoever had brought her to Ayva until the moment she was contained on this ship. "If you obey and work hard you will not suffer by my hand" she added; she didn't really care for reassurance, but it might hurry along this lesson and allow Ayva to focus on more important matters.

 

[Cemas D'baen]

He knew he was dangerously close to death, mostly because he had to check the sarcastic laughter that would have just made him dead. Quite the opportunity, then why was he locked sleeping in a cell? He was pretty sure there was a word for do what I say or die, and it was slavery. She had a pretty voice at least, a bit stiff, but with some softening, well, never mind. He'd been done this road once, or at least was directed down this road once. Quick meeting with the head of the Protectorate and the jedi with the nice view, but that had gone south and he'd never heard from her again after that. This one wasn't really asking anything though, just laying down the law of the land.

With a quick glance over at the girl he wanted to tell her to stop fighting, to save her strength for surviving, but it wasn't the place for it. She was young anyway, doubted she could have done anything as interesting as Cemas has to get sent here so it meant maybe someone had simply been looking for them, and his crime was simply more wrong place, wrong time then he thought. He wanted to smirk at her reassurance towards the girl, but the soreness in his ribs told him to keep his trap shut, he'd invited enough pain for the day. Taking a moment though he did look over the room, lots of training stuff, and the marks all over said combat training. Play by the rules and wait for an opportunity he supposed, so for now he was game, wasn't like she'd given multiple choices anyway.

[member="Ayvari Dorian"]

 

[Lief]

The girl seemed skeptical, but she settled into her fate all the same. That was good, it was so very tedious breaking people down. Definitely not one of her favourite pastimes. Ayvari crossed her arms, and glanced between the pair. The droids were present but in her mind they were invisible. They did not matter where this discussion was concerned.

"I could bore you with the Sith Code, but you'll learn it either way," she began, with a wave of her hand, "and I'm not so stupid as to put the Force in your hands just yet." She made a circular motion with one finger on her left hand, between the two of them, "Instead we're going to see what you already know."

Walking to the side, Ayvari pulled a single Kendo Stick from its wall mount and strode over to the girl. She was at least half the size of the man, after all, and looked frail. Ayva may have been blunt but she wasn't cruel. When the girl refused to take it Ayva sighed and breathed out through her nose. Then she took the butt end of the stick and slammed it into the girl's stomach.

"I'm not asking, I'm telling." She tossed the stick down to the girl's feet. "Pick it up, and fight him." Her head twitched in the direction of [member="Cemas D'baen"] and she waited a few seconds before yelling "Now!" The girl, who was at this point on the ground keeled over, hastily snatched up the weapon and tried to swing it at Ayvari.

The woman reached out and grasped it, while the girl hung on, and took a few assertive strides forward to push the girl back into the wall. Then she leaned in close, eyes unblinking, and hissed a few words that Cemas would be unable to hear. All at once the girl seemed to submit, and when Ayva turned the girl's face was as white as a sheet. Yet she stepped forward, ready to fight.

 

[Cemas D'baen]

A few things clicked into Cemas' mind at the same time, and all them were pretty useless for the moment. He wasn't however going to simply get hit by the lathe, there were plenty more in the room, but he wasn't really sure if it was 'cheating' to maneuver over to one. of course he didn't really care if it was, but he also didn't feel like pissing off his captor, no telling where that would end. Instead he waited for a moment watching the girl while he moved his arms and legs a bit warming them up. He'd just exercised so they were still ready to go, but the untrained girl came at him with a few tentative steps. He'd have waited if he was her, she had the range now. If she just struck at maximum range he'd be in trouble, even a single strike would hurt. Though he doubted she had the strength to make it actually hurt enough to stop him. Thing was he didn't feel like being hit.

So he just moved around her as she moved forward, her hands moving as he did unsteady hands at that. So he egged her on back up, and circling around the large training room. She'd taken a few swings at him, but he'd always just moved back egging her on a little bit more. Her aggravation grew, she was desperate to win, and he didn't doubt she should be. He knew she'd charge him eventually, lathe extended out trying to reach him as he backed away again. She screamed when she did like it would add to her strength and charged both hands pushing the lathe forward as if it was a spear. This time he didn't move back, he just rotated slightly to the left letting it move by slightly before grabbing it with a hand and pulling it hard. She wasn't ready for it, she thought like it was a sword, but it wasn't, no blade meant he could grab it without a problem. She was already too far into the motion to attempt to pull back and so she lost control as she fell towards him. He didn't even put much power into it as he brought his knee into her stomach, the force of her movement would do most of the work for him. He felt bad as he heard the thud sound, and sudden empty gasp of breath she couldn't seem to find.

He imagined at that point he should have finished her off any follow up attack would do, but the girl was already done. The weapon had changed hands, and she was curling up as she gasped at air again. Instead he just moved the tip of the lathe to her neck, it wasn't his fault anymore then her own. They were just pawns in a game that neither knew the rules to. He'd have liked to have helped her up, but he didn't imagine it would be good for either of them. Instead he just glanced up at the woman making the rules and waited.

[member="Ayvari Dorian"]

 

[Lief]

Ayvari watched from the sidelines as the man stepped up to the plate; she could see him looking toward the weapons on the wall, however briefly it might have been, and was curious to see what he would do. Would he take up one of the Kendo Sticks despite the girl's obvious disadvantage? Or would he even the playing field? Neither option would bode well, in the end: disobedience or chivalry. They had no place on a battlefield.

The girl was on the backfoot immediately, even though the man had gone the honourable route. With impassive expression the woman mulled over the implications, and so it was that she barely noticed the fight had come to an end so swiftly. Or at least the man had thought as much. Stepping forward, Ayva grabbed the girl by the scruff of her neck and hauled her back to her feet. In the same motion she reached out her free hand to take the kendo stick away from them.

Apparently the girl was useless even when armed.

Without saying a single word she pushed the girl forward, toward [member='Cemas D'baen'], and waited for them to resume their spar. She hadn't told them to stop, after all. Perhaps the man was hoping to be chivalrous and disobedient. Well, he'd see where that got him if he kept it up.

[member="Cemas D'baen"]

 

[Cemas D'baen]

Annoyance flickered across Cemas' face briefly as he smirked, his opponent barely catching her breath before being thrown back into it. He wasn't completely sure how to handle the issue at hand, he had a greater advantage now with no weapon in her hands. Her face radiated uncertainty and fear, she was just a kid, but he supposed that didn't mean a damn thing to whoever was holding them captive. He didn't bother lowering his hands, this fight wasn't about being fair obviously enough. He had a moment to think though, the girl obviously to scared to attack her larger opponent. Beating her senseless wouldn't be too difficult, but that would cement this relationship for certain in a very bad way. In the end she was the only variable in the equation on this ship, and someday that might be helpful.

So with an exaggerated waggle of the eyebrows and smirk he advanced suddenly a flurry of swings mostly lacking power, but they sent her scrambling back. They all failed to score as she was doing everything, but running backwards, which is exactly what he'd hoped. Pushing faster she eventually moved her feet behind her quicker then she could coordinate them and tripped over her own feet crashing into the ground. There was fear in her eyes as they moved rapidly between Cemas and the one holding their chains. Still there was no word to stop, and he hadn't expected it really.

Instead he stepped over her a rather sorry look in his eyes for a moment, but better to end it quickly then to beat on her until their jailer had her fill of blood. He wasn't sure what would be worse the beating he gave the girl, or the beating their jailer would if he didn't. He figured it was most likely to be the second so lifting his fist he slammed it into her head the swift movement cutting off her blood supply to the brain for a moment and sending her unconscious. She'd have one hell of a bruise and some troubles with her jaw, but it could have been worse. Hard to keep fighting though when your opponent was unconscious. Looking back over towards the one in charge he cocked his head in question. At least he hoped this be enough for her.

[member="Ayvari Dorian"]

 

[Lief]

Ayva wanted to growl, but that wouldn't have been proper so instead she took several sharp steps forward and grabbed the back of the downed girl's shirt. She knew that she was unconscious, but she was also frustrated at the method which had caused it. Flicking a glare in the direction of Cemas, the woman pulled the girl back toward the wall and left her there. In the next few moments a droid would come to take her back to her cell and provide her with an ampules worth of anti-shock to keep her from being concussed. Ayva may not have cared if the girl died, but she didn't want it to be by the other man's hand.

She did not move toward Cemas, she simply stared at him from across the room for a few moments.

"You think that by defying me, you can give her an easier time here?" she finally asked, perking a brow, "That by allowing her to resume this farce of being a weak little girl you'll spare her? Chivalry has no place here, boy, you'd do well to lose it before you lose something else."

It was rare that Ayva spoke threats in such a way. She preferred to let her actions speak for her.

Without another word she turned and walked from the room. Cemas was alone for a few seconds before he'd feel the grasp of two droids take his arms in an attempt to drag him back to his cells. The door Ayva stepped through, on the other side of the room, closed and locked as she exited. Even if he managed to slip their initial attempts, there was nowhere to run. And droids did not tire.

[member="Cemas D'baen"]

 

[Cemas D'baen]

Well, that went well! Oh wait, no it didn't. He wasn't exactly sure what she'd wanted out of him, but whatever it was this particular spar wasn't it. Whoever this woman was she'd either wanted a real fight, or for him to beat the poodoo out of that poor girl. Neither really felt like good options to Cemas, but it might have been a calculated mistake thinking she was going to be a possible ally. Only time would tell that one he supposed, if he made it that long. At least he didn't quite feel like a total bastard yet though, next time that might not be the case. He wasn't sure what she was going to take, but he didn't like that idea at all.

Thrown into his cell he yawned for a moment before laying down on his well, pad on the floor. The rest of his life was looking really good right about now, exciting really. Right. Taking a few minutes to sort his head he got up and paced the room. A bit pointless, but it let his mind work freely as he moved aimlessly around the room. Droid servants made things a bit more then a pain really, he'd need to bide his time, and most important he'd need a weapon. That required trust, trust he didn't have. Hopefully there wasn't a next time on that encounter right away, if there was he might not leave it feeling like he'd survived it morally. He needed her trust more then he needed his soul for the moment.

[member="Ayvari Dorian"]