The Way It Was

[Matsu Xiangu]

[SIZE=10pt] The façade of the prison was in shambles, charred and burned to make it a sore thumb among the otherwise pristine architecture surrounding it – including, of course, the sad reminder of the McYoda’s now covered in memorials for Dave. That wasn’t Matsu’s purpose down in the lower branches of the surface of Coruscant that day however. There had been unexpected fallout that day. Even more surprisingly, it involved the Sith’s own people.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt] Her former apprentice had seen fit to punish an acolyte who’d been described as overstepping his bounds. Matsu had given the report no more than a casual glance but she trusted [member="Sage Bane"] to mete out punishment as he saw fit. He was far more casually cruel than she’d ever taken to being but there was absolutely nothing wrong with that, and he always had the Sith’s best interests at heart. She took a moment to feel pride before dipping inside the prison.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt] She’d had two of her people go ahead of her, securing her visit with [member="Trystis Ray"] so that she would waste no time getting to his cell. Despite her position as Warden of the planet the paperwork required to get in to the prison was unbearable. And she had been the one to order more enforcement after the terror attack.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt] He was already seated at the table when she swept in to the interrogation cell, settling herself across from him and letting silence sit between them for a few moments before speaking.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt] “I heard you displeased Sage Bane.”[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt] Usually people wanted to fill the silence. She would hear his explanation.[/SIZE]

 

[Ras'kala'han]

Trystis never looked at [member="Matsu Xiangu"], never met her gaze. At some moments, his eyes would seem to be darting around, searching every inch of the room for some unseen threat. For the most part, though, they looked through her, at some fixed point behind her.

"My lady." He said. "All I have are questions." He took in a shuddering breath - he could practically see him, that unutterable monster behind her. The collar around his neck filled his head with noise, blocked out the energies of the universe. But still, he could see the faintest outline with the eyes of the Force, a familiarity to her presence. The stark, terrible beauty of an abomination.

"I was the wind against him, and in that moment, I was shattered. Tyranny. But that is the way of the Sith. In that moment, was I still a Sith? Am I now?" He was full of fear now. Fear, yes, and madness. Without the Dark Side, he had no anchor to hold his thoughts in place, and they drifted aimlessly, like ships caught out in the midst of a storm. "When you look into my eyes, can you see what he did to me? What he showed me to break me? Can you hear the tenor of my pain - that is the voice of the worms, and they had eyes..."

He continued, his voice trailing off. "Peace is a lie. Mercy is a lie. Peace is a lie. Mercy is a lie. Peace is a lie..."

 

[Ras'kala'han]

Grimacing, Trystis gritted his teeth and was silent for a moment. Pain lanced through his head - a migraine. His eyes flickered from their usual shade of silver to the poisonous Sith yellow, limned with red. His hands went to the collar around his neck - and he pulled.

Force collars are designed to channel feedback into the mind whenever the part of the brain that activates when the Force is called upon begins to stir. This was happening now, a war inside his head. And yet, with a durasteel grip, Trystis pried the collar from his neck. It came to pieces. And he found a measure of clarity in the Dark Side.

"My lady - ready to fire on your command." [member=Matsu Xiangu"]'s guards leveled their blaster rifles at Trystis. They were all ready to kill. There were wires tangled in the Echani's fingers, and fragments of metal on the table.

"I... ugh. My mind is so dark right now. Never have I felt so... weak. I need - " The acolyte tensed, a migraine parting his thoughts. What do I need? Healing? I need to be let out? Trystis looked at the Lady of the Sith. "Power. I need revenge. Right now I'm so broken. I can feel everything I've lost. I need... to be Sith again." Then, the pain went beyond the point of rationality.

One of the guards approached Trystis with a tranquilizer. "My lady. The only other Force collars we have are in the central chamber. Should we tranquilize him to get another one?"