Private The Weight of Souls

[Bernard]

​

Aboard the Lightsworn-aligned Star Destroyer Ardent Sword under the temporary command of Kyric , docked with a space station for refueling
The Docking bay hall, where a prisoner is being prepared for escorted shore-leave

----

Bernard ground a sharpening stone along the vibroblade's edge, sending sharp rasps through the docking bay again and again. His gaze never left the prisoner. The sounds of stone grating against the blade's metal echoed as the prisoner was being prepared.

Officers finished placing the necessary restraints to her arms, blocking the use of the Force, and her feet, limiting mobility. Precautionary measures in line with standard prisoner procedure, especially those who could use the Force to kill. It was difficult to trust a being fundamentally corrupted with the Dark Side with anything more than a merciful death, but somehow Bernard's comrades clung to the hope that redemption may be possible.

Privately, Bernard wondered what the point of their hope was. Sithspawn could never be returned to the Light in any meaningful way. He held no illusions about a Sith's capacity for change. Once darkness took root within a being, burning it out again took longer than most had to live. It was an insidious process which didn't simply drag one being down into the abyss, but pulled everyone in its vicinity with it. Corruption from the Dark Side had to be rooted out at its very core, or it would run rampant and bring about disaster.

Which made the presence of a being so deeply seeped in darkness, especially one that used to be a promising Jedi Padawan, so thoroughly vexing.

He kicked off the wall as the prison officers nodded the completion of their preparations and made their way back toward the Star Destroyer's corridors. He approached the Sithspawn prisoner, placing the blade he'd been sharpening at its magnetic scabbard by his waist.

"Count yourself lucky to have friends among the Light, Sith," he began, crossing his arms as he looked down at the prisoner. "That you get this bit of freedom from your cell is their doing. Don't betray the trust they place in you by attempting anything stupid."

Nouqai Veil Balun Dashiell

 

[Balun Dashiell]

Location: Unnamed Space Station.
Hangar: S-91x Pegasus.
Wearing: Field Apparel.
The Lightsworn: Bernard .
Allies: Nouqai Veil .

​

Balun's interest in the Lightsworn had recently peaked, not due to the public notice where they named him and his best friend in what they had claimed were fallen or false Jedi, but rather the rumour that Darth Assimilus had joined their ranks had circulated the New Jedi Order and eventually been passed along the holo-net to Balun.

As if it wasn't enough that Nouqai Veil ( Nouqai Veil ) had been publically named, the Wookiee Master, who had lied about her death in a bid to hide his shame, had since joined the Lightsworn and had been nowhere in sight during the Dark Empire attack on the Jedi Temple of Coruscant. There were so many questions when Balun had learned of this, but at the end of the day, it only confirmed his initial thoughts of the Lightsworn. They were extremists. And now his best friend's former Master stood with them...

The Hangar stood empty, save for the technician team who had been paid to refuel Balun's S-91x Starfighter. The smaller craft had room for two additional people. However, Balun had neglected to tell any of the Clan nor the Tingel Arm Coalition of the private little venture that he had taken off on. The Lightsworn had effectively called him out, so he answered the call, seeking further information about them. Who they were, and where they were based. So far, he had little to show for his efforts.

Be it by mere chance or the will of the Force, Balun had checked in to refuel before making his return flight for Hurikane and the recently liberated Jedi Temple when an intimidatingly large Star-Destroyer had arrived, visible from the atmospheric field securing the smaller hangar where Balun Vale stood. Given the recent attack that he had helped to fend against on Coruscant, Balun was left to assume the vessel was one of Imperial nature. Young, arrogant and naive, Balun's hands rose to draw his hood atop his head and soon moved off in a light jog towards the Hangar entrance leading deeper into the Space Station, determined to figure out who these presumed Imperials were and what they were up to out here.

 

[Nouqai Veil]

There was some of the lightsworn that she preferred to be around while others she found too stringent. Mainly, Rik Perris and Darth Assimilus , who she was most familiar with, the two that had taken her out of the NJO custody from the Azrael Alyssum and into theirs. However, on this day, she was under the supervision of Bernard. Rik and Grrwunhoool knew her enough not to know she wasn't a threat and did not need such heavy restraints, especially not with truth hanging around her neck and anti-force administered.

Although she'd seen him around the ship that she was held in the past few weeks for the rehabilitation, the pale haired eye patched man was still much a stranger to her. Bernard took his job watching her seriously, his eyes never leaving her. She wondered what was going on in his head, wether it was scorn or intrigue, both she received frequently due to her unique features. She had only recently discovered, from the undisclosed NJO tabs on her that she was sithspawn.

"Of course, I was raised in the temple on coruscant." Nouqai - as they'd used her old name - would go on explaining. She didn't know how much Bernard knew about her, but she'd seen their list and her name on there a little before she was dragged back to the NJO that many others have. "I'm thankful that they still have faith for me in the path of light despite my... nature." Although she knew the reasons of her ex-master Darth Assimilus was different. Nouqai had not meant to fall, she had tried to prevent it and failed.

 

[Bernard]

"Right," Bernard seized her up one last time, checking the restraints weren't loose or faulty.

For a Sithspawn she looked remarkably normal. Besides the souless dead eyes and the distinct air of the Dark Side about her, he wouldn't have guessed she was a Sithspawn. This stood out, as, for the most part, Sithspawn were easy to spot by their twisted biology alone. Such was not the case for this one, which only helped to add to the disquiet he felt.

"Alright, let's go," he motioned toward the hangar bay's exit with a nod. "Kyric got me to agree to let you leave the ship only for as long as it took to refuel, just so you have a rough idea of the timeline."

Bernard took a few tentative steps, checking to make sure the Sithspawn followed.

Balun Dashiell Nouqai Veil

 

[Nouqai Veil]

The 8 extra functional limbs on her head were not tied up, overlooked as always - until they had a chance to see her utilise them quite proficiently. Falentra held her tongue instead of chiding his arguably unnecessary need to check her restraints when two other officers had already done so.. Subconsciously, when he checked the links on her arms, she'd turned her wrist around in a likely futile attempt to conceal a certain sith emblem scar on its inside. It was an indignity marked permanently upon her skin. She could no longer decipher what the runes on her own skin meant.

It was not a lot of time for a ship to be fuelled, two maybe three hours for a star destroyer of the size. Nevertheless, Falentra followed along, curious of where Bernard might take her. Not anywhere promising, most definitely. As they walked along, she'd break the silence between them with a question. "Why did you agree? And why not let Kyric - or someone else supervise instead?" She didn't know Bernard, but as far as she could tell, he did not seem the keenest on escorting a sithspawn.

For a moment, she caught a waft of a familiar signature around, incredibly subtle but definitely in the near vicinity. The teen stopped in her tracks. However, she couldn't quite pinpoint what it was - the antiforce administered in her system being much of a hindrance. "My bad, I sensed something." She explained, mentally brushing it off as the effects of truth around her neck.

Bernard Balun Dashiell

 

[Balun Dashiell]

Balun's movements within the Space Station had picked up, moving from a jog to full flight as his feelings whispered of urgency. Dressed in white and tan, his attire resembled the Jedi aesthetic, giving the locals and station workers cause to step out of his way as he followed the signage pointing him in what he guessed was the direction of the Star Destroyer.

For a moment, she caught a waft of a familiar signature around, incredibly subtle but definitely in the near vicinity. The teen stopped in her tracks. However, she couldn't quite pinpoint what it was - the antiforce administered in her system being much of a hindrance.

He couldn't have anticipated the presence that suddenly reached him. Nouqai Veil and himself had grown up together within the Jedi Temple; she was his closest friend and confidante when most other students were kept at arm's length. Though Nouqai went by a different name nowadays, Balun knew she was still the same girl he had come to trust and care for, but what in the seven hells was she doing aboard the Spac....-"The Destroyer", he muttered under his breath, the realisation causing him to slow for a moment and suddenly reanalyse the situation.

This changed things significantly. What were the odds of her being there? Had someone caught onto him, and was she being used to lure him out, or was this simply a coincidence? Balun didn't believe in coincidences, but he knew the Force to work in inconceivable ways. Did Nouqai's presence, therefore, suggest that Darth Assimilus was also there? Balun frowned. He had too many questions and no time to theorize answers; instead, he needed to learn firsthand. He was impulsive, and his actions were certainly influenced by his emotions, yet he wasn't entirely stupid. Balun poised himself for a moment, honing his concentration and attempting to minimize his presence in the Force through Altus Sopor, controlling the flow of the Force from within and around him, attempting to blend his presence with the rest of the civilian life aboard the Station.

One corridor and into the next, the Space Station was a labyrinth of durasteel and unfamiliar faces; however, Balun continued on running until he had arrived at the foreboding entrance leading on towards the docking platform that the Star Destroyer had connected to. From the look of the corridor itself, it was long, and there were a number of corners and other halls connecting to the floor where Balun had slowed to a halt. His line of sight couldn't see as far as the end where the Destroyer was positioned, and he couldn't help but feel a sense of risk and endangerment in his being there. All of these unknowns led him to reach for his lightsaber hanging from his belt, detaching his weapon and steeling himself for a potential fight if that's what it came down to. If his friend were there by her own will, that would certainly set his mind at ease, but if not, then Balun wouldn't be content to walk away without first trying to drag her with him.

Moving much more cautiously now, Balun walked down the corridor with his hilt in hand, placing each step carefully to limit the sound of his approach. Nouqai's presence was growing stronger with every moment. However, he could sense others nearby, too. Their presence was more significant than that of civilian life signs but gave the inclination that they were either naturally strong in the Force or, as he now presumed, were trained Force Users themselves. Most curious was the lack of Darkness that he could sense. Unable to know just how close Nouqai Veil and Bernard were to him, it would not be long before the three of them came within sight of one another.

 

[Bernard]

A bridge as wide as the Star Destroyer's hangar bay entrance extended from the docking platform, attached through magnetic clamps to the ship's hull. As Bernard led the prisoner off the Star Destroyer proper and onto the walkways of the spacestation, he glanced briefly at the emptiness of space below. A microscopically thin layer of energy that constituted the particle shield keeping the docking bay's atmosphere in separated them from freezing to death instantaneously.

It also meant nothing could easily be thrown out of the docking bay either.

Bernard's eyes settled on the Sithspawn as she broke the silence. His eyes narrowed as he regarded her.

"I wanted to meet the Sithspawn we keep in custody in person, and this was the best excuse I was going to get for it. I'm still against letting you out, but doing it myself means I don't have to worry about what others might attempt," Bernard replied

He indicated they had to turn right, toward the large entrance far in the distance which lead into the station proper. Small crowds of busy maintenance workers and Star Destroyer personnell flowed on and off of the wide catwalks, either coming into the hangar bay or leaving to do the same thing the Sithspawn got to do today, stretch their legs for once.

Bernard was scanning the crowd, when he almost bumped into the Sithspawn, who had suddenly stopped. He regarded her a moment, taking a mental note of her behaviour. He felt nothing within the Force, though with his attention now returned to the Sithspawn and their immediate surroundings, he didn't exactly probe deeply within the luminous network of beings.

"Tell me," he started as they passed a group of officers returning to deck, "who turned you into what you are today?"

Nouqai Veil Balun Dashiell

 

[Nouqai Veil]

What others might attempt... it was no surprise there were ones who would not hesitate to kill a sithspawn if they knew what she was. However, it was also unexpected that Bernard did not see to her death himself. But maybe this was just it, an interrogation on her to ultimately decide her fate. She was rather wary, and on guard, although there was not much she would be able to do in these restraints.

She followed him towards the entrance. The other people she passed gave the tentacled haired sentient in chains odd looks. But she was rather used to it, even without the restraint, she was a freak. Then Bernard broke the silence with a question of her origin. "I do not know how or who created me, i did not know I was... not natural. Although, as a young padawan, I encountered a sith who terrorised me before carving a kainite symbol on me. Now, I suspected she knew. " Nouqai shook her head, even if it happened years back, it was still incredibly traumatic.

"But aside from that, both the jedi and the sith orders, both my masters of light and darkness, have influenced a lot on who I am." She admitted.

 

[Balun Dashiell]

Balun, a careful figure amidst the bustling crowd, navigated the local populace with precision, avoiding collisions with the throng of people. Here, he was just a number, one among many, while following the presence that he felt in the Force. He had managed to get close enough now to realise that two signatures stood out among the others, stronger in their presence of the Force, and that told him that Nouqai Veil was likely being accompanied by another Force User. Presumably a member of the Jedi extremist group that had captured her.

Why they would be out within the public was a question that provoked suspicion for him. How much did they know about Nouqai, and had they learned that she was associated with the Clan, or was there a chance that they had learned of the friendship that she held with Balun? It was too easy to presume the worst, but he would not know for certain unless he confronted the challenge that lay before him. It was incredibly unlikely that he would be able to get her away from the Lightsworn without meeting them face-to-face, a potentially perilous situation.

As if playing upon his uncertainty, Balun caught sight of the unique visage of Nouqai Veil and her tendril hair. Brows furrowed as he slowed in his pace, crawling to walk barely. His eyes glanced from her to the other person accompanying her. Bernard was not a name he had come upon before, aside from the statements rendered publically across the holonet. In his experience, this was a stranger, unknown save for his ability to wield the Force.

Initially, he waited and turned his attention to his surroundings. There were so many other people in the area, too many to risk causing a scene. What's more, he couldn't distinguish whether others were laying in wait should this be an ambush, a setup for those who might seek to free Nouqai from her captivity. Balun couldn't risk others getting hurt should the situation unfold into violence. Should his hand be forced?

As his eyes scanned the crowd, he noticed a switch encased in red on the far wall with words written in Aurebesh. One word stood out from such a distance: Fire. An alarm. Balun's head was tilted slightly, his mind already made up. The two being forced to run for the ship was worth the risk. Getting clear of the crowd would leave just the three of them and whatever reinforcements might come from the Star Destroyer. Perhaps it was too much of a gamble, but Balun called to the Force to activate the alarm with a flick of his wrist.

A siren rang across their level, sending people into a sudden panic. Balun's eyes returned to the pair, and he started in stride towards them. Fixated and focused. His right hand moved to his belt, burying his thumb underneath incase he had need of a quick draw of his hilt. Nouqai Veil was so close, and all that stood between them was the lone Jedi.