Within Chains

[Vrak Nashar]

Naboo
[member="Taheera Sollo"]

Vrak rolled his head again, the collar around his next wiggling just slightly as he did so. A frown pulled over his lips, the strobe light flashing in his face once more as the camera in the corner of the room followed his actions.

They had been watching him like hawks, directive of Miss Jamie Pyne. A few weeks had passed since his incarceration here on Naboo, deep in the underwater prison. The cell they had stuck him in was an unpleasant thing, a stasis pod really. It was wide open with metal walls, no windows, and at the center of it hung Vrak. He was suspected by two tractor beams, held in place by the use of force cuffs around both his ankles and wrists.

There was no room for him to force his way out, no way for him to move or budge.

None of the bindings were ever removed.

The directive came, of course, from Jamie Pyne once again. She knew exactly how dangerous he was, what he had done to this planet and what he was likely to do if he escaped this world. Thus she had ensured his escape was next to impossible, she had ensured that he had as little leeway as imaginable. His movements, his very thoughts were restricted. The holding was quite akin to torture, but in truth he couldn't blame her for that.

He felt rage of course, unspeakable rage at such humiliations, but the Jedi was being cautious, just as he would.

Vrak scowled slightly as the intercomm buzzed.

"You have a visitor."

The Warden spat through the loudspeaker, the one hatch that lead to his isolation pod slowly opening, Vrak catching a glimpse of the darkness of the sea just beyond the glass tube that carried his visitor.

 

[Taheera Sollo]

[member="Vrak Nashar"]

She hadn't been shown any pictures of the prisoner, just given a name. Vrak Nashar. Apparently, he'd done some terrorist activities and kidnapped one of the alliance's own, [member="Jamie Pyne"]. The mirialan didn't know the blonde, personally but she could relate to what the girl went through.

The healer got a call to come in and do a prisoner wellness check. She wasn't supposed to heal...just to make sure there was an accurate reading of health upon entry to the prison. Petulance could spread fast in a place like this. Normally, a regular MD ran these checks but there was something about this prisoner being too dangerous.

She volunteered/got voluntold. And so, here she was.

The healer stepped into the chamber, myrtle ellipses widened slightly as they settled on the prisoner. Her patient. The door sealed shut behind her.

"The force has a funny sense of humor," she muttered.

 

[Vrak Nashar]

[member="Taheera Sollo"]

"Doubtful." His voice was a dry rasp.

The way that this prison worked was a bit on the harsh side, but more than effective. He was not given drinks, rather he was kept hydrated intravenously, and IV drip almost constantly ensuring that his body was being kept refreshed and alive. The process was not the most pleasant, but it kept him breathing and thus he hadn't bothered to complain to anyone.

Mostly because there was no one to complain to.

His eyes sailed over the familiar form of Taheera Sollo as she slowly began to enter the small isolation chamber, her bright eyes meeting his own. He didn't have the energy to smile, nor did he really feel like it. Upon their last meeting he had allowed her to walk free from Athiss, after murdering one of the Council members right before her eyes. She, unlike Jamie, had a more amicable relationship with him, though that being said he had beaten her within an inch of her life.

Twice.

Perhaps thought there was an opportunity here.

 

[Taheera Sollo]

[member="Vrak Nashar"]

The healer quietly regarded Vrak for several long moments. She had nothing to worry about. He wasn't coming down from his restraints. Things were very secure. Guards were outside the chamber.

But that didn't even matter.

The chamber would flood, instantly killing them both if anything looked...off. Lucky her. Contracting services wasn't always the best idea even if the intentions were good.

She pulled a small scanner from her pocket and approached his hovering form. Voice immediately became professional. Doctor to patient. Even if that patient was an egotistical, power-hungry Sith.

"This will only take a few minutes and you shouldn't feel a thing."

 

[Vrak Nashar]

[member="Taheera Sollo"]

He smiled.

It was the smile of knowledge, of knowing something that no one else quite knew. He wondered briefly if Taheera ever informed her Order about what had happened. He supposed it didn't really matter, by now Jamie would have told her Master that Vrak existed, and that he was Pureblood. That knowledge would have spread quickly, and most likely the Alliance was well aware that somewhere out there in the galaxy was lurking a clutch of Purebloods.

"I doubt that, Doctor." He said with that same confident smile.

His eyes followed her.

"So nice to see you again." There was no hint of sarcasm in his tone. "You look quite a bit more...green."

Was that a complement? Perhaps. The last time they had seen one another Taheera's face had been bloody, broken, and bruised beyond all measure. Of course he had been the one to do it, but that didn't really meant much to him.

 

[Taheera Sollo]

[member="Vrak Nashar"]

"I know what you're doing," she said quietly. Myrtle-ellipses tilted up to meet his gaze. His smile seemed fearless. That was the facade, the veneer. Even if she wasn't an empath, deep down she knew what he was really feeling. Probably pretty desperate by now.

"Do you regret the choices you made that lead you here?"

She began circling him, slowly, finger depressed down on the scanner. Her gaze was back on the screen and no longer on his sithly gaze.

 

[Vrak Nashar]

[member="Taheera Sollo"]

He didn't say anything for a moment.

"No." Vrak didn't think he could have felt regret if he tried. The actions he had taken would eventually...solve themselves. He was trapped for now, but slowly he was working on his escape. It would not come for months yet, but eventually he would free himself.

"It could not be helped." He said plainly, as if attacking Jamie's home had been a matter of necessity. "Though perhaps if given the chance, I would simply kill the girl the first time I came here."

He tried to shrug, though the restraints kept him from doing so.

There was no question that he still held rage within him. Even cut off from the force Vrak practically radiated with hatred.

 

[Taheera Sollo]

[member="Vrak Nashar"]

"And why didn't you kill her the first time?" The healer stopped at his side, shifting the device up, further. The readings were coming in now. Listening and asking questions, there were more ways to heal than just through the force and bacta patches.

"And could not be helped?" A chestnut brow lofted. "Vrak Nashar, we alone are responsible for the choices we make. There is always a choice." She could feel his hate now. Very palatable.

 

[Vrak Nashar]

[member="Taheera Sollo"]

He chuckled.

"I thought she would amuse me." Jamie had certainly done that and more. She had brought him to heel. Vrak would never say it out loud, and he would get his vengeance, but he could admit it in his own mind. For now the Padawan had beaten him, for now. Eventually the circumstances would be turned around, and she would lay bruised and broken on the floor. As had so many others. His eyes slowly followed Taheera as she returned to his gaze.

Another chuckle rumbled in his chest.

"Oh?" Vrak laughed. "Didn't you once say yourself that the Force guides you?"

He wasn't sure that it had been she or Jamie that said it, but it didn't matter. The idea of the 'guiding' force was well placed in Jedi Mythology. "How does that leave us with any choices at all?"

 

[Taheera Sollo]

[member="Vrak Nashar"]

"Only amusement?" She offered him a critical gaze, this time stopping at his front. "Are you that bored, Vrak? Not enough with recent events on your home planet to keep you occupied?"

Of course, she was referring to their last time together and his actions when she was held captive.

"And the force is a guide. You can choose to listen to it or not hear it at all. There is still an active choice, though I'm sure my words are wasted on you."

She went back to the readings.

Eyes closed a moment as her senses stretched forward in the force, healer's instincts giving him a mental, once over.

 

[Vrak Nashar]

[member="Taheera Sollo"]

"Things are calmer than you think." He said simply. After the death of the old man there had of course been a slight uproar, but that had quickly been settled after a day or two of negotiation and talk. Now...or at least before he had left the last time things had been almost peaceful. The new interceptors had been built, the starport was being expanded. Everything had been going so well. Now that he was gone that might very well change.

He tried to shrug again, though of course was met with resistance from the bonds.

"If you say so." He preferred to think of the force as a tool, as what gave him life and nothing else. "I suppose in the end, no matter how it happened, I am here."

Vrak smiled down at her. "For now."

His gaze briefly flicked towards the Camera. He knew that the guards would be watching, and a declaration of his attempt to escape would be nothing new to them. Even when Jamie had first appeared with him here he had told her time and time again that he would escape. This was no different.

 

[Taheera Sollo]

[member="Vrak Nashar"]

She didn't respond at first. Eyes moved beneath closed lids, searching. Myrtle-ellipses finally fluttered open. "You're scared," she said quietly. Maybe worried was a better term. "About who will move for power in your absence."

She wasn't taunting him. Exactly.

"But I see you lack for nothing in confidence and arrogance, per usual." She offered a tight, thin smile, slowly walking around him one more time.

 

[Vrak Nashar]

[member="Taheera Sollo"]

"Scared?" He shook his head. "No."

That wasn't the right word for it.

He knew that someone would take his place, knew that they would try to take the power that he had amassed over the years. That was more than obvious. A part of him worried that it might be Siedra, but he doubted Lord Sitas or the others would allow for such things to happen. More than likely they would try to take it for themselves.

"Concerned." That was a better word for it.

"They will undoubtedly try to replace me." He had to be careful with what he said. "There are a few choices, all bad."

Some worse than others though.

 

[Taheera Sollo]

[member="Vrak Nashar"]

"Bad because they're not you?" She questioned, hitting a final button on the screen. The results would come in, in the next few seconds.

Quiet and steady gaze turned up once more, settling on his red face. She waited patiently. There was no evidence of their last encounter on her body. The benefits of being a healer.

 

[Vrak Nashar]

[member="Taheera Sollo"]

"Look at you." Vrak smirked at her.

There was an odd sort of confidence to him still. Perhaps it was the ego, the narcissism, the absolute hatred that didn't allow him to see just how far he had fallen. From the way he was speaking Vrak might as well have been sitting upon a throne, looking down at her from a dais. His eyes followed her every move, every twitch of her face, every shake of her hand, everything she did. He was like a hawk.

Searching for prey. "Figuring things out."

He smiled.

Amusement filtered through his tone.

 

[Taheera Sollo]

[member="Vrak Nashar"]

While he regarded her like a hawk, she regarded him like a doctor looking at a terminal patient. The scanner beeped. Eyes cast downward.

"Aaaand, I think we're done here. Your health is...good enough Vrak Nashar," she switched off the device and slipped it back in her bag. Hand went up to signal the cameras to open the door. There was nothing else to say to him. All advice or anything else would fall on deaf ears. Her presence alone fed into his narcissism. It was best to remove herself from the equation.

And she'd probably never see him again outside of these walls. And if she did? She'd be ready.

 

[Vrak Nashar]

[member="Taheera Sollo"]

He frowned.

"No chit chat?" Vrak asked her. "No, 'you could have been so much better!'?"

He shook his head. "Disappointing, doctor."

Taheera was of course making the right decision. Staying anywhere near him, being here in this prison was only fuel for the fire. It was why he was allowed no other visitors, why everyone was to stay away. Jamie came every now and again to taunt him, but other than those few words? Nothing. It was better that way.

"Disappointing." He said again.

 

[Taheera Sollo]

[member="Vrak Nashar"]

The door clicked to unlock. . Her back was to the pureblood. She paused. There were a thousand responses running through her head. She bit them all back, save for one.

"One day," she turned slowly, "you will look to your left and your right and you'll be alone from pushing away olive branches people keep offering you." She had her own history with Vrak. She'd heard the reports with Jamie. The girl had offered freedom to the sith. Multiple times.

"And on that day you will die or meet a fate worse than death."

She herself, knew a fate worse than death.

"You will be your own downfall."

 

[Vrak Nashar]

[member="Taheera Sollo"]

He smiled once again. He had gotten a rise out of her, a small rise, but it was something. He couldn't help but feel satisfied at that. His lips curled up, his eyes set on her once more. The words she spoke fell on deaf ears.

Vrak knew it didn't matter.

"I will be yours as well." He said simply as she turned away.

He couldn't help himself.

Taunting Jedi was the most joy that he got these days. Whether it was Taheera, or Jamie.

 

[Taheera Sollo]

[member="Vrak Nashar"]

She wanted to argue with him. Yell that she didn't think she could die. But she held herself back, barely. With a final click, the door opened. Lips pursed. Green face grimaced.

Lips parted for a moment as if to speak. Then closed. Another purse.

"Enjoy your stay," she dead panned finally and stalked out.