Black Hole Sun (Rugs)

[Dire Wolf]

Bastion was one of the great imperial fortresses, and probably one of the closest kept secrets of the Sith. So secret, that Adara didn't know of its existence until she was told of her mission. Sith Military intelligence had intercepted correspondence between the Republican Office of Naval Intelligence and a small group of defectors. That could not stand, especially since the messages originated from Bastion. The wild woman gazed out of the ship's viewport, seeing nothing but barren landscape and her own reflection.

Adara could have done this by herself, in fact it would be far easier if she had been sent alone. But no, instead the Lords sent a tag-along whelp with her. Her hands tightened around the pike's haft as she gazed into her reflection's icy stare. At the very least, the whelp could have shown her some small modicum of respect. No sooner had she thought that than huge dark shapes rushed past her little window. It took a momet for her to realize that they were buildings, and more than a few had air defense turrets mounted on top of them.

She glanced back to her somewhat dull witted companion, "we're here. Now be a good boy and follow along." Once the starship had slowed to a stop, she used her staff to help her stand and made her way over to the exit. Adara sounded an irritated grunt when the wall of heat her as she left the ship, and saw a pair of Imperial officers waiting for the two Sith. One of them held a silver star on his collar and a small muffin top above his belt. "You at least have the location of the defectors, General?"

"Yes, ma'am. Or their former locations, at least. As it turns out they weren't defectors at all, but rather spies."

Heat flared within her chest, rousing the beast deep within. "So..." the muscles of her jaw clenched, "you're saying that you allowed a group of republican spies into one of the most secret imperial installations? AND allowed them to send a message to their handlers?"

If the general was afraid, he didn't show it. His face was the very definition of military bearing. "Yes and no, ma'am. We've suspected them of being spies, or traitors at the very least, for some time. So we-"

"-did nothing. Your services are no longer needed, General Nadir." Adara's face held no emotion, but her eyes were burning with anger. Had this ingrate done his job, she would not have been put on this assignment, nor would she know the whelp. Soon enough a pair of invisible hands closed around the general's throat at Adara's behest, and squeezed until he fell to the well polished deck. With the flick of her hand, his carrion was cast off of the small landing pad and down to the ground far below. Or she would have, had he not been so hefty. His body only lazily rolled onto its back.

"What was their last known location," she turned the second man, a considerably healthier colonel and spoke as if nothing happened. His military bearing was nowhere near as well built, "M-milady, they were last known to be in the generator rooms. That was where the signal was originated. A-as General Nadir was about to say, we suspected... so any information that was sent to the Republic would have been false."

"Good to know, Major. Take care to not make the same mistakes as your predecessor, General Oberyn." The look of surprise on his face was almost humorous. Her secondary objective was to do just that; release General Nadir and promote Colonel Oberyn. Without another word, or any regard for the newly promoted general or her tag along, she proceeded into the building.

Away from the heat.

[Rugs]

Nieraan slept for most of the trip to Bastion. It wasn't a long trip and he wasn't particularly tired; he simply slept. Why sleep? Why stay awake? There wasn't anything else to do. He knew the details of the mission and didn't feel the need to waste time meditating. Nor did he have the desire to speak to the woman he'd been sent along with, especially since she seemed to think him slow, or simply another fool of an Initiate to berate as she pleased.

He sincerely hoped she didn't continue to act as such. While he was capable of controlling his temper to a degree and understood that they were on a mission together, he'd had no doubt there would be trouble--to say the least--between them if she continued acting the way she was.

And so he simply slept to avoid having to deal with her.

But now they had arrived and the slowing of their ship stirred him from his slumber. His yellowed eyes cracked slowly and he brushed some of his blue-black hair from in front of his face so he could look out the window. Bastion hung in space below them, growing steadily larger as they approached it. The tips of his fingers idly brushed against the two saber hilts of darkened metal that hung near his waist. If what they'd been told in the briefing for the mission was true, it wouldn't be long before he got to use them again. Not long at all.

----

Nieraan fell in behind the woman once the ship touched down on the landing pad. He chose to ignore her quip for the most part, giving nothing in answer beyond an annoyed snort.

Hot, dry air met them as they walked down the boarding ramp. It didn't bother Nieraan though; he simply strode along, eyeing the two men that stood there ready to greet them. The woman, Adara, could do the talking, and she did just that. Nieraan preferred it stay that way; he cared very little about the affairs of the Empire and would be more than happy to let her deal with the brass.

Of course, his indifference did not mean he paid no mind. As she spoke, he listened and nearly lifted a brow at the man. Whether he'd realized it or not the admission he made hadn't been a good one. Oh well, the Firrerreo mused lightly, idly feeling one of the hilts at his side.

The general's punishment came swiftly. Nieraan could feel the Force stir as Adara strangled him, then dropped him to the ground. The other man gave her the rest of the information she sought and got a promotion in the process. Then she was off again, striding toward another building.

Nieraan caught up and fell in at her side with an easy stride. "You know," he said as they neared it, looking up at her from the corner of an eye, "it might be smart to capture one, if they're really spies. Interrogate them, see what all they know, what they've sent to the Republic. Maybe two, separately. Cross check what they say."

He paused when they reached the doors, waiting for them to part and allow them entry. "And then kill them like the rest."

Even before she answered, he gave a light shrug of his shoulders and stepped inside when the doors opened. In the end, it probably wouldn't matter whether she took his suggestion or not. There was going to be a bloodbath today either way.

And Nieraan didn't mind that one bit.

[Dire Wolf]

Adara gave a quick glance back to Nieraan after he gave that suggestion. It did have its merits, though that depended on how many spies there were. If there was a whole nest, than the good former general was more incompetent that even she fully realized. If there was one or two, then capturing them would rob her of the fun that was involved when she saw the light leave a sentient's eyes. Though perhaps the void between the whelp's ears had been filled with some small scrap of matter.

"Indeed. I suppose that I could suffer one Curr living a fair bit longer than the rest of his pack. Though you will have to feed and take care of him, you know. Its a fairly big responsibility. Are you sure that you're up it?" Nieraan could not possibly know that she agreed with him without some small hint of sarcasm. It was simply out of her code.

It didn't take long for them to reach the generator room, or the door of it at least. It was nothing special, and there was very little to distinguish it from its brethren other thhan a ntable distance until the next same slate grey door. The deck was an overly polished black, so much so that it looked as if the floor was transparent and another hallway stood below.

With a pair of people standing on the ceiling. The door to the power room opened with a distinct swoosh that marked its pneumatic based operating system, and unleashed a wall of heat on her. With a huff of annoyance at both the new felt warmth and the cacophony of the engines, she stepped into the room. A normal person wouldn't have noticed anything out of the ordinary, but Adara had what most people don't: a sixth sense. Two men were within that room, and both were aware of her presence. Odd.

She glanced back to Nieraan, giving him a slight nod and a whisper that seemed to cut through the generators' annoying cry. "Do you sense them as well," she said ust before leaping across the room, over a few engines, and a few feet away from a crouching man. "You've trifled with powerful people, cur. Now you pay the price," lightning nearly cut off her words, and began to dance and play in the space between them. Though something was wrong. He rolled out of the way, and drew a tiny cylindrical object.

Adara's eyes grew wide for half a heartbeat, and her lightning sizzled to nothing at all. Nothing came from her mouth, but during this rare chance of surprise, the woman's mouth articulated to form the words, "oh shi..."

[Rugs]

Nieraan glanced to the tall woman that walked beside him when she answered his question. At least it seemed she agreed, underneath all the sarcasm. He huffed softly, still not entirely sure how he felt about her. She seemed to have her merits, and he could appreciate sarcasm, but still...

Time would tell, one way or another, as would working with her.

No need to worry about that though, not right now. For the moment, his focus remained on the spies they'd been sent to deal with.

A few moments of a walking later found them at the entry to the generator room. Even before the door to it opened, Nieraan stretched his senses forward, feeling out the area beyond. There was life within. Two beings, but something about them was off. Nieraan's brow furrowed. Wait a minute...

As the door swung open, Nieraan took the two hilts of his sabers and connected the ends to each other. A simple twist had them locked in place and the flick of a little button activated the powerful magnets built into the endplates that would ensure they stayed connected. A blast of air met them when the door was fully open, ruffling his shaggy hair about his face. It was hot in here too.

"Yeah, I can feel them," he answered, just loudly enough for Adara to hear over the dull, steady roar of the engines. "Something's up."

Adara leapt away and Nieraan nearly followed her. No, there's still the other one. Instead he took a force-fueled leap through the air to land on top of a big boiler and looked down to Adara. He could see her near one of the men, even with the shadows that were thrown all around the room by the poor lighting. She threw lighting, but it missed. The man rolled aside. Nieraan acted and leapt down to land behind him, preparing to have his blade spring to life...

And then an invisible hand wrapped around him and picked up from his feet before hurling him to the side. He drew the Force around him, drew it into him and readied his body right before he slammed into a piece of machinery. He was up on his feet quickly, just as the Force screamed a warning at him.

Gold seared the air above him as he raised his saber and set one end of it to life, only a moment before a shimmering bar of emerald split the air and slammed into it. For a few moments, the two new combatants were stuck in a lock, pushing against each other. Nieraan broke it by kicking the other in the stomach and throwing a push at him. He took it well, faded back into the shadows and let his blade die away, but Nieraan could still sense him.

"Jedi," he growled lowly. He'd already killed one of their number on Felucia. It seemed he'd be adding another notch to his belt today. The second blade ignited, adding a navy blue beam of energy opposite the dark gold one to complete his saberstaff.

"Adara! Tell me something," he yelled out to her as a hungry sneer twisted his lips. "Have you ever gotten to break a Jedi?"

[Dire Wolf]

An emerald blade erupted to life from the hilt of the lightsaber, and soon she found it and its wielder charging her. How could Jedi find Bastion? Did the republic know about the Imperial fortress world? That thought made her quiver for a moment, even as she evaded the acidic blade. This she had to know. Jedi were wily little things, and could have easily sniffed out the false information that was fed to them shortly before ripping good information from some poor sot's mind.

Adara's staff whirled around, catching the Jedi's blade just as it swung towards her midsection. Instead of searing through her, the small star was guided up and around her body. A sharp pull/push of her arms later and the staff was thrown into his ribs. it took her a few moments to whirl around and whip the other end of her staff upwards for a viscous upper-cut, but by the Jedi evaded it. Even as he was doubled over from the pain.

"Have I ever broken one?" She laughed as her bo staff whirled around her body in concentric arcs, the tip occasionally lashing out at her adversary one moment, and then parrying a strike the next. "Its my specialty, whelp." Okay so she lied. This would have been her second encounter with a Jedi, but if they were anything like the man she fought on Druckenwell this would be a simple bout. "Now ask yourself, Jedi. Do you truly want an engagement with me on my home ground? You're destined to lose, little one. Throw down that sa-" she was cut off by a wave projected from the Jedi, one that threw her into the boiler twenty feet away.

The woman scrambled to her feet and called the quarter staff into her hands. "No. Let us leave, and you'll b-" Adara returned the favor by cutting him off as well, only this time she pulled him towards her. As he flew, lightsaber ready to sear her in half, she only smirked. What a fool. Just as he came within reach and reared back to swing, she leaped to the side. His blade seared through the metal, and the sudden release of pressure turned the entire side of the boiler into a mine. The Shadow flew backwards, rolling more than a few times before slowing to a halt.

"What were you saying? I can't hear you over that gurgle," she smirked as the emitter of her staff was held a few inches from the top of his head. The Shadow only groaned and rolled over so that his back was down, and he was staring down the bore of her lightsaber. "Tell me what you know, and you'll live slightly longer than your friend here."

"You know," he coughed, "promising death really isn't as good of an incentive as you could hope." Adara was just about to activate her blade when a pair of invisible arms swept her feet from under her, and not long after the snap-hiss of a lightsaber's blade burning to life reached her ears. Her hand barely managed to find her shoto and bat the blade away from her vital area before it sunk into the flesh of her shoulder.

Red outlined her vision as she fell next to the man, and she subconsciously dropped that shoto in order to latch onto his wrist... keeping the saber that skewered her in one place as best she could. She could not. The Jedi wiggled it around as best he could, causing more pain and adding more and more fuel to the fire. He would pay, this Jedi. Pay dearly.

Adara's hand latched onto the man's sword hand, and soon enough every last ounce of her fury and pain were poured into it. She focused it deep within his skin, and soon her will became so concrete that he began to scream from the pressure within. Until she pulled her will outwards in all directions, and his hand all but exploded under her fury.

With the saber deactivated, and a new spray of blood across her chest, she stood up and called her full sized lightsaber to her hands. "Why won't you just die, you pathetic ingrate?" The saber activated as she swung it down, but the buggered Jedi grabbed onto his lightsaber with his other hand and blocked the coup de grace.

"By the Force, you impossible fuc..."

[Rugs]

"Good," Nieraan answered back, mouth twisted into a malevolent grin. "Let's break some Jedi." The blades of his saberstaff hummed dully as he twisted in his hand, making arcs of gold and blue light beside him. Then he stopped, held the weapon in a ready stance and waited. He simply stood there as Adara did battle with her own opponent, ignoring the sounds, ignoring the warring jars and jolts they created in the Force. No, he was waiting for something else, listening to the currents of the Force around him...

There!

He drew his foot back and did a half turn back, raising the blue end of his saber back and over his shoulder as the vibrant green blade of the Jedi he'd kicked exploded to life again. The strike meant to take his arm at the shoulder, and would have effectively ended the fight. It might have worked, if Nieraan were a fool. But this Shadow was either over confident or stupid, and his presence in the Force was loud, easy to pick up.

Again, their weapons locked in a contest of strength and again, Nieraan was the one to break it. He twisted the rest of his body around, used the energy from it to push the green blade up and out of line. The gold blade burned through the air between them as he snapped the other end around and nearly cut the Jedi across the stomach. But this one was lucky; instead of parting flesh, the saber's tip only left a long, horizontal slash across the robes over his stomach.

Nieraan didn't relent. He flowed smoothly from that attack straight into another, twisting his staff to bring the blue blade up in a vertical slash that'd cut the Jedi from groin to head. The Jedi blocked it, started to counter attack and nearly paid for it when gold fire nicked the front of his chest. There was a yell and a push slammed into Nieraan, hurling him back. He let the blades of his saber fade away to avoid maiming himself and rolled when he hit the ground. Up he rose into a crouch, blades of his staff flaring to life again.

He looked around. The Jedi was nowhere to be seen.

"Why are you running, Jedi?" he called. His voice was cold, mocking. "You won't escape; you know that."

"Merely biding my time, Sith." Nieraan turned his head in the direction the voice came from. So the Jedi was hiding in the shadows in a far corner of the room was he? "There's no need to rush."

Nieraan glanced back to Adara and her fight. With the way the Jedi was acting, he could simply go help her take out the other Jedi. Then the coward would have to face them both. He smirked and shurgged.

"Suit yourself." The Force drew into his muscles and he prepared to leap...

Metal groaned loudly behind him. He turned around to see a massive panel being torn from some generator. It hurtled through the air, gave him only enough time for his eyes to widen and then slammed into him.

He felt a presence drawing near a moment later, as he shook the spots from his vision. "Simply biding my time," the Jedi repeated. A lightsaber ignited.

Nieraan felt blood running down the side of his face. Irritation started to grow in his chest, then blossom into full anger. With a growl and a blast of the Force he shoved the metal panel from on top of him. Now it was the Jedi that didn't have much time to react before the angry Firrerreo was on him, blades glowing. Their weapons cut through the air again and again as the Jedi desperately tried to fend of Nieraan's attack. But now Nieraan attacked faster, harder. Sweep to the legs. Cut at the side that feinted into a hard slash to the throat. Again and again and again he attacked, blades weaving with a directed wildness around him.

Then, finally, the Jedi slipped. He fell for a trap as Nieraan made a thrusting slash that went down diagonally to the Jedi's shin. The green blade fell to stop the blow, but Nieraan was already pulling his gold blade back and swiftly rotating the blue end up around to strike. A hard strike to the top of the Jedi's blade forced it further out of the way, and a second stroke nearly took the Jedi's arm off at the bicep. Nearly. The Jedi was lucky though, and managed to move enough out of the way to only suffer a deep burn. Then Nieraan slammed the hilt of his saber into the man's face and threw him back with a blast of the Force.

"Come on Jedi," he growled, twirling his saberstaff as he stalked forward, "I'm not done with you yet."

[Dire Wolf]

Pain stabbed into the woman's body as she bore all of her power down, handless man. That boiler explosion did more than severely wound the Jedi. Adara caught a few bits of hot shrapnel in the back as she was rolling away, and a fair bit of the concussion wave that followed. That hole in her shoulder didn't help any, either. She felt awkward and even a little clumsy with her off hand gripping the saber. "Why won't you just die," her words dripped of poison as she glared down at the burned and bloody 'man'.

"I'm just too pretty," he began coughing then, but not before he could give her a cocky smirk. That only infuriated the woman further, and she withdrew from the saber lock only to pull back and strike down on his saber. Each strike only grew stronger and stronger, fueling the rage within her almost as much as the pain did. Her crimson saber was nearly invisible behind the thick haze of red that had set over her eyes, and his golden saber flew around in his grasp at her power.

One brutal, final slash hacked the man's emitter in two, sending the little piece of metal bounding off of his bloody chest and rolling across the room. That sizzling blade slid over to the man's neck, getting close enough to burn a thin layer of skin off of his body. The woman's jaw clenched as she slashed the star across his throat, and a small snarl took half of her face as she watched him writhe. He died a bloodless death within a few moments, his brain having no oxygen to fuel its need.

It took but a few moments for her weapon to be back within its holster, and her staff back in her hand. Though it felt awkward and even a little clumsy in her off hand. A pair of icy orbs gazed up at the two as they danced. If had been any other time, and she be any other woman, she would have marveled at the terrifying beauty. Instead, she simply leaned against her staff and watched. Her skill was great, but involving herself after she'd been so wounded would have been a greavous error that would end only with her dead or being wounded even worse.

[Rugs]

The tide had turned. Nieraan hadn't ever truly been at a disadvantage in his battle with the Shadow, but now the fight had turned from an even back-and-forth to rest decisively in his favor. His saber burned beautiful trails in through the air around him. His body was constantly in motion as he forced the Jedi back. His blades hummed and spat loudly as they slammed into the Jedi's defenses, battering them again and again to force them to fail.

To the Shadow's credit, he held up well--exceptionally so with only being able to use one arm. But he couldn't fend off Nieraan's assault forever. He knew that. The Jedi knew that. It was only a matter of time.

His saberstaff spun around in his hand, gold and blue searing the air as they came in a strike that would rip his chest in two. The Jedi twisted his body back, brought his blade to parry the coming blow, but it never came. At the last moment, Nieraan drew the feinted attack back and threw his hand forward. Bolts of lightning crackled around his fingers for a moment and then exploded at the Jedi. Nieraan saw the Jedi's eyes widen right before the lightning slammed into him.

It crackled and wrapped around his body. His scream echoed over the steady generators' steady whirring. Metal pinged on metal when his saber fell from his grip and bounced onto the smooth floor below. Then he threw a push of the Force at the Jedi and sent him flying back. The young man crashed hard into one of the generators and fell to the ground in a heap.

Nieraan crouched down and picked up the saber hilt that had fallen free. He studied it for a moment then looked to the fallen Jedi. Maybe I'll keep this.

"Well Jedi, too bad," he said with a dark amusement, walking slowly toward the man crumpled on the floor. "Put up a fight, but yo-"

An shroud of energy enveloped him, and before he completely knew what was going on the world was a blur and he was flying through the air again. His blades of his saber flashed out of existence. A large boiler stopped his flight rather suddenly and he fell to the ground with a grunt. So the Jedi wanted to make things hard, did he? So be it.

A wave of lightning exploded from him as he stood to his feet. This time the Jedi seemed prepared; a shimmering shield of energy rose in front of him, but Nieraan's onslaught quickly overwhelmed it. The attack did not relent as he stalked to stand over the Jedi, smirking all the while despite the pain in his back from slamming into that unforgiving metal.

The lightning stopped when Nieraan stood over the Jedi. "Go on, Sith..." said the Shadow, panting heavily, "kill me. I'm not afraid of dy-"

Nieraan shut him up with a hard boot to the ribs. "So Sorry but I can't fill your death wish, Jedi. Not yet anyway." Gold burned to life again with a sharp snap-hiss!. A moment later the blade buried itself in the Jedi's leg. Nieraan looked to Adar with a malevolent grin as the Jedi yelled in pain.

"We need to have a little chat with you first."

[Dire Wolf]

(feel free to wing the interrogation. I really don't have much planned, lol.)

Adara watched the proceedings of the fight with some sort of sick amusement when it became obvious that her companion would emerge victorious. Though the resistance put up by the jedi against Nieraan's overwhelming offense spoke volumes of him, though not quite as much as the throatless man at her six. She couldn't imagine anyone putting up such a fight after so much had been done to his body. Few "servants" of the light, anyways. The huntress thrived on pain, both her own and of her enemy. It fueled her power, and gave a her a rush that no man or living act could touch.

Even so, the woman leaned against her staff heavily as the fight drew to a close in a stunning display of dark side power. A small smirk formed at her lips as she limped towards him with her entire upper torso dotted with blood. Her hand was a slick crimson. The Jedi may have died a bloodless death, but he had lost plenty when that hand of his exploded under her iron will. "Ahh, what a shocking display. Jedi," her smile was a wicked one, "don't be like the rest of your brethren and martyr yourself so hastily. Especially when all we want to do is ask you a few questions."

His eyes were on her, though it was hard to tell if that was the case because she looked like something from a horror vid,or because he was actually paying attention. "Ask your questions." It was too easy, but she responded quickly, "very well, wh-" "just keep in mind that I probably won't answer."

Oh, now that was funny. So funny that Adara let the staff rest on his shin as she poured lightning through it. His screams were loud, but not so loud as to drone out the laughter within her mind. He was given a short respite, but only because it was hard to speak with thousands of volts of electricity coursing through your body. "Now, as I was about to say... what did you send the republic, and where is your communications gear?"

"They know everything, Sith. They know... they know how many bricks this building is made of." He looked her dead in the eye, and each of those sparkling blue orbs yelled liar. "No, really, what did you tell them? Or your hand might meet the same fate as your friend's over there," she motioned back to the handless body of the shadow that she fought. It wasn't a pretty sight.

[Rugs]

The blade burned in the Jedi's thigh for no more than a half minute or so; not a very long time, in the run of things, but far more than was needed to inflict a great deal of pain onto an already hurting man. To the Jedi's credit, he didn't make much noise beyond his initial yell, which was quickly stifled. Nieraan smirked coldly. He is a stubborn one.

In an instant, the bar of burning gold plasma vanished and retreated back into Nieraan's saber. As Adara, the wild woman came to speak, he melted back into the background, watching. A glint of light a few feet away caught his attention. It was the Jedi's lightsaber, laying where it had been dropped when the Jedi found the strength to throw him again. Nieraan waved his fingers lazily at it and sprung up to his hand.

"Think I'll keep this," he muttered and clipped the weapon onto his belt.

The Force surged of a sudden and he glanced up to see that Adara had her staff to the Jedi. Wicked bolts of energy pulsed from the tip of it and danced over his body. Nieraan chuckled darkly. Perhaps this one wasn't so bad.

As she questioned the Jedi again and he gave answer, Nieraan started to circle, slowly prowling around the Shadow like a wolf watching fallen prey. Everything? It was an answer to stave off more pain, and vague enough to hold some sort of meaning. But the way his presence shifted ever so slightly...

"No, really, what did you tell them? Or your hand might meet the same fate as your friend's over there."

Good. Adara had seen the lie too.

"I think the Jedi's trying to play a game with us, Adara," he said as he slipped out from the shadows. Arcs of electricity crackled around his left hand. The hilt of one of his sabers rested unlit in the right. A twisted smirk touched his lips as he came to stand over the Jedi. "I think we should play with him if he wants to. Let's play the how-much-pain-can-a-Jedi-take-before-he-snaps game." He looked down at the Jedi, still grinning. "Doesn't that sound fun?"

Snap-hiss!

Nieraan held a hand toward the Jedi as his lightsaber erupted to life again. Weaves of the Force came into being and like chains they bound the Jedi down. The tip of his blade came to hover just an inch or two over the Jedi's chest. It threatened, but it did not strike. Yet.

"Talk, Jedi. And I can promise you, I'm much kinder than my partner here." Not necessarily true. He just couldn't blow a hand up, if only because he didn't know how. Of course, he still had his own tricks.

The Jedi did not talk. Instead, he struggled briefly against his bonds and, when he realized they weren't going anywhere, stared defiantly at Nieraan. So he was gonna play that way, was he?

A simple flick of the wrist set the end of Nieraan's golden blade into the Jedi's flesh. It burned, it seared and cauterized, but it went no further than the surface. It would, however, still hurt. A lot. This, Nieraan knew from experience.

He looked to Adara and chuckled casually as he started to drag the saber's tip across the Jedi's skin. "Don't you just love it when they're stubborn?" The blade found the Jedi's side and paused there. "Only makes it better when they finally talk." Nieraan jabbed down and the plasma plunged deep into the Jedi's side.

Now the Jedi screamed. "Wai- ST- SERNPIDAL!" Nieraan glanced to the Jedi and then to Adara, brow raised slightly. It didn't feel like a lie this time.

He removed the saber and settled into an easy crouch, still holding the Jedi down with the Force.

"A group on Sernpidal... th-they... Came to us..." The words broke off as the man started to fight off sobs. Nieraan chuckled.

"Well, Adara, looks like we found ourselves a place to start."

Not that the Jedi was out of the woods yet. Not by a long shot.

[Dire Wolf]

Those cold blue eyes watched as her colleague dealt pain to the idiot shadow, who stubbornly refused to cooperate with them. Not that she was surprised. It took a lot for one to sell out the contacts that his Order used, and when one was an ideological radical such as a Jedi... it was nigh impossible. Too much pain and they would crack, too little and they would shrug it off with their ridiculous meditation.

At least that's how she guessed it would work. Adara had tortured all manner of beings. Soldiers, real spies, other women, men, civilians, it didn't matter to her. The point when she saw all of the pain in the creature's eyes break its sanity, its will, and give it the intense desire for nothing more than it to stop. That was her climax, her rush, her reason for existing.

A wicked smile curled the woman's lips before Nieraan's blade plunged into the Jedi's side. She knew he would crack before the star even burned itself into his side. Jedi must have been weaker than most women that had the pleasure of being at her mercy. Granted, most of those women were defending the whereabouts of their children, but they were women and not trained from birth Jedi nonetheless. Either way, she felt a rush of power and pleasure that no man could ever grant her.

"Hm... Sernpidal? Our beloved capital," she leaned a little bit more weight on that staff, "perchance you could give us the name of your contacts? Their whereabouts?" By this time, the jedi was still doing his pathetic best to curl around the wound in his side. The tip of her boot nestled into the little hole, making him scream. Adara didn't remove it.

"St-STOP! JAX DAYNE, JADEN VIGATH, AND PETYR DAN," she arched a brow. There was no lie in his voice. Her icy eyes glared over at Nieraan, fury burning within them as her boot moved to rest against the Jedi's neck. She kicked out and twisted, using the Force to amplify her strength to beyond normal limits... snapping his neck like a twig. "It seems that our beloved General was not quite as smart as he believed. We must go to Sernpidal, and find out all we can about these three men.

[Rugs]

It was a matter of time, really. Now that the Jedi had given the first clue, all it would take to get more information from him would be to pry harder, to put more pressure on him until the gates opened completely. Unfortunately for the Jedi, both the Firrerreo marauder and the wild Epicanthix woman were more than capable of doing just that. This nut would crack, and soon.

He almost laughed when Adara stomped down on the Jedi and jammed the tip of her boot into the wound he'd opened with the lightsaber. It was almost sad, how quickly this once-proud protector of the so-called Light had given in. Perhaps some others would prove to be better challenges, if they were so lucky.

"Too bad," he muttered, standing from his crouch. "And here I thought a Jedi would be a bigger challenge." He paused to look the dead man over, using his foot to twist the head around on its broken neck so he could better see the Shadow's face. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Jedi looked young. Maybe that was what it was.

Whatever the reason for the Jedi's breaking, they had their information. Three names. At least three men that would need to die. Nieraan moved his own saber back to rest beside its brother in the holster on his belt he had for them; the new one would just hang free from the belt itself.

"Guess we will," he answered to Adara, taking a moment to spare a glance back at her before he headed for the door. "Nothing else to do here, anyway." So it would be back to the ship, then. Perhaps relay their findings back to the Temple as they made their way to Sernpidal. Or maybe not; he'd let her deal with all that garbage.

After taking a few steps, he paused and turned to face her, waiting for the door to slide open to let them out. "Any of those names mean anything to you? I don't recognize 'em. Course, far as politics in the Empire goes," the doors opened and he turned to stride out of the engine room and into the rest of the building, "I have a case of chronic don't-give-a-damn."