Reigned In

[10Tickler]

Cerea
A Natural world of Idyllic beauty
_{For Some}

---

---

The native Cereans had an idyllic world. Untouched by the galaxy at large, technologically 'backwards', they were a simple people who worked the lands, living for the most part in large cities, citadels and bastions of civilization. For the most part, outsiders were a nonstarter. They weren't welcome, they weren't allowed, and that was just the way things were.

For the most part.

It had almost been 11 years since the Blind girl had arrived. Dropped off by a passing smuggler, well-paid for his discretion from the meagre supply of credits that Cassandra had possessed...and more than just a little useful information. She'd been wary enough to have herself dropped decently far from civilization, knowing that this wouldn't last forever, and wanting to...minimize the damage come the future. It had taken years and years, but Cassandra -now using the created Surname Vinthern, taken from Olys Corellisi- had eked out a meagre, measured existence. She had little more than a hut, a well, and made a monthly trek to the nearest City-building to gather what supplies she could not grow or harvest on her own.

In the years that had passed, the frail girl had grown, into a less-frail young woman. Still in her twenties, she was young enough that her body had bounced back somewhat. A diet composed almost entirely of the rich vegetation that the planet's fertile soil could provide had bolstered her poor health. That and an aversion to the powers that sat naturally upon her shoulders.


Cassandra still felt the daily tug of the Force, in her every motion, in her every breath, but without Xavier, or Renata, or anyone tugging and telling her that she must she simply...did not. She refused to indulge in bounding headfirst into the stormy murk of precognitive prophecy. Instead filling her every day with the sensation of sunlight against her skin, the images that the Force provided her of her surroundings. She tended her garden, she painted and sold her paintings to interested Cerean buyers in trade for other things that she needed, often times simply giving them away.

Yet, in the back of her mind, there would always be that niggling, tugging thought upon her, that insistent sensation of knowledge. Things were changing, the Galaxy was shifting, and someday, Cassandra mused to herself, someday soon, her life here, on this planet, would come to it's conclusion. Ripped back into the galaxy, and the politics, and the sense of servitude.
Perhaps the Sith leadership would have forgotten her in their grand conquest, but somewhere, someone would find note of her, and wonder...and search, and she knew for a fact...succeed.

So, when that constant pressure became stronger, Cassandra knew that the day had finally arrived, and had already begun her transition process. Packing a singular bag with some Canvasses, a change of clothes, and some foodstuffs, she set it next to her door. As the Ship she had known for so long was coming began it's descent through the Atmosphere, the woman took a deep breath, opening the door and stepping out into the sun for what was likely the final time on this planet. In her hands, a long wooden staff sat, gripped between long thin fingers, and topped with the distinctive metallic head of a hastily assembled lightsaber hilt. Cassandra had deactivated the blade years ago, throwing the crystals that gave it life into a nearby creek, but...the interlopers didn't have to know that, and with any luck...if she presented some sort of challenge, they would leave, just leave her be.

A futile hope.

[Rabbit]

Lord Keelen still thought it was a little strange that he had been asked to undertake this mission, instead of a member of one of the other Cults (namely, the Cult of Mysteries). He had known better than to voice his disapproval of the matter at hand. He was the commander of an elite force of Imperial troops...tracking down random seers wasn't exactly in his wheelhouse.

Truth be told, Keelen was - even after so many years as a Sith - a bit leery of those in the Cult of Mysteries. They used the Force much differently than he did. Their title was an apt one, by his line of thinking. The mystical side of the Force was a complete mystery to the Chiss. Using the Force to enhance one's battle prowess? That he could understand. Using the Force to predict the future? Not so much. Keelen wasn't entirely certain, actually, what all the Cult of Mysteries did. Nor was he particularly well-versed in what a seer could do; from his point of view, it was a bunch of mumbo-jumbo. He did, at least, understand and accept that being able to see past, present, and/or future through the Force was possible. It just wasn't a gift he himself possessed, and therefore, he spent absolutely none of his time to consider it.

He'd given most other Sith a wide berth during his time in the Order. It had been easy to do, really. The military side of things kept Keelen busy - "truce" or not, tensions had been high between the Empire and the rest of the galaxy, and there was plenty of work to be done to keep Imperial space exactly that...Imperial. He wasn't high enough in the hierarchy to warrant much in the way of party invitations or social expectations, either. So, all in all, he'd been extremely surprised to be contacted by a Darth from the Cult of Mysteries and told to hunt down a rogue seer.

It was Astrid (again, to Keelen's surprise), who had made some sense of the order-thinly-veiled-as-a-request. A seer was a strategic and tactical advantage - or, liability. Especially one that had spent time being trained by the Sith, which made her (in effect) a deserter.

Keelen guided the small shuttle through the atmosphere and toward the lush landscape down below. Cerea was a beautiful world, if wholly remote. Sith, Chiss, or otherwise, Keelen could appreciate natural beauty when he saw it. He'd done some research on Cerea, too, before he had left the Revenant with Astrid. It was a quiet planet that had kept a non-existent profile during the galaxy's many recent upheavals. Mostly agricultural from everything he could find...and the indigenous peoples were distinctly unwelcoming of outsiders. They liked their little sphere of peace in the midst of the chaotic galaxy.

It was the "didn't like outsiders" that made Keelen push a breath of agitation through his teeth in a distinctly un-Chiss gesture. There wasn't a place in the entire galaxy, outside of Ascendancy space, where he could blend in. Quite the opposite, actually. He hoped - most likely in vain - that his quarry wasn't hiding in one of Cerea's population centers. His was a face that no one would forget any time soon. In fact, his was the sort of face that made other beings talk...talk that could easily get back to the fugitive in question.

His plan, then, was to send Astrid into any cities or towns, should it become necessary. In fact, his apprentice was one of the only reasons he hadn't tried to refuse the mission - while it was definitely beneath the skills and dignity of a Praetor, it was actually an excellent training opportunity for a Strife apprentice.

Keelen landed the shuttle in a small opening he'd spotted in the middle of what appeared to be a rather sizable forest. The little glen was definitely remote enough to keep their transportation hidden. Once he'd cut engines, the Chiss started moving as if there wasn't a second to spare.

In some ways, there wasn't. He'd mulled it over on the flight down into the planet - a seer could be a difficult target to obtain. If his prey could sense him coming...or worse, See him coming...then the mission would quickly become a miserable failure.

Inrok'eele'nuruodo did not fail.

"Apprentice!" he bellowed, as he opened a locker, grabbed the pack stored within, and began to shrug his shoulders into the straps.

Time was of the essence.

[tenkalus]

It had taken hours in the shuttle, but Astrid was going to be ready. She knew the score. Find and acquire the rogue seer. A deserter. She honestly couldn’t blame whoever it was they were tracking down, the Sith weren’t exactly known for their warm and cuddly nature. But some of them weren’t so bad. The Sith and the Empire pooled together with a great many resources, of which Astrid now found herself a part of. She was needed. She was useful to someone, and it wasn’t only about surviving to the next day anymore. It was a real mission.

It had taken some convincing of her Master to go along with this particular task. Keelen was occasionally a bit too focused on strategy and keeping the peace sometimes that he failed to see outside of the box. It was something Astrid was quite happy to be able to bring to the table to someone as esteemed as her Master. She held value outside of her fighting ability. But it had in fact taken a carefully worded conversation with Keelen to convince him that this was far from a blue milk run. She was sure he wasn’t happy with the fact that the Cult of Mystery was meddling in his military affairs. But a seer, Astrid had said, could be an invaluable tool in their work in marshalling law. The Force could and occasionally did, provide the pair of them with forewarnings of imminent danger. But it was spotty at best. Keelen and Astrid were fighters and tacticians, not mystics. They couldn’t see a task force coming to flank them before they arrived unless it was sound strategy to do so, and even then it was only an educated guess.

But having a seer? Why that could turn the tide of battle before it even began.

Astrid’s only hang up with the mission was that in general, she wasn’t sure if Keelen would get to keep, said seer in the end. In which case yes, Astrid would also be quite agitated about being sent to do errands for another cult. There was a certain pride that came with being in Strife. It didn’t mean they were better than the other cults, but they were better in some areas. Sure, she and Keelen wouldn’t be getting any awards for moving ships with their mind powers any time soon, but a culty from the mystic side wasn’t worth a wad of durni spit if they could move a building but couldn’t throw a decent punch.

Astrid could throw a decent punch. She could throw lots of decent punches, and kicks too! Her body was a mountain of stone and muscle, which was also something mystics could mess up admittedly, but that didn’t stop Astrid from taking pride in the fact that people like her and Keelen made up the backbone of their military power. They were both sword and shield. Which were two things Astrid was ill equipped to use - but the thought was what mattered! They would defend and attack for their people, to conquer their enemies and shelter their own way of life. Yes, that was what mountains were good for! Shelter. She’d have to remember that one later on in case Keelen asked.

He sometimes asked what was on her mind. Because duh, he wasn’t a seer. He needed facts. Sometimes the answers she gave produced the thinking face, where Keelen would stare straight through her, lost in deep thought. Other times, her responses to questions caused Keelen to adopt the angry face, which is where he would peer directly at her, as if weighing her for being worthy.

When she thought about it, all of Keelen’s expressions kind of looked exactly the same, despite the vibe she got from him. To be honest, she really didn’t know Keelen’s moods that well. Chiss were exceedingly hard to read. But maybe she knew because she was growing in the Force! Perhaps she was picking up residual emotional impressions from his aura! The cult of mysteries would be crying bowls of tears for not having swept up Astrid Blacksypre! Keelen had taken that prodigy from their fingers before they’d even gotta a chance to blink!

The image of Lord Keelen stepped before her and oddly enough spoke with her voice, pitched low to mimic his own, “Congratulations apprentice, you’re a Sith prodigy. I have chosen a most worthy student to bring peace to the galaxy.”

Astrid flipped her hair in slow motion, looking back over her shoulder at her adoring Master as her silky black locks flowed in the wind and produced a shower of sparkles. She offered a two fingered salute and a confident wink that filled the void of space with glamour and feminine beauty. She was the epitome of what every woman shou-

“Apprentice!”

“....Guh….?” Astrid grunted and blinked sleep from her eyes and lazily sat up, smacking her lips together experimentally. She was in the crew compartment, laying on one of the stacked sleep couches in the shuttle. Why was her face wet? Had she been crying? No, on closer examination as her senses returned, she found that her mouth was damp. A cursory glance told her that the pillow she’d been resting on was also damp.

She’d been drooling on herself…

A microsecond later, she realized that her Master had called for her. The realization hit her hard and a pang of fear and guilt sprang into her stomach. She’d been so ready! She’d even slept in her gear, gauntlets and all before she’d realized that it would take so long to get to Cerea. Also, she’d not intended to sleep at all, but boredom had set in and Keelen wasn’t exactly the most scintillating conversationalist.

She bolted upright and too late, remembered she’d been on a sleep couch built into the wall. A couch that was barely long enough to hold her extended frame. She’d remember next time, she was sure, if enough brain cells remained from the impact of her head against the couch frame.

“Owwwww! Mother…!” she gasped and slipped out of bed. As soon as her feet hit the deck of their shuttle, she began rubbing her forehead with one palm, wiping the drool from her face with the other, and cursing fluently in Sy Bisti. A moment after that, she’d composed herself and snatched up her mission bag and swung it over one shoulder after she’d straightened her shoulder cloak and clasped it shut at the neck. Her bag was one that was identical in look to Keelen’s own.

As it should be.

“I’m ready!” She declared three minutes later, standing beside her Master in the shuttle, hoping he hadn’t heard the ruckus she’d made.

[10Tickler]

Oh? Oh... So That was the way they were going to play it. If she'd had eyes, Cassandra would have rolled them at the Overly-militaristic approach that the figures in her Visions were taking. Landing at a distance from her Cabin, Approaching through rough terrain. Well. That was nice and all, but...

Cassandra wanted Tea.

Sighing, the willowy woman reached back, tying her hair with a bit of hempen string, and setting her Staff and bag down next to the Chest she'd prepared at the first whisperings of the Force to her. Tottering back to her hovel, she -instead of waiting outside as had been the original plan- went about the rote activities of preparing herself a nice, piping-hot pot of Cerean Tea, guided by memory and the faintest images that the Force could provide. Taking the pot to her Condenser, she filled it with Fresh water, then carried it to the nearby stove and sat it down, igniting the flame and pausing to check on what was happening outside.

[googlefont="Over the Rainbow"]There was always a rush, associated with the way that Cassandra actively utilized the Force to SEE. A breath, then a wave of infusion as she released the 'ping', a wave that washed over everything around her and left the after-image imprinted and embedded in her mind's eye. The entire world around her growing from the single seed that was her own form, glowing in the Force's energy. Then the dimmer plantlife outside, small rodents and other animals. It was how the Seer imagined Sonar looking, but amplified to 11. Not to mention, the act of purposefully seeking out the truth of the world around her, turned her into a beacon for anyone else connected with the Force. Heavens knew she didn't want her visitors getting lost, after all...They were close after all. Not right atop of her, but they would be there soon, and soon was all that counted.

Her concentration was shattered, the bright, tinny whistle of her teapot boiling snatching her focus as Cassandra turned. "Ah" she gasped out, resting a hand against her small table. "Cups, That's right." With that, the next few minutes were a slow dash about, gathering three teacups, old but not dirty, and pulling her teapot to the table, letting the tea steep within it, If she was going to be imposed upon, she may as well be..well, hospitable.

[Rabbit]

Keelen had, as a matter of fact, heard the inevitable ruckus that seemed to follow his apprentice wherever he took her. He decided to ignore it, since he was coming to the realization that chaos was a fact of life with Astrid.

He did, however, cast a critical eye over her flushed cheeks and the swiftly-rising red mark on her forehead. The Chiss stifled a sigh...the Empress herself only knew what sort of tomfoolery his apprentice got herself into. He thought briefly of asking her what on earth she'd managed to do to herself, but decided that it wasn't really relevant to the situation at hand. Astrid was at his side and appeared as ready as she ever was.

Keelen tightened the straps of his pack, turned his back on Astrid without saying a word, and took a handful of long-legged strides down his ship's ramp. He waited patiently for the young Epicanthix to follow suit; once they were both standing in the long grass, their backs to the ship, Keelen keyed a command on a small datapad and firmly closed all access to the ship. He glanced around them with a calculating eye, before he decided he was satisfied with the place he had chosen to land and hide their only escape off of this thrice-forgotten Mid Rim world.

"Apprentice," he grabbed his pack's straps and pivoted slightly on his heel to face Astrid. "Time is essential for the success of this mission. However, it is also an excellent training opportunity for you. You will lead."

The Chiss jerked his chin toward the thick tree trunks that surrounded them on all sides.

"Be still for a moment and feel this place through the Force. Tell it to show you where we should go."

[tenkalus]

Astrid was taken off guard. She hadn’t expected to be taking any kind of lead on this mission. Something as important as asset location was typically beyond her skillset. But there was that old saying that was starting to hit her more and more lately, “You won’t know something until you do it”. Which made sense now that she realized the reason why Lord Keelen was with her. This mission was ultimately below him, but it would prove a valuable training op for her. Keelen was just around to make sure she didn’t muck it up too badly.

But sensing their destination? Astrid was a fighter, not a mystic. She’d been pulled from the Academy before she’d had a proper lesson in using her senses. There had been a few classes in the theory of the artform, but Astrid herself had never successfully performed the feat. She’d been too busy worrying about getting literally stabbed in the back or having her throat slit by the other acolytes the instant she closed her eyes to concentrate. It made for a very stressful learning environment, and not a very productive one at that.

“Oh okay.” She murmured to her Master, with more confidence than she felt. Keelen was an interesting teacher, all things considered. Some things he taught patiently, while others he simply set Astrid to task and watched. Either she passed her trial or she didn’t. This was one such trial. Her task was laid before her, now she would either complete it or fail.

Astrid was tired of failing. She’d failed to evade capture as a child, failed to defend their home with her father. She’d failed in escaping slavery on her own, and failed as a Sith Acolyte at the academy. While not expressly gifted in Force sensory abilities at the moment, Astrid could always sense when Keelen was disappointed in her, even if his facial expressions negated the feelings.

She looked at the trees around them, trying desperately to see something that would give her an edge in the search. Of course, she found nothing of the sort, that wasn’t how the Force worked. But then, she didn’t really know how the Force did work. She figured it would be a tad more difficult than asking the cosmic energy for directions to the local seer. Oh, left at the oak, right at the pine and just past the pond a hundred meters? Great, thanks.

She sighed in frustration, still looking around, trying to find footprints or tracks. Tracking was something her father had shown her a little of, but hunting was never her strong suit.

“.... I’m not going to be able to do this with my eyes…” she said quietly.

Instantly, the confused little girl from Panatha was gone. The absent minded teenager vanished and was replaced by a woman who controlled her focus at extreme levels. Astrid Blackspyre was a warrior.

She dropped to her knees and placed her palms flat on her thighs as she dropped into a meditative stance. With an ounce of trepidation, she closed her eyes. Keelen wasn’t a threat to her, she told herself. He had saved her. He would not hurt her.

She trusted him.

It was said, in one of the very few sensory classes that Astrid had attended, that Jedi mediated by calming their mind. Astrid’s mind was far from calm at any given moment, but maybe the Jedi at least had that end right. She slowed her breathing until she could feel her heart thumping in her ears. But she could sense nothing beyond the blackness of the backs of her eyelids. No extrasensory hints or clues came to her.

She focused harder, now pulling an image into her mind’s eye that represented the Seer. Still nothing. Then she recalled the report of Cerea, and came up with exactly nothing.

Astrid was getting frustrated. She couldn’t even feel the Force itself. How was she supposed to direct its flow? How was she supposed to command something she didn’t understand?

Damnit! Why was she so bad at this?! She could definitely-maybe take down a Wookie with her right hook, but couldn’t move a pebble the length of her boot with her mind. It was as though the Force had abandoned her, or maybe it was never there at all and the Sith and Empire had been wrong about her.

She grunted in frustration, eyes still closed, and clanked her gauntleted knuckles together in anger. She’d only ever felt powerful when her life was on the line. Pulling any inner strength at will was something new and undiscovered.

The Jedi were stupid. This was dumb, and she felt foolish. The fear of failure was creeping into her focus. The fear of disappointing her Master mixed its ebon tendrils with her failure and began to swirl around her mind’s eye. And with her fear, came anger, its crimson smoke filling her focus with rage. She was useless. USELESS!

She punched her knuckles against each other again, harder this time and with enough force behind the blow to create a few sparks as metal met metal. She felt the shock wave reverberate up her arms as the sound of steel on steel rang through the trees like a thunderclap.

And her eyes snapped open in confusion. In that moment, during the impact of her fists, she’d seen the trees in front of her. But her eyes had been closed, and the trees had been outlined by the red and black of her anger and fear. When she closed her eyes again, all was dark again.

But she would not fail. Not this time! Astrid bared her teeth and recalled the feelings swirling in her. She was not the servant of her emotions, they served her. It was her body and her willpower, and she was stronger than her emotions damnit!

The red swirl returned faster this time as she recalled her anger, and she let it build and build in her chest. She hated herself for being inept and a constant disappointment. She hated not being able to simply do what Keelen asked. And with that hate, came a cloud of purple in her mind’s eye. She willed the swirling colored emotions to show her the way, and could feel their power welling up in her body.

One last time, she punched her knuckles together, this time holding them together after the impact. The clang echoing in her mind and the forest around her and her Master, over and over again it rang.

And suddenly, time ceased to have meaning. The impact brought the dark world into a haze of focused rage and hatred. Astrid was free of her body, free of her emotions, free of the bonds that held her back. She felt the Force now, and it was glorious. It was though the world around her body had exploded into a billion shards and reformed as raw power. And she was strong.

She could do anything, beat anyone and sense-

She tilted her head slightly to the side, eyes still closed, there was an ebon strand of something floating toward her in the hazy red world she occupied. Slowly, as if it was meant to happen, she drew a calm breath through her nose. The black strand was inhaled through her nostrils and filled her throat and mouth with the smell and taste of something earthy and warm, but not of the woods itself. It was different, Like leaves that had been crushed or manually processed perhaps.

It was the scent of boiling tea on the wind. Faint, and a little vague, but indisputable to her now augmented senses. It felt right.

Astrid’s eyes opened slowly and stopped when they were half lidded. Part of the world was still red and purple and black, and part of it was clear, normal to the everyday eye. That oily black strand of smell wafting around on the air was gone, but she knew that it was bring sent to her by the wind. So she held herself still for a moment and took note of the light breeze pushing through the trees, and felt the cool air brushing against her left cheek. She looked fully left at the invisible breeze and bodily pushed herself back to her feet.

“This way.” She said huskily, and began stomping off into where she’d seen the black strand. Her eyes were still half lidded and her mind was focused forward. Her shoulders were down and she pulled her black hood up over her head. She was sweating with the effort of maintaining this newfound power, but she would never again let it go. Not without a fight. Wary, be the one who tried to take the Force from her. She was now an apex predator on the hunt, and she would never let anyone take that power from her again. Not a slaver, not a Sith, not a Jedi.

No one.

It felt too good to be strong….

[Rabbit]

Astrid was so focused (as she should have been, given the circumstances), that she didn't see the fierce flash of teeth that lightened Keelen's face. He could feel the strength of his apprentice in the Force - and it was a glorious rush of pride. He had found a powerful apprentice, full of potential (even if she didn't realize it for the moment).

Astrid would reflect well on him, of that Keelen was quite sure.

He could feel her struggling to hold onto whatever the Force was showing her. That was hardly surprising, since he'd been quite sure that her practice with the Force had been about as well-trained as her skills with a blade. The Academy had done nothing for Astrid, except to showcase her incredible strength and will to survive. Truth be told, Keelen had had his doubts since bringing the young Epicanthix under his tutelage, but this demonstration of her latent skills bolstered his own confidence in his ability to sense raw talent. The Force had guided him to Astrid, of that he had no doubt. And for the first time since their paths had joined, the Chiss was truly pleased with his apprentice.

Now was hardly the time to say anything, however. For one, the slightest distraction would break Astrid's tenuous grip on the Force. For another...they were on a mission. Pleasantries could wait until they were back on the Revenant and back to their daily routine. Of course, by then, plenty of water would have passed under the metaphorical bridge and Keelen would probably not feel the rare impetus to praise Astrid. Praise wasn't exactly a very Chiss or Sith thing to do, though Keelen didn't mind doing it when it was warranted. Perhaps he should take a moment to say something in passing to her, once he saw an opening.

Now, if she could just learn to be on time... he thought with a wry twist of his lips as he loped after her.

Astrid lead them through the forest, in a general north-easterly direction. Keelen hardly broke a sweat, even as they went deeper and deeper into the thick of the trees. It was not the easiest terrain he'd ever run across, but it also wasn't the worst. The "path" that Astrid lead them on was full of small rocks jutting up out of the ground, the odd shallow creek or two, and knotted tree roots that were well hidden beneath thick layers of moss and leaves. It was cool, though, and Keelen breathed easily enough as he splashed through the water in the way and hopped lightly over the odd root that tried to pull his feet out from under him. He was, again, impressed with his apprentice, as she also avoided the many opportunities to trip, fall, and break her concentration.

The further in they went, though, he could feel her fatigue set in. She'd been holding onto a very new skill for almost 30 minutes - an impressive feat, to be sure. But, if she pressed along much further, she was liable to completely lose her gradually weakening grasp on the Force. It took a great deal of will power to hold onto the Force in such away, to shape it so that it showed the way to a target. Keelen could do so for couple of hours, at least, at this point in his development. But, when he was at Astrid's stage, he highly doubted he'd have been able to do so for 15 minutes, much less at a brisk run.

Just when Keelen felt his apprentice finally lose her grasp on the Force, they broke out of the trees into a wide open field. The two Sith slowed their pace and then stopped entirely just a few feet from the edge of the forest now behind them. There were mountains in the far distance and more forest, but as Keelen looked around, he surmised that they had finally come across a more hospitable stretch of land that ran roughly from east to west. It almost looked like it had been farmland at one point...or, at least, that it should have been farmland at some point.

Hills rolled gently as far as the eye could see, to the left and the right of them. Those same hills were covered with a mixture of tall grasses, in varying shades of green, gold, and wheat. Wildflowers dotted the landscape with splashes of rose, lavender, butter-yellow, and pale orange. All in all, it was a lovely view...but what interested both of the Sith was the tiny house that stood directly in front of them, just a few yards away.

Keelen now took the lead. He put a hand on Astrid's shoulder briefly as he passed, as if to silently convey his approval of the excellent work she had done. He gauged her current state out of the corner of his eye - he hadn't learned all of her cues just yet and now that she had dropped her connection to the Force, he couldn't Sense her as strongly as before. The Chiss couldn't tell if she had exhausted herself or not...but he supposed that they'd both find that out soon enough once they started fighting.

And fight, Keelen was most certain they would. To that effect, he drew his light sabers out from their hilts along his hips. He didn't activate them just yet...he wanted the element of surprise. He reached out through the Force himself and felt the presence of another sentient in the small cabin before them. Force Sense wasn't exactly the Chiss' strong suit, but he couldn't discern any sort of alarm or fear. Just calm.

Good, the target didn't know they were right outside her door. Keelen glanced behind him and lifted a finger to his lips, to indicate that Astrid remain as quiet as possible. Then, and only then, did the Sith Lord stride confidently toward the door - it was just short enough that he would have to bend his head slightly when he stepped inside. Keelen rolled his eyes toward the cloudless blue skies above them. Naturally, they'd be sent after small prey.

The Chiss was wary of "small prey"...in his experience, they fought twice as hard and twice as dirty. He took a deep breath, then lifted his boot and gathered the power of the Force within him, channeling it toward the solid kick he aimed at the door. The wood shattered beneath his blow and only then did the Sith ignite his dual sabers - one yellow, one red. The rest of the door exploded inward, as he used a second, invisible, blow from the Force to reduce the obstruction to mere splinters. Without any further impedement to his forward momentum, Keelen strode inside the tiny structure...

...And stopped, utterly confused, as his brain scrambled to reconcile the scene in front of him, with the one he had expected.

Tea. It looked for all the world like the slight young woman in front of him, was setting out tea.

Keelen counted the cups with a swift flicker of his gaze.

Apparently...she was setting out tea for...

Three. He blinked and looked up at his quarry in genuine confusion. For a few moments, the pertinent details of the mission (like, they were hunting down a Seer), completely left his mind.

She was...serving tea? For three?

[10Tickler]

In all truth, it had been absolutely, positively thrilling, feeling the actual, raw Rush of emotions that had been created between the two of them as they had worked on their unnecessarily long trek, over the river, and though the woods. Each step had closed a myriad of possible pathways that they could have travelled upon, every decision -calculated or rash-, each passing moment had given so much [googlefont="Over the Rainbow"]MORE clarity to what they were, to who they were. It was almost as though Cassandra knew them by the time they had finally arrived. The Master, brusque and demanding, yet surprisingly gentle in how he viewed his apprentice. He clearly would be frustrated, being asked to come all this way to a backwater, podunk planet to fetch and carry some little blind waif. Hopefully he liked tea. The Apprentice was another matter entirely. Eager, yet undisciplined. Dying to prove herself within the Sith's Hierarchy, yet easily frustrated by tasks that were unsuited to her but still somehow demanded from her. A shame, really, almost like giving a rail-thin eyeless albino a lightsaber. Completely inappropriate, really.

Putzing about, hither zither and yon through her rather simplistic, minimalistic house, Cassandra had lain things out one way, then as the tides did change, adjusted them, setting a board in front of her table, before taking a seat. Just enough to block the few spliters that would be what remained of her door in a few moments, as the Future solidified, becoming the Now, one final pathway through the stars for the next scant seconds. Letting a soft, elongated sigh escape her mouth, the seer braced for impact, right as...there it was, her fingers clenching the table before her in a white-knuckled deathgrip, as the Blue-skinned Sith turned her door into so much shrapnel. A feeble hand raised slowly before her, well, in Force-augmented timesense, slowly, giving halt to a small amount of the splinters, although with the sharp lightning of pain that coursed up her arm, to her mind, she could tell that she'd managed to miss a few, which were now lodged in her palm, or had left a searing cut or two on the delicate web between thumb and forefinger.

"You realize, of course, Normally one knocks before entering a house" she said aloud, working hard to keep her stomach from her throat, and her emotions hidden away, in check, before the two that had come to call. "You can put those blades away. I threw away my crystals many years ago, and I sincerely doubt that I'd really even bother trying to fight you off as it is anyways. Come now, sit, you've walked far more than I'd originally expected you to, really. Why not just park your ship out front, save yourself an hour?" she asked, slipping the instruction to join her at the table into the words as she idly turned her hand to face herself, not looking at it, but still seeing the wounds upon her. A few picks and flicks, and any residual wood shards or scraps were disposed of.

Turning back to face the Flabberghasted Chiss and his apprentice, the seer smiled, thin pink lips pulling at pale flesh as she did. She'd never seen fit to wear any sort of coverings in her own home, and she wasn't now. Above that smile of hers, where one might assume to see two orbs, maybe of a fanciful color, there were only a pair of misshapen pits, hollow indentations instead of rotating, glossy spheres. "Oh, while you get situated, feel free in joining me on this, but...Astrid, that was so wonderful, your discovery of a new way to connect to the Force. You did fantastic dear"

[tenkalus]

It was willpower, she decided. Yes willpower, that kept her standing. The power flowing through her was enough to get drunk on. But the longer she pulled on it, the more strained it became. The half and half vision she’d been granted began to fade, replaced with a cold replicant of grey, as if the colors of the Cerean world had fled from her power and left the surface covered in a cold ash. But then she would focus harder, push her body further, and the color would return, albeit slightly more dull than before.

Only when the hut was within view as they broke the edge of the wood, did she finally release the power and allow the strain to take her to her knees. Astrid collapsed and held herself panting on the ground, arms shaking with the effort of just keeping even half of her body above the ground. Every cell within her body was on fire, or rather, smoldering from the fire she had just released, and it left her tingling inside in ways she couldn’t have previously imagined existed.

One thing was for certain. Astrid Blackspyre didn’t do things halfway. Usually, an acolyte would discover their talent within the Force through strife or extreme situations. But those discoveries would still be be like taking a spike to a damn and letting a trickle of water splash from the tiny hole. Eventually, the wielder of the spike would turn it into a chisel and continue to worry at the hole until they were able to drink more from the fountain.

Astrid had said, screw the pick… and thrown her considerable weight behind a hammer. She’d obliterated the dam completely and let the river overtake her in an instant. As with water, Astrid had very nearly drowned in the current of the Force. But her discipline had kept her mouth above water and the fighter in her had refused to let power take her over. She’d fought valiantly, and had won overall. But now she was exhausted.

And then suddenly, all of the smoking cells in her body seemed to quiet, as something she’d never have expected happened.

A hand laid on her shoulder, as if in approval. Astrid looked up from under her hood, breath catching in her chest as she watched Lord Keelen pass. In that brief moment of contact, Astrid had been liberated from the shackles of slavery once more. She’d done good, and Keelen acknowledged it.

She’d been recognized as his apprentice. Recognized.

The hardships she’d endured were all suddenly validated, and worth it. She had been chosen by this man, and had proven herself worthy in that one instant.

Astrid slowed her heart rate with some controlled breathing and nodded to Keelen as he motioned for quiet. He was taking the lead now. Which was good because recognized, legitimate apprentice or not, Astrid was too tired to do much of anything. Once they got back to The Revenant, she would rest. But when she woke again, she’d begin immediately on learning how to control the Force in such a way that wouldn’t leave her useless. She’d need to hone her focus instead of simply imposing her willpower.

But the mission wasn’t done yet. She pushed herself back to her feet with only the lightest of unconscious grunts that was so low it almost came out as a whimper, forcing her body to respond through it’s protesting. She hustled along behind Keelen and fell in behind him moments after he blew the door in.

Wow… that was, strong. But it was a wooden door, all he had to do was knock…

Astrid came in behind him and gawked slightly. She hadn’t expected simple logic to play out in this situation. They were tracking a seeress. By very definition, she saw. She’d known Keelen and Astrid would be coming and had thusly, set them a place at the table.

How sweet! Astrid thought to herself. And thank the Force she had as well. Her legs were about to give out again, and she needed to sit down.

So Astrid pulled back her hood, swiped at her forehead to remove some of the sweat beading at her brow, then slipped past Keelen smoothly and plopped down in the chair in front of a steaming cup of sweet smelling tea. The same tea that had led her this way in the first place. She had no doubt that this particular cup, and that particular chair had been set for her. She slipped her backpack off and set it beside her chair as if she were over a friends house, without a care in the world.

There was no danger here. Astrid was sure of it.

"Oh, while you get situated, feel free in joining me on this, but...Astrid, that was so wonderful, your discovery of a new way to connect to the Force. You did fantastic dear"

Astrid beamed. She immediately liked Cassandra. The woman was no longer a word on a datacard. No longer an assignment to be tracked. It was a living, breathing person. And she was kind, and her hair was so pretty!

The young Epicanthix woman chuckled guiltily, “Thanks! It was weird at first but I …. saw, the smell? Sweet and earthy. The wind carried the smell of your tea over our way, but you’ll know that already.”

The misshapen holes in the seer’s skull didn’t seem to bother Astrid a bit. She’d been subjected to working in mines with other slaves with much worse afflictions than no eyes.

“I’m Ast… nevermind you already know my name. I love your hair! It’s so pretty! My hair tends to curl on it’s own. It’s black by the way, and-”

She looked over at Keelen still standing in the doorway.

“....annnnnnd this is Lord Inrok’eele’nuruodo,” she said with perfect annunciation. “My Master…. Annnd he’s gonna talk now while I shut up…”

She cleared her throat in embarrassment and looked down at the floor, but her eyes caught sight of Cassandra’s hand and noticed the blood forming in the cuts that had been granted from the exploding door. Without another word, Astrid reached down into her pack and retrieved some bandages and unravelled them. She held them open on the table, waiting for Cassandra to place her injured hand up so she could bandage it up for her.

Astrid had never met a seer before but the concept was so simple to her, she didn’t bother trying to explain what she was doing. If Cassandra was the real deal (which Astrid had no doubt of), she’d understand what was happening. And it might do some good to try to make steps in repairing the reputation the Sith had for kill everything and ask questions later. They didn’t need to spook the Seer.

They needed her abilities.

[Rabbit]

It was not Keelen's finest moment. In fact, he sincerely hoped that his apprentice forgot all about this, that time would be kind and completely erase the sight of his confusion forever from her memory.

Of course, the logical part of his mind knew that that was a futile hope. Astrid would, undoubtedly, never forget the moment when her master was pulled up short by a woman half his size and weight. He just couldn't...tea...she was serving them tea?!

Speaking of his apprentice, it was Astrid's voice that pulled him out of his surprise - an unfamiliar emotion, if ever he had one. The faint frown that had formed on his face deepened considerably when he realized that his apprentice was chatting with the seeress as if they were life-long friends. He gave Astrid his best look of disapproval, before shifting his scarlet glower over toward their quarry. Who, for the record, seemed utterly unapologetic about bring a Lord of Strife up short.

He was so irritated, in fact, that he completely missed the fact that Astrid had managed to pronounce his full Chiss name flawlessly. In any other circumstance, that would have surprised him even further...but for now, Keelen definitely felt that he had reached his quota of surprises for the month. The full force of his displeasure was placed fully on the young runaway in front of him...

...Who had no eyes. This didn't pull Keelen up short, but it did make him blink in yet further surprise. The shock of seeing her eyeless face, though, jolted some of the Chiss' memory into functioning order. He knew she didn't have eyes...the file on her that he had been given had included a picture of her and a thorough description of Cassandra. Although, he didn't recall any part of the information he had on her that suggested she was anything except a threat of the highest level. There was definitely nothing to suggest that she set out tea for her captors.

Again, Force Sense wasn't his strong suit, but that didn't stop Keelen from reaching out in the Force and trying to take stock of the young woman's emotional state. He could tell nothing of her thoughts, or anything so detailed as that...but he also didn't pick up any sense of panic, or inclination toward defensiveness. She was as calm now as she had been when he Sensed her from outside of the little cabin. Keelen's thick black eyebrows pulled together in a scowl. What was the young woman playing at, anyway?

His eyes dropped back down to the little tea cups arranged so precisely on Cassandra's sole table. The corners of his mouth twisted in a smile that was anything but friendly.

"I suppose you even know what tea I like and how I take it?"

He thumbed his light sabers off, but didn't hook them back onto his belt. For a long moment, Keelen looked from the tea cups, to Astrid (who looked absolutely at home - he couldn't decide if that amused him or angered him), to Cassandra (who definitely angered him, no question there). However, Keelen had a tight reign on his emotions, as he always did, unless it was tactically or strategically advantageous for him to not have control of them. He wasn't sure what to think of the situation unfolding in front of him, but he at least knew that it called for caution on his part. Cassandra was presenting herself as anything but a threat. Until she did, he'd play along.

Mostly.

"You threw your crystals away?" the Chiss finally caught up with all of what Cassandra had said; he eyed her closely, in search of any hint of deception. "You'll come with us quietly, then?"

He didn't wait for her to answer before continuing on with his questions.

"Care to explain why we don't get a fight?" Keelen narrowed his eyes dangerously. "For the record, I don't take my tea with poison."

[10Tickler]

It was nice enough for Astrid to offer her assistance in bandaging Cassandra's scratches, that was a certainty. The issue that stayed the woman from raising her hand was, and perhaps Keelan would feel it...Uncertainty. Cassandra had kept herself away from population centers as much as possible. Had taken to hiding her flesh from sight, and from touch. She didn't know if That particular aspect of Force-connection was still viable for her, and frankly? She wasn't interested in finding out either. Steadying herself instead, staying her breath for a moment to collect her thoughts once more, the woman simply smiled and nodded to Astrid. "It's fine dear." she quite simply stated before turning her attention and focus to Keelan once more, and wasn't that an interesting target for focusing upon?

Keelan was, through Cassandra's senses, an imposing form and figure, even without the aid of the Force. An impressive physical specimen for whom the Force's capabilities served as additive strengths. Even the way he reached out, although she doubted that either of them could sense it, was menacing, an ethereal tendril of barely-constrained power that probed and rippled over her, taking a taste of her own power to claim for his own knowledge. In a sense, whereas she could compare herself to a pebble in a stream, feeling the water rushing atop of her...He was a Dam, holding power in check, unused to the subtleties of the Sensory Force. Oh no, Keelan would have been right at home simply telling that clawed tendril of power to rip her from her seat by the throat. A distinct possibility still, although, Cassandra viewed that path as...unlikely. All of these thoughts in a few moments time racing through her mind, before she finally spoke to the Sith Lord himself once again.

"Well, sadly I've not any Black tea here. Merely what I grow in my Garden, and as I've no livestock...I'm afraid that my attempts at Accommodating guests is...to say the least...Piss-Poor" she told the two, shrugging with one hand as she sipped from her own cup first. In fact, Astrid's sensory technique had probably been more accurate than anything else, given that Fungi grew rampantly here, and Cassandra's garden was filled mostly with native herbs, the 'Tea' was actually more of a Tisane. "We work with what we have, however, and this is what I normally drink, so...Yup. Also, poison is the tool of spymasters and assassins. None work quickly enough when ingested to keep you from simply murdering me when you sensed it, and as such, is a non-idea from the very beginning. Now Sit she continued, finally issuing a command directly targeted to the Sith who still stood, her finger flicking out in the direction of the nicest stool in the house, chosen especially for him, which pushed from the table slightly.

[googlefont="Over the Rainbow"]Either he would follow the direction and sit, getting the answers that he wanted with ease, or he would take offense. She hated these forks in the path, always had, they were so...cementing. Cassandra was so used to viewing everything in the fluid ways that it could be, and not how things would, or Must be. It was...hells, part of the reason that she'd been so careful to avoid detection for so long. The Sith were always so demanding of Absolutes.

"You don't get a fight, because the Order, however they manage themselves now, have sent a Capitol Ship to detain or destroy an unarmed freighter, or a lifepod. I threw away my Crystals, both of them, because foresight in combat is nothing without the strength to enact what must be done. I am...healthier than I have ever been, but compared to trained fighters, I am still little more than a starved waif. In this, my Options lay out a very, extremely clear path before me. Either I accept the changing future as it comes, or I am washed into the tides of Oblivion. So yes, for the time being, I will, as you said, Come quietly. Now, enjoy your tea, and I pray to Invictus that you've a Slave drive on your ship, because I simply Hate walking through those woods.

[tenkalus]

Waif, Cassandra might have been. But spineless, she was not. Astrid had never heard anyone speak to her Master that way before. There was a calm certainty in the woman’s voice that spoke to either confidence or resignation. Astrid simply leaned back in her chair and put her bandages away, not offended at the rejected offer of assistance. Young Blackspyre was simply trying to bring a new face to the way of Sith.

All too often, the Sith destroyed potential allies and friends with their constant and incessant need for power and dominance. Everyone was always stronger than everyone else in their own mind and it created a stagnant society of try-hards and braggarts bent on destroying all they sought to dominate. Astrid didn’t understand why no one else saw how destructive that was to their way of life. Yes the strong should rule, but that didn’t mean they had to kill everything in their way. At the end of the day, if that mentality was left to fester, eventually Empress Renata would be the ruler of nothing and no one, because everyone would be dead. Their way did not bring trust. Only hate and resentment.

Astrid would hate too. But she directed her hate at something useful. She hated hate. Others might see her as weak for thinking that way, but she’d openly challenge anyone to a fight who called her out on it. Anything less than a Darth would lose that fight straight up.

It was time for a culture change in the Empire. She would train with Keelen until she was ready, and then she would help affect that change with her mind and her muscle.

That was a long time off though. If Cassandra joined them, that eventual battle would go smoother, assuming she stayed with Astrid and Keelen. And even though Astrid herself had very little pull or say in the matter, she’d use every ounce of whatever authority she held, to make sure that very thing happened.

Astrid wanted to speak, she wanted to assure Cassandra that she’d be alright. She just wanted to talk to the woman, to show that different face. But she was so exhausted from exerting herself for so long through the woods, she could barely sit up in her chair. Besides that, this was Lord Keelen’s show now. He’d given directive to lead the way. Astrid had done as she was told. She’d discovered the Force in the process and found their objective. Until otherwise ordered, her task was done.

So she took up her cup of tea and sipped in contentment. She knew it wasn’t poisoned, and not because Cassandra had said as much. Astrid couldn’t explain it but she just knew that Cassandra wasn’t bad people. She also knew that the smaller woman wasn’t totally innocent either. Cassandra was strong in her own way, and she was smart. She had to be in order to speak so confidently to Keelen. A tone and direction that Astrid silently picked up on and kept to herself. Despite what others might have thought about her, given her slightly aloof nature, Astrid was quite sharp. She was exceptionally observant. It was probably because of this trait alone that she progressed so quickly in her training with Lord Keelen.

Time would tell how much that observant nature would pay off. But for now, she remained silent and basked in the moment when attention was turned away from her, letting the tea soothe her body with its warmth and taste.

[Rabbit]

"Now sit."

Keelen snorted softly under his breath at the little seeress' command.

"You're a bold one," his deep voice filled the tiny room with as much authority and presence as his own physical body; there was a touch of humor to his tone, though.

Her audacity had disarmed him and he found his frustration dissipating rapidly, and his anger simmered back down to its place in the background of his psyche. The Chiss stood a moment longer and looked Cassandra up and down one last time. There was more to her than met the eye, that was for certain. She had a core of strength that could be easily overlooked if one only considered her physically.

He could respect that - strength, that is. And to Keelen, it didn't matter if that strength was physical or internal - in fact, he would argue that one could not be strong physically unless they possessed inner strength as well. Strength was what the Cult of Strife honored most, above all else. So, it was no loss of dignity on his part to do as Cassandra had said.

The Praetor sat down on the stool she had offered him - it was a little taller and a little better made than the ones used by the two young women. Which made sense, he supposed. He was as tall as Astrid and heavier than both of them combined. A well-made seat was a must, if his host didn't want him to end up breaking the stool and sprawling across the floor.

That would be a loss of dignity, for sure.

Keelen listened intently as Cassandra continued answering his previous questions. She was seemingly unruffled, and presented her answers with a straight-forward simplicity that was rather refreshing. The Chiss lifted the tea that had been poured for him up to his lips and quietly marveled at how the information he had gathered on the seeress had done absolutely nothing to prepare him for who she really was.

Go figure.

"I do have a beck-and-call," Keelen nodded as he took another sip - the tea was quite good.

Also surprising. He wouldn't have expected a wholly home-made tea to meet his expectations for an enjoyable tea. But, there they had it...again, Cassandra had surprised him. It would seem that he might want to just get used to that - to the seeress undoing his expectations of her.

"I'll call the shuttle after we've finished this tea," he lifted his cup to her in salute - the teacup was ridiculously tiny in his huge hands and he had an internal chuckle at the almost comical difference in size. "You've gone through the trouble of having it ready for us. It would be rude to rush."

The stool was close enough to the table, that he was able to lean forward and place his elbows on the wooden surface. Chiss appreciated a good tea; in fact, his only regret for the moment was that there wasn't anything to nibble along with said tea. Due to his high metabolism and muscle mass, Keelen could eat almost constantly. He practically had to, to keep up with his physical maintenance and the rigors that came part and parcel with the job of a Sith military leader.

"In the meantime," he continued conversationally, his scarlet gaze sliding over to consider Cassandra's eyeless face. "Tell me what you will of your story," his lips twisted briefly in a wry smile, that rather looked more like a grimace. "I'm beginning to suspect that the Imperial records on you leave much to desired."