Deprivation

[Arya Ravenwing]

Let me out of here... let me out of here. Let me out! Get out... get out of here. The woman pulled at her hair from where she lay awkwardly on the floor, her bare toes touching a cold metal drain in the middle of the room. Let me out of here... let me out of here. Let me out! Let... me out! No... no, no, no! I don't know anything. Nothing. I...

A siren wailed in the close quarters of Arya Ravenwing's cell, jerking the woman more fully awake. As soon as it ceased her eyes drooped again, lids fighting to stay open.

She'd been deprived of sleep for five days.

[R. S. Esalis]

Furrowed brows descended over ice blue eyes, as the woman who they belonged to read over the continuous reports filed by her underlings.

Documentation upon documentation of the same thing; the same results were everpresent. With a frustrated sigh, Director Esalis closed the file. Leaning back, she stared at the ceiling of her office. There had to be an angle she wasn't seeing - something that would yield any useable shred of information.

Still lost in thought, the Director keyed her comm unit.

"Madame Director?"

"Clean up Ms. Ravenwing, give her a fresh set of clothes, and have her brought to my office."

Yes ma'am.

[Colonel Karrnage]

"More dialogues?"

Karrnage fidgeted in his seat, adjusting his spectacles.

"Perhaps we should mix the stimuli? Delirium and homeostatic deprivation should make any willful deception or resistance difficult to muster."

[Arya Ravenwing]

She was barely conscious as a pair of troopers stuffed her into an refresher for a shower of cleansing ions. Arya slumped against the cool walls of the stall as the invisible particles bombarded her skin, invigorating it and dispersing the dirt that had coated her. Her eyes closed and she quickly fell asleep standing upright.

After only a minute the ions ceased and she was being hauled out of the refresher stall and slapped awake. Rough hands dressed her in a loose grey jumpsuit and the smuggler was forced to walk through several corridors. It was dizzying - each corridor looked identical and Arya was so disoriented from lack of sleep that she felt that she was walking in circles.

Eventually she was deposited on a cool metal chair and she found that she was sitting at a table. She tried to rest her elbows on the smooth surface before her, but was instructed to sit upright in her chair. Arya leaned back against the seat, and her eyes soon drooped closed again. The troopers who flanked her jabbed the Lupine in the ribs with a shockprod, jerking her awake once more.

[R. S. Esalis]

"Now now, Arya," Esalis purred, "you know better than to fall asleep at a time like this."

Waiting until the Lupine's eyes met hers, Esalis spoke once more.

"The good Colonel would very much like to, as he put it just a few minutes before you arrived, stimulate you further. I'm afraid I can only keep him at bay for so long unless you help us.

"Have you had a chance to read up on the journal I gave you?"

[Arya Ravenwing]

Her vision blurred and her eyes filled with involuntary tears as she was forced to meet the woman's eyes. The smuggler nodded, wiping at her weary eyes with a shaky hand.

I did. Her voice cracked as she spoke. "I did. Please... water?"

[Colonel Karrnage]

"Tell us about the contents, Madam Ravenwing."

Karrnage smiled thinly, wringing his gloved hands as he sat. He reached forward, picking up a glass of water, which he drank from.

"We are intensely interested in what you have to say."

[Arya Ravenwing]

Arya hunched down in her seat, only to be pulled upright again by her guards. "Read as much as I could." She sagged forward, exhausted, but was pressed back into her seat. A hand gripped her shoulder, pinching a nerve as it held her in place.

"Its mostly nonsense - names... dates. Some markings... tattoos." The smuggler was too tired to keep her watery eyes open, squeezing them shut, if not for long. Tears ran down her cheeks. She'd tried to read the journal, but was too exhausted to make heads or tails of anything she'd read. "The writer thought there was a planet that had ... significance."

Arya forced her eyes open, blearily meeting those of Esalis. "She called it..." Her body swayed to the side, head drooping until her chin resting on her chest. "...called it..."

[R. S. Esalis]

The Director knitted her brows in momentary thought. It hadn't occured to her that some of the markings may be tattoos.

Flipping open her copy of the journal, she stopped at a page half full of symbols, each with a name in the Lpine writing beneath it. Turning the text so that it face Arya, she pushed it toward the Lupine.

"Can you tell me what these words say under the drawings?"

[Arya Ravenwing]

She concentrated, focusing on the words written beneath the brands. "Apex Losstarot. Apex Loveloxx."

Arya shook her head, "I don't ... know what these words mean."

[Colonel Karrnage]

"The two families."

Karrnage's eyes lit up behind his spectacles.

"Well, families...species...religions. Nobody is to say. The duality is precisely clear. This consistency is reassuring."

The Colonel removed an ice cube from his glass, and slid it across the table, so that it rested in front of the Lupine.

"We should wish to hear more, of coure."

[Arya Ravenwing]

The smuggler took the ice cube with both her hands, and raised it to her lips as quickly as she could. She didn't want to give either of the two across from her the chance to take it away. Despite the cold, Arya put it in her mouth and sucked on it, not willing to waste a drop of moisture. She couldn't remember when they'd last given her something to eat, or drink. Perhaps it had been two or three days.

After a long moment, when the ice was gone, she shook her head. "I don't know ... what you want to know. The names ... dates ... I think they are ... family trees."

[R. S. Esalis]

"If they are family trees, then I think it would be safe to assume that these symbols are used to denote each House."

Turning to the last page, she pointed to the crescent moon, intersected at the bottom by a concave half-circle. Arya had said it was the symbol for Losstarot. Below it was a smaller symbol - a broken pyramid.

Esalis pointed to the pyramid.

"What about this? What does this mean?"

[Arya Ravenwing]

Arya shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine."

She reached up to her bare neck, fingers fiddling as though they were wrapping around the chain she usually wore. "She wrote about ... it may be some sort of actual building."

[Colonel Karrnage]

"The symbol of the house, a broken building. A broken house? The broken house of Loveloxx?"

Karrnage glanced back to the Director, probing her for any other insight.

[R. S. Esalis]

With a gentle shake of her head, Esalis pursed her lips.

"I don't know," she murmured, "The style of the two drawings seem very different to me, but from the little that we know of the Lupines I could very well be wrong."

Leaning back in her chair, the Director stared curiosly at Arya, trying to pick apart the other woman with her gaze. Such an anomoly she was; it mildy confused Esalis that Arya knew nothing of her own species. The dead padawan had seemed to express such pride in her lineage...

Esalis' brows furrowed then, as her thought processes brought her to the padawan. She leaned forward, resting her elbows on the table. Her next words would be as new to the Lupine as they would be to Karrnage, as she hadn't divulged Khendon's 'revelation' with him yet.

"I've been recently informed that there is another like you - still alive. In fact, it is the author of this journal. If this information is true, then it seems that there are now two of you left."

[Arya Ravenwing]

Arya blinked. Slowly. Another like me? Her befuddled brain tried to make sense of it. Her mother had died - she'd buried her. The author of her journal was dead. There were no others.

But there were two journals. Two authors. One dead, one alive. Arya blinked again. "Too bad she wasn't a male. I could use a good lay." The words came out of her mouth, but she couldn't be sure she'd actually said them. Perhaps she was asleep right now and dreaming.

[Colonel Karrnage]

This was off the reservation, so to speak.

Karrnage looked sideways at Esalis. What was she doing? This had to be a bluff.

He returned his attention to Arya, who wasn't forthcoming with anything to confirm or deny.

"We have other ways to release your endorphines, if that is what you need to answer us."

At his verbal cue, a brawny uniformed Imperial stepped through the office's doorway with an electroprod in his hands.

[Arya Ravenwing]

She looked from the new trooper to the guards already with her, all armed with shockprods. Arya forced herself to focus on Karrnage. "Have you asked me a question?"

[R. S. Esalis]

"Not yet," came Esalis' interjection.

"When we do however, I would think that it be in your best interests to facilitate us without having to force our hand to use more... unpleasant methods of persuasion."

Folding her hands together, the Director continued.

"So, let us begin with a few of the basics.

"When you change - is it completely voluntary, or are there triggers that cause it as well?"

[Arya Ravenwing]

The smuggler yawned against her will, struggling to stay conscious. "Its both - if there are triggers I haven't figured out what they are."

She vaguely thought that telling this woman that there was an unknown in this area was probably a bad idea. She swayed in her seat, head almost brushing the guard on the right until he shoved her back upright. "I could change... right now... if you want..."

[R. S. Esalis]

A knowing smile.

"I know you could, but I'd rather you not.

"Let us - instead - explore the possibilities of what might trigger your involuntary changes, shall we?"

The smile waned, changing into a rather thin-lipped grimace. "What are the common factors present whenever you find yourself changing against your will."

[Arya Ravenwing]

Arya shrugged, slumped in her chair as much as she could. "There aren't any." She scrubbed a hand through her chin-length black hair, head tipping backwards as exhaustion sought to claim her.

The guard on the left prodded her, and the smuggler jerked awake. "Frell you!" She shook her head, hoping to clear away the cobwebs. Just let me sleep... "There is usually another person present. It hurts so much when I don't control it... I try to get away from crowds when the Change comes over me on its own. Doesn't always work."

She looked at Esalis through lidded eyes. "Waking up with bits of people in your teeth sucks."

[R. S. Esalis]

"Mm, I'm sure it does."

Esalis stared semi-lazily at Arya.

"You say there are other people present; what sort of people? Men? women?"

[Arya Ravenwing]

"Men, women. Children. There isn't any pattern to a specific species. Believe me, I've tried to figure it out."

[R. S. Esalis]

Her brows knitted in thought as the Director scrawled a note on one of her datapads.

"Odd," she murmured.

"There has to be something those people have in common. Or perhaps it is your environment?"

[Arya Ravenwing]

The room seemed to be slowly spinning around her, and Arya clutched at the sides of her chair to stay upright and avoid another electric shock. "Maybe its a certain kind of dirt, or a pollen. I don't know. Frell, how could I? Its happened on different kinds of planets. Once in a warehouse... in CoroNet City. Coruscant. Umgul. On a nerf farm. On a water planet."

Her words slurred as she struggled to talk and sleep at the same time.

[Colonel Karrnage]

"We can come back to a pattern some other time, then."

Karrnage smiled as he steepled his fingers together.

"Tell us in all detail, Miss Ravenwing, of everything you know concerning your last uncontrolled change. Where were you? What were you doing? Who was around you? Did you know anything about the people you were near?"

[Arya Ravenwing]

She struggled to remember, to tack sense onto the jumbled bits of memory.

"It was ... almost a year ago. I was angry - sometimes I Change without meaning to when I'm angry. Not always. There were ... a group of people. The blob races on Umgul. I was near the stables, waiting for someone. Tourists nearby, I think. From the Core.

"I don't know anything about the people there, but there was a fight. The tourists were shoving each other. Maybe a pickpocket ran through them. The Change started ... I tried to stop it because I was waiting for my contact. I couldn't ... stop. I hid myself behind the blob stables and it ripped me apart. Thats what it feels like. I don't remember what happened after that."

Except she did remember. Not wanting to remember wasn't quite the same thing.

[R. S. Esalis]

Nothing seemed to add up, and Esalis was just starting to become the slightest bit impatient. She looked at the Lupine with unsettling annoyance as her fingers drummed the tabletop.

"This is not getting us anywhere," she grumbled tersely to Karrnage, "... she's as clueless about her own self as we are."

Of course, this was not how the Director truly felt, but for the moment her frustrations got the better of her... and reaching over to grab the Colonel's cup of water, she threw its' ice-cold contents across the table to splash into Arya's face and all over her front.

The tone in her voice was harsh and clipped.

"Wake up, Arya. You've no business sleeping right now. You will rest when I say, and not before."

[Arya Ravenwing]

The cold water startled the smuggler, her eyes had been closed and she hadn't seen it coming. Blue eyes snapped open, and gleamed into yellow for a moment before fading back to blue.

Arya opened her mouth to catch the drips of water off her face, wetting her tongue. "I've told you all I know. Guess you're up dren creek without a paddle, eh?" Her wet shirt chilled with the breeze from the ventilation system, clinging to her body. The woman crossed her arms in front of her, hugging herself.

[Colonel Karrnage]

Karrnage gestured with an extended finger to the guards, and they leaned in to deliver stunning shocks, the effects of which were complemented by the sheen of water on the Lupine.

"Your smart mouth isn't hurting anybody but yourself."

[Arya Ravenwing]

Her body twisted in pain as the shockprods hit simultaneously, electricity actually arcing across the water. "Gnnnh!" She clenched her teeth to keep from biting her tongue until the charge abated.

"I. Already. Told. You. Everything. I. Know!" Arya clutched at the sides of her head, wringing the excess water out of her hair.

[R. S. Esalis]

Esalis blinked, watching calmly as the Lupine was prodded with stun batons, her mind doing its' best to sort out this problem.

Finally, she waved the guards away.

"I could have a Force-sensitive poke around in that little head of yours you know. I'm sure he could uncover quite a few tidbits that would help us to put more pieces of this puzzle into place."

[Arya Ravenwing]

Defeated and exhausted, Arya slumped in her chair. You killed them all, remember?

"Fine." And the sooner the better. Or let me sleep. Or die. So tired. So, so very tired. She drooped even more, despite the chill and the recent shocks, there was no way the smuggler could stay awake for more than a few moments at a time.

[Khendon Sevon]

The guard narrowed his eyes with resolve, “Sir, you can’t bring those in here!”

“You will address me as Executor. And I can do whatever I please.” His voice was level and calm.

The man that stood in front of the Sith let out an exasperated sigh. “Listen, I don’t care if you’re a grand moff, you can’t bring those weapons in here!”

Khendon grunted, “I’m an executor, don’t compare me to a grand moff, that’s an insult.”

“I’m going to have to call security. I’m sorry.”

Tendril of dark energy extended from the smiling Executor and crawled up the opposing man’s legs. They traveled across his body and snaked around his throat. Khendon mentally found a joint somewhere in the man’s neck and commanded the Force to do his bidding.

A wet pop sounded and the guard slumped to the ground.

Khendon keyed himself in. The day had been long and the meeting he had attended far longer. Seeing prisoners and, better, doing unthinkable things to prisoners was always a stress reliever. That he had specially been invited by a certain individual furthered the pleasure of this outing. Indeed, there were special interests involved in this visit.

He found the door and let himself in, black cloak billowing dramatically behind him.

“Ah! Esalis, always a pleasure,” he bowed as a devilish smile graced his features.

[R. S. Esalis]

The Director reclined only minimally in her seat, her cruel blue eyes going from Arya to the Executer.

"Ahh, Executor Sevon. So glad that you could make it."

She folded her hands together and rested them on the tabletop. "Colonel Karrnage you no doubt know," she nodded at Arya, "But this young lady I don't believe you've had the pleasure of meeting.

"Khendon Sevon, meet Arya Ravenwing, our resident Lupine."

[Arya Ravenwing]

Arya's eyes opened blearily, barely able to focus on the newcomer's face. "Charmed, I'm sure."

She tried to sit up straighter, so that the shock prods wouldn't be necessary. "Don't ask for water, they don't have any."

[Khendon Sevon]

“Thank you for the advice, Miss Ravenwing. Luckily, I just came back from a meeting that was more of a social event than I would have liked. All of my ‘needs’ have been taken care of, for the moment” There was a wicked smile. The conference had ended in a liberal spilling of blood.

“They tell me you’re a Lupine?” He gave her the once over. “Director, I find it hard to believe. The one I encountered was a warrior through and through. She had poise and power.” He gestured, “this ‘woman’ hardly seems comparable.”

His sword cleared its scabbard in a fluid motion and the blade pressed just under Arya’s chin. He lifted her head with the flat of the blade.

“So,” a thin smirk glided onto his lips, “what exactly would you like me to do with her.” His eyes had their way with her.

[R. S. Esalis]

Esalis watched Sevon with a bit of interest for a few moments before answering his question.

"Arya here seems to have no recollections of what it is that drives her into her instinctive change; the one that renders her nothing but a stark raving beast.

"And that is where your services are needed."

Her eyes narrowed as she looked to Arya. "I need you to use your, unique, services to delve into the heart of this matter."

[Arya Ravenwing]

She rested her chin on the cool steel, too tired even to protest the insults this man was throwing her way.

"Yeah, read my mind, Forcey." She smiled wanly, eyelids drooping again.

[Khendon Sevon]

Khendon sighed and pulled his blade back with a twitch. He watched as Arya’s head bobbed. He frowned. There was no challenge in this.

She was on the verge of sleep. He didn’t need the Force to tell him that. Her mind would be weak and easy to slip into. It wasn’t something he looked forward to nor was it something he was particularly good at. Never the less, it was something he was more than willing to do on this occasion.

“Arya,” his voice showed its baritone roots, “this. Just. Might. Hurt.”

The Force crackled around the Sith and waves of life energy that had once been idle suddenly came in mighty sheets to the calling Executor. Blankets of power wrapped around the user as he extended the field of his influence to encompass the nearby woman.

It took all of an instant.

The swirling mass of Force became as thin as a needle and stabbed into Arya’s mind with the speed and deftness of a sword thrust.

Khendon stood deathly still with both hands on his vertically placed sword like a cane and delved into the mind of the woman.

[Arya Ravenwing]

One second she was almost asleep again, and the next it felt like a white hot poker was being thrust into her brain. Her legs stiffened in an instant, knocking her chair backwards and sending her to the floor.

She felt like her brain was being pureed, and knew that the Change was coming over her. Arya screamed, clutching at her head as she curled up on herself on the cool floor, her bones starting to pop and change positions. As she screamed again her mouth elongated, teeth becoming decidedly more canine in appearance.

The Change was ripping her apart from the inside out.

[Colonel Karrnage]

"The catalyst!"

Karrnage bolted from his seat, backing away. By sheer chance, it had manifested itself to them. But now, they were all in extreme danger.

The Colonel gestured with gloved hands to the guards near her writhing form.

"Stun her now! She must be restrained!"

[Arya Ravenwing]

Arya's body was covered with sleek black hair in a few seconds, and within the space of a few more she was completely transformed and scrambling to her feet.

The guards jabbed their shockprods into her, and the beast howled with anger, tail whipping about but not touching either of them. Distracted momentarily from the Executor, the beast leapt on the nearest guard, tearing his throat out with its teeth.

[Khendon Sevon]

The pleasure of the kill flooded Khendon’s senses and he lulled in the fulfillment of the act. An animal instinct pulsed with powerful desires and he was swept up in them.

It took all of his willpower to pull out. He severed the connection as quickly as it had been made.

“Women, they’re all animals.” He shook his head and sheathed his blade. Carefully he laid the weapon down. The Executor recalled the Force he had bent to his will and again commanded it. This time the power formed armor around him and he felt its energies seep into his skin.

Within a breath his lightsaber cleared his jacket and activated. Its silver glow stirred the shadows of his clothing and its steady hum added backdrop music to the crimson events that were unfolding.

He threw his cloak from his shoulders and gripped his weapon with both hands. “Arya, it’s time to have your claws clipped.”

[Arya Ravenwing]

The lightsaber's glow distracted her from the kill she'd just made, and the vornskyr howled at the feel of the Force being used by the Executor. Heedless of the danger, the beast hurled itself at him, jaws dripping with blood from the dead guard.

[Colonel Karrnage]

"No!"

Karrnage frantically waived his arms at Khendon.

"The Lupine must not be harmed!"

[Khendon Sevon]

Khendon shook his head, “You’ll learn more from the autopsy.” Still, it would be a shame to kill the woman. Her animal side had spirit.

He touched the creature’s mind again. It was full of hunger and desire. The Executor grinned; her beast self was closer to his own.

“Frell it.” He deactivated the saber.

The Imperial Executor kicked off his feet and twisted in midair. He was careful to avoid the monster’s thirsty jaws and commanded the Force to guide his blow. The metalloid fist that acted as a pummel for the saber slammed into the beast’s head directly between her eyes.

He landed two meters away and bent his right leg in an empty stance.

[Arya Ravenwing]

The beast fell to the ground with a thud - just about a meter away from the Colonel. Unconscious, the creature shuddered, body reverting to that of a woman.

[R. S. Esalis]

And sitting quietly through it all, the most satisfied of smirks on her lips, Director Esalis watched the entire confrontation with a strange sense excitement. She kept that feeling inside of her, not allowing signs of such emotion show - except for her smirk, there was no other movement or sound that indicated her inner thoughts.

Seeing Arya in such pain during the change - it appeared that a voluntary change was much more bearable - was fascinating, and she had gazed upon the transformation as if in a trance.

Her hands were still folded together, resting on the surface of the table.

Finally, Esalis looked up to Khendon. "You have such a way with women, Executor," she smiled.

[Colonel Karrnage]

"This means that the origin of the Lupine can only be artificial in nature."

Karrnage's eyes twinkled behind his spectacles as he stooped to examine Arya.

"Imagine those so long ago, to have hated the Jedi enough to do this."

[Khendon Sevon]

Khendon elegantly bowed, “Maybe someday I’ll have to try my charm on you, Director.” He returned his saber to its concealed location and retrieved his fallen sword. The Executor brushed off the scabbard and set it on his belt.

“Imagine the horror of an organized tactical unit of these creatures. When can I order my first dozen?” He turned to the fallen woman and took a knee. There was such turmoil to be found in her; it intrigued him. It had been a long time since he’d touched an animal’s mind. The thoughts that had dwelled there frightened and excited him in strange ways.

“Make that first thousand,” he mumbled beneath his breath.

A time was coming that would demand souls. He needed as many as he could get.

[Arya Ravenwing]

The smuggler lay naked on the cool floor, oblivious to what was going on. Her body refused to allow her to escape unconsciousness, finally getting some of the rest it so desperately needed.

[R. S. Esalis]

At the Executor's words, Esalis frowned.

"Unfortunately, I do not know. From what we've just seen here, the Force is what turns her mad. We would have to run countless tests to try and remove this problem; after all, it wouldn't do to have a squad of Lupine stormtroopers suddenly turn into stark raving beasts should they encounter a Force user."

She pursed her lips, looking at Arya's still form.

"Tests, experiments, data collection, the list goes on and on."

[Khendon Sevon]

Khendon grinned. It wouldn't do you good, Director. Me, however...

"You know, it might be cheaper to just poke around with normal genes than to try and understand this creature's." The Executor eyed her. "I say you find out whatever her weaknesses are and we simply use them to capture the other one.

"Maybe she'll know more about the process that created her."

He still had a vendetta with S'ilancy and wouldn't soon forget it.

[Colonel Karrnage]

"I would be extremely interested in pursuing that avenue. The more of these creatures we can naturally observe, the more confident we will be in our findings."

[R. S. Esalis]

The Director nodded. "It would seem a sensible thing to do, yes."

She turned to Karrnage then. "Would it be too much for me to ask that you leave Miss Ravenwing in my care? I would like for you to look into capturing the other one. You would have all you need at your disposal for the search."

[Khendon Sevon]

Khendon allowed his eyes to wander for one more second before standing and turning towards the Director.

“I have something to add to this discussion.” He was the Executor. As such, he was entitled to voice his opinion and have it heard. There were few people still alive that could invoke as much absolute power as he.

“I believe it may be wise to try and use Miss Ravenwing to find S’ilancy. The other lupine may be wary since engaging me in combat. Who knows where she currently is.” He pursed his lips and clasped his hands at the small of his back in Imperial fashion.

“I have a skilled individual that may be of some service in keeping tabs on Miss Ravenwing and ensuring that she does not slip away from us. He may also prove vital in capturing S'ilancy.”

[Colonel Karrnage]

"What do we know about this other Lupine...s'Ilancy?"

Karrnage looked to Esalis, eager for more. All he'd gotten was a mere namedrop.

[R. S. Esalis]

"All that we know is gleaned from the journal," she spoke, her voice even.

Esalis turned to look at Khendon then. "But our best source is the Executor. He has been in direct contact with her; fought with her, spoke with her, and recieved wounds from her."

[Khendon Sevon]

Khendon tightened his jaw. “She’s extremely dangerous. Whereas this,” he gestured to the naked body, “Lupine changes when she encounters the Force, s’Ilancy has complete command over it. She is, as it were, beyond sensitive. She is an adept.

“Her saber skills are excellent, her martial abilities developed, and her powers impressive. I have been training since the encounter in ways to counter her talents and still do not feel ready for the challenge.” It was the truth. He wouldn’t play down the danger the woman posed.

[Colonel Karrnage]

"I would be interested in formulating a method to capture her."

Karrnage nodded, eyes returning to the other lupine as he agreed.

[Khendon Sevon]

Khendon grinned. “We just need to give Miss Ravenwing enough incentive to devise the method herself. I have a feeling that she’s very capable. Add the watchful eyes of an Imperial I know and I believe we have a winning combination.

“He’ll ensure that the job gets done and to satisfaction.”