The Price of Freedom (Jeseth Cloak)

[Sebastian Kvasha]

There were so many tourists on Adarlon that Sebastian Kvasha fit in easily among them. A hardened convict escaped from an Imperial prison, he wanted only to fade into the background for a while until he could find what he was looking for: The key to living a normal life again, free of worry from being found and returned to the abyss of prison life.

He was nearing twenty-six now and he had just spent the last seven years of his life in a detention cell. While some might have given up hope, wasting the time and allowing the overabundance of nothing to do to allow their minds to go soft and crumble, Baz, had not. He had instead passed the long hours keeping himself in good physical condition and reading extensively.

Any topic interested him, really, but in particular, he had been interested in the force. He had always been aware of it, had known he was force sensitive, but had not given much thought to it, believing it to be little more than another religion, just like all the others out there that did little when it came right down to it.

His time in prison had opened his eyes a bit, and a desperation to escape – to live the life he was missing out on him led him to try anything. And so he had taught himself to use the force. And it had done him well. His escape, he had planned for years and years – had tried it several times, only to be caught before he had been free, and taught well the price of making a mistake.

But each time had taught him something new, and this last time, with the use of the force, he’d managed to finally break free. For a while, he had laid low, but now, now he was finally emerging into society once again, and trying to learn to live as he had lived before – a free man.

He’d had to kill to get the clothes he now wore. To get the blaster he was ready to wield if needed. And he was willing to do more than kill if necessary to remain a free man. The bounds were relatively limitless.

He planned to remain on Adarlon for some time. With so many tourists, under the table jobs were easy to come by, where no one questioned who you were or where you came from. When he raised enough money, he would go in search of one who could teach him to use his abilities. In search of one who could teach him to wield them in such a way that he would never have to worry about anyone being able to capture him again. He would not spend his life in an eight by eight cell.

And so he was working now as a bartender on some nights, doorman on others. This evening he was behind the bar. He served a rather stiff drink to man at the end of the bar, a relatively pathetic regular who passed every night there drinking to forget who he was on some nights, who he wasn’t on others.

He was pouring a local ale from the tap, filling a pint glass for an elderly gentleman who had come in, as he often did after a hard day of work. As he filled it, he turned to another customer.

“What can I get you?” He asked, his voice gruff, but not unfriendly, merely businesslike as he performed what had become his job.

[Jeseth Cloak]

"A Falleen Bliss." The drink that the customer had ordered was a very rare (and very expensive) brew. It was made by extracting pheromones from a live Falleen - a process that was unusually cruel, and nearly always fatal. The drink itself was not digestible by most species - the pheromones tended to reduce any who ingested them into a compliant puppet.

Several of the men in the establishment turned around and cocked their heads at the man who had dared to make such a request. The drink itself was illegal to produce. Jeseth looked up at the bartender and raised a brow. "Well?" Most of the patrons turned away.

[Sebastian Kvasha]

A Falleen Bliss.

He was so used to the usual orders of ales or mixed drinks that for a moment, he paused. He knew exactly what a Falleen Bliss was. He could even have told the man how much time it would get him in prison for making it.

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the curious cant of the head of nearby patrons who had heard the request.

Well?

With this, many people turned away, knowing that to pay obvious attention would be to create trouble for themselves, for on its own, with a life of itself, Trouble seemed to be brewing.

What Baz wanted to say was, ‘Look buddy, I just got my <smallfont color={hovercolor}>-Censored-</smallfont> out of prison, and I aint going back in for a few lousy extra credits on a tip’. Word of something like that would get around quickly, for this was an entertainment city, and people would watch just about anything for entertainment. Of course, the city wasn’t exactly crawling with authorities, either. It was one of the reasons he’d chosen the place to begin with. And for the right price, it would maybe be worth it.

He didn’t undermine the intelligence of the one who had ordered by replying that the drink was not only illegal, but expensive.

Instead he served the ale he’d been pouring to the old man, then turned back to Jeseth. It could be some sort of trap, he supposed, but there was something about the man, a certain aura of darkness that cloaked him that made Baz think otherwise.

“You supply the Falleen” (and he meant a live one), he replied, “And the right price, and you’ll get your drink.”

[Jeseth Cloak]

"Nevermind." Jeseth turned his attention away from the bartender. "I thought you'd already have the drink in stock... I'll have some water instead. You do have water, don't you?" His eyes went to work reading through an old book that he held; it was a journal that had been penned by a Dark Jedi many centuries ago.

Most people wouldn't want to do any reading in such a bustling place, but the noise didn't bother Jeseth. He was used to blocking out distractions when the need arose. Vjun had never been very quiet. The constant rain, thunder, lava, and earthquakes had all helped to sharpen his concentration... As he waited for his drink, he flipped another page. His eyes narrowed in anger.

Blank?

There was nothing else written. Jeseth turned another page - blank. He began to leaf through the rest of the tattered book quickly... it was all empty. The last page in the book was soiled with blood. What a disappointment, Jeseth thought to himself as he dropped the book down on the bar in front of him, only a few days were accounted for.

[Sebastian Kvasha]

Nevermind. I thought you'd already have the drink in stock... I'll have some water instead. You do have water, don't you?

If he wanted the drink in stock, he was going to have to go to a place that was a little bit rougher. The place didn’t look like much, this was true, but for the most part, it was a relatively respected establishment that stayed away from any obvious reasons to shut it down.

Sebastian nodded.

“Yeah, we got water.” He replied, thinking that water was a far cry from the drink the man had wanted. But he was a man of few words, and so turned to fill a tall glass with ice, and grabbed a bottle of R’alla water. The drink the man had asked for was an expensive one, and so in an effort to accommodate his tastes, Baz had chosen the sweet, clear water bottled from the mineral springs of R'alla. It was expensive, as far as waters went, due to its purity and taste.

He set the glass down in front of the man, noting the slight narrowing of the man’s eyes in anger as he began thumbing through a book in front of him. Prison had taught him much about expressions and gestures. Life had not been easy for him there. He’d gone in, just old enough to not be considered a kid by most legal systems, and he was now just beginning life as man in his mid twenties. By all counts, he should have been an angry man, having missed out on so many years. Later, perhaps, once the reality of life outside of prison settled in, it would emerge.

For the moment, he was merely thankful to be out, even if that freedom was tenuous. On a whim, as things seemed to be a little slow at the moment, and he was in a relatively good mood, he mixed a specialty drink, a spinoff of a drink called the Starshine Special.

The drink was a typically expensive one that contained a special additive that few knew about, and could be obtained in bars only by knowing the secret code to ask for it. The formula for the secret additive, starshine, was highly secret, but Baz had learned of it in prison, having shared at one point a detention cell with a man who’d been jailed for selling illegal substances. In boredom, the inmate had shared with Baz the secrets for making, buying, or selling most substances. Among them, though not illegal in most systems, was the formula for Starshine. Rather than mixing the additive with the usual liquors required for a Starshine Special, he mixed it with what would normally be added to a Falleen Bliss.

He then set it down in front of Jeseth as the man dropped the book to the bar. His eyes cast a curious glance at it, and perhaps studied Jeseth’s face for a moment too long before he spoke.

“Starshine Bliss. On the house. Sorry we didn’t have what you were looking for.” He voice was gruff as he spoke, carrying a slightly apologetic tone only beause he sympathized with the man in terms of not getting what he was looking for.

Baz wasn’t getting what he was looking for either, not anytime soon anyway.

He turned away rather quickly, head bent as he busied himself with menial tasks. The man looked oddly familiar, as if he had seen the face before, though, he hadnt the slightest notion of why. He dismissed this as foolish – as simply being paranoid about being discovered as an escaped convict.

[Jeseth Cloak]

Jeseth took a sip of the concoction and grinned slightly. it was prepared extremely ell.. Sebastian's fear was slight, but still noticeable. "What haven't you found yet, that you're so desperately seeking? Or is it that you're running away from something?" The winged stranger picked up his book from the bar and placed it away inside of his coat.

The Force had alerted Jeseth to Sebastian's true nature. Details were still slightly unclear, but soon enough they would come into focus too. "You‘re lost, aren't you? That blossoming spark of power, the chaos that follows in your wake... I can already see that the Dark Side is consuming you.”

[Sebastian Kvasha]

What haven't you found yet, that you're so desperately seeking? Or is it that you're running away from something?

Sebastian looked up from the pint glass that he was drying with a towel. Somehow he had known that the winged stranger was speaking to him. His face blanched as Jeseth suggested that he might be running from something. He said nothing in response, causing the stranger to continue.

You‘re lost, aren't you? That blossoming spark of power, the chaos that follows in your wake... I can already see that the Dark Side is consuming you.

The glass dropped to the floor, shattering and causing several patrons to look over curiously before they turned back to their drinks.

To collect himself, he bent to pick up a few major pieces, tossing them in the trash as his gaze came back to meet Jeseth’s. And then he knew, in an instant he knew where he had seen this man before. He was the one who had authored so many of the holonet texts he had studied during his time in prison. He was…

Trying to act as natural as possible, he busied himself with collecting empty pint glasses from the bar. He knew who Jeseth was. Jeseth was the former Imperial Senator to Coruscant. And Sebastian was an escaped Imperial prisoner.

He felt anger rise slightly within him. Was this man toying with him? Finally, he stepped back over to the bar in front of Jeseth.

“What do you want from me?” He asked, his voice as gruff as it generally was, something that had become second nature after years of being among the hundreds of hardened criminals there were in the galaxy. His words neither denied nor confirmed Jeseth’s statements. But it was clear to Sebatian that the man knew something about him, for in the time he’d been working there, no one had said anything of the sort to him. No one, but this one, had noticed anything different about him.

Jeseth seemed to have picked up not only on his fear of being discovered, but on the fact that he was force sensitive. The fact that he was familiar with the powers of the dark side.

[Jeseth Cloak]

"Nothing," replied Jeseth, "what do you have that I'd want? I think you're the one who might want something." He stood up from the bar and began walking towards the door. Follow me if you want what you're looking for.

Jeseth stepped out past the door to the cantina he had been in, and kept walking out onto the crowded street. Adarlon was a sleepless world with plenty to offer. If the stranger choose to follow him, then soon he would show him the extent of the Dark Side's power...

[Sebastian Kvasha]

Nothing. What do you have that I'd want? I think you're the one who might want something.

Sebastian continued to stare at Jeseth. It was not with aggression necessarily, and certainly not with fear. It was wariness. Until the stranger spoke again.

Follow me if you want what you're looking for.

This he heard clearly through the force. The voice spoke in his mind and rather than finding it odd or perhaps disturbing to have someone do this, Sebastian embraced it. Yes, this man knew what it was that he sought, and as faith would have it, Sebastian was possibly going to get his chance to attain it. Complete freedom by mastery of the dark side.

He watched as Jeseth stood and walked out the door, returning to the crowded street. It took him only a moment to follow. This was his opportunity, and he knew it. Jeseth knew what it was that he wanted. And Jeseth was the key to getting it.

He didn’t bother to tell anyone he was leaving. It didn’t matter, for after tonight, no matter the outcome with Jeseth, he would not be returning here. Too much attention had been drawn to him for it to be safe to return.

The air outside was just as thick as the air inside the tavern. Filled with grit and seemingly endless billows of smoke. He found Jeseth there and for a moment, he said nothing.

“You’re right. I’ve felt the spark and I want to know more.” He admitted.

“Whatever the price.” He added. He hadn’t worn a jacket despite the chill in the air. He did not shiver, or seem to notice. He had experienced far worse under the controlling hand of the Imperials, and little, it seemed, could affect him – with the exception of his fear of being returned to prison.

It wasn’t the physical pain, it was the mental toll that prison life took. To feel the days passing by like years as you missed out on life. This, he could not bear.

[Jeseth Cloak]

Jeseth continued to walk, with Sebastian following behind him. There was some water lingering on the walkways. Sebastian began to notice that the water was slowly being drawn up into the air, rippling behind Jeseth as if gravity was being suspended in his wake. "I'll show you..." The winged Dark Sider walked onward, pains of glass shattering behind him. The maw of people that were gathered began yelling and fleeing in all direction, hoping to escape the sudden storm of chaos.

Up ahead of Jeseth was a large spinning globe - it was the artistic centerpiece of Adarlon's largest (and most corrupt) corporation. Sebastian noticed that it snapped loose from its base, wires tearing free. It continued rotating with the aid of the Force, and hovered pleasantly. Water, large shards of glass, and sheets of metal - these were among the most common things that now seemed to rest in midair.

Screams could be heard all around, and then they were drowned out by the sound of rushing water. Everything came crashing down as Jeseth waved his hand, dismissing whatever invisible servants had done his biding. Class came down like bullets, tearing through flesh and bone. Water swept away mostly anything in its path. The rotating globe (clearly the largest object visible at a distance) cracked and exploded, sending shrapnel, smoke, and clouds of fire all around it.

Heat swept over Jeseth and Sebastian as they stood in the center of all the destruction. "It's limitless."

[Sebastian Kvasha]

Jeseth continued to walk, and Sebastian fell into stride. As they walked, he noticed the beginnings of chaos begin to take their effect around him. Water began to drawn up into the air, rippling behind Jeseth.

I'll show you...

As he said this, pains of glass shattered behind him. People began to run, panic creating a world of chaos around them.

Sebastian watched as the globe – the globe that he had noticed every night on his walk to work began to spin, and eventually, cracked and exploded, sending shrapnel, smoke, and clouds of fire all around it. He knew Jeseth to be the cause of it all.

As the heat of destruction swept over the two of them, Jeseth spoke once again.

It's limitless.

Indeed, it seemed to be. And the display perhaps struck something within him. The raw power of it all, the aggression drawing out the anger within him. Anger for the years that he had lost. Anger for all that he had suffered. And the desire to bring it upon everyone else.

It almost radiated from him, the heat of it mingling, but clearly distinct from the heat of the explosion. He wanted this. He wanted to know what it was to be this powerful. To have fear of no one ever again.

Its limitless. These words echoed in his head.

Sebastian wanted this. He wanted to know no limits. Limits were all he had known for far too long now.

“I want to know a galaxy with no limits.” He stated, staring at the billows of a smoke for a moment before he looked to Jeseth.

“I just spent the past seven years of my life in prison, learning from you by the holonets you’ve authored.” He spoke with honesty and sincerity.

“What would it take to get you to teach me more? To teach me how I can live without limits?” He asked.

[Jeseth Cloak]

Jeseth continued walking, considering Sebastian's request. The walkways were empty, only an occasional body or some debris littering their path. Water splashed below Jeseth's boots. He was making his way towards a small ship that seemed to still be intact. What would be the right price for the power that Sebastian sought? "You're undying loyalty."

The ship's loading ramp was already down, so Jeseth took the liberty of letting himself onboard. There was an elderly man lying dead inside of the cargo area. He had probably died of a heart attack while attempting to escape the destruction outside. "Take the controls and set a course for the Lambda Sector. Your first lesson will begin as soon as the ship is on its way." Jeseth already knew what Sebastian had decided. There was no need for formalities.

[Sebastian Kvasha]

There had been no question for him. Undying loyalty was a small price to pay for the freedom that he sought. He trusted his instincts enough to believe that Jeseth was sincere in his offer.

And so, without a word he followed Jeseth onto the ship, leaving behind a life that had never truly begun for him on this planet. It was now that he would begin to live.

This was a ship that he was not 100% familiar with. But if you could fly one ship, it was likely you could figure out how to fly the others. And certainly, his life leading up to prison had not been unblemished. He was perhaps a bit too familiar with needing to know how to fly any ship that came into his hands.

There was no conversation as the ship lifted off, and began its journey into the great wide open of space. It felt good to be back out there, back on a ship, back to doing what he had always intended in his life to do - live it according to his terms.

When the ship finally seemed to be settled, he cast a glance toward Jeseth, though he said nothing at first. His hand came to rest on his blaster out of habit, not an intention to use it.

“I have to believe that your dealings arent 100% straight if you’re accepting the undying loyalty of a convicted criminal…” He commented, opening up the discussion to possibly gain an understanding of what, exactly, he was getting himself into.

[Jeseth Cloak]

"The ends justify the means," said the winged man as he bent down over the corpse inside of the ship's loading bay. Jeseth scanned the body for a blaster, and pulled it free. It was a small weapon, but was likely very precise as well. He looked up from the corpse and glanced at Sebastian, then stood to his feet.

"This will be your first test." Jeseth walked to the end of the loading area, separating himself from Sebastian by near forty feet, then unclipped a saber from his belt and tossed it at him. “A lightsaber - it is a much more versatile weapon than a blaster. You have one minute to learn how to wield the weapon, and then I'm going to shoot you."

Jeseth raised the blaster and leveled it at Sebastian's chest. A clean shot, even with such a small and weak pistol, would do incredible amounts of damage. A few seconds had already ticked by, and Sebastian finally came to realize that Jeseth was not jesting with him.

[Sebastian Kvasha]

The ends justify the means.

Sebastian rather liked this answer from Jeseth, though the expression on his face would not have revealed such. You didn’t spend as long as he’d spent in prison and not perfect a poker face.

In time, perhaps, he would ask what, exactly, the ‘ends’ were that Jeseth sought. For now, it was evident that Jeseth didn’t have the desire to tell him much more.

Baz watched as Jeseth bent down over the corpse and pulled from it a small blaster. Instinctively, his hand tightened on the blaster he held as Jseth turned to look at him.

This will be your first test. He said as he unclipped a saber from his belt and tossed it at him.

A callused hand caught the hilt of the saber. It took no aid of the force, for the toss had been right on target.

A lightsaber - it is a much more versatile weapon than a blaster. You have one minute to learn how to wield the weapon, and then I'm going to shoot you.

These words he spoke as he raised the blaster and leveled it at Sebastian's chest.

Sebastian knew instantly that this was not a joke. A blaster aimed at his chest was never, ever, a joke. And his first instinct was not to learn to wield the saber, as had been demanded of him, but to draw his own blaster and fire. He was particularly skilled with blasters, and it was a reaction out of comfort.

He had just come from years in prison. And his mentality, at the moment, was not in a place where he could understand that this was training. That he was supposed to trust that Jeseth would give him the full minute to familiarize himself with the saber.

No. His mind was set on survival. He had not survived the past seven years by being nice or by trusting. He was a hardened criminal and his life was his number one priority. It was an automatic reaction that he would have to learn to put on hold.

There was a point behind what Jeseth had asked of him. Unfortunately, this time, he would possibly learn the hard way. He was capable of undying loyalty – it would just take more than the few moments that had passed for this relationship to be established. It would take some sort of event to trigger this.

He trusted his instincts, but he had been wrong before. Wrong enough that he’d wound up in prison. He wasn’t going to be wrong again. Not when his life was now the ultimate price.

Without a second thought, he followed his instinct and drew his own blaster, his finger moving to pull the trigger.

[Jeseth Cloak]

Sebastian fired his blaster with blinding speed. Jeseth had already brought his left hand up to meet the oncoming fire however, and both of the energy bolts seemed to dissipate as they struck his palm. Smoke trailed up from the black leather, filling the air. "You've wasted some of your time," said Jeseth. Sebastian felt a sudden pull upon his blaster, and then it was gone.

The weapon flew through the air and quickly landed in Jeseth's open palm. The winged alien now had two weapons trained on Sebastian, and time was ticking away.

[Sebastian Kvasha]

He stared in silence for a moment at Jeseth, precious seconds on the clock ticking away. He found that he wasn’t surprised by what he had just seen. A man who could make chaos of a city the way he had only some time ago, could undoubtedly stop blaster fire and rip his blaster from his hands.

He finally looked down at the hilt of the saber he’d been given and ignited it. He had never held a saber before and for a brief moment it felt awkward. But then it became any other object. Any other weapon. You did what you could with what you had when you had no other choice.

His gaze came back up to meet Jeseth’s. He had no idea how much time had passed, or more importantly, how much time he had left. A minute was a long time when you were waiting for something to happen.

This was a test, Jeseth had told him. A test of what? There was nothing to explain to him what exactly was wanted beyond learning in one minute to use the weapon he’d been given. Use it to what, deflect a blaster shot aimed at his chest?

Instinctively, in case the blaster shot was to come before he could do anything else, he raised the blade protectively in front of him. But it felt wrong, entirely wrong to him to stand there waiting for an attack. Looked across the ship at Jeseth and then down the barrel of the blaster that he held.

Forty feet separated Sebastian from Jeseth. He had enough time to close the distance, of that he was sure – but what then? He was 100% sure Jeseth wasn’t going to just let him swing the saber and knock the blaster from his hand. And he wasn’t sure that Jeseth wouldn’t just fire the damn thing at him as he advanced. Anger flared within him. It was the force he wanted to learn to use, not an ancient weapon.

The anger within him seethed as he stared at the winged man. For a moment he was brought back to his prison cell, for that was how he felt at the moment – trapped. But he had escaped. He had escaped with the use of….

Of the force. Of the little that he had been able to teach himself from books and holopads. And it dawned on him that perhaps there was a connection between the two. Force users all carried this weapon – most only used a lightsaber in addition to their force powers.

Was it possible that somehow the saber would know when the shot would come? And then it hit him. It wasn’t the saber that would know, it was him. And suddenly a minute didn’t seem like enough time. As quickly as he could, he sought to feel the force.

[Jeseth Cloak]

Three... Two... One...

Sebastian doubted himself. There were momentary vibrations sent throughout the Force as the man attempted to search himself for answers. His time had run out. What happened next, Sebastian couldn't have expected. Jeseth didn't fire just one or two shots - he fired six, and in rapid succession. The burning streaks of light ripped through the air loudly, approaching their target with blinding speed.

If Sebastian deflected the shots, there was no telling where they would go. Jeseth didn’t seem overly concerned that the ship might end up getting damaged...

[Sebastian Kvasha]

Six shots. One after the other.

The first one tagged him cleanly in the lower chest. It wouldn’t effect him immediately, but would require medical attention soon after, for slowly, internally, blood was seeping into his lungs, and he would meet his death by suffocation.

The pain of the shot incensed him. The fact that Jeseth had brought him upon his ship to shoot him enraged him, and his emotions triggered what he needed. The force within him to react.

The blade of the saber moved without a conscious effort to deflect the last five shots.

And then Sebastian stumbled back a foot or two. Pain was reflected briefly on his face, though he gave no audible indication of it. A hand came to rest on something, anything nearby as he began to struggle to inhale.

The saber was still in his hand as he stood there, and then he looked to the one who had fired upon him.

“Satisfied?” He asked, his teeth grit in an effort not to show his pain.

[Jeseth Cloak]

Jeseth dropped the two blasters to the ground as he approached Sebastian. "No," he said bitterly, "but you did better than I expected." The Force pulled Jeseth’s crimson saber loose from Sebastian’s hand, deactivating with a hiss as it returning it to its Master.

The Sith Master knelt down next to Sebastian, watching him for a few seconds. “Don’t fight it.” He waited until Sebastian seemed to be on verge of death, his skin drained of all color... the wound had turned a charred black, cracks of red occasionally peering out of the crisp dark flesh. Sebastian could see his vision fading away. That's when he felt a stab of pain that brought him back into reality.

Jeseth had placed a hand onto Sebastian's wound, and it was starting to quickly scar and fester with disease. All feeling in and around the wound ceased. The man could breathe again... just enough to talk. His body felt warm with fever, but at the same time very cold... like ice. Jeseth had saved him from death with the only option available.

[Sebastian Kvasha]

He found it more and more difficult to stand as Jeseth dropped the two blasters to the ground and approached him.

The saber was pulled easily from his hand. He heard Jeseth’s response as his knees buckled beneath him and he sank to the floor of the ship.

But you did better than I expected. These words repeated themselves for a moment in his head and briefly he wondered what, exactly, Jeseth had expected.

And then reality began to slip away from him. He struggled to breathe again and knew as he did that something was very wrong.

As the Sith Master knelt down next to him, Sebastians eyes looked to him. Though glazed over, they did not indicate fear. He did not complain, nor did he give in to any sort of plea for help. He knew that he was dying, the same way one knows so many others things about themselves.

Don’t fight it.

He heard these words faintly in the darkness that had quickly come over his vision. And he took this advice. His eyes closed as everything around him began to slip away. And just before he lost the last grasp of life a sharp stab of pain brought him back into reality.

His eyes opened to find Jeseth as the source of it. He lifted a hand to push him away, but weakness from lack of oxygen prevented it, and his hand fell back to the floor. Hadnt he done enough already, Sebastian thought. Just let me die in peace, he thought as his eyes closed once again.

But dying just wasn’t in the cards for him. Not today, anyway. Slowly, he found that he could inhale again. It was difficult, but it was enough. His body burned with fever, yet involuntarily he shivered. It was not a comfortable feeling, but at the very least he was still alive. His eyes opened again, And he knew Jeseth was the one who had made this possible.

For some time, he did not speak. He understood by Jeseth’s efforts to save his life that the man had not intended to kill him necessarily, but to teach him a lesson. It was unfortunate that it had taken Baz a bit too long to understand this, but it lead to greater things. Though he would not say it, he was grateful that Jeseth had saved his life. He had asked to be taught the ways of the force -–he had asked and he had received. It was not Jeseth’s fault he had been slow to learn, or that he had not trusted him.

Now, he did. He trusted Jeseth, despite the fact that his ways of teaching were potentially life threatening, and this trust would inevitably lead to the undying loyalty that Jeseth had demanded of him.

His eyes met those of the master.

“What would have satisfied you?” These were the first words that he chose to speak upon recovering the ability to breathe again. They carried no malice or tone of disrespect. He truly wanted to know.

His lack of thanks in words right now would hopefully not be misinterpreted, but allowed instead to speak through future actions.

“Because I’ll keep it in mind for the future.” He added, forcing a wry expression of amusement. He still did not mention the discomfort that he was in. This was a reaction born of the tortures suffered in prison. A reaction that had forced him to learn to continue despite pain; a basic force skill, though he did not know it to be such.

[Jeseth Cloak]

Jeseth stood and turned away from Sebastian, allowing the man a chance to recover. “What would have satisfied you,” asked his new apprentice. Jeseth's lips curved in a satisfied smirk. He wouldn't let Sebastian see it, but Jeseth now felt more respect towards him. The man had not cried out, or asked for release from their bond. Many had asked such training of Jeseth, but pleaded for release from their promise upon realizing exactly what they had gotten themselves into.

Sebastian had already showed exceptional skill, as well as determination. "Failure is not an option when you face your opponents. Just keep that in mind, and you will be able to complete the tasks required of you."

[Sebastian Kvasha]

Failure is not an option when you face your opponents. Just keep that in mind, and you will be able to complete the tasks required of you.

So he had failed. In his first task he had failed. This bothered him – not because it made him doubt his ability to succeed, but because his competitive instincts despised failure. He was disgusted with himself.

He ignored the feverish feeling and the icy numbness in his chest as he sat up. For a moment spots appeared in front of his eyes, dizziness perhaps as he recovered. He glanced down at the spot where the blaster bolt had hit then looked away. And then he made his way to his feet. He moved to where his blaster lay on the floor and picked it up, replacing it on his hip where it could usually be found. He took also the one that had been fired upon him and held it out to Jeseth.

“I’m sure it has at least six more bolts left in it.” He stated, the expression on his face suggesting that he was willing to prove himself despite his weakened state. He was not going to be a failure.

[Jeseth Cloak]

Jeseth looked to Sebastian in silence and took the blaster, then handed his Apprentice the lightsaber once more, nodding. If Sebastian missed this time it would cost him more than just a grievous wound - it would kill him. "As you wish," said Jeseth as he moved away from Sebastian, then turned to face him for a second time. The winged Sith's slender pale fingers lifted the pistol, waiting for Sebastian to activate the lightsaber.

Close your eyes - they can't help you now.

[Sebastian Kvasha]

Sebastian accepted the lightsaber and inhaled deeply, releasing it in a determined breath as he watched Jeseth put distance between them.

As his master lifted the blaster, Sebastian once again ignited the lightsaber. Again, he stared down the barrel of the blaster and lifted the saber in front of him.

Close your eyes - they can't help you now

He heard these words and did not doubt them. Doubt had cost him dearly the first time, and it would not cost him again. There were no second chances. Failure was not an option.

He closed his eyes, feeling as he did so an odd sort of calm settle over him. And then as quickly as the calm had come, a flurry of emotion and energy as he allowed the force to guide him.

The saber that he had held ready in front of him, stiff in his movement with anticipation seemed to relax, ready to be controlled by something greater than human reflexes.

[Jeseth Cloak]

Jeseth fired repeatedly, four shots blazing out of the blaster pistol before it died in one final belch of energy. Jeseth looked onto his Apprentice, wondering if the training would end there. The streaks of light pierced through the darkness between the two men, closing in on Sebastian in the blink of eye.

[Sebastian Kvasha]

He saw only the darkness behind his eyelids. He had let the force guide him before, using it during his escape. But never had he closed his eyes and let it take over completely. It was his emotions that fed it. Fear of being returned to prison. Annoyance at the pain that he felt. Anger at having failed the first time.

The combination fed from the dark side of the force. They were all negative emotions, neither controlled or out of control, but rather there as he let it flow through him.

The shots traveled faster than the noise of them did, and this time the saber moved fluidly, coming in a clean, aggressive strike to meet the bolts in the air just in front of him.

He could feel each one as they hit, each impact like a fresh breath of air in his lungs.

But there were only four. He had expected six and for a moment he opened his eyes to look, his concentration broken. Had there been two more left, two shots delayed, he would probably have been dead.

But there weren’t. He could tell by the lowered blaster. And as it came to him in an instant replay sort of fashion, he could hear the difference in the last blast. Had felt the difference.

He lowed the saber, but did not disengage it just yet.

Instead he pulled his blaster from his hip.

“I want all six.” He stated. It was not a demand, for he did not in the least believe that he was the one to call the shots. Rather, it was a request. Call it stupidity. Call it determination. Call it what you will. Sebastian wanted to prove to Jeseth Cloak that he was not, and would not be a failure.

[Jeseth Cloak]

Jeseth narrowed his eyes, then dropped the empty blaster he was holding. It hit the ground, and Sebastian's blaster traveled across the ship to occupy the Jeseth's vacant hand. Jeseth didn't waste any time and immediately fired at his Apprentice, shot after shot flashing across the ship's interior. Jeseth couldn't foresee what the outcome of Sebastian's suicidal request would be...

[Sebastian Kvasha]

With this blaster the bolts were larger and just a bit slower that the smaller more accurate bolts of the pistol. This time it was not anything but the pure instinct of the force that brought the saber up to deflect the first bolt. It was a suicidal request, most certainly, but with each attempt it was becoming more natural.

Most of the shots fell within centimeters of each other, and as they came one right after another to the same spot, it did not take one with outstanding skill to deflect them. The last bolt was a bit off from the others, though, the weapon being naturally less accurate, and while the saber caught most of it, it did not catch all of it. The bolt deflected past it at an angle altered just enough that it missed any vital spots, but clipped his arm just above his elbow, leaving a painful but not threatening wound on the arm that held the saber.

He winced as it hit him, but his stony expression remained. He looked to his master for a moment, almost expecting another surprise round to be directed at him. He was not 100% happy with his performance, and would not be until it was perfect. But he was intelligent enough to recognize that now was not the time to try again.

He released the breath he had been holding. He did not expect any words of praise. Nor would he go looking for them by asking what his master thought of the performance. If Jeseth wanted him to know, he figured he would tell him.

“You havent told me how I should address you…” He stated only after the blaster had been lowered.

[Jeseth Cloak]

Jeseth gave Sebastian an amused grin, then stepped closer to him and held his hand out, waiting for Sebastian to return the lightsaber. "Address me as you wish. My name is Jeseth Cloak... but you knew that, didn't you?" Sebastian handed back the lightsaber after deactivating, and Jeseth clipped it to his belt and walked into the cockpit, taking a seat. "Get some rest... We will arrive at Koros Major soon."

[Sebastian Kvasha]

He had nodded as he’d handed the lightsaber back. Yes, he had known the man to be Jeseth Cloak. His blaster had not been given back to him, but he was not, for the moment, concerned. Perhaps when they stepped from the ship he would be, for he had never, with the exception of prison, gone anywhere without one. Not with the mischief he had been involved with.

He watched as Jeseth took a seat in the cockpit, and did not argue in the least when it was suggested that he get some rest. He was human, afterall, and the human body could only take so much abuse before it failed its owner.

He moved to take a seat some distance from Jeseth, and for the first time actually examined his wounds. The one on his chest concerned him, for it did look rather infected. But there was nothing that could be done for now, and so he pulled the tattered remains of his shirt over the wound, and after verifying that the singe on his arm was little but that, he closed his eyes for a moment. He had not expected that he would fall asleep, but the activities of Jeseth’s first test of him had worn him out.

He awoke some time later and stood, stretching his limbs and feeling the beginning of soreness settling in. He ignored it and walked over to take a seat closer to Jeseth.

“Are there others where we’re going?” He asked.