Dathomir: 18 BBY
"Shrouded Claw"
Lesia Mirri

    "I don't understand." Manon walked back and forth, a confused expression on her face. "I'm doing all I can. Why are you not doing better?"

    Les shrugged and closed her burning eyes. Two days had gone by. She barely had any memory of what had happened throughout them. She didn't sleep. She could barely eat. Strange voices kept screaming at her.

    "I'm sorry, Les." Manon sat down beside her. "I'm trying my best."

    "I know. Thank you." Les knit her brows. "Why did you decide to help me?"

    "You reminded me of me. I don't want anyone to go through what I did when I nearly lost myself to my anger and rage. I thought that maybe with my experience, I could help you," Manon sighed.

    Les clenched her hands into fists. She was aching to hit something, but would not allow herself to. "I wish I knew what could help."

    "How did this start, anyway?"

    Les shook her head. "I've always struggled with anger and remorse thanks to the war. I had started to heal from that though." Manon gave her a prompting look. Les sighed and pursed her lips. "I was traveling with two Mandalorians from Corellia, Nakoa and Oni. Oni never really liked me, but Nakoa and I got along well."

    She drew in a steady breath, attempting to hold back her pent up anger. "I never told them I was a Jedi. You know how things are now. They were bounty hunters. If I had told them, chances are they might've turned me in to the Empire at that point. I meant to find a planet and some work, but I couldn't. Everywhere that wasn't under an Imperial occupancy had been touched by the Clone Wars and I couldn't bring myself to go to them."

    "Nakoa let me stay and we grew...close. Then, he found my lightsaber." She gritted her teeth, anger flaring up within her chest. "They didn't even give me a chance to explain myself. They threw me off the ship and left." Her head was throbbing again. Les took a few slow, deep breaths and the throbbing eased a bit.

    "And their betrayal sparked all of this?"

    "More or less."

    "I see." Manon clicked her golden talons together.

    Les shook her head angrily. Her lekku fell over her shoulder. "After everything I did for them...everything they did for me...I can't believe they'd abandon me like that."

    "It sounds to me like you're better off without them."

    "Maybe," Les growled. "Anyway, they'd better hope I don't see them for a good while." Manon gave her a sideways glance, but said nothing.

    Les stood and grabbed a datapad. She opened up the latest news articles, hoping to distract her mind. A headline caught her attention. Les opened the article and began to read. Her eyes widened in surprise.

    "What is it?" Manon asked.

    "Jedi Master Luminara Unduli is alive!" Les exclaimed. "She's been taken captive by the Empire and is being held on Stygeon Prime."

    "And?"

    "If you can't help me, maybe she can. She was a wise Jedi," Les explained.

    Manon nodded after a moment. "All right. Where exactly is she?"

    "She's being held in a prison called the Spire. I remember hearing about it during the war. Separatists used it. It's got very tight security."

    "Don't worry about that. I have a few tricks up my sleeve," Manon laughed. She entered the cockpit and fired up the ship's engines. Les joined her as they lifted off. They cleared Dathomir's atmosphere and made the jump.

Corellia: 18 BBY
Clan Covert
Nakoa Sen

    Drystan gave a muffled shout as he was knocked to the floor yet again. Tilla jumped in excitement at her victory. Nakoa chuckled to himself. While her brother was better with a blaster, she was definitely proving herself in hand to hand combat.

    Drystan picked himself up with a grunt. "That wasn't fair," he muttered.

    "Most fights aren't," Nakoa replied. "You've got to learn to adapt to the fight in the moment."

    "How do I do that?"

    "You wing it."

    "No." The three of them turned as Oni approached them. "Don't wing it. Nakoa does that and usually ends up having to be rescued."

    "That only happened twice," Nakoa shot back. "Did you need something?"

    "I need to come save these children from your terrible fighting techniques." Oni crossed her arms, watching him.

    "Why don't you show us?" Tilla suggested. "Nakoa can fight his way and you can fight yours."

    Nakoa narrowed his eyes at Oni. Is she actually trying to help or just trying to start another fight?

    "Fine." Oni tossed her blasters aside and curled her hands into fists.

    Nakoa mimicked her movements. They circled each other for a second, then Oni lunged. She threw a punch. Nakoa locked his elbow around her arm and swung her over his shoulder. She flipped onto her feet and attempted to kick him. He dodged the attack.

    They began to trade blows, getting progressively faster as they went. Drystan and Tilla watched from the sidelines. He wished he knew what they were thinking. Nakoa hit the ground as Oni managed to sweep his legs. He grabbed one of hers and yanked her down beside him. Nakoa flipped over, pinning her leg beneath him. Oni struggled to get loose.

    He leveled his fist at her neck. "If I had a blade, you'd be dead," he snapped. Nakoa blinked, realizing how that had sounded. "If this was a real fight," he added. He stood, but didn't offer Oni a hand.

    She picked herself up. "Well played."

    "I think I like Nakoa's style," Drystan said. "Come on, Tilla. Let's practice some more."

    "What was that about?" Nakoa asked as the two children headed off to another corner.

    "I know you've been dying to hit me. I thought I'd let you get it out of your system," Oni hissed.

    "You were wrong."

    "Is it not out of your system yet?"

    "I never wanted to hit you."

    Oni placed a hand on her hip. "Oh, really? It certainly hasn't seemed that way."

    Nakoa crossed his arms. "How would you know? You haven't been around me longer than two minutes in the past three days. Even less before that."

    "I thought I'd let you sulk about your girlfriend a bit first."

    "What is your problem? Could you not handle that I don't return your feelings?" It was a low blow and he knew it. He just didn't care.

    Oni stiffened. "I could care less. I just didn't want to hear you yell at me for doing what was right."

    "What was right?" Nakoa dug his nails into his palms. "Throwing her off the ship in the middle of a storm and letting her fend for herself on an unfamiliar planet was right?"

    "Stop with the self righteous tone. You are just as responsible as I am. I did what I had to. You never would've."

    "I know I'm responsible. I found her blasted lightsaber!" Nakoa stared at Oni, his anger steadily growing. "You're selfish, Oni. You don't really care about anyone but yourself."

    "That's not true!"

    "Isn't it?" He shoved past her. Drystan and Tilla paused and watched him walk past. "You two can stop whenever you want. I'll meet with you at the same time tomorrow." Nakoa stormed out of the room.

    He heard footsteps behind him. He turned, expecting Oni. Instead, Nakoa saw Drystan. "Want me to hold her down for you?" Drys offered.

    Nakoa shook his head. "What would that solve?"

    "I don't know. Maybe she'd stop talking to you?"

    Nakoa sighed. "She's my friend. I don't want her to stop talking to me. I just want her to think about someone other than herself for once."

    "Who were you talking about back there?"

    "You remember the Twi'lek I told you about?" Drystan nodded. "We were talking about her."

    "What happened to her?"

    "I wish I knew." He kept walking, even as Drystan stopped following him. He didn't know what all Drystan had heard, but he hoped the young boy had missed the part about the lightsaber.

Stygeon Prime: 18 BBY
"Shrouded Claw"
Lesia Mirri

    Les rubbed her forehead, feeling the familiar anger flare up again. You don't really care about anyone but yourself. That's not true! Isn't it? They seemed to be two separate speakers, but for some reason, she could only hear them as one. Les didn't know who they were.

    She took over the controls as they dropped out of hyperspace before Stygeon Prime. Manon sat down and began performing a spell. Les focused on flying. Imperial Star Destroyers formed a blockade around the planet. They were accompanied by several light cruisers.

    Les waited for them to hail the Shrouded Claw, or to open fire, but neither occurred. They flew past the blockade, seemingly unnoticed. Manon stood and took the controls once more.

    "What did you do?" Les asked.

    "I've hidden the ship from them. They can't scan it or see it. We're invisible in every way."

    "Wow." Lesia's eyes widened in amazement. "Remind me to ask about your magicks later."

    Manon smirked. "I will do that."

    "Now, how to get in here." Les eyed the Spire as they approached it. "There's a platform right there." She pointed to it. "I'm going to jump off the ship and make my way in through that entry point. You just keep flying around out here. I'll signal you when I've got Master Unduli."

    "Are you sure you should go in alone?"

    "You have to keep the ship hidden. Even though we're invisible, if you land somewhere, there could be hidden pressure sensors. Someone might investigate and find you."

    "I see your point. Very well. Just be careful down there."

    "I will. Thank you, Manon."

    The Witch gave her a nod and Les headed towards the boarding ramp. She extended it and waited until they were near the platform. Les took a running start and leaped out of the ship. She hit the platform and landed in a roll. Two stormtroopers were on guard. Les leveled her blasters and stunned them both.

    They collapsed and she narrowed her eyes. Before she realized it, she lifted their bodies and threw them over the edge of the platform. Les blinked and lowered her hands. She inhaled sharply, then shook away her guilt. She pried the door open shortly and continued inside.