Nur: 18 BBY
Fortress Inquisitorius
Lesia Mirri

    The floor is iron. Les blinked, her head aching. My outfit is charcoal and blood. She was forcing herself to think up different descriptions for everything. It distracted her from the illusions that plagued her mind. Everytime she stopped, she would see Cole or Master Mundi wandering around her cell.

    The lights are cinnamon. The Seventh Sister is the color of a shuura fruit. Her mouth watered, thinking of the sweet morsel. Her stomach growled and Les shook her head. The Mirialan Inquisitor, she had learned, was called Seventh Sister. She'd overheard a purge trooper call her by name.

    Electricity is a noble blue, like Master Kenobi's lightsaber. This table is obsidian. Les closed her eyes, weariness overcoming her. She recalled the last dream she'd had. In it, she had seen herself and Nakoa. She had been pregnant. Les still couldn't see Nakoa's face. Her vision had been blurred for the first half of the dream. When he asked where she was, it had cleared and she showed him her cell.

    Les opened her eyes again. It was just another dumb dream, she thought. He abandoned me. Why would he come here, of all places? Still, her heart clutched at that faint hope, even when she told it not to.

    The door hissed open and several pairs of feet appeared before her. Les continued to look at the ground. She knew what was coming. Seventh Sister regarded her silently, then snapped a finger. The panels closed and Les squeezed her eyes shut.

    Electricity burned beneath her skin. Les screamed, despite the rawness of her throat. On and on the pain went, until darkness flooded her vision.

    "Lesia."

    She didn't want to open her eyes. She didn't want to see her master. A gentle hand touched her shoulder. Les opened her eyes begrudgingly. Master Mundi sat down beside her, his eyes full of sadness.

    "Master." Les shook her head. "No more illusions. No more dreams. Please."

    "This is no illusion, my young apprentice," he said. "The Force called me to you."

    Les glanced at him. He looked real, but so had the illusions. "Why now? Why not before?"

    "The Force works in mysterious ways."

    "Why are you here?"

    "To remind you not to give in. You have held onto your pain for so long. It's time to let go. Release your anger and suffering. That is what's holding you captive."

    "I can't. I've tried."

    "Did you not pay attention in Master Yoda's classes?" Master Mundi prompted. "What does he have to say about trying?"

    "Do or do not. There is no try," Les sighed.

    "There is your answer. Either do it, or don't do it. If you do, you will save yourself. If you don't, Vader may have another Inquisitor to add to his ranks." Master Mundi's hand squeezed her shoulder tightly. "I don't wish to see that fate befall you."

    "I think it's too late."

    "It is never too late."

Corellia: 18 BBY
"Mythos"
Nakoa Sen

    Nakoa touched down in the docking bay. Oni, Ketei, Drystan, and a strange woman were there waiting. He guessed the woman to be Manon, the witch Oni had mentioned. He extended the boarding ramp and headed to the back of the ship.

    "Les is on Nur?" Nakoa asked as soon as they were on board.

    Manon nodded. "She was captured by the Empire on Stygeon Prime. I tracked them to the moon from there."

    "Are you going after her?" Drystan asked. "Can I come?"

    "She's being held at Fortress Inquisitorius," Manon added.

    Nakoa thought it over, then shook his head at Drystan. "If she's being held there, you can't come. I won't risk the Empire capturing you."

    "But I thought I was helping," Drys protested.

    "You have helped," Nakoa replied. "But you can't come to an Inquisitor's fortress. Think about Tilla."

    Drystan crossed his arms and heaved a big sigh. "Fine."

    Ketei placed her hands on his shoulders. "I'll take him back to the covert and return as quickly as I can."

    "We'll work on forming a plan while you're gone." Ketei nodded and led the younger boy off the ship. Nakoa turned to Manon again. "Start at the beginning and explain everything."

    "I met Lesia on Savareen. She claimed to be looking for work. I sensed a great darkness in her and thought I might be able to help. She agreed to come to Dathomir with me and I tried to teach her how to control her anger," Manon began.

    "Dathomir? Why would you take her there?" Oni interrupted.

    Manon cocked her head and held up a hand. Flashing green smoke billowed from her palm. "I am a Nightsister. It was my home." Nakoa gestured for her to continue. "She was injured, so the first thing we did was completely heal her. Lesia made some progress, but for whatever reason, her anger remained."

    Manon knit her brows, curiously. "She claimed to hear voices. Some belonged to the spirits of my sisters. Others belonged to animals. There was one voice in particular that she kept hearing, but it was not distinct." Nakoa bit his lip, recalling his own similar experience. "She would feel the anger of another person, as well as her own. Les found a news article claiming that a former Jedi Master was alive and being held on Stygeon Prime. We went and attempted to rescue the Jedi, but it was a trap. Les was captured and taken to the Fortress."

    "How did you know to come looking for us?" Nakoa asked.

    "She told me about the two of you. I hoped you would care enough about her to help me rescue her."

    "He's been looking for her nearly a week," Oni said.

    "She was taken nearly a week ago. If you had looked sooner, this might have been avoided." Manon fixed her piercing gaze on Nakoa. "She is very angry with you. I cannot guarantee you'll receive a warm welcome from her, but if you would like to help, I will be grateful. I won't lose another sister to this darkness."

    "I've already resigned myself to that. We're coming with you," Nakoa replied. "Do you have a plan for getting inside of the Fortress?"

    Manon set a holodisk on the ground. Schematics of the Fortress appeared above it. "There are entry points underwater and a few landing platforms that are hidden beneath the waves. We'll never be able to land, so someone will have to keep the ship flying. Two of us should get inside the Fortress to find Les."

    "Ketei will come too so we can have her monitor our exit," Nakoa pointed out.

    "You and Manon should go inside," Oni said. "Les trusts you more than Ketei or I. I can keep the ship flying while Ketei guards the exit like you said."

    "As to where that exit will be..." Manon pointed to an entry point. "I can get us beneath the water and inside the Fortress through here. I should be able to sense where Lesia is once we're inside."

    Nakoa nodded. Footsteps clomped on the boarding ramp and Ketei entered the room. She closed the ramp behind her. "Let's get going," Oni said. She headed into the cockpit and fired up the engines once more.

    Nakoa turned to follow her, but paused as Ketei caught his arm. "I want you to have these." He hesitated as she held out two new blades. "They are made from some of the pure beskar you brought. If there are Inquisitors in there, you will need a weapon that gives you a fighting chance."

    Nakoa smiled and took the blades. "Thank you."

    "Let's go find your friend."

Nur: 18 BBY
Fortress Inquisitorius
Nakoa Sen

    Nakoa watched with wide eyes as Manon's magick encapsulated the Mythos. They passed beneath the large Imperial blockade without issue. Oni took the controls and he stood.

    Nakoa grabbed Lesia's lightsaber and hooked it onto his belt next to his new beskar blades. Manon and Ketei joined him as they drew near to the ocean surface. They headed to the back of the ship and opened the boarding ramp. "Hold onto me," Manon warned. They each grabbed onto her shoulders.

    Green magick surrounded them and they leaped, plunging into the billowing waves. Nakoa drew in a sharp breath as they started floating towards the Fortress. The Nightsister's magick was keeping them dry and allowing them to breath somehow.

    Manon pushed her magick towards the Fortress' entry point. It dug into the cracks of the sealed doorway, forcing it open. Water threatened to flood the hallway, but she managed to hold it back. They hit the ground and Manon released her hold on the door. It sealed quickly, letting only a few drops of water splash onto the floor.

    Ketei took up her position as Nakoa and Manon ran on ahead. Nakoa drew his blaster and a beskar blade. Manon's hands were still alight with magick.

    "She's in the upper levels," Manon whispered. "Let's find a lift."

    They ducked behind a column as a few black armored stormtroopers passed by. "Who are they?" Nakoa hissed.

    "Purge troopers. They're much deadlier than ordinary stormtroopers." Manon led the way towards the nearest lift. She closed her eyes for half a second, then selected a level.

    Apprehension filled every bone in his body. Nakoa's hands shook with nerves, but he forced them to still. The lift opened to a hallway full of purge troopers. He stiffened as they immediately raised their blasters.

    Manon hurled a ball of magick into one trooper. He exploded with a flash of green light. "Go!" Manon shouted. "I'll hold them here." Her magic filled the hall, freezing the troopers in place.

    Nakoa sprinted past them and didn't slow, even as he heard Manon begin her attack. He spotted a cell at the end of the hallway. It was as terrible as it had been in his dreams. The door was closed but he could still hear Lesia's screams emanating from it.

    Nakoa blasted at the control panel and the door sprang open. An Inquisitor and a few purge troopers waited inside. He blasted at the nearest purge trooper, dropping him. The second threw an electro staff towards him. Nakoa dodged and snatched it out of the air. He dashed into the room and drove it through the trooper's neck.

    "Most impressive," the Mirialan chuckled. "A friend of hers, I presume?" She gestured towards Lesia's convulsing body.

    Nakoa clenched his jaw, anger rippling from him. The Inquisitor drew a circular blade and activated it. Two red lightsabers jutted out of it. Before she could attack, green magick surrounded her and she was jerked out of the room.

    "Get Les!" Manon shouted. She waved a hand and the door closed again.

    Nakoa ran to the control panel and quickly shut down the electric panels. Lesia's screams ceased and she hung limp from her bonds. He made the panels move back and ran to her. Nakoa lifted her head and felt her neck. She was alive. He set to work removing her bonds, aware of the time now ticking past them.