Ask There is Company

[Alexandria Voran]

Location: Undisclosed FWA Prison​

Alex tried and failed to keep the deep frown from her face. The Force hummed painful darkness in her mind. Her eyes glued to the closed-circuit feed of the cell. Manat had been entirely not what Alex expected. The interrogation had been her choice, after what she had seen above Byblos. Manat was a creature of the Darkside but not entirely the monster Alex expected. Her eyes were now set on the monster. The Council had seen sit to entrust her with this duty as well. This time, she was not alone. The newly minted Master would be joining, and she expect this to be a true interrogation.

The horror who had been captured in the hangar was the picture of storybook darkness. She had little appetite for what the Jedi would be forced to do. They would first endeavor to discover if the Sith had the same protections as Manat. Then they would give him the chance to surrender the information willingly. If that failed, the Jedi Masters had other tools at their disposal. Alex’s frow deepened. She did not like how any of this tasted, but it was necessary. The prisoner had all the usual Force user precautions including shields, stun collar, stun cuffs, and sedation for all non-questioning times. It felt like overkill. She knew it wasn’t.

She took a deep breath as she waited for Drow to arrive. There was no time to waste.

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[Drow Venn]

Drow took great strides down the hallway, greeting passing by FWA guards and staff with amicable waves and salutations. His jovial nature concealed a firm commitment to do absolutely anything necessary to protect the Jedi Order and the innocents of the galaxy. Some had called him a teddy bear in the past but this bear had claws and he was more than willing to use them for this interrogation.

Other Jedi might shirk at the duty while some Sith might take perverse pleasure in the thought of an interrogation but Drow had neither viewpoint. The Jedi were right and the Sith were wrong. And if "enhanced" interrogations had to be used to stop the Sith, then so be it. It was not the Jedi who had forced such drastic measures to be taken in Drow's mind.

"Master Alexandria, it's been a while." Drow greeted the Human Jedi, having worked with her before when negotiating for Cin Drallig's holocron. The woman was an excellent partner for this interrogation - Drow remembered her as being quick-witted and a deft manipulator and diplomat.

"I was in the air so I didn't meet this charmer face to face. Do you have a read on them?" Drow asked his fellow Master, wanting to collaborate and agree on tactics before going in.

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[Asminys]

Darth Asminys waited. He had been waiting for some time. Ray shields surrounded him, his arms were cuffed and his neck collared. The sedation that had kept the Sith Lord foggy headed and weakened his connection to the Dark Side had finally begun to wear off, which meant only one thing. Questions.

His hateful eyes glowered at the cameras, at the walls, at the one way mirror of the interrogation room and the watchers that lay past it. At the stumps of his legs where the Jedi had cut. He had replayed that fight over and over again in his sedated mind as he tried to count the seconds, burning at his own weakness and calculating what he could have done differently. It all came down to the one Jedi. Not the one that had cut him, no. The one that had stood aside, whose sole contribution to the fight was to stand there with his eyes closed, working some plague of the light to corrupt the purity of darkness that Asminys bore within him.

Asminys gritted his teeth and clenched his muscles where he sat, seeking to release the tension and soreness from being still for so long, only to be awarded with a shock from his cuffs and collar. He took it without whine or whimper, instead only hating more as he glared at the unseen questioners through their protective mirror. He had suffered much worse at the hands of the Cadre-masters, these Jedi and their Free World allies knew nothing of how to inflict suffering. How to deprive one of time and meaning. He was locked alone, but he still had his mind drugged as it was. He knew it had been some time since the battle, time in which no one had dared speak to the Sith Lord.

The Jedi and the Free World agents who had sought to compile anything on Darth Asminys would likely find most of their sources coming up blank. He was a ghost in the system. No name, no past. No records of any sort that would point to his background.

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[Alexandria Voran]

The Force continued to drum in her mind with tension. She knew the path this would take...it was unavoidable. Alex’s face softened for a moment when Drow stepped into the room. The frown left her face but was not replaced by a smile. “Just Alex.” She offered a small nod. “Since you have been rightly elevated.” Her fellow Jedi Master had more than earned his recent status. Drow was one of the few Jedi Knight who had truly followed the Orders ideals. She had heard he served on Byblos equally admirably. Her hand reached out and touched the screen. “I’ve only seen footage from the hangar, Sevrin and Vahn restrained this one.” Alex’s brow furrowed again. “I was with the strike team that captured the other.” She barely stopped the sigh. “We have no idea who he is but the destruction he wrought when boarding speaks to incredible power...and rage.” There was no point in continuing to wait around. They had a job to do.

“We would be exceptionally wise to be cautious.” Alex turned and left to small monitoring station. She expected Drow to follow. She very carefully built up her mental walls. Each ounce of her strength shutting her mind away. Her face was tranquil mask. Her mind a perfectly still pool. If the Sith was the imagine of war, she was peace. The perfect Jedi Master. Her boots thudded loudly on the durasteel until she stood outside the cell.

The Rangers had deferred questioning. They had been all too happy to question Manat and get nowhere. Their fear of this one was palpable. So, they waited until the Masters were ready. Alex’s voice was clipped and clear when she spoke. There was no reason to hide who she was. “I am Jedi Master Alexandria Voran.” She equally pointed to Drow. “This is Master Venn...we have some questions we are hoping you are willing to answer.” Her eyes never left the Sith. “Do you have a name we can call you by?” That was a start. Alex had little hope this would go well. The pit in her stomach was not from the Sith but what she might have to do.

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[Drow Venn]

"I'll let you take the lead. You and I both know you're better when it comes to words." Drow grinned, making a cheeky reference to the time Alexandria had to save him and Novaron from stumbling over their worlds and destroying any chance of obtaining Drallig's holocron. That cheeky grin was gone though as soon as he walked into the cell with Master Varon. Even restrained, the Sith before them radiated power, rage, and hatred. Automatically, Drow began imagining his lightsaber in his head, going over every nock, button and shape that made up the hilt. It was a simple meditative exercise but it helped him relax and stay focused for what was about to come.

For his part, he decided to play "bad cop." For now anyways. He stood at the doorway, cracking his knuckles before crossing his arms and glaring daggers at the Sith. He wasn't putting on much of an act either. He was all for giving people second chances - he was the beneficiary of a very generous one himself - but Sith, in general, were manipulative, cruel and vindictive. And Drow intended to show that the stereotype of Jedi being meek and submissive were entirely unfounded.

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[Asminys]

Darth Asminys watched as one, and then another person entered the small room. A human woman, and one of the green Ishi Tib. Jedi by the looks of them. His eyes burned as they watched the woman who likewise kept her eyes on him. Molten rage simmered under the surface of his eyes, and if she looked close enough she would likely see the flicker of shadow behind them, graven images of her death playing out behind the windows of Asminys' soul as he imagined just exactly how he might kill her. Murderous thoughts playing out in his mind over and over again.

"Alexandria Voran." Asminys spoke, the name rolling off his tongue as he enunciated it. Tasting it. He held her gaze as he spoke, not acknowledging the alien Jedi who stood there cracking his knuckles in an attempt to... seem menacing? Asminys wasn't quite sure the angle the alien was going for.

"You may call me Asminys." He stated finally after a moment of silence. He had nothing to hide from these Jedi, no guilt tugging at his conscious that might make him seek safety behind a false name. If anything there was a hint of pride in his voice. He had earned his name. Tilting his head slightly towards the Ishi Tib, his next words were a question. He didn't look away from Alexandria however as he spoke. "Does this one piss himself when he is frightened like the rest of his kind?"

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[Alexandria Voran]

Rage. Churning heart searing anger was unmistakable within the Sith. His eyes were barely contained the boiling heat of his soul. Alex did not have to search Asminys’ mind to see his thoughts. A thousand death played out behind those eyes. Even in captivity, the Sith sought to control the situation. She tilted her head to the side. No…that was not exactly it. He truly wanted to see her pulled to piece and it fed that hatful part of his soul. This was not a game, it was who Asminy’s was. Alex did not flinch away as the scenes of her gruesome deaths played out. She was no dopey eyed Padawan.

The Jedi Master kept her eyes firmly fixed on their prisoner. The name he offered appeared to be true. The Force did not ring with falsehood and there was a hint of price in Asminys’ voice. She had not expected a truth. Manat had told her nothing but lies to start, where Asminys seemed pleased to offer his name. She did not allow a frown to form. They misunderstood the Sith. Of course, there was some validity to the generalities. Alex simply shook her head at the insult. What did they expect? Asminys would not get a rise from her, he would have very chance to avoid a more intrusive type of questioning. It simple was not who she was. She ignored the retort.

“We have viewed the footage from the hangar.” Her voice was cool. “No ordinary Sith could have wrought that destruction.” He was proud of his name perhaps he was proud of his title as well. “I find it hard to believe you serve Darth Stolas...but I may be wrong.” Her mouth twisted into a frown. “He certainly did leave you behind, because he is your Master?” Asminys struck her as the type who was unlikely to serve as little more than attack hound. She just needed him to admit who he was.

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[Drow Venn]

"Only when we see your mother." Drow replied to the quip about Ishi Tib without emotion. Having grown up in a mercenary company, he was able to easily recognize a taunt and knew that the best way of responding to it was to ignore it. Or call the offending party's mother an frighteningly ugly woman. Either one worked but Drow preferred the latter when dealing with Sith.

"You certainly don't strike me as the type to be in charge." Drow added on to Alexandria's words, to both taunt the Sith and possibly bait him into revealing more about his role within the Sith.

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[Asminys]

The Ishi Tib's attempt at an insult drew the faintest twitch of the lip from Asminys. The ghost of an amused smile. He had never known his mother, didn't have one as far as the Sith was concerned. The Jedi's words intended as barbs to annoy him struck air.

"Perhaps you underestimate a normal Sith." Asminys mused, though they were correct. He was no normal Sith. He was Asminys. A name he had earned in the Cadre's crucible, forged as a blade in the heat of combat, quenched in blood and darkness. He was the blade, an instrument of destruction. A weapon to be wielded.

But he tired of being wielded.

"Do you know much of the Sith? You know our ways?" He questioned in response. If they did, then they would know their probing was foolish. He had been left behind as he would have left any others who fell behind. It was their way after all.

Those who fall behind, get left behind.

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[Alexandria Voran]

Alex was tired. Tired of the endless circles with Manat, tired of war, tired of fighting for the soul of the Order…just tired. Her choices may have been different if Drow was not beside her. A Padawan or a Jedi Knight would have looked to her as an example. Alex worked very hard to match those ideals. She fought to be what they needed, but Drow did not need her. He was a capable and respected Jedi. He expected nothing from her. She nodded slowly. The Force filling her chest. “I understand.” She took a few steps towards the cell. Her mind sought Drow’s…quickly forming a connection. This Sith was not Manat. She did not fear his mind.

“I don’t want to do this.” Alex really did not. It was true. This was not who she was or who she wanted to be. This was not what she desired for the Order. “You have given me no choice.” How many times had those words been spoken by someone about to sacrifice a part of themselves? Cross a line they could never uncross. Alex had sworn to Manat that was not who she was. Liar. She slammed into Asminys mind, bringing her full strength along with Drow. The Sith would still be somewhat addled by the drug but she knew he would resist. If he was as strong as she suspected, they would not breach through quickly. But they would break thought.

One thought hammered forth with her assault. Who are you.

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[Drow Venn]

Drow silently nodded as Alexandria sought out his mind for a connection. She was correct in surmising that he would not judge her for straying a bit from Jedi ideals to perform this interrogation though he silently wished that he alone could bear the brunt of this morally questionable action to spare Voran from having to. But wishes were for wells and Drow steeled his mind, ready to do what needed doing.

Alexandria was hammering one thought into Asminys' mind. This was good because it would be the one constant that Asminys could cling to to escape from Drow's barrage. Drow would throw forth words and images, designed to cut into the very soul (if this thing still had one).

You are not powerful.

Asminys would suddenly be confronted with an image of him being lowered into an unmarked grave, forgotten about and leaving behind no legacy.

Your masters will discard you like a broken tool.

Now the image would be replaced with one of Asminys being confronted by ten Jedi. Asminys would reach for his saber only to find that he was unarmed and naked.

There is no escape from the Jedi. Give in.

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[Asminys]

Darth Asminys was disappointed. Perhaps he shouldn't have been surprised how alike the Jedi were to the Sith, how swiftly they jumped to invasive tactics. He supposed that he couldn't blame them. He had been bored in his cell for a long time, had been eager to speak with a fresh face. Any face really. Give them answers to their questions... perhaps not. But he might have been willing to trade.

He would not be forced.

At least not without a fight.

He was drugged, though his captors had let the drugs wear off partially before the interrogation. His mind was cloudy but still solidified in its hatred for the Free Worlds Alliance and the Jedi. He would resist them as best he could.

Who are you.

The question repeated in his mind even as it was assaulted by images. His corpse being lowered into an unmarked grave. Like he would ever get a grave.

Who are you.

He faced ten Jedi, weaponless and unclothed. They would come, and he would kill them with his bare hands. He would rip the sabers from their grasp and use their weapons against them. He would fight them with tooth and nail, ripping flesh and gouging eyes. He would fight until his last breath was spent.

Who are you.

"I... I already told you. I. Am. Asminys." His voice was a guttural growl, more beast than man as he fought against the mental intrusion. Barriers were erected in his mind, the colorless walls of a Cadre cell and the twisting corridors of the prison he had called home stretching before the Jedi in his mind.

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[Alexandria Voran]

A hint of disappointment wafted across her mind. Yes, her actions confirmed everything Asminys thought of the Jedi. If only he knew how disappointed Alex was in herself.

Her own suspicions of the Sith’s strength here confirmed. He stood strong in the face of their efforts. Images of death flashed in her mind. She tossed them aside. Never again…this was his home now. Asminys’ name rang out again. The Force hummed with truth. He had been honest. In this moment, that only meant he had more to tell her. Alex focused seeing the blank cell walls…the endless prison corridors. A defense mechanism with the colors of truth. Another prison the Sith had called home. Interesting. She pushed harder.

“I know your name…” She spoke softly but her voice vibrated loudly in the Force. “I want to know who you are.” She collapsed the walls of the corridors of the prison, forcing open the cell walls. All across the walls the simple words were written. Who are you. They knew the Sith’s name, but a name only held so much power. She wanted to know what had created the man who bore that name. She wanted to know who Asminys was in his soul.

Alex knew that was the secret to learning what she wanted. The man was no ordinary Sith grunt. The strength to withstand the assault of two Jedi Masters spoke to a level of power outside any ordinary Sith. They faced a Sith Lord…she was nearly certain of it…and she wanted to know who he was.

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[Drow Venn]

Drow pursed his reptillian lips as he observed this creature. The Sith was good, no doubt about that. The very fact that he was still standing after this mental barrage from two masters spoke to his level of commitment. That or his level of his insanity but, either way, the result was the same. Drow pressed forward. The man wasn't seeming to respond very well to threats or fear so Drow changed up his tactics.

You want to tell us what you know

The ten Jedi in Asminys' mind would be replaced by sand. An endless stretch of sand. There was no one around for miles. No targets to kill or masters to please. It was just a vast stretch of emptiness. The only thing that could help a person like this survive was achieving inner peace.

The truth will set you free

The vastness of the desert stretched out, reaching past the horizon, no matter how many steps Asminys might take towards it. The only stimulation he might have was listening to the two Jedi's words echo throughout his head.

Earn your freedom by telling us what you know

The desert did not end.

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[Asminys]

Asminys strained against his restraints as the mental assault continued to bear down on him. His eyes glared madly at the Jedi as he shook his head back and forth violently, never taking his eyes off his foes as he tried to shake them from his head. The walls of his mental defenses took a beating under the two pronged assault, the wall of his cell splashed with words, a single phrase.

Who are you.

The ten Jedi he fought in his mind crumbled away to dust under his hands, dust that stretched into sand that went on for miles. He was alone in this mentalscape, though he knew it was another trick of the Jedi. He did not walk the desert endlessly, for he knew there was no end. Instead he started to dig. The truth would not set him free, the truth would only leave him to rot here like he already did.

The only thing that would set him free of this place was himself.

Who are you.

The writing on his childhood cell began to wash away as blood began to seep from the walls, starting slowly from the top corner but quickly welling up to drip down the walls and cover them. The blood of innocents. The blood of the not so innocent. A lifetime of blood spilled poured down the walls around the Jedi Master as the walls started to crumble away and a spot of blood trickled from Asminys' nose in his thrashing.

Who are you.

The walls of the cell crumbled away, to be replaced by a cage within Asminys mind. The bars of the cage were not of metal but of crackling electricity and ray shields. The cage was large, and its floor was not the floor of a cage, but an arena. Red stains covered the floor, stains of blood long ago spilt. Asminys built this cage around their minds as he mounted another desperate defense. He could not resist the might of two Jedi masters at once, he knew that now. He had underestimated the Jedi before, but no longer. Instead he did what he knew how to do best. He attacked.

Who are you.

"I... AM... ASMINYS!" A younger version of the Sith Lord shouted at Alexandria Voran from across the cage as a crimson dark lightsaber ignited in his hand, except it wasn't in his hand, it was his hand. He bore no tattoos, bore no wounds where his legs had been cut off, and wore nothing except a pair of exceptionally plain shorts and a collar not too dissimilar to what he wore now, only more sinister in appearance and design. Where red stained the arena floor haphazardly elsewhere, the floor around this Asminys was a deep stain that stretched far and wide from where his feet were planted. They did not remain planted there for long as Asminys attempted to drive a psychic knife at Alexandria's mind, his shadowself in the vision charging across the arena to cut down the Jedi Master that invaded his mind.

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[Alexandria Voran]

Pieces of Asminys’ life slowly began to knit together. She saw the boy he once was, the child who became the man before her. It was a sign his mind was beginning to break. A part of Alex knew this information was useful, but it was not what she wanted. Not what she needed. Asminys proved a formidable foe. He was strong, determined, and he hated the Jedi. Her choices would only deepen that hate. She would accept those consequences.

The world between them shifted as the Sith Lord resisted their assault. Alone Alex may have faltered. She was not alone, and this was her realm. Her mind fought the curse on Ajan Kloss, the corruption of the Ubese, and the machinations of Manat. Asminys skill with a blade dwarfed her own. In the physical world, he was more than her equal…but this was beyond the physical world. Her training was of the mind. With Drow besides her, Asminys would crack. They were close and she could feel it.

The assault came. That psychic knife ripped toward her mind and she was ready. An assault was like a bridge, if you were not careful it opened you further. She brushed away the cage, putting them back in the prison cell. Asminys was charging coming to cut her down. She allowed the mental attack to come in close, her walls softening…a tempting target…and they were whole again. The Sith would find himself chagrining through nothing but empty sand. “This is my dream…my vision…I rule here Asminys.”

Alex’s mind raced up connection between them.

She brought every ounce of her strength forward, calling on Drow to do the same. She burst forth into Asminys mind…searching…searching. Her physical strength was waning. The toll of resting the assualt and turning it inward, draining through her. She could not keep this path for much longer. What did she want? What could she use? The Sith Lords…Raze was easiest to find...they knew him. Malicia, Stolas, flashed prominently throughout. Give me the others. She wanted names, everything Asminys knew of the Lords of the Sith.

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[Drow Venn]

Drow was actually a bit taken aback at the ferocity of the Sith's defense. Fortunately, Alexandria seemed to have this well in hand as she remade the desert that Drow had created. But how could he best help her?

He summoned the inner reserves of his strength and made a ball of pure, golden light suddenly appear in the mentalscape. To Alexandria, a warrior of the light, the ball would seem comforting, like a friend picking you up when you're down. But to Asminys, dweller of the dark that he was, the light would be blinding, burning, and appear all-encompassing.

Tell us. You can't escape the light.

These words would resonate through the mentalscape. To punctuate his point, Drow increased the brightness of the ball slightly. It would only be slightly more painful for Asminys but the light could always burn even brighter...

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[Alexandria Voran]

Warm white light enveloped her mind. Alex smiled and Asminys’ mind broke. The Sith last valiant Defense had been impressive but ultimately futile. The strength of two Jedi Masters was beyond that of one drug addled Sith. His mind was a book for her to read and so Alex read. Asminys’ life flew before her eyes, his servitude, slaughter through the ranks, and rise to Lord of the Sith. She saw it all. The first time he met the would-be Queen of Dathomir, the cult leader Malicia, the dreadlord Stolas and innumerable faceless Sith. The connections to Blackwell Technologies. His life became her life and, in that moment, Alex learned more of the Sith Order than she could have ever hoped. Reliving that terrible moment the Grandmaster's kyber crystal broke.

Asminys’ hate for the Eternal and his evolution. A name struck out in her mind. Emryc Thorne. Alex’s mind flipped to Thorne’s face in the Sith's memoy. Something was wrong. Asminys' memories of Thorne were fractured and broken. They felt disjointed...wrong. The president of the ISC was shorter and younger, but there was no mistaking that name and those eyes.

No Alex that wasn’t right. That is your mind not Asminys. Thorne was meeting with the very heart of Darkness. The man seeking to lead the galaxy, to liberate the worlds, ingratiating himself with the Sith. Emryc Thorne did not seem the type of man to misunderstand the nature of the Sith. Asminys must have seen the cracks in that armor. The man beneath the smile. What else could explain the broken memories?

Alex retreated into herself. Her own mind rang with pain, her body exhausted. Shame washed over her like a cloud. Not here. She had done what needed doing. She would reflect on her choices later, but now, in this moment they had succeeded. The knowledge stored away by Asminys was there. Alex quickly looked at Drow. He would have seen all that she saw. He knew what she knew. “Drow, we need to speak with the Council.” It was imperative they passed this knowledge along at once. The fate of the galaxy hung in the balance. Why an Asminys met President Thorne and what did the Sith plan next?

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