From a Darker Cloth

[Zilfer]

Mr. Dark other wise known as Scar by his personal looked out to the city of Empress Teta, he was here reviewing the results of a new weapon they had developed for subduing test subjects through a nonlethal method. He looked at the gun in his hands, it had no offensive setting just different ranges of stun, and it was guaranteed to work with any species that relied on a nervous system. He had long ago forgotten how it would feel but he was able to get around this by his rare find of a living ship that had bonded with him. Throwing the gun on the table he grabbed a cloak and drapped it around his shoulders. He was in the deep core where the Mando Republic War seemed so far away. Yet his company was building ships, selling weapons, searching for improving pharmaceuticals, and even psyche treatment.

His hands extended even into the dark reaches of business and illegal trades, and his resources where some of the most sought after by inventors knowing that his pocket was deep. However with the sudden falling out with Iscariot, he didn't know what had made their company go mostly silent just that they seemed to have faded out in the recent years. His time was now divided between managing the company, experimenting with the force, and training five sith warriors that he had come accross. They had been frozen in carbonite from long ago, and were part of fifty sith warriors that had been that way. With a little bit of bending their will and showing them that HE was worth serving as a master they complied.

The Force Orb race was also on his radar but minimally so. He had invited Jedi Master Jor over to discuss the matter through one of his lead scientists Tigaro but it seems he had neglected to take up the invitation. Well he couldn't blame them, the Jedi's hands were full without having to use their legs to get around planet to planet. Most didn't even own transportation except for the loaners that the Jedi council could spare.

The business over Iridonia had yet to conclude however he had a feeling it was going to strengthen the rogue, Mando army and the Republic. The Iridonian government had paid well for the formula of a scentless knockout gas, bomb, and a few unmarked droids. He heard they had bribed some of the officals on both sides of the conflict to ensure chaos. It perked his interest but not enough to get involved by sending more than a few gruntmen their way. He was more curious as to what would happen to his long time subject 109k who had been an experiment on creating a being with almost a constant force drain. It had succeeded in a way, though 109K had no control over it and was only exerted when he was mortally wounded.

By the time he came back to reality he was already walking along a bridge between two privately owned buildings humming a tune long lost to him, the words had been in ancient sith had he remembered them, but even his memory wasn't perfect.

Recently there had been a flag forwarded to his datapad that a Jedi Shadow was in the area. Most of the time the comings and goings of Jedi meant nothing to him, but this one was of particular interest.... his last attempt as training an apprentice had ended in failure. She had over estimated her position, and not delved deep enough into his secrets to find powers that she had never seen him use. He had crushed her attempt to break him into so many pieces that it would split his consciousness. The move he had learned from an Alex Drake.... or rather Emperor Cain if you go by the history books. It was amazing how there could be one older than him even, but alas as with all beings that try and control everything within sight they seem to fall oh so easy. He was still here when the good Emperor was dead, even his apprentice had given up his power. Zilfer, the fool. He was probably the only one that could match or surpass his skills with the force and without that his seat was entrenched.

The Jedi Shadow however... she was the daughter of his last apprentice and perhaps she could be salvaged. The last time he had seen her was when he had placed her at the Jedi Temple. They had obviously brought her in as an orphan and told her something or another. How would she react to find out he had killed her mother? Jedi often controlled their emotion but there were strings you could plunk, and if you made them dance on strings you could pull the legs right out from under them and bed them with the darkside for a threesome. Well the first thing was first, he would have to find out why she was here... Jedi Shadow's often looked for traces of darkside or artifacts and he wasn't above throwing one or two of his items to throw Jedi Shadow's off their track. He had far too many minor artifacts that he considered useless, and as time grew on his collection had grown large, so large that he had store houses on over 100 different worlds.

Pulling a datapad from his pocket he went ahead and send a message to continue surveillance on the girl, right now she was the most interesting thing to him, and it had been awhile since he had been interested in anything.

[Roku]

Amanda Stamkos:

She'd always been a bit of a loner. Analyzing things from afar. She learned more about people by spying on them from the shadows, than by going up and talking to them. It didn't really surprise the council. They were well aware of who brought her to the temple to begin with. They were reluctant to even take her. But, alas, the council doesn't turn away children on account of who their parents were. She was raised, trained, and given assignments just like all the rest.

The main difference was in her approach. Most younglings were eager to try out their lightsabers in a hands on manner. While they played around, practicing Shii-Cho moves for hours, Amanda read about Shii-Cho, and Makashi, and Ataru, and so on... she read for days straight some times, never leaving her room except to grab food or water, or use the bathroom. She was a recluse, and she always had to be doing something.

Amanda wasn't afraid of people, she just got bored of them easily. She had a couple friends at the temple. Some people were just likable, and so charming that even Amanda couldn't help but smile when they were around. The most social thing she ever did though, was play chess and have one on one conversations about logic and being a jedi. Anyone who goofed off wasn't worth her time. Tricksters, Jokers, and people who were poor at their studies weren't worth her time. She was a recluse, but she was ambitious. She wanted to be the best. The greatest brain in the Jedi order. That's why she walked down the path of knowledge. Studying Jedi and Sith artifacts alike. She'd been to Ilum, and Korriban, and Byss to study wars ancient, and ones much more recent, like on Byss. She wanted to know why people felt the need to fight. She herself just ignored people who disagreed with her unless they could prove they were right. She was a lady of evidence and information.

Amanda's combat style differed from many Jedi as well. She didn't stand proud and flash Jedi colors and do fancy lightsaber tricks. Truth be told, she rarely used her lightsaber at all. Amanda liked to be able to go in and out of a mission without anyone ever realizing she was there. And being the type of person who could hide and keep secrets, she was immediately suspicious when the Jedi told her that her parents were farmers who died in an explosion. She went to the planet said to house her parents old farm, and to the apparent explosion site, and asked the locals about it. there never was an explosion. And the farm belonged to an old couple who had owned it for forty five years.

Amanda could abandon disbelief for a second. She could put herself in the council's shoes. She could give them the benefit of the doubt, and assume that she was lied to for her own protection. But she'd never ask them directly. It wasn't her style. She would do what she always did. Investigate. Dig up clues. Find out the truth. And when she found it, she promised herself she wouldn't let it interfere with her duties.

So that brings us to why she's here on Empress Teta. Her latest findings indicate that a woman who looks very much like her was seen dueling a jedi thirty two years ago, right here, in the very place she was standing.

The lightsaber marks are still in the concrete.

Amanda had her shovel ready, and was examining the top layer of soil. Trying to find clues. Bits of armour, fibers, possibly credits, rings, or even body parts. What she finds almost immediately disturbs her to some extent. It is two human fingers, not to far from one another. They're just bones now, and they were cut off by a smooth bladed weapon.

"What's all this?" She asked herself.

[Zilfer]

Bulgender found himself in the employ of the Sith once more but this one was the opposite of his prior employer. He much preferred Ryuu's approach of going ahead and taking things head on. Scar? Yeah he was nothing of the sort, he was more like Kyrite in that regard, playing mind games and maneuvering behind the scenes. Avoiding conflicts, when he probably had one of the most deadly ships in the galaxy. He wondered if his race had discovered a ship like that would the galaxy be under their thumb now?

Ha! Fat chance! He knew his race would have seen it as an obstacle to hunt and overcome through might. Maybe that's why there's only one known one in the galaxy. He humored himself that they had hunted them to near extinction. There was few who could say otherwise now, and his bloodline was becoming thinner with each successive breeding. As far as he knew he was the last Taung, and he was here watching some Jedi investigate a scene of some importance to a Sith Lord who has lived far to long to care about one measly Jedi.

He tugged at the armor he was to wear, he didn't like it because it wasn't Mandalorian made but Scar had assured him it was one of the better armors he could possibly wear. He had tested it out and Scar had been right, lightsaber resistance and had a build in back up shield. He still wouldn't admit it was better than his old armor however.

He walked forward it was time to test the nerve of this Jedi, would they continue to seek answers through intimidation? Well whatever. The tall Taung came to a stop about ten feet from the Jedi and crossed his arms no apparent weapons on him save for the gauntlet-ed fist the size of most people's faces.

"This is company property, unless you have business here I suggest you leave or I'll be forced to move you. I don't care if your a Jedi or not," said Bulgender as he cocked his neck cracking it. He sized her up for a moment noticing she did quiet look like the usual Jedi but then again there were plenty of Jedi running around this galaxy NOT in robes, that there really was no telling. Regardless when Scars intel was in question he knew better than to question it. It was almost never wrong. "So what's it going to be missy?"

[Roku]

She looked up at him. Her mouth was covered at the moment, but she was grinning sheepishly at him. How did he know she was a Jedi? That was the first question that crossed her mind. She didn't look the part, and her lightsaber was concealed. She hadn't done anything of notability aside from try to use her archaeological tools on this site. Perhaps just the fact that she was studying a rather obvious ancient lightsaber fight had tipped him off. But still, his threat to "move her" worried her more. She brought the soil to her nose and sniffed it, before sitting it down. The fingers as well. For a moment, she studied him. Was he really the security for this property? Did he really care? She didn't think so.

She didn't want a fight. All she wanted was to get to the bottom of this. Find out what the outcome of this fight was. Who were the combatants? Did anyone die? Who did the fingers belong to? And why did this guy care? And why in the hell did he call her out on being a Jedi without any prior knowledge? It was bothering her, but she was smart enough to know that this wasn't a place she wanted to be. She stood up, and shrugged at him, before beginning to walk away. She didn't confirm or deny that she was indeed a Jedi.

As she walked, she was slow, still studying the walls and area around her. "So, it's okay as long as I don't take anything, right?" She asked him, nonchalantly, as she brushed her fingers against a nearby wall with traces of just the tip of a lightsaber hitting it. "I'm not here to steal or cause any trouble for anyone..." She added.

[Zilfer]

"Look, not sure what your doing here but the only people allowed on company property even abbandoned lots are company personel. You aren't reading one of our tracking transmitters so you were flagged. I don't know what you would want here and quiet frankly I could care less," said Bulgender his large arms uncrossing themselves. 'I was rather hoping she might be a little more defensive than this.... I hate it when they don't fight back.'

"So you will have to leave the area before I excersize my 'transport' you back to public property," said Bulgender.

"Now that won't be necessary," said a female voice from a small distance away. Bulgender's eyes narrowed visibly as a woman wearing somewhere between a business cloths and a lab coat approached.

"Sasha. What do you want here?"

"I hired an outside source to collect and observe some samples from an old lab of ours that we used to have here... I guess the memo I sent out must not have reached you," said Sasha cooly staring Bulgender down with her green eyes. She then used her hand to push the hair behind her ears turning to Amanda. "Sorry, I forgot to tell you to pick up a badge at the main office before showing up."

"You don't fool me Sasha, if you want to vouch for her then just remember whatever happens is on your hide. Especially if HE finds out," said Bulgender crossing his arms once again.

'If you want to know the truth, play along. I promise his thug won't bother you again.  Your in more danger than you realize, and  you don't want to tangle with him, he comes from a race that gave birth to the Mandalorian ideals. He lives for the challenge of a strong opponent to pit himself against, so don't give him that.' came Sasha's voice in the form of a telepathic message. She was apparently force sensitive at the very least, though she didn't appear to wear the garb of a force user.

"You must be bored if your threatening potential Employees," said Sasha cooly.

[Roku]

"I pretty well have all the evidence I need anyway. I'll be going, and you have a nice day, ok?" She told the large man before turning to get off the property. It was then that she heard the woman behind her and stopped walking. She turned to greet them with a fake smile. It didn't matter much since her mouth was still covered anyway. "Oh, Sasha!" She told her, like they'd known each other for years. This was before Bulgender had acknowledged her by name.

Amanda had watched enough people from afar to know how human and alien psychology worked. She had to get to the punch first. The telepathic message sent shivers down her spine however, and she realized that she was in deeper trouble than she wanted to be.

"Miss Sasha and I go back a while actually..." She told him. "I was just told not to deal with the enforcers of the company, which I'm assuming means people like you." She told him. The force helped her greatly here. She was able to search Sasha for her name and use it in a believable context.

-Come on, feed me some more information so I can convince this idiot...-

[Zilfer]

'I work in the special research division within the company called Dark Hand. Your on their land right now, and I can also tell you, I my Co-worker is named Tigaro,' came Sasha's response. She was used to telepathic communication, and even picking up people's stray thoughts as any trained Jedi, and unforunately that made her have a somewhat cynical view of a good portion of the galaxy. Her coworker had learned how to shield his thoughts but often times that would come down, though she wondered if that was on purpose sometimes....

"Fine it's your own hide if you want to play this game," said Bulgender picking up his datapad from a side holder and speaking into it. "She's clear. One of Professor Sasha's guests."

Someone spoke back on the radio but the voice was unintelligable, and Bulgender looked between the two for a moment before walking away. He disliked mind games, sometimes it was just smarter to walk away. There would come a time however when another one of the experiments was released or needed testing. That's when the excitement would start. She probably wasn't worth his time anyways.

Sasha turned to look at Amanda observing her. She looked alot like her mother, though there were definate differences. Who the father was however that was still a mystery, but it mattered little. If she could get this girl away from here after telling her the truth she would be wise to steer clear of Darkhand, the hidden man behind it had no interest in the well being of others, and those that fell in his line of interest usually had bad endings to their stories....

"Well if you wouldn't mind coming with me, we can head back to the lab and talk about why you've come here," said Sasha turning and then glancing back at her. She gave Amanda a wink. "Love the suit by the way."

[Roku]

Amanda watched Bulgender with the force, to make sure he really left, but did not look in his direction again. She felt that would be unprofessional and leave the impression that she wasn't to be trusted.

"So you're aware of it then..." She told her. "My purpose for being here. You must be a powerful Jedi to read my thoughts. I thought I did a pretty good job of hiding them... either that, or you know more about me than I think. Either way, you seem to have me at an advantage...Miss Sasha."

"Thanks." She said, when complimented about her outfit. "It's good for maintaining a low profile. I have little interest in getting into direct confrontations with people like Bulgender." She told her, having also taken his name from his mind. Information of that variety was easier to get than dark secrets.

"Lead the way." Stamkos finally told her, as she followed behind and kept a watchful force eye on Bulgender to ensure he was actually leaving them alone.

"As you probably know, I'm on a mission that isn't regulated by the Jedi, and I'm trying to figure out what has become of my parents. I know through records, security fottage, and hearsay that a woman who looks almost identical to me was fighting here with a lightsaber. I don't know if the crystal was natural or synthetic, but the marks in the ground and the walls are enough for suspicion."

[Zilfer]

"Is that what he calls himself?" asked Sasha seeming none too concerned as they proceeded forward. "Somehow I doubt that is his real name. As for knowing your pupose it was more of a guess... I don't invade peoples thoughts without permission."

After being lead into a multistoried building nearby, navigated up a turbolift, and shown her way through serveral hallways they at last came to a closed door which Sasha swiped her wrist accross the door and a light went from dull red to bright green before sliding open.

"The security is tight around here, as you may have noticed." said Sasha leading her into a rather large rooms that seemed to be sectioned out. A few tables off to the side had cadavars of a rodian, and a trandosian, the otherwise had two desks with holodisplay screens and a seat right accross from the desks. On the wall was holo library, a kitchen off to the far left, and a wide window for a far wall that showed some of Empress Teta's surroundings. Not the prettiest view but decent enough to gaze at. Couches were faced towards the window seemingly for the view. Three door ways existed in the room counting the one Sasha and her new friend has passed through a moment before.

"Now we only have to worry about minimally being over heard," said Sasha as she proceeded to one of the couches in the middle of the room. "So you've come here looking for your parents, which is sort of what I expected. I should warn you however, the answers you seek are dangerous..."

Sasha frowned a bit at that, knowing most likely that wouldn't stop someone who was trained by the Jedi. Opening up a bottle on the table which was filled with a neon green liquid she poured herself a glass and took a drink before holding it to her forehead.

"I'm sure it's really important for you to find out this, and nothing will scare you away from your path. I want you to know however that your mother wasn't the best of people and she fell in with the wrong crowd. She was trained to the the opposite of you, she was trained to be a Sith, and for that she died for it."