The two exchanged eyeblinks.

What was an old YT-2400 doing coming in to their airspace? Let alone one...

The ensigns hands flew across his console.

...as heavily armored and weaponed as this one?

The supervisor's initial reaction was to warn nearby ships to stand back before he blew it out of the sky. Luckily for the patiently waiting Shawn, however, he decided instead that discretion was the better part of valor, especially when it came to the affairs of their esteemed leader.

"State your designation, your destination, and your name, pilot," he barked over the ensign's shoulder before raising himself upright to await the reply.

[ 08-02-2012 04:04 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by The Empire ]

--------------------

"This is Spice Eater, destination Coruscant. I am Jedi Master Shawn Petrolu, travelling as an associate of Lieutenant General Sorben Tarnus."

As Shawn sent off the message, he couldn't help but wonder if the recipient would accept his explanation...

...or if this was going to be either the longest wait to land ever or one of the shortest. The Admiral of the Empire had, after all, murdered a great majority of Jedi. And while he trusted Sorben, Shawn did know how quickly the tide could turn with others...

--------------------

"This seems to check out, Sir," he stated, nodding toward the blip which on his end was Spice Eater. "This ship is registered to us, and was in fact based on Tattooine. Which was where our courier was dispatched to pick up General Tarnus.

"Sir."

The ensign's supervisor, himself a Lt. Commander, mulled this over for a moment. On one hand the facts seemed to indicate everything was on the up-and-up, but then not too many Jedi were known to still be out and about.

Much less at the helm of one of their own, military grade ships.

But there was the connection with General Tarnus to consider...

"Contact the General for verification," he ordered, standing fully upright while the ensign's hands once more flew over his console. At length--

"Sir, General Tarnus has been unexpectedly called away, and is not to be disturbed. Top Priority Code Alpha One One Omega Red.

"Sir."

This unexpected revelation would have put a lesser man into a tizzy. But the Lt. Commander had been with the Empire many, many years, hiding out in secret, if solitary, rebellion while the galaxy tried to run itself, then quickly brought back into the fold with Actar's coup. He let his fingers stroke his chin while he considered. Then--

"Check with Tattooine Base."

A few more seconds passed while subspace chattered with vocalizations spread thinly from planet to distant planet. At length the ensign turned toward his supervisor, an confirming affirmation upon his lips.

The Lt. Commander scowled. Something didn't seem right about all this, but who was he to question the powers that be. His was not to question why; his was but to do or-

"Let them through," he finally said. Then he straightened.

"I want that ship gone over with a fine-toothed comb upon his disembarking. Compare what we find with last known specs. See if this Jedi has done anything to her but flown her. I also want this information sent to Ambria, double-encryption code 00-254.

"In the meantime, send someone to meet with this Jedi. Until we find out what the hell he's doing here, the very least we can do is keep a close eye on him."

"Aye, Sir."

The ensign returned to his console, and soon had the coordinates via which Spice Eater might land. Waiting there for the pilot would be an honor guard consisting of the Empire's finest men.

--------------------

The unattended speeder roared to life speeding off without a driver and into a near by fuel truck and detonated upon impact drawing everyones attention to in the opposite direction, more importantly it also destroyed all evidence of her tampering. Kani caught a luck break with the fuel truck explosion she waited until the shockwave from it hit her and adding a little more force she made it appear as if it knocked her off her feet and right over the edge of the canyon. It was about a two kilometer drop from what Kani's range finder told her to the bottom and waiting till the last 200 meters she fired her jetpack off at full power slowing her decent at the last minute so she hit the ground going into a roll. Continuing her roll until she hit the wall of a structure she remained crumpled in a ball for a few moments before ripping off her helmet and more importantly ripping out its comm link and crushing much of its fragile circuitry.

Now for all appearances sake Kani was caught in an explosion from a speeder accident and knocked unconscious from it only managing to regain consciousness at the last second to save her own life but lost her comms and was now trapped within the under city of Coruscant.

Her efforts though hindered by the mess of the Undercity were eventually rewarded when she arrived at what looked like a decrepit warehouse long abandoned by those who dwelled above. The entrance to the safe house was easy enough for her to find and to her satisfaction remained undisturbed. Not wanting to waste anymore time Kani entered the building and ignoring everything else the safe house had to offer she went straight for its comm station.

She composed a short message that read. “Kani Jetiis’ad Mandalorian Protectorate, urgent message to Bes’in Skirata. Empire turncoat, need support of Mandalore, requests alliance, provide further instruction.” Kani had the terminal encrypt the message and readied it to upload to a dead drop for the Mandalorians, but first she had to make some preparations to make this look good. Checking the safe house Kani found what she needed; a comm link, a few thermal detonators, and a lightsaber. She removed her helmet and with the lightsaber she grazed the side burning the paint and scorching the metal. Again Kani repeated the process with her chest piece before returning her armor and snapping her newfound lightsaber into place on her hip. Only one task remained she took the thermal detonators she had found and wired them in series to the comm station rigging them to blow after the terminal received confirmation of a successful upload, which by her rough estimation was a minute. Kani hit the transmit button and took off beginning her mental count down from 60.

What Kani discovered 10 seconds into her count was that she overestimated by 50 seconds. Just clearing the building the shockwave from the explosion hit Kani sending her flying into an adjacent warehouse slamming against its duracreet wall. Silently cursing to herself while at the same time realizing that the suddenness of the explosion would help sell the narrative she was about to tell the Empire Kani turned to see the effects of her handiwork. Not only had the thermal detonators annihilated any trace of the safe house they had blasted a rather large hole up into what Kani’s HUD told her was an abandoned industrial district.

Doesn’t get much better than this.

Kani now took the comm link she had previously lifted from the now obliterated safe house and used it to open a channel on the Imperial Military Emergency Network.

“To any Imperial Forces,” Kani said. “This is Imperial Commando NW-1154, special operations, authorization black 778. Send a security detachment of Stormtroopers to my current position. I will leave comm link open for ease of location.”

Kani knew her ride would not be long the authorization code labeled her as Classified Special Forces, from that moment the nearby base commander would no doubt realize that the terminals used to confirm her authorization are now locked out until Kani chose to release them. A safeguard the Empire put into place to make sure its agents had the loyalty of the Imperial Military.

But then, after another brief passage of time, something else happened. Deep within the recesses of meditation a Darkness, borne of what Shawn did not know, slammed into him. Unlike when this had occurred before, this Darkness seemed immediate, tangible, and very close.

Shawn's eyes snapped open even as the Darkness which he sensed flashed into nothingness. On instinct, his senses stretched out immediately to the others on Coruscant, particularly his shipmate Thoran, Kani Jetiisad, and Tarnus. While he was immediately relieved to sense no immediate danger with any of them, he sensed utter alarm from the latter of the three. And while the Darkness he had just sensed had dissipated,there was still something that seemed quite amiss.

Perhaps that was because he knew Tarnus, and had never sensed anything like what he was now from him. Perhaps it was because of something even more.

Keeping his senses attuned and alert, Shawn began to mentally prepare himself should he need to take some action.

For something had most certainly just happened, and it did not bode well, perhaps for anyone...

--------------------

Relax, you have done this hundreds of times before. While conducting operations off the books for the Empire you have done things like this before.

Slowly she approached the Colonel, she did not offer a salute that to most would seem customary. While on covert ops she held no rank or command per se, instead she represented the authority of the Empire itself. She extended her hand toward the Colonel who handed Kani a datapad. Kani entered in a passcode that rescinded the earlier lock out that was initiated when they had verified Kani’s identity. Handing the datapad back to it owner Kani then addressed the Colonel.

“None of this goes on any records,” said Kani. “Official or unofficial, no reports are to be made. You cover story is this unstable portion of the Undercity collapsed revealing what was an obsolete ordinance depot. Your men discovered this depot and conducted a controlled detonation of the munitions stored here. As for the earlier bombing at you base that was a simple mechanical failure of a speeder. Is that understood?”

With only a simple nod the Colonel acknowledged what his duties in this matter. Satisfied that their was no reason to remain longer Kani took a comm link off of one of the Stormtroopers and commandeered one of the landspeeders the contingent used to arrive at Kani’s location. She headed back to the base to wait for Sorben when over her newly acquired comm link came the confirmation that the Jedi Shawn had been taken to a holding room until the Empire could find a use for him. Kani smiled at this turn of events, now was her chance to find answers to some of her questions.

The return trip to the base only took 5 minutes, and at the main gate she was immediately waived on through. Once inside she parked her borrowed speeder and was greeted by a young ensign who handed Kani her bag, recovered from the earlier explosion completely intact. Shouldering it Kani headed to the holding rooms, she stopped only to provide her credentials as Imperial Spec Ops and inform the lead guard she was taking command of the Jedi until further notice. The guard was eager to handover responsibility, no doubt relieved that the Jedi was someone else’s responsibility. Entering the holding room she could both see and sense Shawn meditating.

"Yes," he said evenly, answering Kani's observation aloud.

But at the same time, knowing Kani would not necessarily hear actual words but instead sense his feelings, Shawn opened up a Force connection with her Force signature. His greeny-blue eyes focused on her intently.

Something's not right with Tarnus, he thought, just as loudly across the connection he had established as possible. He let the feeling linger, hoping Kani would get the message, sensing and trusting that she most certainly had the ability to do so.

"So what now?" he spoke aloud finally, but not flippantly, and waited.

--------------------

Tarnus… danger…

It took all the strength Kani could muster to maintain her composure, slowly she removed a small disk from her armor setting it on the table. She pressed a button on the device and waited as a single light in the center slowly blinked at first then gave a solid indicator remaining on. It was a similar device that Sorben had used on their shuttle ride out to Coruscant blocking all listening devices and disrupting all recordings, and as a Spec Ops Stormtrooper no one would think twice about Kani employing one. The instant that she knew that whatever was said between them would not be watched or heard Kani drew her sidearm and leveled it at Shawn’s head.

“Don’t ever do that again Jedi,” Kani barked. “Next time I will shoot out your knee caps.”

Holstering her pistol Kani dug through her bag for a small case of pills. After retrieving them she removed her helmet to take one and then sat in a chair across the table from Shawn.

“No one can hear or see us Jedi,” Kani said. “As for the General he has been arrested, probably by Actar, I don’t know yet what he is charged with.”

Kani knew there was nothing she could do but wait. If it was Actar’s doing she did not have the resources to rescue Sorben. She barely had the resources to get off Coruscant if the Empire decided to come after her as well. Like it or not she needed to be here in case Sorben had something up his sleeve, or if things went bad she could catch an early warning that she needed to run. The best place for either scenario was with Shawn.

“This shows how everything the empire told me was a lie,” Said one voice in her head. “No he invaded your thoughts, he is a traitor to the Jedi, like the ones who killed our Mother,” said another.

As much as Kani wanted to escape from her personal dilemma and sort out the thoughts raging in her soul, she did not have that luxury at this time. More importantly her indecisiveness on the matter was hindering her ability to maintain her mental guards. She shoved that feeling of betrayal and confusion deep into the recesses of her mind for later, what she needed most was a calm analytical mind to sort out what needed to be done.

Kani sat in the chair opposite Shawn and removed her helmet setting it on the table between them. She had no doubt Shawn could read her suspicion of him but her gesture might go a little way to assure him that she at least was willing to work with him to some degree.

“My Grandfather appears to have some faith in you,” Kani said. “So you might not be one of the Jedi traitors who killed my mother, but until I find out who did kill her for sure keep out of my head. As for the General what is this danger you spoke of, is it something you heard, or saw, or sensed…”

Kani let that sentence hang in the air. She knew too much about the Force for her to dismiss anything so easily.

He trailed, shaking his head a bit as his eyes defocused for a moment. "No, something more than even that...more like utter shock," he amended. Then his eyes snapped alert once more, and he refocused them on Kani. "I'm not sensing any immediate danger regarding him, but I've never sensed what I just did from him before. He is usually so cool and calculated, and this is just so...

...unusual." He quieted, sensing out again, but coming up with nothing out of the ordinary. Then he refocused his attentions on Kani once more. With each passing moment, something of her reminded him more and more of his sister. After all, Shawn was thoroughly convinced that the death of their parents was what had driven Shayla away, and ultimately over the edge.

And that was when, with a sudden jolt, he realized he hadn't breathed a word of this to Kani. While she might just see it as him trying to get her on his side...

...she very well could also be thinking that he had been very vague and aloof with her regarding her mother. He hadn't really established any avenue for her to relate to him, and for that matter might appear to be coming off as Holier-than-Thou, and not very human at all.

Just maybe she needed to see that, at least in some ways, he very much understood and had felt some of the same pain she had.

"And I am so sorry for stepping into your mind like that...

...and that your mother was so cruelly taken from you." He paused, his greeny-blue eyes defocusing a bit. "My sister and I lost both parents in an attack not long after we started training at the Jedi Praxeum when we were very young, barely 6 years old," he then continued with. "I devoted myself to my studies and training to handle it," he admitted, quite honestly. "But she did not, although she is quite well trained in the use of the Force, and quite a talented Healer as am I. I have lost ocntact with her, but I know she has turned to something that I fear is quite dark and evil..."

He trailed, not able to finish his own sentence for the damning final thought which was coming to his mind. ...and I am afraid at some point I may have to face her...

...and kill her. That was, if she was not already dead.

For a long moment, he said nothing. Then, with obvious effort, he jerked himself from such thoughts, and refocused on Kani, and on the situation at hand.

"I wonder why Tarnus has been arrested, yet we have not? We were, after all, in his company," he then stated, both trying to refocus the conversation....

...and to get himself far away from his darkening thoughts regarding Shayla.

[ 03-25-2013 05:16 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Shawn Petrolu ]

--------------------

“Do you think that little revelation about your family makes it so you can relate to me?” Kani asked sarcastically. “Lets compare them to see how much they match up, you were 6 and I was 8 when we lost our parents that’s a similarity. You were at the academy at the time. I was on Mandalore at the hidden Jedi training base that’s a close one so I’ll give you another point. I had the experience of my Mother reaching out to me through the Force then feeling every blaster bolt that stuck her, all the pain and fear she felt, the guilt of knowing I would be left alone translated back to me as if I experienced it; you had the same thing… oh no wait you didn’t… well that’s different. You had friends at the academy and a sister to help you. I had no remaining family besides my Force striped, self exiled, Jedi Master Grandfather who I still have never met, and an Uncle who is a MagnaGuard Droid who fought in the clone wars against the Jedi. Notice how when my world was destroyed and my Force connection with my Mother was severed it shattered my mind and there was no Jedi who could help me through that. So please go on and tell me how everything will be all sunshine and happiness and lightside of the Force crap you Jedi love so much.”

She knew that last part about the Force wasn’t true and how dangerously close she was walking the line when it came to darkside of the Force. Relative to most of the Jedi, Kani’s Grandfather and Mother were both considered to be treading on dangerous ground because of how much of their Mandalorian upbringing influenced them. Kani on the other hand was taking it to its absolute limit.

Kani furiously pace around the room the room she needed a way to vent her anger in a manner that didn’t involve attacking Shawn. “Look Jedi, you want to help me find closure then stay out of my personal life,” stated Kani. “Unless of course you can tell me who killed my Mother.”

Kani didn’t wait for a response from Shawn, she knew any answer he gave she would be unable to verify leaving her back at square one. Instead she finally calmed herself enough to take her seat across from Shawn.

He had no intentions of comparing the loss of his parents to how the loss of her Mother had affected her. And the same went of his loss of contact with Shayla...and she was his twin. They were connected far more than some may believe.

But Shawn could only spare a few nanoseconds for such thought, and remained alert and intent on what Kani was saying to him and asking him. The answer to how he could be of use was simple.

"I have knowledge of the Sith, and connections with your grandfather...and with others who have such knowledge as well. Maybe now, with the Lieutenant having been arrested, we should tap into those connections."

It felt strange and somehow stilted to be arguing his self-worth based on who and what he knew over his Force abilities...

...but Shawn was indeed no fool. Kani was well aware of said abilities already and was potentially very correct in concluding that those abilities may do them little good at the moment. And if she really knew what he knew regarding darker forces, of players beyond and greater than the Force...

...and of the Yuuzhan Vong...

"There has been much more going on than I have time to explain at the moment, things that the Lieutenant General and the Admiral are aware of, to differing degrees, as well. I have to wonder if something of this is not the reason for Tarnus's sudden arrest by Actar," Shawn then stated in a sudden flash of clarity...

...and utter alarm. After all, based on what Thoran had told him, he and Tarnus had been imprisoned on K'eel Doba and had just managed to free themselves only a short time ago and now all the sudden Sorben was confronted and arrested by Actar out of the blue. Coincidence?

Probably not. And where the bloody hell was Thoran and what was he doing...?

(((OCC: Apologies for this response being so delayed. I hope it makes sense, I had to go back and read to remind myself of all that had been going on...!)))

--------------------

“Haar'chak,” cursed Kani. “Alright Jedi, we are getting you out of here. First we need to get off of this base then find a way to hide until the General contacts us or we can make our escape. The later I can take care of its the former that poses some difficulty.”

That's an understatement, this is an Imperial Garrison on the most important world in the Galaxy. This will take every trick I know to get the Jedi out of here.

“What exactly are you capable of Jedi?” asked Kani. “Any unique Force abilities that your family posses, your overall abilities. Anything outside of the Force we can utilize in our escape.”

She wondered how much she should share in turn to Shawn, their escape might also depend on how much Shawn knew about her and her capabilities even if her Force abilities were extremely limited.

...and furthermore rejoin with Tarnus who clearly was in a predicament of his own. Still, as Shawn stretched out to sense what he could of Sorben's force signature he sensed no immediate alarm....

...which led home to believe Sorben had things under control. Or at least that Sorben believed he had things under control...

"Well, as far as how I can help you with what Force abilities I do have...

...I can to some extent sense Tarnus's Force signature. And at the moment I don't sense any immediate threat with him...

...so maybe we need to play along with what is going on as if nothing is immediately amiss."

He paused, his greeny-blue eyes peering deeply into Kani's.

Which is precisely what you are already doing anyway, he thought, not sure if she could sense that thought or not.

"You are a high ranking Imperial trooper. You managed to get here to me unscathed, and I as of yet do not sense any immediate threat to us or to Tarnus. My senses are very attuned...

...and we need to take advantage of the lack of threat while it lasts, cause gods know it may not be for long."

He paused, his brow arching slightly. "I am a Jedi who has suddenly appeared almost in tandem with the Lieutenant General's arrest. You are an Imperial officer who has been with said Lieutenant General, your associations with him unclear. Escort me out of here, while we still have the chance..."

[ 11-27-2015 12:02 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Shawn Petrolu ]

--------------------

It would work.

“I like your style Jedi,” said Kani. “I can get us off this base and I have an idea of where to hide until the General can contact me. Here's our play, we just stroll out of here. You are not under arrest or guard, I am transferring you to an offside facility for your safety. You are a deep cover operative for the Empire tracking down Imperial sympathizers to the Jedi, and the General may have been one of those sympathizers. Answer no questions posed to us by any of the base personnel if they press us for any further explanation respond with the code Authorization Black Saber... 8... 8... 0... Interceptor nothing else. Don't act like a prisoner, your an Imperial agent like me posing as a Jedi, got it?”

She didn't wait for a response, Kani reached out and returned the disc from the table to a pouch on her equipment belt. Then donned her helmet before motioning Shawn to stand and follow her. Kani led them out of the holding cell and the guards true to Shawn's predictions none payed any heed to their presence. They made it out of the building and out the entrance of the base and were only questioned twice, both times Kani flashed an identcard displaying only the insignia of the NightWhispers. No one in their right mind thought a NightWhispered was within their pay grade to challenge. Once outside the gate and down the street several meters before reactivating her jammer but at a much lower setting, only masking them visually from electronic surveillance and disrupting audio equipment within a half a meter of the pair. Kani pitched her voice to one she knew only a Force user such as Shawn would be able to hear.

He still had it. Those in the underbelly of Coruscant generally would only regard a Jedi with curiosity, but to keep himself and Kani unnoticed was fairly simple. Most had their minds on other things, so they didn't notice them at all...and those who might have never did for the Force blanket Shawn was able to drape around both he and Kani.

She was quite the master at the part she was playing as well, and Shawn respected that more than ever in this moment. At length they arrived at their destination, an upscale hotel with bustling life. Shawn did as Kani requested and took the lead, his Jedi senses trained on all that was happening about them as he entered with Kani and approached the desk.

"I am Jamis Quinn, Corporate Sector Special Ambassador, and this is my bodyguard and aid." He paused, but only for a moment, his face remaining inscrutable. "Show us to the executive suite held on retainer here," he then requested, waving his hand slightly to indicate Kani, who he chose not to introduce at all for the moment by the name she had indicated.

They didn't have to wait long. The clerk took a look at a datapad to pull up the requested information, found said information, and then called for an attendant.

"This way, Mr. Quinn," the attendant stated, motioning for him and Kani to follow.

[ 11-28-2015 09:47 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Shawn Petrolu ]

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“Wait here sir,” Kani flatly stated. “Conducting security sweep.”

Kani swiped the keycard and entered the suite, playing the role of Mr. Quinn’s bodyguard Kani made a show for the clerks benefit of checking the room for any surprises. What the clerk didn’t know was upon entry the suite communicated back to her armor’s HUD that the suite had not been disturbed since Kani initially established this location. Satisfied that her show was convincing enough Kani returned to Shawn and the clerk.

“Security check complete sir all clear,” Kani stated in her flat tone. She motioned for Shawn to enter and then moved to block the clerk from entering the suite. “Mr. Quinn thanks you for your service; send the bill to the usual account on retainer, and this is for your services.”

Kani slipped the clerk a cred card loaded with a more than generous tip, and then proceeded to enter the room locking the door behind them. She removed her helmet and tossed it on one of the many plush chairs adorning the suite.

...this was Kani's domain. And Shawn wasn't about to pretend otherwise. Still, one thing she had said did catch his momentary attention.

Interrogation room?

He didn't say anything regarding it, but for a nanosecond his greeny-blue eyes flitted towards the door...

...then refocused on Kani while he considered what she had said to do next.

"Got it," he said then simply, nodding once more to her before turning gracefully on his heel and heading to the room she had indicated as his.

Self imporant politician? he thought idly, his hands straying into the pockets of his Jedi robes. This wasn't going to be easy...

--------------------

Both Kani and Shawn’s rooms were high end bedroom suites they differed in additional features. Shawn’s contained the wardrobe and appearance alterations for any number of species and sizes. By contrast everything in Kani’s room was tailored specifically to her size and specifications. At a desk sat a terminal Kani used to access her cover identity and refresh herself on the back story. After a few minutes of reading she knew what changes she had to make. Stowing her armor away Kani donned a simple grey tunic similar to Corporate Sector Security and appropriate tactical gear to match her role; light armor, throat mic with ear piece, verpine shatter pistol and carbine, fighting knife, a personal shield, a dressier overcoat to conceal herself, and she hid her lightsaber within the coat. With all the clothing in place she moved on to the biological. Like she suggested with Shawn she used contacts to change her eyes from blue to green and grabbing and injector she headed back into the main room leaning her weapons on a nearby wall then sat herself on a couch using a data pad to construct the Jamis Quinn identity for Shawn.

Hey, he figured two things. One, he might need his lightsaber at some point...and two, if he had to give up his Jedi cloak, he might as well be wearing something that was similiar, therefore making him feel more at ease.

Hearing Kani's call to him, he stowed his Jedi robes away in safe location, and headed back to the main room where she sat on a couch with a datapad. Tilting his head slightly, he quirked a brow in her general direction. "How can I help?" he asked, realizing as he did so this might be one of the last times he would be asking such, at least as long as he was to play the part of a politician.

[ 11-28-2015 04:06 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Shawn Petrolu ]

--------------------

“Here is your new ID,” Kani said. And the pad contains your backstory for you cover. Before I get to the unpleasant part the kitchen is fully stocked food and alcohol, you can access any of the public holo feeds for news or entertainment, and that pad contains access to the imperial military holonet, just don’t do anything that might draw unwanted attention. Now onto the unpleasant part.”

Kani handed him the injector and quickly headed into the interrogation room retrieving a chair with full restraints and a gag. Setting it in the middle of the room, removing her overcoat and armor Kani set them on the floor near her weapons, then sat in the chair before strapping her feet, waist, and chest down with the restraints.

As Kani worked she explained her actions to Shawn. “What that injector contains is a quick acting subdermal pigment dye, in short it will change my normally aquamarine skin to green until I take the deactivating agent. The effect is take place in a few minutes but until my body can process the entire drug the side effects are quite extreme. Almost immediately I will go into a violent psychosis, followed by convulsions, seizures, unconsciousness, and extreme nausea.”

Before settling her arms on the restraints of the chair Kani attached several medical leads from the chair to positions on her own body.

"I am, by my bloodline, a Healer." He paused, his brown eyes meeting her now green pair. "I will not leave your side until it is over."

She didn't say anything in reply, and Shawn didn't really expect her to. She just arched her brow slightly, clearly indicating that she was waiting for him to do what she had requested. Firming himself he did...

...securing restraints and then pausing to look her in the eye one final time before placing the gag in her mouth. Then, despite any reservations he had regarding what he was about to do...

...for he most certainly had them...

...he carefully injected the pigment dye into her right upper arm.

She hadn't been kidding. Not in the slightest. Shawn immediately knew why she had him place a gag in her mouth, because she began screaming even as her eyes rolled back in her head. He almost couldn't stand it...

...he wasn't sure how long this lasted, for her datapad and the medical leads be damned, his own Force senses were trained on her.

She was very much alive. And very much in pain. The convulsions and seizures had begun, and she was foaming at the mouth. Her racing heart was almost an audible thing. And then, after an indeterminate length of time--forever, it seemed to Shawn--her back arched, and she fell limp.

Shawn waited for a count of ten seconds to be certain she was unconscious, then removed the gag from her mouth. Only then did he begi to keep an eye on her datapad, which was monitoring her blood toxicity level. Oh so slowly, her blue skin began to shift colors to a deep green, and her blood toxicity began to drop. Downward and downward it went, her heartbeat slowing in tandem with the change in her skin color.

At last, 2ppm. He waited for a seemingly long minute. Toxicity level remained stable.

He unstrapped the other restraints. She seemed to be out of the woods...

...but a Healer he most certainly was, and his promise was golden. He would not move until she was concious once more.

--------------------

“Interrogation room,” Kani labored. “Has a med kit, one of the items is an anti-nausea injector use it.”

Kani couldn’t follow Shawn’s movement across the room or the exact passage of time but soon he returned and gave her the medication as instructed. Soon after her breathing eased and most of her symptoms subsided only leaving her extreme fatigue over the ordeal, whether that was the medication or Shawn’s healing she was glad for both.

...a stuck-up ambassador with way too much money for his own good who really disliked anyone who questioned the Empire or ever might have...

..including the Jedi.

Phenomenal.

As he read through the backstory, he kept his senses trained on Kani's breathing and heart-rate, still admittedly flustered by what he had just witnessed...

...and genuinely concerned for her.

--------------------