Nar Shaddaa

They were sitting by the table in the mess hall, in the purplish illumination of control lights, somehow dimmed by deep shades lingering the the corners of the cabin. Two glasses were on the table, filled with Corellian whiskey. Moyr was looking at her sister intently, studying how whatever she was about to say affected her expression and the movements of her lekku. They could communicate mostly without words if they wanted, but they were probably too used to the precision Basic offered to do that.

Apbr, normally ever the conversationalist, hadn't spoken much so far since arriving on her sisters ship. She looked both tired and stressed, barely smiling more than a polite smile, and looked at the drinks. Very much considering downing them both. It wouldn't help though, and finally she sighed.

"I don't even know where to start" she picked up the drink, not to taste but to just hold the glass.

Moyr took a casual sip, noticing the specific state of mind of her sister. She reached out with the other hand to cup the one Aphr held the glass with.

"Probably Zhorrid is the first point in order. You were about to meet her yesterday. I actually met her too, at a casino."

She looked from the glass to Moyr. "At a casino? I hope that went ok? She seemed...quite bored when I met her."

"She definitely sought entertainment at my expense. But I eventually managed to turn it around, to an extent." Moyr sighed. "I'll just do at her behest what I had intended to do anyway."

"Ah" Aphr nodded "when I got there yesterday evening, she had two men fighting each other for her amusement. It was a long night."

"She kept you there whole night?" Moyr's lips thinned, because it sounded like something unsettling.

Aphr nodded. "There was a reason though." She paused, considering what else to say, then with a small sigh decided the best way was to show. She unclipped something she had positioned to be hidden on her belt, and placed the lightsaber hilt on the table, before picking the drink up and this time finishing it in one.

Moyr contemplated the hilt. "I suppose you made it." She nodded in appreciation. "Did you use it?" She raised her gaze on her sister. They both knew what the question implied.

Aphr closed her eyes, and simply nodded at the second question

"How do you feel about it?" Moyr asked quietly.

"At the time? I felt powerful. Now?" She shook her head "I just caved. I didn't question her. The whole...influence of the saber. Of her."

She sighed.

"Why did I do it.."

Moyr pouted in thought.

"Who was that?"

"I don't know who the person was. Zhorrid just said it was a slaver that she had kept chained up" she shook her head again "I'm not a...I don't want to be like her."

"Then you won't become like her, simple as that. You have to assert your own way, with your own principles." Moyr mused. "If he was a slaver and allowed himself to be captured, that's enough of a reason to dispose of him, at least for me."

"If he was a slaver" Aphr said after a few moments, finally opening her eyes "then he is a vile person...but I cut him down still, without any care or any provocation."

She sighed.

"I'm sorry...you must be really ashamed of my weakness right now. I'm tired and not thinking straight."

"I am mostly worried. These are the emotions you have. Doubt, remorse. They are natural. The idea is not to avoid them or deny them, but to harness them. Are you angry at Zhorrid that she forced your hand? Be angry. Are you driven to find out if he was really a slaver? Do it. Are you dissatisfied? Find a way to turn it around. Harness your emotions, make them work for you. Your fear can be your weapon, your anxiety can be an awakening. Take your weakness and reforge it."

Moyr leaned it to press her forehead against Aphr's and reach out with her lekku.

Aphr leaned the rest of the way, her lekku entwining with Moyrs as she thought on her emotions. Was she mad as Zhorrid? She may be a vile woman, and many things she did were angerworthy, but in this she did nothing wrong.

The slaver? She was better off not knowing.

What did she feel...

"I'm...afraid" she finally whispered "afraid of how easy it was. Afraid of how I acted. I can face many things...I've seen many things...but this is different. It wasn't Zhorrid, it wasn't some Hutt or some slaver. It was me, and I don't want to be twisted like that again but if I face her then I'm scared I will be."

"...Try to imagine circumstances in which you know you'd say no to her request." Moyr said calmly.

"I truly thought this would be one of them" Aphr said, her voice going quieter "but now I don't know."

Moyr was silent for a moment.

"On Korriban, I did a thing I had considered horrible at the time. I deceived a number of slaves who had revolted against the Sith to stand down. They were promptly slaughtered right after. The dead are never right, however, my dear. If they couldn't have prevented their own death, that means they were wrong. Survival and success vindicate your methods. Oppression in this world is a given, the question is how you cope with it. With Zhorrid, you survived, adapted, benefitted. You'll say no to her another day, once you'll be stronger."

A sisterly hug, regardless of lingering sense of gloom.

"You're not in the best of shapes, Aphr. How did you trip to Nal Hutta go?"

Aphr accepted the hug, her eyes tightly shutting. "I dom't think I'll get stromger...I just prove myself to be weak at every chance. Like at Nal Hutta." She held Moyr tightly

Moyr said nothing, though her heart was shrinking at the thought that her sister might not have what it took to be a Sith. It was too early to tell though, and apparently there had been more than one trauma. She held Aphr in tight embrace, waiting for her to speak whenever she was ready.

It took a few moments, but Aphr finally began to speak. "The mission this morning...was a complete failure. The traps didn't stop it, and one fried Galen instead. And Zeno...Zeno got taken down by the thing...and I did nothing. Just flattened and hidden behind a tree."

"What was this mission about, darling. What were you trying to accomplish." Moyr whispered. "Zeno and Galen are quite a diverse company."