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"I've made my choice. I made it long ago, before the war. It is only now that I realize I must grasp what I then could not."



Lucia entered the cockpit of the Hawk, not caring that Atton turned to face her. They'd all knew what she'd just done, and it was only her that seemed to not care. All of them looked at her when she boarded the ship. That aside, Kreia did remark on what she had done, but did not judge her for it. For that, Lucia was somewhat grateful, but then, even she herself had no regret that Vrook died by her hands. No matter where the blood was, now, Lucia knew what she was going to do. And the rest of the crew were either going to accept it, or be left behind in the dust to die.

"Are you sure that was the right idea?" Atton asked.

"Of course it was. I'd listened to that old fool for years, and none of what he said to me ever helped. He was a waste, weather he knew it or not. His death, however, is only the start." Lucia said.

"Alright then." Atton said, turning back to his console. She could sense that he was starting to break to her will, the first of many aboard the hawk what would do so.

Mira entered. She had a frown on her face, that Lucia actually laughed at. It was obvious that she was here to offer her own throughts about what she should have done.

"You didn't have to kill him, you know. I hope your not going after these Jedi Masters for revenge. If that is the case, where is the point? What did they do to you to make them deserve it?"

Lucia stood from her chair. "And just why should I tell you, since their is just as much blood on your hands as their is on mine. The same with nearly everyone else on this crew." Lucia walked past Mira, but she followed.

"It doesn't have to be like that you know" Mira's voice trailed off as the Exile walked away.

As she entered the captain's quarters, she didn't have an ounce of regret to speak of, much less think of. Though she knew it didn't have to be as she was making it, the fact still remained that it could be, and that was the way she was going to make it.

She took off her outer robes, throwing them to the floor. She then started on her outer tunic, and once that was off, she finally sat on the bed. Thankfully she had done a number of things to the ship, which much of it was only to her liking. The security camera's had been disabled in her room, the ship was only able to take off with her approval, or that of T3. Other things where much less noticeable, being small fixes to the ship. That, and the lock on her door was a voice-ident system. It was only Kreia and T3 that were allowed to enter the room whenever they wished, no-one else.

She rubbed her ebony skinned fingers against her face. The whole battle leading up to Vrook's death had not been an easy one. Namely since the weak Milita tried to live and die for the Khoonda establishment. All they managed to do was die for it. Well, mainly because few of them knew how to combat a lightsaber, aside from Vrook. Then the fight with him had not been easy either. He was relentless in his attacks, managing to match his Ataru with Lucia's Juyo style. Even if it seemed that Lucia had the upper hand, Vrook did not want her to win. His down fall was his unobservant nature, the same that many Jedi masters had. While Azkul said that it was a lucky plasma grenade that allowed her to win, she knew otherwise.

All she wanted to do now was sleep. Her body ached from the day's battle, and she knew that tomorrow would likely lead to more. They were to head to Korriban next, to track down Lonna Vash. Vash. The first one to suggest that Lucia should be Exiled, as well as the one who gave the last word of it. Lucia wanted to dispose of her the most, knowing that so much as one syllable from her mouth would anger Lucia to the core, even more then the mention of her name.

Part II

Ever since they had left the Telos Academy, Lucia had been gaining crew members. The first to join was Visas, the Assassin who tried kill her, after she incapacitated the crew. While the Miraluka obviously had a mind not to kill her, but to test her strength, she was easily beaten. Oddly, she begged for death, one that Lucia was not quick to give. While it was true that Visas had little chance in killing Lucia, even though she tried, something about her was different. Lucia chose not to finish her, but to demand that she assist. After she collapsed from the wounds, Lucia did show compassion by taking her to the med-bay, but most aboard knew why she did it, as the Miraluka would better serve Lucia if she was alive, and healthy. Afterward, however, it seemed that Visas pledged herself to Lucia, even offering to end her own life to keep Lucia alive, should the need arise. This is something that Lucia kept in mind, but still knew that servants don't serve anyone dead.

Mira, however, was a different matter. She assumingly wanted to join the crew because she wanted to "keep an eye" on Lucia, which she found odd. The reason was likely the large bounty that was on Lucia's head, but surely if Mira planned on having that large amount off credits, she wouldn't have asked to join the crew, but rather turned Lucia over to Goto. But even then, Mira was an excellent fighter, and a Jedi in training to top it off, similar to Atton. While in some cases Mira would agree with Lucia, their were occasions where she did not, namely when Lucia chose to kill someone, and Mira couldn't find any sort of reasoning for it. Every time, it seemed, Mira would grow slightly distant, then nearly forget it ever happened.

Then there was the bantha-poodoo that called himself "Disciple". He, unlike Lucia, held the Jedi in high regard, as well as the Republic. Why exactly she let him joint he crew is a mystery to even her, as he was the constant source of the kind of superfluous and unneeded lectures that usually, was coming from Kreia's mouth. But unlike Kreia, he had only the similar wisdom of the Jedi that she had heard for to long, the prattle of a cult that neared extinction. Even if he was slightly useful in combat, if she would've had a choice of someone to "accidentally" throw out the airlock, it would be him.

Kreia however, was one of the few crew members of whom Lucia could stand. The teachings that she knew of where things that Lucia craved to know, and she fed Lucia the knowledge like she was an eger schoolgirl. Lucia wanted to know anything that she could use, anything that would bring her strength. Mostly, Kreia had no problems with pulling Lucia aside to teach her something she should know, or at times, Lucia came voluntarily. Since she regained a lightsaber, the styles of combat that she had been taught, along with others, had been slowly returning to her. At this point, her lightsaber felt nearly the same in her hands has it had before. The force was a welcome return as well. That, along with the force techniques that Lucia had been shown, she felt the power, revered it, and had no wish to lose it.

"Ah, you are here. You felt it, did you not?" Kreia said, as she stood when Lucia entered.

"Yes, it was like a sound, like power, but louder than before, on Peragus."

"I suspect the time to hide yourself is coming to a close. You are ready. There are higher mysteries you must learn, mysteries that will shape the face of the galaxy."

The training changed at that point. It was no longer the mundane things that Lucia knew. No, it was power, in its purest form. She could feel it, and she revered it. The powers were no longer that of the Jedi, but powers that even Kreia remarked as, "Unused by the Sith for centuries". In turn, Lucia began feeding her apprentices these teachings as well. Atton and Visas gladly listened, but Mira was hesitant at every turn. But either way, Lucia could still tell that Mira would be soon enough, broken upon her dark wills.

When they landed on Korriban, the dark power Lucia could feel, was near that of the faint memories of the power she felt near Malachor during the wars, but here it was oppressive, but still controllable. As they set of to find Vash, Lucia could feel a familiar aura that she had before. But exactly what it was, she wasn't worried. Soon enough, she would find out, and in the least, try to kill whatever it was.

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