The building that has become the Chyron Embassy is not the tallest in Port Kasiya, but it surpasses all others in the city's northeast. Basalt sidewalks smelling ever so slightly of brimstone underline a time-worn facade that's decrepit from the ground floor to a dozen stories up, then morphs into a modern steel-and-glass construct with a narrow landing platform extending an easy 300 metres high over the road. Patrons have to crane their heads back quite far to see it, though, and they are often more interested in stepping through the scratched but sturdy double doors which may be flanked by clients, bouncers, drunks, and duct-taped living warnings.

Seven shallow steps lead down onto the carefully dilapidated hardwood main bar floor, though "bar" might not be the right word anymore. Mismatched tables and chairs litter the room, while more comfortable niches with couches and two smaller sidebars occupy most of the walls. On the left side, an extending stage with a pole leaves no doubt about the kind of entertainment provided here, while on the right, a discreet exit leads to rooms best suited for negotiations or private parties.

Straight ahead, between the wings of a formerly grand foyer staircase mostly frequented by pretty people with little clothing, resides the curved main counter as an island, with the dark niches in between leading to the back - but one cannot shake the feeling that entry comes with a price that might not be paid fully by coin. The staff are unerringly smiling people with hard eyes, much like the owner, the Chyron’s Chancellor, Jorm Na'trej. This bar, this whole building, is their domain, their trap and their hunting range.

One instantly realises that any wish, any pleasure and desire, is just a word and a payment away.

One knows that this place is the antithesis to every value taught and preached among normal people.

One is greeted.

"Welcome to the Playground."

Swift footfalls carried Bril Teg Arga, Starosta of the Dajorran Marshals, toward the entrance of Kasiya’s Playground. Despite being able to hear the clamor of cheers and booming music from within the club’s walls, his attention remained squarely on the echo of a conversation he’d had prior to departing from Selen.

“Are you sure this is a good idea, Kitty?” asked Minnie. The nautolan’s skin, normally the color of yellow roses in full bloom, carried a worrying pallor, “I mean, the last time you went to Kasiya … things didn’t go well. I should come with you.”

She tried to get up, but a sudden fit of coughs forced her to reconsider.

Bril gently caressed her cheek with his palm before reaching out to grab the cup of hot tea on the nightstand next to their bed, handing it to her.

“I’ll be fine, pur’ka,” he replied, “I can’t shake the feeling that the Force wants me to go there … to help someone. I just have to trust in it and the ancestors to guide me, and everything will work out.

“And you, missy, need to focus on getting better. Siva let me know that she’s just a few minutes away. So, sit tight. I’ll be back before you know it.”

He leaned over to give her a kiss on the forehead and an ‘I love you’ in Zabraki as he was wont to do before turning and heading toward the door. He made sure to give Femi, their snow-colored Tooka, a few scritches on his way out.

Returning to the present, Bril slipped past a group of drunken men loitering in the hallway and descended the steps leading to the Playground proper. Seeing the thick haze of cigarra smoke made him glad his helmet had a state-of-the-art air filtration unit in it, which he breathed through with steady breaths while surveying the interior of the club. With its fully stocked bars and expansive seating surrounding the main stage, it resembled the venue where the last Brotherhood-wide party he’d attended months ago had been held. With more suspicious-looking characters than he could count, he wondered who among them was the person the Force had warned him about.

After a few minutes of idle observation of passersby and nothing to show for it, Bril started to wonder if he had misinterpreted the premonitions the Force gave him. Any trace of doubt vanished when a nagging pressure manifested within his mind moments before a pale-skinned Iridonian entered the room. Or at least she was partially Iridonian. Bril could recognize his people’s features anywhere. She looked to be around the same age he was when he got his first clan tattoos, but Bril didn’t see any on her face.

Wait a second … what was a teenager doing in a place like this?!

Bril strode across the room and stepped in the girl’s path. “Excuse me, sister,” he spoke in Zabraki, his vocal modulator distorting the sound of his voice, “I’m sorry to bother you, but I believe the Force sent me to help you with something.” What that something was, he wasn’t sure. Although he knew how unusual that must have sounded coming from a complete stranger dressed in full armor, he hoped she would at least entertain his request. “Is there somewhere more private we can go?”

Aay’han looked him up and down before shrugging her shoulders. “This way,” she intoned in Zabraki, turning and gesturing for Bril to follow her out the back door.

The door opened up to a large, dimly lit room that appeared to be a storage area if the piles of unopened boxes were any indication. After closing the door behind him, Bril turned to address her again, but she began speaking before he could.

“You said the Force led you here to find me, right?” she asked, “Well, you’ll be pleased to know that I’ve received similar visions.”

A wave of relief washed over him. Good. Maybe this would be easier than he thought. “Wonderful,” he replied, “So, what did you need from me, then? My name is Bril, by the way.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Bril. I am called Aay’han. As for what I need, well … I just need you to bleed.”

As the words left her mouth and registered in the Arconan’s mind, he felt the room fill with an aching, frigid aura in the Force. It was the presence of the Dark Side, once concealed from his senses, now emanating from the shorter Iridonian in all his insalubrious glory.

“So, that’s what this is about, then,” Bril replied, the concern in his tone supplanted by an air of grim disappointment. Had the Force really sent him here to save her by killing her? There had to be more to this mystery than that. He hoped there was.

“Your saber and your armor will make for beautiful additions to my collection,” said Aay’han with a twisted smile — the last he saw of her features before she slipped her helmet over her head.

He had intended to say more, to hopefully reason with her, but she forced him on the defensive with a flurry of strikes; tight jabs leading into looping hooks, low kicks and short elbows from inside the pocket — chains of combinations delivered with the effortless precision of a master of unarmed combat. But where Aay’han displayed the skills of a master, Bril exhibited a virtuosic ability to defend against her attacks with as little aggression as possible. Blocks, parries, and subtle redirections of her momentum allowed him to fend off the first barrage with no injuries incurred.

An opening allowed him to shove her backward, and he used that time to speak to her again. “Stop this!” he beseeched, hoping to appeal to her better nature, “We don’t have to fight. We are kin.” “I have no family, you idealistic fool!” she fired back, practically seething as she unclipped her lightsaber’s hilt from her waist and ignited it. The momentary lull in the music playing in the next room over allowed the sound of her saberstaff’s smokey green blades flaring to life to echo uncontested in the mostly vacant room.

CRACK-HISS

Bril shook his head and unclipped his cross-guard saber, Agane, from his belt. “You leave me no choice,” he intoned while flicking its activation switch, its amber glow contesting the sickening green of Aay’han’s own in a silent bid for control over their shared space.

Aay’han had no idea who this stranger was, she had often been warned of the dangers of wandering off with people she didn't know by those that wished to coddle her. More often than not she was the one who was the predator, this was a fascinating turn of events.

Her blows came thick and fast, flowing from one to the next with an ease of instinct. This Male was most curious, he parried and blocked her each time and yet did nothing to press an advantage yet; and she had given him ample opportunities.

She put a couple of steps between them before lunging in a downward arc, using all of her strength. Bril was fast, his blade coming up on a diagonal to block. The blades hissed as he fought to hold the defensive.

She was so close now he could feel the strain of her arms as she tried to break him with sheer force of will. Her teeth gritted almost to a grind. The smog that eminated off the emerald blade was smothering it sat in his lungs and coated it with what felt like a viscous sensation much like a chest infection taking hold.

The girl was so close her breath ghosted across his skin sending a shiver along his spine with the mock play at intimacy. His arm began to buckle under her applied pressure but all of a sudden her boot collided with his stomach sending him back a couple of inches.

It was enough, the start gave him pause and before he was able to lunge forward he saw the barrel of the pistol aimed at his face.

”Do you like games?” Her voice projected into his mind caused him to flinch. It was invasive, having her rummaging around in his head felt almost like molestation in its brutal directness.

The shot rang out so loudly in the confined space.

To Bril’s surprise she had swung her arm upward, the round taking out the lighting plunging the pair in near pitch blackness.

He could no longer catch sight of the adolecant, she had slipped into the darkness with an ease that came with plenty of practice.

He reached out with the Force, trying to get a read on her signature and yet came up with nothing for the moment. He kept his blade at the ready as he took a step forward.

”You seem quite certain in my need for salvation... Yet you don't know why...” She continued on, taking stock of the information skimming his thoughts gave her. The seconds felt like they were skipping on by but she didn't care, this was just so much fun.

The images of Arcona flashed next through his mind. It sent a pang of longing through her chest.

”Ah, You're from Galeres. Home away from home. Give my love to Uncle Kordath, Skar and Auntie Atty. I have missed them.”

Bril had not sat by idly, he had allowed the child some limited access, careful to keep more private matters deeper back in his head as he slowly crept through the inky blackness.

He didn't have to wait too long, eventually the concentration required made her slip, suddenly he could feel her presence once more. His head whipped upwards and to his surprise there she was.

Kneeling in the darkness, hands steady she spied upon him, looking down through the scope of the Amban sniper rifle. Her pale complexion stood out starkly as she pulled back the bolt. He watched as she took a deep breath in, she held it with a manic grin before her finger squeezed the trigger.

When Aay'han's concentration broke, her presence within the Force lit up like a flame, allowing Bril to pinpoint her location despite the darkness pervading the room. Although he couldn't make out exactly what she was doing, he didn't need to because he heard the telltale sound of a rifle bolt being chambered, a sound with which he was intimately familiar due to Minnie’s extensive use of long guns when they trained and fought alongside one another. As if on cue, the Force practically screamed at him to move, prompting him to leap to avoid the shot. The intense flash of yellow light it produced lit the room better than the glow of his own saber, allowing him to catch a glimpse of a security droid peeking its head into the door just before it was disintegrated by the stray shot. His eyes widened. Would that have happened to him had he not evaded? With no intention of finding out, Bril decided to rush her before she could get another shot off.

Tapping into the Force to augment his speed allowed him to close the paltry distance between them in time to catch her mid-reload. He swung Agane’s blade upward in a tight, diagonal arc, cutting the rifle’s barrel in twain before thrusting a closed fist toward his assailant. A burst of telekinetic energy exploded from his fist and struck the younger Iridonian square in her armor’s chestplate with enough force to send her tumbling across the cold, hard floor.

For a moment, she didn’t move. More light from the Playground’s main room slipped through the crack in the door, granting him a better view of her; the reddish-purple hues of nascent bruises pooled beneath the milky white skin of her face. Her lips, cut and chapped, pulled into thin lines as she grimaced in a desperate attempt to lift herself up, but Bril knew she wouldn’t — not yet, at least.

“It’s still not too late for you to abandon your desire to kill me, Aay’han,” he said to her, maintaining his habit of speaking to her in Zabraki. His voice was stern, yet compassionate, imploring yet nonetheless cognizant of the danger she posed. Although she didn’t respond — and perhaps she couldn’t after taking a blow like that — the bloody spittle she spewed immediately afterwards made her thoughts on Bril’s request abundantly clear.

As Aay’han’s opponent stood there, watching her with an expression torn between frustration and pity, she gritted her teeth. This wasn’t how this fight was going to end. She’d marked him as her prey, and there was nothing that would stop her from completing her hunt. Through labored breaths, she summoned the Force and chained it to her will, commanding her wounds to mend themselves anew. Small cuts and bruises vanished in moments, though not without notable effort on her part, as evidenced by her breath becoming heavier, more ragged. She wouldn’t be able to keep this up for long. She needed to find a way to end this.

And that opportunity presented itself when she saw a group of civilians appear in the doorway. Without a second thought, Aay’han ignited her saberstaff and hurled it toward the nosy bystanders with a shrill scream of anger and desperation. The sight of the crimson blades pinwheeling toward them made the group freeze in place.

But Bril didn’t. Instinct took over when he reached out through the Force again, this time without a physical gesture, to stop the lightsaber in mid-air mere inches from its targets. The damned girl was insane! Attacking him was one thing, but victimizing innocent bystanders? That he was completely unsurprised made it a no less frustrating example of her depravity. After tossing the saber aside with his telekinesis, sending it clattering to a far corner of the room, he shouted at the people who nearly died. “Get out of here! Don’t you see she’s dange—”

He cut his words short when he felt something foreign enter his mind. It felt unnatural and malevolent, burrowing like parasitic roots invading fertile ground in a search for memories and weakness. And when they found it, they ripped it from the depths of his psyche. Aay’han had weasled her way into his head again with greater success than her first attempt, taking his insecurities regarding his ability to protect his loved ones and using them as a weapon to bludgeon him with.

“What … What are you doing?” he groaned, dropping to a knee as the images of his family — his parents and siblings, of Minnie, Ruka and Cora, Siva and Melissa; of Tahiri, Foxen, and Flyndt — all dead at his feet. It was only a matter of time before someone attacked their home again. Whether it was the Children or the Collective, someone would threaten everything and everyone he loved, and would he have the strength to stop them? Of course not. Because for as much as he trained, as much as he meditated and studied the actions of Jedi of bygone eras, it would never be enough. He was weak and always would be.

“Good,” Aay’han cooed while standing upright and placing a hand on a nearby crate to steady herself, “It’s not enough for you to die by my hand. You have to suffer first.” Bril descended deeper and deeper into a pit of Terror-induced insecurity; however, just when it seemed as if there would be no respite from his suffering, he heard the echo of a vision he’d received during his first visit to Kasiya. It was the voice of his tribal matriarch, who had reminded him during his brush with death that his work in the galaxy wasn’t finished, that it wasn’t his time. She reminded Bril that there was so much more for him to do, for him to experience and learn. Those words rang true again in that moment, empowering him to resist.

“Get out of my head,” he groaned while tightening his grip on his saber’s hilt. The Arconan tapped into the Force once more while extending his hand in Aay’han’s direction. Thin wisps of green ichor snaked between his fingers as he imposed his will to disrupt her connection to the Force, finding mild, yet ultimately futile resistance to his retaliation. It only took a few moments to completely disrupt her connection to the Force, freeing him from the influence of her mental intrusions. He exhaled, feeling fatigue beginning to set in. If things kept up like this, he’d have to tap into the Living Force to revitalize himself sooner rather than later.

The first and only person Bril had used Suppression on before was, ironically, another Taldryan citizen in Alaisy Tir’eivra. In stark contrast to the controlled anger that the towering Sith showed in response to his use of the dark power, Aay’han reacted with ardent fury.

“What did you do to me?!” she shouted, doing her best to march across the room to attack him again, but she was exhausted.

“I cut you off from the Force.” With that same hand, he held in her direction, Bril used his beskar vambrace to fire a fibrecord bola to ensnare her legs, causing her to hit the ground with a loud thud. After deactivating his saber and clipping it to his belt, he quickly moved over to clamp his set of stuncuffs around Aay’han’s wrists. “This is over,” he said to her before tapping on the display of his vambrace with his free hand to send a comlink message to his Quaestrix and adoptive sister, Siva, “This is Bril. There’s been an incident on Kasiya. You’re going to want to get here as soon as you can.”

As he finished sending the message, he caught sight of a group of soldiers that he recognized as members of the Taldryan Gendarmerie Force — Clan Taldryan’s de facto police force — approaching through the open door. If there was one thing he knew, it was going to be an exceptionally long day.

The sound reverberated through the confined space, there was no doubt upstairs would have heard it.

The rifle kicked back as the shot was fired, Aay'han managed to keep control her fingers already working on autopilot, pulling back the bolt and loading the next shot.

There was an audible hiss as the gas escaped but this was normal and Aay'han could barely hear it now that her ears rang so loudly. She watched as the shot glanced off the metal piping and flew onwards in exactly the direction she had wished.

Bril’s heartbeat picked up as his instincts screamed. Some impulses were not to be ignored and this was without a doubt one of them. He dropped face down with only a second to spare as the shot flew past. He felt the heat of it as it flew over his scalp.

In its wake it burned flesh but at least he was alive. A tremor ran along his arms as he felt genuine fear. Subconsciously he repressed it back down, he did not feel fear, he would not.

It was too late though, it crashed back upwards to the fore of his mind as though it was a physical thing being dragged from a pit; he knew it was her.

He had lost concentration, the girl had lept from her nest within the shelving and grasped at his chin yanking it upwards.

“Don't fight it, I want to see.” Her voice was soothing almost and in some horrific way she used this to bond with others.

A gasped breath escaped from his lungs as he immediately disobeyed. She was so close again, a scent of something caught his attention, she smelt of smoke and spices. He used it to ground his mind, anything to distract himself.

Bril’s fingers curled around her forearm in such an ironclad grip. It surprised him she did not flinch away. To his horror she lent into it, her eyes were inquisitive, child-like a shade that reminded him of new bark on trees.

“Stop it. Speak using words.” His voice came firmly as he shook away the last of her influence.

“Why? People only use them to lie.” She replied. “I understand much better there.” She used a pale finger to press his forehead to emphasise her point.

The movement drew his attention to the comlink, he could see it was broadcasting. They would not be alone for much longer. The distraction did not go in his favour though. The forearm he grasped had moved upwards over his head. He had kept ahold but her free hand had clamped down on his clavicle, she used his kneeling position to her advantage leaning over him, forcing his spine to curve backwards.

It was becoming increasingly painful, but that had been the point. Her fingers pushed with incremental harshness down onto the bone through the fabric section underneath his armour. It was one of the few well concealed areas. If he leant forward the metal would crush her slight fingers and break the bones.

She smiled down at him, her face still held the the look of a child. The small horns poked through the flesh of her forehead in small crimson spikes, some had clustered into her hairline.

“Your clavicle will break soon Doctor, you cannot maintain neutrality. I am accustomed to pain, if it soothes your concern.”

Bile moved up his oesophagus at the words, they were repugnant. Why would anyone choose to hurt a child? Where were her parents? These thoughts came thick and fast through his mind; he wasn't sure if she had dipped back into them again until her press on his shoulder softened slightly.

The distracted girl had just enough time to go with Bril’s movement. He could move rapidly it seemed when he chose to. He'd yanked her hand down but not quickly enough, the pauldran clamped down on the tips of her fingers with surprising force crushing bone and then having them tugged away.

She was bodily thrown to the floor, the impact knocking the air from her lungs with a gasp. Her head also collided with force against the metal panels making her vision swim out of focus. His weight atop made it difficult to fill her lungs completely.

“Yeild.” His command came harshly, punctuated with another slam against the floor.

Aay'han couldn't help but splutter out a cackle, her legs curling around him crushing brutally in a sadistic mock parody of intimacy.

“Never.” She hissed the words as she tried to leaver him into the submissive position on his back. Bril forced her back down pressing her by her shoulder.

“I'm bigger, you have lost.” He tried to reason with her. As he spoke she leant up pressing herself against his chest, Bril allowed it seeing as she wasn't trying to fight him onto his back.

Quietly as she could she whispered into his ear:

“You should have worn the helm.” The words threw him. His hesitation was all she needed as she bit ferociously down on the patch of his neck that was exposed.

The pain made his breath hitch, he refused to cry out. His fingers gripped at the segments of her armour at her back and used them to try and yank her off.

Since he'd freed her arms she used them to lever herself more firmly onto his chest. Coiling them around his lower neck. Every time he yanked her arms would draw him down with her.

Neither of them were sure exactly how long they spent like that, time seemed to flow in a languid fashion now. Eventually someone in the darkness spoke up.

“Aay'han, please release the Galerean representative.” The voice was smooth, and softly spoken. To Bril’s surprise she complied.

“You're getting slow old man.” She spoke in a teasing tone, obviously the pair were acquainted somehow.

“I have been here for some time.” He replied back, stepping closer from the darkness to reveal a well dressed Chiss.

His posture was controlled but didn't scream threat at the moment. He stepped closer and knelt to inspect the damage on Bril’s neck.

“Come, I shall take you to the Medical Centre close by.” Bril complied, trying to stand but Aay'han wasn't inclined to release him. After a second he sighed and just bore her weight to walk out of the club.

They drew much attention from the patrons as they walked out bloody and battered from the fight but the Chiss seemed disinterested and deflected any that dared to approach with a glare that quite clearly said go away.

At the clinic the nurses fussed over the pair but kept a healthy distance from Aay'han every time they had tried to part her from him she growled like a feral beast.

Bril couldn't help but find it quite endearing, he spent a good ten minutes soothing her whilst they tried to scan her hand. It took much longer than needed as she kept yanking it back.

In the end the stranger that interrupted them grasped at her wrist and pinned it down with much more force than was needed in Bril’s mind, but he kept silent on it.

“Anders.” She hissed in warning.

“Be silent.” He commanded her with a glare to emphasise his impatience. His palm pressed her wrist down and the nurses just had to work around him.

Aay'han had her back to the screen but Bril had a perfect view of the image as it was uploaded. The tips of all four of her fingers were completely shattered, the fragments of bone had splintered into the tissues, he wasn't surprised she acted like a cornered Nexu.

His fingers brushed aside the braids that draped over her back exposing the small of her neck. In small soothing circles he rubbed at the skin, he was patient, he knew the discomfort would make her less than amenable to medical intervention.

Slowly but surely he felt the tightness of clenched muscles relax but her heart beat remained rapid.

“You'll need surgery, little one.” He kept his voice quiet and calm to not have her bolt, he knew it was a possibility. “We will speak properly when you wake up, hm?”

She gave a hiss of displeasure at the news of surgery and his grip tightened on her, not trusting her to remain.

“Whilst she sleeps you and I will also have a discussion as to why you are in Taldryan domain.”Bril gave an incline of his head to show his agreement to Anders.

Aay'han didn't hear the rest of the conversation as a spry Nurse administered a dose of medication, the girl tried to lash out. Though whatever she was given made her eyelids so heavy she couldn't fight the maw of unconsciousness any longer.