Crozeus groaned and slowly blinked, the harsh glare of light searing his retinas. He struggled against bonds on his wrists and sat up, gradually realising where he was and what had happened. He looked to his side and saw Suspiria, uncerimoniously sprawled across the hard floor of the holding cell. A small bare light flickered above him and Crozeus looked at his bonds. He strained for a second and then laughed.
The cell was of poor quality, the door was made out of wood rather than a force field. Cracks ran along the plaster walls in spiderwebs. Crozeus popped open his bonds with the Force and leaned over, waking Suspiria up.
He slowly staggered to his feet, amongst several grunts and groans, and stretched. His muscles screamed in protest and various bones cricked. He gasped in pain and crouched down again, meditating on a plan to get out of the cell, and doing his best to heal his wounds.
Healing was never a very Sithly thing and Crozeus had all but forgotten what little of the technique he learnt at the Jedi temple. He felt presense outside. Guards, probably, and Crozeus immedietly knew just how he would heal himself. "Thank you, Celestial," he said aloud.
He looked over to Suspira, who was just beginning to stir, and wondered how she would heal herself enough to get off the Interdictor.
Darth Suspiria
Darth Suspiria came out of the fog slowly. Someone was shaking her. Her head throbbed and every bone in her body ached. She opened one eye. She could vaguely see Darth Crozeus. He had popped open his bonds with the Force and she did the same.
She looked around. This prison was not in very good shape. If they put their minds to it, Suspiria knew that they could get out. She rose slowly. Oh, for a little Bacta and a hot bath!
"Crozeus, how are we going to get out of here?"
High Prophet Crozeus
Crozeus smiled. "Put up a Force Shield." As she did so, Crozeus slowly levitated into the air, drawing energy around him in a bubble. He suddenly released it, repulsing the Force around him in an explosive move. The walls shattered and the door was flung off its hinges.
"You forget," Crozeus grinned, "That we are never away from our greatest weapon. After you." There were guards.
Darth Suspiria
"You are right Prophet Crozeus. I do forget sometimes." She stepped through the doorway and looked around, moving quietly and stealthily. There were indeed guards rushing towards the sound of the commotion."I want my lightsaber back. Where do you think they put them?"
She lifted the broken door with the force and hurled it at the oncoming guards. Two fell to the floor and she disarmed the third taking his blaster rifle. She punched him in the face and knocked him out. He fell in a crumbled heap beside his two companions.
"Where to, my partner in crime?" Her eyes flashed.
High Prophet Crozeus
Crozeus laughed and closed his eyes. "We should head for the bridge... That way." The two Sith strode down a hall and came across two more guards armed with Bothan stunners. Crozeus met them head on, ducking a swing and taking on with a vicious uppercut. Leaving his partner, a master of hand-to-hand, to deal with the other, Crozeus grabbed the guard by his mouth and crouched over him, ignoring his pain.
"Our equipment. Where is it?" The guard squirmed and Crozeus grabbed tighter. "Where. Is. It?"
"Detention cell armoury. Door on the right of the turbolift."
Crozeus looked to see the turbolift door. He nodded and smiled sweetly at the guard. "Thank you," he said, as he let lightning rip through the body, leaving it smoking.
"Well my friend, I think we've found our stuff." Crozeus called to Suspiria, who had dispatched her guard expertly.
Darth Suspiria
Darth Suspiria had indeed dispatched the guard easily with a palm strike followed by a scissor kick. He lay in a twisted heap on the floor unconscious. She walked over to Darth Crozeus. The guard he had encountered had a badly bleeding mouth.
"My Crozeus, that looks like it must have hurt. Let's go get our belongings shall we." She walked further down the hall.
"This must be the place. Oh, fortified door." The armoury door was made of solid durasteel. She focused on it using the force. It blew inward landing on the opposite side of the room. "Here's our weapons my friend." She picked up her lightsaber and handed him several. "Is that all of them?"
He wandered over to the turbolift door and pressed the control pad. The door slid open to reveal a detail of troops.
"Why hello there. Looking for me?" Crozeus inquired, still in a sickeningly false sweet voice. The troops raised their weapons and Crozeus lit into them with Force lightning, tearing through their armour and flesh with ease. Engaging them in lightsaber combat would have been beneath him.
He raised a hand and levitated the smoking corpses out of the lift.
"Oh I do wish they would refrain from threatening me. It's ever so tiring."
With a wicked grin he pressed the button for the bridge. Suspiria joined him and he leaned over to her.
"Any idea what we're gonna do once we get there?"
Darth Suspiria
Darth Suspiria leaned closer to Crozeus as well. In a barely audible voice she whispered. "Ever considered stealing a star destroyer? That's how I escaped capture. In a stolen ship. Are you game? Let's invade the bridge, take the crew captive, and fly this thing outta here."
She laughed unchecked as the lift dinged at each floor. "Ever flown one this big before? We're in for a penny, why not a pound?"
Finally the lift stopped and a voice said "Bridge" as the door slid open.
High Prophet Crozeus
Crozeus laughed. "Oh I'm game allright."
The doors slid open and the officers and deckhands turned to see the two Sith Masters. The few troops who were there didn't even get to fire off a shot before they were cut down. In the space of a few seconds all but three officers and a deckhand had been killed or incapacitated. Crozeus locked down the door and turned to the remaining four.
"Bring this ship down to Kuat. MOVE!"
Terrified at what they just witnessed, they hurried to their positions.
Darth Suspiria
Darth Suspiria and Prophet Crozeus fought back to back, lightsabers whirring as they took over the bridge.
She agreed when Crozeus spoke. "Do as he says! to the remaining crew personnel. She stood beside the helmsman's chair and watched closely everything he was doing.
"Do the wrong thing, make a wrong move and you'll end up in the pile with them." She looked pointedly at the pile of blood-soaked bodies on the floor.
"Get this hulk landed safely, right now."
Then she turned towards the Prophet. "Lunch, Crozeus? All this activity has made me famished."
High Prophet Crozeus
"Oh you read my mind like a Jedi! What's on the menu?"
Crozeus looked out of the viewport at the rapidly approaching Kuat. He crossed to the navigation terminal and keyed in the co-ordinates for the Sith Academy.
"We will be there shortly."
Darth Suspiria
"It depends where we go. The Nebula Orchid Diner has great food. I love the sweetbread and butter. Good fruits too. Oh I am hungry!
She watched as the helmsman programmed the landing sequence into the computer. "What shall we hijack next?"
High Prophet Crozeus
"Well, I always wanted a Super Star Destroyer, and the Emperor has a lovely one."
The Interdictor landed in an open space and Crozeus beckoned to Suspiria and the others. "Lets show everyone our new friends shall we?" He grinned.
Darth Suspiria
"Yes, let's do that. I wonder what they will all think." She moved behind one of the prisoners and poked him with her lightsaber. "Move, let's go! No dwaddling." She poked him harder as he continued to hesitate.
"So Crozeus, are we headed for the executioner do you think? That would not be good. I am enjoying my new Moffdom."
A group of people were approaching the Interdictor, none looking pleased.
High Prophet Crozeus
"Nah, we're far too important to be executed."
A pair of Royal Guard ignited their saberstaffs and flourished. Groups of Sith and others were wondering over, many drawing weapons at the sight of the huge Star Destroyer that had basically just landed in their front garden. Crozeus began to laugh at the situation as he raised his hands and allowed himself to be arrested once again - he was in no situation to fight, especially not Royal Guard.
Darth Suspiria
Darth Suspiria also began to laugh. She had momentary thoughts of fighting, but realized the odds of victory were very poor. Her injuries from her duel with Crozeus were still burning. She watched as he allowed himself to be arrested by the Royal Guard.
Suspiria lowered her lightsaber and de-ignited it. "Alright, I give up." She sighed as she was also re-arrested and bound. It had started out as such a lovely day.
Then she started to chuckle again. The Royal Guardsman however looked as though they had murder on their minds.
Lord Aequitas
The High Prophet was just finishing a class when he heard a commotion. Hurrying, he left his room, then the Acadamy and rushed to the lawn where the Royal Guard had apprehended two beings. He sighed when he saw who it was.
"Guards, put down your weapons. For the moment", he added. In a spit second, the Guards had lowered their weapons as the High Prophet ignited his own. "Prophet Crozeus, what is the meaning of this! You have lowered the respect of the Church as well as the other institutions you are in. And you, Darth Suspiria. You both are Masters and should have known better."
He pointed his now ignited crimson lightsaber at both of them menacingly. It was very rare the High Prophet was seen with his saber ignited and people started to whisper.
He turned to a nearby Guard, "Thank you for co-operating. I know you did not have to obey me. I shall pass on my thanks to your superiers." He looked away before disengaging his saber and making it disappear. "Arrest them. Both of them. And kindly ask either the High Protector or the Shadow Protector to forward to my office what actually happened up there."
He turned away before looking back at the two Sith. "Crozeus I am dissapointed. You are the Church's Dark Warrior. You should have know better. Lord Praxeum will have to be notified. Darth Suspiria, you wish to enter the Church. They may have tolerated this dispicable behaviour in the Military, but we do not in the Church. I do not know what happened. Yet. I assure you though, once I am informed, there will be a trial."
With that, Aequitas walked briskly across the lawn in the direction of the archives.
High Prophet Crozeus
Crozeus bowed his head as he was forced to the ground by the guards. It sickened him to have to be told off like a schoolboy, and it sickened him even more to have to anger the High Prophet to the extent he had to draw his saber.
He realised what a fool he had been. He had wasted a huge amount of Empire resources, not to mention the lives of valuable trained Imperials. He had put his positions in danger, and that of his friend, whom he now turned to. "Suspiria, I'm sorry I got you into this. I would offer to take blame, but they'll see the holocamera records soon." It made Crozeus especially disgusted that he was a minister, and shouldn't have let childish emotions take over.
Darth Suspiria
Darth Suspiria also felt terrible as she too was forced to kneel by the guards. She knew she had done wrongfully and now her and Prophet Crozeus were in trouble. He was her friend, it was not all his fault. She shared blame equally with him.
"No Crozeus my friend it is not your fault. I am just as much to blame. I wreaked as much havoc and caused as much damage as you did. Now I guess there is a price to pay. After all of our work to climb the ladder of success, what have we done?"
She shook her head. The High Prophet had been outraged. Good troopers had died, a ship had been damaged. What had gotten into them?
