Open Space and Hyperspace

Darth Strife:

The sith calmly replied to Adonias' outburst. "I'm 82. Give or take a year. I stopped counting a long time ago." It looked impossible for Strife to be in his eighties. He had thick chords of muscles, a tall sturdy frame, no lines on his face except for crow's feet at his eyes, and his hair was still a deep black. As he finished fiddling with the bacta tank, he walked over to Adonias and grabbed him by the scruff of his robes. "You can ignore me all you want while you heal." He hauled him to his feet and marched him over to the tank before shoving him in and attaching his hand to the stump of his arm, wrapping it carefully. "If you are lucky, this will heal right. I recommend drawing on the force." He closed the tank and filled it without waiting for a reply. "Oh... and this didn't count as your punishment." A smile crossed his face again before he walked away.

Darth Strife:

The sith growled in disgust as he sat on his bunk. Mulling over everything he had seen regarding the future and what his current apprentice had seen and relayed, he pulled off his thick soled boots. Two apprentices? Why in the frack would the force tie him to two apprentices? It sounded like blasphemy plus one at a time was irritating enough. Look at how much trouble Adonias had caused just in the last week. His shoulders stiffened at the idea of running into Crystal again. He'd prefer to just dispatch her and keep Adonias. His mouth tightened as he pulled his robes off and discarded them. But perhaps he should listen to the force. Coincidences weren't common. Perhaps what Crystal had been missing this entire time was a spark, an adversary as it were, to focus on. Perhaps she needed someone else pushing her to be what she should be? He frowned in concentration as he pulled a fresh set of robes on. Sitting cross legged on his bunk, he delved deep into meditation as he waited for Adonias to heal.

Darth Strife:

He frowned as the projected voice of Adonias broke through his meditation. It felt like only minutes had passed but it must have been longer. He stretched slowly, his body protesting his movement after sitting cross legged for so long. A snarl broke free as his apprentice attempted to force persuade him. He lashed out, sending a spike of psychic pain straight at his apprentice's mind. He really needed to round out Adonias' education. Mind tricks were incredibly difficult to use on other force users. He stood up from his bunk and walked barefoot out of his cabin, not stopping to grab his boots. With the snarl still evident on his face he stalked out to the bacta tank. He met Adonias' eyes and let him see the anger simmering inside of him, not even attempting to appear civilized for a moment.

Then he walked to the bacta tank controls and flipped a few switches, causing the water to start draining. His apprentice was obviously healed and back to his exuberant self. "Idiot! Do I need to explain to you how completely stupid it is to try to use your feeble skills on me?" He whirled and paced back and forth before the tank, water slowly draining. "I was going to make your punishment quick and immediate. Now you are going to have to wait. And I won't warn you when it comes." His faintly yellow imbued eyes met Adonias' again as he spoke. "Your snide comments won't give you more power."

Darth Strife:

The sith stared at the ranting boy in front of him, momentarily wordless. He responded almost mechanically once his apprentice was done shouting, "Love? I am a teacher, not your father. My job is to teach you how to become the most powerful version of yourself. Love doesn't even factor into the equation." He snorted, then slowly shook his head. "If you both hate me, it is because you both do not understand. I will do whatever it takes to carve perfection into your bones. It's not because I see you as a pawn, but because I NEED you both to be better than you are. You let so much cloud your vision, you let so much distract you. As did Crystal. If you sense any hate from me, it's because I am disappointed. And I am not disappointed in your humor, or your heart, but I am disappointed in your actions." Strife resumed pacing. "You say you want power, you want vengeance, you want to learn. But your actions don't say any of that. And I can't stand a hypocrite." He was nearly calm, eerily so, at this point despite the continued pacing. The water was nearly gone from the bacta tank, leaving Adonias to stand on his own feet. "Joke all you want, call me what you want, but put some effort into this instead of sabotaging your entire training!" His calm façade faded and he shouted the last bit of his speech. This was probably the most he had ever explained anything to a student when it didn't apply to the force. The sith opened the tank and extended a hand to Adonias to help him walk out. His eyes had faded back to their normal hue and he offered a wry smile to the lad. "If you want hugs and friendship, you had best go back to your family. I can only offer power and teaching." There was a moment of pain in his gaze that spoke to something in his past, perhaps some way he wished he could offer more. Then his gaze hardened. "You decide what you want."

Darth Strife:

The sith closed his eyes for a moment, swallowing emotion. "I don't talk about my past." Once he opened his eyes, it was as though a door had closed, nothing was reflected back at Adonias. "That is all I ask, that you commit yourself fully to the way of the sith." He walked away from Adonias, bare feet stepping silently on the cargo bay floor. He entered his cabin and then within moments he had returned to Adonias with an extra pair of dark robes and a book. He tossed the robes at Adonias. The ones he wore were soaked from the bacta tank. "Get changed if you'd like, then I have something else here for you." He held up the text, it was a large book with a battered cover and brittle pages. "This is a sith text I recovered on my explorations early on in life. You are welcome to read over it, it teaches about the way of two and the true path of the sith." He handed the book to Adonias carefully. "We still have a long way to travel so take your time and come to me with any questions." Strife inclined his head at the boy and then made his to the cockpit and ensured they were still on course.

Darth Strife:

The sith sat in the cockpit, moodily staring at the screens before him. The words of Adonias floated through his mind again. 'You had a family once... didn't you?' He growled, frustrated at his inability to push the words away. He did have a family of sorts a long time ago. Who didn't? But they meant nothing compared to the dark side of the force. He had given up everything in exchange for the power he could wield today. And it was well worth it. He crossed his arms stubbornly. So why had the words of his apprentice pierced his heart for a moment? He sighed, closing his eyes and drifting into the force's embrace. Images floated by his mind's eye. A curly red haired beauty, two smiling children, a home built on a farm... The images whirled away and Strife let his anger grow, driving away the memories and pain associated with them. Yes, the power was well worth it.

He stood abruptly, unsure of how much time had passed. He walked back down to where Adonias remained in his former cell. He watched him silently for a bit of time, watching as he hungrily devoured the knowledge. This was what he wanted for his students. He shouldn't have to spoon feed them. Anyone who truly sought to be sith, must teach themselves even when he was not available. He felt a glimmer of pride rise up in his heart, pride in himself and pride in his student. He cleared his throat, "Looks like you are keeping your word, how fares it?"

Darth Stife:

"Good, I am glad to see you are applying yourself. And the knowledge will help with your force use." He inclined his head slightly at his apprentice. "I thought you could take a break and we could go through a few steps of a lightsaber style now that you have your own lightsabers?" Strife found himself looking forward to potentially teaching Adonias how to use his lightsaber in a deadly fashion.

Darth Strife:

The sith smiled slightly at Adonias' prompt response. "My preferred lightsaber style is Ataru form. It takes an aggressive and well conditioned individual to be able to use it well but I think it will suit you." He walked Adonias through the basic steps of the form and then prompted him to ignite one of his sabers. "Of course, if you plan to actually fight with both sabers, you will use a completely different form but we'll get you used to using just one saber for now and gradually build up to two." Strife ignited his own lightsaber and walked through the steps again and again with Adonias slowly first then moving more quickly. The sith pushed Adonias hard and even he was breathing quickly and sweating after a few hours of working out. "You seem like you have the hang of this. Feel free to practice the steps as often as you'd like."

Darth Strife:

The sith nodded his approval. "Good. Do it a hundred times, no a thousand times. Do it until you could do it asleep. Do it until you could execute the perfect sequence even if you are bleeding out and barely able to stand. You may need it someday." He put his own lightsaber away. He watched Adonias for a few more minutes before surprising himself by asking, "Tell me about yourself, apprentice. Why do you want to become a sith?"