Sith Ten, Skatepulsar, had awoken in a blurred haze of dizziness and nausea. She wiped sweat from her brow and sat up. She had somehow made it from the Bridge to the Recreational Deckand had no idea how long she had been there. A snap-crack from near the door startled her and the room blazed with the fury of brilliant light.

"Turn off the lights!! Stang!! Turn them off!! Turn off the kriffing lights!!"

"Alright, alright!"

The room was plunged back into the near darkness created by the tiny glowpanels in the ceiling. She cradled her poor head in her hands and used the Force to suppress a heave.

"Are you alright, Skate?" Sith 3, Sith Rick, stepped around the couch to Skate's side.

"Of course I am alright. Just--just don't turn on the lights again."

"Compliance."

Skate focused on her breathing and carefully swept away her pounding headache. She sat back up, took a deep breath, and noticed that Sith Rick was still beside her on the couch.

"Why are you still here? Don't you have something to do?"

"No. Besides, the others are still, uh, in meditation trances."

Skate glanced at him. Sith Rick was young and not yet trained. He had not been allowed to engage in the all-out Whyren's Reserve brawl. Only a completely trained Sith dared to participate. He was only allowed a flask. As the newest recruit, he would also be assigned to take over simple ship duties while the other Siths meditated. She could sense the feelings of annoyance roll off of him.

"What's wrong?"

"I just don't really understand what happened yesterday. I mean, why didn't the Senior Officers of Sith Squadron do something sooner about Darth Ane's infiltration of the SSD? They let that droid bounce all around the ship. What if Jace didn't win that fight? Jace would be dead right now!"

"Seems odd, doesn't it. It is quite simple. We have protocols to follow. Each of us must obey these protocols and procedures to keep ourselves together. Sure, the Senior Officers knew that they had been infiltrated. But, I ask you this: What would they have gained by acting immediately?"

"Colonel Thunder could have destroyed the droid immediately and this whole fiasco would not have happened. Darth Ane wouldn't have had the pleasures of making his little house call via holonet to rub in his little droid toy."

"No. First of all, Colonel Thunder didn't know who this opponent was-she certainly wasn't expecting a droid. For all she knew, the intruder could have been the Lord Darth Ane himself. While Thunder is a good fighter, don't get me wrong there, she couldn't take on Darth Ane by herself. He is a completely trained Sith Lord. Colonel Thunder, as well as the rest of us, are not. Second of all, we didn't know why an intruder would go to such great lengths to impersonate BaronReno and infiltrate Sith Squadron. Playing along allowed the reasons to be made known--by Darth Ane himself in that holonet transmission. He had no reason beyond showing that he could step in and take over if he so desired."

"But that's my point. As far as Darth Ane knows, he did just that. If the intruder had been dispatched immediately, then Darth Ane would have known that he couldn't fool the Siths."

"What Darth Ane believes about us is to be kept at a minimum. If he thinks that he got in and taught us a lesson, then so be it. We know the types of tactics that he would use to get in here. He will underestimate us in the future if we end up in a brawl against each other. That is more important than saving face, young Sith Rick."

Unsatisfied, Sith Rick stood up and headed for the corridor. He still was not convinced. He had a few words that he wanted to share with the "Brass." Skate watched him go, thankfully. Now, she could get into a meditation trance and recover. She folded her legs beneath her and assumed the "sitting warrior" position.

"Get away from me, you FREAK!!"

Skate snapped out of her trance and thumbed her lightsaber on, "Nine? Nine, is that you?"

"Roger, Ten. It's me and Seven who obviously has mistaken me for a free ride in his drunken blindness."

Skate relaxed and extinguished the blade of her saber. Star and Seven appeared from behind the sabaac tables with Seven sporting a new black eye.

Seven stumbled his way over Skate, "Hey, Skate, Where are the other Siths?"

"What do I look like? A bartender? Go find them yourself and get a bottle of Whyren's Reserve to put on that nasty eye. It's starting to remind me of Reno's Glimpse of the Future."

"Ha, ha. Very funny. And it's not big, red, and slanted. I think it's more like puffy, black, and drooping," Seven sneered as he left.

Star tried to focus her own vision on her surroundings, "Poor kid, I didn't mean to slug him that hard. Guess I used a little too much Force behind that left hook." Star glanced around and noticed she was on the RecDeck, "Uh, Ten, how did we get from the Bridge to the RecDeck?"

"Sorry, Nine, but I have no idea or memory. Strong Whyrens brawl," commented Skate as she rubbed her throbbing head.

"No shit, Olie. Come on, let's try to find the others."

"As ordered."

Continued...