『Your Poison, Your Misery』

The hum of hyperspace surrounded the Star Courier, out the viewport was nothing by the blur of stars whirring by in fascinating blurs of blue, the Naboo Starship not too far ahead of them.

Vaylin sat there in the chair, her legs brought up to her chest. She was still dressed in the sleeveless double breasted leather tunic she came in. Her eyes were centered on the stars attentively, a faint smile across her lips. She couldn't stop thinking of how she had to go back into that turbolift to get off of the ship, even the stars didn't distract her enough.

"So... Vaylin," Ento announced his presence as she had been spaced out, sitting down beside her in the passenger seat beside her.

Dooku was in the pilots seat, watching over the droid which was currently in control of the vessel. He seemed to be meditating for the most part, his legs folded under him.

"Ento...?" Replying in a quiet voice, Vaylin's attention drifted from the stars and moved to the boy who had 'saved' her from an ambiguous, but otherwise malicious, fate.

"Can you tell me more about yourself?" Ento smiled at her, watching as her hands caressed her bare upper arms. "If you're comfortable enough, anyways."

Vaylin huffed air through her nose, a smile forming over her own lips. "My... Mother, Senya Tirall, was the personal guard of the Immortal Emperor of the Eternal Empire... My father was the Emperor himself." Broken pride was written all over her face, not something she was proud of any longer. A mix of hatred, longing and abandonment surfaced briefly. "My brothers Arcann and Thexan were training to become warriors... When my father discovered my growing powers, he locked me away on a planet, that it in itself was a wound in the force."

Ento could only imagine the idea of a world without the force. However what also caught his ear, was the name of the Governmental Body she spoke of. What was the Eternal Empire?

"Thexan was the only one to visit me," she took in a deep breath as she looked to the stars again, letting them reflect against her iridescent yellow eyes. "He hated that world, Nathema..."

Dooku heard the name of the world that she was imprisoned on and raised a brow. The world of Nathema that he knew in the outer rim worlds, was overgrown with life and the force. He had no idea what she was she talking about.

"It doesn't seem like you were just locked away on that world..." Ento exclaimed with a light frown across his lips, pulling one leg up onto his chair, resting an elbow on his knee.

"He didn't! He didn't just lock me away!" The cabin shook subtly from a faint pulse of force energy emitting from the girl, but she quickly calmed herself.

Ento's eyes traveled around the room, before narrowing back on her. The subtle use of the force also grabbing Dooku's attention as he glanced towards the girl.

"He created illusions... Made me believe that my friends, my family, came to rescue me. Yet... They hadn't come... They had all been fake, an attempt to deprive me of hope for the future. His zealots took everything from me. Or so I thought..." Her fingers curled inward, her nails grazing against her skin, leaving white marks behind. "They tortured me... There wasn't a day I didn't know fear or pain... Alone."

A small frown wasn't enough for Ento, but he didn't know how to respond to this. It was one thing to accept death of a loved one, but to be abused like this... He couldn't imagine.

"Tempered for the darkside..." Dooku let out a sigh, "That sounds like a very unpleasant experience, but one that can be learned from." His eyes trailed over the form which was making itself seem smaller on that chair.

"Learned from?!" She snapped as her eyes narrowed on the Jedi Master, the cabin shaking again, but once more she regained composure and the shaking stopped.

Ento reached over and lightly placed his hand on the top of her shaven head, feeling the bristly texture of her head, as he moved his fingers in a caressing motion.

Vaylin's eyes stared forward awkwardly as she felt his hand on her head. Her sight gazed towards him from the corner of her eye. "Why are you touching my head...? It's weird."

"It feels good, right?" Ento cooed in a teasing manner.

Swatting his hand from the top of her head, she then proceeded to take a more erect posture, "That's not the point!" She focused her golden hued eyes on him, her hand now squeezing onto the arm of her chair.

Ento grinned at her stern expression before she burst out into laughter.

Dooku watched as their tomfoolery went on for a little over half an hour, his eyes moving towards the communications controls, a green light was blinking. Tapping the button on the console, Padmé appeared as a small hologram on the dashboard, in her red Monarch Robes.

"Your Majesty," Dooku bowed his head lightly to the girl, "Is there something we can help you with?" HIs eyes drifting over the female as she didn't seem to be expecting Dooku as the one to answer her call.

"Master Jedi, I've just been given a communique from the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. Jedi Master Qui Gon Jin has also been dispatched to Naboo, with the newly christened Jedi Knight Obiwan Kenobi. Anakin Skywalker has been accepted into the Jedi Order. I thought I'd let you and Ento know," the Queen nodded her head to the man.

"Anakin Skywalker..." Dooku had yet to speak with Qui Gon Jin on that topic, but from what he gained from everything that was going on, the boy seemed important in some regard. "Thank you, your Majesty."

The transmission ended.

"Does this feel good!? Huh?!" Vaylin was now standing on the chair she had been seated on, both of her hands were in Ento's hair, caressing his scalp roughly.

"It feels like my head is being massaged by a Bantha! How could it feel good!?" Ento groaned, laughing under his breath, as she was getting her 'revenge' on him.

Vaylin scoffed, "Is that so? Tch." Raising her hands from his head, she flopped back down into the chair as Dooku turned to face them with his brows raised slightly at them.

Dooku's eyes looked over the tufts of hair that stuck up from Ento's now messy short hair. "What are you two even doing?" He had been around children, he had a nephew, though he didn't get along with his extended family. He was actually thinking of returning to Serreno and retaking his birthright as Count.

However he believed the best course of action would be to train Ento to Knighthood first, so he could work on the politics behind his rise to power, should those visions he foresaw be true.

"M-messing around Master," Ento chuckled with an awkward grin across his lips.

Vaylin stretched in the chair.

"Boy... Check in the storage for some refreshments, would you?" He gestured towards the Turbolift at the side of the cabin.

Blinking at the man, Vaylin looked over towards Ento who had immediately gotten up and moved towards the double doors of the lift. Without hesitation, she reached forward, she then leaned off the edge of the chair as she grasped at the side of his white tunic.

"Don't go..." She'd plea in a murmur.

Ento's eyes aligned themselves on her face, she didn't want him to leave her alone, even though Dooku would still remain. He then glanced towards Dooku who leaned back into the chair.

"Come with me," the boy would offer as he grasped onto her wrist, lightly tugging her from the chair.

Vaylin stumbled lightly onto her feet and stared at his hand, before turning her gaze to the small space. "I..."

"Just breath," Ento smiled lightly, "I'll be here. No need to be afraid, fear cannot rule you unless you let it." Though this had some truth, a phobia was heavily ingrained in the psyche and likely much harder to resist.

Once the duo entered the lift and went down to the lower deck, the droid turned its domed head towards Dooku. "I do believe the Organic Overlord was being far too loud with that one."

Dooku arched a brow and returned his gaze towards the strange droid which belonged to Ento. He still had the fresh memory of how he had changed the droid with the force alone. "You are a strange entity..." He muttered under his breath.

"As are you, Organic Bag of Flesh."

Shifting in his seat, Dooku crossed his right ankle over his left knee, "Tin can of bolts."

"POLISHED TIN CAN OF BOLTS, thank you very much." The droid spun its head rapidly for a few seconds before looking at the Jedi Master once more.

"This personality really existed before he changed your entire makeup?" Dooku let his eyelids droop as he rolled his ankle slightly side to side.

"Yes, yes it did. It is all thanks to the Organic Overlord!" The artificial being faced forward, its little arm twisting this way and that as it managed the ships computer. "It won't be long now..."