Escalation

~~~(POV: Nathen Opal)~~~

~~~(Location: Personal Ship, Hyperspace)~~~

SCORPIO and I are alone in the front of the ship. She's looking at me as I look at her. There will never be a day I trust SCORPIO but at this point. I have to show a little bit of faith.

Nella is sleeping in her chambers and resting after today's training. She's learning fast, and her natural talent and a strong connection to The Force helps. I don't think she can beat a Sith Apprentice yet, but she can take on an Acolyte at her current level.

Which is saying a lot since she's only been training under me for a few days now. There is one thing I noticed. Force-Sensitives that aren't me have a harder time finding the balance between light and dark. I can naturally use both sides, without issue.

Nella hasn't had an easy time, especially with The Darkside. I've already started training her to channel both sides, but right now, she can only channel one or the other at a given time.

I plan to change that, but for now, it's satisfactory.

"We'll be arriving on Nal Hutta soon. Since the map is only partially complete, where do you suggest we look for it?"

SCORPIO brings up the current objectives or lack thereof. Since we only have a partially complete map, I can only assume the other is hidden somewhere The Ones have influenced before. I remember one world.

Lothal.

After we're done on Nal Hutta, Lothal is where we'll be going. The world is directly linked to The Ones, and maybe it'll have what we're looking for.

"Once we're on Nal Hutta, I want you to watch over Nella. Stay with the ship too. Nal Hutta is a dirty place that has thieves everywhere."

She squints her eyes slightly but doesn't say anything in protest.

I'll sense if she tries to do anything to Nella or the ship while I'm gone. Speaking with the Hutts on the state of the fleet they're tasked with getting me is important. That fleet will still serve a purpose. And while my desires to take on The Sith Empire have ended, they are plans in the making.

Those plans need fleets, and having one I can use at any time will be a great help.

"I've been doing research and listening in on Sith and Jedi frequencies. The War is starting up, and it's already escalating in certain places within the galaxy."

She shouldn't take what she hears on open frequencies as fact. But I'm not going to tell her that. She's a learning machine, and that means she'll learn when she finds out she's wrong. And that's actually something that works to my benefit.

If I was the one that taught her anything, she'd learn about my weaknesses and mental exploits. Something that could be used against me. While it's not obvious to me, an entity like SCORPIO would find it cause she's actively looking for it.

"The Jedi and Sith War isn't our concern. We've got our goals."

SCORPIO doesn't like it when I mix our goals together. Or a better way to put it is making my goals her goals. I know what she wants, but she's not getting it until I don't need her anymore.

Having SCORPIO around has helped a lot more than I care to admit. She's taken on a load of logistics. Which is something I hate doing.

"When we're done on Nal Hutta, what are we doing next."

That's not something I'm going to tell SCORPIO. And to prove it, I stand up and leave. Heading to my room and enter it.

The last thing I want is SCORPIO knowing my next step.

As I lay on the bed, I see the Holo-Terminal in my room blinking. It's not a red blink, but a yellow one. That's a sign a message has been sent to me. There are only a few people that can do this. I turn it on and see it's a message from Theron.

"I've come across some information about you... And it's not something that was ever supposed to get out... I'd send it to you, but it'd be safer if we met in person... Meet me at the sent coordinates..."

Now that's interesting...

The Force is warning me.