Chapter 8 - Give me your yacht

The shuttle approached the Kazon ship and entered the shuttle bay. Once landed Diederick looked at the two officers and Petra "OK. This is just going to be a smash and grab operation. I'll be going alone as you lot won't be able to keep up. Sharp and Cross, take point at the entrance of the shuttle and shoot anything coming this way that isn't me. Petra, remember I told you that emotions are the fuel of your power? You've just used it all in one go, anymore and you'll be consumed by the force so stay here." Diederick said with a smirk. Petra's eyes were a deep shade of amber and looked visibly tired. She just nodded. Sharp and Cross nodded and grabbed their phaser rifles and took point at the entrance. Diederick stretched, then sprinted out of the shuttle.

As soon as he left the shuttle, he saw a team of Kazon officers charge into the shuttle bay. Igniting his lightsabre, the area was dyed in a red hue as he launched himself at the unsuspecting Kazon. Slicing through them as if there were made of butter, Diederick sprinted down the hallway, looking for a map of the ship and cutting anyone down that crossed his path. Upon reaching a console he pressed his open palm to it and concentrated. By The time he'd opened his eyes again he saw that there were two teams of Kazon security forces trying to contain him to this corridor, chuckling to himself he took out a data pad he had in his back pocket and plugged it into the computer console he was stood at. Resting his other hand onto it the screen blinked into life and started opening and closing windows, scanning the area again the forces were about to move in. The screen turned black again as the Sith placed the data pad back into his pocket, he ignited the lightsabre in the other and dashed back to the shuttle bay, leaving more dead Kazon in his wake.

Cross and Sharp saw the Sith run back into the bay, they had been managing to fend off the Kazon without much issue as they didn't seem to be that many for them to deal with. "OK guys, back onto the ship" Diederick ordered as he turned back around to watch the door whilst they got the shuttle back onto space. "Seems that they weren't expecting that..." Diederick sighed "Without Jedi to entertain me it seems that it's going to be a one-sided affair for the foreseeable" he bemoaned then turned to Petra "Seems that I'll have to step up training, I would like to experience a challenge soon" He smiled darkly. Petra didn't know what a Jedi was but felt a cold sweat go down her back, she didn't like the sound of the latter part of that statement.

The shuttle screamed out of the Kazon ship and quickly made its way back to Voyager, one thing they noticed was the now lack of a firefight going between the two hulking vessels. "Was that you?" Petra asked. "I might have deleted their AI that controlled their ship functions and with their crew numbers cut down, they might be struggling to do anything for the foreseeable" Diederick smiled back.

Petra frowned but then realised the implication and stared at the Sith in awe "When do I learn that?"

"When you can control yourself and not treat a starship like an over-grown punch bag" He mocked.

The shuttle arrived back at Voyager and when the doors opened, he saw a bemused looking Janeway.

"Hello Captain. I assume you're wondering why that Kazon ship hasn't left yet?" Diederick greeted.

"I am wondering Darth." Janeway said patiently with her arms crossed.

"Well you'll be pleased to know; their ship is currently disabled and won't be going anywhere under its own steam for the foreseeable so feel free to board and continue your investigation to find out who your rat is. I also destroyed their computer core and downloaded their latest star charts for you." Diederick explained and held out the data pad from his back pocket. When Janeway went to reach for it he tilted the pad back towards him. "I hope you don't think I'm doing this out of the goodness of my heart..." He smiled sardonically. Janeway and the rest of the Starfleet officers frowned at the Sith, waiting for what he wanted in return. "I've found that I need to step up Petra's training, but this will incur risks to your ship if it's done here." He stated and Janeway looked visibly relieved "So, I would like your Captains yacht; as it will have the most space for the supplies that I will need to take for an extended period" He finished and the room was back to deathly quiet again. They stayed like this for a few moments, the air thick with tension, Janeway just looking into the Sith's eyes, thinking of what he could be up to. "Why do you want that specific shuttle Darth?" She asked calmly

"Grandeur?" he replied flippantly.

"Really? You are aware it has limited use, the weapons on it aren't particularly strong and has a maximum of warp 5." She stated, this was the main reason why these ships were mainly used in ceremonial circumstances. The Sith sneered and said "I will be back Captain. I tell you what, why don't you keep Sharp and Cross with me. That way you can keep tabs on me" He smiled.

"Or give you two hostages..." she countered

"I'm shocked you'd think so low of me!" He mocked

"How long would you be gone for?" Janeway asked tiredly

"About a week, two tops"

"When will you be leaving?"

"Tomorrow morning"

"Fine"

"Really? Plus, the security team?"

"Yep"

Diederick raised his eyebrows in surprise and Janeway had a knowing smirk on her face "Well. Thank you Captain" Diederick slowly said and handed her the data pad. "Thank you, Darth. This will be most useful" Janeway thanked, turned and walked away from the team. Cross and Sharp looked despondent "Cheer up, you guys have just been signed up to the most beneficial thing you'll ever experience" Diederick said half mockingly and walked out of the shuttle bay, back to his room.

"What was that about?" Petra asked when they got back to their quarters.

"I'm not too sure, I could force her to tell me... I'll only be disappointed if it's something mundane. It's more interesting to play along." He smiled and took out another data pad and placed his hand on top of it. The screen sprang into life as if something was being copied to it.

"What's on the pad?" Petra asked

"All in good time my trainee apprentice" The Sith smiled at her and closed his eyes.

The time came to depart, and all four members of the motley crew boarded the shuttle, amusingly called Wave runner, that was attached to the ventral side of Voyager. The shuttle was much larger than what was commonly used. The yacht had its own cargo bay, officer quarters and a small engineering room which housed the warp core, it was spacious enough for sixteen crew. Diederick was satisfied with this vessel as he made a satisfied chuckle as he sat in the command seat on the bridge, Cross and Sharp took up Tactical and Helm whilst Petra sat at the operations station, looking around the console in amazement. "Voyager. We're ready to depart." Diederick reported over the comms.

"Safe trip Wave runner" Harry replied as the shuttle was dropped from the main ship.

"Helm. Get us to a safe distance from Voyager and set a course for this sector, maximum warp." Diederick ordered and plotted a course.

"Aye sir" Cross acknowledged, the shuttle edged away and made the jump.

Whilst at warp he took out the data pad he had in his pocket and started to flick through pages of it. "Are there any data pads with bigger screens Cross?" Diederick asked.

"They're only used as mobile access. You can mirror it to the closest console to you if you want a bigger display." Cross explained patiently.

"So handy..." the Sith murmured as he flicked the information onto the display next to him. Petra stifled a laugh and passed it off as a cough as she heard his musings.

After a few hours passed and the Wave runner dropped out of warp over a planet that looked like it was mostly covered in mountains and trees. "OK Mr Cross. Set her down here" Diederick ordered and sent the location to Cross' screen. The shuttle then descended through the atmosphere and landed near the peak of a mountain.

"Landing complete sir. Sharp and I will go and setup base camp." Cross reported and stood up from their seats. The Sith acknowledged him with a nod and turned to Petra "You're going to start training. For the next week you're going to get a handle on your force powers. As entertaining as your first attempt was, I asked you to poke a hole in their shields for us to get through, not destroy them." Diederick lectured. Petra looked embarrassed by her master's appraisal "So we're going to play catch with this rock" Diederick continued and lifted a boulder that was the size of a small house with the force. Petra's face paled "Erm, master. I can't lift that." She tried to explain. The Sith ignored her and threw it over to her as if it were a tennis ball. Petra screamed and held out her hands and tried to imagine the tap like before, doing her best to ignore her quickly approaching death if she messed up. Just as she was about to be crushed, she felt it slow at her palms, the weight was still there as she could feel her legs trying to support her. "Is this me or you that stopped it?" she asked unnerved.

"This is all you" Diederick said with his arms folded "Concentrate or you will die" he stated coolly. Petra felt a sense of elation but quickly stifled the feeling when she felt her concentration waver because of it and the rock started to get considerably heavier.

"You do know how to play catch? Right?" The Sith asked as if he was bored. Petra screwed up her face and tried to push the bolder back to Diederick. After a few moments her arms were starting to get tired "Are you going to be all day? I'll go talk to Cross and Sharp if you are" Diederick tormented. As if a button had been pressed the boulder flew at the Sith as if it was fired out of a gun. He gave a savage smile and held out his hand and the rock stopped abruptly "Throw, not shoot" He said as he threw the rock back up in the air high above Petra's head. The already tired Petra looked at it as if considering if it was worth trying again. Eventually she lifted her hands above her head and tried to stop it with the force again. This continued for another three hours. By the time Diederick said finish Petra fell to the ground. The Sith loomed over her and stated "You did well my apprentice in training. Have yourself a half an hour break to let your strength come back and we'll move on to the main training" and he walked away with Petra looking like she was about to cry on the floor.

Diederick walked over to Cross and Sharp to see how they were getting on "How's it going guys? Altitude not getting to you?" He asked. The two officers were a little unnerved from the concern Diederick was showing them "Erm" Sharp started "We're fine thanks Darth. Base camp is just about setup. We'll sleep in the Shuttle, so we don't have to contend with the elements out here and the pressure won't be a problem." He reported back. The Sith gave a sickly smile "Good. When you're both finished come to the training area." He then turned and left to go back to Petra, leaving a pale looking Cross and Sharp.

"OK Petra, Breaktime is over. Time to get some practice in" Diederick said with a shit eating grin to the woman who'd only just found strength in her legs again. "We're going to work on swordsmanship. This is a very good way in channelling your emotions in high pressure environments. We extend on our emotions to bend the force to our will. You need to keep in control or else the force will control you and turn you into a rabid dog; handy only in limited cases" He explained and threw a stick at Petra. "These are the formal forms that was taught so pay attention" He smiled, ignited the lightsabre and demonstrated. Petra watched intently until he finished. "Now, your turn" Petra started to mimic the movements whilst Diederick corrected her. They continued like this until Petra's legs gave out. Sharp and Cross came overlooking sheepish "Ah, welcome gents you're just in time. Seems that Petra is done for today so it's time for you two to get some training in. Since you can't access the force you will do the following" He held out a hand and raised two branches of the ground "You are going to practice your close combat. I noticed that Starfleet doesn't really train in close combat and relies on external sources to win their fights." Both men nodded and grabbed the branch in front of them. "Now, keep hitting each other until the other gives in." He ordered with a smirk hanging on his face. "I'm not going to hit..." Sharp began to protest but was stopped when the branch in Cross' hand smacked him in the face. "See, Cross gets it." The Sith mocked and then crossed his arms to continue watching them hit each other.