"Then might I offer you and your apprentice a place in the modern Empire?"

"That would depend on what sort of place you had in mind."

"I believe the discussion on that subject would be best held in private. Would you be so kind as to accept an invitation to my ship?"

Callida takes a few seconds to pick up the cocktail of emotions running through her head at the thought of being stranded in the future, with everyone she's known - except Darth Occlus - long dead, and then shove it wholesale into her mental equivalent of a cargo hold. She will untangle that later. Right now, she can't afford to be distracted.

She looks Thrawn over cooly, and her eyes fall to the furry, snake-like creature attached to the backpack-like apparatus currently on Thrawn's back. It's - obviously not the sort of pet one would take with them on the go. Nor the sort of pet that one would take on any sort of mission that could involve combat. If it isn't completely helpless, it's not for a lack of trying, and it would absolutely be in the way in any sort of confrontation. Unless it did something very, very useful. She notes the edges of the Force void, and where it's centralized, and makes the obvious conclusion.

The Grand Admiral notes her gaze, smiling slightly.

"While there are other ysalamiri on my flagship, they are not so numerous as to make every section of it empty to the Force," says Thrawn, answering her question as she formulates it. "You would not be powerless aboard it."

Occlus files 'ysalamiri' away for future study.

"Is your shuttle similarly capacious? I trust you understand my hesitancy in this matter."

"Of course. If it is not capacious enough I can always send for a private one."

"Very well. We accept." Occlus turns to where Callida has C'Baoth pinned. "Kill him."

"No desire to hear whatever it is he's trying to say before it's lost forever?" asks Callida mildly, but she draws her lightsaber and turns to raise it.

"He doesn't seem the sort to say anything I'd want to hear."

"Absolutely deranged," she agrees. She can feel it emanating from him, like some twisted cancerous growth centralized in his very soul. There are many things that could cause this sort of situation; a nasty artifact, long time spent using darker Force powers, long hours spent in a Sith Lord's tomb. Perhaps someone could fix it, eventually, but while they were trying they'd be dealing with his very lightning-based outbursts, along with whatever else his warped mind would think to try. Callida's met many Sith of a similar like, and they're really not worth trying to salvage. "Just checking."

Then, quite neatly, she stabs him through the skull with her lightsaber. It's quick and clean, and as painless as she can make it.

He dies instantly.

And then cracks of eerie blue light begin radiating across his corpse.

"Oh, no you don't," mutters Occlus. "Apprentice, stand back."

She reaches out a hand, clutching, containing the energy that seeks to escape from C'Baoth. Her eyes flare ghostly purple.

Callida resists the urge to mutter some dark comment about the crazy ones always breaking things. It would be slightly unprofessional. Instead, she backs up, preparing to shield herself and Thrawn's men from whatever evil bullshit C'Baoth is going to give off, should Occlus slip. She won't, but Callida likes to be thorough.

So does the Grand Admiral, apparently.

"Group up," he snaps to his men. The bubble afforded by the ysalamir is large enough to protect them all, but only just.

Occlus focuses for about a minute, jaw tensing slightly, before snapping her fist closed. There is a bright flare, and C'Baoth's body collapses in on itself, leaving a shining light hanging in midair.

Occlus smiles. This one is hers, now. She flips her hand over and beckons the light inwards. As it merges with her body, she lets out a breath. Not the strongest spirit she possesses, but neither is it insignificant. Rather thoroughly insane as well. She will keep it down.

"At ease," says Thrawn softly to his men, studying the two Sith. The both of them are most interesting.

Purple sparks still flare around Occlus as she turns back to Thrawn, though they are slowly fading.

"Let us return to your flagship now."

"Indeed. One moment, allow me to see to the search of this base."

He splits the soldiers with him into two groups, one to accompany him while he returns to the shuttle, the other to resume searching the mountain. Then he calls in another shuttle from his ship with another team for the search, and presumably for the secondary shuttle for his two guests.

And then logistics are handled. The shuttle's large enough so that the anti-Force bubble caused by the ysalamir Thrawn carries with him doesn't entirely encompass it, but the Sith are free to take the second shuttle if they would prefer to avoid having their powers stifled in close quarters. The Grand Admiral leaves the decision to them.

They will take the ysalamir-free shuttle.

Excellent. That will give Thrawn time and privacy to inform his flagship, the Chimaera, of the change in plans, and to make preparations for the Sith that will be joining them. Oh, and to inform them of the death of Jedi Master C'baoth. He is not at all sorry about that one.

Lord Callida is quiet and pensive the whole way there.

Occlus will allow her apprentice time to gather her thoughts. She's always able to perform when called upon, and they understand each other well enough that they need not explicitly decide on a strategy for handling Thrawn.

These ysalamiri are worrisome. No natural sort of creature would create an area devoid of the Force. Some sort of alchemy? Most likely. Something similar to the resistance of the terentatek, but expanded. Understanding it fully will prove a challenge, no doubt. A pity she does not have another, more expendable apprentice. Perhaps one can be found. Though that depends on the state of the galaxy. The Chiss said that the "last Sith" had died. What that means Occlus is not quite sure, but she would very much like to find out.

Callida doesn't really have time to properly process all of her friends being dead, but she does have time to - well, get her priorities in order. The dead friends thing can wait. She needs her priorities working now.

Well, she's wary of joining anything without knowing exactly what it is and what that means, first. If there's any benefit to being flung into the far future, it's that for once in her life, she's - free. Free from the Empire, free from the other Sith, free from anyone knowing who she is and what she can do. Well, mostly. Occlus is here, but Occlus isn't actually a barrier to her freedom. Besides, she doesn't think she sincerely wants a freedom without Occlus being at least tangentially present in her life. The other Sith can keep their bizarre murder based relationships with their students and teachers, Callida will keep her slightly bizarre but surprisingly healthy relationship with her teacher, thanks.

What she's worried about is immediately getting tied up in some other war, working for some other Empire that's aggressively awful. Trapped by duty and fear and a lack of better options. She does not want to be a pawn in some admiral's game, not unless it's for a very good reason. She's in a whole new time, she'd like to - well, figure out how everything works before she commits to anything in particular. Give herself some space to untangle that whole dead friends thing. Learn about the galaxy before she starts messing with it and choosing sides in a war, otherwise she'll just make a wreck of it all.

Besides. She doesn't trust Grand Admiral Thrawn. Respect him, certainly. Trust him? Ha, no. But she'll see what he has to say, she supposes.

They are formally welcomed aboard the Chimaera by the Grand Admiral, the Grand Admiral's cuddly Ysalamir companion, a modest escort of stormtroopers, and a mustached man in a uniform that seems to identify him as the captain of this ship. Things are carefully arranged so that the Sith do not at any point have to enter the anti-Force bubble, but also that Thrawn does not have to leave it.

"Welcome aboard the Chimaera," says Thrawn, inclining his head to the both of them. "I trust you found no displeasure with the shuttle ride?"