Korriban

[Greenbriar]

Korriban, tomb-world of the ancient Sith Lords. A sun-burnt ball of sand and rock where even the skies seem to carry the pall of the dark side and what little native wildlife remains is well learned at killing anything that keeps still long enough. Since becoming the sector headquarters of Czerka Corporation traffic to Korriban has increased tenfold - yet it is true that most of those that come there come for the Sith Academy outside Dreshdae. For if Korriban speaks of ruin, even in decay the great stone monuments in the Valley of the Dark Lords speaks of the might and majesty they once possessed. The power. Surely that power might be reclaimed by one who yearned for it enough? Who wanted it enough?


Verlaine sneered inwardly at the thought as she stood at the window, looking out at the pack of would-be Sith standing at attention in the sunlight. They had been there for hours, whining and pleading obsequiously as the uniformed student tormented them, all in the name of testing their worthiness. Simpering fools - there wasn't one out there who would make a proper Sith, the student included. The Empire had more than enough cringing sycophants, and seemed to be collecting them faster than they could be killed. There was no point to this, just one boy flaunting his power and making the rest of the his ilk seem like petty tyrants to the lessers that passed through Dreshdae. She stared down at them, brooding. The student wasn't even there now, she had watched as he went indoors for his meal - and now she watched as one man in a red tunic collapsed to the ground, unconscious. The other supplicants looked across, but none of them seemed dissuaded or moved to help, and the charcoal-robed Sith finally abandoned her contemplation for action. 


She stalked out the main doors of the Academy and down the baked stone ramp where the half-dozen sentients that remained dropped to their knees and began to plead for her favour.


"Please, noble lady-"


"Look upon me, great la-"


"Choose me, choose-"


"I will serve you loyall-"


"Silence!" her voice rang out, yellow-green eyes searing them with a glare. "I thought you wished to be Sith, not simpering little gizka, bobbing your heads as you wait for your fates to come to you." Her voice was cold now, dripping with a disgust even the most deluded mind could scarcely remain oblivious to. One or two of the smarter supplicants glanced nervously at the curved hilts riding at her waist and she curled her lip. "None of you are worthy, not as you are - you think this is how the Sith show their strength, by kneeling and cowering to those we wish to impress? You think the Sith need such as that?" Her eyes blazed green fire, yet she thrust a hand toward the settlement, one finger pointing. "If you still wish to serve, return to Dreshdae. Seek a recruiter and join the military. Fight for our purpose - and who knows? Out there on the front lines you may discover a true strength of purpose, and return here a worthy student." More likely they would die, but a death there could benefit the Empire - a death here was meaningless. 


"Or you can stay here, and I will kill you now." If they were truly stupid enough to challenge her on this, the galaxy would be better off without their idiocy. Fortunately enough they scattered back along the road to town, leaving their collapsed companion in the dusty street.


She turned back to the Academy just in time to see the stocky male Devaronian student come running out, shouting after the others, "Wait! I did not give you leave to go!" He saw her then, began to shout - then froze as he took in her garb. "But... why?" he managed, choking back his anger. The boy had some self-preservation after all. 


"It was without purpose," she crooned, eyes glittering strangely. "A meaningless gratification of the senses - your senses. You aren't the Dark Lord yet, young...?" Her voice trailed off in question, she regarded him levelly and at last he volunteered the information her eyes demanded.


"Herrik, Lady." 


"Herrik then. Find me before the day is out and explain the purpose of standing worthless supplicants in the sunshine for a day at a time - or I will find you before the moons set, and you will explain nothing again." Again the unsettling smile, and she turned on her heel toward Dreshdae leaving a very worried young Devaronian in her wake. 

 

[Greenbriar]

It was barely an hour later when the Devaronian entered The Drunk Side, Dreshdae's finest cantina. He still wore his grey uniform tunic and pants, but his orange skin seemed more sallow somehow, muted. He waved away the usual clutch of Sith hopefuls who begin to approach him, shaking his head brusquely as he cut through the crowd toward the... Pazaak den? It seemed he has some skill with the force (or his ear to the ground) for surely enough in the midst of dozens of sentients dueling fiercely with each flip of a card sat Eva Verlaine. She seemed unsurprised to see him again and waved him to one of the many empty seats across from her. 


"Herrik," she began, with a weary tone to her voice. "Either you've come to understand sooner than expected or-"


"Lady Verlaine," the Devaronian cut in brashly. "I protest-"


"Or," the human stepped on his pretensions. "I might have known. Very well boy, I will hear your protest - but you bore me, so we will play as well." She motioned to the spindly-armed dealer droid, who proffered two translucent decks for her to select. "The red I think; standard guest rules." Both decks vanished & reappeared on the table, the blue deck before the student and the top cards were dealt and projected facing each of them. The standard opening moves passed in a flurry, then she looked up and caught his eyes with an amused nod. "You protest?" she coaxed.


Herrik flushed, reaching back to his prepared arguments through the distraction of the card-play. He hated her for the humiliation she had offered him, but he also feared her and wondered whether this distraction was all part of some cunning ruse. "I spoke with Master Uthar regarding the Code of the Sith, and I protest your interference, Lady. The Code says 'Through power, I gain victory. Through victory, my chains are broken. The Force shall free me.' " He motioned irritably for another card, and Eva Stood, fixing her cards in the holofield. "By exerting my power over the supplicants who make themselves my tools, I increase my strength. Strength I can wield against the Jedi and the Republic alike. My chains are broken, allowing me to do as I see fit; I say that your actions stand apart from the Code, and ask you not to interfere in the future."


His voice became heated toward the end as Herrik allowed his anger and fear to carry him where a cooler mind might fear to tread. In either case, it led him on one card too far and he bust his hand. The dealer droid began shuffling the cards, and Verlaine replied coolly, "By that interpretation I am following the Code should I decide to sever your wrists, open your stomach and leave you to stuff your intestines back inside with your bleeding stumps. It is what I will, so who is to gainsay me?" He tried to reply, but she cut him off with an impatient gesture. "What did Master Uthar have to say when you shared this... priceless insight with him? I notice he isn't here to order me away from you."


The Devaronian seemed shaken, but shook his head. "I spoke to him first, but he only said you were my trial to face. I came to my realization afterwards, on my way into Dreshdae." 


The auburn-haired Sith shook her head, yellow-green eyes intent. "You speak the Code, but you do not understand it. Your words are just words. By drawing on your strongest passions, you gain the strength you need. That strength used correctly gains you true power, not the other way around. Where is the strength in telling all-too-willing fools to stand until they die for a promise of acceptance? There is no passion, only the bored whim of a boy peeling the wings from a gol fly. When you can direct a mother to smother her children in the night, or a captain to destroy his ship with his loyal crew aboard - and know that it will be done, that is true power. You have learned nothing, gained nothing from tormenting those hapless fools. Now go, and I will find you when the moons rise."


Herrik stumbled away through the crowd and Verlaine returned to her thoughts, Pazaak cards forgotten on the table between them.

 

[Greenbriar]

It was early afternoon now, Korriban's sun blazing high in the sooty sky over monument, thriving town and Academy alike. Down in the Valley of the Dark Lords there were a handful of students learning ancient tales of power at the feet of one of the Masters, but up in the Academy's external courtyard overlooking the Valley, two figures were locked in mortal combat. The addition of a third in robes of ebon-black might suggest this was mere training to someone less aware of those they were dealing with - but among the Sith, even training can be lethal. 


Master Gavin Achruus was one of those rare beings, an ex-Jedi Master who had been taken captive and successfully turned to the dark side. Ironically Eva Verlaine had known him in both incarnations, and had been one of the trio sent to secure him. Now the fifty-year old male was showing as much arrogance as ever he had among the Jedi - clearly the taste of power the Academy had brought him appealed to the passions within him - but she took a moment to remember him convulsed in pain, trembling in fear as they brought him in to be turned. That stolen moment nearly cost her an arm, but she reversed the crimson lightsaber shoto in her left hand and caught the descending scarlet blade inches from her deltoid. She heard (and ignored) the sound of displeasure from Master Achruus, pivoting to thrust with her main weapon and smiling fiercely as her opponent danced away. 


Today she was duelling an Echani Knight in close-fitting black tunic and pants, his long hair braided and snaking down his back. His culture believed that combat was a form of communication akin to art. At its purest it was focused on the body and nothing else, but at more advanced levels could come to include weapons, armour or even Force techniques. The Sith believed that a warrior's passions should be channeled, harnessed into greater strength and prowess; the Echani believed that exposing emotions in combat made the duel a more personal thing, and that engaging in repeated sessions was a courtship of sorts. 


This was her third bout with Kahn Ji. 


"I nearly had you that time Eva," he taunted, circling slowly to his left. "Is something distracting you?" He tossed his head, letting his braid slide around and across his chest, and she laughed.


"Don't flatter yourself Kahn. You know I'm going to slice that thing off if you keep waving it around in front of me though, right?" Unwilling to let him set the tone of the fight or put her on the defensive, she began side-stepping to her left as well, the two of them circling around an empty central space, each looking for an opening.


He feinted, she countered, and they each fell back without their blades actually striking one another. She feinted left, faded right and spun in with both blades swinging for his chest. It was his turn to spin, and he brought his blade across to block both hers, then gave a Force-enhanced heave that sent her flying. Verlaine righted herself in mid-air and landed with a long dusty skid that barely left her on her feet to Kahn Ji's open amusement. "You rely too heavily on your Jar'Kai techniques, Eva. What good are two sabers when there is only one mind directing them?" 


"Stop dancing around each other and fight," Master Achruus barked. "You think your enemies on the battlefield will wait for you to bow and make all the proper courtesies before they overrun you? You each have another ten enemies coming at you - you have no time to waste!" They both started, and threw the Sith Master a startled glance. There was something... off about a Master who had refused Revan's call lecturing a veteran of the Mandalorian Wars about battlefield techniques, and Verlaine permitted herself a curl of her upper lip before focusing once more on her foe. She ran in quickly and he focused on her centre of mass; she was too experienced a foe to simply throw herself onto his blade, and at the rate she was moving he wouldn't have long to respond. Thirty metres, twenty metres, ten. At last he saw the telltale signs, felt her draw in the Force to leap. He took a step forward, braced himself as he lifted his blade to counter her reckless attack - and froze. He'd seen her leap, he had! Yet somehow she had rolled instead, and now knelt on one knee with her blades crossed against the inside of each of his knees. He looked down, stunned, and met the kindling yellow-green of her eyes. 


"Tolerable," sniffed Master Achruus.

 

[Greenbriar]

The heavy sun sank toward the horizon over Korriban, staining the buildings of Dreshdae orange-red as though with blood. By this late in the day, the locals were all heading indoors and only the few visitors who were unpopular enough not to be warned and oblivious enough not to notice the exterior and the landing bays emptying were still out and about as the Shyracks began to emerge from the caves. The bat-like avians were certainly not invincible and a more motivated government would likely have eliminated them as a threat or driven them away long-since. That was not the case on Korriban, where the Sith Academy found them an amusing test for some of their students and the people of Dreshdae found them a useful extra security measure. The doors were closed and sealed, the windows barred and shuttered and inside the port city, life went on with a unique wild verve that came of living on the Academy's doorstep. 


Since Revan had returned from his mysterious mission into the unknown, Korriban was once again thrust into the heart of an interstellar polity and for the merchants - Czerka and independent alike - that filled Dreshdae, business was very, very good. Most of the Pazaak crowd having left, The Drunk Side now played host to the businessman Ei'lanmin and his cronies celebrating a big deal with a Twi'lek consortium. The heart of the party was in the VIP room, while the rest of the dancers and diners orbit around it; the importance of each man being defined by how close he was to the centre of power. 


But when Herrik burst through the door into the Cantina, his body scored by claw-marks, he saw at a glance that there was something else going on. There were new eddies now - rippling out from his arrival - but one who could sense the Force could read the patterns as easily as a sign, could sense another centre of gravity at one of the smaller bars a few rooms away. Could scent the dark side there focused in one being, and knew he'd finally found his quarry. Over the afternoon he'd done some heavy thinking, and thought he'd finally come up with some answers to say to the other Sith that might get her off his back - but as the day wore on, he began to realize he might default just because he couldn't find the woman. How hard could it be to find one yellow-eyed woman in Sith robes? Now he was finally on her trail, and with minutes to spare before sundown. He didn't know how she'd react if he found her late, but judging by most of the Sith around here she'd thank him for saving her trouble of hunting him down just before she killed him.


He shouldered his way through the thickening crowd toward the bar room, pushing lessers of every ilk out of his path. Mostly they started to move as soon as they noticed his Academy uniform, but there were one or two who were a little too entitled (or oblivious) and had to be thrust aside by force. Not that anyone would dare challenge a Sith once the alcohol cleared and they thought about it in the morning, but there were a few fools in every group - though even he was stunned when he shoved at a young woman in a red-embroidered teal tunic, and her hand flashed up to grab his wrist. "What?" he snapped, turning to burn her to ash with his gaze and blinking when her washed-out green eyes didn't even waver. Then he did a double-take. "Lady Verlaine?" But there wasn't any sense of the dark side near her, there wasn't any sense of a Force wielder. Could he possibly be mistaken?


The woman quirked a small smile and inclined her head. "Just so. I thought I sensed you coming my way, though you certainly took your time about it." The moment held, stretched... and broke. "Do you have a better answer for me than before, or is this a social visit?" 


He flinched at that, and eyed her searchingly. It didn't look like she was armed, and he couldn't even sense the Force in her. Maybe he could cut her down now and end this... but somehow, meeting her pale green eyes, try as he might, he couldn't quite imagine it. His shoulders slumped, all his glib explanations sliding out of his mind.  "Neither, I guess. Thinking about it now, I don't know why I did it. It seemed so important, to express my power and my true nature as a Sith... but at the end of it all I was just wasting my time, trying to make myself feel more powerful than I was." He lifted his chin, finding his courage at the end. "So if you're going to kill me, you might as well get it over with." He met her eyes directly, daring her to make her move right here in the middle of the crowd. He saw the yellow bleed into her eyes, felt her Force presence touch his mind and then- she nodded. Not a big motion, there was nothing uncontrolled about Eva Verlaine (especially when she had her Force presence dampened), but it didn't seem like a prelude to cutting him down. 


"Then you did learn something, if only how much you had left to learn. That's good enough for me." A small twitch to her lips, then she inclined her head to the growing dark side presence in the other room. "One of the Acolytes has gotten out of control, and is threatening to remove our support here. The Masters find Dreshdae... useful, and anything that endangers that cannot be permitted. Care to assist me?" 


Herrik blinked at the sudden turn of affairs, and nodded to his erstwhile executioner. "Sure, what do I do?" 


She inclined her head to the doorway through which a growing hum of conversation could be heard. "Simple. Go in there, confront her and stop her from killing anyone important." Her eyes dared him to object - or to waste time - but he simply nodded and unhooked the lightsaber from his belt.


The uniformed Sith walked carefully into the other room, sidling between the crowd that gathered around a wild-eyed Sith woman in flowing robes of red and black. She was in the center of all eyes, red saber lighting up the room and three bodies at her feet. One of them looked to be a dancer, the others some kind of security, and yet the rich and the spectacle-seekers still seemed to be watching this as though it was some kind of show put on for their entertainment. "-you filth, just looking on everyone as though they're things rather than people, playthings to use and lose." She seemed to be working herself up to a fury and already her locks were beginning to rise, crackling with the energy she channeled. 


Herrik stepped into the clearing, igniting his own saber with a flick of his wrist. "Lady, you need to calm down." He said with determined courtesy. "These people have done nothing to deserve death." Not strictly true, but the crimes they were guilty of tended to support the Sith rather than harm their cause." 


"Nothing?" she yelled, raising her own saber. "Nothing?!" Her uncontrolled power built, the hair whipped around her face and she hurled a bolt of crackling Force energy at him. He blocked the first with his saber, and even the second, but as the woman filled with blind fury the power grew too much and the lightsaber exploded from his hands, whipping off into the crowd and maiming a Weequay. The lightning touched his body at last, he dropped to his knees with a scream and she stepped closer with teeth bared in a triumphant smile that suddenly opened wide in a gasp of agony. She looked down, unbelieving at the crimson blade that emerged from the chest of her robes.  


"Many things," a cold voice amended from behind her back as the ex-slave fell to her knees and she shut off her blade. Verlaine eyed the gathered dignitaries and flunkies with contempt, then curled her lip in a parody of a smile. "But these are all loyal friends of the Sith Empire, and the Sith protect their own." The irony in her voice should be apparent to anyone, but to those who so dearly need to believe it anything can be reassuring.


She reached down to help Herrik to his feet, and offered him one of her few genuine smiles as she saw the smoke coming off him. "Good work. You should get those burns seen to... and tell Master Wynn you have earned my favor." She can always kill him another day. In the meantime, he may yet be useful.

 

[HK Fifty]

Fercada arrived on Korriban a handful of hours later. In the intervening time she had accomplished two things - disciplining Sasura (in private , of course) and learning of the Soldier's name. As per the - now destroyed - Warden's crew manifest , his name was 'Yarin Veska' , a longtime veteran. The Sith Knight had decided to leave him to himself during the trip over - an Interdictor-class Cruiser wasn't any place to begin re-moulding her new Apprentice. No , the beginnings of Sith Training was a thing best left to the ancient Sith's home world of Korriban. With Commander Sasura , Yarin and two guards in tow , she arrogantly strode into the Sith Academy. Now that I have an apprentice myself , I'll be using this facility more often..

 

[folclor]

Scratch marks adorned Sasura Tek's neck, so she was grateful for her armor.  She followed behind the Sith Knight obediently, her expression unreadable.  In truth, anger burned within her at this new apprentice.  'Yarin Veska.  Yarin Veska, I hope I get to slam your face against the floor until all the bones are broken.  I'll destroy you.  You're taking my place at her side.  You won't exist very much longer.'  She would always be with Fercada.  No matter what else happened, Sasura would attend to her Knight.  This newcomer, this new apprentice, would not take that away from her.  If it wouldn't be against what Fercada wanted, the commander would take her aggression out on the man right now.

 

[(Member Left)]

Yarin was barely there as he trudged along with Sith flanking him on both sides. Everything seemed so distant and unreal, like a numbing dream. He'd never been to Korriban before, but already knew he didn't care for it. The blood red sun scorched his skin, and cast long shadows that clung to dusty rocks. To his front, the Sith woman strode with arrogance as dark robes flowed behind her, obviously pleased with her new trophy. She was followed by a trooper clad in distinguishable armor, who would glance his direction now and then. He couldn't make out the eyes, but somehow felt them stab from beyond the visor.


He felt a kick jab into his calf muscle from behind, causing him to slightly stumble. "Keep moving," the grunt to his right sneered inside his helmet.


They merged upon a tall, foreboding structure. It was littered with bodies all neatly lined up, leading toward the main entrance. 'Obviously some twisted Sith tradition,' He thought angrily to himself, before vowing to line their bodies along the same path...        

 

[Greenbriar]

"Fercada," a soft voice purred, and Verlaine emerged from the lines of traders and supplicants approaching the Academy. Never one to be too hide-bound by tradition, she was wearing her embroidered teal tunic once more though she disdained to dampen her signature in the Force. "I was watching from the window yonder, and I could hardly believe it when I saw you - and your entourage! Sasura I know," she gave the commander a tiny nod, "but guards, sister? Is your prisoner truly so dangerous, or are you worried that Master Wynn is still angry with you?" She does love baiting her friend. It was a time-honoured tradition from their days together in the Temple, though it had perhaps gained more of an edge since they had each embraced the dark side. 


Despite her remark she ignored the Arkanian's other guards and eyed the deadly dangerous prisoner instead. He certainly didn't look like much - a soldier to be sure, but she'd seen a lot of soldiers. She reached out to brush her senses over his mind... and smiled faintly. So, that was the attraction.

 

[folclor]

Sasura tensed slightly at Verlaine's appearance, but have a nod of greeting. Would she have to protect the apprentice now, too? Sith were as vultures and tended to gather when they sensed a new, untrained, Force presence. Speaking of, the Thyrsian kept her own guard up, keeping her defenses strong in case of a mental barrage from either of the powerful women before her.


Instinctively, she positioned herself in protectively, half hiding the man from Verlaine's vision. Her lord's assets would be kept at any cost. Though it was unlikely Sasura could stand a chance against the Sith, she would do her best. In fact, if she had to she would die for Fercada.

 

[HK Fifty]

Fercada heard her friend's voice well before she took the time to look at her. When she did see Eva - and her form of dress - she let a sneer cross her features. We're Sith , we shouldn't be dressing as commoners and roaming among common supplicants. The Jedi certainly don't do that! While the 'tradition' of their baiting each other - or more accurately , Eva baiting her until she was highly displeased - did go back far , today the Offshoot didn't have the time , patience or inclination to engage in it. 


Her voice was stern , if petulantly so. [COLOR=DC143C]"[/COLOR][COLOR=DC143C]You want to know why I have guards , [/COLOR][COLOR=DC143C]sister?[/COLOR][COLOR=DC143C] Because it's beneath Sasura to shove along this new apprentice of mine , and it's [/COLOR][COLOR=DC143C]certainly[/COLOR][COLOR=DC143C] beneath me. If Uthar is still displeased he can do the same as Atris always did and keep to his precious books. Maybe he can even get real WORK done on excavating the Valley of the Sith Lords , if he can stop worrying about Jorak returning to kill him. I've got an apprentice to train , so if you'd like to continue this [/COLOR][COLOR=DC143C]lovely[/COLOR][COLOR=DC143C] chat we'll have to do it inside the Academy. Let's keep going , Sasura."[/COLOR] With that she dismissively waved to her sister - an apt term , even if there was a large amount of animosity between them - and continued her arrogant stride to the Sith Academy. 

 

[Greenbriar]

Typically Fercada was dressed in her black robes and that ornately designed mask she'd found - where? It didn't look to be Mandalorian, so she hadn't followed in Revan's footsteps but that meant... had she made it herself or had she actually gone and ordered it in a store? For a moment Verlaine allowed herself to contemplate a display room filled with mass-produced Fercada-masks and the tiniest smile touched her lips before she pushed it away. It was as though her friend were so caught up in announcing to the world around her that she was Sith, that she missed the chance to discover what that truly meant for herself. It was sad in a way, but Verlaine had long since reconciled herself to the fact that not everything her friend did would be to her liking. Wasn't that kind of acceptance what friends were for?


She chuckled softly and threw the stranger a more curious look. Sasura had done a reasonable job at masking him from her sight - but any of her subtle work in that direction was thrown aside by Fercada's use of the a-word. "Apprentice indeed?" she asked in surprise and fell in beside the Knight. "Sister dear, I never thought I'd see the day. Didn't you once say you'd never let yourself become your old Master?" She threw a glance over her shoulder, meeting his eyes and reaching out to trail mental fingers over Yarin's mind. He didn't look like much in his battered and dirty uniform, but his mind gleamed dimly. For a moment she sensed an odd sort of echo but it was swiftly gone. "You know that sort of talk is why he wants you dead, don't you? It wouldn't kill you to show him some respect." It might kill Uthar once Fercada decided he was better dead - but then Master Wynn was still a force to be reckoned with even if more of his time these days was spent on politics than the pursuit of power. It would take underhanded treachery or a force mightier than either of them alone to bring him down... and Jorak Uln was no longer mighty enough to be that force.


"So how long are you back for this time, sister?" Verlaine had been here for over a week, and though she'd grudgingly agreed to Master Wynn's request to teach some of the students she could feel herself growing restless. Much longer here and she would start looking for trouble rather than simply dealing with it when she found it. She paced restlessly by Fercada's side, and the whole passed in through the Academy's main gate. There was a cursory effort to stop and check them, but an absent wave from Verlaine passed the guards and prisoner through - and no one would think of challenging as open a Sith as Fercada was, or the renowned warrior who fought by her side. "Hopefully long enough to turn some of the stuffy old gizka on their heads?"

 

[folclor]

Sasura followed behind, keeping a close eye on Verlaine. If she had a way to protect the man's mind from prying she certainly would, but that was beyond her. She listened to the idle chatter, wondering if she should finally do as she'd always wanted to Verlaine. While being waved past the guards tempered her desire, she was certain Fercada could've handled it on her own. Yes, today she would finally do what she'd dreamed of.


Making sure her movements were casual and minimal, as if she were simply readjusting the weapon slung over her shoulder, she reached out with the Force, attempting to catch just the tip of Verlaine's toes as she began to take a step. If she succeeded, it would look (and possibly feel) like the Sith had tripped, though there was nothing to trip on. Behind the visor Sasura smirked, hoping her little stunt worked.

 

[(Member Left)]

The young woman that approached, didn't seem like the average Sith he'd encountered already. Maybe it was the fact that she'd chosen to bear some color in her attire, but it wasn't exactly that...he chose not to pursue the impression any deeper. Sith were all the same to him.


Her unusual eyes caught his, and he felt an unwelcome force probing his senses. 'Go ahead' he thought out, hoping the words would reach her. 'I dare you to feel what I feel...' 


The invasion broke off, and he wasn't sure if that disappointed him or not.


There was an exchange of words between the two Sith, and it was unclear whether they wanted to kill each other or hug it out. Knowing the Sith, it would likely be a vile mixture of both. Yarin took a moment to notice the personal guard tense up, and that amused him. The social interactions of Sith were as fascinating as they were predictable. It wasn't hard to figure out the motives of a bunch of people who'd kill each other for one thing... It made him ponder whether or not they even knew why they wanted it in the first place...

 

[HK Fifty]

Truthfully , Fercada had forgotten she had put on her mask today. By this point it had become so routine she scarcely realized she was wearing it , somtimes waking up to find it strapped to her face. Just as the mask clipped to her belt a snarl formed at the mention of her former master - who she never thought of by name anymore. That Jedi traitor isn't worth thinking of by name , for all his passionless detachment. An overwhelming urge to strike Eva welled up in her , but unlike Sasura , her Sister wouldn't have allowed her to show her displeasure in that fashion. 


The mention of Uthar wanting her dead only deepened the snarl. [COLOR=DC143C]"Don't mention my old master again unless you'd like me to start slaughtering traders. I said I won't become my old master and I'm staying to that. Does anything about me seem passionless and apathetic like that old fool was? I swear if you answe yes I'll slit your throat.."[/COLOR] Fercada took a moment to laugh in dismissal before she continued. [COLOR=DC143C]"Respect to Uthar? I'll respect him when he starts showing power. Ever since he rid himself of Jorak - and didn't even succeed in killing him - he's buried himself in politics. That's not a Sith , that's a [/COLOR][COLOR=DC143C]Jedi[/COLOR][COLOR=DC143C]"[/COLOR]


Just before she was going to answer the query on how long she was going to be there , she noticed her friend trip ever so slightly. She didn't notice that Sasura had reached out with the force , or else she would've had more than a few questions. A cheerful laugh preceded an answer , given with a much less displeased tone than before. "I'll be staying as long as it takes to get my new Apprentice to be an actual Sith and not a Jedi toy. Certainly enough time to show some of the Politicians here how a real Sith runs things. Speaking of which , we seemed to have entered. It's a shame you made a fool of yourself in front of the guards , isn't it?" Both Eva and Sasura would know her well enough to know she did have a sarcastic side , and seeing her friend - or anyone - embarrass themselves tended to activate it , at least since she became a Sith Knight.

 

[Greenbriar]

Passionless and apathetic? Associating the words with Fercada was a laughable thought, but that wasn't what spurred Verlaine to smile. Her master, her superiors, the Jedi... her sister's touchpoints were as raw as ever, for all the Corellian's work to dull them. It was for her own good, so she kept telling herself - but in the privacy of her mind she admitted to herself that it was also highly enjoyable. That was when her toes caught and she began to tip forward; recovering her balance a hairsbreadth from falling full-length. Her eyes blazed yellow-green at her friend's laughter and flicked toward the guards at the main entrance who were very carefully minding their own affairs. By strength of main will she pushed down her temper and by the time she looked back at Fercada she was able to muster a laugh of her own. "Given the countless centuries Sith have walked here, it would be more of a surprise if the floor were even everywhere - but it's never fun to play the fool, no." With the channels of her mind filled with cold ice rather than fiery magma, she went back over the fall. The sudden pressure against her toes. The touch of...


Well. That was interesting.


The earthfast was one of the favourite childhood tricks of the young initiates at the Corellian Jedi Enclave, and one Eva had brought with her to the Jedi Temple. She'd taught it to others in her class - including Fercada during their time together there - but it was no great secret. Her first thought was that the light touch had been her friend seeking direct reprisal for the needling Verlaine had applied, but that didn't match her character. Deception and Fercada were passing acquaintances at best, and she couldn't imagine her trying to slip that by her or acting so innocent afterwards. So if not her friend, then... maybe the apprentice? Without turning around, she considered her brief glimpse of the man and the touch of his mind. The aching fury and pain she'd sensed roiling there. No; he might be weak, but if the man had tried anything he'd have tried to kill her. Which left... Drawing back on her power to the finest mist, she let it drift back to cover the Sith Officer. Too light to sense her emotion, let alone her thoughts. Just enough to determine if there is anything there to sense at all.


Well. That was very interesting.


"That sounds like a laudable goal sister; certainly someone needs to make a change around here, and I've been here long enough that they've started to tire of me killing people." In a good cause of course, but why let the facts get in the way of a good story? "I understand Darth Malak has sent through a list of targets, so they'll likely be getting me off world as soon as they can." She shot Fercada an amused look, "I hear such stories about the bloody swathe you and your troopers have been leaving through the ranks of the loyalists. I miss our time together on Dxun and Serroco, sister - if I can't have you fighting by my side, can I borrow some of your troopers? Three or four of your best, and it would be almost like old times." It went without saying that the close band of soldiers Verlaine had gathered around herself during the Wars were all dead now, lost on Malachor V. 

 

[folclor]

The smirk was instantly wiped from Sasura's features at Verlaine's request. However, though her jaw was set and her lips fitness a thin line, she couldn't imagine Fercada sending her away. No, she knew the Offshoot much too well. After all, if she was gone who would be her stress relief? Who would the Knight talk to?


In the back of her mind the Thyrsian sensed she had messed up, but her conscious mind would not allow that musing. No, what she had done was so incredibly small that it would make no sense to go looking. After all, surely Verlaine thought it a fault in the floor. No, she was smarter than that. The commander's features took on a dark, worried expression. Sasura thought, for the first time in all her service to the Sith, that maybe she'd been found out.


She knew what was next. She wouldn't be allowed to continue her duties normally, she'd be taken away from Fercada and given to someone else... And the Sith, she knew, were as much slavers as the Jedi. Even if Fercada didn't see it her commander did. Would she resign herself to that fate?


There had to be a way out of this...

 

[(Member Left)]

Yarin observed as the one they were calling 'Verlaine' stumbled slightly, and he also noted the instinctive jolt that centered her balance again. Somebody was obviously playing 'force pranks'...It amazed him, how the Sith could possess all that power and resort to wielding it as a child would a toy. These were the people that wanted to have authority over the entire galaxy... 


Her angry eyes darted from one individual to the next, trying to pinpoint the source of the disturbance. They landed on him, and seemed puzzled for a moment. He returned a dark look, unafraid of masking his intentions. Jokes were not exactly his forte, and he certainly wouldn't resort to using the force for anything. The thought of being even slightly sensitive to it sickened him to his core. To Yarin it was no better than Slick, and the Sith were just filthy addicts... They'd sell out every moral they'd ever had for more, and seemed completely unable to live without it. The whole idea was repulsive to him... 


The doors of the structure before them yawned open, revealing darkness beyond. He felt it swallow him as they all entered, and the outside world left behind them...

 

[HK Fifty]

Fercada's face breifly took a quizzical expression. Why would the Sith being on Korriban have anything to do with the floor being intact? It couldn't be because Sith fought with each other frequently -  why would they ever betray each other? No , it had to be because of the Jedi , always arriving to crush any freedom another being gained. The Sith , they were liberators , giving oppressed peoples freedom and brining their oppressors to the justice they deserved. A scowl slowly formed in her features as she thought more and more about the Jedi. 


The Offshoot , being in somewhat of a reverie , failed to notice Eva reaving out with the force - or the Corellian's gaze being cast about. Her sister's words brought her back to awareness , nodding slightly in the fashion of one who wasn't paying much attention. Yes , I enjoyed Dxun and Serroco as well. But it's your fault for getting involved in all these politics - I'd have gladly fought with you! She wasn't going to respond with words until a favor - as she saw it - was asked of her. "Take your pick of the Commandos and the Troopers. Just don't take Sasura - she's my commander , after all. She's needed to continue running the army. Perhaps when Yarin here is a true Sith and not a simpering traitor , it can be exactly like 'old times'." Fercada walked through the main academy doors with a triumphant smile , walk mirroring the expression. Despite how much she had disliked the training - and Uthar - she had to admit there was a rush of power (or Darkness , if you weren't a Sith) as one walked through the ancient structure's doors. 

 

[Greenbriar]

In truth it didn't matter who called the place home - thousands of years of occupation had a way of wearing at even the hardest stone floor, though the occasional Jedi incursion had left its mark. Verlaine hadn't turned her head while reaching out her senses before, but she did now; turning to give Sasura a direct look with no trace of a smile. "My thanks, sister. Commander, I will come by your unit's quarters this evening. I am perfectly capable of making my own selection, but I am prepared to listen to your advice if Fercada can spare you for a few minutes then." There was nothing in her tone to suggest she was anything other than satisfied with her friend's offer, and she turned to face the sullen human captive. She curled her lip slightly as she met the murderous look in his eyes. "Listen to your Master and learn both well and quickly," she advised. "She belongs with the fleet, bringing new worlds under the shadow of the Sith. She is wasted here, as she - and you - will find." Her sister tended toward honesty and openness in her feelings, so when she felt frustrated she shared her frustration with anyone within reach. Especially if they lay within her power.


But his fate was his own responsibility, and certainly not Verlaine's concern. She turned back to Fercada as the dark shadows within the Academy filled her and gave a rare unguarded smile of rich satisfaction. "Welcome home, sister. I hope you find all that you seek, and that your student helps you prove all your arguments on the proper way to train a Sith." She'd certainly heard them often enough; the Sith Masters were certainly paranoid enough to have heard them, even if the Offshoot hadn't occasionally challenged them on their teachings directly.


No one would ever accuse Fercada of blindly accepting authority ever again.

 

[folclor]

Sasura maintained her composure.  "Very well."  She sincerely hoped Fercada needed her as a stress relief again tonight.  Something about Verlaine rubbed her the wrong way.  Either way, she stuck close to Fercada and her new apprentice.  At the same time, the Thyrsian couldn't deny that Verlaine's statements concerning where Fercada belonged were true.  The Knight belonged at the front.  Her battle prowess and intellect would be best used bringing new worlds under Sith control.  'Shadow, though...  I know this is the Dark Side of the Force, but must we keep with this mindset?'  Were she not on duty, Sasura would've shook her head, but that could be seen as disrespect.

 

[HK Fifty]

Fercada grew more impatient and annoyed with the banter , walking faster and outdistancing the others by a bodylength. "I'd like to have her by my side , but I suppose I can spare her for.. Oh , ten minutes? She'll have to be by my side immediately after those minutes are over , though." More than anything , she said that to cease her sister's banter about wanting soldiers and long ago times. After all , she hadn't come to Korriban to reminisce. No , I'm on this blasted political nest to train my apprentice and prove that I have the power now.


Since the Offshoot had outdistanced the others , she didn't hear Eva's message to her new apprentice. If she had , it was likely she'd have reacted with displeasure over anyone (even her sister) presuming to speak for her or predict her path - though she'd definitely have agreed she belonged on the front. Already basking in the dark side , the comment about showing the proper way to train a Sith widened the triumphant expression she had worn since entering through the ancient doors.


Feeling as if she had conquered the Galaxy , her voice colored with triumph. "Yes , Yarin and I will prove the points they only wished they'd have listened to when we first started. They'll have to see that my way is the proper way or they're the same as the Jedi - and we both know Revan and Malak wouldn't tolerate any of their soldiers acting like traitors." If they didn't accept her ideas now , she'd force them to. She wasn't going to come back a master and have her ideas ignored once again - not without someone paying for it , anyway. 

 

[(Member Left)]

"She is wasted here, as she - and you - will find." He heard her speak down to him, though not without a sense of recognition. She obviously felt the rage trying to tear out of him. In his mind, he'd been killing them over and over. There wasn't a thing in the galaxy that could make him happy, but he'd settle for this. These were the only reveries keeping him sane, though he knew that in itself was insanity. There was a hole in him somewhere...a void of blackness. He had room to fill that void with something, and he'd take anything...


He wanted to answer her back, but couldn't find the clarity to speak...She'd planted a thought, and it was sinking in. From here, it would only grow. He knew what he would have to become if he wanted to rid the galaxy of the Sith. The Jedi, too.


"Yes , Yarin and I will prove the points they only wished they'd have listened to when we first started."


Yarin found himself laughing inside. 'That we will, though I have a different point to prove.'

 

[Greenbriar]

Verlaine watched her sister outdistance the others, smiling after her with an odd expression that combined both affection and pity. There were few in the galaxy that could draw either emotion from her now, but Fercada had always been one since her first days struggling for acceptance in the Jedi Temple. Not acceptance from the Jedi - though that order had grown traditionalist and hidebound, falling far from its original purpose - but acceptance from herself, as a Jedi. So it was that the young Arkanian offshoot had fought her own self-perception and then - as now - when she grew uncomfortable with a conversation she would simply leave it. Though she had less followers trailing her back then, willing and otherwise.


As her friend was so keen to out-distance her for now, the auburn-haired Sith simply allowed it. A quick expressionless glance across the guards, their commander and her erstwhile apprentice - still blazing with a scarcely suppressed rage - and she slipped away down another of the side passages that led ever deeper into the warren that was the Sith Academy on Korriban. She would be leaving soon, so it was time to hone her edge with another bout with Kahn Ji; if the Echani Weaponsmaster wasn't already occupied of course. The Masters of the Academy often pitted their advanced students against him before their graduation, if only to teach the arrogant younglings how much they still had to learn. By now Kahn knew most of her tricks - if they didn't have Master Achruus looking on and fuelling her anger, could she still hold her own? It could be entertaining to find out.

 

[HK Fifty]

Fercada confidently strutted onwards , appearing as an Aristocrat overseeing their domain. It wasn't clear whether she was apathetic or oblivious to her sister leaving , but what was very clear was how very pleased she felt. Soon enough all this.. Weakness around me will be replaced by the strength of MY way of doing things..  After a while , the party arrived at the door to Uthar's quarters. The Knight motioned for her entourage to halt before she practically slammed the door controls. 


As it wasn't locked , the door slowly hissed open. Before it had time to open fully , the smaller Offshoot had already entered the room , motioning for Sasura and the two large troopers to wait until she signaled to follow her. As always , Uthar was sitting and poring over his books - which shifted Fercada's features into a sneer. A similar tone carried into her voice as she spoke. "Master Uthar.. I need all your training facilities available for my use immediately. Not as an apprentice , or a knight , but a master. In case you were to absorbed in your books and didn't sense it , I've got an apprentice now. You may want to pay attention to what I do with him - you'll be making some changes to your archaic training routines , I'm sure." 


If the politically inclined master took offense , he didn't show it - in fact , he scarcely looked up from what appeared to be Pre-Hyperpsace war Sith manuscripts. "Indeed? We shall see.. Yes , you have use of the training facilities. Go now and prove that your methods are as superior as you claim." 


Oh yes , I'll prove it. I'm already on YOUR level , and soon enough I'll be beyond it. Despite herself , the sneer shifted into a smile as she exited. The door closed behind her as she motioned for Sasura and Yarin's escort to continue following. Under her breath (though loud enough to hear) she could be heard muttering to herself. "The old fool didn't even look up from his books , but at least he accepts I have the power now. What to start with.." The Sith Knight was all too eager to begin training her apprentice , but she had far too many ideas - she had been thinking of proper ways to train students since her days as a Jedi Padawan - to sort through before that could begin in earnest. 

 

[Greenbriar]

When at last she found him, Kahn Ji was occupied with a graduating class. Seven young Humans, a Twi'lek and an Aqualish stood around him in matching black tunics with training sabers. In their midst, the Echani had only a force pike but as each of them lunged at him in turn he slapped aside their blades and gave them a sharp blow to their ribs or thigh. She could sense their anger building apace with their humiliation; they were supposed to be Sith, the lords of the galaxy! They had completed their lessons, weren't they now supposed to be equal to anything out there, slicing through the defenders of the Republic like so many cattle? And here was this lone white-haired man showing each of them up in turn. He wasn't even sweating! A few thrown glances around the chamber and two attacked him at once. When he threw them back, one struck at him from behind. A second - no, a third! Kahn Ji flowed as fluidly as water around and between them, luring them into the path of one another's blows and adding his own as interest to spare. Verlaine simply watched from her shadowed corner as nine of them, the entire graduating class came at him and somehow, inexplicably he stayed two steps ahead of them. Finally one, a dark-haired woman in her late twenties, tired of the rhythmic blows and threw a bolt of lightning directly at his back - and the Echani Weaponmaster began to show them the true meaning of speed.


Verlaine left him to his own entertainment - it would be a sorely chastised band of young Sith who would leave Korriban on the morrow, but they would be all the better for it and their more realistic sense of their own abilities might even give them time to learn and improve. But if not, there would always be another class. Always be more young aspirants willing to submit their will, their very being for the chance to be Sith. Precious few would ever realize what it truly meant - they would be mad dogs for the most part, slaves to their passions to be unleashed and set on the Empire's prey to rend and tear. But even the stilettos of the Sith needed honing, and in the absence of her preferred sparring partner Verlaine made her way to the training room to try her hand against baser metals. The Sith Training Master running the chamber today scarcely seemed surprised at another woman in charcoal robes coming to join them, but one of the dueling students startled visibly. It wasn't a big enough gap in his saber pattern that his partner managed to land a blow, but Herrik was definitely aware of her approach to the Master and kept his eye on her.


"Training Master," she greeted him with a nod, and drew a second glance from him. 


"Lady," he said with belated courtesy. "You do not move like a student in need of my lessons." 


"Do I not?" Verlaine smiled, though the gesture came nowhere near her eyes. "Perhaps so. Yet still I wish to train today. Set me a combat slave." 


There was a sudden hush among those who heard. This was... unusual to say the least. Only the weakest of students were set to train against the force-blind combat slaves until they improved and the loss of prestige was considerable. For a Sith trained and veteran? "As you wish," the man replied weakly; Master of the training room, but no Sith Master he. Two of his attendants went to a cage and dragged out a captive Republic trooper still wearing his stained uniform. The almond-eyed man bore the bruises of a few days' training duty with the students, but was still whole in both mind and body. He was trained with the blade as well, which may at least be able to give her something to measure herself against. Looking at her silently poised form, they handed the man a cortosis-weave blade and pushed him into the open space at the heart of the room. 


Automatically the trooper looked around him for an escape, some way out of the certain death that would doubtless claim him sooner or later but it seemed a rote gesture. Already the brooding weight of Korriban was having its effect on him, and he understood that there would be no escape from the Sith or his new destiny as their chattel. He turned back toward his training partner and lifted his blade as she let the robe slip from her shoulders and pool to the floor. She looked like any of his other partners to date, a fit young woman in black battle tunic with gleaming yellow-green eyes. Yet as she lifted her hands and an actual live lightsaber sprang to crimson life, he realized the full depth of his peril. This was no mere student. 


When outmatched do the unexpected, and so the trooper stepped forward with his blade in a high guard. Surely no Sith would ever willingly back down from a forceblind enemy, and if he could just pin her against the onlookers, maybe he could- The chance was lost as Verlaine stepped forward in her turn, blazing light lifting to shove his blade out of alignment before flicking up her tip and searing off his nose. The darker-skinned man screamed and brought one hand up to cover the mangled, melted mess that remained in the middle of his face and thrust out his blade to fend her off and buy him some time. No such luck however, as the Sith stepped past him again. This time she severed his right wrist with near-surgical precision and his blade clattered to the stone floor still in the grip of his spasming fingers. Another scream filled the training room, and the last of the dueling students stilled to watch. The trooper backed away, thrusting his hand out towards her then snatching it back when she lifted her blade. 


"Please..." he said, gasping. "I don't want to die!" 


He kept backing away as Verlaine closed, pivoted and ran her energy blade through his chest. To the last her eyes stay fixed on his, seeing the astonished pain, the fear, and the final loss of hope as he gave up and slumped limply to the floor. 


"Everybody dies," she murmured, then threw a stare at the Training Master. "Set me another."