Public A Large Pile Of Sith Books On Fire

[Drane T'keen]

Of course, neither being needed the other within these ruins, though having an extra pair of hands just might suit the Sith’s own purposes. He had a datapad, could always transfer the map over one way or the other, and even if there was an objection to exploration it wouldn’t have mattered.

However, he had just escaped this blizzard which was only getting heavier and colder. The ruins were as decrepit as the books, taken by age and elements, with broken floors, corridors and roofs, so perhaps it was best for Drane to wait in the end. That structure would.

“Ten in the morning, hey?” He spotted a crate, empty, and repurposed it for a seat. “I think I could do with some warm sleep through the evening come to think of it. Ah, what’s this?”

Sitting far enough away to levitate a book to him, with a grey metallic cover, Drane ran a finger across the inscribed title. “The Knight & The A.I. A tale by Jorge RR Molkin.” He opened to the first page. “It’s...more or less intact. Fancy that.”

 

[Saga Merrill]

"I was about to remark on a Sith warrior reading fiction...but then again, so much of tonight's fuel is fictitious. As I said, you're welcome to rest here for the night. I estimate that the continued presence of your body in this space will keep the ambient temperature an average of point-five degrees warmer across thirty percent of the room, extending the room's expected utility by up to twenty-three minutes. If you have any Sith techniques to keep your body heat up, they could produce compounding returns."

Left unsaid, for the moment, was how Saga worried that the deep blizzard would outlast the fire tomorrow. His shuttle was parked (and doubtless snowed in) far enough away that reaching it before he froze solid was a dubious prospect.

An idea struck him. He began unrolling the remaining scrolls and wrapping them around himself as something like clothes.

Drane T'keen

 

[Drane T'keen]

Drane didn’t even attempt to strain his brain with the mathematics of his metallic friend. The Sith did know the practice of using the Force for warmth but he wasn’t terribly freezing, especially with the fire, and decided to focus on his reserves when he might actually lie down to sleep. Truthfully, his contemporary wasn’t his problem.

On the other hand, the droid looked ready to take a hot oil bath, and the amount of scrolls over his person, and how effective they were, was itself a rather dubious prospect.

“So...I guess the anger and the hatred of the dark side comes alive in the heat of paper... Cozy, sir?”

Though the only ‘Sir’ within this silver story beneath the Sith’s fingertips was that aforementioned Knight. Whatever, with it still too early for his tastes to call it in, Drane began reading the book out loud.

“It was a dark and stormy night when the Sith Knight opened the door to the tavern. There was a wench in a corner and a roaring fire at the back, and a bartender who looked like a porcupine with a mustache.”

Saga Merrill

 

[Saga Merrill]

Powering down had its risks, but Saga wished he could sleep. Instead he let his mind go blank by clearing just about everything in his task manager. He listened to the story and watched the fire, and that was how he spent the next while.

The night grew deeper, but not much colder. The fire's longevity and core temperature variance remained consistent with modeling. Though he kept his weapon close at hand, he felt something approximating safety.

"You should rest," he said eventually. "I promise not to use you as firewood."

Drane T'keen

 

[Drane T'keen]

As time passed, Drane relayed the tale of the Knight and his adventure from the tavern; from the night and into the morning; encountering bandits and finally the AI, but the story ended that moment.

There were some ruined pages, some missing pages, and the Knight within the ruins was beginning to lose his warmth. The droid’s voice, then, was quite timely.

“Well it would certainly be one way to keep me from freezing at least.”

Drane gazed into the flames, wondering that if he was put within the pit then what kind of arcane fumes would his own body and spirit produce? Perhaps I’d simply snap, crackle and pop like that blasted holocron.

Destroyed, courtesy of the droid, if inadvertently. Still, there might be others, just not in this stockpile. “I will take your advice and call it a night. Feel free to sing me to sleep with a lullaby.”

At that, and having no scrolls to blanket him against the cold, Drane simply lay back, using the Force for his warmth. Whether he was kidding or not, the droid’s response ought to be amusing either way, before Drane would fall asleep, if keeping one eye open just in case.

Saga Merrill

 

[Saga Merrill]

The blizzard broke unexpectedly around six in the morning. Wrapped in scrolls for insulation, carrying a smoldering grimoire as a torch, and bearing a knapsack of ancient droid-factory databanks, Saga departed. Drane T'keen would wake to a still-warm fire, a dozen assorted un-burned things, and one small, dusty Sith holocron.

It was cube-shaped and bore a swirling purple symbol reminiscent of the sigil of the Eye, leader of the Nihil over a thousand years ago. The Nihil hadn't been Forcers, but their ethos, impact, and remnants could well have influenced the Sith of later years. Perhaps a Nihil marauder had been Force-sensitive and learned the ways of the Sith. The information within holocrons was, of course, barred to Saga, so he hadn't been able to inquire, even when he became curious. But that was a problem for another day. Right now, Saga was finally, finally getting off Thule.

 

[Drane T'keen]

Drane slept as silently as these ruins had been before they were awakened, before someone had stepped through the doorway, and another had entered after. Who would have thought that their chance encounter would be that of a navigator droid and a Thyrsian Sith? Yet it happened.

Amid his slumber, Drane T’keen was disturbed by visions, taken by dreams, one of which was about that Knight and that A.I. He never finished the story, but somehow his mind did it for him. It did not have a happy ending.

When he awoke, he couldn’t remember the whole vision, only bits and pieces. He saw the fire, still alive, but no droid in sight. He spied tales of darksiders, paths to the dark side, stairs to climb, and an illusion the next moment.

No. It’s real. He did not recognize the symbol. Not yet. He did, however, recognize a holocron that was intact as it fell into his hand. Unbroken. Unbent. Unbowed. It fit his grip, as if it was made for Drane, but he would wait.

“Thank you,” he offered to the wind, the blizzard, and the phantom of a metallic contraption that had once shared his presence. “For the conversation too.”

The droid had a curious if sophisticated A.I. which had helped distract him from the elements. Alone again, the Knight got up and gazed into his prize as if his mind could peer inside. What are you hiding from me? He pocketed his possession and went ahead.

There were more secrets to explore, a holocron to unlock with the Force, while the fire behind him began to die, and the cold claimed the chamber, and Drane made his way to learn and discover, undisturbed.

Maybe, if his dreams could be believed, the Knight and the A.I. would meet again.

Saga Merrill