Ancient Truths

[Vrak Nashar]

[member="Athena Heron"]

"You're welcome." Vrak said simply.

The spirit was gone from what he could tell, leaving only the final door. That was easy enough though. The thing was made of stone, and he had a lightsaber. It didn't take very long to figure out exactly what he would be doing as soon as Athena moved away.

"You can get new ones." He told her about the clothes. "There are plenty around the galaxy."

He had his servants make most of his clothes, but he didn't know how Athena did it.

 

[Athena Heron]

[member="Vrak Nashar"]

She hmphed and slowly stood, easing herself back up the stone-wall. The smooth black-hilt of her own lightsaber fell to her hand as if she could read Vrak's thoughts. Maybe she could.

"It'll go faster if we're both working at it."

A sly-look briefly crossed blue-features as she thumbed the ignition. A molten-plasma blade erupted to life. With a swift thrust, it slid into the rock and began slicing downward and to the right. He could get the left.

 

[Vrak Nashar]

[member="Athena Heron"]

Vrak did just that.

He stabbed the crimson blade into the smooth rock, one end of the saber-staff remaining free as he quickly began to carve through the stone. There was a loud hiss as the two Sith sliced their way through the heavy rock, molten stone slowly falling to the ground just in front of them as they cut. Eventually the two semicircles met, and the lightsabers were retrieved. For a second Vrak glanced at Athena, and then the flat of his palm moved forward.

Slowly the force pressed forward, the massive door shaking for a second, and then the carved circle pressing forward.

It fell onto the ground before them, leaving a huge gap within the stone door. The edges of it glowed with a bright red light, the inside of the crypt bearing no light save for what flooded in from the still dark crag Athena and Vrak were standing in. "Not so difficult."

He said as he picked up the torch.

 

[Athena Heron]

[member="Vrak Nashar"]

"For now, " she agreed and followed closely behind his red form as they entered the small tunnel of rock. The sides were already mostly cooled, still, she took care not to brush up against them. The last thing she needed was burns to her torn dress.

The radius of his torch cast a glow around a small pedestal in the center of the room. The room was also small, the size of a shuttle's cockpit. On the pedestal was a small metallic-looking cube, suspended in the air by a blueish light. Quick,tall footsteps took her closer to investigate.

 

[Vrak Nashar]

[member="Athena Heron"]

Vrak slowly approached the holocron, his eyes set on the cube. His lips thinned slightly as he wandered closer.

It was odd for the device to be a cube, Sith Holocrons were ordinari-"This isn't it."

Vrak suddenly declared as he stopped a foot away from the device. He frowned, looking towards Athena and then glancing around the room before once again settling his eyes on the small device. This wasn't right. The shape wasn't correct, the aura was...it was of the light. His lips thinned, feeling the same odd pinpricks across his skin that he had felt near Taheera and the other Jedi. His lips thinned as he cast his eyes towards Athena. Did she know?

"This isn't Tulak Hord's Holocron." It couldn't be.

Hord had been Sith, one of the greatest Sith in the galaxy. Nothing he made could have been of the light. Nothing.

 

[Athena Heron]

[member="Vrak Nashar"]

"Hmm," she mused. Fingers spread toward the object then stopped abruptly as if burned. The lightside. Her mind began putting the details together, just as Vrak did, or had. This was no sith's. But what was it?

Lips thinned and with a grimace, she quickly plucked the object out of the light and slipped it into a purse-like bag that sat on her hip. She was a scholar. Didn't matter if it was light or dark. If she could learn about her enemies, she would. Even if it meant finding a creative way to open it.

She whirled to the pureblood.

"Did you know about this?"

Curiosity mixed with accusatory in her hawk-like orbs.

 

[Vrak Nashar]

[member="Athena Heron"]

"No." The word was rife with irritation and anger. A lightside holocron did absolutely nothing for him. He could not open it, he could not learn from it, he could do next to nothing with it. The things had been crafted for use by Jedi and that meant they only responded to the lightside of the force, something that Vrak was incapable of using.

A scowl set on his lips.

"That thing." He pointed to the holocron. "Is useless to me."

Even if he wanted to use it Vrak wouldn't be able to. There were several Jedi Holocron's within his estate back home, but all of them had sat unused and untouched for thousands of years precisely because no one could open them. Returning them to the Jedi was of course, impossible, and thus they had simply sat there. Adding another one to the collection didn't at all seem like a good idea to him, and in truth he could already feel rage swelling in his chest.

"Might as well destroy it." In an instant the force flared up around him.

 

[Athena Heron]

[member="Vrak Nashar"]

"You will do no such thing," she hissed, angling her body so the holocron in the bag at her side was away from Vrak. Lightsaber hilt slid easily to her palm, thumb itching to turn on the switch. Eyes narrowed. "It will be useful to me and I'm keeping it."

Line drawn.

"Now step aside before I make you step aside."

Of course, the way they'd come was blocked. She was confident enough that she'd find another way out with or without his help. She had memories of that sith spirit still swirling in her head.

 

[Vrak Nashar]

[member="Athena Heron"]

"How?" He asked when said it would be useful.

It was a Jedi Holocron, meaning thing opening it was just as impossible for her as it was for him. He was Pureblood, so the darkside was ingrained within him through and through, but she was Sith as well. The darkside came from her as did her breath. Holocrons weren't simple devices, they couldn't be fooled by simple tricks. To open them you needed a Jedi, or at least one who had not touched the darkside. That was a simple truth, and meant that Athena either had a Jedi ally, or something similar.

"You can't open it." He told her plainly. "So why bother?"

The force still rushed from him.

It was clear that this device posed more of a threat than a benefit to Vrak.

 

[Athena Heron]

[member="Vrak Nashar"]

She took a step forward. He was blocking the entrance. She would not be stalled or delayed. Lightsaber hilt still weighed down her hand. The darkside seeped through her lithe form. Tiny-flecks of gold began to dot her dark orbs.

"I do not need to open it."

She took another, intimidating step forward.

"All I NEED to do is find a silly, little Jedi to do the work for me. Simple, really." And it was. She was an illusionist. She was confident in her ability to do that. And if that didn't work? Well, there were other methods of persuasion. Much more violent methods.

All she needed was a little Jedi toy.

 

[Vrak Nashar]

[member="Athena Heron"]

He considered for a few more moments. "Where do you suppose you'll find this Jedi?"

Theories were all well and good, but practice was another thing.

"They don't exactly sit around and wait to be scooped up." He pointed out. "Not to mention some wouldn't even know how to open the device."

He spoke with logic. "Corrupting them won't work either."

Then they wouldn't be able to open the holocron.

 

[Athena Heron]

[member="Vrak Nashar"]

Power crackled around her like electricity. Feathers ruffled within her hair. "There are reports of Jedi venturing out from the alliance. Solo missions. Some healers stationed in remote villages. They would be the...easiest. And corruption?"

She offered a cruel smile.

"They will not be corrupted until after the work is done."

Of course, she wouldn't intentionally corrupt anyone. If they turned to anger of their own accord based on her persuasion methods...then that was their problem. But by the time she was through with them? Their brain would be like soup anyway. So it really didn't matter.

"Move or I will make you," she repeated one last time.

 

[Vrak Nashar]

[member="Athena Heron"]

"Why?" Vrak asked. Knowledge was by many estimations, power. There was no question that those who knew the most usually ended up in the greatest position of power. Vrak knew this, he came from a family of Historians.

Jedi knowledge however was different.

There was no way to use it, not properly anyway. He shifted slightly and moved just in front of the holocron to stand before her. He doubted Athena would ever use this knowledge against him, she couldn't, but the lightside of the force wasn't to be trusted. "Leave it in my care."

He told her.

"Find your Jedi." It was a simple task really. "Then return here."

They would do this together or not at all.

 

[Athena Heron]

[member="Vrak Nashar"]

"No," she growled. It was simple; she didn't trust him. Sure, he'd freed her from that pendent, but it certainly hadn't been to help her. A finger flicked forward and she sent a raw and powerful force push at his chest, teeming with the darkside.

Molten-blade erupted to life in her hand. Eyes glowed yellow.

"You would destroy it the moment I left. I don't trust you Vrak Nashar."

To be fair, she did warn him to move. Twice.

 

[Vrak Nashar]

[member="Athena Heron"]

Vrak shifted slightly as the force was thrown towards him. His free hand shot up almost immediately and returned the gesture. His palm flattened and pushed out, the force crashing against his own wave. Dust and dirt went flying.

He didn't budge, nor did he activate his lightsaber just yet. "I've given you no reason to distrust me."

It was true that he wanted the holocron destroyed, but if she thought she could open it then at the very least it would serve as an opportunity for a moment of entertainment. Jedi weren't exactly the most clever beings, and perhaps Athena could manipulate one to actually do as she pleased.

If so he'd enjoy watching that.

"I saved you from that spirit." Never-mind the fact that he had first thrown her into the clutches of that thing, but such details hardly mattered in situations such as this. He was a Sith, not some sort of lawyer. The point he was making was a simple one.

"Be reasonable." He told her. "My request is a simple one."

 

[Athena Heron]

[member="Vrak Nashar"]

"Simple?" A blast of air and dust ruffled her feathers and dress.

Dark-brows lofted as she gave a low, dark chuckle. "You have given me no reason TO trust you. We are sith, Vrak. Trust does not come so easily." She lunged forward, magma-blade going for a swift jab to his gut then a horizontal slice up from the gut to his opposite shoulder.

She would not be delayed or held here. And he was not getting the holocron, even to 'hold.'

There was a third option, perhaps. But right now she was having too much fun.

 

[Vrak Nashar]

[member="Athena Heron"]

His lightsaber ignited in an instant.

This was a contest that she would not win so easily, not up close like this. Lightsaber combat had been his primary study since he was a small child. He was by far no Master, but he could turn most Acolytes away and pummel even a few Knights above his station. When Vrak fought with a lightsaber he fluttered like silk in a breeze, moving with an almost ungainly amount of grace. It had been the source of mocking from many of his peers, but they had well learned their lessons.

As she struck forward Vrak stepped to the left.

His lightsaber clattered down against her blade, striking it away from himself. Then in an instant the other end of the saber-staff ignited.

With a quick sweep he sliced towards her legs.

 

[Athena Heron]

[member="Vrak Nashar"]

She was no slouch. She'd been saber trained by Lord Cameron. And then his son. And she had natural speed and agility on her side with light footsteps. It always seemed like she floated on the ground.

Vrak was very skilled. But she matched him in other ways. She just had to play smarter. Be faster.

Blade pushed off the top one and quickly dipped to parry the strike to her legs as she floated to her left. She felt the heat from the nearness of his blade but nothing singed.

Finger flicked and she sent another force push to try to knock him off his feet so she could slip through the doorway.

"This is not helping with the trust issue. Though, I am having fun." She grinned wickedly.

 

[Vrak Nashar]

[member="Athena Heron"]

The press of the force threw him back a bit, but his hand stretched out. With a pull of the force he tugged the small holocron from it's place on the pedestal.

The thing smacked into his hand with a quiet thud. "You attacked me."

He reminded her as he inspected the Holocron for a moment. There was some distance now between them, Athena having made her way towards the doorway with Vrak still standing in the middle of the room. He still stood there, and he had the holocron. For a second he looked at it.

"I told you." Vrak said simply. "Find your Jedi, then return to me."

It was a fair deal.

 

[Athena Heron]

[member="Vrak Nashar"]

Eyes widened in surprise as the holocron was snatched from the bag at her side. He was apparently very skilled with telekinesis.

She grumbled.

A light sheen of sweat made her skin almost glow. Thumb flicked off the saber and with a snap-hiss the plasma was swallowed up by the hilt. "No," she stayed flatly. "For my illusions to be most effective, I will need to trick the little Jedi in a place they are comfortable. You can either make me take that from you," she hesitated, not really wanting to offer up the third option.

But it was the only compromise she could think of.

"Or...come with me."