Cursed and Buried

[Darth Osano]

KRUSKAN
RUINED TEMPLE

[member="Athena Heron"]

The planet of Kruskan had only a short history with the Sith, but what a history it was. After uncovering a holocron in Sith ruins near the planet's capitol, a noblewomen by the name Regera Girawn was suddenly attuned to the Force while simultaneously being driven insane. She was then deposed, living in a secluded hideout on the other side of the planet. A remote locale that allowed her to gather her strength, developing a following of Sith Acolytes and hapless mercenaries, bounty hunters, and other individuals who had been forcibly enthralled to her service. No threat of violence or promise of payment kept them, just her ability to dominate their minds with the power of the Force.

As one could imagine, a person like Maleagant had a great deal of interest in power like that.

Years after being deposed, Girawn left the planet in a hijacked Republic vessel and was never heard from again. The popular theory was that she left in search of more acolytes, but there was no indication of what planets she had visited, if any. Or if she even left at all. There were no remaining records. Except the temple she had resided in on Kruskan, which was conveniently still standing thanks to the remoteness of the planet and the obscurity of the legend. With any luck, Maleagant had anticipated he would be the first visitor in centuries.

Maleagant was not an intensely lucky man, however, because once he descended the boarding ramp of his shuttle he noticed that they were parked next to someone else's. His lips pursed in annoyance and, expecting Jedi, he unclipped his lightsaber from his belt. No, he did not actually know how to use it, but it was a comforting weapon to have. Especially since he took it from that Pureblood fellow.

 

[Athena Heron]

[member="Maleagant"]

"....yes. Please put my dresses," the half-omwatti paused. Head cocked to the side as if listening. She felt that little pinprick in the force. She and her servants were no longer alone.

A wicked, little smile curved on pink lips. She turned to one of her ladies. "Keep searching. I think we're close. I will go out and greet our...guest."

The lady nodded. Of course, the 'lady' was a trained weapon's specialist and fighter in addition to an excellent stylist. Sith had their entourages and Athena had some of the best. Probably because she paid them well and offered excellent benefits.

And the whole slavery thing.

Boots stepped daintily and lightly through the rubble, until she saw someone a little ways off. "Hello," she cooed. She noted the weapon but was too far to see details. "I'm so, so sorry but this temple is taken, my dear." Lip puffed out in mock sadness.

 

[Darth Osano]

[member="Athena Heron"]

Maleagant narrowed his eyes. This was either not a Jedi he was talking to, or one of those inept quasi-Jedi who failed utterly to embody the virtues of their order. Like a DragonsFlame or something. In either event, he would have to tread carefully. Both Dark Jedi or Sith and inept quasi-Jedi were somewhat known for their flights of fanciful fury. This one had avian features, so the pun was intended. Maleagant's thumb remained perilously close to the activation switch but dared move no further. "Who took this temple, then?"

He frowned after that, a grimace born out of disgust.

"And I'm not your dear."

What an annoyance it was, being condescended to by people who clearly were not inherently better than him. If this had been some named entity, some powerful Lord of the Sith, he would have stomached it. But this was just a bird with a shuttle, far as he could tell.

 

[Athena Heron]

[member="Maleagant"]

She moved closer, those hawk-like eyes ever watchful. She was tempted to force an illusion within his mind to make him think he was drowning. He'd choke himself to death. It would be very entertaining and something her old illusionist teacher, Matsu, would probably be very proud of.

But that would be fun in the short-term. The long-term....

"Who?" Coal-brows lofted. "Dear, sweet man," she ignored his disgruntlement at the term. "If you wanted my name and comm-number all you had to do was ask." Eyes drifted down to that hilt again as she drew closer. A shimmer of recognition briefly crossed her face.

Was that Vrak Nashar's? How very, VERY interesting.

"What are you going to do? Fight me for the secrets within the temple?" Dark-eyes began to fleck with yellow as the darkside swirled around her tall and model-like form.

 

[Darth Osano]

[member="Athena Heron"]

If it were at all possible, his grimace only deepened. He did not find that particular line about the comm-number amusing, nor the look of recognition that crossed her face. What a lovely bird woman she would have been if he didn't smell the reek of the Dark Side on her. Just because Maleagant had a similar stench about him these days didn't mean he was oblivious, although he had learned how to tone it down and keep it under wraps. Particularly when meeting with Jedi damsels in distress. Not that it was a frequent enough occurrence... But here's hoping.

"I don't think I have to." Maleagant replied, still eyeing her warily.

But it was only a thought. Maleagant's hand did not move away from the lightsaber. He seemed primed to defend himself if it at all came to that.

"Who are you?" He repeated. Second time was the charm and all that.

 

[Athena Heron]

[member="Maleagant"]

"So sure, are we?" She mused and paused about two yards away. Fingers brushed against the hilt of her own lightsaber clipped to the belt that wrapped around her waist. But she made no move to unclip it. Just like with Vrak, she saw no harm in giving away her name.

She wasn't well known anymore. Not since Telti. She preferred it that way. Made it easier to accomplish her...objectives.

"Athena Heron. And who might you be to have the lightsaber of Vrak Nashar?"

 

[Darth Osano]

[member="Athena Heron"]

Maleagant wanted to smile at the memory of how easy it had been to zap and bag Nashar, throwing him into a holding cell on Naboo like he was a sack of rocks. The electrocution had not been a nice experience, nor had going before certain parties in singed business attire. The fact that one of his Enforcers was still in therapy for a mental assault enacted upon him by Nashar was also not fun, but whatever. One hundred thousand credits was a lot of money and now his Syndicate was on the short list for when Naboo needed dirty deeds done dirt cheap. Winning all across the board on that one so far. What curbed his enthusiasm was that this Heron woman apparently knew Vrak.

Evidently not as an ally, or she would have attacked him by now. Either that or she wanted to find out what happened to him first. "Maleagant." He answered flatly. It was an unwieldy name that sounded like a surname of some import was sure to follow, but it never did. That was on a need-to-know basis these days.

"He was weak. I took it from him." Dubiously true. Perhaps he would not have been so weak if Maleagant hadn't gotten the jump on him. Too bad there was no way to find out. "You look concerned. Are you a lover of his?"

Oh, look. He had a sense of humor after all.

 

[Athena Heron]

[member="Maleagant"]

"He wishes I was," she smirked. And of course it was a lie. Or maybe not. Vrak was a hard one to read sometimes, something about his crustacean face. "And I wouldn't say concerned, exactly," she slowly trailed around him in a circle, giving him the once over.

"Just maybe an interested party."

She came to a stop full circle, hands coming up to rest on her hips as she cocked them to the side. "Which is something I'm sure you can understand, Mal." She wasn't usually a nicknamer but whelp, there it was. Force suddenly wrapped around Vrak's hilt in his hands as she tried to yank it free from his grip.

 

[Darth Osano]

[member="Athena Heron"]

Since acquiring the lightsaber, Maleagant's first order of business had been to gut out the interior and replace everything. Including the crystal. Even as a mere novice to the ways of the Force, he understood the hazards of carrying around a weapon that was, for all intents and purposes, attuned to another. It could have disastrous effects, like being easy to rip from your hand by a different Sithling. The casing was all that remained of Vrak Nashar. Maleagant, meanwhile, could detect the pull of the Force as it wrapped itself around the lightsaber. All the weapon managed was an irritable wiggle in his grasp, plainly refusing her summons.

The crimson blade sprung to life in his hand. Maleagant, who had been watching her this whole time, held it ready and took a tactical step backward, clearly anticipating her next move.

"You shouldn't have done that."

 

[Athena Heron]

[member="Maleagant"]

She laughed, probably a little too carefree. Eyes brightened slightly. Oooooo, a challenge. "We're just playing," she cooed, tongue clucking on the roof of her mouth.

A mock, pout wound on her pink lips. "Would you leave me so soon? Have I scared you off already?"

Again, her fingers played with her own hilt but made no move to draw it.

 

[Darth Osano]

[member="Athena Heron"]

Heron's carefree demeanor only served to make Maleagant more wary. He was starting to understand just what sort of person he was dealing with. This was one of those Sith who were too quirky to take themselves seriously. Everything was a joke to them. They lacked either the emotional maturity or the intelligence to understand the gravity of their lot in life. Or maybe they were just too privileged. He was sure there was some nuance to it, a different reason in every one of them. That was no reason to excuse their behavior. It was disgusting. Annoying, even. That said, Maleagant was not in any position to complain about it and start fights he would rather avoid. He could condescend to the amateurs when a sufficiently lofty position had been obtained.

It had not been obtained.

"Are you going to stop me from searching these ruins or not?" He said, so far keeping an even tone, but his waning patience was more than evident.

 

[Athena Heron]

[member="Maleagant"]

Comm link beeped on her wrist. A small, sincere smile crossed her mouth. She looked back up at Mal.

With a flourish, she stepped aside, motioning with one slender arm for him to proceed.

"Not this time, my dear. It seems I have all I need." Her warrior servants began to walk up the crumbling stairs behind them. They carried a few satchels worth of things.

"Are you going to stop me from leaving?" Coal-like brows rose.

 

[Darth Osano]

[member="Athena Heron"]

Maleagant briefly glanced over to the servants, a gaggle of dull-looking brutes toting satchels. Small satchels that clanked with the sound of mundane junk. He could already tell not a single one of them had picked up anything even remotely resembling something that could have been an artifact of the Dark Side. That was the thing about sending a bunch of brainwashed nobodies into Sith ruins. They never knew what to look for, so they only came back up with junk. Probably ancient cutlery, maybe a fossilized potted plant.

The possibilities were endless. Athena would no-doubt enjoy basking in their great and untold power. Maleagant, meanwhile, knew exactly what it was he was looking for and exactly how to access it.

The Shi'ido was already five steps away from the bird-woman, striding purposefully towards the ruins before the last syllable of leaving had even left her mouth. "Don't let me keep you."

 

[Athena Heron]

[member="Maleagant"]

Pfffffffffffffffffffft.

While Mal thought they were mindless brutes, they were actually well-trained ladies with expansive knowledge of obtaining sith artifacts and scrolls. They knew what their mistress looked for. And trinkets weren't among her desires. Athena was no usual object-hungry sith collecting shiny pebbles for the sake of 'treasure and trinkets.'

She wanted knowledge above all else. It was her strength and her weakness. And her own curiosity got the better of her, even as her ladies began taking the items - including some sith artifacts - to her shuttle.

She eyed Mal as he quickly approached. This time, she took a step to the side, wary of his ignited lightsaber and the pep in his step. Her own power rippled just at her fingertips, ready to dive into his mind with a darkside illusion powerful enough to temporarily blind him.

"What're you searching for, anyway?"

 

[Darth Osano]

[member="Athena Heron"]

However easy on the eyes she was, she had announced her departure and stepped out of his way, gesturing politely. It would have been awful rude of him to try and keep her any longer. Maleagant was generally not the type to turn his back on anyone, much less a Sith, but he had things to do. If the Heron woman was satisfied with the mundane baubles of the temple, who was he to tell her otherwise? The statuettes and scrolls with financial records scrawled on them were probably useful to someone, right? Maleagant could sympathize. He, too, had often been forced to settle with less than optimal results.

"Nothing important." He said, threatening to be gone from earshot.

But he was done with accepting substandard results now. He had a criminal empire at his back and allies he could trust. And very shortly, he would be adding to his own personal power. Athena would, perhaps, enjoy a nice view of the back of Maleagant's head as he continued his forward stride, bypassing her tottering servants and descending the steps into the temple.

 

[Athena Heron]

[member="Maleagant"]

Normally, she'd shrug her powdered blue shoulders and be on her merry way, letting the odd man do his thing and disappear. Unfortunately, she was the cat and curiosity always got her. Making a decision, that Caid would chide her for later, she turned and followed after him.

"Please," she laughed, long strides quickly catching up. "Nothing important to almost fighting me for?" Dark hair was flicked off the ends of her shoulders. Feathers ruffled a bit.

 

[Darth Osano]

[member="Athena Heron"]

Maleagant grimaced as she bounded after him. He managed to restrain himself from glancing backward, rolling his eyes at her mangled sentence structure. Important to almost fighting me for? What? Must not have been a native speaker. A real shame, a delicate accent might have added to her appeal. Maleagant continued walking forward, entering the ornately carved archway that led to the temple's depths.

"I did not almost anything." He corrected her, sharply. "You tried to take my weapon."

The main atrium of the temple was a cavernous thing. There were some stone benches carved directly into the ground, but other than that it was dilapidated. Various bits of debris and mundane relics littered the floor, passed over by Athena's servitors. There was nothing valuable here, but Maleagant stopped anyway. His lightsaber snapped back into its hilt. "Should I be concerned you'll try again?"

 

[Athena Heron]

[member="Maleagant"]

"Certainly not," she sung-sang out, coming up from behind. Shoulder brushed against his as she went by his side and turned to face him. "If I perceived you as a threat," coal-like orbs looked him closely up and down. "I'd try something a little more creative."

A quick and cruel smile overtook her set of pink lips. Fingers drifted down to the curves of her hips as she continued to eye him.

"What are you looking for?"

She repeated.

 

[Darth Osano]

[member="Athena Heron"]

There was something about the Heron woman that indicated she was less "quid pro quo" and more "quid pro moi." Any honestly divulged information would more than likely just be used against him, so of course he lied straight through his teeth.

"A holocron." He eventually said, with just enough reluctance to imply it was the truth. "Of Lady Girawn's own make."

Maleagant folded his arms across his chest, staring with a rather annoyed expression at Athena. He did not want her company, not like this, anyway. "Are you going to leave me alone now?"

 

[Athena Heron]

[member="Maleagant"]

"I'll leave," she smiled, never breaking his gaze. Could sith have staring contests? "After you find and show it to me." Finally, she stepped to the side in case he decided to go the way she'd been blocking. She knew he was playing a game

Well, she'd play one of her own.

"I haven't seen you around sith space," she began. Of course, she'd been buried up to her nose in scrolls, not to mention her adventures with @Caid Centurion. It's not like she would see anyone, anyway. Mal didn't have to know that.

"Do you have a mentor, master, someone pulling your strings?"