Private Entanglements

[Darth Empyrean]

Maliphant almost scoffed, never truly convinced of the Empire's reach. After his own manipulation when they had captured him under his previous alias - or lack thereof - he hadn't much cared for them. Now, one of their most influential 'Pillars' stood in his office; making up theoretical avenues to which they could have caught him. None of them really mattered, so he simply offered a tired sigh and glanced back;​

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"And what ways would that be?", he said with a flat inclination.​

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"Seems useless to come to me for anything less than sedition. Planning to usurp the Zambrano's that hold your leash?"​

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Taeli Raaf​

 

[Taeli Raaf]

Darth Empyrean

"Oh I'm sure the Zambranos wished they could leash me," she laughed. "Braxus especially." The man Maliphant would know as Darth Prazutis was obsessed with knowing where and what many beings in the galaxy were doing. He had an extensive intelligence network, but not to be outdone, she did too and she had, on occasion, slipped his surveillance of her operations just as part of the game. To see how quickly he could figure out what and why. And he couldn't rely on Kaine's Attendants and their scrying abilities. She had very swiftly designed a spell to conceal herself from their gaze.

"And a smart Sith never puts all their eggs in the same basket, no matter how profitable an alliance might be. Or how deep one might be in their inner circle."

She tapped her fingers on the arm of her chair again.

"To be perfectly honest, for several years I've kept my ambitions in check for the sake of my family. I was content to serve in my positions... but that has now changed." Might as well reveal it, it would be known by intelligence networks soon anyways. "Fiolette decided to leave me because she believed all I cared about was power, nevermind that just being in my 40s means I have no inclination to retire to an island home and play housewife. She was the only barrier, the only... chain that kept me from being more... aggressive if you will."

Plus she really disliked the idea of bringing back a beast like Vulcanus to lead their armies. He had his own agenda, and that did not include the Sith in the long term. Only the Graug.

 

[Darth Empyrean]

For a split second, Maliphant could feel some sympathy - though it was fleeting. Fiolette was not a Sith, and the danger posed to her from the dangerous hellscape that was Sith politics was certainly tangible. For him, he had once feared for the life of I Irajah Ven - that the Darkstaff may overtake him, kill her, and leave him alone; so he foolishly did it himself before the staff could, scaring the girl into abandoning him. It was only much later that he found comfort that Srina Talon could protect herself - regardless if Maliphant was in trouble or not.​

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His lips pursed, and he offered her no emotion besides the smallest hint of a frown.​

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"My condolences.", he said - the first thing he had offered her that carried with it no venom.​

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"So answer the question - what is it you're hoping to gain, and why come to me?", he reiterated.​

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Taeli Raaf​

 

[Taeli Raaf]

Darth Empyrean

"What do I want?" she asked repeating him rhetorically. It was such a loaded question, but for a Sith it was a question that was constantly shifting, always nebulous. The problem was quite simple. Even when you had everything, it could never be enough. Never enough power, never enough influence, never enough territory, never enough agents, and so on. Maliphant would have a hint of that from their previous discussion on the expansion plans for Aurora and Spaarti.

"Because I've reached the limit I can within the Sith Empire without having the last name Zambrano," she answered. "And that just isn't good enough."

Nevermind that she was assisting Kaine with creating their own Dark Vergence, nevermind she was sitting as a Pillar on the Council. She had not been involved with bringing back Vulcanus and was against relying so heavily on his Graug, had cautioned against continued experimenting with the Lotek'k Braxus held in captivity.

 

[Darth Empyrean]

Maliphant idled for a moment, his finger tapping the glass he held as he watched her. His eyes narrowed as he tried to spy her ploy, her machinations, whatever she seemed to be getting at; and eventually gave up with a grandiose sigh. Sith often reached out to others for deals - him more than most, as it would seem - for politics or money, or even knowledge as some had chosen recently. For Taeli, one of the Pillars holding up the Empire he detested, Maliphant couldn't help but imagine she came here with a purpose.

"So you came here, made a deal with the IGBC and Dorian Harper, but have nothing to ask of me?", he said, reiterating it slowly as though he was trying to understand.

"Not knowledge, not Jaeger, but a means to expand your influence outside the reaches of the Empire?", Maliphant said with a cock of his brow - testing her.

"You're either obnoxiously avoiding a point to this conversation, or you truly came here just to show you could."

Maliphant poured the expensive champagne in the ice bucket with a second sigh - though more quiet this time. He moved to find his seat once more, nearly falling into it as though he were tired - of the charade, of his visits, it also didn't matter.

"If you want to expand your power, perhaps you should listen to some of the rhetoric around the galaxy.", he mused as he glanced lazily towards her.

"The Worm Emperor demands a good death from those worthy to usurp him, and even I have skin in that game. The alternative is abandoning the Sith as a whole - doing as I or Adekos have done for years; but to be frank with you, Miss Raaf, you've reached your peak under the Empire and the Dark Lord. Bound to his will, you are a Pillar, and the Empire of someone else's make is your daily burden - so until you escape the confines of someone else's dream, I'm afraid you'll never truly be free to build your own.", Maliphant offered her as he rested his head in his hand.

Taeli Raaf

 

[Taeli Raaf]

Darth Empyrean

Maliphant, having been so engrossed in the world of business for so long, she could see was about the immediate offer or proposal. Everything had to be put on the table, a reason for meeting needed that would conclude in agreement by the end. In a way, she knew how refreshing that could be, running her own companies, but that wasn't how she did business as Sith.

"Consider it more of an open ended arrangement," she remarked. "And a little of the latter. I wanted to see how you've... evolved since freeing yourself from Kaine's domination, and I'm glad at what I've seen. So no, I didn't come here for knowledge or Jaeger, even if we both know how much I value sating my curiosity. An open-ended alliance where we assist each other if we need or want the other's help, where we don't impede operations of the other... that is something I would like to see."

It wasn't anything iron clad like the agreement between the IGBC and Aurora, but then they were Sith of relative equal strength and influence. Something binding would be hard to negotiate at this stage of the game. And the game was about to begin...

"Perhaps you could arrange a meeting with this Worm Emperor for me?" she asked. "I've been very curious about this entity and the whispers I've been hearing."

 

[Darth Empyrean]

Maliphant ignored the mention of Kaine, likely out of personal annoyance. While he could not deny that the Empire had changed him for the better; the fact was he was modified against his will, and was no longer the same 'Slave' that he was once upon a time - and instead of organic growth from the Outer Rim terrorist turned Sith, he was simply a different person. Made from inauthentic faux personality traits programmed into him, and the bygone memories of a man burdened by his pain.

All for the Darkstaff; a weapon the Empire could never take from where it hid within Maliphant. Only to be destroyed by him years later.

"I will consider it, but consider it tenuous at best.", he said with a point of his off hand towards her.

"If I even so much as smell something sour, the consequences will be grave, Taeli."

A threat, but it was customary for any Sith exchange - especially among those who were so separated from one another. Even Darth Bane and Githany had done much the same with one another - and they were essentially in love with one another, once upon a time. In a different history, a different era.

"And yes, I can arrange such if you need. A fair warning, whatever you've heard is likely true; the Worm is unknowable and claims to be an avatar of the Dark Side itself. I haven't been able to confirm, or disprove anything he says; all I know is he's immensely powerful. In short, be careful if you truly seek him out.", Maliphant offered with a touch more seriousness in his tone.

Taeli Raaf

 

[Taeli Raaf]

Darth Empyrean

"I would expect nothing else," she replied, bowing her head in acknowledgement. There was no trust between them, not that there ever was when it came to Sith, not really, but she could respect his position. "As long as you understand the reverse is true as well."

Taeli was not one to cross, and as her actions in the past had shown, she could be very patient when it came to revenge and evening the score as she saw it. Ten years she had waited, plotted, and planned before unleashing her revenge on the Jedi for they treated her sister. She had waited months to exact a price from Australis for his attack on her. As he would know from studying Bane, patience could be a great ally to the dark.

"Now I'm even more intrigued to meet this... entity," she said, accepting the warning from her colleague. "It's an interesting moniker he or she or it has adopted. Worms can mean so many different things in so many cultures, but they generally represent a slow consumption and renewal of something. A nod to his rhetoric perhaps?"

She was musing more aloud to herself than asking him a question about it. She had been all over the galaxy to study the Force, interacted with so many to learn... yes, it would be educational even just meeting the being.

 

[Darth Empyrean]

"Possibly.", Maliphant offered in return, though almost dryly.

"I'm not even sure THEY were the first ones to call themselves that - but its the only one they've seemed to associate with. Others claim they're Typhojem, but you know how that goes.", the Sith sighed as he leaned back in his chair, thoughtless glancing to a piece of art on the far shelf.

"Every generation we have four, it seems. Some Sith'ari self claimant - though I suppose its of note that the Worm Emperor hasn't claimed such a title. Just everyone else."

Maliphant idled for a moment longer before side eye'ing Taeli -

"If you want to meet the Worm, come to Korriban in three days. It'll be set up then.", he said flatly.

Taeli Raaf

 

[Taeli Raaf]

Darth Empyrean

"If I had a credit for every claimant to Typhojem, well... I'd be richer," she laughed. He wasn't wrong that it seemed every few years some being would claim a connection to the supposed deity of the dark side that the Kissai had worshipped. Sith though she was, she didn't really believe in such a being. She needed proof to believe in something. The Ones, for example, had left ample proof of their power within the galaxy.

"But good for this Worm Emperor that he has chosen not to take the title himself," she commented, already weaving her spell of disguise back around her person. The meeting was concluding, she could feel that even without the Force. "I can't say I look forward to meeting him on Korriban, since your warning, but I am very much intrigued."

She rose, giving him a smile again as purple eyes turned green and black hair to auburn.

"I have to say though, this was refreshing and I am very impressed with how far you've come and what you've built. I rather look forward to possibly working together more closely in the future."

She started for the door, pausing at the threshold.

"Times are changing, and we must change with them too," she murmured. "To the ambitious... go the spoils. I think I rather can't wait to see how the Sith evolve this time."

And she was gone.