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Private Expedition Rannon

Vendra Vane

Peacekeeper
Vendra Vane
Character Bio
RANNON
- Dig Site 3A -

Rannon is a world whose history is intertwined with darkness. Some would call it a sickness in the force that plagues the planet. So it was really of little surprise when an expedition dug up an ancient Sith ruin, believed to have once been a vault and hiding place for an ancient Sith sorcerer. The excavation site was a collection of tents, vehicles, and prefabs, with a makeshift landing pad just large enough to support a few shuttles. Two fighter-bombers patrolled overhead, while Vendra's flagship remained faintly visible in low orbit.

The Mirialan and her mercenaries took this job expecting easy credits, but the truth is it's been anything but. From delays to mysterious deaths and disappearances, morale was low and the foreman was far from patient with progress. Vendra stood at the center of her officers while they discussed their latest reports.

"VAAANE!" A frustrated voice called out. It belonged to a stocky and aged near-human, the very leader of this expedition. "This is a disaster! Two of my men went insane, a third still hasn't come out. Your soldiers are supposed to prevent this!"

Vendra turned to him with crossed arms, the displeasure plain on her face. She took a few steps forward to ensure he felt the difference in their stature. "Enlighten me, Drex. How are my soldiers supposed to prevent an affliction of the mind? Do they shoot at the bad thoughts, or should they threaten the workers not to go insane?"

Drex looked up at her with nervous eyes, but his stubborn heart did not allow him to budge as he frowned. "Find whatever it is that's causing this! You're a Jedi, it's your--" The Mirialan unclipped her lightsaber and held the emitter up against his throat. The man choked with his mouth agape and froze in place.

"I am not a Jedi," she spoke firmly yet with a soft voice like one might to scold a child. Her two officers looked unphased by her actions and went back to discussing among themselves after paying momentary attention to the scene. Drex took a step back and touched his neck, half expecting there to be blood.

"I... err..." He cleared his throat and mustered a manager's courage. "Right... Well, just try to find something. There's talk of abandonment among the workers, and the company insists they'll pull the plug if we encounter further delays." He rubbed the back of his neck and avoided eye contact.

"Very well, Drex, I will investigate the issue personally." She reholstered her lightsaber and grabbed a comlink. "Evacuate the ruins, and no one enters without my express permission. You have 10 minutes to get it done."

Drex gave a satisfactory nod and went to chew someone else off as Vendra made preparations to explore the ruin personally, and alone.

Sable Varro Sable Varro
 
Major Faction

Sable Varro

A Vessel for Violence
Sable Varro
Character Bio


sith-divider-pink.png
​

Expedition Rannon

Tags: Vendra Vane Vendra Vane

Equipment Loadout:



​
Sable stepped back from the corpse, her movements precise, practiced. She crouched down, gripping the man's collar and dragging him toward the shattered remains of a supply crate. The mud made it easier—his body slid through the grime without resistance, limbs limp, dead weight.

She worked quickly, pressing him into the shadows between wreckage and rubble, ensuring he wouldn't be immediately visible to any patrols sweeping the area. A final glance to confirm. No glint of armor catching the light. No stray limb left exposed. Just another fallen lost soul within this ruin.

Rising, she adjusted her grip on her rifle, shifting seamlessly back into motion. The ruins loomed ahead, bathed in artificial light, humming with low voices and the occasional crackle of a comm.

She rolled her shoulders, letting the tension settle into something useful.

She still wasn’t sure what all this activity was really about, but she doubted the individuals funding it would be to her liking.

Regardless, the sensations of this place spoke to her in a certain way, and deep within her, Sable knew she had to find the source of this disturbance.

One way or another.
 

Vendra Vane

Peacekeeper
Vendra Vane
Character Bio
Vendra marched past the collection of nervous workers and twitchy guards, stopping only to confirm her orders had been exacted. "Has everyone been accounted for?" She asked a guard.

"Yes," he initially responded before his expression turned dour.

She raised a brow, "what is it?"

"Well... One was reported missing, but we found no signs. Maybe he snuck out early to slack off?" The guard shrugged. "Oh... And a team is still inside. They needed to pack some equipment, I guess?"

Vendra looked up at the sky, catching a glint of her ship as she exhaled through her nostrils. "Please note my disappointment and no one is to enter after me. If I have not returned or don't send word in two hours you will evacuate the camp and bomb the site from orbit." She waited not for a response before marching into the ruin.

Inside was dark, damp, and treacherous. Various supports and scaffolding had been erected around the excavated walls, but most of the floodlights were either turned off or broken. Deeper inside the only illumination came from lamps and glowsticks scattered across the damp floors. It wasn't until her foot hit a depression in the mud that she looked down and noticed what appeared to be drag marks. There was also something else, a subtle shift in the ambiance as if something or someone just moved deeper within.

Vendra continued inside with a careful pace and a hand close to her blaster. If there was an intruder it wasn't the only thing that occupied Vendra's attention. A sinister sensation permeated the place as if the walls themselves watched her every movement and could read her thoughts. She could only wonder if perhaps the answers she sought could be found in such a place as this.

Sable Varro Sable Varro
 
Last edited:
Major Faction

Sable Varro

A Vessel for Violence
Sable Varro
Character Bio


sith-divider-pink.png
​

Expedition Rannon

Tags: Vendra Vane Vendra Vane

Equipment Loadout:



​
Sable moved cautiously through the ruins, her steps precise, her every sense alert. The deeper she went, the heavier the air became—thick with something unseen, something that pressed against her skin like a low-grade electrical charge. It was the kind of feeling she'd learned to respect. Not fear, never fear—but acknowledge.

This was a Dark Side site. That much was obvious, even without the inscriptions carved into the stone, half-worn by time and erosion. She recognized pieces of Sith script, but she had never specialized in this sort of thing. The walls themselves felt alive, as if they had absorbed centuries of pain and power, whispering it back into the silence.

Her HUD flickered. A momentary glitch in the feed, a brief distortion in her sensors. She frowned. The interference wasn't natural. Places like this had a way of corrupting technology from what she read, making things unreliable. It meant she had to rely on her own instincts.

Something shifted. Not a sound—at least not one she could place—but a movement in the air, a shift in the shadows just beyond the reach of her visor's low-light setting. She turned sharply, hand instinctively brushing against the grip of her weapon, but there was nothing. Just stone, scaffolding, and the endless press of darkness ahead.

She had gotten the drop on the last man here, but she assumed that her time alone wouldn’t be allowed to continue for too much longer.

She exhaled slowly, steadying her focus. The ruins were playing tricks, but tricks could be deadly if she let them get under her skin. She wasn't alone down here. Whether it was the weight of the past or something far more immediate, she couldn't say.

She drew her blaster pistol, quietly musing at the site before her, before looking for any relevant tools she might find a use for.

Maybe she should have forced the man to work for her before taking him out…
 

Vendra Vane

Peacekeeper
Vendra Vane
Character Bio
The central chamber, the room which Sable had just stumbled into, just happened to be where the missing team had been last seen. Their equipment could be found half-packed, and yet there were no hurried workers but instead cold, mummified bodies. If it wasn't for their uniforms one might mistake them as part of the excavation itself, but no there was something worse at play here. Standing on a pedestal in the center of the room was a broken Holocron and the fried monitoring equipment attached to it.

Vendra continued to march deeper, unaware of the fresh corpse she just walked past hidden among some rubble. Her footsteps grew louder as they splashed through the puddles, and more than that any keen force sensitive could sense the static of her thoughts. They were chaotic, undisciplined, and preyed upon the ruin itself.

She glanced left and right at the various markings and inscriptions, entirely ignorant of what they meant. Her only understanding of the Sith was some old, long-dead fanatics and the ten-a-penny would-be successors that seemed to pop up every decade or so. It all meant very little to a backwater mercenary who never once set foot inside the Core and preferred to keep it that way.

Finally, the journey gave up its destination, and Vendra too arrived at the central chamber. Considerate of the possible intruder but more distracted by the unsightly scene of dead bodies and damaged equipment.

She pulled out her comlink to relay the orders. "The missing team is dead." but there was nothing. Not a word from outside. "Anyone?" She asked again, but this time the comlink didn't even turn back on when she clicked it.

"Unbelievable..." The Dark Jedi muttered to herself. A second later she felt something behind her. Vendra drew her blaster and fired a stray shot that hit nothing but rock. She swore it was a person, she felt the sensation of a threat and yet there was no body or signs of movement. She stood stiff like a pillar and waited for reassurance that she wasn't going crazy. A sign of anything, anyone.

Sable Varro Sable Varro
 
Major Faction

Sable Varro

A Vessel for Violence
Sable Varro
Character Bio


sith-divider-pink.png
​

Expedition Rannon

Tags: Vendra Vane Vendra Vane

Equipment Loadout:



​
Sable's eyes scanned the chamber with a practiced calm, her senses alert to every subtle shift in the air. The dead bodies, the ruined equipment, the broken Holocron—it was all a puzzle she had yet to piece together. But the longer she stood there, the more she felt the weight of the Force pressing down on her. This place was filled with something darker, something ancient. It wasn't just the relics—it was the very walls, the way the darkness lingered in the corners of her mind. It was almost as if it was watching her, and now, Vendra was here.

A sharp, sudden sound broke the silence—a blaster shot.

Sable's reflexes kicked in, her body tensing as her gaze darted toward the direction of the noise. The shot had come from deeper within the ruins, and though it was erratic, it didn't sound like someone caught off guard. No. It was the sound of someone who was frustrated, disoriented. Sable's instincts told her that Vendra had either encountered something—or someone—she wasn't prepared for.

Keeping herself low, Sable moved with care, slipping through the shadows with practiced stealth. She relied on the stillness of the air, the muffled echo of Vendra's footsteps, and the hum of static from the ruins to guide her. The more she moved, the more the presence of the Dark Side thickened around her, almost palpable. It was uncanny, and certainly not like this moments ago.

It didn’t bode well.

As she rounded the corner, Sable caught sight of Vendra—a figure of tension and power, but not the unshakable confidence she might have expected from a Dark Jedi. Vendra was pacing the chamber, her blaster raised, looking for something. Or someone. The way she stood, rigid and poised, said that she wasn't in control of the situation. Not yet.

Sable studied her carefully. She was tall, dark-haired, with a presence that screamed authority—but also uncertainty. Sable's sharp eyes flicked to the blaster in Vendra's hand, noting the erratic movements and the tension in her shoulders. Something was off, and Sable knew she was just as much a part of this puzzle as anyone else.

The moment the blaster had fired, Sable knew she had to tread carefully. Vendra was too distracted, her thoughts chaotic and unrefined—a perfect mark for Sable's skill set. The woman's desperation to make contact with her outside team spoke volumes. Sable had already begun to piece it together: something had gone wrong here. Something dangerous. But why was Vendra alone? And more importantly, why did she feel like she was being watched?

Sable allowed herself to stay hidden in the shadows, observing as Vendra checked her comlink, only to be met with silence. Sable's lips curled into a small, knowing smile. She could feel the frustration rising in the air, almost as palpable as the dark energy suffusing the space.

Keeping to the edges of the room, Sable moved like a shadow, creeping forward. She couldn’t sense the woman's thoughts, as she still hadn’t the training for such things. Vendra was an unknown factor, someone who hadn't yet fully revealed what she was capable of.

Sable had to be patient. The game had just begun.

Though she felt a chill in the air that seemed to come from nowhere.

Best to get introductions out of the way however, because she felt this woman would be trouble.

“Careful with the blasters, this is a historic site after all.”

She would reply from the dark, before moving out to reveal herself.
 

Vendra Vane

Peacekeeper
Vendra Vane
Character Bio
Vendra looked around the room thrice before she allowed herself to stow the blaster. That was just moments before a voice spoke out from the shadows. Her fingers twitched, ready to grab the weapon again but they stayed as the silhouette of a figure appeared against the backdrop of the room they shared.

"I doubt my damage will be distinguished from the existing mess," Vendra retorted.

"Did you kill them?" she asked calmly with a quick glance to the corpses, half-certain of an answer. "You must be what I was tracking." The Dark Jedi didn't step closer nor did she move away.

So far it appeared that this figure was neither an apparition nor posed an immediate threat, but that didn't mean Vendra was about to let her guard down. Today had been a frustrating day, and she was short on any reason to let it dive further. Steady fingers maintained a narrow distance from the blaster as she spoke up again, "you will of course refrain from causing me trouble, won't you?"

Drex had some explaining to do as far as Vendra was concerned, this was far from the promised threat of disgruntled staff and the odd pirate which she had been paid to handle.

Sable Varro Sable Varro
 
Last edited:
Major Faction

Sable Varro

A Vessel for Violence
Sable Varro
Character Bio


sith-divider-pink.png
​

Expedition Rannon

Tags: Vendra Vane Vendra Vane

Equipment Loadout:



​
Sable's presence in the shadows remained a subtle thing, her form barely more than a shift in the light, a whisper in the air. She did not move, did not speak immediately, allowing the tension between them to stretch like a taut wire, as though neither party were entirely certain what would happen next.

Vendra's words cut through the silence, sharp with a mix of weariness and suspicion. Sable listened with practiced attentiveness, her fingers brushing the hilt of a concealed weapon in case Vendra chose to escalate the situation, but she made no immediate move to threaten. The question Vendra asked, about the corpses, hung in the air between them, but Sable only offered a soft chuckle in response.

"I didn't kill them," Sable replied, her voice low and even, the words slipping out like a quiet breeze. "But whoever—or whatever—did clearly wasn't concerned with keeping a clean job."

Sable's gaze flicked over the room, settling for a moment on the half-packed equipment. She could feel the tension in the air, thick with the weight of what had occurred here, something beyond the mere presence of the bodies. The room itself felt charged, and there was a distinct scent to the Force in this place, a flavor of something dark and ancient.

Vendra's question about her being the one tracked caused a brief flicker of amusement to pass across Sable's face. She remained where she was, knowing Vendra was sizing her up, trying to read her actions, her motives. The Force spoke in whispers, and Sable could hear Vendra's inner frustration, but the woman did not yet know what she was dealing with. No one had ever truly understood her, and Sable would keep it that way for now.

Sable allowed the silence to linger longer than necessary before she spoke again. Her voice was calm, deliberate, but carrying an edge of warning.

"Trouble?" Sable repeated, her tone almost playful. "I haven't caused any trouble yet, but I imagine that depends on how you define it."

She took a single step forward, breaking the silence between them. "I actually coverup my crimes, I’m a professional."

Her eyes flicked to the blaster, noticing the careful distance Vendra kept, but Sable wasn't intimidated. Not yet. The tension between them was palpable, but Sable had long since learned to handle these moments with a calm that…she couldn’t quite explain.

"You're right to be cautious," Sable added, her lips curling just slightly. "But you should understand—I'm not here to play games. I'm here for something far bigger than either of us."

Her stance shifted, just enough to suggest she was ready for anything, but still calculating, watching Vendra with careful observation.

"So, are we going to fight or…" She trails off, motioning with her latest, but not aiming it at the woman.
 

Vendra Vane

Peacekeeper
Vendra Vane
Character Bio
Vendra tilted her head towards the broken artifact. "If you're here for that, I can't allow you to take it I'm afraid." She took one and then two steps closer before planting firm again, a small approach to meet then exceed the initial approach and see how the stranger might react.

This wasn't the most unusual encounter she had on a job, but it certainly had its place near the top. Upon getting a better look at Sable, Vendra realized this wasn't the sort of threat she expected at all. Her hand refrained from the blaster and instead reached further back towards her lightsaber. Sable's explanations were one thing, but her final remark was another. From what Vendra could tell, this one liked to play games despite speaking to the contrary two sentences earlier.

So, are we going to fight or...

"That depends," Vendra said with a skeptical tone. "My employer would be rather displeased if I allowed you to despoil this place." As she said that the eerie sensation from earlier returned.

Vendra's first instinct was to flick her attention towards her blind spots but experience taught her better than that, and she maintained a firm gaze on the stranger ahead. If Sable meant to be confrontational then she would be ready to respond in kind.

Sable Varro Sable Varro
 
Major Faction

Sable Varro

A Vessel for Violence
Sable Varro
Character Bio


sith-divider-pink.png
​

Expedition Rannon

Tags: Vendra Vane Vendra Vane

Equipment Loadout:


​
Sable observed Vendra's movements with quiet attention, noting how the woman's steps grew more deliberate as she moved closer to the broken artifact. The shift in Vendra's stance wasn't lost on her either. A subtle, careful probe—a dance of power, a test of boundaries.

Sable remained still for a moment longer, her gaze flicking to, then back to Vendra. There was no immediate need to make a move, not yet. The tension between them was palpable, but not yet tangible. Sable's voice, when it came, was cool, almost detached.

"If it's your employer's concern," Sable said evenly, "Then you'll be disappointed in my answer." Her eyes flicked back to the artifact. "But that doesn't mean I'm here to take it. Not yet, anyway."

Her lips curved slightly, just enough to show that she wasn't taking this lightly, though she wasn't afraid, either. She could sense the uncertainty beneath Vendra's calculated exterior—the flickers of doubt and the sharp edge of her skepticism. It was only natural, considering the circumstances.

Sable then allowed the silence to linger, making no effort to close the distance between them. Instead, she studied Vendra with a clinical eye, reading her posture, her breath, the subtle tension in her shoulders.

"Fighting doesn't always need to be the answer," Sable mused, voice still calm, but with an edge of something deeper. "Unless, of course, you're afraid of what comes after the game. I'll be honest, I'm not in the mood for a prolonged fight. The... ambiance here doesn't quite make for ideal conditions. Not to mention you have friends, and I do not.”

Her gaze flicked once more toward the eerie sensation that filled the air—the Force thick in the room, seeping through the walls like a living thing. A place like this wasn't just some random ruin; it was alive with something far older and far more dangerous. Sable could feel it now, the pull in the air, the oppressive weight that seemed to press in from all sides.

"I'd rather not provoke something that's already watching us," Sable continued, her tone becoming more serious. "I didn't come here to desecrate anything. I came to understand what's happening. What this place is."

She paused, considering Vendra's next words carefully. The tension in the air was tight, and the flicker of the lightsaber hilt on Vendra's belt did not escape Sable's notice. The Dark Jedi was prepared for trouble—but what kind of trouble, she wasn't entirely sure yet.

"I don't want to fight you," Sable added, taking a single step forward. "But if it's inevitable, then I'll make sure we both regret it."

Her hand hovered near the hidden blade she always carried, a silent warning.

"So, what is it going to be? I can despoil this place if I wish, and you may limit it, but you can’t stop it."

She hums, and slowly stows her blaster pistol. There was no point in fighting here anyhow.

“But it’s also alot of work, and my gear is expensive.”
 

Vendra Vane

Peacekeeper
Vendra Vane
Character Bio
Vendra allowed herself a moment of cracked ice and let loose a chuckle. "I must confess I am rather drawn to such bold declarations. Very well, you have control over this situation." Vendra brought her hand up from her belt, showing that it was not a threat, and more than that she took another two steps forward.

"What about this place interests you so much?" She turned her line of questioning back to Sable's earlier admission. "You speak as if this is a riddle for you to solve, yet I do not see an archaeologist before me... unless my eyes betray?" She wondered. "This 'something' that you speak of... I felt uneasy when I entered, particularly as I ventured deeper." Vendra's inexperience with the Sith shone through her questions.

She then looked at the corpses again. "I imagine this thing also did that to my poor charges?" Her question carried no hint of remorse for their deaths. If anything was painfully clear in Vendra's voice, it was her disdain for this job altogether.

Yet the strange nature of this place had a pull on the Mirialan's thoughts. If this was indeed a well of power, a conduit to the force, then perhaps this was exactly what she had been seeking all along. Maybe the answers she sought would bleed from the ancient stone if she had a chance to sink in. However, that wouldn't happen while Sable was present, not while she remained a stranger.

Sable Varro Sable Varro
 
Major Faction

Sable Varro

A Vessel for Violence
Sable Varro
Character Bio


sith-divider-pink.png
​

Expedition Rannon

Tags: Vendra Vane Vendra Vane

Equipment Loadout:


​
Sable watched Vendra carefully as the woman laughed, her movements loose but deliberate. It was the kind of amusement that carried calculation beneath the surface, testing boundaries, probing for reactions. Sable didn't flinch, nor did she adjust her stance when Vendra stepped closer. The Dark Jedi's words were layered—curiosity wrapped in detachment, ambition veiled beneath boredom.

"I don't need to be an archaeologist to recognize this place is twisted," Sable replied, voice level. "And you don't need to be a scholar to feel it pressing against your skin."

Her gaze flickered toward the ruins around them, the weight of the dark side still thick in the air. The sensation was neither welcoming nor hostile—merely patient, as if it were waiting.

No, beckoning them onward.

Sable let the silence settle for a moment before answering Vendra's next question.

"Yes," She finally said, eyes shifting back to the lifeless corpses. "That thing—this place—did that to your team. Or maybe they did it to themselves." She tilted her head slightly, watching for any reaction. "Artifacts like that," She nodded toward the shattered holocron, "Aren't just old relics. They are conduits. Open the wrong one, ask the wrong question, and something answers."

She stepped closer now, just a fraction. Not enough to be a threat, but enough to test how much control Vendra truly wanted over this exchange.

"You're right about one thing," Sable continued. "This is a riddle. But it's not about the stones or the inscriptions. It's about what lingers inside them."

She let the words hang in the air between them, her expression unreadable. Vendra's lack of concern for her team wasn't surprising. But her curiosity, her pull toward this place, was unmistakable. And that? That was something Sable could use.

She knelt down, her hand pressing against the stones, trying to feel if there was any give, or unique quality to the floor before them.

"I suppose since we will cooperate for now," she added, voice quieter now, more deliberate, "My name is Sable. Who are you?”
 

Vendra Vane

Peacekeeper
Vendra Vane
Character Bio
The follow-up of their exchange enlightened Vendra's sense of this place, but that didn't mean she had let her guard down completely. The mercenary doubted Sable's intentions were in any way harmless to her or the workers under her protection. Still, she believed her claim that the missing team died under different circumstances.

Her eyes darted back to the corpses. Drex's words about some insane workers echoed in her mind. If what happened here was the result of such things, then she wondered what danger the survivors posed if they too had been infected.

Vendra's full attention returned to the conversation upon introductions. "Ven," she gave her informal nickname to the stranger. "And what exactly drew you this place, Sable? It is quite a coincidence that you arrived here on this world, at this site, on this day, and we meet at this very moment."

She believed this exchange was more than mere chance, and took it as proof that she was meant to be here. Something rippled in the force and drew them both to this place in their own way. Now it was time to find out why. Vendra walked past Sable who had been examining the floorwork and towards the broken Holocron. All the while that dark presence in the room never once ceased, but crept closer like growing vines, an invisible wall which closed around them. Restrictive but not yet suffocating.

She stopped and considered the device, arms crossed. "So it's some kind of interface then?" She rubbed her chin and considered what she knew about Holocrons. Very little, unfortunately. "I've experienced conduits in the force before, in primordial places, but never in the form of a device..."

Sable Varro Sable Varro
 
Major Faction

Sable Varro

A Vessel for Violence
Sable Varro
Character Bio


sith-divider-pink.png
​

Expedition Rannon

Tags: Vendra Vane Vendra Vane

Equipment Loadout:


​
Sable didn't move at first. Her eyes followed Vendra with the quiet, patient intensity of a predator watching a beast stumble too close to the edge of a snare. The Dark Jedi's words weren't threatening, not yet, but Sable had learned long ago that tone meant very little in places like this. It was the tension beneath—subtle, but unmistakable. The way her shoulders held just a touch too much weight. The way her fingers stayed near her weapon, even now.

"'Coincidence' is a tidy word for a thing like this," Sable said at last, her voice low and even. "But it doesn't fit."

She turned slowly toward the broken Holocron, her gaze flicking over the scorched equipment and the blackened pedestal. The air around it still carried the faint scent of ozone, scorched stone, and something else—something older, more primal. Like ash soaked in blood, long since dried.

"I've seen conduits like this before. Ancient sites that weren't just places—but mouths, speaking to the Force. Like a nexus, and sometimes they go dormant. There were gateways across the galaxy at one point, that connected to the netherworld. People used to cross over at one time." Her gaze lingered on the broken edges of the device. "But this? This wasn't just a Holocron. I think…it was once part of a system—something woven into the structure itself. Which might be where this chill is coming from."

She took a few slow steps forward, her boots brushing dust across fractured tilework, the sharp lines of old inscriptions half-erased by age and neglect. "It's not just an interface. It's a lock. There might be a gateway down there. Perhaps the holocron had a role to play, maybe to keep the gateway quiet."

She felt herself rambling and looked up.

Her eyes met Vendra's again, sharp and cold. "And now it's awake."

Sable fell quiet for a moment, listening—not just with her ears, but with that deep, instinctive awareness that had kept her alive more times than she could count. The Force thrummed around them now, taut like wire stretched to its limit. The creeping pressure wasn't just presence—it was intent.

She stepped around to the other side of the Holocron, studying the burn patterns and discharges. She wasn’t really sure what to make of it, but a theory came to mind.

"I didn't come here to take anything, Ven," she said quietly, circling back to the earlier question. "I just, felt called here. It’s been happening more as of late."

A pause, then her tone shifted slightly—just enough to hint at the weight beneath her next words.

"Tell me…do you really think your employer sent you here for a few missing workers? Or did he send you because something's starting to move again—and he doesn't want you to know why?"

She mused quietly to herself on this, looking back to the floor.

“Could be that we need the Force to show us the way.”

She muttered, shifting her posture as she didn’t have any real way to interface with the broken holocron.
 

Vendra Vane

Peacekeeper
Vendra Vane
Character Bio
The thought of this Holocon being some sort of gateway, or at least a mechanism tied to one, intrigued Vendra, to say the least. Though she did not speak to it. Instead, the Dark Jedi elected to listen while Sable explained away. She knew more about this and Vendra wasn't foolish enough to challenge the notion with arrogance. If one thing hadn't changed from her youth it was her detachment from the force.

Yes, she commanded it, yes it flowed through her like a broken faucet, but it was not a thing drawn to her so much as pulled in and crushed by utter lack of control. A dangerous thing according to every sage and wise person she ever came across. Even Mahl, her former master, was wary of Vendra's blindness to her own power. Such a notion made the Mirialan at once perfect prey and a dangerous adversary for a nexus of corruption. She could become its vessel or its destruction.

Though all that said she wasn't entirely ignorant of the force. The beliefs of her people still hung heavy on her mind. "I See... Sometimes the past has a way of echoing into the present. Like the light of a distant star since burned out, or in this case, the Force curving back into itself... A knot in the universe." Or at least in the ruin. Everything Vendra felt struck her as a thread of destiny, that this place would allow her to pierce the veil if even for a moment. If it could connect to the past, what ripples might it send to the future?

When Sable brought the subject to her employer's intentions, Vendra could only laugh again. "I am more ready to trust in his stupidity than his shrewdness... Perhaps those who hired his team, but Drex is just an excavator. The fool believes this problem can be confronted with a simple show of force. I imagine you believe differently, yes?"

For now, Vendra believed that Sable was indeed called here, and trusted her intentions so long as they did not interfere with Vendra's need for a steady flow of credits.

"What questions would you ask this place?"

Sable Varro Sable Varro
 
Major Faction

Sable Varro

A Vessel for Violence
Sable Varro
Character Bio


sith-divider-pink.png
​

Expedition Rannon

Tags: Vendra Vane Vendra Vane

Equipment Loadout:


​
Sable's gaze lingered on the Holocron a moment longer, its faint pulsing light mirrored in the faint glow of her ocular HUD. The scars along her face itched beneath her mask, but she ignored them. Her voice, when she finally replied, was low—measured, as if each word had been pulled from some deeper place.

"A knot in the universe..." She echoed quietly, a faint note of appreciation threading through the words. "Yes. That's exactly what it feels like. Not a wound, not a scar—but something tied. Purposefully. Tension held in place by something we were never meant to understand."

She shifted slightly, joints in her armor clicking softly. "And that's why your Drex is wrong. This isn't a vault you open with brute force. It's a question waiting to be asked the right way—or it consumes the one asking."

Sable's eyes flicked toward Vendra. She spoke as someone who had witnessed these accounts firsthand, though in truth, Sable could only grapple with the smallest flickers of memory. "I've seen tombs and temples twist the minds of people who thought power was a thing you could simply take. You don't take this. You have to listen. And if you don't like the answer, the Force doesn't care."

A pause. Then, softer, more personal—without arrogance, but something darker under the surface:
"If I had questions for this place… I'd ask what was bound here—and why it still breathes in the walls. I'd ask what it remembers about the people who came before. What they lost to keep this place silent."

Another pause. She tilted her head slightly. "And if I'm honest? I'd ask if it knows my purpose."

Her eyes lingered on the Holocron again.

"…And whether it's the kind of place that tells the truth when it answers."
 
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Vendra Vane

Peacekeeper
Vendra Vane
Character Bio
Vendra listened intently while Sable continued to explain her theories and beliefs. All of which the mercenary relied on to cover the gaps in her knowledge. It made sense to her that Drex was a fool, and that whatever this was required a deft hand to solve. Though she knew it wouldn't be her hand, or at least lacked the patience to try it her own way.

There was a flicker in the atmosphere of the room. A change in its pulse. The darkness that had lingered now seemed to withdraw, but it hadn't vanished. It hugged itself to the shadows, but was it a prey response or a predator ready to strike? Not a question Vendra knew how to answer, let alone explore, but she did at least sense the change, which was unusual for the Dark Jedi.

She glanced every which way. "What was that?" She thought aloud then looked back to Sable. What Vendra saw betrayed her senses, a darkness that surrounded Sable and lashed out like a mad kath hound. The Dark Jedi drew her lightsaber. It was an old weapon and not exactly in prime condition. Its red-orange glow spit flares of stray plasma and had a beam that fluttered erratically and hissed with anger.

Vendra neither attacked nor moved forward. "What are you?" She asked Sable, unaware of the shadow that began to wrap itself around them both.

Then there was an explosion above them which caused some of the structure to collapse around them. It was too early to have been the bombers, though the order she gave did cross her mind, and besides that, she would recognize the telltale sound of proton bombs and this wasn't it. A pair of doors slid open from the stonework of the walls around them and out emanated an unusual fog.

For a moment Vendra's attention turned from Sable and to the doors, expecting someone to reveal themselves, but there was no one... Nothing save for the distant, sickening growl of a beast. "There must be another exit... Nothing could have survived down here otherwise, right?" She asked with some admittance of her uncertainty.

Sable Varro Sable Varro
 
Major Faction

Sable Varro

A Vessel for Violence
Sable Varro
Character Bio


sith-divider-pink.png
​

Expedition Rannon

Tags: Vendra Vane Vendra Vane

Equipment Loadout:


​
Sable stood still, her eyes narrowing as Vendra's question hung in the air, thick with tension. The atmosphere was thickening around them, and the darkness that had been dormant now seemed to shift and ripple like a living thing. She studied Vendra for a moment, then she spoke allowing the weight of her words to settle in the silence.

For a moment, there was a flicker of something behind Sable's gaze, something deeper, darker. A raw honesty.

There was still something dark in this place, and she didn’t intend on waiting until it decided to pounce at them.

"I know what I am," She said, her voice low, steady. "I'm a weapon. I've always been a weapon."

Her lips curled into a faint, sardonic smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "What I don't know yet... is why I'm still here. I'm still putting that part together."

Her gaze flicked back to the shadows, her mind a maelstrom of thoughts. The question had been one she'd asked herself for a long time. She was a weapon—a blade forged for a purpose—but now, wandering through a galaxy that seemed to only offer her chaos and bloodshed, she wondered if that was all she would ever be.

Her expression hardened, the faint trace of vulnerability swept back behind her cold demeanor.

"I don't have answers, not yet. But I will find them."

Her eyes flicked toward Vendra again, briefly, before returning to the darkness that seemed to grow more palpable with each passing moment. "And right now, I suggest we focus on getting out of here before whatever it is that's following us catches up."

Sable's hand didn't leave her blade’s hilt. Her breath was shallow, measured. This was more than just a simple mission. Whatever this place was, it had its hold on her, and she wasn't about to let it drag her down—not now, not when she was so close to finding answers.

"You should do the same," she added softly, her voice laced with warning. "You may not know what you're walking into, but you sure as hell better be ready."

The room seemed to hold its breath.

Yet Sable could feel so close to what she longed for.
 

Vendra Vane

Peacekeeper
Vendra Vane
Character Bio
Vendra extinguished her blade but the weapon did not leave her hand. There was a hint of familiarity in Sable's words, one that reminded the mercenary of her own struggles and the questions that lingered. It was also at this moment that Vendra saw herself as separate from the Seer of her past. When Sable called herself a weapon, Vendra felt that old crone's voice in her thoughts. The critique, the questioning of it.

If that truth was a problem for Sable, then it was for her alone to decide. Only her judgment mattered in the question of who Sable was. At least Vendra felt that way about herself, and a spark of kinship formed at the idea of someone who might actually understand her for a change.

In response to Sable's last two remarks, "I agree that we need to get out of here, I intend as much even if it means walking out half a corpse." If there was one truth about Vendra it was that her sense of mortality just didn't click the same way it did for most. The ugly child between audacity and foolishness, whatever name it was she did not quite know.

The Dark Jedi looked left and then right, inspecting both doors. "This feels like a test. Does the room recognize us as two, or must we venture down one and then the other to reveal the truth?" She then looked back at the path they came from where the tunnel collapsed. "Either way we can't go there again."

It didn't take much thinking for Vendra to decide on a course of action, whether or not Sable agreed with it. "I say we pick one path and then head down it together. Whatever this place wants from us shouldn't be our concern, we must act of our own accord. If we can't escape by our own means then we're dead anyway." She said with an affirmative tone.

Sable Varro Sable Varro
 
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Major Faction

Sable Varro

A Vessel for Violence
Sable Varro
Character Bio


sith-divider-pink.png
​

Expedition Rannon

Tags: Vendra Vane Vendra Vane

Equipment Loadout:


​
Sable let her gaze settle on Vendra for a moment, the weight of her words lingering in the air. The connection, fleeting yet undeniable, was there—a mutual understanding in their struggles, in their shared sense of purpose, even if they were forged from different pasts.

Vendra's words about mortality, about the audacity of life, brought a knowing smirk to Sable's lips. She had heard that sentiment before, had lived through it herself, though her own understanding of life and death leaned toward the pragmatic. She was no stranger to walking the edge, to making choices that carried their own risks.

"Half a corpse, huh?" Sable chuckled, though there was no humor in it, only dry recognition. "I guess we'll find out how durable we really are."

Her eyes flicked to the two doors, then back to the path they'd come from. The air was tense with the unknown, and though every instinct screamed for caution, there was a sense of inevitability in the silence that followed.

"You're right," She said, her voice low and firm. "It's a test. This place is playing with us, trying to see how far we'll bend. But you're also right about something else—we don't get to sit here and let it dictate our fate. We choose our way."

Sable's gaze turned to the door on the left, then to the one on the right, each as foreboding as the other. She took a slow breath, centering herself.

"You want to pick a path and stick with it, I'm with you," she said. "I guess you are the one in control now, hm, Venny. We move forward. Together. No second guessing."

She looked Vendra in the eye, the weight of her words cutting through the dark. "Let's do this. And whatever it throws at us, we deal with it when we get there."

Her blaster remained at her side, a constant reminder of the weapon she was, but it wasn't the weapon that would define her here—it was the choice they made now, the actions they took. Whatever lay ahead, they would face it head-on, for better or worse.
 
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