Hand of Kaine

[Nyra Mazul]

Nyra, in the guise of Darth Serket, slunk trough the buildings corridors. Her master had summoned him to his penthouse for some unknown reason. Nyra wasn’t late, never late. Indeed she was early. It was always best to arrive early and see who may be setting up on you. And if they weren’t, you could set up a little surprise for them. Kaine’s apparent was opulently decorated, as one would suspect. A penthouse suit on Coruscant. He had routines though, all men did, and every time he summoned her he offered her a drink and sip at a bottle of wine. She examined the bottles and found the one he would select. It was a simple enough matter, it was the best vintage. Kaine did always enjoy his shows of opulence.

Poison and biology was a funny thing. Something that may be so deadly to one species was harmless, perhaps even possessing a desirable taste, to another. She shrugged as she placed her deadly poison onto the bottle wrapping her poison clad hand along the glass. A good vintage indeed, she turned and looked now to the glasses and lined the glasses with the poison which dried within seconds and left no smear. Just in case he didn’t pick her bottle.

She took a final look around the apartment and smiled as she went back toward the air shaft. Unless you are an infant a human being couldn’t fit though one, thus few people protected them. Of course Nyra wasn’t human. She contorted her body in a manner that would make even the most talented contortionist pause. Into the duct and across the ventalation and back out into the corridors away from the penthouse. In twenty minutes she’d be back at the appointed time and wait for [member="Darth Vornskr"].

 

[Darth Carnifex]

They were nearing, he could sense it.

Even across the endless void of space he could practically smell each and every one of them, their unique signatures bound to him in a way that transcended reality to the metaphysical, and reverberated throughout the Dark Side coursing through his war-torn body. He had called them all, through courier or direct contact or with a gesture through the Force they hearkened to his words, and now they were so near. The girl, [member="Nyra Mazul"], thought herself extremely clever, but her presence was long made known to the Dark Master the moment she had arrived on Coruscant. To a world so mired in the Dark Side of the Force and at the subject whim of the Sith Lords that made up the Assembly of the Empire there was not many things that went unnoticed, especially when it came to people within their own personal domains. Although, many powerful Sith Lords had learned to ward their homes from prying eyes as personal privacy was highly valued by the Sith, and the politics of the Empire left no room otherwise.

The Lord was dressed in a blood-red checkered gambeson over a simple silk shirt, his hands gloved, a pair of dark brown trousers covered his waist, groin, backside, and legs while his shins and feet were armored by gray durasteel greaves and sabatons. His head, scarred beyond all belief, was left unarmored and uncovered and his hairless brow contorted with thought as he entered the kitchens and plucked up a specific bottle of wine from the cabinet and then exited into the living quarters. By now his servants would have already ushered the apprentices, including Nyra, into the room to await their master. Besides Nyra (a Shi'do) there was Tanek Santii (a Togruta), currently known as [member="Darth Pyrrhus"], who was a recent addition to the ranks of Vornskr's apprentices. Then there was [member="Tes Dralyn"] (a Corellian), who was exceeding beautiful yet deadly and utterly ruthless. Following them were two servants of Darth Vornskr, [member="Ire'Rain Sekairo"] (a fellow Epicanthix) and [member="Cryax Bane"] (a Chiss).

When they all were finally assembled did he arrive, entering the room with a dominant stride as he stood tall above all of them, and then he laid a peculiar glance upon the chameleon assassin. He extended the bottle towards her with a dark smile, and said:

"Care for a drink, Nyra?"

 

[Cryax Bane]

Cryax Bane, crime lord, newly-minted Imperial Governor of Csilla, and pet of Kaine Zambrano, rolled out of the Sith Lord's bed with a groan, and crossed the room to pluck some clothing out of the wardrobe. As usual, Kaine had the irritating habit of summoning the Chiss out of bed to assist with some mysterious task or another, and this time was no different. This time the Sith Lord had eschewed the use of words, and simply yanked him up out of bed using the Force. It drove the Chiss mad, but the Sith magic running through his bloodstream gave him no choice but to do Zambrano's bidding. Essentially, Bane was a slave without the chains. Of course, there was no denying that there were certain perks that accompanied the arrangement, one of which he had enjoyed a few hours prior.

A smirk crossed his face as he pulled on a red and black kimono and tied the sash around his waist. The Chiss was greeted by one of Zambrano's servants who ushered him out of the bedroom and padded him down the corridor to the sitting room where he found Kaine and his cohorts drinking wine with an unknown Sith Lord. The woman was a dark-haired near-human with rich brown Sith tattoos on her face. Around the room sat Darth Pyrrhus, Zambrano's Apprentice, a man he knew of from his brother, as well as two other women that Cryax had never met. Looking down at his state of undress, he pulled the robe tighter around his blue chest and let out a dramatic sigh. As usual, he felt completely in the dark about what was going on. On the bright side, at least there was wine.

[member="Darth Pyrrhus"] [member="Darth Vornskr"] [member="Nyra Mazul"] [member="Ire'Rain Sekairo"] [member="Tes Dralyn"]

 

[Ire'Rain Sekairo]

The sound of heavy boots against the floor announced her arrival.

With her would come a slight trace of a familiar metallic scent. That of blood forgotten to be washed away after a battle. It wasn't uncommon for the devilish woman to miss a few stains left on her armor, or in her hair, or on her prosthetic hand. In this case... the summoning notice had arrived in the middle of a particularly rough interrogation session. Someone had been working to undermine the Sekairo household, and, by extension, the Zambrano family. One of their agents had been caught and it had only been fitting that Ire carried out the questioning. Getting interrupted hadn't pleased her, but she knew better than to risk angering her master. Fully 'cleaning up' had been out of the question due to time restraints. A quick walk through a shower, along with the use of a towel or two, had been enough to satisfy her.

Still there were splatters upon her chestpiece, crimson marks that looked rather fresh, and her raven locks seemed to have a tint of the substance. Part of her fur-hood (which was down at the moment) was clearly stained as well. Did that bother her? Of course not. Anyone who had a problem with her appearance could take it up with her boss. And if he had an issue with it... well, then she might actually give a damn. But the Epicanthix didn't believe there would be an issue. She had made sure that her boots were utterly clean, therefore insuring that she wouldn't track any mud, or blood, or anything else into the clean apartment. With that in mind she felt confident she'd be fine. It wasn't exactly odd to see a guard have a few spots of the liquid on their suit.

"Greetings," she muttered as she entered, just behind some of the other guests. Her gaze scanned the room with what appeared to be sheer boredom. Once she was done 'examining' those inside she walked over to a nice corner, leaned her back against the wall, and waited for her master to arrive. Wine wasn't exactly her cup of tea. Tea was her cup of tea. Along with, unsurprisingly, whiskey. Sometimes the two even went good together. Alas she did not have either with her at the moment, so she let her mouth stay comfortably dry.

She wouldn't have to wait long, anyway.
[member="Darth Vornskr"], [member="Nyra Mazul"], [member="Darth Pyrrhus"], [member="Cryax Bane"], [member="Tes Dralyn"]

 

[Nyra Mazul]

Graciously Nyra, in her guide of Darth Serket, took the drink from Kaine and nodded, “Thank you master,” she examined the bottle with a smile. “Excellent taste as always, only ever the best vintage. You are every bit a connoisseur I have always said after all.” She stepped into sweet little Nyra so easily. But no, she wasn’t Nyra, not now. Now she was Serket. People found Nyra attractive, people feared Serket, and yet they were the same. Sweet poison, the weapon most favored by women. A quirked eyebrow and a curt smile nodded to [member="Darth Vornskr"]. “Why have you called me here with these… people.” Serket glanced around the room at the various people. The blue one seemed a bit impressive, perhaps something to distract her later?

Nyra put the glass to her lips before saying, “A drink, and then we discuss who dies.” She sipped the wine, “Or whatever you may have of me.” A smile formed on her face as she stared down the Sith Lord. “I am, as always, yours to command.”

Licking her lips she turned to the rest of the group and gave a little predatory link to Cryax Bane.

[member="Darth Vornskr"], [member="Ire'Rain Sekairo"], [member="Darth Pyrrhus"], [member="Cryax Bane"], [member="Tes Dralyn"]

 

[Tes Dralyn]

For her part, the most she had ever seen of Kaine, the [member="Darth Vornskr"], was on the field of battle. Never had she caught him unarmoured, yet unarmoured did not mean defenseless, as it was in her case, but if she were never to have seen the Epicanthix lord outside of the clash she would have thought nothing of it; it was where she felt most alive and most powerful. It was a dance in which she felt assured of her dominance... yet here she knew not a single face outside of the Lord of the Sith, and already one of those new faces was making mention of playing at being judge, jury and executioner, a god of death, and Tes' lack of knowledge about [member="Nyra Mazul"] and [member="Darth Pyrrhus"] was a disadvantage.

Still, she snorted at the comment and said nothing - It wasn't very much of a disadvantage - from where she reclined against a section of sparsely decorated wall, arms folded over her chest. Already the Togruta seemed more interesting.

As for the rest? [member="Ire'Rain Sekairo"] and [member="Cryax Bane"] seemed little more to her than objects.

 

[Darth Pyrrhus]

As soon as the call to return to Coruscant had reached him, he had made the preparations to set a course for the heart of the One Sith Empire. Out of Darth Vornskr's many guests, the last to arrive had his apprentice, Tanek Santii. Now, however, the Togruta Knight styled himself as Darth Pyrrhus. While had been eager to answer his masters call, the responsibilities that came with his rank demanded his attention. He had a busy schedule, and rarely did he find a spare moment that was truly his own. His time as a Knight had been devoted to conquest in the name of the Dark Lord. Csilla, Fresia, N'zoth, Belgaroth, all had fallen.

Most of his time was devoted to his precious Glee Anslem. Wheels were turning, and the otherwise uninteresting swamp and ocean world was being transformed into a highly productive planet, benefitting the One Sith cause. The Nautolan council was being carefully manipulated and undermined, painting a smooth transition to more direct Sith control.

Ever the traditionalist, Pyrrhus wore the dark robes of the Sith, along with the dark tunics and undertunics that were to be expected. They fit his muscular form excellently. His body had been refined since coming into the care of Darth Vornskr. His training left little room for slacking off. You either succeeded, or you ceased to exist. To fall behind meant to perish. For this meeting, he had left all armour behind. Naturally, he was armed with the Force, and the lightsaber hilt that dangled from his belt. He was Sith, after all. Getting caught off guard did not fit the job description.

Scanning the room, he found many faces he did not know. The Chiss he only knew through association. He had seen him leave and enter Vornskr's bedroom. Though they hadn't really interacted before, he knew him as the brother of Sage Bane. This one was slightly more... blue. While Vornskr was undoubtedly Pyrrhus' master, Sage had filled the role of battlefield companion and something like a mentor.

As the host himself entered, Pyrrhus merely glanced in his direction, giving him a nod of respect. He spoke nothing, for now, playing the role of the observer. Yet in his mind, he would find the Togruta's voice greeting him 'Master.' Eyes scanning the rest of the room, it would appear that Mr. Zambrano kept to rather fine looking company. What he had in store for them, Pyrrhus did not know, but he trusted that all would be revealed soon.

[member=Darth Vornskr] | [member=Cryax Bane] | [member=Nyra Mazul] | [member=Tes Dralyn] | [member=Ire'Rain Sekairo]

 

[Darth Carnifex]

His eyes narrowed, but they were not filled with hate or suspicion like you'd expect. Rather they were filled with mirth, a dark brand of humor that was unnerving to most, but all too natural to the Sith Lord and his minions. "All shall be explained soon, but first... Let's drink." He allowed some to be poured for Nyra, but adamantly refused anymore for the other apprentices, and then proceeded to drink straight from the bottle of poisoned wine. As expected he could feel the black tar of poison seep through his system like an oil leak, dripping down past his throat and into his stomach before spreading to infect the other parts of his body. However; a flame arose to burn away the poison, the fires blacker and hotter than any material flame seen on the material plane for it was the hate of the Dark Side given fiery substance to burn away the toxins that had entered his body.

Long ago he had trained his body to build up a resistance to most known poisons and toxins through exposing himself to the deadly substances and then curing himself after a certain time, but after he had been anointed to the Sith Order he found that the Dark Side held everything he needed to rid himself of harmful substances such as poison. So even as the toxins began to seep down through his body so too did the fires of his unfathomable hate spring forth from the bowels of his being to burn them away, cleansing his body of poison within a few moments that manifested as a slight physical shudder as his body temperature rose significantly from the unnatural heat, but quickly cooled.

"Poisoned wine? Such an old school tactic, Nyra. I thought you'd be more creative than that." He said with a playful smirk before having a servant take the poisoned wine bottle from him, and take it back to the kitchens to either be disposed of or kept for later. He had to admit, poison added a certain zangy flavor to the drink, and he might've stumbled on something fit for only the strongest to partake in. "Now then, onto business..." His voice lost all of its playfulness, and instead became far more sinister and hateful, a scowl forming on his harsh battle-worn features and his eyes glowing like burning coals. "I have assembled you all here to do one thing. To acquire an artifact from the Tomb of Irib-bin, an ancient Sith Lord who fought during the Republic Dark Ages over two thousand years ago. He was murdered by his own followers in the dead of night, and his corpse was entombed in the caverns that he had made his lair on Bpfassh in the Outer Rim. Search his tomb, and bring back his holocron."

"That is your task."

[member="Cryax Bane"]
[member="Nyra Mazul"]
[member="Tes Dralyn"]
[member="Ire'Rain Sekairo"]
[member="Darth Pyrrhus"]

 

[Nyra Mazul]

Nyra smiled a creepy little smile just a bit too wide with the creases of her lips pursing just too much to seem normal. “If you died from such a simple ruse you would not be worthy of being called master.” Her eyes flared of iridescent light.

Pulling out a knife she started to pluck dirt and grime for her nails. Not that she needed to, at will they would completely change to something else. “Go to the tomb, and get a holocron?” Eyes narrowed and she smiled. “I am your assassin. You tell me a task and I shall get it done. My master, I am your left hand.”


[member="Darth Vornskr"] | [member="Cryax Bane"] | [member="Ire'Rain Sekairo"] | [member="Tes Dralyn"] | [member="Darth Pyrrhus"]