Heart of Darkness

[Ashin Varanin]

SURFACE
[member="Reine Bisset"]'s expedition had been cleared far above Ashin's pay grade, but Ashin paid attention to unaccompanied expeditions, in part because she knew Rekali and Merrill would have checked on them if they hadn't run into two Masters of the One Sith. And in part because unaccompanied expeditions never went well. Legitimate or not -- and right now Ashin's money was on 'genuine but naive' - the holodocumentary crew could easily fall afoul of k'lor'slugs, tuk'ata, Watchers, even the odd terentatek. That right there was Ashin's job: pest control. With a Mandalorian sniper rifle.

She had a small sniper nest on the temple, a good spot for overwatch, a home away from home. Most access involved climbing; most egress involved rappelling. Reaching the base of the temple, she set off down the valley toward the last place she'd spotted Bisset's expedition, sniper rifle over one shoulder but heavy blaster in hand. It would take her a good half hour to get there, at a guess, at which point she could only hope that the holocrew hadn't transformed into sausage meat.

Civvies.

 

[Reine Bisset]

Sutta Chwituskak.

Reine scrambled to figure out the translation. She checked and double checked her books and scribbled notes down as she went. After a fairly decent amount of time spent furiously translating and transcribing, she had the definition.

"Flung Spears?" she asked herself quietly, reading the words she'd translated. "Sutta Chwituskak... Flung spears... This looks useful... But how is it used?"

She brought herself back to the task as the holofilm crew worked behind her and throughout the tomb. She scavenged through more and more glyphs and images. Most were useless, some gave hints and telltale glimpses. Slowly she put together what she could but, to no avail.

Or so she thought.

The scraps were adding up. The little glimpses and hidden meanings were slowly piling together. They didn't describe how to use the powers, but perhaps she could glean the name from the one she had not yet discovered.

She furiously began consulting her books and writing notes down. She had to know the name. She had to.

[member="Ashin Varanin"]

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Reine Bisset"] [member="Eleena Miho"] [member="Bria Shadow-Tarkin"]

It took about forty minutes, and a little knifeplay with a bold tuk'ata, before a slightly bloody Ashin limped into the tomb. She unshouldered her Mandalorian sniper rifle, laid it against the doorway, and holstered her blaster pistol.

"Evening," she said, looking around the holocrew. "Just your Jedi babysitter checkin' in that you're still alive."

Nobody really set off her radar, and she'd gotten pretty decent at reading people. Down there, in front of a wall carving, she spotted a Miraluka, presumably the one that had been registered as the leader of the little sightseeing trip. After some perfunctory greetings to the team, she ambled up to the Miraluka.

"Oh, looks like you found the sutta chwituskak panel. One of the better-preserved bas-reliefs in this particular tomb." There was a reason the Order let her patrol Korriban. She knew this world down to her bones. "'Flung spears,' it translates to. Total misnomer, of course. Most time when it's thrown around, at least by the competent, it looks like a sphere. Who knows if that's a pun." She peered close at the carving. "His hand position's a little off for the somatic part, but they couldn't go hanging weapons specs on their walls, after all. Not like anyone who saw this could conjure up the kind of sheer brain-dead hate necessary to make it work."

 

[Reine Bisset]

[member="Ashin Varanin"]

The newcomer startled the Miralukan, making her jump slightly. At the mention of Jedi, Reine grew leery.

Jedi. Lightsider. Enemy. Weak.

It was a reaction, not deliberate. An innate dislike, almost hatred. She knew as soon as she felt it that the Jedi would, too. Reine kept herself unruffled and calm. The reasoning for her being here was as a celebrity holodocumentary with film crew. Celebrities were normally full of themselves, so it would make sense to act as such. Play the dislike off as arrogance. Self importance. Some stranger with Force powers showing up and treating what was supposed to seem like a film set as a museum piece would set off a celebrity. She'd do the same.

"The tomb shows most of the panels with that image," she said, her tone dismissive and irritable. "But it doesn't say how it works, doesn't say who used it, doesn't explain a thing. Just a name. I can't work with just a name. Same with the other one, the giant smoke creature image. Nothing names it or even describes it. Just more images, more questions. I can't add it to the documentary without more information. Hard to show Sith in their evil element and then explain why the Jedi are better when we can't even describe the powers the Sith had at their disposal. It's frustrating."

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Reine Bisset"] got a blink and, after a moment, a nod.

"These places can get inside your head, make you irritable, especially if you're tired." As offers of face-saving went, it wasn't the most diplomatic one she'd ever given. "If you need that kind of background, I can give it, but remember -- you broadcast this stuff unfiltered, you'll make yourself a target for one reason or another.

"Sith magic is about warping reality, it's a rare gift, two percent of Sith have the ability to learn and most of'em get killed off pretty quick once that gift gets recognized. So this technique is something you'd only see from a Dark Lord. Kaine Zambrano can do it, a few other big names. Historically it got used by King Ommin and Queen Amanoa of Onderon, five thousand years ago, and by Freedon Nadd a few hundred years before that. As for how it works? Imagine hating something so much that the laws of physics changed to suit your needs, in this tiny little area, and then using that as a weapon. Sutta chwituskak is for punching holes in things, chewing through armor, making a big show, intimidating your enemy. There's a somatic component -- gestures, an incantation. If you want showmanship, have your reenactors or animations use the name as the incantation. It doesn't work like that, the spell is much longer, but you won't find the incantation here and I sure can't give it to you, and the only ones that'll know the difference are Sith scholars -- and if you distance yourself from the idea that you know too much, you'll be an awful lot safer."

 

[Reine Bisset]

"Warping... reality?" Reine said, her tone the equivalent of a raised eyebrow. "I get the Force does a lot of things, but warping reality sounds more out of a holofilm than actual truth. How can you even do such a thing? Besides, if it's a gift, why don't more people show up with it? Why don't Jedi do it?"

The Miralukan shook her head and copied down more glyphs. A picture was beginning to form and she was learning far more than she thought that she would, which was good. It was frustrating to not find the actual incantations or how-to instructions, though. That said, even without those she could use what she'd found to trawl the black market. Stone tablets or ancient scrolls would show up eventually.

"What about these?" she asked, jabbing a pen at the smoke creature. "What is that thing? Some sort of smoke monster? Another reality warping power?"

[member="Ashin Varanin"]

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Reine Bisset"]

"I thought your point was the evil powers of the Sith - well, twisting the laws of physics for the sake of hate is up there. That's why Jedi don't do it. As for how anyone can do that?" Ashin shrugged. "You'd be surprised, lady, you really would. But like I said, only two percent of Sith can even start to learn it. Most that learn keep it quiet until they hit the top tiers. Makes you a target, knowledge like this.

"Now that one you're looking at, that's rare, very rare. I ran into one of those on Bosph a while back. Yes, it's another reality-twister, another high-level effect -- it's Sith Magic too, and likewise Dark Lord-level. The spell's called dwomutsiqsa -- siqsa is Sith for 'demon', dwomut is 'summon.' One of these jumps you, it'll disintegrate your body like a high-end disruptor and trap your soul until it, the siqsa, is destroyed."

 

[Lina Ovmar]

Eleena stopped running once shecaught with the rest of the expedition. She slowly caught her breath as she made her way through the group to catch up with [member="Reine Bisset"]. Her eyes settled on Ashin and something stirred in her stomach. Remembering her duty, remembering why she was putting herself through this she pushed past her initial balk and slid her rucksack off her shoulder. The gemini droid whistled contently and slipped from the bag as she opened it.

She listened tow the two talk and shook her head slightly. Come on Ashin, you are smarter than these fools.

She began pulling other holocamera equipment from her bag as the gemini droid hovered around her, chirping incessantly. "Hush!" Eleena sighed at it, "Get some images for me." It whizzed between [member="Ashin Varanin"] and the acolyte, then circled them taking images before skirting along the tombs walls singing away as it filmed.

"I'm not gonna lie," she said cutting into the conversation "I'm surprised the One Sith haven't tried to take this information out of Jedi hands yet. Even if it is only two percent, that two percent can make a huge amount of difference in a war."

 

[Jorus Merrill]

[member="Alexandra Cinthra"] [member="Darth Tsolan"] [member="Aaralyn Rekali"]

"Alright, so. First things first. How long y'all been members of the One Sith, an' who do you answer to?"

 

[Vulpesen]

As he heard [member="Jorus Merrill"]'s questin, Tsolan let out a small laugh and moved to take a seat. Blunt, as one would expect from a man in his position. Of course, he was anything but blunt. "My time with the sith is and indication as to who I am and who I am is instead replaced by what I am. And what I am, is a man in a mask. As for my leader, my allegiances move with thoee who fit my goals and currently the goals of the one sith's leader work perfectly into my own."

[member="Alexandra Cinthra"]

 

[Alexandra Feanor]

[member="Darth Tsolan"]

Alexandra sighed and looked at Tsolan for a few moments. "That... was confusing, for force sakes i can't wait till you are normal again." She smiled at him and turned to look at [member="Jorus Merrill"] with a soft smile that crossed her face ever so slightly. "Ive been fighting for the Sith for several weeks now, about a month or two. It was after the Coruscant invasion i joined up with them. The one i answer too i guess is the one that i am fighting for more so than the Sith themselves, though i don't much care for her. Darth Praelior that is."

 

[The End Narrator]

Aaralyn didn't bother to seat herself or even raise a question as [member="Darth Tsolan"] spoke. Her arms remained folded across her chest as she simply stared blankly at the wall to her right, her fingers on her right hand would drum idly against her left bicep as she kept her thoughts shielded from prying minds. A smile would come to pass over her lips as she listened for a brief moment, reserving her comments for Tsolan. ~It would seem that is the typical thing for Sith, isn't it? Self-serving?~

Were these names useful? Intelligence might believe so, probably match them to faces somewhere in databases strewn across the Galaxy, but in the end they meant nothing unless action was taken. Action? Well, she hadn't taken much action herself considering the events around her return, then her father leaving suddenly. She felt like an orphaned child, dropped off at some random place in the cold rain...only this time she was older and this time it was a bit more painful.

It was the 2nd time she was dumped off like that. Made her feel less wanted by those who she thought loved her.

~Love, what a silly notion.~ Again, another passing thought that brought her smile to even bare more of sneer than an actual smile to her face. Hopefully, it would go unnoticed.

[member="Jorus Merrill"].
[member="Alexandra Cinthra"]

 

[Jorus Merrill]

[member="Darth Tsolan"] [member="Alexandra Cinthra"] [member="Aaralyn Rekali"]

Jorus had a daughter. Aaralyn's expressions were familiar to him, hidden though they were. "Master Rekali, any chance you could check in with station command? I want to be sure nothing else gets through -- this is the third orbital containment breach in two weeks. No offense, folks," he said, glancing at the two Sith Lords. "There's many that have done what you did, 'cept they did it with violence. Sort of a security issue." That was as diplomatic a dismissal for Aaralyn as he could manage. Besides, this system's security procedures and assets did need an experienced eye, and fast. His attention returned to Tsolan and Cinthra.

"Interestin'. This Praelior -- what's she got over you, or what does she have that you need, that you'd tackle a Jedi temple to earn her favor?"

 

[The End Narrator]

"At once Master Merrill." She pressed off the wall and bowed slightly, she turned to the Sith seated or standing, whichever they were at the time and inclined her head out of respect before moving to the door. She would stand there and wait for it to unlock before making her leave. As the door closed and locked behind her, her gaze would look back at the durasteel door and wonder. ~Ehm, I wonder if he caught wind of something...~ She shook her head softly. It didn't matter, he assigned her a task and she would respectfully get it done.

With that in mind, she clasped her hands infront of her and calmly made her way towards the command center.

[member="Alexandra Cinthra"]
[member="Darth Tsolan"]

 

[Reine Bisset]

[member="Eleena Miho"] [member="Ashin Varanin"]

"The point of the holodocumentary is to point out the evils of the Sith," Reine stated with a shrug. "I was simply using your word, there: Gift. I'm just curious if one could warp reality the other way. Purely hypothetical, of course. It just seems a little... odd if only pure hatred can twist reality. You'd think the other end of the spectrum would be able to do the same, somehow."

She filed away the information on the Sith spell in her mind and made a mental note to look more up on the thing. She also made careful note to keep such things secret and to only practice the spells she planned to learn far away from prying eyes. If knowing the spells was so dangerous, then she'd catch unwanted attention. Unwanted attention generally meant getting yourself hurt, or worse. When the woman went on about the smoke creature spell, she filed it away, too. Extremely rare wasn't a problem for her. It just meant more effort to find it.

"Dwoomutsisksah?" she said, mangling the name as she tried to pronounce it correctly. "Sounds... interesting, at least. Are they always humanoid shaped or is it up to the caster? I ask because the editors will want to know. They love their computer generated monsters."

The newcomer coming into the conversation drew an immediate spike of annoyance from Reine before she could shove it back down. She was sure the Jedi had sensed it, but again, between acting like a celebrity and the other woman's previous comment on how the planet could make people irritable or angry, she figured it was easily explained that way.

"If I remember right, the One Sith are on the other side of the galaxy," the Miralukan said dismissively. "Besides, if this tomb is anything to go by, they're all either looted or otherwise cleared out. There's little to learn in those cases, short of public education purposes, of course. Plus, there's a Republic fleet and naval defenses in orbit, so they'd be foolish to attack here. Toss in how close we are to the Mandalorian border and how much they hate the Sith to begin with... I doubt they'll come this far. Wave a paycheck at a Mando, or something he wants and he'll come running, especially if they get to fight Sith. Anyways, have you gotten holopics of this bas relief yet?

 

[Alexandra Feanor]

[member="Jorus Merrill"] [member="Aaralyn Rekali"] [member="Darth Tsolan"]

She laughed as the question was asked, unable to stop herself as she smiled wide. "AHAHAHA Earn her Favor? If i wanted to earn that Zeltron's favor i would have never left the Sith back on Ossus when the Sith Empire still existed... Hell i was her bloody damn student at that time and wanted her dead all that time from the moment i left. No i am sorry but getting her favor was not my purpose, nor will it ever be..." Her eyes shot to Tsolan. "Im sorry, but mister merrill, can my friend be escorted out so that we can talk in private, no offence fox face, but i need privacy for what hes asking me to explain."

 

[Vulpesen]

Tsolan's eyes widened behind his mask as she mentioned his leaving. "I beg your pardon? Alexandra, what exactly are you planning here?" For him, it was odd that she be so adamant that he not be around and with his already large lack f knowledge as to her motives here, he was becoming even more worried. That much would seep through the darkness of the force cloud around him. He had come here to defend her from any possible dangers and such things were hard to do when one was set aside. As for trusting the kindness of the jedi... he had stopped that long ago.

[member="Alexandra Cinthra"] Jorus Merrill Aaralyn Rekali

 

[Jorus Merrill]

[member="Darth Tsolan"] [member="Alexandra Cinthra"]

Jorus' eyebrows rose fractionally. "Let's see if we can't go another way. Blood Wolf can stay."

He slid a datapad across the table to Cinthra. "Write it out, pass it back."

 

[Alexandra Feanor]

[member="Jorus Merrill"] [member="Darth Tsolan"]

Alexandra paused for a moment, taping the datapad and transferring a file from her own personal data entries. And with them the small figure of Eve popped up as the files would have been encoded. "Eve, drop the walls on the files and please relay all information on Project Eden to the Jedi please." The Ai nodded and as Alexandra pushed the datapad back the files would unlock, though eve stayed in that datapad for the moment, knowing full well that Alex did not want a certain masked man to see them. Only when Jorus would take it in hand would the AI transfer itself back to Alexandra's own datapad. On it would be the information of her current situation, hel being separated from her body and several plans that she had set up to destroy the being of pure darkside, as well as what comes after. In very clear wording, Alexandra had on the data entry her plans to go to the Jedi and ask for a memory rub, and not of one specific memory, but of all of them. "Found it..." She made it very clear she did not want the file read outloud, not any questions asked, not with Tsolan here.

 

[Jorus Merrill]

[member="Alexandra Cinthra"] [member="Darth Tsolan"]

Jorus took a long look at the datapad. As it happened, he'd run into this sort of thing a time or two, and having guarded the Great Holocron didn't hurt.

"Yeah," he said, forwarding the message to [member="Kiskla Grayson"], "I think we can help with that. Shouldn't be a problem."