Private Hidden Knowledge

[Darth Varynx]

It was time. For months now, Darth Varynx had been searching for more knowledge on the unique force ability: Mechu Deru, and now he finally found the location of a holocron that would possess information regarding it. However, there was one small issue regarding it's location: it was on a planet that was under the control of members of House Marr, people who Varynx would be hesitant to irritate. The planet in question was Alvaria, the independent base of operations for the Marr family. This was worrying for Varynx as he would have to obtain the holocron before any member of the Marr family discovered it. Thankfully, there was one member he may have a chance to utilise on his mission and, hopefully, escape from unharmed. That member was one: Mariah of House Marr . He had heard of her, seeing her as somewhat of a recluse. She wouldn't show herself in public much, but would rather use a headset controlled droid as a proxy.

If he could gain her permission to remain on the planet, just long enough to pull of his search, it would be good enough for him. The issue, however, was how to convince her to allow him to take refuge on the planet. After a few days to plan, he finally came up with a cover story to trick Mariah to allow him to remain on Alvaria. Next thing he did, was hop in a shuttle and pilot it to the planet and aimed to land at the building belonging to his chosen Marr.

As he landed on the platform of the building, he leaves the shuttle and goes to a nearby droid: "I'm here to see Mariah of House Marr, is she available?"

 

[Mariah of House Marr]

The dock:
The droid looked at him for a moment then checked it's datapad, "One moment please." it gave in answer.

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The library:
Mariah's progressions had been going quite well, her process in the force of course was growing significantly. But given she'd started out with no training, and had so many resources once her connection was formed, it did make sense that things may move quickly with her advance knowledge of it. But it was her other studies that were moving fast, rituals and rarer techniques. She had grown a mastery over this one, to command her droid specifically remotely. It required preparation, but most of that preparation was done in the building of the machine itself. Creating a thing for the specific purpose of being in line with her own mind so perfectly, when she chose it to be, that the only things to break it were herself, and something happening to herself. As far as she knew.

Yet, this was not enough. There was more knowledge she had to gather and master, mechu deru was the perfect avenue for that. It was not on it's own enough, no. She had to take it, and grow from it. Her usage of Arana was, in truth, more of an alteration of a sith familiar, rather than an act of mechu deru. And so the fact she could customize the ability so much, meant an ability already designed for technology must have opportunities she could not yet imagine.

She looked up from her study as he datapad beeped and frowned, then looked over to the humanoid body beside her, then sent confirmation back that she'd be with them shortly.

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The docks:

"She says she will be here momentarily." The droid answered.

It wouldn't be long before a paper white figure strode out, armed with one of Mariah's two sabers. The initiation. What she had been having to practice with now that she was a sith. Saber skills were far from her specialty but she was trying. She did, however, always have backups. The blaster pistols she was far more familiar with, and were even easier to use in the hands of her proxy droid. Arana.

The pale droid smiled and bowed to the sith lord, "I am Mariah of House Marr. How can I help you?"

Darth Varynx

Spoiler: equipment

Arana Appearance.
Link to droid body: Arana.

ITEMS:
orestiad-flight-suit
Initiation (1x lightsaber)
Sunfury pistol
Bar-58 blaster pistol
Datapad.

 

[Darth Varynx]

After receiving a response from the droid telling him it would only be a moment, Varynx took a seat on a nearby crate as he waited for the Marr. After a few minutes, he noticed a humanoid figure made an appearance. After the figure introduced itself as Mariah of House Marr, Varynx stood up and made his own introduction. He slightly bowed towards the droid.

"A pleasure, Lady Mariah. I am Darth Varynx. I have come to ask of you a favour... but, if I may be so bold as to say, that droid of yours truly is impressive."

It wasn't a lie. Varynx was amazed. When he first saw this humanoid figure, he was confused as it felt like he was in Mariah's presence, yet the figure looked nothing like he recalled she looked like. Last he heard, she was remote controlling a droid with a headset, but it was still just a droid. But now, the droid had the same feeling in the force as a living being. He was intrigued and impressed.

However, with the revelation she could do this, he grew slightly paranoid. Could she do this to multiple droids at once? Could she hide the droid's presence? Could this be a mistake- no, he couldn't think that last one. If he backed out now, he could lose the knowledge he sought after for good.

Mariah of House Marr

 

[Mariah of House Marr]

Mariah as Arana at first tilted her head slightly at 'Darth Varynx' being someone who wanted a favor. Then smiled at the following compliment. She was a lot more comfortable doing things in this body. It was drastically safer. She didn't have to be quite as on edge at all times. That didn't mean she wasn't suspicious, any darth, any sith was suspicious. Though she was at least growing a bit more used to the ones with 'Marr' in the name.

"Well thank you, she was basically the first thing I thought of when I actually understood the paths that were open to me." She responded, "One of many I hope."

It was certainly a start, she did hope it wasn't some weaseling lie to try and do a 'let's talk in person' then attempt to kill her for some reason. Maybe some resentment against Malum? He was a council member now, so it was feasible. Mariah slightly loosened the meditation, she was still mostly in tune with the droid, where the majority of her mind and presence was. But her real body was absently typing on 'Darth Varynx' to attempt to look him up. See what she could find. It wouldn't be particularly easy so might take awhile, as her focus was still almost entirely devoted to the droid. But she'd eventually be able to at least find surface information she hoped.

"Though, I suppose it would be too much to expect a Darth came over here to talk with me about my attempts at proxies or drones." She tilted her head towards him, trying to maintain both respectfulness, and relay that she was curious on what his real intent of being here was.


Darth Varynx

Spoiler: equipment

Arana Appearance.
Link to droid body: Arana.

ITEMS:
orestiad-flight-suit
Initiation (1x lightsaber)
Sunfury pistol
Bar-58 blaster pistol
Datapad.

 

[Darth Varynx]

Upon feeling as though she relaxed ever so slightly, Varynx relaxed himself. He then moved on the conversation back to the matter at hand. He hoped that what he said would be enough to convince her, but he wasn't too worried. He'd manipulated circumstances many times before.

"Right, I feel as though I'm getting side-tracked, though I will admit I still wish to understand this more. Now, the reason I am here is that I request a hiding place. I seem to have bitten off more than I can chew with a rival of mine, and seek a place to lie low for the meantime. I simply require a place to strategize before continue my conflict with them. Would it be possible for you to grant me refuge for a few days?"

Varynx lowered his head upon his request, to try and make Mariah feel more comfortable and in control of the situation. If it felt as though he was placing himself as beneath her power, it may make her feel more comfortable with accepting his request.

Mariah of House Marr

 

[Mariah of House Marr]

Mariah hummed a little furrowing her brow in thought as he explained, he wanted a hiding place. Well, technically this wasn't her planet exactly. But...she did imagine there was at least some level of authority she could have here. It wasn't like the whole world was closed off, what could Malum actually say if she agreed so long as she wasn't authorizing him into anywhere that was more family than just some facility she owned to do her own work in or something. Especially for a few days. If this was some trick, what could he have doing it like this?

No, there wasn't enough data or reason to suggest this was some elaborate ruse to get inside. Probably. If he had much to gain by infiltrating the house, coming to her wouldn't help him too much there she imagined. He'd be better off sneaking in somehow. "Probably. Though, there's a lot of areas I can't give you any authority to enter into. Given how much is Lord Malum's, not mine. At best I own a building....for now. Though I'll warn you, it's no mansion. It's mostly for my testing and production purposes, and storage. You may not actually find me there as much as you'll find, well, this." she gestured to the body. That wasn't entirely true, but she didn't need him to know that. No...he didn't. And she should probably play the part of a sith right? "Though I would ask the question, why? I'm not meaning to sound rude, but it would be odd for someone to show up, stay some days, then just leave. And nothing to be different right?"


Darth Varynx

 

[Darth Varynx]

Despite hearing that she only owned a building at most on the planet, Varynx still maintained his pleasant smile. He didn't need her to own the whole planet, but even if all she owned was a landing dock or the building she has now, that was all he needed to carry out his mission. Upon hearing that any form he would see her in would be more than likely to be the droid in front, he thought that the situation would actually be more perfect. If she'd be too cowardly to come after him herself, she couldn't do much; that droid must have a limited range, right? Her next question made him weary, but he was expecting something like this to occur.

"I understand that it may seem... unorthodox, but I can assure you that while strange, I am merely here to steady my power. Prepare myself for when I return and kill this rival of mine. I simply request a small room to remain for 3 days at the most, so I can plan my counter attack."

Deception came easy to Varynx. Throughout his time as a student at the Sith Academy, he would sow discord among his opponents. Cause in-fighting in groups, have rivals kill each other early on, all in the name of getting ahead. He was good at convincing people he spoke the truth, and it was a skill that served him excellently in a situation where he would have to leave the planet quickly before more of the Marr's would find him.

Mariah of House Marr

 

[Mariah of House Marr]

She took in a breath thinking as she tapped her fingers to her side. She kind of wanted to help. But...there was another advantage to saying yes. She could watch him. See how he functioned perhaps. Mariah didn't have the power or skill of many of the more properly trained Marr's yet in the force, but she knew rituals. And those she actually had gotten fairly good at, they were knowledge and intellectually based. Sometimes philosophically. That meant she could spend her time preparing, practicing. And it also meant, if she could be alone to prepare, she could still preform quite a lot. Including finding some way to try and keep track of his on goings. Just not be too invasive.

That, and, "Alright, but you owe me one." she relented, "I'll try and be sure there's somewhere you can coordinate from, discreetly. That should have what you need. Of course I'm sure you know Lord Malum could override that if he knows and decides otherwise. I'm sure any of his sisters could too, so try not to cause trouble please."

That was somewhat of a genuine request, she really didn't want to somehow be responsible for this.

Darth Varynx

 

[Darth Varynx]

[Deleted]

 

[Darth Varynx]

Varynx smiled in satisfaction, he was in. Now, he knew he'd have to be discreet going forward, but he wouldn't have to be overly cautious. To use a droid proxy rather than your own flesh to meet with a person at your own docks? She was far more paranoid than even he was. He wasn't too concerned.

"That sounds perfect. No need to worry, I'll try and keep to myself so you don't have to deal with a more... complicated situation than you're currently in. Regardless, rest assured that I am in your debt, I most certainly owe you for your assistance."

He bowed slightly in thanks, but was smirking in his head. As if he'd repay someone for this when he tricked her into allowing him to remain here; she was useful to him, not someone he owed a debt to. He kept his friendly facade up even as he was planning where to go in search of the temple.

Mariah of House Marr

 

[Mariah of House Marr]

Mariah relaxed a little, if trying not to show it. Then smiled and nodded her head, "I'll show you what I can then." she agreed, And collect whatever data I can to avoid a catastrophe.

Naturally those thoughts had to be well shielded. She wasn't into telepathy yet herself so much, even if she could project herself into a droid so far. But that didn't mean she wouldn't take precautions against it. She waved a hand in the direction she was heading offering to walk with him, given the circumstances, by technically she realized she could probably use this visit itself for something. There was no perfect way to hide all data, and therefor she could refer back to this for some purpose perhaps. "How do you expect to actually coordinate however? That does seem rather vital."

Darth Varynx

 

[Darth Varynx]

Varynx gave a comforting smile at Mariah and followed her into the building. He had attempted to sense her thoughts at the time, but couldn't. He was currently focused on any physical surprises, but was still impressed she prevented him from reading her thoughts. He heard her questions and thought for a moment, quickly thinking of an answer.

"Well, while my adversary has the military advantage, I have a better one. A strategist he is, a simple thinker he is not. While I may lack numbers, he's far too bold and overconfident that he'd overlook a simple strategy once I've thought it up."

He then turned to Mariah and posed his own question.

"So, may I be so bold as to ask for more information on this droid force-proxy of yours? I don't wish to overstep, but collecting knowledge for knowledge"s sake, is my entire life's work."

Mariah of House Marr

 

[Mariah of House Marr]

Mental preparations were vital, even at a distance. Technically speaking, she did know some of the tricks prior to learning their force barriers. But this just made things a bit easier. Of course not having to worry about physical danger does make things easier. It allows greater focus. If she had to meet him in person, that focus might be at greater risk.

She hummed in response, so, he just needed to prepare. Not even a proper plan yet. But, that did make sense didn't it. Sure he could have tried some of that on the way here. But there was no guarantee whatever he came up with on the fly would be the right choice. It did make sense that you'd want to be able to sit and think properly. Even for something simple.

Mariah chuckled a little at the question, "It's not as complex as you may think...well...maybe it is. I don't know how familiar you are with technology. Arana, or, that's the name I've given it, is essentially just a more mechanical manifestation of the sith proxy technique. Admittedly, it's drastically superior in basically all categories other than if diminutive size or wings provide an advantage. But it still boils down to the same concept, projection of ones will and power across distance." she explained. She actually rather liked discussion of her technologies, and she didn't feel like it would hinder her all that much, "So, lets me act, and feel, as if I'm somewhere else. For the most part anyway. It's not perfect, but I'm working on that. You probably heard of White-5 if you knew of me. Well, this is number 6. 5 was just not reliable as a method of projecting the force, or feeling, he wasn't designed for it. That, and." she gestured vaguely at the robotic form, "If I'm going to be using one more often I'd at least prefer it be slightly closer to me."

It still looked far from her, but going from a clearly robotic humanoid shaped male, to something almost echani or arkanian female, that was a significant upgrade to her. It didn't need to resemble her perfectly. Just felt more natural this way. The fact that she could be giving away too much did occur, but she got caught up too easily in her interest of science sometimes.

Darth Varynx