Now you see me, now you don't

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Ice"]

His quick acceptance only elicited a raised eyebrow on the outside, but internally her mind was whirling into high gear. He wanted to learn, and agreed just like that? Now that was the sort of ambition and curiosity she could relate to very easily. It didn't hurt he was quite handsome in his own right, dangerously brilliant, and clearly able to handle himself in a fight if it came to that. It had been quite some time since her last . . . foray, last time had been in her university days on Lorrd.

His Force presence was guarded, but she could still sense that he was curious what she was thinking, and she made a snap decision.

"I think I could start teaching you alchemy, but what exactly would you offer in return for my time?" she asked, a soft smile on her lips to show she wasn't trying to be manipulative here in this case. She was genuinely curious what he might offer her to help start teaching him alchemy. She knew if she showed him the techniques she knew, he would start producing his crystal reactors faster, but then she didn't view that as a problem much.

She took a sip of her tea before continuing by saying, "And I trust you realize what exactly alchemy entails as I explained a while ago. To teach you those techniques, you would need to draw on the dark side heavily and who knows how you would react to having that much raw power and emotion coursing through you?" She added a wink at the end before taking another bite of her steak. Set piece moved, she thought, and will he counter with an equally . . . ambiguous reply.

 

[Ice]

"Well the dark side hasn't seemed to leave you any worse for wear. Quite the contrary in fact." He said returning her soft smile with one of his to go along with the genuinely felt response. Though he did recall she started to look a bit scary when she really got into her alchemy process. But then as long as it was temporary and controllable, totally worth a little risk. His insatiable curiosity would no doubt get the better of him one day, but for now, he'd enjoy every opportunity to learn. "I'm not saying I can handle it any better than you can of course. But I do not fear raw power, nor powerful emotions." He paused with a slight tilt of his head as he pondered the possible meanings hidden in there and wondered which he meant more himself.

"As for what I can offer....?" He thought about it over another bite of his quickly disappearing steak and sides. "There is much I can offer. And even more I cannot. The question is what are you looking for?" A smirk began to tug at the corner of his mouth as his mind went through a myriad of possible options, some professional....some not so much. "What is it that I have, that you might be interested in? Only after you have answered this, can I answer you."

He leaned forward as he his hands formed a resting place for his chin to sit on. Ice had to admit he enjoyed his time with her. She was a most intriguing person. Probably the most intelligent person he had dealt with in quite some time. And her beauty only made her both more alluring and dangerous at the same time. Again, things he had a rather strong fondness for. He was glad he hadn't had to much of his drink though, or he'd probably find himself the next morning having dealt away the farm to this wily woman.

Now to hopefully hear what she desired.

[member="Darth Arcanix"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

"A very good word choice," Taeli replied, setting her cutlery down and getting up, slowly making her way around the table. "What do you have that I desire enough to teach you?"

She deliberately sat down on the table, right next to him, making sure with an ever so slight use of the Force, her perfume would be surrounding him. He had countered, and now it was her turn to seal his fate in this little game of theirs. She wondered how he would take such a turning of the tables.

Leaning down to whisper in his ear, she continued by saying, "All I'll ask for in teaching you is that if you discover anything . . . interesting, you tell me. Whether it's a rare Force artifact or some snippet of information that you think I might find useful, you tell me. You do that, and I'll teach you paths to abilities you have only ever dreamed of, powers that will strengthen your standing."

As she finished her little speech, she leaned back a bit, a coy smile on her lips.

"But that's what I'm asking for, whether you agree or not is up to you," she said, her coy smile never leaving her lips. Well, that was what she was asking for aloud anyways, she fully intended for [member="Ice"] to give her certain things without asking, to fulfill her desires willingly.

 

[Ice]

As she stood up, he too set the cutlery on the table as he watched her slowly make her way around the table toward him. A curious smile played on his face and he pondered how she meant to reply. Though with their increasingly obvious allurements being thrown out, he had an idea. As she sat next to him, his sensed could take in the scent of her fine perfume, the sight of her toned form in the dress that complimented her curves exquisitely. She knew how to play this game well. But was it all just a trick to lure in a sap? Or actually something more genuine. Oddly he found himself wanting it to be the latter. Now granted the former was never desired, but the fact Ice found himself at all interested in a Sith took him aback for just a moment.

She leaned in and whispered in his ear what she wanted. A seemingly simple request really. And not one he could see having any trouble with granting. Force artifacts, he had very little use for anyway. Even if he was now going to dabble in the force related arts. Information could be a tricky thing to promise. But if they were indeed going to keep making closer ties, it would only be good business to have a partner just as much in the know as he, for certain things anyway.

It was then she pulled away, but only a tad. She was very good at this game, he admitted. But whether Ice had now simply fallen for her wiles and thrown caution to the wind, whether he was simply playing along working an end game of his own, or perhaps a little of both would not be plain on his features. For he too had been playing this game for a long time. When she finished speaking, her face which still bore her attractive smile remained close.

Raising a hand to softly carress her cheek, his fingers slipped slightly behind her head and gently guided her back to him. He leaned in the rest of the way and gave her a kiss. Her soft lips were just as intoxicating he found as the rest of her attributes. Pulling away after enjoying their first kiss though, he smirked. "Deal."

[member="Darth Arcanix"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

The kiss was exactly the reaction she had been hoping for, and it was certainly an intoxicating experience. The emotions it elicited in her were exquisite, and she could only smile coyly again as he pulled back. Part of her was as giddy as a schoolgirl, and sort of in a puddle of goo from just that one kiss as it had been electrifying for her. She could feel he had enjoyed that, but sadly she had to burst his ego a little bit. She certainly didn't want him thinking that he was reducing her into some smitten child.

"I win this round," she said happily, before moving in to kiss [member="Ice"] again to lessen the sting. He had, in her mind, lost the game they were playing as soon as he kissed her, but there would always be another game. That was going to be the nature of this relationship, she could feel.

"How long until the ship reaches your mysterious world so I know how long we can continue more enjoyable activities? she asked.

 

[Ice]

He couldn't he give a quick laugh at her first remark before she moved in and gave him another kiss. "It depends on what you view as the objective." He said with a wink and then paused to let her think on that for a moment. Truth be told, he knew she won. But then, he could handle "defeats" like this all day long. "How long?" A mischievous look played across his face as he pulled up his datapad. "We'll be arriving at 0400 local time, but will have to wait an additional 3 hours till we can head in. So figure at least another seven hours or so." He raised an eyebrow curious as to what she would say to this. If that was not enough time, then he began to imagine with much amusement that he wouldn't long survive this apparent budding relationship.

Standing up from his chair, he moved to stand in front of the beauty still sitting on the table. "Pray tell. What other activities do you have in mind, and is that enough time?" Ice asked just as coyly as the smile she had given was. He could already feel his heart beginning to beat a bit faster, and he knew she was feeling the same way considering her own breath had quickened its pace some from the kiss. He had to admit though, of all the possibilities on this trip, he had not seen this one coming.

Granted their playfulness had been growing with each passing visit, but he still found it surprising. Not that he was complaining mind you. Perhaps she would be able to prove his concerns about her wrong in the end after all. Either way, this new dynamic between them was not something he would let go just yet.

[member="Darth Arcanix"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

"I'm sure we can come up with . . . several things to do to pass the time," Taeli said, her grin turning from coy to seductive. It seemed she had gained his trust more and now she found herself treasuring that trust. Ice might not fully trust her yet, but with sort of level to their relationship now . . . well she hoped to completely gain it. One thing she had always been was loyal to those that deserved it, and this promised to be an interesting experience.

"Maybe tell your crew not to disturb your cabin for the next while?" she suggested, wrapping her arms around his neck and leaning in to kiss him again.

[member="Ice"]

 

[Ice]

Ice greedily accepted another kiss from Taeli and returned it passionately as he pulled her off the table and into his arms. The people that needed the message were indeed informed they he and his guest were not to be disturbed till they were ready to make landfall. And with that, they soon found themselves connected in a way that they no doubt would have both been shocked about when they had first met.

*FADE TO BLACK*​

​

Seven hours later, there was a beeping sounding off from his datapad. Lazily, he cracked open an eye and looked to see what the commotion was. After seeing what it was, he let out a wide yawn, stretched a bit and then rolled over to see the still sleeping Taeli lying next to him. A playful grin tugged at the corner of his mouth as he reached up and pushed aside a piece of hair that had fallen in front of her face. "Rise and shine beautiful." He said in a not so loud tone so as to be obnoxious.

Giving her a quick kiss on her forehead, he reluctantly rolled out of bed and started to get dressed for their trip onto the surface of Enigma Prime. It was strange, when she first came aboard, he'd still view her with a mild suspicion. Now it seemed he was willing to trust her much more. Whether this experience would merely turn out to be a fling or something more serious was yet to be seen. But he found himself strangely hoping it could stay on the course it had been going. How very interesting it was the way some things turned out.

[member="Darth Arcanix"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

Forgetting for a moment that she was even a Sith or had even left home, Taeli mumbled, "I don't want to get up yet." But she could hear sounds of commotion and getting up, she sleepily rubbed her eyes and held the sheets to herself. For all the world, she was looking and acting like just a normal twenty-two year old woman. Her mind was still taking a moment to process her surroundings though, she had to admit it was the best night sleep she had for a long time. Especially given . . .

"Well that was a fun time," she said, looking at [member="Ice"] and after their activities, she certainly hoped this was more than a one time fling. It had been better than anything she had experienced before, and she would not be opposed to the idea of continuing these relations. The game had indeed been a fun one. Brushing aside her long hair out of her purple eyes, she smiled a genuine smile of happiness. Between her Force Body ability and his . . . well him, the past few hours had been amazing and relaxing all in one.

"Did you enjoy yourself?" she asked, swinging her feet around to the side of the bed, the sheet still around her. Using the Force, she lifted the dress up from the floor and floated it over to herself. Letting the sheets fall, she gave him a last look for now before getting dressed.

 

[Ice]

"Aye. It was indeed." He said still tired from the previous evenings activities, though like her couldn't remember as restful a night for quite some time. He was also right. He was going to have to get in even better shape if he was going to manage to continue to keep up with her. Of course he didn't know of her force powers being used, nor would he care if he did know. Ice had enjoyed his time with her immensely. As she inquired if he had, he turned and caught a glimpse of her before she got dressed. A smile warmly filled his face and he gave her a wink when she too turned toward him. "You could say that." While she got dressed he came up behind her and wrapped her in his arms. Pushing aside her hair with his chin, he tenderly kissed her neck a couple times before whispering in her ear. "You are amazing." Ice gave her another kiss on the cheek before moving off to finish getting dressed.

He had gotten to see a side of her that he never expected to find. It was a sweet innocent side. A faction of her being seemingly not tainted and twisted by the hateful things that seemed to fill this galaxy they called home. He knew he was no angel either, but still. The chance to see and be seen as just a normal person with no cares in the world was a nice change of pace. Perhaps this was what Aaden had been talking to him about with Ana. He didn't think they were falling for each other the way those two lovebirds were. But still, the thought of actually caring for someone beyond what he could get out of them business wise was seeming like an intriguing notion worth at least looking into. Maybe this was only the start.

It certainly got him wondering if the Sith side was the front, or her sweet side. Time would tell, and he was willing to wait and see. They would be given some basic food which was easy to take with them as they headed to the loading bay. The ship shuddered some as it came to land on the surface. Another detail he neglected to tell her was the special way required to get into the planet and survive. He figured if she was indeed loyal and trustworthy, she wouldn't be here without his knowing it anyway. As they entered the loading bay, the door opened to reveal an intriguing new world to Taeli just waking up to the sunrise. With a smirk on he face he nodded for her to follow. "Welcome to the surface."

Making sure he had his dual pistols at his hips, he reached down and pulled up his SS-7 rifle and headed out. The world that lay before her was a planet with strange looking conifer type trees. There weren't any animals around at present though. Instead there was a behemoth of a mining droid. It wasn't really a droid but a massive mobile facility. The last bit of assembly were being completed as they stepped off the ship. "And that, is how we handle the mining here on this planet." He said proudly as they made their way toward it. Ice now simply waited the questions to start coming his way.

[member="Darth Arcanix"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

"Is that a Harvester-class Mobile Mining Facility?!" she asked excitedly, before calming down. She was still running slightly off the earlier high and she needed to keep herself under control here. "I mean, that is a truly impressive set-up you have."

Taking in the planet, she couldn't sense any lifeforms nearby, but the tress around them were an interesting type. They reminded her of the conifers from several worlds, but something about this world had changed and shifted them into their current state. She might not have any weapons on her currently, as per her vow, but this world was almost humming with the Force. No wonder those crystals had been able to be form here.

"So care to tell me the story of how you came across this world?" she asked, brushing against him slightly as they walked, but other than that, she wasn't going to hint too much about what they had shared and what she hoped they would continue to share.

[member="Ice"]

 

[Ice]

He raised an eyebrow at her excited question, but couldn't help but chuckle. How very interesting he thought himself. It seemed there was going to be a good many secrets to discover about this one for quite some time. Ice had wondered how much of her culture and technology from her...their people she had remembered. He had regrettably (at least so far in his mind) distanced himself from his people. But he still had a fondness for Mandalorian technology. Personally he still considered it some of the best in the galaxy. He gave her shoulder a nudge with his and winked at her. "Yes. It is indeed. Good to see you still know your people's tech." He didn't let on though that he was also Mandalorian and that was why he appreciated the exuberance.

"As for how I found this place...." He paused thinking over the query carefully. As much as he wanted to bring her into the fold, he knew he would never be able to fully do so. Her Sith masters would see that no matter how close they got, there would always be that one thing that kept them apart. "There honestly isn't much of a story to tell. I sent out probe scout ships. One of them found this place. We came to investigate, and now we're here."

It was then he noticed a man running up to the pair. Ice noticed it to be his mining operations foreman. He raised a hand up and waved slightly. "Fresa! Good to see you again my friend. How goes things?" The man approached with a grin on his face and gave a slight bow to Ice. "We've had better days sir...but uh..." The man paused as he gave a curious look toward Taeli. "Oh my apologies. Allow me to introduce you. Fresa, this is Taeli. Taeli, this is my foreman Fresa." He turned back to face the man and added. "It's ok Fresa. Go ahead with your report." He gave a quick nod in acknowledgement toward Taeli and then continued. "Well sir, we had another attack from those Night Stalkers's last night. We lost one man. But the beast should be up and running in just a few more minutes. Then we can get the shields up and keep those monsters at bay."

Sensing Taeli's next question, he simply handed her a datapad set to the page on Night Stalkers. "I'm sorry to hear about the loss. We'll make sure a proper credit package is sent back to his family. Any chance of recovering the body? And I did bring reinforcements with us though. So you should be about back to full strength now. Will we be able to start digging today?" The foreman nodded enthusiastically. "No sir. That monster took him away before we could bring our guns to bear. And yes sir! Pretty much right after we get the shields up."

"Excellent!" Came Ice's quick response, not bothering to linger on the topic of the lost worker. "Very well. We'll be right behind you." The foreman gave another nod of understanding and headed back to the prep site. Turning toward Taeli, he tapped the datapad she now held. "And that is why we waited till morning to arrive." An almost warning like look was on his face as he curiously looked on to see if she understood why he had asked about weapons before, or if she still didn't care.

[member="Darth Arcanix"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

"I don't see a single thing in this file about them being immune to the Force or invisible to it," she said, smiling sweetly at him as she passed the datapad back to him. Part of her really wanted to fight and study one of these creatures now, her academic and warrior sides agreeing on that much. "And as a Sith, I'm never actually weaponless. The Force will be my weapon while here if anything truly fun happens."

Stopping for a moment, she continued to take in the surroundings before bringing herself back to the here and now.

"I do believe we should press on though, I want to see that Harvester in action," she said, moving off with a spring in her step. A dangerous and mysterious world, full of rare things and species never seen elsewhere in the galaxy, why it was just enough to make a girl giddy with excitement and curiosity. [member="Ice"] would probably be wondering just who she was and what she had done with Taeli, but this entire journey had her almost skipping with glee. It was a real shame it was light out as she wanted to see one of these Night Stalkers up close and test herself against them. She doubted Ice knew she had fought much worse already from her lessons with Darth Praelior.

Another idea crossed her mind as these Night Stalkers might be an interesting creature to experiment with alchemy on, perhaps even subject them to the crystal seed she was developing to observe the results. She might need to speak with Ice about acquiring one for purely academic reasons of course. Maybe she should consider this their first date, she certainly didn't mind calling it that at all.

 

[Ice]

"That's because we don't know much about them." He said with a smile. Her curiosity and desire to learn were very plain to see. It was a desire that actually matched his own. Something he was not accustomed to seeing in others. And quite frankly, he wasn't used to seeing this much excitement in her eyes. This whole trip had been quite the revelation into the type of person she was....or at least could be on a regular basis should she ever decide to give up the Sith. "They haven't been our priority to study. I've been more concerned about other natural resources as you well know."

Another knowing smirk was cast her way, and he nodded for her to follow. The colossal droid before them having been completely finished with the construction process began to hum as it's main power systems came to life. He placed a gentle hand on the small of her back an encouraged her to walk a bit farther forward. The reason being is a few seconds after they past where he was directing, a powerful energy shield appeared around the entire digger facility. They would now be safe from just about anything mother nature would be able to throw at them. He would soon go on to explain this. "Now Taeli, with the shield up we are actually protected against pretty much anything. Wild animals, raiders, volcanic explosions sending debris into us, even orbital bombardment. It allows us to mine in peace."

As he finished speaking about the first part of the operation, hundreds of droids began to pour out of the bowels of the facility as they readied themselves for the digging work to commence.

[member="Darth Arcanix"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

"Well, I'm all for not being interrupted while the mining operation begins," Taeli said, watching the mining droids descend with rapt attention. She did note that [member="Ice"] still hadn't removed his hand from the small of her back and she quite liked it there. Something almost possessive or protective by that simple gesture.

"So how exactly are we going about this mining?" she asked, moving closer to observe. Mind walking me through the process and whether or not we will personally be participating?"

 

[Ice]

"We probably won't be participating ourselves unless you really want to. But I can certainly show you how it all works." This was probably the first time since they had become acquainted that he so casually offered to simply show everything. No pomp, no ceremony, no suspicions. It wasn't exactly that they had huge trade secrets here or anything but still. Even in this field some companies still liked to make it seem like they were doing things a way no other could have thought of.

"The process itself isn't overly complicated. Sensor readings already targeted this spot as a good stygium vein deposit." As he was speaking another worker cam up with a couple hard hats and work glasses. "Ah yes. Thanks." Ice said to the worker before taking the items and handing Taeli her hat and glasses. "Safety first." He said with a chuckle. "Anyway. A laser beam will drill in a shaft and then let whatever material around it to collapse. The beam will turn off, and droids will move in to scoop up the loose debris for processing." Granted that was a terribly simply explanation, but it wasn't far from the entire process. He just figured he'd let her ask whatever question she wanted so she could direct the details he needed to fill in.

[member="Darth Arcanix"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

Accepting the safety equipment, she smiled as she could her eyes had grown a little bigger behind the goggles.

"You wouldn't mind if we do take a closer look, I'm very curious about the process," she said. Not bothering for a reply, she scooted off to watch everything up close. She was actually sort of hoping they could do some of the mining themselves, and not for the obvious reason. Taeli hoped to emulate Darths Bane and Zannah and one thing she knew that Bane had done was mine cortosis ore on his homeworld of Apatros. It might not be cortosis, but she actually wanted to work on the stygium up close.

"What happens to the crystals that are caught in the laser? That seems like it would burn away some of the material we are looking for," she asked, watching the droids go about their work.

[member="Ice"]

 

[Ice]

As she began to scoot of toward where they were about to break ground, Ice reached out for her arm and brought her back away. "I do mind.....brace yourself." He said, not looking to her, but rather nodding to the soon to be hole in the ground with a grin on his face. Not a second later with the laser beam having powered up, it fire into the ground sending a shock wave out in all directions right after the impact. As the laser chewed through the ground, he pulled up his datapad and ordered some shovels to be brought for them. With that order sent, he turned back to Taeli. "Sorry about pulling you back like that. I rather like you the way you are. I'd prefer you didn't get seared by the mining laser." He gave a quick wink and continued.

"Stygium crystals are actually quite durable. From what I understand, they can even be used in your lightsabers. As such, they are more than capable of having laser beams shot at them and still survive. Basically, the beam simply chews away the material we don't need and gives the droids easy access to deeper portions of the stygium veins that permeate the planet." They didn't have to wait for very long before someone arrived with a couple shovels. Ice took them, thanked the man, and then handed one to Taeli.

"However, since you seem to be so eager to get in on the actual mining aspect. Once the beam shuts down, we'll go in and help the droids shovel material into the collector bins which will go to the machine for processing. Sound good?"

[member="Darth Arcanix"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Ice"]

"Sounds good," she said with a smile, hefting the shovel. Even though they were using droids for the main mining portion, she always believed in doing the hard work for herself. It helped her to understand how an operation worked, and to figure out ways to make it run better and to connect to workers so they were actually loyal to her.

Now wondering if they could go to work, she streaked off with Force augmented speed towards the dig site, her excitement quite evident as she sprinted. She was really excited to begin this process, the whole point of the trip . . . well on of the main points anyways. The other was most likely watching her with amusement as she raced over to the mining droids.

 

[Ice]

[member="Darth Arcanix"]

The laser beam soon shut down, and hundred of droids along with the excited Taeli raced into the unstable cavern that had just been created. Some droids raced to the walls to knock down the most unstable portions, while other droids loaded up carier droids with material to be taken back and be processed. Ice did indeed let out a soft chuckle as he watched his lover bound off for the dig site, completely unable to hold back her enthusiasm for the task ahead any longer.

As she approached the tunnel, she noticed sparkles and a glistening coming from the otherwise dark rock face. This truly was a rich deposit. For intertwining with the flatte black walls of rock was veins of stygium crystals. The object of their quarry was quite the site to behold.

Ice eventually caught up with Taeli who appeared to be locating a place to start working. Casting a glance at a nearby wall, he noticed a particularly beautiful but small stygium formation sticking out after a chunk of rock had sheered away. Ice approached and stopped the droid from doing further digging, instead assigning him a place deeper in the tunnel. After examining the formation for a moment, he took his shovel and carefully removed the small formation and stuck it in his pocket.

Soon he returned to Taeli with a smirk. "So eager to start digging eh? Well, there is plenty of that to be had here." He laughed lightly and began to shovel material toward one of the carrier droids.