Private Prince of thieves

[Cartri Keswoll]

Kalidan,Vengard
​

Today wasn't the usual run around for Cartri and it certainly wasn't going to be easy, even if he didn't notice it yet. Earlier in the morning, a contract popped into his data pad and requested if he could take on this job. Without hesitation, he accepted the job and quickly skimmed through the details. High risk... nothing out of the ordinary, but Kalidan? now that was something new. The planet was deep inside Eternal empire territory, a group he barely knew anything about other than where it was. Apparently a high up CorpSec official had a house inside the well defended walls of Vengard, a city which was the pride and joy of the empire. All he needed to do was sneak into the officials house and steal data regarding their next projects and plans, something of which sounded like a piece of cake to him. Yet, without looking at it all or seeing who he was stealing off, he quickly turned off his pad and began to get ready for the easy payday.

Cartri filled up his backpack with various tools and made sure to wrap up warm for the journey. They seemed to be experiencing some nasty snowstorms throughout the past few days, so it was probably wise to make sure he wouldn't freeze to death. However, it would prove to be a positive in the end.

It only took him a few hours to touch down on the ice cold planet, where the snowstorm was already in full effect. As soon as he took a step off the shuttle a blistering wind nipped at his pale face, forcing to look to the side as he treaded through the deep layers of snow that rested on the shuttle pad. He blended in well while he travelled through the surprisingly busy streets of the city, almost finding it hard to see what was in front of him while he wondered into a side alley to take cover. Now that he had temporary shelter, he took his data pad from his bag and double checked the location of the house, that was apparently close by. With a sigh the boy pressed forward, keeping his head low to shelter his pale face from the snow and the attention of curious citizens. Eventually, almost like it appeared out of the blue the high gates of the house came into view.

The house was more like a mansion, something that was way bigger than he first thought. Whoever owned the property sure wanted to let people know someone of high power or royalty was the occupant, not only that. they seemed to value their privacy and security pretty well. It's walls seemed to be patrolled regularly by a dozen guards, all heavily equipped with the latest CorpSec equipment and armour. They also seemed to have cameras and possibly sensors scattered around the area, but the snowstorm seemed to give them a whole heap of problems for their functionality.

Cartri kept hidden in a nearby alley way as he took note of the enormous task ahead of him. To be quite honest with himself, he knew a CorpSec official was going to have something like this, but never anything this big. Whoever they were, it was clear they were one of the top dogs in the corporate chain.

One thing was clear, it was almost suicide to try and climb over the gate and even more stupid to go through the front entrance... or was it? probably not when someone can take you in without knowing. A patrol vehicle slowly made its way towards the entrance after driving around the perimeter for a few minutes, Cartri needed to act now before his window of opportunity vanished. When the drivers were focusing most on the entrance he ran swiftly from the side and slid underneath them, managing to grab hold of something sturdy and pull himself up from view. All he hoped now was that no guard had saw his little trick beforehand.

They carefully come up to the fortified gate and get quick access inside, the guards playfully laughing and joking with each other as they wave themselves through. The guards above him take their time to drive to the side of the large house, soon coming to a halt as they wait for a few guards to cross their path. Using the moment, Cartri roughly drops to the snowy floor and rolls into a nearby bush, camouflaging him for now as they drove away at snail pace down the path.

As soon as they left he jumped out of the brush and brushed himself off, his head swivelling the side of the building in search of any hidden doors. And to his luck, their was some close by. He curiously looked up the stone stairway and wasted no time in getting out of the line of view, swiftly making his way up until he reached the doors. His body crouched outside and peered in, revealing a impressive library that was glowing brightly from the lights inside. The door was obviously locked, but that wouldn't be much of a problem. He placed his bag beside him and began working on the code locked entrance, using the training that was taught him by Xan to make short work of the lock.

He was half expecting an alarm to begin ringing out, but as the door creaked open more it became less of a worry. Taking great care to shut the door behind him, the boy turned around and marvelled at the room before him. The room was sure to be the holder of thousands of data, foretelling a range of different topics and subjects. However, their was no telling about how to access them. All the boy could do was stare with a small smirk on his face to what was in front of him, until he came into the view of something special. At the far end was a small shelf with a line of different old looking parchments. Cartri wasn't sure at first, but as he got closer they turned out to be books, real books. They looked old and dusty, written by people from a time gone by who lacked the technology.

Thump, went the bag when it fell to the floor by a antique table, leaving it to idle while his eyes scanned the three books that lined the shelf. When his curiosity peaked, he couldn't help himself to reach over and grab hold of the rough cover, only looking down amazed by what he was holding "I think you're coming with me..." he said to himself, excited to reveal what secrets it had written inside. Although, he had a contract to fulfil first. Slowly rotating his body, Cartri went to walk back to his bag and place the delicate book inside of his backpack. Now it was time to retrieve them plans and get out of here.

Ingrid L'lerim ​

 

[Ingrid L'lerim]

Lady Ingrid L’lerim Ragal Terassi Vandiir
Eternal Empress of the Eternal Empire, Lord Commander of the Wardens of the Shroud
The Red Witch; The Night Queen, Head of the House L’lerim, CEO of the HPI Consortium​

Location: Whisperwind Castle, Vengard, Kalidan
Equipment: Hersir Imperial Uniform || Empyrean gland
Tag: Cartri Keswoll

Not much time had passed since the coronation, Ingrid was still not in a good mood. That’s why the last few days, their friends with Tubrok, have also spent here not to let the woman grieve. It wasn’t like she used it much, plus her friends couldn’t go home because of the storms either. Even the palace systems had to be redirected to shields, so it went on all emergency reserves. It was as if there was a storm out there that should have been in the woman's soul because of it. For what she did not feel, because she suppressed all the pain, anger, and hatred that she had to feel because of the death of AMCO . All that remained was emptiness; if it wasn't good for anyone else to control her emotions perfectly, she did for that one thing. To not feel anything but the emptiness caused by the missing Force-bond.

She tried to sleep, with little success, so she rather walked aimlessly through the dimly lit hallways of the palace in her military uniform. When she was bored of this as well, she decided to get something to read, so she headed for the library. They had not moved from Vengard, she was already the Empress, so her place would have been in Wulfngard, in the Imperial Palace, but the two places were barely 480km apart, it was barely a ten-minute flight. She loved this place more, as did Tubrok, it was their home. Library; they had a huge library, both of them, preferred archaic books, but even Adrian loved them. She loved when all three of them agreed on something.

In the meantime, she arrived at the library, the door of which she found open. This was unusual, she immediately hid her presence in the Force, and with the help of the Force she searched for the reason for this. She also found there was someone in the library. It was the personal library, the employees could not enter here, only the family members. She went into the shadows, melting into the darkness, completely silent. She changed her eyes to the light conditions, so she can see like under daylight.

The Empress saw a young man just putting one of her books in his bag. She cleared her throat from the shadows where her silhouette was at most visible, but she herself hadn't yet. If she has managed to get the young man's attention, she will speak.

"I believe that thing belongs to me." she said in an emotionless voice, the well-known sentence of Tyrant, who was member of the House Osborn. "I suggest you put down the book, raise your hands, and if you don’t want to die, give me a really good reason for what you’re looking for in my library."

 

[Cartri Keswoll]

Just as it was halfway through the bag, a particular word was seen slightly through the layer of dust that was covering the unknowingly precious book. Clan... who knew what it meant at this point. However, he wouldn't have a chance to investigate further when a voice from the darkness almost made him jump. His head snapped to the source of the sound and gazed at a dark and mysterious figure standing not so far away, whoever it was their face and body was covered by the darkness that surrounded it. He slowly placed the book in his bag and cautiously got to his feet, where he stared at the figure bravely for now. The bag was quite heavy from the extra weight of the book, but it was nothing he couldn't handle as he threw over his back.

The boy stayed silent for a few seconds when her sharp words dug into him, sending a small shiver to go down his spine from her comments alone "Yea... I should probably do that" he said while slowly beginning to walk backwards to the entrance he first came through "But I don't think that's an option for me" shrugged the boy who knew his cover was now blown. He wasn't expecting anything like this, something of which made his normally confident manner turn into one of unease.

From all his time doing this he had not run into anything as unsettling, especially from a snobby CorpSec officials house. All this did was give him a thought, was there something more to this?

Ingrid L'lerim ​

 

[Ingrid L'lerim]

Lady Ingrid L’lerim Ragal Terassi Vandiir
Eternal Empress of the Eternal Empire, Lord Commander of the Wardens of the Shroud
The Red Witch; The Night Queen, Head of the House L’lerim, CEO of the HPI Consortium​

Location: Whisperwind Castle, Vengard, Kalidan
Equipment: Hersir Imperial Uniform || Empyrean gland
Tag: Cartri Keswoll

As she watched the other, he still looked terribly young to the woman. As the young man stepped back, the darkness and shadows made an impression as if they were alive. As if it were moving and watching him. It was partly true, but not completely true. Ingrid stepped closer, stepping out of the shadows. She was tall, with an airy physique, wearing a military uniform without insignia and associated footwear. Her red hair was still held back in a bun, as if she had just come from work and not been a strange night time. Her face was stern and perhaps the man could get to know her too, since she became the Empress, she had been quite well known, as her appointment and reign were not secret.

"If you go further, your life will end. In this palace, I am not the only one who does not like thieves."

She said in a still cold, military voice. From the exit, where Cartri wanted to go, there was a sudden strong Dark side disturbance. She didn't bother, was expecting it all. After a few steps, the Empress stopped, in a small stretch, her hands clasped behind her back, as usual, in a usual military base position. Wondered what steps the young man would take after that. Using her abilities, the darkness might have seemed even darker.

"You want to run away with my book. Who are you more afraid of, young man? From me or your principal?"

It wasn’t as if the woman looked so old, in fact, she wasn’t even old at all and looked younger than her age, only her gaze and face were strict, and her voice as well.

 

[Cartri Keswoll]

Cartri instantly came to a halt when he heard her threatening words, freezing him to the spot as he kept his gaze on the tall woman. She slowly stepped away from the darkness to reveal herself, a stern looking woman who seemed to not have an ounce of happiness in her expressions. The woman wore official military uniform with no insignia, as well as this she had unmistakeable red hair that was tied neatly in a bun. That's when everything clicked, this was no CorpSec official at all, this was the empress of an empire "Y-you're her... the Eternal Empress" gasped the boy in a mixture of fear and amazement. He had seen her face almost everywhere when she was brought into power, Denon news companies couldn't get enough of her.

Something about the empress was different to everything else, she was dark and empty, almost as if the darkness had adopted her and made her one with it. She also seemed to be well in control with it too, due to the entrance behind him becoming plagued with a disturbing dark presence that warded him from even going there all together.

His eyes shifted back to the empress cautiously as he tried to figure out a way to get out of this place alive, but his mind was nothing but clouded. Almost without thinking his hands shifted to the backpack and brought it in front of him, where he could carefully take it out and drop the bag to the floor "Your highness, I-I wanted your book because of my curiosity" he said honestly in a lowered tone while putting it securely under his armpit, a small nervous smile appearing at the corner of his lips "And to be quite honest, you don't have any business knowing my fears" the boy bravely said back to her, even knowing himself the empress was a dangerous person to reason with. To say the least, there was more to her that meets the eye.

However, another thing was starting to become clear, the book was clearly not any old parchment. Due to her persistent urges to gain the book back, it seemed it meant a lot to her. He lowered his gaze to the book and brought it to both of his hands, where something sticking out of the front cover caught his attention. Keeping his eye on the empress, he slowly opened the front cover to reveal something unusual. It showed the full title of the book, which seemed to indicate it was a study on the clans, a full length encyclopedia on their history which went back an unknowing number of years. And another thing, A note.

The note hung onto the page, and looked quite old from the looks of it. His eyes skimmed through the writing until it reached the end, where it was signed by a person named Adrian. Most of it was unreadable from the handwriting itself, but all he was able to tell was the word retrieving. His head tilted slightly from the find and forced his eyes away from Ingrid "Adrian?" he said in a confused tone out loud, considering it was owned by the empress instead of a man that was unknown to him.

Ingrid L'lerim​

 

[Ingrid L'lerim]

Lady Ingrid L’lerim Ragal Terassi Vandiir
Eternal Empress of the Eternal Empire, Lord Commander of the Wardens of the Shroud
The Red Witch, The Night Queen, Lady Stuztala, Head of the House L’lerim, CEO of the HPI Consortium, Archon of the Primyn Group​

Location: Whisperwind Castle, Vengard, Kalidan
Equipment: Hersir Imperial Uniform || Empyrean gland
Tag: Cartri Keswoll

As came out of the shadows, the man already recognized her. Ingrid didn't know who the young man was expecting, but she sure it wasn’t her. Most people would then shout or alert them after being on guard, but the woman didn’t need that. Fear and amazement; she felt these two emotions in the direction of the young man, in fact otherwise she would have even found the situation amusing, but now was unable to do so. Didn’t know there was so much publicity about her on Denon, however she was involved in the Darkwire area because of her companies.

"Yes, it's me."

The confusion at the back entrance wasn't caused by the woman, though she couldn't deny that she was the one who summoned the creature from the Netherworld to be here. One of her knights, but no one had to be afraid of them, it just scared others. She didn't let any demons or sithspawn come in here. It was private property, her own little shelter, and her family. It also deliberately had an old, archaic look to the place.

"You don’t have to be so scared, if I wanted you to be dead, you already would be."

Watched the young man's reactions as he hugged the bag, the book, then pulled it out and finally opened it. Hadn't answered the words yet, just nodded at them. However, she knew that the man could only leave here alive without the book. If he didn’t want to hand it over, she would kill him without thinking. The book itself was not very significant, there were countless copies of it, even in digitized form. Rather, its ideological value and emotional attachment were great. As the young man pronounced the name Adrian, the shadows receded.

" AMCO , prince-consort of the Eternal Empire, former Dark Counsellor and leader of the Pillar of Advancement in the Sith Empire, my late husband. And yes, that book was a gift from him." she said emotionless.

After so many names and ranks, probably everyone knew who he was, just because the NIO killed him during the siege of Dantooine and the man was quite famous. The Empress finally held out her right hand toward the man with her palms up in an elegant gesture, signalling that she wanted her book back.

 

[Cartri Keswoll]

Cartri, who couldn't help feel more nervous than usual finally showed something from his normal attitude, a small grin. He kept it and looked into the stern face of the empress, who had the same stone cold expression from earlier "I guess that's reassuring" he said to her in response to the scared comment. Although, the smirk would soon wipe away when her eyes continued to bury deep into his soul. Then, almost without hesitation she began to explain who Adrian was. As she explained a small frown grew from the significance of what he stole, even if it was tatty the note alone seemed to mean the world to her. The man was her deceased husband, a person who she loved dearly and thought of being a life companion. Unfortunately, things were not to be for the pair.

His face slowly looks down to the book in shame, feeling guilty for what he was almost about to take away from a person. Carefully, the boys hands slowly turn back the front cover to shut the book once more "I'm sorry about your husband..." he said in a sincere tone, knowing himself there was no way he was going to keep this book. Cartri lifted the parchment into the air for a few seconds before quickly raising and opening his right hand, using the force to hover the book over safely to her outstretched hand. When she finally had procession of the book, his gaze lowered to the ground, shy from meeting her gaze much longer. He still needed to figure out a way to get away from this place, but it was almost impossible with her stand right there.

"I don't blame you for what you've got planned for the repercussions of my thievery..." mumbled Cartri in a low tone, head still looking at the floor "But I fear for you and your family when they realise a certain boy is missing" warned the young man to the empress, still not daring to look her in the eye after what he did.

Ingrid L'lerim​

 

[Ingrid L'lerim]

Lady Ingrid L’lerim Ragal Terassi Vandiir
Eternal Empress of the Eternal Empire, Lord Commander of the Wardens of the Shroud
The Red Witch, The Night Queen, Lady Stuztala, Head of the House L’lerim, CEO of the HPI Consortium, Archon of the Primyn Group​

Location: Whisperwind Castle, Vengard, Kalidan
Equipment: Hersir Imperial Uniform || Empyrean gland
Tag: Cartri Keswoll

The young man couldn't even know how much he had hit what he thought. Ingrid wanted to spend the next few hundred years on Adrian’s side, as they both live in principle for hundreds of years. They could have lived; true still had not given up hope of finding a way to bring the Sith Lord back into the ranks of the living. No matter how long it all takes and she’ll also find a way to keep this from happening with Tubrok. She didn't want to go through this again.

The young man betrayed quite a lot about himself when he finally flew the book back into the woman’s hands with the help of the Force. Force User, or Force Sensitive. The book was quite heavy, so the woman grabbed it with both hands after it fell into her hands. Looked at the young man as he expressed his condolences. His voice sounded at least sincere, a lot of people didn’t even bother to try to make them look sincere. Most saw only this as an opportunity to get what Adrian had created. In the meantime, she stretched out one hand toward the bookshelf. A similarly chunky book moved on it and flew over to the young man.

"Thank you! This is the same book, but only a book. If you are really interested, I will give it to you."

Turned away from him, knowing exactly the location of her library, so walked to the long table and turned on a probe droid, which illuminated the whole room with a bright light after dark. Where the woman now stood was a long, beautifully crafted wooden table with chairs that looked just as archaic.

"I don’t really think I should worry if you don’t get home. No one can prove you were here. But sit down, to my question you still haven’t answered what you’re looking for in my home. It’s not very likely that you just wanted to steal a few archaic books."

 

[Cartri Keswoll]

Cartri only looked back up when the empress turned around to return the book, soon thanking him for not being stupid and making a run with a priceless piece of parchment. To his surprise, she offered him the same book, but without the note attached that made it so important to her. He slowly nodded to the offer and held out his hands, allowing the heavy book to land into his arms. The boy gave her a small smile in response to the gift, something of which he rarely got in his life "Thank you..." said the boy, his eyes gazing down to the book with a sense of wonder. Although, the empress would catch his attention once more when a probe droid illuminated the room from the unwelcoming darkness.

She stood next to a old looking table and asked him to sit down and reveal his true intentions of being here, something of which he needed to keep secret no matter how kind she was. He placed the book on the table and lowered himself into a creaky chair, his eyes finally meeting hers after a long absence "I don't really know what you mean" he replied with an expressionless face, trying not to reveal anything that would indicate his lies "All I was doing was finding something worthwhile and getting out, that's it" shrugged the kid now as he was determined to upkeep his story. From the little he had interacted with the empress she seemed to be sharp more than anything, so getting anything past her was sure to be hard.

"I'm a thief your highness, it's a mean of survival for me and the other kids on this planet. If you can't do that, then you're better off digging your own grave"

Ingrid L'lerim ​

 

[Ingrid L'lerim]

Lady Ingrid L’lerim Ragal Terassi Vandiir
Eternal Empress of the Eternal Empire, Lord Commander of the Wardens of the Shroud
The Red Witch, The Night Queen, Lady Stuztala, Head of the House L’lerim, CEO of the HPI Consortium, Archon of the Primyn Group​

Location: Whisperwind Castle, Vengard, Kalidan
Equipment: Hersir Imperial Uniform || Empyrean gland
Tag: Cartri Keswoll

The man finally came to the table, and the woman also sat down in one of the chairs. Shook her head on the response. This will be a long evening. Of course, she would have had countless ways to get information from the young man. Could have tortured him, given it to one of the Sithspawn, or a security man. But even just the authorities, which she has to do anyway. She may have been the Empress, but never felt like she was above the law. Did not make the same mistake as Tacitus.

"Please, it is quite well known that I was an intelligence agent and I led the Intelligence Agency in the Eternal Empire for years. Don’t try to cheat and deceive someone who's spent their significant part of life consisted of cheating and deceiving others."

Who did the boy work for? It was a very good question, most people in a situation like this would have easily given up whoever entrusted them. And Ingrid was so paranoid about her past that she couldn't believe was dealing with just a simple thief. However, the other betrayed that he did not know much about the conditions in the Eternal Empire.

"No, you are not local, if you were, we would not speak a common language and you would know that in the Eternal Empire, the High Nelvaanian is the spoken language and not the galactic standard. There are no street children because we will not let anyone get to this fate. And if you were a thief, you wouldn’t have broken into Vengard’s best-preserved and clearly royal palace, but any other house in the aristocratic quarter. Not to mention that knowing what the penalty is for that, there aren’t many such cases. Public safety in the Eternal Empire is greatest in the galaxy."

Will he still lie after that? That was the best question, because if she tried to speak to her in her own language to find out if the boy was telling the truth, the woman was pretty sure the young man would fail the test. She was comfortably seated in a chair.

"Well? One way or another, but I will know the truth. You probably don’t want me to hand you over to justice either…"

 

[Cartri Keswoll]

"No... of course not" Cartri replied with his eyes lowered, almost in a sense of defeat from the empresses words reigning true. He had overestimated his basic knowledge of the planet, and now he he paid the price with her totally seeing through his lie. He sat back in the chair comfortably for now, but his face looked quite worried from his only foundation crashing in tremendous fashion. All he knew at this point was that his back was against the wall with no where to go, cover and training totally going out the window. There was not really a good option to choose from now, it was either tell her the entire truth and get sentenced, where the corporate authorities were sure to catch wind of his capture and put him into one of their strange tests. Or the hard way, where he would totally refuse to tell her for as long as possible until he found a way out, which seemed to be almost as dim as him getting out of this place unhurt.

"I wish I could your highness, but I cant" he said as he slowly sat up from his chair and bravely glared at her stone cold face, his arms folding on top of the old table "Whatever I say will endanger me, as well as other people. I can't take that risk..." Cartri explained, his eyes keeping a close watch on the unpredictable royal that sat before him. If any information leaked about the search for data on their cloning factory the whole operation could turn on it's head, and many other civilians and Darkwire operatives would fall victim to their villainy. He was about to say something else until he stopped himself, a small frown crossing his lips from the situation he was in. This was the first time he had failed a task for Darkwire, and out of all of them it was one of the crucial contracts he had ever received. Eventually, with a loud sigh he was finally able to find his words "Please, you can't hand me in" pleaded the boy now, his eyes looking into hers for the first time in a while

Ingrid L'lerim ​

 

[Ingrid L'lerim]

Lady Ingrid L’lerim Ragal Terassi Vandiir
Eternal Empress of the Eternal Empire, Lord Commander of the Wardens of the Shroud
The Red Witch, The Night Queen, Lady Stuztala, Head of the House L’lerim, CEO of the HPI Consortium, Archon of the Primyn Group​

Location: Whisperwind Castle, Vengard, Kalidan
Equipment: Hersir Imperial Uniform || Empyrean gland
Tag: Cartri Keswoll

Ingrid was still waiting for an answer. The fact that she did not receive an immediate answer has already said a lot. Either he was just thinking about a lie or didn’t know what to do. He could have been sent here by an influential person the young man was afraid of. At least that was the woman’s intuition in this situation. Of course, it was possible that she was wrong with the line of thought. The man's perseverance was certainly honourable for his adherence to his principles. Ingrid has always respected all this. However, this was not the case when she could let go of the other.

"I respect those who think so. But I hope you also understand my point of view that I can’t let you go without knowing why you came and who sent you."

Looked at the man with a stern look, now she didn’t necessarily intend to intimidate the man, it was just more of a look that suggested "I always get what I want". That was pretty much true, not to mention the things she got that she didn’t want to. Such was, among other things, the title of Empress. But that didn't really matter now, she was talking to the thief about something else now. It was visible and felt that the young man really did not want to say anything. However, it became more and more interesting for the woman to know what might be behind him.

"If you are worried this will cause conflicts between empires, you don’t have to be afraid of that. I will keep it confidential; I will not start a war for an attempted theft. Of course, this option is available if you voluntarily share the information. If not, I can't guarantee this. Nor that I protect you from your employers."

And then she didn’t even mention it, if she kills the man, she’ll bring his soul back from the Netherworld and definitely tell everything what Ingrid wanted to know. At the request not to hand the man over to the authorities, the woman shook her head.

"In the Eternal Empire, no one is above the law. If I let you run, I will be breaking the law. How can I expect citizens to abide by the law if I don’t?"

 

[Cartri Keswoll]

He hated to say it but she was right, he wasn't getting out of here until the information was out on the table. Although, even if he did he was still going to be thrown into a cell. His eyes shifted uneasy as she shot a stern look his way, almost as if to say she was going to get the information no matter what. This was probably the most nervous he had been in his life, and the fumbling hands in front of him seemed to prove that "You're right, you need to uphold the law in your empire" replied the boy in a lower tone, a sigh escaping his lips from the slow realisation of his certain defeat. Just when he was going to open his mouth again, a particular object caught his attention from the corner of Cartri's eye. It was the bag he left on the floor, with a datapad hanging out of its side.

Somewhat of a risky idea came into mind, and he wasn't sure if it was even going to work. All he needed to do was distract her long enough to get a hold of the datapad using the force and press the alert button that was specially programmed into the pad for emergencies. Once pressed, it would send his location to Xan who will surely alert the others. Successful or not, their arrival was not going to come instantly.

"My task was not to bring wars between empires, but to acquire data for someone who wished to stop a corporate machine" said Cartri suddenly, making it as if she had finally made him crack "The contractor, who never revealed his name offered to pay me plenty if I found the data from this location. And out of my stupidity for credits, I accepted without looking further into the contract" Cartri groaned, who slowly slowly lowered his hand behind him and opened his hand, forcing the data pad to begin shaking slightly from his efforts of taking it out "From the looks of things it seemed to be an obvious trap, instead of a corporate official an empress of a nation resided here" his mouth frowned this time.

Suddenly, the datapad flicked out of his bag and flew towards his open hand with speed. Thankfully, it was already open before hand from him reading the maps of the city. As it swiftly approached the screen revealed an image of two people , him and his colourful mentor Xan Deesa as they stood beside some amusements. It was the time she decided to take him to his first carnival a week after he arrived at Denon, and they both seemed to be enjoying themselves as they laughed at the camera while stuffing their faces with candy. Small things like that always made him laugh during assignments, but was particularly dangerous if it fell into the wrong hands. However, he wouldn't need to worry if he raised the alarm and secured the pad before she could get her hands on it.

Ingrid L'lerim ​

 

[Ingrid L'lerim]

Lady Ingrid L’lerim Ragal Terassi Vandiir
Eternal Empress of the Eternal Empire, Lord Commander of the Wardens of the Shroud
The Red Witch, The Night Queen, Lady Stuztala, Head of the House L’lerim, CEO of the HPI Consortium, Archon of the Primyn Group​

Location: Whisperwind Castle, Vengard, Kalidan
Equipment: Hersir Imperial Uniform || Empyrean gland
Tag: Cartri Keswoll

Ingrid waited for the time being, feeling all the emotion from the young man all the way. The way he tried to find a way out, but it wasn’t really possible. As he admitted pretty slowly and realized he didn’t really know what to do. She nodded that the other could see correctly that she really had to stick to things. In any other case, the emergency call would not have come out of the building because the building was protected, but this was not the case, now everything worked only in an emergency.

Noticed what the young man was doing, but pretended it hadn't happened. Just let him talk, since he said a lot now. At the end, she smiled for a moment, it was not a real, not sincere smile, but a professional, which a businessman or politician used to do. She practiced a lot, which required good acting skills.

"As a matter of fact, it was not necessarily a trap. I am the CEO of HPI Corporation. But surprisingly, you were sent here and not to the Denon headquarters or the tower is here in Vengard."

Said in a still military voice. Sent the young man's words telepathically to the tsudakyr to forward them to the right place to follow up on this matter. Quite a few companies have been involved in this matter, so it may not be that easy.

"So just a simple industrial espionage… I would actually be willing to employ you, you can get a larger amount from me than from them. You even get what you agreed on. If you take the job, you will give false information to them. It can even save you from prison."

As long as she spoke, was almost completely motionless, nothing could be read from her body language, and her thoughts and emotions were perfectly controlled, so nothing could be read from them either. Was still watching the man without emotion, some interest at most visible in her blue eyes. She was really wondering if the young man would accept this offer or not. It could have been dangerous because the boy had to figure out how he got them, not to mention if the original principal realized what the intent was in that. Thanks to that Ingrid wanted to spy on the original principals…

 

[Cartri Keswoll]

A small vibration came from the pad when it sent his coordinates to Xan Deesa who was sure to come looking for him in due time. Hoping the Empress didn't see his little trick he managed to silently drop the data pad to the floor and kick it under his seat, while at the same time keeping his gaze on the now smiling empress. Cartri couldn't tell if it was good or bad, but he was sure to find out soon enough when she explained her true form. The boy could only shake his head slowly from the revelation, not only was she an empress but a person who Darkwire greatly despised, a corporate pig who strived off making peoples lives a misery. And the next thing she said only proved that point.

The empress gave him a proposition to spy on Darkwire themselves and feed them fake information, something of which would surely damage any future plans they had on the corporate authorities. Most importantly, she was asking him to spy on his own friends. Prison didn't sound like a bad idea now considering he would never betray the people who gave him a second chance in life, and if the corporations got his hands on him at least he was doing it for the bigger picture. The boys tone seemed to change as he suddenly let out a dissatisfied chuckle to himself, a small grin crossing the corner of his lips while he fired back at the confident business woman "You are all the same..." he said bravely straight to her face "You corporate fools think money can buy anything, especially a persons trust. W-well you know what? some things are bigger than that!" Cartri shouted now, a different person from his scared state not so long ago "So, by all means send me to a cell and give me in to the corporate scum. After all, it would be against your nature to ruin peoples lives wouldn't it?"

Cartri quickly shot up out of his chair and repeatedly slammed his fist into the book below him on the table, more out of frustration from the games she was pulling on him "What are you waiting for "Your highness?!" do what you do best!" the boy said in anger while looking down to her. Gradually, he began to calm down and almost seemed in regret from saying such a thing to an individual like the Empress. None the less, what he was doing was for the greater good.

Ingrid L'lerim ​

 

[Ingrid L'lerim]

Lady Ingrid L’lerim Ragal Terassi Vandiir
Eternal Empress of the Eternal Empire, Lord Commander of the Wardens of the Shroud
The Red Witch, The Night Queen, Lady Stuztala, Head of the House L’lerim, CEO of the HPI Consortium, Archon of the Primyn Group​

Location: Whisperwind Castle, Vengard, Kalidan
Equipment: Hersir Imperial Uniform || Empyrean gland
Tag: Cartri Keswoll

The tablet vibrated and then came to the ground, the woman still pretending not to notice anything of it. She waited for the outburst of rage; and the young man could not even know how fortunate it was that Ingrid was not a Sith, but a woman always acting on logic. If the woman had been a Sith, the boy might not have left here. So, in turn, the woman waited patiently for the shouting to end, spoke only afterwards.

"But they sent you here to die, and I’m trying to save your life for even an extra reward. If you don’t need money, say so and get it. I could actually let you go, though I don’t know when they would kill you. Still here on Kalidan, or only when you return to Denon?"

Inquired, then looked at the man seriously and coldly. She still did not react to the behavior, did nothing.

"Do you really believe that anyone will believe you were able to break into the home of the CEO of the HPI Corporation and the Empress of the Eternal Empire, get the information, and get out or you can leave without information and escape unharmed? You may be young, but don’t be naive. And that’s why I suggest you send another message to whoever you’re writing to. If you persuade them to come here, tell them not to come. With your friends, I won’t be as kind as I was with you."

Waited for the young man to react to this, then continued.

"I have the right people who can give you false memories, an authentic story that can save your life. You want me to do what is right, however, the result is very different. Should I act as CEO or Empress?"

Asked the young man coldly. She didn't move, sat in the same place and in the same way as before. It was as if she was just a marble statue, and with her cold blue eyes it could have the effect of seeing Cartri's soul.

 

[Cartri Keswoll]

The teen breathed heavily as he stood above the empress, who impressively kept a stone cold expression that didn't seem to change at all. Then, without little effort a single sentence seemed to shift the tide completely. Everything she said was true, there was no lie that could of been dissected from her statement. It took the teen a few seconds to realise she was right, whoever sent him here clearly wanted to bring harm to him, or worse death. Cartri slowly started to become loose from the tense stance he had, and his eyes seemed to tell the story of his realisation. The next thing she said only confirmed things even more, not only was he wrong, but naïve of what the empress was trying to do.

Slowly, he fell back into the antique chair and looked over to the Empress as she threated about the possibly of not being so kind to the rescuers, his eyes widening in shock from the thought of what she would do to them. Cartri tried to open his mouth to say something back to her, something that would disprove all she said. However, nothing would make its way out. Almost in a stunned silence he shut his mouth and hesitantly reached under the chair to his data pad, where he placed it on the table for her to see. Looking back to her now and then he unlocks the data pad with a swipe and swiftly sends a message to Xan Deesa saying "False alarm! I was just doing a test to see if it works. Should be back soon, Cartri" he replied, before shutting off the pad and leaving it on the table, not caring of its secrecy no more.

Cartri leaned back in the chair once more and folded his arms, still listening closely to watch she had planned for him. False memories? that sounded a bit strange. It almost sounded like a trick to brainwash him. Yet, from how the empress was acting it didn't sound like a trick by the slightest "T-the empress..." the teen replied to her question, his voice sounding nervous for the first time in a while. Cartri finally had the guts to look into her cold blue eyes, ones of which looked like they could stare into your soul. He visibly shifted uneasily from the sight of it and looked down to the table to avoid her intimidating gaze "If I were to agree, what kind of memories or stories would you give me?" he asked curiously in the same nervous tone "And please... if you're planning on brainwashing me I want you to answer me honestly like before. Promise me it won't bring harm to any of my friends."

Ingrid L'lerim ​

 

[Ingrid L'lerim]

Lady Ingrid L’lerim Ragal Terassi Vandiir
Eternal Empress of the Eternal Empire, Lord Commander of the Wardens of the Shroud
The Red Witch, The Night Queen, Lady Stuztala, Head of the House L’lerim, CEO of the HPI Consortium, Archon of the Primyn Group​

Location: Whisperwind Castle, Vengard, Kalidan
Equipment: Hersir Imperial Uniform || Empyrean gland
Tag: Cartri Keswoll

Ingrid waited for the young man to realize that there was truth behind her words that she did not want to lie, but just to open his eyes. In this story, she may have looked like the evil corporate leader or the cruel Empress, but that was the appearance. Of course, this would have been true if she hadn’t seen the possibilities in adolescence or if she hadn’t found him like the young version from herself. Had it not been so, the boy would no longer have lived. But it was so, so she tried to help him.

Luckily, the young man also realized that the best solution was to do what the woman was telling him, so he asked whoever wanted to come here not to do it. With him/her or with them, the woman really wouldn’t have been as kind as she was with this young man. Ingrid nodded when that happened. The systems of the castle may not have been operating at all, only in reserve mode, but countless security people were still present. True here is less than what will be in their new home, where they will move to the outskirts of the city in a few weeks.

"So as an empress… I hope you will forgive me, but I refuse this request. I doubt you would endure what would be waiting for you in the local justice system. I’m not going to send kids to death for a bad decision."

Said in a still cold voice while maintaining eye contact. She listened to the question; the other was still nervous. Ingrid really couldn’t blame him for all that, after all, it’s a pretty different situation than a street fight. Sure, in both places their life might be in danger, but in the other situation it was easier to do against it.

"I'm not going to do a brainwashing, I promise. And I always keep what I promise. What will the story be? It’s mostly up to you; for you know yourself. You know what’s most believable about how you escaped from here or how you succeeded. After all, I wouldn’t send you back to death, which could be caused by fake but bad memories."

 

[Cartri Keswoll]

As Cartri stared back at the empress with a look of unease he couldn't help but notice her unchanged expression or tone. Even after his small outburst she kept stone cold, unfazed and dead set on getting what she wanted. It was clear why this woman was the leader of a nation, the way she talked made people listen and believe her, no matter if it was right or wrong. Hanging on to every word she said the teen replied with a nod of clearance to her final words, almost relieved that she actually gave him mercy compared to other people that would of made his life a misery. She was right about him not being a fit for the local system, Cartri doubted himself that he would of lasted a week in there, even after the training he received from Xan wouldn't be much help in a hell hole like prison

"Thank you..." he sighed while fumbling around with his fingers awkwardly, his expression still looing as nervous as before "Any other person wouldn't have a second thought in putting me in a cell and throwing away the key. B-but you're different... you actually took my safety into account" carried on the boy, who finally let out a small smile of relief from the whole situation. Slowly, he lifted himself from the old chair that creaked loudly and put a hand threw his hair to actually make it look presentable. He leaned over the table and grabbed a hold of his datapad, putting it under his armpit as he looked down to the Empress in a calm state this time, compared to the furious state he was in not so long ago.

"I-I thought you were like the rest of those corrupt official who didn't give a crap about who they hurt, I was wrong..." sighed the boy who unexpectedly extended his hand downwards to the Empress for a handshake. His hand visibly shaked from how nervous he still felt about the whole thing, something of which never really happened in high pressure situations. Cartri saw it almost instantly and lowered his eyes in a way of shame, embarrassed for being scared for one of the few times in his life "I'm sorry"

Ingrid L'lerim ​

 

[Ingrid L'lerim]

Lady Ingrid L’lerim Ragal Terassi Vandiir
Eternal Empress of the Eternal Empire, Lord Commander of the Wardens of the Shroud
The Red Witch, The Night Queen, Lady Stuztala, Head of the House L’lerim, CEO of the HPI Consortium, Archon of the Primyn Group​

Location: Whisperwind Castle, Vengard, Kalidan
Equipment: Hersir Imperial Uniform || Empyrean gland
Tag: Cartri Keswoll

The woman only guessed what the young man might have been through in this situation; because she was never in such a situation. She only saw in others, including before she killed someone, saw in their eyes that they understood that there was an end there, they were going to die. But that was different, she didn't want to kill anyone now. But if the young man didn’t believe her, he might have thought she would. However, she really didn’t lie, she could have done it, since the other wouldn’t have even remembered the lie. But Ingrid also had a conscience. It may be a little strange and twisted in the eyes of others, but for those who knew her, it made sense.

"What I look like in the media, in front of my people and the galaxy, doesn’t necessarily match what I am. In front of others, different expectations must be met than in civilian life. Already when I can afford the luxury of behaving like a civilian."

Her voice hadn't changed, it was the same cold and military, but she hoped the young man understood what she was thinking. She could not behave more directly than this; many other conditions had to be met for that.

"In addition… you are reminding me. When I was even younger. I love to embrace and help young talent, I even have a foundation for that. It also contributed to me making that decision about you."

Corrupt… well everything could be said to the woman, but not that. The Empress was straight in that respect and not even the power spoiled her. She didn't let it; it was especially easy without being interested in any power. And yes, she promised this to Adrian. The handshake surprised the woman for a moment, but accepted the boy's hand and returned the handshake firmly.

"You need to learn to control your emotions, you are a Force user, unless you want to be on the Dark Side, you have to do something about it and find someone to teach you to do so. Actually, there’s another story that might come in handy for you. We will be moving out of here in the next few days. It is also possible that you only found the empty palace here and therefore did not get any data. If you feel this is appropriate. And you don’t owe an apology, judging by what you saw, what the world knows about me, so it’s completely understandable."