Silver Moonlight

[Lief]

Shadows danced across the walls as she paced through the corridor, steps silent and delicately placed. She had been with Daxton for a few days now, but he had been indisposed. Still the young girl had taken the time to unwind a little, the planet itself was a beauty to behold, and it gave her chance to practise that which she had neglected. Her telekinetic abilities she had fallen behind with, likewise her Makashi, so each day she dedicated several hours to each, allowing herself intense training sessions mixed with relaxation periods. But now, as the sun crept behind the horizon and the moon peaked in the sky, it was time for her to once again meet with her former Master.

As she came upon the hall in which Daxton had instructed her to meet him within her sharp eyes caught every aspect of the room it could, from the high-vaulted ceiling to the slightly curved walls. To the centre of such a room she walked, before settling herself in place. Turning full circle she allowed her eyes to soak in the view, each window, vantage point, rise in the ground, door, anything which could be used to her advantage should she require it. And thus it was that her wait began, leaving her momentarily suspended in time while the silver moonlight crept in through the south-facing windows, casting beautiful shadows across the marbled ground. What did Daxton have planned this evening?

@[member='Daxton Bane']

 

[Daxton Bane]

The crisp sound of boots walking on the hard pavement heralded the arrival of the Wayfinder of the Order of Seekers to the private audience. Normally, the armor clad Sith Lord moved with silent grace and an almost inhuman aura of fear, one that sent the chill of walking death down the spine of all those who observed him but for now it was noticeably absent.

Even as he stepped into the room, the shadows seemed to deepen, and mold into strange human like shapes. All three sabers flew from his belt into the air, hissing as they activated like a coil of angry vipers. The Sith Lord issued a single command as he flew on the attack. "Defend!"

If she was keeping up her training, she would be more than capable of determining that the first two lightsaber strikes were mere feints. The real strike would be coming from both the lit one aiming for her knees and the shadow form sneaking up behind her to grab her by the arms.

Always a test, always remembering the first rule.

@[member="Kära Vi'dreya"]

 

[Lief]

Never let your guard down.

One of the very first thing she had been taught by Daxton was to expect the unexpected, and to be able to defend within a heartbeat. Well, her lightsaber was not to hand and she sensed the use of all of his extending themselves through the air towards her, so instead she concentrated upon the Force. A moment later the circular blast made its way from her body in a 360 degree radius, to push them away from her with the use of the wave technique. In the same blast she hoped to knock Daxton off guard, too, but beggars could not be choosers.

Sidestepping from her current position the young girl slipped her curved hilt down into her grasp and ignited the sickly orange beam forth into an arch through the air, immediately completing a flourish into the riposte, and prepared her stance incase he continued the assault. By doing this she had hopefully avoided the assault to her limbs and the grasp which had been aiming for her arms...

Never forget.

@[member="Daxton Bane"]

 

[Daxton Bane]

Her counters were brilliant and totally unexpected. Bravo he thought silently to himself. She had learned something, never to let her opponent dictate the terms of the fight. All though he gave no outward indication of that the blast wave affected him, safe for a temporary disruption in the orbit of his blades and the silent rustle of his cloak on an unseen breeze, the orbalisks on his chest were all agitated by the exposure to the Dark Side energy released and were hungry for more.

Sheathing his blades, he said, "Excellent my dear. You have not dulled one bit your time away. Tell me how goes your studies?" Extending a Force Bubble around them, anyone attempting to listen in with the Force or via electronically would run into a field of static noise and snow.

@Kära Vi'dreya

 

[Lief]

The young woman waited for a minute after he sheathed his blades, to ensure for no double-bluff, before retracting the sickly orange blade of her hilt and sheathing it away upon her belt. Daxton had yet again failed to change, and in part it made her wish to smile. She didn't, of course, Kara rarely did, but the desire was there all the same. I wonder how things would have been had Syn never found me upon Togoria and stolen me away? She had missed the tutelage of the Zabrak before her.

"I do not forget that which I have been taught, Master" she asserted, with a subtle inclination of her head, constantly wary and on guard around this man who had tried to kill her several times already. "My studies are well, I do not fail to address what is required to excel, and as I say your teachings have not been lost on me, nor will they be." The use of the sound bubble to nullify the soundwaves seemed a wise idea, while in CIS territory the young girl could not afford to be lax.

@[member="Daxton Bane"]

 

[Daxton Bane]

"So tell me what has been keeping you busy of late." Daxton clasped his hands behind him in a feigned display of relaxation, a bluff to see if she would reveal her interests and plans to her former master. He wanted to know if she would admit the truth or if she would attempt a falsehood. Either way he would wait for the opportunity to show that there was little outside his preview and knowledge.

Furthermore he wondered silently to himself, what would the progeny be like if Kaine and Kara were to mate. Perhaps this was worth taking time out to investigate. If he could combine their genetics together would that produce a more evolved Sith?

@Kära Vi'dreya

 

[Lief]

Ah, and so they got to the details. Her hands clasped softly at her back yet at the same time she was more than able to swiftly retrieve a blade should he try anything. Stepping from her present spot she made to pace softly around the room, while she gave herself time to ponder his question. "Well, there has been a fair amount of training" she began, with a tender little shrug of her shoulders, "both for myself and the students..." Glancing up to the ceiling, while still completely fixated upon him through the Force, she pondered further. "Yes, mostly training, and of course service to the Empire."

Finally she halted and turned back to face the man who was her former Master, OOCly grateful that she cannot hear Daxton's internal monologue or all hell would break loose ( ) "What of yourself? How is the life of a Templar suiting you, Daxton?"

@[member="Daxton Bane"]

 

[Daxton Bane]

Now normally such insolence would be met with a drawn blade, a snarl and perhaps some spilled blood. Instead Daxton smirked as he shook his head in what appeared to be disbelief. "Hasn't Zambrano gotten around to teaching his student's manners? My my it seems my student's have been slacking again. It's no longer like it was in the good old days."

"Well Kara since you asked so nicely, things are progressing rather well. Although these fools who claim to be the Rebellion are proving to be more of a nuisance than I expected. A minor threat, don't you worry but I haven't had the time to deal with them personally. I have several interesting experiments on going though."

Pausing to consider her closely, "So tell me how much progress have you made on our little project?"

@Kära Vi'dreya

 

[Lief]

She frowned ever so slightly to the words spoken by her former Master. "Have I said something to offend?" Kara inquired, perking a thin eyebrow in curiosity and questioning. "And Lord Zambrano is not my Master." With a very subtle sigh she shook her head and instead listened to what Daxton had to say to her. It seemed as though Daxton was set within the Templars, which was in truth a bit of a shame. Maybe one day she could tempt him back from this institution; the Sith suited him much more than this unstructured life of a Templar.

"Experiments?" she seemed to zone in on the use of that particular word; it seemed odd to her, but then again Daxton was an Alchemist at heart, what else could she expect from him? Shifting her hands around a little she clasped them once again in place, the brief moment of fidgeting allowing her to subtly reposition her lightsaber hilt. One could never be too careful around Daxton Bane.

"Our project?" she mused aloud, before biting at her lip in thought. "If you speak of metallurgy, then I have been practising and it is coming along nicely." However, truth be told Kara had another project of her own in mind for Daxton, too; but it all depended on whether he was willing to listen and hear out a former student...

@[member="Daxton Bane"]

 

[Daxton Bane]

For the briefest of moments Daxton was shock still, as he processed the information he just received. Then he gave a slight bow and said, "Perhaps it was I who was in error, given the time I have been away from the Empire, I had expected Kaine to have recognized your talent by now. Should I have the opportunity to speak with him, I shall correct this error."

"Yes, experiments my dear student." Daxton explained patiently. "Ours is the unending task of evolution of our skills. To stagnate is to die, thus we always have to move forward. Your armor for one, have you progressed beyond your mask? Have you been keeping up with your poison drills and antidotes? Have you been keeping your skills as razor sharp as ever?" Ever the task master, ever the teacher, he asked to make sure his student wasn't slacking one bit, always pushing herself even further than before. "Yet, I sense you have something you wish to ask. Tell me childe, what is it?"

@Kära Vi'dreya

 

[Lief]

@[member="Daxton Bane"]

For a moment she frowned; why would Kaine spot any form of talent in her? The pair had met but a handful of times, surrounding the Metalorn Invasion. But should Daxton send Kaine her way, or she to Kaine, she would have no qualms what so ever; more training meant one thing in the long term: power. A thing sorely lacking within the Galaxy. And thus she simply said "As you wish, Master" with a gentle inclination of her head; far be it from she, a mere Apprentice, to question the judgement of her Master.

Raising a hand she softly rubbed at her chin in thought to his next words; "I have not progressed with the armour, however I have been practising all the same; adhering to your poison regime, honing in the skills I have." Biting her lip for a moment she sighed softly, and glanced past him as she pondered. It had only been a few days since the mask, and while she was pleased with the outcome she knew by now that she could not do the armour by herself. "I would like your assistance" she confessed, turning her sights back to Daxton, "in the aforementioned matter of the armour." She hated to ask for help, it seemed an outward show of weakness, but if she did not learn how could she progress?

 

[Daxton Bane]

"What manner of assistance would you require?" The question was loaded one, easily interpretable in a number of ways given the crafty nature of the Sith Lord. Streams of moonlight reflecting off his own armor giving it both an frightening and yet familiar presence to the young woman. Daxton was rarely seen without his own protective armor, perhaps an attribute to the first rule or perhaps another more sinister reason....
@Kära Vi'dreya

 

[Lief]

Truthfully? Kära was being forced to admit a lack of knowledge, but it had been mere days since she had first progressed into the realms of Alchemy – even Daxton Bane could not hold that much against her. “While I have successfully made a mask under your guidance, I lack the knowledge and skill to forge a piece of armour”. Kära did not possess any plans, she had never owned nor wore a piece of armour before outside of Circe’s projects back when she was a child. As such, she required his guidance over this matter. “I ask for both your assistance and guidance in the Forge.”

@[member="Daxton Bane"]

 

[Daxton Bane]

With an amused smile, Daxton raised his right hand, summoning a spherical holocron from his pouch with seemed to pulse with an unnatural green eerie light. Gesturing towards his apprentice he sent it via telekinesis to her waiting palm, as if he knew all the while that was what she was going to ask for to begin with.

"That holocron contains the specs and notes of most Sith armor designs since the first Sith Empire. The choices are varied and most would be impractical to you since you do not revel in the heat of battle as I do. However it should be a guide. Study it well, analyze your strengths and weaknesses to incorporate it into your design. Always ask yourself, how can this make me stronger? How do I complement my strengths and shore up my deficiencies. When you get the answer to that, the Force would speak to you and tell you what you will need to do."

"Once your design has been made we can begin work in my Forge. However, I would recommend we develop one for yourself. Consider where you can construct a sanctum which suits your needs and desires. I shall guide you in the acquisition and construction until you also have a Forge of your own. Do you have any further questions?"

@Kära Vi'dreya

 

[Lief]

The holocron was sent towards her palm however Kara had learnt once the hard way not to let her guard down where this was concerned. As such she did not take the holocron but when he released his hold on it she reclaimed it through her own mental capabilities with telekinesis. It hovered in place before her, gaze never once leaving Daxton, before a small nod of her head was seen. "I understand, Master, and when there is such a place suitable enough I shall call upon you again. For now I believe this covers it, and I thank you for your resources. Is there anything you wish of me while I am here?" Her gaze slipped from his to glance upon the holocron as it hovered lazily in place, her recollection of the poison enough to stop her from being so quick to touch this. "There is... One other thing" she added, before shaking her head, "But it is far more advanced, and it can wait."

@[member="Daxton Bane"]

 

[Daxton Bane]

"Well now that you mentioned it. There is a small matter I require your assistance in. I have received word concerning a young Jedi, brash, arrogant, ripe for the fall. All I have to go on is name, Ordo. Find him and assist his fall to the Dark Side or eliminate him if he is too slow to be of use, either way he will come to serve our cause or we will eliminate him from the gene pool, that I leave to your discretion. Any other questions?"

@Kära Vi'dreya

 

[Lief]

Kara listened before nodding her head. "It will be done, Master" With that she turned and made to leave, her mind ripe with wonder. The holocron she now possessed would be looked over throughout the next few days, weeks... However long it took for her to understand the task at hand, the process to be undertaken. All the while she would keep her eyes upon her prey...

[I'd like another thread with you, for the alchemy we discussed (biological alteration) ; also when I have a usable target I'll let you know so you can edit, as discussed. Otherwise, thread is complete; @[member="Daxton Bane"] ]