Private Sithly Secrets

[Naestra]

Tags: Anen

---

Naestra hummed absently to herself as she inspected the damaged inscriptions on the wall in front of her. A scholar like her was always eager to learn, and right now she was learning a lot.

Or rather she was beginning the process of learning a lot. Her time spent meditating in the Jedi Temple had revealed secrets to her before. Places touched by the force, light and dark, but the places of particular interest to her were the ones that hadn’t been thoroughly investigated yet. Such as this one in front of her right now.

She found in her meditations a planet touched by the dark side that hadn’t been explored for a while, and she wanted to find out more. Why was it seeped in the blackness so? Was it by happenstance like Korriban? Or by dark sorcery like Nathema? Was this place inhabited? If it was could the people thereon be saved from their grim fate? Or were they doomed to an eternity of wickedness like the Sith Purebloods?

All of these questions and more had plagued her mind. And she went with all haste to the planet, bringing any records she could find of the place with her to study en route. She found next to nothing however, only making the trip even more exciting.

And so it was that she landed on the planet Tobruk, and immediately began scouring the surface for any landmarks that had the dark side seeped within them.

And she found one. A Pyramid, crafted from grey stone set in the middle of a crater atop a large mountain. It was in ruins, but was still remarkably intact. Ruins that she descended to, landed outside of and approached. She intended to learn more of this place, and immediately began taking notes.

 

[Anen]

Naestra

Anen sighed as he looked over the documents he had before him. He honestly really didn't like this kind of task, but, it was better than straight combat. He was on a mission to investigate a place of the dark side. These were not gentle lands. Exactly what kind of challenge, if any, was before him, he didn't know just yet. He was prepared for a fight of course, his body had it's standard alterations and he'd had plenty of a meal. But realistically, he was more worried about dark side corruption. The dark side was dangerous, and could be as subtle as it could be blatant.

The transport came out of hyperspace and he took to landing it. This was not going to be fun. Not at all. But it needed to be done, he needed to practice doing things he really didn't want to, going places that were dangerous and dark. Because some day that may be required of him, and he had to be prepared if it was. As far as he knew, this was no longer sith territory. Which meant all he'd have to deal with, hopefully, were the dead.

Anen Krae made his way through the lands, even from a distance, he could feel a pit in his stomach. A twisting feeling. This was far worse than merely the Followers of Emotion on his homeworld, this was...so much worse. At home, they were kept in check, but here, in a place he could feel like a compass, they had gone too free in their methods. And it echoed even now.

As he approached, a disgusted look on his face that he struggled to force down, he tilted his head, spotting in the distance that he wasn't alone. Naestra , looking upon a pyramid. Yet...he was pretty sure he didn't feel the dark side flowing from her. But that could be hidden. No, no, that was an unnecessary assumption. Here he was doing maybe the same thing...hopefully. Anen waved an arm and started to approach, "Hello there!" he called out.

Spoiler: Notes/inventory

Note for those who can sense force presences: Anen possesses 2, one is his natural presence, the other is an organ within him.

Form: Standard humanoid with his common internal alterations.
Inventory:
Standard blue lightsaber
Datapad with extended range and storage
Standard equipment like comms.
Simple green and white garments.
centennial-osprey-class-jedi-transport

 

[Naestra]

The first thing to pop into Naestra’s head upon hearing those words were those said in response to them by the legendary General Greivous. She was so tempted to turn around to whomever had spoken and reply with “General Kenobi”. Though she wasn’t sure anyone would actually know what she was talking about. She herself had studied the Clone War, and all that happened therein. How the Jedi of the era had been by far the worst the Order had ever seen, not only by being something that they shouldn’t but by doing things that were very much against the Jedi way. The Dawn Temple came to mind on that particular subject.

There was no real guarantee that the person behind her would know who Obi-Wan Kenobi was, so the joke would most likely fall flat on its face. And she would rather not make a fool of herself by making an obscure joke and sounding like an absolute idiot.

Instead she turned around, her helmet had been removed and set beside her as she looked over one of the many obelisks that were erected around the temple, copying down some of the runes that she saw for later cross-referencing to see if she could learn what language it was, and hopefully what it said.

“Oh… h-hi.” She said nervously, her pale, delicate face turning to look his way. On second thought, she was way too nervous around people to make a joke like that anyway. She would have choked on it just trying.

She could immediately tell that he was force sensitive. Though oddly enough he seemed to have two different signatures in the force not one. It was an odd thing to see. But she sensed no malice from him either, and if he intended harm he would have attacked her without speaking first.

Immediately her face grew pale. She had allowed herself to lose awareness of her surroundings. On a planet as dark as this! What a fool she was!

She was lucky nothing had attacked her!

She shook her head and returned her attention to the stranger. “Y-you’re a Jedi right? I didn’t think any others would have come all this way. Is there trouble?”

 

[Anen]

He hesitated at the response briefly tilting his head and smiling in a combination of his own confusion and now some other hesitation he hadn't tracked yet. Well, she hadn't attacked! And that was a very good sign as far as he was concerned. He just hoped all that stuck for the time being. He smiled back in response as he closed the gap a bit more so he didn't have to talk from so far away and then bowed his head and cleared his throat, "H! And yes, I am. Just a padawan though." he explained, "I'm Anen Krae, I was just out here on a journey of my own to..." he looked cautiously at the temple, and covered up a quickly forming scowl.

"To study I guess. I'm not really a fan of the dark side but I need to practice things other than stitching people back together." He gestured vaguely at her equipment combined with her notes, "You here for a battle or a survey?" he prompted cheerfully trying to keep the mood light. He sure was glad she wasn't a sith pureblood. They were such an odd race. He was sure that not all of them had to be bad, but he wasn't sure that the good ones would feel good in the force. And that would make it very hard to trust them.

 

[Naestra]

She was indeed not a Sith Pureblood. The woman he looked upon was a slender Sephi, with long pointed ears and a smooth flowing mass of deep red hair running down her back. Even tied back in a ponytail as it was it was thick and massive, definitely a problem to brush.

His comment on her armor made her scratch the back of her head nervously. “You never know with these dark worlds. Better safe than sorry.”

But then something else dawned on her and her eyes grew wide.

“A Padawan?!” She demanded, astonished and even a little upset. “Who would allow a Padawan to come to such a place alone?! Where is your master?! Are they with you?! If they aren’t I will have a few words for them when I return to the temple! Letting a Padawan come out here alone! How irresponsible!”

---

Anen

 

[Anen]

A fascinating person to look at, he knew of the species, he knew of many species, but he wasn't sure he'd gotten to see one yet. He wasn't sure what would be the most accurate word, was elegant right? He wasn't sure. Armor would seem at odds with that claim he thought, but maybe that was just the word armor.

He shrugged at her answer, "I can agree with that." he admitted.

Anen grew a smile progressively at her surprise and reaction to him being off on his own, calmly answering, "Would it help if I told you I'm a doctor and can do just fine on my own?" he considered for a moment how to explain. Tapping his chin in thought, then held up a hand, "Would you expect a wookie warrior to always have to be with a master just because they hadn't formally passed the trials yet? Besides...we didn't really have as strict a master padawan system where I joined."

Naestra

 

[Naestra]

Elegant was usually the word used to describe the Sephi. Even armored as she was it was not inelegant, even if it wasn’t the way the Jedi usually worked. Perhaps even more interesting about the woman in front of him, was that the armor she wore, as well as the sword at her hip and the halberd planted butt-first into the earth beside her, were definitely imbued with the force. Her sword was able to clash with any lightsaber, and cut through most materials with similar ease.

“Yes.” She said immediately. “I’m not one to be dogmatic but there’s a reason that the trials are in place, and a reason that the Padawan-Master dynamic is in place to begin with. If you are capable of passing the trials then you should have. And if you aren’t ready for them then you shouldn’t be off on your own. You are your Master’s responsibility until such time that you go through the trials.”

She sighed, and took a moment to calm her irritation. It never really boiled over into anger, she never let herself get angry, but irked was definitely something that she could permit. But she wasn’t about to let herself go.

“I suppose it doesn’t matter. I’ll be sticking with you then. I’m Jedi Knight Naestra. It’s good to meet you Anen.”

---

Anen

 

[Anen]

He tilted his head looking at the armor and the sword. It brought back memories of home. Jedi-like they were not perhaps. But force enhanced items were common where he was from. They seemed to suit her well, though he couldn't help but drift into memory for a moment while looking at them. It had been a long time since he'd been on his home planet.

His eyes shot back to her as she answered, he gave her an apologetic shrug, "I probably should find out. But I've been pretty busy." he bowed his head. Though he didn't quite concede the point about needing to have a master-padawan dynamic. He had never been truly convinced of the necessity of it, and felt that at his current age and experience, it was a bit late to require it. Still, he wasn't a knight yet. And he really didn't want to argue the point with her. She seemed a lot more agitated over it, than he was about her suggestion he required a master with him.

He smiled and nodded again at her introduction, "Pleasure to meet you." A smirk grew over his face looking at her equipment again, "Though, for someone insisting on the master-padawan roles being enforced, your equipment is hardly traditional for a jedi." he quickly held up a hand, "Not that I'm judging you. I'd probably consider armor to, but it'd get in the way for me too much."

Naestra

[/spoiler]

 

[Naestra]

She sighed. “I apologize for my agitation. I don’t like the idea of those unprepared for places like this going in alone. This place is even dangerous for Jedi Knights like myself. I simply don’t like the idea of needlessly endangering people who have only just begun their journey.”

“Actually.” She said brightly with a smile that told him he might just be in for an enthusiastic lecture about Jedi history. “This is THE most traditional equipment for a Jedi to have. Before the age of Lightsabers they used swords and other metal weapons, such as my Halberd. And I made them and the armor in an experiment meant to explore the ancient ways of the Je’daii of Tython. The first ever order of people dedicated to the study of the force, and the direct and first predecessor to the order we have today.”

“But I digress. What are you doing here? You don’t seem the scholarly type. So what interest have you in a world as dark as this?”

---

Anen

 

[Anen]

Naestra
He nodded appreciatively, "I understand. Truly though, I'm not a novice on exploring alone." he tried to assure her. Though, he did realize there was some truth about it in this place. Physically yes, he could defend himself very well. But this place was quite dark sided in nature, and that posed additional threats. He felt appropriately prepared, he took more precautions than most jedi did really when it came to the temptations of the dark side. But, still. He was not a knight yet.

Anen tilted his head and raised a brow listening as she explained. He hummed an acknowledgement and smiled, "That I didn't know. I guess it does make sense, where I'm from, metal weaponry is the norm for force users to. Just the natural progression of technology. Surprising how long lightsabers have gone without being updated further though, I mean, we could send mine thousands of years into the past and nobody would tell the difference."

He let out a hiss through his teeth at the question, "Right. Well, not that kind of scholar anyway. I'm a scholar in the medical sense mostly. Here...well it's because it's dark sided." he explained, "I have a poor history with it, not acting with it myself but....history. But as a knight, I wouldn't be able to let something like a place being dark get in the way of me helping. I'm really here to ensure that I can be here when called to be. I plan to try and study and investigate what I can, but ultimately, that was the main goal. Just the act of preforming tasks in a place i really don't want to be."


[/spoiler]

 

[Naestra]

Anen

---

Naestra listened to him explain what he was doing here. And she nodded her understanding. It wasn’t something altogether strange for Jedi to do. She had studied the acts and records of a Jedi Master by the name of Qui Gon Jinn. Who had apparently gone to a planet immersed in the force, light and dark, to expose himself fully to the force, the dark side too, in order to deepen his understanding of the living force and know its will. This didn’t seem altogether different to her.

But this gave her an idea. “So you want to test your ability to focus in a darkened environment? Perhaps even understand more about the darkness so you may better resist its pull? In either case I think I have the perfect opportunity for you. I’m here to study the planet, find out all the important information. Local sentient life, if they’re thoroughly corrupted or capable of being saved, the nature of the dark nexus here on Tobruk, its formation, and if it can be turned back to the light. I think this would be an excellent way for you to test yourself the way you have said you wanted to.”

 

[Anen]

He nodded affirmation again, that was the general idea. Admittedly, he wanted to avoid any genuine temptation of it's pull. But it was still a pretty accurate assessment. She did, however, seem to even have a more refined route to take. He listened, especially interested at the mention of the local life. Then nodding in agreement, "Yes, yes, I think that would be excellent!" Anen agreed enthusiastically, "Living creatures are far more my area of expertise as well, so it would be in line with how I'd normally practice. Studying the nexus...would be a bit more complicated. But it's not outside of my area of study, just not practice certainly."

Whatever reason he'd met this long red haired jedi of ancient tradition, it at least seemed things were turning more for the better here. He didn't know if he believed in chance or not, he wasn't sure it truly mattered. If it was chance, he was perhaps lucky, if it was not chance, then it was still fortunate.

Naestra

[/spoiler]

 

[Naestra]

“Well then young Padawan,” she said, adding his rank more as a jest than anything else. “Let us begin. I had just gotten around to writing down some of these inscriptions on these obelisks. Tell me, do they seem at all familiar to you?”

She asked this knowing that he most likely did not even remotely know anything about these native runes. She wasn’t able to recall seeing anything in the Jedi Archives, but she also hadn’t known to look for these specifically, so they well could be there.

But really this was more to help get him adjusted to what they were doing here and how they would start. Because the Pyramid ahead of them by fifty feet or so was where the Nexus was buried. And this was the strongest concentration of Dark Force energy on the planet. Hence why they would need more information on the writing if they could get it.

---

Anen

 

[Anen]

Shook his head smiling, taking the jest in stride. He took a look at her inscriptions while also removing his datapad. He likely wouldn't recognize the language off hand, but he was good enough at trying to match languages up. His own native tongue explored the whole of the human's ability to make noise, which made them great mimics, but also made using most languages far simpler. However the written language could be more work. He shook his head, even as he tried to use the datapad to look up the inscriptions, "I do not." He admitted, "I only really know my own and Galactic Basic fluently. Though I could maybe figure it out with enough time, I'm not really the linguist type as much. Not in writing, speech sure, not writing."

Of course, the force actually allowed a great deal of ability in discerning verbal speech with another living being. But it was not so free about interpreting the written word.

Naestra

[/spoiler]

 

[Naestra]

“I’m not so sure you’d find much about it. I’ve spent most of my time deep in the Jedi Archives and I can’t recall seeing anything resembling this. If there were any information, then it would likely be very little. But if this can be deciphered, then it could immensely help our mission.”

She nodded to the pyramid ahead of them. “The Nexus is in there. So my guess is that these writings can help us determine what this place is meant to be. A temple? A tomb? A vault perhaps? We could go in to figure it out. But that, clearly, poses some risks.”

---

Anen

 

[Anen]

He hummed an agreement, "They are pretty well formed." he agreed setting the datapad down while trying to look over the inscriptions again with his own eyes and thinking. "Shame we didn't bring a protocol droid. This is specifically what one would be good for, a quality protocol droid anyway. Deciphering new languages and codes is a big bonus."

He shook his head, no use wishing for what they couldn't have right now, he tried instead to look over the temples itself and the pillars. See if he could discern a probably tendency. A tomb likely had very few entrances and exits. A temple or vault may look the same though. "Tomb is probably the worst option given the possibility of necromancy or dark side spirits. Though I suppose a vault or temple could still hold those if given the right circumstances."

Anen felt a chill run up his spine and a feeling of disgust as a thought ran through his mind of if the sith wanted to create a dark corrupted version of his worlds Vo. Instead of the Vo organs brought together into one magnificent force nexus, he pictured hundreds of sith corpses sewn or molded togther into a dark abomination. "We may have to enter anyway." He said aloud, though he couldn't hide this time that the thought was very far from a pleasant one.

Naestra

 

[Naestra]

“Where’s the fun in that?” She asked, genuinely confused about what he would want a protocol droid for. Yes that was their function and it made this kind of thing easier. But she found the process of deciphering an unknown language to be an exciting one. And it helped deepen her actual understanding of that language, rather than just having a soulless translation. “You can’t rely on droids. They can fail. They can malfunction. The only thing you can ever truly rely on besides the force is yourself.”

“Not necessarily. Tombs can be dangerous, but in my experience Vaults are worse. A temple can be a small deal, a tomb can be just that and nothing more. But a vault will almost always have an artifact or two in its bowels that are dark in nature. And you never want to deal with those unless you’re prepared.”

She glanced his way. “So then. What do you think. Do you believe we should go in? Or would you like to probe around the perimeter a little more first?”

 

[Anen]

He gave her a raised brow at the suggestion a droid can fail, "So can your brain or judgement. In this context I'd actually argue a protocol droid would prove even better, as the dark side can be too subtle to be recognized when it may be shifting perspective. Droids are less vulnerable to non-focused force corruption." he tried to counter, "Besides, it's basically mathematically impossible to keep up with a protocol droid when it comes to deciphering a new language. The amount of data they can contain on the topic exceeds nearly every known species, even those generally labeled genius are not inherently superior at it. A protocol droid could do in seconds what may take me a month or two at a library."

Then Anen looked on to the pyramid, hearing her out over the idea that vaults could be worse. He hummed in thought, "I see." That was actually rather comforting really. He supposed this was a case of personal bias, necromancy was a sketchy art, but it was hardly unknown to his home. He jumped on the thought too quickly by instinct, rather than considering how rare such a thing really was.

He took in a breath, steeling himself to go in, then reconsidering at her words, "Right...hm. Maybe perimeter first then. Could reveal a bit more about the place that we can't see from here."

Naestra

[/spoiler]

 

[Naestra]

“That is true. However if you use a protocol droid, you yourself aren’t learning anything. You may be able to fail but you can always grow. And that is the most important part. With a droid, you don’t grow or learn, you just get the answer. It’s a shortcut.” She said with a shrug. “Though I won’t deny their usefulness in some situations, in this case I think it’s better to take one’s time and learn, rather than use a droid to get the answer now.”

She nodded. “Very well. Let’s see what else can be found on the outside of the structure. There are a number of Obelisks surrounding it. Let’s see what they have written on them. If it’s the same sequence of runes or a different one.”

---

Anen

 

[Anen]

He again shook his head, "You only don't learn if you aren't listening to what the droid says. You'll never be able to keep up with all the knowledge, if you take too long to learn a language, you may actually come out with no change in knowledge, or a misconception that gets you killed. Besides, since we don't even know if the original tongue exists still, you will be taking a shortcut regardless. That's what a library is. A shortcut. Actually the entire jedi system is essentially a shortcut to a jedi achieving their self control, balance, and abilities. Most of what we learn can be learned purely through sufficient time and experience. If you learn from something other people gave you or sold you, not from direct experience, you're probably taking a shortcut." Anen gave her a shrug and held out his hands, "There's nothing wrong with shortcuts. They're vital. We don't all live for hundreds of years."

He nodded an agreement about checking the runes, keeping his datapad with him and looking around cautiously just in case. There may have been no signs or senses yet of danger. But in a place like this, he couldn't feel safe.

Naestra