Private Speak No Evil

[Natima Vando]

Location: Drummund Kaas, Spaceport

Natima was nervous, certainly so. She had never actually gone to one of these meetings before, nor did she know the Darth that wished to see her. Darth Insatious.... She mused, walking towards the docking bay in her attire, her crimson robes hanging an inch from the floor as she trudged forward. She felt several force presences up ahead, strange, warped presences at that. She tensed, her lips curling into a frown as she paused at the door, regretting the fact she didn't have Leliana here with her. The apprentice had come with only her dagger and precious little else. Not that it would matter, what could a mere apprentice do against a darth seeking to kill her? Well, if Insatious wanted her dead, she would have been dead already.


She took a breath, reaching out and opening the door in response. What she found on the other side left her stunned. The soldiers she found were just wrong. They looked almost infected with fungel growth, their bodies seemed twisted and warped by some unseen parasites. The Shi'ido had seen things before during her time with the Hutt Cartel, but this was something else entirely. Unsure of what to do, it wasn't until the officer from earlier approached her, gesturing towards the shuttle and last the troopers who stood at guard. "Madame Natima, please, our master is eager to meet you. Follow me if you will." The man stated, walking forward as he moved up the ramp, pausing to gesture for the apprentice to follow. Feeling that she didn't really have a choice anymore, she continued forward, moving up a ramp, her mind giving her all sorts of red flags. As the rest of the twisted guards followed her from behind, Natima briefly thought of taking off, rushing out of the transport and cutting all ties with this darth. But it was too late, he wanted her, and no amout of running would save her from being found. Best find the man and reject him if he was too intimidating; maybe this was just a display intimidate her. As the ramp closed and the ship began to lift off, Natima began to have doubts, the sinking feeling in her gut began to grow. The shuttle would leave the world behind, it's path set to the star destroyer of it's master.


Darth Insatious

 

[Darth Insatious]

Natima could easily feel the guard's sickly and twisted connection to the force as she was standing beside the two, along with the non-force sensitive officer. The twisted guards just stood there, neither spoke or moved around. The only thing that came from the twisted force-sensitive guards, was their breathing and even that felt corrupted, raspy at best. The officer, though human, wasn't much better as he tapped away on his holo-tablet and ignored Natima for the remainder of the trip.

Upon landing, the blast door slid open and ramp descended for the passengers to exit. "Please, madame Natima, follow me if you will" repeated the officer and went down the ramp. The two twisted guards entered an escort position behind Natima, looking like her personal bodyguards. The hanger was large and was bustling with life and maybe to the Sith girl's relief, they were all regular Imperial personal while she was being led through the hanger. However, the Imperials did give the twisted guards a mixed look of disgust and discomfort.

Natima were led through a maze of the typical Star Destroyer hallways and corridors, but one thing was for certain, they were going up and towards the top. After fifteen or so, maybe twenty minutes of walking in silence, they stopped in front of a wide large blast door. "Please enter Madame Natima, Lord Insatious is waiting" requested the officer and stepped aside for the girl.

The moment Natima entered the unknown room, the two twisted guards turned around on each side of the door and stood guard.

Upon entering the room, she was met with quite the sight as light lit up the room around her. The room was empty, with the exception of another door, made out of stone. Four sets of stone benches, each placed up against the walls with a small air between. Each wall was carved into that of people in a way, so it looked like they were holding the roof from collapsing.

Upon looking around the large room, no one was present and she couldn't even sense the force-sensitive guards right on the other side of the door. The moment she walked deeper into the stone build room, a voice suddenly filled the silence.

"Oh, a fellow Sith!" Spoke the voice. When Natima turned around, her eyes fell on a cloaked man in grey. An introducing smile spread across the man's lips behind the hood as he rose from his seat "I see you've made your way here as well" continued the cloaked man. If Natima tried to sense the man's connection to the force, he felt like any non-force sensitive people in the galaxy.

Natima Vando

 

[Natima Vando]

Being left to her thoughts, the Shi'ido felt the unease build as she awaited to arrive on the ship of her new master. Natima told herself it was just nerves, that she was just nervous and she needed to relax, but there was just a sense of wrongness that she could feel rising in her gut. It didn't help that the officer effectively ignored her, and she was left to stew in the aura of wrongness that the two guards gave off. She fiddled with her thumbs, trying to find something else she could focus on, only to find nothing to distract herself with. It would be a long ride to the destroyer it seemed.

Arriving, she felt the ship shake as it settled on the deck of the hanger, and the 'hiss' and 'pop' of the hatch opening and filling the troop bay with a hint of air. Rising to her feet, she found herself being ushered off the ship with an escort in tow. Knowing the two guards would be following her didn't ease the anxieties she was having. It did help to see fellow humanoids in the hanger though, which told her that she wouldn't be stuck on a ship full of Sith abominations.

Being lead through the corridors of the ship, Natima tried to keep track of the route they took, but the hall ways looked so samey it was practically impossible. After the forth identical hallway, she had given up, knowing that no matter how hard she would try she was going to get lost on this massive ship. Arriving at a large blast door, Natima was relieved to be told that her master would be waiting for her inside, and even more relieved to find her escorts would not be following her inside.

Stepping through the doors, she quickly stopped as she found the structure of the room to be captivating to her eyes. The room reminded her of old structures she had seen on Yavin and Korriban, but there was something else about it that sparked at the back of her mind. It was like...a tomb almost, but someone had made this intentionally. Perhaps it was some complicated trap that a Darth could use on his enemies, collapse the roof and kill all involved? Or perhaps it was just some elaborate art display that's meaning was known only to it's owner.

She really couldn't say for sure.

Taking several steps towards the massive door across from her, the shape-shifter nearly leapt out of her skin as the stranger called out to her. Tensing up and taking a combat posture, she had expected an unseen foe to strike from the shadows. Fortunately, the reality was much more mundane. Finding the man, Natima dropped her stance, feeling a bit silly for her overreaction. "Oh, sorry, you startled me. I wasn't expecting anyone else here." She admitted, giving the stranger a brief look over with her senses, and found him to be almost non existent in the force. She looked about the room awkwardly, before putting a few pieces of a mental puzzle together. Was this man a fellow apprentice? If so, why wasn't he force sensitive? "Are you here to see the Master as well?" Natima asked, crossing her arms and putting a bit of space between herself and the strange man, getting a sense that his mental state could very well be nonexistence.

Darth Insatious

 

[Darth Insatious]

"Oh no, terrible sorry. Wasn't my intention to frighten you" said the old man, raising his hands up to show surrender. Dusting off his long matted and bit tattered robe with his hands, before gathering his hands in front of himself. "Me?" Asked the stranger, with a small humorous smile, as if Natima had told him a funny question. "Now, isn't that a curious question" stated the stranger, and looked the young red-head over a bit more now. Glancing at the door Natima entered, almost as if he was waiting to see if someone would enter before he looked back to Natima. "But no, I'm simply here to study" stated the Stranger with a humourous yet friendly smile.

Seeing the girl crossing her arms and take a step back, the Stranger released a small chuckle as he spoke, "oh, don't be alarmed. You have nothing to fear from me young one". Looking at the door across from them, "but, you were here to see the Master of this grand vessel, were you not?" Asked the Stranger, folding his hands in front of himself as he looked back at Natima. "Why don't we walk the path together to the Master? Clearly two head would be better than one" chuckled the Stranger as if he had just said something funny only he understood.

Walking towards the large stone door, he stopped halfway and turned to look at Natima, looking at her with his old, but welcoming eyes.

Natima Vando

 

[Natima Vando]

Yea, she wanted to stab this guy. Not being malicious of course, but there was just something off about him. He looked like one of those crazy old men from a holofilm she had seen with Lil, the sort that rants about the sky father wanting blood, then a monster bursts out of his chest or something. Maybe she was still having nightmares about that stupid film, BUT, she felt she was in the right here. Then again, for all she knew this could have been Insatious himself playing with her, so instead of stabbing the man like she sorta wanted to, Natima held off. Maybe she just needed to stop watching horror films. "What are you studying? Tomb design?" She asked, feeling that this man had to be suicidal to come all the way here to study on a Sith Lords' flagship.

"I don't think that's a good idea. Does Darth Insatious even know you are here?" She asked, feeling like she was about to watch this man be made an example of, but regardless he moved on ahead, oblivious to the dangers. Seeing that this strange man had no intention on leaving her be, Natima sighed and moved on ahead, fingers flexing as she tried to work the nervousness out of her system. Moving towards the large stone door, Natima couldn't help but feel that something bad was about to happen.

Darth Insatious

 

[Darth Insatious]

As they walked together, leaving the large tomb-like room and walking down the corridor with very much the same design, the stranger turned to look at Natima. "Oh... I study many things" whispered the cloaked stranger with a slight smirk, "some of which holds dark secrets" added the old man before turning his attention back to the corridor.

The corridor itself was lightly lit with torches on one side with enough room for the darkness to surround the light source, almost as if they had to cross darkness to enter the light. "Oh, don't you worry," chuckled the old stranger, "Darth Insatious and I have quite the history" explained the old man as they exited the corridor. Entering the new room, Natima would find herself enter a room, which looked a mix of a tomb on Korriban and an office you would find on a Star Destroyer.

If Natima looked around, she would find a large desk, a comfortable chair and a couple more tables to the side with various items on them. Not only that, but a second door, a row of windows behind the chair and a runic circle on the floor.

What she also would notice, was the fact that the old stranger had stopped and gave her a curious look, not only that, but his shape started changing. While Natima might have heard or known of force abilities performing illusions, even that of very strong illusions could trick even the strongest sensors. However, this was different, what the girl saw right before her eyes, was the old clocked man's body and clothes started to shape and shift. It happened so fast, that if she had blinked she would have almost missed the transformation.

Right before her eyes, the Sith Initiative stood face to face with Darth Insatious himself, as if he had always been there, yet no illusions were used. While she felt completely nothing from the old man, the Sith Lord, though, filled the room with such a cold, eerie aura of death. It was enough to suffocate even the peaceful of Jedi Masters. Not only radiated the Sith Lord of death and coldness, but there was also an emptiness as if the force itself cried out in pain.

Towering over the young girl, the faceless mask, matching that of a skull, looked the Sith Initiative over, seeing if she really had what it took to make as his Apprentice or if he had miscalculated when he saw her performance. Then a voice spoke, but it wasn't from behind the mask but in her mind. While the olden cloaked man spoke with a soft yet old curious tone, this voice felt like something out of nightmares.

"I have need of you and your powers" whispered the nightmarish voice, almost eating its way into her sanity. Turning around, he headed for one of the multiple tables, "and you have need of a Master" continued to the hellish voice.

Natima Vando

 

[Natima Vando]

There were a number of red flags that popped into Natima's mind, though there were always red flags in her mind. Someone that didn't like grilled Bantha Steaks? Red flag. People that only liked dressing in all black? Red flag. But this old guy was like...thirty red flags wrapped into one. She felt like she was walking into a trap, or something was just waiting to leap out at her. Or maybe it was that scary movie playing with her expectations again. Whatever the case was, those childish fears that toyed with her completely faltered once the pair entered the next room. It seemed to be an office, the design similar to the last, though there was...something off about this. Darth Insatious was nowhere to be seen, and the man with her had come to a complete stop. His form was still, almost too still, nearly lifeless, then it began to change.

As the man's form shifted, Natima stepped back, recognizing it was some sort of illusion, but not knowing what it truly was before her. As the form of Darth Insatious took it's place before her, she felt a sensation she hadn't felt in many years. It was one of death, of being at the center of so many deaths, and nearly joining others in being whisked away to the other side. It tore at her, breaking into her mind, crushing her with a weight of hopelessness, dispair, as she could hear screams of long dead victims blaring in her ears. Her eyes widened in fear, her knees buckling as the Shi'do involuntarily prostrated herself before the man that claimed to be her master. Her head dropped low, hoping to be spared the sight of the Sith, almost wanting him to not see her. She felt terrified to even utter a word, the fear that raked at her heart recalling an event her past.

Death was everywhere. It was choking her, clouding her in it's foul stench. She laid on the floor of the back alley on Nar Shadda, her eyes fixated on the fiery remains of her home, and the figures that laid within. A hand, twisted and burned beyond recognition reached out to her, the only sign of who it belonged to being the faint glimmer of a ring on what might have been a ring finger. A silent scream drew from her throat, though she had no strength left to summon it. Alone. She was alone again.

The memory retreated just as quickly as it came, though Natima's eyes stung with the sensation of tears from a distant past. The whispers that drew forth froze her to her core, as if someone had stabbed her with an icicle. She dared not move, her body tense, her mind ravaged by terror, as she would do or say anything to be released from this hellish feeling. The words spilled out, one part begging, another part wanting to be released from his presence. "Y-Yes, my lord. What do yo-you need of me?" She babbled, her mind utterly wrecked by this alien entity. She had encountered Sith before, dealt with Darths, but they were never like this. What in the hells was he, and what could he possibly want with her?

Darth Insatious

 

[Darth Insatious]

A small object, floating, just above his open palm, Insatious walked back to where the poor mortified Natima stood. Her mind was filled with whispers of a thousand creeps in her mind until they formed into Insatious's cold voidless voice. "Fiiiind me this" uttered the voice in Natima's mind, showing her a hologram of a Jedi Holocron, along with a tracker. The tracker told her the planet's name and coordination of area to look, but that was about it.

Giving her the tools for her first assignment, Insatious's faceless mask stared at her, or at least it felt like death itself was staring her down. The voice was gone, but incomprehensibly whispers still slithered around in her mind, like small spiders, eating away her sanity. Another thing she also started to feel standing so close to him, was how she ever so slowly felt a tiny bit weaker from his present.

Having been giving her assignment, she was expected to leave, however, Insatious didn't tell her to leave, but she could feel at it wouldn't be wise. Once Natima left the large office and tomb-looking room, she would notice immediately Insatious's aura, actually, his whole force sensitivity was gone. It was as if he had disappeared in the Force. Standing in a normal-looking interior of a star destroyer, the same officer stood and waited, along with the two creepy troopers.

Looking up from his datapad, the officer looked at Natima expectedly, "I take it, you have received your first assignment, my lady?" Asked the officer, standing with one arm behind his back and the other holding his holopad.

Natima Vando

 

[Natima Vando]

As the voice reached her mind, Natima felt a sharp pain stab into her brain. The sensation was as if thousands of icy needles jamming themselves into the soft tissue of her mind, prompting the Shi'ido to falter, wincing as she held back a scream; only for the pain to vanish the moment she acknowledged it. It was a phantom pain, and yet it lingered over her, like a surgeon with a knife; ready to be used upon a moment of the Sith's choosing. She had been scared before, but she was simply petrified as she stood there. Her wide eyes looked to the item in question, a holocron from what she understood, and a jedi one at that. Why he needed it wasn't important, all that she knew was that if she returned without it her life might as well have been forfeit.

The tools were laid before her, and she took to securing them, as her strength faded from her. Her mind felt clouded, as if some unseen entity was bearing down on her, almost as if she was poisoned; but by who, by what? She wouldn't stay to find out, or ask to learn more. She needed to leave, before her sanity was taken from her. She had stared death down before in her life, quite literally died once during her bizarre life, and yet this 'thing' called Insatious filled her with a terror she hadn't known before. Insatious didn't tell her to depart, but she didn't feel that she would survive another moment in his presence. Natima couldn't recall what occurred between the office of the darth, and reaching that tomb door she had embarked upon; all that mattered was being away from that 'thing'. Leaving the tomb behind, she could feel her legs giving under her, the muscle and bone feeling more like jello with each step. She collapsed into the interior, gasping and gripping herself tightly, feeling a lingering cold being squeezed from her bones and pushing to the surface of the skin.

What in the hell was that? What had she given herself over to? Natima nearly flew in the air as the officer inquired her, asking about her assignment. It took a solid few moments for Natima to collect herself, realizing that she was clutching the tracker tight to her chest. She had an assignment to go on. A task set about her, and there would be no chance for failure here. She looked to the tracker, shivering from the remnants of cold that drifted through her. Words came to her after a moment, and eventually she found strength in her limbs once again. Looking to the officer, she nodded, swallowing as she felt herself take hold of those elusive words. "I have, and if you could give me a vessel, I'm to depart at once." She wanted desperately to put up a brave front, but it was just not possible She was terrified, and suddenly the thought of slinking back to Nar Shaddaa was ever so tempting. If the officer took too long, she would push past him and his escorts, her mind still reeling from the ordeal, as she wanted to get off this ship and away from that aura she had felt. She had to accomplish this mission first however, there would be no getting around that.

Amur Darth Insatious

 

[Darth Insatious]

"Right this way Lady Vando" nodded the officer and started to lead the Sith Apprentice back towards the hanger. As the officer moved, so did the two Sith Soldiers, silent as before and a stare of darkness. Leading Natima through the Star Destroyer, she would find herself in the hanger again, still booming.

Walking through the hanger, the officer spoke up again, "right over there" and pointed pointing with the hand holding the datapad. Natima would stand in front of a transport ship with a pilot, already waiting for their arrival. "Cadet Ryan, at your service" saluted the pilot to Natima. The two Sith soldier, who previously had flanked her from behind, now walked passed her and into the transport ship. The pilot avoided completely to look at the horrific soldiers, feeling a sudden chill run down his spine.

Looking over his shoulder with a grimace and looked back at Natima and the officer, "righti-o" commented the pilot nervously and entered the ship. Right before Natima could enter the ship, she would feel a hand on her shoulder. "Make sure your mission is a success Lady Vando. Trust me, when I say, you really don't want to return empty-handed" explained the officer, seemingly warning her, before letting go of her shoulder.

Once Natima entered the transport ship, she would find the two Sith Soldiers sitting completely dead still, with only their creepy breathing and an iron grip on their weapon.

Natima Vando Amur

 

[Natima Vando]

Her mind still busy as she moved to the hanger bay, the names and faces of the peons before her faded away. She wanted to take off and run, steal a shuttle and fly out of this place until the engines died; but that wouldn't get her anywhere. What in the hell had she gotten herself into? Reaching the hanger, she found the man pointing out the shuttle she was to board, and found a young pilot standing at the ready to great her. Ignoring the salute given to her, the Shi'ido turned toward the soldiers that marched up the ramp, grimacing at the aura they brought with them. It was such a vile feeling, the sensation that they brought with them. Sense began to return to her, as she grabbed the young man by the arm, her eyes looking up to the soldiers that were apparently coming with her. "Ryan, just...stay away from those things, and don't do anything risky." She felt pity for the young man, motioning him to get onto the ship.

As Natima sought to board the ramp, she felt a hand on her shoulder; prompting her heart to be ejected out of her chest. Natima spun around to find the offender to be an officer holding her shoulder, repeating what she knew well in advanced. She didn't need this right now. A flash of rage burst through her at what the man had done, trying to assert some degree of false care for her well being. "You do that again, and I'll gut you like a fish. Hands. Off." She stated, stepping away from the man, the rage fueled purely by the fear she had blossoming in her chest. The sooner she left here the better. Coming up the ramp, she found the pair of soldiers looking forward, their bodies and posture seemed to be rigid and stiff. Truthfully, Natima felt they were better off dead, but she couldn't give them the release they would need. She moved past the soldiers, taking up a seat in the cockpit across from Ryan, her eyes looking over the controls before her as she plugged in the coordinates she had been given. "Ryan, just stay in the ship no matter what. You might make it out if you do that." She had a bad feeling coming from her escorts, and it wasn't going away any time soon.

As the ship would begin to depart the Star Destroyer, Natima felt a bit of the fear within her start to fade, her gaze looking back to the world below as it faded.

She wanted nothing more than to go running back to Leliana.

But that would have to wait.

Natima pulled back on the lever for hyperspace, and set forth for the unknown planet. Sooner this was done, the better.

Darth Insatious

 

[Darth Insatious]

The pilot was a bit taken back by the sudden grabbing by his arm, but ultimately agreed with a simple "y-yes my lady". The officer quickly shut his mouth, when Natima spoke to him, "of course my lady, I was simply trying to be helpful, but clearly, it's not wanted" responded the officer and bowed deeply in front of the girl. Looking up from the controls, Ryan nodded, "I won't leave the ship, you can rest assure" reassured the young pilot.

Taking off, the Star Destroyer soon disappeared as they went into hyperspace travel.

"ETA, half an hour," said Cadet Ryan and leaned back in his seat. The young man didn't say much to Natima, whether it was because he was nervous or that she was Sith, was hard to tell. The two horrific soldiers in the back did not move a muscle, but sat like a statue, only letting their eerie breathing give a sign that they were alive.

If Natima didn't start any conversations, Ryan wouldn't either and soon they arrived at the planet. Following their exit of hyperspace, the ship descended quickly down to the planet and before Natima knew it, standing on the planet. Ryan did indeed stay by the ship, as that was pretty much his job, while the two soldiers flanked Natima, waiting for her to lead on.

Looking around, Natima would find herself on a green lush plain, distant mountain chains with white on top. A forest to her right, way off, while a large lake to her left, maybe an hour away. However, her tracker, took her straight ahead, towards what vaguely looked like a small hill with a black dot. If she decided to follow the tracker and go towards what looked like a small hill, soon showed itself to be a temple of a sort with multiple small houses and buildings.

The closer she got, the more people came into place, going about their business. Large farming fields also started to reveal themselves with a bunch of villagers working on harvesting the goods. If she looked down at her gifted tracker, it would tell her to continue, which would lead her into the village.

Natima Vando

 

[Natima Vando]

The silence was welcome, as she finally had time to steady herself. She took in several breaths, her attempts to steady herself for the mission ahead were thankfully not in vain. The concealed weapon on her person slowly came to the surface, pushing up through the pocket of skin she had manufactured for her own needs. She retrieved it, holding the weapon in her hand, running the blade against her palm as she contemplated what laid ahead. Ryan's voice pulled her out of the moment, the Sith looking down to the weapon, before glancing at the cadet. This mission would have been more bearable if her escorts were even remotely human, but perhaps that was the point.

A frown crossed over the Shi'ido's face, as she knew that she too would need to change her appearance. Probably for the best if she was to remain an unknown in this environment. Closing her eyes, she commanded her skin to shift. The vibrant red hair and flawless skin began to shift, warping at her command, changing and morphing as if some unseen force was folding and morphing the form of Natima's very being. When all was said and done, the woman's skin was turned a vibrant pink and red, roughly polished white spikes protruded from her head, with a set of maroon hair flowing in to cover her newly molded appearance; she hadn't been a Zabrak in a few years. Hopefully it didn't freak the cadet out too much. Smiling softly, she turns to Ryan, rising as she moves to excuse herself.


As the ship touched down, Natima would step off with her guards, seeing a village in the distance. Sparing a glance at her tracker, she sighed, knowing the trouble that would come from bringing her escorts into town. If only she could order them to take a hike. Not even glancing to the two, the newly made Zabrak moves forward, knowing that she was asking for trouble. "Do not engage anyone unless we are threatened. Last thing we need to do is draw attention to ourselves." She ordered, hoping that these creatures at least had some level of self control. Though that was probably asking too much.

Darth Insatious

 

[Darth Insatious]

Despite Natima's attempt at ordering the Death Troopers, they didn't give much confirmation that her order has been received as the trio neared the village. it didn't take long before villagers out in the large expansive fields would notice the Death Troopers first and then quickly after Natima's moulded appearance reacting much to what one would expect. Fearful and scared they fled back towards the village, disappearing past the first building outlining a natural wall of houses built side-by-side.

The Death Troopers, both armed with DC-15A blaster carbine and Electrobatons by their belt. With their rifle's setting set to kill, Natima would see many villagers fleeing into their homes and shutting everything down in hope of surviving whatever the new strangers were going to do.

In the middle of the village centre, stood an elder looking gentleman, dressed a bit more formal than everybody else. He was flanked by five armed men with civilian blaster rifles or civilian blaster pistols. It was clear that the armed men weren't really soldiers but more a sort of militia, but more importantly, they were very unsure and showed no experience fighting wars.

The gentleman was nervous as he looked from one horrific monstrous Death Trooper to the other one and then finally placed his eyes on Natima. Cautiously he neared the trio just a bit more, looking nervously at the two nightmarish creatures flanking Natima again. "Whatever it is you're looking for miss, please, I couldn't possibly imagine anyone in our little village would have. We're just a simple farming village with simple people living here. I would have to ask you to leave, please" started the gentleman to explain, hoping it would be enough to persuade the strangers to leave without any blood being spilt.

However, if Natima checked her tracker, it hadn't changed at blinked at the very village she stood in. It didn't show exactly where the Jedi Holocron was, but it at least told her, she was in the correct place. The five guards, though very nervous, didn't point their rifles at Natima or the Death Troopers... yet. On the other hand, the Death stood completely still and so far hadn't acted unless Natima did, but they did have their eerie and creepy breathing.

Natima Vando