Private Sugarbread

[Marcus Dinn]

Alchemy Lab, Academy of Korriban

Marcus entered the lab as quietly as possible, hoping to avoid drawing attention. Gently easing the door shut, he made his way over to his workbench with silent footsteps.

“You’re late, Dinn.”

He froze, wincing, as Master Silas Fogg left the side of the student he had been overseeing and strolled across the floor to Marcus’ station. “Well, don’t just stand there,” Silas said. “Don’t you have an excuse for your tardiness? Speak up.”

“Well, if you must know, master,” Marcus replied. “I spent the night in the tomb of Darth Eirie.”

Silas’ eyebrows rose. “What were you doing there?”

“Admiring the Pylantian erotic art, of course.” Catching the twitch of a smirk tugging at Silas’ lips, Marcus knew he was in the clear. “I overslept. But,” He produced a small box from where it had been hidden under his cloak. “I have completed my assignment.”

“Two days in advance?” Silas reached out to take the box from him. After examining the exterior to ensure the acolyte had not trapped it, he lifted the lid…

Ansisa​

 

[Ansisa]

CRACK

The door to the alchemy lab splintered, the din outside of hisses and cheers rolling on from outside. Fights were far from uncommon among acolytes, but it was rare that they dared to disturb lessons. The green skinned nautolan that had broken the door hit the deck of the classroom hard. Zahid had been fast in his claiming it Ansisa's top dog spot among the known bullies of the Academy.

He tried to get up but something slammed him back into the ground, the hum of a virboknife halted his struggle. Ansisa materialised on top of him, her knee dug deep into his sternum, her palm slamming against his forehead as she hovered the blade above his cheek, its point resting an inch from his eye.

"You seem to have forgotten your manners, Zahid." Ansisa purred, oblivious and uncaring to the she was causing. "Maybe I should take your eye as recompense?" her eyes roamed over him "or one of your head tails. Either would make wonderful trophies."

"Ansisa," Master Silas tone was almost bored, disappointed "I thought we'd gotten rid of you."

The chiss lifted her gaze, it washed over Marcus and she flashed him a grin, before settling and Silas and shrugging in response. "Master Vazz has business in the area. I thought I'd come and grace you all with my presence." Zahid chanced a struggle and the virboblade nicked his cheek drawing a hiss of pain from him, Ansisa's smile widened, just a little. "Am I disturbing you?"

Marcus Dinn

 

[Marcus Dinn]

Marcus waited with bated breath—in vain. The door to the alchemy lab shattered and a pair of acolytes came crashing inside, landing in a heap on the floor. The one on top was Ansisa, a Chiss girl who seemed intent on proving she was the baddest of them all. Perhaps she had taken the lesson “it is better to be feared than loved” to heart. Or maybe she was, like many aspiring Sith, just a scared kid lashing out. Trying to survive.

Silas seemed bored by her antics. He set aside Marcus’ unopened box (Marcus moved closer to defend his assignment) and approached the two fighting acolytes. “Well, what are you waiting for, Zahid?” he asked. “She was distracted only a moment ago. You could’ve overtaken her. What’s stopping you?”

Ansisa​

 

[Ansisa]

Ansisa let out a chortle at Silas challenging Zahid, looking back down at her quarry. "Try it," she breathed leaning closer. "I dare you."

His eyes flicked between Silas, and Ansisa "Chiss are a dying breed, Master, I wouldn't want to rid them of prized breeding stock."

All amusement faded from Ansisa's face in the blink of an eye. There was a beat, an intake of breath and then the haze of red descended over her. Zahid screamed as the knife drove it into his eye, tearing up and carving her way through three head tails.

Killing was forbidden, but Ansisa was all rage. She dug the knife into his ribs, a calculated strike to puncture a lung. Vazz's smile loomed in the back of her mind. at her If she disobeyed now, she would shame her new master, she would undo everything she had worked for, for the sake of a no body. She pressed close to Zahid, twisting the blade as she did.

"The day you leave the protection of the Academy, little Zahid. I'm coming for you." she hissed in his ear, she pushed herself off him, ripping the blade, free and leaving a gaping wound, trembling from head to toe with barely contained fury.

Marcus Dinn

 

[Marcus Dinn]

Marcus foresaw what was about to happen, but had neither the means nor the will to prevent it. Zahid said something profoundly stupid, for which he paid the price.

Silas made no attempt to stop Ansisa from mutilating the Nautolan. After the Chiss had finished, leaving Zahid groaning and whimpering in a pool of blood, he snapped his fingers to summon a droid servant.

“Bring Acolyte Zahir to the medical bay.”

Marcus watched the droid pick up the body and carry it out of the lab. Most likely Zahir would not find healing there; acolytes who were maimed due to their own stupidity were often spared for the sole purpose of being used as teaching tools. The masters disliked waste, and continuing the education of someone like Zahid was a waste. The Nautolan would most likely have his living flesh subjected to horrific manipulations and twisted beyond recognition by the Dark Side, but at least the others would learn from his useless meat.

As utility droids rolled in to clean up the gore, Silas turned back to Marcus. “Now, where was I?” He placed his hands on the box and lifted the lid. Inside was a dagger, spare and undecorated, but razor-sharp and humming with imbued power. Silas picked up the weapon, examining it, and even threw it at a training dummy. The blade stabbed deep in the soft gel of the dummy, then returned to the hand of the one who had thrown it.

“Interesting.” Silas handed the dagger back to Marcus. “But not very original.”

Ansisa​

 

[Ansisa]

Ansisa watch them carry Zahid away, pulling a cloth from her pocket to clean the blade and wipe the blood from her hands she took slow steadying breaths settling the rage to a quite torrent, just beneath the surface. It wouldn't do for her to lose complete control, not after all she'd succeeded with thus far. Dropping the cloth fro the droids to clean up, the virboknife slid into its sheath at the base of her spine.

Curiosity got the better of her as she watched the blade that Silas had thrown, re materialise in his hand. Ansisa had never shown any affinity for alchemy. Her skills lay in the more obvious physical applications of the force, rather then the subtleties that alchemy required, but that didn't mean she didn't appreciate or know good work when she saw it.

Approaching them both "Isn't there something to be said about originality?" she chimed in "Something along the lines of the greater creators steal?" She gave Marcus a small smile extending a hand. "May I?"

Marcus Dinn

 

[Marcus Dinn]

"Isn't there something to be said about originality? Something along the lines of 'the greater creators steal'?"

“Perhaps if one is a Jedi and expected to conform,” Silas replied. “But a Sith should stand out from his peers.” He glanced at Marcus. “If I had a credit for every student who brought me a dagger of recall, I'd be a trillionaire. Moreover, Acolyte Dinn, your father made the same type of weapon when he was my student.”

Marcus’ freckled face flushed crimson. He didn’t even think about it being an imitation of his father’s dagger of recall. Had it been a subconscious choice? “I’ll just have to come up with something more creative, then,” he muttered.

Ansisa wanted to see it. Marcus eyed her for a moment, sensing for any indication she meant to do something heinous with it, before he handed her the dagger.

Ansisa​

 

[Ansisa]

Ansisa gave a small chuckle at Marcus' scalding. Fortunately for her, there was no family shadow to stand in, she was free to carve her own path. The dagger was simple, light. She inspected it, running a thumb along its edge before pinching the tip and flicking it towards the same dummy Silas had. it connected with a small thunk, but not quite where she'd intended. Before materialising back in her hand.

She handed it back to him with a shrug. "Its a half gram too heavy on the back end for my liking, but I appreciate the concept." Ansisa looked thoughtful for a moment, studying Marcus, as if weighing up her options. "I'd certainly have a use for it if you don't."

Ansisa looked at Marcus for a long moment, weighing up her options before asking. "Is it possible to make a lightsaber silent? You see I have a small problem..." she stepped back vanishing from sight and in the force pulling her lightsaber from her belt and thumbing the activation switch. the angry blade sputtered into life, although concealed from view like she was, she had not been able to silence the angry humm produced by the cracked crystal within.

Rematerializing, the blade still lit. "Defeats the object of sneaking up on people, really." she thumbed it off, returning it to her belt. "Or maybe i just need a sword instead, or two? Not too big." she gestured a rough size with her hands and then shrugged. "that is, if your open for commission, Marcus?"

Marcus Dinn

 

[Marcus Dinn]

After a thorough examination, Ansisa threw the dagger at the test dummy before handing it back to him. Marcus said nothing in response to her critique of his work, putting the dagger back in its box. “It’s not for sale,” he said.

He had never seen Ansisa act so sociable before. That could only mean one thing: she wanted something out of him.

First she asked about making her lightsaber silent. Marcus glanced toward Silas, but the master had already moved on to another student, leaving him to deal with the Chiss. “There’s no component that would do that,” he answered her in a low voice. “You’d have to replace the crystal with a ghostfire or a Kytrand dusk pearl. Or, you could imbue it with the Force, although that would be a far more complicated process.”

She started talking about swords, and sure enough, asked if he was taking commissions. Marcus suppressed a sigh. Here he was trying to distance himself from his old man, and yet he was already being offered alchemy commissions. Well, if the talent ran in the blood, he might as well use it... “That would depend on whether you could pay me,” he said finally. “I don’t have much use for credits, and I don't work for free.”

Ansisa​

 

[Ansisa]

Ansisa's shook her head at the suggestion of replacing the crystal, dismissing it almost instantly. She'd worked too hard stealing this lightsaber from Jalen Kai'el and even harder to bleed the crystal within. It was more attuned to her than any other would be. To replace it so soon would be a dismissal of that work and of the lessons Vazz had imparted upon her in the process.

"None of us have need for credits and I certainly wouldn't want you to work for free, it would be disrespectful to your obvious skill." Ansisa clasped her hands behind her, the perfect picture of a respectable and calm sith that most definitely had not mutilated someone minutes before. "Name your price and I'll let you know if its in my power."

Marcus Dinn

 

[Marcus Dinn]

Marcus studied Ansisa. Killing seemed to be the one thing she was good at, but there was nobody he wanted dead at the moment. At least, not anyone she could reach, let alone eliminate.

After a few more moments’ thought, he said, “There is a book I’ve been looking for. The Proper Way to Corrupt a Jedi, by Velok of Toola. It’s proven especially difficult to track down. Find me a copy, and I will make you a sword.”

Surely she could handle a simple fetch quest?

Ansisa​

 

[Ansisa]

Ansisa's face fell at the request.

"You have got to be joking." she replied. "The works of Velok of Toola are notoriously rare." Despite her appearances and her outward persona, Ansisa had a passion for gaining knowledge, even if it was not something she could use, understanding the wider working of the force was essential. when she was at the academy, her time outside of classes had been spent either fighting with her fellow acolytes or tucked away in a quite corner of the library.

"He only eve printed a handful of copies of each volume and they went into specific hands. I've been trying to track them for years. That book is worth far more than a pair of force imbued swords."

Marcus Dinn

 

[Marcus Dinn]

“So you’re a fan of Velok too?” He smiled, his expression full of the pleasure that comes with encountering a fellow enjoyer of some obscure piece of media. “I’m not asking for an original manuscript. Just a verifiable copy that I can read.

“We both stand to gain from you finding it. Not only will you have two custom swords, made to your liking, you’ll also have a copy of one of Velok’s finest works.”

Ansisa​

 

[Ansisa]

"Any self respecting philomath would be remiss in their failure to appreciate the works of Velok of Toola." she returned the smile "He was a genius. I'd love to know what happened to him."

Ansisa pursed her lips in thought "I did have a lead that came up a few weeks back I've not had a chance to lean on yet. I might be able to get something..." she trailed off before nodding. "Alright, but..." she reached for a dataslate and began to draw the design she had in mind.

"I want something like this. It'll take me a few weeks to chase the manuscript down."

Marcus Dinn

 

[Marcus Dinn]

Marcus permitted her a thin smile. He never would’ve pegged Ansisa as a scholarly type, given her impatience with her peers and disrespect of her elders. Perhaps she was a little like his sister Eloise that way. Intelligent and well-read, but with low tolerance for most people—authority figures in particular.

At any rate, his persuasion attempt proved convincing. Ansisa abruptly changed her tune, admitting she had uncovered a lead on where to find the book. Marcus’ smile broadened until he was almost grinning as she began to draw what she wanted. He took a look at the design.

“These aren’t swords,” he said. “They’re chakrams. But very well.” He took the dataslate. “It’ll probably take me a few weeks to make them.”

Ansisa​

 

[Ansisa]

Ansisa was already plotting conversations, messages she;d need to send, people she'd need to lean on. There were eight different thought trains running through her mind. "Hmm?" she snapped back into the room at his comment on the chakrams. "Oh, I'm aware, I changed my mind somewhere in the middle of our negotiation."

She extended her hand to shake his to confirm their deal. "I shall see you in a few weeks then?"


Marcus Dinn

 

[Marcus Dinn]

Marcus took a deep breath and slowly blinked his eyes before shaking her hand. “Yes.”

Considering the conversation finished, he turned back to his work. Today Silas was supposed to introduce them to the making of Sithspawn…

Ansisa​