Private The Cognus Equation

[Tara Willows]

THE COGNUS EQUATION​

To learn something from another Sith was not always and easy thing to do. For one, they were busy. The war took its toll on anyone. There wasn't always time to sit around and study. There was always something to be done. If Tara Willows wanted to learn, she had to lose something. Today, she lost sleep. The young woman with white hair would enter into the basement of Alina Tremiru 's private manner. She'd been sleeping there rather than at the temple. For one it was a much nicer space, what with the decor and all. But mostly there was no threat here. The only other people besides Alina herself, were her guards. One or more of her other apprentices would swing around from time to time, but Tara didn't have to worry about them. At least, she hoped not. There was always the chance one of them could stab her in the back to win more of Alina's favor. Tara was confident that turn of events would end up backfiring. Alina had a temper after all. Whoever killed her -hypothetically- would get one hell of a beating. Tara trusted the other Acolytes understood that.

With a container of some popular energy drink, the Siren walked into the center of the room where she would meet another of her Acolyte brothers. Kalt Bruq . She'd worked with Kalt before but never had the chance to really speak with him. Today she'd be learning alongside him. She would be dressed in comfy clothes this morning, showing off far more skin than she normally did. Kalt would even be able to see her tattoos in this particular outfit. She was wearing a vest and a sports bra, and then some bikini shorts. Hell, she was practically naked. She had no weapons on her, not even her collapsible lightsaber. She didn't need her weapons today. At least she hoped not. Kalt could always betray her....

Tara and Kalt would be going in Alina's footsteps on this early morning, learning about blood magic: Sangnir. They wouldn't be learning from Alina herself however. There was a holocron for that. Inside the Sith holocron would be a woman by the name of Darth Cognus who left information behind in the databox.

Tara would take a sip of her energy drink and ask, "Did Alina give you the holocron? You haven't opened it yet have you?"

Spoiler: loadout

I T E M S ​

GEAR

• Weapons
  • Double Bladed Collapsible Lightsaber Hilt
  • Red Lightsaber Pike
  • PV-16 Sunfury Pulse Pistol
• Tara's Sith Armor
  • Body Glove
    • Viper Mk 1 Skinsuit
  • Utility Belt
    • SV-5 "Phanes" Class Suvival Kit
    • Phase III "Force Avenger" Energy Shield
  • Communication Device
    • G1 Omnilink

VEHICLES

• Omnicron-Class 0-1 Imperial Shuttle
  • Crew
    • OMYN-Series Battle Droid
    • Latero Male: Guff Kinto
• Emeici Sith Imperial Shock Speeder Bike (x2)

 

[Kalt Bruq]

Kalt had been meditating on what he had researched already. Before him was an open notebook of what he had gathered already open before him. The subject of Alina Tremiru's special ability to severe the force has been a topic of interest for him, ever since he had learned of it. If he could master such an ability, without the trade offs, he might be able to use it in combination with his other powers to further his capabilities. There was a lot of potential there, so long as he could solve the riddle of her power and disability.

He wasn't the only one interested in the topic. Although he didn't know her well, he decided to join forces with Tara to see if they can potentially bring their perspectives together on this. That and the holocron, which Alina had so gracefully lent to them to study. While waiting for her to arrive, Kalt reached out to the force to attempt to glean some unforeseen or missed detail that might be useful to their research. Although the next step was obviously to study the holocron, he assumed that given Alina's pre-existing research, they would not be able to do much with it other than catch up. They would need to extrapolate on the information given to further their research on the matter. Kalt's efforts were likely getting too far ahead though.

Upon seeing Kara's appearance, Kalt admittedly did little to hide the fact that he was appreciating the view. Thankfully his skin was already red. By comparison he was dressed in his typical acolyte robes. "You look... very comfortable." He said as she came in, presenting a welcoming smile.

Once she had asked about the holocron, he regained his focus. "Yes, she did. I have it here. I have not opened it yet, I've just been going over what I know so far. Admittedly, not much."

"Her power seems to be the exclusive ability she has, she even lacks the basic precognition needed for lightsaber dueling and deflecting blaster bolts, which she likely compensates with the enhancements of her Sangnir blood. Her presence in the force, like yours, is more like an absence, a void of sorts. Likely this has a direct relationship to her ability and would suggest that she is a wound in the force. Possibly also related to her being a Sangnir." He explained, somewhat ranting as he does with such topics.

[ Tara Willows ]​

 

[Tara Willows]

"I am indeed," she would say to his comment about her being comfortable. When he then answered her question she would nod and stay silent for him to finish. Tara crossed one arm across her chest and rested her elbow on it; her hand would brush slightly against her cheek as she contemplated. Kalt would speak of Alina as a sort of void, the same feeling he would likely feel around Tara if he were to sense her. For Tara had the same ability as Alina: the illusive Force Drain. It was what called the Sith to the young woman and why she took her as an apprentice.

"A Sangnir....right." Tara would purse her lips in thought. "I'd forgotten she mentioned that at one point. Though she was lax on the details of it." She would then lean on her hip and added, "But I would die to find out how she became one."

Moving closer to Kalt Bruq , the white haired Siren would sit down with her legs crossed. "So let's crack this thing open yeah?"

Tara reached for the holocron and would lift it up using the Force. It floated over to her as it spun gently. Tara cocked her head while staring at it, trying to figure out how to open it. She then took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Her head lowered some in thought; her hands rested on her knees. The pyramid would spin, then stop abruptly, then begin to spin the other direction. Pieces of it would open up sharply until it broke apart into several smaller ones. Inside then was a glowing red light as all the little triangles reflected light off one another to make a hologram.

Only now Tara would open her eyes and look into it. The vision was static at first until a person walked into view. She was robbed, and alien; two tendrils stuck out from her cloak. "She's beautiful," Tara commented. "So this is Darth Cognus...."

 

[Kalt Bruq]

Kalt figured that a presence such as Tara's, another wound in the force, would provide some valuable insight to their research. Perhaps she would even be able to provide him with the ability herself, should she learn more of it.

Tara mentioned that she was interested in learning how Alina became a Sangnir. Kalt was still fairly unfamiliar with their race in general himself. He wanted to learn more about it first though, before taking it in. Something suggested to him that it might also be partly responsible for Alina's lack of other abilities in the force, although the fact that Tara also had limited force ability suggested that might not be the case. "Has she told you about her power? As a Sangnir, I mean." He asked, curious to see if she knew anything more.

Tara would take the lead on opening the holocron. The device, a marvel of Sith design, amazed him. He had learned of holocrons at the Academy of course. Although he tended to pay attention to more of the details than others did. Tara would need to face a challenge in order to open it. A guardian, an aspect of the original Darth Cognus' psyche, will evaluate her and determine if she was worthy. Tara was likely more aligned to Cognus' teachings so it would be better for her to open it. Likely it was a trial not unlike the one Alina would have faced when she had obtained the holocron.

Once she had passed and remarked that Darth Cognus was beautiful, Kalt focused on doing what he could to study the symbols and language it presented. They would need to translate the teachings presented. "While I would love to spend a great deal of time going further into the holocron, I think we should focus on why we're here." He suggested to his fellow Acolyte, once she had a grasp of how to navigate the holocron. Whether Tara agreed was up to her of course. He wasn't really going to stop her if she wanted to start from the beginning. He also had a great deal of respect for Darth Cognus, almost equally as much for Darth Bane and Darth Zannah.

The holocron delved into the subject of her ability to suppress the force in others, especially in those that did not align with the Dark Side. She had been able to even suppress Darth Bane's ability for a time, despite the fact that he was able to overcome it eventually. Kalt had a personal theory that it was more likely that Darth Bane and Zannah were so powerful during their interactions with Cognus, that they were simply able to overcome it. There was a plethora of useful information for Tara to use on expanding her abilities. Likely with practice she'd be able to get on Alina's level of capability soon. Kalt had taken a considerable number of notes for himself as well. A pen telekinetically wrote notes into his personal notebook, page upon page, until he eventually decided to just get his datapad, which was a more convenient medium. There was no way he would leave this information behind, even if it wasn't of direct use to him in the moment.

The only problem was that there was no clear way for him to learn it himself. It was clear that like Tara and Alina, Darth Cognus likely was born or naturally developed this ability. Although the fact that it didn't limit her power was of great interest to him. Clearly there would need to research further to learn more. "I believe there are more Sith masters with this ability. Before Cognus, there were at least two other Sith Lords that I know of who had this ability, Darth Nihlus and Darth Traya along with a Jedi called Meetra Surik. I believe we might be able to discover more if we can find holocrons or information pertaining to these three."

[ Tara Willows ]​

 

[Tara Willows]

Kalt would ask the Siren if she knew anything about Alina being a Sangnir. She shook her head. "No. Like I said, she only mentioned it the one time." He would then ask her about focusing on why they were here. She dejected, sitting back with a pout on her lips. "Yeah yeah yeah..."

Tara asked the little hologram to explain herself and who she was. She went into a deep story about how she fought and captured Darth Bane and became the apprentice of Darth Zannah when she fought and killed Bane in a duel. It was a lovely story, not that Tara cared for it. It was ancient history to her. While she'd heard of Darth Bane, Zannah was a new name for her. She'd have to look her up later. Or ask the holocron about it now. But Kalt mentioned staying on task. They were here for one thing: how Darth Cognus used the Force Drain.

While Kalt took notes, Tara merely listened. She felt rather dumb for not taking any herself. But what could she do? Ask him for a sheet of paper and admit that she was unprepared for this? Not a chance. When all was said and done Kalt would say to her he believed other Sith have had this ability before Cognus. She had to have learned it from someone else? No? He mentioned two more names she'd never heard of and a Jedi as well. The Jedi she definitely had never heard of. She leaned forward and rested her head in her hands with her elbows on her knees.

"Getting those holocrons would be helpful. But where would we even start? And I'm not in the mood to go through the rest of Alina's boxes trying to find the right one. Do you...have a better idea?"

Kalt Bruq

 

[Kalt Bruq]

Kalt nodded his head, acknowledging that Alina probably hasn't shared much about her membership among the Sangnir. Likely will they will earn answers in such regard over time. For now, they should focus on the mystery at hand...

After reviewing the holocron, he had stated that it might be good to search for other sources of information, from other Sith lords who have had the power. Tara didn't take the prospect of searching for them too well. "I don't know if Alina would even have their holocrons, or any documentation on such things. If she did, she would have learned more about it already I suspect. The individuals I refer to got the closest to understanding hounds in the force, and the power for drain. Darth Nihilus himself wiped out an entire planet with his power but he could use other abilities of the force." He explained, thinking for a moment.

"It's possible that other Sith lords may have the holocrons, or possible data regarding Darth Nihilus and Traya. I'll make an effort to search for it but it'll take time. For the time being, what did you think of the information? Was it useful? For some reason, I get the impression that people are born with this power. I don't know for sure if that's true but it would explain why it's so rare, much like battle meditation."

[ Tara Willows ]​

 

[Alexis Solis]

Her partner would correct Tara in saying that Alina likely did not possess the holocrons they were after. Also, that he wanted to learn more about a Darth Nihilus for he too used the power the two Acolytes were grasping towards. He then suggested he wanted to search out for those data banks though it would take time to do so. Time that Tara didn't have. She wanted to know more about her own abilities. But in truth, her mind was only focused on the Sangris. She wanted to know what her master knew. She wanted that power for herself....

"I would agree it is something some are born with. I wouldn't know how to begin teaching the skill to others. Nor was it taught to me . It just sort of....happened. I could probably learn more from Alina, but that is because I already possess the ability. Which doesn't help us much in this case I'm afraid."