The New and the Old

[Thom Naudir]

Valad Yar sat quietly on the porch of the small hut. His legs were folded underneath him, and his gloved hands rested comfortably on his knees. He wore a simple black shirt and pants, with the shirt open nearly down to his stomach showing numerous scars and tattoos on his chest. All around him, there was silence, and emptiness. Not even the feeling of the wind through his short cut brown hair, or the crashing of waves on the island registered in his mind as he sat there, his eyes closed as he calmed his mind. The memories of his past were clashing once again with the knowledge and history that had been forced upon him, and they warred against each other, trying to remove the other and restore balance to Valad's mind. Such things had been common when he first when through his ascension, but over the years they had become less frequent. Though, he wondered if he would ever truly be rid of them.

As some time he finally opened his eyes, the violence in his mind tamed and brought back under control. It was only then that his surroundings came back, roaring to life around him and flooding him with sensations. He took a deep breath as his body and mind came back into the moment, before he slowly rose to his feet. Turning, he spotted a small flashing red light coming from within the wooden hut. He walked across the floor, picking up the small device and opening the cover. Text briefly flashed across the screen, reporting that the vessel he had been expecting for some time was making its final approach. Putting the device back down on the table, Valad Yar walked out of the hut, heading towards a larger, metallic structure just behind it.

The second building on the small island dwarfed the simple hut, rising several dozen meters into the sky. Three sets of windows wound around the entirety of the building, each with a red tint to them that did not reveal anything within. Coming to the entrance of the building, Valad waved his hand briefly before the terminal, unlocking it and opening the large sliding doors to reveal a long corridor, with a lift at the end. Valad walked towards this lift, the simple shoes he wore making almost no sound as he moved down the brightly lit corridor. Stepping onto the lift, Valad Yar activated it and the open platform shot upwards, rising several floors before coming to a halt at the top level. Stepping off the lift, Valad walked down another barren corridor to open up a large door leading to a landing platform set onto the roof. He came to a halt just before the landing pad, folding his arms behind him as he looked up, waiting for the first glimpse of his approaching guest.

Today was going to be an interesting day.

[member="Aren D'Shade"]

 

[Aren D'Shade]

It hadn't been very long ago when Aren had taken on a new job. The young slicer did not have too many details when she accepted the offer but they were given to her while en route to meet her employer. Having the feeling this was going to be something great, she accepted the offer. Transportation would even be provided for her. Taking the flight, she was given good treatment by the crew of the shuttle. There was even a droid on board to keep her occupied.

An agreement had been reached between herself and Valad. A contract had been drawn up. Which had been given to her when she boarded the shuttle provided for her. Reading over it quickly, there was nothing unexpected in it. Signing her name to it next to his, she handed it back to the attendant and kept her own copy. Putting that in her bag, she sat back to enjoy the flight.

Space flight might bother some people, but not Aren. Here she could hear the hum of the galaxy and listen to the music of the machines. It might be odd, but she had a connection with electronics and technology. Something she had been working on improving and had gotten better at it. Along with her slicing skills, she was starting to make a name for herself.

She sat in worn pants and a tan shirt that was sleeveless. Since she had a tattoo on one of her shoulders, Aren decided to show it. During the flight, she ate when she was hungry and napped if she was tired. When they arrived, she was rested, awake and ready for this to begin. Around her was an air of innocence, but it was changing into that of an adult. Somebody just starting to learn what life was really like, but still trying to cling to her childhood.

As the ship landed, she stood up, grabbed her bag and prepared to exit. Once the door opened for her, she walked off to meet the man she was going to be working with.

[member="Valad Yar"]

 

[Thom Naudir]

Valad Yar was silent as [member="Aren D'Shade"] exited her craft, approaching him. Almost at once Valad detected the connection to the Force that she had, though it was unrefined. She was not a practitioner by trade, otherwise the Force around and within her would be more honed, stronger and more reactive. In his mind, Valad Yar saw the Force within her barely moving, though he saw something else. The Force within her had darker shades to it, not the usual brightness in the grand masses of the galaxy, or the Jedi. She had been exposed to the Dark Side of the Force in the past, likely recently. If all went well, perhaps she could become a valuable asset to his goals. Possibly, he might have even found his Apprentice...but he could not get ahead of himself. First, she had to be tested, and then, she had to be turned. Only then would Valad Yar know for certain. All these things went through his mind in the few seconds it took for Aren to approach Valad Yar where he stood on the roof of the building. As she drew closer, he smiled and inclined his head, extending his hand to shake.

"Welcome to Bestine, my friend. I am Valad Yar, and I am pleased to finally meet you in person. I trust your trip here was pleasant?" Valad kept the smile and warmth in his voice evident as he spoke to the woman, though his eyes briefly took her in, sizing her up and determining her strengths and weaknesses at a glance. She was not a fighter, though she could be quick on her feet. She was technologically genius, but not socially so. All traits that held promise if they could be worked on in the future. "I hope that you will find your stay here enjoyable, I have prepared rooms for you, and have stocked them with anything you might need. If there is something that you would like, please do not hesitate to let me know. Now, I am certain that you are curious as to what the job you have been hired to accomplish actually is. You must understand, the nature of the endeavor required the upmost secrecy, and I could not afford it to be widely known. I assure you, your payment will be well worth the added secrecy."

Turning, Valad Yar began to walk slowly back into the building, ensuring Aren was beside him as he moved back towards the lift at the end of the hall. Once on the lift, he pressed the console and they began to descend, going past the ground floor of the building before heading further down, into a deep vault built under the building. The project was truly something Valad Yar wished to keep secret, and whole new levels of the complex had been dug out and built just to ensure no one could detect what was to begin soon.

 

[Aren D'Shade]

One of the trappings the now young woman had given up as she had aged was her headset. While it was still within her bag, she no longer wore it on her head all the time. This allowed her to be more aware of what was going on around her. That music had been a part of her life since she was a child, but now she listened to another form of music. It was the Force around her and her connection to technology she heard now.

Though she had started to branch out and actually work with people, there were times when Aren still preferred the companionship of droids. Following her off the shuttle were several of them. EL, Sam and Red. The three droids she had either created on her own or pinched in her travels. However, her focus was on the man in front of her and he held his hand out to shake.

Shaking that hand, she listened to what he was saying.

"It was very pleasant. Thank you."

Letting go of it, she lowered her hand and almost felt like rubbing it on her pants, but did not make that move.

"Yes, I would actually like to know more of the finer details. What we already agreed on are rather simple and broad."

She said this as he started to turn and head back inside. Falling into step, her companions followed behind them. Each had their own personality, but one thing made them trustworthy. They were all totally loyal to Aren. Making themselves comfortable on the lift, she watched as they started going down in the earth around them.

[member="Valad Yar"]

 

[Thom Naudir]

"The project at hand is to remove a...firewall you might say. A piece of technology I have gotten my hands on recently is protected by extensive levels of technological locks and security protocols that as of yet, I have not been able to crack. The knowledge held within the device is immensely important to me, and so I tracked down the most qualified person for the job. Your name came up several times, and so I reached out to you. Now that you are here, I can tell I made the correct choice..." His words trailed off as the lift came to a stop, opening up to a massive chamber. Valad Yar stepped off the platform, taking in briefly the three droids behind [member="Aren D'Shade"] before focusing on the objects in the room. The droids might prove an issue in the long run, he would have to watch them carefully.

The room they were in was a perfect sphere, with railing leading to a platform suspended over a glass bottom. The sides of the room were filled with dozens of computer terminals, mechanical stations, and almost all the equipment one might need for the coming mission. As well, several technicians and workers from the Exarite Corporation were in the room, all their eyes turning towards the new individuals as they stepped into the room. However, Valad Yar ignored them as he walked towards the center of the room, a podium set into the walkway. On the podium a glowing, crimson pyramid seemingly made out of glass was connected to dozens of different wires, each one leading to the terminals set into the wall. Turning back around, Valad Yar gestured to everything in the room.

"This is where you will be conducting your work. All these people are at your command and are here to assist you in this task. And this...this is the item you must crack. I procured it on the world of Korriban, deep inside Sith Empire space." As he spoke, Valad Yar briefly ran one of his hands over the Sith holocron, the device seeming to glow brighter at the contact before Valad Yar focused on Aren fully again. "The security on this device is beyond anything my staff has ever seen before. I hope you are up to the challenge."

 

[Aren D'Shade]

Chewing lightly on her lip, she listened to what Valad had to say about his project. Breaking through a simple firewall wasn't going to be an issue for Aren. As they walked into the laboratory though, she got the feeling this was much more than something easy like that.

Stopping to almost gawk at the facility in front of her, Aren caught up with her employer after just a few moments. Feeling watched when the technicians turned their attention to them, she almost wanted to just disappear. Taking a small breath to help relax, she focused on everything that Valad was telling her.

Inhaling again and letting the breath out through her mouth, she noticed how reverently he treated the item in front of them. What he said about how he acquired it was interesting to her and she nodded. It appeared to light up as he touched it and she found that even more interesting.

"May I?"

Taking an item or two out of her bag, she waited for permission to touch the Holocron. Her stance had changed from somebody wanting to not be seen to one that wanted to open this device. Gone was the insecure woman that had been there moments before. Now a professional was in her place and it was an attitude of confidence. EL would join her master and take the bag from her, much like an apprentice would in a situation of crafting an item and waited on any request she might have.

Totally ignoring the others around them now, Aren wanted to help Valad accomplish his goal and EL was be all she felt would be needed to accomplish this.

[member="Valad Yar"]

 

[Thom Naudir]

Valad Yar nodded his head, stepping to the side to allow [member="Aren D'Shade"] to approach the Holocron. He spared one more glance at the droids with the young woman before turning and walking off the platform, approaching one of the scientists at the side. The man quickly bowed his head and stepped aside as Valad Yar walked forward, typing a few commands into the terminal there and bringing up readouts for the rest of the facility. Other projects were still underway across the site, many other scientists and workers dedicating their lives to the mighty growing Exarite Corporation. Each work would garner Valad Yar's attention at a later time, but for no he had to focus on the task at hand.

Typing in a simple command, the cameras and security guards in this part of the facility were taken offline. Turning back to the woman he hoped would one day become the first of many in his grand designs, he watched her tinker and work on the Holocron. Feeling a trickle of sweat coming down his forehead, he quickly wiped it away. The moment he and Aren had entered the room, he had been exerting a constant cloak of Dark Side energy over the Holocron itself, keeping the spirit held within quite. If he let his focus slip for a moment, then all those within the room, including Aren would hear the words of the ancient follower of Exar Kun.

He was not ready for her to hear those words just yet.

 

[Aren D'Shade]

As soon as Aren was given permission, she got to work on the Holocron. Even without knowing anything about it, the young woman was able to sense a few things about it.

First, it was ancient. There was nothing in her memory about what it might be and she turned to Valad. Not even having touched it yet...

"What is this? It feels like it is alive."

How that could be, she did not know. There was no physical life that she could see from the device. It also wasn't electronic in the manner she had expected. She needed more information before advancing any further.

[member="Valad Yar"]