The Parted Sun

[Matsu Xiangu]

Yavin IV​

​

The red glare of Yavin Prime flooded in to the cockpit of Matsu’s ship as she sped past it, its roiling everstorm mesmerizing enough that she wished she could pull up and just stare for a while. But her pace had to be be kept, shadow and blood cascading over switches and buttons, readouts and the metallic sheen of her cybernetics - new, to repair the damage after the Acerbitas.

She always thought of that word, bitter.
It was an ironic name for something that left such an aftertaste.

And somewhat the reason for her visit to the moon encircling the red monster outside her viewport; not, of course, the sour mood that had consumed her since its finish of course - but the information found therein. There had been satisfaction in that even if she hadn’t been the one to slice it from the ship. She’d made it no secret that she was an independent, that she had no love for organized power. But the Saaraishash? That was something she might be able to sink her teeth in to.

Even though any trust she’d fostered after meeting the Nezumi was riddled with cracks.
She put that aside as she punched the throttle of her ship, shooting through atmosphere over Yavin IV with a pop.

By the time she landed her sleek one-seater near the temple that now served as the Saaraishash’s headquarters, she’d managed to squash any irritation that had crept back up. She emerged from her ship in the flutter of a dress-skirt catching air as her demure height forced her to drop from the pit. Grossly stylish as always, the metal harness that now stabilized her sternum until the repaired cybernetic lung was stable reached around her as shiny, black metal claws.

An escort ushered her forward, sent to lead her through winding corridors towards the meeting. It had been a long time since she was the one to be heeding a call, but this one was different. Mutual curiosity, call it. Either way, she was intrigued when the escort didn’t so much as flinch at her face. Well-trained. No doubt meant to see and hear things in the presence of those that considered her unimportant?

Or maybe that was just paranoia.

[member="Darth Saarai"] | [member="Tabigarashu Madara"]​

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Matsu Xiangu"] | [member="Tabigarashu Madara"]

"I think your life is more important than mine. But. Yes. I would."

Saarai had politely disagreed with that assessment and together they had agreed to disagree.

It didn't matter.

What mattered was that Hirou seemed to have an unshakable faith in Matsu Xiangu, Lord of the Sith and Lord of Death, the Spider some referred to her as. It were all names and monikers that spoke of power, but in truth the SIth Empire did not have a lack of individuals controlling vast amounts of strength. What they lacked... were those with control over proper sense. Gree still weighed on Saarai and the events at Commenor only served to increase that tension.

Why launch an entire campaign, if all it would take was glassing a single city?

But Hirou had vouched for Matsu and that was enough for this meeting to happen. They were sitting in the highest point of the Great Temple. It used to be the communication and observation level, but now it doubled as Saarai's office. It tripled as Hirou's office as well, when they left their own side-office deeper in the temple.

Eventually Saarai glanced up from his desk and the papers. "Hm." Hirou looked up at his prompt and had a question in their eyes. "Matsu Xiangu approaches." Powerful, very, perhaps even more powerful than Saarai was in some fields. "A bit early." The tone indicated that this pleased the Thirriken. Punctuality was the hallmark of success and Tai had always been annoyed by the penchant of the Sith to assume they were above proper scheduling.

"What were you reading?"

A curious look at the smol desk perching on his desk.

It was a book he hadn't seen yet.

 

[Tabigarashu Madara]

Hirou was using their small desk more like a podium, allowing them to see look over the entire outlaid pages before them. The volume wasn't a large one, in fact rather slender. It had been possible to bring it here all by themselves instead of needing help transporting it from Hirou's 'library.'

The Nezumi squinted, head tilting one way then the other, and wondered, briefly, if their eyesight were starting to fail and if they needed glasses. They were, after all, no longer a young mouse. At five years old, Hirou had reached early middle age for most Nezumi and it would be reasonable to expect to need glasses, as their father had. Despite that, Hirou sighed.

Looking up, their tail flicked back and forth.

"Let the Worthy Prevail, another book by [member="Velok the Younger"]!" They replied happily. Ever since a book had shown up, wrapped carefully and addressed to them personally, Hirou had been pouring over it. It had arrived while they were lost in the Acerbitas, so it was a very pleasant surprise to come back to. "Look!"

Hoping down, Hirou grabbed the pages with both paws, turning it to the title page. "See? He dedicated it to me!" The Nezumi's chest puffed up with pride.

There wasn't time to go into more detail on what the book was about or why it was so interesting. The meeting here today, at least for the Nezumi, was rather grave after all. When Matsu was announced, they closed the book quickly and bounded over to the front of Saarai's desk. They had asked permission to speak first, to greet Matsu, so the Nezumi was ready when the woman was ushered in.

Immediately, Hirou bowed low.

"Welcome Lady Xiangu," they said, ears quivering slightly. They had spent a lot of time mulling over the best way to say what they wanted to say, though Hirou was certain there was no adequate words.

They didn't straighten up, instead issuing their apology from that bow.

"I wish to apologize to you for my deception on the Acerbitas. There is no true forgiveness for lies told to friends, because lies erode and fracture the very friendship one hopes to claim. While I had my reasons, they do not truly matter here. In a moment of weakness, I chose to not trust either of us- you to make the right decision.... and myself to not want you to come to my aid. For this I am deeply sorry, but also grateful for you and your actions that allowed us to gain what we did that day."

[member="Darth Saarai"] [member="Matsu Xiangu"]

 

[Matsu Xiangu]

She should, perhaps, have been more prepared to see the Nezumi immediately. Even still, after her escort bowed her in to the room, Matsu stood at the doorway heralded by the subtle click of her cybernetics clenching in to fists. She was straight-faced through the entirety of the apology, seemingly blind eyes betraying their appearance by focusing directly on Hirou.

By the time they were done, her hands were relaxed.
Her voice was accompanied by a hiss of air, a whispering of a seam in the cybernetic that would close once she was fully healed.

“And...I am sorry, for keeping silent afterwards. I was told you returned safely but I was too angry to simply meet with you and clear the air. I was told once, that friends and companions are a weakness - that they compromise you, cloud your judgment. I thought it was wrong then, and I still do now but I have learned that how I react to misunderstandings and crossed wires is on me. I made...mistakes that day,” she said, pausing to think of what she’d done to Belphaegor in her anger. “But I will not let one of them be holding a grudge against you for something I might have done in your shoes. We did not know each other. But we do now.”

She nodded her head to Hirou in return to the bow, punctuating a shared gesture that dissolved everything unsaid.

And then she noticed the Thirriken. In her mental scramble to order the world when she’d seen Hirou, the world had shrunk. But Darth Saarai, perched primly behind the desk, could hardly be missed. That plumage was magnificent, and the cool calmness even more so. Matsu gave a shallow bow based on the Lord’s reputation alone, more than she afforded to anyone else.

“My apologies Darth Saarai, I’m usually more mannered,” she said, moving forward and waiting for an indication that she might take a seat before settling in front of the desk. The tight support cage around her chest was as unobtrusive as possible but it still forced her to tilt slightly in the chair so as not to lean directly on it. “My apprentice, Belphaegor, seems to think very highly of your organization. I admit to being curious myself after working with some of your Inquisitors and Agents.”

The smaller desk placed on Saarai’s did not go unnoticed, perhaps a token of friendship beyond the working relationship there. Matsu controlled a smile.

[member="Tabigarashu Madara"] | [member="Darth Saarai"]​

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Matsu Xiangu"] | [member="Tabigarashu Madara"]

Saarai did not interrupt them as they exchanged their words.

There were two reasons why the Thrikken was perched patiently on his seat, rather than focused on his papers. One- it was more polite to greet an esteemed guest and two- (the more important of the two) it would have allowed him to sweep the Nezumi away from the line of fire, if Xiangu had decided that Hirou had insulted her too much. From the dossiers that his agents had collected there were a few constants that spoke and suggested things about Matsu.

Powerful, yes. Ambitious... in ways most creatures would not understand. Disciplined? Mhm.

But while her wrath was not easily invited, it was a horror to be exposed to.

Poor [member="Belphaegor"] could attest to that. His punishment had left some distaste in his beak, but Tai did not interfere. The order between Apprentice and Master existed before the Saaraishash and it was not something that Saarai intervened in lightly. "The matters of friendship, allegiance and personal grievances are important ones, Lady Xiangu. As vital as this meeting is, your peace with my trusted Agent is equally essential." Saarai responded with the same measure of patience and eloquence.

Then.

He returned to his seat with a whisper of his wing cutting through the air.

"Please take a seat. Can I interest you in some tea? I brew it myself." Regardless of if Matsu wanted some, he would pour some for himself and (if Hirou indicated they wanted some too after a questioning glance) some in a very smol pot for Hirou.

"Belphaegor is a boon to my organization, you have trained him well, Lady Xiangu. I was saddened to hear about his recent... affliction." If there was a tone of disapproval it was quickly removed once more in return for another sip of tea. "Hirou here has been very vocal about your competence. This is not in dispute. What can you tell me about the Saaraishash and what is it that interests you most about it, out of all the institutes within the Empire?"

One more sip.

Measured.

 

[Tabigarashu Madara]

Hirou's heart and chest swelled as they stood up from their bow. Ears flicked back, and they let go of their tail (something they hadn't realized they were doing, clutching it, until that moment).

"Thank you, for accepting my apology. Yours is easily accepted as well. I understand entirely needing space and have nothing but the utmost respect for you and your needs in this."

In truth, Hirou was a bit of an anomaly amoung the Sith. Not that the Sith did not find the value in friendship, in relationships. But Hirou put that value far higher than most, and cast the net of it wide.

As Matsu and Tai Fa settled into the meat of the meeting, the little Nezumi dropped to all fours briefly to scamper over to the small desk. They did indeed indicate and accept some of the tea- a tiny pot and cup a gift from a family member once they learned of this particular appreciation of the Thrikken- Hirou had tried to explain that it would be simply too small for Tai Fa to use, but the gift had been sincere and well meant, so they had of course passed it along. The fact that it allowed Hirou to more easily share in this practice of the Saariashash leader had, in its own way, been the gift itself, moreso than the pot and cup directly.

For now, Hirou would sit quietly. While Matsu was a new friend, Hirou had known Tai Fa for half of their life. They appreciated their inclusion in this meeting, and was prepared to bridge, where ever possible, between the two.

[member="Matsu Xiangu"] [member="Darth Saarai"]

 

[Matsu Xiangu]

Matsu hadn't always been calm and collected. What was now a personality trait perhaps burned first in to her biography - always calm, unsettlingly so - had taken training and the shedding of her youth in one brutal moment of betrayal. Jared Ovmar had, in large part, steered the natural tendency to be quick to anger out of her and it was one of several lessons that had never left her Most of the time she forgot she'd even once been impulsive. That wasn't her anymore.

But some moments could destroy anyone's composure.

She did not bristle at Darth Saarai’s unspoken but nonetheless clear momentary disapproval. He was right. She had her reasons that she supposed he might understand if she explained, but it was neither here nor there. The root of his irritation - that a young, promising Inquisitor had been stripped of some of what made him so capable - was not in dispute. Matsu knew what she had done, and she would correct it.

Even still, she was having Ovmar flashbacks.
Curious then, that he would come up in her response to the the line of questioning.

She took the tea, nodding her thanks as her metal fingers clinked quietly against the cup.

It was a good question really, because she’d never been secretive about her opinions in regards to Sith power structure and ritual. She’d never truly had a place in the One Sith because of her refusal to accept their Dark Lord, and she would most likely never truly have a place in this new Empire either. Maybe that would make her a better Inquisitor, should she be folded in - no biases, no agendas of her own, no clouding love for one particular thing. Just rooting out liars and schemers. But why even bother?

“I had a master that taught me the value of subtlety. I think it was his first lesson, or at least close to the first, that it was better to make your point efficiently and quietly - more lasting, per se - than to burn something down visibly just because you could. There were things he and I did not agree on, as any apprentice and master. But I have never forgotten that one, and have never found it untrue either.” There was a pause, maybe missing an old man lost, before it fluttered away. “I think the Saaraishash are just that - the point made quietly, the goal accomplished cleanly. It’s no secret I rarely throw myself in to things, but that? It’s a mission I can appreciate.”

[member="Darth Saarai"] | [member="Tabigarashu Madara"]​

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Matsu Xiangu"] | [member="Tabigarashu Madara"]

He sipped his tea and listened.

While listening he watched.

The watching allowed for learning.

From learning came understanding.

It was for these reasons that Saarai was most comfortable in silence. When your heart was surrounded by silence, your mind could soar and clarity was gained. In truth it was Hirou, usually, who coaxed out the conversation from him. Somehow it was never annoying though. Maybe because of the sheer... genuine sensation Hirou radiated. They truly were curious, interested even, in what others felt, believed, wanted and dreamed about.

A characteristic that endeared them to many, no doubt.

"We do prefer subtlety to the more... flashy displays." Eyes flashed there as his mind went back to the campaign on Gree and the sheer waste of that infernal ritual on Asation. "I should voice something outloud that most sentients either do not understand or do not wish to understand, Lady Xiangu. The Saaraishash serves one thing and one thing only. It is not the Sith. Not their Order. It is not the Dark Lord. Instead we serve something more... nebulous."

"We serve the Empire. We are the last, and perhaps the only, check and balance on a nation held together by mad men, fools and the almighty." Sometimes these three values concentrated in singular individuals too, but that was neither here nor there.

In some ways these frank words underlined the power that the Lord Inquisitor held within the Sith Empire.

Could anyone else imagine to speak like that about the Sith Emperor and his allies? Few, very few. "Hirou here embodies that mission. Unassuming.... smol, but their voice is the voice of the Saaraishash and that voice decides how the laws of the Empire are determined." Many of the Nezumi clans operated in that capacity. Auditors, spies, they ensured that the cogs were free and that they rolled smoothly. Suddenly Saarai realized he had been speaking for quite some time.

Perhaps even... theatrically.

He suddenly noticed the sideway glance Hirou send him.

The Thirriken coughed. He fully realized that once the conversation turned to their mission... to law and order that he was known to... how do they say it? Get into it. "I apologize for the long windedness . Hirou, do you have anything to add?"

 

[Tabigarashu Madara]

Hirou's toe tapped absently. Not in boredom or irritation, just because the little creature was not actually terribly good at keeping utterly still. There was always a little head bobbing, toe tapping, tail twitching or ear swiveling at play. They had tried in the past to emulate Tai Fa's poise and stillness but ultimately never succeeded. A sip of tea, a flick of the ears. A nod. Attentive but active.

And then, for a moment, actual stillness before head swiveled to look at Tai Fa.

Oh goodness no, please don't use them as an example.

Hirou knew that Tai Fa valued them. In truth, they believed that Tai Fa over valued them. And there lay danger. They had never spoken of it, but Hirou was not naive enough to believe that no harm could come from how strong their friendship was and how much the Thrikken had come to rely upon them. Hirou knew they wore their heart on their sleeve- their admiration and affection for the leader of the Saaraishash was no secret. It couldn't be any other way, there was no other way for Hirou to be. But they were keenly aware that should it become clear that the friendship ran in both directions....

It could become a danger to Tai Fa.

Hirou hoped, very much, that he knew that as well and would be careful.

Loyalty amoung the sith was historically a rare thing. Hirou had faith, a great deal of it in many things. But there were elements that would see the Saaraiashash burn if they could. Both inside and outside of the Empire. Hirou did not think, for a moment, that the organization itself could not function without them. But if Saarai believed that and others saw it?

There was the danger.

Hirou shook their head.

"You have always been more eloquant than I, Lord Saarai," they said, deliberately choosing the honorific.

It was not about Matsu. Not at all. But people talked, and acknowledging that something ought to be secret was as good as giving it away. That Hirou had learned from their time with the Sith.

Small dark eyes turned back toward Matsu, and they inclined their head.

"Is that something that you can pledge to? The safety of the Empire as an entity itself? It's what we promise. Not the agents or initiates, but those with the access and knowledge to understand the depth and gain access to.... the larger pictures as it were."

[member="Darth Saarai"] [member="Matsu Xiangu"]

 

[Matsu Xiangu]

This was something she recognized. They buttoned their minds up like the rest of them, behind clothes and feathers, armor, make-up. For some it was an attempt to project a certain image of oneself - to show the galaxy who they were. But for Matsu - and now, she thought, Darth Saarai - it was exactly the opposite. When you’d made it your business to know every secret and unearth anything hidden, your very insides were something to guard.

Even still, there were some things it was difficult not to be passionate about - this she recognized.

She could feel it when he spoke, that delicious sensation of things exactly where they should be and all elements known. She didn’t mind chaos, but there was truly nothing like a well-oiled machine.

Careful to sip the tea, however delicious, only at the right moments, she was nothing but rapt as he explained the role of the Saaraishash. She wasn’t entirely in the dark for the interaction that followed between the Lord and Hirou, but it was personal enough that she chose once more to enjoy the brew at the shared glance between them.

It gave her time to think.

She didn’t care for Sith power structure. She didn’t even really care for Sith if she were being honest, even if that was the thing she might be closest to. So what was the point? She’d found herself there, in front of the two highest in the organization, because it had called to her and that wasn’t a surprise at all to anyone who knew her at least in terms of its tactics. But maybe… She’d been around for the One Sith from rise to fall and she’d hated every moment of its senseless meatgrinder. While she’d been motivated by credits to get involved with this new Empire, she’d seen mindless destruction as a preferred tactic only from a select few of its base. This...might be the sort of Empire she might help, that she might see come to something like quiet, complex order. She wasn’t sure it would ever feel like home, but it was something she could look out on from home and feel happy with the state of the galaxy.

Hopefully the pause came off as sincere, as careful consideration and not hesitation.

“Yes, that I can easily do,” she answered to Hirou, rolling her tongue along the scar tissue on the inside of one cheek before looking to Saarai. “Hirou can attest to some of my areas of interest, but I think I might be an asset. At the risk of sounding as if I’m reading from a resume, I’ve focused almost solely on mentalism for over two decades now, augmented here and there with sorcery as a way to amplify those base concepts. My original motivation was to keep others out but, I became very good at breaking in. Pulling information. Controlling. Influencing. I guess I want to say I’m excellent at keeping secrets and even better at pulling them out of others. Among other things, of course. And that is how I would see to the safety of the Empire.”

[member="Tabigarashu Madara"] | [member="Darth Saarai"]​