The Sith are eternal (solo thread)

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Connor Harrison"] [member="Maja Vern"]

"I have to give you this, you're rather quick," Taeli replied, noting the sky blue blade that hummed from Jedi Harrison's hilt. His unexpected reaction had forced her to block with her energy to stop being blown away, but it had bought him the seconds he needed to get out of the cramped quarters. Although, she found it rather amusing that he was trying to protect this girl from her, when she was trying to do the same but in reverse. He seemed slightly confused though . . . ah, perhaps he knew her sister.

"You seem a might confused, so allow me to clarify, Darth Arcanix, at your service," she said, sweeping out in a curtsy. "I take it you know my sister by the confusion rolling off you from seeing purple eyes and dark hair. This need not be any more violent than it needs to be, I merely want to talk to the girl who's holding a rather curious artifact and who might have information on what I seek. My apologies for reacting this way, but I can't have her being swept into Jedi custody."

"So do I have to go through you to ask my questions, or not?"

She took a few steps forward, her lightsaber ready and she was ready to unleash hell if need be.

 

[Connor Harrison]

Connor held his hilt down to his hip with both hands, in a secure and strong stance, but he certainly had been thrown – the pulsating in the back of his head warned him what was happening. He stood still as the Sith, Darth Arcanix, introduced herself, confirming and not confirming the thoughts in his own head. Raising his hand, he held it up; not to repel her, but to simply try to stop her bloodlust.

”Wait…wait…” he didn’t trust himself, and had to find another way, ”I don’t want to hurt you – tell me what you seek…trust me, I’m as much in the dark as you.”

The irony of that last remark wasn’t lost on him. He was radiating calm, and trying to tap into the aura of Arcanix that was spiking with similarities to Corvus. She couldn’t be, could she?

A shrill cry reverberated around his head, and it wasn’t the music thumping around them. Recoiling his head and wincing to try and silence it, to shake it away, Connor quickly looked left for the crystal thief but couldn’t see her.

Fuck! Where is she..

Corvus Raaf stood where Darth Arcanix was, red blade held in her palm, violet eyes burning outwards. Connor twisted his body slightly, stabbing a finger to her.

”You say that the weak embrace the Dark Side – you embody what weakness is with your denial.”

The Sith Magic had found the emotional conflict necessary to start another twisted vision before Connor’s eyes.

Connor raised the blade outwards and stood tall, as if now protecting everyone and everything – and himself – rather than just a girl.

”Your sister is more like me than you want to admit – you’re blind. Blind to the Force and who you’re dealing with.”

But just who was he talking to - Corvus Raaf or Darth Arcanix?

”I don’t want the girl, I only want my own answers, so stand down and we will end this without need for a fight. Do not underestimate me; many have, including my own, and suffered.”

[member="Darth Arcanix"] | [member="Maja Vern"]

 

[Darth Zilti]

Maja was oblivious to the somewhat intriguing conversation happening behind her. All that talk of sisters and who was who exactly? She was better out of it.

And besides, she had her own troubles. Trying to ignore the beer being spilled on her back and the boots so keen to step on her fingers. And then she felt the crystal again before a face suddenly appeared under the table, a vacant expression on the stubbled and pock-marked features. In a monotone voice he said, "Get up off the floor girl and run."

She didn't know why she complied to readily, but she did. She also didn't know why she hadn't factored in that if the man was looking at her under the table, then standing up now would send said table flying. Which of course it did. One moment there was a table with drinks on it, the next a lot of shouting and a tall red-head where the table was. On the plus side, the patrons whose drinks had been spilled also jumped up.

Maja didn't wait to apologise, she simply ran for the exit as fast as she could.

[member="Connor Harrison"] | [member="Darth Arcanix"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Connor Harrison"] [member="Maja Vern"]

Taeli could sense the girl running for the exit and sighed. Her presence felt very similar to Lady Vitium's but it was slightly different. Perhaps a sister or daughter . . . no definitely sister. That led her to thinking about Melori, still lying in a coma, and Corvus, who was doing who knew what right now in service to the Republic.

"It would appear she's making a run for it," Taeli sighed, looking over at the Jedi. He still seemed very . . . disoriented and confused by how much she and her sister were alike in appearance and Force presence. "All I'm searching for is a cipher to an encrypted journal I discovered on Ciutric IV and that young lady has the answer I seek, or at least knows where answer resides. But care to elaborate on what you're seeing and what you're talking about? I must say it's rather confusing for someone only in half the know."

 

[Connor Harrison]

Not letting his guard down, he did momentarily glance to the side of the floor they were on, seeing the crustal thief desperately trying to make a break for it. Cursing under his breath, it wasn't of great importance he get to her yet, but the relic she had was too important to let fall into the hands of someone so evasive as her, or as dangerous as Arcanix.

Connor shot a glance back to the Sith.

”All I'm searching for is why name was used to buy black market goods and just what the goods are in the first place - that's all.”

This was the second time he had talked almost respectfully to a female Sith Lord, and the first time that happened he left with more scars than he cared to remember - his torso looked more like a work of art than a finely tuned body - but he wasn't going to be so blind this time.

He side stepped to the left, blade still across his chest.

”Let me talk to her first - give me 10 minutes. She's all yours after that.”

Speaking, Connor didn't know if he was actually telling the truth or not. He always knew his methods as a Rogue were different, but if they worked...this crystal thief and her journal cypher was of no concern to him.

[member="Darth Arcanix"] | [member="Maja Vern"]

 

[Darth Zilti]

Maja just kept on moving, she didn't look back - they could both be dead for all she knew - she just knew that someone wanted her to run, so she ran. If there was ever a time to have spent some of the time she'd been aware of her Force-sensitivity in some useful abilities, like cloaking her presence it was now.

Except she hadn't of course. The crystal was all she had cared about. And now she had it, she wasn't going to hand it over to anyone. By now she'd reached the door to the oh so classy establishment and wrenched it open, diving outside and hoping to hide herself in the crowd. If Nar Shaddaa had a benefit, it was always full of scum and low-life and probably more Dark-sided auras than a Bantha had fleas.

[member="Darth Arcanix"] | [member="Connor Harrison"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Connor Harrison"] [member="Maja Vern"]

"I'm afraid that's not exactly in the cards," she sighed. "I suspect you fully intend to take that artifact and lock it away somewhere once you confront the girl. That is something I cannot allow, as a scholar myself, I find what you probably plan to do with that crystal to be annoying at best, a disservice at worst."

Sweeping her blade up in a Makashi salute, she angled her body towards the Jedi and smiled a bit coldly now.

"I don't want to fight you, Jedi, but I will if it means the Sith can recover an artifact of our Order and have it be in use," she said, sweeping the blade to her side. "Walk away, deal with the idiot that took your name, and we need never even acknowledge we met each other. I'll make sure the girl doesn't do anything . . . untoward and I get what I want. A win-win really if you walk away."

 

[Connor Harrison]

Connor sighed gently and stood tall, killing the blade on his lightsaber and keeping it gripped in his right hand. Looking to the ceiling for a second, he laughed gently and shrugged.

”Why did I know you were going to say that? Still. I have my answers to get so I’ll not keep you any longer, Arcanix.”

Backing away, hands held out to show there was no aggression in him, Connor inclined his head slightly. As he did, he balled his fists and swept his hands upwards in an arc; the Force energy he summoned kicking up two of the small tables on either side of him, now uprooted and arching up and over towards the Sith. Drinks shattered as they fell from the tables.

As he let go from them in the Force, Connor moved quickly right to the barrier and grabbed it with his hands, vaulting over the metal bar to the ground below, thankfully pretty vacant after the eruption of chaos upstairs. Still, enough hardcore drinkers and thrill seekers were around the bar, and a few glances didn’t faze Connor as he stumbled forward on landing. The sound of crashing came from up above, and he didn’t want to know what the Sith was doing.

Not wanting to look back, he shoulder barged through the patrons as he made for the exit, and to try and seek out the girl before the Sith did. Now there was no turning back; another Sith Lord was on his case.

This was becoming a dangerous habit he needed to break.

[member="Darth Arcanix"] | [member="Maja Vern"]

 

[Darth Zilti]

Maja's control of the Force was minimal. There were certain talents she had that were innate - but as a rule she seemed able to do only one or two things naturally. Farseeing was one, and even that tended to only happen when she was asleep, and a broad sense of auras was the other. But as she walked through the streets where neon was the primary light source, she was acutely aware of a sense of danger. She didn't know what or where but she didn't need to be a rocket scientist to work out the who.

Suddenly a street vendor looked her straight in the eyes, "The bar opposite." She gave him a puzzled look, which he must have taken for an interest in his wares. He offered her a choice of candy bars. She grabbed a handful of her favourite type, handed over the credits and stepped into "The Crimson Heart." She was almost bowled over by the Dark-Force auras that hit her as she entered the joint. It was clean, poorly lit and consisted of a number of booths. Once more she'd taken the advise of...who? Now she came to think of it, who was guiding her?

She slid into a booth and ordered a beer and tried to make sense of what was happening. Except there was no sense, so she sat and waited for...further instruction?

[member="Connor Harrison"] | [member="Darth Arcanix"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Connor Harrison"] [member="Maja Vern"]

Taeli sighed as the tables flew towards her, but she had to deal with those. Apparently it was a race now to see who would reach the girl first, and Taeli was determined to do so. It helped when one knew what they were looking for. Ah yes, the tables.

Igniting the second blade of her lightsaber and activating the spinning feature for a moment, the tables were sliced and clattered and clunked away either side of her. Deactivating her saber, she leapt after the Jedi and landed gracefully on the cleared out floor. Not wanting to get in the way of a Jedi and Sith, Taeli moved through the crowd and spotted the Jedi.

Leveling her hand, Force Lightning lanced out to incapcitate the Jedi from behind, or so she planned. All the while, she made her way through the patrons still there as she also sought the exit and locked onto to the small eddies the girl had created as she passed to where ever she had run to.

 

[Connor Harrison]

He had made it to the door when he saw the flash behind him - sickly blue/purple tendrils crackled around him and kicked out the glass neon sign beside him, and then it was his turn.

The Force lightening hit him from behind and convulsed his body in a sickening stop; his head snapped back, and his body tensed up as he crumpled forward out into the dirty street. His hearing went first, and even through closed eyes and gritted teeth, the lightening seemed to ripple through his skin and all his muscles. White spots flashed in his eyes and his cry of agony was the second he knew he'd failed.

The pain ravaged his back and he lay on his chest, body twitching with the spasms brought on by the attack. Pulling his head up, which was hard, he felt like he was slowly burning. His eyes fell and he pulled all he could from the Force to calm and sooth him raging emotion and stop the pain to enable him to carry on. Arcanix would not forget this - he wouldn't let her. Ever.

Sadly, the anger flicked to Corvus for a second for even sharing a genetic code with such a creature of the Dark Side.

A creature at one point he had been close to becoming himself. Such power...such ability...

A groan left Connor's lips and his breathing steadied as he felt the Sith on the move.

[member="Darth Arcanix"] | [member="Maja Vern"]

 

[Darth Zilti]

Maja downed the beer quickly and ordered another. She was starting to gain attention and knew she was a kitten in a lion's den. Sure, she could play with a mouse and have fun, and ordinarily the clientele here wouldn't pay any attention to her. But in their domain she was an outsider - even if she did (as she suspected) have a Dark-sided aura.

A third beer was placed on the table in front of her. And it had a hand on it - a blue Twi'lek's hand. "Thought you might use some company..." His breath suggested he'd already had a few.

But alone she was something of a sore thumb, so she smiled, "Of course - I was wondering when someone was going to come over. Tell me, is this...you know...a Sith only bar?"

He gurgled more than laughed and his Lekku twitched. "Of course. It's a known hang-out. You get the odd local but generally it's frequented by Sith and a few dark Jedi - like me."

"Oooh, a Dark Jedi, how mysterious." She was laying it on with a trowel but in his current state, subtlety would have been lost. "You must tell me all of your dark deeds. It's very...sexy to hear stuff like that first hand." She glanced at the door. She'd been in her ten minutes now and wondered how much longer before someone found her.

[member="Connor Harrison"] | [member="Darth Arcanix"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Connor Harrison"] [member="Maja Vern"]

"Sorry, but can't have you interfering with that girl's mission," Taeli said, stopping for a moment to crouch down next to the Jedi as he groaned and tried to move again. Noticing his gathering resolved, Taeli unleashed another burst of Force Lightning to keep him on the ground and preferrably out of action for awhile.

Not one for being cruel, she bent down and put a comlink into his pocket and whispered, "Call me if you ever want to put some of that anger and darkness in your heart to good use."

Standing back up, she moved off into the crowd again and began hunting for the girl's signature. She caught a small waft of it heading towards a rather seedy section of this area, one that she had heard was frequented by rogue Sith and Dark Jedi. Lovely, and very smart for the girl as it would be hard to find her in such a miasma.

Walking along slowly, she kept her senses wide open and entered the first establishment that caught her eye. Chalking it up to the Force guiding her towards her goal, she entered The Crimson Heart bar and she could feel rather drunk eyes falling on her from the patrons. Beautiful girl walks in, and radiating a powerful dark side aura was going to attract a few glances from the clients here. Pathetic really, she had eyes for only one pair. A blue Twi'lek and a certain young girl.

 

[Connor Harrison]

Connor let out a cry filled with pain and anger; at himself, and the Sith toying with him – sending another wave of the lightning arching over his body and pinning him down to do nothing but survive the attack.

YOU COULD HAVE ALL THIS POWER IF YOU ONLY STOP FIGHTING YOUR DESTINY

The violent burst of Sith lightning reacted with the Sith Magic in his brainstem to now flood his vision with blood red and white flashes that contorted faces for him to see, torn flesh of those he knew in the Order and out of it.

YOU CAN’T SURVIVE YOUR LIES ANY LONGER

Arcanix stopped. She slipped something into his pocket and whispered to him, but his senses were nearly all but destroyed following the blast and he heard little of what was said, but he knew she was purring to him in a way that enraged him – he wanted to rip her throat out and let the Sith know that their greatest weakness was their over confidence.

His back burnt, his clothes gently steamed as he fought to get up and move, but his muscles were ravaged and his stature was weak. Propping up on his elbows, which hurt, his head was sore and he felt burns on the neck – he didn’t even want to think what it looked like. His body was soon becoming a mutilated work of art that the Sith took turns in decorating.

THEIR TIME IS COMING, CONNOR HARRISON

Connor wanted help, but didn’t know where to start. The relic was going to fall into the wrong hands; he had lost the girl; he had lost to the Sith - Corvus's Sith.

He had failed. Again.

[member="Darth Arcanix"] | [member="Maja Vern"]

 

[Darth Zilti]

Maja looked up. It was the woman from before. And Maja noticed that she wasn't the only one staring. At least Maja had a less than lecherous reason to look. She was brought back to her senses by the Twi'lek's Lekku brushing her face as even he now wanted to gawk at the Sith.

Maja shook her head and picking up his beer, poked him in the back with it. "Hey, lover-boy, get out of the seat." When he swivelled back to face her but gave her a blank stare, she smiled. "I've traded up - now get moving." He may be drunk but he clearly knew he was out of his depth and scrambled to his feet and almost bowing to the Sith found a seat a few booths down.

Now his departure was helpful, but it did present a problem. If she was that imposing to her blue-skinned friend, what chance did Maja have? But she was a fighter and would not simply roll over, she'd done too much for that. So she beckoned the woman to join her and waved the bartender over to take an order.

"Pleased to meet you again. I presume Mr Harrison wasn't blessed with stamina?" She was so out of her depth but superficially she was calm and collected and genuinely not afraid. If she were worthy, she would live. if not, she would die. It was the way of the Sith as she had come to believe it.

[member="Connor Harrison"] | [member="Darth Arcanix"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Maja Vern"] [member="Connor Harrison"]

"Mr. Harrison is currently . . . indisposed," Taeli replied, settling into the chair across from the girl. She certainly had mastered the art of keeping calm and collected on the surface, but she had to know she was now at Taeli's mercy. Not that she intended the girl any harm, in fact she was actually doing a rather good job on this quest she was on to obtain the crystal in her possession now.

Waving away the bartender, she watched him scurry away before she said anything else.

"So you need not worry about me taking the crystal," Taeli replied. "I merely came to see if you could answer a few questions about Darth Zannah. The Force guided me to you, so I'm asusming you can."

 

[Darth Zilti]

Maja was surprised and for a split-second her face revealed as much. So she took a swig from her bottle of beer and stelled for a couple of seconds while her brain looked to process as much information as it could.

“Good to see he won’t be bothering us again.” Maja used the collective on purpose. Better to talk as if they were on the same side. “Despite their holier than thou attitude, some of these Jedi can be a tad unpredictable.”

She was pleased about the crystal but had an equal measure of mistrust join it in her consciousness. But she would play along if nothing else. Admittedly she knew a lot about Zannah but the personal touch seemed excessive. “You could have just messaged me you know,” Maja said, her amber eyes twinkling. “But since we’re here, what do you want to know?”

[member="Darth Arcanix"] | [member="Connor Harrison"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Maja Vern"] [member="Connor Harrison"]

"True, I could have just messaged you . . . but such things require a more . . . on hands approach, wouldn't you agree?" Taeli replied, smiling at the girl. She seemed surprised, yet suspicious of her. That's good, she would go far in the Sith if she kept that viewpoint of being cautious around other of her faction.

"In your travels, have you come across any mention of a journal that Zannah kept, more specifically a cipher that decodes the enitre thing?" she asked, leanign across the table a little. She wondered if the Jedi would be recovered yet or not, it mattered little to her right now, but he was a fascinating subject already.

 

[Darth Zilti]

Maja shifted in her seat. If her face failed to betray her last time, it made sure of it now as her eyes darted to her bag. So she considered the odds and her options. She could bluff it out but that was the outsider of the group by a long way. A pod-racer with a fear of speed would have more chance of success.

Her second choice was to mention her sister’s name. It could have an impact all right – or it could be this one was as powerful if not more so. Better odds but not good ones still.

Or she could share what she had, save her sister’s name for later and see if this Sith kept her word. This had to be the odds-on favourite.

So Maja carefully lifted her bag and opened the flap, removing the small and old leather book. She opened it at the one and only entry and turned it around so the woman could read it. Some coordinates and the simple words, written in red ink, "Zannah's Cipher." "And yes, I know where the coordinates lead to." As she spoke, she snapped the book shut. It was more for effect than anything else.

[member="Darth Arcanix"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Maja Vern"] [member="Connor Harrison"]

"I made the correct call then," Taeli replied, smiling as the girl snapped the book shut. "What would it take to get those coordinates off your hands? Name whatever you want, and if its within my power to grant, it shall be yours."

She fully anticipated some outrageous demand for the information, or perhaps the girl will try and scurry off without giving it to her. Regardless, if she tried something underhanded, Taeli was ready for it. But, she really hoped it wouldn't come to that. She had already been forced to use such methods to slow the Jedi down and incapcitate him for now, she would prefer to reach a deal instead. But, the information she wanted was now in reach.