The Start of Something New

[Grace Darkson]

Castle Bast was quiet. The pouring acid rains did their part to chip away at the metal and stone. Inside, Grace sat at the head of a long table, a dog-like creature laying at her feet. A slow hand stroked the creature's head, and it tried to swish what would have been its tail as she did. The vornskr retreated from her petting, crawling into a cage at the end of the room. She smiled. They never were the same with out their tails. Fitting, considering what she planned to do.

She hoped her guests would arrive soon. This would be, if all went well, something that could turn the tide of wars. Maybe even something to kill the Arch Enemy when the time came. But there were other things at stake here. This was something few had attempted, and fewer had managed.

When the two men arrived, they would be lead from the secure hanger to an entrance hall, where any accompaniment would be asked to remain before they entered the room. Part of her wondered if they planned to come armed. If so, then this could head south very quickly.

[member="Bartic Myth'rand"] [member="Nicademus Blith"]

 

[Nicademus Blith]

Nicademus had been contacted by some obscure person with a propsition for a contract. The buyer however refused to say what it was over the holonet, citing security concerns, so they would have to meet in person. They had mentioned that another contractor would be there, though he had no idea who this person was, he was sure that they could get along on this project. He also had no idea who the customer was, they had refused to reveal their identity during holonet talks, but they had assured that they had the money and experience to complete whatever project they had in mind.

Nicadmus' shuttle landed at the secluded castle, the acid rain was falling heavily on Vjun, luckily galvanized hulls and shields protected the ships hull from the acidic rains, but they would not protect the ship from the massive jutting spires that sat all over the planet, but they proved no problem for the duration of the flight to the massive castle. Records showed that this castle, Castle Bast was once owned by the legendary Darth Vader hundreds of years ago, but now it had fallen into the hands of the Dominion after they took Vjun, but one person in particular had taken it up as a residence, though they made sure that it was kept off of the record, which was typical of sith, especially those that wanted to be left alone.

The pilot of the shuttle landed in the designated hangar, and as the ship touched down Nicademus walked off of the ship, alone. He did not feel the need for guards in this place, but he was escorted by some of the castles own guards to their destination. The guards were not that special, just generic dominion security forces, they escorted Nicademus down an entrance hall, and told to wait, hopefully the other contractor would show up before they were called back.

[member="Grace Darkson"]
[member="Bartic Myth'rand"]

 

[Bartic Myth'rand]

Bartic arrived on the gloomy world, having been only recently conquered by the dominion it was still relatively lawless, and Bartic suspected that was why his contact had chosen to meet here, if things were to go south for her it would be easier to get away with it out here. Bartic exited the shuttle flanked by two of his Talon Squad, there were regular security forces in the castle but he wouldn't trust his life with them, being stationed at an outpost was hardly one that kept a man attentive or entertained, it was why when Talon Squad was not wearing their identity obscuring armour that had everything they wanted or needed, the ages old saying 'A happy worker is a hard worker' held very much true.

[member="Nicademus Blith"] [member="Grace Darkson"]

 

[Grace Darkson]

"Lady Darkson, your guests are here."

The man was thin, and tall. The vestiges of a member of the Atrisian Guard uniform tailored to his frame. The shoulders were pocketmarked with spots of acid burns. Spending too much time guarding the outside was never fun here, and it was hell on your clothes. Hence why the Atrisian guard was using the assignment as a punishment. "Good. Send them in." She barely looked up from a simple datapad as she typed.

As they entered, she looked up, and stood. "Gentlemen. I'm glad you could come." Her smile was genuine, but still it hid something. Fear? Regret? It was hard to say. "I hope the dismal weather hasn't put you off too much." Motioning them to sit, she returned to where she had been, the vornskr slowly prowling towards the table. "Riroza!" The word came out of her mouth quickly as it approached [member="Nicademus Blith"]. The creature whimpered, retreating behind his master.

"Remarkable creatures, the Vornskr. Did you know they hunt in the Force?" Her eyes lacked the humor and light that usually filled them. If either of them knew the sith well enough, they could easily tell this had been rehearsed. "They use it to track their prey, allowing them to find it even in the dense jungles of their homeland. They're fierce creatures, and difficult to tame. Unless, of course, you know the secret."

[member="Bartic Myth'rand"]

 

[Nicademus Blith]

They were escorted inside out of the acid rain, while it wouldnt kill you, it would eventually go through your clothes and it stung a little when it touched your skin, you just couldn't stand for too long in it. The poor man who had to escort them in was unlucky enough to be forced to stand out in the rain for quite a while, he was not in good shape, his skin was rose red from the acid, and his clothes were a mess, it was probably some sort of punishment, though he did not truly know.

Nicademus did not fail to notice [member="Bartic Myth'rand"]'s arrival, he had not seen him in quite a while, he wondered what the competitor had been up to.

The man led the group into a room where their employer awaited, [member="Grace Darkson"]. He wondered what she had to offer, but his thoughts were interrupted when he noticed the prowling Vornskyr, he sort of leaned back a bit, trying to distance himself from the creature, luckily its master had called it back, she did so explaining something about a secret to taming vornskyrs. As far as he remembered it was nearly impossible to tame one of the beasts, he wished to know this secret.

"What is this secret to speak of, i find it difficult to believe that it is possible to tame one, i would not have believed it if i had not seen it myself." He said

 

[Bartic Myth'rand]

"I've heard it's possible, far from practical, and it's only real use is to show off one's power. But, still possible."

He had heard about this kind of thing back in his pirating days, there was apparently a few crews who claimed to have occasionally worked for a smuggler king pin that kept several as pets. However Bartic hadn't had the chance to see them personally.

"I doubt you called us here to discuss the oh so lucrative Virnskr pet market, so tell me Miss Darkson, why did you call us here?"

Bartic doubted she wanted them dead, she had plenty of opportunities to kill the both of them, that and it wasn't in her character, the psychological profile the DSB held on her said that she would be more likely to try and manipulate them to her own ends instead.

[member="Nicademus Blith"] [member="Grace Darkson"]

 

[Grace Darkson]

As the predator rested on its haunches at her side, Grace cast a playful smirk to [member="Bartic Myth'rand"], sending him a short telepathic message: Indulge me. Giving a smile to [member="Nicademus Blith"], she answered his question. "The secret is simple; Remove their tail." She tapped something on her datapad, and an image of a vornskr appeared on a holo display. "They can be tamed by simply taking them at a young age, but even that's a risk. But by cutting their tail, you remove their main weapon, and it acts almost like castrating a Nexu." She looked over to Bartic, her face dead serious. "They rely on their tail to hunt. Without it, they feel powerless. Weak." Another few taps brought up an image of a small, furry lizard. "This got me thinking. What if we could do the same to the Dominion's enemies? What if we could take away their greatest weapon when they least expected it?"

"Gentlemen, I am proposing to develop a weapon." Her words grew grave. This was it. Her big gamble. "A weapon to rob someone of the Force."