Ask Diamond In The Zoph

[Darth Arcanos]

As an acolyte in this new ‘Sith Order’, he was generally only granted fetch quests and other low tier errands to help the faction. He considered it all beneath him, but this one was of particular interest. Kyber crystals could be used for sabers, powering things and just plain selling for credits. He could perhaps even make an alchemic bomb if he worked on it hard enough to combine the Dark Side with the volatile nature of a crystal.

He was dropped off by a droid-piloted shuttle on the planet Zoph that looked like it had valleys and mountains and little in terms of civilization from what he could see. For now, he didn’t bother hiding his face- it was really only a concern in crowded places. Nevertheless, he couldn’t abandon his Korriban roots entirely. He was dressed in some of his regular garb, with wrappings around his neck and chest that he could easily bring up to cover the lower hemisphere of his face.

The pureblood walked down the ramp and waited for the arrival of his partner for the job. He despised working with others, but he knew he couldn’t be picky now that he was out in the wider galaxy. Citrine eyes gazed out over the horizon, brightly vivid against the crimson skin of his face. His numerous piercings were also prominent, his culture and heritage represented at all times.

@Alhon

 

[Nico Vandron]

Nico was less than thrilled about trekking all the way to Zoph. It was in the middle of nowhere and the journey stole precious days he could have dedicated to other purposes. Still, he prayed it would be worth it. If he could get his hands on even a few of the kyber crystals apparently to be found on the planet, it could advance his interests no end.

He was still suspending judgment. The Order wanted crystals too, and in return for disseminating the information regarding their whereabouts, they required Nico and another Acoltye to secure the source.

He crested the ridge in his usual runic robes, surprised to spy what could only be a pureblood a little way off. The guy's crimson skin shone in the sunlight. Nico was not easily intimidated, but the other Sith could not have looked more the part.

"Tell me you're here for the crystals?" he said with a slight sneer as he drew close. His brown eyes flicked up and down the ripped figure barely hidden by ragtag robes.

@Sreeya

 

[Darth Arcanos]

Not even a few weeks prior, Azar managed to get his hands on tech known as EZPods. While it didn’t have a full translation library for ur-Kittât, he put the AI to work and it pieced enough from ancient texts and collected works to translate into basic sentences to allow him to get by. He had a pod in one of his ears, so he could more or less understand what his companion said.

Externally, his golden gaze lingered on the man’s eyes, flicked down briefly to his bare chest, then back up to his eyes. He tossed the extra piece of his scarf around his shoulder and turned to start walking in the direction of the caves without a word.

He would walk in silence down a path that curved towards some rocky terrain that would ultimately lead to where the crystals were located. Their briefing reported suggested that there were scavengers or beasts roaming around the crystals, so they had to keep an eye out.

Azar came across the edge of a cliff and he held up a hand to signal his companion to stop walking. He crouched down and peered over the horizon, spotting what looked like movement up ahead.

@Alhon

 

[Nico Vandron]

The pureblood glanced back at him, his otherworldly golden eyes a little unsettling. Nico was sure they flicked up and down, as if checking the Sennexian out, and he breathed in instinctively.

Nico was already preparing to spar with the pureblood when the guy just turned away and started walking. It was the last thing he had expected and it left him stood there open-mouthed.

"Ahem, excuse me!" he shouted, a little too desperately, getting no response and sulkily striding after the redskin. He had to be Sith, almost all purebloods were, but why did he not speak or engage? Aside from being affronted by the guy's lack of respect, Nico immediately wondered if he could even communicate. Perhaps the race were more primitive than he thought.

Nico's vanity soon overpowered his arrogance and he stopped shouting for attention as they wound down the curving path. He considered lashing out at the pureblood, but stopped himself out of fear. He did not know how strong the other Sith was and there was nothing he valued more than his own health and welfare.

He eventually caught up with the redskin by a cliff edge, only to have several expletives interrupted by a pack of massiffs resting and playfighting idly below. They were directly in the way of the path, leading deeper between the rocky ridges towards the reported crystals.

"Listen" Nico hissed, crouching beside the pureblood. "We need each other. What is your damn name?".

@Sreeya

 

[Darth Arcanos]

His companion was irritated at him, and he was largely unconcerned. His focus was on the massifs that were gathered around below. Before he could start to move in, the man next to him started blabbing again. He thought he saw at least one of the massifs perk up at the sound. Azar moved abruptly, suddenly shoving and pinning the man on his back. This dropped them both out of sight of the beasts. He was partially atop the other man, golden eyes glaring down at him as he had a hand over the Sennexian’s mouth to keep it shut.

He stayed there till he could hear the massifs shuffling around again. The pack was far too large for them to take on as two acolytes, and it also wasn’t entirely something he was interested in. As a pureblood, he had known the benefits of finding harmony with local fauna instead of destroying them. If killing was to happen, it needed to be strategic.

Still without a word, he effortlessly rolled off his companion and began to silently scurry down a path. He stayed low to the ground, first making it to a large boulder to stay hidden. His companion may have gotten impatient with how long he sat there, but there was a method to Azar. He observed the group till he spotted what was clearly the alpha of the pack.

After a moment, he whipped his lanvarok arm around and unleashed a disc. It soared through the air and cut right into the underside of the massif’s neck. There was a shrill cry before the beast dropped with a thud. Even if the initial attack didn’t kill it, the poison would. This sent the rest of the pack in disarray, a sense of frenzies panic taking over the pack. Some of them started to run wildly in different directions, but they weren’t an organized pack right then with their alpha down.

Azar used that time to move, bolting towards the next point of cover and hoping his companion could keep up.

@Alhon

 

[Nico Vandron]

Nico was still trying to get some sense out of his silent companion, when the pureblood unexpectedly shoved him over. In seconds, the acolyte found himself flat on his back on the hard earth, the redskin leaning over him - straddling him even - a firm hand on his mouth.

Nico had a retort for most situations, but so many of his insecurities were under attack at once he was overwhelmed. He found himself lying there like a lemon, his heart beating faster in his chest for a myriad of reasons.

Red - as good a name as any for now - still did not speak. But there was a look in those golden eyes that told Nico the pureblood knew exactly what he was doing. As much as he wanted to pass the guy off as some mentally retarded primitive, he knew in his heart it was untrue.

Red shuffled off after a long moment and it was only when Nico slowly rose to his feet that he realised the whole thing had been to keep them out of sight of the scavengers. Still, was it really necessary to start-

But his companion was moving again. Nico found himself following in spite of himself, the crystals no longer the only mystery to unravel. The mere glimpse of a grizzled massif made him scrunch up his moisturised face, but he crouched down behind the boulder all the same. He looked on as Red deployed his unfamiliar weapon, a rather grandiose staff of some kind that launched lethal projectiles. Nico had not a clue what it was but he immediately wanted one.

A random creature went down from the blow, but the Sennexian realised from the ensuring chaos that there was nothing random about it at all. Red was a thinker, despite appearing a brute, and he seemed to know just how to destablise their enemy. It was the kind of calculated hostility Nico respected.

A rogue massif happened across them as they dashed towards the next area of cover, but Nico was ready to play his part. He grabbed the little thing with the Force, lifting it off the ground before it could squeal for the others. His fingers twisted violently, enjoying the grip and control he had over the beast. A few moments concentration was all it took to compress its skull and send it falling limp to the ground.

@Sreeya

 

[Darth Arcanos]

Azar didn’t concern himself with how many massifs his companion killed, as long as it didn’t attract attention. For now they were undetected and he slowly crept towards another boulder, crouching down to observe the beasts. Before long, they all dispersed in different directions, leaving two males to start fighting among themselves. When that happened, the pureblood stood up and practically strolled right by the two warring beasts out in the open without either of them casting him a sideways glance.

The caves were still quite a bit of a distance away. The terrain was too uneven to get there any way but by foot, and it would be dark soon. Instead of continuing on the trajectory towards the crystals, he took a side path towards where there was slightly more cover. He didn’t bother to look whether the Sennexian was following or not. His mind briefly lingered on his companion even as he quietly ambled ahead, chewing on a stem of grass he picked up along the way. The other man was certainly appealing to look at for a human and that well defined torso was more distracting than he’d admit.

He put his thoughts to rest, his arm jerking again as a second disc shot out, this one sans poison. There was a squeak as a woodland creature in the distance dropped dead. The pureblood ventured deeper into the woods, grabbing sticks and putting them together to start building a fire. Using the Force he set up a small spark to ignite the flames. Azar stood up and disappeared for a moment, returning a bit later with a dead animal slung over his shoulder.

Azar plopped down on a tree stump, silently drawing out a dark Sith knife he twirled between his fingers before he dug right into skinning the animal and cracking bones as needed. It was almost as if he forgot there was another person standing right there.

@Alhon

 

[Nico Vandron]

With seemingly no control over Red and the risks all around them, Nico had little option but to follow the pureblood's lead. It pained him, but not as much as usual. He surprised himself how much the silence he was getting from the other Sith was spurring a rare curiosity in him to understand the guy.

They seemed to step off the path to the caves. Nico was about to complain, but then Red swung his big stick again and something went down just inside the treeline. The Sennexian followed a little way behind, watching with a mix of anxiety and awe as Red brought back food and set about making a fire. Nico would have not known where to start with either.

He perched on a log of his own, dark eyes watching how Red started the fire with a spark of the Force and how the light of the flame flickered across his muscled red bulk. He had an otherworldly, exotic look, wholly different to any of the other Sith Nico had met.

The Sennexian flexed his fingers, nudging the Force to stir the air currents around the fire, helping it build. It was getting too dark to make the caves tonight now and if Red was not into talking, perhaps he could communicate in other ways.

@Sreeya

 

[Darth Arcanos]

He felt the Sennexian’s eyes on him, of course. He was accustomed to people out in the wider galaxy regarding him with fascination or disgust. Many corners of the galaxy had thought his people to be extinct. The pureblood was unfazed, expertly skinning the animal and cutting through the meat. The other man quietly helped with the fire and that held Azar’s attention for a moment.

The pureblood reached into the folds of his attire, drawing out a tiny container as he rubbed some spices over the meat before roasting it over the fire. Before long, a delicious aroma filled the air, a bit of bite to the smell to suggest the food would be on the spicy side. Azar drew a stick with meat on it and took a bite, the flesh tender and perfectly juicy. He happily nibbled on his meal before he seemingly noticed he wasn’t alone. Azar reached for a second stick, extending it to the Sennexian to share if he so pleased. The prettyboy looked as if he hadn’t spent a day outdoors in his life.

Azar quietly ate his meal, his calculating yellow eyes studying his companion as he did so. It was impossible to guess what was going through his mind, and the pureblood was just as frustrating as ever with his silence.

@Alhon

 

[Nico Vandron]

Nico's stirring of the fire seemed to attract Red's attention for a moment, but it still elicited no words. It was frustrating to say the least and another time the Sennexian might have considered marching off alone. But it was rapidly getting dark and he knew there may be worse than massifs out there. He had to stick with the pureblood, both for security and because the redskin was an enigma.

In all his time in the Sith, Nico had made few friends. None really. But he had made plenty of acquaintances and no small number of rivals. Most other Sith fell out with him quickly. He thought he was better than them and vice versa and each fought fire with fire. A small number liked his confidence and submitted, but they were rare.

Nico had never met one that just blanked him. He was still not sure how to deal with it. So he found himself sitting there motionless, his brain working a million miles a minute, trying to figure it out while Red silently sat skinning some oversized rodent. Nico's face gradually morphed from a scowl of disgust to an uncertain quizzical look at the sight and smell of spices and hot meat. When Red offered his some, he snatched up the stick eagerly, ravenous enough to consider it.

"What is this?" he asked, half to himself as he examined the stick of meat hesitantly. The smell was too appetising though and he took a small bite despite his reluctance. The taste did not disappoint. Nico merely grunted at the realisation, silently tucking in without a word of thanks.

"What about shelter?" he asked when he finished up, drawing the outline of a pitched shelter in the air with his fingers. "Can you build me a shelter?". Nico needed somewhere to sleep by the fire and he could hardly be expected to just lay on the ground.

@Sreeya

 

[Darth Arcanos]

Azar finished up his meal and unceremoniously wiped his mouth off with his sleeve. His companion was disgusted, then fascinated, but asked too many questions about what he was eating. The pureblood said nothing, sharpening his Sith blade with a custom whetstone from Korriban. It wasn’t like just anything could sharpen a Sith crafted blade.

When the other man asked about shelter, Azar stopped what he was doing. Shelter for him? For a moment the pureblood blankly stared at him. Did he think Azar was pampering him? Offworlders were some of the most entitled beings he had ever come across. He saw the expectant look on his face and couldn’t help the laugh that escaped. It was a quiet, controlled laugh, but an amused chuckle nonetheless.

He used the Force to lift the skinned fur and tossed it at the man’s feet, “Shelter,” He said at last, his accent thick and his voice gruff. Azar laughed again, genuinely entertained by his princess of a companion. The sounds of bugs and critters began to resound loudly around them as the stars dotted the night sky.

Azar got up to his feet and, without a word, turned and walked off deeper into the woods to wander. He left Nico alone by himself in the dark.

@Alhon

 

[Nico Vandron]

It seemed Red's time of being silently helpful was at an end. The pureblood scoffed, seemingly amused by the idea of building Nico a shelter. He tossed the animal skin in Nico's direction, speaking for the first time only to rebuff the Sennexian, before turning and walking away.

"Stop!" Nico called, his voice slipping automatically into the Force-amplified tone he was so fond of using. But he already sensed coercion would not work with this one. "Stay" he said, forcing himself to speak normally. "Please".

It set his teeth on edge to practically beg a stranger not to leave him, but he did not know how else to try and sway Red. They were alone on this mission and he had no desire to try and trapse after the pureblood through the dark forest. However they did it, they needed to come to an accord.

@Sreeya

 

[Darth Arcanos]

He bristled when he heard that loud voice, his jaw tightening. His immediate reaction was to snap the other man’s neck - first for being so damn loud, second for attempting to command him. They were both acolytes and even in a Sith Order he didn’t understand, Azar knew the chain of command. However, the little plea at the end was curious and entertaining at once.

Azar slowly turned to face him, studying the man standing there. He appeared like a lost little puppy, fear dancing in his eyes. He suddenly didn’t have the confidence of a king anymore, his demeanor curled up and small. Shadows danced all around them and unfamiliar noises and critters doubtless made him even more nervous. For Azar, he was right at home. A life of wandering and living like nomads made it so he was seldom uncomfortable in nature.

The pureblood took steps towards the other man, his daunting presence no doubt causing Nico to take steps backwards. He didn’t stop, yellow eyes burning against the backdrop of the haunting glow of the fire. Azar kept going till the other acolyte ran out of places to walk, his back against a tree.

The pureblood planted a hand on the tree behind Nico’s head, his other containing the Sith blade. He guided the point of the blade along the soft underside of his chin, not quite enough to break skin, “Afraid of dark, little prince?” He asked quietly, grinning.

@Alhon

 

[Nico Vandron]

His plea had some effect, in that Red stopped and turned. However, Nico almost immediately wished it had not.

The pureblood advanced on him purposefully, striding back through the undergrowth, gold eyes fixed on him but his thoughts a mystery. Nico found himself retreating backwards, intimidated more than he would ever admit. The other Sith was not really any bigger and tougher, but there was a confidence about him that suggested a man without limits.

Too soon, Nico found his back pressed against a tree, unable to retreat any further. Red loomed large in front of him, a hand on the bark of the trunk while he flashed his crude knife in Nico's vision.

The Sennexian was unsure if the prince remark was flattery or an insult. If the former, it was embarassing how much he would have melted. But the feel of the sharp point of the knife at his neck drove all such thoughts from his mind. He was not without strength and he would not be threatened so up close and personal.

He lashed out with the Force, a spark of nervous, impetuous energy that would likely be enough to throw the pureblood back a few feet, but no more. "Not afraid, just conscious" he said defensively. "We should stick together". He did not want to fight Red, but if that was the only thing the other Sith understood, so be it.

@Sreeya

 

[Darth Arcanos]

He felt the Force burst from the other man, sending him skidding back. Azar found offworlders entertaining - they had creative and various ways of providing amusement for him. This little gesture with the Force almost made him consider fighting him, but he thought through things for a moment. The pureblood smirked, spinning the knife in his hand before stashing it away.

“You…need,” He pointed to himself, “I only need..” He again pointed to himself. Azar, like Nico, also used the Force, but he used it to abruptly put out the fire and scattered the burnt wood. As acolytes, they weren’t advanced enough to conjure roaring flames out of thin air. Nico would have to make a fire the old fashioned way or know just how to stack wood to get a fire going.

The night air began to cool almost at once. Threads of moonlight revealed Azar’s silhouette standing across him. After a moment, the silhouette turned and slinked away into the woods. And this time, he wouldn’t stop.

@Alhon

 

[Nico Vandron]

Nico got a small thrill from shunting Red back. The pureblood was a similar height and unlike Nico, who trained for appearances alone, his muscled brawn looked more than skin deep. It felt good to get one over on him, particularly given how difficult he was being.

The thrill was short lived. Red extinguished the fire and made another show of walking off. He could not know how people turning their backs on Nico incensed the Sennexian, or how much more it irritated him when it was a guy who threatened him on so many levels.

“We’re on this mission together” he snorted, pulling his scant robe close and storming after the pureblood. “Masters smarter than you have determined the task needs two of us”. Nico did not know how to make a fire but he saw well enough in the dark to keep close on Red’s heels.

He would have taken the silly knife if the pureblood had not stashed it away. It had looked odd to Nico but it seemed important enough to him to get Red’s attention. As it was, it was out of reach for now.

“I will help make a shelter…” he said through gritted teeth. “As I will help get the crystals in the morning. You may think you don’t need me - believe me I am not saying I need you - but our odds undoubtedly improve working together?”. He could not believe this recalcitrant redskin had made him a champion of teamwork, but he did not want to spend the night alone in the woods. Besides, if they were not temporary allies, then they risked becoming rivals for the crystals.

@Sreeya

 

[Darth Arcanos]

He was back to chewing on a piece of root he found as he walked through the forest. He was as silent as a mouse, blending into the shadows and hardly seen. Unfortunately, his companion decided to follow him. The other man may as well have sounded a trumpet through the silent forest night. Azar had half a mind to kill him right then, but he restrained himself for now.

The pureblood understood most of what the man said, and he disagreed with almost all of it. If the Masters were smarter than him, they would have sent two out here specifically so they would compete and only the strong returned. Was that not the Sith way? What was this nonsense about teamwork and cooperation?

Azar finished chewing his root and spat on the ground, turning to stare at his obnoxious companion. The man was very odd to Azar. On one hand he attempted to fight him, on the other hand he kept trying to insist they needed to work together. Was this some form of complex manipulation?

One thing was for certain - if Azar wanted to go anywhere in this new Sith Order, however weak it sounded so far, he needed to operate by its rules. Perhaps that meant collaborating. His people seldom collaborated and they were extinct almost everywhere save for some tiny pockets. Perhaps it was time to try a new formula even if his internal logic told him the man was trying to play him.

They returned to making shelter and Azar did most of the work. Azar’s skills with binding elements and manipulating with the Force came to surface as he easily built a makeshift shelter with wood and forestry to camouflage it. It was a tight fit, but it served its purpose.

The pureblood didn’t wait around, climbing up a tree to get himself situated up on a branch instead. Someone had to keep watch and he didn’t trust his companion to have any sort of competence outdoors at all.

@Alhon

 

[Nico Vandron]

Once again, Red said absolutely nothing in reply. It was maddening, but in the absence of any other options Nico had to swallow it. Back on Askaj, or home on Karfeddion, he would have tortured a slave to death for such insolence. But he was not on home ground and Red was no slave.

The pureblood did eventually stop his hike into the darkness to set about building a shelter. It was the only sign that he had that Red had heard and understood even part of what Nico was saying, but it would do. The Sennexian was just relieved to be making camp.

Red did virtually all the heavy work, gathering together forest materials and building the structure. Though Nico had always had others do such work for him, he was not completely useless, using his background in agriculture to pick out a decent spot. The earth was as soft as they would find, relatively level and shielded from wind and rain by a ridge up the incline. The large overhanding tree would give further cover.

Nico busied himself crumpling leaves and laying them on the ground inside the shelter, having no intention of resting on cold hard earth. He scowled nonetheless, hating the way the dirt got under his fingernails and muddied his robe.

He considered another fire, but even at night Zoph was not that cold and in any case he did not want to humiliate himself in front of Red by rubbing sticks together. He found the pureblood in the tree above, ostensibly keeping watch. The guy was a total enigma, incredibly distant, even if he had been sat on top of Nico only a short while ago.

“Nico” he said flatly, keeping his voice low and pointing at himself. He turned his finger round to point up at Red. “You?”. Knowing the pureblood’s name would be no more guarantee against him murdering Nico in his bed, but he wanted to know all the same.

@Sreeya

 

[Darth Arcanos]

Azar scoffed at his remark, looking up through the leaves at the night sky. It really was stunning to behold, and it briefly reminded him of the skies above Korriban. However, with that came distasteful memories that he quickly suppressed, “Shut up and sleep, little prince,” He gruffly said in response, carving a stick into a spear shape where he sat. He was doing it just to kill time, and he would for hours.

The night passed without incident, outside of the Pureblood occasionally throwing things at the other Sith when he snored too loud. Azar dropped to the ground with a heavy thud when dawn broke, walking right past the other Sith to freshen up for the morning. He came back to hide evidence of their fire, chewing on some fruits he had picked while he was wandering around.

“Cave that way,” He said as he pointed back the way he had ventured. With luck, they could make it there and off the planet by the end of the day. He fully intended to experiment with his share of the prize and he didn’t want further delays.

@Alhon

 

[Nico Vandron]

Nico did not sleep for hours. He was too furious. The pureblood disrespected him at every turn, displaying barely the smallest inclination to work together at all. In any other scenario, Nico would not have tolerated it. Yet his only option was to fight the other Sith, a gamble he was not prepared to take. It was maddening.

He imagined the different ways he would exact his retribution one day, but after a long time he eventually fell to sleep. He lay uneasily on the rough ground and woke more than once to Red throwing things at him. Perhaps it was the primitive's version of a game. Nico had never coped well with sleep deprivation and his view of the pureblood darkened by the hour.

When the morning came, Nico barely felt rested, but he was resolved. His fury still burned in his gut like iron shot and that and his saber would be all he needed to grab a few crystals.

For once, he offered no reposte to the other Sith's broken Galactic basic. The fucking thing was even chewing on something, but Nico would die before he asked for some. Instead, he turned and marched off in the direction of the cave.

The morning sun cast a new light on the landscape and he was half sure he could already see the rock formation through the trees.

@Sreeya