DESERT WASTES, ASKAJ, OUTER RIM
0635hrs local time
The ruined temple was deathly silent as dawn broke. Nico's footsteps echoed off the stone as he walked pensively between the columns, running a hand over the weather beaten surface. The place was old, but forgotten, long abandoned as a regular place of worship. Soon, it would collapse completely into the desert sands.
Everything had its time. Askaj's long sleep was over. Nicolai Vandron had come.
He had spent months preparing his plans for this world, carefully chosen to meet his needs. Step by step, he would bind the planet and its people to his cause, securing ground for the Sith Order, but more importantly laying the foundation for his own ascension.
Nico lingered in ancient doorway, dark eyes gazing out over the sands and runic robes fluttering in the breeze. He was only a mere acolyte of course and most of his brethren would laugh and chide him if they knew the extent of his ambitious. But their petty jealousies did not matter. Nico would become more than any of them had dreamed. He was strong enough, smart enough, with a clear path to power that blazed brightly in his mind.
He resented that he could not yet do it alone. Trusting others, accepting them as equals, was not in his nature and he was reticent to share even a fraction of his plans. But his work was only just beginning and it would need many hands to sow the seeds.
As always, Nico had chosen carefully, reaching out to a Sith with the experience and specialties required for his designs. He would have to persuade her of the benefits of combining their efforts, but there were ways and means. Even now, he sensed that she drew close.
@Tulos