Long Time, No See

[Varyn Rask]

Varyn hadn't been back to Coruscant since he had left the Imperial Republica - and for good reason - but this was important. There was someone he wanted to see, and if the conversation went smoothly, it could make a significant difference. She was not only a fellow Venatori, but also an up and coming Sith like he was. He wondered if she still held to the same ideals that had once united them. Time could cause all sorts of shifts. With the current shifts in galactic politics, feeling out where people stood was an important piece of the puzzle.

Varyn had "let himself into" her office while she was out, picking the wee hours of the morning to make his move. There were few people around, and even fewer who were really watching for a break-in. Besides, who had the nerve to break into the office of a Sith Crusader? Such a thing was dangerous, but Varyn was no stranger to such risks. He'd made a career out of assassinations, and entering restricted areas was just one of the necessary skills.

The next several hours had been spent in meditation, pacing the floor with his head down toward the ground with the lights out. His presence in the Force was spread out throughout his surroundings as he spent more and more time focusing on what was around him. The lives of the people in this building were connected by threads of the Force, some were strong like the tether between lovers, while others were remote and nearly invisible. Varyn entertained himself by plucking at the pieces, following the metaphysical connections, and allowing his own presence to become obscured by those around. In the end, it felt as though there was no one at all in the office. This was precisely as he intended.

When the hour drew near that he assumed his old colleague would arrive, he took a seat in the corner of the room with his back to the wall. He had a fair enough view of the room and would be difficult to see upon first entering. Though he hadn't touched anything apart from his chair, he wondered if she would be able to sense the ever-so-faint aura of another in the room. Were it not a room she was so well-acquainted with it would be a certain "no" but there was something different about it being your home or office.

And so, seated in the corner, Varyn calmly waited.

 

[Darth Inheris]

She'd been called to the capital all the more frequently in recent days. Not surprising really, the galaxy shifted beneath the feet of the Republica and what leadership remained in the Council now tried to wrest its full strength in planning their next moves. Still they deliberated, still they met, talked of what was the best course of action as more threats revealed themselves to the Empire.

Two though, were writ large on the minds of everyone. The Jedi. And the Old Empire.

This was where the battle lines fell, this was what flared arguments and failed any movement from the Republican leaders. They could not seem to determine the greater threat, where to place their focus. And indeed, despite doing what her duty required of her, Saorise still was uncertain as to where she came down, uncertain as to her loyalties. For if Vrael was an enemy, then she was to follow the Republica, and the empty Drast throne. But if it were the Jedi... then perhaps her place was elsewhere.

For now at least, the work she was shuffled around doing was draining her, kept on her feet constantly, her office here was her one shield from the demands, from the voices and whispers of those around. Her name still sounded alarms in many, though they needed her for the time being. All this kept her away from Kuat, and from expunging that nasty little talk from her record.

She needed a moment from it all, to put down the papers and pause.

The door to her office slid open, the sky outside chill and storming as she paced across the floor to the front of her desk. Though as she placed down her papers something flickered in her mind, a tingle on the back of her neck. Something was amiss. Someone was here. Taking a deep breath, she turned.

Ah,

"It's been a long time, Varyn. I did wonder if when see eachother again" Saorise spoke, though unsure just yet whether it was relief or worry that filled her now as her eyes fell upon the figure in the corner of the room. She lent herself back against the desk, sitting herself on its side,

"But after that announcement over the holonet I almost wasn't sure if we ever would"

@Phoenix

 

[Varyn Rask]

Varyn could almost see the moment when she realized there was someone in here with her. He smiled as he watched her spin around, a strange mixture of relief and concern flashed through the Force before she seemed to lock herself down again. Yes, this was one of those many meetings in life where it could quickly turn into either extreme violence or a pleasant conversation.

He rose from his seat and walked back toward the desk she sat on.

It's been a while, he said with a nod, perusing the office. He'd already had time to look at everything in there, but he was searching her out in the Force as much as anything. Time to find out whether or not their association was as strong as he was hoping.

Theatrics were never really my thing, but this war'll be won in the hearts and minds as much as the battlefield, don't you think? he asked. The weight of the entire Imperial people was what would cause this to sink or swim. As much as the Sith liked to pretend - and even attempted - to keep control by force alone, they needed the support, supplies, and even bodies of the citizens.

But you know the Venatori cross borders, he said. And it was the core of the issue. Varyn had worked with people on both sides of the war, and his ultimate goals still hadn't changed, just the route by which he planned to get there. The Old Empire would win the war, and Varyn knew he could do more good on the inside in power than on the outside. If he wanted to be on the outside, he'd just join the terrorist rebel cells that had popped up.

I saw you had a bit of trouble recently, too, he said, thinking back to a news article he had heard about her recent troubles. He didn't know how that had resolved for her. Hopefully well. @Nightfall

 

[Darth Inheris]

She followed his gaze as he wandered over to her, steadying herself as he approached. For now things were fine enough it seemed, his questions non-provocative. It was for that reason she mulled thoughts over in her mind, trying to identify exactly why he had chosen to visit, exactly how he'd frame questions. She wasn't a fool, she had some idea of what this might entail, the details though, they were always harder to predict,

"More than certainly, most wars are. The trick in times like these is making sure everyones hearts and minds are aligned on the right target" she replied cautiously, agreeing to a point but making sure she didn't give away the game just yet. If there was a game to give away at all. Despite their allegiance, they tracks had diverged somewhat. It was time at least initially to find out where it had led eachother, before anything rash was said,

"But of course, as it should any how. If we're all still working for the greater good then it's above differences like that. Not everyone seems to understand that" even as she said the words she couldn't hep but think of conversations she'd had in the wake of the the kaggath, of the reveal of the Jedi on Corellia, people woh didn't seem to see their threat for what it was,

"And yes, more than I had hoped" she turned back, tapping a few papers and setting them down "But plans are underway. There was enough good will from my appearance on Corellia that I've got time enough to solve it" she said methodically, quantifying as much for herself as for Varyn,

"Still, it leaves me wanting to know" pushing up from the table, she rounded it to its side, looking across at Varyn, her head tilting slightly as she asked,

"Why go there? I can read the Old Empire's victory in the air as well, but is this annexation what needs to be done?" it was a question as much for him as it was for her to clarify, to understand. So many of the Republica's leaders and bureaucrats were so focused on fighting on every front, they would barely talk of such things in any real way. Talk as to whether holding out was truly the right thing to do in the face of it.

Perhaps Varyn would be a voice there instead.

@Phoenix

 

[Varyn Rask]

Varyn made his way over to her and with a wave of his hand, one of the chairs slid out from the desk. The Force could be used for the most arbitrary of tasks, but it was one of the luxuries to it. The assassin took a seat and faced her, now far closer than he'd been across the room. There was no point in the two of them shouting from across the room.

Perhaps the most interesting thing about this meeting was that despite being on opposite sides of the war, they were still on the same side of the war. That was the connection the Venatori gave their members. They may not have always agreed on means, but they were generally fighting for the same thing. He was here, at least in part, to convince her that the best way to do that was not in the Republica anymore.

Yes, it is, he answered her question about the annexation. There were so many reasons it was necessary that he wasn't even sure which one to start with.

Let's play this out. You've already said that the writing is on the wall, so when it happens and the Republica loses, how much good can you do for helping the Empire on the outside? he asked. He didn't know what would happen to the Sith who didn't swear to the Old Empire, but he could guess, and most of those guesses involved people being dead. Neither of them were any good to the Empire dead.

But even putting that aside, think about the Republica itself and how ineffective it's become, he said. It was no secret that Varyn had historically not been a fan of the Old Empire, but the Imperial Republica was growing worse. While the Old Empire's deep roots in the Dark Side could be deadly - and maybe his own willingness to go along with that was an evidence that it was corrupting him, but that was the risk that all Venatori ran - it had its advantages.

Xenophobic, he said, holding up a finger. Weighed down by pointless traditions and politics, he said, holding up a second finger. The Drast last name wasn't what it had once been, and simply being born a Drast didn't make someone fit to rule. And leaderless, he said, holding up a third finger. The final point was arguably more of a reason the annex would happen than that it needed to happen, but it was still relevant.

You're going to hit a ceiling here on how high you can climb, and that means how much of a difference you can make. In the Old Empire, that ladder is much more... he paused, looking for the right word. ...fluid? he finally said, not sure it was the right word he was looking for. You and I can actually make a difference there. Here we're both bogged down by pointless politics and tradition. Progress can't be made here, he said. And that was the real issue. For its faults, the strong could climb in the Old Empire... but there was a ceiling in the Republica, and it's name was Drast. @Nightfall

 

[Darth Inheris]

Saorise was downcast for a time as Varyn took a seat, laying out the possibilities before her, before the Empire. As he spoke she followed the desk around to the window, its expansive views of the Coruscanti cityscape darkened and overcast in the rain, watching his reflection in the window. Though her views had evolved over the many years, the great constant within them was the Empire and its promise. It was now, in its waning days, that she perhaps saw what the Republica had become as she'd kept her eyes inward, so focused on herself and her goals.

Yes, when she had met Varyn Rask she had stood beside him and sung the song of the greater good, that song of the Venatori. Her actions since then had been justified with that exact moralising. So she had spun it to Jacob Tagger, so she had spun it to herself. Speaking now, it was time to decide whether she had truly believed it,

"Too right there, I must admit. We can't hold the Empire together or to account if we're merely pawns to it" it was a realisation long in the making. Not so long ago she had dined with the former Empress, accepted her information, been ready to play her game. A game that had left the Republica without leadership. And even if she thought she or the Venatori could step up, such an idea was beyond the systems ability. The Drasts ruled, and that was that. The irony of her position at the head of a noble house was not lost upon her,

"Though some traditions of the Old Empire seem just as dangerous. Perhaps that is merely the gauntlet we'll have to face" she turned slightly, looking back at him with a glint of conviction in her voice, a slight crack at the back of her words. He was making sense, putting voice to ideas that had begun to percolate in her mind before now,

"Not all of the Republica will fall in line. I know some myself who see Vrael almost a greater antithesis to us than the Jedi" Saorise took the seat behind her desk and sat across from Varyn. Composed again, she thought now of practicalities, of the real possibilities that would lay before them if this transition were to occur,

"Many will die. Can we afford to do that with these terrorists at our doorstep? An alliance, even a show one, could smooth the transition, save open resistance" annexation would still occur, but perhaps the destruction would be limited. Or so she hoped. She had no wish to allow the Jedi or the Mandalorians any kind of opening again,

"We'd just need the Council to agree to it" the possibility remained, but her voice betrayed that she knew it was unlikely, a sigh in her speaking.

@Phoenix

 

[Varyn Rask]

Varyn nodded and agreement in response to at least one thing she said: the Old Imperial traditions were dangerous. There were many of them that could easily see you dead or swallowed up by the darkness, and Varyn knew he was playing with fire. He was no fool to that fact, but it needed to be done. Without it the galaxy risked burning to the ground.

The Old Empire is a dangerous beast, and I may well die on my way up the ladder, but we all knew that when we started, he said. The Venatori understood that they put their lives on the line for what they did every time they went out. He wondered how long it would be until he paid the real price.

He shook his head as she mentioned that the Imperial Republica wouldn't fall in line. It was the core of the issue that still plagued him because he was now trying to make the Old Empire fight a war on two or even three fronts. If they weren't able to pacify it soon, the results could be devastating. It's not ideal timing, but the terrorists'll only get stronger, he said.

If we ignore the IR now then they might be able to build back up and the bloodshed would only be worse. That's why I need help in dealing with these threats as quickly as possible, he said. He hoped she would join him in fighting this war because with the threats all around, he could use all the help he could get.

I suppose that leaves the question of where do you see yourself in all of this? he asked. It was the obvious question to ask, but the one he still didn't quite have a gasp on. He could tell she felt strongly about this - it was in her presence and her body language - and he was asking for a difficult decision, but it was one that couldn't be put off much longer. @Nightfall

 

[Darth Inheris]

There was silence after Varyn finished his piece, Saorise’s eyes drifting above his shoulder and off from his gaze. To say her thoughts were clouded would be wrong, there were hardly any thoughts at all in her mind, the problem posed going straight to her gut. She’d already spent time weighing up her options, playing the case of the Republica with Saric, voicing her doubts then and now. Her uncertainty had lingered long, longer than was right for her, one so usually ready for action.

She had taken action too, on the Republica’s behalf. Climbed that ladder higher than any of her family, though she had passed through fire to get there, one that still burned away. The Old Empire was a fresh start to that, though she’d still need to clear up Kuat for her own safety. A new, perhaps more dangerous game than what she had been born into. A challenge then, one that now seemed worth meeting,

“I see myself on the climb with you” she eventually replied, her eyes darting back to Varyn “Perhaps with both of us up there we might be able to restrain it’s more worrying instincts” it was sincere, though not without a hint of trepidation. They knew what they were getting themselves into. What she knew, what she had chosen, was Empire. The Venatori. And a Sith chose for themselves, which meant seeing such things through,

"Which I know will mean leaving some of this for the foreseeable future" in her mind she meant though to return to it all, Kuat especially, under a new guise as it may be, at the head of some new force. Perhaps what influence remained there would be enough to smooth that transition, but she couldn't be sure just yet,

"So" she stood up from her chair with purpose, gathering what was useful from her desk into her arms,

"How are we doing this?"


@Phoenix

 

[Varyn Rask]

Varyn was acutely aware of how difficult this was to come to terms with because he had had to come to terms with the same. It had taken time and been a slow process, but eventually he'd realized that the Imperial Republica was destined to fall and bring massive portions of the galaxy with it if someone didn't do something about it. The Old Empire was gaining momentum, and it was better to redirect that momentum than get a corpse to dance.

And then she said it: she was ready to go on the rise with him. That was what he needed to hear. He was going to need allies for his plans, and the two of them had common goals. Now they just needed a direct plan. A "this is how we get it done" path that would bring about victory.

I'm glad, he said, feeling a bit more relieved that she agreed. He reached up and scratched at his eye as he looked at her in thought. You could bide your time here and make a move when the time comes or you could join me now and help us. I could use someone with your power and skills, he said honestly. There was always benefit to having an insider and a spy, but he also needed people who could and would fight. But she could get access to things he couldn't.

That was when and idea hit him. There was a pang of excitement at the thought, but he wasn't even sure it was viable. The council, he said, once again hearkening back to what she had said earlier. They were already without an Emperor, and that meant if they were able to take out the final ruling body, they might be able to just make their move on the capital and take it by force. Can we eliminate it? he asked. With a woman on the inside, it wasn't outside the realm of possibility. @Nightfall

 

[Darth Inheris]

Before tonight it was a suggestion she might never have considered, and yet now the possibility laid itself bare before her. A good thing she hadn't quite flown so high just yet, or she'd be in firing line herself now,

"If it was any time but now, I might say it was ridiculous" she half smiled at Varyn as she ran through the scenarios. Coruscant was abuzz with activity, but it was nervous, fretful, hardly focused as what remained of the Republica's leadership scrambled to try and form even half a plan. It was the same reason she'd been pulled here, it was all hands on deck but it also meant all hands were focused elsewhere,

"But their focus is so scattered at the moment, they hardly know what to do in the face of it all. I think that gives us a chance" she'd seen them all, heads down over maps, voices raised in arguments as they shouted at eachother what was to be done. None of them had the faintest idea, all so inward and unthinking.

Hopefully that meant they wouldn't look over their shoulders,

"I've a battalion of men loyal to me alone, and the ships on which to transport them" she was forming the plan as she spoke, but there would be a way to do it. As dangerous as it would be. And all done correctly, it would be truly her defection to the Old Empire,

"Get them all in the right place, off world perhaps. I can offer myself and my men as security" more thoughts forming as she spoke, until the image of it all was so clear "Snuff them all out at once" and damn near doom the Republica before the annexation could even begin.

@Phoenix

 

[Varyn Rask]

Varyn had the faintest smile as he listened t o her. They were in this together, and that meant that they could make changes. Real changes. Good, they can move on... he stopped in the middle of his sentence. An idea had come to him, and it just might work. It was radical and insane, but the fact that he'd managed to gain a Lordship in the Old Empire only days after being a Crusader in the enemy army was equally as crazy.

Fortune favored the bold, and the path to the top was not for the timid.

I have another radical idea, he said. It was an almost humorous statement considering what they'd already been talking about, but it was true. One more crazy idea, and this one seemed like it was going to work.

Can you get me a meeting with the Grand Moff? he asked. The Moff Council was what they had just been considering killing, but now it seemed like a better idea. Violence alone wasn't enough to take over the Imperial Republica. They respected diplomacy, and while there may still be violence, it needed to be calculated. We might be able to barter a deal, but we should keep your troops on standby, he said, pausing to see if she thought the same. @Nightfall

 

[Darth Inheris]

The Grand Moff was one she’d not yet had the chance to meet personally. To make their first meeting one on her path to defection almost felt ironic. The highest audience for the highest crime. Some part of her enjoyed that, smiling back at Varyn,

“I’ll have to get myself one first” she replied almost casually. It wasn’t the easiest thing in the world to organise but it wasn’t out of her grasp. Kuat was still a major player for the Empire, especially moving into war time. Important enough that she’d be able to organise a conversation, she was sure. Some message up the chain about supply, conversation, deployment, all things that’s have to be known before any sort of war began.

Hopefully if they pulled this off there wouldn’t be one,

“From there though, hopefully I can talk some sense into him before you get there. Make it all run a little easier” she concluded, locking on to Varyns thought. It might have been madder than their one before, but when you played with empires there was hardly room for caution. Only action, decisive ones at that.

There was something almost fun to it all, she’d felt that feeling before, of the plan, the scheme. Now the scale was so much greater than ever,

“I’ll keep my men on standby then. No matter how this plays out I’ll want them ready to act” last plans and precautions then, details to work out. But the broad strokes were there, the plan could go ahead,

“Time then to move”

@Phoenix

 

[Varyn Rask]

It was all under way now, and this would likely be the last chance to turn back, but Varyn wasn't even close to that. This meeting would be the cascade that shifted the course of the Empires, and Varyn had barely even expected it.

I have confidence you'll manage, he said with a slight smirk. She had already proven herself quite resourceful, and she was one that for some reason, Varyn never doubted would manage to pull through. That was high praise coming from someone as broody as he was. As casually as ending a business lunch, the meeting was done. Unlike a casual business lunch, the entire galaxy would feel the results of this discussion, and Varyn was looking forward to it. Things couldn't fall into place soon enough.

I'm certainly glad we caught up, he said with a hint of humor in his voice. He hadn't expected things to be quite this productive, and he was glad to have assured an ally once again.

And so it is. Until next time, stay safe out there, Saorise, he said in agreement with her. They were about to enter a very dangerous, and they couldn't be too careful. One misstep could be the difference between the top of the ladder and six feet under.

//Exit