Ask The Real Power in the Shadows

[Arla]

Arla didn't display any emotion when he declined the offer. She would not have been surprised no matter what he answered, but there were few Sith who would eagerly risk their lives for anything but their own gain.

She simply nodded.

When he suggested comparing notes, she still gave no reaction, though she internally bristled. Unlike most Sith, it wasn't a matter of wanting to maintain her own power and wanting to keep secret rituals to herself, but because it was a matter of her people and their world. She was one piece of her world's immune system: a critical part of its ecosystem.

Or learn something new together, she said after a moment without further expansion. If both of their interests were in the arcane, there was a great deal of Sith alchemy and sorcery to be learned. They need not limit themselves simply to what they already knew and what she was wary to teach.

Good, let's go then, she said.

---​

They made their way into the woods and she had set to work quickly. Numerous runes were inscribed into the dirt with her hunting knife. Speed didn't necessitate the use of a lightsaber, so she opted for the version that would be more quickly washed away. She didn't need anyone coming to discover what had happened here.

You know, we may be able to just send him in with a bomb vest. Finish this all up once and for all, no more excessive fights or risking our lives, she said. She'd grown tired of the games they were playing here. Columex would come under Imperial control.

@LouJoVi

 

[Caerllion of Cyfnos]

”Indeed. I wouldn’t have said it better.” Caerllion said, before a smile appeared on his lips. The Acolyte understood that the Dathomirian culture maintained much of their rituals as a secret. However, he hoped that she would at least want to practice with him what was allowed, or perhaps some other type of sorcery. She probably was more versed on this art than him.

Besides, this would also give him another opportunity for them to meet. He had liked how they worked well together during this mission, and Arla was gorgeous. However he wasn’t going to say that part out loud.

—----------------------------------------​

It didn’t take much time for them to arrive in the woods. While Arla prepared the ritual, Caerllion watched. The Acolyte saw her make strange symbols in the dirt and took mental notes to see in his books if the Korriban mind control magick had something similar to that as part of its enchantment.

“Yes, I believe that at this point it would be our best option.” while he preferred manipulation, scheming and long term operations, the Acolyte understood that this modus operandi would not be possible anymore. Now they would need to act immediately or they could end up losing all their chances of holding Collumex.

Through his Annfyn hearing, the Acolyte was able to hear someone moving through the woods and approaching them. He had moved to his lightsaber, but soon Caerllion saw that it wasn’t necessary. It was their agents, dragging with them the Hutt’s mercenary. The person was a male human. Now they only needed to wait for Arla to finish the preparations for the ritual.

@Phoenix

 

[Arla]

Arla watched as they brought the man over. He was mostly unharmed, and as the agents came over, she looked to them.

Stun him, she said. She didn't need him awake for the ritual, and in fact, it would be far easier if he were unconscious. The agents did as instructed, and the man dropped to the ground in a heap.

She reached out to the Force, lifting him and setting him in the center of the circle of symbols she had made.

She knelt down, taking a deep breath before looking to the ISB personnel. This can take quite some time, she said, indicating the agents could leave. For that matter, Caerllion could as well, if he wanted.

There wasn't much to actually see from the ritual, but its outcome would be quite profound.

She reached out a hand to the glyphs and the other to the man's forehead, closing her eyes and focusing.

Maia, hin salen voz ent entuf bren u, she said, drawing on the will of the spirits and letting them rifle through his mind at her beck and call.

The ritual would stretch on for several hours, but during that time she never lost focus. She couldn't or his entire mind may collapse.

@LouJoVi

 

[Caerllion of Cyfnos]

The Annfyn watched Arla use the Force to levitate the Mercenary toward the center of the symbols. Caerllion paid close attention to every detail of what was going to happen. He tried to remember even the position that she put the man in the ground. Who knows if he would not be able to replicate it later.

When the Champion said that they could leave, the Annfyn decided to remain here. Even if the entire ritual lasted hours, Caerllion thought that staying to watch it would be worth it. The Sith agents nodded at Arla and left the woods. However, they would remain close, watching in the case of the enemy appearing.

Caerllion paid close attention to every movement and word that Arla said. While he couldn’t understand the language that she was using in her enchantments, the Acolyte could feel the changes in the Force around him. It was enough proof for him to know that the ritual was being performed.

Like how Arla had said, the ritual was going for several hours. After the fifth hour, Caerllion felt satisfied with his observations and decided to have a small. Seated in the grass some meters away from the Champion, the Annfyn was silently eating a sandwich that he had made before coming here and drinking water from a plastic bottle.

He had brought more sandwiches and water in the case of Arla wanting to eat and drink something after the ritual. After how long it was taking, she would probably be hungry and tired. The Acolyte wondered if it was close to the end.

@Phoenix

 

[Arla]

Indeed it was a long and exhausting five hours for the Nightsister. The longest rituals were often performed in groups in the Clans, but out here, she was alone. Not alone in that there were no allies, but alone in that there were none of her Sisters.

So she had worked alone, piecing trhough the man's mind, grinding down walls, and rebuilding them as she saw fit. Like reprogramming a droid, she rewrote the way he thought, tearing down loyalty to his employer and building up not just loyalty to the Sith, but a true believing, suicidal-level of fanaticism in seeing the Empire and the Sith expand.

He wouldn't be the same person when it was all done, and that would have been a terrifying thought if it ever got out to the galaxy. But, in his case, he would die in a bomb, and with that death the end of the secret.

She didn't know how much time had passed, but when she was finally satisfied that things were done, she opened her eyes. Her muscles were stiff from remaining in the same position, and even the slightest movement sent shooting pain through her as she rose.

Her brain felt like mush after having been concentrating for so long, and all she wanted was to go get a good ten hours of sleep.

She put a hand to the side of her head and sighed, making her way over to where the food sat. She didn't actually say anything, opting instead to simply turn her brain off as she regained her sustenance.

For a long few minutes she was silent before she finally spoke up.

He'll do it. Have the ISB agents give him the vest and send him in. I need to rest and then we can solidify our hold on this planet for good, she said.

@LouJoVi

 

[Caerllion of Cyfnos]

In the end the ritual lasted five hours. Caerllion had finished his sandwich, received the most recent news from the Sith Agents and even took a brief nap. Only now the Acolyte noticed that he hadn't slept since the last day. He wondered how Arla was holding together during all this time.

After his brief nap, the Acolyte woke up and saw that the Champion was finishing the ritual. She seemed to be exhausted. The way that Arla walked toward him made her look more like a zombie than the strong Nightsister that he had met some weeks ago. He would use this use of magick as an example and be careful when trying his own. Such an exhaustive procedure couldn’t be used carelessly.

The Acolyte offered the Champion a sandwich, before nodding to her instructions. “I’ll do that immediately.” he said, while picking up his Datapad and typing a message. It didn’t take much long for him to receive an answer. “They are coming with the explosives. Soon we are going to solve this setback.”

“You should sleep a bit. We didn’t have a moment to rest since the attack at the meeting yesterday.” he could see the dark circles under her eyes. “We need to be well rested to realize the transition of governments. I can stay on guard if something happens while you sleeps.”

@Phoenix

 

[Arla]

Arla felt like a zombie too. She was beyond exhausted and just wanted to do nothing but shower and sleep. The adrenaline had all fully worn off and it was just a waiting game now anyway.

Good, she said with a nod. I'm going to head back to the ship and sleep. Really sleep, she said, not just a quick nap but a full night - or day - of sleep. She was confident that he could either handle or alert her if something came up.

---​

When she finally did wake up and get herself all ready, she felt much, much better. There was a mild sense of anticipation as their plan would be going into place, and she had hopes that it would turn out well. The only thing she wasn't sure of yet was who, precisely, would be taking control of the planet. While it could have been one of the two of them, she doubted either of them had sights so small as to deal with only this place. Their attention would be drawn to other worlds as well.

She knelt down in her room, praying to her Sisters, the Spirits, and the Shadow itself to protect her, and rose to find Caerllion.

@LouJoVi

 

[Caerllion of Cyfnos]

Caerllion nodded and watched Arla walk toward the ship. After how long the ritual lasted, it was obvious that she would be tired. Then he turned to look at the mercenary, who was still unconscious in the middle of the circle. The Acolyte wondered what were the effects that it was going to have on him besides affecting his mind. Would he have seizures or problems of memory? These details could bring suspicions.

He would remain in the clearing until the Agents arrived to retrieve the mercenary. They would prepare him elsewhere and would warn the two Sith when the result of this plan came out, be it good or bad. Being alone again, Caerllion walked toward the ship. Now they only could wait.

—----------------------------​

While Arla slept, the Acolyte remained guarding the place from possible trespassers. Thankfully, no one had appeared. When the hours passed, Caerllion started to feel anxious. He still didn’t receive an answer from the agents about the mercenary. He feared that everything could have failed and Tarlon’s men were coming after them.

Then, he heard Arla leaving her room. The Champion would find that the Acolyte had made breakfast. Having cooking skills was something that learned when he went on his first mission. He wasn’t a chef, but his food was at least edible.

“Good morning.” as soon as he greeted the Champion, Caerllion’s datapad beeped with the arrival of a message. The Acolyte quickly grabbed it and immediately started to read. Soon he was overcome with relief. “The agents said that it worked! Garlon’s estate exploded, killing Tarlon and all his sycophants.”

@Phoenix

 

[Arla]

Arla emerged to the smell of eggs and bacon and her eyebrows rose, her stomach growling almost immediately. Not only had she not been sleeping she hadn't been eating either, and the hunger was catching up to her.

This looks delicious, she said, sliding into a seat and greedily consuming her portion.

And then things just kept getting better. He read out the message and for a moment she almost felt numb. Then that numbness gave way to a smile and then to laughter. It wasn't the laughter of humor but the laughter that came after one had a close brush with death and relief followed. The laughter of stress relief.

Kriff, yes, she said, leaning back in her chair and letting out a heavy sigh.

Payoff, she said, before sitting up a little straighter.

Actually, I have some good news as well. In all the business and exhaustion I forgot to tell you that I had one of our agents check for our casualties after the bombing, she said. One of our agents insisted Olathar wear a blast vest. He's in pretty bad shape, but he's stable and will likely pull through. Looks like the Shadow still has uses for him. We can hold power until we transition it to him, she said.

Good work, she said.

 

[Caerllion of Cyfnos]

”It’s nothing. When I started to have missions alone, I ended up needing to learn how to cook a bit.” Caerllion could be a noble, but he would not survive as part of the Order if he acted as a spoiled brat. Of course, the Acolyte still had no knowledge about surviving in nature. It was something that he would need to learn in another moment.

While he ate his part of the breakfast, the Annfyn listened to Arla talking about what had happened with Olathar. He was surprised that the Twi’lek had survived the attack, the explosion should have killed him. He was clever in following the instructions of wearing a blast vest.

“This is good news. Now we don’t need to search for a replacement for him.” Caerllion still thought that it would be problematic to find someone to be a Sith representative that would show the same competence that Olathar showed. The Twi’lek had prepared for a coup while still administering Garlon’s possession. The Annfyn thought that efficient people were something that the Empire could use.

Due to that, the Acolyte had an idea. “Do you think that we could have Olathar being Collumex’s governor until the Empire is well settled on the planet? He was very efficient in these past weeks and the population could feel comfortable with him in this transitional period.”

“Thank you, but we both did a good job. If it wasn't for your ritual, we would have turned Collumex into a warzone.” thankfully it had been averted, Caerllion wasn’t in the mood to enter in a battle this week. “I think that we work very well together. Perhaps we could do that again another time.”

@Phoenix

 

[Arla]

Arla nodded, thinking precisely that same thing about their plan going forward. I was thinking exactly the same, she said. It was an opportunity for Olathar to shine or burn. Even if he was eventually replaced by a proper, Imperial governor, there would still be a role for him in the shadows where the real power lay. The assets of the Five would need managing, now isolated just down to Olathar and, of course, his Sith patrons.

Yes, I think this was a much preferable option. War is bad for business, and I'm hoping that Columex will thrive, she said. She wondered if this was how her mother felt all those years ago. The anticipation of having actual money and power was... enticing.

I'm sure we'll be seeing more of each other, she said. You did good work, she added. She still wondered to herself why he was an acolyte, but she supposed she would let him come to that question in his own time. For the moment, she just enjoyed their success.

@LouJoVi

 

[Caerllion of Cyfnos]

”I think the same.” like the Champion, Caerllion also wanted to see the planet prosper. Columex would have no purpose for the Empire if it ended as a broken world. It would be more of a headache than anything else. “If Olathar shows the same efficient from these last weeks, I believe that he will end up being a good temporary governor.”

When Arla praised his actions, Caerllion’s cheeks became a bit red. “Thank you. I believe that this mission was a great opportunity of learning for me. Now I know how to properly conduct a negotiation as a Sith.” it could sound as irony, but the Acolyte was being serious. The Champion showed the Annfyn when to abandon the diplomacy and use the violence.

Besides that, seeing her use of Dathomirian magick, sparked on Caerllion a great interest in the arcane side of the Force. As soon as he returned to his home, the Acolyte would read with more attention the grimories that Vex gave to him.

“I look forward to seeing and working with you again.” he smiled at her, before turning to eat some more of his breakfast. “I think that we need to announce the changes in the government for the population. Or do you think that we should wait for Olathar to do it?” their time together in Columex was coming to an end, but Caerllion wondered if she was going to delay their leave until the Twi’lek left the hospital.

@Phoenix

 

[Arla]

Arla paused a moment, trying to figure out if he was being serious in his comment about diplomacy or not. She didn't say anything for a moment, but then decided that he was, in fact, being serious. Well, that was good. The Sith had a reputation to uphold, after all. They were not to be trifled with.

She nodded and smiled when he said he was eager to work together again. Likewise, she said.

We can do a joint announcement, she said, but that would take time. When he's recovered and things have settled for a bit, she said. Until then, let's enjoy breakfast. To success, she said, raising her drink in toast.

//Thread @LouJoVi