Ask Korriban Tidying up

[Anai Skhess]

Korriban was home to hundred or even thousands of Sith story: A place filled to the brim with ancient tombs, sith academies, statues depicting sith of the past, ancient artifacts and even dark forms of life that were a product of the energies used by both the sith order and the sith species: It had been the gem of many sith empires and the bastion of the dark side for countless times and as a result, so much was known of Korribab...But there was more to it that what met the eye.

Standing in front of the sith academy, Anai looked forward, her eyes set on the entrance, still standing strong and proud...Yet also quite obviously abandoned. It was a testament to how the galaxy worked: The sith had been banished multiple times by now, yet these temples were still standing, it was just a pity that they were abandoned once more...Or so it would seem. It was probably for the better they encountered next to no people in here, not while they were on a mission.

After all, who should be allowed to get out of here alive after catching sight of an inquisitor? Anai had not come to have a nostalgic trip, no, she had come under the persona of inquisitor Xander, all for the sake of her mission: Retrieving "The files" of Korriban. The important information that inquisitors used in order to keep tabs on everyone in the galaxy. Korriban was not a safe place anymore, now when they didn't have an official government backing them up in there, so it had to be retrieved safely.

Of course, for this mission the inquisitor had not come alone: She had gone out of her way to ask the Dark Lord herself to let her bring along a certain sith that wanted to prove herself, someone Tempest had recruited: "Vena Lann." Anai would say, her voice deep and robotic, modulated to make her look like a male inquisitor, much like her armor "Are you ready?" She asked, eyes focusing on the woman behind her helmet, she had given the woman the bare minimum of information regarding the mission: That they needed to retrieve vital data at Korriban. How would she perform during this mission? Specially considering that the woman had probably realized that this was a test of loyalty...There was no better handlers of the distrusted than the inquisition, after all.

@Eccles

 

[Vena Lann]

The galaxy had suddenly changed into a much different thing. Vena's life had been about the Empire and loyalty to its principles. She had trained dutifully in the Force, learned its techniques and trained under the Sith Masters until the Great Imperial Schism. She had heard of what the Imperials had done to the temple. That they had robbed it, ransacked the Sith Council chambers with the help of Wodan and killed Sith regardless of whether or not they posed a real threat. Just igniting a red lightsaber was enough.

Now she was back at the behest of the Dark Lord. The armor of an Imperial Knight was hidden underneath a black hooded cloak that revealed her identity only the Inquisitor she had come here with. "I am ready, Inquisitor," Vena simply replied as they started to walk into the abandoned temple. Neither the Dark Lord nor her master had spoken of this mission as a test of her loyalty, but when you were paired up with an inquisitor there wasn't a single fibre in your being that could be convinced it wasn't just that. The Academies had taught the stories and the structure of the Inquisition. It were the stories that always stuck..

"It's been hardly a year since I've been here," she muttered more to herself than to the Inquisitor. Much had changed. Scorchmarks covered the walls and everything was covered in either dust or sand. The latter of which had been blown in by sandstorm and through the cracks left by Imperial cannon fire. "I never guessed the Inquisition housed below."


@Versok

 

[Anai Skhess]

The armored steps of the inquisitor would start to echo slightly as they got inside the temple, her eyes looking around as she noticed the sorry state the temple was in "Hiding in plain sight is one of many things an inquisitor should be good at" Inquisitor Xander would simply say, turning her head towards the rogue knight "And even sith are less observant in the comfort of their homes, it was not as difficult as you would think." The inquisitor talked, feeling awfully talkative at the moment.

As they got closer and closer to their destination, it was made more clear what had transpired here, the temple was, as of right now, quite barren. "Tell me" She would say, drawing the attention of Vena before speaking up again "How does it feel to know you helped the people that robbed us of our culture?" Anai would ask, even if her voice didn't make it apparent, there was nothing but disgust for what had happened in here...Temples and tombs were to be left ago in Kaleesh culture, after all.

"To know that, the people you helped took our home, the home of those that lived here and dealt swiftly with those that supported us...Only to leave this planet after realizing they truly weren't wanted?" She continued pressing, even though her words were very aggressive and accusatory the modulated voice suggested it was an actual, genuine question, not an attempt at making her feel bad, the inquisitor really did want to understand the knight better.

Eventually, the two of them would arrive at a meditation room, the one that was a bit more secluded than the others. In there, the inquisitor would go up to a wall, putting her hand on it before realizing that it was, indeed, a wall. However, the champion would quickly notice that the inquisitor was calling for the aid of the force, parts moving somewhere inside the wall before hearing a very subtle sound...And now the inquisitor walked through the wall. On the other side was a long corridor, which would lead them to an elevator.

@Eccles

 

[Vena Lann]

The Inquisitor talked a lot about cultural values that the Empire had robbed from the Sith at Korriban. Vena didn't care about any of that. In fact, she had agreed with the sentiment and in many ways still did. The Sith Order had become weak, how else could mere soldiers that couldn't even sense the Force eradicate it this efficiently? If the Sith had been strong, then their home and their preciou culture hadn't become their shackles. If anything, what had transpired here on Korriban had made them stronger.

"The Sith Order is a religion," Vena heard herself say as they began approaching the meditation room. "The more churches you built, the more texts your write-" she watched out the Inquisitor used the Force to open a secret door within the meditation room and made a mental note to memorize its location and the ways of opening it, "-the more you delude its power." All Vena knew about the Sith was that in her years at the academies she had never experienced the raw power someone like Darth Tempest possessed. There were only a few sentient beings in the galaxy that could amass such power and all the Sith were to her were the means to become one of those sentients.

For that purpose and that purpose alone would she do the Dark Lord's bidding. To learn from her, grow more powerful than she could ever become and then snuff her out like a candle on a windy day.

The door opened to reveal another corridor, but this time with a secret elevator at the end of it. She knew it couldn't be going upwards, so this was definitely the entrace to the Inquisitor's old base. "Clinging to a church is just another shackle, Inquisitor Xander, she said and she meant it. "It's a physical location, nothing more. The Dark Side of the Force and even the Dark Lord herself is much more than that." She pulled back her black hood now that she was certain no Imperial spycam could identify her. After all, you never knew what the Imperial Security Bureau would have left behind in order to track the Sith down. "They transcend the physical," she mused as the elevator doors opened and they stepped inside.

@Versok

 

[Anai Skhess]

The inquisitor simply listened as Vena talked, giving no apparent response to what she had say for a long time before giving her a nod; It may have not been what the inquisitor herself would've said had she been in her shoes, but it was one of the responses she would deem "valid" "Shackles, or fuel, righteous anger over what has been taken can too, make you stronger...If you know how to use it correctly." The inquisitor would pause for a moment, looking at Vena once more "But most current sith do not know."

The inquisitor would lean against the wall as the elevator descended, it seemed like it was going to take a while to go down "But you're right, they are even stronger" She would concede that, taking mental note on what Vena seemed to gravitate towards, the type of sith they could be. "Is that why you seeked her out?" The inquisitor asked, apparently already aware of how Vena had met the Dark lord...Which obviously made sense" Or was it the display of weakness from your knightly order? Perhaps both?" She would ask once more, it was obvious what the inquisitor was doing, yet she had no option but to answer, at least these questions were simple enough, for now.

 

[Vena Lann]

For a moment Vena was silent to contemplate over the words of the Inquisitor and their meaning. "Means and opportunity," she finally replied, "The Empire cannot teach me what I need," for what she needed was not to be bothered by excessive rules and regulations that saw Knight-Captains demoted for the minor meaningless transgression of showing a non-force sensitive their place. What Vena needed was a teacher and a place that allowed her to tap into the greatest flows of energy the Force would allow her to use and wield. Something Darth Tempest had promised to provide. "The Dark Lord can," she looked at the other inquisitor as the elevator finally came to a halt, "and does."

She was learning that the Sith Order only had a single real core value and that was the Rule of Strong. If Vena decided she could take on the Inquisitor and kill them, then the Order would sooner reward her for it than punish her. The approach was the complete opposite of whatever the Imperial Order and the Jedi Order would ever take and yet it was the only that Vena seemed naturally inclined to.

"Is that not why you chose to remain loyal?" Vena asked as she exited the elevator, assuming the Inquisitor would not only follow but also retake the lead as he was the only one that knew where exactly they were going. "You are an Inquisitor now," she motioned towards his armor, which was traditionally a symbol of the Inquisition and one that instilled a lot of fear with Imperials and Sith alike. "In the Empire you'd be the lapdog of the security bureau. Weaklings holding onto your chains and making you bark on command." now it was the Dark Lord who did the same, but at least she could utterly annihilate you if you didn't obey her very words. The new Emperor? All he could do was choke himself.

@Versok

 

[Anai Skhess]

The inquisitor listened closely as Vena gave her reasoning, it was a perfectly selfish one, which was not a bad thing among their people. Pursuit of power was to be commended and encouraged, of course. But the inquisitor took a mental note about her constant mentions of the Dark Lord. Obviously, Xander already knew she was the one to recruit her. But it seemed she had really made a mark in the imperial knight. Made sense, she was an example to follow for those that wanted more.

The inquisitor took the lead once more as they left the elevator, looking forward but listening intently as she asked about her own allegiances "to an inquisitor, loyalty is it's own reward" She would say, a phrase that would not leave the mouth of any normal sith...But she was an inquisitor "Our organization is loyal because we are the greatest believers of our cause...Of course, that is because we believe it's the true way for our kind to achieve greatness." The inquisitor added.

Her head turned towards Vena "Only a select few in the galaxy get to say they're truly free, all of us have chains holding us one way or the other...But as an inquisitor, one that could've deserted during the betrayal...I am freer than most" After all, not only did she answer to just one person in the galaxy...She did it because she wanted to. "After all, despite our creed, most sith have not been set free by the dark side...Then again, not many of us should be considered real sith, masters are but aspirants, and champions are even lesser than that" The inquisitor would add, like the Dark lord herself, she thought not many within the order could be considered real sith...But it was getting better, at least.

Eventually, Anai would halt on her tracks as she knew that something was activating ahead, turning on her lightsaber and gesturing the knight to do the same. "53097" The inquisitor would say out loud, waiting for a moment before hearing something power up "Take cover." The inquisitor would calmly say just before taking cover behind a nearby support pillar, a couple defense turrets coming down from the hallway's ceiling and firing at the two of them, they were repeaters, designed to shred intruders before they realized what was going on, which would've been their fate had one of them not been an inquisitor "The code didn't work, someone has changed them" the inquisitor would explain...This meant there was someone here to take care of, but for now they had to focus on taking down those turrets.

@Eccles