[CLOSED] These Meager Parts

[Nostromos]

Dathomir| Mid-Morning| Derelict Nightsister Temple
​

The forest sang and swayed with the slowly rousing day. Even as the chill of the previous night clung to the soil and stone; a claustrophobic heat coated everything in oppressive humidity. The very air was like syrup, filling the lungs like a dense broth. It held none of the arid charm of the village, and in that regard; Siri was grateful.

The Temple itself was ancient and sat on the edge of a modest forest, it was little more than a ruin now but the main hall that served as a monastery stood tall and proud. It boasted a large lake, that had once been an in-ground arena used for a purpose no one of the current Era knew. The water within was clear, and various fallen stones and plant life could be seen clearly.

It was here that Siri Vodjya had seated herself. Cross legged, the young Dathomirian had placed herself before a crumbling archway that lead further into the overgrown compound. Staring out at the water, Siri allowed the sway of the world around her to influence the sifting thoughts running through her head. She was excited, but betrayed none of it outwardly.

From the South, a vast field of sparse shrubbery and grass stretched for miles; and from this came Sister Ichus. Siri turned her head, her headdress obscuring her features while her Sister had opted not to dawn her own. Dark hair swept over a damp brow as the older Dathomirian had scouted out to make sure they would not be interrupted by any wildlife, and most likely to check an unobscured sky for the supposedly approaching Sith.

“If they do not come for you Sister, I might just leave you out here. Perhaps that will lessen the shame you brought Matriarch Karnia”

Siri had always found Sister Ichus unnecessarily cruel and unpleasant, wearing her aggression on her sleeves without thought to how such projections made her pettiness blatant to all around her. Siri took little pleasure in how foolish Ichus made herself look. “If it is what you deem best, you should. Perhaps if it was you that were being offered to the Order they would have arrived sooner”

Siri’s tone was neutral, but Ichus was not so foolish to miss the sarcasm; she cast a hard glare at the younger Dathomirian and waved a dismissive hand at the girl. Turning to face the field again, Ichus crossed her arms and stared at the sky.

A strong presence was growing closer, Siri could feel it and to a lesser extent so could Ichus. It was merely a matter of time.

 

[Logan]

Dathomir was a planet far and away from any he had perused in his youth but it wasn't one completely unknown to him. Vecna's knowledge of the planet, of course, came almost completely in the form of its local fauna - the existence of the mighty Rancor roaming the Dathomirian plains was something he always remembered. Any other facts about the Sith world lay firmly under the shroud of murky unknown. The Arterius streaked through the pristine sky maybe a hundred meters off the ground, which at this speed looked like nothing more than a smeared mess of brown with hints of green, the set of coordinates programmed into the ship's navicomputer its guiding light to find the way. Vecna himself stood staring at the array of equipment he kept stocked in the cargohold, most of it hunting utensils that were beginning to gather a thin layer of dust. Lately the only weapons Vecna found himself carrying regularly was his lightsaber and today, it appeared, would be no different.

"We're due to arrive at the coordinates in approximately five minutes and twenty seven seconds as of the end of this message, Master." The smooth, robotically feminine voice of the Arterius' AI came across the PA system, the only thing that had broken the dull hum of engine silence that permeated the ship whenever Vecna found himself alone within its confines. "Where would you like to land?

“Put the ship down a few hundred meters from the actual meeting coordinates. I'd like to make my own, silent approach to the temple. Activate stealth systems and leave them on while you wait. I'm unsure of how long this is going to take."

Yes, master."

It felt odd, sometimes, having the AI refer to him as master. The inanimate voice of his ship was sometimes, most times, the only friend the great Hunter actually had. Vecna had many acquaintances, sure, but that's all they were. He could feel himself pulling closer to Eris' the more time they spent together but she was far too enigmatic for his tastes. Vecna had a better chance at understanding a novel written in Huttese than he had trying to comprehend the drives and motivations of that particular Zeltron, it was probably best if acquaintanceship was where their relationship was left to lay.

Feeling the soft thud of the ship landing on the Dathomirian soil, Vecna pushed all the idle thoughts from his head as he grabbed his lightsaber and tucked it away inside his chest armor. He made his way down the exit ramp and into a vast expanse of grasslands, the humidity oppressing him the very instant the doors opened. God, how he hated humidity. Moving through the grass with a succinct laziness, Vecna was in no hurry to arrive where he was supposed to be. He arrived at the meeting coordinates maybe fifteen minutes later, the first thing coming to his notice being the older Dathomirian woman. He recalled the mission parameters quite clearly and nowhere did it state the presence of a derelict old harpy being required.

"You don't belong here, crone." Vecna said, passing her by without much more inspection than that. “Take your leave."

Looking towards the younger girl seated on the floor. "The report didn't give me a specific name for you. What is your name?" Vecna didn't bother explaining who he was or why he was there, he didn't need to. Both of them knew what was going on or they wouldn't have been out in these abandoned ruins to begin with. "You do have one, don't you?"

 

[Nostromos]

Ichus had been more startled than anything, having felt the heavy, subdued presence before she had seen the Sith and was immediately at ill-ease with him approaching. The rude, disregard for her almost set the Dathomirian assassin on a rage, but she wisely kept her words firmly stashed behind clenched teeth.

Siri had looked up slowly to the massive Kushari as he approached her, delivering a successful blow to Ichus’ pride in the process. Without a word, the elder Dathomirian marched off; leaving Siri in a far more peaceful state than she had previously been.

Pushing herself to her feet with an idle grace that years of practice and instruction could only produce; the youth stood and tilted her head back to properly look the Sith in the eye. He was intimidating to be sure, but Siri found very little need for concern.

“I do. Siri Vodjya.” The Dathomirian saw little need to offer more than that, unsolicited information was not something she was prone to giving. Vecna didn’t appear the type to appreciate idle chatter either, Siri would follow her Sisters example and keep her words to herself unless provoked to speak.

Siri looked out towards the distance where she had watched the man approach from. “Are we to depart now?”

 

[Logan]

"No," Vecna said simply, turning his back on Siri and neatly folding his hands behind him. "there are things that need tended to first." The more time Vecna spent skulking the various Sith academies the more he noticed a rather startling trend among them. More and more, as the Imperium expanded and condensed and expanded again, they they were allowing multitudes of rabble to make it through the training regimes and gain access to the temples. While not following most of the Sith doctrine, preferring to operate under his own personal set of standards and views, Vecna did find this weakness permeating the Sith ranks as an egregious affront to everything that the organization stood for. It had become somewhat of a personal mission of Vecna's to do all in his power to purge the ranks of these untouchables, silence the idiocy and bring a new meaning to what it meant to be a Sith. Up until now these grandiose visions of influence were not much more than a fleeting dream, though with this Siri Vodjya it appeared he was finally able to take the first step. She would be the first to take on his personal trial by fire, though he surmised that in a few months retrospect she would probably receive the least aggressive, and least deadly, of his ire.

"I need you to tell me a few things and I urge you to give me nothing but truth in your responses." Vecna turned back around to face Siri, loosing the chains on the up-until-this-point iron-clad grip he had on his force aura. It would flow off of him, slinking its way across the gap between he and Siri until it slowly enveloped her. Vecna's aura was a sheer, cold thing, relentless in its assault and all encompassing like standing in the middle of a raging blizzard. It lacked the distinct marks of a Sith, the usual emotion laden muck that most of them tossed around was a complete joke. This display wasn't to just put fear into Siri or make her uncomfortable, though it made have those side-effects, it was merely Vecna's way to show her that he would know if she was lying - Vecna wasn't a being to be trifled with for more reasons than just his monstrous appearance. "Tell me why you think you deserve respite from his trite existence, why you deserve to be granted access to the glory of the Imperial academies when you're not much more than a plain, unimpressive attempt at benefaction? Who are you, Siri Vodjya?"

 

[Nostromos]

Siri was only moderately curious as to why Vecna would insist they lingered, but having not actively been recruited by the Sith Order; the youth had suspected some form of a test would be administered to determine if she was even worth the time.

The massive man’s purpose and intentions were soon exposed as he began to assert his influence via sheer physical prowess and through his mastery of the Force. The chains caressing the folds of her robes, slithering around her and pressing in enough to make his meaning clear.

Fortunately, Siri had never planned to lie; and though she did feel the icy storm of his aura she weathered it with the same taciturn expression she did everything else. Her chin tilted back a notch, her shoulders squaring as her head tilted back to look up into his eyes.

“Who am I?” What a burden that question was. And yet it seemed like the most reasonable question in the world. “You are asking me to prove to you why I; untested and unsolicited, deserve to be in your order.” Siri rolled her head to the side as if to jar out thought. “And what answer could I give that would be satisfactory? No. This is a personal question for you.”

It was deduction and an insight into the minds and emotions of others that led her to this conclusion, though whether or not her statement was accurate was beyond her. Siri took a step forward, uninhibited by the chains she moved towards his space with bold, well-placed steps. “ You seek to prove to yourself that I am unworthy?” That small mouth gave a quirk of a smile.

“I am not. As unsolicited as my induction is--I will not be discredited by you. Or anyone” Another step brought her closer, her tone remained cool and calm; though she had to crane her head back more to keep eye contact. “I am the product of my people, chosen because of who I am not because it was preordained by some bones thrown into a bowl; if I am unworthy then I will die attempting to prove that I am. If that is the case I am deserving of such a fate.”

That smile fell and the youth took one more step closer, almost able to smell him now. “I am worthy. But I cannot prove that through words. No answer I could give you will satisfy. Because the answer you seek cannot be tested through a dialogue”

 

[Logan]

He watched her move, the lithe, little frame of a body that housed the soul of Siri Vodjya clearly betrayed her ability to menace. Her words offered insight and an explanation Vecna would have never assumed capable from someone so young, but he still found her argument and bravado somewhat lacking. Or maybe it was a lack of fear of this girl that left her words feel hollow, their intelligence perhaps lost through the high pitched voice of a teenage girl. Regardless, Vecna found himself satisfied with her - at least for the moment. He never allowed his gaze to leave Siri's, keeping his eyes locked on hers even when he began to speak again. "Your age betrays your insight Siri, but do you truly believe what you're telling me? Do you value your life so little that you would willingly sacrifice it for an Order that doesn't even recognize you yet, if ever? Curious. Or is that some sort of ideology bred into Dathomirian women toiling away here in the backwoods? Would you be so ready for your life to end if it was in the name of the woman here earlier? If you really are so selfless perhaps the Jedi are an Order more suited for you."

Whether obvious or not Vecna had only one intention with his slew of questions: he was trying to goad Siri into displaying some sort of emotion other than the so far stoic, stone set confidence she had thus far displayed. If simple words could break her demeanor, send her into a rage or make her backpedal on her words, Vecna would know everything he cared to know about her and his interests in the outcome of her existence would end. So far though, Vecna found himself infinitely curious - hopefully Siri wouldn't disappoint him.

And if she did, Vecna would drop her off on Korriban fully expecting her to die shortly thereafter.

 

[Nostromos]

Siri’s smile returned and she shook her head. “ You misunderstand. I would never willingly sacrifice myself to any Order” The youth rolled her shoulders and began slowly, and half-heartedly pushing the chains away from her. “Especially not to an Order I have no true ties to. Yet. But if I die performing the tasks set before me by the Imperium. Then I die. That is it.”

Her emotions did not change, not rising an inch to the large mans subtle goading. “I do not desire death for glory. But I will find a purpose, within the Order of the Sith or without it. This is an opportunity that I will pursue”

 

[Logan]

"I believe you will find your purpose." Vecna said with a simple nod of his head. "A better shot than most, I'd say. But do not let eventual ties with the Order inhibit you. You may find a time in your future where you are faced with a choice, to remain and stagnate or to sever ties and flourish. In all things defined there is a ceiling you can reach, but it's up to you to realize when you have."

Vecna wasn't a person apt to lying, either, and he returned the sentiment of honesty he had felt come from the young Dathomirian girl that stood before him. He was not a member of the Sith Order born into the fold, indoctrinated since birth to revere its codes and believe in its philosophies. Vecna was not a missionary wandering the galaxy to convert nonbelievers - a chance meeting and a casual chat with a Zeltron were the only reasons he found himself here as an arbiter on the Imperium's behalf, and that's all he would be. If Siri wished to let the Imperium consume her personality and her beliefs she could do so when she reached the temple, on her own accord. Turning away from her, Vecna began to walk back the way he came, satisfied enough to lead Siri back to his ship.

"My ship is this way, not too far." He said without looking back. "I assume you have all of your things?"

 

[Nostromos]

Siri did not reply, instead she listened and allowed herself a small sense of satisfaction that she seemed to have passed Vecna’s test. Adjusting her robes gently, she thought hard on his words; not even sure herself what she would choose. The future was fluid and despite her insight into people, the subtle art of precognition had always escaped her.

She would have to merely find out, which didn’t bother her in the slightest.

Siri followed immediately, keeping in quiet step a respectful distance from Vecna. At his inquiry, a small hand reached up to pressed down over her belly, where a long, ancient dirk was gently tucked in her obi. “I do. What kind of ship do you posses?” She had never left her planet before and was mildly curious.