Open Home Sweet Home

[Charlotte Le'Anna]

Just outside Ta'a Chume'Dan

Charlotte paced around the Le’Anna estate. Her preparations with Stolas had gone well but the deed still needed doing. She was nervous. She saw no point in denying that. Charlotte was right on the precipice of everything she wanted. Only one silly little queen stood in her way. The Hapan Sith could practically feel the crown on her head. Apparently, the Sith in their infinite wisdom decided now was a perfect time to assign her an apprentice. Charlotte would never understand the decision making.

She was not foolish enough to refuse. She had carefully sent instructions to her new apprentice. He was her cousin on her father’s side coming to learn at the feet of a true Hapan matriarch. Arrive with no fan fare and with plenty of space between himself and the Empire. They had to play an especially careful came. One she was growing ever better at perfecting.

So, Charlotte paced around the estate, awaiting the arrival of her new Apprentice.

@Fine Dining Set

 

[Cairo Kisufi]

Cairo had spent his short life between different roles. Whether he was a con artist or, now, a legitimate acolyte, it seemed he was doomed to his career in streetwise acting. On the shuttle-ride to Hapes, he was given his instructions, his role. He was to pose as his new master's cousin, to help her in her plotting within the Consortium. He had long since grown accustomed to bouncing around, but the idea of having a master implied such ownership, such permanence...

Might as well make a good impression with it, though. And, 'cousin' was a role far more informal than 'acolyte.' Hopefully, Charlotte LeAnna would appreciate the differences as it came through his character. And if he had to be an impish little minx to play the character well, his master would surely understand.

Surely she would. As he strode towards the LeAnna estate, he spotted Charlotte pacing with a terse look on her face. She was beautiful, in that praying mantis "kill you and eat you," kind-of way. A smile bubbled to Cairo's face at the thought - this would, indeed, be a fun time. His mischievous smirk changed to a wide, beaming grin as he began to adopt the mask of 'Cairo LeAnna,' the long-distant cousin who has pledged himself to his female betters.

"Charlotte, my darling cousin!" He waved a hand towards her giddily as he strutted up to her. Two exaggerated kisses on the cheek accompanied a wide bear hug. Before she could kill him on the spot, he genuflected; bending the knee and casting his teal gaze up to her. "Thank you for agreeing to host me, for letting me learn at your feet." This was, in part, true; he had longed to escape the drudgery of the Sith training academies. Working with a true Sith would grant him power. And power was, after all, freedom.

He snapped his fingers, pointing to his bags which he had left at the gate of the family's compound. "Perhaps one of the help can bring my luggage into the estate while we speak?" He had never been an aristocrat before. Might as well use the perks!

@Valen Pelora

 

[Charlotte Le'Anna]

Charlotte did not like many people. She found the general populace insufferable. Art had been fun until he rose so far above her. The Empress was very much not her friend. Stolas and Raze were impossible mysteries to her. Aadya left her hanging after their lovely little tryst. Yes, Charlotte hated people. Life was much better alone on Hapes. She could appreciate dedication and her new apprentice certainly seemed dedicated. A beaming smile whipped onto her lips. She returned the greeting in kind, hugging Cairo close and planting two kisses on his cheeks.

She quickly waved a hand at the staff. They scurried forward to take Cairo’s bags into the main house. “Cousin, what a delight…I am so happy you can finally properly join me.” She grabbed his arm to pull him away. “Come, let me show you the grounds.” Charlotte began to stroll them around the estate where they could speak more privately. Once they were in the gardens, she dropped his arm. “Well done. I must say.” Her voice was short and lipped as always. “But this is not your summer vacation away from the Empire.”

Charlotte’s eye never left Cairo. “We have work to do and not much time with which to do it.” The time of her ascension was drawing near. “The Queen Mother’s time among us draws short. We are headed to my apartments in the capital tonight to begin preparations.” She flicked her eyes up and down her new apprentice. “I assume you brought the necessary equipment besides fancy clothes.” Charlotte’s master had been harsh. Almost as harsh as her mother. Cairo would find the eldest Le’Anna to be a mighty pain in the ass. “Any burning questions?” But she new how to use a tool if it was useful. Cairo certainly appeared useful.

@Fine Dining Set

 

[Cairo Kisufi]

A quick mover, this one. In truth, he was incredibly unprepared outside of his role; he had mostly shirked learning about the inner workings of Hapes before this meeting. He had barely learned this role; preferring to work on some tricks with the Force and just generally do as little as possible on the ship ride over. Dice, Force juggling, trying to make the ever-stern Imperial security officers laugh; anything besides work.

At the mention of equipment, he looked both ways for the coast to be clear before gesturing to the cardigan he wore over his white turtleneck. "Do you mean lightsabers? Because they're in here." He pointed at the inside lining of the sweater, where he had sewn a secret pocket into the seams. It was once useful for pickpocketing, now it held the blades that marked him as Sith. One a regular saber, the other a training saber. He had become quite impressed with the acrobatic style of Jar'Kai practitioners he had seen across holovids and his own training. He longed to practice the style in truth himself, having only dueled with the synthetic swords that the youngest of the Sith were permitted to duel with.

He took a turn to speak"I, uh, have a few, Charlotte." He let the name linger in his mouth, slowly rolling the "rrrr" and drawing out the "otte." Testing the limits of his defiance, seeing what their working relationship would be like. As they strolled through the gardens, he glimpsed the magnificent rose bushes that dotted the estate's grounds. He plucked a flower petal and jauntily tossed it into the air, watching it gently glide down back to the well-tended soil. "For starters, who are you, who is the Queen Mother, and what are we doing with her?" From context and the very brief reading he had done, he knew that the LeAnnas were an old, now irrelevant, bloodline in the matriarchal Consortium of Hapes. He assumed his master was angling for some power play to overthrow the existing government, as the Sith always were, but he hoped for some details.

"And who is your groundskeeper? This place is beautiful. They deserve a raise."

@Valen Pelora

 

[Charlotte Le'Anna]

Right. She was supposed to be teaching. What the fuck did she know about that? Charlotte very dramatically rolled her eyes. “You can call me Charlotte.” She clicked her tongue. “Master or Mistress is super creepy…my apprentice.” She laughed lightly. She had always wanted to say that. Her tone became slightly more serious. “The cliff notes version is I am the revered matriarch of House Le’Anna. The Empress, Lord Stolas, and Lord Caelestis have carefully assisted in positioning me to fill the Queen Mother’s seat should she no longer occupy that space.” Charlotte pointed in the general direction of Ta’a Chume’Dan.

“The Queen Mother rules all of the Hapan Consortium and while a member of the Free Worlds Alliance, she currently is content to stay within the Consortium borders.” A predatory smile bloomed on her face. “We are going go kill her and then you’ll serve a Queen.” A tingle raced up her spine. “But my people distrust the Force which means it is imperative our ties to the Empire are never discovered.” Her eyes swept around the gardens. Her voice grew distant for a moment. “My father loved these gardens…” She sighed. “Right until I choked the life from him.” Charlotte’s eyes flashed yellow as she gripped the Force. “I killed my mother, my father...who I loved very much, and locked my sisters in the basement until they learned to behave…I will do anything to get what I want.” She clicked her tongue again.

“You would do well to remember that, cousin.” A small chime sounded on her wrist. It was nearly time to board the shuttle into the capital city. They would never to make a few final arrangements until they did so. Cairo clearly need proper equipment for what they were about to undertake.

@Fine Dining Set

 

[Cairo Kisufi]

She seemed sharp, and largely uncaring about the protocol he had spent two years learning in the Sith Academies. While it was a breath of fresh air, Cairo wondered if he wasn't missing some of the allure, the great charm, of these Sith masters. In his mind, he had pictured his new Master would be a cackling egomaniac standing tortured over a dark lab in the wastes of Korriban. To meet Charlotte, a young woman whose political machinations had little to do with dark alchemy or ancient mysticism, was off-putting. She responded to his jabs with a certain cheer.

He'd have to be more inventive if he wanted to annoy her. "Right? Such a power trip with you Sith sometimes. Always bowing and kneeling and the 'masters' and 'mistresses.'" He waved a hand to dismiss it. Was she going for, like, the 'cool teacher' vibe? Being a murderous force wielder undercut some of the vibe. "Gotcha. So, fit in, cling to everything you say, and you will...do the deed?" Cairo dragged a thumb across his neck to emphasize what he felt weird about saying. The only people he had killed had been at the Academy, and those were motivated by self defense rather than any real desire to advance the ranks. The thought of killing a monarch filled him with such a dread that he could barely express it.

And she spoke so plainly about killing her own parents. There it was - the real Sith jumped out of her. It sent shivers down his spine; it took all his effort to maintain the easygoing facade he was usually so proud of. "I follow, Charlotte." Then, the ring of her watch. "We late for something? Let's get moving."

@Valen Pelora

 

[Charlotte Le'Anna]

She sensed the warring emotions in her new student. Disappointment, dread…fear. Cairo read like an open book. Charlotte huffed. Did they teach nothing at the Academy? Shielding her mind had been literally beaten into her. Lesson number one. Charlotte dipped into the Force, the Darkside racing through her veins. Her mind struck out like a whip to crashing into Cairo. She flicked fear into his thoughts. “Close your mind.” She slowly rebuilt her mental walls. Her deliberate speed a chance for Cairo to follow suit. “Your emotions spill around you like a child.” Charlotte shook her head and began heading for the main house.

“The Queen Mother is my responsibility.” She flashed another wolfish grin. The Hapan Sith had felt her apprentice’s concern for the killing. “There will be plenty of others for you.” Her wrist chimed again. They were late but this was her operation. “No sabers. Vibroblades have been left in your quarters. As far as anyone will know we are ordinary assassins.” As they neared the house, she could hear the shuttle engines approaching. The Sith had another task before the final deed was done. Ordinary clothing would simply not do. They needed the regalia of the Royal Guard, and she knew just where to get it.

“5 minutes, Cairo. Then we are leaving.” The shuttle landed just outside the grounds. Her own equipment waited within. She had made sure to make regular trips into the capital as to no arouse suspicion. This would appear just another jaunty into the Le’Anna capital apartments. No different than her excursion with Art. She was certain no one would be the wise.

@Fine Dining Set

 

[Cairo Kisufi]

Dread and malice leaked into Cairo, first forming in his body as the tingles of anxiety into a full-fledged fear towards Charlotte. It took a moment before he realized that she was the cause of this, that it was her use of the Force flowing into his mind. He closed off his mind immediately, chastising himself for such ineptitude and feeling genuinely fearful of his new master. No waves of hand, no gestures; she had manifested fear in his body. It would reside there for some time.

"Vibroblades, huh?" He had rarely used them; he had been mugged by miscreants with vibroblades some number of times, though, so he wasn't completely out of the loop. "And quarters?" Maybe this would be a summer vacation away from the Empire.

He stepped through the massive halls of the estate quickly. He wouldn't be late; but this place was huge. A veritable maze. He had to stop to ask for directions twice, eventually sprinting through the long halls of the palace to find his relatively quaint room. Likely, a room for a lady-in-waiting or some other guest suite; ornate enough to not attract derision, but purposefully much smaller than the family's suites, as a latent insult to the guests attending. Cairo knew too little about courtly politics to get the message, only racing inside to grab the vibroblades and racing out to the shuttle. Shit shit shit. She had been serious about the 5 minutes; the shuttle was already primed to leave.

Cairo let into the shuttle to join Charlotte in the air as they took off. He huffed and puffed dramatically from his sprint to the vehicle. "Got it. Where to next, Charlie?"

@Valen Pelora

 

[Charlotte Le'Anna]

“Everything is ready?” Her tone was clipped. “Yes, my lady…they will be ready when you land.” Charlotte nodded. “Excellent.” She marched into the shuttle and quickly changed in her tight synthweave black shirt and pants. A vibroblade slung over her back and saber hidden in her belt. Charlotte fitted a black mask over her face…and then she waited. A heavily breathing Cairo finally arrived. Her apprentice. So far…underwhelming. She leveled a stare at him, pointing at the seat beside him. “Put the mask on.” Charlotte took a deep breath.

“The shuttle is flying us to my family’s apartment in the Capital.” She paused. “Where our body doubles will exit as you and I have a stop.” She smiled again beneath the mask. “The Queen’s Royal Guard protect her personage and we need their help to access her. They patrol the outer borders of the Capital. We are going to relieve a pair of their credentials. From there, we will have a handful of hours before it is discovered.” The shuttle raced across the Hapan landscape. A small chime sounded again. Ah. It was time. Charlotte stood as the shuttle slowed just enough. “We have to jump.” She laughed.

The landing ramp began to lower as they neared their drop point. “I’m assuming they’ve taught you properly at the academy?” She began to walk to the edge. “Grab the Force, fall, and disperse the momentum into the ground while fortifying your body…oh…and avoid the branches.” She laughed again and jumped. Charlotte sped through the air, hurling her body towards the ground. She poured the Darkness into her legs, feeling the strength of the Force. As she grew close, she took a deep breath. The Sith landed with a thud as the Force rippled through her. She looked up. Hopefully he wouldn’t die.

@Fine Dining Set

 

[Cairo Kisufi]

Cairo put his own mask on at her command, teal eyes shining through with a curious look. This would be a fun mission, after all; subterfuge and jumping out of things were two of his greatest skills.

"Don't worry, Charlotte, I got thi-" He was cut off by her jump out of the shuttle. He took a deep breath, let out a wild howl, and followed suit. He tumbled out of the aircraft, feeling the rush of the blistering winds against him as he danced through the air. With this effort, he had a surprising amount of grace - Charlotte would soon learn that his catlike arrogance and curiosity was matching with equally catlike agility. He remembered his training; his mind opened to the Force, and he called it to his side to slow his fall. From the skies, it was like the whole world froze - like he had an infinite amount of plan his landing. He found a clear path forward, towards the landing site Charlotte had gone towards; but he figured he would take a riskier path just to show her he knew his shit.

He deftly navigated through the expanses of the trees, making a point to grab hold of a branch and do a gymnast's twirl off the branch before flipping and landing alongside his master. Some would call it dumb luck (which it was), but Cairo was proud enough to believe that luck did not exist. There was only destiny and skill - both of which were on his side in this one moment. He lifted his black mask to flash a cheesy grin in Charlotte's direction before sliding it back on.

"See? I got this. Where to next?"

 

[Charlotte Le'Anna]

She cocked an eyebrow when Cairo landed. A look of pleasant surprise hidden beneath her mask. “Well done.” Slowly, she surveyed their surroundings. They were just a couple meters off the mark. This would still do. “Now the fun bit.” Charlotte began walking towards the general direction of the outpost. The Force pressed on the sound all around them. She was no master but her crude suppression got the job done. Their footfalls were carefully masked by the Force. The Hapan Sith was especially careful to avoid any noisy bit. After a few minutes of stealthy walking, the pair could see lights through the forest.

She turned to raise a finger to her lips. With a quick motion she indicated to circle around. She would come in from the right, Cairo from the left. Slowly, she made her way around the campsite. The forest was on three sides, the walls of the capital on the fourth. Five Royal Guards sat carefully watching the night. One more deep breath and the Force flooded Charlotte. The Darkness raged in her heart. Her hand struck out and the communication equipment fried…the next second she was charging. Charlotte hoped Cairo was smart enough to do the same.

In a handful of quick steps, she was among them. The vibroblade from her back swinging free as she took the legs from a startled guard. He screamed for a half a heat beat before the blade silenced his throat. Blood splattered across her robes. Charlotte smiled beneath her mask. The Darkness roared in pleasure. Death’s sickly-sweet pulse racing up her spine. Her surprise quickly faded. These were well trained elite forces. She’d taken one life with shock. She’d not take another. Charlotte spun to face her attackers. She need two intact uniforms.

@Fine Dining Set

 

[Cairo Kisufi]

Just a moment before, the royal guards were breathing. Guard duty. A dreadful job for the quintet, but they had made the most of it. As Charlotte and Cairo approached stealthily, Cairo watched as the soldiers exchanged a joke before lighting a death stick. Their smirks lit the darkness. Then, Charlotte was upon them, striking surgically with her vibroblade. The deathstick rolled out of one soldier mouth as he grasped futilely towards his neck's grievous wound. Cairo was...shocked. As the fountain of blood began to spray, though, he knew he had to react with strength. He counted to four, breathing deeply in as he nervously withdrew a vibrodagger.

When he exhaled, he cast the dagger perfectly into another of the Royal Guards, as they surrounded to attack Charlotte. His natural skill at stupid carnival throwing games was augmented by his training in the force - the dagger sang through the air before it latched into the nape of the poor man's neck. Cairo could not stand to look at the man as he writhed near death, focusing instead the adrenaline surge of shame-based rage into the enemies in front of him. One more down, three more to go. Focus was required.

Cairo charged towards one more of the elite guards in front of them, intending to tackle the older, larger soldier to the ground. He overestimated his own strength and power through in the Force, though; Cairo's rage-fueled charge blinded him, and he slipped on one of the bodies of the soldiers, sending him spiraling towards the standing solider with literally none of his momentum in tact. Instead, he fell limply against the soldiers chest armor; the palace guard easily knocked him to the ground and leveled a blaster towards the boy's face.

Still got this.

Though he hoped his Master would intervene.

@Valen Pelora

 

[Charlotte Le'Anna]

Two dead. The burst of pain in the Force rang in her chest. Charlotte spun, a smile on her face. The Darkness pushed her forward. Her blade spun in a deadly ballet. She was unstoppable…at least…that was how she felt. The truth was a little harsher. Charlotte was a capable killer, but she lacked the power of the true Masters of the Force. She’d forgotten herself while ensconced on Hapes. She took a punch to the gut, barely banging to fight through. The Royal Guard were elite. A fish connected with her face and sent her stumbling backward. Fear flashed in the Force. Charlotte’s eyes flicked to Cairo and the blaster leveled at his face.

Fuck. If he died, she died. Charlotte flung her vibrosword at hulking figure. She poured her strength in the Force behind it. The blade slammed into the chest of the man with a satisfying thump. She smiled. The put of a blaster pistol slammed into her head, sending her stumbling sideways. Charlotte shook her head as another blow landed in her stomach. Fucking apprentices. “Get up.” The Darkness welled up inside the Hapan Nobel.

She stumbled backward again as the guards moved forward. Her pain…her fear…fed the Darkside. The Force whipped out, searching for the tender windpipes of her victims. Slowly, she began to squeeze. Her body ached and she strength waned. Her eyes flicked towards Cairo again. He better fucking do something. Charlotte kept squeezing but the Guards shuddered forward. She was not strong enough to end them both…not with the blows she’d suffered. They needed the uniforms clean. It was the only way to ensure the disguise would work. Charlotte kept pressure on the guards, waiting for Cairo to finish the deed.

@Fine Dining Set

 

[Cairo Kisufi]

The soldier's finger grazed the trigger before Charlotte's hurled blade landed in his chest. Cairo had his hands futilely raised, calling through the Force for some kind of aid, before the blaster fired. The vibroblade threw off his shot - thank the Force - allowing Cairo to scramble back to his feet, away from the hulking soldier that slumped to the ground. There was no time to celebrate this success, as the now-disarmed Charlotte fought another two soldiers alone.

They needed clean uniforms, which mean no slicing and stabbing. But all he had was a bloody sword. How would he do this? He watched as the guards struggled to fight against Charlotte's use of the Force and inspiration found him. He pulled the blaster pistol out of the dead soldier's grip; he knew enough about blasters to know how to change the settings to 'stun.'

As the pair slowly lumbered towards Charlotte, Cairo deftly stepped behind each of them. He raised his blaster to the smalls of their backs, squeezing off stun rounds to incapacitate the final two. The stun blast would not damage the uniforms of the final soldiers and could likely spare the soldiers lives. Cairo wasn't still innocent enough to believe that these final two soldiers would survive their encounter with Sith, but the hope gave him some small comfort.

If the two would fall, Cairo would drop his blaster pistol to the ground and sigh loudly, hunching over his knees. As the adrenaline faded, his vision would blur and he would take deep, wheezing breaths as he surveilled the sight around him. More blood, more dead men. They had never felt so...close, though. He felt bile roll into his mouth - an eventuality he always expected - and spit it into the bloody ground beneath him.

He looked to Charlotte with a newer appreciation; she had saved him. Of course, it was for her selfish reasons, but it showed that he still had some kind of merit to provide to someone. "You alright?" He had watched his teacher take quite a few blows from the soldiers, as her dazzling display of swordsmanship distracted the soldiers for long enough for Cairo to finish the job. She must be in pain, he thought. He had no immediate way to rectify it, but maybe just commiserating would help.

@Valen Pelora

 

[Charlotte Le'Anna]

The sounds of stun bolts vibrated in the air. Charlotte heaved a sigh of relief as the Royal Guards slumped to the floor. Her hands balled into fists and the Force responded. Windpipes crushed and the guards passed into Darkness. They had served their Queen Mother well. Charlotte took another deep breath before turning toward Cairo. She could practically see the bile rising. She bit back the sharp retort…he had saved her life to a certain degree. “First time?” She reached into the recess of whatever wisdom she possessed. “It gets easier, but I rarely find it enjoyable…rather a necessity of our lives.” Charlotte faithfully served the Darkness. That did not mean she was a monster…not yet.

“We need to hurry.” She pointed at the bodies. “Bodies in the woods and then we change.” Charlotte started dragging bodies to hide in the underbrush. The growing bruises across her body were starting to ache. Annoying. Once they had stashed the bloodied guards, she would start stripping down her chosen target. Charlotte was unashamed as was throwing her own clothes on the ground. There was no time for modesty. Once she was properly in her Royal Guard uniform, she stuffed her clothes in a sack. The helmet thankfully obscured their features. “Scrub this place clean.” They would need to destroy whatever evidence they could with the limited time they had.

“We have forty-five minuets to get to the guard station, get inside, and secure the codes to the Queen Mother’s residence.” Charlotte quickly started going to work. There was literally no time to waste. She knew how much she asked of Cairo…but that was the job. A Master spoke and an apprentice followed. She had patience for dilly dallying. Her goals were so close and her apprentice would reap those benefits.

@Fine Dining Set

 

[Cairo Kisufi]

He waved off her concern, putting on some teenaged machismo as he stood and puffed his chest. "No, no, I'm fine. But...want to ask..." Her fighting had been an incredible display of swordsmanship and acrobatics. He had seen displays of the Force's power before - lighting, sapping life, moving objects - but he was stunned at her ability to infuse it into her own body, her own movements. He still had a clumsiness to his approach, a dullness that needed refinement.

"How'd you get so strong? You really took them all on, alone. That's the strength I want." He knew the answer would not be immediate. He was resolute it becoming her apprentice, though; she had the power to change his life. He wanted that power for himself.

Forty five minutes to clean, mobilize, and get new codes. It wouldn't be easy. But she was a Sith. They were Sith. Such tasks were supposed to be simple fare. He moved swiftly to help Charlotte drag the bodies, all the while considering how to disrupt the evidence. He looked around at the forest, the clearing, and the bloodied dirt beneath him. Inspiration struck. "What about a distraction that cleared the evidence for us, Charlotte?" He looked at the drying grass beneath them, the trees around them. If he had the power to drain life, the same power he had seen other Sith use, this would be a simpler task. Nonetheless, he concentrated the power of the Force throughout his body.

His fingertips began to crackle with the unmistakable snaps and pops of lighting forming. His aim? To start a wildfire - a blaze big enough that it would cover the pairs' own involvement in the guards' death. Creating a crisis outside the guards barracks could serve a dual benefit, too; they would be able to catch the station completely by surprise, and use that surprise to get the information he wanted.

Lightning flicked from his fingertips, catching on a small collection of leaves and twigs beneath them.

@Valen Pelora

 

[Charlotte Le'Anna]

Charlotte spoke as she worked. “Strength you’ll have if you follow me.” The Hapan noble flashed a grin at her apprentice. She was starting to enjoy this little relationship. How odd. “There is no one path to power…but the Darkside feeds on our purest emotions.” Charlotte was looking around from somewhere the stash the bodies. “Anger…rage…suffering…hate…pain. These it likes best.” A mental clock was ticking down in her mind. They needed to hurry. “My life has given me plenty of all. You wouldn’t be here if you could not say the same. I’ll teach you to use them to find your path to power.” As long as Cairo remained useful, she would teach him. The balance between Master and Apprentice was always precarious.

Her apprentice did have a lovely suggestion. The leaves began to burn, and she plunged into the Darkness again. Greed fueled her this time. She fed the monster and the Darkness complied. The fire grew larger with her machinations. Charlotte smiled as the flow reflected in their eyes. Soon, the fire grew beyond their control. Perfect. “Great idea.” It would call the nearest barracks but not before the entire little outpost was consumed. “But now we need to hurry.”

Already she could hear the wail of sirens from the guard post. The fire plunged towards the Sith, heat blasting in their faces as the small group of guards was already starting to be consumed. Dressed in their new outfits Charlotte began to job towards the station. They needed to keep to the shadows as much as possible. She reached for the Force again to conceal their movements. Her body ached in protest. Careful…she had pushed herself already. “Keep up.” Assuming the guards were properly occupied, they would be in the station in no time. A simple theft and she would be one little moment from stabbing the Queen Mother in the back.

@Fine Dining Set

 

[Cairo Kisufi]

Cairo watched as Charlotte used the Force to fan the flames. What started as little more than a pilot light quickly became an inferno, smoke and flame clouding the very air around them. The pair used the smoke as cover - through the Force, not only were their movements concealed, but they could warp the very smoke itself into a cloud to cover them. Leaving just enough room to breathe but providing a sooty cloud of shadow. He looked to his master - her eyes were of the fire itself. Gnawing, growing, but ever more hungry.

Queenship was but the beginning of her ambition, Cairo realized in that moment. She deigned to seize far more than that. His own sense of greed within this machination grew: Cairo cared little for the Sith as a whole, but he could carve out a nice future for himself here. Live easily as an apprentice to the Queen of Hapes - there were far worse fates. With the resources of an entire planet, maybe he could even track down his own mother...

These thoughts consumed him as they moved, in spite of his efforts to quiet his mind. Excitement and anticipation mixed with rage and fear, and he harnessed the volatile combination of emotions to assist Charlotte in covering their movement. He saw speeders full of guards race past them through the skies, ostensibly surveying the scope of the blaze and beginning their efforts to fight the fire. Unfortunately for these guards, they would have to fight two fires: The forest fire in front of them, and the fiery ambitions of the Sith pair. It seemed unlikely that they could do both.

@Valen Pelora

 

[Charlotte Le'Anna]

To Charlotte’s surprise Cairo kept pace. Her apprentice was more talented than it appeared. The growing conflagration worked perfectly. Despite her growing aches and pain, the Sith could sense the Guard tower was mostly empty. She slowed as they approached. It would not be helpful to be seen running unnaturally swiftly. Charlotte shot Cairo a quick glance. “Follow my lead.” She adjusted her uniform and pulled a datacard from the pocket. One deep breath and she swiped the card at the front. The tower would not be empty, just less occupied. A green light blink while the doors popped open. Charlotte nodded in satisfaction and walked in.

She kept her voice low while she spoke to Cairo. “There is a central command room where we should be able to access codes.” Her eyes titled towards the ceiling. “They are usually in the upper levels.” Her hands itched to grab the vibroblade on her back but that would be counterproductive. “Keep your face hidden and follow me.” They could not risk being seen.

Slowly, Charlotte led them to a bank of elevators. Another deep breath. She kept her regal air as she pressed the up button. The royal guard, even the men, were notoriously argent. She stepped inside and motioned for Cairo to join her. Once her young apprentice was on board, the elevator whisked upward. “In and out.” She had a death grip on the Force. Darkness raged through the Marauder. Her energy was nearly spent but this was the very last piece of the puzzle. The elevator dinged and the doors slid open. A small command room met their gaze. It was not empty. Two frantic looking Royal Guards sat staring at monitors displaying the raging fire. They immediately turned to look at the new arrivals. Fuck.

@Fine Dining Set

 

[Cairo Kisufi]

Cairo pulled down his mask again at Charlotte's word. He had no experience "accessing codes" or doing any real information, but Cairo was the unrepentant son of a pickpocket. He had a knack for finding things that didn't belong to him.

Unfortunately, Cairo dropped the blaster he had stolen back in the initial blaze, along with his vibrodagger. This left him with naught but a single, extra vibrodagger, kept hidden under his armor. He thought now could be an opportunity to display his more unique skillset, as well. They were wearing the uniforms, too; might as well lean into the role. His own meager command of the Force was not enough to manipulate the minds of the guards, but he tried to, waving a hand at the guards before he spoke. "There's been a breach. We were ambushed on the road by a team of assassins." He gestured to his unarmed form. "They got the drop on us, stole our unit's credentials, comms, and weapons." He hoped to deflect from their involvement in this plot by pretending to be a victim of it - it could help allay the guards' suspicions and build a sense of trust. Such trust could be exploited. "Hell, we're lucky we even survived. Think it's some inter-noble scheming, you know how they get..." Cairo had remembered in his dossier about the planet that its nobility commonly used assassination to advance their ranks. They actually might like being members of the Sith Empire.

"But, we just want to be cautious that this isn't a threat to the Queen Mother. Let me and my Lieutenant assess you two, and we can file a formal report upstairs." He moved his hand to his masked chin, feigning thought or an idea that had just come to him. It was another opportunity to attack the minds of the guards. "And we're going to need to rotate the guards who were planning on protecting Her Majesty, just in case."

@Valen Pelora