Ask Only a Sith

[Kze Q'waic]

The planet of New Absolon was a planet ravaged by war. Not the invasive type, but rather the bloodies kind of all wars. The civil kind of war. Of course there was nothing civil about war. It suite Kze's purposes just fine however.

A caste system not so dissimilar to what Kze had grown up with existed on New Absolon. The Workers, the lowest of the castes who did all the labor. The Civilized, masters of industry, commerce, and ownership. And the Absolutes. Who rules with an iron fist and kept the workers in check for the so called "civilized".

It was at the bombed out Museum of the Absolutes that Kze waited for her contact. Well, contacts. Plural.

The museum had once been the seat of power of the Absolutes before another war centuries before. Then it became a museum to display their crimes, then later to glorify their power. Now it stood in rubble, or at least the upper levels. Kze waited in the basement level, where the prisoners had once been held, then tours were shown the horrific torture chambers of the Absolute. Now Kze waited patiently, eyeing the various devices of pain and death with a mild disinterest only a Sith could carry in such a setting.

Interesting, no doubt, but useless to her now except as prop pieces. Once the acolyte arrived they would soon be met with a representative from the worlds ruling party. Kze had decided to skip straight to the top, not bothering with the Civilized fools who had failed to win their war war the workers. Most would hesitate before going to the top of the chain of command on New Absolon. But... Only a Sith dealt with Absolutes.

 

[Corra]

Corra had done a little bit of reading (because of course she had) about the planet before she came. Their civil war seemed to have had quite the change in direction as the "lower class" overthrew the higher class with the assistance of Apex.

Now the planet still looked like it lay half in shambles. Corra had barely managed to get her and had only been approved to bring a shuttle because it was for "Sith business" from one of the Champions.

She made her way to the museum she'd been told to go to and it was as she walked past the torturing devices that she stopped, looking to it and vaguely imagining someone's blood running down the spike. Imagining their life force draining into the Force to feed the darkness... empowering her.

Most would have called her a psychopath for it, but most hadn't grown up in the Sith. Most hadn't been forced to endure the things she had, and most hadn't been subjected to the tortures that she'd experienced. The psyche didn't endure that undamaged... in fact, she was remarkably well adjusted all things considered. Particularly if you didn't consider the "skin book" that was her Necronomicon she'd recovered.

But enough of that, we don't consider those things.

Instead, she pressed herself on past the torture devices and headed for the place her contact was to meet. She hadn't really been told much about this mission and that... wasn't great. It meant she hadn't been able to do much research, which was going to make her usefulness... more difficult.

Acolyte Corra, she said when she arrived, introducing herself to someone who was clearly a Pureblood and therefore definitely her contact, right? She waited to see what kind of Champion this one was. The Sith were a mixed bag and she'd dealt with a variety of people who thought they were so much better because they weren't Acolytes anymore. She'd also seen them collectively dumped on by the Acolytes they tried to lord over. Time would tell, she supposed.

 

[Kze Q'waic]

Kze waited, watched, from the dark folds of the room as her little helper paused for a moment to admire some of the devious machinery within the dungeon. She was in no hurry and continued to watch idly as the Acolyte finally made her way across. The room.

"Champion Kze." Introducing herself with a nod of greeting before continuing in slightly accented basic. "Evocative, is it not." She said with a gesture to the torture device that had the younger sith so momentarily distracted. "A bit lacking creativity though, I think." A thoughtful tone in her voice as she tapped a finger on her chin for a moment.

She had never managed to quite shake the accent that followed her from Korriban, so persistent. Speaking and hearing ur-kittat during her formative years had clung to her the same as the dark side that she grew up completely immersed in. Not any sort of hindrance however, she never failed to get her point across. Violence often communicated beautifully what words might fail to express.

"This world's fate balances on a knife's edge." Kze said aloud as she looked around at the relics of the world's past, relics that could once again be returned to prominence within its future.
"You are wondering what our purpose is here?" Kze continued on. So little had been communicated, the acolyte had next to no information. Good. "You have questions. Ask." Kze spoke in a matter of fact tone.

@Phoenix

 

[Corra]

Corra nodded at the Champion's comment. Rudimentary. At least depending on your goal, she said. I read about a Sith Lord who created a machine that tortures the mind but leaves the body alone. The victim never dies because of physical trauma, but experiences all the pain nonetheless, she said, looking back at the contraption and thinking about that same blood again.

Unless your goal is just to inflict destruction and pain, she added. And sometimes that was the goal: just the power exercised over the life and body of another person. Plenty of Sith down through history had been sadists just because they could be.

Yes, Corra discussed torture like a totally normal person.

Why are we here? she asked simply. It's on the edge of a knife, which means opportunity, but surely that means you have a plan, she said. She knew that Acolytes were good for grunt work. Couldn't really build their own power-bases and were still learning, so they were often used grunt labor. It was part of being put through her paces... annoying as it was.

So what is our goal? she asked. It was always about goals with the Sith, and she imagined this would be no different.

 

[Kze Q'waic]

Kze took a brief moment to consider Corra's words, psychic torture that left the body unscathed. Useful, no doubt. The next bit about torture for tortures sake was met with a short dismissive wave of the hand. "If you're into that sort of thing."

They had more important things to discuss however. The fate of a world hung in the balance after all.

"There is a plan, of course." Kze said as she studied the acolyte for a moment. "We are here to tip the knife, to whichever direction better favors us." Us, the Sith. And more importantly, Kze herself.

"The Worker's Revolutionary Party has made great strides towards seizing control of this world. Have eliminated or seized key Civilized political and military within the crumbling Absolutist regime. What they lack in assets they make up for with revolutionary zeal." Kze held one hand up, palm facing up as the cup of a scale.

"The Absolute are on their last legs, but cling to the remaining vestiges of their power fiercely. They have resources, hired guns, and offworld allies with vested interest in their retention of power." Kze held up her other hand as a matching set to the scale, before tipping the balance towards the Worker's side.

"I do not care which side wins, so long as the victor ultimately answers to our influence." She shifted her hands up and down for a moment to imply further imbalance before shrugging and letting them fall. "I have arranged meetings with both sides. We shall see what they are willing to offer, then shift the scales to our favor." It was simple enough as plans went. A little diplomacy followed by some backstabbing violence. Nothing out of the ordinary.

@Phoenix

 

[Corra]

Revolutionary zeal. Those were usually words that Corra didn't think of as very... open to new ideas. Although maybe that would make them open to suggestion. She had never been as good at that, it had always been more her brother's department: reading and manipulating people.

On the other hand, the Absolute sounded like they were in right proper need of help or they were going to lose all their precious power.

However, as she heard about the plan, she almost looked as though she was in physical pain. Diplomacy, she thought, dying a little inside.

Okay, she strained out. She loved the Force, and she didn't even mind the adventures and bringing planets into the Sith (not that she'd done a lot of that) but... talking. Talking wasn't really her strong suit.

I think you might have picked the wrong Acolyte for a diplomacy mission, she finally just blurted out.

 

[Kze Q'waic]

Things were seeming to click within the Acolytes head as Kze elaborated on her plan. The Sith Champion noted the look of anguish that seemed to spread over the younger woman's face however. She didn't have to wait for long until the Acolyte burst with her misgivings. Nothing about the plan in particular, just a concern that she wasn't well suited for the operation.

"Ah." Kze said shortly for a moment, thinking as she remained silent for a moment before speaking again to let the Acolyte stew in her misgivings.

"But you are an Acolyte, yes? You are not here because you know how to do everything already, you are here to learn." She said as a grin spread across her face and a cruel light shone in her eyes.

"Diplomacy can be boring, but it is good to know how to talk when necessary." The look in her eyes sharpened as she settled on the acolyte, ideas becoming decisions in her head.

"Today it is necessary for you, you will lead talks with Revolutionary council." A harsh laugh bubbled up for a moment before she cut it off. "If you fail there is always fallback option." She said with an ominous tone but didn't elaborate any further.

@Phoenix

 

[Corra]

Yeah, that wasn't really making Corra feel much better. Not the teaching part, that was great, and Corra was usually eager to learn. It was more the glint of evil in the woman's eye that somehow spoke of torment and discomfort. Yeah, that didn't feel so great.

Fallback options. Yeah, that was what Corra wanted to do. Although mental manipulation was fascinating to her, she hadn't study or practiced any rituals regarding mind control. For that matter, her skills in that department more or less topped out at a basic mind trick and... well, not even a particularly powerful one at that. Sure, she could get herself a free cup of caf or even a new headset, but changing the course of planets? Not so much.

Yes, of course, she said, regaining her composure after a moment.

I feel like we will have better success with the Absolute. They will be the most desperate and by extension the most willing to take whatever we offer, she said.

 

[Kze Q'waic]

Kze took a moment to enjoy watching the Acolyte squirm under the pressure of the idea, leading a negotiation with the up and coming political party of the planet. Only a moment though. The Acolyte regained her composure swiftly, accepting her fate. Good.

"Naturally." Kze nodded at the younger Sith's deduction. The Absolute were teetering on the brink of losing everything, their power, their money, their lives. Which they valued most, Kze wasn't sure. It didn't matter, it would all belong to the Sith in the end of they took their deal.

"But, we will give the other guy a chance to beat their offer. Perhaps they will surprise us." Kze doubted it, but a good gambler never bet on a hand they had yet to see.

"Probably not though, the Absolute are desperate. And speaking of." She checked her Chrono.

"The Absolute's representative should be here soon. I thought this would be a good place to meet them." She said with a smile as she gestured to the surrounding room. "I think the ambience here is good, for meeting with an Absolute."

@Phoenix

 

[Corra]

Corra gave another glance over to the torture equipment as Kze commented about it being a good place to negotiate, and Corra had to suppress a laugh.

Subtle, she said, but her mind still hung back on something else.

What's to stop the other side from just killing us if the don't think we're going to side with them? she said. She expected the answer to be something along the lines of "well if they do, we'll kill them first" but if that were the case... surely the pair of Sith would be in more danger than they needed to be.

Either way, Corra waited, spending the time practicing several of her Signs without bringing them to completion so as to preserve her energy. Practice, practice, practice, she thought to herself.

Did you graduate from Umbara? she asked, not breaking the flow of her work as she asked.

@Arcangel

 

[Kze Q'waic]

Kze crossed her arms as she heard out Corra's concerns. It was a good question. The answer was simple, but with a bit of nuance to it.

"I think we are not so easy to kill first of all." She said, raising an eyebrow at the Acolyte before continuing with a shrug. "We go in there, get bad vibe. We kill them. If negotiations seem to be going unwell. We kill them. Maybe they look at us funny. Kill them. It is why we make other deals first. Plenty of options." She figured that would be a satisfactory answer. If not. Well. Oh well.

Kze watched Corra practice her signs as she waited, noting the proficiency with which she applied her art. Signcasting, not something Kze had ever taken much interest in, but she was sure it had its uses. The question took the red Sith off guard and she laughed for a moment, not the cruel laugh of earlier but a more genuine one.

"You flatter me, if only I looked so young." She said with a grin before posing her face like some Zeltron hair model. "I have an excellent skincare routine, it is essential as one gets older." She laughed a little more before giving a real answers.

"Korriban, before the Empire kicked us out of our homes." She spat at that before muttering a curse in ur-kittat. Not that she had been particularly upset about the schism. "But I hear home is back under the Sith Order, so maybe I'll visit sometime."

She considered the thought for a moment before asking a question of her own. "You attend Umbara, yes. What is it like?" She asked while turning her focus outwards. The representative from the Absolute should be arriving any moment and she wanted to know before they arrived.

@Phoenix

 

[Corra]

Corra actually snickered a little bit at the comment about them looking at them funny. Yeah, she could get behind that. Not that killing them was really her first preference but... well, someone was going to die while they were here. If one of them decided to declare themselves as the victim, then that meant less talking for Corra.

Corra was caught off guard as the woman declared that she was much too old to have gone to Umbara. The fact surprised her, but at least the woman seemed to be taking it as a compliment. All the better.

Ah, Korriban, she thought to herself, she wondered if they had been there at the same time.

I was at Korriban for my early days, she said. Although she had been quite young at the time, she had spent the first couple years of her training there before she, too, had been kicked out due to the Empire.

It's... fine, she said, trying to pick the right words. She didn't want to be too critical because there were aspects that were good and there were powerful people behind the academy.

It tries to teach about actually being a Sith, which is good, but... the one size fits all approach of an academy isn't always the most useful, she said. It was... not an evasive answer, but a true one that wasn't likely to get her in too much trouble.

 

[Kze Q'waic]

"Hmm." Kze hummed in response to the Acolytes evasive answer. Not so quick to open up about matters of internal sith politics. She nodded.

"It is good to have a sturdy foundation." Kze's reply came, equally evading commitment to any real opinions about the current education of the newest generation of Sith. Many would go no further than that foundation, destined to be nothing more than pawns in the wars and intrigues of their kind. Still others would serve as stepping stones, relegated to the footnotes of history as better Sith climbed higher on their backs. Such was their way.

Kze raised a hand to pause any further conversation and cocked an ear. She reached out, felt the approach of life forces and grinned.

"They come." She said before gesturing the Acolyte to take up... Whatever placement or positioning she felt suitable for the meeting. Kze remained where she stood, centered among the various racks and machinations of pain and terror as footsteps echoed coming down the stairs.

A soldier came first, one of the Black Sun mercenaries that the Absolute employed. He spotted the Sith, the Acolyte, paused. The silent chatter of comlink communications filled the moment as he conferred with those above before stepping aside. More footsteps. Another soldier. More footsteps.

A red robed man came down the stairs, his ostentatious robe trimmed in gold. Did the man not know he was in the middle of a warzone? Or was he just that confident in whatever protection he had brought along. He glided forwards to stand in front of the Sith, flanked by his pair of soldiers. A darting glance revealed another pair taking up positions at the base of the stairs.

"Absolute Kifur." Kze said with a vicious smile before giving the slightest bow of her head in mocking respect. "It is fortuitous that you could make our arranged meeting time... For you." Her tone was respectful enough, though clearly she did not hold the man in so high a regard.

@Phoenix

 

[Corra]

Corra found it interested that Kze didn't seem to answer any more directly than Corra had. Or maybe it was a subtle admonishment of Corra's less-than-endorsing attitude. Either way, she supposed the woman wasn't wrong at least.

Indeed, she agreed.

Corra turned toward the approaching envoys, standing where she was and deciding to clasp her hands in front of her for the meeting, not really sure what else to do with them that didn't look awkward.

Corra's eyes flicked to the various guards here, and Corra was... uncertain. Of course two Sith should be able to easily deal with such opponents, but even so she felt that it could easily turn... sour.

The Champion's attitude didn't seem to improve his mood quite so much, and tension in the room felt like it increased just so slightly.

I did not come to bandy quips with you. I hope we can allow maturity and civility rule the day, the man said.

@Arcangel

 

[Kze Q'waic]

Kze felt the tension rise in the room as her words hit. The Absolute seemed to stiffen slightly, no doubt as the stick up his ass furrowed deeper. His words reeked of pomp and ceremony.

"No, you came to ask us to win your war for you." Kze returned, her voice calm and casual. The quartet of guards were on her mind of course, but she had no doubts about the pair of Sith's capabilities to handle them.

"Maturity and civility, we can allow it to rule this moment." She gave him an acceding smile. "As for what, or who, will rule at the end of this day..." She trailed off for a moment. "Well that is exactly what we are here to discuss, isn't it? Shall we get down to business?"

@Phoenix

 

[Corra]

Corra felt tensions rising, and she found herself moving her fingers slightly more as if warming them up in preparation for a fight.

You could have cut the tension in the room with a knife without much difficulty, but it seemed that after a moment, things settled out if only slightly.

So you say, he said without missing a beat as she said that they were going to win the war for him. They were, after all, two Sith, and he was not convinced.

Yes, let's, he said, moving over and taking a seat at a nearby table that definitely was for display only, but this man had no regard for the rules. They didn't apply to him. He waited for Kze to take a seat across from him.

I have no doubt you're familiar with the situation here, he said. How do you intend to dispose of the vermin?