Ask Pit Stop

[Renfry]

Renfry moved deeper into the room, crossing her legs and sitting on the floor, facing him and watching him. She found him fascinating, but also puzzling. She hoped she might be able to find out more about him and now that they were alone there was no fear of being overheard.

She tired not to smile, the moment was tense and it was exciting. He asked what she was looking for and she opted to speak plainly.

Sith, she said bluntly. She watched his movements carefully, reading him as she said it. Either she was right and he was Sith, or this was probably going to degenerate into a fight. If the latter, she was prepared.

She motioned across from her, waiting to see if he would sit as well. They had much they might still be able to discuss. She had a great many questions about him and about the Sith. Of course, this was all assuming he was willing to give up that information. He didn't seem like the most trusting sort either.

 

[Asminys]

Asminys watched as Renfry moved to sit, the way he might when he was in deep meditation. He waited to hear her answer and was not disappointed.

His eyes danced even as he stood still. She was seeking Sith. Well, she had found one. She was clearly a force user of great power, yet not Sith. But she sought them. For what. He could think of only a few reasons.

He did not trust her yet she gave him no reason not to. It wasn't in his nature to trust, but it was in his nature to seize opportunity. She motioned for him to sit.

He approached, squatting down with his elbows resting on his knees, his weight rested on the balls of his feet. Balanced.

"What do you seek with the Sith?" His voiced rumbled in question, his eyes fixed on hers. "And what do you intend to do, now that you have found one?" He asked, his gaze seeking the truth or lies of whatever words she might next speak.

@Phoenix

 

[Renfry]

She wasn't here to lie to him. She wanted answers. She wanted to know about them and about him, and this was as good an opportunity as any to get them. She didn't doubt that he would have killed her as soon as looked at her if it would benefit him, but it didn't... yet.

Knowledge, she said. It was the answer she routinely gave to that question because it was the truth.

I want to know your teachings. What you believe and why. What drives you forward, she said. One could argue that that was personal information, but was it really? Perhaps if he gave extreme details of his own goals, but of the Sith? Surely that was no secret. Or perhaps it was.

Is that a problem for you? she asked. That was the real question here. How did the Sith view outsiders? Would she be an outsider forever? @Arclight

 

[Asminys]

He raised an eyebrow as she gave her answer. It wasn't particularly a surprise. She wasn't the first user of the force who he had met who sought the Sith for knowledge. What surprised Asminy was that she told the truth, first and outright, without it being drawn from her. He could see it in her eyes.

"Knowledge." He repeated. She sought the teachings of the Sith. Perhaps he wasn't the best person to impart such knowledge to her, he didn't view his own teachings as entirely complete. Not truly. But he was here and so was she.

"A problem? No. To seek knowledge is the true path of a Sith." He said, a wry smile spreading on his lips.

And power. He thought to himself, but they weren't so different the two.

"All knowledge has it's cost, however." He continued. He had paid his own cost many times over, knew the price that must be paid for knowledge. He wondered if Renfry knew the cost, if she was willing to pay it.

@Phoenix

 

[Renfry]

Renfry wasn't sure precisely what cost he referred to. There could have been many things he referenced, some of which she was willing to pay and others not so much. She watched him with skepticism.

Knowledge was the truth path of the Sith? Interesting. That wasn't necessarily what she might have guessed, but at least that was his view. Or perhaps he was right.

Good, she said. She was glad to hear that didn't present a problem. Allegedly. But there was something else.

I sense there's something you're not telling me, she said.

Why do you fight? she asked, honing in more narrowly on him. He seemed different than the other Sith she had met, and she couldn't put her finger on it. The same rage was below the surface, but it was... different somehow. @Arclight

 

[Asminys]

"Of course there is." He chuckled at her accusation, not bothering to hide the fact that he hadn't been entirely forthcoming. He owed her no honesty, nor was it in the nature of the Sith to lay bare their secrets to anyone who asked. It seemed she had other interests however as she brought the question to him, personally.

"Why do I fight?" He began, his nostrils flared and his eyes narrowed on hers just as she had narrowed the conversation. He had many reasons why he fought, though he supposed that the answer that she sought would probably disappoint her. To say he fought because it was what he was made to do somehow seemed lackluster, and he supposed, dishonest.

"Because it makes my heart sing." He offered, his tone slightly mocking but also carrying a small weight of truth. He wasn't sure what sort of answer she was looking for, or if he would give it if he had it. But he had answered, and knowledge wasn't free. He expected something in return.

Looking her up and down once, his eyes narrowed on the tattoos on her face. Familiar yet foreign. "You use the force, but are not Sith nor Jedi. What are you?"

@Phoenix

 

[Renfry]

He said the fighting made his heart sing. He may have said it jokingly, but she knew precisely what he meant. She still couldn't help but wonder why? Her curiosity was insatiable and dangerous, she knew. Did he do it for the thrill? The competition? The victory? The power? The end goal? So many reasons.

I'm not. I'm a Nightsister, she said truthfully, though she didn't offer a great deal of elaboration. She noted, however, his use of the word "Force." That seemed to be the term these off-worlders all preferred for the Shadow and Spirits.

These Sith were strange creatures. Dangerous, wild, and absolutely fascinating. But for all of this, she had yet to divine what they believed and wanted. She had begun to wonder if they even knew what they wanted.

So what is it that you Sith want? What are you... doing? she asked, just deciding to go for the direct route. He may withhold information, but so did she. Nevertheless, she saw no need to dance around an issue if there was a question that needed asking.

 

[Asminys]

Nightsister.

The word echoed in his head. It seemed important. He would remember it. He only knew of the Sith and the Jedi and their war that had stretched on for eons. His teachers hadn't exactly been concerned with teaching the members of the Cadre the history of the galaxy, or much of anything beyond how to be better killers, so he knew there were gaps in his knowledge. He felt that he shouldn't be surprised that he didn't know of the Nightsister's however, that they were little known to even the knowing.

And then she asked. What did the Sith want, what were they doing. What were they doing? He racked his mind, combing the teachings the Cadre-masters had given them. Cobbling together an answer with what knowledge he possessed.

"Freedom." He responded, cryptic yet straightforward. Always a truth within the lie. Also a bit of a cover for the fact that he knew little of the Eternal or it's goals. "All of this is a cage." He spread his hands to indicate the world around them. "The lie of peace are chains that bind the strong to serve while the weak rule."

It was true, from his point of view anyways. The machinations of the Sith Empire that he served meant nothing to him. Whether they sought freedom or enslavement, peace or conquest. He didn't know and didn't care. He would do as he bid while he bided his time. There was always only one goal.

"Shouldn't chains be broken, if one has the power? Should lies be allowed to stand, if one knows the truth?" He posed the question to her. Was it not their duty as the truly powerful to break through the lies that held the galaxy in shackles.

@Phoenix

 

[Renfry]

Renfry listened, finding his answer to actually be quite informative. It made a great deal more sense, and was actually something that she could certainly see herself agreeing with. Survival of the fittest was the way of the galaxy. She'd seen many in her early travels who seemed to disagree with that sentiment.

Very interesting, she said aloud with a nod and a smirk.

Survival of the fittest is the way of the galaxy, she agreed. Whether it always worked out in the sentient realm remained to be seen.

Freedom. So that was what they fought for. Personal freedom, she gathered.

No, sitting idly by isn't the answer to anything, she said, thinking about his questions. It was one of the things that had driven her to leave Dathomir. One of several things. She didn't enjoy sitting around and waiting. There was much to learn... chains to break as he put it. @Arclight

 

[Asminys]

It seemed the Nightsister had a mutual feeling, that this survival of the fittest was the way the galaxy worked at its core. Perhaps not on the surface, the illusion of civilization led many to believe that it wasn't the strongest who should rule, that the meek might inherit or cowardly could lead. But once you broke past the surface, it was an easy truth.

"And what of you?" He asked, bringing the conversation around on the Nightsister. She seemed to have similar views, her mindset accepting of what the Sith had to offer.

"Why do you fight?" He asked, assuming that she fought. She commanded power and held the grace of a fighter in her step. He was curious about her, and growing more so the more he learned.

@Phoenix

 

[Renfry]

Renfry smiled at him as he asked why she fought. If he'd known her better he might have recognized it as a smile that meant she was about to be difficult. She enjoyed being difficult with other people. It was one of her hobbies, and was the source of plenty of strife back when she'd been with her Clan.

Who said that I'm a fighter? she asked. She'd not fought anyone yet. She simply had fled with him after he killed others. Sure, she was powerful, but perhaps she used her power for others means? In truth, it was no secret, she just didn't like to make things easy on people.

Perhaps I'm an artist, traveling the galaxy in order to better learn about different cultures and peoples, she said. It was a joke, not unlike when he said that fighting made his heart sing, but there was a sliver of truth to it just as there had been with him. She was traveling to learn about other Force sects and expand her knowledge base.

I don't fancy being prey, she said, finally answering his question more or less. She saw the world as she saw the wilds. Dress it up all you liked but ultimately it was all the wilds. She was not interested in being the hunted and most who tried learned their mistake the hard way.

You Sith all seem... very angry, she said. She knew that the statement alone was probably an oversimplification, but it opened the door to the interesting conversation. Is that a prerequisite or something? she asked. @Arclight

 

[Asminys]

Asminys frowned as Renfry spoke, an opposing mirror to the smile that the nightsister wore. He supposed that she never said that she was a fighter, but his instincts had yet to fail him and he could tell that she at least knew how to fight. At least he had figured as much. Then she wrapped it up with something that made much more sense and the frown faded.

"Survival is a worthy cause." He commented. He believed it. He fought for joy and hate and many other reasons, but the very core of any beings reason to fight was to survive. Survival of the fittest, as she had called it. He couldn't help but be a little dissatisfied with the answer however. As a wielder of the darkside he viewed himself as one of nature's predators, at the top of the food chain.

"A prerequisite? No. I have known Sith who did not embrace their passion." He had known a few, long ago. Children of the Cadre like himself, raised to fight and do nothing else.

"They died." He said simply. To be a Sith was to embrace ones emotions, to keep them controlled certainly, but to fuel them and let their fire burn brightly. "They chose not to open themselves to the full potential of their emotions, chose to use less potent fuel for their powers. In the end, it left them weak. Weak enough to become prey." He finished, wrapping back around to her own motivation to fight.

@Phoenix

 

[Renfry]

She listened with interest to what he said. She had been raised by the Nightsisters, and so everything she knew and thought had been shaped by them. She wondered if it was the same with him and his people.

Ah, so you didn't need to be filled with rage to be Sith, just to survive. That was how they gained strength, then? Unusual, but it made sense why they all seemed to be that way. Surely that wasn't the only way to power. The Nightsisters didn't embrace such things, but then, most of them had been wiped out.

Interesting, she said with a frown.

And how does one join the Sith? she asked. She didn't know that she wanted to do so, but it was information worth having if the time ever came. She doubted it was a secret... or perhaps it was. @Arclight

 

[Asminys]

Aminys could tell that the nightsister wasn't entirely happy with his explanation. Oh well. She seemed interested regardless. He looked at her again, studying her a little bit more seriously this time. Mostly for show.

"Well, I suppose you could just ask. Though you would probably have to prove your worth. Gain the interest of a Sith." He wasn't entirely sure if there was some sort of established doctrine for prospective Sith, and if there was he likely wouldn't have cared. It wasn't as if he had been given a choice when he had been inducted into the Sith.

Renfry was almost exactly the type of person he would expect to seek to join their ranks however. She had watched him murder three men without blinking an eye, casually approached him as if it wasn't a terrifying thing to mercilessly squash a few bugs that were bothering you during a meal. He liked that in a girl.

"I would like to hear about the Nightsisters." He said as he rolled back from his squat to sit as Renfry was. He had decided she was not a threat, or at least not threatening. At least for the moment. His words were not a request, if she was to know about the Sith, he wanted to know about her order.

"What is it like to grow up as one?" He asked directly, maybe not the best question to open up right out of the gate with, but his whole life had been as a Sith down to his earliest memories. What better foundation to learn about an order than how they trained their young.

@Phoenix

 

[Renfry]

You like what you see? she asked, noting just how closely he was looking at her this time. There was no missing it, and she didn't shy away from saying something about it, though she didn't linger on it for more than a fleeting moment.

Hmm, she said, considering what he said. I don't get the impression Sith are big on "asking" for things, she said. At least if what she'd seen and been told held true.

She wasn't shocked to hear that he wanted to know about the Nightsisters, but as in all situations like this she balanced how much to say with saying enough to satisfy. Though, of course, if he was anything like her, there would be no satisfying. The hunger for knowledge was insatiable.

I grew up very close to nature, she said. Her entire childhood had been spent on Dathomir and it was taking time for her to adjust to the wider galaxy.

It made me very familiar with the cycles of the galaxy, she said, implying that the way of the galaxy was predator and prey, though she didn't see it with only this dichotomy. Nature had many other creatures and trees who thrived outside of that cycle. This was where she had always seen herself, but views could change.

I was trained as a Shaman from childhood, she said, and that fact was part of the reason that her departure from the Clan had been so troublesome. There were expectations on her and she hadn't upheld them.

You were raised a Sith? she asked. If the answer was yes then perhaps the two of them weren't so very different. Though, she already had the impression that was the case. @Arclight

 

[Asminys]

Asminys didn't answer her first comment, just a small twitch of the lip that might indicate a fleeting smile. He might have chuckled at the second comment, because he wasn't big on asking for things, but he was waiting for the third. He listened intently as she described what little she did.

She grew up in nature. He wondered briefly what that might be like, to see the trees and the dirt and all the things that might have interested a younger him who didn't view the world through a lens of disgust. To see the world of predator and prey play out as they were meant to, rather than be forced into a vicious repeating whirlwind of violence that gave him a first hand account many times over.

It might have been nice.

"I was raised as a slave." He said, casually. "My training would not be considered... Traditional." He said as he paused a moment to grasp for the right word. He had been raised in a cage and the only time he was let out was to fight. He even fought while he was in the cage, with his cadre-brother over the meager food they were given. He knew the cycles of the galaxy intimately.

"So what is it that you Nightsisters want? What are you... doing?" He asked back. He thought it was only fair to ask her the same question she had asked earlier. He more or less told her what the Sith were about. Maybe more on the less side but still. His lip twitched in the slightest of a smile, briefly.

@Phoenix

 

[Renfry]

A slave? That was not the answer she had expected. It did click one of the pieces of the puzzle into place, however. Fight for freedom and the breaking of chains so that he would never be in such a position again. She could respect that.

And it was untraditional. Also interesting. Though it was nice to know that if she ever did wind up on the path of the Sith she wouldn't have to begin her career as a slave. She wasn't sure that was something that would go over particularly well.

We defend our homeworld and care for it, she said, but there was also much more to it. Dathomir was a wellspring of power to those who knew how to access it. It was the portal through which all the ichors flowed, and it was also one of the shield worlds against the Entity and its power. Or at least it had been when the Forgotten still lived. Now, Renfry was not so sure.

This, of course, did not explain what she wanted or why she was out in the galaxy. But he hadn't really asked about her specifically.

Your associates on this world, other Sith? Do you typically work together? I think all the Sith I've met have always worked alone. You don't get along well together? she asked, referencing the original reason he had told her he was here. She had a sharp memory, particularly when it came to information that might be of value.

 

[Asminys]

Renfry was equally vague as she had been the whole time as she briefly touched on what the Nightsister's were all about. Defense and care for their world. But they weren't on the world of the Nightsister's, so that didn't explain Renfry's presence here. Though he supposed she had already stated it earlier. She sought the Sith, and others like them.

Not that there were others like them.

"We do not always play well with others." He shrugged noncommittally, it was truth. He wasn't sure exactly how much he should tell her about his Cadre-sister and her machinations on this planet, the less the better he thought.

"It is in the nature of those with power to come into conflict with the powerful. The Sith are no different in that regard." He decided finally to divulge. The Sith were united in goal, for now, but that didn't mean that conflict did not arise as the various personalities of the wielders of Darkness came into contact with each other. Such was the way of power.

"The Nightsisters. You are all female? Are there no brothers?" He asked, curious. The name seemed to imply such an exclusivity. He would be disappointed if that were so. He had seen the power they possessed. Desired it.

 

[Renfry]

Renfry sensed he was dissatisfied with her answers, but he didn't seem to press her for more information on that topic. His answers seemed to fit well with what she was imagining.

Sounds territorial, she said with a nod and a shrug. She didn't seem particularly upset by the prospect that they didn't all get along. As long as they got along well enough to accomplish their goals. It was more interesting if there was conflict.

We are, but there are Nightbrothers as well, she said.

They are more... vicious. They live apart from us and do not practice our magick, she said. She had had more interaction with them than most and had learned from them. It was only now that she suspected the old stories about one of their own going to the outsiders was a reference to the Sith. She also now suspected the Sith were responsible for the initial destruction of her people.

She had conflict about this. Should she hold a grudge over something that happened over one hundred years ago to people she never knew? That seemed foolish.

I believe one of the Nightbrothers may have once joined the Sith, she said.

He was known as Maul, she added, watching him closely for his reaction both in the physical and the Shadow. Perhaps there would be no recognition, but perhaps there would be. @Arclight

 

[Asminys]

Asminys listened raptly as Renfry explained about the Nightbrothers. That they were more vicious than their sisters, that they lived apart and did not practice with the power that she held. He was disappointed but not entirely surprised. Those who held power did not often indulge in sharing it.

He was surprised to hear that a Nightbrother had once joined the Sith, and Renfry would see no reaction at the name that she spoke. Maul. He thought to himself. The name sounded... Suitably Sith, but Asminys was no historian and as of yet remained ignorant to the names of Sith Lords past. She would see no reaction on his face, nor one in his aura as she watched it. He however could tell that she watched intently, hoping for a reaction.

"A shame, that your brother's do not share in your power." He mused aloud. "They must be weak." He concluded. To live next to such power and not try to claim it for their own, it seemed they were the lesser on the ladder of the food chain to the Nightsisters.

"Have outsiders ever learned your magic?" He finally asked, the crux of his interest finally coming out. He desired her power, having seen its beauty with his own eyes and felt its call with his mind. "It is very beautiful."