A Second Meeting (Veles)

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Darth Veles"]

"Oh I'm well aware that Balaya does not have the silver tongue required for such delicate things," Taeli laughed. "I was helping her with an experiment, gathering samples from some Cathar colonists, when something she said almost set them off and they would have attacked us if not for my quick thinking. I'm rather good at the game of politics and debate."

Taking another sip of tea, an idea slowly started to form within her head about what they could possibly do for turning Kana and Corvus.

"Instead of convincing the other that one of them fell, what if we give them exactly what they desire most? Kana would want human body parts back, not cybernetics as those can be severely limiting and slowly cut down on one's command of the Force. But she also wants revenge for Alderaan . . . so we give her that too. A fake Sith Lord, one that is doing experiments with bodies, one that we can fabricate was behind some atrocity on Alderaan. She "kills" them, out of hate, and discovers the research."

Tapping her chin in thought, she knew what Corvus desired most right now and it might surprise Avreet.

"As for my sister . . . right now, she desires the same thing I do. To have the family together, and from when we spent time together, she's being forced to reconcile her two worlds, her two personas on top of the dark one growing inside her soul and head. We need simply feed that one subtly, all the while she can watch and help her best friend slip into darkness."

 

[Darth Veles]

Avreet found it impossible to stop the chuckle that tore its way out of his mouth when Lady Arcanix admitted the daring words of the Mon Cal Sith were right. To think such an infamous Sith Lady did not know how to use the power of words… Probably a different kind of Sith, the kind Avreet very much disliked and wished nothing more than to wipe them out. Perhaps Taeli would find it possible to change the Zeltron to something more than a poorly dressed beast. Perhaps not. Either way, Darth Praelior did not matter all that much, unlike the two Jedi in question. Avreet listened to Taeli’s plan, occasionally nodding in agreement, taking it all in and considering the objectives. It was wonderful to have someone like Arcanix to talk with; the two could come up with so many ideas!

It sounded very reasonable to assume Truden would like to get her real leg back. Modern medicine could do wonders, more expensive artificial body parts worked just as well if not better than the real ones, but only through the “evil” and “unnatural” Sith ways would she be capable of having a real limb of flesh and blood, not just a quality cybernetic replacement. The question was, did the Jedi care enough to want to get a real leg? In combination with the revenge plot, it might just work though. To have the opportunity to avenge Alderaan and repair her body; a good deal, if Avreet could say so.

Then there lied the matter of the long-lost sister. How to go with that one? Avreet thought of the Sith Lady’s idea, sipping his tea as his continued to stare at the woman in his Mon Calamari way, and did not particularly agree, unfortunately. “Lady Arcanix, as I said before, I have encountered a Jedi with multiple personalities before. From what I gathered, your sister suffers from the same problem. The persona you want to feed and grow already is one of us, but I dare to say that Dark Side version of Corvus does not care about you at all. Quite the opposite; your sister’s darkest thoughts are probably manifested within that persona, meaning she will hate you, see you as a weakness that has to be removed. If I may, I strongly suggest bringing all personalities of Corvus together, forcing your sister to accept what she is, all good and all bad. Only then you will have the loving sister you want and not a Dark Jedi beast that will murder you in your sleep.” He said kindly, placing his free hand on the woman’s shoulder.

“And let’s not forget how useful it will be to have someone within the Jedi Order,” the Mon Cal pointed out the usefulness of Corvus siding with her sister, yet remaining within the organization. As he said that, his hand let go, sliding freely down over the woman’s arm before parting with her completely. “The side that wants to be with you is the one that needs our nurturing. Before we try to do anything concerning the change of Corvus’ allegiance, it is necessary to ensure she knows you to be her loving family. Perhaps someone to look up to? An idol? You are a strong woman, a Sith, someone who breaks the stereotype of a bloodthirsty monster." Avreet said, sparks of excitement dancing in his big eyes.

"Definitely show her Sith are not the caricatures from propaganda, but people. Not someone to fight against needlessly. Tell her the two of you could bring peace to the galaxy. Once you reform the Sith as a leader, Corvus could pull some strings in the Republic and finally end the conflict. She will listen to this. She has to. To not only be reunited with her family, but to bring peace; she will be both a legendary Jedi and a person that has feelings. You will get the sister you want and full access to all Jedi knowledge that exists. Everyone's happy.” Avreet shared his idea and stopped talking, drinking his tea and enjoying its rich taste.

[member="Darth Arcanix"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Darth Veles"]

Taeli smiled as Veles brought up his idea for how to deal with Corvus. It made sense to win her over first before trying anything to change her beyond being a normal human being and a Jedi. She would need to meet with her again, probably many time, but that didn't bother her at all. She was already fairly certain that Corvus did not paint her with the same brush as other Sith, just by being her sister. But Corvus also knew Taeli's opinion on her colleagues and how she viewed being a Sith.

"You're right of course, Avreet," she replied, nodding and taking another sip of her tea. "Winning my sister's love is more important right now. Still . . . on the subject of Kana, do you think you could handle our little task? I'll provide all the needed materials, even the fake Sith, to make it look authentic and I can even think of a few ways to make it appear that our fake Sith is using the Force. I can't do this myself because if Kana sees me, she will know something is up, and then Corvus will be against me."

 

[Darth Veles]

Drinking more tea, his eyes looked right through the Sith Lady, as if staring at the wall behind her. The success of his mission depended on many factors and he could only hope the next meeting wouldn’t be on a battlefield. Sure, he could always simply call the woman in question; she still owed him a favour for that cloak. As she said, he could count on her for help if it wasn’t against the interests of the Republic. It still remained an option, but if the Mon Calamari set up a meeting with the blonde Jedi, she might easily suspect something to be off, especially if he gave her a lead to follow in order to get her revenge for Alderaan’s state. The Sith conspirators had to be very careful. Both Kana and Corvus knew Avreet, so it was entirely possible for one to reveal their meeting to another, given how the two most likely deemed him to be a moderate Sith that might be turned to the Light if pushed in the right direction. In a way, the two Jedi could easily be planning how to make Taeli and Avreet join the Jedi Order and become enslaved by the Light Side of the Force. The idea made him chuckle as his gaze became focused again, watching Arcanix.

“I will do my best,” the amphibious Sith Lord nodded. He certainly was up for a challenge, and this might as well be the most challenging test in his life. To turn a Jedi that seemed to follow the Jedi Code, yet also wished to see the Sith destroyed without being overly zealous as some fanatics. This overall combination made Knight Truden a tough nut to crack, but not an impossible one. If Taeli’s effort pushed the blonde Jedi in the right direction…

“Just give me the information I can relay to her. The location of this Sith, something about them and their experiments.”

[member="Darth Arcanix"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Darth Veles"]

"I'll have the information needed," she said, nodding. "I'll try and find someone who is dying from disease or something, make sure their family is well taken care of for their help. Shouldn't be too hard to come up with something to fool Kana into thinking he was responsible for some mass killing on Alderaan while he pursued an experiment in immortality or creating some sort of creature from the human genome."

Writing downa few notes for that, she then remembered the real purpose they were here.

"So did you still want to figure out a way to create a Forcebreaker-esque Sith poison?" she asked. "Or are you content with what we have covered already?"

 

[Darth Veles]

The Sith Lord casually lifted the cup to his lips and let more tea pour into his large mouth until nothing was left, the cup emptied of its rich, warm liquid. The only thing that remained was the taste on his tongue. Looking into it as if attempting to find where it had all disappeared, the Mon Calamari shook his large head decisively. “No,” he said, seemingly to the cup, “It is alright.” Only then he lifted his eyes and locked gazes with Darth Arcanix, purple meeting orange. “We have both learned something new… whether concerning the Force or relatives.” Tilting his head to the side, he smiled at the Sith Lady. “We also have a plan. I’d say this was a very fruitful meeting, my lady,…” Setting the cup down on a desk next to her, the amphibian’s sight fell upon the bodies of three men that continued to lie motionless, never to get up again.

“Bring your apprentice next time, Taeli," the assassin encouraged, "She needs to be exposed to positive influence such as ourselves. She needs to see we are the true Sith, exactly what she should strive to become.” Another nod meant for the woman and he carefully stepped over the corpses. “Unless there is something else you'd like to discuss, I will bid you my farewell, Lady Arcanix. Please, have a wonderful day. It’s been a pleasure meeting you again. And thank you for the tea!”

[member="Darth Arcanix"]