Bizitza Arnasten Berriro

[Kamon Vondiranach]

Many Months Ago

Castameer. The destroyed world. The last resting place of so many.

As he sat within the confines of the Eidolon, he stared out at the destruction before him, the debris of a world. Its destruction caused by a crashing ship that he'd stood upon himself. His very feet had been within the Omega vessel, where he'd been waylaid in his efforts to stop it by a zealous Mandalorian who could see nothing but a Sith. He couldn't believe that Leos was anything other than a monster, someone bent on killing and crushing everything. Someone like the Zambrano's, who unleash death everywhere they go, for reasons unnecessary. Those that follow them are no different. In some cases, they are in fact worse.

But Leos was not like them. Killing for the sake of killing served no purpose. If anything it reduced the population that one could effectively lead, and alienated those who could ultimately be persuaded to join ones cause. It was for that reason that his Reformation had adopted the practice of not killing civilians, best aided by the creation of his SNAP's. Their very existence was capable of saving innocent lives while allowing their war vessels to pinpoint strike enemy military installations from orbit. It was small wonder his disdain for the others.

"Sir, we're getting interference. It's hard to pinpoint any debris that might be the ships central core. There are faint power readings from a crystal but they're scattered. What you're asking us to do is simply not possible."

"I know, Captain, but it was worth an attempt. If we'd gotten lucky it might have saved some time. I will take it from here. Leave the ships navigation to me."

"I- yes, sir."

The captain moved aside from his position and Leos reached out through the Force. What he needed was likely deceased, but if he could feel a lingering trace of her spirit, then he would find what it was that he needed. What he was looking for. No, what he needed was more accurate. Regardless, it was going to be quite difficult to find.

It was difficult to say the least. Numerous tingles upon his feelings. Given the number of people that had died at Castameer it wasn't improbable to feel other presences in the Force around them. Numerous were there, having not moved on. It was like looking for the proverbial needle in a haystack. But he found something. Something stronger and more discernible than the others. It was certainly not a mundane Sith, something stronger. In fact it emanated. A shard of the crystal perhaps attached to it? He didn't know, but he knew it was there, and he knew he could find it.

Reaching out through his other hand, he directed the helm forward, carefully avoiding debris while navigating towards the source of what he felt. There were some murmurs from the crew, likely because of closeness to larger debris chunks, but he weeded them out of his mental vision, focusing on the task at hand. Eventually they arrived. Before them, a minor chunk of the crystal that had been housed within the Omega device. Scorched though it was, he knew that somewhere upon it lay what he was looking for. Dead cells, but cells containing the genetic material of one Kith Verloren, otherwise known as Darth Molior.

"Captain?"

"Sir?"

"Retrieve this debris chunk and take us back to Crakull immediately."

"You found it?"

"I found HER."

~ ~ ~ ~​

Present Day, Crakull

Deep within the confines of the Ignus Black facility on Crakull, experimentation had been ongoing with cloning vats. The technology was difficult at best. His scientists had not been originally brought in for this sort of work, though he was keenly aware that they possessed the capability to adapt. And of course they had done so remarkably. A little bit of information from a spy sent to visit the facility on Kamino and they'd spun away on creating the chamber and all of the necessary bits and pieces to make the operation successful. Little miracle workers. They'd done wonders.

And the bit of genetic evidence they'd obtained from the crystal shard had been just enough. They'd been able to take the genetic markers and splice it into living cells, manipulate it to make her. And they'd been brilliant. Oh they'd done a masterful job. Splendid even. And for months that little seed of life grew and grew, splitting, dividing, forming a baby from nothing but genetic material that had been shocked into dividing. Splitting. Growing.

A baby at first, nothing more. Then a small child with long, golden hair. Beautiful, even as a babe. They'd asked if he wanted to bring her out then, raise her as though she were his own. The idea, he would admit, tickled him. Raise a beautiful young woman to adulthood. Honestly he did enjoy the thought of raising children someday, but ultimately he'd forgone the thought. Not because she would have been a handful, but because if he brought her out now, she would not be ready to help him for a very, very long time. No, he needed someone who was aged beyond that of a child, someone the others could believe to be his apprentice, and who likely would not recognize her for who she was.

So he'd told them no. And they'd let her grow. She was beautiful, and he admired her, though he did his best not to linger too long so that he didn't stare at her in an unseemly manner. Even so, he'd instructed that only women work around the chamber to preserve some of her modesty. For months he'd come back to check on her progress. They'd asked him each time if he wanted her to come out. He'd always said no. She wasn't ready. And then, on a particular trip to Crakull, when she was physically late twenties, perhaps early thirties, it was honestly hard to say when it came to clones still in the chamber, he'd told them it was time.

So they'd lifted her out, and he stood ready with a cloak as she woke. Of course she'd been fed basic knowledge while in the chamber, fed directly to her subconscious, but she was not awake for it. Only now would she open her eyes, and he would wrap the cloak about her, holding her close. Though she may shiver, she would warm quickly. Deep beneath ground, she would warm soon enough.

"Hello, Kith Verloren. My name is Leos Palle. It's a pleasure to finally meet you."

|[member="Kith Verloren"]|​

 

[Darth Caecus]

In the crèche, the clone dreamed... she shouldn't have, and yet.....

*****

Kith gave him a sidelong glance. She let his arm hang in the air for what was perhaps a moment too long – she wasn’t going to take it, it seemed. But then, slowly (reluctantly?)she accepted the offering, slipping her arm in to his.

“Peaceful?” She asked. “Oceans are chaotic…. Wracked by storms and hidden shoals. Depths and darkness. In days of old, sailors on them called them a fickle mistress, and knew that if they died, it would be death upon the water. Is that peaceful?”

She wasn’t trying to argue with him. She was honestly curious.

It took a while for Kith to take his arm, but he waited patiently. When she did, he led her out of the dancing atmosphere and away from where most of the people were hanging out. It seemed to him that she wanted to get away from all the people, so he figured he would oblige her. Though, not knowing whether she wanted to stop or not, he led her slowly along the waters edge, just out of range of where the water lapped up on the beach.

"Sometimes it is as you say, yes. Those things do exist. But when you're on land, listening to it wash ashore and back out again.... Well, I've always found it calming and peaceful. Somewhere I could relax and think."

"The ocean is peaceful for those who stand outside of it," she said thoughtfully.

It was an interesting metaphor, though she was entirely certain he was being literal. Still....

"Do all Jedi feel that way?"

"I don't know. I look at it as a personal view."

When he thought about it, some of the traditional Jedi may view the galaxy as such. Standing on the edges, the galaxy may look peaceful to them because they looked down upon it. Rogues, on the other hand, were a different story altogether.

"Metaphorically speaking, I put myself at the center of it to understand the chaos. Like the galaxy, for instance. To stand on the fringes, it may seem as if nothing was wrong, but by putting myself in the middle of it all, I can understand that chaos is everywhere."

Kith stopped walking then, letting go of his arm. She gazed out over the waters, stepping toward them. She didn't stop at the edge of the lapping waves, just kept walking. Around knee deep, just before the salt water could damage the borrowed dress, she stopped, looking out as the moon rose over Velusia's ocean.

"I don't understand you at all," she said quietly. It was impossible to know exactly what she was talking about until....

"You should be out doing exactly that. But you're here, on the edge of it all. With me."

"I go where I feel I should."

It was as simple, and yet complicated, an answer he could give. She had waded out into the water, alone. He stood still on the waters edge, just barely past where it would stop when it rolled up, his feet untouched. Blue eyes watched her as she stood there, in the water, staring out at it. Something about her, who she was... He couldn't help but feel like this was where he was supposed to be, and the more he thought that, the more he felt it was because of her.

"And I feel I am in the right place. Here. With you."

She turned then, a sudden, almost violent motion. True emotion flickered over her face. Anger. Confusion.... self loathing.

"That! That is what I'm talking about! It doesn't. Make. Any. Sense!"

She stayed separated from him out in the water. It would be difficult to tell, but she was shaking.

"Compared to the good that can be done in the galaxy, I'm nothing!" She snarled. "Not even in comparison. I have nothing to offer you, nothing you could possibly want!"

Her entire life, as long as she could remember, she had been weighed by her usefulness. And in truth, she could see no way that she could be useful to him, unless he meant to use her against the Sith. And that was the only thing that made sense... but if that were it, she wanted him to admit it! At least if she knew why she were being used, she could understand it.....

"And that is where you are wrong."

Sliding his feet out of his shoes, he pushed them up on the sand where there was no chance that they would get wet. That done, he walked out into the water, near her, standing a mere two feet in front of her so that he was facing her. He was calm as he watched her, could see she was shaking, but he didn't reach out to her.

"You are important, Kith. You deserve to be helped and it is my desire, my goal, to help you find peace."

Reaching out a hand, he let the Force move into his fingertips and touched them to her forehead, sending a waft of warmth through her entire body if she did nothing to stop him from doing so. He would continue doing it unless she stopped him. His blue eyes were focused on her.

"I told you that dream was more than a dream and I meant it," he said before he paused a moment to watch her. "And you have everything to offer me. There is much you can teach me. Much you can do for me and I promise I will not use you as the Sith have."

If nothing, she would always be a friend. But he felt that the Force had called him to help her specifically. And every Sith that was helped, every darksider, was one less to cause harm in the galaxy. But even that wasn't enough. There was more, and he felt that his eyes betrayed him that there was more to why he wanted her around, but he didn't say anything about it. If she could read him, then fine.

She flinched back from his hand, but only by a millimeter, her eyes closing for a moment the way a sharp reaction entailed. And he was more diligent than to be put off by the smallest of flinches.

Her eyes stayed closed as she let the warmth wash over her. For a moment, it was almost as thought she were alive again. Just like....

"NO!"

She pulled away, her face a mask of pain. It was too much. Too much like Tantor....

"Please," she whispered, covering her face for a moment. "Please stop..... you're offering me something I can't keep."

She was referring specifically to the warmth..... or was that all of it?

"I was at peace..... for ten years, I was at peace in death..... and then they brought me back. And now.... now I can't find it again... I don't.... I don't know what...."

She pulled back to him as if it hurt, but he could see for those few moments that it didn't hurt, that she enjoyed it. It was something deeper that was hurting her. She was feeling an emotional pain and the fact that she was brought him some pain as well. He winced a bit as he heard her words. They brought him even more pain than he could show her. Over the years he'd steeled himself up enough that it took a lot to make him really break down.

No, rather, when she covered her face, he stepped towards her. Around them the water swirled, drawing in and out, making a calm rushing noise. He moved over to her and moved to encircle her in his arms and draw her towards him. If she resisted, he would continue to attempt it, unless she resisted really hard and he would let her go.

"Stop, Kith. I'm offering you something you can have whenever you want it. And you can have peace again. You can achieve it. You just have to let go of what you were and change. I know you can."

She pulled back, but not hard enough to dislodge him from the embrace. Instead she stood, stock still, in his arms, shoulders shaking, but no tears coming out.

"You're a fool," she whispered in to his shoulder. "I can't let go of what I was.... I want to be that again. I want to live.. not this half life, this death in living. I want to live again.... its unbefitting.... but I do.... I want it."

"Then live."

He kept her close to him as she shook and spoke into his shoulder. Yes, she was frigid. Yes, the water was cold. But he defeated it all through the Force. Warmth grew around them, spread from them. It might even be enough to make light around them. Still he kept her close to him, refusing to let her go. Not this time. He wouldn't let it happen this time.

"We can find a way. Others have died, only to return, living. We can find a way. Together. I'll help you."

*****

Outside of the Omega, the victorious fleets made their attack runs, destroying the external firing mechanism of the weapon and one of the engines. Throughout the ship itself, the hallways grew quiet as those who survived made it to escape in the hangars.... or died there in the attempt.

Eventually, the ship emptied of the living. As the exterior began to burn, everything started to quiver, a shivering lament as the surface of Castameer drew ever closer. The silver of the Omega turned cherry red, then violent white as its progress through the atmosphere heated the exterior to a nova of brilliance.

Inside, left behind in the Heart of Darkness Kith Verloren gasped, eyes flying open wide as she sat up suddenly.

Her heart pounded.​

​

Her heart. ​

​

Pounded. ​

Slowly, hesitantly, one hand reached up. Her fingertips pressed on her chest, coming away again almost immediately, as though burned. Then, gently, came to rest again. Grey eyes stared up in to the heights of the chamber, unseeing, but beneath her hand pulsed a heart, beating like the wings of a bird within a cage.

She let out a slow, shaky breath- and watched the cold air before her face coalesce in white mist. Her free hand reached up, circling around it, as though she could capture it in her palm. It remained elusive.

The deck quivered beneath her, and it was only in that moment that she realized it was not moving by the sheer effort of her beating heart. One hand still on her chest, she reached down, eyes following a moment (a heartbeat) later. Tantor's saber was gone, and she could feel the cold of the metal beneath her fingers.

Cold.

Agonizingly slowly, Darth Molior rose to her feet. She steadied herself on a railing, looking around. The shattered remains of the enormous focusing crystal had rained around her, laying like broken toys across the floor of the Heart. She didn't need to reach out with the Force to know that the shaking throughout the Omega were it's death throes.

Unexpectedly, surprising even herself, Kith Verloren threw back her head- and laughed. The sound mingled irony that even as her creation died, she finally lived, and joy in the sensation of the gentle metronome beating in her chest.

"This is what it felt like, every day, to love you Tantor," she whispered. "Knowing that I lived. And that in living so fully, I could not possibly survive. I'm coming, love. It's time."

She closed her eyes one final time. She stood tall and proud, head unbowed.

And there was a smile on her lips.

​*****

Her heart pounded.

She gasped, eyes opening wide.

It's time.

I'll help you.

She looked with eyes that had never seen before. Everything was hazy, like looking up through water from the bottom of a pool. Her arms cast out, but she found them held close to her, trapped in fabric. She didn't struggle after that first panicked moment.

She was cold.

It was both new and deeply familiar. Every muscle in her body shook, shivering as she huddled in someone's arms. Two names crossed her mind- and were gone again as quickly, leaving only the sensation that she ought to know who it was.

It took a long moment to register his words, and longer still to process them.

Leos Palle.

Was that one of the name she was supposed to remember? It didn't fit into any of the empty slots, but then...

There were so many.

That she was Kith Verloren, however, she had no doubt. One of the imprinted parts of the clone's rearing had been the basic wholeness of that identity. She turned the words over in her mind before she looked up at him.

Eyes like the sea after a storm blinked slowly, trying to focus on his face but unable to. That would come, once she adjusted to life outside of the crèche. But for now, they cast back and forth, as if search for something. Whatever it was however, she didn't find it.

"Leos Palle," she repeated, as though tasting each word. Her voice was quiet. "You.... know me?"

​[member="Ignus"]

 

[Kamon Vondiranach]

"Yes," he said, offering a small smile, his orange eyes searching her features. "And no. I know a great deal of you. I've researched what I could. But we have never met until now, though I've watched you grow."

The robe he wrapped about her, helping her to put her arms through the sleeves, and even tying a band around it to keep it closed to her. He was not aware of what sort of clothing she would prefer, so the robe had seemed ideal for the time being. More would come with time, just as knowing her would. Just as her knowing him would. They had never been acquainted, but he'd known what it was she was trying to do at Castameer. He'd known that they were kindred spirits, cut from the same cloth, but with different methodologies in mind. And in her death he was keenly aware that she had found a new peace.

But the Kith Verloren that stood before him, was not that same woman.

She had elements of her, of course, and the same DNA, but a different soul. The Kith Verloren that died at Castameer was well and truly gone, unless her spirit roamed and chose to inhabit the body of the clone, must as Sidious had done in days ancient. He sincerely hoped that she would not do that, that she'd chosen to pass into the Force to rest instead. Leos was not above seeking peace where it was called for, and despite his sensibilities as a Sith he was more akin to be reasonable and affectionate in certain situations than he was to be condescending, vile and manipulative. Albeit he'd brought her back as a clone for purely selfish reasons, those reasons were ultimately dedicated to saving the galaxy.

"Come. You'll want to get cleaned up."

He would keep a hand upon her arm as he moved to lead her out of the cloning area of the facility. Not that he held her arm because he thought he was in charge of her. Hardly so. He held it because she was only just standing for herself, and he could see that she was not quite seeing clearly. One thing that Leos most certainly was, was a gentleman. A product of his being a businessman, or perhaps his upbringing. Either was possible. He'd not been a difficult child in terms of rambunctiousness, so he'd been rather easy to teach. He'd just been severely aloof by comparison to his brother.

With her in tow, he would lead her down several halls until they stopped at a door which he opened with a code, and led her inside. It was a well lit room, though the light was diffused, and it had an marvelous view out a large glass wall to the cavernous expanse beyond. Within, bio-luminescent plants lit the walls, providing light in the darkness, revealing the extensive facility that she was within. Once within the room, he released her after making sure she was stable, and then checked to make sure that all the workers had left. The room was to be her quarters, and he'd selected an extensive lineup of clothing for her to choose from. He'd let her decide her own style.

"These rooms are yours. The fresher is there. When you're cleaned up we can get you something to eat, and then I'll let you ask me questions. Sound reasonable?"

|[member="Kith Verloren"]|​

 

[Darth Caecus]

There were things that she knew, without either the awareness of how she knew them, or the concern of where they came from. How to walk. How to speak. What colour his eyes were (orange), though she was oddly disinterested in her own. There was no confusion in the sliding of doors- she knew what a 'refresher' was- that she would need to eat and indeed that the sensation in her core was hunger.

She was also aware that she had never actually felt or experienced any of these things before.

What she didn't know was the debate that had occurred over imprinting the knowledge that she was a clone. So many factors, so many what ifs? Ultimately, however, it had come down both practicality and a certain kindness. The awareness, imprinted from the beginning, meant that she would never need to come to terms with it as a crisis of self. Surely, that fact alone removed a dozen potential hardships from an already nebulous future. And while, like any other sentient, this new creature would eventually have to grapple with the existential grief of who am I, it would be no more difficult than it was for any one else. He couldn't prevent that in it's entirety, but at least he could make it no worse than it had to be.

There was a certain fragility in her movements as he led her through the compound, but that would fade with time and familiarity. Though muscles were lithe and sure, this was nonetheless the first time she had every put them to use. By the time they reached her quarters, her vision was mostly cleared, only the barest trace of fog around the edges.

She stepped away from him, moving slowly around the room. Blue-grey eyes seemed to absorb every detail. Her face was, by and large, impassive, except for those eyes. They moved around, as if memorizing each new thing, drinking it in as if it could quench a thirst. Bare feet padded across the floor silently.

Reaching out a hand, she stopped just short of touching the large window, fingers hovering bare centimeters above the glass. His voice reached her and she turned her head, ear toward him.

"Imminently reasonable," she agreed. If her tone was a touch absent, well, that could be expected. After all, it was a lot to take in.

The room was warm- warmer than the cloning facility had been, and she let the robe fall away only a heartbeat before stepping through the door that led to the 'fresher. She seemed utterly indifferent to it, beyond the warmth it had offered, and equality indifferent, now in a warmer place, to the lack.

*****

When she stepped out again, a short time later, her hair was wet, but she was clothed. She'd been a little overwhelmed by the array of choices before her, truth be told, and had selected completely at random, concerned only with the feel of the fabric on her fingers. Soft leggings in grey, a light weight silk shirt that she was frowning down at as she worked at the buttons with fingers that had no muscle memory of that simple action. She knew what buttons were, and how they worked, but the action itself was new.

Her frown deepened into a scowl of frustration.

[member="Ignus"]

 

[Kamon Vondiranach]

He waited. Not because he was concerned that she might somehow harm herself with all the newness, but because he didn't want her to overload herself with sensory data by then having to go and try to find him elsewhere in the facility. Undoubtedly she would have gotten lost, and that would have led to further frustration on her part. Everything needed to be baby steps, as it were. Not as bad as if she were a baby, but in such a manner as she took things in without it being far too much at one given time. Leos was a practical man. He wanted her as a companion, not a tool, though inevitably others would say she was just a tool, and the circumstance around her existence would certainly imply such. Oddly enough, for a mostly solitary man, Leos liked having people around.

When she emerged from the fresher she was busy trying to do the buttons on her blouse. He watched her, mostly her fingers, as they attempted to work the mechanism, though were failing to do so. The frustration was evident, and so he rose and moved to her, gently reaching to grasp her fingers.

"Here, like this," he said as he moved her fingers gently to maneuver the button into the hole and through it, letting it settle into place. "Now you try."

It was different, having to teach someone such a basic task. He was so used to dealing with people that could at least take care of themselves that it was amusing dealing with someone who almost couldn't. It was likely a bit better than it would have been if he'd brought her out as a child. Her knowledge wouldn't be as complete as it was now. He didn't mind though. As he well knew, taking care of others was a particular joy of his. That was the reason he was drawn to being a beast master. Each new animal was a creature he inevitably took care of in some way, shape or form. They were often his companions. Though the Hssiss enjoyed a particular sanctuary rather than his company. They were particularly dangerous.

He waited to see how she would take to doing the buttons herself. Not to mention shoes. And her hair. Might take them a little bit before they went to the dining hall. He could have brought the food there, but he wanted to get her into an environment with other people so she could start to get used to it. There were a lot of people living in the Ignus Black facility. She would inevitably bump into them day to day.

"Frustrations exist to test our patience, Kith. Even we Sith must have patience to survive."

|[member="Kith Verloren"]|​

 

[Darth Caecus]

She watched his hands, gaze intent. Once her fingers had done it once, she adapted quickly. Slender fingers, each motion more dexterous than the one before. It would take some time- while her body had been conditioned physically in the crèche, it wasn't the same as actually using it, understanding the play of muscle and sinew.

Kith nodded at his words, turning them over thoughtfully as her fingers combed absently through her wet hair- a gesture that hadn't been imprinted, but came from somewhere else. The word Sith however, that had been. Not in all of it's nuance, but as surely as her name was Kith Verloren, as surely as she was a Clone.... she knew that she was Sith. It was part of a mental core, as surely a part of herself as her hands..... or the heart beating in her chest.

Every now and then, she became consciously aware of that. The sensation of the warm metronome sounding off the time within her breast. Each time she did, she would paused, listening for a moment before continuing with the task before her- next of which, was apparently, shoes.

"Why?"

She cocked her head slightly to the side when he showed her that section of the closet with over a dozen choices of footwear.

"The floor here is smooth. The temperature is not extreme. Why wear shoes inside?"

Her face was still largely expressionless but there was a tone of genuine curiosity in her question.

[member="Ignus"]

 

[Kamon Vondiranach]

"Will you always be inside or have the opportunity to go and get shoes?"

It was a good question, actually. One could consider that the entire facility was technically indoors. Most people, within their own home, would not wear shoes as they were often cramped and uncomfortable. Not to mention the fact that they made your feet overly warm and were prone to smelling funny. He couldn't help but wrinkle his nose a little bit at that thought, but he shook it away and thought for a moment before continuing.

"This facility has thousands of people working in it. While you're in these rooms, you are in your home. But if you step out of them, you are in a thoroughfare used by hundreds of feet a day, at a minimum. The floor may be smooth, and we do our best to keep it clean, but nothing is ever completely clean when it comes to living beings. I'd prefer you not becoming ill."

Concern again. Undoubtedly the old Kith had once had a lover. He'd read about the man briefly. A Jedi, no less. He'd died or some such, leaving her alone, and ultimately that had hastened her downward spiral into what she'd become at Castameer. It wasn't unheard of. It wasn't new. But it had destroyed who she was, and ultimately left her broken, and never destined to achieve even a shred of her latest dream, because that dream had been entirely wrong. To kill everything she would have had to kill the Force itself, and there was no way to do that. All she would ever have done was create a temporary quiet that would have then seen more life grow and the same cycle begin anew with new beings throughout the galaxy.

Color pallets weren't exactly his thing, so he decided against suggesting a pair of shoes himself. It would have likely ruined her entire outfit. That wouldn't exactly have been good. Besides, he didn't know what she'd be comfortable in, though she might note that every shoe in the room was the right size. When she was in the tank he'd taken several liberties including laser readings of her dimensions, which was why the clothing even fit.

"Your immune system will take time to adjust. It's best to be safe."

|[member="Kith Verloren"]|​

 

[Darth Caecus]

She listened, her face serious and pensive, absorbing his words with a certain quiet weight. When he finished, she nodded, just once. His reasons were good ones- if they hadn't been she might have dismissed them. But instead she looked thoughtfully at the ridiculous array in front of her. A slender hand reached out, selecting the slimmest option, barely more than slippers- she'd be able to feel the ground beneath her feet in these, she wagered. Why that mattered she didn't really know. But she slipped them on, tilting her head to look down at her feet as she padded around the large closet for a moment before looking up at him another small nod.

The fact that the shoes were a bright pink didn't seem to phase her.

Cocking her head at [member="Ignus"] slightly, damp hair swung around her face. Silver when wet, it was already starting to dry at the edges. While it was unbound, after finger combing it a moment ago, it was neat enough for public.

"I'm hungry," she said simply. "Shall we go?"

Unlike on the walk here, now that her vision had cleared and she was steadier on her feet, Kith looked around as they moved through the facility. Blue-grey eyes shifted around slowly, taking stock, filing away. It was a subconscious action, one that she barely registered, but that seemed as natural to her as breathing.

As she walked, other underlying features rose as well. Her movements started to smooth out, her walk becoming more sure. She moved with the grace of a dancer- or an assassin.

"What is this place?" She asked several moments after they left her quarters. "Besides my home?"

 

[Kamon Vondiranach]

Well, it seemed her aesthetic tastes were worse than his. Still, he only lofted a brow and then dismissed it altogether. Aesthetics were of the individual's expressionism. If she wanted to wear pink, then he wouldn't say no. Whatever made her most comfortable was suitable to him, regardless. That brought about the mental question as to whether or not he was always going to baby her like this or not, but he dismissed it. She would grow stronger and more confident as time went on, and, if his beliefs were true, she would outdistance him in the Force soon enough. A calculated risk, but he fully believed that the two of them were alike enough to where she would accept him rather than kill him.

He really hoped she wouldn't go black widow on him.

When she mentioned being hungry, he nodded and they set off, leaving her quarters behind. She would no doubt return to them later, taking leave to rest. Though she'd been essentially asleep in the tank, her body hadn't exactly been active, either. Likely she would eat, they would speak for a bit, and she would retire. He would grow used to it, just as she would slowly grow used to being awake and moving about. Her question as they walked drew a small smile.

"Something I've been working on for some time," he said as they passed a weapons lab. "I have a vested interest in taking control of the entire galaxy in order to save it from destroying itself. The idea is, naturally, unpopular. Thus, in order to facilitate my efforts I've created several companies which manufacture various goods and distribute them to anyone willing to buy. I make a large amount of money in personal defense."

He stopped at a door and pressed his hand to a reader, the door sliding open after a moment to reveal a small dining hall. This particular one was reserved for upper level administrative staff. There were a few business types inside and they looked up at their entrance, greeting him with a nod and Kith with curious expressions. Mostly because of her shoes. He dismissed it and led her to a table where he took a seat. A menu materialized on the table before him and he swiped through until he found what he wanted, a fish dish that was a delicacy here, tapped it, and his menu disappeared with his order placed.

"Swipe through with your hand as I just did until you find something that looks good to you, then tap it."

He waited for her to do that before continuing.

"So this facility is an underground Ignus Black facility on the world Crakull. Its location and existence are a closely guarded secret. What I make here is purely for the use of the movement and never sold."

She could draw her own conclusions on what that meant about her, and he waited to see if she would assume the obvious one, or dig deeper.

|[member="Kith Verloren"]|​

 

[Darth Caecus]

She had stopped briefly in the doorway, only a momentary hitch to her stride before following him. The room wasn't particuarly full, but it was the most people she'd seen in one place at one time- and most of them were staring at her.

More accurately, at her shoes. She glanced down, brow furrowing slightly before sliding into the chair across from him at the table. She listened with that same silent intensity as earlier, before copying his actions with the menu. While it would have been easiest to simply choose what he had already ordered, she kept swiping until she reached some sort of stir-fry- Sweet and spicy sauce, nerf slivers and vegetables that still crunch- and tapped on that after a moment of study. The menu vanished as his had, and she looked up at him when he continued talking.

For a moment she was quiet, her eyes heavy on his face and then-

"The things you make. Like me."

It wasn't a question. Of course, it would be simple to assume that she was accepted into his mission by virtue of him laying all of this out for her.

She didn't seem particularly perturbed as she said that, but she watched him for his reaction. She didn't know why he had created her, simply that he had- was her presence another tool for his 'movement'? She waited, unnaturally still as she watched him.

[member="Ignus"]

 

[Kamon Vondiranach]

For a moment he just watched her, waiting. She had likely deduced her answer already. He knew she was smart enough for it.

"Did I make you to work for me is the question going through your mind right now."

Not that he was actually reading her mind, it was just the obvious question. Of course he'd deduced that to be the question. And to be honest the answer was partially yes, that he'd gone to all the trouble of bringing her here, creating her, because he wanted her to work with him, because he wanted her to assist him in his goals. But it was also partially because he knew what she had wanted. The version of her before. What it had wanted. Silence. Silence as in peace. Peace. What she'd wanted was peace.

"I would be lying to you if I said no, and I won't lie to you. Yes, I created you for my purposes."

Reaching across the table, he touched two fingers to her temple, and flooded her mind with visions of what had happened at Castameer. When he'd been searching for her, he felt so much, and seen so much through the eyes of those that had died there. It had flooded his senses, his mind, but he'd been able to hold it back for a very long time, only breaking down in the peace and quiet he'd endured when he'd been waiting for her to be ready to come out. Each vision she saw was of the perspective of another who was lost. She saw it all, and she saw the last bits of how she had died, how she'd wanted the same thing, but had picked the wrong methodology, much like her predecessors.

He showed her the vision of the future that he saw each evening when he went into a meditative state. The endless cycle of warfare and violence. The never ending struggle for survival. Ultimately, how that course would lead the galaxy to destroy itself. How each and every passing day tore a whole in the fabric of the Force because of the very lack of balance that the Jedi used to preach about seeking. The Jedi who now strive to kill every Sith they meet on sight. The Sith, no better, striving to eradicate all Jedi from the galaxy. But there can never be balance without both sides living in harmony.

Withdrawing his fingers, he looked her in the eyes.

"I want what you wanted. I searched for you in the ruins of what you'd made, I brought you here, I made you again, in the hopes that you would still want that, but would be willing to find it a different way. If not for our sake, then for the sake of those we will eventually leave behind."

|[member="Kith Verloren"]|​

 

[Darth Caecus]

It was familiar, like a half remembered dream was familiar. She caught snippets, moments in the maelstrom of events that she somehow already knew. But other images were new and raw, even seen through the lens of his view point. Or maybe because of that. It was hard to tell. Castameer. The Omega. The Heart of Darkness. The desire for Silence. The Cold. And that moment consumed by nothing more than the sensation of a beating heart. Some were familiar, some were hers, but others traveled by, not truly touching her soul- she watched them like a holo, the impact dull.

When he withdrew, the only indication of the flurry of memories except the white knuckles of her hands. She watched him, a touch warily from across the table. Not out of distrust, but because she was trying to decide just what to make of him in that moment.

"Thank you for your honesty," she said finally, her hands relaxing on the table top.

"I..... I think I dreamed about her." Kith frowned slightly. Dream seemed the closest word, though it was wholly inadequate. "I am," she paused, looking down at her hands. Slowly she turned them over, brow furrowing.

"I am not she," she said. Her words were offered with no inflection. It seemed, at least for now, that it was neither a good thing or a bad thing. Only time would tell.

"I don't know what I want yet. I only know what she wanted," she looked up at him then, her gaze weighing. "And perhaps a little of what you want." She didn't believe that he had told her everything. But she also didn't expect that level of sharing at this time. Honesty was one thing. Barring all was entirely different.

"What if I wanted to leave here?" She said suddenly, gaze sharpening on his face. "Do I belong to you? To your mission? Or am I my own, to go as I please."

She watched him like a falcon watched its prey, cool and patient, but ready to do whatever came next once it was time to fly. The question was merely to learn.... was she tethered to his fist? Or would she soar?

[member="Ignus"]

 

[Kamon Vondiranach]

"Yes, I know. It is a gamble, but a worthwhile one even if you never seek that same path."

He wouldn't say why he felt that way. That was something personal and it would take her time to earn those sorts of answers. And while he had, indeed, shown her some of what he wanted, he hadn't shown her everything. He'd learned that you never divulge all of your plan to any one person, because if you do they can work behind your back to destroy the plan. If parts are only known by certain individuals, then they would have to work together to be effective, and in so doing they would be more likely to also get caught.

Then she did raise a good question. Their food was brought out to them and he thought about ignoring the question and just diving right into the meal, but that wouldn't be right by her and so he didn't do that. It was piping hot anyway, so best to let it cool down. Glasses of water were brought with their meals since neither had ordered anything else. Leos preferred water, anyway.

"You're not confined here. I think it would be best if you did some learning before you left, but I won't make you stay. If you wish I can have a ship built specifically for your use. I'll register it to Ignus Industries so it won't draw unwanted attention. Our ships are fairly prevalent throughout the galaxy."

No, he didn't want her to leave, but if that was the choice she made then he would allow her. He'd go back to the drawing board of trying to work out how to do almost everything alone, but that was nothing new. He was largely solitary anyway. The social functions that most of the other Sith involved themselves in never drew much of his interest anyway. Aside from a few of them, he considered the vast majority of them to be beneath his time and efforts. Their worries and ideas were trivial compared to the work that he was doing.

He had his apprentice, but she wasn't the sort of companion he wanted anyway. Too much Hapan in her. Most of her time was spent in her studies.

"I hope that you will decide to stay, but that ultimately is your decision. You can ask me any questions that you'd like and I'll answer them to the best of my capability."

|[member="Kith Verloren"]​

 

[Darth Caecus]

A smile ghosted over her lips at his answer. The first one. It was gone as quickly as it appeared, but the simple fact remained that, for an instant, she had smiled.

"Knowing that I could go if I wished is enough," she said, picking up her utensils.

In truth, where else could she go? She looked like a woman who had attempted to wipe out the galaxy. She was under no illusions of the reception she might find elsewhere. But even if that hadn't been the case, she was disinclined to leave. At least not yet. Would that change? Perhaps. In this moment and for the foreseeable future however, she was content to remain here.

Happy?

She didn't really know what that word meant yet. But for now, content.

Tilting her head slightly, she speared a small morsel from her plate and held it aloft. Giving it a slightly appraising look, she shrugged.

Nom.

Her eyes widened slightly as she chewed. For a time, she was completely occupied by the experience of flavor and the different textures between the vegetables and meat- no imprinting could adequately prepare her for this. She held up a sliver of something green and crunchy and looked up at him.

"I like this. What is it?"

​[member="Ignus"]

 

[Kamon Vondiranach]

Knowing that she was allowed to leave was enough for her? Well, he supposed that in knowing she knew that she wasn't a prisoner, and further knew that he wasn't looking at her like a plaything. She was much more than that. Still, he intended to build her a ship, just as he'd built one for his brother. In this way, when she did want to leave, or even need to, she could do so. It would give her a safe way to travel the galaxy, and undoubtedly to discover part of her past that he could never give to her.

When she bit into her food, he drew utensils and cut delicately into his. Leos had never been raised to observe perfect table manners, or to act as he did, but he'd learned over the years how to act in high society. It was how he'd obtained investors back when he was looking to start up the company. He'd convinced some wealthy types that he had what it took to make them money, and it had paid off. He'd already paid back each of them, and was the sole owner of the company himself. He didn't like to have debts hanging over his head.

"It's a bit of pepper of some sort. A vegetable that's good for you. In order to keep your body healthy, you should eat both meat and vegetables. Stay away from nerf burgers and such." He paused. "Well, try one once just to try it, but eating a steak, or a bit of fish, with vegetables is much healthier for you."

He took another bite of his fish and smiled at her as he chewed politely with his mouth closed. Despite previous apprehensions about this initiative, he was actually rather happy with how everything had turned out so far. She was rather charming in her own way. He hadn't actually expected that. It was nice to teach without having it be about the ways of the Sith or the ways of the Force, too. Definitely a positive change. He was certain he would be teaching her many other things as time went along. Like why he had a dragon that liked to fly around out in the cavernous expanse and then peck on the window to be let in when it saw him. He wondered if she would like Cet. Then he wondered if Cet would like her.

Oh boy.

"I think we should both ask questions of each other. Chiefly because I have a couple. When you see these things about the other you, your predecessor, if you will, how does it make you feel?"

|[member="Kith Verloren"]|​

 

[Darth Caecus]

Subconsciously, Kith copied his eating habits. She didn't really think about it, didn't watch him deliberately, it just happened. At these early stages, she was a sponge. Time would tell what she kept and what she discarded as she grew into her own.

Taking a bit of what she thought was the pepper from a moment ago, she frowned slightly. It looked the same and had the same texture, but it was sweeter. She reguarded the red sliver with a touch of surprised before continuing, studying her food a little more intently than she had before.

As he spoke, she offered him a small, thoughtful frown. Chewing contemplatively for a moment, she put her fork down and swallowed, taking a sip of water. There was a pause as she mulled his question over.

"I feel a little sorry for her," she answered truthfully. "I feel like I should understand her better but.... I don't. Maybe I can't. There's a.... a certain distance. As though there is a pane of glass between she and I. Mostly, to be blunt, I don't care particularly deeply about it. Maybe that will change. Right now, I don't feel much of anything. And if I don't have strong feelings yet about what is actually happening here and now.... I can't really expect myself to have them about someone who isn't even here. It isn't even as if she died recently."

She paused, shaking her head, a certain clarity in those eyes.

"She actually died a very, very long time ago."

Taking another sip of water she cocked her head at him.

"I have two questions," she said after a moment. "One related, one not. The first is- why her? Surely there was a risk that any clone would be equally unstable. And the second..... you said that we were Sith- and that word meant something to me, even if I know I've never heard it with my own ears before today." After all, before today she'd never heard anything, technically. "What does that word mean to you."

[member="Ignus"]

 

[Kamon Vondiranach]

He listened intently to what she had to say on the matter. The fact that she'd smiled a bit before had been surprise enough for him. She did make some good points in what she said, as well. She didn't fully understand feelings as of yet, let alone what feelings she felt when she saw these things of her predecessors past. He couldn't expect her to answer as if she were the woman. If she were the answer would simply have been that she felt nothing. One thing he had gleaned was that Kith was quite the cold woman. Not just physically, either.

As he listened to her speak her ate quietly, nodding his head in regards to the womans death. Yes, Kith had died well before Leos was born, and the woman that had died at Castameer had already been dead. A zombie of sorts. He'd had his fair share of run ins with such creatures, mainly on Surron, but he didn't consider that to be quite the same as dealing with the original Kith Verloren. Things were certainly different between then and now.

"Difficult questions."

What she asked of him was no easy task to answer. On the one hand, he could have picked anyone to bring back that he could find a DNA sample of and that was worth the effort. There were a lot of Sith Lords that had died recently, after all. But if he had chosen to do that, what would have come of it? The person that had been would never be the person that was, but the person that was ultimately took bits and pieces of who they were from their predecessor. Ultimately, this Kith was still somewhat like the one that was now dead, even if she didn't yet know how that was herself.

"I couldn't pick someone else because of the risks involved. Ultimately you are your own being, but you still possess the traits she had to an extent. So far you have demonstrated her cool demeanor, for example. Ultimately, I liked her, and what she stood for and wanted to see what you would stand for."

He took a brief drink of water.

"Your other question is more volatile. My response would likely see the others try and kill me for it. I believe that the Sith of today are corrupt by their simple pleasures. In the old days a Sith was a powerful warrior, that's true, but they were also great leaders who pushed the bounds of Force knowledge, ever striving to find something new and greater than what they already knew. Beyond that they were ever present in the technological sector, pushing the envelope and combining it with their knowledge of the Force to create new things.

"The Sith of today, those who call themselves Darth, are no more Sith than they are anything else. They parade around with their titles and use their time to commit genocide, or chase after a man or woman for sex, or torture people just for the fun of it. They are not more than simple monsters with great power. I don't identify with them and, save for a few, I think them all weak. I had a Darth title for a time until I became a Lord, then I shed it, keeping the name without the Darth. I am also known as Ignus.

"I follow the code of the Sith to the letter, but I do so in a way that the others think blasphemous. For me, the strive for power is satiated by the drive for knowledge gain. I go strong through what I know and how I can apply it. I also go strong by learned to do other things."

A copy of himself appeared behind her and moved to sit in a chair beside her.

"Such as being capable of using the art of illusion to manifest corporeal illusions that cannot be dispelled through the knowledge that it isn't real," the copy said. "Does that answer your question?"

|[member="Kith Verloren"]|​

 

[Darth Caecus]

She had listened, absorbing his words with the same impassive expression she had worn through most of their conversation. There was more here than was simply said in the words themselves, a lifetime of history that could not be unwound in a single answer. But it was a start.

The sudden appearance of his doppelgänger was the first time her eyebrows arched up. She didn't physically startle, but the sudden tension in her body was a subtle clue that he had surprised her. She eyed his double up and down without hesitation or attempting to hide it before glancing back at him.

"Yes."

The reply was succinct and to the point. It needed no embellishment. But then she paused.

"Corporeal illusions?"

With only a moment's hesitation, she reached out, placing her hand on the double's shoulder. It hadn't seemed possible that her eyebrows could crawl farther up her forehead than they had a moment ago, and yet.

"You will teach me how you did this," she said, poking for a moment at the doppelganger. "Yes?"

​Her brow furrowed slightly with thought. "Is it merely a copy? Or can you feel what it feels? See what it sees?"

[member="Ignus"]

 

[Kamon Vondiranach]

She poked at the copy and it frowned at her, not at all mimicking his facial expression, which was one of total amusement. She might not have jumped out of her seat, but he was certain that she was surprised by what she saw. Yes, it was quite able to be felt and touched. And yes, it could very much physically hurt her if he wanted it to. He didn't, though. All he was doing was trying to surprise her enough to show that he wasn't just some shmuck with a lot of money. He'd earned his place with a lot of hard work and a lot of studying.

"I can teach you if you wish to learn, yes. It will take a long time to get to this level, but it can be done. And yes, if I want to I can see what it sees and feel what it feels. That requires more concentration, though, than I feel like giving it right now."

The copy smiled at her, and then vanished in a haze of disappearing air, leaving her once again sitting next to no one. Leos pushed his now empty plate aside and took a drink of water before setting that aside as well. This brought up the fact that he didn't know if she instinctively knew how to touch the Force or not. The person she was born of had known, so it was possible that she retained that knowledge, just as she seemed to know some of the womans past. It would make things easier if she did know, but if she didn't he would just end up teaching her.

He set his elbows on the table and steepled his fingers to tap them against his chin as he regarded her. Striking features. It was no wonder that a Jedi had been drawn to her in the past. Even with her being a Sith, there was much to her that went beyond the cold and lack of visible emotion. But beyond that, there was her inquisitive mind. He liked that more than anything, even though he'd seen her floating in the tank. That was nice, but it didn't beat her muted curiosity.

"I have to ask for the sake of knowing, but do you retain the knowledge of how to touch the Force?"

|[member="Kith Verloren"]|​

 

[Darth Caecus]

if you wish to learn

That seemed like such an odd thing to say, and the look that flickered briefly over her face reflected that. Would there be someone who.... didn't wish it? Why bother moving through life then?

Kith was keenly aware that she was being given a chance. Not a second chance- that woman was not she, so she offered none of her existence as a precursor to whatever it was Kith would accomplish in this life. But this life was not an accident, it wasn't by chance. It would have been far easier to exist in a galaxy where this iteration of this particular woman had never breathed a single breath.

So the idea that she might not wish to learn was more alien than anything else he had said up until that point.

Her mind switched tracks easily however when he brought up the Force. Like the word 'Sith', it was intrinsic. She didn't need to ask what he meant by that, or what it ought to mean in how it related to herself. Despite that, she frowned slightly and then shook her head.

"No. I have.... a vague sense of what it ought to feel like. But no idea of how to reasonably accomplish that."

She looked slightly annoyed by that realization.

[member="Ignus"]