Private Had I Known You Were Listening...

[Darth Strosius]

"I wouldn't ask any of them to fight unless they asked me first. They have a right to fight for what they believe in, for revenge. But I don't intend to make them fight anyway." Alina Tremiru wasn't inherently wrong. In the early days the collapse had seemed temporary, just a lull in order. Now years had passed however, and the dream of a restored Sith Empire was one that even he didn't put full faith in anymore.

"I refuse to turn my back on the Sith, on the Dark Side. After all it's done for me," He gestured to her and then the ship. ", for us. Serving it is the only thing that's kept us alive Alina. This is a ship full of remnants and homeless civilians, there is nowhere to go. Not for them, and certainly not for me."

 

[Alina Tremiru]

"That's not.. Everything we were taught, everything we were lead to believe, it was about power. Only the strongest could have it. The Sith, to be Sith, is to be the strongest. To serve doesn't make you Sith. It makes you a servant." Why was she getting so adamant about it? Defending her choice to leave the Sith and the hell she'd realized it was? ".. What are you going to do? What are you waiting for? This life.. Why did you pick it?"

 

[Darth Strosius]

"You're right. The Dark Side does not look kindly on the weak and docile, that is why we must remain true to our code and our ways." It was an unfortunate truth, but having a strong hand was necessary. Whether it be in ruling or in general. "We are servants to a greater power, one that we cannot hope to achieve. That is the truth that I have found in the ways of the Sith."

It wasn't a popular view, especially for Sith and seemingly for Alina Tremiru as well, but it worked for Alisteri thus far. "You must understand Alina, I didn't choose anything. The Dark Side set me free from my bonds as a slave and I had no choice but to serve it or serve myself. Without the power of Darths and Lords all we can do is recover what Sith knowledge we can and wait. Wait for them to all kill each other, so that we can stride the galaxy unhindered by our enemies. Freed by the Force."

 

[Alina Tremiru]

He really was obsessed with this all, wasn't he? This cult. A true believer. Alina just stared at Darth Strosius for a moment, the disbelief obvious on her face. "So now you're a slave to the Sith? Ali, the Empire fell, but you don't have to keep this up. You're never going to be free like this."

 

[Darth Strosius]

"I am not a slave!" Alisteri hissed the words through clenched teeth, having shot up to stand with eyes of rage and clenched fists. The moment of wrath left as soon as it had come though, his head slowly dropping as he stared at the floor and evened out his breathing. "I-I'm sorry..."

He stared down at his hands, trying not to look as pathetic to Alina Tremiru as he sounded. "You don't get it. It's not for the empire. I was nothing before this, I was a slave. Property Alina. But here I have purpose. Without the Sith...I'm nothing."

 

[Alina Tremiru]

"I was my mother's property. An experiment gone wrong to be sold off to her allies or sacrificed at her convenience." The sudden aggression from Darth Strosius was almost met by her own, but he calmed himself. So she did the same. But still. He was nothing without the Sith? ".. Your master taught you to be an obedient servant of the Sith. You're going to die like that. .. You can still leave. Become something new. No one is nothing so long as they're alive."

 

[Darth Strosius]

Alisteri winced at her harsh tone and nodded as he sat back down. That had been a detail that he often forgot, and one that he hadn't asked much about out of respect. "I know you were. I just got carried away I'm sorry." He shook his head, finally looking back at Alina Tremiru and offering her a small smile. "That's the thing Alina. For all that I've gone through, all the pain and hardship even today, I still don't regret being this." He chuckled, a hollow yet hopeful sound.

"Because of the Sith I've become free from my bonds, to serve a master and a cause that is worthy. I met you and my cult, I fought against the Jedi and the Imperials and brought justice to so many awful criminals. This is what I am, all that I want to be. Alisteri Haxim, Acolyte of the Sith."

 

[Alina Tremiru]

"That makes you the opposite of a Sith." An exhausted kind of sigh escaped her as she crossed her arms over her chest. Her golden eyes stayed focused on Darth Strosius , trying to read him. As usual, with his mask she never could. "Being a Sith is about striving to be something more. Accepting what you are now is.. How you're going to die. I get you're content with this life, but when the Sith come back, or come here, they'll kill all of you. If you want to survive, you need to be strong. That's what this life is." And why she left.

 

[Darth Strosius]

He merely shrugged in response at first, as if he had expected such a remark. There was a reason he didn't go around trying to recruit other Sith after all. "Are we not striving to be more? I plan on taking a bunch of veterans, civilians, and a handful of Sangnir and Force Sensitives to establish how the Sith should be regardless of everyone else that claims to know that truth. No one cares about a few dozen random people and an Acolyte aboard one ship Alina, not any powerful Sith anyway."

As ever Alisteri stood, stubbornly, with his convictions. Even if it was against Alina Tremiru . "You think them or I weak? You haven't seen the sacrifices they've made. Nor the ones that I have." He paused and looked back down for a moment. "But your mindset is predictable. You made it to the level of a Darth didn't you? It is no wonder you have no faith."

 

[Alina Tremiru]

"I was a child playing among monsters! You didn't see them, you don't know how wrong they are. You think you're safe because you're too weak to be a threat to them? That by calling yourselves Sith they won't bother looking your way? They eat planets Ali. Consume life in the worst ways possible. They'll butcher you and everyone here just because you called them Sith. That's the only reason they need!" It was her turn to seem desperate. And she was. To justify her own fleeing, to convince herself that running was the only path forward.

"They're not safe. Every time you call them Sith, every time you convince them they are, they're lead closer to their death. You're not strong enough to protect them."

 

[Darth Strosius]

Alisteri seemed taken aback for a moment, but not by what Alina Tremiru actually said, instead there was a flash of concern and worry across his face. For her. He had no idea what she had seen, and he only knew of the aftermath they left behind. "It's a good thing that they're all far too distracted with one another and the Maw to notice me then isn't it?" He spoke again as if he held no fear.

Whether it was a lie or some form of pride was difficult to tell.

"You are right though, I'm not strong enough to protect them. Just as they couldn't defend themselves. But the answer to that problem is a simple one Alina. I'm not strong enough, we're not strong enough, yet." The Acolyte knocked on the crate that he was sitting on, the one holding a holocron. "I have my ways to grow in strength and to spread it to all who will follow me. Let them squabble and rebuild what they lost, we shall build something new. Something pure and Sith in nature."

 

[Alina Tremiru]

She stared blankly for the first time in a while. Darth Strosius had a holocron? Here? Anger flashed in her eyes as she stood up. "You.. You idiot! You have a Sith Holocron here!? If anyone found out it won't matter if there are more 'important' things for Sith to focus on. They'll come and kill everyone just for that! Let alone the fact the people here call themselves Sith. And what? You just said you didn't care about getting stronger? What the hell are you playing at Ali!?"

 

[Darth Strosius]

He held up his hands in an attempt to calm her down, slightly shocked by the anger and caught on the backfoot for a moment. "Alina! Alina just take a breath okay? You're the only other one that knows. Not even the cult knows that I have it, or at least what it is and the significance of it. I have taken steps to safeguard it so that it doesn't become a problem, trust me on that."

Alisteri paused, as if to allow Alina Tremiru a moment to calm before he continued. "I don't intend to gain strength in the same way most Sith have, is what I meant. Building up fleets and armies is impossible in my position, but I've discovered alternative means. Means that bring me and my cult more in touch with the Force itself. That is the strength I shall gain."

 

[Alina Tremiru]

She.. Was panicking. Alina blinked, then immediately sat down. Crossed her arms. Frowned. She shouldn't be panicking. This wasn't her problem, wasn't her life in danger. Darth Strosius was adamant about choosing this path, so why should she care or even stop him? Wait. The Sangnir narrowed her eyes. "What do you mean more in touch with the Force?"

 

[Darth Strosius]

He let out a small sigh of relief as Alina Tremiru sat back down, lowering his hands and offering her a small smile for a moment. "Well you see it's really quite simple. Remember how I had briefly thought about dabbling in Sith Alchemy way back when? The war and the lack of a teacher, other than the holocron of course, kept me from actually properly learning anything. However, I happened upon something unique that gave me an idea."

Alisteri leaned forward and looked almost smug. "Have you ever heard of Sithspawn? The creations of mad dark alchemists and Sith to serve as weapons of war. Well I figured, why only have them as living weapons? Infusing a living being with the Force just to make a soldier seems a bit wasteful, don't you think?"

 

[Alina Tremiru]

Had she ever heard of Sithspawn? Alina's face twisted. Only for a moment. Horror and disbelief. A genuine fear that she quickly squashed before Darth Strosius could pick it up. Or, at least, she tried to hide it before he could pick it up. For once she wished she was the one in the mask. "Have.. Have you been making Sithspawn?"

 

[Darth Strosius]

"What? Oh no, of course not." Alisteri chuckled as if the question had been some sort of joke, seeming to miss the genuine concern of Alina Tremiru . "I have neither the methods nor the means to do anything more with Sith Alchemy other than little projects. Cheap and simple projects. I don't have anyone to test the Sithspawn process on either, nor a suitable place to contain said experiments." He couldn't just let his projects run wild aboard the ship after all, the Sangnir were enough of a risk.

"I'm merely theorizing here. Nothing solid or concrete just yet, no worries."

 

[Alina Tremiru]

"Toying with giving people a connection to the Force is how I was made. How I was stripped of so much that people can do with the Force. .. Don't go there, Ali. Please." It was all she could say. She kept her face as calm as possible, refusing to let Darth Strosius see any kind of weakness. Old habits from the Sith. And, he was still Sith. Would he see this as a weakness in her? Choose to strike out at her? Cast her out? What was the difference between him and other Sith after all this time.

 

[Darth Strosius]

It was a long few moments before he gave any verbal response, as if he was trying to think of a reply while at the same time mulling over her words. An odd expression adorning his face, one that seemed a mixture a confusion and concern. Concern for Alina Tremiru . Finally though he seemed to regain a bit of composure and sat up straighter. "I know it's something dangerous Alina. I've seen how Sithspawn typically turn out, and after some...incidents with my Sangnir I have little intention of transforming anyone until I'm sure of the consequences."

He sounded serious, maybe even a bit remorseful, and offered a bow of his head in an apology. "But no one will be forced into anything so have no fear. I'll not be experimenting on any of my cult, nor any good people."

 

[Alina Tremiru]

He'd turned others to Sangnir? She noticed it earlier, but Darth Strosius actually saying it brought her own shock. This wasn't some kind of blessing to be shared. This was.. She wasn't even sure what to call it, but it certainly wasn't a gift. "So then who? The bad people? What even makes a person bad, if not the Sith?" She didn't understand. She couldn't understand.

"You're going to start playing god, like all the others."