Hunger of the Force

[Malok]

Tatooine.

In light of the "Fall", Darth Metus made absolutely certain to avoid ACA Space like the plague. Having been blamed (rightfully so) for the downfall of its former government, most denizens of the region were not exactly fond of him these days. As such, it usually took an astronomically good reason for the Sith Lord to venture out to the Southern Systems. Otherwise, he'd keep himself closer to Centrality or Red Ravens space; where it was safe.

However, this day, Darth Metus had a reason to brave the region that loathed him so. Well, two reasons. The first was personal ambition. As an alchemist, he prided himself on pushing the boundaries of creation...and to push the limits of his creativity. Time and time again he would weave the Darkness into a Masterpiece, yet he had failed to do so in recent history. He had, for many months now, sat on his gift; even though he had a small corporation dependent upon it.

Today would end this trend of stagnation, of this he was certain.

Now then, the second motivation for traveling to the South was Darth Metus' role as a Master. It was his responsibly to shape the minds and abilities of those he had apprenticed, and today one of his students would begin her training. She came to him expecting to learn how to wield the Darkness as he; how to bend the Force to her will as a Witch. He fully intended to show her this path...but first, he had to make certain that she had the stomach for it. As such, he had left his student the coordinates to one Lightwind Orphanage: a small establishment found in Tatooine's capital.

There, her lesson would begin. There, the ambition of the Sith Lord would be fulfilled.

Of course, Darth Metus would have been a poor mentor if he did not arrive early. Approximately twenty minutes prior to their appointed meeting time, his vessel touch down just outside of the orphanage. Little did the children inside know what misfortune had come to visit them.

[member="Perla Pirjo"]

 

[Armand Temi]

Luckily as a Dathomir witch exile from the Great Canyon Clan, Perla was used to the bright sun. And two suns were better than one, she thought. The hood of her cloak was back, the collar pulled down so her shoulders could soak in the warmth from the orange and red balls of fire which were Tatoo I and Tatoo II. After a couple false starts Perla Perjo would finally meet her new Force Master, Darth Metus and begin to train in alchemy... and whatever else he wanted to teach her. She was a student in all respects and aside from a few meager areas of The Force she had mastered, as well as unpredictable forrays into Nightsister magic, Perla was an undisciplined novice.

After landing her freighter in a docking bay, she took a taxi speeder to Bestine and gave the driver the coordinates. “Ah the Lightwind Orphanage,” the Rodian driver said. “So generous of you to adopt a child in need.”

Perla just stared wordlessly at the driver but didn’t correct him. She wasn’t sure what the Master was planning, but posing as a mother in want of a child would be good cover as to why she was visiting the desert planet.

The witch acolyte was a competitent warrior and a hunter. She knew how to spit a poison dart at a Bantha from a camouflaged position in the bushes. She also knew how to snap a human adversary’s neck if the need arose. But she couldn’t help and feel apprehensive in what lay in store for her today. Of course she wanted to show none of this trepidation to her new Master or she might find herself tossed out of his apprenticeship like one of the innocent orphans from Lightwind.

She finally reached her destination and exited the speeder, shielding her eyes from Tatooine’s suns. Darth Metus would see her approaching, her tan shoulders exposed, wearing sandals and a long black skirt which was dusty and frayed at the edges from trailing on the rocky ground.

[member="Darth Metus"]

 

[Malok]

Although his personal stores of patience were in abundance, the Sith Lord did not have to wait long for the arrival of his student. Not even a handful of minutes rolled by before the unmistakable sounds of a Speeder made themselves evident to his ears. Turning, Darth Metus noted the arrival of the taxi and his apprentice's stepping out into the light. She was punctual, good. That earned her additional points in the Sith Lord's book already.

As she took her initial step forward, Darth Metus reached out through the Force. His mind brushed against her own, carrying his voice directly into her consciousness. Although this particular step in the developmental process was small, it had to be played carefully. Darth Metus did not desire to see planetary authorities raising eyebrows, nor did he need any more attention in the South. As such, they would coordinate their stories and make the process smooth, easy, and fast.

"Welcome to Tatooine." he began, "When we enter this facility, we are going to play the part of spouses seeking a child of our own. We are looking for a...teenager. Young enough to suit our purposes, but old enough to not warrant additional checkups in the future. Understood?"

With that said, the Sith Lord set about playing the role that he had selected. Opening his arms wide, he placed a smile on his lips and greeted his apprentice with a brief embrace. "Honey! Glad you made it alright." he said, putting on the theatrics for the taxi driver. Upon releasing Perla, Darth Metus opened the door to the orphanage and waited for her to enter before him. After all, he was a gentleman...okay, he was acting like a gentleman.

Once inside, the duo would be greeted by the sight of an aging receptionist. She, like all others who took their jobs way too seriously, approached with a clipboard clutched in hand. However, before she could so much as inquire if they had an appointment or not, Darth Metus flexed his mentalist muscles just a tad. "We need a tour." he said. Although his words were simple, each dripped with the might of the Force. They crushed the feeble resistance of the woman's mind and compelled her to obey to the letter.

"Right this way. We'll start with the boy's dorms." she replied, motioning towards the leftmost hall. The Sith Lord offered a genuine smile, looked to his apprentice, and said: "After you."

[member="Perla Pirjo"]

 

[Armand Temi]

Like a whisper or slight jolt of electricity, Perla felt the touch of Darth Metus inside her mind and then heard his voice in her subconscious. It was jarring to hear his baritone in her head while the dusty wind swirled and howled audibly around them. She considered his instructions carefully. The witch acolyte wasn’t quite the mothering type but she supposed if her Master could play this charade so could she.

“Darling,” she said with a beaming smile. “The journey was not too difficult. My driver knew exactly where to go.” She turned her head back towards the Rodian taxi speeder operator and he gave the loving couple a thumbs up. Perla went inside the entrance before Darth Metus, knowing if rumors of task-master Sith Lords and impossibly cruel training methods were true, that type of chivalry would not last.

As the receptionist charged toward them all smiles and warmth, the witch exile sucked in her breath, but her Master quickly commanded the woman to his will. It was an impressive display of The Force and one Perla herself was eager to learn. But now was the time to not rush things with her training. She wanted to slowly soak her training in like a heady crimson wine that stained her lips and tongue.

As they strode down the hallway, Perla tried to think of this teenager they would “adopt” as the kind of prey she would hunt on her home-world of Dathomir – like a Baz Nitch or a Verne. This helped her to mentally compartmentalize the actions that apprentice and master would take once they were able to successfully smuggle the orphan out of Lightwind.

[member="Darth Metus"]