Private Lorrdian Trepidations

[Anet Raine]

Anet walked with pride, knowing full well there was little Anathemous would do here and now.

"Of course I do," she answered, "and I'm certain you prefer it... unless you'd rather I were a fool?"

She turned her gaze as the Dark Lord proposed a change in their means of travel. Her pride was swallowed as she thought back to a particular moment on the Luminous, when the System Authority vessels showed up.

In that same quiet tone, "Are you certain, My Lord? You seemed... less inclined in the cockpit, unless you'd allow me to fly your ship?"

She quickly realized another point had been implied. "Wait--you have your own equipment?"

To think the Dark Lord carried an archaeologist's effects.

Darth Anathemous

 

[Darth Anathemous]

Wearing: Robes
Tag: Anet Raine

"Hmh." perhaps Anet was right.

Better a brat than a fool, and it was interesting to see a little resistance.

In that same quiet tone, "Are you certain, My Lord? You seemed... less inclined in the cockpit, unless you'd allow me to fly your ship?"

Or perhaps her acolyte was too comfortable...

She said nothing at first, wearing that forcibly dour expression as usual. It was not until Anet showed interest in her equipment that she looked at her, lips pulling into a thin but satisfied smile.

Her voice was quiet, conspiratorial even, but proud.

"Oh yes," she hummed "I was a Seeker in service to a powerful Dark Lord for most of my tenure as His apprentice."

"It was my duty to find and return artifacts and tomes, study ancient tombs both Jedi and Sith."

"I got quite good at finding hidden things."

They weren't the greatest years of her life, dragging down her smile some, but they were certainly the best era of her apprenticeship, out there in the wilds.

"I keep a small collection of trinkets which may advance your studies. The most powerful however, I keep at home."

​

 

[Anet Raine]

To hear Anathemous describe her past, Anet almost wondered if it was some lie... a way to seem relatable. Though was the Dark Lord really so shallow, or has the historian run into too many who would impress her with a mirror?

They had already exited the academy and were back inside the spaceport.

"I keep a small collection of trinkets which may advance your studies. The most powerful however, I keep at home."

"Is that an invitation or a lure, My Lord?"

She had not given up her edge, as there was still plenty of public attention on them. It felt... refreshing to feign such equality with someone she knew could kill her in a second if she wanted. However, their little game would have to wait.

When the two arrived back at the hangar, they found more than the service droids standing around. Two men, one older and one younger, who appeared to be related, along with very tall and lanky security droids. Their model was an obscure type, perhaps even bespoke for the needs of this man. Suffice it to say, they looked military-grade with a gloss of civilian sensibilities.

The older man was rotund, with a well-kempt beard and receding hair. The younger, though related, appeared a karmic contrast. The older opened his mouth.

"Miss Raine!"

He spoke as if she were a long-lost relative, and didn't stop there.

"Why, when I heard you were here on Lorrd, why--why I just had to come see you! It's been so long... You must give Alabaster my regards - I insist!"

The Anet that stood before them was not one the Dark Lord had seen before. She seemed several years younger, with all the awkward traits and expected embarrassment.

"Ah... Mister Gryyo... I, erm, you expected me?"

He looked caught off guard by this and scratched his charcoal beard. "Well, yes!" He chuckled.

Something about him was off. He proceeded to explain the existence of a new Jedi Enclave on Serias. Interestingly enough, this was the same planet where their Zeffonian ruin was located. However, neither Anet nor Anathemous would have the luxury of deep thought - the buffoon of a man continued to yapp on and on about the Enclave.

Beneath the veneer of his ramblings was the heart of it all. This Enclave was little more than a refuge for Jedi from influential families, under the pretense of meditation and peacekeeping... as long as it was far, far away from the war. Despite this, the man boasted about his son's recent 'promotion' to Knight and the wisdom of the 'Masters' at this new temple. When he finally stopped speaking, the man simply smiled cheek to cheek, tilting his attention from one woman to the other, then finally back at Anet with an almost ravenous stare.

"You know, Miss Raine, perhaps you and Athon (Ay-Thun) could catch up?"

Anet's mood sank at the suggestion, but she tried to hide it behind a forced smile.

 

[Darth Anathemous]

Wearing: Robes
Tag: Anet Raine

"While I'm not above temptation-" she began.

Breath paused in her throat as they came upon armed security in the hangar.

She examined the droids first, strange models she'd never seen. They looked old, yes, but not in the retro-modernized flair for which she adored Enarc Trade League droids. Anathemous was immediately suspicious of them, and their masters. Some nobles she suspected, meddling in affairs they shouldn't.

When the eldest began opening rambling to Anet, who looked terribly shy about the matter, she listened more curiously.

And listened some more.

And some more...

Her dour features only seemed to harden the longer he went on. This talk of Jedi in particular was grating on her ears. The implication 'influential families' forming a place of Jedi elite caused golden eyes to drift sidelong, lest the roll for all to see. It was so... Jedi, of them. A hypocrisy that injected the force with subtle waves of her frustration.

She only hoped the younger fellow was not the 'son' Mister Gryyo so proudly espoused.

tilting his attention from one woman to the other, then finally back at Anet with an almost ravenous stare.

"You know, Miss Raine, perhaps you and Athon (Ay-Thun) could catch up?"

Anathemous picked up on the woman's distress and the man's stare, and finally had enough.

"Well, it's been a pleasure to meet you, Mister Gryyo," she hummed politely.

The sith put one arm around Anet's shoulder, the other subtly nudging her by the waist to get going. There was only one way to solve the issue of a wealthy man looking for suitors to entertain his son, and it was one Anathemous had become very fond of.

"But I'm afraid my girlfriend and I are late for a very important meeting."

"Good luck with your Jedi business, sirs."

​

 

[Anet Raine]

Anet had been rapidly running through her responses, trying to find one that was diplomatic yet sharp. However, it seemed the Dark Lord had it covered with a very different plan than what the scholar would have ever considered.

First, it was the hand on her shoulder. Anet instinctively rolled it, a subtle 'get off' me followed by a nervous laugh. She hadn't yet figured out Anathemous's plan. Then, as the Sith spoke, a flash of pink rose on those otherwise pale cheeks.

"What?!"

It was a breathy exclamation, said quietly enough that only Kaila would pick up on it.

Gryyo also reacted strongly. First confusion, then surprise, and finally... embarrassment. Before he had a chance to respond, his son stepped in to fill a similar role to him as Kaila had provided to Anet.

"We have that business with Proctor Hyn, father."

He said with a gentle nudge.

"Right, right, right. Miss Raine, Miss Raine's companion, we must be off... But as I said, Miss Raine, send Bass our regards."

The half-pantoran huffed as they left and dismissed the Dark Lord's hand from her shoulder. She gave Anathemous a look that suggested anxiety rather than thanks.

"Shall we depart, My Lord?"

Darth Anathemous

 

[Darth Anathemous]

Wearing: Robes
Tag: Anet Raine

"just play along." she whispered.

The presumably Lorrdian men were given a wave and the faintest smile, which was all she could manage as the word "companion" grated on her ears. It felt so... sanitized to the Dark Lord, as though speaking the truth would hurt them. It told her all she needed to know, made her feel quite justified in her approach.

The look Anet gave her though, it made her wonder if that were the wrong choice.

"Shall we depart, My Lord?"

"Yes." she said, blinking out of her thoughts.

Anathemous approached the boarding ramp, keeping Anet in the corner of her eye.

"You seem troubled again, by my... exit strategy, perhaps."

"We should speak of this board, I think."

​