Private Stellar Exchanges

[Astra Sadow]

"That's just it, Lysander. The light of an Eclipse isn't bright at all; but it is breathtaking." The totality of a solar eclipse brought about a world the likes of which Astra hungered for daily. Shame so many other creatures would perish if the darkness remain eternally. With them went her indulgence. Though, if you made a true paradise on a single planet -- or part of a planet -- you truly could have everything you ever wanted.

Astra slowly shook her head. "By all means, Lysander. By all means. Why else does Sanguine Enterprises bother conducting legitimate business? Deniability, yes, but not everything has to be wreathed in flame." Her companies did pursue completely legal ventures in addition to the criminal ones. There was nothing to say you wouldn't exploit everyone equally.

"Freedom?" Her brows arched slightly over her golden eyes. "Freedom is in discarding all the constraints the worlds imposes on you for its sake -- not yours. Limits are those constraints. You weren't born with a natural talent. You weren't born fitting society's Standard for normalcy. Concepts that shackle a soul and dictate its worth. The real secret behind the Code is in spitting in the face of those that claim to be better because they have more credits or more opportunities than you. To take action to tear off the chains forced upon you; to know there are no limits." Astra paused as she gazed into Lysander's eyes. "If you choose not to do something that is not a limit. It is a choice. That is freedom." Removing every boundary left open all possibilities, in Astra's philosophy. Were some boundaries 'necessary' or 'good?' Perhaps. But that was up to a person to decide which ones to abide despite having the ability to disregard them, not for an unthinking galaxy or some Living Force to dictate.

A soft snort followed Lysander's mild amusement with where to spend his time. Astra reached up to pluck Nightstar out of thin air as if it'd always been there. He'd no doubt want his blade back. "Need is a strong word. Want, on the other hand... I will keep that in mind. I keep the list of needs short." Most rulers thought themselves untouchable surrounded by guards and wielding a lightsaber. Astra, herself, felt that way. Nonetheless, she knew she was exposed in the world as she wandered so freely. So it was better not to have a long list of things people could leverage against her. It was hardly a short list to beginning with.

"You." She extended the hilt of his blade back toward him. "I need you. You have a hunger for more than carnage -- as delightful as a pastime it might be -- that I find enjoyable."

Lysander von Ascania​

 

[Lysander von Ascania]

Astra Sadow​

Clarity was still in the air after training, muscles still feeling loose and warm; even so, Lysander's thoughts turned over some slow gears in the background. "Breathtaking, then. I'll grant you the distinction, Astra." His gaze held hers a moment longer. "Awe carries its own kind of illumination though." Fingers turned the weapon once more. "Fine. A darkness people cannot look away from. I suppose that does sound more like you."


Eyes widened slightly and his head tilted to the side. "Say less," offered lightly; truly, that subject alone could unfold across an entire evening if permitted. Still early enough to indulge that, and part of him wouldn't have minded digging in deeper right then. Alignment on that point had been clear for months now. Probably since the first encounter, and if not then, certainly sometime before Humbarine, a catastrophe in its own right. "There's nothing sophisticated about burning an asset you could've owned." Convincing the Point Emissary otherwise would prove difficult, if not borderline impossible.


"Freedom as you describe it makes sense.. discarding constraints imposed for the sake of the world rather than the person." He was still weighing the idea carefully. "I wonder whether removing every boundary automatically leaves freedom, or just exchanges one set of chains for another." The distinction mattered to him. A boundary chosen willingly could be an expression of agency just as easily as breaking one. "If choice is what matters, then holding a boundary because it was chosen carries just as much freedom as tearing it down."

His shoulders rose in a light and playful shrug. "You do remain right about one thing. I should choose my vocabulary more carefully around you." Such caution could apply to more than a few moments with the chairwoman. A smile eased across his features, softening them. "I prefer a short list myself. Makes the things that stick on it matter more."

Nightstar was taken hold of, Eclipse offered back to her. "Okay. Then I suppose we're both rather selective."

 

[Astra Sadow]

Astra rolled her shoulders. "Choice is all that matters. You either have the ability to make one, or you do not -- and it is made for you. The Code is simplified, and often misinterpreted, but it exists for a reason. It's a misinterpretation to believe the breaking of all chains is inherently the goal of the Sith. Freedom is the beginning. Not an end."

"As for your vocabulary," Astra laughed, "use whatever you like, but like crippling someone else's slave, you need to be prepared for the consequences of using the wrong one." A echo of a chuckle followed suit. "Fealty, for example, carries certain... connotations a woman like me would find difficult to utter even with no intention of following through. Submission -- an admission of failing -- is hard enough as it is." A golden eye slid shut in a slow wink.

"And need? That's only to express how important you are, Lysander. Whatever you feel day to day dealing with less... discrete elements, you would not be so easily replaced. For the Covenant. To me. I want able bodied, sharp minded, or unyielding people to fill out the ranks; but I need stars for them to aspire toward. Even the night sky is not without its allure."

Astra gladly returned Nightstar as she took hold of Eclipse once more. A soft hum followed having its deep voice in her grasp once more.

Lysander von Ascania​