The Dark Master And The Lost Apprentice [Tripp Varan]

[Darth Vazela]

| [member="Tripp Varan"] |

Vilox Pazela was a former Sith Lord known as Darth Vazela, who had ruled over a third of the Sith Empire before it's destruction to the hands of the Mandalorians, the Jedi and the Galactic Republic. He had been only second to the Dark Lords of the Sith that he had served during his time there; and had a change of perspective from the Sith's collapse. That was the tale he told people who became privy to such knowledge, however.

Tripp Varan was a Sith Apprentice that Vilox had uncovered from the records of students that had come and gone from the Empire's old Sith academies. He had tracked the apprentice down, wherever he had been and had called him to the Libertas, an Alndys-class exploration craft that the Dark Jedi had procured for the scheme he was working on.

He required subordinates, someone who could fulfill the tasks the Dark Master found necessary to be completed and that was where Tripp Varan came in. Hooded, dark garb on his person and stood in the hangar bay of the Libertas, Vilox Pazela waited for the apprentices arrival; and the subordinate Vilox Pazela had sent to retrieve him.

Tripp would not know Vilox was a Sith Lord. He had not been told. All that he knew was that the subordinate in question, that Vilox Pazela had sent to retrieve him, was that he was meeting with a very powerful man; and that tended to be enough to pull in a wandering dark side. Power was like gravity and gravity tended to pull in things.

 

[Tripp Varan]

[member="Vilox Pazela"]

Tripp Varan was intrigued.

The servant who had been sent to track him down had proven to be informative despite his apparent orders not to provide details about where Tripp was going. The kind of loyalty the man displayed through his stony silence was, he felt, an indicator that he was telling the truth; he truly was on his way to meet someone of power.

He had good reason to be skeptical. During his first few months at the Academy it had been only too popular to play a trick on the new students, telling them they were on their way to meet someone important only to be lured down a dark corridor and beaten senseless. Some students had died, reportedly, though Tripp had been able to rely on his own skills to usually make it out of such ambushes in one piece.

Of course, he had no true idea why anyone of power would want to see him, he'd done nothing terribly impressive lately, and as far as he was aware of had tread on no toes. But when one received an invitation to speak with anyone of power among the Sith, it was less an invitation and more of an order.

He'd flown out in a nondescript shuttle, figuring that in all likelihood posturing would do him few favors wherever he was heading. The exploration craft that the shuttle had docked with was fairly impressive in itself, even if it wasn't the standard luxury or warship he'd grown accustomed to seeing in service with the Sith.

Once aboard, the apprentice was shown to a room containing a darkly dressed figure, who he could only assume was who he was meeting. In contrast, he was dressed in light colors, wearing a simple yet well-cut tunic of the kind that graced captain's quarters and noble's dance rooms the galaxy over. He looked nothing like the stereotypical Sith, in fact.

"Apprentice Varan, reporting...." He announced with a note of curiosity. He wasn't sure what, if any, form of address he was supposed to be using, but was sure he'd find out soon enough...

 

[Darth Vazela]

| [member="Tripp Varan"] |

"My name is Vazela, Tripp Varan. Welcome to the Libertas. Walk with me." The hooded man turned away from the Sith apprentice and around to the other end of the hangar bay. Niathal-class shuttles were the nearest craft to the Dark Master and Varan, whilst the glint of a Terminus-class starfighter could be seen in the background.

He spoke as they walked towards the exit. "Have you heard of the Shadow Empire?" asked Vilox.

 

[Tripp Varan]

[member="Vilox Pazela"]

The Shadow Empire?

Like most others who kept an ear out, Tripp heard of many of the various governments, enclaves, rebellions, and gatherings throught the Galaxy, but the Shadow Empire had never crossed his desk, as far as he could remember. As the duo paced down the length of the hangar bay, he considered for a moment lying, telling this man that yes, in fact he had heard of the Shadow Empire. Knowledge was power, after all, and to be ignorant was to be powerless.

But something told him that would not be a good path to take, and like most Force users, Tripp knew that the little voice in the back of one's mind was worth listening to. So he shook his head, clasping his hands behind his back as he paced, the white synthleather gloves he was wearing squeaking slightly with the motion.

"I regret to say that I am not familiar with the Shadow Empire, no. Are they affiliated with our Order?" Of course, 'our order' was something of a stab in the dark. Apart from being well funded, as evidenced by their surroundings, he still knew nothing of this man or his motives.

 

[Darth Vazela]

| [member="Tripp Varan"] |

Vilox's eyes averted from the exit ahead to Tripp. They were yellow in colour and predatory in glance. He had a predators eyes. "You misunderstand Varan. I am not a Sith. But I was once a Sith Lord. I ruled a third of the Sith Empire before it was destroyed by the alliance. The Shadow Empire is found in the former Empire territories. To some, I would be classified as a Dark Jedi, although I find the term loose. Dark Master is an accurate statement."

They stopped at the exit doors, which opened for them to reveal a hallway. Two engineers were seeing to something in the hallway and did not look up to either of them. They wore no uniforms and had a rough look about them. He continued speaking as they passed the Rodian and Human. "Because of my former allegiances, I discovered your name from the records I kept from Sith Academies that the Empire used to run. I have reached out to you because I want you to become my subordinate and assist me with my schemes, out here in the Shadow Empire."

"The context of my scheme nor it's depth will never be revealed to you. All that you will do is carry out tasks that I wish you to execute and in return I will reward you in some shape and form. What I can explain to you is that if you become my subordinate then I want you to understand the way of the Sith from my perspective. If you achieve my perspective, then you may come to understand a little more about my scheme, why I am with the Shadow Empire and so on."

"My ultimate goal, with individuals such as yourself, is to create a Dark Order within the Shadow Empire. As the Jedi have the Jedi Order and the Sith have the Sith Order, I will create the Dark Order, a place for individuals that do not identify themselves as Jedi or Sith and are still aligned to the dark side, as I am."

He stopped speaking and turned his hooded gaze to the Sith, garnering his response silently.

 

[Tripp Varan]

[member="Vilox Pazela"]

He listened with a growing degree of apprehension as they walked. What this man described was not entirely without merits, but it certainly opened up far more questions than Tripp liked. He matched gazes with the hooded figure, yellow eyes meeting grey orbs that did not, with an effort of will, falter.

"You raise more questions than you do answers, Vazela," He replied finally, keeping his tone neutral. "You are not a Sith, though you certainly seem to require the blind loyalty that they...that my Order does," He corrected himself quickly. "What is the difference between your way and the others? I'm sure that if you've researched me as you say you have then you will know that I am too intelligent to follow a leader blindly on some sort of crusade I know nothing of."

He glanced around; they were alone except for a few crewmen here and there, but none were close at hand. "Perhaps most importantly, the Sith look....poorly....on breakaways. What do you suppose would happen if I were to tell them of your 'Dark Order'?" It was a risk; as a general rule, Sith, former or otherwise, disliked being threatened. But he was not willingly going to throw himself into a situation he knew nothing of.

 

[Darth Vazela]

| [member="Tripp Varan"] |

"The difference between a Sith and me is the Sith would let you go on the premise that they will later use you; and I have no qualms in severing our very brief relationship at this very moment." He lifted a hand from his robe, in gesture. "Of course, we haven't reached that point yet."

Vilox lowered his hand. "You won't tell the Sith about me because I wouldn't let you. Sith do not demand your loyalty or respect. They demand fear, whereas I have already installed fear in you Varan, with my words alone."

 

[Tripp Varan]

[member="Vilox Pazela"]

"Some Sith demand fear, true," He conceeded with a slight nod. This was going downhill fairly quickly, and he realized that, in truth, he'd been a fool. Apprentice of the Sith or no, never enter a stranger's transport. Every child in the galaxy was told this from a young age, and he'd walked right into it. "But some Sith are less black-and-white than all of that."

He briefly considered his options. The likelihood that he could make it back to his shuttle, across the open hangar bay, wasn't high. The ships in the hangar itself were likely powered down and would need several minutes to warm up to a state of flight. He didn't know much about this man, but he knew that the chances were high that he couldn't best him physically.

"And what...tasks...would you want from me?" He asked, wondering if he really wanted the answer at all.

 

[Darth Vazela]

| [member="Tripp Varan"] |

"What makes you hesitant to join a new cause?" They were firing questions now, with no real answers. Testing the waters. They had reached the level of negotiations, where either side had the choice to invest or pull out. At these times, you required a pitch to ensure that the party in question remained invested, instead of pulling out.

"The Sith Empire was destroyed. The Sith are scattered in different factions around the galaxy, whilst pretenders rule on Coruscant. Sith have always demonstrated strength, but failed to grasp power. At the very tip of taking the galaxy, they always fall. That is where I am also different. I never fall. I always win."

"Question your own insecurities and doubts. Why would you not join me? Truthfully, who else has reached out to you, to usher you into a new era? Only me."

 

[Tripp Varan]

[member="Vilox Pazela"]

"You always win," He echoed, thinking. "And yet, as far as I am aware, you are no longer a lord of the Sith." This was a dangerous game, and he knew it. "My doubts are simply based. You offer me nothing more than a throne at which to kneel. You know the Sith, you know who they attract, those like us. Why should I pick your cause, an untested, unknown, over the Sith Empire, which has stood for so many thousands of years in one form or another?"

 

[Darth Vazela]

| [member="Tripp Varan"] |

"Because the Sith Empire stands no more, yet I remain."

"Sith rule the weak. I shall rule the Sith, as it was meant to be."