The League (Ardana 'nilim)

[Darth Ferus]

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Aboard his own ship sat Darth Ferus. He was midway through the ship's course to another planet, Coruscant. The red man was just relaxing, trying to work out the sore part in between the flesh and metal of his arm. The limb itself was resting in front of him on a table, just there for an inspection. Of course, he wasn't paying attention to the rest of his ship, and was ultimately alone save for the droid that was his pilot.

[member="Ardana 'nilim"]

 

[Ardana 'nilim]

Finding an entrance. That was always the main concern. Not the danger of the situation she could be putting herself in, not the people that could be aboard at every which way and corner. She saw no harm in a little free passage to...well, anywhere but here, anywhere but a planet with nothing left for her. It was now simply routine for Ardana to jump from planet to planet on whatever ships happened to pass by. At her new destination, she would find odd jobs here and there to get by, yet it was clear to Ardana now that she was after something. Something bigger than a simple change of venue. A purpose, perhaps. A purpose to be apart of something bigger, as she once was.

It was exactly what she was thinking of, or rather all she was thinking of, at the time when she sat in the cargo hold of a sith lord's ship, jumped up to her left and tipped a rather large crate over, creating a bit too much noise for comfort.

[member="Darth Ferus"]​

 

[Darth Ferus]

Having been in the process of pouring a cup of tea when the noise was created, he soon found himself covered in that exact tea. He had expected to be alone, and the shock of that not being the case caused him to jump a little. And a little was enough for him to splash up the tea on himself. With an annoyed brow twitch, he would rather quickly make his way to the cargo hold. Aboard a quiet and empty ship he could practically hear everything that was out of place.

Stepping into the room, still coated in tea mind you, he would call out, annoyance clear in his voice. "I know someones here, I can feel you now. Come out, or I'll find and kill you." A rather dark threat. But he wasn't in the mood to play around. That tea was hot after all.

[member="Ardana 'nilim"]

 

[Ardana 'nilim]

As the man burst through the door, it seemed, and shouted to her, Ardana tightly gripped her saber at her side. With just enough time to swiftly hide herself in the shadows among a couple of crates and other supplies, She repeatedly cursed herself in her mind for having the utter stupidity to lose her track of thought and make this foolish mistake. One she had surprisingly never made before. There would be no point in hiding now. After all, the young Twi'lek couldn't simply dodge around the man to and fro until the ship found its location, now could she? "Very Well" She thought, "Time for a grand reveal." Ardana unhooked the saber and placed it next to a metal box on the floor, then slowly walked from her hiding place, into the open, in the center of the hold.

"Well done sir!" She shouted in a rather high pitched, excited tone, with a smile as large as that of a small child receiving a beloved gift. A slight chuckle could be heard from Ardana for only a moment, before her entire face seemed to shift suddenly into a frown of dissapointment. "...Ya caught me."

[member="Darth Ferus"]​

 

[Darth Ferus]

"Yes, I did." Rather calmly the lord would address [member="Ardana 'nilim"] , crossing both arms over his chest as he looked her over. She seemed to have a saber, perhaps a staff? He couldn't really see it that well. It could be a candle for all he knows at this point. But as he watched her there was no amusement in his face. In fact, he seemed very, very annoyed. "You know, I'm impressed you were able to hide. You got a name?" He still wasn't exactly happy, of course. But he wasn't about to let his annoyance affect himself on his own ship.

Unless she started something.

 

[Ardana 'nilim]

She had felt surprised really, she'd half expected him to be aiming a blaster pistol directly at her face, impatiently demanding answers. She was out in the open, no where to run if true danger was clear, yet she had felt somewhat secure knowing that the saber she carried rested safely, hidden behind a crate to her side. Now she was taken aback by his rather calm approach to her intrudence. "A-..." She hesitated, but what really could she have to lose? Besides, it was only a name. "Ardana 'nilim" she answered confidently. "Not much to it." Ardana thought back to Ferus's statement, being impressed with her ability to hide.

"You know, it's not really an art form...any old brute could do it, should he put some effort into being discrete." She stood, swirling her tongue around her mouth, lost in thought for a moment, but soon turned her gaze quickly back to the lord, bringing herself back. If this was an admirable foe, then his angle was unclear to her. Ardana decided to go along with this banter, which was seemingly useless in her mind, merely postponing something bigger. "Well...what's yours then?" She asked with a feeling of uncertainty.

[member="Darth Ferus"]​

 

[Darth Ferus]

"Not any old brute could hide from me, especially on my own ship." The Red Assassin crossed his arms over his chest, frowning deeply. [member="Ardana 'nilim"] seemed to be a Twi'lek, and clearly female, but that was the most he could figure out. Raising a hand though, he would reach out with the force to rather gently lift up the box she had knocked over prior and place it back where it belonged. "The name is Darth Ferus. Tell me, how exactly did you get on my ship Ardana?"

 

[Ardana 'nilim]

She watched with intrigue as the sith lord placed the box back to its former place. Ardana had sensed something off about it since the moment she had stepped on board.. about the ship, about the situation as a whole, yet she did not know what. Here was her answer. She shifted her eyes from Darth Ferus and walked slowly as she touched a few more supplies in the hold, her eyes wandering about at every corner of the room. "One cannot simply, give away ALL their secrets at first sight. I would hope someone like yourself could appreciate that." Ardana stood, turned away from Ferus, toying with a small container.

Her mood of playful banter changed to one of a more serious tone. "What will you have done with me?"

[member="Darth Ferus"]​

 

[Darth Ferus]

"Not going to kill you, if that's what you're wondering. But.. That is a good question." The Zabrak went quiet for a moment, as if deep in thought. [member="Ardana 'nilim"] was a stowaway, and usually he would jettison them into space without a second thought. But usually he could pick them up before he ended up in hyperspace. The girl had been able to elude his watchful eyes, a feat few had been able to do prior. A wave of his hand would cause all of the boxes within the room to open and become knocked over, contents of screws, nuts, bolts, piratically anything you could tinker with ended up on the floor.

"Organize those. They weren't before, and I'm not one to give a free ride. Earn your keep so to speak, aye?" Turning from Ardana, he would leave her to the buckets. Part of him knew she wouldn't do it, but another part figured she might of. What else would a stowaway want but a job and a life to do something, even if it was so meager? Of course, he couldn't exactly preach being better. He spent a lot of his time without his own ship doing the same thing he caught her doing.

 

[Ardana 'nilim]

Silence had filled the room as Ardana stood staring at the door Darth Ferus had left from. She felt lucky the man hadn't conspired to do something more deadly with her, for hiding upon someone else's ship was never something to be admired. Feeling that it was fair payment to give, one at a time, she levitated each of the crates back to their original postions, not leaving until every individual screw nestled back in its container, and all other contents were placed as they had been before. It was only when Ardana held one last box in the air that she realized what a fool she had been made.

A wave of anger swept over Ardana. The crate was sent flying into the wall as screw and bolts flew at every side. As her saber quickly gravitated towards her hand and was clicked into her belt, the young twi'lek stormed out of the room and approached him with haste. "I'M NOT YOUR CLEANING DROID FERUS!"
Perhaps she had lost control of herself, for it was only pure anger that could be felt in Ardana's heart as the sizzling sound of a saber ignition was heard.

[member="Darth Ferus"]​

 

[Darth Ferus]

Ferus was within the kitchen, sipping idly at a new cup of tea. This time, as [member="Ardana 'nilim"] freaked out, he wouldn't spill the drink. In fact, he would keep rather calm. Turning his gaze to the Twi'lek he would offer a shrug, frowning. "No, you're not. But what else are you gonna do to earn your keep eh?" A brow would raise over his blue eyes. He didn't seem wary on the saber, but that was more of the items he had built into himself to protect him if he needed. Naturally, he was ready if she decided to attack.

 

[Ardana 'nilim]

Ardana stood in silence, seething in anger for only a moment before retracting the blade and placing the saber in her belt. She opened her mouth to speak, then shut it closed, squinting her eyes at Ferus before quickly walking away to another room. To think, the only fool on the ship was her. After all, he could've killed her, or even worse. If he had wanted a little clean up, it wasn't a big a price to pay. Sat against the wall in the cargo hold, Ardana levitated a small box while contemplating what to do next. It was not long until the Twi'lek was lost deep in thought, and soon deep in dreams as her head rested on the dark, cold floor, fast asleep.

[member="Darth Ferus"]​

 

[Darth Ferus]

There was no response or following of [member="Ardana 'nilim"] as she left from Ferus. In fact, he went about to sip on his tea. For now, he wasn't going to disturb her, be it her work or.. A faint smile formed on his lips though as he could feel the girl going into a blissful sleep. He certainly wouldn't wake her from that. But there was somewhere he needed to take the Twi'lek. Gifted as she was, he would need to bring her to the Sith Temple on Coruscant, and upon entering the cockpit of his ship, he would command the droid to do just that.

Perhaps he found himself another for the Assassins. Leaning back in his seat he would let the stars fly by, unsure on if the girl would sleep the entire way or wake up soon enough.

 

[Ardana 'nilim]

For a moment, she was surprised by her surroundings, having forgotten who's ship she was upon at the time. It was all the same, no matter what hunk of metal she awoke on. Since a time long forgotten, there had been no sense of home for Ardana, no place to rely on. But that was just fine, as a little bit of unpredictability made for the quite the adventure. Having felt somewhat rested, Ardana left the room and approached the front of the ship. Her rather pleasant mood, forged by a good rest, was quickly destroyed as her heart sank at the sight of the ship's destination. Heavy breaths could be heard being drawn in from the girl as she began to speak hesitantly, "Coruscant...That, that's where your docking? Coruscant?"

[member="Darth Ferus"]​

 

[Darth Ferus]

"Well, of course. It's the Sith Homeworld, and I am Sith." Ferus spoke matter of factually without turning his head to [member="Ardana 'nilim"] . He thought it would of been apparent once she had learned his name from earlier, but it seemed it wasn't. A light chuckle would come from his lips as he felt her anguish though. "Is there a problem with that child?"

 

[Ardana 'nilim]

Her fists began to slowly tense and clench up reflexively, as many immediate feelings of distress shot through Ardana, each one feeling like a cold knife stabbing inside her harder and faster each time. She turned to place her hand on the wall closest to her, resting her head upon it and drawing a large, quivering breath. "Forgive me...I have not been around the temple in a very long time." The Twi'lek then turned back to face the planet, her eyes shifting from side to side. She spoke in a soft yet audible whisper, "Dark...painful memories, from this place. They haunt me." Ardana began to speak in a more certain, louder tone, "No...no, there is no problem. After all it is your ship."

[member="Darth Ferus"]​

 

[Darth Ferus]

"Temple? Do you mean Jedi or Sith? If the former, that temple has been destroyed, and a new Valley of the Dark Lords has been made instead." Blue eyes glanced over [member="Ardana 'nilim"] for a moment or two, but they wouldn't linger. Rather, he would return his gaze back to the starlines of hyperspace. What ever her reason he was sure he would hear soon enough, if she wanted to tell him that was.

 

[Ardana 'nilim]

"Oh yes of course, the new Valley, You must excuse me, as I fear I have too much on my mind at this time." She paused for a moment, running her hand across her face, then began to recollect herself in an attempt to escape the thoughts. "Perhaps it is not my place to ask, but what are your plans upon arrival at Coruscant?"

[member="Darth Ferus"]​

 

[Darth Ferus]

"To bring you into the Sith, of course. Normally I would go elsewhere, but I have a.. Meeting to do on the planet. You'll be my assistant, hiding in the shadows like you did on my ship. This is a test for you, and a general meeting for me." Ferus talked in a commanding voice, as if he was talking to one who was actually under him. [member="Ardana 'nilim"] wasn't actually a minion or anything of the sort to him, but she was still a stowaway.

 

[Ardana 'nilim]

She contemplated how to respond for only a moment. In no way did Ardana ever desire to become someone's servant, blindly following them through chaos and any other inquiries in the galaxy. Yet, this could be a chance. A chance at what she had yearned for all this time. And after all, what did she have to lose? There would be nothing left for her on Coruscant by her lonesome, nor any other planet for the matter. It was time to seize this opportunity by the throat.

"As you request." She began to walk off to explore the rest of the ship, before turning back, "Please tell me when we've arrived at the planet."

[member="Darth Ferus"]​