Private The Price of Expertise

[Anet Raine]

'EASY' STATION
Orbiting a Gas Giant
Bonadan System
Kaila Irons

Some ten thousand lives were boxed up inside of Easy Station, an ore refining facility operated by the Hydian-Wyl Mining Company - the closest thing to an authority in the Sector. Traffic was congested around the station's few docking bays, in no small part due to the ongoing 'Zersium Rush.'

A tramp freighter captain and a wildcat miner argued inside the tight concourse.

Roasted insects filled the air, mixing with the aroma of stale body odor and toxic gas, the latter being a byproduct of the ore refinery.

The rest of the station was separated by crowded corridors that connected the few more open spaces, revealing a mock urban interior not unlike your common space colony. Tucked further away, in a space less traveled, inhabited only by sotaways and drug addicts, was the office and laboratory of one Anet Raine, a Historian and Archaeologist from Shey Tapani University.

The doorway was left open, with only cloth drapes to keep out the fumes and spying eyes. As if that seemed to be a problem, as denizens appeared to steer clear of the place.

Inside the main entrance was more boutique than office. Tables filled with objects that looked more rock than creation, and entire stations designed for delicately cleaning and processing them. On the other end was one 'finished work.' A dark artifact undoubtedly of Sith origin, judging by its Force emanations. It smelled and tasted Sith. Though it appeared to be nothing more than an unusual cube.

 

[Kaila Irons]

Wearing: Robes
Tag: Anet Raine

Kaila turned the trinket over in her hand while she walked.

It was Zersium, suspended from a ribbon of red silk. Along it's length, fabric and metal alike, were strange symbols from her homeworld. Zersium was a sought after material in some Nightsister charms, few knew that.

In her other hand, another piece of that silvery metal sat between her fingers, though it was shinier, smoother, unblemished by time like the other piece. It was incomplete, however. Smoke trailed from her blackened thumb as she pressed it into the pristine metal, drawing the very same symbols upon this new plate.

The runes were still red-hot when she entered Anet's den of antiquities.

From beneath a hood of black Zeyd-cloth, Golden eyes lazily drank in the environment, right up until they locked on the peculiar 'cube' in the center of it all. Likely a holocron, she suspected.

She could taste that darkness on the air.

Kaila took in a deep breath of it, savored it.

Oh yes, she thought, this "Raine" character was going to be an interesting one.

​

 

[Anet Raine]

Anet entered from further within, datapad in hand, when she saw Kaila Irons in the corner of her eye, she stopped.

By the way she paused and her uncomfortable gaze, it wasn't difficult to imagine the near-human was equal parts surprised and displeased to have a visitor. Especially one so comfortable as to enter unannounced. It was a problem Anet thought she was rid of.

"You're not from the station," she made her suspicions known. "So what are you doing here?"

The historian quickly wrapped up whatever business she had on the datapad and set it aside, joining a mess of items in the cluttered space.

If it mattered, she looked like any ordinary spacer. Perhaps a bit stylish, but definitely looked the part of a Rimworlder. With bits of leather and fur to accentuate the synthweave. The kind of attire that was tailor-made for an adventurer, rather than picked up at the store.

Kaila Irons

 

[Kaila Irons]

Wearing: Robes
Tag: Anet Raine

"That makes two of us." she concluded.

Kaila glanced up from the artifact, taking a languid step forward.

"You're no Jedi, else you'd have suspended that one in Nullification resin." she gestured to the 'cube'.

"But not quite sith either, I suspect. You'd not be slaving away here, without so much as a door, while the merchants outside grow fat on Zersium."

She glanced down at the Talisman in her hand, then held it out to Anet. A peace offering, of sorts.

"But I suspect you'd take better care of it than any merchant."

Another step.

"As for myself, I was told you were a fellow... collector." said with another glance at the historian's finds.

"Seems they weren't far off."

She gave the 'adventurer' a once over, as though taking measure. Once satisfied, she gripped the remaining zersium behind her back, giving her an almost regal posture, despite the simplistic robes.

"What do you know of the Zeffo?"

​

 

[Anet Raine]

She leaned against a wall as Kaila Irons set the tone of what would no doubt be an interesting conversation.

Anet even glanced at the doorway when it was mentioned and snickered at the 'collector' label.

"No I'm not a Jedi," though once upon a time she might've been, "but I'm not a collector - I'm a scholar."

Getting looked over was curious enough, but the way this woman dressed gave Anet some pause. She not only looked the part of a stranger, but a strange one at that. The way she spoke, carried herself, and took up space reminded her of a professor at the university. Stuck-up prick, but far less interesting than the woman seemed to be.

"What do you know of the Zeffo?"

Anet crossed her arms and raised a brow. "A cryptic civilization that inhabited the far outer rim, though I believe they had isolated colonies all across the galaxy... Some think they were not unlike the Rakata or Sith - a civilization built and ruled by Force wielders. Why? Did you come all this way for a history lesson?"

 

[Kaila Irons]

Wearing: Robes
Tag: Anet Raine

"Hmh." her lips curled faintly.

A professional then? Good, she'd picked well.

Kaila listened carefully to the woman's explanation, head tilting just enough that a lock of golden hair fell from her hood. It was about what she expected, although parallels to the Sith were not something she'd considered till now. Fascinating.

"History teaches many lessons, all valuable."

One last step, she leaned forward until she was eye level with strange cube she'd pointed out earlier. All the while, she was still carving symbols into the little metal plate in her hands.

"But no, I am looking for something less abstract." she admitted.

"Zeffonian ruins, powered, not destroyed."

"Or a piece of their technology, anyway, for a project of sorts."

"And," a glance was spared her way "Someone with the expertise to help me install it?"

​

 

[Anet Raine]

"History teaches many lessons, all valuable."

This earned a roll from Anet's eyes. If anything, she believed quite the opposite. History was fascinating, it taught a lot, and indeed, much of it could be valuable, but all? It reminded her of the Veeshas Tuwan, an ancient library on Arkania. A vast collection of works written and procured by the Sith Empire. Eventually, the site was razed and ransacked by the Jedi Order.

What a waste.

It would have been more valuable to history if the facility had remained. Alas. To her, there wasn't so much as a lesson in it, other than sometimes people suck.

As the strange woman elaborated, Anet listened, then the near-human waved the woman along - beckoned to follow.

She led them into the back area. Roomier, but even more filled with clutter. There were plants, too, many of them not native to this sector. In one tree lived a mating pair of tiny reptomammals, who were not shy in their... activities.

"Zeffonian ruins, powered, not destroyed."

"It won't be easy. Any documented ruins would have been stripped clean by now, I suspect. You'd have to find one that is either difficult to access or yet to be discovered."

The barely walkable area was filled with flat surfaces, and those surfaces were topped with everything from datapads and datachits to a small museum of artifacts. Statuettes, trinkets, a rusty piece from an old Sith warblade, and - on a stand - a very damaged lightsaber that could be mistaken for junk. There were also tracings from ruins, including wall art that depicted strange beings descending upon a 'castle', summoning storms, and wielding swords made of fire. A depiction of a pre-industrial civilization being invaded by the ancient Sith, from the perspective of the conquered.

"And," a glance was spared her way "Someone with the expertise to help me install it?"

Anet looked over her shoulder. "And you think that'd be me?"

Kaila Irons

 

[Kaila Irons]

Wearing: Robes
Tag: Anet Raine

The reptomammals were given a cursory glance.

She was far more interested in the flora than the fauna, blackened fingers running gently through leaves as she passed.

The warblade next, even fragmented, she recognized the High Sith inscriptions Oh but the lightsaber? The Lord of Blades knew that craft intimately, and from the moment she saw it, Kaila couldn't look at anything else. Again she leaned forward till she was eye level with the subject of her fascination, head slowly tilting from one side to the other like some curious feline, as though looking from another angle would help determine it's make and era.

"It won't be easy. Any documented ruins would have been stripped clean by now, I suspect. You'd have to find one that is either difficult to access or yet to be discovered."

"Or one with active security." she gestured with a palm in the direction of Raine's signature.

"The automata which guard their tombs contain in their chests an energy sphere, which I would see utilized to my own design. Of course, those are too big, but where we find the brutes, unspoiled technology powered by smaller iterations are close."

Anet looked over her shoulder. "And you think that'd be me?"

A glance met with a glance.

"Perhaps."

​

 

[Anet Raine]

The fauna weren't particularly exotic or interesting. Mostly, they were the kind of plants that could live on a dry station, and reduced the more pungent odors.

The lightsaber, on the other hand, appeared more peculiar than perhaps anything else in the room. It wasn't of a singular make or era, but a chimera of many, as if it had slowly been accumulated from parts dating across a range of a couple thousand years.

Anet fell into a chair at a desk overloaded with computer equipment. The viewscreens all flickered on - each monitored data and images taken from her various dig sites. She stretched as Kaila Irons spoke, revealing how formfitting that synthweave was, and the intentional cuts along the fabric, which showed bare skin beneath. She crossed one leg over another, each covered in black, knee-high boots, and idly inspected the gifted Talisman in her hand.

She quickly gathered that it was Dathomiri in nature, but honestly, the witches were not her expertise. Their culture was far too recent for this historian - roughly a millennium and a half old, if she recalled correctly.

"Are you a witch?" She asked quite casually.

"The automata which guard their tombs contain in their chests an energy sphere, which I would see utilized to my own design. Of course, those are too big, but where we find the brutes, unspoiled technology powered by smaller iterations are close."

"So you want my help locating a ruin, then you want to find a 'small' version of an energy sphere... but why? You know, a power droid would probably be as efficient. Mobile too."

Kaila Irons

 

[Kaila Irons]

Wearing: Robes
Tag: Anet Raine

"Half-witch, some say." she replied cryptically, regretfully.

"So you want my help locating a ruin, then you want to find a 'small' version of an energy sphere... but why? You know, a power droid would probably be as efficient. Mobile too."

"Mm? no. too cumbersome."

"What I want..." she began, hand outstretched.

The fascinating chimeric lightsaber floated gently into her waiting grasp. The way she held it was delicate, as though it came from a shrine.

"...Is something like this."

"A blade forged from only the finest parts, powered by an infinite source, that which does not rust nor decay."

She held it to the light, carefully, in both hands, though she could almost imagine what it looked like ignited.

"A weapon to outlast us all."

She glanced at Anet again, studying her reaction. A looker and a craftsman, if that suit was anything to go by. If this saber was hers, the Lord of Blades was quite confidant she'd be enlisting the woman's services most frequently.

​

 

[Anet Raine]

Anet uncrossed her legs, and her hair fell forward as she leaned closer when the stranger grabbed the weapon through the Force.

The historian was rather annoyed, initially, though she couldn't help but smirk and giggle at what the woman had to say about the lightsaber.

"A blade forged from only the finest parts, powered by an infinite source, that which does not rust nor decay."

This lightsaber, on the other hand, had certainly been weathered by time. It was unique, and its derelict appearance betrayed an underlying power. Indeed, Kaila Irons wouldn't need psychometry to sense a dark and ancient power at its heart - the crystal was much older than the surrounding parts. It resonated strangely in the Force and reached out to touch the woman's spirit as if contemplating. Then, the blade grew incredibly cold to the touch, invoking dark and gloomy malaise.

"I'd be careful with that," she warned.

"That weapon belonged to a Dark Jedi named Yoren Sallow... I have been attempting to restore it, but it doesn't listen."

She glanced at Anet again, studying her reaction. A looker and a craftsman, if that suit was anything to go by. If this saber was hers, the Lord of Blades was quite confidant she'd be enlisting the woman's services most frequently.

Anet looked up at her with a fierce set of eyes in contrast to her relaxed body language.

"So you're building a lightsaber, then?" She mused.

"Judging by your incautious use of the Force, I know you're not a Jedi. They would find it... frivolous, I think, to show off like that."

 

[Kaila Irons]

Wearing: Robes
Tag: Anet Raine

Her lips twitched. Never fully committing to a smile nor a frown.

In the end she carefully put it back, deciding there was no need to power through when it was not her mission. Besides, if Anet meant to restore it, that was fascinating enough in of itself.

"Judging by your incautious use of the Force, I know you're not a Jedi. They would find it... frivolous, I think, to show off like that."

"...the Force is meant to be a tool..." she murmured.

"But you are correct, I am no Jedi. In fact, I suspect our areas of study overlap."

A gesture at the many dark side artifacts.

"Which means that we can help one another."

Kaila wondered towards the desk, hands tucked into her wide sleeves. There was a curiosity to her gaze as she looked at the historian, like she were as much a puzzle to be solved as any trinket in this laboratory. Nothing malicious, not towards her at least, just genuine curiosity.

"Has the crystal been bled yet? I can show you how, if not. It's how the Sith wrest control of their blades."

​

 

[Anet Raine]

She watched as the woman put the lightsaber back where it belonged.

"...the Force is meant to be a tool..." she murmured.

"I didn't know it was meant to be anything at all."

Anet's smirk remained, especially as the stranger gestured towards the room and proclaimed that they had some overlap. That smirk only widened as she suggested they could help one another.

When the woman came in to look at the near-human as if she were a specimen, the smirk faltered and was quickly replaced by a stoic glare.

"Has the crystal been bled yet? I can show you how, if not. It's how the Sith wrest control of their blades."

Anet's gaze widened a little, and she sank back into her chair and set the talisman aside. She reached up to tuck loose strands of white hair behind one ear and explored the 'Sith' in turn - like it was she who was the specimen.

"I am... familiar with the concept, yes."

The historian did not want to admit the intimacy of her knowledge.

"For a Sith, you look remarkably young and beautiful," she remarked. "Even under those robes."

"Have you achieved everlasting life? The trickery of your own appearance? Or... are you one of those Dark Jedi pretenders who claim a legacy just because she knows the words and has a bit of power?"

Kaila Irons

 

[Kaila Irons]

Wearing: Robes
Tag: Anet Raine

Her lips curled into a smile reserved only for answering a challenge.

That cocktail of daring and praise was delectable, but it needed to be quashed, here and now.

Kaila pulled her hood down, silken-gold hair cascading down her broad shoulders.

She leaned forward then, gloved hands wrapping around the armrests of Anet's chair, so close she could have grabbed her wrists while staring into those eyes, Cerulean to Molten gold.

Until they weren't.

The light began to warp, Violet and black smoke where gold should have been, formless but ever present like cosmic flame. She exhaled slowly, breathing out the restraint she'd once held, as the air became so cold that her breath turned to mist against Anet's skin. It was like staring into a living graveyard as she drew power from things far more ancient than either of them could ever be, to say nothing of her own power which permeated the force with fear and anger and the twisted passions of a Dark Lord.

"I am Anathemous." she declared "Lord of Blades."

"Do you challenge me? name thyself."

​

 

[Anet Raine]

The proximity. The change. The coldness.

Anet looked up at the woman with fear, her eyes unwilling or unable to look away from the Sith's own. The artifacts stirred with her, adding their voices to the cacophony of passions that swirled in the room. The near-human could feel her heart pound in her throat; she could hear it in her ears.

"Ah... Anet," she practically whimpered the name.

Dark Jedi, Sith, or no, this Anathemous certainly found purchase in the historian's mind. She had only researched such power, perhaps experienced latent drippings, but never had she tasted or felt it so intensely. It was as euphoric as it was terrible.

She gasped, "I... It wasn't... It's complicated."

Was it her own fear? Or did the Sith somehow have a hold on her mind, too? Anet couldn't shake the feeling - she didn't want to.

For someone like her, this presence was a dark gift. She practically slipped out of the chair and dropped to her knees. As she fell forward, Anet's hands instinctively grasped at the Sith Lord's legs, and she looked up.

"Were you ever like me?" Her voice strained as she asked.

By her look, it was obvious: she needed proof that one day such power might be her own.

Kaila Irons

 

[Kaila Irons]

Wearing: Robes
Tag: Anet Raine

Her chin lifted with a dark, satisfied pride.

Kaila didn't even turn to look at her as Anet fell to her knees, just stared down her nose at her as the violet began to fade into that glowing gold. It did little to change the intensity.

But all the while, her brows twitched confusedly.

Not because Anet shouldn't be afraid—she should. But Anathemous liked it. It made her feel so powerful, reminded her that she'd come so far. She was in control, for once, so utterly that it was intoxicating. She hated that about herself.

Is this how the exiles felt, when Korriban knelt for the first time?

"Were you ever like me?" Her voice strained as she asked.

Mist slowly fell from her nostrils in a quiet exhale.

It made the world feel a little less cold, her anger less potent, as the young Darth let that intensity wash over her. In the end she took a different approach from her master, gently lowering herself to a knee, to Anet's level.

"Afraid?" she said, but not without empathy.

"...Alone?"

She reached out, cupping the woman's jaw with blackened fingers, still warm with dark power she'd used to engrave her trinkets. But perhaps, what could so easily burn could also comfort.

"...Desperate..." she finished, barely above a whisper.

Her freckled features settled into an understanding frown, tracing blue skin with her thumb.

"Once..."

"...A long time ago."

​

 

[Anet Raine]

Afraid. She felt seen.

Alone. Made her angry.

It exasperated and brought conflict to her heart when the woman's warm fingers cupped her jaw. A violation - oddly comforting.

Desperate... Vulnerable.

The Sith's thumb caused Anet's jaw to stiffen as teeth grit behind tight lips.

"What changed?"

Kaila Irons

 

[Kaila Irons]

Wearing: Robes
Tag: Anet Raine

"Hm." she frowned.

What did change? It wasn't that Kaila no longer felt these things, less keenly perhaps.

"I broke my chains." she said, eyes flicking up at Anet's briefly.

"Studied in ancient tombs, learned from many masters, until I no longer needed them."

"And allies." she breathed, glancing at her lips, thumb dangerously close.

"It was a hard lesson... learning who to trust, who to use... when to spot betrayal, and steal the initiative."

Advice, a warning, an invitation at once.

Finally she stood, not to her full height though. Wide sleeves fell from strong arms, her hand out for Anet to take.

​

 

[Anet Raine]

Cold blue eyes flicked up as the Sith answered.

"Or... are you one of those Dark Jedi pretenders who claim a legacy just because she knows the words and has a bit of power?"

"I broke my chains." she said, eyes flicking up at Anet's briefly.

She certainly spoke like a Sith. As Anet understood it, that part of the Sith Code was perhaps the most misunderstood and debated. Some pointed that true freedom, the Force without restriction... perfect power... was the meaning. That all true Sith pursue the Sith'ari - the perfect being. For some, it was inevitable, for others, it was an idea to strive for and nothing more. The Historian wondered what this one thought of such things, though she did not ask.

Her gaze softened at the mention of studious times. She always imagined living 'Sith' or those of the Empire, halfway across the galaxy, were more brute than scholar. Obsessed only with power and personal gain. The woman's hinted abandonment of former masters earned an eyebrow.

That same curiosity drifted to the near whisper.

"It was a hard lesson... learning who to trust, who to use... when to spot betrayal, and steal the initiative."

The more Anet listened, the more convinced she was that this woman wasn't some mere Dark Jedi.

When she offered her hand, Anet pushed it away. Gentler than a smack, but defiant nonetheless. She rose of her own accord and swirled with determination like a beast of territory.

"I do not know where to find this ruin of yours, but I know where we might begin our search."

Anet turned to her computer and displayed a map of the galactic region on her viewscreens. She pointed at one system, Lorrd.

"Lorrd University has the most extensive cultural records in the galaxy, rivaling that of even the Jedi Archives. There we will find the information you seek... if you'd like, I can accompany you." Her soft offer betrayed the salivation of her spirit. She needed to come with.

 

[Kaila Irons]

Wearing: Robes
Tag: Anet Raine

She took note of that.

Rejected hands clasped behind her back and full lips thinned.

Defiance was good in a sith, she liked that, actually. But it meant Anet wasn't some pushover cultist, she'd have to keep an eye on this one. She held that pose, looking over the map. Lordd University sounded like an interesting place, and if Anet did not have what she sought here, then she would go.

The sith nodded, then turned, already walking away.

"Very well," she said "I will go to Lordd."

It wasn't a slow walk either, making it apparent she intended to leave whether Anet followed or not.

A test of sorts, even if the force told her it was unnecessary.

​