The Shadows

[ToKola Bakari]

Location: Obsidian Knight Primary Battlestation, Geonosis | Time: Early Morning | Tags: [member="Kurenai Yumi"] ​

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The morning had started off as it usually did, early. For Cardinal to get anything done his routine was set to start early in the mornings and end late in the evenings. On Ragnarok-Main, the Obsidian Knight's primary deployment station, night and day were extremely interchangeable. As there was no rise and fall of the sun to give away the time. Aside from a clock the only way to ascertain the time of day was by the lighting. The interior lights were set to dim at night so to give the illusion of the evening hours where the sun was lowering to make way for darkness.

That dimness still fell over the powder blue walls as Cardinal moved through the halls. In his hands was a stiff cup of caf he had retrieved from the mess and a rather outdated datapad that was cupped under his arm.

Unlike usual the Dominus Prime was not adorned in the armor of his station, No, he had left the advanced Strike-Armor behind for a much more simple attire. A pair of mud brown slacks and a black tunic covered his body, meshing oddly with his near-bronze skin. He seemed to be in a good enough mood. Something resembling a half-smile came over his face after he took a treasured sip of his caf, enjoying the warmness it brought him in the cold battlestation.

He found himself wandering the halls for several minutes before he finally settled on a destination to review the weekly reports. The main training spire was one of his usual locations to look over paperwork. In a few hours the morning training session would begin and the few cadet Knight's that were training in the battlestation would be under his eye as they were most mornings.

Settling down onto a small bench in the edge of the room, Cardinal rested his cup of caf on the metal beside him before activating the datapad and allowing his near-golden eyes to flash over the information it held.

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[Kurenai Yumi]

Location: OK Battle Station, Dorms -> Training Hall Peps: [member="Cardinal Vi'dreya"]

The quite building and shadowy atmosphere played well to Kurenai as she quickly walked down the halls, it was something her species found welcoming and relaxing, them self drawn to the darkness naturally. Though such was not the reason why the youthful looking woman was up ant the artificial crack of dawn, nor was it just simply a different sleeping routine, no she was up as to not alert anyone of her presence.

But a few days ago the Dark Jedi Knight had returned to the CIS Knight complex in perch of her gear, getting caught up with a whole training lesson with the other knights, her small LOA being caught out despite her opinion no one really cared about her. Well at least the new Dominus, many of those she met during the trial where unknowns to her, though few she did know being antiquates at best or family friends, or enemies, Nine Lives being the latter.

Over all though her opinion had been confirmed, as a whole the knightly order was doing just fine without, probably even better, that Cardinal Vi'dreya. It seemed the other knights greatly respected their new leader, followed his orders and looked up to him, much more then they treated her, though it was partially Kuernai's own falt, the energy vampire was not good with people. She had become more sociable over time, but from her point of view damage was done.

The best thing in mind would to get her things and then leave for good, return home and live following years in peace, or until the Sith came knocking, either way it would be an extended vacation. Taking one more step Kuernai reached the entrance to the, opening the door, giving a quick glance around, herself quickly catching sight of the new Dominus sitting down at a desk, ".... crap". She had not expected the man to be up this early, let alone in the training room.

 

[ToKola Bakari]

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Cardinal had sensed [member="Kurenai Yumi"] not long before the door to the training hall had opened with an abrupt shift. The bit of noise caused Cardinal to lift his eyes to take in the Energy Vampire's presence. While Cardinal did not know much about Kurenai outside of what he had heard in the order, he found himself intrigued by the woman. Like many of the Knight's she had a unique personality which, while he could find agitating, appreciated.

He set the datapad down just as the woman took notice of him. A brief chuckle erupted from him as she spoke out against him being there. Outstretching one of his legs for a moment he called out to the woman while he pressed a hand against his inner thigh, trying to rile the muscles back awake.

"Knight Yumi." He greeted, inclining his head towards the woman.

"How fortunate for us to run into each other like this. I was just musing about how I would like to have a little chat with you." His golden eyes held an almost mischievous twinkle that showed the man could be up to something, yet in the same time he offered a smile that projected nothing but good will.

"I don't bite." He added, gesturing for her to come over to where he sat.

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[Kurenai Yumi]

A small sigh escaped her lips as she was spotted, but then again this was going to happen sooner or later, she may as well deal with it now and get it over with then try and hide from it, such would probably just cause more problems in the long run. "A little chat, I have a feeling I know where this is going" she replied walking over to the table with the ever stoic expression she wore, not hinting to any real emotion like her apparent conversational partner and their rather chirpy attitude.

"It is no worry I know you are not that one that tends to bite" her hands pulling out a spare chair, taking a cross legged positing in front of the dominus 'that is usually a statement I have to say, ironic now that I think about it'. "So, what is it that you would like to talk about Vi'dreya-sama? What ever you have to talk about I would not think such is more important your daily tasks at hand". She was not certain about the mans routine or what he did but she assumed that the CIS would have many mission for him to deal with and assign other knights to.

[member="Cardinal Vi'dreya"]

 

[ToKola Bakari]

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Cardinal was happy to see Kurenai was not opposed to their 'chat.'

He took a moment to glance at his datapad to check the time. There was still plenty of time until the first class came in for their morning lessons, perfect. "Well." He said, briefly pinching the bridge of his nose as he took a moment to consider his words. "That is where you are wrong." He said, gesturing to her with a brief point of his finger. "You see, the Knight's are all my responsibility. So, if I feel one Knight could use a bit of a chat, that becomes priority." He stated.

Cardinal's voice was a bit rough and his grasp of basic was very well off, yet it was obvious it was not his mother tongue. "Before I became Dominus Prime you took a little hiatus." He said, arching a brow before holding up a hand to halt her own thoughts.

"Let's make something clear. While you are away from here what you do is your business. So do not feel a need to share because to be honest I don't care. As long as you return and you did not put The Confederacy in a war, it's not my business." His hands were clasped together in front of his lips as he leaned on the desk, his golden eyes peering at Kurenai searchingly. "That being said, I was a bit surprised of your return. It was abrupt, to say the least, just like your departure."

"So tell me Knight Yumi. Why are you here? Why are you a Knight?" He asked, his tone stern and challenging, a fair shift from the welcoming tone that he had been hosting.
[member="Kurenai Yumi"]

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[Kurenai Yumi]

So little counseling sessions where now a part of Dominus life? that was new, she wondered if the man had done this with other, or if she was one of the first. "It must be a tough job being in charge, though at least it seems everyone respects you, I will say it now your are quite the interesting leader over the nights". Such was a genuine comment, he had a very inspiring way of leading, yea with a small squad or close nit group she was a good leader, but with the Knight, that was something beyond her experience. "I can smoke in here right" she replied, breaking from the conversation a little, placing a cigar to her mouth, knowing sh'd be here for a while.

She cocked an eye brow at his dismissive manner of her sudden disappearance, though to be honest nothing of interest really happen, "oh it is okay, just family catch up stuff, went looking for my mother, didn't find her, ran into some person called Jane at a bar". There was also that run in with some old skull face looking guy, but such did not really lead anywhere either. Her pose continuing to stay in the semi-relaed professional state it was as Cardinal continued on, getting to the whole point of the conversation. "To be honest i was not sure anyone knew I had left in the first place though yes me coming back was rather out of the blue, but the same could be said with your training session".

But now came the explanation, something she was not actually sure how to answer, "to be honest if I was able to join the Silver Jedi and be with my family I would, but as you probably know such would be difficult". "In the CIS I can remain somewhat nearby and in a military type of field and in some way do the right thing, but in all I am not sure". "I was hired like any other mercnanary during the early days of the CIS, the moment it was clear I was a force users my roles changed to the Dark Acolytes, then when enough froce users from different backgrounds came there was the whole change to the Knights".

"Due to being in the ranks for a while I was put as Dominus of the Path Finders, a role that did suit me well, if not for the fact most of my 'subordinates' where far stronger then me in the force and had been around longer then I had". "Along with my more or less, abrasive attitude any and all power I had, along with respect seemed to be thrown out the window, basically wound up as a background decoration so all in all I am not 100% certain why I stuck around as ling as I did". She had kind of gone on a long rant but it was better to say it and get such over with then lead the man on forever.

[member="Cardinal Vi'dreya"]

 

[ToKola Bakari]

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A small part of Cardinal was surprised by how open Kurenai was. All the same, as the woman spoke it did not make the realization of their situation change a bit. He still stood speaking to a Knight whom he wished to know more about.

Kurenai asked if she could smoke and Cardinal did not bother answering. It appeared that her decision had been made far before her hollow request. An amused smirk came to his lips before a stray hand came up to rub along the peak of his beard. Glancing around a bit, Cardinal leaned back for a moment as he spoke to the woman.

"Your absence was noticed, Knight." He assured, before rubbing his fingers along the base of his palm.

"When the Vicelord told me I was to assume command over the Knights I began looking into all of the Knight's Obsidian of....significance." He said, trying to make the words as least political as he could. "The Knight's Obsidian are very important to The Confederacy and each Knight represents a piece of that responsibility." Cardinal fell silent to allow Kurenai to reveal the rest of her background involving The Confederacy Cardinal listened intently. His golden eyes were fixed until she finally came to a resting point and he aimed a finger towards her. "Being more powerful than your subordinates is only important if you seek to control them, not lead them."

Not caring to go further into the topic Cardinal cleared his throat. "Soon it will be time for the Knight's to prove themselves to the Vicelord, and when that time comes I will need us to be together and united. Can you do this?" He asked, arching a brow as he hosted an interested smile.
[member="Kurenai Yumi"]

 

[Kurenai Yumi]

A small flame appeared from the tip of her finger as she lit the small narcotic items, the paper and flammable quickly catching light allowing herself to take a a long draw as the conversation continued forwards. "Noticed hu? not sure weather to take that as a compliment or not, though to be honest you seem to be the only person who has noticed".

"At least I was considered significant in my short time among the Knights", that was unless the whole Dark Acoylites thing counted, though such had very few members, most no longer with the confederacy or moved off to other areas of government. "As for it's responsibility, the pathfinders never had enough members to conduct any substantial operations, such seems different now though, I wonder if the more experienced members in the branch will organism a mission soon".

That was another thing experience, Cardinal touching on that for a second when elaborating on subordinates, "I have never tied to control others, but let us just say it is hard to command in any fashion when out of your group you are seen as the weakest with the smallest amount of experiencing". This may not be true for all, some people who had been under her command where just wild gun, but a lot of the time most saw her as some outerim mercenary that had no proper place among the hierarchy of the CIS... well that was how it felt to her at lest.

She took another drag of the cigar, the next question being posed probably being something rather difficult to answer, "to be honest I can not say with certainty, but let me pose one in return, does the confederacy need me, because so far it seems to be doing just fine".

[member="Cardinal Vi'dreya"]

 

[ToKola Bakari]

The Dominus Prime took notice of Kurenai’s ability to produce a flame from her mere fingertips. It was no simple task to bend The Force to take command of the elements. It was a skill Cardinal was practiced in, yet far from a Master. He eyed her with an investigative gaze for a moment before he let off an almost muted chuckle.

“I'm the only one who has spoken to you about it. It has been noticed.” He revealed, before his eyes turned to the main entrance of the training hall. There was the telltale sounds of commotion from the other side of the bay doors before they slid into their hosts. A group of men and women, adorned in the training gear of the Knight’s Obsidian, made their way to the center of their room. Only one of them wore the helm and had the illuminating armor that the true Knight’s used.

The class was beginning already.

Shifting on the bench, Cardinal aimed a hand at the class before offering a brief smile. “I like watching the new recruits train. That was actually what I did before taking over as Dominus, I was an instructor.”

Turning his mind from the nostalgic thought, Cardinal looked back to Kurenai with an almost unconvinced expression. “The experience will come in time, as it’s supposed to.” He explained.

When Kurenai posed the question to Cardinal, the man arched a brow before shaking. “Yes and No.” He said, his tone staying neutral as he spoke. “The Confederacy needs every warrior it can retain. But will it all come crashing down without you? Of course not. The choice to stay or leave is yours, of course. But you have much to gain by staying. If you leave, you lose a chance at being something more.”
[member="Kurenai Yumi"]

 

[Kurenai Yumi]

Kurenai had not really thought much about her physically force powers, herself kind of thinking it was a basic skill everyone learnt when only on Padawan level, during the early years of her solider life it was a do or die skill to learn, it was quite useful for many things. Even so it was more or less another reminder of her 'glass cannon' skill tree, strong in offense and physical use of the force, but weak in practically everything else.

"Speak, yes, because everyone is either to afraid or would rather not have me around, I know my reputation around the Knights", one of the few she actually maintained and a not so good one at that. Peaking back she saw the training members enter, donned in the strike armor and other fancy tech, herself still using the purpose operator class outfit from a while back. "An instructor, I know that feeling, though I suspect we teach vastly different things".

She turned back around to to face Cardinal, cocking an eye brow at his expression, he'd certainly not seen the field mission, though his words were almost an insult, a small stab through the chest. "Then time certainly does not like me if that is the case, or am I due in for a huge 'knowledge' tax refund at some point". If he knew how old she was perhaps that attitude may change, it was almost unheard of for a vampire of her family to be almost a century old but have the skill of a junior knight.

Giving another small sigh she finished her cigar, crushing the butt and incinerating it in her fist, "I see, important to be want to kept around but not vital to the CIS as a whole, I will stay, though I hope what you say will come about". "Though I do have to inform you, one day there is the possibility I will have to one day leave for good due to.... family reasons" more like being almost immortal but that was the best way she could explain it at this time.

[member="Cardinal Vi'dreya"]