Private This Will Probably Go The Way You Think

[Aerarii Tithe]

Emperor's Dojo, Imperial Palace of Bastion

---

Desperate times called for desperate measures.

Frankly, the recent bounty placed on Aerarii’s head by Avernus was an insult. No one had tried harder to stay out of the Loyalist vs Apostate conflict than Aerarii. Let the Sith sought out their differences between themselves and leave him to get on with running the galaxy. What had he even done to Avernus to earn a price being put in his head anyway? The two had been colleagues on the Sith-Imperial Foreign Investment Board and had shared a common love for amassing credits.

Shows how much you really know some people.

With bounty hunters a possible fixture in his future, the bureaucrat knew he needed to prepare himself. When his colleagues at the Sith-Imperial Banking Clan had suggested Joycelyn Zambrano as someone who could teach him how to defend himself, Aerarii had immediately brushed the idea off. Why would the Princess of Dromund Kass, the heir to the Zambrano throne, take even a second out of her precious time to advise or train him?

In the end Aerarii hadn’t even reached out to her - one of his colleagues did it on his behalf, possibly as a joke. That or Grand Treasurer Beltis Kishar, Aerarii’s boss and long time rival at the SIBC, had organised the meeting hoping that the Treasurer-General would not walk away alive. But regardless, when the summons had come, Aerarii had made his way to the Royal Palace with haste.

Attired in exercise clothing, Aerarii strolled around the dojo, admiring the Sith artwork, the significance of which was largely lost of him. He absentmindedly adjusted Skystas Rieve iv Tave Daboti Dvasi, with Sith alchemised ring he had been given which was claimed to offer limited protection against Force attacks. But even the alchemised ring could not settle his nerves. He was the first to admit that he was nervous beyond words about this meeting. What did Lady Zambrano have in mind for him?

---

Joycelyn Zambrano​

 

[Joycelyn Zambrano]

Initially, Joycelyn had not taken the request seriously.

Teach a bureaucrat to fight? There were better uses of her time, surely. She had Sith to train, troops to inspect and inspire, a people to rule and enemies to tyrannise. It had left her mind until she went to sleep. Then a dream came to her, disturbing visions of a weak link in the Imperial chain being pressed until it shattered. Information leaking, legionnaires dying, an empire crumbling to dust in her hands.

But there was a shadow to the vision, an alternative future in which even the strongest chain was forged strong and pushed back against the assaults of the unworthy. And in that dream, the empire became a garrotte that bound and crushed the empire's enemies, then reinforced the imperial Fasces with their iron thorns.

When she woke from her slumber, she sent a notice that she would teach Mr. Tithe a few things.

"That one shows the One Sith's ascension to Coruscant after the fall of the last Sith Empire."

It was hard to say how long she had been standing there, just outside his peripheral vision, surprisingly quiet for her size. She gestured to another panel of the same piece, depicting the same scene, but with the black pyramid of the Sith was cracked in two, and Sith turned on Sith while the previously glorious and terrible dark lord at the centre fought against several opponents.

"And the fall of the Dark Lord in the schism, lead by a Grayson, before the rise of the Dark Council." She pointed to another panel, the sixth and second-to-final in the row "And this shows the final battle of Coruscant, where the Jedi cut through to the heart of the One Sith and forced us back into hiding." In the final panel, the world was desolate and empty, the grand scenes broken and all splendour reduced to ruin.

She turned to face Aerarii, looking down at him with eyes of intense fire set in a chiselled face. She looked far less dark and severe than one would imagine, even though her attention was like an intense pressure.

"It's a cautionary tale from the events that formed our Rule of Order."

Aerarii Tithe

 

[Aerarii Tithe]

Emperor's Dojo, Imperial Palace of Bastion

---

A voice spoke from beside Aerarii and provided an explanation of the wall art, no doubt one of the Emperor’s nameless attendees who frequented the palace in droves. “The craftsmanship is exquisite,” he replied, taking a step closer and peering at the art. “The colours, the motion, the violence. I would hazard that the artist was themselves present during the…”

While speaking, Aerarii had turned to face the inconsequential attendant. Except upon turning to face them he was not greeted by a courtier or servant but rather an eight foot tall Lady of the Sith dressed in the raiments of the royal household.

He dropped to a knee, his mouth almost dropping to the floor. “Your, Your, Your Eternal Darkness.” He kept his head bowed and offered a flourish of the hand. “Please accept my humblest apologies. I was… overcome… by your, radiant strength.”

So this was off to a good start. Forget the bounty hunter, he'd be lucky to leave this room alive.

Aerarii rose to his feet only when invited, and with his hands clashed behind his back, followed as she moved down the wall and explained the significance of nearby artworks. The story of the Sith Empire’s rising was an integral part of society and known by all citizens, though it was unusual for their fall to also be discussed so openly.

“It is said that Empires rise and fall, coming and going like the Singing Winds of Vortex.” He considered the next piece of artwork before turning to face the towering Sith Lady. “Some things remain constant. Your house had endured while many other faltered. Even those who would seek to usurp the Eternal Throne.”

---

Joycelyn Zambrano​

 

[Joycelyn Zambrano]

She looked down at him as he turned, a smile curling the corners of her mouth. Aerarii was about to make an excellent observation about the history of the painter, who remained unknown as the artwork was recovered from Silver Jedi vaults on Ossus and barely rescued from their attempts at flooding the archives.

"Please rise." Joycelyn waved her hand at his groveling, eyes narrowing at his display of submission "Weakness does not become you, General Tithe."

It had to be said, the rapid turn-around did amuse her.

She did take him through the artwork that lined part of the walls, and while one side showed the rise and fall of the One Sith, another showed the rise, ascension, and fall of Darth Moridin's Sith Empire, where her father first rose to power. It was a series of ascensions and betrayals that rose the Sith up ever higher, but also blinded them to the catastrophe that befell Dromund Kaas when the Mandalorians betrayed the Sith, crippling them in the war against the Republic.

"Flattery, you are good at it." "My house has endured much, indeed. It is because it has learned from mistakes of the past." She gestured to the fall of the Dark Lord and the betrayal on Dromund Kaas, displayed in opposition. "When we rest on our laurels, we fall; peace is a lie."

Joycelyn shed the outer jacket of her garb folded it with a few practised motions and placed it down next to one of the weapon racks, which held weapons of ordinary an exotic designs. Some were of the panathan arts, others from teras kasi, and some from the legends of the Sith.

"You know much, this much I can tell. You speak well, and you defend yourself with your words."

Out came two pairs of gloves, heavily padded ones for Joycelyn and less padded ones for Aerarii, which still gave plenty of support for his wrist lest it break.

"But some of those you face will be deaf to your words and blind to your reason." She casually tossed the gloves to her new sparring partner "So, I will teach you the language of fists." With practised motions, she put her padded gloves on, using her teeth to tighten them at the end.

"Unless you find some reason to object, of course."

Her smile had returned, white teeth gleaming in a predatory fashion as she flexed and un-flexed her hands.

Aerarii Tithe

 

[Aerarii Tithe]

Emperor's Dojo, Imperial Palace of Bastion

---

Aerarii rose to his feet and followed the Princess of Dromund Kass as she showed him more of the artwork that adorned the walls of the massive dojo. The craftsmanship was exquisite, befitting its inclusion within the royal palace. While Lady Zambrano spoke about the rise and fall of different Sith dynasties she made a point to identify the value of always learning and adapting. As a man who had reinvented himself a number of times throughout his career, the importance of this versatility was not lost on him.

The Dark Lady led the bureaucrat to a weapons rack and threw a set of padded fighting gloves to him. “Words have served me well throughout my career,” he admitted. “The Empire is built, understandably, on the shoulders of warriors. Few of them see the value of considered speech and winning your opponents ear. The study of Basic has, frequently if I can say, allowed me to escape unpleasantries.”

Aerarii put on the gloves and tightened them. “Sadly, these Apostates care little for words. I’m afraid I find myself singled out for bounty. Those who make a career of such pursuits, the alleged ‘hunters’, cannot be reasoned with.” It was this bounty, and the accompanying fear of finding himself in an Apostate prison, that had driven him to seek out Lady Zambrano to teach him how to protect himself. That was assuming that they brought him in alive - stories abounded of bounty hunters disintegrating targets who put up too much of a fight. “Any, err, any advice or wisdom you can offer I will most graciously take.”

Evidently, what Lady Zambrano had in mind was more aggressive and dynamic than Aerarii’s usual approach to overcoming adversity.

The Treasurer-General brought his gloved hands up to a standard fighter’s pose, his fists just below eye level and ready to protect his head. Like all Sith citizens, Aerarii had completed mandatory military service, though careful selection of his assignments and his natural financial skills had kept him from needing to engage in combat beyond basic training. Of course, his early training had been against regular humans and aliens, not a powerful adherent of the ancient Sith arts.

He brought his gaze up to the towering Sith Lord and began to circle, doing his best to follow her step.

---

Joycelyn Zambrano​

 

[Joycelyn Zambrano]

"Best advice: Get yourself a blaster and learn to use it."

She studied his form, keeping her own fists far lower than Aerarii did. It might have been taken for arrogance, but in reality she just knew that he was unlikely to even reach her face, thus protecting her midriff was more important.

"We will cover that as well." She turned with him as he strafed, then took a testing step forward to see how he reacted "But at times, you don't have time to draw it."

"Your first and primary concern is to keep yourself alive until you get help." She made a jab, lazy in her regard, but still enough to catch someone unawares. She didn't put much power in it, but by mass alone her fist would easily bruise someone. "Distance is key."

Joycelyn could see what had influenced his form. She was intimately familiar with the fighting style taught in the Legion, and that was why she turned to their methods first, rather than the more complex forms of Teras Kasi or epicanthix martial arts.

"And your feet are key to distance." She put out another jab, a little more focused now "If we are fists to fists, keep outside of my range as well as you can."

She took a quick step back away from him and mimicked the motion of drawing a blaster and aiming it at his chest, if only just to see what he would do. Her motion was quick, practised, it was that of a career soldier and something more. She had been around firearms since she was a little girl, barely taller than Aerarii was now. As a Zambrano, as a Vahla, as an Epicanthix, violence was second nature.

"And be the first to go for the gun if you can."

She grinned wickedly, then balled her fists again.

Aerarii Tithe

 

[Aerarii Tithe]

Emperor's Dojo, Imperial Palace of Bastion

---

Lady Zambrano took a sudden step toward him. Aerarii flinched, then a second later he quickly stepped back, his feet becoming momentarily tangled. That he managed to stay on his feet was as bigger surprise to him as it would be to anyone else. With his balance restored he continued to circle with her, listening as she spoke of the importance of keeping his distance.

Then she jabbed.

The blow came at him lightning fast, even if it was slow by her Force enhanced speed. The Princess’s fist landed square between his eyes, snapping his head back and almost knocking him down. Out of reflect more than anything the bureaucrat managed to keep his feet under him at the cost of staggering backward out of control a few steps. He blinked hard as he tried to clear the stars before his eyes.

“If there’s one things that’s serve me well better than my tongue, it’s been my natural inclination to keep my distance.” He shook his head again to try and clear it before stepping back within striking range. Maybe coming here had not been such a great idea. Any bounty hunter that pursued him was unlikely to give him the recovery time he was being afforded here.

Without warning the Sith Lady reached for an imaginary blaster. It took Tithe a moment to figure out what she was doing, but which time he would have been blasted where he stood. Drawing on his self-preservation instincts he took a step forward and dived past the Princess on her off-blaster side.

Aerarii grunted as he hit the ground hard. He did his best to scramble back up to his feet, ignoring his pain shooting through his tired muscles. But when he turned, his opponent was nowhere to be seen.

“Ahhh, Your Highness…?”

---

Joycelyn Zambrano​

 

[Joycelyn Zambrano]

A moment of quiet followed his inquiry.

Had she vanished by some trick of the Force? Or perhaps she had never been there, but played with his mind all along. After all, there were rumours of Sith having such abilities. But was she not epicanthix? Their immunity barred them from gaining such powers. Oh, no, she was just half epicanthix on account of her mother, Emma Cuiléin, being a priestess in the Ember of Vahl.

The moment gave just enough time to reflect upon one's situation before-

-a thump sounded behind him as Joycelyn's feet hit the floor, followed by the sound of what sounded like a hundred crates, or perhaps the collapse of an entire building, and Joycelyn descended upon the bureaucrat.

Like a cathar, she pounced, and like the Reels of Yavin 4, her right arm wrapped around Aerarii's neck while the left seized his wrist and twisted him down in the direction of the floor. She bent his elbow against her torso and put her weight on his shoulder to give him some discomfort, but she did not push him further than she thought he might handle, given his size and performance thus far.

"Sometimes, getting close and personal is the best way to deal with an opponent." "Strength is not the most important factor then, but knowledge of how the body works."

There was laughter in her voice as she had enjoyed spooking him.

"But that works best against a lone assailant, and you would be karked if another one came around the corner while you are stuck like this."

She let up for a moment to see if he could manage to squirm his way out.

Aerarii Tithe

 

[Aerarii Tithe]

Emperor's Dojo, Imperial Palace of Bastion

---

The confused bureaucrat looked around the dimly lit dojo for his attacker. All eight feet of the Dark Lady could hardly have disappeared into thin air. Like all Sith subjects, Aerarii had heard tales of the mystical and limitless powers possessed by those of the Sith Order. Unlike most in the Empire, he had actually spent time working alongside Sith Lords and Ladies, and knew that even they were constrained in what they could do.

A heavy thud behind him signalled her landing, and before his body could react Lady Zambrano had one arm around his throat and the other contorting his arm in a direction it was not naturally inclined to go.

“Erggghhh,” Aerarii groaned through clenched teeth, pain shooting from his wrist, elbow and shoulder. He squeezed his eyes shut and tried to focus.

The sharp stabbing of pain faded as his opponent held it his arm steady rather than twist it further. Aerarii tried to exhale an found that he contraction of his throat meant he could not draw breath back in properly.

The arm twist was a ruse. While painful, it would not kill him - a lack of air would quickly would.

An idea flashed to him - a recent negotiation with a border world. By offering the locals a low interest rate over the first decade of their loan he had drawn their eyes away from the high compounding interest that kicked in during the second and third decade, and would quickly bankrupt the planet and force them to accept Sith-Imperial rule. Too caught up with their immediate future, they had failed to miss the longer term threat he had levelled against them.

Aerarii really only had one option - do the last thing his enemy expected.

As a career bureaucrat and general coward, the last thing anyone would expect was for Tithe to cause himself more pain voluntarily. And while the actions required or the will to do them did not come easy, he knew that was what had to be done.

The Treasurer-General leaned back closer to Lady Zambrano, causing his arm to erupt in further agony. Unable to control himself he cried out in pain. He did, however, find that he had created some precious space within the Princess’ headlock. Aerarii ducked his head, and with what little strength he could muster, drove his free elbow back into the Dark Lady’s stomach.

---

Joycelyn Zambrano​