Tin Cans and Glowsticks (Emberli)

[Ashin Varanin]

"That's my experience too. On Junction, for example, I brought down a building on one of your strike teams -- but when their dropship made it out, I refrained from, oh, crushing its engines or electrocuting its pilot."

The creek was home to more than a few mossy boulders and some darting silver fish. She hopped onto one of the rocks, her shoes digging into the thick moss. It was a curiously childlike affectation, she knew; a reminder, if Emberli needed it, that she had only been alive for thirty years or so. To some extent, this was freedom from her armor, her job, her environment. A deep breath before the plunge.

It was also a semi-conscious statement that she didn't especially care what he, or anyone, thought of her.

"I have other connections," she said. "Your people won't be alone in there. I have Sith on my side, and others. And once I've handled Moridin personally..." She shrugged. "If it works, that is. I'm stronger now than any Force wielder I've ever faced. I've defeated people who could call the Emperor an equal. But at this level, there are too many variables to calculate."

 

[Carbon]

"Calculations are helpful when you've got an idea of what you're going into." He takes off his boots and socks and wades out into the ankle deep water, carefree smile on his face and water wetting the hem of his pants.

It was strange how... human the two of them were. There was little doubt both were viewed as so much more than human by their respective people, but here, alone, they were just normal folk. Or as normal as a Force Using Master and a Warrior King can be.

"So what's the actual plan? We gonna receive a signal or what? Or can I expect that information later?"

 

[Ashin Varanin]

"The plan is simple enough, perhaps too simple. I'll confront him at the palace on Dromund Kaas. My Sith loyalists will be with me. We'll be the anvil, you'll be the hammer. I have no need for Moridin's schedule -- he can actually teleport. All I need to do is walk into his throne room and issue the challenge, and he'll be there. So I can give you a firm schedule now."

She gave him the details as she sat on the mossy rock and took off her shoes to dangle her toes in the water.

 

[Carbon]

"So we're the buffer zone to keep out interference; right." He nods, soaking in the details she gave him. A little known fact was that he had an eidetic memory. Leaning down, he picks up a pebble and skips it across the surface of the water.

"I really don't know, if you've got enough people for a coup, why you need us."

 

[Ashin Varanin]

"Several reasons. For one thing, many Sith are impatient with the war and question the Emperor's judgment in sparking it. To bring the war to an end will call certain people to my banner. For another thing, my supporters include a relatively small fraction of the Empire's Masters. My hope is that they'll see the writing on the wall once operational security becomes less of a necessity, and your job is to help sway their opinion. And third...duels like this attract bystanders. Masters who could be problematic in the short or long term. I may call on you to execute a minor purge. I trust you wouldn't mind taking the head of Samoth, Voracitos or Tirdarius?"

 

[Carbon]

"A crazy, a fat man or an old dude? Ill kill whoever I have to to achieve my goals." Stopping, he turned to face her with a flame lit behind his usually soft eyes. "You can count on me to do my part, don't you worry."

"Ya know, I was the only person who supported me... until I defeated The Rebuilder and people saw how inept he truly was. Thankfully you won't have to stand alone, however." With that, he picked up his boots and began a slow walk down the creek towards some unknown destination.

"I ever tell you how much I love nature?"

 

[Ashin Varanin]

She picked up her shoes and slipped off the mossy rock. "I can stand alone against Moridin, but Sith are arguably less sensible about intervention than Mandalorians. I doubt anyone would have jumped in and tried to assassinate you both."

Her feet slipped on rocks as she exited the creek and walked downstream with him. She noticed his speech becoming less formal, and, with a grimace, she broke herself of the patterns of court. "I get the idea. Grew up on New Cov, myself -- jungle and more jungle. Then the Jade Worlds for even more jungle. The years I spent in Jedi temples and Sith academies...yeah, I wanted freedom, and there's nothing more free than this."

 

[Carbon]

"I love the inherent beauty of it. So simple and elegant; free is certainly a word. I just take pleasure in the sight of life playing out before my eyes. It's good to sit back, relax, and watch the clouds roll by. Ill always be a simple man at heart; a simple man with simple plans and simple ambitions."

He shakes his head, leading her into ever deeper water, which was now closer to knee height: he figured she wouldn't care. "Mountains are my favorite. Trees. Plenty of large game. Creeks and wooden bridges."

This time, his smile is sad.

"But few want what I want. Surprising how people become addicted to a life with complications."

 

[Ashin Varanin]

"I conquered a world once that had been completely...civilized. Permacrete and steel everywhere. By that point it was a wreck, all overgrown, weeds growing up through cracks in the streets. I'm not sure I've ever seen something so beautiful as life reasserting itself. Then again, it might just be that there's a part of me that likes to see edifices torn down. I've spent time as a revolutionary, as loyal opposition, as a reformer. But most of that was just to make me feel better. To actually make a difference..." She shrugged. "Well, that's what I'm after here."

OOC/ Mind if I make this thread Public? I detest the sea of red.

 

[Carbon]

"Noble.", he murmurs as the distant roar of a waterfall could be heard. "Life is a beautiful thing. We'll never beat nature but we shouldn't be trying to." Broad shoulders shook as he laughed at the silly notion.

A moment or two later and they're at the top of the falls in question, which poured into a small river which fed into a large lake below. Across the water from them appeared to be a small community; perhaps here to fish.

"Just have to know how to make your surroundings work for you."

OOC: Go for it

 

[Ashin Varanin]

OOC/ Sorry, staff stuff.

IC/ Ashin came to a halt at the top of the waterfall. The current pushed against her legs, forcing her towards the ledge, but she set her feet against the water pressure. "Nice village," she said. "Practical, pragmatic. In many ways, your people are wiser than mine. I'm half-tempted to try recruiting on this world. I could certainly use a better grade of acolyte."

 

[Carbon]

"Everything is like this here. We're simple. Conservative." It was obviously a source of pride for him in some manner. He smirks at her and throws his boots to a dry area down below before diving into the water below.

His head appears a few seconds later as he swims towards the side of the small pool. "Do your best to not recruit my people. I'd prefer that we keep our Force Sensitives and not give them to the enemy."