Private We Didn't Start the Fire

[Fiolette Yvarro]

Fiolette hadn't been out of Anoat a day before she started to receive requests. Yet among them had been from a pair she had met there, she didn't know the boy, Darth Malum of House Marr but Darth Strosius felt familiar to her. Memories being fuzzy as they are surrounding the Sith Empire, it was going to be tougher for her to nail down exactly who he was before. She supposed there were people within the order who eager to either, have her side with them, have her knowledge, or her expertise. Perhaps, a combination of the three if not all of the above. She dressed plainly for this particular meeting, a leather jacket that nearly mirrored her old Sith Empire uniform. Black leather pants and a pair of combat boots, her old tags hung around her neck. Imperial aviators rested on her face as she flicked ash from her cigarra.

She wasn't sure of the venue, decor was interesting to say the least. Certainly not the kind of decor she was used to, then again, much had changed over the last several decades. What Fiolette knew nothing of were the schemes that were already in play. Last she had known of her grandchildren, they were fine, but since her transfer back to realspace. The ability to keep tabs on her descendants has escaped her. There she knew not the status of Kai and his siblings, but for the moment they weren't on her mind. What was on her mind, however; was the wonder of what exactly these two, that was Darth Strosius and Darth Malum wanted of her.

 

[Darth Malum of House Marr]

"I trust we need not go over expectations?" Malum spoke, a feigned smile affixed upon his face, while his red eyes were anything but friendly, entirely serious. He had long since accepted the eccentricities of his co-apprentice, long since accepted the frustration that his actions, and sometimes his words could quirk in his mind.

However.

Phew, the anger that had boiled over when he had found out that Ali- Darth Strosius had seized the grandchildren of Taeli Raaf ...

...Well suffice it to say that he had been unable to use his office for a fortnight.

Yet, even now accepting that what was done, was done, he could not help the bite, the hint of scorn, that still remained in his words.

He accepted the advantage of having the Raaf children in their custody could net them, it was not as if he was blind to the logic and rationale behind the act, and to a large degree, it was not as if he was entirely understanding to why his battlebrother had committed the deed. Certainly, while his co-apprentice certainly could be abrasive at the best of times, Lady Raa- Taeli, was as much needling him as not. He had read the reports of what had occurred in the Inquisition's Outer Rim campaigns, and while he did not approve of any of this... pushing for leverage against Taeli made sense.

It simply was now the problem that though leverage had been gained, none could know that they held the leverage.

Otherwise...

...Well, they would begin a war that they had none of the means to win.

It was not simply the fact that they would be facing Taeli in such a battle, a fight that perhaps might have even though been an up-mountain battle, held the possibility to exploit.

It was the fact that Taeli was one of the few Sith that could claim to be allied with both Kaine and Darth Empyrean.

Such was not simply an up-mountain battle, it was an impossible one.

Thus, they were stuck with hostages of either immense or little importance, but could not be used.

Malum had no idea indeed what to do with them, which was part of the reason that though furthered by the Sangnir's hardline stance that they were his apprentice, Malum had made no opportunity to visit them, simply trusting his co-apprentice that they were being well taken care of.

He trusted him on that point, and he hoped that such trust was not being broken.

Alas, that brought them back to the present, wherein, beyond these doors was another reason why actually refusing those hostages might prove problematic... Taeli's ex-wife was back, Lord Admiral Fiolette Yvarro , the other grandmother of the hostages, and while that was an intriguing question all unto itself.

Unfortunately, he would need to be dedicating himself to other far more important matters... like actually meeting the woman.

Why exactly? And especially with his battlebrother?

Honestly, he had no good reason. The last time they had met, they had to speak with consideration that both Lord Lechner and Taeli were in attendance. Perhaps alone, new answers would be brought out.

But really, that was a bad reason.

Curiosity did play a real part, after all, one did not get to pick the brain of a woman you read about in history books.

But there was something deeper.

Malum, held no influence in the Sith Empire's military, either their legions or the fleets, and indeed both looked at him and the Tsis'Kaar far from kindly, after all, the Tsis'Kaar had made a habit of infiltrating both organisations, into the highest of echelons, and though much of that was purged during the Ouroboros Crisis, tendrils remained.

And well... fighting against what was deemed traitorous and betraying Tsis'Kaar hardly helped opinion.

If Lord Admiral Yvarro was to return to the Sith Order, with her prestige and experience, she would no doubt raise highly and quickly among their ranks.

Having a well-placed ally in his corner would do much good for him.

It would just be a question of how to make such an ally and avoid the explosion that no doubt would stem from the revealing of the hostages.

...Perhaps they could do it quietly, once they figured out what concession from Taeli they even wanted, done through an intermediary, such that their involvement was hidden entirely... now the children had witnessed the perpetrators... but well...

...Malum was not above changing memories.

Such were the thoughts that filtered across his mind, as he finally opened the door, a wide smile upon his face, as he regarded the imperial adjacent jacket, aviators, and the puff of smoke that signified a cigarra.

They all had their vices.

"Thank you for accepting our invitation, Lord Admiral Yvarro, our apologies that it must be Anoat, no doubt some other opportunity I must insist you accept the fullness of Alvarian hospitality," Malum began, taking a seat, inviting her to follow suit, they had decided though this could be an educational meeting for Revna to witness, there may be some she may not need to know, opportunity to rest after the tenseness of the last meeting would do her good, "I imagine, you are a woman who enjoys getting to the point quickly... thus, I would simply ask, do you intend to return to service to the Imperial Sith Navy?"

 

[Darth Strosius]

"I expect to remove a threat from the playing field." Darth Strosius had taken up a habit of pacing back and forth across the room for a good few minutes now, his hands clasped behind his back around the hilt of his lightsaber with vice-like grip. "The same expectation I held when I first started this little venture against Lady Raaf, and yet I see my list of future enemies only continuing to grow." This Admiral Yvarro was the latest confirmed of his new foes, a fact he was certain of given that she was the other grandparent of his hostages.

This whole affair had soured the idea of using leverage and hostages at all, he should have stuck to just a full on war for the Outer Rim. That was an arena that he knew he could find an advantage in. Here however, his odds were less favorable. A fact that was only reinforced by the hidden malice in Malum's stare as he crossed the room once more.

He finally slowed his pacing and stopped as he pulled his hands around to the front, looking down at the lightsaber in his grasp. "At the very least I can put this one down before she gets out of hand." Why exactly Malum had invited the Admiral to speak with them escaped him, especially regarding his own participation due to the circumstances, but he would be prepared for when negotiations broke down nonetheless.

The masked man ran a thumb over the scarred and curved hilt, one so foreign and alien from his own and yet it always seemed to slide into his hand perfectly each time he drew it from his robes. He had rarely seen his master use them before her demise at their hands but each time he glanced upon the hilt he could see it in memories that stretched back decades. Memories that were just as foreign to him as the weapon itself was.

His musing was interrupted as the doors opened, the hilt quickly being hidden in a subtle movement as he turned to face the new arrival. He spared a nod at her and a sharp glance at the Heir of Marr when he mentioned the word 'our' in regards to her invitation. The only thing he invited his enemies to was their own executions. Darth Strosius reluctantly sat down as well, choosing to let Malum take the lead in the discussion for the moment.

Fiolette Yvarro / Darth Malum of House Marr

 

[Fiolette Yvarro]

Taeli Raaf hadn't quite caught Fiolette up on all the politicking, but she had gotten the sense that Darth Strosius and Darth Malum of House Marr weren't exactly on her Life Day Card List. Yet, she couldn't help but shake the feeling that she was walking into a trap. Good thing she kept the old sword on her person. The younger one spoke and he spoke politely enough and the other one, the other gave off the aura that told Fiolette sitting down was going to be a mistake. "I appreciate your hospitality, but I think I'll be fine, right here." She made sure to stand by the exit, hand over the hilt of her sword. "Why don't you two rather impeccable gentlemen, tell me, what it is I'm doing here."

"As for a moment I thought it might be to seek out an Imperial that could assist you, however..." her posh Galidraani accent drawled, "I am starting to feel as if though, I've been had." There was that rather odd feeling creeping up the back of her neck. The kind that made her hair stand on edge, and not the good kind either. One needn't other worldly abilities to read the room. Cool and collected she remained, and settled into a more calculating gaze as she looked between the two gentlemen present. "There's an old saying on Galidraan, an old fox understands the trap."