What's strength without knowledge?

[Janick Beauchamp]

By now Utai Magic Circle was hacing a steady source of money so that an Utai maid could be stationed there full-time. Janick came to the realization that there was only so much that she could learn in the Force in her corner of the galaxy. Of course, she expects the travel visa process to be straightforward to go to RE-land and visit the Valley of the Dark Lords: travel restrictions are pretty minimal at this point. She might learn a thing or two about the dark side of the Force by checking out some holocrons inside the Valley of the Dark Lords or the ruins of the Academy, provided that there would be any holocrons there in the first place. And even then the instructions to access some of them may be lost or otherwise involve a gruesome sacrifice on her part, from what she heard about those. She knew about the place being a common pilgrimage site for Sith, especially since the Caldera is basically Sith property at this point.

"Take good care of the castle while I'm off to Korriban"

"What are you going to Korriban for?" the maid asked.

"Training" she answered while going off to the hangar to take off for Korriban, with the multiple stops that entailed.

[member="Joon"]

 

[Connor Harrison]

There was so much to still learn.

The only place Joon knew was Korriban, and now and then she would take herself there, alone, to sit or kneel or lay and absorb the history around her. Meditation to focus her drive, sharpen her senses and calm her mind.

Today was one of those days. Off from the Valley of the Dark Lords, the Sith Knight lay atop a broken pillar of rock, eyes closed, hands on her stomach, leg swinging nonchalantly down. It was peaceful beyond measure, and Joon needed nobody. Not her weak apprentice Stephanie, nor her weak friend Mysa.
Just the Dark Side was enough.

Her anger towards the two ladies who had let her down was rising, but it was times like this she focused on serving the Empire with all she had, and to turn the anger into passion to use against her enemies.

She sighed, running a hand through her black and white hair, and relaxed again.

[member="Janick Beauchamp"]

 

[Janick Beauchamp]

For a while, Janick flew around, taking individual requests for talismanic items, but there wasn't much in the way of piloting missions that wouldn't get her caught in the crossfire of the war brewing on that side of the galaxy. Her heart screamed go shoot down TIE fighters, which became RE property only because of their new allies, but that could cause her travel visa to be revoked upon arrival to Korriban. That was to be a once-in-a-lifetime kind of thing, and she was to land on Korriban at the edge of the Valley of the Dark Lords. Again, while the Valley of the Dark Lords is a popular pilgrimage site for dark-siders, today the Valley is pretty devoid of any dark-siders, except for one. Admittedly, she could very easily detect a Force-signature much stronger than her own, and it was precisely that sort of signature that she could locate even though she didn't know whose signature it was. She decides to tread lightly, walking slowly and using her fears to render herself invisible, while still walking in [member="Joon"]'s direction. It seemed that this place made the practice of dark-sided powers much easier than she would almost anywhere else for some reason, perhaps the high concentration of dark side energy has something to do with it.

 

[Connor Harrison]

The girl didn’t need to open her eyes.

She mapped the ship that came in and seemed to circle the valley, listening to where it landed and cutting off everything else bar that. Then, the sounds that followed- pressure escaping the ship as it landed and the engines died, and soon after the sound of a person walking through the valley itself.

A person eager for the darkness as her.

Joon stayed laid down, swinging a leg as she tracked the being coming into the area she was in.

”Welcome to the Valley,” she called out, eyes still closed. ”Who are you looking for and what are you doing here.”

It wasn’t exactly a question she needed to know, she just wanted to. She liked the planet, and didn’t want anyone to come a ruin her time here.

Lazily, she turned her head sideways on the stone and opened her amber eyes to see a dark haired female. She smiled. She seemed to attract them.

[member="Janick Beauchamp"]

 

[Janick Beauchamp]

"I'm looking for more knowledge on other topics like Electronic Manipulation or mechu-deru: I harbor some alchemical dreams that may require it to come true. There could be some holocron somewhere that could accomplish that purpose"

With the Resurgent Empire being on the warpath, and, apparently, with fresh recruits equipped by its main ally, the Galactic Empire, and possibly with AT-STs/AT-ATs, it was natural for most of the Sith to be away from Korriban, marshalling what forces there are on Dromund Kaas (irrespective of the casualties taken on Dromund Kaas or Malachor V) and for [member="Joon"] to be one of those few who remain, probably because of operational concerns she does not know about, and likely in no position to know. Sure, with Joon being face-to-face with Janick, she could feel that there might be a thing or two even someone as powerful as Joon could learn from Janick. Yes, knowledge is a form of power, just that Sith were pretty wildly variable on that count. There were some for whom knowledge was a means to power, and others who were content with Force-lightning, a red lightsaber and other elementary Force-powers.

"Maybe Drain Knowledge could be of use to you: power also is of use to a Sith when a Sith is able to use the power in a variety of ways. Drain Knowledge might be useful in interrogating people or to learn stuff faster than you otherwise would. But first, you have to realize that using Drain Knowledge is akin to using comebody else as a computer in the Force. You're much stronger than I am in the dark side, so there is some caution that you might need to observe. Depending on the mental defenses of the target, it might be a little hard; also, if you're careless, you may accidentally remove knowledge from the user but removing knowledge from the user, as opposed to simply downloading information from someone else through the Force, depends on how good the target's memory is: if the target has a good memory, it may be difficult to remove information from its memory but it is easier to download more information from the target. It's also important to have a good feel for the target's brain"

 

[Connor Harrison]

Joon watched with mild curiosity, lazing out on the broken slab.

”There are relics here that could help you in your quest. You probably will die looking, but good luck all the same.”

She swung down and landed on the ground before the girl, he dark hair falling around her shoulders with streaks of white pulled back in a tight pony-tail. She walked casually over to her.

”Why are you here thinking you know what I want to know. Drain Knowledge? You don't know me. You don't have a right to think you can teach me about the Dark Side when it's clear you know little of it yourself wandering here talking to strange women surrounded by the darkness.”

But whatever she said, Joon was curious. A new ability was nothing to turn away from.

[member="Janick Beauchamp"]

 

[Janick Beauchamp]

"I might have gotten carried away: it just so happens that Drain Knowledge and alchemy are my main two specialties as a dark-sider. You may as well attempt to use Drain Knowledge on me, just to make sure you can use it"

[member="Joon"] might have had her reasons to be cautious, suspicious even, about Janick and Drain Knowledge. The Valley of the Dark Lords might be vast, and, from what she heard about it, there are dozens of tombs out there: any of those could be holding what she is looking for. She then proceeds to map the Valley in her mind, or at least what she knew about it, which was pretty limited: Joon has likely spent more time in the Valley than Janick had. Then again, Joon was strange to Janick, just that she couldn't tell what made it so. She was remembered what she was told back in her childhood. There could be a number of things that made people weird but And yet, while on Utapau she might have been a household name in the FU world, in the Caldera she is made to feel as if she was nothing from a dark-sider standpoint. Also, she taught these very tricks to one Stephanie Brown... Even though Stephanie Brown was grateful for those Force-lessons, it's too early to tell whether Joon will actually be grateful for that, she thought.

"While I still got quite a bit to learn myself, don't dismiss a source of Force-knowledge just because it seems to come out of the blue. Just try what I just told you about Drain Knowledge to learn the basics of alchemy"

 

[Connor Harrison]

A curious smirk on her lips, Joon listened to the strange woman.

Oh, if she was inviting Joon in to perform such a dangerous ability, then so be it. The Sith nodded slowly and walked towards her, arms folded, fingers tapping on her arms.

”You come here telling me to perform some strange power on you in search of alchemy? Why do I want to know alchemy? Do I look like a scientist? Do I look like I care for what stories you tell?”

She was close to the dark-haired woman now, looked her up and down, and reached out with her hand and firmly placed it against her head, fingers digging in slightly.

”I hope it hurts.”

Then, Joon began a practice she had only heard about from her old dead Master. The want and desire to extract information from a beings’ mind – tearing it from them as they tried to hold it back or defend it. It was an assault on the mind, on the being, on the privacy and body of the victim. Joon glared at the woman and gripped her head, seeking for who she was and what she knew of the Dark Side.

Flashes came to her – situations and weapons and feelings.

She felt her energy being drawn too, put she pushed on to rip what she could from the woman.

[member="Janick Beauchamp"]

 

[Janick Beauchamp]

[member="Joon"] began to intrude in Janick's memory, and the stuff being flashed in both ladies' minds pertains to how to first spray the blood on the object before infusing it with the power of the dark side, with the next step being about the intense concentration required to infuse the energy of the dark side, with the blood being the absorbent of the dark side energy. She will also realize that Sith swords (thus far she only worked with beskads for base blades) usually require blood spilled in anger for best results, with a wide array of effects, almost limitless even, that can be achieved for talismanic effects. And also she will realize that blood types are of no importance for alchemizing inert objects. Finally Joon would realize that contaminated blood is for infusing poisonous effects into the object, before her mind closed off to any further attempt from Joon to intrude in her memories. But Joon would realize in time that Janick's memory is strong enough to avoid forgetting about it altogether, and here ripping the knowledge really meant forcibly downloading the stuff from Janick's brain to Joon's. That, even though the pain from Joon forcibly getting the knowledge from her, using the dark side, was still well within her tolerance levels. Soon, very soon, Joon will get down to business with Janick, crafting that Sith sword that will be hers to use in the end.

"It's just because I know next to nothing about you and your needs pertaining to the dark side. I apologize for my earlier discourtesies; nevertheless I acknowledge that you can make Drain Knowledge work. One more thing: perhaps you heard about it among the ruins or from other sources of Sith lore, but you will soon have your very own Sith sword of legend, capable of turning you into a walking nexus of dark-side energy and hurt Jedi and those in the light by absorbing any electrical attacks and unleashing them against your enemies"

 

[Connor Harrison]

Joon grimaced a little and pulled her hand away, holding her palm as it felt like it was on fire. Her amber eyes narrowed. Who WAS this woman to claim such things and to offer such dark weapons as this?

”Who are you and why do you want this for me. I don’t know you!”

She wanted to take a step back, but that would show she was afraid. She wasn’t afraid, and she would not recoil from this woman so into alchemy.

”What do you want from me.”

[member="Janick Beauchamp"]

 

[Janick Beauchamp]

"I am Janick, and another client of my alchemical workshop referred me to you. I understand that you may not believe at first. Also, I am willing to show how such swords are made, right in front of you so that you can use it afterward: often people that may be hesitant to say that they don't believe in something until they see it"

It was clear to Janick that [member="Joon"] was a woman more similar to the stereotypical image of Sith than she herself was. Driven by anger, pain, even though she realized that Drain Knowledge is painful on both practitioner and target, just not necessarily in equal measures. However that client that referred Janick to Joon was another one of those Drain Knowledge practitioners. Thus far, every drop of blood she used for alchemy was blood drawn from a protocol similar to medical blood testing. Hence no anger being involved on her part. And yet, in the valley, there was no shortage of base blades, in all shapes and sizes, from all the dead bodies laying around here. She checked out one of those blades that were still in somewhat good condition, that wasn't a beskar or of some other lightsaber-resistant material, and checking for potential adverse Force-effects before picking it up. That, knowing that the process to forge Sith swords is easier to do when the base blade is in good condition. Once a suitable blade has been found, she starts spraying one of those blood vials all over the length of the blade, and on both sides of the blade.

"The base blade can be from a variety of materials, bronzium, durasteel, songsteel, beskar, so long as it is serviceable. Sure I'm not like those Mandos who insist on beskar, but soon the metal in the base blade will be good as new thanks to the dark side energy that will soon be infused in it"

 

[Connor Harrison]

Someone referred her? Joon didn't know many people. Stephanie, that failed excuse for an apprentice. Asemir, the warrior. Vrak, and Mysa. Sweet Mysa. She had no idea who had talked.

”Who sent you to me?”

The thought of a vicious new weapon caught her attention. Whoever sent her would have known Joon was eager to hurt others. Especially Jedi.

”What do I need to do for this...weapon you will help me make? I have nothing of value you will take.”

[member="Janick Beauchamp"]

 

[Janick Beauchamp]

"Stephanie... by now she is mostly forging beskar items, some of which may be alchemized all the same as we're about to do here. Also, there are no additional items I would need from you"

Joon's question made Janick a little uncomfortable, but that might be because the pain from her attempt to use the newly-learned Drain Knowledge still hasn't fully subsided. There came another question in Janick's mind: was [member="Joon"] even aware of Beskar Ring Forge, the only darksider-operated beskar forge on Coruscant? Stephanie would realize in time that alchemized beskar is pretty heavy, even if one used the folded variety for the base object: if she could use songsteel instead, it would be much lighter than even folded beskar. But it's only now that she realizes why Stephanie even referred her to Joon in the first place: she had a connection to the very woman in front of her. Also, the part involving Svolten rhyolite for a sharpening stone would come near the end of it, but for now she was just finished spraying the blood on the base blade, and it was there that she channeled her anger into the blade, so that she could infuse the dark side into the blade, using the ambient concentration of dark energy located in the premises. Then the tendrils of dark side energy flowing into the blade become visible as she focused more of her anger into the sword.

 

[Connor Harrison]

Joon’s eyes went wide for a second, and then narrowed and her chest rose in anger.

”Stephanie Brown??”

Flexing her hands, Joon shook her head and walked around the lady.

”That creature is weak and I should have cut her throat when I had the chance.”

Noticing the dark energy flowing from the lady, Joon was distracted, and instantly curious.

”What are you doing? Tell me what you’re doing.”

[member="Janick Beauchamp"]

 

[Janick Beauchamp]

Weak? It's just that Stephanie's strength lies elsewhere: not everybody can become a full-fledged Sith Lord, she thought, upon hearing and seeing [member="Joon"]'s reaction to hearing that name, while realizing that Stephanie may have made a better usage of what dark-sided Force-knowledge there would be by alchemizing beskar and using pyrokinesis to forge it. And it's understandable that Joon might be angry towards Joon, while the tendrils of dark-sided energy started flowing not only from Janick, but also from the ambient darkness in the area, and even started attracting Joon's dark-sided energy into the blade, too, for some reason, probably having to do with its ability to attract and channel dark side energy.

"That's what happens when one infuses dark side energy inside a blade: until the blade can no longer take extra dark side energy, it will keep absorbing what dark side energy it can get, and then one sharpens the blade"

 

[Connor Harrison]

The clone stood before this woman of the Dark Side and was both interested but annoyed.

Interested in this use of the Dark Side in some sort of magic to create a weapon, and annoyed she had come from nowhere and assumed she could automatically help Joon for no reason at all.

Her eyes watched the blade forge out of their dark auras, something she still couldn't comprehend.

”So where do you go from here, woman? What next for you? Off to find another random warrior to help with your...magic?”

[member="Janick Beauchamp"]

 

[Janick Beauchamp]

"Not... quite. There are other bits of knowledge I come here for, laying somewhere among these ruins"

It seemed that [member="Joon"] wanted Janick gone as soon as was possible, and not just because she was annoyed at the blade absorbing dark side energy from any nearby source. And even when the blade ceased absorbing energy in that manner, Janick still had to use Svolten rhyolite, or an equivalent grindstone, to sharpen the blade. Janick also realizes that Stephanie would probably have used beskar for the base blade... and how Sith react to lightsaber-resistant materials seems to be varied in her experience: for each Stephanie, who whole-heartedly embraces beskar, there was another one that preferred more mundane materials. In that respect Janick was indifferent, and possibly Joon was; she couldn't know for sure at this stage. Not that she cared for it anyhow: the dark side slowly made its repairs to the blade while it is being sharpened against the grinding stone. Once she puts the blade through the motions of sharpening the blade against the grinding stone, the final stages of shaping the Sith sword that will soon be Joon's are now underway.

"Now that's one nasty weapon for you to use to strike down enemies. You will make a better use of it than I ever would"

 

[Connor Harrison]

”Oh that will suit me fine,” Joon whispered to herself.

She was fascinated watching the nasty looking blade take shape, and the way it seemed to call out for her to hold it and wield it. She had been trained in sword fighting in her Imperial days, trained to use power and force with such a blade over grace and dexterity with a lightsaber.

”Tell me your name, woman. For I think I shall remember you when I need more help in the dark arts.”

She walked around and stood beside the mysterious crafter.

”On second thought. Once the blade is done, why don’t I simply use it on you as a test?”

Joon reached up and brushed some of the woman’s hair to the side, toying with her.

[member="Janick Beauchamp"]

 

[Janick Beauchamp]

"Janick"

It just so happens that Joon's strengths lie elsewhere compared to Stephanie's or Janick's. While Stephanie was more of a craftswoman, Janick was more Now that the crafting was done, Joon would be listening to the call the weapon made in her mind. But upon hearing about how Joon intended to test her newfound Sith blade, which was a nasty weapon to behold, on Janick, she would simply use her fears to make herself invisible, both to NFU visitors of the valley and in the Force, and then try to hide in one of the tombs, in search for that knowledge she went on Korriban for. With that said, she began to comb the tomb for knowledge of the dark side of the Force, and, once she seems to step closer to what she desired, her brain began to burn again, because it seems that the dark side spirits are intent on making her infuse the knowledge of electronic manipulation and connect the Force-dots in her mind. Said Force-dots included what she knew about spacecraft components, how they worked and her alchemical knowledge as it pertains to metallurgy. Meanwhile, Joon had the blade at her feet, ready for pickup, so that she can use it in future engagements.