Your Best Friend

[Caulder Dune]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83jGCWCcBzc​

CORUSCANT
SITH ACADEMY

[member="Niysha"]

As far as apprentices went, Darth Adekos' track record diminished every day. They either vanished, slept with the wrong people, or failed to actually amount to anything. It was nearly debilitating to his ego, or what tattered remnants of one still clung to his malformed soul. This had never dissuaded him from continuing his search for a somewhat decent pupil. Adekos did not believe in rearing apprentices only so that they could better serve him, but training potential partners and allies. So far he had gotten no returns. In fact, it would be better characterized as a net loss. One such bedroom escapade launched by an apprentice of his had nearly lead Adekos to murder Darth Carach. Since that last apprentice had run off to play tribal with some shirtless, bearded savage in Primeval space, Darth Adekos had placed envoys in some of the more prominent One Sith academies. If an acolyte of sufficient worth made their presence known, he would be appraised.

He hadn't expected to actually receive any calls. He also didn't expect the call to come from Coruscant. After their temples here had been attacked so many times, Adekos had thought the One Sith would move them to a more defensible and less populated world. Apparently not. Traditional Sith pride didn't allow for those kinds of choices. Despite the safety risks, Adekos chose to arrive in person anyway. He was greeted by the Headmaster. Any self-respecting Sith who had good luck with their apprentice picks only had to meet that man once. Too bad this was Adekos second or third time. The meeting was terse and failed to get to the point until the Headmaster handed Adekos a folder. The contents detailed the acolyte's information and history. A Miraluka? Deja vu. This would be fun.

"This seems adequate enough to me. Go get her."

The Headmaster was eager to get Darth Adekos off the premises. Reflective masks always put him in a nervous room, and so he moved quickly to retrieve Niysha and bring her before the Umbaran.

 

[Niysha]

"Study harder. Perform better. Don't be a threat, and don't be prey." This was the mantra that Niysha had approached her "education" with for the last several years. She was brighter than many of her classmates, but not the utmost genius of the bunch. She was diligent, but not an overachiever. These carefully limited qualities weren't deficiencies, but very intentional and practiced measures to keep her out of the limelight. In a Sith education system, one of three things happened: you either crushed other students beneath your heel, you were the one being crushed, or you avoided the attention of those doing the crushing.

Niysha had narrowed option #3 down to an art form.

...Or so she thought. In the midst of a primer on modern electoral practices within the empire, a large man in armor with a scowl hiding behind his full-face helmet appeared at the door and stated her name very, very plainly. This was new. Niysha was very unused to being called by name, and she couldn't remember a time in six years when she'd been personally retrieved by an armed guard. Standing from her lotus position, she walked towards the door with the same dismissable casual stroll she'd labored years to perfect. The other students and (especially) the instructor looked slightly surprised. It was likely most of them had forgotten she was even in the room.

Her expression remained difficult to read on her way to the academy master's office, but it was clear that the guard who was delivering her had no interest in that. She could easily see the telltale signs of beleaguered acceptance and dronelike obedience that had crept into his soul. Not unlike Niysha, this man had determined the most reliable way to not get killed, and he was performing it to the best of his abilities. An academy guard on Coruscant may not have been the most prestigious line of work in the entire Sith military, but it was likely among the safest. Their silent walk brought Niysha to a kind of kinship with this faceless man (who was anything but faceless to someone who could see beyond the flesh) than she likely had with any of her classmates.

She waited at the door to be introduced, walked in when instructed, and sat down where she was told to. "You called for me, my lord?" Carefully measured. Obedient without being shy. Years of practice. Whether she knew it or not, this moment had become quite the audition.
[member="Darth Adekos"]

 

[Caulder Dune]

[member="Niysha"]

Adekos gave a nod to the Headmaster, who promptly dismissed himself. When the door slid closed, Darth Adekos started talking. "Indeed I did. I told the headmaster here to alert me if he found anyone who demonstrated more than a modicum of skill where their academics were concerned; an aptitude for seeking knowledge." He flipped through some of the folder's contents again. It wasn't particularly thick, which lead Adekos to believe she kept a low profile. There were no listed altercations, assassination attempts, disciplinary actions. Nothing. A clean slate. Even Tyrin Ardik had a record when he was still academy-age. How could he not? Most of his peers at the time were only slightly more disciplined than Acklays in heat. "I have to say, other than your scholarly grades your record is rather sparse. You must have a preternaturally even temper."

He lowered the folder and closed it shut, studying her face. Admittedly she would be harder for him to gauge than most people considering the lack of eyes, though not impossible. "Do you harbor resentment towards anyone in this academy? Teachers, students, faculty."

 

[Niysha]

This was a curious man. His aura was full of muted dour colors and angles. "Professional" would likely be the correct term. All Sith had anger, hatred, fear, lust, or some other powerful emotion driving them. For the man before her, it seemed to be...ambition? No...hunger. He wanted. Whatever it was he wanted, there was a very strong want there. His demeanor was calm and collected, but he had the same fire in him that all of her classmates and instructors did. It was just...controlled. Stifled.

Very curious.

Her answer, then, would be just as methodical. Just as carefully measured. "The people of this academy - and presumably the rest of the galaxy - simply do what they are taught is necessary to survive, my lord. Those that fight fight each other. Those that don't are meat for the passions of others." It wasn't quite an answer, but she also wasn't done. A moment's pause saw her continue. "I hate every last one of them more than words can express."

The bruise on her shoulder was just one more of a long lineage of subtle injuries she'd received over the years. No broken teeth or bruised bones, no cracked ribs or bloody lips. Those were the injuries of someone who fought, or of someone who fled. She was someone who faded. Someone who was intentionally overlooked. Every time one of her classmates took credit for her work, or shoved her into a wall in a fit of rage, she simply made herself scarce. It was a very repressed life, but it was a life. Survival was more important to her than revenge.
[member="Darth Adekos"]

 

[Caulder Dune]

[member="Niysha"]

The Umbaran actually stopped pacing for a moment to actually listen. He found it interesting that this acolyte, not even yet apprenticed to a master, demonstrated more ability to think about her answers than a large number of his peers. Adekos almost thought she was doing a politician-esque sidestep of the question, ready to excuse the behavior of her classmates simply because of their upbringing. He grinned wryly behind his mask when she finished her thoughts. Rage, finely tempered and carefully restrained, was a powerful tool. This was a person who would have taken revenge, but didn't, likely out of a greater sense of pragmatism. In that regard, Niysha was already several dozen steps ahead of his last apprentice.

Maybe this academy wasn't totally useless after all.

"Typically," Adekos began, straying into another topic. "Those acolytes here that don't become apprenticed are 'graduated' and sent to a different academy; a glorified boot camp. They'll then serve on the front lines as rank and file Sith infantry, usually wiped out entirely in the first few hours of combat thanks to recklessness and lack of coordination. I'm sure you already knew that."

It was always a ghastly display to see young force sensitives routinely mowed down by autoturret fire. Darth Adekos hardly approved of it, but that was how the One Sith deigned it necessary to operate. He was in no position to influence that sort of change. All he could do was selectively prune the promising ones before they ended up face down in a ditch.

"Those documents show you're just about ready to make the transition. I can't imagine you have any intentions of doing that. So tell me, what is your plan here?"

 

[Niysha]

Now that was a harsh truth. A looming deadline that had threatened Niyha's future in the career of "living and breathing" for years. When she was younger and had decided that nondescript understatement was the way to live through Sith academy schooling - a decision had only found more and more evidence to be correct in the following years - Niysha hadn't even realized that would have been her fate. Fortunately, six years is plenty of time to accumulate information and form contingency plans.

"I have troubled several of my instructors for letters of recommendation to Intelligence, my lord," she began with her measured tone. "They are sparse, as I'm sure you can imagine. An understated Force-sensitive with the ability to see more than a human is a field asset that I believe OSI would find irresistible." While this wasn't perfectly safe either, it was a great deal less dangerous than being shot up by a bunch of Republic zealot fleshbots.

On top of that, she'd heard nothing but stories of professionalism from OSI. A structured, rigid system was sometimes callous but never as chaotic and inconsistent as a battlefield or the pit of mewling anarchists that was the average Sith Acolyte dormitory. She'd have a fantastic chance to not only persist, but possibly even find advancement, so long as she followed orders and kept her head down...two things she was exceedingly good at.

But he likely wanted some indication of interest in his offer, too. It wasn't up to her, but interest in something meant you'd work harder. Niysha only paused a moment after her OSI comment. "I would love nothing more than to see myself as a proper Apprentice, my lord, but it is dangerous to rely entirely on a single, uncertain outcome."
[member="Darth Adekos"]

 

[Caulder Dune]

[member="Niysha"]

Dangerous to rely entirely on a single, uncertain outcome? Darth Adekos sniffed audibly and made a gesture as if wiping a single, joyful tear from his eye. This acolyte was a national- nay -galactic treasure. Suddenly he was grateful most of his contemporaries lacked a sound vision of the future. Otherwise he wouldn't have happened upon a perfect pupil. "You remind me a little of myself when I was your age... Minus your temperament. That came later. I'm almost sorry to say OSI will be forced to miss you. You would have done wonders for them, no doubt"

Adekos hardly believed in the Force as a thing that shaped people's destinies. Now, however, he couldn't help but entertain the notion that perhaps his earlier apprentices had failed so that he could inevitably find this one? A disciple of a much higher disposition than those assorted others. Minus Siyndacha, of course. She was doing swell despite her own derisive attitude. But where was he going to find another with a gift for Mechu-Deru? Spark Finn? Pass. That ship had sailed, courtesy of Carach's ineptitude. That was neither here nor there. Finn was now in custody and although Siyndacha was promising, he did not suspect she had the ambition or drive to truly impact the galaxy as a leader did.

Perhaps Niysha would.

"I am Darth Adekos, and I suppose it should be obvious why I'm here now. Rarely do Sith Lords entreat with promising acolytes purely for polite conversation. I intend to make you my apprentice. But before that; what is it, in this whole wide galaxy of ours, that you want most out of life? And how do you intend to achieve it?"

 

[Niysha]

Niysha's pulse jumped just a bit upon hearing the man in front of her give voice to what she'd assumed was his intent all along. It was a bit like "not wanting to jinx" something you know is about to happen, so you don't speak about it. Or think about it. This was her ticket out of the academy, out of the Sith military, and out of this horrible planet. Also something something destiny. Her survival was more important than some kind of grand fate which the Force may or may not have laid out for her, but that was a fantastic side benefit.

Still more questions. A thoughtful man if ever Niysha had met one. It was unlikely his questions would ever really stop. The more she looked at him, spoke to him, and gauged his presence in the room, the more the young Miraluka came to believe that this Darth Adekos prided cunning far higher than more traditional Sith traits. She'd have to consider her answers very carefully, and since many of his questions so far had been about her, she'd have to consider herself carefully. For instance, did she even know what she wanted to do with her life?

After a few moments of very, very careful contemplation, she had her answer. "In my time here, I've discovered that the actions of those far, far above us affect our lives more than the actions of our fellow students. The student's actions are often reactions, able to be traced back to an instructor's decree or policy. Likewise, those instructors are operating on order from the headmaster. The trickle-down of authority and influence creates a time delay between cause and effect; our headmaster walks the halls with unease in his heart - presumably because he was berated by his own superiors - and within a month, our instructors mete out discipline for some new infraction."

She paused for breath, and to keep her thoughts in order. It was harder to forge observation into recitation than it was to simply observe. She'd never been in a position where she wanted to describe her own thought processes before now. "I've never been in much of a position to use this information here, my lord, but I feel it only sensible that the rest of the galaxy works in much the same way. If I can find these links further up the chain before they create ripple effects around me, I can prepare for the change. I can use it to my advantage."

But to do what? This was where she started to grasp, just a bit. Ambition had never been much of a strong suit for the young Niysha, since in the academy, ambition equated to attention. If she wanted to live, she avoided it like the plague. Without the looming danger of rivals about to murder her in her sleep for being too good at something, Niysha could stretch her legs. What did she want? What would she do with whatever she learned. "I've spent quite some time now being...very average. I'd like to have something to call my own. Something that no one else can claim to have, or be. Something that puts me in rarefied company. Information control exists in order to keep secrets from those that you don't want informed, and I believe I can find a secret or two that will help me be peerless."

The textbook definition of peerless. Without peers. How could she have peers if no one else could do, use, or affect what she could do, use, or affect?
[member="Darth Adekos"]

 

[Caulder Dune]

[member="Niysha"]

Someone had been thinking about this for a long time. When he was an acolyte, his answer had been a relatively simple three-parter: money, sex, power. Same as most acolytes. There was no concept of where they wanted to derive their power and money from. Just that they wanted it. Sex, on the other hand, almost everyone seemed to have a clear cut idea on. That was the easiest of the lot, really. It was a good thing, for all parties involved, that Niysha's answer extended far beyond that sort of inherent baseness. It would have been a boring discussion otherwise.

OSI ought to have been kicking themselves over losing this one. No doubt about that.

"Ah, I see it now. You're not just looking for knowledge out of a textbook. You want information. Information relevant to the galaxy at large. And you'll want it far before anyone else gets it. You want to see the strings that control the system, perhaps even pluck at them yourself." He chuckled. It was a ghastly, mechanical sound. "Most of my disciples only craved knowledge so far as it could help them master the Force. You, on the other hand, seem to understand the value of a good web of infochants."

Adekos had no such web. He had a few informants and spies he kept on retainer, as any competent Sith Lord ought to, but never an extensive web. No, the business of running one of the galaxy's largest droid manufacturing magnates often took precedence. One could hardly corner every aspect of the galaxy. As it stood, Adekos was working on a means to divert that responsibility to someone else. Someone he could trust to keep him in the loop as far as the company's revenue was concerned. Once that was taken care of, he and his new acolyte could plunge the murky depths of the galaxy's underworld of information brokers together.

Look at him. Already planning missions. It must have been heartwarming to someone, somewhere.

"With the power of the Force at your disposal, the opportunity to unlock your full potential is as simple as reaching out and taking it... And I do sense a great deal of potential in you. Your future success will hinge upon your ability to command the Force: something you will never master if you remain at this academy."

From these instructors (and her likely insufferable classmates), there was precious little left for her to learn. If she had, in fact, learned anything worthwhile at all.

"I offer you this, then: the opportunity to pledge yourself to me and my teachings. Become my apprentice, and I will teach you everything I know, as well as provide the tools necessary to forge your own path. You will serve me as part of your education until such a time comes that you may function in the wider galaxy without my oversight."

Adekos had often stressed that he was not in the business of training servants, but allies. It was foolish to think someone would be content as a servant for their whole life. Some Sith took the time to purposely stunt their pupils in an effort to protect their own power. Rubbish. That was the kind of behavior that led to a deficit of properly trained Sith and a shortage of Sith in general. How were they supposed to rid the galaxy of Jedi if all the pupils kept killing their masters? Wasteful and unsustainable. Darth Adekos wanted colleagues of the same caliber and ideology as him; people he could depend upon that shared his ideology without being beholden to him at every turn.

People who could shape the galaxy into a more orderly, more stabilized place of their own volition. Not because he coerced them.

 

[Niysha]

For the first time since she walked into the room, Niysha's face cracked an emotion. She'd felt emotions during their conversation, of course. Apprehension, mostly. Fear's more benevolent but not exactly kinder cousin. Now she was just shy of elated, and it showed. Her eyes would have lit up if she had any, which was part of the issue with trying to read a Miraluka's emotions. Instead, the only visible change was her smile, and a mild one at that. She quickly hid it by bowing her head in deference, though whether that was due to instruction or personal inclination wasn't clear.

Her salvation from uncertainty was here. Her future had just become very definite, very predictable. A calculable factor around which she could plan. This was like Life Day, and young Niysha had to give it her all not to tear off all the wrapping paper and giggle at her shiny new present. Instead, she constructed another response. "It would be my privilege to follow you, my lord. I am very eager to learn."

Now that she had an asset she could rely on - a cunning (thank the Force) Sith Lord to learn under - she could begin to develop plans for the future. Of course, most of that would have to wait until she fully understood what he was capable of and what he held influence over. Some basic forethought was still possible, though, and she wouldn't miss a chance to do it.

With a Sith Lord's resources - either through a stipend or through application of whatever skills she learned - Niysha could establish influence on a planet. She needed to ensure that it wasn't a terribly...busy planet. Simple systems were easier to see, and had more forewarning before large changes happened. An exchange of government seats, a large corporate boom or bust...the quickest way to achieve anything in the galaxy was through credits, and as she was betting for and against the right factors, she'd have her feet on the ground. She'd be making contacts. With her influence and power, they could make contacts of their own.

Too many underlings under an underling, though, would go to his head. Niysha made a mental note to ensure that one became ambitious early, so she could kill him as a warning to the others. Once she'd ridden the tides of a smaller planet, built up a proper base of resources...

Her mind continued, but her body sat in a chair in front of her new Sith master and bowed.
[member="Darth Adekos"]

 

[Caulder Dune]

[member="Niysha"]

He recalled that excitement. Usually it turned into loathing and grim determination after the first few days of training. The hatred the pupil had for the mentor was all part of the process, of course. Negative emotions were all part of learning to harness the power of the Dark Side. The trick was to also impart enough wisdom that they would be understanding of their hardship once they graduated. That was how Darth Plagueis had done it and things had turned out remarkably well for him. Mostly. If it hadn't been for the Rule of Two that Darth Bane had conjured up he would have lasted much longer and things in the galaxy would have gone much more... Smoothly.

Ah well. Why did the ancients fail? So their successors could learn from them.

"Good... Good. You'll have the remainder of the day to pack your things and prepare yourself for departure." Adekos said. "And say your goodbyes, I'm sure you have many dear friends you'd like to inform. A shuttle will arrive here later tonight to deliver you to my vessel in orbit. From there, you'll get acclimated and your training will begin in earnest."

Darth Adekos collected the folder from where he had originally left it on the table and made to leave, but stopped short. "Are there, perhaps, any questions you have for me?"