An Idiots Guide to Recovering Sith Artifacts

Varulla'aba stepped into the galley, datapad in hand. All her dives into the archives had been rewarded with this moment. Her heart's desire had been granted, and she rightly saw the force had been pushing her to it. It was her destiny, growing ever larger.

But it was also a double-edged sword. She hadn't even told Koeing everything about her childhood. He'd essentially have to find out now. And she wasn't relishing the prospect of telling him about that moment in her past. He wasn't a fool though, and he'd find out eventually. Things were just moving a bit faster than Var would have chosen.

She leaned against the wall, but not before reaching into the pack she'd taken with her this time. She made a point of being well-prepared for everything, and that held true in food as well. The Sith Initiate pulled out a citrus fruit and rolled it across the table to Donnie. Var had packed up all the decent food she could get her hands on the second she'd learned of their destination. Tatooine was a very long trip away, and the synthesizer on the Bucket was terrible.

Right now, she was the only one who knew the destination. Once they were assembled she'd reveal it, dramatically of course.

Donnie silently watched Var motor around the kitchen. When she went back into her bag, Doneeda went back to eating the goop, which had no particular taste, aside from "not bad". Then a green, grapefruit-sized body bumped into her tray. Donnie picked it up, and then looked across the table to see Var with one of her own.

She was somewhat surprised by this. Before they'd taken off, Var wasn't overly pleased with her, now she was rolling her citriusy goodies across the table. Doneeda shrugged. Food was food, and the stuff on the ship was some kind of...something else.

Thanks, De ah, goob on 'ere was gettin' t'me.

Donnie said, then proceeding to use her incisor to bite a small hole so she could get her nails under the skin.

Unlike most girls, she kept her nails short. There'd been a few situations in the past where they'd been ripped off when a bolt slipped or she wasn't paying attention and had learned the hard way. The flip side, however, was that getting into food was a bit more difficult. After a couple of seconds of peeling, she had a small pile of rind below the fruit.

The silence was also somewhat deafening. So, Donnie decided to fix that.

She put the fruit down, and, using her pinkies, maneuvered a quarter-sized piece of rind out on it's own.

She then flicked it across the table, at Var, grinning like crazy.

It was nice to have people back on the ship, she thought.

Var caught the piece of peel between two fingers seemingly effortlessly, then tossed it toward the waste bin. With the slightest telekinetic boost it fell into the receptacle. She wagged her finger mock-seriously.
"Now now, don't litter. A clean ship is a happy ship."

She leaned back in her own seat and started to pry the peel off her own piece of fruit before switching into their mutual native language of Huttese. "Besides, this is going to be a very long flight. Getting a piece of food wedged away somewhere and rotting won't help the smell. And oh, that reminds me..." A slightly sardonic smile appeared on her face. "If you're bored on the flight again, try to be more subtle. You know what I mean..."

Donnie chose to disregard the smell comments. She'd come to realize that the being sitting across from her was who she was. Which, at very least, was somebody who wasn't Sion. Or Dov, for that matter. Doneeda grinned when Var finished.

Okay mom, I won't take any more boys to my room, I promise.

She replied in huttese, taking a big bite out of her now peeled fruit.

Doneeda did figure it was somewhat inconsiderate to just hump somebody in the cargo hold of an old ship. From her adventures earlier on, the ships internal soundproofing wasn't the greatest. Not to mention, she didn't know much about what a sith could actually do wit their mind. It was entirely possible that Var had esp or something.

The fruit tasted like watermelon, Donnie thought.

And where are we going, anyways? I didn't bring a change of clothes, or a toothbrush...or a vi-.

Doneeda stopped herself suddenly, remembering who she was talking too and that this is a PG rp. The Twi'lek smirked and took a bite of her fruit before continuing.

Hah...So yeah, howabout that destination?

She finished quickly.

The older of the two Twi'leks glared at her more attractive junior, a mock glare though. Her green eyes expressed amusement rather than the pure and unadulterated malice of a real Var-glare."Mom? Just how old do you think I am?"

She shook her head in amusement before growing businesslike again.
"I think we may have to make a stop or two along the way then. And we'll also have to make a choice." Var slid the datapad over to Donnie, allowing her to see their destination. Tatooine. The exact planet she'd been wanting to reach for the past few years. The one almost at the far end of the galaxy. And the one she was going to, heedless of the dangers.

"We can take a faster route through Republic space and just run a fake registry on the ship. We'll only have to stop once or twice if we make it a speed run. You know the ship better than I do, so I'll let you guess how long this is going to take."

The Initiate took a bite out of her fruit, savoring the flavor and trying to stifle her impatience. She'd been waiting a long time already, and she could wait a little while longer.

Donnie gave her a cheeky grin, Var in a good mood was fun, she thought.

Baww, Old enough you know what'cha doin!

She said with a smirk.

With that, Donnie saw a datapad sliding to her and caught it, and flipped it around so it was right side up. Var had highlighted...

Tatooine. The datapad was giving her a point to point distance of about 40 000 light years. That would easily be a month round trip. Doneeda quickly plotted a faster route through the core, on the spacelanes. Areas of low subspace disturbance, meaning faster speeds for a given hyper drive rating, even over the longer distance, it'd shave some time off. As well as ease stress, fuel was a consideration on a flight that long, and deep space wasn't too littered with rest stops.

Donnie leaned back in her chair and looked back at Var.

Well.

Donnie said in Huttese.

It's your lucky day. While you guys were playing in the yard, I upgraded the ship. We, are now in possession of a Class 4.5 hyperdrive...among other things.

Donnie said, taking a bite out of her fruit, and spinning the pad around so Var could see it right side up.

I'd go down the Dragon Tail, then hook up with the Perlemian.

Donnie explained, tracing her finger along the proposed route.

Follow that to Denon, right there, where it intersects the Corellian run. Once we're there, follow it out to Tatooine. I'm not entirely sure about fuel stops yet, so I'll figure out the fuel burn as we go, and I'll need to make a stop on Zeltros...

She finished and took a bite of the fruit, noticing she was past half way.

Oh, and somewhere before that to pickup...

Donnie held out her hand, tapping a finger for each as she went.

Food, Clothes, Booze, Fuel, just the necessities...

Any ideas for planets? I'm really not that familiar with this end of the galaxy. If you know of a place we can pull into so we can get this stuff I'm all ears.

Doneeda asked. She realized she'd been talking to Var's chest during the question, so she quickly took a final bite out of her fruit and started playing with her fork.

"If we skip the Dragon Tail, we can blaze a way straight down to the Perlemian route faster, and drop right through Murkhana." She tapped a finger at the exact spot on the datapad. "Its a Corporate Alliance world, which means as long as we pay a docking fee we can do anything we want and buy anything we want."

She eyed Zeltros on the map. Slightly off the route, and it would require dropping off the Perlemian prematurely, then moving through Corporate space until they hit the Corellian Run. And by then they'd definitely want fuel and supplies. There was no doubt about it, they had to stop off on a Republic world. Just as she was starting to make the pronouncement she looked quizzically at Donnie. She'd belatedly noticed she was being stared at, and it was slightly odd.

Corporate Space...Donnie thought for a moment.

It made sense, they'd take credits and not ask too many questions, and they'd probably have access to her accounts from there. She could easily be able to pay for the docking fees, and pick up the supplies.

I suppose most of you are broke?

She asked in Huttese.

The next hurdle was their stop in republic space. They'd need to stop for fuel and possibly food in republic space. The faked registry was going to be difficult. Republic customs would probably board their ship and check to make sure they weren't smugglers, and that everybody had correct papers. Donnie had them, she was a certified pilot who'd completed her training on Corellia, she had correct ID and proof of residency on Zeltros.

What papers does everybody have? They'd going to want some kind of ID...I can fake the registry, and I have papers, but when Customs boards us when we land....

Donnie continued.

The prospect of standing face to face with Republic customs wasn't something she was looking forward to.

We're going to have to get you guys out of those robes. Even on the corporate worlds, word travels fast, and I promise you there's Republic agents looking for Sith coming through Corporate space. Dump the robes and we'll be able to blend in a hell of a lot better.

Donnie paused and thought for a moment.

I'll go lay in the course, I agree, I'll bomb over to the Perlemian and take that in.

She took a final nibble off her fruit and tossed it into the waste bin, and leaned back in her chair.

Thoughts?

Var glanced down at her perfectly ordinary Echani armor. Robes wouldn't be a problem for her. Strap on a blaster and she'd look like any kind of ordinary fringer. "I'll be fine like this, but we'll need to buy some more ordinary clothes for the others when we stop in Corporate Space."

The Twi'lek Sith brushed a lekku off her chest pocket in the armor, and pulled out an ID holder, flipping it open to show the document it contained. "I saved this ID from my time in the Republic. It won't expire for another three years. I can't speak for the others though, but I suppose we could get creative. A little force persuasion perhaps. Or pretend to be bounty hunters taking back captives."

Var reached into another pocket, and out came a fistful of credits. What she'd been hording up over the years, and her whole life savings in fact. She had no qualms giving it to the cause. The necklace didn't matter, it was just an excuse for her to get to Tatooine. "That should cover our costs." She said neutrally as she pushed the pile of credits across the table to the pilot. She was aware it tipped her hand as to the importance of Tatooine. But even if it was noticed, she didn't have any obligation to explain why.

"We'll discuss the details later, but for now we have a basic flight plan to follow."

However! This fools would not be the only characters in this epic saga, for deep in the cargo hold sat Doviculous, once again in a meditative state. He opened his eyes, they're red glow visable in the darkened hold. Hmmm, on the road again... He sighed deeply, and rose from his cross-legged position, and strode across the hold. Over the past few hours he'd had an interesting adventure. He had delved deep into two temples on Ziost, one to retrieve an artifact that was not there, which led to much dissapointment, but was an epic adventure filled with death and destruction. The other temple held a more promising venture, for he had met the powerful Noghri sith, Cho Wroth, whom he duked it out with force powers in the bowels of that temple. Both wereleft exhausted, and the duel ended in a draw. He had left that temple saying his farewells to that respected alien, and had regrouped with the team, and blasted offworld, heading to a new destination, which remained unknown to him.

Doviculous climbed the stairs leading to the inner hold, where he felt the distinct presence of Var and Donnie. He had formed mutual friendships with both, one by skill, the other by flesh. Yes, the first ride on this junkheap proved interesting, but it meant nothing between him and Donnie. As he approached, and allowed himself to be known by Var, letting his presence flow into the room. Greetings comrades, I hope that trip seemed interesting, it did for me... He smirked evily as he quickly took a chair at the table, resting his elbows on the table while he held both hands close to his face, as he eyed both of them.

Var glanced at Dov, summing up the Devaronian once more. She had a tendency to do that every time she saw him. She respected him, as a threat and as an ally. There was no denying he was powerful.

There was also no denying he owed her for her gift of a thermal detonator on Ziost. And he had to be aware the explosive could have simply been detonated right on top of him. It was Var's hope that some sense of debt held him in an alliance.

But then again, anyone who held such 'debts' against their interests was a fool. Their civil and polite relationship would only last as long as they both needed it to. Which could be a day, or could be a lifetime. The Twi'lek Initiate only knew what she would and wouldn't do. And she wouldn't be the one to break off relations.

Speaking of which... She eyed Donnie as well. What had happened between the younger Twi'lek and the Devaronian Sith wasn't exactly a secret. And it sure hadn't made Var comfortable. Strangely enough, she was a bit of a prude when it came to sex. Well, maybe not strange given her life experience.

"Yes, it was interesting." Var agreed. "And productive for some of us," she added, referring to the addition of Koeing Turion, her new master, to the group. Though they'd been unable to find the artifact, she'd found something- someone, far more valuable to her.

Donnie looked over at the door as Dov walked in.

Hey Dov.

She said as he walked in, waiting for him to finish his small talk with Var.

Donnie's interest in Dov had been passing, at best. The sith temple was boring, in every possible way, and he provided a release. Nothing more. However, she had no issue with him. Dov hadn't done anything against her, and he'd been cordial to most of the crew, save Sion.

Though Donnie didn't have any particular issue with it, given Sion's melancholy demeanor throughout the trip. Somebody had to do something...that somebody was Dov.

And productive for some of us

Donnie pointed at Var when she said this.

Dis. No over indarestin, but prod..uh...you know.

Donnie paused, sliding the data pad towards Var and Dov.

Jus' to letcha know, we goin' to Tatooine. Var thinks th' neck-thing there, we be stoppin' at Murkhana firs...nee gas'n'food...an booze...necessities. Is a corpo-world, so we pays a dockin' fee an dey don' as quessions.

Donnie explained, hopefully bringing Dov up to speed.

Truth be told, hiding a 7 foot tall, horned, red-skinned behemoth like him would be difficult at best. She was hoping Murkhana had a decent amount of foreign traffic, so they'd turn a blind eye to that sort of thing.

Whatcha' thin', good plan?

She asked.

Doviculous considered the plan, it seemed good, as long as everything went off without a hitch and they didn't run across any trouble, Fringer or otherwise. The plan seems good, and we could use some supplies. He leaned back in his chair, thinking about Murkhana, he's never been to the planet, but he's heard stories and tales about it. This trip could prove fruitful, he's had a small nagging at the back of his head ever since they announced the true destination, Tatooine. It seems odd for the Sith Necklace to be on that sandy backwater planet, was it truely there? He mulled over the plan once again, it seemed simple, what could go wrong?

Excuse me, I need to meditate on...something... He got up to leave, taking one last look at Var before heading down into the Cargo Hold again. It seemed with each passing minute that hold was becoming his room on the ship. He found his spot within the hold, a small circular corner surrounded by large cargo boxes, and he assumed the meditative position. He tried to delve into Var's mind, something about this seemed tied to her, perhaps if he was to delve a bit into her mind he would find something...

Var finished eating her fruit, and as she was dumping the peel into the waste receptacle she noticed something was going on. Something unusual. She reached out with her senses and noticed what it was.

Doviculous was probing her mind.

The Twi'lek Initiate hovered between anger and fear. The very fact that he was able to attempt a probe meant he was strong in the Force telepathically. Potentially stronger than she was. And with his lack of subtlety, it was possible he would simply try to smash through her protective barriers. It would be the equivalent of raping her mind. That both frightened her and made her furious.

She raised every barrier she had. Everything she could muster was encircling her secrets. One of the Inner Sanctum could have ripped them all away, but Var doubted another Initiate would have the capability. She hoped.

"Excuse me," she muttered to Donnie, her mind not on the pilot at all.

Her mind was focused right back at Dov in the cargo hold. She wouldn't let his prying go without comment. She would call it out, and demand an explanation. He owed her his life. She'd been in a position to take it at their very first meeting. Yes, betrayal was the way of the Sith. But she expected that betrayal in the form of murder or plotting, not in the form of invading her privacy.

She stormed down the steps into the hold and came to a stop right before the Devaronian, mindful of the weight of her lightsaber on her belt.

"You had better have a damn good excuse for that."

Doviculous knew that Var was onto him, but that did not stop his not so subtle probing, he stopped right when she was in arms length of him. What's the real reason we're going to tatooine... He opened his eyes, and stood to his full height of 6'7, and stared down at the Twi'lek Sith. Answer me... His voice was deep and full of malice, he did not like to snoop around to find the truth, but if he had to he did it with vicious force. He had gained a small amount of information before she realized he was probing her, it wasn't much, but it was enough to know something was fishy about this trip. Perhaps it had to do with Var's pastlife, perhaps she just always wanted to go there, whatever the reason, he would find it one way or another. He moved slightly closer to Var, his apperance in the darkened Hold quite frightening to someone who had never seen him before, but to her it could still be intimidating.

Varulla'aba wasn't the least bit intimidated by the enormous Sith or his voice. She refused to be the weaker half of the conversation. But at the same time his concern was almost petty.

"We," Var emphasized, "are going to Tatooine because the necklace we're supposed to find was moved there for safe-keeping."

She glared venomously at the Devaronian before snapping out response in a voice that barely seemed to be her own. Normally her voice had a silky quality to it, and she seemed collected if cold and wary. The others had also seen her angry. Then she was fiery and had a sharp edge to her voice.

But this time it went beyond that. Her voice was dripping with the kind of icy determination that could freeze the blood in someone's veins. She was all cold steel as she added another few words. "I am going there for my own reasons. And they will remain private. Stay out of my way and stay out of my mind or I'll make you wish I'd separated your head from your neck when I had the chance."

Doviculous grinned, finally he was seeing the beast within this girl, perhaps she was worth something afterall. He knew he shouldn't be he decided to press onward, Hehehe Perhaps I touched a nerve... What's wrong Var? Planet got some memories for ya? He chuckled a bit more before deciding to move past her, he was satisfied with her anger, making others angry or sad gave some sadistic pleasure that only a sadist could truly understand. He absent mindedly touched the medalion he wore around his neck, it had a symbol of the Burning Order on it, the Order he was raised in, and the one he annihilated a few weeks earlier.

He stopped halfway across the cargo hold, what if he never killed Kalma, he could've become one of the strongest masters there, and he was already stronger than Zodon, who he killed during that assault. He was the strongest one there, they created a weapon that destroyed all of them... or most of them. Doviculous knew that some members escaped, but they were too weak and lead any other survivors. He turns his head back to Var one more time before continuing on.

"Go to hell," Var spat as she directed another withering glare at the back of Dov's head. He turned his head to look at her one more time and she intensified the glare, an icy hatred injected into the look.

"If you think I'm ever going to tell you anything, cha skrunee da pat sleemo!"

Dov walked away.

Var kicked a cargo container with all her might. It toppled with a loud crash and she hit it with her fist. She vented on it instead of the others. But she promised herself that if she ever had an excuse, she'd eliminate the Devaronian. Maybe shove him out an airlock. Or poison him. The possibilities were endless, and they were all appealing.

As soon as she had a chance she'd go and vent to Koeing. She could rely on her master for support.