Retooled(open)

[Cadyren]

Cadyren listened as Var told him of her preference to a single Lightsaber, though he still kept most of his attention on the duel. She told him that she preferred it because she could hold it in both hands and her strikes would have more power to them. Cadyren nodded to this, it was difficult to land powerful blows when using Jar’kai. From what Cadyren had seen Jar’kai favored speed over strength due to the users only being able to hold one Lightsaber in each hand.

“Yes, if he can press the assault for long enough maybe he can break through Cho’s defense. From here I can tell that Cho is very unfamiliar with holding a Lightsaber in each hand, perhaps Doviculous has a chance at disarming him.” Cadyren said as he watched Dov attempt to break through Cho's guard. His voice sounded a lot calmer. He wasn’t as angry as he had been moments before, thinking about his master had allowed him to calm down a bit.

“A mission to retrieve an artifact? Sounds interesting, what kind of artifact was it?” Cadyren asked, looking over to Var as he asked now that she had said something that he found very interesting. He had not really listened to what she had said about Doviculous, though he had allowed her to finish talking before he had asked his question.

As Cadyren waited for Var to answer he could still hear the sound of Lightsabers clashing, as well as Cho talking about the ‘perfect kill’. He didn’t care about that however, he wanted to know what kind of artifact Var had been sent to retrieve, was it a holocron or some trinket owned by a Sith that had lived generations ago.

[Lemur, The Kool-Aid Guy]

Var stared at the human next to her, probing him with her glance and deciding whether or not to answer. His sudden curiosity in the topic made her wary. She wasn't used to other Sith having casual discussions about artifacts. Curiosity usually meant something. Certainly it was true of Var, when she expressed curiosity it was because she wanted to learn something to give her an advantage, gratify her, or undermine an opponent.

After a moment of thought she decided to answer, albeit in somewhat vague terms.

"A trinket one of the masters in the Order requested. As it happened it was no longer in the temple we'd thought. I've been digging through what archives we have trying to track it. Someone took it out of that temple, and they didn't set off a single trap. That makes it something official. So I'm looking for all recorded instances where something valuable might have been formally moved from Ziost."

She kept a third of her attention on the pair fighting, but she focused the remainder on Cadyren's features, studying him for any kind of reaction to what she was saying. Over two decades of observing behavior had taught Var many lessons, and she knew how to read people. From her owner as a slave to her master in the Jedi Order, she'd been able to detect their moods, their likes, their dislikes, and their interests. If anything in particular struck a chord in the human before her, she'd know.

[Cadyren]

Cadyren studied in the Archives often, and had recently began reading about the Sith of old, about holocrons and Sith Alchemy. While most of what he read was useless, in the past few weeks he had gained some knowledge about what could be accomplished with Sith Alchemy, and had also been interested in how to make Holocrons, but he still had no idea as to how to use Sith Alchemy, or how to create a Holocron.

That was why Cadyren was interested in the artifact that Var was looking for, perhaps finding a Holocron or an object that had been altered by Sith Alchemy would allow him some insight as to how to create his own Holocron one day and also how to use Sith Alchemy to create his own altered weapons and armor.

Cadyren listened as Var told him about how her and a couple of other Sith had been sent to go look for a trinket for a Sith Master, and how they had been unable to find it in the temple they had searched through. Var then told Cadyren how she was searching through the archives to try and find any records of someone else finding it. During his time in the archives Cadyren had not come across anything about a Sith artifact on Ziost, which meant that if their were records they would be hard to find.

Cadyren was definitely curious about the artifact, so curious that he didn’t even make an effort to hide his interest in the discussion. He wanted to find the artifact and examine it, even though he probably wouldn’t learn anything from it. He of course didn’t intend to go looking for it by himself and taking it, it wouldn’t be good if he took something that a Sith master wanted. No he would only want to look at it, probe it with the Force to see if it had been altered in anyway through the Force and to also see if he could learn how to produce a similar affect on another object.

“It must be an interesting trinket, for one of the masters to want it. Perhaps I could help you look for it, the artifact must be rather interesting for a Sith Master to want it.” Cadyren said, feeling no need to hide the fact that he was interested in the artifact. Var would be more likely to accept his help if she didn’t feel like he was trying to hide something from her, and from the way she was looking at him Cadyren could tell she was wary of him.

“I wouldn’t ask much in return for helping you, just a chance to look at the trinket for a few moments before you hand it over. So does that sound like a good deal? I help you search through the Archives and you let me look at your artifact for a minute or two?” Cadyren proposed, hoping that Var would accept his offer.

[Lemur, The Kool-Aid Guy]

Var thought about it. And reached a decision.

"Of course," she lied through her teeth, "help me find the artifact and you'll see it."

In all actuality she had no intention of handing over the necklace she was searching for to anyone but the unknown master who'd demanded it. The Twi'lek Initiate wasn't good at keeping promises anyway, and in the months it would take to actually recover the necklace there was always the chance the human would lose interest or die.

Var didn't have the kinds of skills many others in the Order had. Her best skills were average. But she had one thing she was truly good at, and that was lying. Or 'acting' as she preferred to call it.

And the thing she loved best about being a Sith was that she didn't have to have any guilt over it. If he was actually willing to provide help on the grounds of a promise at some unknown time in the future then he needed a little lesson on trust. She was helping him in a way.

"I'll give you a few details when we reach the Temple. The tomorrow morning you should meet me in the archives."

[Othorious]

Doviculous parried, blocked most of the attacks by Cho, but the last attack threw him off balance, which caused the blade to lightly nick his side, causing his flesh to slightly burn and sizzle. Well done Cho, you have the strength and speed of a predator with you He breather heavily and deactivated his lightsaber, he had proven Cho's might and technique, that's all he needed to see and experience. To stop further injury to both of us, I must call this duel to a draw, surely you can see that if this continues it will just lead to more destruction He quickly clipped his saber onto his belt and turned back to Cho. What will you do now Cho? You've been branded by the Dark Lady, everyone knows. How will you cope?

((Sorry for the lazy post, but over the past few days my muse has been gagged, shot, and burried in a field somewhere in Nebraska))

[Foxfire]

Cho listened intently to Doviculous' words. They did indeed weight heavy on his mind as he let the force flow back from him into the collective power. Steeping back against a smaller boulder Cho slide down the face of if settling on the ground.

Traitor.soft laughter For all my life I have been seen as a traitor and a freak. What is there left for me. When missions come to me I will sacrifice all to them as I have always. If I'm commanded to silence a Jedi I will follow it till the job is done. Whether the Jedi retreats back to their temple I will follow and either finish the job or die in the effort.

None will ever see me as nothing but a loyal Sith. Yes I said loyal. For my race death and loyalty is the only two constant things in life.-Turning to Cadyren and the twi'lek female- You can come out from your places of safety we are done here.

Cho laid his head back upon the boulder and rested his eye for a bit, letting the force continue to slowly retreat from him. When Cho had tapped the gray the quick release took a heavy toll upon him. So slowly releasing it was the only way of dealing with this area of the force. He had seen pictorial graphs in the Rataka temple showing users who failed to do this properly and they ripped themselves apart.

Cadyren,... I had not thought I'd never see you again. This Sith hound you see before you is no longer alone but has rejoined the pack. Forgive the errors, yet never forget what happens here in the Sith order and you will see a longer life than most of us.

Looking to the Twi'lek female-Your one I have seen but yet to meet. Speak up child my day is done and the fight is out of me. So you should have not to worry about me, at least not today.

Cho smiled a toothy noghri grin in jest toward the twi'lek and winked at Cadyren.

[Lemur, The Kool-Aid Guy]

Var scoffed. Child? I was never a child, even when I was little. She left the correction unsaid. She didn't discuss her life with just anyone. Weakness was something to be hidden, not shared. The Twi'lek Initiate had thought about it yes, but she'd never crossed that line. Her master would learn some of it eventually.

But not all. Some things festered deep inside her. The things that caused her the most pain. She transferred them into anger, and the anger into strength. Her weakness, ironically, gave her power. And from there, as the Code indicated, one thing led to another until the Force freed her.

Or so it did in theory.

In practice she'd found a different set of rules. Only if these ones were broken the consequence was often death. The dark side was natural and organic. All the brutality and the power of nature at her very fingertips. It took strength to prevail yes, but it also took wits. You stayed alert. You didn't trust anyone. You never deluded yourself into thinking you had friends, because there were no such things as friends.

She frowned. It wasn't the time to be contemplating philosophy. Or her life. In fact, it was better to ignore her life and focus one day at a time.

"I 'worry' about everyone I meet. If you're wise you should as well Cho. Personally, I don't know if you have wisdom." Var perched on top of the boulder as she kept a casual and conversational tone with the Noghri. "Loyalty is a disease of dogs. Don't think for one instant anyone else in the Order would have the same devotion for you. Allegiances blow in the wind. Anyone who says otherwise hasn't seen the universe for what it is. The enemy of my enemy is my friend only until my enemy is gone. Betrayal is the way of the Sith, how else can we stay strong? Iron sharpens iron. And those with loyalty only expose themselves to those without."

[Cadyren]

"Of course, help me find the artifact and you'll see it."

Cadyren was surprised by the answer; he had expected for Var to decline and had been preparing to give her a lot of reasons as to why she should accept his help. For a second he was suspicious, but what reason would Var have to double-cross him? It’s not like he would be able to take the necklace from her, she was quite a few years older then him and could probably take it back by force if he did. And she didn’t sound like she was lying either, so perhaps she just realized that the offer would benefit her greatly.

"I'll give you a few details when we reach the Temple. Then tomorrow morning you should meet me in the archives."

Cadyren nodded, “Alright then.”

Cadyren was to surprised by Var’s acceptance of his help and to eager to find the location of the necklace to remember that some Sith double cross each other just for the fun of it, or because they don’t feel like living up to their end of the deal. He didn’t trust Var, but he didn’t see any reason for her to not let him look at the necklace before she gave it to the master.

The deal being made, Cadyren turned back and watched the end of the fight, Cho landing a hit on the Devoranian and burning some of his flesh. He didn’t seem to mind, instead asking for the duel to end and that they should call the duel a draw before one of them got seriously injured. The Devoranian then asked Cho what he would do now that he had been branded by the Dark Lady. Cadyren’s eyes moved to the Noghri, awaiting his answer.

“For all my life I have been seen as a traitor and a freak. What is there left for me. When missions come to me I will sacrifice all to them as I have always. If I'm commanded to silence a Jedi I will follow it till the job is done. Whether the Jedi retreats back to their temple I will follow and either finish the job or die in the effort. None will ever see me as nothing but a loyal Sith. Yes I said loyal. For my race death and loyalty is the only two constant things in life.”

As always the Noghri’s answer was long, a trait that Cadyren had found rather interesting on Ziost. Most Sith, including Cadyren, were reluctant to talk about their past or their opinions, for fear that the listener might use whatever knowledge they gained against them. Cho was different however, he would openly voice his opinions and speak about his past. Cadyren couldn’t figure out if the Noghri was just confidant and believed that whatever knowledge the listener gained couldn’t be used to harm him, or if the Noghri just didn’t care.

Cho turned to Cadyren and Var and asked them to walk over. Seeing no season not to Cadyren slowly began to maneuver around the rubble that had once been the canyon wall until he reached Cho and the Devoranian. He did not look back to see if Var followed, he had finished his business with her for the time being.

Cadyren stood a few meters away from both Cho and the Devoranian, not because he was scared of them, but because he did not like to get close to people, both metaphorically and literally. Cho laid back against a boulder, and seemed to rest for a moment. Cadyren could feel the Noghri releasing the Force from his body, doing it slowly. The energy felt strange, not Dark like Cadyren would have expected it to be. He could only describe the energy as different.

“Cadyren,... I had not thought I'd ever see you again. This Sith hound you see before you is no longer alone but has rejoined the pack. Forgive the errors, yet never forget what happens here in the Sith order and you will see a longer life than most of us.”

Cadyren stood silent as the Noghri talked, contemplating the advice Cho gave him. Could Cadyren forgive someone for making an error? Perhaps, but he doubted it. The past year had proven to Cadyren that he was not a forgiving person, both to himself and to those who had wronged him. And could he forget what happened, and what would happen to him while he was in the Sith Order? Of course not, the memories of the place would stay with him for the rest of his life, even if he did live a long life.

Before Cadyren could come up with a reply for Cho the Noghri turned to address Var, “Your one I have seen but yet to meet. Speak up child my day is done and the fight is out of me. So you should have not to worry about me, at least not today.”

Cadyren didn’t know what to expect from Var’s response, but what he heard….troubled him. She said she didn’t believe in loyalty, that it was a disease. The way of the Sith was betrayal. Doubt began to grow in Cadyren’s mind, perhaps Var would double-cross him and not let him look at the necklace. He would have to either take it from her, which would not be a good idea, or get someone else that was on the mission to let him look at it.

Cadyren looked towards Doviculous, he seemed to be friends with Cho, so perhaps he would be more trustworthy. He would have to talk to him later, and try to convince him that he should let Cadyren look at the artifact before they give it to the Sith Master. Cadyren could offer to go on the mission so that he could see the artifact himself, but he didn’t know what would happen if he did go. I will just have to try and convince this Doviculous person to make sure Var keeps up her end of the bargain. Now how should I go about it? Cadyren began thinking about what he should say to the Devoranian, he would have to make sure that the words were perfect so that he would be sure to help Cadyren.

[Foxfire]

Cho listened to the Twi'lek moan and groan about the faults of the living flesh. How ironic, Cho thought as the female continued to speak. Yes Cho already knew about the twisting of flesh and ideas yet he was speaking about loyalty to the force alone.

Hissing-Silence child! You know nothing and hear less. My loyalty is not to flesh or ideals, but to the force alone. Flesh and ideas raise and parish as the wind does. What I have seen, if the Will wishes, either side would win. A single Sith could win a battle if the Will wishes it to be.

Taking a deep breath Cho's body twitched in pain as the last of the gray force left him.

Our wishes either hinder or follows the Force's Will. If you fight it you will loose, that is why many Sith have fallen into death. All we can do is look and work out our will to match that of the Will, whether it be for the light or the darkness. . . . . Now the Darkness is the path to follow. If you hinder those of that movement you will die.

With that Cho's force flow began to stabilize with in him. A single tendril of force energy slowly gained strength. Yet invisible it was writhing near to the Twi'lek's left foot. Cho closed his eyes and relaxed and the tendril slowed it's movements and slithered around the twi'lek's left ankle. Clinching his fist Cho's tendril grasped hard upon her leg.

Eyes still closed and in a dark hissing noghri voice-You and every one else may think me poorly and mad, but never forget what I am, a predator of the Sith. If you want to live for very long you must know who are around you child and what they can do before you pass judgment.

Finishing speaking Cho released the force tendril and sighed. With a single movement Cho rolled to his left and stood. He was not fully back to himself but he was getting there.

[Lemur, The Kool-Aid Guy]

Var was unimpressed. "I don't respond well to threats, Cho. And for all your talk about being a Sith, you missed the point. We don't follow the will of the Force, we dictate it. We bend it to serve us. We are masters, not servants."

The Twi'lek stared at the Noghri with a withering gaze that cut right through him. "For all your protestations, you don't see it, do you? You'd be content to simply be a tool, a tame pet to be used by fate. Never with your own interests at heart, shackled to an ideology. For all your physical strength, you have no leadership. You've relegated yourself to the role of follower. You'll always be the bride's maid and never the bride. Your loyalty will win you nothing but betrayal. That is our way. Don't say I didn't warn you."

Var hopped down from the boulder, landing effortlessly on her feet and started to walk off. She paused briefly by Cadyren, looking him in the eye. "Tomorrow morning, archives."

The Twi'lek walked off from the rest of the group at a leisurely pace. She could use some time for quiet meditation now.

[Othorious]

Doviculous eyed the others with amusement, and with moreso amusement at Var's rants, it was quite amusing. Doviculous sensed that this event was coming to a close, and he decided that it was time to return to his quarters. He turned around and gathered his robe, and quickly slipped it on to cover up his tattered tunic and pants. The fight sure did take lot out of him, but his energy was returning gradualy, perhaps he'd visit Donnie later... perhaps... He sighed and turned back to the others, Cho probably would have some sort of comeback to make at Var, but right now he was more interested in who Var was talking to awhile ago, he seemed to not be a total waste of a life form.

Doviculous turned and slowly walked over to the boy until he was about 6-7 feet away from him. You, what's your name Kid? You seem to know Var a bit, or is this a first time date He smirked, he had overheard the last thing Var told the boy, and it was a bit amusing to be honest, and he would die for the chance to get any type of dirt on Var. It would make great amusement for the next time he saw her, which he sensed was quickly approching.

[Cadyren]

Cadyren watched as Cho and Var argued, not sure if he should try and stop the heated debate. Cadyren himself had studied the philosophy of the Sith somewhat, though he had done it more so when he first became an initiate at the Temple. he knew that Sith believed themselves to have the potential to be gods, all they had to do was free themselves of the shackles that held them down to mortality, to being weak.

Var's philosophy was that of the Sith, of betrayal and of freeing oneself form servitude. She believed that the Force was their tool, not their master, unlike Cho who thought it was the other way around. Cadyren's belief was similar to that of Var's, he did not believe the force to be some powerful thing that guided them, that had some sort of 'plan' for them. How could he, after everything he had ever cared for had been taken from him? If the Force was in fact a deity, then it was an evil one, one that hated those who could manipulate it to do their will.

Cadyren did not speak his thoughts however, preferring to stay neutral in this debate. Eventually Var decided she had enough of Cho, and left, telling Cadyren to meet her in the archives tomorrow. Cadyren gave her a nod, then turned his attention back to the other two Sith.

He had expected the two to talk to each other about Var, and how she had insulted Cho, but instead of that the Devoranian asked Cadyren what was going on between him and Var, did they know each other or were they on a first 'date'. The words sent mixed emotions through Cadyren, sadness as he thought back to the only time he had ever dated anyone, and how it had ended horribly. And Embarrassment, that the Sith thought that that he and that Twi'lek might be on a date, she was much older then him for one thing, and he could think of a couple of other reasons why he would not want to date her. So when Dovicolous asked, he scratched his neck, an awkward smile on his face as he tried to disguise the emotions with false amusement, but he failed.

"No she wants me to meet her at the Archives tomorrow to help her look at an artifact she said you, her, and some other Sith's were looking for. She said she would let me get a look at the artifact so I could examine it for a few moments if i helped her. Do you think that she will fulfill her part of the deal or will she just use me?" Cadyren asked, Var's words had worried him, she said that a Sith could trust no one, that loyalty and trust were all weaknesses.

[Othorious]

Doviculous laughed, So Var has decided to add another to our merry crew? Aha So be it, have fun in the Archives you scoundral Doviculous chuckled again before turning away and walking past Cad and towards where Var lumbered off to, not that he was going to look for her. he just needed a bit of rest before the big trip. He didn't care abou what happened during the trip, but if it got him out of the Academy, it was good enough. So he slowly walked back to his quarters and left Cad alone with Cho.

((Muse got shot in a driveby shooting, deal with it))

[Foxfire]

As Dov and Cadyren spoke to each other Cho closed his eyes and drew upon the force building back the energy and strength to stand. As he open his eyes Dov was leaving and only CAdyren was left.

I see that the time on Zoist had not gone to waist.-sighing-Just remember that this temple has it's beasts as well, and always be on guard. Because you never know who you can fully trust and who is a traitor waiting in the wings.

Cho rose and removed his upper cloak and under shirt to reveal Renata's mark upon his chest, the mark of a traitor. With his shirt he wiped the dirt from his face and dabbed at a part of the mark which had reopened and had started to bleed again. Reaching out Cho grabbed hold of a satchel from the farside of the training area behind him. It flew to him with haste grabbing it mid-air Cho search through it to find a tube of healing gel and began to apply it to the wound.

Looking down at the wound-So how was the mission did you enjoy it?