Opening Moves

[Nightender]

Alindra listened as Kormann both recommended and berated her, mocking the fact that she was human. Returning a smirk, she said, "I'm going to take that as a compliment." She walked to the table, picking up one of the syringes, looking it over. It wasn't the kind of thing she was used to, but if it could daze a man for as long as Kormann suggested, she would use it.

Not long after, Yin made mention of an important fact: this was Alindra's first time working as a part of this group. It was her first time really acting as part of any group, unless one counted performances from her days as a slave dancer. "Sure," Alindra said. When they had a moment, Alindra came closer to the other woman, carefully tracing the edges of her cybernetics. Yin wasn't the type of person to attack blindly, but she wasn't the type of person who accepted half-effort with ease.

"What do you need?" Alindra put her arms around her chest and stood with her back to the rest of the room. Since Yin had wanted to speak alone, Alindra intended to do what she could to give that kind of privacy.

[Jace]

There was quite possibly one word to describe Gabriella's current mood. Irritated. She was so bloody irritated. Actually irritation was too soft a word, it bordered on murderous rage. There was a fine line between the two, and Gabriella was prone to crossing it frequently. Usually what followed after that was screaming, louder screaming, and then just a little bit more screaming and maybe just maybe, death. Of course she didn't really have that option here, or rather she did, but she was struggling to avoid it.

Zarene...that...bantha herding machine freak..

It was because of her that she was sitting here on the brink of murder. The girl had promised her an opportunity to kill and maybe more, but they had done none of that yet. Instead she got to hear her argue with some nerf herder who thought he knew it all. Words absolutely escaped her, she just sat there, fuming silently. Oh the things she would do to that man once this mission was over. None of it was sexual, and all of it was painful. That thought calmed her down just a bit, as a small predatory grin grew on her face.

The man walked towards the door, leaving two syringes on the table. According to this person, they could knock a person out for a decent time.

Now isn't that an interesting thought

She wondered what would happen if she tortured a person after they had been injected with that. The thought brought something akin to a warm feeling in her bosom. Maybe this trip wouldn't be such a waste afterall. That being said, if she didn't kill someone soon, it wouldn't turn out good. The Echani got up from the couch and grabbed one of the syringes, and placed it carefully in her robe.

"Zarene, can you stop hitting on her so we can get on with it!"

[sparrow]

(( I figure I can post to get this moving along again since Zarene and Alindra are having a conversation, and it isn't really necessary to have Gabriella and Vos weigh in with their thoughts about it in very other post ))

She waited until the door closed, waited until she could sense that they had moved away from the door.

Her attention shifted back to the other in the room: Vordrinn. She was an interesting one, new to the Temple, with minimal training. And yet here she was the mission. Zarene hadn't picked her. She preferred working with known quantities, but the Dark Lady had for some reason seen fit that Vordrinn be included.

Zarene sat down, with her datapad on her lap, her fingers moving quickly over the screen as she began talking. "You grew up on a farm planet, didn't you, Vordrinn? Similar to this? I've always been a city girl myself. Perhaps you can see something that I miss."

She didn't really care what her answer would be, though it was certainly possible the other woman would come up something useful. Maybe. But the fact of it was, Zarene felt uneasy about the events that had just transpired in the room.

There were those who would compare this is sort of work to chess, but Zarene knew better. This was nothing like chess. In chess you could always see your own pieces and those of your opponent. You always knew what your pieces could do, and what those of your opponent could do. No feints. No deception. You never had to worry about one of your pieces not being able to move to a square where you had thought they could go before, or one of your pieces suddenly changing color and turning on you.

She slid the datapad silently across the table, with a simply-typed message posing a simple question. "If someone you know who possesses ability abruptly commits an error that no one but a complete amateur would make, what could that mean?"

[Nightender]

"I only lived on Almania for a few years," Alindra said. "I was taken into slavery at a young age. Most of my childhood, I spent friendless in a mining shaft." She glanced around, knowing she still had a different perspective than Yin. "I'll still be able to keep my eyes open. That's why I'm here."

Alindra suddenly felt an unease from Yin. Something was burning in the senior Sith and Alindra tried only to read in passing, not digging in a way that would disturb Yin's thoughts and give her reason to see Alindra as an enemy. It was Alindra's hope that she could prove her worth on this mission, not be left to the whims of being the lowest ranked of Initiates.

Then a datapad moved across the table bearing a cryptic question: If someone you know who possesses ability abruptly commits an error that no one but a complete amateur would make, what could that mean?

Not bothering to pick up the datapad, Alindra looked elsewhere in the room, while her long fingernails tapped out her response. They want attention or to spring a trap. Alindra made a point not to trust too much, but she was willing to give more of herself than most Sith. It was part of her appeal, to be sweet and warm and comforting, then to attack. She'd done it many times in the wild, she would do it more as time went on.

Alindra took her hand away from the datapad, letting it slowly slide back to Yin. When it had moved back, she smiled across the table and went back to looking around the room.

[sparrow]

She stroked her chin, running her fingers along the scarred skin of her cheek as she read Alindra's reply. Good. She sees it too. A small, very faint smile appeared on her lips. The Dark Lady had chosen well.

Her fingers moved quickly over the surface of the datapad. "The Kiffar likely has his own agenda. Don't turn your back on him." With a flick of the wrist, she spun the datapad back around so that Alindra could read it.

"Very well, make sure those eyes stay open," Zarene said as she stood up, smoothing her skirts with her hands as she did so. "Now, unless you have any last-minute questions on your mission, you should head out. Don't want to be late."

[Nightender]

"No questions," Alindra agreed. She looked over to her partner for the mission. Keeping her eyes open, Alindra carefully locked herself on her goals. There were many things still for her to do, especially when it came to her training.

Minds were changing. With time, more would see what Alindra offered, accepting that she was just as much a Sith as any of them. The darkness inside her was deeper than what many newcomers brought with them when they first came to the Temple. They might have had the benefit of Jedi and Force training, but Alindra had complete devotion to being Sith.

Her calling accepted and having met an understanding with Yin, Alindra got up, heading for the door. She thought about saying something glib, but decided against it. Any amicable contact she had with Kormann would be necessary to her succeeding in her current mission.

[Regnier]

Stepping outside and leaning against the wall opposite the door, Vos was, for all intents an purposes, making like a piece of wall decoration as he continued to think. Always thinking. Never could have too many back-up plans, or seemingly legitimate excuses to talk your way through something. Words; a spy's best friend. He was sure his allies had long-since started thinking of him as, at worst, a narcissistic jerkoff, at best, an amateur, but really, what kind of professional wanted to run around broadcasting the truth? If he'd wanted that, he would've kept his mouth shut for the most part and openly run through all the details.

Turning his head slightly as the door opened again and the third member of the trio rejoined them, he pushed off the wall and glanced at Alindra. "Why do I get the feeling you'd do better at taking care of the guy I'll be filling in for than your own?" Turning, he adjusted the strap of his bag and started down the hall at a casual stroll, not looking for an answer. The plan was set, and this would be the easy part. Nothing really needed to be said, at least not until they made it to this little gathering and had a chance to scope the place, and even then, there really wouldn't be much to discuss beyond who was taking who and where to regroup. Most of the next hour or two was going to be a lot of improv while trying to get a military officer alone, probably in a refresher.

And I can't even get drunk for a few days. Vos hooked a thumb underneath the strap across his torso, brushed a little hair into his face, and hunched forward slightly as he walked, giving off a vibe of 'bad day, get the hell out of my way'. Which wasn't very hard. I hate my job. Passionately.

Like a Sith Lord hates rainbows passionately.

[Nightender]

"Why do I get the feeling you'd do better at taking care of the guy I'll be filling in for than your own?" Alindra smiled at the question. It amused her.

"You should think that," Alindra said. "It means I can do my part. I can infiltrate into places that some people can't." She looked at his expression, realizing just how much he hated the situation he'd found himself in. "If you like, I can tell you exactly why I can do this. It's actually simple, so simple, I can explain it with a question."

Alindra's motivations, the things she wanted, were the things she told no one. It wasn't a matter of secrecy, but more because she wanted to show those around her certain things when she was after. Her moves in life weren't strictly plotted, but she did have a passion about certain things. She had plans for her sister, for finding a fiefdom to take for her own. Alindra had a level of Sith Devotion she didn't actually think the others could really understand; for her, it truly was a religion.

Looking into Kormann's eyes, Alindra asked her question. "Do you have any idea what I want?"