Acclivity - Star Wars: The Old Republic
Chapter 1:
There was a reason Tatooine was not heavily settled. It was a world that was constantly bombarded by the heat of its twin suns. This was place that attracted the degenerates of the galaxy. The appearance of a Sith Lord, let alone a member of the Dark Council, on Tatooine was a sight that few lived to speak of. Darth Brade Ratis stepped out of the speeder after giving the driver a hefty tip. Behind him trotted a boy no more than thirteen years old.
"Wait here, child," boomed the Dark Lord.
The boy sat in the shaded corner of a building and waited for the man's return. Darth Brade continued on and strode into the cantina, though the patrons payed him no notice due to his acquisition of local attire. His only distinguishing features being his height and his pale skin.
He did his best to mask his sophisticated accent as he asked the bartender, "Know of any slave vendors in these parts?"
The grotesque bartender wiped his mouth with a filthy, hairy arm and replied, "Well, you betcha mister. There's a slave auction going on in the town center 'bout thirty minutes from now."
"Thank you, sir," said Darth Brade as he slipped a few Wupiupi, the local currency, into the bartender's outstretched hand. The Sith knew how these backwater systems worked, everything costs something, even simple advice.
The tall,pale man motioned for the boy to follow him as he walked toward Mos Espa's center.
"Father, what are we doing here again?" asked the boy.
Under his breath, the Sith Lord replied, "I was assigned to find more Sith acolytes in the Outer Rim of Republic space."
"So then, why are we here of all places?"
"This is where I found your mother, who is utterly gifted with the Dark Side of the Force. There is a chance, however slight, that one of these slaves for sale has that same affinity," said the Dark Lord.
It had been nearly fifteen years since Darth Brade left Dromund Kaas, the Sith homeworld, on a secret assignment and met his wife, a simple shop owner on Tatooine, and courted her. Darth Brade brought the woman back to his newly adopted world of Naboo and married her there. Soon afterwards, they had a son, Desiderium.
The Sith Lord and his son finally reached the city center, and the auctions began within a few minutes. A slimy hutt slithered its way on top of a stage. He spoke a few lines in Huttese.
The hutt's droid translated, "Welcome one and all to revered Borukaa the Hutt's slave auction. We will only be selling our very best slaves today. Bid well and best of luck to all buyers."
Desiderium looked up at his father. The man's eyes were closed and his face was locked in an expression of pure concentration. The boy knew enough to discern that his father was reaching out in the Force to sense any kind of Dark Side affinity in the group of slaves. Suddenly, the Sith Lord's eyes opened.
"Yes..." he softly whispered to himself.
Slave after ragged slave was presented in front of a small crowd of marginally better dressed beings. They clamored and shouted their bids in Huttese and Basic. With every slave, Desiderium grew more and more impatient. After a while, there were only two slaves left. One was a middle-aged woman, and the other was a girl, not much older than the teenage boy.
As soon as the both of them were presented, Darth Brade shouted, "150,000 Wupiupi!"
The crowd grew completely silent as the man walked up to the stage and handed a monetary droid a stack of metallic chips. Shortly thereafter, the man stood below the two ladies on the stage and helped them down.
"Why in the world would you pay so much for us?" asked the girl.
Darth Brade smiled and replied, "My dear, you are both very interesting to me. Please, we will discuss this matter further on my ship."
After a short speeder flight to the spaceport, the group walked into the hanger containing the undercover Sith's ship.
"Oh my!" exclaimed the woman.
Desiderium often forgot that his father's gleaming, chrome Naboo yacht was as much a symbol of wealth as a it was a starship.
"Only the best for you ladies," Desiderium smartly stated.
They all boarded the ship and took seats in the common area. The two ladies had clearly never been any place near as nice as the Nubian yacht. Their tan, tattered tunics contrasted sharply with the glistening, white interior of the starship.
"What are your names?" asked the Sith Lord.
"My name is Henraitia, and this is my daughter Tristesza," replied the woman.
Darth Brade stood and bowed before the both of them. "I am Brade Ratis, Dark Lord of the Sith and this is my son, soon-to-be Sith Desiderium Ratis." The boy bowed exactly as his father did. Brade continued, "I am a councilman on the Emperor's Dark Council, an elite group of twelve Sith Lords who both advise and carry out the will of the Emperor. I was tasked with lying low on a non-Republic world, in my case Naboo, and scouting the Outer Rim for powerful acolytes for the Sith Academy for the coming invasion of the Galactic Republic."
Desiderium fully expected the women to react in shock and horror as his father had told him most people react to the Sith. However, the both looked almost gleeful. The girl asked, "So we aren't slaves anymore?"
"Quite the opposite," replied Brade. "You will be nobility on the planet of Naboo. You will have asylum there for the rest of your days. The only catch is that I ask young Tristesza to attend the Sith Academy when she becomes an adult," the Sith explained.
"What is this Sith and Empire that you're going on about?" asked the little girl.
Darth Brade spent nearly an hour detailing the history of the Sith, from the ancient pureblooded species, to the Empire that currently stood. The two women seemed entranced by the tale.
"I'll gladly join the Sith," said the little girl excitedly.
"Excellent!" exclaimed Darth Brade. He strode out of the room and returned with two elegant dresses with matching accessories. "I have acquired a near infinite amount of money during my tenure on Naboo. The Dark Side of the Force is easily strong enough to persuade others think you were always one of nobility on the planet."
The women and Desiderium laughed heartily at the remark. Darth Brade chuckled and showed the ladies to their quarters on the ship. "The journey though hyperspace will take an hour or so. Make yourselves comfortable."
"Thank you so much for the opportunity great Sith Lord," said Henraitia.
Desiderium was taken aback by the beauty of the young girl Tristesza walking around his father's ship. She was otherworldly in his mind, a goddess among men. Even wearing these tattered robes and not a drop of makeup, she was easily the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.
The ladies disappeared into their rooms as the imposing Sith Lord sat at the command console and started the jump to hyperspace. Within an hour, the ship decelerated and the beautiful world of Naboo appeared in the viewport. The ship entered the atmosphere and dropped gracefully toward the surface like a silver feather. The ladies came out of their rooms dressed in their new regalia.
"This planet had only been inhabited by humans for a few centuries, so expect to see more animals than people here. It will be the perfect place to hide from the Jedi and the Republic for now," said Brade. "I must mention that we may not even live in the same continent. If a Jedi were to visit the planet, he would sense four consolodated Dark Side users in a heartbeat, no matter the methods we used to conceal ourselves. Because of this, I am sending the two of you to live in Theed. When my son becomes of age, he and Tristesza will be sent to the Academy. Until then, lay low and practice both the customs of Naboo and the ways of the Dark Side outlined in this holocron," Darth Brade explained as he slipped a cube into the woman's hands.
The Sith gave a large rucksack of credits to the woman and also explained to her how to influence others to believe she was of nobility as he had. Desiderium waved goodbye to Tristesza as the pair of ladies departed the ship and walked toward a crowd of servants.
"Don't worry, you'll see her again someday, son," consoled Brade.
The two men boarded an awaiting speeder and flew to their mansion in Lake Country.
