Chapter Ten – Leaving the Sacred World
Aindri walked towards Baras's chambers with Vette in tow, the Twi'lek sticking close to her and the protection her presence afforded. Acolytes gave them a wide berth, stares drawn to the lightsaber swinging gently at her hip, whispers following her back. Likely about the fight which had taken place moments ago.
A highlight of their return from the tomb, they'd been accosted by a frothing-at-the-mouth Esekella and her four lackeys, no doubt thinking she'd be too drained from the tomb to properly defend herself.
They learned the hard way.
Tremel's daughter fought hard yes, but she relied on numbers rather than individual aptitude. Poorly trained, she tore through them easily, her lightsaber trailing crimson light, slicing through them like butter. The crystal within singing in delight as her blade burned flesh.
In his chambers Baras was awaiting their return, his gaze drifting over Vette before zeroing in on the ancient blade adorning who was now his newest apprentices' hip.
"Apprentice, I am beside myself. Not only did you get the Twi'lek to cooperate," Vette shifted her weight beside her, the only sign betraying her annoyance of the dismissiveness towards her species, "But you've completed your task and claimed the ancient lightsaber."
Baras sat back and smiled knowingly behind his mask, "Vemrin was not in my chambers as I instructed. I take it he sought to stop you and claim the ancient weapon as his own."
"Tried and failed, Vemrin was nothing if not consistent," Aindri replied, she could care less if Baras was upset and knew there were those who would be toasting Vemrin's death tonight, "He is now food for the tombs' beasts."
Baras chuckled in amusement walking from his desk to stand before her, folding his arms behind his back. Good, he did not need a disobedient apprentice nor a disgruntled acolyte plotting to attack.
"Bravo. I see you may indeed become one of the strongest Sith in the galaxy. Your trials are over and you are now my apprentice. But this is only the beginning. With you as my right hand, we shall strike fear into the Empire's enemies."
Aindri bowed her head in gratitude of his praise, but agreed with him wholeheartedly, her mind flitting back to the images she'd seen in the tomb, this was only the beginning.
"We have no time for delays. You will travel to Dromund Kaas and meet me at the Citadel." Baras glanced at Vette, the Twi'lek fidgeting slightly under her new master's gaze, "Do whatever you wish with the Twi'lek slave, in celebration of your success. Take her to Dromund Kaas if you desire."
"Thank you master." Aindri replied faithfully and inclined her head in gratitude "I will leave Korriban the Dromund system immediately."
He watched the retreating back of his new apprentice as she left the room. Whilst he sensed nothing but obedience in her, Baras knew he would have to handle her carefully. But his endgame, which took years of careful preparation, was finally in his sights and regardless of how powerful she would become he would not be denied.
Aindri rummaged through her draws, withdrawing and dumping her belongings onto the bed in preparation for the journey to Dromund Kaas. Vette was waiting outside the door, classes still ongoing so Aindri knew she needn't worry about the Twi'lek being harassed as she waited. Pushing up from the floor, she was packing her bag when she felt their signatures and glanced up to see Tormi and Venitas enter the room.
Vette poked her head around the door, watching the newcomers, one of them a Sith pureblood, curiously as they conversed. The other Twi'lek, with red skin rather than blue, talked in a teasing tone.
"So, you're finally leaving Korriban, Hallow. I say good riddance." The Twi'lek smirked, the pureblood rolling his eyes in exasperation before nodding at the lightsaber on her hip.
"You passed your final trial," He stated with his own smile, "Seems we have some catching up to do."
Vette wondered whether they were friends, which she found weird, given how big Sith were on betrayal – she had picked up on some stuff while she was here – she wouldn't expect them to have any. As if sensing her thoughts, her now owner gave her a look and Vette looked away sheepishly.
Aindri turned her attention away from Vette and back to Tormi, sitting and leaning back on the bed, "The academy rumour mill," She guessed, Tormi smiling smugly in response as she sat beside her.
"Alive, kicking and reliable. No thanks to my own efforts." Aindri shook her head, not the least surprised Tormi was at the centre of, and controlled, the Academy gossip.
"And now you're an apprentice, congratulations," Venitas smiled leaning against the wall, "You've already become something of a legend. No acolyte has completed their trials as fast as you have."
Aindri shrugged, "You will be apprentices soon enough," She'd no doubt they'd both pass their trials.
"And when I do I'll be rise to be one of the most powerful Sith ever seen." Tormi smirked, her tone cocky.
"Hmph. Good luck with that."
Promising to touch base when they could, Aindri gave what had been her room for the past two months a final look before leaving it for the final time, her new companion following a step behind her as they silently walked through the corridors.
They left the Academy in a public shuttle, its passenger area thankfully empty expect for the two of them. Aindri was reading through messages on her datapad, Vette stretched out across several seats head resting on her armrest.
"Urgh I hate shuttles, their always so cold," Vette grumbled, shifting around as she tried – key word being tried – to get comfortable, "I swear their calibrated just high enough so people can't be bothered to complain, but low enough to make you miserable."
She hummed her agreement opening a new message when Vette stretched out her hand to quickly take her datapad before Aindri could stop her.
"Jeez, you Sith really take good breeding to a whole new level." Vette commented as she read over the letter sent to her a few days ago but she hadn't had time to check. Aindri hummed her agreement.
It was a letter was from Lord Abaron, who'd recruited her to help with his research into Sith bloodlines, congratulating her on Tremel's death and ridding the Order of another supposed 'impurity'. Such attitudes were enough to give her a headache on a good day. Reaching out with the Force, she summoned the datapad to her hand, Vette yelping as it flew through the air. Deleting the letter from her datapad, she shoved the offending object back into her bag and sat back against the cold chair her eyes slipping closed. She was of the opinion so long as someone had the strength to do so then anyone could be Sith regardless of bloodline, but then given her heritage to say so out loud would be hypocritical.
Midway through, Vette started fidgeting in her seat and Aindri could sense her hesitation and desire through the Force. Hesitation at how best to ask her the question, desire in that it had been burning in her mind since they'd left Korriban.
"What is it Vette?" Aindri asked and she could see her companion glancing at her even as her eyes remained shut.
Vette wavered, having only just built the courage to still have no idea how to bring up the topic, let alone how the Sith would react. Yes, she showed a somewhat skewed sense of humour, but her mind kept flashing back to Vemrin and how brutal his death was. Not that Vette didn't think he'd most likely deserved it.
Dragging her feet down from the seats, Vette debated for a moment whether this was truly a good idea or not but figured she had nothing to lose by asking. Crossing her legs, Vette twisted round in her seat so she fully faced the Sith, who sat facing the seats opposite them with her eyes still closed and, after a few false starts, finally manged to put into words what she'd wanted to even before they'd left the planet.
"Well, I've been thinking…" Vette paused fidgeting in her seat, "Maybe you want to take this shock collar off?" Fidget, "You know, as a sign of thanks for my hard work on Korriban?" Fidget, "Not that I don't enjoy the perpetual fear of electrocution," She finished off lamely.
Aindri opened an eye and glanced at the Twi'lek who had proven to be invaluable during her trial. Vette was not without skill and she needn't have the Force to know she'd be a useful ally to have, then there was something she found inherently likeable about the Twi'lek. Closing her eye again, she visualised the collars locking mechanism and with a flick of her wrist there was a click is it popped off Vette's neck, dropping in her lap.
"You have earned it, it is not freedom though."
Vette stared down at her neck and then at the collar in astonishment half not believing what she had just witnessed. Yes, she had heard about the Force, but damn.
"Okay wow," she said more than a hint of awe in her voice as she picked up and inspected the collar, "Now I feel stupid for not asking sooner."
"Do not make me regret it." Aindri cautioned, though she didn't think Vette would try to do anything against her, if anything it was likely the furthest thing from her mind.
"Don't worry, I'll try not to give you reason to slap that thing back on." Vette hurriedly reinsured her before pausing. "Well I'm not in prison or collared and its sort of miserable weather, so I guess we should… uh, what happens now?"
"You will still be in my service but you will receive compensation. Where we go from there, we will see."
"What? Err, well, okay I got nothing else to do I suppose…" Vette trailed off and Aindri opened her eyes to look at her with a raised eyebrow, "Um, so when do you think we'll reach Dromund Kass?"
Vaiken Spacedock – main staging area of the Imperial Fleet – was a hive of activity, a melting pot of troopers, officers, Sith and civilians. A unique sense of carefreeness Aindri could only associate with the Empire's main hub for inter-planetary travel in the air. Exiting the turbo-lift and onto the main area, they manoeuvred their way past troopers on shore leave, many openly leering at Vette. Catching a wolf whistle directed at her companion, she half turned towards the troopers, causally resting her hand on her hip drawing their attention her recently acquired lightsaber. Nervousness pervaded their signatures and they gave them a wide birth, as she led them towards the stations cantina.
Finding them a seat in one of the more private areas where she could discreetly observe the crowd, Aindri watched the comings and goings of people throughout the cantina. The cantinas' various patrons, predominantly troopers and even the occasional officer relaxed around their drinks, laughing and chatting the minutes away. She even saw a few bounty hunters scattered through the room, eyeing them cautiously even as she knew the odds of anything happening were slim. Hunters after all, had always been a tricky bunch, almost rivalling the Sith in regards to their number of quirks.
Studying the bounty hunters, she recalled the poor state of Vette's own gear and reached into her pocket, removing and sliding a credit chit across the table. Vette who'd been drumming her fingers against her half-empty peered at her peered at her curiously.
"We have a couple of hours before the next flight to Dromund Kaas," She said nodding at the chit, "So use this to get new gear and any other necessities you need." Since she doubted Vette had anything other than the clothes on her back and the blaster she'd gotten from the Academy. She watched with no small amount of amusement as Vette stared between her and the chit.
"Seriously I get to shop? And you're paying?" Vette asked in disbelief, grinning excitedly when Aindri nodded. She needed new gear, everything she'd brought with her confiscated when she was caught on Korriban and there was no way in karking hell she was going to turn down the chance for free stuff. Chugging the rest of her drink, she stood and was about to leave when Aindri, who she'd finally managed to cajole into giving her name, caught her wrist.
"Do not go crazy." She told the Twi'lek giving her a stern look and Vette gave her a two fingered salute before bouncing off towards the stations commercial area.
Giving a subtle shake of her head at her companions' antics and more importantly now finally alone, Aindri pulled out a small holo-communicator from her robes. Keying in the code for her own personal channel and placing a call she watched and waited, the device blinked a few times before connecting. A ghostly blue image of her uncle, Darth Taral, flickered to life, his withered cheek tendrils curling slightly as he saw her. Looking at his tendrils, she remembered her conversation with Vette in the shuttle and Abaron's letter, subconsciously tucking a lock of hair behind her ear, its crimson colour a physical indication of the Sith blood running through her veins.
"Hello, Woyunoks, it's good to hear from you." Her uncle said warmly calling her by the nickname he'd given her during their first meeting on a snowy mountain on Ziost all those years ago.
"Not so little anymore Ari." She smirked using her nickname.
"Ah you'll always be little to me Woyunoks. But yes I heard, congratulations on your apprenticeship." She arched an eyebrow wondering, how he'd found out so quickly and he chuckled at her expression, slipping his hands into the wide sleeves of his robes.
"I heard it on the grapevine. You have completed your trials faster than any acolyte in recent memory Woyunoks. Stories are bound to spread," His smile disappeared a frown, invisible to those who didn't know his expressions, knitting his brow, "Have you spoken to your father?"
A scowl slipped its way onto Aindri's features and she gave a sharp shake of her head. Her father – Darth Canis –had likely already heard about her apprenticeship and she was going to put off the inevitable confrontation which came from him seeking to exploit this to further his own goals, for as long as she was able. Her uncle sighed, but knowing her relationship with his younger brother and his nature, didn't press the issue.
"I thought not." He sighed, "Oh well, I'm sure he'll contact you eventually." Aindri only nodded coolly in response and he eyed her for a brief moment before asking why she called.
"I can't call you to simply ask how your doing Ari?" She smiled, chuckling when her uncle raised an eyebrow before her face shifted into a serious expression.
"You have heard of my apprenticeship. You have heard of my new master."
"You don't think you can trust him?" Her uncle asked stroking his tendrils thoughtfully. Her mind momentarily drifted towards the warning Tremel had given her before he died and the secretive way the Force clung around him.
"I want to be prepared." She said and her uncle nodded in understanding.
"I'm sure that you're already aware Darth Baras oversaw negotiations for the Treaty of Coruscant?"
She nodded, "He must have a lot of influence."
"Indeed. Baras is a manipulator and one of the Empires best spymasters, his network extending across both Republic and Imperial space. There are even rumours he receives Force Visions, though I've been able to verify their veracity."
"I will have to be careful." She murmured quietly, her uncle nodding in approval.
"Yes, but do not allow him to suspect your mistrust," He warned sharply, "You have only recently become an apprentice Woyunoks and while you may be powerful, you have much to learn. Be patient, learn from him, use him."
She planned to. She planned to learn every lesson Baras had to offer, whether consciously given or no, if only so she could survive and defeat him if, when, her master betrayed her. Aindri inclined her head to show her understanding, tucking his advice into the back of her mind.
"Now onto more pleasant topics," Her uncle continued and she didn't blink at the sudden good cheer in his tone, long since used to his typically laid back nature, "I heard down the grapevine you're headed to the capital."
She wasn't even going to ask were he knew that, she knew, though she didn't see it, her uncle had his own informants scattered throughout the galaxy.
"On that note, I've arranged a berth for you on the Black Talon. It's a gage transport, faster than a shuttle which takes several days," He cocked his head and for a moment his eyes became distant, "If I recall correctly it leaves from Vaiken Spacedock in hour," He gave her a genuine smile, "Think of it as a treat to celebrate your graduation."
Aindri blinked, he'd to have pulled some strings for that to have happened – she had nowhere near that kind of influence yet – and bowed her head in gratitude, "Thank you Ari," There was a soft buzz on the edge of her senses, Vette's presence reappearing in the cantina, "I have to go, but I'll speak to you again."
Through her peripheral vision, she spied Vette moving snaking around the tables towards her, refocusing on her uncle when he chuckled, "I look forward to it. In the meantime, enjoy your apprenticeship Woyunoks."
Her uncle disappeared in flicker of blue static and she switched off the communicator, slipping it into her robes as Vette came to stand before the table a wide grin plastered on her face and a new drink in hand.
"What do you think?" She asked twirling with a flourish.
Aindri eyes drifted up and down her form, inspecting the Twi'leks new attire. Worn grey clothes had been replaced with new pants and a dark red shirt under a short dark blue jacket. Vette had kept the belt but on her hips where a new pair of blasters – a single glance told they were better than the one she'd given her on Korriban – resting snuggly in new holsters. She was also pleased to see Vette had also brought armoured gauntlets and boots.
"You got new blasters." She replied.
"Yeah well, I prefer using ones that I've picked by myself," Vette said sitting down, pausing and giving a sheepish smile, "Err, no offense?"
Aindri hummed, taking a long draught of her drink and Vette shifted uncomfortably before taking a sip of her own "So anyway, how long until the next shuttle?"
"We will be taking another transport. It leaves within the hour."
"Really what is it?" Vette asked curiously and Aindri gave her an enigmatic quirk of the lips, which Vette was quickly associating with a smile, but gave no direct answer. Instead finishing off the last of her drink, the Sith moved out of the booth and begun striding through the cantina. Vette hurriedly drunk the rest of her beer, almost choking for downing it too fast, before running to follow her though the crowded station.
Well that's Korriban finally finished. My aim was to expand on my characters time at the Sith Academy, so I hope I've achieved that and done it justice. On a side note in the future, 'first conversations' for companions under the title 'A Typical Moring for an Atypical Crew'. It'll still be a part of this story just under that rather than a chapter title.