Yuthura Ban's Private Chambers
The purple Twi'lek took a seat behind a heavy wooden desk. Timber of its kind was a rare commodity and the subtle badge of wealth it represented was not lost on Lady Anju, as she studied her reflection in the luster of its rich lacquer.
"Have a seat," Yuthura smiled gesturing to the leather armchair before it. "You have had some training, that is good, but I have to ask why you left the Jedi Order, and why you aspire to join the Sith."
"I found the Order to be… stifling. They did little to augment my personal advancement." Anju matched the cat like tonality of the Sith's voice and copied her pose, subconsciously manipulating the Twi'lek with her body language. "I would dearly like to reach my full potential, and I believe the Sith are my best option." Don't be too eager, Revan warned her.
Yuthura found Lady Anju's answer pleasing and she laughed lightly. She was eager to learn more about the prospective Sith before inducting her into the fold. "If you were to join us, the usual way you would become a trainee. You would need to accrue prestige in order to vie for acceptance by way of rigorous examination. But I would like to spare you that. Most of our trainees are around seventeen years of age and you are at least twenty five, am I right?"
Anju smiled a little at the woman's inaccurate, but flattering estimation, "Yes that's right, I am twenty five years old." She lied.
Yuthura chuckled "Hmm I thought so," she purred giving Lady Anju a knowing wink. "I'm told I am quite perceptive when it comes to such things, but the lie in our voice tells me I am wrong." Laughing again she threw her booted feet up onto the desk and reclined in her leather bound chair. "I am right about one thing though, you are very strong in the Force. Tell me what do you know of the Sith?"
"Peace is a lie there is only passion, through passion I gain strength through strength I gain power, through power I gain victory, through victory my chains are broken the Force shall free me." Lady Anju quoted the code perfectly and with heartfelt resonance.
Yuthura laughed with delight, she clapped her hands together lightly and bestowed a wry smile on Anju. "You have been studying haven't you?" She accused with a seductive gleam to her violet eyes.
Lady Anju flirted with her probable employer scrunching her nose and looking up from below her long lashes, "a little," she confessed with mock timidity.
The gamble paid off, Yuthura' saw a kindred soul in the woman. She decided Lady Anju would do nicely. You my dear are just what I am looking for. "I think I could enjoy working with you Lady Anju. I am going to accept you, as my apprentice. As my favorite you will be placed a cut above the pack, you will have your own rooms in the Masters' wing, and you will not have to vie for prestige with the novices. You will answer to me only, but you will have to earn your keep…" Yuthura slid her long legs off the table and stood behind the desk. She took a cigarra from the metal case on the desk and lit it drawing the blue smoke into her lungs and expelling a cyclonic veil of vapor as she paced the room.
Anju watched fleetingly enthralled by the scene, under Revan's influence she had been craving the 'burning vice' madly all day. "I expected as much. I will do as you ask. What of my servant?"
"You may keep him, but not your title; here you will be known as apprentice Anju, nothing more until you earn it." Yuthura nodded to the doorway. Vlad had been set to guard duty on the other side of it. "As for your keep," she chortled duskily, "I have a little task for you. Master Uthar Wynn is the present head of this academy, I'd like to change that, and I will expect you to help me."
Their conversation built itself like a tower made from Pazaak cards. "And after he is dispatched?" Anju propped the question calmly into the stack and watched the deck teeter as the cards of conversation threatened to overbalance.
"Dispatched? You weren't a very good Jedi were you? I would have expected 'demoted', from an ex Jedi, but you get right to the point don't you?" Yuthura commented giving the pack a verbal realignment.
"I am willing to wager Master Uthar wont cede his appointment quietly, I see no other option if you are to usurp him." Anju mouthed the words with pragmatism, bereft of emotion.
"A terrible Jedi, but a good Sith. You have so much potential Anju. When Master Uthar is 'dispatched' as you so indelicately put it, I shall take his role and you shall serve as my right hand in my current position. It is the way of the Sith, we outgrow our masters and cleanse the weakness from our ranks. Would you like that?" Yuthura smoked as she walked the room.
Anju's eyes followed her progression, "That would be acceptable."
Yuthura extinguished her cigarra stubbing it out into a sparkling crystal ashtray. The tar clogged ashen grime off the butt, discolored the glass and fouled the pristine surface, as Yuthura ground out the embers. Anju felt sympathetic to the cigarra, its only beauty had been the animation the fire had given it.
Yuthura straightened and sauntered to Anju's side, holding out a work strong arm, "Then we have an accord. Welcome Anju, my apprentice." Pol clasped the woman's hand firmly, sealing the deal. "I will prepare an itinerary for you and have it sent to your rooms. Here is your key; in the meanwhile I suggest you acquire a uniform and familiarize yourself with the grounds." Anju nodded in unquestioned acquiescence.
Anju's Rooms: Dreshdae Sith Academy
Vlad lowered the packs to the floor and stretched in an effort to shake the remembered weight of the packs from his shoulders as he glared at the security camera. He turned his attention to Anju as she inspected the room; it contained a footlocker, a bed, a table and a desk. The décor sat with such an obstinate determination it appeared to have been this way for generations. Pol - Anju knew this was not the case, the academy had been reestablished at Darth Revan's command only a few years ago.
She crouched to open the footlocker and like an intrepid treasure hunter she picked up the Sith uniform and held it under the light as if testing its authenticity. I better change. "Vlad, guard the door," Anju watched the man as he took a predictable pose in front of the door. With a discouraged sigh she redefined her directions, "from the outside."
Vlad nodded cordially and left the room. Anju stripped herself of the raiment modestly, struggling out of the finery and directly into the uniform baring as little skin as possible in the process. She gave up a silent curse to the security system. Malak's big idea no doubt, he's more paranoid than the pilot...getting Little Brothers proof won't be easy under this spotlight - they always watch the new bloods closely. Rifling through her packs she discovered the looking glass she had bought along.
A mirror image of her painted visage peered back. With a relieved sigh she wiped the rouge from her face with a sponge restoring it to her usual make up free countenance. Without the support and reminder of the costume Pol knew she would have to be particularly chary in keeping to her adopted persona.
Before entering the academy, she had spoken briefly with Vlad-Canderous, and set him two tasks, each task aimed at helping her to gain access the Star Map. But the situation had altered somewhat since then. She closed her eyes as though waiting for a kiss and breathed deeply, as she wiped the last of the kohl from her lids. By the time she opened them the tainted air infused her and she had to chip at the layer of uncertainty that formed like a crust on her resolve.
She had almost no means to outline the revised plan that was forming in her head to Canderous since she had met privately with Yuthura Ban. Pol would have to rely on the Mandalorian to use his own cunning and adaptability to assist her in the venture. It will be fine, no sweat.
She smiled momentarily; he would still have to defer to her as he did so. Yuthura had mentioned that several of the students had slaves, and she wondered how Canderous would go mixing with them. No time to worry about that now and 'Lady Anju' wouldn't care anyway.
Where the hell am I going to get Carth's proof? I've already pitted myself against half the students here by jumping the queue. They won't be of help and Yuthura is too busy trying to double-cross Uthar to let anything slip. "Bollocks," Pol muttered under her breath and hoped the audio feed on the cam hadn't picked it up Anju's uncharacteristic profanity. She emptied her discarded clothing of personal effects, her fingers clamping down about the stim-pack of delayed action poison Yuthura had given her.
'Empty one of these in his bed, for the next three nights,' her Dark Mentor had said. 'The accumulative effects will slow him to a crawl by the time I am ready to face him and he won't even notice it,' the gorgeous lavender woman had laughed with delight at the flawlessness of her plan. It would go well, if Anju played along and if she was able to access Master Uthar's rooms without being seen.
Pol shivered at the prospect, stealth had not been her specialty. I'm getting better, but am I good enough to pull this off? The very question itself supported one verity. She was going to have to try, and she only hoped it would be worthwhile. She hated not having a contingency plan. If she was caught the pair would have to fight their way free of the place, and hope their back up, the Hawk's crew, would arrive in time.
Just Anju now no titles, Pol reminded herself as she rearranged her hair into a simpler style. Yuthura had insisted her new apprentice drop her title and her costume, but not her air of superiority. After all Anju was a snob and she had been placed far higher in the pecking order at the academy than was usual for a new entry. Truly of the underlings only the true Sith, the instructors and Masters ranked higher.
It was due to her strength in the Force and her mature age that the lavender Twi'lek had taken a personal interest in her. Yuthura had taken great pains to make her aware of this in their meeting, so much so that Revan couldn't help but remark inwardly to Pol. She fears you, because you surpass her in strength. She leases your loyalty for now like the weakling she is, but ultimately she will have to be rid of you to claim Uthar's place.
Anju placed the first unbroken stim-pack into the her pocket of her black uniform and called Vlad into the room.
The Mandalorian entered the room once more and stood with impeccable posture awaiting her orders, "Mistress Anju?"
"I am going to take a very long shower." She informed him securing his gaze with her own meaningfully. I'm up to something Chief I need you to back me up here. Pol turned to face the refresher door pausing in panic when she caught Canderous' expression.
"And you need me to scrub your back?" He asked hopefully a wry grin tracing a line through the battle scars of his singularly boyish expression.
"NO." Pol barked sternly. Damn you Ordo that's not it at all! She colored, flushing lightly at the implication. Calming herself she clarified her statement, "remain here until I tell you otherwise." Got that? Good.
With an inappropriate air of disappointment her companion disciplined his face back to a reputable manifestation of servitude. Pity, he thought watched the dark and slender beauty enter the restroom.
Pol left the door ajar, wide enough to squeeze through and hoped Canderous wouldn't spoil her plan by sneaking up on her, cheeky bugger. She ran the water, checked the room for concealed cameras and switched on her stealth unit.
The door moved slightly as Pol brushed past it and within seconds Canderous felt a hand upon his shoulder. Ahh, so that's what she is up to. She is getting better. Vlad opened the front door obediently and with an artificial sense of purpose. He stepped out waiting for Anju's touch to tell him she was also out safely and discreetly behind him.
Her invisible fingers grazed his cheek affectionately and he resisted the emotion that threatened to manifest on his face as he closed the door behind them both. He resumed his vigil, trying to hear the almost inaudible sounds of her footfalls as she padded down the academy corridors. Good luck Champ.
Master Uthar's Apartment
Pol circumvented Uthar's security with the codes Yuthura had given her and stole into his apartment. The regimented patrols of the Sith troopers had been easy to sidestep on her way to the rooms but locating the masters offices had not been so easy. They had shifted and much about the academy in general had changed under Malak's reign. Once inside she made good on her deal with Yuthura cracking the cover on the stim pack of exo-dermal poison and lacing the Master's bed with its contents.
Her vision snagged on the computer terminal next and she strode definitively to its stand. A quick hack into the mainframe revealed that the only worthy data to be had was indeed contained within Uthar's executive station. Unfortunately it was inaccessible without a password and Pol did not have the means or the savvy to bypass it quickly. "Ah crap." She swore under her breath, give me some good news. Abandoning the task, Pol locked the door behind her and slunk down the halls back to her room.
………….
Canderous had changed into the garb of a Sith servant in her absence. He manned the door staunchly, unmoving and inexpressive. Taking advantage of her invisibility Pol paused to look him over. She decided he looked great in black. Vlad filled the uniform out enviably, clean cut, heavily muscled and broad of shoulder. He's so fine, Pol tittered silently to herself as she stepped closer to her unsuspecting beau. He had the kind of figure that men half his age; lifted, slept, ate, and breathed iron for. And he smells good, Pol added to herself as she ogled him, grateful for the privacy of the stealth unit, Mmm.
Grinning like a wicked pixie Pol held her chin in one hand and considered her move carefully. If I go for the dagger, he might forget himself… If I grope him …? Ha-ha... better not. At last she made her presence known to him by poking him in the ribs with a bony finger. Just to let him know I care. He frowned slightly, not moving. He knew I was there all along...again, she realized with frustration. She prodded him again and humor flashed in his razor grey eyes.
After the second prompting Canderous stretched out an arm and opened the door as if answering a command from within the room. He stepped into the room slowly; breathing in the faint scent of Pol's hair deeply as she pushed passed him teasingly and entered the room.
When the door was closed firmly behind them Pol crept back to the refresher she had left running and shut down her stealth unit. To add credibility to her ploy she splashed her hair with water and bound it up in a towel. Satisfied she had concealed her deceit to all that might be watching, bar her faithful servant, Anju flopped onto her bed for some light reading.
She lay on her stomach resting on her elbows, datapad in one hand and ankles crossed. She looked up from the Sith oriented teachings on occasion to see Vlad staring at her, faithfully awaiting his next order. Though there was warmth in each fleeting look, neither smiled, neither spoke, under heavy surveillance they could not risk it. Without words both knew that all was relatively well, despite the waiting, and that nothing more could be done for the moment.