Chapter 69: Out the Door (Part 3)

Having Freedon Nadd's scriptures in her hands again after so long is a feeling that's hard to describe. She runs a light finger down its spine, humming in contentment. She moves to Zannah's desk, well, her desk now since its her hideout and all that, then sets it down. She really ought to see about sprucing this place up if she's honest. She has the sense that she will be spending a lot of her downtime here if not with the Black Sun. She'll get some furniture and load it into the Scimitar eventually, but that's for later, for now, she props open the scriptures and begins flipping through, looking for her desire...

There it is, Talismans.

She browses through on their uses, and more importantly, how to make them...

"Aha," she said, a nasty smile on her face, "There's always a price to be paid."

Or at least with this method anyway, and really, she prefers it consider what she's going to be getting up to soon enough. "...to be able to grant life onto what has been torn, one must have given life to the talisman itself. A ritual sacrifice is requires to drain the life out of the one chosen, to grant into the one you wish to heal."

She laughs darkly. "How good it is that I'm about to have a lot of potential sacrifices, and really, who cares if a slaver or ten go missing? Or whoever else Krayn has in his organization. Its so nice to have an easy target that no one should bitch about killing off."

Her eyes wash over the ritual diagram, pressing it into memory. It doesn't hurt to take a picture with a datapad either just to make sure she gets it right the first few times. She considers the picture after, then the scriptures, and purses her lips. She wishes she could take them with her, but she does agree with Zannah's command years ago, that these should not leave the safety of this place. Though even that was questionable, as it had been invaded by a Dark Jedi before. Though that was with near a thousand years for Zannah's traps to decay. But really...

She wants a copy of this made, just incase something happens to the original. She sets Rain's holocron on the desk, taps it, draws Rain out, and proposes the idea.

Rain frowns. "I understand the desire, but what if someone gets their hands on the copy? Force forbid its Sidious because there will go any method of you taking him out down the drain."

Siri scowls. "I still don't like it."

"Well, add more protections to this place then," said Rain flatly, "The ones we put up over your apprenticeship are decent, and will deter or kill the random interloper, but we need much stronger ones incase someone powerful finds it."

Siri nods. "Fair, I will at some point. Its, well, on the list."

Rain rolled her eyes. "Don't think I don't know you have an ulterior motive for going after this 'Krayn', Siri, I'm not blind nor dumb. I just don't know which of your needless Jedi attachments its for."

"I have like two 'Jedi attachments'," Siri answered flatly, "Guess."

"Two is still two to many," chided Rain, "But I suppose everyone has their own crippling faults."

"Does the names Bug and Tomcat ring a bell?"

Rain scoffed and vanished back into her holocron with a parting, "Let me know when its time to play."

"Oh I will," murmurs Siri, "But first, I want to get a few of these talisman's ready for imbuement, and maybe a bit more light reading. I might need to hit up Alexi to get the materials I need..."

Siri is honestly taken aback when Alexi pins her in a tight hug. "Ten years Iris, try not to get yourself on house arrest again."

She gives him a bemused look, then glances over his shoulder. "Do I get a hug too, Meg?"

"Call me that again and I will fry you," said the Nightsister dryly, Force Lightning crackling between her fingertips briefly.

Siri laughs, good-natured. "So, want to give me a run down of how things have gone over the last decade?"

Alexi hums in agreement and leads her off the docking bay and deeper into his cruiser, but really, its a yacht if she had a say. He had certainly done himself a service by going for a mobile base of operations. Harder to pin down. She's lead into a room with a wide holo-map of the galaxy in different color codes depending on the areas. Siri doesn't know what any of it means, but still, the whole set-up looks impressive. There are a few Black Sun Vigos studying the map with a few other aids pointing out things and taking notes.

"Black is under out control," he says, and really, Black Sun and all that makes it somewhat amusing, "Green is under our influence, yellow is various business deals with other groups, orange is competitors, and red is our outright enemies. If there is no color, we haven't formed anything official or delved into it yet."

Siri's eyebrows climb, because that map is dark. "Nice."

"Well, when our competitors drop out, we move in," he answered, "And when the Republic tore the Trade Federation apart after Naboo..."

His shoulder's shook with laughter. "Oh Iris, you have no idea how much that shook things up, because the TF had its dirty fingers everywhere, and suddenly, they were gone. That combined with all the Republic hits over the last decade left so many openings for us to fill in. Sure, a few new corporations have stepped up on the Confederacy side, and a little bit in the Republic, but really, they aren't as massive, influential, nor have the credentials that the TF had built up. Groups would rather do business with a proven and reliable partner such as us. We've become the greatest Crime Syndicate since the old days of the Exchange way back when. If things keep on going as they are... well..."

His smile was all teeth. "The Hutts will need to watch their backs."

Siri hummed, approaching the map and considering one spot in particular. "Ah, goodie. Nar Shaddaa is orange. That keeps things uncomplicated."

"Why the interest in the Smuggler's Moon?" he posed.

"I'm going to wipe out Karyn and his organization," she answered nonchalantly.

Alexi's eyebrows climb. "Does this have anything to do with you nagging us out of the Slave Trade?"

"In part," she agreed, "I suggest if you have anyone buried in his organization, you get them out, because I won't be leaving survivors. At least, not in the Nar Shaddaa portion of his organization."

"Noted," he mused, "I assume you would like all the info we have on his operations?"

"I would love it," she agreed.

He nods then considers the map. He types in a few commands to the console, and the rest of it fades away only leaving the orange. He types in a few commands, and part of that fade away as well. He considers what is left, a slow cruel smile on his face that honestly makes her want to pin him to the wall and chew it off. "This is all Karyn's organization and influence, if we're in place when he's gone and everything falls apart..."

"Ever the opportunist Lex," she muses.

"Its in our nature," he agrees, "I even might have a good way to get you into place."

"Oh?"

"Karyn has wanted to make ties with the Black Sun, if I send someone he assumes is a Vigo as an envoy... you do have your ring, don't you?" he posed.

She drew it out of her robe pocket and rolled it between her fingers. "Mhm."

"Tsk," he chides, reaching out to grasp her wrist.

She watches, curious, as he takes the ring, slowly sets it on her finger, then brings it up to kiss, his eyes locking on hers. "Do wear this when your out and about on the ship. Its been far to long since I've had a chance to show off my claim."

She gives him a bemused look. "I suppose it has."

"Though, I suppose I should ask," he mused, "If 'Kenobi' will cause a disruption in our status quo."

Oh, definitely jealousy there. She has to honestly think about it, she knows she had wanted to cut it between them at one point during her parole because of said Jedi, but really, she and Kenobi are never going to be an actual thing as much as she craves him. And really, she's not going to waste away pinning when she has a perfectly good male specimen right here to satisfy her. Its not like there is actual love between her an Alexi either. She favors him, but she certainly wouldn't tie the knot with him. Still...

Siri makes a face. "Is it bad if I wished it did?"

He raised an eyebrow.

"He's entirely platonic about the whole thing."

"Oh good," he says, pulling her to him and devouring her lips in her own.

Mighella gives a mock-gag. "Spare me of this."

Alexi waggles his eyebrows at the Nightsister who sniffs in derision in response.

Siri licks her lips hungrily as they part. "Don't start anything you can't finish right here and now Lex, I've had to be married to my hand the last damn ten years."

"Ouch," he sympathizes, "Stay the night then?"

"Oh kriff yes," she stated, "But first, work before pleasure. I need an assortment of materials to make a few goodies."

"Goodies?"

"How would you like a Talisman that I craft by consuming the lifeforce of its victims, which can be used by a Force Sensitive to heal you from life-threatening injuries?" she asked, blinking innocently at him.

"I think... that I really want to throw you in my bed right now," he muses.

"I'll take that as a yes," she said, grinning, "In fact, do you have anyone set up for execution I could practice on? I could have you and Mighella having your own before I head out. I also need jewelry to use as the base."

"We have a few people who were foolish enough to double-cross us currently being shown the errors of their ways down in the brig," answered Alexi, "And really? Do I have jewelry? Come now dear you know me."

Translation: being tortured to death. "Oh good. Would you like to watch?"

"Iris," he said slowly, "I would like nothing less than to watch you work again. I was honestly a little worried the Jedi had potentially made you soft."

Siri lets a rumble out of her throat, baring her teeth. "You can't tame a Sith. I was forced to sheath my teeth for the most part, but I'm more than ready to prove that I haven't lost my edge."

He tilts his head. "Prove to whom?"

She twitches, a little annoyed. "To myself I suppose. I... won't say that I'm the same as I was before, but..."

He nods. "You need to see if you still have it in you. Come then, lets see if you're capable of ritual murder then."

She was.

Oh how she was.

The screams, the howling of the Dark Side roaring in her ears, the blood on her hands and knife, Sith Sorcery pouring from her lips, the lifeforce draining out of her victim and into a necklace. She feels honestly drunk by the time she's done, so sated in the Dark for the first time since Korriban. She hangs her creation upon Alexi's neck, and honestly doesn't know how they made it back to his room before she pinned him down underneath her, nothing upon their flesh between them but his ring and her talisman as they took one another...

Siri wakes up the next day, naked in Alexi's bed. She hums in satisfied contentment, fingers fiddling with the Sith Talisman hanging down on his chest. The feeling of her creation being worn by her favored is honestly a high-worthy sensation...

Of course now that she thinks on it, there is no way Kenobi is going to wear a Sith Talisman. Not with the sensation it gives off, hell, Skywalker probably wouldn't either even when she gets back in his good graces. Dooku... might be pragmatic enough if she gives them to him in case of emergency. She wonders about masking their presence in the Force, because really, objects created by Sith Sorcery and ritualistic murder have a very hard to miss feel in the Force. She'll have to consider it later. As she was want to do over a decade ago, she dresses and slips out of the room.

Alexi had gathered a bunch of random trinkets from the ship's storage to serve as talismans for her sorcery. She goes back into the bloody cell she had used as a ritual room, and sure enough, a number of jewlery were still on the cell cot. She pockets it all into her robes and makes her way back to her ship, storing them away. She leaves and makes her way back to the galaxy map room, crosses her arms, and studies it with interest. Knowing where she can make port with allies is always useful information to know. The moment she flashes her Vigo Ring, she will have the unquestionable obedience of the Black Sun in any area. She starts taking notes on her datapad...

"Iris dear," comes Alexi's chiding voice, "That model looks positively ancient. Let me get you the latest, with much better protections, since your jotting down highly sensitive information."

She gives him a sheepish smile. "Fair enough, I wont say no to the latest tech."

An hour later, she's copied over all her old information and finished taking notes. She considers if she wants to stay another day, to bask in being here again, before the panel suddenly starts ringing. Alexi takes one look at it before freezing and ordering, "Out of sight, now."

She obeys, curious, watching as Alexi hides the talisman under his suit before pressing 'accept', the map fading out of sight and...

Siri goes ridged to see Sidious's holographic image appear. "Garyn."

"Lord Sidious," said Alexi, bowing briefly, "To what do I owe the honor?"

"Has my wayward apprentice made an appearance yet?" he posed.

"Briefly, to get the Scimitar checked for trackers, before she left," said Alexi.

Quite clever that one, telling a truth, but not the full truth.

Sidious's cowl shifted, an air of brief surprise in his voice. "The Jedi returned her the Scimitar? Interesting..."

Ah kriff. She's not sure she wanted him to know that, but its more surprising to her that he hadn't already known. Apparently the Jedi had kept that under wraps.

"I suppose better it be in Sith hands than the Jedi's," mused Sidious, "Even an insolent renegade."

Alexi clasps his hands behind her back, tilting his head slightly to the side. "Do you have orders regarding her?"

"I do," confirmed Sidious, "You are to aid in her in whatever foolish endeavors she gets herself into for the time being."

What? Why would he...

Alexi slow blinks, a flicker of confusion on his face before he masks it. "As you wish, though if I may... I'm rather curious about that choice. To my knowledge, she has dealt you considerable damage over the last decade."

Yes, good, fish for more information. He's not likely to learn much, but even the littlest slip...

Sidious laughed darkly. "Garyn, I was not hindered nearly as much as you think I was. In fact, I dare say I am ahead of where I was, save for my apprentice being... misplaced for the time being. Her actions helped to lead to a beautiful schism in the Jedi Order and the creation of a Confederacy that has gone beyond my original expectations. Whats more, I have learned certain... secrets... that she kept from me that make a desire to replace her to a minimum. Make no mistake, she will be punished for her treachery, but death will not be a mercy I grant to her, not when she still shows such use and promise. After all..."

His mouth twists in amusement. "It is her hatred of me, her desires to supplant me, that drives her. She will still make for a fine Dark Lord of the Sith Lord."

So, her Sith Sorcery was that enticing was it? Hmm...

Alexi nods slowly. "I see."

"Continue as you are in spreading your influence and funneling money into the Confederacy," ordered Sidious, "When the time comes, Alexi Garyn, you shall be the lord of the entire underworld, and have your revenge against the Jedi for foolishly passing over you."

"Of course, Lord Sidious."

"Oh, and Garyn?"

"Yes?"

"Do clean up better in the morning," came his mocking voice, "That love bite is unbecoming of someone who prides themself on professionalism."

Sidious cuts the connection after laughing.

Alexi scowls and adjust his collar. "Must you have, Iris?"

She shrugged, giving him a sly smile. "Well, I like staking my own claims."

He huffed. "Of course dear."

"So... revenge against the Jedi?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

He gives a wry smile. "I may have played up my hatred of the Jedi for considering me to old to train. One thing a Sith always appreciates is hatred of the Jedi, its not even entirely false either."

She rolls her shoulders, giving a distasteful look at the projector. "I don't like him having any interest in you. Just... be careful."

He shrugged. "I will, but really, its not like I've met him face to face since our original meeting. There is only so much he can get over a holoprojector."

"Maybe," she mused, "But don't underestimate his intuition, even if he's to far to get an accurate read in the Force. He can still meditate and probe the Force for answers if he is dissatisfied. Trying to play word and mind games with Sidious is incredibly dangerous. Getting one up over him is not easy."

She also wonders... did Sidious know about her kind-of-relationship with Alexi? She'd never hinted at it to him, but... it seemed odd for him to bother pointing a hickey out unless he was making a point. Its possible he just did it to get a rise out of Alexi, to put the man down, or... to snub at her. It could also be his idiotic sexism, snubbing the idea of a woman marking a man in power. Its probably a good thing Sidious couldn't see the clawing she left on Alex's back either. She supposes it could also just be her paranoia speaking, because Sidious might not know if Alexi's potential lover was even female.

He pops the map back up on the projector, looking over his territory with satisfaction. "Life is a dangerous game, Iris, as is any dealings with the Sith. I am very much aware that being caught between you and Sidious could end up with me very much dead. But truly, playing the game, and playing it well, adds spice to a droll life. My life wouldn't be nearly as exciting had you not stumbled into it."

Or very long she admits to herself. Because if she hadn't converted his loyalties to the Sith (to her), then he would have ended up dead.

"So then, lets get down to business," said Alexi, "I'm going to create a false ID and history for you to slip into Karyn's organization. Using Iris is a no go, have any preferences?"

She considers it for a minute, probing the Force for input...

...and gets a dark laugh in response along with a name.

"How does Zora sound?"

A/N: Next chapter wont be for the faint of heart, or maybe it will? Terrible, horrifying things happening to terrible people, and will be told from Karyn's perspective to add more to the flavor.