Chapter Three – Friends and Rivals
Aindri tipped her head back and breathed deeply, enjoying the fresh air which was a welcome change from the stale dead atmosphere of the tomb. The pink streaked sky was darkening and the stars becoming more prominent, signifying the coming of nightfall. Near invisible grains of windblown sand swirled around her feet as she trudged up the small dune, stopping when she found herself staring at the towering pyramidal structure that was the Sith Academy.
Rising high above the Valley of the Dark Lords, the Academy was an impressive and intimidating structure. A monument to the power of the dark side and the might of the Empire. Mirror smooth black stone, held aloft by the backs of two statues of kneeling slaves, stretched for over a kilometre either side of rough-hewn stairs, Korriban's setting sun casting the towering pyramid's long shadow across the valley. It was, Aindri thought, completely suited to its role as a dark fortress where acolytes came to succeed at their trials or die.
Off to her left near the base were a small collection of standard issue military tents with half a dozen or so troopers getting ready for sleep. Recalling the name Sergeant Rikel from the datapad in the tomb, she crossed the sands and approached one of the troopers, a barrel-chested man who was cleaning his rifle, looking up as she approached.
"Acolyte. I see you had a bloodthirsty day in the tomb. Sergeant Rikel at your service." He said, saluting her.
"I have taken care of the looters in the tomb." She informed him and his eyes grew distant as he read between the lines.
"Then I assume my men are dead?" He asked quietly, a sense of loss echoing in his voice.
"They died protecting the Empires' history."
"That they did, sir," He replied and nodded at the bag on her shoulder, "If I may, you should bring those directly to Lord Graas in the archives. He's the senior curator, and will want to take a look."
"Then I will do so, farewell Sergeant."
Aindri turned and headed towards the Academy steps, Sith of various stations – though most were acolytes like herself – walking up and down the stairs as they travelled to and from the academy. For a brief moment she stopped at the first step and inhaled deeply, breathing in the cold evening air and basking in the all-encompassing presence of the Dark Side. It had always been a privilege to face the Sith Trials here, potential students throughout Imperial space competed for the honour of studying within those halls. And she was one of them.
Aindri brought her right foot to rest on the first step and then her left onto the second. All the training, all the effort, every cut, scrape and bruise had lead up to this moment. Learning about the Force, the Sith and the military. She walked slowly, reverently, up the rugged steps, those she passed giving her little notice, many having seen more than one bloodied acolytes coming and going from the tombs.
Walking passed the enormous doors that stood a dozen metres tall, shadows dancing across the already dark walls of the entranceway, Aindri entered the Academy. A large pillar bisected the entrance, a single blood red imperial flag, flanked either side by twin statues of the Emperor, flowing down the middle. The hallway flowed around the pillar, additionally statues of the Emperor grouped together in the centre of the opposite wall, blood red flags hanging behind them.
Where the two halves of the hallways merged was a small hallway flanked by a pair of Imperial Guardsmen, clad head to toe in rich crimson robes, their vibrostaves held at attention. The guards stood like the statues that they stood between, silent and unmoving, and her presence bringing no reaction nor deviation from their duties. As Aindri walked past them, she feel could their eyes watching her from behind the cold durasteel visors of their helmets. The archway at the end of the hallway opened to the main hall of the Academy, the low ceiling giving way to a high vaulted one from which hung crimson banners emblazoned with the Empires symbol. Various corridors lead off the main hall and laying just beyond an obelisk were two curvilinear staircases, set at opposites ends of the hall, which lead up to the academies upper levels. But it was the obelisk that stood in the centre of the immense room which drew Aindri's attention, and took her breath away.
Carved into the stone were the faces of the vanquished, their expressions contorted and screaming in agony, and a thin mist seemed to seep from the stone itself as darkness coiled around it. Aindri walked up to the obelisk in somewhat of a trance like state as her eyes traced the lines of ancient Sith symbols etched into the edges of the monument.
Fear conquers, fear fuels, fear cripples.
An ancient Sith phrase, subtlety reminding acolytes of the power gained through fear and crushing their rivals underfoot, yet also the danger that fear presented should one allow it to control them. The soft slap of feet against stone, snapped her out of her trance and out of the corner of her eye Aindri spied a lone acolyte walking across the hall, head bent and muttering something murderous to himself. Catching his elbow as he walked past, the acolyte stumbled and he whirled around to shout at her before paling slightly at her blood-stained clothes.
"Overseer Tremels chambers?" The acolyte glanced quickly down at her clothes before pointing to the left-hand corridor and mumbled something about turning left, the end of a corridor and going down a set of stairs before quickly excusing himself.
Aindri arched an eyebrow at the acolytes' retreating back as he scurried away before heading for the archway he'd pointed out and turning left. Walking down the corridor, she felt a growing chill as the air seeped with malice and her hand drifted to the hilt of her warblade as she reached the top of a small flight of stairs, where she could see two acolytes talking to each other at the bottom. The acolyte on the left tall and overtly muscular, his grey outer tunic stretched tightly across his shoulders, and a tattoo that took up almost the entire right side of his face meant to broadcast a threatening demeanour.
But it was the smaller acolytes, his clothing darker and more armoured than his counterpart, tightly contained violence roiling below the surface which set her instincts flaring. He was more powerful, the bigger threat of the two, the Force hanging lazy and sluggish over his companion. His position as the alpha predator was only confirmed by warblade that the shorter one carried and the lack of one on his larger counterpart.
Wary, but her curiosity piqued, Aindri descended the stairs in near silence and the two acolytes looked up as she approached, but she ignored them and was about to walk past when the smaller one stopped her.
"So, you're Overseer Tremel's secret weapon huh?" Said the acolyte his tone sarcastic as he looked her up and down, examining her as she did him, "Impressive, to be sure. Afraid the old man waited too long to make his move though."
Something clicked and Aindri now knew exactly who the other acolyte was and she looked upon her supposed rival with renewed interest.
"I'm Vemrin, and unlike you I've fought and bled for everything I have. I demand respect." She quickly assessed the newcomer, whose anger and hatred coiled in the Force around him but there was also something else.
Buried deep beneath the surface to the point that it was almost unnoticeable, she could feel a sense of insecurity pervading his signature. Overall, it may seem like he had potential but she wasn't impressed. Only a fool demanded respect rather than proving it was deserved.
"Respect is earned," Aindri stated matter-of-factly, "And you have not earned mine."
"This is ridiculous, Vemrin. Let's just kill her and hide the body." Suggested the other acolyte eagerly.
She casted a quick glance in the larger acolytes' direction and released a snort of derision. Clearly Vemrin had brought him for his brawn over his brains, if she didn't find Vemrin a worthy opponent then there was little hope for his lapdog.
"We're not on Balmorra anymore, Dolgis. There are rules, traditions," He chided his ally before eying her and waving dismissively, "Leave the shortcuts to Overseer Tremel and his last pathetic hope here."
Aindri regarded her new rival emotionlessly refusing to give him any leeway; at least she now had a face to put to a name.
Vemrin growled and turned to his counterpart, "Coming Dolgis?"
"Be right there Vemrin." Dolgis replied as Vemrin walked off without a backwards glance while Aindri watched his retreating back. She doubted she would face him directly for a while. He striked her as more of a schemer and he would most likely send someone to test the waters first.
"Listen to me, you useless priss." She turned back to Dolgis and she knew that out of the two he would be the one she would face first.
"Acolytes aren't allowed to murder each other. But accidents happen. It isn't murder without witnesses." He stepped closer so that he was staring down at her.
"No more warnings," He growled, "Vemrin's the alpha monster here. You go after Vemrin, you die," She regarded him with the same emotionless expression and Dolgis growled once more before stalking off.
Tremel, who had heard everything from inside his chambers, threw his door open wide to see Acolyte Hallow turning towards him, calm and unruffled at the whole exchange as the echoes of Doglis' footsteps faded. He wrinkled his nose slightly at the stench of blood but otherwise noted with approval that she was all in one piece. Gesturing her into the room, he closed the door behind them to make sure that they wouldn't be disturbed. He couldn't leave his door open for more than a minute and not have somebody barge in for something or other.
"Good, you're here. Tell me, how do you like your new blade?"
"It will be sufficient." Aindri answered as she set the bag carrying the relics down at her feet. It wasn't a lightsaber but it would serve her well during her time on Korriban.
Tremel chuckled at her stoic demeanour. He was impressed by the control that she had over her emotions, catching her satisfaction with the blade before it was squashed with a self-reminder that it was only the first step in her trials. Tremel's gaze travelled past her as he sensed the arrival of his daughter and the look upon her face when she entered the room indicated that she was in a foul mood. So much for no interruptions.
Aindri felt the newcomer's presence before she heard her, annoyance rippling through the Force. Smoothly stepping to the side, the newcomer stalked into the room and directly to Tremel. Her eyes flitted between the two, but Tremel didn't look worried, and if he wasn't worried then there was no reason for her to be.
"What are you doing father?" As Tremel and the newcomer argued, about something that was clearly a family issue, she took the chance to look at the daughter more closely and could see the resemblance.
They had similar skin tones and the same black hair, the main difference were the three scars running across the left side of the daughters face and that she wore the same robes as acolytes rather than battle armour.
"I have my reasons, Eskella. And you will not breathe a word of this to anyone. Do you hear?" Tremel told her an air of finality to his voice.
Eskella glared at her father and clenched her fists, "I will keep quiet about your new charge father, but I won't be here if whatever you're planning blows up in your face." She snapped before storming from the room, the Force snapping around her in testament to her foul mood.
"My daughter, Eskella," Tremel said drily as he watched his daughter leave, this being a semi-regular occurrence. He cared for his daughter, and she was strong, but her inability to adapt would one-day lead to her to cross the wrong person and he worried for her.
"Now to business, I thought I heard Vemrin's voice in the corridor before you arrived. Did he make his move so soon?"
Aindri shook her head, "A warning."
"Good, good, he must not fully comprehend the threat you represent," Tremel smiled before frowning, "Still, I'd hope we'd had more time. Vemrin's not the type to sniff around for too long before trying to take a bite." Sitting down Tremel leaned forward and regarded the acolyte before him and decided it was time to enlighten her of the role she was to play.
"In a drive for sheer numbers, the criteria for admittance has been relaxed and now anyone with Force sensitivity is allowed entrance. Vemrin is one such acolyte. He is mixed blood, the invisible rot eating at the foundation of the Empire. He must not be allowed to advance."
She kept her face neutral, even though she didn't agree with Tremel about the Empires xenocentric policies, and her uncle was nothing if not pragmatic, careful to beat any such thoughts out of her and self-awareness of her strengths, her weakness and her desires into her.
The Sith way was power and strength, whether human or an alien, ones species hardly dictated such things.
But she refrained from voice such thoughts aloud, now was hardly the time for a philosophically debate with the overseer and she needed to remain on Tremels good side for the time being.
"Unfortunately, Vemrin's caught the eye of Darth Baras, one of the most influential Sith Lords and is being groomed to be his new apprentice."
Understanding dawned on her, so this what Tremel was planning and both she and Vemrin were pawns in a game of his making. She had neither the desire nor patience for Sith politics and though she didn't show it, she was worried. Another acolyte she could handle, but a Darth was another thing entirely, especially if it was Baras who carried a certain, reputation.
He would have contingency upon contingency in place if as little as suspected that Tremel was plotting something… but she kept her face neutral as this was a game she could not afford to lose.
"As Darth Bara's apprentice, the power at Vemrin's fingertips will be considerable. He could change the Sith for the worse." Tremel reached down and removed a datapad from his desk.
"Whilst you are here you will receive training along with the rest of the acolytes. I'm transmitting everything that you need in relation to your training whilst you are here to your datapad, including your class schedule. Everything else you can get from the quartermaster whose office is on the second floor near the dormitories."
Aindri removed a datapad from a within her outer tunic and saw that she had received a message from Tremel and downloaded the data he had sent, which she also saw included her dormitory. She nodded and pocketed her pad before looking up at Tremel.
"Overseer, before I leave, I would ask, where are the archives?" She asked, nodding towards the bag at her feet, "I recovered these relics from the tomb and would like to pass them onto the curator."
"You can find the archives on the second floor, Lord Graas's officer is in the back on its third floor," He informed and there was a gleam in his eyes as his gaze meet hers, "You have a great destiny ahead of you acolyte, train hard. I will call for you when it is time for your next trial."
Aindri walked down corridor on the second floor of Academies east wing, metal floor ringing softly under her footfalls as she checked room numbers against the one on her datapad for her dorm. The bag she now carried, having dropped off the relics with the gratitude of Lord Grass, contained the spare robes and toiletries she'd been given by the quartermaster.
Shaking her head at the thought of the elderly Sith who had complained about her time keeping, she stopped in front of a door of the room that she'd been assigned to. From beyond the door she could hear someone shout and a loud clatter and when the door slid open she raised an eyebrow at the scene before her.
One of the acolytes, a hulking brute of a woman, had slammed another against the wall and was holding them by their collar with one hand, whilst the other was drawn back fisted. The one being held was glaring and hurling insults at her attacker, causing the large acolyte to growl. Quickly losing interest in what seemed to be a simple playground squabble, which given the academies reputation a fistfight was, she looked beyond the fighting acolytes to inspect her new room.
"So, you did survive then." Called out a voice in a drawling tone which she immediately associated with a certain red-skinned Twi'lek, who was sitting on one of the far beds, the other acolytes fell silent as their heads swivelled towards her.
The larger acolyte dropped the smaller one in a favour of looking her up and down, whilst the other acolyte, a human with greasy black hair, sniffed the air before scowling.
"She stinks." Aindri arched an eyebrow at the acolyte and Tormi rolled her eyes.
"So, would you if you just had just gone through the tombs, Leena. I certainly did when I came back." Tormi drawled and the smaller acolyte harrumphed before the Twi'lek looked at her, "But she's right, you do stink. Refreshers through that door," Said Tormi who pointed to a small doorway in the right-hand wall before pointing to a vacant bed near her own, "And that's your bed. Its previous owner died two months ago in an 'accident'."
Aindri tilted her head in question for a moment, but didn't comment, before nodding and walking towards her new bed. Dumping the bag on the well-made sheets, she removed one her new tunics before entering the refresher.
Looking in the mirror which took up the whole wall above a long sink, she grimaced for what felt like the umpteenth time at the state of her clothes. She silently thanked the Emperor she had the presence of mind to tie her hair up before entering the tomb, she found early on getting blood, amongst other fluids, and pieces of being out of hair was never pleasant.
She strode for the nearest shower, stripping off her clothes as she walked and tossing them into the trash chute where they could be incinerated, and turned on the water stepping into it. Aindri let her head fall back and sighed with delight as the hot water hit her skin. She revelled in being able to scrub the ichor from her skin and she stepped out feeling a lot more human than when she went in. Drying herself off, she threw her tunic and padded back into the dorm room feeling a lot more relaxed.
"Much better." Aindri looked at Tormi who was now sitting on the end of her bed and looked from her to her bag and back again before raising an eyebrow.
"That it? I take it you would have more, that or you used to be a slave which I really doubt."
"Training here on Korriban is the start of my life as a Sith. I don't need my old possessions and the academy provides everything I could need."
Tormi looked at her in disbelief, "Seriously?" Shaking her head when she nodded, "Well whatever. Just came to say that it's lights out soon."
Nodding her thanks and bidding Tormi goodnight with the same gesture, Aindri knelt down and touched the panel of the draw that was underneath the bed, moving the contents of the bag to the now open draw. She also locked away her puzzle cube, which she'd moved from her robe to the bag earlier, along with the bag itself. The only thing that wasn't in the draw when she locked it was her datapad, which she used to flip through her schedule for the foreseeable future before tiredness overcame her and she fell asleep.