Golden Teardrops – 3660.022 BY

Zanleya stared out of her narrow window as night fell across Korriban, lost in thought. The past few days had been beyond busy, with almost back to back lessons from the four overseers, covering everything from the basics of Sith alchemy to saber wards and proper form. On top of that Kharvak had not relented in his own curriculum, resulting in her having very little spare time and even less chance to worry about her new nemesis. Today, however, she had eked out an earlier finish as Tremel was overseeing the trial of a different set of acolytes.

So now, having eaten swiftly, Zanleya stood in her room pondering how best to proceed. She needed allies. She needed somebody to watch her back. She needed a network of informants… She needed a lot of things and had not the faintest idea how to go about getting any of them. She barely knew anybody beyond her group of acolytes, none of whom seemed likely candidates for alliances, besides Anral. Then who? She thought, banging her fists upon the window sill with frustration. As much as she knew Sith were supposed to stand on their own merits, she could not take on the whole Academy single-handedly. And to make matters worse it looked like Jensine fully intended to recruit help, possibly in the form of Traz and his cronies, so she needed to even the odds. Suddenly inspiration struck, a thunderbolt of unexpected recollection. There was somebody else, an individual she had bumped into a year ago, one who just might be able to help.

Using the force she swept the holocomm off her desk into her hand and fired it up, as the pale blue holographic keyboard appeared she keyed in 'Lady Gethen'. The profile of the youthful Sith appeared, looking much the same as she had when they first met, the burn scar still visible across her left cheek. She hovered her finger over the call button for a moment, before deciding it would be more courteous to send a simple message. After all, she reasoned, there was no knowing if Gethen would even remember her, they had only seen each other once and had not spoken since. After a few attempts she fashioned a short message, simply stating that she had an issue and if the Lady could spare her a couple of hours she would be most indebted to her.

Zanleya honestly did not know what to expect, a polite refusal perhaps, maybe an invitation to chat or, more likely, simply no response at all. She placed the holocomm back on her desk and returned to brooding, watching as the last rays of light vanished from the sky and darkness began its reign.

The chime only a mere minute later caught her completely by surprise. Retrieving the now blinking holocomm she saw an unread response from Gethen, eagerly she tapped it.

'Zanleya, that was excellent timing, I had been meaning to get in contact with you for a week now. I would be most happy to see you and catch up. How about my apartment in an hour's time? – Lady Gethen'.

Blinking in surprise Zanleya took a moment to process the message, it was not what she had anticipated. An alarm siren started to shrill at the back of her brain, warning her that something was afoot, Gethen clearly had things on her mind too. What Gethen wanted to speak to her about she could not even begin to guess, but it unnerved her somewhat. She quelled such thoughts; she had asked for an audience and could hardly refuse now. Besides, this was what she needed and, as she had nothing else of note to do that evening, it was a perfect opportunity.

After sending a quick reply Zanleya showered and tidied herself up, deciding she needed to look at least vaguely presentable. She swapped her grey day to day robes for a looser brown and black set, exchanged her scuffed training boots for a black pair that almost reached her knees. Clipping a belt round her waist and readjusting her fringe she looked at herself in the mirror. The freckled face that looked back gave the appearance of innocence, unadorned by cosmetics, tattoos or scars. Deep green eyes, a soft jawline with naturally straight red hair swept over to the right, slightly longer on that side. Too many years of having her appearance fussed over by Bragga's slave overseer had rid her of any notion of vanity, to the point that the idea of going out the way to make herself look more appealing was anathema to her. Still, she was aware that she was entering into her window of youthful beauty, but, provided she survived the next few weeks, she did not expect her training would allow her to keep such looks for long.

Counting with the standard Coruscant solar cycle system she was still a teenager, her eighteenth birthday only a handful of weeks away, although age did not mean much on Korriban. Everyone in the Academy grew up fast, or did not get the chance to grow up at all. Not that that stopped her fellow acolytes from calling her 'little Zanleya'. The thought caused her to scowl, the features in the reflection twisting and in that moment the eyes of a killer could be glimpsed, peeking out from behind the façade of impish youth.

It would do, she thought, her attire was practical and that was what mattered. Without further delay she swept off to find Lady Gethen's apartment. It turned out that it was situated in the newer section of the Academy, behind the original pyramid shaped building at its heart. It was set into the side of a red stone cliff alongside the abodes of other upcoming Sith. The door slid open before Zanleya's hand even reached the intercom and, feeling a little apprehensive, she stepped in.

The foyer was spacious, lit with a soft pale blue light which served to smooth the edges of the room. A curved floor to ceiling window made up the wall opposite the door, giving a grand view over the rugged wastes of Korriban, now cast in deep shadows. The other walls were smooth patterned metal, gently curving to the window and twisting to form an alcove to the right that presumably led to further rooms. The architecture was almost the polar opposite of the harsh edges and dull colours of the Academy proper, but it gave the room a gentle feel, like it was the eye of calm within the storm of Korriban, as if it was trying to cocoon one in its embrace. The walls were adorned with what Zanleya assumed was tasteful art, although she had vanishingly little experience in such matters. Aside from counters, a terminal and an assortment of Gethen's personal belongings, the main furniture was a pair of curving couches facing the window, a low drinks table set between them. Gethen waved to her from one of these.

"Zanleya! So good to see you again, I am most glad you could come," Gethen greeted with a broad smile. Zanleya walked over, her gaze still drifting round the room, it was unlike anything she had seen before, particularly in the Academy. It was quite the contrast to the brutal utilitarianism or the imposingly grand surroundings she was used to.

"And you, thank you for inviting me," Zanleya replied politely, turning her attention to her host. Gethen looked quite different to the last time the pair had met. Though her fair skinned features and brown hair were the same, albeit now tied up in an elegant bun, her attire had changed drastically. Rather than robes and armour she now wore a long deep azure blue dress, cut away round her sides to reveal pale skin. The garment was clinched in at the waist to accentuate her dainty but lithe figure, it reached right up to her neck, but left her shoulders bare before flowing down to cover her arms and ending at her wrists with narrow cuffs. Silvery thread had been sewn through it, weaving intricate patterns across her body. Zanleya was immediately struck with two conflicting thoughts: firstly how impractical it was, not befitting a Lady of the Sith, but secondly feelings of envy at how refined and elegant Gethen looked.

Gethen waved at the opposite seat inviting the acolyte to join her. Zanleya, feeling somewhat out of place in her rather drab attire, sat across from Gethen, eyes still fixed on the Lady's outfit.

"Here, have a drink," Gethen offered as Zanleya settled down. She poured a yellow orange liquid from a crystal decanter into a small glass. Zanleya noticed a number of slim rings upon Gethen's slender fingers each set with precious stones; clearly she had risen in both status and wealth since their last meeting.

"Thank you, but I don't drink," Zanleya declined as Gethen filled her own glass. Technically she had never drunk before, partly through simple habit of never frequenting bars, partly because having one's senses dulled by alcohol when on a planet packed with volatile and powerful beings struck her as a bad idea.

"I can sense your anxiety and tension, trust me, have a drink it'll help. It's golden teardrop, all the way from Rishii," Gethen encouraged. Not wishing to seem rude, although with some hesitation, Zanleya took the proffered glass. She tentatively sipped the concoction, it was both sweet and spicy and the spirit burned at the back of her throat. It was a strange sensation but not one she found altogether unpleasant, the taste, however, was sublime.

"Nice?" Gethen queried, sipping her own.

"Yes, quite strong mind you!" Zanleya replied with a little cough, Gethen merely chuckled somewhat mischievously.

"How have you been this past year? Your training has been going well I take it?" Gethen asked, leaning back on the couch. "I mean, you're still here so it can't be going too badly!"

"Pretty well I guess, certainly better than when we last spoke!" Zanleya replied, then proceeded to relate some of the notable events of the past year as she settled in to the evening and her drink. Gethen in turn provided a few tales of her own, detailing her adventures and escapades, a trip to the planet of Taris in particular piqued her interest. At length Gethen brought the conversation round to the real reason she was here.

"So tell me, what's this issue of yours?" Gethen inquired, refilling Zanleya's now empty glass. Zanleya pulled a face as Gethen topped her up, she could already feel a flush going to her cheeks, but her nerves had settled somewhat. Nevertheless, it had to be said she felt better having had the first drink so happily accepted a second.

"Well, it started in the tomb of Tulak Hord…" She began, before relating the events of the last week, albeit skipping her meeting with Darth Tharmin. Yet she had a suspicion that Gethen already knew most of it.

"So… I need allies, I need to build a powerbase… but I'm not sure how to start. I hoped you could give me some advice," Zanleya concluded. A faint smile hovered around Gethen's lips. "Why me? Why not Kharvak?" Gethen queried although out of curiosity rather than an attempt to dismiss her.

"Well… I don't want to ask him everything and I guess getting the opinion of other Sith is important too," Zanleya replied slowly.

"He wants you to deal with Jensine on your own?" Gethen surmised. Zanleya looked a little sheepish and nodded, while she was not dressed like a stereotypical Sith Lord, Gethen was still every bit as cunning and quick to spot half-truths. "Well I respect that you value my knowledge and I will happily share some of it with you. Obviously the best way to learn how to establish a powerbase is through practice. The process of building up a network of contacts and allies is complicated and of course no two occasions are ever the same as everyone is different. I could probably talk for hours on my experiences, but I'll boil it down to some useful tips for you," Gethen began. Her attention never left Zanleya and likewise the young acolyte's eyes never strayed from the lady.

"My first tip is to always try to negotiate from a position of power. If you have something others want they are far more likely to assist you or work for you. It sounds simple and I guess it is, but it's something many of my fellow Lords and Ladies seem to forget. Never get so self-centred and arrogant that you think people will ally with you just because of who you are. Only members of the Dark Council can enjoy that kind of privilege and too many upstart Lords get delusions of grandeur. If you don't have something your prospective ally wants, try and find out what they do desire and acquire it. Take for example a fellow Lord I know called Zendrak, I needed one of his agents on Hutta to run an errand for me, so before speaking to him I found out about dear Zendrak. Turns out he is quite the spice addict, so I located the gang that supplied him and ensured they had some… accidents. I could then offer him my 'more reliable' contacts I had established on Nar Shaddaa to keep him supplied, in return for the use of his agent. I also, indirectly, now control his supply of spice should I ever need his help again. That's what I mean, get power or leverage over somebody, then speak to them," Gethen lectured.

"You did all of that, before even speaking to Zendrak? That must have taken you weeks to set up!" Zanleya exclaimed incredulously. "What if he'd just said 'yeah sure' when you asked to use his agent?"

"Now there's your first mistake, Sith don't cooperate by nature. Kharvak may have told you that all Sith should work together for the glory of the Empire," Gethen interjected, her voice taking on a mocking tone for the last four words. Zanleya frowned as her master's reputation was ridiculed, however light heartedly it was done, Gethen just chuckled at her reaction. "Your master is an idealist, I like to think of myself as a realist, besides you came to me to get a different opinion didn't you? In the real galaxy things don't proceed exactly as Kharvak desires. If you want to be a step ahead of your peers, you need to be ready to plan for everything," Gethen continued. Zanleya realised for the second time she had underestimated the razor sharp mind of Lady Gethen.

"Further to that, if you have something somebody wants, strike a hard bargain, always ask for more. Say somebody offers you a gunship to assist you in return for your services, ask for three. Nine times out of ten, if you have an advantage over them, they'll concede, so you might as well get all you can. In the worst case scenario they will try and haggle you down, so you might as well start high."

"Okay, so I need some advantage over people, or something to blackmail them with, but how do I get that? I can't find this stuff out about people just by looking them up on the holonet and I don't have spies working for me," Zanleya said.

"True, but you can do it the old fashioned way, ask around, talk to people who know them. Go to bars, you can learn an awful lot about somebody over a golden teardrop, particularly if you're speaking to an individual who doesn't like your target," Gethen countered, she chuckled as she saw Zanleya's face scrunch up. "Yes, that does mean you need to go and socialise! Come on, a drink every now and then isn't bad!" Gethen said, taking another sip of her own golden teardrop.

"Mmm, maybe, but I don't want to waste time in a bar, I could be in the archives instead learning about the force," Zanleya retorted, reluctant to concede that she would have to venture out of her comfort zone.

"But you won't build a powerbase in the archives will you?" Gethen countered evenly. Still not looking convinced Zanleya let out a sigh.

"Okay, but what about gaining more traditional allies then? Rather than people you have power over," Zanleya asked.

"So, people are split into three categories, in my mind at least. There are those who are weaker than you, they will readily ally with you as they have more to gain from such an arrangement, but there will be little advantage in such an alliance for you. There are those who are more powerful than you, who are unlikely to ally with you unless you can offer them something of worth in return. Then there are those who are your peers, the people who are more likely to help you in return for a favour in turn. In your position it's this third group you want to seek supporters from. New recruits to the Academy will be of no use to you and you're still too inexperienced for Lords and Darths to be interested in your offers, so your peers are your best bet," Gethen said. Zanleya nodded in agreement, then paused.

"Wait, then why are you helping me? What is it you think I can offer?"

"Very astute," Gethen said with a smile. "I was wondering when you would ask. Would you believe me if I said I'm helping you because I'm interested and quite like you?" Zanleya hesitated, not sure what the right answer to give was. She did not want to offend her host, but also did not wish to lie to her. Gethen laughed mischievously at Zanleya's awkward pause.

"From your expression I know what the answer is. I do genuinely like you, you have a fierce determination and an open and inquisitive mind, but you're right, I also believe you can offer me something. Which is why I had been meaning to write to you," Gethen said.

"You didn't forget to contact me though, did you?" Zanleya stated, from what she had learnt so far this evening she doubted Gethen would merely have been too busy to message her.

"Right again, I was actually waiting to see how this situation with Jensine played out, but you got in contact with me first, so it would've been silly not to respond," Gethen answered. Zanleya simply nodded, not surprised by the answer this time or by the fact that she had already known about Jensine.

"So, what is it you think I can help you with?" Zanleya inquired.

"What do you know of The Inquisition?" Gethen asked, leaning forward with a gleam in her eyes.

"Well not much yet, Overseer Ragate has only been…"

"No no, not Sith inquisitors, The Inquisition," Gethen interrupted, emphasising the word 'the'.

"I don't know what you mean," Zanleya said, slightly bemused.

"Not to worry let me fill you in. The Inquisition is an organisation led by my master, Darth Erebus, and created in partnership with the Dark Council. It's an elite group of Sith, fifteen of us in total, the Grand Inquisitor Erebus, the Grand Executioner Metitirice, myself and then twelve other Inquisitors. Our primary job is to act as a secret arm of the Dark Council. We deal with rogue Sith, ensuring that errant individuals don't turn against the Empire or harm the war effort. Of course power squabbles and the odd murder are fine, that is after all how we ensure only the strong survive, but we prevent Sith from trying to carve out their own empires or get ideas too far above their station. When not doing that we act as an elite force to cripple Republic supply lines, shatter battle formations or break enemy resistance," Gethen explained. Zanleya had certainly heard Erebus' name mentioned, but had not realised quite how close to the Dark Council he was.

"The organisation is still in its infancy, but so far we've achieved excellent results. However, my master is now keen to not just be dealing with problematic Sith when they arise, but to be actively hunting them out before they become an issue to the Empire. He says it's not enough to simply react, we need to pre-empt them. So that's where you come in. As I have further study to carry out on Korriban, I have been assigned to this world to keep tabs on upcoming Acolytes and young Sith. There is one such individual who has caught my attention, somebody I feel I should investigate."

"And she's in my group of acolytes," Zanleya guessed, having already figured out where Gethen's line of logic was going and who it was likely to be.

"Precisely and I bet you know who I mean.

"Änastasiä."

"Indeed, I don't know enough about her, except that she has a strong predisposition toward violence and a tendency to be unpredictable, not to mention the fact she has already killed an overseer," Gethen said. "So, I will help you and in return I want you to spy on Änastasiä for me," Gethen said. There was a hard look in her eyes as her scheme started to play out. Zanleya drew in a breath and leant back. She had only narrowly survived her last encounter with Änastasiä and certainly did not want to antagonise her further.

"Änastasiä is dangerous, I have enough enemies already," Zanleya said hesitantly, not wishing to displease or outright refuse Gethen, especially as she had already helped her.

"I'm not asking you to fight her; I simply want you to learn more about her. That way I can better assess the situation and work out if The Inquisition should be worried about her or not," Gethen reasoned.

"She'll know what I'm doing, her force perception is… impressive," Zanleya said. "And if she finds out, she'll try to kill me, I mean, it's not like she needs an excuse for violence anyway, I don't want to provoke her."

"Then you'll have to be sly about it, I hear from Ragate you're showing quite some proficiency at force shrouding," Gethen said. Zanleya smiled at the compliment, but it did not overcome the apprehension she felt at the prospect of spying on Änastasiä.

"Hmm, so what do you want me to find out? Her history, her desires, plans? That sort of thing?"

"Yes, I just want to know more about her so I can better predict if she's going to cause us trouble or not," Gethen replied.

"Okay…" Zanleya assented. "But if I'm to do this I want something more in return." She spotted the corner of Gethen's lips twist up and the Lady gave a little laugh.

"You're a fast learner I'll give you that. Go on, make your hard bargain."

"You're an expert at force lightning aren't you?" Zanleya said.

"Well, yes, I would say I am pretty proficient at it."

"Will you teach me? I feel I'm nearly there, I desire that power, I want to be able to wield lightning like Ragate," Zanleya said wistfully. "Maybe one evening a week?"

"Yes, that I can do. It will give me chance to practice as well and you can update me on your findings at the same time," Gethen agreed. Zanleya smiled, her eyes now alight, the anticipation of mastering force lightning making her skin tingle with excitement. Spying on Änastasiä would be no mean feat, but it would be worth it. Besides, she reasoned, if she could continue to build a good rapport with Gethen and this Inquisition it would certainly help her in the future.

"Thank you," Zanleya said, remembering her manners now that the bargaining and scheming was finished.

"I think this partnership will be most beneficial for both of us," Gethen said with a smile. "Anyway, that's enough serious matters for one evening. We all need time to relax as well," she announced, pouring herself another drink.

Zanleya would have hated to admit it, but she had enjoyed the evening thus far. The outcome had certainly been positive, that was what really mattered to her. She had some ideas of where to start her quest for a powerbase. Plus it felt like she had made some progress and taken the first step toward bringing about Jensine's downfall. All the same she was not going to turn down the opportunity to simply relax further with Gethen, she was an interesting character. And, after all, an awful lot could be learnt about somebody over a golden teardrop.