Kamino

[Tiana Calthye]

((*is angered* I just lost my full post because Jedi.net eratically logged me out.))

 

It could have been a million years before Tiana finally stirred and opened her eyes. In fact, it was only a couple of days past, some time during the late afternoon had she been keeping an eye on the time flow. But there were no windows here, and at any rate...

 

When she opened her eyes, she blinked a few times, her eyes feeling sticky. Had the lights...

 

No.

 

That was right.

 

She felt heavy still, her limbs as if they were encased in dried blood and dark silk. Perhaps they were. But she was uncertain, and stirred to sit up and rub some of the dried silt from her face. Tethyn had returned. Or Oblivion, as he seemed more like now--though she was far too blurry to think in proper metaphors and only sought to orient herself.

 

He smelt of sweat and wounds. Of darkness still.

 

"What have you done, love..." she murmured to herself. He had done something. But her muddy senses could not pick the fragments up, similar to their inability to fragment together her memory some time before. After a while, she drew in a breath and sighed. She would see later, she supposed, if it was necessary for her to know.

 

Leave him to rest. He needs it as much as you.

 

Feeling the ground beneath herself with bare feet, she began a quiet attempt to orient herself without sight. The walls and doors firstmost, and then slowly the rest of the room.

[Oblivion]

During the night, deep within the farthest recesses of his mind, the link to the abyssal spirits became connected. There was no room for control, only the purest will of the shadow which forbade only those who knew of its origins to be commanded. An energy source like none other, the same source which amplified his normal reaches within the dark side's path to be increased phenomenally at great cost. Souls which had been reaped were offered as sacrificed, as well as future promises to delve into the pool of collected wisdom from many thousands of years. Even someone like him was only offered a droplet in exchange for what limitations his mortal body and mind had to offer.

 

Once awakened many hours later, a latent act of vampirism had collectively drew in the source of flesh through the heightened sense of the force, finding himself more then usual. Body completly envigorated, aware completly of his surrondings, he felt a sensation much like when he first knew of the dark side. Young, vibrant, it was so new to him then, so alive. Now, for the first time, in a long time, it felt much like that moment.

 

Bringing both legs over the edge of the bed, still fully clothed in his scarred outfit, he felt Tiana's movement nearby. Usually, someone of his capabilities could sense where and when one moved at a distance. Now, it felt that he could hone in on any particular spot, regardless of its relative reach away from his own, and present himself to enter that foreign realm through the nearby shadows. A shapeshifting portal opened up at the mouth of the doorway where the darkness was deepest, entering out the slender silver locked man.

 

"How do you feel?..." His voice was longing, yet distant. There was a gentle calm about his aura, one that was far more inviting then per usual, yet still confusing. Eyes wandering around the room, the man felt slightly lost or puzzled, yet would constantly revert to concentrate on her face, even smile once or twice.

[Tiana Calthye]

Though she could not see the flickering expressions that crossed his face occasionally, she could sense the erratic sensations he permitted past an ordinarily silent fascade. As it was, he was alert while still appearing to be far more distractable than normal. Something had altered, perhaps in both of them...

 

She cast her obsidian eyes back in his direction, a flicker of old training coming into play to locate where her eyes needed direct. And there was the figure, a darker point in a swimming sea of sightless images””she focused on him. They held each other's attentions.

 

A hint of a smile quirked across Tiana's face. "Physically... a bit drowsy, weighted and generally undergoing the ordinary transfer from sleep to alertness... though lacking a certain degree of light to keep myself in such a state. You would hardly realize how much you could grow to rely on such subtle things as a change in lighting to indicate morning until those cues are taken away. Emotionally? A bit flustered... absently bemused, even. Mentally? Perhaps a tad submerged. Much has taken place over the last..." Her mouth pursed into a brief, narrow line. "Fourty-eight hours, I believe, give or take." Her eyebrows rose slightly. "If you'll pardon me for being remotely sentimental, you feel far closer than before. And you?"

 

But there was a smile to back up her words hidden in the crevases about her mouth, teasing the dark rings about her eyes.

 

Strange, she thought absently. I always heard that the dark side caused amber and red eyes...

 

...Goes to say just how much the Jedi know about the Sith...

[Oblivion]

"Good," He mentioned very casually, intrigued as to why she would have to ask him the same in turn. Very rarely were his emotions inqueried; only knowledge and wisdom tied him to the reigns of dominance over those who sought his consule.

 

"Discern and hope. Yes, I believe best describes how I feel. What troubles me is that I have not been advised by our great Dark Lord on recent events in quite some time. I could care less about the Empire's endeavors, for I still feel our mutual dependence is for self-gain in the end. Military and modern civilization are things of the past, anyways. Or, should I say, will be."

 

A decitant broad smile slipped through the folds of his mouth after such depressing information was adressed, "But there is hope. Hope in myself and the will of the Krath. There is an entire planet being set in our name, devoted to our cause, and shall be nearing completion shortly. This time, more then ever, must I take the orders from tomes of olde to account. It is stated to begin with the betrayers, the ignorant, then the wise."

 

"Causes far greater then yourself offer empowerment, my dear. I know few can see the galaxy as I see, but believe me, it is for the better. Allowed enough time and effort, the scriptures will hold their anicent promises of a better life for all Sith and to all people. The Age of the Twilight will come and in darkness, all will be defined, purified, and reborn in the shadow's likeness; the perfect mold which life was intended to be led."

 

Lowering his focus, the man breathed deep before resuming, "Being blind is a divine trait. Did you know it was preferred in a bizarre intellectual twist?... You see, it is as the metaphor best describes 'When men are blind, man can truly see.' You can learn much about yourself in such a state. Come, take my hand and walk with me..."

 

Gracely lowering his arm to match her length, his slender digits formed around her left palm, grasping it so and folded them around her own fingers. A soft, envigorating sensation flowed from the man's touch, resembling a kindling fire that could be seen as familiar to her now; a trait he used in the Force in the beginning during their first days of encountering one another.

[Tiana Calthye]

"Ah, but a shadow could never exist without light..." Tiana smiled slightly, falling easily into step beside him with the aid of physical touch. "And so for such I would have to agree with you, that the shadows are indeed a perfect mold for life: a shadow is a fragment of darkness caused only by something standing in the way of light. Where it is all darkness, there are no shadows. Where it is all light, all it takes is a single object to misplace that purity...

 

"But then, it would be near hipocricsy for me to slip into a full reliance on the dark side, as you do. Though one much wonder, how many of those who hold to a gray outlook fall in the end. If such a fall is as evil as Jedi would make it out to be." She allowed herself to be silent for a while, taking in the true blankness in having neither sight nor the need to speak out. In a sense, she appreciated it, being imprisioned in a state she herself had easily allowed. It left her no cracks for anything but her own mentality to leak through.

 

She felt ever so slightly chilled and fell closer in step with Oblivon. The fact that her bare feet crossed the stone thresholds and floor left a connection to that icy nature that gradually wound its way up her spine.

 

But she felt freer this way.

 

How much had changed since they had first encountered each other. When she had been a confused Jedi... she could have been Knighted, she supposed, simply due to an ability to observe and learn. The teachings were crisp in her mind now, and though her only true teacher had been a kindred spirit slipping away into the emotional passion leading into depths and oceans, they remained. She applied the meditive theories to her steps, matching her movements to her seeing companion's.

 

How much had changed, indeed. It had been a simplistic twist of fate that had led her here, and one she could nearly blame the Jedi for. After all, they had sent the Padawan off to a planet in the midst of a war. A girl who didn't know much about flight techniques, who had so easily been shot down...

 

...and the ship had gotten in her way as she spiraled into oblivion...

 

Or perhaps more accurately, Oblivion's waiting arms. She was no slave girl now. She tightened her hold ever so slightly on his slender fingers.

 

"Isn't it funny?" she mused aloud. "I could scarcely call the events that left us here coincidence now."

[Oblivion]

"The fact that one single event continues to persist through numerous accounts does not make it definite in the least. Light and dark are mere symbols for the forces at work to be defined as, but not entirely so. Light can be misused, purity lost, just as the darkness can be used for an ultimate good. You must realize that, as cold and malice as some of my plans are, the end result can be something seen as great good."

 

A reverent yet sly smirk appeared upon his facial features, allowing her to press her weight against his hand for support as they continued to walk in stride, "So then, just as much, light and dark can in theory coexist in this twilight. Time and age would cease and we would carry on freely; the land of no dominion when all matter can be reconstructed to fit all civilization, not just the rich or knowledgeable. Isolationism and imperialism will have no bounds in an entirely free world populated by intelligent beings."

 

A small sigh escaped his lips, cornering around the long bend that ended up opening into a large spiraling staircase. He admired the looks of them, ordering numerous to be built that emptied and built up to his chambers; some ending in dead ends at times. Without proper guidance or keen awareness, one could easily lose their way in the dark narrow hallways.

 

"Tell me, your attitude seems different then the first we met. I sense... someone of the past that worries you so, to some level. Tell me, who is this man? Why are you so concerned for him?" His opposite hand graced her opposite shoulder, the side of his palm cupping around the nape of her neck, "...And why am I not involved in your thoughts as he?"

[Tiana Calthye]

A lilt of an expression brushed her features aside for a moment. "Ah, you sensed that. Tell me, why need you be involved in my thoughts when you're already involved with my heart." She reached up to habitatually brush a strand of hair from her eyes, though it did nothing more than tickle her face ever so slightly.

 

She released a pent up breath though, and allowed herself to stop and hold him up a moment. "As for the other..." Tiana reached out to find Oblivion's mind with her own to throw the mental image of a memory into place. "My old Master. He has been on my thoughts a lot lately... it's troublesome. I believe he lives, somewhere. I simply do not have the skill to find him, find out why I think about him."

 

After all, she had barely the skill to keep her footsteps certain in what was becoming a very vivid dark. Her own mentality could find the walls and twist through them like a bat, whistling a high pitch to bounce off and carry on.

 

He had a confusing layout of rooms.

 

It was far more facinating to navigate them blinded.

 

She reached up to find his face in the dark, absently tracing his features back into memory. "Worry not, you'll never leave my thoughts until I leave yours."

[Oblivion]

Never dwelling on the subject of her past, it was intriguing to know of this information at long last. It is true that she became more then a slave girl to him, assuming responsibility for the actions that led to her capture and ultimately proven to be a worthy companion, even when contradictory to his own beliefs. She was resiliant, outspoken, and unlike any other woman he had known, as well as the only one who could put up with him for more then an hour or so.

 

"We will monitor this feeling at the very least... It would be adequate to prepare for such an encounter if you feel it is to be. I know I have neglected from teaching you anything more advanced then what I had told all my other pupils. If you wish it, I will share my knowledge more intimately so that you may be fit when the time arises, regardless of the circumstances."

 

As he spoke, his mouth drew closer and closer to her ear, spouting soft whispers that barely be overheard. At last, the feverous intent that had built up could not be relinquished any further. A tight arm wrapped across her lower back, locking hips in place with one another. The strong, yet gentle black aura that could be sensed earlier took visual form, blending from his body and surronding hers.

 

"...Is this what you desire?"

[Tiana Calthye]

"Maybe," she murmured, wrapping her arms around him to keep him there. It was true. Something had changed since before. Neither of them should have been together, but somehow they had slipped, stayed that way.

 

Maybe desires were a worthwhile emotion to persue.

 

She couldn't see the aura, but she could sense it encompassing her, holding her in place with more than simple physical values. They should never have been this intimate. They should never have to stay there, locked into each other's grasp...

 

She drew in a breath.

 

Maybe no words were needed. And maybe...

 

"You know I'll accept you as an instructor... you know me by this point... you know I'll never fall, that I'll always be gray if I stay this way... but you know I'll learn...

 

"...and you know I've learned... you know what, dearest, I think you want me too... maybe just because I'm different...

 

"You know my desires mirror yours now." She pulled herself against him, so that her own aura seemed to envelope his, drawing from his presence for strength. His feelings, her feelings... they shouldn't have been this way. Blind, there was nothing she could do besides trust that he meant her well. Yet by allowing her even his presence to this degree, there must have been some trust on his end, ultimately winding them together, whether as teacher and student or lovers of a strange sort.

 

"This is what I want. I believe I chose to be this way. Teach me, desire me... your call."

[Oblivion]

He leaned in as to speak one last phrase, declaring with great tone yet still soft enough to be heard as a mere whisper, "Why not have both, I say..."

 

With that, the man slowly began to withdraw, relinquishing the aura that had been presented and raised himself back to stand high once again before her. "If it weren't for the urgency I sense within this situation, I would have you here and now. But, as it is, we must make haste with your teachings... The others may have a harder time recovering from the ordeal so my time is fully yours."

 

Each hand clinging onto one another in front of his brow, tension built then soothed before he was able to compose himself, lying back within the subtle darkness which kept him sane.

 

"Hmm, well, your eye sight may be a weakness that may be exploited. That must first be mastered, as well finding ways to conquer those without your weakness. As you see the world, you may hold both the light and the darkness at your disposal as your technique. The condeming blackness you now view shall overcome those not blind with a brillant light that distracts and disarms opponents, leaving you time to strike without hesitation."

 

Holding an arm to her shoulder, he leaned as a way to support her body as they walked once more down a narrow corridor, "Inside my lab, I may have the ingredients necessary to compile such a device. In the meantime, I want you to further attune yourself with the surronding shadow. Let your knowledge of the Force lead you to its depths and be able to overcome it in order to overcome your own disabilites."

 

The metallic limbs that kept him balanced in stride at all times barely made any noise at all, concealed by his slacks and dark attire most the time. He smiled in amusement upon dwelling on the nature of this very subject, finding it all too familiar with his previous predicament when both legs were lost upon that dreadful planet of Nhagathul.

 

Once inside the scientific chambers of the facility, he parted with her to start on developing such a contraption that would release intense light in order to blind victims into submission. Frigg buds harvested from the bottom of Kamino's lush sea had enough energy to fuel an entire household for three days, resiliant plants that took in the nutrients that flushed down into the darkness, attracting lesser inverberates with a bright light that is still rumored to be bright enough to sparkle at the surface, thousands of leagues underneath the great city. He began his laborous task of setting them in proper sealed environments to grow, grinding material into dirt, then mixing it with a few other chemicals to keep the longevity of the substance controlled...

[Tiana Calthye]

It was a strange prediciment to be in. There lay her true weakness, a lesser knowledge than so many others of the Force. But with faith... ah... but faith.

 

Once he had gone, she knelt alone, crossing her legs up back into what was once a very familiar posture. It was already dark, but she closed her eyes nonetheless, clasping her hands in her lap.

 

You don't know very much, do you.

 

You might know the shadows, but you don't know light, you don't know dark. You might have accepted allegience to the Sith now, but there's still a bit of a Jedi in you. You sit in meditation and think...

 

...peacefully.

 

Or perhaps not.

 

She exhaled in silence, digging her fingernails into her skin.

 

Focus.

 

You know very well that you can meditate. You're already trapped in darkness, it's not as if there's anything left to distract you. It's nearly silent here as it is.

 

Of course, it was not utter silence. There was a bit of a creeping noise occasionally, things that slipped past walls and suggested there might have been more about than simply herself.

 

Actually...

 

...You know there are flaws in the Jedi code...

 

You know the only reason you cannot focus now is because you are thinking too much.

 

She blew a strand of hair from her eyes and shunted the line of thoughts elsewhere, into infinity, and drew in a deep breath. There were things left to draw strength from. But rather than strength, she sought attunement. Something she had not learned...

 

...since...

 

There.

 

Back when she had learned to levitate liquids... so long ago now... but the edgy sense of Leo's return brought back old lessons. Should've realized then, sought utter command rather than logic...

 

No. Shh.

 

She reached out into the threads of the Force and braided them together for herself. And then she had that rope that led into the depths, and kept an eye on it as she let her consciousness slip deeper in. Another side...

 

...Another method...

 

Her breath slipped. She felt her attunement waver for a moment.

 

It was like swimming.

 

But I don't want to swim. I'm tired of wading.

 

She threw herself in, clutching the mental lifeline, and let herself sense the entirety of her surroundings. There were walls, floors, the roof, and encasing them, the sea. Life. Teeming with life. There was...

 

...so...

 

Tiana's eyes flew open, and the fact that nothing came to greet her left her breatheless, almost horrified. There was nothing left to service as a distraction from the Force.

 

...much.

 

She felt her own heartbeat quicken. When she reclosed her lids, slipping back into the calm trance-like state of shadow's nature, this time she took care not to try push quite so far. Her mind wasn't ready to handle everything yet. After all, she was only human.

[Oblivion]

The final phases were nearing completion, the successful harvest and extraction of the potent seedlings went flawlessly. While it was a process he had not treated in quite a while, it was no less a procedure that commenced without fail under the guided hands of the master wielding such materials. A true scientist at heart, the feeling of completing an original design was no more thrilling then the next; each qually as compelling.

 

Kept from her, the man crept with his creation towards where she had praticed on learning balance while blind, opening a small valve in the cylindrical module that released a concentrated beam of light to strike across the surface, brillant enough to detect by any one person's perspective.

 

"Interesting how now you balance holding onto the Force for direction and guidance... Somewhere, right now, a young girl is doing the same..."

[Tiana Calthye]

"And you watch her?" she almost immediately replied, shifting her position and opening her eyes. A futile gesture, but one of an old habit. "Someone close? A daughter? No, perhaps not..."

 

Time had passed. Tiana was uncertain as to how much, as she had not been metering it. But enough, she suspected--long enough that he had completed something. She could sense that much; a facination with a job well done, as he always seemed to be when working on a project. Each and every one different, a new challenge, a new focus.

 

She smiled briefly. "So, what have you made?"

[Oblivion]

Without dwelling on the previous subject, Oblivion's arms raised high the contraption which bore the light. A strange fancy became of him, holding it up as a token of reverent which was to be humbly bestowed upon a new vessel for its ownership. The tips of those long pale fingers grasped tenderly across the smooth metal plate that felt of nothing, weighed nothing. A slender hook kept its balance upon his ring finger, the clever device dangling more as a charm then of a weapon.

 

"This... is a gift. To show and to keep part of my knowledge and ability with you. Whenever you encounter the darkness, it shall be as rough as your attitude towards it. The smallest tinge of adjustment... and,"

 

His voice trailed off, pressing the face of the slender locket against his palm before the fullest potential of the gift was shown. The sheer brillance of a hot, engulfing white light surged from its core, shinning out and illuminating every object in the intense thick glare.

 

Even he, whose eyes could naturally see, needed to take precautions in the demonstration. Pieces of his already malleable armor formed around his eyelids, offering temporary protection from the rays before the locket clasped shut again, darkness restored to the room.

 

"Instant distraction. Any man will be rendered blind without the proper equipment to block the rays. As one with the Force naturally does not rely so much on their eyes, any human being who has sight does not wish to see it pried from them unwantedly. It is unnatural and will you give you the proper window of oppertunity to unleash a killing blow while your enemy is disarmed."

 

The metal which anchored on the top of locklet freely expanded, thinning and thickening to the faintest touch. His hands stretched the material so that it fit across her neck, the perfect disguise to a perfect weapon. His hands so lingered upon her shoulders, slowly extracting with a tasteful smirk.

 

"Keep it with you, always. Use it only when it is necessary for it can not be used twice within the hour. The budded core is rumored to be eternal in the wavering waters of the sea, but the procedure to enhance those former surrondings are limited by what effects could be enhanced by alchemy. As such, I want this weapon also to be secretive and coveted as our love... so that you may now harness both the light and darkness as your ally."

[Tiana Calthye]

The effect was easily sensed by one now forged into darkness. It was blinding even without being able to see, the impression there for a moment invisibly as it faded away.

 

She smiled almost vampirically for a mere moment, reaching out to touch his hand. "A weapon... no. It's a gift. You've given me back the light, after all."

 

Tiana didn't need eyes to catch his emotions, the flicker of expressions across his face. After all, he was close to her and it was only natural that she should be able to feel those moments where his face altered in tone, his eyebrows twitching or his mouth quirking into a bit of a smirk. She recognized a bit of tasteful amusement in the situation, taking a bit of a moment to consider.

 

She reached up to adjust the locket with a bit of a smile. It was a cute weapon--a weapon in an ultimate form, something no one would suspect. Something tiny and innocent.

 

A masterpiece.

 

"Thank you." She hugged him, reaching out a moment before to make certain there were no flesh-eating creatures secreted in his pockets before taking the motion. One couldn't be too certain with alchemists, after all. "I shall take good care of it."

[Oblivion]

"Good..."

 

After the exchange was met, something peculiar came over him. Fatigue weighed down upon his body, the metallic limbs his upper torso rested upon shifting back to handle the change in pressure. A hand grasped her shoulder for support, easing back as the callibrations in his leg network adjusted, jawing back slowly in a steady motion before he remained completly upright once more.

 

"...Heh, remember this... Even with wisdom and knowledge, it's easy to get carried away once in a while. My communications afar through the dark tendrils have left me... shall I say,... more vulnerable to the physical elements. I should have known better,"

 

Fortunate for the design, Tethyn had kept the lab quarters closeby to the outerlaying stations, soon finding a comfortable lounge to ease himself upon and reclining back against the padded mesh.

 

"Aaah, well, this isn't good. I feel numb from the chest down... My body now rejects me... I feel even older then that miserable teacher of mine..."

 

Tension filled his eyes as the shadows began to gather inwards, gradually granting himself relief from whatever sources had turned upon his body all the sudden. Beads of sweat forme as the long strands of silken grey hair fell past his shoulders, displayed dangling across the head of the chair he now rested upon.

 

"...It's him, then, isn't it? It's always been... More then just the code, he has been the scourge that becomes toxic within my blood. Once a noble Sith warrior, he now shuns the darkness entirely, taking a path I can never see possible... yet... Have I changed so much since then?... Am I truly this evil he sees me for now?... Has... he... forgotten about me?"

 

The questions went without direction to whom, though it could be thought he was speaking to both an imaginary figure and Tiana alike. Those empty eyes which reflected little light drew the faintest of it in, a single hand reaching up slowly as if to touch something well beyond his reach.

[Tiana Calthye]

Rhetorics.

 

But Tiana was blind and didn't fancy being left in the hallway alone, so she followed after Oblivion--Tethyn--to where he finally managed to sit in a moment's respite from the efforts of force and study. After all, he was still only human, even if far changed from one.

 

If such a being could be called human...

 

...he still had the remaints of a body.

 

And still could be thought of as such, as there was no real term for one like that.

 

Clinging to remaints of the past...

 

...Doesn't everyone, in the end?

 

She finally sank into one of the chairs, having stood still on her feet for a lengthy moment of time. After a while, she brought herself to speak, glancing over to where he would have been, had her eyes been opened to mortal vision. "Who is he? Your teacher?"

[Oblivion]

"A teacher, yes... He is my father, or should have been," The conformative armor that layered across his flesh, light and inevasive as it was, felt hindering as heat began to swell inside him. At the pure thought of the motion, it became undone and unraveled out from his sleeves and ankles, pooling into the organic matter which had created it. A breath of air now fully escaped his lungs, fingers franticly stripping the buttons away across his chest.

 

"...I can't help but feel for him so. Even now, after all we've been through, I still think about him the most... But why?" The ends of his hands pried deep into the softened material that comprised the very lounge he laid upon. Stress enduced markings formed, veins predominantly showing as an extreme pressure began to exert from his fingertips.

 

"I am now in command!... I have what I have searched all my life for. Every article known of the Sith, studied our history, our lineage as far as it has passed; the ancient art of alchemy, controlling the elements, and learning what it truly means to become one with the darkness... knowing how far the abyss runs through... everything! My words have influenced my own students, masses; I have changed history through my own power and will!"

 

His eyes began to roll back as silence overcame him, breathing becoming less eradict, more controlled. Finally, Tethyn spoke in his usual smooth tone that was not filled with an once of rage, "...Yet, I know he possess more... He may be weak now in body, but the spirit which guides him now proves that merely by its existance that the ancient teachings have much to learn. This--this middle ground, so to speak. Not grey, not black, not light... It is purely unique... I'm sorry that I can not explain further. I may never be capable of."

 

"That is why I must see him, put an end to what I should have long ago. Only then will I be free from my past to look to a new future; a future with you..."

 

Tethyn slowly began to sit upright, eyes showing a former luster that had been never shown before. In this light, he was human. Not as a Sith, not as a master, not as anything higher then her; purely himself. His hands sought hers, bringing himself closer as he bent over at the edge of the furniture now.

 

"...When our past is sorted out, promise me that your future lies with mine. I do not want to lose you... As far as I commit myself to the darkness, I know somehow that you are what guides me back... Not a figure of light, but the perfect equal in its opposites."

 

He turned his head away slowly, relinquishing his arms to be folded behind the furniture in a very relaxed and open posture, "I must be rambling on again now... I still find it hard how you put up with me. Perhaps it would have been better if you were deaf then blind."

[Dash Antilles]

Instead of traveling into the darkest reaches of space he would travel into the darkest reaches of his history, and the coldest regions of his soul. Among the stormy seas of Kamino he would either find vindication, or he would fend vengeance.

 

The flit exited hyperspace in a flash of pale light, and Dash quickly initiated a tight orbit.

 

Dash was not familiar with the planet of Kamino, he was only drawn here by the presence of an old adversary, someone he was very failure with.

 

As soon as the flit was within rage of the surface Dash began to transmit a message.

 

Tethyn, I seek an audience with you. Not as a Jedi, I assure you, I arrive on friendly terms.

 

There was no need for an introduction for surely the sith had sensed his approach.

[Tiana Calthye]

And after a moment she moved, standing still on the cold ground where she could see nothing but hear and feel everything. Obsidian stone beneath her feet, inky walls encasing her, though she knew that there was white walls and silver tones when she had been able to see.

 

She walked over to where Oblivion took his respite; it was only another step or two, sat down beside him, placing an arm around him after a while to rest her head against his shoulder. "My future lies with you," she acknowledged.

 

And after a while she sighed. "You have to confront him, then, if he holds you back. I comprehend what you mean, a figure of the borderlands. There is indeed such a place in the Force. I may be more of... neither... I comprehend what you mean when you speak of him as such...

 

"I put up with you the same way you put up with me..." Tiana shifted to sit straighter. "Come now, you can understand the theory: I don't want to lose you either, Tethyn. Confront him if that's what you must do. You can't cling to your past forever. After all, you couldn't have me, then."

 

He was on the edge of falling apart, she recognized. Slipping into humanity. So easily. Into emotions. Perhaps she was one of the few stablizers he had left, but she didn't know how to deal with this.

 

She blinked once to keep her face clear. "I don't mind you rambling on. It could help. Talking about something often brings one's mind to a logical turn of events... and you know I'll listen."

[Oblivion]

A smooth exhaust of lust flashed across his eyes as she lay beside him, adjusting his body slightly to accommodate her. In the vast pool of knowledge which collected within him, the presence of an insignificant flower petal, spiralling downwards to drop upon its surface, could create ripples to extend for miles. Having attuned his body to conform around weapons was one matter, what a far different pratice it was to conform around a woman. Although, despite this factor, he was at ease. Her comforting demeanor set him still, allowed his previous thoughts to linger as those ripples had before fading away entirely.

 

The top of his chest raised suddenly as the slightlest indication of changing weight opted himself to remove himself gently from her side, caressing the length of her hair shortly after doing so. He remained seated beside her on that same couch, lightly pressing his lips against her cheek, "I was right in having believed in you, was I not?"

 

Hands lightly pressed against the edge of the furniture to help propel him forward, back leaning up to stand upright and full once again. Arms raised slowly behind his head, releasing a wide yawn, before resting back in that same stoic pose that seemed fitting for the Sith Master; calm, yet essertive, completly in control once more.

 

"...We have a visitor. From what I can sense, it may very well be an old acquantiance of mine. It is entirely of your own accord if you would wish to join us. He must not know of these facilities yet, so I shall meet him upon the surface. I won't be long."

 

Fetching his hanging cloak and adorning the full ensemble upon his frame, the silver haired gentleman folded the long flowing locks behind his ears. As always, he walked in typical leisure stride, not wasting time but also not rushing with his affairs...

 

--

 

The imperial network still affixed to controlling the populace and concealing operations upon Kamino's surface had given Mister Antilles permission to land his vessel on the landing platform C-12, located east from his current standby position. Shortly afterwards, the foreign visitor was also issued to be met with an offical who would then escort him to the waiting chambers at one of the large military constructs outside the landing platforms. An experienced trooper, fully armed, waited outside in the constant downpour nearby where Dash was to land, arms folded across the sturdy handle of the E-11 carbine.

[Tiana Calthye]

The moment had seemed so desperately important, and then it was gone in but a flash. Tiana sighed and rose a while after--she suspected that it had indeed effected as much as she thought. But she didn't want to leave herself alone with her thoughts, but didn't entirely wish to join Tethyn on the surface just yet.

 

Or Oblivion.

 

It was, she reflected, as if they were two completely different figures conflicting in one body. She brushed a strand of her hair back behind her ears as she followed the chill floor. The house was a labrynth, but she knew the path as she had walked it not so long ago.

 

The cool threatened to wisp through her fine clothing, but she ignored it and it went away as the younger Sith made her way back to the main part of the house, where it would be brighter in feeling, where the darkness would smell different and where the floor would be ever so slightly warmer in texture as her bare feet touched it.

 

She wondered a moment where the other two apprentices were, what had happened to them while she slept in blissful eternity? They seemed to be about, as much as she was.

 

After a while, she found a chair and sat crosslegged in it, feeling about herself for what surrounded her.

 

Her fingers found various objects easily... the wall, the edges of the chair carved in fine wood or plastic (she wasn't certain which, it was smooth in the end), the table beside it.

 

She reached out with the sixth sense.

 

Light... and shadows contrasted to make up the area. After a while she sensed the shelves and smiled thinly. Books, of course--Oblivion seemed quite an acidemic when she had first met him. She remembered vaguely being under the orders to read.

 

How things had changed...

 

You can't read now, after all.

 

As if that were the only thing. She exhaled in interest. Was it possible to use the Force in such a manner? It seemed as if it could be possible, to use the Force to 'see' each page. It seemed a fitting challenge, as well--while Oblivion was busy with the person on the surface, his acquantince, she could attempt to further her knowledge, even with the mere trial and error.

[Dash Antilles]

Dash relayed the coordinates for landing platform C-12 directly into the flits nava-computer and relaxed as this ship took off in an eastward direction. Visibility was almost Zero as he flew through the dark cloud of ceaseless rain.

 

Dash's thought mirrored the weather in that they were a turbulent swirling pool of un-joyous expression, memories, logic, convictions. Of all his thoughts, the convictions where the hardest to deal with. In coming to Kamino he was going against everything he had believed, his very since of reality was shaken. Dash was about to cross a threshold that that could never be undone.

 

”œDestination in one minute, prepare landing sequence.”

[Oblivion]

"...In all my years,"

 

A quieted voice cut through the air as the familiar sound of the automatic doors opening commenced, entering in the figure of the host at hand. Unlike his guest, he remained impervious of the rain from dampening his cloak in any way, almost gliding into the room by some other means then his legs alone.

 

"Never had I thought to see you again; not now, atleast," The man's face was shrouded by the veil of shadow which proceeded past his face, cut off by the chin where only the faintest of light shown through. Each careful, marauding step forward kept his temporary fascade intact until he, himself, rested upon the seat opposite of Dash's own, removing the hood as he did so.

 

There, at last, the face of the past was shown again. The former fiery adolescent had been transformed to a far older, far more complacent looking man with distinguished features. Both eyes were still lifeless pools of emotion, deep circles imprinted around them, yet his face was smooth, eliminating the common visual of age. Thin strands of silver patterened hair fell down past his shoulders, parted evenly side to side in formal fashion. In his chair, he examined this other being before him some more before leaning far back in his chair, arms now crossed against his wide chest.

 

"You seem troubled by something,... but it is not me. Curious..."

 

As he spoke, a droid brought in two steaming cups of ground tea. A large kettle was placed in the center piece and displayed out between the two. Tethyn, in his good nature, offered the opposing cup to his guest before himself, grasping for his own the second and last. He drank but a taste before setting the goblet back down with a more concerned expression upon his pale facial features.

 

"...You also know what I am capable of, don't you?... I'm sure a man as keen as yourself can sense it by now... especially when a man senses the nature of the darkness for the first time... of pain and suffering, atleast. He can see everything in its true light, the way it was meant to be seen all along..."

[Dash Antilles]

”œ”¦In all my years”

[Oblivion]

"Do you know why I exist? Hmm?..."

 

He held the cup upon the tips of his fingers, examining it from the bottom, posed near where his eye now upturned, "It is true of my power... I sought for it long and hard; many lives having been spent in my quest for knowledge. But that alone can kill a man, you see. It is as endless as time itself."

 

"What I'm about to tell you may come as a shock, but listen closely... The darkness holds the key to many things, but it is not for all... This pain you may experience now, how futile and fleeting it is. There is no denying it... You are confused, perhaps afraid, but you do not possess the necessary mindset to confront the abyss as so few others truly have before you."

 

With a heavy sigh, blown throughout the small fog the smoldering tea billowed out, the cold grey steel eyes returned back to meet his humble guest once again, still as if he was staring back into nothingness.

 

"Oblivion, the realm where all darkness leads... It is the strongest, most inner core one can achieve to attune in the dark side, yet it also disleading in its ways. In darkness, when blinded by all things you have known, taken away from everything that was once worthy, do you come to understand yourself in a better way... but also, begin to understand your own demise and the deaths of others."

 

"It is an astranged feeling, for sure... But you also must understand that I have been assumed command of its threshold for a reason. I must keep those destinys that can not bear its weight from entering, allow the confused and angered to toil with themselves only to die without knowing the truth of it all. The deeper understanding we all seek, we all hope for..."

 

"I am sorry," The final cusp of heated water was finished at the deepest crane of his neck folding back, relishing in the last drop before laying it peacefully down before him. "You are not meant to reside with the darkness. I can not help you achieve what it is you come to seek of me."

 

There was a pause, granted the gravity of his words, before speaking again more solemly, perhaps even with some emotion. "...I would not speak it if it was not the truth. Your brother, on the other hand... He has done well in my shadows... He has become a great man, powerful and wise... Through him may you begin to understand the other half, from the lies you have been treated with all your life to the truth. It is the truth you must come to terms not only through him, but through yourself..."

 

He folded his arms, lowered his eyes in respect before rising back to his feet once again...

 

"Although I may not provide you with what you wish, tell me... Do you still look upon me as an evil being?... for what I have done to you before?... for what I will continue to do?"

[Dash Antilles]

As Dash listened his mind wandered amid the twisted logic of Tethyn's speech. He didn't fully comprehend the meaning, he could not have been expected to grasp it when he had not experience darkness but for glimpses in time. When Oblivion rose to his feet Dash fallowed his eyes flowing across the pale face of his host.

 

”œNo Tethyn, I do not hate you. I pity you, if there a soul upon which blame should fall, it is mine; and for my actions I am truly sorry.”

[Oblivion]

Once more, there was a gap between their phrases that could not be ignored. Oblivion made no movement after the comments, resting in thought upon what was exchanged. Once and again, the tips of his fingers would pivot to rest upon one another, elbows arched against the table to better adjust himself to the environment. Otherwise, the man sat reposed for the longest while before speaking again, once more very solemnly as before...

 

"I can not allow you to leave without knowing who I truly am now... It is rather clear you do not, and your mind is still settled under the subtle notion from our previous encounters of what I am now. Let me assure you, Mr. Antilles, you are just a memory as well, made only recently real again... Our previous encounters mean nothing anymore. They were just as fruitless back then as quarreling here be now."

 

Rising back up again, the folds of his brow narrowed significantly, yet still attaining that somber presence about him. The darkness flowed from within him and exuded out, expelling a sensation that could not be ignored by his guest. The room's temperature began to sink, as did the lights which illuminated their meeting slowly start to fade into a desolate flicker of light, on the verge of being snuffed out by the void which now invaded the area entirely.

 

"You will receive your ship, as well as any other resources you may need from me... It is not every day I get to speak with others at this kind of... level. You must be rewarded, as any other human possession I have owned... As for your brother, I'm afraid I can not disclose such information. That is, of course, if you fully obeyed the Jedi order..."

 

A very wry smile appeared as he turned away from Dash, the room still beginning to get increasingly darker by each word spoken,

 

"Which, I believe, if they were to discover you yourself were withholding forbidden information from them as well -- information they claimed right to -- I would highly doubt they would take you back so easily... Hehehe..."

[Tiana Calthye]

Trial and error. After some time, she found that she could pick up fragements of what the text said, that it could be imprinted upon her mind in fuzzy patterns for moments. It was a challenge, but an interesting one, and after some time she found she could focus herself onto a single page, a single paragraph, and pull them out of the darkness.

 

Or perhaps, more rightly, into the darkness.

 

But after a while Tiana found her focus slipping. Rather than regaining it she shifted back to her feet to shake the slightly numb sensation from them and 'looked' around for Tethyn, who was evidently (after a couple moments focus) still upstairs.

 

She knew the route back up, even though she had never followed it on her own. Perhaps her fine-tuning had improved. Or perhaps she simply had a reasonable memory, or a combination.

 

In the end, it still brought her towards the elevator and the passage into the base above. She was curious as to what else Kamino had to offer, anyway.

 

As it was, she was curious as to who Oblivion's "aquantence" had been. Or was.

[Oblivion]

OOC: It has been over several days since Dash has responded. I received his permission outside of the RP to post in his absence since he is busy.

 

--

 

When the darkness overtook the small level of space that seperated the two men, a wry smile appeared on the pale face of the humble Sith Master, his back turned towards his guest. As primal the satisfaction was, receeding into memories past, there was no more empathy to be given. Respect could only be upheld for so long before the overwhelming desire to see this old acquantence casted aside took hold. Whilst the entire area was blanketed by shadow, Oblivion soaked deep the prowess which professed from his very core, breathing out slowly as one clear hand rose above the abyss; a hand which could be seen clearly as before.

 

"Your brother has fallen to me... The documents which have been procured shall be extracted and you will have no recollection of ever coming here, besides this..."

 

Upturning his palm, the rising ash which comprised of the darkened haze seemed to swell around his fingertips, coiling around them until a visible grey flame appeared flickering across them. Small and alluring at first, they grew wildly, pires forming out from outstretched digits, posed directly towards the chest of his once former enemy. As they met fiercly with his skin, the man would experience little to no pain. An akward calm would be felt, no immediate symptoms until a few passing words exchanged from Tethyn's mouth, lips curling back even further afterwards, changing this man's life forever...

 

"...Every sin shall be repaid in full. If you do not find one as equally gifted in alchemy as myself to counter this spell, your soul shall wither and cease to exist in thirty days; I reclaiming it as its rightful owner... Good luck,"

 

...With that, he strode just as patient and slow as he had entered towards the door, casting a warding glare back at the unconscious man as three troopers search his person, dragging him off to a seperate quarters on the surface where he would be accomodated before waking once again. When he did, all his demands would be awaiting his personal use in the hangar bay.

 

Sensing movement stirring from beneath the seas, Oblivion made way towards the lift where, upon her arrival to the surface, the man would be waiting on the other side, the torrent of rain casting down behind him the forbading foreground.

 

"It is done... Come with me back down to the loft. There is something I wish to show you now that I believe you are ready for... I can feel it in your spirit."

 

A certain element of arousal still feeded in his veins from the meeting, that wry smile still plastered across his face like an adolescent child. He enjoyed every last moment of the encounter and now, he would share his triumpath. In comedic effect, he barely let her feet touch the surface before thrusting himself against her, the doors of the lift shutting quickly behind him as his lips matched hers passionately...