Ziost - Crown of the Sith Empire

As she prepared the pot of tea, Lucinia frowned. It seemed that she was entertaining at Malveaux House more than she expected. Especially with Drascovina and company (for 'friends' seemed like far too strong a word) taking up residence in the guest wing. Perhaps she could add a few decorations, a few lights, perhaps a space heater...

Chuckling to herself, Lucinia shook her head. No, it added to the atmosphere of the place. Besides, did she actually want more visitors? Those who actually cared to visit her would brave the cold and the dark. And the ghosts.

Still smiling, she went to the front room, the better to hear a knock on the enormous ornate door.

It took a little bit of time for it to happen, but finally there was a knock. On the other side of the door, a beautiful Pureblood woman closed up her datapad. For once, she was definitely sure she found the right place.

The door would creak slowly open, with the black-clad and pale Lucinia behind it. She was not touching it; having spent enough time opening and shutting the heavy door, she now drew upon the Force to move it.

Lucinia smiled, her red lips curling up only slightly. "You must be Raela. It is a pleasure to finally meet you face to face." She stepped back, raising one arm to gracefully gesture inward. "Do come inside." Even though it was midday, the inside of Malveaux House appeared very dark indeed.

"You must be Lucinia... It's a pleasure to finally meet you, as well," she replied with a nod, stepping into the vast home, looking around with a small smile. "It's like a little taste of home, really."

It was indeed vast; the entrance and the parlour separated only by a large arch, a barrier more of imagination than anything else. It gave it a bit of a dark, cavernous air.

Again, Lucinia smiled, just a little. "I'm glad you think so. Indeed, it is designed to be quite nearly a duplicate of the Malveaux estate back on Dromund Kaas."

She lead the way over to the fireplace, an arrangement of antique padded chairs around it. "I've selected a tea for us. Correlian, if you can believe it."

"I believe it, and continue to be impressed at what one can get ahold when you're not out on the fringes," she replied, tilting her head to the side. "My citadel is a good place for work, but the amenities are limited." Her heel-toe clicks echoed in the cavernous entryway.

"Indeed." Lucinia poured tea into two fine china cups, offering Raela her the choice of either. "And it seems peace with the Republic has afforded certain opportunities." Her eyes glinted. "For now."

She took a slow sip of her tea. "Ah yes, your citadel. I have read about it in our correspondence of course, but I would enjoy hearing about it in person."

She looked around as she accepted one of the cups, taking a sip. "It was as dark as this, but that's as much the dull star the planet orbits as anything. Much more simple - Acklys wasn't much for ostentation, and I haven't had a chance to make it my own with so much work."

"Mmm." Lucinia smiled. "And what have you been up to lately? As far as work, that is." She took a sip of her tea. "I hope you don't mind me moving to shop talk so soon, but, well, I don't care to disguise my interest."

"I know how it is with you," she replied with amusement. "Working on a large-scale statistical analysis at the moment for the inheritance of Force sensitivity. Lots of graphs, but useful information for the Empire in the long run."

"Oh really?" Lucinia's raised eyebrows could easily be seen over her cup as she took a slow, careful sip of tea. With the same care, she lowered her cup, holding it properly in hand. "Do you have any initial findings?"

"What you'd expect for right now - families with a bunch of Force sensitives in them tend to produce more Force sensitives relatively consistently, but it's not 100% by any stretch of the imagination, and they crop up in the general population with fair regularity. I suspect our current understanding may be slightly faulty, but I need to do more research, and figure out how to put level of power into quantifiable numbers."

"How interesting." Lucinia said, smiling narrowly; for her, that was a fairly normal sort of smile. "Anecdotally, that seems to be the case. The Malveaux family produces a large number of Force sensitives; why, all three of the children of my generation are Force sensitive."

Another sip of her tea. "Is it similar in your family?"

"Yes... I'm just questioning the reason more than the conclusion," she replied after a sip of her own. "It's just results I actually have to confirm and to what degree before I can start asking the real questions about it."

"I see. How fascinating." Idly, she traced a finger around the rim of her teacup. "I wonder what else that might lead to. What research or applications might come from that." She looked at Raela with a smile, one thin eyebrow going up.

"I think so, but we'll see if anyone's willing to accept the results," she said, waving a hand with a sigh. "People are foolish and will believe whatever is convenient for them or they think bolsters their position."

Lucinia sighed. "All too true."

After a moment, though, her red lips quirked. "Although, there is no denying the power that control of information gives you over another. When all that someone knows of something is through you, you can shape them to your will." She laughed softly. "Not that I often use knowledge in such a way. Nevertheless..." She spread one hand.

"You also make them less useful," she replied, shaking her head. "Or more prone to making slip ups based on incomplete information. That method isn't one I favor, even if it's sometimes necessary."

"Hmmm..." Lucinia's green eyes narrowed, but she did not offer a contradiction.

Instead, after a careful sip of her tea, she went on. "Have your studies dealt with Ziost at all? Not the Force-sensitive studies, of course, but something else? I'm hoping to do some of the same work here that I did on Korriban."

"Not really. We're you looking for some information in specific?"