[D5 ME Tenebrous Stronghold] Questions Unasked

[Jaheem Abasi]

Jaheem arrived at the residence of Lord Tenebrous to follow up on a discussion from the previous evening. The trip had been quick and he had heard the stories of the property before. Not that he believed in such superstitions, it was an interesting bit of history indeed.

Jaheem wore a formal suit in black with an attached gold trimmed Cape his lightsaber dangling from his belt as normal. He announced himself to the first servant he saw and requested an audience with Lord Tenebrous.

[Lord Tenebrous]

Tenebrous' personal attendant waited for Jaheem at the door. The woman with tawny skin bowed deeply to the Sith Lord.



"Welcome. Lord Tenebrous is expecting you, Lord Abasi. Allow me to escort you."

The woman moved with an easy stride as she guided Jaheem through an old hallway, where it was still clear to see where the walls had been recently rebuilt on top of the ancient foundations. While there was a timeless feel to the architecture, the original building seemed rather old.

The hallway led them to an alcove outside overlooking the training grounds that was shielded from the snow and temperature, yet still gave a feeling of being outdoors. Cold pools of water ran off into little brooks, falling into small waterfalls. Frosted evergreens stood tall, old and ancient, perhaps even as old as the original stronghold.

Shaisha was seated on a bench, admiring the view and almost lost in thought until she senses the two arriving, and she rose from her seat.

"Lord Jaheem Abasi, my lord," Hyuna announced, and took a step back to get out of the hair of the two Sith lords. Lord Tenebrous nodded and dismissed the woman. "Welcome. Trust you've cleaned up since our trip in the sewer?"

[Jaheem Abasi]

He had a wry smile as he nodded "indeed, not the least pleasant thing I've done in the course of duty but still a rather unsavory task." He said moving into the room to stand near her "you have done good work restoring this old building I have to say. Repurposing older structures is always a grand thing to see, how to balance the history of the structure with the updating is a delicate skill."he said remarking on his observations from his way in.

He looked out the window the Tenebrous had been so intent on before he arrived "You do have a rather good view. It may even rival the one from the Abasi Estates in Varas Point."

[Lord Tenebrous]

Her attention turned back to the view. "Thank you. It... this place holds great meaning for me. It's my wish to restore it to how it once was, but... well, we can never go back to what we were. Things can never be the same again. Not that this is a bad thing as such, but it's often a difficult lesson to learn." Her voice, usually authorative and charismatic, now seemed softer and... more sincere.

"Before you speak your mind, I need to know if you subjected yourself to that microchip-procedure a couple of days ago."

[Jaheem Abasi]

Jaheem nodded "I did on orders from my superiors. It seemed like a rather innocuous implant from the Intel I saw." He cocked his head "do you have information to the contrary Lord Tenebrous?"

[Lord Tenebrous]

"Call it a bad experience with similar efforts. Perhaps it's nothing, but my hunch tells me that it's not an innocuous implant. Or maybe it's just paranoia." She shrugged casually, looking back at him.

"Just keep it in mind for the future, as it may be that you are being watched far more closely than you think."

[Jaheem Abasi]

Jaheem nodded and took off his cloak draping it over the limb with the implant. "Well hopefully it's nothing but I'll take what precautions I can." He looked to Tenebrous "so would you still like to discuss that matter I was wondering about?" He asked cautiously.

[Lord Tenebrous]

She gave a nod for him to go on, followed by a gesture to sit on the bench if he wished. At least she took a seat.

"Speak what's on your mind."

[Jaheem Abasi]

Jaheem moved to do so sitting on the bench next to her and looking over at the other Aspirant. "You asked me a number of days ago, if I was loyal to the Empire, or to the Emporer." He took a deep breath "after the events of yesterday.....I don't know. The Emporer is not what I expected....." he paused slightly "what made you ask such a question? I have a feeling it was more than idle curiosity."

[Lord Tenebrous]

"Hmmm..." she looked up to the sky outside of the shielded alcove.

"My father would say that most see the Emperor and the Empire as one and the same; he led the Sith to settle on Dromund Kaas and Ziost, and founded our Empire. He is the immortal Emperor, and the Empire is his creation." Shaisha paused for a few moments. "But how can someone like that truly understand their creation? When you've lived long enough to see great houses rise and fall, countless generations pass by, when even the matters of war with the Republic seems like child's play in a sandbox... it's all just ripples in the water when you live that long. There is nothing to connect you to it anymore."

"When they asked for a Test of Loyalty, to me it seemed like a trap. It's why I refused it, along with the reason that I have done more than some of our fellow aspirants in service to the Empire. Because I have also come to see that loyalty to the Empire and the Emperor is not the same thing."

She turned her head to look at Jaheem again. "And now you see it too."

[Jaheem Abasi]

Jaheem listened silently for a moment his expression was unreadable as he did. When she finished he looked back out the window and didnt say anything for awhile.

"What do you think he wants?" He asked breaking the silence "why now? After all these years."

[Lord Tenebrous]

"Who can truly know the mind of a thousand year old being?" it didn't feel right to use the term 'man', as to her the Emperor had moved past such concepts.

"It's not an answer I can give you easily, I'm afraid, for many reasons."

[Jaheem Abasi]

Jaheem shook his head "My whole life I was taught about the Emporer. I was...I was hoping with his return that we would return to the task at hand of breaking this peace and destroying the Republic. But it seems like he is content to sit in this peace and play games with us as the pieces." The Sith Lord buries his face in his hands "What can we do besides dance to his song. The last time a group defied him it was the dark council and he purged them...."

[Lord Tenebrous]

"Just because others have failed it means that you will do nothing?" Shaisha asked calmly.

[Jaheem Abasi]

He looked up at her, his walls were wearing thin, the act of yesterday was not forgotten merely buried and clawing it's way out. His eyes were tired but there was a defiance to them, behind the exhaustion "I'm saying I do not know what to do, where to start. You seemed to be of a certain thought that might align themself with one trying to do what has never been done. That is why I came to you."

[Lord Tenebrous]

"Are you saying I might be thinking of a way to stop the Emperor, Jaheem?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

Lord Tenebrous did seem to live up to her reputation of being a woman of mystery.

[Jaheem Abasi]

Jaheem gave her a look for a moment "I'm saying if you were, you might not have to look that far for allies." Jaheem by contrast wasnt a man of schemes and tricks but one of action.

[Lord Tenebrous]

She studied him carefully for a few moments. "Are you certain you wish to go down this path? Even a little knowledge can be a dangerous thing, and you probably still have more people left whom you care for."

[Jaheem Abasi]

He locks eyes with the other Sith Lord his eyes while tired burn with an anger, A hatred, a defiance. "I believe I have proven I am willing to sacrifice everything for a goal I deem worthy." The words are both angry and sad.

[Lord Tenebrous]

She breathed deeply. The mantra of two men can keep a secret and one of them is dead repeated itself to her, but she had no reason to doubt Jaheehm's sincerity in this matter.

"Have you ever wondered how the Emperor became immortal? Probably with a lot of power that he already had, no doubt, but his immortality cost a planet everything; it's now only a husk, lifeless, a void in space and in the Force." Shaisha looked at the snowfall as she spoke. How it reminded her of the vision she first had years ago...

"And well, he is a Sith. No Sith is ever satisified with what they have - no doubt he will try again to further his own power and existence." Her voice tensed, becoming more serious. "What we call the Night of Terrors - it is tied to him somehow. It's not the power of the Dark Side that lies in its wake, it's the endless, hungry void. You mustn't call upon its powers, Jaheem... it might only doom yourself."