The Scribe's Apprentice: Esto Perpetua

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

She stood in the fresher of hers and Dan's shared quarters, staring at the reflection of herself in the mirror.

Such a different face. Unfamiliar almost, even. Was this to be the all of it then? A life spent eluding fate until there was no resistance left to turn it away... and now that fate had taken her up, was she to be discarded so easily? She was an imperfect being, sullied by an impurity that had been bestowed upon her. The scar she stared at in her reflection mocked her; it ate away at the edges of her resolve.

It had been the harbinger of her fall, and now it was the very thing that she was afraid of being cast away because of.

Days before she had been confident. Sure of herself and her standing. But now? Now where would she fall? By right, the very blood in her veins gave her dominion over any other of her kind. Gave her the position of Alpha.

But such a thing meant nothing to the one she had pledged herself to. He'd brought another to confide in, and the elder Lupine had found herself faltering. She put forth a stern demeanor, yet beneath it all had raged a storm of uncertainty; of surging jealousy at the young woman, Saricia Ask'lan.

Where would she fall to when the depths of darkness that had for so long called and beckoned, now seemed to push her away? In her mind she found herself doubting. She found herself competing. Was this truly to be the way of things?


Every line in her features seemed to become more pronounced the longer she stared, and the Lupine frowned at what she saw. It seemed that the dream she'd had so long ago on Malastare had come true. Subdued, brought to the endgame of what had once been an existence outside of the roiling black. There was a fire that burned beneath the look of resignation however. The fire that was constantly fueled by her underlying anger. It was a slow burning thing that had been fed and nurtured by Decepis. Like some ever-attentive gardener he watched over and guided her spiraling descent.

She could feel the darkness in every pore of her being, and s'Il allowed herself the luxury of enjoying it. Unlike Tam Jeneel who'd been immediately repulsed by his horrid release, she felt it wash over her in strangely comforting waves.

It was wild and untamed.

Leaning forward, closer to the mirror, s'Il reached up to passively run a finger along her cheekbone. She traced the almost invisible lines beneath her eyes. Though none could see them, they were plainly visible to her. They made her begin to show her age. Despite it all - the longevity of her people and their ability to heal, they were showing her age. In her mind she had suddenly grown old and unfit. Used up.

Still staring at herself, the Lupine spoke without turning from her reflection.

"Do I no longer please you?"

[Darth Decepis]

Dan's visage was only partially held. The face s'Il had known for years was still held by Sith illusion, though the hateful eyes were allowed to reveal their yellow tint. His face was mirthless, and his voice was coarse and baleful.

"Your envy is powerful. Use it to fuel your hatred."

He waved off her insecurity with a patronizing laugh.

"Saricia is an attack dog; a disposable thing. She is inconsequential to us other than as a weapon."

He took his seat at his desk as he confided with his apprentice.

"My task for you is to sharpen that weapon, so that we can destroy everyone who opposes my will."

A commanding finger leveled at her.


"If that weapon should hesitate, stray, or betray the hand that holds it, I entrust you to obliterate it."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

For a few moments longer she lingered, baring her teeth to check her gums. She preened at herself like some mother hen, but soon enough her ministrations ceased and she pulled away from the mirror. He was correct in that her envy would feed the hatred she harbored, and indeed she felt as it coursed through her emotions to invigorate and strengthen.

Leaving the 'fresher behind, the Lupine paused to cast her eye about the bedroom. Moving to the dresser, she unclasped the thin necklace she wore and set it on the polished wood surface. It settled with a barely audible clink, and it wasn't long before her rings as well were set beside it. She still kept one upon her finger. His words did little to settle her, and the ring she'd left was the one he had given to her. A passive declaration of her obedience and loyalty.

Even if he lied and chose to set her aside, at least she would be safe in the knowledge that she was the one who remained steadfast to the last. Her pride had been stripped raw, but this one thing it still demanded of her.

Following after him, s'Il sent her master a placid stare while skirting his desk to stand beside his chair.

She looked down at the letter Teagan had written, tracing with her eye the shaky lettering.

"You think that she will turn away from you?"

[Darth Decepis]

"Soon, Teagan's possibilities in life will be limited only by her imagination."

Decepis looked to the letter.

"The galaxy is malleable to our will. Our daughter will be the benefactor of our ruthless vision."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

An amused hrmph at his misunderstanding, and s'Il deliberately reached down to move the letter to the side.

"I was talking about Saricia, not Teagan."

[Darth Decepis]

"The dark side is served by ambition. As she works in its mysteries, the possibility exists. I would not trust her to work beyond supervision. You too must make sure that you will dominate her, should her ambitions turn her against you."

Decepis steepled his fingers.

"I have known your mind for so many years, Loklorien. There is no replacement for your companionship to be found in any corner of the galaxy. Do what you know is within your power, and you will be invincible at my side."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

"Your strength is mine," she murmured absently, moving around the back of his chair to the other side.

"If she does make an effort to re-situate herself in your grand scheme, I will stop her."

It was as much of an affirmation to him as it was to herself. She was the Alpha. The Apex. Decepis had enough knowledge of her own arrogance to know that s'Il would stop at nothing to remain the sole individual to stand beside him in all of this.

The months spent in his company had been enough to lend credence to the years he'd spent haunting her, demanding her to take her rightful place.

She stared at his steepled fingers, and rested a hand on the headrest of his chair.

"She will not replace me."

[Darth Decepis]

"How could she?"

Decepis dismissed the notion with incredulity. He looked up at his lover and apprentice.

"On to other matters, for the moment. What of your meeting with the Intelligence agent?"

He wanted to glean from her whatever she may have taken from their conversation in confidence.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Pursing her lips, s'Il shook her head noncommittally. There had been nothing of any particular interest to be had from that meeting.

"Nothing. They have no idea where Laprovik could be; he's successfully dropped from their radar. From what I could tell it is a rather large point of irritation, but not directed your way.

"I was asked about his arrival on Schwartzweld, and whether I divined any reasons for his visit."

She paused, remembering the conversation.

"She wished to know what happened. I told her all of what you had already explained."

s'Il breathed in through her nose, taking in the air around them in a feigned sort of worry as her hand moved to grasp at an errant wisp of grey hair, and she wrapped it around a finger in unconscious thought.

"I do not think they will find him for some time."

[Darth Decepis]

"It vexes me that he still lives, but no matter. If he ever surfaces, he can be made useful to us in some way."

The Sith Lord was deep in thought.

"Our next objective is to marginalize the Jedi, and to ween the Rebellion of their dependency on their services."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

"An interesting problem"

She thought of Serena, and how the Jedi had so firmly entrenched herself in the comings and goings of the Rebels. It would be difficult to place distrust, but not impossible. They only needed a wedge to begin the divide.

Releasing his hair, s'Il squatted down beside him, resting both elbows on her knees and clasping her hands. Her gaze remained upturned to his face.

"If we are to sow such seeds, in what state do I find myself among the Rebellion? I am a Jedi to them."

[Darth Decepis]

Decepis thought of this, and smiled.

"Perhaps we can probe an ideological divide amongst the Jedi. Curry favor from a band that you feel you can manipulate. As high-minded as the Jedi are, they aren't immune from fundamental disagreement."

He ran a hand along her face, looking into her eyes.

"Perhaps a group of Jedi could be, shall we say, retained for service at the pleasure of the Alliance? Any suspicions of your true nature that Zem Vymes may be able to suggest could equally be defused by turning Jedi against him."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

It made sense, and s'Il nodded her agreement. Yes, a splintering would do the task nicely, as well as allow the Jedi to damage themselves significantly enough without much effort on her or Decepis' part.

Mention of Zem made her clench her jaw. Teagan was with him. Teagan. For the first time, the Lupine fully regretted sending their daughter away. What had she done? Zem had finally understood some of her previous reasoning, and would surely not allow her the chance to see the girl again.

The thought caused the first beginnings of panic to well up within her.

"I want my baby back," she whispered.

[Darth Decepis]

Decepis nodded.

"As do I. She will be safe with us. For now, we must be patient, and look for the opportunity to secure her safety. I have no doubt that opportunity will arise."

He pressed on with ruminations over the plot to dismantle the Jedi.

"Vymes can be dealt with. He was an apostate for so many years. Doubts of his intentions would be easy to cultivate."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

His desire for Teagan's return did well to assuage her rising worries, and s'Il slowly rose up from her crouch. She groaned a little at the minor exertion.

"When I came upon him, he was set to be hung."

Still, the thought of such crude methods of punishment made her wonder as to the actual level of civilization humans had truly risen to. It was not as high as those in the Core often boasted of.

"He had killed a man and hidden the money he'd stolen from the corpse."

[Darth Decepis]

This bit of insight was momentous, and the Sith's mouth turned upward into a smile.

"Good!"

The power to brand Vymes as a murderer was certainly potent enough to significantly weaken the Jedi's resistance to their plans.

"Do you have anything you would be able to use to leverage your accusation, so that it would be insurmountable? Evidence, or witnesses you could call upon?"

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Another nod. Though, she wasn't entirely sure how he would take her next words. In the past he'd never thought highly of Sanis Prent.

"Sanis was there, as was Cirr. We talked with a local barkeep who informed us of the situation."

[Darth Decepis]

Decepis's mouth twisted into a slight sneer.

"The smuggler, then."

He considered the possibility.

"He has been of use to the Alliance, so I'm sure some character could be salvaged. With the weight of a Jedi Knight's voice alongside him and his oafish mechanic, I think it might be enough, doubly so if poor Vymes lacks an alibi."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Reaching out, the Lupine ran a gentle hand over the harsh lines in his features, hoping to smooth them away with a touch. Looking down at him from where she stood, s'Il smiled reassuringly.

"He has nothing to offer in his own defense," she soothed.

"I'll make everything alright."

To punctuate her words, she gave his forehead a soft kiss.

"I promise."

[General Dan]

"I know you will."

Dan's soothing voice returned to him, and he caressed her hair.

"You have never caused me to doubt, not even once."

He reciprocated her kiss.