Re-Edjumacation - De'Ville [completed]

[Dalethria Mal Pannis]

Laying on her back towards the end of a spiral staircase, quite common in Bast Keep, Dalethria waited. Feet were planted against the stone wall like a barrier to keep anyone from ascending, or descending, the staircase.

She had been learning some of the daily routines of her fellow siblings at the Hand. Which was why the Dark Jedi was lounging about on the stairs.

De'Ville came down this way. At this time. Everyday.

Hob had proclaimed that she learn a few principles of the new Hand. Part of her re-education when joining their ranks. He had given her the option to choose amongst those here and decided upon De'Ville.

It made sense. Both were Sith and had dealings with one another before. Even in a training session that was a favor to Lynch.

Tap, tap, tap against the stone wall went her boot, much to the annoyance of the spirits. The vibrations were not quite in harmony of their song today but Dalethria always enjoyed pissing them off.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

De'Ville walked quickly down the staircase on her way back to her Study, and stopped abruptly. She looked down at the person blocking her way.

"Is there any reason in paticular that you're sitting across the whole staircase, Dalethria?" At one time De'Ville would have cowered before the former Sith Master...but the time for cowering was past. Instead she had unconciously placed her hand on her hip, and cocked her head as she regarded the other woman.

[Dalethria Mal Pannis]

She turned her head upwards and smiled.

"Of course."

Her legs untangled their way down to a kneeling position instead. Arms rested upon the next highest stair as Dalethria leaned forward to get a better look at De'Ville.

"Needed to talk with you."

[Lilaena De'Ville]

De'Ville leaned against the wall. "Is that so." She walked down a few more stairs, and then stopped. "What do you wish to talk about, dear sister?"

She didn't fully trust Dalethria, and certainly didn't trust Sorsha. But she still had business with Sorsha...business that would not wait. But wait it did...for the Witch was certainly taking her time.

De'Ville motioned forward with her hand. "We can talk in my Study, if you wish. It would be a little more comfortable than the stairs."

[Dalethria Mal Pannis]

Her lips puckered awkwardly together as Dalethria got the hint that De'Ville didn't trust her; maybe not even like her. Hint wasn't the correct word. Add blatant in there and then you had a brick of a clue hitting you squarely in the head.

Dalethria had thought this would be the case.

"I actually like the stairs. Cold. Smooth surface ... mostly. Unless you lay across it in a stupid manner. But ... you probably want a chair like most civilized folk."

She hopped up and stood, leaning her back on the wall with a smile.

"I can do that as well."

With a wave of her hand in a chivalrous gesture, she offered De'Ville to pass by.

"After you."

[Lilaena De'Ville]

De'Ville said nothing more, until they were within the walls of the study. The bookshelves were dark and filled with many different tomes - some old and full of pages and dust; others new, the datapads stacked in the corners of the shelves.

Lilaena gestured her guest to a seat, and she took one across from her. The huge desk with its semi-circle of burnt down candles was ignored. The torches on the wall flared into life, and Dalethria caught sight of a tiny crib along the side of the wall. For a baby..but who's?

De'Ville sat quietly as Dalethria took in her new surroundings, the paneled walls giving the room a comfy, closed in feel. Parts of the bookcases appeared to have been repaired with new wood, but she would recieve no explaination for the renovations. "You never answered my question. What is on your mind, Dalethria?"

[Dalethria Mal Pannis]

It wasn't like her study at all. Dalethria was more organized and like the feel of openness, if she choose, by the window that was behind her desk.

Still, this room had a nice feel to it. The ambiance projected by the simple quaintness of the study was relaxing.

She folded her hands around the knee that was perched over the other leg and smiled to De'Ville's question.

"Nothing on my mind. More like a favor to ask a fellow, Sister. Hob wanted a member here to help me acclimate myself to the new Hand."

Her shoulders shrugged lightly.

"I decided upon you."

[Lilaena De'Ville]

"I am flattered." De'Ville brushed her hair out of her eyes, and studied the Sith Master before her. They held the same rank in the Force, yet Dalethria had been a master for much longer than De'Ville had. Yet perhaps the woman had an angle...some ulterior motive to choosing Lilaena.

But then again, no one else in the Hand had ever passed any master tests in the realm of the Sith. Only she had, and in that light, it only made sense that Dalethria would come to De'Ville.

"Acclimate you to the new Hand." De'Ville thought about that a moment, and then continued, "Are you having a problem leaving the ways of the Sith behind you, Sister?"

[Dalethria Mal Pannis]

She held out her hands in defense, grinning sheepishly.

"I'm only doing what Hob asked."

Dalethria lowered them and rested an elbow on her knee, leaning forward as if in telling some secret.

"Rather not make him upset with me since I just got accepted back ya know?"

[Lilaena De'Ville]

De'Ville raised an eyebrow, and used the Force to pour herself a glass of water on the desk, two arm lengths away. As she levitated the cut crystal glass to her hand, she asked Dalethria, "Perhaps you would like something to drink?"

Before she answered, De'Ville smiled, and sipped her own drink. "Upset Hob? If he gets upset, it is only because you do not fully realize your own potential." Her eyes glimmered in the torchlight over the rim of the crystal. "I can see it. Your rage, your pride. It holds you back."

[Dalethria Mal Pannis]

"That would tend to hold anyone back I would think. I'm here to be enlightened."

She smiled smugly, allowing some of that arrogance to leak forth.

"Please tell me something I don't already know then, wise Master."

[Lilaena De'Ville]

De'Ville raised her eyebrows a little. "Nothing to drink then? Very well."

"As for telling you something you do not know, I have nothing te speak of. You believe that you already know all, and as such, I have nothing I wish to instruct you about." The Dark Jedi Master sat quietly, looking at Dalethria, and not looking away.

Then she spoke again in the silence, as the woman across from her hadn't been sure if she was dismissed, or what was going on. "Your anger can be harnessed to serve you, not to serve Chaos. The failing of the Sith is that they allow their anger to blind them to the greater good they could accomplish."

De'Ville pointed her finger at Dalethria, "This is your failling, and your sister's and your husband's as well. Fools! You cannot see the forest for the trees! The death toll of the Sith has sounded, and we will exact judgement on the world!"

[Dalethria Mal Pannis]

She yawned, surprisingly.

"And once again I asked, is there something you are going to teach me or to tell me that I don't know. So far, you've said everything that Hob has spoken to me since my return."

Dalethria licked her lips and held up her hands.

"No offense."

A small laugh.

"Of course."

Now, she wasn't stupid. If De'Ville decided to do something against her she would be prepared but after that moving speech, if her tutor would attacked her, then well, there really was not point in being here, at the Hand, at all.

Strangely, Dalethria did have faith. Faith in the fact that De'Ville would impart some knowledge on her. She was rather confused at these semantics.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

De'Ville shrugged, calm again. "For one thing, you have to stop thinking like a killing machine. Sith kill blindly, we choose to kill for a purpose. The so-called Jedi do not kill, and in the preservation of life they allow chaos to continue to grow and build. We of the Hand, the true Jedi as it were, will use whatever means available to us to restore Order, our order on the universe."

She leaned back in her chair, folding her hand in front of her. "In certain situations, we react in ways unexpected of Dark siders. Let us say you are walking down the street in a city, and witness a crime taking place. Say a woman is being raped and beaten. Would you walk on by in indifference, stop the beating and exact judgement, or perhaps assist the criminal in escaping?" De'Ville quirked her eyebrows up. "A Jedi would try to take down the thug without injuring him or the bystanders, and bring him to justice. But what about those who are standing there, looking on, and lifting no hand to help the innocent? Are they not equally guilty, and also worthy of death?"

She shrugged, "The Jedi claim all wisdom, and yet have none. The Sith claim order, and yet worship chaos and anarchy. We are the balance. We are their judges, jury, and executioners."

[Dalethria Mal Pannis]

Dalethria nodded in understanding and agreement. She never looked at the situation that De'Ville brought up in such a manner but it made sense.

But there was still something nagging at her.

"Our order. Collectively as the Hand, we serve the same purpose of course, but what is our order and who decided upon that course of action.

Am I to be utterly amazed that all the Dark Jedi came together and agreed upon everything?"

Granted, Dalethria believed this to be true to a certain extent. Memories of failed dealings with the Sith came to mind as all their petty rivalries and political power were more important then ruling the beings they conquered.

Sitting upon their thrones and relishing their power was all that mattered. It was why they let their planets go free and disabled their warships. They didn't have the drive to maintain control.

But even here, amongst her brothers and sisters, there had to be some dissension to some degree.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

"Not all agree as to the means of what we will achieve, but all are in agreement as to what the end result will be." De'Ville shot Dalethria a strange look. "The coming of your sister, the Witch of Chaos....truth be told I was against it. Perhaps your sister will serve her purpose for the Hand, and we will in turn supply her with whatever it is she seeks here."

She looked away, and stood up, walking to the desk and refilling her water glass. "Our order, as I choose to put it, is the only order that will work. People will serve us, and we shall be their gods. If not in the literal sense, then in the figurative. We shall provide them with their new order, and all will be grateful to us for their salvation." De'Ville sat down again, and smiled at Dalethria. "It is a new day that greets you, Dalethria Mal Pannis. Embrace it with open arms."

[Dalethria Mal Pannis]

Dalethria's eyes shifted away, staring at the floor with unblinking eyes, mulling over the words that De'Ville had spoken with silent contemplation.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

She looked at Dalethria. "No smart retorts to that one?" De'Ville tossed her glass in the air, and it fell to the ground, shattering into a hundred shards, which bounced harmlessly off their boots. The water that had been inside it splashed, and puddled up on the stone floor. Her facial expression remained bland, as she looked at the woman across from her.

[Dalethria Mal Pannis]

The sound glass shattering only really caused her to blink in reflex. The act itself didn't bother her in the least. She took her time watching the water spread along the floor, seeping into cracks unseen. Eventually, she tore her eyes away and looked to De'Ville.

"Must I have a witty comeback to everything?"

There wasn't anything to Dalethria's voice. Not even an earnest curiosity.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

She shrugged. "It seems to be your speciality." De'Ville focused on the floor, and added, "The glass is the universe, the water is all that is contained inside... planets, beings, New World Orders, and the like.

"It is shattered." De'Ville concentrated, pulling the water molecules from the floor, and pooling it all together in a puddle. "What use is it to anyone in that state?"

[Sorsha Kasajian]

:: From a tiny crack in the wall, a pair of whiskers twitched. And from another location within the castle, Sorsha watches and listens, linked through clairsentience to the tiny creature that lived in the wall of the study. De'Ville was a kindred now, one of her Sisters within the hand, but her activities could not go unwatched ::

[Dalethria Mal Pannis]

"I see your point. The glass is broken all around in a disorganized mess. It will have a spiraling effect on everything it touches because it is the universe. Everything pooled in that water has no order."

She looked up and waved her hand, shrugging herself.

"Unless that wasn't your point and then I can add a witty comeback."

Dalethria hadn't been on this side of the fence in a long time. The only person she truly respected as her Master was Sorsha all that time ago. Anbira was a phase, Rama was a fool. De'Ville she respected but this was awkward for her, hence the discomfort coming out in jests.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

She nodded to Dalethria. "No, that was my point. Wars, and disagreeing factions through out the galaxy make it impossible to bring about true order and peace. The Jedi are tied to the New Republic, and as such, have no real power. The Empire brought about peace, yet even the Emperor could not contain all the people within his Empire.

"Rebellions will always happen, and the entire universe suffers, as this glass did." De'Ville closed her eyes as she spoke, and the shards of glass on the cold floor began to move together, as if unbidden. "The NR's idea of peace is the wrong shape for holding the galaxy together in lasting peace. But we will rebuild it, from the inside, and using whatever means necessary."

Her eyes gleamed a little in the dim lighting as she opened them, the shards of glass coming together between the two women. It was a trick that Live Wire had taught her as an apprentice, practicing control in the Force. It was still useful today, so many years later. The glass was reformed under her careful manipulation of the Force, and then De'Ville reforged it, exciting the molecules around the many different edges, and making it one once more.

She left the water puddled on the floor for now, and sat back, a little tired from such small work. As an apprentice it had taken her weeks to learn how to complete what she had just done in a few moments.

[Dalethria Mal Pannis]

She remembered once long ago, when she was still a member of the Empire, Rama had done a similar trick but with sand ... not glass. Dalethria watched, truly impressed by this display of mental control. A far cry from what she recalled De'Ville's power to be when they last met.

"Using our abilities to right the galaxy in our image instead of watching it fall into greater chaos. We are the balance that the universe cries out, going unheard by the Sith and the Jedi who are stuck in their ways."

Dalethria paused there, studying De'Ville. A thought popped into her head which she vocalized.

"Was this also a demonstration of your power?"

It was no secret that De'Ville despised her Sister. Perhaps it even spilled over into any undesirable feelings towards herself.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

She smiled faintly, one eyebrow quirking upwards. "I have worked hard to earn and refine my abilities; surely, using them as a demonstration of the state of the galaxy is no cause for alarm. Your feelings betray you, Dalethria."

Of course, posessing no telepathic abilities of any kind, De'Ville couldn't tell exactly what the woman across from her was disturbed about. The emotion was tangible to her senses, but barely, as Dalethria kept herself under admirable control. She guessed, her face impassive, "Sorsha has something of mine that I want back. She had refused to give it to me on our last meeting. I do resent her, but am willing to put that aside for the interests of the Hand.

"Of course, there is no reason why our relationship must suffer, Mal Pannis." De'Ville had no sisters, and really had no idea what a family was, except for her own pathetic attempts at one with her husband. The water on the floor was evaporating at an increased rate as she recalled the item Sorsha had, and her audacity to keep Lilaena from it.

[Dalethria Mal Pannis]

De'Ville had guessed correctly what she had implied. Dalethria knew she was intelligent enough to quickly piece together where the lone question was heading.

"It pleases me to hear that. I do tire of ... being in the middle, to be frank, in my Sister's games that involve loyalties of mine. I utterly abhore that fact we fought over them time and time again. But I care for her greatly and wanted to make sure of your stance on the matter." She closed her eyes and gave a nod of respect and picked up on something that was bothering De'Ville. Dalethria wasn't sure what but there was a sense of failure. It was also getting quite stuffy in the room.

When their eyes met again, she offered a look of understanding that was buried beneath her smirk.

"I be just as pissed too."

[Lilaena De'Ville]

She quirked up an eyebrow, and simply nodded, not willing to impart any information should the woman across from her only be guessing. So she opted to change the subject. "I had a few ideas of my own for the New Republic. I think it will be right up your alley."

Lilaena winked a little, and grinned, feeling a little of the tension drain from the room.

[Dalethria Mal Pannis]

She cocked her head to the side and gave a half-smile. Dalethria liked this shift of the conversation. "Oh?"

[Lilaena De'Ville]

She leaned slightly forward, and lowered her voice a little, even though there was no one around to overhear. "The galactic Senate is a place of power in the New Republic. I was thinking about doing some interior re-decorating. Such as, a few new faces."

[Dalethria Mal Pannis]

"Oh really now?"

Comfortbly, she rested an elbow on the arm of her chair, letting her fingers extend across her cheek.

"I remember long ago in the Empire, Grendel did the same thing with such a plan. 'Course it was only for the kill. There was nothing else to it."

She grinned.

"This sounds alot more promising."

[Lilaena De'Ville]

A small noise caught her ear, and De'Ville suddenly rose to her feet, and walked to the wall to the right of her chair. She placed her hand against the wall, feeling the tiny whiskered creature within it through the Force. A few seconds later the creature was dead, its neck broken, and its link to its mistress severed.

De'Ville was unaware of Kasajian's involvement with the animal. She just disliked rodents. Returning to her seat, the actions with the creature unseen through the thick wall, she crossed her legs. "I was newly an apprentice when the assassination of the Chief of State, that abominable Bothan, occured. This plan grows out of the same princible, but with a much greater pay off.

"I will be bringing it to the others tomorrow evening in the Hall. I only wanted to give you a heads up. I must admit, your knowledge and experience will be useful."

[Dalethria Mal Pannis]

Dalethria merely raised a brow as De'Ville stood up and returned to her seat. By the looks of it, her fellow Sister wanted to stretch her legs?

"My services, are of course, at your disposal in this matter. I have yet to join my Brothers and Sisters in arms yet since arriving here."

[Lilaena De'Ville]

She smiled, "That is a comfort to me, to know you will join us. Tell me, what do you know about the Kuat system?"

[Dalethria Mal Pannis]

"Not much actually."

She said with a slight shrug.

"All I know is of the space station and the shipyards. Never been there."

Then her eyes narrowed in mock suspicion but De'Ville could hear in Dalethria's voice, that her Dark Sister knew where this conversation was heading.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

De'Ville held her tongue for a moment, and then nodded slowly. "Well, I hear it is quite lovely this time of year. We will talk more at the meeting."

She bent forward and picked the glass off the floor and held it in her hand. "Until tonight then, unless you have further questions for me?"

[Dalethria Mal Pannis]

It was a polite dismissal but De'Ville was right. Best to discuss this with the rest of the family.

"No. None at all."

Dalethria stood up and began to turn around to leave, but then paused to look at De'Ville once more.

"I'm glad this went well. I wasn't sure what to expect."

She nodded and then took off.