Bring Up The Bones

[Salem Ave]

Glace, the message started. It was a coded communication but it had come directly through the Minister of State's office. "Must be a wrong connection," the Minister's aide had mused, before swiping his stylus through the comm and adding it to the pile of messages that Salem Ave would never read, or so he thought.

A hot, dry wind tugged at the edge of Salem's dark cloak as strode down the boarding ramp of his shuttle, dust and dirt clouding his vision. The co-ordinates had brought him to a valley in an arid band of mountains, on the Outer Rim world of Rattatak. The ships sensors had detected no nearby settlements but when Salem stretched his senses out into the Force, he knew that although he had travelled without a companion, he was not alone.

Glace, he thought, as he narrowed his empty, white eyes against the high, mid-day sun. The death's head mask swam out of his flesh, misting over his features, disguising sharp lines with even sharper ones. Glace Kilgannon was dead. He had died over ten years ago, not long before Darth Callidus had been born. Whoever had sent the message that had brought him here seemed intent on unearthing bones that Salem had buried long ago.

[Baska Tankreyd]

The last few years had left a bitter taste in Baska's mouth. After perfecting her knowledge of the Dark Side alongside her Master Koron Ageros, she had watched him decay. It hadn't been so much a physical event than a spiritual one, the worst kind in the blonde's view. He had dwindled away from his true nature and she had stopped his madness, unknowing that this would earn her the last step in her learning. The athletic woman had then gathered all his belongings, the ones that had interested her, which pertained to history and culture. Many of these artifacts she had either helped hunting or had killed for herself.

Since then, she had continued to travel across the galaxy, to worlds filled with past knowledge, still seeking more. During one of her ventures in civilized territories to meet with her cousin Alienor, she had had the surprise to see a known face on the holonews. The famous politician going by the name Salem Ave was someone she had crossed paths with more than a decade ago, but back then he wasn't simply scaring and wooving citizens. He was a true follower of the Dark Side, not just some fancy suited puppet master.

Without hesitation, she had found a way to contact him, addressing him by his old name, giving him coordinates to meet. She wasn't so foolish as to reveal her name in the coded message. She was a survivor and had learned to be smarter and stronger over the years. She knew deep in her soul, he would show up. She remembered a curious and dangerous man, and she wanted to see whether he had forgotten the Force or might still be true to it, beneath the disguise.

Rattatak wasn't a world unknown to her for she had traveled there on many occasions. She knew the region well and it was why she had chosen the location for that uncanny meeting.

The silent assassin had waited and what she felt in the Force upon the ship landing made her grin inwardly. Her expression was once again stoic as she covered the short distance separating herself from her "guest". Revealing herself, the statuesque blonde (http://d2.christiantoday.com/en/full/39635/vikings.jpg) stepped forward.

"I didn't remember you as a politician, Glace Kilgannon. Or should it be Salem Ave now?"

[Salem Ave]

Salem didn't move. If the sight of her inspired anything in him, he did not show it. He recognised her, of course. Some fifteen years had passed, but he knew her face. The people who knew Glace Kilgannon could be counted on one hand and only one of them was a young, blonde woman. The years had been kind to her, perhaps kinder than they had been to him. Then again, she had been barely a woman when they had met; a kath-hound pup trailing at the heels of her master.

The razor-sharp wind tore back his hood, revealing his face enshrouded by the illusionary mask of Callidus. His white eyes were concealed by the masks shadowy sockets. One pale, clawed hand unclipped the hilt of the lightsaber at his belt.

When the Arkanian spoke, his voice was amplified by the Dark Side.

"That name has not been spoken in many years.. and with good reason."

[Baska Tankreyd]

When Baska felt the Dark Side swirl and crash around them as the man she had encountered many years ago revealed himself more, she felt a measure of relief. After the treachery that had plagued the last days of her late Master, she had wondered how many others might have followed such a foolish path. Hadn't she seen her "guest" on the holo news and recognized him, she wouldn't have sought him out.

She didn't make a move yet to reach out to her own hilt, but the tendrils of power emanating from her grew stronger, like predators ready to strike if need be. An evil grin briefly crossed her stern face; her blue eyes shining brighter as she narrowed them at him.

"So, you are still true to the Darkness. Politics haven't completely swallowed you up."

[Darth Callidus]

He didn't match Baska's grin. Even behind the cold, skeletal visage that afforded him the luxury of concealing his true emotions, the Sith's expression was impassive.

"Why have you contacted me?"

[Baska Tankreyd]

The assassin could feel the power facing her, and she knew that power could be a threat, danger. Yet, she didn't move nor showed fear. Fear could be an ally just like anger, hatred, passion, but right now she mostly felt relief. She hadn't expected to feel as such but she couldn't deny her feelings.

"I recognized you on the holo news during my travels. I wondered whether you still served the Dark Side. I've seen enough betrayal of our kind in the last years. I wanted to see if you still were one of us."

[Darth Callidus]

"Us," he echoed the word.

Callidus quested his senses out further into the Rattataki mountains, as he had done before setting his shuttle down in the isolated spot. He stretched his senses as far as they could, his consciousness sweeping over the land like a hawk at hunt, combing the hills for any hidden lifeforms. There was no master, no apprentice, hiding in wait. That could only mean... she thought of the two of them, he and she, as a common kind. That almost made him smile behind the mask. Almost.

"And what if I was still... one of us? What then?"

[Baska Tankreyd]

First, she wouldn't want to wipe the ground with his blood and bones, like she had done with her former Master, and a couple of people she had accepted to train who had proven unworthy of her time and energy. Yet, she kept that to herself. She wasn't the only predator here and she knew it. Should it come to a fight, so be it, but it wasn't why she had come.

"I have been searching for other follower of the Dark Side. I was wondering whether some still lingered, who kept their path true."

[Darth Callidus]

"Searching.. to what end?"

She couldn't see it, but his eyes were narrowed a fraction. The arid wind picked up, rippling the folds of his dark cloak and snapping at her pale, golden hair. Callidus flexed his clawed fingertips against the grip of his lightsaber.

"There are only two ways that a meeting like this ends."

[Baska Tankreyd]

"Survival of the fittest and smartest is one thing, keeping a powerful species alive in a galaxy plagued by mediocrity is another. Both aren't mutually exclusive." Baska stated in a cold tone, the wind slamming in her face as it howled once more, leaving her unmoved by nature's elements.

She hadn't spent fifteen years traveling, studying the dark side's history and hunting artifacts for her to be a simple lone wolf. She lived well on her own but she wanted to find others like her. There had to be a dark presence lingering in that universe. The more alive, the more powerful they would be. She loved being on top of her game, and being stronger than others but she also realized that there had to be some kind of web that saw Dark Side followers' woven together.

[Darth Callidus]

There was a long moment of silence. A moment full of potential, a dozen or more futures stretching out ahead in a tangled web. The slightest misstep and the strands of that web would snap.

"You would have us become allies," the Sith ventured a guess.

"Is that it?"

[Baska Tankreyd]

Baska hadn't planned to contact Glace, or whatever his chosen name might be, if he had one beyond his political public persona. She had felt the tug of the Force when recognizing him and she had heeded that strong pull to contact him. At the heart of her reasoning had been the want to make sure of where he still stood. Beyond that, she hadn't been truly certain. She did seek allies, but she knew first hand how the Dark Side didn't always operate well in packs, no matter the kind.

The long moment of silence kept her on guard but also pondering on what it was she wished to achieve.

When the man before her broke the silence, she didn't reply right away, but even nodded. "The Darkness is still strong in you, way stronger than what I could sense back in the day, so yes. I would have us become allies."

[Darth Callidus]

For the first time since his arrival, Callidus began to pace towards his host. As he moved, his robes stirred and rippled like smoke.

"What do I stand to gain from this arrangement? What can you offer me that I have not already claimed for myself?"

[Baska Tankreyd]

She watched him move forward as she stared at him stoicly. His question wasn't unexpected given the discussion they were having.

"Vaults of relics and knowledge of the past that can be harnessed in the present, a tracker and assassin."

She paused for a moment and returned the question. "What about you?" She wasn't here to beg, regardless of how she believed such an alliance could be beneficial to both parties involved if they wished so. She had other options and she was patient woman.

[Darth Callidus]

"A teacher."

As he neared her, Callidus reached out into the Dark Side of the Force, searching for any insight into Baska's well-hidden intentions.

"A purpose."

[Baska Tankreyd]

He was a man of power and she wasn't speaking of whatever impressive political feat he had been pulling on the galactic scale. No, she sensed the darkness in him, as she reached out to him as well. She knew better than to trust someone like that, at least right away. But she also respected what he represented as a Dark Sider, otherwise she wouldn't have offered him to be allies in the first place.

She nodded to what he said, for she could use both. She wasn't one to turn down sources of knowledge, having always been eager to better herself as much in the brains as in the body. And a purpose... That intrigued and called to her.

"Acceptable." She replied firmly and respectfully. She didn't think lesser of herself in comparison to him, but given what he had likely woven in the webs of the years, she could benefit from his experience, just as she knew she had strength and skills to provide.

[Darth Callidus]

Some small bit of arrogance, burrowed like a tick deep inside his mind, wanted to laugh at the notion he was acceptable - but Callidus was not a man to indulge such impulses. They had the terms of their relationship, in the broadest sense, but there was a great many details still to fill in.

"Did you tell anyone about this meeting? About your knowledge of my identity?"

[Baska Tankreyd]

"I didn't and am not planning to." Baska replied curtly. She wasn't against using leverage when needed but mostly her business was her own and she wasn't one to gossip or reveal things unless time and audience were appropriate.

"I live better in the shadows." The spotlight was of no interest to her. She had greater fondness to operate from behind the scenes, under the radar, however one wished to call it.

[Darth Callidus]

He nodded slowly at her words. If there was deceit behind them, he could not sense it, not yet at least.

“Excellent,” the Sith said. As he spoke, the mask of Callidus sank back into his features, revealing a smile that didn't quite reach Salem Ave's solid-white eyes.

“I think the two of us could have a very productive relationship ahead of us.”

[Baska Tankreyd]

Baska didn't know what this relationship would entail down the road, but she agreed with her fellow Master of the Dark Side that this could be very productive. With how many petty idiots and betrayers littered the galaxy, finding fellow true believers and achievers was a rarity.

"I remain in the shadows but should you have need of my skills, I will offer them." She said as a token of good faith. She didn't pass up an opportunity to predate on others and glean knowledge, so it only seemed natural to offer that.