Nar Shaddaa

With an opening in her busy schedule, Shaisha had sent a message over to Jo'ren to invite him to lunch and giving him the adress of the place she was staying at. And with the message sent, she dove back into the pool to get some physical excersise done while she waited.

After a few laps, she let the waters submerge her after a few deep breaths. The serenity of being underwater was a weird sensation... she feared the waters as a child. Growing up on Ziost, large bodies of water or swimming pools was not something she had seen, and so when she first encountered it on Dromund Kaas with the Torsins, she was terrified that the big water was going to swallow her up.

At least she had broken free of those particular chains, and became an adept swimmer.

Coming up for air again, Shaisha let the waters keep her afloat as she stretched out, her eyes closed as she reflected upon the ways the Force seemed to be guiding her.

Jo'ren arrived exactly on time. He then got to wait while they checked his credentials.

"Exactly how many true Sith like me you do see on a daily basis? Do you watch Huttball? Yeah, well that was me."

He tapped his foot, resisting the urge to chop the security guard up a little.

The journey to to the apartment was a long elevator ride. When he emerged it was into the lap of luxury.

He whistled as he stepped out. "My my Shaisha, you're clearly going up in the world."

Jitter seemed rather excited when Jo'ren spoke of HuttBall, prompting a long chatter of how players should use something called a hydro-spoon or a hydro-toaster to get a better grip on the ball. It was clear the little Jawa was used to speaking his mind and talked about all sorts of inane details about Jo'ren's match from the night before.

As Jo'ren arrived, Shaisha climbed out of the pool. "Of course I am, Jo'ren," she retorted with a coy smile. "We graduated from the shitty conditions of the Academy, and should be rewarded properly for our hard work, no? Life is too short to spend it eating nutrient paste or living in cramped quarters."

She of course made sure the big Sith got a good look at her drenched body before wrapping a towel around herself to dry off.

The Jawa quickly grabbed his plate of food from the prepared lunch and ran back inside.

"Jitter's my ship mechanic... the one who accidentally called you on the way to Nar Shaddaa. He means well, most of the time."

"I've got a hydrospoon, they ain't all that little dude.". He stood and watched appreciatively as Shaisha rise from the pool.

"The views are quite stunning you know. I'm sure it's quite nice out the windows too..." A low laugh as he thought about just stripping off and jumping in.

"I try not to eat paste any more. Cramped doesn't bother me to much though, makes me want to get out more."

He watched the Jawa scurry off. "Guess I should thank him for accidentally calling me then. So, what's new?"

"His head might grow to your size if you do that," she said with a chuckle as she dried herself off and flipped her wet hair behind her.

"A lot of new stuff, really. Been very busy since Korriban... took out some terrorists on Ziost wanting to burn down the world order and all that, so I've kind of become the boogeyman of insurgents and rebels," Shaisha grinned playfully as she spoke the words. "Though I miss the times on Korriban when I'd go out to search for ancient mysteries. At least I still get to follow the Force on occassion, when the Dark Side speaks to me."

With a gesture to join her, Shaisha moved to the table with the lunch laid out. Drinks, both alcoholic and the more healthy kind, stood ready, and the spread was more than enough for a growing big guy like Jo'ren.

"And what about yourself? Time spent with the Massassi queen must've been enlightening."

"Okay, I'll keep that to myself then." He smirked cheekily.

"It sounds like a hectic few months. I suppose this is your master's way of thanking you?" He gestured to the opulence around them as he walked to the table and took a seat that hardly creaked as it took his weight.

"Those force can mysteries are always out there. Sometimes they come and find you..." He smiled and took a non-alcoholic drink. "Things have been good. Yeah, Jug'tih is quite the character, I've learned a lot; and Yavin IV is great. Sometimes I feel I'm being watched, but not in a malicious way. More of a 'what's he going to do next'?" He shrugged his big shoulders and took a swig of the drink.

"Aside from that I've been fighting the Republic, and working on some personal projects. It's been a good time. My Master is rebuilding his forces after Gorion. He's not exactly a fan of the peace talks but recognises that they buy him some time."

"You could say that. If he wasn't pleased with me, I'd probably be stuck on Ziost still, attending some dull affairs." Then again, Vowrawn was known for his hedonism and decadance, even by Dark Council standards.

"Yeah... sometimes they come and find you," she agreed, her tone indicating that she had first-hand experience with that sort of thing herself. Helping herself to some of the fruit juice as well, she gave him a coy smile. "Oh, so you did notice me watching you? Or is it the spirit of Exar Kun that you met on Yavin IV that is following you around?"

Her choice of food reflected her hectic and active lifestyle; rich in vitamins and proteins for plenty of energy.

"I still remember how changed you seemed to be when you came back to tell me about meeting him. Seems like it has had a very profound impact on you... which I can understand. Encounters like those tend to shape us for a long time to come."

"Yeah, you're such an overachiever Shaisha Vreysk." Jo'ren finished his drink and moved on to a plate of delicious fruits. "Definitely better than sludge."

He gave her a cryptic look when she mentioned Exar Kun. "It's more than that. You might say I'm forming a collection of visitations from long lost Sith."

He thought back to the meeting on Yavin IV, the subsequent realisations that the spirit had taken an interest in him. His encounters with Darth Malak.

"There's something I need to do here. Something I need to find. For good or ill." He shrugged and selected another drink.

"..."

She leaned back in her chair, clearly thinking about what he said as if it was something that resonated with her. "... Is this something you must do on your own, like on Yavin IV?" she finally asked. There was something in her voice... concern, perhaps?

He took a deep gulp and watched her as he swallowed. "Yes. I need to prove myself worthy." He was going to say more but obviously thought better of it and kept his own council.

Reaching over to a different plate he picked up a piece of space bacon. It was delicious, as if he'd just killed and prepared it himself. He switched track a little.

"Assuming I make it out the other side there is something else. I've got info on a hidden location that belonged to a Jedi exile some time back. Before the last great war. It's off world though, in a different system. Might be a fun adventure for a pair of hot Purebloods..."

"Hm," she nodded, filling the silence with food as well as she had some of the space-sausage. Not that she faulted him for having to do things by himself, or keeping silent about it, but she was curious about why he told her a little but not all.

"Oh?" Shaisha perked up at that. "That sounds interesting... from before the last great war? Which system is it in?"

"Makeb, so it's a bit of a hike from here. I'm kind of hoping another opportunity will turn up in that system. Make it extra worthy of the journey."

He shrugged and tackled a giant egg. "Yeah, I thought you might be interested. No guarantee anything will turn up, but it'll be an adventure at least."

"It does sound interesting..." she sipped the green smoothie probably consisting of dozens of ingredients brought in from off-planet. "The Force might offer some guidance... My master has been guiding me with better controlling and understanding the visions the Dark side gives me. There might be something to be warned off beforehand."

"... But first you must face this trial of yours, yes?"

"Well if the force shows you anything do let me know. Better prepared and all that." He waved a hand vaguely and drank a cup of vine coffee.

"I think my trial only begins with this first step. It will be soon though. Tonight or tomorrow I'd guess. Then I might actually start to understand where it's all leading to."

"Well, best of luck with that. There's also things that require my attention here for the time being, so I wouldn't be able to make such a trip right away. I'm sure you understand, as Vengean probably has some interest in things here too, no?" her lips curled in a curious smile. "Dark Council members do seem to have a lot of balls in the air..."

He chuckled at that. It was unusual to get this much leeway from Vengean, but then he had saved the man's life recently. "You aren't wrong. Fitting it in to my schedule is proving a challenge but I've got a few wild cards left to play. I'll let you know how it all looks."

"Becoming a star HuttBall player is on the schedule too?" the female Sith teased. "Caught some glimpses of the game. Pretty impressive showing you had there... makes me want to give it a try too."

"Heh, maybe you should! It's pretty easy to be honest. As long as you can take a punch or five. It was Remmington who suggested it. It's fun, even if we've got a weird mixed team...". He shrugged and ate some more fruit: 2V would be proud.

"Who..." she blinked once, then seemed to remember. "Oh right, that guy. Never met him, and if not for hearing about him, I frankly wouldn't have known he existed at the Academy at the same time we did."

Shaisha shrugged. Remmington wasn't really on her radar at all.

"Yeah, saw some Republic people on your team. Including Captain Alderaan - that Niall-guy."

"Yeah, that guy. Makes poor life choices but loyal." He shrugged. "He wasn't in the same league as us at the time, but he did a good job pulling that team together. I think he helped with long that creature in the catacombs, so he's got something going."

Laughter erupted at the nickname for Niall. "Haha, I love it. I'll be sure to whack him with that next time. It's an interesting way of gathering Intel on our enemies. I'm hoping it'll prove useful in the long run."

"Poor life choices indeed..." And then she filed it away into 'matters of no consequence'-folder somewhere in the library of her mind and moved on.

"The members of the Republic I've met so far are far too trusting. Were our positions reversed, I would not have been making their mistakes," she shook her head. "Niall and a few other Alderaanians, I helped them out with a bounty yesterday... they were quick to accept the help of a Sith, so I guess he owes me one now."

Shaisha's smirk was confident as she skewered a slice of fish with her fork. "Any particular intel you are looking for, Jo'ren? I have my way with information these days."