Baras to the Future (D2, LM Syl's Room)

[Sylvain Torsin]

Sylvain returned to his room at the appointed hour. His master had notified him that he wished to speak with him about an important matter. If Sylvain was anything, he was punctual, and so he waited in his room near his desk for his communicator to beep a signal of an incoming call.

[Dapper Dog]

The line is answered and Baras appears and says, "Apprentice, good, we have much to discuss."

[Sylvain Torsin]

Sylvain nods his head in deference and looks up to his master to speak.

"I am ready my master."

[Dapper Dog]

"Tell me of your progress on the Smuggler's Moon, I know Layne has completed her task, yours I suspect is more fluid," he responds.

[Sylvain Torsin]

Sylvain nodded, "I attended the formal dinner last evening and began to build a relationship of possible cooperation towards a peace accord with a member of the diplomatic team of the Republic, Yslane Tssilla. I requested a spot at Xevious' private luncheon this afternoon to discuss the peace talks with him and the Republic's designated representatives. He granted my request and accordingly I will be attending that meeting later. I have also reconnected with Shaisha as you requested."

[Dapper Dog]

“Good, continue to keep her close.”

Baras is silent and then says, “You have labored tirelessly for me, apprentice and each time have surmounted the challenges and obstacles set before you. Your father had that same dogged determination, that same sense of character and resolve. Impeccable and resolute. He had only one glaring flaw, do you know what that is?”

[Sylvain Torsin]

Sylvain looked on coolly, "What was it my Master?"

[Dapper Dog]

Sylvain looked on coolly, "What was it my Master?"

“He was not a Sith, and a non-Sith with as much power as he had was troubling to the Dark Council. He was a victim of his own success. He was too good at his job, as it were apprentice. Thee xyxian sharks were circling and any weakness any blood was going to end him. So I made him a martyr, a death that would be meaningful and preserve his legacy.”

“A legacy I intend for you to fill. The Empire is a dying beast, if it were up to me it would be shot and buried. We have crumbling structures that endure long after they have become irrelevant. The Dark Council being a prime example of dysfunction and waste that cripples the Empire. We waste resources on petty rivalries, on vendettas. We turn our nose at other species for their lack of purity and suffer for it. Things must change, and that is change I have tried to effect.”

“Think of those that graduated with you, there is a reason I requested an office on Korriban. These changes were not simply by frivolous chance.”

[Sylvain Torsin]

"Your benevolence towards my father and I knows no bounds master." Sylvain replied calmly.

"You know I despise the infighting as much as anyone. But I must admit, I do not see how you can accomplish this aim."

[Dapper Dog]

“Not alone apprentice, not yet. I have… plans. Plans that are threatened by misguided forces. If I had my way the Dark Council would be abolished and a more streamlined and orderly structure put in place with clear divisions of responsibility. Democracy is chaos, I prefer the efficiency of autocracy by the enlightened,” he says.

“In this new order I would rely on those that feel as I do, think in a progressive means and see the larger picture. This is why I will be moving you to the Ministry of War at the end of your tenure on Nar Shaddaa.”

[Sylvain Torsin]

Sylvain nodded, "As you wish my master. Is that all I am to know of the nature of your plans at this moment, then? I must admit, it can be difficult to serve as your chief intelligence aid when the list of things I am not privy to is perhaps substantially longer than those I am."

[Dapper Dog]

"Speak your mind, apprentice," he says.

[Sylvain Torsin]

He smirked, "There are many things where I notice I am intentionally left out of your confidence. For one, Layne's activities here are beyond my pay-grade it would seem, I can only hope you haven't given her orders to countermand everything that I do. And your search for a former agent of your's named 'Magpie' oddly did not make it onto my desk for investigation. Asking your spy network to do their job is apparently not in your best interests. And informing me of your ambitions without providing a vision of the road ahead beyond 'do this next' does not allow me to assist you in any meaningful way. Dog-like blind obedience is useful for an asset like Layne, but for one of my skills it is restrictive and sub-optimal for your purposes."

He nodded in deference, "But we have had similar discussions before on my requests for further enlightenment and training from you. You have been generous with your time and knowledge up until now, so I am sure we will once again return to the point that I lack the proper patience."

[Dapper Dog]

“A spy master who needs to be guided where he applies his efforts is a poor spymaster. If you know of Magpie, then you I am sure you know of the inherent conflict of interest for you,” Baras replies.

[Sylvain Torsin]

"Inherent conflict?" He asked, "Oh... you mean that she is my mother. A mother who has lied to me for all of my life about her true identity... I'm surprised you didn't try to leverage that fact to your favor."

He shook his head, "But that is neither here nor there. If she is a threat to the Empire, then whether she be my mother, my dog, or a random stranger on the street the result is the same."

[Dapper Dog]

“Sylvain, you show a distressing need to have the approval of those close to you in your life, such as Kristal Serasai or your affection for Shaisha. You are not the cold hearted monster you wish to be,” Baras chides.

[Sylvain Torsin]

Sylvain shook his head, "Loyalty and Respect are far different from a childish need for approval. It is true that I am not heartless, but I do not see that as a weakness. My passion and desire for justice give me strength when I need it, and provide greater power through cooperation when I myself would fail. You fear that knowledge of Magpie would lead me to seek her out to help me destroy you, when in fact it is your cowardly hoarding of information that pushes your loyal apprentice away. There are times when information should be given freely, and trust extended even to a potential enemy. Secluding yourself from any type of bond with others removes from you a tremendous source of strength and influence. Soft power is a form of power too."

[Dapper Dog]

“Trust between Sith is not an easy thing, even between Master and apprentice. Secrets are the seeds of conflict. If I sent Layne to kill Kristal, would you stand by or would this friendship compel you to disobey me?” he asks.

[Sylvain Torsin]

"I would chuckle that you would be so foolish to think Layne could kill Kristal." Sylvain replied with a smirk.

"But you are right. I would seek to help Kristal in any way that I could. Though not off of the basis of sentimentality alone. Because it is women like her that are the future of this Empire. Whatever image you hope to reshape the Empire into in the future... if it does not have women like Kristal Serasai, then it is of no value." He replied succinctly.

"Just as I find it foolish that you thought killing a man who was 'too good at his job' was somehow supposed to benefit anyone other than yourself. It sounds to me that you have relied on your own counsel for too long, you are far more powerful and knowledgeable than I but you too have turned increasingly inward; focusing only on yourself and your own capabilities. I do not see that as the optimal road in accomplishing your objectives, but perhaps you will prove me wrong."

He nods his head in deference, "I live to serve the you and the Empire."

[Dapper Dog]

“My point is proven. You obfuscate sentimentality with justification,” Baras says.

“Your father was a marked man, if you cannot see that then perhaps you lack the vision I first perceived in you. The Dark Council would have consumed him and you would have been made to suffer it.”

“Kristal Serasai has no value. The sooner you realize that the better. She is your enemy, Shaisha is your enemy. That is the final lesson you will have to learn the hard way.”

[Sylvain Torsin]

"We will see." Sylvain replied calmly.

"I would be careful of your 'sword'. Something seems off about her... She's waning far more philosophical than I think you would expect. The Republic may seem a far more attractive locale for someone like her with no sense of loyalty. Sending her here to interact with the Republic may be too much for her." Sylvain replied.

"Perhaps you will see this comment as some type of rivalry between me and her, but it is simply my honest assessment. I will do what I can to make sure she remains useful to you going forward. If I have been anything with you over the past year, it is honest and devoted in my dealings with you."

[Dapper Dog]

“At this juncture, I trust her more than I trust you and your divided loyalties. You need to prioritize apprentice,” Baras responds.

[Sylvain Torsin]

"My priorities lie with the Empire. They always have, and they always will." He replied. "It is my understanding that you feel the same way. I'm merely asking you to make your case to me... I value my life, my friends' lives, and everything in this galaxy lower than the needs of the Empire. You and your master do not get along any better than you and I do... but it has potentially been your most efficacious relationship to date. We too could potentially do great things for the Empire... but your case has yet to be shown as one I could put my devotion to."

[Dapper Dog]

Baras laughs softly.

“My apprentice, you should warn me when you decide to bombard me with wit. It is not the Master’s place to make any case to the Apprentice, I do think you have the nature of this relationship backwards. You have to make your case to me why I should continue to have you in my service,” the elder Sith replies.

[Sylvain Torsin]

Sylvain smiled slightly, "I am not a normal apprentice I suppose. But I make my case to you every day. If you wish to continue to have my abilities, and do not wish to see them extinguished by your hand, or put to the use of your enemies, then all that is required is to fulfill the role of a Master by providing knowledge and power to your apprentice. Let me see your vision of the future. The more I know, the more I can help you... As you well know."

He bows, "And that, my lord, is the gist of me 'speaking my mind' as you requested. I'm sure you'll refrain from doing that again any time soon."