Grapes of Wrath [LN9]

[Moyr Ahaya]

She nodded in agreement.

"Inserting you into the Academy may be both hard and ultimately unproductive. Some Sith of today have turned into careless braggarts who don't understand the virtue of not letting the enemy know about their assets and plans, and some of the infighting may also be compromising. I am willing to explore a new approach to the master-apprentice dilemmas though for our own benefit we shouldn't teach each other how to be too trusting. The edge has to be there for the reasons you already understand."

[Durasay Mixo]

"I've seen those braggarts. They left me unimpressed." He let out a small, harsh laugh, thinking of Zhorrid. She was chaotic and violent with no purpose. "I'm curious as to this approach, Moyr." He raised an eyebrow.

The comment about not teaching other to trust... Did that close other doors?

[Moyr Ahaya]

"We'll need to move in increments, Durasay. With the Mandalore on the rise and the new reality of 'peace' there are too many unknowns for us to be locked into one plan, though getting you a place in the Senate should be our next priority. I have my own paths to traverse in the meantime, to make myself stronger than I am right now, and thus a worthier tutor by extension. They may or may not lead to my lordship."

She smiled faintly.

"I will find a face that will help us maintain our relationship without raising too much suspicion. We'll follow from there."

[Durasay Mixo]

"A new face? I just got to know this one." He grinned at her, trying to tease out more than just the faint smile. "Though I assume you'll keep the mask?" His voice lifted slightly as he brought it up.

She was right, he knew. Things were very chaotic. Too many variables to say it was all one plan.

"I'll prove a worthy student, Moyr. And I'll keep you on your toes."

[Moyr Ahaya]

"The mask is as much a boon as it is a burden. Even more so now, after there is a reputation attached to it. There will likely be people keen on giving me trouble for what I've done. No secret can be kept forever, so the trick is to let your enemies chase the former one."

She did respond with a broader smile, but she had no carefree joy in her, nor enough schadenfreude at this point either. His last commitment, however lit up a bit of satisfaction in her eyes, now turned on him with focus, and the lekku moved slightly forward again, streaming down onto her bosom.

"I expect nothing less. There is a lot of tearing down to be done and I can't do it just by myself."

[Durasay Mixo]

Durasay's eyes easily followed the lekku, an eyebrow raising at her smile. "Well, I hope you keep the mask nearby, anyway." Crossing one leg over his knee, he relaxed his stance.

"Teach me, my Master."

[Moyr Ahaya]

He actually found reproof in her gaze for matching those two things, leisurely behaviour and those words. She rose.

"Come forth and kneel." She said sharply.

[Durasay Mixo]

Durasay stood from the copilots chair, straightening his uniform, making sure the crossflap was fastened. Stepping forward with military precision, he stoos over Moyr, eyes locked onto hers.

And then...

The Knee dropped, touching durasteel plating, as he bowed low, head dropped.

[Moyr Ahaya]

She bent over him slightly, combing her fingers into his silver hair. The vibrance of the Force in her touch was not invasive but unignorable.

"Repeat the Qotsisajak with me, Durasay Mixo. Make it yours, pursue its mastery, and a day will come when you'll need no masters over you."

She closed her eyes and let the Force speak through her. She spoke the ancient rote as she was taught at Korriban, first in Sith. Durasay could feel how the words enter him both through his hearing and directly into his thoughts. Two voices coalesced, reverberated, echoed across his being...

"Nwûl tash. Dzwol shâsotkun.
Peace is a lie, there is only passion..."

...

"Shâsotjontû châtsatul nu tyûk.
Through passion, I gain strength."

...

"Tyûkjontû châtsatul nu midwan.
Through strength, I gain power."

...

"Midwanjontû châtsatul nu asha.
Through power, I gain victory."

...

"Ashajontû kotswinot itsu nuyak.
Through victory, my chains are broken."

...

"Wonoksh Qyâsik nun.
The Force shall free me."

[Theme!]

[Durasay Mixo]

"Nwûl tash. Dzwol shâsotkun.
Peace is a lie, there is only passion..."

...

"Shâsotjontû châtsatul nu tyûk.
Through passion, I gain strength."

...

"Tyûkjontû châtsatul nu midwan.
Through strength, I gain power."

...

"Midwanjontû châtsatul nu asha.
Through power, I gain victory."

...

"Ashajontû kotswinot itsu nuyak.
Through victory, my chains are broken."

...

"Wonoksh Qyâsik nun.
The Force shall free me."

Each word coursed and echoed through his mind and his veins as he spoke them. Durasay could feel the power as they were recited. As he spoke them, he cpuld feel the way he leaned into her touch, his head tilted as she combed.

When the words were spoken, Yellow-Amber eyes slowly lifted themselves to see her face, the face of his Master.

"I will break these chains."

[Moyr Ahaya]

"You will." She said with no uncertainty, taking her hand away as her gaze of molten gold connected with his. "Rise."

[Durasay Mixo]

The Pantoran stood. He looked down to Moyr, his eyes raging with fire and intensity. His smile was wicked, a flash of desire showing. Yet he stood, unwavering.

"We will bring true Freedom to the Galaxy, my Master. And it will be glorious."

[Moyr Ahaya]

She reached out to squeeze his shoulder and nodded for them both to sit down again.

"There is a lot of unmaking for us to do before that can happen. I have some ideas that require an early deliberation though. One of them would be related to the Ascendancy."

[Durasay Mixo]

"Should my friendship with Nudimsu remain unchanged, we may be able to truly use the Ascendency to our advantages." Finally sitting, he found himself filled with renewed purpose.

His posture, stance, focus, all of it remained completely on Moyr, rigid at attention. It was as if he was an officer aboard a corvette again.

[Moyr Ahaya]

"There is more to that. As you know, the Chiss Ascendancy is the only real ally of the Empire, not a dependency. As the open hostilities are about to downscale, it puts them in a peculiar situation. They have been indirectly represented in these talks by Salreia, an assistant to Dark Xevious. I would consider her an ally of mine at this point, and an ambitious one. I believe that her political career may reach new heights relatively quickly."

Moyr smoothed out the lower end of her lekku.

"Depending how your relationships with the Chiss develop, in the future you may spearhead an agenda of neutralisation of the Ascendancy or even bringing it into Republic fold. Of course it is not going to happe, but the very attempt before the peace collapses might strengthen your credentials as a statesman while giving us a convenient place to convene in the Unknown Regions without Republican supervision. It will give you an excuse to bring some Chiss diplomatic presence to Coruscant. It may be Salreia or someone else, but in the end it is also about opportunities the Chiss intrinsically offer as a technologically advanced, ingenious polity."

[Durasay Mixo]

"I would agree. And for credibility sake, it would make most sense to try and bring the Ascendency into the Republic. After all, generations past, Pantorans and the Chiss had a common ancestor. It would make sense for one 'cousin' to attempt to bring the other home." His own discourse was punctuated by subtle movements of his eyebrows, his voice low, just for her to hear. "Cultivating an ally from the retinue of the lead for the Empire in the diplomatic discussions? You really are a crafty one, Moyr." The edges of his lips curled as he spoke, his words laced now with an air of excitement.

"How will we prevent the Empire from stalling out my attempt to lure the Ascendency?"

[Moyr Ahaya]

"Well, it doesn't have to be successful in the end. The next outbreak of conflict will undo much of the diplomatic work and in the end I would like for the Chiss to be able to other stakeholders of my choosing rather than be beholden to the Republic. That said, the Dark Council is likely to descend into infighting now that the common purpose of belligerence will become less of an immediate interest. It will make them inward and less likely to intervene into Chiss affairs. But in a way that's precisely the point."

She smiled wryly.

"The various nuclei of a new order should be groomed before the old one completely crumbles. Hence my long-standing support for the Mandalore."

[Durasay Mixo]

"Then like a vine, we will wrap ourselves around those long standing establishments, and slowly begin to choke the life out of them, until all that is left are the new growths that are of our choosing." He nodded in understanding, stretching his neck slightly. The weight of the day seemed to be wearing on him, if only because he had been running on pure adrenaline the majority of the evening. The Pantoran allowed his fingers to stretch, an audible pop heard from a few of the joints.

"One can only hope they cannibalize themselves so that when we are ready, they won't be in any position to stand against us. Instead, to look up, and cry out for us to be their saviors."

[Moyr Ahaya]

"Let us not allow ambition to outpace our capability, or strategies make us forget about tactics." Moyr chuckled. "This path is very contingent, and the pieces we need are not the ones we already hold. There are not only fools to sidestep out there, but also strong allies to cultivate. In the end it often comes down to the military power, and the list of those who wield it on the galactic scale is not extensive." Moyr cautiously reminded Durasay who seemed to be letting his mind too loose.

[Durasay Mixo]

"Of course, Moyr. Like I had said earlier, my pride borders on arrogance. I still have to rein it in." His smile shrank slightly, taking in the chastisement. Not that he felt cut down, not in the least.

He simply wanted her to not have cause to regret this new arrangement.

Or to preclude anything else.

"Patience and timing will be our allies."

[Moyr Ahaya]

She nodded.

"That's the lesson you've drawn from how you defeated Azanak. Don't forget it, it's a good one."

She smiled to draw his attention.

"But peace will always be a lie. Don't let your mind slide toward acceptance of whatever protractedness and uneventfulness you witness as peace. It is but an excuse for complacency, to find comfort in accepting illusion as reality. You cannot localise conflict, it is always brewing, everywhere. Fight every battle everywhere, in your mind. And project your will only when you know you have the power to win."

She paused to hold it.

"The Ascendancy. Yavin. Pantora. Mandalore. Nar Shaddaa. Balmorra. The Core. The Stygian Caldera. The revolted Outer Rim. If you don't see how those can connect you will never connect them. You will have to learn how power flows in its many forms, how it can be transformed and put to use. How by affecting one place you reshape the other. You can imagine it as hidden hyperlanes you bore through space."

[Durasay Mixo]

"The Mynock effect. The flapping of a mynock's wings in the Anoat system creates a storm on the Alderaan system." He spoke with understanding.

Being a leader, he understood logistics. This was just that on a grander scale. He focused on her smile, on that way she held his attention.

The way she commanded it.

"We start on one end, and it will lead us to our goals on the other. But never lose sight of that map."

[Moyr Ahaya]

"Or concurrently on several ends which look disapparate for anyone but those who know what they are doing." She smiled approvingly, then looked back into space, leaning into her seat, closing her eyes for a moment. She too looked tired. Her hand shot out and grasped the whiskey glass for a long, slow sip. "All other things notwithstanding, it will be exciting, Durasay. We're not born into the Force just to reproduce and die, or to chain our lives to meaningless rituals and illusions of small stability, but to make a difference. The legacy may be quiet or loud, but the change will add to our journey through time. I want a galaxy in which one can have as much liberty as they have the instinct to want and the audacity to take."

[Durasay Mixo]

He was quiet, contemplative. He knew that rush of freedom. Longed to feel it on a galaxy wide scale. The Force had brought these actions togethet. Led him to this point.

But it was his determination and actions that allowed him to seize moments for his own purposes. It's why hr was here.

"I am glad we are going to be striking out on this venture, together, Moyr. Not passively, but with great purpose and dynamic vision."

[Moyr Ahaya]

Her back arched and her toes briefly disconnected from the durasteel floor as she pressed her upper body forth in a drowsy stretch. "And as we're both still pretty much biological creatures sustaining ourselves on a few more things than the Force alone, we probably should get some sleep." After a quick peek at the consoles for the autopilot settings she hopped on those toes and fluidly stretched into a straightened position while catching the balance. There was a hint of otherworldly seamlessness in how she moved. She then approached him and her fingers briefly brushed along his temple, the touch so gentle that it barely registered. "Let me show you to your cabin."