[center]~|Day 2, 19:05-19:20 GST|~
~|Jayda & Vivithe, Sith Sector (Common room)|~[/center]

Lady Lansha walked down the hallway in her usual maroon robe, she was alone this time, no guards accompanying her. Her stomach growled lightly, she hadn’t eaten in some time. Even a powerful Sith lord such as herself needed to eat. As she rounded a corner, her eyes popped open in surprise to find Jayda, Lord Sish’s female apprentice exiting a room. 

Her lip and face bruised, likely caused by her master’s abuse. Vivithe almost felt bad for her, but it was her own fault that she allowed the lizard to beat her so badly. She felt compelled to say something to the girl, as she was walking right towards her.

“Hello, Jayda. Catching up on some recordings?” Vivithe asked her, noticing the room she had entered was the one the Sith lord herself had been around her early time on the Kaggath. It was also where she encountered that ghoulish being that scarred her beautiful face then disappeared.

Jayda’s eyes immediately found the floor as sheshe made a small bow, her mind recalling Sish’s lessons over how to address another Sith Lord. Those lessons she wasn’t eager to have him repeat when she lifted her head, her eyes briefly meeting the Lord’s then turned away slightly. Last thing she wanted was to seem like she was challenging the woman in the condition she was in. Zanna’s words peered from her memory and edged her to caution when she answered. “I was trying to see if my suspicions about recent and strange events onboard were accurate. Unfortunately, I upsetted Sish in the process and well, you can see the result. It should heal within a few hours.”

She was hoping her lying was improving some, her words vaguely touching on the reason beat and part of her hoped it wouldn’t be touched upon. Her feet considered moving to the common area or her own room, using meditation to calm her nerves, before didn’t want to draw attention to her inability to focus while still. She studied the Lord a bit then braved a question dancing on her mind. “If I may ask, where are you heading to, my Lord?”  

“Did he see something on the archives that he did not approve of?” Vivithe asked the apprentice, locking eyes with the girl. She was surprised the normally meek Jayda had actually asked a question of her own to her. Still, she gave her an answer.

“I was going to have something to eat, my dear. Why don’t you join me? You look like you haven’t eaten in days. Has Lord Sish been letting you eat?” She replied as she started to walk again, her eyes still locked on to Jayda.

“I got reckless in my ignorance. Corr, another recent apprentice, had tried to… dispose of me.” Jayda chose her words carefully, forcing her breathing to relax as she mixed truth and lies. “He was disappointed in my actions and relaxed guard that he decided to remind me about the rules of being an apprentice.” 

A soft sound rumbled through her middle causing Jayda to become rather aware about the last time she had eaten. Between the injuries and her high metabolism, her meal from earlier that day had been completely digested. On hearing the questions about Sish, Jayda considered what to tell the woman and in what manner. If she had asked her four months ago, her answer would’ve been rather simple and along the lines of ‘Only if she could catch it when it gnawed on her’. Vicious rodent like creatures on Sish’s homeworld had been her meal for those horrible two years with only enough discarded scraps if she was in danger of dying from starvation. 

Inhaling, Jayda merely nodded seeing as they were likely to head the same way. “If you have little objections, my Lord, I would appreciate that. Maybe I could also fed my own curiosity as well.” 

She knew she was going to be playing a risky game with what she was about to do, but she refused to ask Sish and Zanna was nowhere around to aid her. Jayda waited until the Sith Lord started to lead the way then moved in behind her at a respective distance she once learned.  

“Good, we haven’t had the chance to speak properly to each other yet. Rare to find you alone, either that Red Sith is digging her claws into you, or Lord Sish is.” Vivithe replied with a smile. She started walking, then noticed that the girl had started to lag behind her, like a true follower. Lady Lansha slowed her walk to the point where she was alongside Jayda, even with her pace.

“I have yet to met this Corr. I did hear of his arrival, it is troubling that he is trying to get rid of you. It would be in your best interest to try something like that on him. Your master would approve of such a thing succeeding, I would guess.” Vivithe said to the girl, her tone quieter than it was before. She practically whispered to Jayda, her words hissing out of her mouth like a snake’s tongue. 

Jayda hadn’t expected Lady Vivithe to pull back and walk beside her, Sish usually content with her following behind and glaring daggers in his back, as her neck hairs rose in alarm. At the moment her instincts were screaming to run away or get ready for a fight. It took serious amounts of effort not to grip her lightsaber for comfort while she merely forced them to hang at her side. “Zanna and I have a mutual agreement. Nothing more as crossing me isn’t the best idea if she wants to learn some of my skills and both of us to survive.” 

She paused, swallowing some saliva collecting in her mouth while she added. “As for Corr, I’ll make sure he doesn’t have a chance to repeat his attempts. Through if I was smart, whatever is lurking on this ship might do it for me if I wait long enough.” 

“It sounds like an agreement etched in trust, do you believe Zanna won’t turn on you in an instant? If your master receives word of your partnership, there’s nothing to stop him from abusing that. He could offer to teach her over you.” Vivithe said, her words calm and forward. It was hard for her to trust anyone on the ship, she almost laughed that Jayda had such a partnership of trust with a fellow apprentice level Sith.

“It might be in your best interests to stop his attempts. There’s more than one way to do that.” She added as they neared the cafeteria. A few minor crewmen were inside, two off duty guards at a table and some kitchen staff preparing food. Vivithe took a seat at a table in the corner, signaling for Jayda to sit across from her. 

“Sish lacks the ability to teach me and he even encouraged it to some extent. However, like you he has already warned me to be careful. I suspect he might’ve also warned her from the scar on her face I managed to spot, however I can’t be certain.” Jayda carefully admitted, leaving some doubt in her own words and tone. She was fairly certain, now that she had time to think about it, he had marred the fellow apprentice but why was something she didn’t understand. 

She also noted the slight hint of laughter on the Lord’s voice but didn’t comment. It wasn’t her place through the thought irritated her as she managed to keep pace and not fall behind. On hearing the Lord’s words on the matter of Corr, Jayda was curious a bit, and followed Vivithe to the table where she took a seat directly across from the woman as directed. 

“I’ll admit my knowledge of the Sith is...limited.” There was a slight distaste and bitterness when she spoke of that fact, her eyes studied the Lord before like a bird waiting for the nexu to pounce on it. Her breath inhaled again to sooth over her nerves while she continued. “Since you’re rather knowledgeable on the subject, would you be kind to share your own experiences?” 

A bottle of red wine was brought to the table by one of the servants, they proceeded to pour a glass for Vivithe, leaving another for Jayda. The Sith lord took a sip as the apprentice across from her spoke. She placed the glass down, looked Jayda in the eyes, and replied to her question. Her thoughts going over it in her mind.

“Depends what kind of knowledge you seek, my dear. I’ve been with the Empire for some time, been through the war, experience is not a thing I lack.” Vivithe said, one of her hands rubbing the wine glass. 
“I’ve had to take care of rivals, you cannot avoid such a thing within the Sith order. If such an obstacle is in your way then it must be removed. A straight assault rarely succeeds, there are always other more appealing methods.” Vivithe added with a smile as food was brought to her, a healthy salad, made exactly as she requested it to be made. The dressing smelling extra delicious to the hungry Sith lord. 

Jayda’s eyes followed the servant, noting the glass left for her and hadn’t taken a sip. Not that she wanted to be rude, but her biology was slightly different from a human and she was unlikely to gain any nutritional benefit from the grapes. Of course the Sith had little way of knowing that. She turned to the servant then ordered a raw Reek steak for herself before the man left to collect the food. Listening to Lady Vivithe, Jayda was trying to be careful in her chosen words as she debated which information was least harmful to deliver. 

“As you’ve likely figured out, Sish’s methods are more...straightforward and without subtle motivatives. His point was pretty clear on [i]what[/i] manner I should remove him and permanently. Straight assault is a tactic I’m most familiar with, I have little to no other experience or know any others.” Jayda stated referring to the fact Sish lacked education in that area. Through she was slightly lying as she recalled the anticlotting agent she was going to use on Corr and then release a beast to cover her tracks. 

After their ‘fight’ caught on camera, it wasn’t too far fetched his own pride would’ve allowed such an event to occur. However, if it was investigated too deeply there would likely a few holes. Her little display with Zanna made it clear Jayda looked like an over tempered and ignorant apprentice, making Corr unaware she would try to kill him in a manner different from her usual methods. 

When the steak was delivered, alongside the Sith’s salad, Jayda held off on eating a moment to ask more questions in a cautious way. Her fingers folded under her chin just to keep them from twitching and tried to focus. “From the way you spoke, it seems that is a common thing for all Sith.” 

Her hands shifted her plate in front of her as she took a knife then started to cut into the bloody meat.   

 Vivithe had begun to eat her salad, chewing it as the apprentice spoke, her striking eyes focused on the girl as each word seemed to squeeze out of her mouth. She doubted that Jayda had ever done any real espionage against opponents within the Empire. Her master wasn’t that kind either, the brute charged head on into every single problem which Jayda admitted.

“It is, in certain area of the Sith hierarchy. Throughout it the strong prevail over the weak, intelligence is a strength. One more useful than brute force. I have killed my opponents before, other times simply embarrassed them to an unignorable point. But, it seems death decides which of his apprentices Lord Sish teaches,” Vivithe replied as she paused in her eating, one of her hands grasping her glass of wine. She took another sip of it before speaking, the color of the liquid almost matching the color of her robes. “You could take care of your rival with deceit, perhaps lead him into a trap. Make it look like an accident, like it was his own idiocy.” 

“Maybe shoot him out an airlock.” Vivithe added with an actual laugh, with a smile that came from comedy rather than twisted thoughts. The idea of that being the scenario and actually succeeding a hilarious image in her mind. 

“I’m sure you can figure something out. I hope that you’re a smart enough girl. Just think of the consequences before all else, how badly it could backfire, how likely it is to do that.” She added, the smile gone.

Jayda listened and absorbed the information, mentally noting to tread lightly when on Lady Vivithe’s wrathful side in the future. Though she doubted the Sith Lord would waste much time on her due to her lower rank. Not unless she proved she was stronger and motivated enough to threaten the Lord’s position, which was something the Zabrak lacked currently. She took a bite, her canine teeth easily sliced into the chuck that oozed its copperish taste onto her tongue, slowly chewing then swallowed.  

“He does. Only the strong survive, something his trials proved all too well.” Jayda thought, her hand reached up to brush the scarring near her neck and seemed lost in her own mind for a moment. Then quickly shook loose from it, her eyes jerked up when the Sith laughed at her own suggestion about the airlock then abruptly turned serious. “Leaving doubt, from my understanding would work will in an Sith’s favor. Correct?” 

Her hand reached for the wine, taking a light sip to test its effects on her stomach. Ignoring the festering worry weighing down her middle and causing her very stomach she was worried about upsetting, feel like it was dropping down several inches.   

“Yes. If you want to make it look like an accident, ensure that is what is thought. I doubt your master would take kindly to you telling him that you had no idea what happened to your fellow apprentice, when in fact you did and the trail leads to your orchestration of the ‘accident’.” Vivithe said as she ate more of her salads, every bite calm and composed like she was. The Sith also eat very cleanly, as if illustrating her point. She had not spilt a single drop of wine.

“We wouldn’t want him to find out something like that, would we?” Vivithe added, resisting the urge to touch one of Jayda’s scars and instead put attention on them with her eyes. The reptile was a brute, but if he become a Sith lord, then it meant he was not a total idiot.

“I learned a long time even predators have their own type of luck.” Jayda stated, not going into more detail but seemed to reflect on what the Sith Lord had said while she finished her meal and wine. She doubted Sish was even going to like her talking with Vivithe in any instance, another round of pain at the reptile’s claws was likely to come. It was matter of enduring it until she saw a chance to end his life but part of her wondered how much longer she would be able to withstand his brutality. There was little proof, other than her endurance, she had grown in any aspect beyond what she already knew.

He promised to make her stronger, but all he had managed to was scar her. Her skin pricked where she sensed the Lord’s eyes looked causing her to become acutely aware and react in what could’ve been seen as an effort to hide it, her hands pulling up her collar to hide them from sight. She then spoke words in a hasty manner to advert the attention to her fading and fresh wounds. 

“No, I rather he didn’t discover anything. I think I know how to create doubt and cover my tracks, through I still have time to set everything up before his arrival.” 

“I hope you believe your own words, Jayda. I will forget this conversation occurred, it is best if you do the same.” Vivithe replied as she finished her meal, punctuating her words with a hard glare at the apprentice. She did not intend to get roped into a failed plan if one did occur, she only hoped the girl had actually listened carefully. Part of her was eager to see what was planned. 

She finished her glass of wine, then rose out of her seat. Their talk was over with, there was other business to attend to. With another look, Lady Lansha exited the cafeteria as calmly as she entered.