-|Jedi Temple, Tolun Fi’s Lab, Day 1, 12:07 GST|-
Darth Nyiss finally made it to the door behind which Tolun Fi’s lab should be present. It was evident that the door had a great deal of lightsaber damage to it. The lock was beyond repair. Part of a blue lightsaber protruded through the door, apparently half way through cutting a hole. It seemed Tolun, or however else inside, had initially decided to lock themselves in, but then chosen to attempt escape after all. It would only slow the Darth down.
Rather than pull her lightsaber to assist in cutting the door open, which might frighten whoever was on the other side into thinking a Sith was coming to fight them, she chose to use the Force to open the door. Noting that the blue lightsaber had finished its upward stroke and the majority of the sideways stroke needed to cut an, albeit messy, rectangular hole, she gripped the still white hot edge of the cutout with the force, and tore it towards her. The intent was to bend the metal around finishing the creation of the opening in a dramatic, swift and suitably nonviolent way. It proved to be a fairly significant feat of telekinesis, given the strength of the doors metal, pushing Nyiss hard, but not beyond her limit.
Unlike the rest of the Jedi in this forsaken soon to be crater, Darth Nyiss actually cared what Tolun Fi thought about her. He was a fellow scientist after all, and in many ways she did not see him as an enemy combatant, rather a peer. He was also, so she had been led to believe, one of the few Jedi that would not immediately totally condemn her simply because she was a Sith. And so, when she had finished bending the metal open, she tried to look as relaxed and nonthreatening as possible. Her lightsaber was still on her belt, and Sela’s lightsaber hung near the back of her belt where it would be concealed.
“Tolun Fi?” She said, her voice sounding as though she was not in a battleground but a friendly conference. “Its a pleasure to finally meet you in person.”
Death, as it turned out, was far more polite than the Kaminoan could have anticipated. He had watched the Sith Lord's feat of strength with the Force, seemingly effortlessly peeling back the blast door from where Tolun Fi had been cutting. The unbalancing thing was there was nothing aggressive about this Sith, and she certainly could have injured him had she hit the door with a strong enough Force push. Instead her efforts were controlled, almost delicate. It was a curious situation he had not anticipated, and his mind reeled with implications. She sought me out. She knew I would be here. Curious, how does she know who I am, and why the polite formality? he wondered, lightsaber still active but resting by his side, a precaution rather than a sign of overt aggression. Her clipped high voice suggested a high degree of educated sophistication.
"I'm afraid you have me at a loss, Lord...?" he inquired, his tone neutral.
"Darth Nyiss." She corrected, emphasizing her title, though with no annoyance in her voice.
Nyiss had known that Tolun would not know who she was... But some part of her was still disappointed. She had it on good authority that he had studied several of her works - that was to say, the often highly lethal, always exotic strains of biological weapons she had used on those occasions the Sith Empire had required her on the battlefield. Each one of them had always had her personal signature, a particular junk string of DNA, to mark it as made by the same person.
"I'm sure you don't recognize my name or appearance, but you might recognize this." She produced a small datapad from her belt and brought up the image and analysis of her bio-weapon signature, holding it up for Tolun to see.
"Those little toys were fun while they lasted..." She began in a slightly wistful tone. "But I find myself in need of a fellow scholar, to aid in a far more important, far more complex work of science." She was genuinely complementary, truly believing Tolun her equal. She tried to avoid her eagerness at the idea of working with someone who could actually keep up out of her voice.
The Kaminoan recognized the strain immediately. He himself had collected samples after a bioweapon attack and the electron microscope had revealed an identical pattern. Not that he needed it to recognize the name; he was intimately familiar with Darth Nyiss' work, and she was quite the prolific author in Imperial journals. It was a conflicting thing; one one hand, Darth Nyiss represented everything he opposed, but she was also someone he himself had come to admire in a way for her scientific acumen. He imagined the sensation would not be unlike finding out your favorite movie star owned a slave fighting ring and had sexual congress with your mother.
"I do know your name, I just never had a face to put to it until this moment." he said, still observing the rotating plague displayed in front of him. His gaze turned to the Darth when she expressed interest in looking for a collaborator. My, what an uncharacteristically strange day I've found myself in.
"While I am always pleased to meet a fellow scientist, and apparently you've come to admire my work as I have yours after a fashion, I'm afraid the slaughter of my colleagues has put a damper on my spirit." he gestured to Master Sela's lightsaber on Nyiss' belt. "I was quite fond of Master Sela, for instance. I can't imagine whatever proposal is on your mind is altruistic by any means. " Tolun Fi said, his tone even, unemotional.
"I'm sure its no consolation." Nyiss began. "But your friend died well." She hoped that he wouldn't hold that against her. She was only defending herself... She would keep her enjoyment of the act hidden of course.
"I wish we could have met on better terms, but I'm afraid my proposal is the only way you will leave this building alive. I'll not strike you down myself, but there are many others here that would. If you'll agree to come with me now, you'll not be harmed, I have the authority to ensure that." Much of the enthusiasm had gone from her voice now, this seemed too much like blackmailing him.
Her enthusiasm returned when she spoke of her project though, as a way of spinning it in favor of the Jedi views came to her mind. "If you can help me bring my project to fruition though, there will never again be a need for conflict. Jedi, Sith, neither title will mean anything. The galaxy will be united at last."
"Master Sela is one with the Force now." Tolun Fi conceded. "I would be amiss if I said I wasn't curious about this project of yours, and since I'm left with little choice, I might as well entertain my curiosity and go with you." He glanced past her and around. "I can sense the Dark Side everywhere, the Temple is regrettably lost. Either I die here in this tomb in the making, or later. Perhaps what you intend to show me will actually be worthy of my participation, if your aims coincide with my own standards. Given your manners and evident respect, I at least owe you the opportunity to see what it is you came all the way here to show me." He deactivated his lightsaber, giving it a final glance before tossing it to Nyiss. "I had always found combat a resort for people incapable of finding a better way. It comes as a pleasant surprise to meet a Sith willing to engage an ideological foe in dialog. I admit, you hold my interest."
Nyiss caught the lightsaber in her free hand, making sure to keep its emitter pointed away from her. "Good. Follow me. I'm sure you'll be intrigued." She said, clipping Tolun's saber to her belt alongside Sela's as she turned on her heel. She didn't intend to knock the Jedi out unless necessary. It was important he keep operating of his own free will as long as possible. And after all. It would hardly be polite to drug him now, after such a reasonable conversation.
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