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It was a busy day within the headquarters where the Watchers and Fixers worked hard to keep the base operational. Ania was expected to debrief with Watcher Two after she delivered her report to the Keeper since her return from an assignment. Couple of seconds turned to minutes, the Watcher had not arrived to seek her. As the evening hour approaches, she decided to use her time by researching through the database for distraction instead of heeding Keeper’s advice to go home and get some shut-eye. The problem was, she wasn’t feeling tired at the moment–it didn’t help that the night terror slowly worsened each time she tried to sleep.
Though, Ania was nervous.
One minute she was sent on an assignment for the first time to hunt down a supposed "dissident" threatening the Empire, and then the next she handed in her written report to the Keeper. The older man looked like he came out unscattered from a tense conversation with the masked Dark Councillor. The same one who comes and goes as they pleased through the headquarters to observe the workplace environment–many of the agents were uncomfortable by the Sith’s presence.
The aura surrounding Darth Jadis was unsettling.
Ania had not forgotten how each time the Dark Councillor visited and watched her–she could’ve sworn they saw through to her skull. It was strange but Ania quickly thought nothing of this. Perhaps their gaze was elsewhere than hers. It wasn’t until she saw Keeper hurried out of the office in a rush with a darkened look, perturbed by something. She noticed the report file in his hand–the one that she wrote and recently handed in. Dread overwhelmed her as she started to believe something was definitely not right about her assignment.
The face of her target plagued her mind–the familiarity was recognisable from the Intelligence higher ups–her hands were soaked with blood from a wound she struck into the chest with a vibro-knife.
A quiet sigh left her throat, shrugging off the memory from her mind, she got up from her seat and went to grab a cup of coffee from the break room. It's going to be a long day.
—
Nighttime descended upon the city of Ziost. Keeper made his way straight from his office throughout the building leading to the Sith Sanctum with hurried footsteps–paying no mind to other Sith Lords nearby. The two guards on post by the Dark Councillor’s office didn’t halt him to state his business nor reason for an audience, they granted him access into the antechamber without the need for permission.
He knocked on the door to announce his arrival, “Lord Jadis?”
Gasp and moan was heard from within–Keeper narrowed his eyes by this sound–followed by a thud a second after. The door slid open. There he was greeted upon the sight of an imperial officer laid unconscious on the floor, shirt unbuttoned and soaked with blood from the bite puncture on her breast. Keeper blinked at the unusual scene.
This was not the first time he walked in on Jadis, unmasked, feeding off a woman's breast--he had not looked at Jadis the same way, again--never forgetting the way they pulled away with a sinister glare with blood dripping down from their dark stained lips.
“Keeper.” Jadis acknowledged his presence, voice rasped from consumption of blood, “Come in.”
The older human frowned at the woman for a minute then shifted his gaze over to the Dark Councillor with their back turned on him to adjust their mask then wiping the blood off their chin with a cloth, commanded the guards with a snap of their finger to remove the body.
“Tell me you have not claimed another agent’s life to fuel your blood addiction.”
Jadis made an amused but short laugh, “Always fretting about that? She will not remember this exchange."--they stepped over to sit down by the desk and picked up a cigarette from a packet--"If you care about protecting your associates that much, you could’ve offered your wife to me.”
“I doubt my wife would’ve approved of this either.”
“A shame.” they voiced their disapproval, fingers beckoned at the Keeper to approach and flickered with the lighter for the cigarette, “So, you have a reason for showing up unannounced. Speak.”
The old man cleared his throat now the guards had come and left with the woman’s body, leaving the two of them alone in the dimly-lit office surrounded with flame lights within the corners. He walked over to hand over the report to the Sith.
“I have Agent Nevrakis’ report.” he waited for them to take it off his hands.
Jadis turned to stare down at the datapad as a puff of smoke steamed through their lips, “You came all this way to deliver these personally?” Jadis sounded offended. Insulted that he failed to send her to them, “You could’ve sent her way to me.”
The Keeper scrunched his nose from the tobacco smell before clearing his throat, “Well, you see, my lord, there is a matter I was hoping to discuss with you first.”
“Such as?”
“About the assignment of hers. More specifically her target.”
The Sith glanced back and forth between the human and the report file without a second thought–they reached over to snatch the file off his hand and tossed it aside onto the desk. Keeper stood there skeptically, believing this action was peculiar because normally Jadis requested for highly prolific assignment reports to be addressed to them.
So what had changed, then?
“Are you not going to look at it?”
“I’ve no reason to.” Jadis replied plainly, “There isn’t any “matter” to discuss, Keeper.”
The human made an exasperated huff of dissatisfaction by the response, “Might I ask why not?” The Keeper tried to reason with the Sith, “Because this had already alerted the Imperial High Command, the Grand Moff will–”
“I’m aware.” Jadis cuts him off abruptly, voice laced with rasp tone as puffs of smoke steamed from their mouth.
The Keeper raised a brow at this, “You're also aware the Grand Moff will have Agent Nevrakis’ head for this unlawful execution on the Minister of Intelligence?” he tried to argue, “I won’t be able to protect her from him.”
Jadis scoffed, “Kilran will have to go through to me . I will protect what is mine .”--their voice dripped with venom and turned on the chair to face the Keeper fully–”Then again, if my esteemed predecessor had been around, I've no doubt Hades would have grown tired of the Minister if she outlived her usefulness to him."
Jadis took a quick glance at the mask visor on the desk–the same one that was worn by the Count–the thought of wearing that mask every day since their ascension made their stomach churn. They hated that mask. It brought nothing but unsettling memories, never wanting to dwell about that ritual he performed back on Nathema.
He made them what they are now. A dhampir.
“You haven't told me what happened to Darth Hades. As I understand, the Minister had been… increasingly paranoid over his absence for quite a while.”
“Some things are best left unsaid, Keeper. What happened to him is no longer a concern to you nor the Empire’s interests.” Jadis gave a half-assed truth to answer. Truthfully, they weren't sure whether the former Dark Councillor was alive or not after his defeat by their hands. "It's not every day I had to keep tabs on his network in order to eradicate any… influences of his."
“Wait.” The Keeper quickly put two and two together, “Let me get this straight. The Minister was an intended target?” he couldn’t believe what he was about to ask, “You arranged this assignment for your personal gain?”
Jadis mused for a moment to humour the human’s doubts with a smirk, “You got that correct but not for a personal gain.” They took a quick intake of smoke and clasped their hands together with a cigarette nested between their fingers as they continued, “I reserved that mission to Agent Nevrakis for a reason.”
Keeper clicked his tongue in annoyance, “Without consulting with me first?”
“You would have defied my authority to reassign it to someone else.”
He shook his head in disbelief, “Why?”
“Isn’t it obvious? I observed to see what she’s like, perhaps to test her limits and her strengths, how deeply flawed she is.” They explained.
The human started to grow wary, “What’s your interest in Agent Nevrakis? She was not an experienced cipher.”
A pause.
“I’m… rather intrigued by her. There's nothing wrong with showing some interest.” they disclosed without revealing much more than they’re letting on, “This has nothing to do with fulfilling my blood addiction.”
That proved slightly true for the most part–what’s their fixated interest in Ania was no business to him. It had been quite some time since they last received a vision of a young woman with raven hair–they were pleased to have finally found her. To hope that she would share the same ideals and views in reshaping the Empire with a better future. And better leaders on the throne.
“Might I remind you that she is still a recruit who lacks the discipline and training?” He continued to argue in a vain attempt to dissuade them away from Ania. He thought he was supposed to protect the agents from his division.
“Does it matter?”
“She's deaf.” he tried again.
“Was not an issue with me.” They snapped back.
Keeper’s eyes furrowed, “You are putting her safety at risk as I feared.” He pressed, knowing he was about to lose a battle.
Jadis glared sharply at the human, “Are you suggesting she's not capable of handling my affairs, Keeper?”
“No, I-”
“No? She didn't enrol into the Intelligence to not be taught discipline nor achieved the top of her classes and graduated in such a short time.” Jadis countered back in a low tone, though they were under the impression that he overlooked certain details in her profile.
“I get that, but assignments like these require a seasonal agent more trained to work in your favour–”
“I do not want anyone else.” Jadis interrupted him, starting to become irritated, “I prefer Agent Nevrakis.”
“But Agent Nevrakis’ hearing loss wi–”
“Enough! ”
It was then Jadis rose to their feet, the chair rolling back against the wall with a thud, waving their hand calling on the Force as it pulled the human towards the desk. Keeper made a startled noise as his lower body slammed against the edge of the desk, knocking the air out of his breath.
Jadis reached out to roughly grab the human's face with their other hand, sharp tip of their claws almost piercing into his cheek and jawline.
Keeper remained very still, wincing through ragged breaths–his eyes were on the Sith. Body engulfed within the aura of the dark side that reminded him of their power. He could feel them glaring him down through the mask. One more word usher out of his lips, Jadis would surely reprimand him for it.
“Are you trying to provoke me?” Jadis leaned forward to snarl into his face, voicing their disapproval, “Do not presume I had any problem with her disability. Choose your next words quite carefully if I were you, Keeper. Because if you don't,”--they force the human's head roughly over to the chiss cyborg that stood guard in the corner–”I won't hesitate to reform you into a pitiful creature like Cipher Nine.”
Keeper's eyes widened in fear upon the sight of Cipher Nine–former Hand to Darth Hades–stood motionlessly and emotionless, equipped with cyborg implants. He gulped.
“He had made his choice to antagonise me and paid the price for it.” they said sternly, “I trust that you won’t make the same mistake. Understood?” The human didn't respond. Jadis tightened their grips, he flinched without a sound. “I said,” their voice shifted to a deep growl, “Am I understood?”
Keeper swallowed hard. Struggling to find a voice to speak from the swelling pain, “Y-yes, my lord.”
Satisfied by the answer, Jadis released their grips and shoved the human away from the desk. He staggered back on his heels, breathing hard as he held his face to nurse his sore jaw and grimaced when his fingers touched the cut that stinged him. He quickly straightened his posture and adjusted his jacket, watching warily as Jadis picked up a file from the desk and handed it over to him. He took it from their grasp and opened it.
“Something tells me that you have not properly checked Agent Nevrakis’ file.”
“Ok.” Keeper said as he started to skim through it, “What am I searching for?”
“Her parents.” they told him as they sat back in the chair to take a quick smoke, eying how the human froze when instructed to read, they heard him quietly cursed, which confirmed their answer, “Didn't think you would've missed that specific detail about her being the daughter of Darth Vowrawn.”
“And The Wrath’s.” He added, shuddered at the name that made his skin crawl. He heard many frightening stories about what Kritanta had done for the Empire within a decade, “So is she… Force Blind?”
"I wouldn't be quick to presume.” they dismissed the Keeper’s claim, “Force sensitive agents are rare, even if one comes from a Sith lineage. Whether or not she is one, it’s quite remarkable she went undiscovered. Which is the exact reason why I have chosen her. She will be extremely useful to me."
Keeper pinched the bridge of his nose--hearing this had piled on more stress on top of his headache. Great, a potential force sensitive agent is what I really needed to deal with , he thought sarcastically.
"If you’re in a desperate need of an assistant, why haven’t you considered a Sith more suitable for you?” Keeper tried to persuade her once more to steer them away from Ania, "Like Zhorrid fo–?"
"Ah, ah, ah. Your intolerable obstinance is starting to test my patience." Jadis cautioned him with a pointed finger, "You're in no place to judge my decision nor my superiority. Defy me again and I'll see that you'll join your devoted Nine anytime soon." they added with a threatening tone.
Keeper let out a defeated sigh quietly, "I heed your warning loud and clear, my lord."
"Good.” They sounded pleased with the human’s reluctant cooperation, “Now, I have other matters to attend to first,"--they picked up a neglected cigarette to take a quick inhale before blowing hot smoke from their lips–"I advise you get Nevrakis prepared before I summon her. You are dismissed." they waved their hand at the Keeper to excuse him.
Keeper almost coughed from the strong tobacco scent, "But she will not have enough time to be ready for you." he protested.
Jadis stared at the Keeper, “Then make haste to do so.”
–
couple of hours later
The workload had quietened down as the late hour loomed around with probe droids patrolling the halls, few agents started their night shifts whereas some remained overtime to resume their reports. Ania wasn’t alone as she chose to stay a bit longer and browsed the database to occupy her time. A quick few taps had alerted the young woman’s attention as her eyes glanced from the screen to come face to face with the Keeper, she was far distracted to notice him approaching her desk.
He greeted her with a stoic expression, “Agent Nevrakis.”
Ania rose to her feet quickly adjusting her uniform jacket, “Sir. I um, I know I’m not supposed to be here but I-”
The Keeper raised his hand to cease her, “That’s irrelevant right now. Finish up here because you’re needed elsewhere.” he ordered.
Ania noticed the way Keeper looked rather preoccupied with something on his mind, she pried for elaboration, “Needed for what, Sir?”
“An urgent matter.” Keeper resigned after a hesitated pause.
Ania’s instincts were right–something was definitely wrong, but where did he go earlier? Whom did he give her report to? However, she suspected the way he phrased sounded a little vague.
“I don’t understand? A matter?” she questioned.
Before the older human could answer, the conversation was interrupted by the sound of heavy boots against the polished floor. Ania watched Keeper’s expression change with an exasperated hiss through gritted teeth and his forehead furrowed as if he was annoyed. Her red eyes drifted over to the person and instantly recognised the black and red embossed uniform–she had seen them before acting as personal guards escorting Darth Jadis from time to time.
But, this particular guard looked unusually familiar–he was a male Chiss with slick back hair and light blue skin tone, fitted with cybernetic implants on his face.
‘What the fuck . Is that Cipher Nine?! What happened to him?’
Cipher Nine stood still, poised with arms behind, visor fixated onto her attentively, Ania was unnerved by the intense stare, “Agent Nevrakis?” the chiss spoke emotionlessly, “Will you come with us?”
“No. Tell Darth Jadis that she’s not ready for this.” Keeper injected, “She still needs more time and preparations.”
“The Master had warned you to refrain from objecting against their biddings.” The chiss reminded him of the consequences before he turned his attention back to Ania, “The Master wishes an audience with you immediately.”
Ania grew worried and confused as it was difficult trying to understand what the chiss was saying to her before turning to face the Keeper.
The Keeper was quick to step in and interpret for her, “Darth Jadis wants to speak with you.” he explained, “You will proceed to their chambers for an audience.”
Ania was in disbelief over this strange development of the unexpected interest in her. She was nobody important. “I’m sorry, I don’t understand.” she prodded for answers, “Why would Darth Jadis want to talk to me?”
“The assignment of yours had caused quite a stir amongst the higher ups recently. Darth Jadis was well aware of this.” he explained with a grim look.
Ania felt her throat go dry–this entire evening she spent dwelled in dread and riddled with anxiety, “I made a mistake, didn’t I?”
The Keeper shook his head in response, “No. You haven’t. It would seem Jadis wanted to reward you appropriately for your success.”
My success? That was unusually odd , Ania mused quietly and exhaled sharply as she set to switch off the terminal and desk lamp.
“You’ve met Darth Jadis. Experienced their power. I suggest that you treat them with respect and do as they ask.” he cautioned her with a reminder after Ania had seen Keeper get into a heated exchange with the Sith from time to time, “You best not dawdle around longer. So get moving.”
“Understood.” Ania affirmed with a small nord after she was done packing up for the night.
Cipher Nine waited until the young woman was ready to leave and turned to walk up the steps. Once he was out of earshot, Keeper then grabbed Ania’s arm to stop her midway, watching her confusion as she looked down to the hand on her arm.
He leaned down to her face, “For what it’s worth–“ he said in a whispered tone, slowing his speech for her to lipread clearly, ”–I tried to shield you from this. But it seems my efforts were unavoidable.”
Ania narrowed her eyes as her senses picked up the radiating fear from the Keeper. Was he possibly afraid over what Jadis would do with her like Cipher Nine?
“I advise you’ll keep your wits and your head down. I’d rather not lose any more agents to Jadis’ terror.” he continued in a hushed whisper before he released his grip off her arm, “Watcher Two will see you first thing in the morning.” He spoke up before mouthing to her with a simple ‘ be careful .’
The former comment had Ania alarmed. The so-called rumour spread within the Intelligence for weeks regarding a few low-ranking officers vanished without a trace after meeting with the Sith, which certainly hasn’t put her mind at ease. She remembered her father’s caution about the Sith in charge of the Intelligence before she moved out of her family home.
‘Beware of Darth Jadis– be cautious with them because their power is immense, second to the former Sith Emperor,’ Vowrawn advised her with a warning, ‘Whatever you do, keep your head up and don’t despair, shield your mind from them.’
Ania glanced over to Nine who remained by the doorway, beckoning at her to follow like they’re on a timed schedule–she gulped nervously and rushed to be escorted from the base to the Sanctum.
—
A couple of minutes later…
"Wait here."
Ania gave a short nod while the Chiss entered the office to announce her arrival to the Dark Councillor. She stood within the antechamber with a shuddering inhale to steady her nerves, as muted voices were exchanging words from within.
Ania tried to peer closer to listen in an attempt to catch their words until her distracted focus drew to the large wall mirror overlooking the Sith’s office. She moved her head forward, eying the reflection for a better view of the interior to see within–there, she saw a glimpse of the Sith figure with their back turned.
Closely paying more attention to detail, Jadis was rather intriguing and imposing who stood impressively tall that towered over the Imperial officers with their height, donned in the signature black with purple pattern robes and led lights, long raven hair was tied back neatly with subtle notice of the pale skintone–the reflection made her realised something the second she spotted the helmet laid onto the desk.
They are not wearing a mask at that moment.
Curiosity filled with pondering questions over who this mysterious Darth Jadis really was. Nothing was known much about them since the day they declared their “ secluded return ” and “ reclaimed ” the Dark Council seat two years prior to this day. Ania tried to lean a little further to inspect the mystery Sith through the reflection vying to see their face, the floor creek underneath her boot cut her off and cursed quietly hoping they didn’t hear that sound. She took one last look through the mirror to watch them put out the cigar in the ashtray and reached for the specific item from the desk.
“Send her in.”
Ania narrowed her eyes upon hearing their voice. It sounded… a little different without their mask on.
“Have my shuttle prepped in the meantime.”
Ania’s attention shifted quickly to readjust her position to where she previously stood and straightened her posture right in time as Nine exited the office.
“The Master is ready for you. You may proceed.” Nine instructed with a hand gestured to the door to signal the agent to go inside.
Ania’s heart pulsed rapidly as dread began to overwhelm her, nausea formed within the back of the throat and her senses of doubt were shoved to the back of the mind with a sharp exhale to mentally prepare herself before entering the office. The interior was darker than the Intelligence’s fluorescent lighting that was a change of pace to lessen her headaches. The furniture and decor were fancier than she had expected–though, there was an unsettling atmosphere within the room that she couldn’t explain through her gut feeling.
It feels wrong to be here.
“Anisha Nevrakis.” the Dark Councillor greeted in a deep, rich voice, “Do come in.”
Ania wasn’t imagining things when she heard Jadis’ voice sounded different..
Jadis, then, turned around to face her, “You arrived on time as I had expected.”
Ania froze in shock.
The Dark Councillor was presented to her wearing a stylish black half mask with horns, it covered the upper part of their face with their mouth and jawline exposed. However, the mask looked all too familiar for Ania.
Darth Jadis is….?
Jadis’ violet eyes gazed upon the young woman to observe the reaction before speaking, “Do you know who I am?”
Keeper’s warnings were still fresh on her mind, heeding his advice to remain silent and watch her words carefully.
“If you don’t, you will. ”
“You’re Renata of House Vitali,” Ania replied, trying her best to not stare at their lips, “Heir to the Sith Emperor.”
“You’re well-informed.” Jadis’ dark lips curled into a pleased smile, “Good–this will save me the proper introduction.”--they, then, continued with raised hands that caught Ania’s attention–”It is a pleasure to finally meet your acquaintance. I heard so much about you.”
Did they –?
“You…. sign?” Ania stared in shock, unsure how to feel about this after her experiences with her superiors and coworkers who deprived her from signing with basic communication to assist around the Intelligence. Apart from her parents, she did not expect to find a Sith Lord nor a member of the Dark Council to communicate through sign language.
“You find that most Sith learn sign languages through different reasons when offered a chance, but many choose not to.” Jadis explained, “I am aware of your reliance on lipreading–a natural talent that no one could master well.” they said with admiration.
“Except you took a big risk to reveal yourself to me.” Ania reminded them. She recalled seeing the news reports about the Empress’ ascension to the throne in her rise to power followed by the ‘other Heir’ was nowhere to be found with a possible declaration of going missing in action.
“Perhaps.” they played along with a wicked smile, “But I choose to appear to you because I prefer to communicate with you given your preference. Will that be a problem between us?”
Ania shook her head with a quiet murmur, “No.”
How she wished she would be in her nice, warm bed at her apartment right now. The room grew…. unusually colder by a minute.
Sound of claws snapped had alerted the agent as she looked over to their pointed finger at the floor in front of them. Ania cautiously walked towards to stand in the middle of the room, it’s rather daunting being this close to them. The intimidating aura of the Sith, nor their mask, certainty didn’t help ease her moods.
Jadis had taken notice the way Ania was avoiding their masked gaze, humouring themself to approach over, “Look at me.” they said in a commanding tone, “And revel in the power of the dark side.”
Right on cue as they spoke, Ania reluctantly turned to fixate her gaze onto them. With an appreciative hum, Jadis started to circle around the agent at a slow pace to inspect her, drinking in every aspect details about her to memorise, resisting the intrusion to run their fingers over her shoulders, touch her soft hair….
They sensed her nervousness. They smell her blood rushing. They inhaled the scent of her Ziosti floral and berries perfume.
“Allow your body to betray you. Allow your blood to boil and your heart to… slow.” they continued in a husky tone, one that made a young woman shiver in anticipation from a voice alone, “Everything that is not of the dark side will be… purged–or it will be tainted .”
They stressed the latter part–they reached through the Force to read into her, there was a sense of doubtness from her, but something was blocking them from probing further into her mind.
‘ Unsurprising but I can’t fault her for shielding her mind ’, they thought, ‘ This will take time for her to warm up to me. ’
Jadis then walked back to the spot to stand in front of her, “This is an inoculation, Agent. This is a ... sacred rite.”
Ania wasn't sure if she understood what she heard. A sacred rite...? Aren't those meant to be restricted to the Sith or something, she asked herself. She doesn’t consider herself to be a Sith who barely lacks the power to call on the Force physically, but she can feel things, sense emotions… like a Force Empathy or so she was told.
"The religion of the Sith is not my religion." she said with a lie, holding onto the slightest determination that her words were convincing enough to fool the Sith as a means to hide her identity.
Or her past.
"The ways of the Sith are the ways of the Empire--so it shall always be. You should know this because you were brought up, or better yet, trained otherwise .”
Ania stiffened by their implication after they saw through to her lies–how much have they known about her?
"I am aware of who you once were. I am not easily fooled. But, that is not why I summoned you." Jadis quickly changed the topic.
Ania narrowed her eyes, obviously unaware that the misty dark tendrils were slowly edging towards her ankles, "You didn’t summon me without a reason other than to chat."
"You're right. I did not summon you without a reason."
A pregnant pause between the two. The silence left Ania on the fence, wary of the Sith’s intentions in this compromising position. She tried to move her footing but something was… holding her back like a stasis-lock stillness.
Jadis called on the Force–a single datapad from the desk from behind flung into the grasp of their hand, they flipped through the pages and held it up in front of the agent’s eyes, showing the written assessment with an image of the deceased Minister attached. It was her report that she handed in to the Keeper a couple of hours ago. So, was this the reason why Keeper was disturbed?
“I believe this has caused…”--they clicked tongue–”A commotion amongst the higher ups. More specifically brought the attention of the Empress and Grand Moff Kilran.”
Ania’s body tensed up looking at the report, swallowing thickly before defending herself, “I… didn't mean to. Had I known, I shouldn’t have to…-”
“Which you have performed remarkably well as I have foresaw.” Jadis interrupted, quick to sense the tension through the agent’s body language, “You were given a dosser with a clear instruction from me that you are to neutralise your target rather than capturing them alive.”
Ania stared suspiciously at them, “You sent me that assignment?”
“Yes, the order came from me, not the Keeper’s.”
Ania wasn’t sure what to believe here, “You realise the Minister was an Imperial, right? Isn’t it wrong to neutralise an agent of the Empire? Or The Empress? Or even Emperor’s?” she realised she was stammering off track.
“Might I remind you that the Emperor continues to remain silent since the Treaty?” Jadis set the datapad down, clearing their throat as they continued, “The cost of ambitious loyalty comes with a price, it does not matter whether you think it is wrong or not. Regardless if it was a Republic, a Jedi, or one of our own–those dissidents still threaten the way of the Empire.”
“What are you implying?”
“I can’t speak for the rest of the Dark Council, but there are those who hold themselves above the mundane business of the Empire, those still blindly acting on the Emperor’s will while my dear pathetic sister holds the power. A mistake.” they explained, “I truly believe this can be accomplished by spreading the ways of the Sith to the Empire entirely– show them the democratisation of fear .”
Jadis hid their grimace upon the latter–they sounded too much like their predecessor. Everything about him rubbed off on them.
“So, what of the dissidents?” Ania asked, albeit sceptical over where this was going, “Are they followers of the Emperor or do they seek for the destruction of the Empire?”
“That remains to be seen. But do not underestimate our enemies.” Jadis warned with caution, “They are powerful--and there are those who sympathise with them. People at the highest levels of government.”
Ania shifted her weight awkwardly but her movement was still, “You made it sound like you don’t trust the Intelligence or the Dark Council…”
“Perhaps, perhaps not… but a piece of advice?” Jadis offered, “Watch those around you, and trust no one. Not even those within the Intelligence. They may not be all what they seem. I believe you and I can propose a…”--they paused, clicking their tongue to choose the word carefully without giving anything away–”Partnership? No Intelligence, no answering to the Keeper, and certainly no bowing to the Empress to swear loyalty to.”
We …? She thought out of confusion. “And if I decline?”
Jadis chuckled for a moment, “I trust that won’t come down to it.”
Ania remembered something about the rumours whispered throughout the headquarters for some time.
“Suppose there's a reason why any other low-ranking agents went missing?” Ania asked out of curiosity, “You were the last person to have seen them alive. What about Cipher Nine? What did he do to deserve being stripped of his humanity?”
The Sith went silent for a moment, that alone had the agent begin to suspect they know more than they’re letting her on. Could they have had anything to do with Hades’ disappearance too, she wondered. As far she knew, Cipher Nine was the Hand of Hades.
“We don’t have to be enemies. I am proposing an alliance between the two of us. You don’t want to let this opportunity pass.” Jadis began to work on their charm to sway the agent’s wariness then pointed their index finger at the floor in front of them, “Come–kneel before me.”
Ania blinked at the masked Sith, but barely acknowledged the sound of footsteps within the antechamber behind her. She debated with herself as she bit down on her tongue over whether she should do as she was instructed or face the Sith’s wrath.
“You… want me to bow to your submission?” she questioned.
“Refusal is not an option.” Jadis said in a warning tone, “I suggest that you should not try to defy me when I am offering you an alliance with me.”
The words of her father’s advice to tread with caution about the dangers of trifling powerful Sith or Dark Councillor’s feathers through wits. She may not know Jadis that personally and she wasn’t planning to.
Ania scoffed, “You have quite an ambitious reputation from what I was told, Jadis.” she said, holding her ground with every single warning tossed out of the window, “No matter how you try to charm with your words, you can’t expect me to pledge my allegiance to you.”
Ania could’ve sworn she saw the Sith going red, seething silently, that is until she attempted to make a turn for an exit but found no control over her body–an phantom feeling of tendrils snaking around her ankles crept its way up her legs in its grasps.
This was the Sith's doing.
"Is that so?"
Ania eyed them cautiously. Deep down, she was… afraid. There was no escape–she couldn’t move–the gut instinct told her the possibility of this outcome was to die right here.
"You choose to defy me?"
“I will not kneel to you. Your lineage is anything but corrupted. Tenebrae had ruined so many lives.”
Ania watched the seething rage build up within the Sith, violet eyes glowed, smoke puffed out of their nostrils. The mention of their father’s name had stirred something but Ania couldn’t read nor make out what they’re expressing.
“Did it hurt your ego when those refused to submit to you after you forced them?” Ania kept her head up to brace for whatever the Sith will do to her, “Do what you wish, Lord Jadis , kill me.”
“... Very well. You leave me with no choice.” Jadis resigned after a short pause, fingers flexed as the mass shadow surged, lightning cracked around their hand, “My ego was not easily bruised but it’s a pity your defiance has come to this,” their tone grew colder, “A discipline it is, then.”
Ania did not like the implication of this direction, "I do not need to be disciplined." she hissed.
"Except you do require one."
Jadis clenched their fist--the shadow whooshed from their fingers as the weight of their Force tightened around the young woman's body enough to suffocate her. Ania gasped out a shuddering breath, drowned in the engulfed darkness as her throat burned with nausea, she glanced down to find her body swallowed up by the shadow essence as tendrils gripped her wrists and lower body to minimise her resistance to fight.
Ania began to panic, "What are you doing? Let me go!" She struggled to break free from this stasis.
Jadis closed in to her, gloated with a sinister smirk. They didn't speak a word as they lifted a finger to their lips, eyes glowed brightly, "Shhhh…"
The low coaxed whisper had Ania shivered from the chill crept up her spine, feeling smaller compared to their intimidating height. The intoxicating scent of tobacco made her nose scrunched in disgust and her stomach churned.
Jadis gripped her chin harshly and forced her to look at them as the claws pierced into the jawline. She found her eyes drawn to theirs rather than to survey her surroundings to search for an escape–their violet eyes were strikingly beautiful to admire--no, she couldn't take her eyes off them.
Why is she staring at them? Was Jadis performing some kind of a hypnosis spell? No one should have this kind of power, she asked quietly in her mind.
Jadis’ hand covered her mouth to silence her, preventing her cries for help–she even tried to beg–starting to become lightheaded the longer she remained in this trance.
Her panic turned to fear. “Mmf-!”
Neither Jadis nor the tendrils had any intention of releasing her, hushing her whimpers as eyelids began to slowly drop from overwhelming exhaustion that she couldn’t fight back the drifting darkness.
The Sith turned her body to the tall mirror that stood within the antechamber, they pressed against her back, arm wrapped around her waist, eyes ogled at her neck for a brief second as their tongue licked their sharp fang but their self control purged any temptation to sink into the agent's neck. Hot breath tickling her skin, lips inched close to the microphone of her hearing aid.
“I have no desire to dispose of you, my dear agent. Killing you would be a waste of my resources,” Jadis told her, “I have a better substitution for you.”
Then, Jadis pulled their hand away from her mouth and snapped their finger.
Sleep .
It was the last thing Ania heard before unconsciousness took over as the shadow tendrils slowly released its grips and her body collapsed into the Sith’s arm.
–