1. Amber
Acina eyed the cliff face in front of them skeptically. "Is the purpose of this excursion merely to get some exercise, or does the place you spoke about actually exist?"
"But Acina, have I ever lied to you?" Nox asked, treacly sweet. Acina did not mention the other woman's Sithly habit of half-truths and misleading not-lies. "The place is right at the top of the cliff."
"I'll take your word for it." Acina tugged at one of the vines that ran down. It held.
They climbed up the sheer wall slowly. The Force could only do so much – there were next to no handholds, and jumping around madly would only lead to the vines they used as supports snapping and sending them plummeting to the ground. Perhaps they could have floated each other up in turn, clinging to handholds when they were not trusting the other with their life unnecessarily, but Acina was the Empress of the Sith. She had standards.
Even if Nox caused them to slip. No self-respecting Sith should go on a hike through the jungle with another unless they planned a bit of assassination themself as well.
At last Acina's fingers grasped the top ledge. She hauled herself up.
"It's just through here," Nox promised.
Acina, fool as she was, followed her fellow Sith. The curtain of vegetation parted easily with a wave of the Force. Behind them-
A wall of golden yellow gleamed in the sunlight. All manner of creatures, pets and slaves and wildlife, lay trapped beyond its translucent visage.
"What sort of Force trick is this?" Acina asked, impressed despite herself as she took in the expressions of sheer panic and the way the desperate attempt to escape the yellow goop.
"This was once the citadel of Darth Venjan," Nox explained. Acina sighed silently and prepared for the history lecture. "He was one of the Sith who joined Vitiate in the long trek to Dromund Kaas. After their arrival, though, the system proved too restrictive for his ambitions in alchemy. He set up an outpost on this jungle moon and probed the limits of the Force."
"Vitiate tolerated this."
"Why wouldn't he? Venjan had no ambitions for earthly power and reported back diligently." Nox shook her head. "His research was for the most part facile, but some of the notes have their uses in what not to do. You may examine them if you wish, though they aren't even much good for a laugh."
"I see." Nox's offer was genuine. Perhaps that shouldn't throw Acina, after so many genuine offers from the other Sith. "And this? Did he immerse his citadel in – some sort of resin – for a purpose, or did something backfire?"
Nox drew a theatrical breath. "Unfortunately, the details are lost to history, but based on his final set of notes to Vitiate and my investigations of the site, he seems to have set out to transmute blood to water." She paused for effect. "Perhaps, for a moment, he even succeeded, but then the sorcerer lost control of the powers of the nether world and transmuted the air he breathed into tree resin. He tried to free himself, but all he achieved was hardening that resin into amber." Nox turned to face Acina and smiled. "It's beautiful, isn't it?"
The sunlight glittered off the golden amber, all the inhomogeneities and imperfections calling attention to themselves with how the light glinted off them. "Yes," Acina had to admit. "It is."
Nox beamed. Acina couldn't help but compare her, Dark Lord of the Sith, head of the Sphere of Ancient Knowledge, proud and free and joyed, with the other Zabrak next to her, a dead slave of Darth Venjan's, killed escaping her master's insanity. She wanted to say the Empire had come a long way, but in truth, it had not.
"If you go to the top of the structure, you can see the void where Venjan himself was before he consumed his body trying to escape," Nox suggested.
"Lead the way."
The ersatz mausoleum's roof was not quite smooth. It was a decent enough place to bring a Sith, Acina decided. The amber was beautiful in the light and the corpses of the dead gave it an inherent connection to the Dark Side. The Sun shone warm above them.
2. Rose Quartz
The jaunt to the jungle stronghold embedded in amber had been worth it, in the end. Acina was however grateful that when the next time Nox pulled her from her imperial duties, the Fury-class Imperial Interceptor landed next to what the Force told her was an entrance hidden in the mountains.
The whirr of the landing ramp extending was swallowed by the wind. When the door opened and Acina stepped out into the open air, she instinctively closed her eyes. There was little dust, but the air was biting dry, making her eyes feel like they would shrivel into prunes at any moment. She let out an involuntarily cough at all the moisture leaving her pulmonary passages.
Nox placed a hand on the rock and closed her eyes. A moment later, a slab of granite shuddered to the side. They slipped inside.
"And whose fortress might this be?" Acina asked as Nox waved on crystalline braziers that lit the pinkish rock in an infinity of hues. "Another Sith Lord from Vitiate's court?"
"This one was actually not even a Sith Lord," Nox said. "Before its star went nova and turned into a supergiant, Kathrol was a world of towering peaks poking out of an emerald sea. Its natives had their own sect of Force sensitives who trained in the art of shaping rock. They sheltered from the planet-encompassing thunderstorms deep inside artificial passages."
Acina followed Nox up the spiraling stairs. "Did any of them make it out before their sun exploded?"
"Some did, but very few, and the rock shapers were bound by tradition to their mountains. The escapees shared enough of their lost home to become a minor footnote in the history of the galaxy before their extinction."
"How did you come across this information?"
"One of the people who came across them was Darth Asha, a contemporary of Naga Sadow's who left behind a treasure trove of research on necromancy in her Yavin crypt." Right in Nox's back yard, then. "The utter lack of moisture is oppressive, but this structure from the twilight of Kathrol still demonstrates the main architectural feature."
"Staircases?" Acina hazarded.
"You'll see." Nox was smug. Probably something spectacular, then.
They trod up countless flights of stairs. Rooms branched off the main staircase, some large, some small, some with the remnants of rock furniture, all in the pink rock that dominated here. The staircase's walls were left unfinished; most of the rooms had it polished into a smooth façade. Here and there Acina spotted regions left in the natural crystal state, perhaps for reasons of acoustics.
She was about to rescind her appreciation of Nox parking the spaceship close when the stairs evened out into a landing. "Here," Nox said and waved open a final door.
This led them to a small room. The ceiling and walls had been left rough-cut, save for one, which was smooth and so thin as to be translucent except for the polished, spherical piece of rock suspended within it, easily three meters in diameter, only barely small enough to fit into the wall.
"I suspect this was the rock shaper's room." Nox walked to the center and observed the sphere. "The sun is almost in position."
Zabrak eyes were just as much at risk of sun-blindness as human ones, so Acina didn't feel a need to calculate whether this might all be some elaborate ploy for her life before joining Nox in the center of the room. "I assume this – sphere – will look quite spectacular against the backlit backdrop."
Nox let out a hum, but didn't reply. Acina resigned herself to wait.
The sun soon hit the not-window from behind, lighting up the translucent framing of the giant sphere. Acina hazarded a glance at Nox. The soft pink light did not work with the other woman's red and black coloring, but there was something appealing in the way it smoothed out the marks reality had left on her.
"Look," Nox murmured.
Acina turned back to the sphere. A starburst had appeared on it, a point of light surrounded by six narrow spokes radiating outwards.
For a moment, she did not breathe. The starburst was akin to a giant eye, staring at her, set in the light. An involuntary shiver ran down her spine.
"This mineral is one of the few that demonstrate an asterism with transmitted light," Nox said, drawing Acina back to the present.
Acina shook herself in a manner she hoped was imperceptible. Nox was a fellow Sith; what was she doing, being distracted with her less than an arm's length away? "Was this meant for timekeeping, or just decoration?"
"The surviving records do not tell. Perhaps both."
Acina hummed. It was pretty. She did not often encounter the sublime anymore. The moment was over, but she had enjoyed it. "Indeed. Perhaps both."
Neither of them made a move to leave. Eventually, the asterism would fade as it had appeared. For now, they could observe in companionable silence.
3. Moonstone
Acina stared dubiously at the cold weather gear Nox had dumped in front of her. "Please don't tell me we're headed to Hoth."
"No, no, just a polar region on Ondrath. Cold and snowy, but not as cold as Hoth."
"Good. I have heard a great many things about Hoth, all of them negative."
Nox shrugged and kicked her feet onto the ship's dashboard. "One sort of gets used to it after a while. There are a few artefacts of Naga Sadow there; not my favorite dig, but Talos and I do go there from time to time."
"The archaeologist you stole from the Reclamation Service?"
"He volunteered." The ship shuddered as it exited hyperspace. "Here we are! Ondrath, a world completely unremarkable except in the Force."
Acina reached out with the Force as Nox piloted the ship down to a white-clad region of the otherwise green-blue planet. It did not feel like she would have expected, not the general mark of I exist most life-bearing planets wore, nor the half-sleeping threat of Korriban nor the fangs-out revelry of Dromund Kaas, not even like the infuriating serenity she imagined might plague a Jedi world. No, Ondrath was worn smooth. It felt old, like Korriban, but not like a monster one feared to awaken – simply a tired old servant who wished to rest.
"What was the indigenous Force sect like?"
"Oh, no indigenous Force sects here." The Fury set down softly onto a snowbank. Thankfully, it did not sink. "Just a breakaway sect of Jedi."
That would explain the Force presence – no doubt the Jedi had worn it smooth with their everything. "Time for some lightsaber combat, perhaps?"
"Not for some millennia. I suppose they underwent some calamity and either died out or joined the Jedi mainstream." Nox tossed on her winter coat and snowboots. "Come. Their temple is interesting."
Acina put on the clothes as well and followed Nox out of the Fury. The cold bit at her cheeks and the edges of her vision acquired a white blur as the tears on her lashes froze over. She winced as the wind picked up some tiny icicles and threw them at her exposed skin, sharp edges first.
"How long will we be traipsing through these plains?" she asked. She couldn't help it; she was a creature of Dromund Kaas's muggy heat. The bitter cold might fuel her ire and the Dark Side, but she did not like it.
"They built a structure that should shield us from the wind at least." Nox looked around distractedly. "There."
They waded through the knee-deep snow towards a rise in the land. Nox had promised a structure, so not just ruins. Half sunken? Built in a hollow?
Acina felt herself begin to sweat. "Next time, bring me somewhere nice."
"The Empress of the Sith wishes to visit a beach? I'll see what I can do."
"I never said beach."
"Oh, what, then? The Valley of the Dark Lords? Alderaan? Or perhaps- Ah. Here we are!" Nox declared triumphantly.
"I assume whatever it is is buried beneath three meters of snow."
"Only two." Nox waved her hand, brushing off a snowbank with the Force. A pair of rock pillars stood with a gap between them. "Shall we?"
"Lead the way."
Nox did. That she was willing to enter herself suggested the structure was not about to collapse. Acina followed.
The first thing she encountered was a stairway. After a descent of about a meter, it opened up into a hall of smooth, gray rock, inset with opaque gemstones with a peculiar luster cut into shapes of the phases of the moon. The hall was empty save for Nox and a giant orrery, the sun analogue the only light source in the room and the celestial objects that orbited it represented by shimmery spheres of the same stone that dotted the walls. The stone for some planets was gray, others blue or white. All had a shimmery internal glow and a stripe of light across them.
"What caused the schism?" Acina asked.
"The Jedi Archives might have some idea, if it wasn't lost on Ossus or during the Sacking of Coruscant, but so far they've denied my requests for the file. How rude of them."
Acina stared at her pointedly. Nox gave a brilliant smile, then continued, "Of course, based on what we see here, one can posit that they found orbits and lunations important. Perhaps they saw the cosmic status quo as a reflection of the will of the Force."
"No ancient techniques? No hints of cosmic power? I'm surprised you knew this place existed."
Nox shrugged. "To find the correct temple, one must first find the incorrect temples."
"You also cared enough to bring me here."
"Perhaps I wanted to show you something pretty."
Acina blinked. "Pretty? To the Empress of the Sith?"
"Why not?" Nox turned to her and made an expansive gesture, backlight drawing her outline and highlighting her horns. "Is the moonstone not pretty? Does this orrery not appeal?"
"I suppose you've succeeded, then," Acina said, more softly than she intended. Nox wanted to show her pretty things. Perhaps this shouldn't have surprised her, after the past locations. Perhaps it should, given they were both Sith.
Nox beamed. "Excellent. I do have a list of places I still wish to show you."
Acina said nothing, knowing she was inviting Nox to invite her along on an infinity of trips. She was Sith. Everything in her should rebel at being alone in a secluded location with another one.
Then again, she'd agreed to this trip as well. Even if she was getting cold. "For the next one, pick someplace warmer."
"Of course, my Empress. Your wish is my command."
The emphasis was almost imperceptible. Acina should, still, have snarled something appropriately threatening at Nox. Instead, she chose to observe the orrery.
They'd depart soon. She'd stop herself from further madness and reject the invitation for Nox's next outing like a Sith with a functioning self-preservation instinct. She would.
4. Kyanite
Acina felt more than a little relieved when the Fury settled down in the middle of a temperate forest. It wasn't the tropical jungle she preferred, but it wouldn't freeze her or leave her pulmonary passages feeling like someone had gone over them with particularly rough sandpaper. As for what Nox wished to show her here, well, the past few locations had been a mix of intriguing and aesthetically appealing. No doubt this one would be as well.
"I think this one should be a bit more to your speed," Nox said as the landing ramp descended – this time without the need for any protective equipment.
"The climate certainly looks less hostile than the previous two."
"Winters can be harsh, but the planet is in the middle of its summer." Nox set out. "It's a few minutes' hike. Come."
Acina sighed and followed Nox across the clearing. Once they'd gotten to the edge of the trees, the wild hays turned to moss and various sprigs which bore the beginnings of berries. No doubt the forest would feed the local populace once autumn came. Now, it was merely potential, ripe for claiming.
Trees rose tall beside them, orange-brown bark flaking off in layers. Birds sang a myriad songs. It was all a bit too serene; Acina felt like taking a nap.
"So, Nox, who lived here?" Acina asked as they walked. "A Sith Lord? Some Jedi? A heretofore unknown Force sect?"
"A Sith Lord known as Itsukotsât, possibly."
"Possibly."
"This does predate Vitiate and his empire by a significant margin. The dedication on the library is to an Itsukotsât, but whether that is meant to be an individual's name or simply a generic term referring to all who have broken their chains is up for debate."
Itsukotsât did mean chain-breaker in High Sith. "Is the rest of the inscription in High Sith as well?"
"Yes."
That would mean it was thousands of years old, predating the Sith exodus to Ziost and the gradual loss of the language beyond monument inscriptions in favor of Basic. Intriguing. "Is it just the one inscription, or is there more?"
"Only the one that's survived." Nox shrugged. "The weathering has been extreme, as you might imagine, and vegetation has grown over much of it."
"And the library's contents?"
"The stone tablets have survived in part. No evidence of holocrons yet, though it might predate the technology."
One of the first Sith libraries outside Korriban, and Nox was showing this to her. Acina couldn't help but shudder. Usually, at this time, a Sith would start hinting at what they wished for the other to do in exchange. Nox...
"The lock mechanism has eroded, but in its prime, the tablets would've been covered by a structure that's since degraded and some Force artefact."
Would the other shoe drop? Acina would've thought that the other woman was beyond simple currying favor with her, yet here she was, showing her things as if she simply wished to impress her. "Was the lock anything useful or interesting?"
Nox walked over to a rocky outcropping and wiped off the moss. Growing out of the pale gray stone were several blades of a blue mineral, mostly opaque but some translucent and greatly varying in shade. "It seems to have involved the local kyanite. One of the mineral's peculiarities is that it is significantly harder along one axis than the others. The lock involved aligning a blade of the crystal properly."
"Did this Itsukotsât not have other Force-sensitives on the planet, or was this lock only the first of many?" Acina refused to believe that a self-respecting Sith would only have the one lock on their sanctum, especially if it were one so simple.
Nox shrugged. The afternoon light glinted off her horns. "Who knows? Much shall remain lost, even when this site has been properly excavated." She continued looking at Acina, expression moderately open, waiting for something.
Acina decided to push her luck. "I want one of those stone tablets," she said. "Find me one."
Nox grinned and bowed. "Your wish is my command!" She turned her back to Acina like she didn't care a whit about being stabbed in the back and made her way carefully across the forest floor.
Acina felt like she was missing something, like the final piece of the puzzle around which everything revolved would appear at any minute now and let her complete the picture yet stubbornly refused to come. She ran her fingers across a blade of the kyanite, feeling the roughness and the slight echo in the Force that characterized all proper crystals, then observed Nox's form, intently walking over the moss.
As if pulled by an invisible string, she took a step toward Nox, then another. She told herself she was simply ensuring Nox would do the job correctly, but as she approached her fellow Sith, someplace deep in her heart knew this was not the case.
5. Bloodstone
Nox burst through the door of Acina's office. "You must come with me at once," she exclaimed, vibrating out of her skin. Acina wondered what had possessed her to give the other woman access.
"What is it? I have an audience in the evening."
"The Reclamation Service uncovered Rakatan ruins on Dromund Fels."
Acina set down her datapad. Dromund Fels was the next world out, arid but still marginally inhabitable. That the Old Sith Empire had settled there was common knowledge. Rakata? This was big. "I suppose I have the time."
Nox grinned and marched out the door. Acina had to almost run to catch up with her.
"Where did they discover the ruins?"
"The Reclamation Service cracked open a new dig in the northern hemisphere, a few thousand kilometers from the others, based on gravitational data. They'd uncovered a few things in a style different from the Sith ruins already excavated, but only when they found the remnants of a Rakatan console did they realize what they were looking at." They arrived at Nox's space ship. "Talos called me the moment they confirmed it. Get in, it should only be a short hop."
The official Reclamation Service report would be coming to her desk by the end of the day. Under regular circumstances she would probably only skim it. With Nox bringing her over – well, she'd probably only skim it, but that would be because she'd hopefully know all they had to say already.
The ship took off with a steady rumble. This time, they wouldn't be heading off to a faraway star, but doing a short intra-system jump from Dromund Kaas to Dromund Fels. With a shudder, the stars changed place. The system's sun was smaller. A red planet, eerily reminiscent of Korriban, though more quiescent, loomed large in the viewport.
Nox handled the landing permissions and piloted the ship down herself. Acina was perhaps the better pilot, but Nox was more than good enough.
They were greeted by a short, pale-skinned human man in Imperial Reclamation Service uniform. "My Lord! And the Empress! Welcome to the dig site. Oh, we would've prepared a better reception if we'd known you were coming; please forgive us."
"It's all right, Talos," Nox replied, confirming Acina's guess of who the man was. "I'll show Acina what we've already uncovered and make our way over to you."
"Of course, My Lord." Doctor Drellik bowed and scampered off.
"Shall we?" Acina asked.
"Certainly." Nox set out across the dusty rock. Acina followed.
There were taped-off squares everywhere, dinky little holes where the sand and rock had been taken away by diligent Reclamation Service personnel to uncover what might lie beneath. Nox led them over a slight dune to reveal a wide area free of sand, some sort of mostly green platform that might once have been level.
"We aren't sure what this stage was for, but the stone provides some clues." As Nox was walking over it, it must be safe to traverse. "The green jasper has inclusions of red hematite. The resulting stone has many names, but one of the most common is bloodstone."
"Blood sport or executions, then?" Acina asked.
"That is our suspicion as well, especially since we haven't discovered anything else made of the material."
"Are there any audience stands nearby? One would expect some if it were for public entertainment."
"We haven't begun those digs yet – there is more lucrative material." Nox had reached the other end of the bloodstone and stepped off. "Seismic survey data does indicate some sort of fitting structures buried deeper in the sand, though. In addition, we have uncovered some interesting little chambers. Come!"
With that, Nox took off towards another patch of sectioned-off desert with a speed through the sand that required use of the Force. Acina rolled her eyes internally and followed her.
Nox waved her hand to clear off a layer of sand, revealing a trapdoor made of a brown stone. Another wave of Nox's hand, and the trapdoor lifted. "We can prop this open with one of the struts – there." The dark mouth of the passage yawned before them. Nox stepped in without hesitation.
What was there for Acina to do but to follow? She carefully followed Nox down the weathered stairs, slightly shallower than humans might build, to the darkness.
Her eyes soon adjusted. An eerie green glow came from in front.
The stairs ended with a right-angle turn to a room perhaps five meters a side and three high. Each corner had a pillar of some translucent olive green mineral, lit from beneath, casting an odd light on everything. Nox's red skin was rendered an off-black that almost matched her markings, her yellow eyes aglow.
"This chamber's purpose is also unclear, but it is fit for a Sith," Nox quietly explained. "The crystals are peridot, one of the few known minerals that forms in the upper mantle rather than the crust. To get such excellent, unweathered specimens up in quantity..." She glanced sidelong at Acina, something anticipatory in an oddly vulnerable fashion in her mien.
It was at that moment that Acina realized what Nox wanted. A regular Sith might want power, influence, all manner of favors – or a chance to end her and steal her throne. What Nox wanted was her.
"Indeed, it is impressive," Acina temporized. "You mentioned discovering some sort of Rakatan matter transport system on Belsavis. Do you think they'd have used something like that to bring it up?"
Nox perked up. "That is an intriguing idea; I'll have to bring it up with the team excavating the Belsavis transport system."
Acina walked up to one of the pillars in the corner. It, too, had a perfect square cross section, like the room. "If we could duplicate the technology..."
"...the galaxy would be ours."
A bit more ambitious than what Acina had immediately been thinking – transport had been one of her main responsibilities back when she'd headed the Sphere of Technology – but something she desired. She quite liked Nox, as much as one Sith could safely like another; had for some time already. Nox had set things up. Now, the move was Acina's.
"Is there a ruin in this galaxy you have yet to visit?" Acina asked. "It seems you've seen them all."
"I'm sure there are places I have yet to discover," Nox said. "One of Dromund Kaas's continents is forbidden without Imperial permission and I'm sure Vitiate's hidden files contain many treasures."
Temples, then, rather than a reassurance that Acina could bring her wherever, and a desire to crack open as many secrets as possible. Did Nox truly want Acina's company, then, or just the key to her vaults? Or perhaps both? Acina would have to investigate. "I shall keep that in mind when I next have need of bedtime reading." She turned towards the door. "In the meanwhile, my time here is limited, and this but one of the structures. Have you uncovered more of the complex?"
"There's another chamber like this, and Talos's crew is digging up something we have yet to characterize. Come!"
Acina followed Nox to the surface. This time, she didn't pretend her observance was anything other than what it was: interest.
Perhaps even reciprocated.
+1 Amethyst
Acina had considered long and hard whether Nox truly wanted her or just access to the rest of Vitiate's collections of Sith ruins and tools of destruction. Truth be told, there was much she didn't understand about the ancient dead immortal's collection, and much she feared might kill her if she investigated. Having someone she trusted by her side would alleviate much of her worries, but she was a Sith. Sith did not trust. Especially not each other.
Yet here she was, waiting for Darth Nox to appear on the discreet shuttle platform. Kaas City rose around her, vertical buildings that spanned the vast Kaas Chasm and beyond, speckled with lights and Imperial insignia. The clouds poured rain around her, the occasional gust bringing droplets to her little shelter.
Finally Nox arrived, alone as directed. There was an eager spring to her step as she half-ran through the downpour.
"I don't suppose you have a forecast for Siqsawanjak?" Nox asked the moment she, too, was under the lip of the shuttle door. Her attempt at bravado was ruined by the note of enthusiasm in her voice.
There was not much space for them in their makeshift shelter. Nox was utterly drenched, water running down her horns and her dark hair plastered against her head. Acina inhaled deeply and felt the smell of rain and wet Zabrak settle deep in the back of her nose.
She tapped the side of the shuttle to open the door and pulled her final safety measure to her hand with the Force. "There is one more condition."
"And what would that be?"
"You wear this for the shuttle rides." Acina lifted the strip of black cloth.
"A blindfold? How charming," Nox purred.
Her potential suitor was insane. Acina had known this, had seen it in several Dark Council meetings, but still it surprised her. "Turn around."
Self-destructive, too, since Nox turned around obediently. Acina could have killed her so easily.
She wrapped the fabric twice around Nox's head and tied it with a knot. Nox would still have the Force, even if there were rumors it trembled in parts of Siqsawanjak, but Acina would have a few moments more of warning if her fellow Sith wanted her dead during the shuttle trip.
To maintain the illusion, Acina placed her hands on Nox's shoulders and steered her into the shuttle. Left down the small corridor and into the cockpit. She strapped Nox down on one of the observer seats and got into the pilot's seat.
Kaas City shrank to a silvery speck beneath them, swallowed by the jungle on the main continent. Acina pushed the shuttle up above the thunderclouds and set a course for the forbidden continent.
Siqsawanjak. Demon-home. Vitiate's personal demesne, when he hadn't been haunting the Dark Temple near Kaas City or mucking about on Zakuul.
A short while later they descended into a thinner cloudbank. Kaas City had a thunderstorm; Siqsawanjak was a mix of overcast skies and light rain. The place Acina had picked out wasn't being rained on.
It was short work to set down the shuttle on the flat surface. Acina had been here before and knew the landing platform would not eat her.
"We have arrived," she declared.
"Ready to manhandle me some more?" Nox purred.
Acina had planned to remove the blindfold here, but if Nox really was after her, not hers... She undid the seatbelt buckle with the Force and pulled Nox to her feet by the collars of her robes. "If you wished to be manhandled, you had only to ask."
Nox grinned. Acina blinked at how sharp her canines were, then tightened her hold on Nox's robes again and walked her backwards out of the shuttle.
Hitting the shuttle door felt like disappointment. She'd have to let go and return to their routine of archaeology-
Nox grabbed the edge of Acina's chestplate and pulled. For a moment, Acina thought her fears had been correct and this was all just a completely regular Sithly ploy to assassinate her.
Then their faces met and Nox immediately turned her head to find Acina's lips with her own. Acina found her fears proven deliciously wrong as Nox clung to her, mouth against mouth, trying to mash her entire body against Acina's like they could occupy the same space if she were determined enough.
Acina shoved Nox against the shuttle door and slotted one of Nox's thighs between her own, then ground against it. Her hips jerked when she found the angle that worked for her – it had been much too long since she last had anyone – and she chased that edge with all the monomaniacal obsession of a Sith Lord, rutting against Nox's body until she came.
"If you wanted me alone, all you had to do was ask," Nox purred, satisfied. The blindfold was still on, barely.
Acina snorted. Trust Nox to treat absolutely nothing with any reverence whatsoever. "Oh, I want much more." She stepped back and let Nox's weight fall to her own feet again. "Though I did intend to show you the Amethyst Palace-"
"Tell me," Nox immediately demanded, a proper Sith smelling blood and demanding more.
Acina waved open the shuttle door. She brought her hands to Nox's face again, gently running them up her cheeks until they hit the blindfold. She eased the fabric over Nox's ears and horns before dropping it on the ground as Nox blinked at the light and the smell of petrichor wafted in from outside.
"It's a giant amethyst geode," Acina explained. "Vitiate had steps dug in and added a throne and some furniture. I suppose he intended to use it as a receiving room."
"Just furniture? Nothing more?"
"I uncovered no evidence of side rooms during my previous visit – though it was brief."
Nox grinned. "Perhaps we should stage a more thorough inspection."
Whether Nox meant actually searching for hidden chambers or simply fucking on Vitiate's throne – probably the former, possibly both – Acina was in. "Of course. This way."
+1 Sunshine Jasper
The Dark Council's meeting concluded. The Sith took their leave and began filing out of the chambers into Dromund Kaas's torrential downpour.
"Nox," Acina said. "I have things to discuss in private."
Nox perked up. "Of course." She slid off her seat and walked over to Acina's throne like a voreclaw that got the tooka. Acina let her.
It was odd to conduct an affair with another Sith, especially one of the Dark Council, but Nox was for the moment more interested in Acina herself than her throne. Perhaps it was the suspicion that as an alien, Nox would be facing much more opposition from all factions than Acina as a human. Perhaps Nox simply thought it would not leave enough time for archaeology.
In the end, it didn't matter. Acina led the way to her smaller office and did not have to fear being stabbed in the back.
"So," Nox said after the door whooshed shut behind her, "what did you have in mind?" Nox looked like she wouldn't mind a bit of ravishment. Acina, however, had other plans.
She pulled out a datapad. "Ethru Minor is an extremely volcanically active planet – an attractive prospect for certain types of ore. The survey scans, however, revealed something else interesting."
Nox leaned over the holoprojection, enthralled. "That's a settlement buried by volcanic ash."
Acina did have an expert on her hands. "Indeed. There are no prior records of the civilization. There could be nothing there of interest-"
"-or it could hold the key to immortality." Nox's canines, sharper than a human's, caught the light as she smiled. "When are we going?"
"Tomorrow morning."
"I'll hold you to it."
"Come to my landing pad at 0700 hours."
Nox smiled again, this time with her lips closed. "See you tomorrow, Empress mine." She leaned over and pressed a kiss to Acina's mouth, then left with a wink.
Acina touched her fingers to her lips. The Force did not have any portents of a poisoning attempt. Not that she'd expect one from Nox at the moment, but-
With a sigh, she flicked to the next page of the report on Ethru Minor. Breathable atmosphere, mineral deposits not quite near enough to the surface to be worth mining, some scrubby flora and arthropodan fauna. And on the last page, some pictures of a type of gem found near the volcano on whose foothills lay the settlement she'd agreed to visit. Some sort of agate, according to the notes, an intense sunshine yellow and banded with greens.
She smiled. Nox seemed to have a liking for shiny stones. Acina would oblige.
But before that, she had work to do and an Empire to keep running. With a final touch of her fingers to her lips she settled down with her reports and waited for tomorrow.
