#INTCTHATGOODNIGHT. ( fernos. )

[lifefcrged]

"Now what, I must ask, might have given you the very mistaken impression that I had any desire whatsoever to leave?"

OPEN STARTER [ s.ith o.bi-wan aka darth fernos ]

          “Calculate the odds of you getting off this planet alive, and now cut them in half.”

[diplomacyfcrged]

❛ You ruin anything you touch, and destroy anyone you love. ❜

So far his meetings with the senator had been peaceful, if not overly polite. Ever the politician, Padme knew just what to say and how to act, how to be cordial even when Fernos could feel her anger towards him. But of course, it was all going to come to a head sooner or later. The Sith was impressed she had lasted this long. Peace was a lie.

Love. He should deny such implications, such weakness. He had cared for his former apprentice - but love? Fernos shook his head, a small condescending smile on his face. “This is the way of the Sith, my dear. I destroy those who would betray me, as we both know Vader would have undoubtedly done.” He sighed and clasped his hands in front of him, the magnanimous lord willing to put up with the grieving widow. “He would have done the same…if only he’d been faster.”

The sharp crack of the slap that impacted his cheek and jaw felt deafening to her - the pain of it in her palm and fingers leapt like fire through her skin, cheeks hot and flush with the anger that she'd been struggling to stifle throughout this conversation and so many others in the last months that she had been forced to play the part of the bereft widow who should somehow feel obliged to be grateful that the man that had taken her husband from her had seen fit to spare her and her children from his wrath. Her hands settled in front of her, mimicking the genteel affect he had mocked her with even as he spouted his vitriol and she remained ramrod straight, refusing to flinch or cower in the face of his potential retaliation for the slap.

"You would do well to remember to whom you are speaking, Lord Fenros, and in whose halls you stand. I am a member of the ruling Senate and servant of the Dark Council, the blood of this Empire runs in my veins and has been spilled from them for its' righteous purpose." Fire and steel coated her words and burned in her eyes, her chin held defiant and stubborn as she stared him down. "You are a guest in my home, and I will not have my family's grief bandied about for your -- or anyone else's entertainment."

@intcthatgoodnight

[brittlefcrged]

@intcthatgoodnight​ / sith ani sent a meme for her sith sw verse.

❛ You must be very special. ❜

         It wasn’t possible.   It was not possible.  Yet, even though they had never met, his face was as known to her as almost any one else’s in all the worlds.  Holos of him, the time that he had spent training with her Master, with Lord Fernos -- the holos in Amidala’s home, even the visions of him that she had experienced... none of them had prepared her.  And how could they?  He was dead.   Even she had not imagined or foreseen, even with her visions, any other alternative.  How --

      Fear trickled like ice down her spine, sat sour in her throat.  She swallowed it down, clung to it, tried to solidify it into anger.   Into strength. 

       Power emanated from him.   Icy rage cloistered the air around him and she could feel the goosebumps tracing lines along her arms.   A spirit?  No.  She did not have to reach for him to know that he was a palpable form. Alive.  Here.  In her home.  No one came here.  No one except Obi Wan.   This island was the sanctuary that he had made for her, with droids to tend to her needs, droid sentries to keep her safe.  And yet ...   Here he stood, in her sanctuary.  In her sanctum.   His words made her heart skip, her stomach ache and tighten.  Were they a threat?  His very presence here was a threat.  

      How had she not seen this coming? 

             “I do not know who you are, or what you are doing here, but you are not supposed to be here.”  The tremble in her voice, in her lies, made her jaw tighten, but perhaps it worked to her favor.  “Please leave.”   She was no one, nothing, there was nothing to see here.   Leave.   

[diplomacyfcrged]

@intcthatgoodnight​​ / anakin liked for a starter in the swtor sith verse. 

          It was becoming increasingly more difficult to make the time to slip away to the chambers where he had been secreted away to after his duel with Fernos -- primarily due to the sense that his old master was watching her, and her own fear that she might incidentally lead him to discover that Anakin was still alive.   He was stronger now, than he had been, no longer requiring constant submersion in the bacta tank, nor constant supervision by the medical droids, but he was still weak and she did not know how long it would take him to return to his previous strength, much less be capable of surviving another battle against Fernos.   Caution had always been in her nature, far more so than Anakin’s, but it had become borderline paranoia since her husband’s defeat.  

      “I’ve brought more supplies,” she spoke softly, as she entered into the rooms that had once served as funerary halls beneath their homeworld, now almost entirely forgotten. “Food, and water, and more supplies for the droids -- and more copies of the news holos,” she said, setting down the basket of goods onto one of the low tables before crossing to where he sat, leaning down to press a kiss against the top of his head, her hand settling gently on his shoulder.  “More holovids of the twins, as well.”

[diplomacyfcrged]

@intcthatgoodnight​ / obi liked for a starter in the swtor sith verse.

               “Lord Fernos ...”   Her smile was pinched in a manner that only those few that knew her well would recognize --  unfortunately, he was one of those few -- but pretenses were as much a part of the dance of their Empire as betrayal and murder.    Not for the first time, she thought bitterly of how much more their empire could achieve, how much further they could go, if they spent as much time fighting their enemies as they did each other.   “I must have missed the notification of your intention to stop by,” she spoke, knowing full well that he had not sent any such message, and knowing just as well that she was in no position to refuse him entrance.   “The children are down for the night and I was just about to sit down for supper --”  Which, he had to know, having been invited to dine with his apprentice more times than she could count.  Which meant, in turn, the timing was undoubtedly intentional.  “Please, allow me to have the staff set a second place.”  A second place, and not a third.  

[diplomacyfcrged]

intcthatgoodnight​:

Padme should never have to look so despondent, her beautiful face was made for happiness, and Vader seethed that he couldn’t erase her pain. Not yet, but soon. His old master would pay for keeping Vader from his family. He stared down at their hands, her small hands cradling one of his with a gentleness he didn’t deserve. Soft skin against unyielding durasteel. It occurred to him, not for the first time, that when he would finally hold his children for the first time he would have to hold them in arms of cold, hard metal. His teeth ached with how hard he was clenching his jaw, holding his bitter and hateful words behind his teeth.

“No!” Burning eyes shot up to meet her gaze. “You don’t have to do that. When I kill Fernos all will be set right again.” The Sith Lord spoke with such assured confidence as if his words had already come to pass. “The Council craves power above all else. By killing Fernos I will have proved my power, and any who question me will be quickly silenced.” He reached out with his free hand to stoke across the apple of her cheek. “I’m almost ready. Soon I will be able to face him and I will destroy him and any who stand in my way. There will be no one to keep us apart.”

     A lifetime of training and discipline had gone into forging who she was and the control that she had over herself, her expressions, her body language, every glance and shift of weight calculate and precise, a lifetime of making herself imperious and impervious to everyone -- almost everyone.  They were too close, here, now, he knew her too well, she was sure, to miss the way the corners of her mouth tightened at his instantaneous reaction, to ignore the way her fingertips pressed that fraction of a pound of pressure tighter against the hand of metal and wire that he had designed and built himself.  

     The inner turmoil that his insistence wrought was not new to her, and she hated herself for it.  She hated how selfish it felt to want to tell him that it didn’t matter. None of it mattered.  The Council, the senate, the academy, Fernos - the Sith Empire itself -- she would throw it all away, leave it all behind in a moment, to live her life, to live their lives, as a family, together, safe, happy, whole.  She was so tired of giving, and sacrificing, for the good of others, for the good of many, while all of those around her gouged themselves and those around them to scraps for the smallest hint of power --  

      She hated the fear inside of her as well.  The fear that had nearly cost her the twins, that had almost cost her her life, when she thought that she had lost him.  When they told her that he was dead.   She did not know if she could survive that again.  But then that was cowardice, wasn’t it?  She was meant to have faith, in him, in the power of the Dark side, in the strength harvested from the embers of pain and hate that raged in him.   She leaned into his touch, one hand slipping free to curl against his, skin to skin.   “None of it matters to me, Ani, without you.”  The power, the wealth, the prestige.  “You don’t have to prove yourself to me, or them, or anyone else -- “  It wasn’t his way.  It wasn’t the way of the Sith.  Her head bowed, eyes sinking closed for a long moment as she tried to hold back her own rage and anguish.  “You’re enough, Ani.  For me, for Luke, Leia.  You’re everything.”

[diplomacyfcrged]

The defiance in her posture and expression only grow more distinct at his query and the unspoken threats within it -- not for the first time, and what she suspected was far from the last time, she wished with her whole heart that she had been born attuned to the Force as he had, as Anakin had. She would have given anything to watch the life drain from his face, her hands around his throat. She could feel the skin of her palm dampen, could feel the knuckles ache with the pressure of her formed fist, nails digging through her skin. "I may not have the power -- " yet " -- to make the Council reverse their edict on this --" Lips drew back, a near feral baring of her teeth in that moment. "Arrangement but even if I am to concede to their wishes, even bound to you through marriage, I will be your equal, not your property."

Anger and resentment burned hot in her chest -- the Council not even considered her opinions on Fernos' proposal, and now she and her children -- Anakin's children -- were to be tied forever to the man that took their father from them. "I know who you are, Fernos. I know what you are. I know what you desire. I will never be yours -- and I will never fear you." She would wait. She would bide her time. She would gather her allies, she would harvest his enemies and she would have her revenge.

His head snapped to the side from the force of the slap, sharp pain flared across his cheek quickly turning to a low sting. The Sith Lords' expression never changed even as rage roared inside him like a wild beast. The air around him prickled with a sense of danger, but he wasn’t who the Force was warning. “I will only say this once: you will never do that again. Do you understand?” Threats were left unspoken but were clear in the fury that seeped from his voice like venom.

“Now I understand how uncomfortable you must find this arrangement between us.” An understatement for sure. A marriage of convenience was quite…inconvenient.  It was just a contract, a legal arrangement to ensure peace. But one that was already pushing his patience. “There will be an adjustment period. Perhaps we should agree to keep the past in the past and speak of it no more.” Even dead Anakins presence demanded attention. But Fernos would not let the boy who betrayed him continue to disrupt his life. Maybe easier said than done with Padmes presence about to become a constant.

[brittlefcrged]

She did know. Of course she knew. His face was enshrined in Fernos' memories and thoughts, even as much as her Master wanted her to believe -- wanted himself to believe -- that Anakin was culled from his thoughts -- that Vader was nothing more than a stain of shame and regret, she knew it was not as simple as that. He had loved the boy that would become the man that had betrayed him, unforgivable even more so for his failure. She knew this face, she knew the scars that twisted and pulled it askew. She knew the wounds that he had sustained, the limbs that he had lost, the price that he paid for his pride had been his life - she'd seen it all in Obi's dreams.

Her heart raced with fear. She could taste it in her throat. Bitter. Sour. She stepped back, one step for each of his on legs that she was surprised to find were -- for now -- steady. Who was she. What was she to Fenros. She swallowed down a burst of laughter -- as if she was supposed to know the answer to that, as if she could tell him something she didn't even know. Student? Apprentice? Lover? Weapon? Tool? Were they not all a version of the same? Which would serve her better: to feign ignorance and throw herself on the nonentity of mercy that might exist in the scarred remnant of Sith in front of her, or to wield the truth like an armor and hope that she would live to tell Fernos what had transpired here today?

Bare skin of fingers pressed, dug into her palms. Each heartbeat seemed to last an eternity. She fought to keep from shrinking down beneath the weight of his gaze. Power. It ached in her teeth, the ferocity of his rage. "My name -- is Clarissa. I ... I help him. I look after the estate, I -- I help him manage his affairs, with the Academy, and the Council." It wasn't a lie. It wasn't the whole truth but then, what was their world made of if not shades of grey?

@intcthatgoodnight

It had been all too easy to gain access to Fernos’s newest hideout. Once he sliced through the security systems the only guards on the island were droids. Pathetic. His old master was slipping if he thought that would stop him - though he wasn’t expecting Vader, was he?

Finding the location had been harder, Padme had helped him with that. He hated the idea of his wife having to spend time with that force-damned traitor. He had raged against it, threatened to run his saber through the man the moment he dared step foot into their home. Even if at the time he could barely stand, still recovering from the injuries Fernos believed had killed him. Injuries that nearly did kill him. He wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for Padme who had found him and rushed him to a hidden medical facility. Padme had also been the one to talk him down from his rage, telling him that then wasn’t the time to fight. He needed to recover his strength before he faced his old master.

And so, Padme had played the curious host to the sith lord; not once, not twice, but multiple times. Until finally a droid was able to slip a tracker onto Fernos’s ship. Which lead him here.

With the guards taken care of, Vader had free reign over the estate. He casually walked through its halls, following the lone Force presence inside. He had wondered what Fernos was hiding here, it seemed rather that it was a who.

A girl. A girl with an odd feeling about her in the Force. Not what he had been expecting. His old master had always been a flirt sure, but anything more seemed beneath him. He had criticized Vader when he discovered his marriage to Padme, saying it was a weakness. Could it be that he now had a weakness of his own? The idea greatly amused Vader and he couldn’t help the smirk that spread on his lips. He could feel the lie in her words as clearly as he could feel her fear.

“Don’t lie. It’s a waste of breath.” he sneered. “You know who I am, which means you know why I’m here.” He walked forward, burning sulfuric eyes staring down the small blonde as if she were under a microscope. “What I want to know is - why are you here? Who are you to Fernos? And again - don’t bother lying. I will know.”