The Dark Academy on Korriban

Zeno stepped into his room, leaving the door open for his guest. Death's Shadow was where he had left him and would be loaded up with the rest of his stuff tomorrow by the academy's slaves. He moved over to his things and removed his top, tossing it aside before going into a bag and replacing it with something lighter. He then sat on his bed, resting his back against the wall. "Too warm on this planet."

Shaisha followed after Zeno, taking notice of how Death's Shadow was still a large presence in the room.

"Too warm? Would you prefer somewhere colder instead then?" she asked with a smile, not seemingly bothered by wearing her formal attire in the Korriban heat.

"I did tell you one of my favorite things is the void," he says with a chuckle, patting the spot next to him on the bed.

"I was born on a cold planet, but I've spent most of my life on Dromund Kaas... I guess that got me used to the warm weather," she smiles gently and sits beside him. "I always find the void of space to be so cold. Even with the heaters on my spaceships, it just seems cold."

"The view out there is rather unparalleled though."

"Did I ever explain the void training to you? Part of Deathwright training traditions that go back since our own academy was formed?" he says. "I think I've explained it to others, but you'll have to excuse my memory."

"I don't think you've told me," she says, kicking off her shoes so she could pull her feet up on the bed. "If you don't mind repeating it to me...?"

"They keep it a secret from the trainees and it's not widely known about. Some find out ahead of time, but sharing it with the trainees is highly frowned upon." He says with a reminiscent smile. "At some point after you've started with training in actual starfighters you get paired up with an instructor that you don't get along with too well. You and the instructor are sent out for a week long isolation navigation training. The suits we wear for that are designed with 56 hours of oxygen in various tanks in the suit. Gives you time to make longer term repairs on the ship if it gets damaged."

He chuckles. "Well, about halfway through the week of training, after you've eaten for the day... they eject you and hyperspace out without warning. Leave you to the empty void. No explanation, no instructions. You stay out there for 48 hours before they hyperspace back to your position, tracking a beacon in the suits. It's cold, it's lonely, and if you didn't see it coming it is one of the most frightening experiences you will ever have. My parents ensured I wouldn't know."

He looks over to her. "Void training. Not everyone survives it. Most common way to die is suicide. Some people can't take it and don't trust their Deathwright brothers and sisters to come back for them. Admittedly, that's only about 1 in 20, but it's designed to test your faith in the family and to help you learn that while death is unavoidable you shouldn't give up. Make it come for you rather than you going to it, even in the most stressful situation."

She tried to imagine herself in that situation. All alone. Nothing but her and the Void.

It caused chills to run down her spine.

"I don't ever want to be in that situation," she says in a quiet voice. "I'd probably end up killing myself in some stupid attempt of getting somewhere..."

"I considered it... killing myself. That instructor had been rough on me. I felt that he considered me a failure. But I sat in that cold void and had faith that one of my family would come and find me and I would hold out until they did. Starving and dehydrated with no sense of time or direction, I withstood it and was determined to do so until I suffocated." He smiles at her.

"And then that instructor came back. It's actually a pretty good deal for the instructors in those situations. They get a two day pass and he came back with a smile on his face having spent some time with his family. Helps keep the cover of the test in tact for them to not return to station. He congratulated me on surviving, gave me water and nutrient paste, then we continued our training. I was so pissed for a few hours, but he grew to be my favorite instructor. Because I learned that no matter how much he may have disliked me personally, if he was at my back in battle, I could rely on him."

"But what if some instructors delay in coming back, to purposefully let students they really hate die out there in space?"

She leans against him as she pulls her knees up to her chest.

"I... I don't mind being alone. I've done so much on my own, after all, but to be abandoned; that is the worst feeling."

"Then that instructor is no Deathwright. The body of the trainee, even when perished, is always recovered. And immediately returned. It's standardized and timed so that if the student perished during that 48 hour period their body is returned to the station immediately, none the wiser of the test. If the instructor left them out there for longer than intended it would be known."

He puts an arm around her shoulders.

"It feels like abandonment at the time for the student. But it becomes a strong lesson in trust. And also how to deal with fear of the void for those that have that problem," he says. "Those 48 hours... they were the longest of my life, but there was a comfort in accepting that either my family had my back or my fate was sealed. This all comes after the mental training we go through to prepare for the possibility of death in the field. If not, the suicide rate would likely be higher."

He smiles. "After that training... I realized I was never going to be truly alone as long as there was a Deathwright looking out for me. Though of course it was abundantly clear that they couldn't be there for me here. But now that I'm sith? I could call on my family and they would send someone in a heartbeat and without thought to come to my aid. The void to me, is the thunderstorm to you."

She smiles at that. "And how do you feel about thunderstorms then? Do they scare you?"

"So maybe not quite exactly the same," he says with a grin. "Since I do like thunderstorms. Something to be said for that much power and energy being unleashed by nature."

"Then what scares the great Zeno, if it's not the powers of a thunderstorm, or the endless void of space?" She asks with a smile as she reaches out to brush a hand over his head.

"You saw two of them in one fell stroke," he at that with a distant smile. "Unexpected betrayal and loss of my sense of self."

"Also, I'm not a huge fan of jawas. Those things creep me the hell out." He actually seems relatively serious about that last one. "We had a few on Deathwright station that worked as mechanics for our Republic ships. Never could get used to them."

She tried not to chuckle at the comment about jawas, but it still slipped out. "Jawas? Oh well... I guess we all got the little things we don't like very much. I don't like nexu cats myself."

She sobers up from the brief laugh, her smile reflecting his own. "... The loss of self. That's one I can relate to."

"Nexu cats? We're going to have to sadly disagree on that one," he says with a chuckle of his own. "But I guess that means I should never get one as a pet if I'm gonna keep you happy."

He leans over to kiss her on the cheek.

"Yeah. Not that great a feeling. So you've had something similar happen?" he asks.

Accepting the kiss, she rests her head against his.

"Not... quite what you went through, but something similar." Her arms wrap around him and squeeze him close. "I might tell you about it some day, when I feel ready for that."

"As for nexu cats, well, one gave me a scare as a child. And never really forgiven the species for it," she chuckles. "I don't mind other felines, though."

He smiles at the feel of her hair on his. "All things in their time. Just let me know anytime you want to talk about it. I'm here for you."

"As for animals... honestly, for me the bigger and meaner the better. That was one thing I did truly like about my father. He kept a few large beasts as pets. It was always fun to watch them as a child. He had a nexu cat so... if you ever visit my family home in Kaas city then you're going to want to be aware of that."

"As long as the cat knows its place, I won't make it into a new rug," she gives a haughty sniff.

"I'm not deathly terrified of them. Just a strong dislike, and prefer to keep them at a distance, preferably in a cage. I guess a nexu isn't so scary now as it was as a child though," she admits with a small laugh. "Having a lightsaber tends to make things less scarier."

"Oh, it most definitely does not know it's place. My father keeps them feral," he says with a grin. "Takes them out on hunts on occasion for fun."

"Well, that's a bit different with me and Jawa. Just something super creepy about them," he makes a face like they're disgusting. "I'd rather have a gamorrean sit on me then talk to one of those things."

She laughs. "I think I'd take the Jawa any day over a Gamorrean! Besides, I want to find out what's underneath that hood... Another hood, maybe?"

When she laughs, he pushes her over onto her back and quickly pounces to lay on his stomach by her side. "Don't go laughing at me over those creeps," he says with a smile before giving her a small kiss. "Or I'll be forced to hire a gamorrean to sit on you!"

"Nooo~!" she pleads with a laughing tone. "Anything but that!"

He puts an arm around her waist and rests his head lightly on her chest. "Jun-Tsu visited me earlier. I think it went well considering neither of us killed each other. Though she doesn't seem to think she did anything wrong in the first place and believes that there would be some chance of me forgiving in the future. I can see the insanity a bit better now."