The Dark Academy on Korriban

Without further word, Moyr showed the video on her databad.

As he watches his face doesn't express anything. When it is over he looks up at Moyr and Baesal. "I've killed people for lesser reasons than gaining power. It's good to know though, since I'd certainly not want that to be me. You said you found this on the victim?" There is no shock or awe. Maybe a hint of surprise, but he certainly doesn't seem to disapprove. Not of the two he is speaking with or Zash.

"The man's name was Faln. After he went mad, he led a wretched life in the wastes, assembling a retinue from a fugitive slave and a halfwit woman of unknown origin. Making them die was practically an act of mercy if I were up to such sentiments. There are also some recordings of his ravings which are mostly worthless to watch. The point is Zash is probably using the Academy graduates for her experiments. Make of it what you will. My conclusion is simple, that I don't want to end like Faln. Or the others before him. According to our research, there have been quite a few."

Moyr smiled mirthlessly.

"And I tell you this for precisely the reason, Lord Deathwright: you have a destiny to fulfil and being backstabbed in some tomb as her apprentice would thwart that."

"Appreciated," he replies. "Truth be told, I am more interested in apprenticing for one of the masters that fight on the front lines of the war. But her knowledge, guidance and favor are valuable for now. Though I am curious to know what she is attempting to accomplish. I wonder, do you have the original datapad this was found on? I curious if I could tell her I found it and ask her about it."

"This won't be done, even though there's not much else on that datapad. She's best kept unaware of how much is known. She may take it for a blackmail, and then bets are off. You said yourself that for now she's useful to us."

"I agree...It will bring unwanted attention to us"

She returns to the map

"Which brings us to the tomb coordinates we got from the droids...I find it somewhat suspicious. I can't articulaire anything precisely but I have a bad feeling."

"Does it need to be seen as blackmail? If I just give it to her and it's Faln's own datapad she'd be likely to believe that there's no evidence of her out there and would be more likely to trust me. Perhaps ask me to find others to use for her experiments rather than using me. That could provide more insight and information," he says with a shrug.

"Any tomb out here should give a bad feeling. I doubt she has had anything to do with it since the data came from droids that she didn't even know existed. Droids likely moved over 1700 standard cycles ago if they were moved by Gyn," he says recalling that that's when the holocron was created.

Moyr ignored his earlier suggestion.

"Are we joining ranks to explore that tomb, Lord Deathwright?"

"Yes. I believe that was part of the original arrangement I had with Baesal. We'd figure out what comes of the memory cores and split up what was found," he said with a nod.

The fact that he was ignored irked him. He wondered if they considered that a good idea given what they just shared. He was, after all, a violent and vindictive sort and they had given him little reason thus far to trust them. Sure, they shared that piece of knowledge that was useful but they had both previously kept him at arms length and seemed to be working together a lot. He felt like an outsider, one that could be potentially victimized if he wasn't careful with them. The thought hovered in the back of his mind to betray them before they could betray him, but for now he'd simply go along and see what happens.

"I don't want to barge in if you prefer to keep it between you and Baesal."

She considered, glancing at Baes.

"As for Zash, there may be other ways to secure what you want from her. I'd like to explore them before anything else because I'd argue her goodwill is the least reliable."

"You're welcome to join us. Three is more likely to succeed and splitting things three ways is better than zero ways," he says with a shrug. "And it's not about relying on goodwill. It's about being more useful alive than dead."

"A practical philosophy" Baesal agreed

"Remember when I told you yesterday that I would speak with someone else about the tomb? That was Moyr"

Zeno nodded in understanding. "Well, I'll be ready to go later when we're planetside. What time are we heading out?"

"Afternoon, I heard. Though I also heard Lord Zash was looking for low-performing aspirants like me to finally prove their mettle in some routine cargo delivery. I might give it a shot and see what comes out of it. I'll keep you informed about what I'll learn. I'll try to discern whether the utility function you purport applies to her mindset."

Moyr raised her tattooed brows in a wry expression. Her lekku fell to the back.

"Yes. I meant, what time would we be heading out. For the tomb," he clarifies.

"During the standard night, I guess. There's something I have to attend to before that."

"Of course. I'll probably head into the Valley before then and see if I can't get myself into a bit of trouble," he says with a grin.

"May your troubles be fruitful then."

Moyr grinned back and inclined her head at the man's beaming self-confidence.

"That's the hope," he says with a nod. "I'd like to get something for getting into trouble."

''No trouble for trouble's sake then?'' The slicer inquired

''That somewhat ruins the whole romantic ideal of adventure''

"Well, I never said I needed material gain for it. Just something, maybe a pleasant memory of defeating an enemy or understanding yourself a little better. Though a crystal or some artifact wouldn't be unwelcome," he says with a shrug.

''Ai'nit always!''

She typed something

''What tools do we have and what might we need?''

"What do you mean? To get into the tomb? Rope might be handy. Light."

''I have two light sources but no rope'' she commented

"I have scanner goggles," he says. "And a sword. I believe those are probably the assets I have that are most useful. Though you never know."