The Dark Academy on Korriban

A secure message starts to beep on Sylvain's terminal, Level Delta Clearance using a cypher for House Torsin. Being heir to the family, Sylvain can answer it. The line would be secure.

Of course who would be using it?

Noticing the beeping he turned to the terminal.

"Strange...." He said looking at the sender. "Excuse me for a second."

Sylvain turned on the communicator, "Hello, this is Sylvain."

Sylvain has seen the man though never talked him, he worked as an agent for the Minister. He was a shadow, but he was in his father’s inner circle. The holographic image forms in the usual blue and white, a zabrak in dark robes with a cool demeanor.

“Master Torsin, greetings. You do not know me, which was by design. I served your father on tasks that had to be handled with discretion. I was instructed in the time of his death to make myself available to you. That time has come.”

“I am currently on Nar Shaddaa investigating a matter for Lord Torsin. If you are at a secure location I can divulge more.”

He nodded, "I am. Proceed."

“As you wish, Lord Torsin believed that our setbacks in recent months, indeed perhaps years were orchestrated by inside agents. I was given a list of names, I…” he paused when he saw Kristal and said, “I should send this securely.”

“If that is not possible I can arrive on planet personally.”

"Those here are in my personal confidence. It is not a problem to send them now, unless you feel this line is compromised." He replied.

Shaisha had a hunch about the unknown man's thoughts. Not that she doubted Kristal personally. But the rest of the Serasai might be compromised...

"Chances are high that we are being watched and monitored on campus grounds. I'd advise to handle it somewhere more secure," the smaller Sith suggested, giving Syl a rather hard look.

Tyron nods and says, “Moff Serasai was at the top of my list, I have been shadowing his agents and the man for months. I cannot ascertain if he was involved in the plot but many of his subordinates have moved into advantageous positions and several have contact or lines of influence that reach back to Darth Baras.”

“Moff Serasai is poised to become Grand Moff, his advancement is fortuitous and gives Baras further control of the war machine, and by extension Darth Vengean. I have forwarded a list of names, secured by this cipher. I was able to track down a low level agent and extract information.”

“Regrettably he died under my questioning but I learned that vital Intelligence has been transferred to Republic agents of movements and troop numbers in critical sectors. I could not tie him to Baras, the tracks are clean.” The zabrak Sith goes quiet allowing Sylvain a moment to consider this information.

He contemplated the information provided to him by the informant carefully. He did not know this man, nor did he know if he could trust him. But the story made much more sense than the one that Baras had provided.

"What of the response of the military? Many of my father's supporters are dead, but are the remaining ones must be somewhat cognizant of their new diminished capacity within the Imperial Hierarchy? The knowledge that Baras or someone else is setting them up for failure could move them in ways that the lies of these usurpers wouldn't."

“Most are looking to save their necks, many have pledged loyalty to Darh Vengean or Baras, the rest are moving to join Darth Marr. At the moment the division is purely political, but given the deteriorating relations between Marr and Vengean we could have open warfare,” he says calmly.

“Warfare your father would have deftly headed off.”

Sylvain nodded. "Repeating the same mistakes of old... Foolishness."

Then looking at the man carefully he asked, "Do you have any advice on how to turn this in the Empire's favor?"

“I simply acted as a hand for your father. I do not propose where to go from here. Your father would wish to avoid warfare and find a way to focus these disparate parties on the Republic and other enemies,” the zabrak says calmly.

"You have done my father, and the Empire a great service. I hope I can rely on you as my father did." Sylvain said with Imperial grace and gratitude.

"If you don't hear back from me by tomorrow afternoon, notify Darth Marr of your findings. I will seek to avert the conflict, but we must be ready to make sure Baras loses in case I fail."

“My life for the Empire, my service to House Torsin,” he ends the communication.

Sylvain nodded and shut off his communicator as well. This call was obviously a sign from the powers that be that he had made the right decision. He had already planned to threaten Baras with civil war if he did not listen to his demands, but now that appeal had focus and specificity that would grant power to his words.

Silently he thanked his father for having been as resourceful as he knew him to be. There truly was much to admire and emulate in his father. It was now his duty to go and do what needed to be done to preserve his legacy and direct the Empire towards greater strength and purpose. Aramis Torsin would not be forgotten, his sacrifice would save the Empire... or it would destroy it.

Smiling Sylvain turned to his two friends. "Well... that was helpful." His normal charming and welcoming appearance had returned.

"Seems like you are becoming your father... Master Torsin," she managed a weak smile, and a small bow.

Not for once did Kristal consider contacting her father to learn more of this, or get his perspective. Moff Serasai was a man separated largely from his home and his daughter was always the independent he wished her to be. Now that there was suggestion he might be implicated in something...

Kristal didn't waver once, but she wasn't about to speak first or while that Zabrak remained on the line. There was too much to sort through. When she entered her plan had been to distract Sylvain from his grief but... this was so much more. There where things in play here she hadn't once considered even possible. As she always was when she was uncertain, Kristal was distant. Perhaps even cold and calculating in the way she appeared to remain in thought.

Sensing her conflict Sylvain smiled warmly, "Something wrong Kris?"

"Nothing I would like to put to words," She said pushing away her thoughts for now.

"Moving forward..."

Kristal gives her best to keeping cool and driving this somewhere productive. With all the anger and sadness left behind. Oh, and the confusion and unsure-ness that plagued her thoughts. Good to be rid of those too.

Sylvain shook his head, "Not so fast my dear friend. Voice your concerns, confront your aversion. Your mind is testing you now, don't get in its way. Go with the flow of your emotions... let's see where they take us."

"I have asked myself several times now if my father could be complicit in this, as your man seems to believe..."

Kristal's voice goes a bit colder, "I cannot even convince myself it is impossible."

"I am fairly confident he is. All the evidence beyond this man's report would suggest at least tacit approval." He replied.

"I am sure he has his own reasons for why he would do this. Coercion, ambition, glory... or others. But I am also sure he is in the wrong, as is Baras. To follow the path they have set will lead us to civil war and our own destruction at the hands of the Republic... not to mention the countless numbers of our own troops lost in a wasteful war."

Sylvain smiled, "The Empire needs to be saved from this short-sidedness. And we are the ones to do it."

Shaisha slipped a datapad out of her robes, lowering her voice.

"I found this while checking on the target earlier, Syl. I haven't tried to crack it yet, but from what I could find otherwise, he's been in a certain dark lord's pocket for a couple of years by now, which has allowed him to greatly expand his influence over many of the top military leadership, all of which are not implicated in the current purge. From what I could find, one of the key figures that seem to be organizing the purge and in communication with Nadeen is Moff Serasai."

She looked to Kristal. "Sounds like you two probably want to look closer into things... cracking datapads isn't my speciality."

Merely half an hour ago her father was a completely different man in her eyes. Suddenly, it seemed, there was overwhelming evidence that this wasn't the case. No... no... this was too much. There was too much pointing toward her father. Tampered, perhaps, certainly in this field there could be no shortage of that. Some design was put into play. Kristal couldn't see why, or who, or even how but it was a gut instinct... and yet she couldn't shake the doubt.

None of it made sense. Nothing today made any sense.

"I need to figure this out."

"Do what you need to do. We'll be here for you in the morning." He replied with a smile.