It was clear that the Zabrak's patience was being tested as he rested uncomfortably to the back wall. Zeta had not once ever found himself in such a situation before, yet he would solve his dilemma. If he couldn't, his status for being a Sith Lord would surely perish.

The Iridonia native rested in a meditative state of sorts, there were times when even a Sith had to calm his own nerves. Drawing upon the Darkside of the force as he had done a million times before, he let the waves of the Darkside flow through him. The meditative process was a vital part of the process, without his state of relaxation, there would be no way for him to achieve his goal.


With part one of his task complete, the Lord went into extracting himself from the wall. The next part of the process was somewhat painful. With his head throbbing slightly from his horn being jammed into the wall the Zabrak let the forces of the Darkside flow into his head. Of course Zeta never made a task out to be so simple, for him, there was still more work yet to be done. With immense concentration he began to manipulate the air around the wall, specifically the area around his immobile horn. That part of the task was the most difficult as the wall itself was firm and quite solid; to mold the wall to his will would be a somewhat slow and grueling task.

***************

The Zabrak did not know how long he had been working upon the task at hand, his mind to occupied to notice how long Lupercus has been gone. He failed to notice if it were night or day, nor did he care. He was nearly done; his horn loosening sometime ago, though he'd failed to notice when only now just recognizing that he'd made some progress. With a few more moments of pulling and even some yanking, the Zabrak found himself escaping from the wall's clutches completely. His success was made clear when he found himself flying backwards, landing on normal ground this time. Standing up on his feet the Zabrak walked back toward the wall, observing the slight destruction of the wall.

He thought to himself.

Pity, I would have liked to have caused some major damage.

It was ok though, Zeta was sure that Lupercus was causing enough damage for the both of them.

The day passed quickly, the pickup of the crystal completely uneventful. Lupercus returned, a larger number weighing down his saddle bag as the speeder bike raced seamlessly towards the yacht. With an efficiency bordering on demonic, Lupercus reached the shuttle and quickly stowed the bike back on board. As he walked up the gangplank he shouted for the Sith Lord.

"Lord Zeta, the task is done."

(OOC: I've had a shitty time getting online lately, so this is the best i can manage atm. Sorry. :|

OOC: You did just fine, no apology necessary.

IC: Lupercus came upon Zeta, finding him in heavy rest as he stood near the walkway. Of course it did not surprise the Zabrak in the least that he would be awoken in his slumber.

He spoke just as his eyes opened.

"Do cease the shouting, Lupercus. My hearing was in no way affected during the... collision."

The Zabrak went silent, his concentration heavily set on Lupercus. With his mind at work, he prodded the others mind, one to find just what Lupercus had done. Two, just to simply annoy the Sith that stood before him.

Prodding the Hapan's mind he found that Lupercus had traveled for sometime, combing over Korriban's atmosphere. He'd looked in several different places before he'd actually found the exact crystal he was looking for. It was made clear to Zeta just how well Lupercus knew the land.

Letting go of Lupercus' mind, he gave a nonchalant nod.

"So it is," he said simply.

Silence greeted them for a moment, Zeta breaking it.

"Where shall the ritual take place?"

Lupercus paused in thought, thinking quickly.

"Xa'Fel i believe.

If this amulet is at all significant, it will be forged on the planet from which Master Snack forged the Order. Don't you agree?"

He waited expectantly before moving towards cockpit. He shouted behind him as he left.

"Do watch out for the jump to hyperspace this time...

You've ruined my door."

He mock tsked the sith lord in a display of childish behaviour that had not been in the Siths demeanor for a long time.

Lupercus knew that the Zabrak would not answer him. Whatever happened, whatever they did, it was Lupercus' doing.

An immense weight would be lifted off of the Zabrak's shoulders when the task was completed. A weight which no Sith in their right mind would dream to give up.

He watched Lupercus for a time, trying to determine if he had made the right choice, he knew that he had as he thought to himself.

He is better suited at this than I..

He would give up his position in power, (Not that he hadn't already.) and impress it upon Lupercus.

... And if the Sith was wise in his new affairs, he would keep himself grounded. It was the only way for Lupercus to be truly powerful.

Taking a seat he strapped himself in, calling out to Lupercus once he was settled in.

"... I am sure there is more I could ruin, given the time. After all... you're still here.."

Lupercus could not help but laugh, although why he did not wish to rationale. Flicking on parts of his control console, the craft switched to repulsor lifts immediately floating on air. Activating the intertial dampeners, he formlessly slammed the craft into flight, the craft bursting from the ground like a racehorse out of the blocks.

As the sky slowly changed colour during the ships atmoshperic climb, Lupercus sat back to consider his position. What he was doing was for the Order, but not. As far as he knew anyway. Furthermore, he had less and less time for random jaunts around the galaxy since both Zeta and Malice had left, thrusting the burden of leadership upon him. Now he was being dragged around by one who had left.

Shaking his head, Lupercus composed his thoughts. Zeta may have left, but his loyalty remained... Unlike Malice. And unlike Maim.

Zeta seemed to have retained an 'honour amongst theives' mentallity, to which Lupercus felt admiration and respect. Shrugging, Lupercus' mind drifted to more trivial things as the LY-3000 lurched into Hyperspace, destination Xa'Fel.

Lost within the silence, the Zabrak was left to ponder over his own thoughts.

He'd left The Naboo Sith Order to get away from the rigorous strain of being a leader. He sought only the power of the darkside, and not the kind of power that most Sith went after.

No one had made him become leader then, it was a choice he had made.

So the same fate had fallen upon Lupercus, and he too had had a choice.

... But unlike Zeta, the Hapan could handle the consequences that came with making the choice.

Zeta could not help but contemplate over why he kept returning to a place he had essentially run from. He chose his own fate, and always he found himself going back to the place he never wanted to return to.

His loyalty was much too strong. Perhaps he secretly felt that there was more than he could give to The Naboo Sith Order, even if he was not willing to admit so to himself.

He was not sure of anything that concerned himself, but one thing he did know... As astoundingly cocky Lupercus was, Zeta knew the Hapan could get things done.

He'd earned the Zabrak's respect long ago.

The trip was rapid and, with the intertial dampeners online, was probably quite comfortable for the Zabrak. The Tequila Sunrise was a luxury craft, with smooth lines and a very large chance for the craft to be modified in very special ways. The cloak had been Lupercus' first addition, a black sun operative smuggling the crystals to the Sith from Aeten III. The comfortable interior though, was not Lupercus' hand at work. It was his fingers.

The luxurious interior was the reason Lupercus' had stolen the craft. Its former owner was an admiral of a fallen but powerful empire. No expenses would have been spared in its construction and initial modification.

The swirl of stars in the Hapans viewport signalled their exit from Hyperspace, and seizing the controls, Lupercus turned the ship towards Xa'Fel. Guiding the craft at breakneck speeds, it smashed through the atmosphere at dangerous speeds.

"Here we are..."

The ships rapid descent began to slow as the failsafes kicked in, the repulsor drives activating just as the ships was 10m off the ground. As the landing gear dropped, so did the gangplank, allowing the pair exit.

Uncliping himself, Lupercus stepped back into the main cabin holding the crystals in a sealed cask.

"We are ready."

The Zabrak played the shadow.

The follower.

"There is no we. It is you."

Lupercus had come this far, he could finish what was left... or Zeta would most likely finish it for him.

"Time is wasting, Lupercus..."

He awaited the authority figure's step.

His face was a mask of control as he nodded slowly to the Iridonian. As he walked towards the now lowered gangplank, Lupercus' eyes traced the ornate and almost living tatoos that were etched irrevocably upon Zetas face. It took ten minutes for the Sith to prepare the small temple in which the forging would take place.

As Zeta approached to follow Lupercus into the temple, the massive doors slammed shut, sealing him out.

You know as well as i that you cannot interrupt.

And suddenly, Lupercus' Sith presence disappeared to the Zabrak.

Return in 6 days.

The first day of the ritual was spent forging the crystals. While Lupercus had perfected the crystals cut and size before he had returned from Korriban, it was the metals and alloys that caused problems. Not only did Lupercus complete the amulet as he was charged, but also something else. In a momentary stroke of genious, he used the completed amulet as an inset on a Sith Sword and Mask.

His studies in Sith Alchemy were paying off as the 5th day passed. Upon the completion of the physical aspects of the devices Lupercus repeated the Sith Spell of bonding ritually upon them once at dawn and once at dusk for the full 5 days.

During those 5 days he had only studied, meditated and chanted, his entire life energies being channelled into the production. And on the 6th day, he began the bonding. From his studies, Lupercus believed that he would be able to bond artifacts and talismans together, intrinsically linking them forever.

He was right. By the end of the 6th day, the 3 objects were completed. The Amulet itself was bound with a single ruby red Ilum crystal which seemed to flow like blood inside its tarnished golden cage. On the metals could be seen the marks representing a number of Sith Talismans, including Concentration, ensnarement, healing, sheild and translation. When worn, the amulet would provide the equivilent of all those talismans, as well as being a supository for energy.

Both the sword and mask were ebony black. The mask was ornate, with a highly visable inset left for the amulet in its forehead. The sword was the same, although the inset was more hidden, disappearing into the swirls that were apart of the blades hilt.

And at the end of the 6th day, Lupercus opened the doors of the temple, and slept.