In retrospect, perhaps, having my already-angry owner return home and find me sitting in her private library, reading her private notes and contemplations on the Force and other related subjects had…not been the wisest idea in the world. Of course, I hadn't intended for that to be the case, but I had gotten rather absorbed by what she had to say. Some of her thoughts were genuinely profound, and more than a few of them could be considered close to heretical or treasonous, and I had found myself with a small pile of flimsi and a pen as I jotted notes of my own down.
That I would have the temerity to not only read her notes, but make what one could consider corrections of them…well, it had left her momentarily speechless, before I could feel {Wrath} starting to build on the edge of my awareness, bubbling within her, and I wondered (not for the first time, and hopefully not the last) if I had finally found that one particular line that would be fatal for me to cross, no matter how interested in keeping me around Nicky seemed to be.
So I played a rather risky gambit.
"Your treatise on the nature of the Force and the mutual, reciprocal influence between it and the sentients of the galaxy was remarkably forward thinking for someone with your background. I especially enjoyed your notes on your personal experiences with the simultaneous enticement of the darker passions and the resultant paths they can lead you down, and the occasional feelings of chastisement or disappointment you seemed to experience when you used your talents for certain actions." I remarked casually, ignoring the way Kela was anxiously looking between us, as I jotted down another note on my current flimsi, giving her a somewhat absent smile of approval. The same sort of approval one would receive from a distracted, working classmate during a debate or discussion or peer review in school.
"Oh? And what would a slave, who cannot even keep her hands off of her owner's property properly, know about the 'forward thinking' involved in any discussion on the nature of The Force? Especially one that has told me she knows virtually nothing of it's mysteries?" Nicky growled, glowering darkly, though I could also sense the slightest hint of {Curiosity} lacing its way through her aura, and I gave her another smile.
"I lied." I admitted baldly, a touch of bemusement in my tone, ignoring the way Kela cringed at the words. "I'm quite surprised you didn't sense that fact, given your apparent talent for sensing deceptions. I had actually thought that you had, and simply were playing along with me. Curious."
"Any particular reason I shouldn't kill you for your arrogance, your trespass, and for the lies?" the Sith asked in response, a bit of {Amusement} edging out the {Wrath}, alongside the growing {Curiosity}.
"Besides the fact that I'm gorgeous and have a thick cock?" I jested, shifting my legs slightly to cause the soft bulge of my crotch to sway enticingly. Gratifyingly, it drew both their attentions, however briefly in Asmu-Nikal's case. "You like me. You think I'm entertaining, intriguing, bold, and you're curious about me. You want to know, to understand. It's one of the things that sets you apart from the rest of your family, the rest of the Sith."
"My father and master seek to understand the Ancient Knowledge and Biotic Sciences, otherwise they would not have focused on the arts that they have. All Sith study and learn to understand the Force, to better serve the Empire." She responded, one raven eyebrow lifting, a small smirk quirking her lips as I pouted slightly at her ignoring (verbally at least) my pseudo-flirtations. Still, she seemed inclined to debate now, rather than kill me, so progress was being made!
"Your father, your master, the majority of Sith…yes, they seek to understand, but understanding itself isn't the goal. Power is the goal." I put the document and my notes aside, focusing on the discussion entirely. "You, on the other hand, seek to understand for the sake of understanding. You do not focus only on what gives you what you want, and ignore all else around it. You lack the…tunnel vision, I suppose, of your contemporaries."
"Hmm. You say power is the goal as if that is a negative thing, a dangerously, and contemptuously, Jedi-like position to take." She pointed out, looking as though she was actually considering my words. Kela was glancing between us, visibly confused, clearly wondering if we were going to fight, fuck, or have a philosophical debate.
I was hoping for the last two.
"Of course, possessing power over oneself and those around you is not inherently a bad thing, no matter what the Jedi believe, but too many Sith are just as flawed in their beliefs. They see power as an end, not a means. They gather power for the sake of possessing it, but rarely use it for anything other than impressing its existence upon others." I argued, flapping a dismissive hand at the implication that I was in anyway 'Jedi-like'. "Power without purpose is pointless, Asmu-Nikal. It is what you wield your power for that makes it worth gathering. Protecting your family, elevating their position, ensuring your children live a better life than you did. Serving your star-nation, defending its ideals, enforcing its laws and ensuring its prosperity. Goals such as this are what gives value to power, whether in the Force, with more typical weaponry, or even with money, politics, or influence."
"An interesting opinion and summation." She said slowly, gesturing with her hand as she used to Force to lift one of the spare chairs from the other side of the room towards me, sitting down in it as soon as it was settled. Kela, whether out of some training or a desire to keep me alive I didn't know, scuttled over and settled at her feet, resting her head on the pureblood's thigh. Nicky's {Wrath} faded almost entirely as she absentmindedly began stroking the submissive girl's hair. Abruptly changing the subject, if only slightly, she suddenly asked. "You mentioned my treatise on the nature of the Force and the influence it has on sentient creatures, as well as their influence on it. Elaborate on your opinion."
"Well, you're right, of course, that the relationship between the Force and sentients, especially those capable of using it deliberately, is reciprocal. However, it's flawed in the same way that all Sith and all Jedi have flawed opinions on the nature of the Force." I answered candidly, shifting slightly to a somewhat more comfortable position now that I wasn't writing any longer. "Hardly your fault, of course, both orders have tens of millennia of dogma and tradition, not to mention oceans of blood, between them and their origin. What better way to ease the struggles of conflict than to make your enemy as different as you, to make them as 'other' as possible?"
My tone was definitely edging towards both the sardonic and the bitterly contemptuous towards the end, but neither of the women across from me were gauche enough to comment on it. Instead, both seemed to be regarding me with focus and scrutiny, and I was reminded once again that, for all her hedonistic, submissive air-headedness, Kela was not stupid. She didn't have the expression of someone who was paying attention out of politeness, or knew how to fake paying attention, but was genuinely listening to and evaluating my words. That probably shouldn't surprise me, she had lived this long at a high rank in the residence of a Sith Lord fond of experimenting on living subjects and pregnant women, whose eldest son routinely needed hazmat-suited servants to clean out his 'playroom'. An idiot, even one beloved by the daughter of the house, wouldn't have lasted long. And they certainly wouldn't have made it so long without picking up a few things.
"Flawed in what way?" Kela asked, even as Asmu-Nikal opened her mouth, and I shrugged languidly, breasts bobbing lightly with the movement.
"Both still adhere to this belief in the 'Dark Side' and the 'Light Side', and what they mean." I flicked a handful of fingers with a moue of distaste. "I suppose it's not incorrect to conclude from our perspective that the Force has sides that act differently or resonate in different ways with sentients, but I think that such a view is more due to our nature as mortal, sentient creatures. Our worldviews are limited to our experiences, what we have seen and felt and heard and been taught. Moreover, we are limited in our understanding of the universe by our very natures, so of course we should try and define something like The Force through our own windows of experience and comprehension. But windows are all they are."
I paused for a moment, well aware that I was starting to lecture, and on a dangerous subject at that, but frankly I couldn't resist the opportunity. Even if it wasn't necessarily the wisest course of action.
"The Force is, if you will forgive the turn of phrase, a force of nature. The Force of Nature, really, and while no one would accuse Nature of being 'fair' or remotely interested in 'the right thing', what it really is, is neutral. Morality is a construct of sentients, nature doesn't need it or want it. What is, is. What happens, happens. The Dark and Light Side are within sentients, not in the Force itself."
"I've never heard such a theory, though it is compelling." Nicky mused thoughtfully, and the fact that the Sith as an organization wouldn't contemplate such things was no surprise to me, just like I wouldn't be surprised to learn the Jedi didn't either, except perhaps people like the Shan family or the Green Jedi of Corellia. "How, then, do you explain the definitive examples of behavioral changes from those that uses one side or the other, or the very tangible, very different sensations and feelings that the two opposing sides offer to those that can sense them?"
"I will admit that I am not sure, having yet to experience the Force more deeply than my own inexperienced fumbling, but I have long considered the idea that the Force, being the essence of nature, of life, therefore appeals most easily to the more primal parts of life. We sentients, for all our intelligence and works of technology, are little more than animals. Therefore, it appeals most deeply to the most animalistic parts of us. Eating, fighting, fucking, obviously, but also peace of mind and being with your family, your pack or herd or what have you." I admitted, before meeting Nicky's eyes and smiling slightly. "Besides, as I said, I believe strongly in the reciprocal nature of the Force."
"Ah…" the soft, contemplative exhale Asmu-Nikal gave was really quite satisfying, I had to admit. This was really quite fun, I was enjoying the discussion and the breadcrumbs immensely. "So, you propose that the Force is as much influenced by as we are by it. Since the Force is a part of all living things, all living things influence the fabric of the Force. That's why you mentioned our long histories. After so many thousands of years of Jedi and Sith, and the unfathomable numbers that have fought and died in the service of our orders, the Force itself has started to mirror our ancient rivalry."
"I believe so, yes, at least to some degree. I don't think we can entirely shape it, of course. Sentients can influence nature, but not change the way it functions." I nodded in satisfaction, my smile growing as she grasped my meaning. "In truth, I think that it would be very hard to tell where the Force ends and our own primal desires begins. Is the Dark Side feeding from and fueling your brother's…proclivities, or is he pushing the twisted desires he feeds into the Force and perceiving an echo or approval of some sort where there is none?"
Asmu-Nikal didn't respond immediately, clearly giving the matter some very serious thought, before meeting my eyes.
"Who are you, Vestara Khai?" she asked softly, intently, and I could feel that the scrutiny was not just with her eyes, but the Force itself. I made no attempt to block it or shield it, letting the sensation wash over me calmly, my smile never faltering in the slightest. "You're like no slave that I have ever met. You're well-spoken, intelligent, clever, never mind well-versed in theoreticals of the Force. You show just enough deference to survive, but when you act boldly, you do so with cunning. Even this discussion, you disarmed me by reacting unnaturally to being faced with an angry Sith, confusing me for so much as the heartbeat required to pique my interest and draw me into a debate."
"Vestara Khai is Vestara Khai." I 'explained' enigmatically, lips quirking slightly in amusement at the brief spike of {Exasperation} that radiated off of her in response, and I shrugged before she could speak. "What do you think I am, Asmu-Nikal of House Luwian?"
"I would have thought you were a Jedi Infiltrator, or agent. A zealot or a patsy that they sent in to replace some slave that you closely resembled in order to gather information on the Empire. Or perhaps an agent from a rival dynasty, sent here to gather our secrets to help engineer a strike against us. And yet…" her voice, still so very soft, trailed off, and I raised an eyebrow curiously.
"And yet?" I prompted, when she remained silent for more than a handful of heartbeats.
"And yet you have not acted as such a person would act. Rather than keep your head down and avoid notice, you seem intent on drawing my eyes to you. Talking back, debating, even arguing at times. Lusting after me, taking Kela into your bed despite the possibility that it would turn me against you…no spy, Sith or Jedi alike, would risk their mission like that. Not one competent enough to be given such a task, at any rate." She elaborated, leaning back in her chair, still stroking Kela's hair rhythmically. A motion that I could tell was as soothing for her as it was for the other slave girl, who was really quite tense thanks to the discussion going on above.
"Well, rest assured that you're quite correct: I am not a spy for another dynasty, for the Jedi Order, or any other organization you can think of. On the contrary, I value my independence, and my life, far too much to have put myself in this situation on a whim." I agreed, before giving a rogueish wink. "As beautiful as the two of you are, I'm afraid that I wouldn't consider the two of you worth pursuing to that degree."
I paused thoughtfully, wondering if that was perhaps harsher sounding than I had intended it to be. I certainly didn't want to give the impression that they meant nothing to me, only that I wasn't led around by my cock.
"Of course, since I am here, I shall simply say that, were I actually some sort of spy or agent, I would certainly consider turning my coat to further enjoy your company. The two most beautiful women on Dromuund Kaas, and I get to spend every day with them." I sighed wistfully, cock hardening as I recalled their naked forms, quite aware that I was probably pushing my luck but not caring in the least.
"Hmph. I should think that you would give most Sith Lords a run for their credits with your perversions." Nicky shook her head, seemingly in disappointment, before looking down at Kela with a gleam in her golden eyes. "Kela, why don't you go and help Vestara with that. I'm rather in the mood to enjoy myself, after the day I have had, and the two of you seem quite primed to give me an enjoyable show."
The human girl didn't waste a moment, quickly crawling over to me and reaching for my loincloth, deftly moving the thin, straining strand of sheer clothe aside to free my cock, which was promptly engulfed in an eager, warm mouth. I hummed in satisfaction, rolling my head on my shoulders, my left hand burying itself in her hair while my right rose to begin toying lightly with one of my swollen nipples. Asmu-Nikal gave a soft sigh, eyes sliding partway closed as our mutual lust filled the room, and I could feel her 'pulling' the sensations into herself through the Force, even as her own lusts flowed into me through those ever-so-thin strands of connection I had built between us the day we had met.
"Mhm, good girl, Kela. You're such a good little cocksucker." I praised the girl kneeling before me, and it was entirely genuine praise at that. While she hadn't yet managed to take me completely to the root, she was giving it a damn good try and getting better with every stroke. "Mmh, I have to praise you on your training, Asmu-Nikal. Barely a hint of a gag reflex to be found in this little whore's nice, tight throat."
Asmu-Nikal huffed a soft laugh, even as Kela made a happy sound of affirmation, the vibration around my cock causing the pleasure I was feeling to take a sharp spike, and I felt a ripple of satisfaction as the threads between myself and Nicky widened slightly, the lust in the room rising abruptly in response, drawing a soft and sharp gasp from the pureblood's throat.
"Mhm," she gave a throaty sigh, radiating satisfaction as she shuddered from the tremors of a small, but no less sweet, orgasm. Splaying herself rather bonelessly on her seat, she lazily planted her chin in the cupped palm of one hand and regarded us with mingled lust and interest as the other drifted between her thighs and began to almost lazily rub at the glistening flesh there. "Vestara, you seem to be quite familiar, even comfortable, with making use of submissive whores. Seems a strange skill for a slave to have, and I can see quite clearly this is no skill that you have picked up since becoming mine."
"Familiar? Comfortable?" I hummed thoughtfully, even as I ever-so-casually used the index finger and thumb of one hand to pinch Kela's nose shut while using a firm grip on her hair to hilt myself in her throat and keep her there as I talked. "Well, that is certainly true, though I should think to add 'talented' to that evaluation, at the very least. I am indeed a talented woman."
"Hah, and I suppose that is all that you will say on the matter, just as you didn't mention how you know so much of the Force?" Asmu-Nikal asked, in what would probably have been a groan if she wasn't so relaxed and aroused.
"Well, you can hardly expect me to reveal all of my secrets to you in a single session, can you?" I asked, delighting in the way Kela's throat was now spasming around my length as her lungs began to run dry. "If there is one thing my time here has taught me, Nicky, it's that you adore mysteries and secrets and discovery."
As I hissed the last word, I pulled Kela free, enjoying her drooling visage as she gasped for air, before pulling her down again. Her lung capacity was not as well-trained as the rest of her, it seemed. Well, I was uniquely suited to ensure a proper education for her, wasn't I~?
I could feel the Sith's anger spike in response to my irreverent use of my chosen nickname for her, only for it to be washed away by pleasure as I 'pushed' my lust and the impression of the pleasure Kela was giving me through our tenuous but growing connection to one another, giving her another miniature orgasm. It wouldn't be too blatant, under the circumstances, disguised by the lust that was clouding every thought and breath for all three of us. Even if she had noticed, whether she currently had the wherewithal to truly recognize and comprehend my efforts for what they were, never mind doing something about it, was very much an improbability.
Of course, she knew that I was manipulating her, even if not through the Force. She knew that I was using my understanding, my impression, of her nature against her for my own benefit, and I could feel a tinge of amusement even as two slender fingers curved up inside of her body, eyes drifting back and forth between my own and Kela.
It was a dangerous game to play, but my entire existence was currently dangerous. Calculated, if not safe or careful, gambles were not just advisable but necessary to me right now.
"Kela, don't ignore my pussy. You're supposed to be pleasuring me, and that means pleasuring all of me, not just the most prominent part of me." I absently instructed the slave between my legs, scooting forward slightly to ease her access, as I kept my eyes locked onto Nicky's, seeing my own lust and passion and enjoyment reflected within their golden depths. Her mouth never abandoning my shaft, Kela obeyed, one hand cupping my balls to both caress them and move them out of her way as she began to give some attention to my more feminine parts.
Sparks went off behind my eyes as slender digits slipped and slid and stroked a portion of my body that I had essentially ignored thus far. I had thought my new cock, which was far more sensitive than my old one had ever been (probably because it was a mutated clit, or something of that nature), had felt amazing. Now, though, even from these lightest of touches and slimmest of penetrations, I was learning that my cunt was even more so.
With the double-ended physical stimulation and the intoxicating, all-encompassing sensations being fed to me through the Force, it didn't take long for me to cum, coating Kela's throat and fingers in equal measure. I felt her pleasure spike as she came in response, slowly drawing her head back as my spurts slowed to catch the last of them in her mouth without prompting. Letting my length slip entirely from her lips, she tilted her head back and opened it wide, showing off the pool of thick, milky-white liquid for my approval.
"Good girl, Kela. Why don't you go see if Nicky wants some as well?" I suggested, getting a soft gasp of surprise from my owner, her fingers hitching slightly in their drive to push her into an orgasm of her own, as Kela promptly turned and crawled back the way she had come, sitting back on her haunches at Nicky's feet and tilting her head back to display her offering. Asmu-Nikal looked tempted for a moment, I could see it, the rapid flicker of movement as her tongue darted out to whet her lips, before I could feel her {Resolve} harden.
"No, I don't think so. Finish your little snack, Kela, and then use that tongue of yours to finish me off as well. I've enjoyed the show, but there is more to be done today than the pursuit of sensual pleasure." She declared, removing her fingers from herself and spreading her thighs wider, and I couldn't help but pout slightly at her in disappointment, something she ignored with casual ease. Still, I consoled myself by knowing that, though she had eventually refused to keep playing along, I had made titanic progress with her today.
Mostly due to her not killing me when virtually any other Sith would have done so, of course, but as progress went such a result could hardly be beaten. The fact that she seemed legitimately interested in both my mind and my body was a boon, and she seemed inclined to discuss the Force with me, rather than punishing me for contemplating its secret.
Which might, in time, mean that she was willing to teach me how better to wield it.
I had no interest in arriving on Korriban with nothing more than my own theories and intricate plans in my arsenal of survival. No, I intended to arrive there with at least some prior experience with the Force, and preferably the support of a certain daughter of a certain noble house as well. Not just to make surviving Korriban easier, and more likely to boot, but to provide the allies I would need when Zash and, likely as not, Thanaton turned on me.
Oh, I had hopes that I could prevent my second 'master' from betraying me as he had in the game, but I wasn't naïve enough to put any faith in the idea. Thanaton was, or at least purported to be when it suited him, an ultra-traditionalist Sith. Of course, given his background and the fact that he had/might/would abandon the sacred Kaggath, he was a massive hypocrite. He valued tradition only when it was convenient for him, cared about the Sith and their people when it suited him, and abandoned everything the moment life became difficult.
Of course, preventing Zash from betraying me was impossible. She was dying and in desperate need of a new body, and I was less than inclined to become a meat puppet or to force someone else into such a fate. Even if there was someone I might dislike enough to consider the matter, I certainly couldn't trust that having a fresh body would make Zash suddenly become a trustworthy and willing to teach me all of her secrets.
Besides, it would be a great irony to bind her to my will when I mastered Force-Walking, taking every scrap of knowledge and every hidden secret she held before banishing her into the fabric of the Force. She had been obsessed with immortality, with gathering all kinds of ancient and arcane knowledge or artifacts, and I was duly inclined to ensure such things didn't go to waste after her demise.
Tucking myself back into my loincloth, I turned my attention back to my companions as Asmu-Nikal came in Kela's mouth, and felt my flagging erection revitalize as Kela crawled up Nicky's body to kiss her deeply. Not only was it a deeply attractive sight, but the knowledge that the pureblood was even now tasting the mingled flavor of she and I together on Kela's lips and tongue was highly arousing.
No doubt sensing my arousal, the crimson-skinned and golden-eyed beauty broke the kiss to look over at me with a carefully constructed look of boredom, eyes lingering on my throbbing bulge for a moment before returning to Kela.
"I believe I am done with you for the day, Vestara. Return to the slave barracks until morning, or until I summon you once more, whichever comes first." She dismissed me, pressing her thumb against Kela's lips for all of a heartbeat, before my fellow human took the appendage into her mouth to suck and lick. I got to my feet some-what steadily and began making my way towards the door into her bedroom proper, only to pause as she continued. "I will unravel your mysteries, Khai. I hope for your sake that they, and you, do not disappoint me. Otherwise, my curiosity and interest in such secrets might no longer outweigh my pride."
There was a gently squeeze from an invisible hand around my throat for the briefest of moments, a reminder (as if I needed one) of just whom I was dealing with. Taking a moment to brush off the somewhat unexpected but regrettably unsurprising threat, I glanced over my shoulder, giving her the most confident, coquettish smirk, I could.
"I look forward to your efforts, Asmu-Nikal. I will show you a whole new world. A new, fantastic point of view. I hope you are not so brittle as most Sith would doubtless prove to be when put to the test between the hammer of my mysteries and the anvil of your traditions." I responded, cribbing a handful of lines from various places without an ounce of shame. "Enjoy our Kela. I look forward to seeing you come morning…if you can be sated until then."