"Halt." Aaric ordered. "Stand fast here and take this chance to rest. I will enter the armoury on my own."
The group, along with their captured slaves, had trod through the tomb of Ajunta Pall for an hour and came upon the entrance which led down a flight of stairs to the tomb's armoury.
"Will you not need backup, sir?" Sergeant Cormun asked.
"No. And whatever happens in there, you and your men will stay put until I come out. If any one of your men steps foot inside to 'assist', I will be VERY annoyed. Is that clear?" The acolyte ordered.
"C-crystal, sir!"
With that settled, Aaric made his way down the steps into the armoury. It wasn't much, simply a wide corridor with a huge chamber at the end. What made it slightly peculiar were the stone coffins which seemed to line both sides of the stair way and chambers. Reaching ground zero, he looked ahead of him to see a granite weapon rack before him. Hanging from it, the Sith warblade he was destined to take.
Stepping forward, he grabbed hold of the handle and pried the dusty weapon from the rack and held it aloft. Taking a few swings, he grinned at how well-balanced it was. Not unlike a rapier, the grip was long enough for a single hand. Its blade was narrow but sturdy and did not flex. It had a wide hand guard as well as a pommel which was weighted just enough to keep the centre of gravity at the point where he held it. Pressing the button on the handle, four equidistant plasma blades activated, running along the stem. In short, this was the perfect weapon for a fencer like himself.
Satisfied of his new weapon, he turned to leave. But just a few moments later, he felt a stone tile under his foot depress and heard an audible 'click'. Sensing danger, he drew both his warblade and training blade in each hand. "Tch. I knew it was almost too easy." He murmured.
The lids of the stone coffins he dismissed earlier suddenly fell open, sparks then sounds of clanking followed as dark figures twitched within and metal feet stepped out of them; Droids of old, tasked to guard the armoury in case of plunderers, and Aaric counted four of them. Activating his blades, the droid guardians turned toward the trespasser and did the same, charging at him. The acolyte, however, was more than a match.
Limited by ancient technology and millennia of corrosion due to disuse, their clunky movements combined with straightforward tactics and basic blade work were easily predicted and countered by the skilled Sith. The first droid to reach him swung downwards, but was deflected by a training blade and its torso cut open by the warblade followed by a force kick which flung and crashed onto the second droid. The third lunged with a thrust to his torso, but was deftly dodged with a spin and was responded by a deep slash to its back. The fourth met the same fate, attempting a diagonal slash but was blocked and immediately returned with a slash and a puncture through the chest. And before the second droid could even push off its deactivated first and get off the ground, its head was separated.
"Hn, hardly a warm up." Keeping his blades ready just in case, he went back up the stairwell. He was not surprised this time when more droids exited their coffins to attack, thus he made quick work of them all the same. Exiting the chamber to his waiting men, Cormun stood up to greet him.
"My lord! I hope you managed to find whatever it was you needed." He sighed, relieved to see him alright.
"I did. Now let us get out of this hole." The acolyte replied impassively.
---------
Within another half an hour, the group at last exited the tomb. Aaric marvelled at the vaunting entrance of the Sith Academy and could not wait to meet Tremel. But first, he had to drop off his group of troopers off. Bringing them to the nearby medical post by the side of the academy entrance, he addressed Sergeant Cormun one last time.
"Sergeant." He called, the trooper stepping forward at attention. "You have served me well and led your men to victory, small as it may seem compared to the grander scheme of things. I hope you realise that without my help your men would have been stuck in that tomb and slaughtered. You and your men owe me a debt, and I will come to claim it one day."
"Y-yes, your help is much appreciated my lord!" He replied, bowing deeply. "My men and I will remember your service to us. I am sure once you become an apprentice for one of the Dark Lords here, you will have enough clout to call us for aid. Rest assured we will be waiting for that day."
The rest of his troopers followed suit, and Aaric nodded in recognition. Turning around and leaving the group, he made his way to the entrance of the academy. There he was suddenly stopped by what looked like a menacing female Sith pureblood waiting just for him.
"Acolyte. I am assistant overseer Loun. I come with a message." She stated. "Overseer Tremel can teach you the ways of the Sith but not all of the skills. For that, there are specialists in the Academy and Tremel wishes to meet them and learn what you can. Understood?"
"I do, assistant overseer." The acolyte replied, giving her a slight bow. He scanned his lusty eyes over her lean frame and how her outfit hugged her tight body. Her red, pureblood skin coupled with barbs jutting out from above her eyebrows and short facial tentacles hanging from her cheeks made her look exotic. He read about how Sith purebloods were strong in the force, but also highly arrogant due to their view as a step above humans.
If they even cared to read their history properly, they might have been surprised to learn that the reason they were part of the Sith order was because humans first arrived in Korriban and subjugated their race in the first place. Aaric was determined eventually to take her down a peg or two and make her learn a thing about human superiority; down on her knees and his dick in her pureblood pussy of course.
"May I also say that the pure blood in your veins gives you a very attractive colouring." He complimented flirtatiously while emanating his power in the immediate area around both individuals.
"Oh my," Loun scoffed. "An acolyte attempting to make a move on me? I commend you. You are either bold or simply stupid to do such, maybe a bit of both."
"Trust me assistant overseer, I do so simply because I can do so and have the power to back it up." He replied confidently, stepping forward until their chests were almost touching. Taking a gamble, he raised his left hand and gently stroke the Pureblood's right tendril handing from her cheek.
Loun was taken aback by the sudden gesture. Technically, the stroking of one's left tendril was regarded as an expression of thoughtfulness. It was bad enough that this human acolyte had the gall to attempt at displaying his power before her. It angered yet impressed her at the same time, but she did not show it outwardly. Almost immediately, she slapped away his offending hand impassively and gave him a weak glare.
