Nariveth should probably find that creepy, but honestly, she's really just glad her questions are getting answered and she's eating food. Nom. This time she doesn't speak and chew at the same time.

"All right, but is it likely to be just people trying to kill me, or am I likely to also have to deal with, 'Betray Occlus and join me and we can rule the galaxy together'?"

"He may attempt that, but given your background I would advise against taking him up on the offer."

"Agreed based on current evidence, if you'd wanted an apprentice as cannon fodder you would have picked the idiot, easier to manipulate, Thanaton and his minions have no such displays in their behavior. And - yeah, that other part, if that's a factor." Slightly annoyed nom.

"It's a large part of why he takes issue with me, for you it would be no different."

Blink. She digests that. ... Yep, she's pretty okay with having this Sith be her teacher. Though, admittedly, that could be leaving out some key information and she doubts it's that simple.

"Ah. Yes, that would be very annoying."

"In any case, I intend that you will stay close to me while we are on-planet, or Khem Val if circumstances dictate that you cannot accompany me. You will be as safe as it will be possible to be."

Nod. "Thanks. I'll stay out of the way and not do anything stupid."

"Do not sell yourself short. I expect that you will prove useful in some fashion, before this is over."

... Smile.

"I didn't say I wouldn't do anything, did I?"

"You said you would 'stay out of the way'. That phrasing connotes a degree of passivity."

Snort.

"Fair enough. How does the Republic factor into this? Because I am having trouble understanding why he would purposefully fight you and your forces in the middle of a warzone."

"It gives both he and I the opportunity to prove ourselves as champions of the Empire. I have recently manipulated events such that his patriotism has been called into question, and I will need the reputation if I am to take his place on the Dark Council after I kill him. Besides which, the Sith thrive on conflict. Chaos breeds opportunity, and battlefields are chaotic by nature. The Republic itself is irrelevant, its only purpose so far as we are concerned is to provide a backdrop for our confrontation."

Occlus's cake has mysteriously disappeared! She wave a hand and one floats off of Nariveth's plate and over to her.

Nariveth peers at Occlus. She'll ignore the food thievery, growling at a Sith Lord about taking delicious cake from her plate seems suicidal and petty, especially when there's a whole entire galley to raid.

"... Did you manipulate him into staging it on Corellia?" she wonders, with dawning realization.

"I planted the seeds of the idea. Corellia was one of several possibilities I was prepared for."

She nods and chews thoughtfully, head spinning. She can think of several possible reasons for that, but she's not sure which combination of them applies. It probably has a lot to do with Thanaton's resources as a Dark Councilor -

...

Hold on. Back up. She missed processing some of the nouns used earlier. Take his place on the Dark Council? Thanaton is on the Dark Council. And Occlus. Is planning to take his place. And from the sound of it is probably going to manage it, too. Unless Thanaton proves himself to be a tactical genius or master manipulator, of course, but Occlus seems to be very smart. Smarter than what Nariveth would estimate the average Sith to be, though she can't say she's an expert in Sith intellect. Occlus certainly doesn't seem deluded, nor unprepared. Perhaps it's apprentice-flavored favoritism, but Nariveth doesn't expect her to lose.

Which means that it is likely that Nariveth will be apprentice to a Dark Councilor.

She needs a minute to take in this information. Her face is frozen, expressionless, and her Iwani cake held motionless halfway to her mouth.

Occlus notes Nariveth's change in demeanor, and stretches out with the Force to determine what her apprentice is thinking.

Ah. Well, better she get this revelation over with now, rather than at some potentially awkward future time. Occlus will allow her time to process.

Well, first off, running off to the Outer Rim is just not happening. The Sith would find a betrayal from a Dark Councilor's apprentice very insulting. She wouldn't last a day, if she lasted that. Maybe she could go running to the Jedi or Republic, but she's got zilch to offer the Republic, and strange mystic groups she hasn't had any interaction with sounds... questionable. They could very well decide that her three days of exposure to the Sith means she's a write off because she's some flavor of psychically tainted, and then completely fail to protect her when the Sith assassins show up. Not to mention trying to get to them sounds - well, frankly, impossible. She only vaguely knows about the worlds they're located on - Tython, she thinks, was the major one? Obviously their temple on Coruscant is a pile of rubble, so the easy-to-get-to one is just not an option. To make matters worse, she has no idea where Tython even is. All she knows is it's out of the way. This is quite inconvenient for her, because out of the way places are kind of hard to hitch a ride to. Leaving time for the aforementioned Sith assassins.

And besides. Running now would greatly hurt Occlus's efforts, and, well. She's done absolutely nothing to deserve that.

Okay. So. She's going to be apprentice to one of the major political leaders of the Empire, no don't freak out right now, shh, think practicalities. It's going to be a political abyss. ... A murdery political abyss. And she's been thrown headfirst into it, with zero training on political anything. So she needs to learn very very quickly. First up: run over your major immediate threats, besides Lord Occlus.

"... Do you have other apprentices, my lord?" she asks, after unfreezing herself and taking another bite of cake.

Occlus doesn't smile, because that would betray her eavesdropping. But she wants to. This one is intelligent. It might even be worth going out of her way to keep hold of her. Something to consider, after the Thanaton situation has been resolved.

"You are the first."

Okay, so no apprentices that will try to manipulate her in their favor or be insulted about her existence or just straight up murder her so they're the favorite, that's - good. Less to worry about.

Though it begs the question of why a powerful Sith that's literally about to make a move for a seat on the Dark Council doesn't have any other apprentices. Because really, it makes more sense to have had one before moving against Thanaton, have the apprentice actually definitively helpful instead of 'I have three days of training and a lot of adrenaline fueled creativity, let's see what I can break,' which is probably not the ideal for power bases. Nebulous power versus concrete power. But clearly Occlus doesn't want her for her ability to break things with her mind, there must be some other reason. Political move with the slavery thing? That doesn't seem like it would make many friends, but maybe the actual workings of the Dark Council will shock her and they're all ex-slaves who think slavery's cool because it weeds out the weak or something? ... That makes no sense, at all, do better, Nariveth.

"Really?" she asks, genuinely surprised. "May I ask why now for an apprentice? Not that I'm complaining..."

Another Sith might have wanted cannon fodder to send out to break things, and then where would she be? ... She might have managed to survive anyway, she's kind of stubborn that way, but it would have been harder. And more traumatizing, probably.

"Taking an apprentice from the academy on Korriban is a mark of distinction among the Sith. It shows you have strength, and the discipline to instill that strength in another. Korriban is the ancestral homeworld of the Sith and any who survive its crucible are considered to be inherently more worthy than those who have not been tested by it. Mastering one who has been so tested proves you are better still."

"Ah. Okay." So she's a political move. ... She's okay with that. Slightly weirded out that she's considered a proper distinctive Sith after three days, but she can turn people to paste with her mind, so, fair enough.

"Are there certain Sith I should look out for? Certain tactics I should be prepared for?"

"Every Sith is at least a potential enemy. For the immediate future, the only ones you should have to worry about are Thanaton and his three apprentices. By custom, the only forces involved in the Kaggath are the two primary disputants, their immediate apprentices, and any non-Sith underlings they have in the area. Thanaton will certainly make a play for you, eliminating your opponent's apprentice can count for a lot, but he is more likely to try for a direct assassination than to attempt to turn you. Alert me if you receive any strange holomessages, and do not go off on your own. If I had had more time to train you myself, your defenses would be stronger. As matters stand, staying near is your best option."

Nariveth nods, firmly. She will definitely be sticking by Lord Occlus, anything else seems crazy. Even if the strange holomessage is from apparent Jedi that want to 'save her,' because seriously, this is a Dark Councilor. It would be incredibly shocking if he never tried to deceive her.

"Hm. In the academy, I was addressed by two acolytes who specifically asked if I was part of your group, and then told me to, quote, 'not to try very hard,' and that Thanaton was going to kill you and anyone associated with you. I don't know enough about the situation to say if it was a play or not, but I do think you'd know better than I. They didn't seem very bright, anyway."

"Thanaton certainly had an agent on Korriban watching me, the timing of his challenge is proof enough. That could have been an attempt to dissuade you, but on the other hand, our conflict is reasonably well-known and some overseers are known to gossip. In any case, you are here now, so I wouldn't worry about it."

"I wasn't, really, just. I am not experienced in Sith power struggles, so I think I'd prefer to be overcautious over... not."