A small shuttle craft, sleek and bristling with weaponry and a poisonous green crest of the House of Syn painted on its side, slowly descended with a quiet hum of repulsor engines to the Academy building below. It was almost empty, only a couple of house guards, clad in their silver battle-armor and a pilot accompanied a lithe female figure sat in one of the seats in the richly decorated passenger area, lounging lazily with a data-pad in her meticulously manicured hands, reading its contents.<br/>She was clad in form fitting black trousers and tunic, soft matching boots and a loose black jacket with red lining among its sleeves. Like all of her clothes, the jacket was armored with energy-dispersion mesh and concealed a holdout blaster in a shoulder holster.<br/>- "Starting landing procedure, please stand by..." called the pilot through the intercom, causing the guards to hold the railing specially designed for landings. With a barely noticeable jolt, the shuttle landed, and with a hiss of atmospheric pressure equalization near the shuttle ramp, the girl placed her data-pad away and stood up. As she walked towards the exit of the shuttle, she smiled as the guards hastily stepped back to let her through. They remained motionless, standing at attention with their rifles held in a ceremonial pose, relaxing only when the girl stepped outside.<br/><br/>The shuttle landed on the edge of the large balcony - it was small enough to fit, but large and lavish enough to carry a scion of the House of Syn, one of the most powerful and influential families of the Sith Empire. From the lowered ramp, stepped Vestara Syn, walking slowly, as if she had all the time in the world.<em>At last, a first step towards her destiny</em>, she thought, as she walked towards the exit from the balcony. She was told that her new mentor would be waiting for her there, but he could wait. Because she was a Syn, and everyone else were... stepping stones, a tools to be used. Nothing more, nothing less.<br/>Clasping her hands behind her back, unconsciously imitating her father, the head of the house, Vestara arrived to what seemed like a great hall, at least according to the descriptions of the Academy she read so much about.<br/>A tall Sith Lord was walking back and forth near a group of two young trainees, seemingly angry. She approached and waited until the bald man noticed her.<br/>"I am Vestara of the House of Syn. I have arrived. Are you the one who will be teaching me?" said Vestara haughtily, as if doing a favor to the tall man by even noticing him.