Star Wars Knights of the Last Republic ? Twilight of the Gods

IC: Edril?Rhona?Sabosen
Aboard the Stellar Envoy , Crustai, Chiss Space, former Unknown Regions

??the Court finds the Defendant not guilty,? Tarak?ha?nuruodo intoned.

Edril?rhona?sabosen exhaled. She processed the remainder of the community service sentence, but that was handled by some automatic part of her brain. She was thankful that she had won. Her victories were too few and far between for her to not enjoy them. Even so, she did manage to pick up the bit about how Tarak?ha?nuruodo thought that Yallo had been smuggling after all. That actually increased Edril?rhona?sabosen?s pleasure, perhaps inappropriately. After all, should one be happy that a guilty client did not receive the full measure of justice that they truly deserved? But sometimes that was not the point. The point was that the forms of justice had been observed and the result had been the acquittal of her client. In the Ascendancy, that was nothing to sneer at.

Yallo left with the bailiff before Edril?rhona?sabosen could exchange words. Apparently there was no time for that. Dutifully, Edril?rhona?sabosen approached the bench as requested and turned her mind to the topic at hand. She received the datapad as Tarak?ha?nuruodo explained the task the Families desired her to complete. It had been a long while since the Families had been involved in her life, not since she had been deemed to enter her maturity. Requests from the Families were not requests, and Edril?rhona?sabosen focused on everything the Syndic had to say. Documents, like those on the datapad, could be reviewed later?that was one of her first practical lessons as a procurator.

It was with some surprise that she received Tarak?ha?nuruodo?s question. It seemed?incongruent with the foregoing proceedings, prima facie at least. Even so, the question would not be posed without purpose, not by a Syndic.

?Keeping a Shadow Child is the practice of certain Chiss families to keep the existence of a child secret to prevent an entire bloodline from being eliminated by rival families, Syndic,? Edril?rhona?sabosen answered. Though this was supposedly informal, she would never be so rude as to refer to a social superior by his core name. ?But as to myself?every Chiss knows of my existence, of?what?? Edril?rhona?sabosen choked this last word out with some difficulty, ??I am.? The question puzzled her greatly. Her, a Shadow Child? To the Asecendancy? ?It is true, I have studied with many Houses?but I fail to see?? Edril?rhona?sabosen shook her head. A procurator had to know when she was beaten and she?d been beaten enough times to know that point. Though?no, that wasn?t possible. That would be?too perfect, Edril?rhona?sabosen realized. So very Chiss. But unlikely, and outside the scope of the question, at that. Edril?rhona?sabosen decided not to give voice to that thought.

?Syndic, I fail to grasp the application to myself,? she admitted, trying to veil her exasperation at her inability to see his point, ?Regarding the other matter, the mission to the Corellian system seems straight forward, in the abstract at least.? So many cases she had tried had seemed that way. Things had a tendency not to remain simple?at least for her. ?Does the Representative expect that negotiation will be required with the Five Worlds, negotiations that may require me to claim some degree of authority from the Council of Families??

Tag: Sinre

 

IC: Marric Renar
Black Hole Station, Tyus Cluster, Safe Zone

Everything came apart quickly in the kind of chaos that only something you'd expect to see on a holovid cause. It started simple enough, the new data was easily cracked, nigh instantly really, showing footage from that Lightsaber project he heard about, but hadn't bothered to more than glance at it when the news was broadcast. But as the video played on, and the gas giant turned into a miniature sun, several giant droid like, ships perhaps? Shot out from the new sun. He recognized the shapes, the name and what they were on the tip of his tongue.

Oh where was it remembered seeing something like this? Marcus! He had seen it when viewing some of his uncle's older files, maintained from earlier generations. Silentium. His attempt to try to recall more than that was interrupted however by the captain.

"Droids were hiding in a gas giant. So, that?s new. So, I don?t care. Move it.?He kicked open the door, and then turned and kicked the vending machine, just outside the room, reaching down for a can. Nothing came out, and Reynolds?s face turned red.

He kicked it again.

And the vending machine came apart. It fell into pieces at the seams, machinery whirring out and Reynolds took a step back. ?What in the Nine Corellian Hell?s??

As the machine suddenly turned into something resembling a humanoid before smashing through the door frame and firing something at him. No, his computer systems. Ducking low Marric yanked his datapad from the rest of the system. The rest was lost and he knew it but the datapad wasn't something he could easily replace being this far out from any one of his safe havens. With done, and his hand somewhat burned, caught in the fires before he could fully withdraw it with the datapad, and datapad in hand he made a break after Captain Reynolds.

?Come on!?

The captain's hastily fired blaster bolt seemed to ricochet off the, the thing, like it did nothing at all. Which meant it was time to run. As they entered the hangar Marric took note of the other inhabitants of the station ran towards the ship. The captain's ship. Not to mention his only chance of escape was alongside the captain. Shifting his datapad to his left hand before drawing his pistol with his right, wishing he had his stealth gear with him, or even just the belt. Blaster drawn, Marric fired a flurry of hastily snapped off shots between the people of the station and the ship they were running for. Hopefully it would slow them down. His life, and the captain's, depended on it.

Tag: Sinre

 

IC: ???
Moonlit Beach

"No, I can't seem to recall anything to be honest. Not that I really care, I feel as though this is a nice break from whatever thought used to cloud my mind." the figure said staring off into the water. "My only questions are where am I, and why?" he added turning to observe the cloaked figure beside him, eyes nearly blank as though just waking up from a sleep that was far too long.

IC: Kal Verin
Sentren II docking port

"Not all too in the mood for a chase today Freya, definitely think I could go for a drink though." Kal said as he eyed a rather tall glass of water if he would say so himself. He walked toward the small bar located not far from the bustling port and entered seeing a myriad of alien species he had yet to have the pleasure, or in one case displeasure of meeting considering the particular odor of the one pile of ooze he passed by on the way in. He walked up behind the rather attractive Zabrak he saw enter and took a seat at the bar next to him.

"Well hello there, and who might you be, must be someone important or I doubt I would have been so easily drawn to you." he said with a wink as he ordered a drink from the waiter. "This is my first time here, you happen to know anything about the place?" he added letting just a slight amount of Zeltron pheromones escape and wrap around the man beside him.

TAG: Sinre

 

OOC: Apologies for the delay! It shan't happen again.

IC: Sallacine the Prophet
Imperial Gardens, Corulag

Sallacine's clenched fist raised. His nails dug tightly into his palm as he attempted to control his anger; finally, his fist came to rest smoothly against his closed, terse lips and he coughed, his hand slowly moving down to his side.

Briefly, his eyes scanned the ashadaa plants scattered around the gardens, before they came to rest, tentatively, on the domineering face of the Emperor. "Your Imperial Majesty," he said carefully once the Emperor permitted him to speak, "I believe the fact I delivered the Archives into the hands of the Chiss will give me a certain... advantage, perhaps, when it comes to dealing with them." He couldn't quite keep the sneer out of his voice; although hundreds of years had passed since the worst xenophobia under the reign of Emperor Palpatine, a certain distrust of aliens was ingrained in many families, even Sallacine's, which had, of course, hardly been one with a particularly long noble lineage.

Kriffing cultists... just as well Gwalior kept our heritage under wraps, Sallacine thought privately as he considered his next words.

"I will do everything I can to redeem myself in your eyes," he finally said. "I believe going to the front line is just what is needed." And if I survive this, I'll be seen as a heroic nobleman, not the cowardly Moffs who have joined the Chiss!

Ordinarily Sallacine would have been excited now that his survival chances had increased a fair amount, but the Emperor's mention of 'Samhain' worried him. Still, it didn't change the fact that Sallacine's ingenious mention of his Sith alter-ego had saved him from fiery death, and even though he had not considered it at the time there was even further evidence - Sentren II - to back up his rather far-fetched claim.

He bowed to the Emperor for good measure, and then looked towards Moff Venson and... Sallacine smiled as he glanced at his personal ship, a luxurious although small shuttle colored black and gold. "With your permission, I will hasten to obey your command, My Highness - Your Highness." Sallacine felt like kicking himself; clearly he was more nervous than he thought he was.

TAG: Sinrebirth

---

Five years ago...

IC: Sallacine
Rishi system

Gwalior had blinked.

Sallacine blinked a whole lot more times than just the one. True Sith?! He rapidly turned towards Gwalior, his head nodding rapidly despite the fact his grandfather could hardly see him. Of course, Gwalior clearly recognized the worth of the artifact as much as the young nobleman, for he instantly accepted Bataal's proposition, even generously offering the loser of a trader a look at the item in question.

Sallacine registered Gwalior's next instructions and thoughtlessly obeyed, quickly striding into the drop bay, his cloak swirling around him excitedly as he thought rapidly to himself. Indix. Last... surviving... stronghold... True Sith... ancient... Must be ancient, unless it's new but still affiliated with ancient. Either way, this is incredible.

The array of equipment on his person designed to complete his disguise as his alter-ego Darth Murdis would typically suffice in this kind of situation but it seemed... riskier than most. They had hardly ever stealed any artifact before; typically, the pair never really needed to rely on anything but negotiating skills and a whole lot of money to acquire Force artifacts. So, upon consideration, it seemed wise to bring a weapon, just in case.

Sallacine had hardly wielded a weapon before. He had considered training in the Echani arts but somehow his dealings in the artifact trade had always postponed any move he considered to actually learn how to fight. It was hardly a surprise, then, that the 28-year-old's eye was instantly drawn to the biggest, most menacing looking weapon in the drop bay; a chaingun, more specifically, a DDW rotary blaster cannon. Salla

 

IC: Semaj the Future Pariah
Sentren system, outside the spaceport

He decided that instead of forging on ahead and leaving Regulis to his own devises. Semaj?s fear was that Regulis would inadvertently trip one of the security measures. So he dropped back to the ground and made his way back towards his pilot. He tried to stay along the same path that he took out to the parameter. Once he had finally caught up with Regulis he stopped right in front of him.

?What do you think your doing? Have you gone barvy or something??

---
Five years later?

IC: Semaj the Pariah
???, Sturges

He had to have gone barvy or something, between the voices in his head, the vision of a dead Chiss Grand Admiral, and the feeling that he was paying for what he had done back on Sentren. But he couldn?t get it out of his head and it was obvious that he was the only one hearing and seeing all of this. And now time was working against him.

Questions were not the only thing that was gnawing the inside of his skull. The statement of him not being a Jedi nor a Sith, if that was true then what was he? Just the Pariah? Or had he become something more? Thrawn had called him the Martyr, or was he referring to another that he had not seen at their initial meeting in that mysterious land.

The good thing is that he had made up his mind as to what they were going to do. ?R19 get that hanger door open we are going to see what is waiting for us.? I don?t care what the dead Chiss had to say. If I am going to meet up with the rest of the group this might be my ticket. He did say that it was for the Prophet after all.

TAG: Sinrebirth

 

ooc: This post was writte together with Sinre as a combined post.

Admiral Calek Pest the future Leader
Five years ago, Aboard the Victory

The first crew member to comment was Roji. "Sir, if you need time to speak to your son, we can always fob off the Supreme Commander. You could leave it all to us, and we can do it for you." The Dug winked. "In-fact, I'd recommend it. Plausible deniability, and all that." They were less like a crew some days and more like a band of conspirators. Especially when a desk-bound officer came to visit. The pranks they'd pulled when the Minister of Education had asked for a lift.

Pest sighed and nodded. "Do it. And don´t worry about deniability. If my son comes here to talk to me I think it is the least of my problems." He turned and stretched his finger on his way to the turbo-lift. "Too my son." He just told the attachée who had followed him like a shadow. Pest folded his arms behind his back and thought. His mind was cyrcling the bad feeling some things werre not okay and he could not really put his finger on the question what it was or why he thought so.

When he arrived he nodded to his Attachée again. "Have a break. I got this." He said and pushed him back into the turbo lift as the young man was about too leave. When the doors shut Pest turned and made his way towards his son.

The crew went to work, while the Admiral made his way down. His son was in the ready-room, beside the hangar, helmet in his hands. His eyes were red, and he looked like he had been crying. The eldest of his two sons, from a time so very long ago, Jaron Pest saluted to his father, hesitantly. "Admiral."

Calek Pest just knew one place where he was not an Admiral and that was when he faced his crying son. He walked tohim and just commented the salute wit a simple. "We´re informal."

Then he embraced him and lay his hands on his shouldes. "Tell me what happened." He asked his son with the serious look he would always wear many years later.

Jaron blinked. "There was an accident. A crash. He didn't deploy his skids correctly, hit the ground nose first... the ship flipped, ruptured the gas line, took out three of the deck crew, as he slid across the deck..."

The words tumbled from his mouth as if he had no hope of containing them. He hadn't even gotten to the heart of the matter. The simple fact that one of Calek Pest's sons, on this very day, had died in a simple landing accident.

Calek knew not what to say. the grim reality of loss came to him all to natural. It did not even matter it had not happened in combat. Pest had killed too any poor fellas to think ther was glory in war. It did not matte it migt ave been his son´s fault. It simply was . . . he had ben so young. So uch life,s much potential for life wasted. Pest nodded and took his son into his arm. He embraced him and allowed himself for the first and only time in is life to cry. "It is okay. It is okay. He would not want us to . . ." Calek did not know what to say He simply eld his son."Does his mother know?"

Jaron shook his head, in his fathers arms. "No. I cannot get a hold of her. I heard she was on Corellia, but where, I have no idea. She hasn't been picking up my messages." Jaron paused, trying to think through the murk of grief. "Its... midday there. She might be at work, and she'll pick up the messages in a few hours. Yes, that's it."

He broke the hug, and nodded. Jaron did not meet his fathers eyes. He sniffed, and rubbed his face on his sleeve. "I... I have a mission. I'm to meet a Jedi in the Sentren II system, and pick his scout ship up. I'm to take one of your stealth ships, and go there... do..." Jaron shook his head, and then said it anyway. "Do you mind coming with me? Please?"

Calek shook his head. How could they ask his son to do a mission right now? But then he nodded. If there ever was a time we family cam first and it looked as if it never had before for him . . . it was now. "Certainly." Calek said. "Certainly."

He ordered his attachée to the hangar and issued a personal order for the Captain to take over,

 

IC: Marric Renar
Black Hole Station, Tyus Cluster, Safe Zone

As they ran into the hangar Marric's spray of blaster fire set off a firefight among the many beings trying to reach the Serenity no doubt intending to steal the captain's ship in an attempt to save themselves. The troop of trandoshans that banded together to concentrate fire on the, well whatever it was, didn't last long either, all it took was a projectile from the thing no bigger than a bowcaster quarrel that upon impact created a blast that replicated a decent thermal detonator. 'Sithspawn' Marric thought, repeating a curse in his head that he had learned from his uncle as he continued to run forward towards the ship.

Looking ahead Marric noted the the captain on the ramp, his back to ship, eying four others, two humans that looked like they might be related, a Caamas, quite odd to find one here of all places, and a rather attractive Keshri woman. He glanced at the captain as he kept running, noting the captain turning to glance at him right as a shock wave from another explosion picked him up and threw him. Picking himself off the deck Marric caught the tail end of whatever the captain was saying, probably telling the four to get on board by the looks of it. Once he was back on his feet he continued in a sprint towards the ship, and his only way of surviving this encounter, listening as the captained ordered Inara to open fire on the droid, if you could even call it that.

As the captain ran inside, slapping the button to close the ramp, Marric sped up, his own survival instinct screaming at him even with out Captain Reynolds' ?Marric, get your shebs on this ship, now.?

Just as the ramp was almost closed Marric launched himself forward in leap fueled by his sprint, willpower, and desperation, hitting the ramp in a tight roll, never more thankful of his time in acrobatics training for his thrill seeking heists, rolling into the ships entry corridor and using his remaining momentum to spring to his feet, his very being exuding relief that he had made it. He paused long enough to take several long and deep breaths to calm his racing heart as he heard the captain's voice over the ship's intercom...

?Marric, if you?re on-board, get yourself to the cockpit.?

His normal mischievous grin back in place Marric quickly made his way to the cockpit, entering with aforementioned grin fixed on his face, speaking as he did so, "Captain, please tell me you didn't think I would be that easy to get rid of? For a moment it sounded like you almost wanted me gone." A moment later though the grin slipped from his face as reality dropped back in. "What was that thing?" The question was mostly rhetorical given that if he hadn't recognized it he doubted the captain did. But for the most part, he was just glad to be alive.

Tag: Sinre

 

IC: The Victim
Mysterious Location

Without a seconds hesitation The Victim, having discarded his other name now, honed his mind on forming his weapon, his forearms extended, grew thin, and grew sharper, sharper than the blade of a well honed blade, the "metal" tempered by the rage inside at the knowledge that he had been killed.

As the Marsh Haunt leapt at him he rolled at it, and with a frenzied flourish of blades and anger he managed to hew its limbs from its body, continuing to drive the blades in and out of the torso as a rapid pace before leaping away gracefully. Leaving nothing to show but oozing wounds.

IC: Kal Verin
Sentren II

The fire fight that had ensued was almost more than Kal could take in, grabbing the blaster that had skidded over to him he ran after the Wookiee and Freya ducking and rolling the incoming fire that was directed nowhere in particular.

"Well this has certainly been fun, bad news is you both interrupted my drink. You're going to owe me big time Chak!" Kal called over the weapons fire and explosions, laughing afterward. He continued ducking his way through the crowd and eventually followed Chak up the ramp of the ship. "So what was that earlier about the Star Wars? Were you really involved back then?" Kal asked once he was on board and strapped in, ready for a rather abrupt takeoff.

TAG: Sinre

 

ooc: Little time to read, so I need to give the whole thing and "five years ago" a proper read later. For now I stay in my comfort zone and do the present update.

Admiral Calek Pest the Leader
Conference Room

He did not like the compliments. He had been lucky at Hattawa. He had come back intime and his more aggressive strategies had taken the enemy by surprise. It could have ended different. He knew it. Yet every bit of command he had givven was better than the disaster Johnson had lead them into. The Chancellor knew this obviously, as he asked about who would be next commander.

Pest looked at him. "Anyone will be better than him, but if you´re offering me a job I must warn you. I´ll win this war. We can not really loose it if we play our strength. But for a pretty, harmless victory it is too late. Now we will need to pay the price of victory in blood." Pest folded his arms. "How reliable is your info on Corellia, actually? If it turns out to be true and the Chiss do it, they´ll need hell of a lot ressources. Talus, Tralus, Selonia, Corellia itself plus the belt? The shipyards? All three with their military security level? They´ll need hell of a fleet and most of their ground forces to do bring it down. If they really try it might be our last chance to defeat them before it gets ugly, Chancellor." Pest sighed. "But not with your plan." He added then. He hated what he had just realized. But it was the only way.

Sometimes he wanted back into the cockpit of a fighter.

Tag: Sinre

 

IC: Edril?rhona?sabosen
Aboard the Stellar Envoy , Crustai, Chiss Space, former Unknown Regions

Edril?rhona?sabosen received this second package with great delicacy. She had never quite expected that she might one day be handed the potential means of her own death?but today was turning out to be a very unexpected kind of day.

?Thank you, Syndic,? Edril?rhona?sabosen said quietly, ?I will make the Families proud. All of them?all of?us.? She paused to clear her throat. Suddenly it seemed she was having trouble speaking, a most curious condition for a procurator of justice. ?I should be going now,? she said, ?Time is of the essence, no doubt.?

Carefully she placed the datapad and the package with the poison pill into her attaché case, the trusty valise that had carried her important documents into court for the last five years. Though it was lighter now that it had new contents, somehow it seemed heavier than Edril?rhona?sabosen could ever remember.

Before she left the courtroom, Edril?rhona?sabosen paused and looked over her shoulder at the man who had been the closest thing she?d ever had to a father. She opened her mouth just a bit, as if she was on the verge of saying something, but closed it without a sound escaping. She turned and entered the hallway outside the courtroom and headed for the nearest fresher. Once there, she locked the door behind her, placed her attaché on the counter, and only then did she begin to cry.

It wasn?t sadness that caused her tears to flow, nor was it happiness. It was everything, a whole range of emotions. Emotions that as a Chiss she was supposed to repress. Everyone else did. Edril?rhona?sabosen tried so hard to be like them, but passions crashed in her breast like waves on a beach. No one else felt this, not like her. There was no way they could and remain so stoic, so rational. Even standing before Tarak?ha?nuruodo she had felt them coming, knew that he could see just like everyone else saw, and felt guilty for feeling what she could not control.

This was perhaps the biggest day of her life, to be told that she had a purpose, that she represented all Chiss, that she was what she had spent her entire life trying to prove that she was. It filled her with joy, with elation, with satisfaction, with vindication. Derided as moactan teel, now she spoke for all and could any but a Chiss speak for the Chiss?

?and yet she was still edril, no house. It was because she belonged to none that she could speak. And what was more Chiss than loyalty to your house? She would operate in secret, known to only a few. Likely the peers who had taunted her?some of whom had full grown children of their own by now?would never know of what she was doing, of this honor, of the fact that the Families thought she was so Chiss as to represent them all. To them, she would still be nothing but a half breed.

Everything was new, and yet nothing was new. So Edril?rhona?sabosen cried.

After many tears, she found control of herself and stemmed the flow. She cleaned face and removed a small case of emergency makeup to fix the damage. No good procurator worth her salt would ever enter court looking anything but her best. Cases had been decided on smaller points than that. She took a look at herself with her deep red eyes. Unlike other Chiss whose skin pigment fluctuated with the level of oxygen in their surroundings, Edril?rhona?sabosen?s stayed a relatively constant and pleasant light blue. Thankfully it was not so pale as to imply sickliness, but it did cause her to stick out on some planets when other Chiss flushed cobalt. It was likely the result of whatever half of her was not Chiss?whatever that was. It was something that the Families had never bothered to tell her despite the genetic analysis that had proved the fact.

Her work finished, Edril?rhona?sabosen put the case back into her attaché and saw the datapad and the package with the capsule in it. She hesitated a moment, her hand still in her bag, before pulling out t

 

Thothri

?I regret that was necessary. I have been required to spirit you away now, as you have yet to answer the messages the Watch has forwarded to you.?

Thothri stammered as the intruder drew back his hood, revealing yellow eyes that betrayed him as a Sith. Those eyes darted to the ysalamiri, who hid. ?Call your creature, Professor.? The Sith pointed his blaster at Thothri's legs. ?Or I shall have no choice but to shoot you. My orders to retrieve you did not include that you were unharmed. Just not dead.?

"I...I...I did not have chance to respond. I only just saw them. This is...I have a class, now. Surely this can wait until afterwards? My students..." He slowly backed away, trying to place his desk between his legs and the barrel of the gun.

TAG: Sinrebirth

 

IC: Semaj the Future Pariah
Sentren system, west side of the spaceport

Five years ago?

Before Semaj could even rebut Regulis?s comment about running off without establishing a plan, the pilot goes and does it himself. As soon as the ship broke towards the city, Regulis was off and running, blaster drawn, towards the spaceport.

He has courage, but what good will it do me if he gets himself killed?

But Semaj could not concern himself with that now, he had a mission to complete. Fortunately between his pilot?s headlong charge into the fray, the sirens? blaring, the arrant plasma balls, and the low flying vessel, Semaj no longer needed to worry about the security measures or finding a way around them. Before he charged straight into the fight he centered himself in the Force and ran straight for his former perch.

Effortlessly bounding from branch to branch, he scaled the tree. He looked over at the tree that was not too far out of reach and that was closer to the spaceport wall than his present location, and Force leapt over to it. He then climbed up a little bit further from his landing area and hurtled himself to the top of the wall.

After landing he dropped down, inside the spaceport. Now all he had to do was grab his crate and get out of there.

Easier said than done.

TAG: Sinrebirth

---

IC: Semaj the Pariah
???, Sturges

Five years later

All too easy!

R19 had opened the door with ease. If Semaj had been forced to attempt to open the hanger door there would have been melted slag all over the deck. The Jedi was not too technically savvy, so he would have resulted to the good, old, lightsaber hack and slash approach.

As the doors slid back to reveal the an old Dynamic-class freighter. Semaj let out a low whistle as he viewed the enth shaped hull from the hanger doors. There was not a Jedi in the galaxy that did not recognize the distinctive paint scheme of the long lost Ebon Hawk.

[WHAT A HUNK OF JUNK.]

?Watch what you?re saying, Arnie!? he rebuked the droid, ?If this is the ship I think it is, then we ought to do well.? But as the droid rolled forward to look at the freighter?s registration, a Police Droid ordered them to stop and identify themselves. After Semaj pried his eyes off of the freighter he realized exactly where he was ? the hanger of local Police Station.

Sithspit! What am I going to do now? I can?t tell him who I really am, they have received an order from Coruscant to kill me on sight. Think, you gungan-head, think!

?I am Judicial Walker. I have been sent to inventory the interior of the Dynamic-class freighter,? he answered confidently. For a moment the Police Droid seemed to contemplate what he had just heard, but then his blaster arm snapped up and leveled on the false Judical.

Out of the corner of his eye, Semaj could see Thrawn shrugging his shoulders. ?I am not a fan of ?I told you so?, so I won?t say it.?

?Oh, just shut up will you,? he said out of the corner of his mouth. ?You know, you could be more helpful.? He realized then that it must look like, to the two droids, he was talking to himself. He was starting to get frustrated. The last time he got frustrated, a Sith ended up dead.

He looked and saw that the walls were lined with twenty of the same droid that now stood before him. They were divided evenly between two separate racks. He did have long before the one that was confronting him was going to start firing.

Suddenly the other twenty sprung to life and brought their own weapons to bear on him and R19. Thrawn, mundane as ever, raised an eyebrow. ?Now can I say it??

That was the last straw. What had started as a mild irritation, had grown to nagging frustration, and now was pure anger.

 

Marek Pars

Present Time......


Marek went down on one knee and bowed his head in front of a blueish white image from a holocomm as his master gave him his next set of orders.

?Hand, I believe that a Mandalorian has been hired to kill the Chancellor, during his secret attendance in the Corellian system. You shall intercept the Mandalorian, and capture him. If you should fail in protecting the Chancellor, kill the Mandalorian. Capturing him will achieve nothing.?

Marek processed the information. It seemed illogical, but he was able to work out what his master meant. The Chancellor must live, If he does the Mandelorian is captured. If the Chancellor dies before Marek could save him, then that fate will be the same for the Mandelorian. He still needed more info on this Mandelorian. Just as he thought his master was not finished with giving him info. After a pause his master spoke again.

?The Mandalorians name is Zayden Nephrite, a man who was connected to the Sentren II debacle, and who has, until late, been serving in the Tof peacekeeping.?

?I have no vessel available for you, on such short notice. As such, you will be expected to appropriate one. I understand that a military-grade vessel has recently set down on Corulag, near the Imperial Gardens. It is due to depart for Corellia shortly, and you should ensure you are aboard.?

?I shall be aboard it, my lord. Is there anything else you need of me?? His master nodded and spoke once more.

?You must keep tabs upon one of the passengers, a certain Lord Sallacine. I suspect he may in-fact be an unregistered Sith by the name of Darth Murdis, or at very least heavily connected to this Sith. Do not kill him, yet, as he is currently tasked by the Emperor to negotiate with the Chiss? though Sallacine may or may not be responsible for the very war itself.?

Inside Marek smiled. He was happy that his master trusted him with such tasks as important as these. He will not let him down. Failure was no option.

?Sneak into the Royal Hangar, now.?

?Yes my lord, as you wish.? At that the image of the holocomm faded away and Marek got up from his deep bowed stance and left for the hangar.

Like a shadow he concealed himself with anything and everything he could to not be noticed. He disguised himself as one of the personnel guards , whom he was able to get a uniform from, by knocking the poor fool out. Marek hid the body in utility closet covered with a tarp. He looked similar to the man, so therefore was easily capable to fool anyone who may question him. Along with I.D. he became the perfect guard. Now to get on to the military vessel. He would have called it luck, if he believed in it. A black robed cultist, had been the best distraction that Marek needed. Though he probably could have just slipped on with his new disguise, this distraction just made things far less difficult. Stormtroopers and the some of the Emperor?s entourage turned to the commotion. Marek slipped on to the vessel and went toward the cargo area without incident.



One Month Ago.....


The Mandelorians closed in after Marek sliced the droid in half. Sensing this, Marek went in to a diving spin just missing the swing of a baskad toward his head and the one toward his knees. He then rolled on to the floor and got up quickly. Using the force he reached out his hand to force push the two Mandelorians in to the wall hard. If he was able to knockout the two Mandelorians, he could go in to a force choke on the third one.

TAG: Sinre

 

IC: Sallacine the Prophet
Imperial Gardens, Corulag

Another suicidal cultist out to kill me?! You have got to be kidding.

Unfortunately, the harsh, unforgiving and very nervewracking reality was not kidding, and aforementioned suicidal cultist certainly wasn't, as he lunged towards Lord Sallacine, thrusting forward with a wickedly glistening dagger.

Fortunately, however, Sallacine had been so much today - near execution at the hands of Imperial Stormtroopers amd waking up from the coma - and... what felt like today but had in reality been months ago - the mysterious netherworld he had visited, the explosion in the Senate and subsequent injuries - that the Imperial Nobleman was fairly ready for what the cruel galaxy had to throw at him next. And so, instead of panicking as he would normally have, Sallacine's mind sharpened, his thoughts becoming ordered patterns; Echani patterns, ingrained in him as he learned the fighting form of the Echani.

He might not have had a vibroblade handy, which would have been a great benefit given the nature of Echani fighting and Sallacine's own fighting focus, but... the cultist had a dagger.

Sallacine let the black robed attacker sieze his arm, and then pulled downwards and packwards, narrowly staying ahead of the stab, allowing the attacker's momentum to speed up the fall. Sallacine began to roll to the left, dearly wishing that when his eyes shifted right they would be greeted with the sight of the cultist face flat on the floor... and an open hand from which the dagger could easily be plucked.

In that moment, Lord Sallacine was never so relived he had taken the time to learn Echani fighting principles. And for the briefest of a split second as he swiveled his head to turn towards the cultist, his mind flashed back to the events that had prompted him to learn the Echani principles in the first place...

Five years ago...

IC: Sallacine
Drop bay of the Dark Child and then the east side of the spaceport

The air was sucked out of the drop bay as a small, oval pod, likened to the egg of a tranapelect, detached, to fall like a boulder through the skies of Sentren II.

Inside the drop pod, his head mercilessly being punished by the interior as the tiny pod shook, was the 28-year-old yet-to-be-Lord Sallacine. A grin creased his features as he imagined himself an ancient Mandalorian warrior on a Basilisk War Droid raining down on the surface of an enemy world to be claimed.

He felt fantastic.

Why have I never done anything so exciting before?

There was no fear. There was only the drop.

And with a resounding crash that threw Sallacine's head, restrained as it was by straps and the pod's inertial dampeners, harshly to the side to collide one final time with the interior, the pod smashed through trees large and smal alike and into the muddy ground of the forest that bordered the east side of the spaceport.

Sallacine groaned as the straps released automatically courtesy of the pod's sophisticated - and expensive - artificial intelligence, and one half of the pod seemed to simply fall away as it lowered rapidly to the ground, resulting in Sallacine stumbling forward and crunch into the wet leaves of the wooded area.

That was still fun, the young noble thought as his lips twitched in a smile. And then he glanced to the sky, to the roaring noise of the Dark Child veering off into the distance, fire tracking it.

For a brief, horrible moment Sallacine thought that might be the last time he saw the Dark Child; maybe "No explosives, though," would be the last words he ever heard from his grandfather.

Suddenly very conscious of the time and danger associated with this operation, Sallacine began to sprint towards the walls that looked into the forests. His skin prickled with anticipation and his veins pulsed with adrenaline as he ran far faster than he ever did in his morning excercise routine, ducking beneath crooked, dead branches as he approached the walls of the sp

 

IC: Brenn?ar Sha the Traitor
Star Jewel, In route to Sturges on Borga?s Health Plan

Laughter, such a wondrous thing when emitted by a Hutt. The cadence was wrong for his own species ideal of laughter, but the deep thudding bass that seemed to crash like a wave upon his skin was a nascent reminder of the dealings he held before the coma, before the visions of destiny with Yun?o. Merely the agreement brought a jagged smile to his lips with which he added a placating gesture for the Hutt.

The images formed and sat in space, limited infidel technology still held sway as the cheapness of the Hutt?s shone through. Seeing the Hutt thread his hands over the girth they had to traverse with those stubby arms nearly made a shudder run through him, so many aspects were just wrong to his shapers mind with such a creature attempting such motions merely for effect.

Still, knowing that the one depicted was one of those he had seen in the vision, the most doubting if he recalled correctly. That was the difficulty with dreams and visions, if not actively held for a while they would fade quickly and so his tasks were doubled in the remembering and the planning that lay ahead. But now he also had a name Jak Solan, familiar. . .especially in the last, but of a time he would rather not dwell upon.

The nascent menace of threat and counter-plan were given, which seemed nearly co-dependent in their execution. If it happened then their deaths would be the distraction for the Hutt?s men to secure the desired item, at least that was as he saw it.

Spreading hands wide he gave a small bow once more, ?Per your deal.? He turned and walked with the others in their guided route to the hanger, whether direct or winding he did not pay attention or care. Except that it was giving him time to think before he found out what he had to work with. That he was fond of noting was how best plans were made, one planned for the worst, and then when more was given the plans became infinitely easier, even if it was only a self deception worthy of Yun-Harla.

TAG: Sinre

 

Zayden the Messiah
Teravi, No Man's Land

The weapons were operational and, as soon as he found that out, Zayden powered up the repulsorlifts.

With blaster bolts still deflecting off the hull of the Tra'kad, Zayden maneuvered the craft so that the crosshairs were focused right on the group of Tofs. Feeling a spike of impending self-satisfaction, Zayden pressed down on the triggers and unleashed a salvo of laser fire onto the group of Tofs. He swept up and down, left and right, making sure that he killed the majority if not all of the Tofs that had just been sending him running.

He couldn't stick around though, he reminded himself. There was a Tof warship in orbit and fighters were coming down upon him this instant. So putting all power to the engines and pushing down hard on the accelerator, the Mandalorian blasted the Tra'kad up and away.

"Hold on," Zayden warned the kid, "this might get rough."

TAG: Sinrebirth

 

Five Years Prior

IC: Brenn?ar Sha the future Traitor
Sentren II Spaceport

Drinking in the homely broth as he stewed in his own discomfort over everything that was conspiring at the moment he was jolted into position as alarms went off, blaring with sound and red light. In that moment he wondered if he should of studied these beings visual cortexes more whilst he had the chance as none of it made sense if one was in actual battle. That and a hand reached under his covering for his coufee.

Treachery though, as his free hand pulled out the villip and the Mayor her comlink. She yelled as he listened, another sign of the disparity of the Yuuzhan-Vong to those they now had to share this galaxy with. It made him wonder if he had been around during the time of the invasion and uncovered the One Sith if all of this wouldn?t of turned out for the better in some ways.

Still he nodded at the words, knowing the villip would convey the small gesture, though he doubted the warriors would actually be watching it. ?Make sure they stay alive, that we might Embrace them properly.? It was transparent and crude but it was a simple note of how one often had to speak to lower level warriors. Also it appeared that he might yet earn his title as the infidels first thought of it depicted it today.

TAG: Sinre

 

IC: Sallacine the Prophet
Shuttle, Corulag

Sallacine threw Moff Venson a decidedly dirty look as he gathered his white garments about him carefully, briefly standing up to pull them about him before sitting once more. His sharp brown eyes fixed on the viewscreen, and the sky beyond, as the shuttle rose through the air of Corulag.

Moff Venson was a frank man, betraying his probable millitaristic roots, Sallacine perceived, and the Imperial Lord did not like him. At all. But he was on careful enough footing as it was, and he could not let his pride smother all of his fear. Not for now.

So he spoke with careful precision as he responded, "In person, Moff Venson." Sallacine was a habitual liar; he was a politican, after all. But he made sure to keep his stories straight as he carefully thought about what security footage here and what Force artifact dealer there would reveal about his alter-ego. "The only contact was with him in person. He entered my estate on Delta."

Sallacine schooled his features into a calm, determined expression. "But perhaps we should talk about this rogue Sith another time, hmmm? I myself would like to talk to him," he said coldly, gesturing in the general direction of the cargo bay. Sallacine needed answers; he wanted to interrogate the attacker alone. He knew certain events were linked; the cultist that had nearly killed him - and privately, he was quite sure, had succeeded - in the Senate Chambers had ranted on about Shadows and Twilight Dragons and it was no coincidence that Samaelia, and the great demon he knew must have been this 'Samhain,' had spoken of this as well.

Were these madmen acolytes of Hell? Demons? Servants of Samaelia? Servants of Samhain?

Sallacine shook his head. His thoughts bewildered him, but not because he doubted the reality behind them, but because he knew what he had experience had been very real. He was The Prophet. He had a job to do, right?

And first, he would interrogate this cultist.

He would not share these observations with the Moff, of course. And in case Venson protested Sallacine's desire to interrogate the man, he spoke, "I have certain esoteric knowledge. I am sure I could track down whichever group that madman belongs to."

He stood up from his chair, and turned around, away from Moff Venson, and towards the exit of the cockpit.

TAG: Sinrebirth

 

IC: Edril?rhona?sabosen
The Stellar Envoy, Crustai system

Edril?rhona?sabosen was well used to looks like this. She?d received them all her life and she did what she always did with them: she stared right back. Admittedly, she wanted to blink?and she had many times?but this time she didn?t. It was her way of saying, ?You got a problem with me?? Everyone knew she was half Chiss but if people didn?t like it then they were going to have to be the ones to say something about it. Now Edril?rhona?sabosen?s stare had an extra dose of defiance. Had the Families just given this officer a crucial task for the future of Ascendancy? She didn?t think so. She was not going to be intimidated by him.

Eventually, he relented?a minor victory for Edril?rhona?sabosen, at least in her mind?and took her to the hangar bay. It was really only a victory as far as Edril?rhona?sabosen was concerned seeing as he kept his distance from the half-breed.

And that?s when she saw it.

The Smelly Salt.

Sure, it actually looked like a decent ship. But the name. Oh the name. Edril?rhona?sabosen pinched the bridge of her nose in exasperation and closed her eyes. She was desperately hoping the name did not have any basis in fact.

?I defended this?? Edril?rhona?sabosen muttered to herself. Thank goodness she hadn?t used the ship?s name in court. Tarak?ha?nuruodo probably would have found Yallo guilty on principle if he?d heard it.

?Are you my package, ma?am?? Yallo asked, coming up to her former counsel.

?I suppose you could call me that,? Edril?rhona?sabosen said, ?Is the?Salt ready to depart?? She couldn?t even bring herself to say the whole name.

Before Yallo could reply, the soldier interjected. ?For your purposes, my name is Lykofos,, and I have requested I join you on your mission, counsel.?

Edril?rhona?sabosen took the datapad and reviewed his credentials, which traced back to CEDF. As she was looking at them, Edril?rhona?sabosen heard him say, ?I wouldn?t trust him, if I was you.?

?Hmmm?? Edril?rhona?sabosen inquired, looking up?and finding no one. That was when she realized she didn?t know if what she?d just heard had been in Cheunh or Basic?which was odd.

?We can depart now,? Lykofos said. His voice was not the same as the one that had preceded it. No, it was decidedly different.

Edril?rhona?sabosen blinked twice. She was slightly confused?and all of a sudden something struck her. What self-respecting Chiss would ever introduce himself to a half-Chiss, to which he clearly thought he was superior, by his Core name?

?I?m sorry, you?requested to join me on what?? Edril?rhona?sabosen asked, her left hand tightening around her attaché. All of a sudden she didn?t know what was going on?

Tag: Sinre

 

IC: The Victim

Saying nothing the Zeltron zipped past Crepusculum seeming almost too fast it seemed to him. But then again if he really had become so tied to the Force that would explain much of what he was no capable of. Without a moments hesitation he leapt into the air overhead of the terentatek that had suddenly burst forth from the shadows of the building Crepusculum had transported them to. Honing his mind again he extended his fingers into long sharp talons descending nearly as quickly as he had risen into the air he drove these blades deep into the hide of the beast below him, grasping deep into it's spine seeking to sever whatever excuse this beast had for a central nervous system.

"You won't be going anywhere you Samhain serving scum" The Victim whispered to the beast as his claws tore deep and quickly through the beasts spine, mangling whatever was in reach of them, blood and tissue being flung throughout the immediate area with each swing. After he had torn a nice deep gash down the beast's hide he leapt back off, allowing it a chance to observe its attacker while it still could, for The Victim's next plan would soon end even that blessing for the monster that the shadows had called forth.

TAG: Sinre