Star Wars OPEN New Sith Trials: Dark Reach: Episode I: An Order Remade

Combo with wanderguard

IC: Ami Sayul & Syren
Bazaar, exterior - Nal Hutta

The Force was radiant in panic and fear, bodies broken and crushed in all directions she looked. Flames continued to crawl across every open surface; melting, charring, burning it all down. Syren channeled the surrounding chaos and maintained her focus on her escape, which was becoming more and more difficult with each passing second. So much death, slow and agonizing death permeated the air that it almost gave her a heady buzz, had it not been for nearly getting trampled at every turn. She had half a mind to start ripping beings apart if it wouldn't only further the nonsensical stampede.

Once the group managed to break free of the tent and make it outside, there wasn't much of a reprieve. Thick black smoke hung low, soot and ash clinging to everything including the back of her throat. She wheezed, spitting grey saliva off to her side, sensing the same thing Plo must have after he rattled off pairings and snapped at them all to flee in separate ways.

Thunderous snapping noises began ringing out from above and Syren looked up - the entire outer wall nearest their position was collapsing. Without thinking she grabbed Ami Sayul's arm and roughly half-tossed her down the alley and towards the back end of the bazaar, away from the throngs of beings at the main entrance. She leapt after the woman as the building roared to the ground in a plume of fire and debris behind them. The assassin found her feet again in time to chase after Ami and see to it she didn't land on her head or break her little neck.

"Keep moving," she barked once she was mostly sure the other wasn't grievously injured. Of course she'd be stuck with her, a direct reminder of Aryan and what she was fighting so hard to put in her past.

“Give me a kriffing second! Shavit!” Ami barked uncharacteristically, brushing the mud and ash off of her elbows. Something had just snapped inside of the normally reserved Ami Sayul. She clambered to her feet, breathing heavily, feeling as though her entire body was a giant bruise. Her eyes were wet with angry tears as she padded down the alleyway, away from the disaster, with Syren behind her.

“Today I’ve been attacked by a swarm of hawkbats, hit on by a hideous mutant AND Jerod, sexually harassed by a Toydarian, attacked again by two angry mobs, and that was before I ever even set foot in the kriffing auction house!” she spat angrily. She was still moving, but would be damned if she didn’t get to take this out on somebody. “Do you kriffing people ever have a normal day? Just one week without some kind of gigantic disaster? Goddamnit! If I’m not being taken hostage I’m either being ogled like a piece of meat or kriffing barbecued like one!”

Syren snorted. "A much belated welcome to the Sith, lady," she growled a few paces behind Ami. "None of this can hardly come as a surprise, considering how closely you worked with the former Prime Minister for a time."

There was an emphasis on the word 'closely' that she hadn't intended to make, but some part of her did anyway. Looking over her shoulder and casting out with her senses, she brought her comm up near her face to begin tracking their position and the quickest route back to the shuttle. "Take a left ahead," she ordered as they approached the end of the alley, screams and cries slowly growing smaller the further they went.

“Closely?” Ami was offended by that. Maybe she wouldn’t have been if she weren’t already in such a foul mood, but all her nerves were raw. Not raw, she reflected, more like completely shot. “He risked his life on Nirauan to save mine, and that was the only experience I can remember that was worse than this one. I just wish I could do more to help him now that he needs it.”

She turned left as instructed, and found herself staring down a long alley that seemed to stretch for as far as the eye could see. She paused for a moment and then started down it, assuming Syren knew what she was talking about.

Ami walked in silence for a time, quietly lamenting the growing pain in her legs and feet. She wanted nothing more than to collapse into bed now. Until, of course, she remembered the mess in the cargo hold - the cleanup of which she would have to oversee. There was also no food left, and they hadn’t even had an opportunity to tell Plo about the hawkbats in the midst of all the chaos. That would be a pleasant conversation, she was sure.

“And what about you?” she finally spoke up. “You seem to be working pretty closely with him yourself,” she observed, intending just a bit of snark but having truly no idea the level of danger she may have been playing around with. She was quite unaware of the breakup. That’s not to say it wasn’t common knowledge among the crew, in fact the personal lives of all the Sith and their associates were the crew’s main source of live entertainment on the ship, but that simply wasn’t Ami Sayul’s bag. She was too enveloped in her job.

Syren locked her knees and slammed to a halt, spinning about in place to face Ami who had been trailing a step or two behind.

"I'm sorry," she said in mock confusion, extending her reach in the Force to bring the other woman to a stop as well. "When did anything I do become your concern?" Her lip twitched, her hands clenched into fists at her sides. A reaction to the sharp sting in her chest when Ami had made reference to Aryan's... fragile state. It stirred her in a way she couldn't ignore.

Closing the space between them with a single stride, Syren leveled an unwavering glare. She was redirecting anger away from herself; she knew it, and knew this woman had nothing to do with what she was really upset about. Still, the assassin did feel a sense of relief when she focused so intently on something else, anything else.

"Do you have any more comments on my life? I'd love to hear them."

I dare you.

Ami grimaced in confusion as she found herself paralyzed - locked in place. She had been mere inches from a nervous breakdown already, and now as Syren squared up and spat her retort, the thin membrane separating her from hysterics broke. She burst into sobs, falling limp to the dirt, first onto her knees and then sagging to sit on her heels. She covered her face with both hands, ashamed. This wasn’t Ami Sayul. She had been yelled at and abused by businessmen, politicians, powerful men of every stripe for her entire career and had given as good as she got in every instance she could remember. And in nearly every instance, it had won her the respect she needed to be effective in her job. This was different.

“Can... just go, please,” she said, once she had partially collected herself. She wasn’t interested in talking anymore, or walking, or anything for that matter. Maybe she would stay on Nal Hutta. Maybe she would find a ride off-world - but going back to the ship wasn’t an option now. The prospect of telling Plo about the missing foodstores was a problem too many, now. “Just go,” she repeated, and stood up.

Syren scoffed as Ami collapsed, dissolving into a crying fit that bordered on some sort of panic attack. A quick read of her senses told her this woman was broken, not looking for a fight.

She was alone in that quest.

"Stop," she said, though her tone was not harsh as it had been before. It wasn't exactly gentle, either. "You want to stay here, on this cesspool of a planet? Fine, but just so you're aware I won't allow it." The implication was there, a threat though not a violent one. Syren may not give a kriffing damn about Ami Sayul, but she was not about to arrive back at the rendezvous alone and have to explain why.

"Walk it off."

TAG: @Darth_wanderguard

 

IC: Plo Wanderguard — Nal Hutta

Dark Dreamer was a welcome sight to Plo, though the air had become more and more unpleasantly sticky with every step he took away from the thick of Bilbousa. They were still *in* the city, technically, but there was so little real structure now that it didn’t matter. The area where the ship lay in wait looked as though it had perhaps once been more urban - a residential area, perhaps - but had long since fallen into neglect and disrepair. Very long since, such that there were no standing buildings, only stray walls and the occasional stone path or patch of foundation. It was entirely devoid of permanent population, indeed even beggars and squatters seemed to avoid it entirely - and there was generally no shortage of downtrodden in Nal Hutta’s capital city.

It was for this reason that Vex Nolzit’s force signature, as one with significant raw potential but absent the ability to control or hide his presence, was like a beacon.

Plo looked up to Bellorum. “It would appear that you are indeed effective bait. Now,” he said patiently and paused, raising a hand to just above shoulder height. As he clenched his fist, Vex would feel himself utterly seized in the grip of something unseen.

Slowly, the stalker who had followed them through the entire city, no doubt thinking himself unseen all the while, would begin inching toward the pair he had been following, standing at the foot of the ship’s open ramp, still with backs turned. The approach would be as unstoppable as it was methodical. If he tried to brace his feet, his boots would only leave ruts behind. If he fell to the ground and clawed for purchase, he would only arrive absent his fingernails.

Finally Plo turned to set his gaze upon the Zabrak. When Vex had drawn close, Plo would appear outwardly to release his grip but in reality would lock the man upright, standing stiff as a board a few inches off of the ground. With a flick of his wrist, he relieved him then of his weapons, each tearing away from belts and holsters and other concealments and dropping into the mud.

Plo took a step closer and regarded the man. “You my friend,” he started, “just may be the exact fish I’ve been hoping to catch.”

Without another word he swung and buried his fist in the Zabrak’s stomach, allowing him just enough movement to double over should he feel the need to. A second blow followed, this time to the kidney, and a third to the base of the neck.

He would leave it there, with Vex still locked in place, as the rest began to arrive. Syren was approaching with Ami just behind, looking like a scolded child. Jerod was walking up from a different direction, carrying an unconscious Ike. Curious, that. Anark arrived last, looking as though he’d been in a bigger fight than all of them and somehow come out of it alive without any help.

“Well now we’re all here, you’ll be glad to know it wasn’t in vain,” Plo announced, and presented the captive. “It would appear that Bellorum and me were followed. By a force user, no less.” He turned back to Vex and smiled. “Our fun is only just beginning.”

“There’s no food on the ship,” Ami yelled out, and Plo turned with raised eyebrows, taken aback. The look of relief on Ami’s face was palpable, as though she was no longer keeping a terrible secret. Plo was curious but there would be time later to discuss how this condition came to be. Mostly with Jerod, whose job it had been to secure the ship.

“That will be a problem, no doubt, but one not beyond fixing,” he responded. In any case Ami was in no condition now to be solving anything. “Anark, see that Miss Sayul gets to bed and stays there until she’s adequately rested,” he instructed. “As for you,” he looked to Vex once more, “allow me to introduce an old friend. This is Darth Syren,” he looked to the still Hutt-slave-outfit-clad assassin. “She’s going to find out who you are, who you work for, why you were following us, and where we can find your bosses. I’m sure you’ll become well acquainted.”

He looked to Jerod then. Frankly he wouldn’t have trusted Syren not to harm the captive even under normal conditions, let alone when she was undoubtedly angry from being paraded around like a piece of meat. The captain had a level head though, and enough authority, perhaps, to keep her in check. “Captain, ensure Lady Syren does not do any permanent damage to the subject.”

There was, finally, the issue of the unconscious Ike. Curiosity as to how he came into his present condition was an aside for now - there were too many other questions to answer. Now the only pertinent question was getting everyone settled and off of this godforsaken mudball of a planet. There was a time when Plo would’ve advocated dumping Ike unconscious on the marshy ground as roughly as possible, and leaving him there as the Dark Dreamer launched and took the quickest hyperlane to the nearest system.

“Bellorum, let’s get Ike somewhere safe until he’s awake,” he lowered his voice, scooped up the unconscious consort and threw him over his shoulder far more carefully than he would have done only hours before.

TAG: @Jerjerrod-Lennox, @QueenSabe7, @Quinlan Vos, @Snokers, @Bellorum, @Sinrebirth

OOC: Snokers, you’re on a combo with me as Ami. Sabe, Vos, Lennox, you’re all on a combo. Vos can start it off and include the GMs in the convo.

 

IC: Soliloquy
Kamino, Where Cities Fall and Plots Thicken

As the wayward Sith were cleared by TRAYUS, as the Force whimpered with death and confusion, Shimmer and Esme worked together to raise his wayward apprentice. Lending a thought he dragged Drost back up all the quicker before turning to TRAYUS.

"Time to leave." he simply stated. The tableau below was not lost on him. Cocytus surrounded by bodies and kin. A turning of a tide if ever he saw one. "We shall have to leave Kronos to his own devices for now, give him a month or three and I'm sure Cocytus will have burned himself out one way or another."

Looking at Drost he felt the man over. "You feel a little different." He almost felt like. . . "Nutrients and stories, from and too. That is the order of the day once away. Nutrients and stories."

TAG: @Silvertough , @Sinrebirth

 

Darth Cocytus

Cocytus closed his eyes for a single moment in meditating thought and a smile grew onto his face. Everything was coming together for the Dark Lord with the path to absolute power laid out before him like a yellow brick road. Cocytus merely had to walk that path take every opportunity the Force will throw at him. And yet, as always with the future, what is along this path was unclear, for it was twisted and forked, leading to many conclusions and ends and not all quite favorable. Cocytus knew he had to ready himself to take the lead when the Dark Side calls to him...

Like now, for example, with the Dark Side calling to him that there were still loose ends to tie up. Cocytus opened his eyes and looked up at the Sith Ship as Darth Styx asked him what should be done. No doubt most of his associates were well and alive abroad that ship. Or maybe not, he thought, as his eyes shifted around. All Cocytus knew was that they were alive and near. A problem that must remedied quickly. A smile grew on his face, his teeth clenching in a way that made his expression like that of a kaminoan skull, which complimented the yellow eyes that ever glowed like candles in empty sockets.

"Only two there can be, no more, no less." Cocytus spoke coolly, before turning to Taun We, "Destroy that ship. Find the survivors. Eliminate them. None of those who came with me to our world must be allowed to leave alive.These are my orders. Wipe them out. All of them."

Today, victory over the moment must be absolute and thorough with not a single loose end, and Darth Cocytus will not let anything or anyone stand in his way to stop him.

@Sinrebirth

Sent from my SM-J327V using Tapatalk

 

IC: Darth Serapis, the droid
Aboard the Queen Mother's Battle Dragon

The conversation between Renn posing as "Helinith" and Serapis, in his droid form was interrupted by the Queen Mother's servant, a male, of course, retrieving them for their audience. Something was obviously off about the atmosphere of the room. Then the Queen Mother dropped her "bomb."

Mentally, Serapis was shaking his head. These Hapans would put the Sith to shame with their backstabbing and jockeying. What was most interesting to him beyond that is that she claimed to know what we discussed from this Kronos look-alike. If that was the case, then she would know that he, himself, had stated he wanted to know what deal the Queen Mother was offering.

So here it was. The deal she offered was... no deal. Surrender was it. He wanted to spit in her face. As he contemplated what to offer, Renn came back with the perfect reply.

Serapis listened to "Helinith" as she performed her soliloquy. There was not much to add to what "she" said. So, he didn't . Sometimes it's more important to examine the situation and the participants. He stood and watched each of these scheming women. He examined their facial features. Their reactions. He used the droid's perception to examine their respiration and skintone. He was watchinging for their tics. Their tells. He stored this information for later. This was going to be an interesting negotiation.

Tags: @darthbernael, @Sinrebirth, @Snokers, @darthhelinith

 

IC: Leda
Kuat City, Kuat

The Emperor seemed to be uncomfortably adjusting to his new form, and Leda remained as she had been – a sentry, observing the scene but keeping her opinions to herself for the time being.

"It was inevitable that we would cross paths with Luke Skywalker…” he revealed.

And she tensed.

Luke Skywalker?

That was who she had fought in the hotel plaza? The legendary Jedi Master, a man who even in Sith lore was something of a mystical being. A longtime foe with powers that made him an opponent that should never be underestimated.

How the kriff did I even survive, she wondered, lost in thought. She had always taken care to never overestimate her own strengths so she had known immediately how over her head she had been, but even still, she was never one to throw in the towel. Even if that would mean her death. The distant realization that Insipid had orchestrated the entire encounter didn’t pique her anger, however. It had been the catalyst for her brief time spent as his carrier and pupil; which she was and would be eternally grateful for.

Disaster can beget opportunity.

"If you wish to have an opinion on this, then this would be the time,” he continued, and Leda gave him a sour look. “I doubt I will be able to take either of you right now."

She held her tongue long enough for Bernael to respond to the rather ridiculous idea that any one of them would actually attack him for his betrayal, which honestly couldn’t be defined as such. He had all but warned her this was coming when he had chosen to teach her about trust and the foolishness of placing her faith in anyone but herself. Whether he intended it to be or not, it was just one long lesson in proving to her that his words were true, and she could take no offence to nearly dying before she understood that.

But, the ever-expressive Sith could not keep her emotions from showing physically. Her face shifted to a countenance of amused disbelief, and she permitted that much to show in the Force.

“Yea, ok,” was all she said by way of a response, sarcasm and a smirk before she suddenly put her feet into motion. Carefully approaching her Emperor as he wore Apollin’s face, she focused on his eyes as she had before to connect to the presence beneath the foreign skin. Stopping once she was standing over him where he sat, Leda offered her hand.

“On your feet, my Lord. Manticore is right, we should be on our way.”

TAGS: @Sinrebirth @darthbernael @greyjedi125

 

Thank you for the combo @Darth_wanderguard

IC: Darth Anark + Ami
Nal Hutta, aboard the Dark Dreamer...

Lord Anark wiped at his his blackened cheeks. He had a cough from the exposure to the smoke in the bazaar.

"See that Miss Sayul gets to bed and stays there until she's adequately rested."

He scowled and and took a look around at the familiar faces. He hated that Plo hadn't bothered to enquire about his escape.

"As you say," he mumbled and gestured to the girl Ami to head up the ramp of the Dark Dreamer.

"Quickly, if you would," he said, surrendering briefly to another coughing fit.

Ami did as she was told, scaling the slope of the ramp and feeling more relieved with every step she took. She wasn’t entirely comfortable with Anark, however. The entirety of her interaction with him to this point had consisted of stray glances on her part, listening to the man seemingly talking to himself and using pluralities when they didn’t apply. She could swear on multiple occasions late at night that she had seen him either wandering aimlessly about the ship’s corridors or skulking around them like a predator, though that may have been only her imagination.

In any case, he was a better alternative than what she had expected Plo to do to her when he found out about the cargo hold. Though he had seemed oddly forgiving of it after all - maybe he had rightly figured out that it was his own fault.

All of this being lost in her own thoughts would betray easily that Ami was exhausted nearly to the point of delirium. Add on top of the stress of each catastrophe piled onto another as the day had worn on, she now stood in the corridor leading to the crew quarters, and couldn’t remember which way her room was or what number.

She looked one way and then the next, then to Anark, and lightly slurred, “I don’t remember which room is mine.”

Anark let his robe fall in a messy heap on the floor.

“Grab that,” he grunted.

As he passed by Ami he looked into her tired eyes with his own, now a dim yellow. She looked too innocent to be in league with them.

He passed the door to his own temporary quarters and hesitated.

Looking back to her, “take mine for now. You need to rest.” He stifled a yawn... and a humourless chuckle... and the urge to smash his face against the wall.

He opened the door and gestured for her to enter, laying a hand on the robes she’d gathered up in her arms.

“Where do you come from?”

“Uhh, well... I’m not sure if it even exists in this timeline, really,” she answered. “That’s such a strange thing to be saying... I keep thinking this is a nightmare I can’t wake up from. But it’s too weird not to be real. What about you?”

Ami was somehow unnerved and calmed all at once by Anark’s weirdness, evidenced by the fact that she had gathered up his robes as instructed despite not knowing why. She hadn’t questioned it either really, but maybe she was just too tired. Now as he ushered her into his quarters, she came to a realization.

“Your... but where are you going to sleep?” she asked.

“I don’t sleep very much,” Anark huffed.

He giggled, but humourlessly.

The Sith unclipped the lightsaber from his belt and laid it on a black ottoman in the corner. He gazed over at Ami. The voices he’d come to call ‘the collective of late were all commenting on the female, some favourable, some not, some indifferent and some diabolical.

“Would you prefer me to leave you while you rest?”

Um...” Ami paused. The prospect of sleeping while an exceedingly strange man sat awake in the room, doing god knows what, was less than appealing in a general sense. “I...” she hesitated again, and sat heavily on the end of Anark’s bed. “I’ve been attacked, twice... three times today. I think I’ve lost count actually,” she cradled her head in both hands before brushing mousy brown locks away from her eyes.

“I th-think I was almost...” she stuttered. Ami hadn’t stuttered in ten years. Not since the speech classes. “I think I was almost...” she choked on one word and opted for a softer alternative. “Forced. Twice.”

She looked far away now. “I’m sorry. But I think I would really appreciate it if you just... stood by the door? Outside?”


Put her out of her misery

Wait for her slumber and strike her down... use the saber and make it quick

The voices began their wicked dance of persuasion

Anark gazed at her a long time, as though she were some elaborate puzzle.

He swallowed hard and strained his neck until it cracked.

“If that is your wish, that’s what I’ll do.

He reached out with his hand and the lightsaber hilt he’d laid down obeyed him and flew into his grip. He stowed it away on his belt again and walked out of the room without ceremony, closing the door behind him.

 

Darth Cocytus
Dark Lord Ascending

Darth Cocytus glared with narrow eyes as the Sith Ship escaped the assault by Kaminoan fire power. His trydactly fits clenched tightly in anger and hatred as he stared at the raining sky, both of which which the Sith Lord began to nurture like a mother cat would to her litter of kittens. Alas though, there were other things to do and attend. Insipid’s Sith Order was all but defunct now, regardless of its survivors. Although Cocytus was quite sure that Insipid would somehow return and begin rebuilding. Such powerful Sith have had a habit of doing that. No matter, all the while, Darth Bane’s Rule of Two, under Darth Cocytus’s rule, rises again, calling it:

'THE RULE OF TWO REBORN'

In the meantime, things were going well for Darth Cocytus and his “homeworld” of Kamino. He had put a great gamble in trusting Taun We and it seemed to be paying off already in such a short time with clone armies already on the rise. Of course there was still his apprentice, Darth Styx, who’s training even had yet to begin. Cocytus has sought to rectify that just as he promised her, beginning with a Sith Pilgrimage to the various worlds of the Sith and those otherwise still strong in the Dark Side of the Force. All to begin after his meeting with the new Prime Minister…

“Come with me, Lady Styx.” Darth Cocytus said simply as he approached her in her chambers, “I have a meeting with Prime Minister We to attend to, and after that, we shall begin your training officially,taking your first steps in a world far larger than you can at this moment comprehend…”

As Cocytus led his apprentice through the halls of Kamino’s new capital city, he paused for a moment, feeling… a disturbance in the force. Someone was coming to Kamino. Someone strong in the Force. A Jedi Knight. Luke Skywalker… Cocytus thought to himself and to the Sidious AI in his mind. Anger and hatred burning bitterly at the very thought of someone of the LIght Side barging in on his plans. The idea of it being Luke Skywalker added fear to the kaminoan's being as well. It’s too soon. The Rule of Two Reborn is not ready for this. I have yet to begin training Lady Styx. We should leave quickly after this….

The Sith Kaminoan stormed into Prime Minister Taun We’s office. “Whatever you have to share with me, make it quick.” Cocytus coldly said, “We have an uninvited guest coming to Kamino. The Jedi Grand Master Luke Skywalker. He must not be allowed to discover what we are planning to do.”

@Sinrebirth

 

OOC: A combo brought to you by myself, @QueenSabe7 and @Quinlan Vos

IC: Captain Lennox Jerod, Syren, Vex Nolzit/ Erebus
Location: Dark Dreamer, Nal Hutta

As Vex found himself suddenly stuck in a seemingly invisible hand that pulled him towards his quarry, he knew that he could do naught to fight it.He let himself get pulled closer, content to wait until his chance arose and he could make his escape.

Once he had reached the pair, he felt as though he was set free from the grasp, but his force senses told him otherwise. Testing the thought, he tried to push his arm upward, but found that it was locked to his side, confirming his suspicions. The man spoke to him shortly, then suddenly threw his fist as fast as lightning at the Zabrak's side. However, as fast as the man was, Vex had unmatched reflexes,and tightened his body to absorb the blow, as well as the two that immediately followed. Even so, it was surprisingly powerful punch, and he still found himself grimacing in pain.Not wanting to show his captor weakness, however, he kept his face stoic, and kept waiting for his chance.

He was confident he would be able to escape right up until the large group arrived, and he found himself extremely outnumbered. The man,which he now presumed was likely the leader of the bunch, barked out orders, and he quickly found himself face to face with a stunningly beautiful young woman, though she had avery dark presence surrounding her that made him certain that she was one to be feared. This idea was confirmed when another of the group, a male, was assigned to watch her work on Vex, given strict orders to ensure that he wasn't permanently damaged.

Resolving to continue biding his time, he looked straight back into the so called Lady Syren's eyes, challenging her to do something. He readied himself for the worst, knowing full well that he wasn't going to get out of this unscathed.

Syren, begrudgingly accepting her new role as 'menacing interrogator' -though under surveillance by Lennox - saw this newcomer, Vex, level an unwavering gaze in her direction. She gave one back, then took over Plo's hold of the zabrak's body. Breaking eye contact the moment he was secure in the Force, she strode up the ramp and headed straight for one room in particular.

The Gym.

Whether Lennox was on her heels or not, didn't bother checking nor sensing. It was like she was on autopilot since her encounter with Amy Sayul, too much emotion or too little. As she had tried to do by pushing the tiny woman, she put her focus elsewhere and just how she would get information from their curious stalker.

Whisking the captive along at her side, they arrived at their destination in no time at all. Hovering Vex's body over a weight bench, Syren briefly considered how to proceed and then decided to start... light.

"Tell me your name," she asked, turning towards his horizontal form then approaching. She was close enough to look down on him, leaning in slightly with a hollow smirk. This wasn't a job of her choosing, so at the moment there was not much true enjoyment to be had.

"Tell me your name, where you come from, why you were following us, and who sent you." The answers, or lack thereof, would decide the course of this little interaction. Of course, she hoped he was mute.

So he was on interrogation duty, well mainly observing by the sounds of it, but he knew what he had to do. Watch, listen, perhaps pop his two credits in if need be and make sure their guest came out of it relatively in one piece.

He had done some interrogations in his time so he wasn't a total novice, but he had never handled another Force user, just pirates and Rebel scum. But perhaps he would try something different, to be the 'Good Cop' to Syrens obvious 'Bad Cop'.

Lennox had watched the show unfold, now it was down to business. He felt like all he wanted to do was take a hot shower and jump into bed and rest until he was ready to go again. But Plo had given him a job to do, and he would make sure Syren stayed in line. He may be lower than them in terms of power but he still was a Captain and he had the authority to command.

Jerod followed Syren and the guest, keeping a little distance between them but he was still close enough to watch. At least Ike was off his shoulder now, he rolled it to get some feeling back.

Syren looked in a mood, and being dressed in a slave outfit probably wasn't helping. It seemed Lennox had the clearer head of the two, and hopefully Syren would heed Plo's orders.

He entered the gym and watched Syren start the interrogation, moving near them both and placing his hands on his batons, his bright green eyes studying them both.

Let's see how this goes….

As Vex studied the pair, he couldn't help but let out a soft chuckle. A supposed Slave girl and some wannabe Imperial Officer, or so it seemed. He knew deep down that they were both much more than they seemed, but it was still a funny sight to him. He decided that he would get under their skin before he would do much of anything.

"A simple hello would have been better start to this conversation, don't you think?" he asked of the so-called Darth Syren. He nodded towards the captain. "I don't suppose you happen to have better manners, do you? No? Oh well then."

Finding himself still stuck in place, he decided to look as comfortable as possible. "My name, you ask? Well, I have gone by many of these 'names' over the years. For now, you can use my alias, Erebus. Interesting name, is it not?" He pressed on without giving them a chance to answer. "As for why I'm here, well, actually, that's why this is all so funny... I'm here for you!"

Vex paused, seeming to think it through, then continued.

"Well, not just you, I suppose. There was the other slave woman as well, but I can assume that, like you, she is no slave at all. Unless you really are a slave? Though maybe in a different way. A slave to the man who runs this place, the one who was ordering you all around outside. Maybe you aren't designated as his slave, but even so he orders you all around as such. Trust me I should know!"

He let out a sharp laugh, and then continued once more, this time directing his speech towards the man in the room, whom he now noticed had a firm grip upon the batons that were hanging from his sides. "Why do you seem so nervous, huh? Are you afraid of me? Well, let me just inform you that, unfortunately, I cannot even if I wished to do so, as I am still stuck here in place. I've got a kink in my neck and my back is getting stiff, but all you want is answers! Can I at the very least get a bit more comfortable before we continue?" he asked of Syren.

"No," Syren replied simply, narrowing her eyes."Erebus..." She tasted the name on her tongue and no familiarity came from it. She stepped back from him, searching the room for what it provided her with. "Has anyone ever told you that you talk too much?"

With one hand she dropped him the rest of the way upon the weight bench but kept her Force bind in tact, with the other she summoned several large barbell disks from a nearby wall. They floated over and filed atop on another like a tower, directly above the zabrak's chest. Having had her sabers brought to her once they had come aboard, she glanced at them on a table before reconsidering tactics. Her little watchdog certainly wouldn't allow her to maim or dismember... but maybe crushing would pass his inspection.

With a finger, she lowered one weighted disk and then a second, adding pressure with her thoughts as they would make contact with him. "What about me, or any of us interests you so? If it's regarding outselling the highest bidder, trust me... you couldn't afford it. And I am no slave..." She pressed harder.

Lennox continued to watch his stoic face in full force. He had jousted with quite a few enemies over the years and many had tried to break him. None had succeeded and this one was going to be no exception.

As the disks floated over Jerod watched closely. It seemed Syren had something in mind, hopefully she would not have to use her sabers (and Jerod would not allow her to even if things turned nasty) but the disks would be a good start, maybe just enough pressure would silence this one from mouthing off anymore. Because Syren seemed in the mood to literally crush him to death and the Zabarak had no idea what he was in for.

Jerod folded his arms across his chest fixing his green eyes on the Zabrak “I am afraid of no-one” he said simply “And I am sure you won’t be laughing after my colleague is done”

He stepped closer a little “I doubt someone such as yourself is working alone, and I think your boss has no idea what they have sent you into. And I doubt they will be coming over the nearest hill. Why they would send you to spy or whatever you were meant to do is beyond me. Unless you were willing to die…”

He shrugged “So it doesn't hurt to tell us what you know, your boss isn't here and isn't coming to help you. But perhaps we can get you out of a sticky predicament…..like you possibly being involved in child slavery. And what person wants to be associated with that?” he looked to Syren “But it’s your funeral”

Vex was happy with the results of his prodding at the pair, as he sensed an air of discomfort and danger around them. However, he soon realized that he had made a bit of a mistake, and that he was well outmatched in this instance. As the pressure built upon Vex's chest, he fought as hard as he could to maintain a relaxed look on his face. He didn't want to show them his discomfort, as it would result in him losing his edge. Eventually though, the pressure became too much, and he grimaced in pain.

"All right, all right, what is it that you want from me?" he asked the pair. "I work for a Sith Lord, known only as Xiaozhan. He's promised me training in the arts of the dark side of the force in exchange for my assistance. He hasn't followed through yet after many different tasks, but he at least pays well. This time, though, I think it's different. He needed me to bring you and your other false-slave woman to him at his office on.... I've said too much already.... I shouldn't have.... I'm dead if he finds out about this!! Unless you and your friends can protect me, which I doubt considering a man of his staggering power, I ask you to let me go! I would at least like to live out the rest of my likely short life not trapped against a bench in a dark room."

Vex began trying to squirm to free himself, desperate to run somewhere, find a new name for himself as he had done so many times before, and hopefully be rid of all of this mess.

Syren sighed, dropping another weight onto Vex's chest as he began to fidget and stir. "Stay still now, little one. The more you struggle, the more pleasure I take in hurting you, and you won't want me to start having fun..."

Stepping back a few, she came alongside Lennox though her gaze remained on their prey.

"There is no Lord Xiaozhan among our Sith," she started at a lower tone. "I think he is either lying, or he is being played by a pretender with motives I wouldn't begin to guess..."

Her mind was working, immediately wanting to speak with Plo and Lady Bellorum. What if they kept the ruse up a little longer? And met this false Sith, extending his game long enough to beat him at it.

It looked like Syren had worked her magic and their guest was starting to spill the beans.But Lennox knew he might be trying to stall for time hoping his boss might come and save the day. Also letting him go was off the cards.

He spoke so only Syren could hear him "Don't forget we are in the New Sith Wars era here so they could be everywhere without us even noticing. It's lucky we picked up our guest here otherwise we could have lost a viable lead. This Sith Lord could be fake or he could be the one behind Xander and Hel disappearing"

Lennox looked back to their guest and spoke "So what makes you think that pulling some Sith Lord's name out of nowhere is going to get you a ticket off this ship?" He narrowed his eyes " For all we know this Sith Lord you speak of could be a figment of your imagination"

Jerod shook his head "I'm afraid you will have to try harder than that. How about you take us to where you were about to deposit your slaves. Then perhaps we may consider being a little bit nicer towards you"

Vex held back a knowing smile, as they were effectively planning to do his job for him by showing up on his contractors own doorstep. Were they really such fools? Even if a few among them were half decently trained Sith Lord Xiaozhan would still be able to take them out with relative ease. He would finally get his training in the Dark Arts.

Unless...

Vex knew full well that, once again, the man who had sent him on this mission would likely still refuse to train him. He had no real future with him. He would just be sent out again and again with empty promises, and no bounty reward would ever stack up to him being trained. That left him with one option, and he knew as soon as it flirted with his conscious that it was the right choice.

"Hmm... I have a proposition for you both, and I know you would be very weary of it, especially seeing as how I've been so rude. For that, I apologize. However, I think that both parties stand to benefit from this. The idea is as such: I will lead you directly to my employer, who you can deal with however you so please. In exchange for that, I only ask for one simple thing: training. I have never been trained through the Force, and the man I will be leading you to has promised many times to do so but hasn't and likely will never do so. If you can give me even the slightest bit of teaching in using the force, I would even do so much as to join your ragtag bunch. You could use my talents, as few in the galaxy have the experience and skill that I do in my profession. I beg you to consider this offer."

He grimaced as the weights continued to push further down upon him, and he drew in a deep breath to hold them at bay as best as possible while he awaited a response. He could only hope that they would be willing to come to an arrangement soon, as he was on the verge of being crushed.

Syren raised a brow, knowing full well the newcomer could lead them straight into a trap, but also knowing it was really their only shot at figuring out who this Xiaozhan was exactly.

She did not acknowledge Erebus, but turn fully towards Lennox instead. The weights continued their torture though she didn't add any additional. For now.

"We need to take this to Plo," she began with her back to their captive. "The zabrak basically said what I was thinking..."

Lennox nodded "I agree, perhaps he might be willing to keep our guest aboard whilst we make sure what he has said is genuine. Besides if we do have more Sith here there is a chance perhaps that Plo may be able to strengthen the ranks, or we could end up getting into a rather messy situation. And if this Sith Lord if they are real could be the key to finding Xander and Hel " he shrugged "But let's see what Plo makes of all this"

Jerod then looked around Syren "You might want to cease the crushing a little bit, unless you want him to be presented to Plo flat as a pancake"

Lennox stepped forward again his green eyes narrowing "It's up to us whether you stay on board and it depends on whether you can deliver on what you just said. If you don't, well let's just say that the results could be rather gruesome. Or we could just abandon you on some uninhabited planet. Give you plenty of thinking time" he smirked at that.

"And it's not just me and my colleague you have to convince if you want to stay on board. You deliver, you perhaps get to keep your life and maybe perhaps join us. But I see you putting a toe out of line, I will have you removed. I dislike loose cannons on my deck".

TAG: @Darth_wanderguard

 

GM UPDATE


IC: Plo & Bellorum — Dark Dreamer, Nal Hutta

Getting Ike settled had been the easy part. The former consort was still fully unconscious when Plo laid him on the bed. He didn’t have a key to Ike’s room, and he refused to give Bellorum’s bed even the most cursory consideration. As a result, he thought that leaving Ike in his own quarters and then making sure to wash his bedding afterward seemed the most sensible course. He slung the man off his shoulder, not roughly but with perhaps a little too much force, and jerked with a wince as his head continued the momentum and collided with the wall, bouncing off of it and onto Plo’s pillow with a thud. Oh well. It was a match on a fire to what Jerod had apparently done to him.

With a sigh, he closed the door behind as he stepped out of the room and regrouped with the waiting Bellorum. “He’ll be confused and maybe slightly proud of himself for a minute when he wakes up, but other than that I think he’ll be fine,” he explained. “According to Ami we have no food stores so I think I need to sort that out, but we need to get this ship off the ground and away from Nal Hutta. If you can make sure everyone is on board, comm the bridge and have them launch. Jerod and Syren are still interrogating our new friend, too, and we need to know what they’ve found out before we can know where to go next.”

Bellorum had been watching Haretisch while he spoke, and once he stopped she waited a second and then startled into a salute, “aye aye Captain,” she replied.

She was turning to leave him when it occurred to her that Haretisch was very good at concealing his feelings. So, after a slight hesitation, she leaned over and kissed him lightly on the cheek, “we will find her,” she whispered before walking away.

“Krif the food because we have plenty of alcohol,” she laughed heading to her quarters to ditch the slave costume and to cleanse her thigh. It was stinging and starting to discolor somewhat.

Bellorum opened a channel to Jerod as she was blotting the wound with a clean damp cloth. “Jerod, Haretisch, er Plo, said to launch if everyone is on board,” she instructed him, “we need to put a little distance between us and this hell hole.”

The wound was definitely worse and her once blue skin was looking very green in that area, so after donning clean clothing she sought out Cal. He was sitting at his desk looking miserable, “someone break your heart today,” Bellorum said cheerfully as she sat in a nearby chair. “What?” Cal stammered as he was clearly startled by the Dark Lady appearing. “No, not at all,” he answered and then asked, “are you here to break my heart?” Bellorum laughed, “you’re cute,” she smiled, “but I don’t have a heart.” Cal wasn’t sure what she wanted, and had been about to find Plo to discuss Olag when Bellorum showed up. “Then you clearly need the services of a physician, but I’m fresh out of hearts,” he stood and continued, “was there anything else I could help with?”

“I thought you’d never ask,” Bellorum replied and showed him the nasty wound. Cal quickly grabbed gloves and gently pressed on the wound, “we need to debride the dying tissue before it spreads too far.”

Once Cal was done, and Bellorum had changed again, she decided that she’d better make sure Aryan was indeed on board.

For several minutes she’d had a nagging feeling that something was “off”. It was stronger now that she was nearing Aryan’s quarters, strong enough that she now had the hilt of her lightsaber firmly in her palm.

———

What a mess. Plo wasn’t sure if the hawkbats had done more eating or more defecating in their apparently short time in the cargo hold after hatching - but from the look of it most of the food stores they had consumed must have passed through their digestive tracts within moments.

He wouldn’t have known what had happened but for the security troopers who had been present and were now explaining to him the entire debacle from start to finish. The end result in any case was that the ship was now, at best, critically short on food, and Plo couldn’t shake the feeling that this was somehow his fault.

At length he dismissed the troopers, who were still nursing their wounds from the struggle, and once he was alone sat heavily on a plasteel bin wondering what to do. He brushed the graying hair out of his face and sighed defeatedly, casting a cursory glance around the wrecked cargo hold. His brow furrowed, and he stood, gaze fixed on something in the corner. Three undisturbed bins. The same kind of bins as he’d wheeled on the ship initially when... oh no.

He opened one of the bins and shut it just as quickly upon seeing that it was yet more hawkbat eggs. He moved hurriedly to the exit and keyed the panel to seal the door, just as he heard the squawk of freshly hatching hawkbats and then, expectedly, the flap of angry wings.

He activated his comm and sent Ami Sayul a message flagged high importance.

Solved our food problem. More hawkbat eggs. Think they’ve all hatched but cargo hold is sealed. Enough to feed everyone for a week or more.

He was sure she could figure it out. Presently he remembered the other business and hoped Syren hadn’t killed both prisoner and Captain in a mad fit of bloodlust. Plo realized he didn’t even know where they were. Impatiently he keyed his comm again, this time to Syren’s frequency, and included Jerod in the text message.

Where are you? Everyone still alive?

TAG: @QueenSabe7, @Jerjerrod-Lennox, @Quinlan Vos

————

Ami Sayul was roused abruptly by the insistent squeal of her comm, signaling an unread message of great import. She shook the sleep from her head, having momentarily forgotten where she was and why and the day she had just had, and then felt sick as everything came rushing back.

She rolled over in Anark’s bed and fumbled for her comm. Her heart simultaneously leapt and sank as she read the words scrolling across the screen and read between the lines. There are hawkbats loose in the cargo hold again, subdue and kill them in such condition that they can be eaten, and learn to like reptavian meat if you don’t want to go hungry, it might as well have said. Good god.

She climbed out of the bed in a hurry and snatched at the few articles of clothing she’d shed beforehand which were strewn about the floor. On her way out the door she was pulling on her pants and buttoning her blouse - opting to leave her boots loose and unzipped.

“We need to go to the cargo hold, now! I need your help!” she explained to Anark as she stepped outside and hurried down the corridor.

TAG: @Snokers

OOC: Syren, Jerod, Vos, you’re on a combo with me. Syren start. Anark, you’re also on a combo with me. You start.

 

IC: Manticore
On to the Next Phase, Kuat

“Kill the pilots; we don't need them anymore. I'll transmit a message that the Senator has decided to withdraw to a secret place after the assassination attempt, and we'll go off the grid.”

The words proceeded from Senator Apollin’s body, in the voice of the Senator, but very much sounding like the Sith Emperor, inflection and all, for it was indeed Emperor Insipid residing inside the Senator's flesh who had spoken them.

Manticore nodded agreeably, inwardly pleased that their small group would be finally on the move. He continued to listen to Lord Insipid speak, as a recently ’transferred’ Sith Emperor was wont to do.

Using Skywalker as his unwitting ‘cleaner’ was a dark and poetic stroke the zabrak found himself appreciating. Absently, he found himself curious to know how any others who opposed the Jedi Grand Master would fare.

Casually side-stepping the corpses Insipid so unceremoniously sent tumbling out of the waiting Shuttle, Manticore called the dead Devaronian’s blaster to his hand and summarily executed both pilots, then tossed the weapon into the cockpit. With a gesture, he shoved the two bodies out from their seats and deposited them with the other corpses, before taking position as ship’s pilot. Once in his seat, he proceeded to disengage the Shuttle’s transponder. Only then could they really claim to be ‘off-the grid’.

He'd considered using his newly 'cobbled' lightsaber to eliminate the pilots, but he thought better of it, not wishing to leave such an obvious call-sign in their wake.
There would be opportunity enough to put Sawtooth to the test.

As he worked, he continued to listen to Insipid, who now spoke as ‘drunk sages’ often would. Manticore found it hard to believe that this ‘Snoke’ was an actual match for the eternally scheming Sith Emperor. That didn’t bode well from any angle.

At the mention of the word ‘Nagai’, Manticore almost stopped his work, but managed to catch himself, though he did bristle inwardly. Insipid went on to speak of other things he had no points of reference on, so he simply listened, with an awareness that these mysteries may yet reveal themselves. Some points concerned Leda and others Bernael, all had the sense of things esoteric.

That was chiefly Insipid’s specialty.

“Done.” He announced, once the transponder was fully off-line.

“Ready when you are.” He rasped to the group.

He was generally unamused by one too many things, but that was the chimeric nature of their mission and he accepted that.

Indeed, time and reality had been altered, and the universe seemed a strange place because of it.


Tag: @Sinrebirth, @darthbernael, @QueenSabe7

 

IC: Soliloquy
Kamino, things going poorly for some, well for others

The world was oddly static as they stayed gathered in the shuttle, waiting for what would be as it rocked and took hits. Wondering, listening for that tell tale hint from the Darkness whether it was time for them to fall. Was it time for some to die, and others to fall to the watery depths. The story never came satisfactorily to an ending, for they felt the scramble of permutations. They felt the choking embrace of hyperspace as felt the release of air from around them. They felt the tumble of a realm beyond and beneath their own sliding past.

They hit hyperspace as a cacophony of sparks erupted form many of the displays. The droid, TRAYUS, lamented in Insipid's voice. "Our jump was done in haste; I am ill-placed to confirm when and where we shall arrive. Kesh was our targeted destination, but that is all I can confirm..." It's voice affirmed. "The jump was calculated for the next seventeen hours. You have that."

Shimmer sighed. "Master Soliloquy, perhaps you can teach me something to while away the hours before -"

"- our potential death," Esme finished. "And we have left Kronos behind," she seethed. "Though we have at least some data..."

TRAYUS lifted a clawed hand. "And our traitor is discovered, Lady Esmerelda."

Esme laughed. "Great. Wake me when we arrive." She stormed off.

"Some are ruled by their hearts. Compared to that, what is anything worth that it does not deem so?" Soliloquy softly uttered to the retreating form. Red eye irising closed at that back.

The droid eyed Vytorias. "Rest; you are the most stressed of all of them, in body and elevated heart-rate."

"The droid is right, and you have earned your boon if you have brought back any data from your mission. When you are rested, find me and I shall share a secret with you." Turning he looked at the one with the clearest eyes for the patent lack thereof in their small group before turning to the droid. "We should drop out of hyperspace early. Just to be safe. Now, let us test Shimmer on her ability to effect repairs to the shuttle." he turned to her with a serious air as he performed the mental sensation of running clawed fingers gently across her brain. The skittering traipsing of the claws timed to produce an involuntary shudder of her entire form, like a puppet on strings being plucked.

"We do not want to be bored, we shall be busy then." The sing-song of his deep base voice seemed to press upon her. "You shall learn to repair a ship and try to apply the Force to each and every aspect of every task. If you do not know a technique or way to do so I will teach you. Once. If you do not succeed and require any mundane tools or assistance I shall exact a price. Now doesn't that sound like a fun way to pass the time?" he coldly chimed in before turning away from her to the droid. "TRAYUS, prepare all collected data for me to review while we travel. I feel like studying something new for a change."

TAG: @Silvertough, @Sinrebirth

 

IC: Vyatoris/Azeth Drost
Hyperspace..

And with a final detonation of sparks, their ship entered hyperspace, safe, if only for the moment. Vyatoris simply hung his head in silent relief. Their rapid escape from Kamino had been, in a word, tumultuous. Too much had occurred in too short of a time for his befuddled mind to rationalize. One second, he had just managed to break the surface of the ocean, and the next, he was somehow back inside the ship he had originally landed in. Even though he was sure he had witnessed the ship sink into the same depths he had moments before..

He winced, recognizing yet another worrying gap in his recent memory. It's happening again..? Why now, of all times..? My senses are clear.. unlike on.. Kesh, was it? Yes.. During the feast. Or.. before it? Nngh.. Vyatoris brought a trembling hand to rest over the sodden woven cloth which hid his vestigial eyes. W-why? What could I possibly be hiding from myself?! He fell back against the cold durasteel wall of the ship's hull, his chest rising and falling feverishly. WHAT HAPPENED?!

...And then it was gone. A fleeting moment of clarity, subdued and discarded as before.

Vyatoris awoke confused, finding himself clutching at his eyes, supporting his weight via the wall. Odd, must have dozed off for a second.. 'Spose an unplanned swim will do that.. He thought, wringing out the sleeves of his waterlogged robes. What was that about visiting a beach again?

The droid eyed Vytorias. "Rest; you are the most stressed of all of them, in body and elevated heart-rate."

The Miraluka tilted his face towards the droid, and simply nodded in return. There was little Vyatoris could do for the remainder of the journey in way of piloting or engineering, best to just stay out of the way of everyone else.

Soliloquy added, "The droid is right, and you have earned your boon if you have brought back any data from your mission. When you are rested, find me and I shall share a secret with you."

"Hmph. Before I do anything, I need to archive what information I could in such a small time frame.. That being said.. I do believe I have a certain recording that may be in everyone's best interest.." He trailed off, a datapad suddenly appearing in his hands. After a few cursory taps on the keyboard, a tight smile appeared on his face. "Never forget.. I'm always recording.."

Vyatoris moved to the ship's main holotable, inserting a tiny datadisc into an open port. A moment later, and table began projecting a first-person view of a circular room that was distinctly Kaminoan. The center of which was occupied by a single Kaminoan woman, her bacl facing the camera's lens. In front, was a holographic image of a hooded figure, momentarily out of focus. The woman spoke:

Vyatoris tapped at a button, fast-forwarding a few minutes ahead. "I'll leave the recording here for anyone's later perusal, but I'll skip ahead to the best bits for now. Just skipping their plans to stage a coup on Kamino.. kinda irrelevant now.." He tapped again, the recording slowing to it's regular play speed. The woman was gone, and the hooded figure was now directly engaged in conversation with the camera's owner.

Vyatoris paused the recording, crossing his arms across his chest. "Figured hearing the plans of our enemy straight from their own mouth was a good starting point for my debriefing, eh Master?" He said, glancing towards the form of Soliloquy, before adding, "That being said, I don't think the Kronos impersonator.. clone.. whatever, planned on our own Darth Cocytus to stage an uprising of his own soon thereafter.. Yet, with the planning all of this must have taken, I would find it highly unlikely our adversary didn't have some sort of back-up plans..."

Tags: @Sinrebirth @Mitth_Fisto @Darth Cocytus

 

IC: Droid Serapis
Star Home, Hapan Palace

The droid stood and observed. That's mainly what remains when faced with two beings who like to posture and speak so much. Nothing necessarily wrong with that. It allowed him to observe more details of their surroundings.

The throne. With the shield generator in front of it. If we could just get behind it. The guards flanking her. Male. No surprise there. Put the dumb, tough ones back there in their place.

Her daughters, looking at once shocked and surprised that their mother could be so duplicitous... still.

And then there was the tree. Speaking as Helinith. He's got to be getting tired of keeping this shape. Something needs to be d...

His thoughts were interrupted as the Queen Mother said, "Would you... blow up the ship if I did this?" and, with a gesture, shot Serapis' droid chariot. Without the Force at his side, he had no warning that something like this would happen.

Time was short. In the final moments of droid consciousness, Serapis scrammed himself from the droid circuits. He pulled in from the now slagged droids limbs. He became just Serapis, again. He did try to take with him some of the Ser@pis computer consciousness that he could. Gathering all this up like a caught lover gathers up his ball of clothes, he exercised the only Force ability left to him.

Serapis' consciousness left the droid, now face-down on the ornate floor, leaking oily fluid like a being would leak blood. Now to choose.

There were other droids, but they had the same weakness the previous one did - no Force abilities. There was the queen, but he'd had enough the Queen Mother just listening to her for the past five minutes. The daughters? Not on your life. The Neti? The thought of sharing a consciousness with him was not something he relished, though it might be good for backup if need be.

Then he realized the perfect vessel. One of the guards. Behind the shield. He entered the guard's mind as lightly as he could. He didn't want to startle the poor man... that would give Serapis away, after all. As he stretched out through the muscular man's body, getting familar with it, he also probed his mind. He was named Rendorr, apparently. When he had invaded this body sufficently to have control of it, he took over the mind. The only outward indication that there was anything amiss was a small flinch and a tightening of the grip on the blaster. When it was done, Rendorr was for all intents and purposes asleep in his own mind.

Serapis / Rendorr looked out this mans eyes. He used this mans ears. He was Rendorr. He heard Renn finish what he was saying, "... Unless you'd rather us all cease to exist, in which case, it can be obliged." What was he planning? No matter. Serapis, in his new host tried to reach out with the Force to Renn to let him know all was well and where he was. At the same time, he slowly moved his slug rifle to point directly at the Queen Mother, herself.

Tags: @Sinrebirth, @darthbernael, @darthhelinith, @Snokers

 

IC: Leda
Senator Apollin's shuttle, en route to Kesh

Leda had kept silent during - and after - Insipid's rather... unusual rant. He seemed unhinged, but not in a crazy, broken man type-of-way. He was far more than just a man. This was more of a lucid cracking, hopefully as a result of his essence adjusting to a new home.

Hopefully.

She didn't like his tone and insinuations and really any of what he had supposedly uncovered - or not uncovered - about her, taking it upon himself to reveal those said things to anyone standing nearby. Regardless, since when did he take care to look into the histories and backstories of his followers? And why the kriff did he care now? All the 'change is happening and it is because of you but why and how and when but not now-when, WHEN-when' line of thought made her brain hurt.

Also... was he calling her a liar?

That ruffled her feathers enough to tighten her facial muscles into a scowl, only then hearing Bernael chattering away beside her.

This cockpit was already feeling too cramped.

"...hmmm, which first? What is the best order to proceed?”

"Can we take a minute?" Leda cast a glance in his direction and sat in the nearest flight chair after pulling it down from the wall. She leaned back heavily into the uncomfortable hardness. "The Emperor needs some time, dare I say his minions do as well?" She sighed, tipping her head back, not to sleep or rest really, but more to gather her thoughts.

But he named you... for what reason?

She shook her head to rid her mind of his voice.

TAGS: @darthbernael @greyjedi125 @Sinrebirth

 

IC: Manticore
Shuttle to Kesh

It was critical that their shuttle move with sufficient speed to make it past orbital emplacements when it physically pinged on sensors and did not respond to hails. The fact that its transponder was not operational and the ship itself bore the ‘correct’ markings, actually helped their cause.

It could nowise be determined if they were ‘enemies’ or ‘friendlies’ or if they were simply having some sort of malfunction before jumping. By the time the ‘proper’ security protocols could be fully cycled, their shuttle was gone.

Only then was Manticore satisfied with their ‘escape’, especially after their course was set and fixed for Kesh.

Returning to what was ostensibly their ‘home base’ was the right thing to do, given their current circumstance.

Though he had not been actively participating in the conversation, the zabrak was actively listening.

Their Sith Emperor, Darth Insipid seemed to be adjusting to some side-effects from his most recent ‘essence transfer’, at least from what he could surmise. After being ‘killed’ and ‘re-located’, it stood to reason that he would be in need of rest. Manticore found himself silently agreeing with Leda regarding the need for rest, however, he was feeling quite restless after the encounter with Skywalker and everything that encompassed the mission.

He almost smirked at the thought of Darth Insipid’s nigh-inscrutable machinations. Could their mission be called a success? It was hard to say. They did technically acquire Senator Apollin, though in a manner most unexpected- or was it?

Manticore narrowed his fiery gaze as his mind worked. There was a deep lesson there, one which was just beginning to unspool itself before his understanding, but this was not the time or the place for such dark meditations; there were more pressing matters at hand that needed his focus.

The zabrak turned his pilot’s seat around to face his fellow sith. It was strange for him, working this closely in such a close group, as he always worked alone or with just one other. There was still so much to consider, but so far, this was a cohesive group that continued to prove itself.

Smoothly, he reached into the garments he wore, made a mental note to change them as soon as he was able, then pulled out his cobbled lightsaber hilt: Sawtooth. With a gesture and a modicum of force exertion, he slowly began to dismantle the weapon. He fixed his gaze at the floating parts and began to study them, seeing where he could improve things, now that they travelled to a place where performing an upgrade would be possible.

Even as he did so, he began to speak so the others could hear. Inwardly, he considered the group a sort of sith tetrarch, at least in his own mind. He well understood that being put ‘in charge’ was merely a formality, one that he silently accepted, as it was what the Emperor’s wished at the moment.

“After the Dark Lord’s culling is complete…” He began saying, at once referencing Insipid’s siccing of Skywalker on the rest of the Sith. “It will be paramount that we regroup and solidify a Base of Operation here.” By that, he meant in ‘this timeline’.

“We cannot delay. Skywalker and his allies may still believe us to be ‘locals’, so we must exploit that advantage for all that it’s worth for as long as we can.”

Indeed, this situation was much different from that of their prior ‘existence’.

“We can assume the ‘Senator’ can manipulate events in regards to the shipyards in Kuat. Still, we will need foot soldiers and agents loyal to us, beings who not only embrace our ideals, but also carry-out our objectives.”

Hmm. There, he would need to change to a polarized coupling for a smoother power conversion.

“We are the Emperor’s Vassals. We have passed the Trial of Skywalker, which is of his design. By default we are an extension of the Sith Emperor’s will and that of his wishes.”

Here he paused, not only to let his words sink in, but also because he was not one for speeches, despite having been compelled to perform.

“Though we still need to see who is left standing, as well as learn the fates of the other missions, our priority should be to secure ourselves before we begin shadow operations.”

At this point, the zabrak’s fiery eyes finally spared a glance at the resting and relaxing forms of Bernael and Leda. A respite was well deserved for one and all.

"To Bernael’s point, I concur with the order in which our objectives were spoken. Entralla, Jakku and Bedlam last. Though that is also my preference, I am prepared to face whichever challenge comes first.”

Smoothly, Manticore returned to scrutinizing his weapon. There was no doubt that it would see much use.



Tag: @Sinrebirth, @darthbernael, @QueenSabe7

 

Darth Cocytus
Dark Lord Ascending - Part 2

Darth Cocytus stood there idly bored as Taun We told him what he already knew about the clones. What he really wanted to know was the whereabouts of the Darth Kronos Clone, whom Cocytus suspected to still be somewhere among the Kaminoan facilities. That is if the clone had yet to leave Kamino of course. Either way, the Sith Lord had a feeling that what happened days ago was anything but over. Just another possible obstacle to think about in the future and one to be dealt with when the time comes.

What changed Cocytus's mood, however, was Taun We's presentation of a most marvelous object. His eyes widened and gently took the pyramid structure from the Prime Minister's grasp and gazed upon it. "A Sith Holocron." Cocytus spoke softly, mainly to his Apprentice, "A treasure trove of Sith knowledge and secrets of the Dark Side contained in such a small device held in one's hand. It belonged to Darth Tyranus. Could it be who I think it is? ...Darth Andeddu?"

Darth Cocytus looked up at Taun We. "You are wise indeed to find Lady Styx and I worthy Sith and not those Dark Jedi imposters." he said coldly, but with an ounce of enthusiasm in his voice, "You are right. As far as the Dark Side is considered, we are the only two legitimate Sith in the Galaxy. That was how Darth Bane declared our Order should be and it is now how it shall be again."

Suddenly, however, an idea struck Cocytus as he felt Luke Skywalker's presence coming all the more closer. "Still… That's not something the Jedi Grandmaster needs to know." He said with a sly grin, "In fact we can use his arrival to our advantage…"

The Sith Kaminoan remained silent in thought before his eyes suddenly glowed. "Let Skywalker come and we shall treat him as our guest." Cocytus said cunningly, "We shall tell him of how the Sith wrecked havoc on our world and send him on his way to have the New Republic hunt down and destroy them. In the end, he shall be our revenge against Insipid and his underlings."

The Sith Kaminoan then looked at his Apprentice and handed her the Holocron. "Take this to our chambers and lie low for now. You are dismissed, Lady Styx." Cocytus said with a somewhat apologetic look on his face, "I know I promised you that you're training would begin after this meeting, but the Force appears to have had something else in mind for us. Once my business with Skywalker is complete, however, I assure, we shall begin. In fact, consider this your first lesson in patience, which all Sith must learn in achieving their goals…"

@Sinrebirth


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