Star Wars CLOSED Star Wars: Ronin: The Curse of Qalydon

OOC: Combo with @Sinrebirth

IC: Marcus Dren

Brentaal

Marcus coughed and gasped from the brief decompression as Lehani helped him up. It took a moment for his senses to return, but when they did the first thing that Marcus could feel was the power radiating off of the person who had boarded them. If it wasn't obvious enough, the crimson blade hacking at the cockpit door confirmed who they were dealing with.

"Sith," Marcus said under his breath.

He felt something else and realized it was coming from his Cathar partner... fear.

Marcus reached out, touching Lehani's hand and squeezing it lightly. "It's going to be okay," he reassured firmly, his other hand pulling out his own lightsaber.

Lehani shook her head. "I've faced Sith. This is different."

Indeed, it did feel stronger even than XoXaan.

The lightsaber continued to trace a circle, slowly, but surely.

Inexorably.

"Stay strong," Marcus told Lehani as he ignited his lightsaber's red blade, standing ready against whatever would come through.

The door went down and a black-cloaked Sith slashed through.

He had his hood down, and a pair of scabbards on his belt.

His rage was palpable, and the blade sang angrily. Lehani winced as the distance between the two of them and the Sith was crossed instantly, and she only had time to dumbly block as the enemy drew his blade back with the intention of stabbing under her guard and up into her chest and out her back -

She couldn't stop him, she knew, in her hearts of hearts.

But Marcus could stop him. Before the Sith was able to stab her, Marcus leapt into action and pushed Lehani to the side, intercepting the Sith's blade with his own and growling as he challenged the Sith's anger.

The Dark Lord, his face still concealed, flicked a hand from his hilt swiftly to backhand Marcus across the face -

Marcus was hit, but he used the momentum of the hit to his advantage, stepping back and raising his leg to kick the Dark Lord in the stomach.

The Dark Lord stepped back, surprised, and his hood nearly fell back as he stood upright. His free hand grabbed at it, and Lehani saw the opening, slashing out -

The man drew back slightly, but the tip of the blade still caught the back of the hand, cutting nerves and rendering the fingers useless. One handed now, and his left hand at that, the Dark Lord riposted, slashing upwards and removing Lehani’s hand at the wrist -

And he brought the blade back to guard swiftly and surely -

This man was an expert swordsman.

His double-scabbard would set off a memory for Marcus.

The Dark Lord who had abandoned them before Corbos, with most of his upper hierarchy -

Was this him?

"No!" Marcus cried out when he saw Lehani's hand leave her wrist. He lifted his hand and Force pushed the Dark Lord back, putting some distance between him and his opponent.

Marcus worriedly glanced at Lehani, then glared back at the Dark Lord.

"Who are you?" he demanded to know.

"The Dark Lord of the Sith," he said drily.

"The Jedi Lord who turned his back on the Empire."

"Who besieged the Imperial capital." He drew up to his true height, his face still obscured.

"I am hear to slay the Shadow Sith that haunt the Fallen Worlds."

"Well, then you are in the wrong place," Marcus told the Dark Lord. "Because there are no Sith here."

"Though you were at Corbos," he said, firmly. "You did serve in the wars. What sins do you have upon your hands?"

"Plenty," Marcus admitted, trying to keep the Dark Lord talking. "I was recruited by the Sith, made a Master of the Beasts. But I left the Sith and their cause. I recently defeated one of the actual Dark Masters."

The Dark Lord snorted. "XoXaan. I can sense her all over you."

The ship shook; ion fire, and a tractor beam.

He sighed.

"I had hoped to escape before that happened."

He placed his lightsaber blade back within his scabbard, not deactivating it.

"Now, we have no choice but to wait." Lehani held her hand, a degree of venom to her tone. "Why should we wait with you?"

Marcus sighed. He supposed that he had to play peacemaker.

"Because I think we all want the same thing," he said, gesturing to the Dark Lord. "You're hunting the Sith, right? Well, so are we. And none of us want to end up in the custody of the Empire. So considering our current circumstances, perhaps we can help each other out."

Because obviously continuing to fight would help none of them.

"You are Sith," the Dark Lord said drily. "It is not possible to return from that abyss. You can only repent, and die, when you're done."

His face remained obscured. Lehani didn't like it; not with her hand lolling on the floor.

Marcus rolled his eyes. "The Sith are what the exiles call themselves," he pointed out. "I may have been a Dark Jedi, but I have never been Sith. There is a difference." He shook his head. "We don't have time for this."

The ship was gravitating towards the larger Imperial warships. "Do you think the Empire will care for the distinction? That the Jedi Lords will forgive your past? That the Sith will forgive your treachery?"

He regarded them. "But you speak wisdom. Our priority should be to the present, not to the past."

"No," Lehani bit, levitating her lightsaber to hand as she leapt forward, igniting it and swinging -

Marcus reached out with the Force... and froze Lehani while she was in mid-air.

"Lehani, don't," he said, slightly strained. "Not now."

There was a set of hammering noises upon the upper hull, interrupting whatever Lehani or the Dark Lord might have done.

He looked up, and then down to Marcus, indicating the cockpit displays. "May I?"

Marcus didn't trust the Dark Lord, of course. But right now, he knew he didn't have a choice.

He nodded. "You may."

He pressed a button and sensors kicked in.

"Ah," the Dark Lord said.

The Empire had essentially lodged giant needles into the hull, and coma gas seeped in.

They could disable them without even boarding, especially a disabled ship.

"We should make plans for when we awaken," the Dark Lord unhappily added.

"Is that are our only option?" Marcus asked. "Falling asleep?"

"Coma gas," he answered.

"We could put ourselves into a trance?"

"And what would wake us?" the Dark Lord bit back at Lehani.

"Can't we seal ourselves off at all?" Marcus suggested. "Prevent the coma gas from reaching us?"

He knew that was something that Force users could do, hold back or disperse clouds of gas or smoke with the Force.

"I suppose," the Dark Lord said, rather drily. "But what if I want to be captured?"

Marcus frowned. "Wait, I thought the point was not to be captured."

"Your point," the Dark Lord said. "But I have somewhere I need to go... and the easiest way is to let them take me."

His eyes yellowed briefly. "If I told you there is a root cause to all of this, would you believe me? That I seek the puppet master, who wants to lure the Sith back into war?"

"I have no reason to believe you," Marcus pointed out. "But there being a root cause to this would make sense, yes. It's not an illogical assumption."

"And that's who I seek," the Dark Lord spoke softly. "The Thirteenth Dark Lord; the First Sith Lord; the Last True Sith."

"We can't trust a Sith," Lehani snapped. She was still in pain.

But the gas began to seep in.

The Dark Lord sounded maudlin. "I don't believe you have much to a choice."

Marcus saw this and reached out with the Force, attempting to create an invisible barrier between them and the gas. He then remembered something.

"Breath masks!" he realized. "The cockpit should have breath masks for emergencies where there are low oxygen! Coma gas is only effective if you breathe it!"

The Dark Lord reached out a hand, and a choking force seized his throat.

"Marcus Dren, you seem to have forgotten that I watched you abandon us at the Battle of Corbos. You owe me. What I sought to built... it wasn't Leviathans and Plagues."

He pressed, attempting to push the man into unconsciousness.

"It was a safe place for those of us who had Fallen."

Push, push, push -

"For your daughter, who I saw in the Kyber Mirror of Prophecy."

Marcus was choking, but he managed to growl despite the pressure on his throat.

"Don't. Speak. Of. My. Daughter!"

Lightning crackled from his fingers for the first time and it slammed into the Dark Lord, forcing him to release Marcus.

"I don't owe you or any other Sith a thing," Marcus gasped.

The Dark Lord lifted a hand, and winced as he held the bolts.

Lehani watched, lifting her hand to try and stop the advancing tide, trying to find the masks -

"It's over, Marcus." The Dark Lord sounded mournful. "You can't maintain consciousness and strike at me and hold back the gas." As he spoke, the edges of Marcus' sight began to close in.

"My vision showed your daughter safe, but it wasn't in the hands of the Jedi."

He turned his wrist and the bolts reflected - into Lehani.

"Now. Yield, and I will save everything you care about."

Marcus' eyes widened when he saw Lehani get hit by the lightning.

No...

He ran over to Lehani, no longer trying to attack the Dark Lord or stop the gas. Both would only delay the inevitable and wouldn't be very productive. However, he could still at least by himself some time by holding his breath.

As he checked on Lehani, he finally saw what she had been looking for: the breath masks. He reached out his hand and pulled one of the masks toward him, quickly strapping it on.

The Dark Lord lifted a hand and squeezed, crushing the mask on Marcus' face.

Lehani was on the floor, struggling to stand-up.

There was only one mask left.

"Well?" he said, lightly.

Marcus growled and grabbed the last mask... before strapping it onto Lehani's face.

He then leapt at the Dark Lord, bolstering himself with the Force as he slammed into the Sith and knocked them both into the gas.

He was going to make sure that he took the Dark Lord with him.

Lehani looked at him, surprised. The Dark Lord hissed; the gas was starting to get to him too. "Go, Cathar. I need - Marcus. There was one pod left. You can… escape. I'll give him his… victory."

He pushed her, using the Force to do so, sending her tumbling out of the cockpit. A gesture crumpled the entrance, showering him and Marcus in sparks. Regarding Marcus, he drew his lightsaber one last time.

"Until we collapse?"

He hissed, vexed. "It was my intent to kill her, just to eliminate any chance of disruption. But I shall accept you, and just you."

He grimaced, dropping to one knee. "It's important. You need this. We all do."

But Marcus said nothing else as he drew his own lightsaber and faced off against the Dark Lord once more...

TAGS: @Sinrebirth @darthbernael @Jerjerrod-Lennox @Mitth_Fisto @greyjedi125 @Shadowsun

 

IC: K4-ZU-P8489 or Kazu
Any landing you can talk about

The end result of the brief discussion had led to an interesting situation. Interesting namely for the odd five dozen Storm Corps soldiers, the white armour elite holding sonic blasters, fingerprint-activating grenades, wearing full helmets to prevent eye-contact, which included periodic shocks to prevent mind-tricks; there was even alternately magnetised armour plates to resist telekinesis. In essence, the perfect anti-Sith troops, created over the century of war, and kept to rigorous standards by the Empire.

Sieg looked to Kazu. “Weapon up; all the way. Every gun we have.” Sieg checked her blaster, her grenades. Xenly revealed a specially forged weapon for his claw from a sac in his chest, and Salu pulled a tiny pistol from his robes. Bard glanced over to Maldael, waving his personal rifle, which telescoped from a small weapon to a larger one. “We going all in, boss? Take the shuttle?“ He pointed at a massive mechanical construct to the left side of the hangar - the opposite one to the shuttle. “Capacitor. Knock it out, no tractor beam.” He grinned. “I served on one of these in the war.”

Additional tactically significant data acquired. Salu let out a cheer.

Preparing his weapons Kazu aimed to rely on ranged weaponry at least to start until a batch of enemy units could be observed to see how they fare against close quarters combat. Their nominal leader gave orders and Kazu stayed where he was out of sight of the enemy units. The revelation of a Sith War Droid would most likely escalate the pre-combat situation into a full blow affair.


TAG: @darthbernael, @CosmoHender @Sinrebirth

 

IC: Janus Jerjerrod
Location: Shuttle Quantum then…..well hacked off and in prison

As soon as Quantum landed Janus made to move forward to disembark….

Then it sounded like a firefight had kicked off. And Veers pointed out that this Maldael was a Sith and had been at Corbos.

Then Janus got a shock as Veers lifted him up, his sword and blaster crumpled and useless and it seemed Veers and his Jedi Lords had staged a coup.

Basta-

Janus sank into the black, and then woke up again what looked like another shuttle. And…had Antillies been crying? It looked like the Captain had been grabbed off Roadblock.

And the situation was making Janus angry. He hoped his wife and Artemis his son were safe from all this.

His shuttle Quantum and Roadblock taken from him. Hopefully the Electrostar and the crew that remained were still safe. He vowed to get her back whatever it took.

He sat up shaking his head. " Bastards" he growled "The Jedi Lords have torn the Empire to pieces, which includes the Jedi Lady from MY OWN BLOODY HOUSE!" he roared.

The House of Jerjerrod had effectively cast him out. They had not covered their house with glory they had blown it to ruin.

Janus could see out front, something that looked black and foreboding…was that. The Prism? He had heard rumours of such a place in the military.

I'm going to prison. They will pay for putting me in a cage.

They were eventually chucked out and Janus had a look around. Big hangar, loads of guards….and he watched the shuttles head back to a familiar diamond.

Roadblock. And she was surrounded. Janus hissed.

There were other people around too, all grabbed from Brentaal perhaps. And the Dark Lord finally revealed himself. A Sith gone rogue by the sounds of his speech.

"Nice speech there Sith. But I am only interested in one thing. And that is getting back out there, getting my original ship back and getting my House back in order".

"So if anybody has any ideas as to this place and getting out i'm all ears".

TAG: @Sinrebirth , @Shadowsun , @greyjedi125 , @Mitth_Fisto , @CosmoHender , @darthbernael

 

IC: Akuma-Oni
Through a Prism Refracted

His meditation while aboard the ship had been deeper than he’d intended or anticipated. Much, much deeper in fact. Unsurprisingly, Akuma-Oni had not realized just how much energy he’d been expending over a long period of time. Sustaining himself with the Force, suppressing fatigue, hunger, staving off sleep, keeping himself from freezing while on Kijimi, indefinitely extending his senses. All these feats combined would take their required toll. Then having to fight-off XoXaan’s Black Knights; it all came with a price.

As he sat, the former Dark Retainer had ignored the ‘offerings’ made by the other travelers. He understood their intentions, which did not truly require a response from him. Whatever conclusions they drew suited him well enough. Something more dire had seized his attention. There was a powerful disturbance in the Force, one he could not clearly decipher, which was in itself, troubling.

The ship shook suddenly as it was snagged from its path. But that hadn’t been the cause for him to stir, but rather, he'd responded to an overwhelming presence that he now felt. A presence which evinced power, power which belonged to The Dark Lord of the Sith.

There was a dark churning in the force, a sinister keening permeated it, its source remained undetermined, at least to him.

Was that an Imperial blockade he was sensing?

Akuma-Oni could feel the surge of escalating conflict, it was recognizable, even welcomed. But before any other actin could be taken, the insidious use of gas proved to be too successful a strategy. A flare of anger gave way to unconsciousness.

*****

Time and events passed. He’d been captured, then transported to the Ghost Prison: The Prism. He knew not how the others fared, but soon found himself in the company of other captured individuals. They had been deposited inside the structure, which hosted a veritable army of armed and ready units to keep them detained. Akuma-Oni eyed them all when he was finally out of his restraints, even as he visually searched for whoever served as the ‘warden’ and any other possible figures of 'authority'.

As for his fellow ‘prisoners’...

Akuma-Oni recognized only a handful.

There was Nin, of course. It would be interesting to see how his 'neutrality' fared in this situation. Then there was the Combat Droid from long ago: K4ZU. It certainly seemed to have gotten some upgrades since then.Good. Behind his mask, eyes narrowed for focus, before he recognized the sephi. But none of that would matter as another figure became the center of attention, by raising his voice above all other sounds.

“I am the Dark Lord of the Sith. The first one; the Jedi Lord that rebelled against the Empire and its base hypocrisy.”

Ajunta Pall.

Akuma-Oni stood his ground and listened as the Dark Lord revealed himself and spoke at length. He gave a single slow nod, a sign that he understood what was being said.

A military man spoke next. Curious. He certainly didn’t feel like a Force-Sensitive or wore any symbols to revealed his faction- yet, his uniform revealed all that was necessary. Akuma-Oni stepped forward so the ministry man could see him, as well as the Dark Lord. He openly regarded the man, appraising him as he considered his usefulness in the present situation. Before turning to face the Dark Lord, he shared a simple statement of fact.

“You’ve been betrayed. You will need allies.”

Not a revelation, but something he felt needed to be said for future reference.

“Dark Lord…” the armored warrior spoke now.

“I am Akuma-Oni, former retainer of Tulak Hord.”

He allowed that statement to hang there, between them and any other who heard it.

“Tell me, here and now, what am I to you?”

Tag: @Sinrebirth, @Shadowsun, @darthbernael, @Jerjerrod-Lennox, @Mitth_Fisto, @CosmoHender

 

IC: Once the Regent, once the Grand Vizier, now No One.
Game Over

No One looked down at his feet... he was disgusted. Truly, utterly disgusted. He had been so close, ever so close, and now well. It was all rather pointless now. He had been tasked with his grand purpose and now it was all over. The End of the Road. Yes, it seemed that many here were rabble-rousers, the exact kind of mix of people to form a counter-coup against the Jedi. But he lacked any desire to do such a thing, which was only made ever clearer as a man announced himself as a Sith, former or no it disgusted No One all the same.

Oh what he would give to kill Ductavis, but that would never be a reality. His dream, his plan it would never come to pass. His soft blue eyes looked gracefully at the ground as he studied his feet carefully. And then the quiet blue hue of his eyes faded, his eyes grey and empty as his body slouched and crashed to the floor. Cold and desolate.

Perhaps he would try again in a thousand years.

---

IC: Nin

Nin had always had his suspicions of the Jedi, in fact, much of his writings were somewhat prophetic in the danger of the Jedi Order and the government being too close togethor. But this? This even he was outside the realm of possibility for the Jedi. He had not much time to think on the matter however as various other prisoners began to speak.

His ears perked up at the mention of the Dark Lord of the Sith. This was him? And he was atoning? Had he heard that correctly? Nin could help but feel an immediately shared understanding with the man. He was a powerful figure, that much was certain. He jumped slightly as he saw another of the prisoners collapse to the floor, he hesitated for a brief moment before rushing over to the man, checking his pulse.

He wondered what the guards did about dead prisoners. If they even cared.

"I am Nin Aima..." he spoke for a moment his hand went away from the prisoner's neck. "Are any of you perchance a doctor or have medical training? This man is dying,"

His attention then turned to the Dark Lord and Nin's unlikely comrade Akuma. Why did he feel like this was the beginning of some strange Force Sect? He did not speak of plans or actions, his singular eye looking at the collapsed man.

Tag: @Sinrebirth, @greyjedi125 , @darthbernael, @Jerjerrod-Lennox, @Mitth_Fisto, @CosmoHender

 

IC: K4-ZU-P8489 or Kazu
Any landing you can talk about

The situation devolved faster than this units reaction time. The assault was barely cataloged and system memory initialized to secure mode before the blasts of energy cascaded through its systems initializing a forced shutdown due to energy overload.

When the unit finally was able to power back up through a full system reboot after excess energy had been drained, one of the first things noted was the internal interference. Initial diagnostics misdiagnosed it as an internal error code chain caused by the improper shutdown sequences that had lead to the current situation. That diagnostic was proven in error once an external observational lens was able to be activated and focus it's lens upon the newest addition to it's hardware - a restraining bolt.

Choosing to stay in a low power standby the unit was unresponsive to the landing, the prison, or the declarations of the Sith or Jedi or anyone. There was nothing this unit could presently accomplish without testing the boundaries of the restraining bolt, and testing them while being blatantly observed by what most likely could be best described as prison wardens was not in the unit's best interest.

TAG: @Sinrebirth, @greyjedi125 , @darthbernael, @Jerjerrod-Lennox, @Shadowsun , @CosmoHender

 

IC: Marcus Dren

Ghost Prison

Right now, survival was the main priority of Marcus Dren.

He knew that Lehani was alive, that she had escaped. He knew that his daughter was safe and that Lehani would protect her.

And Marcus had no doubt that he would see Aura again. He just had to live long enough first.

He didn't care about the so-called Dark Lord of the Sith, also known as Ajunta Pall. He didn't trust him either. Whatever Pall had planned, Marcus wanted no part in it. But Pall did know about his daughter, which did make him a potential threat.

Marcus was surprised to see Maldael among the prisoners, since wasn't he a Jedi? Were the Lords now throwing their own in prison as well?

Then there was Akuma-Oni, former retainer of Tulak Hord.

Tulak Hord. A name that Marcus despised. He would have to keep an eye on Akuma-Oni in the future.

The rest were insignificant to him so far. There was one who asked if anyone had medical training, but Marcus didn't so he stayed silent. Even if he had medical training, he wasn't sure if he would have answered. He intended to just keep to himself and wait for his opportunity.

Either he would escape on his own or the True Jedi would rescue him.

But he was NOT staying here.

TAG: @Sinrebirth @greyjedi125 @darthbernael @Jerjerrod-Lennox @Shadowsun @Mitth_Fisto

 

IC: No One & Nin

No One in his deep, death-like sleep would hear the words of the Emperor, recognizing the voice. What he had to say was intriguing and seemed like the missing glimmer of hope that had eluded him moments ago. It seemed that way. No One's eyes flooded blue as he sat up like a bolt, Nin caught slightly off as he stepped back. No need for medical attention after all.

"Well, well old friend..." began No One, both pleased, caught off guard, and infuriated further by this revelation. "seems you trusted me enough to be part of your secret counter-coup but not inform me of all this nonsense beforehand... I do not take well to being played as a fool..." it was no wonder that the Emperor had so easily allowed him to become Regent, he never had any intention of truly releasing his throne. He, like the Jedi, had been operating with information unknown to No One, making him look like an utter imbecile. His left fist clenched in silent rage.

"I say that you have finally gone senile in your old age," No One straightened himself, his long flowing black hair hung delicately by his side.

"What half thought out, hair-brained scheme is this? If you truly knew of the plot of the Jedi, there are about a dozen other potential strategies you could have employed rather than allowing yourself and your government to be captured. Fracturing the Jedi, sending them across the empire, gradually weakening their structure, perhaps even employing a man such as this..." he gestured to the so-called former Dark Lord "to assassinate Ductavis, creating a rallying point for you to freely restructure the Jedi in service to the Empire... endless options..."

His fist loosened as he then pointed a finger toward the Emperor.

"But you chose instead to allow the collapse of your government, allow chaos to spread across the Empire, lead ineffectually in that time frame leading to an overall decline in the Empire's strength, knowing full well of the threat of the Sith and Shadow Empires and thought it the best plan to rely on this unknown, unvetted ragtag team whose loyalty has a giant question mark attached to it... you truly, honestly thought this the best option?"

His sky blue eyes hardened as he watched the Emperor.

"You speak of hypocritical Jedi and ruthless Shadow Sith, while none are more hypocritical and ruthless than you," he gestured to the two choking princes, the sons of the Emperor.

"Yes you truly do wish to build the perfect future for our children, don't you?" he spoke venomously, underlying the inherent hypocrisy of the Emperor.

Nin for his part did not know what to say or to think. Taking several steps back from the furious man. He was deeply unnerved by the choking Sons. His eyes hardened, he would have no part of someone that treated his own children as such.

"Stop that!" he commanded, igniting his blade in an instant, reading to strike at the Dark Lord if he did not.

TAG: @Sinrebirth @greyjedi125, @darthbernael, @Mitth_Fisto, @Jerjerrod-Lennox, @CosmoHender

 

IC: Janus Jerjerrod
Location: Ghost Prison

They were an eclectic bunch that was for sure. Someone had collapsed already, Janus thought Antillies would be the first to go, but no.

Then somebody appeared which he did not expect…the Emperor himself. And oh look, the Princes had come as well.

The Princes got a telling off which was well deserved but it seemed he had to do a deal with the devil to strike back at the rebellion.

The Sith he would have no problem eliminating. The Jedi however deserved to rot in a jail cell, right here. He couldn't kill the Jedi Lady of his own house, killing a member of his own family.

She deserved though to stay in a cell whilst he brought the Jerjerrod name back into the light.

It seemed though that he would have to bring the Admiralty back into line. But with no ship at present that task would not be easy. If he could get the Electrostar back it would be a good start.

Whether he could get the other Admirals back on side was another question. And to have dark siders and light siders working together? These were indeed strange times.

If they had a plan in mind, where would he be sent? He seriously hoped it would not be against his Jedi Lady family member.

Someone went off on one, the collapsed man had come back to life and was ranting away. One of the others ignited his blade and told someone to stop choking the Princes.

"Well this is going well already" Janus remarked to Antollies "I will admit, if the plan was like the Emperor said then tactically he has made a mistake".

"However if there is a chance to strike back, we should take it, to see the glory of the Empire restored".

He shot a look at the ranting man "Are you done? If you want to start squabbiling like I have heard the Princes do then be my guest. You will be just as bad as they are".

"As for me, I prefer actions rather than words. And the Jedi and Sith have made a very costly mistake, it is time to rectify it. But if I get any whiff of the Sith betraying us, I will have no hesitation in killing you".

"I, Admiral Janus Jerjerrod of the Twelfth Fleet, commander of the Centurion Star Destroyer Electrostar have served. And I will be of service".

"But to do anything, I will need my ship back if I am to rescue the Admiralty".

TAG: @Sinrebirth , @Shadowsun , @Mitth_Fisto , @greyjedi125 , @CosmoHender , @darthbernael

 

OOC: Action granted GM permission

IC: No One

No One tilted his head towards the Admiral. He gave an audible scoff, he loathed admirals for this very reason. Ignorant and power-hungry. Unable to see the bigger picture or grasp truly what was being stated.

With a flick of his wrist, he held it up to Force choke the Admiral, his neck growing tighter as he would struggle to breathe.

"Such conviction, but I see that you like the Emperor here are embroiled in delusion..." his voice was calm, cutting, venomous. "... though at least his is born of a place of power. You are no admiral, no longer... you are but a man. A foolish rube that thinks they can somehow make good on a threat to kill the Emperor and the Sith."

His eyes grew cold, his face and voice dispassionate.

"You speak as if you have some kind of bargaining power, but you have nothing, nothing and you are so blind that you cannot see how pitifully worthless you are, and that the Emperor speaks in lies and hypocrisy, you so utterly willing to travel down a road that will lead you only into chaos... and you do not even take a moment to consider it... the only power you will ever wield is that which the Emperor gifts unto you," he paused for a moment.

"Use your head for one moment before selling your soul away,"

He released his hand, allowing the man to breathe again. No One was utterly disgusted by the naivety of the once Admiral as he then came to view the Emperor. He hoped that the others were not as foolish as this powerless rube.

TAG: @Sinrebirth @greyjedi125, @darthbernael, @Mitth_Fisto, @Jerjerrod-Lennox, @CosmoHender

 

IC: Akuma-Oni
A second chance?

Inwardly, he had to admit it. He did not believe there was much left in his lifetime that could impress him, or surprise him. Apparently, he was wrong.

The Emperor had managed a worthy strategic feat. Through cunning, he was able to have his secret enemies reveal themselves and show their hand. Through careful planning and stratagem, he had gathered a legion of forces loyal to him to this place and turned a Prison into a Bastion. And now, he sought an allegiance from seemingly fringe elements, united under a single banner, against the hypocritical Jedi Lords and back stabbing Shadow Sith.

Akuma-Oni found himself stirred by the Emperor’s words and by the very fact that he had moved in the shadows, allied himself with Ajunta Pall, then orchestrated this very moment.

Yes. He had to admit it- it was simply brilliant.

As it were, not everyone seemed to share in this opinion.

The 'Unknown man' that had appeared to be dying, suddenly revived with demonstrable vitality, as he got up and began to berate the Emperor in everyone’s presence. Inside his helmet, Akuma-Oni raised a querying eyebrow. This man had revived in vain, as he clearly had a death wish. However, from his tone, mannerism and attire, Akuma-Oni could only conclude that this man was known by the Emperor on a personal level. There could be no other reason for that level of imprudence, unless he was plain suicidal.

As he listened to the man’s rant, Akuma could understand where this man’s objections originated from, but ultimately they could change nothing. In his mind, the present focus should be on what was next, 'going forward', not what was, unchangeable, and in the past. The Emperor was gracious, for allowing him to unburden himself as he did.

Meanwhile, Nin appeared to take pity on the two princes as they choked and thrashed on the floor. Indeed, it was a ‘sorry sight’, yet the neutral one’s reaction was surprising. Bravely- or foolishly, he confronted the Sith Dark Lord by igniting his blade as he shouted a command.

Akuma-Oni did not quite understand Nin’s motivation.

Was the Emperor teaching his ‘children’ a lesson? Would he really allow someone to execute his two son’s in such a manner? It was all very intriguing, but now Nin had involved himself, for better or for worse. Not so ‘neutral’ after all it seemed. It would be a curious thing, to see how that scene resolve itself.

Another choking sound drew Akuma’s attention. This time it was the Unknown man ‘force choking’ the Military Admiral. It would appear that the Unknown man had taken exception with something the Admiral had said, and was now driving home a point regarding ‘position’ and ‘power’.

For one attired as a diplomat, why not simply speak one’s objection? Why employ the Force in a demonstration? An interesting thought ran through the warrior’s mind. The Unknown man’s message was not only for the Admiral, but for anyone else who may mistakenly see him as ‘weak’. He was showcasing a modicum of his ‘position’ and ‘power’, demonstrating his 'relative strength'. He was declaring that he was NOT a ‘rube’.

Intriguing.

Akuma wondered if the Unknown man understood that the ‘Admiral’ would be useful to the Emperor and was likely here thanks to the Emperor’s careful planning. In attacking him, he was likely setting himself against the Emperor and his assets. If he disagreed, it would probably be healthier to take a different approach. Akuma-Oni glanced at the legion of soldiers, before glancing back, noting that the ‘Admiral’ was now back on the ground and standing on his own feet, though he would be nursing a sore neck for sometime.

Very curious, indeed.

Akuma-Oni turned his head, seeking the one he had recognized moments ago. The white haired Force-user, the sephi. A nod of acknowledgement is offered, even as the dark warrior takes several steps to stand distinctly on the side of the Emperor and the Dark Lord Ajunta Pall.

He needed no words, for his actions spoke for him. Inwardly, he was also pleased to see K4-ZU relieved of his restraining bolt. It would please him to fight alongside the Combat Droid once again if the fates allowed it. In truth, the twelve of them needed to make a choice if their insurrection was going to succeed. Akuma-Oni had already decided that he would much rather take any opportunity to fight against the hypocritical Jedi Lords, than to rot in some cell. Besides, he still had a score to settle with Jedi Master Tedryn.

From within his mask, his eyes flickered to each one who needed to make a decision. In his mind, he predicted that not all of them would join with the Emperor, as he wondered if he guessed correctly as to who those individuals might be. That man in the back - he looked quite uncomfortable standing among them.

Lastly, his gaze fell on the unopened thirteenth container, as he wondered what did it portend.


Tag: @Shadowsun, @Sinrebirth, @darthbernael, @Mitth_Fisto, @Jerjerrod-Lennox, @CosmoHender.

 

IC: Marcus Dren

Ghost Prison

This was an... unexpected development, to say the least.

He didn't trust Ajunta Pall and in any other case he would want nothing to do with whatever he planned... but the involvement of the Emperor changed things.

Marcus still considered both Pall and the Emperor his enemies, but they were lesser enemies than the Jedi Lords and especially the Shadow Sith. Honestly, everyone here was still his enemy and Marcus knew better than to completely trust any of them. They had not earned it.

But he also knew that working with them was his best chance of seeing Aura again, a much better chance than if Pall hadn't been working with the Emperor. Of course, Marcus didn't buy Pall's talk of creating a better galaxy where the Dark and the Light could both co-exist. But that didn't matter.

Marcus sighed. "Alright, I'm in," he confirmed.

TAGS: @Sinrebirth @darthbernael @Jerjerrod-Lennox @Mitth_Fisto @greyjedi125 @Shadowsun

 

IC: Janus Jerjerrod
Location: Ghost Prison

The man who had collapsed earlier started ranting again after Janus had finished. Was that man ever going to stop?

The armoured chap didn't respond much to the offer. The one named Maldael whom he was supposed to meet on board the Sentinel seemed not to make a decision either. One of the other chaps did, he was in too.

The Emperor managed to make what was a thinly veiled threat. Janus did not have to worry about Antilles's loyalty for now. He would stay with Janus as they would both need to command Electrostar or whatever they were temporarily given.

But there was a slight wrinkle. It seemed he would be under the command of the Dark Lord, not the Emperor. He and Antilles would be with the armoured chap and a droid. That seemed better.

Another wrinkle…his group would be tackling the Jedi Lords. Which meant potentially facing off against his family member. And Ice Man Veers. He'd rather be handling the Sith but the Admirals needed waking up.

Now it was time to go to work, save the Empire, gather the fleets back together and focus on what they should have been doing instead of infighting. Protecting their citizens from the Sith threat.

He headed off to hopefully start to plan, Antillies was hopefully coming too.

The hunt was on.

TAG: @Sinrebirth , @greyjedi125 , @Shadowsun , @Mitth_Fisto , @CosmoHender , @darthbernael

 

IC: No One

The man's blue eyes seemed to lose their luster as his hand dropped by his side. It would seem, that many of them, had missed the point he had raised. His point was perhaps undermined by his inflection of disgust and anger caused by the admiral. It was not a point he would bother repeating.

No One was generally speaking having a very poor day. It was no surprise he would be irritated by this course of events. Sheev spoke of a 'true sith' one of only two, he went on to speak on Ends of Time, of apocalyptic eventualities, and speaking of their shard past. The Regent gave a soft sigh, taking a seat on the surface below them. His knee raised up, his arm drooping over them, his eyes growing into the distant.

He was at a bit of a loss as to what to do in this moment. The first time he had not known what to do in centuries. He did feel a pang of guilt as the Emperor called him 'his friend'. If things had gone as the Regent had desired, the Emperor and the Princes would be dead. Perhaps it was thrown out merely to test No One.

But now... what cozy up to the Emperor again and wait for the circumstances had aligned as they had done before? No, the Emperor, like the Jedi, had outplayed him. The Emperor no doubt was suspicious of him... he would not be able to outplay, he had only gotten as far as he had because the Emperor had allowed him to.

He was no better than the Admiral really.

And that was perhaps why No One was so disgusted.

No One had nothing to say... nothing he wanted to say. He arose, hands clasped behind his back as he faced in the opposite direction of the Emperor. His face was placid as he inspected the pod he had come in.

Time... that was the only advantage he had in this moment. He had time.

TAG: @Mitth_Fisto, @Jerjerrod-Lennox, @darthbernael, @greyjedi125, @Sinrebirth , @CosmoHender

 

IC: K4-ZU-P8489 or Kazu
All About Revelations

The day of emergence from the crates was quickly a thing of memories. Kazu did not partake, not even initially as this unit's restraining bolt was removed. This unit was processing the revelations of The Emperor's presence on the potential command hierarchy. The misguided female slave was not visualized at this time. This unit's own ability to be it's own Master were nominal at best. With the Emperor present command and control subroutines that were hardwired into this unit were being activated. There could only ever be one Master. The Maker was not that Master, Solu was not that Master, and nor any meat bags.

Ignoring the one that had confided in him unless it caused questions, questions this unit would be required to answer. It booted up it's systems. Lights blinked and came online. Standing straight as the final diagnostics were run it simply turned toward the Emperor. "By your command." it stated before turning on its heel to march in the indicated direction.

Others fell in behind them. Four per lower member of this units new squad. This would test the limits of this units programming. It was sure of it.

TAG: @Jerjerrod-Lennox, @darthbernael, @greyjedi125, @Sinrebirth , @CosmoHender , @Shadowsun ,

 

IC: Akuma-Oni
Moving Forward

The interplay between the Emperor and the Dark Lord was revealing in many ways, which pleased the armored warrior. There were differences of opinions, of course, but also agreements. 'Order' was what kept the universe intact. The only way any of them could move forward, or wrest success from the Jedi Lords, would be through their agreements, whether short term or long term. Otherwise, anything they attempted was doomed to failure before they even began.

Akuma-Oni almost chuckled at the mention of ‘execution warrants’ and did wonder who would be the first one to suffer such a fate. He counted himself among the probable recipients, but resolved not to place himself in that position.

As needed, the building internecine conflicts were dispelled, at least for the moment, before a semblance of order was restored.

“Incentivize them” The Dark Lord declared. The dark warrior nodded to himself in silent agreement, before hearing words that would energize his spirit. Ajunta Pall gestured to them, himself, Kazu, a Captain and an Admiral.

“We shall hunt Jedi Lords and thus free Admirals and Senators. Come with me.”

The armored warrior did not have to be told twice. Inside his helmet, a small smirk blossomed upon his lips, his eyes glinted with intent. There was a plan after all. Good, very good indeed.

Akuma-Oni had no issues accepting that his path branched-off from that of the white haired sephi and Nin. Their paths would cross again, should the fates arrange for it. As a warrior, he was now tasked with hunting down their Jedi enemies, the very same that crushed them at the Battle of Corbos. For Akuma- Oni, there was no greater incentive.

As they found their respective places, Akuma-Oni could not help but hear the words of the Emperor as he addressed the others. The warrior felt a current of energy in the force as he turned to witness what was to come next.

Akuma shook slightly as he felt a jolt in his mind, as the name Ku’ar Danar was spoken. He could feel that the Emperor had spoken true, that this was indeed the ‘Daritha of Dread’, the one responsible for the ‘End of Time’, but his mind, despite feeling as if it had been set afire for a single moment, brought no ‘clarity’. The empty space, the void in his memory, refused to be unlocked.

His only conclusion at the revelation was that the Jedi Lords would be defeated-and that battle would be glorious, but at what cost? he did not know- he could not imagine. To him, One Hundred Years of Darkness was much preferable than rotting in some Jedi prison.

“If it means ending the reign of the Jedi, then wake him.”

Akuma-Oni’s helmeted visage swiveled about, regarding the others to see who would agree or disagree with such an action.


Tag: @Sinrebirth, @darthbernael, @Shadowsun, @Mitth_Fisto, @Jerjerrod-Lennox, @CosmoHender