“To sleep, perchance to dream – ay, there’s the rub” [First Order Dominion of Vassek]

[Kriel Firin]

8 + 10 of 20

Fish and ponds, Kriel reflected. Back on Bespon he was a decent sized fish in a reasonable sized pond. He'd started out in a puddle and worked his way up, as soon as he was the biggest fish, he looked for a bigger pond. Here and now he was a minnow in an ocean. There was no room to grow gradually and work his way up - he needed to swim with the Sharks and hope he didn't get eaten on the way.

This was a lesson to him and he accepted it as such. There was a gulf between him and his Master and he knew it. But he wasn't daunted by it, or even upset by it. Instead he saw it as an opportunity, one he would sense with both hands. So he nodded as his Master spoke. His destiny was to rule, not to rest. Dissero was his own man and Kriel was his. His accumulation of power was not to allow a comfortable life - he already had that. No, his intention was to become as powerful as he could and exert his will on as many people as he could, all in the name of the Supreme Leader.

"As you wish Master," he said, closing his eyes to meditate and reflect. "I shall be ready."

[member="Greifen Ren"]

 

[Elaine Thul]

10/20
Objective: 2
Allies: None yet
Enemy: [member="OK-3103"] [member="Miles Cormin"] [member="Larry Cheswa"] [member="Daxar Maverick"] [member="Colrenth Renfrew"] [member="Ludolf Vaas"] [member="Cameron Centurion"] and the first order and the one sith allies
Equipment
3 Howlers Spiked and destroyed
5 Reapers on tripods spiked and destroyed
0/120 regular infantry, with infantry armour, and infantry blaster + auxiliary grenades various see sig 120 dead/injured/load onto ships
0/36 scout infantry light armour and carbines 36 dead/injured/injured/load onto ships

She had sound the retreat as she saw sith lord drop in, she was unsure how but that was it. They would be running up against her soon enough, though know he was between her and her escape route. As her men began to flee on to the troop carriers, she began to force run hoping to get past him. She did not want to die on this sith ridden planet, it was always a rescue operation, not death or glory mission. As she ran hoping to get past him, she sent bolt lighting at him. She hoped to slow him down, so she could get as many of her men of this rock, before the rest of the first order catch up to her and her men........

 

[Verie Lacroix]

Verie's dark eyes followed [member="Dissero"]'s path back to the lab, looking up from the monitor just as her lover entered the doorway. She felt an overwhelming desire to clean and sterilize. The castle had been invaded as sure as an army had marched through, even if they had rung the doorbell. She was gratified when Mero echoed her concerns -- more than echoed them, in fact.

"Do you think they mean to interfere with us?" she asked him anxiously, resting a hand protectively over her abdomen. Despite not having an overwhelmingly strong maternal instinct, she still didn't like the idea of this jumped-up group of fascists influencing her family.

Verie drew her legs up and hugged them to her chest, then rested her chin on one of her knees. "I don't know where to go. It seems like anywhere in the galaxy is liable to be a target for one of these... well. Clubs," she finished disdainfully. "What do you think?"

 

[Dissero]

"No," there was confidence to his answer but not of the same stuff he usually spoke with when he was absolutely certain, "I don't think they'll be an issue."

He had his doubts. He has his misgivings with what the Knights of Ren stood for and what they represented. Fascist regime to the core, it was likely that those men disagreed with his present lifestyle so deeply as to resent him, to hate him. Wasted talent, power, and knowledge all in a convenient Force Master package. He sniffed dejectedly at the thought.

He'd earned his retirement so far as he was concerned.

"But I am feeling freshly motivated to relocate," he lofted a brow as [member="Verie Lacroix"] voiced her concerns, the very same he'd been aware of since they'd first decided to find a new home. He could only offer a shrug, "It's an unfortunate truth. We'll just have to pick some place with a club that we're reasonably OK living with. Isn't that right Mahet?"

The Noghri stared at him thinly and folded his arms, "I hear Honoghr is quite bereft of ...clubss."

"You don't say," Dissero rattled his empty tea mug, smirking despite himself, "Just the Honoghran Assassin's Guild and the local Hutt Cartel. No big deal," he winked to Verie, "hungry? Let's get some eats going. We can pull up the galaxy map over brek."

 

[Cameron Centurion]

Silver-green eyes immediately snapped in the direction of an impending attack that the Master of Ren sensed. Just as the errant bolt of raw energy lanced out at Cameron, a thin smile touched his lips. Tilting his head, Cameron watched as the moderate torrent of energy contacted with an invisible barrier of energy that the Sith Lord had only just raised.

In the fleeting moments of the attack, Cameron mused on why an obvious dark sider was here attempting to fight against the First Order. Could it have been a member of some other sect on the planet? He doubted it...why go through the protracted process of digging in only to flee? As it stood, Cameron had much more pressing concerns in the system than the action of one retreating individual and her equally overrun forces.

Watching as the Dark Jedi continued to move in the direction of her vessel, the Sith Lord decided that the operation here was sufficiently in hand to be concluded without his...participation. Clenching his fists together briefly, Cameron's mind went to a place that he had visited countless times before. As his presence expanded, he groped earth and space for the familiar sensation...an existence, family.

Fortunately for Cameron, the presence of his chosen mate was like a brilliant beacon that he could feel from across the galaxy it seemed. The presence of [member="Dissero"] was...different but similar. The focus of the Sith Lord's entire strength was siphoned off for one event, one action. As the relativity of space and time distorted around him, Ciardha Ren forced out a steady exhale and closed his eyes. A loud popping sound radiated across the area of Thul's encampment as swirls of dark blue and gray disappeared.

In the next instant, a similar scene occurred just outside the estate of Merovign Shamalain but well inside the typical sphere of protection provided by Faenrovon. Collapsing down to a knee, Cameron coughed up a spat of blood. While he had honed his talents over countless years, there was always a great deal of risk involved. Over short distances, the effort was almost benign. However, when it came to practically moving between worlds, it was deadly...even when they were ultimately in sight of one another.

Once he'd managed to compose himself, Lord Ashmedai came to his feet and straightened his cloak. Pulling back the hood, he rapped his fist on the door loudly, twice.

As he...always did.

 

[Verie Lacroix]

Verie frowned thoughtfully at [member="Dissero"], her dark eyes tracing his face for a moment. "I've always hated jackboots," she murmured absentmindedly, almost as if she was speaking to herself. "I think it's something to do with my mother. She went through a phase, you know, where it was all pantsuits and patent leather." She nearly gagged at the mere memory of all the polish required for the servants to keep the boots shiny. After a moment of staring, nose-wrinkled, at and through Mero, she shook her head clear. "Yikes."

"We can't give up the castle, surely," Verie said in response to his remark about relocating. She unfolded herself from the chair and stood up. "These people will no doubt fizzle out eventually. Perhaps we can just... you know, cover the furniture in canvas and let a place somewhere."

She followed him into the hall, but looked up as there was a peculiar sensation in the Force. "Breakfast," she agreed distractedly. A moment later there was a pair of knocks on the door. Verie glanced up at [member="Dissero"] and said, "You go. I'll get the kettle on." She took his mug and smiled. "And... cats in the basket."

[member="Cameron Centurion"]

 

[Dissero]

How odd she could be at times. Jackboots? What on earth was she even talking about? Clearly he'd been rather oblivious for most of his youth to anything that wasn't concentric to himself. Such were the ways of a young Prince...

"Oh, I never intended to abandon the place completely. Cerita has herself well enough established here and ... let's face it," he lifted a hand to itch at the back of his head, "relocating Faenrovon with us was never on the agenda." There were just some things one didn't bring with them from their bachelor pad; an ancient Arkanian dragon was one of them. He smiled dolefully, a hint of growing mischief somewhere in between his brow and his beard. So the castle had grown on her after all. The man blinked as he, too, felt the strange fluctuation on the Force. A familiar one that presently eluded his identification.

Knock knock.

Something about the strong-armed resolute nature of that knock screamed Sith Lord. Dissero threw a curious glance over his shoulder, a moment later she pilfered his mug.

Cats in a basket. His smile broadened and his stomach growled.

"Egg-cellent," a smirk now, a snigger, "might need another plate. Or two. Maybe our guests changed their minds about breakfast."

Waffles. He thought ruefully as he hurried off for the door, bathrobe flapping in the air.


~~~

"Cameron?" Dissero blinked furiously at the tall black man standing at his door. A few years ago this might've been cause for alarm. Today it only garnered inappropriate racist jokes at the benevolent expense of his brother-in-law.

"Hey buddy," the man cracked a grin, noting the beads of perspiration on the Sith Lord's brow and the dissipating essence of the Nether rolling off his chiseled physique in plumes of arcane smoke, "you're like Darkside Origami with all those Folds. Come on in, Ve's making Cat in a Basket for breakfast."

[member="Verie Lacroix"] [member="Cameron Centurion"]

 

[Cameron Centurion]

Silver-green eyes gazed down only slightly to meet the familiar blue of [member="Dissero"]. A bathrobe and witty remarks. No doubt Merovign's previous guests had upset the man's daily regimen of the quiet family life. For a moment, the Sith Lord thought he might fall into a brief wistful moment for a life that he, honestly, had never known. Almost as quickly as the sensation had threatened to surface, it simmered into nothing. Though he did love Esmae with all of his heart, he knew that the stars would call to him eventually.

Or he might just drive her insane with incessant do-it-yourself projects and thinning out the wildlife population around their home on Borleias.

A genuine small pulled at the corners of Cameron's lips with a brief laugh before he replied to Mero. "Hey man, sorry to show up like this unannounced. Though..." The Sith Lord feigned a brief thoughtful expression as he stepped inside the dwelling. "...if Verie is in the process of making breakfast, I feel like my timing is basically impeccable." This way he could say hello to his sister-in-law before he devoured an abundance of her food. Really it was just the polite thing to do.

As he stepped inside, a brief wave of dizziness hit the Sith Lord. Reaching a strong hand out to the wall, Cameron steadied himself briefly as his gaze flickered back over to Dissero. "It's the simple things that become difficult when you get old, Merovign." Returning back to his full height, Cameron cracked his neck slightly. "Noted you had some guests today. You two are alright, yeah?"

In the past, Cameron's typical way of showing any amount of concern was to make a very objective statement about the fact that things seemed to be in order. If they were not, he simply acted, but the well-being of another was never truly on his mind. It had been years since Cameron could really say that about those he was close to. Freaking Esmae's inner-healer was slowly starting to work its way into the cracks of his otherwise ice-encrusted soul.

The warming of his heart made it possible.

[member="Verie Lacroix"]

 

[Dissero]

"I dunno, the simple things have always given me trouble. Let's hope it's not degenerative..." or he was really SOL.

"We did... and we're fine, I think," a stray, curious glance, "the fact that you know disturbs me a little. Did you just happen to be passing through?"

It occurred to him that perhaps his sister had put the man up to the task of keeping an eye on him, and if that were the case he'd have to be having a chat with Amo, but he liked to think she had enough faith in his capabilities to at least forewarn him about this kind of stuff. Not that he minded having an extra set of eyes, but paranoid people would always be paranoid. They usually had their reasons.

"No need for two extra plates, Ve," he said as they arrived in the kitchen, "just one big one."

[member="Cameron Centurion"] [member="Verie Lacroix"]

 

[Verie Lacroix]

Verie had not known how many plates to set to begin with. Two, one for her and one for [member="Dissero"]. And she usually set a plate aside for Mahet, though she was never sure whether he would eat. And what of Mero's apprentice? Mahet, she had gotten used to; it was easy because of how stealthy he was. But having the apprentice there made her feel uneasy in some way. She spent a moment nibbling her thumbnail, then decided to serve buffet style, that way whoever was coming could just take a plate. And so she pulled out all eight of everyday plates and set them on the counter.

She cooked on the electric griddle, so she would have space enough to make everything at once. She used the cat-face shaped cookie-cutter to prep the bread (twelve slices), buttered them, and cracked a dozen eggs. "I'm afraid we only have one size of plate," She tied an apron around her middle before setting the bacon in the skillet, then turned as Dissero and his guest entered. She looked surprised at first, surprised and taken aback, then remembered to smile. "Cameron -- how delightful to see you." Verie spread her hands to indicate that they were too messy to touch him. "And a surprise. What brings you all the way out here?"

[member="Cameron Centurion"]

 

[Cameron Centurion]

Cameron allowed a subtle smirk to touch his lips as he casually rested his left hand on the leather-bound hilt of his Sith Sword. "Knowing your genetic makeup as I do...I think you'll be fine." Once upon a time, the Sith Lord thought it a bit awkward, his seemingly continuous involvement with the Shamalain family. The Corstris native hadn't much been concerned about it in some time though...even a recent visit with [member="Quietus"] had not actually stirred his soul more than he'd expected. There certainly was a time though...

[member="Dissero"]'s question about his awareness of recent events snapped the Master of Ren back into the present. "Disturbs you?" As he continued to follow his younger brother-in-law, Cameron's face went from intrigued to knowing. "Ah. Well, never fear, I'm not here to spy or babysit. Not you and Verie, at least." In truth, he'd told Amorella nothing about the First Order's plans to visit Vassek for quite a specific reason. While the Heart of Inari was by no means a weak individual, he did know that some part of her would be concerned. Her acceptance of his own nature was one thing...but placing that trust in an entire organization was not supremely likely, particularly where family was concerned.

Oh. And there was the baby. Let's be serious...the baby would have been a primary fuel to her concern.

"Esmae does not even know that I am here. The two that visited you. They represent a somewhat new group of dark siders known as the Knights of Ren. It's a long, typical story about some individual creating an Order in their own image because they just couldn't fit in somewhere else." Really - that was the life story of just about every major government leader in the galaxy. For Cameron it had always been about the challenge, the intrigue...never the need to stroke his own ego. "An entity of the First Order. You could say that I am something of an authority figure among them, though I give few orders. For now, I exist merely to keep them...in check, productive. You need not be concerned with their intentions for Vassek, but you are right to have...reservations." Cameron lowered his voice slightly as they neared the kitchen. "Vassek stands rather close to the western front of the Galactic Alliance. Intelligence reports indicate they intend to make a bold move to sweep into the adjoining sector. If they elect to continue their push west, they will inevitably end up here...bringing with them all the might and destruction of bloated freedom fighters hoping to secure liberty with death."

In truth, Cameron liked the Galactic Alliance. They made it so easy to spin their would-be benevolent platform into one of idiocy and deadly, sweeping military action. The First Order wasn't even quite so...obviously callous.

As they turned the corner, Ashmedai's silver-green eyes settled upon the form of [member="Verie Lacroix"], daughter of a woman that Cameron had never much interacted with. When Verie extended her hands to indicate they were too messy to touch him, the large Sith allowed a mischievous smirk to touch his lips. It was his tell ten times out of ten. Several long strides and Cameron wrapped Verie into a gentle embrace and deposited a soft kiss to her cheek as yet another surprising show of warmth. Stepping back slightly with his hands on her shoulders, he winked playfully. "Why - I can't just drop in on good friends on a random morning?"

Hah. Not his style.

An easy smile settled onto his face as he took a couple steps back. "I was supervising a Disciple elsewhere on Vassek. I figured I would make a visit after I was informed one of my...associates had taken it upon themselves to reach out to the inhabitants of this historical location." Cameron would have preferred not to involve them at all, but this was a military campaign that had been planned outside the scope of his concern, and he certainly let on no details of his familial connections in the system. The young Knight of Ren that had visited them had, actually, done so out of respect. It was a smart decision, so he did not fault the man for it.

Shifting his gaze equally between Dissero and Verie, Cameron shrugged his shoulders slightly. That was the galaxy they lived in, no place safe from war it would seem. "Shame it takes that for me to come visit, I apologize for the reality. What little free time I seem to have these days, I try to spend on the other side of the galaxy with Esmae." Clapping his hands together, Cameron rubbed them slightly before allowing his eyes to drift to Verie's stomach. "So! How is my very favorite Shamalain doing?"

 

[Verie Lacroix]

Verie tried valiantly to squeeze [member="Cameron Centurion"] with her elbows, which were clean, and returned his friendly cheek-kiss. "Of course you can," Verie said coyly. "But that doesn't mean that you did. Let me go and I'll get you something to eat." She looked over at [member="Dissero"] and walked over to wash her hands clean in the kitchen sink, but stopped short at the mention of his very favorite Shamalain. "I won't tell if you won't. Everything is going fine, or so the medical people tell me. Nothing abnormal, nothing to be alarmed about -- except, possibly, the combination of any portion of Avadreia Lacroix and Lorelei Darke's genetics. But that's more of the galaxy's problem than ours."

She picked up the kettle and headed back to the sink. "Coffee or tea?" she asked over her shoulder as she filled the kettle for Mero's tea.

As she continued to bustle around the kitchen (putting the kettle on, flipping the coffee maker's power switch, flipping the cats-in-baskets and bacon), Verie listened to Cameron's explanation. Something about the way he spoke made her feel uneasy. "Why does that not reassure me?" she asked. "What is the First Order's interest in this system, anyway? Or is this just another mountain to be climbed because it's there?"

 

[Dissero]

"Allow me," Mahet said, quietly slipping into the kitchen and taking the tea kettle off her hands. He was usually the one to make the tea anyways, but he was also less concerned with getting in Verie's way than Dissero. The Noghri glanced to the Archivist for a beat, getting a nod in response and then moved to produce the required ingredients for tea-crafting.

Dissero stood out of the way where he was the most help to Verie, as he had come to learn, smiling easily at the back and forth between his mate and brother-in-law.

"I won't tell if you won't. Everything is going fine, or so the medical people tell me. Nothing abnormal, nothing to be alarmed about -- except, possibly, the combination of any portion of Avadreia Lacroix and Lorelei Darke's genetics. But that's more of the galaxy's problem than ours."

He made a noise at the last part, something between a laugh and a hiccup. He tried not to think about the fact that Avadreia and Lorelei were part of the equation that would be his first child...or any child thereafter, really. He was grateful for the change of topic.

"Strategic location for them, from the sounds of it," Dissero interjected quietly with a glance to Cameron, "far as my knowledge of Vassek goes, it doesn't serve much more purpose than that. Our visitors were respectable enough, but they seemed keen on ... recruiting me to their cause. Fairly certain the idea of retirement didn't sit well with them, but it seemed a better response than what I really wanted to say."

He rubbed at his beard thoughtfully, "Curious bunch for you to end up with after Moross. The two ideals are a bit...at odds with each other, not that I'm complaining. Knowing you're part of it will help me sleep better at night."

[member="Cameron Centurion"]

 

[Cameron Centurion]

Cameron's smile lingered at [member="Verie Lacroix"]'s comment about her unborn child's genetics. "Oh I don't know. Avadreia and Lorelei can be charming when you get to know them." Truth be told, Cameron knew Avadreia rather little. The same could have been said about Lorelei, but that was a tunnel of thought the Sith Lord didn't particularly need to travel down any further.

Raising a simple hand in response to Verie's offer for a drink, Cameron shook his head slightly. "I'm fine, thank you Verie." As the conversation shifted more towards Cameron's actual purpose for being in the system, Cameron's bright gaze drifted in the direction of Merovign. "Vassek is one of two systems that will ultimately establish an expansion of our eastern front. I expect whatever presence you do see in this system will be heavily military at first. Eventually...a more robust industry will have to be established to accommodate relocation of military families, things of that sort."

It was [member="Dissero"]'s final comment, however, that pulled a smile back to Cameron's lips. "I've served in a variety of different roles, many with competing ideals. Let's just say...the Supreme Leader's vision is not a polarizing aspect of my service to the First Order." The thin smile on the Sith Lord's lips slowly dissipated. "Patience is arguably the most difficult yet useful skill I've ever learned, Merovign."

Cameron didn't mean to sound quite that...foreboding. At this point in his life, it was probably an inevitable reality. Waving a dismissive hand, Cameron returned his attention to Verie.

OK, OK...

He turned his attention to the food that Verie was making. "Besides...the Crusade lives on so long as its believers remain in existence." The Sith Lord tossed a casual wink back in Dissero's direction before turning his head back towards Verie. "Seriously though. Maybe you have the right idea because...I feel like having home-cooked meals on a regular basis might be better than any adventure among the stars."

 

[Verie Lacroix]

"No, I said Avadreia Lacroix," she repeated, emphasizing her mother's last name as if there had been a case of mistaken identity. "It's a good thing she's dead or she might take issue with your assertion that she could be charming." As the conversation continued, Verie listened thoughtfully to [member="Cameron Centurion"]'s analysis, stealing cautious glances at [member="Dissero"] every so often. She did not welcome Centurion's presence with this band of thugs as much as Merovign did; she saw it as troubling. She kept her thoughts to herself, instead going to the range and flipping everything over. It was true that Verie's would-be in-laws were a mixed bunch, with some, she was sure, less savory than other. But there was something about the First Order that Verie found difficult to abide.

"I think you're over-estimating my culinary abilities," Verie said dryly and began shoveling the cats-in-baskets onto a platter. "But I suppose you're about to find out. Help yourselves, gentlemen." She gestured with the spatula and then went to the refrigerator and pulled out some fruit juice and assorted condiments. "Anything I can get for either of you?"

 

[Dissero]

Food on plate, plate in hand, Dissero took a seat at the table and took the first bite, "Hnn," ever so Princely, "it's perfect, thank you Ve."

Mahet joined them at the table, opting only for his mug of tea for now, the elder Noghri eyed [member="Cameron Centurion"] with a narrowed gaze, "Kefka informed me the Lady Mae attended a First Order Galla as your wife," he spoke of course of his son, the Noghri Assassin assigned as Amorella's body guard since the day she was born. Kefka had been a shadow of hers ever since, though less so after her marriage to Cameron in order to give the couple their privacy. "Considering her active moves to assist those across the galaxy, is it wise for them to know of your connection to the Eve Foundation's CEO when she could very well find herself assisting their enemies like the Galactic Alliance?"

Dissero paused over his meal, looking to Verie with a slight frown, "Hadn't thought of that..." the man said, reaching to take a drink, "wouldn't that make her a target?"

[member="Verie Lacroix"]