A Clockwork Galactic Response: Kuat

[Verz Horak]

The Mandalorian ships fought as long as they could, providing cover to the Jedi and Republic ships fleeing the area full of civilians from Kuat. They destroyed waves of Omni's ships, and critically damaged a number of large ships, and even managed to damage one of the massive droids that floated behind Omni's fleet. However, the planetary shield was weak, and Verz was not about to lose the ships he had with him. With a silent nod to the captain, the Mandalorian ships retreated, blasting away as they cleared Kuat's gravity well. The stars and debris vanished as the ships broke the lightspeed barrier, heading toward empty space for their return home.

 

[Ben Watts]

Once they made the jump, Ben felt a feeling of relief, but guilt began to creep in for feeling it. They had left behind much death and there was nothing they could do to help. It was an ambush, a slaughter, and many good people died when they shouldn't have died. Thoughts of how they were going to defeat a super A.I. started to creep into his head. It seemed to have the advantage at every turn and it showed no remorse in its merciless attacks. If this was a sign of things to come then this war was going to be a bloody one filled with countless lost lives. For a moment, Ben mourned, he mourned the lives of those lost at the war summit and he promised not to forget them. He could not forget them, their pleas of help and their fear radiated inside of Ben, even now after they had left the battlefield.

"Hope is never lost as long as there are men willing to fight." Ben chimed in to Darron as he spoke. They had escaped a sticky situation, but it was only the beginning, they were no closer to defeating the threat than they were when they went into the war summit. Now they had other problems to deal with, namely the two men who had come aboard their ship before they made the jump. A Moff and a Sith, two men who may have answers on what just went down, but in the back of his head he figured they were just as clueless as Ben was. "What do we do with our two visitors?" Ben asked, wanting to get right back to business, there was no longer any time to waste in such a dire situation. "Maybe they can help shed some light on the ambush? Anything, at this point, could be beneficial. Though I do not think they will take to our questions lightly."

 

[Rosa Gunn]

Rosa gave Darron a stubborn look. "With all due respect, Grandmaster, I couldn't go now, even if I wanted to, its too dangerous. Besides which I have a feeling there will be others that want to join us on this mission." she was of course referring to the sith, as disastrous as this was, there were still those who were not infected. I know you're not mad at me, and I was thinking of you as the Grandmaster. In case you haven't noticed, im not the only one who refuses to obey you when you tell them to leave you to your fate. She was referring to Jaxton specifically but she knew given the chance everyone would stand by him no matter what danger they faced.

She waited silently holding her breath as the jump was calculated. and as the stars streaked into lines across the view port she let out a long breath, and tentatively extended her empathy. She moved closer to Darron and slipped her hand in his, she could feel the despair around her and despite the fact that she was breaking all the rules she needed to feel him beneath her fingers just for a second, just for that moment of strength. She drew away and took a deep breath. "I'll go and brief my team and get a transport prepped." She moved away pausing at the bridge door looking back at Darron. The sith should join us on this mission, perhaps a message to Ashin wouldn't go a miss about now.

 

[Valik]

The Teferi, named after the late Grandmaster. Valik was on a ship named after his former emperor’s kill. How fitting that in his unpreparedness and weakness he was brought in a ship named after a man killed for his weakness. The thought made Valik sick.

“Hand over your weapons and proceed slowly. Do not touch anyone or any electronics.” One of the soldiers said. Probably just received orders. Valik merely laughed, then took out his lightsaber and his Imp blaster and threw them on the floor. A soldier came up and took his lightsaber and his blaster, while the other soldiers had their blasters aimed at him. After they retrieved his weapon one of the Jedi pushed him from behind to make him move him forward.

“Move Sith. You’re to be examined for infection.” The Jedi said in an angy tone. Valik followed his instructions, but merely laughed. “What are you laughing for?”

“I’ve counted three mistakes the Republic has made so far. You people have no idea what you’re all dealing with are you?” Valik said calmly and derogatorily. The Jedi was about to speak, but Valik spoke just soon enough to cut him off and fuel his rage. “If I was infected half of this ship would be by now too. Omni infects through nanites. You should have made me land in a quarantined box, and you shouldn’t have touched me or my equipment. Both could be coated in the infectious microdroids. Thankfully for you, I’m not working for Omni. But then again what can I expect from cowards who will not take their rightful place as ruler?” Valik said, referring to the Jedi’s status under the government instead of over it.

“Why you-“ The Jedi began, only to be interrupted once more.

“Now, now, now, you simply must watch that temper. Such strength would be unbecoming of someone of your stature.” Valik retorted before being punched in the nose. In truth, the blow was hard and painful, but the satisfaction of corrupting one of the Jedi sent to capture him was simply invigorating. Still, this one was too eager to play his part. There was no challenge in this one, no complex problem to be solved. Simply no sport in making him fall. Valik laughed at the thought. Not only did he find his situation and manipulation of the Jedi amusing, but it also annoyed the Jedi around him and instilled a sense of fear in the passengers. They knew his power. Finally they dropped him off in an interrogation cell to await . . . well, interrogation. Or whatever the Jedi thought interrogation was.

“You’re lucky I’m not the one to interrogate you Sith.” The Jedi who threw a punch at him said derogatorily. Valik merely kept quiet and stared at him, and began laughing as the Jedi turned to depart. Just because the galaxy was under siege by the Clockwork and Valik was trapped in the “Flagship of the Jedi” didn’t mean Valik couldn’t have a little fun.

 

[Soeht]

As more ships abandoned the Kuat system, the destruction and devastation continued. Despite most of the Republic and independent ships already gone by the time Darth Apparatus reached Kuat orbit, his close proximity to the battle would now allow the Sith Lord to enact quick changes in strategy for the Sith fleet in order to utterly crush Kuat.

As Flint and his ship lead the spearhead to assure the retreat of the Republic's ships, Darth Apparatus gave the command for the Omni-turned Sith forces to target his capital ship as soon as it would emerge from the shield. The Salvation-class Star Defender would have taken the bulk of the fire, thus endangering Flint and his own crew.

 

[Flint Pherson]

"Times up..."
"Then com Station Eleven. It's time to finish this."

Flint squinted hard against the view screen. The Mandalorian's seemed to desire to help. Sadly, they were gone just as fast.

"Signal sent. Shields come down in 5. Twenty seconds till reinforcements arrive."
"Understood. Aim to the left the robots flank. Let's lead their eyes away from the friendly warp point. ECM Cloud goes up. All ships! ...Prepared to move out. Keep formation and we'll all see tomorrow."

Maybe.

The Shield went down and Flint's armada of thousands upon thousands of Republic Ships came barreling away from the Planet. Not so much charging, as flanking. The Sith-Omni forces engaged the Salvation with mixed results. No other ship in the entire Republic Armada could take as much punishment as Flint's Flagship. And so it endured well at full speed, inside the ECM Cloud.

Ten seconds into their advance, the 2nd and 3rd Fleets warped out from Hyperspace. Their position was opposite that of the Republic Armada. Forming a Pincer with the Robots in the middle. They did not engage immediately as the ECM was still creating static for Computer Locks.

Kuat'y space was now home to the largest mass of Republic Warships since it's infancy. With nearly 35% of all Joint Fleet vessels engaged in active combat around only one world.

~ "Commander. We are closing to engage. Thanks for the invite." ~
"Welcome to the party Admiral. Skirt around them from your side and take some heat off. Keep it long distance. ...The Fleet and I are prepping for the jump now."

~ "Understood. We'll jump after you." ~
"Good girl. Let's hit these puppies and bug out. ...We've bought the locals as much time as we could."

~ "See you in the black..." ~
"...To see our enemies to hell."

Both Fleet Commander's smirked as they finished each other sentences. It was the last they'd smile for quite some time.

"Okay ladies! We've got their attention! Now let's bug out while the 2nd and 3rd hit them from the rear. ...Good work people. Let's get the hell out of here!"

Combat in Kuat'y space would continue for exactly 65 seconds. Dealing as much damage to the Robots as they could while fleeing. ...After that, the Republic Armada would jump to the Second Rendezvous point just outside the Corinth Asteroid Nebula.

This engagement was in it's closing chapter.

 

[Ben Watts]

@[member="Valik"]

Hearing that the Sith had been captured and was being transported was good news, Ben feared he would try and pull some trickery on them, but it went rather smoothly if the comm was of any good news. Ben decided he wanted to speak with him, see if he knew anything, he feared he would not give up information so easily. Ben was not a threatening man by any means, nor did he want to be, but he hoped that the man would at least cooperate with him a little bit. He did not get his hopes up, though, he was sure if the situation was reversed he would be being tortured for any type of information. Luckily for Ben, or unluckily depending on how you looked at it, he had been tortured many times before and he was used to it by now.
"I am going to see if I can find anything out," Ben spoke to Darron as the younger Jedi Knight spoke up against him. He was not fond at her inability to follow orders, despite her own misguided view of how things worked, but he was in no place to correct her. He could chime in and blow some smoke about how she is always required to follow orders no matter what she thought was right. "If you need me, you know where to find me." Ben nodded and went off on his own way. He knew where he was going and he would arrive soon enough.

Arriving at the holding cell, he was met by a few Republic guards and a Jedi, who was looking awfully satisfied with himself. "The scum is in there, he isn't going anywhere." Ben paused and looked at the Jedi, he could feel a bit of arrogance resounding around him, he was awfully pleased with himself at having a Sith on board. "You would be wise to get ahold of yourself, young Jedi, it is not a good thing that we have a Sith on board our ship. Trooper, fetch another Jedi to be on watch, we need someone who can control their emotions and not be played by a Sith." The Jedi went to protest, but Ben cut him off. "Do you really aim to argue with a Master of the Order?" Ben was firm, but not insulting, with his remark. The Jedi sunk his shoulders and the soldier ran off to find someone more suitable.

"Allow me in." Ben spoke to the man guarding the door who quickly put in the code and the door opened to reveal the young Sith. Ben casually strolled in, the door shutting behind him, and he looked the Sith over. He was trying to instil fear in the air around the room, but it was of no use, Ben was a devout follower of the lightside. Only the most powerful of Sith could break his will. "Impressive," Ben started as he walked over to a chair that was on the other side of the table that the Sith would be sitting at. "Five minutes aboard the Teferi and you have already invoked quite the angry response from one of our younger Jedi." He pulled the chair out and he sat down in it gently, placing his hands on the table, and scooting himself in. "I must ask that you discontinue your attempts at trying to invoke fear out of the people aboard this ship, though. As impressive as you believe your abilities to be, they will be of no use against me."

Ben allowed the man some time to mull the request over. They were always arrogant and refused, at first, but eventually he would realize it was futile and either comply or Ben would get nowhere. He did not have high hopes for this little gathering, though. "I hope you understand what is to happen from here. You are to be held captive until you face trial before the Republic for your association with the Sith, which as you may or may not know, is not something the Galactic Republic looks on lightly. This can go one of a few ways. You can comply with me and everything will run smoothly. Answer my questions, earn a little bit of my trust, and I will see to it that you are treated fairly as a prisoner of the Republic. Try anything fishy, be a general nuisance, and don't comply with me then I will not be able to help you." Ben spoke softly and tried to remain as friendly as possible in a situation like this. He sensed great evil within the Sith and he had the look of a man who would not give up anything without Ben forcing him to, which he would not do as it was not the Jedi way.

"Couple of things to start off. Why were you at the War Summit? You did not speak and you do not seem to be a higher ranking member of the Empire. I am curious as to how you received an invitation, because if I remember correctly, the only authorized Sith in attendance was Darth Appratus. This leads me to believe you either came with him and had an ulterior motive, or you are just a rebellious Sith who felt left out and wanted to be part of all of this. My second question is the obvious one, were you aware of Apparatus's infection by the droid Omni?"

 

[Viera Kisep]

Viera laughed as she ordered the ship to move to intercept the droids, She would save all she could... " All men on deck, Battle stations, We are at war, Men Full speed, " She laughed as her 500 Heavy turbo lasers batteries and 500 turbolaser batteries and 75 ion cannons rolled to life, The targeting algorithms began running and soon enough there were dead droid ships. Viera sent out a wide band comm " All ships get out I will cover you, repeat I will cover you!" She cursed her luck. being the only ship worth defending the rest with. Her ship moved into postion covering everyone's escape. " Come and get me omni! " She said as she watched her 40 squadrons of Ties came out, She would not let Omni win. She would purge the menace.
The turrets were spewing out, the complement of anti fighter ships began to take out anything too small surrouding the giant ship. At its size, the Soverign class dreadnaught was massive and a terrifying ship. She began ploting her escape.. she wasn't going down with her ship... but for now.. She watched as her computer was alive with hostiles, the shields were taking the damage just fine. She loved the fact that her ship could do this.. It just showed how much of a force the imperial remnant was.

 

[Omni]

As the second and third Republic fleet dropped out of hyperspace something about the Tycho's seemed to shift slightly. They halted their movements and the Serpahima round them seemed to settle in a protective cloud, only moving into a defensive stance. They did not move as they normally did, and suddenly something within the hull of the arms shifted. The missile tubes open and rearranged themselves shifting into a different form. The tubes opened, and a strange metallic sheen passed over them.

The Tycho's shifted once again turning themselves directly towards the Republic spearhead. Two of the massive arms faced the spearhead, along the entire length of them missiles tubes stood open, staring down at the flagship.

Seconds later a new wall of missiles erupted from all eighteen of the Tycho class cruisers. Proton torpedo's of massive size flew towards the Republic spearhead, circumventing Sith ships and being guided to the Republic. Some struck allied ships, tough most made it through unharmed. The Proton Torpedos flew towards the Republic spearhead, aiming to entirely tear apart the fleet.

As soon as the torpedos were away the Seraphim reformed into a massive bubble around the Tycho's. The Swarm of droids wrapped themselves around the missile ships, shielding them from the oncoming turbolaser fire from the 2nd and 4rd fleet.

 

[Valik]

@[member="Ben Watts"]

Valik looked at the Jedi Master who seemed to want to take away all his fun. And so many little rules and nuances he wished to impose. Then there were his threats. He would be held on trial what horror. Except Valik had never attacked the Republic. At least not directly. While Valik could fight, he was more of a scientist than a warrior. He had never directly killed any members of the Republic, though his inventions were probably responsible for many deaths. He pondered on what to and what not to tell the Jedi Master. With Omni posing a greater threat to the Sith than the Jedi, and the Jedi potentially being useful tools Valik really didn't have any issue with giving the Jedi information on Omni. But simply giving it the man would be no fun at all. It was time to play.

"I'll be honest, I was disappointed in the Jedi who escorted me. I didn't think Jedi would be that easy to taunt. Poor training I guess. Must have lost a good bit of leadership when the Grandmaster was skewered." Valik began, meticulously adding in insults to the Order, their Trainers, and bringing up recent deaths.

"If you wish me to stop however, then all you had to do was ask, no threats were necessary. We are on the same side after all, though I expected better manners, not even a please." Valik added an insult to the man civility, while establishing a connection between the two. "I do confess I find it awfully strange that I'd have to stand trial when I've committed no crime at all, other than fighting the war against extinction."

"Before I answer your questions however, I'd like to ask you a question. Did you ever meet a Jedi by the name of Koshnu Valik?"

 

[Flint Pherson]

Flint raised an eyebrow with distaste. It appeared a Fleet of massive proton torpedos was blitzing it's way towards his spear.

"Sir!"
"...Prep all Concussion missiles and be ready to fire on my mark! Aim just off our bow."

The torpedoes loomed closer. Some even hit infected ships. Fascinating.

"Sir!? Engineering is requesting..."
"...Aim for just off our bow damn it!"

Flint was letting the stress show.

"Aye sir! Aimed and prepped. Awaiting your go!"
"And... Mark! Fire!"

The Flagship released it's missiles and detonated them only a few hundred meters past the escort line. It became a detonating mine field that enveloped the oncoming torpedos into a firestorm of detonations. The heat would have melted an asteroid. Flint was counting on it.

Torpedoes still made it through, detonated prematurely, or were throw from course. The first hit would have stripped an Escorts shields entirely. A second impact would have obliterated it. ...The escorts took the hail and thousands of good men died in an instant.

~ "Flint!" ~

He didn't hear her. He was too busy watching the detonations and the death.

"Course set in sir! Ready to jump on..."
"Do it! Get us the hell out of here!"

The flanking Spear dropped ECM and warped. A half a dozen ships remained burning at the exact point of their escape. A monument to death that was only minutes away for all of them.

The 2nd and 3rd finished up their hit-and-run, disengaged, and jumped only seconds later. The Republic Armada had bought time with blood.

The critical Cruisers and Escort ships remained on-world to aid in the evacuations. Their window was only 1 hour now. The Planetary Shields and all Moon-sided Defense Space Stations were all that remained of Kuat's once proud defense. Flint had done what he could. It was up to Silencia now.

___

Corinth Asteroid Nebula
15 mins later

The ships dropped out from Hyperspace. And every man let out a sigh. All expect Flint,

"Okay people. Cycle power to Engineering. All boats make for the Maiden's Door. We are going into the Nebula and then out the back."

Retreating was a game of it's own.

"Coms-man. Numbers and status. I want it all on my screen. Let's start making tallies and running the numbers."
"Aye sir."

Flint began a thousand tasks aimed at repair and retreat. He didn't stop. He couldn't stop. The Robots wouldn't either.

In a flash of light the 2nd and 3rd Fleets arrived. And they would all enter the Nebula together. Like the staggered refugees they were.

 

[Ben Watts]

Ben showed the Sith respect when he spoke and listened to his words. Ben knew it had to be some sort of attempt to ruse a reaction out of Ben by talking about the Jedi who brought him in. Ben had to admit, he was ashamed of how the Jedi reacted, but it was how things were going to go with all the transitions the Jedi were experiencing. New leadership, a new role with the Republic, a war with an A.I. that was proving to be very difficult to cope with. All these things would inevitably lead to pressure and stress being put on everyone, Jedi included, they were not perfect after all. None the less they were expected to live up to a higher standard than everyone else, they could not let their emotions be put in check, like the young Jedi had.

"The Jedi who attacked you will be reprimanded accordingly for his actions. I speak for the entire Order when I apologize for his actions. In the heat of the moment he overreacted, and as I said, he will be punished." Ben was telling the truth, the Jedi did not tolerate actions such as that, it was not the Jedi way and it was not the way Ben had envisioned the Jedi being when he had started to gather them all together. There was nothing he could do about it now, though, except punish him accordingly. He would probably be put on some lame duck job watching an outpost with very little chance of an attack. With an attitude like his, it was the best place for him. "The sad news is, a Sith alerted Omni to the presence of our war council. Many men are dead, our Supreme Commander is MIA, and hundreds of lives were put in danger because of one Sith. You claim to be on our side, and sure, I believe that you would be willing to team up with the Jedi to help yourself. Sith are self-preserving creatures, if backed into a corner, you will bargain with the devil himself to get yourself out of it. But, the fact still remains, Apparatus will be held responsible for the deaths of so many, which makes the Sith responsible. Seeing as how only you, Apparatus, and the Moff that has been brought on board were the only three Sith present, the Republic must assume that you were a factor in the ambush. That is the crime that you have committed, and precisely why you are being detained."

Ben made sure to explain exactly why he was being held captive. He did not speak down to him, the opposite, he was speaking to the man like he would any other Jedi. They fought on different sides, but he was still human, and Ben could have been in his spot if he had made a few different decisions. Unlike other Jedi, Ben did not think of Sith as lesser beings, they were people who had made different decisions and that was it. He mentioned a name, a name that Ben recognized, from years gone by. He racked his brain trying to remember who he was, but he only had a foggy estimation. "I knew of him a long time ago, he was a Jedi Knight, he was around when I was first promoted myself. Decent enough man as far as I can remember but what does that have to do with this?"

 

[Soeht]

When the other Republic fleets appeared in the system, the shields on Darth Apparatus's ship and most of other Omni-allied Sith ships were given full power. Darth Apparatus and the Sith fleet began to make its way toward the Tycho ships as the massive droidships unleashed an unbelievable amount of missiles. Some friendly fire ensued with several Sith ships being destroyed.

Yet even with a few bumps due to colliding with several missiles and lasers, the Dalek-class Frigate the Darth was on did not falter. Then, in an instant, the Republic starships that still survived escaped the system.

Wreckage smothered the once vibrant shipyards of Kuat. With the major firepower of the Republic fleets gone, the Seraphim left the Tycho ships they protects to swarm at any ships still remaining, such as the Sovereign-class ship, or attempting to evacuate people.

As his ship continued to float in space and the droids and Sith fleet began to pick at Kuat's defenses, Darth Apparatus sent out another one-way message across a broad range of frequencies.

Taunting those left on Kuat and would hear the message, Darth Apparatus said, "Ąn̡d ̵no̧w̧ ̕y̡ou̸ s͜tan͟d ͜aļoǹe͘,̴ ҉Kua̷t.͏ S̸ub͘mi͡t͜ ̧now͠."

 

[Valik]

Valik sneered as the man spoke of the Sith's supposed alliance with Omni. The Sith wouldn't align themselves with an AI they couldn't control. Not to mention that if Valik or the moff were infected half the ship would be in disarray by now. Valik believed Omni was smart enough to lay sleepers here or there, but a chance of blasting a reactor core and blowing up the Jedi Grandmaster would simply be too big an opportunity not to take advantage of. But then the Master spoke of Valik's father, Koshnu. Said he was a 'decent man', whatever that meant. That might've been what got him killed. Valik would have liked to believe his parents would have had an intelligence like his, but if they did they probably wouldn't be dead. Hell, they'd probably be Sith.

"Nothing in all honesty. Just an old name I'd heard about. Sith libraries have regrettably little files on Jedi nowadays it seems." Valik began, shuffling the matter away. In truth, Valik wanted to know about his father because the Sith had no files on him. They had files on his mother because they kept her alive during her pregnancy, but Valik's father was killed on sight. Ultimately it didn't have any bearing on today, or at least shouldn't have. Ugh, Valik decided to stop dwelling on it. There were more important things to talk about. Valik did need to end his fun eventually and get out of here.

"I do find it interesting how you think the Jedi can have a bad apple but the Sith can't. You say that the Jedi who hit me will be punished, and that the Jedi apologize for his actions, and yet you can't believe that the Sith want Omni gone and Apparatus was a bad egg? It seems that I underestimated the vaunted Hubris of the Jedi." Valik accused subtly. "And the Republic really must learn to deal with Omni better. If I was Omni I'd have half the ship infected with all the mistakes you've made in taking the Moff and I in. Could I please request a transfer? This ship will last shorter than it's namesake did at Junction if these policies are too continue.

 

[Ben Watts]

Ben studied him when he played off the question of the name. He had brought it up out of nowhere and then expected Ben to believe it was nothing. Koshnu Valik, Ben stored the name into the back of his head, he would figure out just who the man was and try and decipher why he had brought him up in the first place. Ben almost sighed when he tried to compare the actions of the Jedi and the actions of the Sith like they were both truly atrocious actions. The Jedi had socked the Sith, not destroyed hundreds of lives, they were vastly different.

"Well we have not gotten to the point where hitting a Sith and killing hundreds of innocent people could be labeled as the same crime. You do understand that hitting you and the actions of Apparatus differ on several levels?" He was sure the question need not be asked, but he brought it up, so Ben had to shoot the notion down. If his defense was going to rest on the idea that because he had been hit by a foolish Jedi he should be let free, it would be shot down faster than he could imagine. "I am not sitting here claiming to think the Sith do not want Omni gone. I believe they do, but surely you can see how this looks for you? You were not on the manifest of people invited to the summit, and yet here you are, aboard this ship sitting across from me part of the same group of people who gave up the location of our summit to the A.I."

The sleight at Teferi bugged Ben, but he dismissed it, this was no time to let emotions play a role in the interrogation. Emotions should never play a role in anything, but with all the stress and tension going around lately, Ben had to make sure he kept his emotions in check. "You are right. If you were infected, we would have a big problem on our hands, but you were not. You may not like the procedures we have on this ship, but without us, you would have been left to die on Kuat. The fact of the matter is, you aren't infected, and there is no use worrying about it now."

"I am not saying you were part of the coup, as I said, I believe you acted on your own plans. Of what, I do not know, and that is why I am here. As I said, if you help me, I can help you. Tell me exactly why you were at the war summit, tell me everything you know about Apparatus and how he became infected, and anything else you may know about this. If you comply this will work out much smoother in the long run, I am not here to fight you, I can leave at any time and let you face your crimes in front of the Galactic Republic. Whether you like it or not, these are your crimes, and I cannot help you if you do not tell me why you were there and everything else you know."

 

[Valik]

@[member="Ben Watts"]

Valik smiled, the Jedi knew he wasn't clockwork. The man was right of course, he was alive because of their policies, but even after they brought him on board they had to be more careful. Then the man said he didn't think Valik was part of 'the coup', or Apparatus's actions against the council. That Valik acted on his own plans. What sheer genius, thinking a Sith had ambition? Valik supposed Jedi were known to be rather slow. No motivation to think when there's not a constant target on your back. And how the hell did he think Valik was gonna know how Apparatus got infected? Then again, with the threats of a trial, acting as if Valik couldn't mind trick his way through a jury, or even escape before then. Such silliness had to be remedied if he was going to be living in Jedi care for very long.

"Apparatus is a name few Sith know, and fewer know about. No one knows his face, and no one seems to know exactly his history. He's a man of great power, yet has never challenged for the title of Emperor. Some say he's older than the plague. He could've been infected for centuries for all I know." Valik said honestly. There were a few rumors of his origins, but nothing consistent. Nothing he'd publish if it were science. "And his 'crime' that I compared him of committing to your young Knight back there was not murder, but stupidity. The Jedi followed my lead like a dog, much like Apparatus now follows Omni." Valik spoke of his former lord with a tone of contempt. "As for myself, the Sith are not nearly as prideful and stupid as you Jedi wish to believe us. Did you really think Apparatus would come to a summit of all his enemies gathers in one place by himself? I was one of many Sith Knights who came to the summit in case of a trap. I just happened to also be the only one crafty enough to get out, the Moff aside."

 

[Cira]

@[member="Ayden Cater"] @all

​

Sitting in the Meditation Chamber cross-legged, the titan maned Cira held her hands together clasped just in front of her waist, her head dipping slightly down. She was in deep concentration, so much so that she didn't hear Ayden's compliment. No, she had to ensure that she had complete and utter forcus for the Battle Meditation. Within her mind, she concentrated and bolstered the moral of her fleet as well as that of neighboring allies. Here she supported them, giving them courage, energy and the will to fight.

She would continue this in the meditation chamber, tiny beads of sweat rising from her skin to roll down her temples.

 

[Darron Wraith]

"Sir, we will reach Tython within the hour."

"Good, let me know when we are five minutes away from our home."

With a pat on the back, he left the pilots station and walked over to the map of the galaxy that was illuminating the chamber. The massive hologram was changing colors, as they were finally inputting the systems that had been lost to Omni. As the colors shifted, Darron finally could see the extent of this "clockwork rebellion" in all of it's tragic glorly. Not only was the Republic reeling, but it seemed every major power in the galaxy was losing more ground as each hour passed. The GrandMaster leaned back and shifted his weight to his right leg. A calming sigh escaped his lips as he crossed his powerful arms across his chest. We keep fighting this thing head on and there won't be anything left to fight for. Every time he reached for an answer, he was met with questions. Thankfully, his search wouldn't be limited to just him.

The entire Order was fixing to be put to work.

"Rosa, I want you to assemble the team we talked about as soon as we get in orbit of Tython." The GrandMaster wasn't about to utter who all "her team" consisted of, as this recent attack would only make tensions greater. Looks like my mission to Belsavis is going to take a much greater priority than I originally thought. If it all fails, I at least need to make sure the alliance stands. Without it, the entire galaxy will be enslaved, and the blood of trillions on our hands. A vision of the cold, metallic future flashed across his minds eye. To an outside, it seemed Darron was simply zoning out. In reality the GrandMaster of the Jedi Order was simply seeing what their current action, or inaction would bring them.


Breaking his reverie, he instead activated a comm channel to Jedi Master Ben Watts.

"How are our extra passengers doing?" Darron referred to the imperal Moff and the Sith Knight on board. "Listen, we will be in system within the hour. Keep them down there, I will join you shortly. I have a mission for you and I need to greet our guests. Darron out."

Darron closed the comm channel out while heading for the nearest viewport, motioning for his love to follow him. As he made it to the window, he whispered in a tone so quiet only she would be able to hear him. "You know, there's a very strong chance this will all fail. I know you aren't a fan, but the alliance with the Sith is the only way to save all of this. Could you imagine what me and her could pull off together through the Force. We could stop that machine by ourselves if given a window." It wasn't arrogance that he spoke with, just him stating facts. They where the two most powerful Force-Users in the galaxy, and once in a lifetime talents, if not once in a thousand years. For their to be two of them during this time was rare, and could be useful.

"Please, Rosa. As your GrandMaster, I order you to use extreme caution and preserve your life and those under you in your mission." Through the Force, he sent another message for her only.

As the man who loves you, please be safe, and I promise to do the same no matter what. Come back to me, and I will be there waiting on you.

 

[Omni]

The fleet controlled by the AI managed to gain the upper hand. With the Republic having abandoned yet another world it seemed that the AI was truly victorious. The Tycho's began to shift and move again, the top arms began to spin around their base to once again come about face. Missile tubes once again opened up on the other side of the long arms of the ships. They turned to face the massive Imperial Remnant ship.

With the ECM field now down the signal from the Tycho's ceased, the proton torpedos would find their targets perfectly now. The massive ship aimed, and then from afar they let loose. A wall of thousands of proton torpedo's shot forth towards the Imperial Capital ship. The massive was of destructions urged forth.

At the same time the swarm of thousands of Seraphim began to pick at the fleet, worming and scratching their way through the hulls of enemy capital ships and claiming those organics within for themselves.

 

[Ben Watts]

Ben payed close attention when the Sith spoke. Apparatus was a mysterious Sith, that much Ben knew, and he guessed it was wishful thinking to believe that the young Sith would know anything more about him. Everything he was saying made sense, Ben could not dispute it, but he had to admit he was a little let down that he did not have more information. Either way, they now had two members of the Empire prisoner aboard their ship, and they would be held prisoner on Tython once the ship landed.

"Crafty enough to escape directly into the hands of the Jedi?" Ben piped up when he started to brag on himself about getting away. The fact was, if the Jedi he hated so much had not been there, his craftiness would have mattered very little. "I believe you did not have any part on the Omni attack, so I will stop with the questions for now, but you will continue to be detained until the Grandmaster decides what is to come of you. Allies or not, you will not be allowed to roam freely on Tython, you will be given suitable accommodations because you have not made my life completely miserable. But you will be under constant Jedi scrutiny, but I will make sure you are not treated the same way as you were when you were brought on board this ship." Ben stood up from his chair and he pushed the chair back under the table, ready to get back to Darron and discuss what was to come of them.

"My name is Ben Watts by the way. If you are treated unfairly or you have any questions, ask for me directly, I will make time for you. I don't agree with the people you have aligned with, but I do not wish to see you treated like an animal whilst you are on my planet."

The Sith had little information on the attack. Says Apparatus worked alone and that he came with a group of other Sith Knights who I assume perished in the attack. Ben transmitted the message through the force, not wanting the Sith to hear him.