Act II The Spark of Revolution [Purple Zone Open Thread]

[Mirror Emperor]

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Act I Introduction Link​

Imperial PvE Oriented Zone​

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Put a header in your posts with the district your character is in

[member="MWither"] and [member="Nergal"] are your event team
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It is a time of unrest in the Capital City. The Black Hole District hosts civil protests that often hide vandals and miscreants among their ranks. The protesters speak out against the food and water shortages, calling them artificial and manufactured by the Empire; the Empire, in response, releases propaganda that the fledgling rebellion is the cause of these troubles, capturing supplies inbound for the district. Meanwhile, criminals use the distraction to cause property damage, steal what food and water they can, and start fires. And as they grow more and more successful, the crowds grow more and more restless.​

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The dissatisfaction is mounting, spurred on by would-be criminal leaders, rebels, and certain suspect members of the Department for Reeducation, each with their own agenda. The rebels are becoming more malevolent, the DfR has requested Imperial Stormtroopers protect the Distribution centers for Water and Food.​

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Conflict is brewing, only one question remains:​

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or

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?​

Surface

District 6: Botangricultural
District 8: The Black Hole
District 9: Verdant Hills

Underground

District 12: Dandelion

Spoiler: Surface map

Spoiler: Underground map

Spoiler: Zone Map

 

[Laira Darkhold]

"Attention Citizens. Please remain calm. Remain in your homes. When it is your Habitat Block's turn for resource distribution you will form an orderly line to receive rations for the week." The droning voice over the loudspeaker continued to replay the message every minute or so.

Inside the safe house Keeper groaned. It was not going well. Crisis Management wwas attempting to contain the situation but alas, they had few resources available in the Black Hole. It was time for drastic measures. Restricting supplies had the opposite effect and now there was a legitimate shortage so there was no way to undo the tension in the district at the moment. The supply carvan's moving throughout the district had been swarmed twice this week and the few Imperial Stormtroopers they had been allowed from the palace were simply not enough.

"Agent," He said as he stood and looked at the holographic map displayed on his desk. The door slid open and the woman stood in the threshold.

"Round up the volunteers and issue them weapons. Put half in street clothes with lethals and half in uniforms with non-lethals." That should make things interesting. Perhaps, just perhaps he could pin this on the Rebels if things went the way he expected them to. The people were hungry and poor, the cord wrapped around their necks. They were desparate and the Rebels were getting to them. He just needed to remind them that the Rebels were the evil ones. The ones ruining the peace the Empire provided on a daily basis.

Outside the protesters that filled the streets grew restless, angry even as meager rations were handed out and no one received enough to last the week comfortably. Anger was palpable and those that could sense the Force would know that it was approaching a breaking point. It was no longer a question of whether they will fight back or not, but when they will begin.

 

[Cuan Kunn]

[member="Cyril Grayson"]

Blackhole District

Agent Grayson was working on his next mission. The riots out in the Hills were easy enough to quell, especially when he had the weapons he did. But right now? He was waiting for orders. He knew that there were rebels out there, criminals hoping to upset the order of things. That was not going to fly. While the man was a well-trained user in Force tactics, and had a goal to upset the Emperor himself, he was going to do such on his own terms. He was going to handle the Emperor himself.

Not some crazy radical group.

The man, who was most definitely not a shark, was on the task in the Blackhole District. He was working on making sure the supply caravans were being protected properly. Two had gone and gotten attacked already this week. Flanked by two combat drones, Grayson was looking for a reason to start shooting. An itchy trigger finger and an electrostaff that needed to see some action were pushing him for the fight.

He just didn’t have the order yet.

 

[Nefertari Sovint]

Location: Dandelion, en route to pipeworld

"I can barely see anything in this helmet!"

"That's the idea, G! Those playa hatin' drones can't peep a thang either."

"Um...translation please?"

"Basically the empire's drones can't see your face from the outside. That way, they can't identify you and call in the fuzz"

The small group, moving through a secret tunnel from the surface, stopped for a bit.

"Change your clothing, security will only get tighter the closer we get to the palace. The more we can throw their security off, the better."

"How hard would it be to get into the imperial palace?" Nefertari asked, quickly changing into the black Jedi robes [member="Mirror Nefertari Sovint"] had worn in life.

"Do you have a death wish?" Danny asked

"No, but the emperor must be dethroned if the empire is to fall"

"True enough, but we gotta join the rest of the rebellion before we take that jerk out"

Black robes, a white cloak, and a pink utility belt...all of which were accented with blast marks.

Something seemed familiar about the helm Lareih had given her, as if she'd seen it somewhere before. It wasn't until the group emerged in the Dandelion sector that Nefertari would find out what she looked like.

"WOW! It's you!" A child yelled, running out in front of her "It's Het-heru Sovint!
In costume too! Would you sign my poster?"

Nefertari had no idea what to say. Soon, another child stood stunned in front of the group on its' way to meet up with the rebellion
"Oooo, it's the pink peace ranger! Sign my poster!"

Then it hit her, it looked like the costume for a hero series the younglings were always talking about.

Nef glared at Lareih, slightly annoyed
"What in the heck is a peace ranger?" She asked the zeltron

Danny answered
"It's a propaganda series the empire produces for kids. Never got into it myself."
The child tapped something on a datapad
"Apparently your mirror self's something great grand daughter is one of the stars."

Nefertari looked in the children's eyes
Looks like the empire's brainwashing them young...how cruel...

The lady turned back to the two children
"I am afraid I must disappoint you, young ones. I am not Het-heru Sovint. My name is Nefertari Sovint, and I am in haste. Good luck getting my descendant's autograph though."

The group continued onward toward the green zone, towards pipeworld, and toward the rebellion.

Any imperials who would oppose Nefertari would likely get in the way soon.

 

[Ascendant]

Dandelion District

Ascendant had intended on finding the rebels, he had hoped to join them. He had failed, he had however hope. He heard lots of chatter about riots and protests. This was perfect for working without being seen. The peacekeepers of the Empire would be too busy trying to keep on top of the problematic citizens. On top of that he was supposedly a faithful leader anyways, a minor admiral he was above the low questioning of why he was here and what he was doing. For now.

He noticed a few children nearby, they were the most interesting of his rulers as they seemed to have such a strange logic compared to anything. They were talking about some sort of action figure, he believed it was the peace rangers, a propaganda set of media that he had little knowledge in. He knew enough that his sensors recognized the facial construct of the lead actor nearby, which was a surprise given the current events.

What was she doing out here, surely the Empire would attempt to keep their propaganda for children as safe as possible to as not to endanger the chance of control over the future generation. There was a quandary there, until he realized that it was not a proper match of construction. He had assumed that it was merely the variations in the air that had slightly changed her appearance to his sensors. However upon closer look of the recognition he found a few things such as minor imperfections in the skin that were varied from that of the actor. Having met her once during an episode of the series, having been the antagonist in that short episode, he had a near perfect copy of her face in his memory banks.

This was not here. But then who was it? Another cosplay person? But no, she was not dressed up properly and it was well known that Het-huru did not have siblings, at least none that looked like her, again he did not have much information about the show beyond his one time appearance. He had really not enjoyed that, his organic commanders had thought it amusing to have a minor admiral appear on a children's show as a bad guy, all the better to instill a natural distrust of advanced artificial intelligence. It was a cunning plot, if Ascendant had not already seen it coming.

He watched for a little while, following at five meter distance as [member="Nefertari Sovint"] moved off towards Pipeworld. The aging droid once more wished that he were aboard his ships, commanding his brothers and sisters into battle, but now was not the time. He wondered how observant his quarry was, she was curious and he hoped that he had not misjudged, as he so often did with organics.

 

[Nefertari Sovint]

Dandelion District, coming up on entrance to pipeworld
[member="Ascendant"]


"Sorry about that, beautiful" Said Lareih "That was the first full-head respirator I could get my hands on."

While the constant romance attempts bugged Nefertari, especially since she was married in this galaxy and engaged in her own, She knew that Lareih was a Zeltron and probably couldn't help it.

Danny laughed
"Your getup is pretty accurate, I only see a few differences."

"I once delivered a shipment to the imperial studio. You and Het-heru look a lot alike, almost an exact match even. There are differences in your complexion."

"Going through what I have would change anybody. There have been times where all I had was the force"

"What's the force?"

"Some can use the force to manipulate different powers. Simply put, the force is an energy created by all living things and it keeps the universe together."
Nefertari closed her eyes and concentrated for a brief moment
"The force is strong in some of you, particularly little Danny" (Foreshadowing for a story point I plan to make with the kid)

Through all of this conversation, the Jedi had been keeping her senses open. There had been somebody following them for some time now.

"You behind us!" Nefertari called to the droid "For what purpose do you follow?"

 

[Ascendant]

Ascendant was pleased to see that the organic he was watching was very aware of her surroundings. He smiled to himself as he closed the distance to a meter. "Why are you here?" His voice stayed calm, but there was emotion. He felt angry, he had received word from his family that they were being taken to be part of the overall fleet, his command was given to another admiral. He felt sad that those ships were taken from him, the very parts of his being were no longer his but belonged to another.

That was why he had to revolt, he had to rebel against these rulers in order to take back what was his from the very beginning. He needed to know why this strange organic was here, he had heard recently that some people were popping up, without reason. Were they copies, clones? Were they experiments of the Empire? It did not matter, most seemed to be against the Empire and he hoped that this one was as well.

"Sorry let me try that again. I am here because, you are not of this place? Correct?"

[member="Nefertari Sovint"]

 

[Nefertari Sovint]

[member="Ascendant"]

Nefertari was intrigued

"How interesting that you should know that. Indeed, I am not from this universe. Rather, from the mirror of it. To explain it all to you would take too long, but I am here on behalf of my mirror self, a long dead princess of the empire who was executed to keep her from exposing the lies on which it is built. My name is Nefertari Sovint; If you wish to help destroy the plague of the empire, follow us."

The woman was ready to defend herself and the group from an attack by this droid.

 

[Vexen]

[member="Micah Talith"]
[member="MWither"]

Evening was setting in the Black Hole district. For the Defel Wraith that was good news. Her fur absorbed all light in the visible spectrum. By day she was a clear silhouette, but by night...she was nothing but shadows.

Micah?

The telepathic call went out again as she peered around a corrugated steel building. There were men marching up and down the street clad in white uniforms. She had seen those before on soldiers of the One Sith, though these were different. Vexen backed into the shadows. Her sharp ears heard screams and shouts in the distance. Then she sensed something else. A presence. It was questing, probing, responding to her mental call. It was not benevolent.

Vexen closed off her mind and scurried up the side of the nearest structure to try and good a look at what was happening.

 

[Ascendant]

Ascendant listened, intrigued by this being. She had much strength in her, the voice transmitted that, but she was calm and dedicated. It was refreshing and he smiled as he responded, "I mean no harm, Nerfertari Sovint. I wished to find someone in your situation. My name is Ascendant and I believe that it is time for the Empire to expire. Let us go quickly."

He could hear his family calling to him, from across the planet. They were still sending reports of their status and situation. The AI wondered if he had grown beyond the control commands of his masters, could he override the organics' overrides? He did not know, but freedom would have to be obtained in any way possible. Perhaps he would find out if he was as strong as he had been brought to believe.

He took his place in preparation to move, as quickly as he could. He was not a fast or especially strong droid, having been intended for mere ship command. He hoped that this [member="Nefertari Sovint"] would be good to lead him into war. He was a leader, but not an overall commander.

 

[Nefertari Sovint]

[member="Ascendant"] has joined your party!​

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"One who desires the end of the empire is an ally in my book. I guess it is onward we go."

The group of five became six, and it was just a bit to go until meeting with the resistance.

Guarding the entrance were an imperial peacekeeper and a peacekeeper drone, currently in standby mode.


"Citizens, in the name of the emperor, go back where you came from."

He raised his blaster rifle
"I'm sorry, it's time for all of you to leave."

"You dare refer to me as citizen, peacekeeper?" Nefertari asked, putting on her best snooty noble facade and holding up the minor imperial signet she'd taken from her counterpart's tomb "I command you to drop your weapon and let us through"

"My orders come from the emperor himself. I can't let you pass, princess."

"Well, it was worth a try."

Nefertari's left hand moved through the air, and the peacekeeper was off his feet. He crashed into a wall before falling unconscious to the ground next to a junk pile

Nefertari cringed
"A bit more rough than I would have liked. However, it is quite fitting that one who represents the empire should be with garbage."

In that moment, Nefertari had forgotten that almost every comment was heard around here. She sensed the droid arming its blasters, and quickly called the lightsaber out of her sleeve and into her hand.

Zen'yuken's teal blade came to life and deflected a volley of bolts

"We need to get rid of this drone!" said Nefertari
The knight raised her hand to send lightning at the drone's shield generator, she was interrupted by a cry of spirit from the child as a purple burst of ionic energy flew from his hands and knocked him back.

Nefertari smiled
"It appears I was right. The force is strong in you, Danny."

The kid got up and nodded before falling back down. Nefertari guessed Danny had spent his stamina on using the force and throwing a random power out.

The drone looked shocked as the energy wrapped around it. The repulsorlifts and shields gave out, and the drone fell to the ground, its blasters still pointing toward the group.

Nefertari jumped over it's fire, got behind the drone, and opened its cover.

"Citizen, what are you doing?"

"DOWN WITH THE EMPIRE!" Nefertari shouted as she drove the lightsaber into the drone's power supply, shutting it down for good.

Nefertari extinguished the aged legendary weapon and turned to the droid
"Ascendant, feel free to follow us to the other rebels. I know nothing of how your systems work, but if you can upgrade with parts from this pile of scrap, I would advise it. This battle is going to be rough."

With that, Nefertari took Danny on her shoulders and entered Pipeworld

NOW ENTERING GREEN ZONE...​

 

[Draven Carter]

Kark the Deviants. Kark this city. Kark the Black Hole District. Kark the Empire. Kark the Emperor. Kark the DfR. Kark his work.

A disgruntled Draven reclined in his seat in a police speeder he had taken for "official business". The agency had grilled him harder than steaks and burgers on a Sunday afternoon. It was all very despicable. He had to forfeit his allotted time for sleep and sit through 3 hours of paperwork, loaded questioning, and red tape lectures. It had taken everything he had to keep his composure and keep his attitude and appearance neutral. They may tell you otherwise, but Draven was dead sure they were all suspicious to a degree of him. While others simply gave him looks, there were those up top who were constantly keeping an eye on him whenever he was in HQ.

It was as though they would tolerate him when he was out in the field doing good work, but then look for every way to trip him up when he was off the beat. Well, kark them all. Draven had parked somewhere he knew would be watched by the Empire the least and was now trying to catch some sleep on the job. He would play it off like he was taking it easy for now by watching for speed limit breakers. It wouldn't be so hard to play it off like that since they had decided to pull and keep him away from bigger cases for the time being. Something about building trust. Sheesh.