Business as Usual [TSE Dominion of Etti IV Hex AN-17]

[Taeli Raaf]

Location: Bonadan
Objective 4/5: Business

"Keep production focused on Anemoi droids," Taeli was saying to a holographic image of Jaxson. "No war droids here, nothing that would bring inspectors in that might look where they shouldn't. And reassign Doctor Votoc's terraforming droid team here. We can use the facilities here and the pollution of the world as a good testing site for the technologies."

"As you wish, my Lady," Jaxson stated, bowing before the connection ended.

Ce had reported her team had been able to get all their anti-detection equipment up and running now, so now they only would have to worry about inspectors wandering into a part of the Aurora facilities where they shouldn't and discovering the hidden Spaarti lab. Disassembled cylinders were being sent down, and genetic information and recently purchased bioprinters would be surreptitiously sent over the next few days. Relyana had reported she had landed on Khomm, so that information would soon be in hand.

Soon, very soon now.

 

[Darth Carnifex]

The Emperor looked upon them, his expression neutral as he listened to each of their words and discerned their meaning.

So, the ruling ExO had been deposed then. In her place had arisen those of notable ambition and a voracious hunger for power, eager to please the envoys of the Sith Empire so that they might retain some semblance of control. The Emperor had seen it play out before as the Empire encroached on neighboring systems, there had always been those who were all too quick to depose their appointed leadership and sell their people out.

Truthfully, the Emperor did not trust such people. If they were quick to turn on their former leaders, then how quick would they be to turn on the Empire if the opportunity arose?

Still, the two individuals that he knew had proven their loyalty to the Empire's credits, they could somewhat be counted on to uphold any deal made between the Authority and the Empire. It was the third individual that rankled the Emperor, but he sensed that she was of no consequence to his schemes. "There needn't be nominations, Lady Paige. You will find that when next the Executive Directorship Board convenes they will clamor for the abolition of the ExO, and will instead yearn for a reorganized committee to rule the Corporate Sector Authority under the oversight of an Imperial majority. As Lord Mecetti said, it would clear up any hostile misunderstandings."

He smiled, a horrible insidious rictus grin that seemed uncharacteristic of his features, "Unless you disagree? I would hate to leave a garrison behind to oversee the proceedings."

[member="Cassandra Paige"] | [member="Itash Mecetti"]​

 

[Onrai]

The fighters escorted and the bombers moved in - they were a bit slow and ponderous, but still speedy enough all things considered. Soon they were dumping their payload of advanced cluster proton bombs on the Tulak Hord, the amount of ordnance they were spitting out causing it serious issues. The dropping of ordnance on the rogue Tulak Hord was ample enough that the suicide swarm of Scrapmetals found themselves rather effortlessly shattering the larger aged warship. The remaining pirate fighters surrendered, having no hyperdrives and no means of getting rescued by their wayward kin. Their vessels would soon be impounded and they would be treated as other riffraff were.

Such was the way of pirates.

 

[Sebastian Thel]

Location: Cafe
Objective: Investigation
Allies: [member="Seamus Valik"], [member="Dante Sotari"]

Shifting through the population of Etti IV, Sebastian turned into a coffee shop on the corner of the street. With a briefcase in hand, the mathematician brushed past shoulders as he pushed open the doors, only to welcome the calming notes of a piano. The chimes of the cords contrasted with the hiss of the coffee machine and Sebastian followed the sound to the counter.

A pause held the air between Sebastian and the barista, as he scanned the room for his contact. The woman behind the counter tapped her notepad, diverting his attention to her features. He wore a beige, suit jacket with plus fours and lace-up shoes. Leaning one hand on the counter, he blinked as he looked at the menu.

"Just a cappuccino, please, in a takeaway cup." Sebastian asked the barista with a smile. "I'll be sitting over there." He pointed to Seamus and the lady who had joined him. "Thank you." He said as he placed a credit chit on the counter, then walked over to the table were Seamus was sitting.

Slowly, Sebastian approached the table. He paused before Seamus and the woman, gripping the headrest of his chair while exchanging wary glances with both of them. He pulled the chair out from beneath the table and sat down without a word, placing his briefcase on his lap. He opened the case and produced a file, along with a datapad, then set them on the table.

"Hello Seamus, I managed to break that last cipher you sent me." Speaking quietly, Bas placed the briefcase on the ground, beside the chair legs and opened the file. "Turned out to be a link to a shadownet site which organizes kidnappings for credits." Pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose, the mathematician opened the file and looked over his equations from the previous evening. The cipher in question had kept him up much later than usual.

"They have a database which contains the names of victims in transit, once they are trafficked to the client, the name is deleted." Looking to the woman who was speaking to Seamus, Sebastian handed the inspector the file which contained many of the names he had collected. He smoothed down the front of the knitted caridan he wore inside of his jacket and offered the woman a coy smile.

"Hello, I don't believe we've met." Dimples etched into his cheeks as he adjusted his glasses. A waitress arrived and placed his coffee on the table, to whom he turned around and silently waved. "My name is Sebastian Thel, I'm helping Seamus with a case." He said as he turned back around. "Do you two know each other?" Sebastian asked in a genuinely curious tone.

 

[Itash Mecetti]

[member="Darth Carnifex"] | [member="Cassandra Paige"]

This is why people hated Sith.

Entirely too smug by half and self-satisfied.

Itash did not show any of his true feelings in that moment. Instead he did what Lord Mecetti did best in situations like these. Improvise, weave a tell and talk until his words clouded out the truth and doubt was inserted into the situation. "My Lord, our disagreement in this scenario would not amount to anything but a sternly written letter to your office, I am afraid." Tash answered Kaine's macabre grin with a loose smile of his own.

Oh, the Dark Lord thought he was the monster. The nightmare of every soul around them.

But what was a nightmare to one who had long ago shed his own soul?

"We can merely advise and, if our advice is welcome here, We'd strongly recommend to reconsider such a... dramatic shift in the Corporate Sector's leadership structure." A glance to see if Kaine would listen or would ignore him. Once it became clear the Emperor was willing to hear him out he continued.

At least there wasn't an attempt for their execution. That was something.

"The Authority and the Sector are already straining and growing unstable, my Lord, Ession was a brutal necessity but brutal nonetheless. The rest of the Corporate Sector had little to do with the folly of the Dominion and the Authority's initiative in transferring the remnants of the Ession refugees should attest to that." Itash was satisfied they had managed to arrange that little thing.

Oh, some had cried about it- how dare they imprison poor refugees and serve them up on a platter to the Empire?!

But it was presumably one of the few reasons why they were capable of having this conversation right now.

"Both Miss Paige and myself have worked tirelessly for the Corporate Sector to become ready to join the Empire in the vein as others have." From Mirial to the Tion Cluster and others. Sovereignty had been maintained.

"To shake-up the very foundation of the Authority after all these centuries now? It has the potential of completely destabilizing the region, my Lord."

An inclination of the head and Tash resumed his silence next to Cassandra.

There wasn't much else to say here- the Emperor would do as he willed and they could only do their best to ensure it wouldn't hurt their designs too much.

 

[Fiolette Fortan]

Port Elim​

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Bonadan System | [member="Taeli Raaf"] ​

Obj. IV + V​

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"Governor Parlow, a pleasure." Fiolette remarked as she sat in her small studio office, "a pleasure and thank you for entertaining my request at such a short notice."

"The pleasure is mine Rear Admiral Yvarro, what can I do for you?" Govrnor Parlow returned with a smile.

Fiolette's hands were placed in her lap as she spoke, "well I thought I might speak with you about a donation that I look to give to Galidraan."

"Ah!" He seemed so pleased, "well by all means let us speak on this donation."

"It will be in the form of military education. I've already set aside the funding for the instution, and I wanted to talk with you in person on where I would like to place it." Fiolette continued having already a mind to place it at the edges of Herevan, just before you reached the country side closes to the river's ridge. It was her way of reminding the good folk of Herevan that she had not forgotten what had occured there all those years ago and that now she hoped to help other women achieve their goals.

She sent over the information to his office and waited for the reply.

"Oh I see, Herevan. Well, I'm sure that shouldn't be too much of an issue."

"I should hope not and as you can see I do have clearence from the Sith-Imperial government. This is to be the Herevan-Ridge Military Academy a basic teaching instution for those looking to become officers within the Sith-Imperial Military those seeking to be part of the legion will work and reside on this side of the commons and those for the armada will be the other side." She was able to then point out what she meant in her notes. Again forwarded to his office directly, "do you have any reservations or objections?"

"Not so much objections, however; I wonder why Herevan specifically? And are you... are you Galidraani?"

Fiolette wanted to chuckle and chuck her glass of water at him all at the same time.

"Yes, I am and actually I hail from Herevan. You see, my father was the late Earl of Herevan though I doubt you would know of me. Regardless, though, I thought to give something back to the world that has given me so much."

"Right, I see." The Governor looked again at the notes and paperwork, "looks quite alright to me I'll give it another look over here shortly, but thank you so much for your time today Rear Admiral Yvarro."

"No, thank you Governor Parlow and hail to the Emperor."

"Yes, yes of course, hail to the Emperor."

When the connection closed she smiled and turned to send a message to Taeli. It would say that she was back in her penthouse on Port Elim resting. Give her a short recap of her shopping trip and be glad that for the Sith Empire's influence finally reaching Bonadan. Fiolette rose from her seat and looked over at C2 where he sat charging himself she gave a half smile and continued onward to the sofa. There she laid back against the cushions and let herself take comfort there.

 

[Sor-Jan Xantha]

OBJECTIVE V​

Mondder | The Dream Emporium​

[ theme for a sith kitteh ]​

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There were only 12 chairs at the table.

So, of course, the three Sithlings had piled onto the same chair. Blink was the only one actually seated. Which worked well, considering the Polydroxol was acting as something of a seat cover at the moment. Jorah, the Zabrak, was on top of Blink. And Micah was on top of Jorah.

The box of pizza was in the middle of the table, across from which a few other Sithlings had gathered in their own clique. Petro and his entourage of fanghouls and fanbois was at a different table. If there was a bright spot in the galaxy, that was the point that was furthest from.

If there were revolts or serious business occurring on Etti IV, that was none of their concern. Instead, the young Acolytes had HoloBoys out. Well, Micah and Jorah had their HoloBoys out. Blink was just watching, as per the usual.

As he played, the Cathar's tail flicked from side to side. Entirely subconscious, but swatting the Zabrak across the face. Moving his hips to the left, Jorah swung his body right as he butt-checked the Cathar to knock the kitten out of the chair. "Quit hittin' me with your tail!"

A deliberate tail swat swung back with a vengeance. "Kark you," Micah tossed back mockingly.

The curse immediately sent the two boys into fits of giggling, as they continued to swat and push one another over the games and the pizza that was sporadically disappearing from the box.

 

[Darth Carnifex]

The Emperor's smile subsided, but it was still there.

His burning eyes bore into Lord Mecetti's, unwavering and unblinking as he allowed the smaller man to speak his mind and vocally disagree with the Emperor's proposition. He had expected that Itash would disagree, this was a blatant power move to invest all of the Corporate Sector Authority's legislative power right into the hands of the Sith Empire. But, whereas another might be persuaded to veer away from this controversial path of discord, Darth Carnifex was no such individual.

In fact, he counted on Itash's objection.

"I am pleased that you are so concerned with the well-being of the Corporate Authority, Lord Mecetti. That is why you have been appointed to act as arbiter of the Executive Directorship Board, ensuring that the committee remains cohesive in these times of turbulence and strife. You alone hold the responsibility of ensuring that the transition of power does not upset the fragile balance of power that permeates the Corporate Sector and keeping the Board's goals in line with the Sith Empire's." The gauntlet was thrown, either Itash could accept this new charge and go out of his way to keep the Corporate Authority from tearing itself apart, or he could allow such a civil war to unfold as it would.

Leaving the door wide open for the Sith Empire to assume direct control of the region.

Both outcomes benefited the Sith Empire, but only one ensured that the power of the Authority would be somewhat maintained.

[member="Itash Mecetti"] | [member="Cassandra Paige"]​

 

[Itash Mecetti]

[member="Darth Carnifex"] | [member="Cassandra Paige"]

Eyes narrowed suspiciously for a fraction of a second.

That proposal had come just a little bit too fast to be spur of the moment. It seemed that the Dark Lord of the Sith had been preparing for this moment for quite sometime, but suspicion aside? This was something that Mecetti could work with. The entire goal of their scheming had been to install their own puppet on the ExO seat and gain untold influence over the Authority.

After all, they held interests outside the CSA and would not have been able to assume the mantle themselves.

This skipped all that.

Not very elegant, but the sheer ambiguity of the position would allow Itash to take any action he considered necessary to maintain order in the Corporate Sector. For once Itash did not glance over to Cass.

They both knew that accepting the turn in their plans was the only thing possible in this situation. "If this is necessary to maintain the stability of the Sector and guarantee its sovereignty I will accept the position of Arbiter, my Emperor." From the Emperor to my Emperor. It was a subtle shift in language, but both had been groomed as nobles first and foremost.

The importance of the shift was not lost to either of them.

A shallow bow from the waist followed. "We will begin preparations for all the work to come then." Zambrano had just thrown a metric feth ton of work in their laps, so unless there was more to discuss it would be time to get to work.

 

[Eyros]

With the arrival of the Imperial Fleet Flagship over the city a mass panic had began to take hold of those who had for many years claimed themselves welcoming of the Sith Regime that had slowly been encroaching towards them. Requests to have accounts purged, credit trails burnt and mass removal of funds from the personal accounts of many leading members of the Corporate Sectors inner circles gave reason to the belief that these initial welcoming were not as wanted as they had seemed. It also meant that for Ianthe the trigger had been clicked for her to begin final movements on the assignment that had lasted months beyond what had been expected from her.

“Have the funds directed into the dummy accounts and then transferred into our private holdings, we’ll be able to pull it if we do it slowly and over time without gathering much attention from the others.” The call had come from her private line, direct only with the man she had gotten so close to in order to establish the connection she needed.
“Surely the Imperial Treasurey will notice the deficit.” She added as from the privacy of their apartment that now was shadowed by the immense Dreadnaught in the sky. “It is after all initially their funding?”
She could here the sigh. “It will be returned, upon my arrival at the capitol the funds will be processed but for now I need them privately transferred as we discussed. I also need the negotiated amount transferred to the private liner account so I can leave today.”
“Today?” She clicked several keys of her personal data pad to transfer the credits. “What about me? Aren’t I coming with you?”
“You are my love, just I need you to make sure everything is in place.” She could smell the lie even through the digital morphing of his voice across the holo. “Once I have reached the capitol I will get you off the world and back to me. You understand?”
“Of course. Anything for you.” She clicked a final button and watched as the amount, nearing its hundred millions were syphoned off from the holding account. “It is done. Fly safe.”
“I will. Thank you for everything.” He disconnected faster then a striking dessert snake leaving her in the darkening apartment with only the glow of the data pad to illuminate her blue face.
“No.” She spoke quietly to herself. “Thank you.”

~~~ ~~~~~~~~ ~~~

The chair turned ever so slightly, just rolling around a faction to reveal the grey sleeved arm of the man sat hidden upon it’s other side; it had been a reaction to the appearance of the young woman who had appeared within his private office, a woman he had now been expecting for several hours ever since he had realised the funds had not been transferred as requested but instead moved directly to the Imperial Treasury.

“So he finally worked it out?” The man said, his tone resinated and soft, “yet alas, I never true reached the pinnacle of my actions.” He remained hidden by the chair that looked out over the cityscape of Etti V, the planet he had so eagerly wanted to rule over. “He grows bored of me I suppose?”

“Yes he grows bored, and angry.” Ianthe said as she slipped closer to the desk and the chair. “It was always an unwise move to make Governor Tiythif, especially with such confidence.” Her body was hugged by a lithe combat suit, which matched with her blue skin and the darkened conditions of the room made her appear to blend in with the shadows, in fact the only true indication of her being there was the glowing red eyes, signal that she was one of the personal agents to the the Empire’s highest authority.

“Unwise? Maybe? Perhaps to others, but to me it was the smartest thing I could do. Not all laws are set in stone assassin.” The chair spun around to reveal the man she had for so many nights shared a bed with, eaten with, lived a near normal life with. He was clad in the dark greys of the Imperial Court, clearly feeling his retreat from justice had needed to be clad in offical attire. “I was merely doing what I deemed necessary to secure my future systems to become stable under Imperial Law.”

Stepping forward the Chiss revealed the small holdout blaster that was clasped firmly within her hand, it’s nozzle levelled unwavering towards the head of the traitorous governor; the shadows still covering her she felt that slight tingle in the back of her skull, that all too familiar sensation that caused her eyes to narrow slightly as she stared at the Moff.

“He cares not for your excuses.” Her tone was levelled and slightly threatening, “He wishes your death.” The Governor didn’t splutter, nor did he panic; in fact he merely straightened his uniform and sat a little bit straighter.

“Tell me, why you? Why hurt me with it being you?” He looked her straight in the eyes, trying to get a reaction she supposed. He would get none.

“Because I am the agent. You were the mark, all that mattered was the evidence and the judgement.” She tightened her grip on the blaster. “You mean nothing else.”

“Then do his bidding—“

The office lit up red and then again before falling into darkness.

 

[Cassandra Paige]

Cass kept her silence for the exchange, mind turning the new possibilities over and over. Because of the nature of their respective businesses, it had not been possible to manipulate one of them into the role of ExO, or even one of the more important chairs of the Direx. All they could do was manipulate from the sidelines. But with one stroke [member="Darth Carnifex"] had changed the entire playing field and put Itash in a position to exert the sort of influence they had not thought possible with the current lay of the political land.

Once they came to their agreement, Cass bowed along with Itash and Direx Inyin as the Dark Lord swept out of the room and the door closed behind him. The Echani turned to them immediately, the expression on her face sour.

"Was this your intention all along?"

Cass spread her hands. "It was not," she said, truthfully, though she would have lied if that hadn't been the case anyway.

Inyin snorted. Whether she believed them or not was irrelevant now.

"I will go inform the Direx of this..... development. I hope you two know what you're doing. For all of our sakes."

The woman swept out of the room, leaving the pair alone once more.

"Well. That went..... differently than planned."

[member="Itash Mecetti"]

 

[Dante Sotari]

[member="Seamus Valik"] [member="Sebastian Thel"]

"Oh yeah, totally get it." She rocked back and forth on her heels, nodding, wondering just how fast she could politely make her get away.

Could this get any more awkward?

Well, in honesty, was it that awkward or was it just her? Projecting her own guilt at this whole thing onto him and reading it back in a particular way? Very possible. Probably even likely. Dante wasn't good at this sort of thing. What was it Morgan had said?

That he'd needed her to be real?

Seamus wasn't Morgan. It had been one night. But he was a nice guy, and she'd been the jerk for never returning his calls, not the other way around. Maybe the same stuff Morgan had needed applied here. Just.... say it, get the guilt off of her chest and clear the air.

"Uh, so, about that-" She reached up, rubbing the back of her neck and looking down for a moment. "I think I owe you-"

Dante stopped as someone she didn't recognize suddenly showed up, sat down, and started talking. She looked at Seamus, looked at Sebastian, then back at Seamus again.

"Oh, uh, yeah. We do. Dante," she said, by way of introduction, taking a step back.

If ever the galaxy was giving her an out this was it.

"I'll, uh, leave to two to it then shall I? Nice to meet you Sebastion and... it was good to see you, Seamus-" she was surprised to find that she meant that. She started to turn away, then stopped.

"It's.... just so you both know, the Empire has laws against trafficking of its citizens. With Etti coming into the fold, you could contact local agents for help.... tracking down your folks. If.... well, tell them Major Sotari sent you," she mumbled the last part. [member="Jairus Starvald"] had arranged for her to receive the advancement with interest that she had turned down after Thyferra. She still wasn't used to it and it sat awkwardly on her.

"Good luck."

 

[Itash Mecetti]

[member="Cassandra Paige"]

After Carnifex took his leave Itash settled back down in the chair behind him.

Slumping just a bit as the tension broke and left the room in a state of flux. Cassandra handled the Echani, who barely got a nod from Itash as he still stared at that door where Kaine had left through. Then the Echani left and that left them alone. A glance towards Paige, frowning and shaking his head. "I know we should be satisfied by this, but I don't like it."

They hadn't just won today.

They had hit the home run and taken several lapses, then taken the price back home with them. The control over the Corporate Sector Authority was theirs- as long as they could keep the peace.

"I don't like it, because it was his plan all along and I don't enjoy strings on me." A glance towards her. "Us, for that matter."

That didn't mean Itash wouldn't take full advantage of this change of course.

But it did mean he would be very suspicious of Kaine's next moves.

 

[Cassandra Paige]

"It's an opportunity, but not the one we had planned," she agreed.

She sauntered over, settling her hip against the table beside his chair. Head tilted, looking down at him.

"It's what we would have done, aimed for, if that path had been open," she pointed out. The only reason they hadn't was because working within the existing frame work allowed them in only to a point. Carnifex had shattered the frame work.

"You, my dear, are going to have to learn to properly delegate," she continued with a smile. It curled, low and slow, over her lips, self satisfied, like a cat. "What you have done with Didact isn't that- you run that the way a noble would and it has worked because of the nature of it." She was referring to his literal connection to his men. "You, Lord Mecetti, are going to have to truly learn how to function in business."

The smile turned into a smirk.

"Fortunately, you don't have to do it alone."

[member="Itash Mecetti"]

 

[Vestille Thumahra]

Vestille Thumahra​

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Processing Center Besh, Etti IV​

Objective II :: Squash the riot.​

Nearby Assets: [member="Vilka Pharro"] | [member="Kresnik Karkarov"] | [member="Xavier Vi'dreya"] | [member="Adrian Vandiir"]​

No time for talk, it seemed. As the sectors were locked down and the floodgates were opened up to let the tide of rioters through the controlled relay, a swarm of jumpsuit clad humanoids of varying condition and race came charging through towards the established line of corporate security backed by the rigid and well-disciplined backbone of the Sith Legion. The rioters, despite their conditions and the clear disadvantage of training and equipment placed against them, their plan was to simply overwhelm and worm they way in between the cracks and turn the riot into something more visually akin to a mosh pit. Of course, Vestille who had put himself at the front of the line to not only help bolster the line with his intimidating presence but also to bring his own personal hand into quelling this riot himself. There was no time for briefings or meet and greets with the various Sith who had arrived to assist; instead they were to meet and find out more about each other amid the adrenaline and bloodshed that was to follow. As the rioters charged, several of them armed with their own shields and looted equipment from the initial guards that they had overrun, the ringleaders played their hands, showing themselves amid the shifting tide of a mob devoted to freedom or death. Unfortunately, that was not to pass.

From above on the catwalks, the orchestra that was the Sith-Corporate response began. Marksmen that had been assigned to watch for ringleaders; both those identified during the opening hours of the riots themselves and those that seemed to be giving the orders were felled in volleys of sniper fire. As the ringleaders started to fall and the initial panic set in, Vestille raised a hand and clenched a fist, security armed with grenade launchers loaded with tear gas was shot into the path of the approaching crowd, dispersing and offering not only areal denial but a severe obstacle to overcome to those who were without masks, severe irritation to the eyes and near immobilizing fits of coughing soon fell upon a number of the rioters yet, those with a will so fierce or luck that had granted them the opportunity to find or loot said protection, the swarm still kept coming. Scatterguns and the line of security holding a shield wall like some tale of ancient warfare braced and prepared for the inevitable clash, a volley of lethal buckshot awaited the rioters as soon as they got into range. Of course, once the volley was delivered, a counter charge was to be issued to mop up whatever was left of this pitiful riot.

It was there that troopers, security and Sith alike would find themselves slaughtering those formerly chained like lambs. There was perhaps a certain brutality to this, a lack of respect for the clear lack of balance between the oppressors and the oppressed. Examples had to be made, however, excuses were out of the question. To defy the Sith Empire was to willingly jump into the jaws of death itself, these rioters had sealed their fate. It simply took a push to deliver the sentence.

 

[Darth Carnifex]

The Emperor emerged from the tower, flanked by all four of his Crownguard as he boarded his shuttle and settled in for the second leg of his journey. Now that his will was being exercised across the planet, the Behemoth had drifted into the upper atmosphere over the city's outskirts rather than smackdab over the city's center. Rain returned to pelt the permacrete streets and skyscrapers, forcing those who had stood in awe of the gargantuan warship to slink back into the shelter of the interior, though there were some who stood stubbornly against the stinging downpour to watch as the might and glory of the Sith Empire moved out of sight, swallowed up by the very same clouds that it had broken through only several minutes prior.

Meanwhile, the Emperor was on the move. The Crestfallen II weaved through the intricate cityscape, nimble as a specter as it closed in on the Intergalactic Solutions towers. Its presence was announced to the landing guards, who approved its approach after an exchange of confirmation codes that allowed the Emperor's transport to get in close enough without being blasted by the defense emplacements around the tower. Not that it couldn't take such violent scrutiny, the Crestfallen II was designed for movement through highly contested battlezones.

But better to meet with the Queen of Trade on amiable footing than come barging in like some ruffian.

That was just uncouth and disrespectful.

This time, as the Emperor emerged from the confines of his shuttle he did so without the escort of his Crownguard. They remained behind, always on call in the event they were actually needed. Carnifex didn't expect he would require their services, his relationship with Miss Arceneau was quite cordial and he anticipated no complications. Several corporate guards waved him through, taking up positions on either side of him as he was led to wherever Miss Arceneau desired to meet with him.

[member="Danger Arceneau"]​

 

[Vilka Pharro]

ETTI IV - SHUTTLE EN ROUTE TO PROCESSING CENTRE BESH - OBJECTIVE II

Sometimes words were the shield of the meek and desperate; Thumahra understood this, Vilka saw. Deep orange flashes, billowing tides of black smoke- with each grenade burst, they were visible again. Silhouettes, writhing- wretches in the darkness, baptised in flame. This was the greatest injustice, their gaunt bodies shuddering under the weight of blaster fire, a storm of crimson lightning. So above and so below; the snipers had made this battle a massacre.Vilka looked on with wide eyes.

Like those fools, crying out in the darkness, the young acolyte felt her mind shaken with fear, anger, doubt, a sweeping madness amidst the chaos of true victory. But what better weapon has a Sith than an open and aching heart? Vilka advanced upon the chaos with hands that were scarcely more than claws, teeth bared to the darkness, wild eyes orange as the inferno that lay before her- and she screamed from bleeding lungs.

An acolyte may not harness true power; it is not a restriction so much as an impossibility. To harbour the anguish a Sith Lord bears, it is a long and arduous road. But against these prisoners, weeping wretches? Anything was true power to their blind eyes. With a thunderclap her body convulsed, veins burning and muscles twitching as an uncontrolled burst of sparks gathered at her blackened fingertips. Once more her eyes widened. Fear and awe; old friends indeed.

Now a blue flashing joined the orange, bursts of lightning arcing out between Vestille’s hellstorm, another curse upon this writhing host.

Vilka understood now; she gazed upon her wretched and blistering works with a smile at last.

ALLIES: [member="Vestille Thumahra"] / [member="Xavier Vi'dreya"] / [member="Adrian Vandiir"]
/
[member=“Kresnik Karkarov”]
(Sorry if @mentions are broken or if this skips post order!)

 

[AMCO]

Location: Processing Centre Besh, Etti IV
Objective II: Enforce the Imperial Peace.
Allies: [member="Vestille Thumahra"], [member="Xavier Vi'dreya"], [member="Vilka Pharro"], & [member="Kresnik Karkarov"].

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For a moment, it had seemed like he might get a bit of pleasant conversation to quell his annoyance, especially with the arrival of some of his fellow Sith, but then the uncouth wretches chose that moment to attack. Some would have considered their bravery impressive, but Adrian knew better. In their state of despair, they were nothing but rabid animals, and would be put down as such. For a moment, that line of thought was met with doubt, with a familiar sense of wrongness, but it was quickly suppressed. He had coldly made deals to further his own interests as Ession burned, why should it matter whether he swung the blade or not? Why should he feel guilty for striking down dead men walking?

Fuelled by the anger he felt at himself, at his momentary weakness, he pushed his right hand forward, the flesh literally writhing as purple energy barrelled forth from it, crashing into the onrush of bodies. While barely visible through the thick smoke, he could feel the sundering of flesh and the shattering of bone as the horrid energy tore through their ranks, carving a path through the mob and leaving nothing but the dead and the dying in its wake.

Those that died had been the lucky ones, for the vile energy did not merely destroy in an instant, but it festered in the wounds it made, ate away at the very bodies which it had mangled. Their screams were audible even above the ruckus, their almost inhuman agony causing many of the rioters to break and run, or fall to their knees and beg for mercy. That was as it should be. That was why he was here. Anyone could kill disorganised rioters, but perhaps, through his unmatched brutality, more of them would see reason and be spared. More of them would find purpose in servitude to the Empire. More cogs, willing or otherwise, would be added to the ever-growing machine that was the Empire.