[Chapter Three] The Call of Ktulu

[Lief]

Jaguada​

The Stygian Caldera​

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The fortress towered overhead, view blistered by the dusty winds which threw sand several feet into the air. It might have been an imposing sight had it not stood empty for a great many decades now, and in many ways even with that knowledge it still remained so. Its white walls sank into the desert perfectly, with only the black towers casting a blight on the horizon.

Truly it was a sight to behold... There was no way he would have ever infiltrated this during its height, the walls were perfectly smooth and the only footholds were in windows high from the ground. Too high for him to reach even with the aid of the Force.

But such was not necessary today.

Kobe stared at the view for several moments. The Haunter was set over the next rise, out of sight... Not that he thought any would be here. The world was mostly devoid of life, the only City was on the other side of the planet and the rest was inhospitable. No wonder the fortress had been abandoned.

Places like these leave remnants of their past; it is never quite worth clearing house, especially not when the inhabitants leave as swiftly as they did. This region of space had been highly disputed during Kobe's lifetime. Sith control, Jedi control, loss of control. It was not a safe place to be for many, not even somewhere like this... Off the map, away from civilization.

All the better for him, he supposed.

With an exhale of air, he set about nearing the structure. More steps than he cared to count led up toward the obelisk of a fort, and he opted to run them. The sooner he was out of this dust storm the better.

 

[Vrak Nashar]

[member="Raseri Sarosh"]

Vrak frowned slightly. "Ready the shuttle."

His voice rang out on the bridge of The Tyrant, seemingly folding over the slight curves and edges of the pits located just beyond him. Some of the ensigns seemed to shrink away from him as he turned, though the more senior crewmembers managed not to even flinch. A few weeks ago they would have done the same as the others of course, but most of them had learned by now that Vrak wasn't the kind of Sith to simply punish for punishments sake. All aboard The Tyrant knew that in general they were safe, at least until they screwed up.

"Yes My Lord."

The woman beside him said, slowly nodding her head.

The world below them, like so many others in the Caldera, was all but inhabited. Many of the planets now under the control of The Empire served as little more than tiny colonies. There were a few thousand living on this world or that, but most of them were desolate and empty. Vrak and the Council intended to change all of this of course, every world had to meet its full capacity. Yet before the Sphere of Dominion could truly take over Vrak needed to survey every world, or rather his people did.

This planet wasn't special in anyway, simply a remnant of the long lost Empire his people once held. Perhaps at a certain time in his life the Sith would have found it significant, yet now, on the eve of taking Kaas it all seemed so...small.

"Take me to the ruins." He told the Lieutenant as she followed him off the bridge. "Perhaps we'll find something interesting."

Though he doubted it.

 

[Lief]

When compared with the heat-ridden exterior, the fortress' empty halls were cool and comforting. Though his undershirt still stuck he felt himself able to once again completely breathe even without the aid of the mask. So much so that he retracted it entirely and allowed the very slight breeze which blew in from one of the windows to brush against his skin.

Compared to many of his kind, it was paler than it ought to have been. Even his years on Aurum had done little to acclimatize him to heat, his youth on Panatha had ruined him in that regard.

Along the walls banners remained; they were heavy with dust, but the colour still shone through enough. Bright red, with jet black markings. They told of the Empire's reign here, once upon a time. Kobe had never been alive to witness it, or not old enough at least. The Empire had crumbled during the first years of his life... Yet he knew their marks all the same.

Boots clacked against the ground, echoing through the silent hold. Somewhere off to the right he heard the squeak of a rodent, no doubt they were wise to utilize the shade this place provided. But he was not here for the wildlife, far from it. His feet led him past what felt like a thousand rooms, each of which had their own peculiarities. Things to study if he had the time. Who knew when [member='Darth Carnifex'] would call him back to his borders... No, he had to begin with the most important discoveries first.

And that included the Archives.

If so many other things had been forgotten, cast aside, then who knew what wonders lay within.

[member="Vrak Nashar"]

 

[Vrak Nashar]

[member="Raseri Sarosh"]

Vrak stepped onto the surface of the planet with a scowl that reflected his general demeanor towards this place.

There were a dozen different worlds in the Stygian Caldera, more if you counted those that had been abandoned. All of them had something upon them, either an old fortress or a city that had been left behind thousands of years ago by his Ancestors. Their place within the galaxy had always been assured simply because of this. The Jedi always focused on Korriban, honing in on it and the darkside that seemed to linger around the world. Kaas joined it of course, but they forgot about so many otherplanets.

Thule, Ziost, a dozen worlds.

All of them were important somehow, all of them were simply ignored at times. "Come."

He motioned to the troopers that stepped off the transport behind him. They were clad in the usual black armor, stylized after that of the Ancient Empire that Vitiate had created. So much of The Resurgent's forces were, but that was for a reason.

It was a reminder. Of what was lost, of what could be. Of what would be.

 

[Lief]

After what felt like hours of walking through labyrinthine halls, the boy finally stumbled across the double doors of the archives, which were half open and permitted him just the slightest hint of what lay within. Upon the ground several skeletons lay, looking as though the slightest touch of wind would turn them to dust.

Beside some were tomes long since discarded... He could not help but wonder how it was they had come to end up here, the rest of the fortress had been devoid of any signs of the former inhabitants outside of their belongings, yet now... Right here, right where Kobe had been intending to go, there were bodies.

It wasn't as though the doors were immobile. He opened one half of the doors with just the toe of his boot, and stepped around the bodies which were closest to him. He felt nothing toward them, there was no disgust or intrigue, he did not feel sick to his stomach, nor elated. They were nothing, part of the decor perhaps.

No, his only question toward them was why they were there at all. Why hadn't they left with the others, or died in their beds if they had remained behind.

He leaned down, about to touch one of the tomes, when something in his gut screamed for caution. His fingers lingered just an inch from the bound leather cover, gaze flicking over the bodies once more. Something wasn't right... He just hadn't figured out what.

[member="Vrak Nashar"]

 

[Vrak Nashar]

[member="Raseri Sarosh"]

"Secure the fortress." His tone was distant, neutral.

This had been done so many times over the past weeks. It seemed almost routine at this point. Take a planet, seize its populace, and take control of the ruins. Perhaps it should have been different, perhaps it should have been more...nuanced, but in truth Vrak didn't know if such a thing could happen.

There was no telling how long the Empire would Last, there was no telling how long he would be able to maintain power. He had to do as much as he could and as quickly as he could while he still had the chance. Sera and he knew their path now, and it was far more difficult that he would have liked to admit. The Pureblood frowned for a few moments, glancing up at the ceiling of the ancient structure. He lingered for a moment before the final trooper passed him by.

"Capture anyone you find." He told the man. "Bring them to me."

Generally they executed grave robbers, but something...something was different here.

The Sith Lord frowned slightly, then turned towards one of the halls.

 

[Lief]

Two things felt certain to him.

The first was that he wanted the tome. He did not know what it contained, for all he knew it could be a load of old nonsense... But he wanted it. The second was that he should avoid touching it at all cost. It was just a feeling he got, call it a gut instinct. So he extended one hand and wrapped the Force around the object, allowing it to levitate toward him. With his free hand he opened his satchel and allowed the tome to drop within it. Hopefully the leather would prove enough to quell any curse that might be on it.

Paranoid, are we? Though given the oddity of the dead before us, I'd say it was well judged for once...

He closed the satchel, and turned to glance around the rest of the archive. More bodies were lining the floor, it almost felt as though the last remnants of this place had been ushered into this room to meet their end. Perhaps that was the case. It does not look to be entirely natural, after all... It would also explain why the doors were so easily opened, they were not locked inside merely butchered.

Just two steps had been taken before he heard the sound of heavy footsteps beyond the door. Someone, or more appropriately several somebodies, marching down the hall. He knew for certain nobody had been here when he entered, which meant they were new. Securing the facility? What an odd coincidence, given that this place had sat empty for Force knew how long.

Quietly backing up, he moved between the shelves of the archive and held his breath. With any luck the room would be passed over.

[member="Vrak Nashar"]

 

[Vrak Nashar]

[member="Raseri Sarosh"]

Often Vrak considered the merit of just burning places like this to the ground.

He understood the preservation of heritage, he understood the value in places like this, but it didn't seem worth the trouble. For every hidden secret that was located they found twenty empty tombs. For every sliver of power they found a thousand traps.

It was annoying.

Eventually one had to find a limit to these things, and as the Empire grew and expanded, Vrak slowly began to realize that his limit was being reached. With Kaas now in the palm of his hand these little tombs all seemed to be...a waste. There were greater riches to be found, things more plentiful.

The Sith Lord frowned for a moment, glancing at one of the Red Guard. "Anything?"

The Soldier shifted for just a moment, then slowly shook his head.